The second watch's bangzi had just been knocked, and a faint figure appeared outside the yamen of Huanggang County. He is Chen Wenqi who went down the mountain under the starry night.

In the dead of night, the yamen was closed. Chen Wenqi went to the backyard of the county government, but saw that the courtyard wall was hard and smooth with yellow mud inside and out, and the top of the wall was covered with two glazed tiles in the shape of a herringbone to shelter from the wind and rain. The courtyard wall is more than a foot high, but it is not an obstacle for those who practice martial arts. Chen Wenqi has the stunt of "easy marrow skill", and he doesn't even need to breathe, he kicks his toes against the wall, easily jumps up the high wall, and then jumps down and falls silently in the county government.

As soon as he landed, a strong wind swept overhead. Chen Wenqi didn't know the situation, so he first sought self-protection, and a "lazy donkey rolled" and dodged a blow.

"Who is it?" With a scolding, two cold lights came up and down, hitting Chen Wenqi's face and waist respectively.

Chen Wenqi was not in a hurry, his left hand stood like a knife, crossed the cold light around his waist, and cut it to the other party's vein, the man suddenly felt that one arm was sore, and his five fingers were loosened, and the steel knife fell to the ground with a "dang long" sound; at the same time, his right hand turned into a claw and grabbed the wrist of another knife holder.

It was only at this time that Chen Wenqi saw the two people in front of him in the dim night.

"Don't be reckless. It's not a villain, it's here to visit Master Du. Chen Wenqi warned in a low voice.

The official who was holding his wrist pulled it out a few times, but he didn't break free of Chen Wenqi's five fingers, and said angrily: "Since you are visiting, why don't you enter through the gate, but through the wall?"

"In the middle of the night, if you don't go over the wall, do you still want to beat the drum of injustice and ask you to ascend to the court?" Chen Wenqi mocked. Seeing that the official who had been knocked off by him was about to lean over to pick up the knife, he picked it up with his toes and held the knife in his hand first.

"Master Du is sick, and it is inconvenient to see people. The official said again.

"I'm sick, I'm going to pay a visit. Chen Wenqi let go of his fingers and asked the official to retract his waist knife. With his left hand, he turned the handle of the knife upside down and returned the knife in his hand to another officer.

The two of them had steel knives in their hands, and they were going to raise their knives to attack. Chen Wenqi shouted:

"Who dares to do it, is it because it is too long?"

The two officials thought that there was a huge disparity in the martial arts of the two sides, and they retracted their waist knives in unison. One of them said: "If we don't do it, where did you come from and where you go back, and we won't hold you accountable for trespassing on the county government, just as if nothing happened tonight." ”

"Don't be ashamed. Guilty or not, let's talk about it when I see you, Lord Du. Chen Wenqi sneered.

"Lord Du doesn't care about anything, Huanggang County is now Lou Zitong Lou has the final say. ”

"Who are you talking about? Lou Zitong, Huanggang County has changed people?" asked Chen Wenqi in surprise.

"Lord Du is sick, Lord Lou is in charge of the county government, and this county order will be replaced sooner or later. ”

Chen Wenqi muttered in his heart, Du Ping is sick, and Lou Zitong is in charge of Huanggang County, how serious is this? No matter what, you will know when you see Du Ping. So Wen Yan said to the two officials:

"No matter who is in charge of the county government, I am here to visit Lord Du. Trouble the two officials, take me to meet Master Du. ”

"No, I can't. Lord Lou confessed that no one could meet with Lord Du without his nod. A servant didn't think about it, and said categorically.

Du Ping is the lord of a county, and if he sees no one and doesn't see whom, he still has to nod his head from Lou Zitong? Isn't there no freedom? Chen Wenqi was full of suspicion, stretched out his hand to clasp the Tiantu acupoint at the neck socket of the servant, and said in a deep voice: "Where is Lord Du now? Take me to see him, if you don't say half a word, I will abolish you now." ”

"Light...... Tap, the villain doesn't dare. The servant bared his teeth in pain.

"It's good if you don't dare, lead the way ahead, if you dare to play tricks, beware of your life. Chen Wenqi reduced his strength a little, and glanced at the other servant, "You too." ”

The two of them were stunned that he was strong in martial arts, how could he dare to speak? Then they took Chen Wenqi to a room in the West Wing and stopped.

