Chapter 160 The True or False Master (17)
17
It seems that Lu Jiming has been spoiled by Yi Zizhen these days.
With the help of wine and Yi Zizhen's encouragement, he actually thought that he could propose to Lin Jingzhe.
When Lu Jiming pounced on Lin Jingzhe, Lin Jingzhe pressed his shoulders with both hands, raised his foot, and kicked him hard between his legs.
"ah!"
Today is the Lantern Festival and there are many people on the streets. When they heard the sharp screams, they all looked sideways.
Lu Jiming's screams pierced the night sky. Lin Jingzhe let go of his hand, and he collapsed to the ground.
Lin Jingzhe stood in front of him, looking down at him coldly: "Are you sick?"
He turned around and explained to the onlookers, "For some reason, this man suddenly jumped out of the Marquis's Mansion and tried to touch me. I was afraid that he would break my lantern, so I kicked him."
Lu Jiming sobered up and curled up on the ground. When he heard the words "Marquis' Mansion", he subconsciously covered his face with his sleeves.
No, no one else can see it.
If anyone saw him, his reputation would be ruined, and he still has to take part in the imperial examination next year!
Lin Jingzhe squatted down in front of him and pulled at the sleeve that was covering his face, trying to make him reveal his face.
Lu Jiming suddenly became very strong and grabbed his sleeves tightly, refusing to show his face.
He wanted to get up from the ground, but couldn't because of the severe pain. He groaned in pain through his sleeves.
It was New Year's Day, and this kind of thing was really unlucky. When the onlookers saw that the person was still alive, they prepared to disperse, but looked back curiously from time to time.
Lin Jingzhe held Lu Jiming down with one hand and asked in a low voice, "Lu Jiming, what's wrong with you today?"
He hasn't been eating and drinking for free in the capital for the past three years. He is now taller than Lu Jiming, and he also exercises every day according to the teacher's requirements!
It is said that in those days, Master Pei intensified his training under the encouragement of the Master, and he knocked down the rebel with just a turn!
Lu Jiming couldn't struggle free, and gritted his teeth, only able to utter a few scattered words: "I... I was just drunk and talking nonsense... Lin Jingzhe, let go... Do you dare to offend the Marquis' Mansion?"
He struggled to raise his hand and slapped Lin Jingzhe's hand hard, trying to make him let go.
Lu Jiming was now completely sober.
Although Lin Jingzhe and Yi Zizhen have the same father but different mothers, but...
But they are completely different!
Yi Zi is really a weak and helpless little white flower, and Lin Jingzhe is a carnivorous plant, the kind that eats people!
Why would he come and provoke Lin Jingzhe just because he was drunk? He had been beaten up by Lin Jingzhe before.
Recalling the scene just now, he suddenly felt a headache.
Did he run out on his own, or was someone pushing him out?
Seeing that he didn't move, Lin Jingzhe thought he was pretending to be dead, so he raised his hand to hit him twice: "Stop pretending to be dead, get up."
Lin Jingzhe held Lu Jiming down here, while Zhu Qingchen supported their cart and looked around.
Soon, he noticed the side door beside the wall of the marquis' mansion.
There seems to be someone at the side door.
Zhu Qingchen saw a white hem of a dress and quickly shrank back in.
"It should be Yi Zizhen." The system said, "According to the original plot, he should jump out at this time, clapping his hands and saying: 'Ah, that's great, I will tell my parents right away that Jingzhe and Brother Jiming are finally together.' But now..."
The scumbag father is dead, and Yi Zizhen's biological mother is far away in Linjia Village. When Lin Jingzhe's biological mother hears this, she will probably come over with a machete to kill him.
so……
He has no room to play.
Yi Zizheng only dared to hide behind the door, and hurriedly tried to cover up the "flaw" that had accidentally been revealed.
Zhu Qingchen understood and turned back to see Lin Jingzhe still shaking Lu Jiming: "Don't play dead."
Zhu Qingchen shouted, "Jingzhe, Master, I am a genius in the medical field. I can bring you back to life with just one word."
Lin Jingzhe then let go of his hand and threw Lu Jiming to the ground again.
Zhu Qingchen lifted his skirt, squatted down in front of Lu Jiming, and said calmly: "If Second Young Master Lu doesn't wake up, I will send someone to knock on the main door of the Marquis' Mansion, and report to the authorities, and ask the officials to come and take you back."
It really works.
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiming's headache and body pain were gone, and he struggled to get up from the ground: "Master Zhu, I didn't mean to offend you... but you and your students are really..."
Zhu Qingchen asked back: "You even went so far as to ask my student if he wanted to marry you, and you call this 'unintentional offense'?"
