I'm watching the gate in the jail

It is less than a day's journey from Shexian County to Qiu Zijin's hometown, because Xiaoqiu is a newly promoted Tanhualang and the first Tanhualang in the Chenghua Dynasty, so Wanda and others decided that they must ride horses all the way through the streets. , Homecoming.

As far as horses are concerned, the most eye-catching horse in Fusi of Beizhen is Yang Xiuxian's "Blizzard". If it is draped up, it will look like an extended Rolls-Royce.They went south this time and brought it out specially.

But the temper of this horse is not very good, and no one is allowed to ride it except Yang Xiuxian himself.

Wanda tried to communicate with it several times.Flattery has also been patted, and caramel has also been fed.At the end of the day, if he wanted to climb on the horseback, "Blizzard" would kick his back immediately, without giving him any face.

In desperation, Wanda had no choice but to contribute her own "office supplies" - a reddish-brown mare named "Little Red".

This is the mount specially prepared for him by the Jinyiwei Yamen after he came back from Guangxi last time. The filly has a docile personality and is also very beautiful.

Even so, Wanda still rides his little black donkey when he is on duty, and only rides it when he is out on business.When I go out this time, I also bring it out.

After leaving the border of She County, everyone put a golden saddle on the little mare, and braided the mane on the horse's back with red knots, making Xiao Hong look brilliant.

The brocade guards changed into uniforms, and took up the old job of guard of honor with ease.Holding up the signs of "Serenity" and "Avoidance", two gong and drummers sang in harmony at the front, and the sound of the suona immediately created a lively and festive atmosphere.

Also put on a new outfit, Qiu Zijin, who wore a golden flower on a black gauze hat and a big red flower tied on his chest, was helped onto the horse by Wanda and Gao Hui, dumbfounded.

"Master Xiaowan, why do I feel that you are happier than me?"

Qiu Zijin took the reins from Gao Hui and looked down at the excited Wanda.

"Hey, if I had the brains to take the No. [-] exam, I would have done it by myself. Look at you, what a sight."

Wanda rubbed her hands and laughed.

600 years later, although there will be no champions in the imperial examinations, there will still be champions in the college entrance examinations.

Even though there had been no horse riding parades for a long time, in the small town where Wanda lived, students who were admitted to university still had to take a big truck and patrol the streets in the county.Moreover, parents have to hold a grand teacher appreciation banquet for their children, which is also not good enough.

As a "student" in two generations, Wanda went to a technical school after graduating from junior high school in his previous life. His father wanted to hold a teacher appreciation banquet without any reason to spend the money.

After finally coming to 600 years ago, I was able to see Tanhualang, who was handpicked by the emperor, return home in fine clothes, honoring his hometown, and taught Wanda how to hold back.

The gong was struck, the suona was blown, and amidst the joyous music, everyone set off for the town where Qiu Zijin's family was located.

When it was about five miles away from the town, I saw a man dressed as a servant squatting by the field from a distance.

It was already midsummer at this time, and the rice in the rice fields by the roadside had already produced blue ears. The boy sitting on the edge of the field was so hot that he couldn't help wiping his sweat. up.

"Young Master! Is it Young Master?"

He took two steps forward in disbelief, until he reached Qiu Zijin's red-maned horse, the boy's expression was dreamlike.

"Kuan?"

Qiu Zijin was the first to recognize his identity. He was a servant serving in the front yard of his family, about his age.When he left home, the child was thirteen or fourteen years old, and now he is half a boy.

"It's really young master! I heard that you are going back to your hometown in the past two months, and Madam has asked me to wait here every day... Finally, I am looking forward to you!"

As he said that, he threw off his hat, and ran towards the city like flying, shouting as he ran, "I'm back! The young master is back! Tanhualang has returned to his hometown!"

The sound of firecrackers suddenly sounded, and crowds of people rushed over. Men, women, young and old stood by the side of the road, watching the young man in fresh clothes and furious horses slowly walk by, surrounded by a guard of honor in brocade clothes.

Wanda rode a pony and followed behind with Yang Xiuxian. Hearing the joyous laughter and applause in his ears, and looking at the crowd with smiling faces, Wanda raised his chest unconsciously—with honor, And there is honor.

Along the way, many mothers dragged their sons and ran to kowtow to Qiu Zijin, hoping to get some joy from Tanhualang.

