Liaozhai: A scholar should draw a sword

Chapter 118
As a professional killer, keeping secrets is an important principle.

Therefore, it is extremely difficult to get Qian Mian to speak.

However, Dali Temple has accumulated a wealth of experience in dealing with all kinds of vicious people all the year round.

For a killer like Qian Mian, even if he was killed, he might not be able to ask anything.

However, human beings have weaknesses.

Just because a person is not afraid of death does not mean that he is not afraid of anything.

In terms of interrogating prisoners, Wang Chongshan can be regarded as an expert. He doesn't like to use torture, and he likes to attack the heart first.

According to the characteristics of thousands of faces, Wang Chongshan made a special trip to formulate a plan.

First of all, he sent several subordinates to take turns to humiliate Qian Mian in various ways day and night.

Such as slapping, insulting, spitting...

During this period, Qianmian was not allowed to eat any food, nor to drink water, unless he drank urine.

This is to destroy Qianmian completely physically and mentally, leaving him exhausted, and his ego and self-esteem are wiped out.

When the time is almost up, send people to take turns to explain filial piety, etiquette, and law to Qianmian...

After repeating this for several days, Qianmian finally collapsed.

He would rather die than suffer such torture again.However, in the prison of Dali Temple, it is an extravagant wish for him to want to die. Someone is always watching and observing his physical and mental conditions.

Seeing that this guy was about to lose his temper, he poured a bowl of special soup.

This kind of decoction is a good thing for men, it can make men regain their glory...

The point is, given Qianmian's current situation, drinking this soup is almost worse than death.

Seeing that the time was almost up, Wang Chongshan finally showed up... The result went well, and Qianmian confessed everything heartily.

I don't ask for anything else, I just want to give him a good time, so that he can be freed soon...

Say the other side.

Since Sun Li took office in Beijing, Wu Yonghe and his son have been secretly watching his whereabouts.

Because their father and son knew that Sun Li had taken Du Yuniang away.

According to the father and son's repeated inquiries, it has not been confirmed whether Du Yuniang is really dead.

After all, there are ghosts in my heart, so it is inevitable that I will be a little unsteady.

Although Sun Li was very low-key when he visited Wang Chongshan, Wu Yonghe had many eyes and ears, and finally received the news.

Including the fact that Dali Temple went to the barbarian's tavern to arrest people, although it was not publicized, how could such a large operation be concealed?
Therefore, Wu Yonghe began to feel uneasy in his heart, and couldn't help calling his son to discuss together.

Wu Zhijie asked in surprise, "Father, do you doubt that the woman is still alive?"

"It's hard to say... It is said that the doctor saw it at the time and said that there was no cure. But the man surnamed Sun said he didn't die, so he was taken away in the end."

"Father, don't worry about it. Didn't Steward Miao say that? That killer from the Western Regions has never missed a shot.

And the result went smoothly, no one doubted that Du Yuniang was killed, they all thought that she was dizzy and fell into the lake and drowned. "

Wu Yonghe shook his head: "Zhijie, you must remember to be careful when sailing for ten thousand years.

Although being a father is only from the second-rank Shangshu, there are still many second-rank and first-rank officials pressing down on him.

However, Hubu Shangshu has always been a fat job, and countless people in the court are staring at him, and countless people are jealous.

If you are not careful, you may be caught by someone.Therefore, we must not take any chances in this matter. We must find out where the woman is and whether she is still alive. "

"Yes, what daddy taught me is that. According to the news that the boy inquired, the surnamed Sun left the capital with Du Yuniang.

It is not known exactly where it was taken. "

"Check, we must find out the whereabouts of that woman. If you are alive, you must see the person, and if you die, you must see the corpse."

Wu Zhijie nodded: "Yes!"

"There is another important event. Recently, Sun Li has been very close to Chongshan, the main king of Dali Temple, and I heard that he even visited Mr. Zhongge..."

"Old Zhong Ge?"

Wu Zhijie was taken aback.

"Father, that old man surnamed Zhong is notoriously bad-tempered, even if you visit Daddy, you will be turned away..."

Before his son could finish speaking, Wu Yonghe waved his hand: "You don't understand, Zhong Ge's old temper is really weird, not to mention being a father, he dares to show his face even if he is a prince.

Although Sun Li's official rank was not high, he was the number one scholar, and Mr. Zhong Ge was also the number one scholar back then, and both of them belonged to the Imperial Academy.

Therefore, when he went to visit, Mr. Zhong Ge would not refuse the door. "

Hearing these words, Wu Zhijie finally panicked.

"Father, according to what you said, is it possible that that kid really wants to fight against Daddy?"

