She didn't sleep well, and there was still only a small dim lamp burning in the room. Her whole body ached badly. She turned over and rested her arms on her arms, looking at the clouds and cranes embroidered on the tent roof, feeling silently dazed for a long time.
After a while, footsteps began to sound outside, and the girls could be heard exclaiming and whispering. The Kingfisher shouted in a low voice: "Shut up, everyone. The master just fell asleep for a while. He is muttering here, what is it like?" What does it look like?”
Lin Rong came back to her senses and put on a coat. As soon as she arrived at the door, she saw a large bunch of potted chrysanthemums half a person's height in the middle of the courtyard. The girls and women were surrounding them: "Sister Jingqin, it's not that we are ignorant. A few years ago, King Chenliu held a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. There were many strange treasures in the garden, and we were lucky enough to see them. In terms of calyx, branches, and flower shape, none of them were as good as this one."
Even Aunt Qu who came from Jiangzhou also said: "Jiangzhou is admiring chrysanthemums. The yellow and white ones are called eternity chrysanthemums, the pink ones are peach chrysanthemums, or woody and golden chrysanthemums, and the more exotic ones are as big as gold." The plate is a first-class treasure, worth tens of thousands of gold, but it is not as good as this one."
Lin Rongyi was standing on the door, with the cool breeze blowing and the lingering fragrance of chrysanthemum on the tip of her nose. She heard them chattering for a while, and then she said, "What's wrong?"
Everyone turned back and spread out a little. Fengxiao and Kingfisher helped Lin Rong forward and said: "County Master, the Lord ordered someone to send some chrysanthemums. I heard that they are very valuable."
Lin Rong approached and saw four jade screens. The screen was surrounded by three chrysanthemums. In the middle was a dark green chrysanthemum that was half a person tall. On both sides were a chicken blood red one and a light green one with gold edges. All have disc-like calyxes, luxuriant branches and leaves, and are surrounded by jade screens. The towering graceful trees look like a beauty with hairpins from a distance.
Lin Rong stroked the fan and said, "This color is rare, and the flowers are bigger."
Seeing Lin Rong say this, Aunt Qu thought it was because she was young and didn't know how rare this chrysanthemum was. She said to the side: "My Lord, it is not only rare, I have never seen it before. In the past, there was a green chrysanthemum in Luoyang Tangquan Palace." The chrysanthemum is just yellow and white with some light green on the lace, so it was loved by Emperor Taizong. He even built a platform specifically for this chrysanthemum, where civil and military officials could appreciate the chrysanthemum. This one was sent by the monarch Dark green, the whole body is dark green without any variegated colors, I’m afraid it’s hard to find in the world.”
Lin Rong heard what she said was exaggerated, but he also understood that these three chrysanthemums were probably really rare. He stood for a while and then went into the house.
Seeing that there was no joy on his master's face, Kingfisher ordered the girls to be silent and stop playing around. He then came in and asked, "The county master is not feeling well?"
Lin Rong shook his head and forced a smile: "No."
Jing Qin then said: "I know that the county master is not feeling well."
Lin Rong slowly stroked the fan and looked at the bright moon outside the window. Kingfisher presented a small pastel tea cup and whispered: "I know that the county master is sad because he is here alone without relatives or friends. And I don’t have anyone I can talk to. I used to be as close as Miss Six, but I’m afraid we’ll never see each other again in this life. And I have to be controlled by others all the time, and I have to look at people’s faces, and I’m afraid that if I’m not careful, I’ll offend the prince.”
Lin Rong lowered his head to sip the tea. Although he knew that she was talking about Cui Shiniang, it coincided with his own state of mind.
Jing Qin said again: "I have no knowledge and I don't know how to persuade others. When I was serving in the study, I heard the Qing Ke Xianggong say something. I can't remember the original sentence. Maybe there are always times in a person's life. When you are having bad luck, there is no need to rush, just wait a little and everything will come true."
Lin Rong laughed after hearing this and thought to himself that it was hard for this girl to make up such words. He thanked her for her kindness and tapped her forehead with his fan: "Then I accept your good wishes, and I will wait until all your wishes come true." One day.”
