A few people said that Zhao Yuwu sued Xia Guiyu case, and quickly came to the north gate, at this time it was about the end of the unitary time, the city gate was not closed, but the patrol sergeant was very strict with the people who entered the city, the fat servant showed the tin card on his waist to the sergeant guarding the door, and said hello, and he was about to enter the city, but was stopped by the sergeant with a Zhejiang accent, and he must be carefully checked one by one, so angry that the two servants scolded the mother in the local dialect-

When the dispute was being made, three more officials in the city ran over, led by the yellow-headed officer, who saw that the patrol sergeant stopped Zeng Yu and a few people from letting them go, and said angrily: "You general soldiers are still waiting for this Zeng Xianggong at the banquet, and you actually stopped him from going to the banquet, what should he be guilty of!" ”

The patrol sergeant was taken aback, and looked at Zeng Yu and asked the yellow-headed officer: "Is he that Zeng Xiucai?" It seems that Zeng Yu has a good reputation in the Zhejiang army.

The yellow-headed servant snorted coldly, disdainfully answered, and only said, "Let it go or not?" If you don't let me go, I can only ask General Qi to come and tell you in person. ”

How dare the patrol sergeant be long-winded, and laughed with a smile: "It turned out to be Zeng Xianggong, disrespectful and disrespectful." "Quickly retreat to both sides.

Zeng Yu saw which sergeants the yellow-headed soldier was angry and wanted to teach a lesson, so he said: "It's okay, it's okay, in this extraordinary period of bandits, strictly guarding the city gate to prevent traitors from mixing in is a move to protect the territory and the people, you have worked hard." "Arch his hands and strode into the city.

When the yellow-headed soldier saw Zeng Yu say this, it was not good to reprimand those soldiers again, and Zeng Yu walked very fast, so he could only follow quickly, and said: "Fu Zun and General Qi asked Zeng Xiucai a few times why he hadn't arrived yet, and the villain died in a hurry." "I also scolded the fat servants for not knowing how to do things, and they couldn't invite a guest for half a day, who could afford to blame the lord of the mansion!

The fat servants and the two did not dare to argue with sad faces, because the temper of the yellow-headed servants was that the more they argued, the more annoyed they became.

Zeng Yu said: "Huang Bantou, this must be no wonder to the two of them, it is me and my friends who came back late from drinking outside, and the two of them have been waiting in the cold house for a long time - by the way, Huang Bantou, Qi Zongbing has returned to the city?" ”

The yellow head servant said: "Yes, I went back to the city in the afternoon." ”

Zeng Yu asked: "Has Wu Ping, the leader of the bandits who fled north, captured?" ”

Huang Touzhi said: "This villain is not very clear, anyway, it is a big victory, and the people of Guangxin Mansion can rest assured that they will have a stable year." ”

Zeng Yu let out a "hmm" and didn't ask anything more.

Hurry all the way to the mansion, enter from the instrument gate, pass through the side alley on the left side of the lobby, and come to the house of the prefect of Lin's house, there is a garden pavilion called Liuchun Garden behind the house, Zeng Yu is no stranger to Liuchun Garden, the last time the prefect of Lin invited his subordinates to watch the southern opera "Pipa Ji", he came, and the female Dan who played Zhao Wuniang left a deep impression on him.

The scenery of the Liuchun Garden at night is very different, the corridor, the rockery, the flowers and trees, the lanterns are hung everywhere, the snow in the garden is like felt, reflecting the moonlight and the lanterns, the Ambilight is colorful, as if the glazed world is the world, the two-storey small building in the southeast is even more full of lights, the sheng song blows through, under the reflection of the ice and snow crystal, the cold moon is clear, it seems that the Qionglou Yuyu, the fairy is located.

There are dozens of miscellaneous servants downstairs who are busy, it can be seen that the scale of the banquet is not small, the little official went upstairs to report, and then came down to ask Zeng Yu to go up, saying that the mansion and the adults have been waiting for a long time.

Zeng Yu went up to the second floor, only to see the huge hall with bright candles, fifteen square tables on the left and right, three of which are special seats, that is, one person and one seat, the other twelve tables are two people and one seat, each square table is placed with more than ten dishes, very rich; Under each table is a brazier, which is separated by a copper wire mesh on which the feet can rest for warmth.

