People are among the Eight Immortals, starting from Painted Skin Ghost

Chapter 371 The Eight Immortals in the Shangdong finally gather together! 【six】

Xia Pingyuan, the magistrate of Fengqiu County, heard this, thought about it for a moment, and then carefully answered:
"Replying to Mr. Cao, I have sent all the officers in the Yamen to look for the uncle in the past few days. There is no news yet."

"Master Cao has sent letters of divorce to all the prefectures and county yamen in the capital region, so the Prime Minister will hear about it in the near future."

Cao Jingxiu nodded slightly.

What Magistrate Xia said is not unreasonable.

"Master Cao, please take a seat."

After Magistrate Xia finished speaking, he stretched out his hand to signal.

In response, Cao Jingxiu was not polite and sat directly on the top.

Not long after, Magistrate Xia ordered his servants to bring tea to entertain them.

But Cao Jingxiu had no intention of drinking tea at the moment. Seeing that Magistrate Xia was cautious and refused to sit down, he didn't hesitate and went straight to the point and asked:
"Magistrate Xia, how did the Zuo family woman in your county die?"

After all, Cao Jingqian had lived in the Cao Mansion for a while, and Cao Jingxiu had a general understanding of his character.

After Cao Jingxiu thought for a few moments, he ordered:
"Go and call someone again."

When Cao Jingxiu asked this question, there was something else in his expression.

At that moment, he pondered for a moment and then replied:

Magistrate Xia stopped talking.

Holding the file, he read it carefully for as long as a cup of tea.

You can say only three or four lines at a glance.

Cao Jingxiu was a Jinshi in high school, and now Tian is the minister of the Ministry of punishment. His talent and learning are naturally good, and his literacy is even better.

Cao Jingxiu stared at it for a long time and never stopped.

The reason why Cao Jingxiu rushed to Fengqiu County first was because he wanted to investigate the Zuo Sanglu case.

Finally, he put down the file and asked the Fengqiu County Magistrate:
"Magistrate Xia, do you know what Zuo Sanglu does for a living?"

I know the reason why the Minister of Justice came here in the first place.

"Call those people."

But his tone soon changed:
"It was my subordinate who drafted a dossier based on the general causes and consequences of this matter."

But no matter how Cao Jingxiu tried to read it, he still found it difficult to gain anything.

But he still had a question, that is, why did Cao Jingqian get entangled with such a woman?
There must be some reason for this that he doesn't know.

Xia County Magistrate replied.

"Please take a look at it, Mr. Cao."

"Is there a dossier?"

The last trace of happiness in my heart was gone.

Although he was a little lecherous, he definitely didn't have the guts to kill anyone.

Cao Jingxiu nodded thoughtfully.

"Nothing to make a living from."

"There is a volume." Magistrate Xia thought for a moment and said.

"Yesterday, I interrogated several of her brothers. There was nothing unusual. I just felt that their little sister died unjustly."

Hearing this, Cao Jingxiu frowned.

Xia County Magistrate understood and immediately said:
"Master Cao, since the death of her husband, the Zuo family woman has always adhered to the rules of womanhood. As for how to raise her young son, she mostly relies on her brother's support."

"If I get back to Mr. Cao, I'll be in the county."

Let's see if things can turn around?
In fact, this Xia County Magistrate is not stupid either.

"Then how can she raise a young child by herself?"

This dossier contains less than three hundred words.

"Is it really my brother?"

"I see."

After thinking about it, Cao Jingxiu asked again:
"Is his brother in the county?"

"To be honest with Mr. Cao, all kinds of evidence now point to the murderer of Zuo Sanglu in this county, that is..."

It's nothing more than trying to find some clues to "exonerate" Cao Jingqian.

Seeing this, Cao Jingxiu quickly took it.

Still refused to move his eyes away.

With that said, Magistrate Xia took a file from the side and handed it over.

Besides, when he left the Cao family, he had a lot of money with him. He could have gone to a brothel and lived happily in a red building. How could he target a civilian woman?

After a few breaths of silence, he slowly asked:

There must be something inside.

Magistrate Xia did not dare to disobey Mr. Cao's instructions. He nodded and said:
"I understand."

……

……

Speaking of this Alai, he has been fleeing north since he escaped from Fengqiu County. He did not dare to delay on the way and was still absconding in the middle of the night.

After traveling all night, we finally arrived in Changheng County.

Unexpectedly, he had just changed his appearance and when he arrived at the gate of Changheng County, he was spotted by the soldiers at a glance!
He quickly called to the people around him to capture the Alai.

"What?"

Alai saw these people swarming up and trying to catch him, so he shouted loudly, turned around and ran away.

"Uncle Guo, it doesn't have to be like this. We are also following orders."

The leading soldier spoke.

