Young Master Liu looked at the honest-looking Zhuzi in front of him, and puffed out the light smoke from his mouth with a smile.
"Why do you respect your surname and not your given name? If you don't mind, please call me Third Brother."
"Okay, then I will call you third brother from now on."
"Okay, brother, just look at what you call me."
Liu Mingzhidan smiled and nodded, holding a dry tobacco bag emitting light smoke from birds in his hand, he lowered his head again and read the books in his hand.
A group of people who were sitting around Mr. Liu, who were puffing away their smoke, immediately suppressed their voices and retreated towards their original positions in unison when they saw him in such a state.
Although Young Master Liu did not raise his head, he clearly felt the movements of a group of people.
He took a puff of the dry cigarette and turned the page of the book in his hand calmly.
Young Master Liu seemed to be attentively reading the sage's book in his hands, but in fact he had been paying attention to the people around him.
"Brother Yang, how do you feel about that scholar?"
"It's hard to say. Judging from his appearance, he should be just a down-and-out scholar who has failed in many trials."
"Brother Yang, I have a different view."
"Oh? I would like to meet Brother Zheng."
"Brother Yang, although this person looks like a down-and-out scholar, his behavior is completely different from that of a down-and-out scholar.
If nothing else, let's just say that his behavior of distributing the tobacco without any care just now is not the behavior of an ordinary scholar.
That's not to mention just a down-and-out scholar who failed to succeed in many trials.
Tobacco is indeed not a good thing.
But don't forget what kind of situation we are in now.
In order not to cause trouble to Shopkeepers Xue and Huang, or because they don’t want to leave any clues to some thoughtful people.
Many people who are used to smoking dry tobacco would rather endure it than go out and buy tobacco.
Brother Yang, we are all dry cigarette smokers. We should know how painful it is when the tobacco is cut off, right?
But this person was different. He didn't seem to care about the tobacco at all, and distributed it to others without caring.
Think about it for yourselves, under what circumstances would he be able to distribute the tobacco to others without caring?"
"This... of course he can go out and buy tobacco at any time."
"Brother Zhang, under what circumstances can he go out to buy tobacco anytime and anywhere?"
"Of course it goes without saying that I'm not afraid of causing trouble to Shopkeeper Xue and Shopkeeper Huang, and I'm not worried that someone will make a big fuss out of it."
"Colleagues, do you still want me to say the rest?"
"Brother Zheng, do you mean to say that this person is one of those bastards?"
"Isn't it possible? Those bitches were already escorted to the prison of the Ministry of Punishment by the imperial guards on the day we entered Beijing together.
They are in prison, how could they arrange for someone to come to our place to spy on the situation?"
"Brother Zheng, Brother Yang is right, the prison of the Ministry of Punishment is Zhao Prison!
Although it is not as strict as the Heavenly Prison, it is not a place where many people can interfere.
No matter how rich their backgrounds are, those people would not dare to reach out to a place like Zhao Prison."
"Brother Fang is right. In a place like Zhao Prison, even if the Lords of the Three Justices Division want to hear the case, they must first submit it to the cabinet, submit it to the cabinet ministers for approval, and then report it to His Majesty the Emperor for approval before action can be taken."
"I second the suggestion, brothers, please don't forget the news we heard from the old man Luo a few nights ago.
The two imperial ministers who came down this time to review the list of people who were asked to be executed after the fall are our two royal highnesses, the prince and the princess.
Although we don’t know which prince and princess they are from the current dynasty.
However, as long as those two imperial ministers are really the prince and princess of the current dynasty, it means that our grievances have reached the point where heaven can hear them.
His Majesty the Emperor has personally investigated and dealt with our grievances, so what else do we have to worry about?"
"Brother Yang, I say so, but who can guarantee whether it is true or false?
Those two imperial ministers were the affairs of His Royal Highness the Prince and the Princess, and we only overheard it from the mouth of the old man Luo.
Who can prove that what that old man Luo said is true?"
"Well, that's true. After all, it's just hearsay."
"Brother Yang, you Hezhou is the first place where your documents were reviewed by one of the imperial envoys.
After the review of your case was completed, did the imperial envoy who reviewed the case of your state reveal his true identity to you?"
"No."
"Brother Zhang, where are you?"
"To put it bluntly, in the lobby of Yuezhou Governor's Yamen, the imperial envoy didn't ask anything else except some questions related to the case.
From the first meeting to the time when I rushed to the capital, I can count on my fingers the number of private exchanges I had with the imperial envoy.
