Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

The second watch of the night.

Bianjing was a bustling city with no curfew, and the streets were still brightly lit and crowded with people.

Many young ladies from wealthy families would even deliberately go out at night, wearing cloaks and hoods, to get rid of the pent-up frustration from their homes.

Zhu Biao and Pang Qiutang blended into the crowd, completely inconspicuous.

However, when you get to the vicinity of Sweet Well Lane, the flow of people suddenly decreases. There are not many shops, taverns, gambling dens, or brothels around, so it is deserted.

"You keep watch here!"

At the alley entrance, Zhu Biao held down Pang Qiutang, while he strode towards Instructor Zhang's house, knocking on the door without hesitation.

"Is Instructor Zhang home? Open the door! It's me, Huo Liu."

His voice was quite loud. Across the street, the triangular-eyed man and the dark-faced thug who were on watch exchanged a glance and got up to come over.

"Hey you, stop banging around, what are you doing here?"

As he approached, the man with the triangular eyes asked bluntly, but the dark-faced ruffian was suddenly taken aback.

"Huh, you~"

Bang bang!

Just then, Zhu Biao suddenly pulled out a wooden club as thick as a wrist from under his cloak and struck them on the head with lightning speed.

In his desperation, he exerted all his strength, cracking the club in the process, and the two ruffians collapsed without a sound.

Blood was visibly seeping from under the brim of the dog-skin hat.

"Young Master!"

Just then, Zhu Wu opened the courtyard gate with his knife, his face full of surprise. Zhu Biao reached out and hugged the black-faced rogue who was slumped down, and shouted in a low voice.

"Stop talking nonsense and drag him into the yard."

"oh oh."

After a short while, Zhu Biao administered a sleeping potion to the two unconscious hooligans and then handed a key to Ruyi.

"Fanlou, the front building has two floors, the sixth room in the east wing is the Spotted Bamboo Room."

"Ruyi, the plan has changed. If I do not return by tomorrow morning, you and Zhu Wu will leave the city separately. Remember, do not disguise yourselves and do not carry any weapons."

"My lord!"

Ruyi's eyes suddenly reddened, and she grabbed his arm.

"Perhaps we shouldn't risk going to the Grand Commandant's residence."

Zhu Biao shook his head and patted the back of her hand.

"Now the arrow is on the bowstring and must be released. Besides, those blocking the city gate are not from the Grand Commandant's office."

"My lord, please take care of yourself, I will wait for you!"

Ruyi burst into tears and threw herself into his arms. Zhu Biao simply patted her back and didn't say anything more.

"It's getting late, we can't waste any more time, sister, you should hurry up and go!"

At this moment, Pang Qiutang, who had already changed into men's clothing, quickly walked out from the inner room. Upon seeing this scene, she immediately frowned and said...

It was past midnight.

Jinshui Gate, the northeast corner of the Grand Commandant's Mansion, the villa of Gao Yanei.

The north room in the backyard was still brightly lit, and the faint, plaintive voice of a woman could be heard, occasionally punctuated by a man's lewd laughter.

"Ha! Beauty, yes, shout louder!"

Click, click~

Just then, the roof tiles suddenly made a few soft sounds, followed by a mournful meow like that of a baby crying.

Meow~~

The room fell silent for a moment, then Gao Yanei began to shout angrily:

"You wretched cat, you've spoiled my mood again!"

Yesterday, when Zhu Biao left the Grand Commandant's mansion, he slipped a tael of silver to his personal servant, trying to find out Gao Yanei's likes and dislikes.

I received news that Gao Yanei (Gao Yanei's son) deeply hates cats.

When he was young, he was scratched by a stray cat and had a high fever for several days, almost dying.

Recently, a stray cat has appeared in the mansion from somewhere, and it often howls on his roof in the middle of the night, scaring him so much that he has to give up halfway through several times.

This made Gao Yanei hate him so much he gritted his teeth.

So Zhu Biao suddenly came up with a new plan: he wanted to see if he could stage a seemingly accidental assassination.

I don't need to be perfect, I just need to buy myself a few days' time.

He beheaded Gao Yanei, fearing that the old scoundrel Gao Qiu would be enraged and send troops to block the city for investigation.

Although the possibility was extremely slim, he didn't want to gamble.

Clang!

The next moment, Gao Qiu angrily kicked open the door and jumped out.

This fellow was wearing a silver-white fox fur coat, boots, and carrying a copper fork slingshot.

"You beast! I'll beat you to death tonight!"

"Meow!"

At that moment, another meow came from the direction of the Intermediate People's Court.

Gao Yanei's eyes turned red with anger. Without thinking, he grabbed his slingshot, strode through the moon gate, and scurried around like a mad dog.

"ha!"

His eyes suddenly lit up when his gaze swept over the warm well.

He saw a black cat crouching in the well, its back to him. Gao Yanei held his breath, slowly loaded the slingshot with an iron ball, pulled it back fully, and aimed.

call out!

The iron pellet shot out and hit the cat squarely. Before it could even let out a scream, its body suddenly flipped over.

"Hahaha! I won!"

Gao Yanei burst into laughter and rushed toward the cat.

