In the evening, several officials gathered in the duty room of the Ministry of Officials, all of whom were the main figures in charge of the Beijing Inspection. The person who is the leader is naturally Shangshu Zheng Jizhi, and there are two other squires, as well as Zhao Shimo in the examination of the meritorious service, Xu Shaoji in the left department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and Han Jun in the seal of the South Dao of Zhanghe.

Everyone sat together, and the discussion was nothing more than to take down the officials this time, and the good and the bad will be eliminated, which is inevitable, but if the inferior ones want to continue to mix, they will have to spend more silver. It was not easy for the officials to wait for such an opportunity to make a fortune, and if they didn't make a fortune, they were really sorry for themselves.

Of course, there are some officials, no matter how good or bad you do, whether you give gifts or not, you have to be laid off. That is the Donglin Party. All officials who belong to the Donglin Party, as long as you are below the fifth grade and need Jingcha, I am sorry, I will go home. And belong to the three parties of Qichu and Zhejiang, as long as you are about the same, you will be promoted.

While everyone was busy, an errand officer ran in, "Lord Qiyu, the cabinet has a message." ”

Zheng Jizhi took the order, opened it and looked at it, his face couldn't help but become solemn. This is a piece of music, which was played by Mu Qiyuan, the Duke of Qianguo, who is the descendant of Mu Ying, the founder of the country, hereditary Duke of Qianguo, wearing the seal of General Zhengnan, and serving as the chief military officer Yongzhen Yunnan. This was a great man in the Ming Dynasty. You must know that since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there have been countless big names who have fallen, and only this Mu family has been standing, and they have been in charge of the army for generations, guarding the southwest gateway for the imperial court.

This time, he participated in the governor of Guizhou, the political envoy and the prefect of Tongren, accused of poor governance and dereliction of duty.

Why did he participate in these brothers, Zheng Jizhi knew, the cause was a murder case in Tongren Mansion, but the identity of the deceased was a little special, so there was such a big turmoil.

Mu Qiyuan, the prince of Qianguo, has a daughter named Mu Tianjiao, and Tianjiao's husband is named Xu Tianzhao, who can be regarded as the master of the county. Xu Tianzhao is a talented person, first took the Yunnan Township test to solve the yuan, and later entered the Beijing examination, and also took the seventh place in the second class, and was sent to Guizhou Road to become a famous imperial history. And his Imperial History Mansion is in Tongren. I don't know why, I was poisoned to death for no reason, and after an autopsy, I was poisoned by the Miao people. The Duke of Qianguo was furious because of the death of his son-in-law, and the prefect of Tongren had no way to govern it, and he was derelict in his duties. The latter prefect seemed to have discovered something, and as a result, he was poisoned and died. Then he changed two prefects in a row, but he didn't do it for a long time, and within two months of taking office, he was overthrown by the Minister of Qianguo.

The newly appointed prefect worked for another two months, but he still didn't find any clues, he was also self-aware, and he resigned without waiting for Mu Qiyuan to join him. Unexpectedly, Mu Qiyuan didn't seem to have the surname to continue waiting, and this time he not only participated in the prefect, but also the governor of Guizhou and the political envoy.

In addition to the three of them, Mu Qiyuan also made a request, if the case could not be solved, he would let Guizhou send troops to bring the local Miao people to the pot, and torture them one by one, and the murderer would definitely be found.

This kind of thing, how can the imperial court agree, the Yunnan-Guichuan generation, there are local natives who have nothing to do, and it has only stopped for a few years. The war was fought on food, and after the three major expeditions of Wanli, there was still money in the treasury, as well as the military expenses of the nine sides, which were about to crush the imperial court.

Emperor Wanli read the chapter, directly called Fang Congzhe, scolded the officials of the Ministry of Officials in person, and ordered him to quickly let the officials of the Ministry of Officials be sent to Tongren, solve the case as soon as possible, and give an explanation to the Duke of Qianguo. Fang Congzhe is also a capable minister, and he knows that he can't let Mu Qiyuan go, if he uses swords, the country really can't stand it. So he immediately transferred the twist and turn to Zheng Jizhi, and the following reply was that the Ministry of Officials immediately selected officials to go to Tongren to take up their posts and solve the case within a time limit.

