Lin Rong shook his head in silence and had no choice but to leave the hospital and board the car with Lu Shen.
The two of them were silent all the way, and the carriage was speeding and bumpy until Lin Rong got out of the car, feeling dizzy and holding on to the ruts for a while before he recovered.
She looked up and saw that she had arrived at a small courtyard. There was no plaque or inscription at the door, and there were two pale lanterns with official titles hanging alone. There was no one at the door. Following Lu Shen in, he saw that the long corridor was empty. It seemed that he had been given instructions in advance to avoid them and retreated.
It's just that the smell in this corridor is unpleasant, the hot and humid air is stuffy and sour, and it's also mixed with a strong smell of blood and burnt hair.
Suddenly, Lu Shen stood still and opened a dark window beside the corridor. Suddenly, there was a howl of torture.
One person yelled and asked, "Tell me, apart from you, who else is involved?"
There was no response from inside. The green-robed official snorted coldly, and suddenly there was a sound of whips. He was whipped a hundred and eighty times before he stopped: "Go on, I'll give you a pleasure if you say it! We Yong The land is incomparable to your Jiangzhou, and such crimes will not be ignored just because you are a noble servant."
Those people were so frightened that they had no good flesh left on their bodies. They begged for mercy again and again, but what they called out was not the name of the green-robed official, but Lin Rong: "Please forgive me, the county master, please forgive me... "
Those people were covered in blood, and all they could say was mechanically begging Lin Rong for help. The strange scene made Lin Rong shudder, and she took a step back, wondering if those people had seen her.
The dark window was narrow and dark. Those people who were tied to the torture rack had their heads lowered. It was absolutely impossible to see Lin Rong.
When Lu Shen saw Lin Rong take a step back, he thought she was guilty. He snorted, raised his index finger, and tapped the wall three times.
The green-robed official inside heard the sound, stood up immediately, slapped those people ten more times, and cursed: "At this time, you still dare to touch the nobles? Madam Junhou lives deep in the inner house, it is not enough. When you leave the house, you thieves and murderers commit serious crimes, how can you have anything to do with my wife?"
After that, he picked up the red iron in the brazier on the side and burned the leader among them. Suddenly, there was a sound of oil sizzling and screams.
Within a moment or two, all the people inside were summoned: "I'm waiting... I'm waiting to escort the festival to Xuanzhou, stationed outside the city for a long time, disguised myself and went to the city to have fun, and unexpectedly killed a singing girl. . My brothers and I did not do this unintentionally. The singing prostitute was already sick. She died and died on her own. Isn’t it our fault..."
The green-robed official immediately interrupted: "This matter has nothing to do with the king and his wife. How dare you make such a big deal?"
One of them said: "We hurriedly fled back to the camp outside the city. Someone was coming to arrest us, and we were panicking. Unexpectedly, the Jiedushi government sent people and asked us to hide in a village outside the city. Mammy also brought the county When the Lord's words came back, he told us to bring 8,000 military horses back to Jiangzhou. Wait calmly and don't be anxious. He also said that the county master is now favored by the Yongzhou Shepherd, and the Yongzhou Shepherd will definitely listen to her words."
After hearing this, Lin Rong took a deep breath and looked at Lu Shen again. He saw him sneering with a dark face: "What else can you say to argue? Or is it not enough to judge these people alone? The girl in your house, Are all the managers in the government going to be interrogated?"
Lin Rong was silent. He didn't know what to say, but he knew that he couldn't say anything. Those people were waiting to board the boat at the ferry. After checking, they knew that he planned to escape. Such a crime would be worse than covering up. After a while, he paused and said, "These people died unjustly. I have nothing to say, and I have no intention of protecting them. I will also order people to bury the singer who died in vain, support her family, and chant sutras to save her."
In this case, Lu Shen seemed to have almost tacitly agreed to protect these sergeants.
Fortunately, Lu Shen still has some grace. Even if he gets angry again, he will not hit a woman. He sneered again and again, looking at Lin Rong's face, he felt very disgusted. How could he be addicted to such a person these days?
