Horse Bandit Officer (1)
The guilt urged Xiao Lin and Mu You to hurry up and get on with the next story. After all, they had been here for a long time and had wasted a lot of time.
Seeing that there were only two stories left before I could go home, I felt a mixture of sadness and joy.
When the three of them gathered in the backyard, Xiao Lin and Mu You naturally placed their hands on the booklet. In an instant, white light suddenly appeared, and time and space changed again.
When I opened my eyes, it was the height of summer.
Mu You reacted quickly and immediately took off his heavy clothes to cool himself down before the heat could penetrate him.
Chu Mo stood aside, giving the two of them some advice: "The final chapter of the original story: the county magistrate was unintentionally involved in the human trafficking scandal, but he colluded with evil people and was unfortunately poisoned by public resentment. His dream was shattered and he was framed. The case was like looking at flowers in the fog, and before the clouds cleared and the moon appeared, the heroic soul was gone, leaving behind a sigh for the ages..."
"Your responsibility is to find the true culprit and clear the county magistrate of his injustice. After everything is settled, you will respectfully present a bowl of tea to the county magistrate to comfort him and prove his innocence."
Chu Mo finished speaking, but he still couldn't get a reply from the two.
He was about to ask a question when Mu You spoke first: "Then this time, it should be our turn to work in Tianling, right?"
"Don't worry, you will understand after some time."
It was another confusing speech. Mu You muttered to himself but didn't dare to contradict him.
For him, what mattered most to him was the destination, but for Xiao Lin, it was the past that he could learn about here.
Therefore, no matter how many days it takes, she can wait.
In recent days, the weather in Tianling has been very good. The chilly spring breeze was a thing of the past for many months, and the days are gradually approaching the hot summer.
But the higher the temperature rose, the more Xiao Lin missed his family in another time and space.
When she and Mu You first came here, it was midsummer.
Immersed in the lingering aroma of tea, there was an endless stream of guests coming and going in Liuxiangju. Xiao Lin and Mu You were so busy just cleaning up the tea tables, not to mention the constant shouting of people paying the bill, which made them breathless and sweating.
"Where is Chu Mo!" Mu You yelled impatiently.
Another waiter who was clearing the tea tables in the store pulled up the cloth on his shoulders to wipe the sweat from his forehead and answered loudly, "Boss Chu went to the theater!"
But the surroundings were too noisy, and Mu You accidentally misheard and exclaimed, "What? Brothel? Why is he in a brothel?"
"Theatre! Theatre! Theatre! He's gone to listen to a storyteller! What are you thinking about?"
"That's what I said! Someone like him who doesn't like women shouldn't go there!"
Although Mu You was arguing, the smile on his lips revealed his thoughts.
Liuxiangju has so many guests every day. Some are joking, some are talking about love, some are discussing business, and some are reminiscing with friends. Business is booming, but Chu Mo has not spent a penny to renovate the shop.
He thought that he might have used all the money he earned to buy clothes.
After all, the gorgeous clothes he wore every day were of the highest quality just by looking at them.
"Chu Mo! Is Chu Mo here? Is there a letter?"
In front of Liu Xiangju's house, a postman waved a letter towards the store.
Xiao Lin quickly wiped his hands on himself, walked forward quickly to take the letter, and thanked the postman.
Turning the yellow-brown envelope over, he saw the two big characters "Chu Mo" written in beautiful small seal script in the middle.
Although Xiao Lin was very curious about what was in the letter, he still put it in his sleeve pocket.
After a long time, Chu Mo came over slowly.
But he looked refreshed, probably because he had listened to a good story.
Seeing Chu Mo coming back, Xiao Lin slowly walked up to him and handed him the letter. He took it and immediately opened it to check.
Xiao Lin couldn't see the contents of the letter, but he was full of curiosity, so he stared at Chu Mo's expression, trying to guess something from it.
As Chu Mo's gaze moved up and down several times, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips.
"What's in the letter, Boss Chu?"
