Chapter 537: Contact with the Huai'an Palace (asking for monthly tickets at the beginning of the month)
"What do you mean?" Zhao Duan stood in the newly rented courtyard and looked at the girl standing at the door with some surprise.
The names of the landlord's family are very interesting. The male owner's name is similar to a historical celebrity he is familiar with. Of course, it is not uncommon for people to have the same name.
Du Ruhui had two children, an older sister named "Du Shishi" and a younger brother named "Du Xiaobao".
The girl named Du Shishi had a mature demeanor beyond her age. She met Zhao Duan's gaze and said calmly:
"The broker who brought you here has a bad reputation. He likes to sell tenants' information to the local Red Snail Gang.
A helpless outsider like you, renting a house with a private courtyard and paying half a year's rent, will soon be targeted by the Red Snail Gang during times of chaos."
Zhao Duan said with great interest:
"So? I'm going to be robbed? Exploited? Charged with protection money? Knocked unconscious?"
Du Shishi frowned and spoke more emphatically:
"I'm not joking with you, nor am I trying to scare you. In the past, the city wasn't this bad, but with the recent chaos and turmoil, men need to learn to protect themselves when traveling outside."
...Zhao Duan smiled strangely and said:
"Why are you reminding me? Aren't you afraid of offending the Red Snail Gang?"
Du Shishi said calmly:
"You rented my house, and you got robbed, which is troublesome. My family is local, and those gangs generally won't attack locals, but they may not target fat sheep like you. That's all I have to say, believe it or not."
After saying that, the young girl turned around and left, returning to her own yard which was separated by a wall.
Only clumps of green bamboos were left at the gate of the courtyard.
However, she did not notice that when she turned around, Zhao Duan's pupils emitted a faint blue light. With the blessing of the "Heavenly Eye", the magical aura on her body was clearly captured.
"A wild folk sorcerer? His cultivation seems quite shallow, but it's more than enough to deal with mortals. No wonder he's so arrogant despite being so young..."
Zhao Duan was a little surprised. He didn't expect that he was so lucky that he could meet a wild warlock wherever he found a place to live.
However, considering the vastness of the Yu Kingdom's underworld, it is not surprising.
Shaking his head, he didn't take the girl too seriously. He just made a secret decision and then ordered the shadow guard to investigate.
So I went out, bought some things first, and familiarized myself with the surrounding neighborhood.
After a simple lunch at noon, we left Hongni Lane and headed for the destination we had already locked on.
…
Yunshao Courtyard.
It was the name of a brothel. After asking around, Zhao Duan arrived outside the building without spending much effort.
Zhao Duan came here to get familiar with and check out a key figure.
"According to intelligence, Zhao Shixiong and the border army commanders spend their days in the army or at the government office in the city, rarely going out. It would be extremely dangerous to rashly contact Zhao Shixiong."
"According to the Prime Minister's advice, it would be more appropriate to start with the 'military supervisors' that Prince Mu Xu Jingtang has placed in the city."
"Whether it's assassinating these military supervisors or capturing them to torture for intelligence, both are good options. They're easy to deal with and yield great results."
Zhao Duan narrowed his eyes and looked up at the "Yun Shaoyuan" sign with hanging ribbons and the elegant three-story facade, and the corresponding information emerged in his mind.
The person he targeted was the highest-ranking military supervisor in the city, who could also be called the head of the military supervisors, named "Wang Qi".
According to intelligence, Wang Qi was not a military general, but a civil official in Prince Mu's mansion and one of Xu Jingtang's confidants.
This person was quite fond of elegance and even in Yongjia City, he would come to the brothel every now and then.
Well... considering the loneliness in the army and the stress of war, it seems understandable that they need to relieve stress...
Yunshaoyuan is one of the romantic places that the military inspector Wang Qi likes to visit.
Zhao Duan turned the purse on his waist to a more conspicuous position and prepared to enter the building, but his eyes glanced behind him intentionally or unintentionally.
