Soon, the horse came. Although Leng Yi had never ridden a horse, he was led by Zaoli, and this was a local horse from Bazhou. It had good endurance but was relatively short. Riding it was no bigger than riding a donkey.

.

Leng Yi first took care of Zhuo Qiaoniang to get on the horse, and then he got on the horse himself. He deliberately pretended to be a little scared, and also put on an official air, asking the Zaoli who was leading the horse to be careful and not to throw them off the horse.

Horses were in short supply in the Song Dynasty. They only had these two horses in their yamen. They were used to hitch carriages. Because they had to walk on mountain roads, they were untied and used.

Leng Yi sat on the horse, gave Qiu Hong a few words of advice, and then set off with his master, the policeman and Zaoli.

When he came back before, he sat in a carriage, with the coachman shouting and clearing the way. This time, when he left the city, he took a government servant with him, who sounded the gong in front of him to clear the way. Passers-by had to give way and stood on the roadside with their hands down.

Leng Yi was sitting on the horse, with his head raised and his official power displayed, looking at the solemn people, thinking that the ancient officials were called parents officials, they had a high air, and they were really majestic.

The two soldiers at the gate of the city heard the sound of the gong sounding to open the way. They gathered their energy and stood up early. They waited for Leng Yi and others to pass by and paid attention.

After leaving the city, there were few pedestrians on the road, so there was no need to sound the gong, and the walking speed became faster.

After not walking far, we got off the official road and started climbing.

The mountain road was winding, getting higher and higher, and got into the clouds and mist, and the white clouds were all under my feet.

Zhuo Qiao was looking around excitedly. Leng Yi looked back at her, thinking that the way she was doing housework must have come from a poor family. Why was she so new to the landscape like a young lady in the city?

Leng Yi smiled and said, "Is it fun?"

"It's so fun. I haven't been to the mountains for a long time!" Zhuo Qiaoniang said: "When I was a child, my brothers and sisters and I went up to the mountains to collect firewood every day. At that time, we hated the mountains so much. We thought they were so high and the climb was so tiring.

, I really wish I could live in the plains. - I heard that there is a great plain beyond the capital, with endless horizons. You can ride a horse for a whole day without finding a small slope. The firewood can be cut on the flat ground, without climbing, which is very comfortable. Later,

After I married an official, I never went up the mountain again. Instead, I thought about the mountain."

Leng Yi smiled and said: "It's no wonder. You have lived in the mountains since you were a child. Although it is difficult, you have become accustomed to it. You have a kind of love and deep feelings for him. In fact, people are like this too. When they are lost,

Only then will you realize how precious it is.”

"Yes! It would be great if I could come to the mountains to play more often in the future."

"Since you like it, I will often take you hiking in the future."

"real?"

"Of course it's true, don't you know, I also like mountains very much."

"Of course I know. You are also a child from the mountains, so naturally you can't bear to leave the mountains."

Leng Yi didn't know how much Zhuo Qiaoniang knew about the past events in Nazhi County. He didn't dare to talk further for fear of leaking the truth, but he was very happy because since they all like mountains, he would have an excuse to go to the mountains to continue rock climbing in the future.

, he really couldn't bear to give up this hobby. However, he couldn't be anxious. He had to wait until he had established a firm footing and changed little by little so that he wouldn't attract attention.

At noon, they finally arrived at Kuli Village.

A government official had already run into the village and informed the village chief in advance, that is, Lai Yuanwai. So Lai Yuanwai and some villagers were already waiting at the entrance of the village.

Before the situation became clear, Leng Yi preferred not to speak. He held an air of dignity, sat on his horse, and looked at the people approaching him indifferently.

At first, a fat man, wearing silk and satin, with a shiny face, nodded, bowed and cupped his hands and said: "I see you, my lord!"

Leng Yi nodded, stroking his sparse beard and said, "This county is here to investigate the case. Do you understand?"

"I know. The eldest man worked tirelessly to come to our Kuli Village to investigate the case for the tragic death of his beloved concubine. He worked really hard. The villain is extremely grateful and has already prepared a small amount of wine in his humble house to help the eldest man wash away his dust.

I also ask the great master to please you."

