I am imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion

After Wang Zhao, Li Yuan and other yamen servants escorted Cui Tao and the others back to Kaifeng Mansion, they all stood by the wall outside the east hall.

At first, everyone was silent and did not speak.

They really wanted to do something, but because of their identities, orders from above, and considering the price they would have to pay after doing it, they could only choose to endure.The suppressed anger from the bottom of their hearts, but the helpless sense of powerlessness made them grit their teeth and their arms trembled.After living for so long, they have never felt so aggrieved or so useless.

"Are we just going to watch Mrs. Cui die?" Li Cai said angrily with red eyes, "What's the matter? Using the woman's life to get in the way?"

After Li Cai finished speaking, seeing that everyone bowed their heads and sighed, but no one said anything, he became even more angry.

"Ask yourselves, how does my master treat you on weekdays? The sausages I made for you back then were all yelled at and fed to the dogs? With so many cases, if she hadn't been there, how many people would have been killed? There may be you and me among the people!"

"Why are we not in a hurry! But everyone speaks lightly. No matter how we complain about injustices, the people above will not listen. This is the court's decision! Officials as big as Han Tuiguan and Han Judge can't do anything about it. What can we small people do? ?”

Seeing that Li Cai was about to go crazy, the yamen servants advised him to calm down. Everyone hoped that Mrs. Cui's outcome would be better.

Li Cai also knew this, and was so angry that he beat the tree repeatedly.

Everyone saw that his hand was bleeding, so they grabbed him by force.

Wang Zhao leaned against the wall, clutching the knife in his hand, and remained silent all the time.His life depended on Cui Tao's rescue.

"How about we go to Han Tuiguan again and ask for a favor?"

"It's useless, I've searched for it three times, and Han Tuiguan didn't even see us."

"Do you think Han Tuiguan is a little abnormal? Even if Mrs. Cui sacrificed, there is no need to be so indifferent all of a sudden. Maybe there is something wrong here, hiding it from us?" Li Yuan didn't want Cui Tao to have something wrong, and hoped that this was a So I just thought about it, the more I thought about it, the more strange I felt.

When everyone thought about it, it was true. Han Tuiguan's attitude changed a little too quickly, and he was not like his usual behavior at all.

Zhang Chang came over and said to the servants: "I know what everyone is thinking, and no one is uncomfortable. Now that the matter is urgent, we can only deal with it expediently, otherwise this matter will fail. The entire Kaifeng mansion, all of us , even family members, and more border people will die. Mrs. Cui is a righteous heroine who sacrificed her life for the country. She has already agreed. But don't stick around here and make sarcastic remarks. Do what you can, and prepare quickly action."

Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent.

"Act in a while, obediently obey orders, if all the thieves are wiped out, it will not be a waste of Cui's sacrifice." After Zhang Chang said, he scanned the crowd again and asked Wang Zhao to make arrangements quickly, so as not to delay the important matter.Otherwise, when the time comes, things will be even more unmanageable, and more than one life will be sacrificed.

As soon as Zhang Chang left, everyone was as angry as Li Cai and beat the tree trunk.

Wang Zhao sighed, then sternly reprimanded them all to stop and obey orders.All the yamen servants felt angry and uncomfortable, but they still had no choice but to hold back their strength to deal with those thieves. They had to chop this group of people into meat paste to vent their anger!

An hour later, Liushupo, ten miles east of the city.

Han Qi rode a horse and arrived with Zhang Chang and Wang Zhao.Han Qi was in charge of driving the carriage, while Zhang Chang and Wang Zhao were both on horseback.The brocade quilt was covered on the carriage, and there was a person wrapped in white silk satin on it. Of course, judging from the figure, it was a person.

Wang Zhao rode in front, and did not dare to look back during the whole process, his eyes were red and breathing fire.He only persisted here by biting his lip.

There were three people standing at the trading place, all of them were masked in men's clothes, but the one in the front was with exquisite figure, obviously a woman.As the breeze blew gently, a special scent of marixiang floated over.

Han Qi looked at the woman, only showing eyebrows, which could be seen to be the same as Pan's eyebrows, the proprietress of Zaqulou.

