At the vegetable market entrance in Beijing, the streets are lined with shops and vegetable stalls, bustling with traffic and bustling with activity.
However, there were blood stains in front of the gate tower and archway. As the legal execution ground of the Great Yan Dynasty, the cracks in the ground were dyed dark red.
There is a shop in the northwest corner of the archway. It has a strategic location and a prosperous business. There is an endless stream of people buying meat.
This is the ancestral butcher shop of the Ma family.
After Ma Liu went to the leather shop, it was no surprise that the shop was always empty, so he gave it to an aunt, but the backyard was still there. It was the Ma family's ancestral home and could not be moved.
In the past few years, Ma Liu didn't like to go home. No one lived in the house and the house was deserted. He might as well be comfortable in Papis.
Later, the aunt's man owed a huge debt from gambling. In order not to hurt the family, he also had a strong bone and was killed on the spot in the gambling house.
The aunt was so distraught that she buried the man and found out that she was pregnant.
I was pregnant in ten months and gave birth to a little boy, who was now four and a half years old.
That winter when Ma Liu came to collect the rent, he saw that the mother and son were in pitiful condition. They were squeezed into a narrow butcher's shop, with pigs to kill and people to live in. Heating was a problem. The infant child might be frozen even after sleeping. If he died, he might as well free up the side room in the backyard for the mother and son to live.
Aunt Yang is a simple and sensible person. She never enters the main house of the Ma family and always cleans the yard neatly and cleanly.
The child is not as naughty and mischievous as other children. While his mother is busy, he sits with his legs crossed under the eaves, quietly basking in the sun.
Ma Liu saw that the child was very close to him, for no particular reason. He simply felt that the child looked very similar to him, so he developed a love for talents and often visited the child.
At this time, Aunt Yang was washing pig intestines in the yard. When she saw Ma Liu coming in, she quickly got up and shouted attentively:
"Sixth Master."
She is much older than Ma Liu, and she is called Liu Ye. She actually sells pork, kills many animals, and can sense the evil spirit in Ma Liu.
Moreover, mother and son depended on the butcher shop for survival, so they naturally respected and feared Ma Liu.
"Ms. Yang, you are busy. I will take a rest today. If I have nothing to do, I will come back to see Aotian."
Ma Liu gestured to the snack in his hand and walked straight to Zhang Aotian under the eaves.
He helped pick out the name.
Aunt Yang was illiterate, uneducated, and had no relatives in the capital. The child had to have a name, so she asked him for help.
Lao Liu was thinking about how to show his culture as a time traveler, and the words "Long Aotian" happened to flash in his mind, so he simply named his child Zhang Aotian.
Aunt Yang was stunned after hearing this and stopped talking.
How can a poor family withstand such a powerful name?
Being able to have a nickname and live a life free from illness and disaster is God's blessing.
Ma Liu thought about it and felt that the name was a bit inappropriate, so he simply gave the child a nickname "Zixuan" and asked Aunt Yang to call him that, but he still called him Aotian.
When Lao Liu sees an ordinary child, he doesn't need to glare angrily, just a serious expression can scare the child into crying.
Zhang Aotian is one of the few children who doesn't cry when seeing him.
"Cough cough cough..."
Ma Liu had an itchy throat, covered his mouth with his fist and coughed twice. He sat side by side with the child under the eaves, took out some snacks and asked kindly:
"Have you done any good endorsements recently?"
Zhang Aotian nodded.
Probably because the living environment is too rustic, his face is always red, he looks like a country boy, eating snacks and reciting the Three Character Sutra skillfully.
"At the beginning of man's life, his nature is good..."
As soon as she saw Lao Liu taking the exam, Aunt Yang walked away silently, leaving the courtyard to the two of them.
Zhang Aotian is gifted with an almost photographic memory. His articulation is not clear yet, but he can already recite the entire text.
Ma Liu nodded with satisfaction.
"There are many allusions in this Three-Character Classic. If you don't understand, you can ask me. When Rong was four years old, he could make pears. It was Kong Rong who said..."
As Lao Liu spoke, he wrote on the ground with his fingers.
"I'm going to teach you how to read more today. After all, you grew up in Ma's courtyard. You can't be illiterate."
"Sixth Master, have you learned how to read so that you can be an official when you grow up?"
Seeing his mother call him Liu Ye, Zhang Aotian also called her Liu Ye since he was a child.
Ma Liu asked doubtfully:
"Why did you think of becoming an official?"
The child is so young and doesn't even leave the house. How can he understand what an official is?
Zhang Aotian said timidly:
"A few days ago, people in official uniforms came and asked my mother to donate money. They said it was for slaughter donations. Yesterday, there were some very aggressive officials who came to collect the pig-killing tax. After that, they wanted to take away half of the pork. My mother didn’t want to, so they wanted to beat her up.”
Zhang Aotian pointed at the loose door behind him.
"I saw it secretly through the crack in the door... When I grow up, I also want to be an official and be as majestic as them."
"..."
Ma Liuyi was speechless for a moment. This Three-Character Sutra was taught in vain.
No matter how good the book is, it cannot withstand the impact of the times.
