met free Chapter 718 [Under the Brocade 14]
Chapter 718 [Under the Brocade 14]
Not long after, the ship arrived in Yangzhou steadily. The dock was crowded with people, and it was very lively. In front of the crowd stood a middle-aged man in official uniform, who was the governor of Yangzhou, Mr. Wei. He personally came to greet everyone on the ship and enthusiastically introduced the famous Yangzhou canal transport gang, the Wu'an Gang.
According to Lord Wei, the leader of the Wuan Gang is old and has now handed over all the gang affairs to the leader of the Suzaku Hall, Shangguan Xi. Speaking of this leader, she is really awe-inspiring. Not only does she have a cold and beautiful face, like an iceberg snow lotus, it is difficult to approach her; her swordsmanship is even more superb, and she has few rivals in the world. Moreover, she acts decisively and ruthlessly, and never drags her feet.
At this time, there was a noise and a cry of begging for mercy from afar. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Shangguan Xi sitting on a chair in a room not far away, looking coldly at a man tied to the ground in front of him. It turned out that the man was a member of the Wuan Gang, but was caught by Shangguan Xi for betraying the gang. At this moment, she was planning to use lynching to teach this traitor a lesson.
Seeing this, Yuan Jinxia, who always hated evil and had a straightforward personality, was immediately furious and rushed forward to stop Shangguan Xi without saying a word. However, Youyou, who was standing by, was quick to pull her back and urged her urgently: "Jinxia, don't be impulsive! After all, this is the internal affairs of the Wuan Gang. As outsiders, we can't intervene rashly. If we anger the Shangguan Hall Master, I'm afraid we will bring ourselves unnecessary troubles."
After hearing what Youyou said, Jin Xia was still a little indignant, but she also felt that it made sense, so she nodded reluctantly and temporarily suppressed her anger.
Afterwards, Shangguan Xi exchanged a few polite words with Lord Wei with a smile on her face, showing her elegance and generosity. At this moment, a figure flashed quickly like the wind, and it turned out to be Xie Xiao. Everyone then realized that Shangguan Xi was actually Xie Xiao's second senior sister, and Xie Xiao was the young leader of the famous Wu'an Gang. They were both important figures in the Wu'an Gang.
Lu Yi, who had fought with Xie Xiao before, used his keen insight to instantly realize that the heroic man in front of him was the one who wanted to rescue Sha Xiuzhu that night.
Shangguan Xi saw Xie Xiao's fierce words, and was about to have a direct conflict with the government officials. She felt nervous and hurried forward to hold Xie Xiao, whispering: "Junior brother, don't be impulsive!" After that, she dragged Xie Xiao away in a hurry without saying anything. However, at the moment of parting, Xie Xiao suddenly turned his head and looked at Yuan Jinxia. His eyes were like a flash of lightning, shooting straight at Jinxia, making her a little dazed.
Time goes back to three years ago. At that time, the leader of the Xie Gang wanted to force Xie Xiao to marry Shangguan Xi in order to consolidate the power within the Wuan Gang. But how could Xie Xiao, who was stubborn and yearned for free love, be willing to obey such an arrangement? So, he resolutely chose to run away from home and wandered around the world from then on.
Shangguan Xi had mixed feelings when he returned this time, secretly planning to take him to meet the increasingly deteriorating health of Xie Gang Leader. However, Xie Xiao was full of worries at the moment, with a frown on his face, as if he was filled with sorrow.
He knew that he had run away from his wedding with Shangguan Xi, which had undoubtedly deeply hurt his father's heart. Now that his father was old and in poor health, he was really worried that his father was still upset about that incident and would not forgive him, an unfilial son.
Time goes back to that heartbreaking day three years ago. What should have been a joyous wedding scene turned into chaos due to Xie Xiao's sudden departure.
Shangguan Xi, wearing a gorgeous wedding dress, watched her beloved disappear before her eyes, tears pouring out like a flood. She stayed alone in the empty bridal chamber, crying until dawn. The pain and despair of that night are still deeply engraved in Shangguan Xi's heart.
Three years later, Shangguan Xi looked at the man she had loved so deeply, feeling mixed emotions, including the joy of reunion and the pain of being abandoned. And what about Xie Xiao? He did not notice the emotional turmoil in Shangguan Xi's heart, but simply thought that she was willing to be with him because of the pressure from Gang Leader Xie and her father.
After Shangguan Xi's repeated persuasion, Xie Xiao finally made up his mind to return to the Xie family to face the father he both respected and feared. Seeing Xie Xiao's slovenly appearance like a wild man, Shangguan Xi felt distressed and quickly fetched a basin of clean water to gently wash the dust off his face.
Then, she picked up a sharp razor and carefully shaved off his messy beard. Then, Shangguan Xi took out a new set of clothes, carefully put them on Xie Xiao, and carefully arranged every corner of the clothes. After this careful dressing, Xie Xiao seemed to be reborn, and his whole person was glowing with a different spirit.
