It was nearly dusk, and the rain had not stopped, soaking the old well in the yard, and there were ripples in circles.

The pursuit of the officers and soldiers is not over. There are also seven or eight officials, who walk cautiously in the bluestone alley from time to time. At noon yesterday, I went into Chen's house to search for a round.

The board game of the bigwigs continues, and the lives of the little people must also continue.

The kitchen stove not far away, the rice porridge boiling, and the heat filled the rain and mist. The wild cat, which had been wet, was crawling on the yard wall and was greedily approaching the kitchen stove. But he didn't think about it, he exploded again all of a sudden, screamed twice, and quickly jumped under the outer wall.

Chen Jing, who was sitting under the eaves, hurriedly turned around.

"The owner, the housewife, there is an old man who is picking the door!" Xing Xiaojiu's voice rang out all at once.

……

"Afraid that you will be in trouble, I will not enter the house."

Outside the courtyard of the Chen family, as Xing Xiaojiu said, at this time, an old man covered in blood was supporting his body with a firewood stick, shaking non-stop.

"Boss, he's been stabbed. Aren't those officers and soldiers chasing him before? ”

Chen Jing walked to the gate of the courtyard and finally saw clearly. The old man in front of him is Feng Chang, the master of Chengdong, who is an old friend of the Chen family. There was still a lot of wet grass stuck to the top and bottom of his body, and he may have been hiding in a very hidden place before.

Two days ago, Feng Chang's son was killed, and I heard that he was beheaded and hung at the city gate to show the public.

"Can you give me a bite to eat, I'm hungry." The old master spoke in a trembling voice, and kept looking around left and right.

"Wait a minute."

Chen Jing turned around to fish for rice porridge, and Song Yu, who heard the sound, also untied the money bag, poured a handful of broken silver, walked into the rain and handed it to Feng Chang.

"You two read for hours, and I've been teaching for a few days—"

Chen Jing brought a wooden bowl.

Feng Chang, who spoke, quickly retracted his voice, and didn't care about the rice porridge burning his mouth, so he directly picked it up and poured it into his mouth.

Probably eating too quickly, Feng Chang's face turned red, but he held back the cough in his throat, and bowed to Chen Jing and Song Yu.

"Master Feng, is it worth it?" Chen Jing asked.

"It's worth it. If I do these things, people will follow me. The ancestors did not follow the road, and the descendants will not follow it. I also know that I will be beheaded and sentenced to exile, but no matter where I am, when the old man looks up at the sky, he will have a clear conscience. ”

"Mr. Jing." Chen Jing gave a calm salute.

Feng Chang's dirty face showed a rare smile, and he looked at Chen Jing before he staggered and ran in the rain again.

The sky was getting darker and darker, and the wet fog of the rain made it impossible to see my fingers. Only the sound of small footsteps in the distance seemed to trample on Chen Jing's chest.

"Xiao Jiu, close the door."

Chen Jing rubbed his eyebrows and sat down under the eaves again. Vaguely, he felt that if Feng Fuzi dared to expose it, he might have already made up his mind to die.

Song Yu also walked back and sat beside Chen Jing, his eyes were a little distracted, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

"The owner, the owner."

Xing Xiaojiu, who ran back, suddenly handed an object to Chen Jing. It's wet and a little sticky.

When Chen Jing saw it clearly, he found that it was a delicate wooden box. There were freshly melted blood stains on the wooden box.

"Where did it come from?"

"When I was about to close the door, I saw it all at once."

Chen Jing hesitated, then remembered Feng Chang's smile when he left, and suddenly understood. It's just that this Feng Chang, why did he come to him.

In today's situation, this thing is nothing more than a hot potato.

"In the year my father died, Master Feng secretly left three taels of silver for our pair of orphans to let us live. People are virtuous to me, and they must not be forgotten. Song Yu said.

Chen Jing thought for a moment and took the wooden box into his arms.

