[Baiyutang] Wind-dried clothes

When Lu Caichun was half-embraced and dragged out of the fire by Bai Yutang, his sanity was not clear, his face was covered with smoke marks, and his clothes were burnt with several small holes by the flames.The fire in the house was gradually extinguished, Tang's body was carried out from the house, Master Yi's face was ashen, Yi Ruo covered her face and sobbed softly, Yan Chasan's face was serious, the yamen servants and county residents were still whispering .

Bai Yutang rested his arms on Lu Caichun, and patted her cheek lightly.Lu Caichun recovered, covered her mouth and coughed.She gradually stabilized her limp legs and looked over to see Tang lying on the ground.Waves of sadness welled up in my heart.

She said to Bai Yutang: "Fifth brother, let's go back to the yamen first."

Bai Yutang glanced at Tang's body, didn't ask her why, but slowly helped her away from the crowd, and walked towards Yan Chasan's house.Before he could step over the threshold, Hu Jin rushed over from the yard. Seeing Lu Caishu's distressed body, he hurriedly asked, "Sister Shu, what happened? Where is my mother now?"

Lu Caichun didn't want to answer a word, but waved to him.Bai Yutang said: "You'd better go back to your room and stay here." Hu Jin looked at Bai Yutang, then at Lu Caichun, thought for a while, and stepped aside.

Following Hu Jin were Yu Mo and Bitao. After hearing Bai Yutang's words, they didn't dare to go up and ask. They just followed the two of them, always waiting for them to help if they needed help.

After entering the room, Lu Caichun sat on the couch, opened his mouth, and said to Bai Yutang in a voice hoarse from the smoke: "Fifth brother, you can take Ah Jin to see Mrs. Tang first, I'll be fine in the room alone." .”

Bai Yutang had nothing to persuade her, so he had to screen the door and go out.After walking a few steps outside, suppressed crying came from the room behind him, and hoarse sobbing lingered around the house.

When Tang's body was carried back to the Yamen for placement, Hu Jin inevitably cried too, while Yan Chasan and Master Yi stood beside him, each with their own plans in mind.Now that the matter has been brought to the fore, Master Yi simply gave Yan Chasan all the inside information, and all the participants gathered in the house, waiting for Yan Chasan's fate.Yan Chasan finally just sighed, and said: "Everyone decides whether to go or stay in the position in the Yamen. If this matter is exposed, the subordinate officials will take it alone."

When these words were spoken, everyone wept with gratitude.Such a good official who protects the common people, when Hu Taiping was in office, the people in Fengtai County would never have dared to think about it. Now that there is one, he protects the common people, and the common people will protect him, but later on Nothing will happen, and it's hard for everyone to say for sure, but as long as they can cover it for a moment, they will cover it for a moment.

In the end, after a round of discussion, they decided to send Hu Jin to Tang's natal family.

And Lu Caichun didn't calm down until late at night, but he kept the door closed and saw no one.Bai Yutang once went into the house to stay with her for a while, and when she asked if Mei He and Pang Yu were still there, he went out to ask at the post station, but was told that the couple left for Bianjing this morning.

When Lu Caichun recovered, Bai Yutang said to her: "A few days ago, I saw that you were always busy with Mrs. Tang's affairs, so I didn't tell you. Mr. Bao sent a letter from Bianjing, saying that they had a clue to track down Hongjian Pavilion. There is a Zaiyuan Pavilion in Xiangyang. Let's pick a date, leave Fengtai County, and go to Xiangyang to see the situation." Lu Caichun nodded slightly upon hearing this.

The next day, Lu and Bai packed their bags, bid farewell to Yan Chasan, and went to Xiangyang.

When Lu Caichun was about to leave, he bowed to Yan Chasan and said, "Mr. Yan, the daughter of the people has caused a lot of trouble to the county government. I hope you will forgive me. When I parted, I just made a wish. I hope Mr. Yan's future will be as good as possible. Jin, the road is smooth."

Yan Chasan bid farewell to the two of them silently until they left the boundary of Fengtai County.When he got on the horse, the hooves of the horse knocked on the official road. Yan Chasan watched the figures of the two gradually disappear in the flat forest, then turned around and slowly went back to the county.

Wear the stars and wear the moon, eat the wind and sleep in the dew until you cross the south of the Yangtze River.Lights were lit in the fishing boat, and a star was lit up, shaking on the river.

