Chapter 27: Various Counties (Part 3) The Matter of Miss Nian Yue...

Although there was little hope for Miss Nian Yue's case, it did help Xiao Wangshu and the others. Also, because they were looking for Nian Yue's relatives, Xiao Wangshu naturally brought Nian Yue with him when he visited them this time.

Just looking at the county government office, Xiao Wangshu was still shocked even though Mr. Chihua had informed him in advance yesterday. The county magistrate had died of illness but no one reported it. The huge county government office had become the residence of the chief clerk and the legal advisor.

Unlike the guards at the city gate, the guards at the county government office were much more spirited, but each one looked more ferocious than the other, more like bandits than guards.

Holding the silver in his hand, Xiao Wangshu suddenly laughed at himself. If it weren't for His Highness, the silver he brought might not be enough. But the next moment, he was surprised by his own thoughts.

"Young Master."

Nian Yue, who was behind him, saw that he didn't move for a long time and reminded him in a low voice.

After coming back to his senses, Xiao Wangshu stepped forward and took out the silver before the guards stepped forward to drive him away. Just as the waiter said, the silver really helped pave the way.

The ferocious guard also became a raccoon slave with his belly exposed.

Xiao Wangshu was welcomed into the lobby and even had a chair and someone made tea for him. It was truly a great treatment.

It's just that the Chief Clerk was late in arriving, so Xiao Wangshu naturally understood that this was a show of force from the other party.

"Master Bo."

When the person arrived, Xiao Wangshu stood up first and gave the other person enough face. Fortunately, his fake identity was that of a scholar, otherwise he would have to kneel before the person in front of him.

This Li Zhubo has the image of a scholar and does not seem to be a greedy person. However, looking at his old age and gray hair, it seems that he will resign from his office in a few years.

"Who is here? Please tell me your name." The first thing Li Zhubo said was a hoarse and unclear old man's voice, which sounded weak.

"My name is He Yi, a scholar. I'm looking for a relative for my maid, so I've come to ask for permission from Li Zhubu."

Xiao Wangshu clasped his hands together and bowed forward with a sincere attitude, but the other party didn't seem to buy it.

He stroked his beard without saying a word. The captain of the police beside him glanced at him, and Xiao Wangshu naturally understood what he meant. But when he looked at Li Zhubo, who had a noble face and was incorruptible, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart that one can only know a person's face but not his heart.

When he took out the silver note from his sleeve, both Li Zhubo and the captain's eyes lit up. The captain hurriedly came down from the stage, took the silver note with both hands, and presented it to Li Zhubo happily.

Li Zhubo smiled and hummed, then took the banknote. His face was as bright as a flower, and he did not forget to reply to Xiao Wangshu:

"Okay, okay, give him the key."

These words successfully made Xiao Wangshu frown again, but he restrained his frown in an instant.

"Take him to the household registration warehouse and let him check it. After the check, return the key."

When the captain heard the errand, he first had a bitter face, but then he thought of something and agreed happily.

Xiao Wangshu naturally used money to avoid disaster.

When he arrived at the household registration warehouse, Xiao Wangshu was still a little dazed. Since he was already here, he couldn't make a wasted trip, so Xiao Wangshu simply started looking for someone with Nian Yue.

Although Nian Yue's childhood memories are vague, there are some things she is very sure of.

For example, her father had passed away when they went to Licheng, she lived in the north during her childhood, and her family seemed to be relatively wealthy when she was a child because they could afford to hire a maid.

Her most recent memory was the river god worship in Licheng five years ago. She was sure that her family was no longer around at that time, and she was in Licheng with a group of beggars.

If her memory was correct and she really got lost near Licheng, then on their way to Licheng, they would indeed pass through counties very close to Licheng.

But similarly, if Nian Yue was not lost in Licheng or near Licheng, but somewhere else, then it would be impossible to find any useful information in Licheng, let alone the counties.

But at least there is hope, and Zhu County is so close to Licheng, there may be a chance to find out why Nian Yue's family went to Licheng to "escape".

There aren't many women of the right age who have a mole under their eyes, but there are quite a few either.

In addition, there are even fewer people with the surname Shen or who married into the Shen family. They managed to screen out one or two, but either their ancestral home is in Zhu County, or they are already married and there is no missing daughter in their family.

However, the clues are not completely lost. Some records about natural disasters were found in the annual records of Xiao Wangshu's county government.

