Сун Синчжи жил во времена правления императора Хуэйцзуна

Глава 75

In the early morning, the withered leaves on the treetops swayed precariously in the wind, signaling the arrival of autumn.

In a guest room of the Ming Prince's Mansion, Fu Jin was sleeping soundly, having a sweet dream. In his dream, he was strolling hand in hand with his younger brother Yu in the countryside.

The sky was so incredibly blue, the flowers so incredibly fragrant, the surrounding grass was lush and green, and butterflies fluttered about. His beloved brother Yu, in a fleeting moment, was right beside him…

He gazed at him sweetly, with a tenderness he had never shown before…

But just then, Yu Di suddenly transformed, donning women's clothing! His head spun, and his heart leaped with joy! But then, a blur appeared before his eyes… not a scene of boundless spring, but the madwoman Tian Xiri, arms outstretched, lunging at him and grabbing him tightly. He struggled desperately! But he couldn't break free from her clutches!

Tian Xiri licked his face! Then, she licked it again!

He was startled awake from his dream! Opening his eyes, he saw a black dog lying beside his bed, licking his face. Startled, he shooed the dog away, sat up in bed, covered his forehead, wiped away cold sweat, and was still terrified by the scene in his dream. Looking at the hunting dog lying at his feet, he was filled with doubt. How did Minglu's little black dog get into his room?

Minglu's family kept two hunting dogs, one male, which Fu Jin called Xiao Hei (Little Black), and one female, which Fu Jin called Xiao Hui (Little Gray). At this moment, the dog beside his bed was Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei and Xiao Hui weren't ordinary hunting dogs; they were specially kept by the government office. They had extremely sensitive noses, capable of not only finding people or objects, but also guarding the gates and fighting thieves with exceptional bravery—two excellent watchdogs. Minglu and Xiao Hei had been raised by him and Minglu since they were puppies, so they were naturally quite familiar with him.

He patted Xiao Hei's head, his mind a jumble of troubles, and didn't dwell on it. He hadn't slept well all night; usually a good sleeper, he'd been restless and agitated since last night. With a soft sigh, he got up, put on his shoes and socks, and intended to shoo Xiao Hei out. But as soon as he opened the door, he saw an unopened wine jar. Puzzled, he bent down and picked it up to examine it. Just then, a figure suddenly appeared at the gate, a steel knife flashing in his hand, almost blinding Fu Jin.

The newcomer was an old man, wielding a rare, large cleaver, his hair and beard standing on end! Upon seeing the wine jar Fu Jin was holding, he immediately regarded it as a precious treasure, pointing at Fu Jin with a pained expression and shouting, "You brat, I knew it was you who stole the wine again!"

Fu Jin was startled when he saw who it was! Looking at the wine jar in his hand, a very familiar sense of horror surged up, and his hand trembled... The wine jar fell to the ground with a thud!

With a loud "bang!" and a "crash!" the jar cracked open, releasing a burst of fragrant wine...

"Waaaaah...!" Upon seeing the wine jar shatter, the old man's eyes suddenly filled with blood, his face twitching erratically. The next moment, the old man raised the kitchen knife high and lunged at Fu Jin, shouting, "You little thief, prepare to die!"

At this moment, Fu Jin had no time to wonder why the wine jar had suddenly appeared at his door. He had no time to explain, and besides, explaining now would be useless; although he hadn't stolen the wine, he had broken it. Seeing the cleaver coming straight at him, saving his life was his priority, so he immediately ran. It wasn't that he couldn't beat Master Chen, but he couldn't afford to offend this old man! He was afraid of him, he had been afraid of him for a long time! It was truly a case of: those who aren't afraid of death are afraid of those who don't value their lives.

Early in the morning, Xi Ri was having breakfast, being attentively served by two beautiful maids from the Ming Prince's mansion, who would occasionally give Xi Ri a flirtatious look.

During breakfast, Xi Ri occasionally glanced at Long Ming, who was serving her, and felt great. The question that had been bothering her all night was long gone.

Just then, Xi Ri suddenly heard a roar from outside the room: "Brother Yu!... Help!"

Xi Ri was startled and wondered: Who was calling her so shrilly? She put down her chopsticks, quickly got up, and went outside to look.

A figure came rushing towards them from afar, disheveled and bristling, with bared teeth and claws. Xi Ri wondered who this was. A moment later, the person was right in front of them, and it became clear that it was Fu Jin! Just as he was about to ask, "Fourth Brother, what's wrong?", an old man appeared behind them, wielding a large cleaver, charging towards them menacingly, as if chasing a mortal enemy!

Fu Jingang paused for a moment in front of Xiri, panting heavily. Before he could utter a single word, the old man caught up with him and then ran away in terror like a gust of wind...

The old man with the large knife followed, pausing briefly in front of Xiri. He gasped for breath, and Xiri was about to ask, "Old man, what's wrong?" when the old man suddenly straightened his chest, raised his knife sharply, and his eyes blazed! Startled, Xiri jumped back, only to hear the old man roar hoarsely, "You brat, you dare steal my wine! Stop right there!" before chasing after him wildly!

In the blink of an eye, the two of them had run far away.

Xi Ri stared at their retreating figures with a puzzled look, suddenly remembering what her fourth brother had said last night about how he had once stolen wine brewed by Master Chen and been chased and hacked around. Could that have been Master Chen? Looking at Master Chen, he really looked terrifying. She wondered if her fourth brother would be alright. Had her fourth brother gone to steal wine again?

