Rui Hegui

Chapter 38

Two days later, the Ministry of War performed martial arts.

After the court was over, Zhao Liangyue and Chu Bandit came over. The military officials saw Chu Bandit from afar, and if they could hide, they would dodge, if they couldn't, they would give a salute, and then hurriedly retreated, so there was no one within ten feet of the two of them.

Bandit Chu took it easy, took Zhao Liangyue to the shed next to the martial arts stage and sat down, and there were people from Jin Luanwei beside him. Seeing that his commander and best friend were here, he hurried over to show his hospitality, serving tea and water. good.

The martial arts examination of this dynasty is divided into three days, the first day is horse-footed arrows, the second day is bow, knife and stone, and the third day is introduced by the party, waiting for imperial approval.

When the two of them arrived, part of the martial arts test had already been carried out. Zhao Liangyue thought that Han Ting's test today might have passed, but Chu bandit came over and smiled: "Xi Lin, don't worry, I specially asked Xing Shuo to pass Han Ting's test. The martial arts test time has been adjusted back."

Zhao Liangyue: "..." It is right to use public power for private purposes.

Zhao Liangyue looked around with his eyes, but he didn't see the shadow of Han Ting or Xiang Mian, but turned his head to see Xing Shuo in the distance, who was sitting on the main seat with Erlang's legs crossed, a little dissatisfied with the tedious competition in front of him patient.

"It's crooked!" Xing Shuo suddenly stood up, pointed at a Wugong warrior who was shooting at foot, and shouted, "Look at your own target, you've shot someone else's target, what's the use of hitting it?" ?”

"My lord, it was because I was nervous that I made a mistake. I hope my lord will give me another chance!"

"Okay, okay, I see that your archery skills are good, this time it will be invalid, and you will come again three times."

"Thank you sir!"

Xing Shuo sighed heavily, sat back on the chair, and waved his hand to reject the tea offered.

An officer from the Ministry of Military Affairs next to him said with a smile: "This is the first time Mr. Xing is in charge of the martial arts examination. These are all underachievers. Naturally, they can't compare with the demeanor of Mr. Back then. Your teacher is... oh! Look at the mouth of the lower official. , nonsense isn’t it?”

Xing Shuo glanced at the military officer, and said directly, "I think the reason why His Majesty asked me to take charge this time is because you have such a large military department that there is no one who can do anything."

Not far away, Zhao Liangyue and Chu Biao have been paying attention to this side. Although they couldn't hear the conversation, they knew from Xing Shuo's ferocity that he wanted to kill the official in front of him on the spot, and the official's bowing behind him, he knew that someone dared to live again. Hades jumped on his head.

Bandit Chu lifted his chin towards Xing Shuo, and said happily to Zhao Liangyue: "Xi Lin, that official will definitely be in trouble in the future."

Zhao Liangyue showed no sign of pity, and nodded in agreement: "The so-called misfortune comes from the mouth, that's what it is."

Half an hour later, there was the sound of carriages and horses at the door, Zhao Liangyue thought it was Han Ting who had arrived, so he looked up, but saw Ji Sheng and Wang Yuncheng getting off the carriage, followed by several young masters.

Chu Bandit glanced and smiled: "This is to watch the fun."

"Who's outside?" Xing Shuo asked knowingly and stood up.

"Return to my lord, it's the fifth prince and lord Wang."

Xing Shuo was still angry, he raised his foot and gave the chief officer who came to report, and scolded: "Who told you to wait for other people to come in?"

"My... my lord, it's His Royal Highness the Fifth Prince and the Second Prince!"

Xing Shuo half-closed his eyes, glanced at the group of people at the door who were as leisurely as they were strolling in the flower street, and ordered: "Then only His Highness and Lord Wang are allowed in, and the others are kicked out for me, are you using me as a vegetable market? "

The chief officer who came to report hurriedly took the order to retreat, and went to Ji Sheng's place to be scolded, and then invited Ji Sheng and Wang Yuncheng in alone.

"I haven't seen you for a few days, but the official authority is not small." As soon as Ji Sheng sat down, he sneered at Xing Shuo.

Xing Shuo and the others saluted Ji Sheng very perfunctorily, and Erlang kicked his legs after finishing, not particular.

