Lin Xiangyu smiled sheepishly and said: "The slave family came out of the city and fled here, and happened to meet the young master and his party staying overnight in this small temple.
Seeing that everyone was taking shelter from the rain in the palace and their precautions were lax, the slaves secretly got into the carriage, hoping to hide in the carriage and sleep for one night, then hide in the carriage the next day and sneak into the city.
I didn't want to run such a long way yesterday and was really tired, so I fell asleep deeply. And the young master woke up so early today, so the slave family was caught by the young master. "
Zhu Qiyu looked at his carriage. There was indeed a storage compartment under the soft couch. If there was a little girl of thirteen or fourteen years old hiding there, it would be unnoticed.
Fortunately, a runaway slave was hidden here today. If an assassin were hidden here another day, he would have died without even knowing how.
Zhu Qiyu shook his head and sighed: It seems that the capabilities of the palace guards are indeed limited. The most urgent task now is to recruit a group of capable people.
Seeing Zhu Qiyu shaking his head and sighing again, Lin Xiangyu had no choice but to persuade him: "Don't worry, young master. If it's inconvenient, I will leave immediately and I will not bring any trouble to the young master."
When Zhu Qiyu heard this, he smiled faintly: "Young girl, you think too much, I am not sighing because of you. Besides, now that things have happened, do you still want to leave?"
Girl, think about this possibility: you have just escaped from the dragon's pond and the tiger's den, and in the blink of an eye you have entered the wolf's den again. "
Lin Xiangyu smiled and said: "The slave family is so scared. Master, spare your life."
Zhu Qiyu sighed helplessly: "You girl is so bold. Do you want to follow me into the city and give the good man Wang a black light?"
"Young Master is smart. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is also the safest place."
"Then you're not afraid that I'll betray you? Or I could just keep you as my own, which is also a good choice."
Lin Xiangyu smiled and said: "The Nu family believes in their own vision."
Zhu Qiyu was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately praised: "The girl has really sharp eyes, and she can tell at a glance that I am a good person."
Lin Xiangyu smiled and said: "Please don't be sentimental, Master. The slave family has never seen that Master is a good person. But yesterday, I saw what you did from a distance, and you can be regarded as a polite, virtuous, and reasonable person."
The slave family just believes that even if the master wants to take over the slave family, he will still care about appearance and behave decently. "
Zhu Qiyu said with a smile: "The girl is really transparent. I will analyze it clearly. My thoughts at this moment are indeed exactly the same as what the girl said. I am thinking about how to eat the girl up with grace and dignity." .”
Lin Xiangyu smiled again and said: "I'm sorry, I haven't asked the young master for his name yet."
Zhu Qiyu felt happy when he saw that he and Xiangyu in front of him had reached a consensus. After thinking for a while, he replied:
"My surname is Jia, and my given name is Yu, which means "hard gold". As time goes by, the girl will know that I am as the name suggests, very hard, and I will never let the girl look down upon me in whatever I do."
Lin Xiangyu glared at Zhu Qiyu fiercely and stopped talking.
Zhu Qiyu smiled slightly, turned around and went out, got off the carriage, and ordered everyone to come forward.
Everyone came over with curious expressions and glanced at the carriage intentionally or unintentionally. Zhu Qiyu was not annoyed, and just told Cheng Jing: "Mr. Cheng, please go and invite the little beggar who kowtowed to me yesterday. I have something to say."
Cheng Jing was a little puzzled, but he still went over and invited the little beggar over.
The little beggar came over, knelt on the ground, and respectfully asked Zhu Qiyu for his instructions.
Zhu Qiyu smiled and asked: "Do you know the customs and customs in this area? Is there a good man named Wang Dashan in Baoding Mansion?"
The little beggar hurriedly replied: "Young master, this is what I asked. I walk around the streets and alleys of Baoding Prefecture. I have no other special skills. I have the elders of the east family and the shortcomings of the west family. I know a lot of anecdotes. That one. Wang Dashanren is the richest man in Baoding Prefecture. He has an in-law who is a high official in Beijing, so he is also the tyrant of Baoding Prefecture and no one dares to mess with him.
The largest restaurant, inn, rice store, etc. in the city are all the properties of Wang Dashanren. It's just that this good man Wang is domineering and domineering in daily life. He really doesn't live up to his name and can't be called a good man. "
Zhu Qiyu nodded with satisfaction and asked again: "I am short of manpower around me and urgently need to recruit some capable people. I think you are eloquent and capable, and you have read some books and know some words. I wonder if you are willing to do it for me?" I work for you?"
