Taiheiki

Chapter 90 Uninvited Guest

"That's right!" Wei Cong nodded.

"Okay, I want to go too!" Nie Sheng answered decisively.

"You want to go too?" Wei Cong laughed. "Okay, let's discuss this issue after we get our belongings back! After all, if things don't go well in two days, I'm afraid we won't even be able to leave your house alive, let alone what happens next!"

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聂宅
The hall was packed with guests from all directions, not only prominent figures from Chaisang but also wealthy individuals from Jiangxia, Jingzhou, and Jiujiang Commandery, Yangzhou. They knelt behind tables, their attendants filling the corridors on either side of the hall. The clash of swords was incessant, yet these normally hot-tempered outlaws were surprisingly restrained, and no one engaged in any conflict. Everyone ate, drank, and chatted in low voices, as if waiting for something.

"Damn it! These bastards must have made some sort of pre-arranged agreement!" Zhou Ping mused, peeking cautiously through the crack in the screen. He could even see gloating smiles on the faces of some of the uninvited guests. Damn, if you don't know who's the unlucky one at the gambling table, it's probably you. Zhou Ping couldn't remember who had heard this, but it was truly apt.

"Come here!" Zhou Ping waved to the housekeeper next to him: "Where is Wu Lang? I want to see him!" The Wu Lang he mentioned was Zhou Jin, his cousin and also his deputy on this trip.

"Mr. Jin? He went out just as it got dark last night and hasn't come back yet!" the butler whispered.

"What? This bastard!" Zhou Ping was furious. "At such a critical moment, he's not here! Go find him quickly, and have him come to see me immediately!"

"Yes, yes!" the butler replied twice, then hurried away. Zhou Ping knew his cousin had gone somewhere to have some fun again. After all, this wasn't his hometown, and no one dared to discipline him, so he'd naturally let himself go. But the problem was that today was different from the past. These uninvited guests clearly had ill intentions. Brothers fight like tigers, and fathers and sons fight like warriors. He was alone and weak, and he was afraid he couldn't handle it.

"Go to the inner house and invite the lady over. Tell her that I have something important to discuss with her!" Zhou Ping thought for a moment and decided to invite Zhou over. After all, the widow of Nie Zheng was still the nominal head of the Nie family. It would have been fine if he had sidelined her on weekdays, but now that trouble was imminent, he had to drag out this person who was taking the blame.

Walking through the familiar corridors felt wonderful. For Zhou, memories of the old Lujiang house had faded. Everything before her felt more like home, more intimate than Lujiang itself. When she first arrived, she'd despised the house's humbleness. Compared to the two-hundred-year-old Lujiang house, the Nie family residence seemed so shabby. But as time passed, she grew fond of it. She remembered her husband sitting by her side in the newly built pavilion, watching the rain fall on the lotus flowers in the backyard pond while she read to him from the Book of Songs; her husband rowing a boat from the backyard pond into the river, taking her fishing. Every tree, every brick, every column in this house bore witness to her happiness, and now she was being driven from it. The thought of this bleak feeling in Zhou's heart reached its lowest point.

"Sister!" Zhou Ping's face was full of smiles: "You are finally here, come, come, sit down and talk!"

Zhou frowned. She knew her cousin too well. As long as he was in an advantageous position, he would be domineering. The way he looked now, it was definitely someone who needed her.

"What's wrong? Are you in trouble again? Do you want to take the blame for me?" Zhou sneered.

"Sister, how can you say that!" Zhou Ping forced a smile and said, "You can't write two Zhou characters with one stroke. You and I are from the same family, so how can you say I'm taking the blame?"

"Forget it!" Zhou was too lazy to play this kind of language game with Zhou Ping. "If you have nothing else to say, I'll go back. There are things waiting for me in the backyard!"

"Wait! Sister, look outside!" Zhou Ping called out to Zhou and pointed to the outer room. Zhou walked behind the screen and looked outside. After a moment, she turned back and asked, "What's going on? Who are those people outside?"

"They are all well-known figures. Some are from Chaisang, but more are from neighboring states and counties. There are Zhang Shuo and Huang Sheng from Jiangxia, Lei Huan, Wang Wen, and Liu Qu from Jiujiang..." Zhou Ping listed seven or eight names in one breath, all of which Zhou had never heard of before.

