Liaozhai: A scholar should draw a sword

Chapter 208

Qin Chong endured the grief in his heart, staggered to the lake, and plunged into the water without thinking too much.

His water skills are not very good, but this time, for some reason, he held his breath and fumbled in the water for a long time before he swam to the shore.

After resting for a while, he dived into the water again.

After repeating this several times, I was exhausted.

A well-meaning person finally stepped forward to persuade: "Young student, you have tried your best. It has been so long, and the person who wants to come is long gone. Don't put yourself in it."

Qin Chong shook his head numbly: "Thank you for your concern, but no matter what, I want to see people in life and corpses in death. I must pick up Mei Niang."

"Ugh!"

The old man sighed, patted Qin Chong on the shoulder, turned and left.

After resting almost, Qin Zhong jumped into the water again.

Has been tossing until evening, still nothing.

Wang Jiuma rushed over, looking mournful.

After all, Meiniang is her cash cow. Once Meiniang is gone, her years of hard work will be ruined.

Besides, the two have been together for many years, and they are called mother and daughter, so there must be some affection.

After crying for a while, Wang Jiuma said to Qin Chong: "Little official, now I can see that you are a rare good person, and you have deep affection for Meiniang.

It's a pity that you two have no chance in this life, it's getting dark, you go back, I'll find someone to help salvage it tomorrow. "

Qin Chong shook his head: "No, I must see Meiniang before leaving, whether it's life or death."

At this time, Zhu Laoshi also rushed over, and said angrily at Qin Chong: "You are dying, don't you? I'm afraid it's because someone didn't pick it up, so you put yourself in it."

Qin Chong smiled bitterly: "Father, I'm sorry, I...I just can't be reconciled."

"Why are you not reconciled? You have to figure it out, you and her are people from two worlds.

Last time you said you wanted a wish, went to meet her, had a drink, chatted, I didn't stop you, did I?And help you set up your outfit.

But if you look at it now, you are like a demon, even if you really saved her, so what?
Could it be that you still expect her to marry you?Even if she has that heart, she can't help herself. Don't forget her identity.

The important thing is that she offended Wu Yanei, and Wu Yanei will definitely trouble you when the time comes. "

"I'm not afraid, I'll die at worst."

"Bastard, you... are you going to piss me off?"

"Father, I'm really sorry, I... I just can't be reconciled, even if Meiniang is really gone, I will see her again and send her off."

"Well, it's up to you, but you promise me that you are not allowed to jump into the water again. I will send you a set of clothes to change in a while, do you hear me?"

"Well, good foster father."

In this way, Qin Chong stayed by the lake.

The night passed.

The next morning, a strange news suddenly spread wildly in the city:
"Have you heard? Wu Yanei is dead!"

"What? Haha, that's great."

"How did he die?"

"I heard that he ran to throw himself into the well in the middle of the night..."

"No way? Why is he willing to die? Someone must have killed him."

"It may also be that bad things have been done too much, retribution..."

Wu Yanei is indeed dead.

Indeed, he died by throwing himself into a well.

At that time, he seemed very frightened when he rushed out the door, as if someone was chasing him.

His shout alarmed the two guards who were watching the night, and when they hurried over, they found Wu Yanei rushing to the well.

The two of them had no time to stop them, and they saw Wu Yanei thrown into the well.

It didn't take long from when he was thrown into the well to when he was picked up, and there was still a faint breath when he was picked up, but this breath didn't stay after all, and he died not long after.

As soon as the news came out, all the people clapped their hands and cheered.

After all, this guy has harmed too many people.

Let's talk about Qin Chong's side.

He didn't sleep all night, and walked around the lake several times, but he never saw Meiniang's body floating up.

Zhu Laoshi sent a buddy to bring clothes, water and food.

Qin Chong changed into his clothes, but he didn't touch any food or water.

He also couldn't explain why he cared so much about Mei Niang, perhaps his heart was tied when he first saw her.

At noon, suddenly, someone by the lake exclaimed: "Look, there is a woman in the lake."

"Ah? It must be Mei Niang who dived yesterday."

The crowd suddenly boiled up.

Qin Chong also heard the movement, and hastily searched the surface of the lake, and found that Meiniang really floated up.

At this moment, Qin Chong's tears could not stop flowing out.

He has given up any hope. After all, the water he jumped in yesterday has only floated up now, and there is no hope of being alive at all.

"thump!"

Qin Chong jumped into the lake again, swam to Meiniang, and supported her to swim to the shore.

After reaching the shore and laying Meiniang flat on the ground, Qin Chongfang realized that something was wrong.

