I opened a tea shop in Bianjing

Chapter 38
"He Lu!" A hoarse voice came from the corner of the cell.The cell was already dark, but when they heard such a weird sound, the girls were startled, screamed "Ah!", and hurriedly ran in the opposite direction.

"Mother! Could it be that there are ghosts in this prison?" Mo Yunxiang couldn't hide his fear, and said while hugging Zhang Yun'er tightly.

Zhang Yun'er also cheered her up, and comforted her, saying: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, your third aunt has worshiped Bodhisattvas for many years, and she has Buddha's light on her body, even if there are ghosts, she dare not do anything to us."

Mo Yunxiao was also a little flustered, but at this moment she became more and more aware that she couldn't be afraid, or she couldn't show that she was afraid.Because although the two mother and daughter pairs behind him didn't say anything, they already vaguely regarded her as the backbone in their hearts.Once she wavered, the whole Mo family would collapse.

At this time, she could only pluck up her courage and walk towards the direction of the voice step by step.The firewood spread on the ground made a "creaking" sound under her feet, which could comfort her flustered heart.

When Mo Yunxiang and Mo Yunxi saw her passing by, they curled up even tighter, staring at her with frightened eyes for a moment.

"He Lu! He Lu!" It was as if a hand reached out from the darkness.Mo Yunxiao lowered his body and took a look, it turned out that it was a frail old man.She calmed down a little and asked, "Old man, are you calling me?"

"He Lu! Come here." The old man said softly.

Mo Yunxiao froze for a moment, then took two steps closer to take a look. With the help of the dim light, she finally saw clearly.The person who called him was none other than his father, Mo Chenglin, the head of the Minglou!

"Father?" Mo Yunxiao was surprised and delighted, rushed up, tightly held his father's trembling hand, and shouted: "Father! How did you become like this?"

"Father?" Mo Yunxi and Mo Yunxiang also looked at each other, and followed their respective mothers to hug each other. The cries of "Da Lang!" and "Daddy!" resounded throughout the cell.

At this time, Mo Chenglin was half lying on the pile of firewood, with sunken eyes and wounds on his face, especially his legs, which seemed to have been tortured with a stick. Although they were not broken, they were also scarred and bloody.

After they looked at him this way, they cried even harder.Mo Yunxiao also had tears in her eyes and was so choked up that she couldn't speak.

"Da Lang! Who caused you to be like this?" Zhang Yun'er supported him, crying and shouting.

Mo Chenglin smiled helplessly, and said, "It's bitter, it's all caused by my tea prescription!"

Everyone was a little surprised and looked at each other.Zhang Yuner asked again: "What does this have to do with tea and medicine prescriptions?"

Mo Yunxiao answered for his father: "Chou Feng and the others are enforcing the laws of the Song Dynasty on the surface, but secretly they are trying to get out our tea and medicine prescriptions because of public favoritism."

"But..." Mo Yunxi wiped away tears and said, "They don't open teahouses, so what's the use of this recipe?"

"Hmph! Naturally, the resources have been exchanged." Mo Yunxiao sneered and explained: "Qiu Feng uses the power of the state to arrest people. Once he gets our prescription, he can sell it to those who need it." .”

"Huh?" Everyone was a little surprised.Mo Chenglin nodded with a smile, and said weakly, "It's not bad at all."

"Da Lang! Did you give it to him?" Zhang Yuner asked again.

"If Daddy gave it to him, how could he suffer such torture?" Mo Yunxiao continued to explain for his father: "Daddy will never give it to him."

Zhang Yun'er was a little anxious, and complained: "Da Lang! Why are you so confused at this moment! What we want is life, not the prescription. You can give him the prescription as much as possible, so that you don't suffer less pain, and we also... Maybe I can go home early."

Mo Chenglin sighed, and said: "Since I am a deserter in the army, once I am convicted of the crime, how can I let it go easily? Whether I give the prescription or not, the result is the same. It's just... just suffering you."

"Ah?" Zhang Yun'er gasped, and after a long pause, she began to cry: "My life is really miserable! First... first my father and brother were in trouble, and now my husband has also been raped! Why did God tease Yu like this?" me!"

Zhang Yun'er beat her chest and stamped her feet, crying to death.Mo Yunxiang was also in tears, he helped her to the side and comforted her slowly.

Mo Chenglin looked at Li Xianye who bowed his head silently, and asked, "Why don't you speak?"

"I'm thinking in my heart, the mistress of our family is really a blessing." She replied like this.

Mo Chenglin was a little surprised, and asked, "How do you say that?"

