The weather was gloomy, Xiao Chen and others walked out of the house and walked to another house.
"You guys go check inside the house over there first." Xiao Chen greeted and stood in front of the carriage.
Although this carriage looks slightly more luxurious than ordinary carriages, it is much inferior to this yard.
The curtains on the carriage are very bright in color, and it looks like it is a carriage for women.
However, according to Shopkeeper Li's family background, he should no longer be so ostentatious. Why would his wife ride in such a brightly colored carriage?
The wooden wheels of the carriage were already covered with mud, leaving two yellow mud ruts on the clean white marble ground in the yard.
Normally, the servants in the yard would have cleaned up the ruts on the ground. But it was different today. All the servants had to cooperate with Xiao Chen's inspection and stood still.
"Hey, why is there still sand on this rivet?" Xiao Chen squatted down and stared at a bright rivet on the wheel of the car.
Next to the rivet, there was a piece of sand the size of a finger.
It stands to reason that the city of Gu'an is full of yellow mud, not sand. Could it be that shopkeeper Li's wife is not just wandering around the city, but has come back from outside the city?
Did she send something out of town?
Thinking of this, Xiao Chen glanced at the house that Duan Tianming and others went to search, then turned and walked towards the hall where shopkeeper Li and his wife were sitting.
In the hall, shopkeeper Li sat on the left side of the table, and his wife sat on the right.
Two cups of hot tea were placed in front of the two of them. It was obvious that the two of them had been talking for a while before Xiao Chen came in.
"Is the search completed, sir?" Shopkeeper Li stood up quickly when he saw Xiao Chen entering, greeting him with a smile on his pale face.
"No, brothers are still busy." Xiao Chen smiled and sat down on a chair casually.
Shopkeeper Li's wife seemed to dislike Xiao Chen when she saw him. She stood up and walked towards the back room.
"Wait a minute, madam." Xiao Chen said softly with a smile.
"If you want to check, you can do it as long as I want to hide away." The woman's words were very unfriendly, and she seemed to hate seeing Xiao Chen from the bottom of her heart.
Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, and the smile on his face disappeared instantly.
"I am here to handle the case, and the others can only cooperate. I also hope that Madam will pay attention to her words and never let any trouble come out of her mouth." Cold words slowly sounded in the hall.
Seeing the change in Xiao Chen's attitude, shopkeeper Li stood up hurriedly, bowed slightly and nodded towards Xiao Chen, and walked to the woman: "The official is handling the case, and we people must cooperate. Since the official has something to ask you,
Just answer truthfully, why are you saying these nonsense?"
At the same time, from an angle that Xiao Chen couldn't see, he touched the woman's forearm with his finger and blinked at the same time.
"If you have anything to say, sir, just ask." The woman's words softened, she turned around and sat down on the chair casually.
It was as if he was not facing someone from the imperial court, but his own servants.
"Madam, did you just come back from outside?" Xiao Chen asked.
"yes."
"Where have you gone?"
"On the street."
"Have you not left Gu'an City?"
"No."
Xiao Chen stood up and took a few steps forward. He stopped when he was three feet away from the woman. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and there was an indescribable smile on his face.
"May Madam know my identity?"
"I know, the people in charge of the case are from the government."
"Madam, do you know that when facing the government when handling a case, lying is equivalent to covering up? Once the lie is exposed, I have the right to take you down directly?" Xiao Chen's eyes curved into two crescents, and his tone became
More peaceful.
Hearing Xiao Chen say this and seeing his harmless expression appear, Shopkeeper Li on the side became even paler as if he was facing a powerful enemy.
"Madam, where have you been? Talk to the official."
Seeing the change in Xiao Chen's expression, the woman seemed to feel a bit of pressure and rolled her eyes a few times: "I took two maids with me to go outside the city."
"What are you doing outside the city?"
"After spending a whole winter in Gu'an, we went out to see the scenery and take a breath of fresh air as the spring blossomed." The woman said lightly.
