Chapter 3: Shopping or Robbery

  "Xiao Wei, how old are you?" Lu Bing asked with a smile as he ran to Xiao Wei's side while she was working. Xiao Wei's face turned red and she lowered her head, Lu Bing was extremely surprised, why did asking about her age make her blush?

  Xiao Rui reached out and pinched Lu Bing's arm, saying: "Who asks people this kind of question?"

  Xiao Rui ran away with a red face, Lu Bing scratched his head in confusion, but heard someone behind him making a "tsk tsk tsk" sound. Lu Bing turned around and said: "Hongdi, are you looking for a fight?"

  "You dare, I'll tell your dad to come, I'm the king of excitement, you dare hit me and I'll let your dad hit you, hehe." Zhu Houzi said this, but hid far away from Lu Biao. Seeing that Lu Biao didn't intend to chase and beat him, Zhu Houzi then said: "You're confused again, Brother Biao, when you ask a girl's age, isn't it obvious that you want to marry her based on age? However, speaking of which, you're not young either, I reckon in two years' time, you should be getting married too. Look at Aunt Lu, she's always so happy looking at Little Rui, who knows, maybe you'll really end up marrying Little Rui."

  Lu Bing was stunned, this news came too suddenly, he hadn't said anything yet, and he had only known Xiaorui for less than two months, they had only exchanged a few words, how could they be talking about marriage? Besides, he was still so young, at the age of 16, even if he waited two years, he would only be 18, it was okay to have a romance, but marrying a wife was unbearable for Lu Bing.

  Xiao Rui is quite good, looks cute, and has a pure heart, but still lacks a little bit of feeling. In short, Lu Bing suddenly had the idea of wanting to escape marriage.

  Zhu Houzhen saw Lu Bing's expression and couldn't help but laugh: "Bing Ge, don't be afraid, I'm just joking with you. Even if Aunt Lu agrees, I reckon your dad won't agree anyway."

  "What's wrong?"

  "Your family is a noble one, after all. You should at least marry a woman of equal social standing. Someone like Xiaorui, she's only suitable as a concubine or a servant girl. She's not even qualified to be a secondary wife." Zhu Houzhen chattered on and on, he may look young but he knew a lot, however, this appearance didn't seem like that of a feudal lord at all.

  Suddenly, a woman's sobbing sound came over, and Zhu Houzhe and Lu Bing looked at each other, only to see Xiaorui covering her mouth and crying. It turned out that Xiaorui was eavesdropping on the side. Zhu Houzhe didn't know what to say for a while, and Lu Bing hadn't talked about love before, so he didn't know either. After a moment, Xiaorui stomped her foot and ran away crying.

  "You, you, this broken mouth." Lu Bing pointed at Zhu Houzhen and said, then asked again: "Think about it, how to coax Xiao Rui well."

  "What did I say wrong?" Zhu Houzhen still mouthed off "Originally, I didn't say anything wrong, matching doors and households is a must, things like Sima Xiangru and Zhuo Wenjun are rare in a thousand years, can be encountered but not sought."

  Lu Biao sighed and said, "Feudal marriage is killing people. If I really had to marry a woman I've never met before, it's better to find Xiaohui instead. Don't change the subject, ask you, how do you coax Xiaohui?"

  "How was I supposed to know? You asked me what's up, and I'm only twelve, okay?" Zhu Houzi said with a smile, looking rather pleased with himself.

  "Ah." Lu Bing thought for a moment, it seemed that he could only think of a way himself. Carefully explaining to Xiaorui was not working, so it seemed that he had to use gifts as a door-opener, first coaxing Xiaorui into a good mood before explaining again. Thinking of this, Lu Bing asked: "Where is the nearest market and shops around here?"

  Zhu Houzhen's eyes lit up and said: "We have Anlu, but I suggest you go to Chenjiatai. The market in Chenjiatai is bigger, the shops are more varied, and there are all sorts of things that you've never seen before..."

  "Are you sure you want to go? Alright, as you wish, we'll go together, but don't let my dad find out. Be careful, you bring the horse out first and I'll follow. Can you ride a horse?" Lu Bing asked anxiously, to be honest, he had just learned himself, relying on the action points he saw on TV before and his current agility to control it. Only now did he realize that riding a fast horse was not so easy, and the ancient people on TV who could jump onto a horse were just bragging.

  Zhu Houxi nodded slightly regretfully and Lu Bing said, "I'll teach you slowly on the way."

  "Good!" Zhu Houzhen exclaimed excitedly.

  Two people slowly exited the Xingwang Fu, and all along the way they proceeded very slowly. Although Zhu Houzhe had followed Lu Bing to practice for a while, after all, he was not as tall or physically large as Lu Bing, and his skills were also far inferior, so it took him a long time to dare to ride horseback slowly. Originally, walking would have taken more than an hour to reach Chen Jiatang, but now the two of them on horseback had slowed down considerably, taking a full one and a half hours.

  Fortunately, Zhu Houzhuo was clever and soon discovered the trick. By the time they arrived at Chenjia City, he had already mastered the technique of horse riding. He happily galloped around the city wall with Lu Bing several times before stopping. The two tied their horses in front of a guest house outside the south gate, went inside, ordered some stir-fries, two catties of braised beef, and a pot of wine, and started eating and drinking heartily.

  After finishing eating, Lu Bingcai asked in a low voice: "Did you bring money?"

  "You dare to come out and eat without bringing any money?" Zhu Houzhu suddenly shouted, causing the surrounding diners to turn their heads, and the waiter immediately blocked the door to prevent these two from running away with a free meal.