Qiu Zijin did not avoid suspicion, and asked Gao Hui and the Jinyi guards around him to distribute the "No. [-] Scholar Candy" he brought from Beijing to the common people along the way.

There are also quite a few elderly people who came from the fields, bridges, and roads to say hello to Mr. Tanhua, and Qiu Zijin would get off his horse one by one to return the salute.

After walking for nearly an hour on a short road, they finally arrived at the entrance of the village where the Qiu family's mansion was located before sunset.

The red fire clouds dyed most of the sky purple. In the steaming heat, Wanda saw a dozen men and women in brocade clothes standing under a high archway, which should be Qiu Zijin's home. people.

Seeing his father, mother and clan uncles standing not far away, Qiu Zijin's fingers holding the rein trembled slightly.

Gao Hui, who was leading the horse in front, might have sensed something, turned around in doubt, and saw Qiu Zijin who was smiling all over his face.

"Father, mother, the son is back!"

Qiu Zijin got off his horse and walked towards the archway step by step.

Wanda and Yang Xiuxian also got off their horses. Amidst the festive and joyful music, they followed Qiu Zijin's footsteps, crossed the Rongen Archway engraved with the words "Teaching children well" and "Educating talents for the country", and went to his home. people walk.

Standing at the front was Qiu Zijin's father.

He was a very handsome man, not tall, but fair-skinned and thin.With a tuft of beard on his chin, he is a handsome middle-aged man.If there is no accident, Qiu Zijin may look like him in 20 years.

Father Qiu was obviously very happy to see his son whom he had not seen for three years. He took a step forward and hugged Qiu Zijin tightly.The father and son hugged each other, and the blind daters around couldn't help crying.

Standing behind the father and son was Qiu Zijin's mother who was supported by a maid.

Contrary to Wanda's expectations, Qiu Zijin's mother is not a great beauty, but only a middle-aged person.But her demeanor, her reserved face, and her standing posture all make people feel awe.

Seeing her husband and son showing their true feelings in public made Mrs. Qiu feel a little inappropriate.But she didn't put her dissatisfaction on her face, because soon, her son let go of his husband and walked towards her.

"Master, my son is in high school, and my son is back."

Tears glistened in Qiu Zijin's eyes.

Mother Qiu's hands were hanging on her chest, holding a plain handkerchief, she nodded kindly.

The members of the Qiu family spread a red futon on the ground quickly, and Qiu Zijin went to the futon and knelt down. Amidst the praises and cries of all the folks, and under the witness of the huge "Enrong Archway Made by Emperor Mingzhi" , He kowtowed three times to his parents.

"Thanks to His Majesty's grace, my son was able to return to his hometown, thanks to my parents for their many years of nurturing."

Qiu Zijin raised his head and said.

The applause sounded like thunder, and Wanda couldn't help clapping her hands too.

"Wow, it's really like filming, it's so touching."

"What to shoot?"

Yang Xiuxian lowered his head and asked.

"Ah, I mean, it's just as sung in the play, it's so touching."

Wanda corrected.

Yang Xiuxian squinted his eyes, looked at the mother and son who were crying in each other's arms, and keenly noticed something strange.

"Murderous..."

Before Yang Xiuxian could figure out where the murderous intent came from, he saw a man wearing a bamboo hat suddenly stab Qiu Zijin in the back with a dagger in the crowd of villagers watching the ceremony.

Qiu Zijin had just stood up from the futon at this time, completely unaware of the strangeness behind him.In order to avoid suspicion, Gao Hui had already stood beside Wanda and the others, and it was too late to run over at this time.

"careful!"

Wanda shouted loudly.

Sooner or later, a stone pierced through the air and slashed across the back of the man's hand holding the dagger.

With a scream, the dagger fell to the ground and landed beside Qiu Zijin.

Qiu Zijin flashed in a hurry, rolled on the ground in embarrassment, and rolled into the ditch beside him, narrowly dodging the blade.

I saw the dagger plunged into the mud, and the blade sank deep into the soil.

Gao Hui pounced on him, grabbed the man, pressed his arms behind his back, grabbed his hair, and knocked off the bamboo hat.

Wanda stepped forward quickly, squatted beside Qiu Zijin who was still in shock, and held his arm with both hands.Mother Qiu screamed and threw herself to the ground.Even Father Qiu's legs and feet were weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.

The drum stopped beating, the Luo didn't sing anymore, and the sound of the suona completely stopped after it shot up into the sky.