Wang Yuncheng glanced disdainfully at Xing Shuo, who had no manners at all, and sat down next to Ji Sheng. He turned his head and saw Chu Bandit and Zhao Liangyue who were talking not far away, and withdrew it like a mold. Gaze, turn sideways and turn your back to that side.

Ji Sheng took the tea and drank a couple of sips, looked around, and said with a smile, "Why don't you see Second Young Master Han? I came here specially to see him."

Xing Shuo smelled the scent of incense suddenly coming out of the air, frowned and said, "It's time to come out."

"Okay, then I'll wait here." Ji Sheng moved, adjusted his sitting posture, and leaned back in the chair leisurely, "After all, the person who grew up in Beijing together since childhood, I really want to see how he is doing today It's a shame. I just hope he comes on time and don't be a coward."

More than half an hour passed, and seeing that the morning's infantry competition was about to end, the chief who read the name finally turned to the last page, and sent out a sentence: "The next contestant is Wu Gongshi Han Ting."

Han Ting's name was spread all the way to the tributes waiting for the competition at the gate of the government office. Many bored people raised their heads to watch, but no one saw Han Ting.

Ji Sheng raised his brows, clicked his tongue and said, "It seems that I was waiting for nothing."

Wang Yuncheng also echoed: "If I had known this, I would have advised His Highness not to come. It is really boring."

Xing Shuolai had to pay attention to them and asked the chief to call again.

"The next contestant is Wu Gongshi Han Ting."

Everyone waited for a while, but Han Ting still didn't show up, Xing Shuo frowned, and asked the chief to directly call the next Wu Gongshi.

Ji Sheng got up at this moment, patted the non-existent ashes on his robe, smiled with satisfaction, and wanted to take Wang Yuncheng away.

Suddenly, a sharp arrow came through the air, as fast as a gust of wind, and hit the bull's-eye, but the Wugong warrior who had just been called up had just drawn his bow, and the arrow had not yet been shot.

Everyone looked at the entrance of the government office, and saw Han Ting holding his bow and maintaining his archery posture. Unlike what he saw in the past, Han Ting was dressed in a strong suit, with a ponytail, sharp eyebrows and eyes, and a heroic figure. , without the slightest smell of a dandy.

Han Ting flipped his wrist, threw the bow to the servants at the side, walked in calmly, cupped his fists and bowed to everyone, saying: "Han Ting is late, I hope you will forgive me."

Only then did everyone realize that Han Ting shot the arrow from the door, and it was a hundred steps away from the target, but he hit the target!

Ji Sheng and Wang Yuncheng were also taken aback, and looked at Han Ting in disbelief.

Xing Shuo got up, nodded and smiled at Han Ting, and said, "It's not too late, so let Second Young Master Han start the competition first."

On the other side of the martial arts platform, Chu Bandit, who had witnessed the whole archery process, couldn't help but smiled, and said, "It seems that Han Ting has figured it out."

Zhao Liangyue recalled the first time he met Han Ting in Xuefangyuan, and then he had a heart-to-heart conversation in Hengen Temple, and then saw the scene in front of him. He suddenly felt like a world away, so he turned his head and asked, "I heard from Brother Han that Mr. Wei once It was his grammar teacher, so who taught him martial arts?"

Bandit Chu frowned, and said, "It's Fan Jiajun. If I remember correctly, Fan Shuai taught Han Ting archery for the first time."

Zhao Liangyue was stunned for a moment, and raised his eyes to look at Han Ting. He was drawing the bow in his hand into a full moon, and then shot it instantly, hitting the bull's-eye again.

Chu Bandit recalled: "Speaking of which, among all the children in Beijing, he was the youngest, the most well-behaved, and the most likable. In the past, when Mr. Wang and Fan Shuai were still there, he always went to the Fan's Army barracks. Running around, the soldiers there always love to tease him, vying to teach him how to practice martial arts, compared to Xing Shuo and I's naughty temper back then, he is indeed more worry-free and lovable."

Zhao Liangyue saw the obvious nostalgia in the corners of Chu Gui's eyes and eyebrows, and said, "I seldom hear you mention these childhood things."

