The hustle and bustle of the Yangzhou Shangyuan Festival is still continuing, and from time to time there will be faint music from the river, floating into the brightly lit Liu Dexiu mansion.

The burning torches made a slight crackling sound, and the solemn and solemn criminal department arrested Kuai and others, and the front door and backyard had been tightly surrounded, prohibiting anyone from entering and leaving, and the entire Liu Mansion did not have the festive atmosphere of the Shangyuan Festival at all, but seemed a little nervous and solemn.

In the front hall of the inner courtyard, it is even brighter and brighter than day, and from time to time you can see from each room, in and out of the search, fast catching fast rushing back and forth.

Liu Dexiu's wife Huang, and the two concubines next to her, were nervously watching everything that was happening in front of them, the eldest son Liu Minxing, the second son Liu Minxue, the third son Liu Minwen and their respective wives were also among them.

Liu Minxing, who was sentenced to Chenzhou and the governor of the Criminal Prison Department on Jinghu South Road, rushed over to reunite with his parents on the Yuan Day, and planned to go back after the Shangyuan Festival, but he never thought that on the day of the Shangyuan Festival, he met Qian Xiangzu, the secretary of the Criminal Department, and led people to run an errand.

The two of them almost followed the Shangshu of the Criminal Department into the mansion with the arrest, and finally understood why their father Liu Dexiu had been gloomy for the past few days, worried and sighing from time to time.

Liu Minxing and Liu Minxue glanced at each other, as the eldest and second sons in the family, when their father was away, they should naturally stand up, not to mention, in their hearts, their father had never done anything to violate the laws of the court.

Liu Minxue, who was the governor of the prison, finally couldn't hold back the curiosity in his heart, and when a catcher was patrolling the hall, he stepped forward and saluted: "Xiaguan is Liu Minxue, the governor of the Criminal Prison Department on Jinghu South Road, may I ask my lord, I don't know why I came to Xiaguan's father's house today?" ”

Quickly stopped what he was doing, swept over the people in the hall, and swept his eyes in front of several women, only to see that behind those women, two pairs of bright little eyes were secretly looking at them from the cracks.

Liu Minxue looked behind him with a quick gaze, then turned his head and looked at his brother's two sons, who were quietly poking their heads out from behind his sister-in-law at the moment and looking at them.

I couldn't help but sigh and said, "Please take a step to speak." ”

"No need."

Just as he was about to follow Liu Minxue to the side, he heard a slightly gloomy voice suddenly coming from outside the door.

Then, I saw a middle-aged man who was full of wealth, with a strong momentum and a gloomy face, and behind this person, followed by a middle-aged man and a young man in his thirties.

Looking at the bearing of these three people, Liu Minxing, Liu Minxue, and Liu Minwen, who were in the officialdom, were naturally keenly aware of it in an instant, and the three people in front of them who walked into the hall were probably all important figures on Huainan East Road or Lin'an Chaotang.

So without waiting for Zhao Ruyu to speak again, the three brothers lined up in a row and saluted: "Liu Minxing, the general sentence of Chenzhou, Liu Minxue, the governor of the Criminal Prison Department of Jinghu South Road, and Liu Minwen, the undertaker of Dali Temple, have seen three adults. ”

Ye Qing, who was standing behind Zhao Ruyu, nodded before Zhao Ruyu, and said hello, and then waved his hand, signaling the catchers in the hall to go out first.

Ye Qing's actions made Zhao Ruyu somewhat dissatisfied, after all, although he was on an errand on Huainan East Road, it was not Ye Qing who should avoid suspicion, even if he didn't avoid suspicion, shouldn't he also give his own order to let the catchers who came with him go out quickly!

Looking at those catchers, after Ye Qing waved his hand silently, he quickly retreated, Zhao Ruyu couldn't help but glance at Ye Qing coldly, expressing his dissatisfaction.

And Ye Qing didn't seem to see it, his eyes kept sweeping around the room, and when he saw the good-looking woman not far behind Liu Minxing, trying her best to hide the two little guys behind her, she couldn't help but smile casually, ignoring Zhao Ruyu who started coughing next to her, and said with a smile: "Let the lady go down first, find a quiet and comfortable room to rest for a while." If Mrs. Liu didn't want to, she could have stayed here. ”

"Xiangzu, you can arrange this matter." Zhao Ruyu finally spoke, and Ye Qing's series of actions made him a little worried, whether this thing was playing any ghost again, otherwise how could he be so tolerant of Liu Dexiu's family.

