bayedsolid Chapter 407: Why did you rob a man in the street?
Chapter 407: Why did you rob a man in the street?
At three quarters past the hour of Mao the next day, the morning bell shattered the dim light of day.
Lu Wensheng, wearing a sixth-rank scarlet official robe with a egret patch, walked into the Fengtian Hall on the frost flowers condensed in the cracks between the blue bricks.
Gold-painted coiled dragon pillars stood on both sides, and in the halo of light cast by 360 sheep-horn palace lanterns, civil and military officials had lined up in the order of civil in the east and military in the west.
As a newly promoted editor in the Hanlin Academy, he stood at the last seat among the civil officials. Through the layers of black gauze hats and ivory tablets, he could vaguely see the gilded dragon throne on the red steps.
When the copper crane incense burner began to emit green smoke, the eunuch in charge of ceremonies rang out in a shrill voice, breaking the silence: "If you have something to say, please report it early. If you have nothing to say, please leave the court."
All the officials in the hall knelt down and kowtowed in unison. Lu Wensheng lowered his eyes and stared at the cloud patterns on the blue bricks. Suddenly, he heard a rustling commotion coming from the formation of military officers on the right.
He subconsciously raised his eyes and met a pair of cunning and smiling eyes - Li Zhe, who was wearing black armor and carrying a long sword across his shoulder, deliberately kept a serious expression, but because of the uncontrollable twitching of the corners of his lips, his angular face was distorted into a funny look. It was obvious that he had seen him.
In the queue of civil officials, Ye Yingzhou, wearing a Xiezhi crown, was lowering his head to adjust his jade belt, and his robe embroidered with Xiezhi patterns swayed slightly with his movements.
He suddenly raised his eyes and met Lu Wensheng's gaze. His eyes, which always contained a hint of seriousness, instantly curved into crescents, and an uncontrollable laugh escaped from his throat, startling the old minister in the front row and turning around with a puzzled look on his face.
Lu Wensheng clenched his back teeth tightly and buried his face in the shadow of the tablet - just keep your mouth shut.
So why do you want to laugh when you look at each other?
He could feel Li Zhe swaying left and right in the military attaché team. He was quite a big guy, and it was difficult for him to be among the "dwarfs". Ye Yingzhou frequently lowered his head and pretended to cough, but in fact his shoulders were shaking violently.
The morning light shone through the caisson on the ceiling of the hall onto the golden bricks, making the faces of the three people, who were red from trying not to laugh, appear bright and dark.
"The Minister of Works requests to repair the dike—" As the Minister of Public Administration read out loudly, the court meeting finally got down to business.
Lu Wensheng took a deep breath and forced himself to turn his attention back to state affairs, but he almost failed when he caught a glimpse of Li Zhe's ears, which had turned red from trying to hold back his laughter.
He secretly pinched his palms, watching Ye Yingzhou solemnly come out to impeach, the corners of his robe trembling slightly as he tried to hold back his laughter, and finally understood what it meant to "go to court as if on a battlefield, and holding back laughter is harder than making a response."
As expected, in serious occasions, you cannot look into the eyes of acquaintances.
After the court meeting ended, Lu Wensheng finally felt relieved.
The emperor never mentioned yesterday's audience, as if the strange conversation had never happened.
The head scholar called him forward, his eyes were indescribably gentle, and his tone was filled with inexplicable concern: "Lu Xiuzhuan, take a day off today and have a good rest."
Although Lu Wensheng felt that the scholar's eyes were strange, he did not want to ask more questions. He thanked him and took his leave. He had a day off, which was a good opportunity for him to investigate the doubts that lingered in his mind.
After leaving the Fengtian Palace, Lu Wensheng, Li Zhe and Ye Yingzhou all walked out of the palace in silence without saying a word.
Outside the palace gate, Tang He and Yan Zhaoming had already been waiting disguised as ordinary servants. After the four of them met, they walked towards the downtown area, intending to find a restaurant to discuss the news they had gained recently.
