Chapter 12 12. Flower shadow on the partition wall
But the donkey meat soup cakes in this store are really delicious, and both of them ate a big bowl.There are no other customers in the store today, the boss and the proprietress are sitting in the store and looking at these two customers, a little eunuch and a son, the little eunuch raised his brows lightly, with a kind of indistinguishable beauty, he was eating and listening to the son ,Poker face.The young master is dressed in crimson red with azurite, flashy and gorgeous contrasting colors, with seventeen or eighteen accessories hanging on his body, such as sachets, flints, knives, jade pendants, gold medals, and live silver pendants. From a distance, he looks like a salesman. The mouth is still talking while eating, which is amazing.
What a strange pair of companions.
After eating, Huang Zixia walked out of the shop.There is a crowd outside.She saw a person walking forward in a hurry in the crowd, and unconsciously called out: "Zhang Xingying?"
Zhou Ziqin asked curiously: "Who is he? Do you know him?"
"Well...he used to help me, but now he is dragged down by me." She said, sighed, and followed him all the way unconsciously.
Zhou Ziqin went in without knowing, and when he saw her quietly following all the way, he didn't say much, and the two slowly followed Zhang Xingying in the bustling crowd.
Zhang Xingying walked slowly into Puning Square with a sack full of mud.Huang Zixia was very familiar with the capital when he was young. He remembered that there was a big pagoda tree hugging him in Puning Square. Zhang Xingying's home seemed to be near the big pagoda tree.
Sure enough, the big locust tree was still flourishing, and Zhang Xingying's home was right next to the big locust tree.It was early summer, and on the stone bench under the tree, several women chatted while doing needlework, watching their children playing under the tree.
Huang Zixia slowly approached Zhang Xingying's house. Although his courtyard wall was only half a person's height, there was a hedge of a person's height pierced on it, which just covered her figure.She looked inside through the gaps in the branches, and saw Zhang Xingying pouring out the contents of the bag. It turned out to be some freshly picked herbs, which were drying on the bluestone in the yard.
An old woman next to her saw her and asked, "This official, who are you looking for?" She couldn't recognize the eunuch's clothes, thought Huang Zixia was an official servant, and asked with a smile on her face, but she only dared to look at Zhou Ziqin. As if afraid of being blinded by the light of gold, silver, pearls and jade all over his body.
Huang Zixia hurriedly said: "I am a friend of Second Brother Zhang, come over to see how he is doing."
"Oh, Xiao Er of the Zhang family? Didn't he get kicked out of the Kui Palace? Now he is with his father in Duanrui Hall. It is said that he is an apprentice, but in fact it is said that he is doing odd jobs. Sometimes when there is a shortage of medicinal materials, he has to follow him to collect herbs." People are going into the mountains." After all, the old man talked a lot, and he shook his arms all at once, "Didn't you say that he did something wrong in the palace some time ago and was driven back after being beaten with three hundred army sticks? Why are you two still looking for him? he……"
"Twenty army sticks." She was a little helpless, the rumors were outrageous, would anyone survive after being beaten with three hundred army sticks?
"Oh, anyway, I was sent back. I must have made a mistake. Someone said..." The old lady asked excitedly and mysteriously, "It is said that it has something to do with the death of Princess Kui?"
Huang Zixia was even more speechless: "What's the matter! When he left, Princess Kui hadn't been chosen yet."
The old lady shook her head and sighed, "Hey, such a good boy, good-looking and tall, otherwise how could he enter the honor guard of King Kui? Only top-notch people can be selected! When we went there, everyone envied him It’s terrible, but I never expected to be beaten back after just a few months.”
Huang Zixia stood in a daze for a while, then said in a low voice, "It's nothing serious, Prince Kui's mansion might still look for him."
"Is there such a thing? But they all said that Prince Kui has the strictest control, how could he let people who have made mistakes go back?" The old lady looked around, and immediately put on a mysterious look on her face, and said in a low voice, " Oh, you don’t know. In the past, more than a dozen families in our neighborhood entrusted a matchmaker and wanted to marry their daughter to him. Fortunately, even the marriage that we were talking about is silent now—look, it’s still How about my son, who learned from Carpenter Liu a long time ago, and is almost ready to graduate now!"
Huang Zixia was silent for a long time before turning around and walking outside.The mother-in-law asked her from behind: "Aren't you going in? He's at home today."
"No, thank you mother-in-law." Huang Zixia said, turned and walked out.I heard the old woman talking to herself from behind: "This is a nice young man, but he looks a bit feminine, he looks like a little father-in-law in the palace."
Zhou Ziqin couldn't help laughing, but Huang Zixia didn't care about him.They left Puningfang and walked through the streets and alleys.It wasn't until she came to the wide Zhuque Street that she came back to her senses and said to Zhou Ziqin: "Thank you for helping me to check with the Ministry of Officials today. Let's meet again when we have some clues."
Zhou Ziqin saw that she looked down, raised his hand and patted her on the shoulder and said, "Okay, what's your friend's name... Zhang Xingying, right? Don't worry, I'll help you out."
Huang Zixia looked up at him in surprise.
"I've been in the capital for many years, and I know a few people in the Six Departments. One of my buddies just told me that the cavalry of the Royal Forest Army is going to expand its manpower recently. You know that among the various yamen, the cavalry is the most beautiful. Patrolling twice on the street, wearing uniforms and carrying knives, a lot of girls and daughters-in-law are peeping at the door, so there is absolutely no need to worry about finding a wife. Besides, there is a lot of money and food every month, this is a fat job, a lot People squeeze their heads through the back door, if it weren't for your friend who is tall, handsome and upright, I wouldn't dare to recommend him!"
"Really?" Huang Zixia asked in surprise.
"Of course, the leader of the cavalry team of the Royal Forest Army is my iron buddy, and I will take care of it!" Zhou Ziqin patted his chest and promised, "When this case is over, I will take you to see the captain Xu Congyun."
"Then thank you very much!" Huang Zixia was very moved, she raised her head and said to him, "If it really works, how can I thank you for speaking casually!"
"Haha, let me just talk casually while eating." He said, seeing Huang Zixia's embarrassed face, he raised his hand and patted Huang Zixia's back with a smile, "I'm just kidding, in fact, small things are not worth mentioning, after all, you He is the person I admire the most besides Huang Zixia, if there is anything you can tell me!"
Huang Zixia almost vomited blood after being photographed by him. The corners of her mouth twitched and she smiled at him, and said, "In this case, after this case is over, I will invite you to a banquet in Zhuijinlou, and I will listen to whatever you say!"
"That also depends on your money. I heard that you have only been working in Kui Wang's mansion not long ago. Have you paid the moon silver?" Just come to me, eat and drink for you..."
"When did the people in Kui's mansion need your offering?" Someone beside them asked.The invisible coercion in that indifferent tone made Huang Zixia's scalp tingle, and when he looked back, it was indeed Li Shubai.
Li Shubai's carriage was parked at the intersection of the street. He raised the curtain and looked at them with a calm expression, but Huang Zixia still didn't dare to look him in the face. The unpredictable King Kui moved closer.