He had noticed that two people had been following him since he left Hongni Lane.
However, judging from his poor tracking skills, he is definitely not a rebel, but most likely a member of the so-called Red Snail Gang.
Zhao Duan didn't care and pretended not to see it. After buying the "ticket", he entered the brothel.
After he disappeared, a member of the Red Snail Gang who was hiding behind a wall not far away swallowed his saliva and said to his companions:
"Go back and tell the boss that this is a fat sheep. Damn, he doesn't even bother with ordinary brothels and goes straight here. He must be rich."
…
At the invitation of the two servants, Zhao Duan walked through the front yard and entered the lobby of the brothel.
The scene that came into view surprised him a little.
It was not the expected place with all the romantic and vulgar love affairs. Instead, the interior of this building was quite elegant and quiet.
The desks in the hall were brightly lit, and the music of stringed instruments was melodious but not lewd. On a round table covered with a red carpet, a slender-waisted woman in a light gauze plucked the strings of a musical instrument. She looked focused, and her beautiful eyes were full of tenderness. She didn't even cast a provocative glance at the guests in the "box seats" below the stage.
Although there was a thinly dressed woman drinking with each guest, there was no eye-catching scene.
Although Zhao Duan remained a virgin for the Empress, he had at least seen the world, and one thought came to his mind:
High-end club!
That’s right...the military supervisors sent out from Prince Mu’s palace cannot be too vulgar, and they must go to high-end occasions.
At this moment, soft and gentle footsteps were heard coming from the stairs. A ragged woman in the building came over with a smile on her face and said softly:
"Sir, is there anything you want..."
You vulgar woman! You ravishing skeleton! Get out of here!
Zhao Duan took a half step back and pointed to a square table in the corner. He declined the offer of drinking with him and only ordered a few exquisite dishes.
The woman just smiled and had a very good service attitude.
Soon, a pot of sake, a platter of fruits and vegetables, two plates of snacks and other items were brought up. Zhao Duan drank by himself, listened to the music and waited.
After two cups of wine and a few peanuts, the string music on the stage stopped, and a dancer with a white body wrapped in a light dress came on stage, spinning and jumping to the music. Her white body was visible when she raised her hands, and her movements were tense. The atmosphere in the quiet lobby gradually became lively and ambiguous with the singing and dancing.
The target had not yet appeared, and Zhao Duan expanded his hearing to take in the conversations of the surrounding guests.
When he first arrived in Yongjia, he needed to know the latest situation in the city as much as possible to avoid being misled by delayed information on paper.
Guests who can enter and exit such high-end clubs must be well-known and have more information.
A middle-aged man hugging a prostitute stroked her small hand, looked at the singing and dancing on the stage, and said with emotion:
"A war has made this place deserted. In the past, if you wanted to sit in the front row, you would have to pay more than this little money."
The companion beside him laughed and said:
"Isn't it because of the battle at Linfeng? I heard that the 'juren general' wanted to burn the city, but the legendary governor Zhao intervened and said it was a deity descending, and torrential rain fell for a hundred miles. What a scene!
Now that the imperial court has recaptured Linfeng, they are about to march on the city walls. If it weren't for General Zhao blocking the road, countless people would have escaped. "You can't even save your life, and you still have the mind to visit a brothel?"
The middle-aged man sighed:
"That's true. But I heard that Xue Shence has left to deal with Jiancheng's troops. But that Zhao Dudu is in Taicang. I don't know whether he will fight or defend."
Zhao Duan had a strange expression on his face. He didn't expect that Yongjia's latest hot topic was himself.
He listened attentively to the conversations of the guests at each table in the hall. About four-fifths of the guests mentioned words like "General Zhao", "heavy rain", "Shenjiying firearms", and "King Zhao".
The remaining one-fifth was filled with groans and "Master, please stop touching me"...
