Fei Zhen'e stood up, took them to the outer room, sat down on a chair by herself, let them stand in front of her, and whispered: "You can talk here without alarming Uncle." You all listen to my orders, you don't need to be on duty all night, hurry up and go to sleep, I like to be quiet, the quieter the better. ”

Sister-in-law Zhang laughed again and said, "Please don't be surprised, Madame." Folk newlyweds, whether rich or poor, in order to get an auspicious and lively situation, there are relatives and friends who have a lot of trouble. After the trouble, there are still people who stay outside the window and eavesdrop on the bed, which is called listening to the root of the wall. Today, because Madame does not allow it, there is no such thing as making trouble, and as for the ancient custom of the servants listening to the root of the wall, it is also for the purpose of the night of the candles, please leave Madame alone. ”

Sister-in-law Zhang's words aroused Fei Zhen'e's great attention, she suddenly woke up, and didn't feel that she was exclaiming in her heart: "There is such a thing?"

After all, she was a different woman, and after a moment of contemplation, she whispered: "The six of you are all people around me. The four of them, although Emperor Dashun gave them to me as a wedding ring, I didn't treat them as a maid ring at all in my heart, and still regarded them as sisters of Shouning Palace. As soon as my uncle came back from his expedition, I told him to send someone to find their parents from their hometown, so that they could be reunited, and their parents would take them away and choose a good marriage. The uncle rewarded a lot of money, and the family did not have to worry about food and clothing. ”

The eyes of the four palace maids who accompanied the marriage were suddenly full of tears. Fei Zhen'e then asked the two maids: "I heard that you were selected by General Wu Ruyi from among the slaves of a rich family, are you a slave in the original master's family?"

"Mrs. Hui, we are not born in the family. ”

"It's so much better. In the future, please ask your uncle to reward you with your house and land, and you can also reward your husband with an official position. You have come to serve me when I was married, and if you are faithful, you are my confidants. As long as my Tongguan Bo Mansion has glory and wealth, your two slaves will follow the master, and you will naturally be blessed to enjoy. I'm young, but I count. ”

Sister-in-law Zhang said with emotion in her heart: "Madam, we will always be gracious!"

Fei Zhen'e asked, "How many male and female servants are there in this inner house?"

Sister-in-law Zhang replied: "Mrs. Hui, because General Wu is young and busy dealing with the military in Tongzhou, he specially came to order yesterday that only maids are allowed to live in this inner house at night, and male servants are not allowed, and even the uncle's personal soldiers are not allowed to enter the inner house at night. ”

"How many maids and maids are there in the inner house?"

"There were thirty or forty people in the kitchen, the tea stove, the laundry, and all kinds of rough and fine work. ”

"There are so many maids in the inner house alone?"

"This is a dignified mansion, a lord's family, and there are not many maids and servants in the inner house. In the former dynasty Hou Bo's mansion, male and female slaves, family and non-family children. Those who carry sedan chairs, feed mules and horses, drive chariots, raise quails, manage farms, buy and buy, and manage opera troupes...... , which government supports hundreds of people. In another two or three years, the world will be peaceful, our Tongguan Bofu, the front yard and the back house, not to mention the guards of the family, there will be one or two hundred servants alone, otherwise how can it be like the home of the founding heroes of the Great Shun Dynasty?"

Fei Zhen'e turned to the elderly palace maid named Li Chunlan and instructed her to take out two hundred taels of silver from the suitcase and put it on the coffee table beside her. She glanced at it and said to Sister-in-law Zhang and Li Chunlan: "The marriage of girls is a lifelong event, and there is only one time. I don't have a single family member in the city of Beijing, and you and I are called master and servant, in fact, like my relatives. This silver will reward you with ten taels each, and talk about my heart. There are still one hundred and forty taels, and you will reward me with many servants and maids in the inner house, some more rewards, some less, so that no one is missed. Sister Li, you will reward them in front of me at this moment and talk about my modest feelings. ”

Sister Li immediately complied. Sister-in-law Zhang and the other two maids knelt down first and kowtowed to thank the reward, and the four dowry maids also kowtowed to thank the reward.

After thanking the reward, Sister-in-law Zhang stood up and said, "Please rest assured, Madame, we will definitely follow Madame's instructions, handle the reward, and then lead everyone to kowtow to Madame to thank you." ”

From the distant streets and alleys, there was a sound of watching, and it was the third watch. Fei Zhen'e said: "It's already three watches at the moment, so you don't need to ask everyone to come and thank you, so as not to wake up your uncle." I'm going to rest too, ...... tomorrow."

Everyone suddenly heard Luo Hu wake up, leaned over to the bed, and vomited on the footboard. Two maids and four wedding maids hurriedly walked into the room, waiting for Luo Hu to continue to vomit on the pedal, some people gently beat Luo Hu's back, some waited for Luo Hu to rinse his mouth and spit into the spittoon, some people brought wet hand towels to wipe the corners of Luo Hu's mouth, wiped off the vomited dirt on the edge of the bed, and some waited for Luo Hu to sleep on the bed again, and put his head on the embroidered pillow. Then a maid and a maid were left to clean up the filth that had been vomited on the footboards and the ground, and the others returned to the outer room and stood in front of Fei Zhen'e.

