Deng Anruo's hands and feet were tied and thrown into a charity hall in the west of the city.
This charity hall is the largest and accommodates the most people. It is also the dirtiest.
The fake beggars who were caught before were all let go, but no one cleaned up the dirt they left behind.
Deng Anruo's head was stuck on one of the lumps, and his hands and feet were tied up. He couldn't rub it off or shake it off.
The situation was so embarrassing, but Deng Anruo did not panic. After all, he had been the governor of Shenlin Prefecture for many years and knew the yamen very well.
Although his servants are not doing their job well, Fu Yin is missing and they will definitely find out before dawn.
With so many things happening recently, they will definitely come to the shantang to take a look. As long as they go to the shantang...
Not long after, the government officials arrived at the shantang.
Yang Wu and Chang Decai were afraid that no one would take care of Deng Fuyin, so they arrested all the officials, tied them tightly, and threw them into the charity hall.
Not only the officials, but also the magistrates, officials, governors, and school inspectors in Shenlin Mansion were all sent in, including Sui Wenchang, whom Deng Anruo valued most.
Seeing Sui Wenchang, Deng Fuyin cried. He had never suffered like this, and he hoped that his beloved general would find a solution for him.
Sui Wenchang raised his neck and hid behind.
You still have to think about the solution slowly, but the big lump on Deng Anruo's face, no matter looking at it or smelling it, makes people unbearable for a moment.
After cleaning up the Shenlin Mansion, Xu Zhiqiong returned to Yuyao Palace to sleep.
Brother Xing slept soundly, but he forgot one serious thing. He hadn't seen the groom for three days.
Several coughs were heard outside the window, and Brother Xing suddenly opened his eyes.
He came to the back room and saw Xu Zhiqiong still sleeping soundly. He quietly left the bedroom and went to the stables alone.
The groom was picking up fodder, and Brother Xing took the initiative to help. The two chatted for a few words, but it turned out that no one was around. The groom said in a deep voice: "You have become more capable. It seems that you don't take the master seriously!"
Brother Xing said: "I have been with Marquis Yun for the past two days, and there is no chance of escape."
"Where has he been these past two days?"
"I haven't gone anywhere, I'm all in Yuyao Palace."
The groom was stunned for a moment, staring at Brother Xing and looking up and down: "Think about it after you think about it. I sent someone to his bedroom last night, but I didn't see him."
Brother Xing said: "I said he was in Yuyao Palace, but I didn't say he was in the bedroom. He was in the princess's bedroom last night. I was waiting at the door. I didn't dare to leave, and I couldn't get in."
The groom asked in surprise: "What is he doing in the princess's bedroom?"
Brother Xing scratched his head and said, "You can't see it, but you can hear some cries. I think they are healing the princess's injuries or illnesses."
"Crying?"
It seems that the princess is deeply hurt!
Brother Xing said: "I don't cry too much, I always shout, and the voice is very loud."
"Is it with the princess... or with that female official named Lin Qianniang?"
"I don't know who is in the bedroom. I only know the bedroom where Marquis Yun and the princess entered together."
The groom thought for a while and gave Brother Xing a fierce look: "If you dare to lie to me, I will tell all about you tomorrow. Let's see if Xu Zhiqiong will spare you!"
Brother Xing lowered his head and said, "I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, go ask the people around the princess."
The groom sneered and said: "Who am I going to ask? You don't have to worry. Let me remind you, do you think Xu Zhiqiong has treated you well these past two days, so you can change your master?"
Let me tell you, the reason why he treats you well is because he has begun to doubt you. When he turns against you one day, you will not know how you died.
You have suffered so much, and you should understand that there is no one you can trust in this world. The only one you can trust is yourself. When you return to Daxuan, you will definitely be promoted to the eighth rank based on your merits.
When you reach the eighth rank, if nothing else, you and your grandfather will have nothing to worry about in your life, but don't be confused for a moment and miss important events."
Brother Xing nodded, quietly returned to the east courtyard and entered Xu Zhiqiong's bedroom.
The back room was empty, and Xu Zhiqiong didn't know where he had gone.
Brother Xing was lying on the bed in the outhouse, thinking over and over again what the groom had said.
…
Xu Zhiqiong went to have sex.
Although the master has not been here for the past two days, Xu Zhiqiong has never been slow to think about this matter.
After thinking for an hour, Xu Zhiqiong went to Zhonglang Courtyard again and saw Lao Chang burning incense in the East Courtyard.
