A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 175 I'm Still Alive

"Chase."

Tao Hong shouted again:
"Don't let him escape, otherwise it will be difficult to explain."

Someone opened the yard door and chased out.

Wang Gui shouted loudly to put out the fire quickly.

Song Xuan stood by the window in the corridor, watching the fight in the yard.

The Fire-Eyed Suanni does have some means of preserving his life, and it seems that he is really an expert in the martial arts world.

It’s a pity that the person he was facing was not completely defenseless.

Kerosene does not explode.

At that time, the Southern Tang army used kerosene to attack the Song army, but the wind direction suddenly changed, and their own soldiers were burned to death.

The "fierce fire oil cabinet" recorded by Zeng Gongliang in "Wujing Zongyao" is very mature, and he himself also passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi this year.

Tao Hong's shouting naturally attracted the response of the neighbors around him, and they all stood up to put out the fire.

Whether it is for the sake of others or yourself.

After all, everyone's houses are made of wood.

Once the fire started, the fire alliance suddenly became concrete.

Gao Zunfu and his men stopped in the darkness and waited.

He was planning to show up with his own men when the battle was at a stalemate, which would be a great help in times of need.

Otherwise, there would be no danger and the problem would be solved. How could he make Song Xuan remember him?

Gao Zunfu also understood. Although he didn't know what was going on, Song Xuan must be in the emperor's favor.

Maybe it's because Journey to the West is well written and the officials like to read it.

Then he had to do Song Xuan a favor in case of emergency in the future.

Especially since Song Xuan had some talent in studying, even if a bet was made on who would win the title of Jieyuan, the government would still investigate.

But Gao Zunfu still had a bet that Song Xuan would win the first place in the imperial examination. Even if he was sick, a minor cold would not be considered a serious illness.

After hearing the sound of fire fighting coming from the yard, they rushed to the scene.

The Red Flame Eagle and Black Wind Evil Star, who had been waiting, came out from the darkness.

Arrived at the door of Song Xuan's shop.

Scarlet Flame Eagle said:

"Take advantage of the chaos now and throw the hook in so we can ambush together."

He wanted to take advantage of the situation and control the villain in front of him.

Black Wind Evil Star slowly drew his sword and shook his head:
"Sorry, I didn't bring that thing."

Red Flame Eagle also drew his sword slightly and became alert. He felt that there was something wrong with the person in front of him.

"How can I get up there without it?"

The Black Wind Evil Star said, "You squat on the ground, and I'll step on you and jump in."

"Why don't I step on you and jump in!"

Qu Ze, however, stood at the window and stuck his head out. The Scarlet Flame Eagle snorted and laughed:
"Young Gang Leader, this man is the Black Wind Evil Star, and he wants to murder Twelve Lang."

After hearing this, Qu Ze lowered down from the second floor and blocked the Black Wind Evil Star's retreat.

Black Wind Evil Star: ???
Before he could react any further, the door to the Twelve Bookstores opened.

The Black Wind Evil Star saw Song Twelve holding two iron bone swords in his hands, and two people were protecting him with knives on his left and right.

Song Xuan glanced at the five-star killer. He was one of his own.

He held the hammer against the Black Wind Evil Star:

"Kneel down now, or I'll break one of your legs."

Hearing Song Twelve's hoarse voice, Black Wind Evil Star immediately understood.

That five-star killer named Laozi was actually a spy sent by Song Xuan to deliberately disrupt the view and gather intelligence.

The Imperial City Secretary originally wanted to set up a trap, but he was actually set up by others and fell into it!
"Straight bitch!"

Black Wind Evil Star couldn't help but curse loudly:
"This is clearly my job!"

"What the hell are you meddling in?"

Scarlet Flame Eagle raised his eyebrows and said, "What the hell are you talking about!"

"court death."

Without waiting for Song Xuan to say anything, Wang Gui, who was in high spirits, rushed out of the door.

The Fire-Eyed Suanni just now wanted to let go on purpose, and the one who was left alone must be severely beaten.

Bang.

The single blade in the Black Wind Evil Star's hand was broken by Wang Gui's mace. He knelt on the ground and begged for mercy:
"I'm from the Imperial City Division!"

