Wei Changpan was helped up to lean on two folded cotton pads, swallowing the fragrant chicken soup with yellow oily flowers floating in the small spoon in front of him. In those days when he was groggy, he relied on rice soup and soup medicine to survive.
As soon as I smelled the aroma of chicken soup, my empty stomach suddenly made a loud sound.
The meat in a cup of chicken soup had been carefully removed from the bones and stewed till it was tender. It was brought back by a woman wearing heavy makeup. After every drop of the cup of chicken soup had gone into Wei Changpan's belly, she called
With a basin of water, I started to remove my makeup in front of the bronze mirror, regardless of the presence of Wei Changpan.
After wiping her face vigorously and repeatedly with a cloth soaked in water, the thick powder turned the water in a copper basin turbid. Then the woman opened the window, picked up the copper basin and poured it out. The sound it made was
Falling in the water.
The facial features of a woman who has taken off heavy makeup are actually very attractive. The exquisite facial features are born on the small face. The flirtatious look when applying makeup and powder is gone, replaced by the feeling of "the girl next door is just starting to grow up".
She explained to Wei Changpan: "In Wuhang City, there is a river that runs through the city, called the Longpu River. The people in the city use this river water for washing clothes and other things." She took off the hairpin ornaments on her head and said, "I
How old are you? You can call me Sister Cui. This is an ordinary place in Rouge Lane. You will know later." The woman named Sister Cui showed a self-sarcastic smile and added.
This woman who was no longer very young was reluctant to use the peach gum finger protector. After all, she had to play the pipa twice every day for more than two hours each. If she played it every day, it would be a huge expense. She looked at the quilt.
Her index finger was bruised and bruised, so she touched the corner of her clothes to relieve the pain in her fingertips.
Thinking about going out to the streets to buy a few sets of the cheapest finger protection to last for a few days, Sister Cui finally took off all the debris on her head and tied her long hair into a loose bun. She said:
Wei Changpan said angrily: "Pay back the money."
"What more money?"
"You really don't know or you're pretending not to know." She pretended to slap Wei Changpan on the head, but halfway, she remembered that the man lying on the bed had more than ten broken bones, and her gesture changed from palm to claw, wiping his hair.
He kneaded it into a chicken coop and said, "Please ask the doctor to get medicine, firewood, rice, oil and salt. How can you sleep on this bed and bedding for free? And I have worked hard to serve you for dozens of days, and it's money."
Silver, silver, silver.
The voice that sounded like a reminder lingered in his mind, causing Wei Changpan to shrink into the bed and said with some lack of confidence:
"The money I had on me in front of me..."
"You mean those ten taels of loose silver? After hiring a doctor, I took some medicine and there was nothing left." She shrank back a little disappointed, "When I saw your underwear, I thought it was some rich family in trouble.
Youngest son, you still want to wait for your family to come to your door, just like what Father Yan said in the book, take out a lot of gold and silver to reward..."
"I'm not the youngest son of a rich family, I'm just living..." Wei Changpan's voice suddenly stopped as he thought of something, but the change in his expression in an instant could not escape the eyes of Sister Cui, who was extremely knowledgeable about the world. She frowned, and then continued
He asked, "Seven? What seven?"
However, Wei Changpan, who remembered that he was out and about in the world and should not reveal his roots easily, did not answer her words, but changed the subject, "How was I rescued?"
When Wei Changpan opened and closed his chatter, Sister Cui raised her eyebrows and said, "There are two men driving a cart. Seeing you lying on the side of the road, you seem to be out of breath, but your body is still warm, so they want to
I took you to the city, but I didn't expect that you seemed to be dying at the entrance of the alley. The man driving the cart was wandering around. He was probably afraid that you would die in the car and delay things, so he left you at the entrance of the alley and ran away.
When Mother Sun picked it up when she went out to buy groceries, everyone here thought that you were still young and it would be a pity to die there like this."
She spoke calmly, took the empty cup away from Wei Changpan, sat back at the dressing table, and said, "If you want to thank me, thank Sun Ma. She paid for the medicine and other odds and ends. I'm just serving you."
A few days ago, she was an old woman here who washed vegetables and cooked."
"The piece of jade on your body is worth some money. I haven't moved it yet, so I kept it there for you." Sister Cui pointed to the cloth bundle next to Wei Changpan, "There are also some bits and pieces of your body, and the small knife is also there."
We'll tell you when you can move around inside."
"Thank you." He said softly.
"What?" Sister Cui, who didn't hear Wei Changpan's words clearly, turned around and said.
"Thanks."
"Thank you for nothing. If you really want to thank you, just pay back the money you owe as soon as possible, and then go home honestly after you have recovered. Don't let your family worry." The conversation circled back to money, and Wei Changpan asked Wei Changpan
For a moment I was speechless and speechless.
