Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Five watch.

It was the dead of winter, and the sky was still pitch black. Zhu Biao dragged his leaden legs and finally returned to his room.

By this time, he had been working for nearly three days and three nights without sleep or rest.

On the first night, in Changheng County, a plan was devised to capture Shi Qian alive.

On the second night, in order to avoid Liang Siqi, they traveled through the night.

On the third night, in Bianliang City, he met with Lady Lin.

Four words: exerting every effort!

As he unlocked the door, Zhu Biaoqiang mustered his last bit of strength and glanced at the two small wooden wedges he had previously placed between the top and bottom of the door.

Thankfully, it didn't budge.

creak~

The sound of two doors opening almost simultaneously rang out. In the next room, Pang Qiutang poked half her head out, her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

"Wang Wu, you're finally back?"

Pfft!

Zhu Biao's heartstrings suddenly relaxed, and he felt a darkness before his eyes, his body sink, and he slumped down.

Crackling sounds~

After an unknown amount of time, a sudden burst of firecrackers reached his ears. Zhu Biao opened his eyes abruptly and instinctively pressed his wrist.

However, the hidden arrow was gone.

"Wang Wu, you're awake?"

Pang Qiutang, who was lying by the bed, was startled awake by him. Her sleepy eyes were instantly filled with surprise.

"Um."

Zhu Biao steadied himself and slowly sat up.

He first looked around, and it was already bright outside the window. He had his sleeve arrows, wrist guards, and curved sword placed beside the bed, and he hadn't taken off his clothes.

He patted his chest and abdomen and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Everything was there. He was wearing a fine-scaled soft armor underneath, under which were hidden dozens of taels of gold, as well as nearly a hundred identities copied from his travel permit.

These things are his means of returning home, and he cannot afford to lose them.

"Who's setting off the cannons?"

The sound of firecrackers was still going off outside the window, and he asked in a hoarse voice.

"I don't know, I'll go check."

Pang Qiutang rubbed her cheeks, which had been pressed red, got up and went to the window. She opened it and laughed.

"A wedding is taking place in the alley; it's a good omen!"

Hey~

Zhu Biao was slightly taken aback, but then he laughed.

Since leaving the Zhu Family Village, he has been scheming, fighting, and putting on an act. Today, he unexpectedly encountered a happy event, which brought him a long-lost sense of peace and joy.

This is the unique warmth and life of everyday people.

"The bridal sedan chair has arrived!"

At this moment, Pang Qiutang called out again, her voice full of excitement.

Zhu Biao also became interested, put on his boots, and went to the window for a look.

In the distance, a sedan chair with a floral canopy is slowly approaching. The body of the sedan chair is painted vermilion, with tassels hanging from the four corners, and it is adorned with copper bells, necklaces, and paper flowers.

Four boys beside the sedan chair held up large fans with flowers and birds to cover the bride's face, while eight men in red carried the sedan chair, chanting auspicious chants.

This is called an eight-bearer flower eaves, which is the legendary eight-bearer sedan chair!

This was the first time Zhu Biao had ever met someone like this, even after two lifetimes.

"Fifth Sister, count out a hundred copper coins, find a piece of red cloth to wrap them up, and let's go join in the fun and have a drink at the wedding."

"Oh? Is that polite?"

Pang Qiutang was both surprised and delighted. Zhu Biao replied with a smile:

"We're here to bring good fortune; we're not just eating and drinking for free."

Nowadays, prices in the Song Dynasty are still relatively stable. A drink cake costs two coins, a bowl of vegetarian soup cake costs five coins, and a pound of cooked mutton costs only twenty-five coins.

One hundred coins was enough for the two of them to have a hearty meal with wine and meat at the restaurant.

It would be an extremely generous wedding gift, with even better symbolism, representing the perfect match and a long and happy marriage.

"good!"

Pang Qiutang's eyes curved into crescent moons as she happily ran back to her room to count the money.

The family celebrating the wedding lived at the southernmost end of the street. It was a two-courtyard house, and they seemed to be quite well-off.

When Zhu Biao and his group arrived, the ceremony had already been completed, and they were about to start serving the wine.

Half the alley was filled with seats of all kinds, clearly borrowed from the neighbors. The reception desk and counter were set up at the entrance.

"Thank you so much for bringing good fortune to my home!"

Upon hearing Zhu Biao explain his purpose and present him with a hundred coins as a gift, the host and guest were overjoyed, repeatedly expressing their gratitude, and even insisting that he be moved to the second seat.

Pang Qiutang was also led to the backyard, where the women's seating area was located.

She hesitated slightly, and Zhu Biao comforted her in a low voice:

"Go ahead and see if the bride is pretty, say a few auspicious words, and if you're so inclined, give her some money as a dowry."

"Then I'll also use my own money, 100 coins."

Pang Qiutang tugged at her sleeve, her voice slightly weak.

Women in the Song Dynasty held the highest status among all dynasties. Their dowry was considered private property and protected by law. She was shy and embarrassed to meet the bride empty-handed.

"Hahaha! Two hundred coins is no big deal, just go with me."

Zhu Biao was amused by her and waved his hand boldly.

