Qujiang Pond is located in the south of the city, half of the water surface is contained in the city, the east and north are blocked by the tall city wall, although it is midwinter, but near noon, the water vapor moistens the surface here, there is still a bit of twilight summer taste.

It wasn't they who came to pick lotus tents, there were official wives and concubines who had nothing to do in the city and wanted to find some fun, and there were also ordinary women in plain clothes.

The slave rowed the boat and carried them into the deep bushes of the remnants, so that Madame Lu and Yahuan could reach them as soon as they stretched out their hands.

As soon as I picked for a while, I saw another boat, and there were seven or eight people on board, driving the others away in a loud voice, "This is the official ship of the Shangshi Bureau, Li Zhanggu was ordered to collect the official ship, and no one left as soon as possible!" ”。

People rowed their boats to avoid it, but Lu's boat had already sailed too deep.

By the time the servant struggled to turn around on the lotus-lined water and row back, the big boat of the Shang Shi Bureau had already turned sideways, and the bow of the boat was crashing into the Lu family's small boat.

Several people on the small boat fell into the cabin at once, and a slave fell to his hip, got up and scolded, "A broken palm, but a seventh-rank outsider, how can it be such a big man." ”

Zhanggu, surnamed Li on the big boat, heard it, looked under the boat, and knew that he had bumped into someone who knew the market, so he rushed down and arched his hand and said, "I'm sorry, I don't know which adult's boat it is?" ”

The Lu clan also flashed his waist in the collision just now, and at this time, he was letting Yahuan rub it there, only to hear his servant say in a loud voice, "Jiang'an Wangfu, have you heard of it?" ”

Li Zhanggu hurriedly apologized, "Oh, it turned out to be from the prince's mansion, disrespectful, I don't know if Mrs. Zun was injured, do you want to find a doctor, Xia Guan still knows a few good doctors." ”

The servant pouted and said, "Don't bother Lord Li, my Mrs. Lu wants to see a doctor, and the imperial doctor can also summon it, and I still need you!" ”

Another servant said, "Don't be verbose with him!" Our ship has been wrecked, and Madame has flashed her back, and you let him weigh up how much he will pay us!" ”

Zhanggu is just a low-level foreign official, who only does some business of purchasing and buying on a daily basis, and his actual power is limited, and he can manage a few forced laborers who are following him today.

He can't get over a year's money, if he really wants to provoke the Jiang'an Palace, how much money will he have to pay? This is still a trivial matter, even if you don't downgrade after you go back, you will inevitably be severely reprimanded by your boss.

He shook his head again and again, and said with a red face, "Don't be angry with the brothers, the lower officials still see that the body of the lady is important, see how much the lady needs to see a doctor, and the villain will always make quick plans." But right now, the bureau is waiting to make lotus seeds, and Ouchi also asked for it, so it's not good to delay......"

The servant said, "I won't ask you much...... Just 300 dollars, and we're gone! ”

Zhanggu was stunned for a moment, three hundred, not to mention that it is not enough for these people on the ship to get together at this time, and the family is enough to have it.

He said, "That'...... I also have to see a doctor and see what I need before deciding! ”

The servant said, "Lord Zhanggu, your ship is wide and managed, and my wife is serving a doctor, and you still need to worry about it?" If you don't hand over the big money right away, we won't leave, just don't pick anyone! ”

The Lu family was fine, and stopped, "Hou San, don't embarrass the official ship, Lord Li is a businessman." It's just that I was hit by him, and I can't pick the lotus tent anymore, so you just ask Master Li to give some lotus tents from their boat, so as not to delay the prince's consumption. ”

The servant said, "Madame, it will be cheaper for you, don't move down quickly." ”

Zhanggu thanked him repeatedly, and had to instruct his subordinates to carry the lotus canopy that he had just picked up on the boat, and the small boat was soon loaded with a lot.

Although I have to pick the lotus canopy here again, it's nothing, just do more. Finally, there is no need to pay 300 hanging money, and today's matter has been resolved, Li Zhanggu is relieved, and there are more words,

"Forgive the villain's clumsiness, during the Chang'an horse race in August, the villain saw the princess once, Princess Jiang'an is surnamed Feng, and her age and appearance should not be like this, I don't know ...... this Mrs. Lu on the ship."

