In Houhu Lake to the north of Yingtian City, many villas were built along the lakeshore, most of which were properties of prominent local families.
The beautiful scenery here is far away from the hustle and bustle, making it a good place to stay when entertaining guests and friends.
However, early in the morning, the tranquility here was broken. More than 500 sergeants appeared here and spread out outside a courtyard to guard.
The villa's name is Feiyunzhai, which is the villa of the Liu family, a prominent local family. It is also the venue for He Jiayan's so-called banquet.
The 500 soldiers who arrived in advance were affiliated with Yingtian Guards Qianhu Station, and they were only the first batch of people to arrive.
After them, another two hundred soldiers from the Beijing camp came, scattered in the area close to the courtyard, patrolling and guarding.
Feiyunzhai covers an area of only two acres. Now it is guarded by so many soldiers. It is not an exaggeration to say that it has an iron wall.
"Sir, with so many people guarding you, the assassin will have to shake his head when he comes, and then go back and forth from where he is!"
"I don't know what the higher-ups are thinking. So many people sent us here, and we don't even need to investigate the case..."
Listening to the complaints from his men, Chen Yuntai took the last bite of the steamed bun, and then scolded: "Shut up, everyone. Since we were sent here, if anything happens to this man, he will lose his head!"
This is called taking things as they come. Since you can't change the situation, try your best to make the situation better, or at least not make it worse.
At this time, someone reminded in a low voice: "Sir, Lu Qianhu and Zhang Baihu are here!"
Chen Yuntai and his party were wearing plain clothes. There were four groups of ten people like them around Feiyunzhai, monitoring "suspicious characters" in different directions.
As the Hundred Household Office directly under the Jinling Thousand Household Office of Jinyiwei, Chen Yuntai and his team are definitely elites, and they are all good at spying on intelligence and investigating cases.
After the two inspection supervisors left, the lieutenants returned to normal, and someone among them spoke again: "Sir, look at the three floors outside and the three floors here. There is not even a ghost in the circle. Let's not waste any effort!"
The person who spoke was named Zhang. He was a Buddhist among the captains and was the most troublesome to Chen Yuntai among his subordinates.
There is no way, Jinyiwei has status and high benefits, and he can still live a good life without seeking advancement. If he gets older and cannot be promoted, he will naturally become a Buddhist.
Chen Yuntai looked serious and reminded everyone: "Some actors and prostitutes have been invited to the garden. There is no guarantee that these people are not coming from the right way, so we should keep an eye on them!"
"What happened today is extraordinary. If the case cannot be investigated, we will only get scolded. If something happens to the Thirteenth Master, we will be stabbed!"
“It’s about a family’s livelihood, so you’d better be more attentive!”
After this second emphasis, all the captains were awe-inspiring and became more serious about their work.
The actors and singers who arrived in advance were carefully inspected and questioned, and even the "young talents" who came to the banquet were not exempted.
When encountering someone who doesn't listen to greetings, as long as you show your Jinyiwei sign, even the descendants of officials will choose to settle the matter.
Time passed slowly, and all the talented people attending the banquet arrived. It became quiet again outside the courtyard, except for the intermittent sound of horse hooves.
After a lot of busy work, there was really nothing to do at the moment, so Chen Yuntai ordered his men to rest first.
"It's time for the nobles to come too!" A captain yawned.
Nearly two hours have passed since the army cleared the area, and the sun has risen to noon.
The next moment, a captain shouted: "It's coming, it's coming, look over there..."
Following the direction of the man's finger, he saw soldiers appearing one after another at the corner of the road. Judging from their uniforms, they should be from the Beijing camp.
There were more and more soldiers in the Beijing camp, and then a sedan appeared, with more soldiers behind the sedan.
Inside the sedan chair, Zhu Jinghong wore a dark blue round-neck robe with auspicious clouds and dark patterns, a leather belt around his waist, soap boots on his feet, a net scarf on his head and a hairpin fixed in a bun.
