Broken Iron Clothes

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Outside the Imperial Prison, the imperial guards formed a circle, guarding more than a hundred inmates behind them. Inside the gate, Hu Suo was holding a knife against a person, confronting the imperial guards led by Zhou Qisi.

Someone in the crowd shouted: "Although we are a scholar, our integrity should not be humiliated. I would rather die for the country than be a victim of a sword! Hu Zang, you are also familiar with poetry and books, and you should know this Reason, why would you want to insult other people's integrity and accidentally hurt their lives!"

Hu Chen's eyes were already red, and there were bulging veins on his forehead: "It's not you who drank the well water, you can naturally stand on the high ground and criticize me, I said it's not clean, but I told you which one of you took it seriously ! I'm not as noble as you guys, and I don't want to be an official. I just want to survive. Is it wrong?!"

"I'm right, why are you forcing me!" As he spoke, his mood fluctuated again, and he suddenly lowered his body to reveal an expression of a supplicant. Not only did his expression collapse, but his tone was even more helpless, " You guys!...I beg you, please let me get out of this damn place—”

At the right time, Zhou Qisi seized the opportunity and wanted to take a step closer, Hu Zhong changed his face again, grabbed Xu Yixu's neck with one hand, and stepped back with the knife in the other.

"Go away - I only want you to give in! If anyone comes close to me, I will kill him!"

Seeing this scene, someone in the crowd shouted again: "Cultivation is not suitable for everyone and everything. Hu Zang is already crazy. The imperial guards are holding sharp knives. They should aim at the real villain instead of being driven by him!"

Another person hastily retorted: "Xu Xuezheng is still in his hands, how can he be so reckless, if one is not paying attention, what should I do if I lose my life?"

"Then what can we do if we can't stand this stalemate? Although there are guards from the imperial guards, didn't he let him take a hostage!"

There were arguments one after another, and Hu Zhong still didn't let go of his guard, he just stared at the person in front of him, and held the knife in his hand even tighter.

There were two sounds of horseshoes in the distance from the corner of the street. Zhou Qisi glanced at the sound, and then gestured for the guards behind him to take his place.After the sound of the horse's hooves settled down, Zhou Qisi stepped forward to salute and said, "General Lu, General Yi Fei."

Lu Tianrui glanced from afar and asked, "What's going on?"

Zhou Qisi replied: "Early in the morning today, [-] prison students ignored the obstruction and intended to rush out of the Imperial Prison, but the imperial guards did not dare to use force, so they seized several of the imperial guards' sabers and wounded them. Now the rowdy prison students have been subdued. It’s just that more than a hundred supervisors flocked to the gate after being frightened, and the supervisor Hu Zhong took a Xuezheng hostage from among them and threatened us to let him go.”

Lu Tianrui thought for a moment, stared at the crowd, patted Yuan Mucheng's arm, and said, "I'll go around to the backyard, you delay."

Yuan Mucheng understood, so he unloaded his knife and walked towards the gate of Guozijian.

Lu Tianrui immediately said to Zhou Qisi: "Qisi, lead someone to watch these people, and wait for the opportunity to lead them back a little further."

Zhou Qisi nodded: "Yes."

On the other side, Yuan Mucheng walked straight into the gate of the Imperial College, raised his hand to signal the people around him to back off, and casually said to Hu Zang: "Your mind is innocent, why are you afraid of ghosts and gods? "

Hu Chen raised his knife and pointed at him, and said, "Don't talk nonsense to me, I just ask you, will you let me go?!"

Yuan Mucheng put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "I have a method, which will allow you to succeed."

A trace of hesitation flashed across Hu Zhen's face, and Yuan Mucheng took a step forward pretending to be friendly, but Hu Zhen seemed to have been touched by the scales, and immediately shouted at him panicked: "Stand there, don't come over! "

Yuan Mucheng stopped the steps he took, raised his hands and retreated: "I won't move, but it's thanks to you to find a teacher, tie me up, and they will make way for you on their own, so that you can walk out of this gate smoothly."

