Chapter 51

When several soldiers from the Fuzhou prefecture whose horses were stolen caught up with them, they saw a man wearing a green ghost mask standing by the official road, holding a long gun in his hand and looking at the surging river below.

Mu Shi broke his leg when he fell off his horse. He lay on the rubble beside the road, staring at the river and crying, "Prince!"

The soldiers of Jizhou Prefecture did not understand what was happening. They raised their weapons and looked at the man in the green ghost mask with some fear. Suddenly, he turned around, glanced at them and said, "The thief escaped by the river. He has a wound on his waist and can't swim far. You can go downstream to look for him."

After he said this, he jumped on his horse, whipped the horse and rode away. Not a single soldier dared to step forward to stop him.

Only one soldier recognized the warhorse under Xie Zheng's hips and whispered, "It's Captain Xu's horse."

Captain Xu was the young general whose warhorse was robbed by Xie Zheng before.

The officers and soldiers looked at each other, and no one dared to say anything. After a while, the leader of the officers and soldiers ordered to tie up the injured Mu Shi, and sent some people to search for Sui Yuanqing downstream, while another part took Mu Shi back to report.

-

At the gate of Qingping County, the rebellious county residents were brought under control.

When He Jingyuan led his troops into the city, the county magistrate smeared blood on his face and greeted him crying, "Master He, it's a good thing you came, otherwise even if I filled the city walls with my corpse, I still couldn't stop the rebels from entering the city..."

He Jingyuan was sitting on horseback. Seeing the county magistrate with blood all over his face and body, he originally had a bad impression of him. At this moment, his expression softened and he said, "The people in Qingping County were able to escape the disaster. Lord Liu has made an indelible contribution."

When County Magistrate Liu heard this, he suddenly felt that he had a chance of promotion, and he cried even more: "I have served in Qingping County for three years, and my performance was mediocre. When I was about to be transferred, I was terrified because the grain collection by the army led to a rebellion by my neighbors. I could only block the city gate with a group of county constables before the mob entered the city, and then I tied up the officers and soldiers who came to supervise the grain collection to calm the public anger. Only then did I wait for you to come to help. I hope you will not blame me."

He Jingyuan had previously heard from the man in the green ghost mask that the turmoil was caused by the Prince of Changxin and his men. When he heard County Magistrate Liu mention the officers and soldiers who were in charge of grain collection, he knew that there might be something else going on. He glanced at County Magistrate Liu and said, "Tell me in detail what's going on with the officers and soldiers who are in charge of grain collection."

County Magistrate Liu then truthfully informed the county that a few days ago, the grain-collecting officers and soldiers had come to the county and were collecting grain at the rate of one dan per person.

He Jingyuan shouted, "What a mess! How could the Jizhou government order a grain tax of one dan per person?"

County Magistrate Liu was sweating profusely. "That group of soldiers said they were following the orders of the Jiedushi Wei. I... I dared not stop them, and was later put under house arrest by the soldiers... I learned that the peasants in the countryside were forced to rebel, and I was afraid that it would cause a big disaster, so I asked my subordinates to tie up those soldiers."

County Magistrate Liu was afraid that his contribution would be lost, so he never mentioned Captain Wang and Fan Changyu, and only gave a general account of what had happened.

He Jingyuan remained silent with a gloomy face, which made County Magistrate Liu feel anxious again.

He Jingyuan had guessed most of what had happened from what the county magistrate had said. The Prince of Changxin led his men to kill the officers and soldiers who came to Qingping County to collect grain. They pretended to be government soldiers and brought a fake grain collection order. Killing the villagers of Majia Village was probably part of their plan, and the purpose was to incite the people of Qingping County to rebel.

However, the magistrate of Qingping County still does not know the true identity of that group of officers and soldiers. How did the masked man recognize Sui Yuanqing?

Could it be that the masked man already knew Sui Yuanqing?

He Jingyuan thought of his previous guess, and his eyes became more complicated.

He asked the county commander, "I saw a man in black wearing a green ghost mask on the city wall in front of me. He was very brave in killing the enemy. Do you know who he is?"

After waiting for a long time, County Magistrate Liu only received this question. He was panicked and shook his head, saying, "This... I don't know. Maybe it's a righteous man in the city."

At this time, the officers and soldiers who were chasing Yuan Qing and his group also returned to the city.

As soon as the leader of the officers and soldiers entered the city gate, he dismounted and clasped his fists towards He Jingyuan, saying, "Sir, the bandit leader has escaped into the river. I have sent people to continue searching downstream. I will first capture him alive and report back to you, sir."

