Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 561 Underwater Current
Lu Wenzhao was startled at first, then smiled apologetically: "It's really getting late. I can't stay here overnight. Otherwise, it will ruin your reputation."

Ding Baiying's pupils shrank, and he let out a long sigh. "Yes, it's getting late. Brother, you should leave quickly."

"There's no rush right now. I can wait a little longer." Lu Wenzhao said, "I can wait until the bell rings to lock the city."

"Senior Brother." Ding Baiying lowered his head and stared at the corner of his clothes in a daze.

"Hmm?" Lu Wenzhao responded.

"Brother," Ding Baiying calmed down and asked as calmly as possible, "What do you think of me?"

"How else can I look at you?" Lu Wenzhao smiled, his eyes still fixed, "Just look at you like this."

"That's not what I meant, I wanted to ask"

"Junior sister!" Lu Wenzhao interrupted Ding Baiying with a loud voice. "I almost forgot to tell you about this happy event."

"Happy event?" Ding Baiying slowly raised her head and stared into Lu Wenzhao's eyes. "What happy event?"

"Brother," Lu Wenzhao swallowed his saliva, turned around and poured himself another cup of tea. "I have taken in two more concubines."

"Ah?" For a moment, Ding Baiying didn't react.

Lu Wenzhao did not turn back to his right position.

He stared at the wooden screen that separated the rooms and continued to talk to himself: "Her name is Luo Qing, and she is Luo Weishuai's daughter. She is not his biological daughter, but an adopted one. Before she got married, Weishuai adopted her in front of the tablets of Luo's ancestors. Haha," Lu Wenzhao chuckled twice, but there was no smile on his profile.

"Do you know how this marriage was discussed? It was Young Master Luo who talked to my father-in-law Taishan, Hai Rou's father. I wasn't even present when they discussed this matter! Oh, and there's also the etiquette for buying a concubine! The etiquette for buying a concubine was also paid by my father-in-law Taishan. That's one thousand taels. It's more than Hai Rou's dowry." Lu Wenzhao raised the cup and poured the already cold tea into his throat in one gulp.

Lu Wenzhao seemed to calm down a bit. "However, Luo Qing is only the second wife. Before she married, on the day I returned to Beijing, Hai Rou forced Ajiu into my bed. I had no intention of marrying Ajiu, but I know Hai Rou was afraid. She was afraid that Luo Qing's marriage would squeeze her out. But how could she not be afraid? Luo Qing is the daughter of General Luo, and Hai Taishan paid for her to be married. If Hai Rou and Luo Qing had a conflict, I'm afraid Hai Taishan would have to intervene and pressure her to stop being jealous. Fortunately, Ajiu was willing. She was originally Hai Rou's maid, and now she has a status, so she won't be treated like a servant by Luo Qing anymore. That's right!"

Lu Wenzhao suddenly turned his head and looked at Ding Baiying. "I moved. My old house is no longer big enough. The new one is quite big, with plenty of guest rooms. Next time you come to Beijing, you can pick one you like."

"Where is the new home?" Ding Baiying sat there blankly, like a slowly petrified sculpture, with no expression of joy or sadness.

"Zhengdongfang, just a few steps away from Zhengyangmen Street. It's easy to find." Lu Wenzhao said.

"Okay." Ding Baiying nodded blankly, "I will definitely visit you if I have the chance. Meet the two Madams."

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The door of the room opened and Lu Wenzhao walked out alone.

He turned around to close the door, only to find Ding Baiying still in her farewell pose. Against the gradually yellowing sunset, Lu Wenzhao once again saw the wooden willow-leaf-patterned hairpin. It suddenly felt familiar, but he didn't dwell on it.

Lu Wenzhao didn't go downstairs immediately, but walked quickly to the door of the next room with light strides. He gently pushed the door open, but there was no one inside.

There were five rooms on the second floor of this restaurant, and theirs was at the end of the corridor. Lu Wenzhao checked three empty rooms in a row before deliberately making noises as he slowly walked downstairs.

"Master Lu, what are your instructions?" Before he went downstairs, a servant guarding the stairs came up to him with a smile on his face.

"Go and get my horse out." Lu Wenzhao said.

The servant was visibly stunned. "Master Lu, if you need anything, just tell me. There's no need to do it yourself."

"I don't need anything. I'm leaving." Lu Wenzhao shook his head.

"Where is Lord Lu going?" asked the servant.

"Are you questioning me? Or," Lu Wenzhao continued smiling. "I can't leave?"

