The big man walked to the door and said a few words to one of the guards who was guarding the door, and the soldier turned and walked in through the corner gate on the left. The big man stood in front of the door and waited, as if he was quite anxious, and kept turning around under the stone steps of the gate. After half a pillar of incense, the soldier walked out of the corner gate, followed by a man in black, who looked like a servant in the prefect's yamen. He said a few words to the big man, and then led the big man into the house through the corner door.

Li Qiufeng saw that the front of the yamen of the prefect was heavily guarded, and quietly turned eastward, walked out of dozens of zhang, and arrived at the east end of the wall of the prefect's yamen. There is an alley more than two zhang wide here, separating the prefect's yamen from the private houses. The night was dark, and the lights in the prefect's yamen were reflected above the wall. The houses on the other side of the alley are pitch black.

Li Qiufeng looked around at no one, and with a little foot, he had jumped onto the wall. But I saw that the lights were lit in front of me, the house was forested, and there were more than 100 palaces and pavilions of different sizes in the whole house. The place where Li Qiufeng stands is the east end of the mansion, looking from east to west, the whole mansion sits in the north and faces south, and is divided into three courtyards. After entering from the main entrance, there is a large wall. After bypassing the wall, there is the majestic instrument gate. Li Qiufeng worked as an errand in Fusi in Jinyi Weinan Town, and went to the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion many times. Knowing that the shape of the instrument gate is the same as the gate, looking at it from a distance, it can be seen that the eaves on the inner side of the front slope are made of wooden structure roll shed, which is very majestic. The door of the ceremony is the door of etiquette, where the new official arrives, dismount in front of the door of the ceremony, and welcome the official into the door. According to the rules of officialdom, when the emperor is lucky, reads a holy decree or holds a sacrifice, the prefect must open the door of the ceremony to show respect.

After the gate is the lobby. The lobby of the Luoyang Mansion is more grand than the Shuntian Mansion Yamen. Looking from the side, I saw that the lobby was 5 rooms wide and 3 rooms deep, far exceeding the rest of the houses, and it was the largest hall of Luoyang Mansion. The lobby is the third courtyard of the government. Under the eaves, the bucket arch is sparse, the beam frame is ingenious, bright and spacious. The lobby is the place where the prefect reads the edict, receives the officials, and holds important ceremonies, which is like the Taihe Hall of the imperial city, and is the most solemn place in the palace.

Li Qiufeng stared at the courtyard in front of the lobby, and saw the black-clothed servant walking to the courtyard in front of the lobby with the big man. The two stopped and seemed to whisper a few words. At this time, another black-clothed servant walked out of the small door next to the lobby and said a few words to the black-clothed man in the courtyard, and then the black-clothed servant standing in the courtyard turned around and exited, and the big man followed another black-clothed man into the small door.

Li Qiufeng knew that the second hall behind the lobby was the place where the prefect and his staff handled official business, and since the big man went to the prefect's yamen to deliver official documents, the place he wanted to go to was the second hall. He looked around at no one, and jumped into the courtyard with light body skills, twisting and turning all the way, and quietly sneaked into the courtyard in front of the main hall. With a little right foot, he jumped onto the roof of the lobby and stepped on the ridge of the roof to the north. Standing on the roof, you can see the three halls where the prefect receives superior officials, discusses political affairs, handles official business and rests. After the three halls, there is the government garden. Under the illumination of the lanterns, you can see a pool of water from a distance, which is clear and clear, and the lights are reflected in the water, which is very interesting. But seeing the exquisite mountains and rocks, the trees are verdant, the flowers and plants are strange, and the competition is beautiful, and it is a good place that is both elegant and gorgeous.

Li Qiufeng walked along the ridge to the roof of the second hall, but saw that the black-clothed servant had led the big man to the door of the second hall. There was a person standing under the dripping eaves in front of the hall, and it was Master Ji who had seen him in the temple of Emperor Guan Shengjun last night. When the big man saw Master Ji, he hurriedly knelt down on one knee and said, "The villain greets Master Ji." ”

Master Na Ji stepped forward with a smile, stretched out his hands to help the big man up, and said, "Lao Hai, we are old acquaintances, why bother to be polite? ”

The big man stood up, took out the briefcase from his arms, respectfully handed it to Master Ji, and said, "Master Ji, this is Master Hu's official document, please take a look." The villain is waiting here, and if there is a reply, you can write it now. Or after tomorrow I write it, I will call the villain to pick it up. If there is no reply, ask Master Ji to write a reply receipt and give it to the villain to bring back. ”

Master Ji took the briefcase in his hand, groaned slightly, and said, "Okay, I'll call you back after I'm done." Lao Hai, let's go into the hall and rest. ”

The big man hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Don't dare, this is an important place in the government, and villains don't dare to trespass." The villain is waiting in the courtyard, please come in and read the official documents. ”

Master Ji didn't let him go any longer, nodded, turned around and walked into the second hall. The big man was not as anxious as he was in front of the palace office, but just stood solemnly with his hands down. The black-clothed servant was by his side, also motionless. The strong autumn wind crouched on the roof, and by the light of the eight lanterns under the corridor of the second hall, he could see the situation in the courtyard clearly. After a cup of tea, I heard the sound of boots, and Master Ji had already walked out of the hall.

