After such twists and turns, a battle without the smoke of gunpowder finally came to an end.
The days in Jiangnan in June are often very long, but now the sun is setting. Cui Nan is already starving, and he thinks that the civil and military officials in the hall are just as hungry as he is.
So he called the cooks who accompanied the army, and they bought goats from the people around the county town, and according to the method of the old Youyan army, they lit a bonfire in the open space in front of the county hall and roasted the goat. After a while, several goats were roasted and the aroma was fragrant.
Cui Nan had no intention of embarrassing the civil and military officials in the hall, so he ordered his men to carefully cut the cooked meat, put it on a plate and send it to the front of the hall.
These officials had only drunk tea the whole afternoon and were already extremely hungry. When they saw the delicious food in front of them, they ignored their manners and just grabbed the food with their hands and put it into their mouths.
After a hearty meal, sleepiness came over me again.
Seeing that they were all sleepy, Cui Nan ordered the soldiers to select slightly cleaner bedding and send it to the county government office, and spread out beds on the ground in front of the hall for these officials to sleep in. He did not dare to neglect it at all, and had people set up a tent in the open space in front of the hall, and rested in it himself, to prevent these officials from escaping at night.
The next day, Cui Nan continued to imprison the Jiangnan officials in the hall, but provided them with food and drink. He also used a golden order to dismiss all the more than 10,000 Jiedu troops inside and outside the city. At midnight that day, the thousands of troops Cui Nan transferred from the Quzhou camp also arrived in the dark.
At this point, Cui Nan began to feel relieved. He deployed his troops overnight, took control of the passes in Shanyin County, and ordered his men to repair the city gates that were destroyed by the fire.
In this way, the entire county within the city walls was under Cui Nan's control. So he briefly discussed with Qiu Yizhi and released the civil and military officials from Jiangnan from the hall, but they were not allowed to leave the county.
This went on for five days before news came from outside the city that the eldest prince, the son of the current emperor, would arrive in Nanjing soon, and all civil and military officials in Jiangnan, regardless of rank, were required to go and greet him.
Qiu Yizi was waiting for this piece of news, and thought that these officials would be too late to stir up trouble if they rushed to Jinling, so he asked Cui Nan to keep an eye on these officials for another day, and he called Yuchi Jiming to ride a Ferghana horse and a Bohai horse, and rush to Jinling first.
When Qiu Yizi rushed to Jinling City, His Highness Zheng Xin had already arrived there for two days.
Zheng Xin went to Jinling with a clear mission, which was to use the "Thirteen Lives Case" in Shanyin County to clean up the Jiangnan officialdom. Therefore, it was inconvenient for him to stay in the government office or post station or any other place related to the government, so he sent someone to find a famous temple called "Qixia Temple" in Jinling City, asked the abbot to temporarily dismiss the military officers and monks, and then lived there.
Therefore, Qiu Yizhi spent a lot of effort to find out where Zheng Xin was, and rushed to the "Qixia Temple" without stopping. Fortunately, the person in charge of Zheng Xin's guard was Zheng Xin's old guard in Guangyang City, and he had met Qiu Yizhi several times. So Qiu Yizhi didn't waste any time and entered this Qixia Temple.
Zheng Xin really had good taste. Although the Qixia Temple where he stayed was located in the prosperous Jinling, it was surrounded by mountains on three sides, backed by the Yangtze River to the north, and connected to the outside world through a path that was neither wide nor narrow. It was a place of tranquility in the midst of bustling city. The dense cypress trees and the sound of morning bells and evening drums in the temple were quite relaxing and pleasant.
Zheng Xin lived in an independent meditation room deep in the temple. When he heard that Qiu Yi was coming, he came out to greet him and said, "Brother, I haven't seen you for a few days. Why do you look... even worse than when you were in the capital?"
Qiu Yizhi bowed to Zheng Xin and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I have had a hard time these past few days!"
Zheng Xin was about to sell his favor, so he smiled and said, "What, Your Highness? When no one is around, we should call each other brothers. Did those officials in Jiangnan Road make you angry? Tell me, I will make the decision for you!"
Qiu Yizhi had been in a series of fierce battles in the past few days and was almost in danger. How could he not be moved when he heard Zheng Xin's words? His eyes were immediately filled with tears, and he said, "It's okay, it's okay. It's just that the things that the emperor has entrusted us with cannot be delayed. Why don't you come in with me now and talk in detail?"
After hearing this, Zheng Xin nodded, took Qiu Yizi's hand, and walked into the makeshift study together.
The two brothers discussed in secret for a long time, and only reached an agreement when the golden sun set in the west.
Seeing that it was getting late, Zheng Xin wanted Qiu Yizi to stay in the temple.
Qiu Yizi said, "Although we have a brotherly relationship, we are in Jiangnan Road. You are the emperor's envoy, and I am the magistrate of Shanyin County. The distinction between the emperor and his subjects cannot be crossed. If I stay here, I am afraid it will be inconvenient."
Qiu Yizhi's mixed words made Zheng Xin feel comfortable, so he did not force him to stay, but asked, "Where does your brother live? I have something to ask you, or where to find him."
Qiu Yizhi said "I dare not" and then said, "There is a 'Mr. Bansong' in Jinling City who is my friend. I will stay with him. If you need anything, just send someone to ask me."
Zheng Xin nodded and said, "I have heard of Mr. Bansong for a long time. Now that I am here today, I will definitely visit him when I have time."