"In this room?" Chen Wenqi asked.

The two officials nodded, but did not speak.

"I'm sorry for you. Chen Wenqi stretched out his fingers and counted the two officials, sealed several of their big holes, and then carried them to the firewood room not far away and hid them.

"Tuk tuk. Chen Wenqi curled his fingers and tapped lightly on the door twice.

"Who?" After a while, there was a reaction in the room, and the voice was weak.

"Master Du, Chen Wenqi of Qishui Chenjiazhuang took the liberty to visit. ”

The room was silent for a while, and said, "The old man is sick, and it is inconvenient to meet guests. ”

"Master Du, don't turn people away. As the saying goes, a good man doesn't hit the door. Come here at night and ask for advice, how can you bear to avoid it?"

"You and I don't know each other, so why talk about asking for advice? Indoor said coldly.

Chen Wenqi thought to himself, it seems that if his identity is not revealed, he will not open the door.

"Master Du, take Chen Wenqi, a bachelor in the Lower Hanlin Academy, please don't hesitate to see him. ”

Inside the house, Du Ping was shocked when he heard this. Although Chen Wenqi had already reported his name, because he heard that he was from "Qishui Chenjiazhuang", he thought that he was just a villager from a neighboring county, so he refused to see him.

Du Ping hurriedly got out of bed with his clothes on, lit the lamp and candle, and then opened the door with a "squeak".

Chen Wenqi didn't rush into the door, and stood in place and saluted Du Ping: "I am disturbing you at night, and I ask Lord Du for forgiveness." ”

"Oh, disrespectful, disrespectful, Lord Chen, please come into the house. Du Ping turned sideways and let Chen Wenqi into the room.

After the two sat down, Du Ping said with shame: "There is no tea on a cold night, please forgive Du for the sin of negligence." ”

Shi Cai listened to the words of the two officials, Du Ping was unable to see things due to illness, and Lou Zitong temporarily took charge of the Huanggang County Ya, for some reason. Du Ping said this, just to give Chen Wenqi a chance to clarify his doubts:

"The stove room is near the left, why don't you call the handyman to make some hot tea and bring it to drive away the coolness?"

Du Ping smiled bitterly and said, "If it was in the past, why did Lord Chen command? It's just that now it's not what it used to be, and Du can't do anything." ”

"Huh?" Chen Wenqi pretended not to know, and asked in surprise, "What's the matter, Lord Du didn't move them?"

Du Ping sighed: "Definitely." Du was ill, and the prefect ordered me to leave my post to recuperate, and Huanggang County is now in charge of Lou Zitong. Du is not in his place, how can he alarm them again?"

Sure enough, it has something to do with Mo Renxing! Chen Wenqi exclaimed: "Master Du cherishes self-love, and admires him." But I don't know what kind of illness Lord Du is suffering from, so that he can't see things?"

Du Ping smiled bitterly and said, "It's not a serious illness if it's not painful or itchy, it's just a sleepless disease." Mo Daren sympathized with his subordinates, and he had to leave his post to recuperate, so he was idle. ”

It can be heard that Du Ping's words are implicitly unhappy.

"I've heard that people of a certain age or overwork can have this disease, but it doesn't affect your vision, right?" Chen Wenqi asked deliberately.

"Isn't it? I have been suffering from insomnia for many years, how can I ever delay the affairs of the county government?" Du Ping's tone was obviously dissatisfied.

"Then why did Master Mo suddenly ask Master Du to leave his job to recuperate?" Chen Wenqi asked "curiously".

"This is also a question that Xia Guan wants to know. Forget it, let's not talk about it. Champion Gong came to visit late at night, what happened?"

"Oh, do you remember the marriage contract case that Lord Du was sentenced by the adults two years ago?"

"How can the champion also care about this matter?" Du Ping replied with a question, obviously he was very impressed by this matter.

"'Also'? Lord Du is saying that besides Zaixia, there are other people who have come to talk to Lord Du about this?"

Du Ping avoided answering, and asked rhetorically: "The champion is visiting at night, is it specifically for this matter?"

