Li Xiaotian took a step forward and stopped him quickly, saying: "It's a small effort, but it's not worth mentioning. But you guys have been hungry for a long time and are weak. You don't need to pay such a big gift. You should eat something first to refresh yourself."
After finishing speaking, Geng Nian, who closed his eyes, and Lei Ming, who had nothing to do, walked to the hanging pot at the same time. After looking at each other awkwardly, they each took a bowl of porridge and handed it to the two mothers.
Li Xiaotian couldn't help but smile. He didn't expect that his usually cold face and chatty mouth could be so warm-hearted.
The mother and son took the hot porridge with both hands and thanked each other profusely.
I don’t know whether the two of them were too hungry, or the porridge was too delicious, or maybe it was both. After a while, the bowl of porridge was destroyed.
After the boy finished eating, he wanted to ask for more. His mother immediately gave him a meaningful look. The boy understood and said sensibly: "Uncle, we are full, you can eat."
As soon as he finished saying this, the boy's stomach betrayed him and made a loud sound.
When Li Xiaotian and Lei Ming saw this, they couldn't help laughing. Even Geng Nian, who was usually serious about his words, showed a rare smile.
Li Xiaotian said: "You can feel free to eat. We are not hungry. These porridges are cooked specially for you."
"Come on, give me the bowl and I'll serve it to you." Lei Ming took the initiative to be the waiter.
"How can this work? We should do it ourselves."
After the woman finished speaking, the boy, who was quite discerning, took the bowl from his mother and got up to make porridge.
Li Xiaotian took the bowl from the boy's hand by force, then handed it to Lei Ming, saying: "It's okay, let him serve it, he just likes the feeling of scooping porridge."
Lei Ming rolled his eyes at Li Xiaotian and agreed, "He's right."
Then he went to pretend to be porridge.
After a while, the hanging pot finally bottomed out, and the mother and son were full. Li Xiaotian began to ask the question: "By the way, why are you out here in the wilderness at this late hour?"
The woman lamented and said, "Sir, to be honest, my son and I are here to look for someone."
"Looking for someone?" Li Xiaotian asked again.
When talking about searching for someone, the woman looked depressed and said: "About half a year ago, someone came to our village to recruit workers. The wages were very high, and one month's work was worth half a normal year. Our family relied on my hard work to earn a living. Although
I lived a hard life, but my son was sensible and the couple loved each other, so I felt very satisfied. But I am a very responsible husband. When I heard about such high wages, in order to improve my life, I went with the foreman.
There seemed to be a lot of people from the same village and the next village. However, now more than half a year has passed, and none of the people who went to work with me have returned and there has been no news. In desperation, I took my children and traveled a long way to find a husband.
We traveled in the open and slept all the way, and by the time we got here we had not eaten for two days. Fortunately, we met some kind-hearted adults, otherwise, we would have become lonely ghosts."
The woman is an emotional person, and she burst into tears when she said this.
Li Xiaotian continued to ask: "So, do you know where your husband goes to work?"
The woman calmed down and said, "I heard him mention it and said it was Youzhou."
Hearing Youzhou, Li Xiaotian frowned slightly and fell into thought.
Lei Ming saw this and thought he was hesitant, so he hurriedly said: "Youzhou? We happen to be going there too. Since we are on the same road, we are destined to meet each other. I can give you a ride. And I will tell you a secret. Don't look at this guy in front of you.
He is not very old, but he is the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and a first-rank minister. He is also going to Youzhou for inspection. As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he is patriotic and loves the people. How can we sit idly by and ignore this matter? I believe he must
I will help you find your husband and the father of your child."
The woman was surprised and happy to hear that such a high official was such a high official. She quickly pulled her child to kneel down and said, "Thank you so much, sir. Your kindness will be remembered by the women of the country forever!"
Li Xiaotian rolled his eyes at Lei Ming, turned to the mother and son and said, "You don't have to be polite. As a parent, if I encounter such a strange thing, I will definitely get to the bottom of it."
The woman heard this and burst into tears of gratitude.
The boy also looked up to Li Xiaotian with respect.
"I see it's getting late. You have just recovered from a serious illness. You need to replenish your energy and rest early so that we can travel together tomorrow. As for your husband, you can rest assured. Since our minister is determined to find it, he will definitely find it." Lei Ming agreed.
.
Li Xiaotian glanced at Lei Ming and signaled him not to praise him too much.
Lei Ming shrugged helplessly.
The next day, early morning.
As the sun rose, everyone began to pack their things and get ready to leave.