This is a strict order, and it is related to the Duke of Qianguo, Zheng Jizhi knows that he must not be sloppy. At that moment, he circulated the folds and said: "You are the acting Jingcha today, and I think you have seen many officials in the past, do you know who is good at judging cases?" ”

"This ......" several officials all looked at each other, and no one spoke. Although the performance appraisals are all good, the official voice is clear, and he is good at judging cases, most of them are nonsense and results bought with money. Moreover, they also know what positions they will get when they are promoted. The prefect of Tongren is the official position of Zhengwupin, but unfortunately it is in a barren land, and there are more people to deal with than the natives, so it is definitely not a good place to go. And the risk is extremely high, it is estimated that if the case cannot be solved within two months, it will have to end up with the predecessor and be killed by the Minister of Qianguo. How can you send your own cronies there?

Everyone didn't speak, but one of them suddenly said: "Lord Shangshu, I heard that there is a person who is discerning and good at judging strange cases, and he is well received among the people, and this person should also go to Beijing to participate in Jingcha." "This person is Xu Shaoji.

"If there is such a person, do you know his name? What is your current job? Zheng Jizhi hurriedly asked.

"I also heard in the street discussion that this person's surname is Yue Mingsu, and he is the commander of Yangshuo County."

"Yue Su!" As soon as he heard the name Yue Su, Zheng Jizhi immediately remembered the Qipin County Order that broke through the door during the day. Nodding his head, he said, "This person is good, he should be competent." ”

"Your Excellency has also heard of this Yue Su." Xu Shaoji said in surprise.

"I've heard of it, I've seen it." After speaking, Zheng Jizhi took out Yue Su's performance appraisal and talked about the day's events.

After listening to this, everyone nodded, this person is a minister, and it is a pity that he is not the imperial history.

Zheng Jizhi said with a smile: "I originally planned to promote him to be the imperial historian, but now it seems that the only way to do this is to let him be wronged first and go to Tongren to be the prefect." If he really has the ability, when this case is solved, it is not too late to promote him, if he just wastes his fame and is removed by the Minister of Qianguo, he can only blame himself. ”

******************************************************

For the next two days, Yue Su calmly stayed in the Guangxi Hall and waited, believing that he would be treated fairly.

Early that morning, as usual, he got up, washed, and had breakfast. Qing porridge and side dishes, he ate very deliciously, and at this moment, a guy knocked on the door outside, and Yue Su asked him to come in.

"Lord Yue, there are people outside who ask to see him, claiming to be your friend."

"My friend?" Yue Su knew that he didn't have any friends in Yanjing City, so he wondered and asked, "Do you know what his name is?" ”

"That man claimed to be surnamed Li Mingying, and he was a fellow villager of the adult."

As soon as he heard Li Ying's name, Yue Su immediately stood up. At the beginning, the two rescued the children of Shantang together, and later they were in the political envoy's mansion, and the cheating in the township test was discovered, thanks to him for letting his sister come to report the news. I can be the county magistrate, and there are ten ** people who have also helped.

Now that we meet again, how can we not make Yue Su happy. Hurriedly let the guy lead the way and greeted him out. In the hall of the hall, the handsome boy sat on a chair, but his face was haggard, and he didn't seem to have slept well at night. Next to him, standing was still the pretty scholar, and the scholar was like that, and he also had dark circles under his eyes.

"Brother Li, why are you here?" As soon as Yue Su saw Li Qiongying, he walked in front of her in a few steps.

Li Qiongying was yawning, and when she saw Yue Su, she quickly lifted her spirits, got up and said, "Brother Yue, I didn't expect us to meet again, if it weren't for my scholar who met Brother Yue on the street a few days ago, I'm afraid we would have lost the opportunity to meet this time." ”

Yue Su nodded with a smile, and seeing that she looked haggard, he immediately grabbed her hand and said, "Brother Xian, why are you so haggard, is it because you didn't rest well last night." Come, come to my room. ”

At first glance, Yue Su grabbed the palm of her hand, Li Qiongying's body couldn't help but tremble, and her body seemed to be electrocuted. However, Yue Su didn't pay attention and pulled her to his room.

To sit down in the room, it is rare to talk about some farewells, Yue Su told about what he has done in the past year as the commander of Yangshuo County, such as getting rid of the martial arts family and cracking the two cases of Shilitun and Huangming Town.

After Yue Su finished talking about his own affairs, he asked Li Qiongying what she had done in the past year, and asked casually, "Sister Ling is good now, I want to thank her for what happened last time." ”

Li Qiongying snickered in her heart, thinking, "My sister is me, if you want to thank me, thank me." He didn't tell Yue Su truthfully about being locked up at home by his father for the past year, he was running the train with his mouth full.

