On this night, in the signing room of Fang Yizhi, the prefect of Xiangyang, Lu Bangjie, the magistrate, was reporting the situation to the prefect.

Fang Yizhi is in his 50s, his hair has turned gray, and his body is slightly obese, he is a jinshi in the Hongzhi period, and he has become today's four-rank official step by step in 20 years with his qualifications. He picked up the teacup and motioned to Lu Bangjie, asked him to drink some tea to moisten his throat, and then said: "Bangjie, you have worked hard these days, and you have run all over the prefecture." According to what you just said, the change in the Wudoumi Sect this time is not like preparing to make a move, but the county and even the Criminal Department are not judging it that way, and calling you here today is to tell you that Lord Zhou Mi, the servant of the Criminal Department, has personally come to Xiangyang and said that a major discovery has been made. ”

Lu Bangjie put down the teacup and said, "Lord Fang, Xia Guan just talked about the activities of the Wudoumi Sect in Xiangyang Mansion, there was no large-scale gathering, mobilization, no collection of weapons, and it was not like contacting each other, but the local sect members were frequently active. ”

Fang Yizhi said: "But there are rumors out of thin air: the Heavenly Master came to the world, and he is in Yichou. What does that mean exactly? ”

Lu Bangjie said: "It's really incomprehensible, I have also tried some disciples, and low-level disciples don't know what it means, what can be clarified by the current information is that what they are talking about is the seventh year of Hongzhi, and it should be among the people born in that year, there is their heavenly master, that is, about 19 years old." As for how to find it, I only know that it is not a native of Xiangfan, but Xiangfan who came from Shangjing, and the rest is unknown. ”

Fang Yizhi said: "Xiangyang is not the important place of the Five Doumi Sect, and it is reasonable that the situation is difficult to investigate. But Xiangyang is the capital and the seat of the county, so it cannot be taken lightly. ”

Lu Bangjie said: "What the adults said is that the Five Buckets of Rice Sect claims to be hundreds of thousands of sectarians, divided into thirty-six parties, in fact, the sect is only tens of thousands of people, mainly in the south of Xiangfan, and most of them are ordinary people. It is only in recent years that a large number of displaced people from the southeast and hungry people from the north have come to Xiangfan, which has made it stronger. If left unchecked, there is a high risk of riots. ”

Lu Bangjie asked tentatively, "I don't know what the adults said just now, what is the major discovery of Lord Zhou Mi?" ”

Fang Yizhi shook his head: "I don't know, at present, only the county guard and the county magistrate know about it." ”

At this moment, someone knocked on the door outside, and Fang Yizhi asked with a little dissatisfaction, "Who?"

After the door was pushed open, the housekeeper of the Fang Mansion came in and said carefully: "It's the housekeeper of Lord Lu's mansion, saying that there is an urgent matter and he has to see Lord Lu immediately." ”

Governor Fang said, "Let him come in." ”

As soon as the words fell, Lu Er crashed in, knelt down and shouted with a crying voice: "Master, something is wrong!" ”

Lu Bangjie was shocked in his heart, but he still reprimanded: "There are no rules, the prefect is here." ”

Fang Zhifu said: "It's okay, you can say something." ”

Lu Er kowtowed again and said, "Mrs. was taken away by the people in the county." ”

"What?" Lu Bangjie stood up and asked, "Arrested?" ”

Governor Fang was also taken aback, but still kept his composure and asked, "Don't worry, make it clear." ”

Lu Er settled down and said what happened:

Not long ago, a few arresters came from the county, and asked Mrs. Lu to go with them to the county criminal department, saying that Mao Xiang and Wang Yi had been arrested in the criminal department, and asked Mrs. Lu to be interrogated, Mrs. Lu asked what was the matter, and the arrester only said that she didn't know, and asked Mrs. Lu to go with them immediately, Mrs. Lu had no choice, so she only asked Lu Er to find Lu Bangjie immediately to find a way, and then went to the criminal department.

Lu Bangjie asked, "Are you in a flail?" ”

Lu Erdao: "That's not true, I also let Cuimo follow me and take our family's car." ”

Lu Bangjie let go of his snacks a little and asked, "Uncle Young Master and Wang Gongzi were also arrested, when was it?" ”

Lu Er said: "I don't know, I haven't come back at night, and my wife is in a hurry." ”

Lu Bangjie took a few sharp turns in the house, turned around and arched his hand to the other prefect: "Lord Fang-"

Governor Fang raised his hand to stop him, stood up and said, "Needless to say, you and I will go to the Criminal Division immediately." ”

The two hurriedly went out, got into a sedan chair and rushed to the county criminal division. When they arrived at the door, there was already a torture master waiting in front of the door, and when he saw the two, he greeted them. When the two of them got off the sedan chair, and before they could ask, the master said, "The master told me to wait for a long time, and the two adults came with me." ”

After speaking, he led the way in front, Fang and Lu didn't say much, and hurriedly followed the master, not to the torture hall, but to the signing room at the back. As soon as I entered the door, in addition to the sentence, there was also an official in a red robe sitting.

