Chapter 665
Trouble
Chapter 665 Trouble
Its ferocious appearance is truly frightening.
The women present were so frightened that they screamed and cried.
Qin Heng was also startled. The words Yuan Da spoke didn't sound like those of a respectable person. Could he really be a bandit?
Just as he was about to shout for Gu Baozhu to come out, he heard a "slap" and Brother Ximen slapped Yuan Da across the face, making Yuan Da stagger.
"You blockhead, have you forgotten what you promised to do?"
The commotion attracted the attention of the soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison who were guarding the area. The clerk, followed by several soldiers with their hands gripping the hilts of their swords, came up and asked, "What's going on?"
Brother Ximen's eyes twitched involuntarily.
These soldiers were strong and skilled in archery and swordsmanship. Directly engaging in hand-to-hand combat would not end well, but they couldn't just watch them take people away.
The thought that this was a shop belonging to the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion, and that there might even be guards from the mansion stationed nearby, though they hadn't shown up yet, made Brother Ximen sweat profusely.
The man with a red mole on his face stepped forward, cupped his hands to the clerk, and said, "Sir, someone here is pretending to be drunk. His companions beat him to sober up, and they made a commotion."
Seeing that he was dressed as a scholar, the clerk's expression softened considerably, and he instructed, "You'd better behave yourselves. This Ranxiangju is a shop owned by the Marquis of Dingbei."
Brother Ximen kicked Yuan Da to the ground, stomped on him, and shouted, "Are you still crazy?"
“I’m not crazy anymore,” Yuan Da said, feeling a little aggrieved, but he had also come to his senses.
Now is not the time to make a move. My elder brother is right beside me; I can't spoil his fun.
"Brother, I just drank too much yellow soup, but I'll never do it again."
Everyone else thought that Yuan Da was calling Ximen Brother, but in fact he was calling the scholar.
The scholar said, "Brother, you'd better keep a close eye on people when you go to the garden. The people here who come to see the lanterns are all rich and noble, and there are quite a few scholars among them. You can't afford to offend them."
Brother Ximen quickly said, "Thank you for reminding me, brother. I understand." He then smiled and stepped forward to bow to the clerk, placing a silver ingot in his palm. "My brother gets drunk and acts crazy, thinking he's some kind of chivalrous hero from a storybook who can fly over rooftops. Don't worry, sir, I'll keep a close eye on him."
Brother Hong and the others quickly gathered around, saying, "Sir, we were drinking together tonight, and this Brother Yuan drank quite a bit. He just heard that you have to compose a poem to play in the garden, but he doesn't know how, so he got drunk and started causing trouble."
The clerk took the silver, weighed it in his hand—it wasn't light—and stopped blaming him: "I recognize you. You're from Captain Hong. This brother has fine embroidery. Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday, and there are guards everywhere. Be careful; if you get arrested and thrown into jail, you'll be in trouble."
"No, no, thank you, sir."
Brother Hong and the others felt very proud and smiled as they repeatedly assured him.
The clerk then led his soldiers and disappeared back into the crowd.
Brother Ximen and the scholar exchanged glances and gestures, subtly telling each other to calm down, as now was definitely not the right time to make a move.
Qin Heng saw this and said, "I'll go in first and talk to my sister for a while. You guys can have fun outside."
Shen Changle smiled and said, "Madam has been waiting for you for a long time."
Qin Heng asked Qin Siyuan, "Brother, are you coming with me?"
Qin Siyuan nodded.
Yuan Da, standing to the side, had his belt pulled off by Brother Ximen, his hands tied together, and handed over to the waiter to look after him: "We're going to the garden first. He's drunk, so he'll sit here and sober up. Please keep an eye on him."
The waiter nodded and said, "It wasn't appropriate to say it in front of everyone just now. You are all young master Qin's friends, so please come in and enjoy the garden together."
After everyone left, Yuan Da pestered the waiter, asking, "What kind of relationship does Young Master Qin have with the Marquis of Dingbei's family?"
The waiter chuckled, “Aren’t you and Young Master Qin friends? How come you don’t even know this? The Marquis married Young Master Qin’s eldest sister, so he’s the Marquis’s brother-in-law. They’re real relatives.”
“Uh,” Yuan Da slurred, “we always follow our hearts in social interactions, we don’t care about all that. But Marquis Dingbei is the person I admire most. He’s a real man.” The waiter laughed again, “When our Marquis returned to the capital in triumph, so many people were watching along the way. Out of ten people in the entire capital, twelve would admire him. Everyone would say our Marquis is the best!”
He gave a thumbs-up as he spoke.
Yuan Da nodded.
Seeing that he could speak clearly, the waiter went back to the front to solicit customers.
Qin Heng and Qin Siyuan entered the shop one after the other. Qin Yuan and the others had just finished their meal. When they saw Qin Siyuan come in, Gu Baozhu smiled.
Qin Yuan couldn't help but laugh.
Qin Heng exclaimed, "Oh my, whose young master is this?"
Gu Baozhu said with a smile, "They belong to the Gu family."
Qin Heng snorted, circled Qin Yuan twice, and said to Gu Baozhu, "Young Master's surname is clearly Qin, so how come he is from the Gu family?"
Gu Baozhu said, "Then I am still a member of the Qi family."
Qin Heng said, "Then you can be a member of the Qin family if you want."
Gu Baozhu ignored him.
Qin Siyuan laughed and said, "Why are you dressed like this? But you do look like a scholar from the south."
With that, he bowed and said, "This student, Qin Siyuan, greets Young Master Nantang."
This was Qin Yuan's way of bowing in men's clothing to express her gratitude for her guidance during this period.
Qin Yuan smiled and helped him up, saying, "Brother Siyuan, please don't be so polite."
After they finished their merriment, Sixth Master Gu came over and said, "Brother Siyuan, what brings you here tonight? I haven't seen you in so long."
His face was full of resentment.
Qin Siyuan laughed and said, "Sixth Master, you've lost weight recently. I know you're a perfectionist when it comes to painting, but you can't overwork yourself. You should take better care of your health. I've heard Xiao Dong complain about it several times."
Sixth Master Gu said with a touched expression, "I hadn't seen you these past few days, and I thought you were so busy studying that you had forgotten about me. I only did this so that I could publish my poetry collection as soon as possible. Now that the collection has been printed, I need to rest for a couple of days."
Qin Siyuan gently persuaded him, "You are one of my few good friends in the capital, how could I not think of you? I heard from Shen Changle that many books will be published in the future, all of which will be illustrated by Sixth Master. This is not something that can be accomplished overnight."
Sixth Master, you still need to have a plan for the future, so as not to harm your health. Even when I'm studying, I dare not stay up too late.
"Yes, yes, yes, my brother is right. Every word you say comes from the bottom of your heart, and I have remembered them all."
Master Gu spoke very seriously.
Gu Baozhu clicked her tongue and said, "Why won't you listen to what I told Xiaodong?"
Sixth Master Gu glared at Gu Baozhu.
Gu Baozhu then asked, "What was all that commotion outside just now? I overheard most of it from inside, but I didn't pay much attention."
Qin Heng said, "I don't know which one you want to hear. First, Lin Ziqi brought his cousin and aunt to cause trouble, and then Yuan Da and his group came to enjoy the lanterns, pretending to be drunk and attracting the attention of the Wucheng Military Command."
That Yuan Da was really strange; he was all talk and no action. It was just a lamp, but he insisted on taking it. Luckily, Brother Ximen slapped him and brought him back to his senses.
She paused for a moment and then said, "Sister Baozhu, I think it's a bit strange that a scholar has come to the outside."