The servant said, "I haven't finished speaking, on the boat is the wife of Lord Ma of the Jiang'an Palace!" ”

Li Zhanggu stood on the big boat, listened to him, and sneered, "Which one should I be, it turned out to be you, not waiting for the official at home, but running to Qujiangchi to swagger." ”

The servant said, "Why, can't the palace ride Cao join the army to scare you?" Joining the army is the seventh grade, and the straight length of the Shangshi Bureau is just a positive seventh grade! You dare to have such a big breath in your palm, be careful that my master Ma says something in front of the prince, so that he can no longer be straight. ”

Li Zhanggu shot back contemptuously, "Our Shangshi Bureau is a small yamen, and it is not as good as the palace that you Lord Ma serves. It's just that our Shangshi Bureau is straight and long, down to the palm, but none of them are self-stolen goods! ”

When Lu Shi heard this, his face suddenly changed and said, "What do you dare to say?!" ”

Zhanggu said, "What do you say?!" I said that the old case surnamed Ma has recurred, and the official list has been posted! He stole and exchanged foreign tributes during his post as a guest of Hongludian, which caused a bad damage to the national character and a misunderstanding of the Tibetan department, which almost led to the border soldiers in the midwinter season, and he has now been reduced from his post and detained. ”

"You're a rumor! Aren't you afraid that the prince will investigate you for the crime of slandering the prince? Lu Shi asked sharply.

Zhanggu snorted, "Madam, don't think about it, Ma Xun's crime is His Majesty's personal hook, how dare Prince Jiang'an take care of it?" ”

Lu Shi didn't care about the back pain, and suddenly sat down in the cabin of the small boat.

Zhanggu said, "According to the "Theft of the Treasury" in the "Stable and Treasury Law", "Those who steal the national treasury and the value of the dirty goods is worth more than 50 horses of silk will be sentenced to servitude and removed from the ......"

Lu Shi's face was pale, and his lips trembled, "Oh my God! ”

Only then did she realize that she hadn't seen Ma Wei since yesterday evening.

It's not because she's careless, but Li Yuanxiang has to come to the house from time to time, sometimes in the middle of the night, and Ma Xun, the top tank, has to avoid it overnight.

Zhanggu said, "Those who are worth more than a hundred horses of silk will be hanged!" But it's not good for Ma Xun to steal anything, but he wants to steal the 'Ice Jade Hidden Dragon Bottle'! This thing is worth a lot of money, and I don't know how many hundred horses of silk it can be worth. But he is not a loss, stealing so much, one hanging is enough. ”

The other party said it conclusively, and besides, the little palm Gu is not alarmist, and from his attitude of being respectful, the Lu family should also know everything.

Her heart was messy, like she was in a storm.

Ice Jade Hidden Dragon Bottle, she has indeed seen this thing, and she no longer believes that this is Ma Wei's "ancestral thing".

She no longer thinks about Ma Yun at this time, but thinks about what this matter means to herself, she doesn't have the surname Ma, but she still has the surname Li! I don't think it's going to be a big deal.

Zhanggu shouted, "Come on, bring back all the lotus tents sent down to this official!" ”

The people on the big boat immediately jumped down and moved, and the slave brought by the Lu clan just said, "You can't all move away, and we picked it ourselves," and was immediately beaten with a big mouth,

"What is yours? Even your Mrs. Lu will be everyone's in the future, if she has some eyes at this time, maybe our Li Zhanggu will go to Yichun Courtyard to cheer her up! ”

Yichun Courtyard specializes in taking in the wives and concubines of criminal officials, serving as official prostitutes, although Li Zhanggu is a foreign official, he is also an official, of course he can also go.

Lu Shi was dumbfounded, watching the other party move his own boat empty in the blink of an eye, and even the lotus tent that he had picked was not left. Then he let the four servants scramble and sail away from the boat amid the laughter of the people.

She came out by coincidence, and just arrived at Qujiangchi, and Yao Congming, the head catcher of Wannian County, arrived with an official errand. As soon as they came ashore, they were locked up by Yao Congming.

Yao Zhu smiled and pinched Lu's face, "Hehe, it looks pretty good, but you remember, Uncle will go to Yichun Courtyard soon, and I won't forget you then." ”

Lu Shi struggled, "You can't lock me!" I want to see Prince Jiang'an! Take me there! ”

Yao Congming sneered, "Do you think that this head catcher is also like Ma Xun, who does things without care!" I have been to the palace once before I came here, and Princess Jiang'an has something to say, the prince will not meet you! ”

Lu Shi was locked away, crying and crying, "That...... Then I want to see Shang Shuling. ”

Yao Congming shouted to stop and asked her, "Shang Shuling...... Even my eldest brother can't be easily seen, what more are you? Do you know where the door of Shang Shuling's mansion is opened, and which is the chief butler? At this point, I'm afraid you won't even be able to reach the top of his feet. ”

Lu Shi said continuously, "Why don't I know? The housekeeper is Gao Bai, his eldest wife Ju'er, and his second lady Xuelian, both of whom went to see me when they were in Meridianyu! As long as the headhunter spreads the word, there is always your benefit. ”

The head catcher said, "Then you must also go to the class room first, and I have always been a warm-hearted person, regardless of Ma Xun's unforgivable crime of being a giant thief, I will go to the executive's house to run for you." ”

……

Beijing officials committed crimes, detention, interrogation, and judgment are all in Dali Temple, and after the Dali Temple is sentenced, it will be handed over to the Criminal Department for examination and approval, and finally His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Bi will personally hook it, and it can be executed.