Leng Yi also knew that the person in front of him was an outsider. He said calmly: "Okay, it's noon now, and we have to eat. The county is also going to ask you a few questions. Please lead the way."

The group of people followed Lai Yuanwai to his house. The house was very grand. It was built layer by layer along the hillside. It was very majestic.

Lai Yuanwai led Leng Yi and the others into the lobby, where a large round table was set up, filled with all kinds of delicacies.

Leng Yi introduced Zhuo Qiaoniang, and the official seemed to have known about it, so he sent several of his wives and concubines to wait in order to take care of Zhuo Qiaoniang. He immediately welcomed Zhuo Qiaoniang into the inner house, and then the guests and hosts took their seats.

Leng Yi said: "This county has a shameful saying at the front - eating is for eating, and collecting taxes is for collecting taxes. This time, in addition to investigating the case, the county also has to raise taxes. If you want to treat guests to dinner,

Just want to get rid of the huge debt we owe. That’s wrong, and we won’t eat it.”

Lai Yuanwai hurriedly nodded and bowed and said: "That's natural. A bridge leads to a bridge, and a road leads to a road. Naturally, I won't use this to gain favor."

So Leng Yi picked up the bowls and chopsticks and started eating.

Lai Yuanwai and several squires waited for Leng Yi to eat some food and then began to persuade him to drink.

Leng Yi poured the wine from the wine glass, turned the glass upside down, and said: "When handling cases in this county, I never drink alcohol!"

Master Dong and the catcher had already picked up their glasses, but when they saw Leng Yi acting like this, they quickly put down their glasses.

Lai Yuanwai and several squires looked at each other and tried to persuade him several times, but Leng Yi ignored him at all. He just ate all the food, stood up, clapped his hands, and said: "This county has finished eating, you eat slowly!"

Then, go to the middle of the lobby and sit on a guest seat to the right of the two chairs.

Everyone in the venue was very embarrassed. The magistrate didn't even eat. How could they have the nerve to continue? Everyone said they were done eating and got up and sat on the chairs on both sides.

The waiter hurriedly ordered tea to be served, and sat down next to him with a smile on his face. He apologized profusely and said that the wine was not to his taste, and he asked for his forgiveness.

Leng Yi waved his hand and said: "This county has begun to investigate the case. Please ask all non-members and irrelevant people to retreat outside the house and call the maid named Xinghua who followed the victim's grandmother to the county government office when the crime occurred.

The county still has some questions for her!”

Lai Yuanwai hurriedly agreed, and he persuaded several squires to retreat. After a while, Lai Yuanwai came in with a maid. He smiled and said, "Sir, Xinghua is here."

The maid came forward and knelt down to kowtow: "I would like to bow before you, the eldest master!"

Leng Yi held the tea cup, glanced at her, and said, "Raise your head!"

Xinghua slowly raised her head and cast a wink at Leng Yi. Leng Yi didn't seem to notice it at all. After the waiter went out, he looked at Xinghua and asked without any emotion: "I am

The county wants to re-investigate the case of your grandmother’s murder in the county government office. Please tell the whole story again. Be more detailed!”

"My slave knows," Xinghua said delicately: "The night before, the master told our grandma that our annual income was not good this year, but we still have to pay so much tax. If we really can't pay it, we asked our grandma to go to the county government office.

I went to the eldest master to intercede and see if I could get some relief. That morning, I accompanied my grandma and went down the mountain to the county town under the escort of two servants. The two servants were waiting outside the yamen gate. The slave maid and my grandma went to see you, the eldest master.

——Do you want to tell us how we asked to see the great master?"

"No, let's talk about it later."

"Oh!"

While walking out, she complained of stomachache as she walked. Grandma had a bad stomach these days and often had stomach upsets. She said she wanted to go to the latrine and asked me to accompany her. I accompanied my grandma to the latrine of the Yamen. At that time

It’s already noon, and many people doing business have left, so there is no one in the toilet yard.”

"There was no one in the toilet yard at that time?"

"Yes."

"Go on."

"The slave was waiting at the entrance of the yard. After waiting for a while, a big yellow dog suddenly ran out, dragging a chain..."

"Did you see a big yellow dog running out dragging a chain?"

"Yes, it jumped out from the yard around the corner of the house and scared me."

"Well, go on."
Chapter completed!