Wang Gui was about to strike down with the iron mace in his left hand, but stopped abruptly when he heard these words.

Black Wind Evil Star understood the situation. Song Xuan was not in danger, and his leader Gao Zunfu had specifically ordered that he could not show up with a large number of troops.

Otherwise it would ruin the government's business.

You have to handle this kind of thing by yourself!
Black Wind Evil Star quickly shouted:
"Misunderstanding, I was also ordered to protect Song Twelve."

"We're all in this together!"

Someone from the Imperial City Division?
Wang Gui really had no choice but to leave this time, after all, this was also part of the imperial guards.

He will join the Imperial Guards in the future to fight for his future!
Gang Leader Cao glanced at the man who claimed to be from the Imperial City Division.

Confirm that this person has never appeared in front of the shop.

Song Xuan signaled the Red Flame Flying Eagle to come forward and search him.

He said he was from the Imperial City Bureau?

Soon, a wooden sign was stuffed into Gang Leader Cao's hands.

Boss Cao identified it and confirmed that it was the real thing.

"It's over. So the one we let go is the real killer!"

"You bastard, two of the three killers are undercover?"

Wang Gui couldn't help but curse.

The Black Wind Evil Star was also in trouble. The two undercover agents plotted against each other, and the real killer ran away.

Wang Gui originally wanted to have a good fight, but the previous one had to act, so he couldn't kill this one.

However, the people from the Imperial City Bureau are government officials.

He silently put away his two maces, retreated behind Song Xuan, and asked in a low voice:
"Brother, what should I do?"

"People in the government are very troublesome."

It’s not that Wang Gui doesn’t dare to kill people, but killing someone with an official background and killing a gangster will have completely different consequences.

"I miscalculated."

Song Xuan signaled to bring the person in.

We'll talk about other things later.

The most important thing right now is to put out the fire and perform a complete show.

The diving team and neighbors came over with buckets of water. In order to make it more realistic, Tao Hong set fire to the donkey's shed.

The donkey was so angry that he kept snorting at him.

Because I had informed Yao Yunfan in advance, the bookstore's business was being targeted by someone, and I was afraid that someone would take advantage of Shi Erlang's participation in the test to cause trouble, so the next three days would be a bit difficult.

Yao Yunfan, the commander of the Submarine Fire Team, readily agreed.

He didn't sleep tonight. He had to make sure that if Song Xuan's yard caught fire, he would be there at any time.

So with the help of a group of people, they successfully put out the fire, and even found the kerosene barrel that remained at the site.

"Shi Erlang, this matter must be reported to the authorities. Not everyone can easily obtain a whole barrel of kerosene."

"Okay, I'll have someone take care of it tomorrow."

Yao Yunfan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the incident was discovered in time and no major damage was caused.

Otherwise, if Song Twelve's yard caught fire, it would definitely be a big fire.

Not only did it delay Shi Erlang's business, it also delayed Shi Erlang's future.

Song Xuan responded:
"I'll thank you all after I finish my exams. Thank you all for your help tonight."

Everyone naturally faded away, expressing their understanding.

If there was a fire in their house, I believe Song Shier would not ignore it.

Gao Zunfu really didn't expect that Song Xuan didn't even use him, but directly captured his undercover agent and other killers.

He had talked with Song Xuan and showed up.

You definitely can't negotiate this kind of thing yourself.

Otherwise, you would be betraying the government!
How is it possible?

But the spy he sent to lurk was caught again, and he was a little anxious for a while.

Gao Zunfu could only hope that his people would make up a story.

Everyone had left by now.

Everyone surrounded the Black Wind Evil Star.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

Song Xuan sat on the chair:
"Don't tell me your name. We don't want to know how you got involved."

"You can't explain it clearly. I suspect that you, a member of the Imperial City Bureau, accepted money from the Dou family and worked for them, so I don't mind burying you alive."

Black Wind Evil Star listened to Song Xuan's threatening words and saw several big men surrounding him.

Although he relied on the fact that he was from the Imperial City Bureau, it was troublesome for him to blend into the group of killers without showing his head and proving himself.

He naturally put the blame on Gao Zunfu.

