Everyone followed the prestige, and Zhou Xiao walked out of the inner hall slowly wearing a red regular dress of the fourth grade. The originally noisy inner courtyard instantly became silent. The actors who sang on the stage got up and knelt down one after another. Although it is said that Nan Zhili Yingtian Governor Yamen is also in Suzhou City, he is the parent official of Suzhou City, a veritable Futai Lord.

When Zhao Wuji saw Zhou Xiao come out, he sneered and said to the two: "You are lucky." The negative hand stood aside.

Zhou Xiao didn't have any expression on his face, and after looking around, he said leisurely: "Adults, colleagues, squires, and friends on the rivers and lakes, thank you for coming to cheer for Gao Tang today." He picked up a glass of wine and continued, "Everyone may be strange, my mother just celebrated her birthday last month, why did Zhou have a banquet again?

One person asked, "Is the old lady happy?"

Zhou Xiao's face froze when she heard this, and she shook her head slightly: "Of course not." ”

He glanced at one of his servants, who stepped forward and dragged the man who spoke out, and the man shouted, "Why do you want to drive me, but I will do my part." Immediately, there was a pig-like scream outside the door.

Zhou Xiao said casually: "Friends who came last month should know that my mother's hair was all white and her teeth fell out, but ten days ago, my mother gave birth to a head full of black hair and a new tooth overnight. Therefore, the official has a banquet today to celebrate with you. ”

One person responded: "Lord Zhou, this is the auspicious Rui of Suzhou City, my Ming Dynasty governs the country with benevolence, and the family with filial piety, the old lady has this creation, it is really Lord Zhou's filial piety that touches the heavens and the earth!"

Zhou Xiao smiled and nodded, "Filial piety is the foundation of being a man, since you say so, then on the fifteenth day of every month, Zhou will hold a banquet for his wife in the mansion to fulfill his filial piety!"

Since Zhou Xiao took office, the gentry and people of Suzhou City have been overwhelmed, from last year to now, Aunt Guang has married seven or eight, every time there is a red matter, the prefect will do a big job, and even openly ask for bribes, and now I hear that Zhou Xiao wants to normalize this kind of thing, and I can't wait to strangle the person who answers.

The crowd was silent.

At this time, a "poof" chuckle sounded in the venue.

Xiao Jinyan attended this kind of banquet for the first time, and he already felt funny, but Zhou Xiao's words just now finally made him unable to help but laugh out loud.

Zhou Xiao looked at Xiao Jinyan coldly, "Who are you?"

Xiao Jinyan arched his hand, "Under Xiao Jinyan." ”

Zhou Xiao's face was expressionless, "You seem to have an opinion about this official?"

Xiao Jinyan said: "I myself have no opinion on adults, but I am afraid that all of you here have opinions about your money bags. If this continues, I am afraid that the land of Suzhou City will sink three feet. ”

The master next to him said angrily: "Bold Xiao Jinyan, you are a grass citizen, and you are really impatient to openly slander the officials of the imperial court." Come on, blast this person down for me!"

Xiao Jinyan said goodbye, I'll do my part.

When a few soldiers stepped forward, they were about to push Xiao Jinyan. At this time, Zao Wou-Ki suddenly said, "Today is a happy event in the house, why should you be like a person from the rivers and lakes?"

Zhou Xiao is Yuwen Tianlu's protégé, knowing the relationship between Zao Wou-Ki and Lord Yuwen, Zhao Wou-Ki can come to the Zhou Mansion to give Zhou Xiao enough face, seeing Zao Wou-Ki speak, so he said: "Since Lord Zhao intercedes for you, today is another day of great joy, and this official will spare you once." ”

Xiao Jinyan was a little strange, he couldn't figure it out, just now Zao Wou-Ki was still fighting with them, wanting to take his life, how could he intercede for him at this moment? However, he couldn't figure it out, he had never been too lazy to think about it, bowed his head slightly at him, and sat down.

