The midsummer of Kangxi's forty-fourth year was unbearably hot. After June 6, it was sunny for more than ten days, and Anhui Province was sunburned like a steamer and the ground was like a pancake pan. In the morning, let alone going out, even resting in the shade of the big tree, naked in the hole in the gate, also hot and oily. Beside the stream outside the west gate of Tongcheng County, under the weeping willows, there is a reed mat shed. It is close to the official road and next to the county seat. On the sandy land behind the shed in the north of the stream, there is a large watermelon. Passers-by, peddlers, and idlers who came out of the city to escape the summer were shirtless, eating melons and resting in the cool, and setting up a dragon gate array. Some were lying on the bare stone slabs, with straw hats resting on their heads, their braids coiled, their snoring like thunder on their four legs, and they slept sweaty.

"It's better to be winter!" A middle-aged man who was as fat as a pig, shaking a fan in one hand and biting a watermelon in the other, said: "It's cold in winter, Lao Tzu wears thicker, or else make a fire and drill the quilt!" This damn weather, there's nowhere to hide, nowhere to hide, I can't wait to peel off the skin to find some coolness! Next to him, a thin black man with protruding ribs, long hair, unshaved for two months, unkempt forehead, gnawing on melon skin, and said with a smile: "Fourth Master Wang, this is what I hear, it's not bad from farting!" Like me Jia Gui, I don't look forward to winter for the rest of my life! How good the weather is, whether you are rich or poor, you are shirtless, who can tell that you are rich and I am poor? Or, you're white and I'm black, you're fat and I'm thin? If it snows heavily in winter, and you live in a broken thatched hermitage that leaks around, and your head is covered with rotten robes, you will know what it means to have nowhere to hide and nowhere to hide! An old man next to him smiled: "Yes! The rich and the poor are not a matter of fact! ”

Wang Siye spit out the melon seeds in his mouth, threw away the thick melon skin, and said with a dry smile: "What kind of 'rich man' am I?" However, relying on the blessing of the ancestors, the old man was lifted, and he ended up in a false name! - Say that sorghum flowers are illiterate, stupid, ghosts don't believe it, mud-legged singles, fine! If you want to talk about wealth, it is still those big salt dogs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, go to the mainland, four or five thousand taels of silver, less than fifty or sixty thousand a year, that silver-" His eyes widened, and he opened his hands dripping with melon juice, "The sea is here!" Speaking of selling smuggled salt, a young man who had been sitting on the stone bars silently moved uneasily, touched a coarse cloth bag that lay on the ground, lowered his straw hat to cover his face, and leaned against a tree to pretend to be a snooze. Sitting next to him was also a young man in his twenties, dressed in coarse cloth with buttoned shoulders and green cloth trousers pulled up high. The person is very delicate, and the two thick eyebrows are like paint, which are very separated, and there is a faint heroic spirit. Seeing the young man next to him touching his pocket and pretending to be asleep, he turned sideways and slapped the young man on the shoulder and shouted, "Hey! Wake up! ”

"What's the matter?" The young man was startled, took off his hat and saw that it was a guest eating melons next to him, and asked with suspicion in his eyes, "Did you call me?" ”

"My surname is Yin, my name is Yin Xiang, what about you?" The young man in the shoulder smiled and said, "On such a hot day, you have been sitting for a long time, why don't you buy a piece of melon to eat?" The young man was probably already very thirsty, he looked at Yin Xiang in a daze, licked his dry lips, paused for a moment, shook his head and said, "My name is Fifth Brother Zhang, thank you Brother Yin, I have to hurry, don't eat." Yin Xiang smiled, picked up the melon he bought, handed over a piece, and said: "You don't have to dodge, it's not a shame to have no money, look at this day, can you walk?" Eat me! Look at the people's side, eat melons to cool off, talk happily, we sit bored, how boring! ”

The fifth brother took the melon embarrassedly, took a bite gently, glanced at the kind-hearted young man gratefully, and said, "Listen to your Beijing accent, this powerful faction is also like a Sven person, come to Tongcheng to run business?" Yin Xiang laughed and said, "What do you think I look like a Sven?" I'm a Swu! The fifth brother smiled: "Although you are wearing a recession, you can't hide it from my eyes, you are not a rich family, where did you come from this sandalwood fan, your fingers are thin and white, and you look like a person who has never done rough work!" ”

