Judge of the Lamp

Chapter 39

Burning incense and ordering tea, hanging paintings and arranging flowers, all other busyness, should not tire the family.

Daxuan loves flowers. Every year on the [-]th day of February, it is the Flower Festival. During the day, thousands of people in the capital will come out to enjoy the flowers in the gardens. The markets are full of flowers. Men, women, old and young arranging flowers and wearing flowers. Sell ​​it for three thousand dollars.

The man carrying the lantern patrolled the night, it was naturally dark, Ma Guangli sighed softly and said: "During the day, I still wanted to accompany my wife to enjoy the flowers, but it was because of Wang Shijie that I wasted a day in the yamen!"

Li Pu'an said: "Don't talk about the killer again, but you are panicking at night. We might as well go to the market to see if there are any good flowers."

Wang Zhennan shook his head and said, "It's this time, what else is there to spend? It's all left over from other people's picks!"

Ma Guangli smiled and said, "You can pick the rest, it's cheap!"

Meng Shizhen looked at the crowd: "It's okay to go to the market, I can explain the rules clearly, you can't break the bone marrow, you have to pay for things!"

The largest market was in the west of the city, called Xiji, it was too far away, so everyone stopped by to the market in the north of the city.

The north of the city is poor, but it is a festival after all. The Huachao Festival is an important festival in Daxuan, and the market is very lively.

The best time to sell flowers has passed, and now the vendors just want to get rid of the flowers in their hands as soon as possible, and the price is really cheap.

Xu Zhiqiong fell in love with a jasmine hairpin flower, and went up to ask the price. The flower seller was a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old. Seeing Lantern, he quickly said: "This flower is for Mr. Denglang."

Meng Shizhen frowned and said, "What is this called? Who will take advantage of you? Just talk about the price!"

The young man boldly said: "To tell you the truth, this is a top-grade jasmine. In the daytime, one plant would cost at least three hundred dollars."

Three hundred Wen a flower!Xu Zhiqiong smacked his lips.

Li Pu'an said from the side: "Who asked you the price during the day? If you don't sell these flowers, you will go home and wait for them to dry up. Let's say the current price is the same!"

The young man said: "This flower won't wither for a while, look carefully, it's a dried flower."

It turns out that this jasmine is not a fresh flower, but a processed dried flower, but the color has not been compromised in the slightest, and when it is brought close to the nose, the fragrance is intoxicating and intoxicating.

Xu Zhiqiong said, "I bought these flowers."

The young man said: "I am also in a hurry to close the stall. This flower is worth eighty cents for you!"

Seeing that the other hairpins were also exquisite, Xu Zhiqiong took out his purse and said, "I'll buy three!"

The young man thought for a while: "Three will count as your two hundred coins."

Xu Zhiqiong counted out two hundred Wen coins, and the young man packed flowers in three bamboo tubes and handed them to Xu Zhiqiong.

The flowers are placed in a bamboo tube, which is convenient to carry, and the businessman of Daxuan is very considerate in his business.

Xu Zhiqiong took out one and gave it to Meng Shizhen. When he was shopping in front of the leader, he should bring a copy to the leader. Xu Zhiqiong naturally understood the etiquette.

But Meng Shizhen waved his hands again and again: "Zhiqiong, you don't understand the rules, you can't give hairpins casually, if I accept them, we brothers won't be able to tell."

Xu Zhiqiong quickly took the flowers back, he had no interest in Meng Shizhen, he really didn't know the rules here.

Ma Guangli jokingly said, "Zhiqiong, why did you buy three flowers? How many sweethearts do you have?"

Wang Zhennan said: "The most beautiful is when you are young, three is not too many."

Meng Shizhen sarcastically said: "No matter how much you have, I can beat you!"

Wang Zhennan heard the words and said: "Meng Qingdeng, we have an agreement, I choked on Shi Chuan, I gave you an embarrassment, you must not forget what you promised me."

Meng Shizhen pursed his lips, and he promised to tell Wang Zhennan another concubine.

"Don't be in a hurry, just wait for my news."

Li Pu'an looked at Xu Zhiqiong: "Let me tell you, Zhiqiong hasn't found his sweetheart yet. His three flowers are for the girls in Goulan. There happen to be three dancers in the Peach Blossom Shed in Beiyuanwa City."

Xu Zhiqiong smiled innocently, it seems that Li Pu'an is also a frequent visitor of Peach Blossom Shed.

Meng Shizhen looked at Li Pu'an in surprise: "Have you been to that poor place?"

