The old servant put the food and wine on the table. Wei Wuque invited Wang Xian to take a seat and then invited Xianyun to take a seat.
Xianyun shook his head and ignored him.
"Ignore him," Wang Xian said with a smile, "He doesn't drink."
The two started drinking together, and after a few drinks, Wei Wuque seemed to gain courage, and said a little shyly: "Actually, Xiaosheng came to Pujiang this time for your sister. The so-called Guan Guan Jujiu, in the River Continent, the fair lady,
A gentleman likes to be patient. He doesn't get what he wants, and he sleeps hard thinking about it..."
"It's a pity that I can't make the decision..." Wang Xian smiled bitterly, thinking that the person who could make the decision was standing behind him.
"That is, marriage requires the order of the parents." Wei Wuwei nodded: "But I have to clear up my sister's misunderstanding about me first, right, brother?"
"Who is your brother?" Wang Xian almost sprayed his face with a sip of wine.
"Sir, if I marry your younger sister, wouldn't I be your brother-in-law, and wouldn't you be my brother?" Wei Wuque said boldly.
"Wait a minute, you don't want to be beaten into a pig's head again, so you'd better stop mentioning this." Wang Xian felt a chill behind him. It was obvious that Xianyun didn't want others to make fun of Lingxiao's marriage. He said seriously: "My sister is still here.
Xiao, it’s too early to talk about marriage now.”
"No matter how young you are, you have to be thirteen or fourteen. Now that I have haircuts, I can't do it if I don't worry." Wei Wuque said anxiously: "Brother may not know me. Let me introduce myself. My family is in Ningbo. It is considered a famous family and a scholarly family...
"
"My sister can't read."
"Uh..." Wei Wuque quickly changed his words: "I just want to find someone who can't read.
Wang Xian looked at Xianyun and refused to take it off if it got stained.
After drinking for a while, we went to the Yamen. I thought that I was out of options. This guy was like a plaster. Wang Xian said that he had official business in the afternoon, so he and Xianyun returned.
Returning to Xiya, Xianyun's jade-like face turned livid: "With your wisdom, you can completely make him hopeless."
"I really have no choice..." Wang Xian's argument was weak, so he had to change his words: "What are you afraid of? Who can take advantage of Lingxiao? That kid is lucky if he doesn't get beaten to death by her."
"Then there's no need for you to make fun of my sister!" Xianyun said angrily.
"I'm not joking." Wang Xian said sternly: "I'm just following the plan."
"Use the trick?" Xian Yun said in his heart, where did you get so many winding intestines?
"That's right." Wang Xian asked Xianyun, "Do you believe what that kid said?"
"I don't believe it." Xianyun shook his head and said, "But I followed your instructions and asked Mr. Hu's people to investigate. There is indeed a Wei family in Ningbo Mansion, and there is also a student named Wei Wuque in the Mansion School."
"These can all be faked. As long as people dare to report them, they are not afraid of you going to investigate." Wang Xian whispered: "I suspect that this kid is from the Ming Cult."
"From the Ming Cult?"
"When I rounded up the Ming Cultists in Fuyang, this kid was present. When I came to Pujiang to take office, this kid was the first one I met. Now he has simply settled in Pujiang..." Wang Xian said solemnly: "His
His whereabouts are so abnormal, there must be a monster out of the ordinary!
"Your inferences are always so arbitrary." Xianyun said with a bitter smile.
"Thinking the worst of others won't do you any harm." Wang Xian said slowly: "He is approaching me, and he probably has the same purpose as you being by my side."
"You mean, he is also looking for that person?" Xianyun said in surprise.
"I'm just guessing." Wang Youxian said softly: "No matter what, he will obey my instructions. I have a fishing plan, but I just haven't decided who to use as bait. Now that this guy shows up, it's really...
It could not be better……"
The next day, family members of the missing persons reported to Xiya.
The first ones to come were the wife and children of the woodcutter Tian Wu. Tian Wu had been missing for the longest time and they had long since thought that he would survive. Wang Xian asked them about the circumstances before and after Tian Wu disappeared, including who helped him.
After searching and waiting, they issued a document to cancel their household registration and ordered someone to take them to the household to process it.
After that, family members arrived one after another, and Wang Xian asked them one by one. However, the stories given by these people were very different. They all said that they disappeared without warning, and there was no news at all. It was not until he met the family of the tea merchant Zheng Mai that Wang Xian got the answer.
Some unusual information...
Zheng Mai's eldest son recalled: 'My family's tea is basically sold in this county, and my family is the largest customer. Every year, my father would go to Zhengzhai Town to collect accounts.
You were having a good time. You even said some strange things to me..."
"What are you talking about?" Wang Xian waved his hand covertly, and Xianyun and Lingxiao monitored the inside and outside of the house to prevent anyone from eavesdropping.
"He said that the Zheng family was going to be destroyed, and he asked me to sell the tea garden quickly and take my family to leave Pujiang to avoid disaster." Zheng Mai's son turned pale and said, "I asked him what happened, but he didn't say a word.
