Chapter 16: Hands Up
"What are you doing here?"
Watching the old servant enter the Chase Shop, Wang Qilang, who was sitting sulking on the mat, shouted loudly.
"It's okay for you to change your surname to Cheng! Anyway, I don't recognize who your master is! β
"Childe, this matter is not child's play." The old servant said solemnly, "Don't mess around anymore. β
"Nonsense? Do you believe the woman's words? Wang Qilang jumped up and shouted, "Did you hear what the woman said?" Listen to her, listen to her rules? Ahh β
Wang Qilang gasped and glared angrily.
"I'd like to see what happens if I don't listen to her?"
The old servant's heart skipped a beat.
What happens if you don't listen to her? It's not going to be good, is it?
In the past, when people encounter trouble, they will find a way to avoid it thoroughly, but she is good, and she directly lifted the person who brought trouble, and it is not that the trouble has come to the door, but only the beginning....
This kind of intelligence and cleverness can make a decisive heart, a teenage lady can have it, no wonder it can make an elderly military general like Master Zhou cry in front of him.
This little lady of the Cheng family, where is she a fool, she is clearly Cai Wenji who can listen to the music and distinguish the strings. [Note 1]
turned out to be such a little lady, this family business has picked up a treasure.
"What are you laughing at!"
After Wang Qilang finished speaking, he saw that no one answered, and when he looked up again, he saw the old servant grinning, and he was even more angry.
Are they all jokes about themselves?
Laughed at by that fool, beaten by that fool's subordinates, and laughed at by his own subordinates!
"You just stay here and follow the woman, and I'll go now."
It's a trick to run away from home again.
The old servant winked at everyone, and the attendants immediately stepped forward to surround them. Hugging legs, hugging arms, wailing, consoling, and pleading, it is easy to soothe them. Coaxing to wash and change clothes. I disliked the hard, smelly and dirty Chase shop and refused to sleep, and was thinking about it, when there was a knock on the door.
When the door was opened, it turned out to be the Zhou family's entourage.
"What are you doing here?" Wang Qilang glared and shouted.
"My lady will let you pass." The entourage of the Zhou family said with a proud expression.
Past? Now that I remember to admit my mistake? Scared? It's late!
Wang Qilang spouted.
"Get out." He scolded dryly.
The entourage of the Zhou family really turned around and got out, and the old servant had already rushed to hold it.
"Little brother, what do you have to tell the lady?" He asked with a respectful smile.
"The lady said that it may not be safe for you to live here." The entourage of the Zhou family said slowly, "However, the lady also said it." It's up to you to go or not. β
Insecurity?
The old servant shuddered.
"Oh, oh, she really thinks she's an unpredictable prophet? Let's say it's not raining first..."Wang Qilang shouted, choking halfway through his words, as if it really didn't rain... Anyway, it doesn't matter, it's also a coincidence," and what is not safe, who does she think she is? β
He was about to say something, but saw that the old servant had already turned around.
"Pack up your things and go to Mrs. Cheng's." He said.
The entourage immediately responded and began to pack up their things.
"What are you doing? What exactly is your last name? β
Wang Qilang's shouting and scolding pierced the room, piercing the post station that was deep but not yet heavy in the night.
β¦β¦β¦β¦β¦β¦β¦β¦β¦β¦
"I can't imagine that this Feng nerd is so smart... actually let him escape, and it seems that he can only be let into the city. β
"Into the city? This Feng nerd checked a good account. When he enters the city, it will be the time of death for you and me! β
Not far from the inn was in a village, in a courtyard near the edge of the village. The room was still lit up, and two figures were reflected in the window, one sitting, the other pacing back and forth.
If the half-dead official who was beaten by Feng Lin was here at this time, he would recognize these two people, one was the secretary of the Taicang Road Transfer Division, and the other was a tax collector.
The tax collector paced back and forth, his face gloomy.
The secretary looked indifferent, and drank tea with a tea bowl.
"The time is very appropriate, how can it not be done?" He asked, "Is Liu Zhong making his own decisions?" This kid is a bit smart, and he always likes to draw snakes. β
"There shouldn't be, the main reason for the people is that a group of people have popped up in the road nowhere, and they are uneven." The tax collector said angrily, gritting his teeth viciously, "No matter where he comes from, as long as he has been on my Taicang territory, he will give me a good long memory!" β
"It's not wrong to be uneven, I told them that I wanted to make a big fuss and make public opinion boil." The secretary said, his tone was slow, not impatient, "It's just that this Feng nerd is not as stupid as rumored, it's our judgment that is wrong." β
Looking at this book, not only was he not in a hurry, but he smiled, the tax collector snorted, and sat down with his clothes.
