Kaifeng Monster

Chapter 18 Pleadings (2)
When it was placed, naturally it was inadvertent.Just like inadvertently, the fine flowers disappeared without a trace, like the tide coming ashore when the tide is high, and I don’t know when it will recede completely.

At dusk, the heavy snow has covered the entire Kaifeng in plain white.

The horse's hooves are trampling, the first hearing is still in the distance, and the next look is already in front of you.The gate guard went up to greet him, and said happily, "Master Zhan, you are back."

Zhan Zhao got off his horse, and the clerk hurriedly grabbed the reins, and said, "Master Bao said that Mr. Zhan will come at dusk, please go to the study first, Mr. Zhan."

Zhan Zhao nodded, walked up the steps for a few steps, then stopped suddenly, and asked the yamen servant, "Is the dynasty back?"

Yacha nodded: "I'm back, I arrived about an hour earlier than Mr. Zhan."

The joy in Zhan Zhao's eyes flashed across.

Entering the study, Mr. Bao, Mr. Gongsun and the four captains are all there.Zhan Zhao looked at the dynasty first, but the dynasty turned his head away as if he had done something wrong.

Zhan Zhao's heart sank, but his face remained calm, and he said to Bao Zheng, "Fortunately, this subordinate did not disgrace the mission, and has found the blood book left by Mrs. Xiao Qin before his death."

Bao Zheng felt relieved, Gongsun Ce smiled and said: "That's all right, with Xiao Qin's blood letter as proof, it's hard for Yan Cheng not to plead guilty."

Immediately afterwards, Bao Zheng discussed the follow-up trial with Gongsun Ce in detail, and then said to Zhan Zhao: "Guard Zhan, you have been busy all the way, you should go down and rest first."

Zhan Zhao nodded, and immediately backed away.

When Zhan Zhao was far away, Bao Zheng sighed heavily, his previously relaxed brows were frowned again, and he said to Wang Chao: "So, you have been searching all the way, but there is no trace of Miss Duanmu and her party?"

Wang Chao nodded: "When I asked around Jinyang, many people had the impression that they had indeed seen Duanmu girl and her party leaving the city. The owner of the Yuelai Inn in Wenshui County also said that a group of people stayed at another place, according to the description. It looks very similar to Miss Duanmu and the others, but they walked away overnight, and I don’t know where they went. After Wenshui County, no one has seen them again.”

Bao Zheng pondered for a long time, and said to Gongsun Ce: "Mr. Gongsun, what do you think?"

Gongsun Ce said: "According to the students, Miss Duanmu and her party must have had an accident in Wenshui County."

"This government also conjectures like this." Bao Zheng sighed, "But with Miss Duanmu's supernatural powers, this government really can't guess what kind of trouble will arise. Taking a step back, if something really happens, I'm afraid it's not because of Kaifeng. The power of the government can cope with it."

Gongsun Ce's heart skipped a beat: "That's why the adults deliberately sent out guards..."

"Zhan Huwei has a close relationship with Miss Duanmu. I'm afraid that she will find out... Dynasty, when you see Zhan Wei, don't mention this section, just say that you are still asking someone to find out... This journey is not easy, and Go down and rest first."

Wang Chao saluted and retreated, just as he stepped out of the study door, he was taken aback suddenly, and Zhan Zhao motioned him to come with him.

"Brother Zhan," Wang Chao couldn't help saying, seeing that he was far away from the study room, "I didn't mean to hide it from you..."

"What else did you find out?"

Wang Chao was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head, paused, and said, "Sister Duanmu should be fine. When she was in Jinyang, she didn't communicate with us for two months. Brother Zhan, I think Sister Duanmu may be a temporary If something happens, we will go before we know.”

Zhan Zhao remained silent, before he said after a long time: "If she is only busy temporarily, how come all the Xihualiu family members in Kaifeng City have disappeared."

The dynasty was dumb, and when Duanmucui was in Jinyang, the Xihualiumen in the city still picked people up, and they didn't necessarily slow down because of the master's absence, but they disappeared suddenly in the past two months. It doesn't matter if it disappears.

"Maybe... Maybe what Sister Duanmu is going to do this time is extremely dangerous, so she recruited all the disciples of Xihualiu."

"Since I can come back and call away the disciples of Xihualiu, I should come to Kaifeng Mansion to say hello." Zhan Zhao sighed, "Forget it, she has always been like this."

"Brother Zhan, are you alright?" Wang Chao listened to Zhan Zhao's gloomy tone, and couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Zhan Zhao smiled when he heard the words, his eyes became clearer: "I'm fine, you go to rest first, it hasn't snowed in Kaifeng for a long time, I'll take a look at the snow scene."

