As for the Liu family, they had business dealings with the Shen family, an imperial merchant, twenty years ago and became the richest man in the area. However, they severed their business ties with the Shen family three years ago for unknown reasons.
Afternoon
A group of people came to Black Ridge in great force. It was winter at this time. The black bear usually slept in the cave. When it was really hungry, it would break into people's homes in the middle of the night and steal livestock.
You must know that in this era, a pig or a cow was the main source of income for a family. Sometimes, people who did not have livestock in captivity would be invaded by it and would eat people.
I met a woodcutter on the road and heard that they were going to hunt bears. He kindly tried to persuade him, but seeing that there were so many of them, he refused to listen and had to shake his head and leave.
Mo Lan ordered people to dig three large pits on the road where the black bear must pass. The first two were only one foot deep, and the third was more than five meters deep. He placed the triangular inverted canopy he asked Zhao Zhengshen to build below, and placed a hole above it. Set up a net and put a layer of grass on top.
Mo Lan poured some honey on it and activated his spiritual power, and the fragrance of honey spread out.
Zhao Zhengshen looked at her doing all this with disdain. What kind of clever trick did he think it was? Isn't it the most primitive animal trap?
But she didn't know that after dispersing the honey, she added the incense she had worked on over the past few days on it. As long as the beast lowered his head and smelled it, he would be tricked.
Looking around, Mo Lan immediately felt defensive when Liu Heli and Yan Sandao were nowhere to be seen.
After a while, Lao Geng came back with a red face and a thick neck.
"Grandpa Geng, how are you?"
Lao Geng clenched his fist and coughed lightly: "Young master, it's better not to know. Anyway, it won't hinder our trip."
Soon, night fell, and the black bear came out following the incense, but its shape was a little strange.
I saw it cautiously approaching the first pit, stepping on it, and quickly stepped back. Then after repeatedly confirming that it was just a small pit, it continued to move forward. It sniffed the second pit, and just when it was about to When approaching the third pit.
Yan Sandao suddenly rushed out, rolled around and came face to face with the black bear. He was so frightened that he fell back, fell into the trap, and was pierced by the sharp spear.
The black bear turned around and ran away. Before he could take two steps, his footsteps faltered and he fell straight to the ground. Two pairs of shoes were exposed, and the animal skin hung loosely on his body.
Sometimes, it is the person who is wearing the skin of an animal, and sometimes, it is the person with the face of a human and the heart of an animal.
early morning. Qingying County, which was originally peaceful, suddenly became excited at this moment!
"Hey! Did you hear that? Yan Sandao died. I heard that his death was extremely strange. He and Mr. Zhao accompanied some high-ranking official from the capital to catch black bears in the Black Ridge, but they fell into a trap. Here, he was stabbed to death!"
The small tea shed at the city gate was now full of people and noisy.
Some of these people had been bullied by Yan Sandao on weekdays, or their family members had been bullied by him. When they heard that he was dead, they all clapped their hands and cheered.
Some people even said that God couldn't stand it anymore and sent him to hell.
When Mo Lan and his party came back, they couldn't help but frowned when they heard these words, God? I'm afraid someone did it on purpose.
There is a pair of eyes staring at Mo Lan's carriage. Very good. You are the one who takes the blame. You are the one who pretended to be the Qin family. You are also asking for your own death.
Someone suddenly said in the tea shed, "Do you think Yan Sandao's death may be related to the man from the capital? After all, the thief had done evil every day before, and God never accepted him. If that is the case, then Zhao Sir..." The man said half of his words, leaving people to guess.
Zhao Zhengshen, who was sitting in the carriage, suddenly clenched his fists! It really depends on whether he has the ability to kill him.
yamen
"Quiet!" Zhao Zhengshen was sitting on the Grand Master's chair, holding a gavel in his hand, with a serious look on his face. People who didn't know better thought he was a selfless and upright official.
Downstairs, a couple was shackled and kneeling together. The woman was a little delirious, while the man looked as if he was dead.
"I would like to ask you why you pretended to be black bears in Black Ridge. You and your wife have been sentenced to death by this officer for a long time. You dare to wear bear skins and disturb the peace of the people. Those who disappeared on the mountain were killed by you and your wife. Those who seek harm will be punished for it!"
Zhao Zhengshen gritted his teeth. He didn't dare to get angry at Qin Jiyan, so he had to suppress his anger and vent it all on these two people.
The man was a little thin, but even though he was kneeling on the ground, his back was straight.
"You are a bitch, relying on your status as an official to steal the people's wealth, associate with thieves, and slander me and my wife to kill people. If you want to kill, then kill! Don't be here, talking high-sounding! Talk in vain and open your mouth. Come on, now that you have confirmed that we did it, you should also think about the details."
"Chen Xiucai, I advise you not to be ungrateful. Who ordered you and your wife to act like gods in Black Ridge? Tell the truth, I will spare your lives and make meritorious deeds!" Zhao Zhengshen faced the two people in the hall. He was a man, but his eyes glanced at Mo Lan, who was sitting beside him.
The scholar hugged his wife, looked at Zhao Zhengshen fiercely and said: "No one instructs us to pretend to be gods and ghosts? Ha! If there is a ghost in this world, it is you, Zhao Zhengshen, who has evil intentions and a ghost in your heart!"
