In Lantian County, until dark, there was still no movement from the county government office.
"It seems that our work has been in vain today." A captain said in a low voice.
Duan Tianming did not answer, but looked at the shopkeeper at the counter: "Shopkeeper, when will your tavern close?"
Hearing the question, the shopkeeper hurriedly raised his head and said with a smile: "Only when the sun sets, people have time to come out and drink. My pub usually closes in the middle of the night."
"That's good, let's sit down again. Just like the soju we had before, we'll serve another jar. Also, we'll serve a plate of fried peanuts." Duan Tianming's eyes were fixed on the gate of the county government office.
.
A lawsuit involving human lives cannot be handled quietly like this. More or less, there should be some movement from the county government. We sat there until the tavern closed. If there is still no movement, it means that everyone has really gone.
Went to Xi'an Prefecture.
No matter what, this murder case can still implicate Ma Yunshan a little bit. As long as it is unfavorable to the other party and a few clues can be caught, it is a clue.
"Okay, wait a moment objectively." The shopkeeper responded, walked out from the counter, and walked towards the kitchen in the back room.
In a short time, he walked up with a jar of soju in his right hand and a plate of peanuts in his left hand. He put it on the table and said with a smile: "Please use it, sir."
Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Duan Tianming stopped him: "Shopkeeper, I want to ask you something."
"If you have anything to ask, please ask. As long as I know, I will tell you." Turning back and standing still, the shopkeeper bowed slightly, like a waiter, and looked at Duan Tianming respectfully.
"In our Lantian County, the court hearing of cases is right across the street from the county government office?"
"Sir, you have a case to appeal?" the shopkeeper asked in return.
"No, no." Duan Tianming hurriedly waved his hand, "We came all the way to Lantian just to buy some jade articles. But as we are unfamiliar with the place, we are worried about meeting unscrupulous merchants. Just ask around and if there is a dispute,
Can I ask for justice at the county government office?"
"It turns out that the guest officer is a jade dealer." The shopkeeper laughed, "Our main source of income in Lantian is jade. The county government attaches great importance to this industry. It not only supports it, but also arranges special personnel to supervise the market. As the guest officer said
There is no room for survival in the jade market of Lantian County for those kind of unscrupulous merchants."
"This is best. I'm just asking casually. However, if there is a dispute, will the case be heard in the county office across the street?" Duan Tianming then asked.
"Yes, all cases in Lantian are tried in the county government." The shopkeeper replied with a smile.
"Are there no other places to try cases?"
"I don't know about other places. In Lantian County, the only place where cases are tried is the county government office." The shopkeeper raised his hand and pointed to the opposite side, "Did you see that closed door? If you really met me, sir,
Unfair treatment, this is the place where you can seek justice."
Duan Tianming looked in the direction of the shopkeeper's finger and nodded gratefully: "Thank you, shopkeeper. I'm just asking casually. I just hope everything goes well and I don't meet any unscrupulous merchants."
"Okay, I hope everything goes well, sir. If there is nothing else, I will go and get busy."
"Shopkeeper, go get busy." Duan Tianming nodded towards the other party.
Lantian Street at night is completely different from that during the day. Wave after wave of customers completely fill the tables in the pub.
The sounds of fist pumps, toasts, and the occasional grumble vented over wine filled the ears of the three of them.
No matter how noisy the people next to them were, the three of them drank soju slowly, occasionally picked up peanuts with chopsticks, and kept their attention on the gate of the county government opposite.
"A carriage came and stopped at the gate of the county government office." the school captain said in a low voice.
After hearing this, Duan Tianming put down his chopsticks and looked towards the opposite side with the corner of his eyes.
A man jumped out of the carriage and patted the county government door a few times.
The door opened, and a head appeared inside. He looked around, said something to the visitor, and hurriedly closed the door.
The man turned around, jumped on the carriage, and walked forward slowly.
In the middle of the night, a carriage from the county government came to visit, which was obviously unusual.
"Pay the bill and follow the carriage." As soon as he finished speaking, Duan Tianming had already stood up and rushed out of the tavern door.