When the little beggar heard this, he looked back at the other beggars with a confused look on his face.
Zhu Qiyu asked: "What, are you in trouble?"
The little beggar replied: "It is an honor for me to serve the young master. It's just that we little beggars have always supported each other and depended on each other. We have been as close as brothers for a long time and we really can't bear to be separated."
Zhu Qiyu waved his hand and said with a smile: "What's the matter? It's a good thing to value love and righteousness. I'll accept all of you brothers. Just be a steward in my house first, and your brothers will work with you." .
Your surname is Li. Let me give you a name. Let’s call you Li Jin. Jin is the best among Qin and Jin. If you work hard, you will be blessed with glory and wealth in the future. "
The little beggar Li Jin was overjoyed when he heard this and hurriedly called his eight brothers to kowtow to express gratitude.
Zhu Qiyu ordered his guards to bring out some clean clothes for his new subordinates.
After packing up, the group continued to set off, walking leisurely for an hour, and finally arrived outside the north gate of Baoding Prefecture.
At this time, many officers and soldiers gathered at the gate of the city, strictly interrogating everyone who entered the city one by one.
Zhu Qiyu was lying in the middle of the soft couch, leaning on the backrest leisurely. Lin Xiangyu sat rather reservedly on the inside of the soft couch, covering her legs with a brocade quilt, half an arm's length away from Zhu Qiyu.
The two stopped talking and listened quietly outside.
Cheng Jing took the customs clearance documents and walked to the city gate guard. The guard checked the paperwork and found that there were no problems, so he said, "We are going to drive to check."
Cheng Jing smiled and said: "The document says that there is no obstruction to the passage and no questioning is allowed."
The guard replied coldly: "Originally, there was no need to investigate, but Wang Dashan's family in our city lost a skinny horse, and everyone entering and leaving the city must be strictly investigated.
Open the curtain of your carriage, we want to get in and inspect it. "
Cheng Jing didn't understand for a moment and asked curiously: "You see, although our group has many horses, they are all strong and good horses, and there are no thin horses.
Besides, why are you looking for the lost horse and checking our carriage? There is no way to hide the horse in the carriage. "
After hearing this, all the city gate guards were immediately amused by Cheng Jing and burst into laughter, leaving Cheng Jing confused.
After laughing for a long time, the guard explained: "You have never heard of Yangzhou Skinny Horse? That is a young girl raised by Wang Dashan. Do you understand?"
Cheng Jing blushed and said angrily: "I'm an eunuch, I don't know anything about this. You don't have to laugh at me like this. I offend a noble person. You are the one who looks good on me."
After saying that, he took out a big inner waist card and held it in front of everyone.
Although it is impossible for ordinary eunuchs in the palace to have powerful internal status, Cheng Jing is an exception. Just because the emperor showed great favor to King Xi, he specially gave Cheng Jing a palace entrance badge to facilitate Cheng Jing's entry and exit from the palace and send a message to King Xi.
Seeing that he was an important member of the imperial family, the current guard thought that Cheng Jing was a eunuch who was out on errands in the palace. His demeanor suddenly dropped, and he smiled and apologized to Cheng Jing again and again.
However, the gate guards were not the only ones inspecting the North City Gate. Mr. Wang Dashan also sent the housekeeper from the mansion to supervise.
So the guard bought it, but the housekeeper didn't care much. While everyone's attention was focused on Cheng Jing, he rushed to the carriage, opened the door curtain, and took a few glances.
None of the other palace guards responded. Only the newly recruited Li Jin, with quick eyesight and quick hands, first shouted to alert the two people in the car, and then stretched out his hand to stop the butler.
Taking advantage of this time, Zhu Qiyu pushed Lin Xiangyu's head down on his lap, and then quickly pulled the brocade quilt over, completely covering Lin Xiangyu.
So when the housekeeper opened the curtain, he only saw Zhu Qiyu, covered with a brocade quilt, reclining on the couch calmly and calmly.
The housekeeper wanted to take a closer look, but he had already been pulled aside by Li Jin. The palace guards also reacted, drew out their knives and surrounded him.
Cheng Jing also shouted sharply: "Are you going to rebel if you attack the eunuchs?"
When the housekeeper heard this, he didn't dare to make a mistake. He hurriedly apologized and said with a smile: "Don't dare, don't be angry, the superior. It's all a misunderstanding. Let's let him go now. The superior should hurry into the city and don't miss his errand."
Cheng Jing snorted coldly, with a dark face, and directed everyone to proceed.
It's just that the things outside the car were resolved, but there was a big disturbance inside the car.
