Widow Tao's words embarrassed the two women outside.
Wu Wanqiong's face froze, but Osmanthus blushed as soon as she brushed her face, and she explained at a loss: "Sister-in-law, sister-in-law, don't get me wrong, I, I..."
'I' To the end, that sentence was still spoken, and Osmanthus covered her face and ran away.
Wu Wanqiong glanced at the main room, then looked at Osmanthus, who ran away, and walked slowly back to the room.
She sat in the room for a while, and when her hands and feet were warm, she went to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Osmanthus is cooking.
The flames in the stove illuminated a large orange-red light in the dim kitchen. Osmanthus has a headscarf on her head, and there are faint beads of sweat on the tip of her nose.
It was warm in the kitchen, and a burst of heat hit me.
Osmanthus shuddered when she saw Wu Wanqiong, her thin shoulders slumped a little, and her head was buried deeply.
Wu Wanqiong didn't speak, and went to the stove to make a fire.
Osmanthus glanced at her secretly and whispered: "Sister-in-law, I didn't think about it... You have seen my man, he was sick from the womb and died within two years. My sister-in-law doesn't want to see me, auntie I'm sorry that I have no support, so I said to pick me up to serve her in Beijing. I didn't think about it, I didn't think about it... "
Wu Wanqiong hummed softly, unable to explain what it meant.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I'll be leaving in two days, I..."
Osmanthus began to cry, the kind of silent cry, her shoulders trembled.
Wu Wanqiong has cried like this before, knowing what kind of situation can she cry like this, she felt an inexplicable sadness in her heart.
"Actually, it doesn't matter if you want to." She said softly.
Osmanthus looked up at her in surprise, tears still hanging on her delicate face: "Sister-in-law, you..."
"He always needs a child. And I, married twice, have no children."
Speaking of this, Wu Wanqiong couldn't help but think of the baby girl in memory, and pulled her softly and called Aunt Wan.
But at the same time, she remembered how that child grew up, looked at her with clear black eyes, and her voice was clear and cold: "Aunt Wan in my memory is not like this, you don't want to come again in the future, and I won't cry. You auntie. I know what you want, and you make me feel sick."
Wu Wanqiong closed her eyes tightly, only to realize that there were no tears in her eyes.
She stood up and went back to the small room.
Feeling very tired, she fell asleep and had a dream.
In the dream, she was so tired, she seemed to have a big mountain on her body, and the most common thing she did every day was to sit in front of the window and look at the banana tree.
Look at the yellow leaves, look at the green leaves, look at the snow outside, look at the rain outside, look at the wind outside.
It was as if she had always been alone, no one else.
"If there is an afterlife, I hope I don't see you again!"
…
She woke up suddenly and looked out the window, only to find that it was already dark.
Feeling a little hungry, she got up, put on her clothes, and went out the door. As soon as she walked out, someone suddenly jumped out of the main room and stared at her: "What are you doing!"
"I'm hungry, let's find something to eat."
Widow Tao endured it, and then gave her a look of disgust: "There is leftovers on the stove, let's eat. Don't disturb Tong'er, he is reading."
There was something wrong with her tone, Wu Wanqiong glanced at her subconsciously, followed her flickering eyes to the west wing, and suddenly understood.
In the evening, Tao Yitong never returned to his room. In fact, Wu Wanqiong was used to it. Widow Tao kept her and Tao Yi in the same room, thinking that too much sex would hollow out her son.
Another dawn rose, and Wu Wanqiong thought that this day would be no different from the countless days in the past. But when Amber came to see her, her heart beat twice.
"Amber, I want to get out of here."
Amber looked at his girl in surprise.
At the same time, he also saw Widow Tao sticking out her head from behind the cotton curtain in the main room. He laughed and said, "Old lady, the manor has brought something for the girl."
Widow Tao's brows filled with eyes, she walked out and excitedly looked at the cart behind Amber, and even thoughtfully asked Wu Wanqiong to invite Amber in for tea.
In fact, her meaning is obvious, that is, she wants to arrange these annual gifts by herself.
An Bo knew it, and Wu Wanqiong knew it too, but no one cared about her.
Wu Wanqiong led An Bo into the house, and then An Bo asked, "Girl, why did you want to leave, but what happened?"
"It's nothing, I just want to leave."
Amber fell silent.
