Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 201 Pay off the debt

There is a hemp rope hanging on the beam, and a person is tied to the hemp rope.

The man's feet were up, his head was down, and his forehead was red, as if blood was about to spill out, so he had no choice but to hold his head high.

"After hanging around for so long, it's time to tell the truth, okay?"

"trick."

Li Tan and Zhang Si sat there side by side, drinking wine and listening to the interrogation by their servants. Zhang Si was a little impatient and shouted: "Ask him where Xue Ling's bandit friends are hiding."

"I don't know. I'm the bartender at Fengweilou. Du Wulang asked me to take care of his father-in-law."

"You still dare to lie to me." Zhang Si scolded: "Xue Ling has already attacked me, saying, who ordered people to beat me?!"

Just at this time, the steward reported outside the door: "Alang, Madam, there is someone asking to see you, and he calls himself Xue Bai."

"Ha." Li Tan couldn't help but laugh, and said to Zhang Si: "It's no coincidence that he was just mentioned in the book, and then he arrived."

"Hmph, stand up for me."

"Do not worry."

Li Tan patted Zhang Si's hand, drank the wine in the glass, and stood up gracefully.

He is a son of a noble family and pays attention to the etiquette of hospitality. He does not embarrass Xue Bai and even invites people to sit down and watch tea in the hall.

Seeing Xue Bai coming in with a maid and a guard, Li Tan was the first to greet him and said with a smile: "Rare guest, rare guest, the number one scholar is here, and the humble house has a bit more scholarly atmosphere."

Xue Bai responded: "That's my fault. If I could be more knowledgeable, maybe this place would be full of scholars?"

Li Tan knew in his heart that this was referring to his previous attempt to snatch bamboo paper crafts. His expression remained unchanged and he said with a smile: "It won't be too late. Please take a seat. Don't be dissatisfied with the shabby and humble house. The so-called 'poverty is a waste of money'. Zhu Jing has a generous temperament. I went out with a lot of money, but I never got it back. I heard that the number one scholar is good at business affairs. If you have connections, you might as well give me some advice as a brother. How about that?"

"So that's it. There was a bartender at Fengwei Restaurant who was brought into the house by Brother Li, but because you wanted to know how to open a restaurant?"

"Fengweilou? Is this happening? I don't know." Li Tan said in surprise, "However, the nursing home in my home did bring back someone, but it was not a bartender, but a gangster."

He didn't wait for Xue Bai to answer and spoke directly.

"Do you know the number one scholar? Zhuo Jing was robbed by someone on the road a few days ago. They were a group of tough gangsters. You also know the instigator. Xue Ling, this person refused to repay the money he owed and colluded with the gangsters. By the way, he spent the entire year last year Nian is hiding in the bandits' den in Qinling Mountains."

"No matter how you say it, Zhuo Jing is the daughter of Shangzhu Kingdom and a relative of the emperor. Instigating villains to beat the emperor's relatives in Chang'an City is no different from rebellion. However, this matter has nothing to do with Zhuang Yuan Lang. Since Zhuang Yuan Lang has recovered his life experience , it’s better not to meddle in others’ affairs, otherwise you might get into big trouble, right?”

After finishing his words, Li Tan looked at Xue Bai with a proud look on his face, with a sneer in his eyes.

He had already made it very clear that Xue Bai had some people under his command. They had imprisoned Xue Ling in the past year and even sent people to beat his wife... He knew all these things, and he was just here to make trouble this time.

If Xue Bai could understand the situation, admit his mistake, and apologize, the matter would end with Xue Ling, and he would not continue to pursue the matter.

"But after all, I have a relationship with the Xue family." Xue Bai asked: "Brother Li, what do you think I should do to avoid getting into such big trouble?"

"I've always wanted to make friends with the Number One Scholar." Li Tan said with a smile, "By the way, I heard that you recently set up a residence newspaper, which is quite interesting."

"Brother Li is also interested in Di Bao?"

Li Tan tapped his knees lightly with his fingers, thinking about what to say.

Although it was important to vent his anger on his wife, if Xue Bai was willing to pay other compensation, then forget about the conflict.

"You also know that although I have a fourth-grade official title, I have never been too lazy to take up a job." Li Tan paused slightly and said slowly: "If the Journaling Institute was separated from the Secretary Province and set up a government office, it would also be There is an important minister sitting in charge, what do you think the champion is?"

