Flourishing of the Ming Dynasty Novel - Chapter 131

Chapter 131 There Were Long After Moves (2)
Although he intentionally tried to curry favor with Lu Zhen, who was about to become Eunuch Wang’s trusted aide, when danger came, Lu Qi’s first choice was to preserve his own life.

Just as his feet and waist were about to jump out of the carriage, the mad-haired mule let out a long hiss and suddenly tilted its body. Instead of crashing into the carriage, it fell heavily on the spot where the carriage and the horse met.

This time, it became so fast that Lu Qi didn’t even have time to react. He let out a scream and his body was hung by the mule and fell heavily to the ground. What was even more tragic was that the horse pulling the carriage panicked and shook its head and tail as it struggled to rush forward. However, because the carriage had already twisted, this force actually caused the carriage and horses to be completely separated.

The two forces gathered at the front half of the carriage, causing it to tremble. With a strange gesture, it fell towards the place where Lu Qi had fallen. The latter only had time to let out another short scream before being smashed straight by the car and instantly fainted.

Everything happened too quickly. The surrounding people didn’t let out bursts of exclamations until Lu Qi was knocked unconscious. After flashing past the stunned horse, they unconsciously focused their gazes on the unlucky carriage. After a short pause, a few people rushed forward to check on Lu Qi’s condition.

After a long pat on the back, Lu Qi slowly woke up. He felt the bones in his body ache like they were scattered, and his legs were completely unconscious. This made him extremely frightened. Fortunately, he still remembered his duty. Seeing that everyone was only surrounding him, he shouted, “In the car … there’s still someone in the car …”

“What?” The surrounding people were also shocked when they heard this. They hurriedly went over to see what was going on. If there was anyone else inside, they would probably be seriously injured. But then, everyone turned around in confusion. The meaning in their eyes was very clear. Wasn’t this person dumbfounded?

“What … what’s going on?” Lu Qi, who was already pale from his injuries, looked even paler and asked uneasily.

“Brother, there’s no one in the car. Don’t be too frightened and remember the wrong thing, right?” Someone kindly reminded. However, this sentence caused Lu Qi to be completely stunned, “How … how is this possible?”

He clearly remembered that Lu Zhen was in the car when the accident happened, but why did the people in the car disappear in the blink of an eye? Where is he? As he thought about it, Lu Qi’s gaze began to patrol the surroundings again. Unfortunately, Lu Zhen was not among them at all …

In a flash, Lu Qi’s heart rose to his throat. He was not stupid and knew that something was wrong. Now that the fellow that he was staring at had actually disappeared from his hands, his guilt was too great. With his injuries and panic, he straightened up again and fainted completely.

@ @ @ @

If there were surveillance equipment for later generations in this era, then under the camera, some things that were not noticed would be noticed.

Just as the mule rammed into the carriage and the surrounding people panicked, a figure appeared on the other side of the carriage. Then, Lu Zhen, who was in the middle of it, lightly flipped out of the car when he pulled it and the car lost its balance.

At that time, everyone panicked, so no one noticed this change. Even Lu Qi, who was in the same carriage, was dumbfounded because he wanted to avoid it. After getting out of the carriage, Lu Zhen quickly turned into a side alley under the guidance of that person. Then, he got into another horse carriage that he had prepared to get off and disappeared into the crowd along with a group of pedestrians.

Everything was so orderly and neat that no one was alarmed. It was obvious how outstanding the ability of the planners and implementers of this matter was. Lu Zhen, who was among them, could feel this even more. After getting on the car, he looked curiously at the big man in rough clothes in front of him. “They say that the water in the capital is deep and there are crouching tigers and hidden dragons everywhere. I didn’t believe it before, but now I have to admire him. An unknown Green Bamboo Gang actually has an expert like brother. Didn’t I ask for your name?”

That person was also observing Lu Zhen. Seeing that he was calm and decisive, he got on the car and remained calm as before. He also unconsciously looked up at him a few times. “This is what we gangs do, so we naturally have to have some ability to eat. I’m Zhu Chang from the Green Bamboo Gang. Everyone calls me Second Brother Zhu.”

“So it’s the Second Boss. No wonder he has such brilliant arrangements and methods. I’m disrespectful.” Lu Zhen had already known about the internal situation of the Green Bamboo Gang that Lin Lie was looking for, so when he heard the other party’s name, he knew who he was.

Zhu Chang chuckled, “Looks like you guys have committed quite a few crimes. You actually thought of borrowing us unorthodox gangs to save us. You’re the court’s lieutenant.” Speaking of which, Lu Zhen was still dressed up for the court meeting, which was really eye catching.

