The book boy was tied up in the woodshed, and the two government officials guarding the Tutu Temple stood outside. Different from the slackness before, now they are watching all directions and listening in all directions, fearing that there will be mistakes.
After Shen Chongming left, Zhou Yuan blew out the lights, opened the window and went to the roof. After leaving the inn, Shen Chongming got on the carriage and soon disappeared from Zhou Yuan's sight. She whistled in the back street, and a black horse ran over.
He got on his horse and disappeared into the night in just a moment.
In Xiaoyang Village, the cold wind blew into the firewood shed, and the bookboy squeezed into the firewood pile with his neck scrunched up. A sudden chill came to my neck. I opened my eyes and saw Zhou Yu'an standing in front of me.
"girl!"
The book boy shouted and glanced out the window.
"Don't worry, I'm already asleep."
Zhou Yu'an picked the knot on the scholar's hand with his sword, squatted down and asked him: "Did you answer according to what I taught you?"
"Yes!" The book boy nodded: "It's all according to the girl's teachings, word for word. If the girl didn't explain it, the little one is completely dumb."
"Don't you regret it?" Zhou Yuan looked sideways at the book boy: "You only have one life, if you lose it, you lose it."
"It's nothing to worry about if you die." The book boy smiled relievedly: "Don't forget what the girl promised me."
"I will never forget it." Zhou Yu'an gave him a poison: "I know you are not afraid of death, but you may not suffer the pain of prison."
"Thank you, girl. I should only bear the pain of prison." The boy straightened his clothes and knelt on the ground: "Before I leave, I have one thing to ask you, girl. Don't tell her what I have done. I don't want her to feel sad. It’s uncomfortable. I did this alone, and she doesn’t have to bear anything for me.”
"To her, I'm just a doctor." Zhou Yu'an put the pills aside, opened the wood door, and walked out.
The book boy looked at her back, picked up the pill and crushed it hard.
Outside the woodshed, two government servants who stood upright suddenly opened their eyes. A gust of cold wind came, and they all sneezed involuntarily. Behind each of their ears, there is a pinprick. The pinprick is so small that you can't even see it unless you look carefully.
The wind is very strong tonight, rattling the firewood door. The officer turned around and saw the boy leaning on the firewood. He thought the firewood door had been blown open by the wind, so he picked up a branch and pinned the door shut and continued to stand guard.
Stay up for another hour and it will be dawn!
Zhou Yu'an left the woodshed and went straight to the Tutu Temple. The county magistrate's body had been removed, leaving only the bamboo bed soaked in corpse gas. After confirming that there was no movement around, Zhou Yu'an smiled, opened the fire folder, lit the oil lamp in the earth temple, and took out something from the gap in the bamboo bed.
The oil paper bag was folded into a small ball and smelled of a strong corpse stench.
When unfolded, there is half a prescription. The writing is very small and requires careful identification to read clearly.
After reading it twice and confirming that he had written down the contents of the prescription, Zhou Yuan threw it into the oil lamp. The paper oil is added to the kerosene, crackling, and everything is gone, leaving only the smoky smell.
In the farmhouse, Shen Chongming handed the cloak to Zhijian and picked up the file on the table. There are two piles of files, one pile was brought by the county magistrate who was killed, and the other pile was transferred from elsewhere by holding a sword.
Opening one of them, he asked while reading: "Where is the book boy?"
"I'm locked up in the firewood shed of the village chief's house, guarded by the two government officials from Qingyang County. Don't worry, I didn't care about the Tutu Temple incident with them. They know it well and will never dare to make any mistakes again."
Shen Chongming nodded and continued browsing the files.
The book boy was originally a beggar, a county magistrate whom he met while begging on the street. I was still young at that time, no more than seven or eight years old, and I was pushed to the ground and beaten by the beggar next to me. Even though his arm was broken, he still protected the things in his arms and bit the corners of his lips without making a sound.
The county magistrate couldn't see it and ordered his followers to drive away the injured book boy and take him to the medicine shop.
Along the way, the book boy tried to escape several times but was picked up by the county magistrate. It was later found out that he was afraid of paying.
What he was protecting in his arms was a money bag. He had picked it up. The coins in it were begged by him and he took the coins to treat his mother-in-law.
The mother-in-law and the scholar are not related by blood. They met while taking shelter from the rain in a ruined temple. At that time, the scholar was hungry, and her mother-in-law took out all the food she had left. The book boy repaid his kindness. After his mother-in-law fell ill, he begged everywhere and happened to help her buy medicine.
He saved the coins one by one. He finally saved enough money to buy medicine, but he was targeted by other beggars.
It was my mother-in-law's life-saving money. He refused to let go. Even if an arm was broken, he would still protect it.
Knowing that he was a kind and righteous child, the county magistrate not only looked after his arm, but also asked the doctor and the scholar to go to the ruined temple to treat his mother-in-law.
Three days later, the book boy knelt in front of the magistrate's house and said he wanted to repay his kindness. The magistrate saw that he was pitiful and kept him.
At this point, he became the only follower of the county magistrate.
Looking at these alone, there is really no reason why he killed the county magistrate until Shen Chongming saw his confession.
My mother-in-law is no one else, she is the county magistrate’s great-grandmother, and she brought her granddaughter to Huzhou to visit her relatives. The day they met the book boy was the first day they arrived in Huzhou.
I thought I would have relatives to rely on when I arrived in Huzhou, so I gave all my belongings to the book boy.
A small kindness saved the book boy's life.
"Since you are seeking relatives, why are you sick in the ruined temple?" Holding the sword and touching his nose, he asked: "Is it possible that something happened here? It was this incident that caused the book boy to kill his master."
"According to the testimony, the girl was born to the county magistrate's mother before she left Qingyang County, and she should have been pregnant out of wedlock. Afraid of being known, her mother sent her to her maternal grandmother, the magistrate's great-grandmother. Fake silver After the ticket incident happened, she fled Qingyang and arrived in Huzhou, where she became a stepwife and gave birth to a county magistrate. She thought that no one would know what happened, but many years later, her grandmother actually brought her daughter to look for her. "
Shen Chongming put down the file.
"She didn't recognize her relatives because she was afraid that this sudden relative would affect the county magistrate's future and her good life."
"This woman's heart is hard enough. No matter what, she is her maternal grandmother and her biological daughter. Even if she doesn't recognize her, she still has to arrange their lives well." Holding the sword, he said, "At the worst, we can treat them as relatives. chant."
"It's good to be relatives, but the county magistrate's mother may not be willing to do so. For her, this matter is not only a shady past, but also a handle that can easily be manipulated." Shen Chongming stacked the files together: "Judging from the testimony , she not only kicked her grandmother and daughter out of the house, but also hired people to harm them. After learning the truth, her grandmother fell ill and died in a ruined temple. As for her granddaughter, there was no evidence in the testimony Tell me, I think he is no longer alive."
"Is the book boy avenging his benefactor?" He held the sword and pondered: "If it is revenge, why don't you avenge it sooner or later, but why do you choose to avenge it at this time?"
"Bring the book boy here." Shen Chongming pressed down the file: "If you have any questions, ask them face to face. Not everything written in the file or the testimony may be true."
"Is it like me fooling Miss Zhou?" He held his sword and moved closer to Shen Chongming: "My clothes were obviously messed up by Miss Zhou who had a bad sleeping position. I was so misleading because I wanted Miss Zhou to be my master. Innocent and responsible?"
