In the year 476 of Zhengyang, in July of the eleventh year of Xuyang

From the Tianyun Peak Holy Sect to the Northern Zhili Imperial Capital, Liu Xin spent a whole month.

Because he was not the slightest impatient, and even enjoyed this kind of leisurely walk, aimless procession.

Starting from Cheonun Peak, it was supposed to go north to Chang'an Mansion, and then take a boat up the river to Gyeonggi. In this way, it only takes more than ten days to arrive, but Liu Xin chose to go to Wuchang Mansion first, and then to Fengyang, the central capital, and pass through Kaifeng, Daming, Jinan and other places on the way north. It was already a month later when I arrived in the imperial capital.

Liu Xin spent this month thinking carefully about the purpose of the Holy Sect's arrangement, but he still didn't get anything. I couldn't help but be depressed, and I just took this opportunity to travel, he hadn't gone down the mountain for eleven years, he had walked more, seen more scenery, and his mood was naturally much better.

The road guide was checked at the gate of the imperial capital, this thing has long existed in name only, and the road guide system was implemented after the founding of Zhengyang. But after the Northern Barbarians went south and the War of Restoration, although the road guidance system still existed in the legal system, it was actually no longer used. In addition, martial artists are prevalent, the rivers and lakes are rising, and how can a few people be able to balance those martial arts masters.

Although the road introduction system exists in name only, it is still needed here in the imperial capital, and it is very strictly guarded, after all, it is the land of Gyeonggi, and the imperial city is now!

Therefore, the soldier at the gate of the city methodically checked every passer-by's guide, although he didn't care whether your guide was true or not, and there was even a bazaar thirty miles outside the city, which was a black market that sold guides.

Liu Xin only regarded himself as a spectator along the way, looking at the world today, going deep into the people, and feeling uncomfortable, but this made the contact person of the imperial capital bitter.

He waited in the imperial capital for more than half a month, but when the expected time came, he still didn't see Liu Xin, which made him anxious in his heart.

Although the covert investigation team has been arranged here, after all, the longer it drags on, the easier it is to change, and in this Gyeonggi land, even the covert investigation team has to be careful.

Liu Xin's contact person was a middle-aged man in a round-necked gray shirt, and this person must have seen Liu Xin's portrait, so as soon as Liu Xin entered the city, this person jumped out of a tea shop at the city gate and rushed straight to Liu Xin.

Liu Xin was taken aback, but the middle-aged man was extremely athletic, and he knelt in front of Liu Xin at once, and shouted bitterly:

"Young Master! You're finally here! If you come any later, you won't see him! ”

This loud cry directly attracted the attention of the people around him, and the little two in the tea shop opened his mouth wide enough to stuff an egg!

This middle-aged man has been sitting here for half a month, coming before dawn in the morning, leaving when the city gate is locked in the evening, drinking alone, has always been a breezy appearance, but I didn't expect a 360-degree change directly today.

Liu Xin frowned and looked at the middle-aged man who was grabbing his trouser leg, and there were countless scoldings in his heart that he couldn't speak.

But he saw that the middle-aged man's voice not only did not decrease, but continued to increase the volume, and wiped the snot and tears on his face with his sleeve from time to time, and then rubbed it on Liu Xin's robe.

"Young Master Cousin, you are here, the old servant has been waiting for you for half a month, for fear that you will encounter an accident on the way. If you can't come, the old man will leave again, old servant... The old servant won't be able to live! ”

“...”

Liu Xin was speechless, but the passers-by around him stopped and pointed at Liu Xin and the middle-aged man, clearly saying that the middle-aged man was a loyal servant.

Liu Xin looked at the middle-aged man whose crying body was constantly twitching, and he felt that he had been pasted with a piece of dog skin plaster, and he still couldn't tear it off. Others may not know, but Liu Xin knows that this guy at his feet is at least a cultivator of the mid-grade Dacheng realm, and he can be called a master in the Jianghu martial arts.

