As late autumn arrives, the withered leaves fall one after another, and it feels chilly to go out without wearing an extra layer of clothing.
Fu Man'er pulled her coat tighter and said to Shuangxi beside her, "Winter may come early this year."
"That's what the old lady said too. She told the steward to find the embroiderers as soon as possible and make the winter clothes in advance, so that we won't have nothing to wear when winter comes."
Fu Man'er looked at her coat. If she remembered correctly, this coat was also made this year. It seemed that it wouldn't be long before she would be wearing new clothes again.
Thinking of all the clothes in the room, she still said, "I'll tell the housekeeper to make fewer outfits for me." She simply couldn't breathe.
It's no exaggeration to say that she still has clothes in her wardrobe that were made last year and that she's never worn.
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"Yes, I'll go tell the housekeeper in a bit," Shuangxi replied.
Thinking that winter would come early this year, Fu Man'er decided to go to the cloth shop to discuss the winter cloth matters with the various managers.
Just as an idea was forming in her mind, Fu Man'er suddenly had a flash of inspiration, but it was too fast for her to grasp.
"Miss?" Shuangxi looked at Fuman'er in confusion. She was about to get into the carriage, but now she was frozen in place.
Fu Man'er seemed a little agitated. She turned to Shuangxi and asked, "Did those merchants who lost things lose a lot of clothes and blankets?"
"ah?"
“Yes,” Shuangxi nodded.
For the past few days, the officials have been searching the town to see where the missing items are hidden.
"The things we lost were the things we needed most in our daily lives: clothes and blankets to keep warm, and rice and vegetables to fill our stomachs."
"In other words, the person who stole the item may now be facing the situation of not having enough to wear or eat."
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Fu Man'er muttered to herself, and as she spoke, she seemed to have figured something out, but not quite.
There are so many people who don't have enough to eat or wear, so what kind of person could steal so much stuff all at once?
After hearing her idea, Xu Yi immediately sent people to investigate the area with the most beggars in town, but they found nothing.
The case immediately reached a stalemate. The county magistrate had already sent people to all the major pawnshops to inform the government immediately if anyone brought in lost jewelry to pawn.
But after a few days, everything was calm again, and the stolen items seemed to have vanished into thin air, never to be seen in town again.
The merchants who had lost their items would come to the yamen every few days to demand an explanation, but each time they returned empty-handed, leaving the county magistrate in a real bind.
Out of desperation, they even posted a notice stating that anyone who could provide clues would receive a different reward depending on the importance of the clue.
Internally, it was even said that whoever solved the case would not only be rewarded with twenty taels of silver for meritorious service, but the county magistrate would also take the money from his own private treasury with a wave of his hand.
It's clear how desperately the merchants had pushed him.
Finally, he complained to Xu Yi, "President Xu, please help me out more and have your people keep a close eye on things, otherwise I really don't know what to do."
The original text comes from Tower & Read Novels~&
When a case arises, the government is responsible for resolving it; the guards merely assist from the sidelines.
But it seems the county magistrate is practically saying: Xu Yi, the matter of solving this case rests on your shoulders.
"We will do our best if there is anything we can do to help." The guards also have a lot to do every day, so Xu Yi didn't make any grand promises.
The county magistrate knew his temperament and didn't say anything more, since it would be pointless to say anything more anyway. After exchanging a few pleasantries, the county magistrate put his hands behind his back, dejectedly prepared to return to the county office.
"My lord, my lord." I heard someone calling from behind as soon as I stepped out the door.
Looking back, I saw Qian Dayong.
"Oh, it's Dayong. You're married now, why don't you spend more time with your wife? You're back so soon."
Previously, when Qian Dayong was the deputy commander of the guard, the county magistrate would still give him some face. Now that he is just an ordinary guard, the county magistrate clearly doesn't take him seriously.
They boarded the carriage as usual, and the servant next to them lifted the curtain, allowing the county magistrate to peek out and speak to Qian Dayong.
"Sir, so many merchants have lost their things and are anxiously looking for them. My brothers are running around all day, so busy that I can't stay at home. I definitely have to come and help."
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Without waiting for Qian Dayong's reaction, he pulled the carriage curtain off from the servant's hand and told the driver to drive.
"Pah!" After the carriage had gone a little further away, Qian Dayong spat in the direction the carriage had left, his face full of disgust.
"He's just a minor county magistrate, yet he acts like some high-ranking official."
"With your meager abilities, you still have the nerve to boast to others about how well you've managed Yunzhen. Don't you even realize how much of that credit goes to Xu Yi?"
Although Qian Dayong resented Xu Yi for taking his position, he also disapproved of the county magistrate's behavior.
Back when he was a deputy commander, he was quite close to the county magistrate, and would occasionally visit the magistrate's house for a drink.
Now he's nothing, the county magistrate completely disregards him.
When Xu Yi got married, the county magistrate had been visiting the Xu family for a long time. When Qian Dayong got married, he personally delivered an invitation to the county magistrate.
The invitation was different from those of ordinary people; it was a few cents more expensive. Qian Dayong felt that this was more befitting of the county magistrate's status.
Who would have thought that on the wedding day, the county magistrate not only didn't come, but didn't even send over any gifts, as if he had completely ignored the invitation.
"Just you wait, I'll take back everything that belongs to me one day." Qian Dayong glared fiercely at Yue Xingyue's carriage for a while before turning back.
In the following days, Qian Dayong often left early and returned late, and everyone said he was working too hard.
When the news reached Xu Yi's ears, Xu Yi was somewhat surprised. After all, Qian Dayong was not like this before. His tendency to shirk his duties made Xu Yi feel that there was no need to keep him.
But now things are going against the norm. Could it be that Qian Dayong has suddenly come to his senses?
That shouldn't be the case. If Qian Dayong had come to his senses, none of those things would have happened.
Xu Yi immediately brought in a few people for questioning, and the only information he got was that Qian Dayong was seriously checking the missing items.
“Da Yong said he had made progress, but when we asked him, he wouldn’t tell us.”
According to Xu Yi's understanding, Qian Dayong's reluctance to speak was largely due to his unwillingness to let others steal his credit.
"Where has he been investigating cases these past two days?" Xu Yi asked again.
"It seems to be outside the city."
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“When I was on duty at the city gate, I saw him often going out of the city.”
After dismissing the questioner, Xu Yi fell into deep thought. Investigate the case outside the city? Investigate the things stolen in the city outside the city?
They've searched almost the entire city these past few days, but haven't found a trace of it. At first, Xu Yi did consider the possibility that the item might have already been moved out of the city.
However, Xu Yi asked the gatekeeper, who said there was nothing unusual that day, so Xu Yi gave up the idea of taking the goods out of the city.
Silver and jewelry can be carried on your person, but food, clothing, and bedding are very conspicuous and cannot be carried by hand alone; they require at least a cart or horse-drawn carriage to transport them.
Both of these are quite conspicuous; the gatekeeper wouldn't miss them.
Xu Yi considered it over and felt that since there was no progress inside the city, it would be futile to search further. Perhaps he should really look outside the city.
He got up and walked outside, intending to find the gatekeeper from that day and ask him some more questions.
Just then, someone came running in from outside, shouting as they ran, "The case is solved! The case is solved!"
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