How could the imperial envoy reveal his true identity to me even after saying it a few times?"
"That is to say, except for the old man Luo from Pingzhou, no one among us has heard of the true identities of the two imperial ministers?"
"I have never heard of it."
"Brothers, I have never heard of this."
"Brother Zheng, what are your chances of winning with your guess just now?"
"Hard to say?"
"Are you not sure either?"
"Colleagues, what I just meant was that the scholar's identity might be unusual.
It's just that it may be unusual, and it's not exactly said that he is definitely one of those bastards.
It's possible that he really just thought he was a down-and-out scholar.
What I said just now was just to give you colleagues a warning.
No matter what his identity is, when we deal with each other, we must pay attention to our wording.
Of course, if he doesn't come to deal with us, we will just pretend that nothing happened and we will do whatever we want.
Until the case is truly vindicated, we will remain guilty.
For the sake of your family, your life, your wife, children, and children, you and I have to be careful!"
"Brother Zheng is right."
"Brother Zheng is right. No matter what the scholar's status is, if he comes to deal with us, we must pay attention to our words and deeds.
It’s not important to tell the truth, I’m afraid someone will use our words to make a big fuss!”
"Brother Yang, Brother Zheng, how about we take the initiative to deal with them?
If he is really just a poor scholar, we don't need to be so worried."
"No, it may not be a good thing for us to rush to deal with people we don't know.
After all, we are guilty now.
Under such circumstances, if we are not careful with our words, our lives may be in danger!"
"Yes, yes, the most correct choice for us now is to wait honestly for the court to redress our injustice."
"That's right, I second my opinion."
"Well, I hope what Brother Luo said is true, and those two imperial envoys are really the prince and princess of our dynasty.
In this way, we can truly sit back and relax.”
"I hope so."
"My Holy Emperor, please bring justice to your ministers as soon as possible."
Liu Mingzhi listened to the chatter of the people in the pavilion, glanced calmly at the group of people in the backyard, and casually knocked out the ashes from the smoke pot on the soles of his shoes.
Silently, he pinned the tobacco bag to his waist. Young Master Liu closed the book in his hand, leaned on the steps of the pavilion and fell asleep with his eyes closed.
"Brother Leizi, do you have anything to eat there? I'm a little hungry."
"There are still two steamed buns, you put one down first..."
Young Master Liu listened to the whispers in his ears, and his mind was racing to filter out content that was useful to him.
Especially after hearing the topics related to those files, Young Master Liu was particularly concerned.
As the sun set slightly to the west, there were waves of shouts in the backyard.
"Dear guests, it's getting late, it's time for lunch.
The business in the store is quite busy today, so I kept you waiting for a long time."
"It's okay, it's okay, thank you two shopkeepers."
"Little brother, I'm sorry to help you."
Liu Mingzhi opened his eyes slightly, and quietly looked at the more than 100 people who were spontaneously lining up not far away, slowly walking towards a dozen junior brothers, and let out a long breath with his brows slightly furrowed.
After taking a sideways look at the surroundings and making sure that no one was paying attention to him, Young Master Liu stood up and left the backyard of the restaurant.
As soon as Mr. Liu entered the lobby, two sisters, Xue Bizhu and Huang Lingyi, hurriedly greeted him.
"Husband."
"Husband."
Young Master Liu glanced at the few dozen guests left in the restaurant, and winked at the Xue Bizhu sisters with a smile.
"Bizhu, Lingyi, let's go upstairs and talk."
"Hey, I understand."
"Husband, sister, please."
As soon as Young Master Liu walked into the boudoir where the two sisters were resting temporarily, he stretched lazily.
"Huh, Lingyi, quickly pour me a cup of herbal tea for my husband."
"Okay, I understand."
Huang Lingyi responded with a sweet voice and walked quickly towards the table in the main hall.
As soon as Young Master Liu sat down on the chair, Huang Lingyi handed the poured herbal tea to him.
"Husband, herbal tea."
Xue Bizhu behaved elegantly and sat on the chair next to her. She looked straight at her husband who was drinking a lot of tea, with a hint of curiosity in her beautiful eyes.
"Husband, how are you? Have you heard any useful information?"
Liu Dashao nodded with a smile and handed the tea cup to the beautiful woman standing beside him.
"Lingyi, give me another drink for my husband."
"Hey, I will pour you some tea right now."
Young Master Liu casually threw the book in his hand on the table and raised his hand to signal to Xue Bizhu.
"Bizhu, where is my jade fan for my husband?"
