Survival countdown

"Tiandu Village and Ning'an Village are not far from the Jingzhou military camp. Li Minxue and the guards of Ning'an Village can carry 50 soldiers and [-] soldiers of Daxia for ten days, but they can't wait for reinforcements? Surprised Keshan He didn’t send reinforcements on purpose, but he also agreed to peace talks, paying [-] taels of compensation, cheating others, and completely harming others and not benefiting himself... What the hell is he thinking?”

"No one can know. The original Ji family army had strict discipline and was loyal to the imperial court. In the first few years when Ji Keshan succeeded to the throne, he was very obedient. In addition, Daxia did not choose Jingyuan Road as an attack point for ten years. The court paid attention to it." The focus is mainly on the other three roads in the northwest and the East Road, and the understanding of the changes in Jingyuan Road has decreased, but Keshan has been neglected.”

The two of them planned to walk back to the house, but when the sun was setting, Zhao Baiyu couldn't move anymore when he smelled the fragrance from the big restaurant and the new storytelling script.

"Tell me about the Northwest and His Majesty's attitude."

"Go in and have a rub?"

"That's fine."

After saying that, the two happily stepped into the restaurant, as if they had forgotten that the old butler in the mansion had prepared the dishes and was waiting for them to come back.

Because they are regular customers, the owner of the restaurant and the waiter have known them for a long time, and they always stop to chat when they pass by.

"I have met the king of the county, I have met Master Xiao Zhao." The owner of the restaurant said: "Master Zhao, recently launched two new desserts, called lychee cream and dipping cakes, but the supply is in short supply, but seeing you come, I will be the host They leave you a separate copy, what do you think?"

Zhao Baiyu responded with a smile: "Thank you, my boss, I am very grateful."

The owner of the restaurant: "It's nothing, it's just a preferential treatment for old customers. Or the old location?"

Zhao Baiyu: "The old location. I'll walk there by myself, and I don't bother you to lead the way."

The owner of the restaurant: "Okay, you go slowly."

Their old location is a small cubicle by the window. It can see the river scenery of one of the four canals in Kyoto, and it is relatively quiet. It is one of the best private rooms. Of course, the price will be charged a little more.

The shop waiter ran downstairs with the hot wine, and immediately greeted Zhao Baiyu: "Master Zhao, the strange case of yellow bones that you were sentenced two months ago was really a ghost who came to sue in the middle of the night?"

Huo Jingtang came over with his hands in his hands: "You are silent and confused, where is the report of the wronged soul?"

"Here," because he is a regular customer and has the gentle-tempered Zhao Baiyu by his side, the little county king has become a lot more approachable. This book, I heard that it was also written as a story book, which is popular in Kyoto Prefecture, and the strange emotions and stories are especially attractive."

What the shop waiter asked was about a strange case that was handled by the Yamen of the Kyoto Prefecture two months ago. It was said that a thunderbolt struck the ancestral grave of a family member in the west of Midtown one day in the suburbs. The son of the member had to relocate the grave, and the coffin lid fell off , found two bones inside, one of the bones was yellow, and his hands were pushing the cover, obviously a living person was put into the coffin, suffocating to death.

After investigation, it was found that one of the bones was Yuan Wai's younger brother, who died unexpectedly, and the yellow bone was Yuan Wai's original wife who was rumored to have fled with the money 15 years ago.

The woman's own son, the son of a non-member, thought it must be an unjust case, and immediately sued the official.

Zhao Baiyu accepted the case, and it took a lot of trouble to find out the truth. It turned out that Yuan Wai bought a batch of goods from other places. Unexpectedly, he met bandits on his way and the goods were hijacked. When the news got out, he would lose to his better brother, so he hid the news that the goods were robbed by bandits, and instead asked his brother to pick up the goods and kill him in the deep mountains and old forests.

Later, he teamed up with his cousin who was in love with him, and secretly applied a dye that would make the skin turn yellow on the original wife. He tricked the original partner into suffering from jaundice. Because the symptoms were similar, the original partner believed it was true. In order not to drag the children down, he handed over the key to store the dowry to the outsider. Hearing the words of the messenger, he quietly moved to the suburbs to recuperate, and he didn't dare to let his in-laws know.