"Zeng Xiucai is here, Zeng Xiucai is late."

"Three glasses of wine, three glasses of wine."

"Zeng Xiucai, Lin Fuzun and General Qi have asked a few times, why did you arrive!"

……

Gossip, laughter and noisy, most of these guests are officials of Guangxin Mansion, and they were present last time to perform "The Pipa Story", of course they knew Zeng Yu, and they should be Yan's Xixi, which show has such luck!

Zeng Yutuan said: "The student is late to go home for something, and when he hears the call of the government, he hurries over, and the student accompanies the sin, and the student accompanies the sin." ”

"Zeng Sheng, come here."

Lin Guangzu, the prefect who sat at the head of the east head, beckoned to Zeng Yu, Zeng Yu approached, and saw that the first seat in the west seat was Huang Guoqing, Jiangxi Xuedao, who was busy with the ceremony, Huang Xuedao was still thin, his face was slightly gray, but his expression was quite happy, and he smiled: "Zeng Sheng, I only asked you about your composition in the examination hall before, but I didn't know that you encountered such a danger on the way back to Shangrao from Fenyi. ”

Governor Lin sighed: "Yes, Zeng Sheng's time can really be described as a life of nine deaths, what is commendable is that he did not only care about his own safety, but used the thieves' weight to him, skillfully maneuvered, and led the thieves into General Qi's ambush circle - Zeng Sheng, I have seen General Qi and General Jin. ”

The two majestic guests located in the seat of Xixi Huang Xuedao got up and bowed their hands when they heard this, and the person above said with a smile: "If it weren't for Zeng Xiucai's trick to lure the enemy this time, the bandit leader Wu Pingding would definitely lead the thieves to attack Tongmu and enter Fujian, and it would be ten times more difficult to suppress the enemy at that time. ”

The general army of the Ming Dynasty is not customized, about equivalent to the military attache of the first and second grades, and the staff will be the third grade, and the rank of the product is much higher than the four civil officials Huang Xuedao and Lin Zhifu who are here, but the status of the military generals in the Ming Dynasty is low, and the military generals' official rank is also subject to civil control, Hu Butang, Lin Fuzun, and General Qi were properly arranged, and the soldiers used their lives to unite as one, so that the thieves were wiped out and the people were preserved, otherwise the students would be coerced to Fujian, and they would be accused of being thieves at that time, and it would be difficult to return to their homes, and life would be better than death. When he spoke, he raised his eyes and looked at the famous Qi Jiguang, Qi Jiguang was medium-sized, thin, and his appearance was nothing unusual, but his hands were slightly larger than ordinary people, and his knuckles were ridged, as if he had arthritis.

Hu Zongxian's right-hand man Xu Wei sat under General Jin Shen, and said with a smile: "Friend Zeng doesn't have to be too humble, your wisdom and courage are not commensurate with your age. As he spoke, he poured himself a drink, drank a large cup, and beckoned Zeng Yu to sit with him.

Zeng Yu sat down at the bottom of Xu Wei's square table, he had already had a drink with Yuan Zhong's father and son, and then he wanted to deal with it casually, but those officials did not let him go, and toasted him one by one. ”

Zeng Yu was stunned, where did he start with this, when did Yan Shifan say that he would be summoned to Beijing!

An official who was good at sneaking around and patting horses said: "Zeng Xiucai was appreciated by Yan Shilang, of course, it was due to his own diligence, but also because Huang Xuedao and Lin Fuzun taught well, and my Guangxin Mansion and Jiangxi Dao are talented people." ”

All the guests echoed one after another, praising a little show talent like a saint, although the wild and uninhibited Xu Wei didn't say anything, there was sarcasm in his eyes, and he looked at Zeng Yu's attitude coldly, was he proud?