But when he looked back at the two maids behind him who were secretly laughing, he thought that Fourth Brother should be alright. However, Fourth Brother was quite skilled in martial arts, and now he was being chased so badly but dared not fight back. He must be very afraid of this old man. He wondered why. However, this situation was really funny. Thinking about it, it seemed that wherever Fourth Brother was, something unexpected and interesting always happened. In fact, Fourth Brother was also a man of strong feelings!

Meanwhile, in a corner where no one was watching, Long Ming smirked and chuckled to himself…

Fu Jin ran wildly for a long time and finally managed to outrun the old Master Chen by taking advantage of his youth. However, he was also exhausted and squatted on the ground with his head between his legs, panting heavily. His vision was blurry and he was about to collapse from exhaustion.

Finally, after a while, the dizziness subsided, and I looked around blankly.

I looked to my left in confusion and saw a hunting dog crouching there. Then I instinctively looked to my right and saw another hunting dog crouching there. Finally, I looked in front of me and saw a bowl of dog food!

A bowl of dog food?!

He thought he was seeing things, so he looked left and right again, only to realize it wasn't an illusion. He suddenly stared at the dog food in front of him! He could sense the gazes of Blackie and Gray on either side of him...

At this moment, Master Chen, who was holding a kitchen knife and practically walking while leaning against the wall, reappeared. He was half-dead and still panting, saying, "Stop right there..." He could barely utter the last word, as if he was about to die.

Fu Jin turned around and almost burst into tears. Heavens, what had he done wrong? Why was he being treated like this? Would this ever end? He hadn't stolen Old Man Chen's wine in eight hundred years. When was the last time he stole it? With the last bit of strength he had left, he shakily got up and stumbled out of the Ming Prince's mansion.

He doesn't want to stay here anymore, he doesn't want to!

After finishing breakfast, a servant came to invite Xiri over a while later.

Since seeing Fu Jin being chased and slashed by Master Chen with a knife early in the morning, Xi Ri had not seen Fu Jin again. After asking around, he learned that Fu Jin had left the Ming Prince's Mansion and now he had to go to see Ming Lu alone.

Upon seeing Minglu, and mentioning Fu Jin's miserable state that morning, Minglu couldn't help but laugh, a faint blush creeping onto her pale face. She recalled asking Fu Jin why she was so afraid of Master Chen. Minglu explained that Master Chen was a good friend of Fu Jin's master, and the two were sworn brothers, making Master Chen Fu Jin's uncle-master. Because Fu Jin's master was extremely fond of fine food and wine, he had made this friend. Actually, Fu Jin wasn't afraid of Master Chen, but rather of his master, so…

Xi Ri chuckled upon hearing this, realizing that even the usually lawless Fourth Brother had someone he feared.

After chatting for a while, Xi Ri didn't mention that she had recognized Na Lan and Fu Jin as her brothers last night. Unexpectedly, Ming Lu brought it up first, asking Xi Ri to call him Third Brother. Xi Ri thought of how she had deceived him and wondered if he would forgive her after he knew the truth. But no matter what, she had decided that he was her Third Brother!

She immediately and sincerely called out to Minglu, "Third Brother!"

Minglu smiled and readily agreed.

Hearing Minglu's reply, she was unusually excited and suddenly wanted to call him "Third Brother" over and over again, as if Minglu had already forgiven her deception.

Just then, a guard came to report that Xi En had sent two letters and asked Ming Lu to take a look. The guard then withdrew.

Minglu took one of the letters, glanced at it, and handed it to Xiri, saying, "Brother Yu, this is for you."

He received the letter that day, and saw on the envelope that it read: "Respectfully opened by your younger brother Yu." Upon opening it, he read: "I have heard that Minglu and the other two have recognized me as their sworn brothers. I have official business to attend to and cannot return immediately, but since I am the eldest, I will be your elder brother from today onwards. When you return at your leisure, we will drink a cup together to celebrate. As the elder brother, on behalf of Nalan, Minglu, and Fujin, I am giving you 40,000 taels of silver as a gift for recognizing you as my brother. I must accept it. If I do not accept it, it will be as if I do not recognize the four of us brothers! Yours sincerely."

Xi Ri saw four silver notes in the envelope, each worth ten thousand taels of silver. Startled, he said to Ming Lu, "This gift is too generous. I cannot accept it."

Minglu smiled and said, "That's what Brother Yu deserves."

“No, this gift is too much for me to accept. Please ask Third Brother to take it back on my behalf.” Xi Ri insisted on refusing to accept it.

Forty thousand taels of silver was no small sum; it was more than an ordinary person could never earn in a lifetime. It was a vast amount, enough to make a fortune. Such a sum was incredibly valuable.

Minglu shook his head and smiled, saying, "This silver is indeed what you deserve, Brother Yu. Xi'en didn't explain clearly that this silver was earned by us brothers when we were selecting the most handsome man in the world. You are one of our brothers and made great contributions to the suppression of the mountain bandits, so naturally you have a share of this silver."

Was it won through gambling? There was indeed gambling on the day of the beauty pageant, and the amount wagered was enormous. But didn't Minglu bet 30,001 taels on Longming, who was disguised as Hua Feifei? Longming withdrew midway, so Minglu must have lost. How could he still have so much silver?