You Jingwu pretended to be the county magistrate to hide his identity, but he never expected that he would be recognized. He thought to himself: No, now the secret is revealed.
Lu Dahu walked up to You Jingwu and cupped his hands: "Yu Magistrate."
You Jingwu was stunned: "Ah, you are."
Lu Dahu smiled and said: "Yu Zhixian nobles forget things so much. I am Lu Dahu, who works under Zhang Qianshi of Dusi Yamen in Shandong. Three years ago, you went to Jiangnan to take up a post, and passed by Jinan. We had dinner together. Why, you want to go back to Beijing for a promotion. Already?"
When Lu Dahu said the words "Zhang Qianshi", he deliberately emphasized his tone.
You Jingwu remembered. This Lu Dahu is the personal captain of Jinyiwei Zuo Qianshi Zhang Cai.
You Jingwu had previously sent a letter to Wei Li, stating that he was pretending to be the magistrate to escort Liang Bohong to Beijing.
You Jingwu secretly thought: It should be his adoptive father who sent him to Beizang Station to pick me up. Strange, why did his old man only send one person?
You Jingwu said to Lu Dahu: "Ah, I remembered it. Lu Baihu from Shandong. Long time no see. How are you?"
Lu Dahu said: "It's still the same. I haven't been promoted to one and a half levels in three years."
You Jingwu said: "Let's go to my room on the second floor. I brought some specialties from Jiangnan, let me share some with you."
Then You Jingwu raised his hand towards Wang Yiyi and said, "Master Wang, I'll go up first."
Wang Yi smiled and said: "Please do it."
Lu Dahu followed You Jingwu to the second floor, entered the bedroom and closed the door.
Lu Dahu raised his hand and said, "My subordinate Lu Dahu, the captain of Ti Cavalry School, has met Mr. You."
You Jingwu said: "Forget it. Why did Wei Li send you alone?"
Lu Dahu sighed: "It's been eight lifetimes of bad luck. Chang Shuai ordered Zhang Qianshi to send someone to pick you up. Zhang Qianshi sent a total of twenty capable brothers to Beizang Station."
"According to the rules of the guard, the boss has orders. Let alone heavy rain, we have to rush here even if a knife is used."
"While passing through a mountain road, there were mudslides up and down the mountainside. Nineteen brothers were buried! I was the only one who was lucky enough to not be swallowed by the mudslide while running wildly on my horse!"
You Jingwu was stunned: "What? Lost nineteen brothers?!"
Lu Dahu gritted his teeth and said, "Yes. Jinyiwei has not suffered such casualties for more than ten years. God has no eyesight!"
At this point, Lu Dahu lowered his voice: "Chang Shuai asked me to tell you. He has received reliable information that someone has bribed the killer and is preparing to attack Liang Bohong at the Beizang Station."
When You Jingwu heard the news, he was secretly shocked: Only my adoptive father and a limited number of people knew that I came to Beijing by land. Who leaked the news that the killer actually knew that I would pass by the Beizang Station?
Facing his subordinates, he still had to pretend to be calm on the surface: "Okay. I know what's going on."
At this moment, You Jingwu heard a loud shout from downstairs: "Get out of here!"
You Jingwu opened the door, stood in the corridor on the second floor, and looked towards the lobby on the first floor.
I saw a ragged old man in his seventies, kneeling in the hall on the first floor with a five or six-year-old girl. Both of them were dirty and their hair was disheveled. Looks like a beggar.
The old man hurriedly kowtowed to the postmaster: "Sir, just do it. It's raining outside and it's making smoke. The baby is still young, and I'm afraid he'll die from cold and fever if he's soaked in the rain all night. Please do good deeds and let us two hide away for the night. .”
The Yi Cheng scolded: "You are blind. This is a post station for the imperial court, not a local temple or a beggar's den! Come here, why are you still standing there? Drive these two beggars out!"
One of the two postmen grabbed the old man's arm, and the other lifted the little girl up like a chicken.
The county magistrate Wang Yi, who was sitting on the first floor drinking, couldn't stand it anymore.
Wang Yidao: "Wait!"
Yi Cheng turned to look at Wang Yi: "Sir Wang, this is not the ungrateful place under your rule. It doesn't matter what you say."