Lu Shen shook his head, thought deeply, and walked away.
When Lin Rong supported the wall and slowly walked out of the corridor, he had long since disappeared, only the carriage waiting at the door.
When he was inside, he didn't feel anything. When he came out, the fresh air rushed into his lungs. A burst of cold sweat broke out on Lin Rong's forehead. He leaned softly against the wall of the car. It took him a long time to regain his senses. Come.
The carriage drove from the side door to the entrance of the small courtyard. When King Jingqin, Nanny Qu and others heard the noise, they immediately opened the door and came out. They helped Lin Rong get out of the car, with a worried look on their face: "County Master, what happened? Junhou will take you there. Where are you? Why are you back alone?"
However, Feng Xiao picked up some other things to distract him: "County Lord, you don't know that the ape is very lucky. He was kicked by Junhou and vomited out a lot of blood, which made people think that the beast was there." He must be dead. Who knows, he jumped on the roof and ran up the mountain when no one was prepared." Another little girl also agreed: "It's a pity for that ink chrysanthemum, that monkey is so hateful, it deserves to be kicked. The county owner doesn’t know about the foot, but a dozen of us made it so funny that it ran around the lake shore, and a few little girls almost lost their shoes. Do you think it’s funny or not?”
It's a pity that everyone was silent and couldn't laugh at all. After entering the door, they saw a little girl in the golden birdcage under the corridor, sobbing with her head covered with a handkerchief. When she saw Lin Rong, she cried: "County Lord, Cai Sister Xiu hasn't seen anyone for a long time. When I asked the woman in the kitchen, I found out that she had been escorted out before. What happened? "
Feng Xiao saw it and hurriedly helped the girl go to the lower room: "I know this, just tell me, the county master is very tired, don't bother her with these things, obey me!"
Lin Rong came in and sat for a long time with a cup of hot tea, recounting everything that happened today. Then he raised his head and saw Kingfisher, Fengxiao, Aunt Qu and several big girls in the inner courtyard. Standing aside silently with hands down.
Only then did Lin Rong squeeze out a smile, waved his hands, and said with relief: "I have nothing to do, let's all go down." He left King Jingqin behind again and ordered: "Earlier, the Lord went on an expedition, and he said that Mr. Yang had given it to him outside. Tiao Chen comes in, go and look for it, is it Hang Qing who didn't send it, or did you forget it somewhere?"
He walked around the screen and sat quietly on the embroidered bed. He was stunned for a while, and then called Aunt Qu in: "Auntie, you just saw how harshly the king treated me because of the old grudge between the Cui and Lu families. , is quite contemptuous and defensive towards me. According to his temperament, I am afraid that he will order someone to guard the courtyard gate later, and ask me to shut up and think about my mistakes, and live here in seclusion for many years. "
As she talked, she leaned against the bed curtains, shed two lines of tears, and said resentfully: "Mommy, I'm afraid this will be the end of my life, causing you to suffer with me."
Aunt Qu was really anxious. Seeing Lin Rong like this, she couldn't say anything. She comforted her: "Don't be anxious, County Master. My old lady sent you something a few days ago, which shows that she likes you very much. How can I say, We have to give it a try."
Lin Rong nodded hesitantly, and after a while, he saw Granny Qu going out to make arrangements. After sitting for a while, I took stock of the things I had prepared, and continued to prune the flower branches in the beauty goblet, as if nothing had happened.
Before going to bed, Kingfisher came in to report. He held four books with blue backgrounds in his hands. He leaned in front of Lin Rong's bed and said softly: "Master, I have searched all over. They are the same calligraphy and painting, calligraphy and flower appreciation banquets for women." The posts were mixed together. Yesterday, Ms. Hang Qing sent someone to deliver it. They all blamed me. It was full of a big box and it was at the bottom. I didn’t check them one by one. There were so many things delivered at that time that I was busy here and there. Damn, I wasn't paying attention."
