Ordinary clear day

Chapter 84

Shu Ning was startled, and quickly backed away, leaning against the bookshelf next to her, and then she took a closer look, but there were several masked men wearing black night clothes and holding knives, only one of them was wearing a dark robe with a swollen face. Wearing a veil, it is particularly conspicuous.

Who are these people? !
Tong shrieked and grabbed her husband's arm tightly.Zhang Bao stood up and asked tremblingly, "You... who are you?"

A man with thick eyebrows took two steps towards Zhang Bao with a knife, and said fiercely: "It seems that you are also an official, and grandpa just took revenge on you!" After finishing speaking, he slashed at Zhang Bao.

Tong Shi screamed again, and was about to step forward to block the knife, but Zhang Bao grabbed him tightly and threw him behind him.At the same time, he raised his hand and lifted the tray on the table. The man was doused in hot soup, and he became even more furious, kicking Zhang Bao in the heart.Zhang Bao was kicked to the ground by him, just holding Tong Shi down.

Shu Ning gritted her teeth and leaned against the bookshelf behind her in fear. Seeing that the man was about to raise the knife and slash at her father again, she almost yelled, but she heard a cry of a child from the back of the room. Very loud.

It's Xianning!
The man stopped moving when he heard the crying, and someone next to him said, "Oh no, if someone overhears, our whereabouts will be leaked." A man who seemed to be the leader standing among them frowned upon hearing this. .The thick-browed man snorted, and was about to walk out of the study with his knife in hand.

Shu Ning didn't know where the courage came from, she stepped up and hugged his leg, and shouted loudly: "My brother is not yet three years old, you don't even let him go, aren't you too crazy?!"

The man wanted to break away from Shu Ning, but when he saw her clinging tightly to her, he slammed the knife violently.Shu Ning only felt her right arm go cold, and then she was dragged into the corner by that man's movements amidst Tong's screams, and hit the wall hard with her back, her arm was burning with pain.

Knowing that she was hurt, she clutched her right arm tightly and stared at those people.Zhang Bao coughed a few times, and said reluctantly: "The little girl is still a child, please be merciful."

But the leader said to Shu Ning: "Little girl, are our Heaven and Earth Association crazy people? We are doing justice for Heaven!"

Shu Ning resisted the pain in her arm, her vision was a little blurred, and a wave of hatred rose from the bottom of her heart.She said coldly: "You murdered, set fire, burned, killed and looted in the city of Guangzhou, aren't you considered insane? You left those high-ranking officials alone, but went to kill those small officials. How many more people have there in the city these days?" Orphans and widows, do you still have the nerve to say that you are doing justice for the heavens?!"

The thick-browed man said: "What do you know?! We killed the lackeys of the Qing government. They only harmed the common people. We are killing harm for the common people!"

Shuning didn't know where her courage came from, and ignored her parents' winks, she retorted: "If you are doing harm to the people, what are you doing at my house? Who doesn't know that my father is a good official in the nearby ten miles and eight towns? Why kill him?!"

"Huh, looking at these antique calligraphy and paintings in your family, you are also a rich owner, how dare you call yourself a good official?!"

Of course she would not admit it: "Our family is rich, and these things are not expensive. If you don't believe me, just ask about it. My father is in charge of farming. He is loyal to his duties, loves the people, encourages farming, builds water conservancy, and resettles Orphaned and widowed, isn’t this considered a good official? The people praise him for loving him, but if you kill him, who will believe that you are good people?!”

The man was about to go into a fit as soon as he stared, but was stopped by the man in the long robe: "Brother Jiang, wait a minute!" The attention of everyone in the room was immediately attracted to him.

The man was very young, and from the exposed half of his face, it could be seen that he was a handsome and fair man with gentle and elegant speech.He turned his head and glanced at Zhang Bao, and said, "I came over the wall in a hurry just now, but I didn't see which family it was. May I ask you, Master Zhang Bao, the Tongzhi of Guangzhou?"

Zhang Bao nodded, and the handsome man turned his head to the leader and said, "This lord is indeed a very good official, let him go."

Before the leader could answer, the thick-browed man said disdainfully: "When will it be the outsider's turn to manage things in the world, you sissy don't tell me what to do!" Then he was stared at by the leader and snorted He shut his mouth with a sound.

