Cui Delu looked at the back of the middle-aged man and said coldly, "I know what you are relying on. Chang III, Qi IV, Liu V, Fei VI, and Chen VII. I know you are good at fighting, and so are your brothers. But don't forget that Chang III and Fei VI are the captains of the Yulin Royal Guards, Liu V is the leader of the Valiant Cavalry Battalion, and Chen VII is an old man who retired from the bodyguard office. If the bigwigs lift their fingers, you will be pressed into the deepest part of the Underworld and never be able to rise again. "
The middle-aged man suddenly turned around and looked at his eyes with a frown.
"These years, many of your most reliable and capable brothers died. Except for Qi IV, you can only rely on these guys. But you don't understand the power of the nobles. They only need to say a word or a piece of paper to trap your most reliable fighting force in the military camp. Once the bad guys in Chang 'an who have been suppressed by you for more than ten years know this news, they will be happy to jump out and bite you. "
The middle-aged man was silent for a moment. His expression gradually calmed down and he continued to walk out of the door.
Behind him, Cui Delu sneered and said, "Old Chao of the Spring Breeze Pavilion … You've stretched your hand too far, and you've even extended it to the imperial court … Now that you're surrounded by enemies, I'd like to see who can tolerate you!"
The middle-aged man put his right hand on the door and said after a moment of silence, "As long as God can tolerate me, I can live."
…
…
The conversation on the top floor of the House of Red Sleeves, in a sense, determined the natural course of the history of the underground world of Chang 'an. When the bigwigs in the imperial court suddenly became interested in the weeds in Jianghu, no matter how strong the weeds were and how strong their desire to live was, they would be like the grassland after a wildfire, leaving only blackened waists and residual roots in the soil. They would never be as lush as before.
This was the smell of power.
The wife of the censor Zhang Yiqi had been used to this smell all her life. So when Zhang Yiqi suddenly died, she couldn't accept the fact at all. She took the body of the old master home with the female army who made trouble in the brothel and cried for two days. Then she began to run between the Supreme Judiciary and the Chang 'an Local Government which was responsible for the security of the capital. Unfortunately, this time it was her turn to smell the smell of power, which became a little worse.
"How could my old master have such a short life? He told me that twenty-seven years ago, the State Preceptor had read his fortune and said that he would definitely live to a hundred years old. In my opinion, my master must have been killed by the vixen in that brothel! Governor, you have to help me. If you dare to cover that brothel, I will go to the Prince's Mansion to seek justice for my old master! "
The official sitting on the stage was in his early forties. He had triangular eyes, a rosacea nose, and a sparse beard on his chin. His appearance was not elegant at all. In the officialdom of the Tang Empire, which paid great attention to the appearance of a handsome person, this person was not sent to the counties and states below, but stayed in the Chang 'an government, which was really unusual.
The official looked at the skinny woman standing in the hall and felt a headache because of her words. Fortunately, the officials of the Tang Empire knew the legendary life of the National Master very well. After careful calculation, he realized that the National Master was just a Taoist servant of the South School of Haotian Taoism twenty-seven years ago. He had not met the current Emperor and made a name for himself. At that time, the National Master's fortune-telling for Zhang Yiqi was mostly to cheat money. Thinking of this, he could not help coughing twice and said solemnly,
"Ahem … Madam, I'm sorry for your loss. First of all, you have to understand that I'm Shangguan Yangyu, the Judicial Military Advisor of the Chang 'an Local Government, not the Governor. Secondly, the remains of the censor have been examined in detail. It was indeed because the carriage accidentally fell and crushed him, which led to his death from a heavy blow to the brain. It was really not a murder case."
Censor Zhang Yiqi's death at the side door of a brothel was a hot topic in Chang 'an. But most of them were ridiculed and ridiculed, and no one in the officialdom connected it with murder. In order to avoid those poor censors from making a fuss, the Chang' an Local Government had already classified the case as a traffic accident two days ago.
But no one expected that the censor's wife would not let it go and directly went to the Supreme Judiciary. The censor's job was to offend the officials, so it was impossible for him to be popular. Although Zhang Yiqi was dead, the prince was still there, so no officials would take the opportunity to smear the censor's wife. But no one wanted to be nosy either, so the Supreme Judiciary directly pushed the censor's wife back to the Chang 'an Local Government.
The Governor heard the beating of the drum and inquired that it was the fierce censor's wife. He had already sneaked back to the backyard from the side door and told his subordinates that he was not feeling well today and needed to rest.
