Survival countdown

Yangzhou Prefecture, Jiangdu County.

Only one family is still living in the sparsely populated old alley. The wind blows the lantern at the door and makes a creaking sound, as if an old man with a candle in the wind is lingering on his last breath.

Suddenly, a rather thin figure staggered and fell in front of the door with a lantern. The door opened from the inside, and an old man with gray hair came out. Turning over the figure on the ground, he saw a picture still standing against the backdrop of scattered hair. Can't hide her pretty face.

The old man looked closely at the ears of the figure, there were two obvious ear holes, it was indeed a woman.

He looked around and took the unconscious woman home after a while.

As the night falls, there are few people, and the night wind makes a whirring sound through the long alley, covering the footsteps of pedestrians.A tall and strong figure stopped under the lantern, raised his hand and knocked on the door, and someone inside asked who knocked on the door.

"May I ask if this is the home of Deng Wen'an, the injustice case that caused a sensation in Yangzhou Prefecture in Jiangyang County?"

After a while, there were rustling footsteps approaching the door, and the face of the tall figure hiding under the straw hat outside the door evoked a triumphant smile, and an old voice answered him while opening the door: "This is Deng Wen'an's home, may I ask you?" yes?"

The person outside the door drew out a knife, and the sharp blade reflected the fierce eyes under the straw hat: "I am the yamen servant sent by the governor of Jiangyang County to pick you up for confrontation in the court."

"Didn't you mean to leave tomorrow?"

"Jiangyang County is in a hurry, and I can't help it."

The old man saw through the crack of the door that the people outside were indeed wearing the clothes of a yamen servant, so he didn't have much doubt. Before that, the yamen servant from Jiangyang County did come to pick him up for confrontation in the court, but at that time he was sick in a hurry and couldn't hurry, which really delayed him A lot of time.

Just as he was about to open the door, he stretched out a hand from the side to press his arm. The old man looked back, but it was the woman who was rescued this morning.

The woman drew the knife and signaled the old man to back away. The people outside the door waited for a long time before the door opened, so they hurriedly kicked the door open, raised the waist knife and slashed down fiercely. If the woman was not alert, the old man would have died here. .

The woman is skilled in martial arts. After blocking the fatal blow, she raised her hand and slashed at the assailant. She hit the assailant's heart with the hilt of a knife and raised her leg to kick him in the lower third.

The knife rested on the murderer's neck, drawing bloodstains, and the woman asked, "Who are you?"

"Don't, don't kill me! I'm the head of the local guard! If you dare to kill me, you will be apprehended by the government!"

The woman asked the old man to come over to recognize him. The old man looked carefully and nodded affirmatively: "He is the Jiangdu county squad leader. He led the Jiangyang county guards to see me a while ago." Then he wondered: "Why did you kill me?"

The team leader's eyes flickered: "Take people's money and eliminate disasters."

"For whom to eliminate the disaster?" The old man suddenly realized: "Okay! That dog official, the magistrate of Jiangyang County, ordered you to kill people, right?"

The team leader sneered: "As long as you know! Let me tell you, your son's case involves the appeasement envoy of Huainan and the magistrate of Yangzhou. Those are second-rank and fifth-rank officials in the imperial court! Can you be dismissed as a commoner? This time it was cleared, but you offended the magistrate of Yangzhou, and you can live a good life in the future? Didn’t you find that the yamen servants who originally protected you have left? Because the local county magistrate is also afraid of offending the superior because of you!”

The old man looked dazed, as if the sky was falling and he couldn't believe it.

On the contrary, the woman scolded: "You are lying! The unjust case is clarified. At most, the magistrate of Yangzhou will be dismissed, but it may also be reprimanded for his poor handling of the case, and the fine is too high. As for the county magistrate of Jiangyang County, he has been taken off his official hat, and he cannot protect himself. The ability to bribe you to kill people? I don’t think it’s Lu Liangshi, but you want to kill people to silence them!”