The streets gradually became lively, and the sound of horse hooves came from far away. At first, Lu Wensheng didn't pay much attention to it, thinking it was just an ordinary passerby.
Unexpectedly, a shadow flashed before his eyes, and his waist tightened. He was suddenly carried to the horse's back! The action was as fast as an eagle. When Lu Wensheng reacted, he was already pressed on the saddle. When his vision turned upside down, he saw a strange face flashing before his eyes.
Lu Wensheng: “???” You just grabbed him and grabbed him, right? !
"Hey? What's going on?" Li Zhe widened his eyes and looked at Lu Wensheng who was suddenly abducted. He stood there in a daze for a moment and scratched his head, "Fellow Daoist Lu was kidnapped?" He looked like a fool who was completely confused.
"Aren't you talking nonsense?!" Yan Zhaoming stamped his feet anxiously and glared at Li Zhe fiercely, "If you have time to doubt me, why don't you chase me!" As he said that, he started to run forward.
"Oh oh oh." Li Zhe hurriedly followed.
Tang He could no longer hold back, and the moment Lu Wensheng was carried away, he yelled "Let him go", rolled up his sleeves and ran after him, shouting at the top of his voice as he ran: "A man is being robbed in broad daylight!!!" The voice was so loud and deafening that passers-by looked at him sideways and pointed at him.
A cold look flashed in Ye Yingzhou's eyes. Without saying a word, he rushed forward, snatched the reins from the groom next to him, and jumped on the horse.
The groom was caught off guard and watched his horse being snatched away. He stretched out his hand like "Erkang Hand" and wailed, "My horse!!!" However, Ye Yingzhou had already rushed out on his horse like an arrow, left a sentence "I'll return it to you later", and disappeared around the corner of the street.
The sound of horse hooves hitting the bluestone slabs was like a torrential rain. Lu Wensheng was shaken dizzy, but he did not forget to struggle. However, the robber was very strong and held him down firmly.
Hearing the shouts of his companions behind him, he felt both touched and helpless. He just hoped that they could catch up as soon as possible and get out of this embarrassing situation.
People in the shops on both sides of the street poked their heads out curiously, watching this farce of "robbing a man" and talking about it.
Some people marveled at the chaos in the world, some felt sorry for the handsome man who suffered such a disaster, and some took out melon seeds and watched with relish.
Li Zhe, Yan Zhaoming and Tang He were chasing closely behind. Although Li Zhe was of sturdy build, he was used to fighting in an open and honest way due to his daily martial arts training. At this moment, he was a little clumsy as he moved through the crowd. His way was blocked by passers-by from time to time, and he kept shouting in anxiety.
Yan Zhaoming was much more agile. He dodged left and right, moving among the crowd like a swimming fish.
Tang He kept shouting, and the cries of "robbing a man" rose one after another, attracting many people to join in watching the fun.
[Shocked, they robbed a man in broad daylight, why?] The system was happy to see the incident and reported the situation in a rambling manner, like a war correspondent.
There was chaos on the streets, with the sound of horse hooves, shouts, and exclamations coming one after another.
Lu Wensheng was shaken dizzy, but he did not forget to struggle. He hit the robber's chest with his elbow and shouted, "Who are you? Why are you arresting me?!" But the robber remained silent and just galloped away on his horse, as if he had made a plan in advance.
Ye Yingzhou rode the stolen horse, his posture as agile as an eagle. He leaned over the horse's back, the soles of his boots almost scraping the bluestone slabs, and the horse's hooves crushed the morning light and raised fine stone chips.
His eyes were as sharp as torches, fixed on the robber's back in front of him. His knuckles turned white as he clenched the reins in his hands. Seeing that the distance was gradually shortened, he suddenly pulled the horse to the side, with his body almost parallel to the ground. He reached out to grab Lu Wensheng's sleeve, but his fingertips just touched the moon-white cuffs when he was suddenly thrown off by the other party.
The robber seemed to be aware of the movement behind him and whipped the horse hard on its buttocks. The horse felt the pain, raised its head and neighed, and even increased its speed with its four hooves flying.