Chapter 235: Inn Rules

At midnight, the sound of a door opening came from room B next door. Someone lightly stepped onto the wooden floor of the corridor and went out the door, then down the stairs.

Xiao Man, sitting on a small stool, was startled awake. She groggily opened her eyes and saw that Hei Yun was lying on Zhang Xia’er's pillow, holding hands with her in her sleep, at some point.

Xiao Man was annoyed. All the way here, no matter how she flattered Hei Yun, Hei Yun was heartless and unwilling to get close to her. Now, he was willing to sleep by Zhang Xia’er's side. How ungrateful!

She lifted her head to look.

Chen Zong still stood in his original spot, gazing out the window, holding his Whale Knife. His back was straight.

Xiao Man thought to herself, if Young Master wore the Feather Forest Army's silver armor and white cloak, with a white pheasant tail plume on his helmet, he would surely look more imposing than those Feather Forest Army soldiers.

But this was still the image in her mind. Was he still that legitimate son of the Chen Manor who would lower his head and not dare to speak when rebuked by Liang Clan and Wang Gui?

Xiao Man's eyes darted around. She quietly got up, lifted the hem of her skirt, and went to Chen Zong's side to tentatively say, "Young Master..."

Chen Zong suddenly spoke, interrupting her: "Xiao Man, thank you."

Xiao Man's eyes widened: Hmm! Why did Young Master suddenly thank her? Could it be that Young Master knew about her earlier action of driving the Taotie to help him vent his anger?

When did Young Master know? Was it when she formed the seal, or was it because she ate too much and caused suspicion?

Chen Zong, without turning his head, calmly said, "All the way to Guyuan, you haven't complained about hardship or tiredness. No matter who you faced, no matter what identity the other person had, you always stood in front of me and protected me. Thank you."

The big stone in Xiao Man's heart landed, and she suddenly relaxed. So that's what Young Master meant.

She opened her mouth and said, "Young Master, there's no need to be polite. I am your maid. This is all I should do..."

Chen Zong spoke again, saying, "Xiao Man, don't worry about your identity."

Xiao Man's heart fluttered.

Could it be that Young Master knew about her identity in the 'Deng' because he overheard her and Su Zhou talking, or because she accidentally talked in her sleep?

Chen Zong gently comforted her, saying, "When we reach the capital, I will ask Madam to give you back your contract of servitude. At that time, whether you want to go or stay, it will all be up to you. If you want to go, I will give you a sum as a dowry. If you want to stay, I will increase your monthly allowance."

Xiao Man's emotions seemed to fluctuate between the clouds and the ground, suddenly soaring and suddenly plummeting. Her heart pounded non-stop.

But when she heard that she could get back her contract of servitude, she still couldn't suppress the joy: "Young Master, your words count, okay? You said it yourself that you'll give me back my contract. No regrets."

Chen Zong hummed and said in a low voice, "Go back and rest. I'll continue to watch."

"Oh."

Xiao Man, with a muddled head, went back to her small stool. As soon as her bottom touched the stool, she remembered, wasn't she supposed to test Young Master?

She suspiciously looked at Chen Zong's figure, the more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became!

Ah! When did Young Master become so cunning? It must have been Zhang Zheng who led him astray!

Thinking of this, she secretly stretched out her leg and kicked the deeply sleeping Zhang Zheng a foot. But Zhang Zheng didn't even open his eyes, just turned over and continued to sleep.

Xiao Man muttered, "Sleeping so soundly, you wouldn't even know if someone killed you!"

At this moment, Chen Zong's eyes, through the crack in the window, gazed at the stable. He wanted to see if the fatty who entered the stable would come out again. But he had already waited for more than an hour, and still didn't see the figure.

Could it be that the secret passage for quietly leaving Guyuan military town was right below this stable? Where did the neighbor next door go out at midnight? Could he also want to leave Guyuan City?

But Chen Zong waited until dawn and still didn't see anyone entering or leaving the stable again. It wasn't until the rooster crowed that the inn's helper brought straw to feed the horses.

He looked intently into the distance again, only seeing the torches on the distant city wall and the fire basins that had all been extinguished.