Five years ago, there was a severe drought in the north, and refugees from several cities fled to Licheng. Coincidentally, Licheng was hit by heavy rain for several days, and the river embankment burst, causing great suffering to the people.

According to the date, he should have been studying at the Imperial College in Bian Jing at that time. This matter caused a lot of uproar and was widely discussed among the students.

At that time, the imperial envoy of the court found out that the river embezzled thousands of taels of silver and had not been repaired for a long time. The emperor was furious and executed several ministers. The first to be executed was the prefect of Licheng. He was stripped of his official hat and even his nine clans were implicated. The Lu family, a prominent family that made its fortune in Licheng, was also severely damaged after this incident.

However, Xiao Wangshu did not mention this matter to Nian Yue. One reason was that the two were not related, and the other was that he was afraid that Nian Yue would cry if she knew about it.

After all, that natural disaster and man-made disaster claimed countless lives. If Nian Yue was really lost with her family in Licheng, her family would be in great danger.

The two of them were working tirelessly to look through the household register in the warehouse, while Li Zhubo was enjoying the service of a beautiful maid.

Li Zhubo opened his mouth to take the grapes handed to him by the maid, humming a little tune softly and listening to the erhu, feeling very happy.

"Master Li."

Suddenly hearing someone calling him, Li Zhubo opened his eyes with some dissatisfaction. When he saw the man standing in front of him clearly, he put away his dissatisfaction and put on a flattering smile.

"Oh, what brings you here, General? I'm sorry for not welcoming you."

"Stop talking nonsense to me. Give me half of the banknotes. My brother can barely afford to eat, and you're having a great time here!"

The general was dressed in armor, his tone was rough and heroic, and his arms were thicker than those of two Li Zhubos. Just standing there made people feel infinitely timid.

"Oh, Lord Wang, you know that the court hasn't allocated funds to us for many years, and the county government is really struggling. I do have some money, but it's my savings. You can't ask me to give it all away."

With a drooping face, Li Zhubo looked pitiful. It would have been better if he had hidden the silver note in his sleeve more tightly. Unfortunately, he did not notice that the pointed corner of the silver note had been exposed, and the general saw it with sharp eyes, so Li Zhubo's wrist was grabbed and the silver note was pulled out with a swish.

“Isn’t this there?”

“Hey!”

Li Zhubo's face changed immediately, but when he saw the big and strong general in front of him, he swallowed his anger and put on a smile again, begging:

"Then please at least leave me half, Lord Wang. Even though I have no merit, I have worked hard."

"Don't think I don't know about your hard work. You gained all this through threats and intimidation. Now that I've seen it, it belongs to me."

After saying that, he took the banknote, turned around and left.

Only Li Zhubo was left standing there, puffing his beard and glaring, almost unable to breathe.

"What the hell, we're both the same, so don't criticize each other!"

He cursed at Lord Wang's back with a feeling of unwillingness. Lord Zhang didn't bother with him even after receiving the banknotes. He had already walked away. It was useless for Li Zhubo to be unwilling. He shouted angrily:

"Someone come!"

A servant came forward with his pants wet, and was kicked hard. The servant naturally took it while laughing, and kept praising Li Zhubo for his good kick.

"Stop talking nonsense and invite the master!"

After cursing a few more times, he finally calmed down and gave instructions with a flick of his sleeves.

The servant naturally agreed and went to invite people without stopping.

Back to Xiao Wangshu, they did not gain nothing. As it was getting dark, they decided to go back home.

When they returned to the tavern, Chihua was already waiting for them in Xiao Wangshu's room.

"how?"

Xiao Wangshu naturally explained to him and asked about Chihua's experience today. Chihua then said:

"I waited outside the city for a long time at the place where we were attacked yesterday, and waited for the fake bandits to come. After they robbed the silver, I followed them. However,"

He glanced at Xiao Wangshu,

"You guessed wrong. They are not villagers. Instead, they occupied a mountain and built a village. There is a strong man leading the village. They don't call him the boss, but just call him Brother Tao."

At this point Chi Chihua sighed suddenly, then continued:

"That being said, although it's not a village, it's no different from a village. There are quite a few women, children and the elderly there."

Hearing this, Xiao Wangshu naturally understood what Chi Hua meant. This group of people were not extremely vicious. They were probably really in trouble for robbing people on the road.

"Have you found out the reason?"

After sighing, Chihua shook his head and said:

"Everyone in that village is united. If a stranger showed up, they'd probably be alerted right away. I've been to the villages near that mountain, and strangely enough, they've been abandoned for ages, and even the inhabitants are nowhere to be found."

