Chapter 191 Trapped
After leaving the steel plant, the two hurried back to Hangzhou City before the city gate was closed.
Zhao Xiao drove the carriage road: "I didn't expect this result. I thought Deng Fangyuan became rich in Hangzhou and abandoned his wife and children."
"Who said it wasn't?" In his previous life, Song Yuzhu had watched many plays like Chen Shimei. Fortunately, the final result was good.
"The Chamber of Commerce President has suffered such a huge loss, he will definitely not let it go."
Zhao Xiao sneered, "If he dares to attack you, I will make sure he never sees the sun tomorrow."
"If it really doesn't work, let's notify the prefect of Hangzhou and ask him to capture the person first to avoid any trouble." "Those idiots are no match for me, Yuzhu, don't worry."
After returning to the inn, Song Yuzhu first wrote a letter, wrote about the Hangzhou Chamber of Commerce, and told Xu Bing to deal with it seriously. Secondly, he strictly investigated the Hangzhou prefect, who allowed the Chamber of Commerce to exploit merchants, and there must be a vested interest in it.
After the letter is written, it is sent to the post office and will arrive in about half a month.
Tomorrow they will go to West Lake for a day trip, and then set off for Xuzhou the day after tomorrow.
*
In his previous life, Song Yuzhu had read many poems describing West Lake, but due to work reasons he had never been there in person and had only seen it in videos.
Now that I have finally come to West Lake, I finally understand what it means to “compare West Lake to Xi Shi, light or heavy makeup always makes her look good.”
The West Lake in June is breathtakingly beautiful. The sparkling lake surface and the green lotus leaves on the shore complement each other, blowing away the scorching summer heat and making people feel relaxed and happy.
Compared with the past, the current West Lake does not have such historical sites as the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon and the Broken Bridge. Perhaps in the next thousands of years, new scenic spots and historical sites will slowly be built here.
There are many cruise ships docked by the lake. These boats are specially used to carry tourists. You can take a boat tour for ten cents.
Song Yuzhu had never been on a boat in her life, so naturally she was very eager to try it.
Zhao Xiao chose a boat with a roof that could provide shelter from both the sun and rain, helped him onto the boat, and the two sat side by side in the back.
"Please boatman, please go slower. This is my brother's first time on a boat."
"Okay, sir, sit tight." The boatman used a bamboo pole to push the boat away from the shore, then rowed the boat, which was more than a person's height, slowly towards the center of the lake.
Viewing West Lake from the water is different from viewing it from the shore, and it is even more enjoyable when you are there in person.
Song Yuzhu sniffed the herbal fragrance of the lotus leaves, reached his hand into the lake, and scooped up a handful of water. The unpolluted lake water was clear and blue, and occasionally you could see small fish swimming around in the lake.
"Look, there's a red-tailed carp!"
Zhao Xiao looked in the direction he pointed, and sure enough, he saw a half-green and half-red carp swimming towards the two of them, waving its tail.
Song Yuzhu stretched out his hand, but the fish was not afraid of him. It opened its mouth and pecked at his fingers, scaring him so much that he quickly withdrew his hand.
The boatman said, "The fish in this lake are used to seeing people, so they are not afraid of people. If you bring some bread and rice and throw them out, a bunch of fish will come to grab the food, and that will be fun."
The two of them didn't bring any dry food with them when they went out. Song Yuzhu looked at the red-tailed carp with some regret, "I'm sorry, I'll bring you some food next time."
Zhao Xiao looked at him with a smile. This was a side of Song Yuzhu he had never seen before, gentle with a hint of playfulness.
The boat was rowing farther and farther away. The boatman pointed to a corridor on the east side of the lake and said, "Sir, do you want to go there?"
"What's that for?"
"It used to be a small island. I heard someone bought it and turned it into a tourist destination. There are restaurants, theaters, and casinos there. It's very lively. Many people from other places go there when they come to West Lake."
Song Yuzhu said: "Then let's go and take a look."
