Chapter 421 If Line - Fake County Magistrate

The next morning.

Wu Yingniang cooked some wild vegetables and gave Pei Lingyun a small bowl.

Just to fill your stomach perfunctorily.

Pei Lingyun originally couldn't eat this kind of boiled wild vegetables without even salt, but he hadn't eaten anything since he was arrested yesterday.

I'm so hungry in the morning that I can eat anything.

Seeing Pei Lingyun had finished eating all the wild vegetables, Wu Yingniang suddenly said:

"You're really not picky."

Pei Lingyun, holding the empty bowl, said: "...Excuse me."

After filling their stomachs, the two rushed to Baiyun County.

On the dirt road, two horses pulled a carriage.

Wu Yingniang was driving at lightning speed outside.

Pei Lingyun was rocking back and forth in the carriage holding his box.

Pei Lingyun originally wanted to ride a horse, but Wu Yingniang thought he rode too slowly and it would be better for him to stay inside.

Two men, two horses and a cart, headed straight for Baiyun County.

However, when they arrived in Baiyun County, they heard an even more unexpected news:

The new county magistrate of Baiyun County arrived in the county seat last night!

Wu Yingniang and Pei Lingyun went to the gate of the county government office to ask the bailiff whether the new county magistrate had really taken office.

The yamen runner yawned and said, "The new county magistrate arrived last night and is now drinking at Zheng's house."

Wu Yingniang turned around and looked at Pei Lingyun.

Pei Lingyun looked incredulous.

Lingnan really lives up to its reputation, you can encounter anything!

Wu Yingniang pulled Pei Lingyun towards an alley: "What are you going to do?"

Pei Lingyun tried his best to remain calm amidst the series of accidents. He thought for a moment:

"I'm going to the temple in the east of the city."

On the way here, he had memorized the map and location of the county town.

He had agreed with the people he sent out that if they lost contact due to an accident, they would meet up in a dilapidated temple east of the county town.

Wu Yingniang: "I'll go to the Zheng family to check. If I have time, I'll also go to the temple to tell you about the situation."

After she finished speaking, without giving Pei Lingyun time to react, she flew over the eaves and walls and disappeared.

Although it was Pei Lingyun's first time in Baiyun County, he could barely match some of the city's features with the map in his mind.

He headed east and saw a dilapidated temple not far from the east gate of the county town.

It was really dilapidated, so dilapidated that even the roof collapsed.

The land statue inside was damaged to the point that only half of its body remained. Not only were there no offerings on the altar, even the plates were gone.

Pei Lingyun covered his mouth and nose as he walked in, his sleeves already covered with thick dust and cobwebs.

He sat behind the collapsed earth statue and waited quietly.

He was no longer anxious at this moment, as he was sure that the spies he sent out would come here today.

Because of the appearance of the fake county magistrate, his men will certainly be suspicious and try to meet him in the temple.

After waiting for about an incense stick of time, the spy appeared and reported the situation in Baiyun County one by one:

"Baiyun County officials, merchants, and bandits are colluding... Former County Magistrate Lei Ming and the unscrupulous merchant Zheng Gou conspired to hoard the imperial relief grain and instead transport it to rice shops across the county, selling it at exorbitant prices. The fake County Magistrate who arrived last night seemed familiar with them; I wonder if he was one of their agents."

"The news that Your Excellency was kidnapped by bandits has already been reported back to the nearby post station. I'm afraid those people in Baiyun County are trying to take advantage of the fact that the news hasn't reached the capital yet, and send someone to replace Your Excellency so they can reap some benefits..."

"Sir, are you going to the county government office to expose them and punish them?"

Pei Lingyun shook his head after hearing this: "Don't alert the enemy yet."

He kneaded his fingertips, his eyes darkening slightly. "Lingnan has been plagued by termites for a long time, with forces from all over the place intertwined. This is a good opportunity to root them out completely."

Pei Lingyun gave a few instructions to his spies, intending to follow the clues and investigate all the people involved.

The spy said: "If you do this, you must hide yourself. I'm afraid it's not advisable to stay in the county."

Pei Lingyun nodded and thought of this as well.

The spy asked: "Where do you intend to hide, sir? How can I contact you?"

Pei Lingyun concentrated and thought carefully, then uttered three words:

"Black Bandit Mountain."

The spy left with a puzzled look on his face.

Not long after, Wu Yingniang also came to the dilapidated temple.

After Wu Yingniang visited the Zheng family today, she discovered that the fake county magistrate was indeed arranged by the old county magistrate and the Zheng family.

After leaving Zheng's house, she came here to meet Pei Lingyun and told him about the situation. She learned that Pei Lingyun wanted to stay in Black Bandit Mountain for some time.

Wu Yingniang asked, "Aren't you afraid? You were almost killed last night."

Pei Lingyun seemed much calmer than yesterday:

"The most dangerous place is the safest place. In Black Bandit Mountain, people inside can't escape, and people outside can't get in."

Pei Lingyun gave the money to Wu Yingniang and asked her to buy some food back to the mountain.

Wu Yingniang raised her eyes and looked at him: "Why do you trust me? I might kill you too."

Pei Lingyun looked at her and said, "You only kill dog officials. I came here to quell the chaos. You won't kill me."

Wu Yingniang looked at Pei Lingyun again and suddenly smiled:

"So you still have some courage."