Speaking of this, Lu Shen went to the study to handle military affairs until it was time to light the lamp. When he was about to order someone to carry the lamp and go to the inner courtyard, he saw a scribe in black waiting at the foot of the stairs: "My lord, I have something important to report to you. "
This man is Yang Bofu, who was originally from Shu and a talented person who passed down poetry and calligraphy. He was abandoned by the king of Shu because he had an affair with his eldest sister-in-law and later lived in Yongdi. Lu Shen did not look down upon him, but instead promoted him many times, and now appointed him as the county governor of Xuanzhou.
Lu Shen was in a good mood today. He slowly came down the stairs with his hands behind his back and said, "What do you want to report?"
Yang Bofu is famous for his strong command, and he is the most treacherous person. Hearing this, he said: "My lord once told me that no matter whether it is civil or military in Yongdi, anyone who causes trouble will be treated as a first-class treatment and will not be punished." Exception, I wonder if this statement is still accurate?"
Seeing that there was something in his words, Lu Shen thought that one of the generals in the army had a slightly darker expression: "Of course I will!"
Yang Bofu then handed over his hand and reported: "The Princess of Jiangzhou came to Yongdi to send gifts for the Double Ninth Festival, and sent another hundred sergeants to escort them on the ship. Due to the military order of the monarch, these people were stationed outside the city and were not allowed to enter at will. City. A few days ago, seven of them secretly sneaked into a prostitute in the city to drink and have fun. Not only that, they also provoked and killed a young prostitute."
Lu Shen had already banned all civil and military officials in Yongdi from sleeping under flowers and sleeping in willows. He also ordered the closure of all brothels and brothels. Hearing this, he sneered three times and instead of answering, he asked sternly: "Such a trivial matter, you are a proclaimer." The governor of the state and county, do you still dare to deal with it after asking me?"
Lu Shen was very powerful. If someone else asked him to cross-examine like this, the two groups would have been fighting for a long time. However, Yang Bofu's face did not change: "As soon as the young prostitute died, the seven people fled out of the city. I immediately ordered troops to arrest them, but they rushed After a short period of interrogation, I found out that these two hundred sergeants had already lived in Junhou's courtyard outside the city. After further questioning, I found out that it was the arrangement of Junhou's wife. I repeatedly handed over greeting cards to Junhou's wife. , I am not allowed to reply if I state my rights and wrongs in detail. There is a difference between the king and his ministers, and there is a difference between the inside and outside. At that time, the kings and princes went out to conquer the country, and the ministers did not dare to be adept at it."
The more Lu Shen listened, the darker his expression became. After hearing this, he turned around and strode towards the inner courtyard in silence. It was still early at this time, but it had just fallen into the night, and as soon as I entered the door, I saw a small incense case in the courtyard, with several sticks of green wax lit on it, and three solitary chrysanthemums surrounded by several jade screens. It was quiet and no one was around. The woman who was guarding the door didn't know where she was.
Stepping in, I saw a hairless little maid standing under the banana tree in the corridor, her back turned to scold the woman in the kitchen: "Sister-in-law Qin is so boring, using these things to fool us little girls. Greasy, who? Do you like to eat this in autumn? Not to mention Master, even a girl like me can’t look down on it.”
As he spoke, he threw cheese steamed with sugar, ham elbows, stuffed goose, and chicken fat rolls on the ground. There was a clatter of porcelain. The little girl was originally from this garden and was assigned to Lin Rong's yard. , I was very angry with this woman when I first came here. In the past, she even refused to ask for a bowl of egg custard. This time I finally found the opportunity to return it, clapped my hands, and smiled: "Sister-in-law Qin, I'd better go back and make a new one. I will do the same." For your own good, things are different now. The king rests in our master's room every day. If you don't pay attention to food and service, if you make a mistake one day, it's not impossible to kneel down all night."
Mrs. Qin swallowed her anger and snorted: "Girl, don't be too picky. The serious master hasn't spoken yet, so you are picking and choosing. I don't believe it. With so many dishes, Madam can't even like it?"
The little girl put her hands on her hips and scolded: "You think I'm kidding you? Our master grew up in a noble family and is used to eating your Yongdi food. When it comes to exquisite snacks, not to mention Jiangzhou, even our Xuanzhou Incomparable to..."
When he turned around, he was about to curse, but he saw a man standing at the door with his hands behind his back from a distance. He looked closely and saw that it was Jun Hou. He was so frightened that his legs went weak. He knelt down holding on to the pillar and trembled: "Jun The lord...the lord...the servant said these words without intention..."
