Chapter 161 The True or False Master (18)
18
On the cliff, the wind was howling.
Madam Wen held Lin Jingzhe in her arms, patted his back gently, and comforted him softly, telling him not to be afraid: "Mom is here, it's okay."
"Yeah." Lin Jingzhe nodded, "I'm fine."
Zhu Qingchen felt relieved and turned to look at the two people on the cliff.
Watching it again, I still feel shocked.
The masked men, each holding a weapon, formed a semicircle and guarded the four sides of the cliff, preventing anyone from approaching.
Two people controlled Lu Jiming and Yi Zizhen, put the blades across their necks, and held them tightly.
It’s a choice between two options. It turns out to be this choice between two options.
Lee, that was a real surprise!
The little blue ball of light lost its vitality and fell straight down: "Chenchen, my database is not enough, I am going to crash."
Zhu Qingchen reached out to catch it and stuffed it into his sleeve.
After all, they were from the Wenyuan Marquis's residence, and there were so many soldiers watching. Zhu Qingchen cleared his throat and asked loudly, "May I ask, what are you doing robbing in the street?"
One of the big men said, "Master Zhu, this matter has nothing to do with you! You can take your students away, and we will not bother you!"
Of course this won’t work. Zhu Qingchen still has to stay and see what happens next.
What if something goes wrong?
Zhu Qingchen said sternly, "The two people you kidnapped are from Wenyuan Marquis's residence. I seem to have seen you near Wenyuan Marquis's residence before. Do you have any grudges against Wenyuan Marquis's residence?"
Upon hearing this, the man became anxious and urged Zhu Qingchen: "Master Zhu, please go back quickly! Since you have seen us before, you should know that we have a deep grudge against the Wenyuan Marquis Mansion. We have observed for so long and know that you and your students have nothing to do with them, so we did not embarrass you. Please don't meddle in other people's business!"
No wonder Zhu Qingchen felt that he looked familiar before.
At this time, Lin Jingzhe also remembered.
He whispered anxiously, "Master, we saw him at the side door of Wenyuan Marquis's mansion during the Lantern Festival a while ago."
Lin Jingzhe has some talent in business and has some impression of everyone he meets.
During this period of time, these people have been wandering outside the Wenyuanhou Mansion, observing people coming in and out, just for today's kidnapping in the street.
It was also because they saw Lin Jingzhe kick Lu Jiming hard that they did not kidnap Lin Jingzhe but chose Yi Zizhen instead.
Seeing that Zhu Qingchen not only refused to leave but also started a discussion with his students, the big man became anxious: "This is a matter between us and Wenyuan Marquis's Mansion. Why did you have to get involved in this mess?"
Zhu Qingchen looked at them seriously: "I know you are all good people. Although you rode your horses in front of the examination hall, you didn't hurt the people; although you kidnapped my student, you didn't harm him; although you kidnapped Lu Jiming, you waited until he finished the exam before kidnapping him."
"I know you are all good people. If you were not forced into a desperate situation, you would not risk kidnapping Lu Jiming. If you want, you can tell me the matter; if you don't want, I will stay here. With me here, the government won't dare to take you away directly."
If he was not there, they could kidnap the son of the Marquis in the street and execute him on the spot. Even if he didn't die here, he would be punished when he returned.
Only with Zhu Qingchen here can we stop the government officials.
Several people were a little hesitant, looked at each other, clasped their fists and said, "Thank you, Master Zhu. We will wait for the people from Wenyuan Marquis' Mansion to arrive and then tell them everything."
"Okay." Zhu Qingchen nodded slightly, reaching a consensus with them.
They were waiting here for people from Wenyuanhou Mansion to arrive.
But some people were unhappy.
Lu Jiming shouted, "Zhu Qingchen, how can you be so friendly with them? Save us! I am the son of the Marquis's mansion, and you don't save me. Instead, you get along with them. Are you crazy?"
Zhu Qingchen looked confused and deliberately spread his hands: "Ah? What did Second Master Lu say? The wind is too strong, I can't hear clearly."
Lu Jiming is crazy.
There are only about ten of them now, and those men are all strong and armed. How can they rush up to save people?
It would be bad if we angered them and a group of them jumped off the cliff together.
If Zhu Qingchen hadn't wanted to know the inside story and turned around and left, what could Lu Jiming have done?
It would be better to let them push Lu Jiming down directly.
