The palace.
It is not the residence of a certain prince or county king, but the residence of Wang Ruoshui, a doctor in the Department of Ceremony of the Ministry of Etiquette.
In the past, everyone in the palace took advantage of this surname, and they often felt contented and prosperous with beautiful dreams, as if one day this place could become a real palace.
But at this moment, the mansion was filled with a strange sense of depression and panic.
Although everyone doesn't know why, just like the sensitive and frightened little beasts in the forest, they can naturally sense the atmosphere of an approaching mountain rain, winds filling the buildings, and dark clouds threatening to destroy the city.
In the whole house, there was only one person who was leisurely and contented, crossing his legs and enjoying tea.
This person is an outsider.
He is currently just a minor director of the Ministry of Rites, one level below Wang Langzhong, but he is sitting high in the main hall of the palace, but he is not afraid at all, because behind him is Lord Shangshu.
Tonight, he also came to take care of the lives of Mr. Wang and his family under the orders of Lord Shangshu. How could he not feel relaxed and comfortable.
He even thought that it was rumored that the wife of the prince was very beautiful. If he used this as a threat, he would probably have a chance to have a romantic relationship with her.
When the time comes, let Wang Langzhong wait at the door, hey hey hey!
He was so excited by the thought that he reacted and shook his head, no, no, no, no, no, the Lord Shangshu has orders, so he can't be left to dance with guns and sticks.
It’s true that this prince, actually allowed Master Shangshu to seize such a handle, I’m afraid he will have to shed his skin even if he doesn’t die!
If he goes down, the position of the Ceremony Master will be his, right?
While thinking about it, a figure hurriedly came back, "Master Zeng! There are some small things that have kept you waiting for a long time!"
Chief Zeng raised his head and looked at Mr. Wang. He did not put down his raised feet. He held a tea cup and smiled, showing no respect for his superior. "Did Mr. Wang go out somewhere to burn incense and worship Buddha?"
Wang Langzhong laughed twice and did not answer, but asked: "I wonder what Master Zeng is here for?"
Manager Zeng turned to look at him, sneering in his heart. At this point, are you still pretending to be stupid? Don't you think you can escape disaster just by pretending to be stupid?
"Mr. Wang, there is a rumor today that the jade ring given by His Majesty has been lost in your palace. Your Excellency, the Minister, is very concerned and has sent me to verify it. If it is true, I can help you to find out."
After hearing this, Wang Langzhong couldn't help but curse in his heart.
Lost?
This starts to tamper with the characterization of the inside story, right? Even if the jade ring is really missing, it is still stolen, and being lost are two different things!
He also said it in a high-sounding way, twist it for me, but if you don’t twist it into the coffin for me, my damn king will be written upside down!
He became more and more certain that Shangshu Shi was going to kill him. If Mr. Xia had not come up with a clever plan, he would have been in trouble this time!
Thinking of Mr. Xia's instructions, he smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord Shangshu, for your kindness. However, this jade ring is not lost, but I have temporarily placed it in the village outside the city. I am planning to go to the city for a short stay." , worship it well and enjoy it every day."
Director Zeng sneered, "Mr. Wang, is this interesting?"
Wang Ruoshui pretended to be innocent, "Master Zeng, what do you mean by these words?"
Looking at Wang Ruoshui who was pretending to be dumbfounded, Mr. Zeng suddenly felt angry and said coldly: "Then you might as well ask Lieutenant Commander Wang to take that jade finger back!"
Wang Ruoshui squinted his eyes and slammed the table, causing the tea cup to make a crisp sound. He spoke in a high tone, "Master Zeng, you are the minister's servant. I respect you a lot, but don't forget that I He is your superior officer, and you are my subordinate! You come to my house and give orders, who gave you the courage!"
Chief Zeng was stunned by these words, shrank his neck, and his momentum weakened.
But immediately the majestic face of Lord Shangshu in his mind gave him confidence, and he straightened his back again, "I can't order you, but this is Lord Shangshu's order. Doesn't Wang Langzhong also intend to abide by it? Lord Shangshu's concern , doesn’t Wang Langzhong intend to respond?”
Wang Ruoshui was silent for a while and then said: "I said the things are in the village outside the city."
Seeing Wang Ruoshui giving in, Chief Zeng snorted proudly, "Then take it back and take a look at it, so that Master Shangshu can feel at ease!"
"What if I take it out?"
"You take it out." Director Zeng smiled, "Of course everyone will be happy!"
"Then please ask Master Zeng to come back tomorrow morning, and I will let you see it then."
Director Zeng looked at him deeply and said, "Then I'll say goodbye!"
"Sorry for not sending you far!"
"snort!"
Master Zeng rolled out his sleeves and walked outside.
He knew very well that Wang Ruoshui could not have a jade ring, so he hoped that Wang Ruoshui would come up with a fake jade ring tomorrow.
