Pei Gonggui

This night the dream was light, Pei Jun slept very restlessly, because he didn't know if it was a dream or not, he kept hearing someone calling his name.Its voice was screaming and screaming, it was as miserable as gallbladder, pain as if piercing the heart, but it sounded like a world away, beyond the clouds of the nine days, it was extremely indistinct.

All of a sudden, there was a clatter of big drums and a rush of bells, as if someone was doing an unknown religious ceremony, and the sound changed from clear to sharp, from mourning to utter despair, from far to near, suddenly like a violent shout , flat ground exploded in his ears:

"Pei Jun!! Pei Jun—"

In an instant, the surrounding blood was pungent, and he heard: "Pei Jun! Wake up!" All the senses that had been lost before were awakened, making him burn all over his body instead of cold thorns, as if his muscles and bones had been rebuilt by Ling Chi, but he wanted to die What's more, there was a severe pain in the neck, until his whole body trembled, and he wanted to raise his neck to scream, but his throat could not make any sound, and he wanted to struggle, but his palms seemed to be pierced and nailed to death, and he couldn't move at all.

But the voice was still shouting: "Pei Jun! Wake up! Wake up!"

And amidst the increasingly dense and deafening drumming of copper bells around him, he actually opened his eyes in response to the sound, and suddenly saw a ferocious ghost face facing him, with yellow hair and black horns, and giant protruding eyes. After waking up, the terrifying bloody mouth under the blue cheek opened even more fiercely, and the scream came again with the sound of iron chains:

"—He's awake! Pei Jun!"

……

"Who!"

Pei Jun sat up in panic, and when he woke up in a panic, the blood and pain all over his body disappeared, and there were no more demons. When he opened his eyes, he saw plain tents, sleeping couch, fire, tables and chairs.He is still in his bedroom, he is still in his bed, turning his head to see, the sky outside the window screen is still dark.

His chest was still heaving violently, but before he could catch his breath, he stroked his neck with trembling hands—it was intact, and raised it up to examine his palm—there was no scar.The horrific scene and the bone-piercing pain just now suddenly seemed like a spring and autumn dream, but there was still a lingering tremor of the severe pain in the depths of his soul, as if warning him that everything had really happened——

It felt like he was being pulled into the dead body of the previous life and brought back to life by force, allowing him to continue to endure the hellish pain after beheading...

"My lord?" Uncle Dong opened the door from the outside, and hurriedly came to his bedside with a lamp, and said in a worried voice, "Are you having nightmares again?"

The warm light from the candle lamp shone on Pei Jun's body, causing him to breathe out slowly, and finally he was able to look up at Uncle Dong, and smiled comfortingly.

"It's nothing, just woke up early, I'm afraid you will grow old." He also lifted the quilt and said: "Get up."

"Hey." Uncle Dong put down the lamp stand and called out, and immediately, servants came in with hot water towels and handkerchiefs.

With more people in the inner room, it seems that the haze of the strange power and chaos just now has been eliminated, making Pei Jun finally feel at ease.He closed his eyes and rested for a while, got up and changed his sweaty clothes, after morning exercise and breakfast, he took a shower, put on a second-grade patch coat, and went out in a sedan chair.

Pei Jun already had a lot of things to do today, but now that the King of Jin was assassinated and Qian Haiqing was taken into custody, two more troubles were added. Moreover, the year-end state banquet to be held by the Ministry of Rites is less than half a month away, and before the Spring Festival begins, there will be two more troubles. He still has a lot of documents to check with the Honglu Temple to sign a covenant or trade terms before sending off the envoys from other countries. In the coming year, together with the New Deal, the Six Departments will be the top priority of the reform, and all parties will contact and discuss. There must be more, as the time goes by, there should be more leisure, so he can make a quick decision, and he plans to make a quick decision before the end of the year.

