The fox minister in the late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 48

The news that the leader of the Golden Knife Gang fell ill and passed away spread in the city the next day. The people who heard the news early separated from the two sides and looked at the end of the street.

In the blue sky, the team of plain white flags holding high came towards this side. The coffin with the coffin was carried by the mighty Golden Knife Gang and walked in the middle, stepping on a piece of paper money and walking forward slowly, wearing The beautiful woman in Ma Daixiao supported the coffin and wailed loudly.

The more he cried these days, the more respect the deceased received. If there was no sound of crying, he would be reduced to a laughing stock within a radius of tens of miles.

Among the spectators, there were quite a few people who just came back from outside, or came to Feihu County on a business trip for a day or two. Seeing this kind of scene, a man wrapped in a sheepskin jacket couldn't help asking what happened in the other city?Whose family is dead.

"You don't know? The leader of the Golden Knife Gang died suddenly yesterday."

"When I first came to Feihu County, I heard something about it. I didn't expect to die. It's not right. I died yesterday, so I will be buried today?"

"Hey, what a month it is, I'm afraid it will stink after stopping for a few days."

After thanking the man for his explanation, the man turned around and returned to the restaurant with his fur hat on. On the second floor, there were two men and a woman watching the line of yellow papers go away, with no expression on their faces, standing in the middle The woman was wearing a plain dress, with light red embroidered shoes under the skirt, her slender legs were closed together, and she stared at the pieces of yellow paper floating over without blinking. After a while, the two men beside her waved them open.

Soon, the sound of footsteps spread up. The man who stepped up the stairs took off his hat and sat down at a table calmly. The two men who were watching outside also sat down and chatted in a low voice. There seemed to be some news Accurate'' that person should be trustworthy. ''It's okay to try'.

Amidst the whispering voices, the woman standing in front of the fence held her hands behind her back, holding a torn piece of letter paper in her palm, and took it before her eyes to see the crooked handwriting on it crumpled into a ball.

In the direction she looked at, the morning sun fell on her face, and the corners of her lips curled up into a smile. smile.

In the street outside, the funeral procession went away, and the lively crowd dispersed in twos and threes. To the north, the long procession had left the city gate. The place of burial was about ten miles away from Feihu County. It was Gao Jun who invited an expert to stay overnight The location was chosen in such a hurry, but it was not because of the hot weather that was said outside, but because he hoped that his own brother could be buried cleanly.

In the sound of Taoist priests singing and family members crying, he walked to the young man who was guarding the coffin, watched the complicated funeral ceremony, and said something softly.

"At midnight tonight, wait here."

"Yes."

Geng Qing slightly parted her lower lips, and answered simply.

Then, Gao Jun patted his shoulder, and walked back in a staggered way. There were many other big households in the city and colleagues in the yamen who were going to the funeral today. Naturally, they had to go up and greet them one by one.

"Today my younger brother is buried. Please send me off. When I return home, I will hold a feast for him!"

Among the guests who bowed their hands to return the salute, An Jingsi had the usual expression on his face, and persuaded him with a few words of caution, his eyes turned to the back beside the coffin, the young man had his hands behind his back and his eyes drooped, as if he was exhausted.

Soon, under the guidance of Taoist priests, the coffin was slowly put into the tomb, after which soil was filled, monuments were erected, money papers and white flags were burned, and everyone returned to the city.

The Golden Knife Gang's resident also ended the funeral, took down the plains and white flags, and set up dozens of tables of banquets. People around, drinking and punching, talking about business, seemed lively and peaceful.

"Sister-in-law, let's have something to eat. We will need you to support the family in the future."

Geng Qing took some food from the maidservant and put it on the table, then retreated, the noisy sound from the front yard was still coming, Geng Qing walked through the dark corridor, when a few patrolling minions saw him, They retreated to both sides one after another, moved out of the way, and called respectfully: "Mr. Geng."

In the Golden Knife Gang, his position has obviously surpassed many others, even Dou Wei, an old man in the gang, may not be able to match, firstly, he is the sworn brother of the gang leader; secondly, he is valued by Gao Xianwei Cited as a confidant; third, the gang leader's affairs are handled by himself, and it is organized in an orderly manner. Almost everyone in the gang sees him and agrees with him to some extent.

When they came to the front yard, the backbone of the Golden Knife Gang and the gang members from more than a dozen tables stood up together, raised their heads and drank it all in one gulp.

On the other side, the head of a large family in the ten-table city might not be able to come because of something, and asked the shopkeeper and manager to come over. Seeing this scene, the people who had some complaints smacked their lips and dared not say anything.

"Brother's death, you have contributed a lot, and you are all thirsty and tired, so you let go of eating and drinking."