The crime of losing something given by the emperor can be a big or small crime. If Concubine De was willing to come forward, His Majesty might just laugh it off.
But if it is fraud and deceiving the emperor, it is a definite death penalty.
By then, his position as doctor will not be within reach.
He hummed a tune proudly and decided to go to the Fenghe Pavilion to celebrate first and see if he could hit Miss Ning Bing's tea bag and let her sing a song of victory for her promotion.
Thinking of this, his steps became a little faster. After all, Miss Ning Bing is in hot demand right now!
In the palace, Wang Ruoshui took a deep breath and went through the method Xia Jingyun taught him just now in his mind. After confirming that nothing was missing, he said, "Here comes someone!"
Two confidants came over. Wang Ruoshui first whispered to one, and then said to the other: "Go and call all the servants in the house and gather at the door of the study. Don't leave any one behind! Especially Zhou Xiaogui!"
The two of them went down separately, and Wang Ruoshui also got up and went to the study.
Soon, all the servants in the palace gathered together and stood in the open space in front of the study, whispering to each other about what the master wanted to do.
Zhou Xiaogui stood in the crowd, his mind as clear as a mirror, but also confident.
That thing was stolen by him. Early this morning, he met a stranger who took him to a house and claimed to be from the Minister of Rites and asked him to handle the matter.
Considered a confidant by Wang Ruoshui, he originally refused, but the other party took out two thousand taels of silver notes.
Feeling that the other person was really good at seeing people, he stole the jade ring when he came back and hid it in a place that only he knew.
The development of the matter was exactly as the mysterious man said. Even if Wang Ruoshui guessed that it was him, there was nothing he could do about it, and he didn't even dare to say anything.
He folded his arms and looked at her coldly, with a sense of pride that the whole world was drunk and I was alone.
In my mind, I have already begun to plan how to spend the two thousand taels.
If you want to buy a house in Xicheng, where should you buy it and where can you get the remaining money?
Anyway, in just one sentence, he has taken care of this matter, and he will definitely get the money!
Just as he was thinking about it, the door of the study room was opened, and the master of the mansion, Wang Ruoshui, the doctor of the Ceremony Department of the Ministry of Etiquette, came out with his hands behind his back and said loudly: "I have called you here tonight because I have good news to announce to you. .”
good news?
Zhou Xiaogui was stunned, where did the good news come from?
Before his doubts could arise, a boy hurried over and said, "Master! Master! Oh no, there's a fire in the backyard!"
"Ah?" Wang Ruoshui was shocked and turned to look, and sure enough, a burst of black smoke rose from the backyard!
His expression changed, and he immediately arranged: "Hurry up and put out the fire! That one, you take people to find water, that one, you take people to collect pots and buckets, and that one, hurry up and find Wu Hou, who is patrolling the city, and Just in case something unexpected happens, oh! Wait a minute!”
After saying that, he ran into the house and took out a box, "Zhou Xiaogui, sir, I trust you the most. You don't have to do anything. Just keep this box for me! Inside is the jade ring given by His Majesty. There must be no loss!"
As he said that, he put the box in Zhou Xiaogui's hand and said loudly: "Everyone, act quickly!"
After saying that, he turned around and ran away, disappearing in a flash.
In an instant, only Zhou Xiaogui was left in the huge courtyard.
He slowly came back to his senses and wondered, "Oh no, haven't I already taken away the jade ring?" Could it be that I got it wrong?
He simply reached out and opened the box, wanting to find out.
I saw that the box was empty, there was nothing! ! !
He frowned, then suddenly his expression froze and he froze in place.
Oops, I fell into a trap!
He was stunned just now, and everyone saw that the master personally handed the box containing the jade wrench into his hand, but he only had an empty box in his hand. When he came back later, if the master opened the box and saw that the items were missing, he would Who would believe it if he said it was not taken by him?
Then the guilt of losing the imperial gift was clearly placed on his head.
Of course, the master will not be fine at all, but he can definitely be exempted from a major crime, but he, Zhou Xiaogui, is definitely dead!
The most critical question is, does he really fucking know where this thing is!
Zhou Xiaogui looked at the empty box in front of him as if he were mourning for his heir.
About half an hour later, the fire in the mansion was put out, and Wang Ruoshui, with messy beard and hair, led everyone back to the study.
Zhou Xiaogui hurriedly stepped forward and handed the box over like a hot potato, "Master, this is your thing."
With his heart beating like thunder, Wang Ruoshui reached out to take it, and opened the lid of the box in front of everyone, only to see a jade ring lying quietly in the box.
He picked it up and inspected it carefully, and confirmed that it was the one he had stolen. He smiled and patted Zhou Xiaogui on the shoulder, "Yes, you have made great achievements this time! Thank you for your hard work! I will reward you heavily!"
Zhou Xiaogui laughed harder than crying, "Thank you, sir!"
(End of chapter)