Xue Bizhu saw her husband's actions and immediately took out Mr. Liu's folding fan from his sleeve and handed it over.
"Husband, here you go."
"Husband, herbal tea."
Young Master Liu took the herbal tea from the beautiful lady, shook the folding fan in his hand vigorously, nodded and took a big sip of tea.
"Phew, that quenches my thirst."
"Husband, please drink slowly. If it's not enough, I'll pour you another glass."
"No, I'm almost done drinking. Lingyi, you can sit down too."
"Hey, I'll take a seat right here."
Xue Bizhu looked at Young Master Liu who put down his teacup, his beautiful eyes still showing a strong curiosity.
"Husband, have you heard any useful information?"
Young Master Liu saw the curiosity in the beauty's beautiful eyes and nodded with a smile.
"Okay."
"Huh? What do you mean it's okay?"
"Bizhu, my husband has only heard some things, and they have not been confirmed yet.
Therefore, I don’t dare to make any judgments for a while.
As a husband, I have to think carefully about a lawsuit involving human life."
"Okay, I know this. Then after the people have had their lunch, husband, will you continue to go to the backyard?"
Young Master Liu shook his head silently, picked up a piece of pastry and stuffed it into his mouth.
"not going."
"Ah? You're not going now?
Husband, it’s only been about half a day, how many useful things you can hear!”
Seeing the surprised expression on the beautiful woman's face, Young Master Liu swallowed the cake in his mouth, chuckled and shook his head.
"Bizhu."
"Husband."
"Some things just need to be heard briefly.
If you listen to it too much, it will affect your husband’s thinking.”
"That's...okay."
Young Master Liu looked at the beautiful woman's strange expression, picked up the tea cup, drank it all, got up and walked out of the room.
"Bizhu, Lingyi, I'm going to the palace first for my husband."
"Husband, what should we do with the people in the backyard?"
"You don't have to do anything special, just keep it the same as before.
That’s it, let’s go to the kilometer first for my husband.”
"Yes, I, my sisters, would like to send you off to your husband."
Young Master Liu left Penglai Restaurant and went straight to the palace.
"Your Majesty, Yang Sen, is here to see you. Long live my emperor."
"Long live, long live, long live your majesty."
"You will be excused from the gift."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Yang Sen, Liu Song and King Wuyi should have told you what happened when I entered the palace this time."
"Go back to Your Majesty, I already know."
"Well, it's okay if you know. Where are King Wuyi and Song Qing?"
"Back to Your Majesty, His Royal Highness King Wuyi and Manager Liu are waiting for you upstairs in the palace."
"Okay, let's continue on duty."
"I obey, and I will respectfully send you off to Your Majesty."
"We respectfully see off your Majesty."
Young Master Liu walked into the palace gate, gently flapped the jade fan in his hand, and walked toward the palace gate without haste.
"Big brother, little brother is here."
As soon as Young Master Liu finished speaking, Song Qing and Liu Song hurriedly greeted him and bowed.
The people following them were Liu Chengzhi, his brothers, sisters and others.
"Your Majesty, Song Qing, is here to see you."
"Please see the young master."
"Both of you, please forgive me."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Thank you, Master."
"My child Liu Chengzhi."
"Liu Yaoyao."
"Liu Luoyue."
"Liu Chengqian."
"See my father, my father is safe."
"No gifts."
"Thank you, Father."
"Chengzhi, Yaoyao, Yue'er, Chenggan, why are you brothers and sisters here?"
The little cutie and his brothers and sisters looked at each other, and all their eyes fell on Song Qing.
"Uncle."
"uncle."
Young Master Liu's face was stunned, and he followed the eyes of his children and looked at Song Qing, who was standing in front of him on the left.
"Brother, what's going on with you? Why did you call Chengzhi and Yue'er and their brothers and sisters over?"
Song Qing felt the confused gaze of Young Master Liu, and rubbed the tip of his nose with wandering eyes.
"His Majesty."
"Brother, if there are any outsiders here, just call me third brother."
Song Qing nodded quickly, turned his head and pursed his lips at the shackles in the corner.
"Third brother, I don't want to send someone to call Chengzhi, Yaoyao and other brothers and sisters.
But...but..."
"Huh? But what?"
Song Qing pointed at the shackles in the corner and laughed angrily a few times.
"Third brother, except for a few of my brothers and sisters, who would dare to put this thing on you!
Even if my brother eats the heart of a bear and the courage of a leopard, he won’t dare!”
Liu Song heard Song Qing's words and immediately bowed.