He first went to the Ministry of Rituals for a beating, and turned Feng Jiru around, and then took the tattoo pattern he got from Jiang Yue the night before, and rushed to the lecture hall at the southern end of the imperial city, trying to find the father of Pei's father. Old General Xiao from the old department asked about the organization.However, when I arrived at the lecture hall, I saw Jiang Shilang from the Ministry of War was discussing military supplies with General You in the hall, and Fang Mingjue from the household department was also there. When he saw Pei Jun coming, he called him: "Hey, Daxianer, when I entered the imperial city, I met someone. Old Cui was called by the cabinet for questioning, what's the matter?"

"Prince Jin was assassinated last night, and old Cui Zhengcha." Pei Jun finished speaking concisely, and asked Jiang Shilang: "Old Jiang, is General Xiao in?"

Jiang Shilang asked him with a smile: "Where are the two generals here, which one are you looking for?"

"Well, it's my fault that I didn't make it clear." Pei Jun also laughed at himself, "I'd better look for Old General Xiao, his son has a big temper, so I won't touch the ashes."

"Don't talk nonsense, the little general is much easier to get along with than his father." Fang Mingjue bumped his arm, "His father went to Nanjing Pass yesterday, and he is not here now, so you can't find him if you want."

"That's right, it's the same for Master Pei to ask the little general," the right general interjected, pointing back, "he's just behind the ear."

"No, no, no." Pei Jun raised his hand to stop him from laughing, "Thank you, General You. Forget it, Old General Xiao is not here, so I can ask Mr. Jiang about this matter." He dragged Jiang Shilang to the porch outside. , "Go, go, go" chased away Fang Mingjue who insisted on coming to listen, then took out the tattoo on his sleeve, and asked in a low voice: "Mr. Jiang has also been in the military department for more than ten years, and today he palmed eyes for the younger generation. , see if this tattoo is from my father's frontier army?"

Jiang Shilang recognized it at a glance: "That's right, and this pattern can only be from that time. In the next few years, the army changed its system, and this pattern has long since been used. Veterans have to get new seals. Speaking of which, This number is so close to the front, it is expected to be the scout battalion under General Pei..." He looked at Pei Jun, "Why, what happened?"

"Someone sent this pattern to my house," Pei Jun casually told a lie that he had already planned, "If you say that this is my father's old department, and the disabled veterans are not easy to live, maybe they want to contact Let me help you, junior. I came to ask you today because I thought that if I could find out, I would send something to someone.”

"...you'd better burn something." Jiang Shilang finished his voice, shook his head and smiled, raised his hand and patted his arm, "That's right, you are young, I'm afraid you don't know. Hey... In the First World War ten years ago, the entire scout battalion of the Frontier Army died along with your father, and there was not a single soldier left in the battalion—how can there be anyone who needs help? I think someone has the desire to make a fortune. I'm going to pretend to be the dead old department to steal your money. You have to be careful, others are easy to be deceived."

- dead?Pei Jun trembled when he heard the words, but there was still a smile on his face: "Oh, it's such a situation, it's thanks to asking you today, or I wouldn't have been deceived?"

"There were many such things in the past." Jiang Shilang waved his hand and smiled, "A few years ago, there were descendants who pretended to be the princesses of the previous dynasty, and lied to the money and said that they would be named marquis after helping him restore. The old master wants to pool money to run a school before he dies for a thousand years—well, you can ask Lao Cui about this, but it’s funny, that person doesn’t even know the Four Books.” He smiled again when he said this, and looked at it again. He glanced at the tattoo pattern on Pei Jun's hand and said: "Hey, but this pattern is very delicate - ordinary people don't know the order of the scout battalion, maybe it has something to do with the past. It's a troubled time right now, Ziyu, you'd better keep an eye out and check it out, but be careful not to get killed, otherwise it will cause a lot of trouble."

"But you said that all the people in that battalion were dead, so where can the younger generation find out?" Pei Jun continued to ask according to his words, "Old General Xiao is not here, and there are also dead and scattered people in the border guards. Dispersed, it should look like a chicken without a head, Mr. Jiang, you can show me the way."