It stands to reason that after soaking in water for a day and a night, the whole face should be pale, swollen and lifeless.

But Meiniang looks like a beauty just out of the bath at this time, her face is still a little rosy, she doesn't look like a drowned person at all.

Qin Chong couldn't help sniffing, as if he couldn't sense the breath.

Unwilling to give up, he leaned on Meiniang again, with his head pressed against her chest, listening to her movements.

He didn't intend to take advantage of it, and he didn't know how to feel the pulse, so he could only use the most primitive method: listening to the heartbeat.

As a result, as soon as it touched Meiniang's chest, she felt a warm and fragrant fragrance.

The most important thing is that he actually sensed that Meiniang still had a weak heartbeat.

Even though all this was so incredible, Qin Chong was so ecstatic that he didn't care to think about it, and carried Meiniang on his back to find the doctor.

After finding Lang Zhong, Lang Zhong couldn't help being shocked when he made a diagnosis:
"It's strange, it's really strange. This old man has practiced medicine for more than [-] years, and he has never encountered such a bizarre thing. He jumped into the water yesterday, but today he floated up. He is still alive..."

After some treatment, Meiniang really came back to life, but she was a little weak.

The doctor prescribed some medicine for Qin Chong to take back and decoct it, and told Meiniang to stay in bed for a few days.

Qin Zhong hired a soft sedan chair to take Meiniang back.

Back in the courtyard, Wang Jiuma and all the girls in the courtyard were shocked and felt incredible.

After the news spread, it also aroused heated discussions among the people.

Some people said that it was because Meiniang's life should not be terminated, and she was sent back to the world after going around the palace of the king of hell.

Some people also said that Meiniang filed a complaint in the underworld, but the king of hell sent someone to take the life of Wu Yanei.

Others say that Meiniang is actually a fairy who descended to earth to experience life in the world...

On the other side, Qin Chong stayed by Meiniang's side and accompanied her, decocting and feeding her medicine himself.

Although Meiniang woke up, she seemed to have lost her soul, and she didn't speak. Apart from taking and drinking medicine every day, she just lay down and slept quietly.

Two days later, a group of officers and soldiers suddenly came to the yard and arrested Wang Jiuma and Qin Chong at the same time.

The reason for arresting Wang Jiuma was that a robber in the prison confessed that Wang Jiuma had taken money from him to hide him in order to avoid arrest by the government.

For this, Wang Jiuma was so angry that she wanted to vomit blood.

Because there is no such thing at all, it is clear that someone deliberately planted a frame on her.

The reason for arresting Qin Chong is similar, saying that he has an affair with a gangster.

Obviously, anyone can guess that this is clearly the magistrate's revenge because of his son's death.

The reason why Mei Niang was not arrested was probably because she knew that she was still bedridden and not awake.

Once the illness is cured, maybe she will be charged with another crime and sent to prison.

Besides, after Qin Chong was taken into custody, it was naturally impossible for him to plead guilty, and he could guess in his heart that his arrest must be related to Wu Yanei's death.

Zhu Laoshi was so anxious that he asked people everywhere to beg for mercy, but no one dared to take his money.

After all, everyone knew in their hearts that the magistrate was in the pain of losing his son. At this juncture, who would dare to touch the bad luck?
This morning, the magistrate was explaining things to the master.

Suddenly, a servant rushed to report: "My lord, Lord Xiahou is visiting."

"Master Xia?"

The magistrate was taken aback, then hastily adjusted his clothes and went out to welcome him.

Lord Xia Hou, whose real name is Xia Zhiqing, was a frontier general back then. He was not only good at strategy, but also extremely brave. He made the enemy fearful and made great contributions to the court.

Once when he was leading an army in battle, he suddenly fell off his horse due to a relapse of his old disease and broke a leg.

But even so, he still gritted his teeth and persisted, commanding a group of subordinates to repel the enemy, and captured several senior generals of the enemy.

After that, although the leg injury was cured, the body was affected, and the physical strength was not as good as before.

In order not to affect the march and fight, Xia Zhiqing took the initiative to resign from the court.

The emperor personally ordered to allow him to rest in his hometown.At the same time, he was also canonized as a first-class marquis to demonstrate the mighty grace of the emperor.

Not to mention Xia Zhiqing's status as Marquis Xia Zhiqing, just because he used to be a first-rank general, even if he has returned to the wild, he is not something a small magistrate would dare to neglect.

When he came to the front hall, seeing Xia Zhiqing sitting at the head, the magistrate quickly brushed off his sleeves, stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "I will see you, Lord Hou."

"Well, Mr. Wu is free, sit down."

Speaking of which, Xia Zhiqing is a guest, but he has a distinguished status, and he has the momentum of being anti-customer.