Wu Yonghe sighed: "It's not impossible. Do you know that Dali Temple dispatched dozens of elites to a barbarian tavern to arrest people?"

"I haven't heard of this."

Wu Yonghe scolded with a look of hating iron but not steel: "So, you kid knows how to spend time and money all day long, and you don't care about such a big thing?"

"I……"

"Although Wei's father hasn't heard more information, but Wei's father has a hunch that the person they captured is most likely the killer from the Western Regions that Miao San was looking for.

If only an ordinary person from the Western Regions was arrested, why would there be such a big fight? "

This time, Wu Zhijie's face was even paler: "Then...if it is really the killer, wouldn't it be...wouldn't it be very troublesome?"

"Isn't that nonsense? Once you enter Dali Temple, there are many ways to get that guy to talk."

"Father, what shall we do then?"

Wu Yonghe lowered his voice and said: "This is exactly the reason why father asked you to discuss. Judging from the current situation, the safest way is... to break this line."

"Break this thread?" Wu Zhijie was stunned for a moment, and then exclaimed: "Daddy means to get rid of the seedling tube..."

"Keep your voice down, be careful of your ears!"

Wu Yonghe couldn't help scolding.

"Yes..." Wu Zhijie replied, and said in a low voice: "But Dad, Steward Miao has been in our house for many years and has been faithfully working for us. If it were a different person, it might not be so easy to use."

"Hey, why don't you know this truth as a father? But, once the killer confesses to Steward Miao, then we father and son will be passive..."

Having said that, Wu Zhijie also realized that the problem was serious.

After all, Miao San knows too many things. Once he is secretly arrested by Dali Temple, the consequences will be disastrous.

"Then there's no way……"

"However, we must be more careful about this matter, so as not to make people suspicious."

"Why don't you find an excuse to transfer Steward Miao out of the capital, and wait until he leaves the capital?"

"Well, that's a good idea..."

The father and son were discussing in low voices in the room, but they never expected that the conversation would be overheard by the person concerned.

Miao San didn't come here on purpose to eavesdrop. He originally wanted to report something to Wu Yonghe, but he faintly heard the father and son mention his name, so he held his breath and eavesdropped for a while...

Early the next morning, the Wu family and his son were shocked to find that Miao San was missing.

Not only did he disappear, but he also took away a lot of banknotes and accounts. Obviously, this was a premeditated absconding.

However, Wu Yonghe didn't dare to say anything about this matter, let alone report to the officials, so he could only secretly mobilize his contacts to search for Miao San's whereabouts.

After searching secretly for two or three days, there was no clue.

In the Wu family's father and son's mind, Miao San probably fled the capital and flew away.

In fact, Miao San did not leave the capital.

For one thing, he knew that even if he left the capital, the Wu family and his son would try their best to track down his whereabouts. Instead of wandering about, he might as well hide in the capital.

Isn't the old folk saying that the most dangerous place is the safest?

Besides, he has nowhere to go, and it is impossible to go back to his hometown, which is tantamount to throwing himself into a trap.

Secondly, he is concerned because he has a family in the capital.

He did this quite covertly, and no one in the Wu family, including the servants in the mansion, knew about it.

As early as a few years ago, Miao San started to make plans for himself and quietly purchased a small courtyard in the capital.

The location of this small courtyard is quite remote, in an old alley in the north of the city.

When you come here, you will feel that you have come to the countryside, surrounded by rivers, forests, vegetable fields, and even crops.

Simply put, it is an urban village surrounded by dilapidated alleys.

Later, some furniture and daily necessities were added, and a good widow was brought into the yard, and a small family was secretly formed.

For the sake of safety, Miao San never told the widow his real identity, and even his name was false, saying that his surname was Tian.

After hiding in the small courtyard for a few days, Miao San's panicked heart finally calmed down a little.

As everyone knows, man is not as good as God.

A vegetable vendor named Ah Shui lived near the small courtyard. He delivered vegetables to Wu's house from time to time. He saw Miao San a few times, so he recognized Miao San by accident, and quickly hid aside, his mood fluctuated and it was difficult to calm down.

Because, he just went to Wu's house to deliver food these two days, and heard about Miao San's absconding.

According to the clerk in the kitchen, Miao San stole a lot of gold, silver and jewelry, whoever finds Miao San will make a fortune...

After calming down for a while, Ah Shui ran into the alley without thinking about other things.

This guy has been a vegetable vendor for more than ten years, and he has earned some money, but his family is still poor.

Because this guy has a lot of old habits, once he has some money, he likes to go to gamble, or go shopping in brothels or something.