After that incident, Amber was completely exiled, saying that he was going to take care of the business in Jiangxi. In fact, the Wu family had a mine there, and Amber was asked to watch.
It took two years for him to go, and when Amber found a chance to go back to Beijing, he found out that the girl was already married.
Naturally, it is not good to live, but now that he has lost his power, he is not as good as an ordinary servant, so naturally he is powerless. The most I can do is to find an opportunity to go back to Beijing every year, buy some things to send to the Tao family, and let the Tao family know that the Wu family still remembers the girl.
"Amber, you probably don't know, my father was arrested by Jin Yiwei, and the Wu family is finished. Tao Widow found a woman for Tao Yitong and asked her to give birth to a son for Tao Yitong. Amber, I'm tired, I thought this was the place to be. The place where I can spend the rest of my life in peace is actually not, I want to leave." Wu Wanqiong couldn't hold back, and said what was in his heart.
"girl!"
When Amber returned to Beijing from Jiangxi, the first thing he did was to come to the Tao family, and he didn't know what happened to the Wu family.
Seeing his girl's haggard appearance, Amber felt unbearable, and he hated Aunt Feng and the Tao family who caused all this, but now the most important thing is that he has to figure out what happened.
"Amber, my father committed a heinous crime. In order to protect Wu Wenxuan and Wu Qian, he even had people dig the embankment of the Yucheng County River, and donated 200,000 taels in the name of the Wu family. This is a serious crime of looting the family and annihilating the family. Although I am a married daughter, if the matter is settled, the Tao family will definitely divorce me and send me back in order to clear the relationship."
"Girl, the old slave just came back from Jiangxi, and I don't know what happened yet. Don't worry, wait for the old slave to inquire about it."
As a group of criminal officials headed by Xiang Long entered Beijing, putting the case on the agenda has also become a top priority.
At the very least, before the New Year's Day, we must have a good look, otherwise, I am afraid that this year will not be good for anyone.
According to the rules, when criminals enter the capital, they must first check their identities.
Several presiding judges were present, and after confirming that they were correct, these people were imprisoned in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
"This is an extraordinary period, and I hope Lord Yin can pay more attention to avoid extra troubles." When he was about to leave, Xue Tingxiang handed over to Yin Nian.
Yin Nian was a minister of the Ministry of Punishment, known for his hot temper, but he was a loyal minister, and he always took it as his greatest pleasure to go against the old Wu Ge.
This is also the reason why it was decided to imprison a group of criminals in the Ministry of Justice after all kinds of mediation.
Yin Nian wanted to overthrow Wu Ge, so naturally he would not let things go wrong, and Xue Tingxiang's remarks were just superfluous.
In the end is young.
Dali Temple Minister Wang Chongyao sighed in his heart, but on the surface he smiled and said nothing.
"Master Xue, don't worry, the old man just explained it specifically, not a single mosquito will come in." Yin Nian waved his palms and smiled, his face flushed red, as if he had encountered a happy event.
After a few chats, a few people dispersed.
In the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, there is no sunlight all the year round, and can only be lit by candlelight.
There are several narrow lanes at the end of the passage, and each narrow lane has more than 20 separate cells, which are specially used to detain some serious criminals, and Xiang Long is imprisoned here.
As for the others, Xiang Rong didn't know where they were in charge. He was alone since he entered here.
In fact, it's not just him. There are other people around him. He can't see each other, but he can hear some strange sounds.
It seems to be crying, and it seems to be laughing, and some even sing ditty, crazy.
Xiang Long has been an official for many years, and he knows what this is, but he has been detained for too long, and he has been detained for crazy people.
It was late at night, but Xiang Rong didn't feel sleepy at all.
He thought that maybe starting tomorrow, they were going to be tried. How would they be judged at that time? I heard that Jinyiwei's people were specially dispatched this time. His Majesty originally planned to have people from Beizhen Fusi come to trial, but was resisted by the courtiers. Until now, Wu Ge has been imprisoned in the prison.
Old Wu Ge definitely didn't admit it, so he brought them to trial. As one of the culprits, it was the best result that he could not die this time.
There was a sound of footsteps in the distance, and after a while, Xiang Long saw two jailers coming to the cage.
They didn't speak to him, they just looked at him, checked the lock on the gate, then turned and walked away.