"That place is not broken, you will know when you go there, Zhiqiong is a person who will enjoy life!"

The three talked and laughed and left the market, but met an acquaintance on the way.

The elder sister, Wei Chi Lan, was hurrying, and was about to rush to Tsing Yi Pavilion.

Xu Zhiqiong was planning to look for her tomorrow, but he didn't expect to run into her here.

They haven't seen each other for many days, and the two of them felt a little awkward, so the elder sister asked, "Are you going to watch the night?"

Xu Zhiqiong nodded.

Yu Chilan said: "I have other matters here, so let's take a step first."

In the Imperial City Department, there are some things that cannot be inquired about casually. No matter Wuwei Camp, Tsing Yi Pavilion or Zhangdeng Yamen, they all have the special nature of secret service agencies.

Xu Zhiqiong didn't ask any further questions, and took out a jasmine from his bosom.

"Here, here, Senior Sister."

Needless to say, the simplest expression is Yu Chilan's favorite Zhiqiong.

Several colleagues hid in the distance wisely.

The senior sister held the jasmine flower, her eyes were moist.

Daxuan is a civilized country, unlike those ignorant and stubborn dynasties in the history books, who committed many taboos when it came to the relationship between men and women.

Daxuan does not have so many taboos, and Daxuan is not so ignorant.

The senior sister wanted to hug Zhiqiong very much, even if she hugged her on the side of the street, she wouldn't attract any strange looks.

But after thinking about it, he was still a little shy, blushing and afraid to look into Xu Zhiqiong's eyes.

Yu Chilan wanted to wear the hairpin, but remembered that today was a special day and she couldn't wear it.

She wanted to find something to give Xu Zhiqiong a gift in return, but there was nothing suitable right now.

The two stood silently on the side of the street for a long time, Yuchi Land said: "Zhiqiong, I have to go."

Yu Chilan hid Jasmine in her skirt, and slowly disappeared into the night.

With a sweet smile, Xu Zhiqiong watched Yu Chilan's back.

For the elder sister, he has a lot of patience.

Colleagues came up to make fun of her, Ma Guangli said: "This girl is good, she looks solid!"

Wang Zhennan shook his head and said, "A good girl is a girl with a slender waist and light palms, who can be hugged by one arm. This girl is too strong."

Li Pu'an nodded and said: "Brother Zhennan is still an expert, this girl is a bit old."

Everyone commented, but Meng Shizhen called Xu Zhiqiong aside and said a few words alone.

"If I'm not mistaken, this girl is from Tsing Yi Pavilion, right?"

Xu Zhiqiong nodded and said, "It was the same year I was in the academy."

Meng Shizhen sighed and said: "The girl is a good girl, I can see that she is sincere to you, but brother wants to persuade you, our business, although you are lazy at ordinary times, is actually a business of licking blood. If you don't like it, if you have a child in the future, you may lose your father in a blink of an eye, so don't let your child lose his mother."

Xu Zhiqiong was taken aback: "How do you say that?"

Meng Shizhen lowered her voice and said, "That girl is wearing soft armor and hidden a lot of weapons. You can't see it, but you can't escape my eyes. She must have killed someone tonight."

Xu Zhiqiong's expression was very surprised, but his heart was very calm.

The eldest sister is a student of killing Tao at Wu Che Academy, and the Imperial City Division is a secret service agency, and killing people is a very common thing.

But the senior sister is only a rank nine after all, so it would be too risky for her to carry out the assassination mission alone.

Meng Shizhen said: "You don't have to worry about that, the girl who just started can only watch from the sidelines, the real one is old Tsing Yi."

Xu Zhiqiong was a little curious: "What's the matter? No, Tsing Yi Pavilion must take action?"

Meng Shizhen smiled: "It's ambiguous."

"Well, what about this?"

Meng Shizhen spoke frankly: "In the affairs of the imperial city, there are things that can be seen in the light, and things that can't be seen. The things that can be seen in the light are all done by Wuweiying. there is face inside,
But there are some things that are not so justified, say that this person should be killed, there is no imperial decree, if you say that you should not kill him, the emperor has said more than once that he will be killed, this time it is the turn of Tsing Yi Pavilion, they can kill. "

Xu Zhiqiong was taken aback: "Why can they kill them?"

Meng Shizhen lowered her voice to an extremely low level: "According to the Daxuan law, Tsing Yi Pavilion has the right to kill traitors and sycophants, and they can be killed first and then played. As long as they can produce evidence, even murder is not guilty. The most important thing is that the emperor does not need to know. It has nothing to do with the emperor."