Chen Wenqi knew that he had concerns, and he didn't know what Du Ping's position was on this matter, so he thought about it and said, "How long has Lord Du not looked at things?"

Du Ping was stunned, why did he suddenly ask this again? But he still replied truthfully:

"A few days before the Duanyang Festival last year, it was a year and four months. ”

"Oh. Does Lord Du know about Fangjiazhai's 'bewitching the foolish, gathering in the mountains and forests, robbing the **, and disturbing the place'?"

"Fangjiazhai 'bewitches the foolish, gathers in the mountains and forests, robs the **, and disturbs the place'? Du Ping shook his head, his face was confused, he didn't know what Chen Wenqi was going to tell him?

"Oh, I didn't make it clear, Fangjiazhai is the village of Fang Junjie and Fang Yanjie's brothers. Fang Junjie and Fang Yanjie, the two brothers, Master Du, still remember, right?"

"Remember, isn't it the lawyer of the marriage contract case that year? Zhuangyuan Gong said that the Fang brothers 'bewitched the foolish, gathered in the mountains and forests, robbed the **, and disturbed the place'?"

"To put it simply, Lord Mo of Huangzhou Mansion went to the imperial court, saying that the Fang family 'bewitched the fools, gathered in the mountains and forests, robbed the **, and disturbed the place', which alarmed the emperor, so the emperor ordered the emperor to lead troops to come to solicit. ”

"Didn't Lord Chen walk in the Hanlin Academy, why did you ......?" Du Ping was even more surprised, the emperor actually sent a weak scholar to lead his troops to fight!

Chen Wenqi didn't say anything, and replied vaguely: "It's hard to guess the holy will." When he led his troops to Fangjiazhai, he knew that the so-called 'bewitching the foolish people, gathering in the mountains and forests, robbing the **, and disturbing the place' was caused by a lawsuit case, and Mo Renxing was at a loss for treatment, which led to the confrontation between the government and the people. In the following adhering to the holy will, the other party's accusations of 'bewitching the foolish, gathering in the mountains and forests, and disturbing the place' were withdrawn, and only this 'snatching **' involved the case of the marriage contract judged by Lord Du that year, so I came to meet with Lord Du. ”

Only then did Du Ping understand the purpose of Chen Wenqi's visit at night, so he asked: "What does the champion want to know? ”

"Whether Zhong Lilan is '**' or not, Lord Du should be clear. Chen Wenqi's words were to test Du Ping's attitude.

Du Ping was inexplicably "idle" by Mo Renxing for more than a year, and he was already full of resentment. After hearing Chen Wenqi's words, he didn't want to say: "Zhong Lilan and Situ Jiao's marriage contract was abolished in public by the lower officials, and Situ Jiao also withdrew the twenty-two pieces of silver for the engagement dowry of the year.

This question is precisely the purpose of Chen Wenqi's night visit to Du Ping.

"Master Du, can you recall the process of Lord Mo letting you leave your job to recuperate?"

Du Ping looked at Chen Wenqi, and felt that this person's thinking was different from ordinary people, and he jumped from one topic to another while talking, and he didn't understand why he was talking about the marriage contract, why he suddenly turned to the unrelated matter of his resignation and recuperation.

I don't understand, I don't understand, thinking that since Chen Wenqi investigated Mo Renxing, he must not be in collusion with Mo Renxing, and he is acting on orders, maybe it is a great opportunity for him to return to work, so he is happy to cooperate with Chen Wenqi and told him in detail about the experience of that day:

One day at the end of April last year, Du Ping returned to the study to deal with official business after going to the office as usual. Suddenly, the official from the front of the county government came to report: "My lord, the prefect Mo has entered the county office." ”

Hearing this, Du Ping hurriedly got up and prepared to rush to the yamen to greet him. Unexpectedly, he never went out, so Mo Renxing entered the study.

"Xiaguan Du Ping see my lord. I didn't know that the adults had arrived, and I didn't greet them from afar, so please forgive me. Du Ping hurriedly bowed down to his boss and asked Mo Renxing to sit on the chair he was sitting on just now.

"Serve tea to Lord Mo. ”

Without Du Ping's orders, someone had already brought two cups of fragrant tea and placed them in front of Mo Renxing and Du Ping.

