Chapter 87

Wogedai's words plunged the hall into silence.

Gailaojun closed his eyes again and lay motionless on the bed. Gai Jiaxing and Gai Jiayun, the two brothers, stared at each other for a long time. After a while, Gai Jiaxing gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and said no more. Wogedai was right; Yang Chenglie was always an official of the court. Even if it was just a minor official of the ninth rank, he could easily destroy their family.

As for Lu Yongcheng...

How could a nobleman's son possibly be friends with them?

In the end, Lu Yongcheng’s taking them in was just to use them.

The lesson from Kou Sheng should make the old soldier's family think deeply. Lu Yongcheng killed Kou Sheng as soon as he was no longer useful. Even Lu Qing, who had followed Lu Yongcheng for many years, ended up dead. Could Gailaojun compare to Lu Qing in importance?

After a long time, Gailaojun sat up.

"Wogedai, who was responsible for intercepting Huang Qi?"

Wogedai said softly, "To ensure absolute success, I sent Abusijida."

Hearing this, Gailaojun's lips curled slightly. After sizing up Wogedai, he smiled and said, "If the Tujue spear is involved, the mission will surely succeed. I believe Jida will return tomorrow. When he does, have him pay a visit to Yang Dalang."

"What do you mean, Lang?"

Wogedai's body trembled as she asked softly.

Gailaojun sighed, "Jida is a skilled warrior, and it would be a waste to keep him by my side.

Although he hasn’t told me his background, I know he must have his own story. Instead of being a shadowy assassin for me, it would be better to give him a future. Although the Yang family is not of noble birth, they are decent people. A man should fight on the battlefield, and even if he dies in battle, it is a noble end. I want him to join the Yang family, as a token of my respect. Given the current situation of the Yang family, they might need someone like Jida."

Wogedai remained silent but did not object.

The head of the Changping county gang?

In the end, it’s just a gang leader.

A shadowy existence is a shadowy existence... otherwise, Gailaojun wouldn’t have been hiding in the old military inn for so many years.

"Jiaxing, you go see Yang Dalang tomorrow and tell him that our previous agreement still stands.

Dalang, you need to speed up the pacification of the seven neighborhoods. Don’t let those young fellows lose their resolve and cause more trouble."

"Your son obeys."

The two brothers bowed hurriedly, and Gailaojun lay down again, a strange smile on his face.

"Wogedai, I wonder how long our peaceful days will last?"

A hint of tenderness flashed in Wogedai’s emerald eyes. "No matter how long, Wogedai will always be by your side."

The next day, it rained heavily.

The rain after the autumn was cold, and the temperature dropped significantly.

Yang Shouwen got up early in the morning, opened the door, and couldn’t help but shiver.

Bodhi, with four puppies, ran over and circled around Yang Shouwen. Since he had taken them in, Bodhi’s family had gained weight, and the four puppies, under the care of Young Lady and Qingnu, had become plump and round like balls.

The temperature today was probably only around ten degrees.

Yang Shouwen walked out of the room and stretched on the porch.

People say that Youzhou is bitterly cold, and it’s indeed true... it looks like he needs to find some way to keep warm this year, or he won’t be able to handle it.

Although the rooms in the Yang residence were better than those of ordinary people, they were still quite simple in terms of insulation. In winter, they mainly relied on fire basins for warmth. When the charcoal was burning, it was fine, but once it went out, the temperature in the room dropped quickly.

Yang Shouwen wandered on the porch for a while and had some ideas.

When Yang Shouwen got up, it was just dawn.

However, Yang Chenglie had already left for the county office, making the house much quieter.

Song An was not there, Yang Rui was not there, and Yang Molihua was not there... the house was left with only Yang Shouwen, making him feel the pressure even more.

Old Hu had been pulled by Lady Song to improve the distillation apparatus.

The distillation apparatus Yang Shouwen had previously made was too simple and worked well enough for a small workshop, but it was difficult to scale up. Now, with Yang Shouwen in charge, Lady Song devoted more energy to the distillation of alcohol. After this harsh winter, she would start production and quickly promote it.