He Jingyuan glanced at the bound Mu Shi and asked, "Have you seen a man wearing a green ghost mask?"

The young leader clasped his fists and bowed his head, saying, "This man was captured by that strong man. When we rushed over, he told us that the bandit leader had escaped into the river, and then he went downstream. It seemed that he was also looking for the bandit leader."

The young general whose horse was stolen couldn't help but mutter, "Where's my horse?"

He Jingyuan glanced at him and he quickly shut up.

He Jingyuan looked at Mu Shi and said, "First, take him into custody and keep him under strict watch. Do not let him commit suicide."

The little boss should be.

He Jingyuan pointed to the young general who had just spoken and said, "Captain Xu, take a team of men and search along the river for the thief and try to capture him alive."

The young general quickly straightened his expression, clasped his fists and said, "I obey your orders!"

-

After Fan Changyu sent Captain Wang to the doctor, she saw that it was almost dark and Xie Zheng had not returned yet. She couldn't help feeling a little worried. After informing Captain Wang, she was about to leave the city to look for Xie Zheng.

At this time, the city gate was being guarded by soldiers from the Fuzhou Prefecture. Those soldiers were wearing armor and looked very dignified, so ordinary people stayed away from them.

Fearing that there might be accomplices of the thieves hiding in the city, entry and exit of the city gates became extremely strict, and some country folk who used to come here frequently to do business were temporarily detained.

Fan Changyu hesitated for a moment, but was ready to step forward to explain the situation, and asked them if they had seen Yan Zheng when they were chasing the enemy. After all, Yan Zheng was wearing a green ghost mask on his face, so he should be quite recognizable.

Just as she was about to go forward, the sound of horse hooves was heard outside the city gate. The officers and soldiers guarding the city gate looked out and saw that it was a date-red horse returning alone.

Fan Changyu was grabbed by the wrist by a big hand that suddenly stretched out from the side, and was forced to take several steps back.

The soldiers who had surrounded the city looked outside the city, but saw no one on horseback. They were very surprised and asked, "Captain Xu's horse came back on its own?"

A few steps away, Fan Changyu saw a man wearing a black robe and without the green ghost mask appear in front of him. He was shocked and then overjoyed. He was led by him all the way and forgot that he was still holding his hand. He just kept muttering: "Why did you take so long? Those officers and soldiers have captured the person and returned. I thought you had an accident..."

Xie Zheng listened to her mumbling, without loosening his grip on her wrist, and said, "Go find that thief, he's a little too far away."

Fan Changyu immediately realized that he must be talking about that extremely cunning officer and soldier leader, and asked hurriedly: "Did you catch him?"

Xie Zheng shook his head.

He searched for more than ten miles along the river, but couldn't find Sui Yuanqing. The man was wearing armor and fled into the river, and he was also wounded on the waist by him. Even if he was a good swimmer, he was in great danger.

If Sui Yuanqing could really escape, it can only be said that he was not destined to die.

Fan Changyu was a little disappointed when he heard that he didn't catch up with Sui Yuanqing. Then he said, "It is said that a turtle lives for a thousand years and a tortoise lives for ten thousand years. If that little turtle didn't die, it would be a proof of this saying."

Xie Zheng heard Fan Changyu say nothing good about Sui Yuanqing. Thinking of Sui Yuanqing's provocative words before he fled to the river, his eyes darkened and he asked, "Do you have a grudge against him?"

Fan Changyu said, "Originally, we had no grudges. I heard you say that the county magistrate was under control, so I wanted to take him out and reinstate Uncle Wang as the chief constable first, so that Uncle Wang could do his job more easily. But I never thought that the little turtle lived in the county magistrate's house, so I had no choice but to arrest the turtle, and now we have a grudge."

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes to hide his emotions: "He is quite skilled in martial arts. How did you tie him up?"

Fan Changyu felt a little embarrassed when she talked about this, and felt that it was a bit unfair to win, but she was honest and said everything: "There were too many people and I was afraid that I couldn't defeat them. I wanted to use drugs to knock them out, but the county magistrate's mansion didn't have any. So I pretended to be a maid in the county magistrate's mansion and gave that little bastard some Tremella soup mixed with croton."

She was still wearing the uniform of a maid, with her fair wrist half exposed and held by Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes and looked at her, thinking that she was wearing this dress when she went to bring soup to Sui Yuanqing, the strength of his grip on her wrist unconsciously increased a little.

