Chapter 113: Suicide and Snow Disaster

The little monkey played dumb: "Oh, the news that our boss is a mermaid has spread everywhere. Many people say that our boss is a monster or something. Moreover, our boss was stabbed by those people and is still recovering. He really doesn't have the energy to manage the store."

The customers were angry.

"Those who say that Boss Rong is a monster who harms people are just talking nonsense. We have known him for so many years, and we still don't know what kind of person he is?"

"That's right, so what if he's a mermaid? He's done so many good things, isn't he better than those bad guys with bad hearts?"

"We don't believe in those rumors at all. What's the point of deceiving His Majesty? His Majesty is the true Dragon Emperor. How could he be deceived?"

"I was also present at the dragon boat race that day. It was clear that Boss Rong was there to save people, but he was framed as a monster who was harming people. In my opinion, the real bad guys are those who are calling for war and killing."

"That's definitely the case. I know one of the men in that group. He's a street thug who specializes in oppressing the weak and bullying the good. I don't believe he's the kind of person who would dare to fight against monsters to protect others."

Because so many people requested to reopen, and everyone said they believed in Rong Yin, and public opinion in the capital was favorable to Rong Yin, within a few days, the store resumed business as everyone wished.

In order to thank everyone for their support, several stores have launched discount activities, and the time will last for half a month.

More people praised Rong Yin, and no one believed what the murderers said. In this public debate, Rong Yin and his team won.

Many old customers also sent medicinal herbs to the store and asked the staff to pass them on to Rong Yin, hoping that he could recover soon.

At Rong Yin's suggestion, the shop assistants accepted everyone's kindness and gave back items of equal value.

However, Rong Yin agreed to let Zong Zhengxiao stay in the palace. Even though his wounds had healed and he could move freely, he still did not ask to go out.

Those who were previously injured by Rong Yin were also sent to jail after they recovered.

For fear of being accused by the noble families of having confessed under torture, Zong Zhengxiao's men did not torture them, but when they were interrogated verbally, they refused to admit anything.

There is no other choice but to keep playing along with them.

These people are either orphans without families, or they are spoiled brats who are abandoned by their families. Prison life is hard. Several people stay in one cell, eating, drinking, defecating and urinating in the cell, which is enough to show how bad the conditions are.

If you have a family and the people in your family are kind-hearted, they will spend money to send some food and clothing to your parents.

Those who have no family or are abandoned by their family can only watch others enjoy the warmth of their family while they themselves suffer miserably.

This person is most afraid of comparison. After a while, even if they are not punished, these guys can't stand it.

At first, they formed a group to bully those who were taken care of by their families, forcing them to ask their families to send more things in next time. If those people or their families did not agree, they would be beaten severely.

The jailers were happy to see them fighting among themselves, as long as no one was killed.

Gradually, those who were being beaten couldn't bear it anymore and wanted to be transferred to other cells.

The jailers wouldn't agree, they wouldn't agree even when offered money, and the prisoners who exploited them wouldn't agree either.

After a period of darkness, those people finally broke down and cried, saying they wanted to confess.

The jailer said, we only ask a few questions, and whoever confesses first will be transferred to a cell first, and will be released after serving their sentence. As for the others, they will continue to live in the dark prison.

Now those who bully others are getting anxious. Without anyone to bully them, they will have a hard life in the future.

As a result, everyone rushed to confess, because they did it voluntarily, and the people from the aristocratic families who wanted to capture Zong Zhengxiao had no chance.

All the people were interrogated separately and their testimonies were consistent, so they probably did not lie.

According to these people, they were all hired by a man named Zhao Mazi, who said that he would take them to fight monsters on the Dragon Boat Festival. They only needed to obey orders and do their jobs, and Zhao Liu would ensure their safety and give them a large reward after the task was accomplished.

After being imprisoned, they refused to confess because they were waiting for Zhao Liu to rescue them and they were also reluctant to part with the money.

But until now Zhao Liu has not shown up, and they also realized that they were abandoned, so they had no choice but to confess.

Based on the clues provided by the criminal, the investigators found Zhao Mazi's residence, but as expected, the house was empty.