Sister-in-law Zhang said to Fei Zhen'e: "Please rest assured, Madame, my uncle vomited a lot, and vomited out all the cold wine and cold food in his stomach, which is comfortable." Let the uncle sleep quietly for a while and he will wake up. ”

Fei Zhen'e didn't say anything. She thought in her heart: As soon as he wakes up, even if I am determined to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty, I will not hesitate to die, there is no way to stab him to death!

When Luo Hu vomited just now, he once half-opened his obscure and drunken eyes, saw several women waiting by the bedside, and mistook a younger dowry maid for Fei Zhen'e, thinking that the bride was also serving by his side. He was ashamed to look at the bride too much, and with apologies, a smile appeared from the corner of his mouth. He was so tired and sleepy that he was drunk and fell asleep on the pillow.

When the servants and maids who had cleared the filth went out, Fei Zhen'e knew that time could not be delayed, so she ordered all the servants and maids around her to quit immediately, and said, "Sister-in-law Zhang, Sister Li, you go and share the silver." Don't alarm Uncle here, I'm going to rest quietly. Close the door of the inner house. Everyone has been tired for two days, and there is still a lot to do tomorrow. ”

"After the reward of the money, each one rested, and the courtyard must be silent and no one should move. My uncle and I got married, it was originally a marriage by decree, a match made in heaven, which is different from folk happy events. You commanded the servants and maids of the inner house not to have the bad habit of listening to the roots of the wall. If I hear people walking around in the courtyard and eavesdropping outside the window, tomorrow I will only ask you two. ”

Sister-in-law Zhang and Li Chunlan fully understood at this moment that although Fei Zhen'e was only seventeen years old, she spoke neatly and neatly, and she was really an extremely powerful person. They replied at the same time, "Yes, yes." "Take the servants and maidservants and quit respectfully.

Sister-in-law Zhang asked timidly, "Madam, the door of this hall?"

Fei Zhen'e said: "I'll close the door by myself, let's go!"

After the servants and maids walked out of the hall, Fei Zhen'e personally went to gently close the door of the hall and bolted two latches. She returned to the cave room, looked at the bed first, and saw that Luo Hu was still asleep, so she relaxed a little, sat back where she was sitting just now, and waited for the courtyard to be quiet. She knew that the servants could not be quiet for a while for the sake of the silver. She could see that Luo Hu would not wake up for a while, so she sat quietly and rested, waiting for the opportunity to start.

She suddenly thought of her parents, her brother, her younger brother, her sister, and some people from the same village, but her face was a little blurred. She only felt a burst of sadness: "Even if both parents are still alive, they will no longer be able to reunite with them, and they will not know that this unfortunate weak woman will have a bloody end tonight after the death of the country." ”

She thought about Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Chongzhen, who were martyred twenty days ago, the princess who was wounded by a sword in her right arm, and a large group of palace sisters such as Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong who committed suicide by throwing themselves into the water, as well as all kinds of past events in the deep palace in recent months, which appeared in front of her again.

Later, I don't know how long it took, but I really couldn't hear a single human voice in the courtyard. Fei Zhen'e got up from the chair, her face was like earth, her whole body trembled slightly, and walked to the side of the bed. She used to have a large pair of scissors for tailoring in a small box, but now she doesn't have to use them. She picked up Luo Hu's short sword from the coffee table at the bedside, pulled the bright short sword out of the shark skin sheath, turned to Luo Hu and stood still, and was about to walk to the bedside, when she suddenly heard Luo Hu shouting: "Kill!

Fei Zhen'e was startled, suddenly took two steps back, almost fell, and a large lock of hair fell down. After a while, Luo Hu didn't speak again, didn't open his eyes, just let out a slight snoring sound. At this time, the gong of the fourth watch came from the alley. Fei Zhen'e was afraid that Luo Hu would wake up, and she was also afraid that the servants and maids in the inner house would wake up, thinking that she must not delay any longer. But when she started to kill, her whole body trembled even more, and her teeth couldn't stop fighting.

As soon as she was crossed, she put her loose hair in her mouth, bit it tightly, got on the pedal, and saw Luo Hu's throat stabbed violently, making sure to cut her throat. Luo Hu was stabbed, suddenly opened his big eyes, struggled desperately, cocked his upper body, and reached out to catch the assassin, but most of his throat was cut, and blood and air in his lungs spurted out of the wound. Fei Zhen'e was afraid that he would not die, so she quickly drew her short sword and stabbed him in the chest with all her might. Luo Hu collapsed, blood pouring out of his chest again.

Fei Zhen'e retreated to the square table in front of the window in confusion, put down the blood-stained dagger, picked up a wolf pen, but had no time to polish the ink, came to the bed again, dipped the tip of the pen in blood, and scribbled seven words and two sentences on the white wall of the cave room: "I wanted to slay the dragon and stab the tiger, and my daughter has the ambition to serve the king." ”

She placed the pen on the table, and the first rooster crow was heard in the distance, and someone in the courtyard was moving. She had to kill herself, but she felt limp and her arms trembled, and it was impossible for her to kill herself with a dagger. In her confusion, she grabbed the purple silk silk silk from Luo Hu's waist from the coffee table, moved a low stool, raised her trembling hands, tied the silk silk on the carved horizontal wood on the door of the cave room, and choked up in her heart and said, "Sister Wei, Sister Wu, Zhen'e is here!"