"Either you look up the order first?" Jiang Shilang said in a low voice, "In addition to arranging the head and remembering the name, the order also indicates the territory of the soldier, and it is also for him to find his family after his death. The corpse was identified." He pointed to the first number on the tattoo and said, "I just remembered that this should be the number of Fengzhou boundary, and you may have some clues if you run someone there."

——Toyosu.Pei Jun nodded slightly, thanked Jiang Shilang, bid farewell to Fang Mingjue and General You, and walked out of the lecture hall to the Yuanchen Gate in the south of the imperial city.

He remembered that in Fengzhou, there were many powerful families with close ties to the Cai family. Among the state officials, there was Cai Yan's eldest son, Cai Yan, who also served as the state shepherd and captain. It was not bad as expected, so even if the Cai family did not instigate the assassination, it would be requested by the Cai family's minions. If the investigation continues, it will definitely have nothing to do with the Cai family——

But after thinking about it, if he, Pei Jun, continued to investigate this news for Jiang Yue, he might have alerted Cai that he had connected with the lineage of the King of Jin. Give it to Jiang Yue, let him check it himself, so that he can pick out both sides, as a plan for later.

But thinking of this, Pei Jun's heart felt vaguely shaken, and he felt a burst of sweetness in his mouth following the shake, which reminded him of drinking tea in the tea room of Prince Jin's mansion the night before. The strange cup of scented tea that arrived - and the pointed words of Jin Wangye Jiang Yue.

Jiang Yue said that he and Pei Jun have known each other for ten years, except for the two teenagers who made troubles at the beginning, they have never had any malice towards Pei Jun since then. Pei Jun was upset, and he never did it again.

Jiang Yue said this very sincerely. Although Pei Jun was not eager to believe it, it wasn't that he couldn't believe it.Because as far as Jiang Yue knew about the ten years, Pei Jun had no objection to saying that this person had no real malice towards Pei Jun other than his usual teasing.

At present, Jiang Yue, although he is indeed confronting Pei Jun with needles, has not yet reached the point of being a thorn in the flesh. All the tit-for-tat malice between the two of them did burst out within ten years after the start of the New Deal. It was the five years before Pei Jun died.As far as Pei Jun's soul knows, during the 20 years of his acquaintance with Jiang Yue, if he was asked to believe that Jiang Yue did not want him to die in the next ten years, he would not believe it. When Jiang was thinking about him at that time, he should be in the same situation.

But the current situation is not so clear.Because although his soul at this time is the soul of ten years later, the person is no longer the person ten years later, and Jiang Yue is just a little Jiang Yue who is ten years younger.Although they still can't easily trust each other and form an alliance right now, if the situation in the New Deal is no longer the same as in the previous life, then he is actually curious: Will the confrontation between him and Jiang Yue...will be as ugly as in the previous life?

If there is no real malice towards him in what this little Jiang Yue is doing now, can he still impose on this Jiang Yue the unwillingness and resentment he had towards that Jiang Yue in his previous life?

But if this is not the case, is he going to gamble that the current little Jiang Yue has not yet murdered him?Knowing an established ending, what if he loses the bet?If Jiang Yue wanted to seize the state power and government that he wanted to eat, then when Jiang Yue realized that what his false ally wanted to offer was not golden power, but just a piece of rotten wood eaten by termites, then Can Jiang Yue at that time still say that he was sorry for killing him?

The outcome of worldly affairs can be changed, but will his original intention change?Will Jiang Yue's original intention change?If he couldn't, then he really stood on the same line with Jiang Yue with the will to revenge everything. How is this different from seeking skin from a tiger?

"Pei Ziyu!"

Sudden slap on the shoulder, Pei Jun came back to his senses and saw that it was Cui Yu who had come, looking at him suspiciously: "What are you thinking about? I have called you several times. Why are you standing here?"

"I heard from Xiao Ming Jue'er that you were questioned by the cabinet, and I will wait for you here." Pei Jun walked out together with him, "What did the cabinet say?"

"Tell me to check." Cui Yu didn't smile at all, and kept stroking the already flat sleeves as he walked, "Master Zhang didn't say anything, just listen, what the Cai family and the two are talking about." There are many, and they are told to hand over all the paperwork made by Wu, and ask the court to send it to the place to search for people."