Hearing this, Alai's heart suddenly suddenly changed and he denied it:
"Uncle Guo, are you afraid that you are admitting your mistake?"

"The portrait is here, how can you admit that you are wrong?"

The soldier said again.

As soon as he finished speaking, he stepped forward and held down Alai's shoulders. Seeing this, other soldiers swarmed up and captured him directly.

"let me go!"

"I am the uncle of the country. How can I allow you to be so presumptuous? Let me go!"

Being held down, Alai couldn't struggle. Seeing that he couldn't escape, he had to announce his home to intimidate everyone.

But these people obviously don't agree with this.

The documents from the Minister of Justice have arrived at the county government office. There is no doubt that this is false.

What's more, everyone has roughly heard about what Uncle Cao Xiaoguo committed.

How could we let him go so easily when there was a murder case on his mind?
So, after the Yamen of Changheng County captured Alai, they immediately wrote a letter to Cao Jingxiu and personally sent the important general to escort him back to Beijing!

……

……

This room.

Xia Pingyuan received Cao Jingxiu's order, and within two hours, the three Zuo brothers were sent here by the Yamen.

"Sir, didn't you just ask the grassroots for questioning a few days ago?"

"Why are you sending someone here again now?"

After the eldest son of the Zuo family arrived at the government office, he saw that the atmosphere was much more solemn than last time. He was inevitably a little worried, so he had to ask Magistrate Xia in a low voice.

Magistrate Xia glanced at the three of them and said solemnly:
"Last time it was me, but this time it's different. It's Mr. Cao, the Minister of Justice of the Ministry of Justice, or my uncle of the Dynasty!"

"He will interrogate you personally. Remember to report truthfully. If not, you will be severely punished!"

Say it.

The Zuo brothers were shocked for three days and quickly looked at each other.

After a while, the boss of the Zuo family came back to his senses and said with a dry smile:

"The common people understand, the common people understand!"

"Then come in with me." Magistrate Xia said.

After saying that, he led the three Zuo brothers into the front hall.

"Master Cao, I have brought three brothers from the Zuo clan."

When Xia County Magistrate entered the door, he bowed to Cao Jingxiu and bowed.

"Thank you for your hard work, Xia County Magistrate." Cao Jingxiu smiled at him.

His eyes soon fell on the three Zuo brothers. After a brief look, he stood up and said with a sad look on his face:
"My Excellency, Cao Jingxiu, is the brother of Cao Jingqian. I am deeply sorry for my brother's murder of Zuo Sanglu. I am deeply saddened. I would like to apologize to the three of you!"

The second son of the Zuo family was impatient and ignored Cao Jingxiu at all. He snorted coldly with a look of hatred on his face:

"Humph!"

"Stop crying like a cat and pretending to be compassionate!"

"Second brother, don't be rude!" Seeing this, the boss of the Zuo family immediately scolded Zuo Laoer.

He was also sad about his little sister.

But he has always been thoughtful.

Through the robbery of Cao Jingqian, the boss of the Zuo family understood that Cao Jingqian was a coward who was afraid of death.

Absolutely no guts to kill their little sister.

The only possibility is that Cao Jingqian met Zuo Sanglu in Fengqiu County.

Last time, Cao Jingqian saw his beauty and failed to succeed.

This time, if they meet again, they will definitely be lustful, and they might use their robbery as a threat to force their little sister to submit.

Their little sister must have noticed something to bring the person into their home.

led to this tragedy.

In any case, now that their little sister had sacrificed her life for the safety of her family, the boss of the Zuo family would not expose the robbery they had done before in front of Cao Jingxiu.

"Humph!"

After being scolded by his eldest brother, Zuo Laoer snorted but said nothing more.

At this time, the boss of the Zuo family raised his hands and said:
"Sir Cao, the second brother Cao Min is reckless because of the loss of his little sister. I hope you won't blame me."

"To put it bluntly, it is really my brother's fault."

Cao Jingxiu sighed.

Next, Cao Jingxiu asked about the family background of the Zuo brothers and what they did for a living. The questioning took half a day.

The eldest son of the Zuo family thought that Mr. Cao's questioning would not take long, but he didn't expect it. More than an hour later, he was still asking questions.

To this, the boss of the Zuo family had to answer.

After half a stick of incense had passed, Cao Jingxiu saw a person walking outside the door. He realized what he was doing and immediately stopped and said:
"I've asked a lot of questions today, but you three have worked hard. It's getting late now, so why not rest in the county office. I'll ask you more questions tomorrow. If nothing happens, I'll let you go."

Before the boss of the Zuo family could agree, Cao Jingxiu directly ordered Xia Pingyuan:
"Magistrate Xia, I still have something to do, so I'll leave it to you to entertain these three people."