Wang Yi casually took out a jade pendant from his waist and put it on the table: "This thing belongs to you. Let the grandfather and grandson keep it. Then give them a basin of hot noodle soup."
Yi Cheng walked up to Wang Yi, picked up the jade pendant and looked at it carefully by candlelight: "Isn't this a fake?"
Wang Yidao: "Although it is low-grade jade, it is still worth fifty taels of silver. How can I, a court official, deceive others with fake goods?"
Yi Cheng said: "Leave them? Where will they live?"
Then Yi Cheng raised his finger and pointed at You Jingwu on the second floor: "He brought fifty followers alone. The common bunks where the servants live are all full, where can there be room for two beggars to sleep? We can't let them live in the officials' bedrooms. Bar?"
"It's not a joke to find lice on the bedding in an official's bedroom! One day, a feudal official will stay at the Beizang Post, and he will be bitten by lice again. Am I worthy of being a postmaster?"
Wang Yidao: "Just let them sleep in the lobby on the first floor. Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. Do you have the heart to let these grandsons freeze and starve to death in the heavy rain?"
Yi Cheng looked at the jade pendant in his hand and put it into his sleeve: "Yes, you have a bodhisattva heart, and I will also accumulate some virtue. Let them sleep in the hall on the first floor at night. Come, cook some noodles for these two beggars." "
The old man kowtowed hurriedly: "Thank you, sir. You good people will be rewarded. You will be promoted to a high-ranking official step by step, and you will have eighteen sons. Your livestock will prosper, oh no, your descendants will prosper."
You Jingwu on the second floor told Basha: "Find a few brothers to stay in the hall all night to keep an eye on the grandfather and grandson."
Basha said: "Don't you suspect that these two people are assassins?"
Lu Dahu said: "I think the grandfather and grandson are ordinary beggars."
You Jingwu said: "My adoptive father often told me to be careful when sailing a ship that lasts ten thousand years. Let's be more cautious and make the right decision."
Zangbei Station is extremely lively on a rainy night.
Two beggars, an old one and a young one, just came in. The door was pushed open again.
This time, a charming woman with a demonic air came in. This woman walked with her waist swaying and her hips swaying, with a piece of red silk stuffed around her waist.
The brothel girls of the Ming Dynasty had to stuff a piece of red silk around their waists, and a red string was attached to their flesh inside their clothes. A red rope should also be tied around the ankle, and a gold or silver bean should be worn on the red rope.
It is a superstition among brothel girls to tie flesh-red ropes around their waists and ankles. They believe that this can keep them safe and avoid diseases.
And brothel women also have dignity. When receiving guests, you are not naked if you have a red string on your body.
As for the red silk around the waist, it is a sign, indicating that if you pay for it, you can sleep with it, rather than being a "goldfish" who does not sell his body.
Behind the charming woman were four turtle men, carrying a large box.
The Yi Cheng was delighted: "When did my Beizang Yi become a big car shop on Lvdanzi Street in Nancheng? Why do all the three religions just push the door open and go in?"
The charming woman said in a seductive and wanton voice: "Are you the Yi Cheng? I'm here to sleep with you. Do you like it?"
Yi Cheng pointed to his white beard: "Girl, we young people don't know how expensive it is, and now that we are old, we can only look at women and shed tears. Your tricks are useless against me."
"This is the imperial court's inn, and we will never accept fans!"
The charming woman picked up the red silk silk and wiped the rain from her face: "Hey. I am not an ordinary fan. I am the number one Cuixian of Yihonglou in Beijing. I just took an unlucky job and went to Cangzhou to serve as a driver for your military department. Si's Gao Langzhong. This is good, we won't be able to return to Beijing if it rains heavily!"
The world's inns are all under the control of the Chariot and Driving Department of the Ministry of War.
The Gao Langzhong whom Cuixian mentioned was the immediate superior of all the post officials and post soldiers in the Ming Dynasty.
Yi Cheng knew that Gao Langzhong had recently been inspecting the post stations and post roads in various prefectures in Beizhili.
Yi Cheng showed a catering smile on his face: "Ah, it turns out he is Gao Lang's best friend."