The heartless Zhou Ziqin didn't realize it, and nodded to Li Shubai with a smile: "What a coincidence, the prince also passed by here?"
"I happened to meet you when I sent the Turkic envoys back to the post station." Li Shubai said casually.
The post station in the capital was in the distance, Zhou Ziqin didn't care, pointed at Huang Zixia and said to Li Shubai: "Look, my lord, Chonggu is like this. The boss usually has a face, and if it wasn't for the lord who happened to pass by, he wouldn't be able to see it. She laughed." It's really beautiful when the spring breeze is blowing, and the peach and plum blossoms are blooming. From now on, the prince can order him to smile more!"
Huang Zixia felt that her face was about to twitch—it was obviously that kind of cramp smile, and King Kui's face was like a dark cloud when he saw it, but Zhou Ziqin couldn't feel it, what kind of eyesight is it!
"Really?" Li Shubai glanced sideways at Huang Zixia, and asked, "What's the good thing that makes Yang Chonggu's slate face look good?"
"It's nothing, it's just...he did me a favor." Huang Zixia said quickly.
Seeing Zhou Ziqin nodding, Li Shubai didn't pursue further, but still looked at Huang Zixia with a calm face, and asked, "What can I gain from going to the Ministry of Officials today?"
"It's a great discovery today!" Zhou Ziqin said excitedly, pulling Li Shubai's sleeve to discuss the case on the street.Huang Zixia was speechless, coughed lightly, Zhou Ziqin still looked at her unconsciously.
Li Shubai pointed to a tavern in the back, and Zhou Ziqin came to his senses: "No, no, we can't stand on the street and talk about this!"
Li Shubai got out of the car, and the three of them walked to the tavern and entered the secluded private room on the second floor.
A pot of tea and four snacks.After everyone else retreated, Zhou Ziqin lowered his voice and said, "It is still wise to respect the ancients. He concluded that the silver ingot was related to Pang Xun, so he went straight to the group of fake officials assigned by Pang Xun from the very beginning. Hit right away, this ingot of silver is indeed Ku Yin privately minted by Pang Xun in Xuzhou."
Li Shubai looked thoughtfully at the transcribed note that Huang Zixia handed over.
Zhou Ziqin looked at Huang Zixia with adoring eyes: "Chonggu, how did you infer that this silver is related to Pang Xun?"
Huang Zixia said casually: "Judging from the traces of blackening on the outside of this silver, I think it should have been cast in recent years. Since the possibility of private casting of silver and fake silver ingots has been ruled out, and the words "Neiku" are written, it is also possible that it was deliberately rebellious. It is made by people. In recent years, there is only one Pang Xun who can develop to the point where he can cast inner treasury silver."
"That's right! Why didn't I think of it!" Zhou Ziqin clapped his hands, sighing that he missed an opportunity to solve the doubt.
Huang Zixia added: "Now I just don't know how many silver ingots were minted and how much was released. If there are many, there is no way to find out."
"There are not many, and there are a lot of them," Li Shubai finally said, "When Pang Xun raised his troops to rebel, because of his haste, he didn't set up an internal treasury or seal false officials at the beginning. It wasn't until I united with the six major envoys to besiege Xuzhou , He conferred officials and titles arbitrarily in an attempt to buy people's hearts and bind them with himself so as not to scatter them. Therefore, the establishment of the internal treasury was extremely short, and because the war was retreating, there were not many ingots of silver minted at all. After Pang Xun's death, I settled in Xuzhou. When I checked the accounts, only 5,600 silver ingots were minted. Among them, there were 800 ingots of twenty-two silver ingots, and almost all of them were still in the mansion. Seven hundred and ninety-four ingots were melted, and only five ingots were left as evidence. The silver model has been destroyed, and there is no possibility of any other silver ingots remaining."
Huang Zixia keenly grasped one of the questions, and asked, "Where is another twenty-two silver ingot?"
"If all the five ingots of criminal evidence kept by the Ministry of Punishment are still there, it seems that the last ingot should be this one." He put the half of the silver ingot found after Wang Ruo disappeared in Yongchun Palace on the table, and said slowly, "This is the ingot." It was the only twenty-two silver ingot that was lost when Pang Xun's criminal evidence was counted."
Zhou Ziqin scratched his head and fell into a more perplexed situation: "When Xuzhou was searched at that time, how could the only silver ingot that was missed appear in the Yongchun Hall of Daming Palace? And, what's the matter with leaving half of it? It seems that, After unraveling the origin of this ingot of silver, we fell into a deeper mystery."
"Well, the deeper the case is, the more it seems to be related to Pang Xun—perhaps, someone tried to make us feel related to Pang Xun." Huang Zixia said.
Li Shubai was noncommittal, covered the tea saucer in front of him, then stood up and said, "That's it for today, let's go back first. Ziqin, go to the Ministry of Criminal Justice to see if the five ingots of criminal evidence silver are still there. Yang Chonggu will sort out the rest later." There are clues that can be traced."
"Okay!" Zhou Ziqin is a man of action. Even though it is past noon and all the yamen offices have been dispersed, he is still going to open the door of the Ministry of Punishment to check things - anyway, he is doing well in the Ministry of Punishment, and everyone is the same. buddy.
Huang Zixia followed Li Shubai into the car and went back to Kui Wang's mansion.Along the way, Li Shubai just remained silent, neither speaking nor looking at her.Huang Zixia felt a lot of pressure, so she could only bite the bullet and sit on the low stool, guessing whether it was herself or someone else who offended the old man.If it was someone else, why did he show this face to himself?If it was me, what was the reason for offending... While she was thinking about it, the old man shrouded in dark clouds finally spoke: "What can I do for you?" "Ah?" Huang Zixia's heart skipped a beat. Naturally, she didn't dare to say that it was Zhang Xingying's business, so she hurriedly said, "It's... a trivial matter, so I didn't dare to trouble the prince. I only discussed it with Zhou Ziqin. Since he can help me If it is resolved, the prince will not be disturbed." Seeing her expression that she didn't intend to tell him at all, Li Shubai said coldly: "It's okay, anyway, I don't have the time to pay attention to you." Huang Zixia breathed a sigh of relief, but also clearly felt his displeasure, so she tensed her nerves and waited for him to say more. Unexpectedly, he never spoke again along the way, and only read the official documents on the small table.He was extremely fast, looking at ten lines at a glance, and there was a slight rustling sound of turning the pages of the book, and he really didn't even have the interest to raise his eyelashes to glance at her. When Huang Zixia breathed a sigh of relief, he looked at the scripture-like alien script above, and thought it should be Tubo script, so he couldn't help admiring it.
The whole journey was like sitting on pins and needles until they arrived at the palace. When they got off the bus, Jing Yu and a group of people were already at the door to greet him, waiting for orders. "Call Jingyi over here." He just dropped a sentence like this, and then went straight to Yubing Pavilion. Huang Zixia breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed back a few steps, and was about to go back to his residence, but Li Shubai seemed to have eyes on the back of his head, and without turning his head, he just left two words: "Follow me." She looked around and found that he should be calling her, so she could only squeeze the sweat on her palms and follow him, while silently saying in her heart: Huang Zixia, Huang Zixia, since you have chosen this difficult master, you can only do it no matter what. Follow him, come and go, as long as he gives an order, go through fire and water!