Mo Renxing picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, and asked in an official tone, "Master Du, what are you busy with?"

"My lord, my subordinate is checking the tax collection and payment of this month. Du Ping replied respectfully.

"Oh. Mo Renxing responded absentmindedly, and then said: "Lord Du, this official received a complaint a few days ago, and the matter complained about is related to Lord Du. ”

Du Ping was taken aback, who had sued him for something? Then he thought about it, although he could not say that he had made outstanding achievements in Huanggang County, he would not be a traitor and a criminal, and he would not bully the people, so he was afraid that others would sue him?

"What is the matter with my position? ”

"Two years ago, did Lord Du adjudicate a lawsuit on a marriage contract?"

When Du Ping heard that this was the case, his originally somewhat apprehensive mood suddenly relaxed, and he replied: "That's right, it was in the autumn of the second year of Hongzhi." ”

Du Ping gave a general account of the judgment at that time, and finally said: "After the judgment, both parties have no objection. However, not long ago, Situ Jiao, one of the parties involved, found a lowly position, claiming that he had a powerful backer in the imperial court, and if the case was reversed and the verdict was changed for him, he promised to let the lowly post be added to the knighthood. Hmph, I, Du someone, is familiar with the books of the sages and sages, and he is still ashamed and honest, how could he do such a corrupt and perverted act? Why, did you hit a wall here in Xiaguan and sue you again?"

When Mo Renxing heard this, he understood the meaning of Du Ping's words, so he said bluntly: "Lord Du, your case is very wrong. ”

Du Ping couldn't help but feel disgusted when he heard him accuse himself of judging the wrong case, and said unconvinced at the moment: "One of the parties on both sides is willing to withdraw the gift of marriage, and the other has withdrawn the bride price of the year, and signed and pledged in the court. What is so wrong? ”

Mo Renxing saw him contradicting him, his face sank, and he said: "The order of the parents and the words of the matchmaker are the common practice of marriage since ancient times. Whether it is Situ Jiao or Zhong Lilan, they can only obey the orders of their parents, so how can they break the contract and withdraw from the marriage on their own initiative? Isn't this a great crime of unfilial piety? And Lord Du did not follow the rules and the ancestral system, and not only did not stop their absurd behavior, but on the contrary, added fuel to the fire. Isn't that a big mistake, you say?"

Mo Renxing's reprimand aroused the stubborn temper of Du Ping's scholars, and he blushed and retorted: "Speaking of filial piety, the ancients Zhao Qi said in the "Notes on Mencius", 'There are three things for those who are not filial: they are said to be obedient, trapped in relatives and unjust, one is not filial, the family is poor and the elderly, not for Lu Shi, and the other is not filial; not married and childless, the ancestors are worshipped, and the third is not filial." Situ Feng took advantage of the drunkenness to lure him to sign his daughter's marriage contract; If Situ Jiao 'obeyed' the orders of such parents, wouldn't he be 'framing relatives for injustice'? The judgment made according to the demands of the two parties not only fulfilled the wishes of the parties, but also prevented Situ Jiao from 'framing relatives for injustice'. What's wrong with being lowly?"

"Lord Du, you quote scriptures in front of this mansion, what does it mean, this mansion doesn't know the way of Confucius and Mencius?" Seeing that Du Ping was about to refute, he stretched out his hand and pressed it, changed his face, and said calmly: "That's it, you and I don't have to argue." Situ Jiao's complaint was filed with this government, and this government could not refuse to accept it. Therefore, Mr. Du is invited to take out the file of this case and read it. ”

The boss reads the case file and there is no reason not to comply. Du Ping ordered the master to take out the case file and send it to Mo Renxing.

The case file is actually very simple, with only a contract of engagement and a record of the two parties' drawings. Mo Renxing looked at it very carefully, especially the marriage contract, I don't know how many times I looked at it, as if he wanted to find something in it.

Du Ping was bored beside him, opened his mouth and yawned, he reached out and rubbed his eyes, picked up the teacup in front of him and slowly blew a few tea leaves floating on the tea.

Seeing this, Mo Renxing put down the case file in his hand, looked at Du Ping and asked, "Lord Du is yawning and serving tea cups, don't you think this mansion has been sitting for a long time?"