Chu Mo did not answer Xiao Lin directly, but directly extended the letter in front of her: "The thing you two have been waiting for has arrived."
Xiao Lin took the letter, turned it around and read it again. It said:
"Brother Chu, I haven't seen you for a long time. I heard about you in recent years, but due to some matters at the court, I was hoping to catch up. I was recently appointed magistrate of Hanlu and have packed my bags to go to the office. Hanlu and Tianling are not far apart, so I sincerely invite you to visit Hanlu to reminisce about the past. I also want to show my respect to you and treat you well. I wonder if you will come?"
The signature is a name written as "Tong Huan".
Xiao Lin asked, "Is this the mission this time? Are you going to keep the appointment?"
"Of course!" Although Chu Mo's back was facing Xiao Lin, his voice was still deep and powerful. "How can I refuse an old friend's invitation? Starting tomorrow, Liu Xiangju will be closed for a few days. Let's go together to meet our old friend."
I don’t know if it was because he was really feeling refreshed by meeting old friends, or if it was because the sunshine made him feel relaxed, but Chu Mo changed his usual dignified demeanor and took much bigger steps.
"By the way, you and Mu You haven't been to Hanlu yet, right? Come with me this time and try the glutinous rice dumplings, a specialty there. They are extremely delicious." Chu Mo suddenly turned his head and said to Xiao Lin, then turned around and walked towards the back hall.
After he mentioned this, Xiao Lin looked at the calendar and counted the days involuntarily.
Indeed, the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching now. On second thought, it would be a great honor to be able to enjoy a glutinous rice dumpling during the Dragon Boat Festival.
But delicious food is a small matter, changing your destiny is a big matter.
When Mu You, who had been doing odd jobs day after day, heard that they were going on a trip and there would be rice dumplings to eat, he immediately became excited and started packing his bags, urging Xiao Lin as he was packing.
"Why are you so enthusiastic today? The last few times I mentioned going out of town, you were the first one to object."
"Oh, I've been doing rough labor for so long, and my life is so boring. Going on a trip and having Chu Mo reimburse the expenses is such a good deal!"
Xiao Lin pouted, not knowing what to say to him, so he could only follow Mu You to pack his clothes.
However, Xiao Lin was very curious about the name Tong Huan.
Chu Mo's old friend? Chu Mo actually has a good friend? Could it be that the old friend Chu Mo mentioned before, who could learn about his past, was referring to Tong Huan?
But I think if he could become a county magistrate, he must be a young master!
The more he guessed, the harder it became for Xiao Lin to suppress his excitement, and he wished he could set out immediately.
Naturally, Chu Mo did not disappoint the two of them.
After the two of them packed their bags, Chu Mo had already found a carriage waiting in front of the store.
Mu You walked behind Xiao Lin. When Xiao Lin opened the curtain to one side, he saw Chu Mo sitting upright with his arms folded across his chest. He couldn't help but laugh and jokingly said, "Boss Chu, you don't want to waste a moment meeting your friends?"
"We haven't seen each other for more than 20 years. Although we have exchanged letters on a daily basis, we have never been able to meet in person. Of course, I want to get together." As soon as Chu Mo finished speaking, he looked inexplicably indifferent when no one was paying attention, but he soon put away that strange look.
Mu You chuckled and slowly sat down.
But as he leaned against the wooden bench, an idea suddenly struck him, and he quickly asked, "You don't own a Liuxiang Residence in Hanlu, do you?"
Chu Mo twisted his mouth and pretended to think: "Hmm... no."
Mu You breathed a sigh of relief, but soon realized the cunning behind it and asked, "So we still have to work to pay you back?"
"That's not necessary this time." Chu Mo raised his thumb and smoothed the black hair that fell on his shoulders. "You two have more important things to do."
Xiao Lin and Mu You: "..."
Hanlu is indeed not far from Tianling, and it only takes a few hours by car to get there.
