The surging waters of the Yellow River have nurtured 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. On the occasion of the Yin Shang Dynasty, the ancestors used witchcraft to channel the gods, and the witchcraft of the gods was the patent of the Shang Dynasty, and the vassal states were very in awe of it. After King Wu fell, the Western Zhou Dynasty replaced Yin Shang, and the art of ghosts and gods was replaced by Zhou Yi.

In the late sunny period, there was a master, whose legal name was Xuanyi. When following Zeng Guofan to destroy the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Xuanyi began to become famous because of his excellent knowledge and repeated surprising victories. Later, the kingdom of heaven was shattered, Xuan Yi successfully retreated, wandered the rivers and lakes, and every time he divined for others, he would be in the middle, and he would be spiritual, and gradually became famous. After the age of fifty, Xuanyi seemed to have realized the Great Dao of the Universe, mastered the fortunes of heaven and earth, and was respected as a strange person in the world.

In the 20th year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, in 1894 AD, Xuanyi returned from a long trip and returned to western Beijing. It is a two-entry courtyard, and there is a tall acacia tree standing in the backyard, with lush branches and leaves, it is the bright spring season, and the courtyard is filled with the fragrance of locust flowers. Dressed in a cyan robe and black soft cloth shoes, Xuan Yi sat at a stone table in the backyard, wrinkles carved 70 years on his thin face, a gray beard fluttering on his chest, slender eyebrows slightly curved, and a pair of eyes that were peaceful. I saw him slowly pick up the tea, take a sip, and say with a reminiscence: "Mr. Huagai, please." ”

The man sitting opposite Hyun Yi was Hua Gai, a native of Jinju, about 50 years old, tall and fat, and his head was as big as a bucket, his freshly shaved head, bare, without a single hair, sloppy in his clothes, his face was full of dirt, and he looked like a beggar, so some people also called him Hua Beggar. Hua Gai was originally a Jinshi, but later withdrew from officialdom and wandered, but he had a good relationship with Xuanyi.

Hua Gai held the wine jug in one hand, and did not use the wine glass, took another sip, shook his head and said: "Master, please take care of yourself, I am still used to drinking." ”

This canopy is only good for drinking, and it must drink a jar every day, so people give it the nickname 'a jar of wine'. Marrying a wife, she is also a person in the wine road, nicknamed 'Wine One Jar'. Hua Gai also chased fame when he was young, and he was a former Qing Jinshi and an official for several years. It is said that he has a strange ability and can see ghosts wandering, and later resigned from the government, only drinking and playing with his wife, and the couple were drunk and happy all day long. Two years ago, his wife died, but he was not sad and began to live alone.

Master Xuanyi knew his preferences, so he was no longer polite, and asked with a smile: "I just came back from the south this time, and Mr. arrived, how can I be so accurate?" ”

Hua Gai was full of wine, grinned and said: "The master has promoted me, where is the calculation, I have been waiting for the master here for more than 20 days." ”

After hearing this, Zhengse asked him, "What is the important thing about Mr. Xianglai?" ”

Hua Gai drank two large sips of wine, smacked his lips and said, "Good wine, good wine." Then he replied, "As the master said, I have come here this time because I want to tell the master something. ”

Xuanyi put down the teacup, twisted his beard, and said with a smile: "You and I have been friends for many years, and Mr. can only talk about it if he has something to say." ”

Hua Gai put down the wine jug, took out a painting stone from his arms, wrote two words on the stone table 'Youlu', and then said to Xuanyi: "I came out this time, I heard that there is a 'Youlu' appeared in Shenzhou, people say that it is a priceless treasure, the legend of the gods, saying that who has Youlu, who can be unpredictable prophet, so I don't understand, the master can know the origin of Youlu?" ”

Xuan Yi couldn't help but be surprised, and then slowly said: "I heard that this young deer is a strange stone outside the sky during the Jiajing period of the previous dynasty, and it fell from the sky with a fire and burned five alleys in the Chongwen area. After the fire was extinguished, people picked up two pieces of jade shaped like a fawn and presented them to Emperor Jiajing, who gave him the name 'Youlu'. ”

Hua Gai asked, "Where is the peculiarity of this deer, can the master know?" ”

Xuanyi replied: "Those who are destined to be blessed with the deer, can reach the sky, and then know the past and future." However, not everyone can have a relationship with Youlu, from the Jiajing Dynasty to Youlu, for more than 300 years, there are only three people who have a relationship with Youlu. ”

Hua Gai couldn't help asking: "Which three people are they?" ”

Master Xuanyi said: "The first one is Emperor Jiajing, he was good later, and he didn't go to the court for many years, so it was related to Youlu. After the demise of the Ming Dynasty, Youlu fell into the hands of Qian Qianyi, but he had no relationship with Youlu, and Youlu was no different from two stones in his hands. Therefore, in order to please the beauty of the world, Liu Ruyi, Qian Qianyi sent Youlu to her. It is said that Liu Ru has a fate with Youlu, and she has seen the subversion of the Qing Dynasty through Youlu, so she can contact various places with confidence to oppose the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty, but in the end, because the day is not a holiday, she did not wait for a large-scale event, and she passed away with regret. Later, Wu Sangui and others dared to raise troops against the Qing Dynasty, it is said that it was because Liu Ru once said that the anti-Qing Dynasty could be successful, but time has passed, the number of days has changed, and Wu Sangui and others have ended in failure. ”

