In the spring of the eighth year of Emperor Jingwu's reign.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"
On the official road, two knights in red clothes and black cloaks galloped on their horses. The horses' hooves stepped on the potholes and splashed mud and water, scaring the people setting up stalls, looking at the goods, walking and talking on the roadside to avoid them, causing repeated screams. .
"Two dead ghosts, what are you doing? Are you in a hurry to reincarnate without caring about anyone on the road?" someone said angrily.
"No, no. This is Tiqi, here to catch someone."
A poor scholar shook his head and said, "You don't know? In November last year, the Empress Dowager passed away. During the national mourning period, there were actually scholars in Yingtian Mansion having a banquet with prostitutes, and they were reported and imprisoned.
Mr. Chen, who learned from Yingtianti, lived in Jizhu Lane in this county. He was found guilty of lax discipline and has been removed from custody. Presumably these two went to Yugan County to seize Mr. Chen’s family! "
"Don't talk nonsense!" Others responded to his showoff: "The day before yesterday, I was reading a notice in the village, and they were saying that the Empress Dowager was kind and asked the Emperor to waive agricultural taxes in the counties affected by the flood..."
"How do you and other country folk know?"
The scholar shook his head even more exaggeratedly, pretending to be mysterious and said: "After the Double Ninth Festival, the Empress Dowager's old illness relapsed and she no longer attended the court meeting. My relatives in Beijing wrote a letter saying that the Queen Mother went to the palace every day to check for pulse, and after a month's delay, she finally collapsed. .”
"Ah?" Everyone was shocked: "It's only been a month...? How...why is it so sudden?"
There was a "rumbling" sound of thunder, and everyone suddenly shrank their necks. Someone warned softly: "Please keep your voice down, God will hear you and he will be unhappy."
People were talking softly about the "news" about the death of the Empress Dowager and the impending disaster for the Chen family, while looking up at the sky with worry.
The cloud curtain came over heavily, and the bright places in the distance shone, and even the originally cold wind suddenly became moist.
"Oh, go home, the deal can't be done."
The little boy selling bamboo weaving put away his things, turned around to look at the sky, and sighed: "I hope the sun will shine brightly tomorrow, otherwise we ordinary people won't know where to go to change oil money."
How long has this world been stable? Don’t let it change again! "
After saying that, he hurriedly tied up his raincoat, picked up the pole, and walked home tremblingly on the edge of the road.
The bustling official road behind him suddenly fell silent, and was gradually shrouded in boundless darkness by clouds.
Spring rain is as precious as oil, and such heavy thunderstorms in March are even rarer. When people missed it, large raindrops began to hit the ground with "crackling".
At this time, in a house located in the northwest corner of the county, the maids, women, and old mothers were busy closing the windows and doors, running around like a flock of frightened ducks.
In normal times, the family owners would have reprimanded loudly: "Why are you panicking? Our Li family has had a household minister. How is it appropriate to behave like this?"
But today, the master and his wife obviously have more important topics to talk about, and some of them can't care about them.
"This news about Third Brother... are you sure?" The voice of the woman who asked was a little trembling. She was twisting a moon-white silk handkerchief in her hand, and her well-maintained finger joints were a little white.
"Second sister-in-law, the clerk of the Yamen won't joke about this kind of thing. He probably didn't run away." The fat man sitting in front of her right touched the short beard on his chin habitually and nodded.
"In this case, what's the best thing to do? Shuo'er has been divorced and married for less than half a year, and the eldest daughter of the Chen family has seen it as a good field for sowing melons and reaping melons. It has been known to everyone in the county.
Now that something like this has happened to her natal family, she is not even allowed to write a divorce letter. What if this hinders Wu Lang's luck in the future! "
The second mistress, Mrs. Gao, stamped her feet anxiously, stretched out her handkerchief to wipe the corners of her eyes, and cursed: "That blind matchmaker with bad eyesight is doing some good business. I told you not to look for her!"
"Brothers and sisters, don't panic, at any rate, our Li family has a head of the Household Department!"
The eldest man who was sitting at the top was unhappy when he saw her speaking indiscriminately. He coughed and restrained himself from speaking: "Even if Tiqi came to get it, it happened to be during the period of national mourning for the death of the Empress Dowager, so it would still be somewhat concealed. If you lose the face of the Chen family, you may not be able to meet with His Majesty’s mercy or mercy.”
