A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 56 Shen Yanliu

The three of them took their seats one by one.

County magistrate Shen Yanliu sat in the main seat, his wife Ma Chunmin sat opposite him, and Duan Rong sat sideways!

After the three of them sat down, Duan Rong dared to look at the two of them.

Shen Yanliu was nearly forty years old, with a thin face and a goatee. He wore a loose gray robe and a square turban on his head.

He had a restrained aura, his eyes were bright, his temples were slightly bulging, and as he sat there, he looked like a well-fed tiger lying down, with an aura of majesty that came from without even getting angry.

Shen Yanliu is an outer disciple of the Taiyi Sect. His martial arts skills have even reached the second level of the true Qi realm. In Xiangu County, he is like a mountain!

Duan Rong met Shen Yanliu today, which was like meeting a high mountain!
Duan Rong at this moment was naturally insignificant.

But maybe, one day, he will be able to climb over the mountain in front of him?
Ma Chunmin looked younger than Shen Yanliu, probably only in her early thirties. She was plump and beautiful, with a face like a bright moon. Her eyes were extremely smart, and flashed a cold light from time to time.

During the meal, Duan Rong only half sat on the chair, and did not dare to eat too much of the food. He only swallowed it in small mouthfuls. His heart was in his throat the whole time, and he did not dare to taste the food at all. He just swallowed it like wax, for fear of being impolite!
"This child, is the food not to your taste? Why is he eating so little?"

"Shut up! Shut up!" Duan Rong agreed repeatedly.

Ma Chunmin picked up a lion's head from the plate and put it in Duan Rong's bowl, saying, "Here, this braised lion's head was made by me myself! Let me give it to you to try!"

When Ma Chunmin handed over the dish, Duan Rong raised his buttocks and leaned forward. He waited until Ma Chunmin's chopsticks left before he sat back down.

When Shen Yanliu saw Ma Chunmin put the lion's head into Duan Rong's bowl, he wanted to stop her with his eyes, but it was too late. He hesitated for a moment and said, "The lion's head seems a little salty tonight?"

Hearing this, Ma Chunmin laughed and scolded, "Is it salty? You are so picky."

She picked up a piece of food with chopsticks, tasted it, and found it was quite salty.

She is very good at cooking this dish and is very familiar with the amount of salt and seasonings. Why would she put too much?
I'm afraid you added salt twice?
Ma Chunmin suddenly felt embarrassed.

Duan Rong knew that the lion's head must be too salty when he saw Ma Chunmin's expression, but he still took a big bite and said, "Your Excellency and Madam are noble people, so naturally they like light tastes. But we escorts travel all over the country and practice martial arts, so we like food with high oil and salt. This lion's head tastes just right for me!"

When Ma Chunmin heard this, she laughed and said, "This child is really good at talking."

It was originally a rather awkward situation, but it was resolved by Duan Rong's words.

At this time, Shen Yanliu also looked at Duan Rong deeply.

At this moment, Duan Rong suddenly noticed that there was a painting hanging on the wall of the flower hall behind Shen Yanliu.

That was the painting of a lady by Fan Yunlin that he had sold to Gu Yuezhai for eight hundred taels of silver.

Even the position of the wormhole and the small stain on the lower right are exactly the same, which means it is definitely the original image.

Did this painting come into the hands of Shen Yanliu, or is he the behind-the-scenes boss of Guyuezhai?

It has been less than a month since Duan Rongrang displayed the painting in Guyuezhai. To say that it was circulated or given to Shen Yanliu by someone, the time frame is probably too fast.

The greater possibility is the latter.

I'm afraid the boss behind Guyuezhai is Shen Yanliu, the county magistrate of Xiangu County.

Duan Rong thought about this, but his face remained expressionless. He just ate his food and drank slowly, and occasionally made a few glib and funny remarks.

Seeing that they had almost finished eating, Shen Yanliu said to the waiter who was adding wine and clearing away the plates, "Go and invite the young lady out, and toast Master Duan!"

Duan Rong almost choked on his drink when he heard this, and quickly said, "How dare I, a country bumpkin, ask you to toast me? Isn't this embarrassing for me? Your Excellency, please don't do that!"

"If it weren't for the intervention of Master Duan, my daughter would have almost gotten into a disaster. He deserves my respect!" Shen Yanliu's words were firm and decisive.

The boy had already gone out.

Duan Rong suddenly felt like sitting on pins and needles, his heart beating like a deer!
What if I really meet that young lady later and something goes wrong?
After a while, the servant returned to the hall, but Shen Mizhi was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was Shen Mizhi's maid Qiu Hen who came.

