Insufficient balance

  "Lang Jun, it has been investigated that Xiao Heng lives in a rented house in Xuanping Fang, south of the city. The landlord is a merchant from the East Market. There are only three people in Xiao Heng's household, his parents are not in Chang'an, and he has a wife and a young son who is still in swaddling clothes; there are also no slaves or servants." Fang Yuzhong bowed at Xue Chongxun's gate to report, having thoroughly investigated the details of the handsome young man he met at Shuiyunjian.

  Xue Chongxun listened, thinking about the bad things he was going to do, and a thrill of excitement suddenly emerged in his heart, with a very anticipated feeling. He thought to himself, could it be that I am truly a person without any love... The pleasure in his heart was like the wind blowing towards him as he fell into the depths of hell, how refreshing.

  He suppressed the indulgence in his heart and said calmly on the surface: "I know, you go call San Niang, just the three of us will go, it's not good to have too many people."

  "Yes, Lord Lang." Fang Yuzhong bowed with his fist and went off to attend to the matter.

  After a while, Fang Yuzhong and San Niang walked over. Xue Chongxun took a look and saw that San Niang was wearing a tight-fitting dress with a veil on her head, and in front of the veil was a black gauze hanging down to cover her face.

  Xue Chongxun said: "This way of dressing is too eye-catching, you go back and change into ordinary clothes, blend in with the crowd and won't be noticed."

  Then San Niang very reluctantly returned to her room, changed her clothes, removed the canopy hat from her head, and wore a hairpin and a jacket with a turned-up collar. She covered her eyebrows with her palm, looked up at the sky and said: "The sunlight is too strong."

  Ordinary people usually like sunny days with white clouds, does she like gloomy weather? Anyway, Xue Chongxun didn't like that kind of dark and low cloud-covered sky which gave him a depressing feeling.

  Xue Chongxun took a glance at San Niang, her skin was as pale as ever, but her lips were red and delicate, that face exuded a chill, just like a female corpse who had just emerged from a coffin... Such a face, no matter what clothes she wore, would easily attract attention. She liked to wear a black veil in front of her, probably serving the same function as sunglasses in later generations, allowing the light not to be so bright.

  "Never mind, let's go." Xue Chongxun didn't want to dwell on such details either. Just two steps away, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask, "By the way, when Li Shouyi came to search the mansion that day, you said there was something you wanted to tell me, but at the time it was too urgent, so I told you to say it later. What was it?"

  In San Niang's dark and profound eyes, a hint of shyness flashed by, but it immediately disappeared. She said casually: "It's not anything important, just wanted to thank Lang Jun for his thoughtfulness."

  "Oh." Xue Chongxun turned back and continued walking outwards. San Niang and Fang Yuzhong followed behind him.

  It was still Pang Er who rushed to catch up, and the three of them got on a large felt car together. The felt car was covered tightly all around, and it was very dark inside. After San Niang got in, she seemed to have let out a sigh of relief. Only in the darkness did she feel at ease.

  Fang Yu Zhong pointed out the route to Pang Er through a carriage wall, and the felt car went out of the south gate of An Yi Fang, then crossed a big street and entered Xuan Ping Fang. After a while, Pang Er knocked on the carriage and said: "Lang Jun, we have arrived."

  Xue Chongxun jumped down from the carriage, looked around and saw that this was a narrow alley with a bluestone road surface. The walls on both sides were relatively high, and the alley was so narrow that the sunlight from the west could not shine in, making it cold and gloomy here. Moss had also grown on the walls.

  A few days ago, it had just rained, and the alley was probably dry relatively slowly due to short sunlight exposure. Under those loose stone slabs, there were still hidden mud splatters. If you accidentally stepped on such a loose slab, it would tilt with a "splat" sound and splash up a stream of mud, dirtying the hem of your long gown. Xue Chongxun had stepped on two in a row, getting his hem all muddy, and he couldn't help but curse out loud, "Damn!"

  "It's this house," said Fang Yu Zhong, pointing at a wooden door.

