The Red Mansion

Chapter 38 Weird and Wonderful
Ma Peicheng, a third-rank lieutenant general, held a rank two ranks higher than Cheng Xu, a fourth-rank commander. His patrol battalion, the Left Battalion, was responsible for patrols and security in the eastern suburbs. Today, he led his troops on a mission instructed by Wang Ziteng; Cheng Xu was merely a guide.

Cheng Xu also thought that Jiang Nian might really be close to the Thirteenth Prince and was very afraid of offending him.

Therefore, seeing that Ma Peicheng agreed to Jiang Nian's request, Cheng Xu did not stop him, and most likely he could not stop him, but he was thinking in his heart that he should report to Wang Ziteng.

Jiang Nian pulled He Yun to a corner and whispered a few words...

He Yun, who understood the situation, deliberately raised his voice and said, "Yes, I will go and invite the Thirteenth Prince!"

After saying that, he turned and walked away.

Jiang Nian suddenly thought of something and called out to He Yun, "Stop."

He Yun turned around and asked respectfully, "Master, do you have any further instructions?"

Jiang Nian stepped forward and deliberately asked loudly, "Have you bought all the items you need to buy?"

He Yun replied, "We haven't bought everything yet, but we've bought some. Zhong'er and his mother are still shopping, so I led the servants to bring back what we've already bought. We also brought dinner, as I thought Master was hungry and needed to get him dinner as soon as possible. The servants are waiting outside, and it's not advisable to keep them waiting for too long, so I was just about to send them away first."

Jiang Nian nodded and asked, "Are there any seats that have been sent back?"

He Yun said, "Yes."

Jiang Nian calmly turned to Ma Peicheng and asked, "Sir, I just moved here today, and my house is empty. I just sent my housekeeper out to buy some things, and they've already brought some back and are placing them outside. Could you please have the servants bring the things in so they can finish their work and go back? There are also seats here for you, sir. You can sit down while we wait for the Thirteenth Prince, so you don't get tired from standing for too long."

He deliberately displayed such a calm and composed attitude to make Ma Peicheng more convinced that he was close to the Thirteenth Prince and that his words were true. He also wanted the servants to move the belongings in to avoid having the Jiang family's servants do the work.

Jiang Nian originally thought that Ma Peicheng would refuse this time, but after a moment's hesitation, Ma Peicheng nodded, "Yes!"

Ma Peicheng also specially ordered a young military officer to greet the officers and soldiers guarding outside the gate and signal them to let them pass.

Immediately, He Yun's black leather boots clattered as he walked out of the inner courtyard, passed the back house, and walked out of the house.

There was also a group of soldiers guarding outside the gate, and another group of servants were waiting.

This group of guys were sent by the shop where He Yun bought the items, and they gathered here to move the items.

Items were piled up outside the yard, including beds, couches, tables, chairs, stools, food boxes, etc.

There was also a Qin family steward named Peng Jizhong waiting outside the gate.

Because Qin Ye had been at the Jiang residence for a while and had not returned, and because they saw the Jiang residence surrounded by numerous soldiers, the Qin family was naturally worried. Qin Keqing sent the housekeeper Peng Jizhong to the Jiang residence to check on the situation. When Peng Jizhong arrived at the Jiang residence, the soldiers would not let him in, and he had no idea that his master had died inside.

Seeing He Yun coming out, Peng Jizhong hurriedly stepped forward and asked He Yun, "Butler He, is my master in there? Why hasn't he come out yet?"

He Yun had already learned that Qin Ye was dead, but it was not convenient for him to tell the Qin family for the time being. He said perfunctorily: "He is still inside. You should go back and wait. The things inside cannot be solved for the time being."

He then ordered his men, "Move everything in."

The guys were originally frightened when they saw this family being surrounded by soldiers, but now they were almost stunned when they saw He Yun ordering them to move the things in.

Two brave servants thought that since He Yun had given such instructions, nothing serious would happen to this family, and even if something did happen, it would not implicate them. So, they mustered up their courage and took the lead, carrying a Luohan bed and heading towards the gate.

With these two guys taking the lead, the others also took courage, picked up their belongings and followed. For a moment, the scene was filled with the sound of chaotic footsteps and the collision of objects.

He Yun did not want to delay any longer, so he asked the young military officer to help supervise the men in carrying the goods. He then mounted his horse and rode away at full speed, heading straight for Prince Zhongyi's mansion.

He had just bought this horse, but he didn't expect it to come in handy so soon.

The sound of horse hooves was rapid, raising a cloud of dust, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared at the intersection.

There were many items to be moved, many of them large and heavy. However, the men worked even harder than usual, moving with swift movements, fearing that staying a moment longer would lead to trouble. Despite their swift movements, they seemed a bit flustered, their eyes constantly glancing at the surrounding officers and soldiers, fearing that a single mistake might lead to trouble.

Ma Peicheng, Cheng Xu, dozens of officers and soldiers, and a group of Jiang family servants were all crowded in the inner courtyard, watching a group of servants moving items into the inner courtyard.

The items were temporarily piled up in the corner of the inner courtyard, making the already crowded inner courtyard even more crowded, and some officers and soldiers were even rubbing shoulders with each other.

The atmosphere in the inner courtyard suddenly became strange and bizarre.

At this time, Jiang Nian personally carried two official hat chairs in his hands and walked calmly to Ma Peicheng and Cheng Xu. He put the two official hat chairs down steadily and said calmly, "Please sit down, my lords."

Ma Peicheng and Cheng Xu were both stunned and looked at each other.

What on earth was going on? They had come here with the intention of arresting everyone in this house, so how could it have turned out like this?
Ma Peicheng hesitated for a moment, then sat down on an official hat chair. He turned to Cheng Xu and said, "You should sit down too. If we can really invite the Thirteenth Prince, we'll have to wait for a while."

Cheng Xu could no longer hold back. Instead of sitting down, he said, "Master Ma, it would be best to report this matter to Master Wang. You wait here, I will go and report it myself."

Although Ma Peicheng was dissatisfied, he couldn't refuse, so he nodded and said, "Okay."

Cheng Xu left immediately and prepared to ride his horse straight to the Zuoying Patrol Office, where Wang Ziteng was staying.

Jiang Nian watched Cheng Xu's back disappear from the Chuihua Gate, frowning slightly, but then relaxing.

Ma Peicheng pointed to an empty official hat chair beside him, looked up and said to Jiang Nian: "You sit and wait too."

He wanted to get closer to Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian did not refuse. He smiled slightly, said "Thank you, sir", and sat down calmly.

The two sat side by side.

The courtyard was filled with officers, soldiers and servants watching.

A large hemp sack containing Qin Ye's body lay quietly in the yard.

The guys were still busy moving things into the inner courtyard, the sounds of footsteps and objects colliding mixed together.

The atmosphere became increasingly strange and bizarre.

He Yun and Cheng Xu, one was galloping to the Zhongyi Palace to find the Thirteenth Prince, and the other was galloping to the Zuoying Yamen to find Wang Ziteng...

(End of this chapter)