It seemed he was in big trouble. He now hoped that the old farmer would come over soon, regardless of whether it was Zhang Debang or not, so that this matter could end quickly.
After returning, Magistrate Liang immediately arranged for personnel to conduct a survey of the rural areas surrounding the county seat, with a focus on the new residents who had arrived in the past year or two.
To avoid alerting the suspect, all investigators traveled in plainclothes and memorized Zhang Debang's physical characteristics, reporting any suspicious activity immediately.
At this time, Pingyang County was outwardly relaxed but inwardly tight, with strict controls in place, and pawnshops were of paramount importance.
Manager Chu was preparing to auction off the luminous pearl, but Magistrate Liang's visit completely disrupted his plans.
It seems that the luminous pearl can no longer be sold to outsiders, and we need to explain this to those who sold it.
How to explain this also gave Manager Chu a real headache. He definitely couldn't tell the truth, so he could only make up a reason.
After much thought, he could only say that he also liked the luminous pearl and had no plans to sell it at the moment.
The sellers, of course, refused to accept this, believing that Manager Chu was deliberately withholding stock to inflate prices. As a result, the pawnshop was noisy and chaotic all day long.
Manager Chu had no choice. Judging from the current situation, the luminous pearl no longer belonged to him. He had to keep it safe and prevent any mistakes.
Only Manager Chu knew the troubles in his heart. If he had followed the original plan and auctioned off the luminous pearl to the highest bidder, he would have made a huge profit, and people would have understood.
But if you hold onto it and don't sell it now, it gives the impression that you're trying to raise the price. You've already made so much money from a single luminous pearl and you're still not satisfied? How much more do you want to make?
More than ten days later, the pawnshop became completely quiet, and no one came to mention buying the luminous pearl anymore. It seems that Manager Chu has offended quite a few people, which is not a good thing for him.
The men sent out by Magistrate Liang investigated secretly for several days, but they found no valuable clues.
They searched the city and its outskirts thoroughly, but could not find any trace of Zhang Debang.
Zhao Xian and his team stayed in Pingyang County for more than ten days without any results. It seemed that the only way to find Zhang Debang was to expand the search area.
Pingyang County is located in Huaiyin Prefecture, which administers three counties: Pingyang, Mengdu, and Tianhe. Zhang Debang is cunning and treacherous, and has a very strong sense of vigilance.
Zhang Debang pawned the Night Pearl in Pingyang County, which suggests that he is unlikely to be in the vicinity of Pingyang County.
Zhao Xian asked Magistrate Liang to find a map of Huaiyin Prefecture and listened to his detailed introduction of the three counties and one prefecture.
Next, everyone began to analyze Zhang Debang's hiding place. Huaiyin Prefecture had a large population and a vibrant economy, so it was unlikely that Zhang Debang was hiding there.
Mengdu is a wealthy county with many talented people, many of whom hold official positions in the imperial court, so Zhang Debang dared not hide there.
Tianhe County is relatively remote and sparsely populated, and is considered an impoverished county. Given Zhang Debang's current situation, it is more likely that he is hiding there.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xian spoke up:
"It seems we need to go to Huaiyin Prefecture, where the prefect will make unified arrangements to send people to search for Zhang Debang's whereabouts, with Tianhe County being the key focus of the search."
Li Guang nodded and said:
“Brother Zhao is right. Then we shall head to Huaiyin Prefecture immediately. We cannot let our guard down in Pingyang either, until we capture Zhang Debang.”
During this time, Magistrate Liang had been working very hard. With these three powerful figures by his side, he couldn't sleep well at night. Upon hearing that the three were going to Huaiyin Prefecture, he immediately became happy and said:
"Rest assured, everyone. It is my duty to capture Zhang Debang and bring him to justice. As soon as he shows his face in Pingyang, I will capture him and bring him to justice."
"Alright, let's do it this way. We'll leave today and head to Huaiyin Prefecture."
After seeing Zhao Xian and the others off, Magistrate Liang breathed a sigh of relief, but the matter was not yet over and still needed to be taken seriously.
The group had been staying in Pingyang County for more than ten days, and had hardly gone out to play. They were getting quite restless. Once they left Pingyang County, Li Xue suddenly became very active.
To have more fun, Li Xue and four guards disguised themselves as men, which made them feel less constrained.
"Once we go to Huaiyin Prefecture and settle things properly, leaving it to the local officials, we can go back."
"If we insist on waiting for Zhang Debang to be caught, who knows when that will take," Li Xue said.
“Your Highness is right. We’ve been delayed in Pingyang County for more than ten days, neither enjoying ourselves nor accomplishing our business. If we hand this matter over to the Prefect of Huaiyin, then we’re free to continue our travels,” Zhao Xian said.
This arrangement was the best choice, and Li Guang naturally agreed.
"It only takes a little over three hours to get from Pingyang to Huaiyin Prefecture. We will pass through Mengdu along the way, where we can have lunch before heading to Huaiyin Prefecture in the afternoon."
The group rode at full speed and arrived in Mengdu County in less than two hours. Since it was still early, they decided to wander around the town before going to a restaurant for a meal later.
Mengdu County is very lively, with a constant flow of traffic and long streets lined with shops on both sides, and the sounds of hawking and selling never cease.
The group walked down the street, looking around, hoping to find a distinctive restaurant to sample the local cuisine of Mengdu.
In the central area of the county town, the place is even more lively. On one side of the street, there is a large family with a very grand three-story house.
In ancient times, due to the limitations of building materials, ordinary people could only build one-story houses. If a house had two stories, it was definitely a sign of wealth.
But this family's house had three floors, so they must be a very wealthy family in Mengdu.
What's going on at this house today? Why is it so lively? The group stopped to see what was going on.
Soon everyone understood that it was the eldest daughter of this family who was throwing a bridal bouquet to choose a husband.
This is quite interesting. It's the first time these people have ever seen a young lady from a wealthy family throw a bridal bouquet to choose a husband. They're going to have a good look at it now.
“The eldest daughter of the Xiang family is already twenty-two years old this year. She is the most beautiful girl in our Mengdu. The Xiang family wants to find a suitable match for his daughter, but after so many years, he has not found one he likes.”
"Yes, this family is so interesting. The son-in-law chosen by Master Xiang is not to be accepted by Miss Xiang. The son-in-law that Miss Xiang likes is not to be accepted by Master Xiang. This back and forth has delayed Miss Xiang's life, and she has become an old maid."
“Nowadays, who with money would marry an old maid? And if someone without money wanted to marry her, Master Xiang wouldn’t agree.”
"Therefore, Master Xiang had no choice but to resort to this method of throwing an embroidered ball to choose a husband, hoping to find a wealthy and eligible bachelor."
The onlookers around were buzzing with discussion, and Zhao Xian and the others, listening nearby, basically understood what was going on.
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