  Xue Chongxun didn't hurry to call someone to knock on the door, he looked around with his head down, then walked to the wall, picked up a few stones and put them in his money bag. He smiled slyly, then held the money bag in his hand.

  ……

  Xiao Heng was frowning and looking worried in the room, his left hand wrapped in gauze, emitting a strong medicinal wine smell. He used his only movable right hand to search for something under the cabinet, asking: "Where is my wine jug?"

  A young woman shaking a basket immediately scolded in a low voice: "You're injured like that, and you still want to drink? Don't you want your hands?" This young woman was Xiao Heng's wife, Duan Shi. Her round face looked like she was still a little girl. Tang Dynasty women typically married early, and Duan Shi was not very old, only in her teens. However, her hairstyle and attire were those of a married woman. Her child was sleeping sweetly in the basket beside her, less than a year old. As a breastfeeding woman, her chest was full, and Duan Shi's ample bosom looked out of proportion with her petite body.

  Xiao Heng furrowed his brow and said, "I'm feeling annoyed."

  Dong Shi buried his grievances and said, "Every day is not a day of flowers and wine, but rather hiding at home to kill time. With so much free time, go to Liu Xianggong's mansion for a walk, and get a job early on."

  Xiao Heng said, "I don't spend money like dirt, how can I have enough to support Mr. Liu? How can I pass the imperial examination? You're just a foolish woman! Just take care of your husband and children, what business is it of yours?"

  Dong Shi was indignant: "You're so capable, why didn't you kill that demon? Your fingers were even crippled like this, isn't it humiliating?"

  "Daughter, how was I supposed to know that drinking the rhino horn could save her? Don't mention it again, it annoys me!" Xiao Heng's face showed anger. "And my finger, that guy didn't know I'm Liu Gong's person, if he knew, even with a hundred times more courage, he wouldn't dare touch a single hair on me... Forget it, no need to waste energy on this trivial matter, let's focus on the important things at hand first."

  Dong's tone softened a bit as he asked, "Since no one was killed, I suppose it won't lead to any legal trouble?"

  Xiao Heng nodded and said, "The lawsuit is not a problem, the problem is that if Meng Xiaoyu reveals what happened, Shuiyunjian is a place of gossip and rumors, many people will talk about it, and unfortunately, it will spread out. How can I still be an official? My reputation will be ruined before I even take office! And...the direction of that money, you must not reveal half a word. We can only swallow our losses and keep quiet. If the secret is revealed and Liu Xiangong is implicated, we'll be in trouble!"

  Duan's family heard him mention Meng Xiaoyu, that cheap woman from the brothel actually thought she could share a man with her, Duan's family was both hateful and angry, and couldn't help but scold: "People like this are all shameless, last time they even came to our doorstep, humph, drinking crane top red is also what she asked for! If it wasn't for that demoness pestering us relentlessly, we wouldn't have had to make such a big fuss."

  Xiao Heng glared at his wife: "Others have taken out the money they've been saving for half their lives, and you're not even asking about it? Can you swallow this?"

  Dong said in a low voice: "I don't have such a useful brain as hers!"

  "You stupid and heartless woman!" Xiao Heng cursed.

  Dong's family was furious, stood up, with his hands on his hips and pointing at Xiao Heng's nose, scolding: "I don't have a prostitute to explain the situation, why don't you marry one back to have children? If you dare to let that kind of woman enter the house, your father will break your dog legs!"

  Just then, there was a rapid knocking at the door outside.

  Dong's family couldn't help but get angry and immediately became tense: "Could it be that the government officer has come to our door?"

  Xiao Heng said, "Crow's mouth! I'll go take a look." He immediately picked up his long gown and stepped over the threshold, walked into the courtyard and opened the gate, only to see that it was Hei Yanzi, the little black-faced boy who had been at odds with him in the Water Cloud Pavilion.

  He was about to get angry, when Xue Chongxun hastily said: "I am here to apologize to Xiao Lang for the trouble, I hurt you, can't let you spend more money on medicine."

