"Why not die earlier? Huh? Why not die earlier?"
In front of the table, a man's voice echoed in the darkness.
“Everything in the house has been yours since I was little, and every good thing has happened to you. From the wooden horse and swing when I was a child, to the woman who has made a fortune when I grow up, everything is yours!
"My parents love you the most, and that loser with nothing to lose but can't stand this sick guy like me.
"I will inherit all the family property for you, and I will give you a good wife and mother early on. Why, why, ah? Just because you came out earlier than me? Just because you are the eldest son?
"Then why don't you die earlier? Wouldn't it be better if you died earlier? If you die earlier, there won't be so many things!
"The most damning thing, the damning thing is that you have to lead us to be dogs for the Wei family. We have worked hard for more than ten years, but in the end we still have to make wedding clothes for others.
"I have been with you for more than ten years since I came back. You are a useless person who can't practice Qi. You would rather hand over the tripod sword to an outsider than to a brother or sister. What does my brother mean to you? What is he? Ah?
"Are you afraid that if I get the Cauldron Sword and ride on your head, I might as well give someone else an advantage?
"Liu Ziwen, don't you want to give me anything? Ever since you were a child, you have taken away everything. It's called family harmony, brothers and sisters respect each other, and we don't separate families...
"Hahaha, divide it! Why not divide it? Take everything you want, and I'll take mine too."
The man's voice in the darkness of the room suddenly stopped.
There was silence for a while.
The lamps in the house suddenly lighted up one after another, and the lights were brightly lit.
Liu Zian sat at the table, playing with the pot and pouring tea and water.
He moved slowly and said calmly:
"Brother, don't blame me. If you want to blame, blame yourself for losing, to Ouyang Lianghan.
"If you don't die, Ouyang Lianghan will burn this fire on the Liu family. At that time, you will be the sinner in the eyes of the Liu family's ancestors."
Liu Zian picked up the tea cup, took a sip of tea, looked at the Liu family mansion outside the door and the Guyue Sword Shop in the distance, and said softly:
"Now these are all mine."
…
Early the next morning.
Liu Zian was dressed in pure white mourning clothes again and walked out of the courtyard.
Several servants of the Liu family passed by not far away. He lowered his head and then raised his head, his face was tired and his eyes were sad.
"Good morning, second master." The servants saluted.
Liu Zian forced a smile on his tired face, nodded, and turned to leave.
The servants turned their heads and looked at the desolate figure of the second head of the Liu family, and couldn't help but sigh:
"The second master and the master really have a deep love for each other."
"Fortunately, the second master is here. Otherwise, after the master leaves, the wife and the young master will be left orphaned and widowed. What will they do at home? The third master has such a naughty temper..."
The sounds of servants whispering could be heard intermittently from behind.
Liu Zian's expression remained unchanged. He glanced at the sun and turned around, preparing to go to the back house where his eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. Xu, lived to pay some attention.
at this time.
"Second brother!"
"Second Master! Something bad has happened!"
Liu Zilin hurried over with Liu Fu and others. The former looked panicked and pointed down the mountain.
"Ouyang Lianghan's men appeared out of nowhere and led county police officers to break into the sword shop early in the morning and search the sword furnace.
"They said they received a report from the public that a female harbinger was missing in the West Bank sword shop, and they wanted to come in and search her."
Liu Zian's expression changed and he rushed towards the sword shop down the mountain.
…
Guyue Sword Shop.
A group of uninvited guests broke in today.
However, not many craftsmen in the sword shop dared to stand up and stop him.
The craftsmen looked in awe as they looked at the group of detectives in front of them who were searching the sword furnace one by one under the leadership of a certain blue-robed chief.
"Please cooperate and line up by the wall when you go out."
Yan Liulang walked the road vigorously and resolutely.
The craftsmen who were temporarily driven out of the sword furnace looked at each other.
The public trial was very loud in the past few days, and the huge Liu family's property was demolished, compensated, and divided.