All in all, a loser.

Ah Shui went here to find a gambler named Gouzi. After all, he also has self-knowledge, knowing that he can't handle Miao San alone.

After finding Gouzi, Ah Shui said mysteriously, "Gouzi, do you want to get rich?"

Gouzi stared at a pair of cross-eyed eyes, and squinted at Ah Shui with an expression of caring for a fool: "What do you think?"

"Let me tell you..." At this point, Ah Shui subconsciously went to the door to have a look, then closed the door, and then whispered: "Now, there is a chance to make a fortune, it depends on whether you dare Do."

Seeing what Ah Shui said so eloquently, Gouzi finally became interested.

"Don't be a fool, you kid, just say it quickly."

"That's it..."

Ah Shui stepped forward and told about Miao San's story with his ear.

After hearing the reason, Gouzi couldn't help being shocked: "Ah? This... this..."

"What? You don't want to get rich?"

"It's not that I don't want to, the key... The key is that this matter involves Master Shang Shu, if we are involved, it will be over."

"Goofy, why did you become timid all of a sudden? I heard that kid stole at least tens of thousands of taels of silver notes..."

In fact, the clerk in the kitchen only said that a lot of gold, silver and jewels were stolen, and it was also hearsay, and did not say the amount.

In order to convince Gouzi, Ah Shui simply exaggerated, saying at least tens of thousands of taels.

Sure enough, upon hearing this number, Gouzi immediately crossed his eyes in disbelief, and raised his fingers, not knowing what he was counting.

"If you're afraid, let's take a look around tonight to see if anyone else is in the yard.

If not, it's a godsend opportunity. If we cover it up and take a knife, that guy will have to hand over the money obediently?
After the matter is completed, we leave the capital early in the morning to avoid the limelight, and come back after a year or so, won't we become masters? "

"Hahaha, well said, I will open a casino and be the boss."

"Yes, yes, we can open together, and open a few..."

The two talked more and more vigorously, and finally unanimously decided to do it tonight.

Next, the two split up to prepare clothes, masks, knives and so on.

When people were quiet in the middle of the night, Ah Shui and the other two quietly climbed into the courtyard wall, and checked separately, and confirmed that only Miao San and the widow were sleeping in the room, and no one else was there.

So, the two looked at each other, slowly opened the door latch with a knife and rushed into the room.

At first, Miao San was too scared, thinking that Wu Yonghe had discovered his whereabouts, and sent someone to silence him.

It turned out that it wasn't, but two little thieves wanted to rob him of his property, so they got angry for a moment, grabbed the quilt and gritted their teeth to fight Ah Shui and the other two.

The widow was so frightened that she rushed to the yard while the three were fighting and shouted for help.

"Come here, someone is robbing something, come here..."

The sharp voice spread far away, disturbing many sleeping people.

Seeing that something was wrong, the dog rushed to the courtyard and slashed at the widow several times...

At this time, Miao San also went completely crazy.

Originally, he had been terrified these past few days, and he was under a lot of psychological pressure. Fortunately, there was a woman by his side to accompany him, which comforted him somewhat.

Now, seeing the woman who had been with him silently for several years lying in a pool of blood, he suddenly looked like a wounded beast, roaring angrily, grabbing a vase and rushing towards the dog.

At this time, Gouzi and Ah Shui saw the fire shining brightly in the night sky, and they knew that someone must come to check, so why would they dare to stay for a long time?
As a result, the two felt withdrawn.

In the end, Miao San didn't let them go. Although he was stabbed a few times, he became more and more courageous in the battle. Finally, he took the knife from Ah Shui's hand, chopped down Ah Shui first, and then chopped down Gouzi...

When he breathed a sigh of relief, endured the pain and wanted to leave with the woman in his arms, the gate of the courtyard had already been kicked open, and a dozen people with sticks rushed in.

Not long after, a few more night watchmen arrived.

Seeing that the general situation is over, Miao San can only catch him without a fight.

However, he did not admit defeat at this point, but whispered to the leading yamen servant for a while, saying that he had money in his house, and several yamen servants could share it.

However, the woman must be sent for medical treatment, and he must be sent to Dali Temple to Wang Chongshan. He also said that Mr. Wang will definitely be rewarded by then.

By doing this, Miao San naturally wanted to save his life.

Because he knew in his heart that once he was sent to Jingzhao Mansion, with Wu Yonghe's energy, he might not survive tomorrow and die in prison.

The only hope is Dali Temple. Although Wu Yonghe has great energy, the energy of Dali Temple is not small, and he may not buy Wu Yonghe's account.

……

(End of this chapter)