There is still space for the carriage, and with the two women and children, it is more than enough.
"What's your husband's name?" Li Xiaotian asked the woman in the carriage. If you are looking for someone, of course you have to know the name.
The woman replied: "Sir, my name is He Dazhu."
Li Xiaotian asked again: "With so many people not coming back, you should have reported it to the official, right?"
"I and other family members have gone to the county government office to report the case many times, but the case was not filed because we did not have concrete evidence to prove that the person was a missing person. You said that this person has not been heard from for more than half a year, is that not enough evidence?" Speaking of the government's misrepresentation,
, the woman was a little excited.
"Oh, by the way, sir, there is another situation that I think I should report to you." The woman suddenly remembered something important and continued: "I have climbed mountains and waded through rivers and passed many villages. I found that not only
In our area, as well as in many other villages in other places, many high-priced workers were recruited to work in Youzhou, never to return, and their news was lost."
"So many strong men are missing, and no one dares to investigate. It seems that this Youzhou City Lord is extraordinary." Li Xiaotian sighed to himself, and then told the woman: "This matter is not trivial, and Youzhou
It's quite big, far beyond the reach of your mother and son. After arriving in Youzhou, I will settle you down well. As for your husband's matter, I will try my best to investigate. Just wait patiently for my news."
Upon hearing this, the mother and son quickly stood up and were about to kneel down to thank them, but Li Xiaotian stopped them in time.
At this time, just as Lei Ming was about to speak, Li Xiaotian immediately closed his eyes. He had no choice but to forcefully shut up and close his eyes as well.
Youzhou.
After walking for most of the day, we finally arrived at our destination before sunset over the western mountains.
Entering the city follows the same routine, reveal your identity, and the city guards will lead the way until you reach the Prefectural Mufu.
However, it was different from before. In the middle of the journey, Li Xiaotian asked Lei Ming to take the mother and son out of the carriage. It goes without saying that he was asked to settle down the two of them and then come to Zhoumu to find him.
Before getting off the bus, Li Xiaotian suddenly remembered an issue that he needed to know every time he entered the city, which was Youzhou's taxes.
Although the woman was surprised by the question, she answered truthfully.
From his answer, we know that Youzhou’s taxation is normal.
Youzhou Prefecture Mufu.
Li Xiaotian's team stopped in front of the Zhou Mu Mansion with majesty. After the guards went in to report, the person who came out to greet them was not the Zhou Mu, but the person in charge of the mansion.
"Sir, I am the steward of the Zhou Mu Mansion. It is really unfortunate that our Zhou Mu has gone to work in Dongcheng District and won't be back for a while. Please go to the hall and wait. I will send someone to inform the Zhou Mu immediately.
Master Mu has arrived." The butler bowed his head and said.
"It doesn't matter."
Li Xiaotian said as he and Geng Nian got off the carriage.
Everyone in the Prefectural Mufu Mansion had a look of surprise on their faces when they saw Li Xiaotian. He looked less than twenty, but he was actually a first-class minister. How could he not be amazed at such a young age?
After being surprised, everyone was actually more suspicious. However, looking at this group of people, all wearing military armor and showing extraordinary courage, it definitely didn't look like a fake.
Hesitating and hesitating, they will definitely not ask these questions. If it is fake, it is better to say. If it is true, they will suffer disaster. It will be thankless and will cost their family and life. As long as the head does not get water, who will
They would all choose to remain silent and leave it to Zhou Mu to solve the problem on his own.
As soon as he entered the mansion, Li Xiaotian began to habitually look around, looking all the way to the lobby. Everything was quite satisfactory, without any extravagance. At least, Li Xiaotian didn't notice it.
"The taxes are normal, the mansion is normal, but I wonder if I am normal?"
"With so many people missing, the reporting officer refused to open a case. If someone hadn't deliberately suppressed them, it's impossible that all the counties would refuse to investigate?"
In the hall, Li Xiaotian was sitting, thinking.
Not long after, a person dressed as a state pastor hurriedly walked into the lobby. When he saw Li Xiaotian, he was stunned. It was obvious that he was surprised by the age of the minister of household affairs. Like other state pastors, he saw Geng Nian, the forbidden minister.
The commander of the guards believed that the young man in front of him was the real minister of household affairs. If not for the king's permission, who could get the protection of the commander of the guards?
"Fan Tong, the shepherd of Youzhou Prefecture, pays homage to Lord Shangshu, Commander-in-Chief Geng." As soon as he entered the hall, Fan Tong bowed his hands in worship.