Without asking this fellow any further questions, Yang Ge made a "please" gesture with one hand towards the inn and gently pushed the man’s back with the other, then turned his head and sang out in a cadenced high voice, "A set of copper pot lamb, two jin of lamb meat, and half a jin of pungent aromatic liquor!"
"Okay!"
Waiter Zhang Erniu cleared his throat and called out to the guests, "Gentlemen, please take your seats."
Fang Ke whispered, "Shopkeeper, I’ve already eaten."
Yang Ge whispered back, "You’re not short of money anyway..."
Fang Ke: ...
’Fine, let’s go. This lamb was personally cut by the Sage True Immortal himself; nobody would believe it if we told them!’
He squeezed out a smile, returned the greeting to the elderly shopkeeper who came to welcome him, and walked inside.
As a must-visit scene for travelers in Jianghu stopping by Lu Ting, Yuelai Inn always did good business, especially busy during mealtime, resembling a melee.
Yang Ge was busy until just past two o’clock before he finally had a chance to go upstairs to find Fang Ke.
Yet Fang Ke, who had claimed he had eaten already, had already devoured more than half of the lamb on the table.
"Damn, didn’t you say you had eaten already?"
With no one else on the second floor, Yang Ge sat down at the table without any pretense and began to prepare his own dipping sauce.
As soon as he came upstairs, Fang Ke stood up.
While preparing the sauce, Yang Ge waved him back to seat, "Sit down, why are you standing if you’re paying?"
"This..."
Forcing a smile and swallowing nervously, Fang Ke turned his head and shouted downstairs, "Little Brother, bring this gentleman another two jin of lamb meat."
"Slap."
Yang Ge slammed his chopsticks down on the bowl and hissed, "Are you stupid? I’ve just sat down!"
Fang Ke let out a dumbfounded "Ah."
Yang Ge got up in silence and went downstairs; soon, he returned with a gloomy face carrying a large tray of lamb meat.
Fang Ke hurriedly rose to take it, but Yang Ge slapped his hand away.
Taking his seat once more, Yang Ge skewered half of the remaining lamb with his chopsticks and plunged it into the copper pot, "Spit it out, what brings you to the inn today?"
Thinking ’If I went to your house, I feared you might beat me, too, but at the inn, I feel somewhat safe,’ Fang Ke deftly took out his transcription of the Jianghu heroes list and handed it to Yang Ge with both hands.
Yang Ge glanced at it, then tossed it back, "This is what you’re here for?"
’Just?’
Fang Ke paused for a second, then eagerly said, "Shopkeeper, you have no idea how the people in Jianghu are praising you now. Many are hailing you as ’the number one man in Xiping’s Jianghu,’ comparing you with ’Quanzhen Sword Immortal’ Li Qing..."
Yang Ge, devouring the lamb with great bites, asked without understanding, "Then what?"
Fang Ke was baffled, "What then?"
Yang Ge’s fist clenched, "So for such nonsense, you came to our inn? Do you not know your own status? Don’t you have any sense in your heart?"
Fang Ke caught a glimpse of the bulging veins on Yang Ge’s clenched fist and immediately sat straight, stating succinctly, "To report to Shopkeeper, Shen has been promoted to the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and he has chosen me to replace Qin Feng’s position. They also called back Zuo from the Northern Town Prefectural Commissioner... From now on, in the Upper Right Bureau, what you say goes!"
Yang Ge, his fists tightening, spoke nonchalantly, "So, the court thinks it’s not yet the right time for the matters in Jiangzhe, eh?"
Fang Ke hesitantly murmured, "This, that," not daring to engage in his conversation.
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"Shen did not take that beating for nothing!"
Yang Ge dropped a whole plate of lamb into the copper pot, "Not reinstating me, instead promoting you, can both prevent me from causing trouble to the court and keep you clinging to me so I won’t go to the capital to beat him; they saved face and strategy... Impressive for someone who can be a commander!"
Fang Ke felt utterly dejected.
What did I say?
All I said was ’In the Upper Right Bureau, you still call the shots,’ how did you deduce all that from it?
You’ve already planned to go to the capital to beat up Shen if the court doesn’t act, haven’t you? You even want to take a peek at the Ziwei Palace, don’t you?
You must be thinking this, right?
Otherwise, how could you see through so much at a glance?
Remembering Zuo’s earnest, firm, and soft warnings before he left, Fang Ke suddenly felt like he was just a step away from the stables!
’No, I haven’t even gotten used to wearing the Embroidered Uniform Guard attire!’
Crying inside, Fang Ke did not dare to say another word on the surface, for fear that reminding Yang Ge might lead him to throw his chopsticks and rush to the capital to beat up Shen.
The man had just been appointed as the commander; disturbing him at this time, it was hard to say what Yang Ge would do, but Fang Ke was sure as good as dead, beyond anyone’s help...
As Fang Ke said nothing, Yang Ge did not give him a hard time and dismissively waved his hand, "Alright, if you have nothing else, you can go... Don’t forget to pay the bill, yeah!"
But the calmer Yang Ge was, the more anxious Fang Ke became.
Knowing his boss well, the more tranquil Yang Ge appeared when real trouble arose, the bigger the storm that would follow!
That brain of his, if only it would start turning, nobody knew what earth-shattering ideas it could come up with.
"Shopkeeper, don’t rush, don’t get upset; there’s surely a good and proper way to discuss this matter."
Fang Ke didn’t dare to move or mention the capital or Shen, striving to divert Yang Ge’s attention, "If you are truly worried about the situation in Jiangzhe, I can lead the brothers south first. The Upper Right Bureau still commands a thousand brothers; even if we drop them into the water, they’ll cause a few ripples, right?"
Yang Ge patted his shoulder and said in a soothing tone, "It’s not that I underestimate you, but this time is really different than before. Last time, the higher-ups hadn’t openly fallen out, and the officials were still concerned about losing face in front of the Emperor. We moved swiftly, and before they could react, we had sorted everything out neatly."