Hua Gai grinned when he heard this, and said, "When the master said this, he solved many of my doubts. At the beginning, Wu Sangui first rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, and then rebelled against the Qing Dynasty, how could he dare to be so nonsense, it turned out to be this reason. I think that Emperor Jiajing has not been in the court for many years, but he can still firmly control the government and make the world peaceful, it must also rely on the merit of Youlu, right? ”

Xuan Yi bowed his head and said: "That's right, everyone says that Emperor Jiajing's wisdom is extraordinary, but in fact, he is because of Youlu in his hands." ”

Hua Gai asked again: "Does the master know where Youlu went after Liu Ru died?" ”

Xuan Yi continued: "After that Liu Ru died, Youlu fell into the hands of Nalan Mingzhu and Nalan Rongruo's father and son, but unfortunately his father and son had nothing to do with this thing. Later, for 160 years, this thing disappeared without a trace, until more than 40 years ago, when Yang Xiuqing was burning charcoal, he occasionally got a deer. ”

Huagai never expected that Yang Xiuqing, the leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, had obtained Youlu, and hurriedly asked: "Then is Yang Xiuqing related to Youlu?" ”

Master Xuanyi recalled: "He has a relationship with Youlu, Yang Xiuqing is a charcoal burner, he can't read a few words, but he can command thousands of troops and horses, conquer everything, and be invincible, that's the reason." Back then, our Hunan army suffered from Yang Xiuqing, I divined several times, thinking that it would be done, but was defeated by Yang Xiuqing. I once heard Li Xiucheng tell about this with my own ears. After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom collapsed and Li Xiucheng surrendered, I met him alone and asked why Yang Xiuqing was so capable? Li Xiucheng told me that Yang Xiuqing's ability is all thanks to Youlu. Because of Youlu, Yang Xiuqing can know what will happen in the future, so he often reveals to everyone what will happen in the way of the Heavenly Father's manifestation. Every time Yang Xiuqing said, it will be fulfilled, and over time, everyone believes in Yang Xiuqing and respects him like a heavenly father. At the beginning, the Taiping army was in trouble, the Qing army was encircled and suppressed, and was repeatedly ambushed by Yang Xiuqing, and later Yang Xiuqing commanded the overall situation and fought against the Qing army. Because he held Youlu in his hand, his prestige grew, and finally he overthrew Hong Xiuquan and mastered the church, military and political power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and became the actual leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. ”

When Hua Gai heard this, he sighed and said, "Hey! At that time, the disaster was not small, tens of millions of people died, and it was really devastating. But why would God help the Taiping Army, let Yang Xiuqing get the blessing of the deer, and bring such a great disaster to the world? ”

Master Xuanyi said with a smile: "Mr. Huagai, it is not that God wants to help Hong Yang, but that Yang Xiuqing should warn Hong Xiuquan that it should be done in moderation and not against the sky." But after Yang Xiuqing got Youlu, because he could know the future, his desire swelled sharply, and he wanted to change the number of days and achieve the hegemony of the emperor. Yang Xiuqing's actions against the sky, including ordering 20,000 lonely troops to go on a northern expedition, and wanting to seize the title of long live the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, etc., to name a few. Because of Yang Xiuqing's excessive greed, this caused civil strife in the Taiping Army, killing each other, and it was also the sky that wanted to destroy Hong Yang, these were all said by Li Xiucheng himself. Li Xiucheng also said that Yang Xiuqing said after a drunken time that he held Youlu, the past and the future, knowing everything, so he changed the number of days several times, all of which were successful, if there was no Yang Xiuqing alone, the Taiping Army would have been destroyed, as long as he Yang Xiuqing is there, the world will be determined, and he is only in the midst of talking and laughing. ”

Hua Gai couldn't help but slap the stone table, laughed for a while, and then said: "Yang Xiuqing is really a villain, no matter what, no matter what, this person is ruthless, and it is inevitable to cause natural disasters." From this point of view, even if he holds Youlu in his hand, he can't know everything, otherwise, how could he be calculated by Hong Xiuquan. ”

Xuan nodded and said: "I also asked Li Xiucheng about this, according to him, Yang Xiuqing really knows what he wants to know." As for why Yang Xiuqing didn't calculate that Hong Xiuquan would harm him, Li Xiucheng guessed that because some things were too unexpected, Yang Xiuqing never asked Youlu, and Youlu didn't tell Yang Xiuqing. Or maybe it's because Youlu has reservations and deliberately doesn't give it. But this is all Li Xiucheng's speculation, because everyone doesn't know how Youlu will indicate the future, so the real reason cannot be known. Since Yang Xiuqing's death, Youlu has been missing for almost 40 years, and I can't imagine that he will appear in Shenzhou now. ”

Hua Gai suddenly opened his hazy drunken eyes, which had been slightly closed, and asked Xuanyi: "Since Youlu is so magical, while it is still in Shenzhou, why don't the master get it?" ”

After saying that, the two looked at each other and laughed. Xuan Yi shouted loudly: "Extinguish the light, Phantom Qing, you two come here." ”

As soon as the words fell, the two people who came out of the room were Xuanyi's eldest disciple Xia Zhenming and second disciple Xia Huanqing. I saw that Ming Ming was in his thirties, with a slender figure, two thick eyebrows, a white robe, gestures, and extraordinary bearing; The second disciple Huanqing is only nineteen years old, with an upper-average build, a jade tree in the wind, handsome and extraordinary, and is known as the most beautiful man in the capital.