As soon as he left the suburbs, he was killed by outsiders and hid in the coffin of the ancestral grave. Unexpectedly, the original partner was only stunned and did not die. He was found buried in the coffin with the body of his brother-in-law beside him, and was suffocated to death in despair.

After death, the yellow pigment on the body penetrated into the skin and dyed the bones yellow. In fact, it did not help much in investigating the case, but the yellowing of the bones was different from common sense, and was endowed with various fantasy colors by the people.

Killed his younger brother first, and then went back with the exception of his original mates. Then he cried to Gao Tang that his younger brother and his wife had eloped with the money. The servant who had escaped from the bandits that day was bought to testify. As a result, the wronged soul died in vain for 15 years, and the grievances of the two people will be seen in the light of day.

That Yuanwai then inherited the family business and married his cousin. Of course, after the truth came out, he would be punished as he should.

Because the sky was clear that day, suddenly a thunderbolt fell, which coincidentally hit the grave of the ancestor outside the family member, and then the rope that carried the coffin suddenly broke, and the bottom of the coffin did not break but slipped out of the coffin lid. , the grievances are clear at a glance.

There seems to be God's help in the dark, and there are coincidences everywhere, which is really a strange thing.

Even Zhao Baiyu sighed in his heart that some things in the world really cannot be summed up by common sense, and the common people have always been very interested in unjust cases, especially the case presided over by Zhao Qingtian, so they naturally enjoyed talking about it.

No, there is also a joke about the ghost beating drums in the middle of the night to cry out for grievances.

Zhao Baiyu couldn't help but laugh: "That's not the case, don't believe it."

Huo Jingtang threatened: "People can't do bad things, otherwise there might be a ghost knocking on the door in the middle of the night."

The shop clerk shrugged his shoulders, scratched his head and thought that luckily he didn't do anything outrageous.

Huo Jingtang held Zhao Baiyu's shoulders and walked towards the private room. Finally, no one came out to interrupt, and continued to talk about the northwest.

"The situation in the Northwest is complicated if it is not complicated, and it is not complicated at all. There are not many twists and turns in the officialdom. It is quite normal to have some small quarrels and frictions between each other, after all, there are no firsts in literature and no second in martial arts, and there are many thorns in the battlefield, and most of the time it is common for soldiers to refuse to obey other soldiers."

"The Fourth Route Army in Shaanxi is the Cui Family Army, that is, our grandfather's family. It is in charge of the Xihe Army and guarding Xihe Road. The second is the Yanyan Army, guarding Yanyan Road. The soldiers I lead. The third is Huanqing Road. The Huanqing Army originally belonged to Prince Jing, but after his death the army was incorporated and Zheng Yuanling was assigned as the marshal."

Zhao Baiyu asked: "Duke Zheng's third son?"

Huo Jingtang nodded.

Zhao Baiyu was puzzled: "Your Majesty is not afraid of Zheng Guogong's mansion taking over the power?"

Huo Jingtang Zhiyi said: "Even if Zheng Yuanling went to the Northwest to serve as the marshal, he might not be able to control the Huanqing army. Don't forget that the deputy general is Tanghe cavalry, and Cai Zhongsheng, the pacifier of Shaanxi sent by His Majesty, his residence is in the Huanqing army. Zhou, has the right to intervene in the transfer of the Huanqing Army. He was originally from the East Palace, and he was dedicated to making the tripper beat Zheng Yuanling. Zheng Yuanling had been doing well in the Jizhou Army, but he was greedy and wanted to intervene in the Northwest. Now his original position is gone. , Zheng Guogong's influence in the Jizhou army has been weakening year by year, and in the northwest, there are Cai Zhongsheng and his dogs biting dogs."

Zhao Baiyu raised a question: "The Central Palace and the Eastern Palace have been gone for three years, can Cai Zhongsheng remain loyal?"

Huo Jingtang: "That's a good question."

Zhao Baiyu: "So?"

