Surprise is a surprise, in fact Chen Xiaomu's mind is still on the tree head, and the live-fire exercise in three days' time urgently needs to use it to build momentum.
Seeing that Chen Xiaomu was silent, the old Taoist thought that he was not satisfied with what he saw, so he said again: "Master, there are many good things in the poor Taoist's house. Do you want to go in and have a look?"
"Okay." Chen Xiaomu agreed, and followed the old man to unlock the door and enter the wing. As soon as he stepped into the door, an indescribable smell hit his face. When he looked up, he couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. There was a lot of stuff in the room. It was full of stones of different sizes and colors, with not even a single space for a pin.
"Master, please come in." The old Taoist called Chen Xiaomu into the house and bent down to move the stone under his feet. As soon as Chen Xiaomu raised his feet, the old Taoist shouted again: "Master, wait!" "
Chen Xiaomu was startled when he heard the sound. He didn't dare to put down his raised feet. Jin Ji stood independently, looked up at Lao Dao, and said in surprise: "What's the matter?"
The old Taoist hurriedly stepped over, carefully moved the small black jar that Chen Xiao's wooden robe was about to sweep up, and then said with a smile: "My lord, this jar is filled with the etched water that was refined in the nine-turn furnace of the poor Taoist." , I’m afraid you might accidentally knock it over and hurt you.”
"Water erosion?" Chen Xiaomu asked curiously: "What is erosion water?"
The old Taoist gently put the small black jar in his hand aside, then stretched out his hand like a dead branch in front of Chen Xiaomu, and said: "Guan Ye, look at the scar on the back of the poor Taoist's hand. Be careful to touch the ones left by corroded water.”
"Oh! Really?" Chen Xiaomu looked at the scar the size of a wine glass on the back of the old Taoist hand. He couldn't help but asked, "Taoist Master, can I see the water erosion in your little jar?"
The old Taoist shook his head and advised: "Master, there is nothing interesting to see. If it were not for the fear of hurting people, I would have been thrown away by the poor Taoist!"
Chen Xiaomu smiled and said: "Taoist Master, is your etching water extracted from sulfur and has a pungent sour smell?"
When the old Taoist heard this, he nodded repeatedly and said: "That's right, that's right, the official is really a wise man!"
Chen Xiaomu smiled and ignored the old Taoist flattery. He lowered his head and raised his feet in the gap between the stone and the jar. Then he walked forward. As soon as he took a step, the old Taoist shouted from behind: "Master, be careful, that jar Don’t touch it either!”
''What, this jar is also filled with corrosion water? "Chen Xiaomu looked at the jar at his feet and said doubtfully.
"No, no." The old Taoist explained quickly: "My lord, the jar under your feet is filled with fire water. If you accidentally touch your clothes, it will easily catch fire and it will be difficult to put it out!"
"Oh! Really?" Chen Xiaomu suddenly became curious when he heard what the old Taoist said was so mysterious. He slowly squatted down, supported the jar with one hand, and used the other to remove the cork on the jar.
The old Taoist saw it and shouted anxiously: "No, sir, if you want to see it, wait until the poor Taoist takes it to the open space outside the house, and then open it for you to see!"
The sudden cry made Chen Xiaomu startled, and he quickly withdrew his hands like a reflex. The old Taoist skillfully moved his legs and feet among the stones and jars on the ground. When he got close to Chen Xiaomu, he leaned down, stretched out his hands, and gently picked up the jar. Turning around and walking slowly out the door, Chen Xiaomu was about to follow him out. Unexpectedly, when he turned around, a pile of snow-like powder behind the door caught his attention again.
Since the old man dared to pile these things on the ground casually, Chen Xiaomu estimated that the pile of things must not be poisonous, so when he was about to leave the room, he quickly reached out and grabbed a handful in his hand.
The old Taoist found an open space outside the house with the jar and carefully put it down. He was about to call Chen Xiaomu to come over and take a look. When he looked up, he saw two businessmen in black soap uniforms walking over, followed by a group of villagers who came to watch the excitement. One of them, a fat official in his thirties, pointed at the old Taoist with an iron ruler in his hand and asked: "Are you a Taoist with the same longevity as Sanmiao Temple?"
''Exactly, exactly. "The old Taoist nodded and bowed, with a flattering look on his face.
"Come with us to the county government office. Someone will sue you in front of the county magistrate!" As soon as the old man finished speaking, the thin tolerant next to the fat tolerant shouted loudly, and at the same time shook the chain in his hand. Sound.
Seeing the angry expressions of the two tolerance officers in front of him, the old man was suddenly trembling with fear, his lips were trembling, but he could not speak. At this time, Chen Xiaomu came over, hugged the two tolerance officials symbolically, and smiled. "Two officers, I just heard from the villagers that Taoist Tongshou was sued in front of the county magistrate because he borrowed 20 taels of silver from Zhao Yuan in the city, with principal and interest. Go back and report to the county magistrate that I will repay the twenty taels of silver on behalf of Taoist Tongshou and ask the county magistrate to withdraw the case."
The thin official looked at him sideways, snorted softly, and said disdainfully: "Who are you? How dare you instruct the official to do things for you? Can you withdraw the case filed by the county magistrate just by withdrawing it?" As he spoke, he shook the chain in his hand and shouted proudly: "Get aside quickly, or I will take you away with you for obstructing official business!"
"How dare you!" Wei Yuxin shouted angrily, stepped forward hurriedly, stood in front of Chen Xiaomu, and made a move to move his knife.
