Chapter 41: The Trail of the Lewd Thief (Part 2)

  Zhao's deputy head had obviously introduced Xiao Ziyang's extraordinary martial arts skills to Wen Yuanwai, so he was quite polite. After asking Xiao Ziyang to take a seat, he asked: "I don't know the surname and name of this great hero, where did his master come from?"

  "I dare not, under Wu Tai, martial arts is a family heirloom," Xiao Ziyang replied with a fist bump.

  The secretary's tone was not rough, and his slightly worried heart relaxed a little. "According to Zhao Kun, Wu Daxia's martial arts skills are impressive, with your help, I can rest assured. I'll instruct someone to prepare a good room for you, and assign a servant to attend to your needs; if there's anything else you need, please don't hesitate to let me know."

  "Red silk guest is extremely cunning, if he comes to offend, he will definitely step on the plate first, so I want to ask you to send a quick and agile little servant to take me around the Wenfu neighborhood, maybe we can discover some clues in advance and make preparations."

  "Alright, as expected of Wu Da Xiaojie, you're quite thoughtful!"

  "The old master" quickly walked in a house servant from outside the door.

  "Go and call Wen Jin over,"

  Before long, the servant brought in a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old with clear eyebrows and eyes, dressed as a junior servant.

  The clerk pointed at the young man and said, "This young fellow is a born son of my Wen family, quite clever and quick-witted. Let him serve Lord Wu." He then turned to the young man and instructed, "Wen Jin, this Lord Wu is a high-handed expert I've invited to guard against thieves. From now on, you'll follow Lord Wu and attend to his daily needs. For the next two days, take Lord Wu around town to see if there are any new faces appearing."

  The young man bowed his head in response.

  Xiao Ziyang looked at the young man carefully and found that his eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to those of the maid he had met at Heshun Inn, who was also the person he was supposed to protect this time.

  Xiao Ziyang bid farewell to Wen Yuan and did not go to the guest room prepared for him, but instead had Wen Jin take him around the Wen Mansion.

  The Wen family is indeed a prominent and wealthy household in Shangyuan City, just look at the scale of this mansion.

  The Wenfu estate covers an area of over 120 mu. Upon entering the main gate, there is a screen wall. After passing by the screen wall, there is a stone-paved path about 10 zhang long and 1 zhang wide. At the end of the path lies the main hall of the Wenfu estate. On both sides of the path are exquisite gardens, with two rows of side houses on either side of the garden. The guest house where Xiao Ziyang lives is located here.

  There is a short wall between the side of the main hall and the wing room, with an arched door on it. Passing through the arched door, what appears before one's eyes is a beautiful garden.

  In the garden, there is a pond of about 7 or 8 mu in size. The pond is surrounded by 7 or 8 courtyards of varying sizes. The garden is shaded with green trees, and under the shade, one can see some pavilions and kiosks scattered among them.

  Xiao Ziyang inquired about the owners of each courtyard from Wen Jin while carefully observing the garden, getting a clear understanding of the layout of the Wen estate. A plan was slowly taking shape in Xiao Ziyang's mind.

  After taking a look at the layout of the inner courtyard, Xiao Ziyang had Wen Jin take him out of the Wen Manor and walk around the walls surrounding it. He committed to memory the surroundings of the Wen Manor in all directions.

  Then Xiao Ziyang had Wen Jin take him for a stroll around town.

  "Wen Jin, I heard that your father is a high-ranking official who has retired. I wonder where he used to serve in the past."

  Wen Jin said proudly: "Before my father retired, he was the Jiangzhou Surveillance Commissioner."

  "Inspector! That's a high-ranking official of the second rank!" Xiao Ziyang was slightly startled. According to the Western Liang official system, the highest local official was the state shepherd, who was a real second-rank official, but the state shepherd was actually an empty title. Under the state shepherd were the governor and the inspector, with the governor in charge of civil affairs and the inspector in charge of military affairs. These two men were the true leaders within a state.

  "That's right, I heard from Sister that Master was quite majestic when he was in Jiangzhou." Wen Jin said this with a look of admiration.

  Xiao Ziyang smiled slightly, "I see Zhao Deputy Head and that... that person in charge of recruiting guards in the city, what's his name again."

  "Wudou Tou."

  "Oh, I see that both of you are wearing military uniforms and your titles sound like military ranks. What's going on?"

  "That was the imperial court showing sympathy for our master's hard work and high achievements, so they bestowed upon him a position as a Commander-in-Chief and two Deputy Commanders-in-Chief, as well as 20 Imperial Guardsmen to serve as his personal bodyguards; Wu Commander-in-Chief and Zhao Deputy Commander-in-Chief were truly officials of the ninth rank and below."

  "Oh, then where are these guards?"

  "They are led by Lin Fu, the deputy captain, to take care of our family's business outside. As long as our family's goods have these guards escorting them, they will be absolutely safe."

  "That's for sure, these guards are no different from government soldiers. Attacking government soldiers is a serious crime of rebellion."

  Xiao Ziyang and Wen Jinbian chatted idly as they strolled, quickly becoming familiar with the small town. He sent Wen Jinbian away and began to observe the town alone.

  Shuangping Town is the gathering place of "Shangyuan Pearl", quite prosperous. The town's wine houses and tea houses are standing in great numbers. Xiao Ziyang seems to be particularly interested in these places, always lingering and forgetting to return, sometimes even solving lunch in the wine house.

  For the next few days, Xiao Ziyang continued to do so. Wen Jin had some minor complaints about this and reported it to Wen Yuanwai, who was somewhat skeptical but decided to tolerate it for a few more days.

  Xiao Ziyang arrived in Shuangping Town for the seventh day. As usual, he came to the best wine house in town, Shuangping Building. This wine house is located at the north entrance of Shuangping Town, where the official road leads to Shangyuan City.

  Xiao Ziyang still wanted a window seat on the second floor, which just happened to be able to see the official road leading to Shangyuan City.

  Xiao Ziyang ate his meal in small mouthfuls while staring at every person coming from the direction of Shangyuan City.

  A horse carriage slowly came from afar and stopped right in front of the Double Peace Building.

  A merchant-like man got off the carriage, paid the fare, turned around and walked into the wine house with the approaching waiter, at this time he subconsciously raised his head and glanced up.

  On this white and chubby face, a pair of dull yellow eyes grew.

  Xiao Ziyang's hand trembled slightly, and he thought to himself "It's here." He quickly walked into the pre-arranged private room, listening from the gap in the door. The businessman did not immediately dine, but instead asked for a guest room and requested that wine and dishes be sent to his room. Afterwards, under the guidance of the waiter, he headed towards the backyard.

  Xiao Ziyang waited until he was far away, paid for the wine, and quickly left Shuangping Building.

  He did not return to Wen Fu's mansion but instead came to a wine shop on the second floor beside Wen Fu's mansion and sat down by a window facing Wen Fu's mansion.

  If Hong Zou Ke wants to observe the surroundings of Wen Fu, he must pass by under this building, and on the other side of the wall opposite to this wine building is the courtyard where Miss Wen lives.

  About an hour later, the plump businessman slowly walked over, occasionally walking into a store, seemingly inquiring about prices. However, if someone observed him closely, they would find that his eyes kept glancing towards the Wen Mansion.

  Xiao Ziyang and the merchant walked away, hastily leaving the wine building.