Jing Yu settled everything in the morning, the tea and snacks in the Yubing Pavilion were complete, the incense rose from the stove, and the thin bamboo silk curtains were lowered to block most of the sunlight outside. Li Shubai washed his hands in the golden basin held by the maid, and then took the white linen towel handed over to wipe his hands. His movements were slow, without any trace of emotion.Huang Zixia stood aside, waiting for Li Shubai to review the official documents. Finally, when Jing Yi came over, she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that it was really hard for her to bear this kind of pressure alone. "How long has Yang Chonggu been here?" Li Shubai asked straight to the point. Jing Yi replied without hesitation: "Thirty-seven days from the beginning to the end, more than a month." "The moon silver hasn't been distributed yet?" "As a rule, the government distributes fifteen monthly silver coins. The last time the monthly silver coins were distributed, because he just came here, he only gave two taels of Jianxi silver coins." Seeing Xiyin, Huang Zixia naturally followed the usual practice and invited two tables of wine to get acquainted with the people in the house, and there was no money left.It's not that she doesn't understand the rules of human relations, nor can she understand them. Huang Zixia helplessly slandered that it was not easy to be a little eunuch in the palace. Although she was provided with food, lodging and clothing, after she escaped from Sichuan, she had originally smashed the golden hairpin in exchange for some money to pay for the trip to Beijing. The little money left was thrown away when he kicked him off the pond, otherwise, why would she always eat other people's food when she went out?It is her limit to be able to buy a bowl of soup cakes! Jing Yi said again: "Recently, I want to ask the prince to show me, but I don't know how Yang Chonggu's rank in the mansion is determined?" Here we are, talking about our treatment!Huang Zixia suddenly felt a little excited.Since she was a child, she has never been short of money, because her parents would give pocket money every now and then, and she was a little rich woman after she saved up.But she has always envied her brother, the yamen's servants, and the fast catchers.Because, at that time, she was a woman.She helped the Yamen solve many suspicious cases, but it was still impossible to become a member of them, to register on time, to receive money on a monthly basis, and to occupy a fixed staff in an orderly functioning organization.And now, she has finally become a... eunuch who has a stable job, can support herself without relying on her family and husband for the rest of her life, and can receive a monthly salary.Although it doesn't sound very nice, eunuchs...can be considered officials, right? Li Shubai's eyes slightly moved away from the official document, and he glanced at Huang Zixia seemingly absently. Huang Zixia clearly saw a trace of gloating in his eyes that "I have waited for a long time and finally let me wait for this opportunity". An ominous omen suddenly rose in her heart. I just heard Li Shubai say: "Everyone in the palace pays attention to fairness, otherwise what's the use of the laws of the palace?" Jing Yi nodded and said: "Your Highness is right. Then, Yang Chonggu will be tentatively designated as the last eunuch, and all the daily allowances will be as much as others, and he will be promoted in the future depending on his performance." "Accurate." Li Shubai said lightly, as if he was a dignified person, and he just accepted other people's opinions. An even more ominous premonition suddenly rose in Huang Zixia's heart, and he couldn't help asking Jing Yi: "Excuse me, Eunuch Yi, what kind of treatment will the eunuchs wait for at the end of the palace?" Jing Yi looked at her, showing sympathy, but didn't speak. Li Shubai was instructing the official document before the case, without raising his head, and said in a calm voice: "First, the eunuchs of the last class are not allowed to interrupt, speak out, or ask questions without the permission of other people. Those who violate it will be fined for one month. Second, the treatment of last-class eunuchs is in Article 31 of the fourth part of the Wangfu Law. Since you don’t know it, it can be seen that I ordered you to memorize the Wangfu Law and you failed to do it. , the eunuchs of the palace are not allowed to exchange personal relationships with people outside the palace, and offenders will be fined for one year." Jing Yi looked at her more sympathetically, expressing that he couldn't do anything about her losing sixteen months' salary in one word. Huang Zixia was dumbfounded. For the first time, she was greatly shaken by the thought of making up her mind to risk everything to join the person in front of her! This bossy master who bullies others, who is always vengeful and domineering, is definitely not a good master! The atmosphere in the Yubing Pavilion became more solemn. Jing Yi resigned cleverly. Huang Zixia spread out his hand towards Li Shubai: "Give me the half of the silver ingot." Li Shubai looked up at her: "What clue did you find?" "No," she said stiffly, "I'm penniless. I'm so poor that I can't even eat a bowl of soup cakes when I go out to investigate cases. If I faint on the street, I'm afraid I won't be able to serve the prince anymore. In addition, when I'm hungry, I will think wildly, unable to investigate and push the case. So in order to solve the case as soon as possible, I decided to take the evidence and spend it." Li Shubai looked at her, the corners of his lips curved slightly, a curve that seemed to be a smile but not a smile.He slowly opened the drawer, took out a small sign from it, and threw it on the table: "Take this." Huang Zixia picked it up and found that it was a small golden token, half the size of a palm.The front of the token is full of Kui patterns, and the four characters "King Kui of the Tang Dynasty" are engraved in Yangwen.On the reverse side are the four big characters "Made by the Emperor", and the seal of the emperor's treasure and the words "made by the imperial edict of the inner court". Huang Zixia pinched it with three fingers and looked at Li Shubai suspiciously. Li Shubai just continued to look down at the official document, and said flatly: "There is only one letter in the world, and it is used by all yamen and state capitals. Keep it carefully, and it will be very troublesome to lose it." "Huh?" Huang Zixia was still a little hesitant, not knowing his intentions. Seeing that she was still puzzled, he raised his voice a little and said, "You are the person next to me. In the future, you are not allowed to ask others for help. Is there anything in this world that I can't settle for you?" ?” Huang Zixia looked at his drooping face, no emotion was revealed on that calm face.The sound of ice hitting Yuzhen did not have the slightest ripple, and the elegant and noble breath was not disturbed at all. It was clearly the Kui King Li Shubai she was familiar with. In the midst of the cicadas chirping near and far, and the undulating warmth of her heart at this moment, it seemed that she had become different. Maybe she stood motionless for a long time, and he finally looked up at her.Before she had time to speak, she let go of her hand, and the golden order slid down, making a light ding on the green brick floor, breaking the silence at this moment. She quickly squatted down to pick it up, took a deep breath secretly, and then stood up