Xie Lingjiang has been closely guarding Ouyang Rong these days.
Wherever the latter goes, she follows.
Except Ouyang Rong sleeps at night.
Well, maybe Xie Lingjiang was watching over him when he slept at night, but he was just sitting on a roof somewhere quite far away.
But Ouyang Rong didn't know this.
besides.
Even when Ouyang Rong summoned Liu Ashan and Yan Liulang for a secret discussion, Xie Lingjiang was still standing outside the house, holding his sword and leaning slightly against the pillars of the corridor.
The sunset is setting in the west, somewhere in the west hall of Longcheng County Government Office.
Ouyang Rong glanced at the shadow of his little junior sister stretched out by the setting sun on the ground outside the gate.
Slowly look back.
Apart from him, there were only two people in the west hall.
Liu Ashan and Yan Liulang.
Ouyang Rong said to them:
"How did that go?"
"Master, it has been confirmed without a doubt that on the day we took Ah Qing back, a female sword worker who worked with Ah Qing was indeed missing from the Guyue Sword Shop's sword workshop."
Liu Ashan's expression was serious, with a hint of fear on his face. He continued:
"Before, the master asked me to withdraw all the brothers who were stationed in the sword shop, so the information collected was still a bit slow. When the master sent me to inquire, the information I got was limited. I only knew that the news of her disappearance was received during the reception. The news started to spread the day after I returned to Ah Qing. No one knew exactly when he disappeared.
"And not many people know about it. It only spreads in a small area, and no one cares about it. We don't even know the name of this female ear worker.
"but……
"Fortunately, I asked A-mei. She said that on the morning of the day she was picked up, a female worker disappeared. A-mei also said... that the missing female worker was named Zhang Qian, and she usually told her... She... is quite strict, so Amei pays special attention to her.
"It's just that my sister didn't know that Zhang Qian was missing until I told her about it. Before that, she just thought it was because she was absent from work willfully again.
"I estimate that most of the stewards and workers in the Sword and Sui Workshop at that time had the same idea as Amei, so the news of Zhang Qian's disappearance did not start to spread until the second day, and it seemed that it was still covered up by some people. It’s tight and only spreads in a small area.”
The tall, thin and dull man couldn't help but glance at the young county magistrate who was listening attentively and with a calm expression. He sighed:
"Slaves disappearing like this happens every month in Dragon City, and it is usually difficult to attract attention. That's why I am so attentive and knowledgeable about things, so I asked me to check them out, and I found some clues.
"Master, do you think this was done privately by the Liu family?"
Ouyang Rong did not nod or shake his head.
He stood up and clasped his hands behind his back, pacing back and forth in the room.
That day, he urgently picked up Ah Qing from Guyue Sword Shop, and he began to doubt the matter.
Looking back now, although it seems like hindsight, it is not too late.
Faintly caught a small tail from the Liu family and Guyue Jianpu.
Looking back now, Ouyang Rong's worries and speculations about Ah Qing that day were not wrong.
That morning, the large amount of merit that inexplicably increased was related to Ah Qing, and it was likely that he indirectly saved her life.
After all, if a female swordsman named Zhang Qian is missing from the sword and spike workshop, it can also miss a Qing.
As for how he indirectly saved Ah Qing, Ouyang Rong suspected that it was the birthday gift he gave to the little girl, which was the blue paper butterfly flower.
Later, I heard from Ah Qing that the flower was left in the hands of an old craftsman from Guyue Sword Shop and was not brought back.
This further confirmed his guess:
The old craftsman who took away Ah Qing's flower was probably an important figure in the Guyue sword shop.
Or maybe the blue butterfly paper flower was made by this old craftsman and passed through a strange experience unknown to Ouyang Rong, and fell into the hands of a talker in Guyue Sword Shop, such as Liu Ziwen and Liu Zian, and had some influence.
Indirectly saved Ah Qing's life.
Ah Qing was not allowed to disappear that morning like the female worker named Zhang Qian.