The pain in his hand finally reminded Fan Changyu that his wrist was still being held by him.

She patted his hands and hissed, "Be gentle, that idiot bullied me on the tower because I had no weapon. He used a ring-handled broadsword to fight against my boning knife, and then he pulled me off the tower, injuring my wrist. It still hurts now."

Xie Zheng loosened his grip, and when he lowered his eyes he saw a circle of bruised fingerprints on her frosty white wrist, which was obviously not caused by him. There was also a crack at the base of her wrist, and the blood that had flowed out had dried up.

There was a flash of hostility in his eyes.

Seeing that he remained silent, Fan Changyu realized that what he had just said sounded like a complaint, and he immediately added, "But I did get my revenge. I stabbed him several times, and before the idiot ran away, I kicked him in the face!"

Xie Zheng listened to her saying this without saying a word, his eyes were cold and heavy.

Fan Changyu felt that he spoke very little along the way, and guessed that he might be regretting not catching the silly monkey, so he comforted him with a few words.

Before returning to the town, Fan Changyu went to report to Captain Wang that he was safe, so that Captain Wang wouldn't worry about Yan Zheng not coming back.

When Captain Wang learned that they were going back to town, he said, "It's already dark and the snow is falling heavily. Something like this happened today. There will definitely be thieves on the road who will take advantage of the situation to rob people. It's not safe to go out in the dark. There is an empty house at home. You can stay here for one night and it won't be too late to go back tomorrow."

Fan Changyu thought about it and realized that both she and Yan Zheng had been exhausted after a whole day, so she thanked him and agreed.

When Yu Baoer saw Fan Changyu coming, she ran out on her short legs and asked her, "Aunt Changyu, when will my mother come to pick me up?"

Fan Changyu then remembered Yu Qianqian's matter and looked up at Xie Zheng: "Is Manager Yu still in jail now?"

Xie Zheng leaned against the hanging flower door with his arms folded and shook his head lightly. His casual eyes fell on Yu Baoer, hiding a bit of complexity. After a moment, he looked away and said, "The murder case in Yixianglou has not been closed yet. I don't know how the government will deal with it. Since she handed this kid over to you, you should take care of him for her until the case is closed."

Fan Changyu thought that Yu Qianqian treated him well, so it was his duty to help her take care of Yu Baoer for a while.

She had discussed it with Yu Qianqian before and thought that the county magistrate wanted to seize Yu Qianqian's property and join the rebel king, but now it seems that is not the case.

If the government could handle the case impartially and clear Yu Qianqian's name, everyone would be happy.

If the county magistrate had any ulterior motives, she would not be afraid that he would make things difficult for Yu Qianqian since she had evidence of his corruption.

Fan Changyu touched the back of Yu Baoer's head and said, "Your mother has run into some trouble. She will come to pick you up after she solves the problem. Can you come with me to the town and play with Ning Niang for a few days?"

In the past, when Yu Qianqian's store was busy, she would leave Yu Baoer to the care of the maid at home. Sometimes Yu Baoer would not see Yu Qianqian for three to five days.

Although he was small, he was very calm. He nodded obediently and asked curiously, "Does Aunt Changyu kill pigs?"

Fan Changyu thought for a moment and said, "Maybe."

Today's incident has caused panic among the entire county. It is uncertain whether the market will be open in the next two days. It will probably take some time before the market can return to its former bustle.

Yu Baoer simply ignored the word "maybe". After getting Fan Changyu's reply, she was contentedly taken away by the old woman to wash up and go to bed.

Fan Changyu had come to Yixianglou to deliver meat to Yu Qianqian early in the morning, and he hadn't drunk a sip of water yet.

Mrs. Wang knew that she must be very hungry, so she asked the maid to prepare some food on the stove.

Fan Changyu didn't think about whether he was hungry that afternoon. When he smelled the fragrance of the food, he was shocked to find that he was starving.

She had done nothing but physical work that day and had an empty stomach, so she ate three bowls of rice in a row. When she wanted to eat the fourth bowl, Xie Zheng held down her rice spoon.

He said, "Don't eat too much all at once if you've been hungry for a long time. It will hurt your spleen and stomach."

Fan Changyu put down his bowl and chopsticks in disappointment.

After dinner, Xie Zheng went out for a while. Captain Wang was always on the case, so he always got hurt from time to time. He had a lot of medicine at home.

Xie Zheng asked Mrs. Wang for some ointment for bruises and a bottle of golden medicine.

