Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

"Commander, are you in Tokyo on official business?"

Upon hearing this, Liang Siqi's brows furrowed abruptly, and her face visibly darkened.

"Are you sure you're not here for my pleasant matchmaking event?"

Damn it! Do you think all the men in the world are crazy about you, this crazy, schizophrenic little wench?

Zhu Biao cursed inwardly, but outwardly maintained a deadpan expression.

"Indeed, I am but a lowly servant, and I know nothing of such a grand occasion as a nobleman's marriage proposal."

This seemingly innocuous rebuke ignited Liang Siqi's anger. She gripped the riding whip tightly, gave him a deep look, and then slowly relaxed her grip.

"Official business, tell me, what kind of official business?"

"Go to the Privy Council to deliver an official letter containing military intelligence."

She pressed on, asking:

"Who sent you to see that lord? Tell me in detail."

Zhu Biao didn't answer, but looked at her with a stunned expression.

At this moment, Liang Siqi suddenly adopted a completely different expression. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she met his gaze with a half-smile.

"What? Am I, a fifth-rank lady appointed by the imperial court, not allowed to ask about these things?"

Wow! What has this little vixen been through to make her personality so fractured?

Zhu Biao felt a chill run down his spine. Her question was too sharp and too tricky, comparable to that of a seasoned official.

She didn't ask about the contents of the official letter, only about the sender and the recipient, without overstepping her bounds at all. But if Zhu Biao really was Tang Shaowu, she would be caught between the two sides in an instant.

It's neither in the sky nor on the ground!

Fortunately, he wasn't Tang Shaowu. He had just beaten up Liang Er again, and his anger had subsided. He could swallow his humiliation one more time.

"Tang was dispatched by Lu, the deputy envoy of the Pacification Commissioner of Daming Prefecture, to go to the Privy Council in Tokyo to pay a visit to Hong, the deputy envoy, and to present an official letter."

"Heh~"

Perhaps thinking she had found Zhu Biao's Achilles' heel, Liang Siqi suddenly smiled.

To be fair, this young lady is quite striking, especially with her face exuding a heroic and wild air. When she smiles, she has a dimple on each cheek, making her exceptionally beautiful.

But the next moment, she changed the subject:

"Tang Shaowu, how old are you? Are you married?"

"what?"

Zhu Biao felt like he was talking to a madwoman. You could never understand her thoughts, and you never knew what she would say next.

At midnight, the surrounding fields were deathly silent.

"Third Brother, didn't you say you'd be resting in Chenqiao tonight?"

Just past Chenqiao Town, Pang Qiutang asked listlessly.

She was really tired. She hadn't slept for two days and two nights. She was either working, traveling, or fighting. She also spent the rest of her time thinking.

I am truly exhausted at this moment.

"Hang in there a little longer. We have to get to the outskirts of Tokyo tonight and enter the city at dawn. Then you can get as much sleep as you want."

Zhu Biao's voice also became hoarse.

He was even more tired than Pang Qiutang; at this moment, his temples were beginning to throb with pain.

However, now that he's been targeted by that crazy bitch Liang Siqi, he feels like he's sitting on pins and needles and dares not delay for even a moment longer.

Bianliang City had a population of over 1.5 million, with hundreds of thousands of outsiders.

Once he enters the city, he can change his identity, disguise himself appropriately, and blend into the river like a drop of water, perfectly disappearing from sight, so that no one can find him.

"Third Brother, is that young lady surnamed Liang interested in you?"

Perhaps she was truly out of her mind, because even this kind of question was asked bluntly by Pang Qiutang.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"Third brother, that young lady is quite beautiful and powerful. Have you taken a fancy to her too?"

Zhu Biao grabbed her reins, glared at her, and forced himself to speak:

"That crazy young woman is the fake daughter of that eunuch Liang Shicheng. Although I am a country bumpkin, I don't even look down on her."

Just now, while having dinner in Chenqiao Town, Zhu Biao spent some money to inquire about something.

Liang Siqi is Liang Shicheng's niece, but she has now changed her surname to Liang and has been taken in as his adopted daughter. The so-called marriage proposal is actually a proposal for a son-in-law.

Even if he has a son, he wants him to bear the surname Liang. That old eunuch Liang Shicheng wants to leave himself an heir.

This fellow lost both his parents at a young age, leaving only his younger sister, who was ten years younger than him, to depend on him. At sixteen, she simply couldn't survive.

He cruelly sold his younger sister to a brokerage firm to raise enough money to enter the palace. Once he made a name for himself, he began searching for his younger sister everywhere.

It wasn't until three years ago that he found his critically ill younger sister in Yan'an Prefecture, but sadly he passed away before he could see her one last time.

Liang Siqi's original name was Li Erniu. Her father died when she was six, and her mother fell ill when she was ten.

She had herded horses, raised cattle, begged for food, worked as a thief, and even served as a maid in a brothel. Later, she was taught the art of power by Liang Shicheng for three years.

