Home Categories romance novel Growing Lotus Step by Step 13 Stealing the Sky is Imminent

Chapter 20 Chapter 20

On the bank of the Yellow River, a maintenance team is heading eastward, and their ultimate goal is Bianliang. This is the team for repairing the Yellow River embankment. The maintenance personnel are divided into three parts, one part is the officials and servants of the river channel office of the imperial court, the other part is the river workers who are paid by the day, and the third part is the laborers sent by the local government for each river section they pass. Zhuang, these laborers repaired the river, and then paid off the corvee and taxes. Although it is hard work, it is still worth it.

The river workers who are paid by the day are divided into two parts. One part is laborers who live on the river and make a living on the river all year round.In this team, there is a family of three, all traveling eastward with the river maintenance personnel.The three members of this family are short-term laborers recruited from the Mengzhou River section. The couple and their younger sister are together.Her husband's surname is Zhang, and his name is Zhang Laoshi. He is in charge of clearing mud on the river team.The daughter-in-law and sister are responsible for everyone's meals together with two middle-aged women.The three members of this family are ordinary-looking, don't talk much, and work fairly diligently. They are not eye-catching in such a river team.

The emperor was assassinated, the crown prince was seriously injured, and all three of them were kidnapped, Empress Song, Princess Yongqing, and His Royal Highness King Qi. It was a sensation all over the world. Officers and soldiers could be seen everywhere, and checkpoints were set up along the roads. In fact, the farther you are from Bianliang, the tighter the road will be. Even if the Great Wall is lined up outside your city gate and the ferry is crowded with tens of thousands of people, under the strict supervision of the officers and soldiers patrolling the Yamen Gong Zhuang, you must honestly accept strict interrogation one by one. Anyone who had a slight resemblance to Empress Song, mother and son, or had a similar travel combination, was taken away for further interrogation.

However, not everyone feels that mobility is inconvenient, at least for the river maintenance team.River repairs are carried out every year. No matter which court, as long as there is a section of the Yellow River within its jurisdiction, it dare not be careless about river repairs.Although the source of the river workers is complicated, their background is absolutely innocent. Everyone has a family, a job, and a note opened by the township official, so they can enter. All the traveling merchants traveling from Bianliang, regardless of their identities and backgrounds, dare not abuse their privileges at this time. However, the repair team hardly received any interrogation, let alone made things difficult.

The emperor was furious, and the whole world was shaken. All the officers, soldiers, inspectors, and Gong Zhuang broke their legs. It is almost impossible to complete the task, how can there be spare energy to take into account the river maintenance team that is heading towards Bianliang and belongs to the imperial court? At Xingyang Ferry, after a busy day, the setting sun is shining, the sky is full of colorful clouds, and the smoke is rising. The river workers who have worked hard all day start to have dinner with big bowls.Zhang Laoshi is holding a large bowl of porridge, with a steamed bun in the other hand, a green onion between his little finger and ring finger, and a dozen radish strips on the porridge. He is squatting on the embankment of the Yellow River, facing the surging river water.

Turning the big sea bowl with one hand, drinking a mouthful of cold porridge, eating a mouthful of steamed buns, and taking a mouthful of pure white scallions, it tastes delicious.His mother-in-law was squatting next to him, also holding a big bowl, steamed buns, and green onions. While eating, she was talking softly with her husband. Only Zhang Honest's younger sister was sitting on a rock under a big tree. On the block, holding a small bowl of porridge, lightly bite a mouthful of steamed buns, drink a small mouthful of porridge, and eat in a gentle manner. A daughter is a daughter, and girls who have not left the court are different. Although they come from a poor family and have an ordinary face, their demeanor is gentle and delicate.

"Fifth son, it is not easy for us to go to Bianliang. It is safe now, but it will be difficult to figure it out after returning to the tiger's mouth. This time, both the emperor and the prince were assassinated. The royal family lost three important people at once. If the imperial court does not bring back the empress and His Royal Highness, and does not catch the murderer, even after another half a year, they will not relax their guard. It will not be easy for us to get away this time. This time is not as good as before. It is because the family of the prime minister is afraid that they will keep their relatives It was also reported by the Kaifeng government and underwent an investigation, and none of our residences in Kaifeng is safe."