Seeing Fang and Lu coming in, he stood up and said, "Governor Fang, Lu Tuiguan, let me introduce you, this is Master Zhoumi, the waiter of the Criminal Department." ”

Fang and Lu immediately bowed and saluted, waved their hands carefully and said, "Please sit down, two of you." ”

After the two of them sat down, they said: "Governor Fang came just in time, and I was going to invite you." I know why you are here. ”

Lu Bangjie stood up and intervened: "I was about to ask my lord, what did Clumsy Jing do?" ”

He stretched out his hand and said, "Lord Lu sit." ”

After Lu Bangjie sat down, he said: "Mrs. Lu didn't do anything, but Lord Lu's brother-in-law took the initiative and caused a lot of trouble." ”

He raised his hand to stop Lu Bangjie, and then said, "Everyone knows about the recent changes in the Five Doumi Sect, right? What Heavenly Master came to the world, the age is in Yichou. Now that the Heavenly Master has found it, it is Mao Xiang. ”

"What?" Fang and Lu were dumbfounded. After a while, Lu Bangjie sobered up a little and hurriedly asked, "Where does this start, can you explain it clearly?" ”

The punishment nodded, and introduced the situation to Fang and Lu:

In the past year or so, there has been a saying in the Wudoumi Sect that "the Heavenly Master has descended into the world, and the age is in Yichou", but I don't know what it means. The followers searched for the Heavenly Master throughout the territory of Xiangfan, causing all kinds of disturbances, and riots in some places, which attracted the attention of the government, and all places were investigating, but there was no clue. It wasn't until recently that some clues were discovered, the so-called Heavenly Master was born in the year of Yichou - the seventh year of Hongzhi, and came to Xiangfan from the capital to Beijing, of course, there are other conditions, but the government has not mastered it. This incident finally attracted the attention of the imperial court, and the criminal department specially sent people to Xiangfan to participate in the investigation. Recently, it was reported that the Heavenly Master of the Wudou Mi Sect was about to be found, and the imperial court sent Zhou Mi, a servant of the Criminal Department, to Xiangfan in person to deal with this incident.

Just the day before, the prefect of Ji'an reported that the Wudoumi Sect had confirmed that Mao Xiang of Ji'an Mansion was the Heavenly Master who had descended into the world. After receiving the report, Zhou Shilang urgently agreed with the county guard to immediately control Mao Xiang and not let the people of the Wudou Mi Sect find him. For the sake of prudence, it was not until tonight that Mao Xiang's carriage entered the city and was on the way back to Lufu alone, and the arrest of the county criminal department brought Mao Xiang and Wang Yi back with the carriage.

After listening, Lu Bangjie arched his hand and said: "Lord Tiren, the lower officials have also been investigating the so-called Heavenly Master, not to mention anything else, the Heavenly Master is from Shangjing, and Mao Xiang is a native of Xiangfan, how can this prove that Mao Xiang is the so-called Heavenly Master?" ”

The torture nodded and said: "The secret report of the Ji'an prefect details the situation, Mao Xiang came from Shangjing in the first year of Jing'an, his mother is dead, and he was adopted by the Mao family. ”

Lu Bangjie was suddenly struck by lightning, and he opened his mouth and couldn't speak for a while.

The sentence continued: "This is the reason why we invited Mrs. Lu here, and we estimate that Lord Lu doesn't know either, so we want to ask Mrs. Lu to verify the situation." ”

Lu Bangjie said: "What do you say? ”

"Lord County Shou and Lord Zhou trust Lord Lu very much, and they don't want others to ask Mrs. Lu, so I ask Lord Lu to ask Mrs. Zun for clarification and make a record, which is good for everyone." ”

Lu Bangjie arched his hand and said: "Thank you for your care, I don't know where the clumsy Jing is, where to ask, do you still have to ask which adult?" ”

"It's in the living room at the back, just bring a book." I hope that Mrs. Lu will explain the origin of Mao Xiang and compare it with the secret report of Ji'an Mansion. Someone's coming. ”

The master outside the door entered the door in response to the sound and lowered his hands to obey the order.

He said: "Take Lord Lu to the living room to see Mrs. Lu, and arrange a scribe to be on standby." ”

Lu Bangjie got up and gave up his hand, and then followed the master and walked back,

When he arrived at the door of the living room, Lu Bangjie saw two catchers standing outside the door, he didn't make a sound, and pushed the door directly. As soon as Sister Mao Xiang saw Lu Bangjie in the house, she pounced and cried out: "Xianggong! You're here. ”

Lu Bangjie held her with both hands and said softly: "Madam, sit down first, don't worry, I'll talk to you slowly." ”

After helping Sister Mao Xiang sit down, Lu Bangjie sat next to her and said, "Madam, something happened, but I am here, don't worry." ”

Sister Mao Xiang asked, "What the hell is going on?" My brother didn't come home at night. ”

Lu Bangjie said: "It's just a matter of Mao Xiang, now the county wants to know something, you must not hide it, this is good for the Mao family and us, do you understand?"