Cuixian smiled and scolded: "Who is a good friend of him? I rushed from the capital to Cangzhou, and he stabbed me twenty times and then he made me go home. If I have such a good friend, I will die of drought. ah!"
After speaking, Cuixian took out a post ticket from his sleeve: "This is a post ticket issued by your Gao Langzhong. Prepare a room for me."
You Jingwu on the second floor listened to the conversation downstairs and thought to himself: The civil servants of the Ming Dynasty are really ridiculous. A postcard is a postcard certificate issued by the imperial court to civil officials. Gao Langzhong actually gave a postcard to a fan. It just so happens that the adoptive father is collecting information about the illegal affairs of hundreds of officials. This is a completely illegal affair. I have to remember to report this.
Basha was a little surprised: "Master You, there is something fishy."
You Jingwu asked: "What's wrong?"
Basha replied: "There is no such person as Cuixian in Yihonglou!"
Yihonglou was opened by Saitanghong, and later Fatty Xu, Zhang Heling, and Zhang Yanling also invested in it.
In the words of later generations, Yihonglou was Jinyi Weipaoze's base for fun and entertainment.
You Jingwu is a dedicated and honest man who never visits brothels. Ever since he married Yan Song's sister, he and his wife have been inseparable.
He knew nothing about what happened in Yihong Mansion.
Lu Dahu said from the side: "I have seen people pretending to be Jinzhiyuye, but I have never seen people pretending to be brothel fans. There is something wrong with this person, he may be an assassin."
You Jingwu lowered his voice: "Let's wait and see what happens."
In the lobby on the first floor. Yi Cheng said half-jokingly: "The bedrooms where the officials live are full, and the bunks where the attendants live are also full. Miss Cuixian, you can't sleep on the stone slab with your buttocks bare on the first floor."
Yi Cheng wanted to embarrass Cuixian and ask her to give her some money.
For a good Yi Cheng, he has to squeeze out every woman his immediate boss has slept with. People like him are afraid that when a dung truck passes by their door, they have to reach out and taste the saltiness.
Cuixian pinched her waist: "The bedroom is full? This is not easy to handle!"
After speaking, Cuixian raised her voice and shouted: "I tell you all the adults who live in the inn, who is lonely tonight? I will sleep with him! No overnight payment!"
"It's so windy and rainy tonight, it's cold and cold. Why don't you hurry up and catch up if there's a free meat quilt to cover you with?"
You Jingwu on the second floor said to Lu Dahu: "Sleep with her tonight. Watch her."
A bright smile broke out on Lu Dahu's face: "Then you're welcome, my subordinate!"
This smile was completely unlike what a man who had just killed nineteen Paoze brothers should have.
Lu Dahu shouted towards the lobby on the first floor: "Ha, this is really what God wants. Just now I said I wanted a girl! This kind of windy and rainy day is the most suitable for stealing fragrance and jade! Miss Cuixian, you will accompany me tonight I sleep!"
Cuixian yelled wildly: "Looking at how tall you are, you can't be like the silver pewter spear head from the Ministry of War, which can be stabbed twenty times and it's over, right?"
Lu Dahu shouted: "Just try it and you will know! If I don't make you cry for mercy, I will write the character "LV" backwards!"
After speaking, Lu Dahu and You Jingwu went downstairs.
Yi Cheng looked at the four turtle men behind Cuixian: "There is no room in Tongpu. They will sleep in the hall on the first floor with these two beggars tonight."
You Jingwu walked around the big box carried by the turtle masters and asked, "Miss Cuixian has made a fortune. How can she get such a big box of silver after being stabbed twenty times by that high-ranking master?"
Cuixian laughed and said: "Shit! That old guy is a stingy guy. He gave me a total of three hundred taels of silver. I have a post coupon, which allows me to stay at the post station, use the official carriage, and take the post road. I must rely on this post coupon to make another profit." Pen."
"Cangzhou is close to the sea. This box is filled with dried abalone and dried sea cucumber imported from Cangzhou. Transporting it back to Beijing and selling it to the sisters in Yihonglou can also be considered as an investment."
You Jingwu didn't ask any more questions after hearing this.