"I dare not," the servant was frightened. He looked panicked and shook his head repeatedly, saying, "It's just that Marshal Hou asked us to serve Master Lu and Miss Ding well. Now Master Lu left without even eating. I'm afraid."

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Lu Wenzhao said, not wanting to listen to his nonsense. "Just tell me where my horse is and I'll get it myself."

"Please come this way!" The servant didn't dare to say anything more and hurriedly took Lu Wenzhao towards the stable.

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Shortly after Lu Wenzhao left the restaurant on horseback and disappeared at the street corner, at the other end of the street, outside a tea shop, a man who had been sitting for most of the day stood up.

"Sir, have you finished your meal?" The owner of the teahouse bent over and came to the front of the customer who had been sitting there for a long time.

"Hmm." The long-sitting guest reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of copper coins. "How much?"

"This meal is on me, have a nice trip." The owner's face was full of unconcealable flattery.

"What do you mean?" The customer who had been sitting there for a long time finally raised his eyes and looked at the owner.

"You are a distinguished guest of the General's Mansion. You have already honored me by visiting my small shop. How dare I charge you for tea?" the shop owner said with a flattering smile.

"How did you know I was from the General's Mansion?" the long-sitting guest asked sullenly. He had no recollection of ever having tea here before.

"There are only a few distinguished people coming and going in Weining. Even if you don't recognize me, I dare not not recognize you." The owner said, "If I remember correctly, you are often with Marshal Hou Zhen, right?" The tea shop was opened on the street, and Hou Shilu was the most conspicuous person. With the coming and going, in and out, the owner almost remembered the faces of all the followers around Hou Shilu.

The long-sitting guest's expression eased slightly. "You old man, you look lean and slender, and you have good eyesight. Let me tell you," he thought, wanting to tell the old man to stop talking. But on second thought, that would be too much of a rip-off, so in the end, he just threw a handful of copper coins on the table and said, "I don't need your tea money, so don't try to get close to me."

"That's a lot!" Instead of getting annoyed, the shop owner smiled even more attentively. "We don't have any good tea in this shop, so I only sell you two coins a pot. Since you've had two pots, I'll give you two coins. And this plate of salted meat is ten coins. That's fourteen coins in total." He walked to the table, picked up the extra copper coins, and held them in front of the man with both hands. "Keep the rest."

"Are you crazy?" The guest pointed at another empty plate on the table and said, "I ate your plate of fried beans!" If Lu Wenzhao didn't leave, he would have prepared dinner.

"It's a gift. The beans are a gift. Please do me a favor." The owner handed them forward again.

"Then I'll thank you for your kindness." The long-sitting customer stretched out his hand, lightly grabbed the remaining copper coins from the shopkeeper's palm.

"Take care, sir! Come again." The owner bowed to the back of the customer who had been sitting there for a long time.

The guest who had been sitting there for a long time left quickly without looking back, but still raised his hand and waved in response.

The long-sitting customer had left, and the owner had almost finished packing up. Just as he was about to return to the restaurant with his tray, a customer at the next table suddenly called out, "Old Yang!" "Want an extra dish?" Owner Yang turned his head, but his attitude was much colder than before, at least without that fawning tone.

"Is this plate of beans of mine also free?" asked the guest at the next table, pointing at the beans in front of him.

"That's a nice thought." The shop owner surnamed Yang smiled and rolled his eyes at the customer. "If you can get a job at the General's Mansion, I'll give you a job. I'll even give you an extra plate of meat."

"whispering sound."

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After leaving the teahouse, the long-sitting guest went straight back to the general's residence. He arrived at the lobby without any obstruction, but found that Hou Shilu was not sitting there.

"Where's the commander-in-chief? Hasn't he come back yet?" Jiuzuoke walked straight to the guard on duty.

"He's back and is in the tea room in the back hall." The guard saluted the man.

"Tea room? Is there anyone else?" asked the guest who had been sitting there for a long time.

"The major general is here too," said the personal guard.

"I'm asking about the guests," the long-sitting guest continued. "Are there any guests here?"

"Lord Yuan has been here, but he's gone now." The guard shook his head.

"Okay." The guest who had been sitting there for a long time said no more words. He was silent for a while and then went to the back hall.

Passing through the not-too-deep hall, the guest arrived at the tea room. As expected, there were two guards at the door. However, these two guards made no attempt to stop the guest. Instead, at a single gesture, they knocked on the door.

"Who's here?" The quiet chatter in the tea room stopped. Hou Gongji's voice came from the deepest part.