Seeing some relief in the woman's eyes, he changed his mind and said, "But Mr. Chen may not be able to escape this disaster. The Empress Dowager has passed away. Either the Emperor will take charge personally, or the Empress Dowager will come to take charge."
But it is impossible to overturn this case and make His Majesty bear the name of unfilial piety, right? "
"Ah? According to what the uncle said, this..." Gao's face suddenly became bitter again.
"We can't rush this matter, we have to look at the fate of the Chen family first." The elder shook his head and said: "I, Li Su, also witnessed Wei Shangshu's case back then, weren't there more people involved?
In comparison, the Chen family is not considered the mastermind of this case, but they are just involved. They were bitten and couldn't get away for a while.
In my opinion, even if Dali Temple has already made a verdict, it will not be postponed until the National Funeral and Punishment Department hears the case. The Chen family will be restrained at most, and there will be no delay during this period. We must not get into trouble now. "
He thought for a while and said to the two of them: "My third brother is looking for an opportunity to take care of the county and the city. I will go to the provincial capital to make connections with the chief envoy Si Tuo. After all, the children are just babies. How could I know what happened next?"
It's best if you can use silver to cover it without getting any oily smell. However, this management requires money, brothers and sisters, do you think...? "
Gao was stunned for a moment, thinking that he was indeed talking about money. But as a woman, she had to rely on her brother-in-law and uncle to help her with such public appearances.
Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle, just tell me, how much should be done about this matter?"
The third master, Li Yan, exchanged glances with his brother and pretended to think for a moment: "Five hundred for the county and government officials, and one thousand for the chief envoy."
"Okay, that's it. I'll ask Li Cai to send it over tomorrow!"
Li Su saw her decisive response, and a look of satisfaction appeared on Donggua's face. Suddenly he remembered it again and ordered: "Oh, also, it is really inconvenient for the eldest lady of the Chen family to avoid here, and it shouldn't be.
When it came time to send my daughter off to get married, she was anxious to have a wedding ceremony tomorrow, but Mrs. Chen's wife couldn't figure it out! This should not be rushed.
After all, Wu Lang and the eldest sister of the Chen family are not married yet, so it is inconvenient to live in the same courtyard. It is best to lead her to find an empty courtyard outside to settle down. Also, the younger siblings should tell Wulang not to go to the Chen family to look around, to avoid suspicion!
More importantly, you should keep an eye on your hozen. I see that he is getting close to the second girl of the Chen family. If he knew about this, who knows how much trouble he would cause for everyone? "
"Okay, okay!" Mrs. Gao had a headache when she thought of her eldest son, and couldn't help sighing: "That little bastard, Mr. Qian is so restrained, let's see if he dares to do whatever he wants!"
The "little evil beast" was getting out of the kitchen window at this time. He ran a few steps and jumped up. He kicked his left foot in the depression on the side wall of the woodshed and twisted his waist to exert force. His right foot had already stepped on the top of the wall.
His body swayed slightly to find his balance, he turned around and lifted his breath slightly, then ran along the ridge of the wall for more than twenty steps. There was a chestnut tree outside the wall. He climbed over the wall, hugged the tree trunk and jumped down to the street corner.
Four or five people were sheltering from the rain under a tree. The thin and ragged beggars stood up when they saw them.
"Come on, everyone has a share." The young man said and grabbed a linen bag from his bulging arms. When he opened it, it contained seven or eight cold buns.
The beggars each picked one up and bit it after taking it. The older man at the head was embarrassed and hurriedly bowed and said: "Thank you for the reward, Master. Don't be offended, we are all very hungry."
"It doesn't matter." The young man raised his hand, tied the package again, handed it over and said, "Old man, when the rain comes, you should get out of the way. Take these back for the women and children to eat."
He sighed: "You go through the county town and go south. In two days' walk there will be a porridge relief farm for the imperial court. When you get there..."
"Brother Dan, why are you here? It's easy for me to find you!"
A young man with blood dripping from his forehead came running from the alleyway screaming, covering his head with his sleeves, and panting: "Brothers are being bullied, I'm waiting for you to support the show!"
"Yang Yi? What's wrong with you?" Li Dan was surprised to see his miserable appearance.
