"are you still there?"
In the backyard of Qunyu Courtyard, under the outer wall, Lao Fang squatted on a stone, heard no sound coming from inside for a long time, and asked aloud.
After a while, he heard light footsteps again. The girl said apologetically, "I don't know what's wrong today. There are many guests in the courtyard. I'm too busy to talk to you here."
Lao Fang smiled and said, "It's okay, go get busy, I'm going back too."
"Then tomorrow..., tomorrow I will still wait for you here." The girl said quickly, and the footsteps gradually faded away.
Lao Fang stood up, patted the dirt on his buttocks, walked back to the street, and walked past the butcher shop next to him. He remembered that his mother-in-law liked to eat high-quality pork belly, and had been talking about it for several days. The butcher asked, "Is this meat fresh?"
The butcher was also a man with a face full of flesh. He patted his chest and said, "Guest officer, don't worry, this meat was just killed this morning, and fresh ones can't be fresher."
Lao Fang nodded, "Here are three catties of pork belly."
"okay!"
The butcher responded, and scratched twice with a boning knife, wrapped the meat in lotus leaves, tied it with a rope, and said with a smile: "Three catties and six taels, you take it, sir, and wipe off the change. All you need is a penny."
Of course, Lao Fang is not short of that money. In fact, although it is still difficult to buy a large house in Beijing, he has saved a lot of money during this period. The pillars can be taken from ten wives, and there is still a lot of balance. It can be regarded as a wealthy family, but after touching his waist, he realized that he left in such a hurry this morning that he didn't bring any money with him.
Seeing this, the butcher guessed that he didn't bring any money, and said with a smile: "Did you forget to bring any money, sir? It's okay, you take this meat first, and you can pay for the meat next time."
Lao Fang laughed when he heard the words, and asked, "Aren't you afraid that I'll renege on you?"
The butcher smiled and said, "That can't be done. The guest officer has been here every day. The villain sees that you are not such a person, and you are happy today. If you really want to renege on your debt, I will give you the meat!"
"You are a butcher, what can you be happy about? The mother-in-law at home has it?" Lao Fang took the meat without refusing, and asked casually.
"Oh, my mother-in-law hasn't asked for it yet..." The butcher sighed and thought of another incident, and then smiled again, and said, "However, if you want to talk about this happy story, it's spread all over the capital. The guest officer doesn't know, the villain has to tell you well..."
"Let's say that the Qi people are extremely arrogant, finding fault everywhere in the capital, and this time they directly made trouble in the court..."
…
…
After a while, the expression on Lao Fang's face was astonished. Isn't this Mr. Li County talking about his uncle
I saw my uncle went to the palace in the morning. I didn't expect to do such a big thing. Even the butchers on the street know about my uncle's deeds
After taking the meat and leaving, Lao Fang didn't go home directly. There was a hook bar nearby. He planned to go in and find an acquaintance to borrow some money, and pay back the money for the meat first.
"Master, please slow down..."
Outside the Goulan gate somewhere in Kyoto, a middle-aged man with a pale complexion and an extremely frail body was supported by servants and walked into the Goulan.
"Master, let's go back, those people, those people..." The servant said with a look of embarrassment, but was interrupted by the middle-aged man waving his hand.
"It's okay, I can bear this bit of cursing." The middle-aged man's voice was a little hoarse, but his tone was extremely firm.
Behind the two of them, a man carrying meat walked into the Goulan, looked back again, and said, "Your body is so weak, if you don't take care of it at home, why come to the Goulan..."
The servant in Tsing Yi was about to speak, but the man turned his head away after saying only this sentence.
The two master and servant walked into the Goulan and found a secluded place to sit down. As soon as they were seated, they heard several people around talking together.
"This Mr. Li County really looks good for Jing Guo."
"Yes, this time, let's see how arrogant the Qi people are!"
"You said that if Ma Zhongcheng won yesterday, then there is no need to compete. It's all because of that Ma, who is not good at chess, so he insists on being a hero..."
…
Hearing everyone speak like this, the blue-clothed servant showed dissatisfaction on his face, but the middle-aged man's face was a little dim, and he didn't speak.
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd. The master and servant raised their heads and saw an old man sitting on the platform in front of them at some point.
"Hey, Old Zheng, don't talk about anything else today, just tell us, how did that Li Xianzi win against the Qi people!"
"Yes, just say this!"
