Unexpectedly, after talking for a long time, Lu Shen did not respond. I would like to ask: "My lord, what is wrong with these three strategies to suppress bandits?"
Lu Shen then smiled and said, "You are quite insightful in strategy now. You have learned to use your brain. Just do as you say!"
It was extremely rare for Zhao Menghuai to hear praise from Lu Shen. At the moment, he just felt elated and said, "Hey," he didn't care about the night getting darker, and rushed back to dispatch his troops happily.
Lu Shenping withdrew all the ministers: "Stand down, we will discuss it tomorrow."
Shen Yan stood at the door and saw everyone exiting one after another. He frowned and thought for a while, then stepped forward and stopped Mr. Xu Youya and Xu: "I wonder if I could ask you to lend me a moment to speak."
No one knew that Shen Yan was the popular person next to Lu Shen. Xu Youya looked around and nodded. The two of them turned a corner and stood under a secluded courtyard wall.
Xu Youya smiled and cupped his hands: "I wonder what your orders are?"
The Lord didn't give any orders, it was just Shen Yan's own speculation. However, it was taboo for the Lord to make such speculations and he did not dare to go into too much detail: "I wonder, Madam, did Master Xu come to say hello today?"
The smile on Xu Youya's face froze. He had been waiting at the pier to pick up the driver early this morning. Naturally, he did not go to the mountain to say hello. Besides, he was a local official and not a domestic servant. How could he not do business? It is definitely not his character to flatter noble people every day.
Shen Yan continued: "Sir, Mr. Xu is well versed in human nature and can discern the smallest details, so you can naturally understand what I mean?"
Although these words were very rude, maybe Youya was a smart man and could tell the truth at once. He nodded immediately and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, yes, Madam is lingering on the sick bed, it is the right time to greet you. I will go up the mountain immediately and give you a greeting." Madam, greetings."
Xu Youya rode up the mountain all night. The mountain road was difficult to walk at night and he didn't dare to ride too fast. It was already midnight when he arrived at the villa where Lin Rong was staying temporarily.
Except for the guards who were patrolling the night, the lights in the courtyard had been turned off. The moonless night made it even darker. The urgent knock on the door awakened most of the maids and women. They thought something had happened and put on their clothes in a panic. When they saw the county magistrate Xu Youya and several of his followers at the door, they asked: "Master Xu, are you here late at night? What happened?"
Xu Youya cupped his hands and said, "It's nothing important. I just came to say hello to Madam."
Feng Xiao woke people up in the middle of the night, and it was for this reason that she also spoke in a rude manner: "Master Xu came to say hello at this hour. I don't know if he really wants to say hello, or if he just wants to make people feel uneasy!"
Kingfisher invited the person in and served him some tea: "Master, please sit down for a while. I will go and tell the lady. If you are not awake, you can't be disturbed."
Tomorrow will be October 15th. Lin Rong can't sleep. But he lies in bed with his eyes closed and rests. When he hears the movement outside, he is afraid of something unexpected and asks: "Who is coming outside?"
Kingfisher hurriedly came in and reported back: "It's County Magistrate Xu. Strangely, he knocked on the door in the middle of the night and said he wanted to say hello to the master. How can anyone say hello at this hour, when everyone has fallen asleep and is getting upset? These days, this Xu The county magistrate seems to be a mature man, but he would do such an outrageous thing?"
Lin Rong thought about it. If something unexpected happened and he was kept in the dark, that would be the scariest thing. He ordered: "It's a little strange, but I'm awake anyway. You Ask him to come to the door and speak and listen to what he has to say.”
After a while, Xu Youya was invited to the door to speak. Through the thick golden vine curtain, he bowed and said hello: "Your Majesty, Xu Youya, would like to say hello to Madam. I wonder if Madam is feeling better today?"
There was silence for a while, and a slender figure was reflected on the Qian screen window: "Greetings from Mr. Lao, I am feeling better today, but I still can't get out of bed. Do you have anything important to do when you come here late at night?"
Xu Youya said: "My wife is ill. I should have said hello to you every day, but today I went to the pier to greet you, so I was delayed. Although it is late at night, I don't want to say hello to my wife in person, but I just came here. It’s also our duty.”
