The only honor of the water cut off

Section No.12

After more than ten days of journey, Bao Zheng's health has improved a lot, but his expression is a little dazed, he doesn't answer when talking to him, but just watches, although Gongsun Ce has doubts in his heart, he also takes care of him carefully, seeing that the road is getting worse and worse. It is difficult to travel, and people's livelihood along the way is getting more and more bleak. I can't get all the common herbs, so I have to hurry.

In early June, Qinzhou.

The weather was hotter than the previous days. The group of people rushed some distance. Weary and exhausted, we ordered a few bowls of herbal tea at the roadside tea house. Zhan Zhao’s little raccoon was sweating all over his head. I just poured it down.

Gongsun Ce looked at them, and smiled self-deprecatingly. It turns out that the cold is also beneficial, and the weather is so pleasant. He brought two bowls of tea and handed them to the carriage, and sent another bowl to the coachman.

Zhan Zhao stretched out his arms and looked around the city. People were coming and going, but it was quite bustling. He wondered, "The more we walked along the way, the more deserted we got. I thought Qinzhou was probably a dilapidated small town. It was much more lively than imagined!"

Gongsun Ce threw away the folding fan, shook it gracefully, and with a clear smile on his face, said: "Qinzhou is located in a remote corner, there are no land routes, but the sea route is very smooth, and it is next to Jiaozhi. I would like to do business in Hepu, and Qinzhou, which is here at night, is very popular. In addition, the imperial court implemented the policy of "emphasizing the capital and suppressing the end" to encourage trade, and it is more convenient for all merchants. Qinzhou is actually richer than the towns in the hinterland of the Central Plains."

"Oh, brother Gongsun, you are really knowledgeable." Zhan Zhao gave a thumbs up and smiled playfully, causing Gongsun Ce to give him a hard look.

"Isn't there a lot of new gadgets?" Xiao Li said happily.

"Then let's go and have a look?" Zhan Zhao also became interested.

"No." Gongsun Ce knocked him on the head with a serious face.

Zhan Zhao just said "ah" and didn't ask why, because Big Brother Gongsun said no, so he must not believe it, he rubbed his head, looked at Gongsun Ce and then at Xiaoli, Gongsun Ce couldn't help laughing, and took out the medicine list from his arms : "At least you have to get back the medicine you bagged."

Zhan Zhao happily responded, and happily went with Xiaoli.

It was not until they could no longer see their backs that Gongsun Ce got into the carriage and sat side by side with the driver, signaling him to go directly to the Qinzhou Yamen.

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After turning a few street corners, the number of pedestrians gradually decreased. Two birds passed overhead, chirping. Gongsun Ce turned his head and smiled at them, but out of the corner of his eyes, he saw some people piled up not far away.

"Where is that place over there? What are those people doing?"

The coachman turned his head slightly, and said, "That's the small side door of Zhizhou Mansion, those people are probably giving gifts!"

Gongsun Ce frowned: "A gift?"

The coachman quietly said to Gongsun Ce: "Master Zhizhou's old father-in-law passed away yesterday, those rich and powerful families just have an excuse, please flatter me!"

Gongsun Ce thanked the coachman, looked back again, and let out a soft "hum".

The gate of the Qinzhou government office is particularly deserted. The round heads of the two stone lions reflect the dazzling sunlight. There are two soap officials standing under the eaves. They are tied around their waists with water and fire sticks on their chins. lazy.

Gongsun Ce shook his clothes, coughed heavily on purpose, and walked towards the open door with his head held high.

The two men came to their senses, and saw a scholar in Tsing Yi go up the steps with his robes lifted, they hurriedly made an "X" in front of him with a stick, blocked the way, and said, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Gongsun Ce smiled warmly in the spring breeze, and said with sideways eyes: "Going to the Yamen, of course I asked the official to make the decision!"

It turned out to be an official.The two officials looked at Gongsun Ce up and down, feeling a bit like a son-in-law, and they knew that he must be out of the house, and he was the master who was easy to slaughter. They looked at each other knowingly, and one of them stood up intentionally or unintentionally. He put his palms in front of Gongsun Ce, turned his head to one side, and said lazily: "If you want to see the master, you must pass on the two brothers. It's not easy in this hot weather!" The last few words dragged out the tone even more. , squinting at Gongsun Ce.

