Liaozhai: A scholar should draw a sword

Chapter 154

Shopkeeper Yu was so frightened that he hurriedly said, "My lord, I have been wronged..."

The main...mainly...the little one knows that Daniel is missing, and the little...the little one is worried...worried that the old man suspects the little one..."

It is true to say so.

After all, most ordinary people have a kind of psychological fear when they meet officials.

At this time, Chen Butou said: "Since you are worried about being suspected, then tell the truth without hiding anything."

"Yes Yes Yes……"

Shopkeeper Yu responded again and again.

"The villain and the big cow are indeed very familiar, mainly because he is very talkative and often talks about new things outside.

Therefore, the villain likes to drink with him when he has nothing to do, and he is given the biggest discount in terms of food and accommodation.

The last time he came to stay for one night, he said he was going to the countryside to collect some medicinal materials.

At that time, the villain took advantage of the wine and made a joke with him, saying that although there are many medicinal materials in our Shanyang County, they are not unique, why do we like to collect medicinal materials here, is there a friend?

Unexpectedly, Daniel admitted it frankly.

He said that he did have a friend in Shiliqiao, who seemed to be called Xiu Niang..."

Hearing this, Fang Ping was overjoyed, and subconsciously said, "Oh? Is there such a thing?"

"Small ones dare not lie to adults."

"Then did you ask how he met Xiu Niang?"

"This little one didn't ask any more questions."

Next, Fang Ping inquired again, asking if there was anyone in the store who was suspicious, shopkeeper Yu patted his chest and assured him:
"My lord, I can guarantee that the two guys in the store are reliable people. They have worked in the villain's store for several years and never touch the things of customers."

"Okay, let's do this first, you go back, I'll ask you if there is anything else."

"Yes, yes, thank you, sir."

Shopkeeper Yu was relieved and thanked repeatedly.

After shopkeeper Yu left, Butou Chen couldn't help but said, "My lord, it seems that this Xiuniang is a clue."

"Well, let's go to Catcher Chen. Tomorrow, you and I will change into casual clothes. Let's go to Shiliqiao to find out the details of this woman."

"Yes, my lord!"

The next day, Fang Ping and Chen Tutou came to Shili Bridge pretending to be mountain merchants.

Shiliqiao is a small village with only one narrow and winding street built along the hill.

When he came here, Fang Ping didn't go directly to Xiu Niang. There was a food stall not far from the entrance. Fang Ping took Chen Butou to sit by the side of the stall and wrapped his belly first, and inquired about it from the side.

The stall owner was a man in his thirties, and he was quite enthusiastic. After cooking the noodles and bringing them to the table, he took the initiative to ask, "Are you two from the mountain to receive the goods?"

"Hehe, yes, let's take a look...By the way, old man, has anyone come in to collect mountain goods recently, such as medicinal materials?"

"I don't seem to have heard of it... To tell you the truth, we don't have many mountain goods here. If you have a large quantity, you'd better go to Tashui Town. There is a wharf there, and many people transport mountain goods there."

"Oh, that's right, thank you."

The stall owner smiled and said, "It's okay..."

"By the way, brother, let me ask you something again. Is there someone named Xiuniang here?"

"Xiuniang?" The stall owner was taken aback, his eyes became a little weird: "Are you looking for Xiuniang?" '

"That's right, we have a fellow villager who asked us to bring her something."

"Oh, she lives at the end of the street. You go all the way to the end. There is a small courtyard with an earthen wall on the farthest slope, which is her home."

"Thank you, brother... By the way, brother, I will ask you something..."

Fang Ping pretended to inquire about other things, and casually mentioned Xiu Niang while the stall owner was having a good chat.

"Speaking of that Xiuniang, it's really hard to describe..."

The stall owner talked endlessly about Xiuniang.

"Don't be afraid of your jokes, when she married us, she spoiled many men.

Not only is she beautiful, but her figure... Tsk tsk, it's unforgettable at a glance.

Her husband, surnamed Ding, was the eldest in the ranking. At that time, many people envied and envied his blessing.

Unexpectedly, within three months of getting married, Boss Ding fell at the gate of his house when he was going out in the morning, knocked his head on the threshold, and bled a lot...

Send it to Wu Langzhong, Wu Langzhong touched it... he lost his breath.

At this time, some rumors were attracted, saying that Xiu Niang's life is hard, Kefu.

Even so, many people still miss Xiu Niang, thinking that now that she is a widow, she has a chance.

As a result, some people came to tease them with bad intentions, and some asked matchmakers to come to propose marriage.

In the end, Xiuniang disagreed, and said that she was born as a member of the Ding family and died as a ghost of the Ding family.

