Chapter 663: House Arrest

Deer Villa was still the same — the yard was still the same yard, but the owner of that yard was no longer the same. Eunuch Liu had left, and Little Li had become Eunuch Li. The official uniform he wore had a darker color which meant he had become the leader of Deer Villa…

The yard was a bit cold and rather quiet; it was still snowing. Little Li was hosting Yan Liqiang in the living room.

The little fire stove, the tea, and the purplish gold tea set… everything was done the way Eunuch Liu was used to, but this time, the one that was holding the fan blowing on that fire stove to boil up the water was a eunuch in his thirties who was not only older than Little Li but taller and wider. His body had the width of two Little Lis put together. But in front of Little Li, that eunuch kept his body bowed — a big smile was always on his face as a good respectful gesture.

“Good for Eunuch Liu, he is now looking after the horse department in the palace right next to His Majesty. That department took over the horses of the Ministry of War and some of the horse ranges near the Imperial Capital. Right now, Eunuch Liu has way more power and respect now and he gets to meet His Majesty every day. Every time His Majesty has to go out, Eunuch Liu would be in charge as well. Not that long ago, Eunuch Liu even mentioned Brother Liqiang and that four-wheel carriage you gifted to His Majesty. Now, every time His Majesty goes out, that carriage is always preferred. Eunuch Liu also says to wait until he sees you next — he will give you a premium horse.”

Little Li had a different title now as well as Yan Liqiang. Knowing Yan Liqiang’s importance in the eyes of Eunuch Liu and the Emperor himself, even if Little Li had already grown to be the top commander of Deer Villa, he was still just as respectful when it came to Yan Liqiang and was full of passion.

Yan Liqiang was also smiling — it was a very friendly hemisphere. “It has been a while since I last met Eunuch Liu. And yesterday when I first arrived in Imperial Capital, I thought to visit him first, but I was unexpectedly stopped by Inspector Sun and had dinner with him. We talked into the night so I just arrived at Deer Villa today. For the next couple of days, I will have to stay in the villa as I am afraid that His Majesty will go hunt and visit the south. Eunuch Li, I hope you don’t mind the trouble I might cause you during this time…”

Little Li seemed to have already gotten used to his new title. He seemed very pleased with the way Yan Liqiang was addressing him and he did not seem to want to change that. Hearing that Yan Liqiang was planning to stay here, he was rather joyful. “If Brother Yan wants to stay here, of course I’d be overjoyed. Why would I be disturbed? Oh right, the Lanxin Courtyard in the south mountain is still available. I will ask them to clean it up before you move in…”

Yan Liqiang waved his hand. “No need for that. I will just stay in my old yard; I have already gotten used to it!”

“How could that little yard match your status now? Brother Yan, don’t worry, you are the Qiyun Protectorate General and the Archery Master of the Crown Prince as well as the Heavenly Master Craftsmith of the Imperial Manufactories. You are a man of titles — no one would say anything if you stayed at that yard.”

“I am really not trying to be polite. I will be able to stay in that old yard of mine. Oh right, I heard from Inspector Sun that those people from the publishing company are being held here in the Deer Villa. Last night, I chatted with Inspector Sun. I think the release letter from the palace should arrive in the next couple of days. Could I perhaps go check it out today…?” Yan Liqiang said with a hint of an annoyed and upset expression on his face. He slapped on his own thigh heavily as he said, “I really have to blame myself for leaving the Imperial Capital too soon. I didn’t have the time to discipline these people like Fang Beidou. When I was here, they were still fine; the second I left, they forgot everything and started to do whatever they wanted. They even stopped listening to Eunuch Liu and the palace. How unreasonable of them! Last night when Inspector Sun told me about it, I thought the punishment they gave them was way too light. It was just house arrest! If I were the decision-maker, I would give them several hundred good whips and wound them to the extent that they have to stay in bed for three to five months before throwing them into prison cells for some self-reflection. I’d make them wonder what the office is and how could they cause this kind of trouble for the palace at this critical time…”

“Brother Yan, you are totally right. This newspaper office naturally had to listen to the palace and the Emperor. But I think what they did was not too serious of an offense; it was just a silly move. Therefore, Eunuch Liu and Inspector Sun based their previous relationship with you and decided to just catch and hold them in Deer Villa for the time being. They are right at the Prayer Courtyard. Besides the fact that they cannot go outside, they have not been treated that badly here after all. If Brother Yan wants to visit them, you can go anytime!”