Gongsun Ce made an expression of sudden realization, took out a five taels of silver from his waist, held it in his hand, raised his eyebrows and said, "Is this what the officer means?"

The two soap officials lost all sleepiness immediately, so be good, it's five taels of silver for a shot!That's a month's salary!

One person immediately stretched out his hand to take it, but Gongsun Ce squeezed the silver in his hand first, and said calmly: "Presumptuous! How can you stand on the court's salary and stand at the gate of justice in this temple, doing such things?"

Seeing that the white money was taken back by the visitor, I was already annoyed, but when I heard some flies and dogs, the two officials stared at each other and scolded: "Where did the troublesome people come from, in front of the yamen? Come on, if I don’t hit you, I’ll be sorry for my clothes!” (--#)

After saying that, he was about to come to fetch Gongsun Ce, when the people in the door heard the commotion outside, came out with a few tooth gaps, and asked loudly: "What's the matter?"

Gongsun Ce didn't want him to touch his clothes, so with a "slap", he hit the overstretched hand hard, and the man cursed: "It's the wrong way!" A bright yellow thing, with a solemn and solemn expression, shouted: "This is the holy decree, I am the emperor's imperial judge, who dares to fight?"

Holy decree?

Inside and outside the door, a group of people were waiting, and they panicked.A clever man at the door hurriedly retreated to the right while Gongsun Ce was not paying attention.

While looking at each other, one person knelt down with a plop, and then they all knelt down scrambling to be the first.

One person stood up again and said, "Brothers, don't be fooled by him, get up!"

"None of us has ever seen what the imperial decree is like. How could Mr. Tongju be alone without a follower? He must have lied to you and me!"

After hearing this, those who were kneeling stood up again.

Gongsun Ce sneered, still holding the imperial decree in both hands, standing like a pine.

"If you don't let your flesh and blood suffer today, it's really embarrassing for the officials!" The man said, calling for a few sticks to beat him down.

Gongsun Ce opened his eyes and shouted angrily, "Who dares!"

With that drink, his voice and expression were so harsh that it made people soften their hands and feet.

Only then did someone shout: "Stop!"

Everyone knew that it was his master's voice, the sticks froze in front of Gongsun Ce's eyes, but he stepped out of the stick net with a dignified expression, and walked towards the Zhizhou lord and master secretary who rushed out.

"This is Gongsun Ce, Lord Gongsun?"

Gongsun Ce raised the corners of his lips slightly, and said, "Your official, Gongsun Ce, has seen Yuande and Yuan Zhizhou."

Yuan De hurriedly returned the gift and said: "I have heard that Mr. Gongsun is the number one talented person in Song Dynasty. I saw him today. He is gentle and refined, and his appearance is extraordinary!" Taking a peek at Gongsun, he saw that his face was still cold, so he had to say: "All the way Thank you for your hard work, wait for me to meet Lord Gongsun!"

Gongsun Ce said: "There is no need to meet the wind. The receptionist in this yamen can't afford it. I'm afraid they will tear my bones apart?"

The chief secretary whispered a few words in Yuan De's ear, Yuan De's face changed slightly, and he shouted to a group of officials, "It was that cowardly dog ​​just now! Push me out and hit a hundred boards!"

"It's unnecessary, I think it's because you are busy with official duties and neglect to discipline." Gongsun Ce smiled lightly, not knowing the meaning, and said, "Look at the back door of the mansion, but there is a lot of people talking!"

Yuan De's heart trembled, and he felt the sweat on his back directly wet his clothes. The master secretary said: "Master Yuan always loves the people like a son. His father-in-law passed away yesterday, and all the villagers came to worship!"

Gongsun Ce raised his eyebrows, saw the circle of black cloth on Yuan De's arm, and said softly, "Master Yuan's condolences!"