Wang Chao felt sad, but he didn't know what to say, so he had to go.

In the darkness, the luster and whiteness in the distance and near can be vaguely seen.

Zhan Zhao suddenly remembered what Duanmucui said the night before he left.

"If you keep wearing so little, you may not be able to live here."

All of a sudden, I was so uncomfortable and annoyed that I couldn't say it: Why did you say such ominous words about her that day?

In the early morning of the second day, Zhan Zhao took Ma Han to patrol the streets, walking all the way to the West Lane of Xuanwu Street, when he suddenly heard noises in front of him.When I looked up, the door of the Kaiyuan pawnshop was being torn apart.

Zhan Zhao and Ma Han exchanged glances, and when they got closer, they saw two pawnbrokers pushing a ragged old man outside, cursing to themselves: "I'm being polite to you if I didn't arrest you, How dare you make trouble."

The old man was so anxious that he rushed into the pawn shop regardless: "That is indeed the old man's fur cloak. If you don't steal it or snatch it, why should you withhold it? If you don't return it to me, the old man will never end with you."

One of the guys sneered: "Your cloak? You don't urinate to take care of your appearance. How can you have such a cloak? If you don't leave, I will beat you." hands up.

When he was about to slap the old man in the face, he suddenly felt his wrist tighten, and he didn't know who was holding it tightly.The guy became furious and turned his head to curse, suddenly seeing the face of the person in front of him, he was so frightened that he quickly stopped talking, his previous arrogance was immediately reduced by three points, he apologized and said with a smile: "Master Zhan, Master Zhan."

Zhan Zhao said in a deep voice, "What's going on?"

The old man flinched and didn't answer, the guy hurriedly said: "That's right, Mr. Zhan, this old man took a woman's fur cloak to the pawn shop to pawn it early in the morning. The fur cloak is very well made, worth several taels of silver, this old man We are so poor, because we thought that we either stole or robbed, so we wanted to keep the reporter. Who would have thought that this old man would not let him go, and he would turn against him..."

Before he finished speaking, Ma Han interrupted with a sneer: "The reporter is left behind? In my opinion, you bullied him to be lonely and helpless, and you want to blackmail him secretly?"

The guy was blushed with embarrassment because of Ma Han's talking about his thoughts, secretly regretting that he was unlucky today and bumped into an official of the Kaifeng mansion.Seeing that the situation was wrong, the other clerk hurried into the room and took out the fur cloak. He gave it to the old man with an apologetic smile and said, "Old man, we originally wanted to keep the reporter, but now that the official is here, you can go and explain it to the official." , Anyway, it has nothing to do with our open source pawn shop.”

Really clever and tactful, in just two sentences, the responsibility of the open source pawnshop was put aside.

The old man snorted, took the cloak and left, he didn't even thank Zhan Zhao and Ma Han.Zhan Zhao didn't think he was disobedient, and was about to call Ma Han to leave, but seeing Ma Han's expression changed, he suddenly chased after him, saying: "Old man, wait a moment."

While speaking, he reached out and took the fur cloak that the old man was tucking in his arm.

The old man was in a hurry and snatched it away.Zhan Zhao rushed to the front and scolded Ma Han, "Ma Han, what are you doing?"

Ma Han pursed his lips, looking at the old man and then at Zhan Zhao, he said anxiously, "Brother Zhan, I'm sure I recognized it correctly, this is the fur cloak that Wang Chao and I gave her when Sister Duanmu left."

Not long after Wang Chaofang woke up, he heard commotion outside the door.Ma Han hastily pushed the door open and came in, saying: "Chao Dynasty, come and see if this is the fur cloak we gave Sister Duanmu back then?"

When Wang Chao heard the word "Sister Duanmu", his heart trembled. He took the fur cloak in Ma Han's hand and looked carefully. It was tight, so he closed the collar with a green thread, and said that even if the collar is different in color, it is not easy to find. Come and see, isn't this the green thread? Where did you find Sister Duanmu's fur cloak? ..."

Suddenly, he thought about the past in an ominous place, and felt a chill down his spine.

Ma Han stomped his feet: "Today, Master Zhan and I were patrolling the streets, and saw an old man in rags pawning this fur cloak."

Wang Chao asked anxiously: "Why did you let someone pawn it? What about the old man?"

Ma Han said: "Master Zhan took him to meet Master Bao."

Chao Chao hurriedly put on his boots and cloak, and hurried to the study together with Ma Han.

As soon as he stepped into the door of the study, he heard Bao Zheng ask: "Tell me in detail, what complaint do you want to sue? Where did this fur coat come from?"