——This is when the thief really called out to catch the thief.Pei Jun was amused, and felt that Jiang Yue was prepared for the real assassin's body, so he couldn't help admiring him, raised his hand and patted Cui Yu's shoulder, and said a little bit of relief: "Don't worry about closing the case, there is nothing wrong with Prince Jin." say what."

Hearing this, Cui Yu did relax a little, and no longer clinging to his sleeves, he just talked to Pei Jun about official affairs and went to the Ministry of Criminal Affairs, without taking the sedan chair again.

When passing by Chengbei Street, a large group of common people gathered in front of the Town God’s Temple, which was very lively. Pei Jun looked from afar and saw a group of wizards and witches dancing the Great God, all of them wearing tambourines and waist bells, With a golden red wooden mask on his face, it was no different from the previous year's dance before the New Year's Eve, but looking at it like this, Pei Jun gradually frowned and stopped walking, and his expression became serious when he looked at the scene .

Cui Yu turned around and saw him stop, and glanced at his face: "What's wrong with you?"

The sound of drums and ringing bells, and the shouting of the people watching the excitement all reminded Pei Jun of his nightmare in the morning. Looking at it like this, he was about to break out in a cold sweat, but he still couldn't get out of the scene. Opening his eyes, he asked Cui Yu slowly: "Old Cui, you have solved a lot of cases, so you should know something about wizards and shamans." He said, pointing to the mask of the wizard on the field, "Such a grimace, do you have... ...have you ever seen a blue one?"

In fact, he really wanted to hear a negative answer from Cui Yu, which proved that the nightmare was just a nightmare.But Cui Yu nodded his head almost immediately, and said with his unsmiling face: "I have seen it."

Pei Jun's heart almost skipped a beat on the spot, but he heard Cui Yu continue to say without joy or anger: "Shamans are all evil spirits, and the blue face you mentioned is even more evil. The court has already issued an order Banned. The one with the green face, yellow hair and black horns is the Suk Shaman. If you beg him for anything, you will pay for your life. In the mountain villages in the east, there are often murders caused by shamans, and it is troublesome to investigate. If you If you want peace of mind, you can just worship the temple, and don't get involved with the shaman."

Hearing this, Pei Jun laughed forcefully: "People like us are afraid of being struck by lightning when we enter the temple." After speaking, he took a last look at the shaman in that scene, and pulled Cui Yu's sleeve, "Let's go!" .”

When the two arrived at the Ministry of Criminal Justice, Pei Jun asked only to find out that Qian Haiqing was locked in the death row. He couldn't help but raised his hand and beat Cui Yu's chest: "That's enough brother, old Cui."

The year-end affairs of the Ministry of Punishment were also complicated, and Cui Yu was used to making troubles with him, so he called a chief officer to lead him in to see people in a few words, and then went to review the documents by himself.

All the way to the bottom of the death cell, apart from Qian Haiqing at the end, there was a man imprisoned next to him, who was dozing off with his back to the outside of the cell without shouting or making a fuss. The murderer who was bailed out of the prison.

Qian Haiqing saw him coming from a long distance, and rushed to hold the cell door and called him: "Master Pei Pei Pei! You are finally here!"

"Did you sleep well?" Pei Jun smiled and walked over, "Cui Shangshu found you such a clean place, have you thanked him?"

Qian Haiqing's peach-like handsome face was full of haggardness, obviously he hadn't slept all night, but he still replied: "Thank you, student, I still want to visit the door when I go out—"

"Do you still want to be an official now?" Pei Jun interrupted him, and the master next to him brought a chair and sat outside the prison door, looking at him calmly: "I heard that your family has lived in Xinglin for generations in the south of the Yangtze River. Opening a medical clinic, why would you want to be an official instead of doing good deeds of treating people?"

Qian Haiqing was taken aback for a moment, then realized that Pei Jun must have checked himself, so he also sighed, pulled up his robe and knelt down by the prison door: "Master Pei is also a commoner, so he should know that people in the world are suffering... That's not something a doctor can save."