Yuan De stretched out his sleeve and wiped his face, he didn't know whether to wipe sweat or tears: "Thank you, Mr. Gongsun, there are some snacks in the back, sir, please!"

Gongsun Ce nodded slightly: "I have already eaten on the way, thank you sir, can you hand over Yinshou first, so that Gongsun Ce can take his friends to settle down!"

"I wonder who your lord's friend is?"

Gongsun Ce laughed and said, "His name is Bao Zheng, Master Yuan may have heard of it."

Bao Zheng?But Bao Zheng, the most intelligent in Song Dynasty?Yuan De was shocked.

Gongsun Ce didn't notice it, and continued: "To be honest, Bao Zheng has some chronic illnesses, and he wants to use the hot springs in Qinzhou to recuperate. I don't know where the hot springs are?"

"Mr. Bao's name is naturally impressive. The hot springs here are very rich. Mr. Gongsun really came at the right time. I will send someone to arrange it later."

Gongsun Ce was overjoyed, and the anger just now disappeared: "Thank you, Gongsun Ce!"

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Seeing the back of Gongsun Ce leaving, the chief secretary murmured, "The official secretary has only been here for two days, how come this person has arrived? My lord, are you sure he is Gongsun Ce?"

Yuan De said: "In the past, he was promoted from a grassroots man to a second-rank servant. When he was in high spirits, I saw it with my own eyes. It can't be wrong!"

The chief book curled his lips and said: "The second-rank official back then still had the confidence to be arrogant, but now he is just a general judge from the eighth rank, what are you talking about!"

Yuan De sighed and said: "His general judgment was not appointed by the system, but he was directly appointed by the emperor, and even given the imperial decree. It is a general judgment there, it is simply an imperial envoy!"

Thinking that just after Gongsun Ce arrived, he was caught, and he couldn't help sweating a little. He turned to the master and said, "Be smarter in doing things in the future, don't follow his ideas, this person is not easy to mess with." .”

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The mourning hall was not set up in the backyard of the government office, but in the home of the Sang Mansion on the outskirts of the city. The old man who passed away was called Sang Rong. De is his son-in-law.At that time, Gongsun Ce was just a vassal, but after all, he served for the imperial court. Gongsun Ce respectfully poured an injection of fragrance. The Sang family was not too many. They knelt in front of the hall and wept bitterly. The person who burned the paper money was a good-looking middle-aged man. Woman, there is a young woman and a young man kneeling behind her, both dressed in sackcloth and filial piety, Gongsun Ce comforted them, then left and returned to the yamen.

When he got to the door, Zhan Zhao suddenly looked back and said, "This suburb is different from the inside of the city. The trees here are towering, and it's extremely quiet. It's much more comfortable than the hot and humid government office!"

Gongsun Ce looked sideways and said, "Aren't you a martial arts master? Why are you still afraid of the heat?"

Zhan Zhao said: "Who said martial arts masters are not afraid of heat?"

Gongsun Ce looked around with a smile, this place is really cool, firstly, the Sang Mansion was built on a high place, with a deep forest behind it, the scorching sun was filtered through several layers, how hot it was.

Seeing Yuan De coming from the outside, he quickly bowed his hands and said hello, and said with a smile: "I am still planning to go to find Lord Gongsun, so I will meet you, and there is a destiny!"

Gongsun Ce replied, "I don't know why Mr. Yuan is looking for the next official?"

Yuan De spread his hands to the Sang Mansion, and said, "I don't know what Master Gongsun thinks about this house?"

Gongsun Ce didn't understand the meaning, and said, "Even though we're only in the front hall, we can see that this house is extremely elegant."

"Then why don't Master Gongsun move here?"

Gongsun Ce frowned: "What do you mean?"

Seeing Gongsun Ce's sullen expression, Yuan De quickly said: "Master Gongsun, don't misunderstand, the small courtyard of the government office is very simple, and it is really difficult to live in Mr. Bao, the little man girl, the little raccoon girl, and Zhan Shaoxia." It's a bit crowded; secondly, the hot spring is actually in the forest behind the Sang Mansion, if Lord Gongsun and his party move here, they don't have to take such a long detour every time."

