After the celebration banquet, peace was temporarily restored to the DPRK and China. Lu Wenyuan still returned to Fu Qian's mansion to settle down. At that time, Lu Wenyuan's little servant Ping'an had already been found by Zhu Shiyang, and it turned out that he had been actively planning to get out since Lu Wenyuan was arrested in the East Factory. Ping An was very clever, and directly hit the idea on the hundreds of taels of gold and silver that the emperor rewarded when Lu Wenyuan was promoted to the secretary of the ministry. He used this as gambling money, lied that he was bored when he was under house arrest, and recruited the guards and the shopkeeper into the room to gamble. People only bet ten cents each time, but he is a few taels at a time. Those big men and shopkeepers were a little hesitant, but seeing that he was so generous, how could there be any reason not to rush to it, and they couldn't resist the temptation for a while, and they all shouted and gambled.

Ping An was not good at gambling, and he deliberately wanted to lose, so he lost most of the hundreds of taels of gold and silver in a few days, but he became familiar with those big men and shopkeepers, and soon became a friend who called him a brother and a friend of wine and meat. On this day, a group of people were gambling to the heart, Ping An suddenly said that he had a stomachache and wanted to go to the thatched house, and everyone's mind was on the slippery color cup, where to take care of him, plus this situation has been a few times before, Ping An will come back obediently every time, so he does not doubt him, only rest assured that he will go back quickly.

Ping'an waited for this opportunity, ran to the west of the city without looking back, and plunged into the most prosperous market in the capital. When everyone in the inn came back to their senses, how could they still find his trace, in order to cope with Fan Zhefu's investigation, they divided the remaining gold and silver, and agreed that no one was allowed to leak the gambling, but everyone said that he had escaped by himself.

Fan Zhefu lost his chips, although he was angry, but he was more panicked, the disaster relief matter was already in an uproar, and seeing that the paper couldn't contain the fire, Fan Zhefu didn't have the heart to pursue anything more. Ping An hid in the west of the city for a few days, and estimated that the wind had passed, so he quietly sneaked to the vicinity of the East Factory to listen to the news. At this time, Lu Wenyuan had been rescued by the emperor's decree for a long time, and when he got the news safely, he was relieved, but for the sake of safety, he still sneaked back to the west of the city to hide.

A few days later, Fan Zhefu was imprisoned, and the news of the uprising of the displaced people in Shanxi spread throughout the city. If Ping An encounters amnesty, he will go to Fu Qian's house as soon as possible, hoping to see his long-lost master there. However, at this time, the guards sent by Zhu Shiyang had already launched a search for him throughout the city, and Ping was safe and unaware, and before he reached Fu Qian's mansion, he was caught by several brocade-clothed guards and sent to the palace with a lot of flowers.

Ping An thought that Fan Zhefu's old department refused to let him go, and struggled all the way, scolding and scolding, until he saw Zhu Shiyang. Zhu Shiyang patiently explained the matter to him, and then called Fu Qian to lead him back to the house.

Now that the master and servant have met, they sigh and sigh when they talk about these things, and they have a different feeling when they talk and laugh.

The next day, Lu Wenyuan and Fu Qian went to the cabinet together. Yan Yong, Shen Lun, and Zhao Yongning also came one after another, and several people cleaned up the cabinet together, and the inside and outside of the hall took on a new look, and they were in a particularly comfortable mood when they started doing things.

In recent years, most of the recitals presented from all over the country are congratulatory greetings and congratulatory sheets that praise merits and virtues, and the remaining small part is nothing important, Lu Wenyuan handled them one by one, raised his eyes and looked at it again, but it was only just after noon, so he was patient again, and selected a few brilliant ones from the piles of congratulatory greetings and greetings, and sent them to the palace to let the emperor also celebrate and celebrate.

That Zhu Shiyang is now accompanied by Zhu Shiji, the king of Kangping, drinking and reminiscing every day, writing poems and appreciating paintings, and living a happy life. Zhu Shiji is also a very good player, and all kinds of folk tricks have changed the law, which coaxed Zhu Shiyang to close his mouth, and refused to come out in the inner palace. Lu Wenyuan persuaded him several times to be lawless under the pretext of sending the chapter, so he had to let it go for the time being, thinking that it was almost the New Year, and it was reasonable for the emperor to relax for a few days.

After a few more days, the affairs of the cabinet were not serious, and several adults dealt with them separately, but it was still early, so Lu Wenyuan dismissed them early, and asked them to go back to their homes to prepare for the New Year's affairs, and stay to finish by themselves.

