Chapter 454 Send a congratulatory gift (5k)
The next day, early morning.
Zhao Duan got up and washed up. After having a simple breakfast with his entourage, he ordered his car to be prepared and prepared to go to the Shen family to express condolences in person.
Regarding this order, Eunuch Hai and others were not surprised at all. They knew the style of "King Zhao Hell" very well. They knew that after the Shen family gave up the option of coming to sue for peace last night, there was only one way left for them.
The carriage left the inn all the way. On the way, Zhao Duan bought a flower basket on the street and said with a smile:
“You can’t go empty-handed when you go to express your condolences.”
Prajna Bodhisattva, who insisted on riding in the same carriage with him, smiled sweetly:
"The poor monk can save the second son of the Shen family."
You're quite motivated... Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, thinking that it's really not that hard to chase a woman if she takes the initiative... Slowness doesn't exist.
Ignoring the female Bodhisattva who stared at him, Zhao Duan closed his eyes and recalled the information about the Shen family he had read last night.
The real head of the Shen family, the old lady, is also a legendary woman, somewhat similar to Mrs. Xiao in Qingzhou, but the transition of power is smoother and she has a long life.
If the Shen family is compared to the local emperor, then the old lady is like the Empress Dowager Cixi in her twilight years.
It's just that he has been hiding in the deep mansion and compound all year round, secretly controlling such a wealthy family. I don't know what his personality is like.
"I gave them a chance last night, but no one came to the door. This is a clear sign that they won't give me face as a Beijing official. Isn't this a tough attitude?"
"Unfortunately, you probably think that I have a character like Governor Ning. Congratulations, you guessed wrong."
……
The main residence of the Shen family is not in the congested and chaotic Fucheng area, and the journey takes more than an hour.
When Zhao Duan arrived, the sun was already high in the sky, and the main residence of the Shen family was a large southern garden, occupying a large area.
Looking from a distance, the roof ridges are intertwined, and the buildings and flats are scattered in an orderly manner.
White lanterns were hung on the gate, paper money was sprinkled on the ground, and white silk was hung. There were many carriages and horses outside, all of whom seemed to be here to express their condolences.
With the Shen family's hundreds of years of history and great efforts, respectable people from all over the country, whoever could come, would come to express their condolences.
This is why the funeral must be prolonged for so long.
When Zhao Duan's team arrived, they immediately attracted the attention of the gatekeeper:
"Who is coming?"
Zhao Duan leaned lazily in the car, too lazy to get out, and said to Shen Juan outside the car window:
"Go ahead and say it. This is still your family after all."
Shen Juan, one of the "Four Pear Blossoms" of Lihuatang, chuckled and muttered:
"My family has nothing to do with them."
He had already stepped forward and explained to his servants the purpose of his visit: The envoy Zhao from the capital heard about the death of Mr. Shen and came here to express his condolences.
The servants did not dare to neglect and immediately ran in to inform someone. After a while, the chief steward of Shen Mansion came out.
The so-called seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, the chief steward is in charge of all affairs in the Shen family's main house. In Jiancheng Road, the power is not limited to the seventh-rank official? The county magistrate will also bow his head when he sees it.
Moreover, because of the status of this "big housekeeper", there is a house slave manager inside the door. After exiting this door, there is a guest who is rampant in Jianning Mansion. No one dares to underestimate him. His position is much more powerful than that of the Shen family. The children are much older.
He has been socializing with literati from the south of the Yangtze River for many years. He is arty and elegant. The delicate beard on the corners of his lips is almost like a brush painting.
"The visitor is the White Horse Supervisor of the capital, Ambassador Zhao?"
The chief manager stood on the steps, looking down at Shen Juan. After receiving a positive answer, he put his hands behind his hands and said calmly:
"If you come to express condolences, you must submit a letter of condolences to me at least three days in advance before you can enter. Since you are a capital official, you can extend it to one day, hand over your famous letter to me, and come back tomorrow."
When the voice fell, not only the captain of Lihuatang headed by Shen Juan.
Even Tang Jinzhong and others who were enshrined in the Martial Arts Hall had their expressions sink!
So majestic!
No one dared to stop Mr. Zhao from entering the palace. This Shen family mansion has more rules than the palace.
When the general manager saw this, he sneered at the corner of his mouth. He had already been told by his master that he didn't need to look down upon this kind of Commander Zhao.
This is Jianning Mansion, the sky is high and the emperor is far away. Even the prime minister, Li Yanfu, was very polite to his old lady when he returned to the south, let alone a favored face?
Dragon crossing the river? So what?
Shen Juan took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and walked back to the carriage: "Sir, what should I do?"
inside the carriage.
Zhao Duan smiled and suddenly looked at the female Bodhisattva sitting cross-legged in the car: "In the Bodhisattva's opinion, what should I do?"