The world is difficult, ordinary people have been subjected to exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes since childhood, often see officials bullying people, and are exposed to too many negative things, which inevitably distorts their outlook on life.
This child was only over four years old, and he followed the example of those police officers. He became an official without any thought of making decisions for the people, but just to join the ranks of exploiters.
In the words of the previous life, people do not hate corrupt officials, but they only hate that they cannot become corrupt officials. People do not hate rich people, but they only hate that they are not rich.
This kid is useless!
The sapling had just been planted, but it became crooked like this, which immediately stopped Ma Liu's thoughts.
However, as a time-traveler who has grown up under the red flag, he should be in the darkness and his heart should be toward the light. He will never allow his children to have incorrect views at such a young age.
Lao Liu asked seriously:
"You think they are impressive?"
Zhang Aotian nodded innocently.
Ma Liuxun said:
"They are majestic because they have power, and power comes from the people. The emperor must be supported by the ministers, so he is the emperor. Officials must be supported by the gentry in order to govern a country. The gentry has a high status in the hearts of the people because of their high morality and prestige. Walking around the countryside, every call was answered by hundreds of people."
"There is a saying that water can carry a boat but also capsize it. If every official wants to show off his power and every servant exploits the people, the world will become more and more difficult, and your mother's life will become more and more difficult. It’s bitter, raising you is a problem.”
"Although you are young, you still need to learn to put yourself in someone else's shoes and don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you. You don't like being bullied by officials. Why do you want to be an official and bully others when you grow up?"
Zhang Aotian was a little confused when he heard this. This was too big a reason to understand given his age.
"But if I don't bully others as an official, won't my mother be bullied?"
"..."
Ma Liu was speechless.
"You can be an official, but you must be a good official who abides by the law and must not do anything wrong."
Lao Liu knew in his heart that if he abided by the rules and laws and did not join in with others, he would not be able to survive in this great Yan Dynasty.
But this cannot be said to children.
"If you have the opportunity to rule in the future, you should be an upright official who makes decisions for the people. If the people under your command exploit the people, you should punish them. Only in this way can people like your mother live a stable life and she can suffer less."
"You will be a good official, uphold justice, make the roads under your control clear of debris, and be loved by the people. Only then will you have a sense of accomplishment. Your mother and everyone around you will be happy for you."
Ma Liu was so sincere that he emptied all the ink in his stomach, but Zhang Aotian's words made his forehead covered with black lines.
"Sixth Master, if I become a good official, will I be beaten to death by those bad officials? I think they are so fierce, and their eyes look like they want to eat people."
In the eyes of a child, he cannot understand what is in charge of the government. He only knows that a servant is an official, the biggest official he can see.
These bad officials are vicious, and children are timid by nature. How dare Zhang Ao go against these evil people?
He had a simple idea, so he joined me if he couldn't afford to offend me, and became a bad official, so that he wouldn't be bullied and could bully others.
Ma Liu had no choice but to pinch his little finger and said:
"Those bad officials you see are just little sesame officials... No, they are not even officials, they are just subordinates in the yamen. There are many, many more senior officials in the court than them, from the ninth rank to the first rank, and there are also marquises "My lord, as long as you climb higher than these subordinates and have a higher official position than them, they will not dare to touch you or hurt your mother."
"A bigger official than these bad officials?"
Zhang Aotian has bright eyes. At the age of four, the seed of official fanaticism was planted in his heart.
"Sixth Master, my mother said you are a highly educated person, much more knowledgeable than the teachers in private schools..."
The child opened his arms and gestured up and down, pleading:
"Can you teach me your knowledge so that I can become a high official in the future?"
As he spoke, Zhang Aotian seemed to feel that asking for help with his mouth alone was unconvincing. He hurriedly opened the door behind him, took out a beautiful stone from the pile of debris in the corner, wiped it carefully with his sleeve, and handed it over reluctantly. come over.
"Sixth Master, I picked this stone from the river. Mom said this stone is worth two taels of silver. You can take it first. I will honor you when I become a high official."
Ma Liu took the stone and looked at it. Ordinary pebbles looked more transparent and beautiful, like white jade.
Aunt Yang said that the stone was valuable, maybe because she finally took her child to play by the river, so she coaxed the child to play and gave Zhang Aotian a thought.
Two taels of silver, in the eyes of a child, is absolutely an astronomical amount of money.
Now, Zhang Aotian gave all his belongings, including the precious stones, to Ma Liu.
Seeing that he was stunned and speechless, Zhang Aotian thought that Master Liu was unwilling to teach, so he bent his knees, knelt down and kowtowed:
"Master Liu, please teach Aotian."
"Good boy, get up quickly."
Ma Liu quickly helped the child up, his eyes gentle as never before.
"I will come back to teach you every week from now on, and I will also leave you with homework. If you can't finish it, you will be punished by the whip. But it is already noon. Mr. Liu has something to do after dinner and needs to go to the street. Do you want to go?"
Zhang Aotian nodded vigorously.
It was rare to go out on the street, and the child was very happy.
At this time, Aunt Yang had already prepared lunch, fried the meat, and the aroma was fragrant. She took it out and said:
"Master Liu, let's have dinner together."
