Liu Ziwen didn't know when he woke up.
I don't know how long he passed out.
How was the public trial? Did Wang Lengran protect the Liu family? Did Ouyang Lianghan still pursue justice and pursue the case fiercely?
Liu Ziwen was like an old and sick tiger trapped in a swamp, his consciousness was groggy.
Only the stab wounds wrapped with bandages on his chest and stomach, and the bone-piercing pain that made him grit his teeth, could make his brain wake up intermittently.
I may have had some dreams during this period, but every time I opened my eyes with difficulty, I would forget them thousands of miles away.
And it was this intermittent awakening that made Liu Ziwen vaguely realize that he had been asleep for a long, long time.
Sometimes when I open my eyes, the room is pitch black.
Sometimes when I open my eyes, there seems to be someone lighting a lamp and guarding the round table not far away.
Sometimes when I open my eyes, the light inside and outside the bed is dim, and I can't tell whether it is evening or dawn.
But now, Liu Ziwen woke up again.
He slowly turned his head and looked.
Not far from the bed, there was the sound of rushing water outside the closed window.
It was pouring rain.
In the annual plum rainy season in Longcheng County, such heavy rains are rare because most of them are drizzle.
Such heavy rain means that the rainy season is coming to an end.
It also means...
The water level in Yunmengze upstream is about to rise sharply again, and I don't know if Dickong Gate can resist it.
This was the first thought that came to Liu Ziwen's mind at this moment, and it was also the first reaction of most people in Longcheng who were used to floods.
"Husband, wake up!"
At the table in the room, Ms. Xu, who was sitting in a daze, rushed to the bedside.
Liu Ziwen saw the surprise and confusion on his wife's face in front of him, and looked outside the door again.
He looked pale. With Xu's help, he raised his upper body, opened his parched lips slightly, and said weakly:
"Where is this?"
"My husband is still guilty... This is the official residence of the county government to house sick witnesses. Prison visits are allowed." Mrs. Xu said timidly.
I don't know if she has been crying a lot in the past few days, but this ordinary-looking woman's eyes turned red.
Liu Ziwen's attention was not on his wife at all. He leaned his upper body forward and said anxiously:
"How is the situation outside? How is the public trial? Ahem..."
The words were spoken too quickly, as if he was choking, and he covered his mouth and coughed twice.
"I'll give you some water!"
Mrs. Xu didn't seem to hear Liu Ziwen's previous question. She looked around, stood up suddenly, and hurriedly went out to pour tea.
It seemed that the movement inside the house was spread outside, and Liu Ziwen saw Liu Fu limping in and looking around.
"Old... Master, you're awake." The lame old steward said in a daze.
Liu Ziwen stopped coughing and asked in a serious tone: "Come here, I've been in coma for the past few days, what happened outside..."
"The master has finally woken up. Let me go and inform the second young master and the others!"
Liu Fu saluted respectfully, turned around and left.
Liu Ziwen stopped talking.
He turned his head and looked at the empty simple house, then looked at the white undershirt with blood stains on his chest, and the unstable bed underneath him.
Liu Ziwen realized there was good news and bad news.
The good news is that Biyiniao's poison seems to have been removed, and Liu Zian and others should have given him the antidote later.
The paratoxicosis that made life worse than death has disappeared.
The reason why he was able to hold on was probably due to the poison-quenching short knife that was thrust into Liu Ziwen's body. The poison had just entered the body and had not yet completely spread.
It is different from the Jade Lady Fairy whose poison is latent and permeates her whole body.
The latter's poison is more violent and deadly.
The bad news is that the dead soldier stabbed his lungs with a knife, causing his lung lobes to shrink and become smaller.
Although he was rescued and Liu Ziwen survived, the knife was poisoned after all, so it was not clean and susceptible to infection.
Even if he doesn't die immediately, he will still be plagued by tuberculosis and be miserable.
Liu Ziwen put down the hand covering his mouth and stared at the blood coughed up in his palm.
