Water Margin: Did we kill Zheng Tu today?

Chapter 46 The mutton fell into the dog's mouth

As Zheng Tu pondered, the handsome face of Ximen Qing from his previous life involuntarily appeared before his eyes.

Although that fellow was a womanizer, upon closer reflection, he hadn't treated me badly:

When they first met on that street, he warmly invited her to a meal. He spared no expense in hosting a banquet, and during the meal, they drank and chatted, finding each other to be kindred spirits. Even when the bloodshed at the Lion Tower finally erupted, it was she who was drawn into it, not Ximen Qing who intentionally harmed her.

He traveled all the way to Qinghe County for two reasons. First, he wanted to settle down and live a peaceful life amidst the hustle and bustle. Second, he wanted to resolve the ill-fated relationship between Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian, so that Ximen Qing would not die a bloody death at the Lion Tower.

Things are not yet beyond repair. Wu Dalang is not dead, and Pan Jinlian and Ximen Qing have not met again; everything is still uncertain.

If I were to become sworn brothers with Ximen Qing this time, and spend every day with him, I could keep track of his movements at any time, prevent that bloodshed, and save several lives.

Moreover, he was now Wu Song's sworn brother.

If I were to become sworn brothers with Ximen Qing again, the relationship between the two sides... should the two of them have any disagreements in the future, I could mediate and resolve the conflict peacefully.

"At that time, with Ximen Qing's wealth and power, plus Wu Song's unparalleled martial arts skills... if he can truly win both sides, his life will be as stable as Mount Tai, and he will be able to live a very comfortable life."

As he pondered, Wang Po, seeing his silence, assumed he still had doubts and added fuel to the fire: "Sir, do not hesitate! Such an opportunity is rare and precious! Lord Ying only mentioned this casually, but I have kept it in mind. When Master Ximen became sworn brothers, he valued loyalty and courage above all else, and only secondarily ability. For ordinary people to try and climb such a high branch is like a toad wanting to eat swan meat. But someone of your stature, sir..."

She sized Zheng Tu up and down, then clicked her tongue twice: "Such heroic spirit! If someone were to introduce him to Master Ximen and let him see it for himself, he would definitely treat him differently. Plus, with Lord Ying's mediation, this matter is seventy percent certain!"

After saying this, Granny Wang picked up her bowl of tea and slowly took a sip.

Zheng Tu's mind raced:

Her previous encounter with Ximen Qing was purely accidental; he had taken a liking to her without her even realizing it, which led to her invitation to drink with him. This time, she had come specifically to find him, but she wasn't so sure she'd be so lucky. There were too many variables involved. With the help of the old matriarch Wang Po acting as matchmaker, things seemed much safer.

"I never expected that this old woman, Wang Po, would be so capable."

Zheng Tu thought to himself, "Although she's a petty scoundrel, she's well-connected and has connections in all sorts of people in Qinghe County. Using her to get things done will definitely save me a lot of trouble."

After much thought, the key point has been grasped.

Zheng Tu slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Wang Po: "In that case, I will trouble the master to mediate. If things go smoothly, I will certainly reward you handsomely!"

Granny Wang grinned from ear to ear: "Of course! Of course! Sir, please don't worry, I'll go find Yinghuazi and talk to him right away. But about the introduction gift, the arrangements for the reception..."

Zheng Tu understood, took out the last two taels of silver from his pocket, and pushed it in front of Wang Po: "This is just a small token of my appreciation. You will be rewarded handsomely after the matter is settled."

Granny Wang quickly stuffed the silver into her sleeve, beaming, "Sir, you're so generous! Please sit here for a moment and have some tea and snacks. I'll be right back!"

Having said that, he straightened his clothes, lifted the curtain and left the teahouse, his figure quickly disappearing into the crowd of people in the street.

Zheng Tu then waited quietly in the teahouse, sitting alone and pouring himself a drink.

There was still half a plate of fennel beans on the table. He picked up a few and chewed them slowly, pondering his next move.

"If you really want to become sworn brothers with Ximen Qing, the first thing you need to do is to cut off his thoughts about Pan Jinlian. We need to plan how to do this as soon as possible and come up with a comprehensive plan."

"The second thing is to find out what Pan Jinlian is thinking now. If this woman is reasonable and knows when to stop, we should advise her to give up her thoughts of having an affair; if that doesn't work, it would be better to let Wu Dalang break up with her as soon as possible, so as not to needlessly ruin his own life in the future."

The more he thought about it, the more troublesome the matter seemed. He had to consider Ximen Qing, take Wu Song into account, and also deal with Pan Jinlian in the middle; it was truly a tangled mess...

Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly heard whispers coming from the side room outside.

The voice wasn't loud, but Zheng Tu could vaguely make out a few words:

"How can a crow be paired with a phoenix? How can a gold brick compare to a foundation of mud?"

"Throughout history, beautiful women and talented men have rarely been matched together; when buying gold, one can never find a gold seller."

"What a fine piece of fresh mutton, what a pity it ended up in a dog's mouth! What a pity!"

"That short, ugly fellow, what good fortune did he accumulate in his past life to marry such a beautiful woman!"

"Hehe, maybe even a short guy like him is useless in bed, hehe."

……

Such slick and frivolous words, laced with sneer, were uttered without restraint.

Zheng Tu frowned upon hearing this, put down his teacup and stood up. He wanted to see who was spouting such glib words.

Zheng Tu lifted the curtain of the teahouse and glanced at the side room.

To the right of the teahouse stood a small two-story building with four rooms, its green tiles and white walls creating a neat and clean appearance, though not particularly spacious. There was also a small courtyard behind the building.

Isn't this small building the very spot where the forked pole just fell?

But at this moment, three dissolute young men stood in front of the small building, craning their necks and staring intently at the second-floor window.

The bamboo blinds by the window were half-rolled up, and a shadowy figure could be vaguely seen moving behind them.

Even the silhouette of the shadow reflected on the curtain is shapely and graceful.

The three idlers were dressed in different ways: one wore a gray cloth shirt with his chest open, another wore a brown short jacket, and the third was shirtless with a dark blue tattoo on his chest that resembled a coiled dragon.

The three men's eyes were truly blazing and cunning, as if they wished they could strip the young woman inside the window naked and see her through everything.

Hearing the noise from the teahouse, the three dissolute young men turned around in unison.

He was a tall, burly man with a cold and stern face, a stranger who seemed like someone not to be trifled with.

The group was initially intimidated, but faced with such beauty and unwilling to show weakness in front of their companions, they pretended to be calm.

The man in the gray cloth shirt lowered his arms, turned his face away, and pretended to chat and laugh with his companion: "Where were we just now? Hey, the other day at the gambling den, Grandpa threw out a bet and won that bastard's two taels of silver..."

The one on the right lowered his head, pretending to tidy his clothes, patting the dust off his trouser legs, while his thieving eyes darted sideways at Zheng Tu.

The only one with the most courage was the shirtless, tattooed man in the middle. Instead of avoiding him, he glared at Zheng Tu with his sharp eyes, a crooked smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He had been a street urchin for many years and was confident in his martial arts skills.

Seeing that Zheng Tu, though of imposing stature, was dressed plainly and did not seem to have any powerful background, he puffed out his chest, revealing a patch of embroidered blue flowers on his chest, and his eyes gleamed with a blatant provocation.