The bright moonlight with a hint of scarlet shone from the sky, and Pei Ziyun could still smell the blood on his body, spurring the horses from time to time, heading towards the county seat as fast as possible.
At a fork in the road, go left to the Taohuayuan Temple. After taking a look at it from a distance, Ye Suer appeared in his heart. He didn't want to do this at the Taohuayuan Temple, but now was not the time to care about it, so he rode his horse towards the county seat.
In the county town, Tang Zhen had just been thrown out of a flower house. A bullock cart, a horseman and a bookboy were already waiting for him on the side of the road.
Seeing that his young master drove him out drunk again, the book boy also felt distressed. Ever since the young master made a scandal in public at a literary gathering, and angrily taught him to revoke his title, it has become like this. The master doesn't care, and the wife feels distressed, and is still here from time to time. advise.
The rumble of bullock carts sounded in the county town at night.
The bullock cart stopped at the door and went up the steps. The book boy got off the car and knocked on the door. A voice came from inside: "Who?"
"It's the young master who's back. Open the door quickly." The book boy shouted.
"Sir, which master?" The concierge inside asked.
"Of course it's Mr. Tang Zhen, Mr. Tang. He's at the door. Open the door quickly." The book boy shouted to open the door.
"Master said, Tang Zhen, who did something scandalous, was stripped of his honors, and brought shame to the Tang family, still has the face to come back? He crawled in through the hole." The concierge said with a frown, yawned and went back to continue. Sleep, regardless of the book boy banging bang outside.
"Brother Hu, please go through the back door. I'll ask Grandma Hu to open the door." The book boy said to the coachman. When the car arrived at the backyard door, the book boy opened the curtain and shouted: "Master, Master?"
Tang Zhen was still asleep in the car. His face was a little pale and he seemed much more haggard. He occasionally continued to talk nonsense in his dreams: "Don't arrest me, I was framed."
He was talking nonsense and frowning tightly.
"You can live if you do evil by God, but you can't live if you do evil on your own." This book boy was actually fifteen or sixteen years old, and had read many books with him. At this time, there was sadness in his words, and a strong mood filled the air.
Seeing that my young master had changed from being so high-spirited a few months ago to what he is now, I almost shed tears. He lowered the car curtain and knocked on the door: "Grandma Hu, Grandma Hu, open the door."
After a while, an old voice agreed: "Come, come, who is calling the door in the middle of the night?"
"Grandma Hu, it's me. The young master is drunk. I called a bullock cart to bring the young master back. I hope the old grandma will open the door."
"It turns out that the young master is back. I'm here to open the door. Wait a moment." After waiting for a while, an old woman in her fifties opened the door. It was only through the moonlight that she could see clearly. A bullock cart and a book boy were waiting at the back door. , this book boy is the little book boy beside Tang Zhen.
The old woman opened the door and asked, "Where is the young master? Send him back to his room quickly. I didn't see him at night and lost his temper again!"
This old woman is Grandma Hu.
"Yes, the master also informed the concierge that he was not allowed to come in, so I knocked on the back door." The little book boy actually had resentment in his heart. These were the master's angry words. Did you, the concierge, take it seriously
At this time, he raised his head and looked at the driver: "Brother Hu, please help me lift the young master. I am young and cannot lift it by myself."
The driver looked at the book boy and sighed deeply, jumped down, helped Tang Zhen, who was drunk, into the courtyard and placed him on the bed to rest.
At night, Pei Ziyun crossed the city wall and entered the city. The streets in the county town were already quiet. The lights in ordinary people's houses had been extinguished. Some houses were still on, and the lights were dim. In the streets and alleys, there were watchmen holding small lanterns and banging gongs or singing. Bangzi, there is silence everywhere, and occasionally there are policemen patrolling the streets with bud tea to guard against thieves.
Pei Ziyun was sneaking along the alleys, and there were dogs alarmed and yelling "woof, woof", but he didn't care. As long as he kept going, no one would go out to check - they all thought it was the watchman.
It is currently Tang Zhen's home. Strictly speaking, Tang Zhen's ancestral home is in the countryside, but his residence is in the county. After the boy's exam, he invited himself to his home for tea, so he knew the location.
The roads in the alleys in the county are all paved with bluestones or some fist-sized river pebbles. Walking on them is a bit irritating for your feet. As you follow your footsteps, there is an echo in the alley.
There was moonlight, so there was no need to worry about not being able to see the road at night. Just as he was about to leave the alley, he suddenly saw an ox cart jogging past the road. Pei Ziyun hid in the shadows and looked around. It was very quiet, except for a light on the steps not far away. Lanterns bring some light.
It's a little strange. There is a bullock cart in the middle of the night
After the bullock cart passed by and there were government officials patrolling again, Pei Ziyun walked around to the backyard and climbed over the wall into the mansion.
The yard was quiet, and the rockery was faintly visible under the moonlight. Pei Ziyun laughed silently, walking along the corridor, and suddenly saw a book boy coming out of a kitchen, holding something in his hand, and sighing as he walked: "Young Master I have resigned myself to fame. I am so decadent these days. What should I do? Even the master doesn’t want to see me anymore."
When Pei Ziyun heard this, it seemed that the book boy knew where Tang Zhen was, so he followed him. Before long, a light came on in a room, and the book boy entered.
Pei Ziyun followed, poked his eyes out of the window, looked over, and saw in the candlelight a drunken man talking nonsense inside.