The team leader's face twitched violently, panicked, and glared at the woman viciously.

The woman continued to speculate: "I heard that the real murderer is Wang Guozhi, who sneaked into the arresting team to guard himself and steal. Could it be that he fled to Jiangdu County, not only mixed into the local arresting team, but also became the boss?"

The old man was even more enlightened and said: "A few yamen guards who protect me have chatted and said that the new team leader bribed the original team leader with money to become this position. Think about it carefully, the time is right."

The team leader was frightened and showed his feet.

Both the woman and the old man were amazed that the local bureaucrats were so corrupt that they not only allowed a murderer to escape, but also let him go to another county to continue working as the boss. !

It is also strange that most of the arresting teams of the local county government in the Dajing Dynasty were not official official positions, but were hired by the government. During the busy season, they recruited a lot of people, so that the grass and grass were uneven, and bandits often sneaked in.

Especially with the recent implementation of the Xiangfang system, there is an urgent need for manpower. The people in charge of the review received money and did not look at the background of the hired servants, which is why today's disaster.

The squad leader was knocked out and tied into the room. The woman thanked the old man for saving his life.

But the old man said: "Young lady saved me and my son's life. I should owe the young lady the grace to save my life. From the perspective of the young lady's accent, I don't seem to be from Yangzhou, but you are here to look for relatives?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, knelt on the ground and said: "I have a big grievance and want to take advantage of your son's grievance to sue the imperial envoy, and I hope the old man will help me!"

Uncle Deng asked, "What is the grievance?"

The woman raised her head and her eyes were firm: "My name is Huang Qingshang, the orphan daughter of the Huang family, the number one imperial merchant in Yangzhou in the past, sued the Huainan commander-in-chief's appeasement envoy Sun Chengyi for murder, killing my whole family of Huang, robbing Huainan of disaster relief money, and slandering the three. Thousands of fishermen are full of evil crimes such as rebelling against the party!"

***

At the inn in Jiangyang County, Zhao Baiyu came back from outside with a sour plum soup recipe, and when Yan Bing saw it, he immediately felt like an enemy.

"Wu Lang, I paid you money and apologized, so the store didn't kick us out. You must never touch the back kitchen. The ancients said that a gentleman stays away from the kitchen, so you should be a gentleman honestly."

Zhao Baiyu: "I'll just burn wood and cook some sugar water. I don't heat oil and don't fry vegetables."

Yan Bing was indifferent, looking straight at him.

Zhao Baiyu said awkwardly: "Okay, the trial will start tomorrow, and I will study the case."

Yan Bing thought brokenly: "That's right." As soon as he turned his head, he saw Adjutant Cui walking past the gate of the courtyard with a face full of resentment, which made him get goosebumps: "What's wrong with Adjutant Cui in the past two days? His face is full of resentment. It’s like being abandoned by someone, and keeps coming here, without saying a word, just looking at you sadly——hiss! Does he have some evil thoughts about you! "

"Nonsense! Some things can't be said casually."

Zhao Baiyu was a little embarrassed. He could say that it was the guy in his room who lost his temper. The subordinates who followed him felt the pressure was heavy, so they forced Adjutant Cui to speak softly and obediently to Zhao Baiyu through letters, and Adjutant Cui was out of luck. He is notoriously poor, and occasionally owes a lot of money for a couple of bets. His colleagues put the pressure on him, so why don't they complain about their husbands every day?

When he was thinking about writing the letter, every wording had been carefully considered, and he was sure that he would not offend the little county king. Why did he get so angry?