Du Ping was embarrassed when he heard this, and thought to himself that there was only the rule of the boss "serving tea to guests", how could there be a reason for his subordinates to "serve tea" to the boss? Because of his poor night's sleep, he couldn't help but yawn and was rude!"

Mo Renxing asked with great interest: "Why does Lord Du not sleep at night? Could it be that he is worried about the people and eats and sleeps all night?"

Du Ping's face flushed, and he replied: "The humble position does have this intention. However, there is another reason for poor sleep: the humble job has suffered from 'sleeplessness' for many years. ”

"Oh?" Mo Renxing's brows, which had been frowning slightly, stretched out, and asked with "concern": "Haven't you had 'sleeplessness' for many years?"

Du Ping shook his head and said, "I don't know how many Langzhong I have seen, but I can't cure this disease." ”

"Coincidentally, I know a Lang Zhong in this house, who is good at treating 'insomnia', and I will send someone to ask him to come over and prescribe a prescription with Master Du to see if it is effective. Mo Renxing said enthusiastically.

Du Ping hurriedly excused himself: "It's just a trivial matter, don't bother adults." Besides, after so many years, this illness is not a big problem for life. ”

Mo Renxing said: "Where is the matter, the subordinates have something, and the boss cares about it." What's more, if you don't rest well at night, it will affect your business during the day, how can it be a trivial matter?"

Before the words fell, a person walked into the second hall. Du Ping saw that it was Lou Zitong of this county.

"Your Excellency. Lou Zitong walked up to Mo Renxing and gave a salute.

"Master Du has suffered from 'insomnia' for many years, why don't you report it to the government?" he raised his hand to stop Lou Zitong, who was about to defend, "The government ordered you to personally invite Huang Langzhong, who is known from the house, to Lord Du to take a look." Also, Lord Du's family is not in the county office, and no one takes care of him, from today on, you will personally serve Lord Du to take medicine according to the prescription prescribed by Huang Langzhong. ”

"Yes, sir. Only then did Lou Zitong turn his head and glance at Du Ping.

"I can't do it, I can't do it. Du Ping hurriedly shook his hand and thanked him, "There are still miscellaneous servants in the county government, and I don't dare to work hard for Brother Lou." ”

"Well, what do you say about hard work or not, how can you teach people to rest assured? Also, during the treatment period of Lord Du, don't look at things, so as not to affect the healing effect of the medicinal stone. Mo Renxing said in an unquestionable tone.

When Du Ping heard this, he hurriedly said, "How can it be done." How can there be no one in charge of all these things, such as collecting taxes and paying grain, educating the people, hearing lawsuits and adjudicating cases, persuading the people to farm, providing relief from disasters and famines, and promoting academic activities?"

Mo Renxing rolled his eyes and snorted: "Who said that there is no main matter?" Lou Zitong, during Lord Du's treatment, you were in charge of the Huanggang County Ya, and the small matters were handled by you, and the major matters were reported to the government for adjudication. ”

When Du Ping heard that he was deprived of his authority in this way, he was angry, so he argued on the basis of reason: "Lord Mo, although Du is a low-ranking official, he is also an official of the imperial court, even if there is any mistake, the lord only has the power to impeach." I'm afraid that adults don't have the right to make this punishment of 'resignation', right?"

The corners of Mo Renxing's lips moved, and he pulled out a dry smile, and said: "Lord Du, don't be excited, this mansion is completely for your good, not to dismiss your post and take away your power." Once Lord Du recovers from his illness, he can look at things again. To be honest, the government is still counting on Lord Du's support. After speaking, he stopped paying attention to Du Ping, and turned to Lou Zitong and said, "Lou Zitong, do you understand?"

"My lord, this ......" Lou Zitong seemed to have concerns.

"Oh, I see. Mo Renxing tapped his fingers on the table and shouted to the door: "Someone is coming, pass the Huanggang County master book, the six-room economic inheritance, and the head of the third class." ”

No one answered outside the door.

Mo Renxing looked unhappy and asked Du Ping: "What's the matter?

If the prefect directly orders the economic inheritance and squad leaders of the subordinate counties, what else does the imperial court want the county order to do? Du Ping's heart was full of contempt and dissatisfaction, but he said to the door: "Didn't you hear? The prefect summoned the chief bookkeeper, the six-room warden, and the head of the third class, why don't you pass it on quickly?"

