It was said that He Junwei took Ning Xiner away from Liuzhai and wandered all the way back to the foot of the majestic ridge. Just as he was about to go up the mountain, he happened to meet an elderly man at the intersection.
The elder is over sixty years old, with delicate features, a face like a crown of jade, jet-black hair, and a tufted goatee that is half white. Under his long eyebrows, his two eyes are very smart. If you look closely, there is a hint of cunning. Ning Xiner disliked it very much.
Seeing the elder blocking the road with a smile on his face, He Junwei stepped forward and said politely, "Old sir, are you okay?"
The elder smiled and replied: "I came here from the capital to visit my relatives. I heard that the surname of the governor of Quzhou was He Jingrong, so I came here to pay a visit to see if he was an old friend. Unexpectedly, the government office is an important place, and idlers are not allowed to enter. I wonder if I can make it. Just for convenience, help me lead the way."
He Jingrong is He Junwei's father. Although it is difficult to tell whether the elder's words are true or false, he does not dare to write them off casually. After all, there are people in the court who like to be officials. The officialdom is like a battlefield, and there is no room for carelessness. If this elder is a capital official, if he shuts him out, his father will lose a friend and gain an enemy.
Thinking of this, He Junwei responded to the elder very friendly: "Since the senior is looking for old friends, the junior should do his best. Please come with me to the mountain."
The elder gave a bright smile and followed He Junwei and Ning Xiner towards the mountain. From time to time, he would say a word or two to He Junwei to get closer and pass the time.
After walking along the mountain road, the elder stopped, walked to a pavilion on the roadside and sat down, panting and said: "Little friend, wait a moment, I need to take a breath and slow down."
He Junwei turned around, led Ning Xiner and walked over, smiling and saying: "It's okay! The mountain road is a bit difficult to walk. I often bump into the prefect going up the mountain, so I have to catch my breath and take a break here."
The elder said: "Master He is only fifty years old, why are his legs so weak?"
He Junwei smiled and replied: "The prefect is a weak scholar. He is diligent in government affairs and seldom exercises. And every time he goes down the mountain to handle official business, he always walks. He relies on his feet to go back and forth. It is reasonable to feel a little tired after going up the mountain. .”
The elder smiled and said: "People in the yamen are afraid of traveling long distances. It is really difficult for Master He to go out without riding a horse or a sedan chair. But this is good. It does not show official power or put on airs, and it shows that you are close to the people and love the people."
He Junwei said: "The prefect often said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. If you want to live freely, you all need your hands and feet. You must not let them grow old too fast."
The elder rested for a while, and his breathing soon became even. He stood up and said, "It's almost time to rest. I hope you, my friend, will do your best and lead me to see the prefect."
"Okay!" He Junwei smiled slightly and led Ning Xiner towards the government office.
Walking to the door of the government office, he said a few words to a government guard, and then said to the elder: "Old sir, will Brother Hua take you in, okay?"
The yamen guard stretched out his hand towards the yamen and said: "Old sir, please!"
"Thank you, little friend!" The elder thanked He Junwei, followed the yamen guard, and walked towards the gate of the yamen. His steps were so light that He Junwei was startled.
He Junwei was about to catch up when he was stopped by Ning Xiner. He watched the elder disappear from sight worriedly, wondering why the elder looked completely different from the other.
Seeing the worried expression on He Junwei's face, Ning Xiner said with relief, "This is an important government office, with hundreds of crossbowmen. No matter how powerful he is, he doesn't dare to act recklessly here, so don't worry."
He Junwei was worried and said: "But if he holds my father hostage, the crossbowman will definitely throw a rat weapon, which will be useless."
Ning Xiner smiled and said: "Your father often brings five or six people down the mountain to handle official business. If he has evil intentions, he will look for opportunities to attack at the foot of the mountain. Why do he have to rush to the mountain to die in one fell swoop?"
He Junwei thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he led Xin'er and walked towards the residence of the Yamen family.
It is said that under the guidance of the Yamen Guards, the elder passed by the front hall, the middle hall, passed through a long corridor, and met the magistrate He Jingrong in a side room of the back hall.
Seeing the elder's black hair and childlike face, his light steps and calm demeanor, He Jingrong quickly hid his vigilance, dissipated all his energy, and turned into a frail older scholar. He said to the Yamen Guard: "Watch the tea!"
The elder said quickly: "No, just say a few words and leave."
He Jingrong said to the Yamen Guard: "Go down."
The elder did not let He Jingrong speak. He chose a good seat and sat down. Seeing the footsteps of the Yamen Guards go away, Qingmao said in an understated tone: "He Jingrong, I came here today just to discuss one thing with you. I hope Be smart."
He Jingrong sat down in front of the elder and replied calmly: "I don't know who you are sir. I am the governor of Quzhou. Why should I be smart in front of you?"
The elder chuckled, calmly took out a black sign from his waist, flashed it, and said lazily: "It doesn't matter if you don't know me, as long as you know it."
He Jingrong took a good look at the three golden characters on the sign and said, "Qinglong Order, I wonder who you are sir, and why do you have this sign?"
The elder replied with a dull expression: "Seeing Qinglong Ling is like meeting the hall master, there is no need to ask any more questions."
