Chapter 587: Conflict at the Jiaofangsi

If we go to Gao's house, we will only kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred of our own.

Doing so would certainly ruin Ouyang Xu's reputation, but if the matter became a big deal it would also be detrimental to her reputation.

Zhao Pan'er didn't want to do this unless it was absolutely necessary.

However, just as Zhao Pan'er was about to leave, a scholar holding Zhao Pan'er's portrait walked towards her.

The scholar came to Zhao Pan'er and took out his glasses. He looked at Zhao Pan'er himself and then compared her with the portrait.

After confirming that he had not recognized the wrong person, he bowed and said:

"Excuse me, is this Miss Zhao from Qiantang?"

Zhao Pan'er frowned slightly. With her intelligence, she had guessed that the scholar in front of her should be sent by Ouyang Xu.

After all, she had only been in Beijing for two days, and she didn't know anyone here except Lin Hao and Ouyang Xu.

She had just met Lin Hao in the morning, so it couldn't be someone sent by Lin Hao. Then the only one left was Ouyang Xu.

Although she guessed it, Zhao Paner still asked:

"May I ask who you are?"

"I am Du Changfeng, a successful candidate in this imperial examination. I have been asked by my good friend Ouyang Xu to come and meet Madam Zhao!" Du Changfeng said with a fist salute.

"Why didn't Ouyang Xu come? What did he ask you to come for?" Zhao Pan'er asked in a bad tone.

Du Changfeng only had a portrait of her in his hand and nothing else. It was obvious that he was not here to return the Night Banquet Painting on behalf of Ouyang Xu.

Zhao Pan'er was a little angry. She had waited for a whole morning, but Ouyang Xu didn't show up, but a replacement came. And he didn't bring the Night Banquet Picture either.

"Then please forgive me for being frank!" Du Changfeng shook his head and said:
"Ouyang loves you deeply, but you are arrogant, unreasonable and narrow-minded. Ouyang is now the third place in the imperial examination, and you also know your own status..."

Zhao Pan'er was already very angry, and after hearing Du Changfeng's remarks, she immediately exploded and poured the tea directly on Du Changfeng's face.

"Ah, you~!" Du Changfeng was about to say something when he was interrupted by Zhao Pan'er:

"Go back and tell Ouyang Xu that I, Zhao Pan'er, don't want to make a big deal out of this because of our past friendship!"

"If he doesn't return the Night Banquet Painting to me tomorrow, don't blame me for being ruthless. I will go directly to Gao's house to ask for it and see how he ends up!" After Zhao Pan'er said this, she stood up and left.

"Wait a moment, Madam Zhao. I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Du Changfeng was entrusted by someone, and when he saw Zhao Pan'er leaving, he refused to give up and wanted to chase after her and continue to reason with Zhao Pan'er and appeal to her emotions.

But he was ruthlessly stopped by the waiter: "Sir, you haven't paid yet."

Seeing Zhao Pan'er walking away, Du Changfeng angrily scolded the waiter:

"Do I need a few bucks from you? Do you know..."

······
After leaving the teahouse, Zhao Pan'er went straight back to the Marquis of Jing'an's Mansion in a huff.

However, she didn't realize that someone had been following her secretly and witnessed her entering the Jing'an Marquis Mansion.

The man turned and left with a twinkling look in his eyes. If Zhao Pan'er saw this person, she would definitely recognize him. He was Ouyang Xu's loyal servant.

Uncle De, who was a very evil person, hurried back to Ouyang Xu's house only after seeing Zhao Pan'er enter the Marquis' Mansion.

"How is Uncle De?" Seeing Uncle De coming back, Ouyang Xu immediately asked:

"Have you found out where Zhao Pan'er is staying?"

"I am an incompetent old servant. I accidentally lost someone on the way. Please forgive me!"

Uncle De’s usual strategy was to kneel on the ground, kowtow and stammer to admit his mistake, but this time Uncle De didn’t tell the truth.

After learning Zhao Pan'er's address, Uncle De wanted to take action on his own again and spend some money to hire some thugs to completely eliminate the hidden danger of Zhao Pan'er for his son.

But I didn't expect that Zhao Pan'er actually lived in the Marquis's Mansion, which made things tricky.

Moreover, Uncle De did not dare to tell Ouyang Xu the news that Zhao Pan'er was living in the Marquis' Mansion.

What if my master changes his mind about Zhao Pan'er after finding out that she is actually related to the current marquis?