However, Yue Su is not an easy master, from her flickering gaze, she can see a lot of cats, but she has not exposed them. Since others don't want to tell themselves, they may have other difficulties.

The two continued to chat, and the voice of the shopkeeper came from outside the door, "Lord Yue, someone from the Ministry of Officials is coming to you." ”

Somehow, Yue Su estimated that Jingcha's performance appraisal had come down, so he hurriedly opened the door and invited someone in.

"Yue Su has repeatedly solved strange cases, his official voice is clear, Beijing has a clear reputation, and he has promoted Yue Su to the prefect of Tongren Mansion in Guizhou."

It was a secretary of the Ministry of Officials, who was an official from the ninth rank in the Ming Dynasty, and was generally responsible for issuing some letters of appointment, running errands or something. Yue Su took the text from him and told Li Qiongying to wait for him in the guild hall, and he first reported to the official department with the secretary.

Going to the ministry was nothing more than saying a few words of thanks, and then receiving the prefect's official uniform and official certificate, and rubbing it for a while, it was just an hour. When I returned to the hall, I had to talk to the political envoy of Guangxi again and talk about some matters of delivery. The newly appointed Yangshuo County Cheng has been settled, and the political envoy asked Yue Su to temporarily hand over the work to the new Yangshuo County Cheng and go to Guizhou to take office on his own. For the vacancy of the Yangshuo County Order, the Ministry will send people, but it is no longer a matter for Yue Su to manage.

The promotion of the prefect to the prefect can be described as a leapfrog promotion, from the seventh grade to the fifth grade at once, and he is also from a high background, plus his current age, it is simply unprecedented and unprecedented.

When she returned to her room, Li Qiongying had already prepared wine and food, saying that it was for him to celebrate. The banquet was sumptuous, and there were all kinds of abalone and cucumber wings, a total of twenty dishes, and Yue Su was confused when he saw it.

It's not for nothing to eat and live in the hall, and you have to settle the bill in the end, although it is a tolerance to go to Jingjingcha, and you can be reimbursed when you return to the county, but Yue Su's hand is full of dozens of taels of silver, and it is estimated that it is not enough for this meal. Li Qiongying is celebrating her promotion, so she can't let her settle accounts. Yue Su was very embarrassed to eat this meal, and he was embarrassed to say that he didn't have enough money in his pocket.

"Brother Yue, congratulations on your promotion to the prefect. Tongren, I don't know what the situation is, can I take my younger brother to see it. ”

After eating two glasses of wine, Li Qiongying went straight to the point. The purpose of her coming today was to elope with Yue Su.

Yue Su has always felt good about this "little brother", since people say that they want to go around with him, so why not go together. "Since the virtuous brother wants to go, he can't ask for it for his brother."

Seeing Yue Su agree, Li Qiongying immediately said, "Then let's leave after eating." "For her, the sooner the better. I thought I would have to wait a few days, but I didn't expect that Yue Su's appointment had come down and he would be able to take office immediately. I didn't expect to be found out about running away from home, and with my father's strength, it was not easy to find her. The only way to leave the capital is to leave the capital as soon as possible.

Her thoughts coincided with Yue Su. The consumption in the capital is so high, how can he afford it, it is better to go back soon.

After eating and drinking, Yue Su asked Xiao Er to settle the accounts and convert them together with the accommodation expenses for these days. Xiao Eryi quoted the price, and almost didn't scare Yue Su to death. "Lord Yue, it's a total of one hundred and seventy taels."

One hundred and seventy taels! Yue Su's sweat flowed, how could he have so much money. Fortunately, Li Qiongying's reaction was relatively fast, she took out a stack of gold leaves from her arms, and said: "This banquet is for me to celebrate Brother Yue's ascension, how can I let Brother Yue break the bank." As he spoke, he handed the gold leaf to Xiao Er and asked him to exchange it for some loose silver.

******************************************************

Leaving the Guangxi Guild Hall, Li Qiongying hired a carriage, and the three of them went all the way to Tongzhou. Li Qiongying has even designed an escape route, she knows that if she takes a dry road, she will definitely be caught up by her father's people, but it is safe to take the waterway.

I chartered a small boat and went straight down the canal to Huguang. This day, has arrived in Changsha, it is the Yangtze River Basin, after tonight, tomorrow can be landed.

The captain of the boat is a father and son, a man's duty, and there are a lot of skills on the water, seeing that he can reach his destination tomorrow, he is very happy in his heart, and he caught a few fresh fish in the evening, and invited Yue Su and the three of them to eat together.

