After some discussion, the two of them rushed to the old scholar's house.
The team of soldiers who had just checked on them happened to have arrived at the compound where the old scholar lived, and slammed the door loudly: "The government is investigating a case, open the door quickly!"
Lights in the houses in the courtyard were lit one after another. Men, women, old and young all got dressed in a hurry and came out. The little child didn't know what was going on and cried loudly with fear. The young couple was afraid of causing trouble, so they hurriedly comforted the child, and the child stopped crying.
"Sir, what happened?" a man asked.
The officer had a cold face and a large cold sword on his waist. He shouted, "Does the government need to explain the whole story to you? Men, take off your shirts! Women, if you are locals, show your household registration. If you are not locals, show your travel permits!"
Everyone in the yard was silent and followed the instructions. The officer found that the lights were on in a house, but no one came out. He could not help but knock on the door and said, "Open the door, open the door!"
No one answered from inside.
The officer pointed his knife at the people in the courtyard and asked, "Who lives inside?"
The man who asked the question earlier answered, "He is an old scholar. He told stories at Lai Fu Restaurant in his early years, and now he tells stories at Jiang Ji Gu Dang Geng."
The officer continued to knock on the door, but there was still no response. When he was about to break in, he heard the old scholar's hoarse voice from inside: "Who is knocking on the door... ahem... here they come."
The door was opened from the inside, and the old scholar was seen hunched over, perhaps because he was afraid of the cold. Not only did he wear a felt hat on his head, but he also had a tattered scarf around his neck, with his entire face almost covered by the scarf. He was coughing non-stop, as if he had caught a cold.
Seeing him so sick, the neighbors couldn't help but ask, "Old scholar, what's wrong with you?"
"I caught a cold... cough cough..." The old scholar hunched over and coughed, his voice so hoarse that it was impossible to distinguish his original tone.
The officers were not sympathetic and said coldly, "What is your name? Please show me your household registration."
When others heard that they needed their household registration, they would go back to their houses to look for it, but the old scholar took it out directly from his arms and handed it over tremblingly. The chilblains on his hands had turned into pus, and he had wrapped them around with cloth tape, leaving only a few dirty fingertips exposed.
He kept coughing as if he was suffering from tuberculosis. The higher-ups mainly wanted to check the women in Xizhou City, as well as the old man who might be sick. The officials did not want to have much contact with him, so after verifying that everything was correct, they returned the household registration documents to the old scholar.
To avoid any accidents, several people went into the house to take a look. The house was very simple and pitiful. Everything was tattered, including the furniture. The only cabinet that could hide people was filled with a lot of quilts. After the officials took out a few quilts, they found that there were still some patched and torn sheets underneath.
The officer no longer wanted to continue searching and just said, "Your family is extremely poor, yet you still have the money to buy so many quilts."
The old scholar coughed violently and became speechless.
Or the neighbor was afraid that the officials would embarrass the old scholar, so he chimed in: "The old scholar is now telling stories at Jiangji Gudongtang. The owner of Jiangji is a kind-hearted person. The old scholar's decent clothes and the quilt he used for the winter were all bought by Jiangji."
The officer then gave up. After checking everyone in the yard, he and his men were about to go somewhere else when Yang Xiu suddenly rushed in.
The officer shouted, "You again?"
Yang Xiu glanced at the hunched old scholar and explained to the official with a smile: "The boss asked me to take these food to the old gentleman, but I have such a bad memory that I forgot it the moment I turned around!"
Yang Xiu walked a few steps forward and handed the two large paper bags of meat jerky to the old scholar: "This is for you from the boss."
The old scholar stretched out his hand to take it: "Thank you... ahem..."
Yang Xiu's eyes changed. It was obvious that Jiang Yanyi asked them to bring the dried meat to Chu Changping. The old scholar couldn't have been unaware of it. On the way back, he was still chatting and laughing with them. How come his voice became so hoarse the next moment
There is definitely something fishy!
When the "old scholar" was about to get the paper bag, he grabbed the "old scholar's" hand and lifted it up, while kicking out a sweeping kick.
