The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

In the quiet night, the gate of Yingtian Academy was suddenly knocked loudly, and the night birds were so frightened that the birds could not rest. The academy handyman who guarded the gate woke up sleepily, and yawned and cursed: "Zhi Niang is a thief!" Yes, there are always these night ghosts who come to disturb me in the middle of the night, and they go to the city after school to have a good time, and now they come to disturb my slumber."

The knock on the door was even louder, and someone shouted loudly: "Open the door quickly, or the door will be smashed."

"Come on, come on, mother-in-law, are you howling?" The handyman cursed and pulled open the log that supported the door, removed the long hitch, and opened the door a crack. Suddenly, the flames were dazzling, blinding the eyes. Unable to open it, dozens of yamen servants raised and lowered in front of the door, holding swords, lanterns and torches, in a terrifying formation.

"Everyone, what is this for?" the handyman panicked.

"Stand aside, and come to the academy to take someone under the order of Lord Fu Yin."

One of the head catchers shouted loudly, took out an official document and flashed it in the firelight, then put it into his arms, waved his hand behind him and said: "Leave two people to guard the gate, anyone is allowed to enter and not to leave, and the rest wait for you." Follow me to get people."

All the yamen servants promised loudly, rushed in, held torches and rushed straight to the student's apartment. Seeing that the situation was not good, the handyman at the gate quickly sneaked into the shadows to steal a space, turned around and ran towards Cao Min's apartment. .

Dozens of yamen servants rushed into the school building, and several yamen servants blocked the gate of the courtyard tightly. The leading arrester led the others to follow the number plate of the school building provided by Cao Min to search all the way.

In an instant, the school was full of chaos, and the sleepy students were startled by the noise outside, and they all turned their heads to watch. The yamen guards waved their bright simple knives and shouted: "Officials take people, no one waits to stay aside, if you go Without the prisoner, none of you can escape."

The students were so frightened that they hurriedly backed away, and those who were more courageous looked out from the cracks in the windows and doors. After a while, four students with disheveled hair and small clothes were dragged out of the aisle, and the chains and shackles that had been prepared in the courtyard clattered There was a chaotic sound, and it was locked tightly.

Someone recognized the four people as Wang Anshi, a student of Yiyi Hall, and the other three were Wei Songhe, Cheng Liangmu, and Lu Dakui, students of Wuer Hall; the clothes of the four were disheveled, and their mouths were swollen. suffering.

"Why wait for me, what crime have I committed? Is there any law?" Wang Anshi shouted with blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Save up some energy and go to the lobby and say, I'm going to arrest someone under the order of the lord of the government. As for what crime you have committed, I don't have the time to worry about it."

The leader catcher helped the square cap on his head, waved his hand and said, "The criminals Wang Anshi, Wei Songhe, Cheng Liangmu, and Lu Dakui have been arrested and taken away."

All the yamen servants set up four people and walked out of the courtyard. After hearing the news, Qi Shunbin, Cao Min and others had just rushed to the door of the school. Qi Shunbin was shaking his hands and feet anxiously. : "Masters, what happened? Why did you come to the academy to pick up someone, this..."

"Lao Shanzhang, I'm following orders. Nuo, this is the arrest document of the government office. It is helpless to disturb your lord. I have already received it. I will retire. If you have any doubts, you can go to the government office to inquire. We will wait for you." They are only responsible for picking people up, and ignore everything else.”

After saying that, he waved his hand, and all the yamen servants set up and left, and they walked away cleanly in an instant.

Qi Shunbin stomped his feet and said: "It's a shame, a shame, that someone came to the academy to take someone. I haven't seen it in the academy for decades. I'm going to ask the governor of the Tang government. I have to give an explanation to this matter."

Cao Min came out from the darkness, cupped his hands and said, "Don't be in a hurry, Shanzhang. There must be something wrong with this matter. These people are usually out of control, and they may cause trouble outside. Why should the Shanzhang force himself to come forward?" .”

Qi Shunbin sighed: "Even if you want to take someone, you need to inform the academy in advance. If you come so suddenly, the holy land of the academy will not be defiled."

Cao Min said expressionlessly: "Master Shanchang, the government has already given the academy a lot of face. If you take someone in the middle of the night, the surrounding residents and the people in the city don't know much about it. If it is during the day, wouldn't the impact be worse?"

Qi Shunbin glared at Cao Min, and scolded: "Stupid words, can such things be hidden? At dawn, the four cities know about it, and the city is full of wind and rain. It's a shame that you still say such things; you don't talk to the government on weekdays." Do you have a deep friendship? I will leave this matter to you for now, to find out the news, find out the reason and report it to me, and you are making a fuss." After saying that, he left angrily.

Cao Min touched his nose, and cursed in a low voice: "Old man, you are quite angry, let's see where you put your old face this time.

Cao Min scolded the students who were watching the excitement with their heads up, told them to behave themselves and go back to sleep, then turned around and walked away.