"Oh? Oh......" Yin Xiang looked at the fan in his hand, this is a mud gold carved sandalwood fan, with a white marble pendant on the bottom, and on the fan is Dong Xiangguang's authentic cursive - this is very precious - it is really difficult to match his own clothes, Yin Xiang couldn't help but smile and said: "You are careful!" My family is indeed not poor, but if you want to be like the fourth master Wang just now, there are 200 hectares of land, and there is no one. It is even more incomparable with the salt merchants. Fifth Brother Zhang snorted and said, "What is a salt merchant?" You go north from this Tongcheng, there is a Liu Banu two hundred miles away, you ask how much furniture he has, you will know what it means to be rich! Wang Siye said that the rich have a hard time when it is hot, and Liu Ba Nu is afraid that there will be dozens of pots of ice cubes in the house, and a few girls are fanning! People are more angry than people! ”

Fourth Master Wang was boasting about the salt merchant: "...... That identity momentum, when I saw the Daotai, I just called a thousand children to ask An Dao Lack, and it was even more difficult in the prefecture and county, so I swaggered and sat opposite ......" said spittle, because I heard the words of the fifth brother here, I patted my thigh with a fan and said: "What Liu Eighth Girl Liu Jiunu!" Have you seen the ladies in the Salt Horn? Let's Tongcheng, when Master Qian was in office, he accompanied Wei Laojiu in the old salt shop in Maoyuan all day long to eat and drink, like a dog with his tail upside down, I saw it with my own eyes! No, what kind of Huangzi book did Dai Mingshi write, what is it called "Nanshan Collection", which scolded Long Live Today, and affected Master Fang Bao Fang of Tongcheng. Master Fang's house was raided and roped to Beijing. Master Qian was taken off because of a case of rebellion in the country. The new Shi Shilun Shi Da Ling, get off the car today, the first order, first invite Wei Laojiu and the salt merchants of Hecheng to Wufu Building to eat and drink! I heard that two elder brothers Chitose came to Beijing, and they invited the big salt brine in the house, Daoli and the province to eat and talk! Gee...... What's that going on? ”

He pretended to be a native of Tongcheng and a solid family, and his official face was open, and he spoke very rudely, Yin Xiang couldn't help but laugh when he heard it.

It turns out that this "Yin Xiang" is one of the two "Chitose Lords". His real name is Aixinjue Luo Yinxiang, and he is the thirteenth son of today's son Kangxi, the new Fengbeizi, who was ordered to accompany the fourth elder brother Yinzhen to Anhui to inspect the flood control of the Yellow River. Tianhuang is noble, and a golden branch and jade leaf are serious! I heard that Shi Shilun also invited a salt merchant, and was about to speak, but I saw a few officials coming in the distance. At the back, a middle-aged man in his forties was wearing a white robe of the field, but he was sitting in a sedan chair carried by two people and went straight to the melon shed.

"Wei Jiuye!" Fourth Master Wang hurriedly put on his coat, stood up with a smile on his face, glanced at the people in the melon shed ostentiously, and said, "It's a hot day, why are you here?" If you want to eat melons, send a few small servants to my field, just move them...... Just now, we are still praising your old man's wealth and kindness! ”

Yinxiang only learned at this moment that "Wei Jiuye" turned out to be "Wei Laojiu". He held his breath, stilted Erlang's legs, and looked at the salt merchant carefully, only to see Wei Laojiu "um", and did not talk to Wang Siye, with a gloomy face, he searched with his eyes for a long time, paced to Yinxiang, pointed at Fifth Brother Zhang and said: "This is a smuggler of salt, you take him down!" Several officials agreed, pounced on Fifth Brother Zhang, who was in a daze, crossed his arms, and kicked his buttocks again. That Fifth Brother Zhang has kung fu on him, but he didn't move at all! A servant kicked the pocket, and it was heavy, so he lifted it up, bared his teeth and grinned: "There is still water in the eyes of the ninth master!" He's a fucking salt dealer! After that, he pushed Fifth Brother Zhang back, "Let's go!" What are you stunned about? Did the shell Lang get into the night pot and pretend to be a black old bag? A servant came over, put a cloth bag on Fifth Brother Zhang's neck, and said with a smile: "It's a hot day, ask the gentlemen to carry private salt for you?" I look at you as if you've practiced the tricks, or you work hard yourself! After that, he pushed Fifth Brother Zhang and left, and the people around him were already stunned.