The two brothers were originally of the same clan, both of them were Manchurian, and the branch of the senior brother was in Chengde, and the people were not prosperous. When the Anglo-French army entered Beijing, Emperor Xianfeng took refuge in Rehe, and Mingming's father began to make friends with Sushun because of the arrangement of the car. Emperor Xianfeng died, and Su Shun and others were appointed as the eight ministers of Gu Ming, and the empress dowager of the two palaces restrained each other and jointly assisted the little emperor. But how could the power be shared, and soon Su Shun and the Empress Dowager Xi failed in the struggle for power, and Xia Mingming's father was implicated, convicted and killed. Therefore, Xia Zhenming has long been disappointed in the Qing royal family, and he has a grudge against the Empress Dowager Xi, but he also knows that he is helpless. Xia Zhenming has been under Xuanyi for 20 years, and the master's skills have been learned seventy percent, and he is good at writing and martial arts, but Master Xuanyi's best 'illusion', he has only learned a few skins, and he thinks that he is not an illusionist.

The younger brother Xia Huanqing, who has been in Beijing since the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, his father is currently the commander of the escort army, and his uncle is the commander of the left-wing forwards, all of whom are second-rank real power generals. But Xia Huanqing has no intention of being an official, only obsessed with music and rhythm, and likes the Five Classics, because Xuanyi has learned and seen people, so he worshiped Xuanyi as a teacher two years ago and devoted himself to learning from his master.

When the two of them heard Master's call, they hurriedly stepped forward and asked beside Xuanyi, "Master summoned disciples, I don't know what to order?" ”

Xuanyi told the two brothers about Youlu. Hua Gai added: "Now this piece of Youlu in the hands of the Shenzhou prefect Yue captured the leopard, this person is vicious and ferocious, abuses torture, and the means are extremely cruel, and even in order to invite merit, he killed more than 2,000 people in three months in office, regardless of the good and the bad, and the people call him 'Leopard Tu'." Some time ago, there was a habitual thief, when he was being hunted down, he was afraid that he would not be able to escape, so he hurriedly threw a burden into the courtyard of a family surnamed Bai, Yue captured the leopard and the local Haoqiang colluded, in order to seize the land of the Bai family, regardless of the indiscriminate, and the surname Bai was designated as a bandit. Bai Xing, the head of the Bai family, refused to accept it, and wanted to file a lawsuit, and was tortured to death by Yue Baobao with the torture of 'standing wooden cage', which is not counting, the whole Bai family was also killed by Yue Baobao for the crime of bandits. ”

Xia Zhenming was angry when he heard this, and couldn't help asking: "Yue Baobao acts like this, will no one treat him?" ”

Hua Gai shook his big head back and forth three times and said, "Who will cure him?" Yue Baobao was born in the Yellow Banner and was trusted by the imperial court. In addition, this person is not afraid of offending the people, whether the people oppose the imperial court or not, as long as he suspects it, he will be killed, so as to obtain the stability of Shenzhou's appearance. Because he tried his best to defend the court, the court turned a blind eye to the cool behavior of the court. But when I tell you about this matter, I don't mean to talk about Yue Yue's insanity in capturing the leopard, but about the burden that has been thrown away by habitual thieves, because in this burden, there is a very important object, which is a 'little white jade mouse'. The object carved by the technique is wonderful, after Yue Bao Leopard sees, because he does not know what material is used to carve, so he visits the master to identify, only to learn that it is a piece of Youlu that fell from the heavens, the joy of Yue Bao Leopard such as the treasure, think that it must be his loyalty to the Qing Dynasty moved the heavens, let him get the Youlu, so he is now suppressing the people, more cruel than before, recently also set up twelve wooden cages in front of the government, every day tragic death in the "wooden cage" no less than five people. ”

Hua Gai said this, and turned his head to look at Xuanyi. As soon as Xuan understood what he meant, he ordered the two disciples to immediately pack up their things, go to Shenzhou, and take the Youlu in their hands.

Xuan Ming and Huanqing immediately accepted the master's order, bid farewell to the master, and came to Shenzhou.

On this day, the two brothers arrived in Deshen Prefecture. There was a rough arrangement in the morning, and the two of them discussed it a little, found an inn, entered separately, pretended not to know each other, asked for a room, settled down, and then came out to eat something. The two of them did not sit at the same table, but ate slowly. At this time, I heard someone say: "Our Shenzhou is the most remarkable, here is Yao, Shun, Shang Tang, the hometown of King Wen, the capital of peonies, the hometown of orchids, Confucius, Mencius, Zhuangzi, Shang Ying, Sun Bin, Xiang Yu, Liu Bang, Guan Yu, Qin Qiong, Huang Chao, Fang La, Song Jiang and so on are all people here." ”

Xuan Ming heard strangely, this person was obviously deliberately vain, so he looked sideways, and saw a young man, in his 20s, born unusually grown, sitting there two feet taller than ordinary people, but the upper body was long, the lower body was short, and it looked extremely funny; He also has a big cake face, when he speaks, sometimes he is wrinkled, sometimes he stretches, and when he is wrinkled, his facial features are gathered, like a bun, and when he is stretched, his facial features are spread out, like a big cake.