Qiu Yizi talked with him for a while, then called Yuchi Jiming and went to the huge courtyard of "Mr. Bansong" Lin Shuhan.
Lin Shuhan's manor was not very far from Qixia Temple. Qiu Yizhi and Yuchi Jiming arrived at the gate less than half an hour after they left. The old man at the gate had only seen Qiu Yizhi once, and it took him a long time to recognize her. So he smiled and opened the door to let them in.
Lin Shuhan was reciting poems and drinking with Wu Ruofei in the manor. When he heard that Qiu Yizi and Yuchi Jiming were coming to visit, he was very happy and walked a long distance to greet them.
Yuchi Jiming and Wu Ruofei had always gotten along very well. They hadn't seen each other for a long time and missed each other so much that they started chattering non-stop as soon as they met. As they were talking, they wanted to hold hands and go downstairs to talk in private.
Qiu Yizhi was just chatting with Uncle Lin. Seeing this, she quickly stretched out her hand and called out, "Miss Wu, I haven't had dinner yet. Could you be merciful and give me a meal?"
Wu Ruofei covered her mouth and laughed, "Master Qiu is an official appointed by the imperial court, why is he begging for food like a beggar?"
Seeing Wu Ruofei's charming smile, Qiu Yizhi calmed down a little and said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry to make you laugh, Miss Wu."
Wu Ruofei covered her mouth and smiled again, "If an official of the imperial court is really allowed to starve to death here, not only will Mr. Lin lose face, but it will also bring shame to the prosperity of the Han Dynasty! I'd better go downstairs and cook two side dishes for Mr. Qiu, just to fill his stomach."
After saying that, Wu Ruofei bowed to Qiu Yizi and Lin Shuhan, then Niao Niao left. Yuchi Jiming said he wanted to help and also left.
Lin Shuhan watched the two women leave, then asked solemnly, "I wonder how the case is going?"
Qiu Yizhi knew that what happened after he said goodbye to Lin Shuhan ten months ago was too complicated to describe, so he pointed to a pavilion and said, "This is a long story. Why don't you sit down in the pavilion with me and talk in detail?"
When he saw Lin Shuhan nodded in agreement, he walked into the pavilion together. After sitting down, he said slowly, "Thanks to your talent, the matter has been basically settled."
After that, Qiu Yizhi picked up what he could say, and told Lin Shuhan in detail how he discussed with Master Zhongli Kuang and Emperor Zheng Rong after he came to Beijing, and how he instigated His Highness Zheng Xin to personally go south to handle the case. He also told Lin Shuhan how he confronted the governor Cai Min and the governor Yin Chengliang after he returned to Shanyin County.
Wu Ruofei had already brought up a few plates of steaming side dishes. When she heard Qiu Yizhi's story, she was already pale with fear and said, "I didn't expect that Yin Chengliang, who usually claims to be elegant, would be willing to do such a cruel thing."
Lin Shuhan unfolded his folding fan and waved it twice, saying, "What's the big deal? I've seen a lot of these officials. One moment they were calling you a brother, and the next moment they wanted to kill you. It's so frustrating."
Seeing that Lin Shuhan seemed to be annoyed, Wu Ruofei hurriedly smiled and said, "It's good for you to know it yourself. Why bother to mention it in front of Master Qiu? There is a saying that goes 'If you are poor, you should take care of yourself; if you are rich, you should help the world'. I think it's good for you to be a carefree hermit here!"
Qiu Yizhi heard this and said, "I have mentioned Mr. Lin's talent in front of Prime Minister Zhongli and the Emperor. These two nobles have also heard of Mr. Lin's talent. If Mr. Lin is interested in becoming a general or a prime minister, I will take full responsibility for the introduction."
Hearing this, Lin Shuhan raised his eyebrows inadvertently, then glanced at Qiu Yi coldly and said, "What talents do I have? I can only draw a few graffiti, write a few bad words, and compose a few bad poems. Why should I be an official?"
Qiu Yizi heard some unhappiness in Lin Shuhan's words, so he didn't know how to respond and could only laugh dryly to cover it up.
Wu Ruofei was considerate. While he and Yuchi Jiming placed the side dishes on the stone table in the pavilion, he smiled and said to Qiu Yizi, "Master Qiu, don't pay attention to him. He has been in a bad mood these days. He is like this. He can't keep things to himself. Everything is on his face. He is well-versed in history, but his temper changes every day, so he has a bad reputation for being moody."
Lin Shuhan would not give face to anyone. If someone dared to scold him in front of him, he would immediately order them to leave. However, Wu Ruofei was his sweetheart, so even if he was very angry, he could not vent it.
So Lin Shuhan could only sigh: "It's so easy for you to say that. My bad mood is caused by you, isn't it?"
His words made Wu Ruofei silent, and in a blink of an eye, her eyes became moist.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi knew that they were talking about something private, but since she was curious, she couldn't help asking, so she said, "I don't know what it is, Mr. Lin, can you tell me about it? Speaking of Miss Wu, didn't I just tell you about it? The emperor has already agreed to pardon Miss Wu's status as a lowly person. After this case is handled, it should be successful."
Lin Shuhan sighed and said, "I can trust you when you do things. But my father is really..."
When Lin Shuhan said this, he choked up and stood up quickly, turning his back to avoid being seen by others. After a long pause, he said, "I have talked to the old man about Ruofei's matter. He said 'no' regardless of right or wrong. No matter whether you are a good or bad person, as long as you have been in the brothel, you cannot enter my Lin family!" (To be continued)