"Ahem, okay, okay, don't cry, take me to my uncle!" Liu Xin stiffened his head and held on to the sleeve of the middle-aged man who was stained with tears, snot, and unknown liquid.

"Ahh The old servant finally waited for the young master, the old servant, I am worthy of the master, worthy of the master! ”

“...”

Liu Xin confirmed that this guy was taking revenge on himself for being half a month late!

When there were more and more onlookers, the middle-aged man felt that he had almost taken revenge, so he finally got up slowly with Liu Xin's full support, and then wiped his tears while quickly taking Liu Xin to the side of the carriage, leaving behind many embarrassed pedestrians, and some rich families who also had servants at home couldn't help but compare the group of stupid servants at home with this middle-aged man.

In comparison, these rich families felt that they were still too good to their servants in the house, and that they should fight twice more when they returned, so that they could know their loyalty.

After getting into the carriage, the middle-aged man got into the carriage, and naturally there were people driving outside.

Liu Xin looked at the middle-aged man with a black face, waiting for him to speak.

The middle-aged man first tidied up his clothes, took out an embroidered handkerchief to wipe his face clean, and then grinned at Liu Xin and smiled:

"Senior Brother Liu, I haven't seen you for more than ten years, you have really grown into a dragon and phoenix among people, young Junjie, I said when I made a bet with Senior Brother Du that Senior Brother Liu will definitely become the first beauty of my Holy Sect in the future!"

When Liu Xin heard the word beauty, the black lines on his face became more and more.

Seeing Liu Xin's expression, the middle-aged man laughed, and then suddenly retracted his smile, and his expression became extremely serious in an instant.

Seeing this, Liu Xin immediately sat up, he knew that this Senior Brother Cheng was going to get down to business.

Senior Brother Cheng's real name is Cheng Zhijie, and he is an inner disciple of the previous generation, and belongs to the same generation as the first three sect masters such as Zhao Shixiong, Du Yuanjin, and He Zuoyuan. At that time, the inner disciples were all taught by the Holy Sect Master himself, and they were much higher than the later inner disciples in terms of ability and status.

Liu Xin belongs to the contemporary inner disciples, the second batch of "earth" characters.

The last time Liu Xin saw Senior Brother Cheng was more than ten years ago, and at that time, he had just entered the Holy Sect, so he didn't know much about this Senior Brother.

In fact, with the system of the Holy Sect, Liu Xin didn't know much about the inner disciples before the Tianzi generation, and even the senior brothers in the top three.

"Senior Brother Liu, we are now heading to Liufu, Liu Baihu is a subordinate official of Jinyi Guard, and his responsibilities are to guard, arrest, and investigate the inner city, and he is responsible for the inner East City, and that area cannot be inhabited unless it is a rich and noble family. Therefore, this is a fat problem, our Liu Baihu has been seriously ill for more than a month, if you hadn't come so late, he would have already left the west and entered the western heavenly bliss! ”

Speaking of this, Senior Brother Cheng glanced at Liu Xin with a little resentment, Liu Xin's face did not change, and raised his hand to signal Senior Brother Cheng to continue.

Senior Brother Cheng snorted coldly, but he was helpless, and continued: "You must know that such a fat shortage, plus Liu Baihu has no heirs, and your nephew is a hundred miles away, so such a long time is enough to be swallowed by some people." But Liu Baihu insisted on being on duty with a sick body, so that the rule of dismissal without ten days could not be implemented, and many people already hated him so much that they gritted their teeth. Now that you're here, then the object of this grudge will be transferred to your head! This is very disadvantageous for the latter actions! ”

Liu Xin smiled, chuckled and said, "This Liu Baihu, oh, no. Uncle is really for the Liu family... Crying blood! ”

Senior Brother Cheng glanced at Liu Xin, and he didn't know who caused the current situation, he paused and continued:

