"Who are you?"
The man bowed his body respectfully and said with a smile: "I am Lu Deguang's cousin. I want to discuss something with Mr. Lu... but the government office is not that easy to enter. Please tell me..."
As he spoke, he took out a banknote from his body and poked Ye Yongjia's palm. Ye Yongjia quickly pushed it over: "Let's go in and talk first."
"How come I've never heard of the prefect Lu's cousin?" Ye Yongjia asked the prefect's cousin.
The man didn't say anything at first. He reached for the nectarines in the fruit plate and started to chew on them. "This is because after Lu Deguang got married and started a business, he and my family lived separately and had little contact with each other. Later, Lu Deguang was promoted to the Ministry of Rites and bought a house in the capital, so we haven't seen each other for a long time." After saying this, he chewed the peach meat hard, and the juice came out of it. It burst out of his mouth, and he quickly caught it with his hands, but it still dripped all over him. While wiping his clothes, he waved his hands apologetically: "I'm thirsty after walking all the way, and I'm a little anxious to eat... I hope I don't blame you."
Ye Yongjia glanced at him and asked, "What's your name? Where do you come from?"
He was still wiping his sleeves, "My name is Zhao Ren, surnamed Chen Liuren of Kaifeng Prefecture."
"Prefect Lu is also from Chenliu?"
"That's right."
"So, Mr. Ye..." He took out the stack of banknotes with his hand stained with peach water and handed it to Ye Yongjia. Only then did he see that fifty taels were written on it. "Just accept this banknote and take me to see him. I asked him to help."
Ye Yongjia considered that this was Lu Deguang's relative and had to accept it, so he folded the banknote and put it in his cuff. Zhao Ren couldn't help but smile.
Ye Yongjia ordered Kou Zhong to stay in the yamen, and he and Zhao Ren entered the prefect's yamen to pay homage to Lu Deguang. However, Lu Deguang returned home due to something, so the two of them waited for a while. At the end of the appointment, Lu Deguang entered the Yamen and came to the meeting hall to see Ye Yongjia and another person sitting there. He bowed first.
"Oh my dear nephew," Zhao Ren stood up with his waist bent and got close to him. "I haven't seen you for many years. I'm afraid my nephew has forgotten this cousin named Zhao Ren, right?"
Lu Deguang looked at his face carefully, then vaguely remembered and said, "What is Uncle Zhao Zun doing here?"
"See what my nephew said, I just came to see you and tell you about your brother's urgent matter." Zhao Ren said with a smile.
"Uncle, please tell me what you want."
"My son's name is Professor Zhao. He wanders around the house all day long and does not do any serious work. He is also extravagant and squanders all the money in the family. I think it is not an option to continue like this, so I specially asked my nephew to help me find a way to raise people. Born, let him be the first county magistrate in the county of Chenzhou or something like that."
"Of course, my nephew is indispensable..." Zhao Ren took out two more banknotes from his pocket and gave them to Lu Deguang. Lu Deguang took them directly without being polite.
"The name of a person is not chosen casually. If someone notices it, there is a risk of beheading." After saying that, the two of them looked at Ye Yongjia.
"Then I will write the forged document." Ye Yongjia did not remain silent and took the initiative to take responsibility.
In order to convince the magistrate of Xihua County, Ye Yongjia made up a copy of the list given by the Gongyuan Court overnight, stamped it with a fake seal, and wrote that Zhao was given a certain name in a certain month and year. Lu Deguang examined it and said: "The forgeries are very similar. You go to Xihua tomorrow and hand it over to the magistrate and ask him to welcome the new county magistrate. I will arrange it for Zhao Ren."
"Yes," Ye Yongjia took out the fifty-tael silver note from his sleeve again, handed it to the prefect, and said, "I am not greedy for these things, so please keep it, the prefect."
