This Song Dynasty is different

Chapter 3
A quarter of an hour after Zhao Zhen left, Li Xian's treatment changed.

The jailer who could freely switch between flattery and majesty brought Shangguan, who cordially greeted Li Xian's current situation and criticized the jailer for not taking good care of Li Xian.

Immediately, Li Xian was involuntarily moved to a clean single room, which even contained desk tables and the four treasures of the study. At first glance, he was treated like an important minister.

But now the table was filled with food and even a bottle of wine.

The jailer was very considerate and disappeared.

"Be careful of the heart-breaking wine!" The old prisoner across the street was salivating. "I have been in prison for many years and watched five people die in the cell opposite. They died in different ways, either crushed to death by sacks or dipped in yellow paper. He covered his mouth and nose and suffocated to death. Just last year, an official vomited blood and died after eating a banquet..."

However, Li Xian ate with ease and even praised: "It tastes good!"

If those people wanted to kill him, why would they use the most despicable means like poisoning and drinking alcohol.Wouldn't it be better to let him die of a sudden illness?
When I was almost half full, the jailer came again.

With a smile on his face, "Li Langjun, congratulations!"

"It tastes good!" Li Xian picked up a piece of mutton chop, stood up and said, "Thank you for this meal."

This man actually knew that he could get out, and the jailer was shocked, "You're welcome, you're welcome."

Li Xian took the mutton chops and gnawed them while walking out of the prison door of the Criminal Department.

The spring light is bright, the air seems to be full of life, and even the chirping of the birds seems much more lively.

It would have been better if there hadn't been the sound of swallowing behind him.

"Lang...Lang Jun?!"

Fifteen-year-old Xinghua squatted in the corner on the left side of the prison of the Ministry of Punishments, holding a bamboo basket firmly with both hands, looking at Li Xian who turned around in disbelief.

"Lang Jun..."

The 15-year-old girl cried so hard that she couldn't see the beauty at all.She said with tears in her eyes: "I thought Lang Jun couldn't come out. They said... Lang Jun was going to die in prison."

This is the last loyal servant of the Li family. No, this is a hired servant, which has nothing to do with loyalty.

"I scolded them, but they couldn't scold me, so they said... that if Lang Jun could come out alive, they would reverse his last name."

At this point, Xinghua burst into tears.

Li Xian didn't know how to comfort her, so he handed over the half-eaten mutton chop.

Xinghua took it and chewed it while choking.

Li Xian opened the homespun cloth covering the bamboo basket. Inside was a large earthen bowl containing two cakes and a pot, which turned out to be wine.

"They say that people should drink before they die, so that they won't be frightened by ghosts when they get to Naihe Bridge." Xinghua ate a little hastily and burped, "I bought a pot of wine."

Li Xian took a sip and said, "Go home!"

"Go home!" Xinghua raised her dirty face and laughed, the spring light just shining on her face, it was extremely bright.

Bianjing City is divided into three parts, from inside to outside, they are the palace city, the inner city, and the outer city.

In the southwest corner of the outer city, the Cai River flows through the city. There is a bridge not far away, called the first bridge.Following the bridge to the right is an alley called Laoya Lane.

The Li family is in the middle of Laoya Lane.

Li Xian's return surprised the neighbors and asked why.

"The Queen Mother is wise, and the officials are kind." No matter who he was talking to, Li Xian always said this.

The Li family was considered a middle-class person in Bianjing back then. Their house was not small, and the furniture was made of good wood.However, after his parents passed away, he was obsessed with taking the imperial examination and neglected to take care of the family business. In addition, several servants took care of him, and it didn't take long for him to fall into ruin.

But the shelf is still there.

Lunch consisted of the two cakes. As for the wine, Xinghua said that it would be put away for when Lang Jun’s classmates came to visit.

classmate!

Li Xian was thinking about that party.

Xinghua was anxious for Li Xian for the past two days, asking for news everywhere, and was exhausted both physically and mentally. Li Xian asked her to rest and said he would go out for a walk.