Prajna Bodhisattva looked at him quietly with a pair of "wisdom eyes", a ray of light flashed across his translucent and strange eyes, and he smiled:
"Your heart tells me that you want to kill someone."
"The Bodhisattva is indeed a pair of Buddhist wisdom, he can really see into people's hearts." Zhao Duan laughed, with a sarcastic look on his face, and ordered out of the car window:
"Didn't you hear? The Bodhisattva of Shenlong Temple said, kill people."
Shen Juan cheered up, grinned, pressed the handle of the knife, then turned and rushed towards the door. He took a few steps up the steps and the long knife came out of its sheath with a clang!
He said in a deep voice: "Nothing dares to block the way!"
When the general manager saw the other party going up the steps with his sword drawn, he already realized that something was wrong, but he still held on. He guessed that he was trying to scare people and did not dare to actually use the sword.
Until I saw the murderous intent in Shen Juan's eyes, I was immediately shocked and turned around to run away, but my legs felt like they were filled with lead and I couldn't move!
"Poof!"
Shen Juan stabbed the chief manager, who was no less than a sixth-grade official, to the point of death with a knife. He raised his foot and kicked the body forward, saying:
"What are you waiting for? Why don't you break down the door?!"
At the command, all the people in Lihuatang Jinyi reacted first and drew their knives in unison. The two guard servants were so frightened that they turned around and ran away, shouting for someone.
Hou Ren spat fiercely on his hand, and the sword energy was smashed out like a steel chain. With a "boom", the heavy door leaf was chopped to pieces.
Not to be outdone, the other Jinyi swordsmen slashed at the middle door of the Shen family, and in the blink of an eye, they almost tore down the entire door.
The large number of ministers were amazed at what they saw, and they thought it was more fun for you to work outside.
"Bodhisattva, would you like to get off the car with me?" Zhao Duan invited with a smile.
Prajna Bodhisattva said seriously: "My Buddha is merciful, Master Zhao committed murder in vain, I'm afraid..."
Zhao Duan curled his lips and got out of the car first:
"You think I haven't checked the information? This chief executive has taken more innocent lives under his command than this officer. This is called eliminating harm for the people, which is better than building a seven-level pagoda."
That's called "saving a life is better than making..."
Prajna Bodhisattva wanted to correct him, but he thought of Zhao Duan's power in debating sutras and overwhelming the Eastern and Western Buddhism, and felt powerless for a while.
……
……
Pull the timeline forward.
Earlier, the water transport Yamen.
Governor Ning got up a little late after spending the whole night making love with his wife.
Wearing regular clothes, he walked into the study room inside the Yamen and ate the already cold breakfast from the kitchen while waiting for Master Wen to come in.
"Governor, you are looking for me." A gentle man dressed as a counselor and staff member walked into the door and asked with his hands raised.
Ning Zechen was in a good mood, his face glowing red, while eating meat buns, he smiled and said:
"I came back in a hurry last night. I won't have time to talk to you in detail and teach you how to prepare it. Have you prepared the documents for Zhao to see?"
Master Wen nodded and said: "It has been prepared."
Ning Zechen nodded with satisfaction. This master and friend who had been with him for ten years was always flawless in handling matters, and rarely made any mistakes in everything he explained.
"Very good. Please go to the inn where Mr. Zhao is staying and invite him over. It is really inconvenient to send the confidential documents in the yamen to him..."
As he said this, Governor Ning paused and changed his words:
"In this case, I'll go there in person later."
In terms of official rank, he, a second-rank official, is higher than Zhao Shaobao's "third-rank official."
What's more, he is still an official with real power, not an honorary title such as Shaobao.
But firstly, Zhao Duan saved his wife and daughter, and secondly, he was an envoy working for His Majesty, so Governor Ning felt that he had to be polite.
Master Wen shook his head and said:
"No need, I have already gone to invite him. Zhao Shijun is not here, he said he left the city."
"Leave the city?" Governor Ning was stunned and had a bad feeling in his heart: "Where has he gone?"
"I said I was going to the Shen family to express my condolences to Mr. Shen." Wen Liang replied in a particularly gentle tone.
! ! !
Governor Ning suddenly remembered something and asked tremblingly: "By the way, did the Shen family last night..."
"The Shen family never went to see Ambassador Zhao."
"Oops!" Governor Ning dropped all the meat buns in his hand, his face changed wildly, and he immediately changed his clothes:
"Prepare your horse!"
Although his reason told him that Zhao Duan would not do anything drastic.
But for some reason, he suddenly panicked.
……
……
Zhao Duan got out of the car with Bodhisattva and walked in with the guards such as Eunuch Shanghai, Lang Shiba, and Ji Yue.