The yamen servants had just stepped out of the gate of the academy, and the handyman who guarded the gate hadn't closed the gate when a figure slipped out of the door. The handyman was caught off guard, and even shouted a few times, but the black figure disappeared into the forest without turning back; the handyman had no choice but to do anything , cursing bad luck, closing the door and bolting it on top of the log, and going to doze off.

……

Outside Su's residence in Nancheng, the black figure reached the gate of the courtyard. The man who was probing his head was about to push the door open, when two big men flashed out behind him, clamping his head and neck neatly with their arms like iron tongs, and then a gleaming sharp knife Arriving at the mouth of the throat, a low voice came from the ear: "Who? Sneaky, what are you doing here? Talk."

The black shadow was startled, and hurriedly said: "I'm here to find Mr. Su, and I'm Wu Hengxin."

A big man slapped Wu Hengxin's face, looked carefully and said: "So it's Mr. Wu, why are you not sleeping in the academy in the middle of the night, why did you come to see my son?"

Wu Hengxin also saw clearly that this person was Ma Han from Su Zhai Nursing Home. They were both foodies, and they had already gotten to know each other well during the Mid-Autumn Festival. See your son."

Su Jin was holding Rou Niang's soft and sweet body and dreaming sweet dreams, Xiao Sui Er had no time to avoid suspicion, so she ran into the room to push Su Jin awake.

"My lord, Mr. Wu from the academy has come and said he has something urgent to see you."

"It's so late, why is he here?" Su Jin was startled, she didn't care about dressing neatly, she put on a small coat and walked out with her chest open, Rou Niang was also awakened, and took the clothes to cover her breasts , hurriedly said: "Comb your hair, how do you meet guests like this?"

Su Jin waved his hand and said, "You guys sleep, Mr. Wu is not an outsider, so it's okay."

How could Rou Niang go to sleep, put on her clothes, made two cups of tea and took them to the hall. As soon as she got outside the hall, she heard someone talking inside.

"Sixth brother, it's terrible. The eldest brother, the second brother, the third brother, and the fifth brother were all arrested. Fortunately, I saw the opportunity quickly, so I slipped out to report the news. I was afraid that they would also come to arrest you."

Su Jin was startled, and there was a bang in his head. His first reaction was: King Teng made a move.Quickly asked: "The official said there is no reason, why did you take people?"

Wu Hengxin sighed and said, "It's a mess, and no one is allowed to see it. How do you know? Sixth, you'd better go, they might come here to get you."

Su Jin thought for a moment, then waved his hand and said: "No, I live in the city, so there is no reason why I should not come to take me first, and the person who went to take the academy must have nothing to do with me, and if I didn't take you, I'm afraid it has nothing to do with you either. This matter is quite strange, the four people who were taken were all the ones who had a relationship with King Teng that day, but they didn't come to take you and me."

Wu Heng said in his heart: "It's about finding a way to save people, but we can't just sit back and ignore them."

Su Jin frowned and shouted: "What nonsense, am I that kind of person? You have to find out the reason before you can find a way to rescue. The reason and the crime are the two things that need to be investigated at present. In this way, you should go back to the academy to inquire first. Tomorrow and dawn, I will find a way to go to the yamen to find out the news, this matter is probably related to King Teng, it seems that this time the matter is not simple."

Wu Hengxin said: "Lao Liu, you have the most ways. If you have no way, they will be finished. When they enter the yamen, they will retreat a layer of skin if they have nothing to do. The longer the time, the more they will suffer. "

Su Jin stood up and patted him on the shoulder, comforting him gently: "Don't worry, I will do my best to save you. You and I are sworn brothers, and the vows we made that day are still in our ears. There must be differences in this matter."

Wu Hengxin was about to burst into tears, but knowing that there was nothing he could do for a while, he could only place his hopes on Su Jin, so he left and went back. Su Jin ordered Ma Han to escort him back to the academy without mentioning it.

Su Jin stood in the hall thinking carefully, sorting out the context, and suddenly he remembered that Fang Zimo had told him during the day today that the Ministry of Rites had selected students for the Emperor's Dragon Birthday to enter the congratulatory text. Cao Min rummaged through the articles in his study, looking for suitable candidates; and said that the names of himself and Wang Anshi and others were in the manuscripts he took away.

Su Jin seemed to have found some way. Cao Min took these manuscripts, and then something happened. What is the connection between the two?Thinking of this, Su Jinzhou's body felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, cold from head to toe.

Su Jin recovered and went out of the living room to return to her room, but she saw Rou Niang standing outside the hall with a teacup, and her whole body froze. Su Jin understood that she had heard all the conversation just now. For Rou Niang, she was most worried. Something happened, and it's okay to have a peaceful life. I'm afraid that this matter will involve the son-in-law again, and maybe the disaster of prison will befall Su Jin again.

Su Jin sighed, took the teacup from her hand, put it on the stone bench by the side of the road, reached out to hug her, and the two embraced silently.