Not long after breakfast, Wu Ruyi came to the Xinuan Pavilion of Wuying Hall and told Li Zicheng about the tragic incident that happened in Tongguanbo's Mansion last night.

Li Zicheng was shocked, and the teacup he had just picked up fell unconsciously on the case. He asked: "There are a lot of people in Luo Hu's uncle's mansion, and there are also a group of slaves in the inner house, and there is such a big incident at night, and no one hears the movement?"

Wu Ruyi explained to Li Zicheng in detail what he already knew, then sighed and added: "Your Majesty, I really didn't expect that a tiger like Luo Hu would die at the hands of Fei Zhen'e! It is also unthinkable that Fei Zhen'e is only seventeen years old, and he can make none of the more than 30 maids in the inner house aware of it!"

"When did you find out?"

"The servants and maidservants in the house in the Earl's Court did not hear a little movement in the upper room until it was very dark, and they felt strange, and they called a few times through the window, but there was no answer in the cave room, and they felt even more strange. Someone licked the broken window paper with the tip of his tongue and saw Luo Hu dead next to the bed. Everyone used knives to open the two latches of the hall, and when they went in, they first saw Fei Zhen'e hanging on the lintel of the cave room, and then saw Luo Hu being stabbed to death by the bed, first cutting his throat, and then stabbing him in the heart. ”

When the minister received the report, he immediately flew away. Ruhou Liu Ye and Song Junshi were both closer to Goldfish Alley, and they were already there first. Luo Hu's personal soldiers saw that the Lord was about to be stabbed to death, and all of them wept bitterly, wanting to break Fei Zhen'e's body into thousands of pieces to pay tribute to Luo Hu. Song Junshi did not allow it, saying that the hearts of the people in Beijing are fluctuating at present, and Fei Zhen'e should be dealt with leniently. ”

Because the Eastern Expedition was big and urgent, the Song military division went to the General General's Mansion with Ru Hou to discuss the aftermath of Luo Hu's battalion stationed in Tongzhou, and asked the ministers to come into the palace to pay tribute to His Majesty. Please let Your Majesty decide, what to do with the bodies of Luo Hu and Fei Zhen'e?"

Li Zicheng thought for a moment and said: "Dress Luo Hu well, temporarily park the coffin in the monk temple outside the city, and wait for me to return from the Eastern Expedition and transport it back to Shaanxi for burial." Fei Zhen'e is also a martyr, she can send her body to the place where the people of the outer palace of Xizhimen are slanted, and after incineration, bury her ashes with the ashes of the people of the Wei Palace and others. ”

"Yes!"

Due to the incident of Fei Zhen'e stabbing Luo Hu to death, Li Zicheng began to understand that it was easy to break through Beijing and seize Chongzhen's country, but it was not easy to really win the hearts of the world. After he conquered Beijing, many of the more prestigious ministers of the Ming Dynasty committed suicide and were unwilling to surrender, which is also proof.

He knew that in recent days, there have been rumors in Beijing and Jifu in various places, and people's hearts have fluctuated, and they all said that Wu Sangui will soon raise troops to the west of Shanhaiguan, drive him out of Beijing, support Chongzhen's crown prince to ascend the throne, and restore the Ming Dynasty. He also knew that although the people of Beijing and Jifu did not dare to resist on the surface, they secretly waited for Wu Sangui to come west, saying that Wu Sangui was a great loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty.

He said hatefully in the Xinuan Pavilion of the Wuying Palace: "Regardless of whether Wu Sangui has colluded with the Manchu Qing Dynasty or not, he must be defeated first, so that he will not be lifted up that demagogic ...... Banner!"

It was easy for him to think that the banner that Wu Sangui was going to raise must have the four big characters of suppressing and restoring his sight written on it, but he also avoided these four very hateful words when he spoke to himself in his heart.

On this day, he sent a message to Prime Minister Niu Jinxing, canceled the ceremony of going to the Confucian Temple tomorrow to release vegetables, summoned Liu Zongmin and Li Guo, and asked about the aftermath of Luo Hu's first battalion, knowing that other capable generals had been sent to replace Luo Hu, and he had no more opinions.

Another day later, on April 11, the bodies of Luo Hu and Fei Zhen'e were decorated and disposed of according to his instructions.

Liu Zongmin and Li Guo both led the army out of Beijing on this day and arrived in Tongzhou, and the original garrison in Tongzhou, as the vanguard, also marched east on the 11th. When Wu Ruyi told Li Zicheng that many generals in the Luo camp wept bitterly after learning that the lord was going to be assassinated to death, they sewed white cloth on their hats and wore filial piety to the main general. Li Zicheng unconsciously shed tears, sighed deeply, and regretted that he should not have given Luo Huqin a marriage match, and ended up like this.