chapter 20
At night, Zhao Xingde's thoughts fluctuated and tossed and turned, and couldn't fall asleep. So he turned over, lit an oil lamp, unfolded a piece of rice paper, and hung it for a long time before writing: "Zhao Xingde, a student of the Imperial College, will travel far away but not know his return date, and he will not know his survival. He made an agreement with Miss Li's house, and would rather be invalid. He will let the follower marry him and never have any disputes. I am afraid that there is no support for the queen, Zhao Xingde himself..."
The word "力" was written twice, his wrist trembled slightly, and a drop of ink stained the white paper. The wick occasionally burst out several times, and the dim light shone the crooked shadow on the edge of the window. Zhao Xingde's eyes were covered with blood, and he breathed heavily. After pondering for a long time, he finally kneaded the letter into a ball and threw it into the corner of the house.
At the fifth hour, Li Ruoxu came to the study to get the books for morning class. Zhao Xingde asked him to invite Li Ruoxue to meet him. Although Li Ruoxu found it strange, everyone in the mansion knew that Zhao Xingde and his elder sister would get married after the autumn examination, so he agreed.
Not long after, Li Ruoxue put on a half-old silk shirt, and casually tied his hair into a bunch of clouds and hung around his waist. As soon as he entered the study, he asked Zhao Xingde in a low voice: "But what Brother Song came last night?"
Zhao Xingde nodded and sighed, "That's right." Then he briefly explained the whole story of the matter of revealing the letter to Fang La's uprising manifesto, framed by treacherous officials, and asking for punishment by the prison. He also said, "I will travel to Xia Country with my classmate and friend Li Rui." He paused, held his breath, looked up at Li Ruoxue's eyes. Li Ruoxue frowned deeply and listened quietly to his words. At this moment, he opened his eyes wider and looked at Xingde.
Zhao Xingde said in a deep voice: "Would you like to go with me to avoid disaster?" He reached out and grabbed the soft horn and held it tightly, as if he would never meet each other after letting it go. His palms were wide and thick, and there was a burst of burning heat in his palms. Li Ruoxue's breathing was rapid, and his chest was fluctuating. After a while, he finally raised his head, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and complex emotions appeared in his eyes. He bit his lips tightly and nodded slightly.
"That's great!" A ecstasy instantly felt like electric current spreading throughout the body. At this moment, the heart seemed to explode. Zhao Xingde hugged her tightly in his arms. After a long time, he held Li Ruoxue's shoulder and said in a deep voice: "The caravan going to Xia Kingdom will set off tomorrow. In the fourth morning, we will wait outside the Yuemen Gate in the back house. Everything will be arranged by me."
Two hours later, in the study of the resigned Hubei Road Commander Zhang Jinsi, eight people met here in secret. Chen Bing, Chen Dong, Zhao Xingde, Deng Su, Cao Liangshi, Lu Zilong, Hou Xiongfei, and Chen Gongju. The news that Chen Dong received was more accurate than Zhao Xingde, and all the eight people who wanted to interrogate Kaifeng Prefecture for treason were summoned. Because the Zhang Mansion was a family of officials in Bian Jing, the place was quiet and the servants were reliable, the eight people discussed countermeasures here in the name of discussing the meaning of the Qiu Examination.
Chen Dong and Zhao Xingde thought that the treacherous party was powerful and should avoid it for a while, leaving the best strategy.
Zhang Bing said, "If we leave, wouldn't we give people more hands and let the traitors frame them, and instead confirm the crime of treason." After he expressed the concerns in everyone's hearts, he slowly said, "We have posted public disclosures everywhere. Why are the turmoil in the world? It's just that the court wants the court to punish the child thieves and correct the national law. Now that the child thieves have not been captured, we have escaped the three verdicts. Isn't it that the national law is ignored? What is the face of the people of the world?"
The rest of the people were silent. The Kaifeng Mansion released the rumor of the wind, and it might not be impossible to force the present to escape. Cao Liangshi said: "Although Brother Minghuan's words are reasonable, the prefect of the Kaifeng Mansion is the personal personalities of Cai. If we surrender, once we are imprisoned, we will be the slaughter and I will be the fish."
Zhang Bing shook his head and said, "The law is the foundation of the establishment of a country. The matter of revealing the letter has shaken the world. Today, if you flee to the capital for life, everyone in the world thinks that the national law cannot be followed, and this is the way for the country to cause chaos. Hebei has not yet been determined, and the southeast is in chaos, people are in panic and the country is in turmoil, and the dignity of the national law cannot be degraded." He bowed to the other seven people and said, "My way is to rule the world with the law, not to abolish the law because of others. Please leave yourself. The three officials will make a judgment. I will take it with all my strength, and I will not tolerate the traitors to impose the crime of rebellion on us."
