Just when Li Hu and others checked into the Deyuan Inn, the city of Beijing, two hundred and sixty miles away, was covered with clouds.
The Dragon Boat Festival Lion King's Convention, which was originally a lively and joyful celebration, was turned into a mess. Then the Jin Yiwei and the Royal Forest Army sealed off various streets and markets in the city under martial law. It lasted a whole day and many people were arrested.
The next day, the martial law in Beijing was lifted, but a large group of officers and soldiers went out of the city to search in all directions. The farms and towns around the capital were in panic, and the scope of the search rapidly expanded. After receiving the urgent document, officers and soldiers from the ten prefectures and seventeen prefectures in Northern Zhili began to conduct a large-scale search and arrest.
The official list posted a list of criminals in their twenties with pictures and pictures. Anyone caught would be rewarded with a hundred thousand taels of silver, and anyone who reported his whereabouts would also receive a heavy reward. In the past, when the government arrested criminal thieves, even those who were * The giants in the world offered a reward of 50,000 to 60,000 silver taels, which is considered extremely high, but this seemingly ordinary young man actually offered a reward of 100,000 silver taels, which is truly astonishing.
In the arrest document, the crime committed by this young man was listed, which was killing people in the street and disrupting public order in the capital. However, there was no mention of the kidnapping of the prince and princess. The news of the prince's kidnapping was suppressed by the government, and It was not publicized. In fact, although many people on Tianqiao Street saw the carjacking process that day, most of them did not know who was sitting in the car.
The prince of the dynasty was kidnapped, and the matter was too serious. Once word spread, it would not only damage the country, but also cause chaos, so keeping it a secret was the best policy.
Among the whole thing, the most unlucky ones are the "Eight Sects of Yanjing". Just because they organized the Lion King Conference by themselves, and now that a big event has happened, they cannot escape their involvement. Now all the heads of the eight sects have been They were detained by the government and imprisoned. Although they were not tortured to extract a confession, if the matter was not resolved and the kidnapped prince and princess were not recovered, I am afraid that the eight of them would inevitably become scapegoats.
The "Eight Sects of Yanjing" all have a large foundation and backing in the capital. Now that the leader has been arrested, people from various factions are moving around and spending money to try to rescue them. However, the matter is too serious. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to think It is almost impossible to rescue them.
In the blink of an eye, it is the eighth day of May, and three days have passed since the incident on Tianqiao Street during the Dragon Boat Festival.
The weather today is very good. The clear blue sky is cloudless. It is completely different from the gloomy and heavy mood of many people in the city. The sun has been very bright since early in the morning. By noon, standing on the street will already feel quite Because it's hot.
On Liuyin Street by Shicha Sea in Xicheng District, there were quite a few people standing. Although they all had cars and horses, none of them dared to sit in the cars. Instead, they lined up in a row, standing in the sun and streaming. Khan, many of them are followed by servants, and they bring gifts of various sizes, but all of them are valuable. And without exception, they all wear official uniforms. Judging from the style of the clothes, they are all from the fourth to the sixth grade. of officials.
If these people were elsewhere, they would be great men who were recruited and supported by others, but when they arrived here, they were no different from the lowest servants.
Liuyin Street is not the emperor's purple palace. Today, there is only one family living on this street. At the entrance of the mansion, there are two huge white marble lions. The gate is three feet high. On the wooden plaque on the door, there are two gilded words. The big characters are: "Cao Mansion".
This is the residence of the most powerful Cao family in the current dynasty. For many officials, it is more difficult to enter the Cao family's gate than to enter the emperor's Golden Palace.
There is a long queue of officials coming to see you outside the mansion. This is not something that only happens today. It is usually the same in windy and rainy weather. Just because there are too many people coming to the door, the Cao family has set rules for visitors:
Officials below the third rank are not allowed to enter the palace gate without invitation, and can only queue up on Liuyin Street outside the door to wait for an appointment; those with officials up to the third rank can enter the palace gate, but can only stand in the corridor. Waiting on the street, there is an extra roof to protect you from the sun and rain compared to the street outside the house.
Officials of the second rank and above can sit down in the front hall and have tea served by servants. However, if they are not summoned, no matter what rank they are, they can only wait and cannot see the master of the Cao Mansion.
In the official system of the Ming Dynasty, even the minister in charge of the five departments was only a second-rank official. When he came to the Cao Mansion, he could only wait for the summons. The power and majesty of the Cao Mansion was evident.
However, even though it is so difficult to enter the Cao Mansion, it is still crowded every day, with an endless stream of officials coming to see them. It is not that they want to be slaves, but there are actually many things that can only be done here.
Today, more than thirty officials outside the mansion had all lined up here early in the morning. Now two hours have passed and it is almost noon. The stomachs of these people are all growling with hunger, but no one dares to say anything. With one complaint, everyone had a look of piety and respect on their faces.
But at this moment, there was a sound of horse hooves and carriages in the distance. Everyone turned around and looked, only to see a two-car black carriage galloping along Liuyin Street.
