Ever since Meng Xinghe, Miss Du and Princess Jindao disappeared together with his fake Mrs. Zhao, the life of the county magistrate Zhao Haoran seems to have never been dark. Every day, he sends people day and night to Heqing County and even expands fifty miles outward. He conducted a blanket search everywhere, but every time Mr. Zhao waited anxiously, he only got disappointed answers from his subordinates.
"Sir, we have searched several important towns near Heqing County overnight and found no trace of you."
This was the answer of the soldiers, but at the same time, they also gave Mr. Zhao some reference direction, saying: "Perhaps, your Excellency can report the news of Mr. Meng's disappearance to the court, and let the most astute Chang'an police officers be sent to search. , maybe we can find Mr. Meng soon,"
Although Zhao Haoran had even drafted the proposal two days ago, it was still suppressed. The reason was for no other reason than to protect Meng Xinghe's safety, because he was afraid that the court would get involved in the matter. Well, will Meng Xinghe be voted out immediately?
These days, Zhao Haoran has been imagining what the people who kidnapped Meng Xinghe were doing. What he couldn't figure out was that since his third brother disappeared inexplicably, the female snitches in Heqing County seemed to have disappeared for nothing and were never heard from again. There was something about a female snitch breaking into a house, killing people, and stealing. This seemed to be a strange thing, so Zhao Haoran figured out another clue, that is, the disappearance of his third brother was related to the female snitch.
"There are snitches coming out recently. If anyone can provide clues, the person who proves the truth will be rewarded with three thousand taels of silver."
This is the notice posted on the door of Heqing County. One thousand taels of silver is enough to transform a poor man into a small landlord. How can this not be tempting? So, overnight, in the streets and alleys, even Those passers-by who were passing by to rest and prepare to go to Chang'an to watch the lantern festival also knew that Heqing County's reward for catching thieves had become the most discussed topic after dinner.
As the saying goes, under a heavy reward, there must be a brave man. Three thousand taels of silver can be enough for a person to become a rich man. This is just like those people who buy lottery tickets and win big prizes now. After having this money, Naturally, he will accomplish something that could even be said to be a fantasy. Is there any money in this world that people are willing to break their heads to earn? What’s more, just providing clues will undoubtedly be less than catching the female snitch directly. A lot of difficulties.
After the notice was posted, in less than half a day, no fewer than ten people came outside the county government office in Heqing County to try their luck. Among these people, some said that they saw a man in black in the east of the city last night. The shadow flew by, and it was suspected to be a female snitch, and some were more powerful. To put it bluntly, the female snitch flew over the roof of his house, and even trampled on his roof, causing the university to pour in from above and stay cold all night. .
Facing these strange clues, Zhao Haoran also had a headache, because he didn't know whether what these people said was correct, and he didn't dare to use his official authority to find out who was telling the truth. There will be very few people to provide clues. Seeing that the 16th year of Zhenguan is almost over, every household is preparing to stock up on new year's goods during the twelfth lunar month. The atmosphere of the new year is getting stronger and stronger. If Mr. Meng can't be found again, then what will happen? Zhao Haoran really decided to report it to the court.
The snow started to fall outside again, but it was just light snow. It stopped after a while, and the warm sunshine emerged from the sky. The Chinese New Year is only three days away.
Sitting on the county magistrate's chair, Zhao Haoran couldn't help but sigh. It had been five or six days since Meng Xinghe disappeared. He had sent out everything he could and could not find, but he couldn't find anything. Any clues.
Could it be.
An ominous premonition arose in Zhao Haoran's heart. Under his order, Heqing County was dug up almost three feet, but there was still no suspicious place found. He had some doubts as to whether Mr. Meng had encountered something unexpected.
No, the third brother is so smart, and he is not a short-lived person at first glance. Zhao Haoran, who has rarely had the opportunity to see each other for several days in a row, comforted himself in his heart, and the written note in his hand was ready to be handed over to his subordinates. , and sent people to Chang'an as quickly as possible.
"Report~~~" A long report sound like a dragging voice of an elder was heard directly from the front of the county government office to the inner hall.
"What's the matter?" Zhao Haoran sat on the magistrate's chair in the inner hall and pressed the paper in his hand aside. Official matters were important. Maybe what he came to report now would be a case of murder and arson. The life of his third brother was important, but he Mr. Qingtian also values his people in Heqing County.
"Sir, just outside the county government office, there was a cowherd boy who called himself Niu Er and said that he had something important to report to you. From his tone, it seemed that it was about Meng, Master Meng." He was more attentive and didn't drag his feet when speaking, and finished the report quickly.
Suddenly hearing the news about his third brother, Zhao Haoran stood up from his chair with a "wow" sound: "Please come soon," before he finished speaking, he had already walked down the high hall to greet the cowherd boy named Niu Er.
Niu Er was originally a cattle herder of the rich man Wang's family in the suburbs of Heqing County. He had never seen any high-ranking officials. The biggest official he had ever seen was probably Baozheng, who often went to the rich man Wang's house to drink. Because the New Year was approaching, the rich man Wang's family was going to the city. Purchasing New Year's goods gave him the opportunity to drive an ox cart into the city to play and see the world. After arriving at the county seat, he discovered that the county seat was like this. It gave him the impression that it was prosperous, fun, beautiful, and full of things. I can't even count them. This time when I entered the county government office and saw the county magistrate who was usually praised by everyone, Niu Er couldn't help but his legs became weak, and he knelt on the ground with a snap: "Sir, have mercy on me." Xiao Xiao, Xiao Xiao, in fact, I don’t want to provide the so-called clues. If I hadn’t lost to them last night while drinking with the servants who shared the same bed, I would have been inspired by them to have the courage to come and provide the clues on the notice. A villain would never dare to make trouble in front of Master Qingtian,"
Bang bang bang, Niu Er kowtows non-stop. Last night he drank wine and talked nonsense, saying that he had a strange incident that might be related to the recent case of a female snitch that was reported in Heqing County. As a result, he lost to others in a fistfight. After being encouraged by everyone, he couldn't swallow it, so he came here pretending to be brave. Knowing that after he woke up today, it was too late to regret it. When he met the county magistrate, he didn't have the heroic spirit from last night. What was left was I'm afraid I only have the utmost respect.