Deng Su also said: "The emperor is just a traitor who is deceived by treacherous ministers for the time being. Although Kaifeng Prefecture is Cai Jing's private, the three departments of the Censorate, Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Justice will be tried. How can the traitor be covered with one hand? I am willing to stay and be with Minghuan for this case." He and Zhang Bing were friends for many years, but the opinions were contrary. Zhang Bing thought that the world should be ruled according to law. Even though the saint king was also under the law, Deng Su advocated that the saints should be used to make law and the king was under the law. At this time, Zhang Bing was willing to sacrifice himself to achieve enlightenment, and also aroused Deng Su's competitive spirit, thinking that this was an imperial prison. As long as the three departments were tried, the truth would be revealed to the world, and the officials would definitely clear the truth. If everyone escaped, they would hit the traitor's conspiracy.
Everyone advised each other again and again, but the two were extremely stubborn. Later, Deng Su simply said: "In ancient times, Zhao's disciple Gongsun Chujiu Kang died, and Cheng Ying endured humiliation and lived in silence, all for loyalty and righteousness. Today, Minghuan and I only wish to be martyred by our own martyrs. You will be left to the future." Zhang Bing also said: "I heard that there was a Su sage in the Western Rong who was wronged by the people of the country. The disciples were imprisoned in prison to save the master. Su refused it, and finally died and the whole country's law was killed. Even if the Diyi was like this, how could anyone in China be able to understand the importance of national law?"
Seeing that the two of them were very determined, everyone had to give up. Before leaving, they said goodbye to Zhang Bing and Deng Su one by one. Chen Dong planned to take a sea boat back to Fujian Road for a while. At this time, the sea boats had secrets, and people were hidden inside and not discovered by the officials. Chen had a huge property in his hometown. If the crime of treason was implemented, they would probably be investigated by the officials. Now it would be good that the family could escape. Cao Liangshi, Lu Zilong, Hou Xiongfei, and Chen Gongju were also planning to return to their hometown to temporarily avoid it. At this time, the people had a strong sense of rural concept and felt stranger a hundred miles away. Now there was a sudden change, and the first thing they thought of was to return to their hometown.
At noon, in the elegant room of Huixian Building, Song An handed over a pass certificate to Zhao Xingde. It was false, but in fact the style and seal were no different from the real one, and his name was changed to the word "Zhao De". Zhao Xingde said that he wanted to take Li Ruoxue to Xia with him, and Song An also praised it and said that although such elopement was a humiliating family style, the law did not involve his family. In addition to the document, Song An also gave him a letter of recommendation from Chao Buzhi.
"Yuan Zhi, this letter must not fall into the hands of the traitor, otherwise it will not only be you, but also the mentor will be in danger." Song An warned solemnly. In the recommendation book, Chao Buzhi briefly introduced the origin of Zhao Xingde, and believed that he was capable of being able to be qualified to study in the Bachelor's Mansion. Because Chao Buzhi's bachelor's qualification in Xia State was not easy for life, even if others were in Song State, Zhao Xingde could live in the Bachelor's Mansion with such a recommendation book.
Zhao Xingde put away the recommendation book, and his heart was filled with gratitude to Chao Buzhi.
Song An's face was gloomy and he pondered for a long time, and finally said, "I guess there may be detailed works by the Imperial City Department in the Xia Kingdom, such as the Bachelor's Mansion. Yuanzhi, you have only learned a lot. It is best not to use this letter from the teacher when you can not use it." He knew that this statement was contrary to Chao Buzhi's original intention, but he still said it out of concern.
"Thank you for your advice, senior brother." Zhao Xingde nodded. Song An asked a restaurant clerk to get the pen and ink. After the clerk left, he added the "Take your wife Li family, who is only 29 years old and has a dignified appearance" in front of Zhao Xingde. He returned the clerk to him and whispered: "Although the clerk does not have the number of people in the family, and you can also bring several slaves, but in order to prevent the transaction of slaves and servants, the court will sometimes hold it tighter, and in order to prevent the border clerks from leaving, it is safe to add this sentence."
Zhao Xingde took the document and did not be too polite. This time, Song An helped many times, which had already exceeded the scope of helping brothers and brothers. The so-called great kindness did not express gratitude, and these verbal etiquettes seemed less important. Song An asked him what else was going on. Zhao Xingde thought for a moment and took out a waist card from the Imperial City Si Jinyan Mansion from his arms, and the officer from Jinyan Mansion in Hebei Province, and said he was puzzled: "When he left Hebei, the king did not take back this item, saying that it might be useful in the future. But is it true?"
Song An's eyes lit up, and he took the waist card and told his body, and sighed: "The King of Kings is indeed very careful. I think he is worried that the child thief will cause trouble for you after returning to Beijing, and it is also convenient for you to avoid disaster. The people of Jinyan Mansion often come and go to Liaoxia, and do confidential things. Whether it is the key road checkpoint or the patrol border army, most of them will not ask too much when they see this waist card." After saying that, Zhao Xingde put away this item, and when needed, he can take out the waist card to scare ordinary officials. If you meet someone from Jinyan Mansion, don't show it at will. Because Zhao Xingde's name is no longer used.
Chapter completed!