“Brother Jiming, don’t be so excited.” Lian Yi Zizhen could see it and became a little anxious. “Master Zhu is also helping us. Don’t be so excited. If you anger them, we will just…”
The cold and sharp blade pressed against his neck, causing both him and Lu Jiming to shut their mouths.
But the blade kept getting closer to them, almost cutting their throats.
Yi Zizhen didn't dare to move, he could only hold his breath and begged: "I have been staying in Linjia Village quietly for the past three years. I haven't done anything. Can you let me go?"
Several people stood there like stone statues without saying a word.
They have all found out that Yi Zizhen is Lu Jiming's favorite person, and the two of them are indispensable.
Seeing that they didn't react, Yi Zizhen turned to Madam Wen.
"Mother... Mother... Please save me, please save me. I am also your son. I have been by your side for fourteen years. Even if I am not your biological child, I am also..."
Madam Wen took a half step back and silently covered Lin Jingzhe's ears.
She shut Yi Zizheng up with just one question.
She asked, "Why are you in the capital?"
"I……"
"How did you end up hanging out with Lu Jiming? How did you end up at the entrance to the examination hall? Did you go to see Lu Jiming off for the imperial examination? So you haven't been to Lin Village in the past three years. You've been hanging out with Lu Jiming, enjoying the best food and the best drinks in the mansion, but you haven't exchanged with Jingzhe at all, right?"
"No, no..." Yi Zizhen shook his head repeatedly, "I just came back a few days ago. I missed my mother too much, so I wanted to come back secretly to see her."
"Nonsense! You miss me, but you live in the Marquis' Mansion?"
"I just never found a chance to visit my mother..."
"Get lost! You are just like your biological parents, full of lies!"
Madam Wen hugged Lin Jingzhe and questioned Yi Zizheng while retreating again and again until she reached a place she thought was safe.
She knew that Lin Jingzhe just wanted to change it back, but now, Yi Zizhen did not go to Linjia Village, but lived in the Marquis' Mansion. How could this be possible?
Her only worry was that Lin Jingzhe would be sad because he didn't have the only fairness.
Madam Wen comforted Lin Jingzhe in a gentle voice, and seemed to have made up her mind: "Don't worry, mother will never choose him. He chose this path himself, and mother will not care about him anymore."
If Yi Zi had really stayed in Linjia Village quietly, he would not have been involved in this matter at all.
He can only blame himself for being greedy.
Madam Wen looked down and gently let go of Lin Jingzhe, asking him to wait there. She quickly walked forward and picked up the jewelry that had fallen on the ground.
This can't be lost. If my son is really kidnapped, I can use the money to redeem him.
Yi Zizhen was still crying out: "Mother, please save me, mother..."
Madam Wen didn't look up, and Lin Jingzhe also helped his mother pick up the things.
Not long after, Yi Zizheng's voice slowly disappeared.
Zhu Qingchen folded his hands, stepped aside, and found a big tree to lean against.
After a while, government officials arrived with soldiers, and Marquis Wenyuan also arrived with his men.
Zhu Qingchen stood up straight, raised his eyes slightly, and paid attention to the actions of Wenyuan Houfu.
The wife of Marquis Wenyuan shouted "My son" and tried to go forward crying, but was driven back by the robbers.
As expected, when Wen Yuanhou got off the carriage and saw those people, he couldn't help but open his eyes wide, his beard trembled slightly, and he looked incredulous.
Immediately afterwards, Lu Que got off the carriage behind, using a crutch.
As soon as he came down, he deliberately asked, "Hey, Lord, do you know him? An acquaintance?"
He called his "father" "Lord Marquis" and asked him in such a sarcastic tone, which was like a cripple hopping on one foot like crazy on the battlefield with his good leg.
Sure enough, Wen Yuanhou's face changed, he turned around and whispered, "Shut up."
Lu Que didn't bother to pay attention to him. He walked to Zhu Qingchen in a casual manner, leaning on his crutches.
The two men stood side by side and exchanged glances.
Zhu Qingchen whispered: "You are such a genius."
Lu Que smiled and said, "I agreed not to tie up your students."
Lu Que turned his head and glanced at the few people on the cliff. He exchanged an almost inaudible glance with them, then turned to look at Wen Yuanhou.
When Lu Jiming saw his father coming, he shouted hurriedly, "Dad, save me!"
As a result, Yi Zizheng also shouted "Dad". Wen Yuanhou choked and his face became even uglier.
Thinking of what Zhu Qingchen had just said, Lu Jiming hurriedly said, "Dad, they are only looking for money, not anything else. Give them the money! Give them money!"
