Chapter 49 It's no use crying over spilled milk Ⅱ

　　Wen Yan arrived in Beici County much earlier than Huang Qin had found out, almost at the same time as Xu Wenyuan, with just a few days' difference.

　　There were two reasons why he didn't rush into the county. The first was naturally the rumor of his sixth junior sister's martial arts contest to find a husband, and the second was the delay in the return of his guards.

　　He secretly sent people to investigate and discovered about 60-70% of the truth behind both matters.

　　Regarding the second matter, it was discovered that Lord Zhou from the Trial Office had sketched a facial portrait of the person who claimed the body and personally led a burial. It seemed that to know the details, one had to go to the tribunal.

　　As for the first matter, even without detailed investigation, it could be inquisitord that Yu Pingnian and his third senior brother Qing Hu were up to no good. If the sixth junior sister were really holding a contest to find a husband, it would require the simultaneous supervision of all eight families. With all the commotion about the contest going on for so long, without a single letter from the prefectural government or a single person sent by the sixth uncle, how could it be true?

　　Besides, the idea of the daughter of a prefectural governor holding a martial arts contest to find a husband was too absurd to be true.

　　After changing his clothes, he slowly walked to the Zhou's Tavern.

　　The tavern had colorful lanterns lit in front, with sleepy servants standing by. Inside, there were several bright lanterns and the sound of conversation.

　　”He coughed lightly twice and said, "Inform those ahead that I have arrived."

　　.”A servant, seemingly half-asleep, mumbled, "Who the hell are you..." He lifted the lantern to look and was so startled that he slapped his own mouth, saying, "Young Master, I didn't see you. Forgive me, I deserve to die..."

　　"That's enough, quickly go and inform them inside."

　　The small servant quickly ran into the building, and soon the upper and lower floors were brightly lit.

　　Wen Yan was waiting when he heard footsteps approaching the door.

　　"Fifth brother, fifth junior brother, why did you come at night? Your third senior brother greets you."

　　Looking up by the lantern light, he saw a stocky, green-spotted figure before him. He thought to himself, how did his third senior brother become uglier as he grew older? His hands, feet, and belly were almost like a frog's.

　　"Third senior brother, you are full of charm. Your junior brother greets you."

　　"You're too polite. Please, come in quickly."

　　As they entered the building, before they could even sit down, Yu Pingnian came running down in disheveled clothing. He was running so fast that he fell flat on his face.

　　He scrambled to his feet with a smiling face and said, "Brother, when did you arrive?"

　　Wen Yan kicked out two and a half feet, saying, "What's the matter with you? Get dressed properly before you come out to see people."

　　"Yes, yes, yes..."

　　Soon after, the three leaders of Twin Water Fortress arrived in succession upon hearing the news, followed by the three ghosts of fang Mountain lining up to greet them. Then, Xia Yue, the female of Yu Wu Ling, came down the stairs.

　　Xu Wengang looked around and saw that among the gathered crowd, there was only one woman. It must be the person Lord Zhou from the Inquisitor's Mansion had mentioned.

　　”He took a few steps forward and asked knowingly, "Third Master, where are all these people from?"

　　"They are all friends of mine and Yu."

　　"Everyone else is fine, but what happened to that person's leg? Was he beaten up?"

　　”Dang Liaoze walked over with his bandy legs and said, "Uh...it's not from being beaten up, it's natural. I am Dang Liaoze, the third leader of Twin Water Fortress in Yue Region. I bow to you."

　　"How can someone like you be a fortress leader? Look at the friends the Second Master has made."

　　In the presence of the young master from the Shaowen left National Master's family, Dang Liaoze didn't dare to argue and took a few steps back, remaining silent.

　　Soon after, Hao Yun came down the stairs, who was sound asleep.

　　With everyone gathered, Qing Hu began to introduce them in turn.

　　As Wen Yan listened, he furrowed his brows and scowled at times, seemingly dissatisfied with everyone.

　　Qing Hu didn't seem to mind, as long as people were coming into the Zhou Family Tavern, it was better than nothing.

　　"Junior brother, where did you come from? We sent many people to meet you, but we didn't see a single one of them. Very mysterious."

　　"Oh...the Tribunal."