After hearing what he said, Lin Rong's mind was pounding. Lu Shen... Lu Shen's fellow has also arrived at Bomendu? If he didn't say he was in Qingzhou, how could he come here?
The more she thought about it, the more headache she got. She stroked her forehead for a long time before saying, "The Lord has also arrived in Bomen County?"
Xu Youya replied: "Yes, I wrote the article two days ago to lead the troops to suppress the bandits when Princess Ruyang was robbed."
Lin Rong lamented in her heart, who is this Princess Ruyang? As she rubbed her sore temples, she thought that she was lying when she came to Bomendu. After sending letters back and forth these days, Lu Shen must have known about it. Maybe the messenger would come early in the morning. The man escorted him down the mountain.
No, no, I'll go to the cloud platform at noon tomorrow and jump off the platform. No one can catch me, as long as I can delay it for half a day. But how to delay it? If you don't know, it's definitely not possible. That guy Lu Shen is so petty, and he always takes the soft side rather than the hard side.
Seeing that there was silence for a long time, Xu Youya cleared his throat: "I wonder what your orders are, Madam?"
Lin Rong said: "I'm not in good health, so I couldn't go to the pier to greet you. It's my fault. It's not convenient to go down the mountain at this time. Let's do this. I'll write a handwritten letter and you can take it back to you."
Xu Youya was overjoyed when he heard this: "Yes!"
Lin Rong sighed and ordered the maid to prepare pen and ink. She held her hair and thought hard for a while, then reluctantly wrote a dry apology letter. She delayed for a while before asking the maids to send it out.
Xu Youya waited in the outer hall and drank several cups of tea. It was already dawn when he received the letter. He hurried down the mountain and went to Lu Shen's residence. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Lu Shen practicing sword under the tree. He was dressed in white, as graceful as a startled dragon, and his sword energy was like a rainbow. The locust tree next to him was called the sharp sword east. Chopping in the west, branches and leaves fell all over the ground.
Xu Youya stepped forward and reported: "I went up the mountain today to greet my wife. My wife said that she knew she had committed many sins, so she wrote a letter of apology in her own hand, asking for your forgiveness."
According to Lu Shen's temper, there was nothing interesting about the woman's letter, so it was proper to take it and burn it. He only heard the word "apologize", so he reluctantly took it and read it.
Seeing the pitiful look in the woman's words, she readily admitted her mistake, the fault of shielding her, and the fault of leaving Xuanzhou privately. She also said that she wanted to go to Qingzhou to admit her mistake, but she didn't dare to go. I wanted to go to my old lady, but I fell ill in Bomendu, coughing up blood day and night. If things get better tomorrow, I will definitely come down from the mountain in person and take off my hairpin to deal with the crime.
After reading the letter, Lu Shen's anger was mostly gone. The woman said that she was coughing up blood and frowned. She immediately called Zhao Menghuai in and scolded: "Ms. Cui is sick and coughing up blood. Why didn't you report it earlier?"
Zhao Menghuai was shocked: "I sent a letter to Qingzhou three days ago to report my wife's illness. Didn't you receive the letter?"
Lu Shen had already left Qingzhou three days ago, so where would he receive any letter? He received a letter when he was in Qingzhou. When he saw the woman traveling around the mountains and rivers, he thought she was pretending to be sick, so he waved his hands irritably: "Can you please bring the doctor who can diagnose your pulse?"
In just one cup of tea, two doctors were invited to explain the pulse and prescriptions one by one: "Madam's illness is really strange. I prescribed a prescription according to the pulse, but it was of no use at all. It was as if no medicine had been taken. At first, she only coughed up blood. It was a small mouthful, but later it turned out to be as much as a small bowl. I didn’t say a few words before I started breathing hard.”
After Lu Shen heard this, he thought to himself, she is a little girl, if she is confused or stupid, she can teach her. Since ancient times, there have been many virtuous wives, so why should I have the same understanding as her, teaching my wife on my pillow, and lecturing my son in front of the hall? She spoke a little more harshly that day, and in front of the servants. She must have become ill because of this.
With this thought, he could no longer sit still and ordered: "Get your horses ready and go up the mountain!"