They thought that this clue was gone, but the little monkey knew that they were looking for Zhao Mazi, and immediately slapped his thigh and said happily: "We know where Zhao Mazi is!"

It turned out that in recent days, the little monkey and his brothers had been visiting the homes of those prisoners, and happened to meet Zhao Mazi who had been to one of their homes.

Zhao Mazi is a well-known figure among this group of hooligans. Xiao Houzi and others all know him. When they saw him interacting with these prisoners, they noticed him and followed him to his current residence.

Upon hearing that Zhao Mazi was still in the capital, the government officials, led by the little monkey, immediately went there to look for him.

But unfortunately, they were still a step too late. When they arrived, Zhao Mazi had just died. His body was still warm. It seemed that he had been strangled to death by someone.

Zhao Mazi's house was looted and he was killed. Now no one knows who the mastermind behind him was.

But generally speaking, Rong Yin, Zong Zhengxiao and the others did not lose. If the Cui family wants to frame them in the future, it will not be as easy as it is now.

Cui family.

Hearing the sounds of smashing and smashing coming from the study, the servants all hid nearby and trembled.

The servants couldn't count how many times the master had lost his temper. They didn't know since when, but his originally calm character became more and more irritable and violent. A few days ago, a maid accidentally knocked over a tea bowl and was dragged away and beaten to death by the master.

I don’t know if it’s because appearance reflects the heart, but the head of the family seems to have aged particularly quickly recently. His face is pale with a hint of blue, his eyes are often bloodshot, and because he always has nightmares, he has also suffered from insomnia.

But even after all this, he still refused to see a doctor. Even when the old lady came to persuade him, he still insisted that he was not sick.

The servants standing guard outside the study were silently begging the master not to let them in, but they heard footsteps not far away. When they looked up, they saw the Third Young Master limping towards them.

Perhaps because of the excessive pressure of studying to be a housekeeper, the originally quiet and well-behaved Third Young Master suddenly became silent and rebellious, often trying to sneak out of the house to have fun.

But the consequences were also obvious. In the first few times, he was only punished to kneel in the ancestral hall, but later on, the family law was directly invoked. The wooden whip was used to whip the third young master again and again, almost crippling him.

Just now the head of the family sent someone to call the third young master over. The servants knew without any guessing that he was going to take his anger out on him again.

Even though they knew he was the young master and they were just servants, the servants still couldn't help but look at him with pity.

The subsequent developments were within the servants' expectations. The third young master was scolded by the head of the family for some reason and was sent to the ancestral hall to kneel as punishment.

…

In late summer and early autumn, after a few months of recuperation in the palace, Rong Yin's injuries had long since healed, but an ugly scar inevitably remained on her originally clean and delicate skin.

Zong Zhengxiao often stroked the scar and sighed, with uncontrollable self-blame in his eyes.

Rong Yin jokingly comforted him, "You have scars, and so do I. Doesn't this just prove that we are made for each other."

Zong Zhengxiao pinched Rong Yin's face and smiled helplessly, "You are good at comforting people."

That night there were lightning and thunder, heavy rain outside and light rain inside.

Rong Yin's sweat mixed with physiological tears rolled down her face, hitting Zong Zhengxiao's equally sweaty abdominal muscles one by one, causing him to shudder.

During the swaying, Rong Yin took the time to glance out the window and asked Zong Zhengxiao in a hoarse voice: "Experiment, yes, ah, tonight, right?"

Zong Zhengxiao circled him, assisted him in his movements, and replied, "Yes, it's just right to use the thunder as cover."

"If it succeeds, we will have an extra layer of protection." Rong Yin said as he reached the deep end.

Rong Yin couldn't hold back her tears and fell into Zong Zheng Xiao's arms.

"I can't do it, you come."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Ayin."

After Zong Zhengxiao finished speaking, he immediately took the initiative.

There were bursts of thunder outside and raindrops fell densely, splashing up water. Finally, the water gathered into a river and accumulated in the low-lying area.

The trees in the yard were tossed by the strong wind, their branches were broken, and their leaves were scattered all over the ground. They looked very pitiful.