Shen Yanliu saw Qiu Hen standing behind the servant with a troubled look on his face, so he asked sternly: "Qiu Hen, where is the young lady?"

"Replying to the master...Miss...she...she...went to see Xia Shuangshuang from Yunshui Bank!" Xia Shuangshuang was the shopkeeper of the Xiangu branch of Yunshui Bank, the daughter of Xia Zhongyang, the god of wealth of Xiangu County, and had always been on good terms with Shen Mizhi.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yanliu's expression immediately fell. She turned her head and glanced at Ma Chunmin, saying, "You've spoiled me! This girl is becoming more and more rude!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Chunmin just snorted coldly and stared at Qiu Hen with his cold eyes.

Ma Chunmin is Shen Yanliu's second wife, and Shen Mizhi is not her biological daughter. She is the daughter of Shen Yanliu and his original wife.

When Ma Chunmin first married Shen Yanliu, Shen Mizhi was already three years old.

Not long after she entered the sect, she learned that Shen Yanliu's first wife's name contained the character "Zhi".

Shen Yanliu named his daughter "Mizhi", which shows his longing for his original wife.

It would be a lie to say that Ma Chunmin is not jealous.

But, over the years, she treated Shen Mizhi as her own daughter and gave her all the care that a biological mother should give. Although Shen Mizhi was a cold-tempered child, she still accommodated her in every way.

Because of this, this family has been quite stable over the years. For this, Shen Yanliu is very grateful to her.

But Ma Chunmin knew Shen Mizhi very well. When he heard that Shen Mizhi had taken advantage of the time when they were entertaining Duan Rong to leave Yunshui Bank and go find Xia Shuangshuang.

She immediately smelled something wrong in this matter.

"Maybe things are not as simple as Qiu Hen said..." A cold light flashed across Ma Chunmin's eyes.

She heard from Qiu Hen about the incident in which Shen Mizhi had a fight with someone on the street and almost caused a death, but fortunately Master Duan intervened and saved the day.

Qiu Hen was also one of the witnesses of this incident, so her words were naturally convincing.

So, it was after listening to Qiu Hen's words that she decided to prepare a banquet and entertain Duan Rong!
Then he asked Shen Yanliu to instruct Qin Shuban to send the post to Yuanshun Escort Agency!

But at this time, Ma Chunmin felt that there might be something else behind this matter.

There was a cold light in her eyes as she looked Duan Rong up and down again.

Duan Rong was sitting there, and when he heard that Shen Mizhi had gone out, he immediately relaxed. He didn't pay much attention to Ma Chunmin's interested look.

How could a lady who was so beautiful, so kind, and who kept picking food for him have any bad intentions?

Although Shen Mizhi did not come out to toast, the servants serving at the banquet never stopped pouring wine for Duan Rong!
The wine glowed with a cold amber light. No one knew what kind of fine wine it was, but it was so fragrant and mellow that Duan Rong accidentally drank too much!
When the banquet was over, Duan Rong was already a little tipsy. He said sweet words to Shen Yanliu and Ma Chunmin as they said goodbye. Ma Chunmin kept covering her mouth and looking at him with a smile!
Shen Yanliu asked the servant beside him to carry a lantern and escort Duan Rong out of the backyard.

In the flower hall in the backyard, as soon as Duan Rong left, Ma Chunmin smiled and said to Shen Yanliu, "This child is quite clever and considerate. Find a way to get him to the government office as a constable!"

"You are always fickle, how come you are dragged into this?" Shen Yanliu always felt that Ma Chunmin's thinking was too erratic.

"Why? Can't there be someone in the government office whom I can use to my advantage?"

"Isn't it good that you can ask Qin Shu to do something for you?"

"Qin Shuban is a reliable person, but he is a little strange..." Ma Chunmin's eyes flickered and he said, "Can you please give me a straight answer?"

"He is from Yuanshun Escort Agency. How can I steal Ruan Fengshan's girlfriend for no reason?"

Hearing this, Ma Chunmin snorted coldly and said, "No matter what it is, you always have a reason!"

After saying that, he twisted his waist and walked out of the flower hall.

Shen Yanliu looked at Ma Chunmin who was angry with him and could only shake his head helplessly.

On this side, Duan Rong just turned to the screen wall between the front yamen and the backyard, and turned back and said, "Little brother, there's no need to see me off. I can walk by myself!"

"Master Duan, please be careful where you step. I'm giving you this lantern to light your way!" the servant said as he handed over the lantern.

Duan Rong took the lantern, waved his hand, and turned around the screen wall and left!

(End of this chapter)