Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 118

Chapter 118 Another Dandy?
Where there were people, there were rivers and lakes, and where there were rivers and lakes, there would always be disputes.

There were many disputes in places where people came and went like the relay station. However, it was rare for him to barge into someone’s courtyard and cause trouble like today. Only a reckless young man with a high status who didn’t put others in his eyes would do such a disrespectful thing at the relay station here in Tongzhou.

The couriers and attendants who wanted to stop him from entering were directly stopped by the three big men behind him, while the youth in brocade robes swaggered into the courtyard, staring at Lu Zhen and the others as if he was looking for someone who could speak.

When the soldiers who were drinking happily saw this person rudely barge in, they immediately stood up in large numbers. Some of them even took the weapons in their hands, as if they could attack at any time. On the other hand, Lu Zhen was still sitting there steadily, only his pair of eyes curiously looking at this young master who had rashly intruded.

This was a handsome but slightly frivolous young man who wasn’t even a weak crown. When his gaze met Lu Zhen’s, a cold and arrogant snort came out from his nose, “You are the biggest one here? What is your identity? How dare you rob this Young Master’s courtyard? Now that this Young Master has given you a cup of tea, move it out, otherwise …” As he said that, he snorted twice threateningly.

This person’s tone was really not small, and his actions were truly worthy of being beaten up, completely ignoring everyone in front of him. This instantly irritated the soldiers. They were originally rough men, but they didn’t know how to distinguish the other party’s status based on their words and deeds. Immediately, someone smiled sinisterly and walked up to them. “Brat, this is not the place for you to act wildly.”

I don’t want that young man to have no fear when he sees someone surround him. He just looks at everyone arrogantly and looks like you guys dare to touch me to try beating him up.

When all of this fell into Lu Zhen’s eyes, he kept an extra eye on him and said, “Wait.” Following his order, the soldiers stopped moving. He then asked, “Are you a court official?”

The youth shook his head very bachelorly, “Young master, I have no official or position. But you don’t look like a high official.”

This person’s eyesight wasn’t low. Lu Zhen wasn’t wearing the county magistrate’s robe right now, but he could see it with a single glance. Since the other party saw through it, he didn’t hide anything. “That’s right, I’m just the county magistrate of Guangling, Datong Prefecture, Shanxi Province.”

“Ha, a county magistrate dares to rob this young master’s courtyard. You really have a lot of guts.” The youth raised his head to the sky and laughed.

Lu Zhen wasn’t annoyed either. He just said, “You’re inferior to me. I’m at least a grade seven county magistrate. What about you?”

“I…” The youth did not expect that Lu Zhen would snatch his confession. He immediately felt a sense of anger and embarrassment. He could only sink his face and stare, “Looks like you are not willing to obey? Then this young master can only call someone to invite you out. Someone!”

Following his greeting, a few strong men who were originally standing outside quickly rushed in. All of these fellows had large arms and waist, and with a single movement, they arrived in front of everyone like a gust of wind. Their speed was so fast that it was completely incomparable to their burly bodies.

When this scene happened, Lin Lie’s eyebrows suddenly jumped, and he couldn’t help but stand up and stand in front of Lu Zhen. He could tell that these men were all very skilled in martial arts. Even though there were few people, if they really made a move, these soldiers might not be able to take them down.

At the same time, the soldiers who felt that the situation was going to stiffen stood up and skillfully surrounded them. Evidently, as long as Lu Zhen gave the order, they would attack these hateful fellows.

But Lu Zhen did not have such a plan. The capital was filled with dignitaries. Perhaps this youth’s family was indeed famous, or perhaps he was young and impulsive, so he could ignore the consequences. But he couldn’t. He didn’t dare to cause any trouble when he first came to the capital, so after weighing it, he finally made a compromise decision.

“Forget it. Since you like this place, I’ll let you.” Lu Zhen waved his hand and said, “Go pack up your things. Let’s find the people at the relay station to stay in another courtyard.”

When these words reached the outside world, the messengers and waiters, who were originally filled with worry, felt relieved. Although this youth hadn’t really revealed his identity, his actions and the waist token that one of his followers had just taken out still gave them a lot of pressure. However, the background behind Lu Zhen also made them not dare to offend him so easily, which was why they were stopped outside by three men just now.

Now that Lu Zhen had taken the initiative to concede, their burdens were naturally lightened and they hurriedly kissed up, “County magistrate Lu, let’s find an elegant courtyard for you to stay in.”

“Thank you for your trouble.” Lu Zhen glanced at these guys, but he wasn’t angry with them. Because the other party’s identity was placed here, it was indeed very difficult for him to encounter such a thing. Being able to not help each other was already giving him face.

