The sky is getting brighter, the Ye family in Xialiang Village
The first ray of light in the morning shone into the quiet courtyard, and a jade-white figure sat beside the small river in the courtyard, with her warm eyes fixed on the long file unfolded in her hand.
"You kid have been staring at this file for a long time. I'm really afraid that you're going crazy."
Qin Wanrou, just like yesterday, walked straight to him with the prepared meal and said distressedly:
"If you feel you can't get used to it for a while, ask a capable staff member to help you handle government affairs. How can you do everything yourself?"
Seeing that her son's gaze had not shifted, Qin Wanrou continued:
"The family is not short of money. I can't spend your father's annual pension of more than 40 taels. Since you entered the Imperial College, you have never asked for a penny of money from the family. When you arrived at the Imperial College, you would send money home from time to time.
, I have saved up for you for my mother, I have thousands of taels, and I have also purchased a lot of land, which will be enough to support the whole family even after we get married."
"It's not about the money."
Ye Chengguan then put away the files and sat down slowly.
Hearing this, Qin Wanrou's face became a little embarrassed: "There's no need to compare with those few, we are no match for them."
"Mom is too worried."
Ye Chengguan smiled indifferently and didn't know how to explain it to his mother.
After thinking about it, he pretended to be relaxed and said: "I just feel that there will be transfers of state officials in the past two years..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Ting'an, a scholar, and Lu Xiuyuan, the county's official historian, hurried in.
Ye Chengguan calmly filled a bowl of soup and handed it to his mother. Seeing Lu Xiuyuan's anxious look, his eyes darkened: "Let's talk in the study."
Then, she looked at Qin Wanrou with a warm smile: "Mother will use it first."
After giving instructions, he led the two of them to the study.
"My lord, it's not good. There is a death in the Dou family. Mr. Gu is clamoring to see your lord, saying that if your lord does not judge the Dou family's marriage unfairly, he will go directly to the state government office on behalf of the Dou family."
Lu Xiuyuan frowned.
Ye Chengkui sat down slowly, his eyes flashing, his eyebrows slightly furrowed: "Who died?"
"It's not that he's an important person."
Lu Xiuyuan replied: "He is a servant of the family. It is said that he has been in the Dou family for many years. It is said in the family that he was frightened to death by the ghost of the third son of the Dou family who asked for his life."
"Have you ever gone to do an autopsy?"
"have."
Lu Xiuyuan reported in detail: "However, there were no traces of murder on the deceased's body. No foreign objects were found in the body, ruling out the possibility of poisoning. There were no signs of fighting nearby. Judging from the death state, it was indeed due to excessive fright and exhaustion during his lifetime.
Death."
"It seems like there is indeed a ghost in the Dou family."
Ye Chengguan slightly curved his lips and gave a deep smile: "It's just that when did the famous Mr. Gu cherish his life so much? What he cherishes is the life of his subordinates. I heard that the victims he has persecuted through all these years are not the same.
Quite a few.”
After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly stood up: "Go to Dou's house."
He led Lu Xiuyuan and Ting An out. When they passed the lotus pond, they stopped again, glanced at Qin Wanrou who was looking at him over there, and told Ting An in a soft voice: "You can't wait until you have dinner with the old lady."
Go to the county government office."
"yes."
As soon as Ting An responded softly, he saw that the young master had already left.
After leaving the door and looking at the horses led by several guards, Ye Chengguan randomly picked a flying horse and galloped towards the county seat.
Seeing the situation, Lu Xiu quickly mounted his horse and ordered the officers to follow him.
Several fast horses drove quickly and arrived at the Dou family's house within a quarter of an hour.
At that time, the door of Dou's courtyard was already crowded with people who had come to watch the excitement. The guards stopped them outside and kept looking into the courtyard.
Ye Chengguan jumped off his horse and walked straight in along the corridor guarded by the guards, watching six directions and listening in all directions.
I saw the dark door rails and doorposts covered with yellow talisman paper, and a group of Taoist priests in green clothes were chanting sutras and performing rituals around the Langfang in the courtyard.
Ye Chengguan followed the police officer who led the way and rushed to the scene of the crime. The narrow corridor was already crowded with the Dou family's servants.
The officers cleared the way and walked to the dead body wrapped in white cloth. The moment Ye Chengguan bent down and uncovered the white cloth, he was startled by the gruesome sight of death.
