The rumbling sound came suddenly. Fang turned over and rolled off the carriage. He looked at the sky vigilantly. After listening for a while, he realized that the sound did not come from the sky.
He turned his head and saw that not far ahead, there was a woman beating the big drum in front of the yamen. What he heard just now was not thunder, but the drum.
He breathed a sigh of relief and jumped back into the carriage. He said, "So someone is beating the court drum. I was scared to death …"
The Court Drum was a large drum erected in front of the yamen. It had two functions. One was for the county magistrate to beat the drum to gather the crowd when he went to court. The other was for the commoners who had been wronged to beat the drum to express their grievances. Li Yi lifted the curtain and took a look. The woman who had beaten the drum had already been ushered in by the yamen runners. He did not pay much attention to her. He put down the curtain and looked at Old Fang. "Are you serious about what you said just now?"
"It's not a good way to go on like this." Fang sighed and said, "There has to be an end to this matter …"
Li Yi hung the curtains to the side and asked curiously, "How did you and Lil 'Red meet?"
Fang leaned against the carriage and looked at the sky. He smiled and said, "About a year before you came up the mountain …"
At first, Li Yi thought that Fang was just a simple and honest man without many thoughts. Later, he found that his thoughts, especially when it came to feelings, were extremely delicate. Under his simple and honest appearance, there was a soul of coquettishness.
He and Little Red got to know each other because of the old story of a bear saving the beauty. Later, they met in the Jadeite Courtyard by chance. As time went by, they became familiar with each other. They communicated with each other across the wall in the Jadeite Courtyard and gradually developed to the point where they were today.
According to Fang, it was not to the point. At present, the two of them only held hands in a pure relationship.
The relationship between him and Mrs. Fang should be familial, and Little Red was probably Fang Fang's love. As for how to make the two perfectly fuse — if he knew, he wouldn't have to run between them every day.
His own affairs were still a mess, and he couldn't help much with Fang's family affairs. Li Yi could only shake his head and say, "Let's think about this at length …"
"That's right, let's take our time to think about it." Fang nodded and said, "Miss Zui Mo has already succeeded. Second Miss, Miss Ruoqing, Princess Royal, Miss Lin, and even Xiao Huan hasn't married yet. I'm afraid that the little princess only has Xiao Huan in her heart. We need to think about them one by one …"
Li Yi thought for a moment and said, "Well, I'll ask Ruyi to go over and talk to Mrs. Fang. Tell her that you want to bring another mistress back. As the first wife of the Fang family, she should be generous and not obstruct you … She will definitely listen to Ruyi. How about it? That's good enough, right?"
Fang waved his hand repeatedly. "Forget it. I can solve this kind of trivial matter myself. I don't want to trouble Miss …"
The carriage gradually went away. In the yamen, a constable sent the woman out, shook his head and said helplessly, "Miss, this case has been handled by the yamen from the beginning to the end. You can go there and ask."
The woman's face was pale, but she still nodded and said, "Thank you, constable."
The constable looked at her and said with pity, "Miss, let me remind you, when you go to the yamen, don't knock the drum in front of the gate …"
…
"Chu Ping, Cui Xixin …"
Li Yi crumpled the paper in his hand into a ball and threw it into the stove.
Cui Xixin and the young master of the Chu family were also in the Wonderful Sound Pavilion when the imperial court criminal committed the murder. It was said that they were almost implicated. This was also one of the reasons why the capital governor's office placed so much importance on this case.
He had never underestimated the Chu family and had always sent people to keep an eye on them. However, this matter had been handled by the yamen from the beginning to the end. Ceng Shichun hadn't sent any news, so there shouldn't be any problems.
He warmed his hands by the fire, then picked up his brush and began to write on the rice paper spread out on the table.
Miss.Liu insisted that the "Green Jade Case, Lantern Festival" he had written on the lantern that day was too sloppy. There were many words in it that she didn't recognize, so it wasn't a suitable gift. She wanted him to write it again.
It was normal that Miss.Liu couldn't recognize it. She only knew a few words, and the situation that day was different. In order to speed things up, he had used a type of calligraphy that was between cursive and semi-cursive. Anyone with a bit of knowledge in calligraphy would be able to recognize it, but to an illiterate like her, it was naturally scribbled and couldn't be seen clearly …
However, she was Miss.Liu. If Second Miss wanted her to write it in regular script, she would write it in regular script. It wasn't a big deal …
After Li Yi finished writing, she checked it and nodded in satisfaction.
