Chapter 48: The Imperial Decree

  The king's procession is naturally extraordinary. In front, four riders blew horns to clear the way; behind them, eight riders held colorful silk flags with auspicious characters; in the middle was the sixteen-man sedan chair of Prince Liang, carried by brave and strong soldiers from the army; on both sides of the bridge stood two small eunuchs with clear eyebrows and bright eyes, holding feather dusters; at the end were thirty-six brave and skilled generals, all grasping long-handled golden-backed large sabers.

  Xiao Liang Wang's entourage, except for the sedan chair bearer in the middle, were all dressed in pure white high-hat and large horses, with black-bottomed yellow imperial uniforms. The sound of gongs echoed, colorful flags fluttered, and the momentum was extremely grand. Street vendors and pedestrians hurried to make way, while onlookers stopped far away to gaze and see what was happening.

  A group of people and horses soon arrived in front of the "Jiang Zhenzi Anju Guest House". As soon as the sedan chair stopped, the shopkeeper came out to greet them. Li Guan did not pay attention to him, but instead shouted loudly at the door: "Xiao Liang Wang has arrived, Jiang Zhenzi quickly come out to meet him."

  After a while, Jiang Zhenzi walked out with a smile and said: "Which prince is it after all? You didn't even give me a heads up beforehand, let me make some preparations first."

  It was strange that, apart from the large sedan chair having landed on the ground and the sixteen military porters standing quietly waiting, Xiaoliang Wang and his entourage were still sitting upright on horseback, without any intention of dismounting. The atmosphere on Wufu Street was tense and solemn.

  Jiang Zhenzi arrived in front of the sedan, and before he could speak, the leading eunuch shouted loudly: "Young Prince Liang is here, Jiang Zhenzi still doesn't kneel, what more can you wait for?"

  Jiang Zhenzi was stunned for a moment, his chubby face moving up and down, left and right, with an indescribable expression, as if he had been scared silly.

  That little eunuch shouted again: "Young King Liang is here, and you still don't kneel down. Do you want to be executed along with your entire clan?"

  Jiang Paozi suddenly turned around and walked away, his figure still swaying back and forth at an extremely fast speed. In the blink of an eye, he had already returned to the front of the inn. Then, he took down the sign hanging on the door with the seven golden characters "Jiang Zhenzi's Inn for Merchants" and held it to his chest. Opening his throat, he shouted: "The sacred decree of Emperor Huizong is here! All of you in front of the gate, quickly kneel down and listen to the proclamation!"

  Xiao Liang Wang and his entourage were shocked upon hearing this, what on earth was going on?

  Li Guan said to Jiang Zhenzi: "Jiang Zhenzi, don't be reckless. Falsifying an imperial edict is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor, punishable by executing nine generations of your family, with no pardon possible."

  At this time, four more tall men appeared beside Jiang Zhenzi. Jiang Zhenzi shouted again: "The imperial edict of Emperor Huizong is here, and the people in front of the gate still do not kneel down to listen to the proclamation, what are you waiting for!"

  The crowd in front of the gate did not dare to fight with their lives, and would rather believe it existed than not. They dismounted their horses, put down the objects in their hands, and knelt down on the ground. Even the young King Liang had to get out of his sedan chair and kneel down beside them. They shouted "Long live" three times, waiting for Jiang Zhenzi to read out the imperial edict.

  Jiang Dabao's expression was serious, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at the few lines of small print on the sign, reading out loud:

  "I have received the mandate of Heaven and taken control of the world. The Five Emperors relied on rituals and music to establish their territories, I dare not forget. Tang poet Jia Dao wrote: 'The lone city is easy to defend, but one cannot forget old friends.' 'Snow presses down on the stone chessboard, wind blows through the wine tower.' Li Wenxu and Jiang Zhenzi were acquainted with me in humble times, our hearts and livers shared a common understanding, we went through thick and thin together. Now that I have obtained the great unity, I also do not forget old friends. Within the Five Blessings Street, members of the imperial family, civil and military officials are not allowed to harass; Li and Jiang's two sons, when meeting with high-ranking officials, need only half-kneel, they do not need to kneel before others. Therefore, this edict is issued, let it be known accordingly.