"I was just drunk and recognized the wrong person. What I want to ask is..."
A name stuck in his throat and he couldn't say it.
But Zhu Qingchen certainly knew.
In order to save his face, Lu Jiming would definitely say that he wanted to ask Yi Zizheng.
This is what happened in the original book. He was rejected by Yi Zizheng, so he hurried to Lin Jingzhe to seek redress.
Now that he had been beaten up by Lin Jingzhe, he had to quickly use Yi Zizheng to make up for it.
No matter what, he couldn't lose face, but he didn't dare to say it.
He didn't dare tell anyone about taking over Yi Zizhen.
Zhu Qingchen laughed and said, "Since you have made a mistake, Mr. Lu should go find that person and ask him. Don't make the wrong choice again and get beaten. If you make a mistake a few more times, Mr. Lu will probably be beaten to death."
Zhu Qingchen lowered his eyes and glanced at him with a meaningful look.
After the Master spoke, Lin Jingzhe grabbed Lu Jiming by the collar, pulled him up from the ground, and pushed him aside like he was throwing away garbage: "Get lost!"
Lu Jiming could not even walk steadily, so two servants ran out hurriedly, supported Lu Jiming and helped him inside.
Yi Zizhen was still hiding behind the wooden door. After Lu Jiming was helped in, he dared to hold his hand, wiped his tears, and whispered to comfort him: "Brother Jiming, how are you? I didn't expect Jingzhe to do this to you. Are you okay? Do you want to call a doctor?"
Watching the wooden door open and close, Lin Jingzhe snorted and clapped his hands as if to brush off the dirt on them.
He lowered his voice and said, "Master, we forgot to look at the road when we went out. Last time, Pei Zhen, Liu Yun and I saw Lu Jiming taking Yi Zizhen in here..."
When Yi Zizheng's name was mentioned, Lin Jingzhe seemed to understand something.
"Master, the person he just mentioned, the one he mistook for me, couldn't that be Yi Zizhen?"
Zhu Qingchen didn't comment, and Lin Jingzhe felt terrible.
"Master, why are they always like this? They have such a deep love for each other, why do they always drag me into it as a foil? Are they sick?"
"That's true." Zhu Qingchen nodded. "You are his legal wife, helping him manage the household and earn money; Yi Zizhen is his concubine, being gentle and considerate to him. That's probably what he thinks."
Lu Jiming was probably only half drunk, and he also wanted to test Lin Jingzhe.
"A dung beetle yawns." Lin Jingzhe gritted his teeth and cursed in a low voice, "It has a stinky mouth."
Zhu Qingchen patted his head and said, "It's okay. Look at the servants following you. If you don't take action, they will rush over too."
Lin Jingzhe looked back and saw, as expected, five or six attendants were following them from a distance.
They were all sent by my mother.
Three years ago, after he had a fight with Lu Jiming, he went back and told his mother about it, and his mother immediately arranged something for him.
They are all martial arts masters, able to defeat ten enemies at once, and ready to strike.
"We'll have to let them continue to follow us in the future."
"Um."
"Come on, push your stroller and go out to play."
Lin Jingzhe pushed the car again, and Zhu Qingchen picked up two carp lanterns and drew circles in the air.
After walking around the wall of Marquis Wenyuan's mansion, Zhu Qingchen paused fiddling with the carp lantern, tilted his head, and saw Lu Que standing in front of the door with the help of a cane.
A middle-aged man in coarse cloth shorts stood behind him, and the two men seemed to be talking about something.
Seeing him coming, the man retreated back into the crowd like a passerby.
Lu Que stepped forward step by step and said, "Master Zhu, what a coincidence."
Zhu Qingchen frowned: "It doesn't seem like a coincidence, right?"
It was obvious that he had been waiting here for a long time.
*
During the Lantern Festival this year, Lin Jingzhe's lantern stall was doing very good business.
Lin Jingzhe was responsible for the sales, and Zhu Qingchen was responsible for carrying the carp lantern and circling around him.
In less than half an hour, they had sold all the lanterns and made a small profit.
Lin Jingzhe carefully kept the money as start-up capital for his next business.
Zhu Qingchen took half of the profit, turned around and bought a bunch of lanterns from other stalls, and hung them all on Lu Que, asking him to hold them for him.
Late at night, Zhu Qingchen took Lu Que back to his own courtyard. The whole room was filled with lanterns, and there was no place to sleep.
Lu Que blew out the lights and squeezed onto the small couch with Zhu Qingchen.
Closing his eyes, Zhu Qingchen asked, "Who is that person with you at the door?"
Lu Que said calmly, "I don't know him. I just passed by."