Hu Sang sneered: "Do you think I'm stupid? Will you be easier to deal with than him?"

As he said, Hu Chen cautiously locked Xu Yixu's neck tightly again. Yuan Mucheng glanced at Xu Yixu's face unintentionally, but met his gaze, but the subtle thing was that he felt Xu Yixu Xu is smiling.

Yuan Mucheng quickly withdrew his gaze, and continued to draw Hu Sang's attention: "I've already given you advice, why don't you appreciate it? Could it be that I'm not closer than this young master?"

"Don't talk nonsense with me!" Hu Chen's eyes were red, "I'll say it again, this place is not clean, I have to leave! Do you understand enough?!"

Yuan Mucheng said: "I have seen more dead bodies than you have dreamed. If you tell me, maybe I can distinguish them for you. Otherwise, how can I trust you if you talk so plainly?"

Hu Shun looked at Yuan Mucheng for a few times. Although he knew that the person in front of him had an identity, he was not sure who he was, and thought that this person might really not know his experience, so he really thought about this question carefully for a while. .

Seeing that Yuan Mucheng was slack and didn't approach, Hu Hui shook his head and said, "I... okay, if I say so, if you still stop me, I will die together with him."

Yuan Mucheng nodded to him patiently, and Hu Chen looked at him carefully for a while, and then said: "The first night, when I went back to the room, when I wanted to drink water, there was... There's something..."

"What?" Yuan Mucheng asked.

Hu Sang widened his eyes: "It's hair, it's hair again!"

At this time, someone outside the door suddenly said: "The imperial army sent people to check, and the teapot is soaked in corn silk!"

"Shut up!" Hu Chen said excitedly, "Did I let you talk?!"

Yuan Mucheng turned his hand and made a silent gesture behind him, and continued to ask: "What happened next?"

"Later, I was awakened by a knock on the door in the middle of the night, and I saw a figure shaking outside the window, under the bed! Something was moving under the bed. When I woke up in the morning, I saw hair stuck on the window sill!"

When Hu Chen was talking raptly, Yuan Mucheng caught a glimpse of Lu Tianrui sneaking not far away from the corner of his eye, and typed a code word to him.

Yuan Mucheng understood, so he asked a question, trying to draw Hu Sang's attention.

"What about yesterday?" he asked.

"Yesterday..." When Hu Chen was about to say something, the clothes on his waist were suddenly ripped off. He hurriedly turned his head and found Lu Tianrui who was approaching.

After being stimulated, Hu Chen couldn't control his emotions even more. He raised the knife and waved it to the side, and then pressed towards Xu Yixu's neck, still cursing: "You lied to me! Get out! Get out!"

Xu Yixu's neck was already scratched with blood, but Yuan Mucheng stared at his reddened face, motionless.Because he saw it, the hand that went around behind to pull Hu Chen's clothes was Xu Yixu's.

Lu Tianrui saw that he was getting more and more out of control, and rushed forward, kicking Hu Chen's elbow. Hu Chen's hand suddenly lost strength, and he almost couldn't hold the handle of the knife. When it was too late, Xu Yixu pinched him The wrist is lowered and wrapped around under his arm, and then the wrist is turned outward.

Hu Chen suffered from pain and knelt down on half of his knees. Xu Yixu seized the handle of the knife in his hand and slashed at the back of his neck with the knife.

Thick blood splattered high, the crowd exclaimed for a while, and there was a commotion due to shock.

Because the blade was not strong enough, the half-skinned head was still dangling, Yuan Mucheng and Xu Yixu looked at each other through Feixue, tearing apart the skins of each other with his eyes.

"Those who pretend to be gods and play ghosts and disturb the ruler," Xu Yixu raised his hand to wipe away the blood on his face, looked into Yuan Mucheng's eyes without squinting, and said slowly, "We should only kill them as a warning."