Lu Shen hurriedly went to the other courtyard on Linrong Mountain. But halfway there, a steady autumn rain started to fall, making the mountain road very difficult to walk. After a delay, it was already close to noon when he arrived.
The woman always liked to be quiet, and all the servants were waiting outside. When they saw him coming, they were surprised and happy, and they all saluted: "Your Majesty!"
Lu Shen asked: "Where is your master?"
Feng Xiaofu answered: "My wife didn't sleep well yesterday. She was taking a nap at this time. She asked us to stay outside and be quiet. We will call her when we have dinner."
Hearing this, Lu Shen stepped lightly, quietly pushed the door open, walked around the screen, and saw that the sky-green silk curtain had been lowered, completely covering the bed.
Lu Shen sat on a rattan stool nearby. He didn't want to disturb her, but wanted to ask the woman to sleep a little longer. Unexpectedly, as soon as he sat down, he heard a slight whine from inside the bed tent. He thought it was the woman having a nightmare. When he opened the curtain, he saw that the Kingfisher girl was tied tightly and had a big stuffed in her mouth. The handkerchief was whining non-stop.
When Lu Shen saw this for the first time, he thought that the little woman had been kidnapped. But he was wrong again. This place was guarded at all levels, and there was no communication from outsiders. How could he get in? He drew his sword and cut the rope on the maid: "Get out." What's the matter, who tied you here, where is your master?"
Kingfisher took out the handkerchief from his mouth, shook it and threw it on the ground. With tears streaming down his face, he pulled the hem of Lu Shen's robe and cried: "I beg you to save the lady. The lady wants to go to Yuntai and jump off the cliff to commit suicide. My servants try to persuade me in every possible way." , life is useless. Madam said, tie me here, so as not to implicate me. Lord, even if Madam makes a huge mistake, it will not lead to death. "
The maid spoke incoherently. Lu Shen swung his sword against Jade Bird's neck and applied a slight force, causing blood to ooze out. His face was covered with frost and he said in a deep voice: "Tell the truth!"
Kingfisher was really a loyal servant, and he was grateful for Lin Rong's kindness in normal times. At this time, he still wanted to cover up for her, and refused to tell the truth. He continued intermittently: "The county master said that a scholar can be killed but not humiliated. The king is just unjustly accused." , It was really unbearable. She also said that she was extremely ill and it would be better to die, and she would never see the king again."
Lu Shen was shocked when he heard this, and his face turned pale. He refused to believe the words of this maid. He raised his sword and walked out quickly, saying: "Get your horses ready and go to Yuntai. Keep this maid in custody until I come back for interrogation."
After that, he hit the horse and galloped away.
Chapter 47
On the way, the rain gradually began to fall. When Lu Shen arrived, the cloud platform was already lightly covered with water. Although it was noon, the whole valley was covered with green vegetation and a vast white mist, which was quite a bit like the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River.
He turned over and dismounted, and walked quickly along the stone railing. After only twenty or thirty steps, he saw a woman wearing a green shirt at the corner of the platform, holding a plain oil paper umbrella, standing quietly as if she was flying away in the air.
When Lu Shen first heard the news, he was shocked and grieved. However, he calmed down a lot. He used his eyesight and saw that the woman's face was rosy and her brows were wide. She definitely didn't look like she was sick or had serious symptoms, nor was she aggrieved and wanted to commit suicide. appearance. Kingfisher said those words with good intentions, but it's a pity that she doesn't know that too much is too little. What's more, Lu Shen is suspicious by nature, especially towards the people in Jiangzhou.
If you talk too much and too much, your credibility will be greatly reduced and you will become suspicious and resentful.
Lu Shen's face suddenly darkened. He hated these women the most in his life for controlling people by crying, making trouble, and hanging themselves. This brought back the shallow and ignorant dislike he had for women in the past. Instead, he stopped and ordered in a bad tone. Left and right: "Go two people and invite Mrs. Cui over. If she doesn't want to come over, take her over."
The guards who were following him said hello, immediately climbed over the railing, braved the rain, and waded across the cloud platform.