Wen Yuanhou stood there, moving his lips but unable to speak.
At this time, a big man asked: "My Lord, do you still recognize us?"
Wen Yuanhou's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Wang Er, how dare you do such a thing?"
Sure enough, they knew each other.
"You are committing a capital crime! Release my son immediately, or I will have people hack you to death!"
"My Lord, since we dare to do such a thing, we are determined to die." The big man said, "You can give it a try to see whether the government officials can kill us faster or our swords are faster."
As he spoke, he pressed the knife in his hand against Lu Jiming's neck. The sharp blade cut his skin, leaving a line of blood, and it seemed that the knife was going to go deeper and deeper.
Lu Jiming shouted until his voice was hoarse: "Dad, what did you say to him? Give him money!"
Seeing that threats were useless, Wen Yuanhou quickly said, "Money, money, money! I'll give you money! Let my son go!"
"My Lord, we don't want money, we want our land! We want our food!" the big man shouted heartbreakingly, "I want our land!"
Wen Yuanhou quickly responded, "Okay, okay, I'll give it to you. I'll give it to you. Let my son go first!"
"Don't try to fool us! Get the land deeds and food ready right away! Bring them all up the mountain!"
"This..." Wen Yuanhou was a little embarrassed, "How can I pull these things up?"
"We don't care! Give us our things back!"
"Okay, okay, I'll make the arrangements. Don't get excited yet. As long as my son is fine, you can have whatever you want."
While answering, Wenyuan Hou turned to his wife and said, "Go and get ready!"
Zhu Qingchen frowned, strode forward, and asked sternly, "My Lord, what is the land and grain he mentioned? Are you occupying the people's land and robbing them of their grain?"
"No!" Wen Yuanhou almost jumped up, "I didn't! Master Zhu, please don't slander me!"
"And what do they mean?"
"I..." Marquis Wenyuan lowered his voice, "These people are farmers in my fiefdom."
Zhu Qingchen lowered his eyes slightly, vaguely remembering that three years ago, when the emperor dealt with the former Earl of Changping, he also dealt with the Wenyuan Marquis's Mansion. At that time, it was said that the Wenyuan Marquis's Mansion would be fined for three years and its fiefdom would be reduced by half.
so……
Zhu Qingchen raised his head: "What on earth did you do?"
"I..." Wen Yuanhou couldn't say it.
"You don't want to say it, right?" Zhu Qingchen stopped asking him and turned to look at the cliff, wanting to ask those people.
Wenyuan Hou quickly stopped him and said, "Master Zhu, they are indeed farmers in my fiefdom. I have lost my salary in the past two years. Maybe they collected a little more grain, so they..."
"I'm afraid the extra harvest is more than just a little bit?" Zhu Qingchen asked, "What about the fields? What's going on with the fields?"
"I……"
At this time, seeing Zhu Qingchen talking to Marquis Wenyuan, the big man on the cliff became a little anxious, fearing that Zhu Qingchen would misunderstand, and hurriedly shouted: "Master Zhu, the manager told us at the beginning that the fields that can be reclaimed from the pile of rocks in the barren mountains are ours, and we just need to pay some rice!" "But after we worked hard for three years, picking up rocks from the pile of rocks one by one, and making fertilizer for the fields bit by bit, the Marquis's Mansion said that these are the Marquis's fields, and we must provide all the grain harvested from the fields this year to the Marquis' Mansion! They also asked the government to issue land deeds for our fields, saying that they belong to the Marquis' Mansion!"
"Master Zhu, our family has been tightening our belts for three years and borrowing money from the Marquis's Mansion just to have that little piece of land of our own. If we had known earlier that the reclaimed rock pile would belong to the Marquis's Mansion, we would never have worked so hard to tend the land!"
"How can a dignified Marquisate go back on its word?!"
"Master Zhu, we have been handing in grain since last autumn, but until now, the steward of the Marquis' Mansion is still trying to evade us. We are afraid that if things drag on, we will really have no other options, so we resorted to this desperate measure and kidnapped the young master of the Marquis' Mansion in the street."
"We just want our own land back! Or, we can just treat it as if the Marquisate hired us to reclaim the wasteland and pay us our wages for the past three years!"
"We don't want extra money, we just want to get back what belongs to us!"
I see.
Zhu Qingchen then understood where these bandits came from.
In the original book, they did not behave like professional gangsters. It turned out that they were just ordinary people who were forced into a desperate situation and had to resort to this desperate measure.