Lu Caichun sat on the bow of the boat, and Bai Yutang stood behind her.Hooking the boat into the river with his toes, Lu Caichun said, "Fifth brother, didn't you ask me why there was so much resentment about Mrs. Tang?"

Bai Yutang really felt that her thoughts and actions on this matter were different from ordinary people, so he asked her, "Are you willing to talk now?"

Lu Caichun nodded slightly, and said: "Since I call Shishu Shishu, it's not because of my grandpa, but because of my aunt."

Bai Yutang suddenly remembered that when he first met Lu Caichun, she was grabbed by his arm in the middle of the bustling market, and he made nonsense that she was sold by his grandfather to Lujiazhuang on the empty island. Refute him, but fortunately he responded in time and stopped it.Before, she had never told him about her parents, but now that she had spoken, Bai Yutang listened carefully.

Lu Caichun said: "My aunt and my uncle learned martial arts under the same master. They were just juggling in the rivers and lakes. Later, my uncle had another adventure, so I practiced martial arts well. And my aunt married my grandfather. At that time, he was just a poor Confucian student, and his ability to make ends meet was writing documents in the yamen. At that time, something happened in the village. , he did not swallow it, but scattered all the property to the people in the village. The merchant reported the matter to the county magistrate, and the county magistrate sent people to the countryside to capture the bandits and take the scattered property from the village. The people ask for it back."

Bai Yutang asked, "But your grandpa took over this case."

Lu Caichun nodded, staring at the rippling black water below the boat, and continued to speak: "My grandfather begged from door to door, and the people in the village only handed over some property to my grandfather. Take it out for comparison, but it doesn’t match, the county magistrate ordered Grandpa to go down to collect it again. Grandpa followed the order, and asked for it again, but those people all said no. Grandpa went back to worry. Do you know what those people did?"

Bai Yutang felt a little uncomfortable, but he followed her words and asked, "What happened?"

With an indifferent face, Lu Caichun said: "A few strong men gathered in the village, with sickles and hatchets in hand, broke into the house at night. It rained heavily that night, just like the nights before. They took Grandpa from I was dragged out of the house—in order not to leave traces in the house, lest the government come to investigate, follow the clues, and find them—taking advantage of the chaos, A Niang hid me in the haystack, but they caught me herself They twisted Aniang's arm and forced her to watch. I hid in the haystack and watched them hit Grandpa on the head with the handle of a hatchet, slap him, and trample his face into the mud. "

"I hid in the haystack and cried. Fortunately, the rain was so heavy that they couldn't hear me crying. I saw Grandpa's mouth and nose were bleeding, and then he collapsed on the ground and didn't move anymore. My mother was Crying and shouting from the side, those people discussed whether they should be killed together to avoid future troubles. A Niang broke free and ran out. The group of people chased after her, and gradually ran away. .”

"I'm still curled up in the haystack by myself, facing my grandpa's body."

Bai Yutang couldn't imagine the tragedy of that situation, he just felt his throat was choked, and it was difficult to say a word of comfort.

Lu Caichun was still talking: "My mother ran back to find me alive. She didn't even dare to take my grandfather's body, so she hurriedly carried me out of the haystack and took me out of the village overnight. Later, after several Tossing and turning, A Niang was juggling and performing arts on the street, raising money, and finally found the uncle. But when she found the uncle, A Niang became ill and became so sick that she was dying, and finally passed away. The uncle was from then on Started to take me all over the world."

Bai Yutang asked, "The murderer who killed your grandpa—was he ever caught?"

Lu Caichun shook his head and said: "There are so many people, and it's a rainy night, and Auntie can't remember who there are. After hearing what happened to us, my uncle was so angry that he even said 'just kill all the people in the village'." I also said the words before. But my aunt finally stopped me. Later, the county magistrate didn’t even track down the whereabouts of the property. I think the merchant saw the situation of the villagers and knew that there was no hope of getting it back.”

Bai Yutang finally understood her obsession with Tang's matter.Perhaps facing Tang who was surrounded by the master and the crowd, she thought of her father who was also killed in the rainy night.

Lu Caichun said: "When I grew up later, it was because Auntie was still there. I asked her, did Grandpa do something wrong to end up like that? I think the uncles killed were all wicked people. Grandpa Is it because he did something bad that so many people came to him for revenge? After listening to my words, A Niang hid in the wing room and cried for a long time, and then she told me that there is no justice in this world that can make everyone They are all satisfied, because everyone in the world has selfish desires. Grandpa died under many condensed selfish desires."