tremblingly. Li Shubai looked at her and asked, "What, are you not satisfied?" "No, no, I'm just... flattered." A thin layer of light pink appeared on her jade-white cheeks, just like the hazy color rendered by watching peach blossoms through the curtain. His gaze stayed on her for a long time, feeling that the official document in his hand was boring.He put down the stack of papers in his hand, stood up and walked to the window, looking at the sky outside. The sky is endless and the sky is as blue as blue.Some clouds are as thin as gauze, lightly smeared in the air, so low that they can almost be touched. He suddenly felt in a trance that this cloud had also been smeared in his usual empty life.Like a girl who is as clear and bright as a clear sky in May, she suddenly broke into his destiny one day with a gesture of being caught off guard. From then on, whether relative or entangled - in his life, it is best for him and her to run counter to each other and forget each other in the rivers and lakes. He raised his hands to cover his eyes, as if the May sky outside was too bright at this time, stinging his eyes. He turned around, looked at Huang Zixia in front of him from behind the sun, and said, "It's not for you, I'll borrow it temporarily." Huang Zixia nodded in agreement, looked at the golden order in his hand with a bitter face, and asked carefully: "My lord, can I ask you something?" He looks at her. "Um... do all the restaurants, traffickers, and ordinary people in the capital know this Kui Wang Lingxin?" He questioned through his nose: "Huh?" "That's... what I mean..." She hesitated for a long time with an expression on her face, but she finally asked, "Can I use this to go to taverns, bakeries, butcher shops, and stalls in the capital... on credit? " As soon as this remark came out, even a person like Li Shubai couldn't help but glared at her and snorted coldly, expressing that he was unwilling to discuss such vulgar issues with her again. Huang Zixia also knew that it was too inelegant for her to try to take Kui Wang Lingxin to pay on credit, so she bowed her head under his gaze with a guilty conscience, and obediently put Lingxin in her arms. Li Shubai turned around and sat down on the low couch next to him, pointing to the opposite side. Huang Zixia obediently knelt down in front of him—a ruthless character who deducted her sixteen-month salary in three sentences, wouldn't she be obedient? He poured himself a cup of tea, and said slowly: "What I'm going to say next is very important, so I didn't say it in front of Zhou Ziqin. But I think, if you want to investigate this case, you must know-" —This matter must have a huge connection with this case.” Huang Zixia nodded, holding her breath and looking at him quietly. He is holding the teacup with three slender and fair fingers, between the thumb, index finger and middle finger, the secret color porcelain is verdant and as cool as jade. "Actually, the half of the silver ingot—that is, when Pang Xun counted the privately minted silver ingots, the eight hundred and twenty taels of silver was the full amount, that is to say, there was not a single twenty taels of silver ingot that was lost. The dropped ingot was actually used by me." Huang Zixia was stunned, her hand holding the teapot froze in the air, and she couldn't help muttering, "No way, so you are short of money, Lord Kui?" Li Shubai gave her a sideways glance, ignored her, and just followed what he wanted to say: "It happened when I broke into Pang Xun's mansion, but I didn't think of it when I saw the half ingot of silver before." superior." Hearing his opening remarks, Huang Zixia knew that he might explain in more detail, so she also poured tea for herself, went to the desk to get some snacks, took one and ate it slowly. It happened three years ago, but Li Shubai remembered it very well, and he said every sentence clearly without missing anything.
In the tenth year of Xiantong, after Li Shubai shot and killed Pang Xun, the soldiers defending the city suddenly collapsed, their morale collapsed, and they surrendered one after another. Before half an hour had passed, the city of Xuzhou was demolished, and the imperial army entered to search for the remnants, because Li Shubai had ordered in advance that anyone who used the name of street fighting to burn, kill and loot civilians would be punished.So the soldiers in all the streets moved very quickly, and within two hours, Li Shubai had already entered Pang Xun's mansion.
"Perhaps because the imperial army came too fast, there were still a few rebels hidden in the mansion trying to resist, but they were quickly killed." He said it lightly, and Huang Zixia thought in his heart, if you went straight into the enemy's base camp before the chaos was over, is it because you are brave, or are you brave and foolhardy, eager for quick success and not cautious?Or——At that time, this person didn't take his own life and death into consideration at all? However, of course she didn't dare to say such words, and just quietly listened to him continue talking——
While chasing a fleeing rebel, Li Shubai chased into a courtyard with thick walls alone, and heard a woman's shrill cries. From the window outside the wall, he saw a man grabbing a delicate girl with disheveled hair, pulling her messy clothes and hair and dragging her out. Yin fled to a place far away from the emperor, where the sky was high, and he could not enjoy it all his life."
Speaking of this, Li Shubai glanced at Huang Zixia who was eating snacks in front of him, and omitted many of the unpleasant words behind the man, and only said: "The man is unusually tall, his face is full of flesh, and the girl just reached his chest. Even if I struggled desperately, I couldn't get rid of him, so I could only cry loudly and let him drag me to the door."
At that time Li Shubai saw it from the window, but he couldn't find the door to the left and right, and the wall was too high to go in. He was thinking that he must have prepared a carriage, and was about to go back and order someone to intercept him. Looks like a tall girl.She also had disheveled hair, her face was covered with dust and she couldn't see her true colors. She held an iron chisel through the stove with both hands, and ruthlessly plunged into the man's back. It's a pity that the man's skin is rough and thick, the tall girl has weak wrists, and doesn't know how to attack the vital points. Even if she tried her best, the iron drill didn't penetrate much. Without letting go, he turned around and roared and kicked the tall girl who hurt him. The tall girl was kicked in the chest by him, and her whole body flew out at an angle, and she leaned against the corner of the wall and vomited a pool of blood. The fierce man still didn't let go of his hatred, and after a few steps, he wanted to hit the tall girl. The petite girl next to him was pulling at him desperately, but she couldn't move the man, seeing him strode towards the fallen tall girl. Go, clenched his right fist as big as a vinegar bowl and punched her lower abdomen. Li Shubai immediately bowed his bow and set his arrow, secretly regretting that he was distracted, maybe it was too late to save the girl——
Huang Zixia had already forgotten the refreshments, she straightened up, stared at Li Shubai for a moment, and asked anxiously, "And then?" Li Shubai was still holding the secret-colored porcelain teacup in his hand, so he took a sip slowly and said, "The moment I took the arrow, I looked into the yard again, and heard that man's scream."
