Madam, please listen to my explanation.

Chapter 117 May you rest in peace!
Yanjing.

The early autumn afternoon sun was still scorching, and the cicadas' chirping was so loud it hurt your eardrums.

Shopkeeper Zhou, sporting a goatee, turned the corner with a smile, carrying braised beef wrapped in lotus leaves and Shaoxing wine.

The blue cloth shirt on his back was soaked with sweat, like a half-dry ink painting.

"Oh dear! Manager Zhou, why are you in such a hurry? You startled me."

Perhaps in his haste, Zhou bumped into Widow Liu, who happened to be standing at the corner. Ignoring the spilled wine, he quickly apologized.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. Did you hurt your sister?"

"Hehe~"

The simple word "sister" made the other person overjoyed.

Widow Liu waved her round fan, covered her face with a smile, and her plump body shook violently for a moment, the heavy makeup falling off with her movements.

"Ugh, how annoying!" She glanced at the half-empty wine jar, her eyes darting around. "It's quite a distance from here to the wine shop. Why don't you come with me to my house to get some?"

"It's good that you're not hurt!" Manager Zhou seemed not to understand the implied meaning in her words and walked straight past her.

“My dear sister, I just acquired a pair of enamel vases yesterday. Since no one has come to redeem them within ten days, I’ll personally deliver them to your room!”

He deliberately emphasized the word "personally," and even after walking quite a distance, he didn't forget to turn back and wink at the other person.

"Hmph, you bastard."

Just as I turned my head, the lame peddler, leaning on his carrying pole, shuffled over again: "Shopkeeper, the jade pendant you pawned last time..."

"I put it in the camphor wood box at the very back of the storeroom for you!" His Adam's apple bobbed, slightly relieving the burning thirst in his mouth.

There must be at least twelve pairs of eyes watching this hidden compartment in the cellar that can't be lost right now.

Manager Zhou hurried along, as if afraid the other party would follow, and added, "Don't worry, it's taken care of and wiped down every day. We're just waiting for you to raise enough money to redeem it!"

He reached into his robes, his fingertips touching the dagger hidden in a concealed pocket.

Thirty more steps and we'd be at the pawnshop, but Old Zhao, the pancake seller, was blocking the intersection again.

"Manager Zhou, my second son tomorrow..."

"The wedding banquet is tomorrow! Of course I remember. I still have a pair of silver bracelets I just received; I'll send them to my second son later!"

Watching Manager Zhou walk away quickly, he came to the old plaque with the four characters "Hongyun Pawnshop" hanging on it and took out the key.

The neighbors exchanged glances and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Widow Liu: "Manager Zhou, why do you seem a bit unusual today?"

The lame peddler: "It's hard to say. I saw a man who looked menacing enter the pawnshop earlier."

How intimidating are they?

The peddler lowered his voice and said cautiously, "Standing ramrod straight, walking with a brisk pace, as strong as a calf! And those eyes... always looking down at people." He pointed to the top of his head, "Don't be fooled by his tattered clothes, I can smell the official air about him from far away!"

Old Zhao, who sells steamed buns, waved his hand, "Go away, go away, stop making noise here. Manager Zhou is a very good person, good people are always blessed."
-
When the creaking elm door was finally pushed open, the copper bell on the eaves rang three times.

Manager Zhou slammed the bolt shut, and the kind smile on his face vanished like a receding tide.

Inside the room, behind the screen, a strong and powerful man was already sitting in the hall waiting.

'Jingle Bell--'

Manager Zhou stood motionless in front of the door, but upon hearing the noise, the man quickly got up and stepped over the screen.

"Lord Zhou." He bowed respectfully, and took the wine and dishes from the other party.

"Did you hear that?"

Zhou Youcai's face was ashen, and his gloomy gaze made the man opposite him, who was clearly much taller and bigger than him, break out in a cold sweat.

If the neighbors saw 'Manager Zhou,' who is always kind and friendly and can chat with anyone, in this state, they would be shocked!

The man understood what the other party was saying, of course. After all, when those common people spoke, they thought they were being careful, but in reality, without the concealment of their divine sense, how could they hide it from these martial artists who had already opened their ears?
"I heard that."

"Do you really think that just because you've changed your clothes, no one will be able to tell who you are? Since you like to flaunt your official power, why don't you just come here wearing the Blood-Clad Guard's uniform!"

thump!
The man's knees buckled, and he knelt down, saying, "I know my crime!"

Zhou Youcai shook his head. "Never mind, when you leave later, remember to maintain this demeanor to avoid arousing suspicion."

"After today, if you are fortunate enough to survive, find an excuse to resign from your post as soon as possible and find a place far away from the capital to live. Remember, you must not return to the grasslands!"

"It's my lord!"

The man's face turned red from holding back his anger.

He never imagined that after changing his appearance and surreptitiously lying low in Yanjing for over twenty years, he would almost mistakenly believe that he was the Blood-Clad Guard's junior officer.
However, the very first time he was put to use, he completely ruined his future.

"What, you're not convinced?"

An overwhelming pressure swept over him, and the man felt as if his heart was being gripped by a hand. If the other party exerted even a little force, he would lose his life!
He was sweating profusely: "I wouldn't dare!"

