Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 229 The legacy

The weather was suddenly cold in early October, so Lu Linghao had put on a fox fur coat before going out.

The handyman in the county office was also attentive. He had lit the stove in the county office early so that the county magistrate could make tea to relieve his hangover as soon as he arrived, because there was another banquet last night.

"There are only two months left in the New Year's Day, so the festival etiquette of each mansion must not be neglected. In addition, find me the most precious wine vessel. I am qualified to present it..."

While he was dealing with matters with his staff, Guo Huan hurried over and called: "Ming Mansion."

"Here we are, it's colder than in previous years. Let's drink a bowl of hot tea first."

"Near the Yangcun Ferry on the Yiluo River, several fishermen picked up a body from the bottom of the river and brought it to the county office. Xue Bai is interrogating... The person who died was Guo Ashun."

Guo Huan reported the matter, picked up the tea soup on the case and took a sip calmly. His eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "The new tea obtained by the Ming Dynasty?"

"Prefect Li asked someone to give tea as a gift in Jingling." Lu Linghao responded and asked, "Why do fishermen go to the ferry to fish early in the cold weather?"

"Someone must have bumped into him and asked them to retrieve the body." Guo Huan said, "Xue Bai has been found out. Guo Ashun died on the boat at the head of the ditch."

"What? What other shameful things did they do, and when Xue Bai found out, they immediately killed them and silenced them?"

"Although it's not that serious, it can only be like this."

"It's getting more and more outrageous!" Lu Linghao scolded, "He kills people at every turn, and he doesn't take me as a parent official seriously."

"Looking at Xue Bai's posture, he must be trying to follow the example."

Lu Linghao finally got fed up and said: "Let the Guo family come forward to take the body back. The perpetrator will not be held accountable. There is no need to investigate the case... By the way, Guo Erlang has gone to Luoyang. Just look for his family to take care of things."

"Let's wait and see, Xue Bai will never give up."

"With those few people and the baby squad leader? I thought he was here to plate a layer of gold, but originally he wanted to be a clay Buddha... just like Wang Yansiam to worship."

~~

Mortuary.

"Kill with one strike, cruel and accurate."

Yin Liang opened the wound on the corpse, looked into the flesh for a while, and sighed: "This shouldn't be the case. Most of the things they did were done openly, and there was no need to silence them."

Xue Bai said: "Check, follow this matter to check the Guo family's goods."

"Tianjin tax." Yin Liang said: "Commercial ships collect Tianjin tax, and the county government must have records, but... the Hucao does not listen to the Shaofu."

"First knock on the mountain to shock the tiger."

Yin Liang stroked his beard and smiled, hesitated for a moment, and whispered: "The young master should wait a moment until the backhand from Luoyang arrives, so as not to jump over the wall in a hurry."

Xue Bai nodded, with a sense of proportion in his heart, and said: "When we first came here, Song Mian from Shouyang Academy didn't believe me. Now that the trial has been going on for several days, he should have some understanding of my position, and he can go on. Make some contact.”

"I will go look for him again today and wait for the remaining two cases to go to court."

"Well, let's start the class."

When I left the mortuary, I found that there was not a single servant in the courtroom, and neither the victim nor the defendant came.

Jiang Hai said: "Alang, I'm going to find someone to ask."

"go together."

Going around to the arresting hall, Xue Xin was getting angry inside. He grabbed Shiba Dog's collar, pulled him down, and shouted: "I asked you to bring the suffering master."

"Handsome, what can I do?"

"Eating dog intestines, have you ever killed anyone..."

"Ah Xin."

Xue Bai waved his hand and reminded: "This is the only person willing to talk to you. Torturing him is useless. On the contrary, it will make you feel anxious."

"Brother, I understand. But they don't listen to me because they are afraid of delaying your important event."

"Don't think about asking everyone to listen to you at once, understand each one one by one, and divide and win over."

Xue Bai was very patient and taught Xue Xin how to do it and let him try it himself.

After leaving the arresting hall, they met Guo Huan coming out of the order house.

The two parties greeted each other, and a friendly smile appeared on Guo Huan's round old face, and he said with a smile: "By the way, I have something to tell Xue Lang. The Ming Dynasty will be sitting in court in the near future. Xue Lang has been working hard during this period."

