One night passed, and Yanshi County was covered with snow.
The Shiba Dog stood outside a small house, knocking on the broken door knocker, breathing in to warm his hands, and stamping his feet to keep warm. After waiting for a long time, Qi Chou opened the door.
"Handsome."
"You called me 'handsome' again?" Qi Chou scolded: "I can't stand your tricks."
"Isn't Gao Xiancheng back now? The county magistrate has promised to let you be the commander again. I see, all I have to do is get the talisman back from Xue Xin."
"Then you still have to use me."
"That is to say." Chai Gou'er said: "Because the collection has been delayed in the past few days, this is the top priority of the county office."
The two of them walked to the county office as they talked. When they got outside the door, they saw a few good horses tied there, and beside them stood a few gentle servants in green clothes. They were from Luhun Villa.
There has never been any friendship between the scholarly family and the common officials, but Qi Chou was quite afraid of the Song family, because if he really couldn't complete the payment, the Song family would have to donate some of the holes left.
After passing the Liucao Courtyard, they were about to go to Chengshi to pay a visit to Gao Chong, but they found that several heads of the Luhun Villa were talking in Weishi, and even the county magistrate was accompanying them...
~~
"If Mr. Xue needs help, I will be obliged to do so."
Song Li was very chivalrous. He patted his chest and said, "The person I admire most is Xue Lang. I just took this opportunity to learn from Xue Lang."
He learned that only Xue Bai recognized Zhang Sanniang in the entire Yanshi County, so he knew he must take advantage of this matter.
Xue Bai said: "It's natural to be able to make friends with Brother Song, but this case is not handled by me. It is now being investigated by Gao County Cheng."
"Human lives are at stake. Zhang Sanniang has already disappeared. What difference does it make between you and me, the county magistrate? We should work together to help each other."
"In that case, should I lead the search along the Luoshui River?"
Xue Bai said, turned to Lu Linghao and asked: "What does the Ming government think?"
Lu Linghao seemed to have little contact with Song Mian, but he still gave the Song family a favor, nodded, and said: "That's fine, Xue Lang will take the servants and go search together with the Song family's gentlemen."
After that, he turned around and went out, returning to Lingse.
After a while, Gao Chong came over and said: "The Ming government should not allow Xue Bai to take the opportunity to get involved in county affairs."
"You have seen the Song family's attitude. We should also put Zhang Sanniang's safety as our top priority."
Although they were both on the same boat, Gao Chong didn't like Song Mian very much and sneered: "He's just a short-sighted and selfish person."
"Let Xue Bai look for him. If he finds the person, the matter will be settled." Lu Linghao said: "This is the position of a county captain, so why do you do it? Just ask the head of the ditch to send someone to keep an eye on him. A few officers can still do it.
Is it okay to take refuge in him?"
"All right."
Gao Chong didn't care much about the officers who followed Xue Bai to look for people. After all, Li San'er, the water transport canal commander, was the real commander in Yanshi County.
Lu Linghao said again: "The collection reminder is temporarily suspended. I am afraid that all the people in the counties will have to search for it along the Yihe River. Don't let others see it."
"good."
Gao Chong responded and was about to go out when Lu Linghao suddenly asked: "By the way, what happened to Zhang Sanniang was really not the fault of someone from the head of the ditch?"
"No, we just came back from the Yellow River ferry."
"Is it possible that one of his subordinates took action without authorization?"
"Which of the saint's nieces dares?" Gao Chong said, "Don't worry, I will ask him again."
"Okay, the news about the assassination of Lishan has not passed. In these troubled times, don't cause any more trouble."
~~
Xue Bai stood in front of Wei Xie's window, watching Gao Chong leave with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.
"County lieutenant, the officers have all gathered." Xue Xin, dressed in official uniform, stepped forward to salute with a horizontal sword in hand.
"Let's go," Xue Bai said, "We'll start searching from the lower reaches of the Yiluo River and go up the river. If we can't find it on the river, Zhang Sanniang may have been kidnapped by the gangsters."
"Here."
Qi Chou agreed. He didn't care much about finding someone, but what he cared about was that Gao Xiancheng had not resumed his duty of catching bad guys today.
"By the way." Song Li followed Xue Bai and asked, "I wonder what Zhang Sanniang looks like?"
"She has just reached the age of cardamom and has not yet reached hairpins. She is about five feet two inches and has a lovely appearance."