Xue Bai smiled slightly, waved his hand and said, "We won't talk about business today."

"Really?" Li Tan was deeply disappointed. He leaned back and said in a lazy tone: "There is a strange news in Chang'an City today. I wonder if the number one scholar has ever heard of it? Xue Xin, the son of Xue Ling, killed his father. Xue Ling Even though he is dead, his gangster friends are still at large, I will punish them sooner or later!"

At this time, Zhang Si also came out from behind the wall and arranged for the maids to serve tea to Xue Bai. She sat down next to the main seat and was very satisfied with her husband's harsh words.

"Speaking of this, I was really scared to death that day. Some people deserve to be punished if they do something wrong. Is that right?"

Zhang Si smiled, as if waiting for Xue Bai to apologize to her.

Li Tan said, half threatening and half coaxing: "There is a truth in the court, make more friends and make fewer enemies. By the way, I have a few friends, such as King Qi, King Ning, and King Shen, who all want to have more contact with the number one scholar. , how about I host a banquet and introduce you to you someday?"

"Yes." Xue Bai said, "If you do something wrong, you should be punished."

A couple in the hall smiled.

"I remember a few days ago, someone reached out to the general prison and wanted to block and control bamboo paper crafts. Unfortunately, the court did not give these people any punishment."

If Xue Bai hadn't said anything, the couple would have completely forgotten what the cause of the incident was and who provoked each other first.

At this time, Li Tan's face immediately darkened.

Zhang Si stood up suddenly, raised his hand and scolded: "Don't confuse right and wrong. You asked people to beat me, and you dare to deny it?!"

The hypocritical politeness of the two men was disturbed by her, and the conversation became more straightforward.

"Hitting you is just a reminder." Xue Bai replied calmly: "If you dare to reach out again next time, it won't be as simple as beating you."

"you!"

Zhang Si never expected that he would dare to be so arrogant. Only Wang Zhun was so arrogant in Chang'an City.

She was so shocked that she quickly looked at the house slaves around her and shouted, "Did you all hear it? He threatened me. He said he would kill me!"

"How outrageous!" Li Tan stood up and shouted, "Immediately apologize to my wife."

Xue Bai is actually good at making excuses with others, but when dealing with such self-righteous and incompetent nobles, if they are not more straightforward, they will not be able to tell the good from the bad. Only by being harsh can they be shocked.

Dandy, bully the good and fear the evil, bully the weak and fear the hard.

He then looked at Jiao Nu and said, "If she wants it, give her a slap in the face."

"Snapped!"

Jiaonu rushed out quickly, and without waiting for anyone else's reaction, he slapped Zhang Si's fair and plump cheek.

She started hard, and after the crisp sound, there was a patch of redness and swelling.

Zhang Si was so surprised that he even forgot about the pain. Li Tan was also stunned and felt that the scene was as fake as a dream.

"Kill them for me!"

"Who dares to take action? Jin Wuwei Zhonglang will be here!"

The guard behind Xue Bai strode out and almost put a token in front of Li Tan.

"This……"

"You are right. If you do something wrong, you should be punished." Xue Bai said in a calm tone and continued to make useless arguments, "If you were allowed to control the bamboo paper, how would you be able to write books, open libraries, and publish books today? Retribution? Today I still want to reach out to my residence to retaliate. This slap is light. You can go cry, make trouble, and beg. I will be dismissed from my position and my head will be killed for this slap."

"Don't be too conceited." Li Tan protected his beloved wife and said word by word: "Don't cry when beheading."

"Okay." Xue Bai said, "This is a matter between you and me. This slap will end it."

"We're not done yet."

"Now let's talk about the matter between you and Pingyang County Duke and the Xue family in Hedong. It's okay for you to ask Xue Ling for debt. But you shouldn't frame the crime on Xue Xin after killing Xue Ling."

"I'll kill your mother!"

"presumptuous!"

The token of Jinwu Guard was handed over again and arrived in front of Li Tan.

Li Tan was shocked and realized at this moment that Xue Hui would never allow the Xue family to commit the sin of patricide... This was the reason why Xue Bai came today, and there was someone behind him to support him.

"you……"

"You know what you did." Xue Bai said, "Don't think it's perfect. This is the female envoy of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion. She happened to see the truth of the matter."

