ATPnovel #322 - Goodbye, old friend
#322 - Goodbye, old friend
In the afternoon, Lu Jing and Yan Yun separated, each keeping an eye on Geng and Hou for a while.
But they didn't find anything unusual about them, or any contact with suspicious people. Geng Nantian secretly slipped to the north of the city around Shen Shi (3-5 pm).
However, Yan Yun followed him and discovered that he had only gone there to meet a lover. After a session of lovemaking, Geng Nantian pulled up his pants and returned to the镖局 (security service).
On the other side, Lu Jing, who was following the Hou镖师, turned out to be a cultivation fanatic. He didn't move an inch all afternoon, either practicing horse stance or practicing boxing.
He had almost mastered a set of ordinary Taizu Long Fist, which he used with a powerful and extraordinary force.
When the sun was about to set, Lu Jing and Yan Yun received a message from Wang Wan, asking them to go home for dinner, just like yesterday.
Yan Yun had already advised Wang Wan once, telling her that she and Lu Jing were still in the shadows and that Wang Wan should maintain her original lifestyle. Suddenly ordering a large table of food from the restaurant could attract the attention of those with ulterior motives.
However, when she returned, Yan Yun realized that she had somewhat misunderstood Wang Wan. This time, Wang Wan had personally cooked with the help of two maids, and it was said that she had spent a full two hours preparing a table of delicacies.
Wang Wan had even accidentally burned her hand, so Yan Yun naturally couldn't say anything more. She simply asked Wang Wan about the sale of the house today after everyone was seated.
Wang Wan first peeled a crab leg for each of the two children, letting them hold it and eat slowly, before saying, "Lu Daxia (great hero) and Yan Meimei (little sister) asked me to pay attention to who the buyers were, and I've kept that in mind.
"Today, the broker brought a total of four buyers. Among them were Master Qi Er, who was in the漕运 (water transport) business, Li, the owner of the silk shop, a Protector Yan from the Three Tigers Gang, and a woman named Meng Xueru. I'm not familiar with this name. She didn't say what she did, and judging by the clothes she wore and the powder on her face, she didn't seem very wealthy.
"So afterwards, I secretly asked the broker, and the broker told me to rest assured, saying that this Miss Meng was very wealthy and had flashed a five-thousand-tael silver note before coming to see the house."
Yan Yun's expression changed slightly after hearing this name. "When did she arrive?"
"She came very early, at Si Shi (9-11 am)."
Facing Lu Jing's questioning gaze, Yan Yun explained, "Meng Xueru is Geng Nantian's mistress. She was originally a courtesan, and Geng Nantian paid to redeem her. Unfortunately, his wife is a shrew, and Geng Nantian doesn't dare to bring Meng Xueru home. In fact, he has been carefully hiding Meng Xueru's existence. Even within the Tianma Security Service, few people know about their relationship, and…"
Yan Yun paused, "Geng Nantian went to see Meng Xueru this afternoon. I listened for a while on the roof and discovered that they were… engaging in intimate relations, so I didn't listen any further. But now it seems that Geng Nantian's visit to Meng Xueru's residence may not have been just to be with her, but also to inquire about Wang-jiejie's (older sister) sale of the house."
"Geng Nantian is a镖师 (security escort) at the Tianma Security Service and is highly valued by Master Zhao. Although he earns a lot, his daily expenses, plus supporting his mistress and socializing, certainly wouldn't allow him to save up five thousand taels of silver. So the five thousand taels on Meng Xueru are likely from the ten thousand tael reward for the secret shipment for the Su family," Lu Jing added.
Yan Yun nodded. "In that case, Geng Nantian is indeed highly related to the death of Su-jiefu (sister's husband), and as his lover, Meng Xueru should also hold many of his secrets. So we can go see this Miss Meng next."
Yan Yun was decisive and had already picked up her sword after speaking. Lu Jing, seeing this, put down the steamed bun in his hand and stood up from the chair.
Wang Wan was a little dumbfounded looking at the table of food that hadn't been touched much. After a long while, she said, "Y-you're not going to finish eating before you go?"
"Let's go earlier to avoid any more changes," Yan Yun said. "It's okay, Wang-jiejie can leave us one or two dishes. We can heat them up when we get back."
"Oh." Wang Wan seemed a little disappointed. This table of dishes was the result of a lot of her hard work. You know, she hadn't cooked many times since she got married. To make tonight's meal, she had been learning from the maids for a long time and had even practiced beforehand.
But in the end, she didn't complain. She just said gently to Yan Yun and Lu Jing, "Go early and come back early."
Just as the two were about to walk to the door, the two children, Bao'er and Chai'er, suddenly put down their chopsticks, ignored Wang Wan's calls, ran back to the inner hall, and then quickly ran out, catching up with Lu Jing and Yan Yun who had just left.
Reaching out, this time they handed over two bracelets woven from grass stems.
Yan Yun half-squatted down, put one of them on her hand, and then touched Bao'er's head, saying, "Don't worry, Yan-ayi (aunt) will definitely avenge your father."
Lu Jing also took the other grass stem bracelet from Chai'er's hand, thanked her, and then the two walked towards Meng Xueru's residence.
After Geng Nantian redeemed Meng Xueru from the brothel, she had been living in Shizi Street in the north of the city. Since Yan Yun had just been there once in the afternoon, she was familiar with the way.
However, when she reached the outside of Meng Xueru's door, Yan Yun noticed that Lu Jing suddenly stopped and looked towards a tea stall on the corner of the street.
Yan Yun followed Lu Jing's gaze and saw a burly old man sitting at the tea stall, drinking tea. His hair was all white, but his back was straighter than a young man's, as if nothing in this world could overwhelm him. His eyes were also as sharp as an eagle's.
Lu Jing sighed and walked to the tea stall, sitting down opposite the burly old man.
The latter asked the tea server to bring Lu Jing and Yan Yun each a bowl of cold tea before saying, "How is it? Are you used to living in the capital?"
Lu Jing nodded. "Compared to Wujiang City, Lintian Prefecture has a drier climate with less rain, but it is better in that it is full of people and connects all nations, and has the aura of the imperial family."
The burly old man nodded. "It's always good to see more of the world while you're young."
After speaking, he shifted his gaze to Yan Yun beside him, "Is Pavilion Master Qiu still in good health?"
At this point, Yan Yun could no longer guess who this burly old man was. Hearing this, she bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern, Senior. My teacher is very healthy, and his swordsmanship has improved again."
"Even at the top of his game, he can still take another step forward. I'm afraid only Pavilion Master Qiu can do that in this world," the burly old man praised.
However, his words were interrupted by Lu Jing, who said with a wry smile, "Master Zhao, we're so familiar, can we stop chatting about this pointless nonsense?"
"Is that so? But this old man thought that Lu Daxia liked these roundabout ways," Zhao Banshan said indifferently. "Otherwise, if you wanted to investigate me, why didn't you come to me directly and openly? Why go to such lengths?"