Early in the morning, the dew on the leaves has not yet disappeared, and the sun is already shining brightly.

After the autumn colors, it was a rare sunny day.

Ouyang Rong, wearing a felt hat and holding a winter plum in his hand, was walking in the lively morning market in Xingzifang. He stopped and bought two pancakes. He ate them while burying his head in his mouth, while walking towards the west city gate.

"silly--!"

Dongmei snorted, exhaled hot breath, and spit it on the face of the person who was eating the cake.

"While we were there, we were still eating, and we became so fat."

Ouyang Rong "disgusted" and slapped the head of the maroon horse as it approached, tilted his head, and took the cake away from it.

It is easy for horses to gain weight in the autumn, especially when I met Yuan Huaimin, a horse-loving person. In order to build a closer relationship, he secretly fed and petted the horses in the stables in Jiangzhou Hall every day.

Even though he was caught by Ouyang Rong, he refused to change despite repeated admonitions, which made him speechless.

This horse of ours has been fattened up by Yuan Huaimin. When riding it recently, I always feel like a tank driver, which ruins his elegant and gentlemanly style...

Arriving at a large building near the west city wall, Ouyang Rong stopped and looked up at the building plaque - Hanlei Mo Studio.

Ouyang Rong walked in the door freely.

There are many pines in the mountains around Xunyang, which are excellent tobacco materials for making ink. Xunyang's pine-scented ink is famous in Jiangnan.

And this Hanlei Ink Shop specializes in selling Hanlei Ink, one of Xunyang's famous inks.

The ink is made from a secret recipe, grinding cinnabar finely and adding glue. It has become a unique kind of cinnabar ink, which is highly sought after by Jiangzhou scholars.

Hanlei Ink Studio adopts the model of a front store and a workshop in the back. The rear workshop produces Hanlei ink by itself, and the front store sells directly, and the business is booming.

Ouyang Rong passed through the front store and walked into a courtyard in the rear workshop, where he saw a familiar figure in palace clothes.

"Have you eaten, Ms. Shi?"

He took off his felt hat, took out a hot pancake and handed it to him.

It was so early in the morning, but Rong Zhen still had a cold face on his face. He didn't look back and didn't pick up the cake from the local young man:

"Not hungry."

"Actually, I'm just asking politely." Ouyang Rong smiled sheepishly and ate the cake with relish.

He looked around for a while and asked: "What did you find, Ms. Shi? The ink used by the owner of Dielianhua is this Hanlei ink?"

Rong Zhen nodded: "It's undoubtedly this ink."

Ouyang Rong said with a smile: "There is indeed no airtight wall in the world. It is one step closer to the female historian catching this official."

"By the way." He asked seriously: "Do you need the help of Judicial Cao's manpower to investigate? Last time we investigated the paper mill, they did a pretty good job."

"No need for now. The workload this time is small. There are not many people in Xunyang who can buy Hanlei Mo. I have enough manpower."

Rong Zhen declined politely. As he spoke, he looked back at Ouyang Rong.

"That's a pity."

Ouyang Rong's expression remained unchanged and his tone was indifferent.

Rong Zhen looked him up and down for a while and asked: "Ouyang Changshi is not on duty today? Why don't you wear official uniform?"

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes at his regular clothes and smiled: "Today I have a half-day off due to personal reasons and will go to Jiangzhou Hall in the afternoon."

"Half day off?"

Rong Zhen couldn't help but take another look at the young man with fox white fur.

After knowing each other for so long, Ouyang Lianghan has always been a workaholic in her mind. Unless it is a monthly public holiday, she can see his shadow every time she goes to Jiangzhou lobby.

Today I am taking a half-day off for the first time.

Rong Zhen thought for a while and didn't bother to ask him why he was asking for leave. He twitched the corner of his mouth:

"Ouyang Changshi is really dedicated to his duties. He only had the morning off and came to inspect in the morning."

Ouyang Rong waved his hand: "I don't dare to do inspections, but I'm just used to coming here to have a look and see if there's anything I can do to help."

"It's up to you. I don't need your help at the moment."

Rong Zhen shook his head and prepared to go to the front desk to check the account book.

At this moment, a young female historian ran over with a serious face, glanced at Ouyang Rong, then leaned into Rong Zhen's ear and whispered a few words.

Ouyang Rong was about to leave, but he saw Rong Zhen's delicate brows frowning quickly.

After the young female Shi left, Ouyang Rong took the initiative to ask: "What happened?"

Rong Zhen was silent for a while, then narrowed his eyes:

"The people below checked the accounts and found that in the past three months, the Hanlei Mozhai sold Hanlei Mozhai, and there was a discrepancy between the Hanlei Mozhai's actual output...

"A closer inspection revealed that all the Hanlemo produced in the past three months had been placed in the inner warehouse, but fifty ingots were missing out of thin air.

