Author: Sigui Beihong

"Ho Lu!" A hoarse voice came from the corner of the cell. The cell was already dark, and when they suddenly heard such a strange voice, the girls were startled and screamed "Ah!"

Busily ran in the opposite direction.

"Mom! Is there a ghost in this prison?" Mo Yunxiang couldn't hide his fear and said while hugging Zhang Yun'er tightly.

Zhang Yun'er also cheered her up and comforted her, saying: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Your third aunt has worshiped the Bodhisattva for many years and has the light of the Buddha. Even if there are ghosts, she won't dare to do anything to us."

Mo Yunxiao was also a little panicked, but at this moment she understood more and more that she couldn't be afraid, or that she couldn't show that she was afraid. Because the two pairs of mother and daughter behind her didn't say it, but they already regarded her as a faint person in their hearts.

She is the one who calls the shots. Once she wavers, I'm afraid the entire Mo family will collapse.

At this time, she could only muster up the courage and walk step by step in the direction of the sound. The firewood on the ground creaked under her feet, which could give her a little comfort to her panicked heart.

When Mo Yunxiang and Mo Yunxi saw her passing by, they curled up even more tightly, looking at her with a pair of frightened eyes.

"Ho Lu! Ho Lu!" It was as if a hand was reaching out from the darkness. Mo Yunxiao lowered her body and took a look, and it turned out that it was a frail old man. She calmed down a little and asked: "Old man, are you calling me?"

"

"He Lu! Come here." The old man said softly.

Mo Yunxiao was stunned for a moment, then took two steps closer to take a look. With the dim light, she finally saw clearly. The person calling her was none other than her father, the head of Minglou, Mo Chenglin!

"Dad?" Mo Yunxiao was surprised and happy. He rushed forward, held his father's trembling hand tightly, and shouted: "Dad! How did you become like this?"

"Dad?" Mo Yunxi and Mo Yunxiang also looked at each other, and their respective mothers hugged them together. The cries of "Da Lang!" and "Dad!" resounded throughout the cell.

At this time, Mo Chenglin was half-lying on a pile of firewood, with sunken eyes and injuries on his face, especially one of his legs. It seemed that he had been tortured by a stick. Although it was not broken, it was scarred and stained with blood.

As they looked him over, they cried even harder. Mo Yunxiao also had tears in his eyes and was so choked that he could not speak.

"Da Lang! Who harmed you like this?" Zhang Yun'er held him up and asked, crying and shouting.

Mo Chenglin smiled helplessly and said, "My bitterness is all caused by my tea prescription!"

Everyone was a little surprised and looked at each other. Zhang Yun'er asked again: "What does this have to do with the tea prescription?"

Mo Yunxiao answered on behalf of his father: "On the surface, Qiu Feng and the others are enforcing the laws of the Song Dynasty, but secretly they are doing it for personal gain and trying to trick out our tea prescriptions."

"But..." Mo Yunxi wiped away tears and said, "They don't open a teahouse, so what's the use of this recipe?"

"Humph! Naturally, resources have been replaced." Mo Yunxiao sneered and explained: "Qiu Feng uses the power of the state to arrest people. Once he gets our prescription, he can sell it to those in need.

.”

"Ah?" Everyone was a little surprised. But Mo Chenglin nodded with a smile and said weakly: "That's not bad at all."

"Dalang! Did you give it to him?" Zhang Yuner asked again.

"If dad gave it to him, how could he be tortured like this?" Mo Yunxiao continued to explain for his father: "Dad would never give it to him."

Zhang Yun'er was a little anxious and complained quickly: "Da Lang! Why are you confused now! What we want is life, not the prescription. You can give him the prescription as much as possible. You will suffer less pain, and we will...

Maybe I can go home early."

Mo Chenglin sighed and said: "Since I am a deserter in the army, once I am convicted, how can I let it go so easily? Whether I give the prescription or not, the result will be the same. It's just... I'm just miserable.

you."

"Ah?" Zhang Yun'er took a breath of cold air and was stunned for a long time before crying: "My life is so miserable! First...first my father and brother suffered, and now my husband also suffered from the confiscation of the house! Why did God tease me like this?

Me!"

Zhang Yun'er beat her chest and feet, crying until she died. Mo Yunxiang was also in tears, and he helped her aside and slowly comforted her.

Mo Chenglin looked at Li Xianmo who lowered his head and said nothing, and asked, "Why don't you speak?"

"I'm thinking in my heart that our mistress is really lucky." She replied.

Mo Chenglin was a little surprised and asked, "How can you say this?"

"The mistress came to the Mo family. Not only did she give birth to a daughter who is as good as a woman, but she also won the favor of the man." Li Xianmo said: "Moreover, the mistress went to the West to serve the Buddha early.

You don’t have to suffer the grievances we have suffered,”

At the end of the sentence, her voice became choked with sobs, and finally she couldn't help it and started crying quietly.

"Mom!" Mo Yunxi also threw herself into her arms and kept crying.

Looking at the mother and daughter, Mo Chenglin also shed tears. "I'm sorry for you...I'm sorry for you..." he murmured.

"Son, you must remember your mother's words." Li Xianmo helped Mo Yunxi up and said, "If one day you are lucky enough to be free, you should always think of your eldest daughter brother. She is a girl in the middle school.

Hero, you should learn from her."

As if Li Xianmo was explaining the funeral arrangements, Mo Yunxi gritted his teeth and nodded, and finally threw himself into his mother's arms and cried again.

Mo Chenglin also looked at his eldest daughter, Mo Yunxiao, who was also looking at him blankly, wondering what she was thinking.

"Yunxi, please help your mother go aside and have a rest. I have something to say to your eldest daughter," Mo Chenglin ordered.

Mo Yunxi responded, then helped Li Xianmo go to another corner and sit down.

