Chapter 372 The Eight Great Families

The streets of Kyoto are crowded with people, and the sounds of various types of hawking can be heard all the time.

Wei Chengye took Shen Qing to the south area of ​​​​the city gate.

"Mr. Shen, we're here."

Shen Qing reined in his horse and stopped. He looked up and saw a low house at the corner of the street in front of him. There was a plaque with the words "Qinglongfang Soldiers and Horses Division - San Shiqi" hanging on the gate.

Wei Chengye dismounted and said: "This is Qinglongfang in the south, one of your defense areas. Let's go and find the door."

Shen Qing nodded and dismounted.

Wei Chengye swaggered in and said in a loud voice, "Is there anyone breathing in the room? Come out."

After a while, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the slightly crowded and dim room.

Three clerks in soap clothes ran out quickly.

As soon as these petty officials saw Wei Chengye, their faces were filled with flattery, and they said servilely: "Oh, isn't this Mr. Wei? Some people are not welcomed from afar, and some are not welcomed from afar!"

"Sir, please come and take a seat."

The three people hurriedly brought out a few long benches and placed them beside Wei Chengye. Then they quickly served tea and water with eyes full of compliments.

At this time, Shen Qing looked around and found that the space in this room was cramped and the furnishings were simple. It was obvious that the treatment of these servants was not much better.

At least these officers are all Qi-nourishing martial arts masters. They are also local tyrants in Taiping County. But in the capital, they are like minions. They are called back and forth by others. They are in the sky and the earth.

Seeing this scene, Shen Qing couldn't help but feel a little sad.

Wei Chengye did not receive the tea or sit on the bench. He just stepped aside and led Shen Qing to the crowd.

"Here, let me introduce to you. This is Mr. Shen Qingshen, the chief commissioner of the Southern Region. He will be your new leader in the future. You should recognize him first."

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the room condensed, and everyone's eyes invariably focused on Shen Qing. It was a complex emotion that mixed curiosity, awe, and expectation.

Shen Qing stood there, motionless as a mountain, with a serious expression.

A junior official reacted instantly: "Ma Lingfei, a humble employee, has seen adults."

"Shi Yifei, a humble person."

"Humble job Ge Wenbin."

Wei Chengye said directly: "Take out all your files from the past few days."

"Yes, sir."

Among the three people, a clerk ran into the room, holding something similar to a ledger in his hand and presented it to Wei Chengye and Wei Chengye: "Two adults, this is the file of the past few days. Please tell me. Your Excellency, take a look.”

Wei Chengye took the account and flipped it over, then handed it to Shen Qing: "You should also take a look and feel it."

Shen Qing took the file and opened it to read carefully.

Relying on the ability of [Scholarship and Questioning], he quickly understood the cases recorded in these files.

Most of them were street fights, home burglaries, etc. The only murder case was that the father-in-law was accidentally beaten to death by his son while picking up ashes.

It is completely different from the cases in Yongzhou where there are murders and demons are rampant.

In other words, very peaceful.

"So on weekdays, I don't need to wait much. It's more than enough to let these servants and cadres handle it." Wei Chengye said calmly: "You don't have to worry too much."

Shen Qing closed the file and said, "I understand."

"In your jurisdiction, there are thirty to forty-four houses, all in this area. From now on, you can identify them one by one here if you have nothing to do. Okay, I will take you to the next place."

As Wei Chengye said this, he already stood up and walked outside the house.

After Shen Qing handed back the file, they went out together.

Three clerks walked to the door and said with a smile: "You two adults, please go slowly."

Outside the house, Shen Qing and Wei Chengye mounted their horses.

Shen Qing said: "Are we still going to the next place?"

"Master Shen's subordinates, you should meet them slowly when you have time in the future. I will take you to another place." Wei Chengye put his hand on the horse's belly and said: "Drive!"

That's right, there are so many neighborhoods and fourteen stations. It would be really time-consuming to visit them one by one.

If the situation in different places is very similar, it would be even more unnecessary.

Shen Qing followed without asking any questions.

When he had nothing to do yesterday, he had already walked around this place and was quite familiar with the layout here.

I saw that Wei Chengye had gone further south.

If he remembered correctly, that location was close to Qifu Gate.

After walking for a while, Wei Chengye came to a restaurant and stopped. He threw the reins to the boy at the door and stepped in with a quick stride.

The house was very lively and the first floor was full of people.

Wei Chengye took Shen Qing directly to the second floor and found a seat by the window and sat down.

The waiter in the restaurant ran over with tea and greeted him with a smile: "What do you two want to eat?"

