61 This is a life
◎Are you still in contact with those bandits?◎
There are many shops on both sides of the bluestone street, and at the alleys facing the street there are small vendors pulling carts, doing small business, and the sounds of hawking are endless.
Ye Yunzhao looked calm, but her steps were hurried and her clothes were fluttering. She looked back as she walked and saw that Han Xiancheng was not among the people coming and going. She turned when she reached an alley.
The alley became much quieter after entering it. Ye Yunzhao turned left and right and stopped at a shop that looked very luxurious.
She raised her hand and knocked lightly, then looked around. After confirming that there was no one there, she knocked a few more times anxiously.
"Who are you looking for, madam?" the servant poked his head out from behind the door. "Do you have a visiting card?"
Ye Yunzhao pushed the door open and tried to go in: "Looking for Chen Jingshan, urgent business, let me in!"
"Hey, hey, hey!" The servant pushed against the door. "What are you doing, young lady?! You dare to barge in without a marriage invitation? And you dare to address my master by her name!"
Ye Yunzhao said anxiously, "Okay! Okay! I won't go in. Go and pass the message quickly! It's urgent!"
The servant sneered, "You asked me to pass the message, so I would? There are so many people who want to see my master. If everyone who doesn't have a visiting card needs to be passed on..."
Words were pouring out like beans. Ye Yunzhao really didn't want to waste time with him here. He cleared his throat and was about to call out Chen Jingshan's name.
But then he heard a familiar voice in the courtyard: "What are you doing there?"
The servant who had been chattering non-stop just now immediately stopped talking and turned to the man and said, "Butler Zhang, someone is causing trouble..."
Butler Zhang?
Ye Yunzhao's eyes lit up. If he remembered correctly, it was this housekeeper Zhang who sent Chen Jingshan out last time.
She knocked on the door hurriedly: "Butler Zhang! It's me! It's me!"
Butler Zhang was startled when he heard the voice and hurried over.
The gatekeeper was still grinning at Ye Yunzhao: "You little lady, you are so shameless..."
Through the crack in the door, Butler Zhang saw that it was the girl from last time. He raised his hand and hit the servant on the back of the head: "Just send her away, why are you nagging me like that? You're just making a scene for everyone else."
Ye Yunzhao took another half step forward, frowning, and asked anxiously: "Butler Zhang, do you still remember me? It was last time... last time when Chen Jing... when Manager Chen went out, I happened to run into him..."
Butler Zhang quickly smiled and said, "Remember, remember, my wife is also looking for the boss today?"
Ye Yunzhao nodded hurriedly: "Is he at home?"
"Yes, of course I'm home." Butler Zhang gestured for the servant to open the door and scolded, "You were just fooling around just now. Why don't you apologize to this lady now!"
During the few conversations between the two, the servant had already realized that this person was not an ordinary person. His heart was beating fast, fearing that the noble man would get angry.
Now that Butler Zhang had given the order, the servant knelt down on the bluestone slab with a plop. The crisp sound made Ye Yunzhao's heart tremble.
"Please forgive me, my lord! I was so blind just now that I offended you..."
Although Ye Yunzhao had been here for nearly a hundred days, she still couldn't stand seeing others kneeling and kowtowing. She quickly bent down and helped the man up: "Nothing, nothing."
Because time was tight, Ye Yunzhao only hurriedly gave a few instructions: "Butler Zhang, lead the way quickly."
She rushed in hurriedly, while Butler Zhang quickened his pace in confusion.
"This way, my lady, please wait here for a moment." Butler Zhang led her to a tea room and waved his hand. Several maids made tea for her with a tactful look.
After Butler Zhang left, Ye Yunzhao tapped her fingers on the rosewood tea table intermittently. She just couldn't sit still, so she paced around the room anxiously.
The little maid lowered her head and handed the teacup to her without saying a word.
She had no mind to taste tea at the moment. She picked up the teacup and drank the clear and warm tea in one gulp.
The maid serving tea was probably surprised because she had never seen such a distinguished guest drinking tea so boldly. She raised her hand to take the teacup and poured another cup.