Sister Mao Xiang's face turned pale, and she asked in a trembling voice, "What's the matter?" ”

Lu Bangjie didn't ask in a hurry, first ordered the scribe to come in and prepare, and then asked the master to take Cuimo outside to wait, and after closing the door, Lu Bangjie asked: "Mao Xiang is not born to the Mao family, but adopted by the outside, right?" ”

Sister Mao Xiang's face was not bloody, and she asked, "How do you know?" ”

Lu Bangjie said: "Don't ask these questions first, just be the original local, explain clearly how the Mao Xiang got to the Mao family, remember, try to be as careful as possible, don't hide it." ”

Sister Mao Xiang saw her husband's solemn face, so she settled down and spoke slowly.

After the Mao family gave birth to a daughter, there has been no rebirth, and the old man Mao was unwilling to marry a concubine, so the old lady Mao went to the Guanyin Temple in Jichun County every year to ask for a child. During the Chinese New Year in the first year of Jing'an, on the way to the county seat, Mrs. Mao found a mother and son in the grass beside the road, the mother was seriously ill and in a coma, and the young son was crying. So he took the mother and son to live in an inn in the county town and asked for medical treatment, but the mother had run out of oil and died soon. Before her death, the mother told Mrs. Mao that because of the "Five Princes Rebellion" in the capital, her family was killed by the rebels, and their mother and son were exiled from the capital. So Mrs. Mao adopted the child and named it Mao Xiang, who was not yet 3 years old at the time. As for the family situation in Shangjing and even the original surname, the mother never mentioned it, only saying that God would do so, and she only wished the child peace and security.

Lu Bangjie asked, "Do many people know about this?" ”

Mao Xiang's sister said: "It shouldn't be much, after my mother adopted Mao Xiang, she went back to her parents' house, and she came back at the end of the year. ”

Lu Bangjie smiled bitterly: "Such a big child, will outsiders believe it?" ”

Sister Mao Xiang said: "Everyone there believes in the Bodhisattva, and there is no one in my family who does not say good in Zhuangzi, so no one has a bad mouth, don't you even know this?" ”

Lu Bangjie nodded, asked the bookkeeper to bring the record over, and asked Sister Mao Xiang to draw it, he put away the recording paper and said to Sister Mao Xiang: "You still have to wait here, I'll come when I go." ”

Sister Mao Xiang hurriedly said, "What about my brother?" ”

Lu Bangjie said: "I'll talk about it when I come back." Then he ordered Cuimo to come in and wait.

He hurriedly returned to the signing room with the master, and when he saw Zhou Shilang and the other three, he presented the recording paper to Zhou Shilang with both hands, and then handed the recording paper to Zhou Shilang.

After carefully reading the record, he handed it over to the mention, and when he was about to read it, he said: "The matter is clear, just like the secret report of Ji'an Mansion, Mao Xiang is the Heavenly Master that the Wudou Mi Sect is looking for." ”

Lu Bangjie said: "Two adults, forgive the officials for their courage, there is something strange about this matter." Mao Xiang has never had anything to do with the Five Dou Rice Sect, how did he become the Heavenly Master of the Five Dou Mi Sect with only two rumors? ”

Zhou Mi said: "Lu Tuiguan, the Criminal Department and the county have been investigating this matter for many days, and of course there is other evidence in the secret report of Ji'an Mansion, so it is inconvenient to tell you here." ”

Lu Bangjie said: "Then the subordinate will wait for the fate." ”

"Alas, Lord Lu doesn't have to be like this, I believe in you, the county guard and me." So be it. He turned to Zhou Mi and said, "How about letting Lu Tuiguan bring Mrs. Lu back first?" Zhou Mi nodded reluctantly.

He turned to Lu Bangjie and said, "You go back with your wife first, and let your wife stay at home for the time being and don't go out." As for Brother Ling, he stayed in the Criminal Division to continue the investigation. You can rest assured, Mao Xiang is now a lifter, and he is an undergraduate Xie Yuan, and we will definitely treat it carefully. After speaking, the other party said with wisdom: "Governor Fang, please go back too." ”。

Fang and Lu had no choice but to get up and say goodbye. Out of the signing room, Fang Yizhi patted Lu Bangjie's shoulder and comforted: "Relax, I will help you talk about anything." Lu Bangjie bowed down to thank him, and Fang Yizhi waved his hand and left first.

The master accompanied Lu Bangjie to take Mao Xiang's sister out of the criminal prosecution department, and the carriage Mao Xiang was sitting in outside the door was also waiting, Lu Bangjie shook his hand, didn't let Mao Xiang's sister ask questions, and accompanied her to get in the car and go home.