Lu Zhen smiled bitterly, “It’s said that people can’t help themselves in Jianghu, but in fact, I’m just an ordinary person in the officialdom.”

“What a sentence. You can’t help but explain our situation in Jianghu. This lord is indeed not an ordinary person.” Zhu Chang’s eyes lit up as he said this.

Lu Zhen was stunned. He only said that this sentence had been said for a long time, but he didn’t want to say another famous phrase in the future. He didn’t know that these words weren’t spoken by the ancient Jianghu gang members, but came from the novels of the first generation of martial arts grandmaster Gu Long. It was only because these words were too sensible that people felt that this was an ancient summary of Jianghu characters.

Lu Zhen laughed and avoided the other party’s praise. He only asked, “Where are we going next?”

“That depends on what you mean. Previously, we only took the job of cutting you off from people’s hands and then sent you to reunite with your family. By the way, who did you offend this time? In the capital, the officials are not in such a sorry state. If something big really happens, you won’t be able to solve the fundamental problem by running away like this.” Zhu Chang asked tentatively.

Previously, they didn’t know that this matter was related to the government, so they decided to take action. But now, after discovering that the person to be rescued was an official, he naturally began to mutter in his heart. Although the gangs and the government were two different lines, they still had to rely on the breath of the Imperial Court to survive. They did not dare to do anything that was too outrageous.

“I just offended the nobles in the court.” Seeing that the other party was determined to ask something, Lu Zhen said in a general manner, “I should be able to protect myself as long as I bring my family out of the capital.”

“Is that so?” Zhu Chang asked noncommittally. Then, he frowned slightly, “So it seems that your identity can’t be used anymore? Including Lu Yinguan’s background.”

‘”This” Lu Zhen’s expression changed slightly, then he remembered the strict measures taken by the Great Ming Imperial Court to manage the household registration. This was an era where it was difficult to walk without the guidance of the government. Was he really able to escape from Wang Zhen’s claws?

However, at this point, there was no other choice. He gritted his teeth and said, “I have my own way. As long as you are willing to send me out of the capital, there will definitely be a heavy reward.”

While Lu Zhen was thinking, Zhu Chang was also weighing the options in his heart. Seeing Lu Zhen say this, he stretched out two fingers and said, “Two hundred taels, I can help you out of the city.”

Hearing this request, Lu Zhen raised his eyebrows. Previously, Lin Lie had negotiated a price of 50 taels with them, but in the blink of an eye, the price had quadrupled. Obviously, this had something to do with his status as an official. However, other than relying on them, there seemed to be no better way to deal with the situation. After all, regardless of whether it was him or Lin Lie, his eyes were completely darkened in this unfamiliar capital. Without their help, it would not be easy to find a place to hide, let alone leave the city now.

After a moment of hesitation, Lu Zhen gritted his teeth and accepted the condition, “Alright, only two hundred taels. However, I also have one condition. I need you to prepare a guide for me, at least to be able to get out of the capital. Also, I want to leave the city before dark today.”

Although the two conditions he mentioned were somewhat difficult, Zhu Chang agreed after a brief consideration in the face of the temptation of two hundred taels of reward, “Alright!” As a local gang with roots in the capital, it wasn’t too difficult for them to send someone out and prepare a set of guides for him, even though they had to bear some responsibility and pay some price.

Shortly after the agreement was made, the carriage finally stopped in front of an ordinary looking house in the north of the city. However, when Lu Zhen got off the car and looked around, he discovered that there were many people guarding the surroundings. Obviously, this place should be an important residence of the Green Bamboo Gang.

“Your family is already inside, so I won’t go in.” Zhu Chang smiled at Lu Zhen and said, “It’s not noon yet. I’ll be back in two hours to bring you out of the capital.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble you.” Lu Zhen cupped his fists at him. Afterwards, he walked into the courtyard. Sure enough, he saw Chu Yunrong and Lin Lie standing in the same hall as the two of them. At this moment, the three of them were standing there with anxious expressions on their faces.

Seeing Lu Zhen come in, the two women’s expressions became better. Chu Yunrong even walked forward and said, “Did you … really do that? Is there anything wrong?”

“Yes, everything will be according to my plan. However, depending on the situation, the capital is temporarily unable to stay, so I have to wronged you to leave this place with me.” Lu Zhen said apologetically as he looked at the woman in front of him.

However, Chu Yunrong smiled brightly, “What is this? Isn’t it just leaving here? I’ll go with you.” As she said this, her pretty face turned red again, as if she had thought of something.

Lu Zhen’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t say anything else because of the wrong time. He just looked at Lin Lie on the other side and said, “Thanks to you this time, otherwise …”

“I already said that I would sell this life to you, my lord. I will do my best this time!” Lin Lie said seriously.