…

evening.

"drive!"

Wu Yingniang drove the carriage, and the horse's hooves kicked up clouds of dust.

The carriage that rushed from Black Bandit Mountain to the county town in the morning is now rushing back to Black Bandit Mountain.

There were still two people on the car, but there were a few more bags of food.

When Wu Yingniang and Pei Lingyun carried the food up the mountain, the bandits looked much better than yesterday, and they all went to help.

As expected, you can never go to a place empty-handed.

By bringing their own food to the door, everyone turned from vicious bandits into friendly mountain people.

Old Man Qin laughed and said, "Master Pei has returned with Yingniang again. Could it be that after staying with Yingniang last night, he wants to become a member of our Black Bandit Mountain from now on?"

Pei Lingyun blushed, while Wu Yingniang looked calm and explained what she had seen in the county today.

Old Xu shook his head: "These days, everything is fake. Rice is adulterated, cloth is adulterated, so why is the county magistrate also adulterating?"

In this way, Pei Lingyun settled down temporarily in Black Bandit Mountain.

There are not many houses on the mountain and it is not safe, so Pei Lingyun still lives in Wu Yingniang's house.

The only difference is that there is an extra straw curtain in the room.

From then on, Pei Lingyun and Wu Yingniang lived under the same roof.

Pei Lingyun had read some poems and essays by famous hermits before, in which he described the quiet and leisurely life in the mountains.

But after he moved into the mountains, he was so busy all day long that he never had any free time!

He secretly sent people to report the situation in Lingnan back to the capital, and at the same time collected evidence of collusion between officials and businessmen in Baiyun County.

But this is not the most tiring thing. The most tiring thing is that he has to collect firewood, make fire and wash clothes every day!

Light a fire and do laundry!

He was a noble young man from Chang'an who had never been involved in women's affairs, yet he had fallen to this point.

Wu Yingniang would protect his safety, but she would not help him with anything else, and she told him clearly:

"There are no idle people in Black Bandit Mountain. Everyone has to work."

The first time Pei Lingyun lit a fire at the stove, the billowing black smoke choked him and made him cry and snot.

The first time I chopped wood, I almost hit my foot and my hand was scratched by the axe handle.

The first time I was washing clothes, I fell into the stream and got soaked.

Wu Yingniang was so distressed: "How come you don't know anything?!"

If this continues, Pei Lingyun will not be able to take office and may even kill himself while chopping firewood in the yard.

In desperation, Wu Yingniang could only teach Pei Lingyun step by step:

"Here, look, hold the axe like this. Keep your wrist steady and don't swing it around..."

"Add more firewood to the fire. Don't add too much at once. Just this much. See? That's all I have in my hand..."

"Washing clothes... I'll take you to the river, fill a basin with water, and then just step on it with your feet and wash."

Pei Lingyun has objections to washing clothes:

"This is Yunjin! How can you step on it?"

Wu Yingniang: "Then you should wear sackcloth."

Pei Lingyun: ...

Two days later, Pei Lingyun put on coarse linen clothes and sat on a small stool by the stove to make a fire.

Wu Yingniang was cooking wild vegetable porridge by the stove, and she added a little coarse salt.

Put coarse salt in a teacup.

Pei Lingyun widened his eyes and saw that his most beloved celadon had been placed next to the dark stove and used as a salt shaker!

"You, you know this is Yuezhou celadon, worth a fortune, and you're actually using it to store salt?"

Wu Yingniang pointed to the other side of the stove and said, "It's not just salt, it's also lard."

Pei Lingyun looked to the other side and saw a little bit of lard in another teacup in the same set.

Pei Lingyun almost couldn't catch his breath, but he stood up angrily:

"You, you...how could you destroy it like this..."

Wu Yingniang reached out her hand and pressed Pei Lingyun's shoulder domineeringly, and then pushed Pei Lingyun back onto the small stool with grievance.

Wu Yingniang supported herself against the wall with one hand and placed the other on her waist, trapping Pei Lingyun in the corner where the fire was burning.

"It's because you lit a fire a couple of days ago that filled the kitchen with black smoke, and in the chaos two clay pots broke. You should pay for it."

"You said your teacup is expensive, so let me ask you, is human life expensive? Oil, salt, and food can save lives, but can a teacup save lives?"

"This is Lingnan, don't give me that Chang'an thing!"

Pei Lingyun felt that his eloquence seemed to have deteriorated after he arrived in Lingnan. Otherwise, how could he be speechless again and again in front of this domineering girl?

He didn't say anything and sat down quietly to light the fire.

When it was time to eat, Pei Lingyun whispered:

"You can use the remaining teacups in my box, but don't break them. They were given to me by my eldest brother."

"Not just teacups, anything you find useful can be used. I don't know how the people in Lingnan live, but we'll find out later."

Because there was no dining table, they each held a bowl of wild vegetable porridge and sat on the doorstep to eat.

The colorful clouds in the sky were burning like fire, reflecting on Pei Lingyun's face, making it look bright red.

Wu Yingniang looked at Pei Lingyun and burst out laughing:

"You scholars are not completely useless."

Pei Lingyun glanced at Wu Yingniang and turned his head away.

He lowered his head to drink his porridge, thinking:

Even bandits can be less vicious sometimes.

When she smiles, her eyes are curved and bright, with stars in them.