Lu Dahu took Cuixian's hand unceremoniously: "Let's go, little bitch. Go to my room, let's go to bed early, so we can get on our way early tomorrow morning."
At this time, there were six groups of people in Beizangyi.
You Jingwu, Fifikao Ze and the criminal official Liang Bohong.
Wang Yi, the county magistrate, and several of his entourage returned to Beijing to report on their duties.
Two beggars, one old and one young.
Lu Dahu came to meet him.
Cuixian and the four turtle men who lied about being "Yihong Loutou Brand".
There are also the postmaster and seven postmen of the post station.
Lu Dahu claimed that Chang Feng asked him to give You Jingwu a message: the killer will take action at Beizangyi.
The killer should be hiding among the other five groups of people.
The hall on the first floor faces the main bunk where the followers live. Liang Bohong was detained in Tongpu. Therefore, You Jingwu did not rush upstairs to sleep, but sat in the hall on the first floor.
The four male turtles accompanying Cuixian sat resting against the box; the old man and the little girl sat on the floor and ate hot noodles.
You Jingwu and Wang Yi sat opposite each other, chatting casually. From time to time, his eyes glanced at the door to the main store.
Wang Yi lamented: "Oh, today's officialdom is really corrupted to the extreme. A woman with fireworks can actually live in an inn with a post office ticket issued by the military officer, and walk through the city. How is a dignified imperial inn tonight different from a brothel?"
"I didn't dare to tell anyone about the fireworks girl I was looking for in Laizhou Prefecture. I had to quietly pick her up from the county government office and then quietly send her back to the brothel after everything was done."
You Jingwu said casually: "Yes, the upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked. The ministers in Beijing are playing more fancy and flamboyantly."
Wang Yi asked: "Oh? It seems that Mr. Yu is very familiar with the officialdom of the capital."
You Jingwu knew he had made a mistake: "Oh, I heard about it too."
At this moment, a woman's seductive shouts and a creaking sound at the foot of the bed came from the second floor.
Wang Yi smiled and said: "The movement is so loud! He is indeed Qiu Ba from the Guard Army."
You Jingwu thought to himself: This Lu Dahu is nothing but a fake, he must do it for real. At least I can keep an eye on this suspicious woman tonight.
Yi Cheng, who was warming himself by the fire, interjected: "I really envy Lu Baihu. I was like this when I was young. Alas, when people grow old, the saddest thing is to recall what they were like when they were young."
The little girl eating noodles asked the old man: "Grandpa, what is the big sister's name?"
The old man said perfunctorily: "She made a mistake and was beaten up there."
After speaking, the old man poured all the remaining white flour in his bowl into his granddaughter's bowl: "Eat quickly."
Wang Yi went upstairs and returned after a while, placing a tin wine pot and a paper bag in front of You Jingwu.
Wang Yi smiled and said: "This is a specialty of Laizhou Prefecture in Shandong Province, Chengguo roast chicken and Laizhou special music. It's a long night, let's have some drinks?"
You Jingwu was afraid that Wang Yi would poison the wine and roasted chicken, but he couldn't let the school captain's cat "Rabbit" test for the poison.
So You Jingwu excused himself and said, "It's a small amount. I've just drank half a bottle of rice wine, and I'm afraid I'll get a headache if I drink any more. Please use it yourself, Mr. Wang."
Wang Yi nodded. I opened the paper package and tore off a chicken leg. He walked up to the grandfather and grandson and put the chicken drumsticks into the little girl's bowl: "Little girl, try the chicken drumsticks."
The old man said quickly: "Sir, you are really a kind man! You have twenty sons!"
Wang Yi smiled and said: "If I really have twenty sons, it will be a huge trouble."
The old man said: "You are a high-ranking official, and your family is extremely wealthy. How can you still not be able to support your children like our poor family?"
Wang Yidao: "I can afford to make a living. But after I die, twenty sons will fight for the family property. Isn't it okay to beat people's brains into dog brains?"
You Jingwu had no intention of listening to the chat between Wang Yi and the old man. He kept his eyes on the door to the bungalow.
Suddenly, the door to the main store opened. One of You Jingwu's men came out.
His men looked panicked, as if something had happened.
(End of chapter)