The poison of Biyiniao was originally obtained by his second brother Liu Zian from Boss Li, a diner of the Wei family. Naturally, he also had a matching antidote in hand, just in case.
And this antidote, in addition to being used on Liu Ziwen now, was actually used once not long ago.
It was at the open-air luncheon of the ribbon-cutting ceremony that he mistakenly gave it to Ouyang Lianghan, who was pretending to be a jade fairy.
Before leaving, Liu Ziwen quietly offered the wine mixed with the antidote to Ouyang Lianghan.
The latter also deceived Biyiniao's sinister green bottle into his hands.
Because according to the plan at that time, Liu Ziwen and Liu Zian wanted the Jade Fairy to inject Yin poison on Xie Lingjiang, and then use the red bottle Yang poison to trigger it at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, depending on the situation.
Therefore, it was natural that the female fairy Jade who had been poisoned without knowing it should also be poisoned, which would influence her to kill Shen Xisheng.
However, looking at it now, these calculations were all in vain. Even Liu Ziwen himself accidentally fell into the trap and was plotted...
On the bed, Liu Ziwen was in a daze for a while.
Suddenly there was a burst of chaotic footsteps outside, and it sounded like there were a lot of people coming.
Liu Ziwen put the blood on the inner sheet of his palm and moved his body to cover it up.
Liu Zian and Liu Zilin walked quickly into the door with a group of men in rich clothes.
"Brother!"
"Young Master."
Seeing the visitors who were almost filling the room, even Liu Ziwen, who was well prepared, could not help but look stunned and said:
"Why are you here too?"
"Brother, it's almost the Ghost Festival. The clan brothers who came back to worship their ancestors are also worried about eldest brother's injury. I heard that you are awake, so we came over to take a look."
Liu Zian took a step forward, grabbed Liu Ziwen's hand, and explained with a serious face.
Liu Ziwen didn't look at Liu Zian and silently pulled his wrist out of his hand. The latter looked helpless.
Liu Ziwen pursed his gray lips and glanced over the faces of Liu Zilin and the Liu clan brothers who were surrounding the bed.
Liu Zilin looked at the eldest and second brothers in front of the bed. He seemed to be hesitant to speak. He lowered his head and looked down.
The other Liu clan brothers who seemed to have come back to worship their ancestors came forward one after another and greeted Liu Ziwen with great enthusiasm.
Liu Ziwen seemed a little uncomfortable. He took a deep breath and waved them away, "You..."
At this moment, Liu Ziwen's words were interrupted by a laugh outside the door:
"Mr. Liu, I heard that you woke up, and I brought you some fruit. I wish you a speedy recovery. Let's continue to ascend the throne."
Ouyang Rong Shixiao walked in with Yan Liulang and other detectives.
Yan Liulang and others stared at the three Liu Ziwen brothers and a room full of Liu clan members with cold eyes.
Liu Ziwen's originally gray face turned red as if from congestion. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly found that everyone except him was saluting Ouyang Rong respectfully.
Liu Zi'an, Liu Zilin, and the Liu clan brothers all lowered their heads and said, "Your Majesty the County Magistrate."
Ouyang Rong raised his palms and pressed them downwards in the air to indicate:
"Hey, you're welcome. It's been a pleasure dealing with you all over the past two days. I've become very familiar with you all, and everyone is very cooperative. Why are you so polite?"
The young county magistrate turned his head with a smile, and greeted the young head of the Liu family who was on the sickbed with a face the color of pig liver:
"I came here this time mainly because I wanted to take a look at Mr. Liu. I used to hear people say that good people don't live long, but disasters last for thousands of years, but now it's not always the case.
"Look, Mr. Liu has a rosy complexion. Doesn't this mean he is living a good life?"
Ouyang Rong pointed at Liu Ziwen's face and gestured to everyone.
Liu Zian and all the Liu clan brothers quickly put on smiles.
The atmosphere in the ward was cheerful and harmonious.
