Chapter 186: Guanli Tower Master
Chapter 186: Guanli Tower Master (One more chapter)
The sky is clear in spring and the fields are in good order.
The further north you go, the flatter and more open the terrain becomes.
The eternal mountains in the distance lie like black giant beasts, and the mist seems to be connected to the sky.
That day, the group arrived at Zhuozhou.
The carriage was shaking, and a man in a black robe was sitting cross-legged in the carriage, with a green jade ring on his left thumb. His body looked like an ancient bell, and his breath was like wind and thunder. After practicing the Beiming Divine Art to the second level, his internal energy realm had reached the late Qi Hai realm.
"Those who go to the wilderness will return after three meals..."
In the Golden Pool Dantian, after several months of watering, the withered purple-gold lotus flower became bright again. As long as the third purple-gold lotus flower, which was still in the budding stage, fully bloomed, the Qi Sea would be complete, and the day after tomorrow would be in sight.
Qiu Ping'an was riding a horse, wearing a green round-necked robe, dressed as a butler. He had just come out of the sadness of leaving his wife and children, and was admiring the scenery of Linji with great interest.
"Lao Qiu."
Zhang Yu opened the curtain and looked outside. Qiu Ping'an rode over hurriedly.
"What do you want, sir?"
"Where are you?"
"My lord, we have just entered the territory of Zhuozhou."
This place belongs to the West Road Office of Shuntian Prefecture, less than a hundred miles away from the capital, and there is a lot of traffic on the road.
Zhang Yu looked outside. Unlike the Jianghu city four hundred miles away, here, officials, merchants, royal relatives and nobles were the mainstream. The occasional Jianghu people who carried knives and swords were all restrained and more friendly than in other places.
"Then let's find an inn to settle down first. And remember, we are tea merchants from Pingyang, going to the capital to visit several big customers. Tell the brothers to be careful with their words and not to reveal their true identity and attract the attention of the Jinyiwei."
Qiu Pingan immediately bowed and said, "Please rest assured, sir."
Zhang Yu lowered the car curtain and continued to immerse himself in the practice of Bei Ming Divine Art.
In order to conceal their tracks, the Beiyuan people were divided into three groups and entered Shuntian Prefecture one after another. Their team disguised themselves as tea merchants from Jin. Zhang Liyu was the young owner, Qiu Pingan was the housekeeper, the accompanying disciples were servants and guards, and Liu Xie and the other two were his wives and concubines respectively.
In the carriage at the back sat Liu Ruyan and Xie Xiaoman.
"It is said that this golden soft hedgehog armor is made of precious materials and is extremely difficult to make. It was given by the emperor as a reward to the generals. It is not surprising that it has been lost in the martial arts world."
Liu Ruyan's tone was not without envy. After all, women are experts when it comes to clothes.
The lining here is made of Changbai Mountain snow mink fur, which is light and skin-friendly, warm in winter and cool in summer, and can also dissipate internal strength.
The outer armor is made of the strongest scales on the back of a century-old python and can withstand the slashing of knives and stabbing of swords.
The two layers are sewn with snow silk, and the interlayer is embedded with densely packed tempered steel wire.
The most rare thing is that each of the densely packed hedgehog thorns is personally made by a master craftsman and tempered with a deadly poison. Because it is mixed with gold, it has both toughness and softness. Normally, the hedgehog thorns fall down like reeds blown by the wind. They feel smooth and soft to the touch and will not scratch clothes or hurt the owner.
When facing the enemy, he secretly mobilized his internal strength and the spikes stood up one after another. Because it was an inner armor worn under the outer robe, the opponent was unaware of it and anyone who was touched by it would be poisoned by the soft armor. There was no antidote and the person would die within ten days.
"Your Excellency gave me this armor as a gift. It seems that you have a special affection for Xiao Man."
"Sister Liu, please stop talking nonsense."
Xie Xiaoman looked at the golden soft hedgehog armor, a smile on her lips and a hint of tenderness in her eyes.
