Chapter 74 Qucheng

When Jiang Miaokong heard that he was willing to investigate, he knelt down and gave a blank salute to Shen Shixu, “Thank you!”

Shen Shixu helped him up, looked at Xiao Jinyi who was thinking about something, and asked: "Your Highness, I wonder if you are free recently, can you accompany me?"

Xiao Jinyi was just thinking about when he would have the chance to go with you, but he didn't expect Shen Shixu to take the initiative to invite him.

"Of course I'm free. When are we leaving? I can go back and pack my things!"

Shen Shixu felt Jiang Miaokong's expectant eyes and was not disappointed. "Of course we have to set off immediately. This is a matter of life and death, so we can't delay it for a moment."

Xiao Jinyi immediately went back to pack his bags. Xiao Yuanqi and the others who were waiting outside to watch the excitement saw Xiao Jinyi hurriedly coming out of the Shen Mansion, and they didn't know what had happened.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuanqi hurriedly followed, and after knowing what happened, he supported Shen Shixu's decision.

This kind of important matter should be carried out immediately, but he also reminded Xiao Jinyi, "In another month it will be the Royal Grandmother's birthday. Don't forget that she personally asked Shen Shixu to attend the banquet. Don't forget to remind Shen Shaoqing."

If Xiao Yuanqi hadn't mentioned it, Xiao Jinyi would have really forgotten about it. "I know. We will come back immediately after the case is solved. But I have something to trouble you, brother. We are out investigating the case and don't have time to prepare a gift for the Royal Grandmother. I'll trouble you to prepare it for us."

Xiao Yuanqi just wanted to remind Xiao Jinyi not to forget this matter, but he didn't expect that he would be given a job. But it doesn't matter, because the gift he gave to the empress dowager has not been prepared yet, so he can prepare it together when the time comes.

While Shen Shixu was packing up, he asked Xiao Shitou to take people to notify Jiang Bin and Zhang Ming respectively. Jiang Bin and Zhang Ming were very surprised when they knew that Shen Shixu planned to take them out to investigate the case.

He quickly packed up some things, carrying his bag and rushed to the Shen residence.

Jiang Bin prepared two sets of change of clothes upstairs, and the rest were all banknotes, thinking that he could just buy whatever he needed when the time came.

Zhang Ming brought a little more than him. In addition to spare clothes, he also brought some dry food, charcoal pencils and paper.

Thinking that Jiang Bin would not consider things so carefully, I brought two more charcoal pencils and paper.

Shen Shixu packed up his things, and the carriage that Xiao Shitou had arranged for people to prepare was also ready, and they were just waiting for everyone to gather before setting off.

Jiang Miaokong also changed back to his original appearance, and Xiao Fang, who was replaced by him, was also released from the woodshed. After being examined by a doctor, it was found that there was nothing serious.

Jiang Miaokong originally looked very delicate and cute, with a round face like a freshly steamed bun, big almond-shaped eyes that twinkled, a delicate nose that stood straight, and white teeth that bit her lower lip lightly, obviously worried about Song Zhuoyang in prison.

Shen Shixu and his companions traveled day and night without stopping, and finally arrived in Qucheng after seven days. Not only was he exhausted from the journey, but the non-stop travel day and night also made Shen Shixu so tired that he could fall asleep immediately.

Seeing how tired he looked, Xiao Jinyi thought, this won’t work. How can he investigate a case when he’s so tired? It’s better to find an inn to stay in first, have a good rest for the night, and deal with the rest tomorrow.

Although Jiang Miaokong wanted to catch Song Zhongyang as soon as possible, he also understood one thing: chopping wood does not delay the time to sharpen the knife. If a person is in good spirits and good health, he will naturally be able to do things efficiently later.

If he is asked to work despite being tired, let alone whether he can finish the work, it will be bad for his health and will make things more difficult.

So after Shen Shixu and his companions arrived in Qucheng, they first found an inn to stay in, had a good rest for a night to recuperate, and then went directly to the county government office the next day.

The yamen runners at the door were a little panicked when they saw a group of extraordinary-looking people coming over, but they still reached out their hands to stop Shen Shixu and the others when they approached.

"The county government is a restricted area, no outsiders are allowed to enter casually."

Shen Shixu took out his token. On the black token, which was as big as his palm, were five large characters engraved: Shaoqing of Dali Temple.

On the back of the token was engraved Shen Shixu's name, but those people didn't need to read it. Just the words "Shaoqing of Dali Temple" were enough to make the yamen runners bow and scrape.

"Please wait a moment, sir. I will go in and ask my master and the county governor to come out."

The prefect and the county magistrate, who were discussing the affairs of the Song family, were very surprised when they heard the report from their subordinates that the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple had arrived. They were just about to report it to their higher-ups, but how come the person had already arrived before the news was even passed on? But it was good that he came.

The county magistrate and the prefect hurried out to greet them. The position of the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple was similar to that of the county magistrate.

Strictly speaking, the county magistrate is one level higher than the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, but because local officials cannot compare with Beijing officials, the two are on par.

Shen Shixu accepted the prefect's courtesy and gave a half-courteous gesture to the county governor, who also gave him a half-courteous gesture in return.

"Master Xu and Master Lin, I came here rashly this time. If there is anything I did wrong, please forgive me."

The prefect would not look down on Shen Shixu just because he looked young. It was impossible for him to hold such an important position at such a young age without any ability.

But apart from itself, there must be something else, and that is connections.

The prefect tried to leave a good impression in front of Shen Shixu to see if he could be an official in the capital in the future, so he did not hide anything and told Shen Shixu.

"I'm naturally happy that Lord Shen can come to help, and I'd be even happier if I could help you in some way. But this case is really a bit strange, so let alone helping you, it's a good thing that I don't cause you any trouble.

However, I will not refuse. If there is anything you need me for, just tell me and I will do what I can! ”

Shen Shixu had a good impression of the prefect. He frankly admitted his failure and the fact that he had no clues, and then said that he would do his best to help.

Even if Shen Shixu wanted to punish him, he couldn't punish him too harshly, not to mention that Shen Shixu had no intention of punishing them.

"Someone has already told me about what's going on here. It's Mr. Jiang next to me. But some things are still unclear to me. I hope you can tell me again. Remember, you have to tell me everything.

The prefect then recognized who the Young Master Jiang mentioned by Shen Shixu was. He was the person who came back with Song Zhuoyang before. He was wondering why he hadn't seen this person coming to ask for the truth recently. It turned out that he had gone to ask for help, but this help was good.

"Where is the body of the deceased? I want to see it myself."

Shen Shixu felt that there must be something else on the body that had not been discovered, and he had to see it with his own eyes before he could feel at ease.