Wang Chao and Ma Han felt relieved, and both thought: Fortunately, we should catch up so that nothing will be missed.

The old man said: "I originally didn't want to complain, and I don't know what Mr. Kaifeng Fubao is, but that day... that day..." He shivered suddenly, as if he was very scared.

Gongsun Ce approached and said: "Old man, don't be in a hurry. What is your surname, where is your family, and why did you go to Kaifeng Mansion to file a complaint? Just come and tell me one by one."

The old man hurriedly said: "Yes, the old man's surname is Liu, ah no, the villain's surname is Liu, the seventh in his family, and he is called Liu Laoqi. The young one is from Wenshui County, Shanxi..."

Hearing the word "Wen Shui", everyone's hearts moved, Chao Chao lost his voice and said, "Wen Shui?"

Liu Laoqi glanced at Wang Chao, and said again: "The young family is poor, and they like to drink. Speaking of which, the young one's drinking has ruined the family's wealth... That day, the big Wang's family in the city received demons..."

Bao Zheng snorted, and asked, "Accepting demons? Wenshui County also accepts demons? You can see clearly, but is it a girl?"

Liu Laoqi was at a loss: "Girl? The little one only saw that it was received by a Taoist priest."

Bao Zheng was slightly disappointed: "Go ahead."

Liu Laoqi said: "That day, the big family of the king in the city collected the monsters, and after the collection, there was a banquet. The little ones went in and drank a lot of wine, and they didn't return until dark. They went astray in a daze, and went to the The mass grave outside the city. The villain drank a lot and didn't know how to be afraid, so he slept in the mass grave with his clothes on. In the middle of the night, he heard a girl call the villain's name "Liu Laoqi" "Liu Laoqi" '.

"The little one opened his eyes to look, and saw a very good-looking girl, wearing the fur cloak that the villain pawned today. The little one was puzzled, so the girl told the villain that he wanted the villain to bring a pleading letter to the Kaifeng mansion, come to Mr. Bao to complain.

"The little man was funny, so he said there was no reason to go to the official to complain, but the girl said that the little one just had to present the pleadings to Master Bao. The little man said that the little man was poor and had no money to support himself Well, how could I go to the Kaifeng mansion to file a complaint? The girl thought about it, and said that she came out in a hurry and didn't bring any silver with her, so she gave the villain a hand stove with carved flowers and took off her cloak. She said, 'If you have pawned these two things, you should have money to go on the road.' The younger one still didn't want to sue, but the girl got impatient, so she looked down and said, 'If you don't go, don't blame me for trouble. ’ The villain was startled and woke up.”

Gongsun Ce asked suspiciously, "Are you awake? So you were dreaming before?"

Liu Laoqi nodded first, then shook his head suddenly, and said: "The little one also thought he was dreaming, but when he rubbed his eyes, he saw the fur cloak, the stove, and a pleading letter beside him. The little one jumped When I got up to look, I realized that I was sleeping on a new grave, it was scary, it wasn’t a ghost’s dream.”

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Long said angrily: "You are talking nonsense."

Liu Laoqi was taken aback.Bao Zheng looked at Zhang Long with a look of reproach.Zhang Long's voice couldn't help but lowered, but he still couldn't help saying: "This subordinate slipped his tongue for a moment, but he just heard what Liu Laoqi said was a 'ghost in a dream', and he slipped out of his words in a hurry."

Bao Zheng said nothing, and said to Liu Laoqi: "Just now you said that there was a pleading, where is the pleading?"

Liu Laoqi hurriedly took out a roll of plain silk from his bosom, and Gongsun Ce took it and handed it to Bao Zheng.Liu Laoqi said: "The young one has never looked at it. The young one once wanted to secretly see what it looked like, but who knows how he couldn't open it."

Ma Han snorted, and said to himself: Of course, my sister Duanmu's things can't be opened by just anyone.

Bao Zheng unfolded the plain silk, suddenly let out a cry of surprise, and called Gongsun Ce: "Mr. Gongsun, come and have a look."

Gongsun Ce took a closer look and was also surprised.When Zhan Zhao stepped forward to look at it, he saw that the plain silk was torn apart, only half, and there was only one word "Yes" scrawled on it.Because it was first rolled into one roll, it needs to be unrolled to realize that half of it is missing.

Bao Zheng was suspicious, and looked at Liu Laoqi: "Who else have you given this plain silk to see?"

Liu Laoqi hurriedly kowtowed: "The young ones don't dare, and the young ones can't even open them, let alone let others see them."