I don't know how long it was before a bolt of lightning struck. The strong wind suddenly stopped, tightly wrapping around the trees. The rain suddenly became heavier, as if the Yellow River was flowing back and rushing straight to the ground.

Before dawn, all the madness gradually ended, the thunder, lightning and strong winds retreated, leaving only a drizzle of rain still falling, heralding the lingering aftertaste of this madness.

Zong Zhengxiao took Rong Yin to take a bath. After returning to the bed, he kissed the scar on his abdomen before closing his eyes and falling asleep with him in his arms.

A few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Rong Yin, who had not left the palace for a long time, asked Zong Zhengxiao for an opportunity to visit several shops.

The guests were very happy to see him. They greeted him with smiles and asked about his recovery.

Rong Yin responded one by one, and at the same time told everyone that the store would hold an event on the Mid-Autumn Festival, asking customers not to miss it.

Before returning to the palace, Rong Yin went to see Ning Yue.

After knowing that he was injured, Ning Yue asked Lu'e to send him some medicinal herbs and also wrote him several letters of sympathy.

Now that she saw that he was fine, Ning Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She said, "The Cui family is really vicious. If the Cui family doesn't fall, you and your spouse will probably have troubles all the time in the future."

Rong Yin comforted her: "Bad people will be punished by heaven, and the Cui family will not be able to survive for much longer."

Ning Yue thought thoughtfully: "I think so too."

Rong Yin is so confident because they now have a secret weapon in their hands. If Ning Yue says so, does she also...

"Is there any progress with Miss He?" Rong Yin asked.

“啊？”寧月瞬間回神，表情有點別扭，像是害羞，又像是猶豫，她小聲道：“沒，還沒有。”

戎音也不拆穿她，只是道：“無論成不成功，只要你有需要，我都會幫助你的，不要有太大壓力。”

寧月點點頭，笑着說好。

戎音一走，寧月就迫不及待挑起了衣服，準備中秋那天去找賀嫣一起賞月。

因為寧月能賺錢，而且跟戎音關系好，所以老板并不怎麽約束她，她行動還是比較自由的。

戎音和綠娥一起回宮，坐在馬車上，戎音無聊地撩開簾子往外望。

臨近中秋，街上很是熱鬧，大人們商量着要買的東西，孩子們手牽手到處跑，看着攤位上的玩具吃食，一雙雙清澈的眼睛裏露出了渴望的神色。

戎音笑了笑，随着馬車向前，他的視線也落到了別的地方。

只見一家酒樓前，一個少爺模樣的人正被一群家丁往外拖，那少爺明顯不肯跟他們走，正不停地掙紮着，可雙拳難敵四手，沒幾下少爺就被束縛住，讓人直接塞進了馬車裏。

馬車也很快就離開了，圍觀的人群逐漸散開。

戎音蹙眉，“看家丁的衣服，那是崔家人？”

方才綠娥也看見了那邊的情景，她明顯知道得更多，便跟戎音解釋。

“那是崔家三少爺，聽說崔家準備培養他當繼承人，不過這家夥跟瘋了似的，總是偷跑出來花天酒地，然後被崔家派人帶回去。”

“我某次路過，看見他身上似乎有傷，想來是被家裏人教訓過了，不過這照樣抵擋不了他想逃出來的心。”

戎音聽完，很是理解地道：“如今崔家就他一個可用的，他承擔着全家人的希望，崔家主又是個不折不扣的瘋子，可以想象他在崔家活得有多壓抑，向往自由是正常的。”

綠娥說：“他出生在崔家，也不知是幸還是不幸。”

戎音放下簾子，“這只有他本人知曉了。”

中秋當天，宗政逍去參加中秋晚宴了，戎音則是在銀鲛園裏準備晚餐，與小艾同學他們一起等待他回來吃月餅賞月。

宗政逍心裏念着戎音，晚宴就提前離席了。

兩人坐在院中月下，宗政逍給戎音拆蟹，戎音喂他溫好的酒水。

宗政逍跟戎音說了晚宴的情況，今年崔家就崔家主一個人來了，沒帶夫人，也沒有帶兒子。

“我看他臉色很不好，一個人坐在那裏喝悶酒，倒是真像個孤家寡人。”