"Who are these people? You said they were prominent. What official positions did they hold?"

"This..." Zhou Ping hesitated for a moment and explained, "Not all of them hold official positions. Even if they do, their official positions are not high, at most only 400 or 600 dan. However, they are all quite prestigious, with many followers and guests. In their counties, few dare to disobey their orders. For example, even if these people's power is not as strong as Nie Zheng's, it's not far behind!"

"What?" Zhou was startled when she heard her late husband's name. She quickly peeked out through the crack and asked, "Why are these people gathered together?"

"Of course someone is behind this!" Zhou Ping sneered, "Otherwise, these people would have their own things to do, so how could they get together?"

Just as Zhou was wondering who was behind this, the housekeeper suddenly came in from outside, looking panicked: "Madam, my dear, something bad has happened! Someone from the Bai family is coming!"

"Bai family, which Bai family?" Zhou Ping asked in confusion.

"Damn it!" Zhou had already understood: "It's my husband's late wife's family. Damn it, I never thought they were behind this!"

"That Bai family?" Zhou Ping also reacted: "Doesn't Bai Qi have gout and can hardly walk? What kind of tricks can a disabled person do?"

"Just because he can't walk doesn't mean he can't use his brain. We have underestimated him!" Zhou said angrily.

"Should we keep this fellow out of the door and tell him we're not seeing guests today?" asked the housekeeper.

"How is this possible?" Zhou said angrily, "They've invited so many uninvited guests, how can they be dismissed with a simple "no guests"? Are these people here just eating for free? You're stupid! Invite them in quickly and be courteous. You must not give them any leverage at this moment. Do you understand?"

As soon as the housekeeper left, Zhou said, "A Ping, that Bai guy usually hides at home pretending to be dead, but now he has caused such a big incident. He must be planning something big. I will deal with it in the hall later. You take the people and wait for orders below. If he dares to do anything reckless, I will have people beat the drums, and you will rush in with your people to give him a lesson!"

"This..." Zhou Ping was stunned. He didn't expect Zhou to be so ruthless: "Sister, today is different from the past. None of these people in the hall are easy to deal with. If you want to use force, I'm afraid it won't work!" "So what?" Zhou sneered: "This is the Nie family. Even if a dragon comes, it has to be coiled. Didn't you always say that the two hundred family members you brought were very elite and were enough to subdue them even if something unexpected happened? Why did you become weak at the critical moment?"

Zhou Ping was provoked by this, and his original hesitation disappeared. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go and mobilize the troops right away! I'll trouble you with the affairs in the hall, sister. Wu Lang is such a useless guy. He disappeared at the critical moment. I must give him a good beating when he comes back!"

"He spends his days drinking and whoring, his mind fixed on the little thing in his pants. You're the only one who treats this kind of trash like a treasure!" Zhou sneered, "In my opinion, you should rush back to Lujiang. Any random cat or dog would be better than this guy!"

Zhou Ping didn't dare Zhou Shi argue. He nodded and went back to reorganize his men. Zhou Shi took a deep breath, forced a smile on her face, and prepared to face the challenge ahead.

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Outside the Nie family’s gate.

"Asheng, just follow your uncle later. Don't worry, Zhou won't recognize you!" Wei Cong whispered.

"I understand! What about you?" Nie Sheng was obviously a little nervous. His face was already painted with a layer of turmeric, and he had fake beards on his cheeks and chin. When he entered the door, he would hold two small walnuts in his mouth, with his cheeks bulging. At first glance, he looked like a completely different person and was absolutely unrecognizable.

"I'm hiding among the attendants and won't go to the court later. There's no other way. I'm too conspicuous. Zhou and Zhou Ping have both seen me. If I go to the court, I won't be able to hide it!"

"Okay then!" Nie Sheng glanced at Wei Cong's height and nodded: "Don't worry, godfather!"

At this time, the side door of the Nie Mansion opened, and the housekeeper came out and bowed to Bai Qi: "Mr. Bai, I've kept you waiting. My wife is in the back hall. Please follow me!"

"Hurry over!" Wei Cong lowered his voice, bowing slightly, trying to be less noticeable. The nine followers Bai Qi brought with him—except for himself, Nie Sheng, and a man from Bai's residence—were all chosen from among his elite soldiers. They wore armor beneath their outer robes, concealing short crossbows as a precaution. They followed Bai Qi to the hall. Bai Qi, supported by Nie Sheng and his attendant, entered the hall. Wei Cong and the others were stationed in the left wing corridor, where they were served food and wine. Without orders, none of the soldiers dared to pick up their chopsticks; they all knelt there, like puppets.