……

For two days, the thick dark clouds wrapped in Ping'an Town finally slowly dispersed. The rain from the flooding streets, after a ray of sunshine, disappeared along the ditches.

On the bluestone road of Bluestone Lane, I can't smell half a ding's bloody smell.

"Song Yu, I'm out."

Walking out of the yard, Chen Jing exhaled comfortably, the rain of the past few days was almost soaking people to mold.

"Where is the owner going? Is it open? Xing Xiaojiu put the knife away and hurriedly followed.

"The shop...... Let's leave it there for now. ”

The business of glass beads, if it continues unscrupulously, will inevitably attract trouble.

"Go to the North City Gate."

Looking for the carriage, Chen Jing was worried all the way. Not only for the wooden box sent by Feng Chang, but in the bottom of my heart, there was an inexplicable worry.

The wooden box left by Feng Chang, he had already hidden. Thankfully, it was rain and fog, and it was dark night, and no one was noticed. Either way, it's a dangerous thing. But as Song Yu said, Feng Chang has some kindness to them.

can risk exposure and support each other on the verge of death, which shows the weight of this wooden box.

When they arrived in the north of the city, as soon as the carriage stopped, Xing Xiaojiu had already volunteered to inquire forward. When I came back about half an hour later, I saw Chen Jing next to the tea stall and burst into tears.

"The proprietor, asked, asked...... Feng Fuzi's family of nine was beheaded. And the severed head hung from the gates. ”

"Feng Fuzi is also dead?"

That rainy night, he ran out of Qingshi Alley, ran into the largest restaurant, inscribed a bloody poem, and then the official army came. The owner, he ate a bowl of rice porridge before he went, and he was not a starving ghost. ”

"It doesn't count." Chen Jing lowered his head. After about a moment, he stood up again, took Xing Xiaojiu, and walked to the crowded North City Gate.

Xing Xiaojiu lifted the handle of the knife and pushed away the few splashes blocking the road.

In the midst of the gloating voices around him, Chen Jing looked up and saw several heads hanging under the city gate.

Hanging in the middle, it can be vaguely recognized as the outline of Feng Fuzi, whose eyes have been gouged out, and even his nose has been cut off. The whole head was hung by a hemp rope, and when the wind blew, the hemp rope shook, and the head also shook, and many of the onlookers snickered.

"Owner, what are they fighting for?" Xing Xiaojiu also had a sad voice.

"There are some things that someone has to fight for."

Chen Jing turned around and pushed a whistle-blowing splash to the ground.

"I said that your eighth-generation grandmother-"

Xing Xiaojiu drew his knife and glared angrily, and he was so shocked that he got up, immediately stopped his voice, and retreated back.

"Brother Chen, hello."

Walking out of the crowd, when Chen Jing looked up, he found that Xia Chong was already wearing civilian clothes and sitting in a nearby wine shop.

"Xia Zhutou, shouldn't it be worth it today?"

"I was supposed to patrol the North City Gate, but I changed my duty."

Chen Jing sat down and poured himself a bowl.

"When the Feng family was full of beheadings, I also went. General Xu, who was transferred out, was so angry that he didn't even invite the executioner, and directly asked us to use a knife to cut off our heads. ”

"If you don't do it well, you can't die."

Xia Chong picked up the wine bowl and slowly sprinkled it towards the ground. Chen Jing also spilled half a bowl.

"Brother Chen, why do you want to do this?"

Chen Jing raised his head and looked at Xia Chong in front of him. A tyed coat catcher who is out of step with the world, if he doesn't guess wrong, he already has a fire in his heart.

"Xia Zhutou, you have already asked."

"I still can't figure out ......"

They believe that one day Da Ran will make the country rich and the people strong, the soldiers will die for the country, the people will live and work in peace and contentment, the tenants will have their own farmland, the craftsmen will not be raided by the second way, and even the children in the most remote countryside will be able to study in private schools. The treasury of the court is rich, and the folk road is not forgotten. ”

Xia Chong trembled his hands and drank half a bowl of wine in his hand.