Niu Er had done such a ridiculous thing. If he hadn't found Zhao Haoran to be a tolerant person, he would have been dragged out and weighed dozens of boards. He even dared to make fun of the county government's notice. It was simply contempt for the court.
Holding back the anger in his heart, Zhao Haoran simply spent a few minutes listening to Niu Er talk about the strange things he encountered and said, "Tell me what clues you want to provide."
Niu Er didn't dare to say anything and said honestly: "I was originally a cattle herder for the rich man Wang's family on the outskirts of the city, but about five or six days ago, when I passed by the God's Temple outside the outskirts of the city every morning and evening, I would always hear faint sounds inside. There was a sound, and the villain was naturally timid. He thought he was passing by here and offended the gods inside. He heard the sound two days ago and ran away far away. However, every time he passed by there, he would hear it, so he felt guilty. I was curious, so I took advantage of the noon and went through the gate to see what was going on, because I had heard people say that when the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, some foxes or roe deer would hide in temples on the outskirts of the city to keep warm. I thought, this sound is so loud and clear. The cries of fox roe deer are similar, and you might catch two if you touch them. But when the villain walks in, there is no trace of fox roe deer in the empty Chenghuang Temple, but the sound becomes clearer and clearer. In a dry well in the backyard of the city temple, I heard the sound coming from here. Occasionally, I could hear the roar of people inside. It seemed extremely desolate. The villain dared to stay. He was already so frightened that he ran away. ,"
Niu Er repeated the story he had told after drinking last night. Niu Er, who was still frightened, kept kowtowing and said: "Sir, please forgive me. Niu Er is not a greedy person. He came to the county government just because he was angry with others. Please, sir." For the sake of Niu Er's mother, please spare me." One after another, he kowtowed and banged his head, and even a red mark could be seen on his forehead, which showed how terrifying Niu Er was in his heart.
Human voices came from the dry well in the Chenghuang Temple. Could it be that there are really ghosts and gods in this world?
It’s a joke. Back then in Jiangdu Academy, Meng Xinghe had the will-o’-the-wisps all by himself. What kind of ghosts and gods were there to fear? Since he could become Meng Xinghe’s eldest brother, Zhao Haoran would never forget the will-o’-the-wisp incident in the Confucius Academy. Naturally, he would not believe in the world. There were rumors of ghosts and gods, so if the sounds coming from the dry well of Huangcheng Temple were not the third brother and others, they were other victims. How could he tolerate someone under his nose using ghosts and gods to harm others?
This matter has become an urgent matter. Zhao Haoran immediately gave the order, saying: "Send the order and integrate half of the soldiers and guards in Heqing County to go to the City God's Temple on the outskirts of the city."
In this way, a group of soldiers set off from the Heqing County Government and headed for the outskirts of the city in an orderly manner. They all rode horses. There was a lot of snow in the city. In such weather, only horses could lead the way.
"This is the place you are talking about." Niu Er was also taken forward to identify the scene. Seeing the dry well that Niu Er was looking at, Zhao Haoran turned his attention to the dry well. Apparently there was a circle of footprints around it, and the A large stone, which seemed to have been used to seal the mouth of the well, has now been removed.
Niu Er nodded, "This is it. However, a few days ago, this stone was originally placed on the wellhead, but now it has been moved away."
"Zhao Wei, send two people down quietly." Zhao Haoran immediately sent a few people down on ropes to check what happened. Zhao Wei used to be a housekeeper at Zhao Haoran's house in Zhaojia Village, Taoyuan, but now he has become the county magistrate. , he was sent to Chang'an by his wife, and now through his own efforts, he has become the leading policeman in Heqing County.
Soon, Zhao Wei, who had entered the well, came out.
"Sir, there is nothing in the well, but we found this thing," Zhao Wei said at this time, holding a bottle that was completely green in color.
Zhao Haoran immediately recognized what the bottle was. He immediately realized that the clues he was looking for seemed to have been revealed. He immediately said: "Everyone, please stand still. Go take a look. Outside the City God's Temple, Where does that deep wheel mark lead to?"
Zhao Wei immediately ran out carefully with a group of people and followed the wheel tracks for a long time before sending a soldier back to report: "Sir, according to the wheel marks, it should lead to Chang'an City in the north."
"Chang'an City," Zhao Haoran looked at the north, suddenly thoughtful.
It seems that someone is going to do harm to the third brother. With a sigh, Zhao Haoran withdrew his guards and solemnly said to Niu Er who was still in a daze next to him: "You will follow the county government master to the county government accountant later." Receive three thousand taels of silver,"
Niu Er couldn't believe that his anger would lead to such a big surprise. Regardless of whether there was snow on the ground, he kept kowtowing and said: "I don't dare to be greedy for money. I just need to take care of my mother at home. I am just a herd cow." Now that the new year is here, I also want to buy some new year goods and new clothes for my mother at home. I have three thousand taels of silver. I only need thirty taels and the rest will be donated. If you allow me, on the first day of the new year, I will donate it. The county government’s charity will benefit those homeless people,”
Kowtow a few times, this Niu Er is really a simple countryman.
Zhao Haoran smiled happily and said: "God bless me. May my third brother be safe and sound. I can give alms for a month."