At this time, someone smiled and asked the man, "Big pie face, you are really arrogant, just talk nonsense." Guan Yu Guan Yunchang, who doesn't know, he is a person from Shanxi Jieliang, how did he become a native of Shenzhou? ”

The big cake face was still smug, and said to everyone: "Everyone, Guan Gong is from Shenzhou, and there is nothing unusual, haven't you heard of 'saying that you are, you are, aren't you too'?" ”

Everyone laughed, and someone said: "Big pie face, you have changed the word again, I remember what you said last time, but 'Say you are square, you are square, not square; Say you are round, you are round, and if you are not round, you are round. ”

Everyone said, "Yes, big pie face, you changed your word too quickly." ”

The face of the pie said, "The square is the circle; Square is not a circle, which square, which circle? Two big bastards. ”

Everyone laughed for a while, it turned out that in Shenzhou City, there were two brothers of the Fang family, who often bullied people and took advantage of them, the boss was named Fang Shiyuan, who hid a knife in his smile, was vicious and forbearing, and was known as the smiling tiger; The second child's name is Fang Feiyuan, who is ruthless, tyrannical and ruthless, and is known as the cold-blooded tiger. Xia Zhenming remembered that the Fang family brothers had been doing evil in Shenzhou for a long time, and some time ago they had colluded with Yue to capture the leopard and kill the Bai Xing family and seize the wealth of the Bai family.

After the big cake face scolded, someone began to cough and sigh, and the big cake face said loudly: "There is money and power to go sideways, and there is no power and no power to bow your head." The wooden cage was erected at the entrance of the yamen, and the Buddha was killed - the Buddha was chaotic in Shenzhou. ”

A well-wisher persuaded the big pie face and said: "Big bread face, read that you are a good person, listen to my kind words and persuasion, or stop quickly, if you are denounced, I am afraid that everyone here today will have to stand in a wooden cage." ”

Flatbread smiled, stood up, and walked back and forth in the lobby, as if two stool legs were installed under a door, which was even more funny. In the ridicule of everyone, the big cake face didn't care at all, and said loudly: "What are you afraid of? I have been filial piety for my mother for three years, and after eating this meal, I have left Shenzhou and left the country, whether he is 'Yue Leopard Tu' or 'Fang Jiahu', and I have been unable to whip me ever since. ”

Everyone listened to him directly slander the 'prefect' and the Fang family, and everyone was collectively silent, and some people were afraid that they would be affected, so they hurriedly settled the bill and left in line with the principle of a gentleman not erecting a dangerous wall.

Xia Xiaoming came over and chatted with the big pie face.

After a while, Xia Xiaoming and the big cake face said goodbye and also came over, and after the senior brother met, he went to the vicinity of Yue Baobao's residence to investigate the situation.

Passing through the yamen of the Shenzhou prefect, I saw twelve wooden cages standing in front, among which nine people were imprisoned, all of whom were dying. Look at the wooden cage again, the inner wall is covered with iron nails, and the person is half-hung in the wooden cage. Some people have the bricks under their feet so that they can only stand inside. When the two brothers saw this, they couldn't help but secretly hate Yue for capturing the leopard, killing people too much, why did you come here because you tortured people so much? Is it to deter so-called criminals, or is it intended to establish your official authority? What's more, there are a few people in this wooden cage who are really murders, robbers, adulterers and thieves.

The two of them were afraid of arousing suspicion, so they didn't dare to stay for a long time, so they came to Yue Baobao's residence, found out the surrounding situation, and began to return to the inn. In the afternoon, according to the plan, the two had an early meal and slept well. Staying until the middle of the night, Huanqing put on a black dress, wrapped his head and face, only showed a pair of eyes, carried a hundred treasure bags, and heard the cat meow that his senior brother learned, so he quietly went out of the inn to meet him.

With the help of the starlight, the two quickly came to Yue's mansion, found the big tree in front of the door, and as soon as Xuan Ming jumped up, he reached the top of the tree in two clicks, found a branch to sit on, and observed the situation inside. Seeing that the senior brother had done a good job, the secret path was worthy of following the master to practice martial arts since he was a child, and this skill was ten times better than mine.

Standing on the tree, he saw three wolf dogs walking around in the courtyard, and he didn't see a single figure, thinking that it was the dead of night, and they all went to sleep, so he took out two pieces of meat and threw them into the courtyard, only to hear two clicks, two clicks, and then a few dog barks, and then three big wolf dogs rushed over, sniffed their noses, and began to fight for food. After a while, the three dogs fell to the ground and slept soundly.

Xuan Ming jumped off the tree and said to his junior brother Xia Huanqing, let's go in. After saying that, the two jumped on the wall to see that there was no abnormality inside, and then they carefully landed in the courtyard. Seeing that the vestibule was empty, the two walked along the wall from the left to the east, then turned north, walked through the front hall and crossed a section of the road, and saw that there were three main rooms, with wings on the east and west, and four cross-courtyards on each side. After listening carefully outside the main room, Xuan Ming came back and said to Huanqing that there were no people living here. The two of them went into the courtyard separately to investigate, and when they heard some snoring inside, they knew that this was the residence of the people, but some were empty.

Go inside, it is the second gate, go over the wall, the layout inside is different, there are three main rooms in the east and west, there is a small garden in the middle, there are seven small cross-courtyards on both sides and behind, and there are courtyard gates. The two investigated one by one, and finally concluded that this was the residence of Yue Bao's wives and concubines.

Walking further in, there are seven or eight small courtyards scattered behind, which must be a place for the children who have grown up or other family members of the older generation. Behind it is the back garden, and from here, there is the back street. The situation was basically discovered, and they wanted to slip away from the back street, so the two quietly entered the back garden. When I walked through the rockery, I heard some movement, but it was a slight voice of men and women. Extinguishing the light and smiling secretly, it didn't take much effort to get it, it seems that someone here is doing that trick, just to hold it and ask about the situation. He whispered a few words to his junior brother Xia Huanqing, and the two leaned over to the voice.