In the letter from the Kyoto Prefecture in the past two days, Li Yiru explained everything about her, Xu Mingbi, and the reasons for staying in the brothel, and why the Wannian Xuepo was in her hands. She was quite surprised but said frankly: "I advise Dr. Xu to come out of the mountain." But the effort of raising one's hand is the merit of saving thousands of people. Why am I unwilling? As for whether Dr. Xu and I will renew our relationship, it depends on how God arranges it in the future. I will do it according to the sky, and Dr. Xu will not force it. And go, as circumstances dictate. But—"

"My lord Zhao, I am very grateful for your care and respect for me. You may not understand how deeply moved I was when I read what the Xiaojun Wang said in the letter."

Zhao Baiyu really can't empathize with Li Yiru's touch, he is just doing what he thinks is normal and correct, respecting a person's independent personality, no matter whether she is male or female, humble or noble, it is his The imprint of the times engraved in the bone in the previous life.

The ancients liked to play the routine of making promises with one's body. Even a noble woman was regarded as a tool at the turn of the Qin and Jin Dynasties. Is it possible for Li Yiru, who is an ordinary person, to escape the fate of being given away?

Even if Xu Mingbi said "I dare not think about it" and talked about "respect", Huo Jingtang just asked Li Yiru to open his mouth to show favors, he was afraid that someone in the middle would interpret other meanings.

However, Li Yiru specially sent a letter to dispel Zhao Baiyu's worries, and made him feel guilty. It was because of his excessive worry that he misunderstood Huo Jingtang, and the essence was that he didn't understand Huo Jingtang well enough.

There are so many nobles and nobles in the capital, and even the down-to-earth dignitaries have killed several offending slaves, not to mention the singers in the mansion gave them away at will. Zhao Baiyu has seen so many bloody cases in his three years of handling cases. Getting along with him in the next few months let him know that Huo Jingtang has the heart of a gentleman, but subjectively, he will subconsciously doubt it.

In fact, Zhao Baiyu knew that Huo Jingtang did not send out women as tools like other dignitaries in the capital, because he disdained it, not because he respected everyone's personality.

Under the feudal monarchy, there is no concept of equality for everyone. How can there be respect for personality?

Zhao Baiyu understood, so he never forced Huo Jingtang to have the same thoughts as him, and he also tried his best to avoid similar words in the letters he sent, and at the same time, he concealed some of his out-of-the-time ideas.

No matter what the reason was, it was because he misunderstood Huo Jingtang.

Although there was only one letter in a few days, there was only one sentence, "Xiao Lang blames me?" ’, but Li Yiru sent a letter for no reason to explain, which meant that Huo Jingtang’s anger was not so easy to dissipate. He brought Li Yiru to explain, but he didn’t speak, and said silently, “Xiao Lang blamed me wrongly”, why do you feel a little wronged?

Zhao Baiyu covered his face and couldn't help laughing, why is Huo Jingtang's character so cute?

He had no choice but to send two letters every day, thanks to Huo Jingtang's arrival in Yangzhou, the distance is not too far away, otherwise he would be exhausted by the pigeons - he didn't ask Hai Dongqing to send the couple's home letter, otherwise he would be too sorry for the precious King of Eagles up.

Zhao Baiyu racked his brains and almost wanted to copy the encyclopedia of love stories written by literati in the past. Fortunately, his dignity as a scholar ordered him to keep the bottom line.

not to mention,

Zhao Baiyu murmured: "I also don't want to send Huo Jingtang the love words that others have used, it's too impolite."

You can't be rude, you can't be respectful, you have to be sincere, you have to be sincere, it's just too difficult to coax.

Huo Jingtang has a really bad temper.

Zhao Baiyu shook his head helplessly while writing nice words, thinking so, he finally believed what Uncle Hai told him privately that Huo Jingtang had a bad temper.

According to the description, he looks like a small county king who is so doted on by thousands of people that he is too arrogant. The whole capital regards him as a devil in the world. Even Emperor Yuanshou can shake his face if he says it.

Rushing shooting stars, white horses with silver saddles, high-spirited, and Huo Jingtang, who was mature, lazy, and temperless in front of Zhao Baiyu, were completely different.

Now it is believed.