The officer in charge specially transferred him from Tokyo to take over from Gu Zimo in order to capture the real killer.

Anyway, if this happened, then Gu Zimo, the magistrate of Yingtian Prefecture, would not know who the killers were, right?

Because the Dou family did not provide any appearance, they just said that they would send someone to find him and let Gu Zimo settle him down.

They all followed Gu Zimo's orders and waited for the right time to kill Song Xuan.

"Are you saying that the Imperial City Bureau is investigating the Dou family?"

Hearing Song Xuan's question, Black Wind Evil Star nodded repeatedly.

The truth is impossible to tell.

Gang Leader Cao came over from the window, confirmed that someone from the Imperial City Bureau had been there, and then left, proving his identity.

As for what he said, its credibility is not high.

Why does the Imperial City Bureau want to investigate the Dou family?
However, when he thought about sending people to monitor Song Xuan, an ordinary student, Boss Cao felt that the Imperial City Bureau might only be able to do odd jobs now.

Just as he was about to remind him, he heard Song Xuan say:
"Since it's the Dou family, we are allies. How can the court do nothing about the fact that he is bullying a weak and helpless student like me?"

Black Wind Evil Star didn't dare to refute a word.

You are surrounded by strong men who can fight. Besides, Song Twelve, have you forgotten how you threatened me with the Iron Bone Dog just now?

It seems like he is planning to kill someone.

If I had begged for mercy too late, both my legs would have been broken!

"So that Twelve Lang knows, these things need to be reported. I am just a small fry."

"Since it's a misunderstanding."

Song Xuan casually took out a few gold leaves and stuffed them into the evil star's hands:
"Anyway, thank you very much for this!"

The evil star thought he was going to lose a layer of skin, but the gold leaf in his hand was a little dazzling.

He was just a private living in the luxurious city of Tokyo and had never owned any gold.

The salary is enviable and is a treatment only enjoyed by civil servants.

Sha Xing was stunned for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

But he truly felt Song Xuan's gratitude from these golden leaves!

Is there any better way to express gratitude than this?

"Tao Hong, please help me see the guests off."

Song Xuan staggered to the bedside:
"I have an exam tomorrow, so I'd better go to bed early."

Except for Wang Gui, everyone left Song Xuan's room.

The candle goes out.

Song Xuan lay on the bed and forced himself to sleep because he had an exam today.

Wang Gui lay on the bamboo bed, unable to sleep for a while. He had thought he would be able to show off his skills today, but in the end, he felt nothing.

I was a little conflicted for a moment and failed to fully display my strength in front of Song Xuan!

The evil star was sent out with gifts, and he hurriedly tucked away the gold leaves that Song Xuan gave him.

This business trip was so dangerous, it was worth it!

Then, after he took a few steps, he was taken away by people from the Imperial City Bureau.

"Tell me." Gao Zunfu continued to interrogate.

The evil star asked a lot of questions, why didn’t you show up as agreed, do you know that I was almost beaten to death by Song Xuan’s men!
Among the three killers, two are undercover!
Song Xuan only recognized the identity of the other undercover agent and didn't recognize me at all.

If I hadn't been so quick to bring up my identity as the Imperial City Bureau, I would have been beaten to a pulp!

Gao Zunfu was surprised.

But he didn't expect that Song Xuan would make plans so early!

It was my own fault for not considering it carefully enough, so I can't blame him for this.

"If that's the case, then tell us what you discussed with Song Xuan. Everything will be reported to the government."

After listening to his subordinates' stories, Gao Zunfu really didn't expect that a smart man like Song Xuan would easily believe the nonsense he said.

However, he felt that Song Xuan had no one to verify the truth of these words.

I don't know how to report this matter to His Majesty, and I almost messed it up.

Day is bright.

Gu Zimo felt thirsty, opened his eyes, and squinted in confusion.

He saw his wife sitting there combing her hair, while a maid was serving her.

Gu Zimo didn't understand how he ended up in her room. When he lifted the quilt, he found that he was naked.

He patted his head and couldn't remember the joy he had last night.

I don’t feel good!

strangeness.

But looking at his wife's shy look in front of the mirror, maybe he showed his power after drinking.