Chapter 40
Lu Shen expressionlessly waved his hand and ordered Shen Yan, who was accompanying him: "Gag your mouth and drag it down."
Shen Yan immediately took out a large piece of silk cloth from his sleeve, stuffed it into the little girl's mouth, cut her hands behind her hands and pulled her neck like a wild animal, and dragged her out.
He was extremely agile with his hands and feet, and since there was no one in the yard, his actions did not disturb the people in the house, leaving Mrs. Qin in the kitchen trembling and kneeling on the spot.
Lu Shen gave the woman a cold look, and said two words: "Silence!"
After passing the cloister, Lu Shen stopped under the eaves and hid at the corner. He saw that the four windows of the innermost room were wide open. The woman was standing in front of the window, holding an armful of hibiscus flowers and pruning the branches and leaves. Slowly insert it into the beauty goblet.
The woman was wearing a pine-colored green luo jacket, a blue gold skirt, and her crow-green hair had been let down, and hung heavily on her waist. She looked more and more fresh and refined.
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the gate. A group of people grabbed a white ape and started making a fuss: "County Master, this beast is really hateful. I fed it a lot of fruit yesterday but refused to eat it. Today I stole beef to eat. In the yard The clothes that were hanging out were wrapped in it, and a dozen of us chased him along the lakeside for who knows how long before we caught him. We were so excited."
Lin Rong didn't even raise his head after hearing this. He still lowered his head and pruned the flower branches, saying: "Find a cage and lock it up first, and then put it on the mountain one day. This white ape always seems to have some wild nature in it. I'm afraid it's not domesticated. I can’t support it either.”
Unexpectedly, the white ape seemed to understand people's words. When Lin Rong said that he would let it go to the mountain, it struggled with all its strength. The girls were afraid of being caught and embarrassed, so they immediately let go of their hands and told it to grow a hand. Climb and head towards the three rare chrysanthemums. It was a beast after all. It was frightened and jumped around. It pushed the jade screen and grabbed the ink chrysanthemum and shook it left and right.
The girls at the door were immediately frightened and coaxed: "Little ancestor, please don't touch that Moju, it's worth more than your life."
Not to mention it was okay, but as soon as he said it, the white ape stretched out his hand to grab it, and suddenly the branches were broken and the flowers fell, and they were in disarray.
Kingfisher was worried, fearing that the beast would harm the precious chrysanthemums, and said: "I can't care less. This is what the king ordered to send. Let this beast ruin it. What will it look like? Go outside and get a stick." Come, drive this beast away."
Lin Rong put down the scissors: "The chrysanthemum is a dead thing after all, so it doesn't matter. Don't hurt its life."
The white ape made a chirping sound, picked a few large chrysanthemums in his hand, hung them under the eaves, and came to Lin Rong. It knew who was good to it, so it got off the ground and crawled to Lin Rong's window.
Unexpectedly, after crawling a few steps, a man came out from the corner and kicked the white ape in the stomach. It flew five or six steps away. The beast immediately vomited blood and screamed.
Lu Shencai was hiding at the corner of the corridor. He could see everyone, but they couldn't see him. His sudden appearance shocked everyone for a moment.
Lu Shen didn't even look at it, and said with a cold face: "Throw this beast out to feed the dogs." After speaking, he turned around and entered the house.
Lu Shen gave the order, and immediately two boys aged thirteen or fourteen came in from outside, and slowly carried out the white ape that was half-spread on the ground and vomiting blood.
Lu Shen suddenly became furious and didn't know why. Lin Rong and the girls and women in the courtyard were all shocked.
Lin Rong looked at the door curtain and saw that he had not come in. He thought he had gone to the small study next to it. The maids and ladies were all kneeling there in fear. Lin Rong waved his hand: "Take away the chrysanthemums and move them to the corridor. The rest can go down and stop making noise."
Suddenly, Jade Bird brought tea, pointed to the open pavilion on the right, and said in a low voice: "County Lord, that's where the Lord went."
Lin Rong nodded, took the tea with one hand, and picked up her skirt with the other. She walked over slowly, opened the Xiang curtain, and saw Lu Shen standing in front of the window with his hands behind his hands, looking out at the water.
Lin Rong had a smile on his face, holding a blue and white glaze tureen, and said: "This is Siam's new tea this year. Although it is not as good as Longjing, Baihao Silver Needle and other famous brands, it is still new. You might as well try it." Try it?"
