Hao Guozi sneaked out from the back door, looking left and right on purpose, so that the secret whistle that Lao Tao mentioned would spot him. Guessing that Anshao should have seen him, he started running along the wall. After a few steps, a strong man rushed up and pushed him against the wall.
"Forgive—forgive me!"
The strong man turned him over: "It's you? Why are you running?!"
"The hero is quiet! My master has caused trouble, and the villain is afraid of being involved, so he ran for his life in the dark! I beg the hero to keep quiet. The villain is willing to give half of the ladders I have accumulated over the years to the hero!"
The strong man shoved him to the ground: "Bah! You evil slave who betrayed the master, who wants your money?! If you want to get out, get out!"
When Hao Guozi heard the words betraying the master and evil slave, he suddenly became angry, forgot all about safety, and sat up suddenly: "Who is the betraying the master and evil slave?! You are the accomplice of the dog official! If you are a good person , What are you doing at the back door of my house in the middle of the night? Aren’t you afraid that my young master will run away? The reason why the dog officer can do evil is because of you evil slaves!”
The strong man was trembling with anger: "I became a servant because I had no other way out. If there is any way to survive, who would be instructed by that dog official?! How good is Shopkeeper Tao? When my hometown was hit by a disaster, the villagers fled to the capital. Raising the price of rice, only shopkeeper Tao not only sells rice at a low price, but also distributes porridge on the street. Without his bowl of porridge, my parents and I would not be able to live today! Today’s errand is taken by me, but I stay here, They are going to escort Tao and his son when they escape! They are not waiting to take the money of your evil slave and be angry with your evil slave!"
Hao Guozi was stunned: "Then—then if you escort my master and young master, your parents—"
The strong man resolutely said: "Loyalty and righteousness cannot be both. My parents are over 70 years old, and they are content. His elders know my plan, so they don't plan to live!"
A voice came from behind the strong man: "So, you found Tao Wuwen running away, and when you came to chase Tao Wuwen, you were attacked from behind."
Before the strong man turned his head to see who it was, a sharp pain came from the back of his head, and then he fell to the ground in a twirl.
Hao Guozi looked at Lao Tao in surprise, "You haven't carried the young master on your back yet?"
Old Tao said: "This man is a loyal man, we can't implicate him. Let's go!"
Lao Tao carried Tao Wuwen on his back, Hao Guozi carried a burden on his back, and they followed along against the wall. Zuixianglou was originally on Zhuque Avenue, and it was near the gate of the city in a short time. The two hid in the shadow of the corner of the city wall and smelled the smell of urine. It turned out that the soldiers guarding the city wall urinated here at night.
Lao Tao looked at Hao Guozi and frowned. Hao Guozi didn't understand what he meant, but saw Lao Tao turn around and walk away along the city wall. He wondered in his heart: the gate of the city is obviously here, and he can leave the city at dawn.
After walking for a long time, far away from the city gate guards, I saw old Tao stretching out his fingers to make a silent movement, and then his figure moved, and he was gone. If he hadn't been prepared, Hao Guozi would have screamed at this moment.
After a while, Lao Tao jumped down from the top of the city wall with his back empty, said "be careful", grabbed Hao Guozi and jumped. Hao Guozi felt dizzy, went up to the top of the city, went down again, and then jumped over the moat.
Old Tao put him down, picked up Tao Wuwen from the grass, and walked south.
Hao Guozi followed him and looked back at the towering walls of the capital, feeling that everything today was like a dream.
Still wondering in the dream: Why is Lao Tao so powerful? Why hasn't the young master woke up after being tortured like this
On the swaying bullock cart, Tao Wuwen wiped her tears with her sleeve.