The wedding banquet was very lavish, with four cold dishes: pickled fish, pickled crab, cured meat, and dried duck, and the plates were garnished with carved radishes.

Then four more hot dishes were brought out: pork kidney, chicken gizzard, winter bamboo shoots, and tofu. Finally, two main dishes were served: mutton and carp.

There are ten dishes in total, symbolizing perfection.

Of course, this was a privilege reserved for those seated in the front courtyard; the banquets on the streets outside the courtyard only offered three meat dishes and three vegetable dishes.

When the sixth dish was served, the host stood up and offered a toast.

"Thank you all for gracing my son's wedding with your presence. We have only a simple meal and drinks."

"Congratulations!"

Everyone in the courtyard raised their glasses.

Afterwards, everyone started eating. Zhu Biao slowly picked up some food and savored it, while looking around with great interest.

Besides the host family and the bride's father, the rest of the guests at the main table were mostly minor officials from various departments, such as Wang Yalu, Li Goudang, and Zhao Tiesi.

The second seat at his table was mostly occupied by merchants, owners of carriage shops, brokerage firms, porterage firms, cloth shops, and tailor shops.

By this point, Zhu Biao had roughly deduced that the Zhou family must run a clothing shop.

Clang!

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the courtyard, followed by the sound of cups and plates falling to the ground and chairs overturning.

Immediately afterwards, a loud voice shouted:

"You sons of bitches! Who gave you the audacity to occupy the streets? Did you even consult the military patrol?"

Amidst shouts and curses, several men strode in.

The leader was dressed in a green official robe, with a turban and a cloak over his head. He had his hand on his waist knife, and had thick eyebrows, toad-like eyes, and a fierce expression.

Behind him were several soldiers.

He wore a short brown coat, a fur jacket, and a bamboo hat, and carried a water gourd, hemp rope, hooks, an iron ruler, and a copper gong, looking rather incongruous.

hiss!

Beside Zhu Biao, the plump cloth shopkeeper grinned and muttered under his breath:

"This is bad news, we've actually attracted Zhu Huzi here."

"Manager Wu, who is this person?"

Zhu Biao swallowed the mutton in his mouth, put down his chopsticks, and asked a question.

"Hmph!"

"Guest, you are from out of town and do not know that this man is Zhu Qi, the military patrol judge of Kaifeng Prefecture, nicknamed the Street-Cleaning Tiger."

Manager Wu glanced around and lowered his voice.

As they were talking, Zhu Qi walked up to the main table, first squinted and looked around, then slammed his waist knife heavily on the table.

"Are you the master?"

He glanced sideways at his master, whose face had already turned pale, and snapped:

"You dare to occupy the entire street without prior notice? You have some nerve! Come with me to the military patrol academy."

Zhu Biao noticed a detail: those minor officials who had just been calling their master brothers were now cowering like quails.

Not to mention standing up to smooth things over, he didn't even dare to look Zhu Qi in the eye.

This is not reasonable.

Those minor officials held low positions but wielded great power; some were even officials in charge of the Bianhe River wharf. Military officers in the Song Dynasty were not valuable, so they shouldn't have been treated like that.

"Wu Zhangui, why is Zhu Qi so imposing? Just who is he?"

Zhu Biao asked in a low voice.

"Of course he's impressive; he's Zhu Yingfeng's adopted son, one of his twelve sons."

"Zhu Yingfeng?"

Zhu Biao frowned and thought for a moment, then blurted out:

"Zhu Mian?"

"Shh! Are you out of your mind?"

In an instant, Manager Wu's face turned pale with fright.

On the other side, the host finally came to his senses, stood up tremblingly, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and stammered:

"I was unaware of Judge Zhu's esteemed presence. This humble old man..."

"So noisy!"

Zhu Qi impatiently interrupted with a shout, and ordered the patrolling soldiers behind him:

"Tie him up! I'll interrogate you properly, you scoundrel. Did you intend to set fire to the place and create chaos? Those Liaodong spies in the north are used to this."

"Here you go!"

The soldiers responded in unison, pulling on the ropes and hooks, grinning maliciously as they approached.

"No, no!"

The host was so frightened that he knelt down with a thud:

"Judge Zhu, no, I didn't report it to the military patrol post. It was my negligence. I accept the punishment, I accept the punishment!"

"Oh?"

Zhu Qi raised his hand to stop the group of lackeys, glanced at the table, picked up a glass of wine, smelled it, and said with a half-smile:

"You agree to the penalty? Then tell me, how much is the fine you intend to pay?"

"Five, fifty~"

Just as the master was about to guarantee a certain number, Li Gou Dang, who was closest to him, suddenly kicked him. He instantly understood and changed his mind:

"A hundred strings of cash! This old man is willing to pay a hundred strings of cash as a fine!"

Bang!

The next instant, he was kicked to the ground by Zhu Qi.

"You son of a bitch! Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? Tie him up!"

"Sigh~"

Zhu Biao sighed inwardly, but the resentment in his chest could not be dispelled.

Peace and joy, bullshit!

In this world, where the hell is there any peace and quiet? This joyous occasion might just turn into a funeral.