Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 27 The storm is coming
Jingbian Division.

As soon as Lin Xuan entered the gate of the Jingbian Division, many people came out from the guardhouses on both sides to greet him warmly.

"Lin Xiaoqi, this is tea that a relative gave me. Take it home and try it."

"Brother Lin, are you free tonight? I'm hosting a banquet at Zuixianglou, you must come!"

"Lin Xiaoqi, this is just a small gift, nothing more..."

The banner officers, who were usually serious or arrogant in front of outsiders, now had warm and even fawning smiles on their faces, surrounding Lin Xuan like stars around the moon.

If we're talking about the most sought-after person in the Jingbian Division right now, it has to be Lin Xuan, the young captain.

He thought his life wouldn't be easy after Chen Baihu left, but unexpectedly, Chen Baihu was transferred, and he, as Chen Baihu's former confidant, thrived even more under Wu Baihu.

Wu Baihu even entrusted Lin Xuan with the lucrative task of escorting caravans.

Rumors spread throughout the Jingbian Division, with some saying that Lin Xuan had bribed Wu Baihu with a large sum of money.

Some say that Wu Baihu took a liking to Lin Xuan and wanted him to be his son-in-law.

But whatever the reason, one undeniable fact remains: whoever gets close to Lin Xuan gets the lucrative job of escorting caravans.

Therefore, these days, the banner officers of the Jingbian Division have been trying their best to befriend Lin Xuan.

Unlike Wu Baihu, this Lin Xiaoqi did not only entrust this lucrative post to his trusted confidants.

Many banner officers in the Jingbian Division who were not close to him were also granted the qualification to escort caravans.

Apart from Wu Baihu's confidant, who originally took on this task, and who had some complaints about Lin Xuan's arrangement due to the sharp reduction in the pay for the overseas assignment, the other banner officers only had faith in and gratitude towards him.

There was another person who, besides being filled with jealousy, also felt confused.

Huang Yue sat in his duty room, staring intently through the open door at Lin Xuan, who was surrounded by a crowd and enjoying great prestige. His back teeth were grinding together.

He couldn't understand why, after the mission of escorting Longchangji, Wu Baihu handed over this lucrative task entirely to Lin Xuan.
He clearly went on that trip too!

He didn't understand where he fell short of Lin Xuan.
These days, everyone else has landed a lucrative job, but he hasn't. He would never believe it if you told him that Lin Xuan did it on purpose!

"damn it!"

Huang Yue suddenly stood up from his chair and strode outside.

He spent 1,500 taels of silver to get the position of banner officer, and with a monthly salary of three taels of silver, when will he ever break even? Since Lin Xuan won't give him a lucrative position, he'll find his own way to make money!
Inside the duty room of the Hundred Households.

The air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood incense as Wu Baihu leisurely sipped his tea, while a figure whispered something beside him.

"My lord, Lin Xuan's recent actions have been far too ostentatious."

"The lord values ​​and trusts him, entrusting him with such an important task, yet he takes a cut from the banner officers' pay. He wants 70% of the pay we receive for each mission; that's far too greedy..."

The speaker was one of Wu Baihu's confidants, and his tone was full of dissatisfaction when he talked about Lin Xuan.

Wu Baihu didn't even lift his eyelids. He slowly blew away the foam on the tea and said indifferently, "I assigned this task to him, and he did it to my satisfaction. What, do you have a problem with it?"

The so-called 70% cut all ended up in their own hands.

If they were even half as sensible as Lin Xuan, they would have already assigned this task to them.

Wu Baihu was clearly making his stance clear, and the confidant trembled, repeatedly saying, "No, no, I didn't!"

He glanced outside, his mind filled with the same doubts.

What exactly is it about Lin Xuan that makes him so favored by Commander Wu?
……

At noon, the market was in East Street.

Huang Yue, dressed in the uniform of a banner officer, walked down the street with his hands behind his back. People passing by would avoid him from a distance.

He walked up to a noodle stall and said coldly, "It's time to pay your monthly allowance!"

The noodle stall was run by a middle-aged couple. When the middle-aged man saw Huang Yue, he greeted him with a smile, holding a paper package that had been prepared in advance, and said, "Sir, this is three hundred coins, which was prepared in advance."

Huang Yue reached out and took the paper package, casually weighed it in his hand, and said, "The allowance has increased from now on, five hundred coins a month. Prepare two hundred coins tomorrow!"

The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then looked distressed and said with difficulty, "Sir, this..."

Huang Yue raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "What, you have a problem with that?"

The middle-aged man trembled slightly and immediately said, "No, no, no objection. I will prepare another two hundred coins tomorrow..."

The couple worked from dawn till dusk every day, without a break all month, and their monthly profit was only a little over two taels of silver, barely enough to make ends meet.

Being extorted 300 coins by the Jingbian Division was already a considerable burden, but if you grit your teeth, you can still get by.

However, this official has only been in office for a month, and his monthly allowance has already increased from three hundred to five hundred coins. Their lives will probably be even more difficult from now on.