I thought about it for a moment, then returned to normal in an instant.
He turned to look at the old man waiting here and asked in a deep voice: "Are the test results consistent with what Lu Dianshi said?"
"Lord Qi, there is nothing wrong with it."
The old man made a respectful report.
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw an old servant with a stooped figure kneeling over.
This person was the old housekeeper of the mansion. When he saw the new magistrate, he burst into tears. He cried hysterically and begged:
"I would like to ask the county magistrate to make the decision. My husband is upright and strict, and in order to protect the country's laws and family rules, he reluctantly gave up his second son. However, the third son is uneasy. If the magistrate does not send my young lady back, I am afraid that the Dou family will not be able to live in peace."
"
Ye Chengguan searched the crowd with his eyes, and suddenly saw several servants dressed as servants surrounding a middle-aged man wearing gray silk.
The man was calm and composed. He looked haggard and had gone through many years of life, but his skin was so delicate and firm that he couldn't tell how old he was.
Only his thick beautiful beard can barely confirm that he is not a weak-headed boy.
The clothes seemed simple, but the fine stitching and the crane pattern revealed on the silk made Ye Chengwei immediately realize that this person's identity was not simple.
"You are Mr. Dou?"
He walked towards the middle-aged man with heavy steps.
"It's just old age."
Dou Yue held his crutches and cupped his hands: "The unethical dog has caused trouble to the magistrate, but..."
Before he could finish his words, Ye Chengguan stopped him: "There are two different things between killing one's relatives out of righteousness and disregarding human life."
Dou Yue's eyebrows flashed slightly, and the corners of his mouth opened slightly: "What Mr. Ye said is absolutely true. He is old and incompetent, and he failed to discipline the dogs well, causing the living to suffer and the dead to be uneasy."
Glancing at the corpse place with a heavy look, he slowly closed his eyes: "It was the old man's benevolence back then that killed Chen San."
After blaming himself deeply, he saw Liu Cheng and Gu Langxi arriving after a long journey.
"Oh, how did it get to this point?"
Liu Cheng frowned, looked around the body, walked back to Ye Chengguan, and sighed:
"Master Ye, Brother Ye, these are human lives. I know that you and Mr. Dou have their own reasons. One is to pity the common people and the other is to appease the dead. But procrastinating like this is not the way to go. The third young master just wants his wife to remain unfaithful.
, I think you all should take a step back. Mr. Ye, please stop focusing on one person's misfortunes and blessings because of small losses, and Mr. Dou, please stop forcing others to make things difficult. After all, she is the wife of the principal wife. Let the girl from the Hua family stay in the house honestly.
Wouldn’t everyone above be happy?”
As he spoke, he deliberately lowered his voice and came closer to Ye Chengguan: "Master Ye, if you take a step back, it is just the life of a poor girl. She has some issues with Brother Ye, so giving her a way to live is a supreme kindness.
.”
"Is this how Mr. Liu always asks for orders for the people?"
Ye Chengkuan looked at him coldly: How many murder cases were forced out like this.
Liu Cheng was dumbfounded as he listened.
Dou Yue's eyes became darker and darker, and he obviously refused to give him a step: "The matter has come to this, and I don't dare to do it for the sake of the lives of dozens of people in the whole government."
The old housekeeper echoed in a pitiful voice: "Yes, my lords, the young lady's betrayal has disturbed the souls of the dead. My master has done bad things with good intentions. He has failed to preserve the young lady's chastity and violated the young master's last wish. Now it continues to be delayed.
I don’t know how many lives will be caused, but I still ask you two adults to make the decision for my master.”
Gu Langxi looked at everyone, and then hesitantly said: "Since it is a deceased soul seeking life, which cannot be defeated by human power, it is better to let the deceased make his own decision."
"How to decide?"
Dou Yue was so angry that he spoke out almost at the same time as Ye Chengguan.
Gu Langxi lowered his eyebrows and looked at Chen San's body, then turned to look at the Taoist priest practicing the ritual in the distance, and coldly threw out a few words: "Young lady, please come back tonight and let the dead speak."
Ye Chengguan twisted the corners of his lips and smiled coldly: "Just follow what the young master said."
He wanted to see what kind of tricks the Dou family was playing.