The "old scholar" was caught off guard and was attacked by surprise. He was knocked to the ground by Yang Xiu's kick.
Everyone was stunned by this sudden change.
The "old scholar" left the gate, got up and rushed to the back window. His waist was no longer bent, his back was no longer hunched, and his body was extremely agile.
Yang Xiu shouted: "He is not an old scholar!"
The officers and soldiers present finally came to their senses and swarmed after him.
The "old scholar" smashed the window with his body, and just as he climbed out, a sharp broadsword was placed on his neck.
Bing Shao, who had been waiting at the back window, shouted into the house, "The man has been caught!"
The "old scholar" couldn't figure out where he had exposed himself. His eyes were filled with hatred, and he leaned back to avoid the blade. He kicked Bing Shao in the chest and was about to run away.
Bing Shao was kicked so hard that he almost couldn't catch his breath, so he turned around and hit the "old scholar" with the back of his knife. The "old scholar" might have been injured, and he vomited blood and fell to the ground.
At this time, Yang Xiu and several officials also rushed over.
The officer grabbed the "old scholar" and pulled off the scarf that covered half of his face, revealing a face that was difficult to tell whether it was male or female.
Her hair was a little curly from having been braided for many years, and there was an arrow wound on her body that was caused by a fight.
These characteristics all matched those of the man they were asked to arrest! The officers were overjoyed and quickly tied the man up. They bowed to Yang Xiu and Bing Shao and said, "Thank you for your help, both warriors!"
Yang Xiu and Bing Shao clasped their fists in return.
When Yang Xiu came over, he had already searched all the places in the old scholar's house where he could hide people, but he still couldn't find the old scholar. Worried that the old scholar had an accident, he explained the situation to the official in a few words, then grabbed the person pretending to be the old scholar and threatened: "Where did you hide the old man in the house?"
"Kill him." The Turkic prince Oguzdan sneered with blood on the corner of his mouth.
Bing Shao punched him in the face: "Tell the truth!"
Ogustan’s smile remained unchanged: “This is the truth.”
"Do you believe that I will kill you?" Bing Shao wished he could kill him with a single blow of his knife.
Ogusdan spat a mouthful of blood foam at him and sneered, "Just keep looking, you will find it eventually."
“Son of a bitch!” Yang Xiu cursed, and dug his hand directly into the arrow hole above his left chest: “Speak or not!”
Ogustan was in so much pain that his whole body was convulsing. He had no choice but to say, "In the closet."
"Are you kidding me? I've already checked the closet!" When Yang Xiu entered the room to look for someone, he turned out all the remaining tattered bedding in the closet. There were only some old clothes placed in a mess underneath. The pile was so shallow that there was no way anyone could hide there.
"I didn't lie to you, I knocked him out, laid him flat in the closet, and then piled clothes and quilts on top." Ogusdan couldn't bear the pain and was sweating profusely.
There were no partitions in the old scholar's cabinet, it was broken through. He was thin, and it was difficult to notice him when he was put in the cabinet and covered with clothes.
Yang Xiu and Bing Shao looked at each other, and Bing Shao hurriedly climbed into the house through the back window. He dug open the layer of clothes under the cupboard and found the old scholar who had been stripped of his outer clothes and was left with only a single piece of clothing.
Bing Shao quickly checked the old scholar's breath, and was relieved to find that he was still breathing. He shouted to Yang Xiu outside the house: "We found him! He's still alive!"
Fortunately, just as Ogusdan hid the old scholar in the cupboard, the police came in and opened the cupboard and took down most of the quilts piled on top. When Yang Xiu was looking for people, he turned out the rest of the things in the cupboard, leaving only some old clothes on top, so the old scholar was not suffocated to death.
Bing Shao pinched the old scholar's philtrum, and the old scholar was just knocked unconscious without suffering any other injuries. His eyelids trembled, and he finally woke up.
Seeing the two of them, he said in shock, "There are thieves in the house!"
"Don't worry, old sir. The thief has been captured by the government." Bing Shao said.
The old scholar then breathed a sigh of relief.
