A burst of bird chirping woke up Wei Qi, who was sleeping soundly.
The kang next to it was already empty.
Last night, the two brothers lay on the same bed and chatted beautifully all night.
"Brother must have gone to buy wine and meat. I really don't know what he used to buy these things." Wei Qi smiled, took out a banknote from his arms and stuffed it under the mattress against the wall.
Slowly got off the kang.
Looking at the gloomy weather, it should rain again today.
Don't hurry and stay with your elder brother for a few more days. Wei Qi thought to himself.
"Quick, get out of the way." There was a rush of shouts and footsteps outside the house.
Wei Qi was startled. Is the county government office so busy this early in the morning?
Thinking in his mind, he walked towards the door, wanting to see what happened in the county government office in Gu'an.
Before he could reach the door, several men dressed as government servants had already hurried in.
The man in the front carries a person on his back.
"Brother? What's wrong with my eldest brother?" Wei Qi rushed forward with a single stride.
Besides my eldest brother, who else in Gu'an County would wear this dirty official uniform of a county magistrate.
Seeing Wei Qi rushing over, the government servant who was carrying Wei Liang hurriedly shouted: "Give me a hand and put the magistrate on the kang."
Without saying a word, Wei Qi stepped forward and hugged Wei Liang in his arms.
The yamen servant slowly turned around, held Wei Liang's legs, and the two of them carried him and placed him on the earthen bed in the room.
Wei Liang turned over, his face and entire chest were stained red with blood. There was a several-inch-long crack on his forehead, with blood still pouring out.
Without bothering to ask about the situation, Wei Qi tore off the hem of his own clothes, balled it up several times, and covered Wei Liang's head.
Then he looked at the government servants standing at the door: "Go quickly, go and call the doctor."
Hearing Wei Qi's shouts, the government officials who seemed to have been stunned realized what they were doing, turned around and ran out of the county government compound quickly.
Pressing the wound on Wei Liang's head with one hand, Wei Qi shook Wei Liang's arm: "Brother, hold on, don't fall asleep, don't fall asleep."
"Sir, what's wrong with you?" At the door of the room, Wei Liang's wife rushed in and dropped the basket in her hand to the ground. Half of the basket of wild vegetables also dropped with a small hoe in the center of the room.
"You were fine when you left in the morning. Why did you become like this all of a sudden? What happened to you?" My wife cried loudly, holding Wei Liang's hands and shaking them vigorously.
There was great chaos in the county government office.
Two hours later, the doctor finally cleaned and bandaged Wei Liang's wound quickly.
I washed my hands in the basin next to me, then picked up the wooden boxes containing various herbs and items, and prepared to leave.
Wei Qi hurriedly walked forward and bowed slightly: "Sir, how much does your consultation cost? I will give it to you now to avoid having to send it to you later."
"Silver?" The doctor stopped and looked up at Wei Qi, "This gentleman is very unfamiliar, isn't he from Gu'an?"
"I am the younger brother of Wei Zhi County. I just arrived in Gu'an yesterday." Wei Qi explained hurriedly.
"Oh." The doctor nodded, "I have been practicing medicine all my life, and I rarely do anything without charging a consultation fee. But I will never collect the consultation fees from Wei Zhixian County. Mr. Wei is really our father-in-law in Gu'an, and in my heart
What I pretend to be is all the affairs of the people of Gu'an. Now that he has encountered an unexpected incident, it is my honor to be able to contribute a little to him. Don't mention the consultation fee again."
"But, sir." Wei Qi wanted to say something else.
"No need to say more, I will come again tomorrow to change Mr. Wei's dressing and say goodbye." The doctor made a bow with his fists and left resolutely.
Wei Liang's wife was already crying like a tearful person. She was holding wet handkerchiefs one by one and wiping the blood stains on Wei Liang's clothes over and over again.
Wei Liang, on the other hand, was lying quietly on the kang, motionless as if he was asleep.
The doctor just said that the wound on Wei Liang's head was caused by a blunt instrument. Although the blood was heavy, it was not the most fatal.
What was scary was that this heavy blow shattered Wei Liang's brain.
If Wei Liang still can't wake up after three days, he may never wake up again in his life.
After sending the doctor away, Wei Qi's face turned gloomy and terrifying.