Moreover, it was impossible to say that the female worker who was about to disappear was actually Ah Qing, but some kind of causal relationship caused it to deviate, resulting in the result they saw now.
But this raises another question: does he save Ah Qing, but does it count as indirectly killing Zhang Qian? If so, merit should be deducted, but he only gained merit.
Does it count, or have the increases and decreases canceled each other out?
Or is it because this person named Zhang Qian is not a good person? It is not a pity to die. For example, the last time Ouyang Rong cut off the traitor's head with his own hands, no merit was deducted. There is a mechanism similar to the red name. Killing a person with negative merit will not deduct merit.
If none of these are true, then there is only one guess left. The blue paper butterfly flower was used elsewhere, and the merit increased due to other things. It is not the key hand that determines Ah Qing's life and death. Even without it, Ah Qing would Still fine...
Ouyang Rong was thinking a lot.
Regarding the whole set of guesses above, he is not sure whether they are correct, and there may still be some deviations. After all, he is not a god, and he has no plans.
But this is the only possibility that Ouyang Rong can think of that is relatively self-explanatory after he gradually understands the underlying mechanism of the Merit Tower.
Of course, there are not all loopholes and doubts.
For example, Ouyang Rong couldn't figure out why the blue butterfly paper flowers he gave to Ah Qing had such a big effect?
Isn’t it just a simple paper art? Some simple geometric principles are involved.
What other huge impact could it have?
This is not some transcribed poems and songs, or a new technology that promotes productivity.
Or...did it bring back the beautiful childhood memories of Liu Ziwen and Liu Zian?
This is a bit ridiculous.
In addition, there are two questions.
First of all, who is the old swordsmith? From Ah Qing's description, he seems to be an ordinary old swordsmith, but with a more withdrawn personality.
Secondly, what happened to the missing female worker named Zhang Qian, or...how did she die, and what was she used by the Liu family?
Ouyang Rong has always felt that the truth is hidden in the simplest reality.
From the simplest logic.
Think about what the old craftsman does for this job, and what the Guyue Sword Shop is for.
The Liu family, which puts profits first, definitely doesn't care for idlers.
Then the answer is obvious.
Forged sword.
Guyue Sword Shop is the core property of the Liu family.
Guyue Sword Shop is used to make swords.
Sword making relies on a swordsmith.
Therefore, it is possible that the old craftsman is helping the Liu family cast some important swords. This matter involves the core interests of the Liu family. Therefore, the old craftsman has a transcendent status in Guyue Sword Shop and can influence the decisions of Liu Ziwen, Liu Zian and others. So that day indirectly affected Ah Qing's fate?
In addition, the disappearance of the female shepherd Zhang Qian, and that day happened to be the completion of the flameout of the Jiasan Sword Furnace, and the sword baptism ceremony was held at Longshou Terrace... so all these things were added together.
Is it possible that the old craftsman made something that looks like the legendary tripod sword in the Jiasan Sword Furnace, and then used the female shepherd Zhang Qian to replace Ah Qing and sacrifice the sword.
Ouyang Rong was very skeptical about this.
However, the junior sister repeatedly told him that the casting of the tripod sword was not something that only one family could do, and that it did not require magic sacrifices. Such sacrifices could only be used by alchemists.
In addition, it is said that the birth of the tripod sword will bring about wonders and visions, and it seems that on the day when the sword was completed, the sky in Longcheng was clear and there were no strange sights.
Regarding the possibility of Dingjian, it seems that it is not feasible.
My thoughts stopped here, as if I had hit a wall.
This puzzle piece that Ouyang Rong had put together in his mind still lacked many fragmentary clues.
Wait... Alchemist?
In the west hall, in the sight of the tall, dull man and the head catcher in blue, the young county magistrate who had been wandering around the room suddenly stopped and looked out the window, frowning slightly.
He whispered something softly in his mouth:
"Remember... the last time we burned the accounts in the east warehouse... Junior Sister had a thief that we didn't catch... It seemed that he was suspected of being a magician... and he suddenly burned the Liu family's account... He was probably sent by the Liu family.