"So it's an outing? But for outing, you have to find a time when the weather is good. There is mud everywhere, and the grass is full of rain. Did Madam go out on a carriage?" Xiao Chen smiled.
stand up.
This person really didn't cry until he saw the coffin. He was full of lies because he couldn't tell.
"We went to the Lugou River to see the water?" the woman said after thinking for a while.
"River water?" Xiao Chen was startled.
What’s so interesting about that murky water in the Marco Polo River?
"I like big rivers, but the water in the Marco Polo River is not big. It rained a few days ago, and the water in the Marco Polo River will definitely rise. So, early in the morning, I took my maid to go to the Marco Polo River to see the water."
Looking forward, it seemed as if the yellow muddy water rolling in the Marco Polo River was right in front of me after the rain.
"Madam, you are so interested." Xiao Chen chuckled.
Even for men, the scenery they like is only famous mountains and rivers, which are all static beauty.
But Mrs. Li, the shopkeeper in front of me, likes the rolling water of the river. I really don't agree with this kind of aesthetic.
"Are you done asking? I'm going to go into the house now?" The woman looked straight in the eyes, without even looking at Xiao Chen, and said calmly.
"No." Xiao Chen also said coldly.
I came to handle the case myself, and the other party's one-sided attitude, not to mention that I got nothing today, was not in a good mood. Just facing the people handling the case from the government, this impatient tone was enough to win the case on the spot.
If it weren't for the fact that you are a female prostitute and don't have the same level of experience as you, Xiao Chen would have shouted loudly.
"Please continue to ask."
Pointing to the carriage outside, Xiao Chen said: "Is this carriage the Li family's carriage?"
"no."
"Oh?!" Xiao Chen couldn't help but was startled again.
He thought that without a few words, the other party would definitely say that this carriage was his. Unexpectedly, she would admit so quickly that the carriage was not his.
"Then where does this carriage come from?"
"I bought it outside and decorated it randomly." The woman said calmly.
"Haha," Xiao Chen laughed, "Such a luxurious courtyard doesn't even have a horse-drawn carriage. Do you still need to buy one on the street temporarily?"
"Of course the Li family has a carriage, but the master has always allowed me to use it." The woman said, looking sideways at Shopkeeper Li on the side, with a faint hint of resentment in her eyes.
Hearing what the woman said, Mr. Li let out a long sigh: "Madam, please go back and rest. I will explain this matter to the officer."
The woman ignored Shopkeeper Li, but looked at Xiao Chen: "My lord, my husband will answer the question for me. Can I leave first?"
"Yeah." Xiao Chen nodded.
For some reason, he seemed to find a trace of tears in the woman's eyes at the moment she looked at him.
Just now, he spoke in a condescending and arrogant tone, but at this moment, there were tears in his eyes. Could it be that the rolling water of the Marco Polo River has a sad memory for this person?
"Thank you, Lord." The woman stood up, moved her steps, and slowly walked into the back hall.
As for shopkeeper Li, when he saw the woman walking into the back hall, he raised his fists and bowed deeply to Xiao Chen: "Thank you, sir, for your tolerance."
"No problem." Xiao Chen waved his hand.
He understood that Shopkeeper Li's deep bow was a thank you for letting his wife go.
Today, no matter if it were anyone else, given the woman's attitude, she would have been shackled and taken away without saying a word.
Because the case he had to handle was not just Wei Liang, the magistrate of Gu'an County, who was attacked, so he didn't want to cause trouble and just randomly target anyone.
However, this behavior made Shopkeeper Li feel a little grateful.
Shopkeeper Li personally poured a bowl of hot tea for Xiao Chen and sat down next to Xiao Chen.
"The matter of Madam going to Lugou River should be our family matter, and we shouldn't mention it to the official. But since the official asked about it, I will explain it to him." Shopkeeper Li said softly.
"Family matters?"
"Yes." Shopkeeper Li nodded, "Madam's father, my father-in-law, was chased by thieves to the Lugou River outside the city. In order not to fall into the hands of the thieves, he threw himself into the river."