The rules he said are correct. The county lieutenant is only responsible for catching thieves and is not qualified to try cases in court. This is the power of the county magistrate.

The problem is that Xue Bai invited Lu Linghao to sit in the hall from the beginning. Lu Linghao wanted to see his joke and didn't come. Unexpectedly, Xue Bai's prestige has increased over the past few days.

At this time, it seems that although Lu Linghao has taken back the right to sit in the court, it is hard to say who won and who lost in the last round.

Xue Bai laughed and responded: "It is what I should do to share the worries of the Ming Dynasty."

"Xue Lang has worked hard, and the old cases have been cleared away. The New Year is coming soon, so we can take a break for a while."

"The same goes for Guo Lu, don't work too hard." Xue Baihu asked: "By the way, how come I haven't seen Gao Xian Cheng since I came to Yanshi?"

"The county magistrate is worried about the people and inspects the fields outside the city."

"It's the middle of winter? Could it be that you accidentally wandered too far?"

It is a serious crime for an official to leave the country without permission, and the county magistrate Gao Chong would not commit it. Guo Huan said: "Don't worry, it's within Yanshi territory."

Having said that, the fields in the middle of winter are not very attractive. The only things worth seeing in Yanshi County are the Luohe River and the Yihe River.

……

The relationship between the county officials in Yanshi suddenly cooled down, just like the weather in early October.

For a time, all the papers were no longer delivered to Xue Bai, and all the officials no longer dared to talk to Xue Bai.

Xue Bai and Yin Liang sat in the small room for a while, both of them smiled bitterly.

"Presumably this is what Wang County Lieutenant experienced back then?" Yin Liang said, "Be polite first and then fight."

"It can be seen that we have stepped on their tail." Xue Bai said: "They are a network, and every thread is connected to each other. Once the Guo family's thread is pulled, it will naturally tighten."

Yin Guangming nodded and said with some worry: "But, they only isolated us, and no one came to help."

"Yes. It's possible that Wang Yansiam didn't form a good relationship in Yanshi, but they don't have confidence in us yet... Just wait patiently."

"Since there is no case, I will go to Shouyang Academy."

Yin Liang stood up and did not forget to warn: "Young Master, please don't rush to check the tax documents. If they get involved in this matter, they really dare to kill people."

"Don't worry, I'll go shopping in the county."

Xue Baizhen did not go to Hucao, changed into an ordinary robe, left the county office, and went to Nanshi.

He seemed aimless, but in fact he went in a circle, and his destination was the Guo family's slave shop.

Guo Ashun was just a domestic servant, and whether he was there or not, the slave shop could still operate in an orderly manner. That afternoon, there was a Kunlun slave standing outside the store chopping firewood. His movements were precise, and he looked like a gentle, hard-working slave; inside the store , a Persian girl was dancing gracefully, revealing her white and slender belly, and her slender fingers were placed on her navel.

Xue Bai stopped and stared for a moment. A charming Silla maid ran out and grabbed his sleeve.

"Mr. Lang, please help me, please?"

"Ok?"

"Can you take me home? I can do anything..."

The girl spoke fluently and with an exotic accent. Putting on a pleading expression, his eyes full of expectation, he shook Xue Bai's sleeves. In this cold weather, she was wearing very thin clothes, and the skin on her shoulders could be broken by blows. Her figure was clearly petite and exquisite, but she was wrapped very plumply in colorful silk.

However, Jiang Hai showed no mercy to her. He put his ugly face with scars up and cursed: "You still won't let go?!"

"Woo!"

The Silla maid was so frightened that tears flashed in her eyes, and she hid pitifully aside, still staring at Xue Bai.

Nu Yalang, who has a kind temperament, came out of the store and walked over with a big smile.

In an instant, Xue Bai thought of many things. If he asked the price, the money he brought would definitely not be enough. He had to act like a county lieutenant. Today he claimed to have saved someone, but he was bribed by the other party without knowing it.

A wealthy man like Guo Wanjin is very willing to spend a lot of money to bribe powerful people.

Before Nu Yalang could get closer, Xue Bai took Jiang Hai and walked away.