And Liu Minxing and the others, when they heard Zhao Ruyu call the Shangshu of the Criminal Department who had just met with them as Xiangzu, their hearts were instantly shocked, and their expressions became more respectful than just now, and they wanted to salute and ask again, but Zhao Ruyu obviously didn't give them this opportunity.

Ye Qing has been smiling casually, even if Zhao Ruyu arranged for Qian Xiangzu to settle those female dependents, Ye Qing still had a natural complexion, looked sideways at several female dependents, held the hands of the two children, and looked at Liu Minxing and the others nodded slightly in agreement, and then walked out quickly.

The two concubines next to Mrs. Liu were also pushed out by the Huang family, and followed their daughters-in-law to the outside of the hall.

It's as if a few days ago, the mansion that was still full of their laughter and laughter with each other was wiped out all of a sudden, and they also changed from their masters to prisoners in an instant.

A sad feeling instantly emerged from their hearts, and the tears in the corners of their eyes also flowed out slowly and silently under the illumination of the lights, dazed and even a little numb, under the supervision of several arresters explained by the criminal department, they walked to the side room.

Able to instruct the criminal department at will, as soon as he came in, his face was gloomy, his body exuded a strong majestic momentum, and he ignored the three brothers, Zhao Ruyu's identity, although the three brothers could not accurately guess for a while, but they also vaguely knew that this person must be in a high position in the court.

As for the rather young man with an easy-going smile on his face, the three brothers couldn't guess in their hearts for a moment what this young man was about, why he dared to ignore the feelings of the senior member of the court, and even dared to send the female dependents out as soon as he entered.

"Where did Liu Dexiu go? As court officials, don't you know that you cover up the sins of others? Liu Dexiu looked at the three brothers coldly and asked.

And the Huang family, who had been sitting on the side, looked at Ye Qing, who was wandering around the hall at will, and the words of the eldest son Liu Minxing also sounded in his ears at this time: "Xiaguan...... I don't know where my father went, but the officials dared to ask the adults, what crime did my father commit? ”

"...... you haven't dared to ask your adult yet?" The second son, Liu Minxue, gritted his teeth, and finally made up his mind to ask Zhao Ruyu's identity first.

"This is my Lord Zhao, the right minister of the Great Song Dynasty. Therefore, if you know Ling Zun's whereabouts, tell Lord Zhao immediately, if you conceal it, it is a serious crime. Qian Xiangzu, who had finished explaining the quick catch, stood behind Zhao Ruyu and explained to the three brothers.

Seeing that the three brothers heard Zhao Ruyu's name this time, they saluted again with a nervous look in shock, Zhao Ruyu's heart was slightly proud, the dispatch of the right minister was already like this, if he was the left minister, wouldn't his prestige be even better.

"Where did Liu Dexiu go? Even if you don't think about your career, you should think about your father, although greedy ink is a felony, but if he is willing to cooperate, he can be dealt with lightly. But if you don't say it, it will not only harm Ling Zun, but also ruin the good career of the three of you. Liu Dexiu looked at the three brothers in front of him and said.

The three brothers shook their heads silently, because they really didn't know where their father had gone, after all, when they had dinner, although they could see that their father had something on their mind, they didn't think it would be such a serious matter.

"My lord, the lower officials really don't know." Liu Minxing said solemnly.

"My lord said that my father was greedy for ink, but I don't know if my lord has any evidence?" Liu Minxue, the second son who is still quite strong, asked, although he was facing the imposing Zhao Xiang, his tone was trembling a little, but obviously, Liu Minxue, who was the governor of the prison, also knew that it was natural to have conclusive evidence to take people.

Ye Qing on the side glanced at Liu Minxue with interest, and he didn't know if this was a coincidence or tradition, in short, it seemed that in a family with many brothers and sisters, as the second son, his temper and personality were always stronger than that of the eldest or the third or fourth child.

At this time, Zhao Ruyu, whose face was still gloomy, just snorted coldly in the face of Liu Minxue's question: "If there is no evidence, how can the prime minister come to take people in person?" Do you suspect that King Qing planted the blame for your father? ”

The three brothers instantly became ossified, they obviously didn't expect that their father's matter would even involve the royal family, and it was King Qing who personally impeached his father for embezzling ink!

The three brothers couldn't help but look back at their mother at the same time, and at the burden on their mother's hand, could it be that the mother was also planning to ...... with the father Left quietly, only to be abandoned by his father in the end?