Lin Rongben had been looking at the sundial next to him, counting the time, when he heard the sound of water. He turned around and saw that Lu Shen had already arrived, standing on the mountain corridor with his hands behind his hands, his eyes sharp and his face frosty.
Three or five steps away, two black-armored guards were wading over. Seeing this, Lin Rong took a step forward and said, "Don't come over here. If you come over one more step, I'll jump down."
The two of them didn't dare to take another step forward and held their hands: "Madam, please don't be impulsive. If you have anything to say, please speak up. Your Majesty ordered me to invite Madam over."
Lin Rong was too lazy to pay attention to these people. Only the hour shown on the sundial was half a cup of tea away from noon. She had prepared so hard for so long. She had also set up several seven-star lanterns and deceived several Taoist priests into waiting in the wing. Nai recited the Tao Te Ching according to the method left by his senior brother. Naturally, he was unwilling to make any mistakes in the timing of jumping off the cliff. He said coldly: "I have nothing to say to him."
While they were still in a stalemate, Lu Shen held up an umbrella and slowly came over. As he stepped forward, he realized that the woman had taken off her shoes and socks and was standing barefoot in the water. She was so arrogant that she didn't know what nurturing was. I'm afraid that because she was not punished for shielding Jiangzhou's guards last time, it only encouraged her to become more courageous and engage in such an unflattering farce.
He snorted coldly, Cui Shiyi, if you think like this, you are very wrong. This time, I have to teach you a lesson.
When Lin Rong saw him coming, she said something difficult in her heart, and repeated it again: "I have nothing to say to you. If you take another step forward, I will jump down immediately."
Lu Shen heard this and waved back with a stern face. Instead of retreating, he advanced forward slowly. He said sarcastically: "Aren't you unable to bear the injustice and want to jump off the cliff to prove your innocence? Why don't you jump? Or are you just pretending too much? You stood here and blew in the cold wind for a while, but you don’t dare to jump anymore?”
Lin Rong looked at the clock and saw that there was still a short time left. Seeing him approaching step by step, he took another small step out. He might as well have stepped on a loose rock with one foot. His whole body was swaying, almost Almost falling. She instinctively grabbed the vines on the side to prevent herself from falling.
Seeing this, Lu Shen was even more sure that this woman was just acting and didn't really want to die. He sneered: "Or do you want me to give you a ride, so that you can jump down?"
Madman, really madman, Lin Rong said bitterly in his heart. It took him eight lifetimes of bad luck to meet a madman like Lu Shen. Suddenly, all the anger and humiliation he suffered from him in the past came to mind.
I have to leave anyway, even if I can't go back, I won't be living under this lunatic's hand wherever I live. Thinking of this, Lin Rong snorted, raised an eyebrow and said, "Marquis Lu, I haven't seen you for half a month. It's so noisy. You look down on me, and I don't dare to reach out to you. You think you're a man, and you claim to have ambitions in the world, but you repeatedly make things difficult for me, a weak woman. Don't you feel ashamed?"
Lu Shen was shocked to see the woman's body leaning out more and more. This woman was quite angry. She dared to jump down even if she said a few more words. His palms suddenly became sweaty. Why should he teach her a lesson? All thoughts were put to the back of his mind, and he said sternly: "Cui Shiyi, I order you, come here quickly..."
Lin Rong looked at the sundial and saw that noon had arrived. He was too lazy to chatter with Lu Shen, closed his eyes, turned around and jumped to the bottom of the cliff under the waterfall.
However, the expected feeling of weightlessness did not come. When he opened his eyes, he saw that his whole body was hanging outside, and Lu Shen was holding on to one of his wrists. He hurriedly stopped her, but asked Lin Rong to take half of her body out. He was scared and angry: "Cui Shiyi, you stupid woman, give me your other hand quickly."
Lin Rong looked at him, the expression on his face was cold and distant, and the words he said pierced into Lu Shen's heart like a poisoned blade: "Every time you touch me, I feel extremely disgusted. Every time afterward, I I wish I could wash the skin you touched ten times before I give up. If you want me to be your wife and serve you every day, looking at your face, I would rather die."
He sneered again: "Lu Shen, you are the worst man I have ever slept with!"
This was said deliberately to anger him, but it was also true. If she really wanted to stay here forever, then she would indeed rather die.