Lu Deguang did not take action. He watched the banknote warily, but there was no movement. After a while, he pushed back and said: "Zhao Ren gave it to you, feel free to use it. What are you doing for me? Are you afraid that I will drag you into the quagmire and make you unclean?"
Ye Yongjia frowned and kowtowed hurriedly: "That's not what I meant! I'll keep it here." He quickly rolled up the banknotes and put them into his sleeves.
"Just understand."
Ye Yongjia's urgency made him think of something important - the two grooms!
An idea flashed across his face, and he hurriedly said, "My lord, let me make another request!"
Lu Deguang saw that he looked anxious, so he said calmly: "If you have anything to say, tell me quickly."
"Tomorrow, please send some government officials to go to Xihua with me, instead of soldiers from the governor's office! Let them wear casual clothes and follow me so that they don't get noticed; if there is a change, they can step forward to protect me at any time. ." He spoke like a barrage of words, and Lu Deguang had to listen attentively.
"Do you think...someone wants to kill you?" Lu Deguang asked.
"That's right, two horsemen came to the magistrate's office. They were acting suspiciously. I'm afraid it was the governor's office who came to investigate my movements. Knowing that I was going to Xihua, they most likely arranged for soldiers to kill me on the way. I'm at Yuan Lun's place. It has become a serious problem.”
"How about I send someone to find out those two grooms today?" Lu Deguang always believed in his intuition.
"That's not necessary. If those two grooms are imprisoned, Yuan Lun will definitely break with your Excellency openly. Since the Governor's Office holds the military power, Your Majesty will naturally have no choice but to release them. That will bring disgrace and loss of prestige."
"Haha, it's still the same Ye Tongpan. Even though he has been promoted to Tongzhi, his wit has not diminished!" Lu Deguang laughed.
The next day, Lu Deguang sent two or three government servants. They all changed into civilian clothes and did not follow Ye Yongjia. They just walked slowly behind him. When passers-by saw him, they could not tell that he was following Ye Yongjia. This also suited Ye Yongjia's intention, and he wanted to lure out the assassin.
Therefore, he was not afraid on the road and rushed towards Xihua in a confident manner. On the way to eat, they went into the inn. Ye and Kou stood by the counter and called the innkeeper loudly: "We want to stay in the inn."
It took a long time for the shopkeeper to come out of the back room. The skin on his face tightened and he looked uncomfortable.
"How much does it cost to stay here for lunch? We also need to eat some food."
"The food cost for you two is about thirty cents," he said, still glancing behind them, "Stay for one noon, one hour..."
"Who is it!" Ye Yongjia shouted when he saw a person's head sticking out from behind the standing lamp behind him. The government officials outside drew their sabers and rushed into the store. The man behind the lamp was so frightened that he ran away in panic. The government officials chased after him. But he escaped by jumping over the wall.
The shopkeeper also wanted to go out, but was watched by two government officials, who held up two shining swords.
Ye Yongjia collapsed to the ground, and Kou Zhong supported his body. Seeing that it was the first time for him to see such a scene, he still couldn't bear it. His face was pale, he was sweating coldly, gasping for air, and his eyes were weak.
"Master was too careless before..." Kou Zhong took out a handkerchief and wiped Ye Yongjia's sweat.
"Fortunately, I looked back...otherwise..." Ye Yongjia spent a while, his energy gradually recovered, and he was still muttering about the dangerous situation just now.
"Call the shopkeeper over!" Kou Zhong shouted.
"Who are those people?" Ye Yongjia dusted his sleeves and stood up to ask.
The shopkeeper knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times: I really don’t know, you villain. They said they were from the government and wanted to kill you... I didn’t know you were..."
"It doesn't matter who I am," Ye Yongjia pushed Kou Zhong aside and said to the three government officials, "There is no need to kill him, as that will incur Yuan Lun's revenge."
He walked straight out of the store, his face turned rosy, and said, "Keep on going."
"Still on your way?"
"Master Lu is holding my feet with a rope."