Huo Jingtang: "In the past year, there have been rumors that Cai Zhongsheng and Zheng Yuanling are in close contact, but they will not be moved for the time being if there is no major incident. Besides, Cai Zhongsheng's term of office is coming soon, and it will be logical to replace them with one another at that time. During this period of time, the business is still fetching water from a bamboo basket.”

All right, Emperor Yuanshou must have thought more thoroughly about the problems he could think of.

Zhao Baiyu: "Tell me something interesting about the Northwest Tibetan tribe and Ji Keshan."

Huo Jingtang thought for a while, then picked some interesting places to talk to him in detail, and also talked about local customs and local policies, and specifically mentioned: "The monarchs and nobles of the Great Xia are basically the Dangxiang clan. There are eight people in total. Tribes, among which the Tuoba family is the royal family of Daxia. Most of these party members migrated from the Qiang people in the northwest, or they are mixed with other tribes and Xixia people. You also know that Daxia respects Buddhism. I believe in Buddhism very much.”

Then they talked about other things, and they chatted until night fell and the sky was full of stars, and the two returned home. Naturally, they got the black face of Uncle Hai who had been waiting for them for several hours, but they were thick-skinned and completely turned a blind eye.

***

The secret decree of Emperor Yuanshou was still secretly promulgated, ordering Huo Jingtang to serve as the Shaanxi government envoy, and set off to the northwest to investigate the truth of the Tiandu Village battle, and then sent Zhao Baiyu to be the Shaanxi economic envoy, and set off today to appease the border tribes.

The functions of the system envoy and the economic envoy are somewhat similar. They are both temporary second-rank military officials who can be dispatched, appointed and dismissed at any time. They are somewhat similar to the functions of the imperial envoy, and they can be regarded as the same type of official position.

The former is to plan the military along the border, while the latter fights against the Great Xia and appeases the border tribes. It also has the right to intervene in the battle of Tiandu Village, and can also dispatch troops and generals. It is regarded as having people and power, and Emperor Yuanshou is very generous. It's not like Liangjiang was full of calculations when he picked and searched.

Although he is not a prison officer, he can also accompany Northwest. Huo Jingtang reluctantly agreed to the arrangement, and after receiving the secret order, he and Zhao Baiyu packed their luggage and prepared to set off.

Zhao Baiyu was quite looking forward to it. Huo Jingtang always described to him the fun places in the Northwest Desert, which had already aroused his curiosity, so he didn't resist.

Although it was a secret decree, Zhao Baiyu was both the magistrate of the capital and the censor Zhongcheng, so the sudden transfer could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of the court officials, so the whereabouts of the two were quickly known, but it was not known what official position they would go to the northwest.

No one came to ask ignorantly, but for people with a wide range of sources, it is not difficult to guess Zhao Baiyu's official position.

***

Zhao House.

Standing outside Xie's closed door, Zhao Boyong said: "It is impossible for Wulang to be an official below the third rank, otherwise he would be relegated for no reason. There are as many official positions in the northwest as around the third rank. It can only be some temporary official positions such as imperial envoy, system envoy, and economic envoy. There is no major event, there is no need for an imperial envoy, Goro has no military experience, and he will not be appointed as an envoy, but I heard about the second prince of Daxia a while ago Tuoba Mingzhu led an army to raid Jingzhou, was beaten back by Ji Keshan, and asked for a lot of rewards and military supplies, but this matter is a bit strange, it should be Ling Wulang to investigate this matter."

The sound of knocking wooden fish in the house stopped.

Zhao Boyong: "Northwest is considered the place of the king of Lin'an County, and it has the power to have soldiers and is not afraid of being bullied. Daxia is in a period of turmoil. It should not be a war during this period. Goro will not be very dangerous."

After a while, the wooden fish sounded again in the room, but Mrs. Xie never responded to Zhao Boyong's words.

Mrs. Xie blamed her husband, moved out from the main courtyard three years ago, and moved into the remote small courtyard where Zhao Baiyu lived for more than ten years, and built a Buddhist hall in it, since then she is unwilling to talk to Zhao Boyong.