But sitting in the car was always boring, so Mu You took out a bag of lotus seed cakes from his bag, untied the hemp rope, opened the oil paper, and shook it in front of Xiao Lin.
After Xiao Lin reached out and took a piece at random, Mu You handed the pastry to Chu Mo, but Chu Mo raised his hand to refuse.
Take a light bite and the tip of your tongue will be filled with the fragrance of lotus seeds.
Xiao Lin lowered her eyes, but caught a glimpse of the corner of Chu Mo's clothes, so she looked up at Chu Mo again and asked hesitantly: "Boss Chu...Mr. Tong...who is he?"
After hearing Xiao Lin's question, Mu You also became interested and immediately straightened his body to face Chu Mo.
"He is an old friend of mine."
"His last name is Tong, but I've never heard of anyone from the Tianling family with the last name Tong."
"He doesn't come from a noble family."
Xiao Lin frowned slightly, looking deeply confused. "If he's not from a prominent family, how did he get this position?"
"Not only is he not from a noble family," Chu Mo's lips curled up again, "what's worse, he is the son of a bandit in the mountains."
Son of a horse bandit?
After he reminded him of this, Xiao Lin suddenly realized that he had been so busy these days that he had forgotten that this story was called "Zong Yi Mian and the Bandit Official Leading the Horse"!
Could it be that the horse bandit mentioned here is Tong Huan?
Not only Xiao Lin, but Mu You also found it unbelievable.
But before Xiao Lin could continue, Mu You asked, "According to Kui Xi's rules, the son of a horse bandit cannot participate in the imperial examination, right?"
"Indeed."
"Then he..."
"If you two are curious, you can ask him after meeting him how he got his official position."
Even though Chu Mo said this, Mu You still looked contemptuous.
He scoffed, crossed his arms, and fell back, letting his head rest on the carriage. He closed his eyes and looked disdainful: "Do you still need us to ask? Can't you tell fortunes? Can't you just count on your fingers and tell us?"
After hearing this, Chu Mo remained silent. He lowered his eyes, as if thinking about something.
After a while, he finally spoke: "Wouldn't it be better to let him tell the story of this adventure in his own words?"
Chu Mo's silence struck Xiao Lin as odd, but Mu You, on the other hand, thought it was nothing serious. He nonchalantly continued to jokingly ask, "How did you become good friends with him, considering he's the son of a bandit? Could it be that you're also the son of some bandit?"
"Mu You, please talk less!" Xiao Lin couldn't bear it any longer and interrupted Mu You's offense.
"It's okay." Chu Mo straightened the hem of his clothes. "Of course I'm not the son of a bandit. I met him when I was nine years old. My grandfather took the whole family on an outing. I ran into the mountains and forests out of mischief and accidentally fell into the hands of a local horse bandit named Tong Ba. At that time, Tong Ba and his men were planning to kidnap me and then ask my parents for money to redeem me, but fortunately, I met Tong Huan."
This was the first time that Xiao Lin and Mu You heard Chu Mo talk about the past. They were quite curious and leaned forward halfway, fearing that they would miss any details.
"He secretly released me and took me down the mountain. Perhaps because we were of similar age, we had a very pleasant chat. Later, I learned from him that his mother was originally a village girl from the foot of the mountain. Unfortunately, she was kidnapped by Tong Ba and gave birth to him. However, he disliked fighting and didn't want to steal, so Tong Ba disliked her. He said that he accidentally heard that Tong Ba had kidnapped someone and was worried that it was another pitiful person like his mother, so he sneaked into the detention center. Later, he realized that I was a child and released me without saying a word."
"Then isn't he your benefactor?" Mu You commented first.
Chu Mo nodded.
"But..." Xiao Lin changed the subject, turned his head, lifted the curtain, looked out the window, and scanned the surrounding scene. "What kind of place is Hanlu?"
"Hanlu is a troublesome place."
As soon as Chu Mo said this, Xiao Lin turned around and looked at him with confusion.
