A group of people blocked the door of Aunt Li's house. Zhang Ning had to slow down when he ran towards the crowd and took the opportunity to look back. The two black figures following him did not catch up. Instead, they ran quickly in the other direction and disappeared after a while.
In the winding alley, Zhang Ning breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he feel that his chest was beating like a drum, his limbs were soft and painful, and a force seemed to have suddenly left his body. He wanted to lie down right away.
On the ground.
"Erlang of the Zhang family?" Aunt Li called Zhang Ning in surprise to his father, the stone from the Men family, and looked him up and down like a Martian. Zhang Ning looked really embarrassed at this time, wearing dirty clothes.
, the white material was stained with dust, the blood stains were more conspicuous, and the hair was disheveled, like a fugitive who had just escaped from prison.
He was still in shock, but his outward expression had slightly regained his composure. He took a few deep breaths to steady his breathing and said: "I was sleeping when a fire suddenly burst into the sky. I thought our house was flooded, and I jumped out of the window in a panic.
, the hand may have been injured somewhere. Why is there a flood in Aunt Li's house? Did everyone run out?"
"We had already come out, but Aunt Li ran in again to move things. She couldn't help but try to persuade her."
Zhang Ning paid attention to the back and said with a concerned look: "It's too dangerous. People are the most important thing. We should hold her back!"
At this moment, the door of the Zhang family opened, and Zhang Jiujin and others ran out immediately. Zhang Ning didn't see the little sister, so he hurriedly stepped forward to ask. As soon as he said a few words, Zhang Jiujin said seriously: "What's going on?"
Zhang Ning said: "Aunt Li's house next door is flooded." Zhang Jiujin looked serious: "I know this, why don't you just put it in front of me? I was asking you what happened in your room. At first I heard a noise and opened the door to take a look.
, I saw several people climbing over the wall. Zhang Xiaomei also said that she heard the sound of fighting in your room and ran to your room."
"When did she go in?" Zhang Ning's expression changed. At this moment, he saw his little sister coming out of the yard. He was relieved and said to his uncle, "We'll talk about this later when we get home. What happened at Aunt Li's house?"
If there is a fire, if we don't put out the fire, the fire might spread and burn down our house." Ms. Zou also said, "When our neighbors are in trouble, our family should help."
Zhang Ning thought for a while and said: "Aunt Li will come out in a while to stop her from risking her life for her property. After that, the first thing is to try to put out the fire. Secondly, we don't need to worry about the cause of the fire. After a while, the official at the official shop on Liren Street will have to
Come here and they will check it out."
"Take out all the buckets, basins and other things from our house." Zhang Jiujin said loudly, as if he was deliberately letting the people at Aunt Li's door hear. Zou glanced at Zhang Ning: "You don't have to help, little sister.
Take your brother home to clean and bandage his wounds, and you want to ask the doctor to come and take a look?"
"No need, it's just a scratch on the skin." Zhang Ning was still in shock, and he was still a little afraid that the gang just now would kill him. At this time, it is safest to stay among the crowd. Let's get through tonight and wait for the city to open in the morning.
You can leave the city through the door... But the current situation is obviously being watched. Can you escape this disaster by leaving the city?
At this time, Aunt Li rushed out with a box in her arms. People around her hurriedly came forward to surround her. Some went to pick up her box and some held her arm. "Don't go in. If something happens, you can still do it."
What's the use of these things?" "Put out the fire first!" People tried to persuade her, but Aunt Li, her hair disheveled and like crazy, suddenly sat on the ground and cried loudly, "God damn it, who set the fire to harm us, and we will die without any children or grandchildren..."
"Brother!" Zhang Xiaomei shouted with a pale face. Zhang Ning glanced at her and said, "Didn't we agree to talk about it when we go home? Now it's important to put out the fire. Let's move the water-filled household items over and help."
So the family rushed over with their things in a hurry. The cousin Luo Yueee held the little girl in her arms and also carried a bucket. The little kid was frightened and stared with a pair of black eyes, but he was very good and did not cry.
No fuss. At this time, there were more people in front of Aunt Li’s house. The neighbors came with water-fetching tools and ran into the well in Aunt Li’s yard to wait for water. Some went to the well opposite the door. It was very noisy.
It was lively. But the host, Aunt Li, just sat there crying and making a fuss, not caring about business at all.
Zhang Ning walked into their yard and saw that the fire was mainly raging in several rooms in the east wing next to the woodshed. The upper rooms had not burned yet. It is estimated that the fire started in the woodshed. Some people had already moved.
I came with a ladder, climbed up the wall and let the people below pour water on the roof. It was a coincidence that the fire happened. It rained for a while in the middle of the night and it didn't happen. Now it stopped raining and it happened.
"Have you gone to call the water tanker?" Zhang Ning caught a person and asked. The man replied: "If you go, it will be much easier to wait for the water tanker to come and put out the fire."
Zhang Ning shouted to the people around him: "No matter how many people surround the well, we can only pump buckets of water. If it is blocked, it will delay the time of transporting water. Everyone queues up in a long queue, and when the water is pumped, it will go directly to the wall along the queue.
Luck." Once everyone heard the truth, they gradually came to some order.
The little girl brought a basin of water and asked Zhang Ning to clean the blood on his palms. Rinse away the clots, and blood came out from the two cuts on his palms. Zhang Ning was so distressed that he almost cried when he saw this, and hurriedly took out a piece of pink blood.
