Chapter 1: The Wedding Night (New Book...)

  It was already one more day, and the east gate tower of Longxi City had struck 600 beats of the closing drum, indicating that it was time to close the city gate and enter the curfew.

  What is called curfew, as the name suggests, is not allowed to go out at night. If you come out during the curfew period, that's looking for trouble. You can't escape the crime of violating the curfew, and you'll be flogged dozens of times.

  The Tang Dynasty has implemented curfew policies since its establishment, from the first watch to the fifth watch, which is usually referred to as 7 pm to 5 am.

  But people are alive, and rules are dead; how can a living person be suffocated by urine?

  If it's really like the Tang Dynasty laws say, that from 7 pm to 5 am no one is allowed to go out, then how can we show off the prosperous Tang Dynasty where roads are not picked up and doors are not closed at night?

  How can you enforce a curfew at 7 pm in the capital of Great Tang, Chang'an, and an international metropolis like Luoyang?

  Even if every day at 7 pm you close the door and get into bed to make love, there will still be times when you feel bored.

  Although the national policy stipulated that the curfew would start at 7 pm, most state and county towns would postpone the curfew to the second watch of the night (i.e., midnight) for enforcement.

  However, Longxi County is an exception. As soon as the first watch of the night begins, the east gate will sound six hundred beats of the closing drum, and the city gate will be closed tightly, and the curfew will start to be enforced.

  Who dares to come out after 7 o'clock without being afraid of death, if caught by the city patrol soldiers, even if not dead, will be skinned.

  It's simply because this is the rule set by the county magistrate of Longxi City, and six years ago when the county magistrate took office in Longxi County, he established this rule.

  As for why the county magistrate would set such a rule, it is unknown.

  In this small piece of land in Longxi County, the county magistrate is like heaven and earth, whatever he says goes, what can you do about it?

  This would be a bitter pill to swallow for those who like to sneak out at midnight, but thinking about the pain of being flogged dozens of times is enough to deter anyone from taking the risk.

  But this move, which seems inhumane, has had a certain positive effect on the nighttime security of Longxi County. At least, people who commit crimes at night are no longer as frequent and severe as before.

  Of course, the curfew policy is also inapplicable to some special industries, and the brothels and underground dens are the first to be affected.

  Who has ever seen a brothel open for business in broad daylight, with prostitutes and pimps coming out to solicit customers?

  After the sound of six hundred drums echoed throughout, Pang Feihu stood at the east gate, stomping his feet anxiously and muttering to himself: "Why hasn't he come back yet? Once this city gate is closed, even if we bring back grain tomorrow, it won't be of any use!"

  At this time, a yamen runner in charge of guarding the east gate came forward and asked in a low voice: "Head of the class, the drumbeat for closing the gate has passed, shouldn't we close the city gate?"

  They were all people in the yamen, and the yamen runners all knew what had happened in their yamen. However, it was already one watch into the night, and if the city gate wasn't closed soon, it would violate Magistrate Lord's curfew policy. Although Magistrate Lord rarely showed his face, some of the yamen runners hadn't even seen what he looked like, but his reputation for being ruthless and merciless in his punishments was not to be covered up.

  Pang Feihu let out a mouthful of turbid air, furrowed his brow and gritted his teeth, saying in a low voice: "Wait a bit longer, Guo Ye is a clever kid who does things with skill, and his style of doing things is steady and reliable. He's not the kind of person to boast recklessly, and Ben Tou can trust him."

  The gatekeeper looked at Pang Feihu with a complex expression, thinking to himself, "When one rises, all rise together; when one falls, all fall together. What else can be done? Naturally, he would follow the trend of Pang Feihu's wave.

  Just as Pang Fei Hu was getting anxious, Zhang Xiao Qi, who was in charge of beating the closing drum on the upper floor, suddenly ran down from the city wall like a madman, pulling Pang Fei Hu's official uniform and shouting loudly: "They're back! Captain, they're back! Quick, look!"