Zhao Boyong waited for a long time before leaving in disappointment.

Zhao Sanlang, who was waiting outside, was not surprised when he saw this. Compared with the irritable and irritable immature before and after the family change three years ago, now he is calm and composed, losing his previous innocence and recklessness, and he looks a bit like Zhao Changfeng.

"Father, the second brother is waiting for you to discuss some matters in the study. There is also a letter from the eldest brother, so there is no need to send him back."

Zhao Boyong's back was hunched, and his hair became completely white in three years.

"understood."

After saying that, he left.

In the past three years, the Xie family did not want to see them. Zhao Changfeng invited him to go to the frontier to guard the city, but Zhao Erlang was transferred back from Liangjiang and joined the third division. Work in the Guards.

The Zhao family seems to be beautiful, but it is actually a pool of stagnant water inside, falling apart.

***

Jin Wangfu.

The sixth prince and the crown were given to the palace and Jinwang. Without the East Palace, many ministers secretly took refuge in him, but no one stood in front of him. He always suspected that Emperor Yuanshou would plot against him. In the past two years, he has kept a low profile.

However, no matter how low-key he was, he did not slow down his pace of conquering the supremacy.

As soon as Huo Jingtang and Zhao Baiyu left the capital, someone reported their whereabouts to the Jin Palace. After some analysis, the counselor said: "It can be seen that Mr. Zhao should have been awarded the post of economic envoy, and he is the same as the Prince of Lin'an." Let’s investigate the battle of Tiandu Village together.”

Huo Zhaowen: "What position do you think the emperor will arrange for Huo Jingtang?"

It's hard to guess, it's not that the setting makes it difficult to guess, but that the Northwest is Huo Jingtang's second home, and he has many official positions to choose from, but there is no change in official positions at the moment.

In particular, Zhao Baiyu is very likely to be appointed as an economic envoy. It is impossible for both of them to be appointed as officials of similar nature to go to the northwest to investigate the same case.

The counselor said, "Perhaps he is accompanying Mr. Zhao to the northwest as a family member?"

Another counselor said: "The Prince of Lin'an has been inseparable from Mr. Zhao for three years, but it is possible."

The counselor took the opportunity to suggest: "Northwest Tiangao Emperor is far from saying that the situation is also complicated. Daxia spies, spies, and small groups of soldiers often sneak into our border to do some sneaky things, and occasionally hurt people's lives. Maybe they are not allowed to meet the king of Lin'an County by chance." There is an accident... It is also possible to die in the northwest."

Huo Zhaowen: "You also said that the northwest is Huo Jingtang's territory, not to mention his martial arts is so strong that if he can't be killed easily, he might implicate us." He held his forehead and said: "Don't act rashly, send the news to Zheng With the marshal, he knows when is the best time to strike, and he can do it without leaving any traces."

After a pause, he said again: "You said that Zhao Baiyu went to Zha Tiandu Village to fight?"

The counselor nodded: "I heard that Tiandu Village and Ning'an Village were once lost, Xia Bing came to the city, and the Marshal of the Jingyuan Army negotiated peace without even taking part in the battle."

Huo Zhaowen: "I remember that the Marshal of the Jingyuan Army is Ji Keshan, the leader of the army?"

The counselor nodded again.

Huo Zhaowen was thoughtful, and suddenly realized: "I understand! Zhao Baiyu and Huo Jingtang's trip is not to check the Tiandu Village, nor is it to recruit the foreign soldiers, but to prepare to replace the leader of the foreign soldiers. Shocked Keshan! Shocked Keshan is disobedient, he always has to be replaced by someone who will be in charge of the [-] barbarians..." He suddenly turned cold and closed his eyes. "Father, you really have far-reaching plans for it."

The counselor worriedly asked, "Your Highness?"

Huo Zhaowen knocked on the table and said: "Send all these news, Marshal Zheng knows how to do it." After a long while, he muttered to himself: "It's the orphaned mother, the orphaned family, and the orphaned uncles who are the only ones who can do it." Gu’s family members are the ones who love Gu.”

