sbdcsierra Chapter 215: Luck Arrives
Chapter 215: Luck Arrives
Chapter 215 Good Luck Arrives
When the man who was being questioned heard the three words "Ministry of Punishment", he knew that the person in front of him who was questioning him was not an ordinary person.
He hesitated and wanted to say something, but finally chose to keep his head down and remain silent.
Naturally, his actions could not be hidden from Shen Tingzhi's eyes. Shen Tingzhi was now certain that the person in front of him must know something.
So Shen Tingzhi signaled Yu Sheng to help the man up from the ground, then changed his expression and said with a smile: "Brother, you don't look like a farmer, but more like an educated person. I don't know what to call you."
The man raised his head and looked at Shen Tingzhi, as if he had made up his mind, and said: "My surname is Cheng, my name is Siyuan, and my home is in Qingtang Town, which is over a hundred miles away from here."
"I dare not hide the fact that I am indeed a scholar, a talented person."
Shen Tingzhi looked at Cheng Siyuan and nodded. Sure enough, his guess was right. He just didn't know why this scholar Cheng, who didn't stay at home to concentrate on studying and seeking fame, ended up in this state.
As if seeing Shen Tingzhi's confusion, Cheng Siyuan lowered his head and explained embarrassedly: "My family has been poor since I was young. I relied on my old mother's weaving and spinning to support my studies. It was not until I passed the examination that I was able to become a scholar."
"Just a few months ago, my mother fell ill from overwork, and I was introduced to work as an accountant here to pay for her medical treatment."
Cheng Siyuan's words made Shen Tingzhi's face turn cold. Passing the examination to become a scholar was equivalent to having fame and honor. With fame and honor, the court would give them a certain amount of money and rice every month to support them.
But now that Cheng Siyuan has achieved fame and honor, he is unable to continue his studies because his mother is ill and his family is poor. He is deceived into coming here to work as an accountant and earn a meager income to support his elderly mother.
It seems that the officialdom of Yunli is really corrupt and rotten from the root as Jiaojiao said. If there is no drastic reform, Yunli will be on the verge of destruction.
Seeing that Shen Tingzhi remained silent, Cheng Siyuan was shocked and frightened, thinking that Shen Tingzhi did not believe what he said.
"Sir, I am indeed from Qingtang Town and a true scholar. I am not lying. If you do not believe me, you can send someone to Qingtang Town to investigate."
"Mr. Cheng from Huaishu Alley in Qingtang Town will tell you the truth once you ask him."
"Oh." Shen Tingzhi came back to his senses and looked at Cheng Siyuan and said, "It's not that I don't believe you, I just sighed for your fate for a moment."
"If you pass the examination, you will have a reputation and can go to the county government every month to receive a certain amount of money and rice for supplies. Didn't Brother Cheng receive it?"
Hearing Shen Tingzhi's words, Cheng Siyuan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I dare not deceive you, sir. I can receive a certain amount of money and rice from the county government every month."
"But, but, the money and food we have are not much to begin with, and they are often deducted from us. It is really not enough to support the family."
Shen Tingzhi sighed. "Every policy from above has its countermeasures." No matter how good the imperial court's policies were, if the local officials didn't follow them, it would be in vain.
Not only will it fail to benefit the country and the people, but their greed will also cause dissatisfaction and disputes.
"I think Brother Cheng seemed to have something to say. How about you say it out loud?"
Skipping those slightly heavy topics, Shen Tingzhi went straight to the point. The most urgent task at this moment was to deal with things here quickly.
As for cleaning up the court, it requires long-term planning and cannot be resolved in a short time.
Cheng Siyuan fell silent again. It was not that he did not want to talk about it, but he did not know whether he should say it. He was alone and weak now. Although these people did not look like bad people, who knew what was really going on?
If they turn against me and kill me to silence me, it doesn't matter if I die, but who will take care of my poor mother at home?
Seeing Cheng Siyuan hesitant and silent, Shen Tingzhi had to reveal his identity.
"Brother Cheng, don't be afraid. I am Shen Tingzhi, the second son of the Zhenbei Marquisate. Tell me everything you know, and I will not only ensure your safety, but I will also have someone send you home and give you a settlement allowance so that you can study at home and wait for the future to pass the imperial examination and serve the country."
The name of Zhenbei Marquis Mansion is more effective than anything else in the minds of the common people.