Geng Qing bowed his hands to them, with all the courtesy, so that the big households in the city over there could not find any faults, then he walked into the inner hall with his sleeves waving, and bid farewell to Gao Jun who was sitting next to the coffin.

"Brother, younger brother, go back a step first and get ready."

"Then you go and take a good rest."

Gao Jun had a solemn expression on his face, and when the young man cupped his hands and turned to leave, he added: "Don't miss the hour."

The back of one foot crossing the threshold stopped, nodded without a trace, and stepped out with the other foot, raised his sleeves and arched his hands at the greeting Golden Knife Gang with a smile, and then walked out of the courtyard gate. Dachun whipped his whip and waited for a long time. When he saw him come out, he was relieved. As soon as he got into the car, he drove away with a 'crack' sound.

"Have all the letters been delivered yesterday?"

"Delivered."

Afterwards, the two were speechless. Dachun wanted to ask, but he saw Geng Qing tiredly closing his eyes and dozing off, opening his mouth and closing it again. When they arrived at the blacksmith shop, the latter opened his eyes, got down from the cart, borrowed Went to Blacksmith Wang's room, wrote and drew, compared the plan to see if there were any mistakes, then burned the paper, took the clothes stored here to take a bath, and when the sky gradually darkened, he gave a big spring With some copper coins, I went outside to buy some snacks on the street, and then sat under the peach tree in the backyard of the shop, quietly flipping through the books.

rustle~~~
The wind blew past the peach tree, the branches and leaves danced slowly, and the fallen leaves floated to the pages of the book, and were caught by his fingertips and blown to the ground. At this time, the sky was completely dark.

Geng Qing asked the blacksmith outside what time it was, and just put down the book, and stretched lazily.

"Dachun, grab some snacks and follow me outside. What did you buy?"

The night was getting darker, and there were not many people on the long street. The hawkers at the night stalls packed up their utensils, tables and chairs and hurried away on their wheelbarrows. There was a thin mist of water on the street.

On the donkey cart they were driving, the two chatted in small numbers before disappearing into the mist.

"Broad beans, the blacksmith woman fried them half an hour ago. They are crispy to the bite. There are also some preserved fruits and candied fruit. I don't have enough money, so I didn't buy much. By the way, Da Zhu, where are we going?"

"Don't ask, just follow along."

"Then why did you ask me to bring Master Wang's hammer?"

"Self-defense."

The night clouds were thick, and the dense stars and the moon could not be seen. The long street was filled with mist and swelled against the ground. Next to the street leading to the North City Gate, a faint light of a lantern came from far and near.

dong dong!

"There is humidity in spring, don't get sick and get cold, close the doors and windows to prevent thieves from patronizing, red apricots go out"

dong dong dong-

The watchman carried a lantern and rang his clapper and walked leisurely across the street. Occasionally, he heard a few barking dogs, and stopped. In the quiet night, there was a sound of a car shaft rolling. Shaking, flickering and flickering, several carriages came towards the long street behind.

'It's so late, and there are so many carriages going out. Just pretend you didn't see it, and leave as soon as possible. '

Muttering a few words, the watchman picked up the shaking lantern and accelerated his pace. He passed the intersection leading to the city gate, and before he could cross the opposite street, the sound of "tapping, treading" horseshoes sounded ahead.

In the turbulent mist, there was a silhouette of a horse. The figure on the horse's back held the rein with one hand, and slowly came over with the long soldier hanging on the side of the horse with the other hand.

The watchman was holding the lantern and the gong in a daze, but when he turned around, several carriages were also approaching, his face turned pale with fright, he immediately dropped the lantern, and the gong squatted on the ground with his head in his hands.

On the deserted street, several carriages driving on noticed the figure on horseback in front of them, and the soldiers in the opponent's hands. The driver stood up and shouted, "Go away!"

The horse's hoof slowly stepped into the area of ​​the light of the paper lantern that fell on the ground, and then stepped over, staggering the watchman, and someone recognized the figure on the horse's back.

"What is An Sibing going to do?!"

"No, you hold him back, I'll report to the county lieutenant!"

When the single-handed figure came over alone, someone jumped out of the carriage and ran back. The driver in the front yelled at the other person to stop. The moment he approached, he stood up and whipped the whip in his hand.

The crackling sound stopped abruptly, and the whip was firmly grasped by the figure on the horse. In an instant, he pulled it out forcefully, dragged the driver off the frame, and threw it heavily to the shop on the street, smashing it with a loud bang. ring.

The galloping horseshoes stopped in the soft sound of 'wow', An Jingsi's slanted long spear slowly turned sideways, his eyes were majestic.

"You sell people, don't even think about leaving, call Gao Jun out, he is going to die today!"

The voice was powerful and loud as if a thunder had exploded on the long street, and the surrounding window lattices were lit, and the fire was quickly extinguished piece by piece.

(End of this chapter)