Li Tan's face changed, and he had a bad premonition. Zhang Si cried and cried, and kept hitting him with his shoulder, asking him to stand up.

Although Jiaonu was just a maid, she looked more arrogant than most of the people in the hall. She said with a cold face: "The farm outside Chang'an City belongs to you, right? Your people killed Xue Ling..."

"fart."

"I saw it with my own eyes. Last night, Xue Ling was only slightly injured and ran out of the house, shouting for your people to catch Xue Xin. In the end, Xue Xin was caught, but when they saw the gold objects, they became greedy for money. , pressed Xue Ling’s head into the bucket, and drowned him alive.”

"You fart, you're telling the truth!"

"It doesn't matter if I kill Xue Ling, they still want to kill me and silence me, and put the blame on Xue Xuan. The Youxiang Mansion will never allow the descendants of Pingyang County Duke to bear such slander!"

"You...what do you mean?" Li Tan was greatly annoyed, "You framed me forcibly?"

He can ignore the others, but he cannot offend Xue Hui. Even Li Linfu will not offend Xue Hui easily.

So today Xue Bai brought the female envoy from the Right Prime Minister's Palace. Could it be that the Right Prime Minister wants to put this case to rest? This kind of case has nothing to do with the interests of the right prime minister, but will stir up trouble in the city. The right prime minister should also want to calm it down, right?

"Where are the people?" Xue Bai said: "The right and wrong, hand over those scoundrels you raised, and you will know after asking."

"It's just a few idle men who have run away long ago after seeing people die."

Zhang Si was still covering his face, lightly stepped on Li Tan, and asked him why he was still talking about the case with Xue Bai.

"Make more friends and fewer enemies." Xue Bai said: "Brother Li, if you don't want to be in trouble with General Xue, it's better not to cover up and hand him over as soon as possible."

"It's not a cover-up, they really took Xue Ling's belongings and ran away."

"That being the case, why did Brother Li insist that Jiao Nu was 'farting'?"

"I was the one who farted. I have to apologize to Miss Jiaonu." Li Tan said, hugging Zhang Si hard and preventing her from moving, and said: "I will go to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion and Zuo Jinwuwei General's Mansion to explain."

Xue Bai then became polite and smiled politely: "How about asking Brother Li to cooperate with Chang'an County in arresting the 'violent bandit'?"

Every sentence was a reply to what Li Tan said just now, but Li Tan was very polite and agreed repeatedly.

"The leader is named Liu Shuo. He is a Chang'an ranger. He was imprisoned for murder a few years ago. He was able to escape the crime through some connections. I didn't know about this and hired him to help look after the farm. It was only after something happened last night that I found out the secret."

"Brother Li has said this, then the truth will be revealed and the case can be closed..."

Regarding the confessions of several people in the entire case, some told the truth and some told lies. Xue Bai probably guessed it well. Just look at the motives.

As he said to Jiao Nu, he had already thought about what he should do in this case.

Li Tan also thought about the pros and cons, and the death was an accident for him. He still believed that Xue Xin must have killed him, but in order to give General Jinwuwei face, he could hold his nose and admit it.

So, after some exchanges, Xue Bai asked for the waiter from Fengweilou and stood up to leave.

Before leaving, he remembered something and asked, "By the way, the debt Xue Ling owes?"

"Debts are wiped out after death, don't worry."

"Then I would like to thank Brother Li on behalf of Xue Ling's children."

"As a brother, I still have this bit of family wealth, it's nothing, it's nothing."

Li Tan handled the matter decently and personally sent Xue Bai out, as if the guest and host were having a great time.

When he returned to the hall, he saw that Zhang Si had applied medicine on his face and looked at him with a frosty face.

"Is this what you said about standing up for me?!"

"I did miscalculate this matter. I didn't expect that Xue Hui would stand up for Xue Ling's children. As you can see, Xue Bai is a ruthless person. Now that I have angered him, who knows what he will do, so I have no choice but to Protect you."

Li Tan coaxed him with kind words, kissed Zhang Si on the forehead, and said softly: "It doesn't matter. It's not too late for a gentleman to take revenge. It's not too late in ten years. After that, let his brother-in-law kill him. It's just a matter of words." ~

Time seems to pass slowly in Chang'an County Prison.

