As night fell, a dark cloud obscured the crescent moon, and the outer walls of the Metropolitan Prison were shrouded in darkness, with only a few dim lights left inside.

Suddenly, a slight but rapid sound of footsteps came from the outside wall, accompanied by the faint sound of iron objects clashing lightly, and they came out of the cell like ghosts.

At this time, two faint oil lamps were lit in the inner hall of the cell, and on the table in the center were stilted wine jugs, and several guards in charge of guarding them were sleeping on the table.

With a soft click, a small iron file easily unlocked the cell door.

The men in black quickly dodged inside, their movements light and agile, first carefully checking the situation of several jailers, and then feeling the jailer's key to open the death row area inside.

It took about half a burnt incense to help an old man with gray hair out of it.

The leading man in black walked in front of the prisoner and pulled the black cloth covering his face, and a trace of surprise flashed in the prisoner's eyes, but he was immediately silenced by the man in black.

At this moment, there was a sudden movement outside the cell, and the sound of someone talking.

A hint of coldness flashed in the black-clothed man's eyes, and he quickly took out a dagger from his arms, and looked at the door of the cell, ready to enter the battle at any time.

Fortunately, the people who suddenly appeared only passed by here and did not notice anything unusual here.

The leading man in black helped the death row prisoner to the outside of the cell, their movements were swift and orderly, as if they had been rehearsed countless times, and soon disappeared into the night.

The man in black had just left with his front foot when he noticed something strange and rushed in, but it was too late. Even if they immediately sealed off and searched for it, it was as if the men in black had suddenly disappeared from the world.

The robbery of a death row prisoner is something that has never happened in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and now this kind of thing happened at the juncture when the emperor left Beijing, which made many people smell the smell of conspiracy.

Although an important death row prisoner of the Metropolitan Procuratorate was robbed, it was not a big deal for the entire court, and even they could not afford to make any waves.

Although many officials and gentry in Jiangnan have no monarch in their eyes, today's capital has long recognized Zhu Youzhu as the master.

As long as Zhu Youzhu still exists, no matter how turbulent the capital is, then it is impossible for power to change.

At noon the next day, the sun was shining.

A carriage headed for the city gates, and the coachman sat in front of it, wearing a hat on his head, covering most of his face. He clenched his horsewhip, but when he saw the guards at the gates, his hands trembled slightly.

Dongzhimen is composed of a city tower, an arrow tower, a gate tower and an urn city, and its shape is similar to that of Chaoyang Gate, but the scale is slightly smaller.

The city floor is five rooms wide, 15 meters wide, three rooms deep, 15.3 meters deep, and 34 meters high through the building. The urn city is square, and the four corners are all right angles, so it is named "straight gate".

It is the autumn season, and the front of Dongzhi Gate is very lively.

The imperial court allocated one million silver dollars to rebuild the Beijing-Tianjin Canal, and a large amount of high-quality timber from the south by sea entered through this nearest gate when it arrived at the wharf in the east of the city.

Because a large amount of timber is transported into the city by car every day, the common people of Beijing call this gate "walking wood car", commonly known as "wooden gate".

It is worth mentioning that although limited by aesthetic and other factors, cement has not been recognized by subjective architecture, but with its low cost is slowly entering thousands of households.

At the city gate, the three words "Dongzhi Gate" inlaid on the forehead of the door are clearly visible.

The soldiers of the guard were in full array, spears in hand, and their eyes were as sharp as eagles. Although the focus is on checking the convoy entering the city, it is also occasionally checking the people who go out of the city.

"Parking! Get checked! A soldier with a loud voice stood in the middle of the road on the left, but he raised his hand and shouted.

The coachman's heart tightened, but he tried his best to remain calm, and slowly stopped the carriage: "This official, you don't need to check when you go out of the city, my son-in-law has an urgent matter to go out of the city today, please make it convenient!" ”

"No, get out of the car immediately and get checked!" Iron Tou noticed that although the body was covered in dust, it could not hide its delicate carvings, but it was still tough and authentic.

As soon as the words fell, the two guards suddenly slapped their horses from behind and said, "Presumptuous! Our son-in-law's car dares to block it, are you tired of it? ”

Hey?

Zhang Qiang, the chief banner, was leading his subordinates to check the people entering the city, and he was also attracted by the movement here, but he set his eyes on the two high-spirited guards.

"Routine spot checks, this has always been the rule of our Five Cities Terracotta Division! No matter which family the son of the family is today, he has to get out of the car to cooperate with the investigation, otherwise he will blame us for not being polite! "The iron head moved out of the rules and regulations, and there was no way backing down.