I saw the petite girl tightly holding a silver ingot with blood stains on the corners, curled up in a corner and shivering.It turned out that at the critical moment, she grabbed a silver ingot from a nearby box and slammed it on the man's head.The villain clutched the back of his head in a rage, and slapped her hard on the face. She hit the wall hard, and held the silver ingot to her chest. The man grabbed her by the collar and raised his hand to slap her down again. The tall girl who was curled up in the corner rushed back holding the iron chisel. The chisel pierced into his right eye impartially.At the same time, the arrow in Li Shubai's hand also shot into his left eye in an instant. Amidst the villain's screams, the petite girl holding the silver ingot frantically smashed his head as if going crazy.The villain kicked her to the ground, but he finally fell to the ground dancing around.The tall girl jumped forward and stabbed the man desperately with the iron chisel, from the face to the abdomen, I don't know how many times, the man's body twitched, and finally there was no more movement. The two blood-stained girls finally put away the things in their hands, shivered and crawled together, hugging and looking at the corpse.Only then did they realize that there was an arrow sticking out of the man's left eye. Panting in horror, they glanced around, and then saw Li Shubai behind the flower window. Li Shubai said to them through the window: "Don't worry, we are here to suppress the rebellious party, you wait inside for a while, I will go in and deal with it." The girl holding the iron chisel hurriedly pointed to Li Shubai's right. Li Shubai walked about ten steps to the right and saw a corner door, but it was only locked. went in. Perhaps they were overly frightened, but they still hugged each other tightly, trembling. Li Shubai looked at his clothes, there were only one or two spots of blood on the brocade robe, he shouldn't look like a villain, but they looked at him with only fear in their eyes. Li Shubai knew that they were terrified, so he stepped forward and squatted in front of them, looked at them and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here and caught by such villains again?" With a gentle expression, he squatted dignifiedly in front of these two distressed girls, comforting them in a low voice, his posture was as gentle and gentle as a spring flowing in the forest. After being taken into captivity, what they met every day were vicious and brutal rebels. The two girls who were worried every day and didn't know what kind of bullying they would suffer. For a moment, they felt that everything around them seemed a world away, which made them relax their guard a little. "You...you saved us?" The petite girl holding the silver ingot had a hoarse voice, her lips trembled like dead leaves in the wind, her color was pale and gray. Li Shubai drew out a feathered arrow from his back, and compared it with the arrow in the corpse's right eye.Because Li Shubai's arrows with his name engraved on them had long been used up, and now they are using the arrows of ordinary soldiers. When they saw that they were the same, they knelt down together and thanked Li Shubai.Tears rolled down both of them, choking almost silently. The tall girl kept looking at him and didn't speak, but the petite girl was more daring. She thanked her and said, "Thank you for saving my life. The little girl's surname is Cheng." She pointed to the tall girl next to her and said, "She is my sister with a different surname. , named Xiao Shi. Because both my parents died, I came from Liuzhou and went to Xuzhou to join my aunt..." "How did you fall into the hands of the rebels?" The girl surnamed Cheng choked up and said: "Because of Pang Xun's rebellion, my aunt had already fled to a foreign country when we arrived. Unfortunately, we encountered a rebellious party and were taken captive here with a group of women. The day before yesterday I heard that the imperial army was approaching the city and was about to wipe it out. The party is chaotic, so no one cares about us for a while. Who knows that today they robbed gold and silver, and each of them robbed us of a group of women who were looted, and said... what else, apart from that, even if there is no food on the road Well, the meat of a teenage girl is tender and delicious..."
When Li Shubai said this, he gently put down the teacup in his hand, thoughtfully. Just as Huang Zixia heard the tension, she hurriedly asked, "Then what happened later? What about the other women who were robbed?" "I was shocked when I heard about the tragic situation. I immediately got up and went out, preparing to lead people to chase after the kidnapped women."
Following the direction pointed by the girl surnamed Cheng, Li Shubai ran to the door and saw the carriage parked there.He untied a horse and jumped on it. Looking back, he saw that the girl surnamed Cheng was in tears, and the place where the tears flowed revealed the snow-white and crystal-clear complexion underneath. Although her eyes were red and swollen like rotten peaches from crying, full of fear and panic, but the outlines were vaguely a pair of extremely beautiful phoenix eyes.And the little Shi who was snuggling close to her was also beautiful. Li Shubai thought in his heart that these two girls must be beauties in the first place, that's why they were taken captive here.A pair of girls like them, in such a chaotic Xuzhou, don't know how much trouble they will encounter. He wanted to help them, but he was worried about the other women who were robbed. He was hesitating when the soldiers outside had already chased them in. They saluted Li Shubai and called Li Shubai: "General!"
Huang Zixia asked again: "Huh? Why are you called General?" "Because I was named General Pingnan by the imperial court at that time, and I was not in the imperial court, soldiers in the army naturally called their positions in the army." Li Shubai explained casually.
Li Shubai asked the soldiers to unload the gold and silver from the carriage and take them to count, and ordered a group of cavalry to chase down the fleeing rebels.After the cavalry chased away, Li Shubai asked the two girls: "What are your plans?" "We were going to Yangzhou, but my aunt left a message saying she was there," said the girl surnamed Cheng. Li Shubai asked them if they needed soldiers to escort them back.They shook their heads desperately with fear on their faces, saying that they did not want to walk with the soldiers. Li Shubai thought that they must be terrified of the army and soldiers when they were kidnapped by the rebels, so he didn't force them, but only motioned them to pick up the silver ingots and iron chisels on the ground, and said, "This is a murder weapon, remember to clean up the scene. Silver ingots can also be exchanged for coils, so take them." The silver ingot was covered with blood and brains, red, red and white.听李舒白这么说，小施迟疑着伸手想拿，却先伏在地上干呕起来。还是程姓少女撕下那个死者的一块衣服，隔着衣物捡起那个染血的银锭，包起来提在手中，但手指也始终不敢抓紧。 李舒白一提缰绳，马车就此奔出。她们在颠簸的车上，紧紧抓着车辕一动不动。 一直到了徐州城外，荒草漫漫的平原上一条官道上倒是行人不少。都是在庞勋作乱时，怕被抓去当兵所以逃避出城躲在山村里的，现在听说庞勋已死，都喜悦欢欣地回来了。 那两个少女一路颠簸脱力，脚软得连车都下不了。李舒白便伸手将她们扶下车，又叮嘱了她们要在官道上走，切勿离开大道，免得出事。 “不过，既然你们能从柳州到徐州，现在两人一起去扬州，应该也不是难事吧？” 她们都只看着他，默默点头。 李舒白便不再管她们，掉转马身离去了。 就在他刚刚转过马车时，后面忽然有人追上来，挽住李舒白的马缰，抬头看李舒白。 是那个程姓少女，她仰脸看着李舒白，那张满是泥尘的小脸上，一双眼睛清可见底，似乎还有点羞怯。 李舒白俯下身看她，问：“还有什么事？” 她咬着下唇，从怀里掏了好久，取出一支银簪子，拼命踮起脚抬高手举到李舒白面前。 “恩公，这是我爹当年送给我娘的定情信物，我被抓住之后，什么东西都没了。这支簪子，是我唯一重要的东西。恩公您日后，可以拿着它到扬州找我，我姑姑的名字，叫作兰黛。”
Huang Zixia followed Li Shubai into the car and went back to Kui Wang's mansion.Along the way, Li Shubai just remained silent, neither speaking nor looking at her.Huang Zixia felt a lot of pressure, so she could only bite the bullet and sit on the low stool, guessing whether it was herself or someone else who offended the old man.If it was someone else, why did he show this face to himself?If it was me, what was the reason for offending... While she was thinking about it, the old man shrouded in dark clouds finally spoke: "What can I do for you?" "Ah?" Huang Zixia's heart skipped a beat. Naturally, she didn't dare to say that it was Zhang Xingying's business, so she hurriedly said, "It's... a trivial matter, so I didn't dare to trouble the prince. I only discussed it with Zhou Ziqin. Since he can help me If it is resolved, the prince will not be disturbed." Seeing her expression that she didn't intend to tell him at all, Li Shubai said coldly: "It's okay, anyway, I don't have the time to pay attention to you." Huang Zixia breathed a sigh of relief, but also clearly felt his displeasure, so she tensed her nerves and waited for him to say more. Unexpectedly, he never spoke again along the way, and only read the official documents on the small table.He was extremely fast, looking at ten lines at a glance, and there was a slight rustling sound of turning the pages of the book, and he really didn't even have the interest to raise his eyelashes to glance at her. When Huang Zixia breathed a sigh of relief, he looked at the scripture-like alien script above, and thought it should be Tubo script, so he couldn't help admiring it.