"Thank you, Lord."

The magistrate sat down, and then asked cautiously: "I don't know what the Lord Hou is doing here?"

Xia Zhiqing also lazily turned the corner and asked, "I heard that you arrested a young man named Qin Chong?"

"what?"

The prefect was stunned.

It never occurred to him that Xia Zhiqing came here for Qin Chong, isn't he just a little oil seller?How could it disturb the dignified Lord Hou?
"What? Don't Master Wu know about this?"

"This..." The magistrate rolled his eyes and replied along the lines of the conversation: "I really don't know, after all, there are many prisoners in this big prison, and I usually only deal with some important cases.

I don't know what the Lord Hou said about Qin Zhong... What is the relationship with Lord Hou? "

"He is the son of an old man."

"Old man?" The magistrate frowned, thinking something was wrong in his heart.

He thought that Qin Chong was just an ordinary commoner with no background, but he actually got involved with Lord Hou?

"Yes, entrusted by the old man, this Marquis came here to ask what happened. If he really violated the law, it's not easy for this Marquis to cover up.

But if someone framed him...then Benhou wouldn't stand by and watch. "

As soon as these words came out, Zhifu couldn't help but feel his heart sink.

He knew very well in his heart that once Xia Zhiqing got serious about this matter, it would be impossible for him to suppress it with his energy.

At that time, once the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Officials, and even the emperor are alarmed... it may be difficult to keep the black veil on his head.

So, he quickly replied: "Master Hou, don't worry, the next official will ask someone to ask about the case and see what's going on.

If Qin Chong is really wronged, the next official will release him immediately. "

"Master Wu, I hope you can make it clear that the Marquis is not here to intercede, but just wants to know the truth of the case and find out whether Qin Chong really violated the law."

"Yes, yes, I understand, I understand..."

The magistrate apologized, then walked out of the hall, and summoned the master to whisper for a while.

After that, he went back to the front hall to chat with Xia Zhiqing.

About half an hour later, the master reported back that after the interrogation, the truth of the matter was finally clarified. It was the robbers in the prison who bit people randomly. Qin Chong was indeed wronged and had already released him.

"A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding, I hope Lord Hou will forgive me, after all, there are too many cases, sometimes mistakes are inevitable..."

The magistrate pretended to apologize.

"Hehe, it's fine if it's just a misunderstanding. Thank you, Mr. Wu, for your insight. I'm leaving."

Xia Zhiqing arched his hands, turned around and strode away.

As for Qin Chong, after regaining his freedom, he was also a little confused and had no idea what happened.

Was arrested for no reason, was released again for no reason?

Returning to the oil shop in a trance, Zhu Laoshi seemed to know that he was coming back a long time ago, and he didn't show any surprise, but asked a few words with relief.

Then he said: "You go to the yard, someone wants to see you."

"Who?"

"You'll know when you go."

Qin Chong walked into the courtyard with a puzzled look on his face, and a middle-aged couple greeted him immediately.

Although he didn't know each other, Qin Chong subconsciously stepped forward to greet him.

"Young student, are you Qin Chong?"

The woman asked hurriedly.

"It's Xiao Ke. May I ask who you two are..."

"My name is Xin Shan, this is Jiannei, we have a lost daughter named Yaoqin..."

Speaking of this, Xin Shan smiled sadly: "But now, she has changed her name to Wang Meiniang."

Qin Zhongzhong was taken aback: "Huh? Mei... Meiniang? You... Are you Meiniang's parents?"

In fact, Meiniang never mentioned her life experience in front of Qin Chong, and Qin Chong heard Wang Jiuma mention it once by accident.

"Yes, back then, we were separated from our daughter, and we looked around anxiously.

Later, we were going to go home to have a look, but unexpectedly something happened at home.

Meiniang's uncle was obsessed with ghosts and was used by the enemy's spies. The government suspected that our family also had contacts with spies, and not only sealed up my house, but also arrested our family.

In desperation, Jiannei and I had no choice but to escape. After all, once we were caught, we might never be able to get out again.

We were hiding all the way, fearful, and one day, when we walked near a mountain village, Jiannei suddenly fell ill.

Fortunately, I met a kind doctor. He not only cured Jiannai, but also knew that we had nowhere to go. In addition, I also knew some medicine, so he took us in and helped us collect herbs, beat others and so on. .

At that time, we thought about avoiding the limelight in the mountains first, and then went to find our daughter after the limelight passed.

After some days, a group of people came from the mountains to hunt.

We only found out later that it was Lord Xiahou, his son and his followers..."

……

(End of this chapter)