The Cai River passes through the city from the southwest of the outer city and goes to the north. Not far away, it suddenly turns right and rubs along the outer edge of the inner city all the way east. Finally, it turns right again and leaves the city through Xuanhua Gate.The entire route is like an inverted U shape.

Shang Cong's home is a hundred steps away from Xuanhua Gate and west of Yingxiang Pond.

The spring light in the afternoon made people sleepy. Shang Cong hurried out of the house, his eyes a little distracted.

After crossing the Guanqiao Bridge, he even sighed for a long time by the bridge, "That dog thief escaped with his life, it's really unreasonable!"

"Then what is the law of heaven?" someone behind asked.

"Naturally..."

Shang Cong's face suddenly turned pale. Just as he was about to turn around, he felt a sharp weapon pressed against his waist.

"Go down or I'll kill you!"

The two of them followed the steps to the bottom of the bridge. There was a cave where beggars lived below. Shang Cong was kicked in as soon as he stood firm.

"Guoan..." Shang Cong struggled, trembling all over when the knife was pressed against his throat.

"That day you kept urging me to drink. When you saw that I drank too much, you praised me many times and tempted me to write to the Queen Mother to serve the country and the people..." Seeing Shang Cong want to defend himself, Li Xian sneered: "When you were studying, you But I’m not that worried about the country and the people. Don’t say I haven’t seen you for three days, just look at him with admiration. If so, how about I look at you with admiration?”

The knife slowly approached Shang Cong's eyes.

"Who ordered you to do it?"

Shang Cong gritted his teeth and said nothing, but couldn't help but close his eyes.

When the tip of the knife was pressed against his eyelids, Shang Cong screamed, "It's sir, it's sir who asked me to do it."

"Wang Du?" Li Xian asked again, "Then why are you willing to do such a big thing for him?"

"Sir said you were stupid, that's all. You still value friendship. Such people will definitely not tell us."

Stupid and caring... Li Xian's eyelids twitched, "This is not enough for you to take risks! Say it!"

"Sir, he promised to recommend me to serve as an official." Shang Cong also failed in many attempts. There is a way out for this kind of people, that is, someone recommends me to become an official.

Although the official career of this class of people is not as good as that of those who take the official imperial examination, it is still a way out.

"stand up!"

The two came out of the cave. Shang Cong knelt down and said, "I am willing to pay for my sins."

Li Xian had ruined his entire family fortune and was now so poor that even Xinghua could only buy a jug of wine to see him off.Li Xian sneered: "I took your money, and you reported it to the official and said it was me who robbed it. I'm so long that I can't even explain it. You piece of shit! Take it off!"

There was a look of regret deep in Shang Cong's eyes, thinking that Li Xian was decadent and embarrassed in the past, but how could he be so sharp and wise today?
"Take off?"

"Do you want me to teach you? Take off your clothes!"

Not long after, the naked Shang Cong covered his lower body with his hands and trembled: "Is that enough?"

"Turn around!"

Shang Cong turned around with a bad feeling in his heart.

Li Xian kicked him down, rolled up his clothes together, walked quickly onto the bridge, and stuffed the clothes into the gaps in the wooden bridge.

"Someone fell into the water."

Someone screamed, and many people gathered on both sides of the Cai River.

"Ah! The river is so cold, and that man is actually naked!"

Someone recognized Shang Cong, "Isn't that Shang Cong from an old merchant? In such a cold weather, he is naked and playing in the water, which is offensive!"

"shameless!"

The most important thing in the Song Dynasty was reputation. Shang Cong knew that his future was over!
He tried his best to look up and saw Li Xian walking slowly on the shore, not even bothering to look at him again.

"Am I crazy? How dare you provoke such people! Wang Du deserves to die!"

……

Wang Du is dead.

The Wang family's house was still burning, and the sergeants on the military patrol had tried their best. When the fire was extinguished, only some ruins were left.

Someone went in to search, and soon they shouted: "They're all here!"

The five members of Wang Du's family were all in the same place, curled up into a small ball after being burned. They were dark and cracked, with no human shape visible.