"Ms. Qingqing——cough!" Zhao Baiyu's ears were reddish, but after thinking about it, he still felt that it was too nasty, so he changed the characters to write 'husband', and after writing the pen, he felt that Huo Jingtang's anger and embarrassment might not be so much It was easy to solve, so I endured a strong sense of shame and wrote: "Your husband, you feel comfortable when you see a letter."

If I write with spirit, I wrote a full five pages. After I wrote a lot, I looked back at the beginning of "Qingqing Husband" and I was calm and calm, without any waves.

See how many "Qingqing", "Fulang" and "Husband" he used in his letter, and what kind of lovesickness and lovesickness he used, which made Zhao Baiyu's heart extremely strong.

After finishing writing, he sent out the letter, and saw that there was a small flower bud on a peach tree by the roadside in October. Zhao Baiyu plucked a green leaf, opened the letter and temporarily made up for it, and hid the green leaf in the letter together. Sent to Yangzhou.

After the end, I walked back and met a young woman and an old man at the door who came to stay in the inn, but they were stopped by the official.

Although there is an imperial envoy order not to prevent others from coming to lodge, checking the identities of lodgers is also a routine operation.

Then I heard the woman say: "My name is Huang Qingshang, from Jiangnan. This is my uncle's family, from Jiangdu. Due to a sudden epidemic, my family members died of illness, so I came to Jiangyang County to join relatives, but the relatives drove us out with sneering words. With the help of the inn."

"Is there a way out?"

"Look."

After reading the guide, the official saw a cart not far behind them and asked, "Who are you?"

The old man said tremblingly: "It's my son, who has been paralyzed for many years, I hope the official will be more lenient..."

"Okay, okay, let's go in." The official was not embarrassed, and sighed: "It's also pitiful."

Zhao Baiyu passed by and saw them enter the courtyard opposite the path, so he couldn't help but pay more attention. Just now the woman said that she was from the south of the Yangtze River, and she clearly had a strong Xuzhou accent.

When he first arrived in Jiangyang County by water, Zhao Baiyu deliberately learned Xuzhou dialect from Xuzhou people who had fled, so he could easily recognize it.

On the contrary, the old man did speak Jiangdu dialect. What was even more strange was that the man lying on the cart was tall and burly but unable to move. His whole body was wrapped in a thick quilt and he could still smell blood.

It's a strange combination.

Zhao Baiyu rubbed his nose, put his hands behind his back to avoid the eyes and ears of officials, and came to the courtyard where Adjutant Cui was, and told Wei Bo his suspicions.

Weber: "I'll go check it out tonight."

Zhao Baiyu: "Don't startle the snake."

Wei Bo: "Don't worry, as long as I'm not as skilled as Xiaojun Wang, very few people will notice me."

***

As night fell, Uncle Wei found the courtyard where Huang Qingshang and the others stayed, hid in the base of the wall and overheard Huang Qingshang and the old man's intention to sneak into the inn to appeal to the imperial envoys, he sneaked into the next room calmly and found the hamstring that had been severed. Wang Guozhi, who was still bound with Tesuji.

He found gangster tattoos on his chest and roughly confirmed the identities of this group of people. Wei Bo returned to Zhao Baiyu's room and told him the news he had heard.

Zhao Baiyu was very surprised: "Huang Qingshang, the orphan of the Jiangnan Imperial Merchant, and Deng Wen'an's father, and the real murderer, Wang Guozhi? Officer, it really broke the sky in Huainan."

Pacing back and forth, thinking, Zhao Baiyu suddenly remembered something, he seemed to have never thought about why Huo Jingtang appeared in Yangzhou, shouldn't he be in the capital?

I didn't think too much about it at first, thinking it was for him, but why did it stop in Yangzhou?

Yes, why did Huo Jingtang stop in Yangzhou?

Is it for Huainan officialdom?

Emperor Yuanshou regained his confidence when he saw that he had recovered from the Gu poison?What about the sixth prince?