Therefore, her personality is divided: flamboyant, unruly, and straightforward, yet she has a deep understanding of human nature.

She disliked the gentleness of southerners and despised the hypocrisy of scholars. Therefore, Liang Shicheng selected for her only the descendants of military families from the north.

In recent days, she has been blocking Chenliu and has already chased away more than ten young men.

After learning about her background, Zhu Biao suddenly understood why he couldn't grasp the young woman's thoughts.

Because of her experiences, Zhu Biao had never encountered anything like them in either his two lives—sometimes as lowly as dust, sometimes as high as the clouds.

"Third Brother, it's me~"

Pang Qiutang was about to say something when she heard Zhu Biao exclaim softly:

"Bianjing City!"

She looked up and saw a colossal city sprawling on the dark horizon, as if it were about to devour the heavens and the earth.

Outside Bianliang city at night, it was not quiet at all, but rather quite lively.

It was only the fifth watch of the night when people were selling grain, selling vegetables, herding pigs, leading sheep, and there were also chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, carrying manure, and selling food.

There were even aging, faded prostitutes who made their living in the dark, wandering around like ghosts.

All sorts of sounds and smells, both expected and unexpected, mingled together in the darkness, like a ghost market.

Thump~ thump~ thump~

At 4:45 AM, the morning bell rang in Bianliang City, and the four city gates—Nanxun, Xinsong, Xinzheng, and Fengqiu—opened in succession.

The heavy clanging of the sluice gates echoed from the east and west water gates, like a giant beast that had just awakened finally opening its blood-red maw.

Zhu Biao and Pang Qiutang were like two small fish, merging into the surging crowd and being swallowed up by Fengqiumen.

"Wow, there are three doors!"

"Third Brother, is this a barbican? It's huge! It could probably hold tens of thousands of people."

They had just spent a dozen or so coins to take a nap on the villager's grain cart, and now Pang Qiutang was full of energy again.

They're so young!

To be honest, Zhu Biao was also stunned by the magnificence of Bianliang City at this moment, and was staring wide-eyed at the city.

The city wall, which is 45 feet high, is covered with parapets and watchtowers, forming three layers, with a total of twelve city gates and two water gates.

It was like a miracle.

While a sense of pride rose in my heart, doubts also arose. How exactly did those barbaric Jurchens manage to break into such a formidable city?

Is it due to insufficient troops, inadequate supplies, or internal sabotage?

"Third Brother, look, isn't that a trebuchet?"

At this moment, Pang Qiutang exclaimed again.

"Yes, it should be."

Zhu Biao didn't correct her anymore; there was no need.

With Liang Siqi becoming a variable, Tang Shaowu's false identity will be invalidated after entering the city, and the mute Wu Qi will naturally disappear as well.

As he stepped through the last city gate and was about to enter Bianjing City, Zhu Biao's eyes suddenly narrowed and he stopped in his tracks.

Immediately, he pulled Pang Qiutang to a corner and held her in front of him. Fortunately, the surrounding area was noisy, and there were two horses to block the view, so no one paid attention to them.

"Take off your clothes!"

"What?"

Pang Qiutang blushed and instinctively hugged her chest.

"quick!"

Without a word, Zhu Biao yanked off her hat and face mask, revealing her pretty face. He even wiped the ice shards and dirt off her face, making it look even cleaner.

Finally, he pulled out a travel permit and handed it to her.

"Do you still remember the Su Wu Niang you once played?"

As he spoke, he glanced quickly toward the end of the doorway, his tone urgent but his voice clear and deliberate.

"You are twenty-one years old this year. You married far away to Daming Prefecture and have just lost your husband. Now you are returning to your hometown in Tokyo to visit your relatives."

"Oh, oh, I remember."

Pang Qiutang guessed Zhu Biao's intention and began to take off her fur robe and put it on inside out, but she was stopped just as she was about to turn around.

"Don't look back!"

"The Liang family is blocking the way outside. If they catch us, we're finished."

At this moment, inside the city gate, a dozen or so guards were divided into two groups to guard the exit, checking each person entering the gate. Their belts were embroidered with bright red characters for "Liang".

While they were talking, Zhu Biao was also putting his fur robe inside out.

His fur robe had a grayish-blue linen lining and a satin outer layer, while Pang Qiutang's fur robe was the opposite, with satin on the inside and linen on the outside.

"Let's go into town separately. Remember, you are Su Wu Niang, so just speak the local dialect."

"And what about you?"

"My name is Huo Cong'en, and I am mute."

After saying that, Zhu Biao turned his back and fiddled with his face for a while, and his appearance changed drastically. He had a sallow face, thick eyebrows, a short beard, slightly slanted eyes, and a fierce look in his eyes.

Even close friends like Zhu San and Zhu Wu wouldn't recognize him at first glance.

Of course, he couldn't hide it from the sharp-eyed old hand. He was gambling that the servants and guards of the Liang family wouldn't be able to tell.