Chapter 193
The people were frightened by this scene, and fled in panic. For a moment, the whole teahouse was in chaos. Ding Wenbo drew his knife and chopped a table in front of him, and sawdust flew everywhere. He shouted, "Who dares to escape? Check them one by one."
A few footsteps were heard, and a middle-aged man stepped forward and saluted, "Master Weiwei, what are you doing? Let's talk it over."
"Are you the boss?" Ding Wenbo asked.
"That's right, my teahouse is open for business, I wonder if the Lord Weiwei..."
"You are doing business honestly, but you are spreading rumors and maliciously slandering officials in the court. Arrest him." Ding Wenbo waved his hand, and two soldiers stepped forward and tied up the boss. "Also, take away the storyteller, the shop assistants, and anyone who criticized the court."
Some of the people in the store looked as if they had lost their mothers, while others were furious. The young man who had just spoken shouted, "Stories in teahouses are just to make the audience laugh. How can there be rumors and slander? Lord Ding arrested people for no reason. What law of Dayan did he rely on?"
Ding Wenbo sneered. Now anyone dared to challenge him. "Which law? I'll show you today. Take him away first."
The young man continued, "Could it be that your Ding family completely disregards the laws of Dayan and arrests whoever they want? Those who are here today are only here to listen to the story. The storyteller also said that the stories are all fabricated. Why did Lord Ding say that it was slandering officials as soon as he heard it? Could it be that the plot is indeed related to the Ding family?"
Some dissatisfied people nearby also said, "I think so too. He must have been angry because he got it right. The other person didn't even say who it was, so he must be rushing to admit it now."
As soon as he finished speaking, he was tied up by soldiers. The other civilians were so scared that they shut their mouths. Ding Wenbo said, "Close the teahouse for me. Don't let any of these people go."
"Stop," Xie Chen led the soldiers in, "Sir Ding, what crime have these people committed?"
"Captain Wei wants to meddle in other people's business?" Ding Wenbo glanced at Xie Chen.
"It's not that I want to meddle in other people's business, but this teahouse does not violate the laws of Dayan, and it is not a gathering to cause trouble. We are just listening to a book. Why do you have to make a fuss, Lord Ding?" Xie Chen said coldly.
"Who is this?" someone asked.
"You don't even know the famous Wei Xiaowei. On that day, the Wei Xiaowei brought the surrendered Xiongnu soldiers to offer captives, and almost all the people in the city went to watch. It was a grand spectacle..."
Ding Wenbo glared at him, "Captain Wei, if you want to stand up for these people, you should consider your own abilities. Just because you and Lin Shuge, who came from a remote village, want to go against my Ding family, I advise you to take care of yourself and get out of here now."
He Xin bowed and said, "Please forgive me, Lord Ding. Today, we received a report from the people saying that someone was causing trouble here, so we came here to investigate. Now, looking at the situation, since no one is causing trouble, please be magnanimous and release these people."
When the common people saw someone standing up for them, they murmured, "What do you mean someone is causing trouble? It's obviously the Ding family. We were just sitting there listening to the book. How could we have offended the Ding family? Look at the Wei Xiaowei. He is so promising at a young age. No wonder..."
"Stop talking now." Someone tried to warn by winking at them.
A cold light flashed before his eyes, and the man who spoke saw Ding Wenbo holding a long knife and slashing at him. Ding Wenbo was not a good-tempered person. He had suffered setbacks from Lin Shuge and Xie Chen during this period, and was also criticized by Ding Yanhe. Today, he was just arresting a few people, but was stopped again and compared with Xie Chen. In the past, people always compared him with Xie Jiazi. He was furious in his heart. When he heard the words of the common people just now, he was so angry that he slashed with the knife.
The commoner felt a chill on his neck and closed his eyes, only to see two long swords colliding in front of him. It turned out that Xie Chen helped him block Ding Wenbo's attack. He was so scared that his legs went limp and he fell to the ground.
"Xie Chen, it's you again. Your brother used to oppose me in every way. You also want to oppose me, right? But the Xie family is no longer the same as before. What can you compare with me?"
"Master Weiwei, please calm down. Our lord is also..." He Xin hurriedly stepped forward and said.
"Get out of here, who the hell are you?" Ding Wenbo kicked He Xin away and stabbed Xie Chen directly with his ring-handled sword. This was an important place in Kyoto, and Ding Wenbo's official position was higher than Xie Chen's. Xie Chen did not dare to confront him directly and could only dodge.
The soldiers of the Southern Army and the Northern Army looked at each other in bewilderment, and none dared to move forward. More and more people gathered around to watch, and someone asked, "What's going on? Why did they start a fight?"
The common people who had just watched the whole process said, "Today, there was a storytelling in Tianxuan Tower. Lord Ding came with his people and said that people were spreading rumors about the Ding family. He wanted to take everyone away and seal up Tianxuan Tower. Lord Wei heard that someone was causing trouble here, so he came to check. Seeing that people were just listening to a story, he wanted to stop Lord Ding. But Lord Ding would chop anyone he saw. Lord Wei blocked his knife to save the common people, but he chased and chopped him. Alas, it's true that the Ding family is so powerful that the court officials can chop at will. Common people like us will die if we fall into his hands."
"Yes, it's just a plot in the story. If you insist that it's alluding to the Ding family, doesn't that mean you're admitting that the Ding family framed Zhongliang?"
"Oh, stop talking now. I'll catch you later."
Suddenly, there was a "click" sound, which was the sound of the long sword hitting the ground.
Everyone was attracted by the sound, and saw Xie Chen covering his right arm with his left hand, with blood flowing down between his fingers. He Xin hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Sir, are you okay?"