Gongsun Ce smiled, and said in his heart: By the way, let me stare at you less.

"Then it's better to be respectful than to obey."

Yuan De immediately added: "The bones of Lao Taishan will be buried tomorrow, so Master Gongsun will move here?"

"My lord didn't just pass away yesterday, why is he buried tomorrow?"

"To be honest, it's midsummer, so it's really not good for the corpse to be buried for too long. Besides, in Yuan's hometown, the longer the corpse is, the more unlucky it is!"

Gongsun Ce nodded, customs are indeed different from place to place, so he didn't ask.

Yuan De said again: "The hot spring courtyard has been cleaned up, and you can take Mr. Bao there in a while!"

Gongsun Ce raised his eyebrows: "The hot spring courtyard?"

Yuan De smiled and said: "That should be a small courtyard left by the previous dynasty, it wasn't done by Yuan!"

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When Gongsun Ce returned to the yamen, he began to look through the files. There were a lot of small cases, but there were not many big cases. Looking at each case in detail, they were handled in an orderly manner. I think Zhizhou is not too confused. Looking up at the sun, After they all sank to the horizon, Gongsun Ji moved his body, feeling a little sore, he got up and went to the backyard.

Bao Zheng was always jolted awake at night in the busy day and night. Gongsun Ce specially added some sleeping pills to the medicine to let him have a good rest.

Before Gongsun Ce could change his official robe, he went straight to Bao Zheng's room. Seeing the familiar figure in the room fiddling with the rice bowl at the table, he sniffed and said with a smile, "It smells so good, Xiaoman's craftsmanship is pretty good!"

Xiaoman smiled slightly and said, "This time I made the porridge thicker, and added more minced meat and vegetables."

Gongsun Ce nodded and said: "Tomorrow, don't drink porridge, but eat some light meals."

Turning his head to see that Bao Zheng has woken up, but his eyes are still blurred, Xiao Man called out: "Da Bao, get up and eat something."

Xiaoman filled a spoonful with a spoon, tested the temperature, and then fed it into Bao Zheng's mouth. Although it was only porridge with minced meat and vegetables, to Bao Zheng who always ate porridge to get by, it was like rain after a long drought. Such a lingering burst of fragrance directly hooked Bao Zheng's soul back.

Bao Zheng swallowed it in one gulp, making Gongsun Ce afraid that he would choke.

Suddenly, a deep, hoarse voice came from the quiet room, so soft but loud.

"Who are you?"

For a moment, both of them were stunned.

The moment Gongsun Ce turned his head, the bowl in Xiaoman's hand tipped down, and a bowl of hot porridge was placed on Bao Zheng's thin blanket.

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Bao Zheng shrank his legs and sat up: "It's hot, it's hot."

The remaining two were all in a panic, Xiaoman hurriedly pulled off the soiled blanket, Gongsun Ce rolled up his sleeves, his dark skin could not see any redness, and said: "It's okay, it's okay!"

Bao Zheng stared fixedly at the man in front of him who was examining his wounds. Gongsun Ce raised his head and met his gaze, which was no longer as clear as before, and seemed to be covered with a thick layer of dust.

Gongsun Ce panicked, he couldn't help frowning, and called out: "Bao Zheng? Bao Zheng? You..."

Bao Zheng looked at him and said in a daze: "Gongsun...ce."

He looked over Gongsun Ce's shoulders and looked at the woman standing in the corner, with plain clothes, a plain veil, and two whips on her shoulders.

Bao Zheng grabbed Gongsun Ce's arm violently, shrank behind him, stared with a little frightened eyes, and whispered in Gongsun Ce's ear: "Who is she? She looks... so weird!"

Although the voice is soft, it can be heard clearly.

Xiaoman's appearance now is far from what it was back then. No wonder he doesn't recognize him, but rationality and sensibility are two different things after all. Gongsun Ce glanced at Xiaoman with some worry, and her body was shaken violently. It's all blurred.

"She, she..." It's impossible to explain the variables in a single word. Gongsun Ce felt emotional, so he could only say: "She... is Xiaoman!"