"You! Come here, I will serve you with a heavy punishment!" Zhao Zhengshen couldn't help but become angry when he said this. He wanted to use a heavy punishment to force the two of them to surrender, but at this moment.
Mo Lan always felt that something was going on, so she spoke out to stop Zhao Zhengshen from forcing a confession.
"Wait a minute! Mr. Zhao, it's not a good idea to give in to a fight. It's better to let the two of them talk it out. Otherwise, everyone in Qingying County will talk behind your back in the future and you will be stigmatized. In this way, even if my grandfather values you, he will not For the sake of the people, we have no choice but to give up!"
Zhao Zhengshen was about to retort, but he saw her spinning the passion beads in her hand with a smile on her face, "Mr. Qin doesn't know something. This couple is domineering and maliciously killed the boy next to my nephew. Arson, trying to destroy the body and eliminate all traces!"
"You're talking nonsense! That day was clearly, clearly..." The scholar was eager to tell the truth, and the lady in his arms suddenly shook like chaff.
"Old Geng! Take this lady to the side hall and find a doctor to look at her!" Mo Lan stood up and walked to the lady.
He stretched out his hand to test and found that she was in a daze, muttering the words "No, no!" This is a psychological disorder left behind after being overly frightened.
Zhao Zhengshen felt that he had been ignored by this boy many times, and he became rude in his words: "Master Qin, this is a crime of misogyny. There is no need to see a doctor. It seems that I am just pretending."
At this time, Liu Heli, who didn't know where he was going, walked in from the back door and said something in Zhao Zhengshen's ear, which made his eyes light up and he suddenly became more energetic.
"quiet!"
"Master Zhao, we are quiet!"
"Ahem, let the prisoner's wife see a doctor first. Chen Xiucai, since you said that I slandered you for killing someone, why not? I will give you this opportunity. The person standing in front of you is a high-ranking official from the capital. You can tell the difference. Said, if I really slander you, he will make the decision for you!"
After Zhao Zhengshen finished speaking, he looked at Mo Lan with a smile. Mo Lan was a little frightened when he stared at him! What tricks does this old dog have that she doesn’t know about?
Chen Xiucai looked at Mo Lan. He was only sixteen or seventeen years old, fair and clean, and the jade pendant he wore around his waist was worth a lot of money.
He had been to the capital, and only the officials' children there were dressed like this. He was afraid that this person was either in the same group as the dog official, or was too young and had been deceived by him.
Comparing the two, Chen Xiucai is more inclined to the latter. At least this is the only hope for this little official to recognize this thief!
"Sir!" Chen Xiucai knelt straight and bowed to Mo Lan politely.
two years ago
Yan Sandao was walking drunkenly on the street, and no one dared to approach him.
Suddenly he grabbed a child and brought his face very close. The child was frightened into a daze. Then Yan Sandao slapped him in the face, picked him up and threw him to the side. The child was hit on a stall. It hurt so much that I couldn't cry.
"Looking so ugly makes me sick to my stomach!"
Everyone turned their heads in fright, but he stared at Mrs. Chen who came out to buy groceries, and staggered towards her, "Little lady, come home with me, and let me pamper you! Hehehehe!!!" "
Mrs. Chen was so frightened that she ran forward. Yan Sandao chased her for two steps, but because he was too drunk, his left foot tripped his right foot, and he fell face down to the ground, unconscious!
After that, Chen Xiucai went out for shopping and did not dare to let his wife go out again.
Unexpectedly, Yan Sandao was determined to be a thief, and while Chen Xiucai was out teaching during the day, he raped Mrs. Chen.
When Chen Xiucai rushed back with his sword in hand, he only heard his wife's cry.
Yan Sandao's boy firmly stopped him and refused to let him in. The two began to struggle, but suddenly the boy stopped moving.
Chen Xiucai pulled out the butcher's knife stuck in the boy's chest, rushed into the room, and stabbed him in the waist.
However, Yan Sandao was tall and strong, and that sword could not kill him at all. Instead, he threw him aside and let him run away.
Chen Xiucai packed his luggage and prepared to leave Qingying County overnight, but...
Before nightfall, a group of government officials rushed in and surrounded them.
In order to close the case as quickly as possible, Zhao Zhengshen did not go to court for interrogation, but directly convicted him and his wife to death. He also threw the boy's body back into his yard and burned it.
"Hahaha, that's good. In that case, I sentenced you to death, and you and your wife were imprisoned in a prison. How did you escape and go to Black Ridge to become the black bear? But there is someone helping you?" Zhao Zhengshen Looking at him with a fearless expression.
"It's me. I lied to the prison officer, saying that I still had money hidden in my possession. I wanted him to help me bring it to my father-in-law's house. I didn't know where he was, so I asked him to take me there. After I got out, I took advantage of the opportunity. I knocked him unconscious, took off his clothes, and took advantage of the prison change to escape with my wife. Unfortunately, we couldn't get out of Qingying County because you, a dog official, had people guarding every important road! These years , as long as anyone who is bullied or wronged by you dares to leave Qingying County, they will die!"
For some reason, Mo Lan always felt that Chen Xiucai was hiding something.
He was a weak scholar. Even if the yamen servant was a drunkard, he had been trained. He was at least the first or second rank of the lower Huang Realm. He took the opportunity to knock him out, fearing that it was fake.