Zhou Xiao said some soup words again, which is nothing more than the fact that this year's Suzhou city is full of rain, the grain is full, the emperor's grace is vast, and the tax reduction for several areas in Suzhou that were flooded last year, even so, the taxes received by Suzhou this year have reached a new high.

"Although today is said to be for the mother's birthday, but also for the bright future of the Ming Dynasty to make a banquet, today's house is slightly prepared with thin wine, the hospitality is not good, but also invite Haihan, everyone eat well, drink well, play well!"

Someone said, "Lord Zhou, let's invite the old lady to come out, first, we will also get a touch of auspicious blessings, and second, we will also have the opportunity to kowtow to the old lady to say goodbye." ”

Zhou Xiao's face changed slightly, and he said embarrassedly, "Everyone listen to the play first, and I'll go to the backyard to invite the old lady out." With that, he toasted everyone with a glass of wine and walked to the backyard.

The drums sounded, and the troupe began to blow and beat.

Someone said, "We're going to listen to the red breeze and run at night!"

"Don't mind, let's listen to Li Kui fight the tiger, Ying Jing'er!"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Xiao Jinyan felt that Zhou Xiao was a little strange, and explained to Li Chengcheng in a low voice, and was about to go out when he got up, Fan Wuchang asked him why he was going, Xiao Jinyan was not angry, "People have three urgency." He went out through the side door, and saw some soldiers at the door with a jar of wine to eat, and jumped into the backyard, bypassing the guards.

When he came to the study, Xiao Jinyan heard a quarrel inside.

"Mother, now that so many guests outside are waiting to kowtow to you, it's not good that you're here to make a fuss. ”

An old woman said: "Zhou Xiao, no, Huang Shiren, Master Yao and I have been with you for five or six years." From the Dongping County Order to the current Suzhou Prefect, you have also looted hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, the play is performed by us together, but you took the lion's share of the silver, in my opinion, this share should also be changed. ”

Zhou Xiao said: "What do you two mean, yes, I take a lot of the money I earn, but I also spend a lot, you make pure profits, you don't say it sooner, don't say it later, you have to make a fuss now, don't you want to make a fool of yourself?"

The old woman said, "Okay, don't pretend." Others don't know, I don't know? Back then, you were a gangster in Dezhou Mansion, and when you saw that you were seven or eight points similar to the newly appointed Zhou Xiao of Dongping Zhixian County, you had bad intentions, killed Zhou Tanhua with poison, and impersonated your office.

Master Yao said, "Shhh...... Be quiet. ”

"How, dare to do it, don't you dare to admit it, isn't it you who just provoked me to have a showdown?"

When Xiao Jinyan heard this, he was shocked in his heart, it turned out that this Suzhou prefect turned out to be an impostor Xibei goods! No wonder, since he took office, he has not looked like a scholar at all, no matter whether the people live or die, he just set up a clever name to loot the land, and there are such public cases in it. I have long heard that among the eight gates of the rivers and lakes, there are bees, sparrows, and finches in the four lines, and I can't imagine that this Suzhou prefect, master, and old lady are actually people in this finch (missing) line, but they have been hidden for so many years and have not been discovered, which can be regarded as profound.

When Zhou Xiao heard the old lady say this, he was also angry, and said coldly: "If this official could kill Zhou Xiao back then, he can naturally kill you." ”

The old woman also sneered, "Are you willing to kill me? If you kill me, you will have to worry about it, where will you go to make money? Besides, I just gave birth to black hair, and I am going to live for another thirty or fifty years, and I will die violently in the blink of an eye, how can you explain to the people of Suzhou City?"

Master Yao said, "Okay, don't embarrass Lord Zhou, Lord Zhou won't treat us badly, right?"

Zhou Xiao thought for a moment before saying, "Okay, from today onwards, the silver earned will be divided into four or six parts." ”

The old woman said: "Good, this is the good son of the mother." Master Yao, quickly bring Shouwu over and help me dye my hair. Immediately afterward, there was a scramble in the study, "Where's my dentures?"