In the rockery, a man and a woman were self-intoxicated, and Xuan Ming suddenly coughed softly. Hearing the movement, the couple was shocked. I only heard the man ask softly, "Who?" Xia Zhenming coughed lightly again, and the man quickly got up and was about to get dressed, but was flashed out by Zhenming and sat on the ground. The man's shoulders were pressed, and he was afraid of making a noise and attracting everyone, so he didn't dare to struggle, and the woman panicked and didn't dare to make a sound, so she was so frightened that she hurriedly took her clothes to cover it. Xuan Ming said: "You two are acting here, the prefect has already guessed, and I have been specially ordered to wait here, and now I will take you, I will just go to ask for a reward." ”

The man was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and when he heard this, his soul flew out of the sky. Fortunately, the woman was not very old, but she was quite calm, hurriedly put on some clothes that could cover her shame, knelt down in a hurry, and begged for mercy from Xuan Ming: "Uncle, you let us go this time, I just said nothing to the prefect and didn't see it, and I will be grateful to the two of us." ”

Xuan Ming said: "That's not good, I am valued by the prefect, how can I let you go privately, you know that the prefect is rewarded for his merits, and my benefits will naturally not be less; But adults have always been harsh, so you two just wait to stand in the wooden cage. Then he frightened the two and said, "Hurry up, if everyone comes, you two will be even more embarrassed." Don't wear clothes, so it's better to go to the prefect. ”

The two of them thought of Yue Baobao's usual cruelty, and their hearts were frightened, and the woman immediately knelt down and said: "Uncle, saving a life is better than creating a seventh-level floating slaughter, if you spare us this time, we will repay you doubly,"

At this moment, Xia Huanqing also flashed out and said to the two: "I see that you are quite pitiful, tell me what kind of repayment method you plan to make." ”

When the man heard that there was hope, he hurriedly said: "I will give the two uncles money, Yingyang 1,000 yuan, and hope that the two uncles will raise their noble hands and let us go." ”

Huanqing said: "Where is the money, take it out and take a look first, maybe I will let you go when I see the money." ”

The man had been pressed by Xia Zhanming and couldn't get up, so he had to point to the clothes on the ground with his finger and say, "There are twenty yuan in there, and the rest is in my room." ”

Xuan Ming intended to bluff him, so he asked: "1000 Yingyang?" It's not a decimal, how can you have so much to fool us. "Put the dagger on the man's ear, and if you lie again, I'll cut off one of your ears first."

The man was naked, anxious to get out of his current situation, and hurriedly replied, "Don't dare to lie." The two masters don't know, because the villain reads with the prefect, so the prefect often rewards the villain, and the villain accumulates. ”

Zhen Ming was afraid that he would lie, so he covered Zhang Gui'er's mouth with one hand, poked it fiercely from behind with the handle of the dagger, and asked, "You still dare to lie?" How can you be a reading companion to the prefect? ”

The man was in pain, but his mouth was covered, and he didn't dare to scream, gritting his teeth and holding back. Xuan Ming let go of his mouth and drank lightly: "Say it quickly." ”

The man lowered his head and replied, "The two masters don't know anything, the prefect likes the young and handsome students to study with him the most, and there are five people in this mansion who accompany the adults to study, and the villain is one of them." ”

When the man said this, both Xuan Ming and Huanqing had understood Yue Baobao's preferences, and Huanqing said, "I'll believe you for the time being." He picked up the man's clothes, rummaged through them, and sure enough, there was a money bag, took it with his hand, and asked, "When will I give the rest?" ”

The man said, "I'll give it tomorrow." ”

Xuan Ming sneered softly and said: "If you don't admit it tomorrow, what should we do, catch the traitor and take the double, and finally block you, the two of us only follow the adults in the mansion on weekdays, and I don't recognize you, let you go back, where will you go to find it in the future?" ”

The man was about to speak, but Xia Huanqing stopped him and said, "Slow down, I'll talk about it when I ask you." Then he took out the cotton out of the treasure bag, and choked the man's ear, and turned to the woman, and said, "If you answer my question, if it is false, you will not be spared." The woman said, "Uncle, just ask, when this time comes, I have something to hide." ”

Phantom Qing asked her, "Who are the two of you?" Let's be honest. ”

The woman replied, "My name is Qing'er, and I am the maid of the second lady, and his name is Zhang Gui'er, and I am a servant here." ”

Phantom Qing asked her again, "Did you let him hide here early?" The woman said, "It was not me, it was his idea, and he said that he would hide here in the evening when there was no one, and told me to come out in the middle of the night to meet him." ”

Both Xuan Ming and Huan Qing almost laughed, and said in their hearts that this Zhang Gui was really strong enough.

Zhen Ming was afraid that Qing'er would think too much and arouse her suspicions, so he deliberately asked for a loophole in her speech: "Zhang Gui'er is the prefect's companion, but he came here in the middle of the night to mess around, aren't you afraid that the prefect will find him temporarily?" ”

The woman whispered, "No." The book he read with the prefect last night will definitely not be called again today, because the prefect has already stipulated that they will take turns to serve.

Extinguishing the light and the illusion of the dark way, Yue Leopard is really presumptuous enough.