"Mr. Pan?" Han Qi asked, "Are you like Mrs. Qian, who has been lurking in Beijing for many years, working for the Tianji Pavilion?"

The woman's eyebrows were raised, her eyes were smiling, and her voice was a little lazy, "I didn't think that Han Tuiguan had such an impression of the Nu family, even if he covered his face, he recognized the Nu family at a glance! Yes, I also told Mrs. Qian is almost the same, but I am much more loyal than her. It is just that I have been with the dog surnamed Yu for so many years, which makes me lose my appetite. If I knew that a handsome man like Han Tuiguan also liked me, I must have come to see you .”

"Bitch, shut your dirty mouth!" Zhang Chang scolded.

Mrs. Pan snorted, and didn't care about Zhang Chang's insults. Instead, she turned her eyes to the car, and her face became serious: "Did you trade according to the requirements?"

Han Qi gestured to Zhang Chang.

Han Qi went to the carriage and lifted the white silk that was covering it, revealing Cui Tao in a emerald green dress.At this time, the person was closing his eyes, his face was pale and lifeless, and because of the wind and the bumpy road, the hair on his temples was a bit messy.

Pan took a few steps forward to examine Cui Tao's body in detail, but was blocked by Wang Zhao.

"He brought it here according to your request. If you want to check it, you have to let us see the situation of the envoy Yelu first." Zhang Chang said.

Mrs. Pan sneered, with a negotiating tone, "You think I'm stupid, if I bring people here, and the people from Kaifeng Mansion ambushed you in secret, then what life do we have to live? But, I am You can let the two minions in the mission show you first. Didn’t you remind you in the letter before that you and the people in the city should make an appointment in advance to send the signal?”

Immediately, Pan motioned to the two subordinates.

The two immediately lit their arrows, and with blue smoke, they shot twice into the sky.

Then I saw in the distance, nearer to Bianjing, the same smoke arrows were released, and then two more farther away, it can be seen that on the way from here to Bianjing, Pan has arranged many subordinates for messaging.

Soon afterward, there was a reply from Bianjing, signaling to Han Qi that they had received two members of the mission, and they were alive.

"Can I check now?"

Pan looked at Cui Tao in the car from a distance of two feet, and it was true that she was the person, but it was hard to say whether she was really dead.I heard that this girl is extremely clever and cunning.Furthermore, Han Qi's performance earlier today, Pan's also heard, he showed indifference during the whole process of arresting Cui Tao and returning to Kaifeng Mansion. some.

Han Qi still prevented Pan's inspection.

This obstruction made Pan even more suspicious that there was a problem.

She glanced at Cui Tao who was lying motionless on the car, and snorted, "Isn't Judge Han not willing to let her die for such a clever and lovable beauty?"

Han Qi looked sideways slightly, and gave Pan a cold sideways glance.

Seeing that Han Qi couldn't answer, Mrs. Pan sneered and said, "It can be clearly written in the letter that the deal is not kept as promised—"

"The person lying on the car is really dead. Whether you suspect it is not in my consideration. How can the body of my unmarried wife be touched by the dirty hands of you thieves."

Only then did Pan realize that it was no wonder that Han Qi drove the car himself, and he also lifted the silk cloth himself.

"Hey, it's all like this. Doesn't Guan Tui still want to put on a show and pretend that he has deep affection?" Pan covered her mouth with her hands and snickered.

"She sacrificed for the country and died to protect the lives of the people in the world. I respect her as a matter of course. It has nothing to do with affection or not. It's still the same with another woman." Han Qi said frankly, her neither humble nor overbearing attitude was ridiculed by Pan at all. shaken by.

Mrs. Pan sized Han Qi up, but couldn't see any flaws in him, so she wondered whether the people in the car were really dead or faked.In terms of the figure and appearance of the woman in the car, she was definitely Cui Tao. It was impossible for them to find such a perfect replacement so quickly in such a short time.The person is Cui Tao, so there is no big problem.

"I can order everyone in the mission to be released, but you must let me confirm that Cui Qiniang is really dead."

After Pan's words, he took out a dagger, which immediately aroused the vigilance of Wang Zhao and others.

Mrs. Pan smiled, "I'll let him go, but you will put a knife in Cui Qiniang's body."

