Zhenjiang Mansion is in the downstream of Yingtianfu, less than 100 miles by land, and it is down the river by boat, that is, although it is to take the wind, not to the disease.

Qing'er's boat is small, but it is more convenient, like a reed boat in the mighty Yangtze River, and it takes less than an hour to look at the faint Zhenjiang Fu Wharf in front of the river from the river.

Although the boat lady Qing'er is thin, but the boat work is old and spicy, a few stops and turns to dial the water, and the boat leaves the river and heads towards the Zhenjiangfu wharf on the south bank.

"Guest officer, the north shore is the famous Yangzhou Mansion Wharf." Qing'er held the penny road in the bow of the boat.

Bao Yuanqian got up and stood on the bow of the boat to look out, the river was full of fog, and he vaguely saw a large ship on the other side of the wide river, heading from the Yangzhou wharf to Zhenjiang.

He thought that more than a month ago, a group of brothers also landed from Yangzhou to Zhenjiang, when he was just a worried Bai Ding, and now he is a five-grade Xiao cavalry captain, and it is only more than a month in the blink of an eye.

The palace that used to be extremely mysterious is now for him, but Er'er, his eyes are now wide open, and he is no longer a big soldier in the Suzhou guard.

Revisiting the old place gave him a sense of open-mindedness. Looking at the official ship sailing in the distance, I don't know which dignitary or someone like himself was on it. @

Qing'er saw that the official boat was tall, and the waves coming from it must not be small, so the official boat went straight to the left side of the pier, so she chose the right place to dock. Just as the boat was docking, the river was swaying wave after wave due to the wind.

Wave after wave, Bao Yuanqian sat in the boat and felt that it was difficult to stabilize her body, Qing'er's slender figure staggered back and forth, she hurriedly threw the rope out, and hung the pile head more than ten steps away to stabilize the boat.

"Be careful!"

The slender man on the shore shouted to Bao Yuanqian and his party, and Bao Yuanqian looked sideways to see that the official ship coming from Yangzhou was surging because of the sudden cross wind on the river, and the stern of the boat actually slapped horizontally with the waves to the wharf.

The official ship was quite large, and although it was not afraid of the cross wind, it was very afraid of the river waves. Due to the large hull of the ship, it is like a behemoth with great inertia in the river, and it is easy to be derailed by the waves once it gets out of control.

The official ship came sideways and occupied almost the entire coast of the wharf, including Qing'er's boat.

"Oops." Ying Hao looked at the boat that had not yet completely docked, and the official boat on the other side had already been photographed, so if he was hit, not to mention that the boat was torn apart, this person had to be flattened by the official boat.

Qing'er was shocked when she saw the official ship crashing into it, and she immediately looked at her younger brother in the canopy.

"Brother!" When she was running towards the little boy, Ying Hao grabbed her arm, put it on her shoulder, jumped over, and jumped to the shore and retreated.

Bao Yuanqian turned around and copied the little boy, and when he was about to jump over, the wide official boat had already hit the boat!

The boat suddenly shook violently and then fell apart, Bao Yuanqian's feet were empty, he hurriedly took a breath and jumped up on the floating plank, and stepped on the official boat with both feet, and the whole person shot away from the official ship like an arrow from the string, and rolled around on the dock, so there was no big problem.

He only has a slight understanding of the light work by borrowing strength, but fortunately he is a thin little boy in his arms, if he is an adult, I am afraid that he will not have the ability to jump up on driftwood, and he will fall into a water dog.

Ying Hao saw that Bao Yuanqian was in danger, and said straight in his heart, how fast did he make progress?

"Brother!" Qing'er exclaimed in surprise and hurriedly pounced on her younger brother in Bao Yuanqian's arms.

"Ahem.. Sister, I'm fine.." The little boy's lips were a little pale, and he was obviously frightened by what he had just done.

Qing'er hugged her younger brother and looked at the "home" that turned into broken wooden planks by the water, and felt sad for a while, her eyes full of tears.

The home that Xindao relied on for his livelihood is gone, and even the usual treasure money in the box has fallen into the water without the origin of his livelihood, how will they survive in the future?

The hemp rope is broken in detail, and bad luck is looking for the miserable. Qing'er's heart was sad, she knelt on the dock and hugged her brother and fell down.

The official ship had a small boat buffer but did not hit the dock, only to see the soldiers and servants on the official ship put down the wooden ladder to get off the ship one after another, and many officers and soldiers poured down from the official ship, listing two rows of big people waiting on the ship.

