Zheng Haizhu originally thought that most of the people in front of him were simple-minded farmers who were easily incited and easily frightened. With a person like Ma Xianglin coming out to intimidate and intimidate the villagers, the situation would be resolved. It subsided.
Unexpectedly, her master, Miss Han, who looked gentle but was actually quite sassy, had just heard that Weng Yuansheng was running against Gu Shouqian. She was already angry. She just caught the other party telling a lie that she could falsify, and immediately decided to stand up. A clear distinction.
Han Ximeng faced everyone and said: "On Chinese Valentine's Day, my maid and I were at Hanshan Temple. We saw Mr. Dong and several scribes, accompanied by the abbot of the temple, and they admired the poem stele in the temple. How could he be in his own house more than a hundred miles away? Insulting the villagers?"
Dong Zuchang heard this, let go of Weng Yuansheng, turned sideways and said, "Thank you, Miss Han, for clarifying. I was indeed meeting friends in Gusu City that day. I didn't know that Miss Han was also visiting there."
When Weng Yuansheng heard the word "Han", he rolled his two mouse eyes, stared at Han Ximeng and said, "This is the eldest lady of the Han family in Qingshui Lane? Why are you here at the Dong family today?"
Han Ximeng disdained to pay attention to this kind of arrogant rat.
Although Zheng Shoukuan on the side was young, he understood the world's taboos under the influence of Zheng Haizhu, so he answered coldly on behalf of the hostess: "My lady was just passing by this street today, and she didn't want to be surrounded by those green-skinned gangsters. Of course we You can only go to the Dong Mansion where there are women to avoid trouble."
When Weng Yuansheng heard that the other party did not deny that she was the eldest lady of the Han family, he laughed slyly and said with a sigh of relief: "I also remembered the junior official. More than half a month ago, Mr. Han secretly came to our Magistrate Wu and said that her niece, um , that is, Miss Han, left a letter saying that she wanted to learn embroidery from a teacher, so she left home without permission and begged our government to find someone. Just a few days ago, news came from the Weitang Inspection Department in the neighboring county that there was a A lady named Han from Songjiang Prefecture and a maid named Zheng were kidnapped by bandits on a night boat from Suzhou. Oh, could it be... Oh, that's not right. If it was Miss Han who suffered the disaster, why did you come back in a hurry? What’s up?”
Weng Yuansheng was already in a bad mood, and his words were full of obscene hints.
When Han Ximeng heard this, he was indeed shocked, and his heart jumped suddenly.
The famous lady from Songjiang Prefecture loved to go to Suzhou and Hangzhou to offer incense. She originally thought that her appearance at Hanshan Temple would not arouse people's thoughts.
Unexpectedly, this scoundrel-looking clerk knew so much.
But when I think about it calmly, at this point, being secretive and even cowardly to the point of being speechless will only increase the arrogance of this bad guy and ignite future rumors.
Han Ximeng simply stared at Weng Yuansheng without any evasion, and said loudly: "You don't have to be weird, the three of us, the master and the servant, were robbed by the bandits that day. Fortunately, as soon as we entered the bandit's stronghold, we met General Ma, who was leading The brave army of the imperial court wiped out the den of thieves. By the way, this maid of mine is a woman, and she also helped General Ma to kill the bandit leader. You are a dirty-minded bad guy. When you heard that the bandits were kidnapping a good girl, you only went to accuse the innocent. I wonder, how can I understand that the universe has its own righteousness, that the court is in charge, that there are strong generals like General Ma leading the elite troops, and what are the lake bandits and mountain bandits? Why are we people afraid of them?"
As soon as Han Ximeng had the courage to break the cauldron and sink the boat, he spoke heartily and righteously, which made some of the neighbors who surrounded Dong's house express their approval.
Ma Xianglin stood with his sleeves behind his back, listening to Han Ximeng's talk. He caught a glimpse of Zheng Haizhu's nervous eyes and immediately made a plan.