戎音逗宗政逍：“怎麽，心疼他了？”

宗政逍好笑：“我心疼他？我當時看見他那副凄涼的樣子，就只差笑出聲了。”

上次崔家企圖污名化戎音的計劃雖然失敗了，但他們還是沒有停止給宗政逍施壓。

戎音是災禍，迷惑帝心，使得大晟江山後繼無人的流言至今沒有停歇。

雖然從表面上看，京城裏支持戎音的人偏多，可那些對戎音有偏見的人，說不定還躲着沒出聲，誰也不知道他們以後會鬧出什麽幺蛾子。

戎音嘗了一口蟹黃，覺得味道不錯，親手喂到宗政逍嘴邊，同時樂觀地道：“我天生好運，崔家使再多陰謀詭計都打不倒我的，反而會讓他們自己越來越倒黴。”

宗政逍微笑，應和道：“對，我們阿音就是天底下最幸運的人。”

或許是老天爺真應了戎音這句話，第二天兩人剛醒，就收到了一個有關崔家的大消息。

崔家三少爺自盡了。

昨夜中秋，本該一家人和和美美地團圓，誰知崔家主從晚宴回去後，不知怎麽生了氣，當着家裏人和下人的面，就将崔三少罵了個狗血淋頭。

崔三少白着一張臉回了自己的院子，早晨下人喚他，一直不答應，推開門才發現，人已經懸梁自盡。

挂了一晚上，人早就沒氣了。

聽說他墊腳的凳子并沒有踢開，如果他想活，伸一下腳就行。

但他硬是克服了求生的本能，就那麽把自己給吊死了。

他留了一封遺書給崔家主，崔家主看完以後就燒了，除了他，誰也不知道上面究竟寫了什麽。

聽到崔三少死訊時，戎音還有些懵，他想起那天酒樓門口那個不停想要逃脫家丁鉗制的男人，不由得嘆息了一聲。

對比其他世家子弟，崔三少這人堪稱低調，也不曾有過什麽殘害百姓的舉動。

只不過生在世家，他的命運由不得他做主。

之所以堅定地尋死，是因為他僅剩的自由，就是能自己選擇生還是亡。

先是崔炘，緊接着是崔二少，如今又是崔老三。

崔家的三個孩子，沒一個壽終正寝，都死得不那麽體面。

如今崔家嫡系，就只剩崔大少一個人了。

葬禮很快便舉行完畢，過程跟崔三少本人一樣低調。

崔老太太覺得是兒子逼死了自己的兩個孫子，對他有了怨念，揚言此後再不肯見他一面。

崔夫人依舊住在自己的小院裏，仿佛外界發生的一切都與她無關。

崔家主發瘋的次數越發頻繁，崔府上下人人自危，已經有好幾個下人撞到槍口上，被以各種方式處死了，誰也不想成為下一個。

恐懼的氛圍籠罩着整個崔府。

崔三少死後，崔家主像是徹底失去了理智，對戎音的造謠攻勢越來越猛烈，還不知從哪裏請來一個術士，說是皇宮方向烏雲籠罩，明顯是有妖孽在作祟。

如果再不讓他去制服妖怪，恐怕大晟未來會災禍不斷，最終受苦的還是百姓們。

因為這位術士在民間有一定名聲，因此聚集了不少信徒，經常舉辦法會，宣揚戎音是禍國妖孽的流言，三人成虎，确實造成了不小的影響。

官府也試圖抓鋪這個術士，但有崔家護着，一時還真拿他沒辦法。

這麽鬧着，沒多久就入了冬。

今年冬天出奇的冷，連宗政逍這個身體壯實的也不小心感染了一次風寒，連喝了三天的藥才徹底恢複健康。

大雪從白天下到黑夜，戎音趴在窗臺上，看着庭院裏剛清掃過又堆了一層的雪，眉頭不由得緊蹙。

晚上宗政逍回來，兩人坐在一起吃飯，戎音問：“聽說木炭的價格又上漲了？”