"Tell me, did they recognize me, or did they think I was rich?"

Jiang Hai grinned and said, "Perhaps it's because Alang is handsome and affectionate at first glance."

While talking, the two of them left Nanshi and walked east. Following the city wall, they saw a mixed bag of residential buildings.

"Alang, can't you go through?" Jiang Hai whispered: "Someone is following Alang."

"Scared?"

If Lao Liang couldn't be provoked by such a simple thing, Jiang Hai was different and he really followed Xue Bai into the narrow alley.

The road is getting narrower and narrower, and the path between the broken walls can only accommodate one person. The ground is full of filth and the smell is terrible. "ha?"

Jiang Hai suddenly smiled because he saw a small figure. It turned out that the person following them was Ren Mulan.

"Do you still want to file a complaint?" Xue Bai asked.

"Don't complain."

Ren Mulan shook her head, not daring to get too close to them, like a vigilant wild cat.

Xue Bai asked patiently: "Do you have something to tell me?"

Ren Mulan nodded.

"hungry?"

"Hungry."

~~

Xue Bai didn't take anyone home, so he found a stall and ordered some biscuits and three bowls of mutton noodle soup.

Ren Mulan was like a tiger pouncing on food, her cheeks never stopping.

"Eat slowly."

With great difficulty, she took the last sip of mutton soup, swallowed the biscuits in her mouth, wiped the crumbs of biscuits on the table with her dirty hands and licked them.

"What's the matter? Tell me."

Ren Mulan didn't say anything, just looked at the remaining biscuits on the table. When Xue Bai said "yours", she stuffed them into her arms.

After taking the cake, she immediately stood up and took a few steps back, keeping a distance from Jiang Hai. She was also a little wary of Xue Bai, as if he was unfamiliar with Xue Bai.

That's how she could escape from Guo Ashun.

She was ready to run away at any moment, then she said: "Wang County Lieutenant did not commit suicide, do you care?"

"No matter what." Xue Bai said: "In Luoyang, you handed the note?"

Ren Mulan didn't care what he asked, she just said what she knew, and said: "It rained heavily that night, and our roof was smashed. We went out to hide from the rain, and found Brother Ayi by the ditch. He was chopped and injured. Very heavy."

"Wang Yi, Wang County Lieutenant's attendant?"

Ren Mulan nodded and said, "Someone was chasing him. We hid him and found medicine for him. He went to Chang'an to complain. Was he the one who found you?"

"Who's hunting him?"

"I don't know, that's all I know. Did he find you?"

"So, when you say 'you', who are you?"

"We are who we are."

After Ren Mulan said what she wanted to say, she turned around to leave with the biscuits in her arms, but heard Xue Bai behind her saying to the stall owner: "Twenty more biscuits."

"..."

Hu cakes need to be baked freshly. The stall owner is an old man, kneading the dough and occasionally adding some water.

Looking at the water in the black yellow wooden spoon, Xue Bai frowned and turned his back, pretending not to see it.

Ren Mulan looked at it very seriously, watching as a ball of dough was kneaded out, rounded, flattened, sprinkled with sesame seeds, and pasted on the stove... When she smelled the aroma slightly, she became less vigilant.

"My grandpa has studied, but he couldn't even pass the township tribute examination. Studying is too expensive. One volume of collections can feed the family for two years. That year, Ruzhou was hit by a disaster. He took me to escape, saying that he would go north. I went to a wealthy friend of his, but he starved to death when we arrived at Songshan. I carried the last half of the cake and followed the folks to Luoyang, but when I got to Yanshi I couldn't walk anymore."

"At first, there was no food supply, and those with wives and children sold it. Later, when they heard that a ship sank in the Yellow River, the government hired laborers to transport food by land to Chang'an, so they went there. Many people who fled and died were sold Dead, gone, too old to walk, just lying at the base of the wall. We orphans who were not sold were adopted by Wang County Lieutenant to the nursing home..."

Xue Bai had heard of the health clinic, whose full name is "Beitian Health Clinic". It was originally a temple to help the poor and sick, and a hospital was set up in the temple. During the reign of Empress Wu, officials were set up to manage the affairs, either by granting fields and using the harvests to help the elderly, sick and orphans, or by giving capital and using interest to manage the affairs. In short, it is run by the government and controlled by the monks.