I was also afraid that he would punish those girls and women in his anger: "That ape was there when I first moved into this yard, and I didn't find the opportunity to put it on the mountain. Now it has caused trouble and ruined the flowers. It turned out that It was my oversight."
Nowadays, the world is in chaos, trade routes are cut off, and the exchange of goods is quite difficult. Lu Shen owns the land north of the Yangtze River. The products from all over the south of the Yangtze River and the tributes from the small countries in the southwest are not uncommon to him. However, if such seasonal things, such as new tea, are to be transported to Yongdi, they must work hard day and night. Rest, he has always disliked consuming manpower due to these materialistic desires.
Lu Shen had a faint look on his face, and asked for a long time: "Is this the etiquette of Jiangzhou's Double Ninth Festival?"
Lin Rong didn't know about the Jiangzhou guards in the front yard, so he nodded: "Yes, about a hundred people came with the boat half a month ago, and I arranged for them to live in a separate courtyard outside the city. I only waited for them to pay homage to the Lord, and then called They set off back to Jiangzhou."
Lu Shen saw that her tone was soft, her eyebrows were as dark as black, and she frowned, and she had the watery demeanor of a Jiangnan woman. It was very rare whether she was in a private bed or in daily life, so her tone became colder: " Do you seem to have something to say today?"
Sensing Lu Shen's dissatisfaction, Lin Rong hesitated, as if it was not a good time, and shook his head: "No!" Seeing that Lu Shen seemed to have something to say, "I wonder what the Lord is talking about?"
Lu Shen lifted a piece of rice paper from the red sandalwood table where she usually wrote, and asked, "What is this?"
Lin Rong could only say truthfully: "Today I went to the Juyingyuan for a banquet. When I came out, I bumped into Xiahou Zhang's wife. She blocked my way and begged me with tears. She said that she knew that the Xiahou family had sinned deeply, and she was the only one with a pair of newborn children. I'm so pitiful. I want to beg you to show mercy, but she thrust this piece of rice paper into my hand."
Lu Shen's expression remained unchanged and he asked: "What do you think about this matter? Is it better to be merciful or not to be merciful?"
Lin Rong replied: "This is a foreign matter, I shouldn't say too much about it."
Lu Shen snorted: "Madam, you took her love letter and opened it on the desk to read it carefully. You must have something to say. You and I are husband and wife, but it doesn't matter."
When had he ever called himself madam? Which of the few times he had called her was not sarcastic?
Lin Rong could hear the dissatisfaction in his tone, and felt confused. From the moment he entered the yard, had he ever begged for mercy on behalf of Grandma Xiahou, or said a word on behalf of the two children?
Lin Rong had already made up his mind not to meddle in other people's business and kept silent. Lin Rong was silent for a moment, endured his anger, and finally couldn't help it: "No, I have nothing to say. If the Lord insists that I say it, No matter what, I can only pity Mrs. Xiahou. It is pity that she married the wrong person and ended up like this. It can be seen that it is better for a woman not to marry. Marrying a bad husband and being angry and humiliated is not a big deal. Like Xiahou Madam is really miserable when she is like this."
Lu Shen heard the implication, looked over and sneered: "I think you want to say more than that?"
Lin Rong finally understood that this guy was here to deliberately cause trouble. She planned to go to the ferry today and asked him to interrupt, but Ben was very impatient.
Lu Shen was so yin and yang that he was so aggressive that even the clay figurine had three points of energy. Lin Rong took a step back and saluted: "Although this is a foreign matter, I should not interfere with it, but when the prince asked today, I spoke frankly. Mr. Jun There have been laws and regulations before that, punishing the country, using Zhongdian, and not killing innocent people. The rebellion and rebellion of the Xiahou clan have been eradicated, and there is no possibility of resurgence. According to the new code issued by the monarch, women cannot be killed if they are under the age of 18. You must not kill a child of seven years old.”
She finished speaking, and when she saw Lu Shen standing there, his expression getting harder and harder to look at, and feeling uneasy in her heart, she finally managed to gather her energy and finish: "Isn't this move by the Lord a change of orders?"
