Chapter 114

  With three people making such a fuss, Tang Yin also lost his interest in continuing to stroll around. He was thinking of returning home when he faintly heard the sound of music coming from afar.

  He looked around and found a fairly large teahouse not far away. The music was coming from there.

  Tang Yin beckoned to Qiu Zhen and walked over with a stride.

  The teahouse is divided into two floors, with a very spacious interior and clean surroundings. Looking inside, at the far end there is a half-person-high stage where people are performing a play, speaking and singing in a style that resembles modern spoken drama rather than Peking Opera.

  Tang Yin had never seen this form of drama before. With great interest, he casually found a spot to sit down and watched with rapt attention.

  The play performed on stage is very vernacularized, with rough and simple costumes and props, but considering the background at that time, it was already extremely rare.

  At this time, a scene of the home being trampled by barbarian soldiers is being performed, which evokes resonance from many guests in the audience, and not a few people shed tears as they watch.

  At the moment when the atmosphere in the hall was filled with sad emotions, a man suddenly appeared on stage holding a wooden sword. He led the wind soldiers and killed the strong barbarian soldiers one by one. At this time, applause and cheers erupted from below the stage, and the atmosphere of the tea house also became lively and hot instantly.

  Qiu Zhen smiled and whispered to Tang Yin beside him; "Brother Tang, this is a play about you!"

  "Oh?" Tang Yin's spirit lifted, and he looked more carefully, even when the shopkeeper came up to ask him something, he didn't hear it.

  Qiu Zhen ordered a pot of tea, two plates of melon seeds and peanuts, and accompanied Tang Yin to watch the play.

  On the stage, the man in black drove away the barbarian soldiers and was revered by the people. He left with his head held high, surrounded by the Wind Army. But before the people could even start celebrating, a group of rough-looking men rushed onto the stage again, oppressing the people, beating and looting them, causing the people to cry out in despair.

  If Tang Yin hadn't strolled through the night market and seen the local tyrants bullying the merchants, he would have thought it was just a play. It had no practical significance, but now that he saw these things again, he felt a sense of emotion. It seemed that in the hearts of the people, their hatred for the local tyrants was even greater than their hatred for the barbarian soldiers. If they weren't dealt with in time, it would be unbearable.

  He made up his mind in silence, and after returning, the first thing to do was to solve all these evil tyrants and their protective umbrellas.

  He was pondering when suddenly a loud noise came from the entrance of the tea house, followed by dozens of Wind Troop soldiers rushing in with long spears.

  This is no play-acting. The winds that have come are genuine, and the weapons in their hands are real ones.

  "Halt! Stop acting! Don't pretend anymore!" A man who looked like a captain walked out of the Wind Army, grasping the hilt of his sword, his eyes gleaming like electricity as he paced back and forth inside the teahouse.

  The guests in the teahouse, along with the performers on stage, were all shocked and confused, unable to understand what had happened or why so many soldiers had suddenly appeared.

  The shopkeeper of the teahouse, a man in his fifties, hurried over from behind the counter, his face forced into a smile as he asked with a bow: "General, what's happened? Why..."

  "What's going on here?" The leader of the group grabbed the collar of the person in charge and shouted, "What kind of play are you performing? Spreading rumors to deceive the people! I'm going to seal off this teahouse right now. Unrelated individuals, leave immediately!"

  As soon as the officer's voice fell, the guests in the teahouse quickly got up and rushed out, competing to be the first to leave. As the saying goes, "ordinary people do not fight with officials", even if they are dissatisfied in their hearts, ordinary people dare not confront or conflict with officers and soldiers.

  The tea house manager's face turned extremely ugly, but he was also completely helpless and could only watch as the customers fled in a hurry, unable to do anything.

  Tang Yin and Qiu Zhen naturally didn't run, both of them were guessing which battalion this Wind Army belonged to, and why they had such a big authority, that they could seal off the tea houses in the city at will.

  "What did we do wrong? Why should we be sealed off?"

  At this time, a soft and sweet female voice came from behind the stage, and with the sound of her words, a young woman walked out from behind the stage.

  She looked like she was only in her early twenties, with a delicate and pale complexion, as beautiful as a flower. Her facial features were exquisitely carved, and before she even arrived, the captivating musk fragrance had already wafted over. Even Tang Yin and Qiu Zhen, who had seen their fair share of the world, couldn't help but secretly praise her: "So beautiful!"

  At the sight of such a beautiful woman, the captain of the official soldiers was stunned, his eyes fixed and his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets. His hand, which had been subconsciously grasping the shopkeeper's collar, also loosened its grip.

  "...". After a long while, the captain of the guards finally came back to his senses from the shock. His eyes greedily roamed over the woman's slender and delicate body, swallowing hard, and asked in a pretended calm tone: "Miss, who are you?"

  A young woman walked up close and first didn't pay attention to him, but instead supported the person in charge and asked: "Zhong Bo, are you okay?"

  "It's nothing, it's nothing!" The shopkeeper shook his head repeatedly, looking at the woman and then glancing at the lecherous officer, a worried expression on his face. He said in a low voice, "Miss, you..."

  The woman gave him a reassuring smile, then turned to the officer and said softly, "This teahouse is mine."