Bao Yuanqian stared at it, and soon two people got off the boat first, both of them were not young, and their hair was half white, and they invited each other to get off the boat. Dressed alone.

The other person is wearing a colorful python robe, and the python walks on the back of the shoulder, which is a python robe!

A person who can wear a python robe must have a high official position, and may even be a lord. @·No mistake start~~ The two of them were surrounded by soldiers and went straight forward, and they didn't take a second look when they passed by Qing'er.

Not long after the two old men disembarked, a polite man on the boat stepped onto the board of the boat and invited the distinguished guests in the boat. When the guest in the ship appeared, it was a woman in a skirt.

Bao Yuanqian just helped up the Qing'er sister and brother, but he was stunned, he found these two familiar figures!

"Dou Qin? Cui Yingying? Bao Yuanqian frowned and said, "Why did they come to Yingtian?" ”

This Dou Qin and his father are both officials in Ganzhou, and Cui Yingying is from Suzhou, how could he come all the way to this Jiangnan?

Cui Yingying was served by two maidservants, one of whom was the domineering Huan'er, she was generously helped off the boat, and she looked condescendingly and saw Bao Yuanqian who was watching her.

"It's... How could Brother Bao be here? Cui Yingying muttered, she just felt a sharp eye, but she didn't expect it to be the old man Bao Yuanqian.

That Dou Qin's clothes were fluttering, and when he saw Cui Yingying's expression was abnormal, he followed his gaze and saw a person who made him angry!

He remembered the bad memories in Suzhou, the horse race lost a thousand taels and encountered the siege of Wara, he was so frightened that he hurried back to Ganzhou after the siege was lifted, and he never saw Bao Yuanqian, who repeatedly stole his limelight.

"Humph!" Dou Qin flicked his sleeves and said, "Yingying doesn't have to pay attention to him, and goes with his father and Song Hou." ”

Cui Yingying nodded, but despite hearing this, she still looked at Bao Yuanqian's place from time to time. She knew that Bao Yuanqian was just a pawn in the past, and even if he became the chief banner, he was not an official, and he was not qualified to wear a silk brocade robe.

But now Bao Yuanqian's demeanor and temperament seem to be different from the clouds and mud in the past, the net scarf is tied in a single bun, the cyan drag is blown by the river wind, and he is stepping on oolong official boots, and his posture is upright and there is no appearance of a low-level pawn.

She suddenly thought of what Bao Yuanqian said when she parted that day, and said in her heart, could it be that Brother Bao really became famous and became an official in Yingtian? What exactly did he go through?

She didn't dare to look at Bao Yuanqian again, she got off the boat with Dou Qin and drove straight to the car that had been prepared on the shore, and when she got into the car, she glanced back, but saw that Bao Yuanqian had already stopped looking at her, but comforted a pair of sisters and brothers.

"Miss, get in the car." Huan'er naturally found the clue, "Even if you become an official, can you compare to Dou Gongzi's brilliant future?" Now that their father and son have returned to Beijing to report on their work, it should be a higher level. You didn't make a mistake in the first place, and you don't have to feel guilty. ”

Although Xiaohuan was shocked in his heart, he was still unforgiving because of his own young lady's face.

Cui Yingying sighed lightly and got into the carriage.

"Sister.." The little boy was held by Qing'er, although he was small, he understood that the boat was life, and now that the boat is gone, his life is still there?

"It's okay, when you recover from your illness, Sister will go to find a boat..."Although Qing'er was sad in her heart, she also comforted her brother strongly.

At this time, a gray-clothed servant came over and handed Qing'er five treasure bills, each of which was a consistent amount.

The servant said lightly: "This is Xining Marquis Song Sheng, Marquis Song will compensate you for the loss of Zhouji, and take it." ”

Qing'er looked at the treasure money in the man's hand, all she wanted now was a small boat, although there were many of these five runs, she was fishing with all her might, how long could she live if she lost the boat?

The servant saw that she hadn't taken the treasure money for a long time, so he didn't have the patience to lift the treasure money and drop it in front of Qing'er. I didn't want his marquis to have an accident on this official ship, but the marquis of Xining was merciful, so he took the responsibility. Qing'er didn't answer, and he lost his patience.

Bao Yuanqian looked at everything, after all, he met this sister and brother in Pingshui, this is so uneven, Pudu sentient beings are really not something he can manage.

There are thousands of sufferings in the world, and he can't do it perfectly, he can only do what he can.