After that, he used his other hand to pry Lu Shen's fingers apart one by one. Lu Shen's eyes were cracked and he could no longer tell whether the woman was speaking out of anger or the truth. He just scolded Lin Rong: "Cui Shiyi, you dare to kill yourself. If you don't say anything, none of the girls around you will survive." , even your Cui family, I will never leave a single person alive!"
Lu Shen's hands were very strong, and Lin Rong couldn't break them open for a moment. He was afraid that if he lost any more time, he would not be able to get home even if he jumped down. Seeing that the guards over there were rushing towards this side, he pulled out a handle from his waist. The knife stabbed Lu Shen's hand that was clutching his own.
Lu Shen said angrily: "Cui Shiyi, you are looking for death..." He instinctively stretched out his hand to block it, but most of his body was hanging in the air. He lost his balance at the slightest movement. Before he could finish his sentence, he called Lin Rong and others to go. The mountain stream fell under the waterfall. After a while, a thud was heard and water splashed three to four meters high.
The guards asked Lu Shen to retreat. After being tens of meters away, they noticed something strange. They could only see the splashing water. There was no waves under the deep pool, and there was not a single person. They were suddenly shocked: "No, under this waterfall If there is an undercurrent, hurry up and report it to General Zhao and County Magistrate Xu."
…
The cliff was more than ten meters high. Lin Rong asked Lu Shen to hold one of his hands. He didn't have time to think of a way to enter the water to make it easier. He barely protected his head and hit the water with his whole body. Severe pain spread from his limbs. Then, the cold water gradually poured into my ears and nose, and I almost lost consciousness.
There was an undercurrent under the water in the pool. It was the autumn flood at this time and the river was rushing. The two people rushed into a hidden underground river. After an unknown amount of time, Lu Shen came out of the water with Lin Rong in his arms. He saw that everything was pitch black, but it was not the deep pool, and he didn't know where the rapids had swept him.
Lu Shen held Lin Rong in his arms and saw that her body was limp, so he hurriedly gave her a breath.
Lin Rong was very good at water, and could hold his breath underwater for up to two and a half minutes. However, the cliff was too high, and he didn't choose the right position to enter the water. The water hit him all over, and he was so painful that Lin Rong almost felt that he must have broken a bone. , seeing Lu Shen coming over to calm him down, he didn't have the strength to push him away.
After a while, Lu Shen let go and stroked the woman's back: "What's wrong?"
Lin Rong then said coldly: "Do you want to calm me down, or do you want to suffocate me to death?"
Lu Shen was speechless: "You..."
He could only say one word, but a torrent came out of nowhere and swept the two people downstream. There were many reefs along the way, the water flow was fast, and it was in an underground river where you couldn't even see your fingers. Lu Shen hugged Lin Rong and bumped into the reefs from time to time, grunting.
I don't know how long it took, but the two people were rushed out of the underground river. I don't know where they were washed. They saw the river surface sparkling, and it was already dusk.
The pain in Lin Rong's limbs gradually subsided, and he saw the light of day again. He was about to push Lu Shen away and swim to the shore, when he saw Lu Shen, who was completely speechless. His forehead hit the stone wall on the shore. Although there was no bleeding, he heard a sound. There was a huge knocking sound, and he suddenly slid weakly underwater.
When Lin Rong hated him, she wished he would die, but at this time, it was extremely painful for her to refuse to save him. After hesitating for a moment, she finally plunged into the water and fished Lu Shen out.
Lin Rong didn't dare to soak in the water for too long. It was already October and the river in the North was already very cold. She held Lu Shen's neck and floated along the river for who knows how long before she finally landed on the steep stone walls on both sides. I found a large stone platform where I could go ashore.
Lin Rong struggled to swim over, but with all his strength, he used the buoyancy of the river to push Lu Shen up. By the time she climbed up the big stone platform, she was almost exhausted.
She was panting and lay on the big stone platform for a long time before she regained some strength. Her body was wet and cold. She thought about taking off the bundle and putting on the clean clothes wrapped in brown paper. She touched her shoulder and found where it was. There is also the shadow of the baggage, which has been washed away long ago.