About half a year later, Boss Ding's mother also passed away.

It should be said that Aunt Ding's body is still quite strong on weekdays, but since the death of her eldest son, her body has been getting worse day by day.

Therefore, everyone didn't think much about her death, and few people involved Xiuniang.

After Aunt Ding was buried, probably three or four months later, news spread that the second son of the Ding family was getting married, and it was Xiu Niang who he was going to marry.

Although the neighbors were a little surprised by this news, they could understand it.

Speaking of it, Ding's second child is the younger uncle, Xiu Niang is the sister-in-law, but the eldest brother Ding is no longer there, and the Ding family has no seniors, so only his uncle and sister-in-law depend on each other.

This lonely man and widow... Cough, isn't there an old saying that fat water doesn't flow into outsiders' fields?
Therefore, regarding the marriage between Ding Lao Er and Xiu Niang, the neighbors still think it is more appropriate to rely on each other.

But what I never imagined was... less than a year after the two got married, the second child of the Ding family went to the mountain to collect medicine together, but unfortunately he was bitten to death by a wild boar..."

Hearing this, Chen Butou was surprised: "Huh? Is it really so evil? That woman killed the whole family?"

The stall owner sighed: "Isn't it? So when Ding Laoer died, someone secretly changed Xiuniang's nickname to Sangmenxing."

Fang Ping shook his head: "You can't say that, maybe it's just a coincidence, I can only say that her life was bad, and she happened to bump into her.

It can also be understood in reverse, that the fate of the Ding family was bad, which made Xiuniang implicated. "

"Guest officer, you can think this way, but everyone doesn't think much about it, so no matter how beautiful Xiu Niang is, no one dares to think of marrying her again from now on.

In order to make a living, Xiu Niang would go up the mountain to collect some medicines from time to time, and when they were dried, she either asked someone to take them to sell, or waited for the medicine merchants to come to collect them.

Later, I got to know a medicinal herb dealer, who stayed at Xiuniang's house every time he came, and when he didn't come, he also entrusted Xiuniang to help collect some medicines and put them at home, and then paid her a little..."

Speaking of this, the stall owner asked subconsciously: "Could it be that the medicine dealer who entrusted you to bring things?"

"haha, yes."

Fang Ping followed the stall owner's words and nodded.

After chatting for a while, Fang Ping led Chen Butou towards Xiuniang's house.

When I came outside the town, there was a small courtyard with earthen walls standing alone on the slope.

The two climbed up the slope to the door and knocked lightly on the courtyard door.

After a while, a woman's voice came from inside: "Who is it?"

"Sister-in-law, we collect medicinal materials. I heard that you have medicinal materials here, don't you?"

"no!"

The woman replied bluntly.

Hearing this, Chen Butou couldn't help whispering: "Is there something wrong with this woman?"

Fang Ping frowned, and knocked on the door again: "Sister-in-law, we are not bad people, don't worry, we know Daniel."

The courtyard was quiet for a while, and finally someone stepped forward to open the door.

As soon as the door opened, Butou Chen couldn't help but his eyes lit up...it was indeed a beautiful woman.

However, in Fang Ping's eyes, this woman was pretty, but not as good as the stall owner said.

Of course, this has something to do with people's vision. After all, Fang Ping is a Jinshi and has seen the world, and there are many talented women in the women's school, both talented and beautiful.

The Xiuniang in front of me can only be said to be very good in the countryside, and her figure is indeed quite good.

"Daniu isn't with you?"

As soon as the door was opened, Xiu Niang asked a question.

"Oh? You don't know where he is?" Chen Butou couldn't help asking.

"How would I know? He and I are not mine..."

Xiu Niang's words seemed to be full of resentment, and it didn't look like she was pretending. Could it be that she really didn't know?
Fang Ping and the two walked into the courtyard and looked around...

"Sister-in-law, isn't this still in the sun? How do you say no?"

"This is reserved for others."

"For Daniel?" Fang Ping tried again.

Xiu Niang shook her head: "No, I have nothing to do with him anymore, and I don't want to mention him again."

Something's wrong...why do you feel that this woman is always sour?

Did she really not know about Daniel's disappearance, or was she too good at pretending?
After thinking about it, Fang Ping said calmly, "Since you left the medicine for someone else, then we won't take it, but can you just ask for a bowl of water?"

"Well, wait a minute."

Xiu Niang responded, then turned and walked towards the kitchen.

"My lord, it feels like this woman doesn't know about Daniel's disappearance, and...and I feel, feel..."

"What do you feel?" Fang Ping asked with a smile.