"Because I can't go back anymore, and mentioning it will only increase my troubles." Bandit Chu said, drinking the tea in the cup with tea instead of wine, and said, "Han Ting, probably he was born to the wrong family. From today's sharpness, maybe a life of idleness like before is the most relaxed way for him to live."

Zhao Liangyue raised his head and saw Xiang Mian who had climbed over the wall of the Ministry of War at some point, the two smiled at each other, and then Xiang Mian continued to look at Han Ting.Zhao Liangyue withdrew his gaze, and said: "But you are in the middle of the game, you are already in the middle of the game, how can you escape? Not to mention, Brother Han is already full of passion, and he is just waiting for an opportunity to redeem himself."

As Chu bandit said, after the first day of the horse-bow and arrow competition, Han Ting's brilliance was revealed, and his name was spread all over the capital by the people who witnessed it today.

Two days later, Han Ting became a blockbuster and won the title of Martial Arts Champion.Zhao Liangyue was about to go to congratulate, when Emperor Ping Chong's order came from the palace, Zhao Liangyue had to change his official uniform quickly to meet him, when he walked to the gate of the palace, he met Bandit Chu, the two of them looked at each other, and they probably knew the reason for the summoning thing.

At the beginning of the summer of the seventh year of Pingchong, the emperor summoned officials from three provinces and six ministries in batches in Nuange, and rewarded and punished Ningzhou case. And ordered the two to rush to Ningzhou to thoroughly investigate the two disaster relief iron mine cases.

The rain in summer is different from the softness and gentleness of late spring, it comes quickly and suddenly.

The water is rising everywhere in central Beijing, and public grievances are rising. The problematic projects left by the Ministry of Industry need to be repaired urgently, and many officials of the Ministry of Industry have been dismissed because of the Ningzhou incident. The remaining officials, big and small, held their own opinions and were arguing to clean up the mess.Emperor Ping Chong had a lot of headaches because of this, and in the end Wei Xinglin, who had been in the Ministry of Industry, asked for an order, and took over the job with a sick bone.

In the same month, Han Ting, who was supposed to stay in Beijing for a post, was transferred to Puyang as the deputy city guard at the request of Prime Minister Han.

At the end of that night, at the end of the Xu Dynasty, several directors of the Ministry of Industry had just finished their work according to their orders. On the way back to the government office, there was a sudden heavy rain, so they had to find a place to shelter from the rain.

A few people were complaining when they saw a carriage passing by from a distance. The carriage was running very fast, as if its owner was anxious to see someone.

"Hey, isn't that the prime minister's carriage?" A sharp-eyed person couldn't help exclaiming.

"It's so dark and it's raining again. Except me and other unlucky ghosts, who would go out at this time? What's more, it's the prime minister."

"That's right, and you see, the road we're taking is neither leading to the palace nor to the prime minister's mansion, how could it be the prime minister."

The person who had just exclaimed nodded in doubt, took a piece of dry food from his companion and put it in his mouth, waiting for the rain to subside.

In a remote alleyway in the south of the city, the carriage that was running all the way finally stopped. The guard opened the umbrella and helped a man in a black cloak to get out of the carriage slowly. After the carriage drove away, the man also disappeared at the entrance of the alleyway.

If someone is willing to go deep into the lane, he will find an old paulownia tree, bypassing it is a dilapidated small courtyard.

The cloaked man raised his chin slightly towards the small courtyard, and the attendant knocked on the door. After a while, the door opened a crack, and the attendant handed over a sign, and the courtyard door opened, and a servant welcomed the cloaked man in.

"Prime Minister Han, you are finally here."

A man came out of the inner courtyard, it was Lu Qing, the luthier who had been judged by the third division that day, but at this time he didn't have the attitude of a half-ranked man, but his brows were full of arrogance, his eyes were particularly bright, sharp and sharp, Seems to see people's hearts through the night.

On the contrary, Han Wenyun took off his hood quickly when he saw him, came over and bowed his hands, and said, "Recently, there are a lot of affairs in court, Jinluanwei and Xuefangyuan have mixed eyeballs, so I only came to see you today."

Lu Qing snorted coldly, sat down casually, glanced at Han Wenyun, and said, "Prime Minister Han, Bandit Chu has already brought someone out of Beijing for ten days, and he will arrive in Ningzhou in half a month. That is your son Han Wenyun." Zhou’s territory, you won’t be able to deal with him, right?”

