Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 482 Liu Lang Gets a Hound
Zhang Dai never expected that just watching the excitement would lead to running into an acquaintance, though this acquaintance seemed to be in a rather disheveled state.

Although those chasing him were openly armed, the light was inevitably flickering and dim as they ran, making it impossible for Zhang Dai to see their faces clearly. He also couldn't tell who they were from their size and voice, and guessed they weren't good friends.

Therefore, he did not rashly send people forward to meet him. Instead, he stopped advancing and, under the protection of his entourage, took refuge in a side alley.

"Zhang Liulang, please wait! Help! Help! Liulang, don't you recognize Ji Wen?"

Seeing Zhang Dai step aside, the man became even more panicked, his shouts grew more shrill, and he ran faster and faster.

Upon hearing this fellow introduce himself, Zhang Dai chuckled. Standing at the alley entrance, he stopped retreating and gestured for Ding Qing to lead the two men forward. Soon after, Ji Wen scrambled to his feet and stumbled towards Ding Qing and the others. His turban was long gone, and he looked utterly disheveled and pathetic.

The others caught up and quickly recognized Zhang Dai, who was being protected by a group of guards. The ones at the front hurriedly put down their sticks and bowed from afar, saying, "So it's Zhang Liulang! We, his men, chased the thief here and had no intention of offending you, Liulang. If we have offended you, please forgive us!"

"Whose thugs are you? Why do you call this fellow a thief?"

Zhang Dai frequently visited the Three Bends, where many people naturally recognized him. He then asked the crowd a question.

"I am not a thief, not... Sixth Brother, please do not listen to this wicked servant's slander!"

Seeing that these people were intimidated by Zhang Dai and his group and dared not pursue him any further, Ji Wen felt somewhat relieved. He then loudly proclaimed, "These wicked servants are all thugs kept by the old brothel owner, Granny Chu. Whenever a customer does not meet their expectations, they send out their thugs to beat and extort him. I have suffered greatly as a result, enduring their beatings and humiliation..."

“We are innocent! We are innocent! This traitor Ji has been staying at our house since he entered the capital at the beginning of the year. He eats fish and meat at every meal and sleeps with a woman every night. It has been several months now. At first, he was willing to spend money, but since March he has refused to pay us. Now he has accumulated a lot of debt. My mother is very understanding because he is a frequent guest. She said she would pay us at the beginning of the month, but she has dragged it out until now!”

Upon hearing Ji Wen's words, the pursuers' eyes widened in fury, and they roared with grief and indignation, "Because this scoundrel has been refusing to pay his debts, we have no rice left to eat. After begging for many days, we finally persuaded him to seek help from relatives and friends to repay the debt. However, he sent my brothers and me to the Prince of Guo's residence in Chongxianfang, but because we violated the etiquette of the Prince's residence, my brothers and I were beaten to death by the Prince's servants..."

Zhang Dai raised his hand, gesturing for Ding Qing and the others to lead Ji Wen to him. He then pointed to the people who were chasing and beating him and asked, "Is what they said true or false?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Wen shrugged and his eyes flickered. He stammered, "These servants in brothels are of the lowest character. Why would you trust them so easily, Sixth Brother? Do you not know my family background? How could I possibly default on my debts?"
However, my family in the Eastern Capital was delayed and unable to enter the capital in time, so they were harassed and humiliated by brothels. Helpless, we could only send them to beg my relatives for some leniency. The Prince of Guo is my cousin, and these unruly servants have offended the royal court, yet they blame me…”

"If I remember correctly, the King of Guo's mourning period hasn't ended yet, has it? Since you're a close associate of his, how can you not even know this date? Sending someone to the family in mourning to collect a debt, how very considerate!"

Upon hearing Ji Wen's explanation, Zhang Dai couldn't help but laugh and curse. Prince Li Yong of Siguo had passed away in the autumn of the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era. At that time, Zhang Dai had only recently become a court musician and had even led a band to assist with the funeral rites, so his memory of Ji Wen was still quite vivid. Therefore, after hearing Ji Wen's explanation, he immediately understood that it was this fellow's scheme.

This Jiwen is truly a scoundrel. He lived in a brothel for half a year, eating, sleeping, and whoring for free. When people came to collect the debt, he ordered them to offend the royal family. He was practically trying to kill them. No wonder these people kept chasing and beating him. They wouldn't be satisfied until they beat him to death!
"Please forgive me, Liu Lang! Please, Liu Lang, for the sake of your esteemed uncle, show some protection. If you leave, I fear these disciples will not forgive me!"

When Ji Wen's lie was exposed by Zhang Dai, his face turned pale instantly. He knelt down before Zhang Dai with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "These prostitutes use their beauty and talent to bewitch people, making them addicted to wine and women and unable to extricate themselves. When I first came to the capital, I brought plenty of goods, enough to cover my expenses. However, I was seduced by this prostitute, and all my money and silk were spent on her. The prostitute is heartless and even wants to abandon me..."

Zhang Dai chuckled again upon hearing this. "You keep calling her a 'prostitute,' don't you know what she does? Since she's in the sex trade, if they don't mind you when you run out of money, do they expect them to take care of you in your old age?"

While the brothels in Pingkangfang were certainly not good people, indulging in debauchery and never stopping until they had squeezed every last penny out of their customers, Jiwen was by no means a kind person either.

