In a elm forest five miles south of the county town, a group of men were resting their horses at the foot of a slope. Someone was standing guard on the slope. Suddenly, the man on guard turned around and shouted happily: "Second Master is back."
The men all got up and climbed up the slope. Not long after, a man came over on horseback. It was Chen He who went to the county government to report the crime. When the men saw Chen He, they all shouted: "Second Master."
At this time, Chen He no longer had the cowardly businessman spirit in the county government. He looked tough. He took out a bag of silver coins from his horse bag and threw it over. He said with a bold smile: "I took some autumn wind from the government's hands and took it to share."
Alright."
A horse-faced man caught the bag of silver coins, weighed it in his hand, and then threw it to other men to grab, and asked: "Second Master, is everything going well?"
Chen He turned over and dismounted, and said with a smile: "The news has been released. If there is any movement here in Yongcheng, we can take action."
The horse-faced man said with confusion on his face: "Second Master, why should we abandon the near and seek the far away? Let's go to Zhecheng instead of Yongcheng."
Chen He glanced at him, took out the water bottle from the horse bag, drank a few big sips, wiped his mouth and said: "You know nothing, this is the art of war, the imaginary is real, the real is imaginary, forget it, and you
He said that he was playing the harp to a cow, and after I take a break, we will go to Zhecheng."
The men responded loudly, and the horse-faced man also went to divide the ocean, shouting: "Leave some for me."
…
Autumn clothes were thickening, but the weather was hotter than summer days. Ding Zuopeng stayed in the study all day to enjoy the coolness and cool down, and painted a few Western paintings in a leisurely manner. Suddenly, the housekeeper sent a greeting card: "Master, Secretary General of the County Government
He Ruiliang asks to see you."
Ding Zuopeng put down his painting brush and wondered for a moment why He Ruiliang came to visit because he and Mei Changyuan were at odds with each other. He muttered: "Take him to the living room to wait for me."
In the living room, He Ruiliang had just sat down and picked up tea when he saw Ding Zuopeng walking in as soon as the curtain was raised. He quickly stood up and cupped his hands and said: "President Ding, please forgive me for disturbing you."
"Please sit down!"
Ding Zuopeng returned the gift with his hand. He was a guest. He didn't show off his expression and said calmly: "Secretary-General He, I don't go to the Three Treasures Hall if you have nothing to do. Do you want to see me if you have anything to do?"
He Ruiliang told everything. Ding Zuopeng couldn't help but feel shuddered when he heard the name of Longshan Ji. He secretly wondered why the evil star Longshan Ji was targeting Yongcheng. Although he was panicked in his heart, his face remained calm.
Asked: "Where is the person who brought the news?"
He Ruiliang said: "Already gone."
Ding Zuopeng frowned. He had left without any evidence. Who knew whether the news about Longshan Ji's intruder was true or false? Besides, he hadn't heard anything about it. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel cautious. He looked at He Ruiliang with full eyes.
Suspicions arose, and I secretly thought that this news was probably a deception trick released by Mei Changyuan. I don't know what conspiracy was behind it, so I had to be careful.
"Haha, the authenticity of this news needs to be confirmed. We cannot act like we are facing a formidable enemy just because someone reported it." Ding Zuopeng said calmly.
He Ruiliang said with a smile: "President Ding is right, but the banditry is unpredictable. I think it is better to believe that it exists than to believe that it does not exist. The county magistrate has signed an anti-bandit order and sent it to every village and town. The militia also invited Ding Hui
Please supervise me and be on guard early."
"That's for sure." Ding Zuopeng nodded.
"Now that I have informed President Ding about this matter, I will take my leave." He Ruiliang said not wanting to stay in Ding's house for any longer, so he said goodbye.
"Why leave in a hurry? I still have something to say to Secretary-General He." Ding Zuopeng said with a smile.
He Ruiliang had no choice but to sit down and asked curiously: "What other instructions does President Ding have?"
Ding Zuopeng said with a straight face: "Secretary-General He, I have to say something to you. Ever since the county magistrate married a concubine, he has been too neglectful of government affairs. Many people say that they can't see the county magistrate all day long. How can this be possible?
Okay, you'd better advise the county magistrate not to be too obsessed with bed, but to put government affairs first."
He Ruiliang heard the harsh words and laughed a few times to cover up the embarrassment on his face: "The county magistrate is reclusive, but his government affairs have not been delayed at all..."
Ding Zuopeng waved his hand and said: "You are all sensible people, so don't cover up the shame of the county magistrate. Who doesn't know that you are in charge of the county government now? Don't worry, I have no intention of interfering. I just want to trouble Secretary He to tell the county magistrate."
, If you don’t want others to know, don’t do anything except yourself!”
He Ruiliang was startled. The last sentence was about naming the person. He frowned and said, "President Ding, what do you mean?"
"What's the meaning?"
Ding Zuopeng sneered and said, "You'd better go back and ask the county magistrate." After that, without waiting for He Ruiliang to speak again, he said to the steward who was standing aside: "Steward Liu, see the guests off."
"Secretary-General He, I'm tired, please come over here!" Butler Liu said with a smile.
He Ruiliang had no choice but to say goodbye, left Ding's mansion and returned to the county government office, where he immediately reported to Mei Changyuan. After hearing Ding Zuopeng's words about not doing anything except yourself, Mei Changyuan suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and was speechless.
He Ruiliang saw something was wrong and said hurriedly: "County Magistrate, what's wrong?"
Mei Changyuan's face turned pale: "It's okay, it's okay."
He Ruiliang knew that Mei Changyuan must be hiding something from him, so he sighed and said: "County Magistrate, Ding Zuopeng won't say this for no reason. You have to be careful in everything."
Mei Changyuan nodded thoughtfully and waved for He Ruiliang to go down first.
After He Ruiliang left, Mei Changyuan walked up and down with an ugly face, wondering what Ding Zuopeng was thinking when he said this. Could it be that he already knew his plot? It was impossible. This matter had always been very secret, and even He Ruiliang didn't know about it.
He paced back and forth for half an hour, then called a servant and ordered him to go to a powder shop to buy a box of rouge for his concubine.
The servant left the county government office and went straight to the cosmetics store Mei Changyuan told him to buy a box of rouge.
The servant didn't notice that there were several people following him. Ever since he entered the cosmetics store, someone had been monitoring the front and back doors of the cosmetics store.
Xu Ji Rouge Shop, not long after the county magistrate's servant left, a waiter came out of the back door and walked quietly to Nanguan Street. Behind him, a man followed closely.
The waiter arrived at Nanguan Street and entered a paper-making shop with white lanterns hung there. He stayed there for half an hour before coming out.
The man who was being followed saw this scene and quickly reported it to Ding Zuopeng. Finally, the information reached Ding Zuopeng's desk.
"I finally caught the fox's tail!"
Ding Zuopeng's eyes flashed. Although he suspected that Mei Changyuan and Hong Qiang would collude, he had no real evidence. Therefore, when He Ruiliang came today, he deliberately lied. As expected, Mei Changyuan soon exposed his lies. He couldn't help but
He sneered in his heart, a little proud of his own plan, and concluded that Mei Changyuan's daughter was kidnapped by the Red Spear Society a few days ago must be related to Mei Changyuan. At this time, new and old hatreds were added together, and he suddenly felt murderous intention in his heart, and said loudly
: "Check for me the origins of Xu Ji Rouge Shop and this paper-making shop. If you find out that there are any remnants of the Red Spear Guild inside, report it to me immediately."
