The man bowed his body respectfully and said with a smile: "I am Lu Deguang's cousin. I want to discuss something with Mr. Lu... but the government office is not that easy to enter. Please tell me..."
As he spoke, he took out a banknote from his body and poked Ye Yongjia's palm. Ye Yongjia quickly pushed it over: "Let's go in and talk first."
"Why have I never heard of a cousin in the prefect Lu?" Ye Yongjia asked the prefect's cousin.
The man didn't say anything at first, then reached for the nectarine in the fruit plate and started to nibble on it. "This is because after Lu Deguang got married and started his own business, he and my family lived separately and had little contact with each other. Later, Lu Deguang was promoted to the Ministry of Rites and purchased a house in the capital, so
Long time no see." After saying that, he chewed the peach flesh hard, and the juice burst out from his mouth. He quickly caught it with his hands, but it still dripped all over him. While wiping his clothes, he waved apologetically: "
I felt thirsty after walking all the way and ate in a hurry... I hope I don't blame you."
Ye Yongjia glanced at him and asked: "What is your name? Where do you come from?"
He was still wiping his sleeves and said, "My name is Zhao Ren, surnamed Chen Liuren of Kaifeng Prefecture."
"Prefect Lu is also from Chenliu?"
"That's right."
"So, Mr. Ye..." He took out the stack of banknotes with his hand stained with peach water and handed it to Ye Yongjia. Then he saw clearly that it said fifty taels. "Just accept this banknote.
Ticket, please take me to see him, I have something to ask him."
Ye Yongjia considered that this was Lu Deguang's relative and had to accept it, so he folded the banknote and put it in his cuff. Zhao Ren couldn't help but smile.
Ye Yongjia ordered Kou Zhong to stay in the yamen, and Zi and Zhao Ren went into the prefect's yamen to pay a visit to Lu Deguang. However, Lu Deguang returned home for something, so the two waited for a while. After the appointment, Lu Deguang entered the yamen and came to the meeting hall to see Ye Yongjia and
One person sits down and bows first.
"Oh, my dear nephew," Zhao Ren stood up with a hunched waist and got close to him. "I haven't seen you for many years. I'm afraid my dear nephew has forgotten this cousin named Zhao Ren, right?"
Lu Deguang looked at his face carefully, then vaguely remembered and said, "What is Uncle Zhao Zun doing here?"
"See what my nephew said, I just came to see you and tell you about your brother's urgent matter." Zhao Ren said with a smile.
"Uncle, please tell me what you want."
"My son's name is Professor Zhao. He wanders around the house all day long. He doesn't do any serious work and is extravagant. He squanders all the money at home. I don't think it's a good idea to continue like this. So I asked my nephew to help me find a way to raise people.
Born, let him serve as the first county magistrate in the county of Chenzhou or something like that."
"Of course, my nephew is indispensable..." Zhao Ren took out two more banknotes from his pocket and gave them to Lu Deguang. Lu Deguang was not polite and took them directly.
"The name of a person is not chosen casually. If someone finds out, there is a risk of beheading." After saying that, the two of them looked at Ye Yongjia.
"Then I will write the forged document." Ye Yongjia did not remain silent and took the initiative to take responsibility.
In order to convince the magistrate of Xihua County, Ye Yongjia fabricated a list of orders from the Gongyuan Court overnight, stamped it with a forged seal, and wrote that Zhao was given a certain name in a certain month and year. Lu Deguang reviewed it and said: "Forged."
It's very similar. You go to Xihua tomorrow and hand it over to the magistrate, telling him to welcome the new county magistrate; I will arrange it for Zhao Ren."
"Yes," Ye Yongjia took out the fifty-tael silver note from his sleeve again, handed it to the prefect, and said, "I'm not greedy for these things, so please keep it, the prefect."