The three of them did not really realize the seriousness of the matter until this time, as well as the irresistibility, the appearance of the criminal department Shangshu has made them break out in a cold sweat, and the arrival of today's right minister has made them stand on end in an instant, and now King Qing personally impeached his father, which made them instantly feel like falling into an ice cave, and they felt shuddered.

"Since you don't want to say it, then don't blame yourself for being ruthless." Zhao Ruyu had a gloomy face, looked at the three brothers who were dazed and frightened, and the Huang family who was sitting on the chair with a calm expression and even a calm smile, and snorted coldly: "Someone is coming, all of them will be arrested and interrogated in the prison!" ”

"Lord Zhao......."

"Lord Ye......."

The three brothers shouted in unison with their mother, but the three brothers shouted at Zhao Ruyu, while their mother got up from the chair and looked at the young man next to her and shouted.

The three brothers listened to their mother shouting Lord Ye, and then immediately set their eyes on the Huang family at the same time, and then followed the Huang family's gaze and cast on Ye Qing's body together.

Coupled with the gazes of Zhao Ruyu and Qian Xiangzu, at this time, all six pairs of eyes gathered on Ye Qing's body.

"Lord Ye?" The three brothers almost couldn't believe that the young man in front of them, who ignored Zhao Ruyu's face and let their wife and son go to other rooms as soon as they came in, turned out to be the appeasement envoy of Huainan East Road! Their father's top boss, Ye Qing!

What made them even more unexpected, shocked to the point that their scalp was numb, the Lord Ye in front of them seemed to be just the same age as them, but now, he had a pivotal position in the imperial court, and his identity and status were no less than that of the court members of the right minister Zhao Ruyu.

"Mrs. Liu, please speak." Ye Qing put down the Poli products he was playing with in his hand and said with an easy-going smile.

"Lord Ye, can you ask Lord Ye to let the three of them go? They really don't know about Zhonghong, they are innocent, they must not go to prison, once they enter the prison, their career will be ruined, our Liu family will be completely ruined, leaving orphans and widows, how can you let them live in the future. Lord Ye, how about the old man apologize for Zhong Hong's death for his crimes? I just beg Lord Ye to let them and their wives and children go, they are innocent. Huang looked at Ye Qing, trembling and choking and said.

"What did Lord Liu say before?" Ye Qing smiled at the Huang clan and nodded, before asking.

Yes, he asked the old man to escape from the backyard with him after nightfall, but when the old man was taken to the backyard by his subordinates, the courtyard door was ajar, but Zhong Hong was no longer there. You see, this is the burden that the old body has prepared for a long time, and he plans to leave them behind and escape with Zhong Hong quietly. Huang picked up the burden next to him, shook his hand and said to Ye Qing.

There weren't many taels of silver in it, except for a trace of clothing, just some broken silver and a few worthless jewelry.

"In this way, Lord Liu knew about the incident at the east window, so he can be regarded as absconding in fear of crime?" Ye Qing continued to ask with an easy-going smile.

The Huang family had not yet answered Ye Qing's words, and he couldn't stand it anymore, Zhao Ruyu, who was full of anger in his chest, looked at Ye Qing coldly and said, "Ye Qing, what do you mean?" This matter should be done by someone from me, Zhao. ”

"I didn't stop you from running errands, did I? Besides, I didn't cover them up, I just asked you some questions for the truth. Ye Qing was still smiling, looked at Zhao Ruyu and replied.

Zhao Ruyu's mood at this time is clearer than anyone else, once Liu Dexiu runs away without a trace, for Zhao Ruyu, it is like stealing a chicken and not losing a handful of rice, or even more than this, which makes Liu Dexiu feel aggrieved.

After such a long time, it is impossible for Han Cheng, who is in Lin'an, to not know where Zhao Ruyu went, and naturally, it is impossible not to know what Zhao Ruyu went to Yangzhou for.

And even if he really doesn't know, the news is blocked, Ye Qing will find a way to let Han Cheng know that Zhao Ruyu went to Yangzhou to punish Liu Dexiu.

Therefore, in this way, it is equivalent to the moment Zhao Ruyu set off from Lin'an, even if he was a bow and arrow, it was clear that the carriage and horse artillery were going to have a grudge with Han Cheng.

But now, after Zhao Ruyu arrived in Yangzhou, he suddenly found that the chess pieces that could suppress Han Cheng were gone and fled! As the saying goes, there is no turning back when the bow is opened, and there are fewer chess pieces that can suppress Han Cheng, and the relationship between him and Han Cheng can no longer be reconciled, Zhao Ruyu is tantamount to working in vain from beginning to end, and there is one more political enemy of the court for no reason, and other officials above the court have picked up a big bargain in vain, and they can also make a stalk and profit from it.