He Jingrong said politely, "Yes. I don't know what business Sir came to discuss today, but it doesn't matter."
The elder said softly: "I wonder when the Longwei Escort will set off to help the state capital escort the official Yin to Beijing?"
He Jingrong replied: "It will be scheduled in ten days."
The elder said: "Okay. Within ten days, you will send someone to arrest Bai Yutian and others, send them to the cell, and lock them up for a month. Do you have any opinions?"
He Jingrong looked disheveled and replied Wen Yan: "I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to handle. Firstly, those people are highly skilled in martial arts and difficult to arrest; secondly, those people have not committed any crimes and have no signs of disturbing the people. The government has no reason to imprison them." "Thirdly, Bai Yutian solved an unjust case for the government last time, which was a great contribution to the court. How can I repay kindness and harm innocent people of the Song Dynasty?"
The elder stood up, raised the "Qinglong Order" and shouted: "It seems that this Qinglong Order is useless to you He Jingrong, and it is almost burned in the stove?"
He Jingrong stood up quickly, bowed his head to the "Qinglong Order" and said, "Young man, you don't dare!"
"Just don't dare!" The elder flicked his sleeves, sat down, and said in a commanding tone: "In ten days, if you let me know that Bai Yutian and others did not roll into the cell, you will wait for your family. Collect the bodies!”
He Jingrong sat down and said bitterly: "But if they are arrested and escape..."
The elder smiled contemptuously and said: "He Jingrong, have you forgotten how the Dragon Slayer Association treats rebellious people? If you want to ruin your reputation and your family, just resist and refuse to carry out the order. I really don't mind if you do this."
He Jingrong said humbly: "My subordinates dare not!"
The elder put the Qinglong Order in his waist and ordered: "Also, the Longwei Escort Bureau fired more than twenty escorts this morning. You will take my people to the Escort Agency tomorrow and let them join the escort team. Let’s escort Gongyin together.”
He Jingrong replied: "Hiring an escort is an internal matter of the Longwei Escort Bureau, and the government has no right to interfere."
The elder said: "He Jingrong, escorting Gongyin is a big deal. The government helped him, Longwei Escort Bureau, select a few capable helpers. He, Jiang Longwei, should be grateful. How come he has no right to interfere?"
He Jingrong replied: "I wonder how many helpers Sir has prepared for Longwei Escort Agency?"
The elder replied: "Not many, only about twenty."
He Jingrong said: "What should we do if Longwei Escort Agency is not willing to accept everything?"
The elder said with a straight face: "I only send out people. As for whether Jiang Longwei will give you the face of Lord Zhizhou and accept these twenty people, that is your business, Lord Zhifu, and I have no control over it."
Seeing that the elder was too domineering, He Jingrong was very unhappy and replied without a good face: "Old sir, no matter how bad I am, I, He Jingrong, am still the magistrate of Quzhou and the largest official in Quzhou. If you think you are competing in the Dragon Slaying Club, I'm superior to others, I don't mind if you kill me now, but speaking to me in this tone is absolutely unacceptable."
The elder heard this, and a palm from the chair floated towards He Jingrong, grabbed He Jingrong's throat, and sneered: "Believe it or not, I will snap your neck right now, so that you can't live or die."
He Jingrong laughed a few times and said coldly: "I'm afraid you don't dare. As the master of Qinglong Hall, Qu Wenfeng is always polite to me, but you, a subordinate of Qinglong Hall, are still yelling at me like this? Don’t forget who you are.”
"What the hell is Qu Wenfeng!" The elder's eyes flashed fiercely, and his fingers instantly exerted force, clasping He Jingrong's neck tighter and tighter.
He Jingrong began to be out of breath. He grabbed the elder's wrist with both hands and struggled desperately. His strength was so pitiful that it was like a cricket shaking a tree. But he was unyielding and refused to show weakness. He kept saying a few words intermittently: "You...if you have the guts...just kill me..."
The elder saw that He Jingrong was a weak person and could crush him to death at any time. Now was the time when he was employing people, so it would be unsightly to strangle him to death. Seeing that He Jingrong refused to give in, he had no choice but to ask for trouble. He coldly let go of He Jingrong's neck and said sternly: "He Jingrong, I tell you, you have to do it if you can, and you have to do it if you don't."
He Jingrong took a few quick breaths to revive his heart and replied in a low voice: "Whether it works or not is not decided by you, nor by me, but by Jiang Longwei of Longwei Escort Agency." . I will do my best, kill or cut into pieces as you wish. Anyway, after joining the Dragon Slayer Club, I no longer regard myself as a living person."
The elder said angrily: "You..."
He Jingrong put on a cold face, flicked his sleeves, and said sternly: "I still have official duties to attend to. If you have nothing else to do, please come back. This is not the place where a vulgar person like you should stay."
"You!" He couldn't be killed. The elder had no choice but to brush back his robe and walk out the door.
"Sorry for not sending you far!"
He Jingrong sat down and put the elder's words and deeds just now into his mind, repeating them over and over again. He felt vaguely that he had discovered something, but it seemed that he had an illusion. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he became.