The people from the Lihua Hall and the Martial Arts Hall in front cleared the way. After hearing the news, the Shen Family Nursing Home who came to resist could not hold on for a moment and were knocked to the ground one after another. In the ancient garden, green ancient willows are planted everywhere, and the pond is full of lotus leaves. At the end of the path paved with bluestone slabs and cobblestones, there is a pavilion with cornices and corners, a large house with hollow doors and windows, and a rockery flower pond. The graceful southern gardens.
Zhao Duan walked forward for a while, and suddenly found that the subordinate who was opening the way in front stopped.
He walked forward in confusion, and everyone dispersed, only to see a person suddenly blocking the front. Several people in Jinyi covered their chests, retreated in defeat, and said:
"My lord, you are a master!"
Zhao Duan raised his eyes and saw that he was a man of about thirty years old, wearing a sky-blue warrior training uniform, with a white silk ribbon wrapped around his head.
He has a handsome figure and good looks. The green and black beard gives a somewhat rough look to his originally handsome and feminine face.
He stood there, holding a Yanyue Sword in his right hand that was a head taller than a man!
The golden handle at the end stood on the ground, and the heavy head drew a sharp arc.
"The strongest martial artist of this generation of the Shen family, a worldly martial artist, Shen Wuji."
Zhao Duan saw the opponent holding the Yanyue Sword, and the corresponding information emerged in his mind.
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The Shen family of Jianning has hundreds of years of foundation. In addition to the fact that each generation has a large number of clan members holding various official positions in the imperial court, to be able to remain standing, it naturally does not lack the foundation of cultivation.
Shen Wuji is a strong man raised by this generation of family. His character is aloof and arrogant, but he also has the confidence to be arrogant. He showed extraordinary talent at a young age. The Shen family spent a lot of money to invite masters from all over the world to teach them. At least five experts were invited to come down.
As a warrior raised by his family, Shen Wuji stubbornly prefers heavy weapons such as the Yanyue Sword, which is more suitable for military generals.
Whenever he fights with others, he seldom saves his strength, and countless practitioners fall down and are killed.
He is one of the martial arts experts who is different from Qingshan in the world.
"Zhao Shijun relied on force to break into my Shen family without permission, and even killed me. What do you want?" Shen Wuji frowned and asked coldly.
Zhao Duan said calmly: "You are not worthy to talk to me yet. Go back and call someone who can make the decision."
There was anger in Shen Wuji's eyes, and he sneered:
"I heard that you defeated Qingshan Xiaoran in the palace. However, you can't stop my sword."
No, does the news spread so quickly? Could it be that I have become famous in the world of martial arts? Zhao Duan was greatly surprised.
Still a little happy...
As for Shen Wuji's words, he didn't refute it. It was nonsense. He was a big level above him. Unless he cheated, he would only be able to block it.
But... I'm not stupid. With so many masters around me, who can challenge you... Zhao Duan pointed to his left and right with a smile:
"This is the Sea Worshiper of the Imperial Palace, you must have heard of it. This is the Prajna Bodhisattva of Shenlong Temple, you must have heard of it too. So, are you sure you want to use the mantis as a chariot?"
Prajna Bodhisattva glanced at him and said quietly:
"The poor monk is an outsider and does not participate in court affairs."
After a pause, she added: "But if Zhao Shijun agrees to the poor nun's request, he can naturally do it reluctantly."
"..." Zhao Duan took a deep breath, pointed at Lang Shiba and Ji Yue, and said again:
"Are you sure you want to use the mantis as a chariot?"
Prajna: "..."
Lang Shiba and Ji Yue, who were distracted behind them, raised their heads blankly, not expecting that they would be needed.
Shen Wuji frowned, not knowing the two unknown masters who were suppressed in the back lake of the capital. Flames danced in his eyes, staring at Eunuch Hai, and said solemnly:
"This junior has heard the name of Chunlin in the Inner Sea since he was a child, and has wanted to ask Eunuch Hai for his advice countless times. If he doesn't want to get what he wants today, he still hopes Eunuch Hai can teach him something."
The old eunuch in the python robe with silver hair looked drowsy, raised his eyelids, and laughed at himself:
"It seems that our family has disappeared for too long and is old. Any younger generation dares to challenge us."
People who go up the mountain laugh at the gods who come down the mountain...
Zhao Duan suddenly remembered this sentence. In the past hundred years, Eunuch Hai, who was at his peak, fought to the death with the previous generation of Qingcheng City Lord, and was knocked down from the realm of pseudo-celestial beings. Now, due to the decline of Qi and blood, he has fallen to the level of Duan Shui Shui. Similar levels.
But now, even Shen Wuji dared to challenge him.
"Bold!"
Suddenly, the taciturn Tang Jinzhong walked out of the crowd with a vigorous step.
This silent, rock-solid worshiper stepped forward with one step, and wisps of energy around his body rose. Behind him, the shadow of General Pagoda, which was two meters tall and covered with heavy armor, slowly formed.