The counselor who stepped out of the door froze when he heard the words, worried in his heart, it is not a good thing to attach so much importance to his relatives.

***

Northwest Jingzhou.

The carriages and horses were exchanged alternately, and they were not in a hurry but did not deliberately delay, and it still took a month to arrive in Jingzhou.

When entering the border of Jingzhou, Zhao Baiyu and Huo Jingtang changed carriages and drove slowly on the official road, both of which were dead woods.

At this time of winter, the weather turns cold, and the earth loses its vivid and delicate colors and is paved with the iron color that can adapt to the cold, and the grayish yellow after the grass withers, which is completely different from the earth in autumn and summer.

Just as the carriage was slowly moving forward, a little nun suddenly rushed out from the side, circled the official road two or three times, her eyes lit up when she saw the carriage where Huo Jingtang and Zhao Baiyu were, and hurried over to lift the curtain So he got in, and without looking at the people inside, he knelt down and begged.

"Someone is going to arrest me and send me to my death later on, please show mercy and let me hide for a while."

Zhao Baiyu saw that the little nun was about twenty, with a dark complexion but handsome features, she was a somewhat pretty girl, so he guessed what the captors were hiding.

He opened the box next to him and signaled the little nun to hide in, spread a layer of cloth on it, looked like a seat in a carriage, then continued to pick up the book to read, as for Huo Jingtang, he leaned on the side and hugged his arms Fake sleep, did not open the eyes the whole time.

At this moment, a voice came from outside, yelling ferociously, saying words that Zhao Baiyu couldn't understand.

Their footsteps were getting closer and closer, and one of them suddenly lifted the curtain of the car and got in: "Did you see——" before finishing speaking, he flew out.

A dozen or so people outside immediately drew their knives and surrounded the carriage. The leader glanced at the man who had been kicked unconscious. Seeing that his chest was slightly sunken, he knew that there was someone in the carriage. Which hero?"

Zhao Baiyu: "A traveler cannot be a hero."

The voice is quite gentle, like a scholar.The man said again: "It was my subordinate who offended me just now, I hope you will forgive me. We are chasing a woman who committed a crime, and we are going to arrest her and bring her to justice. Dare I ask if the hero has seen it?"

Zhao Baiyu smiled, the posture of getting into the carriage without asking questions is not like a kind person, he just said: "I was in the carriage from the beginning to the end, I didn't see any girls outside, but the villains saw There are about ten of them."

"you!"

Someone was upset and was stopped by the leader. He apologized again and said: "The woman committed the crime knowingly and escaped from prison. She is extremely cunning and committed a serious crime. I have been chasing her for several days. I must be anxious. If the hero has any clues, please let me know." , We adults have a reward."

"You adults?"

"My lord is the deputy commander of the Jingzhou Army, the marshal of the Jingyuan Army, and the son of the leader of the Fan army, Damu!"

"Shut up!" The leader shouted pretendingly, but he was staring at the carriage closely. "That woman has something to do with my lord, and my lord is going to arrest her to see the official."

"So that's the case. The name of Jingzhou's family army resounds throughout the northwest, and I am well-known far and wide, so there is no reason not to help." Zhao Baiyu lifted the curtain of the car to reveal his true face, and pointed in the direction of the northwest: "Although there is no Saw someone but heard her hurried footsteps and ran from that direction."

Zhao Baiyu's demeanor is unsurpassed even in Kyoto, not to mention the rough and beautiful Northwest, it is even rarer to see such gentle and jade-like people, so when he showed up, the dozen or so people who were chasing the little nun were distracted for a moment.

After a while, he came back to his senses, thanked the leader and led others to chase him.

After running for a while, the man suddenly stopped, called two people and said, "Go back and follow that carriage, and see if they have hidden the little nun."

The two men obeyed the order to return.

As for this end, Zhao Baiyu poked Huo Jingtang who kicked the trespasser away just now, and said silently: "Stop pretending."

Huo Jingtang opened one eye, raised his hand to cover Zhao Baiyu's poked hand.