He had just run to the well and was about to bend down to pick it up when a whooshing sound suddenly came from behind him.

Bang!

Just as he was about to turn around, he felt a numbness at the back of his head, his eyes instantly went blank, and his pupils quickly dilated.

Bang!

Just as Gao Yanei was about to lose consciousness, he was kicked hard in the back and fell straight into the warm well.

Pfft!

Immediately, a heavy splashing sound came from the well.

Pfft!

As they drew closer, another splashing sound came from the water.

Zhu Biao threw the blood-stained pebble into the warm well without even looking at it, then turned and ran, smashing the back of Gao Yanei's head in the process.

Even a god couldn't save us.

Zhu Biao didn't stop, he ghost-like bypassed the west wing and came to the wall. A rope was hanging down from the top of the wall, and he suddenly squatted down.

meow~

He called out softly.

Meow meow meow~

Three meows immediately responded from outside the wall.

Without further hesitation, Zhu Biao grabbed the end of the rope and, deliberately without using the wall for leverage, climbed up little by little using only his hands.

"Third Brother, how are you?"

Outside the wall, Pang Qiutang, dressed in a blue hat and blue robe as a servant of the Grand Commandant's mansion, asked anxiously, sweating profusely despite the cold weather.

"It's done, let's go!"

Zhu Biao, also dressed as a servant, quickly rolled up the rope while speaking in a trembling voice.

The assassination was even more thrilling than a direct confrontation with his mother. At this moment, the thorns on his skin stood up, and his body trembled slightly uncontrollably.

"Oh no! Help! The young master has fallen into the water!"

Finally, the maid's exclamation rang out in the courtyard, and lights began to illuminate various courtyards one after another. However, by this time, Zhu Biao had already dragged Pang Qiutang more than a hundred steps away.

In a short while, most of the Grand Commandant's mansion was in an uproar.

The servants, young men, and maids, all disheveled and looking like silly geese, ran around aimlessly, most heading towards Gao Yanei's villa.

Zhu Biao and Pang Qiutang moved through the area as if it were deserted.

He deliberately avoided the servants and went straight to the empty outhouse, then calmly climbed over the nearly ten-foot-high wall of the Grand Commandant's mansion.

When they passed the Bian River, Zhu Biao and his companion took off their servant clothes under a bridge, sank them to the bottom of the river with stones, and changed into fur robes that had been prepared in advance.

"Third, Third Brother."

It wasn't until they had walked several more miles, almost to the east of the city, that Pang Qiutang stammered.

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

At this moment, Zhu Biao had regained his composure and replied steadily.

"You...you killed Gao Qiu's adopted son without lifting a finger, using only a stone and a dead cat?"

Hey~

After a few moments of silence, Zhu Biao suddenly laughed.

"What's Gao Qiu's adopted son compared to me? If that old thief also hates cats, I'll kill him too!"

Lin Niangzi left the city, Gao Yanei was killed, and they escaped unscathed. Zhu Biao felt all the pent-up emotions in his heart dissipate, his mind became clear, and he was in the mood to boast.

"Hehehe~"

After a few moments of stunned silence, Pang Qiutang also laughed, her laughter as melodious as silver bells.

"That's just empty boasting, but Third Brother, I'm really happy about it."

Zhu Biao pointed to a row of awning boats moored on the riverbank not far away, their lights illuminated by the night, and laughed:

"Are you hungry? I guarantee you'll be even happier with a bowl of hot fish soup later."

Meanwhile, at Gao Yanei's villa.

Beside the warm well, Gao Yanei's still-steaming corpse lay on the ground, his eyes bulging. Next to him were a dead cat, a slingshot, and servants kneeling in a row.

Before them stood a middle-aged man in a purple robe, around fifty years old, with a fair complexion, thin eyebrows, long eyes, an aquiline nose, and three long wisps of beard under his chin.

It was Gao Qiu, the Commander of the Palace Guard and Deputy Privy Councilor of the current dynasty.

"Master Qin, what do you think?"

After a long while, he turned his head expressionlessly and asked a person beside him, his voice trembling slightly.

The man called Master Qin was tall and thin, with hardly any flesh on his body. He wore a black hooded cloak, obscuring his face.

From beneath his sleeve, his withered, twig-like fingers extended and pointed at the dead cat.

"It's human nature; that cat wasn't recently dead."

His voice was also unusually unpleasant, as if his throat was filled with iron filings, making listeners' scalps tingle.

Several veins bulged on Gao Qiu's forehead, but his tone remained eerily calm.

"Who did this?"

"The assassin is a master."

Gao Qiu's eyes narrowed, and after a few breaths he said coldly:

"Investigate! Investigate covertly! You investigate personally!"

"Yes."

Master Qin nodded slightly and floated away as if his feet didn't touch the ground.

"Gao Lian!"

Gao Qiu called out again, and a steward-like man immediately stepped forward, bowed, and responded.

"master."

Gao Qiu pointed to the servants and maids kneeling on the ground.

"These lackeys are dishonest; they stole things from the manor and even touched my official seal. They are to be imprisoned and exiled."

"Yes."