He Xi raised the spiritual tablet high, looked directly at Mo Rongxin's dead fish eyes, and said through gritted teeth: "Go to the eighteenth level of hell!"
At this moment, the trap door opened and Mo Rongxin's body fell down. The audience burst into cheers. Even Zeng Juan, who had nothing to do with Mo Rongxin, couldn't help but cheer.
Bi Defan was on guard in front of the gallows. While his colleagues were dealing with the people, he turned his back and quickly cut off one of the palms of the corpse with a hidden dagger, stuffed it into the prepared oilcloth bag, and put it in his arms. . Quietly walking aside, he saw He Xi paralyzed on the ground, as if all his strength had been drained from his body, and he was only panting on the ground. He quickly walked over, helped her up, and stuffed the oilcloth bag into her hands.
"Cousin, please go back. It's crowded here. Take care when you go back!" Bi Defan said, and added, "Don't commit suicide!"
He Xi was speechless and just nodded sadly. Bi Defan called a colleague and ordered He Xi to be sent out.
Zeng Juan was in a state of excitement and novelty, so he didn't squeeze in to watch the hanging - this geomantic treasure was not easy to find. Once you squeeze it out, it will be difficult to get it back.
I was stretching my neck to see who was going to swing next, when suddenly a person climbed up on the trial platform. I couldn't see his face clearly from a distance, but I looked at his clothes like a scholar.
The policeman on the stage was so anxious that he shouted, "What are you doing climbing up here? Get down quickly!"
The scholar refused to go down, but knelt down on the stage with a thud. The police thought he had some grievances to avenge, and said: "If you have any grievances, go to the police station to investigate..."
The scholar was unmoved. He kowtowed a few times, stood up and shouted to the audience: "No Cai Hu Ming! He was a fellow student of Wang Xiucai in the former academy! Wang Xian's brother died under the fountain and could not rest in peace. Although I am here In the Academy, Mo Thief's every word and deed is known very well, and he dare not say a word to express his injustice. Today, I have to meet Master Qingtian of the Song Dynasty to avenge Wang Xiandi's grievances and return the world to me. From now on, I am willing to be a pioneer of the Senate, fighting against mountains of swords and seas of fire. I swear to obey you to the death!”
After that, he pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, and before the police could react, he took apart the bun, cut off the hair with a knife, threw it away, and jumped off the stage. The whole place burst into cheers.
This scene was so dramatic that not only Mu Min was dumbfounded, but Ding Ding was also stunned. After a while, Shen Ruiming's voice came from the intercom: "Ding Ding, did you arrange this person?"
"No, we didn't arrange any 'entrustment'," Ding Ding shook his head and looked at Mu Min again, who also gave him a clear negative.
Zeng Juan was also moved by the sight, this scene was so sudden and shocking. As Hu Ming threw away his hair and jumped into the air, Zeng Juan instantly had the urge to cut his hair off.
The trial was still going on, but Zeng Juan had no time to watch anymore. He saw that the sun was gradually setting, and it was about three o'clock. He has been wandering outside all day. If he doesn't go to Wan Shenglu to watch the business at night, his parents will talk about it again. Even Uncle He in the store would keep talking about the old saying "Be loyal to others when you are entrusted by others".
He squeezed out of the venue and ran all the way back to Wanshenglu, but it was already full. Like him, many people had just come out of the venue and were talking about the latest news.
Zeng Juan came back and as soon as he sat down at the counter, Uncle He came to ask him urgently about today's public trial.
"I heard that many villains and villains were hanged. Is that true?"
"It's true." Zeng Juan nodded and named some of the people who were executed.
Uncle He's eyes were shining, he was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth, and he kept saying "good".
It is not easy to be a Qitang. They have to deal with all kinds of people from all religions and religions every day, and their status is very low. They are often bullied and beaten for no reason. It is not uncommon for them to get angry or upset, and they have to smile when they are beaten. The urban foxes and rats on the street did not dare to provoke the gates of Gaotang, and even the ordinary people who had some influence did not dare to provoke them too much, so they used bullying the Qitang shopkeepers as a means of "establishing their authority". Uncle He was often bullied by these people in the past.
"It's great that the Song Dynasty is here, the world is bright and clear!" Uncle He said with emotion, "I feel energetic when I work..."
Before he finished speaking, someone called for a waiter outside, and Uncle He hurried over to wait on him.
Zeng Juan started to sort out the accounts when he suddenly heard someone calling: "Ah... Juan..."
Only Agui could give such a hesitant greeting. Zeng Juan looked up and saw that it was indeed Agui.
He was probably not on duty. He was wearing casual clothes today, and he had someone with him. It was Yuan Shuzhi who had disappeared for a long time.
Zeng Juan couldn't help being a little surprised when he saw him.
Yuan Shuzhi always wears a Dongpo scarf with holes on his head, and an old Yuan-colored silk jacket, regardless of winter or summer. The right sleeve and the back seat are both torn. Under her feet was a pair of old red silk shoes, with her toes exposed as usual. He has a thin, dark complexion and a gray beard.
Now he is wearing brand new clothes, he has gained weight, and he is very energetic. As for the legendary lame leg, it seems that it has disappeared.