Zhao Baiyu couldn't draw it back, so he rushed to the box and said helplessly, "Come out."

The little nun quickly got out of the box, glanced at the two of them cautiously, and was amazed by their demeanor and appearance, which was different from the Northwest. After regaining consciousness, she bowed her head and thanked: "Thank you two gentlemen for your help."

Zhao Baiyu: "Let's talk about how you offended Damu first. If you really broke the law, I don't have to wait for other people to arrest you. I will send you to the court. But if you are persecuted, I may be able to save you. "

The little nun suddenly raised her head to look at the two of them, her bearing was indeed extraordinary, perhaps her hands and eyes could reach the sky, she immediately knelt down with tears in her eyes and said, "I beg you two gentlemen to help you if you are kind."

Zhao Baiyu stretched out his hand to help her up: "Don't kneel on me, hey, what I don't like the most is that you always kneel down and get up. If you don't get up, I won't help you." Seeing the little nun get up obediently, he said : "Sit down, take a sip of water and talk slowly, seeing that your face is pale, don't worry."

His hands were pinched, Zhao Baiyu turned his head in surprise, and saw Huo Jingtang gesticulating: "Love the fragrance and cherish the jade."

Zhao Baiyu patted the back of Huo Jingtang's hand to signal him not to make a fuss, the latter raised his eyebrows and played with Zhao Baiyu's fingers, showing no intention of making a fuss at all.

After the little nun thanked her, she took a sip of water to recover her breath, and then narrated what happened to her: "I was originally from Jingzhou, and I lived in a place where the Fan people and Dajing people lived together, and there were more new households. The public security is not very good, and bandits often come down to plunder cattle, sheep and women. When I was 13 years old, I was almost taken away, so my parents sent me to the nunnery on the mountain. Because bandits are mostly composed of Tibetans, they are very trustworthy. Buddha, I would not rob a nunnery. When I was 17 years old, I went down the mountain with my master and met Damu, the son of Marshal Keshan. He insisted on accepting me as a concubine, and wanted to rob me into the mansion. Fortunately, my master Reported to the officials in time, the prefect of Jingzhou brought this matter to Marshal Ji Keshan, Marshal Ji Keshan was furious and ordered Ji Damu not to marry me by force, and the prefect of Jingzhou sentenced me to return home."

Zhao Baiyu was a little surprised. From this point of view, Keshan and the prefect of Jingzhou were also reasonable. How could the battle of Tiandu Village be so conscience-stricken that it wasted the lives of [-] soldiers?

Huo Jingtang whispered in his ear: "I'm stunned and believe in Buddhism, Meng Tianzong, the magistrate of Jingzhou, has no serious problems in small matters, and his ability to govern the government is not bad, but he doesn't understand military affairs, he has disadvantages in major integrity, and he is a bit pedantic. "

Zhao Baiyu understood.

Su Keshan is not sensible, but believes in Buddhism too much, and no one is allowed to rob nuns and offend gods and Buddhas.

The little nun said with tears on her face: "My fiancé... his name is Suosangji, he is from the Fan tribe, and he was my childhood sweetheart. Later, he went to join the army and hadn't heard from him for many years. Finally, he came back from the battlefield last year and wanted to marry me. , our two families have agreed, and I am going to return to vulgarity. As a result, Suo Damu knew about this from somewhere and sued me and Suosangji. Sangji limped one leg. Afterwards, I still kept in touch with Suosangji, and I was discovered by Yu Damu, who was going to sue the officials again, saying that I insulted the gods and Buddhas, and wanted to arrest me and skin me to make atonement to heaven.”

"Ridiculous!" Zhao Baiyu scolded angrily, "Is that what Meng Tianzong meant?"

The little nun nodded.

Huo Jingtang: "They promote Buddhism, if they are not bound by the laws of Dajing, they may enact a series of appalling and cruel punishments to punish those who insult Buddha. Acquaintances are fine, but new households are not citizens of Dajing, let alone Constraints, this Keshan especially believes in Buddhism, and Jingyuan Road is his territory, so he will naturally follow the punishment used by some Tibetan households to punish those who insult the Buddha."