The middle-aged guard led by him knew that he had met the stunned Qing, and shouted unreasonably: "The little flag dares to block my son-in-law's way, get out of the way quickly!" ”

"There must be something wrong with your carriage, get out of the carriage and check it immediately, otherwise you will be punished for misconduct!" The iron head sensed the clue, but decisively pulled out the waist knife.

Yes?

The women, who were just about to leave the city, turned in fright and fled back when they saw Iron Head drawing his sword.

The people of this era were simple, but now when they saw the conflict outside the door, and saw that the iron head actually drew his sword against each other, he really stood aside and watched the excitement.

"Get out of the car immediately and accept the investigation, the capital is at the feet of the Son of Heaven, how can you be so presumptuous!" After the chief flag Zhang Qiang noticed the conflict here, he immediately protected the road.

Originally, the magnates and their children in the capital were all afraid of being killed by the emperor, so they always behaved in a proper manner. Even if it is the prince of the Hou Mansion, if they ask for an inspection, they will usually accept a glance of prying eyes.

But he didn't want the emperor to leave for less than a month, and the arrogant nature of some sons and brothers was revealed.

It's just that the current court is still the world of Hongzhi, and today's court is all important ministers who can really do practical things, and there is no need to back down too much.

What's more, the more people insist on breaking through the city gate, the more worthy of calculation and in-depth investigation, maybe the other party is doing something shady and disgraceful.

"Ah Fu, don't be presumptuous!"

It was at this moment that a young man's voice came from inside the car.

Zhang Qiang and Tietou felt the majesty of this young boy, and faintly realized that there might not be a cat in it, but it was really a noble boy who was in a hurry to get out of the city.

The middle-aged guard first respectfully bowed his hand inside to ask for instructions, and then looked at the iron head blocking in front of the carriage: "My son-in-law Kuanren, please check!" ”

The iron head was not deterred by the battle in front of him, maybe the other party sang an empty city plan. He immediately stepped forward and lifted the curtain, even if there was no illegal activity inside, he wanted to see what was sacred.

"Dare to ask who your son-in-law is?" Zhang Qiang, the general banner, is now facing an internal promotion and appears to be cautious in asking.

The middle-aged guard's chin was raised, and he said very proudly: "My lord is the first assistant of the court, and this is my lord's favorite little son Liu Zizong in the car!" ”

Zongqi Zhang Qiang's body stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

Because there is no prince in this dynasty, there is naturally no prince in charge of the country. During the emperor's southern tour, the burden of the court actually fell on Liu Ji, the first assistant, and now Liu Ji's status is rising.

Now that their insignificant city guards dare to stop Xu Ge's youngest son from leaving the city, this is simply impatient.

Although the little flag iron head was equally surprised, he did not forget his duty, but still firmly opened the curtain of the car and looked inside.

I saw that sitting in the center was a young brother in his early twenties, although he was not tall, he was wearing silk and satin, and a piece of valuable jade was hanging around his waist, which looked extravagant.

Although he had never met the youngest son of Liu Ji, the first assistant of the cabinet, judging from the skin color and clothing of this son-in-law, this identity obviously could not be faked.

The city guards who followed Tietou to check together were curious about what Xu Gongzi looked like inside, but they didn't dare to really look inside, but they were afraid that they would offend this noble son.

Hey?

Tietou noticed that there were three people in the carriage, in addition to Liu Gongzi, there were two maids kneeling on both sides, but he suddenly smiled.

The reason why he is emphasized with the word "head" is that in addition to his iron head, his mind is also very flexible. His eyes are very observant and always able to catch details that no one else can see.

He probably knew why the other party wanted to stop him, although there were two maids kneeling next to this Liu Gongzi, but these two maids were clearly dressed as men.

It is said that the hobbies of the noble sons are diverse, and now this statement seems to be true, and people have to take two fair-skinned and beautiful young men with them when they go out to play.

"Have you seen enough!" The middle-aged guard noticed the corners of Tietou's raised mouth, and immediately scolded loudly in anger.

Zhang Qiang, the chief banner, had also reacted, if he knew that Liu Ji's son was in the carriage and would not let Tietou search at all, he hurriedly pressured: "Tie Xiaoqi, why don't you let it go quickly?" ”

The reason why it is called "Iron Flag" instead of directly exposing the name of the iron head is actually to protect the iron head. Although he is at the bottom, he knows the importance of friendship, not to mention that the potential of the iron head is obviously higher than his own.