When he returned with Yang Xiu and Bing Shao, they were checked several times by soldiers on the way. Even if he was stupid, he knew that the government must be looking for someone.
Yang Xiubing Shao always sent him to the gate of the courtyard and then went back. After the old scholar entered the house, he was held hostage at knifepoint. The other party asked for his household registration. The old scholar knew something was wrong and said he would light a lamp to look for it. He hadn't turned on a lamp in his room for many years, and he just hoped that someone could find clues.
After the other party took his household registration, he felt a pain in the back of his neck and then lost consciousness. He had no idea what happened afterwards.
Yang Xiu entered the house and listened to the old scholar's explanation of the whole story. He sighed and said, "It's a blessing that the thief wanted to hide and didn't dare to kill anyone rashly. Otherwise, there would be a bloody smell in the house and the soldiers would notice it, so they only knocked you out."
When the old scholar heard what Yang Xiu said, he felt a wave of fear in his heart.
***
It was already the next morning when Jiang Yanyi heard the news that the old scholar had almost been killed.
In just the morning, news of what happened in the south of the city last night had spread widely.
As soon as Jiang Yanyi opened the shop, the neighbors came up to her and asked her what happened to the old scholar. Jiang Yanyi was confused. What happened to the old scholar
Seeing that Jiang Yanyi seemed to know nothing, these people started talking about what happened in the south of the city last night.
When Yang Xiu and Bing Shao came over, in addition to the ingredients that Jiang Yanyi asked them to buy yesterday, they also had roujiamo, big meat buns, and candied haws given by the vendors... There were several strings of garlic hanging around their necks.
When the people on the street saw them, they all praised them with words like "heroic and capable", "standing up for the weak", and "brave and righteous". Yang Xiu and Bing Shao had never seen such a scene before, and each one was more uncomfortable than the other. It was not until they arrived at Jiang Yanyi's store that they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Yanyi came out holding a tray with two bowls of steaming mutton soup with steamed buns. The broth that had been simmering overnight was extremely rich and fresh, and the mutton was cooked till soft. There were tiny drops of oil floating on the clear soup, and the flavor was rich, fragrant and tempting, with a few pieces of green coriander dotted on top.
Yang Xiu and Bing Shao both swallowed their saliva.
Jiang Yanyi smiled and said, "Eat quickly, this is the breakfast prepared for you."
The two looked at each other, and saw a sense of confusion in each other's eyes that "happiness came too suddenly". They didn't even have time to take off the garlic strings hanging around their necks, and they picked up the bowls and started to wolf down the food like starving ghosts.
Jiang Yanyi's hot pot restaurant only opens at noon, so he doesn't care about their breakfast. Usually they just order two steamed buns at the inn where they stay and they're done. In order to empty their stomachs, they even eat more delicious food in the afternoon and evening. They don't even want to have breakfast.
Although the ingredients were the same, they had no idea how Jiang Yanyi cooked it. This bowl of mutton soup with steamed bun tasted completely different from the mutton hotpot sold in the store.
Perhaps it is because the shabu-shabu uses fresh mutton, which tastes better than the steamed buns, which are braised mutton that has been slowly stewed over low heat, and the taste is more mellow.
Jiang Yanyi asked, "I heard that you rescued the old scholar last night. How is he now?"
"It's nothing serious. I think he'll be able to come to the store soon." Yang Xiu said while eating.
They now have only one thought in their minds: to stand up for justice and eliminate violence and maintain peace every day from now on!
After the two finished eating, Jiang Yanyi asked Bing Shao to bring some supplements to the old scholar, telling him to have a good rest and not to come to the store today. Unexpectedly, the old scholar still came.
All the diners who came into the restaurant begged the old scholar to tell them what happened last night. Jiang Yanyi was afraid that last night had left a psychological trauma on the old scholar, and there was a high probability that the person arrested by the government was a Turkic prince. If too many details were leaked and the Turkic prince's people heard the news, they would be unable to defend themselves if he turned around to retaliate, so he refused outright.
Despite this, her store's business today is better than ever before. Many diners say that her store is a little small and she should consider moving to a bigger store.