There is a statue of a god over a foot high on the altar. The statue is carved of an extremely beautiful woman. The workmanship is very exquisite. The only drawback is that there are two flaws on the statue. I don’t know whether it is due to poor storage or the craftsman’s knife.
The law was wrong.
One flaw is on the left arm. From the elbow down, the forearm is slightly twisted, making it feel like a broken arm bone.
The other part is the cheek. It seems that there is an extra cut on the fair and handsome face, but it is left on the right cheek like a scar.
Xu Zhiqiong asked: "Is this Lord Canrouxing?"
Chang Decai hurriedly explained: "It is Canrou Xingxu. Previously, the slave family received a dream from the ancestor. My Taoist ancestor has been ranked among the stars."
The eunuchs of the Xuan Kingdom did not often pay homage to their ancestors. They usually only offered incense sticks during festivals, and Chang Decai was no exception. In the past, they only worshiped tablets. This was the first time Xu Zhiqiong had seen such a statue.
But since she was promoted to the third level, Chang Decai's character has changed a lot. She knows that the ancestor is doing his best to stabilize the foundation of the Taoist sect, so from time to time she will add a stick of incense to the ancestor, which can be regarded as adding strength to the ancestor.
When Xu Zhiqiong asked, Chang Decai was very nervous. She did not dare to make any demands to Xu Zhiqiong, but she knew that Xu Zhiqiong was used to teasing, and she was worried that Xu Zhiqiong would be disrespectful to the Taoist ancestor.
Not only did Xu Zhiqiong not have any frivolous intentions, but like Chang Decai, he respectfully offered a stick of incense to Canrou Xingxiu. After bowing, he whispered repeatedly, as if praying to Canrou Xingxiu.
The master was very considerate, which made Chang Decai very happy, but she was very curious, why did Xu Zhiqiong pray to Canrou Xingxiu?
Chang Decai asked cautiously: "Master, were you asking for a wish just now? If you were asking for money, you shouldn't ask for our Taoist ancestor."
Xu Zhiqiong said in surprise: "I'm not short of money, what kind of money do you want?"
Chang Decai sighed: "These days, we have spent a lot of money to help those beggars, and my wife feels very sad."
"Don't feel bad. I'll take you to the Penal Department Yamen tonight to earn some money."
Xu Zhiqiong turned around and left, and Chang Decai continued to pray to the Patriarch, saying every word carefully and piously.
In the main hall of the Divine Lord, Qin Yan, the eunuch and eunuch in charge of etiquette, was also praying at this moment.
He has an identical statue of that extremely beautiful woman, with a slightly twisted left arm and a scar on her cheek.
He couldn't place tributes and light incense candles like Chang Decai did. He could only hide under the bed and pray a few words to the Taoist ancestor.
Even the opportunity to pray is very luxurious. If there is any slight disturbance, Qin Yan has to hide the statue immediately.
It was a peaceful day. Qin Yan prayed for half an hour, put away the statue, and took out a blood-stained book from the hidden compartment under the bed.
This book is called "The Secret Record of Can Rou", which records the secret cultivation techniques learned by a Taoist senior from Xuan Ren.
The Taoist senior who had cultivated to the fifth level was later discovered by Shen Jisi and executed by Ling Chi.
Before being arrested, he handed over the statue and the "Secret Records of Canrou" to Qin Yan. Although he was tortured and tortured in prison, the senior never revealed the matter.
Relying on these two things, Qin Yan spent twenty years and finally reached the fifth level.
But the "Secret Records of Can Rou" has turned to the last page. Qin Yan has tried all the cultivation techniques summarized by his predecessors, but his cultivation level has not improved at all since the fifth level.
Qin Yan was unwilling to give in. He still wanted to continue practicing. This was the only motivation for him to live to this day.
But all that can be done now is to pray to the ancestor.
When she heard the doorbell being called, Qin Yan calmly hid the statue, got out from under the bed, straightened her clothes, and came to the door.
At the door was a chamberlain who was responsible for delivering the message. The Lord God added a new ancient ritual. When ministers came to see him, they had to kneel for five steps after prostrating, instead of kneeling for nine steps after prostrating.
Qin Yan rubbed her forehead.
Take nine steps with your knees! Then you have to bow in advance. It would be easy to receive him in the main hall of Enwei. But if he is to be received in the royal study room, this position is really difficult to control.