"Slow!" Yinxiang suddenly waved his hand, tucked the fan into his waist and stood up, pointed to the cloth bag and said, "Half of this salt is mine, you can't take it all!" ”

"Yo ho!" The officials couldn't help but look at each other and smile, "It's quite righteous!" Then you can go with it! People were caught in the middle of a lot, and this one said, "This kid is fifty percent at most!" He said, "Fifty percent also exalted him." Look, it's two hundred and five! Saying a burst of laughter, he escorted Yinxiang and the fifth brother into the city under the scorching sun.

The county yamen is next door to the Chenghuang Temple on Xiguan Street. The drum on the wall at the entrance of the yamen had not been beaten for a long time, and it had fallen a thick layer of dust. The predecessor Qian County Commander was removed from his post because he was printed, so the box of official boots hung on the side empty. Yinxiang followed the officials into the second gate, and saw that there were already two people under the big locust tree in the courtyard of the yamen, and like the fifth brother, there was a pocket next to them, and it seemed that they were with the fifth brother Zhang, and the three of them nodded their heads in understanding. The two men asked, "Fifth brother, who is this?" Why did you come too? The fifth brother looked at Yinxiang and complained, "What are you doing?" Why bother to come, stir up the sin and suffer? ”

"Zhou Yu beats Huang Gai, is he willing to beat, and he is willing to suffer!" Yinxiang smiled, looked at the empty lobby, and replied nonchalantly, "I like to make friends and have a good time!" As he was talking, there was a knock on the side door, and a middle-aged man in his fifties, thin and thin, dressed in a five-python and four-pawed robe, decorated with a complement, and a new plain gold hat with long braids hanging down, paced out step by step and walked towards the hall. The attendant hurriedly shouted: "Master Shi has been promoted!" ”

The drums rang out three times, and the eight servants walked in with a "oh-" with water and fire sticks in their hands, and the geese were lined up. Everything was silent again, and I only listened to the annoying screams of the trees that knew endlessly. Seeing that Shi Shilun had been promoted, the master of the torture room whispered to Wei Laojiu: "I'll go up and have a look." Ninth Master, this Master Shi is very hard, you should be careful. Because it was very close, Yinxiang saw that the master went to the side of the case and waved his hand, leaned over to Shi Shilun's side and whispered something. Shi Shilun's eyes were very short-sighted, holding a lens in one hand and a piece of paper in the other, he looked at it for a long time with his face close to him, and then nodded and said something. The master still retreated, and went to Wei Laojiu and said, "Master, please you!" ”

"I'll go up now." Wei Laojiu glanced at Yinxiang, Fifth Brother Zhang and others, coughed dryly and followed the master to the hall. Standing in front of the desk, he bowed to Shi Shilun and said, "Old man, I have met Wei Ren, the late wife!" Shi Shilun sighed, a smile appeared on his face, picked up the lens on the table and took a photo, and asked, "Are you from Shaanxi?" Which one? I don't listen to the accent like a Shaanxi person! ”

Yinxiang watched from the sidelines and couldn't help sneering secretly. I have heard for a long time that Shi Shilun is a clean official, but it seems that it may not be. He was originally the governor of the government, but now he is demoted to the county order, and he is called "the old man's ancestor", and he actually accepts it calmly. When listening attentively, Wei Laojiu replied with a smile: "I am an inner yellow person." ”

"Neihuang people," Shi Shilun thought sideways and said, "I have no relatives in Neihuang!" These three words 'late birth'...... Where did it come from? ”

Only then did Yinxiang know that Shi Shilun was in Yangqiu, and he was happy to play with Wei Laojiu, and he couldn't help grinning. The official next to him shouted: "You be honest!" Looking at Wei Laojiu in the hall again, his face was as ashamed as a red cloth, and he was muttering with sweat, and he didn't know what he said.