"Young General, it's me." When answering, the guest who had been sitting for a long time had already bent his waist and assumed a respectful posture.

"Are you here to pay your respects to Sang Wu?" This time the voice that came through the crack in the door was Hou Shilu's.

"Yes!" Bai Sangwu responded loudly.

"Come in."

"Greetings to the commander-in-chief, greetings to the major general." Bai Sangwu pushed the door open and went in, first bowing to the Hou family father and son who were sitting above and below.

"Why are you back? Didn't I tell you to watch over there?" Hou Shilu had been working non-stop all day, and his voice was filled with fatigue.

"Captain Lu left, so I came back." Bai Sangwu said.

"Gone?" Hou Shilu leaned on the armrest and sat up a little straighter. "Where did he go?"

"I didn't dare follow," Bai Sangwu said. "I only know Captain Lu is riding a horse westward, apparently heading to the post station."

"What about Ding Baiying? Did she follow him?" Hou Shilu asked.

"No," Bai Sangwu shook his head and said, "I sat there for a while after Captain Lu left, but I didn't see Ding Baiying come out."

"Someone come!" Hou Shilu shouted, and immediately a personal guard came in, clasped his fists, and waited for orders. "General!"

"Send some good wine and meat to the post station in the name of rewarding the troops, and see if Captain Lu has really returned. Also, count the twelve Jinyiwei to see if anyone is missing. Be careful, these imperial guards are experts, don't let anyone be discovered." Hou Shilu ordered.

"Yes!" The personal guard bowed and turned to leave.

"Captain Lu didn't notice you, did he?" Hou Shilu looked at Bai Sangwu again.

"No," Bai Sangwu said, "Captain Lu never left the tea shop where I was sitting. Instead, the shopkeeper recognized me as someone from the General's Mansion."

"Shopkeeper?" Hou Shilu frowned slightly. "Did he notice you were following him?"

Bai Sangwu paused for a moment and said, "That's unlikely. The shopkeeper probably just happened to recognize me as your close follower, so he tried to get close to me. He even wanted to waive my tea fee."

"Oh, not surprising." Hou Shilu smiled. "Did you pay?"

"I gave it to him," Bai Sangwu nodded. "I don't want to take advantage of him."

"Then I won't take advantage of you." Hou Shilu casually took out a small silver nugget weighing about one or two taels and threw it to Bai Sangwu.

Bai Sangwu took it steadily, and realizing it was a piece of silver, he immediately declined it with a simple smile. His expression was exactly like the tea shop owner trying to curry his favor. "Captain, I only spent fourteen cents in total. And it's just a small favor, so how can I do that?"

Hou Shilu waved his hand to interrupt him, "Go back and rest. You have nothing to do here."

"Yes! Thank you for the reward, Marshal!" Bai Sangwu had no choice but to thank him and leave with the silver in his hand.

The moment the door closed, Hou Shilu picked up where he had left off: "I told you to take advantage of this time to look through Ding Baiying's things. Did you find anything?"

During the time of waiting for Yuan Keli and Lu Wenzhao, Hou Shilu was not idle, but tried his best to conduct indirect investigations around Ding Baiying.

After a series of investigations, Hou Shilu discovered that Ding Baiying, aside from deliberately concealing his gender when signing up for military service, was unremarkable. He was simply a martial arts practitioner with a strong sense of ethics, and his skills were quite high. He could even fight Hou Gongji to a draw.

But these things could not completely dispel Hou Shilu's doubts. For most local officials, the words "Jinyi is coming" were too terrifying. However, Hou Shilu really couldn't investigate further. He couldn't just question Ding Baiying directly.

After careful consideration, Hou Shilu decided to take a risky tactic. The key to his plan was the touching reminiscence between Lu Wenzhao and Ding Baiying. This pretext allowed Hou Shilu to legitimately remove Lu Wenzhao from Yuan Keli's presence for a private conversation. It also allowed him to keep Ding Baiying away from the barracks for an extended period, even away from all his personal belongings.

What Ding Baiying didn't know was that while she was waiting for Lu Wenzhao, Hou Gongji, along with his most experienced scouts, had thoroughly searched her belongings in the barracks. Furthermore, while she was showering, her old clothes were replaced with a set of clean, reasonably nice women's clothing under the pretext of being washed and inspected.

"Nothing special, there's just one thing that bothers me." Hou Gongji said.

"What's the matter?" Hou Shilu asked immediately.

"She's rich."

(End of this chapter)