The old man smiled and said: "Gongming, you are smart all your life, but you are confused for a while."
Zuo Gongming was greatly puzzled and said, "How can you say this?"
The old man twirled his beard and said: "The Holy One dismissed Wu Ze from his post with a thunderous force, which shocked all the officials in the court, and then asked you to take his place in front of all the civil and military officials... Have you ever thought about this? The result of the matter?"
"result?"
Zuo Gongming was a little confused. He had been focusing on the case since he went to court yesterday. How could he have time to think about the final result?
"My lord, don't blame me for being crow-mouthed. What will happen if you can't solve this case?"
Zuo Gongming was silent. He really didn't expect this, because in his opinion, since the case was handed over to him, there was no way it couldn't be solved.
Seeing that Zuo Gongming was at a loss for words, Mrs. Jiang naturally knew what he was thinking and said directly: "If this case cannot be solved, it is about the face of the Holy One..."
"You mean..." Zuo Gongming looked at Old Mrs. Jiang and seemed to have figured out a new direction in the case.
"The Holy One has appointed you to handle this case. If you can't catch even a little thief by then, how will you let all the officials think? You made such a big fuss just to take down Wu Ze? Then you let Master Shangshu do it again? What do you think?"
"so……"
"So, I would venture to guess that within three days, someone will come looking for Gong Ming."
The old lady pulled Zuo Gongming's ear and whispered these words, and even Jiang Bai didn't hear them clearly. This sentence is extremely vague. Although the people sitting here are all very close to each other, it is not convenient for too many people to know.
When Zuo Gongming heard this sentence, he naturally knew the deep meaning - yes, why didn't I think of it? How wise is the Holy One? How could you not have imagined such a result? This matter is just a trivial matter, and the Holy One has a profound meaning in using it to make a fuss. If this matter makes a big fuss but even a little thief cannot be caught, wouldn't it be a loss... and a loss of the emperor's face? So to put it this way...
After thinking about this, Zuo Gongming's eyes became clearer. He cupped his fists towards Grandpa Jiang and said, "My grandpa's words made me enlightened!"
The old lady said with a smile: "Thank you, hehe... Thank you..."
"Then what happens next..."
Bystanders know clearly, and Zuo Gongming does not shy away from asking questions directly and humbly. The old lady said calmly and calmly——
"wait!"
Zuo Gongming couldn't help but realize in his heart that all he needed to do was to 'wait' - of course, 'wait' would mean sitting and waiting without a watch. Since the Holy One asked me to check, then I will find out the truth about him! Naturally, the choice made by the Holy Emperor will not slap him in the face, even if I, Zuo Gongming, are facing two of the most representative and powerful officials in the civil and military affairs of the day! Since I, Zuo Gongming, was chosen by the Holy One to come to this position, he naturally represents the Holy One’s will!
Thinking of this, Zuo Gongming suddenly became motivated. He stood up from the table, bowed to the old lady, and then bowed to Jiang Bai and others present, and said: "Brother Bai! Everyone! I'm sorry, I still have I have important things to do, take my leave!"
After that, he stood up and left the table.
Seeing this, Jiang Bai wanted to step forward to persuade him to stay, but the old lady grabbed his son's sleeve. Jiang Bai looked at his father with some confusion. The old man also stood up. He leaned on crutches and said to the guests at the banquet: "I'm sorry, I'm too drunk, so I won't accompany you. Jiang Bai -"
"Father? This-"
"I will entertain you all on behalf of my father!"
How could Jiang Bai say anything else? Seeing that his father had already stood up, he had no choice but to obey——
"yes……"
Then, the old lady was seen leaving the banquet hall unsteadily with the support of the maid.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※
In a small house in Chang'an City.
A small talisman lay quietly on the table. The talisman was made of bronze. The light in the room was dim. If you didn't look carefully, it would be difficult to tell that the talisman was in the shape of a tiger.
In the corner, a man squatted beside a stool and shivered. He was breathing heavily, sweat dripping from his forehead, back, chest, and every pore on his body. He has been hiding at home these past few days, not even leaving the door of the house, and not even daring to move, because he feels that as long as he steps out of the house, even if he steps out of the door, he will be caught immediately. .
He regretted a little, but there was nothing he could do. That day he was called to a secret place. The person who called him was once kind to him. He was once a habitual thief and the most capable thief in Chang'an. But how could he not get his shoes wet when he often walked by the river? The truth? He was caught while committing a crime. Originally, people in his profession would go to prison as soon as they were in prison, but he couldn't because his old mother had been paralyzed in bed all year round. His other brothers and sisters in the family died young, so he was the only one who managed to support his mother. Now he is in jail. His mother would definitely not be able to survive three days in prison, so how could he not be impatient?