There was a faint firelight at the end of the corridor, and two jailers carried baskets and threw biscuits into several cells.

"No, the champion didn't hand over the food book to this wolf who killed his father?"

"No, I'll starve him."

"That kid, you haven't eaten anything all night and day, right?"

The torch shone into the prison, and Xue Xin, who was lying on the ground, raised his head. Only one of his eyes was still bright and energetic, really like a trapped wolf.

"Are you hungry?" the jailer asked.

"I'm hungry."

Xue Xin was in the stage of changing his voice, and his voice was ugly. He murmured in a low voice: "Since I was a child, I have been the best at carrying hunger."

"Bah, I won't give it to you even when you're hungry. It's so unconscionable."

The jailer wanted to tease him, but he was quite bored when he got such an answer. He spat into the cell and turned around and left.

Phlegm fell on Xue Xin's hair, and he raised his hand to wipe it. It was greasy, and he rubbed it away in the straw.

He felt that as soon as Xue Ling died, his mood calmed down, and he didn't care about the accusations of these insignificant bystanders. No matter how indignant these people were, it didn't happen to them. Instead of their grandma being beaten one after another, or their brothers and sisters being sold off one by one, they could just stand there pointing and pointing... Whatever.

I don’t know how long it took, but the light of fire came along with the sound of footsteps.

Xue Xin smiled evilly, raised his head, and saw Xue Bai standing outside the cell door, unlocking it with an expressionless face.

The ferocious smile on his face disappeared little by little.

"Brother."

Xue Bai opened the shackles on his feet while looking for the key.

"Those rogue employers told the truth. It was not you who killed the man. Your knife only caused minor injuries."

"Brother? But I..."

"Crying? Do you know how to cry now?"

Xue Xin still wanted to hold it in, but when asked like this, she burst into tears, knelt on the ground and cried: "I feel sorry for my sister and brother-in-law... I just thought that they might not be able to get married because of me... …Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu…A Niang must be very sad…"

"do not Cry."

"I still feel sorry for my brother..."

Xue Xin couldn't stop crying. He huddled on the ground, hugging Xue Bai's official boots, and cried louder and louder.

"If you cry again, you won't be able to go to Du's house in time to see the wedding."

"I, I won't cry..."

After leaving the Chang'an County Government Office, it was already dark. A military officer from the Jinwu Guards had already greeted the county magistrate Jia Jilin and took them away in a grand manner, heading to Shengpingfang in Wannian County under the curfew.

~~

Du Zhai's wedding banquet has ended, and most of the guests have left.

Xue Bai entered the front yard and couldn't help but said: "After all, I still didn't catch up."

Xue Xin was still crying. He tried his best to wipe away his tears and stared at the wedding banquet with wide eyes, fearing that he would delay his sister's wedding.

The next moment, a group of people rushed to the front yard.

"Auntie!"

Xue Xin quickly stepped forward and hugged Liu Xiangjun. Liu Xiangjun was obviously holding back tears and buried his head on his son's shoulder.

"It'll be nice to come back..."

Xue Hui was still there. He was the one who looked most like someone who came to drink wedding wine. He had a smile on his face, slightly flushed cheeks, and smelled of alcohol. He waved to Xue Bai to come forward.

"Is it done?"

Xue Bai didn't go into details anymore, just said: "Don't worry, general, we have found out everything."

"Yes." Xue Hui said: "You and I are even. You lent me the name of the descendant of the Xue family in Hedong for a year, and today we settled the matter and we are even."

Xue Bai pretended to be a descendant of the Xue family for a year without causing any embarrassment to them; but if he hadn't settled the case today, the Xue family would have committed an evil case. Way, Xue Bai nodded in agreement.

Xue Hui laughed and said, "I will finish the rest."

After that, he looked at Xue Xin and said loudly: "Stop crying and crying, come here."

"I met my uncle."

"From now on, you have to take charge of the second house, you know? Don't let me down again."

"My nephew understands."

"That's it, let's go."

Du Zhai still opened the middle door, and Xue Hui led a group of generals away in the night.

This time, Xue Xin didn't care about envying the majesty of being a general, and ran inside in a hurry. Although he hadn't eaten, he didn't even look at the food on the table, only looking at the wedding banquet arrangements.