"Agui, why are you here?" Zeng Juan was surprised and happy. Agui is Li Ziyu's "follower" and an informal member of their small circle. Moreover, Zeng Juan is now acting as the shopkeeper of Tea House, so he has to deal with it emotionally.
"Come, sit down first," Zeng Juan was about to say hello to show them a seat, but Agui said: "I...are not here to drink tea...there is room, let's have a few words in private..."
Zeng Juan wondered if he had anything to say in private. Are you still taking Yuan Shuzhi with you? He nodded and said, "Okay, let's talk inside."
There was a counting room inside the shop. Zeng Juan let them in and lowered the bamboo curtain.
Zeng Juan then said hesitantly: I knew that Zeng Juan was preparing to take the civil service examination, and Yuan Shuzhi also wanted to take the examination, but he didn't know anything about "Macao studies" and hoped to become his teacher and receive some "teaching".
Zeng Juan suddenly realized that Agui was here to help a friend.
It turned out that after Yuan Shuzhi injured his leg, he relied on Agui to stand up for him and received a compensation. When they saw that he was seriously injured in the detention center, they even hired a doctor who had suffered injuries from bruises to treat him. After he was released from the detention center, his injuries were almost healed. For a while, I had nowhere to go and returned to the temple where I lived.
He had money on hand and the monk's attitude was not bad. He spent some time comfortably in the temple. Agui would come to see him sometimes and chat with him for a few words together with the monk. Agui knew that Yuan Shuzhi's knowledge could not be said to be good, but in this era when people were generally illiterate, it was considered good to be literate. He suggested that Lao Yuan take the civil service examination.
"Australians now have very low requirements for taking the civil service exam. You don't even need to be literate to be a police officer. You are too old to be a police officer. If you take the civil service exam or something like that, you will not only be dignified, but you won't be bullied by others."
The monk also advised him: "I tell you, Lao Yuan, you can't continue to hang out like this when you are old. This time it was Agui who happened to stand up for you. Next time you are injured or killed, who will save you or bury you?" It's probably the corpse collection team of the police station! Do you think it's worth living like this in your life? You can read and write well, so go take the exam to become an Australian clerk - at least you'll have enough food and clothing."
After hearing what the two of them said, Yuan Shuzhi just remained silent, his eyes rolling rapidly. His ambition for fame, which had been cold for many years, came back to him. He thought that this was the way he was now anyway, so he might as well give it a try and become a thief. Any civil servant is not bad, but as for whether the thief is defeated or not, it doesn’t matter whether he is defeated or not. It is not necessarily the case that the Ming Dynasty will pursue a scribe after the Ming Dynasty comes back - the worst is to abandon his post and abscond.
However, if you want to "take a public exam", you must have exam content. Yuan Shuzhi has been taking the boy's examination all his life, and he doesn't even know what the provincial examination is like, let alone the Australian "public examination". Asked Agui, Agui didn't know either - he relied on running to take the police exam.
As soon as I thought about it, I thought of Zeng Juan. Zeng Juan was preparing for the exam, and Zeng Juan was a "kunwu" expert, so it was always right to ask him for advice.
Agui muttered some polite words, and Zeng Juan responded a few words, feeling secretly proud in his heart: Speaking of which, besides these brothers, who else can handle affairs in Guangzhou? ! Agui has good taste. Now that he is rich and knows how to take care of his friends, he is actually a trustworthy person!
But after looking at Yuan Shuzhi, he was in trouble. He didn't know how old Old Yuan was, but from what others mentioned, Old Yuan was born in the Wanli year and was now in his early fifties.
At this age, Ying Daming's imperial examination was no problem. As long as he could move and remembered how to write historical essays, he could still enter the examination room even when he was seventy or eighty years old, and he could still pass it on as a "good talk." However, Zeng Juan remembers that the registration requirements for the Australian Civil Service Examination clearly state that applicants cannot be over 40 years old.
"Lao Yuan! It's okay if you want me to help you with tutoring, but at your age..." Zeng Juan looked embarrassed.
"I am an old man who has great ambitions. What's more, I am not old yet. I am in the prime of life when I know my destiny. What's wrong?" Yuan Shuzhi didn't even blush when he told lies.
"Okay," Zeng Juan thought to himself. Since the Australians didn't check the year and month he was born, it would be better to report his birthday by himself. "It's just that the Civil Service Examination of the Song Dynasty and the Fake Ming Dynasty Imperial Examination are two different things. You I’m full of old school knowledge, so my knowledge is certainly good, but it has nothing to do with this Australian school. You have to learn it from scratch.”
Yuan Shuzhi smiled helplessly: "Am I worthy of taking the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty? I took the Tongzi test dozens of times, but I didn't even pass the exam. Now it is precisely because the Kun people are different from the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty that I have a chance to turn around. ah!"
Zeng Juan was quite touched by these words. With his "cultivation" in sociology, there is no hope of starting a career - he is also a person who is unwilling to do small craftsmanship, and will most likely use "career" as an excuse to escape. When his parents pass away, he will most likely end up like Yuan Shuzhi!
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel the same and sympathize with him. Furthermore, after all, he has been reading and taking exams for decades, and has rich experience in articles, which can be used as a reference when writing essays during exams.