Innocent people kidnapped the innocent Lin Jingzhe. It was really fate.
Zhu Qingchen asked the system: "What was their ending?"
"You know, after the protagonist realizes who he really loves, he usually kills people everywhere to show his deep love, so these 'bandits' were all lynched by Lu Jiming..."
Zhu Qingchen looked up at the sky, which was gradually getting dark.
"What deep affection? He didn't kill people because he loved Jingzhe. He killed people to cover up the crimes of his family. What is Lin Jingzhe? She is just his shield."
No wonder Lu Jiming wanted to test Lin Jingzhe a while ago.
The Marquis' Mansion is so short of money that it has to cheat the common people to survive. It is no wonder that Lu Jiming is concerned about Lin Jingzhe's ability to make money and his huge family business.
Zhu Qingchen reacted and said to the other side of the cliff: "Don't worry, I will help you keep an eye on Wenyuan Hou and ask him to bring the land deeds and grain over. I will also personally accompany you to the government office."
"This matter is of great importance. If you need to go to the palace, I will accompany you until you can settle the matter properly."
"Thank you, Master Zhu." Several big men from the dealership were slightly moved and clasped their fists towards him.
"Master Zhu, we are all the people who were deceived by the Marquis' Mansion this time. We know that we cannot escape the blame, so each family only sent one person to participate in this matter."
"If we cannot return home safely and have to spend the rest of our lives in prison, please, Master Zhu, take good care of our family and don't let the Marquis' Mansion seek revenge on them."
These words clearly showed that the emperor was on guard against the Marquis' Mansion, and Marquis Wenyuan's face immediately fell.
Zhu Qingchen also clasped his fists towards them and said, "Don't worry, kidnapping someone in a busy city is not a capital crime. Besides, there are reasons for it, so it should be possible to give a lighter sentence."
Wen Yuanhou almost gritted his teeth and said, "Master Zhu, which side are you on?"
Zhu Qingchen said calmly: "I naturally stand on the side of justice. If they slander the Marquis' Mansion, the Marquis does not need to worry; if what they say is true, then..."
Zhu Qingchen looked at him meaningfully and said, "My Lord, you are really going too far."
"You..." Marquis Wenyuan pointed at him with trembling hands and whispered, "Master Zhu, just pretend you have never heard of what happened today. Go home quickly. This is the business of my mansion. If Master Zhu interferes again, it will be impolite!"
"This concerns the people of our dynasty, how can it be considered the Marquis's business?" Zhu Qingchen smiled, "I will advance and retreat with them, I will stay here today."
"you……"
Before Marquis Wenyuan could say anything else, he heard someone on the other side of the cliff say, "My Lord, send someone to prepare! We need to see the land deeds and food before dark! Otherwise—"
The blade on Lu Jiming's neck tightened, and blood slowly flowed down.
"Dad..." His voice was hoarse, "Go and get ready..."
Wen Yuanhou wanted to beg: "It's almost dark, it's too late..."
Seeing more and more blood flowing, he quickly changed his tone: "Okay, okay, it's dark when it's dark, right away!"
There was a bustling scene on the cliff. Wenyuan Houfu ordered the officers and soldiers not to move forward and hurried to prepare the "ransom".
Zhu Qingchen sighed and said to the big men, "Don't just stand there. Hold your swords and stretch your muscles. If Marquis Wenyuan goes back on his word and doesn't go back to get the land deed, but instead leads his men to launch a surprise attack, you can fight back."
Wen Yuanhou was anxious and turned his head sharply: "Master Zhu, what you said is..."
Zhu Qingchen shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently: "I am now an accomplice of the bandits. I am reminding my accomplices. My Lord, please go and prepare. If my accomplices are not satisfied, your son's life will be in danger."
Wen Yuanhou didn't have time to argue with him, so he gritted his teeth, turned around and left.
Zhu Qingchen looked at the sky which was darkening rapidly and calculated the time in his mind.
In order to avoid any complications, it would be best to bring this group of people into the palace tonight or tomorrow. The mountain roads will be difficult to travel on at night, so it is best to make a quick decision.
Such a big matter has to be decided by the emperor.
Zhu Qingchen turned around and waved to Lin Jingzhe.
Lin Jingzhe walked quickly forward, listened to the teacher's instructions, nodded, then turned around and left with his mother.