The spring evening breeze is particularly refreshing, eating fresh fish and drinking small wine, not to mention how good the mood is. At night, Yue Su and Li Qiongying had no intention of sleeping, and the two sat on the bow of the boat, admiring the bright moon in the sky.

Suddenly, there was a melodious sound of the piano on the face of the general, and the sound of the piano was graceful and sound, like the sound of heaven. The sound of the piano came from the front, and Li Qiongying hurriedly instructed the captain to row over, wanting to listen carefully.

I could go forward for half a mile, and finally found that the sound of the piano came from a small boat. Let the captain drop anchor, Yue Su and Li Qiongying listened carefully on the boat. Hearing half of it, Yue Su couldn't help but praise: "This song should only exist in the sky, and it is rare to hear it in the world." ”

Coincidentally, as soon as Yue Su's praise landed, the strings at the other end suddenly broke, leaving only a sigh.

Sitting on the boat was a young woman, about twenty years old, and her beauty was indescribable. It can be described as a small fan of white orchids, with a slender waist and jade dancing veil, suspected to be a fairy coming down to earth, looking back and smiling at Xinghua.

When the woman saw the strings break, there was a hint of desolation in her eyes. This piano has been with me for ten years, like my second life. In the dark, a sense of foreboding was born.

At this time, a young man hurriedly walked into the cabin full of concern. As soon as the woman saw him come in, the sadness on her face immediately flashed, and she said, "Li Lang, you're back." ”

Li Gongzi's face was still sinking like water, he didn't say a word, and went to bed alone.

The woman wondered in her heart, sat on the edge of the bed, and asked softly, "What have you seen and heard today, and why are you so unhappy?" ”

Li Gongzi sighed and did not speak. The woman asked three or four times, but she didn't expect him to fall asleep. This time, the woman was even more resolute, and it was difficult to fall asleep while sitting at the head of the bed.

It wasn't until the fourth watch that Childe woke up again and sighed again.

Seeing him wake up, the woman hurriedly asked, "What is it difficult for Lang Jun to sigh frequently?" ”

Li Gongzi hugged the quilt, wanted to speak and stopped, and tears fell. The woman hugged his shoulders and said softly: "The concubine and Lang Jun have a good relationship, they have been in good relationship for two years, and they have gone through many hardships and hardships. However, they have been thousands of miles away, and they have never mourned. Now that the river will be crossed, Fang Tu will laugh for a hundred years, how to reflect sadness? You and I are husband and wife, life and death are together, there is anything to discuss, don't be like this. ”

Li Gongzi thought about it again and again, and seemed to have finally made up his mind, and said with tears: "Thinking that I was poor back then, I was not abandoned by Enqing, and I obeyed each other, which is a great virtue." But after thinking about it repeatedly, the old father is in the side, he is bound by the etiquette law, and the surname is strict, so he is afraid of anger, and he will be deposed. How long will you and I wander? The joy of husband and wife is difficult to guarantee, and the relationship between father and son is absolutely unsafe. I was invited by my friend Sun Fu to drink and raise this matter for me, and my heart was like a cut! ”

When the woman heard this, she was shocked: "What will happen to Lang Jun?" ”

Li Gongzi said: "The authorities are obsessed with bystanders. Sun Fu came up with a way for me, I don't know if the lady is willing to obey? ”

The woman was puzzled: "Who is Sun Fu?" I don't know what idea Lang Jun came up with? ”

Li Gongzi said: "Sun Fu is the son of a salt merchant in Yangzhou, a young man. I heard that I was here, and I came to meet here. During the meal, I told him where you came from, and explained the reasons why it was difficult to return home. Sun Fu came up with a clever plan, and he was willing to take you as a concubine with a thousand taels of silver. If I get the money, I can also go home to see the high hall, and you have a home, which can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone. It's just that the affection between you and me is inseparable, and it is to weep. After that, tears rained down.