It's child's play to change the favorite candidate for the crown prince, and it's not like Emperor Yuanshou's usual cautious style.

Zhao Baiyu couldn't figure out Emperor Yuanshou's thoughts more and more, so he shook his head, thinking, forget it, don't think about it, it's better to return to the current situation itself.Huo Jingtang should have come to Yangzhou for the officialdom in Huainan. Could it be that he has found something?

The robbery of 200 million taels of disaster relief money in Xuzhou was a slap in the face of the court and Emperor Yuanshou. The crown prince and fifth prince were not so stupid.

Right now, Huainan is just a bomb barrel, which can explode with just a few sparks, the prince dares not make mistakes easily, and is more afraid of disaster relief money than anyone else, so the loss of disaster relief money has nothing to do with him.

But Huang Qingshang clearly said that the person she witnessed robbing the government bank was the counselor of the Huainan appeasement envoy and a subordinate of An Huaide. Could it be that An Huaide made a presumptuous claim to deceive the prince?

Or, he betrayed the Lord.

"How can it be so easy to say that you betray the Lord?"

The ancients talked about loyalty, filial piety and etiquette. One time of infidelity is not used a hundred times. An Huaide's daring to betray the Lord means that the future is over. In the past few decades, the plan to fight for the success of the dragon was once in vain. If you have a brain, you will not do it .

"Who has a problem?"

Was Huang Qingshang lying, or was An Huaide's lax rule and his subordinates guarding against themselves?

Wei Bo: "I think Huang Qingshang's words are very credible."

Zhao Baiyu: "How to say?"

Wei Bo: "The guard sent to pick up Deng Wen'an's father came back in the afternoon and said that he was gone. There were signs of fighting in the house and blood at the door. The other 200 million taels of disaster relief money was indeed lost in the border of Xuzhou. The fishermen who harbored the rebellious party did what they did, and they resisted when they went to arrest them, and all of them were executed on the spot, and the fishermen who harbored the rebellious party were also arrested, and they will wait for three trials."

Zhao Baiyu: "Concealing the top and the bottom, covering the sky with one hand, An Huaide is really not afraid that the court will find out about him." He knocked on the table, thinking about it and then curious: "What does Huang Qingshang have to do with Xuzhou fishermen and the rebellious party?" ?”

Wei Bo: "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Zhao Baiyu looked at the lights and said to himself: "The water in Huainan is much deeper than expected, it seems that the sky is really going to change."

After a while, Zhao Baiyu stood up: "Let's go see Huang Qingshang."

***

Huang Qingshang didn't believe Zhao Baiyu at first, so he fought Wei Bo with a knife, and was shot down within ten strokes, restricting his movements.

Huang Qingshang showed astonishment, and immediately knelt down: "Huang Qingshang, the daughter of the people, has seen Mr. Fu Envoy, and begged him to avenge the daughter of the people."

The old man Deng next to him also knelt down, and Zhao Baiyu helped them both up: "If it wasn't for the grievances between Deng Wen'an and Xuzhou's three thousand fishermen, I wouldn't rush to visit late at night."

Huang Qingshang raised her head suddenly and said excitedly, "Your Excellency, do you know about Xuzhou Yujiazhai?"

Zhao Baiyu: "Two million taels of disaster relief money was robbed, and three thousand fishermen were imprisoned. It's not a small trick to hide the truth. Tell me, what's going on?"

Huang Qingshang told all the scenes that he saw that night, and Zhao Baiyu asked after listening, "How do you know that Sun Yingyi wants to rob the government bank?"

"Because we have been keeping an eye on Sun Negative Yi's whereabouts, we know that he dispatched the imperial army, and we can deduce it based on his route and whereabouts, but we don't have any evidence. Even if we tell the prefect of Xuzhou, I'm afraid they won't be believed. Instead, we will scare the snake away." After a while, Huang Qingshang said in a disappointed tone, "The other reason is that I want to catch the current situation... I didn't expect that it would bring trouble to Yujiazhai instead."