"If you can check your accounts and you're not a nerd, wouldn't that be more difficult to deal with?" He said, "Let him into the city, we are afraid that Taicang Road will be empty." β
The clerk slowly stroked the tea bowl.
"It was terrible." He sighed and said that he seemed to have seen such a scene, one by one the officials were pulled out, stripped of their official robes, and escorted to prison, with a look of compassion.
"Just tell me what to do! The people of the city are waiting. The tax collector said urgently.
"What should I do?" The clerk smiled slightly, leaned forward, and lowered his voice, "One person is miserable, it's better than so many people, right?" β
The clerk's style is polite and gentle, but the tax collector knows that this clerk, who has worked in the Transit Department for 30 years, is not what it looks like.
"What do you meanβ" The tax collector leaned over and whispered.
The clerk suddenly stretched out his hand and scratched it around his neck.
On a mid-autumn night, the weather was cool, and the clerk's hand was slender and thin, and it was really like a knife blade when it crossed the tax collector's neck.
The tax collector shuddered and stiffened away, letting out a suppressed cry in his throat.
Seeing that success scared him, the secretary Ha Luha smiled.
The tax collector was a little annoyed, annoyed that the man had frightened him, and that he had shown cowardice in front of men.
"What for?" He shouted unhappily.
"this." The clerk laughed.
The tax collector touched his neck and came back to his senses, his eyes widening.
"Kill the court officials?" He shouted.
The clerk glanced at him.
The tax collector hurriedly reached out and covered his mouth.
"Are you crazy?" He whispered, "That's a great sin to kill your head." β
"That. Someone else dies. It's better than dying on your own. The clerk said slowly.
The tax collector's expression was cloudy, and he subconsciously touched his neck and did not speak.
"Actually, it's not a big deal. When a person dies, it doesn't have to be killed, it can be an accident, just like when the Wuzhou Guanku was on fire. The clerk said slowly, "Naturally, we can also let Taicang's pipe library burn a fire, but this kind of trick is too passive, and it will also give that Feng nerd a handle, rather than this, it's better..."
"Let the inn burn a fire?" The tax collector subconsciously took over and said.
"Wang Da is really smart. Good way. The scrivener immediately stretched out his finger and smiled and praised.
The tax collector reached out and opened his hand.
"Good your head, Cao Ba, don't button this hat for me, whoever comes up with the method understands it in their hearts." He said angrily.
"Don't worry, this matter is done, and no one will be held accountable." The secretary said with a smile and sat cross-legged, "If things are dry today, and the Xiaofanggang Post Station is in disrepair, isn't it normal to catch a fire?" β
The tax collector sat and did not speak.
"Besides, the upper side won't let this fire go down." The clerk said in a low voice. "A few people in the Divine Battalion were greeted by the people in the court in advance, otherwise do you think we can instruct the move? Feng nerd loves to point fingers every day. Some people have long been dissatisfied with him. β
The tax collector nodded, looking slightly relaxed.
The clerk smiled lightly and picked up the tea bowl.
"It's the cleanest thing to solve at the station." He said, pausing for a moment and lowering his voice, "That's what the Transit Envoy thinks. β
Transporter Envoy Adult!
The tax collector's eyes widened, and he quickly stretched out his hand to cover his mouth, as if he had just spoken.
"But there are a lot of people living in the inn this time... If the fire burns, it will not be able to be controlled. He whispered.
"That's not a lot of noise, if you want to say that this post station should really be repaired, the top just refuses to allocate money, you have to let us go out, our place is poor like this, where can we afford to repair, I have repeatedly told the top that something will happen sooner or later, sooner or later, something will happen now, wait for it, the impeachment of the imperial history will be on to see if they give money." The clerk snorted.
The tax collectors smacked their lips as if what they said was not the same thing...
"Hurry up, now the second half of the night is the most sleepy time for people, the most likely lamp oil fire, while the sky is not yet bright, it is easy to do things." The clerk said, a little impatient finger tapping on a few cases.
The tax collector gritted his teeth and slapped his leg.
"Okay, that's it." He stood up and gritted his teeth fiercely, "It's not that we have a grudge against him, who let him be unlucky enough to take this errand, if you want to blame it, it's not good to blame your fate." β
While standing up.
"I'll watch it myself, lest anything go wrong."
The clerk nodded, and thought of what to stop him.
"It's all been checked out in the inn, and there are no important people staying today, right?" He asked.
"No, it's all clear, it's mostly the people, and then there are a few eunuchs who don't enter the stream, don't worry." The tax collector said.
The clerk nodded, and watched as the tax collector lifted his feet and went out.
In the deep night, there seemed to be footsteps scattered away.