Mo Yunxiao's cold jade-like hand was tightly grasped by her father, and she felt that her father was using all his strength to hold her hand.

To be honest, she didn't have much special affection for the melancholy old man in front of her, and the love between father and daughter was even more indifferent. Having lived in an orphanage since she was a child, the "love between father and daughter" was naturally missing in her life experience.

.

However, when she saw the old man in front of her looking at her with a worried and angry expression, she felt mixed emotions in her heart, and she naturally felt a little pity for him.

"Dad, what do you want to say to me?" Mo Yunxiao asked.

"Holy dew!" Mo Chenglin lamented and said, "I'm really sorry for you and your daughter. Your mother died in childbirth. At that time, I was still picking tea in Quanzhou. I heard from Po Wen that your mother always

She called my name and didn't close her eyes until she died. Alas, she wanted to see me, but I..."

Mo Chenglin shook his head, adjusted his breathing, and continued: "Fortunately, you survived. You lost your mother when you were young, so you have to be strong in everything. When you were eight years old, you saw me shooting an arrow in the school field.

So you pestered me and wanted to learn martial arts from me. I couldn't pester you, so I taught you some crude boxing and kicking skills. But later you actually explored on your own, learned horseback riding and archery, and even learned the military sumo wrestling skills.

Later, your temper became more and more strong, and you often galloped in the downtown area, and people would avoid you. For this reason, I scolded you a lot. But you just didn't listen. So, I tried to temper your temper.

, and began to teach you how to manage Minglou's business. You started out as a clerk, and then worked as a tea doctor and accountant, and you are all outstanding in your profession. Haha, Cao Mengde said, 'Having a son should be like Sun Zhongmou'. Let me add one sentence

,'Girls should be like Mohelu'! Hahaha..."

Mo Yunxiao helped her father sit upright and listened to him continue: "Father and daughter, we have gone through countless storms, but I am afraid we can't resist it this time. He Lu, will you hate me?"

Mo Yunxiao smiled bitterly and said, "It's just fate that plays tricks on people. How can I hate daddy."

"Alas!" Mo Chenglin slapped the back of his daughter's hand heavily and said, "I blamed you for forgetting our tea recipe before. But now it seems that it is just a good thing that you forgot. If you really forgot, you don't have to suffer all this from me.

.”

"I'm afraid there are still more hardships waiting for me to suffer." Mo Yunxiao shook his head helplessly.

"My son, look over here." Mo Chenglin said solemnly. Mo Yunxiao was also surprised and looked up at him.

Mo Chenglin's eyes were strong and he said word by word: "Although you are a woman, you can be the pillar of our Mo family." As he spoke, he did not forget to glance at the two mother and daughter pairs behind Mo Yunxiao.

He continued: "I know that you three sisters don't get along. But you are a child who understands the importance and the general situation. If you get out of here, Yunxiang, Yunxi, and your second and third mothers will all be extremely ordinary.

A woman's family has no way of making a living. At that time, you have to support the family."

Mo Yunxiao raised his eyebrows and asked, "What does dad mean by this? Do we still have a way to survive?"

"I have made my own calculations..." Mo Chenglin said: "According to the laws of the Song Dynasty, deserters from the army should be punished with confiscation of their homes and exile. However, this is not long after the late emperor Yan came to power and the new emperor came to the throne.

.According to established law, the world should be granted amnesty."

"Amnesty for the whole world!" Mo Yunxiao's eyes lit up and he said excitedly: "Exactly! Every time a new emperor comes to the throne, he wants to grant amnesty to the whole world. How could I have forgotten this!"

"However, even so, there is no guarantee." Mo Chenglin said: "Someone is coveting our tea recipe, and I'm afraid I can't let it go easily. If we want you to get out from here, there is only one guaranteed way."

"What?" Mo Yunxiao frowned, quite nervous.

Mo Chenglin said sadly: "I will die."

"Ah? This..." Mo Yunxiao was shocked, but hurriedly covered her mouth for fear of disturbing the two pairs of mother and daughter behind her.

"After all, what we committed is not a serious crime of rebellion. The main criminal died in prison, and they have no reason to make things difficult for you anymore." Mo Chenglin said: "If the new emperor ascends the throne, no matter what, you will have to be let go. Haha,

I'm afraid that when the time comes, Qiu Feng will have to be reprimanded and asked whether he used excessive punishment, resulting in the death of the offender and the failure of the national law to be upheld."

"Daddy, never!" Mo Yunxiao was so shocked that she could lower her voice to prevent Yunxiang and Yunxi from hearing it. But she still looked back and continued: "If dad commits suicide, he will be even worse."

It is true that Qiu Feng and others will commit suicide in fear of crime to murder us."

Mo Chenglin smiled miserably and said: "I understand this. So after I was tortured, I asked an old catcher for something. Ahem..."

"What?" Mo Yunxiao asked hurriedly.

"Rhubarb is just a medicine." Mo Chenglin explained: "Although this rhubarb is medicine, if you eat too much, you will be poisoned and die, and it cannot be detected with a silver needle. Even if the corpse is autopsy, nothing can be found.

.I have neither fatal injuries nor signs of poisoning. Even if Sheng Zhang and Qiu Feng are brave enough, they have no choice but to admit that they are unlucky."

After he finished speaking, he saw Mo Yunxiao just looking at him with a horrified look on his face and not answering, so he lightly slapped her wrist, as if to comfort her: "It's a secret in prison to commit suicide by taking rhubarb. You can't survive the sentence."

If a person encounters a kind-hearted jailer, he can just give him some rhubarb and kill himself."

"Dad!" Mo Yunxiao grabbed Mo Chenglin's shoulders tightly and kept saying, "No, no, how can you trade the life of your father for the life of your children!"
To be continued...