The boat stopped at the entrance of the island, and after paying the fare, the two went on the island.
After passing through the corridor built with grass and trees, I finally got a clear view of the island. The waterside courtyards, pavilions, towers, and exotic flowers and plants were simply breathtakingly beautiful.
Song Yuzhu sighed: "I didn't expect there would be such a paradise by the West Lake."
The two of them walked in hand in hand. Along the way, they met many guests who came to the island for sightseeing. Most of these people were dressed in luxurious clothes and wore jade pendants and sachets. They all looked like rich people.
Although Zhao Xiao and Song Yuzhu were dressed well, they didn't have any accessories on them and looked a little out of place.
A five- or six-story building was built on the flat ground in the center of the island, with a huge plaque hanging on it: Yongsheng Building.
Song Yuzhu frowned slightly. The previous dynasty was a prosperous dynasty, so the word "sheng" was very taboo in this dynasty, and it was mostly replaced by "sheng".
The island owner dares to use the word "Sheng" so openly, could it be that he has some connection with people from the previous dynasty?
When they entered the building, they paused. The decoration style here was too similar to that of the Chamber of Commerce. If there weren't many guests nearby, they would have thought they had come to the wrong place.
Zhao Xiao whispered: "This may be the Chamber of Commerce."
Song Yuzhu's heart sank: "Let's go back first." The two of them had just offended the president of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday. If they came to their territory openly today, there might be trouble.
Zhao Xiao was not afraid of them, but with Song Yuzhu by his side, it would be too late to regret if something went wrong. The two turned around and walked out of the restaurant, planning to take a boat back the same way.
Who would have thought that enemies would meet on a narrow road? As soon as they reached the corridor, a group of people came towards them. In the middle was a sedan chair, and inside sat the president of the Chamber of Commerce who was beaten by Zhao Xiao.
He sat there and chattered non-stop: "Have we found out the details about those two people? What are their backgrounds? If they don't have any background, find a chance to catch them. I will make them wish they were dead! Ouch..." He was so excited that he hurt the wound at the corner of his mouth, and he gasped in pain.
He had been the president of the Chamber of Commerce in Hangzhou for so many years, but this was the first time he had encountered such a thing. He was more shocked than angry. He suspected that these two people had complicated backgrounds, so he didn't dare to act rashly yesterday.
"Yes." The people below nodded in response.
"They are also asking about a tea merchant named Deng. I think he is related to them. Find him and arrest him."
"As you command."
"Why did they stop?" The Chamber of Commerce president impatiently opened the curtain of the sedan chair and saw Zhao Xiao and Song Yuzhu in front of him. He shouted in fear: "Stop them!"
The scene of being beaten yesterday is still vivid in his mind, and he doesn't want to experience it again.
Zhao Xiao blocked Song Yuzhu behind him and looked at the other party with a fierce look.
Yesterday at the Chamber of Commerce, they suddenly launched an attack, catching the other party off guard. Today, the two of them accidentally came to the Chamber of Commerce's territory, and Song Yuzhu couldn't swim, so it was a bit dangerous.
Zhao Xiao grabbed Song Yuzhu's wrist and whispered, "When I say run, you follow me and don't look back."
A large group of people surrounded the two of them. The Chamber of Commerce president also recovered and laughed harshly: "Oh my, I was just thinking about looking for you, but I didn't expect you to come to my door."
Zhao Xiao interrupted him: "Hey, little bench, didn't you get enough beating yesterday?"
"Who are you calling a little bench?!"
"Little braised egg, little water tank? You may not be tall, but you have a lot of temper. Do you want me to put out the fire for you?"
Song Yuzhu stood behind him and tried to hold back his laughter. He knew that Zhao Xiao was deliberately trying to provoke the other party.
"You're looking for death! Someone come——"
"Look out for the hidden weapon!" Zhao Xiao took out a stone from his arms and threw it at the other party. The thing was the seal of Lord Ding, the garrison commander of Hangzhou.