There were some small lights by the lake. Looking from a distance, Lu Shen saw that the lake seemed to be covered with a layer of white mist. After a while, he turned around and saw on his right hand a nanmu clothes hanger full of ganoderma lucid patterns and beams. Wearing a gorgeous sparrow-gold fur coat, he read slowly: "The crimson chicken man announces the dawn, and he wears his clothes before entering the green cloud fur coat."
Then he suddenly stroked it down, pushed it gently, and with a roar, even the nanmu clothes hanger fell to the ground. Lin Rong quickly took a few steps back to avoid being hit. He was quite stunned for a moment: "Junhou!"
Lu Shen stepped on the golden bird and shouted: "You are just a housewife, and you are ignorant and short-sighted. How dare you speak up about important military and political matters?" , won some favor, but in the end she was an ignorant and stupid woman who didn't belong to the class.
When Lin Rong heard this, he looked up, his eyes were clear and calm, he was not ashamed, nor did he kneel down to apologize.
Lu Shen saw that the woman straightened up, without any fear in her expression, and shouted, "What, do you have anything else to say?"
Lin Rong didn't want to say anything anymore, but Lu Shen asked, so he tried his best. Although he didn't know his own abilities, according to his heart, he couldn't do anything to save him: "Although I am shallow and ignorant, I also know Orders are issued and laws follow, and cannot be changed at will. How can the kings and princes change their orders day after day and obey the talents of the world?"
Lu Shen sneered twice, feeling deeply that Cui Shiniang was indeed arrogant and shallow. She had given her some good looks in the bed curtains these days, so he became daring and took out a blue-based fold from his sleeve and threw it on the woman's face. : "Your crime is unforgivable, how dare you intercede for others?"
The force was so strong that the zipper flew towards his face. Lin Rong took a few steps back, but still did not avoid it. It hit him on the forehead and in the eye socket, and he suddenly turned red.
Lin Rong's eyes suddenly felt sore and painful, and she couldn't help but shed tears. She covered her eyes with one hand while bending down to pick up the fold. At a glance, a singer died of humiliation. It was a humiliation that caused people to die. Lin Rong was silent for a long time. The folder was thrown on the table, submerged in a piece of cinnabar, and suddenly turned red, as if it were the color of blood. If he hadn't wanted to stay in Jiangzhou as a soldier for a few more days, they might have returned to Jiangzhou long ago, and they wouldn't have committed crimes and killed people again, and the singer wouldn't have bled to death.
Seeing the woman's silence, Lu Shen sneered, "What? You have nothing to say?"
This statement was not so much a statement of sentiments as a crusade against Lin Rong. However, Lin Rong felt guilty and had nothing to say. After a long time, he reluctantly said: "This is the statement. I don’t really know what I’m talking about, and I haven’t seen Mr. Yang’s post..."
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Lu Shen with a sneer: "I don't know? Did you handle the arrangements for the courtyard outside the city? If you didn't know, how could you make this arrangement?"
She wanted to ask the people in Jiangzhou to escort her to Qianyadang, so she arranged to stay in a separate courtyard outside the city, closer to the ferry. only. This reason must never be stated.
Lin Rong struggled to reply: "It's my arrangement, but I'm not trying to protect you. I just thought that the other courtyard was vacant, so I went to the ferry to go in, so as not to... to avoid..."
She stood there, seeing Lu Shen's sharp words, and she suddenly felt confused. Why bother to explain? They had to leave sooner or later anyway. Could it be that after sleeping for a few days, they really became a couple? Immediately, he shut up and lowered his eyes and said, "I have nothing to say."
Seeing her like this, Lu Shen didn't think about the guilt, but felt that he was right. He was even more angry and scolded: "Ignorant and stupid woman, do you have nothing to say, or do you have no excuse?"
Lin Rong lowered his eyelids and refused to say a word or admit his mistake. He straightened his back and thought silently in his heart that he would be able to go to Qiandang Cliff soon. If he endured it any longer, he would endure it again.
Lu Shen sneered three times and said, "Cui Shiniang, I think you won't shed tears until you see the coffin."
After that, he went out and ordered: "Here comes, prepare the car!"
Chapter 41
After a while, the carriage was ready. Lu Shen was discharged from the hospital and boarded the carriage. When he saw Lin Rong standing there and not following, he said in a deep voice: "Serve your master and get on the carriage."
Kingfisher and Feng Xiaoben knelt down to hear the order, and came over with their cloaks in hand. They looked worried and asked in a low voice: "What happened to the county master?"