Facing the Yellow River, Zhang Laoshi chatted "leisurely" with his daughter-in-law while eating, but if anyone heard the content of this chat, they would be scared out of their wits. Who would have thought that among the criminals, the Song Dynasty Since the founding of the country, the most wanted criminal in the whole country is actually by their side. "I know, of course it's not that easy." Zhe Ziyu opened his small white teeth, took a bite of a green onion, and chewed like an ordinary village woman: "But, if you don't say that, why would Yuluo give in?"

Zhang Shisan fell silent, and Yang Hao exchanged Zhejiamanmen for the Chuanguo Yuxi.Based on this one, the Fifth Young Master, who must avenge all grievances, risked his life and would do his best to keep his family safe.What's more, the fifth son's heart is tied to Yang Hao. Right now, this sister Yuluo will become her sister-in-law as soon as she passes through the door. Since she volunteered and took on the plan of stealing the sky, how can she? Put Ding Yuluo in danger.only…… "There is no way around this. The Princess Yongqing's assassination of the emperor has already frightened the snake, making our original plan of fleeing hundreds of miles away before the court finds out failed. The westward journey is already full of dangers. And she colluded Others found another way to escape, alarming the local government, and virtually blocked our escape route, if we can’t go to Bianliang unexpectedly, there is no way for us to escape safely with her.”

Zhe Ziyu took a sip of porridge and said, "Our hidden piles in Bianliang have almost been used this time. Even if there are a few people left, they can't move even if the city of Tokyo is full of soldiers and the wind is raging. But some people have The solution is to say that the emperor was only assassinated, even if the emperor was assassinated and died, and hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops trapped the city of Tokyo like an iron barrel, some people still have a way to come and go freely." Zhang Shisan said in surprise: "Fifth Young Master, you mean?" Zhe Ziyu smiled slightly: "These people are the local snakes in Bianliang City. Any government servant can crush them to death like ants, but they are the underground masters of Bianliang City. Seniors, sometimes can play a very big role. When I came back from Hexi, Yang...he... gave me a token and told me not to use it to find that person unless it was absolutely necessary. Now , is the time of last resort..."

