The location of the house was very good. It could be considered a high-class residential area in Qing 'an Prefectural City. The people around it were either rich or noble. Perhaps it was a coincidence that the Princess's house was next door.
The courtyard assigned to Li Yi was the largest, but he didn't move in. This place was less than a quarter of an hour away from Ruyi Square. He was already used to living there, so there was no need to move back and forth.
Fang and the others were obviously very satisfied with their new home. After seeing their own house, the trace of melancholy that arose from moving away from Willow Leaf Village quickly disappeared.
Although it was still far from the beautiful wives and big house he had imagined, at least he had taken a big step towards his goal. Progress was a good thing, and a bright and beautiful future was waiting for them.
They also didn't have to worry about the bandits from the Green Forest coming to cause trouble. Even the most brainless person wouldn't dare to gather so many people at the same time and act wildly in the prefectural city. Without so many people, if they encountered Fang and the others, they would die a horrible death.
The gunpowder formula had already been given to MIngzhu. This thing hadn't been seen by anyone, so he would never hand it over. But since things had already come to this point, he could only pretend to be generous and give it away.
As for what they would use it for in the future, he didn't know, and he didn't want to know.
However, this was how things were in the world. Accidents always came so suddenly, and no one knew what would happen in the next moment.
The next day, Li Yi, who had been resting at home, was hurriedly summoned by a bailiff. An hour later, he appeared in a village close to the prefectural city.
MIngzhu had already arrived before him. At this moment, she was standing under a courtyard wall with a thoughtful expression on her face.
On the way here, the bailiff had already roughly explained the situation to him.
This place was called Liu family village. They were currently at the home of a landlord in Liu family village.
This morning, the landlord's servant came to the yamen to report that something strange had happened at home. A few bailiffs followed the servant to investigate.
It wasn't a big deal, but it wasn't a small one either. Of the three cows in Squire Liu's house, two had mysteriously died last night. The farming cows were all recorded by the yamen, and if they were slaughtered without permission, they would be jailed. There had to be an explanation for the death of two cows. If Li Yi hadn't asked for leave, he would have brought the bailiffs to investigate this morning.
"What's wrong? Is there something wrong?" Li Yi walked in front of MIngzhu and asked with some doubt.
If Li Mingzhu had nothing better to do, she might have done something about the death of two cows. After all, it was in her nature to be a busybody. However, she had just received the gunpowder formula yesterday, so she probably did not have the time to do so.
"Look, isn't this …" She looked at Li Yi and pointed at the collapsed wall. Her tone was a little bewildered.
Li Yi looked in the direction of her finger and was slightly stunned.
A portion of the courtyard wall that was about ten feet tall had collapsed, and the base of the wall had caved in, forming a large black pit. Li Yi was slightly startled. He pinched a handful of soil on the ground and sniffed it. He smelled a familiar pungent smell.
This time, even he was a little surprised. It couldn't be … such a coincidence, right?
He turned his head and looked at MIngzhu's eyes. He nodded slightly.
"That's right."
…
…
"Sirs, even if I had the guts, I wouldn't dare to kill the cows! I really don't know how they died! "
A fat man wearing a squire's uniform was crying. His voice was full of tears and snot. Anyone who saw it would be sad, and anyone who heard it would be tearful.
At this time, of course, he couldn't keep his composure. If he couldn't explain this matter clearly and the blame was placed on him, he would really be finished.
"Alright, alright, don't cry. What happened last night? Tell me the truth." Li Yi was a little annoyed by this guy's crying, so he waved his hand and said.
The problem now was no longer the death of two cows.
He didn't know who was the genius that actually made the black gunpowder. If this matter couldn't be explained clearly, many people would be out of luck.
Hearing the County Lieutenant's words, the fat squire immediately stopped crying.
"Sirs, it was like this. Yesterday, I had just married my third concubine. I drank a few more cups with the guests. When I woke up, it was already past midnight. I took off my clothes …"
"Skip this part …"
"I was about to …" Suddenly, I heard an earth-shattering sound coming from outside. I was so scared that my legs went weak … "
"Skip this part as well …"
"…"
"When the servants of the mansion went to check, they saw that two cows in the cowshed were dead. Even the wall of the courtyard was missing a hole." The fat squire still had some lingering fear when he thought about this matter. He said in horror, "Some servants said that when they woke up at night, they saw the cowshed on fire. Then, a thunderbolt fell from the sky and split the courtyard wall open. The two cows were also taken by the heavens …"
"I swear that I will eat vegetarian and pray to Buddha in the future. I will repair the bridge and pave the road. I will do more good things for the villagers. I only hope that the heavens will not send down the divine thunder for the sake of my parents and children …"
Squire Liu knelt in the courtyard and kept kowtowing. The commotion last night must have scared him half to death. Moreover, he was scared at that awkward moment. Whether he could still have a happy life in the future was also a problem.
"It's definitely gunpowder." Li Yi turned to look at MIngzhu and whispered.
The princess pressed her eyebrows and looked at Li Yi with an incomparably complicated expression.
Yesterday, he had just said that from the point of view of probability, someone would discover the secret of gunpowder within a day, or at most, in a few decades. He was right, and it was the worst possibility.
"Why are you looking at me? I didn't do it."
MIngzhu glanced at him. Of course, she knew that it wasn't Li Yi who did it. The city gates were closed at night and no one could come out. Moreover, he was selfless in offering the formula and had no grudges with Squire Liu. There was no need for him to do such a thing.
The plan now was to find the person who knew the formula as soon as possible. If someone with ulterior motives used it, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"Think carefully. Who do you have grudges with? Don't overlook any of them." MIngzhu looked at Squire Liu and asked with a frown.
"No, no. I have always been well-behaved and kind. I don't have any enemies." Squire Liu shook his head with a face full of doubt.
"So you admit that the death of the two cows was your fault?" The princess's expression became a little unfriendly.
"Squire Zhang from the neighboring village had a quarrel with me last year over the ownership of a piece of land. I'm afraid he still holds a grudge."
"Liu Er Gou, he is a farmer in the village and has always had a grudge with me."
"To tell you the truth, a few days ago, he saw me having an affair with the cripple's wife from the Liu family next door. Although I paid him some money, I feel that the way he looks at me these days is very strange …"
"…"
After being glanced at by MIngzhu, Squire Liu's amnesia immediately recovered and he started to talk non-stop.
Her people had already recorded everything. After a while, Squire Liu said with a bitter face, "Your Excellencies, other than these, I really can't remember anything else."
The person in charge of the recording twitched his mouth. There were already more than 20 names written on the paper.
"Master, Third Madam hasn't eaten since yesterday. Just now when the cook brought the food over, she still didn't eat. No matter how we tried to persuade her, it was useless …" A round-faced girl ran in from outside the door and said as she ran. When she saw the people in official uniforms in the room, she was immediately stunned.
In his heart, Li Yi felt that this Third Madam was also a person with a story.
However, in this era, such things were common. Parents' orders and the words of a matchmaker were everything. The probability of a woman marrying a Ruyi Langjun was low. It was negligible.
Squire Liu laughed dryly and said, "Your Excellencies, please don't laugh at me. This Third Madam has been in the brothel for a long time. She just came to the mansion yesterday, so she might not be used to it yet. I will slowly train her in the future."
"Brothel?" Li Yi and MIngzhu looked over at the same time.
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