Chapter 26: Various Counties (II) What Master Xiao said, I am a human being...

There are two guards at the gate of Zhu County City, who are lazy and unruly. The number of people leaving the city is twice that of people entering the city. The city walls and gates are very dilapidated. If an enemy attacks, they may not last more than a day.

The pedestrians hurried with numb expressions. Thinking about the wheat fields along the way and the poorly developed villages, they thought that the people here lived in poverty.

A pass is required to enter the city. Xiao Wangshu came here to investigate, so he naturally wouldn't use his real identity. As for the others, except An, they all used their own identities.

"Mr. Chihua also has a pass?"

After entering the city safely, Xiao Wangshu turned to teasing Mr. Chihua.

"Mr. Xiao, what you said is true. As a human being, I naturally have a guide."

Chihua shook his hand and whispered softly:

"Although I managed to get this, I've been living in the mountains for so long that I'm almost no longer human."

These words made An, who always had a stern face, laugh, and even Chihua looked at him with curiosity.

They found a tavern to stay in and told An and Nian Yue to pack their bags first. Xiao Wangshu went downstairs alone, naturally to get some information.

"Waiter, go and deliver some food to Room 1. Just enough for three people. Also, bring a pot of wine and two side dishes to the lobby."

After giving the instructions and giving the waiter a piece of silver, Xiao Wangshu walked straight to the lobby. This tavern was the only one in the county town. Even so, there were not many customers, only two or three people sitting here and there, and even the lobby was not full.

After finding a secluded corner, wine and food were served, and Xiao Wangshu quietly listened to the conversation of the guests.

Most of them were about poor harvests or trivial matters at home. After drinking half a pot of wine, Xiao Wangshu finally heard the information he wanted to hear.

"Why hasn't the new county magistrate arrived yet?"

"You want him to come?"

Judging from their attire, they seemed to be a pair of laborers, and they were full of dissatisfaction when talking about the word "county magistrate".

"Of course I don't want to. Life is a little better now that he's dead. I don't want to go back to the hard life I had before."

The two men checked their bowls, drank the wine in one gulp, and talked about other things.

Xiao Wangshu was not in a good mood after hearing the conversation. He called the waiter and said:

"I want to ask you something."

After that, he stuffed some copper coins into his pocket. The waiter took them with a smile and said flatteringly:

"Sir, please speak. I will tell you everything I know."

"I came here looking for someone, but before I even got outside the city, my money was robbed. I wanted to report it to the authorities, but I heard there's no magistrate in charge here. What's going on?"

The waiter was originally smiling happily, but when he heard him say he was going to report to the police, his expression changed. He looked around to see if there was anyone around, then he whispered:

"My lord, you may not know that the county magistrate here died of a serious illness years ago. Because this place is remote, Bianjing has not sent anyone here in the past two years.

It's not that no one is in charge. The one in charge is our general. But he doesn't take care of everything. You must not trouble him with this matter, or you will get beaten.

As for those people outside the city, just pay them some silver. They won't kill you anyway. Even if you go to the county magistrate's office, you'll be skinned alive by the people below, and you'll lose another fortune."

The waiter wanted to persuade him sincerely. Xiao Wangshu agreed on the surface, said a few words of thanks, and then asked about the situation in the city.

"Since I'm here looking for someone, I have to be clear about the situation in this city. I'm afraid I might offend someone accidentally, so I hope you can show me the way."

When the waiter heard himself being called a brother, he felt a little flattered and patted his chest and said:

"Since you call me brother, I will tell you that money is the most useful thing when you are away from home.

The first person you should not offend in the city is our general, Mr. Zhang, the second is the chief clerk, Mr. Li, and in addition there is our legal advisor, Mr. Wang.

If you're looking for someone, go to the county office and find the Chief Clerk, Lord Li. The more money you offer, the faster he'll be found."

The waiter got so excited that he sat down on the stool and started gesturing to him with great joy. Xiao Wangshu also had some thoughts in his mind and was about to thank him when the waiter was suddenly grabbed by the ear by someone. It turned out to be the hotel owner.

"Sir, please bear with me. This kid is so unruly that he started chatting with you."

After saying this, he scolded the waiter:

"Why don't you go to work? If I catch you slacking off again, I'll fine you."

The waiter stuck out his tongue and disappeared in a flash. The shopkeeper apologized to Xiao Wangshu again:

"I'm so sorry to interrupt your meal."

"Nothing, I was the one who asked him about something."

The shopkeeper smiled, bent down and left.

After finishing the meal, Xiao Wangshu returned to his room. Nian Yue was packing her bedding, and An and Chi Hua were nowhere to be seen.

"What about them?"

"Young Master is back? Wu Ge said he was going to check the backyard, and Mr. Chi Hua said he was going to take a look around."

Seeing that Xiao Wangshu smelled of alcohol, Nian Yue took the teapot and poured him a cup of hot tea to sober him up.

Sitting down at the round table, Xiao Wangshu took the teacup and drank a sip, then put it aside and said to Nian Yue:

"When we get back, please ask Mr. Chihua to come over."

"yes."

Nian Yue naturally agreed, and Xiao Wangshu asked everyone to go back to their room to rest.

I took out a pen and paper and sorted out my thoughts.