If we didn't tell them, how would anyone know that the two parties were still life-or-death enemies before the public trial a few days ago?
Liu Ziwen suddenly turned around and asked:
"What's familiar? What's the cooperation?"
Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows and looked at Liu Ziwen's suspicious face. Behind him, Yan Liulang crossed his chest and glanced coldly at everyone in the room, and sneered.
Liu Zian quickly stepped forward and said:
"It's nothing, brother. It's just that the public trial has come to an end for the time being. The county magistrate has a lot of people and has decided to wait until the brother's injury gets better before trying the case of the demon oil gate and the assassination of the supervisory envoy.
"Brother, this case was originally committed by the unconscious sorcerer, who took advantage of eldest brother and the Liu family. We are innocent. The county magistrate will definitely know everything. Brother, please take good care of your injuries first..."
Liu Ziwen did not look at the second brother, and pushed Liu Zian away with his trembling raised arms. He turned his head silently, staring at Liu Zilin and others, like an old lion struggling in a trap:
"What happened to the public trial? You guys are talking...talking!" He suddenly shouted loudly, and then started coughing again, "Cough cough cough!"
Except for Ouyang Rong and others, everyone in the Liu family remained silent and avoided Liu Ziwen's eyes.
"Cough cough cough cough -!" For a while, the only sound in the room was Liu Ziwen's violent coughing, which seemed to be coughing out his lungs.
"Brother."
Liu Zi'an lay in front of the bed and grabbed Liu Ziwen's hand, with a concerned and worried look on his face.
Ouyang Rong tilted his head and looked at Yan Liulang.
Ouyang Rong smiled, picked up a pear in the fruit basket, wiped it with his sleeve, took a bite, and said vaguely:
"Second Young Master Liu, I will leave first and won't disturb your brothers' chat."
"Where, where? Do you want the county magistrate to sit down for a while?"
"Okay, let's sit down for a while, it's raining heavily outside."
Ouyang Rong nodded, and Yan Liulang moved a stool. He sat on the edge of the bed with a normal expression and continued to nibble on the pears he had given him.
Liu Zian: "..."
Brothers of the Liu clan: "..."
Ouyang Rong looked at the people who were hesitating to speak with a somewhat embarrassed expression, and suddenly raised his eyebrows and said:
"Since we sit here for a while longer, I will just say a few words.
"Although it can be seen that Second Young Master Liu is worried about his brother, there are a lot of things going on outside at the moment and we cannot delay it.
"Well, the complaints filed by the people who have been seized of fertile farmland and annexed land have been submitted to the county government. They are piled up as high as a mountain. You should hurry up and deal with them.
"Don't forget the promise you made, Mr. Liu, in front of the people of the county during the public trial a few days ago, otherwise the county government will have to take action again to help you remember it.
“So, you should hurry up and cooperate with Diao County Cheng and the others to hand over the title deeds to the fertile farmland outside the city. The double compensation that should be given to the bullied people should be implemented as soon as possible. All of these must be resolved within three days.
"If your family is temporarily short of money and food, you can also take the treasure house deed to the county government as a mortgage and sell it. Well, we will give you a preferential price as appropriate...
"Hey, to be honest, if Mr. Wang hadn't given you the full guarantee of the Liu family, just the crime of annexing fertile land and violating the land equalization law of this dynasty would be enough for you, the Liu family, to raid your family twice. You must seize the last opportunity to repent. ah."
Ouyang Rong smiled and spoke with sincerity, but every word he spoke was heart-breaking.
These words were like a sharp knife that was stabbed into the chest of someone on the field, although there were already two knife marks on this person's chest.
Liu Zian, who was comforting his brother in front of the bed, froze.
His right hand that originally grabbed his brother's wrist suddenly missed his grip, and immediately Liu Zian's wrist was tightly grasped by a big blood-stained hand.
Liu Zilin and other members of the Liu family in the room looked away one after another, either lowering their heads or looking sideways, not daring to look directly at the figure of the man on the hospital bed who was swaying like a broken house in the wind.