Chen Jingshan, who had hurried over, happened to see this scene. He laughed and said, "Sometimes I also feel that drinking the Snow Mountain Yellow Bud in one gulp is the only way to feel satisfied."
As soon as these words came out, Ye Yunzhao turned around abruptly. She frowned slightly, and her tone was filled with anxiety: "I have something to ask you."
Seeing her anxious look, Chen Jingshan immediately put away his joking mood, waved his hand, and dismissed the servants in the room. Even the housekeeper Zhang outside the door was about to leave.
Ye Yunzhao seemed to remember something, took two steps forward, and said to him, "Butler Zhang, don't be too harsh on that servant."
Butler Zhang paused, not knowing what to do. He smiled awkwardly and glanced at Chen Jingshan.
Ye Yunzhao belatedly turned his head to look at Chen Jingshan: "Is it okay?"
"Didn't you hear me talking to you?" Chen Jingshan said, holding the teacup.
Butler Zhang laughed and said to Ye Yunzhao, "Don't worry, my lord. It won't happen."
After saying that, he left.
Chen Jingshan asked with concern: "Is there something urgent?"
Ye Yunzhao turned around, his eyes filled with inquiry and suspicion: "Did you kill the Yuezhou prefect?"
With a loud bang, the teacup in his hand fell onto the table. Chen Jingshan was startled and said in disbelief, "What did you say? The governor of Yuezhou is...dead?"
Ye Yunzhao stared at him intently: "You don't know?"
"I'm afraid few people in the entire Yuezhou City know about this." Chen Jingshan murmured, "How could he die?"
Ye Yunzhao sat on the other side of the tea table, looking at the rockery and flowing water outside the window, and said slowly: "What did you originally plan to do? Tell me about your plan."
Ye Yunzhao's words were incoherent, but Chen Jingshan, who was watching her all the time, understood. Although there was a hint of malicious speculation in her tone, he understood. Not only did he understand, he also internalized the understanding into worry.
Well, she worried about herself.
Chen Jingshan poured her a cup of tea and said, "If this hadn't happened, Ming Wanjun would have died suddenly at home from illness at noon tonight and would have been buried seven days later."
Seeing the thoughtful look in Ye Yunzhao's eyes, he added, "Of course, it wasn't a sudden death. Then, a scholar fled from famine in Lingnan County. His wife and children died on the way. Fortunately, County Magistrate Ye had a keen eye for talent and promised him a job as a teacher. He then lived out the rest of his life in Lingnan County."
After hearing this, Ye Yunzhao's suspicion of Chen Jingshan dropped from ten to five. He asked, "Do you think the prefectural doctor is a fool? Will you deceive him? Even if you bribed the doctor, how will you fool people about the burial?"
Chen Jingshan said, "I'm afraid you don't know, there's a mass grave outside Yuezhou City. When the time comes, we can just find the body of a young woman and bury it in the ancestral tomb of the prefect's family. It's better than leaving it in a mass grave with no one kneeling to pay respect to it."
Ye Yunzhao didn't say anything else. She shook the teacup, slowly stood up, and was about to leave.
Chen Jingshan quickly grabbed her and said, "You doubt me."
It seemed like a question, but his tone was actually firm, with a hint of imperceptible melancholy.
Ye Yunzhao turned to look at him, his eyes piercing, and asked confidently, "Shouldn't I doubt you?"
Chen Jingshan nodded his chin, and when he felt her wrist struggling, he immediately let go: "Now that he is dead, the matter of the county school teacher has been solved. You should be happy."
When Ye Yunzhao heard this, he couldn't help but stand there in a daze, looking at him in disbelief. The man's eyes revealed an indifference and coldness that could not be ignored.
This is a human life!
She cried silently in her heart. She was still a living person a few days ago, but now...
The more Ye Yunzhao thought about it, the more frightened she became. She staggered and walked out of the house quickly, ignoring Chen Jingshan's attempts to stop her.
A voice sounded behind him: "I guess Ming Wanjun will be able to go to Lingnan County to be a teacher in a few days."