It seems that the great victory on the western front of Linfeng has caused panic among the people of Yongjia City, which was the first to be affected. It is far from being as calm as it appears on the surface.
At this moment, several soldiers walked in from behind the screen in the lobby. All of a sudden, the guests in the hall shut up tacitly and stopped discussing the previous topic.
Then, a middle-aged official who was slightly plump, had fair skin, very light eyebrows and a rosacea walked in.
Military Supervisor Wang Qi!
Zhao Duan's eyes lit up slightly when he compared their appearances.
Wang Qi seemed to be a regular customer, and the madam in the building immediately greeted him with a smile, calling him "General Wang", and personally led the pot-bellied Wang Qi to a private seat on the second floor.
"General Wang just came back from the government office and is very tired. Bring us some good wine and food as soon as possible!" A soldier urged, relying on his power.
The madam immediately called a group of beautiful girls to come up, and Wang Qi's calm face showed a little satisfaction. He went up to the second floor like a group of stars surrounding the moon.
"Bah, he's just a retainer of the royal palace, but now he's acting more arrogantly than the prefect." A guest cursed in a low voice.
Quickly being poured wine by friends and covering his mouth:
"General Wang's current status is even greater than that of the prefect! Even though his rank is not high, even Zhao Shixiong dares not neglect him. Drink, drink."
Zhao Duan was drinking alone in the corner, not saying a word, and was extremely inconspicuous.
The invisible divine thoughts gathered and returned from afar.
Well... Wang Qi himself is just a mortal, but the four "soldiers" around him are not simple. Two of them are in the Divine Chapter Realm, and two are mortals... They are close protection guards... Outside the brothel, there is also a team of soldiers following... Zhao Duan calculated silently.
This kind of protection makes it almost impossible to assassinate anyone below the worldly realm.
But if Zhao Duan took action, he was confident that he could kill him within ten breaths with all his strength.
And escape unscathed.
However, what Zhao Duan was thinking about at this moment was not assassination, but something else.
Could it be that the "military supervisor" who is relied upon by King Mu and sent to check and balance Zhao Shixiong really cannot control his pants?
Even on the front lines, you often go to brothels?
Although there were many guards and his visiting hours were irregular, this brothel was just one of the places Wang Qi frequently visited.
but……
Something is still not right. As long as someone is deliberately lying in wait, there will definitely be an opportunity for assassination.
Coincidentally, there is more than one worldly realm in the Taicang Prefecture city opposite.
Is Wang Qi so confident that nothing will happen? Or is he... just fishing?
Zhao Duan's eyes flickered. He took a sip of the wine in the glass, lowered his brows, and suspected that Wang Qi was using himself as bait to deliberately attract the attention of the imperial court's men hiding in the city.
"So, don't act rashly, be patient." Zhao Duan whispered in his heart.
Time waits for no one, and if he ventured into Yongjia City, he was bound to cause some trouble.
Similarly, due to time constraints, he could not infiltrate slowly like the Kuangfu Society, using gentle and covert means to plant spies bit by bit, or incite the core of the rebels to revolt.
They could only use more intense and faster-acting methods, such as kidnapping and assassinating some people, to obtain intelligence and weaken the power of the vassal kings.
"I'm determined to get Wang Qi. But I can't rush it. I need more preparation."
As Wang Qi left, the atmosphere in the lobby quickly returned to its lively state. The guests became more unrestrained, hugging each other, caressing each other's hands, expressing their love, and singing softly. The atmosphere gradually became warm and noisy.
More and more guests entered the brothel. Among them, a young man wearing a green shirt, with elegant manners and the temperament of a gangster attracted Zhao Duan's attention.
The other party seemed to be a regular customer. The moment he came in, six women greeted him with smiles, and those smiles seemed to be sincere!
The dashing young man in green robes had a cheerful personality. He was surrounded by women and sat down in the lobby without going upstairs. He even greeted several guests and seemed to know them.