"Impossible, I saw you talking to him."
"He is that person." Lu Que paused, "The one you know."
"I only know 'Li that'. Who else is that 'that' besides you?"
"That's the one you must know about the choice between the two."
The two systems were almost confused by them: "What's this and that? What are you two talking about?"
Zhu Qingchen frowned, as if he understood something, and turned to look at Lu Que: "Is it what I was thinking of?"
"Yeah." Lu Que nodded and held his hand, "Zhu Qingqing, your hands are so cold."
The next morning, Lu Que's spy reported:
Yi Zizhen was still in Lu Jiming's yard, and Lu Jiming had not sent anyone to send him away.
Originally, Lu Jiming just wanted to take Yi Zizhen, who had suddenly lost his father, to play with him for a few days and send him away after the New Year.
Lu Jiming had already arranged a carriage to take him away, ready to send him away before dawn.
But now...
The next day, the third day, half a month, a month...
It seemed as if Yi Zi had taken root in Lu Jiming's yard and never came out.
Things have come to this point, is there anything that Zhu Qingchen and Lu Que don't understand?
It was probably on the night of the Lantern Festival that Lu Jiming was hurt physically and mentally, and Yi Zizheng comforted him tenderly and took advantage of the situation, and it was natural for the two of them to get involved.
Therefore, Yi Zizheng was not sent away.
Subsequent intelligence reports also confirmed this.
Lu Jiming was immersed in the gentleness of the land, and Yi Zizhen tried his best to catch him. The two of them were so affectionate and inseparable that they completely forgot about——
February is the spring exam.
Lu Jiming, Pei Zhen and Liu Yun were all candidates in the same year. He was even a few years older than Pei Liu.
Now he was addicted to pleasure, and often wrote articles while playing with Yi Zizheng. Yi Zizheng took his articles and praised them to the sky, and he accepted them all.
After the New Year, he didn't even come to the Liu Mansion.
If he didn't come to see him, Mr. Pei Liu would be too lazy to read articles to him, so he could use his time to give to other students.
A few days later, old Pei Liu went to the palace to set questions. When he wanted to come back, it was too late, so he continued to hang out with Yi Zizheng with peace of mind.
Zhu Qingchen felt sick when he heard this. After thinking about it, he decided to have someone tip the news off to Lu Jiming's father.
See how Marquis Wenyuan handles it.
A few days later, someone from Lu Que's side came to report.
After hearing the news, Wen Yuanhou rushed to Lu Jiming's yard. When he pushed the door open, he happened to see Lu Jiming hugging Yi Zizhen. The two of them were being affectionate in front of the table and even put ink spots on each other's faces.
It was so vivid and lively.
Marquis Wenyuan smashed the inkstone on the spot and had Yi Zizheng dragged away and sent back to Linjia Village immediately.
Yi Zizheng burst into tears and said that he only wanted to be with Brother Jiming forever, nothing else.
Seeing his sweetheart crying, Lu Jiming immediately knelt down and begged for mercy, repeatedly assuring that he would pass the imperial examination and only begging his father not to send Yi Zizhen away. He said he would hide Yi Zizhen and would never let him be discovered by others.
Lu Jiming's mother also came and rushed over to hug her son, saying that her son had liked Yi Zizhen since he was a child. After all, Yi Zizhen's father was dead now, so what would be the point of him staying in the mansion?
Wen Yuanhou was so angry that he wanted to beat the three people to death.
Of course, we didn’t fight in the end.
He also hoped that Lu Jiming would pass the imperial examinations and resolve the problem of no successor in the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion.
The quarrel lasted until late at night, and finally Wen Yuanhou took Yi Zizheng away. He could stay, but he had to wait until Lu Jiming finished his exam before he could return to Lu Jiming's yard.
As luck would have it, the place where Yi Zizhen lives now is the courtyard where his biological mother, the mistress of the former Earl of Changping, used to live.
Yi Zizhen lived in the northern yard, and Lu Jiming lived in the southern yard, separated by a wall.
The two were so devoted to each other that they often asked servants to pass on tokens of love to each other in places where Marquis Wenyuan could not see them.
After listening to the report from his spy, Zhu Qingchen couldn't help but rub his eyebrows.
He feels a little dizzy.
This Wenyuan Hou is also a soft-hearted person. He used to help Master Yi hide people, and now he helps Lu Jiming hide people.
Even if it was to coax Lu Jiming into taking the imperial examination, he would definitely fail in his current condition.
Never mind. Lu Jiming is not his student. He has already told the news to Marquis Wenyuan. How Marquis Wenyuan deals with it is their own business.
Zhu Qingchen has done his utmost.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day of the spring exam.