Storytellers in Goulan not only tell stories, but also discuss current affairs and government affairs. After all, people from the Jianghu or the common people are the people of Jingguo, and they should also care about major affairs in the court. In addition, there are many things that are actually closely related to them.
The old man on the stage smiled, stretched out his hand and pressed down, and the noisy voices from below immediately disappeared, and then he said: "I believe everyone is very interested in the matter of Li Xianzi's victory over the Qi people. Naturally, the old man wants to I’m talking about it, but before that, the old man wants to talk about the competition yesterday.”
The pale-faced middle-aged man raised his head slightly, and after a moment of silence, it immediately became noisy.
"If you lose, you lose. There's nothing to say about that."
"Let's talk about Mr. Li, why mention that Ma!"
"That's right, let's talk about the competition in the morning, we can't wait..."
…
The middle-aged man clenched his fists involuntarily, and his face became even paler.
The old man on the stage stretched out his hand to stop the crowd again, and said: "Of course I want to talk about Mr. Li's matter, but there is something else hidden about what happened yesterday. Mr. Ma has been wronged for no reason, and he was reviled by the people of the capital. This old man can't complain."
Hearing this, the servant in green was taken aback, and the middle-aged man suddenly raised his head and looked at the old man on the stage.
"Secrets?"
When everyone heard the words, their faces showed surprise, obviously it was the first time they had heard of it.
"What's the secret? Could it be that the people of Qi made a mess of yesterday's competition?"
"Tell me, tell me..."
Amid the urging voices of the crowd, the old man slowly opened his mouth and said: "Everyone thought that Ma Zhongcheng lost to the nameless old man of Qi, but they didn't know that the nameless old man, known as the 'spirit of chess', was Qi's true way of chess. The first person, this time he kept his name incognito, in order to severely damage the morale of our country Jing, even the chess master Bai Yu lost to him, who can win?"
"But since the people of Qi State have already declared their battle, if no one stands up, doesn't it mean that there is no one in Jing Guo? If you lose, what kind of infamy will you bear?"
"But he still stood up, because if even he shrinks behind, there is really no hope of winning this game. It is not terrible to lose, we will always win back, but if the entire capital, even one challenger There are no people, how can the Qi people laugh at our Jing country?"
The old man talked eloquently, and it was extremely quiet in the fence.
The servant in Tsing Yi had a happy expression on his face, and the face of the middle-aged man had an abnormal rosiness, and his hands trembled slightly. Everyone's expressions ranged from doubt to surprise, to anger, and even many people's faces showed deep shame. color.
"What, there is such a thing?"
"That old guy is actually so powerful?"
"Bah, I thought he was just an ordinary old man!"
"Yeah, if no one really stands up, I'm afraid they will be laughed at..."
"We wronged Ma Zhongcheng!"
"Damn it, the people of Qi are so shameless. Saying that, Ma Zhongcheng... oh, I shouldn't have scolded him!"
…
Everyone didn't doubt the authenticity of the old man's words at all. After all, although this Goulan has just opened, not only the stories and plays are wonderful on weekdays, but also on some important matters, they have never uttered nonsense. Soliciting money with false news can be regarded as a conspiracy of conscience.
Afterwards, thinking that they had scolded Ma Zhongcheng less in the past two days, everyone naturally felt sorry for him.
When the story began to spread throughout the capital, people also learned of the authenticity of the matter from countless channels. The people of Kyoto went to the gate of the Ma Mansion in droves to make amends. , From a national sinner to a national hero, the legend of Ma Zhongcheng, who was not afraid of power and went straight to his death, began to be spread everywhere. Countless young censors began to regard Ma Zhongcheng as an idol in life...
Of course, these are things for later.
At this time, on a spacious street somewhere in the capital, the middle-aged man's face was flushed, showing signs of excitement. He refused the servant's support, and listened to the chatter of a few people on the street, with a wider smile on his face.
"Justice is in the heart, what a justice is in the heart!" Thinking of what the old man in the Goulan said just now, the middle-aged man stroked his chest and said with a big laugh.
"Even an actor with a low status is worried about the country's suffering, and the imperial censor should often come to these places. Only in this way can he attract public opinion..."
When the imperial censor Zhongcheng murmured these things in a low voice, several storytellers sat on both sides of a long table in a fence, and at the top of the table, old man Sun said slowly: "Storytelling is not just Telling stories, we must be worthy of our conscience, not follow the crowd, be swayed by rumors, especially at this time, the more we must spread the truth, so as to gain the trust of the guests... "
…
…
"Your Highness, for some reason, within half a day, the wind direction above the market suddenly reversed, and our plan might be shelved."