Zhe Ziyu reached into his arms and took out a short piece of wooden stick. The wooden stick was made of boxwood with a fine texture, as if it was often played with, so it was very smooth...
"Find their whereabouts? Really find their whereabouts?" Zhao Guangyi walked into the Wende Hall quickly, walking at first, then almost ran forward with big strides, broke into the hall, saw three stretchers in the center of the hall, covered with a layer of white cloth, and then stopped abruptly, He widened his eyes and said, "This... this is..." The commander of the Imperial City Division, Zhen Chuge, followed quickly on his toes, arched his hands slightly, and whispered: "Officials, these are the corpses of Empress Song and King Qi." Zhao Guangyi ordered the Secretary of the Imperial City to be fully responsible for the pursuit and search. He already had the intention of scheming and murdering people to silence him, but Zhen Chuge really completed his mission. Zhao Guangyi said with difficulty: "She...they...how did they die?" Zhen Chuge rolled his eyes, and said cautiously: "Reporting to the official family, those rebels always set up suspicious formations, sometimes east and sometimes west, and suspicious soldiers are everywhere. It was not easy to track down, but they made a mistake at the Min River Ferry. Controlling the ferry, making sure that the boats hiding Song Niangniang and His Royal Highness King Qi went south, but for some reason, they fought with another group of people. This way, their whereabouts were revealed. The inspection department thought it was the Hedao Gang fighting for power and profit, and they fought with weapons. As a result, human life was injured, so a large number of patrol inspectors were sent to control the river, and they were about to investigate the case strictly, but it happened that the emperor's order came. This is also God Bless the official family. The boat that carried Empress Song and His Royal Highness King Qi was blocked behind. Seeing that the situation was not good, they abandoned the boat and landed, trying to go around the transition. More than a dozen inspectors escaped.Upon hearing the news, Wei Chen immediately led his men to chase after them, and finally caught up with their boat on the Beiru River.The subordinates fired their arrows in unison..." When Zhen Chuge said this, he deliberately paused, Zhao Guangyi understood, and asked, "What, did you shoot the thief?" Zhen Chuge hurriedly bowed and said: "Yes, I did shoot the culprit. The culprit jumped over the wall in a hurry, killed His Royal Highness King Qi, set fire to the boat, and then jumped into the river in disorder, fleeing in all directions. The boat put out the fire, but unfortunately... it was a step too late, the empress... was buried in the sea of ​​fire..." Zhao Guangyi gritted his teeth and said, "Isn't anyone caught alive?" Zhen Chuge hurriedly knelt down and said, "This humble minister is incompetent, at that time..." What Zhen Chuge said was half-truth and half-false, Zhao Guangyi knew that his words were full of falsehoods, but there were some things that both of us knew, but he refused to tell him.In fact, the Huangcheng Division did block the river because of an inexplicable melee at the Min River Ferry, which prevented the boat carrying Empress Song and King Qi Zhao Defang from passing. . After Zhen Chuge chased after him with the troops from the Imperial City Department, he chased them all the way to the Beiru River, filled the horses and boarded the boat, and then caught up with the sailing boat ahead, but what happened next was all lies. But they were not thieves, but Qi Wang Zhao Defang and Song Niangniang.Zhao Guangyi's order, as his confidant, Zhen Chuge knows very well that the empress and King Qi must not escape alive, nor can they come back alive, they must die, but those thieves who assisted them in escaping must be arrested. A few live. Although Zhao Guangyi couldn't help but put the big hat of regicide and treason on the head of his third younger brother, he couldn't be sure whether these people were sent by Zhao Guangmei, and he also wanted to find out the real culprit. , Get rid of the big trouble forever. As a result, random arrows were fired, like a torrential rain, Zhao Defang, who had just won the obeisance to the king, was unable to dodge, but was pierced through the chest by a random arrow, and shot directly.The Zheng family who fled with Zhao Defang's mother and son saw that the real master died. Once Zhao Defang, the authentic prince, died, Empress Song, a woman with a foreign surname, was far less appealing than Zhao Guangmei. , had no choice but to take her to escape. These people are all dead men of the Zheng family, otherwise they would not have been sent to carry out such an important task. They know that this is a serious crime of regicide. Once they are caught, even if they know everything, they will be punished There is no way of escaping this serious crime. If someone recognizes his true colors, even his family members will suffer, so this breakout was very tragic. Many people were killed by the Imperial City Secretary, but he couldn't even catch a single one alive. , as long as they are seriously injured and unable to support them, they will immediately raise their swords to kill themselves. Before they die, they will slash their facial features and faces so that people can no longer recognize them. . However, after all, there are so many people in the Imperial City Division, and the dead men on the ship are gradually exhausted. Seeing the officers and soldiers and ships getting closer and closer, Song Niangniang didn't know that Zhao Guangyi wanted her to die. She was unwilling to go back to Bianliang alive to suffer, so she set fire cabin, and then picked up the sword and killed himself.Zhen Chuge brought the people onto the boat in time, and finally snatched their bodies, but half of them were burnt. After Zhao Guangyi listened, his eyes moved slightly, and he said, "Where's