Record of ups and downs in troubled times

In the small cell of the Sikong Prison on the left and right, sat a bloated middle-aged man.

The cell was very clean, the straw on the couch should have just been replaced, and there were mildew stains on the walls, which should have been scrubbed just a few days ago; There were wrinkles in the shoving, but there were no traces of dirt; since he was "invited" to this cell, no jailer came to trouble him by yelling.

It's not the way a prisoner should be treated.

Although he thought he had done nothing that was ashamed of the world and the court, but he was so polite in dragging him to prison, which really made him feel suspicious.

Therefore, when he heard the sound of footsteps in his ears, he even breathed a sigh of relief: Whether it's torture or threats, come quickly.

The footsteps stopped outside the cell as expected.He took a deep breath, and was even ready to see Cheng Chengxiang's impermanent face. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but turn pale with shock: "Junior Brother... No, Fu Xiyuan! Why are you here?!"

Fu Xiyuan outside the cell just kept laughing.

"Why are you here!" Luo Ke took two quick steps, knocked his forehead between the thick bars of the prison cell, and tried his best to squeeze out to see, although it was only futile, but at least he figured it out. Fu Xiyuan did come alone, not even a jailer was with him.

"Why are you here!" Although there was no one else beside him, Luo Ke still couldn't help lowering his voice. He looked around carefully, and hurriedly said: "This is a trap set by Cheng Nan for me, don't get involved! You You can’t save me! Get out! Don’t worry about anything, just take care of yourself!”

Luo Ke was about to continue nagging, but when he saw Fu Xiyuan's expression, he suddenly understood: "You?!"

"I."

Facing Luo Ke's disbelief, Fu Xiyuan's smile gradually collapsed.He said softly, "Brother, it's me."

There is only this fool in the world who is willing to believe him wholeheartedly.He, Fu Zongzheng, is a member of Cheng Chengxiang's family. Who in the whole dynasty doesn't know?Only the senior brother never wants to hear such rumors, or even if he hears the rumors, he never wants to believe them.

Just like when Taifu Zheng kicked him out of the academy, there were so many brothers in the same school, but there was only one Luo Keken who swore in front of the master and spoke for him.For some reason, this senior brother who has always been conscientious and even staid, trusts this glib and incoherent senior brother.

But he didn't know that this time, what Fu Xiyuan wanted from him was not a book or a theory, but his life.

"When did you become Cheng Nan's man?!" Luo Ke became more and more anxious as he thought about it, "You don't know what he is? People call him 'white-faced impermanence', and it's not just a joke! He is cruel and venomous." , you work under him, you don’t even know how you lost your life someday! It’s okay for us to write articles and discuss political affairs, but if it’s about playing tricks, ten of you are no match for him!”

"Brother..."

"If you don't listen to me, don't call me senior brother!" Luo Ke suddenly shouted angrily, but his eye circles turned red first, "You have been conceited and smart since you were a child, but disputes in the court are things that lose your head. If you are not careful, you I don’t want this little life anymore! Secondly, the Tai Tu taught you and me to uphold integrity since childhood, what kind of person is Cheng Nan? How can you help the evildoer?!”

"Senior brother," Fu Xiyuan straightened his back, even a little stiffly, "This is the safest path I've considered over and over again."

"Safe?!" Luo Ke couldn't help stretching out a hand from the gap in the fence, tightly grasping Fu Xiyuan's arm, "What are you going to do? Ask for money? Ask for an official? If you want these, why don't you talk to me?" Say? If you think Zongzheng is boring, I will ask someone to change it for you. Why do you ask to go to Cheng Nan?!"

Fu Xiyuan Zong Zhengqing's seat was found by Luo Ke for him.

"Luo Yushi, please don't make any noise, wait for my younger brother to state these crimes to you, and it will not be too late for you to complain." Fu Xiyuan's tone suddenly changed, and he was as glib as usual, "Besides, whoever came here There are not many injustices."

Outside the cell fence, footsteps sounded again at the right time.Not a moment later, Fu Xiyuan walked by a person behind him, and stood side by side with him.

The visitor was short and fat, with a short stature. Luo Ke had seen him beside Cheng Chengxiang.

"Luo Yushi, you have to answer the question I asked you truthfully. I'm willing to listen to you calmly now, so don't wait for torture." Fu Xiyuan didn't seem to notice the pudgy prime minister Shaoshi at all, just Luo Ke smiled at the fence behind the corner of his mouth, "Let me ask you, who swallowed the money and things donated by the officials in the court for the disaster in the South China Sea?"

Be swallowed? !

It was indeed Luo Ke who suggested donating money to Nanhai County.The land of the South China Sea is not considered rich. Luo Ke had served as an official there and knew the hardships involved, so he came up with this proposal.However, although Luo Ke said the proposal, the person who actually implemented it was not Luo Ke himself. Why did you ask him?

Seeing Luo Ke's surprised expression, Fu Xiyuan said again: "Although the person who escorted the belongings did not work in Yushitai, he studied under Luo Yushi's school five years ago. Under the heavy punishment, he has confessed all of them, and the evidence is convincing. It has nothing to do with you. Now, why don't you tell me honestly, where are the stolen things hidden? Maybe it can save you from the pain of flesh and blood!"