  As he spoke, he pointed to a group of people in the distance outside the east gate.

  Pang Feihu's face twitched with his thick beard, and he carefully looked into the distance. It was indeed him, that son of a bitch had really come back.

  Isn't that thing like a thin bamboo pole leading the way Gan Zhushou? The person next to him, looking at his gait, is Ruan Laosan, it's them, no mistake.

  Look again at several yamen runners following behind, protecting a dozen or twenty mules and ox carts, with bag after bag loaded on the carts, aren't they just filled with grain?

  Pang Feihu clenched his fists, excitedly patted Zhang Xiaoqi's shoulder and shouted: "Xiaoqi, Xiaoqi, you lucky kid, once this grain enters the city gate and into the official warehouse, your head will be safe!"

  After Zhang Xiaoqi's narrow escape, he couldn't help but touch his own neck and nod repeatedly in agreement. In his heart, he sighed, thinking that he truly owed Guo Ye a great favor, no, it was a debt of gratitude for saving his life.

  Under Pong Feihu's arrangement, several yamen runners rushed out of the east gate and helped Gan Zhushou and others to drive away the mule carts and cattle carts, quickly entering the east gate.

  It wasn't until nearly twenty two-horse carriages had entered the city gate that the east gate of Longxi City creaked slowly shut, officially starting the night curfew.

  Pang Feihu directed the crowd not to rest yet, so as not to have too many dreams at night, and directly pulled the tens of thousands of kilograms of grain to be stored in the official warehouse next to the county government.

  Then he ordered Zhang Xiaoqi to quickly invite the household officials, Liang Su and Liang Gongzuo, to arrange for personnel to hurry up and go to the official granary to verify and register the accounts. Hurry up and hand over these tens of thousands of pounds of taxes.

  After finally finishing paying off the tens of thousands of kilograms of taxes, Ruan Lao San once again recounted to Pang Fei Hu what Guo Ye had entrusted him with.

  After getting rid of the trouble of Dongliu Township's grain tax, Pang Feihu finally felt a weight off his mind. At the same time, he was also resentful of Qin Wei's sneak attack from behind.

  Pang Feihu grasped the hilt of his Tang sword tightly and said with hatred, "Qin Wei, Qin Wei, do you really think that Pang is easy to bully, allowing you to manipulate him at will?"

  They immediately dragged Gan Zhu Shou, Ruan Lao San, Zhang Xiao Qi and several other yamen attendants to a deserted place, and said loudly: "Brothers, it seems that this time our police team is going to clash with the capture team. Since they want to smash our rice bowls, how can we sit back and wait for death? Everyone has worked hard all night, and our team leader will rush to Dongliu Township overnight, and directly overthrow the Liu family."

  Pang Feihu is a man of his word, treating his subordinates like brothers, and has always been popular among the constables.

  Now he's calling out, how can the people below retreat and admit defeat?

  Everyone shouted and killed Liu's family, taking advantage of the momentum to knock down Qin Wei, this old tiger.

  Especially Zhang Xiaoqi, he was a direct victim, just one night's scene away from being beheaded on the guillotine, and narrowly escaped the gates of hell.

  He had already planned it out, as long as he could get back the taxes that were stolen by the Liu family, he would definitely skin Liu Laozhai and his son alive.

  Then, under Pong Fei Hu's lead, several people left the vicinity of Guan Cang and headed in the direction of Dong Men.

  Zao Ban shoulders the responsibility of guarding the east gate, although the east gate is now closed and does not allow anyone to enter or leave Longxi City, but how can they stop the people from Zao Ban?

  Before long, Pang Feihu and others sneaked out of the east gate and rushed overnight towards the direction of Dongliu Township, in order to meet with Guo Ye and Cheng Erniu who were ambushing outside Liu's mansion as soon as possible.

  Tonight is destined to be sleepless

  Tonight, soap class will also rise up!

  However,

  There is no wall that does not leak wind in this world.