"It feels like she's full of complaints. Could it be... that she had a fight with Daniel?"

Fang Ping nodded: "This possibility is not ruled out."

With Fang Ping's approval, Chen Butou became more energetic: "Would it be...Daniu had a quarrel, and I couldn't think about it for a while..."

"This shouldn't be possible, right? Besides, this is not an exception."

"That's right, but I feel that there should be nothing wrong with this woman."

Upon hearing this, Fang Ping couldn't help saying meaningfully: "What? Are you a little moved?"

"No no……"

Chen Butou quickly waved his hands, but his eyes subconsciously glanced towards the direction of the kitchen.

After waiting for a while, Xiu Niang poured two bowls of water and put them on the stone table in the yard.

At this time, Fang Ping asked: "By the way, Xiuniang, when was the last time you saw Daniel?"

Xiu Niang frowned: "Are you two here to drink water, or to inquire about other people's affairs?"

"To tell you the truth, we have urgent business with Daniel."

"What relationship do you two have with him?"

"We are friends with Daniel, and we have many business contacts."

Unexpectedly, Xiu Niang was quite eloquent: "That's weird. Since you are friends and don't know his whereabouts, you ask me, an outsider who has nothing to do with it?"

"You..." Chen Butou was a little anxious.

"I'm sorry, you two hurry up, I'm a widow's family, it's inconvenient to keep guests here to chat, so as not to gossip."

Reluctantly, Fang Ping simply took out his waist card: "Xiu Niang, I see clearly, this official is the new county magistrate, and this is Chief Chen of the county government."

Hearing this, Xiu Niang couldn't help being shocked.

Although she had never seen an official's belt badge, seeing the pattern gave her a sense of majesty.

So, she knelt down subconsciously: "The woman didn't know that the lord was coming, so she offended me, and I ask the lord to forgive me."

"Those who don't know are not guilty, stand up and speak."

"Women don't dare."

"Get up, my adults are very easy-going, you have to lower your head to talk to you, how tired are you?"

Chen Butou looked enthusiastic, and stepped forward to help Xiu Niang up.

After getting up, Xiu Niang asked timidly: "I don't know... I don't know why the two adults are looking for... a civilian woman?"

"That's right, Daniu disappeared, and his younger brother Erniu went to the county government to report the case."

Xiu Niang was taken aback: "Missing?"

"Yes, so I ask you, when was the last time you saw him?"

"thump……"

Xiuniang was so frightened that she knelt down on the ground again.

"My lord, the women are wronged..."

Fang Ping was speechless: "I'm just doing a routine questioning, what do you call wronged?"

"The folk woman... the folk woman is worried that the adults will think that the folk woman murdered her for money, so..."

Speaking of this, sadness came from my heart, and tears couldn't stop streaming down.

"My lord, the woman admits that she and Daniel do...do have an affair, but the woman has been a widow for several years, so it's not that she doesn't respect women's ways."

"I didn't accuse you of this. Now that Daniel is missing, I must interrogate everyone he has come in contact with."

"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo..."

"Since this is the case, then you should cooperate well and answer my words."

"The last time I saw him was about two months ago..."

"Two months ago? Now think about it carefully and answer me, where did he stay before he came to you, how long did he stay with you, and where did he go after that?"

Xiu Niang cried: "When he came, he said he came from the county seat. At the beginning, he planned to stay with me for three to five days, but in the end..."

"What happened?"

"As a result, we had a quarrel, and he left overnight when he got angry..."

"Gone overnight? Where did you go?"

Xiu Niang shook her head: "At that time, the women were angry and didn't ask him."

"Why are you two arguing?"

"At the beginning, the reason why the women agreed to be with Daniel was because he looked more honest, and he also said that he had been single for a few years, and he promised the women that he would marry me and go home.

However, he just said yes, but he kept procrastinating, always saying that he was busy with business.

This time I mentioned it again, he finally told the truth, saying that he had a wife, and his wife did not agree with him marrying a concubine.

The woman was very angry when she heard this, so she quarreled with him..."

Hearing this, Chen Butou couldn't help but said: "This big bull is too much."

Xiu Niang sighed: "Forget it, the woman has figured it out, don't blame him, blame the woman for her bad life.

Except for the fact that he didn't tell the truth, he is still very good in other respects. He knows that it is not easy for women to live alone, so he bought me a lot of clothes and furniture..."

"Well, then think about it, where is he most likely to go?"

Fang Ping asked again.

Xiu Niang thought for a while, then she seemed a little uncertain, "It's possible to go to Yushan Township, he used to go there to collect medicine."

……

(End of this chapter)