"Does the Liu family have Qi practitioners with the Alchemist Dao lineage... Is human sacrifice related to this?"
Ouyang Rong looked thoughtful.
"The Liu family in Longcheng...what is hidden under this calm lake...it's really strange..."
After a while, Ouyang Rong shook his head slowly and forcefully, as if he wanted to throw away these doubts.
He came back to his senses, turned around and asked a certain blue-clothed head catcher:
"Mukuro, how are you doing there?"
Yan Liulang took a step forward and said:
"The missing female ear worker's name is Zhang Qian. It's actually easy to find her once she has a name. I took people to look through the files in Hucao's warehouse, and finally found Zhang Qian's family in Nanfang, Cuiying Street in the south of the city.
“In addition to a seventy-year-old mother who is still alive, her family also has two brothers. Her eldest brother is already married and his family is not bad, while the second brother is proficient in eating, drinking, prostitution and gambling, and often relies on family support.
"In order to prevent being discovered by interested parties, I went to contact them privately in my regular clothes, and then asked in a circumstantial manner. Zhang Qian's two brothers were very wary of us, and they were very tight-lipped and never mentioned the disappearance of my sister. .
"Later, our people inquired from nearby neighbors and learned that not long ago, on the days when Zhang Qian disappeared, someone from the Guyue Sword Shop workshop came to Zhang's house.
"We also found out that these days, Zhang Qian's second brother suddenly started spending money lavishly in the gambling house in the south of the city."
Yan Liulang paused for a moment, smiled at Ouyang Rong and said:
"Ming Mansion, it seems that the Liu Family Sword Shop has given you a lot."
Ouyang Rong looked at the smile on Yan Liulang's face and seemed to understand. He nodded and asked, "What next."
"Then we found a breakthrough from Zhang's mother. Zhang Qian's two brothers may be satisfied with the Liu family's hush money, but Zhang's mother is not. She wants to find out the disappearance of her young daughter and find her daughter."
Yan Liulang smiled slightly:
"It's just that before this, no one paid attention to the request of a seventy-year-old woman, and she was not the one who made the decision in the family. But luckily she met us and the Ming Mansion.
"Mingfu, what do you say? What should we do now?"
The blue-robed head catcher stared at the young county magistrate with stern eyes, somewhat eager to try.
Ouyang Rong turned back to his seat, leaned back in his chair, and spread his hands flat on the table. Feeling the coolness of the nanmu table, he took a deep breath and nodded slowly:
"Missing, what a disappearance, no evidence of death? No, life or death is uncertain. If the Longcheng County Government receives a report, of course it will investigate and give the Zhang family an explanation. It is fair to see the person alive and the body after death.
“However, if you want to conduct a large-scale investigation, justice alone is not enough, you must also have power.”
Ouyang Rong leaned back in his chair, raised his head and stared at the wooden ceiling, introducing something about to happen with a serious expression:
"Jiangnan Road Supervisor Mr. Shen inspected Longcheng to show concern for the local floods and the people's situation. He also came to the grand ribbon-cutting ceremony of Di Gongzha. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, several county officials, powerful gentry, and fellow villagers gathered together and had a great time.
"Suddenly, some good people knelt down and cried out for injustice. They fell in front of Mr. Shen, who loved the people like his own son. With tears in his eyes, he accused the Liu family of smuggling female workers from the sword shop. Later, some onlookers accused the bully Liu family of setting up a porridge shed and nursery for profit. For many years, Harmful to one side, taking advantage of floods to annex fertile farmland, the evil is rampant.
"Lord Shen and other officials in Jiangzhou naturally would not sit idly by. They ordered the Longcheng County Government to temporarily detain the three Liu brothers on the spot, and immediately searched the Guyue Sword Shop thoroughly to find the missing female worker. Unfortunately, the body seemed to have been destroyed long ago, and the search was fruitless. , but new evidence was discovered one after another, which was conclusive. The whole Liu family dropped their defense, the three brothers were all imprisoned, and the Longcheng County government raided the Liu family. The people in the county rushed to tell the story, and everyone was happy...