He nodded at the right time and said: "Yes, that group of lake bandits was suppressed by me. Miss Han taught the servants well, and this Miss Zheng is very brave. The court will reward you. By the way, your father-in-law, Mr. Huang, of Songjiang Mansion will also After witnessing the situation at that time, Mr. Huang, if I can't see you, Magistrate Wu, this time, you have to bring the message to Songjiang Mansion. Songjiang Mansion should praise the heroic actions of the Han family's nephews and servants."
Huang Zunsu glanced sideways at Weng Yuansheng, cupped his hands to Ma Xianglin, and preached with deep meaning: "I understand that the men in the three counties must also reflect on themselves. With a majestic body of seven feet, they should do something and not do something. .”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion outside the crowd, and two men in official uniforms squeezed in with panic on their faces.
The color of their robes is the same as that of Huang Zunsu, which is blue. However, on the chest patches, one is embroidered with a white pheasant and the other is embroidered with an egret. They are Tongzhi of the fifth grade and Tongsan of the sixth grade respectively.
"Oh my, I don't know if people coming from the capital will be welcomed from afar, and some will be welcomed from afar."
These two old men in the officialdom were naturally much more knowledgeable than the people around them. They knew that the Feiyu uniform was a gift, not just for the imperial guards, so they did not call Ma Xianglin "angel" rashly.
But those who can put on Feiyu uniforms and lead so many cavalry to kill must have some background, and they must not be taken lightly.
They had just learned about it from the informant, and soon realized that Huang Zunsu had called in strong support, and the situation took a turn for the worse. This time, the attack on the Dong Mansion was probably in vain.
The two men then raised their official authority, first shouted at the village warriors they had brought, and dispersed the green-skinned hooligans and the farmers who were making noises. Then they grabbed several leading men from Fanjiazhuang and assured Ma Xianglin, patting their chests, that they would Severe punishment.
While Tongzhi and Tongpan were pretentious, they saw the ebony door of Dong's Mansion being completely opened by the servants. An old man wearing a mesh Tang scarf hat and a brown mountain pattern Taoist robe, accompanied by his disciple Gu Shouqian, stepped forward. Go down the steps.
"Father is frightened." Dong Zuchang hurriedly stepped forward and said.
Dong Qichang, who was over sixty years old, handed over to Ma Xianglin, Huang Zunsu and others and said: "Guys, the situation just got out of control suddenly. I heard that the villagers were preparing to burn the house with fuel. I was anxious to move the paintings and calligraphy of the former Dynasty in my family to the cellar, so I came out late. A little more."
After a few words of greeting, Dong Qichang came to the shackled men of Fanjiazhuang, pointed at them, and said sternly to the magistrate and magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture: "The two parents and officials are in trouble with them. Are they pretending to be confused? ? They are just honest and upright villagers. They are in danger of causing a big disaster today because they were deceived by Weng Yuansheng. I invite General Ma from the court and all the neighbors to witness what happened today. I only need to accuse Weng Yuansheng, who is slandering and deceiving the people. , I will never vent my anger on Fan Chang’s surviving family members and the folks in Fanjiazhuang.”
Ma Xianglin also walked up and said calmly: "Okay, I will return to the capital to resume my duties. When I pass by Yingtian Mansion, I will also inform the Futai and the Procuratorate about this matter."
The colleague of Songjiang Prefecture had no choice but to order the people in Fanjiazhuang to be released in full view of the public, and to take away Weng Yuansheng, who had turned ashen-colored.
After the country men thanked Dong Shichang with shameful expressions and left in groups, the magistrates and magistrates smiled politely and arranged for Ma Xianglin and his sergeants to arrange a residence and hold a banquet to greet him.
Gu Shouqian stepped forward at this time and said: "General Ma, Miss Han has made an engagement with me. I am deeply grateful for your previous rescue. My family has an academy in the city to recruit children from Songjiang counties to study and take exams. These It is the time for late rice planting, and they have all gone back to help with the farm work at home. Sir and all the athletes, please go to the academy to rest, and please allow me to show my friendship as a landlord."
Ma Xianglin smiled and said, "Okay, let's go to your house."
Then he said calmly to his colleagues in Songjiang Prefecture: "You should go back too. I have been cleaning up bandits for many days and am very tired. It is enough to have Huang Guanren to accompany me to drink a few glasses of wine and talk about friendship."