Zeng Yu complained bitterly in his heart, this is clearly to brand him as a henchman of the Yan family, this is not good, the coming day is long, he can't live with such a brand, and said loudly at the moment: "Your adults have won awards, students are only shallow in learning, where can they afford these praises, the students met Yan Shilang who returned to his hometown for the first time on the Fenyi Road, he was just a white Ding, and he was still rushing to Yichun to make up for the exam, and he was extremely down, because he knew a little about medical skills, and treated a relative of Yan Shilang, which attracted Yan Shilang's attention. The eldest son of Yan Shilang is frail and sickly, and he needs such a companion who knows a little bit of medical skills, and the so-called companion reading is not much better than the servant. The student has been studying for the two Yan sons for several months, and he is not on good terms with Yan Shilang's second son, and the student has explained to Yan Shilang's cousin, Mr. Yan Er, that he will not go to Yan's mansion next year. ”

The hall that was staggered and laughing became strangely silent, and the guests looked at each other, although they were not Beijing officials, but they also knew that the officials in Beijing wanted to enter the old mansion of the pavilion and were about to break their heads, and the general official concierge was not allowed to enter the door at all, and they had to be willing to flatter the concierge, and bribed the silver two to be reported, and they could not necessarily get the reception of Yan Ge Lao when they entered the door, and they often waited until it was almost dark to get a reply that the old man was tired of the guest today and would come again tomorrow; The next day, I went before dawn, and the porter scolded and scolded him and said that he had a good dream, and he had to wait for a long time, and finally saw Yan Ge Lao, and hurriedly offered a gift, and served tea to the guest without saying a word, this official was already extremely honored, and when he came out to meet his colleagues, he said proudly that he had just come out of the old house, and the old man was very important, and he valued me very much-

Of course, there is still a difference between the Yan Mansion of Fenyi Jieqiao and the old mansion of the Jingcheng Pavilion, but it is also the place where the old Yan Shifan of the small pavilion can be approached, this Zeng Yu is crazy, self-exposed, and has a gap with Yan Shilang's sister-in-law, this kind of thing dares to say it, it is simply unreasonable, ordinary people have to cover up this kind of thing and not let others know, only boast about how they are treated by the Yan Mansion, but Zeng Yu said on this occasion that he can't stay in the Yan Mansion, which is simply ignorant.

In an embarrassing silence, suddenly a person patted the case and said: "Very good, this is the scholar who reads the sage book, the gentleman is frank, not vain, not pretentious, not sycophant because of the power of the Yan government, if you are together, you will stay and go, the old man has a student like you, it is a great relief." ”

Huang Guoqing was favored by Xia Yan in his early years, and he has always been dissatisfied with the abuse of Yan's father and son.

After all, Huang Guoqing is the highest-ranking civil official here, and the other officials present laughed and praised Zeng Yu a few words, in fact, in their hearts, Zeng Yu's price has dropped sharply.

There are also those who admire Zeng Yu, such as Xu Wei, who wrote an article on behalf of Hu Zongxian to congratulate Yan Song on his birthday.

Governor Lin's face was a little unsightly, but he still smiled: "As far as this government knows, Yan Shilang's eldest son is only fifteen years old, and the second son is naturally younger. ”

The guests said yes one after another, as if the ice had melted, and the awkward atmosphere was relieved.

Of course Zeng Yu will not tell how Yan Shaoting hates him, this kind of thing is good to the end, if you really want to clear yourself up from Yan Song's father and son at this time, that is to make trouble for yourself, Yan Song will fall for a few years, then he will have a hard time in the past few years, tonight's explanation is a foreshadowing, so that he can justify himself in the future.

Zeng Yu said with a smile: "The student is twenty years old this year, and he is still childish, ashamed and ashamed, please teach me more." ”

The night banquet went on as usual, but no one mentioned Zeng Yu and Yanfu anymore, and some people were no longer optimistic about Zeng Yu, thinking that Zeng Yu was not open-minded, exposed his shortcomings, did not know the rules of officialdom, and was only afraid of a worrying future in the future.

When the banquet was over, the second drum had been beaten, except for Zeng Yu, everyone else lived in the city, Zeng Yu said goodbye to the Lin Governor's Mansion, Lin Governor's Mansion frowned, sighed and said: "Zeng Sheng is young, he doesn't know the world without knowing the world, and he listens to the good words of the house, and he will go to Fenyi to teach and read next year, and the benefits will be inexhaustible in the future." ”

Zeng Yu is only the only one, indicating that he is taught.