Lao Tao's words still echoed in his ears: "It is said that Shi Taiwei must pay for his son's life. The master... Huang Guangde has been dissatisfied with the master for a long time. In addition to the famine last year, Huang Guangde ordered the rice line to raise the price together and take a cut from it. Only The master not only reduced the price to sell the rice, but also set up a porridge shed to give out porridge. That day Master He came and said that Huang Guangde took the master by taking advantage of Lian Jian and Shi Guangyao's fight. Thinking of the emperor suddenly asking Huang Guangde to hand over the matter to Dali Temple... I thought that Huang Guangde lost the capital to blackmail the young master. This Dali Temple Minister Gu Huankun is said to be a well-known fair person, and he should find out the truth, who knows …Unexpectedly, he soon asked Mr. Lian that a wrongful injury was a capital offense, and he said that the master committed a murder, which is also a capital offense.”
Why? Shi Gongzi's death is obviously suspicious. I saw him ride away that day with my own eyes, and his injuries were not serious when he left.
Why? Since he is known as a just man, why hastily sentenced him to death
I still remember that after listening to Lao Tao's words, there was darkness in front of my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, it was already dark. The night when you can't see your fingers is as if you can't see a bright future.
"My condolences to the young master. The young master is still young and has a bright future. Don't let the white-haired man send the black-haired man."
But the incident happened because of him, so how could he let his father die for it
No matter what, he wanted to see Gu Huankun, his father, and Brother Lian.
"You said that the fight between Lian Jian and Shi Guangyao was caused by you?"
Gu Huankun is a middle-aged man with a very good temperament, with handsome features and a slender figure, he looks kind as if he has seen him somewhere.
But at this moment, he was sitting in the hall, his eyes were like lightning, staring at Tao Wuwen with nowhere to hide.
"… yes!"
Tao Wuwen felt inexplicably guilty when he saw it, but she tried her best to overcome the trembling of her body and answered him.
"Why does Lian Jian's confession and witness Shi Qianshan's testimony say that it was a girl who made Shi Guangyao and Lian Jian jealous?!"
The lobby of Dali Temple is tall and majestic, and Gu Huankun himself is also very powerful. He asked this sentence slowly, but it seemed to be telling an irrefutable fact. Tao Wuwen even had an illusion: what Gu Huankun said was true, but he himself was just having an absurd dream.
"How—possible?" He murmured dreamily, "Master Gu, I am telling the truth, and I am willing to confront Shi Qianshan face to face."
Gu Huankun looked at him inquisitively: "Confrontation? So what if it's a girl who makes Shi Guangyao and Lian Jian jealous? So what if it's you?"
"It's me. I'm the witness. I can prove that Shi Guangyao was not seriously injured when he left Zuixianglou, and he never died!"
"Tao Zhengchun is your father, you probably want to get rid of your father, so you fabricate the facts!"
"Then Shi Qianshan and Shi Guangyao are also cousins, why can he be a witness?!"
"Because Shi Guangyao died, Shi Qianshan was the only person who accompanied Shi Guangyao after he left Zuixianglou!"
"Isn't it doubtful that the only person accompanying him?"
"Shi Qianshan is Shi Guangyao's cousin. The whole family depends on Shi Guangyao for survival. What motive does he have for murdering Shi Guangyao? Besides, Shi Qianshan cried bitterly when he confessed, and there is no sense of falsehood. Lian Jian and Shi Guangyao Guangyao has love and hatred, and he was the only person who injured Shi Guangyao that day! What proof do you have that you can prove that Shi Guangyao was extremely lightly injured by arrows and never killed?"
"Master Gu! Shi Guangyao was injured in my Zuixiang Building. If Shi Guangyao was seriously injured, how dare everyone in my Zuixiang Building continue to open the door as if nothing had happened? If Lian Jian really has murderous intentions towards Shi Guangyao, how dare the entire Tao family dare to kill Shi Guangyao?" Still staying in Zuixianglou after Lianjian was taken away? From Shi Guangyao leaving Zuixianglou to returning home to die, you can imagine the distance between Zhuque Street and Tianshuijing Lane! If Shi Guangyao died of injuries, Then he must have been seriously injured, so that he could die in a short time. But how could he dare to ride home?! Did Shi Guangyao meet anyone or anything on the way home? There are many doubts in this case, please investigate clearly !"
"Snapped!"