"My identity is Liu Baihu's adjutant clerk and the chief housekeeper. You will call me Uncle Cheng in the future, and you and I can afford to be your uncle at my age. Today you are here, tomorrow Liu Baihu will die of illness, you have to handle the funeral in the next few days, and you have to enter the Jinyi Guard to handle the inheritance of the pro-army, there are many things, you will be very busy. By the way, Liu Baihu also has a wife and six concubine aunts, you have to think about how to arrange them! ”

"What!" Liu Xin was dumbfounded, and couldn't help asking: "Why do these Liu Baihu have so many wives and concubines!" ”

Senior Brother Cheng stared at Liu Xin with stupid eyes, and said faintly: "Do you think it is normal for a hundred pro-army households to have no wives and concubines, or if the number is smaller?" ”

This rhetorical question made Liu Xin unable to answer for a while, but said in a skeptical tone: "Isn't it normal?" ”

"Of course not! The pro-army is the emperor's guard, and it is the head of the world's military horses. Jinyi Wei is the head of the twenty-six guards of the pro-army, even if it is an ordinary Jinyi captain, it is much better than the life of ordinary rich people. You don't have a lot of money, at least you have a group of wives and concubines. If not, it means that there is something wrong with you, and if you are not suffering from a hidden disease, then you are planning something wrong. ”

"It's... To be a brocade guard hundred households has to sacrifice so much! Liu Xin was suddenly terrified, feeling that he could not take on such a big responsibility.

Senior Brother Cheng sighed, his tone suddenly softened, and he comforted him with kind words: "You don't have to worry, after all, you are still young, and you have just inherited your uncle's great business, so you have to work hard for two years, at least it is normal for you not to marry a wife and take a concubine in these two years, but Qinglou is afraid that he will not be able to escape!" ”

Liu Xinyan's heart, which was a little relieved, was immediately hung up again, Qinglou, if Liu Li knew, this imperial capital Qinglou would probably be extinct...

"That's right!" As if he suddenly remembered something, Senior Brother Cheng looked at Liu Xin with a teasing face, which made the latter feel creepy, and the previous words Senior Brother Cheng still said with a solemn face, but now he suddenly changed to a treacherous expression, which made Liu Xin feel bad.

Sure enough, Senior Brother Cheng's words made Liu Xin regret coming to the imperial capital, he should wander the rivers and lakes and be a prodigal son, just like the fourth senior brother Sun Long, the fourth family of the sect master is still traveling abroad, and rarely returns to the sect.

"What one of your aunts and six aunts do is entirely up to you. Although your Liu family's house can accommodate these people, then your expenses will not be small. I can also see that you are a bit of a decent gentleman, but if you rely only on your Jinyi Guard's money, you will not be able to support these people. If you can't afford it, you may be able to refer to the way of doing things of some predecessors. ”

"What senior?" Liu Xin wondered in his heart, could it be that the Holy Sect Senior Brother also had the same task, if that was really the case, then he would have to learn from the experience of his predecessors.

"Of course, it's the same as you, the predecessor of the nephew and uncle's business. Some people turned their faces and didn't recognize anyone afterwards, and directly drove all their aunts and aunts out of the house. Some of them laughed at them all and became their own forbidden ones. Of course, there are still some ruthless people, secretly ...... these people" Senior Brother Cheng made a throat-cutting motion, and then said: "The advantage of this is that it will not affect your reputation, you consider the experience of your predecessors, this is a decision that you need to make yourself!" ”

Liu Xin was silent, it is better not to have such a senior experience!

Just when Liu Xin was silent, the carriage had already entered the inner city and went to the south of the city, where almost all of them were pro-military mansions, and of course there were some middle-level eunuchs who set up mansions here. But after all, there are so many relatives near the house in this location, and the dignified court officials disdain to mingle in the middle of a group of pro-soldiers, so most officials still choose to go to the west of the inner city, or the north of the inner city, or even the outer city to live.

The location of the Liu Mansion is neither good nor bad, the mansion of Sanjin is already an extremely luxurious existence in the imperial capital, and the ordinary wealthy businessmen may not have a Sanjin courtyard in the imperial capital.

