Chapter 27: I Am Just Renting a Place

Li Wenxuan was not particularly adept at renting property, so he simply gestured for Crazy Donkey to handle the entire process.

Crazy Donkey, looking immensely proud of himself, strode up to the gate of the house and knocked with a flourish.

"Who might you be..."

A simple-looking old man came to open the door. Upon looking up and seeing the branded mark on Crazy Donkey's face, he froze for a moment, his expression instantly darkening with hostility. "What do you want?"

"Listen here, old man, let me make this clear: I am here on behalf of the Lord Centurion to find a 'peaceful residence'!"

As he spoke, Crazy Donkey glanced back at the handsome young centurion in the blood-red cloak, who sat poised on his horse at the roadside.

When the old man caught sight of him, his face turned deathly pale. He nearly rolled his eyes back and fainted on the spot.

"Our humble shack, how could it possibly..."

"Oh? You've got some nerve, refusing a peaceful residence?" Crazy Donkey wore a playful, sinister smirk.

"I wouldn't dare!" The old man steadied himself against the doorframe, his legs trembling. "May I ask when the Lord intends to move in? My family and I will move out immediately."

"No need to move out. I only require the small room adjacent to the bamboo grove. How does a monthly rent of one tael of silver sound?"

Li Wenxuan dismounted, his face filled with sincerity.

"One? One tael of silver?" The old man thought he had misheard.

Under normal circumstances, such a rent payment would not be given *to* him by a centurion; rather, it would be the tribute he would be forced to offer the official. If it were not for that, why would it be called a "peaceful residence"?

Agree to the rent, and you have peace. Refuse, and... well! These corrupt officials have no shortage of strength or underhanded means. They would ensure your family was torn apart and your home destroyed.

However, the centurion in charge of the torture division truly knew nothing of this.

Seeing the old man's reaction, Li Wenxuan frowned. "If you feel that is too little..."

"No, no! Whatever the Lord says is the amount. Please, come inside, my Lord. I shall serve you hot tea to ward off the chill, and I will have my family clear out the room you requested right away."

"Very well." Li Wenxuan nodded and walked straight into the courtyard.

Crazy Donkey led the horse inside with a haughty air and fed the chestnut steed in the nearby stable. Looking back, he saw the centurion actually drinking tea... and maintaining a respectful distance from the simple, plain-faced girl who was serving him.

Crazy Donkey knew it was his time to step in. He couldn't have the centurion lowering himself to speak with a girl; that would be beneath his station.

"Old man?"

Crazy Donkey approached Old Man Jiang, who was busy tidying the room.

Old Man Jiang wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke with visible fear, "What are your orders, officer?"

"To be frank, who would even look twice at this dump of yours?" Crazy Donkey mocked, his eyes turning vicious.

Old Man Jiang shuddered and took two steps back, his back hitting the wall with a soft thud. "I truly do not understand..."

Crazy Donkey sneered, "Old man, are you playing dumb with me? Hmm?" His eyes swept brazenly over the pretty, plain-faced girl pouring tea in the courtyard.

Old Man Jiang’s legs went limp, and he sank straight to his knees.

"Stop it, this is the Centurion's will, not mine!" Crazy Donkey, who had been bullied all his life, had become twisted under the pressure; now, having a rare chance to bully others while hiding behind the authority of his superior, he seemed intent on inflicting the suffering he had endured tenfold upon the old man.

"Crazy Donkey?"

Li Wenxuan, noticing that Crazy Donkey had been inside for a long time, called out.

"Coming! Coming, Master Li!"

Crazy Donkey instantly changed his expression, putting on a display of zeal far greater than how he would treat his own father. He tiptoed and jogged over to Li Wenxuan, bowing and smiling. "Master Li, what are your orders?"

"Go to the Golden Pavilion and find a guard named Zhang Xiaogui. Tell him I am here, and have him come see me as soon as his shift ends." Li Wenxuan glanced at the nodding Crazy Donkey and continued, "Then go to the General’s Mansion and tell Tang Qi my address. Finally, go to the Eastern Depot and have them send all my belongings here."

"Rest assured, Master Li, I will see to every single detail."

"Go." Li Wenxuan waved his hand and prepared to tidy the room himself.

This action nearly scared Old Man Jiang to death! He insisted repeatedly that the officer should rest and that he would handle the chores himself.

Li Wenxuan laughed, "It is no matter. I may be staying here for a long time. The rent is one tael of silver a month. My horse requires the finest feed; I am not well-versed in this, so please, old man, help me select the best quality feed. You can calculate the cost of the fodder and the labor, and I shall pay it all to you together."

"Ah? This—"

Old Man Jiang was not blind. What kind of premium feed would a horse of this caliber need? He might as well have chopped himself up to feed the beast! Yet, as his gaze fell upon his daughter, who was blossoming into a beauty, and his young son, who had returned home dirty and sweaty from playing—Old Man Jiang felt his heart bleeding.

His daughter, whom he valued more than his own life... Old Man Jiang wept inwardly, but he dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction on his face. If he angered this official in the blood-red cloak, a trumped-up charge could land his entire family in prison.

Would his daughter lose her virtue? Would she be toyed with, die, or go insane? He would lose his life savings, which he had been keeping as a dowry for his daughter and a bride-price for his son...

Bah!

What is money? It is only a pity for his dear daughter, who would be defiled by this brute. And he said he would stay for a long time? He wasn't satisfied with once or twice? What a beast!

Yet... the tragedy was that he still had to greet him with a smile and ask if the Lord was satisfied. Oh, Heavens, when will these miserable times ever end? Oh, Heavens, you are truly blind!

"Of course, everything shall be done as the Lord wishes."

Old Man Jiang smiled, but the expression was more painful than crying. He felt as if his heart were being carved out by a dull blade.

Li Wenxuan found this rather strange. He couldn't afford a house in the capital, but the one tael of silver he was paying for a single room seemed perfectly reasonable. Why did the old man's expression look so odd?

"Sister!"

His young son, Jiang Asheng, ran into the courtyard, pulling his sister’s hand and chattering about how he had raced his friends and won first place.

Jiang Xiaoxiao was also terrified, but she dared not show it. She pulled her incessantly chattering brother along, intending to go inside. Unexpectedly, her brother spotted the young centurion in the blood-red cloak.

"Wow, sister, do we have guests?"

Being only four years old, the child had no idea what that blood-red cloak signified to the people of the Wu Kingdom. His clear, innocent eyes were filled with nothing but simple curiosity.

Hearing the boy, Li Wenxuan smiled. "Little one, this big brother is a tenant who will be staying in your spare room. My name is Li Biao. What is your name?"

Without warning, Jiang Asheng let go of his sister’s sweat-drenched hands, ran to Li Wenxuan, and grabbed the red cloak—the symbol of power and slaughter—tugging on it as if he were shaking a diaper.

The blood-red cloak, which made everyone in the world tremble with fear, billowed with a soft flapping sound.

In a cute, milky voice, the boy said, "Big brother, your clothes look so nice!"

"Asheng!" Jiang Xiaoxiao’s soul had already fled in terror.