The whole journey was like sitting on pins and needles until they arrived at the palace. When they got off the bus, Jing Yu and a group of people were already at the door to greet him, waiting for orders. "Call Jingyi over here." He just dropped a sentence like this, and then went straight to Yubing Pavilion. Huang Zixia breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed back a few steps, and was about to go back to his residence, but Li Shubai seemed to have eyes on the back of his head, and without turning his head, he just left two words: "Follow me." She looked around and found that he should be calling her, so she could only squeeze the sweat on her palms and follow him, while silently saying in her heart: Huang Zixia, Huang Zixia, since you have chosen this difficult master, you can only do it no matter what. Follow him, come and go, as long as he gives an order, go through fire and water!
Jing Yu settled everything in the morning, the tea and snacks in the Yubing Pavilion were complete, the incense rose from the stove, and the thin bamboo silk curtains were lowered to block most of the sunlight outside. Li Shubai washed his hands in the golden basin held by the maid, and then took the white linen towel handed over to wipe his hands. His movements were slow, without any trace of emotion.Huang Zixia stood aside, waiting for Li Shubai to review the official documents. Finally, when Jing Yi came over, she breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that it was really hard for her to bear this kind of pressure alone. "How long has Yang Chonggu been here?" Li Shubai asked straight to the point. Jing Yi replied without hesitation: "Thirty-seven days from the beginning to the end, more than a month." "The moon silver hasn't been distributed yet?" "As a rule, the government distributes fifteen monthly silver coins. The last time the monthly silver coins were distributed, because he just came here, he only gave two taels of Jianxi silver coins." Seeing Xiyin, Huang Zixia naturally followed the usual practice and invited two tables of wine to get acquainted with the people in the house, and there was no money left.It's not that she doesn't understand the rules of human relations, nor can she understand them. Huang Zixia helplessly slandered that it was not easy to be a little eunuch in the palace. Although she was provided with food, lodging and clothing, after she escaped from Sichuan, she had originally smashed the golden hairpin in exchange for some money to pay for the trip to Beijing. The little money left was thrown away when he kicked him off the pond, otherwise, why would she always eat other people's food when she went out?It is her limit to be able to buy a bowl of soup cakes! Jing Yi said again: "Recently, I want to ask the prince to show me, but I don't know how Yang Chonggu's rank in the mansion is determined?" Here we are, talking about our treatment!Huang Zixia suddenly felt a little excited.Since she was a child, she has never been short of money, because her parents would give pocket money every now and then, and she was a little rich woman after she saved up.But she has always envied her brother, the yamen's servants, and the fast catchers.Because, at that time, she was a woman.She helped the Yamen solve many suspicious cases, but it was still impossible to become a member of them, to register on time, to receive money on a monthly basis, and to occupy a fixed staff in an orderly functioning organization.And now, she has finally become a... eunuch who has a stable job, can support herself without relying on her family and husband for the rest of her life, and can receive a monthly salary.Although it doesn't sound very nice, eunuchs...can be considered officials, right? Li Shubai's eyes slightly moved away from the official document, and he glanced at Huang Zixia seemingly absently. Huang Zixia clearly saw a trace of gloating in his eyes that "I have waited for a long time and finally let me wait for this opportunity". An ominous omen suddenly rose in her heart. I just heard Li Shubai say: "Everyone in the palace pays attention to fairness, otherwise what's the use of the laws of the palace?" Jing Yi nodded and said: "Your Highness is right. Then, Yang Chonggu will be tentatively designated as the last eunuch, and all the daily allowances will be as much as others, and he will be promoted in the future depending on his performance." "Accurate." Li Shubai said lightly, as if he was a dignified person, and he just accepted other people's opinions. An even more ominous premonition suddenly rose in Huang Zixia's heart, and he couldn't help asking Jing Yi: "Excuse me, Eunuch Yi, what kind of treatment will the eunuchs wait for at the end of the palace?" Jing Yi looked at her, showing sympathy, but didn't speak. Li Shubai was instructing the official document before the case, without raising his head, and said in a calm voice: "First, the eunuchs of the last class are not allowed to interrupt, speak out, or ask questions without the permission of other people. Those who violate it will be fined for one month. Second, the treatment of last-class eunuchs is in Article 31 of the fourth part of the Wangfu Law. Since you don’t know it, it can be seen that I ordered you to memorize the Wangfu Law and you failed to do it. , the eunuchs of the palace are not allowed to exchange personal relationships with people outside the palace, and offenders will be fined for one year." Jing Yi looked at her more sympathetically, expressing that he couldn't do anything about her losing sixteen months' salary in one word. Huang Zixia was dumbfounded. For the first time, she was greatly shaken by the thought of making up her mind to risk everything to join the person in front of her! This bossy master who bullies others, who is always vengeful and domineering, is definitely not a good master! The atmosphere in the Yubing Pavilion became more solemn. Jing Yi resigned cleverly. Huang Zixia spread out his hand towards Li Shubai: "Give me the half of the silver ingot." Li Shubai looked up at her: "What clue did you find?" "No," she said stiffly, "I'm penniless. I'm so poor that I can't even eat a bowl of soup cakes when I go out to investigate cases. If I faint on the street, I'm afraid I won't be able to serve the prince anymore. In addition, when I'm hungry, I will think wildly, unable to investigate and push the case. So in order to solve the case as soon as possible, I decided to take the evidence and spend it." Li Shubai looked at her, the corners of his lips curved slightly, a curve that seemed to be a smile but not a smile.He slowly opened the drawer, took out a small sign from it, and threw it on the table: "Take this." Huang Zixia picked it up and found that it was a small golden token, half the size of a palm.The front of the token is full of Kui patterns, and the four characters "King Kui of the Tang Dynasty" are engraved in Yangwen.On the reverse side are the four big characters "Made by the Emperor", and the seal of the emperor's treasure and the words "made by the imperial edict of the inner court". Huang Zixia pinched it with three fingers and looked at Li Shubai suspiciously. Li Shubai just continued to look down at the official document, and said flatly: "There is only one letter in the world, and it is used by all yamen and state capitals. Keep it carefully, and it will be very troublesome to lose it." "Huh?" Huang Zixia was still a little hesitant, not knowing his intentions. Seeing that she was still puzzled, he raised his voice a little and said, "You are the person next to me. In the future, you are not allowed to ask others for help. Is there anything in this world that I can't settle for you?" ?” Huang Zixia looked at his drooping face, no emotion was revealed on that calm face.The sound of ice hitting Yuzhen did not have the slightest ripple, and the elegant and noble breath was not disturbed at all. It was clearly the Kui King Li Shubai she was familiar with. In the midst of the