"Tell me, where is that Xu Jinhuan now?"

"Your Excellency, he entered the palace this afternoon but did not come out of the palace gate. When I searched for him, I found that he had somehow arrived at the East City Market. He was carrying a little girl of about five or six years old on his shoulder, wearing a bright green dress. She was easy to recognize."

Zhou Youcai nodded, his intimidating aura immediately vanishing.

"Behind the screen, in the drawer, there's a pair of jade bracelets. Take them back and give them to your child." "Yes, ma'am! I'll take my leave!"

Once outside the Hongyun Pawnshop, the man instantly reverted to his previous arrogant demeanor.

Ignoring the furtive glances from both sides, he deliberately took out the pair of jade bracelets, examined them in his palm, and anyone who saw it would see a smug, petty person's face.

"The word 'official' has two mouths."

Old Zhao, the pancake maker, fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan and muttered something under his breath.

The widow Liu, who ran the cosmetics shop, also spat to the side without making a sound.

The man took in all of this and sighed inwardly.

The prosperity of Yanjing is something we may only see once more.
Just as I turned the corner, everything suddenly went blurry.

Before he could even react to what was happening, a sharp pain shot through his wrist and ankle!

Oops!

At the critical moment, before he could even shout, he instinctively tried to bite down on the potent poison hidden in his molars.

Unexpectedly, a pair of strong hands were faster than him! They clamped his mouth shut tightly!

"Uh—! Ugh."

One of his men stepped forward and stuffed a rag that had been soaked in sleeping potion into the other man's mouth.

Shen Lian let the man, whose tendons in his hands and feet had been severed, collapse limply, and cleanly and neatly sheathed his sword.

Behind him, several plainclothes Blood-Clad Guards immediately stepped forward and dragged him into a nearby alley.

The whole process was lightning fast, without even making any extra noise.

After doing all this, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to the side:
"Sir, the spies have been captured."

Zhang Longxing, who had just taken office as the commander of the Blood-Clad Guard, stepped down from what appeared to be an ordinary carriage by the roadside.

"Pull out all his teeth, and be careful not to let him die."

"Yes, my lord!"

Shen Lian was extremely respectful and ordered his men to pull out the other man's teeth.

Looking at his immediate superior, although he had only been in office for less than two hours, the man was already fully in the zone.

The Blood-Clad Guards' ambush location, the immediate severing of their tendons, and the measures taken to prevent the opponent from committing suicide by swallowing poison were all pre-arranged by this Lord Zhang.

It is evident that they were already very familiar with the habits of Zhou spies.

It's hard to believe that this man, who was just a minor official in the Ministry of Rites and a laughingstock in the capital a few days ago, has now become a favorite of the Empress.

In addition, Zhuang Zhangjing was unwell, so even the Mingjing Division was temporarily taken over by him.

Overnight, this person became an undeniable figure in Yanjing!
Shen Lian felt a lingering fear.

If it weren't for my decisive action, my merit in protecting the emperor, and my failure to intervene in Ning's rebellion...
Having climbed step by step, relying on the shoulders of his colleagues, and painstakingly secured the position of Garrison Commander, it seems likely that it will soon fall into the hands of someone else.
This Commander Zhang is decisive and efficient in his work, and his authority is absolute. He is no longer the kind-hearted man he used to be.

As for jokes like "borrowing sperm to have a child" or "cuckolding,"
If anyone still believes this now and discusses it in private, then they are truly incredibly stupid!
-
After a short while, Zhou Youcai stepped past the faded calligraphy of "Honest and Fair" and went alone to the backyard. He lifted the cellar cover and jumped down.

thump—

Echoes echoed from the dark cellar.

Clearly, beneath this seemingly small pawnshop lies a hidden world.

"The target is at the East City Market. There's a six or seven-year-old girl on his shoulder. Move out immediately!"

Behind the seemingly empty containers and crates, a person with a gloomy face emerged.

They remained silent throughout, then turned and walked deeper into the cellar.

Zhou Youcai watched the departing figures of his subordinates who had followed him for decades and took a deep breath.

Before today, these people were waiters in inns, blacksmiths in armories, constables in government offices, and even beggars in the western part of the city.

After today, they will only have one name left—

Heroes of the Great Zhou!
"Rest assured, everyone. Your families will receive the best care! Not to mention compensation and land, your direct male descendants who are literate will be exceptionally granted official positions in the court!"

Zhou Youcai poured the remaining half-pot of Shaoxing wine onto the ground and whispered:

"One day, when the horses of the grasslands trample the gates of Yanjing, your names will surely be inscribed in the tomb of heroes!"

May you rest in peace!

The group paused slightly, but remained silent. They simply raised their right arms and pounded them heavily against their chests.

A moment later, in the courtyard directly behind Hongyun Pawnshop, which had been abandoned for more than ten years due to various strange events, a series of dark figures leaped out of the dry well!

The courtyard floor was covered with dry fallen leaves, which floated down on it without making a sound.

The courtyard was quite large, with access roads leading in all directions. The group carefully climbed over the courtyard wall and dispersed.

(End of this chapter)