Fortunately, the Jing Dynasty's Tian Ce Army did not come.

Chen Zong thought for a moment, handed the Whale Knife to Xiao Man, and turned to walk out the door: "Guard the room well."

Xiao Man sat on the chair, turned to look at Chen Zong's back, and waited until the room door closed again. She quietly untied the cloth strip on the Whale Knife and pulled out a foot of the blade.

The blade was as bright as snow, reflecting light like a mirror. Xiao Man could clearly see her own face on the blade. She had never seen such a good knife, not even at her aunt's place.

Xiao Man thought for a moment, smoothed her hair over the blade, and then, as if nothing had happened, put the knife back into its sheath.

Chen Zong went downstairs lightly. In the inn's main hall on the first floor, three helpers were just setting up the tables and chairs.

Seeing him come down, the helpers all stopped what they were doing, cupped their hands, and said, "Guest officer, ten thousand blessings."

Chen Zong nodded and went to the backyard by himself. The shopkeeper gave Xiao Wu a look, and Xiao Wu limped after Chen Zong.

"Guest officer, do you have any instructions?" Xiao Wu asked with a smile.

Chen Zong smiled and said, "I'm going to comb my horse's fur."

Xiao Wu hurriedly said, "Guest officer, this kind of dirty and tiring work should be done by me. The stable is a smelly place, it smells very strong."

Chen Zong explained, "My horse has a bad temper. It doesn't let others touch it."

As he spoke, he went straight to the front of the stable and reached out his hand. Hong Hong came forward and used its head to nudge his palm.

Xiao Wu praised, "Guest officer, this horse is really magical. Even the warhorses sold from Jing... the north are not this strong."

Chen Zong opened the stable and led Hong Hong out: "Please bring two jin of fried yellow beans and mix in two eggs. Charge it to my account in room Tian Zi Jia."

Xiao Wu hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed: "Okay!"

Chen Zong listened as the footsteps behind him faded, and immediately looked at the stable out of the corner of his eye.

Inside the stable, more than twenty horses were tied to a hitching post. The ground was paved with thick straw. Perhaps the secret passage was hidden under some piece of straw.

At this moment, Chen Zong suddenly saw a black gauze hat with a tile ridge in the corner of the stable, which had been stepped on and deformed by a horse's hoof.

Why was there a black gauze hat with a tile ridge scattered here? Was it the fatty's from last night?

The fatty did bring a black gauze hat with a tile ridge, but it was late at night last night, and this kind of hat style was similar. Chen Zong wasn't sure if this was the fatty's.

Chen Zong held the wooden comb and combed Hong Hong's loose fur, waiting for Xiao Wu to bring the yellow beans back. But it wasn't Xiao Wu who came back, it was the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper held a wooden basin and handed it to Hong Hong. Hong Hong didn't move.

Chen Zong smiled and said, "Let me do it."

He took the wooden basin and handed it to Hong Hong. Hong Hong snorted and ate voraciously.

The shopkeeper exclaimed in surprise, "Guest officer, this horse is truly spiritual. Just now Xiao Wu told me that others couldn't touch your horse, and I still didn't believe it."

As he spoke, he glanced towards the stable and also saw the black gauze hat, suddenly wrinkling his brow.

The shopkeeper took a few steps, blocking between Chen Zong and the black gauze hat, and asked with a smile, "Guest officer, where are you from?"

Chen Zong didn't answer the question: "Shopkeeper, why was that helper just now limping?"

The shopkeeper slightly narrowed his eyes: "There's no need to hide it from you. Several of us were border soldiers before. Xiao Wu, at Quwu Mountain, was shot through the ankle by an arrow from a divine archer of the Jing Dynasty's Tian Ce Army from over a hundred steps away."

Chen Zong suddenly asked, "Our Ning Dynasty doesn't have firearms, does it?

But last night, when I passed through the south city gate, I didn't see the border army carrying firearms."

The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Firearms are military equipment only equipped by the three major camps. They wouldn't be given to our Guyuan Prefecture to use."

Chen Zong doubted, "Why? Aren't they all used to fight the Jing Dynasty thieves?"