Seeing that things were about to come to a head, the old Taoist hurriedly introduced: "You two gentlemen, please don't get me wrong. This official is also a high-ranking official in the capital's government office. We all have something to say."
The two male servants, who were already filled with anger because a woman wanted to fight with a knife, added fuel to the fire as soon as they heard this. The thin male servant said angrily: "You are such a seasoned man, how dare you join these two people in pretending to be officials." Family status, I think you are tired of living! If you know what you are doing, you can arrest them quickly. When we see the county magistrate, we can explain a few words to the three of you. If not, humph, I'm afraid you won't be able to get out alive. It’s Wangcheng County!”
"Haha, what a loud tone!" Chen Xiaomu came out from behind Wei Yuxin and sneered: "How do you two conclude that we are pretending to be officials?"
When the two officers heard this, they couldn't help but look at Chen Xiaomu. One of them, the fat officer, said with a mocking expression: "Boy, don't think that you can scare us both with big words. To tell you the truth, I am no longer a soldier in this business." It’s been a year or two, what kind of liar has this bastard not seen? You want to hide it under my nose, but you went to the wrong place and found the wrong person!"
Chen Xiaomu laughed, "You two keep saying that we are liars, but you have to have evidence!"
The fat official pointed at Chen Xiaomu and mocked: "The evidence is yourself! This old man with red lips and white teeth calls you a high official in the capital government office. Didn't you hear?"
Chen Xiaomu nodded and said calmly: "I heard it. Do you have any questions?"
"Hey! Do you have any more questions?" The thin tolerant's facial expression was exaggerated, and he pointed at Chen Xiaomu and shouted: "Boy, do you know? In our country of Zheng, at your age, the only people who can be called high officials are It’s just one person! Now you dare to falsely claim that you are a high-ranking official, or a high-ranking official from the capital government. Isn’t this obviously pretending to be an official? "
"Oh!" Chen Xiaomu heard this and immediately asked curiously: "Guan, you said that Zheng Guo and I can be called high officials at our age. Who is this person?"
The thin official glanced at him, raised his thumb, and said solemnly: "Other than our Prince Consort Chen from Zheng State, who can bear this title?"
Chen Xiaomu's heart moved, and then he asked with a smile: "In that case, do the two officers know this Prince Consort Chen?"
The two tolerants shook their heads almost at the same time, and the fat tolerant sighed: "We are so lucky to know such a big man, we just heard about it!"
Chen Xiaomu laughed when he heard this, "Haha, it turns out you heard this too!"
The thin official's face darkened, his eyes widened, and he yelled: "What's so funny? Mr. Taitang of Yangshan Prefecture came to Wangcheng County for inspection yesterday. I personally heard him tell the county magistrate that he followed the Prince Consort Chen. We fought all the way from Tianquan County to the capital of Chu State, and finally forced the Emperor of Chu to send his ministers out of the city to sue for peace before letting him go. Is there any lie in this?"
Chen Xiaomu couldn't help being stunned when he heard that, and blurted out: "What is the name of Mr. Tang in your mansion?"
The fat official got angry when he heard this, "Boy, are you too ignorant? Can you ask me the name of our master?"
At this time, the name Tang Huai suddenly popped into Chen Xiaomu's mind. A few days ago, he had heard Su Xingran say that due to the fierce battle with the Chu State, many local officials were killed and injured, and the court could not choose so many officials to fill the vacancies for a while, so he After discussing with Wei Wen and Zhuge Cheng, they decided to transfer a group of middle- and high-level officers from the army to serve as local officials. According to Tang Huai's fourth-rank official position in the army, they were at the same level as the local prefects. Thinking of this, Chen Xiaomu was basically certain in his heart that the Master Tang the official called him was Tang Huai himself. "
At this time, the two servants were already waiting impatiently. One was shaking the iron ruler, the other was shaking the iron chain, and urged loudly: "Quickly, quicky, we are still waiting to return to the county government office to report to the county magistrate! If you dare to push back and forth again, , you and I are going to get hit hard."
Chen Xiaomu smiled slightly and said calmly: "Two officers, if I'm not wrong, your master's name is Tang Huai?"
"Ah! How did you know?" The two servants looked stunned and asked almost in unison.
"Medium height, in his forties, with sideburns and a mole on his forehead. When he speaks in a hurry, he stutters a bit. He often says in spoken words, straight woman is a thief..." Chen Xiaomu gestured with his hands as he spoke.
The two servants became more and more frightened as they listened, and their faces gradually turned from red to white. When Chen Xiaomu finished speaking, the thin servant quickly clasped his fists and asked carefully: "Sir, do you know our Mr. Futai?"
Chen Xiaomu said humorously: "Looking at what you said, he is my subordinate. How can I not recognize him?"
"Ah!" After hearing this, the two servants couldn't help being shocked. The fat servant stammered: "This... this gentleman, could... could you be the prince-consort himself?"
"Guaranteed replacement if fake." Chen Xiaomu took out his badge and handed it over.
The thin tolerant stretched out his trembling hands to take it, only glanced at it, and then hurriedly returned it to Chen Xiaomu. Then he knelt down on his knees with a thump and shouted: "This villain is really blind, how dare you act wildly against your consort!" When he saw it, his legs were so frightened that he knelt down in a hurry, his body unable to stop shaking slightly.
Seeing the two servants changing into this state in the blink of an eye, the old Taoist and the villagers who came to watch the excitement were all frightened, and they all knelt on the ground in an instant.