As the Judicial Military Advisor of the Chang 'an Local Government, Shangguan Yangyu was in charge of investigating cases, but he couldn't find a reason to slip away. And he didn't want to. In the eyes of other officials, the censor's wife was a shrew who should not be trifled with. But in his eyes, all the officials' wives were paper tigers. As long as he knew what they were afraid of and scared them, they could be easily dealt with. And he might even get some benefits from it.
At such a critical moment, he didn't forget to get benefits, which showed how greedy this Judicial Military Advisor was. And it all started from his origin. Shangguan Yangyu's ancestral home was the South Jin Kingdom. His ancestors moved to Chang 'an and settled there for five generations. They lived in the poor Eastern City for generations, but there was no promising man in his family. They were either gamblers or lustful. For five generations, they only managed to save two shabby tile-roofed houses and a dozen taels of silver. It was not until Shangguan Yangyu's generation that he was lucky enough to pass the written examination for the government. Then, he started from the lowest jailer and finally became a real official.
After becoming the Judicial Military Advisor, Shangguan Yangyu was no longer as low-key and cautious as he used to be. The fear of poverty and the crazy pursuit of money made him start his road of bribery. The Chang 'an Local Government was closely watched by the imperial court, and it was a poor Yamen that had to pay taxes. It was impossible for him to take bribes, but he could bend the law.
In the case of censor Zhang Yiqi, he didn't dare to wrongly accuse the brothel, but he wanted to see if he could extort some money from the dead man's wife. He squinted at the thin censor's wife, and before she could refute, he beckoned her to come closer and said in a low voice, "Madam, the witnesses are your own guards and attendants. The physical evidence is still piled up in the backyard of the Yamen. The censor still smells of cosmetics. And that day when you rushed over with a group of female servants with wooden sticks, half of the people in Chang 'an City saw it. You say … the censor didn't kill himself in his own carriage because he was afraid that you were going to the brothel to catch the adulterer. Who would believe that? "
The censor's wife's expression suddenly changed. When she was about to scold him, Shangguan Yangyu smiled and squinted his triangular eyes into a small square in the middle of a copper coin. He continued to say in a low voice, "In fact, I also understand that the censor's death is too strange, too stupid, and … not pleasant to hear. You have to make a scene to show that you have a clear conscience, so that people won't say that you forced your master to die. Besides, if you really make a scene, the brothel will have to compensate you a lot of money. Alas, when a person dies in the Underworld, he can no longer care about the living. What's the use of the compensation and pension given by the imperial court? Of course, it's best to get some money. "
The censor's wife's skinny face was extremely unnatural. Obviously, Shangguan Yangyu had hit the nail on the head. She hesitated for a long time and suddenly looked at him expectantly. She lowered her voice and said, "If it's done, I'll give you … 20%."
If the censor or the palace knew that she dared to make a deal with the law of the Tang Empire in the court, both Shangguan Yangyu and the censor's wife would probably be killed. However, all the people in the Chang 'an Local Government were afraid that the censor's wife would make a scene, so it was very quiet in the court. She was not worried that someone would hear it.
However, to the censor's wife's surprise, Shangguan Yangyu's face suddenly darkened. He slapped the gavel in his hand and shouted sternly, "What a bold woman! I respect you because your husband is the censor, but you actually want to court death!"
His shout directly scared the censor's wife. Shangguan Yangyu's face seemed to be drawn, but he quickly became amiable and said earnestly, "I reprimanded you because I want to save you. Do you know who the backer of that brothel is? You actually want to extort money from them? You really have guts. "
The censor's wife held the table and said in a trembling voice, "This … this … I still need your advice."
Shangguan Yangyu naturally could not say that the Chang 'an Local Government had some shares in that brothel. He pretended to be mysterious and pointed to the sky. He lowered his voice and said, "That's the property of the Empress."
"Ah?" When the censor's wife heard the words "the Empress", she suddenly panicked and even felt that her knees were a little weak. She said in a trembling voice, "What should we do? What should we do?"
"If you insist on making trouble, I can't guarantee that the censor's reputation can be preserved. After all, someone saw him running out of the brothel, and he was drunk at that time."
Shangguan Yangyu looked at her and said seriously, "If the palace knows that the censor visits prostitutes, even if he dies, he will be removed from his official position and all his posthumous salary. At that time, your efforts will be in vain."