-

In Yue Tea House, Jiang Shiqing touched the rosary in his hand and closed his eyes to meditate. When he heard footsteps going upstairs, he called Xu Guo and motioned him to wait outside the door.

"Okay." Xu Guo still picked up a small plate of snacks, and strode out the door.

Seeing that Xu Guo was about to come out, Meng Xia gave way outside the door, then closed the door, and saluted with Jiang Shiqing.

Jiang Shiqing nodded in return, and asked, "Shopkeeper Meng is looking for me today because of what I asked last time?"

Meng Xia replied: "The person you asked last time, I have already found two. That young man Lin Song is related to Lin Wei, the former governor of Qinzhou, but we will have to wait a few more days before I can give you an answer. This other person His name is Xu Yixu, he is a student of Taiwei Xu Bing who works as a teacher of the Imperial Academy, he escaped from Yingzhou nine years ago, and after two years of exile, he was bought by the steward of Xu Bing's mansion to be a domestic servant until After being accepted as a student by Xu Bing six years ago, it only took four years to enter the official career."

Hearing that Xu Yixu was a member of the Imperial College, Jiang Shiqing narrowed his eyes and turned the rosary in his hand. After a while, he asked, "Where's Yi Qinchen?"

Meng Xia said: "The origin of this person is unknown, unlike Xu Yixu and Lin Song, it may take some time to find out."

Jiang Shiqing frowned, and asked again: "Did Vice Master Gu ask you to help investigate this person?"

Meng Xia turned around and replied, "Vice Master Gu came this morning."

That was Yi Qinchen who Gu Nanxing had just asked Meng Xia to investigate this morning, but why Gu Nanxing had been with Yi Qinchen for so long and suddenly remembered to investigate him.

Jiang Shiqing pondered for a moment, then asked: "Did he ask me why I was looking for you a few days ago?"

Meng Xia nodded in embarrassment, and Jiang Shiqing immediately put away the rosary in his hand, put some broken silver on the table, and said, "Usually, what kind of wine does Deputy Zhuangzhu like to drink, make a pot for me."

-

At night, Jiang Shiqing carried a jug of Tieyi wine and walked around the backyard twice but did not see Gu Nanxing. When he stopped to think, Gu Nanxing lay on the roof and whistled at him a few times.

"Looking for me?" Gu Nanxing raised his eyebrows.

Jiang Shiqing followed the prestige, threw up the jug in his hand, and said, "Please drink."

Gu Nanxing picked it up, smelled the aroma of the wine, shook the jug, and said with a smile, "Vice Zhuang Zhuang is righteous."

The moon and stars are sparse, but there are also many clouds at night. From time to time, a few flowers cover half of the moon, but there is a soft light along with the clouds.The two of them sat and lay down, watching the scene on the roof, and it was rare for them to be at peace.

Jiang Shiqing asked first, "What have you been up to lately?"

Gu Nanxing said lazily: "A loafer is not as good as you and your general. They are so busy during the day and have nothing to talk about at night."

As he said that, he deliberately sat up, moved to Jiang Shiqing's side and teased, "I'm envious of others."

Jiang Shiqing said indifferently: "Don't talk nonsense."

Gu Nanxing chuckled, raised his head and took a sip of his wine, and said, "I know what you're worried about. If you like it, you might as well be honest earlier. Whether he accepts it or not is his business. It's better than him in the future. It’s good to be full of regret when thinking of you, not to mention, according to his temperament, he won’t be able to find you then, so don’t go to Crane Valley and tear down Mr. Lin Meng’s house.”

Jiang Shiqing was silent, Gu Nanxing looked at his profile, and saw the white moon enveloping him, repelling his usual icy cold in an instant, and reflecting him softly like water.

From this point of view, if it is more hazy, it looks like someone.

Gu Nanxing couldn't help sighing, and his tone suddenly became low: "What's more, what's there to dare not say? Don't you think that hiding it from him will hit him harder?"