The maid stepped forward, handed over a piece of paper, and then respectfully left.
Master Liu glanced around, with a smile on his face, and handed the paper in his hand to Su Qi'an.
"Haha, you are worthy of being a scholar. This kind of calmness is rare among the many scholars in Lingbei County."
"After all, the insect corpse is a big deal. Don't be surprised if the autopsy wasted time."
Su Qi'an nodded and also glanced at the text on the paper, which detailed the insect's degree of decay, time of death and other available parts.
"Well, in order to express my apology, I will trade this big insect for the original price of a hundred taels, so Mr. Su will be satisfied."
Su Qi'an's face changed a little, and his eyes looked a little surprised. He looked at Master Liu deeply, was silent for a while, and said softly.
"Thank you Master Liu for your kindness. Although Qi An has a reputation as a scholar, he is by no means a greedy person. Regarding the intactness of the big insect, it is at most 70 taels. Master Liu loves it so much that Qi An feels uneasy."
"Qi'an is a straight man, and he doesn't speak secretly. What does Mr. Liu want from you? Or do you want to pray for something?"
"Haha, Mr. Su is indeed extraordinary. He is quick to talk and very interesting."
Master Liu obviously didn't expect Su Qi'an to speak like this. He was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter.
His laughter subsided and he said very naturally, "Mr. Su, don't worry so much. Liu is not trying to be a gentleman. In January, the county exam will be held. As a gentleman, he will definitely participate."
"If your husband is in high school, this will be the icing on the cake."
"What if Su fails?" Su Qian raised his eyebrows and interjected.
"Sir, if you fail the exam, you should give him some help in the snow."
"Master Liu is really grand. Judging from Master Liu's connections, he should know something about Su. I'm afraid I will disappoint Master Liu this time." Su Qian calmly took a sip of tea and said with a smile.
"It doesn't matter. There are only a few young talents in our county. If Mr. Su fails this year, it will be a long time in the future. I believe he will not be willing to be a scholar. Here, Mr. Liu congratulates Mr. Su in high school in advance."
Master Liu was very calm, he also took a sip of tea and said calmly.
"Since Mr. Liu said this, Mr. Su is disrespectful. With Mr. Liu's good words, Mr. Su would like to thank Mr. Master for his help here."
Su Qi'an did not delay and nodded to accept. It was not that Su Qi'an was greedy for money. It would be good to add more money to the widow in the village.
Su Qi'an and Master Liu were chatting, and they were very polite. At the same time, Master Liu didn't waste any time and quickly handed over one hundred taels to Su Qi'an.
Su Qi'an stayed in the side room for half an hour, and finally left the Lingbei County Government Office accompanied by Master Liu.
This scene made many of the government officials at the door widen their eyes, especially the Hengrou government official who had just had a conflict with Su Qi'an and stayed where he was for a long time without saying a word.
It wasn't until Su Qian and the other five disappeared that they came back to their senses. Compared with other government officials, the relationship between this Hengrou government official and Mr. Liu was obviously unusual.
After transferring the other yamen officers away, Hengrou yamen officer stepped forward, hesitated, and asked tentatively.
"Master, my subordinate is stupid. Even if Mr. Su is a scholar, he still won't be so polite. Is there something unusual about this gentleman?"
Mr. Liu stood at the door of the county government office, watching Su Qian and the other five people leave. He looked away and walked towards the county government office. He passed by the Hengrou government office servant and said softly.
"Xiao Wang, you can't see some people with your eyes. You are lucky today. I opened your eyes so that you won't offend some people you can't afford to offend in the future, and you won't even know how to die."
After saying this, Wang Yamen's face was shocked and he quickly followed.
Master Liu walked through the main entrance of the Yamen, passed through the middle hall, and came to a main room.
This room is larger than the side room where Su Qian was entertained, and the tables, chairs, and desks in the room are all of the highest quality.
At this time, there were several figures in the main room, all wearing robes. The one in the middle was Fang Jingzhi, the magistrate of Lingbei County, and next to him were two young men.
Although the clothes are not gorgeous, there is a noble temperament about him.
Especially the former young man, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, a pair of deep eyes, and a sharp aura.
The three people gathered around a half-rotten big insect. Although the big insect exuded a stench, it did not affect the three people's interest in observing at all.
Master Liu walked in, bowed his hand to the young man with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, came to Fang Jingzhi's side, and said softly.
"Reporting to the county magistrate, everything was in accordance with the Marquis' instructions and Mr. Su was sent away smoothly."
"Is Mr. Su suspicious?" the young man asked.
"Yes, but they were all smoothed over by subordinates. Mr. Su didn't guess about the Marquis."
"Well, that's good." The young man nodded.
"Don't worry, Lord Marquis. If Master Liu takes action, there will be nothing wrong with this matter."
Fang Jingzhi smiled and then asked, "Master Hou, I have something to puzzle me about. This Su Xiucai, even if he kills the big insect, is so valued by Master Hou, he must not be as good as he seems." Keep it simple.”
Su Qi'an was not simple. Fang Jingzhi was not very curious. Instead, he had great respect for the young man in front of him.
