Chapter 14 World One
The waiter took a closer look at it, but before he could identify it, the boy took the parrot away.
When the person who cooked the medicine in the room came back, he poured the prepared medicine into two full bowls and placed them beside the waiter.
The medicinal soup exudes a strong herbal aroma with a slightly bitter taste. It is difficult to swallow after just a slight sniff.
The boy looked at the large bowl that was bigger than his head and felt timid. He just put it aside and waited for it to cool down before drinking it.
The waiter was bored, so he started chatting with the person who was cooking the medicine.
"Is that the man just now the bird-keeper of the mansion?"
"Yes, new here."
"This bird must have been poorly cared for. Such a precious bird has a large bald spot on its abdomen and all its feathers have fallen off.
You've even made the bird sick, and you were just here making a medicine soup. You must not have been working carefully."
The man paused, he could probably guess what caused the bird's illness. It wasn't that the birdkeeper was careless, but that the owner took his anger out on the bird all day long. Even if he raised the bird carefully, it couldn't withstand the constant tossing and turning.
But he just thought about this in his mind. The person lying on the couch was a waiter from the post station, and he would not tell these inside stories to outsiders, so he just laughed it off.
"He's a refugee who came here to escape the war. He came to your house a few days ago and took on the job of raising birds. He's never raised such a precious bird before."
The man seemed to be lost in thought. After a while, the medicine soup had cooled down. He pinched his nose, closed his eyes, and gulped down the soup.
When there was not a drop left, I felt my whole mouth was numb, as if it had been soaked in coptis water, bitter and astringent.
Although he had received Zhang Shang's order to deliver the message to the mansion, he had taken the medicine and paid the money, and the Zhang family would not keep him.
As the man stepped out of the gate of Zhang's house, a light bulb went off in his head. He slapped his forehead and remembered where he had seen the bird-raising slave.
He ran back to Zhang's house and wanted to find Zhang Shang, saying that he had something important to report.
After a period of time that lasted for about an incense stick, the people around Zhang Shang opened the door and let him in.
Zhang Shang sat in the upper seat, wearing a coat, his eyelids drooping, his face full of sleepiness and a hint of anger. He raised his eyes and stared at the waiter, his tone gloomy.
"You'd better really mean it."
Otherwise, if his rest was disturbed, he would be angry and would definitely want to vent it later.
The guy was kneeling on the ground, his voice trembling when he answered.
"Master Zhang, I suspect the bird-raising slave in your mansion is a spy, a spy for the disaster relief envoy.
At that time, the disaster relief envoy led their soldiers to the post station, and the post station ordered us to deliver water to them. I have seen him!
Now people in the mansion say that he is a refugee, so he must be lying.
He's a good soldier, but he came to Zhang's house to be a bird slave, and a bird slave in Master Zhang's house. He must have some ulterior motive!"
The guy finished speaking while suppressing his excitement.
He felt resentful when he was half threatened and half tricked into delivering the message to Zhang Shang.
But as time went on, the things Zhang Shang asked him to investigate were just trivial matters.
But if the money given was enough, the scale in his heart would slowly tilt.
He has now betrayed the post station and will be expelled from the post station once discovered. He might as well take this opportunity to make a fortune for himself.
Zhang Shang was silent for a long time before he asked.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely true."
Zhang Shang took the servant to find Master Zhang, but he went into the house first. The servant wanted to follow him in, but was stopped by the guards. Zhang Shang told him to wait outside.
When Lord Zhang learned about this, he was shocked and confused, thinking that the soldiers of the disaster relief envoy were actually hanging around him.
Although he is just a bird keeper, he has been in Zhang's house for quite some time, so it is inevitable that he will find out something unknown to outsiders.
He immediately ordered someone to capture the bird-raising slave.
"We have to catch it secretly, without letting others know."
What made Lord Zhang even more uneasy was that the disaster relief envoy had sent someone to check on him.
No matter what the purpose is, they are always suspicious of him.
"Dad, that guy at the post station..."
Lord Zhang waved his hand. Since this person had already identified the bird-raising slave and told them the news, it seemed that it was no longer of any value.
If they let him go like this, a man with such a loose mouth might betray them, so they might as well kill him and make him never tell the secret.
Zhang Shang naturally obeyed.
Soon, the post station received a message that one of their men did not work seriously during the day and ran out to drink. He slipped and fell to the bottom of the river and lost his life.
The bird-keeper was caught. He refused to admit it at first, but was tortured for a long time before he admitted that he was a soldier in the disaster relief team.
The purpose of his coming to Zhang's house was to investigate whether Mr. Zhang had committed corruption or abuse of power.
The guards searched his room and found a half-written piece of rice paper.
Seeing that the rice paper was delivered to Lord Zhang, the soldier's eyes flickered slightly and he showed a painful expression.
"I originally planned to finish writing on this rice paper and hand it over to the post station, but I didn't expect..."
Before the news was delivered, Lord Zhang finally breathed a sigh of relief. The soldiers who were being held in the hall did not dare to relax, fearing that their flaws would be discovered.
The news had already been passed back to the post station, and Mu Nanxing had already submitted a memorial to the emperor. However, if Lord Zhang knew about this, he would probably do something desperate and kill himself.
The soldiers were driven away, and Zhang Shang looked at Lord Zhang, who seemed to be lost in thought, and felt puzzled.
"Dad, since the spy hasn't passed on the information yet, it means we haven't been discovered yet. What are you still worried about?"
