When she reached the door of the teahouse, Yapo paused, pulled off the white cloth tied on the little girl's head, flicked the dust on her knees, and then took her hand into the teahouse.
"This old man and my wife have just found out clearly that this girl is the niece of the rotten gambler Lu Er, the one who pretended to be dead just now. This girl is a local, her father's mother is married, her background is relatively innocent, and she is not
He was kidnapped for no apparent reason. Now he has signed the contract and all he has to do is go to the Yamen and register. What do you think?" Ya Po asked with a smile.
Wang Shouren said: "It's hard to sell the official salt as private salt, so I'd better trouble my mother to take me, a little boy, with me."
When doing things in the yamen, it is necessary to give money and envelopes. Yapo was reluctant to pay for it herself, so she said this. Now that Wang Shouren spoke, she left the little girl behind and took Wuxuan to the county yamen.
Wang Shouren glanced at the little girl and saw that her clothes were quite clean, her sleeves, legs and feet had been connected several times, and her shoes had several openings. He said, "Since you are local, do you know where the clothing store is?"
?”
The little girl nodded and whispered: "I know, there is a family in the back street."
Wang Shouren glanced at the half bunch of money Shen Rui had just put on the table and said, "Count out twenty coins and give it to her."
Shen Rui complied honestly, counted out the coins and handed them to the little girl.
The little girl looked confused, and Wang Shouren said: "Go to the clothing store to change your clothes and shoes."
The little girl took the money and couldn't believe it. Wang Shouren had lowered his head to eat tea and no longer looked at the little girl.
The little girl glanced at the old monk and Shen Rui next to her, then walked out with small steps. When she reached the door of the teahouse, she looked back at everyone before trotting towards the west.
Shen Rui sat in front of the window. When the little girl disappeared, he turned around and said, "Sir, what will happen if the little girl doesn't come back?"
Wang Shouren said calmly: "If she doesn't come back, let her go. This is her own choice."
Shen Rui hesitated and said, "Then Lu Er and his accomplices are not good people. What if they capture the little girl?"
Wang Shouren shook his head and said: "Don't think too hard, they don't dare. If they are really lawless people, they won't set up scams to fool people. They don't have the courage to kidnap runaway slaves."
Not long after Wu Xuan came back from the county government office, the little girl also appeared and changed her clothes. It was still inappropriate, but this time it was not smaller, but bigger. The little girl rolled up her sleeves, legs and feet.
.The shoes are not too big, but the flowers embroidered on the front of the shoes have been worn out and look dirty.
Wu Xuan took the little girl, looked around, and said: "This dress is too big, it can't be rolled up, I will change it for you when I go to the inn."
The little girl did not dare to answer the question, but looked timidly at Wang Shouren. Wang Shouren did not look at the little girl again, but stood up together with the old monk.
After this, and after being delayed for most of an hour, it was time to find an inn. Because there was an extra little girl, even if she was no more than seven or eight years old, and there were differences between men and women, Wu Xuan entered the inn and booked three ordinary rooms.
Except for showing up during meals, the little girl just stayed in her room, quietly, and didn't take the initiative to get around others.
After dinner, Wu Xuan went to change the little girl's clothes, while Shen Rui listened to Wang Shouren's lecture as usual.
Wang Shouren treated the little girl too coldly. If he didn't like it, why did he buy it? Shen Rui was a little confused.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, everyone left the inn. The little girl followed Wu Xuan quietly, her expression not as panicked as yesterday.
Seeing that no one had any intention of hiring a car, Shen Rui hesitated and said, "Brother Wu Xuan, why don't we hire a car? If we get to the next county earlier, we won't be in trouble."
It’s not that he is unfounded, in fact, those gangsters yesterday were not good people. Last night they stayed at the largest inn in the area, and no one dared to come to find out what was wrong with them. After they left the county seat, why didn’t those people come over to them? It was exposed yesterday. Hire a car and go quickly.
If you walk, you can still avoid it; if you walk, you are giving those people the opportunity to do bad things.
Wu Xuan glanced at Shen Rui and said: "Brother, you are too arrogant. The money you spent yesterday was only eleven taels and five cents. You can't bear this loss. If you hire a carriage, it will be soon."
It's almost done, but where can I get the money? I have to get it back."
Shen Rui didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he also understood what Wu Xuan meant, which was also "fishing", so he couldn't help feeling a little excited.