A social bull... After a brief observation, Zhao Duan gave this person a label.
Although the Green-Robed Jianghu guest is not bad looking, his charm is even more outstanding. It seems that he can become friends with anyone. He has a high emotional intelligence and is very generous.
As he talked and laughed, the group of women around him blushed and their hearts beat fast, and they laughed so hard that they shook.
"Send a pot of Huadiao wine to every table in the hall and put it on my account." The green-shirted wanderer, covered in powdered clothes, greeted the madam with a smile.
He looked like a veteran in a brothel.
The servant in the hall immediately responded and went away. The green-robed wanderer turned his gaze and seemed to notice Zhao Duan, who was alone in the corner and a little out of place with the crowd.
He waved his hand and said to the two girls beside him:
"Go and accompany that young master. It would be boring to go out and play without Hongxiu to accompany you."
Because of his social status and generous personality, his behavior was not at all out of place. In the eyes of outsiders, it was just a means of making friends.
Zhao Duan frowned slightly and nodded:
"Thank you for your kindness, but it's not necessary."
The green-robed knight, who was like a bright pearl in the crowd, was the center of everyone's attention and raised his eyebrows.
Holding the wine cup, he staggered to the corner and sat down opposite Zhao Duan. He waved the two girls away, turned to look at him, and introduced himself with a smile:
"Feng Xiaolian."
Is this a man's name? Zhao Duan complained in his heart and said lightly:
"Dong Ping."
He used the name of Dong Da, the grandson of Grand Tutor Dong Xuan.
Well, Dong Daming is not well-known and his name is extremely ordinary. There are many Dongs in Huaishui, so there is no need to worry about attracting attention from outsiders.
Feng Xiaolian picked up the wine pot and poured wine for Zhao Duan, with a smile on her face, but her voice was not loud:
"I know your identity and was hoping to find an opportunity to meet you, but I didn't expect to find myself waiting here today. Commander Zhao."
When Zhao Duan raised his hand to hold the wine glass, his arm muscles tensed slightly, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and the flying knife in his sleeve was ready to be launched. In the blink of an eye, it could pierce the throat of the man in green.
Feng Xiaolian concealed her presence with her sleeves, flicked her wrist from under the table, handed over a waist badge, and explained:
"Captain, please do not act. I am a guest official of the Huai'an Palace. Haha, I also oversee the palace's business in Yongjia. I can barely be called the 'chief manager'. I have no ill intentions in coming here. I am here on the orders of the prince to contact you."
Someone from Huai'an Palace?
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, and a wealthy figure standing by the table cutting fish and cooking appeared in his mind.
Princess Xu Junling's father, one of the Eight Kings, was the King of Huai'an who ruled over the Huai River.
When he went to Huting to open a market, he had a meal with King Huai'an and won the support of this wealthy and "fence-sitter" prince.
Finally, on the day when Huting opened for business, Prince Huai'an secretly took action to block the threats from Prince Jing and others.
The imperial court was able to open the market smoothly. Although the market had been suspended due to the rebellion, the operation in just half a year helped the Ministry of Revenue alleviate the fiscal deficit and stabilize the national treasury.
In a sense, the Prince of Huai'an was also the first of the Eight Princes to speculate and bet on the empress.
Intelligence shows that after the two rebel forces of Prince Jing Xu Wen and Prince Mu Xu Jingtang entered the Huai River, Prince Huai'an did not stop them, but closed the gates of the palace and put on an attitude of "not fighting with the world."
Zhao Duan originally thought that Prince Huai'an was planning to be a coward and not get involved in the internal strife that was sweeping the dynasty.
But now it seems that the situation has changed.
"Huai'an Palace?" Zhao Duan glanced at the token, confirmed its authenticity, and threw it back under the table with a cold expression.
"Do you know my whereabouts?"
(End of this chapter)
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