“Eunuch Li, Master Yan, the tea is ready…” That thirty-year-old eunuch held the tea carefully.

Little Li picked up the teacup; everything he did resembled Eunuch Liu. He blew on it lightly before taking a tiny sip. He made a noise with his mouth. “Yeah, Little De, your tea-making skill is getting better and better…”

Little De had a big smile on his face. He hurried to bow and thanked the compliment. After looking at Little Li with a “flirtatious” glace, he said with a high pitched voice, “Little De thanks Eunuch Li’s compliment…”

Yan Liqiang could not help but cringe at that…

…

Prayer Courtyard was where the servants lived inside Deer Villa. It was not that big of a yard, although its living conditions were not as nice as the rest of the villa, compared to any prison inside the Imperial Capital, this would be heaven.

After about one hour, Yan Liqiang arrived in front of the courtyard. Seeing him approaching, the guards hurried to welcome him. He exchanged a couple words with one of them with a low voice.

“Master Yan, our brothers all know that these people were your employees for the newspaper office. Therefore, all of the guards here have been rather sensible when it comes to taking care of these guys and didn’t cause big trouble for the guys staying inside.”

Yan Liqiang knew this guard — he was a friendly acquaintance he encountered before since every time Yan Liqiang returned from outside, he would bring some premium alcohol for the guards. Plus the fact that he was never arrogant nor acted superior, he ended up being well-liked by all of the guards and soldiers here.

Yan Liqiang patted that guard’s shoulder before taking out ten thousand taels of silver from his sleeve. “Tell the brothers that I thank them for their great effort. And tell them that I will not forget that…”

When the man lowered head to see what was in Yan Liqiang’s hand, the guard was shocked. Even if it was inside the Imperial Capital, it was still not a small number. For all the times they had been inside Deer Villa, they had never seen anything like this before. “Master Yan… this… I cannot take this… It was not that big of a deal as well. Even if Master Yan did not say anything, our brothers would’ve all looked after them…” The guard hurried to push back the note.

“Take it. Why are you being so polite with me? Don’t you know that I am just a filthy rich guy from the northwest? Being so polite with me is actually being unfriendly. It’s been so cold these days, buy some good alcohol for the brothers…” As he said that, he stuffed the note inside that guard’s hand.

“Ah… then I guess I will accept it for all of them…” When the latter saw Yan Liqiang’s firmness, he eventually accepted the note.

“There you go. Now, that is right.” Yan Liqiang chuckled.

That guard shot a glance, and the soldiers in front of the gate had already taken out the keys and opened the gate. Yan Liqiang walked in.

The second he walked into the yard, he could see Fang Beidou who was facing the other way with his back towards Yan Liqiang. He was standing on a stone table in the middle of the yard taking a Horse Stance position while yelling at the top of his lungs. Meanwhile, twenty other people were following his moves. Some of them actually looked like they were training properly while most of them were already on the ground moaning with pain in their legs…

“If you want to train martial arts, then the Horse Stancewould be the basic position. If you cannot even do that, then you will not have enough stability to form another. Any martial art that you might train would just be party tricks that cannot even fool the children…”

As Yan Liqiang slowly approached, those who had seen him all hurried to stand up in shock…

“Ayah! Why are you all standing up?! It is not even lunch yet…!” Fang Beidou looked at those who had just stood up and yelled.

“Hehe…I see Owner Fang actually has the skill set to open a martial dojo, huh?”

Hearing his voice, Fang Beidou’s body stiffened. He slowly turned around as that expression of his changed drastically a couple of times. It eventually formed into a smile. “You are finally here…”

“Yes, I am here now!”

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