The president of the Chamber of Commerce believed it and held his head in fear. The guards also stood in front of him. Zhao Xiao took the opportunity to pull Song Yuzhu and ran outside!
The two of them ran very fast and soon arrived at the place where they disembarked. It happened that the boatman who brought them here had not left yet.
"Boatman, take us back quickly!" Zhao Xiao picked up Song Yuzhu and jumped onto the boat. The boatman rowed the boat to the other side without thinking too much.
Soon the people from the Chamber of Commerce caught up with them, stood at the ferry, pointed at the two and cursed at them, and many of them followed by boat.
The boatman then realized that the passengers he was carrying seemed to have offended the people on the island.
"This...what should I do?" The boatman was so scared that his legs went limp. If he took the people back by himself, the Chamber of Commerce would definitely cause trouble for him.
He is just a boatman who makes a little money by rowing. How can he continue to work on the West Lake after offending the Chamber of Commerce?
Song Yuzhu seemed to see his embarrassment: "Boatman, if you don't send us ashore now, they won't let you go. It's better to send us back to the shore and think of a solution."
Zhao Xiao said coldly: "If you dare to play tricks, I will send you to hell now!"
The boatman was so scared that he sped up, as the most important thing at the moment was to save his life.
However, no matter how fast he rowed, he could not catch up with the people behind him. They took turns rowing and soon caught up with their boat. The boatman was in a dilemma and simply jumped off the boat to escape, leaving Zhao Xiao and Song Yuzhu trapped in the middle of West Lake.
The other side clearly didn't want to let them go, and more than a dozen people jumped into the water and swam towards their boat.
Zhao Xiao drew his knife and stood guard at the side of the boat with a cold look in his eyes. It was different from the last time in the Chamber of Commerce. Zhao Xiao didn't want to hurt anyone's life. Now the opponent had already shown his claws and teeth. If he didn't fight back, he and Yuzhu would be in danger. As long as the opponent showed his head, Zhao Xiao would chop it up mercilessly.
Suddenly, Song Yuzhu felt cold under his feet. His shoes seemed to be wet. He looked down and saw that someone had dug a hole in the cabin underwater! Water gushed out and soon flooded over his feet.
"Axiao, oh no, the boat is leaking!" Once the cabin is filled with water, they will sink!
Song Yuzhu can't swim. He learned breaststroke for a few days at the Children's Palace in his previous life, but he had forgotten it all after so many years. Now he is no different from a landlubber.
Seeing the water getting deeper and deeper, and many villains staring at him covetously, Zhao Xiao turned around and said, "Take a deep breath and hold it. Relax your body. I'll take care of everything."
Song Yuzhu nodded.
Zhao Xiao pulled him and jumped into the lake. Song Yuzhu closed his eyes and held his breath. He felt like a fish, being pulled by Zhao Xiao and swimming through the water.
There were people chasing after him, but they were all killed by Zhao Xiao with just a few slashes of his sword. The scarlet blood dyed the lake red.
Gradually, Song Yuzhu felt that he could not hold it anymore. His chest seemed to explode, and the air in his mouth turned into a string of bubbles that floated into the water.
Zhao Xiao was extremely anxious, but he couldn't get rid of the other person. He could only pull Song Yuzhu upstream, leaving his head out to let Song Yuzhu catch his breath.
Just as he took a deep breath, Zhao Xiao pulled him down again. Unexpectedly, there were people on the boat guarding them with muskets!
Song Yuzhu was burning with anger. The musket was a military possession and it was not allowed to be bought, sold, borrowed or given away privately. Where did the Chamber of Commerce get it from?
Without time to think too much, Zhao Xiao pulled Song Yuzhu to swim under a lotus leaf. With the cover of the lotus leaf, they could finally stick their heads out to breathe.
"Did you see those muskets just now?"
Zhao Xiao nodded with a heavy face: "I will have the army investigate this matter thoroughly, and if anyone is found, they will be killed without mercy!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
