Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

"Sir, you are young and handsome, while I am but a withered flower and a fallen willow. I dare not presume to be worthy of you."

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. After a long while, Ruyi finally managed to utter a weak sentence, but the fear in her eyes was impossible to hide.

"Heh~"

Zhu Biao didn't reply, but just chuckled lightly, picked up his teacup and took a few sips slowly.

It is said that the effects of this Linhechun liquor are quite potent. At this moment, the effects of the alcohol are rising, and his playful nature is beginning to stir, or rather, his occupational hazard from his previous life has resurfaced.

To be a chaste woman in a brothel is as difficult as being an honest official in the imperial court. He was a little curious, so Ruyi made up a few excuses.

What's next? Will they recount their bloody and tearful history? Or will they threaten suicide?

At that moment, the candlelight on the table flickered slightly, and Ruyi's eyes narrowed suddenly. She pressed her lower lip tightly together, as if she had made a decision.

Pfft!

She suddenly knelt down in front of him, but she didn't cry; her eyes were just red-rimmed.

"My lord, I would never dare to deceive you."

Her fists clenched tightly beneath her sleeves.

"Although I am not a virgin, I maintain my purity and do not wish to serve others with my body."

"Oh?"

Zhu Biao was slightly surprised; this woman was clever, having chosen a rather good opening.

"Stand up and speak, Ruyi. If you value your reputation so much, why have you fallen into prostitution?"

"My lord, this humble servant..."

Perhaps she had been suffering in her heart for a long time, and after a moment of contemplation, Ruyi suddenly burst into tears.

She was from Fengtai in Huaixi, from a scholarly family. However, when she was twelve, her parents died one after another, and she had to go to live with her uncle in Daming Prefecture.

Two years ago, her uncle also died suddenly from an illness; her aunt was a heartless woman.

Her uncle had only been dead for seven days when he seized her private property and then married her off to a Zhou family in Linqing, a marriage that was half-sold and half-given.

Fortunately, her husband's family was kind and they lived a comfortable life. Her husband was also a good man, with a gentle temperament and good manners.

However, less than three months into their marriage, her husband went to Cangzhou to collect debts and never returned. A year ago, her husband's family, resenting her for bringing bad luck to her husband, sold her into a brothel.

"What's your man's name?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao frowned, his expression somewhat strange.

Zhou Maolin.

Ruyi wiped her red eyes, unaware of Zhu Biao's strange behavior.

Tsk! What a coincidence! Zhu Biao rubbed his teeth.

In the roadside inn, besides gold and silver, he also found more than thirty travel permits, one of which belonged to Zhou Maolin from Linqing.

Because the name had many strokes, he glanced at it twice and it made an impression.

"These are turbulent times; would he, a frail scholar, really go out alone to collect debts?"

Although he was already 80% certain, Zhu Biao still continued to seek confirmation.

Ruyi shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"My husband went with the caravan, but the caravan leader fell off his horse halfway there. My husband was anxious to go home and reunite with his family, so he set off alone."

Well, the chain of evidence is perfectly closed, there's no room for error.

Zhu Biao sighed inwardly and habitually tapped the table.

"Ruyi, your method may only buy you temporary relief, but it can't last forever."

Ruyi exhaled a breath of stale air and said softly:

"What you say is true, my lord. In just eight months, I will turn twenty, and then I can be demoted to a cleaning lady."

"what?"

Zhu Biao, rarely lost in thought, blurted out:

"Eliminating at twenty? Is it really that tough?"

Ruyi seemed to understand but not quite, tilting her head to look at him. Zhu Biao rubbed his chin and changed the subject:

"Ruyi, you've got it all wrong. With your looks and figure, the madam is always greedy for money; she'd never let you do the cleaning."

Ruyi was stunned for a moment, then felt as if struck by lightning, and her whole body trembled.

The cyclamen bathhouse has a half-person-high wooden bathtub, big enough for two people to bathe together, and a stove is built next to the fire wall so that hot water can be added at any time.

"My lord, the water is ready. You may take a bath now."

Beside the bathtub, Ruyi's forehead was covered in sweat, and her face was flushed with embarrassment.

"Um."

Zhu Biao walked over with a smile, taking off his leather boots and long robe as he did so.

At this moment, Ruyi gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, wishing she could bury her head in her chest. Her face turned even redder, almost dripping blood.

"Take a quilt and go sleep on the folding chair in the outer room."

"what?"

Ruyi suddenly looked up, her eyes filled with surprise and joy, and a hint of barely perceptible loss.

Zhu Biao was neither a saint nor a paragon of virtue, nor did he have any moral fastidiousness. Ruyi was quite beautiful, and if she were just a courtesan, he wouldn't mind having a fling and a one-night stand.

However, knowing her tragic past, especially now that her luggage contains her deceased husband's travel permit, made her even more aware of her plight.

I felt strange and couldn't muster any enthusiasm.