Shen Wuji's pupils narrowed. Unexpectedly, this was also a strong man in the world. He was almost stressed. With a twist of his wrist, the green bricks under his feet cracked and cracked, and the spider webs cracked.
Waves of illusory flames followed the Yanyue Sword and wrapped around the tip of the knife.
"Wait!"
Just as the two sides were about to take action, a clear voice broke the atmosphere of confrontation.
Zhao Duan was curious to see that deep in the garden, a maidservant who walked in the same way as a palace etiquette waiter came out and said with a calm expression: "The old lady said, please come into the courtyard, Mr. Zhao."
Shen Wuji was reluctant to extinguish the flame.
Tang Jinzhong turned his head and looked at Zhao Duan.
"Ha, put it away. People have said so. I have to respect my elders, right?" Zhao Duan waved his hand with a smile.
Tang Jinzhong returned to the team.
Zhao Duan glanced at the person named "Red Girl" in the information, the personal maid of the old lady of the Shen family, and said with a smile:
"Lead the way."
The red girl made a "please" gesture, turned around, and led the way with Niao Tingting.
……
After going deep into the garden and walking for a few minutes, Miss Hong led a group of people to the compound where the mourning hall is located.
This courtyard is extremely spacious, but it is decorated in a sad and bleak way. Facing north, in the middle, there is a mourning hall.
White silk is hanging down, and there are elegiac couplets with white characters on a black background on the pillars. In the middle of the hall, there is a dark coffin made of the best wood.
There are candles burning on the altar table inside.
In front of the mourning hall, there were crowds of Shen family members of all sizes, including men and women, and no children. They all wore white silk ribbons on their heads.
All the people who spoke in each room returned to attend the funeral, which shows the position of Mr. Shen in the heart of the old lady.
When Zhao Duan and his party stepped into the courtyard, they saw the Shen family waiting quietly and looked towards him.
In the center of the crowd stood two people. One was a tall, dignified and elegant man in his fifties.
Surprisingly, he is the head of the Shen family, the father of the deceased "Second Master Shen".
But next to the nominal head of the family, the real core of the family is an old woman who is much shorter in stature, only as tall as the head of the family's shoulders.
The old woman's face was filled with ridges and grooves, and there was no kindness, only coldness.
Her silver hair was tied up, and she wore no precious jewelry, only a simple and elegant wooden hairpin.
She was wearing pure black mourning clothes of excellent quality, and she was holding a dragon-headed crutch in her right hand!
The smooth surface of the cane is wrapped around the dragon's body, and the top is a high-spirited dragon's head, which is majestic and awe-inspiring!
According to the etiquette system of Yu State, non-royal people cannot use the dragon shape, except for "imperial weapons"!
Emperors of the past dynasties would reward ministers with outstanding achievements with "imperial weapons". In name, they had the power to "defeat the faint king and beat the treacherous ministers".
The old lady of the Shen family was once awarded a title and could hold a dragon-headed crutch.
"Prince Shaobao, Mr. Zhao, the envoy from the White Horse Prison, has arrived!"
Qian Kerou felt that she couldn't lose her momentum, so she deliberately opened her voice and acted as a human trumpet.
And with this shout, the eyes of the old lady of the Shen family also became profound:
"It turns out that Zhao Shaobao is here in person. I wonder what you are doing?"
Kerou, you really give me a face... Who says you don't understand the ways of the world? I'm worried about him... Zhao Duan glanced at the little secretary with admiration, and received a sweet smile from the latter.
Zhao Duan smiled brightly:
"Old Mrs. Shen, I was very sorry to hear that my second young master unfortunately passed away due to illness, so I took the liberty to come to express my condolences. Come here, please give me the small gift I have prepared!"
The little secretary Qian Kerou obediently picked up the cheapest paper flower basket that Zhao Duan had picked up on the road and spent a few tens of pennies on it.
Under the murderous eyes of the Shen family, they held it in both hands and handed it to the old lady.
This is undoubtedly humiliating.
However, the silver-haired old lady just nodded.
The nominal head of the family next to him took the cheap and almost insulting flower basket and placed it on the side of the mourning hall.
The old lady, who was leaning on a dragon-head crutch, stared at Zhao Duan with her gray eyes:
"Young Master is very considerate, so I will accept this gift for my grandson."
Zhao Duan smiled warmly, leaned forward slightly, and said:
"The old lady hasn't asked yet what gift I gave you."
What gift? Naturally, it was a condolence ceremony... In the mourning hall, dozens of members of the Shen family frowned.
I don't know why he said this, the old lady also narrowed her eyes: "Oh? What kind of gift did you give me?"
Zhao Duan smiled brightly and softly uttered two words:
"Congratulations."
The Shen family all changed their colors immediately.
……
Typos should be corrected first
(End of chapter)