Now that the Turkic prince has been captured, there should be no more chaos in Xizhou.
Jiang Yanyi has recently been considering whether to open a branch store or expand the existing store. However, either way is not a small project and will probably have to be postponed until after the New Year.
As soon as Chu Changping left, she took time to decorate the newly bought house.
She didn't know the Chu family's preferences, so she decorated their yard according to the style of the wealthy families in Xizhou.
Jiang Yanyi still remembered the preferences of his original mother and brother, but some of their favorite vases and utensils were too expensive. Jiang Yanyi did not dare to spend money lavishly, so he only displayed them under the most economical conditions.
Feng Shuo went to the military camp and did not send any news back for several days. Jiang Yanyi would sometimes stare at the courtyard wall in a daze.
She didn't know what was going on. There was clearly only one person missing in the yard, but everything seemed different from before.
***
Capital city.
Frost and snow fell on the top of the vermilion palace wall, and the red plum tree looked lonely in the vast white.
The once luxurious Cangjiao Palace has now been cleared out by all the palace servants, and the deep courtyard is lonely and deserted.
The door to the inner hall was wide open, and the wind blew in fine snow, making the hall even colder.
The new emperor sat with disheveled hair on the steps covered with brocade with auspicious round flowers. His dragon robe was wrinkled and he reeked of alcohol. The patch of blue stubble on his chin made him look even more decadent.
There was a coffin in the center of the hall. The woman in the coffin had obviously been dead for many days, but because of the severe cold, the body had not decomposed too badly. There was no corpse spot on her face, and her expression was peaceful. She was wearing a phoenix robe that symbolized the position of queen.
"Finally you stopped arguing with me."
The new emperor looked at the coffin not far away, his eyes full of bloodshot, pain and despair intertwined in his eyes. The wine jug slipped from his hands and rolled all the way down the steps. The wine spilled all over the floor and soaked his robes, but he didn't care.
"Didn't you say you like snowy days the most? When it snows, I'll take you out to see the snow, okay?"
No one responded to him in the empty hall; there was deathly silence.
The new emperor sat for a while, then suddenly kicked the wine jug at his feet away in a rage, his eyes red like a trapped animal. He staggered to his feet and walked to the coffin, but as if he was afraid of scaring her, he restrained all his anger and just stared at the person lying inside, as if he wanted to remember every inch of her face and eyes in his heart.
"Yan Xi, can you please say one more word to me?"
The new emperor, who had never shown weakness in front of anyone, was now speaking to a dead man in a pleading tone.
All his pride and arrogance were shattered at this moment. His heart felt like a hole had been broken, and all the coldness of the coldest days of winter gathered in his heart.
The new emperor covered his eyes with his hands, and his palms were wet.
When the eldest princess led her people into the hall, she saw the dishevelled new emperor, frowned fiercely, and shouted in a fierce voice: "Look at what you look like now!"
The new emperor remained silent.
Seeing the person in the coffin wearing a phoenix robe, the eldest princess's face became even angrier: "Ridiculous! The queen is still alive, and you buried her in a phoenix crown tomb. How will people in the world view the queen?"
The new emperor finally spoke, his attitude was firm: "What I failed to give her when she was alive, I will give her after her death."
The eldest princess laughed in anger, "Fan Wei rebelled, and Prince Xinyang proclaimed himself emperor. Instead of taking steps to quell the rebellion, you are still here fussing over a dead man. What kind of curse has put you under?"
She ordered the palace servants behind her: "Take off her phoenix robe! Is there any etiquette?"
The palace maids were too timid to take action. Seeing this, the Grand Princess sneered and was about to step forward.
The old maid beside her hurriedly stopped her and said, "Princess, this is very unlucky, don't touch it!"
The new emperor was full of gloom: "If the aunt still recognizes me as her nephew, let her go."
The eldest princess looked at the new emperor in disbelief: "Now you don't even recognize your aunt for a dead woman? Tell me, what's so good about this woman?"
The new emperor closed his eyes and said, "She was too kind, that's why she ended up like this."