Wu Xuan's prediction was true. As soon as the group left the inn, they were stared at. By the time they left the city, there was already a shadowy tail behind them.
The little girl was young and her steps were small, so it was a bit difficult to follow everyone. Wang Shouren's face was still calm and he didn't pay much attention to the little girl, but he still slowed down his pace. Shen Rui could already tell that Wang Shouren seemed to be testing the little girl's character.
.Children of poor people have long been in charge. Although this little girl is young, she neither cries nor makes noises, but is quiet and well-behaved.
Shen Rui didn't expect to feel sympathy for each other, but she just felt that it was the little girl's luck to meet Wang Shouren. Otherwise, as an orphan, she had an uncle who was a gambler, and she was still young, but she was just following his uncle to cheat; if
If she is a few years older and shows off her girlish demeanor, there will be no good end. She will either be forced into prostitution or sold on a flower boat. It is also a luxury to hope to be a little maid. If her uncle has some true feelings for his niece, he is willing to sell her away.
When she worked as a maid in a wealthy family, she would have been sold long ago, and she would not wait until today to let a little girl show up to deceive others.
The little girl was not only quiet and sensible, but also very resilient. She followed everyone for several miles in one breath, and her head was covered in sweat, but she still didn't complain about being tired.
Wang Shouren saw that there was a dense forest not far ahead, and the tail behind had disappeared, so he asked everyone to stop first. He said to Shen Rui: "You take this little girl and stay here for now, let's go to the front to have a look."
Shen Rui has been with Wang Shouren for several months and has never seen him take action. Naturally, he felt itchy and begged: "Sir, let Brother Wuxuan stay here. I want to go with him to see what he has to offer."
Wang Shouren hesitated for a moment, nodded, and said: "It doesn't matter, you are already ten years old and you are not a little girl. There is no harm in seeing things." After that, he ordered Wu Xuan to stay.
Wu Xuan was not annoyed that he was replaced. He pointed to the paper umbrella behind Shen Rui and said, "Brother, I'm not familiar with using it. You need to be careful and don't hurt yourself."
Shen Rui agreed and took out a handful for Wu Xuan.
The reason why these three umbrellas must be carried all the time is because these three umbrellas are not ordinary paper umbrellas. The umbrella pillars can be disassembled and used as short sticks. There is also a sharp knife hidden in the stick, which is a good weapon for self-defense.
Walking to the edge of the forest, before entering the forest, Shen Rui discovered that the impressions given by Zen Master Wang Shouren and Zen Master Hong Shan had suddenly changed; one was clearly gentle and the other was charitable; now one was sharp and the other dignified, both of them were gaining momentum.
Ready to go.
Shen Rui was excited and nervous, and carefully followed Wang Shouren. Although bows and arrows were controlled weapons by the court, who knew whether they would have other "long-range weapons".
Obviously, Shen Rui read too many books in his previous life and thought too much about those street gangsters.
When a few people came out of the woods and stopped in front of the forest road, Shen Rui's eyes widened.
Where are the knives? There is a knife, which is larger than a kitchen knife. It should be a meat cleaver used by a butcher. The handle of the knife is shiny. As for the sword worn by the scholar, it is unusual not to appear on these market gangsters. There are four people in total, but
No one was empty-handed, except for one holding a kitchen knife, another holding a saw, and the remaining two had wooden sticks. The outside of the wooden sticks was still green, so they must have been picked locally.
The corners of Shen Rui's mouth twitched. Even if these people are "extras", why don't they be more professional? Even though they knew that besides the little girl, there were four other people, they didn't mention a few more people, including Zhang Zhangsheng. And those weapons
, only the bricks are missing, and not as good as the umbrella knives they carry.
The big man with the knife, the one who argued with Ya Po yesterday, stared at Shen Rui with a pair of bull's eyes, frowned and said: "How come you are three people, the round-faced boy and Lu Ya?"
The person holding the saw next to him was the little girl's uncle Lu Er. Hearing this, he glanced behind Shen Rui and the others several times and said in surprise: "Yes, why can't Lu Ya see you?"
Wang Shouren said without changing his expression: "They are tired from walking and are resting behind. I wonder why you are here because you are blocking the way?"