You have to know that when he was in Qiantang, he had already offended Zhao Pan'er so much, so naturally he couldn't let Zhao Pan'er become the mistress of the Ouyang family.

Otherwise, Uncle De’s good days in the future will be over.

Of course, Uncle De's worries were completely unnecessary and a bit ridiculous. He thought that just because their son Ouyang won the third place in the imperial examination, Ouyang Xu was a big shot.

Little did he know that in this capital city, when it comes to power and influence, Ouyang Xu is nothing.

In Ouyang Xu's heart, he actually knew that Uncle De was not telling the truth.

He knows Uncle De too well. According to past habits, Uncle De will definitely act on his own again this time.

I just don’t know what Uncle De will do specifically. Will he try to drive Zhao Paner out of the capital, or hire someone to kill her?

Ouyang Xu was thinking in his mind.

"Hmph~, if you can't even handle a small matter, what use do I have for you?"

In order to make Uncle De realize the seriousness of the problem, Ouyang Xu pretended to be angry and scolded:
"Do you know what Du Changfeng told me when he came back just now?"

"He said that Zhao Pan'er didn't even wait for him to finish his words before she poured tea all over him. She also threatened that if he didn't get the Night Banquet Map tomorrow, she would go to the Gao family and make trouble. What do you want me to do?"

"Alas!" At this point, Ouyang Xu sighed deliberately and said with a lonely look:

"Forget it, maybe this is my retribution. I shouldn't have coveted the Gao family's power and lied that I wasn't engaged."

"At this point, if I can't produce the Night Banquet Map, Pan'er won't let me go. Let's just pack up and go back home!"

After Ouyang Xu finished speaking, he began to pack his things with a dejected look on his face, as if he was ready to pack up and leave.

However, when Uncle De heard what Ouyang Xu said, he was shocked. Bian Jing was such a wonderful world, so he naturally didn't want to go back to his hometown.

So Desu said quickly:
"Sir, you are the third place winner of this year's imperial examination. How can you return to your hometown? You want to be an official. Our Ouyang family is waiting for you to bring honor to our family!"

"Become an official?" Ouyang Xu said with a lonely face, "And bring honor to the family?"

At this time, Ouyang Xu said in a lost voice:

"It's not that easy. I would like to do it, but if I offend the Gao family, do you think I can survive in the officialdom with the power of the Gao family?"

"Otherwise, just go home and farm as soon as possible."

He has acted to this point, and if Uncle De still doesn't make sense and take the initiative to help his master solve his problems, then there will be no point in keeping this old thing.

Hearing this, Uncle De's expression changed, and finally he seemed to have made up his mind.

"Don't worry, sir. Today I will find a way to find where Madam Zhao is staying!"

For the sake of his own son and his own wealth and glory, Uncle De has really given it all. Isn't it just a Marquis's Mansion?

Although he didn't dare to break in, he didn't believe that Zhao Pan'er would not come out. As long as Zhao Pan'er came out, he would dare to take action. At worst, he would pay with his life, but he would never let Zhao Pan'er enter the Ouyang family...

·····
Today is the birthday of the Eighth Prince. This man is well-known for his virtue and is deeply loved by the late emperor. He is the eighth son of Emperor Taizong of Song and the younger brother of the current emperor, Zhao Yuanyan.

Lin Hao received his invitation, but of course he did not go. If he was just a marquis, it would not matter if he went to the prince's birthday celebration.

But now he controls the violent organization, the Imperial City Bureau, and is also the emperor's confidant. It would be bad if he got too close to a prince, as it would easily arouse the suspicion of the officials, so he had to avoid suspicion.

Of course, he was just avoiding suspicion for outsiders to see. The main reason was that he was too lazy to go. He wasn't familiar with the Eighth King, so why bother going?

It would be better to go home and tease Zhao Paner with this time. Then Lin Hao went for a stroll in the Imperial City.

She originally planned to go home, but when she was passing by the Imperial Street, she met the courtesan Zhang Haohao who was riding a tall horse and parading in the Imperial Street.

Tsk tsk, she looks quite pretty in this photo, and seems even more beautiful than on TV. So Lin Hao somehow changed his route and went to the Jiaofangsi. He planned to meet this courtesan today.

However, he did not meet the courtesan, but met an acquaintance, Song Yinzhang.

At this time, Song Yinzhang was being harassed by a man. This guy was so bold that he actually dared to harass the woman of Mr. Lin.

"Madam Song, I happen to be free today, why don't I take you back?"

"No, no!" Song Yinzhang refused.