Li Yi reminded her, "Don't forget, you still owe me something."
"What is it?" asked Miss.Liu with a frown.
According to the rules of the Lantern Festival, the lantern and the sachet had to be exchanged in the end. Miss.Liu took his lantern, so she naturally had to give him a sachet. This was the rule of the game.
"Since you took my lantern, you have to give me something. It's something that you women wear closely …" reminded Li Yi again.
Miss.Liu frowned even more. "What are you talking about?"
Li Yi pointed at her chest. "You still haven't guessed it? That year in the Mid-Autumn Festival, in that garden, those women stuffed it into my arms … "
Miss.Liu finally understood. The dudou that was stuffed into his arms was thrown away by her. She looked up at him and asked coldly, "Are you sure?"
Li Yi looked at her expression and said in surprise, "It can't be. It's not something valuable. You can't even bear to give it to me. Why don't you return the lantern to me? I don't want that thing anymore …"
"Come in, I'll give it to you." Miss.Liu thought for a moment. She crossed her arms and walked into her room. She said, "Remember to close the door."
It was just a sachet. Why did she have to be so mysterious and close the door? It was not like she was doing something shameful. Li Yi shook his head and followed her in …
At the entrance of the capital magistrate's office.
"How many times have I told you? No one has claimed the body. It has long been buried in a mass grave. As for where it was buried, how would I know in the dark?" A bailiff impatiently waved his hand and said, "The magistrate's office is already doing its best to capture the culprit. The wanted poster has already been sent out. As long as the culprit is still in the capital, he won't be able to escape even if he has wings. Don't worry. Once we have news of the culprit, we will immediately send someone to inform you."
The woman said softly, "Even in the hot summer, an unclaimed body should be kept for at least three days. Moreover, it is winter now, so it should be at least seven days later …" "It's the New Year.
The coroner has already examined the body. There is nothing suspicious about the case. We just need to wait for the culprit to be brought to justice. The yamen has nowhere to keep it for you. I've already told you what you need to know. I'm warning you, don't cause trouble here again. If you do, we won't be polite anymore! "When the bailiff spoke again, his tone had become angry.
The woman knelt in front of the yamen and said in a sorrowful voice, "I just want to know how my sister died …"
On the street, passersby gradually gathered around and looked at the woman with puzzled gazes. They looked at the yamen's door and pointed at it.
…
"When did she have another sister?"
In the back hall of the yamen, Cui Qingming slammed his hand on the table and said angrily.
Ceng Shichun took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "Although this is unexpected and there are a few more variables, it may not be a bad thing. If even her family believes that the woman died at the hands of the culprit, then there will be no more changes to the case in the future."
"I'm just afraid that the changes will happen now …" Cui Qingming narrowed his eyes and murmured.
Hearing the murderous intent in Cui Qingming's words, Ceng Shichun raised his head and glanced at him. He stood and said, "This woman must not be touched."
Cui Qingming smiled and said, "Brother Ceng, there is no need to remind me. I know that if anything happens to this woman, it will attract the attention of people with ulterior motives."
Ceng Shichun nodded and said no more.
The two of them discussed a few more things before Cui Qingming left the yamen through the back door. When he stepped onto the carriage, his body paused slightly and he turned his head to look at a guard in front of the carriage. He stretched out his hand and lightly waved it in the air.
Inside the yamen, at the dining table, a woman heard the rumbling outside and put down her bowl and chopsticks. She said with dissatisfaction, "What is going on outside? There is no end to it, is there!"
A yamen runner came in from outside and said with a bitter face, "Milord, that woman did not listen to our advice at all. She has begun to beat the drum and complain about her grievances again …"
Ceng Shichun put down his chopsticks and his face darkened. He said, "The capital yamen is not a place for her to behave atrociously. Guards, arrest that woman. Give her twenty strokes of the cane and temporarily put her in prison …"
The yamen runner was stunned and said with some uncertainty, "Milord, this, this punishment, isn't it a bit too heavy …"
Ceng Shichun waved his hand. "No matter. The prestige of the yamen is not to be provoked. Only a heavy punishment will serve as a warning. Just be careful when executing the punishment."
The yamen runner said no more and bowed. "This subordinate obeys!"
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