Ouyang Rong didn't seem to see this.
After being left to sit for a while, he continued to nibble on the delicious and juicy pears, and said in detail:
"As well as the shops in the East Market and West Market in the city, the warehouses and ships at Penglangdu Wharf, and the water transport business, many merchants and gentry have accused you of illegal competition and forced buying and selling.
"Well, no wonder I heard that half of the county belongs to your family. So that's how it came about. This is not acceptable. Our Longcheng County is definitely not a place outside the law...
"Don't drag it on any longer. According to the public trial judgment, the three-day deadline is coming. Remember to go to the county government on time tomorrow morning and hand over all the market deeds of these shops. I and the county government will allocate them carefully. Save yourself the trouble.
"You don't need to thank Mr. Liu. These are what I and the county government should do. We are all Longcheng people. It is our obligation to serve you. However, if your Liu family insists on sending banners or something, it is not impossible, but Just don't set off firecrackers in a big way, it's just disturbing the people, let the whole Luming Street know that I have received another banner, how embarrassing it is..."
The young county magistrate was like a very amiable parental officer, giving careful instructions and sighing with emotion from time to time.
It was as if they were afraid that the law-abiding Liu family would forget this.
In the room, on one side was Ouyang Rong, who was talking eloquently, and on the other side were the Liu family members who were taciturn and getting quieter.
The atmosphere is neither silent nor silent, nor lively nor lively.
This scene seemed a little weird for a while.
Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his voice: "Did you hear that, Second Young Master Liu?"
Liu Zian's shoulders shook and he turned around.
Facing a look from someone on the bed behind him that seemed to want to eat him, the temporary head of the Liu family, the second young master of the Liu family, forced a smile at the stern-faced young county magistrate:
"Okay, I know...I understand, sir. The common people will definitely abide by it."
Ouyang Rong, who was sullen just a second ago, suddenly smiled, stood up and patted the shoulder of Liu Zian, who was smiling stiffly:
"That's fine. Hey, what's wrong with Mr. Liu's face? Why is it red, white, and now purple again? Are you practicing the face-changing acrobatics in the Jianghu Circus recently? Mr. Liu has a wide range of hobbies."
Liu Zi's back was heavy and he didn't dare to look back. He felt that the weak bed board under him had begun to creak and shake.
Ouyang Rong looked at the man behind Liu Zian, smiled and shook his head. He did not leave immediately, but turned to Liu Ziwen's brothers from the Liu clan and said:
"By the way, you all have come back to worship your ancestors. Didn't you come to the county office yesterday to say that someone in the Liu family had obstructed the separation of the family and occupied the ancestral property?
"I want you to communicate with Second Young Master Liu. What do Second Young Master Liu say? If there is any injustice, you can go to me and I will make the decision for you."
The brothers of the Liu clan showed flattering smiles, shook their heads one after another, and murmured: "No, no, brother Zian is easy to talk to. He has agreed to separate the family, agreed to the separation."
Ouyang Rong smiled and nodded, looked around the room and said, "This is the best, everyone is happy, brothers are in harmony, and everything is happy in the family."
Liu Zian took a deep breath and said immediately: "Your Excellency, the rain is lightening outside."
"Oh, really? It seems to be a bit light. The rain really comes and goes at any time. I can't figure it out. Well, I'll take my leave now. Second Young Master Liu will stay with Mr. Liu. Mr. Liu. I feel like there’s something wrong with his expression, could it be that... I shouldn’t eat his pear?”
Ouyang Rong smiled and nodded, and Liu Zian hurriedly stood up to see them off. However, he did not expect that Ouyang Rong, Yan Liulang and others had just taken a few steps forward when they suddenly turned back and said:
"Mr. Liu, you were stabbed in the street. The murderer has some clues. Do you need me to make a decision for you? You can report the case now. I and the county government will definitely track down the real culprit and bring him to justice."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly fell silent.
Everyone looked at it with vague eyes, and someone on the bed trembled all over...