"Rokuro, Ashan, what do you think of this script?"
Yan Liulang and Liu Ashan looked at each other and nodded vigorously together: "This is how it should be!"
Ouyang Rong opened his eyes, but compared to the happy faces of Yan and Liu, his brows were still slightly furrowed.
When Yan Liulang saw this, the smile on his face dropped and he couldn't help asking curiously:
"What is Mingfu worried about?"
"It doesn't matter."
Ouyang Rong temporarily put his mind to rest, shook his head, turned around and said:
"Before Mr. Shen of Jiangzhou and others arrive, there are two things that need to be done.
"Liu Lang, in the case of the missing female worker, you have to pull Zhang Qian's second brother over to avenge his sister. Zhang's mother alone may not be able to do enough.
"I have just learned that in addition to the supervisor Shen, the Jiangzhou Shangguan who came to Di Gongzha to cut the ribbon this time is also the newly appointed Jiangzhou governor Wang.
"This Shangguan did not invite me, and Mr. Shen's reply did not mention that he invited us. His position is unclear. He may be neutral, but he does not rule out making things difficult for us. Therefore, all our operations must be reasonable and reasonable. It is fair and square."
"Yes, Mingfu!"
Yan Liulang thought for a while and said seriously:
"There are many ways to deal with the little gangsters who eat, drink, whore and gamble. I'll think of a solution when I get back. It's not too difficult."
"So best."
Ouyang Rong turned his head again and told Liu Ashan:
"Ah Shan, after the disasters, the annexation of farmland, the porridge sheds and the nursery, the enrichment and harm to the people, the bullying of men and women by the third son of the Liu family, all kinds of evidence, on the basis of what I have prepared before, I went back to check and fill in the gaps, and share with me Just as I said to Rokuro just now, make sure the evidence is conclusive and fair, making it difficult for people to find fault. Even if the crime is small, it can make the Liu family peel off as long as it is put on the scale."
"Yes, sir."
Ouyang Rong slapped the table with his palms and said loudly:
"This time, taking advantage of the opportunity of Jiangzhou's superiors coming here to inspect, we will settle the accounts with the Liu family.
"The case of the missing female ear worker is an appetizer to test the attitude of the superiors. With Master Shen's cooperation and the great righteousness on our side, as long as we can successfully search the Guyue Sword Shop, the rest of the matter will be ready to fall into place, and there will be other evidence. Throw it out and you can't stop it!
"Besides...who knows if Guyue Sword Shop can find something that surprises us."
He paused and chuckled:
"I hope everything goes well. The next thing will be troublesome for Rokuro and Ashan."
"yes."
Yan and Liu were ready to retreat.
"Wait... Ah Shan stays." Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his head and shouted: "There is one more thing."
"Sir, please speak."
"Last time I asked you to clean up the 'rats' in the county government office. How did you do?"
Liu Ashan said seriously:
"Sir, almost all the Liu family's informants we found have been cleared away, but according to the master's instructions, we only left one official named Yuan. Last time when the master made the decision to stage the Zheyi Canal, this person had tipped off the news. But... right now this person probably thinks we haven't discovered him yet."
Ouyang Rong said calmly: "Assign him to the county government's gate repair team, and then give him some authority to be a manager or something."
Liu Ashan frowned slightly: "Master, what are you going to do..."
Ouyang Rong did not answer, but continued: "Send someone to keep an eye on him in the next few days, and notify me immediately if there is any movement."
"Yes, sir."
Afterwards, Ouyang Rong gave a few more instructions, and Yan and Liu retreated.
Only the young county magistrate was left sitting alone in the hall.
He leaned on the chair with both hands, closed his eyes and muttered:
"What exactly is hidden in this Guyue Sword Shop..."
