BSI Chapter 46 Taking Zhong Mei Away
Chapter 46 Taking Zhong Mei Away
Jia Zhuo's tea shop was not large to begin with, and a section was partitioned off to provide hiding places for others, which made the front part of the shop even smaller.
There's usually enough room to accommodate a few tables of guests.
But now, Jia Zhuo and his group of eight or nine people, all of whom were young and strong men, plus the dozen or so yamen runners who came in later, suddenly made it quite crowded.
More than twenty people were crammed into a room, their tension palpable, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.
The head constable, Wu Dalang, brandished his knife and looked at Li Chong: "Sir, are you alright?"
Li Chong waved his hand, used some force to pull Zhong Mei behind him, and retreated behind the constables: "You arrived just in time, so you've done a good job."
Wu Dalang was overjoyed and quickly sheathed his sword, bowing to Li Chong: "Thank you, sir..."
"I'll thank you again when I get back!"
Li Chong was speechless. No wonder he could only be a yamen runner. Now that both sides had drawn their knives, he was only concerned with thanking him and didn't even consider the situation.
Wu Dalang suddenly realized what was happening, hurriedly turned around, and pointed his knife at Jia Zhuo and the others.
Behind Li Chong, Zhong Mei secretly pulled out a dagger, but Li Chong, who was prepared, immediately subdued her.
Unable to break free, Zhong Mei immediately shouted, "You bastard surnamed Li, you're a liar! You broke your promise, what kind of man are you?!"
What followed was a string of profanities, which made Li Chong very embarrassed.
Why is your mouth so dirty, you young lady?
"Stop, stop, stop!" Li Chong pressed his hand against Zhong Mei's forehead. "Can't you listen to me?"
His action aroused the other party's agitation, and they began to hurl profanities.
The constables brought by Wu Dalang were no pushovers either; the two sides started hurling insults at each other, which got out of Li Chong's control.
"Bang!"
Li Chong suddenly kicked a table over, shattering the teapot and teacups on it, which shocked everyone.
Relaxing his brows, Li Chong gestured for two constables to keep an eye on her, then looked around and said, "Have you finished cursing? If not, I'll send dozens more constables to come and curse back at you."
Jia Zhuo raised his hand to stop the man behind him: "We are all country folk, and we are not good at manners. Please forgive us, Your Excellency. However, what is Your Excellency's intention in making such a large commotion? If Your Excellency wants to use us to gain merit, don't underestimate us just because we are few in number. We are not easy to deal with."
"It's easier to talk to someone who understands."
Li Chong stepped forward from the crowd: "It's not that I don't want to release Miss Zhong, but the situation dictates it. You haven't agreed to my previous conditions, and I need to consider yours as well. We can only discuss this another time. As for Miss Zhong, why don't we let her stay with me for a few days as a guest? We'll meet again someday."
As he spoke, Li Chong beckoned Zhong Mei to come forward.
"Tell me yourself, are you coming back with me so we can discuss this further? Or do you want to fight, have a few dead or injured, and then I'll let you reunite with your second uncle?"
"You promised to help me get revenge." Zhongmei looked at him stubbornly.
Li Chong nodded: "I didn't say I wouldn't help you, but you have to be useful to me first. It's okay if we can't reach an agreement this time, we can talk again next time. Coming to my place isn't a bad thing for you, is it? Besides, aren't you still looking to avenge your fallen brothers?"
Zhong Mei hesitated, looking up at the person opposite her, then glancing at Li Chong, undecided.
At this moment, Jia Zhuo spoke up: "Xiao Mei'er, don't worry about us! Just say the word, and your second uncle will fight him to the death to get you out of here!"
As he spoke, Jia Zhuo, who always considered himself a scholar and was rather thin, pulled out a knife from somewhere and looked firmly at Zhong Mei.
But it was precisely this action of his that prompted Zhong Mei to make a decision.
"Second Uncle, I'm going back with him," Zhong Mei said earnestly.
Jia Zhuo stared at her blankly: "Little Mei'er..."
Zhong Mei smiled broadly: "Don't worry, he's a county magistrate, he wouldn't dare bully a woman like me, would he?"
Meeting Zhong Mei's gaze, Li Chong touched his nose and smiled.
Does she now know she's a woman? Ever since he met her, she's been talking about fighting and killing all the time. Li Chong even wondered how she grew up.
After exchanging a glance with Li Chong, Zhong Mei's expression softened considerably: "Second Uncle, we've lost many brothers along the way. If they can die, why can't I do something for them? If we can reach an agreement and fight our way back to take revenge, it won't be a loss for me to go with him."
A few tears welled up in Jia Zhuo's eyes. He seemed to see the shadow of his elder brother in Zhong Mei.
Wiping his eyes, Jia Zhuo said with satisfaction, "Xiao Mei'er has really grown up."
Setting down his weapon, Jia Zhuo bowed deeply to Li Chong: "I entrust Xiao Mei'er to the magistrate. Our sincerity is as clear as the sun and moon. After discussing it with my third brother, we will definitely give the magistrate a reply."
Li Chong waved his hand, signaling Wu Dalang and the others to put away their knives.
"Mr. Jia, please rest assured. I am an official appointed by the imperial court. How could I stoop to the level of a mere girl? I am keeping her here only as a precaution. I will not harm her."
Jia Zhuo bowed again, and Li Chong nodded in acknowledgment.
"I hope you will seriously consider the county's suggestion. With so many of you, how long can you sustain yourselves by eating human food and horse food? Sitting around and living off your savings is not a long-term solution. This county is doing this for your own good."
Jia Zhuo was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked at Li Chong with a complicated expression.
It's true that heroes emerge from among the young. Judging from his appearance, Li Chong is only in his early twenties, not much older than Zhong Mei, yet he was able to see through their predicament with just a few words.
Thinking back to his own youth, when he was still studying hard for fame and fortune, while Li Chong had already governed a county, Jia Zhuo felt truly ashamed.
Grabbing Zhong Mei, Li Chong gave Wu Dalang and the others a wink before leaving the teahouse.
Wu Dalang kept a close eye on Jia Zhuo and the others, and slowly followed them.
Zhang Tianfu couldn't contain himself any longer: "Strategist, are we just going to let them take Xiaomei'er away like this?"
"Let's go." Jia Zhu shook his head. "They outnumber us and we can't win a direct fight. Fortunately, he's also hesitant, so Xiao Mei'er should be alright. Let's move quickly."
After quickly tidying up, Jia Zhuo abandoned the teahouse and hurriedly left with his men.
On the way back, Li Chong stared intently at him, saying, "How do you know we don't have much money? I didn't tell you that."
"You half-grown brat, you'll eat your father out of house and home! Do you think this little teahouse can feed the seven or eight young men behind your Uncle Jia? If you don't want them to go hungry, you'd better pray they agree to my terms. If they listen to me, at least they'll have enough to eat, right?"
As he spoke, Li Chong turned to look at Wu Dalang, who was bowing and following behind him.
"Officer Wu, don't you agree?"
Wu Dalang chimed in, "That's right, that's right, following the master will definitely ensure we get enough to eat!"
The last time he went to Xucheng with Li Chong, Li Chong's generosity left a deep impression on him; otherwise, he would not have taken the initiative to serve him.
It's even less likely that after receiving news of Choi Si, they would have grabbed their brothers and followed him.
He knows exactly who he can rely on to make a living.