The night was getting deeper and deeper, Xiang Long couldn't hold it anymore, looked at the pile of straw behind him, and finally lay down.
It was the twelfth month of winter, the coldest time of the year, and the clothes on his body were simply not enough to keep out the cold.
He moved and moved again, and finally the whole person got into the straw pile, and it was a little warmer.
Half asleep, he heard the door lock ring.
…
A few oil lamps placed in the recesses of the wall are enough to illuminate the place brightly.
There were wine and meat on the square wooden table, but at this time the guards were not in the mood to eat and drink, but looked at the man sitting at the table as if on pins and needles.
He is a very weak man, but he is tall and dignified.
He wore a black hooded crane cloak, with only the hood hanging down, revealing a handsome face like a crown of jade.
When Xue Tingxiang appeared before, everyone was taken aback by him. I don't know how he got in, and it's because of his identity that he doesn't sleep at night, and what is he doing in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment.
"This official brought some wine and meat to ward off the cold for you." Without asking them, Xue Tingxiang explained his purpose with a smile on his face.
No one rejects these, but this man sat down and refused to leave, and said that he wanted to accompany everyone to drink a cup.
In fact, by this time, these prison guards have almost understood what Master Xue is here for, and they are probably worried about the criminals. Some people think it's nothing, and some people feel like sitting on pins and needles.
"What are you doing? Are you still being polite to this official? It's also that this official came a bit abruptly, and I was really uncomfortable at home, so I came to see it. You know, His Majesty takes this case very seriously, and this official is under a lot of pressure. "Xue Tingxiang smiled bitterly.
Most of people's mutual relief starts from complaining. Or you complain, he listens, or listens to listen, he has feelings.
A jailer said: "No, there is an order from above, let us be optimistic about these people. In the past, two people watched the entire cell at night, but now we have sent so many brothers to patrol once an hour, Master Xue. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong."
"It's good not to make mistakes, but this case can't be finished in a day or two. I don't know when the trial will be. How hard you have to work."
"Adults, don't work hard, little ones don't work hard."
Just like this, the guards also thought that Mr. Xue was very approachable, and with Xue Tingxiang's repeated invitations, they all sat down and had a drink with him.
The jailers stayed in this kind of place for years and months, and they were greedy for alcohol. In addition, the wine Xue Tingxiang brought was good, and they all became addicted to alcohol. But he also knew that he couldn't get drunk at this time. Most of the time he drank vegetables, but he drank less wine. He took a sip after a while, but Xue Tingxiang drank a lot.
At this time, two guards stood up and said, "Boss, it's almost time, let's go patrol."
The head of the prison guard is the main force who accompanies Xue Tingxiang. He has already drank a lot of alcohol and is very drunk.
Hearing this, he laughed and scolded: "Why are you so active now, I urged you not to go before." But he didn't stop it.
The two guards peeked at Xue Tingxiang, took off the key from the wall with a smirk, and were about to leave when they were suddenly stopped by a voice.
"Wait a minute, why did I hear something inside?" Xue Tingxiang's finger was on the narrow road leading to the prison.
This sentence made everyone stunned, and then the head of the jailer smiled and said, "Some people here have been locked up for many years, and this place is not normal." He pointed to his head.
"Oh, so that's the case." Xue Tingxiang nodded, then stood up: "It's still not right, I heard something wrong with the voice inside."
He actually walked there at a rapid pace, and the jailers hurriedly followed.
…
What happened next was completely beyond the guards' expectations.
When they entered, they found that the prison was in chaos.
Some prison doors were actually opened, and a group of demons danced wildly inside.
Probably these people are really crazy, they are the prisoners who ran into other cells and attacked them. And they beat people when they saw them, and surrounded them when they saw people coming in from outside.
Only then did the jailers react, and they forgot to take the knife in a hurry. Fortunately, several of Xue Tingxiang's entourage followed him, and they were good at punching and kicking, and they called the soldiers guarding the prison from outside to suppress the riot.
Heavy casualties!
Most of the dead were prisoners in the cells. The only thing fortunate was that after Xue Tingxiang and others came in, they went straight to the cells of several felons.
These usually high-ranking criminal officials are in a miserable situation, some are frightened, and some are almost not strangled to death.
Xiang Long was almost not strangled to death, and was almost not rescued.