When he returned to his room, Fan Changyu had just finished washing up.

He saw Fan Changyu twisting a towel in the basin, frowning, "Hasn't anyone told you that you shouldn't let water touch a wound?"

Fan Changyu glanced at the wound on his hand and said nonchalantly, "It's just a small wound, it's nothing serious."

Turning around and seeing the ointment on Xie Zheng's hand, he said, "Ah!" "You went to get me some medicine?"

Xie Zheng half lowered his eyes and said calmly, "Mrs. Wang gave it to me."

Fan Changyu had no doubts: "Auntie is really considerate. She even noticed my minor injury."

Xie Zheng didn't answer, but leaned against the door frame and asked, "Are you going to paint it?"

Fan Changyu wondered why this man's temper was so fickle, but she didn't bother with him considering that he had saved her several times on the tower. She tilted her neck and said, "Apply it, why shouldn't I? This is the medicine that my aunt gave me. It's a token of my love."

Hearing the word "affection", Xie Zheng raised his eyes to look at her, then looked away again.

Fan Changyu first sprinkled gold wound medicine on her palms. Xie Zheng saw that she was having a hard time biting one end of the gauze, so he walked over and helped her tie a knot.

However, when he was applying medicine on his wrist, Fan Changyu realized that he had done something stupid.

She should have applied the ointment on her wrists first. The ointment was oily and needed to be spread and rubbed into the skin bit by bit. Both of her hands were wrapped in gauze, so she could only scoop a little with her fingertips and rub it slowly with her fingertips, which was very troublesome.

Moreover, oily ointments are extremely slippery and difficult to rub into the skin with the fingertips.

Fan Changyu rubbed it carelessly and thought he was done. When he was about to close the ointment box, his wrist was intercepted by a big hand.

Xie Zheng used his large, thinly folded palm to rub the lingering medicinal oil on her wrist, and his tone was not polite at all: "Are you always so careless in everything you do?"

Fan Changyu was scolded by him again, and couldn't help but retort: ​​"Isn't it inconvenient for my hands?"

Xie Zheng seemed stunned for a moment, and then he just focused on massaging the medicated oil on her hands without saying another word.

Her frosty white skin turned into the color of warm jade under the candlelight, and the circle of green fingerprints on her wrist became more eye-catching, even shocking to look at.

Xie Zheng suddenly recalled the provocative smile Yuan Qing gave him after he broke out of the crowd.

An inexplicable anger rose in my heart, and my thin lips were pursed tightly.

There was a layer of medicated oil between his palm and her wrist. Before the oil dried, it felt slippery when he rubbed it. As the oil was rubbed into the skin, the touch of his kneading her wrist became extremely obvious.

Maybe it was because he had been rubbing it for too long, his palms became very hot, like branding iron.

Fan Changyu frowned and was about to say it was okay, but he withdrew his hand before her.

Fan Changyu had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Xie Zheng picked up the ointment box and went to the washbasin stand nearby to wash his hands.

Fan Changyu lowered his eyes and looked at his wrist which had been rubbed red. He felt his entire wrist was hot and itchy. He frowned and resisted the urge to rub it on his clothes.

She thought to herself that if she had known that the ointment would make her entire hand numb and itchy, she would not have applied it. It would have been better to wait until she got home to apply the medicated wine instead.

Xie Zheng turned around and saw that she looked troubled. He asked, "What's wrong?"

Fan Changyu shook his wrist and said, "The medicine is taking effect. I'm not used to it."

Someone was knocking on a gong on the street. It was already midnight and the entire Wang family was in silence.

Without Fan Changyu's words, Xie Zheng went to open the closet in the room, but found no extra quilts.

Fan Changyu, who was sitting at the table, also saw it.

At this hour, I couldn't wake up Mrs. Wang and ask her to get a quilt to make the bed.

After a while, Xie Zheng turned around and said, "I'm not sleepy yet, you take a rest."

Fan Changyu thought he was a liar. He hadn't slept well for several nights in a row and had forced himself to help her sell pork this morning.

Besides, it's the coldest time of winter now, and without a charcoal brazier at night, one could freeze to death. Does he plan to just sit in the room all night?

Fan Changyu glanced at the only thick quilt left on the bed and took the initiative to say, "How about... we sleep on the same bed for one night?"

Xie Zheng's heart skipped a beat, and when he looked at her with a frown on his face, Fan Changyu misunderstood and quickly raised his hand wrapped in gauze to assure her: "Don't worry, I will never have any improper thoughts about you!"

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