Wrap him up with something like a silk scarf. This thing seems to be made of silk, and it is not as good as gauze for covering wounds, but at this time there is not much to worry about.
After a while, the official officers came. They were two officers wearing half red and half black hats and soap robes. No officials came, and the water tanker had not arrived yet. In addition to the two officers, there was another one wearing a white cloth.
The young men in robes came in together. The officer didn't care about the fire. He only glanced at the burning house for a few times. When he came to the people queuing up to carry water, he shouted: "Who is Zhang Ning?"
When the third call was made, Zhang Ning stood up and said: "I am, what does the official want to do with me?"
One of the guards said: "Someone accuses you of arson. Come with us."
After hearing this, everyone was in an uproar. Zhang Xiaomei immediately stood in front of Zhang Ning and glared angrily: "You are wronging a good person. It was definitely not my brother who started the fire!" Neighbors also expressed their support: "Erlang Zhang and Aunt Li live next to each other in their hometowns. Why?
Could it be him?" "A person who goes out to put out a fire wearing obscene clothing would dress like this if he intentionally sets a fire?"
The officer shouted: "What are you doing? What does it have to do with you? We are only looking for Zhang Ning. Can't we just go to the official shop and ask him clearly?"
Zhang Ning grabbed the little girl's arm and pulled her back, walked forward and said: "If you want to ask me, you must at least get the cinnabar stamp stamped by Yuanzhi County, otherwise you have no right to ask me. Do the officials have to do this in front of me?"
To what extent do ordinary people know and break the law?"
"I have a ticket here." The young man in a white shirt who followed the officer said, "Do you want to see it with your own eyes?"
Zhang Ning asked calmly: "Which yamen's ticket is from it?"
The words and deeds of the young man in a white shirt are a little different from ordinary people. He said calmly: "Although it is not the seal of the Shangyuan County Yamen, it is the seal of Mr. Yu Qianyu, the head of the Department of Rites in Beijing. It is still an official seal. Mr. Yu has official duties. It is just right.
If I encounter this matter here, I would like you, a commoner, to go over and ask, is it okay?"
Yu Qian? Zhang Ning's attention was immediately attracted... Of course he knew Yu Qian. If he didn't even know this, he would have the nerve to say that he was highly educated?
The head of the Ministry of Etiquette is actually a Beijing official, and his official position is relatively small. Beijing officials can not only stay in Beijing, but may sometimes be sent to local areas for official business. Each county and state government office has six offices, which are used to receive various officials from the capital.
The accommodation prepared by the official. But he, the head of the Ministry of Etiquette, is in charge of local fires in Shangyuan County? It is a relationship that cannot be dealt with. If he wants to take care of it, he should be in charge of the county magistrate. There is nothing wrong with what the young man in the white shirt said. After all, he is an official.
, and Zhang Ning is a commoner, so it makes sense to control him to some extent in the strict hierarchical social rules.
However, if Zhang Ning resists, it will be troublesome for him, the head of the Ministry of Rites, to order the arrest of the people in Shangyuan County.
"Let me take a look at the cards," Zhang Ning said calmly. Seeing that he had no intention of quarreling, the young man in the white shirt also took the initiative to show him the documents and responded with an attitude of "easy to talk and discuss". The main thing is to read
Forging seals on paper is relatively rare in this era, especially in the early Ming Dynasty. Being caught is more serious than killing someone. If a person commits a crime and the risk is the same or even greater, is he willing to kill people and loot goods or to make fake ones?
It was indeed Yu Qian's seal, and Zhang Ning knew that Yu Qian was not made up out of thin air. However, in history, Yu Qian's most famous incident was the "Beijing Defense War", which happened many years later.
When the Yujia personally conquered the Mongolian capital, the three elites were defeated and the emperor was captured. The Mongols took the opportunity to attack the city of Beijing. Today, Yu Qian still doesn’t know where to make soy sauce... But now Zhang Ning knows that he may be working as a minor official in Nanjing.
Make soy sauce.
Why did Yu Qian go to him? Zhang Ning didn't think it was because of the fire. And since Yu Qian has such a good reputation in history, it cannot be said that it is completely impossible for him to do dirty things, but he will certainly not do it easily, otherwise a gentleman can
Pretend to live your whole life without being criticized? In the current matter, if Yu Qian is colluding with those who use all conspiracies and tricks to attack the prince, then his vision is too bad. How can he achieve such high achievements in the future?
Zhang Ning didn't answer for a long time. Unexpectedly, the young man in white shirt didn't press him and was very calm. Zhang Ning is now facing a series of troubles and is helpless. The main reason is that he has no way out, so he doesn't dare to ask the government for help.
If you don't understand the situation inside the government, what's the difference between going in with your head covered and being sent to the door to die?
Yu Qian gave him a glimmer of hope. This was based on his own reasoning and intuition. In the final analysis, he was still taking risks.
"Okay, I'll go with you for a while. The pure will be pure and the turbid will be turbid. I'm not afraid of the officials asking." Zhang Ning said decisively.
Zhang Xiaomei hurriedly grabbed his forearm and said with great concern: "Brother, do you know who they are?"
There was an unknown person at home tonight. My little sister may have felt that Zhang Ning's danger was related to the last case. She was absolutely unwilling for Zhang Ning to leave with a stranger. Zhang Ning turned around and she raised her eyebrows.
She met his eyes at first, and the moment of eye contact contained too many things. Zhang Ning said kindly: "Little sister, you should trust your brother, don't worry too much, and you should be good."
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