The prefect of Lin asked the officials to send Zeng Yu's master and servant out of the city, but at this time, the city gate was closed, and he could not enter or leave without the official waist card.

When Governor Lin was advising Zeng Yu, Qi Jiguang over there asked Xu Wei in a low voice: "What kind of person Mr. Xu thinks this Zeng Xiu is, he is extremely wise and brave, but also seems to be stupid, it is really incomprehensible." ”

Of course, Xu Wei did not have Zeng Yu's foresight and foresight, his understanding was: "This is the style of a scholar, Xu is known as crazy, but compared with this Zeng friend, he is ashamed of himself, this person is worth befriending, and I will invite him to drink tomorrow." ”

Qi Jiguang and Jin Shenjiang looked at each other and smiled, Qi Jiguang said in his heart: "It turns out that he is a scholar in the business, and it is indeed unpredictable for scholars to do things sometimes, but this Zeng Xiucai seems to be more than that, it is still incomprehensible." ”

……

Early the next morning, Zeng Yu took Sixi to enter the city with the first batch of people at the beginning of the opening of the north gate, he was going to visit Xia Rongpi to see if he could give assistance, people should try to be kind to others, and they had to be a last resort not to accept the favor of others, otherwise they would be very tired in order to repay the favor.

Came to the East Gate City God's Temple Square, Sixi led the way, went straight to the paper shop of Xia Rongpi, Xia's paper shop has not yet opened, Sixi knocked on the door, after a while the door opened, the door is the haggard Xia Rongpi, compared with May, the early forties Xia Rongpi seems to be ten years old, both temples are white, see Zeng Yu's master and servant, rubbed his eyes, recognized Zeng Yu, and said in surprise: "It turned out to be Zeng Gongzi, oh, Zeng Xianggong, I heard Mr. Xia of Dongyan Academy talk about it, Zeng Xianggong made up the entrance examination, congratulations." ”

Zeng Yu said: "Xia Chaofeng, don't talk about this, don't talk about this, I heard Xiaojie say that Ling Lang got into a lawsuit, so I came to visit to see if I can do a little bit." ”

As soon as he heard this, Xia Yupi burst into tears, and it was difficult to see the truth, at the beginning, he just let Zeng Yu's family take a free boat and ate two meals on the boat, and now Zeng Yu came to the door when he was most embarrassed and said that he wanted to help him, how could he not let him burst into tears, and at the same time his heart ignited hope, Zeng Yu is a talent, and he can speak in the government, maybe he can save his son's life.

Xia Yupi invited Zeng Yu into the store, beckoned the young man to serve tea and snacks, Zeng Yu said: "Xia Chaofeng, you tell me in detail about Ling Lang's involvement in the case, don't hide anything from me, if you hide it from me, I can't help you, Ling Lang is already in prison, it's useless for you to hide it from me." ”

Xia Yipi swore to the sky, there was no half-truth, and then he elaborated on the causes and consequences of his son being involved in this lawsuit for no reason, took out another piece of paper, and said: "This is the complaint written by the lawyer invited by the Zhao family to sue my son Guiyu, I spent money to ask someone to copy it here, Zeng Xianggong, you can see, it's all false accusations." ”

Zeng Yu looked at the paper and wrote:

"The accuser Zhao Yuwu was killed for rape and abduction: the beast is evil Xia Guiyu, bullying men and children, coveting the appearance of his daughter-in-law, buying a house and forming neighbors, and peeping on the cave wall. How can the daughter-in-law hate her husband's bad appearance, fornication, adultery, open and secret, and banditry. Suddenly, one night this month, he swept away his clothes and played with his daughter, threw his luck through the wall, and planned to crutche. He shouted for help from his neighbors and was beaten to death. Although the rape and abduction were not successful, the daughter-in-law knew that the scandal was everywhere and had no shame to see people, so she hanged herself from a beam the next day. Tongli and other references. Thinking about being humiliated and raped, the lover gnashes his teeth, and kills with money, which is even more chilling. Knock on the heavens and correct the law, and help Lun to kill the adulterer. Appeal. ”