  Although Pang Feihu and others quietly transported tens of thousands of kilograms of tax grain into the official warehouse, they were still seen by someone with ulterior motives, and the news reached Qin Wei's henchman, constable Liu Er.

  Liu Er considered himself a trusted confidant of Qin Wei's, and after being humiliated by Guo Ye at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, he naturally became aware of his superior Qin's seemingly flawless plan.

  When he learned that the soap class had actually transported tens of thousands of kilograms of grain into the official warehouse on time, he was suddenly panicked and immediately forgot to dress properly and ran to the Qin Wei's home.

  Qin Wei's home is located in Dongcheng, a gathering place for the rich and powerful in Longxi County.

  Dongcheng has eight alleys besides Chengdong Avenue. Qin Wei's home is in one of them, called Fushun Alley.

  Taking advantage of the night, Liu Er evaded the patrolling soldiers and slipped into Fushun Alley to the Qin family.

  After knocking on the Qin family's gate, Liu Er, who was familiar with the place, was led into the main hall of Qin Wei by a servant.

  At this time, Qin Wei was holding a small woman wearing a thin silk dress and drinking wine. When he saw Liu Er running over, he was in a great mood and was just about to invite him to sit down and drink with them.

  Before he could finish speaking, Liu Er's face turned pale and he shouted: "Officer Qin, it seems like something big has happened."

  Hiccup...

  Qin Wei listened to Liu Er's words and couldn't help but let out a belch. What did he mean by "it seems like something big has happened"?

  He immediately pushed away the little girl in his arms, scolding: "Get back to your room and wash up, I'll deal with you later."

  That little girl was pushed by Qin Wei, but she didn't get angry. Instead, she gave Qin Wei a white eye, then chuckled and walked away with her lotus steps, swinging her round buttocks back and forth in the great hall.

  Knock knock!

  Liu Er's eyes widened as he swallowed his saliva and thought to himself, "Damn it, this is so freaking hot!"

  Qin Wei saw Liu Er's eyes go straight and his spirit walked away, so he casually grabbed a handful of peanuts and smashed them into Liu Er's face.

  Liu Er finally came to his senses after being splashed with water, and with a sincere and fearful heart, he confessed his crime. Then he told them that Pang Feihu and others had already delivered the taxes on time and stored them in the official granary.

  Qin Wei's face, already flushed from drinking, turned a deep purple, and his eyebrows were furrowed so tightly they could pinch a peanut.

  Could it be that the things I secretly ordered Liu's family to do have been discovered by them? Otherwise, where did these poor devils in the soap-making workshop get tens of thousands of kilograms of grain to pay in advance?

  That's several hundred taels of silver, not something these poor devils can come up with in a short time.

  It must have been somewhere in the Liu family that they showed their hand and were discovered by those scoundrels from the yamen, who then found the tax grain.

  Damn it, Pang Feihu deliberately brought a few people to the city tower to confuse me, and secretly sent that little beast Guo Ye to lead people to Dongliu Township. This time I was really tricked.

  What a wonderful memory of repairing the plank road in the dark and crossing the Chen Warehouse!

  It seems that the Liu family is doomed. Stealing imperial taxes is a crime punishable by death, and although it won't extend to the entire clan of nine generations, the Liu father and son will certainly not escape death.

  "No way, I have to save myself, abandon the car and protect the general. Liu Lao Lai, my father-in-law, don't blame me for being ruthless, Qin Wei. I'm also forced to do this." Qin Wei muttered to himself, he was too familiar with the twists and turns of the officialdom. As long as Liu's father and son were interrogated, they would definitely implicate him, the mastermind behind the scenes.

  He quickly put on his boots and rushed out of the hall.

  Liu Er was shocked and hastily shouted behind him: "Qin Captor, where are you going?"

  Qin Wei didn't even turn his head back, and rushed straight to the gate. He then threw out a sentence: "Abandoning the chariot to save the commander, I must go to County Magistrate Gu's house."