"Murder, murder." someone suddenly shouted.
The entire Tianxuan Teahouse was in chaos. Xie Chen endured the pain and said to He Xin: "Go and appease the people. There are so many people here, be careful of anything happening."
"Lord Wei really cares about the people." Ding Wenbo said sarcastically.
The Northern Army soldiers were so angry that Cai Xing shouted at the top of his voice, "Master Ding, not to mention that it is our Northern Army's responsibility to protect Yandu, Master Ding's bringing troops here to arrest people at will is an overstepping of authority. Just take the fact that you just stabbed our master with a knife, the Southern Army must give us an explanation."
"Confess? Just you?" Ding Wenbo replied, and then looked at the Southern Army soldiers and said, "What are you standing there for? Arrest them. Who dares to stop us now?"
As they were talking, the crowd suddenly moved away. Deng Ji walked in with a serious face, "Master Ding, there is nothing happening in the palace today. Otherwise, why would Master Ding come here and hurt people without knowing the truth?"
When the Northern Army soldiers saw Deng Ji coming, they told the whole story loudly as if they had someone to back them up. The people behind them joined in, especially highlighting how much Ding Wenbo abused his power to bully others. Lord Wei had only stopped him from killing someone, but he was chased and hacked. They didn't even dare to fight him, and ended up being hacked.
Deng Ji sneered, "Lord Ding, are you bullying me because I have no troops in the Northern Army?"
"I dare not. Captain Wei is not good at his job, so please go and practice hard. Lord Deng is here at the right time. Tianxuan Teahouse is always making innuendos and talking about politics. It is better to close it as soon as possible, otherwise people will talk about it and cause a disaster."
"Sir Ding, the people in this teahouse are just listening to books and having fun. What they talk about does not involve political affairs. Even if it is political affairs, doesn't Sir Ding know that rivers cannot be stopped and words cannot be suppressed?" Deng Ji replied.
"You...you are awesome today, but don't fall into my hands next time. Let's go." Ding Wenbo said after making such harsh remarks.
After he took his men away, the people who were in Tianxuan Teahouse today finally put their minds at ease. Today's events were full of twists and turns and dangers, and they were almost thrown into prison. Many people wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads, not daring to stay in this place of trouble, and quickly slipped away.
The merchant sighed several times and didn't dare to stay any longer. He had seen how powerful the Ding family was today and was afraid of getting into trouble again. Just as he was about to leave, he heard a citizen saying something. Curious, he stepped forward and listened to a few more words.
"Lord Wei, thank you for saving my life." It turned out to be the common people that Xie Chen had just saved.
Xie Chen looked a little pale due to blood loss. He waved his hand and said to Deng Ji, "I am lucky to have you here today. Otherwise, Lord Ding would not let it go. I cannot protect these people."
Deng Ji said: "The Ding family is powerful, why do you have to... Well, let your Lieutenant General take you to treat your wound." After saying that, he took his men away.
Xie Chen bowed to him and said to the people, "Everyone go back, and try not to come to Tianxuan Teahouse in the next few days."
"Sir, thank you for your protection today." Someone shouted loudly, and other people followed suit.
Xie Chen's wound was in unbearable pain, so He Xin quickly helped him out.
The teahouse, which had been noisy all day, suddenly fell silent. Someone said, "How can we bother others by listening to the book?"
"That being said, the people should not fight against the government. I heard that the stage in the suburbs has been demolished, and several actors may have been..."
"This Ding family is really committing a sin."
"Evil will be punished, and God will take care of it."
When the vendors heard that the stage for watching the play had been dismantled and even the actors had been arrested, they were filled with anger and sadness. The Ding family controls everything, and even controls who watches plays and listens to stories?
Lin Shuge had already heard about this and was instructing Lin Xuan to clean up the mess. He also asked several actors to hide for a few days and told the people who were stirring up trouble at Tianxuan Teahouse today not to come out in the near future until the storm has died down.
When he looked up, he saw He Xin walking in with Xie Chen, and he quickly stepped forward and asked, "What happened?"
Xie Chen smiled and said, "It's okay. I was chopped by Ding Wenbo. It's just a minor injury."
Lin Shuge asked someone to get some medicine, and he lifted up Xie Chen's sleeves to take a look. Seeing that the injury was not serious, he said, "You have overacted, Lord Wei."
He Xin said, "We, the lord, can't do anything. Ding Wenbo chopped with a knife and the lord couldn't do anything, so we could only let him take advantage. Lord Lin, you didn't see it. The people saw the lord getting hurt to save them, and they hated Ding Wenbo so much that they gnashed their teeth."
Lin Shuge glanced at the two of them, and while bandaging Xie Chen's wound, he said, "By the way, keep an eye on those Youren and the informant in the teahouse today, don't let them get implicated."
Xie Chen nodded and said, "Ding Wenbo was a little strange today. Although he is irritable, he is not stupid. Why did he come here to arrest people just based on rumors? I thought he should wait a few more days until rumors were flying around before taking action."
Lin Shuge also shook his head. Their plan was just to break through the Ding family in Yandu through Ding Wenhong, and let the Xie family's affairs have a mass base, and then wait for the Ding family to take action. Unexpectedly, Ding Wenbo came directly and violently arrested people. Xie Chen had no choice but to take the soldiers to deal with it.
"However, I heard from Lord Deng that Ding Wenhong is about to arrive in Yandu." Xie Chen touched the bandaged wound and said.
"Really?" Lin Shuge looked up at him, and the two exchanged a knowing look.
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