The two captains were startled and hurriedly called the shopkeeper to come over and pay the bill.
This carriage is slightly longer than an ordinary carriage, and the awning on it is made of canvas. It looks like it is a carriage that wealthy families often use to pull things.
As if it was not in a hurry, the carriage slowly circled the street and then circled back to the county government gate.
However, this time, he did not stop at all, but walked along the alley next to the county government wall.
Duan Tianming nodded towards the two captains and followed them quietly.
Without the brightly lit shops on both sides of the street, the alley was very dark.
But all this seemed to have no impact on the carriage. The carriage maintained its original speed and walked slowly to a small door on the wall and stopped.
Duan Tianming and the other two people behind them pressed their bodies tightly against the wall of the house next to the alley, controlled their breathing and tried not to make a sound.
The carriage stopped, but the driver did not get out of the carriage. He stayed in the carriage for a few breaths before jumping off the carriage.
He walked to the small door and raised his right hand: "Bang bang, bang bang bang." He knocked five times rhythmically.
The small door was opened silently from the inside, and the coachman did not say a word and entered the small door in a flash.
The three of them held their breath and stared closely at the small door.
After a short while, the small door was opened again. Two figures walked out of the small door, struggling to carry a long, tightly wrapped object.
Behind the two people, a tall and thin figure followed. He hurried past the two people, walked to the back of the carriage, and lifted the curtain on the carriage.
The coachman walked in front, struggled to lift the package and put it on the carriage. Then he hurried to the other end and worked with the people behind to push the package into the carriage.
"Be careful on the road, don't let anyone find you." The figure who lifted the curtain of the carriage whispered.
"Don't worry, sir, there is no one in the alley now. I will go around a few more times to deal with it." The coachman responded in a low voice.
"Don't take too many detours. Make sure no one is following you and deal with it as soon as possible." Seemingly uneasy, the black shadow ordered again.
"Yes." The coachman responded and jumped onto the carriage. He waved his whip lightly and the carriage walked deeper into the alley.
The remaining two people hurriedly walked into the small door and closed it.
"The thing they were carrying seemed to be a corpse." A captain lowered his voice.
"With the heavy look and the package, it must be a corpse. Come on, let's follow." Duan Tianming exerted force on his feet and quickly followed with two captains.
Lantian County has no city walls. Paths leading outside the city extend in all directions.
The carriage was in the city, picking up remote back streets and alleys, making three or five circles, then suddenly accelerated and rushed out of the city.
"Has the other party noticed it?" a captain asked nervously.
"Probably not. This is just a way for them to take precautions. It seems that this is not the first time they have done this kind of thing. It is quite a routine." The three of them raised their spirits and kept a safe distance from each other so as not to be discovered.
He followed closely behind the carriage and rushed out of the city.
After galloping for about four or five miles, the carriage suddenly turned to the right, left the official road, and headed towards the Bahe River.
The three of them said nothing and still followed closely behind the carriage.
It was less than a mile from the official road to the beach of Bahe River. It was April, and the crops on both sides of the road had already grown up, but they still could not hide the entire shape of the carriage.
Looking from a distance, a rectangular thing like a coffin was running towards the river beach. Under the cover of the night, it made people's hair stand on end.
But for Duan Tianming and the others, not only did they not have the slightest sense of fear, but they also had a sense of responsibility to find out.
In a few breaths, the carriage crossed the vast fields of crops and arrived at the beach of the Bahe River.
There were three or four figures sitting on the river beach. When they saw the carriage approaching, they stood up one after another with the shovel sitting under their buttocks.
"Has the hole been dug?" The carriage stopped, the driver jumped out and looked at the people.
"Although it's only a little over two feet deep, it's enough to bury one person." someone answered.
"Dig further down. This is a river. What if there is a flood and the bodies are washed out?" The driver was obviously very dissatisfied.
"By the time we rushed out, the body was already unrecognizable. Who knows who it is?"
"If it doesn't work, it won't work. Keep digging." The coachman said in a low voice, "If something goes wrong in this matter, I will dig a hole and bury you. Don't complain."
