Yi Ran was originally a person who loved excitement. He had come to the capital Luoyang to help Qiu Yizhi with work. It happened that the old emperor Zheng Yong passed away, and all entertainment activities in the capital were ordered to stop. After that, Yi Ran went through life and death with Qiu Yizhi and rescued the persecuted Youyan King Zheng Rong. There was no room for fun.
Therefore, when Yiran came to Beijing, he wanted to drag Qiu Yizi to have fun and relieve her lovesickness at the same time.
It happened that when Qiu Yizi first went to Tongguan to do business, most of the tens of thousands of silver given to him by his adoptive father Zheng Rong were still unspent. He had never been so free before, so he let go and played all day long, just to forget the depression and irritability of a few days ago.
So the two of them did nothing serious every day, but just hung out together, walking through the streets and alleys, enjoying the scenery of the capital.
On this day, Qiu Yizi and Yiran, without any entourage, went to the very famous Jiezhuang Temple in the capital city for sightseeing.
This Jiezhuang Temple was built in the capital by an eminent monk who returned from the Buddhist country of India during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Han Dynasty. Although this huge temple has not been officially canonized, many emperors since Emperor Taizong have personally visited it to burn incense and pray, so it has become a royal temple. In addition, many old concubines of the previous dynasty became monks and practiced Buddhism here. Therefore, when the "Shengwu destroyed Buddhism", only this Jiezhuang Temple was left undamaged among the countless temples in the vicinity. Believers from far and near had no other place to go, and for more than a hundred years, the incense here has become extremely prosperous.
When Qiu Yizi entered the temple, he saw that it was magnificent and full of ancient trees. It was indeed a magnificent place. He was just beginning to get interested. However, he noticed that all the monks in the temple were fat and had greasy faces. They did not look like monks who had left home to practice Buddhism.
Upon seeing this, Qiu Yizi found an opportunity to strike up a conversation with a monk, and wanted to show off some of the Buddhist witty words he had learned from Zhongli Kuang.
Unexpectedly, the monk asked Qiu Yizi to pay money to pray for blessings. Seeing that Qiu Yizi was not in the mood and had a woman with him, he asked him to pay money to draw lots to predict his marriage - he really talked about money every three sentences.
Qiu Yizi was immediately bored by the monk and ignored him. He took Yiran on a quick tour of the temple and then left through the main entrance.
Before leaving the main gate, I saw a group of beggars gathered at the door, surrounding people entering and leaving the temple to burn incense, demanding money.
Those who burned incense and prayed in the Jiezhuang Temple were either those with ulterior motives seeking Buddha's blessing, or those who were extremely devout believers - in short, regardless of whether they were genuine or fake, they all had a heart to accumulate virtue and do good deeds - so when they saw this group of beggars, they took out the loose copper coins they had prepared long ago and distributed them to them one by one.
Suddenly, someone shouted from somewhere: "Mr. Zhou, give me some money~"
Upon hearing this, the beggars, each holding broken porcelain bowls and mourning sticks, rushed towards the direction where the shouting came from - their momentum was no less than that of the warriors charging in front of the two armies.
Qiu Yizi couldn't help but look up in the direction of the voice, and saw that the person who was shouting was in a padded jacket and shorts, and was about fifty years old, but his spirit was no less than that of a young man, and his voice was very loud. It was He Jiugong, who had a close relationship with Qiu Yizi.
Qiu Yizi saw this scene from afar and couldn't help but smile.
Seeing Qiu Yizhi's look, Yiran tugged at his sleeve and said angrily, "Why are you so happy here alone? You didn't get any money!"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Look at the old man who was shouting. He is Zhou Cijing's driver and is considered his confidant."
"Oh! I know Zhou Cijing, he's the vice president of Guangyang Chamber of Commerce! Rich people are generous. They can make such a big fuss just to give a little money, and they're not afraid of attracting attention." Yiran said.
Qiu Yizi laughed twice, but said: "You don't know this. Zhou Cijing finally made the right bet by joining the Youyan Palace. It turns out that he is just a wealthy man in Youyan Road. Now that my adoptive father is about to ascend the throne, he will take advantage of the situation to expand his business throughout the Han Dynasty!"
"Hmph! In the final analysis, he is nothing more than a greedy businessman who is rich but unkind. What's so great about him!" Yiran said again.
As they were talking, Qiu Yizi saw two beggars with dishevelled hair and dirty faces limping towards He Jiugong a dozen steps away. The two men's hands and feet were obviously seriously injured. They staggered and fell down after walking a few steps, and finally simply crawled forward on the ground, their bodies covered with dust and stains.
Seeing their pitiful appearance, Qiu Yizi couldn't help feeling sympathy, so he caught up with the two men and said, "I see that you two have difficulty walking. If you compete with other beggars like this, won't you starve to death?" After that, he took out some loose silver and threw it next to the two men.
One of the beggars picked up the silver and weighed it in his hand. He knew that these few grains of silver could at least cover his expenses for a few months, so he bowed down and said, "More of this... this young master's reward. You are so generous, you must be a star from heaven. In the future, you will surely be a nobleman for generations. If you have sons, they will all be the top scholar, and if you have daughters, they will all be given imperial titles..."
Qiu Yizhi listened to his flattering words one after another, and suddenly felt that his voice was very familiar, so he hurriedly said, "Lift your head up for me! Let me see."
The beggar really raised his head, glanced at Qiu Yizi, and then lowered his head again.
Qiu Yizi recognized the man's identity in this short moment, and asked, "Eunuch Jin, do you still recognize me, Quan Budong?"