On the other hand, he said bitterly: "Those murderers are so brave and restless in the village. Instead, they do such a thing and make the master implicated. Just now, someone from Zhige Courtyard came to guard the entrance of the hospital and said Tell the master to shut up and think about his mistakes." This is what grounding means. I don't know whether it is just grounding or there are other punishments.
Lin Rong took the note, opened it, and after a while, asked: "Are these four notes sent together, or were they sent over one day at a time?"
Kingfisher nodded and shed tears silently: "They were all sent together. They were all placed under the posts of the female family members. The whole cover was covered with blue background. I lost my head and missed my errand."
Lin Rong understood immediately, sighed quietly, and became more determined to leave: "King Qin, I don't blame you, stop crying, it's nothing serious, go to sleep."
The lord was angry just now, and these girls were outside and heard clearly. Kingfisher wiped his tears, raised his head and asked, "County Master, where are you from? It's none of the County Master's business if your servants go to plead guilty. It's all the slaves like us who didn't do our job well and caused the master to suffer."
Lin Rong took the embroidered handkerchief from her lapel, wiped her tears, and said, "It's not your fault, and don't go looking for anyone. If it's really for my own good, just pretend that nothing happened, okay?"
Kingfisher nodded and saw that Lin Rong was not sad at all, but had a slight smile on his face. He felt more and more empty in his heart. He fell into a trance, sat in his lower room and cried for a long time. He was afraid that Lin Rong couldn't think about it anymore. After an hour, I quietly peeked inside and saw Lin Rong sleeping peacefully under the curtains, and I felt relieved.
Lu Shen was so angry that he didn't want to do anything to the woman. Someone else should have beaten her and punished her a long time ago. He rode a horse and ran forty or fifty miles, and then he got some relief. Depressed. It was already dawn when we returned to the city. As soon as we arrived at the gate of the government office and before we even got off our horses, we saw a counselor striding towards us. He raised his hands and saluted: "My lord has made a wonderful plan. Qingzhou is at your fingertips!"
After saying that, he sent a letter: "The battle in Qingzhou is inextricable, and for a while it is impossible to tell the winner. In my opinion, this is a good time for the lord to enter Qingzhou."
Lu Shen took a quick look, but there was still no hint of joy on his stern face. He stood there for a while, then turned around and ordered the people around him: "Order Zuo Wuwei's three thousand Qingqi to clear the way, break camp and go to Qingzhou."
After this military order, except for the 20,000 guards left behind in Xuanzhou, everyone else went to Qingzhou. For a time, the army was encamped, the loess was flying, and the marching team was winding for dozens of miles.
Not only Lu Shen drove away, but also a group of people from the Jiedu Envoy's residence either went with him to Qingzhou, or set off to return to Yongzhou, or took care of the house on the spot. For a while, the servants, servants, and even immortals in each courtyard Everyone in Lai Hall had their own places to go, but no one came to inform Lin Rong.
After seven or eight days of commotion outside, it gradually became quiet. Lin Rong ignored it and ordered the girls to close the courtyard and not go out and walk around at will.
At noon that day, Lin Rong was still at his desk drawing the herbal illustration. Just when his hands were sore from drawing, he heard Kingfisher standing in front of the window and replying: "County Master, Miss Hangqing is here. She came in alone, followed by several little ones." The girls are all waiting at the door. Master, do you see me?"
Although Lin Rong kept silent about the reason for Lu Shen's anger, Kingfisher and Fengxiao, the two maids, were both very smart.
Feng Xiao was standing nearby, studying ink for Lin Rong, and snorted: "What's the right thing to do when you meet someone? It's only right to fight her out! I didn't go to find her, but she still dares to come here?"
Lin Rong stopped writing and thought for a moment: "Ask her to come in!"
Chapter 42
Lin Rong's book desk is located in the waterside pavilion, facing the water. Occasionally, you can hear the sound of still water flowing deep, and a few mandarin ducks are leisurely playing in the lake, and the lake's surface is sparkling with golden light.