"Make a pot of golden osmanthus wine, cut three taels of mutton, a roast chicken, and three plates of food to go with the wine." Wei Chengye said skillfully.

The boy took a bamboo slip and quickly marked it: "Okay, two distinguished guests, please wait a moment."

Shen Qing and Wei Chengye sat opposite each other and asked in confusion: "Master Wei, is this where you said you wanted me to go?"

Wei Chengye smiled and pointed, "Look at the street below."

Shen Qing stretched his head and looked down the street, only to see hurried pedestrians and a row of shops on both sides of the street.

Other than that I can't see any other differences.

"Excuse me for being stupid, I can't see any way."

Wei Chengye smiled and said, "Do you know what the aristocratic families in Kyoto are?"

"Cui, Wang, Xue, Xie, Zhao, Li, Zhang, Qian."

"That's right. The shops down there are the shops of the eight great families. The Qian family's casino, the Zhang family's brothel, the Xie family's pawnshop... In your jurisdiction, this area has the most shops of the great families, so be careful." Wei Chengye said meaningfully.

"There are so many powerful people in Kyoto. If this brick is thrown down, anyone it hits has a relationship with the court. If you don't pay attention, you may bring yourself unnecessary trouble."

"But you know that it is easiest to offend people in our business, and these are simply unavoidable. So, you just need to know not to provoke people from these eight surnames."

"You'd better turn a blind eye. The most important thing in your jurisdiction is this side."

Shen Qing said calmly: "In this case, although we are officials of the court, we have to kneel in front of the eight major families?"

"Don't say it so harshly." Wei Chengye said with a smile: "How many people want to kneel but can't."

Shen Qing said: "Is there no way to stand?"

"Yes, if your surname is Ji, no one dares to let you kneel."

"Two guests, your wine and food are here."

At this time, the waiter of the restaurant came up with a full bowl of wine and food and interrupted the two.

Wei Chengye said, "Let's drink first."

He flicked his finger, and the seal on the wine pot was easily opened, and the rich sweet osmanthus fragrance mixed with the wine aroma filled the air.

"Sir Shen, try the sweet osmanthus wine here, it's much better than the sweet and greasy taste outside."

Shen Qing didn't ask any more questions, picked up the wine glass and said, "Then I won't be polite, try it."

Gululu.

Shen Qing raised his head generously and swallowed a big mouthful of wine like a whale drinking.

The amber nectar slid through his throat like a torrent, bringing a burning and hearty pleasure, and a warm current spread from his stomach.

After drinking it, the unique fragrance of osmanthus and the faint sweetness came from the tip of his tongue.

Shen Qing suddenly felt that this wine was indeed a little different.

"Brother Shen, how about this wine?"

"Good wine."

"Hahaha." Wei Chengye said: "There is not much else in Kyoto, but there is a lot of wine here. Almost every restaurant has its own special flower wine. The annual Hundred Flowers Brewing and the competition for the Wine King are even more lively. You will have a chance to see it in a few days."

Shen Qing picked up the chopsticks and said: "Then I will definitely go and take a look."

After taking a few more sips, Shen Qing suddenly remembered something and asked: "I wonder if Brother Wei knows about the affairs of the vegetable city among the noble families?"

The smile on Wei Chengye's face suddenly disappeared, and he asked: "Where did Brother Shen hear about it?"

"I heard those noble families occasionally mentioned it at the Jingluan meeting." Shen Qing lied and pushed the matter onto the dead.

Wei Chengye sighed and said with fear: "The water here is very deep, not something we can get involved in, you'd better not ask about it."

Seeing Wei Chengye's secretive look, Shen Qing stopped asking.

Under the restaurant, a carved carriage slowly stopped, the sound of horse hooves stopped abruptly, and a fine dust was raised.

The curtain of the carriage was lightly lifted, first revealing a hand full of traces of time, and then, an old man with white hair and beard and vigorous spirit slowly walked down.

After getting off the car, he blocked the curtain and said respectfully to the inside: "Master, we are here."

"Well." A young man hummed softly from the carriage.

A young man with lively eyes and a handsome face walked out of the carriage.

He jumped lightly and landed steadily, looking clean and neat.

Obviously, he was also a martial artist.

Li Fu, the owner of the restaurant, had already been waiting at the door.

He kept his eyes and ears open, and when he saw the carriage stop, he hurriedly stepped out of the door, smiling, and ran forward a few steps to greet them: "Hey, old housekeeper Li, Master Jiu, you are finally here, I have been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Are all the things ready? I came here today just to check the accounts of the restaurant. I found that many of the accounts in your restaurant are not consistent."