Zhu Qingchen whispered to Lu Que, "In the original book, they waited for several years before finally waiting for the opportunity for Yi Zizhen and Lin Jingzhe to go out at the same time. Was it your idea to kidnap them directly on the street this time?"
Lu Que cleared his throat and said, "I just gave them a few pointers, telling them that the end of the spring exam was a good time, and that tying up Lin Jingzhe was useless, and tying up Lu Jiming would be useful. I also sent a few people to help them."
Otherwise, they wouldn't have the ability to arrest people on the street without any hindrance.
As expected of you, the villain.
Soon, it was dark.
The wife of Marquis Wenyuan, who had returned to the mansion to get the land deed, had not yet returned. Seeing that the situation was not good, Marquis Wenyuan quickly pleaded, "Immediately! She's on the way!"
But the big men were not so easy to talk to. They were tired of waiting and a little bored.
"My Lord, since the things haven't been delivered yet, let's kill one first!"
Upon hearing this, Lu Jiming and Yi Zizhen, who were originally so tired that they could not even stand, suddenly perked up, opened their eyes wide, and began to struggle.
The two big men held them down tightly.
"Who should be killed first? Let the Marquis choose?"
Lu Jiming's eyes lit up with hope, and Wen Yuanhou quickly said, "Then I choose..."
"No! That's not fair!" Yi Zizhen suddenly shouted, "Of course the Marquis chose his own son! That's not fair!"
The light in Lu Jiming's eyes flickered: "Zizhen..."
"That's right." The big man thought for a moment, "Then you two can fight and see who survives and who dies."
As soon as the words fell, two people started shouting.
Lu Jiming said: "Zizhen, didn't you say that you have admired me since childhood? Didn't you say that you would go through fire and water for me, without hesitation?"
Yi Zizhen also said: "Brother Jiming, didn't you also say that you could disobey the imperial decree for me? Now they are just bandits. I really like Brother Jiming, but Brother Jiming, your actions make me very sad."
"Zizhen, you are powerless, leave me here, I can help you get revenge..."
"No, I don't want Brother Jiming to avenge me. I just want to stay with Brother Jiming forever."
The two sides were still wearing masks and dragging their feet. The big man urged them: "Hurry up, stop saying these sour words, are they true or not?"
Lu Jiming couldn't help it and said sternly: "Yi Zizhen, hurry up and listen to me! If you leave me here, we can still survive. If you leave me here..."
"If you want them to kill me, how can I survive? Lu Jiming, you are a waste! No wonder Lin Jingzhe didn't choose you. I shouldn't have chosen you..."
Lu Jiming opened his eyes wide in disbelief: "You think so?"
"Yes! You are a complete loser and coward!" Yi Zizhen turned around and said to the robbers, "You better think clearly. He is the second son of the Marquis' Mansion. The whole mansion is counting on him. I am just a criminal. The Marquis' Mansion took me in, which is in itself a violation of the imperial decree. If you kill me, wouldn't you be helping the Marquis' Mansion cover up the evidence?"
"You must not kill me. You must keep Lu Jiming and use him to threaten the Marquis' Mansion. Then, send me to the Emperor to make the Marquis' Mansion even more guilty."
That sounds reasonable.
The big man looked at Lu Jiming again and said, "It's your turn to state your reasons."
Lu Jiming also hurriedly said: "You should think clearly. I am the second son of the Marquis's Mansion. If you kill me, the Marquis's Mansion will definitely use the whole family's strength to seek revenge on you. You will lose more than you gain."
"Yi Zizhen doesn't matter at all. If you kill him, no one will seek revenge for him. It's a good opportunity to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys and deter others. Killing me and killing Yi Zizhen are different crimes!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Yi Zizhen said hurriedly, "Lu Jiming, are you still a man?"
"Aren't you a man?" Lu Jiming said sarcastically, "When you were pestering me, didn't you ever think that you were a man?"
"you……"
If the two big men hadn't been controlling them separately, they would have fought.
The group of people couldn't help but forcefully smile, all with expressions that showed they were enjoying the show.
The noble young master of a marquis's mansion is nothing but this when it comes to life and death. He is not even as good as farmers like them who dare to fight for their families.
After a while, their quarrel turned into a war of words, and the big men got tired of listening.
"Okay, okay, stop talking and just draw lots."
"Everyone, I have a good idea." Suddenly, Lu Que raised his hand and said with a smile, "Why not let everyone here vote to decide. Zhu Qingqing, who will you vote for? I'll vote with you."
Fair, damn fair.
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