Tietou knew that the other party was an existence that he couldn't afford to provoke, so he simply stepped aside neatly and said: "If there is any offense in the humble position, please also ask Liu Gongzi Haihan!" ”

"Tie Xiaoqi, you are just doing your duty, what's wrong? Amu, let's go! Liu Gongzi said very gently, and then instructed the groom lightly.

The groom answered, and drove his carriage toward the gate of the city.

Zhang Qiang, the chief banner, watched the carriage and the guards leave, and said with a sigh of relief: "Tietou, who is not good for you kid, you actually provoked the Prime Minister's Mansion!" If it weren't for Liu Ge's good teaching, and Liu Gongzi's magnanimity, both of us would be finished. ”

This is not alarmist, Liu Ji is actually much stronger than the other first assistants.

Liu Ji is a native of Beizhili, who settled in the capital with his family since he was a child, and this kind of native Beijing official has a natural advantage and is easier to accumulate his own network.

Liu Ji is an orthodox thirteen-year jinshi, has always served in the capital, and is the emperor of Xianzong, as early as the eleventh year of Chenghua, he has been the second assistant of the official worship.

With Liu Ji's power and the current influence of the Liu family, it would be easy to kill the two of them.

The Iron Head stood indifferent, his eyes fixed on the departing carriage.

"Huh...... It's rare, you kid was scared silly! Zhang Qiang, the chief banner, was still worried, but when he saw the iron head, he was suddenly happy.

The iron head's eyes were still looking into the distance, but he said seriously: "Something is wrong! ”

"There can be no fake identity! That guard does look like he is from the Prime Minister's Mansion, and whoever dares to pretend to be Liu Ge Lao's son, there must be no problem with his identity! "Zhang Qiang has a wealth of experience, but he is very determined.

Tietou shook his head gently: "I don't doubt the identity of Liu Gongzi, but the two maids beside him, I ...... I think I've seen it somewhere! ”

"There are so many people coming in and out of the city gate every day, what can you be surprised when you have seen it, and what you have seen is not something you can remember!" Zhang Qiang thought that the iron head was obsessed, but he reminded him seriously.

The women in the world are chosen by the emperor first, then these powerful sons, then the scholars who study hard, and finally it is the turn of low-level people like them.

Tietou retracted his gaze, but looked at Zhang Qiang seriously: "My memory has always been very good, those two people didn't meet at the city gate, but when I was serving in the Jinyi Guard!" ”

He was originally a glorious Jinyi Guard, but he encountered the Jinyi Guard's personnel reform. Not only were the second generation of officials and the second generation of honors dismissed, but a large number of incompetent people were dismissed, and he was unfortunately included in the list of dismissals.

This matter is not to blame Wang Xiang, but he happened to work under Cheng Yi, and when Cheng Yi's crimes were exposed, many of them were naturally affected by Cheng Yi.

"You are now a member of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses, don't always mention your glorious achievements, let's work!" Zhang Qiang didn't take what happened just now seriously, but patted Tietou's shoulder and said.

Seeing that there were already a lot of people on both sides, Tietou returned to work.

As night fell, the city of Beijing was lit up.

On top of the city gates, there are also buildings such as castle towers, arrow towers, gate towers, and urn castles, and these places can provide shelter for the defenders of the city.

Zhang Qiang usually likes to drink very much, so he dragged his preoccupied iron head and came to the wine shop he frequented together, and asked for a pot of dried squid grilled and grilled with a knife.

Since the Ming Dynasty traded with Japan, not only did China export goods and culture to Japan, but in fact, Japan also sent them high-quality and low-cost dried squid.

Because of its low price, sweet taste, and chewy beef jerky, dried squid has become a favorite of many good drinkers, and it is currently the most cost-effective side dish.

"Lord Zongqi, the purchase price of this dried squid has risen by two cents, so our small business has to go up too!" The shopkeeper pointed to the price sign hanging on the wall, but it was flattering.

Zhang Qiang scolded the profiteer in his mouth, but he actually accepted the price increase in his heart, in the final analysis, this kind of dried squid with wine and tea is cost-effective.

"Two military masters, you two, please use it slowly!" The store quickly brought in food and drinks, and greeted him warmly.

Zhang Qiang picked up the wine he had just delivered, and poured wine for the iron head who was still thinking: "Why are you still struggling with the things of the day?" What are the identities of those two maids, and is it that important? (End of chapter)