Lifting the curtain, Zhu Jinghong looked at the situation outside, and then said to Hou Jing who was accompanying him: "Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile? You see, there are three floors outside and three floors here. It's too much to make a fuss out of a molehill!"
"Thirteenth Master, the ceremony has been reduced according to your instructions. Otherwise, there would still be the guard of honor of the flag bearer, the accompanying musicians and..."
"I said one thing... you have to say something back, right?"
"How can I do that? I'm not going to explain it to you!"
"How far is it?"
"It's right in front..."
After Hou Jing answered, Zhang Lin said: "Thirteenth Master, this place is really nice. It has beautiful mountains and clear waters. It's a good place to retire!"
Zhu Jinghong put down the curtain and said slowly: "Then you have to live to be old!"
Soon, Zhu Jinghong's sedan stopped outside the courtyard, and all the "talented people" inside came out to greet him.
The sedan was pushed down, and the eunuch opened the curtain, revealing Zhu Jinghong's true appearance.
"Welcome to the Thirteenth Master!"
Under the leadership of He Jiayan, all the young people bowed down, clearly displaying their status differences.
Lifting up his robe, Zhu Jinghong stepped out and bowed his head wherever he looked.
"Today, at the invitation of a friend, I came here to have a banquet and listen to music..."
Hearing that Zhu Jinghong called him a friend, He Jiayan smiled even more. From now on, he, Young Master He, will be more respectable.
"So today there is only Zhu Jinghong, there is no Thirteenth Master, please get up!"
"Thank you Thirteenth Master!"
All the young people stood up. No one really dared to ignore their status, especially these officials' sons and daughters, who knew how to measure things.
"Master Thirteen, everything is ready inside, but we are just waiting for you..."
He Jiayan quickly approached, showing that Zhu Jinghong was closer to him.
"Lead the way!"
"Master Thirteen, please..."
Looking up at the "Feiyunzhai" plaque, Zhu Jinghong walked in with his hands behind his back, followed immediately by He Jiayan and others.
There are also a large number of guards on duty in Feiyunzhai, but they are not wearing armor, and they are much less murderous.
On the way into the other courtyard, He Jiayan kept talking and introduced today's arrangements to Zhu Jinghong.
First they listened to music, drank and chatted, then watched a movie and ate, then went on a boat ride to watch the dance...
The content is very rich, just what Zhu Jinghong wanted.
After entering the second gate of the courtyard, you will see a spacious courtyard.
There is a stage on the south side of the yard, and there are more than a dozen tables in the open space to the north of the stage, with snacks and tea on the tables.
On the north side of the courtyard, there is an observation platform, and Zhu Jinghong is walking up the steps at this moment.
"Master Thirteen, please sit down!"
He Jiayan moved quickly and pulled up the chair before Lu Yuxin, and Zhu Jinghong sat on it with great swagger.
Seeing that everyone was still standing, Zhu Jinghong smiled and said: "Today is just a gathering of friends. You don't have to be restrained. Everyone can sit down..."
"Thank you Thirteenth Master!"
Everyone sat down one after another, and the scene was still very quiet. These usually suave and elegant young men did not show any signs of being free and easy at this moment.
Zhu Jinghong picked up the tea cup, looked at He Jiayan aside and said, "Aren't you listening to music? Let's start now!"
"okay!"
He Jiayan clapped his hands, and someone immediately understood and went to the back to make arrangements.
After a while, two beautiful girls walked onto the stage holding Qin in their arms.
After the two of them sat down, the musicians on the left and right sides of the stage began to play, and then the two girls also began to sing.
The music was very soft, and the live performance had a great atmosphere. Zhu Jinghong, who had not paid much attention to it, became fascinated by it for a while.
In fact, if he can be chosen to sing at this time, his singing skills must be the best in Jinling, otherwise he will lose face of Mr. He.
"Master Thirteen, have you heard about some rumors recently?"
After throwing a small snack into his mouth, Zhu Jinghong was already looking at the stage below and asked casually: "What's the news?"