"That's it." Shi Shilun sneered and said, "I am a parent, you are just a salt merchant, even if you are an official salt seller, how can you see me, you only bow lightly, what kind of rules is this, what is the reason?" ”

The county lord stretched his face suddenly, and the officials and prisoners in the hall were all stunned. Why didn't this old man ask the defendant, but only rubbed the plaintiff Wei Laojiu endlessly?

"Huh?"

Shi Shilun leaned back majestically, shook the banana fan and snorted again. His clear face was covered with frost, and there was an irresistible pressure in his tone, which overwhelmed everyone.

"Back to my husband's ancestor—"

"I don't want you to call your husband Zu, shoot this false fart!" Shi Shilun was furious, "You can talk back!" ”

"Go back to the old father's platform...... Wei Laojiu swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, "The rules have always been like this!" I'm in Yanqing Mansion—"

"This is Tongcheng County, not Yanqing Mansion!" Shi Shilun's gloomy voice made people shudder, "They accepted your bribe, so naturally treat you like a guest." I buy salt to eat vegetables, vegetarian and light. What are you that dare to fight me? - Come on! ”

The officials were already dumbfounded, and it took a long time to come back to their senses, and they agreed unevenly: "Here!" ”

"Drag it off!" Shi Shilun had no expression on his face, and said lightly, "Twenty whips!" ”

"Wow!"

The officials wanted to laugh but didn't dare to laugh, so they agreed to get up and go to Wei Laojiu. Wei Laojiu has been entrenched in Tongcheng for a long time, and he is hot, glaring at everyone, the officials are all on their own and do not dare to start.

"How?" Shi Shilun was furious, glared and shouted, "Why don't you take it?" Wei Lao Jiuge smiled, waved his hand and said, "Old Father, don't be angry!" Didn't you take over yesterday? We have to wait for us to stop, there are precedents in Daoli and Fuli County, and no one is indispensable to you! Why bother so little to save face? As soon as the words fell, I only heard a startling sound of "pop", and Shi Shilun stood up: "You tricky stick, presumptuous!" Then a fire stick snapped down, "Drag it out, and whip forty lashes!" ”

The officials no longer hesitated, rushed up, set up Wei Laojiu and trotted out of the lobby, pressed under the big locust tree, pulled off his pants, and crackled with a raindrop-like whip on his white steamed bun-like buttocks. The whip marks immediately oozed red blood. Wei Laojiu had probably never suffered this kind of hardship since he was born in his mother's womb, and he howled like a scoop: "Great Order...... Yi Zun old father's platform! …… Ouch, tap ...... I can't stand it...... My good Ling Yin, good Da Yin, good Ming Mansion...... Spare it......" Yinxiang laughed when he listened: Thanks to this brute, he was able to call the honorific title of the county magistrate all over in a hurry!

"Let's stop!" Shi Shilun also heard it funny, waved his hand and said, "This seems to be a bit of a rule." Then he ordered someone to drag him up to the court, and asked with a biased face: "Are those under the trees outside the smuggling salt dealers you sued?" Wei Laojiu looked back at the four people under the tree. Wei Ren had been beaten to the point that his soul was not possessed, and with a bitter look on his face, he hurriedly kowtowed and said, "A total of six...... Seven, all of them were smuggled salt sellers. Shi Shilun smiled and asked, "How do you know that they sell smuggled salt?" ”

Wei Laojiu said: "The villain runs a dry shop on South Street. These peddlers have to stay in the hotel every half moon. Therefore, they can only be named. Each time each person sells salt, it is around fifty catties. After that, he pointed to the fifth brother and said, "He's a leader!" Shi Shilun listened to it for a while, and then asked Fifth Brother Zhang, "Are you six people, or seven people?" ”

"Back to the old man!" Fifth Brother Zhang felt that the first thing was to tear Yinxiang apart, so he kowtowed and said, "It's true that we sell smuggled salt." It's just that the one named Yin Xiang is not our gang, nor is he a smuggled salt seller. He was the buyer, and the yali men were caught by mistake. Lord Qingtian Mingjing, we are willing to be punished, please release Yin Xiang......" Shi Shilun heard this, and couldn't help laughing: "You are righteous!" Then Yinxiang was ordered to stand aside, and two other people came up and asked, "Is this Fifth Brother Zhang telling the truth?" The two of them hurriedly replied, "There are six of us in total, and this eldest brother has never met." ”

