Chapter 170 – Two Steamed Buns
After a while, Long Yi returned.
“Master, Yan Bozhang has entered the Juxian Tower.”
Juxian Tower was a teahouse in Xize County town, a favorite haunt of scholars and literati.
“Yan Bozhang left a secret signal outside Juxian Tower, apparently waiting for someone.”
Hearing Long Yi’s report, Yan Xiaosi, Long Yu, and Murong Qinjian immediately understood Yan Bozhang’s plan.
Yan Xiaosi’s lips curled slightly in a cold smirk. Yan Bozhang was indeed cunning, afraid of being betrayed by those five ruffians, he didn’t directly tell them where to meet.
Long Yu gracefully adjusted his robe, stood up, and glanced at Yan Xiaosi.
“It’s about time. Let’s go.”
Accompanied by Long Yi and Long Er, the group of five left the county court and headed towards Juxian Tower.
On the way to Juxian Tower, they passed a ready-to-wear clothing store. Yan Xiaosi suddenly stopped and glanced inside.
“General Zhan, Doctor Murong, my appearance at Juxian Tower would definitely raise alarm.”
Long Yu, Murong Qinjian, Long Yi, and Long Er all stopped and looked at her.
Seeing her calculating expression, Long Yu asked, “What are you planning to do?”
Yan Xiaosi smiled slightly and replied, “To avoid drawing attention, I need to disguise myself. General, could you lend me a few silver taels?”
Yan Xiaosi extended her palm towards Long Yu with a smile. That morning, she had taken five broken silver taels with her, which she had given to Wang Sanbao’s wife Gao Xiaocui while discussing the house construction. She was now penniless and had to borrow money from Long Yu.
Long Yu stared at her small palm, his eyes narrowing slightly.
“You’ve already eaten all of my imperial snacks without compensating me, and now you want to borrow money!”
Yan Xiaosi chuckled, revealing a row of neat teeth.
“I’ll repay both together.”
Long Yu’s expression tightened, and he instructed Long Yi, “Long Yi, give her ten silver taels.”
Long Yi and Long Er were astounded as they stared at Yan Xiaosi.
They were once again shocked by Yan Xiaosi’s audacity. First, he accused their master of having a weak kidney (impotence), then ate all his imperial snacks, and now he was borrowing money from him. The audacity was beyond description. What shocked them more was that their usually temperamental master was so amenable this time.
“Could it be that the old saying is true, ‘There is a master for every servant,’ but why is it that a man has subdued our master…”
“Yes, Master.”
After a moment of daze, Long Yi took out ten broken silver taels and handed them to Yan Xiaosi.
“Thank you, General Zhan.”
Yan Xiaosi bowed to Long Yu and swiftly took the silver from Long Yi’s hand before running into the clothing store.
Murong Qinjian pulled out a folding fan from his waist, shook it in his hand, and smiled as he watched the clothing store. He was curious about how Yan Xiaosi would disguise himself. This youngster’s way of thinking was different from ordinary people, and he might come up with something surprisingly brilliant.
“Long Yu, let’s go inside and have a look.”
“Okay.”
The four followed Yan Xiaosi into the clothing store, but upon entering, they couldn’t see Yan Xiaosi anywhere.
Long Yi approached the storekeeper and inquired, “Storekeeper, where is the young man who just came in?”
Since Yan Xiaosi was the only one who had entered, the storekeeper quickly replied, “He went into the fitting room.”
The four of them waited in the store for Yan Xiaosi to come out.
After a short while, the door of the fitting room was pushed open, revealing a flash of bright red skirt.
Long Yu, Murong Qinjian, Long Yi, and Long Er all looked up following the red skirt, and when they clearly saw the person emerging from the fitting room, all four simultaneously stared in shock, their faces showing astonishment.
As the figure in red approached, Long Yu and Murong Qinjian couldn’t help but frown.
Yan Xiaosi, standing upright with her chest puffed out, faced Long Yu and Murong Qinjian. Seeing their stunned expressions, she smiled slightly and asked, “General Zhan, Doctor Murong, how is my disguise?”
Murong Qinjian’s gaze fell on her chest.
“It looks pretty good.”
He pointed at Yan Xiaosi’s chest and asked, “Brother Yan, what are these on your chest?”
Yan Xiaosi was dressed in women’s clothes. The Yan family didn’t know she was a woman, so this disguise would ensure Yan Bozhang wouldn’t recognize her at Juxian Tower.
Following Murong Qinjian’s question, she reached into her neckline and deftly pulled out two round steamed buns.
“Hehe, I asked the shopkeeper for two cold steamed buns.”
Fortunately, the original owner of her body was malnourished and hadn’t developed much in the chest area. Removing the steamed buns made her chest flat, indistinguishable from a man’s, otherwise her gender would have been exposed.
Seeing the two steamed buns in her hand, even the usually composed War King couldn’t help but twitch his mouth.
Murong Qinjian, Long Yi, and Long Er’s expressions were a mix of shock and disbelief.
Under their astonished gazes, Yan Xiaosi calmly put the steamed buns back into her chest.
“General Zhan, Doctor Murong, do the two Dragon Guards need a disguise?”
Her words seemed to carry a deep malice, at least in Murong Qinjian’s opinion.
“Disguising like you? Forget it.”
“Let’s go.”
Long Yu said expressionlessly and turned to leave. Little did she know that, despite his calm exterior, his mind was in turmoil. How could there be such an oddly imaginative young man in this world?
When Yan Xiaosi mentioned disguising himself, he thought he would just change clothes or paint a couple of strokes of a beard on his face.
The five of them left the clothing store and headed straight for Juxian Tower.
Juxian Tower had three floors. The first floor was the main hall, while the second and third floors were private rooms. At that moment, Yan Bozhang was standing beside a window in a room on the third floor, looking down, and saw Long Yu, Murong Qinjian, and others entering Juxian Tower.
Yan Xiaosi, sensing Yan Bozhang’s location with her mental power, hooked her lips slightly.
Yan Bozhang, you’re indeed here.
As Yan Bozhang looked down, she suddenly ran up to Long Yu’s side with a beaming smile, took his arm, and leaned softly against him.
Long Yu, unaccustomed to being held, said in a low voice, “What are you doing, let go.”
But instead of letting go, Yan Xiaosi held onto his arm even tighter, speaking in a coquettish tone, “General Zhan, this servant will take good care of you and Doctor Murong.”
She spoke loudly enough for Yan Bozhang on the third floor to hear clearly.
“Hmph!”
Yan Bozhang snorted disdainfully and muttered to himself, “What General Zhan, Doctor Murong. They’re just lechers like any common man.”
Thinking that Long Yu and Murong Qinjian came to Juxian Tower for pleasure, Yan Bozhang stopped paying attention to them, shifting his focus away and waiting for the five ruffians.
He was in a private room; even if Long Yu and Murong Qinjian came in, they wouldn’t notice him. Once he dealt with the ruffians, he planned to leave Juxian Tower.
