Chapter 144: Falling from the Sky

As the New Year approaches, Beijing becomes extremely bustling.

In addition to the streets decorated with lights and red silk, there are also many juggling troupes.

There are those that spit fire, swallow knives, and the most eye-catching ones are those that walk on single thread.

The little girl performing was only seven or eight years old. She had a porcelain bowl on her head and walked on a thin rope. The ground was covered with sharp blades. If she fell off the rope, she would either die or be injured.

The little girl was very skilled and courageous. She walked to the center of the rope and even dared to raise one leg above her head, performing the "One-legged Stand".

"good!"

"Great!" The audience cheered.

"If you have money, you can support us with your money. If you don't have money, you can support us with your presence." The owner of the circus troupe circled in the middle of the crowd, beating a gong, and saying auspicious words all the time.

There were some people among the onlookers who cheered and threw coins. Some ordinary people also threw one or two coins, but most of them just shook their heads and turned away.

"Ding-dang!" A crisp sound hit the tray, and the troupe owner stared at the golden coin with his eyes wide open.

He picked it up in disbelief and put it to his mouth and bit it, leaving clear teeth marks on it.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" This gold coin weighs about one or two taels, which is ten taels of silver and tens of thousands of copper coins, enough for them to work for a year!

"Father, he is calling me uncle~" Gina said excitedly. It turned out that the gold coin just thrown by her was thrown by her.

Charles pinched her nose helplessly: “Don’t mess around.”

"But that sister is so amazing, better than any circus I've seen before."

Charles couldn't explain to his little daughter the principle of not showing off one's wealth. Now that they had just arrived in Daqi, they were not familiar with the local prices. If they casually revealed some information, it might attract attention.

This time, Charles only brought four servants with him. Those servants could not speak Chinese and stayed in the guild hall and did not come out.

His worries were not unfounded. Although the public security in Shangjing was much better than in the previous dynasty, there were still many thieves on the streets.

The gold coin they just gave as a reward has already attracted the attention of many people.

Charles continued walking forward holding his daughter, not knowing that three or four people were following him.

Charles stopped at a pastry stall. The father and daughter had finished all the pastries that Song Yutang bought for them yesterday, so he planned to buy some more today.

Just as he was choosing, a person suddenly came up from behind and bumped heavily into his shoulder.

"Don't you have eyes?" the man left cursing.

Charles frowned, wondering why Da Qishen was so unreasonable. It was clearly him who hit him, but he was the first to complain.

The boss packed the pastries, put his daughter down and was about to take out the money when he found that his wallet was missing!

Charles realized instantly that the man had bumped into him on purpose to steal his wallet!

"Father?" Gina called him softly.

Charles was afraid of scaring his daughter, so he pretended nothing happened and said, "I forgot to bring money. Let's go back to the mansion first."

"How could that be? I just took gold coins from your wallet." Gina looked at his waist in confusion, but didn't find the wallet.

She nodded sensibly: "Let's go."

Just as the two were about to leave, someone suddenly patted him on the shoulder from behind: "Brother..."

Charles instantly pulled out a dagger from his waist and stabbed. Although he was in poor health, his fighting skills were top-notch, otherwise how could he survive in the cannibalistic Anduntep Port.

The other party didn't expect him to attack suddenly and hurriedly blocked it with his fan.

"Hey, there's no need to be so angry. I'm bringing you a purse."

The man shook the brown wallet in his hand.

"Give it back to me." Charles said coldly.

"Can't you say thank you?"

"This is my wallet, why should I thank you?"

"It's not me who stole the purse. I was kind enough to help you get it back, but you still have this attitude."

Charles became extremely alert when he saw that the man spoke in a slick tone and did not seem like a good person.

"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. I'll return the wallet to you. Be careful on the street next time." After saying that, the man threw the wallet to Charles, turned around and flew away.

Gina shouted in surprise: "Father, he can fly! He can fly!"

Charles picked up the purse and put it in his arms, then hurried away with his daughter.

*

In the alley, Liu Yanzi was hitting Tian Haozi on the head with a fan: "How many times have I told you not to steal other people's things? Why are you still stealing?"

Tian Haozi covered his head and said aggrievedly: "I saw him throwing gold as a reward, so I couldn't help but want to steal... Besides, if I don't steal, others will, so I might as well do it myself."

Liu Yanzi said, "That man is a foreigner who came back from the West with General Zhao. He lives in the Kyoto Mansion and is a guest of the emperor. Don't try to take advantage of him anymore."

"Hey, how do you know everything?" Tian Haozi followed him and asked.

Liu Yanzi ignored him and said, "Don't steal on the street anymore. If I see you again, I will never forgive you."

"Hey, if you don't want to steal, then don't steal."

Liu Yanzi gave him a sinister look, and Tian Haozi was so frightened that his chrysanthemums tightened. He quickly raised his hand and swore: "If I, Tian Yuanzheng, steal things from others again, I will die a miserable death!"

"That's good enough. Remember to go back to Xuanyi Tower to eat dumplings on the night of the 30th." After saying that, he leaped and flew towards the camp west of the city.

Zhao Xiao came back yesterday, and the two of them haven't met yet. After not seeing each other for such a long time, they should have a drink to celebrate.

When he arrived at the camp, the soldiers guarding the gate stopped him and said, "No trespassing into the camp."

Liu Yanzi took out her badge and handed it to him, "Is General Zhao in there?"

The soldier quickly returned the badge to him and said, "The general is inside, please come in, sir."