The book boy went in and saw a bowl of hangover soup. He shouted to Tang Zhen to drink the soup. Tang Zhen was still talking nonsense and the book boy wanted to feed him. Tang Zhen hit the bowl with his backhand and heard a "snap" sound from the bowl. The hangover soup spilled over the book boy and splashed all over him.
The bowl fell to the ground. The book boy let out a deep sigh and turned around to change his clothes. When he turned around, he felt a blow on his neck and fainted for a moment.
Pei Ziyun gently supported the book boy, put it aside, turned around and left, but was startled.
A voice sounded in the room, and there was a cough: "Brother Pei, you came in with a sword tonight, do you want to kill me? I did want to harm you at the beginning, damn, if you want to die, just take it, Brother Pei, don't get involved. Others are like, anyway, if I don’t die in your hands, I won’t live much longer.”
Tang Zhen sat up. His eyes were blue and sunken from drinking too much these days. His hair was disheveled and he hadn't washed himself in a long time. His white robe was a little dirty.
The handsome gentleman, calm and relaxed, has long since disappeared. At this moment, he is sitting upright, with his head raised, ready to kill with his neck.
Pei Ziyun looked at Tang Zhen's appearance and asked, "I don't think you are an understanding person. If you are so decadent these days, you know that your time is running out, right?"
Seeing that Tang Zhen didn't speak, Pei Ziyun didn't take it seriously. He took a teapot on the table and poured a cup. He didn't drink it, but just smelled it: "It's just that you thought wrong. If I wanted to kill you, I would have killed you long ago."
"I'm here tonight. I don't want to talk nonsense with you. I just want to ask you, do you still want to get fame?"
After hearing these words, Tang Zhen's eyes suddenly brightened up, then turned gloomy. He got up from the bed, no longer as drunk as mud just now, sat on one side, and poured himself a cup of tea.
The tea was cold, rough and bitter. After drinking it, I frowned and laughed a little maniacally. After laughing for a while, I said, "I think about it. Why don't I think about it? I've been thinking about it crazy these days."
"But how can this matter be rectified? In full view of the public, how can I change, teach Yu personally? I have made such a mistake, and there is no turning back." Tang Zhen's eyes were full of despair: "Zhang Jieyu will not let go If you pass me, maybe I will fall into the water and die within a short time!"
Pei Ziyun pressed the table, leaned forward and approached Tang Zhen, and said, "Brother Tang, now you know how much crime you have committed. If I had fallen into the trap that day, it would be even worse than you are now."
"After all, your Tang family is a gentry. At most, you fall into the water and die. It doesn't matter to your Tang family. You still have a younger brother. But if something happens to me, what do you think my Pei family will do? What will happen to my mother?"
Tang Zhen was silent for a while, then suddenly raised his head, his eyes clear: "Brother Pei, did something big happen?"
"You guessed it right. Tonight, Zhang Jieyu led the monks from Yinlong Temple and the people from Luobang Heduo came to kill me, but I killed them." Pei Ziyun said coldly: Now the Holy Prison Gate is in Dong'an Mansion, and they are leaderless. , I have a method that may not necessarily restore your honor, but it is still possible to restore your qualifications for the imperial examination. Will you do it? "
Tang Zhen looked at Pei Ziyun. Pei Ziyun's body was covered with dust and blood stains. A strong smell of blood came from him. Tang Zhen hesitated for a while, stood up, walked a few steps, then made up his mind and took a bite: "It's done, Brother Pei, just tell me how to do it."
Pei Ziyun came close to Tang Zhen's ear and whispered. Tang Zhen just nodded from time to time, and his eyes gradually became brighter.
county seat
In the early morning, birds were chirping and jumping on the branches from time to time. An old man was spreading water on the street to sweep the road. Two soldiers were lazily standing at the gate of the county town, yawning. Some pedestrians Just passing by.
Suddenly a soldier woke up and asked, "Did you hear the joy of mourning?"
"Nonsense. If someone is going to pass through the city gate, he will definitely tell us in advance. If the bad luck is not too bad, won't we be afraid of trouble?"
Another soldier said impatiently, but the next moment, his mouth opened wide and his face looked blankly at the road.
A group of people appeared in the distance on the road, beating gongs and drums, playing funeral songs, and holding white soul-calling flags, getting closer and closer.
"Whoever is so unlucky will enter the city instead of leaving the city." The soldier who spoke earlier was furious, straightened his spear, looked over, and was startled, his teeth chattering up and down.
I saw eighty or ninety people carrying the coffin, and in front were dozens of women wearing white scarves and mourning clothes, crying and scattering paper money as they walked.
When Da Xu first decided to see this scene, a bold passerby came up and asked, "Who are you? How dare you break into the county without permission? Aren't you afraid that the county magistrate will punish you?"
A clever government officer happened to go out and saw Cao San and several archers following the crowd. They were also wearing white scarves and mourning clothes, carrying two loads of baskets. Behind them, several people were carrying a coffin and tied with a few black clothes. The man was shocked. As soon as he went up to stop him, he saw Cao San yelling: "Go away, didn't you see that the inspection masters are all in the coffin, and Mr. Jie Yuang is leading the way?"
The yamen official knew Cao San but not Jie Yuan. When he said this, he looked up and realized that a man in the middle was leading a team. He was wearing a uniform. He was frightened for a moment. Something serious had happened. At this time, he didn't dare to stop him at all. , turned around and ran towards the city to report the news.
(End of chapter)