"Aunt Tang is at fault. Her fault lies in letting Hu Taiping go. She faults in being a slave to the tiger, but the people who want her dead, the people who come to block her and A Jin at the inn, are out of selfish desires. If anyone else is present, it is Fifth Brother , Uncle Shi, or Mr. Yan, can leave her alone, but I can't. If I do this, I will regret it for the rest of my life."

In the wind of the river, Lu Caishu looked up at the lights of the houses on the shore, and gradually sniffled.She raised her hand, wiping her tears.But the tears didn't listen, and were still falling drop by drop.

Bai Yutang pulled her up from the bow, pressed the back of her head, and pulled her into his arms.Lu Caichun buried her face on his shoulder, and finally couldn't help crying loudly.

In the territory of Xiangyang, it is actually several times more prosperous than Fengtai.Lu Caichun and Bai Yutang walked around and looked around, and the worries in their hearts dissipated a lot.

Lu Caichun had read Bao Zheng's letter, and the letter said "in Yuanguan", it seemed that it was also the news from Hongjian Pavilion, the news came in a secret way, only a few people in Kaifeng Mansion knew about it.Bao Zheng valued Bai Yutang very much, even though he played tricks and didn't go to the palace to perform.

Lu Caichun thought for a while, then snapped his fingers and said, "Right now, there are so many things happening in Xiangyang. One is that Li Tong said that his master is in Xiangyang, one is that someone in Fengtai County is recruiting young men, and the other is this What's in Yuanguan. Xiangyang City is huge, but it's not that big, so these things can't happen in one city without any connection."

Bai Yutang said: "Based on the current news, I have a guess."

Lu Caichun followed his words and asked, "Let's hear it and see if I think the same as Fifth Brother."

Bai Yutang said: "Suppose there really is such a person who wants to revolt in Xiangyang City, the word 'Zai Yuan Guan' - Qianlong Zai Yuan, it means rebellion, this name will not be revealed easily, those who know They are all insiders. The news should have been released by Hongjian Pavilion. What they released before was the news of 'Xiangyang'. Hongjian Pavilion belongs to this person, but they themselves have disagreements with this person, so they secretly released the news. It is to target him. This person probably doesn't know what's going on in Hongjian Pavilion, otherwise we wouldn't know the words 'in Yuan Pavilion' at this time."

"Fifth Brother and I have almost the same idea." Lu Caichun nodded slightly, and continued his words, "Recruiting strong men—not to serve as the mansion, but to expand the private army. This matter is of great importance, Master Bao asked us to come Check, I also want not to startle the snake."

Bai Yutang said again: "Since this person wants to rebel, he would not dare to make a big show of it, otherwise he would not secretly send people to Fengyang, a small place, and take him there quietly. I have inquired a few times in the county, but I didn't hear anything. To get relevant news, I am afraid that one by one came to the door to recruit people, but luckily Bi Tao heard about it that time."

"Sneaking around again, and gathering so many people, there must be some strange things going on." Lu Caichun clenched his fists, tapped the other palm, and said, "Let's just ask if there are any strange things around, and then ask where there are houses. Those who recruit strong men may be able to catch the fox by the tail."

After thinking about the countermeasures, the two of them inquired about what was in the Yuan Pavilion without knowing it, and only asked secretly about the strange events and cases that happened in Xiangyang.The two walked around the streets of Xiangyang twice, and then went down to various villages to inquire about the situation.Occasionally someone would tell some weird stories, Lu and Bai didn't let them go, and they rushed over, but found that they were all ridiculous things that were not worth mentioning.

After running around for so many days, I finally found out something for the two of them.

It turned out that there was a mountain in the south of Xiangyang City, shrouded in clouds and mist all the year round, full of tigers and wolves, and few people went up that mountain.I don’t know when a tall building was built on the mountain, hidden in the mountainside, a woodcutter went up to see it, and came down to tell the people at the foot of the mountain.Later, the people who went to that mountain to collect firewood disappeared inexplicably.Another time, the villagers at the foot of the mountain saw a line of armored troops walking in the thick fog in the early morning. They didn't know whether they were human beings or ghosts, and then disappeared into the mountains in an instant.After that, no one dared to enter the mountain again.

After hearing such an anecdote, Lu Bai and Lu Bai looked at each other, and they both knew the truth.They asked the man about the location of the village at the foot of the mountain, and hurried over there.