"The mistress came to Mo's house, not only gave birth to a good daughter for Da Lang, but also won the favor of Da Lang." Li Xian'e said: "Also, the mistress went to the west to serve the Buddha early, You don’t have to be wronged like this by me.”

At the end, her voice choked up, and finally couldn't help it, and she began to cry faintly.

"Mom!" Mo Yunxi also threw himself into her arms, crying unceasingly.

Looking at the mother and daughter, Mo Chenglin also shed tears. "It's hard for you...it's hard for you..." He murmured.

"Son, you have to remember your mother's words." Li Xian'e helped Mo Yunxi up, and said, "If one day you are lucky enough to be free, you should always think about your elder brother. She is a female middle school girl. Haojie, you should learn from her."

Li Xianye seemed to be explaining the funeral, Mo Yunxi gritted her teeth and nodded, and finally threw herself into her mother's arms and cried again.

Mo Chenglin also looked at his eldest daughter, Mo Yunxiao, who was also staring at him blankly, wondering what she was thinking.

"Yunxi, you also help your mother to rest aside, I have something to say to your elder brother." Mo Chenglin ordered.

Mo Yunxi responded, and helped Li Xian'er to another corner and sat down.

Mo Yunxiao's jade-like hand was tightly held by her father, and she felt that his father had exerted all his strength to hold her hand.

To be honest, she didn't have much special affection for the desolate old man in front of her, and the relationship between father and daughter was even less.Living in an orphanage since she was a child, the "father-daughter relationship" was naturally missing in her life experience.

However, when she saw the old man in front of her looking at her with worry and anger, she felt mixed emotions in her heart, and she naturally felt a little bit of pity for him.

"Daddy, what do you want to tell me?" Mo Yunxiao asked.

"Helu!" Mo Chenglin sighed and said, "I'm really sorry for your mother and daughter. Your mother died of dystocia. She called my name and didn't close her eyes until she died. Alas, she wanted to see me, but I..."

Mo Chenglin shook his head, adjusted his breathing, and continued: "Fortunately, you survived. You have no mother since you were young, so you have to be strong in everything. When you were eight years old, you saw me shoot an arrow in the schoolyard, So he pestered me and wanted to learn martial arts from me. I couldn't pester you, so I taught you some crude boxing skills. But then you fumbled by yourself, learned horseback riding and archery, and even learned the skills of sumo wrestling in the army. Later, your temper became more and more stubborn, and you often galloped in the downtown area, and people would avoid you when they saw it. For this reason, I reprimanded you a lot. But you just didn’t listen. So, I thought about controlling your temper , and then began to teach you how to manage the business of the Tea House. You started as a clerk, and then worked as a doctor of tea and an accountant, and you are all outstanding. Hehe, Cao Mengde said, 'Having a child should be like Sun Zhongmou'. I have the right to add a sentence , 'A daughter should be like Mohelu'! Hahaha..."

Mo Yunxiao supported her father to sit upright, and heard him continue to say: "We father and daughter have gone through countless storms, but I'm afraid this time we won't be able to withstand it. He Lu, do you hate me?"

Mo Yunxiao smiled wryly, and said, "It's just good luck playing tricks on people, how can I hate daddy."

"Ah!" Mo Chenglin patted his daughter's back heavily, and said, "I blamed you for forgetting our tea prescription before. But now it seems that it's just right to forget. If you really forgot, you don't have to suffer from me." .”

"I'm afraid there will be troubles waiting for me to eat." Mo Yunxiao shook her head helplessly.

"My son, take a look." Mo Chenglin's tone was solemn, and Mo Yunxiao was also surprised, and hurriedly looked up at him.

Mo Chenglin's eyes were hale and hearty, and he said word by word: "Although you are a woman, you can be the pillar of our Mo family." He did not forget to glance at the two mother and daughter pairs behind Mo Yunxiao, He continued: "I know you three sisters don't get along. However, you are a child who knows the importance and the general situation. Once you get out of this predicament, Yunxiang and Yunxi, as well as your second mother and third mother, are all very ordinary. A woman's family has no way of making a living. At that time, you have to support this family."

Mo Yunxiao raised her eyebrows and asked, "What does daddy mean by this? Do we still have a way out?"

"I've figured it out myself..." Mo Chenglin said: "According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, those who escaped from the army should be sentenced to the crime of confiscating their homes and exile. However, now is the first emperor's death and the beginning of the new emperor. .According to the established law, the world should be amnesty."

"Amnesty to the world!" Mo Yunxiao's eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "Exactly! Every time a new emperor ascends the throne, he wants to amnesty the world. How could I have forgotten this!"