Qin Yan decided to go to the Imperial Study Room to measure the size first. Just as she was about to go out, a woman's voice suddenly came to her ears.
"Go to the Xingbu Yamen tonight, and someone will guide you in your practice."
Going to the Penal Department Yamen at night?
At night, the chamberlain cannot leave the Shenjun Palace, so how can he go to the Penal Department Yamen?
Besides, how could anyone from the Penal Department Yamen give me guidance on my cultivation?
Who was talking to me just now?
When he was doubtful, a burst of coercion appeared above his head, which shocked Qin Yan and made him panic and short of breath.
It's the ancestor.
This was the Patriarch's warning to him not to have random suspicions.
…
Late at night, Qin Yan quietly left the Divine Sovereign Hall.
The law is the law, and means are means. It is not that difficult for a fifth-grade chamberlain to go out.
He waited at the entrance of the Penal Department Yamen for nearly an hour, but did not see any Taoist seniors appear.
Except for the two cadres on duty in front of the door, he didn't even see anyone.
The Patriarch's revelation was also too short. He didn't say what time it was in the evening or where it was at the Xingbu Yamen.
Is it inside the Yamen?
Qin Yan walked around to the west side of the Yamen, jumped over the wall, walked around from the court hall to the backyard, and found two people squatting in the back garden.
These two people are acquaintances, acquaintances in the palace.
One is Qian Shuyue Liusheng, the supervisor of Shangyi, and the other is Li Genquan, the chief seal of Zhidian supervisor.
Why did these two people come to the Ministry of Punishment?
Are these two seniors?
Qin Yan quietly walked up behind the two men and squatted for a while. These two people were probably not seniors.
Even if they were older, their methods were not necessarily clever, otherwise they would not have reacted at all when Qin Yan had been squatting behind him for so long.
Qin Yan couldn't help it anymore and patted the two of them on the shoulders.
Yue Liusheng was so frightened that he almost came out of his body.
Li Genquan was calm. He turned around and pointed his finger at Qin Yan's chest.
I really didn't expect that besides myself, there were also eunuch cultivators in the palace.
When Qin Yan saw this, he immediately attacked him. His speed was faster than Li Genquan.
Yue Liusheng stretched out his hand to grab Qin Yan's wrist. Judging from his movements, he wanted to peel off Qin Yan's skin.
Qin Yan and the two of them took two steps and retreated two steps: "We have worked together for many years, and I didn't expect that the two colleagues turned out to be the same."
Yue Liusheng's face turned pale, and he felt that he was not going to die soon. The only thing he could do now was to fight Qin Yan to the death!
Li Genquan is older and more stable than Yue Liusheng. He is the supervisor of Zhidian, and his official rank is the same as Qin Yan. In critical moments, he is obviously more calm than Yue Liusheng.
He stared at Qin Yan for a long time, then suddenly smiled and said: "Qin Zhangshou, aren't you here to catch us?"
"Why are you being arrested? Are you saying that you practice privately? Don't I have any cultivation skills?"
Qin Yan hit the point with one sentence, and Li Genquan and Yue Liusheng each let out a sigh of relief.
"Two comrades, why did you come to the Punishment Department Yamen today?" Qin Yan asked in a low voice.
Yue Liusheng did not dare to answer. Li Genquan thought for a moment and asked: "Qin Zhangyin, are you the senior of the Taoist sect?"
Qin Yan understood that the purpose of these two people was the same as his own: "Li Zhangyin, don't try to defeat me. Who am I as a senior? Like the two of you, I was inspired by the ancestor to come here to look for my senior. It's just that I don’t know where to look for such a huge government office.”
Yue Liusheng said: "Let's wait here. In fact, when I passed by this study, I seemed to hear the voice of the ancestor. She said this is here!"
The three of them were talking in low voices when they suddenly heard a voice in the study.
In the study, the mist rose, and a silver light shot out from the air. Xu Zhiqiong, Yang Wu, and Chang Decai appeared in it.
Yang Wu carefully groped along the wall, looking for something.
Xu Zhiqiong's ears twitched and he looked at Lao Chang: "There seems to be someone outside."
Lao Chang not only knew there was someone there, but also knew where he was.
He quietly walked out of the room and suddenly jumped behind the three chamberlains.
The three chamberlains showed no reaction at all, and Chang's fingertips scratched their necks: "You three little monkeys, what do you want to do here?"
The three of them trembled for a long time and murmured: "This, is this senior?"