The censor's wife asked in horror, "Then … then … what should I do? I won't sue him, okay? "
"The problem is that this matter has already been made known. However, if you can bribe the person in charge of that brothel, please don't let this matter spread to the palace, especially to the ears of that person. Maybe this matter can still be settled."
"Then let's do it!" The censor's wife had already lost her idea. Her skinny face was full of confusion and nervousness. She asked, "How do you think this matter should be settled?"
Shangguan Yangyu smiled slightly. He knew that there would be a sum of money coming into his account soon. He could not help but feel that every pore on his body was relaxed. The censor's wife's skinny face in front of him also became much more pleasing to the eye. He thought proudly in his heart, "How can eating a man be as simple as eating a woman? How can eating a living person be as comfortable as eating a dead person?"
He was born poor or even lowly. He had no ancestors, no backers, and an ugly face. When he ate the plaintiff and the defendant, he was as greedy as a locust. When he flattered his superiors, he was as thick-skinned as a wild boar. There was nothing remarkable about his character. However, as long as Lord Haotian did not accept him, he would continue to live stubbornly and ugly like this. As the saying goes, as long as God can tolerate me, I can live.
…
…
The spring rain continued for another two days, but the business at Lin 47th Street was still so quiet.
Ning Que did not know that there was a Judicial Military Adjunct named Shangguan Yangyu in the Chang 'an Local Government. Because of the greed in his bones, he helped him solve the little trouble of assassinating the censor Zhang Yiqi. At this time, he was holding a bowl of hot noodles and looking at the bluestone slabs that were constantly being washed by the rain. He was thinking about the Academy Entrance Examination that was coming soon and the expensive tuition and accommodation fees. He felt a little depressed and cold and subconsciously tightened his collar with his left hand.
Although he had been exempted from a whole year's rent from the mysterious owner, which was equivalent to earning 300 taels of silver after careful calculation, this silver was not cash but something on paper. If the owner really could not withstand the pressure from the government, or if the Old Brush Pen Shop could not continue to operate even without rent, it would be equivalent to zero.
Thinking of this, he could not help but sigh again. He lowered his head and used the tip of the chopsticks to pick the noodles in the bowl and poked the fresh green onions. He had no desire to eat at all. These two days, he did not even have the interest to write, let alone this bowl of noodles that he had eaten for several years. He could even guess with his eyes closed that there were four Sichuan peppers and 30 green onions in it without even smelling it.
The rain outside the shop was getting heavier and heavier, hitting the ground and splashing water into mist. The sight was getting worse and worse, and the outer wall of the warehouse of the Shipping Department of the Ministry of Revenue could not be seen clearly. Ning Que held the bowl of noodles and walked to the threshold, half squatting to continue watching the rain, and then he lowered his head to eat the noodles.
Suddenly, he raised his head and looked up to the right.
A middle-aged man holding an oil-paper umbrella appeared outside the Old Brush Pen Shop. The arrogant rain had soaked most of his green robe, and the scabbard at his waist was also full of water droplets. He was the owner who had exempted Ning Que from a year's rent.
His green robe was soaked by the rain, and the color of the front and back of his lapel was a little dark. He looked a little embarrassed, but strangely, this middle-aged man did not look embarrassed at all. He held the oil-paper umbrella and stood quietly at the threshold, looking at the uninterrupted rain in front of him with a calm expression, as if he was looking at a street full of peach blossoms and sunshine.
Ning Que looked up at him for a moment without saying anything, and then he lowered his head to eat the noodles.
After a long silence, the middle-aged man suddenly looked down at him and said with a smile, "The noodles are very fragrant."
Ning Que squatted on the ground and answered, "I've eaten it too many times. No matter how fragrant it is, it's just like that."
"I haven't eaten it before."
"Although you exempted me from a year's rent, I'm not going to treat you to it."
"I like your writing."
The middle-aged man changed the topic very quickly, like the dripping rain in front of them. It slid down the umbrella when it could not penetrate it. From this point, it could be seen that this person was used to giving orders and did not allow his subordinates to question his orders.
"I like it too."
"It's very well written."
"I know my writing is very good."
The middle-aged man smiled and said, "The murderous intent in the words is very strong. I rarely see someone with such a strong murderous intent."
Ning Que lowered his head in silence. He looked at the bowl of noodles in his hand and asked, "Are you going to kill someone tonight?"
The middle-aged man replied with a sigh, "Yes, God can tolerate me, but man can't, so I have to kill someone."
…
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