So Gu Zimo shouted:
"Here comes the water."

The little maid hurried over to serve him tea, and she looked very happy.

Gu Zimo thought to himself, I didn’t have sex with two women last night, right?

Generally, a lady’s maidservant serves as a concubine.

Gu Zimo shook his head and put on his clothes, then hurried back to the study, made sure that the letter he wrote had not been seen by anyone else, and immediately stuffed it into an envelope.

Then he breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't know if they've figured it out yet?"

After Gu Zimo washed up, he hurried out and specifically ordered someone to pass by the street where Song Shier's bookstore was.

Sure enough, he saw from a distance that there were quite a few people gathered around, and even the yamen runners were maintaining order at the door and not allowing anyone to approach.

Seeing this, Gu Zimo lowered the curtain, his heart filled with surprise for a moment.

When passing by, Gu Zimo heard the people talking again, saying that there was a big fight in the backyard.

It seems that many people were burned to death.

No matter how serious the situation is, they can't see what's happening in the yard even if they stretch their necks hard.

Hearing such discussions, Gu Zimo covered his mouth and almost laughed out loud.

It looks like they all succeeded!

Well done!

"Teacher, your revenge has been avenged by your students!"

"If you haven't gone far yet, you must open your eyes and take a good look."

Gu Zimo did not stop, but went directly to the Imperial Examination Hall.

I got drunk yesterday, and that was also a way to clear myself of suspicion.

After all, Song Xuan's death was not only because he was after his money.

It is inevitable that some people will recall the fight between him and Dou Chou.

As Dou Chou's student, Gu Zimo still has to find a good excuse for himself so that he can have something to say in the future.

Gu Zimo was in a good mood. He entered the Imperial Examination Hall and smiled at everyone he saw.

He even encouraged other students from time to time, which made many of them flattered.

Cao Liyong hugged his arms:
"Did he eat bee shit today? Why does he smile so brightly when he sees everyone?"

Yan Shu raised his brows. Gu Zimo was indeed obviously different from usual.

In addition, Su Qi said yesterday that Gu Tongpan stayed next to Song Xuan for a while. Song Xuan, who was still thinking, immediately found an excuse to hand in the paper, as if he was afraid that he would secretly trip him up.

Su Qi took Song Xuan's paper and looked at it carefully. Thirteen out of fifteen questions were fine, but two were unsatisfactory.

It is generally satisfactory, but not satisfactory in detail.

Although what Cao Liyong said was not very polite, it still made sense.

"Let's wait until Song Twelve arrives, and then keep a close eye on him."

Song Xuan sent someone to report to the police and went straight to find Zhang Kang to come and investigate the scene. Besides, there was no murder involved.

Gu Zimo was smiling, looking like he had gotten revenge.

He even thought about going back immediately to burn incense for his teacher to comfort his soul in heaven!
"Take the exam well."

Gu Zimo, who was encouraging the students with a smile on his face, saw Song Xuan coming in with an exam basket, and the smile on his face immediately disappeared.

He was even a little dazed.

Seeing a ghost in broad daylight?

Until Song Xuan took the initiative to make a cross-arm salute:

"Gu Tongpan, won't you wish me good grades too?"

living people.

He, Song Twelve, is still alive!

Gu Zimo was sure that Song Xuan in front of him was a living person, and he spoke to him so provocatively.

Could it be that one of those three people was caught by him, so Song Xuan deliberately came to talk to him?

For a moment, Gu Zimo's expression changed. What if he gave him up?
There is no evidence anyway!
"Take the exam well."

Gu Zimo spat out these three words from between his teeth, his voice was so low that no one could hear it.

Song Xuan had a smile on his face: "Thank you, Judge Gu, for your blessing. I believe that good deeds will be rewarded and evil deeds will be punished. It's not that there is no retribution, it's just that the time has not come yet."

After saying that, Song Xuan directly bumped into Gu Zimo's shoulder, as if he did it on purpose.

Gu Zimo was bumped into and the smile on his face disappeared, instead he looked gloomy.

Not only did his plan fail, but Song Xuan dared to say such words to his face, so he must have known something.

Now there's more to consider.

As usual, Song Xuan went to worship the statue of the saint and saluted the invigilator.