As a prisoner, the Lu family should be detained in the Wannian County Prison, which is the reason why Ma Xun never met the Lu family when he was dying.

The death penalty is not decided between the beginning of spring and the autumn equinox, but it is November now, and the autumn equinox has passed early, and the verdict and decision in Ma Xun's case are unusually fast.

A group of tiger and wolf servants came in with a noose, performed the necessary formalities, verified their bodies, and put the rope around Ma Xun's neck, while the two of them held one end of the rope and asked him if he had anything to say.

Ma Xun was disillusioned at this time, and even the Lu family didn't think about it anymore.

He was originally a county magistrate in Duwei County, with a wife and children, and he was above 10,000 people under one person in the county. can have today, but when I think about it, it is because of the high trial line.

Without the high trial, he would not be able to make a county order, nor would he go to Wulongdu, nor would he be exiled to Yazhou to meet Lord Chu, nor would he go to Chang'an to be a pawn, and of course he would not be able to see the ice jade hidden dragon bottle, and there would be no ending today.

But if there is no Lu Shi in the middle, Ma Xun believes that with his own ability, it is not impossible to make Gao Xianxing as docile as a cat.

Then his death really has a great deal to do with this Lu family, woe water, woe water!

Ma Xun was afraid of death, knelt on the ground, pale face, and grabbed the ends of the noose wrapped around his neck with two hands, for fear that the official would exert himself.

He looked around the cell with great nostalgia, and saw that the wooden pillars and chains were also very kind.

At this time, his whole body was weak, even if he was kneeling, his thigh bones were trembling suddenly, and he said, "Grandfathers, I beg you, don't be soft for a while, give me a happy one, it's very uncomfortable to be strangled." After I die, I want to go back to Duwei, it's good to be there. ”

A messenger muttered, "Brothers, look at it, this is the dignified Jiang'an Wangfu riding Cao to join the army, how invincible he is in front of people, how groveling he is in front of people, think about his virtue in front of the prince!" ”

The messenger said, "Don't be wordy! Deal with him, I invite the brothers to drink and suppress the shock! ”

The four of them exerted force at the same time, slowly, Ma Xun was in great pain, the green tendons on his forehead were exposed, his legs were kicked on the ground, and his tongue was spit out.

But one of the people over there first let go, threw his hand and said, "Damn! Last night, the mother-in-law at home didn't know what to eat, and the wave was so strong that my hands were weak at this time! ”

Ma Xun got his kung fu, lay on the ground, gasping and coughing loudly.

The messenger urged, "Don't be wordy! I forgot what Master Ma just told you! ”

……

And Lu Shi was in the women's prison in Wannian County at this time, she didn't eat, drink, cry or make trouble.

Ma Xun's eldest wife, Wang, was also detained here, and the steward of Yichun Courtyard brought two mothers-in-law over and routinely asked them their names, ages, places of origin, and the names of their husbands.

Lu, like Wang, replied mechanically one by one, but she did not raise the name of the judge.

A mother-in-law stepped forward and pinched Lu's waist and chest, asking her to stand up and turn around and lift her legs, and she did so one by one. Another mother-in-law held a white wooden board and ordered, "Open your mouth!" ”

Lu Shi opened her mouth, and the white plank was flicked up and down in her mouth, and the mother-in-law looked inside at her throat and teeth, and then pulled the board away.

Maybe tomorrow, she will go to Yichun Courtyard, go to that place, wait for any of them to find fresh eunuchs in the capital, of course, including Li Zhanggu of the Shangshi Bureau and Yao Congming, the head catcher of Wannian County.

And what Lu Shi is afraid of is not this, but that she is destined to be old and decrepit one day, and will be sent to do rough work such as washing and dressing.

But she is unusually calm, as long as Yao Zhutou is willing to go to Yongningfang Gaofu, she believes that Gaofu will always come to someone. She also believes that Yao Congming will not let go of this opportunity to go to Gaofu to show up.

Sure enough, in the evening of that day, a jailer led her out of the cell and into a well-guarded room, and the dignified housekeeper Gao Bai was only worthy of standing at the door of the house.

Lu guessed that there were Gaofu people with higher status in it. She said in her heart, "This doesn't have to be bothered at all, my aunt hasn't lost to nothing." ”

Sitting inside are Shang Shuling's fifth lady Cui Yan and seventh lady Lirong.

In front of the two of them, there were teapots and tea cups on the table, bubbling with a steaming aroma. The softness and delicacy on the faces of these two men was very different from their own haggardness.

They didn't say they would let them sit, and as soon as the Lu family entered, they sat on the stool in front of them.

The fifth lady Cui Yan looked at the Lu family, it was she who turned the world upside down in the Qianzhou Thorn History Mansion and asked her mother to go to Xizhou. She asked,