first minister

Chapter 27 The Snake Peeping in the Dark
A feast that lasts till night.

Although it was Xia Jingyun's first contact with banquets in this era, drinking was always the same.

His performance as if he knew it from birth fell into the eyes of everyone, and naturally they were secretly amazed.

Old Master Yun looked at his only apprentice in this life with satisfaction, and said, "Gao Yang, there is something I need to clarify with you."

Xia Jingyun hurriedly avoided the table and got up, "Master, please tell me."

"No need to be formal, sit down quickly." Old Master Yun stretched out his hand and pressed it, and then said: "The day of Concubine De's family visit is approaching, and I am in a place where everyone's eyes and eyes are focused. This is a delicate place. The relationship between you and me as a teacher and student is temporarily inconvenient to publicize, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble. May you understand?"

Xia Jingyun immediately said: "This is also the protection of my apprentice, of course my apprentice can understand."

Old Master Yun nodded in satisfaction, and then looked at Feng Xiuyun.

Feng Xiuyun stood up hastily, "Please rest assured, the old man, this servant will definitely not reveal half a word about this matter."

"Okay, it's getting late, Gao Yang won the first prize today, and he hasn't returned home to reunite with his family, so we drank this cup!"

After drinking, Old Master Yun held onto Xia Jingyun's hand and brought him into the study.

As the saying goes: A woman's heart, and a man's study, are not easy to open to others.

So Xia Jingyun, who followed into the room, cheered up immediately, for fear that something might go wrong.

Old Master Yun closed the door, walked slowly to a chair and sat down, "Although today's matter is over on the surface, there will definitely be aftermath afterward. Behind Mr. Zheng, there are the prefects of Jianning, Youzhou Xuezheng, and a bunch of great Confucianists who have lost their integrity. Sometimes Zheng Tianyu doesn't necessarily need to do it himself, but there are some petty evildoers who seek credit for the Lord. You have to be prepared."

Xia Jingyun naturally knew about this, but the old man cared about it, so he couldn't pretend to say something stupid like I already knew it, so he seriously agreed.

Seeing his serious look, Old Master Yun smiled, "Don't worry too much about it, I will speak for you today, no matter who it is, if they want to deal with you, they have to weigh it carefully."

Only then did Xia Jingyun smile, "That's right, Master, just showing your prestige just a little bit is enough to deter Xiaoxiao and make them dare not move."

People never dislike nice words, but they are often swayed by another preconceived impression. People who don't like it say something nice, that is glib, frivolous and hateful. People who like it say it is as sweet as honey and warm to the heart.

Old Master Yun was so useful at the moment, he nodded slightly and smiled a few times before restraining his smile, "I told you to come in, there is one more thing I need to tell you."

He looked at Xia Jingyun, "I asked the guards in the mansion to inquire about your details earlier. When I was questioning the supervisor in the labor camp, the other party said that two days ago, someone also inquired about you."

!!!

Xia Jingyun's pupils shrank immediately, and a cool and creepy feeling rose from his back instantly, as if countless snakes crawled silently.

Two days ago, the literary conference hadn't been held yet. I was just a hard worker who had just come out of the labor camp. I hadn't met anyone. Who would go to find out about him?

Is it the wife and brother of the magistrate of the neighboring county who robbed their Xia family's ancestral property?
Or Zheng Tianyu?

"Oh, and there is another small matter." Old Master Yun said seriously: "These days, don't go out of the city if you don't have anything to do. I heard that the bandits outside are making a lot of noise, and many people have already died."

Xia Jingyun immediately stood in awe.

After a while, Xia Jingyun and Feng Xiuyun walked out of Yunfu.

Because Concubine De is visiting relatives, there is no curfew in the city this month, there are still many people coming and going on the street at this moment, the bright moon is rising, and the two of them are walking side by side, quite a bit of the ambiguity of a willow on the moon and an appointment after dusk.

Feng Xiuyun looked sideways slightly, looking at Xia Jingyun's side face, and felt emotional in her heart. After just one day, she had changed from a look that Xia Jingyun couldn't reach, to a posture that needed to look up to each other.

That strange and absurd idea, before it was put into practice, was ruthlessly shattered.

At this moment, Xia Jingyun's mind was still reeling over what his master had just said to him, unexpectedly there was another group of people investigating his details!
He has never been a person who just sits and waits to die. If he doesn't figure out this matter, he might not be able to sleep well.

So he turned his head to look at Feng Xiuyun, "My lord, I want to ask you something?"

Feng Xiuyun suppressed the sudden turmoil of her mind, took a deep breath, straightened her chest, wanted to put on the cold and aloof posture as before, then thought of the old master's apprentice beside her, someone she couldn't afford, and said depressingly: "But it's okay to say."

"How about going to a labor camp with me tomorrow?"

Feng Xiuyun blinked her eyes, as if to say, that's it?
-
When Xia Jingyun returned home, there was a joyous atmosphere in the small courtyard.

Seeing him coming in, everyone excitedly stepped forward, chattering around him, and it took quite a while before they subsided.