He grew up in an environment of intrigue and had never seen such pure eyes. When they looked at people, they were always pure and without any impurities, like a deer in the woods.
Every woman in this harem is trying her best to climb up for her own or her family's benefit, but she never fights or competes, and only wants to escape.
The eldest princess was so angry that she wanted to slap him. She suppressed her anger and asked, "Chunshan? Let me ask you, do you still want this throne? Now the princes are ready to make a move, and you want to bury a concubine in a phoenix robe. Who do you think you are humiliating? The queen and the queen mother! Your uncle's family! How many people do you have now? Without the troops in your uncle's hands, what can you use to fight the rebels?"
The new emperor remained silent, his expression gloomy. These things had been a huge mountain that his mother had used to weigh down on him since he was a child, and he was still being weighed down by these things.
Seeing that he seemed to have understood the importance of the matter, the Grand Princess ordered the palace servants, "Give Xipin a new set of mourning clothes."
The palace servants then stepped forward trembling with fear.
The limbs of a person who had been dead for many days were already stiff, and the palace servants had to use quite a bit of effort to pry apart the hands of the person in the coffin, which had been folded in front of his body.
The Grand Princess took a casual glance and discovered that there were obvious corpse spots on "Xipin"'s hands, but not a single spot on her face.
The eldest princess seemed to realize something, her eyes changed slightly, and she said to the new emperor: "Your Majesty has not attended court for many days. Please invite Duke Anguo, Marquis Zhongwu, Prime Minister Song and others to the imperial study to discuss matters first."
The new emperor seemed to have accepted his fate: "I will follow my aunt's arrangements."
The eldest princess said, "Come here, take His Majesty back to the palace to wash and undress."
The chief eunuch hurriedly led the new emperor out.
When they reached the door, a young palace maid who was changing clothes for "Pin Xi" seemed to see something terrible and suddenly screamed in fright.
The eldest princess looked as if she wanted to eat the maidservant. "What did you yell for? You are disrespectful in front of the palace. Drag her away and behead her!"
The palace maid kowtowed and begged for mercy, but this cry also made the new emperor realize something. He quickly turned back to the coffin and discovered that the skin on the side of the woman's neck in the coffin was bulging due to water loss from the corpse.
The skin below the neck was covered with corpse spots, but above the neck was as white as jade.
This piece of skin obviously does not belong to this corpse.
The new emperor reached out and tore off the piece of skin on the side of his neck. All the palace people standing around the coffin were terrified, and those who were less courageous also screamed.
The piece of skin under "Xipin"'s neck is connected to the entire face, it is a very delicately crafted human leather mask!
Looking at the face of the head maid in the Cangjiao Palace in the coffin, the new emperor's eyes were extremely cold at that moment: "Good! Very good!"
The dejection in his body disappeared in an instant, leaving only endless hostility.
"Where is Jiang Jingan!" His bloodshot eyes were filled with ferocity and madness.
***
Madam Jiang, her son, and the Chu family had just boarded a carriage heading out of the city. The capital had been in a state of chaos these days, and many merchants were leaving the city. As long as they paid some silver at the city gate, they would not be troubled too much.
There were always imperial guards guarding the Chu family, and whenever servants went out to buy groceries, they would be followed by imperial guards in casual clothes.
The letters they sent out would be intercepted, and the letters sent from other places would also be intercepted. They basically lost contact with the outside world.
In order to pick up the Chu family, Feng Shuo's people bought the house next door to the Chu family and broke through the walls between the two houses. Only then were they able to use a horse-drawn carriage to pick up the Chu family and Mrs. Jiang and her son from next door.
But because there were people watching all the shops of the Chu family, any movement of money in the bank would be reported. When the Chu family fled, they only took some silver bills kept for daily circulation and valuable jewelry.
In order to avoid attracting attention, the carriage they were riding in was very inconspicuous, with a small space inside. Because time was tight, the interior layout was also very simple.
Jiang Yangui had an injury on his leg, so he could only lie down with a thin blanket covering his body. The carriage bumped from time to time, causing waves of excruciating pain in his wound, and his forehead was covered with cold sweat.