And this is only the standard configuration of 100 households in Jinyiwei, which shows how big the oil and water of Jinyiwei is.

"This mansion cost seven thousand taels of silver, and the savings of two generations of Liu Baihu finally fell into the hands of you, a foreign family!" Senior Brother Cheng whispered before getting out of the car.

Liu Xin followed and got out of the car, looking at the word Liu Mansion hanging on the mansion in front of him, and was silent for a long time.

As Senior Brother Cheng said, this hundred households surnamed Liu have been in the pro-army for more than two generations, but in the last two generations, they have become the outer disciples of the Holy Sect in the means of the secret investigation team. Now even the foundation of these two generations has been handed over, so Liu Xin can't help but talk about the Holy Sect's methods again.

There is already a woman at the door of the house with a servant to greet him, in this house, except for Senior Brother Cheng, only Liu Baihu knows Liu Xin's identity, but Liu Baihu may have to leave here in the future, except for Senior Brother Cheng, everyone will treat him as a descendant of the Liu family, the new Liu Baihu.

"Uncle Cheng has brought the young master here, the situation of the master today is a little worse, the young master is here, the master should rest assured!" This woman is Liu Baihu's wife, the Li family.

Liu Xin stepped forward and didn't salute yet, but Mrs. Li had already squatted down to salute first, and Liu Xin frowned. If it is a normal uncle and nephew, how can an aunt give a salute to her nephew.

But after thinking about it, Liu Xin knew the reason.

Liu Baihu is already seriously ill, this Mrs. Li has no heirs, if Liu Xin does not inherit his uncle's position, the position of the Liu family's pro-army Baihu will be taken away, she Li has no support and no heirs, how to live the days ahead, I am afraid that the courtyard of the Liu Mansion will not be able to hold it.

Although it is Liu Xin's nephew who is now coming to inherit his uncle's position, his surname is Liu, and the Liu Mansion can be saved, and she will not live on the streets. And all she has to do is to please her nephew, let him not drive herself away, at least give her more time, she can plan a thing or two, as long as she is given time, she can still plan a way out for herself. I heard that this nephew has been in the countryside all the time, and it is estimated that it will be easy to deal with.

Liu Baihu's illness came quickly and severely, and the Li family thought that Liu Baihu would not last for three days, but he didn't expect it to last for a month!

The Li family is only in her early thirties, and Liu Xin saw that although she was tired, her appearance was still proper, so she knew that this Li family should also have two brushes, if she was stupid, her husband would have been seriously ill for a month, and he should have panicked and lost his sense of proportion.

Liu Xin thought so, and while saluting the Li family, he said respectfully: "I've seen my aunt!" ”

"Okay, good, the descendants of my Liu family are really handsome and extraordinary, and the master should rest assured when he sees you."

Liu Xin nodded, and then said to Senior Brother Cheng, "Uncle Cheng, take me to meet my uncle!" ”

Senior Brother Cheng nodded, and then was just about to lead the way, but suddenly heard a mournful cry from the back house, and then a servant rushed out of the courtyard gate of the inner courtyard in a panic, and came to the outer courtyard, and kept shouting: "The master is gone, the master is gone!" ”

"Ahh Li wailed, leaned back, and fell down, but fortunately there were many servants and maids behind her, so that they would not fall to the ground and knock their heads.

Liu Xin glanced at the Li family, and sighed secretly in his heart, this cheap aunt really has some good means.

She knew that she would not really fall to the ground, so she fell without any scruples, but others saw that if this fall was solid, she would definitely hit the edge of the door, and even if she did not die, it would be a serious injury.

And with this judgment, it will make people say that this Li family really cares about Liu Baihu. As a nephew, if he has some respect for his uncle, he will love the house and Wu, and at least have some respect for the Li family.

If this imperial capital is a wolf's lair and a tiger's den, then the Liu Mansion is at least a fox den, where Senior Brother Cheng, Liu Xin and this aunt live three big and small foxes.