When Chihua returned to the tavern, it was already dark. The counties were different from Bianjing, and there were few entertainment activities. At night, the whole city fell into silence.

Standing in front of the tavern window and looking out, I saw that in the darkness, only one house was brightly lit, and there seemed to be the faint sound of string music and banquets and music.

"That is the residence of the general, Mr. Zhang."

The voice came from behind him. Xiao Wangshu froze for a moment, then realized that the owner of the voice was Mr. Chihua. He relaxed and turned to Mr. Chihua, who had stood in the middle of the room at some point, and said helplessly:

"Sir, you should knock on the door before entering. It's scary."

"Okay, okay my bad."

Spreading his hands, Mr. Chihua did not look apologetic at all.

"Did you get any news this afternoon, sir?"

After inviting everyone to sit at the table, Xiao Wangshu personally poured a cup of tea for Chihua.

"Why don't you tell me what you think?"

After taking the cup of tea, Chihua did not drink it, but asked about Xiao Wangshu instead.

“The county magistrate here passed away years ago, but Bianjing has not received any news. If I hadn’t asked to go to the counties, there would probably be no county magistrate here anymore.

As for whether Lord Zhang, Lord Li, and Lord Wang were colluding with each other, it is unknown. Moreover,

Xiao Wangshu paused for a moment and continued,

"Besides, the people's words cannot be false. This county magistrate who passed away due to illness was not necessarily a good person. In short, this small county is full of mysteries and dangers."

"Indeed, as for the group outside the city, do you have any clues?"

Nodding, Chihua picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked again.

This time Xiao Wangshu shook his head and said:

"There's some speculation, but no evidence."

Chi Hua chuckled and said:

"I went out this afternoon and encountered some interesting things."

"oh?"

This piqued Xiao Wangshu's interest, and he responded, motioning Chihua to continue.

"I saw the so-called 'bandit' leader enter the house of Li Zhubo this afternoon."

After finishing the tea in his hand, Chihua stood up and walked towards the door, saying as he walked:

"In that case, we should also meet that Li Zhubo tomorrow. However, since you are here to look for someone, you should also have some clues about the person you are looking for."

After saying that, he suddenly opened the door. A girl outside was startled and fell into the house. The girl raised her head and it was Nian Yue.

"Hey, Miss Nianyue, why are you here?"

Squatting on the ground, Chihua looked curious, but poor Nian Yue was in pain and had messed up things. She didn't dare to meet Xiao Wangshu's eyes. Nian Yue was frantically thinking of a solution.

"Are you okay?"

But to Nian Yue's surprise, Xiao Wangshu didn't seem to blame her. She struggled to get up, brushed off the dirt on her body, and tentatively explained:

"I came to see if you've gone to bed, and to ask about your plans for tomorrow. Just as I was about to knock on the door, Mr. Chihua opened it."

"Um."

Sure enough, Nian Yue only received a slightly cold “hmm”, and she immediately understood that the young master might have known about it.

Raising his eyebrows, Chihua looked at this and that, obviously very curious about the situation, but he didn't ask.

"If you are looking for someone, I wonder if you can help Nian Yue."

After a few breaths, Nian Yue seemed to have made up her mind. Her face flushed red, and even she felt that she had gone too far.

The young master is a good man, but she treats him like this. However, her life was saved by His Highness. If it weren't for His Highness, she wouldn't have met the young master. What's more, His Highness just wants to know the young master's whereabouts and daily life. His Highness will not hurt the young master. After taking a few deep breaths, Nian Yue seemed to convince herself.

"Go ahead."

Xiao Wangshu was not surprised by Nian Yue's behavior. Nian Yue was originally Xie Xuanhui's person, and he didn't want to make things difficult for a little girl.

"Nianyue was separated from her family when she was young and became a beggar. My childhood memories are vague, but I remember that my mother, like Nianyue, had a mole under her eye."

After saying that, she took out a red rope from under her neck. There were three peanut-sized beads at the end of the red rope. She walked over and handed the necklace to Xiao Wangshu.

Taking the necklace, Xiao Wangshu looked at it carefully in the candlelight and confirmed that it was made of jade.

Seeing him looking intently, Nian Yue continued:

"Sir, please look,"

She pointed to the largest bead among them.

"There's an inscription here, it's the word 'Sink'."

Turning the bead, Xiao Wangshu saw the small word "Chen" engraved on it.

But these are still too few, and in such a vast sea of ​​people, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"It's probably hard to find these alone. Do you remember anything else? Where were you when you got lost?"

After handing the necklace back to Nian Yue, Xiao Wangshu asked.

Hearing him say this, Nian Yue did not feel disappointed. She had already made preparations. However, if there was still hope, she did not want to give up. Just in case, just in case, she could see her mother again.

Hearing Xiao Wangshu ask her again, Nian Yue thought about it again and finally shook her head.

"It was a long time ago, I really can't remember clearly. I have been in Licheng since I can remember, and then His Highness took me to the capital. Maybe my mother left other things at that time, but..."

Nian Yue smiled bitterly. How could she, a mere child, keep them? The three beads were not stolen because they were tied to her feet and she later hid them somewhere else.

"Sir, Nian Yue knows that this is a very difficult matter. If we can't find it, Nian Yue also understands that it is just God's will."