Although the position of the Commander of the Secret Guards is not high, one advantage is that he can go anywhere. Even if he wants to enter the palace, he can go there without any obstruction as long as he hands over a sign. This is the trust that Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao have in him.

After entering the military camp, Liu Yanzidong looked around carefully. As he walked, he suddenly heard an angry shout from inside, which scared him.

Following the sound, I saw more than a dozen soldiers kneeling in a row, receiving training.

"Did I ever say that gambling is not allowed in the military camp?"

"I said so..." Several people responded in a low voice.

"I didn't say that!"

"I did!"

Zhao Xiao kicked the person in the middle and sent him flying. "I told you that you still break the law and order. Do you think I won't punish you, or do you think you are special?"

"General, please calm down. We won't dare to do it again." The soldiers lay on the ground and trembled.

The cause of the incident was that the military had lax discipline and a few soldiers organized gambling. They started out by throwing dice for entertainment, but later a large group of people formed gangs to play Pai Gow, and the wins and losses became bigger and bigger.

A soldier lost all his three years' military funds, and in a rage he chased someone with a knife and started hacking. Zhao Xiao happened to see it, so he stopped the two and asked them what happened.

At first, the two refused to tell the truth, but later, under the coercion of Zhao Xiao, they revealed the truth: someone in the army has been organizing card games in the past two years.

When Zhao Xiao heard this, anger instantly rose to the top of his head. These bastards were really rebelling. They actually dared to start a gambling game in the military camp!

He ordered his men to immediately arrest all those who organized the gambling, including two captains.

When Liu Yanzi came, he was scolding these people. Zhao Xiao was very angry, so Liu Yanzi didn't dare to disturb him and found a place out of the wind to watch the fun.

Soon Zheng Daan heard the news and came running over: "Damn it, who told you to gamble? You don't want to live anymore! General, calm down, don't get angry and hurt yourself."

Zhao Xiao pointed at Zheng Daan and said, "I handed the West Camp over to you, and this is how you manage it?"

Zheng Daan wiped the cold sweat from his head and said, "I know I was wrong. Please punish me, General."

"Don't be anxious, take your time. No one can escape today." Zhao Xiao said coldly, his eyes as sharp as a blade.

Zheng Da'an's face turned pale and he quickly lowered his head and dared not say anything.

Zhao Xiao said: "Since you have chosen to be a soldier, you must abide by the rules of the barracks. If you don't want to abide by them, then I will let you gamble to your heart's content, and then I will pull them out and prohibit them from entering the barracks again."

"Yes!" Ge Zhongshun and his men escorted more than a dozen soldiers involved in the incident out.

"General, we know we were wrong. Please give us another chance!" The soldiers kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Now that the world is at peace, the military camp pays out three taels of silver every month, which is much more profitable than doing anything else!

They are all ordinary people. After leaving the military camp, they have to go home and farm. Besides, there are many fellow villagers in the military camp. If their families knew that they were kicked out because of gambling, how would they live their lives in the future?

One of them, Captain Du, broke free from the restraints, ran to Zhao Xiao, grabbed his clothes, and said with tears streaming down his face, "General, I fought with you and risked my life. You can't just chase me away like this!"

Zhao Xiao recognized this man. He had seen him in several battles before. He was indeed a brave general. But it would be difficult for him to use a general as lawless as him.

"Pull it out!"

"General! General!"

After these people were taken away, Zheng Daan stepped forward and said, "General, it's my fault. I didn't discipline them strictly enough..."

Zhao Xiao looked at him coldly and said, "I know what you are thinking." Those who participated in the gambling were all former members of the Chengtian Army.

Zheng Daan felt a chill down his spine.

"Whether you did it unintentionally or deliberately, I advise you to keep your thoughts to yourself. If it happens again, pack up your things and get out with them!"

"Yes!" Zheng Da'an's legs went limp and he knelt on the ground, sweating profusely.

He didn't expect that Zhao Xiao could really see through his thoughts. He knew these people were gambling early in the morning, but he didn't care because he was still thinking about what happened to General Ye.

Zhao Xiao came to the military camp, feeling very angry. When he turned around to walk out, he saw Liu Yanzi squatting next to him.

"Why are you here?"

Liu Yanzi's legs were numb from squatting, so she stood up with the help of the tent: "Hiss, General Zhao, your temper has not changed from the past..."

Zhao Xiao looked at the fan in his hand and the fancy clothes he was wearing: "Master Liu is still as romantic as ever."

The two couldn't help but laugh at the same time.

Zhao Xiao: "You came at the right time. Come with me to the palace to have some wine. The wine I brought back from the West is very mellow."

"Then I'd rather obey you than be disrespectful~"

When they returned to the palace, Song Yuzhu was still resting and receiving guests. Zhao Xiao and Liu Yanzi had nothing to do, so they competed in martial arts. They were trying to see who could fly to the roof of the hall first.

After not seeing Liu Yanzi for two years, her lightness skills had improved a lot. She was able to fly to the auspicious beast at the top of the roof in a single breath, while Zhao Xiao could only jump to the middle ridge of the roof.

"General, you can't do this~"

Zhao Xiao was so angry at his mean look that he took out a copper coin from his pocket and threw it at him.

It had snowed the past two days and the roof was slippery. Liu Yanzi turned around to dodge, but suddenly she slipped and fell.

Song Yuzhu and Charles were talking in the house when they heard a muffled "bang" and a green figure fell from the sky.

The two looked out the window at the same time. Liu Yanzi covered her butt and climbed up and yelled, "Zhao Xiao, you are going too far!"

(End of this chapter)