Sure enough, when Cheng Siyuan heard Shen Tingzhi say that he was the second son of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, his eyes lit up.
Marquis Zhenbei is Yunli's god of war and also Yunli's patron saint. He and the Marquis Zhenbei's Mansion hold an extraordinary status in the hearts of the people of Yunli.
The people may not trust the officials, or even the emperor, but they cannot not trust the Zhenbei Marquisate.
Now the second son of the Marquis of Zhenbei is standing in front of him. What is there to be afraid of?
Cheng Siyuan quickly knelt down and saluted Shen Tingzhi, "I am blind and didn't realize that it was the Second Young Master who came here."
"No need to be so polite, Brother Cheng, please stand up quickly." Shen Tingzhixu helped Cheng Siyuan up and asked him to stand up.
Cheng Siyuan stood up and looked at Shen Tingzhi and said, "I just heard the Second Young Master say that he wanted to find the former garrison commander Liu Hu?"
When Shen Tingzhi heard Cheng Siyuan mention Liu Hu, he became excited. This was really a case of finding something without any effort after searching for it for a long time.
"From what Brother Cheng said, have you met Liu Hu?"
"When I first arrived, I did see Liu Hu, but not long after, I heard that he fell ill. I don't know how serious his condition is, but I did encounter a strange incident that I might be able to help, Second Young Master."
Cheng Siyuan, who already had a good impression of Shen Tingzhi, doubled his favor and trust in Shen Tingzhi when he heard Shen Tingzhi say that he was the second son of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion, and was willing to tell him everything he knew.
"About two months ago, a student accidentally walked into the wrong place and ran into two soldiers who seemed to be delivering food to someone. They were talking as they walked, saying that Commander Liu was too stubborn and that if he gave up resistance and obeyed, he would suffer less."
"We don't have to be like we are now, where we are controlled and have no freedom, and we have to suffer torture."
"Out of curiosity, the students secretly followed them and watched them enter the warehouse where food and grass were stored. Then they heard a roar."
"The students later left in a hurry because they were afraid of being discovered."
The news he got from Cheng Siyuan made Shen Tingzhi feel relieved. It seemed that Liu Hu was not dead, but was just imprisoned.
As long as the person is still alive, this matter will be much easier to handle.
"Yu Sheng." Shen Tingzhi just called Yu Sheng, and Yu Sheng understood what Shen Tingzhi asked him to do. He nodded, turned around and disappeared.
Cheng Siyuan widened his eyes in shock. Yu Sheng was so fast that he couldn't even see how she disappeared so quickly.
Wang Zongyuan was wandering around the foot of the mountain, wondering where to start, when he heard someone say, "Commander Lou, when are we going to leave this shabby place? We've been here for almost half a year, and if we don't leave soon, we'll be covered in hair."
"Why rush? Wait a little longer. The mine is still under renovation and will be finished soon. Once it's finished, we can send everyone here over, and then we can go back and enjoy our lives."
Although he didn't know who was speaking, Wang Zongyuan knew in his heart that the person speaking was most likely the one named Lou.
Wang Zongyuan grinned happily. If he could catch this old guy named Lou, would he still worry about Liu Hu's whereabouts?
Having made up his mind, Wang Zongyuan quietly hid himself in the pile of dry grass without making any sound.
Sure enough, after a while, two people came from another path. Both of them were tall and thin, with a wretched look on their faces. It was obvious that they were not good people.
Wang Zongyuan raised his body cautiously, and after seeing that there was no one else around except these two bad guys, he quietly stood up.
Not to mention dealing with these two people, even if there were ten or eight more, it would be no problem for Wang Zongyuan.
However, Wang Zongyuan had promised Shen Tingzhi not to act impulsively and cause trouble, so he became cautious.
The two people in front were walking along the mountain road, chattering about random things, and they didn't notice that a person suddenly appeared behind them and was about to attack them.
Wang Zongyuan stepped forward and knocked the two men down in no time.
Looking at the two people lying on the ground unconscious, Wang Zongyuan couldn't help but curse them in his heart, calling them two losers. He hadn't even done anything yet and they were already dead.
This was such a waste of his efforts. If he had known these two guys were so weak, he would have just stepped forward and knocked them out. Instead of doing so much preparation, he would have done so much work.
Wang Zongyuan kicked the two people on the ground in disgust. He originally planned to take the man surnamed Lou away, but Wang Zongyuan had only listened to the conversation between the two people and did not see with his own eyes which one of them was surnamed Lou.