  Issued on the first day of the fourth month of the summer solstice in the first year of Yuanshou (1098)."

  The crowd in front of the gate shouted "Long live" three times again and said they had obeyed the order. Jiang Zhenzi carefully rehung the signboard.

  Xiao Liang Wang stood up, his face devoid of any anger, and walked forward with a smile, saying to Jiang Zhenzi: "Everyone in the jianghu praises Big Fatty Jiang for being a good host and fun to be around. I too was just trying to have some fun and play a joke on you, but unexpectedly startled the imperial edict. It's truly my fault, my fault."

  Jiang Zhenzi looked at Xiao Liang Wang and thought to himself, "This young man is extremely deep and can be both flexible and yielding, he's a formidable figure." The fatty flesh on his face twitched a few times, and an old lovable image appeared again, smiling and saying: "Young Master Wang is the recent darling of the imperial court, the top scorer in this year's martial arts examination is just around the corner. Today I finally get to meet him, and indeed he lives up to his reputation."

  Jiang Zhenzi and Xiao Liang Wang walked into the inn together, arm in arm. Their intimate demeanor made outsiders think they were old friends who had known each other for a long time, and the tense atmosphere of their earlier encounter had dissipated.

  Jiang Zhenzi led Xiao Liangwang to the second floor VIP room, which was separated by wooden partitions as usual. The wooden partitions were carved with traditional patterns such as "Three Friends of Winter" and "Flowing Clouds and Hundred Bats", and two flower-and-bird paintings were hung on them. These flower-and-bird paintings had bright colors and lifelike shapes, which made them stand out from the other paintings.

  Xiao Liang Wang pointed to the two flower and bird paintings and asked, "This should be a masterpiece of Tan Ma Shiwen, the Western painter in the palace. It seems that you, Jiang Baozi, also have frequent contact with the palace."

  Jiang Zhenzi shook off the fat on his body and replied, "How could we lowly people have any connection with the palace? It's just that Tan Maoshi is a glutton and loves to eat my signature dish 'Jinhua ham', so he often comes to dine here. Sometimes he doesn't bring silver, so I had no choice but to let him pay off his debt with paintings."

  Two people burst out laughing.

  Jiang Zhenzi invited Little King Wang to sit down, served fragrant tea, and exchanged pleasantries. Jiang Zhenzi asked: "Little King Wang, what brings you here this time? Please speak directly."

  Xiao Liang Wang said: "Jiang Paozi, you are indeed a straightforward person, speaking quickly and to the point. I'll get straight to it then. This time, I've come for two matters: Firstly, three hours ago, eight of my attendants were injured by a young hero at your place, and I'd like to meet this hero. As for the second matter, I've heard that among the various people in Bianliang City, including those from the three teachings and nine streams, they all look up to you, Jiang Dabaozi, as their leader, wanting to find you to do something, what conditions do you have?"

  Jiang Zhenzi's eyes rolled a few times, and the fat on his face also jumped in sync. Then he said: "I don't have the ability that Little Wangye mentioned, I'm just a friend who is willing to help out, there are some things that can't be done openly but I can do them for you. What does Little Wangye want Da Pangzi to do?"

  Xiao Liang Wang hesitated for a moment, then said: "I have two ships of military equipment, including various long and short weapons, bows and arrows, and some siege engines. They must be transported into Bianliang City as soon as possible. But the Bian River is controlled by the Open Prefecture's Governor, Zong Ze, an old man who doesn't get along with Chancellor Cai or the Palace Secretariat's Tong Daoren. You should also know about my relationship with Tong Daoren. Do you have any way to deal with this, Jiang Pangzi?"

  Jiang Zhen let out a sigh of relief and said, "I thought it was something big like murder or arson, but it's just two ships of military equipment. To be honest with you, my young master, whether it's private salt or military equipment, I've lost count of how many times I've transported them in a year. The only thing is that the price is a bit steep, after all, it's a business where one has to put their head on the line, so it depends on whether you can afford the price or not."

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  Thank you zhuxyhh01, beautiful girl 007, and Qingquan2013 for your rewards.