"Young Master, don't worry, Bandit Chu will definitely not come back alive."

"Don't worry?" Lu Qing laughed loudly as if he had heard some joke, and said, "I used Lu Qing's identity to go to the Sanfa Division that day, and I only met Chu Bandit once, so I knew that this person was just A tiger whose bite can hurt people's bones must never be kept, but you are lucky, let him rise to the top in the court for 13 years, and even now he can stand against you, what do you want me to say about you? Prime Minister Han."

Han Wenyun hurriedly said: "It was my negligence before, and it will definitely not happen in the future."

"There is no future. If you do something bad, you will be punished."

As Lu Qing said, he threw a long-lived lock in front of Han Wenyun, which was still stained with blood. Han Wenyun only took one look, and then his eyes widened on the spot, terrified—it was Han Zhou's youngest son and his grandson's neck. longevity lock!

Han Wenyun knelt down towards Lu Qing, choked up and said, "Young master, my grandson is..."

Lu Qing's complexion was calm, and he bent down and patted Han Wenyun's shoulder with his eyes that looked like a deep pool of extreme cold, and said with a faint smile: "Han Wenyun, what did you do 20 years ago, how did you get on board?" You and I know better than anyone else how to destroy the 20 Fan family army after being promoted to the position of prime minister. Now you have got what you want, but I still have nothing, and our deal is still going on."

Han Wenyun was forced to look at Lu Qing, only to feel that this person in front of him is as difficult to deal with as a poisonous snake, vicious and sharp, always hiding in the dark, as long as he is not satisfied with you, he will kill you invisible like a sharp sword.

"Also, I know exactly what you are thinking about the gunpowder in Feixia Tower this time. Don't be so smart next time." Lu Qing said, kicking the bloody longevity lock with his foot. He said: "My warning is already here, and Prime Minister Han can do it himself."

After saying that, Lu Qing asked his servant to send Han Wenyun away.

Han Wenyun walked out of the gate of the courtyard, his eyes were red, and he was tightly clutching the longevity lock stained with the blood of his loved ones. He staggered and almost fell out, but the waiting guards rushed forward to support him.

When Han Wenyun walked away, Ruan Yue came out from the back room, like a weak willow Fufeng, Lu Qing pulled her over and sat on his lap.

Ruan Yue trembled, and said tentatively: "My lord, regarding the issue of Feixia Tower, I didn't handle it well, and I must be blamed for death."

Lu Qing leaned close to Ruan Yue's face, smelled the unique fragrance of the woman's body, touched the delicate white neck with the tip of his nose, and said with a smile, "How can I let the beauty die forever? The Feixia Tower can still be rebuilt if it's a big deal." , if you die, where can I find it again?"

Seeing that Lu Qing seemed to be in a good mood, Ruan Yue breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you for your forgiveness, Young Master."

Lu Qing smiled, played with a strand of Ruan Yue's hair, and said in a flat tone, "I don't want you to die, so I asked that girl named A Luo to die for you."

Ruan Yue was stunned immediately, only to feel the cold air engulfing her surroundings, and her hair was terrified, like falling into an ice cellar.

"I taught you a long time ago that people can't have weaknesses. You see, today, if you have weaknesses, I have a chance to punish you." Lu Qing whispered to Ruan Yue, like a poisonous snake uttering a letter, Ruan Yue instinctively Wanting to escape, he got up in a panic and got off Lu Qing's lap, kneeling in front of him, tears streaming down his face.

"Why are you still crying? People like you still have feelings." Lu Qing raised his hand to take the handkerchief, gently wiped Ruan Yue's tears, and said, "Speaking of which, you have been doing a good job with the accounts of Feixialou Very good, it’s normal to have a hundred secrets and a sparse one, but why was this one sparse discovered by someone?”

Ruan Yue hurriedly said: "It's the household official named Zhao Liangyue! As soon as he came to Beijing, Bandit Chu found Lu Ming and Fei Xia Lou."

"Zhao Liangyue, so it's him." Lu Qing said the name twice, then smiled, and said, "Interesting, it seems that Bandit Chu has a powerful helper, it's really interesting to see."