After hearing this, she walked even faster. She couldn't believe that Chen Jingshan was so...
So indifferent...
A living person died tragically at home, but he was thinking that the teacher he wanted would be able to solve the problems of the county school immediately.
It was noon now, and the sun was warm, but Ye Yunzhao felt cold. This was not the education she had received.
"My Lord, I was blind just now. Thank you for defending me."
When Ye Yunzhao walked to the door, she met the gatekeeper again. He said something in a low voice, but she stumbled out of the door.
Ye Yunzhao left Chen's house like a walking corpse, and only came to his senses when he reached the gate of Yuezhou City and found County Magistrate Han waiting for him there.
"Is it done?" County Magistrate Han handed her the donkey's reins. Seeing that she hadn't brought anything back, he asked curiously, "I thought you went to the embroidery workshop to make clothes."
Ye Yunzhao was stunned for a moment, then quickly took over the reins and forced a smile: "I had thought that since I had finally come to Yuezhou City, I wanted to make some winter clothes, but the embroiderer who made clothes for me before was not here. I waited for a long time and still she didn't come back, so I gave up."
The two of them led the donkey out of the city. County Magistrate Han lowered his voice and said, "It's okay. I guess... we'll have to come back for the burial. You can go and take a look then."
Ye Yunzhao nodded and followed him, leading the donkey.
Perhaps because of the tragic death of the Yuezhou prefect, the two were in low spirits. Ye Yunzhao looked even more distraught. He walked silently towards Lingnan County.
*
Chen Jingshan drank the tea in one gulp, and instead tasted a bit of heroism. He chuckled and called out, "I'm going out. Lead the horse out."
In less than half an incense stick of time, he changed into his indigo riding clothes, brought a conical hat, and left Yuezhou City by a small road.
The people of Yuezhou City only knew that Chen Da, the second owner of Ruyi Tower, was a master of martial arts and good at riding and shooting, but no one knew that Chen Er, who looked like a modest gentleman, was also agile and good at riding and shooting.
The horse galloped wildly against the wind. Chen Jingshan leaned forward, holding the reins in one hand and waving the whip in the other. The horse let out a long neigh and ran faster and faster.
The man and the horse galloped wildly in the mountains for half an hour until they reached a mountain stream and stopped.
Chen Jingshan found a place with lush vegetation, tied the horse to a thick tree trunk, patted the horse gently, and the horse, which had been galloping all the way, shook its mane and lowered its head to eat grass.
He walked a long distance and turned twice before he got into a crevice. The crevice was narrow, so someone with his stature had to move slowly sideways. After moving about five or six meters, the crevice gradually widened until a huge cave appeared before him.
There was a pile of burning branches in the cave, which seemed to have been extinguished long ago. Chen Jingshan whipped it with his horsewhip, and the neatly stacked branches were blown everywhere. He threw the leaves in his hand into the fire, and the dark green leaves turned blacker and blacker.
It seems that the person just left not long ago.
He sneered and lay down on the stone bed.
After waiting for about half an incense stick of time, a rustling sound came from the junction of the cave and the crevice.
Chen Jingshan quickly stood up and moved to the side of the cave. He held his breath and stared at the entrance of the cave.
A dark and strong man came in. The man was taller than Chen Jingshan, so it was very difficult for him and he stumbled into the cave.
Chen Jingshan was behind him, and when he was caught off guard, he whipped him with extremely fierce force!
Although the man was caught off guard, he reacted very quickly. He turned around and saw that the person attacking him was Chen Jingshan. The man smiled, rolled forward, and the two of them started fighting.
Perhaps the man had let down his guard, and Chen Jingshan seized the opportunity and tightened the whip around his neck. Seeing that his strength to struggle was getting weaker and weaker, Chen Jingshan pulled out a hemp rope from his waist and tied him up extremely quickly.
The man glared at Chen Jingshan angrily: "Let go!"
Chen Jingshan's eyes flashed with a hint of ruthlessness as he looked down at the face that bore a 60% resemblance to his own. He asked in a deep, interrogating voice, "Are you still connected to those bandits?"
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