It’s the final time of application in the afternoon.
The winter days are short and the sky is getting dark.
Song Zhili's voice came from the closed county government hall: "Now I don't care about the Minister of Civil Affairs anymore. Even if he becomes the Prime Minister in the future, this Qiu Batian must be killed!"
At this moment, there were only two people, Song Zhili and Chen Houlu, in the inner hall. Since Sima Xin, who joined the army, and County Governor Cai Jin had too many followers, they did not stay at the county government office, but stayed at a nearby inn.
"Yes," Chen Houlu said with a pale face, "Since the Holy Emperor personally intervened in the case, the Minister of Civil Affairs must not dare to make any mistakes. No wonder he had already sent word that he had severed ties with Qiu Batian. What’s the relationship?”
"Indeed," Song Zhili nodded, "I guess the Minister of Civil Affairs is also on pins and needles like us right now? It's impossible that the Holy One doesn't know about his relationship with Qiu Batian, and it might affect his entry into the cabinet."
"Master Song, now that the important matter has been decided and we no longer have to worry about the Minister of Civil Affairs, look at...my resignation letter..."
Unexpectedly, Chen Houlu was still thinking about retirement.
"No problem," Song Zhili already had a countermeasure and said immediately, "As soon as Qiu Batian's case is over, I will sign!"
"This..." Chen Houlu suddenly grinned, probably cursing in his heart.
"Chen County Cheng, I told you before," Song Zhili said, "If I'm fine, everyone will be fine! If something happens to me, even if you become an official, do you think you can escape? So..."
Unexpectedly, before Song Zhili finished speaking, they suddenly heard noises coming from outside.
"Huh?" Song Zhili listened carefully. The voice should come from the direction of the court.
"Alas!" Chen Houlu lamented, "What's the fuss about? Can't you just calm down for a while?"
"Here comes... um..." Song Zhili was about to send someone to take a look, but then he thought about it and thought it would be safer to go out and take a look himself.
So, he and Chen Houlu followed the sound to the court.
As soon as they entered, they saw an extremely chaotic scene, but saw six or seven police officers, led by Cheng Xiao, tying up the previous monk with iron chains.
On the other side, Shen Yu and Fu Bin were carrying a man in white brocade fur on a stretcher. The man looked dying.
In addition, some people hurriedly ran out, saying they were looking for the doctor.
Immediately afterwards, I saw another government official running to the inner hall to report the incident, but he happened to bump into two adults.
"Master Song, Master Chen," the officer who reported the incident said hurriedly, "come and take a look! Something happened again! Something happened again!"
Hearing this, Song Zhili and Chen Houlu both frowned. The last thing they wanted to hear was the word "something happened".
Wow…
With the sound of iron chains, the monk was already chained up.
During this process, he didn't resist at all. He didn't even open his eyes. He just stopped chanting the beads.
"Oh, this monk hasn't left yet," Chen Houlu asked hurriedly, "Why are you locking him up?"
When asking questions, the man in white on the stretcher happened to pass by Chen Houlu. Chen Houlu was startled when he saw it.
"This..." he asked in surprise, "Who is this? His eyes, oh, his hands... what's wrong with him?"
After hearing this, Song Zhili stepped forward quickly and was also shocked by the tragic state of the injured man.
"Chen County Magistrate," Lao Duan hurriedly came up to introduce him, "Don't you recognize him? This is the former Tong County Magistrate of our Yanping County?"
"What?" Chen Houlu looked closer and recognized it, "Oh, it's really Magistrate Tong! He... isn't he in Shangzhou?"
Chen Houlu has been the county magistrate in Yanping County for almost his whole life, so he naturally recognizes this county magistrate Tong.
Since this man was Song Zhili's previous county magistrate, Song Zhili had only heard of his name but had never seen him.
However, seeing Magistrate Tong in such a miserable state, he was naturally shocked.
At this time, the head catcher Cheng Xiao hurriedly came over and told the two adults the whole story.
