Fengjing, only one person could call Zheng Ruqian in this way.
That was Xu Mo, who had suppressed Zheng Er since childhood, and had the aura of an elder brother regardless of age.
Like his second younger brother and little sister, he also appeared at Tian Street Corner, but he did not come to see the Jiuzhen Store business, but for another plot.
In addition to him, there was also Qi Huai, as well as An Jun, who was restricted in Fengjing.
It was a bit exaggerated to say restricted, but An Jun really did not dare to leave Fengjing, let alone go back to his hometown to visit his parents, for fear of accidentally dying on the way.
There is an old saying from ancient times that says, the more dangerous the place, the safer it is.
An Jun firmly believed it.
For people who were unknown, Fengjing was a dragon pond and tiger’s den, full of thorns everywhere, and dangerous.
But for people like An Jun who had shown his face in front of the Imperial Court, the heavily patrolled soldiers in Fengjing, the mutual suspicion among the powerful families, and the numerous spies made Fengjing extremely safe.
Everyone knew he was An Jun. Everyone knew that the Imperial Court had protected him. Everyone also knew that if something happened to this person, even the powerful families would not be able to explain clearly with their mouths.
So An Jun could wave his fan and appear at Tian Street Corner, and even drooled at the sight of the candied chestnuts, “Just smelling the sweet and aromatic fragrance, it must be indulgent when eating.”
Qi Huai smiled beside him, “If Brother An likes it, just tell Brother Xu, this is his store.”
So An Jun looked at Xu Mo eagerly, but was blinded by his little attendant’s clothes, and quickly turned his head away.
The Minister of Rites had helped An Jun, and Qi Huai was also naturally grouped together with An Jun. Going out together was not an issue.
But Xu Mo was different. He had no background or a father to rely on. He could only pretend to be a little attendant of the Qi family to protect himself.
An Jun wanted to eat candied chestnuts, but was afraid that Xu Mo's identity would be exposed, so he simply hummed at the air, "I want to eat candied chestnuts, I want to eat candied chestnuts."
As if by chanting this, the chestnuts would fall from the sky.
Xu Mo tried hard not to laugh, and continued to maintain the propriety of a little attendant.
After An Jun chanted for a while and saw that the candied chestnuts really wouldn't fall down, he switched to a resentful tone, “Brother Xu, if you don't give me candied chestnuts now, but when I get sick and lie down in the future, remember to bring me candied chestnuts to see me.”
After speaking, he covered his face with a fan, forcing himself to look aggrieved.
I really didn't see it. The seemingly dull student who was as poor as a church mouse actually had such an interesting side.
Qi Huai laughed with shaking shoulders beside him. He was about to ridicule a few words when he saw the target person appear from the corner of his eye, and his spirit was instantly refreshed.
The reason they appeared here was not to make people laugh, let alone for candied chestnuts.
But for the person Xu Mo had been brooding over for many years.
Zhu Zhi.
On New Year's Day, the Imperial Court stripped Zhu Zhi of his degree, although it did not criticize the Zhu family, but the Zhu family must have felt the fire on their faces. As a result, their attitude towards Zhu Zhi also cooled down. It was said that life was not very comfortable.
But for Xu Mo, it was still far from enough.
He wanted Zhu Zhi to be expelled by the Zhu family. He wanted the Zhu family to no longer be Zhu Zhi’s umbrella. He even more wanted Zhu Zhi to fall into distress and scramble with dogs and pigs for food, and then break his legs so that he could neither live nor die.
Now, because the Zhu family was disgusted with Zhu Zhi due to the fraud in the imperial examination, it only lacked the last push to completely abandon Zhu Zhi.
Xu Mo stood in the crowd and glanced at Zhu Sihuan beside Zhu Zhi, then quickly lowered his head.
On New Year's Day at the gate of the Imperial City, he had outlined the ending for Zhu Zhi. The reason for waiting until the tenth day to make a move was just to find more helpers.