"Aunt, I’m going out for a bit."

Yang Shouwen had breakfast and was preparing to leave.

Lady Yang frowned. "With such heavy rain, why are you going out?"

Yang Shouwen smiled, didn’t answer, and instead played with Young Lady and Qingnu before walking out of the Yang residence with an oiled paper umbrella.

The situation was chaotic, and the county magistrate’s disappearance was enough to make the people of Changping uneasy.

As Yang Shouwen walked, he saw few people on the streets.

Along the way, there were occasional patrols by the militia, but they all looked listless and lacked energy.

It’s no wonder; with so many things happening, even the militia felt lost.

The Jingnan Army was still outside Juyong Pass, so it didn’t need to be considered. But the sudden disappearance of County Magistrate Wang He, coupled with the assassination of Chen Yi in Heping Neighborhood, was enough to make everyone feel lost.

When Yang Shouwen arrived at the tavern, he smelled the aroma of roasted meat.

He went in, sat down, ordered two plates of roasted meat and two steamed buns, and sat in the pavilion to eat and wait.

Soon, Gai Jiayun arrived.

He sat down at the table, said nothing, and started devouring the roasted meat.

Yang Shouwen smiled and didn’t disturb him, just watched quietly as Gai Jiayun finished eating. Then he took out a string of Kaiyuan Tongbao and placed it on the table.

"I’m going back now."

Gai Jiayun looked up in surprise, puzzled by Yang Shouwen.

"I haven’t said anything yet."

Yang Shouwen said softly, "Your coming today has already told me the answer.

Please convey a message to the old soldier: the old soldier does not betray the Yang family, and the Yang family does not betray the old soldier... in Changping, there will always be a place for us."

"You’re no fun at all."

Gai Jiayun couldn’t help but laugh after hearing Yang Shouwen.

Yang Shouwen nodded. "In a few days, I’ll have my father arrange for you to be transferred to the county office. This will make communication easier. You can start as a Bai Zhi. The work is light, and you can earn about 200 coins a month."

"Great!"

Gai Jiayun was delighted and nodded repeatedly.

Bai Zhi, in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, referred to the warriors who guarded the carriages of princes or military commanders. In the Tang Dynasty, Bai Zhi referred to additional duties in the government. It was a low-ranking position, but it was better than the previous position of Zhi Yi. At least in terms of income, a Bai Zhi earned twice as much as a Zhi Yi.

Gai Jiayun joining the Bai Zhi meant that the Yang family had fully accepted the Gai family.

This was something Lu Yongcheng, as a nobleman’s son, could not do. The Bai Zhi and Zhi Yi around him had to have a clean background and good character. Someone like Gai Jiayun, with a criminal past, would never be considered.

While Yang Shouwen and Gai Jiayun were meeting, the left wing of the county office was tense, with a strong sense of hostility.

Lu Yongcheng glared at Yang Chenglie, his teeth clenched. "Wenxuan, why did all these people die in one night? And they all committed suicide. What’s going on? If you don’t explain clearly, I won’t let this go."

On the first day back in Changping, Lu Yongcheng didn’t know about the arrest of the seven neighborhood heads.

After handling his affairs, he heard that Yang Chenglie had captured all the heads of the seven neighborhoods in Changping.

However, Lu Yongcheng didn’t take it seriously.

He knew Yang Chenglie and understood what kind of person he was.

So, Lu Yongcheng decided to wait and let Yang Chenglie release the heads the next day.

He needed to send a signal to Changping: as long as you follow me, I can protect you. In Lu Yongcheng’s mind, this wasn’t a difficult task. Yang Chenglie wouldn’t oppose him over this.

After all, Lu Yongcheng had returned from Jixian with increased power.

He had the support of the Lu family and the assistance of the Taiyuan Wang family. Yang Chenglie wouldn’t dare to resist.

But he didn’t expect...

When he asked Yang Chenglie to release the heads of the seven neighborhoods, he received the news: last night, the seven neighborhood heads had hanged themselves in the prison!