He took out a consistent treasure note from the belt around his waist, stacked it with the five pieces on the ground, and handed it to Qing'er and said, "Six thousand Wen is here, you can find a way to get another boat." ”

Qing'er took the treasure money with tears, Bao Yuanqian immediately got up and looked at Ying Hao on the side, Ying Hao nodded, and the two headed towards Zhenjiang Mansion.

This sudden accident is no wonder to anyone. That Song Sheng didn't know Sister Qing'er.

The younger brother is a black household, and the money has been compensated, and the benevolence has been exhausted. The two of them were innocent passengers, and they saved their sister and brother in danger and made up the fare for the second time, which is also a clear conscience.

Bao Yuanqian and the two walked two miles in a horse shop to rent two horses, Bao Yuanqian turned around and saw that Qing'er was following the two of them not far away with his younger brother on his back.

Ying Hao said: "Follow all the way, let's stop her." ”

Bao Yuanqian sighed lightly and beckoned. Na Qing'er hurriedly picked up her younger brother and trotted over, her slender body was strong but she had to grit her teeth to support it.

"Why are you following me?"

Qing'er put down her weak little brother, let him lean against the wooden fence and gasped: "Now that the boat for a living is gone, the two of us are homeless. I just want to cure my little brother's illness, but if I sleep in the open air, my little brother will definitely not be able to endure it. ”

She has always had a strong temperament, and Bao Yuanqian insisted on not accepting money from her. Now he took the initiative to follow, and what he did was also his sick brother. This boat has always been controlled by the government, how can she get a boat as a black household? She saw that Bao Yuanqian was kind-hearted, and now she regarded him as a life-saving straw.

In the past, she had a boat to support herself, and a home that was not a home, although it was not warm, but it could also shelter from the wind and rain, but now that the boat is gone, their sister and brother have completely become wandering people in the world.

"What do you mean?"

Hearing Bao Yuanqian's words, Qing'er fell to her knees, handed over the six treasure bills with both hands and sobbed: "My lord, please accept Qing'er's money, can you take in my sister and brother for a while." When I take care of my brother's cold, we will leave immediately and never make trouble for adults! ”

"This.." He wanted to buy two servants to clean the courtyard, but he didn't want to use two child laborers! What's more, there is another one that is a sick number, which is really...

Qing'er hurriedly said: "I.. I can do my job, I... I had so much strength that I could carry my brother for miles. I ate very little, and it was not difficult to feed at all. I can do a lot of work and just eat one meal! As soon as my brother is well, we'll leave right away! ”

Her tone was tight and timid, for fear that Bao Yuanqian would reject her, and she talked about her strengths for her younger brother.

"Or. Or if you buy me and sell it, it's a lot of money... As long as my brother .."

She said that she was extremely humble, and Bao Yuanqian hurriedly raised his hand to stop her and said, "You can keep the money, you don't need to be presumptuous, but you can clean the courtyard?" ”

Qing'er nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes." Not only to clean the courtyard, but also to carry water and chop firewood. ”

Bao Yuanqian said: "Then let's follow, it's just that the two of us are coming to Zhenjiang Mansion to play, and it will take some time to respond to the sky." ”

Qing'er said again and again: "Make, make, how the adults say Qing'er will do." She said that she was going to carry her brother.

Bao Yuanqian glanced at Ying Hao, and Ying Hao picked up the little boy and put the horse before her, and just like that, the four people and two horses went straight into Zhenjiang Mansion.

Bao Yuanqian and the others rode towards the government office, and when they arrived at the government office, they were told that the judge Gao Shouzheng went out to Wu on a business trip and was not in the government office. The two were disappointed, they said that they would come to Zhenjiang to find Gao Shouzheng to play, but they didn't expect that people didn't find it, and a lot of things happened.

The two shook their heads in disappointment, and said that they would find a place to eat and drink in the restaurant and then take the land route to respond to the sky. The two of them randomly found a small shop to eat and drink, and the Qing'er sisters and brothers had never eaten such a delicious food, but they were dazzled. Even her sick brother ate some food, and Qing'er even shed tears while eating. Error-free updates @

As soon as the four of them came out of the building, a dirty beggar came to the side and bumped into him.

The two bumped into each other, and the beggar hurriedly apologized again and again, and staggered away. Bao Yuanqian has been practicing martial arts for a long time, and he has long realized that this guy was deliberately bumped into, not to mention that he suffered a loss in Suzhou.

What this beggar wanted was nothing more than the cloth around his waist, and Bao Yuanqian did not stop him from bumping into him, but caught a glimpse of a red rope around his waist. Generally, things that can be tied with red rope are not bargains.

The beggar was apparently a professional pickpocket, and he didn't know how much he had stolen in the past. Now that he is blind and bumps into himself, he wants to make this guy steal chickens and rice.