Xu Zhiqiong understood that the emperor wanted to kill, but he didn't want to do it himself, so he ordered Tsing Yi Pavilion to kill first and then play. Afterwards, Tsing Yi Pavilion will take the blame, but he will not be punished, and the emperor can also leave himself clean.

"Yes, but why can't the Wuwei Camp be killed first and played later?"

Meng Shizhen smiled: "There are three hundred female officials in the Tsingyi Pavilion. It is enough to kill the rebellious officials and thieves. There are two thousand elite soldiers in the Wuwei Camp. You let them kill first and then play. Do you know who they will kill?"

Xu Zhiqiong understood that the Wuwei Battalion was too powerful and had to be strictly restrained, so it could not have the right to kill traitors and sycophants.

What about the lamp yamen?

Meng Shizhen said: "Let the things that can be seen in the light be handed over to Wuwei Camp, and the things that are ambiguous should be handed over to Qingyi Pavilion. What about the things that can't be seen in the light?"

Things that can't be seen in the light belong to the Yamen in charge of the lamp.

Xu Zhiqiong asked: "Do we have the right to eliminate traitors and sycophants?"

Meng Shizhen asked back: "What kind of traitors are weeding out? What kind of sycophants are we beheading?"

"Could it be, me, don't we kill people?"

Meng Shizhen laughed and said, "Kill! Kill in a dignified way!"

"Then, then we don't have to take responsibility?"

Meng Shizhen said: "What's the responsibility? Those who died deserve to die, and they died clearly. If someone doesn't understand his death, then let him understand. As long as we can explain clearly, he will be considered dead. You have to understand even if you don’t understand, remember?”

Xu Zhiqiong nodded, trying to understand a truth.

Why did Wu Xu say that Wang Shijie died in the line of duty.

Because Wang Shijie didn't understand it to death, so he had to be made to understand it to death.

He was killed by a villain. The villain had no clues, no identity, and no witnesses. But Wu Xu said that the villain killed Wang Shijie, so he killed Wang Shijie.

You have to understand even if you don’t understand.

This is the privilege of being in charge of the yamen.

After working as a lantern bearer for more than ten days, Xu Zhiqiong still doesn't know much about the lantern yamen.

……

When we arrived at Beiyuan, Xu Zhiqiong was about to light the lamps. Meng Shizhen waved his hand and said, "Brother, you have worked hard for a few days, so let's rest today. Let's light up the lamps, and you can find your classmate to have a glass of wine, and go to Bai Shaoyao's." A cup of tea, buy some flower cakes from Second Sister Lin, don’t go to the Peach Blossom Shed, it’s demeaning.”

Ma Guangli said: "Meng Qingdeng, my stomach today..."

"You are not allowed to have diarrhea today!" Meng Shizhen turned to Li Pu'an and said, "You are not allowed to repair the house today either!"

Li Pu'an smiled: "Who is talking about the house? I want to tell Zhiqiong that the flower cake made by the second sister Lin is really delicious, but that girl has a bad temper and won't even touch it. You can buy an extra cup at the white peony tea shop." Tea, that little lady can give you a kiss."

"Dear, dear?"

"Kiss on the cheek!"

Everyone laughed, and Xu Zhiqiong also smirked.

It's just a kiss on the cheek, your position is too low.

It would be more interesting if the face was removed.

Xu Zhiqiong carried the lantern and went to the city gate. Wu Shanxing asked with concern: "Zhiqiong, I met the red lantern man during the day and asked about you. I told the truth. Let's have a small gathering tonight." For a moment, did you break the rules?"

Xu Zhiqiong shook his head and said, "Then, what rules can you break?"

That being said, Wu Shanxing was a lot more cautious tonight, he didn't dare to talk nonsense, chatted for a while, had a drink or two, and Xu Zhiqiong went to the white peony tea shop again.

The proprietress was not enthusiastic today, probably because she was frightened during the day.

"Master, your tea." After the tea was brewed, the landlady sat beside Xu Zhiqiong tremblingly, waiting for a kiss on the cheek.

Xu Zhiqiong drank tea, put down the tea money, got up and left.

I don't lack face, and I don't bother to kiss you.

After crossing two streets, I came to the intersection and saw the buddy of the flower cake shop watching from a distance.

"Master Denglang, you are here, our boss is in a hurry!"

Xu Zhiqiong arrived at the flower cake shop, sat down calmly, and ordered a catty of flower cakes.

