The boatman tried to avoid Mr. Liu several times, but was always stopped by Mr. Liu with his hand.
There were many servants brought by Xu Tong at the ferry, and he couldn't be rough with Mr. Liu in front of him for fear of attracting the attention of the servants at the ferry.
"Don't even think about leaving. Come with me to see the officials. Your tiger-character banner dares to kill even the imperial officials. I want to see who can protect Liu Heng this time." Mr. Liu said coldly.
When the boatman saw that he couldn't escape, he stopped walking around and left. Instead, he stood on the spot, facing Mr. Liu directly, and said, "Since you have guessed it, I won't hide it. I was the one who killed Xu Tong."
Mr. Liu was stunned.
Although he had always said that Xu Tong was killed by the boatman in front of him, this was just his guess and there was no evidence. Now that the other party admitted it, he was a little at a loss.
The boatman glanced contemptuously at Mr. Liu in front of him and said, "I work for the Tiger Flag, and killing Xu Tong was also ordered by our department director."
"Just admit it. Now follow me to the government office and say what you just said again in front of the county magistrate here." Mr. Liu stretched out his hand to grab the boatman in front of him.
The boatman took a step back, avoiding Mr. Liu's grasping arm, and said, "Xu Tong is dead. Are you sure you want to go against Mr. Liu?"
Mr. Liu's outstretched arm paused.
The boatman continued: "I would like to advise you, go back to Guangling County and live your life with peace of mind. Your money and land will not be less. If you continue to interfere in Xu Tong's affairs, you should know what will happen in the future?"
Hearing this, Mr. Liu felt a chill in his heart.
Considering that the other party dared to kill even high-ranking officials like Xu Tong, killing one more of his staff was not a big deal.
The boatman added: "Think more about your family."
After saying that, he ignored Mr. Liu and turned to leave.
This time, Mr. Liu did not reach out to stop him and allowed the boatman to leave.
If there is someone around him, you can see that his body is shaking slightly at this moment.
"Boatman, we have to cross the river, can you give us a ride?"
At this time, several men came on horseback from the dirt road in the distance, came to the south side of the river, and asked the boatman who was about to leave.
The boatman shook his head and said, "To be honest, my ferry just sank to the bottom of the river. I'm afraid I won't be able to cross the river for a while."
One of the men said: "Sorry, we still have trouble crossing the river. Can the boatman think of a way to help us cross the river?"
The boatman shook his head with a wry smile and said, "I can't help you, but you can go to Tianhe Village ahead and find the fishermen in the village to take you across the river."
"Thank you boatman." The man gave the boatman a fist, turned around and rode away with the people.
As soon as these men left, Mr. Liu suddenly said: "Are those people just now members of your Tiger Flag?"
The boatman who was about to leave turned around, looked at Mr. Liu and said, "Mr. Liu misunderstood, they are just a few boat passengers who want to cross the river."
"If they are ordinary boat passengers, they will not recognize you as the boatman at a glance. You are not on the ferry at the moment." Mr. Liu said expressionlessly.
The boatman smiled and said, "It seems that nothing can be hidden from Mr. Liu."
Mr. Liu continued: "They are here to see if my family is dead! If my prediction is correct, even if my family does not cross the river from here and chooses to take a detour and go downstream, they will still fall into your Tiger Flag's plan. .”
The boatman paused.
I sighed in my heart, these scholars who served as staff should not be underestimated. They actually guessed most of their plans. Fortunately, Xu Tong had already drowned.
"Why don't you say anything? It seems that I was right. You, Mr. Liu, are really good at it." Mr. Liu said with a cold face.
The boatman smiled and said, "Mr. Liu, please go back to Guangling early. It's best not to leave Guangling if you have nothing to do."
"Aren't you going to kill me to silence me?" Mr. Liu frowned.
The boatman smiled slightly, turned around, and walked along the dirt road towards Tianhe Village.
Mr. Liu stood on the bank of the river, watching the boatman's leaving figure, his face uncertain. After a while, it finally turned into a long sigh.
Among the men who rode away from the river bank, someone said: "Niu Er, go to Sunliuzhuang downstream and tell our people that Xu Tong is dead and that we can withdraw."
"Yes." A man next to him agreed, turned the horse's head, and galloped towards the other road.
At this time, Mrs. Liu was standing next to a big car with an anxious look. When she saw Mr. Liu coming back, she hurriedly greeted him and asked, "I heard that something happened to Mr. Xu, is it true?"
The frustrated Mr. Liu nodded.
Mrs. Liu asked again: "What should we do? Do we want to go to Beijing?"
"No, let's go back to Guangling. From now on, we will stay in our hometown in Guangling and never leave again." Mr. Liu said.
What the boatman said before leaving made him understand that his family could only stay in Guangling from now on and would not be able to leave. They were considered to be under house arrest.
At this time, he also understood why the people of Tiger Character Banner did not kill him. It was entirely because the death of Xu Tong could be said to be an accident. If he, a staff member, died immediately, it would easily arouse the suspicion of the court.
At the same time, he was also constantly afraid in his heart.
If he was on the ferry with Xu Tong, he must be among the people who died now.
Mrs. Liu said: "It's better to go back to Guangling. In Guangling, we have fields and land at home, and we can eat and drink. It's much better than going to a place like the capital."
"Pack up, let's leave now." Mr. Liu said.
Mrs. Liu hesitated and said: "The ladies are on the other side of the river. Why don't we tell the ladies?"
Mr. Liu raised his head and glanced across the river.
He noticed that looting was also happening on the other side of the river.
Thinking of the usual behavior of those ladies, he had a clear idea in his mind that once Xu Tong died, these ladies would not only not investigate the cause of Xu Tong's death, but would only try their best to fight for the money left by Xu Tong.
As for the cause of Xu Tong's death, I am afraid that even the court would not want to investigate, and would only think that he died in an accident. After all, Xu Tong had already hated the current emperor, and even many adults in the court. No one would do it for a local official who has lost power. , seriously search for the cause of death and do such a thankless thing.
He understood that even if he told that Xu Tong was murdered by people from the Tiger Flag, no one would believe it, and it would instead bring disaster to his family.
Most of the servants who followed Xu Tong to the capital fled, but left many large cars behind.
Mr. Liu took out a scrap of silver and bribed a coachman who had not left to drive the cart to take him and his wife back to Datong.
In Tianhe Village, a fast horse appeared from the entrance of the village, galloping toward the southwest.
When Liu Heng received Xu Tong's death letter, he had already arrived in Datong.