An Jun was one, Qi Huai was one, and Zhu Sihuan was one as well.
"Brother Xu, Brother An, he's here," Qi Huai said in a low voice to remind them, "You can get ready now."
Xu Mo was just a little attendant and could not respond.
But An Jun was alert, staring fiercely at Zhu Zhi with surging hatred in his heart.
Xu Mo's hatred for Zhu Zhi originated from his parents' enmity, extending from Xieyang County to Fengjing, which was a soft and long-standing hatred.
An Jun's hatred for Zhu Zhi was because the degree was snatched away. Even if he snatched it back, the hatred was not removed. It was a crude and straightforward hatred.
When all the hatred gathered in the stream, they took different routes to reach the same goal, and they coincided without prior consultation.
"Brother Xu, Brother Qi, just watch me." An Jun said in a deep voice.
After speaking, he rushed straight ahead.
At this moment.
Zhu Zhi was frowning irritably, not understanding why Zhu Sihuan, this collateral nephew, insisted on asking him out. On the other hand, the latter’s status had risen due to the marriage alliance with the Tao family. While he, the direct descendant, became increasingly embarrassing after losing the degree.
Prospering one while declining the other, even if Zhu Zhi looked down on Zhu Sihuan very much, he still agreed to his invitation.
"Third uncle, I heard that there is a new store opened at Tian Street Corner that has candied chestnuts. Sihuan is seeing that you are bored and specially invited you to try it." Zhu Sihuan looked very fawning.
Zhu Zhi became even more disdainful. "It's not surprising that the collateral line has cultivated such a lowly background. There are all kinds of things in the Zhu family. Isn't that enough for you to eat?"
Zhu Sihuan was obedient on the surface, but sneered coldly in his heart.
It took great effort to squeeze into the crowd. Seeing the long line of people queuing, Zhu Zhi became furious again. "You let me line up? I am the direct descendant of the Zhu family. How can you make me line up?"
"I’m going, I’m going." Zhu Sihuan nodded and bowed. "Third uncle, I’m going."
After speaking, he stood at the end of the line, leaving Zhu Zhi alone in the dense crowd.
It happened quickly.
An Jun rushed over with full force, deliberately bending his elbows and hitting Zhu Zhi in the belly.
Zhu Zhi, who was originally impatient, had a discernible change of expression. His two big eyeballs seemed to bulge out of their sockets. His mouth covered with a little mustache opened swiftly as well, almost sticking out his tongue, and would be qualified to go to Liyuan Theater to play a hanged ghost.
With a "plop" sound, the two fell to the ground.
The people around quickly moved away for fear of getting into trouble, clearing up an open space.
"Ow, ow." Zhu Zhi yelled as if his life was flashing before his eyes. As he regained his senses, he became furious. "Who is it, who wants to assassinate me? Come on, report to the official to arrest him."
An Jun panicked and stood up, "I'm so sorry, I slipped and hurt you, sir. I'm really sorry."
The two looked at each other. An Jun cowered while Zhu Zhi looked furious but also examining.
Regarding this look, Xu Mo had thought deeply about it.
He wanted An Jun to apologize superficially, but actually provoke Zhu Zhi, forcing Zhu Zhi to lose his composure.
But on second thought, this trick was a bit too obvious. Even if Zhu Zhi was not a cunning person, he was definitely not a fool. If he really noticed something wrong, it would be their loss.
In the end, he chose to let An Jun cower and reveal the timid posture of ordinary commoners, which was more likely to provoke the evil thoughts of the nobles.
Because in the eyes of the powerful families, ordinary commoners were easy to bully and easy to deal with.
It turned out he had chosen correctly.
After looking at each other, Zhu Zhi became furious. He determined that An Jun was a powerless and insignificant civilian. The long-term suppression and the pain in his belly caused him to wave his fists wildly as if he had gone mad.
Every punch was aimed at the face and made a crisp sound.