Xiao Jinyan saw that there was nothing to listen to, so he performed light skills, jumped down from the study, and returned to the inner courtyard, but saw Fan Wuchang take out a pocket from his arms, put an elbow on the banquet into it, and put it in his arms, and couldn't help laughing, "Boss Fan is really good at living." ”

Fan Wuchang said that all the gifts were given, if he didn't bring back something, wouldn't he be dead?

Li Chengcheng asked, "What did you find?"

Xiao Jinyan briefly recounted what had just happened in the backyard, and Li Tingcheng shook his head and smiled bitterly. Zhao Lanjiang got up, and the two stopped and asked, "What are you going to do?" Zhao Lanjiang said in a deep voice, "Kill the dog officer." ”

Xiao Jinyan stepped forward and pressed Zhao Lanjiang to his seat, "This matter is considered in the long run, even if you want to kill, it will not be your turn to make a move, come, drink!"

After a while, someone shouted, "Lord Zhou and the old lady come to answer the salute!"

In the sound of drums, Zhou Xiao walked out with a fifty or sixty-year-old lady in her arms, the old lady was wearing a wedding robe, her head was full of gold and silver jewelry, she was covered in jewels, and her black hair made this old face look a little strange.

Everyone congratulated the old lady one after another, and Mrs. Zhou's face was full of smiles, and she was cute and cute. If it weren't for Fang Cai's hearing the three of them arguing in the backyard, Xiao Jinyan would have found it hard to believe that this kind-faced old woman was the one who quarreled with Zhou Xiao in the backyard because of the uneven distribution of spoils.

The old lady said some words of thanks, ate half a glass of wine, and sat down in the upper wing room to watch the troupe sing.

At this time, there was a sudden uproar, but it was a smile and Yang Xiaoxiao came to the stage to perform.

Li Tingcheng joked to Zhao Lanjiang, "Oh, your good friend has come to the stage, and you still don't go up?"

Zhao Lanjiang paused, "What nonsense are you talking about." Having said that, Zhao Lanjiang's face turned red.

Yang Xiaoxiao is the top brand of Tianxianglou, no matter her figure or appearance, she is a first-class stunning beauty, as soon as she came on stage, everyone's eyes were attracted, and the three souls and six spirits were also seduced, and they could no longer move away from her. Yang Xiaoxiao sang a song "The Drunken Concubine", the dance was graceful, the sound was like a heavenly sound, and it was around the beam for three days, and the people in the audience were fascinated and drunk, and the applause was endless.

At the end of the song, Yang Xiaoxiao was like a trick, and a golden longevity peach appeared from his sleeve, and said: "Tianxianglou wishes the old lady happiness like the East China Sea, and longevity than Nanshan!"

When Mrs. Zhou saw Jin Shoutao, she couldn't close her mouth, and nodded vigorously and said yes.

Immediately afterwards, everyone who came tonight came to the upper wing room one after another to say hello to Mrs. Zhou.

A maid sang beside him, "Changshu County ordered Changsheng Chang to greet the old lady and offer ten little goldfish!" Another lady put the gift on the plate, held it up with both hands, and the maid lifted the red cloth and brought it down.

"Chang County has a heart, son, the year-end evaluation should be the best, right?"

Chang Sheng was overjoyed when he heard this, and the old lady spoke, and the ten little goldfish were worth it, and he kowtowed: "The old lady is in good health, which is the blessing of my Suzhou people!" After the salute, he retreated. Immediately, the county magistrates of Taicang, Wujiang and other counties, as well as the officials of the six departments of Suzhou Prefecture, stepped forward to congratulate and offer gifts.

Su Zhengyuan, the head of the six doors, although he is dissatisfied with Zhou Xiao, is not a person who eats the ancients, and today he also gave a pair of gold "coffins", coffins, official wealth, promotion and wealth, this kind of thing, Zhou Xiao likes it very much, but the old lady is not very happy.

The local squires and gangs in the rivers and lakes followed to congratulate.