  "Huh?" The squad leader was worried that he couldn't find an excuse, but as soon as he heard this, his eyes lit up and he sneered coldly: "Well, in that case, you'd better come with us!"

  "Why?"

  "Your teahouse is using the name of performing plays to spread rumors, provoke and stir up the emotions of the people. This one thing alone is enough to take your head."

  "Haha!" The woman not only didn't look nervous or afraid, but instead burst out laughing and said: "My family's tea house is open all over the country, why is it that everywhere else it's safe and sound, but in your place it becomes a rumor to deceive the masses? I think you're the ones with guilty consciences and ulterior motives!"

  "How dare you!" The officer's face turned red with rage, and he stretched out his hand as if to grab the woman.

  The woman's face suddenly turned cold and she said in a low voice, "You're the one who's being presumptuous! If you want to seal off my family's tea house, first weigh your own strength!"

  "Which Fan family?" The officer in charge was taken aback and asked uncertainly: "Which one is it?"

  The young woman raised her delicate cheek and asked back: "Which Fan family in Fengguo?"

  "...", upon hearing this, the officer's face slightly changed.

  Tang Yin, who was originally watching the commotion, was puzzled and didn't know why the leader of the official troops suddenly became weaker as soon as he heard the name of the Fan family.

  He was dissatisfied with the Wind Corps, thinking that they would seal off teahouses at will with a fabricated crime, bullying the weak and oppressing merchants. Now he has begun to lean towards the Wind Corps' side, not wanting his subordinates to be humiliated in front of outsiders, especially when the other party is just a twenty-year-old woman.

  He looked at Qiu Zhen with suspicion, letting him dispel the doubts in his mind.

  Qiu Zhen stuck out his tongue and said in a low voice: "Brother Tang wouldn't have not mentioned the Fan family, would he?"

  Seeing the look of confusion in Tang Yan's eyes, he secretly sighed and sometimes wondered if Tang Yan was really a romantic. He whispered in Tang Yan's ear: "The Fan family is the largest merchant in the country!"

  His words were not exaggerated at all. The Fan family's business in Fengguo was extremely large, and they operated not only tea houses, but also wine houses, hotels, jewelry stores, antique shops, pawnshops, silver warehouses, and so on. Any profitable business was involved, covering every county and prefecture across the country. The Fan family's notes were universally accepted nationwide, and their silver tickets had a reputation comparable to those of the imperial court. Although the Fan family was not of noble birth, they relied on their vast wealth to interact with the four great powers of the royal court, having an intimate relationship with them. Their actual power and prestige were naturally far beyond what ordinary merchants could match.

  So the young woman had nothing to fear, and the leader of the soldiers was greatly intimidated when he heard the name of the Fan family.

  "If you're smart, leave now and I'll pretend nothing happened. Otherwise, not just you, but your boss, your boss's boss, even the county governor of Pingyuan County will be in trouble!" After finishing her sentence, the young woman turned as cold as frost, flipped her sleeve, ignored him, and walked back to the inner courtyard.

  She left, but left the officer and his soldiers here.

  Arresting her was out of the question, and letting her go was also impossible. For a moment, he was in an awkward predicament, and the team leader's face turned extremely ugly.

  His face was unpleasant to look at, and Tang Yin's face, which had been watching the excitement, also didn't look good.

  He didn't know how big the Fan family's business was, but this woman's attitude was really unbearable, it could be said that she was arrogant to the extreme, even herself was lifted out and trampled underfoot, what can be tolerated, what cannot be tolerated.

  Just as Tang Yin was about to stand up and stop the young woman from leaving, Qiu Zhen hastily pulled him back and whispered: "Sir, please be patient, we can't afford to offend the Fan family. If Pingyuan County wants to recover its prosperity, it also can't do without the Fan family!"

  Upon hearing this, Tang Yin's anger dissipated by half, and he shook his head with a huff. His lips moved as if muttering to himself, but no one knew what he was saying. Losing interest in staying any longer, he stood up and walked out directly.

  As he passed by the stupid officer standing still, he cursed in his heart that useless thing, losing face and simply ruining the prestige of the Wind Army. Without saying anything else, he strode out of the teahouse.

  As soon as he came out, he said to Qiu Zhen who was following behind him: "Investigate! Investigate which battalion these officers and soldiers belong to, and who they directly report to! The whole battalion is a mess, the battalion commander should also be replaced!"

  Qiu Zhen naturally understood that Tang Yin was now sulking, so he chuckled and said slowly, "Alright, I'll investigate clearly." After a pause, he looked at the still bustling night market and asked, "Tang Dage, are we not strolling anymore?" "Not strolling," Tang Yin replied impatiently, waving his hand. "Let's go home!"

  "Yes!" Qiu Zhen replied with her mouth, but couldn't help the smile that appeared on her face.

  Tang Yin's style is decisive and powerful, but sometimes he also shows a childish side, which is not often seen.

  On the way back to the county government office, Tang Yin kept asking what kind of business the Fan family was doing and how big it was. Qiu Zhen knew everything and explained one by one. Tang Yin listened with a mixture of shock and amazement, and at the same time gained a general understanding of the vastness and strength of the Fan family.

  Everyone who has finished reading 《》 can also take a look at other works by Liu Dao, 《How to Train a Villain 2》 and 《The Record of the Strange Gate Medicine》! The links are on the work page!