As soon as the woman heard this, she let go of her hands and sneered: "The one who can do this for Lang Jun is really a big hero!" Lang Jun's daughter's assets have been restored, and the concubine is surnamed to him, and it will not be dragged down by his livelihood. Where is the one thousand taels of silver now? ”

This woman is none other than Qin Huai Hua Kui Du Shi Niang. And that son is Li Jia who ransomed her out of the fire pit. Li Jia's family background is good, his father was a prefect, and he hopes that his son will have a good background. Two years ago, Li Jia went to Nanjing to participate in the township test, and the results landed, and he met Du Shi Niang on the Qinhuai River. He spent all the entanglements for Shi Niang, and Shi Niang felt that he was loyal and willing to marry him for a hundred years. The old bustard said that three hundred taels of silver could be redeemed, and secretly funded Li Jia with one hundred and fifty taels of silver, Li Jia found a friend and borrowed another one hundred and fifty taels, so that Shi Niang would redeem herself. On the way home, Li Jia was worried that his father would dislike Du Shi Niang's background, and he was depressed, but it happened that his friend Sun Fu came to visit this morning and gave him such a plan to kill two birds with one stone. Its purpose is nothing more than to get Du Shi Niang.

Li Jia burst into tears when he heard this, and said: "Without Enqing's promise, the silver is still with him, and it has never been handed over." ”

Du Siniang said with a smile: "Accept him quickly tomorrow morning, don't miss the opportunity." A thousand taels is not a small number, but it must be counted as it is, so that no one will be deceived. After speaking, Shi Niang got up and picked up the lamp to freshen up. While dressing up, he deliberately said: "Today's makeup is to welcome the new and send the old, which is extraordinary." So the fat powder is fragrant, the intention is decorated, the flower is embroidered, extremely gorgeous, the fragrance is blowing, and the brilliance is shining.

The costume is over, and the sky is dawning.

As soon as the morning dawned, a boat came, and there was a well-dressed rich boy standing on the boat, who must be Sun Fu in Li Jia's mouth. Behind him, four servants. The two boats intersected, Sun Fu and his servants crossed the boat, and then carried the two boxes.

Li Jia went to the bow of the boat to greet him, only to hear Sun Fu say: "Brother Li, the silver has been brought, I don't know if the beauty can agree." At this time, in his heart, it doesn't matter if you agree or not, if Li Jia dares to say half a word, he will definitely do it.

Du Siniang was already waiting in the cabin, and when she saw Sun Fu coming, she secretly sneered in her heart. Then I heard Li Jia say: "Shi Niang has agreed." You and I will sign the note. ”

This Sun Fu had already prepared the contract, signed it with Li Jia, and then counted the silver, and the contents of the two boxes were full of silver. Du Siniang slowly walked out at this moment, holding a brocade box in her hand, her face was full of smiles. When Sun Fu saw Du Shi Niang's outfit today, he really didn't possess his body, and his eyes were straight. Not only him, but also the four servants around him.

Du Siniang walked straight to the bow of the boat and chuckled: "Can the silver be counted?" ”

"One or two is not less." Li Jia hurriedly arrived.

"That's good." Du Shi Niang's face smiled even more, took out a key, and opened the brocade box. Pulled out the first drawer and said to Li Jia: "What do you think these are?" ”

Li Jia and Sun Fu took a look, it was full of jewelry, Cui Yu Mingyi, Yao Hairpin Bao'er, full of stones, not to mention worth a thousand taels of silver. The two men were full of surprise.

But that's just the beginning, and to their surprise, there's still to come. Du Siniang opened the second drawer again, all of which were jade pipes and gold pipes, and the third drawer was full of ancient jade, purple gold and other toys, worth tens of thousands of taels.

"Hahahaha......"

Du Shi Niang looked up to the sky and smiled bitterly, and threw the treasures of the three drawers into the river together. The people on board were dumbfounded. At this time, Du Siniang opened the last drawer and laughed: "What do you see this...... This is the night pearl of the East China Sea...... This is an emerald...... It's a cat's eye...... Do you know how much these are worth......"

As she spoke, she grabbed the treasures she said, and they were crystal clear and exuding a heroic light. Her tears kept flowing, and after saying this, she was about to throw the brocade box into the river.

"Don't ...... Shi Niang...... I was wrong...... I...... I won't sell it......" Seeing that Du Shi Niang had so many treasures, Li Jiana was still reluctant and shouted loudly. The voice was choked up, and I regretted it.

"You regret it now......" Du Siniang chuckled, and the river wind blew her tears into the rolling Yangtze River.

"Shi Niang...... I was wrong......" Li Jia cried loudly, and rushed over to hug Shi Niang.

"It's not that you're wrong, it's that I'm wrong!" Du Siniang sighed, and without waiting for Li Jia to approach, she threw herself into the Yangtze River with a treasure chest. "Plop!"

At this moment, there was another sound of falling water next to the boat.

"Peng!"