After Pan's words, she threw the dagger in her hand on the ground, demanding that she must use this knife.Then she ordered someone to release the signal, releasing all the rest of the mission, of course, only one person was missing.

Pan signaled to his subordinates. Two of his subordinates were holding big knives, with the tip of the knife facing the grass under their feet.

After the two of them received Pan's signal, Fang took two steps back, scraped the turf under their feet, opened a wooden plank with a large gap, and pulled out the unconscious Yeludou'er hidden underground.

Splashing a water bottle on Yeludou'er's face woke him up.Yeludou'er looked at the situation in front of him in a daze, and then he recognized Han Qi and the others as people from Kaifeng Mansion. He whimpered and motioned them anxiously to come and save him.

"After letting so many people go, Han Tui will know our sincerity, it's up to you." Pan looked at Han Qi with a smile.

Han Qi was silent for a moment, then Fang looked at Zhang Chang.

Zhang Chang picked up the dagger that Pan had just discarded on the ground, wiped it clean with a handkerchief, and handed it to Han Qi.

Wang Zhao was shocked when he saw this, "Han Tuiguan, Mrs. Cui has already gone, how can-"

Before Wang Zhao could finish his sentence, Han Qi had already made his move. He plunged the dagger into Cui Tao's chest, stabbed it to the end, and then blood stained his clothes.

Wang Zhao's eyes widened, his mouth opened wide in shock, and he knelt down on the ground.

Although he was angry about Cui Tao's death before, he had always held some hope in his heart.Han Tuiguan and Cui Niangzi are two smart people, they can plan together to deceive the thieves.But now, the little hope in his heart was gone.It was a real knife, and it was really stuck in Mrs. Cui's body.No amount of tricks can do such a deception.

Pan smiled very satisfied, and ordered his subordinates to release Yeludou'er.

"Han Tuiguan is indeed a ruthless person, and his future is limitless."

After Pan said that, he got on the horse with his subordinates and headed east.But not long after the figure disappeared, there was the sound of fighting, followed by screams.Not long after that, a government servant with dirt and grass leaves on his body rushed over to report that they had successfully intercepted the person, and all four of them died.Two people were killed, Pan and the other committed suicide by taking poison.

"They have already prepared the poison."

"If you dare to make a deal with the Kaifeng government and anger the imperial court, you must have already prepared for a group of people to die." Zhang Chang sighed.

Han Qi walked to the side of the car expressionlessly, put his hand on Cui Tao's cheek, then gently straightened her hair at the temples, and covered her with a silk cloth.

Wang Zhao saw this scene, but he didn't know how to describe his current mood, hated, angry and helpless.He even felt that Tuiguan Han didn't deserve to touch her at all, but in this situation, the people above put pressure on him. If it were him, he would have no better way to deal with it.

Wang Zhao turned his head away and wiped the unstoppable tears on his face with his sleeve.Then a comfortable carriage drove up, and Han Qi carried Cui Tao's body into the carriage.

The yamen servants rushed over one after another to report that they had dealt with all the thieves who reported the signal on the road, and captured three of them alive, but these three didn't seem to know much, and they couldn't ask anything.

Li Yuan then rushed over, did not see Cui Tao's body, and asked Wang Zhao for details, but Wang Zhao didn't say anything, but from Wang Zhao's expression, he could guess that the situation was not very good.

"What's their purpose?" Li Yuan was anxious.

"Ms. Cui took the lead in destroying the Bianjing branch of the Tianji Pavilion, and completely overturned the Dizang Pavilion. The owner of the Tianji Pavilion probably believed that all of this was caused by Mrs. Cui, so they wanted to use the same method to force Mrs. Cui to death. Because of unbelief, Han Tuiguan was forced to stab her dead body."

Wang Zhao said that his voice became hoarse later, and he wiped the remaining tears on his face with his sleeve.

"I owe this life to Mrs. Cui, and I will never pay it in this lifetime."

Li Yuan looked at Wang Zhao in disbelief: "The person is really dead? Isn't it—" acting?

Wang Zhao shook his head.

Li Yuan swayed, his feeling was the same as Wang Zhao's before.He was dubious at first, and there was still a glimmer of hope, but now he realized that he was really thinking too much.In an emergency, no matter how smart a person is, there is no way to recover.