There was a strong smell of barbecue in the air.This smell is difficult to get rid of once it gets stained.

Li Xian stood outside, and someone behind him said: "We arrived a quarter of an hour earlier than you. It wasn't long after the fire started, but I didn't hear anyone inside screaming or asking for help. Li Langjun, it seems that the person who tricked you behind the scenes is People are not simple!”

Li Xian didn't look back, "Where are the officials who set up a trap to put me in jail? Don't say you didn't do it."

The man behind him said: "He hanged himself. He was in his duty room. The colleague didn't answer the door, so he knocked the door open. He was seen hanging from the beam, swinging back and forth. The colleague was frightened and fainted on the spot. He has been there to this day. Haven’t woken up yet.”

This is a human stress response!

"Thank you!"

"No need. By the way, because of your matter, I, the Imperial City Department, were reprimanded by the officials, saying that we were incompetent. The superiors did not blame you, but they did say that this matter is evil. You should wish yourself better in the future. !”

The current political struggle between the DPRK and China is not so bloody. In other words, the group behind the scenes is taking a sideways approach.

But they were able to drive Wang Du and officials, which shows that the energy behind them is not small.

Li Xian was a little gloating, "If we can't find them, the Imperial City Division will have a hard time."

"I, the Imperial City Secretary, will definitely be able to dig out those ground rats!" The man behind him said with confidence.

Li Xian smiled and said, "I don't think the Imperial City Secretary came to find me out of nowhere and said these words, but is there something wrong?"

The man behind him said: "As mentioned above, the officials have a good impression of you. The officials are kind, but if someone relies on the kindness of the officials to do something that is unworthy of the officials, then he will definitely die without a burial place. "

Zhao Zhen has a good impression of me?

Li Xian frowned slightly, "I think I will never meet the official family again."

……

Chengming Hall was the place where emperors and ministers discussed matters.

A curtain blocked the ministers' view of the Queen Mother.

"I heard that a scholar wrote to the Queen Mother and made rude remarks. The Queen Mother was kind enough to let this person go. But where does this move put the dignity of the court? Since the Queen Mother cannot bear to deal with this person, how about you come?"

As he spoke, the Attendant and the Privy Councilor Cao Li tapped the beads on the curtain with their fingers.The beads swing and hit each other, making a crisp sound.

This move is domineering and extremely frivolous.

The Queen Mother's eyes were deep and she was not furious, "Oh! There is no need for the servant to take action in this matter."

On the other hand, Zhao Zhen, an official who was watching the government, was furious with the wat board in his hand.

Immediately, Wang Zeng left work and began to complain.

But Cao Lili only used a few words to stop him: "When it comes to words and words, I am not as good as you, Wang Zeng. When it comes to going to the enemy camp to save the Song Dynasty, you are only qualified to carry my shoes and lead my horse!"

When the Northern Liao army went south, Kou Zhun dragged Zhenzong to attack. After the war, it was Cao Li who went to the enemy's camp to negotiate, rejected the Northern Liao side's request to cede territory, and reached the Chanyuan Alliance.

From then on, Cao Liang took to the forefront of his official career and rose all the way up.

He regarded himself as the savior of the Song Dynasty and looked down upon Empress Dowager Liu, who was from a humble background and was married for the second time.

Wang Zeng, defeated!

Wang Qinruo went up next, but he was covered in stains and was no match for Cao Lili.

Wang Qinruo, defeated!
The Queen Mother said coldly: "Let's disperse!"

The ministers and assistants dispersed. The Queen Mother looked outside the palace for a long time and suddenly said: "The old dog deserves to die!"

Zhao Zhen came over and said, "I am incompetent."

The officials should have called themselves ministers to the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother did not allow it, saying that she was too alienated.

The Queen Mother looked at him and suddenly sighed, "It's not easy to be an official in the Song Dynasty!"

"Madam, I want to go out to the palace."

"Do what?"

"Let's talk to Li Xian, otherwise we'll get bored."

(End of this chapter)