Shi Shilun leaned forward, picked up the lenses and looked at them again, and asked, "Since it is six, what about the three people?" ”

"At noon today, Wei Ren took the servants to the store to get people, and there were only five people at that time, and everyone escaped." The fifth brother replied, "Because there is another person who doesn't know, I'm afraid that he won't be able to run away when he comes back, so I'm waiting outside the west gate, and I don't want to be taken ......away."

Shi Shilun smiled and asked the three of them: "Do you three have a problem with your legs?" Everyone was stunned when they asked a question, what is the case asking for? After a moment's hesitation, he hurriedly kowtowed and replied, "There is nothing wrong." ”

"Can you run?"

“…… I can run! ”

Shi Shilun shook his fan and said, "Since you have been caught, you can't run!" If you can really run, you can try it with salt on your back, and I'll see if you can run! ”

The three of them looked at each other in a daze, kowtowed in confusion, got up and went to the corner of the hall to carry a bag of salt, and ran a few steps. When he arrived at the entrance of the hall, he hesitated and stood still, looking back at this eccentric county master.

"Run, run!" Shi Shilun waved his fan and said, "Don't stop, run!" ”

The three of them looked at Shi Shilun gratefully, and without hesitation, they hugged out of the instrument door with a salt bag on their backs, and ran away without a trace. Yinxiang looked happy, nodded and smiled, and was about to leave, but when he saw Wei Laojiu's face purple like a pig's liver, he reluctantly kowtowed to Shi Shilun, gritted his teeth and smiled: "Master Shi, you solve the case today, the villain is an eye-opener!" Go back and make it clear that we are the third son, and we will definitely say good things to the master! Master, you will be added to the official and knighted, and there will be a day! ”

"Are you talking about Ren Bo'an's nephew in Tongcheng?" Shi Shilun Gege sneered, "Thank you for your attention!" I'm afraid that this is not Beijing, and Ren Boan's hand is not so long! There are people in Tongcheng who sell smuggled salt, but they are not like Zhang Wuge who carries dozens of catties of salt in exchange for a few liters of life-saving food. I have my own reasoning! After that, he coughed lightly and said, "Quit!" With a flick of his sleeves, he went straight away.

The servants laughed and dispersed. Seeing Wei Laojiu limping down with his mouth sucked, Yinxiang stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Old Wei, your lawsuit is not successful!" Lost the lady and broke the soldiers! Wei Laojiu glared at Yinxiang viciously, and said with a cruel smile: "It's not necessarily who doesn't have a colorful head!" Zhou Taizun is now in Tongcheng to check Fang Bao's house, and tonight his surname is about to see the color! ”

Yinxiang ignored him anymore and went back to the post house. At that time, it was the end of the unitary period, the scorching red sun was falling in the west, and the tired birds returned to the forest; It's just that the heat is unbearable. Seeing that the fourth elder brother Yinzhen was not there, he asked Yicheng: "Where is the fourth master?" Went out early in the morning and haven't come back early in the morning? ”

"Back to the Thirteenth Master!" Yi Cheng was busy ordering people to prepare soup basins, fetch hot water, and said with a smile: "The fourth master came back at noon, lost his temper, and scolded He Fantai for a bloody head. Because Cao Yuwen came to worship, it was too hot in this post. The fourth master said that he simply went to the river embankment to take a look, and by the way, he listened to Cao Heshuai. Tonight, I have to listen to He Fantai talk about the river work silver, and He Fantai is already waiting in the east wing...... When the fourth master was leaving, he said, the thirteenth master is back, don't go out again. The weather is too hot, and there is something wrong with the heat, and I can't explain to the emperor when I go back. You wash it first, and the fourth master will leave you a chilled watermelon ......"

"There you go! I don't need you to flatter! Yinxiang smiled, "Ask someone to bring the melon for a while, I have to rest for a while." Fourth brother comes back, you call me, I have something to discuss with him! ”