Bai Qi entered the hall, and the other nobles came forward to greet him. Bai Qi saw this, and the worry he had felt before finally fell. He thought to himself that Wei Cong hadn't lied. With so many people here, even if Zhou was vicious, he couldn't catch them all. At worst, he could get away with it.

"Now that Brother Bai is here, we should get down to business!" Zhang Shuo stood up, his demeanor dignified. He looked around, his eyes sweeping over everyone, and the guests fell silent. Zhang Shuo nodded and waved to the Zhou Mansion's steward beside him, "Where is the Madam?"

"This..." The steward's face showed embarrassment. He had already seen that the visitor had ill intentions, so he could only say, "Madam is not well, it is not appropriate for her to see outsiders!"

"That's all right!" Zhang Shuo said, "Since the Madam is not in a position to see us, then we will go see her. You lead the way!"

"This, this—" The steward quickly opened his arms to stop them: "How can this be allowed? There are differences between men and women. Everyone, be careful of what people say!"

"I come here with a sincere heart, a heart that can see the sun and the moon. Why should I be afraid of what others say?" Zhang Shuo stretched out his right hand and pushed the steward away: "If you don't want to lead the way, don't block my way!"

"Who wants to see me?" Zhou came out from behind the screen, glanced at the person approaching, and said coldly, "You must be Zhang Shuo from Jiangxia. I've heard of your great name for a long time, but I didn't expect you to be the kind of person who bullies a widowed mother and her young son!"

"Greetings, Madam Nie!" Zhang Shuo bowed deeply to Zhou. "I have acted in a way that is worthy of the conscience of heaven and earth. Those who are clear will be clear, and those who are turbid will be turbid. How can words change them? If I have ever bullied others in the slightest, I will give an explanation after this matter is over!"

"Okay!" Zhou sneered and sat down in the center seat. "Tell me, why did you come to the Nie family this time? To see me, a widow?"

"Madam, please read this!" Zhang Shuo pulled out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to the maid beside him. "I received this not long ago!"

Zhou took the letter and opened it. It said that after Nie Zheng's death, Zhou had abused his eldest son, forced him to leave home, brought servants from Lujiang, and divided up the family property. He also abused the farmhands and other relatives. There were seventeen or eighteen crimes in total. Zhou was secretly surprised, knowing that her opponent must have an insider at home, otherwise he would not have written such a detailed account. Zhou pretended to be nonchalant: "What did I do then? Could it be that Master Zhang did such a big thing just with this piece of paper? I can easily write twenty or thirty pieces of this kind of silk paper for you. What's the big deal?"

"If it's just a piece of paper, it's naturally nothing! Although I'm unwise, I wouldn't do such a rash thing!" Zhang Shuo sneered, "That's why I sent someone to ask Mr. Bai for advice before coming to Chaisang!" At this point, he pointed at Bai Qi and said, "Madam, you should know who he is, right?"

"Of course I know!" Zhou had known Bai Qi was coming and was naturally prepared. "But you should also know that when my father's ex-wife passed away, there was a lot of unpleasantness with the relatives there. After I married here, it became even more so. Go ask him why he would say anything good about me!"

"Bitch!" Bai Qi was furious when he heard this. "Where is my nephew? How dare you be here, talking nonsense? How shameless!"

"He's already taken Wei Cong as his adoptive father and is heading to Jiangling!" Zhou sneered, "When he left, I sent a lot of money and property on board. Everyone knows it!"

"It's obvious that he was forced to leave by a lowly servant like you. Otherwise, why would he worship someone else as his adoptive father?" Bai Qi said angrily, "As for those little properties, it's obvious that you used them to deceive others and silence them!"

"Bai Qi!" Zhou raised her eyebrows. "That's all your one-sided story. Besides, if you love your nephew so much, why didn't you take him in yourself in the first place? Why don't you just pretend to be nice afterward?"

"You--" Bai Qi was hit in the sore spot by Zhou and suddenly became speechless. His chest heaved violently and his face turned pale and blue, making people worry that he would faint in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)