The shopkeeper slowly said, "The court doesn't trust us, I guess. They're afraid we'll privately sell the firearms to the north... Guest officer, since you're so concerned about border army matters, you're not a Jing Dynasty spy, are you?"

Chen Zong casually said, "Shopkeeper, I'm looking for a Jing Dynasty spy. Do you believe it?"

The shopkeeper sized up Chen Zong from head to toe: "Not like it. You look more like someone who wants to enter the capital for the imperial examination and become the top scholar."

"Shopkeeper, you sure know how to talk," Chen Zong suddenly turned his head to look at the shopkeeper: "May I ask, if I want to buy some information, where should I go?"

The shopkeeper smiled slightly: "Guest officer, you've come to the right place. You can come to the main hall again at Chen Shi, and you'll find what you want."

Chen Shi.

Chen Zong led Zhang Zheng, Zhang Xia’er, and Xiao Man downstairs, planning to simply eat some breakfast at the Dragon Gate Inn.

But when they walked downstairs, they were all startled. The inn's main hall, which was empty last night, was now almost full of guests.

When Chen Zong came down from upstairs, all the guests in the hall looked over with side glances, then turned their heads back as if nothing had happened, and continued to eat the small dishes in front of them.

Among these guests, some carried knives, some wore swords, some sat alone, and some squeezed together at the same eight-immortal table cracking melon seeds.

The entire main hall had only one empty table in the middle.

Zhang Xia’er hesitated and said, "Why is it so lively?"

Zhang Zheng said in a low voice, "The people of Guyuan are strange. They drink alcohol so early in the morning?"

Chen Zong's gaze swept around and saw that every table had a wine jar, but the wine jars were still covered with a red cloth mud seal and hadn't been moved.

Zhang Xia’er recalled, "I once heard that Chuanzhou has a custom of eating morning wine. Even wealthy people would order a small pot of braised beef and fatty intestines on the street, and eat them with strong wine. But I've never heard that Guyuan also has this custom."

Chen Zong went to the empty table and was about to sit down, but was blocked by Xiao Liu.

Xiao Liu said with a smile, "Guest officer, you can't sit at this table."

Chen Zong asked as if he had expected it: "What rule is there here?"

Xiao Liu hurriedly explained, "It's not a rule, but this table is specially reserved for our Dragon Gate Inn's owner. If the owner doesn't come, no one can sit here."

Chen Zong asked calmly, "Who is the owner?"

Xiao Liu smiled and said, "The owner's identity is not convenient to reveal. If you are destined, you will see her yourself."

As they spoke, someone at the next table stood up and left. A helper led Chen Zong over: "Guest officer, sit here."

When Chen Zong sat down, he discovered that until the guest who just left, the wine on the table had not been opened with the red cloth mud seal, and the wine had not been taken away either.

Xiao Liu held the wine jar: "Guest officer, what would you like to eat?"

Chen Zong looked at the wooden sign hanging behind the counter: "Two cages of steamed buns, four bowls of fine noodles."

Xiao Liu suddenly asked, "Guest officer, do you want vegetable steamed buns or meat steamed buns?"

Chen Zong smiled and said, "Vegetable."

"Guest officer, do you want Xiyu grape brew or Burning Knife?"

Chen Zong's heart skipped a beat. The other person didn't ask him if he wanted to drink, but directly asked him what kind of wine he wanted.

He looked around and saw that the wine jars on the next table were labeled with grape brew and Burning Knife. There was nothing unusual.

Chen Zong thought for a moment and calmly asked, "Helper, what is in the jar you're holding?"

The helper replied with a smile, "Burning Knife."

Chen Zong pointed at the table: "Put it down. I'll just have this jar of Burning Knife."

The helper said loudly, "Got it, one jar of Burning Knife!"

As soon as these words came out, glances were cast from all around, and whispers arose.

The helper put the jar of Burning Knife he was holding back on the table: "Guest officer, the wine is here. The steamed buns will be a while."

Chen Zong hummed.

After the helper turned and left, a man carrying a knife immediately stood up, came straight to their table, sat down, and asked loudly, "Young man, your face is very strange. Do you have any news to sell?"

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent, and the guests at several tables perked up their ears.