Guan Xuan said with a gloomy face: "I must retrieve the birthday gift!" His eyes were fixed on Lu Yi, as if he wanted to see the answer he expected through the other's eyes.
However, Lu Yi had a calm expression on his face, and spoke slowly: "The truth of this case has not yet been found out, and the whereabouts of two boxes of birthday gifts are still unknown. It is not appropriate to return it to you at this time." His tone was firm and unquestionable.
Upon hearing this, Guan Xuan's face became even uglier. He slammed the table and said angrily: "I am a royal relative. Can't you even give me this little face?" He widened his eyes and looked straight at Lu Yi, trying to use his status to force the other party to compromise.
But Lu Yi remained unmoved, just shook his head slightly and said in a deep voice: "It is my duty, I hope you will understand."
Seeing this, Guan Xuan could no longer suppress his anger. He stood up, pointed at Lu Yi and cursed loudly: "What an ungrateful person!" Then, he waved his sleeves, turned around and left angrily. Only Lu Yi was left standing there, quietly looking at his receding back.
When Xie Xiao dragged his slightly tired body into the house, Gang Leader Xie's eagle-like sharp eyes locked onto him tightly. Before Xie Xiao could stand firmly on his feet, a loud slap hit him hard in the face. Along with this crisp sound, Gang Leader Xie angrily rebuked: "You ignorant boy! How dare you openly clash with the Jinyiwei? Do you know how much trouble this will bring us?"
Xie Xiao covered his swollen cheeks, raised his head stubbornly, and argued loudly: "Dad, the birthday gift was ill-gotten gains. Brother Sha and I are just doing justice for the heavens!"
However, Gang Leader Xie was not moved at all. He frowned and said sternly, "No matter what, I will send you to Suzhou in a few days to avoid further trouble."
However, Xie Xiao was not willing to give up. He stiffened his neck and responded without flinching, "Dad, the theft of the birthday gift was planned by Sha Xiuzhu and I. Now that he is in prison, how can I abandon him and escape alone?"
Seeing his son being so stubborn, Gang Leader Xie was furious. He pointed at Xie Xiao's nose and shouted, "If you continue to be stubborn and keep thinking about robbing the prisoner, don't blame me for being rude to you!"
Then, he turned to look at Shangguan Xi who was standing beside him and ordered, "From today on, you must keep a close eye on him and never allow him to step out of the house!"
After Gang Leader Xie left in a huff, Xie Xiao came up to Shangguan Xi and whispered in a low voice: "Actually, I still have two boxes of birthday gifts that haven't been dealt with yet. I have to find a place to hide them quickly." When Shangguan Xi heard this, his eyes widened and his face was full of worry.
At the same time, Yuan Jinxia was happily dragging Yang Yue through the streets and alleys of Yangzhou City. The two of them were talking and laughing along the way, and they kept talking about going to Qixiang Pavilion to taste the delicious food there. Their conversation happened to be overheard by Xie Xiao who was standing not far away. Xie Xiao's eyes rolled, and a clever plan instantly emerged in his mind...
Xie Xiao calmly took out a few ingots of silver from his pocket and handed them to the owner of Qixiang Pavilion. The owner nodded knowingly and put the silver in his pocket.
Soon, Yuan Jinxia and Yang Yue came over, chatting and laughing. The boss suddenly changed his face, grabbed Xie Xiao, and shouted: "My dear guest, you want to leave without paying after eating in our restaurant! This is not okay!"
Xie Xiao was not willing to be outdone. He suddenly broke free from his boss's hand and shouted, "I am the young leader of the Wu'an Gang. How could I owe you such a small amount of money?" As he spoke, he deliberately glanced in Yuan Jinxia's direction.
Seeing this, Yuan Jinxia felt that something was amiss, but she couldn't help but stepped forward and said, "Xie Xiao, what's going on?"
Xie Xiao seemed to have found a life-saving straw, and he immediately complained to Yuan Jinxia, asking her to judge for him. At this moment, several burly men suddenly rushed out of the crowd, and without saying a word, they picked up buckets of water and poured them at Yuan Jinxia. In just a moment, Yuan Jinxia was soaked from head to toe, with water dripping down her hair, looking miserable.
Seeing this, Xie Xiao was secretly proud in his heart, but on the surface he pretended to be very concerned. He hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Yuan Jinxia's arm, saying, "Oh, Miss Yuan, I'm so sorry! I'll take you to buy some clean clothes to change into." After that, he dragged Yuan Jinxia to the silk shop across the street without saying anything.
Yang Yue, who was standing by, saw that something was wrong and said hurriedly, "Wait, I have to hurry back to bring cakes to my father, so I won't go with you."
Xie Xiao waved his hand without turning his head and said, "Okay, okay, you go ahead! I'll take care of Miss Yuan here." After that, he continued to pull Yuan Jinxia away quickly, leaving Yang Yue standing there, looking at their receding backs and shaking his head helplessly.