"Have you finished reading?" The messenger raised his eyelids slightly, "I'm sorry for being rude, but I have to go back and deliver the mission in a hurry."
Wu Sixing stared at the letter in his hand, his expression was extremely heavy, and he didn't know how to answer. But he couldn't bear his urging, so he had to twitch his flesh a few times and managed to laugh: "Don't be anxious, this matter is purely false. That Lord Ye There is no evidence to prove my crime. If I give him another sheep, wouldn't I be asking for my own death? Besides, I have interests with the county magistrate, so there is no benefit in currying favor with him. I reported back to the county magistrate and advised him not to be suspicious. To play into other people’s schemes.”
The messenger bowed his head, said goodbye, and left. Wu Sixing just watched.
"Old Bishop, what is written in this letter?" The bearded man couldn't help but add another sentence.
Wu Sijing glanced at them, sneered disapprovingly, threw away the letter and said, "It doesn't matter, it was Ye Yongjia who was trying to create a rift. He told the county magistrate that the sheep I sent was for him, so he lured the magistrate. I doubt it. But everyone knows that the sheep was prepared a long time ago. I myself have never left the church, and I have never even sent a long follower. How can I suddenly communicate with Ye Yongjia? Is it obvious? His intentions are vicious!"
As usual, everyone looked at each other in confusion for a moment, and then they all laughed and agreed: "The officials here are bullying me and other outsiders, which is not trustworthy!"
"It's bad luck to keep this letter," Wu Sixing sighed gloomily, "Come, please light a candle."
After saying this, a long attendant went up to the hall with a candle, lit it with tinder, and brought it to Wu Sixing.
The bearded man secretly moved his eyes over and stared at Wu Sixing's wrinkled hand. This hand crumpled the letter into a ball and placed it on the candlelight, which was gradually swallowed up by the flames.
"The documents from the court have arrived." Li Wenshou held a sealed document, placed it in front of the magistrate, and said coldly.
"I...can I take it apart?" The magistrate did not dare to move his hands and looked at him timidly.
"You can pick it up and take a look," Li Wenshou said, "Anyway, there is something you want."
The magistrate slowly stretched out his hand, and just as he lifted up the document, another piece of jute paper fell out, making him twitch his eyebrows in fright.
As soon as he opened it, the clean banknote suddenly appeared in front of him. He felt excited and thought to himself: 'What Mr. Ye said is indeed true. ’ He then took out the banknote and saw the writing on it: ‘I heard that the magistrate of Ninghe County was very helpful in building the factory, and he was given thirty-five taels of silver in recognition of his contribution. 'Below the text is indeed the stamp of the Ministry of Education.
"Thank you so much, Prime Minister, thank you so much, Prime Minister..." He quickly bowed to the north to show his respect.
"Just remember the kindness of the Prime Minister. There is no need to read the document anymore. Just hand it over to the envoy and pass it on to the merchants. Prime Minister Niu sent someone to tell me that now many people have evil intentions and must not be caught by them. You should repeat it again and again. I told my servants not to dismantle it without authorization. If I cause any trouble, I will definitely bring it against you!" After that, Li Wenshou waved his sleeves, turned around, and strode away.
The county magistrate was a mediocre person. He had already received a reward from the court, so how could he dare to disobey him? He hurriedly agreed twice and sent him out of the study.
After the magistrate returned to his house, not only did he not open the document without permission, but he was also afraid that his servants would not be sincere in handling the matter, so he asked the clerk to seal it with wax, and then handed it over to the officer with peace of mind, and ordered the horse to be selected and go to Beitang quickly.
After finishing his official duties, the magistrate was in a happy mood and ordered the cook to stew the mutton bones for a big meal in the evening. Although the cook was tired, he had no choice but to make a large pot of mutton soup for him and send it to him. The latter drank the mutton bone soup with cold wine and quickly finished it.
"What are you servants doing standing around here? Damn it, I'm calling you! Come here and help me clear the dishes!" His face turned red from drinking, and his words were a little rude.
Several of the guards were confused by his yelling, but seeing that he was drinking, they didn't want to provoke him, so they honestly collected the dishes and wiped the table.
"Get out!" He waved his hand like a dog and grinned.
"Young man... I have something to say."
"What are you talking about to me? If you are talking about official business, I will... give you a hundred sticks!" He rolled his tongue and said.
"It's not official business, it's Mr. Ye and the others who want to have a drink with you to celebrate. There is also a table of big fish and meat waiting for you."
"Celebrate?" He patted his head and seemed to think about it carefully, "Yes, yes, the construction of the factory was a success, and the imperial court awarded me the first contribution, so there is a celebration. There is still wine to drink, just go……"
"My lords, open the door!"
The wooden door made a loud banging sound. Ye Yongjia and others turned around and saw a shaky figure outside the paper window, wearing a black gauze hat.
"Drinking." Cai Xianqing said in a low voice, then leaned down and trotted back to the back room.
"Oh, here we come!" Ye Yongjia opened the door and bowed, "Mr. Magistrate, we have been waiting for a long time."
"It's all my fault that those bastards... didn't explain it to me earlier..."
The magistrate saw that he wanted to help, so he put his arm over him. Ye Yongjia pulled him over and seemed to be helping him, but instead pushed him on the shoulder, causing him to stagger a few steps and fall to the ground.
Boom!
The two doors were quickly closed, and the wind howled by. The dazed magistrate suddenly became energetic. When he raised his head, before he could clearly see the structure of the room, a large bucket of water was poured on him.
"Who told you to drink?" Cai Xianqing held the bucket and sneered, "Sober up so you can listen to what we say!"
The magistrate shivered, and most of his drunkenness disappeared in an instant; he shook the water from his body and got up immediately, his wide eyes full of fear.
"Head, headache." He still couldn't put down his tongue.
"Sit." Ye Yongjia moved a chair for him.
"Do you know what is written on the document given to you?" Ye Yongjia whispered behind him, which sounded very scary.
"Isn't it the casting plan agreed upon by the imperial court?"
"Wrong!" Cai Xianqing shouted sternly, "That letter was not sent by the imperial court at all, but was ghostwritten by Li Shenzheng. It contained all the crimes you and Wu Sijing had conspired to commit!"
These words were nothing less than a thunderclap that penetrated the magistrate's body from the heavenly spirit! His whole body went limp and he slowly slid down from the armchair. Fortunately, Cai Xianqing held his legs and allowed him to sit back down.
"Sir...Sir!" The county magistrate grabbed Ye Yongjia's sleeve and cried bitterly, "I have committed this heinous crime, but it is actually the cunning people who have repeatedly forced me to do it, and it has nothing to do with me!"
"A few months ago, in order to clear Wu Sijing's criminal evidence, you transferred all his properties to the government, and now you are taking his mutton. Isn't it helpless?"
"How did you know?"
Cai Xianqing said: "As the saying goes, there is no airtight wall. If you do these things, there will be people listening in the dark!"