"good."
Ma Liu did not refuse.
In the past few years, he has lowered the rent every year, and the price is only half that of the shop next door. He also brings things for his children when he comes back, and he is never empty-handed. Naturally, he can eat with peace of mind.
After the meal, under Zhang Aotian's eager eyes, Ma Liu said:
"Aunt Yang, I'll take the kids out for a walk."
"Excuse me, Master Six."
Regarding safety issues, Aunt Yang did not have the slightest doubt and had absolute trust in Ma Liu.
Nothing else, because the child looked exactly like him, and they looked like father and son when they walked together, so much so that there were even rumors among the people.
After getting in touch with each other in the past few years, Aunt Yang can see the kind of affection Lao Liu also has towards her children and cannot fake it.
However, Ma Liu was not a good place to go.
Standing in front of the corpse sewing shop next to the execution ground, a cold breath hit his face, making Zhang Aotian shiver with fear on his face.
Ma Liu smiled and lowered his head and asked:
"Are you scared?"
"As long as Mr. Liu is here, I'm not afraid."
Zhang Aotian shook his head and held Ma Liu's clothes tightly, his face full of determination.
After touching the child's head, a burst of true energy rushed out from his palm, protecting the child, and then walked into the sewing shop.
The owner of the shop was carrying a decapitated corpse up the cold cave when he saw Lao Liu coming in and greeted him warmly:
"Hey, Xiao Liu, why do you have time to come to Uncle Li today?"
The shop is also near the execution ground, and is surrounded by Ma Liu's neighbors. These uncles and aunts have watched him grow up, and they are very familiar with him.
"Uncle Li, is there any work at the execution ground at noon today?"
"Yes, the Shuntian Mansion Yamen is on trial, and a murderer has been sentenced to execution. The execution has just been completed, and the body has just been brought over, and his head is about to be sewn on."
"Can I see this body?"
"See the body?"
Uncle Li was confused, but still got out of the way.
"What, do you know this murderer?"
"I can't say I know him, I just met him once."
Ma Liu lifted up the white cloth and looked at Sun Long's body. His expression changed at a glance.
They are similar in height and body shape, but this face, when viewed up close, looks a bit awkward.
Ma Liu had seen a human skin mask at the pig demon's house. It was very lifelike, but upon closer inspection, it was definitely not as detailed as a real human face.
He stretched out his hand and pinched the corpse's shoulder. With a little force, the shoulder bone shattered silently. It was not as hard as the bones of a strong person in the Dao Realm.
Once you enter the Tao, you will embark on the path of immortality. After death, the human body will not decay, but will change into corpses at every turn.
Ma Liu was about to tear off the severed human face mask, but Uncle Li reached out to block it.
"Xiao Liu, what are you doing?"
"Uncle Li, I'm afraid this person is not the murderer that the Yamen wants to kill."
Old Man Li was silent for a moment and said:
"Xiao Liu, you have rarely shown your face in recent years. I heard that you work as an errand in the most mysterious place in the imperial court, and you are doing very well, spending a lot of money, and making friends with all the big shots. I know I can't afford to offend you, but what I should say It must be said.”
When Zhang Aotian saw the dead body, his entire face turned pale with fear. Uncle Li glanced at the child and quickly covered the body with a cloth.
"Xiao Liu, I don't know if you have any quarrel with this corpse. For your own good and for the sake of my uncle's food, I have to advise you. If you have any quarrel, you already know the answer. If you open this face, you will offend me. Trouble, uncle is not easy to deal with, if there is no festival, why should you meddle in other people's business?"
A corpse stitcher can even sew a corpse completely without showing any traces of wounds. How could he not recognize a human skin mask?
Ma Liu asked:
"Have you been doing this for many years?"
"Many, high-ranking officials will be beheaded, and four or five times out of ten, someone will take over."
Ma Liu took a deep breath in his heart. The imperial court was so corrupt, how could the world not be in chaos.
Originally, he didn't want to see Sun Long's body, and he didn't think that Shuntian Mansion would dare to commit suicide in broad daylight.
But when I was explaining "official ethics" to Zhang Aotian in the morning, I suddenly thought that Tan Gang had killed good officials and robbed disaster relief funds. He was just a gangster, not even a Taoist. How could he dare to be so crazy?
It is true that the world is chaotic, but the Great Yan Dynasty is not a soft persimmon.
According to Uncle Li, half of the powerful people were replaced by others. In other dynasties, the dynasty would have collapsed long ago, and countless rebels rose up.
Now that Emperor Yong'an is still in power and the court is as stable as Mount Tai, it can only be said that the royal family is strong enough to suppress everything.
Killing officials and robbing money was a slap in the face of the imperial court, but Tan Gang was alive and well, Sun Long was also well, and the Shuntian Prefecture's detective team didn't look for them.
This can only mean that the two of them have strong official backing. Killing officials and robbing money is to do dirty things for the big shots in the court, so they will protect these two people.
Based on this analysis, Ma Liu felt uneasy because he had to come and see Sun Long's body.
"If this person is not eliminated, I will have trouble sleeping and eating in the future."