Lu Deguang didn't make a move. He watched the bank note warily, but there was no movement. After a while, he pushed it back and said: "Zhao Ren gave it to you, feel free to use it, what are you doing for me? Are you afraid that I will kill you?" Pulled into the quagmire and made you unclean?"
Ye Yongjia frowned and kowtowed hurriedly: "That's not what I meant! I'll keep it right now." He quickly rolled up the banknotes and put them into his sleeves.
"Just understand."
Ye Yongjia's urgency made him think of something important - the two grooms!
An idea flashed across his face, and he hurriedly said: "My lord, let me make another request!"
Lu Deguang saw that he looked anxious, so he said calmly: "If you have anything to say, tell me quickly."
"Tomorrow, please send some government officials to go to Xihua with me, instead of soldiers from the governor's office! Let them wear casual clothes and follow me so that they don't get noticed; if something changes, they can step forward to protect me at any time. ." He spoke so fast that Lu Deguang had to listen attentively.
"Do you think...someone wants to kill you?" Lu Deguang asked.
"That's right, two horsemen came to the magistrate's office. They were acting suspiciously. I'm afraid the governor's office came to investigate my movements. Knowing that I was going to Xihua, they most likely arranged for soldiers to kill me on the way. I'm at Yuan Lun's place It has become a serious problem."
"Then how about I send someone to find out those two grooms today?" Lu Deguang always believed in his intuition.
"That's not necessary. If those two grooms are imprisoned, Yuan Lun will definitely have an open break with Your Excellency. Since the Governor's Office holds the military power, Your Majesty will naturally have no choice but to release them. In that case, his face will be disgraced and his prestige will be lost."
"Haha, it's still the same Ye Tongpan. Even though he has been promoted to Tongzhi, his wit has not diminished!" Lu Deguang laughed.
The next day, Lu Deguang sent two or three government servants, all of whom had changed into civilian clothes. They did not follow Ye Yongjia closely, but just walked slowly behind him. When passers-by saw him, they could not tell that they were followers of his colleagues. This also hit Ye Yongjia's heart. He wanted to lure out the assassin.
Therefore, they were not afraid on the way, and swaggered towards Xihua. On the way, they went into the inn to have a meal. Ye and Kou stood by the counter and called the innkeeper loudly: "We want to stay in the inn."
It took a long time for the shopkeeper to come out of the back room. The skin on his face tightened and he looked uncomfortable.
"How much does it cost to stay here for lunch? We also need to eat some food."
"The meal cost for you two is about thirty cents," he said, his eyes still glancing behind them, "Stay for one noon, one hour..."
"Who is that!" Ye Yongjia saw a person's head sticking out from behind the standing lamp and shouted hurriedly. The government officials outside drew their sabers and rushed into the store. The man behind the lamp was so frightened that he ran away, and the government officials chased him. But he escaped by jumping over the wall.
The shopkeeper also wanted to go out, but was watched by two government officials, who held up two shining knives.
Ye Yongjia collapsed to the ground, and Kou Zhong supported his body. Seeing that it was the first time for him to see such a scene, he still couldn't bear it. His face was pale, he was sweating profusely, he was panting heavily, and his eyes were weak.
"Master was too careless before..." Kou Zhong took out a handkerchief and wiped Ye Yongjia's sweat.
"Fortunately, I looked back...otherwise..." Ye Yongjia spent a while, his energy gradually recovered, and he was still muttering about the dangerous situation just now.
"Call the shopkeeper over!" Kou Zhong shouted.
"Who are those people?" Ye Yongjia dusted his sleeves, stood up and asked.
The shopkeeper knelt on the ground and kowtowed several times: I really don’t know, you villain. They said they are from the government and want to kill you... I don’t know who you are..."
"It doesn't matter who I am," Ye Yongjia pushed Kou Zhong aside and said to the three government officials: "There is no need to kill him, as that will incur Yuan Lun's revenge."
He walked straight out of the store, his face turned rosy, and said, "Continue on your way."