"Miss Cui said it well before. Sometimes life is so ironic. When she deserved to die, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds managed to survive. Time, but you have to die." Wang Zhao choked up, and the red eye circles filled with tears again.

Li Yuan nodded sadly, but in the end he had no choice but to ride back to Kaifeng mansion with Wang Zhao on horseback.

After Wang Zhao got off his horse, he hurried to find Han Qi. He wanted to resign, and he couldn't stay in Kaifeng Mansion any longer.Seeing this, Li Yuan wants to go with Wang Zhao.Then Li Cai and other yamen servants responded one after another and lined up together, all wanting to resign from Han Qi.

After a while, Zhang Chang came out of the room and looked at the crowd: "Officer Han Tui is not here, if you ask for resignation, it's not your turn to look for him, and he will also resign."

When everyone heard this, they were surprised and had no other choice, so they all dispersed.

Wang Siniang and Ping'er prepared the coffin, and wept loudly to transport the coffin away from Kaifeng Mansion. Not long after, they hung up the funeral banners in the house in Meihua Lane.Cui Mao, Xiao Ma and others came the next day to transport Cui Tao's body back to Anping and hold a funeral for him.

Everyone in Bianjing knew that Cui Mao came to Han Qi angrily on this day, and after staying at his home for a short time, he left angrily.On the contrary, the emperor issued a decree to reward the Cui family with a lot of things, praising him for his contribution in raising a daughter. The crisis of the Liao mission can be resolved this time, all thanks to Cui Tao's sacrifice.

When Cui Mao received the decree, he felt uncomfortable. He used to foolishly thought about not letting Cui Tao live, but now that his daughter had really gone, he felt as pained as a knife.She only hated herself for waking up too late, and hated that she hadn't been able to make up for her daughter, so she just went there.

Xiao Ma suggested that Cui Mao should choose a place with good Fengshui in Bianjing to bury Cui Tao.According to the rules, even if the body is transported back, an unmarried girl can't be buried in the ancestral grave, so why let the child make a fuss on the road.

"She sacrificed her life for the country and is a hero of my Cui family. How can she not be buried? Whoever dares to say that she cannot be buried, I will fight with my life!" Cui Mao said fiercely.

Xiao Ma nodded. After so many years, she finally found that her husband looked like a man.

Mrs. Ma cried to Cui Mao: "Let's set off today, I don't want Taozi to stay here for a while. This is a place where people cannibalize, why bother to stay for so long."

"Okay." Cui Mao immediately ordered his son Cui Yuan to take the Roman carriage, and they transported the coffin back to Anping.

Wang Zhao, Li Yuan and other Kaifeng government servants lined up to see them off, and many people in Beijing were very confused when they saw this scene, and asked what was going on.

All the yamen servants in Kaifeng were warned not to tell what happened that day, and this matter was classified as a confidential matter, and nothing could be disclosed.So when the common people asked, they could only shake their heads and smile wryly at best.

Some of the common people knew that Mrs. Cui's family had hung up the mourning flags, and saw that the Cui family was carrying the coffin, so they guessed that Mrs. Cui was killed while performing a mission. Send them off together.

After the Cui family's team left Bianjing, the people of Bianjing had to speculate and discuss again, but as night fell, no matter what the discussion was, it gradually subsided, and finally it was peaceful.

Three days later, there were not so many discussions about Cui Tao, and there were more new things in the city that attracted people's attention.Occasionally mentioning the matter of Mrs. Cui, it is a pity that everyone sighs at most.

Han Qi did not show up during this period, and the news of his resignation was approved. The court refused, but allowed him to take a half-month vacation, and gave him a lot of rewards to appease him.

When the government officials in Kaifeng heard the news, they didn't know what to say.Blame Han Tuiguan for his inaction?They did nothing.Blame the court for being useless?Pushing a woman out to sacrifice?But calm down and think about it, is there a better way to do that?If the Liao mission had an accident in Bianjing, it would really be in the hands of the Song people.Even in wars, they were well-known as teachers, and they were more righteous. They did not have enough confidence in the Song Dynasty, and they were not strong in soldiers and horses, so more people would definitely die due to the war.

