Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

"Third Sister..."

Zhao Yuan instinctively raised his arm and grabbed her hand.

"elder brother?"

Hu Sanniang blushed, lowered her head, and called out softly.

She originally wanted to remind Zhao Yuan about the relationship between the two.

Little did she know how alluring it was that she, who was always so dashing and heroic, suddenly revealed such a girlish side!

Zhao Yuan finally couldn't hold back any longer and reached out to pull the beauty into his arms.

Hu Sanniang instinctively wanted to resist, but when her hands pressed against Zhao Yuan's chest, she remembered the warmth she had just felt and suddenly went limp.

"elder brother......"

She bit her lip and let out another soft cry.

The earlier use of "brother" was meant to remind Zhao Yuan of their superior-subordinate relationship.

But the second "brother" was uttered with unusual coquettishness, clearly carrying the connotation of a lover's brother.

"Third Sister, will you stay with me tonight?"

After Zhao Yuan asked softly, he saw that Hu Sanniang had her eyes closed, too shy to answer.

He didn't wait any longer and kissed those trembling red lips directly...

Chapter 172 Returning to Hu Family Village to See My Brother-in-Law

Jishetang

The four split into two teams. Zhang Shun and Wang Dingliu stayed at the clinic to hide Zhang Wang's body and prevent anyone from causing trouble again.

Shi Xiuzhe and Ruan Xiaoqi obtained Li Qiaonu's address from An Daoquan and rushed to her residence.

They carried the bodies of Li Qiaonu, Old Granny Yu, and the two maids to the bedroom and hid them. Then they closed the door and climbed out the window.

After everything was settled, the group waited at the clinic until dawn, then drove the carriage and carried their loads to the city gate.

The carriage and carrying poles were filled with medical books from An Daoquan's medical clinic.

They also put away the three hundred taels of gold and hid it on their bodies.

An Daoquan was considered a celebrity in Jiankang Prefecture.

The soldiers guarding the city gate, who had also received his favors, were quite surprised when they found the place full of medical books after a brief search.

"Divine Doctor, what are you doing? Are you leaving Jiankang Prefecture? If you leave, what will we poor people do if we fall ill again?"

“These medical books are what I plan to take back to my hometown to keep as a treasure,” An Daoquan said with a smile. “After I finish my business there, I will naturally come back.”

Upon hearing this, the gatekeepers were relieved and did not make things difficult for them, allowing everyone to pass through directly.

The group breathed a sigh of relief and continued along the official road.

First, we went to Wang Dingliu's hotel to pick up his father.

Then they hurried toward the dock.

..........

In the morning, Zhao Yuan got up early, feeling refreshed, and stood on the deck, gazing at the distant city of Jiankang.

Hu Sanniang had also climbed onto the deck at some point, watching Zhao Yuan's retreating figure.

Thinking he was worried about An Daoquan and his wife, she quickly comforted him, "Brother, since Madam An has already promised, she will definitely not break her promise."

Before last night, when Zhao Yuan heard Hu Sanniang call him "brother," he didn't have any particular thoughts, only feeling that he was no different from his other brothers.

But now, hearing her call him that, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but think of their passionate encounter last night.

Even when she was in love, Hu Sanniang liked to call him that.

"elder brother?"

Hu Sanniang blushed slightly under Zhao Yuan's gaze and couldn't help but glare at him with embarrassment and annoyance.

"I was just thinking about you..."

Zhao Yuan didn't intend to hide anything and said frankly, "I promised Shishi that I would definitely marry her as my legal wife."

"......I know,"

Hu Sanniang lowered her head, her expression clearly showing some panic.

"What happened last night was just an accident, brother, you don't need to..."

She wanted to say, "Don't worry about it."

Although Hu Sanniang appeared heroic and valiant, displaying the imposing demeanor of a female general,

But deep down, she's still a very traditional woman.

Otherwise, in the original Water Margin timeline, she wouldn't have married that short-legged tiger Wang Ying.

Now that she had given herself to Zhao Yuan, she tried to appear magnanimous, but before she could finish a sentence, her eyes were already red.

Her strong-willed nature made Hu Sanniang turn her back, not wanting Zhao Yuan to see her vulnerable side.

But as soon as she turned around, she felt a tightness around her waist, and then she found herself in a warm embrace.

"Even if you're going to cry, at least let me finish what I have to say," Zhao Yuan said with amusement.

"Who's crying!"

Hu Sanniang stubbornly retorted, but tears welled up in her eyes and streamed down her face.

“Third Sister, after we get back this time, once the epidemic has subsided, let’s go back to Hu Family Village together for a visit,” Zhao Yuan suddenly said.

"Shall we go back to Hujiazhuang together?"

Hu Sanniang was stunned for a moment, then said somewhat blankly, "Brother, do you mean to..."

"As the brother-in-law, of course I had to go and meet my brother-in-law,"

Zhao Yuan leaned close to Hu Sanniang's ear and said with a smile, "I'd also like to propose marriage. I hope that brother-in-law won't hold it against me for abducting his sister."

"Who, who wants to marry you!"

Hu Sanniang remained stubbornly defiant, but her tearful smile betrayed her true thoughts.

"It might be a bit of a hassle for you..." Zhao Yuan said apologetically.

"This isn't your fault, brother; it's just that Third Sister is unlucky and arrived too late."

Hu Sanniang leaned against Zhao Yuan's chest and whispered, "Besides, I've already wronged Shishimei so much, how could I dare to ask for anything else!"