cicadas chirping near and far, and the undulating warmth of her heart at this moment, it seemed that she had become different. Maybe she stood motionless for a long time, and he finally looked up at her.Before she had time to speak, she let go of her hand, and the golden order slid down, making a light ding on the green brick floor, breaking the silence at this moment. She quickly squatted down to pick it up, took a deep breath secretly, and then stood up tremblingly. Li Shubai looked at her and asked, "What, are you not satisfied?" "No, no, I'm just... flattered." A thin layer of light pink appeared on her jade-white cheeks, just like the hazy color rendered by watching peach blossoms through the curtain. His gaze stayed on her for a long time, feeling that the official document in his hand was boring.He put down the stack of papers in his hand, stood up and walked to the window, looking at the sky outside. The sky is endless and the sky is as blue as blue.Some clouds are as thin as gauze, lightly smeared in the air, so low that they can almost be touched. He suddenly felt in a trance that this cloud had also been smeared in his usual empty life.Like a girl who is as clear and bright as a clear sky in May, she suddenly broke into his destiny one day with a gesture of being caught off guard. From then on, whether relative or entangled - in his life, it is best for him and her to run counter to each other and forget each other in the rivers and lakes. He raised his hands to cover his eyes, as if the May sky outside was too bright at this time, stinging his eyes. He turned around, looked at Huang Zixia in front of him from behind the sun, and said, "It's not for you, I'll borrow it temporarily." Huang Zixia nodded in agreement, looked at the golden order in his hand with a bitter face, and asked carefully: "My lord, can I ask you something?" He looks at her. "Um... do all the restaurants, traffickers, and ordinary people in the capital know this Kui Wang Lingxin?" He questioned through his nose: "Huh?" "That's... what I mean..." She hesitated for a long time with an expression on her face, but she finally asked, "Can I use this to go to taverns, bakeries, butcher shops, and stalls in the capital... on credit? " As soon as this remark came out, even a person like Li Shubai couldn't help but glared at her and snorted coldly, expressing that he was unwilling to discuss such vulgar issues with her again. Huang Zixia also knew that it was too inelegant for her to try to take Kui Wang Lingxin to pay on credit, so she bowed her head under his gaze with a guilty conscience, and obediently put Lingxin in her arms. Li Shubai turned around and sat down on the low couch next to him, pointing to the opposite side. Huang Zixia obediently knelt down in front of him—a ruthless character who deducted her sixteen-month salary in three sentences, wouldn't she be obedient? He poured himself a cup of tea, and said slowly: "What I'm going to say next is very important, so I didn't say it in front of Zhou Ziqin. But I think, if you want to investigate this case, you must know-" —This matter must have a huge connection with this case.” Huang Zixia nodded, holding her breath and looking at him quietly. He is holding the teacup with three slender and fair fingers, between the thumb, index finger and middle finger, the secret color porcelain is verdant and as cool as jade. "Actually, the half of the silver ingot—that is, when Pang Xun counted the privately minted silver ingots, the eight hundred and twenty taels of silver was the full amount, that is to say, there was not a single twenty taels of silver ingot that was lost. The dropped ingot was actually used by me." Huang Zixia was stunned, her hand holding the teapot froze in the air, and she couldn't help muttering, "No way, so you are short of money, Lord Kui?" Li Shubai gave her a sideways glance, ignored her, and just followed what he wanted to say: "It happened when I broke into Pang Xun's mansion, but I didn't think of it when I saw the half ingot of silver before." superior." Hearing his opening remarks, Huang Zixia knew that he might explain in more detail, so she also poured tea for herself, went to the desk to get some snacks, took one and ate it slowly. It happened three years ago, but Li Shubai remembered it very well, and he said every sentence clearly without missing anything.
In the tenth year of Xiantong, after Li Shubai shot and killed Pang Xun, the soldiers defending the city suddenly collapsed, their morale collapsed, and they surrendered one after another. Before half an hour had passed, the city of Xuzhou was demolished, and the imperial army entered to search for the remnants, because Li Shubai had ordered in advance that anyone who used the name of street fighting to burn, kill and loot civilians would be punished.So the soldiers in all the streets moved very quickly, and within two hours, Li Shubai had already entered Pang Xun's mansion.
"Perhaps because the imperial army came too fast, there were still a few rebels hidden in the mansion trying to resist, but they were quickly killed." He said it lightly, and Huang Zixia thought in his heart, if you went straight into the enemy's base camp before the chaos was over, is it because you are brave, or are you brave and foolhardy, eager for quick success and not cautious?Or——At that time, this person didn't take his own life and death into consideration at all? However, of course she didn't dare to say such words, and just quietly listened to him continue talking——
While chasing a fleeing rebel, Li Shubai chased into a courtyard with thick walls alone, and heard a woman's shrill cries. From the window outside the wall, he saw a man grabbing a delicate girl with disheveled hair, pulling her messy clothes and hair and dragging her out. Yin fled to a place far away from the emperor, where the sky was high, and he could not enjoy it all his life."
Speaking of this, Li Shubai glanced at Huang Zixia who was eating snacks in front of him, and omitted many of the unpleasant words behind the man, and only said: "The man is unusually tall, his face is full of flesh, and the girl just reached his chest. Even if I struggled desperately, I couldn't get rid of him, so I could only cry loudly and let him drag me to the door."
At that time Li Shubai saw it from the window, but he couldn't find the door to the left and right, and the wall was too high to go in. He was thinking that he must have prepared a carriage, and was about to go back and order someone to intercept him. Looks like a tall girl.She also had disheveled hair, her face was covered with dust and she couldn't see her true colors. She held an iron chisel through the stove with both hands, and ruthlessly plunged into the man's back. It's a pity that the man's skin is rough and thick, the tall girl has weak wrists, and doesn't know how to attack the vital points. Even if she tried her best, the iron drill didn't penetrate much. Without letting go, he turned around and roared and kicked the tall girl who hurt him. The tall girl was kicked in the chest by him, and her whole body flew out at an angle, and she leaned against the corner of the wall and vomited a pool of blood. The fierce man still didn't let go of his hatred, and after a few steps, he wanted to hit the tall girl. The petite girl next to him was pulling at him desperately, but she couldn't move the man, seeing him strode towards the fallen tall girl. Go, clenched his right fist as big as a vinegar bowl and punched her lower abdomen. Li Shubai immediately bowed his bow and set his arrow, secretly regretting that he was distracted, maybe it was too late to save the girl——
Huang Zixia had already forgotten the refreshments, she straightened up, stared at Li Shubai for a moment, and asked anxiously, "And then?" Li Shubai was still holding the secret-colored porcelain teacup in his hand, so he took a sip slowly and said, "The moment I took the arrow, I looked into the yard again, and heard that man's scream."
