Chapter 4: The Dark Shadow of the Imperial Palace

  The Zhou Mansion was filled with the sound of shouting and cheering, lively beyond compare. However, the guests all had their own secrets and ulterior motives, some were not here to watch the excitement. Leng Jiangbo secretly gave a signal with his eyes, and the several subordinates following him understood at a glance, disappearing into the crowd...

  These people had already divided the work, some went to the front yard, some to the back yard, some to the garden, and some drilled into the hall... In short, they thought suspicious places would go to check. Leng Jiangbo was not idle either, he found a place where no one was there, "whoosh" with a burst of martial arts jumped onto the roof. He first wanted to figure out the entire structure of Zhou Fu. Only to see him jump from this rooftop to that house top, as if walking on flat ground. First, he entered the main hall, using the screen wind as cover, carefully searching. He heard people outside say that the main hall was going to arrange a banquet, so he could only come out from the back window. He thought that such a search was like looking for a needle in a haystack, and it wasn't a good way either. It's better to take a look at the overall situation first. He went back to the rooftop, overlooking the whole view of Zhou Fu.

  A castle-like building sparked his intense interest. He quickly ran up to the front with a few swift steps. Seeing many servants strolling outside, the gate was closed, with the words "Ransom Garden" written on it. He dodged the strolling servants and jumped up in an instant. This Cold River Wave really had some skills, he didn't even exert himself to climb over the high wall. He looked around along the rooftops of the houses inside the garden...

  Mr. Zhou Shi Ming escorted his new wife to the front and came to toast. He loudly delivered a speech: "Ladies and gentlemen, relatives and friends, thank you for attending my wedding ceremony. I have prepared some wine, but it's not enough to show my respect. Please forgive me! Everyone, please enjoy your meal and drink well! Thank you all!" He started toasting each table. First, he came to County Magistrate Ge's table, raised his cup, "Magistrate Ge, thank you for your kindness in being the matchmaker for me. I'm truly honored!"

  "The landlord is getting more and more energetic with age, now welcoming a beauty, he must be getting younger and younger!"

  "Cheers, cheers..." Zhou Zhuang finished his drink in one gulp. "Everyone drink well, no drunkenness, no dispersal!" Zhou Shiming left to continue the toast.

  When Zhou Shiming arrived at Leng Jiangbo's wine table, Leng Jiangbo was already sitting there.

  "Brother, a toast to you and your brothers!" Zhou Shiming raised his wine glass and said to Leng Jiangbo.

  "Big brother, today is your big happy day! Little brother congratulates you!" Leng Jiangbo stood up and made a fist.

  "Congratulations! Congratulations!" Zhou Shiming said with a smile on his face.

  "Look at Little Aunt's figure, it's simply... one glance and the crowd goes wild... another glance... what was it again?"

  "Others are 'one glance can conquer a city, and another can conquer a country'." someone chimed in from the side.

  "Exactly, that's what I mean." Leng Jiangbo didn't show any sign of embarrassment. "Brother, you're an old cow eating tender grass! You have a lot of good fortune!"

  "You're still the same! A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory!" Zhou Zhuang was a bit unhappy, "Turn around and ask Ge County to be your matchmaker too?"

  "I wouldn't dare to overreach!" Leng Jiangbo drained his cup in one gulp.

  "Brothers, enjoy your drinks! I'll go attend to some other matters elsewhere." Master Zhou left.

  "Look at that, Hong Xiang can easily climb over the wall...!" Leng Jiangbo shouted towards Zhou Shiming's back. Not having drunk much, Leng Jiangbo was already spouting drunken nonsense.

  The sound of guessing fists, the sound of frolicking, and various musical instruments, Zhou's house is lively...

  Late at night, the Zhou's residence was quiet, and finally, the music stopped and the guests dispersed. The old master of the Zhou family came to the new room, poured a cup of tea, and handed it to the bride. "Have some water? You've been busy all day, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting!"

  "The old master's words are reasonable, I should serve you instead." The fifth wife said with a blush.

  "Come, sit down and let me take a good look at you!" The host of Zhou gently pulled the fifth lady to the front and sat her down, examining her carefully. In the dim candlelight, only the slender figure of Lady Lin Jingya could be seen, with a melon-shaped face, wearing a pale pink dress wrapped around her body, with a large red gauze cloak draped over it, revealing a beautiful neck and visible collarbone. The folds of her skirt fell lightly to the ground, with more than three feet of hem, and her three thousand black hairs were tied up with a hairband, with a butterfly hairpin inserted into her hair, and a strand of black hair hanging down in front of her chest. Her light makeup only added to her natural beauty, and the faintly visible red lips on either side of her face created an impression of delicate loveliness like flower petals...

  Seeing such a beautiful woman, Zhou Shiming couldn't help but lower his head and gently kiss her face, with continuous kisses to the edge of her ear, and heavy breathing in her ear... He suddenly stopped, keeping a certain distance from the bride. Madame Lin Jingya was startled, and her face also turned red instantly.

