"Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality!"

The county magistrate scratched his head sheepishly. If he hadn't been cheated out of a lot of his family's money by those charlatans, he wouldn't be in such dire straits.

"It's alright, neither of us are the type to indulge in pleasure."

Tang Nian smiled, and the prefect felt as if he were bathed in a spring breeze, almost moved to tears of gratitude.

I've met some really nice people!

"My lord, the heavy snow has been falling for several days now. Would you be so kind as to investigate the cause of this snowfall?"

The county magistrate personally brewed tea for the two of them, showing his utmost sincerity.

"We two came here precisely to find out the truth of this matter. If we can help the magistrate, we will do our best."

The county magistrate was overjoyed.

"But this reward..."

Upon seeing that the two people in front of him were also from wealthy families, the county magistrate uncomfortably fidgeted with the hem of his robe.

"We don't need any payment, we just need to stay at your residence for a few days."

The county magistrate's eyes lit up, and he repeatedly praised it.

Deep down, I believe I've met a benefactor.

"However, we have only just arrived and know very little. We would appreciate it if the county magistrate could tell us if anything unusual had happened in the days leading up to this sudden heavy snowfall?"

The county magistrate pondered, rubbing his goatee as if reminiscing.

While the county magistrate was reminiscing, Tang Nian and the other person heard a clear laugh coming from outside.

The two looked in the direction of the sound and saw several blond-haired children playing and laughing in the snow in the courtyard.

The group laughed and joked, throwing snowballs back and forth between each other.

They dodged and weaved around the three snowmen that had already been built in the yard.

Suddenly, a younger child was unable to dodge in time and was hit head-on by a snowball.

"oops!"

The child slipped and fell towards the snowman behind him, crashing into its side.

"Ji Xuan, you're being naughty again!"

The county magistrate shouted towards the outside, just remembering what had happened a few days before the heavy snow.

Once disrupted, the memory vanishes.

"Immortal Master..."

But as soon as he turned around, he found that Tang Nian had already arrived in the courtyard.

"Your Excellency, would you mind sending your children back inside first?"

Tang Nian's expression was solemn. Beneath the snowman's skin that the child had just smashed, there was a human hand that was purple with a hint of black!

Despite his doubts, the county magistrate quickly ordered his servants to take the child away from the courtyard.

When he came to his senses, he saw Ming Huan using a large iron shovel to cut and slice the snowman.

As expected of Ming Huan, his hands moved extremely fast. In just a few blinks of an eye, the ice and snow on the surface of the three snowmen had been shoveled away.

"This, this is..."

The county magistrate was trembling so badly that he could barely stand.

His face showed horror, because beneath the three snowmen in front of him were actually three real people!

"Immortal Master! This..."

The county magistrate collapsed to the ground, completely unaware of why the three snowmen had appeared in his courtyard and were even hiding beneath them.

He desperately wanted to swear to Tang Nian that the three corpses had nothing to do with him.

He has been a county magistrate for so many years, always working diligently. How could such a thing happen in his residence!

"Your Excellency, there is no need to panic. This matter has nothing to do with you."

It's quite obvious that the county magistrate's current behavior is practically screaming innocence.

"But why did these three people suddenly appear in this courtyard? And when exactly?"

After the heavy snow started falling, three snowmen appeared in the courtyard. The county magistrate assumed they were just snowmen made by his children playing around and didn't pay any attention to them.

Tang Nian pondered for a moment, then squatted down.

She refused Minghuan's offer and turned the body over herself.

The county magistrate collapsed to the ground, trembling as he watched Tang Nian's movements.

Tang Nian clapped her hands, stood up, wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, and voiced her guess.

"It was probably already in your mansion before the heavy snow, but it was only after the heavy snow started that it stood here openly."

"Your Excellency, do you recognize these three people?"

Since we had no clue about the snow in June, we might as well start with the existing cases.

Now that the clues are right in front of us, we can't let them go to waste. The most urgent task is to find out the identities of these three people.

The county magistrate stepped forward and examined them closely. The three men had been frozen in the snow for a long time, their faces were distorted by the ice, and their skin was purplish-black.

As expected, the county magistrate quickly shook his head. Although he was indeed the local official, he couldn't possibly know all the people in the city.

These three happen to be among them.

"grown ups!"

Suddenly, the servants who were taking the child back to the house entered the courtyard.

He was also quite frightened, but he stared intently at the most obese person among the three corpses.

"What, you recognize this person?"

Tang Nian walked up to the servant and asked curiously.

The man nodded and said tremblingly, "This man is a butcher in the city, surnamed Li. Everyone calls him Pork Li. I know him! I often buy pork from his house."

"And this beggar, he should be Sanwang from outside the door, I don't know why he's here."

"But I don't recognize this woman."

This explains why the servant would recognize these people.

Having obtained the clue, Tang Nian and Ming Huan exchanged a glance and then nodded.

"Your Excellency, let's go investigate the cause of Pork Li's death first."

The county magistrate agreed, and then, after asking where the pork shop of Li was located, he hurriedly left.

...

Before long, Tang Nian and Ming Huan arrived at the pork shop that the servants in the east of the city had mentioned.

Although the shop is located in a relatively bustling area of ​​the city, there were hardly any people to be seen in this alley at this time, perhaps because of the heavy snow or because there are not many vendors selling vegetables here.

Of course, Pork Li's shop has been closed, since the main owner is still freezing in the magistrate's courtyard.

"I'll go and find out."

Tang Nian said, and then went to the old farmer selling vegetables next to Pork Li's shop.

"Old man, do you know where the owner of this pork shop is?"

The old farmer selling vegetables raised his head and glanced at Tang Nian and Ming Huan behind him. He was clearly not there to buy vegetables, so he waved his hand dismissively.

"Get out of the way, don't disturb my business."

The two men ran into a wall, so they had to ask another vendor instead.

Strangely enough, the two asked five or six people in a row, but they either remained silent or chased the two away, which was very unusual.

"Minghuan, do you still have any silver on hand?"

In this regard, Tang Nian was never stingy with her money.

Minghuan nodded, understanding, and went to the last vendor nearby.

"Let's buy some groceries!"

As Minghuan spoke, he placed a silver ingot in front of the vendor.

Wow, that's a lot of pure silver! How many vegetables would you have to sell to earn that much?!

The vendor's eyes widened immediately, and he held the silver in his hand, rubbing it repeatedly for a long time, unwilling to put it down.

"Sir, even if I sold you all the vegetables on my stall, I still wouldn't have enough change for this silver ingot!"