Since old Pei Liu was not at home, Zhu Qingchen took on the responsibility of a teacher and helped little Pei Liu prepare writing materials and bedding, just like he had done decades ago.
Early that morning, carriages were stuck at the street entrance.
Zhu Qingchen simply took his students out of the carriage and walked in.
Xiao Pei and Xiao Liu each carried their own book boxes with bedding hanging on their backs, and Lin Jingzhe stayed with them.
Zhu Qingchen warned: "You will be taking the exam for three consecutive days, so your health is the most important thing. Don't think about anything at night, just sleep. If you can't sleep, count the dumplings. Remember?"
"Yes, Master, don't worry, I'll remember it."
Zhu Qingchen sent them to the outside of the examination hall, where a long line had already formed in front of the door.
"Come in."
They were queuing, and Zhu Qingchen was not in a hurry to leave, so he just looked outside.
Suddenly, Lin Jingzhe whispered, "Master, the carriage of Wenyuan Marquis's mansion."
"Hmm?" Zhu Qingchen folded his hands and looked in the direction Lin Jingzhe pointed.
It’s true.
Lu Jiming, dressed in gorgeous clothes and carrying a book box, jumped off the carriage.
Then he turned around, lifted a small corner of the carriage curtain, and said goodbye to the people inside.
My goodness, Yi Zizhen actually dared to come to the Examination Institute openly.
Zhu Qingchen frowned slightly.
About a quarter of an hour later, the two said their goodbyes. Lu Jiming, carrying the suitcase, walked into the examination hall, looking back every few steps.
Zhu Qingchen tilted his head and looked straight towards the carriage, as if his eyes met Yi Zizheng's.
Yi Zi was really panicked, afraid of being discovered by Zhu Qingchen, and hurriedly ordered the carriage to leave.
Not long after, the carriage disappeared from Zhu Qingchen's sight.
Zhu Qingchen saw Pei Zhen and Liu Yun enter the examination hall safely, then he turned around and left with Lin Jingzhe.
When passing the alley next to him, Zhu Qingchen seemed to see a familiar figure.
Zhu Qingchen wanted to chase after him, but the man ran away briskly.
Lin Jingzhe asked doubtfully, "Is that an old acquaintance of the Master?"
Zhu Qingchen smiled and said, "You should have seen him too."
"Really?" Lin Jingzhe scratched his head, "I don't seem to remember."
"It's okay, go back and come back here to pick them up in three days."
*
Three days passed in a flash.
In the evening, after the final inspection, the candidates came out of the examination center one after another.
Three consecutive days of exams made everyone exhausted. They were dishevelled, with big dark circles under their eyes. They were barely keeping their spirits up, and all they thought about was going home and having a good sleep.
Zhu Qingchen was waiting in front of the examination hall early.
He held the carriage, stood on tiptoe, and looked through the door, looking for any trace of the students.
Seeing that he was anxious, Lin Jingzhe said, "Master, I'll go in and take a look."
"Okay." Zhu Qingchen nodded, "You go."
Lin Jingzhe pushed through the crowd and walked forward against the flow of people.
Zhu Qingchen also watched attentively.
Suddenly, an angry shout erupted from the crowd: "Get out of the way!"
The next second, a big man driving a horse-drawn carriage rushed over from the street in the distance.
When the big man drove the carriage into the crowd, he obviously pulled the reins hard and kept shouting "Get out of the way". The horse raised its front hooves to give the people time to escape.
He seemed to have no intention of hurting anyone, but still caused a lot of screams.
Zhu Qingchen also stepped back.
The examination hall was filled with scholars, and soldiers were checking the examinees inside. For a moment, no one could stop him.
The big man jumped off the carriage, and two or three masked men like him followed him.
The big man swept the crowd with his sharp eyes, and his gaze fell accurately on Lu Jiming in the crowd. He stretched out his hand and picked him up as if he was picking up a chick.
Lu Jiming still wanted to resist, but he had been addicted to alcohol and sex recently, and he had just taken exams for three days, so how could he have the strength to do it?
The big man's accomplices grabbed him from the left and right and threw him into the carriage.
There was another person who rushed to the carriage of Marquis Wenyuan's mansion, pulled the coachman down, lifted the curtain and took a look.
Yi Zizhen huddled in the carriage and screamed, "Who? Who are you?! Get out! I'm from Wenyuanhou Mansion!"
After confirming that he was the only one in the carriage, the big man ignored him, dropped the curtain, grabbed the horse's reins and swung them hard!
The horse neighed, turned the carriage around, and ran past the crowd. The big man stretched out his hand and actually grabbed Lin Jingzhe out of the crowd.