Pei Jun laughed when he heard it: "Your words are interesting. People who can't be saved by studying medicine, can they be saved by being an official?"

"—It's not officials who can save people, it's power!" Qian Haiqing looked at him burningly, "My lord, the student heard a lecture from an adult three years ago in the talk hall about being an official, saying that 'clothing, food, parents and officials' are all deceptive tricks , You advise all the students who participated in the study, saying that in this world, only the right to learn can save people... The students heard it like enlightenment that day, and now they only wish to worship under Master Pei."

"Just because of that one sentence?" Pei Jun was stunned for a moment, feeling like looking at this student like a fool, "How do you know I'm not just talking casually? How do you know that I'm not an official of the common people? ?”

"My lord, if you know how the people's lives in the south of the Yangtze River are, you will know the importance of these words... It's inconvenient to mention the current situation. If the students survive in the future, I can talk to you in detail." Qian Haiqing's eyes suddenly turned red, and suddenly He reached out his hand from between the fences and shook Pei Jun's sleeve, "My lord, about the fact that student Yu Deng Nanshan was kicked out by you, I also heard from Uncle Dong and Liu Jin recently, and I know very well that my lord does not want to be a disciple... It is indeed true. There are difficulties. But my lord, the student really wants to follow my lord... If my lord doesn't believe me, then the student can bring down Ningwuhou's mansion in one fell swoop to prove my loyalty, so, can my lord believe the student's sincerity and accept the student as a disciple?"

Pei Jun looked down at Qian Haiqing's white fingers on his cuffs, his brows furrowed almost invisible, then he brushed his hand away and stood up.

Qian Haiqing was startled, knelt on the ground and took two steps, looked up at him uneasily: "Master Pei, did the student say something wrong? If—"

"Are you making a bet with me?" Pei Jun interrupted him abruptly, changed his subject, smiled slightly, and looked down at him: "You mean——if you, a powerless person, can pull If you dismount from the Marquis Ningwu Mansion, I will accept you as an apprentice?"

Qian Haiqing straightened his knees immediately, and said in a low voice: "Students have no power or influence, so naturally they can't immediately dismount the Hou Fu. If Mr. Pei is really willing to bet with the students, can you... let the students take a step?"

"Are you still talking about conditions?" Pei Jun folded his hands and looked down at him, and said with a playful smile: "Okay, how do you want me to make it?"

Qian Haiqing lowered his eyes to think carefully, raised his hand and stretched out three fingers, and said, "The students want Mr. Pei to help you with three things, and you don't need Mr. Pei to take care of other matters."

"Help? Do you know how much money I would get for a favor?" Pei Jun raised his brows and looked at him, as if he felt that Qian Haiqing was really bargaining with him. Listen, how do you want me to help you?"

Under his considerate gaze, Qian Haiqing's face turned red, and his voice became even softer: "Firstly, can you please...my lord, let the students out..."

"Hahaha!" Hearing this, Pei Jun immediately clapped his hands and laughed, feeling that this student is really cute and cute, so he also nodded in agreement: "Okay. I will come to pick you up in two days. This is my gift for you. In addition, I will make three more wishes to you, let’s talk about it.”

Qian Haiqing raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face, and said quite calmly: "For the rest, let's talk about it after we go out." As he spoke, he glanced at Pei Jun cautiously, and then bowed his head in a docile manner.

But Pei Jun could tell what he was thinking at a glance, gritted his teeth and smiled: "Well, Qian Siqi, are you afraid that I will break my promise?"

Qian Haiqing kowtowed to him on the ground, and slowly said: "Return to the adults, the mother said that the students should pay attention to everything before going out, and the students should remember."

"Aren't you paying attention, your heart is turning into a hornet's nest." Pei Jun shook his head and sighed, "Forget it, now that you are in my hands, the affairs of Marquis Ningwu's mansion are not in a hurry. Stay here for two days, when the time comes, your Uncle Dong will come to pick you up, and Liujin will bring you food later in the evening. If you have any problems, you can talk to Cui Shangshu, and you can sleep peacefully here, no one can hurt you."