He then continued, "This small county is very close to Tianling, but it has never seen any improvement. Logically, all the small towns close to the capital have seen some improvement, but Hanlu alone remains poor. There are rumors that evil spirits are causing trouble, ruining the local feng shui..."
"So, we will encounter monsters on this trip?"
Chu Mo said: "There are not so many monsters in this world. What is more, there are only people who are misled by monsters' words."
"Stop pretending." Mu You smacked his lips in disdain. "Don't you know magic? If magic exists, then there must be demons. Every effect has a cause. You taught me this, Boss Chu."
"Why? Do you really want to meet a monster?"
"Of course! I've been here for so long, and I've only heard others say you know magical arts, but you've never used them in front of us! Oh, that time you protected Jiang Yu and we were amazed, but other than that, we have no idea what magical powers you have. How can I not be curious?"
Chu Mo smiled lightly and didn't answer.
The sun passed over the roof of the carriage from the east and set in the west. After traveling all the way, the carriage finally stopped in front of the city gate.
The coachman said that his carriage could not enter, so he could only send Chu Mo and his group to the city gate and then leave.
Here, Chu Mo gave him some silver and said goodbye to him.
Carrying his bag, Mu You passed the body search by the soldiers at the city gate and began to look around, but what he saw was just the same as usual, not as dilapidated as he had imagined.
After all, it's just a normal small town.
"So where are we going now?" Xiao Lin asked.
"It should be to the government office! The county magistrate should live there!" Mu You answered first.
Xiao Lin didn't know what to say. He just glanced at Chu Mo, and seeing that he was still walking forward, he didn't doubt it anymore and followed closely.
Walking along the street, the shouts of vendors on both sides were very lively, and it seemed peaceful. However, the situation became very different when the few people stepped onto the first bluestone slab in front of the government office.
"What? County Magistrate Tong is not here?" Mu You questioned a gatekeeper in front of the government office.
"He must have gone out for something, or to handle official business?" Xiao Lin guessed.
Unexpectedly, the yamen runner shook his head repeatedly after hearing this, with a hint of arrogance on his face: "He is not going out for something. Master Tong does not live here."
Chu Mo tilted his head and asked, "Not living here? What do you mean?"
"That's right. Master Tong is going to live in the Dongwu Courtyard in the west of the city. If you want to look for him, you won't be able to find him in the county government office."
As the bailiff spoke, his attitude became more and more arrogant, which made Mu You so angry that he clenched his teeth and almost swung his fist at his ugly face.
Fortunately, Chu Mo stopped him and he didn't make a big mistake.
Stopping Mu You and Xiao Lin behind him, Chu Mo saluted the yamen runner, then led the two away and walked towards the west of the city.
But Chu Mo's obstruction did not dispel Mu You's resentment. Especially when he thought of the face of the yamen runner just now, he was immediately furious: "How can this be unreasonable! He is just a small yamen runner, how can he be so arrogant and domineering!"
"Alright!" Xiao Lin hurried to Mu You's side, took his arm and soothed him, "Less trouble is worse than more. You should control your temper sometimes."
"Look at him! We're guests! And he's blocking us in on this hot day? Do you have any sense of etiquette?"
"But it's strange that the county magistrate doesn't live in the county government office." Xiao Lin whispered while patting Mu You's arm.
"I think there are probably no fewer strange things here than in Yunchong's place." Mu You looked at Chu Mo's back with a slight grin on his lips.
They walked around many street corners, with the shade of trees coming and going, and the heat wave looming in front of them. In addition, their luggage was still a bit heavy, so Mu You and Xiao Lin felt a little breathless.
Fortunately, after walking for a while, a wooden plaque engraved with "Dongwu Courtyard" finally came into their sight.
Unable to bear the heat, Mu You ran to the front and knocked on the wooden door of the courtyard impatiently. He slapped it with his hands and shouted at the door.
Suddenly, Mu You felt a blow on the back of his neck. He cried out "Ouch" and immediately covered the back of his head. Then, a stone fell to the ground with a clang.
"Who!" he shouted.
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