Lin Jingzhe was shocked and just wanted to resist, he heard the big man whispered: "Mr. Lin, I'm sorry, we know you have nothing to do with Wenyuan Marquis Mansion, we will let you go after we leave the city."
The two carriages actually drove away in a cloud of dust in full view of everyone.
The carriage disappeared from everyone's sight, and then everyone reacted and became confused.
"Someone come! Someone come quickly!"
"The sons of the Earl of Changping and the Marquis of Wenyuan were kidnapped in the street! Someone, come!"
At this time, the soldiers inside the door rushed out in a hurry.
I think the exam was strictly controlled before it started. Now that it's over, why would they send heavy troops to guard it?
Therefore, not many soldiers came out.
Zhu Qingchen climbed onto the carriage, stood on a high place, and said loudly: "Everyone calm down! Go home immediately and don't stay here!"
The accident happened too suddenly. After hearing what he said, the panicked people finally reacted and hurried home.
Zhu Qingchen ordered the soldiers again: "One person goes to the government to report the case and ask for reinforcements! One person goes to the Wenyuan Marquis's residence, and one person goes to the Changping Earl's residence, and tell the two masters not to delay!"
Zhu Qingchen drew his sword from the soldier's waist, cut the noose connecting the carriage to the horse, and jumped on the horse: "Others, follow me!"
"yes!"
Zhu Qingchen rode his horse and chased in the direction the carriage left.
Damn the villain for not even telling him about the action in advance.
Was this arranged by Lu Que? Why were his students also arrested?
He was so bold that he arrested people from the Marquis's and Earl's Mansions in public!
Zhu Qingchen was anxious and waved his whip to quicken his pace.
The group of masked men only had two carriages, and including the captured people, there were five or six people in total, so they naturally couldn't run fast.
But they seemed to have looked at the route and terrain beforehand, and they did not stop along the way, but just went up the mountain.
The system reminded him: "Chenchen, it should be the two-choice plot, but for some reason, they also captured Lu Jiming."
It asked a soul-searching question: "Lu Jiming has been captured, so who will make the choice? You?"
Zhu Qingchen waved his whip again: "I won't choose."
*
At the same time, the people sent by Zhu Qingchen to report the news also arrived.
Marquis Wenyuan was both angry and anxious, and immediately ordered the servants in the mansion to go and rescue his son.
When Madam Wen from the Earl's Mansion heard the news that Lin Jingzhe was kidnapped in the street, she was almost frightened to death.
But she quickly cheered up and went to the palace to find the emperor, and also to her parents' home to find her family.
She only has this one child and she owes him a lot, so she must protect him well.
But then she thought that entering the palace or returning to her parents' home would be too troublesome, so she sent someone to her parents' home to tell them, and immediately ordered the housekeeper to prepare the money and take inventory of the shops and properties under the name of the Earl's Mansion.
Lin Jingzhe is not an official, and these are the only things his family has now. He was arrested in the street, and it must be because of these.
It's just money. The most important thing is to take it out first and stabilize the other party.
After asking the butler to stay and take a thorough inventory, Madam Wen took the lead, holding her jewelry box, and got on the carriage, ready to leave the city!
The carriage bumped along the mountain road and went up the mountain. When it was almost there, Madam Wen could no longer sit still, so she stopped the carriage, jumped out, and walked up the mountain by herself.
But when she saw the scene on the cliff, she screamed and almost fainted!
On the cliff, two young men were restrained by two masked men, with two large machetes used to kill pigs placed across their necks.
The two young men were obviously frightened, their hair was disheveled, their faces were pale, and their expressions could not be seen clearly.
If he moved forward, his neck would be slashed by the machete; if he moved backward, he would fall off the cliff.
Madam Wen's heart almost jumped out of her chest when she saw this scene. She shouted unconsciously, "Jingzhe!"
Then, she opened the jewelry box in her arms, showed the gold, silver and gems inside to the robbers, and shouted: "Let my son go! I will give you money! I have plenty of money!"
But at this moment, Lin Jingzhe's voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Mother, I'm here..."
"Ah?" Madam Wen turned her head suddenly and saw Lin Jingzhe standing in front of her.
Madam Wen threw the jewelry box away, stepped forward, and pressed his shoulder to see if he was injured: "You scared me to death, you scared me to death!"
Lin Jingzhe was still a little unaccustomed to it. He struggled slightly and explained in a low voice: "They put me down at the city gate. I'm fine."
"Then who are these two..." Madam Wen turned her head doubtfully.
The two young gentlemen, one is Lu Jiming, the other is...Yi Zizheng.
What a pair of star-crossed lovers!
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