It was clearly winter and the weather was cold, but Xiaori found that there seemed to be no difference between the temperature inside the room and outside the room.
County government offices and wealthy families usually have charcoal stoves in the rooms where they usually stay in winter for heating, so that clerks will not be able to bend and stretch their fingers flexibly and cannot write or work.
But why isn't there a room for the chief registrar's office? Could it be that the relationship between Registrar Dongfang and the county magistrate is not good? Aren't they the old team that the county magistrate brought with him when he went to Liangzhou County?
Or is it that Dongfang Mingfu's physical fitness is far superior to that of ordinary people, and he can work as usual in such a cold room without being affected by the cold?
But is it necessary for the county government to save this charcoal-burning stove? The county government should not be short of this thing.
Xiaori lowered her tail and found a place where books were piled high, and she could barely peer through the gap to see the empty space on Dongfang Mingfu's bookshelf.
"Huh? Why is he just sitting there? Isn't he going to deal with all the paperwork on his desk?"
After crouching and observing for a while, Xiaori discovered a new problem.
There were obviously a lot of documents on the desk that needed to be processed, but Dongfang Mingfu was sitting in front of the desk motionless like a wooden man, with his head lowered and his eyes unfocused. His eyes were empty, like a monk who was meditating on Buddhism.
Looking at the inkstone next to it, the ink inside has long dried, and the brushes are placed casually on the table. It looks like they haven't been used for a while.
Xiaori suddenly felt a thrilling chill, and the hair on her back stood up.
Dongfang Mingfu seems to be just an empty shell, only moving along a fixed path.
It knocks on the door, and the other party will open the door. When it sees no one, it doesn't get angry and guess a prank, but simply closes the door and returns to its original position to sit down.
The brush is left there, the ink is dry, and the paperwork is not processed. I sit motionless for a long time, not processing the paperwork, and not catching fish to rest. I am quieter than a puppet.
Changing to a seat with a better view, Xiaori could see the teacup in Dongfang Mingfu's hand. There was no tea in it, only dried yellow-brown tea stains.
It seems that it was left to let the tea evaporate naturally without anyone taking it away for cleaning.
So, no other county government staff came to bring tea and water? Otherwise, why would no one take it and clean it?
The feeling of horror became stronger and stronger, and Xiaori couldn't help but tremble.
After crouching for a while, Dongfang Mingfu suddenly stood up and began to walk around the bookshelves in the room to inspect.
In the quiet room, Dongfang Mingfu had an expressionless face and empty eyes. Every step he took was the same distance, and he walked around in a serious and repressive official uniform.
"Have you discovered me?"
Xiaori felt even more frightened and hurriedly walked around Dongfang Mingfu to avoid his path.
After a new round of observation, it found that the other party seemed to be patrolling "as usual" according to a certain path set in advance, but it did not discover it.
Just when he came to such a conclusion in his heart, Dongfang Mingfu spoke with a hoarse voice and no emotion:
"Got you."
"..." Xiaori did not answer, but continued to hide.
It's not a newbie, it will fall for this kind of trick.
Sure enough, after a while, Dongfang Mingfu began to continue "walking" along the original path.
Xiaori thought for a while and decided not to alert the snake first, but found an opportunity to rush out of the room again.
It was at the mysterious level and moved extremely fast without being noticed by the opponent.
But things here are really weird.
Dongfang Mingfu is no longer Dongfang Mingfu. I don’t know if he is an empty shell now, or if he is controlled remotely, like a puppet on strings.
Either way, it's very scary...
Xiaori left the main courtyard and walked quietly along the courtyard wall to the courtyard where the county magistrate was.
The yard where the county magistrate was was also empty, and the door was closed. Xiaori repeated his old tricks, got into the magistrate's room and observed the magistrate again.
As expected, the county magistrate, like Dongfang Mingfu, had piles of documents on his desk but did not deal with them, the pens and ink were dry and unused, the tea had not been changed for a long time, and there were only tea-yellow water stains in the tea cups.
I'm afraid, the county magistrate is nothing but an empty shell.
Next came the county captain, with the same result.
Only the county magistrate is missing. I don't know if he is outside or has disappeared long ago.
Xiaori also observed the situation of other people in the county government office. First, the maids who served tea and water all disappeared. The rest, whether they were the county guards standing guard or the clerks in the office, all had empty eyes and never talked to anyone. Communicate and only do things according to fixed logic.
So Xiaori went to a courtyard in the Dumen Courtyard, where the chief catcher stayed.
The situation here is finally different. The little catchers in the yard are walking back and forth communicating just like ordinary people. The door to the room is open, and bursts of heating are coming from inside.
Xiaori breathed a sigh of relief. No matter in terms of temperature or "popularity", the people here seemed to be alive.
Someone saw the little sun on the courtyard wall and shouted out to expel him.
Xiaori did not go around in circles and continued to investigate. Instead, he left the county government office and went all the way to Dongfang's house a street away.
It first found Juju and explained the situation. Seeing that Pei Mengqing and Dongfang Xiaoyu were still chatting with Dongfang's mother, it didn't bother them for the time being.
Mother Dongfang didn't go to rest until after lunch.
The two met in the room arranged by Dongfang's mother for Pei Mengqing.
Pei Mengqing and Xiaoyu sat on chairs, while Xiaori and Ju Ju simply squatted on the table.
"The situation is not optimistic." Xiaori said.
"How's it going, over there at the Yamen?" Pei Mengqing asked.
Xiaori glanced at Dongfang Xiaoyu and hesitated.
After all, Dongfang Mingfu is also Xiaoyu's father. If he tells this news, I don't know if Dongfang Xiaoyu will believe it, or whether he will rush out of the door and rush to the Yamen to find his father.
"What do you think of me? Is there something wrong with my father too?"
When Xiaoyu saw Xiaori's eyes staring at her, she felt angry and had a bad premonition. The corners of her eyes were sore and she asked while holding back tears.
"Sorry, I'm afraid your father is already an empty shell." Xiaori looked at Pei Mengqing and Juju, telling them to be prepared to prevent Xiaoyu from being impulsive.
"Empty shell...what do you mean..."
The energy seemed to have disappeared from Xiaoyu's body all of a sudden. She sat slumped on the chair, her eyes were sad, but she still asked firmly.
So Xiaori told all the things he saw in the Yamen.
"Don't be sad yet. Perhaps your father was only temporarily controlled by the people from Tianmeng Pavilion with drugs, and he is not dead yet."
Although Pei Mengqing felt that this possibility was very small in this weird world, he still comforted the girl to prevent the girl from being too sad.
After a short period of getting along, he found that Dongfang Xiaoyu was a good young man with a righteous heart, a kind heart, and a filial piety to his parents. For such a good young man, he had to help him within his ability.
What's more, Dongfang Xiaoyu also has a foundation in martial arts, which can help him and the two big oranges to save Liangzhou County to a certain extent.
"Has your father been back for lunch lately?"