　　Qing Hu felt a little flustered. The Prefect He had sent so many people to search, and they had been closely monitoring the area, yet no one had been able to find any trace of him. Not only that, but he had also gone to the Tribunal first, which meant he had already met with the sixth junior sister.

　　As such, the previously prepared story had to be changed.

　　"The Tribunal...you're very skilled, junior brother."

　　"Senior brother, you flatter me. Yu, Come here, I have something to ask you.”

　　Yu Pingnian's heart trembled, and his steps faltered.

　　“What's wrong? Come over here.”

　　“Yes, brother.”

　　Wen Yan tapped the table lightly with his iron fan. “I ask you, did you go to the He residence to present betrothal gifts?”

　　“Ah... I was thinking, I...”

　　“Just say whether you went or not, don't stutter.”

　　“I went.”

　　“Who told you to go? Did the left National Master tell you to go, or did I?”

　　“I figured it out myself.”

　　“You figured it out yourself? Xu Wengang, come here.”

　　Xu Wengang stepped forward and slapped Yu Pingnian across the face. Looking at Yu Pingnian again, he had spun around four and a half times before falling to the ground.

　　“Brother, brother...”

　　“I'll ask you again, did you set up the challenge arena yourself, or did sixth senior sister ask you to help her?”

　　“That... I also figured it out myself.”

　　Xu Wengang was about to kick him again, but Qing Hu stepped in to stop him. “Brother, he's already been hit. If you hit him again, he'll be in bad shape.”

　　“Brother, why aren't you doing anything about this?”

　　Qing Hu thought to himself, this is a reproach for not being a good brother and deliberately shaming him. Alright, you can take a few more hits.

　　Xu Wengang bypassed Qing Hu and kicked Yu Pingnian, sending him flying over three meters away.

　　Yu Pingnian had just recovered from his injuries a few days ago and let out a howl of pain from the new blows. After the pain subsided, he stood up again.

　　“Elder Brother... with so many people watching...”

　　“Do you know how embarrassing this is?”

　　“I know now.”

　　“Tomorrow morning, go to the Prefect's Mansion to apologize. After apologizing, take down the challenge arena and come back to Tianshun with me. Do you understand?”

　　“I understand, I understand...”

　　The three leaders of the Twin Water Fortress and the Three Ghosts saw that they were disciplining their own, so they didn't say much.

　　Seeing that things were going badly, Qing Hu stepped forward again. “Brother, why did you hit him without asking for clarification?”

　　“He's done something disgraceful that tarnishes our family's reputation. What else is there to ask?”

　　“Everything has a cause and effect. You're abusing family discipline without asking for clarification. What you're doing is wrong.”

　　“What could be the reason? It's just lust at first sight!”

　　“Everyone knows how beautiful He Muxian is. There's also something else that everyone knows, and that's sixth senior sister's fierceness. That's why many notable families have hesitated to approach her. Look at Elder Brother's face; it's also a gift from her. Could Yu Brother have come to Beici County without knowing this? With his meager martial arts skills and his mouse-like courage, what does it say about him that he dared to risk going to the residence to propose?”

　　“What does it say?”

　　“It shows sincere affection!”

　　“Pfft, disgusting.”

　　Qing Hu thought to himself that he also felt disgust, but he couldn't come up with a better excuse on the spot, so he had to settle for this.

　　“A lover is hard to come by. Don't you agree, Yu?”

　　Yu Pingnian quickly agreed, “Yes, yes, Elder Brother. That's exactly what happened. If sixth senior sister marries me, I'll definitely treasure her like a rare gem.”

　　Wen Yan knew him well enough. Since his father had recognized him as his adopted son, he had caused small troubles every two months and big troubles every three months, involving several incidents with married and unmarried women, among other things. For this reason, he had beaten him many times before. Now that he had provoked sixth senior sister, there was no way he would be lightly forgiven.

　　“You really dare to take the opportunity when given a chance to speak; Third Brother, there's no need to defend him.”

　　“How is this defending? It's the truth.”

　　“It's too absurd!”

　　“What's wrong with being in love? Where's the mistake?”

　　“Should he be praised for it?”

　　“Yu Brother's actions are noble and righteous. He should be praised.”

　　“Nonsense!”

　　Qing Hu had said enough to make his point and spoke with righteous indignation, “Fifth Brother, have you, like Ji Ji Yanshi, forgotten who you are?”