At this point, Chihua suddenly had an idea. He looked at Xiao Wangshu and saw the answer he wanted to say in the other's eyes.

"We must definitely try to break into this stronghold, and we must also find a way to find out what's going on with Li Zhubo."

In the end, it was Xiao Wangshu who made the final conclusion.

Early the next morning, the two men split up into two groups to inquire about the news. Xiao Wangshu and Nian Yue naturally went to the county government office again, but this time they didn't even have time to see the chief clerk, Lord Li, but met the Master Wang mentioned by the waiter at the gate of the county government office.

Unlike Li Zhubo who was already over half a century old, this Mr. Liu was really young and had an outstanding appearance. He was dressed in moon-white clothes and looked very handsome. When he saw them coming, he immediately came to greet them. It was obvious that he had been waiting for them here for a long time.

"Brother He, my name is Liu Jiexi. After hearing what Lord Li said yesterday, I've been interested in getting to know him. I wonder if Brother He could give me this honor. I'd consider it a great honor if we could have a drink and chat together."

This legal advisor had a smile on his face and behaved in a very humble manner. He approached Xiao Wangshu and treated him as a brother, but he was really too enthusiastic.

"No, no, Master Liu is really embarrassing me."

Xiao Wangshu naturally did not dare to underestimate him. He waved his hands repeatedly, pretending to be cowardly and cautious, naturally in order to let the other party relax his vigilance.

"No, no, Brother He is a handsome man. I knew we were destined to be together the moment I saw him. Don't say anything more, Brother He. I have already prepared a banquet. Just come with me."

Then he said to Nian Yue who was following behind him:

"Brother He and I are going to have a drink. Don't follow us, little girl. It's boring."

Nian Yue would not listen to him, and there was a stalemate. Xiao Wangshu was a little curious about what this Master Liu was going to do. He winked at Nian Yue and said:

"Then go back first. I'll help you find someone another day."

After a bow, Nian Yue stayed where she was.

When Master Liu heard this, he naturally smiled happily, put his arm around Xiao Wangshu's shoulder, and went to a tavern.

Forced to change his itinerary, Xiao Wangshu was definitely not in a good mood, but he didn't show it on his face. He still listened to Master Wang's chattering beside him with a good temper.

"Brother, you may not know that our county is a poor and remote place. The prosperous Bianjing has probably forgotten us long ago. This county government has been silent for many days."

After two drinks, the lawyer's face flushed red. Xiao Wangshu felt even more surprised that he had revealed his true feelings to someone he had only just met. He felt an inexplicable sense of vigilance rising in his heart.

"Brother, since you are from Bianjing, I wonder if you have any connections. If so, I will reward you handsomely."

"Brother Liu, you're joking. If I have connections, why would I become a scholar?"

Master Liu poured him some wine as he spoke. Although Xiao Wangshu couldn't drink a single sip, he used his long sleeves to spit out the wine bit by bit.

When Master Liu saw him drink the wine, a smug look seemed to flash in his eyes, which was noticed by Xiao Wangshu. He remained calm and continued to play along with him.

After a few drinks, Xiao Wangshu pretended to be drunk and fell on the table. He then used his strength to knock the wine glasses and bowls to the ground. Taking advantage of the other person's distraction, he collapsed to the ground, found a sharp fragment and hid it in his sleeve, then pretended to be completely unconscious.

Sure enough, Master Liu showed his true colors.

First, he stood up and called him a few times. Seeing that he didn't respond, he shouted to the door with a cheerful face:

"Someone come!"

As soon as the voice fell, two burly men tied Xiao Wangshu's hands and feet and stuffed him into a sack.

In the dim light, Xiao Wangshu felt that he was being lifted up and swayed for about an incense stick's time before being sent into a dark room. He then vaguely heard someone talking.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I have a portrait of this man. This must be Xiao Wangshu. Your subordinate was careless and let him go. If it weren't for me, we would all have lost our heads."

Xiao Wangshu heard the two voices clearly. One was the Chief Clerk Li, and the other was the Master Liu.

After an unknown amount of time, the sack was opened. The candlelight dazzled his eyes, and he squinted subconsciously.

The author has something to say:

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Xiao Xiu, I suddenly realized that the general's original surname was Zhang, but now he has agreed to change it to Wang, and the advisor's surname is Liu. [Please]