No one could have imagined that such a festive scene would have such a turning point.

Yang Xiuxian walked up to the man and kicked him on the shoulder.

"Who? Dare to be disrespectful to Lord Xunyan?"

The man lowered his head and did not answer.

"Head up!"

Yang Xiuxian shouted sharply.

Standing behind the man, Gao Hui lifted his chin with his right hand and showed his face to everyone.

"Ghost!"

"Ahhh!"

Seeing his appearance, the villagers and elders standing behind Yang Xiuxian screamed in unison, and a child shrank behind his mother in fear.

Not to mention them, even the well-informed Yang Xiuxian was stunned at this moment.

The person in front of him has only half a face!

No, to be correct, not only half of the face, but only half of the face is intact, can see a complete eye on the right side, and half of the mouth.

The remaining left half of the face is no longer a "human face" at all, and the other side has completely become a piece of coke.

The place where the eyes should have been, has become pitch black like the surroundings, and even the nose does not exist, only a hollow that can breathe is exposed.

Yang Xiuxian suddenly grabbed his left arm and pulled up his sleeve.

Sure enough, just as Yang Xiuxian predicted, this person's entire left hand, like his left face, was severely burned, and the fingers of the entire left hand were glued together, turning into a meat stick.

The surrounding women and children screamed and ran away, and the scene suddenly became a mess.

Fortunately, the sky is still bright. If this person appeared at night, wouldn't he be regarded as an evil spirit?

Wanda walked over with Qiu Zijin in his arms, seeing this person's face, he was so scared that he couldn't even speak.

"You, who are you? Why did you kill me?"

Qiu Zijin mustered up the courage to ask.

"Bah! Dog officer!"

Seeing the failure of the action, the man cursed at Qiu Zijin angrily.

His voice was hoarse and unpleasant, and his throat should have been burned.

"If you can't kill you this time, you are lucky! If you want to kill or cut, it's up to you!"

After the man finished speaking, he rushed his head towards the stone pillar under the archway, intending to kill himself on the spot.

How could Gao Hui give him such an opportunity, pinching his still intact right arm, and locking him firmly on the ground.

At this moment, Mr. Qiu and Mrs. Qiu were also helped up by the servants and maids respectively, and they staggered over.

After seeing the man's face, Master Qiu's face was as white as paper, and he took a few steps back in horror.

Mrs. Qiu simply rolled her eyes to the sky and fainted to the ground.

"Who are you? Why are you killing me?"

Qiu Zijin asked sharply again.

"Who am I? The young master is really 'the nobleman forgets things'! After going to the capital for three years, and coming back with a reputation as a Tanhua, have you even forgotten who I am?"

The man smiled towards the sky, and a horrible "cluck" sound came out of his throat.

Hearing him call himself "Young Master", Qiu Zijin was taken aback for a moment.

He supported Wanda's arm, gathered all his courage, and tried hard to find memories on this terrifying face.

"Brother Mingguang, you are... you are Brother Mingguang? You are Brother Mingguang!"

Wanda didn't know who this "Brother Mingguang" was, but looking at Qiu Zijin's expression, and hearing this man call him "Young Master", he must be a servant of their Qiu family.

"Hahaha, young master, you finally recognized me. You still recognized me! It seems that my face is not damaged enough."

The man named "Ming Guang" was the servant of Qiu Zijin's family.This person is not only a servant of the Qiu family, he also took care of Qiu Zijin when he was young, and the two had a very good relationship.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Zijin had just returned to his hometown, and he didn't even have time to enter the house. This man actually wanted to kill the little master.

"Why... why?"

Qiu Zijin really couldn't figure out why he would treat himself like this.

"Officer Dog, you guys are loving mothers and sons today. But you ruined my family, shouldn't I kill you?"

The man called "Brother Mingguang" looked at the Qiu family's mother and son with hatred. If Gao Hui was not behind him, he would have jumped on them and devoured their flesh and blood.

At this moment, Qiu's mother woke up faintly, and was helped by the maid to walk to her son's side.

"You are talking nonsense. Whether your sister is dead or not, what does it matter to my son? He came back from the capital, so what does it have to do with your sister?"

In order to welcome her son back home today, Mrs. Qiu made preparations half a year ago.

The clothes are newly made, the jewelry is newly made, and even the girl who follows her is specially selected.

In order to wait for this moment, she waited for 17 years. From the day her son was born, she has been dreaming of her son's high school one day, and the beautiful dream of returning home to praise officials.

As a result, this dream finally came true, and it was only halfway through, but it was interrupted in such a way, how could she bear it?

If it wasn't for the fact that there were outsiders by her side, if it wasn't for her standing under the Enrong Memorial Arch granted by the imperial court, Mrs. Qiu would have wished to tear this man apart on the spot.

That "Brother Mingguang" wanted to continue scolding, but was blocked by Jin Yiwei and dragged on.

The beautiful Tanhualang rolled in the mud, the red robe on his body was torn, the red flowers tied on his chest were scattered, and the golden flowers on his head fell on the ground. In the field, it can only be described as a mess.

Not to mention the terrifying face of "Ming Guang" just now, the villagers were so frightened that they immediately dispersed, and the situation took a turn for the worse.

"Thank you, Master Yang just now."

Qiu Zijin cupped his hands gratefully to Yang Xiuxian, took two quick steps, and went to comfort his mother.

He thought that the blow just now was the same as usual, it was Master Yang who was skilled in martial arts and dragged his little life out of the gate of hell.

Yang Xiuxian just wanted to deny it, but after seeing Wanda's eyes, he didn't refute it aloud, so he acquiesced in the credit.

Now that the matter had come to an end, the guard of honor had no choice but to put down their flags and gather up all the things. A group of people followed the dejected Qiu family to the Qiu family's mansion.

"Master Wan, do you want to teach that 'Ghost Face Man' a lesson?"

At this time, one of Jin Yiwei's men came up and asked Wanda in his ear.

You must know that the "Avoid" and "Quiet" signs were not made for nothing, they represent the face of the court officials and the honor bestowed by the emperor.

Jin Yiwei finally did such a festive thing that does not attract people's scolding, but was humiliated by a ghost-faced man, which made this group of officials who are used to showing off their strength feel a little frustrated, and they were eager to make up for it.

"You go to interrogate that guy...you must find out what's going on."

Wanda originally thought that after leaving She County and arriving at Xiaoqiu's house, he would start a pure play trip, but he didn't expect to encounter such a big event of assassinating a court official. The person who attempted to kill was still a servant of the Qiu family.

Ordinarily, in such a case, the prisoner should be kidnapped and sent to the local government for torture immediately, but Xiaoqiu's return home was a happy event, and he didn't want to make things worse, so he simply asked his subordinates to interrogate him first, and then make plans.

The subordinates got the order to take a few brothers to go, Wanda walked up to Yang Xiuxian with a complicated expression on his face.

"How did that happen?"

he asked.

A happy event almost turned into a funeral.

Could it be that my "Conan Physique" is so violent that even Xiaoqiu is affected by me?

Yang Xiuxian sighed, looked at the towering Enrong Archway, and shook his head.

"Fortunately, there was 'him' just now."

Wanda said in a low voice.

"Yeah...fortunately."

Seeing the golden crow gradually sinking to the west, and the light reflected on the ears of rice gradually dimmed, both of them felt heavy in their hearts.

With such a beginning, Xiaoqiu's trip back to his hometown may not go smoothly this time.

The Qiu family's house opened Wanda's horizons.

He had known for a long time that Jiangxi businessmen were rich, but he didn't know that they could be so rich.

Xiaoqiu's home is located in a group of buildings called "Qiu's House".

Calling it "Qiu's House" is not just because the villagers here are all surnamed "Qiu", but because this piece of land covers a thousand acres of land, including a mountain, a river, a natural lake and a huge building with thirteen courtyards. The group belonged to Qiu Zijin's house.

And according to the dictation of the housekeeper of the Qiu family who led them in, when they entered the village just now, the several hills winding out on both sides belonged to the mountains of the Qiu family.

There are ceramic kilns, charcoal-burning charcoal kilns, and lime-burning lime kilns on it, and there is a tea forest on the hill beside the river...Wanda was amazed.

"Butler Qiu, who is that 'Ming Guang' this afternoon?"

Everyone was brought into a large courtyard with three entrances, let alone Wanda, Yang Xiuxian and Gao Hui, it was more than enough to accommodate all the brothers from the capital.

This courtyard is called "Zixu Pavilion", and it is on the north side of the entire Qiu family's house, leaning against a corner of the mountain.Built on the basis of the mountain, the tower is towering and the courtyard is deep. If you climb to the highest floor, you can see a blue wave and a tea factory in the distance.

The two-story building next to "Zixu Pavilion" is the courtyard "Wenda Courtyard" where Qiu Zijin lives, and Wanda plans to visit it later.

Wanda watched the servants move the suitcases they brought into the yard one by one, while turning to the butler to inquire about the person in the afternoon.

"Ah... He, he was a helper at the kiln factory at first, and later the master saw that he was clever, so he let him work in the house."

"Then what about his face..."

Seeing that Wanda still wanted to ask more questions, the housekeeper suddenly had a bad face, "Masters rest first, the young master went to the ancestral hall to offer incense to the ancestors of the Qiu family. When he comes back, he will come to talk to the masters." .”

As he said that, without waiting for Wanda and others to ask further questions, he led the people and was about to leave in a hurry.

The more he is like this, the more problematic Wanda and the others feel.

Yang Xiuxian comforted him to be safe and not to be impatient, and the people who had been interrogated before would come back and report as soon as they had news.Besides, they were anxious, Xiaoqiu was probably more anxious than them, as the inspector, he was not the kind of person who would help his relatives and ignore them.

"Ma'am, those people in Jinyiwei have already settled down..."

The butler left Wanda's yard and turned to the ancestral hall.

The Qiu family has strict rules. Women are not allowed to interfere with the occasion of opening a ancestral hall to worship ancestors.

Mrs. Qiu stood at the entrance of the ancestral hall, looking at her son who was reciting sacrificial rites to the ancestors, her husband standing behind him, and all the uncles in the family.

For many years, in order to cultivate a scholar, in order to get rid of the stigma of "Fuliang businessman", the Qiu family has worked hard for more than 100 years, and only then has the only seedling of A Jin.

In order to cultivate Ah Jin into a talent, she didn't know how much painstaking effort she had put in and how much trouble she had put into it.

Finally, an official lord came out of "Fuliangzi"'s family.

Mother Qiu took out her handkerchief and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes excitedly.

"Ma'am, Master Wan asked me about that kid Ming Guang."

After waving the girl next to Madam back, the housekeeper and Madam Qiu walked to the side flower hall to talk.

"what do you say?"

Mrs. Qiu's expression froze.

"I didn't dare to say more, I came out after a casual coping...it's just..."

The butler looked at his wife in embarrassment, "That boy Mingguang is being detained by those Jinyi guards now. I want to bring someone to bring him out, but the Jinyi guards said that this man assassinated the court official and must be interrogated immediately, so I am not allowed to interrogate him." Take him away."

"This, how can this be?"

Mrs. Qiu panicked, "What if he talks nonsense and reveals 'that matter'?"

"Ma'am, you are too soft-hearted. If you knew this, you should have 'killed' him after the accident..."

"do not talk……"

Mother Qiu gritted her teeth and stood up.

"No, while Ah Jin and the master are still in the ancestral hall, I'll go meet Mr. Wan first."

Here, Wanda and the others are still waiting for their subordinates to report back. Over there, Steward Qiu knocked on the door outside the courtyard, saying that Mrs. Qiu asked to see her.

"So impatient, it seems that there is a real problem."

Wanda looked at Yang Xiuxian solemnly.

Yang Xiuxian analyzed it with him just now.

The fact that Qiu Zijin wanted to go back to his hometown to visit relatives had already been reported back to his hometown at least two or three months ago, that's why there was a boy at the village entrance waiting for them to go home.

The boy said that he waited at the entrance of the village every day.

After the boy saw them, he went back to Qiu's house to report the letter, and then there was a grand scene where people all over the county came out to watch.

So it's not a secret that Xiaoqiu went back to his hometown, and that ghost-faced man should also know about it.

He should also know that Qiu Zijin returned to Jiangxi with a large number of people this time, and returned to Jiangxi as a censor.

A person, with a dagger, wanted to assassinate an official in front of everyone—this was not an assassination, but a "grievance".

But instead of complaining to the supervisory censor, he complained to Jin Yiwei Town.

The method is a bit shocking, at least the goal has been achieved.

He is now surrounded by Jin Yiwei, not only not dangerous, but also very safe.

At least until the case is investigated, his life can be completely guaranteed.

"If she doesn't come to you, you will go to her sooner or later. That's good, anyway, we've given Xiaoqiu some face."

Yang Xiuxian said realistically.

Such a thing happened on the day of boasting an official. If anyone had the most difficult time, it would only be Qiu Zijin.