Chapter 26
Fan Changyu had seen Xie Zheng killing people in the pine forest before, so she didn't find it strange. She nodded and said, "My husband used to be a bodyguard, and he's quite skilled in martial arts."
She had never seen many escort masters in her life. Her father was very skilled in martial arts, and Xie Zheng claimed that he also worked in an escort agency before. So she naturally believed that all escort masters were good at martial arts. After all, they had to deal with desperate criminals who came to rob the escorts.
Zheng Wen often stared at Xie Zheng with an inexplicable expression.
Carpenter Zhao had already squeezed into the attic. When he saw the room full of dead bodies, he exclaimed "Oh my God!" and was frightened. However, he and his wife had experienced war in their early years.
At that time, most of the houses were empty and many people were dead on the roadside. But he was still calm. He was afraid of aggravating Xie Zheng's injuries, so he did not move him rashly. Instead, he squatted down, held one of his hands and felt his pulse.
Seeing only half of the bloodstained face was not very clear, so Zheng Wenchang suddenly said, "Turn the person over and take a look."
Carpenter Zhao didn't know why the military leader made such a request, and he didn't dare to disobey his orders. He thought that they were military men, and the leader was wearing armor and carrying a sword, looking very impressive. It seemed that his official position was higher than that of the county magistrate. He might be able to help Fan Changyu find out who his enemy was.
He immediately complained: "Master Jun, please help us. This girl has a miserable life. She lost her parents last month and finally found a husband. Now her husband has been injured like this by these criminals. If we don't find out the origins of these criminals, how can she live in the future..."
When Zheng Wenchang heard that this man was a son-in-law, most of the suspicion in his heart disappeared in an instant.
That man has such a bad temper. Even if the emperor put him in prison and forced him to marry the princess as a dowry, he would never agree to it, let alone fall into trouble.
Just then, a soldier downstairs shouted in surprise: "Sir, there is still a survivor!"
Before Carpenter Zhao had the chance to turn Xie Zheng over, Zheng Wenchang felt that his previous suspicion was ridiculous and no longer wanted to take a closer look at this man. Remembering his general's instructions, he hurried downstairs and only ordered two personal soldiers to drag the body from the attic downstairs.
Fan Changyu didn't know how dangerous it was just now. There were soldiers watching downstairs, so she didn't worry about the safety of her sister and Aunt Zhao. She asked Carpenter Zhao, "Uncle Zhao, how is he?"
After taking the patient's pulse, Carpenter Zhao suspected for a moment that he had not been a veterinarian for more than ten years and his medical skills were not very good, so he made a mistake.
The man in front of me is covered in blood and looks like he's been seriously injured, but why doesn't his pulse sound dangerous at all?
His already wrinkled forehead wrinkled even tighter, and he concentrated on taking the pulse again.
His solemn look frightened Fan Changyu greatly. He thought Xie Zheng was hopeless and sat on the stool in a daze, "I should have written him a letter of divorce a long time ago and let him go somewhere else to recuperate. Otherwise, how could he have suffered so much..."
Carpenter Zhao took Xie Zheng's pulse again and found it was still stable. He fell into deep self-doubt. His old face looked increasingly serious, and he was about to look at the wounds on Xie Zheng's body.
The person lying on the ground just woke up at this moment.
Fan Changyu's eyes were slightly red. Seeing that he had woken up, his mood fluctuated greatly. He couldn't help but grin and said in surprise: "You're awake!"
Xie Zheng was stunned for a moment when he saw her red eyes and that smile that couldn't be more surprised.
Was she crying because she was afraid something might happen to her?
The strange feeling in my chest became heavier.
He narrowed his eyes, coughed weakly twice, and a few words came out of his blood-stained lips: "I'm fine."
Most of the blood on his body came from the men in black, and the cuts on his clothes were made by him himself to create the appearance of being injured, and only a shallow layer of skin was torn.
Although Zheng Wenchang was not under his command, he had met him several times. If he recognized him, tonight he would either be taken back by the other party and handed over to Wei Yan, or he would kill Zheng Wenchang and his soldiers and then escape to another place.
