Zhao Chengxiao heard this and said with wide eyes, "Sir, is there really no chance of returning?"
"Of course not." Qiu Yizi said very confidently, "This case is no longer a simple murder case. It is related to the future and reputation of hundreds of officials in Jiangnan. It is the handle for the emperor to rectify the administration of officials throughout the country... Let alone Yang Ying'er, even I and His Highness cannot refuse to handle it."
Zhao Chengxiao heard this and shook his head helplessly, saying quietly, "Alas, I just don't know if this case is to redress Ying'er's grievances or to serve the emperor?"
Qiu Yizhi was stunned for a moment, then asked in surprise: "Brother Zhao, what were you talking about just now?"
Although Zhao Chengxiao was honest and straightforward, he was not stupid. He immediately realized that he had said something wrong and quickly denied it, "No... No... I didn't say anything... Oh, I just talked nonsense to myself, please don't mind it, sir."
Qiu Yizi was a very careful and sensitive person, and he heard Zhao Chengxiao's words clearly. He also understood in his heart: "The "Thirteen Lives Case" reported by Yang Ying'er now involves a very deep and wide range of people. Although the case is still under my control, it is actually no longer under my control. And what Zhao Chengxiao said is also correct. Emperor Zheng Rong wants to deal with this case severely, not for the injustice of Yang Ying'er, a common woman, or even for the justice of the Han Dynasty; but to eliminate dissidents and consolidate the imperial power."
Thinking of this, Qiu Yizhi could only sigh helplessly and said, "Brother Zhao, don't blame me. This case was deliberately covered up by the governor Yin Chengliang. If it is not reported to the emperor, it will not be handled anyway. Having said that, now that things have come to this point, it is better to be able to redress the injustice than to die with injustice, right?"
Zhao Chengxiao has always trusted Qiu Yizi very much. After hearing his explanation, he found it reasonable and logical, so he had no choice but to nod and agree.
Seeing that Zhao Chengxiao was convinced by her, Qiu Yizhi felt relieved. She tried to force out a smile and said, "Brother Zhao is familiar with Ying'er and Qiao'er, and he is their savior. I hope Brother Zhao can explain it clearly to the Yang sisters so that they can consider the overall situation..."
Speaking of the words "consider the overall situation", Qiu Yizi suddenly remembered that Yin Chengliang had expressed this idea to him more than once, but it was just to cover up the case and not expose it, so as to save the so-called face of the Jiangnan officialdom.
But today, these four words came out of his mouth, which made Qiu Yizi feel an indescribable disgust in his heart. He had to turn his head and said, "The matter is urgent. I hope Brother Zhao can get it done quickly. I will leave now."
Zhao Chengxiao was finally convinced. Without saying anything, he turned around and went down to do his work.
Seeing that nothing was wrong for the time being, Qiu Yizhi took Yuchi Jiming to inspect Shanyin County. He saw that some of the people who had fled the city due to his lie that the "Black Death" plague was spreading had heard the news and were gradually returning to the city.
Many civilians’ houses were destroyed by government troops, and daily necessities such as quilts, charcoal, firewood, etc. were looted as kindling.
Qiu Yizi was also born into a poor family. Seeing this, he felt very guilty. He hurried over to comfort them and told them to resettle. Then he would go to the county government to report the losses and all their belongings would be compensated at the price.
As they were talking, Zhao Chengxiao had already finished his work and hurried over to say to Qiu Yizi, "Sir, the prisoner has been escorted to the prisoner car, and Ying'er has packed her luggage, so we can set off now."
Qiu Yizhi nodded, and seeing that Zhao Chengxiao was also dressed in a tight suit and carrying a bag, ready to escort him north to Jinling, he said, "Brother Zhao, please select ten brothers to go with me. The county must have someone in charge, so you can take the other eight brothers to stay in the county."
Zhao Chengxiao was stunned and was about to speak when he heard Qiu Yizi say, "We still need to deal with the compensation of the people's property. The soldiers I brought with me are all rough and illiterate. How can we do it? Only Brother Zhao can read and write, so I have to rely on you."
He added, "At present, the Grand Prince has entered Jinling City. Yin Chengliang, Cai Min and others are under house arrest by the Grand Prince. It is very safe now. There is no danger anymore. Brother Zhao can rest assured. In addition, after this matter is settled, I will send someone to pick up Ruishou from Guangyang City. He has read a few books and can help me copy documents."
After Qiu Yi's words reached this point, Zhao Chengxiao could no longer insist on accompanying her, so he had to agree.
So Qiu Yizi, under the protection of Yuchi Jiming, led ten elite soldiers, bought two horses outside the city, pulled the two prison carts that held Miaozhen and Li Shenshi, and took the plaintiff Yang Ying'er all the way to Jinling City.
Leading such a large group of people, Qiu Yizi naturally couldn't walk, especially in the Yuezhou area which was all hills in the south of the Yangtze River. The official road was also very narrow and rugged. Although riding a horse was no problem, driving a carriage could only stop every step and move forward slowly.
It was the hottest time of the year. Jiangnan was located in the south of the Han Dynasty, and everywhere was as hot as a steamer. Fortunately, Qiu Yi and his party were traveling through the hills and dense forests. Although it was not much cooler, they were not tortured by the direct sunlight.
So the group walked slowly for three days, and finally they were about to walk out of the jungle path and enter the wide official road on the flat plain.