But the man refused to give up:
"I am not a playboy, I just fell in love with Miss Song at first sight. Why does Miss Song have to keep me at a distance?" After Song Yinzhang came to the Jiaofang Bureau today, he found Yuan Changhe, the Jiaofang Envoy, and prepared to replace the transfer documents.

This transfer document was prepared by Lin Hao in Qiantang, and naturally it was full of praise for Song Yinzhang.

Of course, it’s not all exaggeration. At least he is truly the best pipa player in Jiangnan.

After Yuan Changhe saw the document stating that Song Yinzhang was the best pipa player in Jiangnan, he became interested in Song Yinzhang.

So he asked Song Yinzhang to demonstrate it. He couldn't just believe everything the document said.

But when Song Yinzhang played the music, he just happened to attract Shen Ruzhuo, the lustful ghost.

This guy has been finding all kinds of excuses to pester Song Yinzhang since he came.

At first, they wanted to take Song Yinzhang to visit the Jiaofangsi, and now they wanted to send Song Yinzhang home, which made Song Yinzhang very annoyed.

"Lord Shen, please respect yourself. I already have someone I love. Please don't bother me anymore!" Song Yinxuan refused clearly.

But Shen Ruzhuo was not willing to give up, and continued to pester her:
"I have inquired about it. You have just been transferred from Qiantang to the capital. How can you have the time to meet your sweetheart?
He chuckled and approached Song Yinzhang and said, "Are you kidding me?"

"I really have a lover, please respect yourself, Lord Shen!" Song Yinzhang's tone became even heavier.

But Shen Ruzhuo still didn't give up and said:

"Where is your sweetheart? I'll believe you if you call him over!"

At this time, Lin Hao said in a cold voice: "I heard that you wanted to see me, what is it?"

"Who are you?" Looking at the tall and handsome Lin Hao walking towards him, a trace of gloom flashed in Shen Ruzhuo's eyes.

However, since he didn't know Lin Hao's background, Shen Ruzhuo didn't dare to act rashly.

However, Lin Hao didn't even look at him, and waved at Song Yinzhang:
"come over!"

"Young Master? Why are you here?" Song Yinzhang's face lit up when he saw it was Lin Hao. He ran to Lin Hao with a pipa in his arms and a silly smile on his face.

She thought Lin Hao came to the Jiaofangsi specifically to pick her up!
But she was so excited.

Little did he know that Lin Hao came to the Music Bureau purely to meet the courtesan Zhang Haohao. He didn't even know that Song Yinzhang had come to the Music Bureau.

Of course, as a mature man, he naturally couldn't say that.

"Of course I'm here to pick you up." Lin Hao stretched out his hand and smoothed the hair around Song Yinzhang's ears, then pinched her nose lovingly:
"You are such a naive little fool, and this is your first time at the Jiaofangsi. I'm afraid you'll be deceived by some shady people."

"I'm not stupid!" Song Yinzhang said coquettishly and shyly upon hearing that.

However, Shen Ruzhuo's face turned black. Even a fool could tell who Lin Hao was referring to as the "shameless person". It would be strange if Shen Ruzhuo didn't look black.

What's more, the young lady he liked was actually flirting with another man in front of him, which made Shen Ruzhuo even more furious.

"Someone, get this guy out with a club!" Shen Ruzhuo shouted directly:

"They dare to let in all kinds of people, without even considering their own status. Do they think that the Jiaofangsi is a brothel where people can enter and leave at will if they have a few bucks?"

Originally, Shen Ruzhuo was a person who was very good at forbearance. Generally speaking, he would not offend others easily without knowing the other person's background.

After all, there aren't many other things in the capital, except for a lot of officials. Who knows what their background is.

However, the way Song Yinzhang addressed Lin Hao made Shen Ruzhuo feel that the other party was a soft persimmon that could be squeezed.

In the Song Dynasty, addressing people was very particular. Generally, one would add the position or honor after the surname when addressing the other person.

For example, Gu Qianfan, everyone calls him Commander Gu.

For example, everyone calls Gao Hu Gao Guancha.

Then there are people like Du Changfeng and Ouyang Xu, who do not hold official positions but have achieved honors, so everyone calls them Du Jinshi and Ouyang Tanhua.

And Song Yinzhang called the other party "Young Master", which means that the other party had neither official position nor merit.

At most, he is just a young man from a wealthy family.

How dare a mere merchant's son be so sarcastic with him, a seventh-rank official in the imperial court?