The big man holding the knife frowned and said: "You pretty boy, don't be nagging, just be honest and hand over the money to grandpa. If you are not honest, the knife in grandpa's hand will not be a vegetarian."
"That's right, hurry up and take out the money. If you want to delay, I want to take the saw from the second master." Lu Er helped, waving the saw as a threat.
Then I heard Zen Master Hongshan say: "Amitabha, fellow teachers, the sea of suffering is boundless, and it is better to be kind to others when we turn around."
The big man holding the knife snorted coldly: "Grandpas only want money, but the old monk needs to know how to be respected..." After he finished speaking, there was a scream, and the person flew out.
Shen Rui moved a few steps back, not because he was running away from the battle or not being loyal enough, but because he was afraid of harming Chi Yu. He was not afraid that these gangsters would harm him, but because he was afraid that Wang Shouren would get into a fight with the old monk and innocent people would be affected. He could see that
Really, those two are obviously excited, okay?
With the screams of the man holding the knife, the scene was full of movement, and no one spoke anymore.
The big man was kicked away by the old monk and hit a tree trunk about a foot away. Then he fell to the ground and was already convulsing. The kitchen knife in his hand fell into the old monk's hand the moment he flew up.
Obviously, the greasy handle was not in line with the old monk's compassionate heart. The old monk raised his hand casually, and the kitchen knife flew out. There was only a soft "puff" sound, but there was no movement of falling to the ground. It had obviously cut into something.
In the trunk of a tree.
Shen Rui's eyes sparkled instantly, and the other gangsters were stunned.
Lu Er glanced at the hesitating big man on the ground, his teeth chattered, and he trembled and said: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding..."
Before he could finish speaking, the short stick in Wang Shouren's hand had already moved. Within a few steps, the stick flew and landed on Lu Er and the other two people, causing the three of them to wail.
For a moment, no one thought about escaping. Lu Er was already kneeling on the ground begging for mercy: "Great hero, master, please spare this villain. I don't dare to do it anymore. I have to go back to the shore."
Zen Master Hongshan said the Buddha's name and looked kind-hearted again; Wang Shouren put his hands behind his back, looked at Shen Rui and said, "Go and get the silver back."
Shen Rui stepped forward, but before he could speak, Lu Er already understood. He turned over and crawled to the big man holding the knife in two steps, pulled off his trousers, took out a silver cake, and offered it respectfully. Shen Rui took it.
But he didn't leave immediately, but picked up the rugs on the ground.
Lu Er looked a little confused. Shen Rui had already lowered his head and touched the waist of the big man holding the knife. He squeezed out a few thumb-sized silver bars from his abdomen, threw them into the robe held in his left hand, and looked at
Lu Er.
Lu Er's expression changed drastically. He couldn't help but look at Wang Shouren and Zen Master Hong Shan. He saw that the two men were just looking at each other with smiles and no intention of stopping them. His face was bitter, and he groped around his waist and found two pieces of broken silver in his hand.
. Shen Rui took it from his hand, and still went to Lu Er's waist. Amid Lu Er's cry, he found another piece of broken silver and two bunches of copper coins.
The two remaining gangsters took off their belts without Shen Rui stepping forward and shook them vigorously. Well, there was nothing.
As for what they had in their arms, which was only a few copper coins, they didn't dare to keep them and dug them all out.
Shen Rui accepted them all with a smile and put them into the same bag.
After all, Zen Master Hongshan is an eminent Buddhist monk. The big man holding the knife looks like he has serious injuries, but they are just superficial wounds. Even though he has a tough temper and is dissatisfied, this big man is not a fool after all. After seeing the two masters,
He didn't dare to make any mistakes with his methods. He put his hands on the shoulders of two gangsters and walked away in despair.
After a while, Wu Xuan and Lu Ya chased after him, and Shen Rui handed him the robe.
Wu Xuan took it with a smile and counted all the silver in it. The other three paid it back. The big man with the knife obviously brought his family's wealth with him. The silver cake that made Lu Ya's worth of silver didn't count, and the rest
There were more than forty taels of silver bars and broken silver, and a gold hairpin weighing one and a half taels.
Wu Xuan exclaimed: "This gangster has a rich family background. Isn't this too much?"
Shen Rui raised his eyebrows and said: "If you don't let them feel pain, how can they remember the lesson? Besides, they dare to do things like blocking the road and robbing, and they still don't know where the money came from..."