The handsome man was stunned, his face turned pale, and he didn't speak anymore.

The crying from the back of the house became quieter, and Xiao Liu's voice coaxing Xianning was vaguely heard, but there were already voices in the front and back yards.The leader frowned, and one person walked behind.Tong Shi screamed, Zhang Bao hurriedly said: "Let the child go, he is not sensible yet, let him go!"

At this time, the sound of people and horses came from outside the wall, as if officers and soldiers were running outside the wall.

Those who went to the back came back soon, and there was no blood on the knife.Zhang Baotong and Shu Ning were relieved when they heard that Xian Ning was still choking.

Someone said to the leader: "Let's go quickly, another brother is injured, if we don't leave, it will be too late." The leader looked up at Zhang Bao's family, hesitant.

Seeing this, Shu Ning hurriedly said: "Someone has already come outside. Instead of spending your time taking care of us, you might as well run away. The corner door here is not locked. You can walk along Qingyun Lane until the end is the back door. That alley is always seldom seen after dark." Someone is walking, and there will be mountains and forests not far away." She said while paying attention to the noise outside, as long as the officers and soldiers come.

The leader was hesitating, when there was a loud knock on the door outside, and several people shouted: "My lord, are you okay?" "My lord, open the door quickly!" "My lord, I am Hu Dong, are you in there "
Hearing this, the leader's expression changed, and he hurriedly said: "Forget it, let's go!" He led everyone back through the corner gate.

Someone opened the gate in the front yard, and then saw Mr. Su and a large group of people rushing in. Seeing Zhang Bao and his wife lying on the ground, they hurriedly helped him up and asked, "Is your lord injured? The thief ran away?"

Zhang Bao reluctantly said: "It was just a kick, they went to the back door along Qingyun Lane." Then an officer who had just entered the door led his men to chase after him.

Shuning breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize that she had fallen limply to the ground, covered in cold sweat.She opened her mouth to speak, but found that she had no strength left.

Trembling, Tong threw herself on her daughter, beat her hard a few times, and said, "How dare you be so bold? Do you want to die?" Then she cried loudly while hugging her daughter.Shuning couldn't help crying too.

Zhang Baoyou said weakly: "My daughter saved us. If she hadn't stopped the thief with her words, I'm afraid we would have become ghosts under the knife. Don't beat her, let's see if the injury is serious?"

Tong hurriedly rolled up her daughter's sleeves, and saw that her wound was four or five inches long, and the blood flowed all over her hand, which was already a little solidified.A servant girl came over with the medicine for the wound, and helped Shuning apply the medicine to bandage her.

Little Liu stumbled into the study with Xianning in her arms, and shouted: "Sister, Miss Shu, are you all right?" Seeing this, Tong rushed over, hugged her son, and checked carefully. Holding him and crying, Xiao Liu also wiped away tears.

The whole family was in a mess, and both Zhang Bao and Shu Ning had to be treated by doctors.Tong was frightened, and finally calmed down, presided over the overall situation, comforted the servants, and dealt with the visitors.Officers and soldiers came to investigate, to investigate, to ask questions, and they didn't break up until midnight and four o'clock.

When Mrs. Tong was resting on the couch, she found out from Suyun that when the people from the Tiandihui brought their knives to the backyard just now, Mrs. Liu hugged Xianning tightly to protect him. gone.Tong's heart is very grateful to Xiao Liu, and she has been better to her since then.

The next day old doctor Chen came, Guan Zhangbao took two doses of medicine, and he was fine.Although he didn't hurt his heart, it's better to stay at home for a few days.As for Shuning, she lost a lot of blood, so she had to rest well.

Su Tongpan, who came to visit the doctor, brought news that Mr. Liang, the prefect, was seriously injured by people from Tiandihui at home last night, and the family members cried into a ball.Two thieves were killed while fleeing, but the others fled.The government office is only separated from Zhang Bao's house by a grove and a few houses. It is estimated that those people strayed into Zhang Bao's house on the way to escape, and this innocent disaster happened.