Phantom Qing asked Qing'er again: "Recently, the prefect got a treasure, and he has been afraid of leaking the news, you are honest, do the people in the mansion already know where the treasure is hidden?" ”

Qing'er said: "I only heard that Madame is keeping it, but everyone doesn't know where Madame hid that treasure. ”

Phantom Qing kicked her coat aside, and then said, "You sit here honestly, we will get the benefit in a while, and let you go back." So he plugged her ears.

immediately took off the cotton from Zhang Gui's ears and asked him the same question, and the two answered the same question. In the end, Xia Huanqing asked him, "Where does Madame live?" Zhang Gui said: "Come in from the second gate, and the cross courtyard on the east side and south is it." ”

The goal of the two brothers was achieved, Xia Zhenming was afraid that Zhang Gui and Qing'er would be suspicious, so he said to Zhang Gui: "Let's take these twenty yuan first, our brothers will be on duty in the government office in the next few days, and I will ask you for money in five days, 1,000 yuan, and then one will not be less." ”

That Zhang Gui said: "Uncle, don't worry, the villain will never dare to break his word." ”

Xia Zhenming said again: "Wait a minute, I'll go to the front first, and if there is no situation, I will let you go." Then he said to Huanqing: "You look at them, don't let them wear their clothes first, wait for me to come back." ”

After speaking, he turned back to the courtyard in front of him, turned into the courtyard of his wife, and saw that there were three main rooms, which were not tall, and there were wings on the east side. After exploring the road, he returned to the rockery cave and asked Zhang Gui: "You are the prefect's companion, but I still have some doubts, where do you say the prefect usually stays?" ”

Zhang Gui said: "Except for the occasional visit to the two ladies, the adults sleep in the study, oh, it is the main room on the east side of the front. ”

Xing Ming knew that it was not appropriate to ask more, otherwise it would be easy to arouse the suspicion of the other party. Then he said: "Let's do this first, the two of us just don't see anything today, and you will also be more restrained in the future, this is to meet our brothers, if you are someone else, just wait for the adults to pick your skin." ”

Zhang Gui thanked again and again. Xia Zhenming said again: "You two will wait a while, pack up and leave, you must be careful." After speaking, he ran north with Phantom Qing and went out over the wall from behind.

When the two returned to the inn, they didn't hold the lamp, and in the room where the light was extinguished, with the help of the night light, they discussed how to get Youlu and how to take it out of the city.

On the evening of the next day, according to the plan, the senior brothers drew a gourd in the same way, entered the Yue Mansion first, and then went their separate ways. Phantom Qing first found the kitchen, poured the vegetable oil inside, and set a fire, and in an instant the flames rose and the smoke billowed out. Phantom Qing hid in the dark, and when he saw that the fire could not be extinguished for a while, he came to his wife's courtyard. Halfway through, Huanqing heard a shout of 'go to the water, go to the water', and then everyone in the Yue Mansion was noisy, and they all woke up, and some people began to go to fight the fire in a panic.

Xuan Ming and Phantom were hiding in Mrs. Morning's courtyard, and the movement outside alarmed Mrs., and the lights in the room were also lit, and a woman commanded: "Red Peach, go and see, where is the water." "I think the lady told the maid to go out and see. Red Peach took the order, opened the door, and as soon as she walked into the courtyard, Xuan Ming knocked her unconscious from behind with a palm, and then tied her up and gagged her.

At this time, listening to the voice of the lady in the room, he asked, "Xing'er, go and see, why hasn't the heart come back?" That Xing'er agreed, walked out of the door, and was also knocked unconscious and tied up by Xuan Ming. At this time, Huanqing had already entered the room, saw that there was no one outside, opened the door curtain, and saw a delicate woman standing on the ground, Huanqing walked over, first reached out to cover her mouth, and whispered: "Don't move, otherwise it will kill you." As he spoke, he drew a dagger and shook it in front of her.

This lady is the young lady of the Chen family in Nanjing, who has been pampered since childhood, where has she seen this, and when she saw the dagger with a cold light next to her face, she was afraid of being scratched, and she was frightened. Xuan Ming also came to the room at this time, and when he saw Mrs. Chen's pale face, he said to her, "Don't be afraid, we don't want your life, just to find a few money." ”

After hearing this, Mrs. Chen calmed down a little, and Huanqing had been standing behind her, always on guard, afraid that she would be out of proportion for a moment and shout.

Xia Zhenming asked again: "Say, where are all the valuable things?" Huanqing tightened the dagger again, and Mrs. Chen felt that the top of her neck was cold, as if blood was coming out, and hurriedly said, "In the cabinet over there." Xia Xiaoming followed her gaze and saw that it was a rosewood cabinet with a large copper lock on it, Xia Huanqing asked again: "Where is the key?" Don't hurry up and take it out! The lady slowly walked to the bed tremblingly, took out the key from under the mattress, snatched it from the past, and threw it to the senior brother. Xuan Ming took the key, opened the cabinet, and saw that there were three boxes of size inside, took them out one by one, opened them and saw that they were all jewelry, silver dollars, silver tickets, etc., but there was no white jade mouse.