Hang Qing asked someone to bring him in. He still had a smile that was neither humble nor overbearing, but his body was different from the past. He was wearing a luxurious apricot-colored phoenix tail pattern cassette silk jacket, underneath was a gold-woven rose pleated skirt, and ears. A pair of gold-inlaid jade-burnt blue pendants had a faint glimmer of gold in their movements. She walked in and saw four fir-wood oil-covered spring benches in front of her in the water pavilion. Each one was more than a foot wide, and dozens of rice papers that had just been written were hanging out to dry. .
She picked up one and looked at it carefully, smiled, and then stood in front of Lin Rong and saluted: "I have met Madam, and I came here to say goodbye to Madam because I am leaving today."
Lin Rong looked at her silently for a long time, without asking her to get up and said, "You look much better when you dress up like this."
Hang Qing pursed her lips and raised her head: "To get a compliment from the madam, it shows that this dress is really good. In the past, when serving around the monarch, it was natural to consider the monarch's preferences, and it was difficult for a girl with no status to wear these. "
Lin Rong heard what she meant, as if she would no longer be a girl and would no longer be by Lu Shen's side, and asked, "Aren't you going to Qingzhou with me?"
Hang Qing shook his head, and his tone was a little shy: "If you don't go to Qingzhou, I will go back to Yongzhou. I am a girl next to my wife, and I can only serve the king for five or six years. Now that I am older, next year It's almost twenty-one. Before coming to Xuanzhou, my wife promised that after finishing the marriage of the prince, she would release the slaves to get married. The lady to be married may have seen the person who went to Jiangzhou with the ship. A general who welcomes his bride. Now, my slave has finally got what she wanted."
Lin Rong didn't speak for a long time, then said: "I thought that for a maid like you, the important things in life would definitely fall...in the house."
Hang Qing said: "What Madam wants to say is that the important life of this slave must fall on the Lord." After saying this, she shook her head: "Madam has only been here for a short period of time, so she doesn't know the Lord's temperament. He is the most unlucky person." She likes people around her to push their limits. My master doesn’t mean that. If you push forward, you are overstepping your bounds. It’s not like no girls had this idea in the past. It was called..."
She stopped and stroked her hair: "I think Madam doesn't want to hear what I have to say."
He sighed again and slowly raised his head. The woman who saw the case was only wearing a white silk jacket and a plain blue skirt. Her hair was not combed into high temples. It was only pulled into a bun with a jade hairpin. She did not go out for public appearances. The man had no makeup on his face, so the skin on his face was so thin that there was a faint hint of green. He said: "This slave is from a bad background, and there are several layers of masters on your head. I dare not disobey your wife's words; I dare not disobey the king's orders." , I don’t dare not do it; Madam, I have to be careful with you here. Madam is someone who doesn’t care about anything, and she doesn’t care about the twists and turns in the Lu family’s inner house, so she must be able to understand the difficulties of this slave. "
Lin Rong sorted out most of the relationships: "Did your wife ask you to do it?"
Hang Qing nodded: "My wife doesn't like people from Jiangzhou. She can't say anything about Junhou's marriage, but don't ask people to bother her. She also said that our family is a kind family after all, so we tell people to stay away." Even so, there is no need to kill people. When I first came to Xuanzhou, I tried a few times. Seeing that the king was extremely disgusted with his wife, I thought that I didn't need to do anything to get the job done. Who knew? Later, the prince gradually fell in love with his wife and couldn't let her go. All his previous plans were overturned, and he even wanted to take his wife back to Yongzhou."
Lin Rong listened quietly as she continued: "This slave feels something is wrong, and the madam wrote to me several times to remind me. I know the madam's methods. If the madam really goes back to Yongzhou, she will definitely not give me good things to eat. I I was anxious, but I didn’t dare to act rashly.”
"Later, people from Jiangzhou came to give festive gifts, and the soldiers were all rough people. The slaves asked people to tell them which places were lively and fun, and then asked them to sneak into the city to have fun. It happened that these few people were incompetent, and they still I really drank too much and committed a crime, so this servant had an idea, so I just took Master Yang's note and sent it to him a few days later, and it really worked wonders."