Cao Liyong asked, "Your eyes look dark, didn't you stay up late studying?"

"Not really. The kid went to bed early yesterday."

Song Xuan sighed helplessly: "But because there was a fire at home last night, I got up to put out the fire, so I didn't sleep much."

"House on fire?"

Cao Liyong's face changed. He never thought that such a thing would happen at this critical moment.

In this way, wouldn't it delay Song Xuan's chances of passing the imperial examination?

Even Yan Shu couldn't sit still anymore. He asked:

"How big is the fire? I haven't heard Yi Jun report it yet!"

"Luckily, we discovered it early, so it didn't harm the rest of the neighbors. It only burned down my donkey shed. I reported it to the police this morning. Someone set the fire maliciously and even tried to kill me!"

Cao Liyong and Yan Shu exchanged a glance and said, "Go and take the exam first. I will certainly get justice for you."

"Thank you."

Song Xuan walked over slowly.

"Okay!"

Cao Liyong couldn't hold back his anger:
"I didn't expect him to be so cruel!"

Yan Shu stopped Cao Liyong from speaking and signaled him not to say anything.

In order to avoid alerting the enemy, Gu Zimo's expression now looks very ugly.

It seems that Song Xuan did not die. This was somewhat beyond his expectations.

"If this matter were to be told to His Majesty, I wonder what the consequences would be."

Cao Liyong stared at Gu Zimo fiercely:
"This matter must not be allowed to rest, otherwise how can the lives of ordinary students in the Great Song be saved?"

"Don't be anxious. Go around the exam room first and keep an eye on Gu Zimo to prevent him from losing his mind and having another attack in the exam room."

Even if Yan Shu was the chief examiner at this time, he could not easily expel Gu Zimo, the invigilator.

What's more, since this matter was beyond his expectation, he must not be allowed to leave the Imperial Examination Hall and let him find a solution.

In this way, if the message is not delivered in time, there will be more time to take the initiative.

Perhaps Cao Liyong didn't realize that he looked so indignant because this incident happened to Song Xuan.

"You're a jerk."

"You even dare to mess with my intended son-in-law. You clearly don't take me seriously!"

"Do you really think I can't deal with a mere magistrate like you?"

Gu Zimo's mood was fluctuating greatly, and he immediately held on to the pillar.

He heard with his own ears from the onlookers that many people had died, and it was a horrible sight, with not even a trace of Song Twelve left.

But Song Twelve was fine!
Those people just want to watch the fun and spread rumors. Why are they all spreading rumors?

Gu Zimo had obviously forgotten that after his old mentor died, many versions of the rumor circulated.

He had learned the principle that three people make a tiger a long time ago, but once something happened, how would he have the time to recall this knowledge?

He thinks exactly as he imagines, and he also wants things to develop as he imagines.

But the reality is that reality will slap you hard in the face and make you face reality!

Not everything will develop according to your wishes!

Song Xuan walked to his desk and immediately lay down to rest.

Seeing Song Xuan like this, Han Qi thought he was very ill and walked forward again:

"Twelfth brother?"

Song Xuan looked at Han Qi with sleepy eyes.

Han Qi really didn't expect that Song Xuan looked like he hadn't slept all night.

"are you OK?"

"I can answer the questions. Something happened during the night. Please keep an eye on me. Don't let my classmates who know me come to say hello. I want to take this opportunity to sleep a little longer."

"Okay, Twelve Brother, go to sleep."

Han Qi hurriedly stood guard to prevent people around from disturbing Song Xuan's rest.

As the opening gong sounded.

The second exam began, mainly testing poetry and prose.

Poetry and prose mainly consist of one poem, one fu and one essay.

Song Xuan looked up and decided to write a poem on the theme of the Hongmen Banquet.

(Restricted to Xikun style).

Song Xuan copied it on the draft paper and fell into deep thought.

At this time, among the many students in the examination room, few felt happy.

Because the requirements of Xikun style are really very difficult.

In addition to the gorgeous and refined style, it also pays attention to the use of allusions and parallelism.

Every sentence must use a classic!
Song Xuan recalled that the key points his teachers had taught him were all on the use of allusions.