"Why are you staring at Sun Yingyi?"

"Because he is the chief culprit who killed my whole family!" Huang Qingshang's voice was passionate, and strong anger and hatred shot out from his eyes.

Zhao Baiyu was startled, staring straight at her, and said calmly: "Sun Chengyi was responsible for the massacre of the first emperor's business that shocked Jiangnan four years ago? Are you the only surviving orphan of the Huang family?"

Huang Qingshang: "Yes. Do you know there are still survivors in the Huang family?"

Zhao Baiyu: "Do you remember Li Yiru?"

Huang Qingshang was stunned for a moment, nodded and said, "I know. She is my brother's confidante. My father traveled around all those years ago, and specially went to a low place for her." She looked dazed and sad: "My brother died of illness in Kyoto. Save my brother, and sell himself in a brothel for the second time. I am very grateful to her, but I have no money left, and I have not avenged my revenge, so far I have not been able to see her."

Wei Bo said at this moment: "My lord has redeemed Miss Li, and now she is learning how to manage a restaurant, and she is doing well."

Huang Qingshang was a little excited, and quietly wiped away tears to thank: "My lord has a kind heart, and my brother can rest in peace even under the nine springs."

Zhao Baiyu: "Put aside those who are grateful, let me ask you, why did Sun Chengyi kill your whole family? But he was greedy for your family's wealth?"

Huang Qingshang shook her head: "At first I thought they were greedy for my family's wealth, but later I found out that they only robbed the gold and silver treasures hidden in the family treasury, which only accounted for one-third of my family's wealth. Silver antiques and other two-thirds of the family wealth were not taken away at all, and then I thought about Sun Chengyi's burglary, why didn't he commit a crime in Huainan, but ran all the way to Jiangnan? He must have some other purpose, but I can't figure it out .”

"My family is rich, and there are rare treasures, but is it worth it for him to pretend to be a robber and kill my whole family? My father is willing to do good deeds and make good friends. Whatever treasure he likes, just say it. My father can't bear the pain to give up his love." .”

"So I can't figure out why?"

Huang Qingshang couldn't help weeping: "I was lucky enough to save my life and was taken in by my father's retainers. The retainers received my father's favor and vowed to repay it with their lives. They took me to Huainan and settled in Xuzhou Yujiazhai. Usually fishing is At the same time, he paid attention to Sun Chengyi's whereabouts, and finally deduced that he wanted to rob the government bank, so he thought he could catch them all..."

Zhao Baiyu poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. He couldn't bear it, and felt deeply angry. Beating three thousand fishermen into accomplices of the rebellious party, his heart can be punished, his crime should be punished, and he deserves to die!

Under unavoidable circumstances, Zhao Baiyu was unwilling to use the death penalty on the prisoner, but at this time he was really motivated to kill.

"Sun Chengyi, the District Councilor, dare not commit heinous crimes. There must be someone behind him."

"It's An Huaide! And the prince—I know that An Huaide is a member of the prince's family! So they can easily escape the government and the law by killing people!"

Huang Qingshang gritted her teeth in hatred.

Zhao Baiyu didn't think it was the prince, the culprit was still on An Huaide, but what motive did he do evil?

Suddenly remembered something, Zhao Baiyu asked: "An Huaide's greed for Mo Zhihe's money, killing the inspector and censor, and spreading the word in Huainan, has anything to do with you?"

"It's what I waited for." Huang Qingshang was a little embarrassed: "But I waited too recklessly?"

"No." Zhao Baiyu smiled: "The public opinion is passionate, but it will let them show their feet."

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The author has something to say:

Xiaoyu: Mrs. Qingqing, seeing a letter is like meeting you.

Lao Huo (shaking his feet, pulling out the prayer beads, reciting the letter backwards): No shame, no shame.