I saw the petite girl tightly holding a silver ingot with blood stains on the corners, curled up in a corner and shivering.It turned out that at the critical moment, she grabbed a silver ingot from a nearby box and slammed it on the man's head.The villain clutched the back of his head in a rage, and slapped her hard on the face. She hit the wall hard, and held the silver ingot to her chest. The man grabbed her by the collar and raised his hand to slap her down again. The tall girl who was curled up in the corner rushed back holding the iron chisel. The chisel pierced into his right eye impartially.At the same time, the arrow in Li Shubai's hand also shot into his left eye in an instant. Amidst the villain's screams, the petite girl holding the silver ingot frantically smashed his head as if going crazy.The villain kicked her to the ground, but he finally fell to the ground dancing around.The tall girl jumped forward and stabbed the man desperately with the iron chisel, from the face to the abdomen, I don't know how many times, the man's body twitched, and finally there was no more movement. The two blood-stained girls finally put away the things in their hands, shivered and crawled together, hugging and looking at the corpse.Only then did they realize that there was an arrow sticking out of the man's left eye. Panting in horror, they glanced around, and then saw Li Shubai behind the flower window. Li Shubai said to them through the window: "Don't worry, we are here to suppress the rebellious party, you wait inside for a while, I will go in and deal with it." The girl holding the iron chisel hurriedly pointed to Li Shubai's right. Li Shubai walked about ten steps to the right and saw a corner door, but it was only locked. went in. Perhaps they were overly frightened, but they still hugged each other tightly, trembling. Li Shubai looked at his clothes, there were only one or two spots of blood on the brocade robe, he shouldn't look like a villain, but they looked at him with only fear in their eyes. Li Shubai knew that they were terrified, so he stepped forward and squatted in front of them, looked at them and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here and caught by such villains again?" With a gentle expression, he squatted dignifiedly in front of these two distressed girls, comforting them in a low voice, his posture was as gentle and gentle as a spring flowing in the forest. After being taken into captivity, what they met every day were vicious and brutal rebels. The two girls who were worried every day and didn't know what kind of bullying they would suffer. For a moment, they felt that everything around them seemed a world away, which made them relax their guard a little. "You...you saved us?" The petite girl holding the silver ingot had a hoarse voice, her lips trembled like dead leaves in the wind, her color was pale and gray. Li Shubai drew out a feathered arrow from his back, and compared it with the arrow in the corpse's right eye.Because Li Shubai's arrows with his name engraved on them had long been used up, and now they are using the arrows of ordinary soldiers. When they saw that they were the same, they knelt down together and thanked Li Shubai.Tears rolled down both of them, choking almost silently. The tall girl kept looking at him and didn't speak, but the petite girl was more daring. She thanked her and said, "Thank you for saving my life. The little girl's surname is Cheng." She pointed to the tall girl next to her and said, "She is my sister with a different surname. , named Xiao Shi. Because both my parents died, I came from Liuzhou and went to Xuzhou to join my aunt..." "How did you fall into the hands of the rebels?" The girl surnamed Cheng choked up and said: "Because of Pang Xun's rebellion, my aunt had already fled to a foreign country when we arrived. Unfortunately, we encountered a rebellious party and were taken captive here with a group of women. The day before yesterday I heard that the imperial army was approaching the city and was about to wipe it out. The party is chaotic, so no one cares about us for a while. Who knows that today they robbed gold and silver, and each of them robbed us of a group of women who were looted, and said... what else, apart from that, even if there is no food on the road Well, the meat of a teenage girl is tender and delicious..."
When Li Shubai said this, he gently put down the teacup in his hand, thoughtfully. Just as Huang Zixia heard the tension, she hurriedly asked, "Then what happened later? What about the other women who were robbed?" "I was shocked when I heard about the tragic situation. I immediately got up and went out, preparing to lead people to chase after the kidnapped women."
Following the direction pointed by the girl surnamed Cheng, Li Shubai ran to the door and saw the carriage parked there.He untied a horse and jumped on it. Looking back, he saw that the girl surnamed Cheng was in tears, and the place where the tears flowed revealed the snow-white and crystal-clear complexion underneath. Although her eyes were red and swollen like rotten peaches from crying, full of fear and panic, but the outlines were vaguely a pair of extremely beautiful phoenix eyes.And the little Shi who was snuggling close to her was also beautiful. Li Shubai thought in his heart that these two girls must be beauties in the first place, that's why they were taken captive here.A pair of girls like them, in such a chaotic Xuzhou, don't know how much trouble they will encounter. He wanted to help them, but he was worried about the other women who were robbed. He was hesitating when the soldiers outside had already chased them in. They saluted Li Shubai and called Li Shubai: "General!"
Huang Zixia asked again: "Huh? Why are you called General?" "Because I was named General Pingnan by the imperial court at that time, and I was not in the imperial court, soldiers in the army naturally called their positions in the army." Li Shubai explained casually.
Li Shubai asked the soldiers to unload the gold and silver from the carriage and take them to count, and ordered a group of cavalry to chase down the fleeing rebels.After the cavalry chased away, Li Shubai asked the two girls: "What are your plans?" "We were going to Yangzhou, but my aunt left a message saying she was there," said the girl surnamed Cheng. Li Shubai asked them if they needed soldiers to escort them back.They shook their heads desperately with fear on their faces, saying that they did not want to walk with the soldiers. Li Shubai thought that they must be terrified of the army and soldiers when they were kidnapped by the rebels, so he didn't force them, but only motioned them to pick up the silver ingots and iron chisels on the ground, and said, "This is a murder weapon, remember to clean up the scene. Silver ingots can also be exchanged for coils, so take them." The silver ingot was covered with blood and brains, red, red and white.听李舒白这么说，小施迟疑着伸手想拿，却先伏在地上干呕起来。还是程姓少女撕下那个死者的一块衣服，隔着衣物捡起那个染血的银锭，包起来提在手中，但手指也始终不敢抓紧。 李舒白一提缰绳，马车就此奔出。她们在颠簸的车上，紧紧抓着车辕一动不动。 一直到了徐州城外，荒草漫漫的平原上一条官道上倒是行人不少。都是在庞勋作乱时，怕被抓去当兵所以逃避出城躲在山村里的，现在听说庞勋已死，都喜悦欢欣地回来了。 那两个少女一路颠簸脱力，脚软得连车都下不了。李舒白便伸手将她们扶下车，又叮嘱了她们要在官道上走，切勿离开大道，免得出事。 “不过，既然你们能从柳州到徐州，现在两人一起去扬州，应该也不是难事吧？” 她们都只看着他，默默点头。 李舒白便不再管她们，掉转马身离去了。 就在他刚刚转过马车时，后面忽然有人追上来，挽住李舒白的马缰，抬头看李舒白。 是那个程姓少女，她仰脸看着李舒白，那张满是泥尘的小脸上，一双眼睛清可见底，似乎还有点羞怯。 李舒白俯下身看她，问：“还有什么事？” 她咬着下唇，从怀里掏了好久，取出一支银簪子，拼命踮起脚抬高手举到李舒白面前。 “恩公，这是我爹当年送给我娘的定情信物，我被抓住之后，什么东西都没了。这支簪子，是我唯一重要的东西。恩公您日后，可以拿着它到扬州找我，我姑姑的名字，叫作兰黛。”