Xiao Jinyan asked Li Qingcheng, "Didn't you say that Lord Qin Chawen would also go to the banquet this time, why didn't you see him?"

Li Tingcheng shook his head and said Could it be that my news is wrong?

"Master Sugar Gourd, the abbot of Tianning Temple, send the first Golden Buddha!"

Without waiting for Mrs. Zhou to speak, Zhou Xiao couldn't stand it anymore, "Master Sugar, this official has a birthday, you send the Buddha's head, the third aunt is too happy, you send the Buddha's head, the official marries the seventh aunt, you send the Buddha's head, now the mother is such a big happy event, you also send the Buddha's head, it won't be long before the Suzhou Mansion Yamen is about to become Tianning Temple." ”

The sugar gourd monk clasped his hands together, "Amitabha, forgive me, my lord, we really can't come up with anything decent in Tianning Temple." ”

Zhou Xiao said that if it weren't for the fact that there was still half a catty of gold dust on your Buddha's head, the official would have blasted you out a long time ago!

The sugar gourd monk bowed and thanked him, and the Yuxi Zen Master of Hanshan Temple glanced at him, snorted coldly, and also stepped forward to salute.

"Zen Master Yuxi of Hanshan Temple, send a pair of Buddha's hands, three catties of sesame oil, ten stacks of yellow paper, and a basket of paper money, uh-uh...... And ......" The concubine who sang Nuo suddenly paused, and Zhou Xiaoqi asked, what else?

"A free ceremony. ”

Zhou Xiao said angrily, "Yuxi, what do you mean by this?"

Yuxi Taoist chief cried and mourned, and said: "My lord, this is the only thing we can get our hands on in Hanshan Temple, this pair of Buddha's hands, is planted by Lao Qu himself, hung indoors, fragrant, and has the effect of repelling mosquitoes, avoiding flies, etc., it is said that there is also the effect of warding off evil spirits, there are old people at home, hanging on the head of the bed, and it can also prevent the corpse from being cheated." ”

Zhou Xiao said in a deep voice, "Get out of the way." ”

Zen Master Yuxi breathed a sigh of relief, and said in his heart that although the prefect was dissatisfied with our temple, it was not difficult for us after all.

It was Fan Wuchang's turn, Fan Wuchang took two steps forward, and was about to kowtow, when the prime minister shouted, "The owner of Suzhou City Xiaoyao Inn, the owner of the impermanence of the world, Fan Wuchang Fan Squire, give the head of the Golden Buddha!" Fan Wuchang stepped forward and knelt down, "Fan Wuchang, grass people, I wish the old lady a blessing!"

Zhou Xiao pondered, this Fan Wuchang is very stingy on weekdays, how did he change his sex today, and he also gave a Buddha head, yes, not long ago, he was caught by me and lived in the Suzhou Mansion Prison for two days, this is to deliberately show favor to the official!

He glanced at the box, it looked quite heavy, and he was secretly happy in his heart, so he asked, "Is Squire Fan in the audience?"

Fan Wuchang said that when he interrogated me before, he had never seen him so polite, but he was a grass people, and he was slandered in his heart, but he had a respectful look in his mouth, "The old man has tormented the grass people." Zhou Xiao glanced at the box and asked, "What's inside?"

Mrs. Zhou said in her heart that the little goldfish just now, as well as the golden coffin sent by Su Zhengyuan, were all taken away by Zhou Xiao, seeing that the box in the man's arms was very heavy, and said in her heart that Zhou Xiao could not be snatched away again this time, and said, "Hurry up and take it, open it and let the old lady take a look!"

Fan Wuchang took the box from the hand of the prime minister, walked to the old lady's face, and presented it.

The old lady took it and opened the box with a smile.

"Whew......"

Old Madam Zhou seemed to be frightened, snorted, didn't take a breath, and fainted. The box fell to the ground, something slipped out of the box, rolled on the ground a few times, and stopped.

When everyone saw it, it turned out to be a bloody human head!