A flash of lightning flashed across the sky. Ye Yongjia's sad figure was seen; he looked extremely depressed. The thunder added to the dull atmosphere, and it hit him unprepared, making everyone breathless.
The trembling body walked down the stairs step by step without saying a word.
Everyone gathered around him. Ye Yongjia finally couldn't support himself and collapsed on the ground, motionless. Raindrops hit him, and after a while, he cried helplessly.
"What are you looking at!" Kou Zhong glared fiercely at the people around him. "Why don't you hurry up... arrange the funeral of the old lady?"
"Master, everyone will die eventually. Once Mrs. Kuang is gone, we will reunite with you in heaven. Don't be too sad." After Kou Zhong and Ye Yongjia returned to the meeting hall, he was still comforting the master. "Thank you very much.
Manager Kou is relieved..." Ye Yongjia looked depressed and said listlessly.
"Have the old lady and the master's coffin returned to Jinan?"
"It's too late today, no matter what, we have to make arrangements for tomorrow."
"Oh, I forgot all about that."
"It's okay, I understand. I can leave all the big and small matters to you, and the master can rest for a few days." Kou Zhong said in a gentle tone.
"Well."
He knelt down to say goodbye, turned around the screen, and gently pulled the door shut.
"Today's weather is pretty good." Lu Deguang shook his chair and looked at the sky pierced by the sun, which clearly connected with the distant mountain top. The sky and the earth seemed to be parallel; he couldn't help but sigh.
"Yes, the capital has not had sunny days for a long time since the beginning of winter; after the beginning of spring, the weather has become better and better." Li Yong stood aside and added.
"It's a pity that such a good life was ruined by the Liu Party. Once Ye Long died, the Ye family was raided again..."
Li Yong suddenly laughed, and Lu Deguang immediately stopped talking, tilted his head and looked at him: "What?"
"His son got involved with him and cleared all the responsibilities. How could the Liu Party have any reason to raid the Ye family?"
"This is not simple. You can refer to Ye Yongjia's disobedience and unfilial piety." Lu Deguang was still puzzled.
"The Ye Mansion seems to have been well prepared," Li Yong explained. "They put the blame on the servant in charge, Cheng Congyuan, who died in a daze; they said he imitated his master's handwriting to frame Ye Long.
, but Ye Yongjia didn’t know it at all. In this way, it was as if something happened to someone else’s family and he escaped unscathed.”
"That kid is really good at it." Lu Deguang praised with some hesitation.
"We can't just sit back and ignore it now, sir." Li Yong said, "Your help in the examination room can be regarded as a connection with Ye Mansion. Party Liu knows that you hate Liu Zhennian. If that matter is turned over,
Come out, they can be said to have killed two birds with one stone."
"What should we do?" Lu Deguang asked.
Li Yong frowned and was silent for a while, then replied: "There are two countermeasures." He looked at the several pine trees at the entrance of the house, "One is to protect Ye Yongjia and make it strong; the second is to remove Ye Yongjia to make it permanent.
When you leave the court, you have no worries."
"Then destroy him." Lu Deguang replied resolutely, without any hesitation.
"I think," Lu Deguang cleared his throat and looked at the palace door: "Although Ye Yongjia said that his slaves forged memorials, how could he dare to do so as a slave? Even if there were servants who really wanted to kill Mr. Ye, wouldn't they be afraid?
He himself was also killed? It is absolutely unreasonable! It must be that Ye Yongjia was involved in his father's affairs in order to get rid of the relationship. If he is unfilial and unruly, it will be difficult to care for the world! If your Majesty believes that what I said is reasonable, please inspect the Ye Mansion!"
After saying that, he turned to look at Liu Zhennian who was kneeling beside him: "General Liu, what do I say?"
Liu Zhennian did not respond, but smiled with contempt. He raised his head and looked at the palace door calmly. Only when the two doors gradually opened did he kowtow and salute, echoing everyone and saying "Long live".
But that was not the emperor. It was an eunuch, and he walked down the steps slowly, pretending to be majestic. What he held in his hand was not an imperial edict made of yellow satin, but a small bamboo slip. Who knows why the emperor liked such old objects?
.
The eunuch unfolded it slowly, and no one dared to speak.
"I think what Minister Lu said is true. We will discuss it immediately with Zhongshu. If we think it is feasible, we will draft the document and hand it over to the responsible person. Everything will be arranged by your Majesty, so there will be no mistakes."
After the eunuch finished reading, he rolled up the bamboo slips and hurried away. As soon as his feet crossed the threshold, the two doors were closed, leaving no room for conversation.
The knock on the door woke up all the servants in the Ye Mansion. The unusually rapid sound was like a drum, making the heart beat nervously. The usually capable servants became at a loss. Fortunately, Kou Zhong was the first one to get in to discuss the matter.
