The coachman said: "I can't help it. I am most familiar with this place. I feel uneasy about other places."
"But it's inconvenient for us to get in and out." Daji said: "There are too many people here and the streets are small. The neighbors all know each other and are familiar with each other. It's too mixed."
"I will take you all in and out from now on. As for the county magistrate, he has his own ideas. I often entertain relatives and friends here, so you can rest assured that the daily life is more lively and the neighbors are used to it." The coachman said sideways: "He is here.
It’s inside, do you want to go in and take a look?”
Daji looked at Bai Shan and Man Bao.
Bai Shan took one look at Man Bao and then walked inside.
The curtain opened, and the two of them saw a young man standing by the table. He was holding a medicine jar in his hand. He turned around when he heard the movement, and saw the three of them were stunned for a moment, standing in front of the bed and looking at them warily.
"Who are you?"
Bai Shan and Man Bao stopped and looked back at Daji.
Daji saw the young man stunned for a moment, and then asked: "Bo'an?"
Before the young man could speak, the man lying on the bed had already half raised his body. When he saw Daji, he said, "Bo'an, this is your father."
Bo'an was startled for a moment, then raised his head and glanced at Daji quickly, then lowered his head and said nothing.
Daji glanced at him, led Bai Shan and Manbao forward, and while helping Erji, who was half-supported, said to him: "This is the young master, and this is Miss Man."
Er Ji was stunned and looked at Bai Shan for a long time. His eyes were moist. He wanted to stand up and salute, but after holding on for a while, he remembered that he was paralyzed and couldn't move at all.
He wiped away his tears, then looked at Man Bao and asked doubtfully: "Miss Man?"
"He is the orphan of the couple back then."
Erji was stunned for a moment, trembling his lips and unable to speak.
Neither the old lady nor Daji told him these things, so Erji didn't know about it until now.
Daji whispered: "They were killed back then, and the things were hidden somewhere. I picked you up this time just to find the things, and..."
He paused and then said: "Magistrate Tang wants to investigate this case, and he has something to ask you."
Erji was suddenly sent here, and he had been feeling uneasy. It was only then that he felt better when he saw his elder brother, but he was still worried, "It sounds like he is just a county magistrate..."
"His father is Mr. Tang who was inspected by the Ministry of Justice back then."
Daji didn't finish what he said, but the meaning was already clear, and Erji understood it.
Daji said: "Whatever the old lady tells you to know, you can say it. There is no need to hide it."
As he was talking, there was a knock on the courtyard door. Daji looked at Bo'an. Bo'an, who had been in a daze next to him, realized what he was doing. He quickly walked to the window and looked outside. He saw the coachman welcoming the three people in with a happy face. He
He quickly turned around and told his father, "Uncle Dafu brought people here. I don't know them."
Man Bao also looked out and said, "It's Magistrate Tang and Mingli."
The coachman led Magistrate Tang and Mingli over. He reported inside first and wanted to get permission before entering.
Bai Shan opened the door directly, saluted Magistrate Tang who was standing outside the door, and then said sideways: "Your Excellency, please."
County Magistrate Tang smiled and moved forward and asked, "You guys came too early. Have you already asked?"
Bai Shan said: "We have just arrived. Sir, please sit inside."
Magistrate Tang smiled and nodded, leading Ming Li inside.
Dafu followed him inside and saw Bai Shan knelt down and kowtowed, "I'd like to pay my respects to the young master."
Bai Shan vaguely remembered seeing him, pointed at him and asked, "Have you been to Qili Village?"
Dafu grinned and said, "The young master has a very good memory. When you were a child, you went to pay the old lady's accounts and greet her during the Chinese New Year. You met the young master several times."
Bai Shan smiled at him, stretched out his hand to help him up, "Uncle Dafu, don't be too polite."
Dafu stood up and bowed his head to Man Bao again, "Greetings to Miss Man. I have also met Miss Man. I wonder if Miss Man still remembers me?"
Man Bao looked at his face and thought for a long time, and finally shook her head. She had no impression at all.
But Dafu smiled and said: "It's normal that Miss Man doesn't remember. Miss Man was only five or six years old at that time."
Man Bao didn't feel too happy because Bai Shan was only one year older than her and he could remember it.
Magistrate Tang had already scanned the room and memorized the scene in the house, then lowered his head to look at Erji, who was leaning on Daji.
He walked forward, glanced at the quilt covering him, and asked, "Can the county see your legs?"
Erji looked at him for a while and nodded.
Magistrate Tang gently lifted the quilt and reached out to touch his leg. When he touched it, he saw that his leg had shrunk to a very small length. He pressed it and asked, "Is there still pain now?"
?”
Erji shook his head, "The doctor said it would be better if he knew the pain, but I didn't know the pain at the time."
Magistrate Tang nodded, looked at the other empty trouser leg, and asked, "Amputated?"
Daji obviously didn't know and was slightly stunned.
Erji explained to him: "I had it removed two years ago. Brother Dafu found a good doctor for me, and he had it removed without feeling any pain at all."
Daji could only nod his head.
Magistrate Tang looked at Daji, then at Erji, and simply sat by the bed and asked, "Erji, how did you get this on your leg? Was it chopped by an assassin?"
Erji gritted his teeth for a while before shaking his head, "No, they chopped my back. I ran to the edge of the slope. It started to rain. My feet slipped and I fell to the slope. My waist and legs were all hit.
On the rocks and tree trunks, I was dragged out by hunters who came into the mountains to hunt. Later, my elder brother found me."
"How many assassins are chasing you?"
Erji then replied: "Two people."
"How many assassins are chasing Magistrate Bai?"
Erji shook his head, "I was just running around and didn't count."
"How many people do you think there are?"
Erji paused for a moment and then said: "Three of us..."
"How many people are chasing you in total?"
Erji shook his head, "I don't know..."
Magistrate Tang changed the topic and asked: "How many people are escorting you?"
"Eight people," Erji said without thinking, "In addition to our guards from the Bai family, there are four more who are county officials. They are all missing on the road."
"So how many assassins are there in total to kill you?"
Erji's mind was filled with lightning and thunder. Over the years, he had been thinking about what happened that day. Some memories had been fixed. He felt that if he didn't remember, he just didn't remember. But now Magistrate Tang was asking questions faster and faster, his eyes were urgent, and it was already a little blurry.
The picture suddenly became clear again. He counted them secretly and said: "It's also eight, no, no, it seems to be nine, or ten. Our people also killed several assassins."
"Then when there are only two of you left, how many people are chasing you?"