"Yes, Lord Cao." Magistrate Xia bowed in response and watched Cao Jingxiu walk out of the hall.

"You three, come with me."

In the county government office, there is a large and clean room where the three Zuo brothers can rest for the night.

Xia Pingyuan saw Master Cao and the Zuo brothers hanging out for a long time and was so polite that he had roughly guessed what kind of generous conditions Cao Jingxiu would come up with to settle the matter.

For this reason, we did not dare to be too negligent towards the three Zuo brothers.

He was sent to the side room and ordered to prepare delicious meals.

……

……

"Brother, what does Cao mean? He put us under house arrest. Is he trying to bribe us, or is he using his relatives to blackmail us?"

Not long after the three brothers of the Zuo family arrived in the wing, the youngest of the Zuo family couldn't wait and asked the elder Zuo.

"Brother, we can't just let this matter go, we must make that kid pay the price!"

Zuo Laoer also echoed.

Boss Zuo was sitting at the table, pouring himself a cup of tea. When he heard what the two said, he frowned slightly and shouted:
"enough!"

"You don't have to say anything anymore, just listen to me."

Hearing this, Zuo Laoer advised:

"Brother, that boy is the uncle of the current dynasty. If we don't make a plan in advance, not only will my little sister die in vain, but the whole family will not be able to live in peace!"

Hearing this, Boss Zuo shook his head, with a somewhat helpless expression on his face. He looked around, and then whispered seriously:
"What do you two know?"

"Do you really think that my little sister was killed by that kid?"

"That day, when the three of us brothers jumped out, why did you two not see him?"

"As soon as the knife was flashed, I was so scared that I took out the money."

After saying this, Zuo Laoer couldn't help but think:

"In my opinion, how did my little sister die?"

Boss Zuo muttered:
"I asked Tan'er. It was the boy who met the little girl on the street, recognized her, and threatened us, so the little girl took him home."

"Why did he die? It's probably because our little sister had murderous intentions towards that boy first. If not, where did the scissors come from?"

When Zuo Laosan heard this, he understood instantly, and he murmured numbly:
"So, my little sister died for everyone?"

"..."

Zuo Laoer understood the meaning and was speechless for a moment.

There were tears in Mr. Zuo's eyes, and he fell silent for a moment.

After about a cup of tea, Boss Zuo sighed:

"Tomorrow, if Mr. Cao is willing to spend money to expose this matter, we won't care. If we go back and raise Xiao Qin well, we can repay the kindness of my little sister..."

After saying this, the second and third sons of the Zuo family all nodded.

……

……

the other side.

Cao Jingxiu then left the front hall and returned to the courtyard where he was staying.

Then a trusted servant came forward and said respectfully:
"Master, you asked me to investigate the Zuo brothers. I have already got some clues."

Cao Jingxiu said hurriedly:
"Come and tell me."

"Yes, sir."

"Then Boss Zuo, whose real name is Zuo Sangqing, lives in..."

At that moment, the boy told Cao Jingxiu exactly what he had learned about the Zuo family.

After listening to what the boy said, Cao Jingxiu grasped a few key points. He was a little suspicious and couldn't help but ask again:
"You're saying that the Zuo family's father got seriously ill the year before last. Zuo Laoer owed someone one hundred taels from the casino. He paid off the debt within a year. So Zuo Laoer got engaged three months ago?"

"Sir, it's true." The boy said firmly.

Cao Jingxiu frowned and said in confusion:
"That's really strange. The Zuo family is too wealthy to make a living by farming. There must be something weird in it. If you know anything else, tell me quickly."

"Oh, by the way, Zuo Sangqing's neighbors also said that he goes out almost every month or so?"

"If you go out, where are you going?" Cao Jingxiu had a new question.

"This little one doesn't know."

Speaking of this, the boy shook his head.

It was not easy for him to find out so much in just half a day.

Cao Jingxiu didn't criticize him harshly, but just asked him to go down and rest.

As night fell, Cao Jingxiu finished his dinner. He wanted to take out the file and take a look at it, but Xia Pingyuan hurriedly came to report:
"Sir, a document has been sent to Changheng County, saying that Uncle Guo has been found!"

"what?!"

Cao Jingxiu's expression changed drastically, he walked out of the house and hurried to the county office.

After a few breaths, he saw the clerk who delivered the message.

When the young official saw Cao Jingxiu's red and purple robe, his heart trembled, and he quickly bowed:

"Greetings to Mr. Cao, I am here to deliver documents to you on the orders of Magistrate Chang."

After saying this, he presented a document with both hands:
"Here is the document. I hope Mr. Cao will take a look at it!"

"Good work."

Looking at this document, Cao Jingxiu became energetic.

After taking it, take a closer look.

Soon, Magistrate Xia also arrived.

"Master Cao, how are you?"

(End of this chapter)