When I rushed to the main hall, I saw a couple in wedding clothes hurried out holding hands.

"Sister."

Xue Xin quickly prostrated himself and said, "I'm sorry for my sister, I didn't get those gold ornaments back... I just hope it didn't delay my sister's life-long event."

When Xue Yunniang saw him, she burst into tears, covered her face with a fan, turned her back and ran away again.

"Sister." Xue Xin was a little overwhelmed and called out, "I won't let you fall into the fire pit again..."

Xue Yunniang ignored him and ran away.

"You."

Du Wulang hurriedly gave him a lesson and quickly chased after him.

When I returned to the new house, I saw Xue Yunniang lying on the couch crying hard.

Du Wulang stepped forward, patted her back, and whispered: "Mother Yun, I know why you are crying."

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

"They all feel that it is good for their father-in-law to die. You are the only one crying for him. I know that." Du Wulang scratched his head and whispered: "I will accompany you to complete his funeral and show my filial piety."

"Goro..."

"Actually, I understand you very well. You will take good care of the little magpie even if it falls, let alone your grandpa."

~~

A few days later, Liu Xiangjun took several children of the Xue family to hold a funeral for Xue Ling on the outskirts of Chang'an.

The funeral procession was very few.

"Let me bet you."

Xue Xin grabbed two large handfuls of paper money and threw them into the sky.

"I respect you and have fun gambling in the underworld! Gambling!"

The paper money was very light and floated in the wind, and everyone's hearts were no longer so heavy.

……

Xue Xin has now returned to Xue's house in Changshoufang with his family, learning to support the family. At the same time, Xue Bai also allowed him to learn to do something.

After handling the funeral, he couldn't wait to ride his horse to a farmhouse on the outskirts of Chang'an.

"Uncle Liang, Uncle Jiang, I'm coming."

"Here comes the little cry bag. Did you cry at the funeral yesterday?"

"I didn't cry, and I'm not a crybaby. People in Chang'an call me White Eyed Wolf."

"It's not a crybaby, it's a little crybaby."

Xue Xin deliberately made a serious face and said: "Stop talking nonsense, Uncle Jiang will take me to do something."

"Ha, Lao Liang has found those people. I'll take you to see them. Let's go. Can you ride a horse? Little crybaby."

"Xue Rengui's descendants, what do you think?"

"Mount."

"There are six people in total, the ones who beat you up. The leader is Liu Shuo, who is hiding in Lumingpo Town near the Qinling Mountains. A few days ago, they sold your sister's gold chain and were killed by Lang Jun. Found it..."

"Shall we escort them to Chang'an County Government?"

Jiang Hai grinned and said, "I don't do such troublesome things. They strangled your grandpa to death. Do you dare to take revenge yourself?"

"I don't need to take revenge." Xue Xin thought of his experiences since childhood and said angrily: "Xue Ling is not my grandfather either."

"Don't you dare?"

"dare."

~~

"Why don't you do it? You little crybaby!"

Xue Xin did not expect that in the blink of an eye he would be faced with Jiang Hai's frantic urging.

"When I was your age, I had five heads under my account."

"Stop provoking him." Lao Liang scolded Jiang Hai, raised his knife and said, "I'll do it."

"Let him come, his enemy." Jiang Hai insisted on stopping Lao Liang and said, "I don't have time to teach him slowly. If he can do it on the battlefield, it will be fine. If he doesn't, he can't."

"puff."

Xue Xin's hands trembled, and he suddenly shouted and stabbed the knife into Liu Shuo's neck.

Blood splattered all over his hands and face, sticky and as disgusting as other people's phlegm. He just pretended not to notice, turned around, and without hesitation went to chop another injured scoundrel on the ground.

"puff."

"puff."

After killing three people in a row like this, Xue Xin panted, stared at Jiang Hai, and shouted: "I...Xue Rengui's descendant!"

Before he finished speaking the cruel words, he could no longer suppress the turmoil in his stomach, and sour water surged in his throat. He rushed to the side and vomited it out, feeling that his liver and gallbladder had been vomited out.

"Okay, okay, he's a man."

Lao Liang stepped forward and hugged him, patted his back, and comforted him: "You have your revenge, you have your revenge, and everything is over..."

　Chapter 2 will be posted later~~Don’t wait, everyone

　　

　

(End of this chapter)