Xuan Ming pretended to say to Huanqing: "She doesn't have anything too valuable here, kill her, let's go to the second aunt's side." ”

Huanqing rubbed the dagger on Mrs. Chen's neck and said: "This is no wonder of us, as the saying goes, spend money to eliminate disasters, blame you for being too shabby, don't blame our brothers after you die." With that, he raised his dagger and pretended to stab her in the chest. Mrs. Chen's face changed early, and she said in a trembling voice, "Don't." Yes, there are valuable things, two masters, spare your life, you will give you whatever you want. ”

Zhen Ming glared at him and said sharply: "If there is anything valuable, don't hurry up and take it out, don't make us impatient." ”

Mrs. Chen said, "You remove that cabinet, there is a wall behind it. ”

Before the lady finished speaking, Xuan Ming had already removed the cabinet on the east side of the room and knocked it with his hand, and it was really a wall. Phantom Qing escorted her over and said, "Open it!" ”

Mrs. Chen pressed on the corner of the wall, and then pushed the wall away, and saw that there were two boxes inside. They took it out and opened it in turn, and one was full of gold ingots, which looked like no less than 20 pieces. The other inside is a silver ticket, take the silver ticket away, there is a silk pocket at the bottom, open the pocket, and then you see the 'white jade little mouse'. Extinguishing Ming took it in his hand, looked at it carefully under the lamp, and let Huanqing see it, the material and the two of them felt that they had never seen it before, and Extinguishing Ming put it away. When he looked at the silver ticket again, there were 180,000 Long Yang, and he snorted and asked Mrs. Chen: "Yue Baobao often flaunts himself as honest, where did this money come from?" ”

Mrs. Chen hurriedly defended and said: "This, I don't know, maybe it's his family's dividends, it has nothing to do with me, I only collect it for him." ”

Xuan Ming didn't want to talk nonsense anymore, so he picked up the silver ticket, took a few gold ingots, tied Mrs. Chen, blocked her mouth, looked around, and Huanqing had a look, and the two walked out of the room. The two maids outside were still unconscious, and when they heard the noisy firefighting sound in Yue's mansion, the two brothers took advantage of the chaos.

Passing through the back garden, going over the wall out of the Yue Mansion, deliberately going in the opposite direction, finding the inn with a large scale, Xuan Ming secretly entered, and quietly put the gold ingots in two rooms, one of which was a British merchant, and the other was a Japanese merchant. The two of them were ready, and Xuan Ming said to his junior brother Huanqing: "I'm going out of the city, let's meet again at Master's place." So the brothers said goodbye.

Xia Huanqing calmly returned to the inn, and not long after, he heard people shouting and horses outside, and some officers and soldiers came to check the room, saying that they would interrogate the fugitives and let everyone cooperate. Illusory Pure Heart Dao, or senior brother is experienced, and he has already taken everything away from the place of right and wrong. It's a pity that I don't know water, this Shenzhou City, although the city wall is high, but it can't be difficult for me, but the moat, I can't cross it.

About two quarters of an hour later, there was a knock on the door outside, and Huanqing opened the door, and two dukes stood at the door and said, "Guest officer, we have been ordered to assist in the investigation of the fugitives, please cooperate." ”

Huanqing smiled and said, "You can check the fugitives, see if I look like a fugitive." ”

The two dukes only said, "We are just ordered to investigate." With that, let him take out all the belongings he was carrying. Phantom Qing smiled and said, "Are you a fugitive from the investigation?" I'm looking for something. With that, put your things on the table. The two dukes came over to take a look, and then said that they wanted to search their bodies, Xia Huanqing also asked them to search, and the two dukes found nothing, and they probed under the bed, in the corners of the walls, in the beams of the house, etc., and finally opened the window to check, and there was no abnormality, so they came out.

After the two dukes left, Xia Huanqing saw that the sky was about to dawn, and he heard that there was still chaos outside, and it took a while before he calmed down. The morning light was faint, there was silence, and Phantom Qing began to rest.

It wasn't until the dawn that Xia Huanqing came out and ate something before he ran to the city gate. Seeing the city gate from a distance, Xia Huanqing thought to himself, fortunately, I don't have what you are looking for, and no one is urging me to come over. Before he got close, he led the horse and lined up with everyone to wait for inspection.

The public who checked was very careful, and he didn't let go of even a straw, and finally it was Xia Huanqing's turn, and after letting them search carefully, they came out of the city, looking at the time, most of the morning had passed. Xia Huanqing began to urge the horse to travel north, walked about 20 miles, and found a restaurant on the road.

Phantom Qing was interested in hearing about the current situation of Shenzhou Yue's capture of the leopard, and ate very slowly, drinking a few cups from time to time.

I heard someone say, "Why are we still catching thieves here, it's endless." I heard that the Confucian Temple between the rivers has been completed, and three days later, a ceremony to worship Confucius was held. ”

Xia Huanqing heard that there was a ceremony to worship Confucius, so he wanted to rush over to take a look, anyway, he would stop by and not delay the trip.

I heard a person say: "Falling into the cliff is unavoidable, now the city is tracking down foreigners, foreigners are not easy to mess with, where like us, being a slave is very customary, and I am afraid when I see an official." 'Leopard Slaughter' is investigating this time, everyone wait and see, foreigners will not be able to spare him in the future. ”

After hearing this, someone smiled and said: "That's good, anyway, let's take a few more steps forward, and then leave Shenzhou, and we don't have to be afraid of the leopard slaughter." To deal with people like Yue Baotu who have brought disaster to the country and the people, we have to rely on outside forces. The court is unreliable, no matter how many people he kills, the court will not deal with him, because Yue Baotu is killing people for the court. ”

Another person said: "I heard that this leopard slaughter suffered heavy losses and all the family resources were swept away, which is really gratifying." ”

"Hey! What is that? Someone sighed and said, "As long as the leopard is in the position of this prefect, within two or three years, they will all be greedy again, and it will always be our poor people who suffer." ”

"This time the leopard slaughter was furious, and his wife was too frightened, I don't know if everyone has heard of it." One person asked everyone mysteriously.