A moment later, Ruyi blushed, took the quilt and went to the outer room. As she passed Zhu Biao, she paused slightly, but ultimately said nothing.

Hearing the door close, Zhu Biao clicked his tongue meaningfully, took off his undergarment, and stepped into the bathtub.

"Phew~"

After a dozen or so breaths, he let out a comfortable groan.

Since leaving Zhujiazhuang, he had not taken a bath for half a month. When he was soaked in hot water, a light rub instantly caused thick, long clumps of mud to form.

With mud rubbing in his hands, Zhu Biao's consciousness sank into his mind as he examined today's harvest.

After a fierce battle at the black market, he killed six people, and his archery and swordsmanship proficiency both increased by 150 points.

Gun skill level 4, proficiency 2425/4000.

Level 4 equestrian skill, proficiency 3096/4000.

Archery skill level 4, proficiency 2153/4000.

Boxing skill level 3, proficiency 1772/2000.

Knife skills level 2, proficiency 905/1000.

Level 2 in duck-riding, proficiency 462/1000.

The progress made in four days was equivalent to two or three months of hard work in the past, and he also received an extra four hundred taels of gold and silver, as well as more than thirty travel permits.

Sure enough, murder and arson bring wealth and honor.

Ding, ding ding, all is well, but be careful with fire!

Outside the window, the sound of the clapper at midnight was dispersed by the north wind, and the towns along the river outside Linqing City finally quieted down.

The cyclamen sheepskin lanterns were also extinguished, replaced by six large red lanterns.

The light was still on in Zhu Biao's room. He was drawing a map. He had a slight case of obsessive-compulsive disorder. There were some things he had to finish before he could sleep soundly.

A faint light shone from the next room, and one could vaguely hear heavy breathing and a woman's moans.

Snapped!

Zhu Biao forced himself to finish the last stroke, then angrily slammed the brush onto the inkstone.

"Damn you, Zhu Wu, is that bastard possessed by a male dog?"

He grabbed the already cold teapot next to him and gulped down the tea.

Click, click~

Just as he was about to put down the teapot, Zhu Biao's eyes suddenly sharpened. He heard a very light and quick sound of footsteps on the roof tiles above him.

Night Walker!

He suddenly stood up, silently moved into the shadows, and pressed his wrist as he reloaded his hidden dart.

With his current accuracy, he can hit the bullseye every time within ten paces.

As he concentrated and counted to the thirty-fourth breath, the footsteps overhead gradually faded away, finally stopping abruptly. Zhu Biao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, they weren't targeting him.

It makes sense, considering that his biggest enemy right now is the gang of black shop owners that he wiped out not long ago.

These guys are all bandits who live off the land, so they probably don't have any accomplices who can scale walls and leap across rooftops; they're not even in the same league.

With the crisis averted, Zhu Biao's mind immediately became active again.

Silently recalling the direction of the footsteps just now, and comparing it with the layout of the inn, he quickly came to a conclusion.

"This guy's after that top-class room on the east side. Is he an assassin? Or a thief?"

Cyclamen faces south and backs to the north. The entire building is U-shaped, with the third floor consisting entirely of upper rooms. However, the two corners on the east and west sides each have their own independent rooms.

They are respectively the "Heavenly" and "Earthly" tiers, open only to regular customers. Just now, Zhu Biao tried asking, "No matter how much money you offer, you can't stay here."

Outside, Ruyi curled up on the couch like a kitten, hugging the quilt tightly.

At first, she stared at the faint light coming from the inner room with mixed feelings, but after a while, she fell asleep without realizing it and even started snoring softly.

Zhu Biao's eyes were sharp, but without any lewd intent, which made her feel inexplicably at ease.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, a large hand suddenly covered her mouth, jolting her awake and causing her to open her eyes wide.

"Don't be afraid! It's me."

Just as she was about to struggle, she suddenly heard Zhu Biao's deep voice.

"I will not harm you, so I will let go now. Do not shout."

As she was panicked and confused, Zhu Biao spoke again.

Ruyi finally came to her senses and nodded vigorously. Zhu Biao slowly raised his hand and pointed to the top of his head.

"There are thieves on the roof at night."

Upon hearing this, Ruyi opened her mouth in astonishment, but she was quick-witted and managed to keep quiet.

Zhu Biao gave her an appreciative look, then continued to ask:

"Ruyi, do you know who stayed in that 'Sky Class' room?"

Ruyi blurted out, "Master Li."

Who is he?

"A separate office was established specifically to handle envoys."

"What are you doing?"

Zhu Biao was completely confused.

The official titles in the Song Dynasty were the most complicated and bizarre. After all, he had never worked in the officialdom before, and he had never even heard of this obscure government office or this so-called envoy.

Seeing his embarrassed look, Ruyi's lips quickly curled up.

"The official in charge of checking accounts and supervising the transport of grain is the official in charge of the grain transport."

"Heh~"

Zhu Biao laughed. Damn it, he'd run into a competitor.