Generally speaking, a health center with five to ten hectares of farmland can provide relief to the ordinary elderly.

"Are you still in the nursing home now?"

"No, after Lieutenant Wang fell ill, Guo Ashun came to snatch people away, and we ran out. Not long after, Lieutenant Wang died."

"He was ill before he died?"

"Brother Ayi said that they originally wanted him to die slowly, but something happened in Chang'an and they came and hacked him to death."

Ren Mulan was quite hard-hearted, and her expression didn't change even when she mentioned who died.

Seeing her like this, Jiang Hai couldn't help but ask: "Where is your mother-in-law?"

"They are already dead."

At this time, the fragrant Hu cakes came out of the oven, and there was no room for twenty cakes to be wrapped in reed leaves. The stall owner reluctantly took a piece of linen to wrap them.

Ren Mulan couldn't help but be overjoyed to get an extra piece of cloth, and ran away with the baggage.

On the way, a piece of biscuit fell out of a tear in her clothes. She quickly turned around to pick it up, patted it, and held it in her mouth.

~~

Xue Bai and Jiang Hai followed up to take a look.

It was a place that was not really a house in a residential area in the southeast of the city. The two original families became fugitives. The house was bought by a small businessman and was used by the boatman to live in. There was originally a pigsty between the two houses. A shed was built and seven children, big and small, lived there.

"Qu Shuai is back."

"Look what I brought back."

"..."

The so-called "Qushuai" is probably what rogue heroes call their leaders. There are also some thieves who call their leaders this, and there are even the Thirty-Six Qushuai of the Yellow Turbans. In short, they are just gangsters.

How did these children survive? Xue Bai knew at a glance that all of them, including Ren Mulan, were pickpockets stealing things on the dock.

According to his duties as a county captain, he should arrest them all.

Jiang Hai sneered and cursed: "I ate dog intestines and reported it to the government a few days ago. It turned out to be a petty thief."

"Let's go."

Xue Bai looked at the sky and took Jiang Hai back to the official office.

At this time, many officials had already gone to the government office, and there were only a few officials in Liu Cao's office. The county magistrate, the recorder, and the clerk were all absent.

Liu Tu, the accountant, was an old man in Hucaoli. He was holding the key to lock the accountant's room when a hand suddenly reached over and snatched the key.

"Ah, county captain?"

"Look at the tax roll."

Liu Tu was also straightforward and said with a long sigh: "It's not an important book that can be placed in this house. If it is really important, the county captain can't see it. What's the point of embarrassing the little old man?"

Xue Bai laughed when he heard this and said, "I won't embarrass you."

Jiang Hai immediately banged the table, shaking it, and cursed: "Eating dog intestines! Can't the county lieutenant even read the brochure?!"

Liu Tu was startled and dropped the key in his hand.

Xue Bai leaned over and picked it up, saying: "Go, the county captain robbed it."

"This is really...well, farewell."

Liu Tu felt very unlucky and secretly scolded the county captain for doing things like this. Who can be convinced?

~~

So far, although Xue Bai has done a lot of analysis and even thinks that many facts are obvious, there is no conclusive evidence yet.

The evidence should be in the ledger.

He opened the door and took a look. There was indeed no important booklet in Hu Cao's house.

There is no tax book, sex book, young crop book, and purchase book...but there is the county office's income and expenditure book for the past six months, private land purchase and sale deed files, etc.

Xue Bai also unexpectedly found an account book recording the income and expenditure of foot money. He flipped through it for a while, suddenly realized something was wrong, and flipped it back again.

Because he found that two pages had been torn out.

Looking at other account books, after searching for a long time, he found another missing page.

It shouldn't have been done by the county officials. Instead of tearing it away like this, it would be better to just make false accounts.

That was... what Wang Yansiam tore away? He found out something was wrong, no wonder they burned all the documents in his study.

From this point of view, the evidence compiled should be gone.

But not necessarily.

Xue Bai suddenly thought that if the person who delivered the note in Luoyang was Wang Yansiam's servant Wang Yi who escaped and went into hiding, could he be so cautious, could he be hiding key evidence?

(End of this chapter)