Lord Zhang looked at Zhang Shang and thought he was naive and stupid. Their mansion had already been suspected, and the post station would also become suspicious if there was no news from the soldiers for a long time.
Although there will be no news in the short term, the post station will always have other ways to find evidence against them.
To avoid further complications, it's better to be ruthless. So what if they're from the capital? This is Fuling City, thousands of miles away from the capital. Even if something unexpected happens, it's fate, and humans are powerless to change it.
After a brief thought, Master Zhang came up with a plan. He looked at Zhang Shang standing beside him, thought for a moment, and then told him the plan.
After all, Zhang Shang is his son, and he will know this sooner or later.
At the post station, the Zhang family sent invitations to Mu Nanxing, Feng Hui and several other generals.
The servant who delivered the message said respectfully, "This is my young master's wedding banquet. My master only has this one legitimate son, so I'd like to invite a few generals to come along and give him honor."
Zhang Shang's plan to get married surprised Feng Hui greatly.
"Zhang Shang's right hand is healed?"
The servant's face froze, but only for a moment, and soon he put on a respectful expression.
"Young Master's right hand will heal, but he still needs to take medicine for now."
As if afraid that Feng Hui would say something shocking again, the servant delivered the invitation and left in a hurry.
Feng Hui held the invitation, red paper with black writing and sprinkled with gold dust. He opened it and saw: "Young Master Zhang and Miss Wu, congratulations on your marriage. General Feng Hui is invited to attend. -- Respectfully presented by Zhang"
"That guy Zhang Shang, is there anyone willing to marry him? I wonder if they are truly kind or have ulterior motives!"
Mu Nanxing threw the invitation to Feng Hui, who reached out and grabbed it, asking, "Young Marquis, aren't you going?"
Bao Shan saw that he was holding two square pieces of red paper in his arms and was about to ask, but Feng Hui quickly put them into his arms.
Bao Shan smiled lightly: "What kind of treasure is it that makes Brother Feng Hui cherish it so much and is afraid of me seeing it?"
"It's not baby, it's..."
Feng Hui hesitated for a long time but couldn't think of any lies. Under Bao Shan's pure and gentle gaze, he could only reluctantly take out two invitations from his arms.
Bao Shan was a little surprised. It was actually an invitation? They were busy with disaster relief and resettlement in Fuling City all day. How did they meet this stranger? Judging from the invitation, it was either a marriage or a marriage.
But when she opened the invitation, Baoshan immediately understood. So that's why Feng Hui was afraid of being seen by her. It was an invitation from Zhang Shang to get married.
She frowned slightly, flattened the invitation card that Feng Hui had crumpled, and put it back in his hand.
"Has Uncle Zhang been here? This invitation only..."
She hesitated to speak.
Feng Hui vaguely remembered that Lord Zhang was a good friend of Baoshan's parents. His son did that to Baoshan, but Baoshan was soft-hearted and did not make a fuss with Zhang Shang for Lord Zhang's sake.
Lord Zhang also looked like a kind father, but when he sent out the invitations today, there was no one with the treasure fan in it, and the servant who delivered the invitations did not mention the treasure fan at all.
I guess all my previous behavior was just for others to see.
Mr. Zhang is truly hypocritical and despicable.
"I'm not going."
Baoshan looked up at him and said, "This is not good."
Feng Hui scratched his head: "Then I'll take you with me."
Anyway, he had an invitation, so he could bring the treasured fan with him. However, since the treasured fan was now with Mu Nanxing, it seemed more legitimate to let the young Marquis Mu carry it.
Bao Shan's brows were furrowed, a trace of worry lingering in her mind. She opened her mouth slightly, "But Uncle Zhang didn't give me an invitation. If I go rashly, I'm afraid everyone will be unhappy. So I won't go. You can go with the young marquis."
Feng Hui's impression of Mr. Zhang became even worse. He forgot to give Baoshan an invitation and asked Baoshan to consider it for him.
"Just tell me what time you're going to leave."
Feng Hui agreed immediately: "I've asked other people and will come back to you."
Zhang Shang was furious. When he rushed into the inner room, Lord Zhang and Madam Zhang were both there. Madam Zhang asked him why he was there.
"What's going on?"
Zhang Shang slapped the red paper in his hand on the table with a "bang" sound, which scared Mrs. Zhang.
Lord Zhang asked all the servants in the room to leave.
"I don't know when I will marry Miss Wu."
Mrs. Zhang's eyelids jumped and she picked up the red paper. This was something that Lord Zhang asked her to do.
Because the wedding time was tight, she was in a panic for a while.
But since the matter concerns her son, she is busy.
Why now it seems that Zhang Shang doesn't know about this?
Zhang Shang naturally had no idea. Lord Zhang had only told him to prepare a banquet and invite everyone at the post station. How did this banquet become his wedding banquet?
“Shang’er, they don’t have to come to ordinary banquets.
Only when it comes to important matters will they consider my face and come to the banquet."
The only banquet that I can think of that I must attend now is Zhang Shang’s wedding banquet.
Moreover, Lord Zhang had other purposes in mind. He knew that Zhang Shang was thinking about the treasured fan.
But there is no benefit in marrying Baoshan. It is better to marry a girl from the Wu family who can bring them help.
In this way, they could prepare a banquet, invite people from the post station, and solve Zhang Shang's marriage problem at the same time, which was a two-pronged approach.
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