Chen Houlu's reaction was the same as Xu Zhen's, and he immediately said: "Could this monk have kidnapped Magistrate Tong from Shangzhou? Is there any blood feud?"
Song Zhili looked at the dying Magistrate Tong and asked, "How is he now?"
"I have sent people to find the doctor," Cheng Xiao replied, "but it looks like the situation is not good. I guess... we won't last long!"
After hearing this, Song Zhili thought for a moment, then walked up to the monk and asked: "Monk, the charade game is over. Since you surrendered yourself, tell me all about your crime!" Why did you kill Magistrate Tong like this?"
The hall suddenly became quiet, and everyone was waiting for the monk's answer.
However, the monk remained deaf and showed no response.
"It doesn't matter," Song Zhili added, "If you have any grievances, just tell them. Maybe I will make the decision for you?"
Unexpectedly, after saying this, the monk finally opened his eyes.
The monk's eyes were still so fierce and captivating. He looked at Song Zhili and softly said two words: "The horse is long, the fish is short."
As soon as the two nouns were spoken, everyone became nervous instantly, and Song Zhili also changed his expression.
"The horse is long, the fish is short."
As a result, the monk repeated it again.
This time, Song Zhili was even more certain that this was another word puzzle the monk had given them.
If it is really a charade, could it be that there are other victims?
Bang...
At this moment, Cheng Xiao's clenched fists made a banging sound. It was obvious that the monk's behavior had completely exhausted Cheng Xiao's patience.
"Monk!" Sure enough, he raised his hand to grab the monk's collar, lifted him off the ground, and threatened, "I thought you were a monk, and I tolerated you over and over again, but you kept pushing the envelope. What do you think a yamen is? What do you think? If you don’t explain it clearly, won’t there be nothing we can do against you?”
"That's right," an old detective agreed, "This is not a place to play word games. Mr. Cheng, what are we waiting for? Let's quickly put him in jail and let him be punished, right?"
At this moment, Song Zhili stood aside coldly, showing no intention of stopping him.
He also wanted to see what the monk's reaction was.
"Amitabha," the monk recited the Buddha's name and sneered, "you will understand sooner or later, but if you dare to lay a finger on me, you will definitely regret it!"
"Okay," Cheng Xiao raised his fist, "I want to see if I regret it!"
As he spoke, he punched the monk hard in the face.
Cheng Xiao struck out quickly and with great force. With just one punch, he beat the monk until blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
However, after the monk was beaten, instead of showing any pain, he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha...hahaha..."
The laughter was harsh and shrill, making everyone uncomfortable.
"I'll make you laugh!" Cheng Xiao punched again, ready to fight.
"Slow down!" This time, Song Zhili stopped him.
There was no way, Song Zhili had suffered too much before, he was afraid that this monk was also a trap, and if he was fooled again, he would not live anymore!
"Monk," Song Zhili advised the monk, "why are you suffering? If you have any grievances to tell, why should you suffer the physical pain?"
"This is just an empty skin, so why suffer the pain of flesh and blood?" The monk looked at Song Zhili with a strange look in his eyes and said, "Sir Song, the game has just begun, and the excitement is yet to come!
"If you break the rules in advance, it will be too late when you regret it!"
"you……"
Although Song Zhili was so angry that his teeth were itching, he had to say that the monk's words still frightened him. After all, Magistrate Tong's tragic situation was right in front of him. Who knew what other plans he had?
"Okay, then I want to see how capable you are?" Song Zhili waved his hand to Cheng Xiao and said, "Let's put him in jail first!"
"Yes!" Cheng Xiao immediately sent someone to escort the monk away.
But just as he was being escorted away, Xu Zhen suddenly came to the monk and asked, "There is a racecourse street in Yanping County. When you said horse chief, you should be referring to that place, right?"
The monk smiled coldly and was noncommittal. Not long after, he was pushed and taken away by the policemen...
…