The night was dark, and the hustle and bustle of the post station finally fell silent.
Cheng Jianniang's tent outside the post station also quieted down after Wang Qilang's commotion.
Banqin looked at Cheng Jianniang, who had closed her eyes and fell asleep on the bed, and breathed a sigh of relief, and carefully turned around and lay down on the felt mat, and when she lay down, she saw the bow and arrow on the grating table next to Cheng Jianniang's bed.
Even on the way, the lady's habits did not change, practicing calligraphy, reading, and practicing bows and arrows.
Banqin smiled slightly, lay down and closed her eyes.
The sound of low footsteps sounded in the backyard of the inn, but it disappeared into the darkness.
The lights were on in the firewood room, and through the panes, you could see five men with wounded faces lying in the interior of the room, and two guards standing at the door, rubbing their eyes and yawning.
"What time is it, why haven't the shift changes come yet?" said one.
"I've overslept," said the other, leaning lazily against the wall, and halfway through his words, the man slammed into his feet and slipped down against the wall.
The person on the other side saw the joy.
"You kid is trapped like this, you can't stand up in battle...", he laughed, and his voice didn't fall. There was a soft pop in my ears. His eyes widened. Reaching out to cover his throat, blood gushing from between his hands.
"Yes..."
The last sound came out, and the person fell straight down.
The sound of landing woke up the five people on the ground, and they looked at the guards who "fell asleep" on the ground with some blankness.
The door was pushed open.
"Wang Da!" The little official suddenly shouted in surprise.
The tax collector shushed at him.
"I want to die." He glared and whispered.
Two more people came in behind him, helping to wake up the people on the ground and untie them.
"Wang Da, I know that you won't leave me alone." The little official said with tears of joy.
The tax collector snorted.
"It's not going to happen." He said, waving his head, "Can you still go?" Come on. β
Although they were beaten and hurt all over their bodies, they still had the strength to flee for their lives. Several people helped each other out of the house.
"Wang Da, that's it? That's how we ran away, and there was no hope for our future fortune and livelihood..."The little official thought of something, and whispered with a little impatience.
People are like this, they have to look at Shu, they are content as long as they keep their lives for a moment, but when they keep their lives, they want to keep their glory and wealth.
"Don't worry." The tax collector snorted, taking something out of his sleeve.
Under the faint light, the little official who saw this thing clearly stared wide-eyed.
"Fire twister!" He shouted under his breath. Look at the other two, with gourds hanging from their waists. Standing close to the night wind, the smell of vegetable oil spread, and he couldn't help but knock his teeth, "This is... It's..."
"Let's go." The tax collector glared at him and whispered, "You want to be buried with you, too." β
The little official came back to his senses and didn't dare to say more, so he hurriedly walked out.
The tax collector waved his hand, and the two men walked along the corner of the wall towards the upper room.
The lights in the post station have been extinguished by them with stones in advance, and the black one covers the figure of the six people walking out, and the moment they step out of the post station, the fire rises behind them.
"It's on fire!"
There was no shouting inside the inn, but a shout came from outside the inn, startling the six people, and when they looked up, they saw the four people standing vigil by the campfire in the camp tent not far away.
With their shouts, the people in the post station also found out, and suddenly the shouts and cries were mixed.
The night wind was fierce and the fire was raging.
Steward Cao and the others had already woken up, and they were all shocked when they saw this scene.
"Hurry up and put out the fire!"
Everyone rushed over.
"Go to ten people, and leave the rest to guard the camp." Steward Cao commanded loudly.
Someone rushed over with pots and other things that had not yet been put away.
The post station has been turned over on its back,
Looking at the fire, the original fear and timidity were swept away, replaced by joy.
It's not that easy to want my net worth to die!
The little official looked back at the post station proudly, and the firelight became brighter and brighter, gradually illuminating their stealth place.
"You find a place to hide." The tax collector whispered, and as he raised his feet to leave, he saw the little official looking out again.
"Damn, it's that stinky bitch who spoils our good deeds, and we get beaten!" The little official said hatefully.
Looking at the direction he was looking, the tax collector also looked over, and the firefighters in the camp tent ran out of the tent several times, and the rest were all standing by the camp tent, pointing at the post station with a shocked expression.
Two women also walked out of one of the tents.
"It's just that they are fighting and ruining our business?" He asked.
The clerk nodded.
"And beat them up." He said, glancing back at the four soldiers.
The four soldiers also nodded.
"Wang Da, give me a fire twister...", the little official said suddenly, and stretched out his hand.
"What for?" The tax collector said, "Hide quickly, and you will come out after the burning." β
"I'll set a fire first and make them hot too." The little official said.