Liu Ruyan smiled and asked, "Why, am I wrong?"
Xie Xiaoman smiled and said, "I probably know the origin of this armor."
After leaving Pingding City, the two of them hung out all the way. Although they couldn't be said to have become close friends, they were still much more familiar with each other when they talked.
Xie Xiaoman was not born cold-hearted, but his master's sect was destroyed in his early years, and he encountered many setbacks. Later, he rarely interacted with others in the Dharma Guardian Hall, which made him seem cold and aloof. Liu Ruyan asked curiously, "Isn't it a gift from the adults?"
"No."
Xie Xiaoman shook her head slightly. She had accidentally heard her adoptive father Di Baiying say that the Wen family had been military generals for generations and that they had such a precious armor.
When Zhang Yu handed the armor to her, he was vague about what he said, but she knew what he meant at that moment.
He doesn't know, but he knows it himself.
Seeing that Xie Xiaoman seemed to have other concerns, Liu Ruyan stopped asking questions.
"Xu~"
The two carriages stopped one after another, and then a quarrel was heard outside.
There were a dozen carriages parked in front of the inn, and four guards in black were guarding the gate.
"I'm sorry, this inn has been booked by my master. Please find another place to stay."
The fur merchants were unwilling to accept the double refund of their rent and blocked the door, refusing to leave.
"Qianyun Inn is the best inn in the west of Beijing. It has four levels of rooms, namely, heaven, earth, black and yellow, with a total of 200 rooms. I always stay here when I travel between the frontier and the capital. There are only more than 60 of you. How can you accommodate us?"
The black-clad guard was very arrogant and sneered, "What's the big deal about more than 200 rooms? If we can't accommodate them, then just leave them empty."
"Who is your master? Why is there such a grand ceremony?"
The black-clad guard glanced at him and said calmly, "Master of Guanli Tower, East Road, Jiangnan."
"Humph, what Jiangnan East Road? I am also the Lord of Saibei..."
The big man from the northern border was about to explode but was stopped by a companion.
"It turns out that Mr. Jiang Nanning has arrived. Sorry to bother you. We will leave immediately."
There are two three-story buildings in front of Qianyun Inn, and stables, warehouses, kitchens, hay fields, firewood rooms, and laundry rooms in the back. The procedures are clear and well-organized, and it is very popular with merchants with large quantities of goods. The innkeeper is surnamed Li, and his family has been hereditary postmasters. He was born in a commoner's family and was not eligible to inherit the official position, but he created this business in the west of Beijing, which is quite unique.
Qiu Ping'an rode back and reported.
"Sir, we can't live here."
Zhang Yu was very smart and heard a few words. He asked, "Master Guanli? Mr. Ning? What's the origin of that man?"
Qiu Pingan whispered, "It was the Prince Ning in Jiangnan, the most powerful prince in the world. The one who was trying to steal our way on the official road the other day was him."
Zhang Yu nodded and said, "I see. No wonder those guards were so arrogant. Shouldn't the princes stay at the official post when they come to the capital?"
Qiu Pingan said with a smile: "I heard that this Prince Ning often regards himself as a man of the world. When he was in Jiangnan, he liked to go on private visits in disguise, making friends with martial arts heroes everywhere, and even hiding fugitives and accepting traitors. He did many transgressions. The civil and military officials in the court were afraid of his power and kept silent."
"He dug a huge pond in his mansion to make a lake and built a carp-viewing tower. He often met with people from all walks of life in the tower, so he was called the owner of the carp-viewing tower."
Zhang Yu glanced at Qiu Ping'an. This guy had been in charge of documents for eight years and loved to sniff out gossip. He had extensive knowledge of the affairs of the underworld and the court. This was also the reason why he brought him to the capital.
Qiu Pingan asked, "Sir, should we give it to Mr. Jiang Nanning?"
Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Let's go to another inn."
(End of this chapter)