Rise From the Humble

Yesterday's violent storm continued all night like a flood from heaven. It was not until Yin hour that the violent storm gradually stopped.

In the early morning, although it was still gloomy outside, the rain had stopped.

As usual, Zhu Ping'an got up early and washed up, then crossed the cloth bag and pushed open the door. There were many fallen leaves and petals in the yard, which were all blown down by the violent storm last night.

The drainage system of Linhuai Marquis Mansion is very complete. Even with such a heavy rain last night, there was not much water in the yard. Only the gurgling water in the stone troughs under the walls around the courtyard walls confirmed the heavy rain last night. When the water in the open channel meets the steps, it passes through the ditch left under the steps and gurgls into the open channel outside the gate of Tingyuxuan Courtyard. Part of it flows into the pond of the Hou Mansion, and part of it flows into the drainage system of the capital. , flowing into the moat.

After the heavy rain, the air smelled of earth, and it felt like I was back in Xiahe Village. An inexplicable feeling of homesickness came over me. I wonder if it has rained in Xiahe Village, how my parents are doing at home, and a certain fairy who is not acting like a young lady at home. Oh, I almost forgot, I was overthinking it. , she is the best at pretending to be a good wife in front of her parents.

From the bamboo forest outside the east wall of the courtyard, there was a crisp call of magpies, chirping. It was like celebrating rebirth after a disaster, and it was full of joy.

"Good morning, uncle."

Hearing the sound of Zhu Pingan getting up and opening the door, the two girls in the room also gathered their clothes sleepily and got up, and went out to say hello to Zhu Pingan.

They were used to seeing Zhu Ping'an get up so early. For so many days, his uncle always went to bed late and got up early, without any exception. It rained so heavily yesterday, and before going to bed, they lay in front of the window and watched. The light in my uncle's study was on for most of the night. Before I went to bed, I thought that if my uncle still slept so late as usual despite the heavy rain, he would probably get up early tomorrow.

"Morning." Zhu Ping'an nodded slightly and replied.

Chirping, chirping, chirping, the magpies outside the courtyard wall heard the movement in the yard, and their cries became more joyful.

"Chirping, chirping, happy event is coming." A little girl pricked up her ears, then squinted her eyes and smiled, "I heard the sound of magpies early in the morning. My uncle must have a happy event coming today."

"Haha, thank you for your kind words." Zhu Pingan smiled slightly and replied casually. Magpies are a symbol of blessing and luck. The ancients liked this. Naturally, I don’t believe it. However, I feel good when I hear the melodious cries of magpies early in the morning.

It is said that in the last years of Zhenguan, there was a man named Jingyi in the south. He lived by Kongqing Mountain and there was a nest of magpies outside his yard. Jing Yi is kind-hearted, and every time he eats, he will scatter some rice noodles under the tree for the magpies. One day, his neighbor lost several pieces of silk cloth and falsely accused Jingyi of stealing them. As a result, Jingyi was sent to jail for several months. One morning, Jingyi heard a magpie cry in his cell. He looked up and saw the magpie he often fed was chirping happily outside, as if delivering good news. The next day, the official called Jing Yi to the lobby and said that he met an imperial envoy wearing Xuanyi and plain clothes on the road. The imperial envoy informed him that the emperor was granting amnesty to the whole world. Three days later, as expected, the emperor's decree of amnesty came through, and Jing Yi was pardoned and returned home. After returning home, Jing Yi realized that the magpie transformed into a human and pretended to deliver the imperial edict to help him out of trouble. Xuan Yi Su Jin is exactly the color of the magpie's overall feathers. This is the origin of the magpie's announcement.

"There's no need to keep me for dinner today. I'm going out to visit friends." Zhu Ping'an went out as usual and gave the two little girls a warning before leaving.

Just as Zhu Pingan was about to step out, he suddenly heard a rush of footsteps outside, and then a maid's voice came over.

"Uncle, something bad is going to happen, big thing is going to go wrong."

The little maid ran in hurriedly and confused, and almost collided with Zhu Pingan who was about to go out. If Zhu Pingan hadn't been quick-sighted and took a step away, she would have collided with her.

"What's wrong, sister Qiuyue?" Hearing this, the little girl from Ting Yuxuan ran two steps over and asked nervously.

"Just now, an official came to the house and said that he wanted to see my uncle for something. Because he was at home, the attendants that he collected yesterday went over first. After hearing the news, the official left in a hurry, and then my uncle's attendants came in a hurry. They wanted to come see my uncle. They were not allowed to enter the inner house, so they asked me to send a message to my uncle." The little maid named Qiuyue said anxiously.

"Pass a message, why are you yelling and saying that something bad is going to happen? If the mother in charge finds out, you will have to eat and die." The little girl Ting Yuxuan breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. It's just a message. , why are you making such a fuss, do you think something happened, it made people's hearts go up to their throats.

"No," the little maid Qiuyue shook her head anxiously, with a layer of sweat on her forehead.

"There's no rush, just speak slowly." Zhu Ping'an comforted softly, vaguely guessing something in his heart. There are probably two situations when official messengers come to deliver letters. One is the case caused by the memorial, and the other is the incident yesterday when Zhao Daying's soldiers attacked him and sent him to the Shuntian Mansion Yamen. And if it was the Ministry of Punishment that made a complaint, they wouldn't be so anxious. It's probably because something happened to the Shuntian government officials.

"Uncle, your commander just sent a message saying that the prisoners sent to Shuntian Mansion yesterday all died inexplicably this morning. As soon as the officials got the news, they came over to send the message."

Sure enough, what the little maid Qiuyue said confirmed Zhu Pingan's guess.

"Oh, dead people!"

Hearing this, the two little girls in Yuxuan screamed in fright, stretched out their hands to cover their mouths, and their faces turned pale with fright.

It must have been done by Zhao Daying.

Without even thinking about it, this matter must be related to Zhao Daying. After hearing this, Zhu Pingan clenched his fists.

Eight living lives! If you say silence, silence it! Zhao Daying is really cruel and ruthless, worse than a beast. In order to silence others and avoid future troubles, he can even be so cruel to his own people.

It was also because he was careless, thinking that by locking people up in the Yamen prison, Zhao Daying would have no choice.

I didn't expect that Zhao Daying's hand could be stretched so long, and he could reach into the Shuntian Mansion prison across Prefect Zhou! Prefect Zhou is still trustworthy. It is estimated that Zhao Daying colluded with the officials below the government office or bribed the jailer. He was still locked up in the Shuntian Mansion Prison, so he was silenced directly. It was so unscrupulous! There is no kingly law!

If this kind of pest is not eliminated, society will be in danger every day.

Thinking that Zhao Daying had silenced these eight people, he would definitely take the opportunity to launch an attack, so the Ministry of Punishment would probably have made a complaint in advance.

Just in time, I can’t wait any longer.

Zhu Ping'an exhaled and looked in the direction of the Ministry of Justice, like a sharp sword.