"Xiaoman, Xiaoman?" Bao Zheng murmured, his eyes became more and more scattered, as if he was immersed in his own world, suddenly a sudden pain in his head, Bao Zheng hugged his head and curled up into a ball.

"Bao Zheng!"

"Big bag?!" Xiaoman rushed to the bed and supported her: "Brother Gongsun, what's wrong with him?"

This voice is so familiar.

In a daze, Bao Zheng raised his head and stared into Xiaoman's eyes. He raised his hand to lift the veil. Gongsun Ce was shocked and stretched out his hand to block it. Xiaoman jumped away as if on fire. With a cry of grief: "No!" He turned his head and rushed out the door.

Xiao Man felt his mind explode: What did he just say?

He asked: Who is she?

He said: She is so weird!

The sadness in my heart diffused, and I could hardly breathe, or this is retribution, you hurt him badly at the beginning, you have to pay back ten times and a hundred times, one life is not enough, and there will be another life.

It's just that it's all good and I recognize it all, but I don't know this sentence alone, how can I feel so embarrassed?

"Xiaoman, Xiaoman." Gongsun Ce's voice came from behind him, from far to near, he chased her out and saw her covering his face with both hands, already sobbing.

Gongsun Ce stood silent for a moment, then said softly, "Xiaoman, have you ever been haunted by a nightmare?"

"I knew it was a nightmare, I knew I was awake, but I couldn't open my eyes, I couldn't move my hands and feet, and I saw myself struggling in endless darkness and pain."

Xiaoman turned his face slightly in surprise, and didn't answer.

"Do you know that the poison of charm in Bao Zhengzhong, what will happen to him if he takes seven or seven times?" Gongsun Ce put one hand on the railing, and said: "The charm eats away at the brain, if he is awake, he will fall. Falling into the fear that he created, he is entangled with himself; if he falls asleep, his mind is clear, but unfortunately he cannot speak or open his eyes. In the eyes of others, such a person is as if his soul and body have been separated. It can be regarded as a living corpse that has lost its soul, or it can also be regarded as a ghost with a body."

Xiaoman finally raised his head from his palm, and looked at Gongsun Ce in disbelief.

"This poison is so vicious that life is worse than death." Gongsun Ce slammed his fist on the wooden railing, frowning deeply.

He turned his head and smiled at Xiaoman: "Fortunately, Bao Zheng only took half a month, and the little raccoon tried his best to force the poison again. He is already lucky in misfortune, but the remaining poison has not been completely removed, and his mind is not clear."

Only now did he understand Gongsun Ce's intentions. It turned out that he was comforting himself.

Xiaoman smiled through tears, his eyes were miserable and confused: "He is right, how could he recognize me with my appearance? I am far more than weird, far more than weird! Even if he is sober, what face do I have with him?"

Gongsun Ce wanted to speak, but stopped, looking at the desolation and self-abandonment in Xiaoman's eyes, his heart was full of pity.

The advent of what love is?Bao Zheng, I have seen someone who promises life and death for you. I really... really should be happy for you.

After a moment of silence, he said softly, "Xiaoman, can we let Bao Zheng answer this question himself?"

"Ah?" Xiaoman was taken aback when she heard the words, and the answer that came to her mind instantly made her tremble again.

"After dinner, we will take Bao Zheng to the hot spring. The detoxification will definitely get twice the result with half the effort!"

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As night fell, there was a breeze blowing from nowhere.

In a quiet alley, someone shouted in surprise: "What?"

The coachman jumped up suddenly: "Master Gongsun, are you going...to the hot spring courtyard?"

Gongsun Ce stared at the coachman suspiciously: "Is there something wrong?"

"It's better to wait until the sunrise tomorrow, and the villain will send the adults there!!"

Gongsun Ce became more suspicious, and said, "Speak clearly!"

"My lord, can you hear the name of the forest where the hot spring house is located?"

Gongsun Ce shook his head.

"The forest is bottomless, and it is called the Night Song Forest. Once night falls, at some point or another, ghosts will sing shrill songs, captivating people's hearts and souls!"

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