Chapter 10 Cold Butterfly
“Having said that, we must still be prepared.”
Tang Ju said, "The envoy specifically explained in the official document that we need to prepare for the customs, lawsuits, household registration, three diseases, mulberry and hemp, taxes, labor service, post stations, warehouses, thieves, riverbanks, roads, etc., in preparation for Princess Lanling's surprise inspection."
Tang Ju put down the document, stood up and looked at the county magistrate and others, and said solemnly: "Princess Lanling has already set out from the capital. She will be able to reach Youzhou in ten days at the earliest."
"In the near future, you will have to work hard to sort out all the affairs of my government. You must not reveal your true colors, otherwise Princess Lanling will be furious and neither you nor I can bear it."
The county magistrate, the chief clerk, the county lieutenant and others stood up together , bowed and said, "Please rest assured, sir, we will do our best!"
Tang Ju nodded slowly.
"There's no need to be too nervous." The county lieutenant smiled and said, "You are wise. Although you have only governed Leshou County for half a year , our Leshou County is already well governed and no one steals on the streets. Even if Princess Lanling makes a surprise inspection, there won't be any big problems."
"What the Shaofu said makes sense!" said the chief clerk with a smile.
The so-called "Shaofu" is a respectful title for the county lieutenant.
"Yes, I actually forgot about this matter. We just need to deal with it carefully and there should be no problem." The county magistrate also laughed.
Half a year ago, Tang Ju came to Leshou County to serve as an official. After some governance, he achieved quite good results.
The county lieutenant's words were not entirely flattering.
But suddenly, Tang Ju remembered something, his smile gradually disappeared, and he shouted, "It's broken!"
"What's broken?!" The county magistrate, the chief clerk, the county lieutenant and others were all stunned.
"Everyone, have you forgotten about that group of bandits?"
"Mountain...bandits..." Everyone's face changed at the same time.
"That group of bandits has been gathering in the mountains for more than a year. Yingzhou and Cangzhou have jointly encircled and suppressed them several times, but they have not been able to wipe them out... What if Princess Lanling passes through Yingzhou and the bandits come down the mountain to cause trouble..."
Tang Ju couldn't continue.
If this really happened, it is possible that Princess Lanling would be so angry that she would dismiss all the officials of Yingzhou and Cangzhou.
There was silence in the back hall.
The county lieutenant suddenly said, "If the sky falls, there is always someone tall to hold it up. As for the matter of the bandits, I think the governor is more worried than us."
"That's right." Tang Ju nodded, thought for a moment and said, "Let's ignore the matter of the bandits for now and see how the envoy arranges it. As for the affairs in our county, please pay more attention to them."
"Especially matters of city defense and patrolling."
Tang Ju looked at the county lieutenant and ordered: "Encourage the soldiers to strengthen the city defense and patrols. You can mobilize civilians to assist. During this period of time, no accidents can happen!"
"As you command!" the county lieutenant bowed.
“…”
Nightfall.
After a busy day at Liu Huixiang's house, Su Xian finally returned home, boiled some water for a bath, and fell into a deep sleep.
The fermentation time of stinky tofu can be long or short. Since it is summer, the time can be shortened to three or two days.
In other words, if nothing goes wrong, we can enjoy the unique flavor of stinky tofu tomorrow.
That night, Su Xian had another beautiful dream.
This time it’s not a beauty.
Instead, countless, golden copper coins poured down and drowned him...
Late night.
Behind Su Xian's house is a tall city wall.
On the city wall, two militiamen were patrolling here with torches in their hands.
"Yawn..." A civilian yawned and said in a daze while moving his lazy steps: "Night patrol, night patrol, what the hell kind of night patrol!"
"We have been wandering around for most of the night and haven't seen a single ghost. Where did the thieves come from?" Another militiaman was also very dissatisfied.
call!
call!
Suddenly, a strong wind blew.
The torches of both men went out at the same time.
This section of the city wall suddenly fell into darkness, with only a waning moon hanging high in the sky.
The moonlight is pale!
"Something's wrong..." The two militiamen immediately stopped where they were, gradually moved closer, and looked around in horror.
Swish!
