Chapter 863 List
Daji patted his shoulder and said, "Just focus on recuperating. County Magistrate Tang will ask you more questions later. Just answer them truthfully."
Erji looked a little dazed. He asked, "Brother, can this case really be solved?"
He murmured, "It's been twelve years."
Daji said to him, "Sure."
Erji lay down and didn't move.
Seeing his eldest brother getting up to leave, Erji opened his mouth and called him softly, "Brother, does Miss Man really not hate me?"
Daji sighed, reached out and pressed the quilt for him, and whispered: "I don't hate you. Miss Man said that the fault is not yours, but the murderer's. You are also a victim."
Daji paused and said, "She is a very smart and kind child."
"Just like her parents?"
Daji nodded and said, "Yes, like her parents."
Erji didn't say anything else.
Daji got up and went out of the house, and saw his son Zheng holding a slingshot and aiming at the tree in the yard. He smiled slightly, walked up to him, held his head and rubbed it.
Boan shook his head, looked at his father, and called out "Dad" with a slightly red face.
Daji nodded and asked, "How's schoolwork going?"
Boan just tapped his feet and said nothing.
Daji said, "If you really can't continue studying, then go on to study for two more years. Once you've learned everything you need to learn, I'll send you to learn Kung Fu."
"Grandpa and grandma want me to study."
Daji knew that kind of pain. He could not remember an article no matter how hard he tried, even though he had tried very hard. His wife asked someone to write to him, saying that Bo'an stayed up all night long to study, but his grades were still average. His teacher had to come to visit him every once in a while, and Bo'an became very nervous every time he came.
This reminded Daji of the time when he accompanied the young master to study as a child, but at that time he was a servant, and it didn't matter whether he was good at studying or not. As long as he could recognize a few words, be a good book boy, and be able to fight, it would be fine.
But other hopes were placed on his son.
So Daji thought for a moment and said to Bo'an, "It's okay. We still have your second brother. Let him take the exam. If you can't learn it, go learn martial arts. You can be a bodyguard or farm at home in the future."
Boan perked up and asked, "Really?"
Daji frowned and asked, "Is the second son doing well in his studies?"
"Okay, mother said my second brother takes after her. He has a good memory and is much better at studying than me."
Daji breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, saying, "Then the second son will go to take the exam. I'll ask the old lady to help you learn martial arts once you have learned all the characters and can write some articles."
Boan became happy and jumped up excitedly with the slingshot in his hand.
Daji couldn't help but smile, but he began to think of Bai Shan and Man Baolai in his heart. He looked at Boan thoughtfully, opened his mouth, but finally said nothing.
Manbao and Baishan couldn't sleep much, as the gift for Qi Jue was placed on the table, but Manbao had already recovered from his heartache.
As the night deepened, the whole yard fell silent. Manbao's mind kept replaying Erji she had met and the things she had heard today. Finally, she could not help it and got up in the dark to light the oil lamp.
Zhou Lijun went home, and this room was hers to live in, so she didn't have to worry about disturbing others. Manbao took out the ink stick and ground it in the inkstone. After taking the pen, he wrote her parents' names on a piece of white paper, and added Bai Qi's name below.
Manbao paused when he was about to continue writing, but continued writing "He Xiancheng, the former county magistrate of Shu County".
Erji said that many people died that day, including the guards of the Bai family and the county yamen runners...
Bai Shan, who lived next door to Man Bao, couldn't sleep either. He lay in bed thinking more. He knew some of those people's names, but most of them he didn't know. But now, he couldn't openly check them, let alone go to pay homage...
Bai Shan sighed, turned over, and continued to look inside the wall with his eyes open.
At this time, County Magistrate Tang did not go to bed either. The light in the study was still on. He spread out the files he had found and copied the names of the people in them onto paper one by one.
Bai Qi, Zhou Yin and his wife, Xia, the county magistrate He Ziyun, his eldest son He Chang, and the yamen runner Du Zhisong...
As more and more names were written on the paper, County Magistrate Tang felt increasingly heavy-hearted.
After copying the last name onto the paper, County Magistrate Tang stopped writing. A clear and reasonable voice could be heard from outside the room. "Madam, the master is working. Why don't you go back first? I'll go tell the master right away."
Mrs. Tang was rarely stopped by Mingli, so she stopped and didn't force her way in. She handed the food box to Mingli and said, "I'm fine. It's a late spring cold snap now. Please make sure he gets some clothes. There's some soup in here. Let him drink it and go to bed early."
Mingli bowed his head and agreed.
Mrs. Tang looked up at the figure reflected in the window, and seeing that he was still standing in front of the table holding a pen, she turned and left.
County Magistrate Tang tilted his head to listen to the noise outside the door. After Madam Tang left, he picked up his pen and added word by word after the rows of names: "In the tenth year of Dazhen, the Jianwei Weir burst and affected 38,000 people..."
The last word was like a sharp edge. County Magistrate Tang looked at the densely packed names on the large piece of paper on the table, closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them again, he became more determined.
He put down his pen, waited until the paper was dry before folding it and setting it aside, then picked up his pen again to write the letter.
Mingli came in with a lunch box and took out the soup from it. "Master, drink some soup first."
County Magistrate Tang shook his head and asked, "Has the case been handled?"
Mingli calculated the time and said, "I should be able to come back tomorrow."
County Magistrate Tang nodded, sealed the two letters he had written, and handed one to Mingli. "Give it to him when he returns tomorrow and have him deliver it back to his father in the capital."
It is sensible to follow.
County Magistrate Tang collected the other letter, then glanced at the soup. After a moment's thought, he placed the letter in a box and locked it. After putting it away, he stood up and said, "I won't drink anymore. I'm going back to the main courtyard."
Mingli agreed and quickly sent County Magistrate Tang back to the backyard. Mrs. Tang was indeed awake. Seeing County Magistrate Tang return, she looked up at him and smiled, asking, "Are you done with your work?"
County Magistrate Tang nodded calmly, "I'm done."
Madam Tang didn't ask what he was busy with, and said, "The young master of the Qi family is having his birthday tomorrow. Are you going?"
"That kid is only sixteen or seventeen, what kind of life is he living?" County Magistrate Tang shook his head without thinking, "I won't go."
"What do you mean sixteen or seventeen? He's only sixteen. If a boy of this age wants to get married, he'd definitely need to find more people to know."
"I have things to do at the yamen tomorrow," County Magistrate Tang said. "There's a case in the countryside that I have to go down to take a look at. You go ahead and ask Madam Qi to make amends for me when you see her."
Mrs. Tang asked curiously, "A murder?"
County Magistrate Tang coughed lightly and said, "It's theft. Now that the busy spring season has begun, this matter is very sensitive. If the people gather together and fight privately, if it is not handled properly, there may be casualties."
Mrs. Tang nodded without any doubt.
The next update will be around 6:00 PM
(End of this chapter)
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