Of course, Hang Qing didn't need to explain what happened next. Jiangzhou was Lu Shen's opponent, and he mistakenly thought that Lin Rong was intervening to protect him. How could he not get angry? The twists and turns of the back house were meant to be a dojo in a screw shell. Even if Lu Shen finally knew that the Chen was not delivered in time, servants like Yu Hangqing were just doing things poorly, but as far as Lin Rong was concerned, , even the anger is real, and the contempt is also real.
Lin Rong rubbed the copper beast paperweight at hand, and really couldn't figure it out: "Madam, you have already done your errands, and you have a good future. If I stay here, I will not go to Yongzhou. We probably... will never do it in this life." We won’t meet again, so why do you need to say these words to me?”
Hearing this, Hang Qing suppressed his smile, folded his hands and knelt down: "I know my wife's temperament, and I never look down on us slaves who serve others. I don't know how many masters I have served, but my wife only treats me as a person. If I am not a slave, I have no choice but to plot against Madam. Sometimes I really envy Jingqin and Fengxiao for having a master like Madam."
Lin Rong leaned back on the chair and smiled self-deprecatingly: "You don't have to say these words. Even if you plot against me, I can't do anything to you now or in the future. It's getting late, you set off. Come on. I won’t leave you alone until I finish writing today’s words.”
Hang Qing was still kneeling and refused to get up: "I know that Madam will never forgive me, but I have to say what I said. I have seen with my own eyes the love that the Lord has shown to Madam in the past few days. As long as Madam is willing to go, A letter will definitely change your mind. This servant had no choice but to plot against the madam. She was definitely not sincere and can only make up for it here."
Change your mind? That's not necessary. Lin Rong smiled and said: "Jing Qin, send Hang Qing out."
Hang Qing kowtowed three more times: "I have many wrongdoings among you. I kowtow here to apologize. Madam, please take good care of yourself. I will pray for you every day." After that, he asked Jade Bird to go out.
The little girl Liuli was waiting at the door, and hurriedly stepped forward to support Hang Qing. When she was far away, she complained in a low voice: "Sister, why can't you think about it like this? Why bother to go out and stay with the lord? You will never get married and be a good man." The steward of the inner court is better than many. What's more, there is affection, and it is impossible for even the master to be able to do it in the future..."
Hang Qing snorted and cut off her words: "The prince hates deception the most. The persecution from my wife is getting worse day by day. I don't know what the situation will be like when mother and son are in trouble in the future? Just this time, if the prince knows that I You are moving hands and feet in it, but you still don’t know how to get rid of it? If you have such a desire to strive for glory and boast, I will not delay your future, but I must leave the house."
Liuli didn't dare. She had a high heart and a poor life. She had neither character nor means. She relied on Hang Qing for protection. She lowered her head and admitted her mistake: "Sister, don't be angry with me. I just don't deserve it for my sister. We are the same mother. In short, you Wherever I go, I will go.”
After following what Hang Qing said, she couldn't help but complain: "Sister, she knelt all night that day. Her legs are not good, so why bother to kneel there? I'm afraid she will never return to Yongzhou. I really complied with what I said. A phoenix on the ground is not as good as a chicken.”
Hang Qing stood still and was so angry that he slapped Liuli in the face: "I often tell you to be careful in your words and deeds, and not to talk nonsense about your master, but you didn't listen to a word."
Liuli covered her face and couldn't bear to cry: "She... what kind of master is she? My sister actually beat me for her?"
He then heard Hang Qing scold him: "Let me tell you, who can say accurately about things in this world? The reputation of the eldest lady at that time was three points better than that of the Jiangzhou County Lord, but she did not marry the Huns. Today, this noble lady from Jiangzhou is in trouble, and there may not be a time when she won't take advantage of you in the future. You speak your mind, but you don't have to look at yourself. Are you worthy of killing everyone and taking advantage of others? "
How could Liuli understand this? She cried and shouted: "Sister, do you still remember the eldest lady? The eldest lady went to the Huns to get married, and my sister has no energy at all. She is afraid of wolves in front and tigers in back. It's fine, but she has to go out of the house, even I don’t have the courage to fight. In the past, I don’t know who it was, but I didn’t know who it was, and said that I would follow the monarch all my life. If I was lucky enough to have a son and a half daughters, even if I didn’t have this blessing, it would be good to stay with him..."