Yongqing? This...isn't it?" Zhen Chuge lowered his head and said: "The whereabouts of the princess are unknown, and I have sent people to continue the search. This corpse... is Lin Er, the servant girl beside the princess." "Oh?" Zhao Guangyi walked over and lifted the white cloth to see that the originally handsome face was slightly deformed by the fire, which looked extremely frightening. He wanted to straighten his face, and only from the small half of his face that had not been burned. Faintly seeing the former appearance, Zhao Guangyi's fingers trembled, and he almost didn't have the courage to look at the corpses of Empress Song and Zhao Defang again, but he was absolutely unwilling to feel at ease if he didn't see them with his own eyes. After identifying the bodies of Empress Song and Zhao Defang, she felt relieved. "Yongqing... did he escape?" Zhao Guangyi squatted in front of Empress Song's body, thinking that Yongqing might still be alive, he didn't know whether it was light or heavy, and after hesitating for a while, he said in a deep voice: "Yongqing... is already dead. , this... is clearly the corpse of Yongqing's niece, Zhen Chuge, can you see clearly?" Zhen Chuge was about to report that he had found an important letter from a dead man who fled ashore. Before he could open his mouth, he was startled when he heard Zhao Guangyi's words, and then suddenly realized, and said repeatedly: "Yes, this... It is the body of Princess Yongqing, I... I saw it with my own eyes, the princess was not willing to be humiliated by the thieves, so she set herself on fire." At this moment, a roar suddenly came from outside the hall: "Gu Ruoli, get the hell out of here, let me in, let me in, can you save Father, Empress, Younger Sister Yongqing, and Brother Defang?" Zhao Guangyi's expression changed, and he threw himself in front of Empress Song's body and burst into tears: "Sister-in-law, you died so miserable... I was a king in vain, but I couldn't protect the whole family of the wife of the emperor. Zhao Guangyi vowed not to be a human being in return for this hatred! Sister-in-law, Defang, Yongqing..."
Outside the West Water Gate of Bianliang, Tang Mansion. A torrential rain just swept away the heat of summer, flooding the pond, and frogs croaked happily on the lotus leaves in the pond.The plump lotus leaves are green and shiny, with crystal water droplets on them. The frog jumped up and down, but only let the lotus leaves sway slightly, and the water droplets flowed like beads, but they did not fall into the pool. Under the weeping willows, there is a vermilion pavilion.The three brothers Tang Ying, Tang Yong, and Tang Wei stood side by side in the pavilion. Tang Ying's face sank and said: "In terms of knowledge and ability, I am not as good as my second brother and third brother, so I leave it up to you to make decisions about the Tang family's affairs, but this is a matter of life and death for my Tang family. Should you discuss it with me in advance? Decades ago, Mrs. Lu was very ambitious, so don't you know what happened?" When Tang Ying got angry, Tang Yong felt a little uneasy, but Tang Wei smiled and said: "Brother, what we did, and what Lu Shi did back then, how can it be compared?" Tang Ying said angrily: "You are still sophistrying, you let people rob and kill the Zheng family's men and horses at the Minhe Ferry, so that the Zheng family's achievements were on the verge of failure, dozens of dead men, and even the three members of Mrs. Song's family were killed. An ambush was laid to kill the dead men of the Zheng family who escaped from the hands of the Imperial City Secretary, leaving behind the documents related to the Zheng family to be framed. How is this different from the Lu family's cannibalism? Once the news is leaked..." Tang Ying thought about the terrible consequences, and couldn't help but change her face. Tang Yong said: "Brother, the news will never be leaked. The only ones who know the truth now are you and me, only our three Tang family members, and no one else knows!" Tang Ying was furious, and pointed at Tang Wei. Tang Wei calmly spread his fan on the ground and said, "Second brother is right, only you and my three brothers know the truth. There are quite a few of the people I sent, Now they are all buried in the ground, and this secret will never be revealed." Tang Ying felt a chill in her heart, her fingers trembled, but she couldn't continue speaking. Tang Wei lightly shook his shoulders, turned to the pond, and said with a smile, "Brother, you don't have to think about the seriousness of the situation. Why don't you think about the good side? Our Tang family, we changed our country name to our surname, and were originally a branch of the Li family. But the main branch and the subsidiary branch are not static. The Li family has already declined, and now they are basically attached to the Cui family. It is time for me to rise. Besides, the letter I left will not destroy the Zheng family. The Zheng family is a hidden sect, and the power exposed on the surface is very limited. All of their powers are destroyed once, and they can't solve their roots at all. " He smiled evilly: "Of course, it's inevitable to hurt our vitality. The Zheng family's vitality is damaged, and this evil fire can't be sent to us no matter what. There is a debtor and a debtor. They are creditors." Cui Dalang must be blamed." Tang Sanshao put away his folded fan, patted it on the palm of his hand, raised his brows and said: "It's done, Qianzong Xianzong, Cui and Zheng's two families are fighting each other, and my Tang family has established itself in the center of the world, with a bright future. Can our offshoot of the Li family become the master of the entire successor hall in time?" He turned his head slowly, looking at his elder brother and second brother with burning eyes, and said with a smile: "Elder Brother, Second Brother, do you think it's worth the risk for me?"
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