Mrs. Jiang felt a pang of pain in her heart when she saw him like this: "Yan Gui, is your wound hurting again? I'll get you some painkillers."
Mrs. Jiang wiped away her tears and took out a small porcelain bottle from the package. She pulled out the stopper and poured it into her palm, but nothing came out.
Mrs. Jiang panicked and poured it twice more, but the porcelain bottle was empty. She asked anxiously, "Why is the medicine gone?"
Jiang Yangui endured the pain and said, "I'm fine, mother."
Madam Jiang covered her face and cried, "You often wake up in pain at night. How can you bear this bumpy journey without this painkiller?"
Madam Jiang has not had a good time in the Chu family these days. The Chu family has suffered such a disaster. The second sister-in-law was afraid of getting into trouble, so she asked for a divorce letter a few days ago. Now the second brother sees her as if he sees an enemy. The eldest brother's eldest daughter originally had a family in mind, but now the marriage has fallen through. The eldest brother ridiculed her, and the eldest sister-in-law spoke in a sarcastic tone.
Although the two elders of the Chu family love her, it is also difficult for her brothers and sisters-in-law. They are all flesh and blood. The two elders can say that the eldest and second masters of the Chu family can protect her once or twice, but can they protect her every time
Mrs. Jiang felt bitter. She knew that she had brought so much trouble to her family, but she had no choice. If she left the Chu family, how could she take her disabled son to the border to find her daughter? She used to rely on her parents' love and fight against her sister-in-law, but now she had to keep her tail between her legs.
The medicine that Jiang Yangui used was extremely expensive and was only sold at the Xinglin Clinic in the capital. When Mrs. Jiang received the news that they were leaving the capital the day before yesterday, she told her eldest sister-in-law who was in charge of the household affairs in the mansion to buy a few more bottles of medicine as a backup.
But when the servants from the Chu Mansion came back from shopping, they didn't buy the medicine at all. Madam Jiang knew that her sister-in-law didn't like them, and she wanted to make a scene in front of Madam Chu for her son's sake, but Jiang Yangui stopped her.
Seeing her son in such pain, Madam Jiang could no longer care about anything else. The road ahead was blocked by a lot of carriages, so she wiped her eyes and said, "I'll go find your uncle and ask him to send someone to the clinic to buy medicine for you."
Jiang Yangui's face turned pale with pain: "Mother, I'm not in pain, please don't cause trouble for my uncle."
Mrs. Jiang felt distressed and blamed herself: "What do you mean by troublesome or not? He is your own uncle, my own brother. If your aunt doesn't give him money to buy medicine, your uncle can still ignore you."
Mrs. Jiang turned around and got off the carriage.
In the teahouse across the street, Minister Jiang and an old man in Confucian robes were sitting by the window. The teacups were emitting white steam in the cold weather, blurring their faces.
"I know nothing about what you are asking, sir." Minister Jiang scraped the tea leaves in the cup with the tea lid with his eyelids drooped.
The old man had white hair. If any senior officials of the court were present, they would definitely recognize him as the retired Taifu Lin of the previous dynasty.
The old man said, "If the princess were still alive, I would not ask for anything else, but only for someone to offer sacrifices and add a handful of new soil to the graves of your majesty and your majesty during festivals."
Minister Jiang's eyes flashed with pain, but his answer remained the same: "Grandmaster, you think too highly of me. You have been investigating the princess' whereabouts for so many years but still haven't found her. How can I know?"
He stood up and bowed: "I have some trivial matters to attend to at home, so I won't bother you anymore, Master."
The old man said calmly: "Jing'an is also a busy man now, go ahead."
After Minister Jiang walked out of the room, his expression became a little solemn. After so much time had passed, how did Master Lin find out about him
He walked out with a heavy heart. The street was jammed with carriages and the Jiang Mansion's carriage could not get out. He stood under the eaves of the restaurant for a while, his eyes swept across the noisy street, but suddenly found a familiar figure.
The author has something to say: This chapter is too slow to write, and it makes me sigh every day.
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