"However, even so, we can't guarantee it." Mo Chenglin said: "Someone is coveting our tea medicine prescription, I'm afraid we can't let it go easily. If you want to let you go out from here, there is only one way to be sure."

"What?" Mo Yunxiaoliu frowned, quite nervous.

Mo Chenglin said sadly, "I'm dead."

"Ah? This..." Mo Yunxiao was taken aback, but hurriedly covered her mouth, for fear of disturbing the two mother and daughter pairs behind her.

"After all, what we committed was not a major crime of treason. The principal culprit died in prison, and they have no reason to make things difficult for you." Mo Chenglin said: "When the new emperor ascends the throne, no matter what, you will have to be released. Hehe, I'm afraid that at that time, Qiu Feng will have to be reprimanded, asking him whether the punishment was too severe, resulting in the death of the prisoner, making the law of the country unable to be enforced."

"Daddy, absolutely not!" Mo Yunxiao was shocked, but she was able to lower her voice so that Yunxiang, Yunxi and the others could not hear.But she still looked back, and continued: "If Dad commits suicide, it will be true. Qiu Feng and the others will murder us by committing suicide in fear of crime."

Mo Chenglin smiled miserably and said, "I understand that. So after I was tortured, I asked an old catcher for something. Cough cough cough..."

"What?" Mo Yunxiao asked hurriedly.

"Rhubarb is just a blind medicine." Mo Chenglin explained: "Although this rhubarb is a medicine, if you eat too much, you will be poisoned and die, and you can't detect it with a silver needle. Even if you do an autopsy, you can't find anything." .I have neither fatal injuries nor signs of poisoning. Even if Sheng Zhang and Qiu Feng are brave, they can only admit that they are unlucky."

After he finished speaking, he saw that Mo Yunxiao just looked at him in horror and didn't answer, so he patted her wrist lightly, as if to comfort her: "It's a secret in prison to commit suicide by taking rhubarb. You can't survive the torture." If someone meets a kind-hearted jailer, give him some rhubarb and kill himself."

"Daddy!" Mo Yunxiao held onto Mo Chenglin's shoulders tightly, and kept saying, "No, no, how can I exchange my father's life for the lives of my children!"

Mo Chenglin smiled miserably, stroked Mo Yunxiao's temples with his hands, and said, "The love of the calf is the way of heaven. You have to remember what I said, he should treat your two younger brothers and sisters well when he comes out of prison at sunrise." The two aunts, you must not abandon or neglect them because of the previous rift!"

"Daddy!" Mo Yunxiao tightly grasped his torn clothes with both hands, her nails were almost embedded in his flesh.There were tears on Mo Yunxiao's face, and she also forgot when she shed the tears.

Mo Chenglint tightly grasped her arm, and said with the last bit of strength: "He Lu, you have to remember! After you go out, we have to erect the signboard of our tea house again. And, and! We need to ask You also need to secretly investigate the people who make our tea and medicine prescriptions, don’t let me be under the nine springs, I don’t know who the enemy is! He Lu! Do you remember what I said?”

"Well, daughter remembers." Mo Yunxiao nodded heavily.Her psychological defenses had completely collapsed, tears gushed out like a flood breaking a bank, and her voice choked up.

Mo Chenglin struggled to sit up slightly, his hands were still holding Mo Yunxiao's arm, his eyes were wide open, but the pupils had lost their spirit. "Helu! Helu!" he cried, his voice getting louder.Mo Yunxiao became sadder and more helpless.She hurriedly replied, "Daddy! I'm here!"

"Helu! Helu!" Mo Chenglin still shouted, staring blankly at the sky.His voice became louder, and the two mother and daughter also noticed something strange, and they also gathered around him.

"Da Lang, what are you..." Zhang Yun'er was taken aback and panicked even more. "Daddy! What's the matter with you?" Yunxi and Yunxiang also gathered around to ask.

Mo Yunxiao hugged her father in her arms and said loudly, "I'm here! I'm here..."

"Do you remember everything I told you?" Mo Chenglin's voice was hoarse, almost unrecognizable.

Mo Yunxiao nodded while weeping, and said, "Remember, remember."

"I really wronged you for making you...letting you do these things." He said.

"No, what my daughter should do." Mo Yunxiao replied.

This time, Mo Chenglin didn't respond to her.She felt that the hand holding Mo Chenglin suddenly sank, and then gently put down the father in her arms, only to see his mouth slightly opened, his eyes wide open, his hands stretched out into the air, not knowing what to grab.

He is dead.

(End of this chapter)