The whole thing is like a stick in the throat, making people uncomfortable thinking about it, and even more uncomfortable talking about it.

In private, everyone brought out Cui Tao's favorite delicacies to commemorate her, and burned a lot of paper money for her, hoping that under the nine springs, she would not have money to buy something because she was greedy.

Wang Siniang and Ping'er closed the shop and closed the courtyard door, and stayed at home all day long, toasting and getting drunk, they never came out, and they didn't want to see anyone.After another five days, the two opened the shop listlessly, guarding the shop with mournful expressions, doing business perfunctorily.It's all because they want to listen to Mrs. Cui's instructions and live well.

Wang Zhao then came to the store and asked them, "What happened in the East Hall after you returned to Kaifeng Mansion with Mrs. Cui that day? How did Mrs. Cui die?"

"Take poison and commit suicide." Wang Siniang added, "At first Zhang Chang brought a dagger, but Mrs. Cui laughed and said that she was afraid of pain, and it would not be too late to insert the dagger after she died."

Wang Zhao was stunned, took a deep breath, and murmured: "I expected it, the dagger will definitely be stuck in her body."

"You don't have to ask for Mrs. Cui's resignation. Before she died, she specifically told us that she chose to die in order to let everyone live in peace and live as before. If we fail her sacrifice and let her die in vain, she She will definitely be angry under Jiuquan, she doesn't want to see this." Ping'er stated with a blank stare.

"What about Han Tuiguan?" Wang Zhao's tone changed a bit.

"Officer Han also tried his best. He hurriedly dismissed Mrs. Cui just to protect her. He tried all the methods he could think of, but it didn't work. The same is true for us. The reason why Official Han was indifferent before is probably because he couldn't Let's face it, I can't even look her in the eyes." Ping'er said to Wang Zhao with tears in her eyes, "Before taking the poison, Mrs. Cui specifically told us not to embarrass him, and he can't be blamed for this."

Wang Zhao nodded, but couldn't say anything after all.

……

Washer, Guangxian Building.

A middle-aged man with a round face and a pot belly sat by the window, peeling melon seeds in his hands, and then put the melon seeds into his mouth one by one.Beside him was a healthy young man, talking to him respectfully.

"The behavior of the official Han on that day was really strange. How could he be so indifferent to his fiancée who was about to die? Normally, he was helpless. Shouldn't he be reluctant? Could it be that Cui Qiniang's death has something to do with it? Strange?"

The middle-aged man didn't speak, he still peeled melon seeds and ate them.Then another entourage hurried in and whispered a few words to the middle-aged man, telling him that the conditions of those people in Kaifeng Mansion are normal now.

The middle-aged man waved him away.

"It's normal to behave strangely. When people encounter danger, they will have some abnormal reactions. Especially Han Zhigui, who claims to be smart and arrogant in his bones, completely hits him, making him powerless to resist and can only submit. He must not be normal. If his reaction is too reasonable to be found, it will make me doubt it even more."

The middle-aged man stuffed another melon seed into his mouth, chewed it, and smiled like Maitreya Buddha.

"Let Chunli send a message to Mr. Mo, telling him that the plan was very good this time, and that I have avenged Wan'er and her daughter. From now on, I will follow his orders, and Tianji Pavilion owes him a favor."

"Yes!" The follower agreed.

The middle-aged man wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and ordered him to leave for Suizhou immediately.

"This Bianjing bustle, Su can't bear it. Recently, I have been hiding in secret and don't make any more troubles. We won't accept work."

The entourage continued to respond, helping the middle-aged man downstairs, their carriage had already stopped at the gate of Guangxian Building.

After stepping on the steps, the middle-aged man was stepping on his chubby legs, and a group of Kaifeng government servants surrounded them.

The window on the second floor of Guangxian Building was suddenly pushed open, and Han Qi was seen standing by the window in a red official robe, with an extremely cold face, staring indifferently at the suddenly flustered middle-aged man under the window.

"What are you guys doing? All of us are just coming to Beijing to do business and meet friends, and we have never committed any crimes!" the entourage shouted hastily.

"Yes, yes!" the middle-aged man muttered, looking very honest and honest.

"Mr. Su is too modest."