The two stood on the deck, leaning against the ship's railing, chatting and cuddling.

Just then, someone on the dock below shouted, "Brother, we're back!"

It was early morning, and the sun was just rising.

There weren't many people at the dock.

Zhao Yuan and Hu Sanniang looked in the direction of the sound and saw a carriage parked on the dock. Ruan Xiaoqi and the others were standing next to it, carrying loads on shoulder poles and waving at the boat.

"Why are there so many people all of a sudden?"

Hu Sanniang asked in surprise, "The older one, who looks refined and is standing with Madam An, must be Doctor An, right? But who is that man carrying the old woman on his back? And isn't Brother Shi Xiu supposed to be observing mourning? Why is he carrying a bundle too?"

"It's alright, do we think Liangshan has too many people?"

Zhao Yuan chuckled, "Even if more people come, Liangshan can accommodate them!"

Hu Sanniang glared at Zhao Yuan, about to say something,

But then he noticed the strange expressions on Ruan Xiaoqi's and the others' faces at the dock.

She paused for a moment, then realized what was happening.

She was still being held in Zhao Yuan's arms, and she quickly blushed and broke free.

However, the people on the dock had already seen everything they needed to see.

The others weren't familiar with Zhao Yuan and were too embarrassed to speak.

　087 Ruan Xiaoqi, without any hesitation, stood directly on the dock and jokingly shouted, "Brother, am I going to have another sister-in-law?"

......

The people on the dock boarded the passenger ship.

Zhao Yuan first instructed the boatman to set sail, and only then did he begin to greet the others.

"Dr. An, we are entrusting the entire epidemic situation in Xucheng and Liangshan to you!"

"Chief Zhao, you're too kind,"

An Daoquan cupped his hands and said, "Actually, my wife and I have another request."

"What's wrong? What happened?" Zhao Yuan asked, puzzled.

"Brother, this is what happened..."

Ruan Xiaoqi recounted everything that had happened the previous night.

"My wife and I are now unable to find a place to stay in Jiankang Prefecture, and wish to join Liangshan. We beg Chief Zhao to take us in!"

An Daoquan bowed with his hands clasped, and Madam An beside him also gave a slight curtsy.

After exchanging greetings, the two received no reply for a long time. Thinking Zhao Yuan was unwilling to agree, they were starting to feel discouraged...

Suddenly, Zhao Yuan burst into loud laughter.

"I apologize, Dr. An, Madam An. I was so surprised and stunned that I was rude!"

As Zhao Yuan spoke, he quickly cupped his hands in greeting to the two of them.

"It is a blessing for everyone at Liangshan that Physician An and his wife are willing to join us, and I naturally welcome them with open arms!"

Chapter 173 White Streak in the Waves

The decision was made regarding the appointment of Doctor An and his wife to go up the mountain.

Ruan Xiaoqi quickly pulled Zhang Shun in front of Zhao Yuan.

"Brother, this Brother Zhang Shun is exceptionally skilled; even his swimming ability far surpasses mine!"

Zhao Yuan nodded, but before he could speak,

Zhang Shun cupped his hands and said, "I am Zhang Shun, greetings to Chief Zhao! Although I have some skills, I have made many mistakes in the past. Now I have promised my mother that I will never go astray again!"

"Brothers Shi Xiu and Ruan Xiaoqi have already agreed to allow my mother and me to travel north with the ship first. As for other matters, we can discuss them when we arrive in Shandong."

“Chief Zhao, although this old woman has heard a lot about Liangshan from Madam An, as the saying goes, seeing is believing, hearing is deceiving,”

Zhang Shun's mother also spoke up: "If Chief Zhao's Liangshan truly does not harm good people and only upholds justice for the people, then even if I had to chase him with a stick, I would definitely chase my son to Liangshan!"

“But if Chief Zhao’s stronghold is no different from ordinary bandits, then this old woman would rather not cure him and let her son return to his hometown to be an ordinary fisherman than let him go down the wrong path again!”

After the mother and son finished speaking, they waited quietly for Zhao Yuan's decision.

As Zhao Yuan gazed at the first naval commander of Liangshan Marsh in the original timeline, his mind was filled with a jumble of thoughts.

As Zhang Shun's mother and he himself said, Zhang Shun did indeed do some foolish things when he was young.

Back in the day, he and his elder brother Zhang Heng ran a private ferry service in a secluded spot by the river.

Once the boat was full of passengers, Zhang Heng first rowed it to the middle of the river, then stopped rowing, dropped anchor, stuck a broadsword in the ground, and went to collect the fare.

They had agreed on a price of 500 coins per person on the shore, but once they got to the middle of the river, Zhang Heng insisted on charging him 300 coins.

Then he started by asking Zhang Shun for it, but Zhang Shun pretended not to want it.

Zhang Heng then picked up Zhang Shun, grabbed his head with one hand and lifted him by the waist with the other, and threw him directly into the river with a splash!

Passengers crossing the river encountered such a fierce-looking boatman.

Who would dare disobey him? Naturally, they could only pay up to avoid trouble.

The Zhang brothers, Zhang Heng and Zhang Shun, made a living by guarding the Xunyang River.

However, Zhang Shun grew tired of this life and was persuaded by his mother to rather make a living by fishing than continue harming people with Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng, on the other hand, went even further, too lazy to resort to the mentally taxing art of fraud, and simply switched to armed robbery.