Wang Zongyuan hesitated for a long time, scratched his head and finally decided to take the two of them back together.
As a person who has practiced martial arts for many years, Wang Zongyuan carried the two people along the mountain road as if he were walking on flat ground, effortlessly.
At the same time, Yu Sheng was also carrying out his rescue plan.
It was not difficult to find the warehouse where the grain and grass were stored. Yu Sheng quickly found the place and successfully sneaked in.
To the naked eye, there was nothing special about this granary, but Yu Sheng quickly determined from the sounds coming from the ground beneath her feet that there must be a secret room underneath the granary.
Before Yu Sheng could check further, she heard footsteps coming towards her.
Yu Sheng turned around and flew onto a haystack nearby, hiding herself completely.
The person who came in was once a day as a routine to deliver food to Liu Hu who was imprisoned in the dark room.
The man opened the door of the darkroom and went straight in. Seeing that he was not on guard at all, Yu Sheng jumped down from the haystack and followed him down.
The light in this darkroom was not very good, but fortunately Yu Sheng had good vision, so she didn't find it difficult to walk.
The man who brought the food walked to the place where Liu Hu was imprisoned with ease, put down the food in his hand, and said, "Commander Liu, a good death is worse than a miserable life. You should eat more."
As soon as the man finished speaking, Yu Sheng struck him from behind with a knife, knocking him unconscious.
Then Liu Hu, who was locked in the cell, looked at the person who came to bring him food in horror, and fainted in front of him.
Yu Sheng didn't waste any time and kicked the wooden prison door, which flew away without a single blow.
Before Liu Hu could react, Yu Sheng was already beside him.
Looking at Liu Hu, who had become as thin as a bag of bones, with dull eyes and was trapped with iron chains, Yu Sheng couldn't help but frown.
Liu Hu has been imprisoned here for more than half a year and it seems that he has suffered a lot.
When Yu Sheng used a special tool to open the chains that bound Liu Hu, Liu Hu suddenly reached out and grabbed Yu Sheng's hand, saying, "Is the Second Young Master here?"
Liu Hu recognized Yu Sheng. In the past, in Ganzhou, Yu Sheng was the captain of Shen Tingzhi's guard team. He followed Shen Tingzhi and fought on the battlefield together. All the soldiers in Ganzhou were familiar with him.
When Liu Hu saw the person who saved him, the first thought in his mind was that Shen Tingzhi was here.
"Well, don't talk, keep your strength, I'll take you out later."
Yu Sheng focused on unlocking the door without distraction, and soon this lock, which required little technical skill and was not difficult to open, was opened by Yu Sheng.
After pulling the chains off Liu Hu, Yu Sheng helped Liu Hu up from the ground, only to find that Liu Hu's legs were curled up together and he couldn't walk at all.
"They broke my legs and I can't walk." Liu Hu was suddenly helped up from the ground by Yu Sheng. He couldn't help frowning in pain.
Yu Sheng squatted down without hesitation and carried Liu Hu on his back. When passing by the food delivery man who was knocked unconscious by him, he couldn't help but kick him hard a few times.
This person may not be the instigator, but he knew about it but did not report it and colluded with those who harmed others. He is not a good person either. Kicking him a few times would be considered an easy punishment for him.
Yu Sheng carried Liu Hu out of the darkroom and walked outside. Liu Hu, who had not seen sunlight for a long time, was so blinded by the sunlight outside that he couldn't even open his eyes.
Unlike Wang Zongyuan's whereabouts, there were many people moving around near the granary. It would be okay for Yu Sheng to be alone, after all, she had freedom of movement and could avoid being discovered by others if she didn't want to.
But it’s not possible now, Yu Sheng is carrying Liu Hu on her back, so it would be convenient for the two of them to move together.
Soon their whereabouts were discovered, and soldiers immediately surrounded them, attacking them with swords and guns.
"Assholes!" Liu Hu looked up at the soldiers in front of him. These were all soldiers he led. "I am Liu Hu. Put down your weapons."
When the soldiers heard the loud roar, they all stopped moving. Wasn’t their commander Liu seriously ill and recuperating outside? How could he appear here?
However, the voice was indeed Commander Liu's voice, but I didn't know if it was really that person.
Liu Hu had been locked up in the dungeon for the past six months, and he had become so thin that he looked unrecognizable. It was understandable that the soldiers couldn't recognize him.