"Him!" Ying Hao pointed to the beggar who was far away, obviously finding an abnormality.

Bao Yuanqian smiled and pointed to the intact blanket around his waist, how could such a skilled thief steal something from himself.

。

"And be optimistic." He stretched out his hand to look, and saw that a red rope was tied to only an irregular blue-black hard piece the size of a thumbnail, which looked unremarkable.

He couldn't help but hiss, what is this in his heart? I thought it was a valuable item, but now it seems to have missed.

Ying Hao looked at the thing in his hand, pondered for a long time, and said, "This seems to be a turtle shell." ”

"Turtle shell?" Bao Yuanqian looked at the size of this turtle shell, and said in his heart, why is the turtle so small?

Ying Hao waved his hand and said, "This is one of the pieces on the lines of the turtle shell." ”

Hearing Ying Hao say this, he reacted. Presumably, this piece is only a part of the turtle shell.

"It's... This is a joint token! The two of them were confused, but Qing'er on the side said suddenly.

"Tokens?" The two said in unison.

"It should be a token of the dragon and tiger road." When Ying Hao heard the words Dragon and Tiger Dao, he immediately reacted and wanted to find the beggar, but there was no trace of the beggar.

"This Dragon and Tiger Dao is a branch of the White Lotus Sect, and the Dragon and Tiger Dao believers are the most widespread around Yingtian." Ying Hao frowned.

Qing'er was taken aback by the reaction of the two of them, and said cautiously, "The two adults have a grudge against the White Lotus Sect?" ”

Although she knew that the two of them were wearing official boots, she couldn't guess that Ying Hao was the brocade guard who was investigating the White Lotus Sect, and when she saw the two of them reacting like this, she naturally asked.

Ying Hao asked Qing'er for verification, and after Qing'er roughly understood, he pointed to the turtle shell and said: "My father was also a believer in his early years... Don't get me wrong, my lord, he is a believer and has not done evil, he once told me about this turtle shell token. @ ”

Qing'er roughly described it, and the two of them realized that this turtle shell was made by the secret method of the White Lotus Sect, although the two did not know the trick, but it was unique and extremely difficult to imitate.

There are many White Lotus cultists, and many high-ranking gentry will be given this turtle shell as a code for them to contact the township. Because these gentry are quite powerful, they are not worried about being easily lost, and the concealment is so good that even Ying Hao doesn't know about it.

It's just that this kind of thing actually appeared on the waist of a pickpocket, and I don't know which gentleman did this foolish worm.

"Do you know where they live?" Ying Hao asked.

Qing'er shook her head and said, "I'm not a believer, but I just go back and forth to Zhenjiang with my father all the year round." I only know that there is a Pantuo Temple here, and Daddy will go to Zhenjiang every time he comes back to Zhenjiang in the past..."

"Pantuo Temple.."

"Why don't you inform the government?" Bao Yuan Trunk Road.

Ying Hao shook his head, "There are also many believers among the gentry officials, and whenever they are involved in the government, these people can always be cunning and escape in advance." Now we can only travel lightly to see what it is. ”

....

Zhenjiang Mansion, halfway up the South Mountain, Pantuo Temple.

The Pantuo Temple, where incense flourishes, is one of the largest temples in Zhenjiang Prefecture, and the people gather here to burn incense and pray for comfort.

Bao Yuanqian and the others were dressed extraordinarily, and although they had two halves of their children, they still attracted the attention of Shami. Shami asked what was the matter, and Bao Yuanqian pointed to his sick brother and said, "I came here to ask for water to cure my illness." ”

Shami looked at the little boy with no face, and led them to the side hall with understanding. There is already an old host here, with a sentence of "Amitabha Buddha" in his mouth, and his white eyebrows and neck hang down with a high monk appearance of Cihang Pudu.

Bao Yuanqian took out the turtle shell in his arms, "I am waiting here to do good deeds and accumulate virtue, this child has suffered from the wind and cold, and he has to come to ask for rune paper and rune water." ”

The host saw that the turtle shell's face really changed slightly, and immediately said: "Amitabha, the donor is so sincere and kind, presumably Maitreya Buddha will protect you for eternity." ”

Ying Hao didn't wait for him to turn around, and suddenly stepped forward and smiled lightly: "The silt comes from Chaos Qi. ”

The host looked at Ying Hao and Bao Yuanqian, who were dressed extraordinarily and had red rope turtle shells. He replied: "As soon as the White Lotus is prosperous, dare to ask the two donors if they want to listen to the altar in addition to asking for Fu Shui?" ”

"Exactly." Ying Hao has been on business for a long time, and he has also understood a lot of the doorways of the White Lotus Sect, and now that he has this turtle shell and Qing'er to identify the location, he naturally wants to say something to try it, but he didn't expect that a test will have an effect.