I saw Master Ji holding a letter in his hand, walked up to the big man, handed the letter to him, and said, "I have written the reply, you can take it back and hand it to Master Hu in person." In addition, there is a sentence that I would like to ask you to say to Lord Hu, the turmoil in Hangzhou has subsided, and the showers in Luoyang have not stopped, please be careful with Lord Hu. ”

The big man's eyes widened, and he said to Master Ji: "The turmoil in Hangzhou has calmed down, and the showers in Luoyang have not stopped, please be careful." Master Ji, is that what you say?"

Master Ji smiled: "Yes, that's it." ”

After he finished speaking, he took out a silver ingot from his arms, handed it to Dahan, and said, "You can keep this bit of silver, and buy a glass of wine to drink on the way." ”

When the big man saw that the ingot of silver was five taels, he smiled, took the silver with both hands, nodded and said, "Every time, the master has to break the bank, and the villain is grateful." ”

Master Ji said: "Lao Hai, what you said is not right. In the past two years, we have also had a friendship, and Lord Hu has to worry about you more. ”

The big man put the silver in his bosom, nodded his head like a chicken pecking rice, and claimed that it was. The two exchanged a few more polite words, and the big man said goodbye to Master Ji. Master Ji arched his hand, and saw the big man walk out of the courtyard with the black-clothed servant, the smile on his face disappeared immediately, and he was seen pacing a few steps under the eaves with his hands on his back, his face gloomy and uncertain.

Suddenly, I heard a cough, and a person walked out of the moon door next to the second hall. Li Qiufeng looked over, but saw that the person was Han Qusi, the prefect of Luoyang. Master Ji glanced at him, neither saluted nor spoke, still holding his hands behind his shoulders, slowly pacing in front of the hall.

Li Qiufeng was stunned, secretly thinking that this Master Ji could be so unpolite? Even if Han Qusi was thirsty for talent, as a master, he would never dare to be so rude in front of the owner. It's incomprehensible that these two people are acting so strangely.

Han Qusi walked slowly to the front of the hall, and actually arched his hand at Master Ji, and said, "Second brother, are you still resting so late?"

Li Qiufeng's heart sank, he couldn't imagine that the dignified prefect of Luoyang would be called a brother and sister with an unofficial and unemployed master.

But I heard Master Ji "snort" and said: "I have already said that between us, we can no longer be called brothers, and we must be commensurate with our official positions." Otherwise, people will see the flaws, and the four of us are in danger of extinction. ”

Han Qusi smiled and said, "Second brother, don't be alarmist!" The case in Hangzhou has been completed, and more than 100 people have died in the Xu family this time, and the remnants of the three provinces of Shandong, Jiangsu, and Fujian have all been uprooted, so what else do you have to worry about?"

Master Ji frowned, lowered his voice and said, "Lord Han, don't get carried away! Have you forgotten the old story of the Zhao family's orphans? In the past five or six hundred years, our five families have experienced many adventures, and the Hua family has even suffered a tragic disaster. If it weren't for the negligence of the ancestors of our five families back then, they thought that the twenty or thirty members of the Xu family had all been burned to death, so that the demon woman escaped, and there would not have been these hundreds of years of life and death entanglement. Lord Han, the mistakes of our ancestors, we can't repeat them. ”

Han Qusi snorted and said, "This sin was originally done by them, but they want us to pay off their debts." In the past few decades, what day have we ever slept peacefully? I have had enough of these days when I don't do it and only go around in this shabby place in Henan, where I have to be frightened every day, and there is also intrigue between brothers!"

The more Han Qusi spoke, the louder his voice became, and when he arrived, his face turned red, and he stared at Master Ji viciously, and his eyes seemed to be about to erupt into flames.

Master Ji's face turned pale, and he said angrily: "Confused! You are also a third-class jinshi, how can you be so confused? ! This matter is not only related to your Han family, but also related to the life and death of our three families." If you continue to mess around like this, you are afraid that the danger of exterminating the clan is right in front of you!"

When he said this, he paused slightly, took a long breath, softened his tone slightly, and said to Han Si: "Lord Han, don't forget, during the reign of Song Renzong, it was the benevolence of the Hua family that saved a beggar and took the beggar to work in the mansion, but three years later, the beggar and the Xu family joined forces and killed all four hundred and sixteen members of the Hua family, and even the baby in the swaddling clothes was not spared. Although we took advantage of the Japanese affair to complete this case in Hangzhou. I am afraid that there are still remnants of the Xu family, watching in secret, and if they retaliate, the means will be more vicious than in the past. There are more than 1,000 people up and down the four of us, and we are only afraid of death and no place to bury us......"

Han Qusi didn't wait for Master Ji to finish speaking, so he sneered and said, "There is no place to die?" Second brother, what you said is ridiculous? In the past five or six hundred years, it has always been the four of us who have come to show up, but your Ji family has been hiding behind. If the Hua family hadn't been pushed out by your Ji family to do something about the transfer back then, I'm afraid that they wouldn't have made a big splash and suffered a catastrophe. It's just that more than 400 people died in the Hua family, but they found the nest of the Xu family for us, and burned to death 2 or 300 people in the Xu family, keeping our four families safe for more than 200 years. Think about it carefully, the ancestors spent a lot of money to buy a transfer envoy for the Hua family, but do you know that it was not a big conspiracy?

When Han Qusi said this, he glanced up at Master Ji, and then said, "The one who came up with this idea back then was the ancestor of your Ji family, right?!"

(End of chapter)