"What's the best way to do this?" Song Li asked.
"The eyes are big and very energetic, with an oval face, some baby fat, a small mole on the left eyelid, and a very serious expression."
Song Li felt happy when he heard this. He pressed his finger and turned to look at Song Mian.
"Brother."
"You go with the county captain, and I will go back to Luhun Villa to recruit people to look for her together." Song Mian said, "We will definitely find Zhang Sanniang."
Obviously it was still early, but Song Li seemed to feel that he was about to become the son-in-law of the Zhang family and was very excited.
Wearing a large cloak, he and Xue Bai drove their horses, leading people from the south bank of the Yiluo River to the north bank, and then searched all the way to the southwest.
In this way, until evening, a group of people suddenly came towards us from the front.
"Who are you waiting for? Have you seen a young lady?"
Someone rode out, a beautiful woman wearing a robe, with a very arrogant and anxious attitude.
Xue Bai immediately drove his horse forward and asked, "The captain of Yanshi County is here. May I ask if you are from the Zhang family?"
"Xue Lang, it's been a long time." An old woman in the crowd came forward, it was Aunt Gongsun.
"Ms. Gongsun is chivalrous." Xue Bai saluted.
Aunt Gongsun sighed: "I didn't take good care of Sanniang."
The rest of the people came to greet him one after another, and they were all officials from the Longmen area who came to help find Zhang Sanniang. One of them, Xue Bai, had also met him. He was Cui Youfu, who passed the civil service examination with him at that time and was awarded the title of Lieutenant of Shou'an County.
Cui Youfu was a young and talented man. He was a Jinshi for four years in Tianbao, and he was appointed as Jiwei at a young age. However, Xue Bai's official career was smoother than him.
When they met at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the two had no friendship, but now that they met again, the two young county captains felt as if they were meeting old friends in a foreign land.
"How does Xue Langru treat this case?"
"The Yihe River in winter should not wash away people."
Cui Youfu said: "Didn't I go to find you?"
"No." Xue Bai said, "I am not familiar with Zhang Sanniang."
"That would be troublesome." Cui Youfu said, "Did you know that Yanshi County has become a den of thieves?"
"I know."
"Then Yanshi County should give the Zhang family an explanation."
"Let's look for it first." Xue Bai expressed his position on behalf of Yanshi County Office, saying: "If we can't find it, the county office will give an explanation."
Song Li looked at Cui Youfu, a little worried about him, and secretly thought that he could not let this disdainful descendant of aristocratic family steal his limelight in this matter.
The sky is getting dark.
They held torches and searched for a while, but still found nothing. In desperation, they had to go back to Yanshi County, where a steward of the Zhang family questioned Lu Linghao.
~~
Xue Bai walked through the corridor until he reached a dark, deserted corner in the southeast corner of the county office.
After a while, someone came over.
"No one saw it, right?"
"Um."
The two figures in the darkness were close to each other.
Du Jin put her hands around Xue Bai's neck and whispered in his ear: "The arrangements are in place, just take action."
"There are excuses to take action and spectators to control the situation. That's enough."
"But I'm afraid it will be difficult to finish."
"It doesn't matter. When a new official takes office, he should light up the fire first."
In fact, after not seeing each other for a few days, the fire between the two is about to start...
~~
"What's going on?"
"The manager of the Zhang family has come with many dignitaries and is at the county office, asking the county magistrate to give an explanation."
Gao Chong was writing a letter at home when he heard the words: "The person was lost in Longmen. Who should the county magistrate give an explanation for?"
"Those people in the neighboring county have always known about the secret house, and they just took advantage of it to take advantage of it."
"Didn't they gain anything?"
"Shou'an also has a new county captain..."
"Let the head of the ditch check with the Guo family to confirm." Gao Chong said, "I'll go to the county office to have a look."
He arrived at the county office all the way and saw Jiang Hai leaving in a hurry with others.
Not caring where these officers were going for the moment, he hurried to the central hall and saw that everyone was shirking their responsibilities.
"In Zhuji County, the eastern capital, Yanshi is the most chaotic place and thieves are rampant. Could it be that the thieves from Yanshi robbed Zhang Sanniang?"
"Don't talk nonsense, it's about Zhang Sanniang's reputation. But Yanshi County failed to save people downstream?"
"..."
"Everyone." Gao Chong stepped forward and said, "I think you don't need to worry too much. Something may have happened to Zhang Sanniang."