When the youth saw this, he snorted coldly, “You’re smart.”

This person’s words were too deceptive, causing the fire in the soldiers’ hearts to rise again, and a few of them with bad temper even gritted their teeth, as if they could turn against each other at any time. Seeing this, Lu Zhen could only say, “But before that, I still want to ask you about your ident. I.ty.”

Seeing that the other party was unmoved, he added, “You can’t be such a swindler, can you? You can only bluff in front of others and live in this relay station for a few days in vain.”

“You … How could this young master be such a person, living in such a shitty place for free?” Sure enough, when the youth was provoked by him, he immediately became somewhat embarrassed and enraged, “The people of my Duke Wei’s Manor don’t need to do this at all!”

“Are you from the Duke’s Mansion of the Wei Kingdom?” Lu Zhen took a slight breath and could not help but clasp his fists, “I am truly disrespectful.”

Duke Wei was the heir to the position of Duke of the kingdom that the Great Ancestor had bestowed upon Great General Xu Da when he founded the kingdom. After Yongle Jingnan, the grace of the Xu Clan was not small. After Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, he entrusted the important responsibility of guarding Nanjing to the Xu Clan. This appointment had not changed in the slightest until now.

This alone showed how high the position of Duke Wei’s bloodline was in the Great Ming Dynasty. One had to know that although there were many Dukes and Kings in the Great Ming Imperial Court, in truth, most of them did not have any real power. Especially the princes of the Zhu Clan, because of Zhu Di’s own lessons, they had cleaned up their military power.

In a town like the Xu Clan in Nanjing, Xun Gui, who held tens of thousands of elite soldiers in his hands, was the only one in the world of the Great Ming Dynasty. It could even be said that the Xu Clan was the most noble of the entire Great Ming Xun Clan. Even the princes surnamed Zhu were incomparable.

All of this was obtained by Xu Da and his descendants sacrificing their lives for Da Ming. Just the reputation of Xu Da, the number one general in the founding of the country, deserved Lu Zhen’s respect.

Seeing him like this, the youth laughed proudly, “Are you scared? Luckily, you are smart enough, otherwise, you will suffer.”

“I’m afraid not. Even if you’re the young master of the Wei Kingdom, you can’t attack me for no reason, right?” Lu Zhen said nonchalantly before leading a group of slightly confused subordinates and protecting the two women as they walked out.

“Hey, what’s your name?” The youth suddenly shouted. He had a feeling that he didn’t know how to attack Lu Zhen. This person was neither strong nor weak, making him want to attack but he couldn’t. This feeling of discomfort was something that no one who had come into contact with him in the past could give him. This caused him to have a lot of interest in Lu Zhen.

“County Magistrate Guangling, Lu Zhen.” Lu Zhen replied without any intention of concealing anything.

“Guangling County Magistrate Lu Zhen … I remember you. My name is Xu Chengzong.”

Lu Zhen only replied that he remembered it and left with his men, leaving Xu Chengzong with a somewhat helpless grin, “Did he do it on purpose or did he really not know my identity?”

“This … Young Master, perhaps he really doesn’t know that you are Young Master’s younger brother. After all, Guang Ling is far away from Shanxi.” A subordinate hurriedly explained in a low voice, afraid that this young master would cause new trouble because of this matter.

He, Xu Chengzong, might not be able to tell, or he might not care, but they understood. It was no joke for a county magistrate to be able to live in such a courtyard. There must be a big backer behind him.

“This Lu Zhen is really interesting. This trip to the capital isn’t too boring.” Xu Chengzong ignored the worried gazes of the crowd and rubbed his chin. He said excitedly.

Lu Zhen didn’t know that he was still worried after giving in. He was busy packing up his luggage at this time, and then he had the relay station bring him the banquet to eat again.

Just as he was about to pick up his chopsticks, a white-haired man with a friendly smile was lured in by the people at the relay station, “County Magistrate Lu, what happened just now …”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m not qualified to live in the courtyard of the Heavenly Brand. At this moment, the Young Master of the Duke of Wei’s Manor is staying here to complement each other.” As Lu Zhen spoke, his gaze shifted to the visitor, and he had his own doubts.

“County Magistrate Lu is very wise to make this choice. At that time, I wanted to help drive them away, but I guessed their identities. That’s why I endured it. I hope you don’t want to see the monsters.” The man laughed and cupped his hands, as if he admitted his mistake.

“How dare you? May I know who you are?” Since the other party had spoken, Lu Zhen went straight to the point.

“My surname is Qin. I’m just a nobody in the palace. I came here today to see you, a hero who fought against Dazi, and to pass on a few words.”