"Zhao Laosan in the south of the city has lost his mind and came to the north of our city to go crazy." Yang Yi took a breath and said: "He invited people to drink at Chunxiang Tower. That's all. He insists on singing for no reason. Sister Yao will accompany you for wine.
When the sister refused, he asked his men to take the girl back to his house, saying that he would train her for his mother. Aunt Su was so frightened that she called us to go. Unexpectedly, as soon as the brothers entered the door, the guy shouted, "Do it."
My brothers made a mistake. When I came to look for you, I had already been injured four or five times. Zhang Jingang’s arm was even broken... "
"Stop talking!" Li Dan yelled. Fire was already spitting out of his eyes. He had already rushed to the entrance of the alley and asked, "Is there any government official here?"
Yang Yi hurriedly followed behind and replied: "No." He hurriedly chased after him.
Li Dan has just turned fifteen this year. His father Li Mu is the second among the three brothers. He was originally a local official and accumulated a rich eunuch purse.
Li Dan's mother, Qian, was Li Mu's concubine and died of illness when he was five years old. Li Muxu also died shortly after he married his wife and sister while serving as the magistrate of Dongchang Prefecture in Shandong Province.
Mrs. Qian protected her husband's coffin and property and brought Li Dan back to her hometown. She was praised by her family for this, and her mistress Gao had no choice but to allow her to continue raising Li Dan. Therefore, Li Dan grew up with his aunt Qian's wife since he was a child. big.
Yugan County is sandwiched between Xinjiang and Yushui, and is long and narrow from north to south. There used to be ultramarine skins in the north of the city, known as the Eighteen Tigers, but they competed with each other for territory and could not stay together. They were suppressed by the forces in the south city for many years.
Unexpectedly, Li Dan appeared two years ago and suppressed everyone in Beicheng. He also cleaned up Nancheng and became famous.
Because he was tall and slender, had brute force, and had the right surname of Li, he was given the nickname "Xiao Yuanba". Once the name is called, no one dares to do such things as bullying and dominating the market.
The West Market is located in the north of the city and mainly deals in livestock, food ingredients, and seasonings. East Market is located in the south of the city and mainly deals in high-end goods such as jewelry, silk, cotton, and porcelain.
Because the environment in Beicheng was stable, the business atmosphere gradually became more prosperous than that in East City, which made Yang Yi hate Zhao Laosan in Nancheng.
Zhao Laosan, whose official name is Zhao Xuan, ranks third, but despite his nickname, he is actually a playboy.
Relying on his father's title of General Zhaoyi, he idles around all day, supports young scoundrels, and does bad things such as bullying men, dominating women, and intruding merchants.
Since Li Dan took care of his men, Nancheng's arrogance suddenly disappeared, forming the current pattern of mutual non-aggression.
Each side has its own sphere of influence. If you need to go to the other side's ground, you must say hello to avoid misunderstandings. Therefore, it is really strange for Zhao Laosan to rush in like this today.
Thinking of this, Li Dan slowed down, looked up and saw that Chunxiang Tower was already in front of him, and found that his hands were empty. The rainwater poured down and splashed onto the street, immediately covering the feet.
Li Dan wiped the raindrops from his forehead and caught a glimpse of the stick supporting the awning at the door of the sauce shop. He reached out and grabbed one and shouted: "Old man Chu, I will pay you later!" He knocked it on his leg and stuck it out twice. cut.
The old man Chu's awning fell half way down, he was so frightened that he shrank his neck and couldn't say a word. Li Dan strode into Chunxiang Tower with his hands behind his back.
Chunxiang Building is a famous flower building in this city. My mother, Aunt Su, is actually not yet thirty years old. It is said that all the brothers who come here are looking for fun. This is the first time she has experienced the building being smashed.
On a rainy day, business was not going well, so we finally welcomed a few gentlemen, but who would have thought that they would start a fight with the idea of causing trouble!
In the blink of an eye, Aunt Su saw the whole room wailing and the ground shattered. She was so frightened that her face turned pale, and her previous attitude was long gone.
Her hairpins were in disarray, and her precious-colored Suzhou embroidered gown had been splashed with various vegetable soups and drinks at some point, making her look extremely miserable.
Li Dan strode into the door, and she burst into tears as if she saw the arrival of Lord Qingtian, and shouted: "Brother Dan, look at this good thing...what's the matter? You have to help the slave family make the decision!" "