Someone said: "Leopard Tu's wife's surname is Chen, her grandfather once served as the governor of Anhui, more powerful than his family, and the leopard disciples rely on more." ”

The man who asked this question just now smiled, "That's a good point. The leopard is unbearable, men and women fight all day long, and Mrs. Chen doesn't bother to care about him, she only blindly likes money. However, she married Leopard Tu and suffered a disaster, although she only lost her money and did not lose her life this time, it is difficult to say that she will have a good ending in the future. ”

Everyone talked about it, either scolding Yue for capturing the leopard or scolding the Fang family, Phantom Qing heard it for a while, and then he came to the river.

After a night's rest in between, I arrived early in the afternoon of the second day in Hajian Province. After settling down, Huanqing came to the newly repaired Confucian Temple, looked left and right, and was happy that there was such a Confucian Temple in the river, and heard someone calling himself, looking back, he saw a person, less than forty years old, tall and thin, thick eyebrows, elegant atmosphere, and couldn't help but shout: "Mr. Puyun." ”

Xia Huanqing has known Puyun since he was a child, and now he is quite happy to meet here.

Pu Yun also smiled: "Brother Phantom Qingxian." After the two saw the ceremony, Puyun told Phantom Qing that the Temple of Literature in Hejian was built with the donation of their family, and it took two years to finally complete it.

Huanqing congratulated Puyun and said: "Mr. has always taken the revitalization of Confucianism as his own responsibility, and now there is another Confucian Temple, which is gratifying!" ”

Puyun asked Huanqing again, where is this going, Huanqing said to go back to Beijing, happened to pass by the river, heard that the Temple of Literature was completed, and came to watch, I didn't want to meet Mr. here. Puyun invited him to worship Confucius the day after tomorrow, and Huanqing had to go back early because of his master's life, so as not to worry about the master and his brother, so he said that this trip was tense and he would come back to participate in the future.

Seeing that it was not early, Puyun immediately asked people to prepare wine and food to entertain Huanqing.

During the banquet, Huanqing mentioned to Puyun that Shenzhou's Yue captured the leopard, and Puyun also knew that this person was cruel, but the old queen mother appreciated it, who could help him, so she had to say: "Although Yue captures the leopard a lot, and my father has a lot of complaints about him, but I still have to use him now, which is also a helpless move." By the way, this time to sacrifice Kong, Yue Bao Bao specially sent a congratulatory gift. ”

Huanqing wanted Puyun's father to be in the center, but he couldn't do anything about Yue Baobao, and it seemed that the key was still in the two palaces, so he didn't mention it anymore.

Puyun saw that Huanqing had grown up, and intended to invite him to come out to do things, so he said, "Brother Huanqing, Brother Foolishness will give you another cup." Huanqing clinked glasses with him and drank, and listened to Puyun say: "Now is the time to employ people, and the virtuous brother should also take on some things." Phantom Qing understood what Puyun meant, and only smiled and said, "Thank you, Mr. for your care." Huanqing is not proficient in learning art at the moment, and he just wants to wait by the master's side more. However, the younger brother has a word, and he still wants to say it to Mr. Puyun said: "Brother Xian is going to see the outside." I'm more than a decade older than you, and I watched you grow up with my third brother and younger sister, not to mention that our two families have been friends for generations, what do you have to say, just say it. ”

This Mr. Puyun has four brothers and sisters in Puqing and Weikong, the eldest is Puyun, the second is called Qingyun, the third is called Weiyun, and the younger sister is called Kongyun. Hearing Puyun mention it today, I couldn't help but sigh and said: "Time flies so fast, in a blink of an eye, a few of us have grown up, and the little sister of Kongyun has also been assigned to get married. ”

There was still a trace of regret in Puyun's words, and he said helplessly: "Kongyun has no choice, this is all fate, who told her to be born in our Jin family." ”

Huanqing drank a glass of wine alone and said: "Don't mention this, let's talk about this Daqing, although what I said, Mr. may not like to hear it, but it is the truth." In my opinion, the Qing Dynasty is full of crises, and it is really like a terminal illness, and Mr. should also make plans as soon as possible. ”

Puyun looked at Phantom Qing in surprise and asked, "Is this Master Xuanyi's opinion?" ”

Huanqing replied: "It's my own feelings, and as for how my master sees it, I'm afraid it's similar to me." ”

Pu Yun then asked: "I heard that Master Xuanyi has the ability to reach the sky, and the virtuous brother thinks, can he help Yu Daqing?" ”

Phantom Qing laughed, picked up the wine and said, "Brother, drink this cup first." ”

Puyun knew that Huanqing was not drunk in a thousand cups, and his ability was limited, so he drank the wine in the cup with Huanqing and said: "Brother Xian drinks like a sea, but the foolish brother can't accompany you, Brother Xian, please take care of yourself." ”

Phantom Qing knew that Puyun didn't drink much, so he didn't persuade him anymore, only poured himself a drink, and replied to Puyun: "Although my master has the ability to reach the sky, he can't do anything against the sky, and he will be punished by heaven." For the Qing Dynasty, as a ruler, it seems that he has a heavenly constitution in his mouth, but in fact, he can't escape the fate of prospering if he goes against the trend and perishing if he goes against the trend, this is just my cognition, or after my husband returns to Beijing, he can go to see my master and ask him for advice in person, wouldn't it be better. ”

Puyun was right to think about it, so he decided to visit Master Xuanyi. The two then discussed the development of Confucianism, but they did not disperse until the darkness of the night.