Although he was also heartbroken, if he offended this official from the Jingbian Division, his and his wife's small stall would definitely go out of business. In order to survive, they had no choice but to let him extort them.

Huang Yue glanced at him indifferently and continued walking to the next stall. Lin Xuan had cut off his source of income from escorting caravans, so he could only try to make up for it here.

Collecting a fee from the vendors in the area under their jurisdiction was a tacit rule among banner officials, and one of the reasons why Huang Yue went to great lengths to become a banner official.

After informing several vendors that the allowance would increase in the future, Huang Yue moved on to the next stall.

This is a pastry stall. The owner is very pretty, but she's not very sensible.

Huang Yue had hinted multiple times that he would waive her monthly allowance if she was willing to offer herself to him, but she did not agree.

Upon seeing Huang Yue, the woman came out from behind the stall, handed him a paper package with both hands, and said, "Sir, this is this month's allowance."

When Huang Yue reached out to take it, he wanted to touch her small hand.

The beautiful woman seemed to have anticipated this, deftly withdrawing her wrist to dodge the attack.

Already in a bad mood, Huang Yue's face darkened and his eyes turned sinister at her rudeness. He said, "You don't know what's good for you. Starting this month, your allowance will increase to one tael. Pay it back by today, or else..."

"What else?"

Before A Luo could speak, a cold voice came from behind Huang Yue.

Huang Yue turned his head and looked at Lin Xuan, Zhang Hu, and Chen Bao walking towards him. His expression changed drastically, and he subconsciously took a few steps back, nervously asking, "This is my jurisdiction. What are you doing here?"

Zhang Hu glared at Huang Yue and said, "We can't interfere with you taking bribes in your jurisdiction, but if you want to bully our sister A Luo, you'd better ask me first!"

Although this is within my jurisdiction, there are three of them. A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle.

Huang Yue glared at Lin Xuan and the others, but ultimately didn't dare to say anything more, and slunk away quickly.

Zhang Hu walked up to A Luo and said with dissatisfaction, "Didn't we tell you on the first day that if anything happened, you should come to us? Why didn't you tell us sooner about that guy surnamed Huang taking your allowance!"

A'Luo lowered her head, her fingers nervously fidgeting with the hem of her clothes, and whispered, "I... I don't want to cause you any trouble. If everyone else is paying, I'll pay too..."

Zhang Hu put his hands on his hips and said, "It's no trouble at all. With us here, that Huang fellow won't dare to bully you!"

A'Luo looked up, smiled, and said, "I understand, thank you, Brother Zhang..."

Then, she looked at the three of them and asked, "By the way, Brother Zhang, what brings you here?"

Zhang Hu smiled and said, "It's all because your Brother Lin was worried about you, so he came with the two of us to come and see..."

A Luo looked touched, gazing at Lin Xuan with her large, watery eyes, and said softly, "Thank you, Brother Lin..."

Zhang Hu turned his head and looked around, his expression turning fierce. He said viciously, "A Luo is our sister. If anyone dares to bully her in the future, I'll skin them alive!"

Many people in the surrounding shops and streets immediately lowered their heads.

Faced with such a beautiful woman, which man wouldn't be tempted?
Unexpectedly, this young lady, A Luo, had such a powerful backer.

Upon hearing what the flag officer said, they all abandoned some of their ideas.

A Luo had almost sold out of pastries for the day, so Lin Xuan and Zhang Hu helped her pack up her stall and then went home together.

On the way, Zhang Hu said to Lin Xuan, "Brother Lin, could you talk to Commander Wu and ask him to give you this area of ​​East Street? We can't keep an eye on Huang Yue all the time..."

Lin Xuan nodded and said, "I'll give it a try."

A'Luo followed behind them, saying somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry, I've caused you trouble..."

Zhang Hu waved his hand and said, "Sister A Luo, you're being too polite. If you need anything in the future, just come to us..."

Aro smiled and said, "I understand..."

After sending A Luo home, Lin Xuan and the other two returned to Jingbian Division together.

Lin Xuan planned to bring up the matter of changing jurisdictions with Wu Baihu. Just as Zhang Hu said, East Street was nominally Huang Yue's jurisdiction, and their direct interference in East Street's affairs was not in accordance with the rules of the Jingbian Division.

Making small requests to your boss at appropriate times can help strengthen your relationship.

However, as soon as Lin Xuan and his two companions stepped into the Jingbian Division, they sensed that something was amiss.

The courtyard was completely silent. All the Jingbian Guards, including the banner officers, stood straight in the courtyard, lined up in solemn silence.

Lin Xuan saw Commander Zhou directly in front of the crowd.

Wu Baihu stood behind Zhou Qianhu, looking somewhat dazed and absent-minded.

Beside Commander Zhou stood two other figures.

They were a young couple.

The man was tall and handsome, and even just standing there casually, he exuded an air of arrogance.

The woman had a slender figure and stunning beauty, but her expression was somewhat cold, like a block of ice that would never melt.

(End of this chapter)