He went to the hall, put on his clothes with one hand, and used the other hand to open the drawer. He rummaged through the things inside, but couldn't find the key. He was a little panicked for a moment. He closed the drawer, suddenly thought of something, and hurriedly took out a few coins from his pocket.
Get down, take out the key, and walk straight out of the meeting hall.
After walking for a while, he bumped into Ye Yongjia head-on and had to explain: "Master, I'm afraid someone from the government is coming..."
"I know," Ye Yongjia looked very anxious, "Key!" he said vaguely. Without saying a word, Kou Zhong hurriedly handed the key to his master and hurried away with him.
"If you don't fucking open it, I'm going to break down the door!" the officer outside yelled in a rough voice.
"Yes, yes." Kou Zhong wiped his sweat and opened the door with trembling hands; Ye Yongjia stood behind him, pretending to be calm and steady, staring at the door intently.
Without a word of greeting, several officers rudely barged in, barked orders, and blocked several roads tightly, making all the slaves uneasy. Just as they were frightened and disturbed, a seemingly
However, the dignified official walked slowly and slowly from the door. He only moved his eyes, and the officers around him stood still.
"Excuse me...ah...who are you?" Ye Yongjia's mind was still blank at this time. He didn't even think of a sentence, so he hesitated and spoke out.
"Don't be afraid," he said with a smile, "It's not like killing people. However, I have ordered to inspect this house. You will not be able to live in this house, and your official position and your Jinshi will also be taken away. Please forgive me." The man followed.
He saluted him and said, "I am Cui Longhuai, the Minister of Punishment."
"Why does the imperial court value our government so much..." Ye Yongjia replied with a smile.
Cui Longhuai still nodded and smiled. While he took the imperial edict made of yellow satin from his sleeves, his face suddenly darkened and he ordered Ye Yongjia to kneel down to listen to the edict.
The servants, big and small, also knelt down one after another. Kou Zhong looked up at the official. Although he could not understand the words on the document, he already knew the context of the matter clearly and was somewhat prepared; but he looked at the official Ye
The owner of the family does not know whether he is afraid of the majesty of the imperial edict or does not want to lose the power and wealth his ancestors gave him. In short, he seems to be extremely unwilling to accept this fact.
But this was not entirely bad for him: what he was looking forward to in his heart was that in the days after leaving Ye Mansion, he might be able to live and work in peace and contentment with his wife and family, do some small business, and be free from all the constraints that he could care about.
But his idea was categorically rejected by himself. After Kou Zhong was banned from the mansion, he temporarily lived in the Ye family ancestral hall in Jinan. Since Ye Yongjia himself was nowhere to be seen, no one cared about entering and exiting here. Kou Zhongben dreamed
He set off a few days later, but his wife suddenly disappeared overnight. He was extremely worried at first, fearing that something had happened. But when he couldn't find the big bag of money, he finally calmed down and understood the matter.
The reason is just a few forced smiles.
Kou Zhong turned around and sat back on the bed, seemingly thinking, but as if he was in a daze. He didn't know where he was going at this time, and the world freed from bondage became increasingly blurry in his eyes. The slavery he suffered made him walk like thorns, but he had no choice but to
Admittedly, he can find belonging more in an environment where others give orders. Suddenly, he is searching for something, searching for the shackles that have been freed long ago, and thirsting for the freedom that has imprisoned him.
So, as if he had a direction or was helpless, he walked resolutely towards the south, tracing the traces of his former master.
"Master, this is a letter from the prefect of Jinan." Kou Zhong opened the door, knelt on the ground, and put the trust in his hand. Ye Yongjia quickly took it, tore open the cover, glanced at it only once, then crumpled it into a ball and threw it to Kou Zhong. "
"Notice of annulment," Ye Yongjia said, "I can't stay in Jinan any longer."
I don't know when, Ye Yongjia went to the stable alone, untied the horse's rope, stepped on it, tied the riding whip around his waist, and walked out of the side door. He held the riding whip in his hand and whipped the horse from time to time.
He wanted to speed up his pace; in the end, he never even glanced at the mansion.
After leaving Jinan, Ye Yongjia realized that he had no clue. Where to go? He looked up at the silent sky, which seemed to be gradually pressing down on his head. He thought for a while, and finally had to give up, only aimlessly.
Go.
For the sake of speed, Ye Yongjia turned from the main road to the small road. The road was very complicated, so he had to jump off the horse and drag the horse to walk. After passing through a narrow mountain road, the road under his feet became smoother, and he slowly saw flashes of light in the distance.
Out of a plain. He originally thought of mounting his horse and riding, but as soon as he put one leg on it, he suddenly looked ahead in surprise and stood there blankly - a group of poor people suddenly gathered there, all dressed in earthen clothes.
