Chapter 86

readx;

Liang Xiao put away his smile. From the words of the newcomer, he sensed an ominous tone.

He looked at the newcomer seriously again, confirming that he did not recognize this person. "May I ask..."

The newcomer smiled modestly, waved his hand, and a sturdy, proud young man walked up from behind him, took out five round gold ingots from his chest, and threw them into Liang Xiao's arms.

"I heard that in Jiangdu, your family's double-sided brocade sells for one gold per bolt. This is Chang'an, the value should double, two gold per bolt. Here’s half the deposit in advance. I’ll come back in a month to pick up the goods and pay the remaining amount." The middle-aged man smiled, his lips curling up, revealing deep nasolabial folds. "This is a gift from Lord Gai to the Empress Dowager. Don’t delay it." Without waiting for Liang Xiao to respond, he turned and walked away.

Liang Xiao, holding the heavy, golden ingots, felt an urge to curse.

Who did I offend? I can’t even have a moment of peace? A bolt of brocade takes at least ten days, or up to half a month. In a month, how can I produce five bolts for you?

Liang Xiao was furious but did not dare to act immediately. He had just heard from Dongfang Shuo about the nobles in Chang'an and knew who Lord Gai was—the Empress Dowager’s brother and the Emperor’s uncle. He just didn’t understand how he had offended Lord Gai, leading to the Gai family’s visit on the second day of his arrival in the city.

This surprise was indeed too big.

Chang'an was indeed not a place for ordinary people. Trouble could come from nowhere.

Liang Xiao, holding the gold, went to find his mother. When Liang Miao heard, she frowned. "Aoxiao, did you offend someone? Even if I were willing to weave, it’s impossible to produce five bolts of double-sided brocade in a month. This is clearly a provocation."

Hu Xijun, who was talking with Liang Miao, caught the meaning and reminded her, "According to the rules in Chang'an, if you fail to deliver the goods on time or if the goods are不合格, you will have to pay double compensation. Twenty gold..."

Hu Xijun licked her lips, not daring to continue. Liang Miao and Li Rongqing’s faces changed; they both knew what twenty gold meant. Even if they sold their entire family, they wouldn’t get that much money—selling a healthy adult male as a slave was worth only two gold, and when Li Rongqing was sold to the Hu family, she was only worth five thousand coins, equivalent to half a catty of gold.

"This isn’t about whether we can weave it or not. If we don’t find out the reason, even if we get through this, there will be worse next time." Liang Xiao gritted his teeth. "I’ll go and ask why I offended the Gai family."

...

Liang Xiao, unable to practice archery, immediately took Tuniu out and, led by Hu Xijun, found Dongfang Shuo. Today, he wasn’t on duty and had swindled some money from Liang Xiao, running off to play in the willow market in the west of the city. Fortunately, he was unusually tall, and Liang Xiao had good eyesight, so he quickly found him in the bustling crowd.

Dongfang Shuo held a wine pot in one hand and a string of roasted meat in the other, enjoying himself. Two young men squatted opposite him, one tall and strong, the other lean and agile, both eating with their mouths full of oil, just like Dongfang Shuo.

Seeing Liang Xiao, Dongfang Shuo hadn’t spoken when the lean man stood up first, nudging the big man beside him. "Dahuo, this is the archer Liang Xiao we were just talking about."

The big man raised his head, staring at Liang Xiao with large, bull-like eyes, his gaze filled with disappointment. "Why does he look like a woman?"

Liang Xiao looked at the man in surprise but didn’t speak, first greeting the lean man. He recognized this person; it was Qin Ge, the knight who had gone to the melon field with "Marquis Pingyang" Liu Che that night. They had exchanged names after Liang Xiao’s archery performance.

"Liang brother, this is my good friend Pang Shuo, nicknamed Dahuo. He has a straightforward personality and doesn’t know how to speak. Please forgive him, Liang brother."

Liang Xiao smiled, looked at Pang Shuo again, and said, "Pang brother isn’t wrong. Compared to him, few people don’t look like women. I guess only Dongfang brother could meet his standards."

Pang Shuo, hearing this, stood up, laughed heartily, and extended his huge hand to pat Liang Xiao’s shoulder. Tuniu, enraged, stepped in front of Liang Xiao, raised his arm, and blocked Pang Shuo’s hand. Pang Shuo was taken aback, his thick eyebrows rising, and his thick lips curling.

"Little Wu kid, do you want to fight?"

"Anytime." Tuniu, undaunted, rolled up his sleeves. "I’ve been wanting to see what Xia Qin'e can do."

"Hey—" Pang Shuo glared, threw the wine and meat on the ground, and stretched out his hands to grab Tuniu’s arms, trying to lift him and throw him down. Tuniu’s shoulders trembled, shaking off Pang Shuo’s hands, and he charged into Pang Shuo’s chest.

"Bang!" Before Pang Shuo could react, he was hit by Tuniu, losing his balance and stumbling backward, "thud, thud, thud..." until he hit the market wall, his massive body shaking the wall, and dust falling from the top.

Pang Shuo sneezed a few times, covered in dust, stood up again, and looked at Tuniu with glowing eyes. He spat into his palms, rubbed them together, and said with a smile, "Little Wu kid, you’ve got some moves. Come, come, let’s try again."

Before he finished speaking, Pang Shuo roared, lowered his body, and pounced with his arms spread wide.

Tuniu stood still, allowing Pang Shuo to grab his waist. Pang Shuo, having succeeded, lifted Tuniu high and slammed him down. This was a common move in wrestling, especially suitable for someone as strong and powerful as Pang Shuo. If this hit landed, Tuniu would either be seriously injured or, at best, suffer a concussion, or at worst, break his spine and become disabled.

Qin Ge was shocked and was about to stop them, but seeing Liang Xiao watching coldly, he was surprised and closed his mouth, observing the situation.

Tuniu, lifted by Pang Shuo, was in the air. At the highest point of his leap, he suddenly extended his hands, forcefully grabbing Pang Shuo’s shoulders, and raised his knee. Pang Shuo felt pain in his shoulders, his arms went numb, and he instinctively released Tuniu. Before he could react, Tuniu’s knee hit his chin.

"Boom!" Pang Shuo flew into the air and landed with a loud thud, causing a cloud of dust to rise.

Tuniu landed easily, lifted one foot, and brushed off the non-existent dust on his pants.

"Good moves!" Dongfang Shuo, who had been watching coldly and eating, praised.

"Thank you!" Tuniu bowed, stepped forward, and extended his hand. Pang Shuo, holding his chin with one hand and grabbing Tuniu’s hand with the other, sat up dizzily, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Phew! What kind of boxing is this? It’s so strange."

"Pulling hair over the mountain." Tuniu raised his eyebrows proudly. "A technique of the Overlord of Chu."

"Chu Overlord?" Pang Shuo’s eyes widened.

"Exactly." Tuniu, using one hand, pulled Pang Shuo up, admiring his thick back muscles. "If I were as strong as you, it would be great. You almost broke my waist just now."

Pang Shuo laughed heartily, patted Tuniu’s shoulder with a loud slap, and picked up the wine pot from the ground, handing it to Tuniu.

"You’re strong too, I like you. Come, have a drink."

－

...

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends