Jiang Qing

After the incident in Cangzhou, Mei Shao checked Cheng Chengfeng's whereabouts in recent years.

His whereabouts are very simple, that is, hiding. Since six years ago, he has been walking in disguise. After living in a state capital for less than a year, he will change places on his own. He has carried this burden alone for so long. In the past six years, He didn't even return to Feixianmen once.

It's not that he can go directly to Hancheng to give the scroll to himself, but he clearly knows that Mei Shao was still an outsider at that time, and he didn't have any power to protect himself, so he took this responsibility by himself until Mei Shao returned to the capital. , stepped into the court again, and handed over the scroll completely to his hands.

It's not that Mei Shao didn't think that someone from Feixianmen would come to seek revenge on this day, because all grievances will be repaid sooner or later. Cheng Feng abandoned his wife and son for the sake of friendship with his master. He also took his own life, and this owed kindness should be repaid by Burial Sword Villa, and repaid by himself.

He let the sharp thorn go a little deeper, and blood came from the throat, but he didn't move a bit, and replied: "I buried him in Cangzhou."

There was disbelief in Cheng Nian's eyes, she looked at Mei Shao fixedly, and said hesitantly, "What... what did you say?"

Mei Shao couldn't bear it and said: "Uncle Cheng is the benefactor of Burial Sword Villa, I will definitely repay this kindness. I have already sent someone to inform Lingmu of his death, maybe the head of Feixian Sect was afraid of the girl's sadness, so he didn't mentioned."

He paused and said: "If the girl wants my life to pay back, Mei will not refuse in any way, but she is just doing things in the world, she can't die today, and she will kiss Feixianmen in the future. Let the girl handle it."

Cheng Nian didn't speak, and the sharp thorn in her hand didn't retreat a bit. The emotion in her eyes changed from initial shock to sadness and mourning. After a while, she asked softly, "My father... when he was leaving What did you say?"

Mei Shao was speechless.

Cheng Nian laughed at himself, asked himself and answered, "I think he must be thinking about those old friends in the world. Maybe, at the last moment of his life, he would feel guilty about my mother and me, but He doesn't regret it... He has always been such a person, Feixianmen can't shut him up, and my mother and I can't keep him."

"At least, he got what he wanted when he left."

Cheng Nian just stood there quietly for a long while without moving, and Mei Shao didn't back away either, and put his life in her hands at any time.

"I won't kill you." Cheng Nian withdrew the spikes, his eyes were not forgiveness, but his heart was entangled with Zhizhou's choice, "Right now, there are still people waiting for you to save lives, you'd better see them."

Is this person in front of him worth his father's life to send a letter? Cheng Nian told himself secretly that he did not act because of the urgency of the situation and for the sake of the people of Pingdong. , I will not keep his life to live another day.

Mei Shao narrowed her eyes slightly, and asked, "What do you mean, Miss?"

"Your mentor, Mr. Zhang Huailiu, please see Mrs. Mei."

Cheng Nian was very cautious and insisted that the meeting place must be decided by her. Mei Shao could only send someone to the White Mansion to deliver a message, asking Bai Bingchen to meet him at an inn in the city.

The person who came to deliver the letter had already explained the general situation. When Bai Bingchen arrived at the agreed place, they hadn't started talking in detail. Except for Mei Shao who was holding Zhang Huailiu's hand and trying to comfort him, the others were either standing or sitting. , are not close.

Bai Bingchen glanced at Cheng Nian who was standing by the window by the door, then glanced at Xie Huaide who was sitting next to her, calmly withdrew his gaze, sat next to Mei Shao, and said to Zhang Huailiu: "Mr. haven't seen you for a long time."

Mei Shao glanced at his slightly thin clothes, her throat moved, her eyes paused slightly, and then she said to Zhang Huailiu: "Teacher, after the accident in Benzhou, when General Ling went to calm down, Yanfang and I asked him I went to Benzhou to find you to understand the situation, but at that time, General Ling sent a letter saying that I could not find you. It has been less than a year since we returned from Cangzhou. You can tell me what happened. ?"

Xie Huaide looked at Bai Bingchen warily and coughed.

Zhang Huailiu turned to look at him, and replied, "I've seen Mr. Bai too."

Seeing that Xie Huaide was about to say something, Cheng Nian added, "Mr., there are some things that should not be known to too many people."

Bai Bingchen didn't expect that a frail scholar like Xie Huaide would be a bit perceptive and courageous, so he unconsciously glanced at him one more time, and said to Zhang Huailiu, who was hesitant and unable to make a decision: "What the girl said is also reasonable, I'd better avoid it for a while." .”

Mei Shao reached out and grabbed Bai Bingchen's wrist, and pushed him back to his seat. His palms touched his cool skin, and he couldn't help but frowned slightly. He picked up the cloak he had put on the stool and covered Bai Bingchen. On his legs, he carefully pressed the edges and corners.

The three people on the side looked over inquiringly.

Bai Bingchen let him arrange his clothes, looked at him with a smile, and didn't speak.

"There is some oil on the stool, Mr. Bai is too tired to help me hold my clothes."

"Okay." Bai Bingchen simply stretched his hands into the cloak and put them together to keep warm, staring at the patterns on the cloak on his knees in a daze, and let Mei Shao explain from the side.

"Teacher. You know that Lord Bai and I have a very close relationship. When he is there, it is as if I am here. Since the teacher trusts me, and traveled all the way to Pingdu, the things he has to say will not be small, but when it comes to government affairs, Bai My lord is far better than me, with him by my side, the situation that the teacher wants will come sooner."

Zhang Huailiu glanced at Bai Bingchen again, finally sighed and compromised.

Seeing this, Bai Bingchen regained his mind, leaned forward slightly, and listened to Zhang Huailiu's story about Pingdong.

"When General Ling arrived in Shencheng, I was already under house arrest by the Marquis of Nanyang. Of course, you couldn't find any trace." Zhang Huailiu spoke for a while, and directly pointed out the person he suspected the most. Both Mei Shao and Bai Bingchen With a serious look on his face, he sat up straight silently.

"Actually, if he hadn't been directly locked up in the Nanyang Marquis's Mansion, this old man really wouldn't dare to guess that a military marquis has a heart of disobedience." Zhang Huailiu explained the whole incident in detail.

"After our last farewell, I still went back to Benzhou to be my teacher, and in order to appease the hearts of the people, I blurred the words that the imperial court sent people to tell a few close and prestigious villagers Fortunately, the reputation I have accumulated over the years is not bad. They all believed it and waited for it with peace of mind. There was no conflict with the government. After that, the Minister of the Ministry of Households and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry came to Benzhou and questioned him. In the case of the land invasion, the provoking Mr. Huang was arrested and ordered to rectify the prefect. Before they left, the embezzled land was returned to the farmers, and until more than a month after they left, everything was normal. I thought It was the people you sent who worked and let go of your heart."

"The conflict between the government and the villagers started with a piece of unowned land in the village. The land has not been cultivated all year round, and the soil is stiff. It has been idle for many years, and it is unowned. No one has touched it all these years. The reason is that two or three foreigners came to the village and wanted to buy a piece of land after they settled down. The villagers took him to see the unowned land. The head of the village also said that after the land was sold, the money would be returned The township middle school repaired the tables and chairs, and the villagers had no objection, so they sold the land to those strangers. Unexpectedly, the strangers had a conflict with the government, and the government said that the land had long been It is confiscated and cannot be bought and sold privately. After hearing this, the strangers came to the head of the township to ask for an explanation. The head of the township was also anxious, saying that the land deeds were all available, so why did it become the property of the government? The villagers naturally protected the head of the township. , come and go again, and collide with the government again."

"In addition, after the embezzlement incident, the land was re-planned and divided, and half of the land in the village was held in the hands of the government, which was not properly divided. When these contradictions came together, the government delayed the land allocation, and the villagers felt that the government was again demanding With embezzling thoughts, they all went to the yamen to make a fuss. At this time, the head of the village came to me and asked me if it was the two ministers who came last time when I said that there were officials from the imperial court to settle the matter. I agreed. , he didn’t ask any more questions.”

As Zhang Huailiu spoke, he became agitated, "Then, the villagers seemed to know that I knew someone who was an official, some just said a few words to test it out, and some directly said that I was an official. The lackeys of the imperial court joined forces with the government to deceive them. Once the simple and honest peasants in the past showed some fierce faces, it was really unbearable. I boasted that I had read all the poems and books, but I couldn't explain it in front of them. "

"One day, the township head came to appease me. The two of us drank some wine, and I became drunk in a daze. When I woke up again, I found myself tied up, and the township head and the two foreigners I was talking about the uprising, saying that the peasants should take back their land by themselves, and that they should not look at the government's eyes when they cultivate the land. And got knocked out again."

"When I woke up again this time, I was locked in the firewood house in the village. In order not to let me report the news, they sent people to watch me every day. I didn't know any of those people, and they didn't speak on weekdays. After that, I met the village head once and asked him who the strangers were, and he said they were peasants who shared the same illness as them. But I observed their fingers. Although there were many calluses, the nails He is clean, and he is not a farmer at all. I can see such an obvious flaw, and it is impossible for the township chief not to see it. Maybe he knew it a long time ago, but he just didn't want to say it, and what he wants is not just It's as simple as taking back the land. After all, with such manpower and people who are sought after, who wants to be a farmer for life? I can see the ambition in his eyes."

"On the day of the uprising, I was blindfolded and handed over to other people. After a few days, I finally landed and was imprisoned in a mansion that was clearly wealthy. After that, I cut off all news from the outside world. Three meals a day were delivered by dumb people. I also groped a little bit, shrinking the place where I was detained, until one day, a wire was stuffed under the door of the room, and I took advantage of the unsuspecting guards to pry open the lock. After escaping, I found out that the place where I was imprisoned was the Nanyang Marquis Mansion. When I escaped, the gate control in the city was very strict. Under the pressure of the pursuers, I had no choice but to jump down the river and was rescued by Miss Cheng Nian. And I got here by hiding in the carriage and going out of the city under Mr. Xie's Chunwei name."

As if suppressed for a long time, Zhang Huailiu almost didn't pause, and poured out everything he had seen and heard in one go.

There was a moment of silence in the room, and no one spoke to break the silence. After half a stick of incense, Mei Shao said, "Teacher, do you still remember the day when you were tied up by the village chief? About when?"

Zhang Huailiu thought about it for a while, and said a rough date.

Mei Shao was silent for a while, and said to Bai Bingchen, "It's much earlier than we know."

Zhang Huai was bewildered, and said anxiously: "What advance? Although I can't remember the exact date, it probably won't go wrong."

Bai Bingchen explained: "The time of the uprising that Mr. said was earlier than the time we knew about the uprising."

"Mister will definitely not lie to Mrs. Mei, and the time we got was verified by the various state governments and submitted, and we will not fake it." Bai Bingchen said: "That means that these two times are true and credible. "

"How could there be a... error of more than ten days?" Zhang Huailiu himself felt that it was not convincing at all to explain it by error.

"So it's not an error, it's just that the real time of the uprising is different from the time of the uprising reported by the outside world. With such a time difference, anyone who has the ability to control the flow of people's words, except Pingdonghou, is Nanyanghou." Bai Bingchen smiled lightly, " Relying on such a method to confuse the public, it can be seen that the people behind the scenes are not fully sure, and this uprising may just be his temptation."

Mei Shao pondered for a while, and said: "According to what the teacher said, my previous assumption in front of His Majesty is indeed true. When we got the news of the turmoil in Benzhou, the city of Benzhou had actually been captured by the rebels, and The Benzhou City that General Ling rushed to rescue has only a shell left, and the people inside have been replaced by the rebels, so the city can be broken overnight when General Ling is completely in control."

"The destruction of Shencheng started from the danger of the east gate, and the hinterland of Pingdong was invaded. The Marquis of Pingdong is too manipulative, so the suspicion is the biggest." Mei Shao paused for a moment, and pointed out: "Marquis of Pingdong is doing something. This matter can be regarded as smooth, if Nanyanghou can do this, the power and ambition in his hands will be immeasurable. But now that Pingdonghou is missing and Nanyanghou is sick, it is really impossible for a while Identify who?"

Bai Bingchen tightened his cloak that had slipped slightly, and said calmly, "No matter who it is, a trip to the southeast is inevitable."