I simply avoided it for the time being, and neither of the two worst-case scenarios occurred.
He said he was fine, but Fan Changyu and Carpenter Zhao, who had seen him seriously injured twice, were still very nervous. After helping him lie on the bed, they found some medicine to bandage him.
After untying the outer robe, Fan Changyu discovered that Xie Zheng's inner clothes were not soaked with blood like before, and even looked much cleaner than the outer robe. She was feeling a little strange when Aunt Zhao downstairs called her downstairs, saying that the soldiers wanted to make a confession.
The person lying on the bed had only a thin layer of blood on his face that was lightly wiped off. In the candlelight, the remaining blood looked quite beautiful. He slightly opened his eyes and looked at her, his voice was unusually gentle: "You go."
Fan Changyu felt that it must be because he was too weak. He looked so sickly and pitiful now.
Before she left, she looked back at him anxiously and said, "I'll be back soon."
The dead men in black had been dragged by the officers and soldiers to a place where they lay side by side. When the people in the streets heard the noise and saw the streets full of officers and soldiers, many of them put on their coats and came out to watch the excitement.
After the officers and soldiers counted the number of men in black, the only survivor was the one who had been knocked unconscious by Fan Changyu's slap.
The officers and soldiers had seen several men in black commit suicide by biting open the poison sac hidden behind their teeth, so they had experience with this. When they found that the man was still breathing, they first took out the poison sac from his mouth. At this moment, the man was tied up and his mouth was stuffed with a cloth, so there was no hope for him to commit suicide.
The personal guards around the high-ranking official asked Fan Changyu something, and Fan Changyu answered honestly, all of which were some basic information about her family.
After asking the question, the official said to her, "Wait for the news. When the interrogation results come out, the government will inform you."
After what happened tonight, Fan Changyu once again realized how ruthless those people were. He was afraid that if they came again, it would implicate Aunt Zhao's family, so he said, "Master Jun, what should we do if these people come to seek revenge again?"
The officer seemed to be about to say something, but stopped talking. He frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I will leave a few soldiers to secretly guard nearby. They will not withdraw until the interrogation results come out."
Only then did Fan Changyu feel relieved and he praised the official to the sky.
The official glanced at her before leaving, his expression somewhat subtle.
After the officers and soldiers left, Fan Changyu went to the well at the entrance of the alley to fetch water and washed away all the blood in the yard and attic, but there was still a faint smell of blood.
Fan Changyu wanted to climb over the wall to get some incense her mother had prepared at home, but she didn't dare to act because she remembered what the official said about leaving people nearby to monitor the place secretly.
The old couple of the Zhao family were so frightened that they almost lost their sleepiness. They lit the fire pit in the main room again, and sat there with Changning to warm themselves by the fire, sighing from time to time.
Changning was still young and didn't know what the adults were worried about. As there was no danger, he continued to watch the Saker Falcon in the chicken cage with a broad mind.
That cage is basically the Saker Falcon's nest.
Fan Changyu asked his sister, "Are you still sleepy, Ning Niang?"
Chang Ning shook her head and pointed at the cage that held the Falcon: "Sister, Falcon is very well behaved. Please don't lock him up anymore, okay?"
The last time she was at home with her brother-in-law, she opened the door of the chicken coop out of play, and a group of gangsters rushed in. The big falcon caught and killed one of the bad guys.
She thought in her little head that if the falcon hadn't been locked up, it might have been able to catch some bad guys tonight.
This cage really wasn't owned by Fan Changyu. Aunt Zhao said, "A piece of the meat hanging in the fire pit was pecked off last night. I was afraid that the falcon would steal the meat, so I closed it before going to bed."
Fan Changyu said, "Let Yan Zheng teach you later."
Speaking of Yan Zheng, she couldn't help but think of his injuries and asked Carpenter Zhao, "Uncle Zhao, how are his injuries?"
Carpenter Zhao wanted to say that it seemed to be just superficial injuries this time, but he was afraid that he had misdiagnosed and delayed Yan Zheng's injury. He sighed and said, "You also know that I used to treat pigs, cattle, sheep, horses and other livestock. Treating people depends on luck. I don't think it's too serious, but for safety reasons, let's go to the clinic and ask a doctor to take a look tomorrow."
