This is a dark red silk scroll. When opened, it is revealed that the inside is covered with fine silk and has several lines of neat small regular script written on it.
"Announcement: Yang Ze, the magistrate of Liang County, Yiling County, Yuzhou, is now the magistrate of Pingtao, Guangyang County, Yizhou. I have received your order and will carry it out. The ninth day of the fifth month of the twenty-third year of Zhongping."
In the lower right corner of the document, a large bright red seal was stamped neatly.
It turned out to be a certificate of appointment.
Gaoshen is a letter of appointment for an official. Yang Ze must be the young master who was robbed and killed on the river bank.
It's also pitiful. Yuzhou is located in the heart of the Central Plains and is rich and prosperous. It is unknown why Yang Ze was ostracized. It was called a horizontal transfer, but in reality he was transferred to Yizhou in the southwest, thousands of miles away, which was already a demotion.
The southwest is mountainous and sparsely populated, and there are also ethnic minorities. Not only is it difficult to manage, but he lost his life on the way to take office.
"My dear, where is Pingtao County in Yizhou?"
There were two folded yellow papers beside the pillow. Shao Qing picked them up casually. The first one was Yang Ze’s household registration. He was born in April of the first year of Zhongping and was 23 years old this year. The second one was also a household registration, and it belonged to a 19-year-old young man named Yang Ni.
The following are the travel passes for the two persons. After careful reading, it is clear that they had indeed traveled a long way from Yuzhou to Yuzhou to take up their new posts.
It seems that this young man who was thought to be a servant should be a relative of Yang Ze, a promising member of the clan who was serving as an errand boy or something, but he didn't expect to lose his life as well.
Wei Jing handed the certificate to Shao Qing and said, "Pingtao is where three rivers meet, where barbarians and savages live together, and the people are fierce and unruly, so it is difficult to govern."
He was good at fighting and as a military commander, he knew all the mountains, rivers and fortresses of the Great Chu by heart, and he had carefully studied all the states and counties on the territory map. Of course, he doesn't remember every county and township, but he still has some impressions of nodes like Pingtao.
I don't know who Yang Ze offended. Not only was he exiled thousands of miles away, but the place he was assigned to was also very difficult.
Shao Qing felt sorry for the two young people and carefully put away the household registration documents in her hand. She was a little happy: "The two Yangs are not much different in age from us. If their identities cannot be determined after something happens, we can borrow them temporarily."
After that, she touched her cloth skirt and said, "But I have to get some men's clothes first, otherwise I'll be exposed."
Even men's clothing was exposed.
Wei Jing glanced at her. Her clean face was only the size of a palm. Although pale, she had a pretty complexion, crystal skin, a delicate nose, cherry lips, and a pair of big almond eyes that were watery and full of hope.
But he didn't hit her, he just said "hmm" in response, "Have you taken the medicine? Why don't you take a rest?"
Anyway, he is here, the poison has been cured, the injuries have healed, this problem is just a small matter.
“I give in.”
Shao Qing lay down, a deep fatigue surged up and quickly spread to every part of her body. She rubbed her forehead and said, "What about you? You are still injured. You should lie down and recuperate."
Wei Jing said: "I'm not sleepy, I'll practice my skills first."
Now that the remaining poison has been loosened, the most urgent task is to practice qigong to activate the medicinal properties and eliminate the remaining poison as soon as possible.
Shao Qing didn't know martial arts, but she understood the theory. She nodded in understanding, turned her back to him, curled up her body, and fell into a deep sleep almost instantly.
Wei Jingjing listened to her breathing becoming shallow and long, and then he sat up straight, crossed his legs, closed his eyes and practiced.
…
Wei Jing started to practice in the afternoon until sunset. He heard the gate open and a slightly heavy sound of footsteps, completely different from those of Kou Yue and others, walking into the yard. Then he slowly opened his eyes.
It should be the male owner of the Kou family who has returned, the husband of Kou Yue’s brother Wang, who works as a clerk in the county town.
Sure enough, several footsteps came forward, and then a little girl giggled and called out, "Daddy, Daddy!"
Then, most of the footsteps went towards the main room. Next, he should talk to the male host about their affairs.
Wei Jing uncrossed his legs, leaned back against the head of the bed, and lowered half of the bed curtain around his legs and feet.
He turned his head to glance at Shao Qing who was still sleeping, but still felt something was wrong.
It is normal for the male owner to come over to see what is going on when a stranger is injured at home. However, as Wei Jing's wife, she cannot be offended like this.
There was a thin quilt folded at the innermost side of the bed. He reached out and pulled it open, covering Shao Qing from head to toe, without even a strand of hair showing. She was facing inwards, and he reached out and pulled, revealing her face.
It is invisible from behind.
This is the limit of what Wei Jing can accept based on local conditions.
He pulled the quilt for a while, then heard footsteps outside the door, followed by two gentle knocks on the door.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open and a man in dark blue official uniform came in. He was twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with a broad face and big ears. His facial features were somewhat similar to Kou Yue's. He was not handsome but gentle. When he saw Wei Jing on the bed, he was stunned for a moment, but quickly concealed his emotion.
"My name is Kou Xuan, courtesy name Wenchang, and I'm honored to be here."
Kou Xuan was very polite. He lowered his head and walked to the wooden bed. He stood on the side where the bed curtains were drawn, looked straight ahead, and bowed.
"My name is Yang Ze, courtesy name Zikuang. I was traveling with my wife and didn't expect to run into robbers on the road. I am grateful to your family for helping me."