宗政逍點頭，“我有十幾年沒見過那麽大的雪了，京城尤甚，我已經派人去周邊州府采買木炭了，等貨到了，價格自然就降下去了。”

戎音有些食不知味：“可安排人督促百姓清掃房頂積雪了？雪這麽大，怕會壓塌了房屋。”

宗政逍給戎音夾菜：“官府的人敲着鑼把大街小巷都轉了一遍，全都通知過了，京外的村莊也讓裏長村長宣傳了，至于有沒有每家人都聽令做了，這實在沒法保證。”

有句話叫好言難勸該死的鬼，即便是在現代，一項政策要落實到基層，也需要花費巨大的時間精力。

有些人就是喜歡不拿自己的命當回事，這點別說是皇帝，就連神仙也拿他沒辦法。

因為心裏不安，向來饞嘴的戎音今晚破天荒只吃了半碗飯。

淩晨，戎音睡得很不安穩，隐約間，他好像聽見狗子們在不停叫喚，但睜開眼睛，周圍卻是一片寂靜。

除了燭火燃燒的噼啪聲，就是屋外嗚嗚的寒風呼嘯。

戎音下床倒了杯冷茶喝進肚，走到窗邊，拉開一點窗戶往外一看，發現院子裏的雪怕已經堆到他大腿深了，而且天上還在不停地飄雪。

不安的心情更加沉重，戎音轉身爬上床，搖醒了宗政逍。

“阿音，怎麽了？”宗政逍迷迷糊糊，下意識伸手把戎音摟進懷裏。

戎音語氣有些驚慌：“陛下，外面的雪厚得不正常，我害怕會出事，京城有不少老舊建築，萬一……”

他沒有再說下去，但宗政逍明白了他的意思。

宗政逍立時清醒了許多，他坐起身來，把戎音塞回被子裏，自己下床打開窗戶，迎着呼嘯而來的風雪，看見了被雪壓斷的樹枝。

戎音下床，來到了宗政逍身邊。

“我雖已安排了金吾衛的人日夜巡邏，但今夜這雪，怕是要糟。”宗政逍語氣裏滿是擔憂。

話落，他将守夜的四喜叫進來，一邊往身上套衣服，一邊吩咐：“金吾衛今夜是哪位将領值夜？召他進宮，同時傳朕禦令，加派巡夜的人員，如若發現情況不對，先将百姓撤出房屋，等雪停了再做打算。”

四喜也知道事态緊急，連忙一疊聲地答應，然後下去辦事了。

宗政逍換好衣衫，抱住戎音親了一下，安撫他道：“我先過去，阿音繼續睡，不用擔心我，我等天亮了确認安全了就回來。”

戎音怕耽誤他，只能乖乖地答應。

宗政逍走後，戎音就坐在床頭，獨自等了一夜，期間沒有半點睡意。

但糟糕的是，即便宗政逍及時做出了反應，但到了白天，還是有不幸的消息傳進了宮。

Due to the delayed evacuation, a house collapse accident occurred in the residential area of ​​Zanhua Lane, and many people were trapped underneath in their sleep. The government is currently rescuing them, and the number of deaths and survivors is unknown.

Not only in the city, but also in several villages near the capital, houses collapsed.

Because rural houses are not as strong as those in cities, the situation is even more serious. The government has already sent people to help with the disaster.

Zong Zhengxiao said he would be back at dawn, but there was no sign of him until the afternoon. He just sent someone to pass on a message that he would probably be busy for a while and asked Rong Yin to take good care of herself.

Lu'e came back in the evening and told Rong Yin that she and the managers of several other shops had already delivered quilts, hot water, food, charcoal and other supplies to the disaster-stricken areas as he had instructed.

The situation on the scene is not good. Most of the people dug out from the ruins are dead. Even those who are still alive will be missing limbs in the future, which is very pitiful.

Rong Yin felt very distressed when he heard this.

He said, "No, I will go out of the palace with you tomorrow to see."

Hearing this, Lu'e's expression suddenly changed. She said with some embarrassment: "Master, it's better for you to stay in the palace recently."

Rong Yin's heart skipped a beat, and she felt like something bad had happened.

"Why can't you go out?"