"The stewards of Hanlei Mozhai are also ignorant of accidents. It was only today that I and my subordinates checked the accounts and found out for them. Ha, what a bunch of idlers, they are so sloppy in doing business."

Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows: "What should we do now?"

"What else can we do? Check!" Rong Zhen said in an unhappy tone: "We have already sent someone to notify the owner of Hanlei Mo Studio. Wait for him to come over and then interrogate him properly."

Ouyang Rong looked at Zhen's dissatisfied face and understood.

After all, we want to check the ink purchase record of the owner of Dielianhua. If there is no such deficit in Hanlei Ink Studio's own treasury, it will be easy to identify the suspect and just follow the picture.

But now that there is a deficit, there is an additional source of inexplicable leakage of Hanlei ink. Who knows if Die Lianhua is the person who stole the ink and used this batch of missing ink?

If the goods were just wrong and there were a few ink sticks missing, that would be it. But now fifty ink sticks have simply disappeared. This batch of goods is not small.

However, Ouyang Rong has experience with this kind of warehouse shortage and fire dragon burning warehouses. Most of them are domestic thieves who are difficult to prevent, similar to when he checked the accounts in Longcheng warehouse.

It’s hard to say that I am so anxious now that I call my boss’s stewards, and some of them have a guilty conscience.

Ouyang Rong suddenly suggested: "Judicial Cao is better at this kind of investigation. Why don't we call them to help with the investigation and assist the female historian?"

Rong Zhen hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth and said, "Call the people here first, and then I'll take a look."

Ouyang Rong smiled secretly in his heart, with a serious face: "Okay."

Fifty ingots were missing from the Han Lei Ink Studio, so timely... Ouyang Rong thought to himself, he even wanted to thank the person who stole the ink... After all, it gave him a chance to intervene, and delayed Rong Zhen

As for the progress of the investigation, I don’t know who the hero is. Unfortunately, he is a bit stupid. He only knows how to get rid of ink, but he doesn’t know how to settle accounts.

Ouyang Rong called a female official and asked her to take her warrant back to Jiangzhou Hall to summon people.

He stayed temporarily and watched and investigated with Rong Zhen for a while. When Yan Liulang and his people arrived, Ouyang Rong looked at the sun that was gradually rising in the sky. He could not find out the matter for a while. Ouyang Rong said goodbye and went out.

Went over the morning holiday.

Speaking of which, this was the unequal treaty signed yesterday after his claws were cut off by the Justice Woman on the spot.

This morning I must accompany my little junior sister, Justice Heroine, and I have made an appointment to go out of the city to enjoy the red leaves...

Hanlei Mozhai, after Ouyang Rong left.

Rong Zhen walked with a sullen face and long sleeves in the inner library where the ink sticks were lost. She stopped and walked, frowning and thinking from time to time.

"The smell of this place is full of rosy ink, and there is no odor of human beings. It is definitely not the work of ordinary thieves...

"There is something strange. Where did the ink go? Could it be that the owner of Dielianhua stole the ink? He could have left no trace, but he stole the ink a few months ago. Could it be that he would have been investigated even today?

"But if you steal ink, you steal ink. If you steal fifty ingots at one time, you won't be able to use them all in twenty years. If you steal so much, is it because you are short of money?"

While the girl in palace clothes was mumbling to herself, in the yard outside the inner treasury, Yan Liulang was holding a knife. While listening to the female officer's statement of the case, he sent his men to summon the shop stewards and ink-making workers.

The latter came together and stood in two rows.

Yan Liulang held the list in his hand and called the names one by one. After a while, he called on a short boy wearing a red coat with shabby patches.

"Huang Xuan."

"Here." A clear voice like a bell responded.

Yan Liulang paused in the rhythm of naming, and couldn't help but glance at the short boy in the red coat. He saw a dirty little face, stained with ink, and his hands were also stained. He should be a worker who helped make ink in the workshop.

.

However, the pair of clear eyes on the dark face of the "short boy in the red coat" made Yan Liulang take another look.

With the character "Xuan" in your name? And the voice of speaking...

He looked up and down and asked, "Are you a girl?"

"Hahahaha." The boys and stewards around laughed.

The short red-coat boy's expression remained unchanged and he nodded obediently: "Yes."

However, it can be seen that she is relatively marginalized by her peers.

Yan Liulang frowned: "Why are you laughing?"

Everyone around him immediately shut up.

However, there was a monkey-faced waiter in the crowd. He quickly glanced at Huang Xuan not far away, lowered his head and whispered:

"Master, I can't say it was this little girl who stole it. We need to check her out. Her hands and feet are not known to be clean. She makes ink in the workshop during the day. In the evening, she likes to go to the outskirts of the city to sell folding fans and red leaves to please people who are out of town.
To be continued...