Gongsun Ce pondered: "That's strange, how could Miss Duanmu only give half of the letter to the letter, the word 'yes', but I don't know what it means?"

Zhan Zhao's heart moved, he had already guessed Duanmucui's intention, and said, "According to my subordinates, it should be the word 'you are wronged'."

Bao Zheng nodded and said, "That's right. Since I came to Kaifeng Mansion to sue for justice, it is natural that there is 'injustice', but why is there only the word 'yes' but not the word 'injustice'? Where is the word 'injustice'?"

Zhan Zhao's heart was clear, and he said in a deep voice: "According to my subordinates, the word 'injustice' is in Wenshui. Miss Duanmu entrusted Meng Liu Laoqi to send the pleadings to Kaifeng Mansion, intending to inform the adults, 'Wenshui has injustices, injustices' In Wenshui'."

In the dead of night, when Gongsun Ce passed the corridor, he saw the dim light of candles in Zhan Zhao's room.

Pushing open the door and entering the room, Zhan Zhao was sitting beside the case, meditating. On the case were wrapped parcels and a giant sword.

"Guard Zhan, haven't you rested yet?"

Zhan Zhao smiled: "It's the same, sir."

"Tomorrow, I will go to Wenshui with my lord, and there are still some documents that have not been cleared away." Gongsun Ce suddenly changed the subject, with a smile on his face, "Why, like Zhao Chao and the others, they couldn't fall asleep after hearing about Miss Duanmu. ? Just passed by them, and they are still awake, guessing what happened to Wenshui to work for Miss Duanmu."

Zhan Zhao smiled, but there was always a hint of reluctance between his brows.

Gongsun Ce's heart skipped a beat, but he knew Zhan Zhao's habits, and knew that if he didn't want to talk, it would be useless to ask further questions, so he secretly sighed and said, "You should rest early."

After turning around and taking two steps, Zhan Zhao called him softly: "Mr. Gongsun."

Gongsun Ce was startled, and when he looked back, Zhan Zhao was standing by the table with a hesitant expression on his face, before he said after a long time, "Mr. Gongsun, I'm a little worried about Miss Duanmu."

Gongsun Ce was puzzled: "Miss Duanmu has not heard from her for a long time, but I finally got news today. We can meet her after we go to Wenshui. Are you worried about her?"

"Although I got news about her, the more I think about it, the more I feel wrong. If she is really okay, why can't she come by herself, and instead ask Liu Laoqi to deliver the pleadings? Even...even if it is necessary to ask Liu Laoqi to deliver the pleadings, why? Can't talk to him face to face and have to dream? Moreover, she didn't even have time to find money for Liu Laoqi, so that she had to pawn the things Wang Chao and the others gave her to Liu Laoqi, and even...even the pleadings were so hasty Just write..."

The more Gongsun Ce heard it, the more frightened he became, he couldn't help but said, "Guard Zhan, what did you think of?"

Zhan Zhao said in a low voice, "I didn't think of anything, and I didn't want to think about it. When we get to Wenshui, maybe..."

maybe what?Zhan Zhao didn't say anything, and Gongsun Ce didn't ask either.

According to the rules, it is still Baogong who wears his clothes incognito, and the royal cat goes first.

Non-stop, wearing the stars and wearing the moon, after two days and nights, we have reached Wenshui.

Wenshui County is indeed not big, only the main street in the center of the city is more lively, and there are sparse residents on both sides, and it is a deserted road out of the city if you go outside.

That city wall, it's a city wall, it's better to say it's a cover.The yellow mud was rammed to the height of a person, and there were gaps in many places. When entering the city, Zhan Zhao saw children crawling in and out of the breach in the city wall, playing endlessly.

There should be four officers and soldiers guarding the city, one leaning against the wall and taking a nap, two fighting for dice until their faces were red, and one...

Zhan Zhao looked around for a long time before confirming that the person baking potatoes at the city gate was also one of the guards.

It must be that the sky is high and the emperor is far away, government orders are not implemented, orders are difficult to carry out, and even a group of officials and soldiers become lazy and numb.

At noon, Zhan Zhao walked slowly along the street with Texue on his lead.

Wenshui County seldom sees such a gentle and polite man, so Zhan Zhao didn't know that there were many girls and daughters-in-law huddled in the house, secretly opened a corner of the window, blushed and commented on him, many of them Seeing the royal cat mistakenly for life.

During the period, Zhan Zhao also tried to find out something from the girl who sold sesame seed cakes on the street, but before she could say a few words, the girl lowered her head more and more, and then threw the iron fork holding the sesame seed cakes and ran away. up.

(End of this chapter)