"What does Gao County Cheng mean?"
Instead, Gao Chong looked at Xue Bai and asked, "I heard that after Xue Lang became the top scholar in high school, many ladies from famous families wanted to catch their son-in-law at the Qujiang Banquet. I wonder if it was at that time that he met Zhang Sanniang?"
"That's not true."
"Why bother to hide it? It's the middle of winter and the Yihe River is dry. It's unlikely that Zhang Sanniang will be washed away. There can't be a big thief in the important area of Luoyang Capital City. Could it be that Zhang Sanniang deliberately sent someone to row a boat down the river to look for Yanshi? It’s Xue Lang.”
Xue Bai responded: "It's okay for the Prime Minister of Gao County to make unreasonable guesses, but it would be inappropriate if it ruins Zhang Sanniang's reputation or even delays the search and rescue."
"You just clearly had a secret meeting with a woman from the Zhang family in the courtyard, and you still dare to say that it wasn't the case?"
"Mr. Gao County, this is the county office, and you have to speak responsibly."
Gao Chong's purpose was not to prove that Zhang Sanniang came to find Xue Bai, but to stop everyone from being led by Xue Bai.
Therefore, he was quite bold and said: "If I dare to say it, I dare to bear it. What about you? Do you dare to act if you dare to do it?"
"OK."
"That's enough!" Lu Linghao scolded his two subordinates and said, "The more they talk, the more outrageous they become."
Gao Chong was very confident and said: "I thought that if we search Wei's house in Xue County, we will definitely find Zhang Sanniang."
He had already vaguely realized that this was a drama arranged by Xue Bai to seize power.
However, it is not yet certain to what extent Xue Bai wants to achieve it.
~~
In the courtyard behind Kofukuji Temple.
Xu Shande is checking some women brought back today.
"The one sold by Luhun Villa is worthless, take it to the back."
"yes."
"I'll take a look at the rest..."
As he spoke, Xu Shande's eyes lit up when the lantern was illuminated, and he discovered that among the rows of women there was a very outstanding cardamom girl with smart eyes, an oval face that was still childish, and a tear mole on her left eye.
What's even more rare is that her back is straight and her neck is slender, so she can obviously dance.
"Where did she come from?"
"Picked it up on the pier in the evening."
"Go check it out. Qu Shuai also said today that a person with status was lost in Luoyang..."
suddenly,
There was a shout at the front door, followed by a scream.
"What's going on? Go and see."
Xu Shande ordered the nursing staff. After listening carefully for a while, he felt that someone was making trouble, so he called another person and said, "Go and report to Commander Qu."
"Here."
"Lock these bitches up first."
"Here."
Two of Xu Shande's men drove the women back.
After walking for a while, they felt more and more that something was wrong. They looked at each other, whispered a few words, and reached out to catch the most beautiful little girl among them.
~~
"Eating dog intestines, I've long wanted to eat them here!"
The weapon in Ren Mulan's hand has been replaced by a horizontal sword.
As soon as she begged Jiang Hai, Jiang Hai gave it to her without thinking that she needed to ask the county captain about such a thing.
The lanterns under the eaves illuminated the courtyard brightly, but also made her sword feel cold. She was flexible and could run faster than anyone else. Even Jiang Hai lagged behind her.
A nurse came over and met Ren Mulan, but he didn't take her seriously at all.
"puff."
Ren Mulan slashed his waist with a single blow, and even though blood splashed all over her face, she was not afraid at all, showing a ruthlessness that belied her age.
The guard was howling on the ground, and she stabbed him with a knife, cutting off his fingers so that he could not fight back.
This shock shocked the other guards who came over, but Jiang Hai had already rushed over with his men.
Following him were not only the guys transferred from Weifenglou, but also several Yanshi officers led by Xue Xin.
At this time, all these officers were in a state of confusion, because before taking action, they had no idea what they were doing.
But it is too late to react now. Guo Yuanliang, Li Saner, Gao Chong and others will not listen to their explanation.
"Eating dog intestines."
Qi Chou cursed and followed Xue Xin inside, when he saw the slave traders in the courtyard rolling around on the ground who were robbing their loved ones.
"Let's arrest him." Qi Chou thought to himself.
Since there was no way out, he simply took out the rope and tried to arrest the person.
"Xu Shande."
Jiang Hai raised his foot and stepped on Xu Shande, who was still rolling, and grinned: "I remember your name."