"Fu Zongzheng," Luo Ke thought about the prime minister, Shaoshi, who didn't dare to be too intimate with Fu Xiyuan.In the entire court, there are many people who know that both of them are from Zheng Taifu's family, but few people know that they have a close relationship. After all, Luo Ke also knows that he is not a good dancer, and he is afraid that he will make a mistake and hurt others. "I, Luo Ke, am not a person who is greedy for money and profit. I have never got a finger on this money. Please help me report it to His Majesty, and hope he can clearly see it!"

Fu Xiyuan and Luo Ke looked at each other deeply.

"Since you are so stubborn, it is useless to say more today. If you want to confess anytime in the future, I will accompany you anytime."

Fu Xiyuan said this abruptly, then turned around and walked out along the aisle. This set of movements came smoothly, without any hesitation at all.

Luo Ke behind the fence was confused, and the prime minister Shao Shi outside the fence was also confused. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and Shao Shi hurriedly moved his fat legs and chased Fu Xi away.

The prison fell back into silence.

Luo Ke stood still in front of the fence for a while, and slowly withdrew his right hand that was leaning on the wooden fence.In the tightly clenched hand, there is a crumpled and small scroll of paper.The scroll has been held in the palm of the hand for a long time, and it has become limp in one place.

This was given to him secretly by Fu Xiyuan before he left.

It took him a lot of effort to unroll the scroll completely.The handwriting on the note can be seen to be Fu Xiyuan's handwriting at a glance. After careful identification, there are seven characters written: "Bone decay should still be remembered."

The pen hides the edge, and the words are decisive.

This is extracted from a poem, the whole sentence should be: Who is the scholar's loyalty?Bone decay should still exist in this thought.

Luo Ke stared at this poem for a moment, the expression on his face fluctuated for a while, then he was angry for a while, and suddenly realized for a while.As for the scroll, he held it in his hand for a while, then slowly put it into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

"I heard that you are from the same family as Master Luo Yushi. When we met this time, it seems that the relationship is not very good?"

coming.

Fu Xiyuan glanced at Prime Minister Shaoshi who was struggling to follow him, and found that with his height, it was effortless to see the back of the short Dunzi's head from the front.He glanced at the back of the bulging head, very displeased, and snorted "um" from his nose.

Shao Shi waited patiently for a while before he realized that there was no meaning of explanation at all behind Fu Xiyuan's "um".When he was about to take the initiative to ask again, he suddenly came to his senses: those who are eager to explain often have ghosts in their hearts;

Luo Yushi is high-minded and generous, and if he thinks about it carefully, it must be Fu Zongzheng who has done something that he is sorry for.Since it was Fu Zongzheng's fault, of course he refused to say anything.

"Lord Changshi, are you going to the mansion for a cup of tea?" Fu Xiyuan, who was walking in front, turned his head and supported the short dunzi's shoulders "with due courtesy" to prevent him from bumping into himself.After being pushed by him like this, Prime Minister Chang Shi looked around in a daze, and found that he had followed Fu Xiyuan, walked out of Tingwei Prison, and stood on the street.

Then I walked around the big man in front of me and took a look. Isn't the one on the right the gate of the Fu family's mansion?

"Where is it?" Chang Shi laughed with him, stepped back and cupped his hands, "Fu Zongzheng is being polite. I have something to do, so I won't bother you..."

After seeing off the short dunzi who held the important position of "surveillance", Fu Xiyuan, the master of the Fu family, walked to the door swaggeringly, knocked on the door three times, coughed lightly, and called loudly: "Little Sier! I'm back! Open the door! "

There was no movement at all.

He yelled three more times, but it was still quiet inside, and no one answered him.He had no choice but to rub his nose, and explained to the old man selling fruit across the street without any hesitation: "Hey! You are old, it's good to practice your voice more! Isn't this the same as your old man selling fruit?"

As Fu Xiyuan talked, he didn't rest on his feet.He finally couldn't help it, kicked the door hard, and it opened with a "squeak"!

These little bastards don't even lock the door?It's fine if you don't lock it. Will Xiao Sier, the gatekeeper, go to Zhou Gong again? !

Out of the corner of his eyes, he quickly glanced at the short dunzi Shaoshi who was guarding the opposite corner, deliberately yelled and cursed, crossed the threshold and entered the courtyard.Before he had walked a few steps on the bluestone road, a young man in crescent white and satin clothes walked out in front of him. Looking at his self-made appearance, who else could it be if it wasn't his precious son?

"Father!" Young Master Fu greeted Fu Xiyuan affectionately.

"Little bastard, are you going to play there again?" Fu Xiyuan stretched out his hand and stroked the top of his son's head, relying on his height, "This is not possible. You are growing up too, and you have to do some serious work all day long Getting together among women, what's the matter?"

"I have an appointment with Xiao Tang'er, let's go drink tea!" Fu Qichen moved his footsteps, and quickly retreated three or four steps to get rid of his father's big hand.He pulled the skirt of his clothes and straightened the hem like a dog, and said proudly: "Why am I not doing business? A few days ago, I didn't go to Nanhai County for you?"

Hearing what he said, Fu Xiyuan rushed over to cover his mouth, looked around for a while, and then cursed in a low voice: "What business did you do? That's Dad, I paid you to go out to play!"

"Yes yes yes, don't look at me, my old eyes are dim, how many people can I see?" Mr. Fu pulled his father's hand away, and compromised: "Don't worry, no one listens to our corner. You will not refuse this time." , don’t you have something else to ask me?”

"'Beg' you?!" Fu Xiyuan almost sprayed his old blood on the young master's face, "Can you use the word 'beg' when you ask your son to do things? I want you to do it! It's up to you."