The shopkeeper Li Fu immediately broke out in a cold sweat, and he said: "Master Jiu, you are joking. No matter what, we dare not do anything about the accounts."

"Let's take a look first."

"Master Jiu, please come this way."

The old and the young, surrounded by the old shopkeeper, slowly walked into the restaurant.

Although Master Li Jiu is not very old, he has a momentum that cannot be underestimated.

As soon as he stepped into the restaurant, he immediately attracted the attention of the guests, who were curious about this sudden scene.

Master Li Jiu was calm and composed, with no ripples on his face, and took it calmly.

Several people walked up the stairs and just stepped onto the wooden floor of the second floor, they ran into Shen Qing and Wei Chengye, two men in military uniforms.

Young Master Li Jiu recognized one of them, Wei Chengye, the chief officer of the military, but the other handsome man was a little unfamiliar.

He turned to the old man beside him and said, "Grandpa Tong, who is the one next to Wei Chengye?"

The old servant looked over and saw Shen Qing, who was vigorous and handsome, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and he couldn't recognize him.

"Young Master Jiu, I don't know him either. I'll go ask around later."

Young Master Li Jiu hummed lightly, and was led into a separate room by the shopkeeper Li Fu.

Shopkeeper Li Fu quickly asked the servants to prepare fruit snacks, brought out the account book and said, "Young Master Jiu, the turnover of this restaurant for the past year is all here."

"Put it on the table and I'll look at it one by one. If you have nothing else, take the people down."

Shopkeeper Li Fu quickly retreated.

After a while, the old servant who had inquired about the news came back and returned to the young man's side, waiting quietly and patiently.

The young man looked through the accounts, his eyebrows knitted together.

He closed the accounts expressionlessly and said, "Let the shopkeeper come in."

"Yes, Master."

The shopkeeper Li Fu walked in tremblingly: "Master Ninth, are you looking for me?"

Young Master Li Jiu said solemnly: "Grandpa Tong, go and twist off his head."

"Ah!" Li Fu, the shopkeeper, was so frightened that he peed his pants and cried: "Master Ninth, I have been working here for so many years, and there is no credit but hard work. I hope the master spared my life..."

Poof!

Blood sprayed.

Shopkeeper Li Fu's voice stopped abruptly.

His head was torn off by the old servant.

"After all these years, the accounts have been like this. I can't even understand them. How can I still hope to survive?" Master Li Jiu snorted coldly and asked the old servant, "Have you found out who the new face outside is?"

The old servant threw the head on the ground and replied respectfully: "Back to the young master, the old servant has already inquired clearly. This person's name is Shen Qing. He survived the Jing Rebellion not long ago and was appointed by His Majesty as the Military and Horse Division. The South is always bad.”

"I heard that there is only one person alive in this Jingluan meeting. Is this the person?" Master Li Jiu said curiously.

"Exactly."

"What a coincidence. In name, he is still the chief of our city." Master Li Jiu glanced at the corpse on the ground and ordered expressionlessly: "Let him come over. I just want to ask Third Brother about their situation." thing."

"During this Jingluan meeting, Third Brother and the others died in mysterious circumstances, and my father was very unhappy. If we can pry out some Jingluanhui information from this person and bring it back, I'm afraid my father will feel better."

"Yes." The old servant took the order and walked straight to Shen Qing and the others.

At this time, Shen Qing was chatting with Wei Chengye when he suddenly saw a strange face standing next to him.

He glanced at the old servant up and down, but he didn't understand.

The old servant opened his mouth and said condescendingly: "Mr. Shen, my young master has something to ask you. Please come over."

The tone of his words was very disrespectful, which made Shen Qing unhappy.

Seeing Shen Qing's arrogance, the old servant frowned. He suddenly softened his tone and said respectfully: "Mr. Shen, my ninth young master is in this restaurant today. He wants to see Mr. Shen, so why not?" I hope Lord Shen will appreciate you."

Wei Chengye on the side was stunned when he heard the old servant announcing his home, and unexpectedly said: "The ninth young master of the Li family?"

"Exactly."

"I heard that the ninth young master of the Li family is one of the best in cultivation among the younger generation of the Li family. I didn't expect to meet him today. It's such an honor." Wei Chengye introduced, lowering his voice and said: "Brother Shen, You may not know that Master Li’s father was the current Wuhou.”

Shen Qing could tell that Wei Chengye wanted him to "bow down" and understand the overall situation.

However, he didn't want that.

Shen Qing put down his wine glass and said seriously: "I'm not going!"