Sister Cui, who saw his embarrassment, stopped teasing him and said with a serious expression: "I am willing to suffer in serving you, and I don't care about the money. But Mother Sun is so lonely that she even took out the coffin and spent it on you."
You have to pay back this money."
A muffled "hmm" sound came from the bed.
Sister Cui shook her head and walked out with the empty cup.
Although he didn't reach the top level, he had grown up after all, and yet he was so irresponsible. Her impression of Wei Changpan suddenly changed.
The young man who huddled under the quilt tried his best to sort out what had become a mess. The wild river at the junction of Suzhou and Jiangzhou was actually only thirty or forty miles away from Wuhang City. At that time, he was chased by a horseman and fell into the deep.
When he got out of the pit, he couldn't see what was going on, and couldn't stand up, so he could only crawl. Fortunately, he managed to crawl to the side of the road and was pulled to Wuhang City by a kind-hearted driver.
He didn't know how many people in Yanyulou could survive after these dozens of days, and where Yu Wenzhao, who had been lured away by his pursuers, was hiding, whether in Jiangzhou or in Suzhou, he didn't know anything.
Only the dozens of aching places on his body and the completely unfamiliar environment reminded him that he had just killed two people and escaped here.
The moment the blood splashed on his face, it was as if his skin was burning. Wei Changpan, who had committed murder for the first time in his life, had only now the time to recall the situation in detail.
Wei Changpan, who was on the second level of martial arts in cavalry and archery, had absolutely no reason to win against two Dayao cavalry and archers who were skilled in archery and waiting for work.
Wei Changpan couldn't help but touch his face, as if to wipe away the blood that still seemed to be there. Wei Changpan's hands shook slightly. According to Yao's law, anyone who kills a soldier without permission is a serious crime that requires beheading.
What's more, he killed two people in succession, but he didn't have a second head chopped off.
For the first time in his life, Wei Changpan had doubts about the laws of the country where he lived.
Dayao's law also gives a detailed description of the situation of being killed instead of succeeding in killing. If the assailant is armed with a sharp weapon and is killed with a knife, he will be innocent. If he is injured, he will be rewarded by the government and half of the assailant's wealth.
As compensation, the people of Yao, regardless of high or low, did the same.
Qishan County preaches Yao’s law
When the officials traveled through mountains and rivers to the town, they said categorically that if there is any injustice, you can go to the government office to beat drums and complain, and justice will be done to you.
But as far as he knew, from the former magistrate of Qishan County to the governor of Jiangzhou, the brother of the master of Songfeng Mountain who was a Jiangzhou general was far from the so-called "justice".
Why are you thinking about these things? Wei Changpan put all these messy things behind him. The top priority is to figure out the current situation and find Wen Zhaocai as soon as possible.
....
"What? What can be the matter? Officials and rich people are enjoying the good things, while ordinary people like us are barely chewing the roots of bark and grass." Sister Cui muttered, "If there is anything big, it seemed like a few days ago
There was indeed one incident where a notice was posted saying that a martial arts sect with a certain Wen Crepe name in Jia Li County was accustomed to killing people and selling goods, and had handed over to the officers and soldiers, and there was also a sleazeball Zhang family in Qishan County, a den of snakes and rats.
, none of them are good things. The martial arts sect called Yanyulou only has one daughter left, the owner of the building. It’s a pity that such a good girl can actually do those demonic tricks that can eat people’s hearts and hearts..."
"No, no, that's not the case!"
Wei Changpan waved his one arm that could still move and shouted with one hand.
"How can there be any mistake? It's written on the notice, and the big red seal is all over it, how can there be any mistake?" Sister Cui hurriedly picked up the quilt he kicked to the ground and covered him again, "If you catch the cold again,
Be careful if your bones don't grow properly, you may become a cripple for the rest of your life."
She walked a few steps like a cripple, but failed to scare the young man as expected. He shouted to himself:
"No! It's not like that... It's not..."
When Sister Cui was anxious, for fear of disturbing the guests below, Wei Changpan's voice lowered little by little, and he just opened his eyes wide and looked at her fiercely.
"Okay, okay, this mess in the world is beyond your control. Take good care of your injuries. I don't know how all the bones in your body were broken, let alone being beaten." Sister Cui suddenly lowered her voice.
The voice said, "Don't tell me that you have anything to do with the Yanyulou and Zhang family gun thieves mentioned on the notice."
However, those clean eyes were still staring at her, like a stubborn bull, trying to express his attitude in this way.
"Could it be that you have something to do with the daughter of Yanyulou... But given your age, it's impossible, right?" Sister Cui, who guessed the truth in an instant, immediately denied her suspicion and wanted to do this
What does it have to do with the woman Qiu Hou asked to kill? She really didn't dare to take this kid in again.
"Why worry about things that are far away and have nothing to do with you?" Sister Cui shook her head slightly, "It's better to think about how to live the rest of your life than to worry about it."
Crystals slowly appeared and slipped out of those wide-open eyes.