Obviously, Zhao Ruyu doesn't want his trip to Yangzhou to outweigh the losses, so the best way is to arrest the Huang family in front of him and Liu Dexiu's three sons, if he can force Liu Dexiu's whereabouts to be asked, but if he can't ask it, it is good to do some perjury on the three of them from now on, or to frame the blame, in short, he must not tolerate his trip to Yangzhou in vain, and finally formed an irreconcilable grudge with Han Cheng, and let Ye Qing look at his jokes.

Zhao Ruyu swept over everyone with a gloomy expression, and after weighing the pros and cons in his heart, as well as the possibility of Ye Qing interfering in this matter, he still said with a heart: "Come on, take down all Liu Dexiu's family and bring them back to the prison to interrogate Liu Dexiu's whereabouts." ”

"Lord Ye......." The Huang family seemed to not care about Zhao Ruyu's majesty and power at all, and only Ye Qing could be a lifesaver for her whole family in her eyes, poof, under the gaze of the three sons, the Huang family knelt down on Ye Qing and said: "Lord Ye, please, they are really innocent, they don't know anything about Zhonghong, please open up and spare their ......." ”

"Mrs. Liu got up to speak first, you just tortured me like this." Ye Qing stepped forward and hurriedly helped Huang up.

And the three Liu brothers in front of them, watching Ye Qing help their mother up, stopped one by one, and didn't dare to step forward to help their mother again.

"Ye Qing......." Zhao Ruyu shouted angrily, and Ye Qing repeatedly stopped himself from taking people, obviously wanting to see his own jokes.

"Lord Zhao doesn't have to be angry, Ye has a way to get the best of both worlds, I don't know ......." Ye Qing helped Huang to sit down on the chair, and then walked up to Zhao Ruyu and said.

"Say." Zhao Ruyu interrupted Ye Qing's words and snorted impatiently.

"What the right minister wants to arrest is Liu Dexiu, and now that Liu Dexiu is gone, the right minister should first send someone to search around in Yangzhou to ......." Ye Qing said lightly.

"I still need you to remind you that I have already sent someone to search in Yangzhou." Zhao Ruyu said coldly, but in fact, he also knew in his heart that as long as Liu Dexiu had the intention to hide, the chance of finding him would be too slim, not to mention that tonight was still the Shangyuan Festival, and the entire Yangzhou City was full of people, where did he go to search for someone who deliberately hid his whereabouts?

And what's even worse is that Liu Dexiu is the prefect of Yangzhou, and he is very familiar with Yangzhou, even if he does not escape from Yangzhou City, but hides in the inner city or the outer city, it is not much different from looking for a needle in a haystack for him Zhao Ruyu.

Thinking of Zhao Ruyu here, he couldn't help but resentful of Ye Qing again, it's okay to build Yangzhou City so big, even if you build it so big, you have also settled so many people who fled from the desert in the north, a huge city with nearly a million people, and it is simply wishful thinking to find someone.

"Since the right minister has thought of it, if the right minister is not enough, Ye is willing to send someone to help search." Glancing at Zhao Ruyu, who raised his eyebrows impatiently, Ye Qing patted Zhao Ruyu on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, listen to me, since Lord Right is just going to ask a few of them, then it is better to ask in this mansion, and send more people outside to guard in case anyone runs away, why do you have to be sent to prison?" What's more, a large number of fleeing people have poured into Yangzhou City, and there are not a few people who pick quarrels and provoke trouble, steal chickens and dogs, and I am afraid that there is no place to detain them in the prison. ”

With Ye Qing's words, Huang's face gradually calmed down, and even the three Liu brothers couldn't help but admire Ye Qing in their hearts, and with a few simple words, Zhao Ruyu's interrogation was changed to questioning, and the prison became a guard in the house.

Liu Dexiu looked at Ye Qing without speaking, and thought in his heart for a while, he also knew that on Ye Qing's territory, it was not his turn to forcibly mess around, in that case, it would only make his trip to Yangzhou even more ridiculous.

The top priority, in addition to finding Liu Dexiu as soon as possible, is to hope that he can find something beneficial to him from this mansion, so as not to let himself fall into greater passivity.

With Zhao Ruyu's acquiescence nodding, the smile on Huang's face became calmer and calmer, and the three Liu brothers were also heavily relieved, and then in front of Zhao Ruyu, they bowed to Ye Qing without any scruples, and thanked the Huang family and their wives and children, including themselves, for appeasing Lord Ye.