"Spare me, I can give you money..."
"ha."
Jiang Hai didn't even say anything, he raised the horizontal knife and chopped it.
He actually chopped off Xu Shande's head in front of Qi Chou.
"puff!"
At the same time, Ren Mulan quickly ran to the inner courtyard.
She was familiar with the terrain and was looking for Zhang Sanniang, although she had never seen Zhang Sanniang.
Suddenly, under the moonlight, she faintly saw someone dancing. The person seemed to be holding a sword in his hand, reflecting the cold light. But it was much more beautiful than the one she and Jiang Hai were using.
"Ah...ah!"
Then there were two screams.
Ren Mulan hurriedly ran there, and when she stepped forward to take a look, she saw a little woman about her age standing there.
"Hey, you..."
The little woman turned around, threw away the knife in her hand, squatted on the ground, and burst into tears.
"Who are you?" Ren Mulan asked.
"I...my name is Zhang Shishi, I am the third in the family..."
"Found it!" Ren Mulan was overjoyed and shouted: "I found Zhang Sanniang!"
~~
County Office.
In the middle hall, Gao Chong was still testing Xue Bai's reaction.
But Xue Bai had closed his eyes and was waiting patiently for something.
"Found it!"
Gao Chong turned around and raised his lips confidently.
Sure enough, they were in Yanshi County, and Zhang Sanniang came to see Xue Bai. Xue Bai used this matter to seize power.
After these thoughts passed through his mind, he just turned to the door and saw Xue Xin walking over, covered in blood, holding a human head in his hand.
He was stunned for a moment and didn't understand how things could reach the stage of murder.
Blood dripped on the green bricks in the middle hall, and the head was held high. Gao Chong quickly recognized who died...Xu Shande.
In an instant he realized what had happened.
He underestimated Xue Bai and thought that Xue Bai wanted to reach out to the county affairs. Unexpectedly, he was met with a knife.
Destroying the secret house was a demonstration and a declaration by the new county captain.
~~
Gao Chong glared at Xue Bai fiercely, and Xue Bai also opened his eyes and gave a look that said he would never give up.
The secret house is usually safe, with only ordinary guards, allowing Xue Bai to sneak attack, but if he doesn't follow the rules, Li San'er of Yanshi County is the most terrifying person.
The two of them were not as smooth as when they were getting along with Lu Linghuo, because they knew they could not hide from each other, so they showed their sharpness in the confrontation.
"I found Zhang Sanniang!"
Following Xue Xin was Ren Mulan, supporting Zhang Sanniang who had just been rescued. Behind them were the police officers from Yanshi County.
On the contrary, Jiang Hai and the clerks who were really doing the work did not enter the court at this time, because these people did not need rewards from the court.
Now that things were safe, everyone in the Zhang family quickly hugged Zhang Sanniang to calm down and rest.
Cui Youfu crossed his hands and saluted, and asked: "How many county officials are there in Yanshi County..."
"I will explain it to Linghu Shaoyin later." Gao Chong scolded with a cold face: "It's not Captain Shou'an's turn to talk too much."
Cui Youfu did not expect Gao Chong to be so arrogant, so he smiled lightly and left.
In fact, considering Cui Youfu's situation in Shou'an County, Gao Chong really had nothing to do. He was just showing off as a member of a noble family. At this time, what he was thinking about was that Xue Bai was about to open up the situation, and he might be able to draw support. …
~~
After settling everyone down, Lu Linghao was already very worried. He did not go back to the middle hall that was full of the smell of blood, but was worried in his room.
"Mingfu."
Gao Chong strode in and said directly, "I suspect that something is wrong with Zhang Sanniang's matter. It seems like a trap set up by Xue Bai. He has started to attack us. This is a fight to death attitude. Once he takes the opportunity to complete the case first Guo Yuanliang cannot be cleansed from plundering and selling the daughter of an official."
"I know."
Lu Linghao sighed and said, "I told you a long time ago not to do taboo things, otherwise how could you be so passive?"
Gao Chong said: "What's the use of talking about this now? It's important to sort out the beginning and the end."
"Then what are you going to do? In front of everyone in the Zhang family, the county officials are going to get rid of him now?"
With Gao Chong's arrogance, he was a little helpless about this, and finally smiled slightly and said: "It doesn't matter if you let him go for a few days, I can afford to wait."