This dog-eat-dog drama was best left unseen; Zhang Dai was too lazy to get involved. He waved for Ding Qing to drag Ji Wen aside, then prepared to leave. He'd rather spend his time cuddling with Aunt Lü and getting some more sleep than worry about this unpleasant affair.

Just as he was about to leave, Ji Wen suddenly burst into a shrill roar: "Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother values ​​loyalty the most! What good will it do Sixth Brother if I die? But if you save me tonight, Sixth Brother will gain a loyal henchman!"

Zhang Dai had already taken a few steps when he heard this and stopped. He beckoned one of the brothel's leaders to him and said, "This Ji Wen is not from an ordinary family. If you kill him tonight, you will all be implicated."

"I will now act as an arbitrator. You should all go home and calculate how much money you need to settle this score. Come back tomorrow and give me a figure. Don't escalate the feud any further."

“Since it is Sixth Master who has come forward, we will naturally obey. However, this Ji is utterly despicable, even going so far as to renege on payment for prostitution. He is probably not a man who values ​​gratitude and righteousness. Sixth Master, you must be wary…”

Although the leader hated Jiwen to the extreme, upon hearing Zhang Dai's words, he nodded heavily and then whispered to Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai knew exactly what kind of person Ji Wen was, and upon hearing this, he felt a slight liking for him. He then said, "Don't worry, since I've agreed to this, I'll also give your family some consideration. If the Prince of Si Guo still refuses to let it go, you can come and sue me." "Sixth Brother, you are so righteous! Sixth Brother, you are so righteous!"

Upon hearing Zhang Dai's words, the leader knelt down again with a thud, kowtowing and expressing his gratitude. For a mere brothel like theirs to incur the wrath of a prince's family would surely bring disaster upon them; this was the most important reason for their hatred of Ji Wen.

After the leader kowtowed in gratitude, he did not linger any longer and led the group away.

After all, Zhang Dai is a person of name and character, and not a morally corrupt rogue like Ji Wen. Since he stepped forward and agreed to the matter, he will naturally give them an explanation. If they continue to make trouble, they will only be ungrateful.

After seeing the group off, Zhang Dai turned back to look at Ji Wen. The man was tall and thin, and now he was crawling on the ground, looking just like a striped dog, which fit the image of someone who had volunteered to be a lackey.

However, Zhang Dai also understood that this dog could not be tamed; it could be used to harm others, but he also had to be wary of it turning on him. When this thing got malicious, it was truly ruthless.

Therefore, Zhang Dai did not intend to keep this person for long. If he didn't need someone right now and didn't have a suitable candidate at the moment, he wouldn't have bothered to recruit this guy.

After the commotion, quite a few onlookers gathered around. Zhang Dai gestured for Ji Wen to get up and follow him to Lü He's house.

As the night deepened, some rooms still emitted sounds of singing and dancing, while others were already engrossed in heated battles.

Zhang Dai found an empty room and sat down. Ji Wen quickly followed him in, bowing his head. He then knelt before Zhang Dai and said respectfully, "Sixth Master, what need do you have for me? I will do my utmost and dare not disobey!"

"There's no need for you to go to such lengths. Just take care of your own business first! You heard what I said to that prostitute. Go to the Prince of Siguo's house to apologize and ask for forgiveness, and ask them not to take their anger out on me anymore."

Zhang Dai gently tapped the table, signaling Ji Wen to stop kneeling and simply sit and listen to the proceedings.

“These thieving slaves deserve to die… I understand, I will go to the Prince’s residence tomorrow morning to discuss this matter.”

Ji Wen still harbored resentment towards those people. Upon hearing this, he first uttered an indignant remark, but seeing Zhang Dai's face suddenly darken, he quickly lowered his head and said...

"I'm too lazy to concern myself with your grudges with that brothel, but just don't dwell on it any longer. After you've been to the Prince of Siguo's house, I have one more thing to tell you."

Zhang Dai knew that forcing someone to suppress their hatred would be tantamount to drawing that hatred onto himself, so he only asked Ji Wen to put the matter aside for the time being. If the brothel was smart, they would either quickly find a backer or pack their bags and leave. Zhang Dai would not protect them forever.

"Please speak, Sixth Brother, I am all ears!"

Jiwen nodded quickly, his posture extremely respectful.

"Do you know Li Linfu, the cousin of General Li?"

When Zhang Dai asked this question, he couldn't help but feel a wicked glint in his eye. He not only wanted to replace Li Linfu in the political arena, but also wanted to use Li Linfu's former henchmen to control him.

"I know, I know, how could I not know? When I was studying at the Imperial Academy, I was expelled by that wicked Li Shi, and I hate him deeply!"

Ji Wen, observing Zhang Dai's tone when he mentioned Li Linfu, knew that the two were enemies, not friends, so he quickly added his own words.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai remembered that Li Linfu had served as the Dean of Students at the Imperial Academy for several days. As for Ji Wen's past studies at the Imperial Academy, he was not surprised.

Although this guy is down on his luck right now, he still comes from a prominent family in the Heluo region and is an official family. As the nephew of the prime minister, he still has some resources that are beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Take Zhang Dai, for example. If his grandfather hadn't been rescued in the fourteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, his family's fortunes would have declined sharply, but they would still have had other connections to help them. Only when these connections were completely exhausted and the family's fortunes still hadn't improved would they truly decline, and in the future, they would only be able to make a living through their own abilities.

(End of this chapter)