  The master lowered his head, seemingly filled with self-reproach. "At my age, I shouldn't have remarried. But Magistrate Ge repeatedly urged me, saying that the madam's life was miserable and she was willing to marry into the Zhou family, so I..."

  The Fifth Mistress hadn't even let Zhou Shiming finish speaking, before she gently covered the master's mouth with her hand. "Master, don't say any more, I married into the Zhou family of my own accord. Are you regretting it now?"

  "The girl is like a heavenly maiden descended to earth, having such a wife is my good fortune. However, I'm already old, afraid of delaying the girl's life. If you regret it later, I, Zhou Shiming, won't force it..."

  "What the old master said is not unreasonable. I, Lin Jingya, am a person of humble origins, as long as the old master treats me and my maid Xiaoqing well from now on, and truly regards me as the mistress of the Zhou family, I will be content." The bride finished speaking and then coyly lowered her head.

  "You're such a good girl!" Zhou Shiming gently pulled her into his arms...

  However, outside the window, several dark shadows flashed by from time to time...

  Leng Jiangbo and Jiang Xiaodao were ordered to sneak into the Zhou residence at night for reconnaissance. They followed the map they had drawn during the day, jumping over the east wall of the compound. The two men didn't seem to have mastered their lightness skills yet, as soon as they landed, they made a "thud" sound. Manager Lao Liang and Er Dui Zi were patrolling inside the Zhou residence with lanterns. As they walked, they talked about the wine-drinking situation that night. Upon hearing the noise, Manager Liang said: "I think I heard some movement. Did you guys hear anything?"

  A few people stopped to listen carefully, and when they didn't hear anything, Er Duanzi mocked him, saying: "Manager Big Brother, did you drink too much tonight? Hehe..." The other few people also burst out laughing.

  "We must keep our eyes wide open tonight. It's a grand day for Master, let nothing go wrong."

  "Don't worry, nothing will happen." Several people walked and chatted while continuing their night patrol...

  They dodged the household guards and made their way to the Redemption Garden, where Bai Tian felt something was off. The two of them snuck up to the wall of the garden, looking for a way to get over it, when they suddenly saw several dark figures moving in their direction. "Quick, get down, someone's coming..." Wan Liu pressed Jiang Xiaodao firmly into the corner of the wall, scaring him into silence.

  Only a few black shadows "swish" lightly jumped over the courtyard wall and fell silently into the courtyard...

  "Are we keeping up with them?" Jiang Xiaodao asked.

  "Nonsense, who knows what kind of people they are? Courting death, let's take a closer look first." Wan Liu remained very calm.

  Two people just waited for a while, and then they heard the sound of "wa wa" coming from inside. The several black shadows that had just gone in fell down from the wall with a "plop plop" sound. Someone was still shouting "Ah yo, my butt is killing me..." Several black shadows ran away...

  "What's going on?" Jiang Xiaodao looked at Wan Liu in confusion.

  "I don't know." Wan Liu was equally puzzled.

  "Shall we go in and take a look?"

  "Alright!"

  The two of them exerted themselves to the utmost, using all their strength to climb over the wall and then slid down a pole into the courtyard. The yard was pitch black, with houses everywhere. A gust of wind blew by, and from who-knows-where came the sound of wailing, causing the two to break out in a cold sweat.

  "What's that noise?" Jiang Xiaodao asked Wan Liu.

  "How was I supposed to know?" Wan Liu's heart was also racing with fear.

  "Is it the ghost who's calling?" Jiang Xiaodao asked further.

  "Stop talking nonsense!" Wan Liu wiped his face and moved forward.

  They turned several corners and felt that the courtyards were all the same. "Where have we arrived? I can't find my way back." This time Jiang Xiaodao was really anxious.

  The "wow wow" sound grew louder and louder. Wan Liu turned around and said to Jiang Xiaodao: "Go inside the house and take a look."

  "Big brother, it's too scary! Let's go back?" Jiang Xiaodao couldn't walk fast anymore...

  The two of them lit candles and walked forward step by step. Carelessly, they bumped into the wall. The two of them raised their heads and shouted "Wow!" "What is this thing? A ghost......" At that time, on the wall, a monster with a lion-like head, baring its teeth and grinning, stared at them and approached them...

  "Ghosts! Ghosts......" The two of them took off running, "Bang, bang" crashing into something...

  The two of them finally left the house, but couldn't find their way back. The "waah" sounds were still echoing, and both of their pants were wet...

  "Up the wall, up... the wall look... " still Wan Liu clever.

  Two people climbed over the wall and didn't know which direction was east, west, south or north anymore, so they just ran along the wall.

  The two of them weren't bad after all, and somehow they even managed to escape from the Zhou residence by mistake...