From far away, I could hear Second Sister Lin's heartbeat, but this girl was stubborn and pretended not to care.

The two of them were in such a stalemate, the man stomped his feet anxiously.

Miss Lin wrapped the flower cake and handed it to Xu Zhiqiong.

Xu Zhiqiong didn't say much, put the money on the table, got up and left.

As the evening wind blew, Second Sister Lin bit her lip, not letting others see her tears.

This is heartless.

Why are you ignoring people?

Could it be that he was blamed by the red lantern man?
Could it be that in the future I won't even be able to say a word...

When he was sad, he suddenly heard a burst of fragrance. Xu Zhiqiong came behind him at some point, put a piece of jasmine on the head of Second Sister Lin, and kissed her cheek again.

Second Sister Lin turned around and punched Xu Zhiqiong: "What are you doing? Why are you kissing me? Why should I let you kiss me?"

This girl is so competitive that she insists on kissing her back.

Xu Zhiqiong couldn't let her go, if you kiss her back, I have to kiss her back.

The two kissed at the fifth watch, and Xu Zhiqiong remembered something, and had to go to Goulan.

Whether to watch the dance or not is the second priority. I heard that Yi Hongdeng held the lamp in front of the gate of Goulan.

There is still half a street away from Washi, and Xu Zhiqiong is thinking about how to bring this matter up with the boss of Goulan.

Suddenly, a woman shouted in the night: "Let go, I don't recognize you, let go!"

Xu Zhiqiong took a closer look, and saw a man walking forward holding a woman's arm, and kept saying, "Do you think how many people you lost to me? You took off your clothes here for others to see, you If you want me to live, you go home!"

Looking at the woman's back, she seems to be a dancer in Goulan.

It was the husband who came to the door.

It seemed that this kind of thing should not be taken care of, but looking at their backs going away, Xu Zhiqiong felt that something was wrong.

The dancer shouted loudly: "Come on, help me, I don't know this person!"

No, this is not right!
I have seen this kind of thing in my previous life!This is a common method of abducting women.

This man is an idiot! (human trafficker)
Xu Zhiqiong chased after him in two steps, and shouted: "Where did the villain come from, let go of that woman!"

When the woman heard Xu Zhiqiong's voice, she hurriedly shouted: "Master Deng Lang! Save me, save me!"

It really is a dancer.

The man didn't turn around, and said: "Master Denglang, this is my wife, and it is also my family's business. The grassroots have not violated the king's law, so don't worry about it."

Such a calm tone, I want to see where you come from.

Xu Zhiqiong concentrated his eyes on the top of the opponent's head, wanting to see how much crime the opponent has.

If another villain is recruited today, he can almost rise to the middle of the ninth rank.

The opponent's head was covered with clouds and mist, and he couldn't see anything clearly.

Xu Zhiqiong was taken aback, under what circumstances could he not see his crimes clearly?
The Taoist priest said that the first is the overbearing cultivator of Canglong, the second is the one who is blessed by the true God of Canglong, the third is the judge of the same sect, the fourth is the person with advanced cultivation, and the fifth is the person who practices strange arts.

No matter which category it is, it should not be easily provoked.

Xu Zhiqiong softened his tone, and said, "Whether you have violated the king's law or not, you should let him go first."

"Master Denglang, let me advise you again, it's best not to worry about this matter!" The man never looked back, but judging from his back, he was also a little nervous.

"I'm in charge of this matter! Are you going to let it go or not?" Xu Zhiqiong raised his voice.

The man said: "So what if you don't let go?"

Xu Zhiqiong shouted, "Lang Lantern, hold the lantern!"

Hearing the word palm lamp, the man panicked, left the woman behind and ran away.

Seeing this, Xu Zhiqiong picked up the dancer and ran away.

The man ran for a while and felt that the footsteps were not right.

He seems to have run away.

Shouldn't he be chasing me?

Looking back, Xu Zhiqiong's back almost disappeared.

One Bai Denglang, just one.

Then what kind of lamp does he hold?

Be cheated by him!

……

Xu Zhiqiong carried the dancer on his back and just ran wildly, he didn't go to the Goulan, if that person chased him, he might not be able to beat him.

He was sure it was a kidnapping, and now he should send the girl back to the Yamen immediately. Xu Zhiqiong is confident in his speed, as long as he runs, even if the opponent is a seventh-rank killer, he can't outrun him.

No, there are footsteps.

Xu Zhiqiong turned his head slightly.

what's the situation?
The man actually chased after him!
He actually ran faster than me!
(End of this chapter)