With a sound of a gavel, Tao Wuwen was shocked. He managed to regain his sanity with great difficulty, and just now he was talking eloquently, but Gu Huankun only used a gavel to scare him into trembling again.
Gu Huankun frowned and looked at him: "Lian Jian and Tao Zhengchun have both pleaded guilty, so it's useless for you to talk more."
"Your Excellency, I am wronged! At this time, there is still a turning point in the retrial, and once the execution is executed, it will be a big mistake forever!"
Gu Huankun put his hands on his forehead, as if he was extremely exhausted: "Both of them are capital offences. If you want to visit the prison, I will arrange for you." He knocked on the gavel again, "Retire!"
No matter how Tao Wuwen wailed, Gu Huankun left without looking back.
Tao Zhengchun's cell was very small, but luckily he was alone. When Tao Wuwen arrived, Tao Zhengchun was sitting cross-legged on a pile of straw, eating with a bowl. As soon as Tao Wuwen saw his father, tears welled up in his eyes, and he could only see a hazy figure put down his bowl and came up to him, holding his hand.
"Brother has worked hard. Wuwen, daddy is here, so I have to take care of you. You can bring some silver and treat me to tea."
Tao Wuwen believed it was true, so he quickly took out a handful of silver and handed it to the jailer. The head of the prison weighed it in his hand and nodded with satisfaction: "It's time to go on the road, talk to your son carefully, and explain everything that needs to be explained! Don't worry, there is plenty of time!"
When the cell boss left, Tao Zhengchun wiped away the tears from his son's face and asked him, "Are you alone? Where are Lao Tao and Guozi?"
Tao Wuwen cried and said, "At the farm in Nanshan. I pretended to be asleep and ran out while Lao Tao was buying meat and fruit for cooking. I rode in an uncle's ox cart."
"Nonsense! It must be you who wanted to come, and Lao Tao wouldn't let you come, so you sneaked away, didn't you?"
Tao Wuwen nodded with tears.
"Old Tao didn't let you come, there must be a reason why he didn't let you come. Dad asked you to rely on Lao Tao for everything in the future, have you forgotten?"
Tao Wuwen lowered her head and said, "I haven't forgotten. I just miss Dad so much."
Tao Zhengchun caressed his hair: "Remember in the future. Old Tao is a man of ability. He didn't die, so he wouldn't condescend to be our housekeeper. He didn't let you come, there must be a reason why he didn't come. You don't know the world. , and don’t listen to him, I’m afraid I’ll stumble.”
Tao Wuwen looked at him with nostalgia: "I just miss Daddy."
Even Tao Zhengchun was as strong as iron, seeing his son's sad and longing eyes, his heart was broken. He gently put his son in his arms, and said carefully: "Daddy won't be able to take care of you in the future, you have to learn to grow up. Huang Guangde, although he can't use Daddy to blackmail you anymore, he still has to guard against him. Another bad idea. If Lian Jian and Shi Guangyao died because of you, Lian Jiangjun's Mansion and Shi Taiwei's Mansion will definitely hate you forever. If you can, leave the capital and change your name."
Tao Wuwen hugged her father tightly, and buried her head in her father's shoulder: "Then, can I change my name to Tao Mo? Mo who dances with words."
"Okay. From now on, forget about Tao Wuwen and what happened in the capital. Promise father, don't take revenge, go to the exam to be a good official, don't make anyone wronged, understand?"
"Daddy—" Tao Wuwen couldn't help crying, "Why? I don't understand. It's clear that you and Brother Lian were wronged."
"Son, there are many things that we ordinary people can't think of. But for the sake of the overall situation, we will be used as sacrifices at any time. Dad doesn't resent, and you shouldn't resent either. As long as you behave uprightly, you are the best filial piety to your dad."
"Daddy, what kind of overall situation? Are people in the overall situation human beings and those outside the situation not human beings?"
Tao Zhengchun pushed his son away, and said solemnly, "Compared with one or two lives, which is more important?"
"The same weight." Tao Wuwen insisted: "Everyone has only one life."
Tao Zhengchun sighed softly: "You child, should I say you are stupid, or should I say you are smart?"