Su Tongpan sighed, and said: "Now the magistrate is unable to see things, and you are injured again, the mansion is only supported by me and a few masters. But I still want to hunt down the culprits, and the masters can't take charge of the business. There is no one to take care of them, so get well soon, my lord." Then he took people to the city to continue the search.

Within two days, Lord Zhu, the governor, issued an order, saying that Liang Zhifu was seriously injured and unable to govern, and ordered Zhang Bao to temporarily act as the prefect and preside over the overall situation in the city.Zhang Bao took the order and reluctantly went to the Yamen.

At this time, Su Tongpan came to him and said that he had finally found the clues of the Tiandihui, Zhang Bao was stunned.

That day Zhang Bao came home very late, and was scolded by Mrs. Tong, blaming him for not knowing how to cherish himself, so he told her the reason in detail.

It turned out that on the night that Liang Zhifu was assassinated, a servant in his house found that one of the murderers had a familiar demeanor, tone and body, and he looked a bit like a famous female star.That old man was the mainstay of the Chunhe troupe, while Guangzhou General Bai Yindali was a frequent visitor to the Chunhe troupe. I heard that he likes to praise the dan role actor the most.

Su Tongsan attached great importance to this testimony. After discussing with Zhang Bao, he brought someone to the troupe to search, but the other party took advantage of the power of the general's mansion to ignore him and refused to let him search.

He didn't dare to be tough because of the face of the general's mansion, and he couldn't bear it, so he reported the matter to the governor's office.Governor Zhu led his own soldiers to ambush opposite the troupe, and after only one day, he caught several people in night clothes on the spot.After verification, it was exactly what they wanted to hunt down.Although he escaped a few times, the famous actor Zhao Changchun was caught straight and couldn't stand the punishment. He confessed the fact that he used the General's Mansion to cover for the people of Tiandihui.

How could the governor's yamen let go of this good opportunity to attack political opponents?Now General Baiyindali's charge of sheltering the rebels can't escape, and even his subordinates will be unlucky.

There were many rumors and gossips that spread afterwards, and some of them were quite romantic, such as the relationship between Zhao Changchun and the general, and what methods he used to cover up the members of the Tiandihui, etc.Shu Ning, who was recuperating in bed, often felt bored, so a new girl would tell her some gossip without knowing the depth.

After she finished listening, she remembered that the man in the long robe she saw that night was indeed familiar. It was vaguely the "beauty" who saw the lantern at the Lantern Festival the year before last. I really don't know how he got in touch with the people from the Tiandihui. of.

The court's will finally came down.Baiyindali lost his official position and was ordered to return to Beijing to contemplate.The new general of Guangzhou, Wu Dan, is a close confidant of Emperor Kangxi who grew up with him since he was a child.Just like the Li family was guarding Suzhou and the Cao family was in charge of weaving in Jiangning, Guangzhou, which has been coveted by people because of the huge profits of the customs in recent years, was handed over by the emperor to the hands of his cronies.

Governor Zhu was very regretful in secret. He had just sent away a Yaksha, and another Zhenshan Taisui came. It would be impossible to take advantage of it all by himself in the future, and he had to be more cautious than before.

The imperial decree also commended the officials who performed well during the Guangzhou Rebellion. Because the magistrate Liang was seriously injured, Zhang Bao, the acting prefect, took office with an injury and performed well, so he was ordered to officially take office as the magistrate.The position of Tongzhi in Guangzhou was replaced by Wu Yincheng, Tongzhi of Zhaoqing Prefecture.

Shu Ning's injury was cured, and the whole family was preparing to move.Because Zhang Bao officially took over as the magistrate, it would not be appropriate to live in Tongzhi's mansion, and the whole family would move to the government office.

Liang Zhifu's family had already returned to Beijing by boat, and the government office was empty.Shu Ning was ordered by her mother to sit still. She looked at the yard and felt that this place was much more spacious than the old house, and the garden was also bigger, but she always felt that it was not as friendly as the old house.

Thinking about it, his father Zhang Bao's position as the magistrate is now the fourth rank, not the fourth rank as he remembers.Zhang Bao was promoted two ranks before completing his three-year tenure as a Tongzhi.

Just as he was thinking, he saw Chang Fu stumbling in. When he saw Shu Ning, he stammered, "Gu...girl, Duan...Brother Duan is here."

(End of this chapter)