"What... happened?" another person asked in disbelief.
The cook immediately replied: "Does this need to be said? That was a clever trick made by the county boss! He was afraid that Wu Sijing's affairs would be found out by the superiors, so he deliberately played this trick. So those people were grateful for their kindness and asked for it every few days. You are very attentive when sending things."
'There is such a thing...' Ye Yongjia was shocked. He pressed his body closer to the wall and listened with concentration.
There was a sudden sound of pots and pans on the stove, but one could still vaguely hear voices: "The magistrate still allows a foreigner to make trouble under your nose? Wouldn't it be convenient to kill someone and silence them?"
"He is still useful to the county master," the cook continued. "You have to rely on him to talk to all the businessmen, otherwise the court will blame you and it will not be able to bear it."
"Master, are these words true? Why do they sound like lies?"
The cook slapped the chopping board: "It's true! How could it not be true? A few days ago, your Excellency invited various merchants to be guests here, and asked me to prepare the food and serve it. Afterwards, I asked the book office again, and they said that the county parents were here this time. He was doing things without telling Ye Bingbu and asked me to keep quiet."
Ye Yongjia's eyes suddenly widened. He couldn't believe that the magistrate would do such a bold thing behind his back! His first reaction was to leave, but he was afraid of being heard in the house, so he just hesitated under the wall, his feet seeming to move.
"Here, you cut open this beast's belly with a knife and let me pick out the meat!"
Ye Yongjia heard that work was starting to happen inside, so he took advantage of this time and hurried out. When there was no place to put the bowl in the yard, he simply took the wooden bowl and went straight to the magistrate.
"Not bad, really good..." The magistrate sat in front of the nanmu square table, still tasting the turtle soup with a large spoon, and exclaimed, "In the future, I will ask my servants to buy more turtles, do you hear me?"
The clerk who was standing next to him made no move, and looked straight out, making him lose his temper: "I told you..."
"Master Magistrate."
"Ah...?" He turned around suddenly and saw Ye Yongjia standing solemnly behind him. He was so frightened that he almost jumped up, his face turned sallow, "Have you finished eating..."
Ye Yongjia put the bowl down and said, "I've finished eating. Do I need to wait a little longer, sir?"
"No, no need..." The magistrate smiled apologetically and waved to the clerk to remove the soup bowl.
"I'm here to inform you that I have considered the opinions of the merchants and have written a memorial to the court." Ye Yongjia sat down and said, "Go and tell them that An Xin is waiting in Beitang and you won't come for the time being. It’s in town.”
"Everything is at your discretion..." Seeing that he seemed to have something to say, the magistrate became increasingly panicked and could only bow stiffly.
"In addition, I also told the court about your achievements. Although you have no great achievements, after all, planning big events in the county government always requires a bit of hard work. So I mentioned it and waited for the reward."
The county magistrate was frightened for a long time, but when he heard his kind words, he felt very happy and thanked him repeatedly.
"You don't have to thank me. The reward is ultimately the intention of the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister. You must be worthy of their respect. By the way, Bishop Wu has treated us well recently. He wrote a letter to send me a whole sheep a few days ago. He was I refused. Such loyal people should be treated with courtesy."
"Wu Sijing also gave a sheep as a gift this morning... From what Mr. Ye said, it seems that he asked him first and gave it to me when no one wanted it..." The county magistrate looked suspicious, but he still dealt with Ye Yongjia first. nodded.
"I've said all that needs to be said. I didn't sleep well when I came back yesterday, so I'm going to take a rest." Ye Yongjia covered his head, seemingly not noticing his expression, and left with fists in his hands.
"Walk slowly, walk slowly..."
After this conversation, the magistrate has been feeling uncomfortable. In order to find out the matter, he went to the kitchen and asked several cooks, can you see Ye Yongjia when carrying the sheep in? The cook who did the cooking himself shook his head and said that he was just looking after the sheep and had never seen any officials come.
This made him even more puzzled. How could a living person turn a blind eye if he really passed by the fire room? He then calculated and said, "Wu Sijing is usually good at tricks, but he is capable of doing such a double-dealing thing." Unfortunately, the court documents have not yet arrived, and I have no reason to summon him or confront him face to face. It is better to write a letter and ask the truth. '
After thinking about it, he hurriedly returned to the study, wrote a letter quickly, and handed it to his confidant, the clerk, saying: "Send a reliable person quickly, secretly leave the city at night, and send the letter to Wu Sixing. Tell him that you need to Let Wu Sijing give an explanation in person, but you can’t give him time to think.”
"I obey your orders!"
That night, waiting for the sound of the clapper at the third watch, the people selected by the book office set off from Ninghe. In order to prevent being discovered, he covered his face with a black cloth, rode a fast horse, and rushed out of the city gate under the stars. The whole city was dark, and a black shadow flashed rapidly, with only the lights of the county office in the distance shining. On top of his robe.
Sitting in the brightly lit room was none other than Ye Yongjia and the other two court officials, and the three of them gathered together again.
"We have been staying at the county government office for three consecutive days," Cai Xianqing joked, "It's not for anyone else but you, Mr. Li. Look, how much face it brings."
Li Wenshou brushed his sleeves and muttered: "I just come when you call me and leave when you call me. I don't expect you to care about me."
"The news revealed by Tinglong just now really made us step out of the long fog and see everything clearly with our eyes. I didn't expect that this county magistrate, who is usually so cowardly, would actually take risks."
"We can't rush to punish him, we need to take advantage of him." After saying that, the two men's eyes fell on Li Wenshou in unison.
"You... have something to say?" Li Wenshou asked in shock.
"Sir," Ye Yongjia begged, "Now is an extraordinary time. We need you to do something, even if you risk a big crime."
Li Wenshou's eyes suddenly became wary, and he put his ear close to him. The latter whispered softly, and the candlelight in front of them was blown out by the breeze.
The messenger entered the city early in the morning. He took off his black hat and robe, led the horse, and went straight to the church to visit Wu Sijing. When he entered the inner courtyard, he saw Wu Sijing talking with several merchants in the hall. He did not avoid it deliberately, and walked up to deliver a letter: "Bishop Wu, The magistrate has come to ask you something and I hope to answer it."
Wu Sijing took the letter hesitantly. He didn't know the content. He originally wanted to take the messenger to the room to talk. However, after observing the expressions of the merchants, he was afraid of arousing their suspicion, so he thought: 'I'm afraid I want to That’s right. The magistrate has been very close to me recently, so there’s nothing to be nervous about. '
But when he lowered his head to read the letter, his brows suddenly tightened.