The eldest brother is the magistrate of Gu'an County, and he loves the people like a son. Ordinary people would definitely not do such a terrible thing to him.
In addition, my eldest brother has a gentle personality, so he is less likely to conflict with others early in the morning.
This incident must have been premeditated together.
"Did you go out with my brother?" Wei Qi looked at the government servant who just came back with Wei Liang on his back and asked slowly.
"Yes, I went out with Mr. Wei." The yamen servant may have been feeling sad and was sobbing a little.
"What on earth is going on? Where are the county police officers? Such a big thing happened to the magistrate, why can't even one of the police officers be seen?" Wei Qi asked coldly.
If you can't even protect your own county magistrate, what's the use of these policemen?
"We don't have any police officers in Gu'an County," the Yamen servant said in a low voice.
"There are no arrests?" Wei Qi said in disbelief.
There are no police officers in the dignified county government. When did the Ming Dynasty save money and streamline the organization so much?
"Gu'an is poor and has a small population. We have never set up a police force. If anything happens, it will be investigated and dealt with by people from the Zhuozhou Prefecture Government Office. Do you want to report this matter immediately?" the officer asked in a low voice.
"Of course I have to report it. If this matter is not investigated to the bottom of the matter, will the imperial court still have any dignity? Where is the county magistrate? Let him report the matter to Zhuozhou immediately." Wei Qi said a little anxiously.
Although he holds the position of Qianhu, he has no right to investigate the case here. If he wants to avenge his eldest brother and find the murderer, he must send people from Zhuozhou to investigate.
"When the doctor was holding the wound just now, the county magistrate was already drafting an official document and preparing to submit it." The Yamen servant hurriedly replied.
"Alas..." Wei Qi let out a long breath and sat next to Wei Liang.
Although I really want to know why my eldest brother is like this, but here, I am just a common person. Even if the other person is just a government servant, he is still a member of the public family, and it is not his turn to point fingers and ask questions.
Suddenly, Wei Qi's heart lit up.
Aren't you going to find the captain in purple clothes to get a job? As the eldest brother is an official of the imperial court, he was suddenly attacked secretly. This matter should be within the scope of Dongchang's investigation, right?
If Dongchang can handle this matter, he can definitely get to the bottom of it and bring justice to the elder brother.
Thinking of this, Wei Qi slowly stood up and looked at his sister-in-law, who was sitting at the end of the kang and sobbing softly: "Sister-in-law, please take good care of my brother for a few days, and I will go and help him find the murderer."
"I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you not to take a job in Gu'an? If something happens to you again because of this, you will be sad when you wake up." Wei Liang's wife stood up and said helplessly.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I won't investigate on my own. Just take good care of my brother these days." After saying that, Wei Qi took out the banknote from his arms and gently placed it beside the kang.
My sister-in-law will use the money first. If it's not enough, you can tell me later."
The dignified wife of the county magistrate actually went out to dig wild vegetables with a basket. Wei Qi would not believe that his eldest brother still had money at home.
Now, the eldest brother is injured and needs money both inside and outside. Wei Qi doesn't want to embarrass a Taoist family because of this.
"There is still some money at home. If I accept this banknote, your elder brother will definitely blame me when he wakes up." Wei Liang's wife picked up the banknote and was about to refuse.
"We are one family, let's not talk about two families. My sister-in-law will keep this money." Wei Qi looked at the yamen servant again: "In the past few days, arrange a few more people to guard the eldest brother. If anything happens, it's okay.
help."
"Well. We are all very sad that the master has become like this. Don't worry, we will always be with the master." The Yamen servant said softly.
Wei Qi stood up, walked to the door, picked up the coir raincoat he had been handed when he came from behind the door and put it on his body, and then picked up the bamboo hat and put it on his head.
He glanced at Wei Liang who was lying on the kang, turned his head and walked out of the door.
In the large courtyard under the city wall, shopkeeper Li put his hands behind his back and stared in the direction of the inner courtyard with a gloomy face.
"Master, should we go and see Weizhi County?" A "waiter" said softly next to him.
"Don't look at it. Hu Yanqing's subordinates are doing things. Weizhi County may be in trouble this time. After this incident, I must report it to Mr. Wang. From now on, Hu Yanqing is not welcome to enter Gu'an City."
Shopkeeper Li's hands behind his back were clenched tightly into fists.