This person was Jin Deqiang, the eunuch of the Ministry of Persuasion, who was ordered to escort Dai Luanxiang to Beijing a few months ago, but was caught by Qiu Yizhi with a trick and had his hands and feet cut on the spot. Qiu Yizhi looked at the beggar next to him and found out that it was Cheng Yan, the inspector at that time.
The troubled Jin Deqiang was shocked when he heard the question from the donor in front of him. He supported himself and sat up. He looked Qiu Yi up and down carefully several times before saying, "It is indeed the young master. Wasn't the young master kidnapped by bandits and taken to Shilin Mountain? How come we meet here?"
Qiu Yizhi heard that he was still in the dark, and felt quite proud, so he said: "What Quan Budong, it was just a temporary expedient to deceive people..."
Yi Ran interrupted and said, "Oh, oh. I was the one who came up with the name Quan Budong. How could you use it without my consent? Well, since you have already used it and have done a great service in front of Prince Youyan, then you can treat me to a few good meals and forgive my sin!"
Qiu Yizi hurriedly responded, then turned back to Jin Deqiang and Cheng Yan and continued, "As the young lady just said, I am a subordinate who works for Prince Youyan. At that time, I used a trick to rescue Marshal Dai Luanxiang from the two of you. Isn't Marshal Dai sitting in the Ministry of War to reorganize the army now?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Deqiang was stunned, dumbfounded and unable to speak.
Cheng Yan on the side sighed and said, "I have long thought that there is something fishy about this, but I didn't expect that I would fall into your trap! Alas! This... this is also destined!" After saying this, tears had already soaked his eyes.
Qiu Yizhi saw that these two were once powerful figures, but now they are in such a state. He felt guilty and said, "Although we served different masters, I was too cruel after all, so you two have fallen to this point. But Prince Youyan is kind and will provide compensation to all injured soldiers, regardless of friend or foe. You two just need to report to the Ministry of War. Why bother fighting for food with beggars here?"
Cheng Yan sighed, "Young Master, you don't know this. It is true that Prince Youyan is kind. Even if we are from the Persuasion Department, as long as we tell the truth, he will forgive us. However, the two of us are the backbone of the Persuasion Department, and we offended Marshal Dai in the past. Now that Marshal Dai is back in power, how can he let us go?"
Jin Deqiang, who was standing aside, was already in tears. He said to Qiu Yizi, "Since you are someone who has a say in front of Prince Youyan, please let him pass on the message. It is said that the people who humiliated Marshal Dai were all people with the surname Jin. Brother Cheng, on the contrary, has some intention of protecting him. People with the surname Jin are willing to exchange their lives for the prince's pardon of Brother Cheng. I hope that since you were able to get along with me in the beginning, you can tell the prince these words for me!" After that, Jin Deqiang lay on the ground and kowtowed countless times like a chicken pecking at rice.
Upon seeing this, Cheng Yan hurriedly supported him and said, "We are now brothers in distress. Why do you have to say such distant words, Brother Jin?" After saying this, his eyes were also filled with tears.
Yi Ran, who was watching quietly on the side, was a person who spoke hard but was soft-hearted. Seeing how pitiful the two of them were, he pulled Qiu Yizi's sleeve and said softly, "Just help them. It's just a piece of cake."
Qiu Yizi also felt that although these two people were accomplices and did a lot of bad things for Zheng Yao, they were also kind people and not unforgivable people, so he smiled and said: "You two are just working for Zheng Yao, and you can't help it. Prince Youyan is naturally magnanimous, and Marshal Dai is not a petty person. I don't think it's a big deal, and there is no need to trouble the prince. As long as I guarantee it and report to the Ministry of War, you two will have someone to rely on for the rest of your life."
Cheng Yan and Jin Deqiang saw that Qiu Yizi was only in his twenties, but he spoke with such a high tone; but then they thought, since Prince Youyan could give him full authority to handle such an important matter as rescuing Dai Luanxiang, he must be speaking with sincerity...
While the two were still looking at each other, Qiu Yizi had already called for one or two ox carts, had the driver carry the two of them and sit them on the cart, and then went to the Ministry of War.
The group walked through the streets and alleys, and soon arrived at the Ministry of War.
King Youyan reorganized the country's troops. The Ministry of War, as the central agency of this matter, was naturally tightly guarded. Elite soldiers were deployed at all the entrances and exits of the yamen, standing guard with sharp blades and spears in hand, and teams of soldiers patrolled back and forth from time to time, making it look very strict.
Cheng Yan and Jin Deqiang had never seen such a scene before. They said while sitting on the ox cart, "Your Excellency's kindness is appreciated. But... but the gate of the Ministry of War is not that easy to enter. Why don't we just go back like this..."
Qiu Yizi, however, was confident and said with a smile: "It's okay. I have acquaintances here. Just be patient!" With that, he took Princess Yiran and went to the gate of the Ministry of War.
The gatekeepers were indeed serious and responsible. When they saw the man and woman rushing into the government office, they quickly extended their spears to stop Qiu Yizi and Yiran, and shouted, "The Ministry of War is a restricted area, no one is allowed to enter! What are you two doing here?"
Qiu Yizi replied, "I heard that Marshal Dai Luanxiang is in charge of the Ministry of War. I am an old friend of the Marshal and I need his help with some small matters. Could you please go in and report it?"
The gatekeeper looked at Qiu Yizhi and said, "You are well-informed. Marshal Dai is in the government office today. If you want to see the marshal, you must have a reason. Otherwise, how can I go in and report?" (To be continued)