  Xiao Heng lowered his head and took a look, only to see that Xue Chongxun's hand was indeed holding a heavy money bag. The bag was filled with valuables, possibly gold or silver... If it were that much gold, it wouldn't be a small sum! Even if it were just silver, it would still be quite something. Xiao Heng immediately swallowed his anger and decided to endure for the time being, as he had been lacking those worldly possessions lately.

  Xue Chongxun said, "A true hero doesn't know a stranger if he hasn't fought him. If we hadn't misunderstood each other at the Water Cloud Pavilion, would we have met? A great man's heart should be as vast as the ocean. Give me some face, Xiao Lang, and let's talk about how to proceed."

  Seeing the things in that bag, Xiao Heng opened the gate of the temple and said: "Come on in and talk, I'd like to hear what kind of misunderstanding this is."

  "Alright, alright." Xue Chongxun led two subordinates, a man and a woman, into the courtyard, while Pang Er guarded the carriage outside.

  When Xiao Heng brought the guests into the house, Xue Chongxun gave Fang Yuzhong a signal, and Fang Yuzhong stood in the courtyard to let the wind pass. Xue Chongxun and San Niang followed him in. As soon as they entered the house, they saw another woman inside, probably Xiao Heng's wife... The Tang Dynasty was relatively open-minded, but it was generally not allowed for women to meet guests unless they were relatives or very close friends.

  Xue Chongxun smiled and said, "Excuse me, excuse me."

  Xiao Heng said: "My home is not in Chang'an, this is just a temporarily rented house, so it's not very spacious, please sit down."

  Xue Chongxun slapped the money bag onto the table with a loud "thud", and judging from the sound, it must have weighed several kilograms... Duan Shi was initially shocked by the appearance of the woman behind Xue Chongxun, but her attention was soon diverted to the money bag on the table. However, she didn't dare open it in front of the guests, so she could only repeatedly guess in her heart whether it was gold or silver.

  "I'll go pour tea for our guests." Madam To became enthusiastic.

  Xue Chongxun hastily said: "No need for formalities, madam, please sit down." He then pointed at the child in the cradle and asked: "Is the young master a boy or girl?"

  "The boy."

  Xue Chongxun smiled and said: "Good fortune, good fortune." He stared at Dou Shi's chest again: "Your husband's wife's breasts are really big!"

  Xiao Heng and Duan's wife were both shocked, momentarily stunned, and after a moment Xiao Heng came to his senses, suddenly standing up from his chair, his face full of anger: "What do you mean?"

  "Take it easy." Xue Chongxun still had a smile on his face, and he raised his hand to signal him to sit down, but Xiao Heng didn't buy it, and he remained standing there, staring angrily. After another moment, Xiao Heng finally realized something was off, and he hastily gave Dou Shi a signal with his eyes, indicating that she should quickly go out and call someone.

  Dong Shi was still in shock and hadn't reacted yet. Xiao Heng tried his best but to no avail. He had no choice but to say to Dong Shi, "We have something to discuss, you go out first."

  "A child can be taught." Xue Chongxun said with an unchanged smile.

  Dong Shi was about to go out, but San Niang blocked her way and said coldly: "Where are you going? Stay here!"

  "It's been a long time since I've used a sword, especially a horizontal one. I actually prefer the broadsword used on the battlefield, it's big and has a lot of momentum." Xue Chongxun took down the horizontal sword from his waist and slowly drew it out, the sharp metal scraping against the scabbard with a "sizzling" sound, like heavy metal music.

  A narrow-bladed, thick-backed double-handed sword with exquisite craftsmanship. The later Japanese samurai swords are somewhat similar to the horizontal sword, but differ in that they do not have the slight curvature of the samurai sword. The origin of the samurai sword, the most revered weapon of the Japanese people, is quite embarrassing, as it was completely copied from the Tang military's ceremonial dagger, from style to craftsmanship, all of which were plagiarized... But this is not surprising, since everything in Japan comes from the Tang Dynasty, from architecture and customs to culture and dress, institutions and systems.

  Dong's family saw the sharp and terrifying horizontal knife, opening her mouth to scream out loud.