Qiu Yizi saw the scorching sun shining brightly in front of him, and thought that it might be difficult to find the shade of trees behind him, so he ordered everyone to rest on the spot, eat some dry food and drink some cold water, and then continue on their journey calmly.
Without saying anything, everyone gathered in groups of two or three around those who had something to talk about, took out the dry food and water that had been prepared in advance, and started drinking.
Just as everyone finished eating and drinking and were about to leave, a man ran out from the side, wearing a black cloth and holding a steel knife, muttering in a slightly unfamiliar voice: "I opened this road, I planted this tree, if you want to pass this way, stay..."
When everyone heard this, they were stunned at first, then they burst into laughter, and then they continued with his words: "You're leaving some money for passage, right?" Then there was another burst of laughter.
The masked robber was suddenly extremely embarrassed. It seemed that even through the dark cloth, one could see his red face. He stammered, "Stop... stop talking nonsense! Leave your property and vehicles behind and get out of here. I will spare your life!"
Because Zhao Chengxiao was not in the team, "Iron Head Dragon" was the most senior among Qiu Yizhi's personal soldiers. He lazily climbed up from a stone, reached out and touched his bald big round head, and said with a smile: "My little brother, I see that your hair has not grown out yet, why are you so desperate to come to us to die? Forget it, I'm in a good mood today, just treat it as you just farted, hurry up and leave!"
The masked man felt embarrassed after being cursed by the "Iron Head Dragon". He said "Stop talking nonsense" and swung his steel knife to chop at the face of the Iron Head Dragon.
This "Iron Head Dragon" already had some basic martial arts skills, and after being taught by Yuchi Lianghong, his skills were extraordinary. When he saw his opponent suddenly attack, he did not panic, dodged and snatched the blade, then reached out and grabbed the masked man's wrist, twisted it hard, and effortlessly took the steel knife.
It is not uncommon to encounter one or two robbers on the mountain road. What's more, the personal soldiers under Qiu Yizi were originally bandits. How could they suffer a loss when encountering a small thief
Therefore, Qiu Yizi was not nervous at all. She smiled and watched the "Iron-headed Dragon" deal with the short-sighted thief as if she were watching a play.
But he heard Yuchi Jiming whisper in his ear: "I didn't expect this big bald guy to have learned two moves of my Yuchi family's grappling skills!"
Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Don't say anything, and don't make any moves. Just wait and see how this kid 'Iron Head Dragon' handles it."
Yuchi Jiming pouted and said, "I don't even want to take action against that masked thief!"
The Iron-Headed Dragon held the knife in his hand, looked it up and down, and said, "Although the steel of this knife is not very good, the workmanship is quite fine. I've been very poor these days, so you can treat it as a gift to me. I took your knife to teach you a lesson. You must choose the right person when you rob next time!"
After saying this, the "Iron-Headed Dragon" began to play with the steel knife in his hand with a smile.
The masked robber was furious and anxious when he saw this, and he shouted at the top of his voice: "Good boy, you dare to snatch my knife, don't you know that highway robbery is against the law..." He said halfway, as if he just remembered that he was the highway robber first, and swallowed the second half of the sentence.
"Iron Head Dragon" didn't care at all when he heard that, and said with a smile: "So what if I robbed you? So what if I broke the law? If you want a knife, just come here and take it back yourself. It's useless to just talk!" After that he laughed "Haha".
The masked man knew that his martial arts skills were far inferior to those of the "Iron Head Dragon". If he forcibly rushed forward to rob, even if he did not commit suicide, he would only bring humiliation upon himself. So he gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Okay, wait until I call for help!"
Before he could finish his words, the Iron-Headed Dragon said, "Why? You can't beat me, so you want to go back and call for help? Well, call your mother over quickly. But you need to be quick, because I have to hurry after this meal, and I don't have time to play house with you here."
The masked man was already furious and ashamed after being ridiculed by the "Iron-headed Dragon". He suddenly let out a strange cry.
The strange cry frightened the "Iron-Headed Dragon" so much that he was stunned for a moment, then he laughed and said, "People say that people in the south of the Yangtze River have a strange accent. It turns out that they don't say 'Ma' but 'Ao' instead. Why does it sound like a drowned dog?" As he said that, he laughed again.
However, before he stopped laughing, he saw twenty or thirty men jumping out from the bushes nearby and guarding the masked man.
Qiu Yizi saw that the twenty or thirty men who suddenly rushed out were short but very capable, and all of them had two or three long swords of different lengths on their waists. He knew that these people should not be underestimated, so he stood up quickly, slowly walked to the front of "Iron Head Dragon", bowed to the masked man, and said, "Is this a brother from the underworld? This bald brother of mine has always been rude and has no control over his words. But we do have important matters to attend to, so we hope that this brother will give us a favor. We have a long way to go, and we don't know who will show mercy when we meet in the future!"
The masked man seemed to think that Qiu Yizhi was intimidated by his large numbers and took the initiative to ask for mercy, so he smiled and said, "Your words are quite pleasant to hear, so I will let you go! I am a very generous person, and I don't want your gold and silver. I just saw that the Taoist nun in your prison car is pretty, and the old man seems to recognize a few words, so it's just right for me to take him back to be my wife and accountant."
He glanced at Qiu Yi's group again, pointed at Yang Ying'er and said, "There is also that young lady, she is not bad looking either, come with me up the mountain and become my concubine, it will be enough for you to have enough food and clothing for the rest of your life!" (To be continued)