Yellow old clothes; there are many who can't walk, with disheveled faces, lying on the side of the road, and they are likely to be buried here in an instant. They are crowded there, like a long winding snake!
He couldn't believe it at first, but after climbing up a nearby slope to see the real thing, he was really surprised. These were refugees. Thousands of refugees. Ye Yongjia was convinced. He had been fortunate enough to read the household registration book at the Ministry of Household Affairs, and he counted the refugees all over the world.
It was only fifty thousand, but now he saw thousands of people in one place in Shandong. This made his mind a little confused, and the facts were confused and difficult to distinguish. He was confused, but at the same time he didn't find it surprising.
The country must change. A thought in his mind said. This "prosperous government" like in a dream can only paralyze himself in the end. Now is a troubled time, a complete troubled time. Although there are no bloody fights, it will also be deformed.
His thoughts are exposed and corrode everyone's heart.
Wei Huai, the name suddenly flashed in his mind and almost blurted out. He thought of this person and determined in his heart that this was the person who could clean up the situation.
So, as if suddenly enlightened, he decided to go to Nanjing.
The sky was getting darker and darker, and Ye Yongjia took a half-circle on the road before arriving in the county with densely populated villages. Due to time constraints, he had no choice but to find an open hotel at random, without asking the price, and he paid the price honestly as soon as the other party asked.
, took the key, and chose a good place to go in.
He lit the oil lamp and made the bed. He wanted to get a book and read for a while, but he only had money with him, so he had to turn over and fall asleep.
"Is there still a place to live?" someone asked outside the room. Although the voice could not be heard clearly, it was very familiar to him. This made him even more energetic. He quickly stood up and leaned on the door panel to listen attentively.
"Guest, you came too late...I'm sorry."
"It's okay, I'll go look elsewhere."
Ye Yongjia's hands and feet trembled with excitement; he heard that right! He shouted in his heart. Ye Yongjia then opened the door with one hand, stood outside the room, and towards the door of the hotel, the guest who was about to leave, shouted: "Kou Zhong!" His eyes were wide open.
It seems to be glowing with light.
The man was shocked, turned his head, looked at the ground, knelt down, and shouted in a low voice: "Master!"
Ye Yongjia rushed over, grabbed Kou Zhong, hugged him as if he were a relative, and held on to his collar.
"I left Jinan alone, and I didn't know anyone I met along the way...Kou Guanshi..." There was a hint of sob in that voice.
"Master, I understand it's not easy for you..." Kou Zhong patted his shoulder and said.
Ye Yongjia sighed and wiped away his tears, "Don't mention it anymore," he smiled and said to Kou Zhong, "Let's go in and talk!"
He eagerly grabbed Kou Zhong, walked straight into the house, turned around and closed the door, "How did you find him here?" he stepped forward and asked.
"I expected that my master would go south, so I walked around Tai'an a few times. I didn't expect to find my master, but God helps me!" After that, both of them laughed heartily.
"Why don't I see you with your wife? What happened?" Ye Yongjia looked at his face.
"Ah..." Kou Zhong hesitated for a moment, and then said hurriedly, "I don't think it's a big deal, it's just a matter of flying away when the disaster strikes." Then he asked: "Where are you going, master?"
"Let's go to Nanjing."
"Why?"
Ye Yongjia was looking out the window at the night scene, "That's where I can look forward to the long-lost dawn."
Before dawn, both of them woke up consciously, ate some breakfast at will, then pulled over their horses, each got on them, waved their whips, left here, and went on their way as usual.
Fortunately, there was no major incident along the way, and we gradually approached Nanjing with stops and starts.
"Who is it?" In the dark night, the speaker could not be seen. He only looked up and saw the black shadow on the city, where a cold and stern cry came from.
"Ordinary people," Kou Li stopped immediately, "come from Shandong and stay here for a few days."
"You don't know the curfew at this moment?" he shouted, "Go back with the person behind you and come back at dawn!"
Kou Zhong had no choice but to turn his horse around, step forward and say to Ye Yongjia: "Master, I'm here at the wrong time. I'm afraid the curfew has just been imposed."
Ye Yongjia sighed heavily, straightened up and looked around, and asked Kou Zhong: "Where is the village outside the city?"
"Over there," Kou Zhong reined in his horse and pointed eastward: "After passing this wild road, there are several houses ahead. I saw them when I came here."
"That's very thoughtful!" Ye Yongjia said, patting him on the back.
"After all, it's getting late, so I have to think more." Kou Zhong didn't dare to boast and bowed his head to answer.
Ye Yongjia didn't speak, just nodded, and the two of them rode away; in the silent night, only the crackling of the riding whip could be heard, and the long sound gradually faded away to the east.