  Lu Bing felt the contemptuous glances from the people around him, and he couldn't help but blush with shame. However, Zhu Houzhen burst out laughing and threw a few silver coins on the table, saying: "Settle the bill, don't bother looking for change! Take good care of our horses, feed them well, if there's any problem, I'll hold you responsible!"

  "Alright, young master, take your time." The shopkeeper changed his previous cautious demeanor and smiled slyly, seeing how wealthy Zhu Houzhen was and willing to spend money. He nodded and bowed, hoping for a tip. Zhu Houzhen was not naive and didn't hesitate, taking out over ten copper coins and tossing them to the shopkeeper. Then, he swaggered with Lu Bing into the city.

  After entering the city, Lu Bing asked: "Where did you get the money from? How much is left? Don't spend it all or you won't be able to buy anything."

  "Hey, I've got over twenty taels here, that's enough for the two of us to use. As for where it came from? Hehe, my family's salary is all taken by my mother, and being a vassal king is really poor."

  "Never mind that, I'm asking you where the money came from?" Lu Bing looked at Zhu Houzhen's evasive words and knew something was wrong, so he pressed on.

  "It was taken from your father's wallet." After finishing speaking, Zhu Houxiu ran away with her legs, Lu Bing cried and laughed, and found out that Zhu Houxiu used her own father's money to invite herself, no wonder she was so generous. The two of them made their way to the market in the midst of laughter and noise.

  The man bought things quickly, in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they had already picked out a string of necklaces. The necklace wasn't expensive, made from various stones strung together, including jade, cat's eye stone, ruby, sapphire and more. Although they were all inferior goods, when paired together they looked particularly good. The price wasn't too high either, only three or four silver coins, which left both Zhu Houzhen, who was slightly obsessed with wealth, and Lu Bing, who had no concept of money, quite satisfied.

  After picking out the things, they were packed in a small wooden box and stuffed into their bosoms. The two of them began to wander aimlessly, and since they had finally managed to get out, they might as well have fun.

  The market was indeed bustling, with vendors selling farm tools, livestock, snacks, and performing arts, as well as those selling handmade crafts to earn some extra money. Although it was chaotic, strolling through the market had a unique charm. Lu Biao thought to himself: The ancient times were better, there were no city managers back then, otherwise it would be a big mess. But then he thought again and felt at ease, in ancient times there were no cars either, so they didn't need such wide roads, as long as there was enough space for people to walk through.

  Just thinking about the world being in harmony and people not closing their doors at night, suddenly saw a crowd of people gathered around, Lu Bing was curious and just wanted to take a look, but saw Zhu Houzhen taking a step ahead, so the two walked towards that direction one after another.

  "Hey, old man, did you hear me? Our young master wants all these things!" a burly man shouted, wearing a short blue robe with a menacing look that betrayed his identity as a wicked servant of a wealthy family.

  An old man was holding a sixteen or seventeen year old girl, hiding in the corner of the wall, shivering with fear. The stall in front of them had been overturned by someone. The girl looked delicate and pretty, but at this moment her face was pale white and she was tightly nestled in the old man's arms.

  A thirteen or fourteen-year-old young master with a brocade clothes smiled slyly at all of this, the goods were secondary, to be honest, he didn't think much of these broken goods on the stall either. The problem was that this girl looked really beautiful, if he could take advantage of her delivering things and bully her... The young master sneered lewdly.

  The old man who set up the stall would not understand, so at first he pushed and said that the girl's family did not recognize the road, and it was better to send it himself. He didn't expect a word of disagreement to overturn the stall, fearing that after a while, fists and feet would be added to the street robbery. The old man sighed with tears in his eyes: "Is there still a king's law in this world?"

  "What royal law? Our Jiang family is the royal law!" The vicious house slave behind the young master shouted.

  The surrounding area has been surrounded by many onlookers, who dare not speak out in anger, but can only watch as this group of people behave recklessly, with no one willing to risk trouble by speaking out justly.

  Lu Bing watched this scene, suddenly felt a surge of anger, under the vast sky, how can someone be so evil. Looking at the evil young man's pair of sinister little eyes circling around that girl, Lu Bing became even more disgusted. Now he had excellent martial arts skills, if not now then when would he play the hero and rescue the beauty? Although that girl wasn't his type, helping those in need was always Lu Bing's ideal state, and he didn't have any ulterior motives.

  Just as he was about to rush out and take action, Zhu Houzhen stopped him. Lu Bing said in a low voice: "Why did you pull me?"

  "Brother Bing, Chenjia Village is very close to our Anlu. What if they find out what we look like and come after us? I'm not the one who should be afraid, it's you! It's fine for heroes to rescue beauties and draw their swords to help, but if your father finds out that you're taking me out to fight, humph, I'm afraid you'll be sore for another ten or so days." Zhu Houzhen said.

  Lu Biao's face turned red, his father Lu Song loved to spank him, and no matter how he explained that he was already 16 or 17 years old, he would still pull down his pants and give him a good thrashing, calling it "Bamboo Stick Stir-Fry". As a result, every time after being spanked, Lu Biao's face was even hotter than his buttocks, and he really had no face to show in public.

  Upon hearing Zhu Houzhu's words, Lu Bing hesitated for a moment but still spoke in an angry tone: "I'm not afraid of them seeking revenge, nor am I afraid of my dad beating me. It's just... cough, are we really going to do nothing about it?"

  "Who says we can't," Zhu Houzhuo sneered, "Come with your face covered, heh heh, let them know who's the real boss." As she spoke, Zhu Houzhuo somehow produced two black cloths from within and handed one to Lu Bing.

  Lu Biao took over, raised an eyebrow and said: "Young man, tell me honestly, are you coming out to have some fun today or to rob someone? Why did you even prepare a black cloth for blindfolding?"

  Zhu Houxi smiled and didn't answer.

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