Seeing that the concierge was hesitating and couldn't tell who was visiting, Zhang Ren didn't care much and just waved his hand and walked straight in.
But the concierge seemed to have made a big mistake and said quickly: "It's a villain, please don't blame me, Master Ren."
This is an ordinary and trivial matter, but in this era, it can be fatal. If the owner has a bad temper, his wages will be withheld or he will be beaten.
Zhang Ren looked back and saw the concierge looking remorseful, and hurriedly consoled him: "Don't worry, there are so many noble courtiers in Aurous Hill, I can't recognize even one of them, let alone you."
After hearing this, the concierge breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhang Ren walked straight to the courtyard and saw Fu Rang lying on the lounge chair under the old tree, looking very uncomfortable.
Zhang Ren stepped forward and said politely: "My family has a low official position and a small place. No one would come here on weekdays. I even asked who the guest was, and it turned out to be my third brother, who is my half-brother."
Fu Rang had a familiar temperament. He didn't treat himself as an outsider when he came in. He didn't get up when he saw Zhang Ren coming over. Instead, he laughed out loud at his words. The words of his half-father and half-mother were new to him, so he spoke. Said: "Brother Ren, what you said is interesting, but don't belittle yourself. They say that if the mountains are not high, there are immortals and spirits, and if the water is not deep, there are dragons and spirits. Your family has a great person like you. Who dares to say that your family has an official position in Jinling City?" The lower place is smaller?”
Zhang Ren smiled slightly, sat on the stone bench next to the reclining chair, and said, "I haven't seen you for a long time. Brother Fu's knowledge has improved."
Fu Rang liked to hear this, but he still waved his hand and said: "Brother, how can you compare with brother Ren? Now you are the chief banner officer of Jinyiwei, and you have deposed the Marquis of Pingliang. Now you are afraid of the prime minister when he sees him." .”
Zhang Ren shook his head and said: "Three Brother Fu's words don't sound like nice words. We are all brothers. It's pointless for us to flatter each other like this. There must be something going on when Brother Fu comes to visit us."
Nowadays, many honorable nobles have been sent to prison, and many classmates in James's house have been imprisoned. The remaining noble disciples are all in turmoil. Basically, they will not leave the house unless there is something serious. They usually attract cats to tease them. The noble disciples who indulged in dog-fighting and horse-fighting seemed to have disappeared from Jinling City overnight.
Fu Rang stood up with a smile and said, "Brother Ren, you are Xiao Zhuge. Brother, I am here today to introduce you to a friend. For this afternoon, the place is set at Songzhu Pavilion."
Fu Rang said and took out an invitation from his arms.
Zhang Ren reached out and took it, but frowned. The Songzhu Pavilion was full of bad memories. Since Liuli's death, Zhang Ren had not even been to the Qinhuai River.
Seeing Zhang Ren's expression, Fu Rang patted Zhang Ren on the shoulder and said, "Brother Ren, I know you don't want to go to the Songzhu Pavilion, but the Songzhu Pavilion is the place chosen by that friend. He doesn't know about you, so why don't you invite me?" Please be more considerate. As long as you have a good relationship with this friend, it will be of great benefit to you and His Royal Highness."
Zhang Ren also knew that Fu Rang was doing this for his own good. Even if he really didn't want to go, he still had to give Fu Rang face.
Zhang Ren forced a smile and said, "Okay, just this afternoon, see you there or not."
Fu Rang nodded, stood up and said, "Okay, I'll be waiting for you at Songzhu Pavilion in the afternoon."
…
In the afternoon, Zhang Ren naturally kept his promise and rode all the way, admiring the scenery along the river.
Wu Peng was riding a horse half-positioned with Zhang Ren, looking exactly like a guard.
The court has changed a lot recently. The courtiers and nobles are in chaos, and the people in Jinling City rarely go out. The economy has also become quite depressed. The Qinhuai River, which was once crowded with people, is no longer lively. The shops along the river are no longer there. Shaodu has closed its doors, and some shops belong to the property of criminal officials and are now sealed by the imperial court.
This kind of scenery was not pretty. Zhang Ren looked around and found it boring. He could only turn his head and asked Wu Peng: "You follow me every day now. Don't you need to be on duty with the Jin Yiwei?"
Wu Peng shook his head and said: "The poor monk resigned from the position of Jin Yiwei and is now just a guard beside the benefactor."
Although Jin Yiwei's reputation is not good, at least it is
It is considered an iron rice bowl. If you handle a few more cases, there is not much room for promotion and salary increase.
So Zhang Ren was quite puzzled and asked: "Jin Yiwei is such a good place, but it is not better than following me as a guard? What is going on in your head, a monk?"
Wu Peng, however, didn't take it seriously and replied, "The poor monk is willing."
Zhang Ren had no choice but to say: "I am also a poor person now. If you stay with me as a guard, I have no money to give you."
Wu Peng replied with the same expression on his face: "It doesn't matter, the poor monk only asks for enough food for a tile-roofed house. I think these donors can still satisfy the poor monk."
It was too boring to talk to this monk, mainly because this monk was too serious. Zhang Ren turned his head and stopped talking. Now Wu Peng had avenged his great revenge. Zhang Ren hoped that he could start a new life, but this monk was extremely stubborn. Zhang Ren had no choice.
The two of them were speechless all the way, and just rode their horses to the door of Songzhu Pavilion. Zhang Ren handed the horse to the reception boy of Songzhu Pavilion, looked up at the sign of Songzhu Pavilion, then turned to look at Wu Peng, feeling in his heart The bad taste suddenly aroused.
"Monk, have you been to a brothel?" Zhang Ren raised his eyebrows and asked with a smirk on his face.
Wu Peng quickly lowered his head and said, "Amitabha, the poor monk has never been there."
Zhang Ren walked up the stairs of Songzhu Pavilion with a smile. At the same time, he did not forget to wave to Wu Peng and said, "That's just right. I will show you something today."
Zhang Ren walked to the door and looked back, only to find Wu Peng standing still. He hurriedly asked: "Come up!"
In fact, a big-name brothel like Shochikukan has a concierge for the servants to rest. After all, the people here are all dignitaries. You can choose to bring the servant in to serve you, or you can choose to leave the servant in the concierge. This depends on the guest's preferences and needs, and the concierge has enough tea and steamed buns, which is perfect for Wu Peng.
But who allowed him to meet such a wicked person like Zhang Ren.
Wu Peng shook his head and said, "This place of fireworks is really not suitable for a poor monk to go to."
Zhang Ren hurriedly said: "You have already returned to secular life, why are you afraid of the land of fireworks? And you have said that you want to be my bodyguard. I was assassinated last time I came here. What if someone wants to kill me again this time?" You won’t help me?”
After hearing this, Wu Peng could only grit his teeth and follow him.
As soon as we entered the hall, a boy came up to greet us: "You two gentlemen, please come inside!"
Just looking at Wu Peng's shiny head, with some scars on it, the boy felt fresh.