Fan Changyu agreed, and when he went upstairs to see Xie Zheng, he saw that the blood on his face had been wiped clean, and he was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, resting.
Hearing footsteps, he opened his eyes after she entered the room and asked, "How is it?"
Fan Changyu said, "I think these soldiers are more reliable than the county magistrate. I heard that the county magistrate wrote a memorial to the prefecture government, and the prefecture government heard that the banditry was rampant here, so they sent soldiers to suppress the bandits, and they just happened to run into them tonight."
Talking about this, Fan Changyu was somewhat happy: "Yizhou has been plagued by banditry for many years. It seems that the government is really going to clean up those mountains. The military officer said that he would thoroughly investigate the two assassination cases and sent soldiers to secretly protect us. You should rest assured and recuperate for the next two days. Don't leave in a hurry."
The expression on Xie Zheng's face was not pleasant at all. "Secret protection?"
Fan Changyu nodded: "Yes."
Xie Zheng almost couldn't catch his breath. He had managed to hide the truth from the other party with great difficulty, but now the people from the Jizhou Prefecture were staring at him right under his nose?
However, he couldn't figure out the reason why the Jizhou government acted so suddenly.
Anyway, the most dangerous place is also the safest place.
He said, "Let's release the falcon upstairs in the next two days. Don't let it out. It is wild and difficult to tame. If it is not tamed properly, it can easily hurt people."
Fan Changyu said: "No wonder, Auntie just said that the falcon stole the meat hanging above the fire pit last night!"
Xie Zheng: “…”
Fan Changyu has already stood up: "I'll get it up now!"
Xie Zheng then responded with a simple "OK".
-
At dawn, Zheng Wenchang had already returned to Jizhou Prefecture on horseback.
He walked quickly through the winding corridor with the confession of the man in black after interrogation. In the courtyard full of cedars, the armored guards saw that it was him and let him go.
Zheng Wenchang entered the study and stopped at the bottom. He was breathless, perhaps because he was too excited or because he walked too fast. "Sir, according to your order, I led people to guard Lin'an Town early. We did catch those who committed multiple murders in Qingping County last night, but..."
His hand trembled slightly as he presented the confession: "Please read my confession, sir."
The man sitting at the desk had gray hair and a beard, and seemed to have known the identities of the men in black for a long time. He said calmly, "Wen Chang, you are just going to catch bandits and thieves, what are you afraid of?"
Zheng Wenchang lowered his head and said, "I am so humbled and terrified."
"Forget it, put down the confession." He Jingyuan stopped writing and raised his eyes. Although he was a military general, he had the elegant face of a civil official. He knew the concerns of his beloved general and said, "Just pretend you haven't read this confession. Go down."
Zheng Wenchang clasped his fists and said, "I will obey your orders."
Just as I turned around, I heard another voice: "Is anyone injured in that family's home?"
Zheng Wenchang thought for a moment and said, "The woman married a man, and his husband was injured by those people."
He Jingyuan just nodded.
Zheng Wenchang bravely asked, "Which family has a relationship with you?"
"Wen Chang, what is the way of being an official that I taught you?"
Just one sentence scared Zheng Wenchang so much that he broke out in a cold sweat: "I have spoken out of turn."
"Go away." He Jingyuan picked up a letter from the side of the case and started reading it, seemingly not caring what was written in the confession.
After Zheng Wenchang left the study, he looked at the confession with his old eyes. After some hesitation, he finally opened it.
After reading it, I sighed.
He stood up, opened the secret cabinet on the bookshelf, took out a brocade box, but did not open it. He said to someone, "You gave me this thing because you expected this day to come. You wanted me to protect those two children for you..."
The author has something to say:
Xie Zheng: The person who would expose my identity has finally left...
Changyu: I have asked soldiers to protect us, don't be afraid!
Xie Zheng: …
(The corresponding BGM here is: Listen to me saying thank you, because you warm the four seasons...)
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