I really should teach these few people who don't know what to do or bad to do.
The tax collector hesitated and handed him the fire twist in his hand, and untied the oil pot.
At this time, the outsiders of the post station ran around and mingled, and the little official was not afraid of being seen, so he grabbed the fire twist with one hand and the oil pot with the other hand and ran towards the camp in the crowd.
"....what's going on? What's going on? Wang Qilang put on a cloak, his hair was scattered, and he looked at the post station with a surprised expression, while shouting non-stop, "Why is it so on fire!" β
No one answered him, for there were so many people who came running, and his attendants were busy guarding their tents to prevent them from rushing over.
The only old servant accompanied Wang Qishilang, and Banqin accompanied Cheng Jianniang to stand outside the camp tent and watch the fire.
Compared with Wang Qilang's surprise, the old servant was full of horror. He looked at the fire. looked at Cheng Jianniang again.
It's really dangerous...
This is a clever prophet!
How is this possible? Is it a coincidence?
Suddenly, his eyes widened. I saw this little lady wrapped in a big cloak suddenly lift her shirt and lift up something in her hand.
It turned out to be... Bow and arrow!
What is she going to do?
At the same time as he looked over, the lady had already drawn her bow and arrows, and with a buzz, the long arrow left the string and went straight in one direction.
At the same time, the little official who had mixed into the crowd and ran close had already shaken the fire twist in his hand with excitement, and the oil pot in his other hand also made a throwing motion.
Go to hell...
At that moment, an arrow flew with a whistling and pierced the throat of the little official.
It didn't even feel like the little official was dead. The man also fell on his back, and the twist of fire that had been burning with the shaking fell on his body, and the oil pot in his hand also fell on him.
With a bang, a fire suddenly erupted in the crowd.
The running crowd suddenly burst into chaos.
What's going on? What's going on?
Everyone was stunned, the post station caught fire, can the people outside the post station spontaneously combust?
The tax collector and the four guards standing in the shadows also froze.
Accidentally dropped the twister and oil pot on yourself?
The tax collector's first thought came to his mind, but no, how come people didn't struggle?
If it is a miss, people will definitely scream and tumble to extinguish the fire, how can they not move?
Not good! It was already dead before the fire!
He immediately reacted and looked at the tent over there. A few feet away, the bright arrows in the night fire were already aimed at him.
"Come here!"
A shrill female voice came in the night wind.
It's the sound that makes everyone around look at it. Wang Qilang's eyes widened.
What is this woman doing with a bow and arrows? Extinguishing the fire?
Who did she ask to come over?
He looked in the direction the bow and arrows were pointing.
Under the red night sky, there were five people standing in a corner of the inn, and one of the men also looked at him in amazement.
"Disobedient!" Cheng Jianniang said and let go of her hand.
The tax collector could not see any way around, but saw the arrow, glowing with fire, drawing nearer and nearer, behind which the night wind blew the petite woman's cloak and raised a shadow, like a bat with wings spread.
What's going on?
It was the last thought of the tax collector, and the arrow passed through his jaw and struck him in his throat, and without even a scream, the whole man fell backwards and fell to the ground, fluttering twice.
Looking at the people who died in front of them, the four guards finally came back to their senses, and several large men let out screams comparable to those of women.
Kill!
Kill!
The people around finally reacted, and suddenly became even more confused.
Kill! Kill!
Wang Qilang's gaze kept following the arrow, and through the light of the fire, he could clearly see how a person died in front of him in a blink of an eye.
This is the first time he's seen killing someone when he's grown up!
And it's a woman who kills!
And this woman is still his fiancΓ©e!
He turned his head to look at his fiancΓ©e in a stupid manner....
Cheng Jianniang was still holding a bow in her hand, and she was pulling out an arrow from her waist behind her and aiming it at the screaming guards over there.
"Come here!" She spat out a few words again.
It was impossible for the guards over there to hear it in the noise, but Wang Qilang could hear it clearly.
Come here...
Disobedient ...
Just die...
If you don't obey, you die...
Wang Qilang swallowed his saliva.
"Murder!"
He screamed and fainted on his back, away from the noise and silence.
Although the old servant did not faint, he was already stupid.
"Where is Cai Wenji..."He muttered, "This is obviously Xun Guan..."
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Note 1: Cai Wenji listened to her father play the broken strings when she was six years old, and she could accurately tell which strings it was.
Note 2: Xun Guan, female, from the Western Jin Dynasty, led a small number of skilled soldiers to break through the besieged city at the age of thirteen, and invited reinforcements for his father to relieve the siege of Xiangyang.
PS: Two chapters in one, it's not pleasant to look at it when it's disconnected. (To be continued......)