Hang Qing yelled at her until she had a headache, and suddenly she felt a dull pain in her knees. She raised her hands, exerted all her strength, and slapped her hard twice. Then she told her to shut up. She was helpless: "What do you want me to say?" If you don't want to listen, no matter how much you say, you don't have to follow me and go fight for your future."
Only then did Liuli get scared and cried: "Sister, I was wrong, I was wrong, I will never say this again..."
Hang Qing ignored him and went straight to Zhige Courtyard. He carefully checked the suitcases and cages he had brought with him before he started talking to Liuli: "You go and follow the girl in the car. Don't leave." I'm annoying you in front of me."
As soon as the poisonous sun at noon passed, Hang Qing and other large groups set off for Yongzhou. In the huge Jiedushi mansion, except for the sergeants guarding the outer courtyard, only dozens of people from Lin Rong's courtyard were left. It becomes empty.
It was a stormy night, and the whole Jiedushi mansion was dark. The lights in Du Linrong were bright, and the girls were packing boxes and cages overnight. Aunt Qu took inventory over and over again and ordered: "Of course you have to bring things for daily use and clothing, as well as cloth curtains and cages. It's a hundred and eighty miles from the house to the dock. How many soft quilts should be brought on the carriage? , to avoid the county owner’s back pain.”
Feng Xiao came in holding a pair of ivory curtains: "County Master, this curtain is your favorite, do you want to take it with you?"
Lin Rong was about to shake his head when he heard Kingfisher over there holding a set of porcelain: "Take it with you, it won't take up much space. It's hard for us to ask for these daily things from the old lady."
Lin Rong stopped them: "We are a small boat with only a hundred or so people, and the things we can carry are limited. We cannot carry so many boxes and cages." He brought the list again and crossed out most of the utensils he brought.
On the second day, the sky turned out to be clear and cloudless, so it was time to set off.
Lu Shen moved away, leaving behind a few servants guarding the courtyard, leaving the entire Jiedushi Palace almost empty. Even those who were left behind were some who had no face and no connections. Although Lin Rong was still nominally grounded, he left the house under the pretext of going up the mountain to the Taoist temple, and put on some airs of being a master, so the servants and wives did not dare to say anything anymore. What.
Just looking at the maids from Jiangzhou loading five carts of boxes and cages in a row, the woman who was asked to stay in charge felt bad. Waiting for the carriage, she asked: "How many days are you going to go, Madam? Multiple cages?”
Before Lin Rong could say anything, he saw Feng Xiao coming from the second door holding a box of snacks and said: "How can master use the things prepared by the Taoist priests on the mountain? You are so sleepy, how can it be your turn to come and ask about master's affairs? Just do whatever the master orders."
The housekeeper didn't have anything going on at all, so she called Feng Xiao and said something. She blushed and didn't dare to ask any more questions. Then she suddenly saw the green oil truck and asked someone to lift the curtain. The beauty inside waved to her and said softly. Whisper: "I won't be back in three or five days. The girls are worried, so I brought more things. There are fewer people in the house now, no more than before. You have to be more careful when you are in charge now, and the girls also Don't wander around, the courtyard door must be closed tightly."
The lady in charge, after hearing Lin Rong's gentle words of comfort, her face looked better. She lowered her hands and said, "Yes, madam." She personally sent Lin Rong's car out and went to the kitchen. She saw a few things in the bamboo basket. The ten-tailed crucian carp asked: "Why are there so many fish? There are not many people in the house now. I'm afraid I won't be able to finish all the fish in a day or two. Who sent it?"
The woman in the kitchen said, "My wife ordered me to buy it, but I didn't tell her what to use it for." Then she pointed to the green rice next to her: "This rice and noodles are the same. They are filled with more than half a jar. They say they are Go to the Taoist temple to give alms. It would be a pity to use such precious rice to give alms to the poor!"