This young man's name is Xie Cang. He is not very old, about 27 or 28, but he is a genuine marquis. His fiefdom is in Lingdong County next door, and he is called Lingdong Marquis.
In the 300th year since the founding of the Daliang Dynasty, in order to show the great merits of the country, six titles were specially awarded, from high to low, they are king, duke, marquis, uncle, son and male.
Except for the highest-ranking royal titles, which are awarded by relatives of the founding emperor, the highest other nobles are dukes.
Of course, 300 years have passed, and now only those above the Marquis level truly hold real power, while those below the Earl level have become a false reward.
This Xie Cang came from a famous family. His ancestors had produced three dukes and several marquises, and he had a distinguished background. And he lived up to his ancestors. He relied on several major wars to win the title of marquis from baron step by step.
He was named the Marquis of Lingdong, and he held great power in his hands. He also had the support of the prince in the court. He was ranked at the top among the younger generation of generals in Da Liang. It would be no exaggeration to say that he was a hot new star in the army.
Being able to have the dignified Lingdong Marquis come to Lingbei County in person made Fang Jingzhi's heart skip a beat and he couldn't help but treat him seriously.
If he is lucky enough to catch up with this rising star in the military, Fang Jingzhi's career will probably go even further in the future.
In order to serve this master well, Fang Jingzhi worked very hard.
Everything was going smoothly at first, but suddenly they bumped into Su Qi'an, who was bringing the corpse of a big insect and came to ask for a reward.
This made Fang Jingzhi very angry. After all, the rotting insect and the noble Marquis collided, and no one could say it was unlucky.
Just when Fang Jingzhi wanted to send his subordinates away and drive Su Qi'an away, if Master Liu hadn't been very discerning and noticed that Lord Xie seemed to be very interested in the big insect and stopped him, I'm afraid he would have offended Xie Cang silently. .
And what happened next was that after Mr. Xie took a few glances at the big insect, he ordered Mr. Liu to go meet the Su Xiucai.
Fortunately, Mr. Liu did a good job, so Fang Jingzhi got the courage to step forward and ask.
Xie Cang did not answer. Instead, he sat down and spoke to the young man beside him who seemed to be a guard.
"Tong Zhan, you have been observing for so long, go and explain to Magistrate Fang."
"Yes!" Tong Zhan nodded and said solemnly.
"This big bug is not a sick tiger, but a ferocious beast that has almost become a spirit. If you really want to capture it, even a veteran in the army will not be able to capture it without injuring two or three people. Moreover, it is still wearing a Under reinstallation."
"But this big bug, according to my observation, the fatal wound should be killed by a volley of three arrows on the forehead, eyes, and chest. Depending on the extent of the wound, it should not exceed ten meters at most."
"Ten meters, such a close range shooting. To be honest, even I may not have such a calm psychological quality. This person is probably a very experienced and talented marksman!"
Although Fang Jingzhi didn't know anything about close-range shooting or superb shooting skills, he had been in the officialdom for more than thirty years, so how could he not have two skills?
If everything goes according to Tong Zhan's analysis, this Su Xiucai is probably a true all-rounder in both civil and military affairs.
He knows better than anyone what it means to be versatile in both civil and military affairs. Although Daliang seems to be very stable in the 300 years since its founding, bandits are rampant in the country. Not to mention anything else, not one of the seven counties in Sichuandu County is free from suffering. Bandits came down the mountain to rob.
Bandits and so on, this is not bad, in the four borders, the foreign wars have no intention of stopping.
If the situation had not been serious, Xie Cang would not have grown from the most unworthy baron to the current Marquis of Lingdong in just ten years.
Part of this, apart from relying on Meng Yin from his ancestors, most of it was achieved slowly through Xie Cang's military exploits bit by bit.
Having been with Xie Cang for some time, Fang Jingzhi could probably guess Xie Cang's intentions.
As the Marquis of Lingdong, in addition to having his own fiefdom, he also has the responsibility of finding various military talents for the court, preferably those who are versatile in both civil and military affairs.
And through watching tigers, Fang Jingzhi was sure that the unknown Su Qi'an was the talent Lingdong Marquis wanted to search for.
Fang Jingzhi turned his eyes, then clasped his fists towards Xie Cang and said, "Xiaguan congratulates the Marquis here. It is really a blessing for Lingbei County to be able to find available talents in the territory."
"I will immediately send someone to Dongshan Village to find Mr. Su and let him meet the Marquis as soon as possible. What do you think?"
Xie Cang, who was sitting on the seat, waved his hand and said softly at this time.
"Haha, this matter is not urgent. After all, Su Qi'an has a reputation as a scholar. The county examination of Sichuan Du County will be held in one month. Whether he is the talent I need, he will be able to test it out when the time comes. Don't be too hasty."
"It's better that the Marquis acted safely, but that the lower official was anxious. The lower official has been taught a lesson, so he will do it according to the instructions of the Marquis."
After saying this, Master Liu and several other government officials left quickly. Watching Fang Jingzhi leave, Xie Cang shook his head and sneered, waving, while Tong Zhan listened attentively.
"My subordinate understands."
After a while, Tong Zhan stood up and quickly left the room.