In a luxurious courtyard in Kyoto, a middle-aged man in blue robe said respectfully to the young man standing in the pavilion with his hands behind his back.
"It's okay, that matter is just a matter of idle time, and I don't know when it will be useful. If it fails, it will fail. It's not a problem." The handsome young man turned his head, sighed and said: "But, but I also have to admit that they have greatly exceeded my expectations, and they are worthy of the capital of Jingguo, and the wisdom of the people is far from comparable to other places."
A trace of regret also appeared on the face of the middle-aged man. At this moment, the young man said again: "How did the investigation go?"
The middle-aged man's face became serious, and he said: "Return to Your Highness, everything has been found out, that Li Yi, the son of Chang'an County, is the man who created the man of heaven's punishment, and he is also the gentleman that the little Jin King of Jingguo said. The penalty caught us off guard that day, and we lost two cities in a row. General Fuguo almost apologized with his death in front of His Majesty. Today, he defeated Zhao Xiuwen again, which made our plan run aground... This Li Yi is simply the nemesis of our Qi Kingdom! "
It is undoubtedly difficult for the people of Qi to inquire about some news in Jingguo's capital, but seeing how much the third prince attaches importance to that person, the middle-aged man even used the secret that he had not used in Jingguo's capital for many years. At this moment, he told all the news he had learned.
The young man nodded, and said, "I thought he was just inflicting divine punishment, but I didn't expect that this Li Xianzi has such a talent. It's no wonder that Emperor Jing values him so much."
A cold light flashed across the face of the middle-aged man, and he whispered: "Your Highness, the presence of this person is always a big threat to us, do you want to..."
The third prince of Qi State waved his hand and said: "Don't always think about solving things like this, even Xiuwen praised him greatly. I have never seen him praise a person so much in poetry and prose. That day's punishment is even more serious." We have caused great troubles, poems, articles, medical skills, heavenly punishment... why were such talents born in heaven not born in our country of Qi?"
"You said just now that he has enmity with the eldest grandson of Jing Guo Qin and the King of Shu?" The third prince of Qi State looked at him and asked suddenly.
The middle-aged man nodded and said: "Yes, this Li County son has a deep hatred with the eldest grandson of the Duke of Qin and the king of Shu. Just a few days ago, he , beaten the king of Shu, seriously injured him, and passed him into a coma, but the strange thing is that Emperor Jing only confined him for half a month, and did not punish him too much."
The third prince of Qi State smiled and said: "If this king is Emperor Jing, he will not be severely punished."
He walked out of the pavilion, and while walking slowly in the courtyard, he murmured: "Although the King of Shu has no talent, he is also the one among the princes who is most likely to inherit the throne. This kind of enmity is obviously It is impossible to let go easily. Qin Xiang has high authority and wholeheartedly supports the king of Shu. The Qin family will become a new dynasty in the future. At that time, the position of Li Xianzi in the court will be a little delicate... This is for us It’s not bad news, either.”
As soon as the young man finished speaking, his face suddenly changed slightly, his figure flickered, and he immediately moved a few feet sideways.
call out! call out! call out!
Where he was standing just now, three feathered arrows pierced deeply into the soil.
The middle-aged man's complexion changed drastically, and he immediately stood in front of the young man and said loudly, "Protect the third prince!"
Several figures suddenly appeared in the courtyard, surrounded the young man, separated several people, climbed up to the roof in a few vertical leaps, and disappeared in front of their eyes in an instant.
Not long after, the few people who left came in from the courtyard wall, threw a corpse on the ground, and said: "Your Highness, when I rushed over, the other party had already committed suicide by taking poison."
The middle-aged man said angrily: "Damn Jing Guo, you actually did such a despicable thing, Your Highness, I will write a letter to His Majesty right now..."
The young man waved his hand, knelt down, and tore off the man in black's face scarf. After scrutinizing it for a while, he took out a feathered arrow from the quiver on his back. Seeing the blue light on the tip of the arrow, he hit it. The young man's complexion changed drastically, and cold sweat drenched his back instantly.
The young man threw the feathered arrow on the ground, clapped his hands, looked into the distance, and murmured, "Brother Huang, are you so afraid of me?"