, just curled up on the bed, covered with two quilts, and his teeth were chattering. I asked him what was wrong, and he said that he wanted to report to the government. Only in this way can the whole family be saved. Then he shook his head and said no, there are tens of thousands of lives...he
He kept repeating these words as if he was crazy, and then got up before dawn on New Year's Day, saying he was going to the tea garden to do a whipping, but he never came back."
"Have you said these words to anyone else?" Wang Xian has a good memory and knows that there is no such record in the file.
"No." Zheng Mai's son shook his head.
"Why?"
"I can't say these things to my family, otherwise they will think I'm crazy too. The Zheng family is the first family in the south of the Yangtze River that was granted the title of Taizu, and they didn't rebel. How could they be exterminated?" Zheng Mai's son said:
"My lord, you have to close the case anyway. If I don't say anything, I won't have a chance, so I'll just let it out."
"Well," Wang Xian nodded and said, "After your father disappeared, who held the funeral?"
"Of course it's our family." Zheng Maitama said, "Although we are from a branch, weddings and funerals are all done by members of our family."
"Did they also help pack up your father's belongings?"
"I didn't pay attention to this, I guess." Zheng Mai said uncertainly: "But when you handed it to me, there was indeed nothing missing."
"Okay." Wang Xian nodded and said, "You can go through the formalities."
"Sir," Zheng Mai stood up and said without moving his feet: "Do you think it is possible that my father was killed?"
"Of course it's possible, but since you have this question, why didn't you mention it earlier?" Wang Xian said expressionlessly.
"My uncles and elders all said it's impossible." Zheng Mai said, "They said if someone was killed, would there be any trace of a struggle in the tea garden?"
"It doesn't have to be in the tea garden. There is no necessary connection between the two." Wang Xian took back the document and said: "If you want to pursue it further, the government will still do its best."
Zheng Mai thought for a long time, almost biting his lower lip. Fang said dejectedly: "Forget it, let's not check anymore, just do what the uncles and uncles say..."
"Okay." Wang Xian handed him the document again and said, "Go ahead."
The last one to arrive was Wu Shaoyuan's relative. In addition to his old mother, there was also an elegant young woman dressed in plain clothes and with a sad face. Zheng Yan also accompanied his daughter, but the government had government rules and only allowed those related to When people were waiting to go in, he had to wait outside.
Because the interviews were conducted one by one, Wang Xian met Wu Shaoyuan's mother first. When she mentioned her missing son, the old man burst into tears. Wang Xian asked her if she was willing to close the case, but she shed tears but refused to answer.
"Old man, why did you come here without thinking about it?" Wang Xian has always been patient with such poor old people.
"I've thought about it," the old woman said with tears streaming down her face: "Let's close the case."
"But who is coercing you?" Wang Xian said sharply: "There is no need to worry, speak up and I will make the decision for you."
"No one is coercing me, even if I have already agreed to my in-laws..." The old woman said with tears: "My son has married into the Zheng family, and his life and death are all arranged by his family. I can only obey." She covered her chest and said in mourning: "Idiot, why do you insist on marrying into the Zheng family? Nowadays, even life and death are decided by others... Your mother can't agree to it or not.
"Why did your son get married?" Wang Xian saw that the old woman's speech and behavior did not look like she came from a poor family.
"Isn't it an injustice?" the old woman said with tears: "That year during the Qingming Festival, my son saw the eldest daughter of the Zheng family who was out for an outing. He became obsessed with it for some reason, to the point of not eating or drinking. I had no choice but to force myself. Fortunately, the daughter of the Zheng family does not look at appearance or wealth when choosing a husband. She only looks at how the person is. But in recent years, she has been evil and has only allowed marriage, otherwise there will be no discussion. "
"My wife died early, and I naturally didn't want him to be my wife. But seeing that he didn't think about food and drink every day, he was getting thinner and thinner. I was afraid that he would have some problems, so I had to agree." The old woman continued nagging. : "My daughter-in-law is very reasonable after marriage. She often visits me with my son, which is very comforting..."
"What did your son do originally?" Wang Xian had to interrupt the old man's memory.
"My son has been studying since he was a child. He has taken the scholar exam several times, but he has never passed the exam..." the old woman sighed.
"What does your family mainly rely on to support his education?" Wang Xian asked again. The reason why he asked this question was because studying is a costly business, and ordinary orphans and widowed mothers cannot afford it.
"My late husband left thirty acres of thin farmland, which was enough for my mother and son to live in, but studying was absolutely impossible." Mentioning her son's glorious past, the old woman said with a radiant face: "Later, he left dozens of acres of land for rent. The land was sold, and I almost severed ties with him at that time. Who knew that my son started a business with this little capital, and the business became bigger and bigger..." He pointed outside and said: "There are several of my family on Yaqian Street. In addition to living expenses, the rent earned from a shop can barely support my son’s education.”
"What did Shaoyuan's father do originally?" Wang Xian nodded and asked again.
"My husband used to be the grain chief of this county." The old woman said, "Later he was forced to give it to the Zheng family. After that, he lived on the 30 acres of thin farmland given by the Zheng family..."
"So there is still this connection?" Wang Xian nodded and said: "Thank you for your hard work, old lady. Please go down for tea and rest first."
Wait for the old man to go down.
The young woman wearing a mourning hat came in and saluted Wang Xian, but he was stunned for a moment.