Fortunately, the road is boundless, and he met the noble person of his destiny. After the noble man learned about the situation, he sympathized with his situation and agreed to help him once. The noble man seemed to have some ability. Within half a day, he was released from prison by Jingzhao Mansion. He hurried home and hugged his old mother and cried bitterly.
A few days later, he met the nobleman again. The nobleman saw that he was pitiful and had no choice but to commit theft, so he asked him if he would like to do a legitimate job so that he would not be a gentleman again. He was naturally happy to hear this. Bu Zisheng quickly nodded in agreement. From then on, he stopped stealing and lived peacefully. After his old mother passed away, he married a wife and had children.
Naturally, he could not repay such kindness. Over the years, he had been trying every means to exchange for this kindness, but the noble man seemed to have forgotten him, and he had not even seen him again in these years.
Originally, he thought that the two of them would never see each other again - but a few days ago, the nobleman's servant appeared in front of him again. He excitedly ran to meet at the appointed place, but he did not see the noble man. He only saw a small piece of paper quietly placed there——
He knew that the time to repay the favor had come!
He picked up the note and looked at it carefully, then frowned and was shocked. This was an 'errand' that would kill his head! Entering the general's mansion to steal? He was going to be caught, but he really didn't know how he would die... After reading it, he burned the note immediately and then slowly shook it back home. He looked at the smiles of his wife and children and felt a little hesitant in his heart. If he were alone, he would definitely go without hesitation, but at this time, he felt attachment and reluctance.
what can we do about it? Is there a way to have both? After a night of thinking, he came up with a solution. He asked his former partner to find the best thief in the world, took out all the bounty left by the nobleman and all his savings over the years, and asked his former partner to persuade others to go with him. The thief was a little confused at first, but the huge amount of money in front of him was indeed tempting, so he agreed after thinking about it for a day.
Throughout the whole theft process, the two never really met each other. Until the day of Chang's wedding, when they broke into the house to steal, they met each other masked. Originally, he had separated himself from the matter as much as possible. He got the things and the thief took the money. This was a happy ending for everyone, but he became curious about this exquisite little square box. The noble man had originally told him in the paper not to open the box. In a few days, someone came back to his house to pick it up, but the box actually seemed to have magic power and kept calling him to open it.
In the end, he couldn't hold back and carefully opened the box...
The moment he opened the box, all his curiosity and confusion turned into shock, and then turned into panic and panic. Although he had never seen this thing before, looking at its shape and associating its origin, It's not hard to guess what this is.
No wonder the noble man told him not to open it! At this moment, he wanted to dig out his eyes and chop off his hands!
But even if he didn't open it and turned a blind eye to it, I'm afraid it wouldn't change the fact. At this moment, his mind went blank and he sat paralyzed on the ground. All that was left in his heart was fear——
what to do? Hidden? I'm afraid this is not easy to explain to the nobles...report to the official? This is even more impossible. Isn't this the thief's cry to catch the thief? Besides, it would be a minor matter if the reporting officer was caught. If the Jingzhao Mansion sends him to the military, then... he will probably die even more miserably! If Chang Mansion loses this thing, I'm afraid he won't let himself be exposed to the world. Maybe one day he will find a small corner and do it...
After thinking about it like this, he stayed in the house for several days, not even daring to open the door when his wife came to deliver food. These days, he has been speculating on the development of things, and finally came to only one conclusion-that is, he will definitely not survive.
Does he regret it?
Perhaps there is no point in saying this, because at the level he is at, there is no room for regret or other choices. Concerned inquiries from his wife and children came from outside the house. He turned his head and looked at the closed door. At this time, his eyes were bloodshot.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, as if he had figured something out——
Yes, my death is not a pity, the survival of these two girls is the key!
Suddenly he had some motivation again. He stood up and thought hard about something, pacing back and forth in the room. Then, he clapped his hands together, as if he had thought of something. He smiled, as happy as the day he married his wife, as happy as the night his child was born. He opened the door as usual, and his wife scolded him complainingly, and then hurriedly heated up the food. He ate it with big mouthfuls, and his wife advised him to slow down and not choke. He happily praised his wife for the delicious food, and his wife felt very happy. It's strange that the husband is starving, but the daily meal is the same as the palace banquet. Then, he hugged his son again. The son was also very happy to see that his father was finally willing to come out. Finally, he told his wife that he would guard the noble's things tonight, so he went back to the house and locked himself up. Before leaving, he did not forget to tell his wife that if anyone came to see him, he would say that he would be waiting in the house. His wife probably knew the seriousness of this matter, so she did not object to him.
In this way, he locked himself in the room again, quietly waiting for the final result to arrive.