Judging from this situation, it must be that one of his colleagues from the court came to Cao's mansion to ask for an audience.
All the officials outside the mansion were thinking the same thing, but it was already noon and he had arrived so late. If the queue got dark, he might not be able to enter the mansion.
Logically speaking, the carriage should stop at a distance so that the visitor could get off the carriage and line up behind the long queue waiting for him on the street. However, this carriage had no intention of stopping and instead drove straight ahead along the street. Come here, until opposite the gate of Cao Mansion, the coachman reins in and stops.
Could it be that the person coming is a high-ranking official of third rank or above and has the qualifications to enter the palace directly.
The curtain of the car was lifted, and a man dressed as a military attaché emerged from inside. This man was oily-faced and had a big belly. However, judging from his rank in official uniform, he was only of the fifth rank, and he was not a capital official.
Behind the military attache, two more people got out of the carriage. One was an ordinary-looking young man, wearing a melon cap and a floral brocade robe, which was the attire of a rich young master. The other was dressed in lavender. The woman in the long skirt has a beautiful face and a graceful figure, which is quite enchanting.
The man and woman were not wearing official uniforms, so they were probably the military attache's personal entourage.
According to the rules of the Cao Mansion, officials of the third rank can only enter the door. Now there are many fourth-rank officials queuing outside the door. How come a mere fifth-rank foreign military attache ran directly to the door of the mansion? Could it be that he If you want to jump in line, you can't.
The officials lined up outside the door could still control themselves, but some of the people they brought with them could not stand it and reprimanded them one after another.
"Hey, that guy from out of town, don't rush forward,"
"Let's take a closer look at where this place is, then go to the back and queue up,"
"Hey, I'm talking about you, did you hear that?"
However, the fat military attaché seemed not to have heard the protest coming from behind, and ran up the steps with a big red letter in his hand, heading straight for the gate of Cao's Mansion. .
Seeing the military attaché handing the invitation to the servant guarding the door, everyone was filled with joy and joy.
As the saying goes, "The Houmen is as deep as the sea", but today's Cao Mansion is deeper than the Houmen. This fifth-grade official thought he was someone, and if he rashly ran up to pay homage, he would be kicked out immediately.
However, the good show that everyone was waiting for did not take place, and the scene that happened next made everyone dumbfounded.
The servant took the greeting note and went in to report. Not long after, the two red-painted doors of the Cao Mansion opened. A handsome young man in a snow-white robe walked out of the door. It was the young master of the Cao Mansion, Cao Cao. Mu Yun, the man in the flower robe following behind him, is actually the top master of Dongchang today, the manager Qiu Hengbo.
Cao Muyun walked straight down the steps, clasped his fists and raised his hands towards the rich young man beside the carriage: "Brother Hua is here, and I am late to welcome you. Please forgive me for being late."
The vestibule of Cao's Mansion is wide and has three large and small doors. The people who come here to see them all go through the side door. Even the officials, big and small, who are queuing up on the street, are also lined up outside the side door. I have never seen these people before. After passing the Cao family home, two main doors will be opened to welcome guests, and the young master, Mr. Muyun, will go out to welcome guests in person.
Even the princes, princes and marquises in the court may not be able to enjoy such courtesy.
It turned out that the fifth-grade military attache was not the real owner. The person who really came to pay homage was this inconspicuous young master from a wealthy family. Could it be that this person was actually a relative of the emperor? Otherwise, how could he have such a big reputation? A man standing on the roadside When all the officials saw this scene, they all secretly felt sorry for him.
The rich young master whose identity no one could guess was none other than Hua Bushi, the beautiful lady in purple skirt next to him was Chu Yiyi, and the fifth-rank military attaché was of course Wu Yinghao, the commander-in-chief of Changsha.
Seeing Cao Muyun going out to greet him, Hua Bushi felt quite emotional.
Six years have passed since they parted ways in the South China Sea. The "Evil Dog Sect" has grown from a weak sect to a powerful sect with branches covering seven provinces. The power of the Cao family has also developed rapidly and has become a powerful sect. The most powerful wealthy family in the Ming Dynasty.
This "Mr. Muyun" still has a graceful appearance, and seems to be no different from six years ago, but Hua Bushi can see that his eyes are deeper and some micro lines are faintly visible in the corners of his eyes.
When they first met at the "Happy Island Casino" in Changsha City, Cao Muyun once said to Hua Bushi: "The rivers and lakes and the court are both dangerous places with swords and swords. In fact, there is not much difference."
It is expected that Cao Muyun has been in the officialdom these years, facing the increasingly declining national destiny, dealing with the party struggles in the court, and working hard, so he is only thirty years old, and he is showing signs of aging and haggard.
And Hua Bushi himself is not the same. In order to develop the sect, he has worked day and night for the past six years. Although he has the control of Yaoshi, the "Qianyuan Juemai" disease he suffers from is still getting worse day by day, and his physical condition is not as good as before. He could even clearly feel that death was getting closer and closer to him.