The so-called shenghu refers to the Northwest Tibetan tribe, including Qiang, Tubo, Huihe, etc., who do not submit to the great scene and live in isolation, and those who have not defended the frontier for the great scene are all novice households, and acquainted households are those who have defended the great scene The Tibetans in the frontier are very familiar with the culture, language, and eating habits of the Dajing people, and they are no different from the Dajing people. They also have land allocated by the government, which needs to pay taxes.

Zhao Baiyu knew the difference between the two, but he was suddenly curious: "Is there any connection between the Buddha believed by the Fan people and the Buddha believed by the people of Dajing?"

Huo Jingtang: "The relationship is very close. The Buddhist tradition of the Tibetan people was passed down from the Central Plains in the previous dynasty."

Zhao Baiyu thought for a while, then laughed: "This is much easier."

Huo Jingtang: "Xiao Lang has a plan."

Zhao Baiyu: "I can give it a try."

Huo Jingtang: "Let's try again, there are two mice behind, do you want to deal with them now?"

Zhao Baiyu: "The group of people just now? Didn't fool them."

Huo Jingtang: "Anyone with some experience can hardly be fooled."

Zhao Baiyu: "Yes."

Ruoshan watched them talking in a daze, as if playing a charade, the only thing he could understand was that the group of people had abducted them back again, so he couldn't help being anxious.

Zhao Baiyu comforted her and said, "Don't worry, I just want them to see you in my carriage, and I want them to see where I live, and I want them to bring the officers and soldiers to escort me to the Yamen of Jingzhou. I want the magistrate of Jingzhou to come and interrogate me in person."

Ruoshan looked bewildered.

Zhao Baiyu just smiled and said nothing.

***

The two people who followed the carriage followed all the way to an inn. They saw the two getting out of the carriage. Not long after, they saw the little girl get off, and immediately ran back to report.

"Okay! I'll just say that the sky is bright and the sun is shining. How can a man not be tempted by a pretty girl suddenly appearing on such a big official road?" The leader of the thugs was indignant: "Fortunately, I was careful not to let them escape. past!"

"You mean that those two people have a crush on that little girl? That's not the case, I think they have extraordinary demeanor, so they shouldn't like it."

"What do you know? Those two people are very handsome, and they speak an authentic official accent. I'm afraid they came from the Kyoto Prefecture. There are no villages or shops on this road. Two men are crowded in a carriage and there is no woman to relax. You know, even if you see a sow, you might be an immortal! What's more, the little girl who came out of the nunnery is indeed quite beautiful, and it is understandable that she is favored by others... You said there are two people in the car? Are you sure about that little girl? Was hidden in the inn?"

"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes!"

This thug is a little clever, and he can tell by turning his eyes that the two men are extraordinary. If he accidentally offends, he won't be able to lose a few heads, so he will turn his head and carry the kicked man with broken ribs to Damu and cry. ——

"Look, my lord, our brothers didn't dare to close our eyes to catch that little girl for you all night long. After finally catching her, she was snatched away by two lustful rascals who didn't know where they came from. He also kicked my brother almost to death, the doctor said that he will not be able to work anymore, even if he eats and drinks well, he will not live long."

Damu's appearance is completely opposite to his father's appearance of Ke Shanxiong. He is of medium build, thin but has the explosive power he should have. His facial features resemble his mother's. Zong. Desire to destroy everything.

He had a bad face: "You didn't say who you belong to?"

"How could we not say it? They just kicked us mercilessly after we finished speaking! My lord, they didn't hit us, they obviously hit you in the face! They trampled the face of the Ji family army under their feet!"

Damu: "Lead the way, and follow me to surround the place where they are staying!"

"My lord, I, I don't think they are like ordinary people. If they are noble people from the capital, we can't afford to offend them."

"You can't afford to offend me. Even the princes and grandsons have to give me three points of face when they arrive in Jingzhou. Two poor men without entourage are nothing!" Damu waved his big hand: "Lead the soldiers and follow me !"

"Also, go and inform Meng Tianzong that the trial is about to start."