After a while, it was already the time of the lantern, the cabinet was dimly lit, and the sound of evening bells could be heard in the distance, and the Forbidden City was about to close its doors. Lu Wenyuan then packed up the papers, locked the door of the cabinet, and went out of the palace to return to Lord Fu's mansion.

The market is bustling and bustling, with bright lanterns, and everyone shuttling back and forth, and their faces are full of joy as the New Year is approaching. There are even naughty children, who light firecrackers on the side of the street early, and the dazzling firelight and crisp firecracker sound one after another bring the New Year's atmosphere to the extreme.

Lu Wenyuan was a little worried, it turned out that he was on an errand in the cabinet these days, and he always thought of Fan Zhefu from time to time, although he brought disaster to the country and the people, and his crime was unforgivable, but if he hadn't interceded for himself at a critical moment, he was afraid that he would have died under the emperor's court staff, no matter what his purpose was at the time, he had saved his life.

Lu Wenyuan hesitated for a moment, walked into a nearby restaurant, asked for a few stir-fried vegetables, roast chicken, and steamed fish, thought about it, added another pot of soju, and carried it in a food box, and walked towards the prison of the Criminal Department.

The public hall of the Criminal Department has long since dispersed, leaving only a few guards on duty. Lu Wenyuan is now famous, no one knows him, and no one dares to stop him as soon as he signs up, and he enters the prison of the Criminal Department all the way unimpeded and finds Fan Zhefu's prison door.

After a few months, Fan Zhefu has completely changed, his original white and chubby, his amiable face has lost weight, the skin and flesh of his cheeks have fallen down, and wrinkles as deep as ravines have spread across his face, making his old age fully visible. The prison clothes on his body were so thin that he could not withstand the cold wind poured into the prison, and his exposed skin was red from the cold, and his hands and feet were covered with chilblains. The gray sideburns were scattered, and there was a bowl of leftovers beside him that had not yet been eaten, which had long been dry and rancid, and had become a black mess.

Lu Wenyuan frowned, only said that no matter how heinous Fan Zhefu was in the past, he was just a pathetic old man now, opened the food box in his hand, put the wine and food in front of the prison door one by one, and said softly: "It's almost the New Year, I'll bring you something to eat." ”

He thought that Fan Zhefu would be like the previous Yan Yong to his eyebrows, but he didn't want Fan Zhefu to only raise his eyelids slightly, his eyes were no longer as shrewd and sharp as before, he smiled, and said in a low voice: "Thank you." ”

Lu Wenyuan was sad in his heart, and he didn't want to look at him, so he only said coldly: "You don't have to thank me, you saved me once in front of the emperor before, and this meal should be regarded as a favor for you." ”

Fan Zhefu nodded slightly, and Lu Wenyuan didn't say anything more, and turned around and left. The jailer who brought him in respectfully sent him out of the prison of the Ministry of Punishment, and when he came back, he saw Fan Zhefu sitting at the door of the cell and pouring himself a drink. The jailer stepped forward and said, "It's cold today, Lord Lu brought this food all the way from outside, I'm afraid it's cold, right? Do you want me to take it hot? It just so happens that the guys are also going to have dinner." ”

Fan Zhefu only said that the jailer took special care of himself for Lu Wenyuan's sake, so he didn't think much about it, and only thanked him: "Then you will be tired." ”

The jailer put the food and wine in the box and left, and when he came back, it was already warm and the food was hot and fragrant. Fan Zhefu wasted all these days in prison, not to mention wine, meat and fat, and even didn't eat a few ordinary meals, and suddenly his index finger moved, ate a few bites, and when he raised his eyes, he found that the jailer had not gone far, and was standing not far away looking at him. Fan Zhefu was a little embarrassed, and just wanted to call the jailer to come over and eat something, but a mouthful of black blood spurted out of his mouth, and his stomach felt like a wrench.

Fan Zhefu fell to the ground and convulsed, and soon he was out of breath in pain, and his mind gradually blurred. The rest of the prison guards were alarmed and gathered around. Fan Zhefu knew that his life was short, but he didn't expect Lu Wenyuan to be so vicious, he couldn't wait for the third division to interrogate and want to kill himself personally, he was extremely hateful, struggling with the last trace of sanity, his eyes widened, and he hissed at the people around him: "It's Lu Wenyuan...... Lu ...... "Inadvertently, he caught a glimpse of the jailer in the distance. The jailer was facing him at the moment, and he smiled with an extremely cold smile.

Fan Zhefu's eyes were split, and he suddenly understood a qiē, but he was powerless to return to the sky. With only the last of his strength, he hissed, "It's you!" and then shrank to the ground and exhaled his last breath.