A militiaman suddenly saw a figure appear on the city wall, holding a sharp sword, the blade reflecting the pale moonlight.
What made his heart stop was that the sword blade was flying towards him, pointing directly at his heart.
puff!
In the blink of an eye, the blade pierced his heart and he died on the spot.
The black shadow drew out the sword like lightning and stabbed the other person with his backhand.
puff!
The sword blade entered the body.
But because the militiaman tried his best to dodge, the attack missed his vital points.
The dark shadow drew out his sword and prepared to finish off the opponent.
Just at this moment, another thin sword suddenly came and saved the man.
The sound of metal clashing was deafening.
It lasted for a long time.
On the city wall, the moonlight was pale and the injured militiaman fell to the ground but did not die immediately.
On his left and right stood a dark shadow and a short person wearing coarse linen clothes and with messy hair, who seemed to be a woman.
"Your weakness hasn't changed. As a killer, the last thing you should do is save people!"
The shadow's voice was cold and gloomy.
"But it's fine this way. If I don't kill these two people, I won't lure you out."
The short woman turned her head and glanced at the two militiamen lying on the ground, one dead and one injured.
After a moment of silence, he looked at the shadow and said coldly, "I have left a letter to Xiaoge Ling, and I will withdraw from the inner guard and will no longer kill for you."
"When alive, you are a member of the Inner Guard. When dead, you are a ghost of the Inner Guard!"
The shadow's voice was cold, "However, you are worthy of being the number one killer of the Internal Guard. You have been on the run for several months, and we haven't found any trace of you."
"If it weren't for this time when Princess Lanling was ordered to go to Youzhou, and Xiaoge led his men to go ahead and eliminate the rebels along the way, we wouldn't have discovered your whereabouts."
The corners of the black shadow's mouth gradually curled up.
Say two words in a unique tone: "Cold Butterfly!"
These two words seem to contain some strange energy.
The short woman's body shook for a while, and finally she collapsed to the ground.
He dropped the rapier, held his head with his hands and trembled, as if he was enduring inhuman torture.
"Leng Die, have you forgotten the 'teachings' that the young leader gave you since you were a child?" The black shadow took a step forward with a sword.
"No..." She convulsed all over as if she were having a seizure.
"Leng Die, ah Leng Die, you better come back with me obediently." The black shadow raised the sharp sword in his hand and said fiercely: "The young leader has been thinking about you for a long, long time..."
Swish!
The black shadow seized the opportunity and stabbed with a sword, intending to seriously injure the short woman who was lying on the ground and twitching.
Perhaps out of instinct, the short woman grabbed the sword on the ground in a flash and stabbed it with her backhand.
puff!
The black shadow stopped suddenly.
A strange sound came from his throat, and he stepped back several steps.
Under the thin moonlight, one could see a thin sword piercing his heart.
"Even if you kill me... you can't escape from the hands of Xiaoge Ling...!"
The black shadow looked at the sword stuck in his heart and smiled bitterly: "As expected... he is worthy of being... the number one killer... of the inner guard... Leng Die!"
After saying this, the black shadow fell to the ground, deader than dead.
But the short woman's life was worse than death.
The two words "Ceng Die" that the black shadow said before he died lingered in her ears for a long time, making her feel as if a thousand ants were gnawing at her heart. She collapsed to the ground and rolled around.
After a long time, she slowly recovered and sat up from the ground.
Facing the moonlight, her eyes were filled with despair, pain, and a lifeless look.
After a long silence, she pulled out the rapier from the shadow and slowly placed it across her neck.
He actually wanted to commit suicide!
“… …Hehe…cough cough…”
At this time, the militiaman, who was not yet dead, struggled desperately and stretched out his hand to her.
The short woman put down her rapier, walked over quickly, and put her ear close.
I only heard the militiaman saying intermittently: "Alive...alive..."
After saying this
The short woman was greatly shocked. She picked up the rapier and looked at it again and again. She put it across her neck several times, and then put it down several times...
after a little while.
Under the moonlight, the short woman stood proudly on the parapet, her messy hair fluttering in the night wind, and she stood motionless.
After a long time, she jumped off the city wall and disappeared into the darkness.