Wei Jing borrowed the name on the household registration document and returned the greeting: "I am injured, please forgive me for my impoliteness."
His voice was low and weak, and his sincere words of gratitude were very well-spoken, but as a natural superior, his aura of authority without even getting angry was lingering.
Kou Xuan was not surprised or out of control. He waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's just a small favor. Why should you thank me? Just take care of your injuries. If there is anything you can do for me, please tell me and don't be shy."
The two men exchanged a few polite words, and Kou Xuan said goodbye, not wanting to disturb Wei Jing's recovery. Before leaving, he said, "My wife is preparing some food, which will be served in a moment. My humble home is poor, so please do not think the food is coarse, Brother Yang."
With a smile on his face, Wei Jing was considerate and enthusiastic. He raised his lip and said, "Of course I don't mind. Thank you."
Kou Xuan left the room and considerately closed the door again.
"Husband?"
Shao Qing had developed a sense of alertness over the past few days. When the two were talking, she woke up from her sleepiness, but she didn't move or speak. She just lay there quietly and listened.
Only after Kou Xuan left did she sit up and hug the quilt.
Wei Jing slowly stopped smiling, turned his gaze away from the half-worn door, and said to Shao Qing, "This Kou Wenchang is a waste of talent as an ordinary clerk in the county government."
Suddenly seeing a man of Wei Jing's character and appearance, he showed no surprise, his behavior and speech were normal, he did not show any fear, and there was no clue on his face to reveal his thoughts. He is indeed a character.
But right now, what Wei Jing needs least is dealing with people who are too smart.
The riverbank was where he and Shao Qing went ashore, and Kou Yue even ran into the two of them coming from the river. The Kou family learned that he was seriously injured and poisoned.
Wei Jing narrowed his eyes.
"Let's first find out whether this Kou family was born and raised here?"
Shao Qing had never met Kou Xuan, but he still felt a little worried after hearing what he said. She thought about it and realized that the mud house under her feet looked quite old. It didn't matter whether the Kou family were indigenous people. If they were, the risk would be greatly reduced.
"Some people are born smart, but whether they can be successful depends on chance. He is still young, so it is uncertain whether the chance will come. I think Yue Niang and Wang Saozi are kind people."
Shao Qing said: "I will try to find out what Yue Niang has to say tomorrow."
Wei Jing responded with a "hmm".
The matter was temporarily put aside, and she asked Wei Jing: "Are you thirsty? I'll bring you some hot water."
He doesn't like cold water, so he'd rather drink warm water. As Shao Qing was talking, she poured herself some cold tea, but he stopped her: "They will bring the food in a moment, and you are taking medicine, so don't drink something cold."
"Uh, all right then."
…
In the west wing, Wei Jing and Shao Qing were discussing Kou Xuan and the Kou family, but they didn't expect that in the main hall, Kou Xuan and his wife were also talking about them.
"Husband, what do you think?"
When Mrs. Wang saw Kou Xuan returning to the house, she immediately went forward and asked him in a low voice. She was older and more perceptive than her sister-in-law. As soon as she saw the faces of Wei Jing and the other man, she knew they were probably not ordinary travelers and couldn't help but feel worried.
She is willing to help others, but does not want to get into trouble for no reason.
"Ami, you must be careful and considerate to these two people. Give them the best food and supplies for my family. Don't be frugal, and don't be suspicious. Let them recover from their injuries and send them off carefully."
Kou Xuan recalled the man he had just seen. Even though he was weak, he still felt that he was much more superior than the others. He also had a sense of extreme danger that made his back shiver. His heart was pounding, and he quickly added: "Don't rush. They can leave whenever they want. Don't tell the neighbors. This matter must be kept secret at home."
His expression was so serious that Wang Mi was terrified. He quickly agreed and lowered his voice to ask, "Why is this? Has it caused trouble?"
She was annoyed for a moment. Her sister-in-law was kind and simple-hearted, which was nothing wrong, but her family was of low status and could not withstand the wind and rain.
"Alas, my Yue Niang, you are kind-hearted and naturally have a thousand good qualities, but this..."
Wang Mi stamped his feet and was about to ask more details when he heard footsteps approaching. The person who came spoke up, "I think if you don't handle this well, you'll get into big trouble."
It turned out to be Doctor Yan from next door. The two families were familiar with each other. He sat down directly, poured himself some tea, and snorted coldly: "The poison that man has is not something that ordinary people can be infected with."
Kou Xuan immediately asked: "Cunshan, what kind of poison is this?"
Doctor Yan's name is Ming, and his courtesy name is Cunshan. He curled his lips and said, "I don't know either. This poison is very strong. If there was not only the remaining poison in that person's body, I'm afraid it would not be so easy to cure."
A powerful poison, a man and a woman who looked like they were not ordinary people. There was a moment of silence in the main hall, and finally Kou Xuan sighed softly: "I was born with a lot of misfortunes, but I have managed to get through it and live a stable life. I just hope it will be the same this time."
What else can I do? The trouble has already begun, and we can only pray that the two men recover from their injuries and leave quietly.
Yan Ming snorted, "Tell Yue Niang more about her. Don't let anyone fool you. I don't think the scholar in the back room is reliable either."
Kou Yue thought she had hidden it well, but in fact the three people present knew the truth. However, compared with the eldest son of the Sun family, this scholar was not so good.
Thinking of the extremely difficult engagement with the Sun family, Kou Xuan frowned, as one problem after another arose.
Well, let's just take it one step at a time.
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