"Yes, sir. There was an immediate response outside the door.

After a while, more than a dozen people from Huanggang County, including the chief bookkeeper, the six-room warden, and the first class of the third class, came to the second hall. Mo Renxing made a gesture of "coughing", looked at everyone and said: "Lord Du is as good as the law, and he is exhausted, so that he becomes ill from hard work and suffers from insomnia. In order to show compassion for his subordinates, the government allowed them to leave their posts to recuperate and concentrate on treatment. From today on, Lou Zitong, the county minister, will be in charge of the county government on his behalf, and you must obey the dispatch of Lord Lou, and report all matters to Lord Lou, and you must not disturb Lord Du for any reason. Do you understand?"

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other, and Master Du was still in good spirits when he was in the morning, why did he suddenly have to leave his job to recuperate? So they turned their inquiring eyes to Du Ping, but no one answered Mo Renxing's question.

Seeing that Mo Renxing was about to have an attack of annoyance, Du Ping was afraid that he would affect everyone, so he hurriedly reluctantly said: "Everyone, this county is indeed in poor health, so I proposed to Lord Fu Yin to recuperate." You can do as Lord Fu Yin says. ”

Although everyone still had doubts, since Du Ping also said so, they replied in unison: "Yes." ”

"Zhao Ya. ”

"Your Excellency. Outside the door, a man with a knife walked in and bowed to Mo Renxing and replied.

"You bring a few brothers to stay, take care of Lord Du's safety, and no one is allowed to disturb Lord Du's treatment. ”

"Yes, sir. ”

Speaking of this, Du Ping sighed: "In this way, Du has been confined to this small courtyard for more than a year, and has never contacted anyone except for a few servants brought by Lou Zitong and Zhao Ya. Alas, I can't imagine that an unintentional yawn from the old man actually attracted Mo Renxing's house arrest, which is really unreasonable!"

"I don't think so, even if Lord Du didn't yawn at that time, I'm afraid it would be the same result. Chen Wenqi said.

"Lord Chen, you mean ......?"

Chen Wenqi waved his hand and interrupted Du Ping's words: "Master Du, did Lou Zitong really invite Lang Zhong for you to treat your illness later?"

Du Ping nodded and said, "That's true. On the same day, Lou Zitong invited that Huang Langzhong to the county office, and after inquiring about the old decay, he prescribed a prescription, saying that it would be effective if he insisted on taking it for a period of time. After sending Lang Zhong away, Lou Zitong personally bought medicine and decoction for the old man, and delivered it to the room on time every day, and it has never been interrupted for more than a year. ”

"For more than a year, Lou Zitong personally decocted and delivered medicine for you?"

"Well, never pretending to be anyone. ”

"How did Lord Du feel after taking the medicine?"

Du Ping hesitated for a moment before saying: "If you talk about sleep, it will improve a lot, after taking the medicine, you can fall asleep next to the pillow." But...... The spirit is not as good as before, and there is a numbness in the mouth, tongue, hands and feet, which is probably due to the decline of physical function due to long-term inactivity. ”

Chen Wenqi pulled Du Ping's left hand, pressed the index, middle and ring fingers on Du Ping's wrist respectively, and only let go after about a cup of tea.

"General Chen will also cut the pulse, may I ask what is the pulse below?" Du Ping asked eagerly.

"It's fine. Chen Wenqi replied in a vague voice, and then asked, "How long has Lord Du worked with you, a county prince, and what is the relationship?"

"Lou Zitong? He was originally the inspector of the Huangzhou Prefecture, and the year before last, he was reappointed as the county magistrate of this county. Xia Guan has not worked with him for a long time, and the relationship is acceptable. ”

The county is the official of the imperial court, but the inspection of the government is a position that does not enter the stream.

Chen Wenqi thought secretly in his heart, but asked in his mouth:

"Since the symptoms of 'sleeplessness' have improved or disappeared, why are you still taking medicine?

"Mentioned, but ......"

As he was talking, there was a sudden "bang", and the door was kicked open, followed by a gloomy voice saying, "Take down the assassin for me." ”