He is simply courting death. Let's see how he deals with this ignorant pretty boy today.

Most of the people in the Jiaofangsi were the wives, daughters and family members of convicted officials. In order to prevent these people from escaping, the Jiaofangsi naturally had special yamen runners on duty.

However, after Shen Ruzhuo finished speaking, the yamen runners on duty around him did not take action directly. Instead, they looked at each other, as if asking their colleagues whether they should take action.

Although Shen Ruzhuo is a seventh-rank official, it is inappropriate for a seventh-rank official from the Secretariat to go to the Jiaofangsi and give orders, right?

"Puchi~" Seeing this, Song Yinzhang couldn't help but burst out laughing, which made Shen Ruzhuo, who failed to show off, blush.

So he said angrily:

"Think it over carefully. Your Yuanshizun and I are close friends!"

The yamen runner, who originally didn't want to pay any attention to Shen Ruzhuo, finally took notice after hearing these words.

These yamen runners also knew that Shen Ruzhuo spent almost every day in the Music Bureau and was indeed close friends with their Music Bureau Director Yuan Changhe.

Then he held the water and fire sticks and was ready to take action.

"Ah~!" This scene scared the timid Song Yinzhang. Then Song Yinzhang exclaimed and immediately jumped into Lin Hao's arms.

Lin Hao suspected that the girl's frightened expression was fake. Who could be afraid and still have a smile on their face?
This acting is too bad, but Lin Hao is still very happy with Song Yinzhang's reaction.

"Madam Song, don't be afraid. These yamen runners won't hurt you!" Before Lin Hao could speak, Shen Ruzhuo couldn't wait to comfort Song Yinzhang.

Then he glanced at Lin Hao with a look of arrogance, and seeing that Lin Hao was standing there motionless, he thought that this pretty boy was frightened silly by the yamen runners.

Glancing at the pale Song Yinzhang again, Shen Ruzhuo's smile widened:
"How can such a useless man protect the beautiful lady Song?"

"As long as you follow me, not only will no one in the Jiaofangsi dare to bully you in the future, but I can also help you get rid of your status!" At this time, Shen Ruzhuo stopped pretending and directly took out his trump card.

Anyway, in the Jiaofang Bureau, quite a few people knew what kind of person he was, but because he was a seventh-rank official, no one dared to expose him.

And his tricks can only fool newcomers like Song Yinzhang.

Now that I can't cheat, I might as well use force. Anyway, as long as I can achieve my goal, it's fine. After I get tired of it, I can give it to the powerful as a stepping stone for my own promotion.

At this time, Song Yinzhang, who was hiding in Lin Hao's arms and trembling, looked up at Shen Ruzhuo when he heard the words.

At this moment, there was no sign of fear on her little face, and there was even a hint of smile in the corner of her eyes.

You have to know that the person next to him is the Marquis of Jing'an, and Shen Ruzhuo is just a seventh-rank official. Can the marquis of the dynasty be bullied by a seventh-rank official?

However, Song Yinzhang did not make a sound, but let the situation develop. She pretended to be afraid and weak, just to arouse Lin Hao's desire to protect her and let Lin Hao come to the rescue.

"Boom~!"

Although Song Yinzhang didn't make any sound, Shen Ruzhuo saw it clearly. How dare this little bitch laugh at him?

Shen Ruzhuo suddenly felt a surge of anger rising to his head, and he immediately shouted at the yamen runner:
"What are you still doing?"

"Beat her, beat her hard, beat this bitch too."

Shen Ruzhuo gave orders to the bailiff in a rage.

He, Shen Ruzhuo, was a seventh-rank official, but today he was in the Music Bureau, and was ridiculed and mocked by a merchant's son and a woman of low status. How could he swallow this?

"Stop!" However, at the critical moment, an old voice suddenly shouted, "Everyone stop it."

This person was none other than Yuan Changhe, the Music Bureau Director. He ran over breathlessly.

"Your humble servant Yuan Changhe, the Imperial Music Bureau official, greets Marquis Jing'an!" Yuan Changhe glared at Shen Ruzhuo, then saluted Lin Hao and said:

"I don't know how I failed to welcome you, my Lord."

As Yuan Changhe spoke, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

How could he, a sixth-rank music director, dare to offend the popular figure around the current emperor? He was really killed by that bastard Shen Ruzhuo today.

"Buzz~!" Shen Ruzhuo's head started buzzing when he heard that.

What the hell?
This pretty boy is actually Marquis Jing'an?
(End of this chapter)