The host turned around and took out two Taoist ghost painting peach talismans, burned them in water and turned them into talisman water, and brought them to Bao Yuanqian's hands. Bao Yuanqian took the bowl of runic water, but he was not in a hurry to give it to Brother Qing'er.

Brother drinks, after all, a monk uses the Taoist priest's talisman water to drink for the cold patient, such an outrageous operation is like a tailor who can't stir-fry is not a good general.

This White Lotus Sect is indeed a double line of Buddhism and Taoism, and the gods and immortals it believes in are chaotic.

The host led a few people to a statue of the king in the apse, only to listen to the presiding officer, the statue of the king of heaven opened a gap, and Bao Yuanqian and the two took Qing'er sisters and brothers to enter the deep road.

The statue of the Heavenly King was closed, Bao Yuanqian smiled contemptuously and threw the talisman in his hand on the ground, only to hear the commotion in front of him as if someone was opening an altar to teach.

The four of them walked through the road, and the front suddenly opened up, and there were no less than 100 people.

These people include officials and wealthy businessmen, as well as ordinary people, and more importantly, there are a few widows with hair!

"There are even pirates!" Ying Hao said in a low voice.

Bao Yuanqian saw a man with a fat head and big ears resembling Maitreya Buddha sitting on the platform, surrounded by believers, from Li Shu beggars to bureaucrats and gentry.

"It's the intertwining of interests." Bao Yuanqian covered his mouth and said, "This is a matter of tripartite interests, the Japanese Kou, the White Lotus Sect, and the official gentry. ”

He now understood why the White Lotus Sect could prosper for a long time, and it had officials and gentry to protect him and do whatever he wanted.

These Japanese smuggled goods from Sakura Country, Ryukyu and other places, and continuously transported the treasures of the East China Sea to the gentry. The gentry had silver, and the Japanese were in need of silver, and the two hit it off.

The White Lotus Sect is the leader of it, and the gentry protect the followers of the White Lotus Sect, so that they can safely come into contact with the Japanese and seek treasures. The White Lotus Sect also took advantage of this to vigorously promote the teachings and develop believers with the help of the power of the gentry. And these Japanese ronins are often ronins abandoned by the monotheistic religion of the Sakura Country, and they went to Daming to make a living, and now they are naturally very interested in receiving the influence of such a polytheistic religion in Daming.

This is the fundamental reason why the Ming generation from Hongwu to the end of the Ming Dynasty attacked and harassed, and the killing was endless. It is also the reason why the White Lotus Sect has gradually grown stronger than the Ming generation.

In this way, the interests of the three parties are intertwined and interlocked, becoming a closed loop of interests, which has been poisoned for more than 200 years, so who can easily uproot it?

Bao Yuanqian and the others looked at the few haired widows, these widows are obviously quite proficient in Chinese, and halfway through the "Maitreya Buddha", those widows seemed to have poured *** and pulled out a long sword and waved it wantonly, getting carried away.

.......

Twilight is coming, the sky is full of glow, and the Taiping Gate in the north of Yingtianfu is about to close the night curfew.

"Da Da Da .." A rush of horses' hooves came, and four people galloped on two fast horses, which were Bao Yuanqian and his party.

The officers and soldiers guarding the gate stopped them from inspecting and inspecting, and the two handed out their official badges, and a series of hurried hooves sounded behind the soldiers while they were inspecting.

I saw a few people on the other side also riding horses, and those few people were dressed in ronin costumes but dared to swagger to the Daming Jingshi. Bao Yuanqian and the others looked at each other, but they saw that they were familiar faces, which were the Japanese ronins who showed off their might in the dark room of Pantuo Temple during the day.

The soldiers immediately became vigilant when they saw the appearance of the Japanese ronin, but these ronins looked arrogant, and took out the survey with disdain and said: "The nest is an envoy sent by the shogunate, and there is a survey issued by the Ming Emperor." @ My family is in the same hall, and we are returning by order. ”

A thousand households guarding the city inspected the investigation, and Wuzi nodded before letting them go.

Bao Yuanqian and a few people entered the city with them, but their hearts were full of doubts, how did the Japanese mission go to Pantuo Temple to listen to the lectures of the White Lotus Sect? What is their identity?

He is both a ronin and a messenger....