Qian Haiqing knelt on the hay and cried, "My lord, students should be able to sleep..."

"Don't worry if you have a place to save your life." Pei Jun's tone softened, "The death row in the Ministry of Punishment is considered to be in a good situation. There are some insects and ants, but they are not life-threatening... You just remember what it looks like here. From now on, just swear not to come in for the rest of your life."

After he finished speaking, he gave a few more instructions, knowing that Qian Haiqing knew the good and the bad in his heart, so he didn't worry too much, and left the Ministry of Criminal Justice in a hurry after speaking.

After one day's official business, it was night when Pei Jun returned home.He went straight to the study and wrote a seal letter, and asked Liu Jin to send it to Prince Jin's mansion immediately. The letter was to inform Jiang Yue that the assassin belonged to Fengzhou.

Liu Jin received the letter but said: "My lord, the Jin Palace is sending something today."

Pei Jun raised his head suddenly: "What did you bring?"

Six catties rushed to pick up a rather large wooden box, and placed it firmly on the desk in front of Pei Jun: "The person who sent it said that the prince thanked Mr. Pei for his hard work last night. I hope you will not dislike it."

Pei Jun opened the wooden box and saw that it was covered with brocade, and inside it was the set of tea set in green leather and snow that he had used in King Jin's teahouse yesterday.There was a fist-sized porcelain jar stuck in a small straw basket next to the tea set, which was obviously the jar that Jiang Yue used to hold incense scented tea.

This whole set of things was all he had seen yesterday. He saw that the glaze color was good, the brown color was quite good, and none of them were valuables, but Jiang Yue sent them like this. How could he, the recipient of the gift, despise them?

Pei Jun couldn't help shaking his head and smiling slightly, thinking together, he ordered Liu Jin, "Bring me some water."

"It's burning in the kitchen." After a while, Liu Jin brought an iron pot, the spout of which was steaming, and when he saw that Pei Jun had put out flowers to signal him, he poured a cup into the small teacup filled with flowers. Brewing, but the little flowers in the cup disappeared immediately.

Dong Shuyuan came in to have a look, but now he laughed at him: "You are too anxious, the water is scalding, and the flowers are gone."

Not only Liujin was dumbfounded, Pei Jun also frowned at this time, he didn't believe that the flower was really as evil as Jiang Yue said, so he picked out a small cup and put the flowers in it, and took it from Liujin's hand I poured water into the iron pot, but this time, the flowers in the water did not bloom, but floated lightly, small and cute.

Pei Jun immediately laughed angrily at the tea, and murmured, "What kind of weird broken tea is it? It looks like Jiang Yue."

He put down the iron pot, looked at the tea on the table and pondered for a while, then suddenly ordered Liu Jin: "On the way to deliver the letter, go to Master Mei's building and ask the man who mended the clothes that Mr. Cao found for him last time." Has the potion been used up, if not, send it to Prince Jin along with this letter."

Liu Jin nodded obediently, and asked, "Then I sent it, what are you talking about?"

Pei Jun thought for a while, raised the corners of his lips and said, "Let me just say that I have received the generous gift from the lord, please thank the lord for me." Then he handed the letter in his hand to Liu Jin, and added: "Let the lord don't have to worry about it." , let’s rest in peace and recuperate.”

Liu Jin received it with both hands, respectfully and respectfully, and then ran out.

Uncle Dong scolded him from behind: "You son, run slowly! You can't escape the reward money from the palace!"

After hearing this, Pei Jun asked strangely, "You still have money for sending things to the palace? How much does Prince Jin usually give?"

"That's a lot." Uncle Dong smacked his lips and cleaned up the tea sets on the table for him, "Send a letter, at least it's about ten or twenty taels, and it's even more during the New Year. Never heard of such a…”

Uncle Dong chattered about collecting and sorting, and carried out the tea set when he was done, leaving Pei Jun with an inexplicable face sitting in the big chair behind the desk, right now he really didn't know how to think about Jiang Yue.