Xia Jingyun smiled and said: "Mother, auntie, don't worry about doing small business. Father and uncle don't even think about things like teacher nursing homes. During this period of time, you should stay at home and take care of your health. Brother, when you have time, go find a famous teacher and sharpen your strength. Ning Zhen, um, just take care of your beauty!"

How can the family's superficial thoughts be hidden from him, it's just that yesterday they were in a hurry to prepare for the literary conference and didn't have time to take care of it.

"Second brother is so kind!" Xia Ning shook Xia Jingyun's hand happily.

Seeing her daughter's happy look, Mrs. Xia Zhang, who had her lung tubes poked several times, hummed, "It's easy to say, what if you don't have money?"

Snapped!
Xia Jingyun took out a bank note from his pocket and slapped it on the table.

500 two!
Mrs. Xia Zhang's speech faltered, and said resentfully: "You still have to concentrate on your studies and socialize. Let's sit and eat, and the five hundred"

Snapped!
Xia Jingyun took out another banknote and slapped it on the table.

Another 500 taels!
Xia Zhang stared at his hand, "Is there any more?"

Xia Jingyun shook his head, "It's gone."

Xia Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm not talking about you, even if you have 1000 taels, you really want to open your hands and feet."

Tuk Tuk Tuk.

Someone knocked on the courtyard door, Xia Yunfei hurried to open it, and the master supervisor Zhang Dazhi walked in with his apprentice smiling, "Don't take the liberty to come to the door, Mr. Xia, don't blame me. I'm a rough man, I have nothing to give away. This 100 taels is right to be Mr. Xia's congratulations in Chinese!"

After speaking, he took a look at the neat and orderly appearance of the whole family, "It seems that I came at the wrong time?"

Xia Jingyun turned his head and glanced at his aunt with a half-smile, then looked at Zhang Dazhi, "No, your lord came just in time."

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhang Dazhi laughed at himself and said, "At first I was thinking of recommending you to be a prisoner, but I didn't expect you to win Wenkui. I'm being too sentimental."

Xia Jingyun hurriedly thanked him. No matter what he said, he was never afraid of confronting people's evil, but he would always respond solemnly to others' kindness.

"It doesn't matter. I came here this time to ask you if you have any good ideas in your mind. If you have any, you can tell me. If it is useful, I still have some spare money."

Xia Jingyun thought for a while, "How about this, let me tidy up, and tomorrow night, I will visit your lord."

Zhang Dazhi was overjoyed, "If so, thank you very much."

After seeing off Zhang Dazhi, Xia Jingyun handed two 500 taels to his mother and aunt respectively, and then put the 100 taels into his arms. Looking at the surprised crowd, Xia Jingyun smiled, "Go to bed early!"
-
With enough energy, Xia Jingyun and Feng Xiuyun went out of the city and went straight to the labor camp early the next morning.

Because Old Master Yun had reminded him that even if he was going to a labor camp guarded by officers and soldiers along the way, Xia Jingyun asked Feng Xiuyun to bring two guards.

A group of four people rode on horseback.

Seeing that Xia Jingyun could even ride a horse, Feng Xiuyun's heart was shocked again and again. Is this really a poor boy in a remote country?
Her body was ups and downs, panting slightly, "What are you going to do?"

Xia Jingyun straightened his waist slightly, clamped his legs, showing his proficient horse control skills, "Try to find out!"

Nothing happened along the way, and the two of them went straight to the two-story building of the labor camp with their guards.

The wind in the labor camp also carried a sour smell and blood, not only the branches and leaves were withered and yellow, but also the people on the ground.

Revisiting the old place, Xia Jingyun didn't have much emotion. He is not a cold-blooded animal, but he is not a saint either. He knows that this is the evil done by a huge imperial machine. He has no power to change it now, so he can only pretend not to see it.

What's more, at this moment, his heart is filled with the news that made him sleepless.

The news of the new steward of the labor camp was not kept secret. In front of a palace official like Feng Xiuyun who had beaten the previous steward by his own hands, and Xia Jingyun, the literary chief, he did not put on airs at all.

"Guard Qian, I have something to ask."

"Please speak."

"Did outsiders come here to look for my former supervisor in the past two days?"

There was a pitfall in his question, because Mr. Yun had definitely sent someone to inquire about it. If the money manager said he didn't have it, it would be a lie.

Steward Qian nodded, "Yes, two people came one after another. I don't know them both."

Xia Jingyun was slightly disappointed, but this was expected, so he asked, "Do you know what they asked?"

Guanshi Qian shook his head, "I'm new here, so I don't know much about it. They mainly asked about your supervisor, Niu Er."

Xia Jingyun hummed, "Then can you invite this supervisor over?"

Guanshi Qian looked embarrassed, Feng Xiuyun glanced at him lightly, "Huh?"

Guanshi Qian quickly explained: "It's not that I don't want to invite you. Niu Er returned home on vacation last night, and just now the yamen arrester sent a message saying that he is dead!"

!!!

A biting chill flashed across Xia Jingyun's back.

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(End of this chapter)