Lord Ma, Shaoqing of Dali Temple?
Ma Zhou trotted up to Bai Song with a smile on his face. While inviting Bai Song in, he asked, "Master Bai, you are such a rare visitor. What brought you here?"
"Find a place where no one is around to talk."
Ma Zhou looked at Ouyang Yanran behind Bai Song, his smile remained unchanged, and he took Bai Song to the back hall of Dali Temple.
Dali Temple has high authority, but it is relatively deserted because there are very few cases involving Dali Temple, so it can be regarded as a quiet yamen.
Bai Songyou observed Ma Zhou. In the past, like Bai Song, he worked as an errand in the East Palace and followed the prince.
As a result, after a few years, each had their own positions, but compared with Bai Song, Ma Zhou was obviously far behind.
Ma Zhou didn't seem to be satisfied, and there was a bit of bitterness in his smile. Especially after meeting Bai Song, the gap in his heart became more obvious, so many emotions were written on his face.
After sitting down in the hall, Ouyang Yanran was still standing behind Bai Song.
Ma Zhou personally made tea for Bai Song and wanted to ask why he came today.
Bai Song did not answer immediately, but instead asked: "How are you doing, Lord Ma?"
"Okay...of course it's good, but compared to Master Bai, it's much worse."
"Young Minister of Dali Temple is also a very important position. Why does Mr. Ma's complexion seem not to be very satisfactory?"
"From the fourth rank... it's not a small official position, but Master Bai has also seen that in such a big Dali Temple, there are only a few people working on duty every day. I have been working here for a year, and I have not been able to get the job done. Everyone admits it. Only when the emperor orders Dali Temple to handle the case, those disappeared people will appear one by one. Such an official is really a bit boring. "
"So bad? Win leisurely."
"Some people want to be free, but they are entrusted with important responsibilities. Some people want to show off their talents, but they end up having leisure. Lord Bai, why do you think this world is so unsatisfactory?"
"Master Ma is not very young either. He has only been here for a year. Sooner or later he will have time to show off his skills."
Ma Zhou looked at Bai Song and said with a smile: "Master Bai, at your age, you are trying to comfort a young official... Isn't this more embarrassing?"
"That's all, let's talk about business." Bai Song changed the subject and asked, "Is there a person named Ouyang Xun still imprisoned in the dungeon of Dali Temple?"
Ma Zhou's expression changed slightly when he heard the name, and he looked at Bai Song seriously.
"How does Mr. Bai know this person?"
"Oh? What's so special about this person?"
"I know him. He is quite famous in Dali Temple because he is crazy and talks nonsense all the time, but he is taken good care of by Master Wei Zheng."
"So you're still alive?"
"To be alive is to be alive...it's just..."
"Just what?" Ouyang Yanran was a little anxious and interrupted to ask.
Ma Zhou looked at Ouyang Yanran, then at Bai Song. When Bai Song nodded, he spoke slowly.
"It's just that I've been in the dungeon for too long and I'm not very clear-headed."
"How could this happen? Can you let us go and see him?"
Bai Song also added: "If it's convenient, we can meet him."
"This..." Ma Zhou seemed a little embarrassed, but after hesitation he still said, "Okay, I can take you two to have a look, but you must not spread the word outside, especially not let Master Wei Zheng know. Also, later If that person is talking nonsense now, please don't pretend to be silent, just pretend you didn't hear anything."
Bai Song nodded.
Ma Zhou said goodbye and left, saying that he wanted to send everyone away.
After a while, Ma Zhou came back and took the two of them out of the back hall, taking a detour from the street to the dungeon.
At this time, there was no one in the dungeon, and under the dim light, the cells were empty.
Occasionally, I would see one or two prisoners, but they were not as miserable as the prisoners in the prison cells of the Criminal Department.
The people who can be imprisoned here all have some kind of background. Even if they are in prison, they are very respectable. They sit upright and half-squint their eyes. They don't really care about the people coming and going outside.
As we reached the depths, our vision gradually dimmed, but there was a light on further away, which seemed very abrupt.
"Ouyang Xun is locked up in a lighted place in front of him."
Bai Song didn't ask any more questions, but Ouyang Yanran had already walked over quickly.
Before Bai Song arrived, Ouyang Yanran had already stretched her hands into the cell.
Bai Song was startled, and hurried over to pull Ouyang Yanran away, reminding: "Calm down."
Ma Zhou looked at the two of them and chose to avoid them.
When I came in, I saw several prisoners. They all looked respectable and did not look like prisoners.
The people in this prison had unkempt hair and beards that covered their faces like black vines because they had been detained for too long. They looked like savages in the mountains.
But this man was still wearing a shabby scholar's uniform. In the corner of the cell was a pen, ink, paper and inkstone that had not been touched for an unknown period of time, and the surrounding walls were full of ghost-like writings, and it was unknown what was written.
The people inside were sleeping, sleeping deeply. The conversation between Bai Song and Ouyang Yanran had no impact on him at all.
Ouyang Yanran rubbed her eyes, unable to believe that this person could be her brother.
However, Bai Song had no doubts and knocked on the iron fence: "Hey, wake up!"
The person inside trembled and suddenly sat up. Because the movement was large and strange, Ouyang Yanran shrank her neck in fright.
"What's the sound? Are you going to chop off my head? Come on, chop it off quickly, I can't wait any longer."
As he said that, the dark shadow inside rushed to Bai Song's eyes, and hit the iron railing with a bang.
This time, Bai Song was so frightened that he took two steps back.
The man inside kept his head lowered and cut his own neck with his hands, making a beheading gesture.
"Come on, behead, behead..."
"Are you Ouyang Xun?"
"I am Ouyang Xun! I am Ouyang Xun! Whether I change my name or my surname, I am Ouyang..." The people inside raised their heads and shouted wildly, and his voice was heard throughout the dungeon.
Ouyang Yanran burst into tears and shouted: "Brother, Yanran is here to see you!"
After the words were spoken, the people inside froze.
The prison that was noisy just now suddenly became silent, and the atmosphere was very depressing.
Ouyang Yanran was choked with sobs. She took off the oil lamp hanging on one side and placed it in front of her. She wanted to see the other person clearly and also wanted the other person to see her clearly.
Despite the lighting, the hair and beard of the person inside obscured 90% of their face, making it impossible to tell.
But he saw Ouyang Yanran clearly, and then he retreated back to the depths of the cell as if he was frightened.
"Don't come here, don't come here!"
"Brother, what's wrong with you? It took a lot of effort for me to see you. Why is it like this?"