After Liu Ziwen died, the only thing left in the hands of Liu Zian and Liu Zilin was the Guyue Sword Shop.
I thought the county magistrate was showing mercy.
Two days ago, Liu Zian also came to the sword shop specially to convene everyone and give a speech to appease people's hearts.
But looking at the current situation... is the Liu Family Sword Shop about to change?
Just when Yan Liulang led his detectives to search the fire-burning sword furnaces by the river, the craftsmen were panicking.
Not far away from the riverside, three figures were walking slowly from behind and followed them.
"What does Lianghan mean by this? Early in the morning, I came here with you to watch the police officers search the Liu family's sword shop."
Shen Xisheng turned around and asked curiously.
I was not annoyed at all by being disturbed from my dream so early in the morning.
This inspector of Jiangnan Province, who was a censor, was dressed in a noble crimson official uniform.
Standing together with Ouyang Rong, who is wearing the aqua-green official uniform of Qipin County Magistrate, he looks very eye-catching on the monotonous Jianpu Street of West Bund. He is also the focus of the awe-inspiring gaze of the surrounding craftsmen.
Ouyang Rong wore a white sandalwood target knife on his left waist. The new long sword he unexpectedly received the day before was thrown into the hands of the junior sister behind him.
Xie Ling Jiang held his sword coldly and followed Ouyang Rong and Shen Xisheng silently.
Ouyang Rong smiled and patiently explained:
"Excuse me, Mr. Shen. In fact, as I said just now, a family named Zhang in Longcheng County Yamen Street reported the case two days ago. She said that her youngest daughter was working as a tassel worker in the sword tassel workshop of Guyue Sword Shop. Soon, He went missing and asked our county government to look for him, so we came here."
"Oh, is it really that simple? Call me here..." Shen Xisheng glanced at the smiling Ouyang Rong, "Is there any surprise for me?"
Ouyang Rong thought for a while, turned around and said with a smile:
"Isn't it because Mr. Shen has been resting in Longcheng for the past two days and everything is fine? I just thought that I would invite Mr. Shen to come out and observe, which can be regarded as inspecting the work of the subordinate.
"As for the surprise... I don't know yet. Let's wait and see. What if we find it after checking?"
Ouyang Rong said casually, looking around at the sword shop on the west bank.
In the past, he only looked at this place from Penglangdu on the other side, across Butterfly Creek.
This is Ouyang Rong's first time here.
He actually didn't pay much attention to this sword shop owned by the Liu family before.
But as Ouyang Rong said to Xie Lingjiang two days ago, no place in Longcheng County is outside the law.
Although at present, the family fortune accumulated by the Liu family in Longcheng for several generations has been completely demolished by him. The head of the evil family, Liu Ziwen, is also the leader. Liu Zi'an, Liu Zilin and others see meek and docile, and they still go to Longcheng every day. The city and county government cooperated with all the instructions issued by the county magistrate.
But the incident of taking Ah Qing back, and the strange long sword he recently obtained by chance, seemed to vaguely point to this West Bank sword shop that he had never been to before.
He only believed what he saw with his own eyes.
So today, Ouyang Rong gathered his people, invited Shen Xisheng, and decided to come over in person to find out the truth.
Because when the rain at the end of the rainy season stopped completely and the second phase of Zhiyi Canal was back on track, he started to prepare to leave.
Before leaving, Ouyang Rong did not want to leave any possible hidden dangers.
And just in time, the disappearance of the female ear worker Zhang Qian, who was arranged before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, gave him the starting point to come to seek justice, which can be regarded as a good example.
Then bring someone in to check.
What if something is found?
After sorting out his thoughts, Ouyang Rong nodded gently.
Next to the young magistrate, Shen Xisheng, who was skinny and straight-backed, seemed to hear something beyond the meaning of the words.
"It's really that simple, so why did you come here to search at such an early time?"
Ouyang Rong smiled and said nothing.
Shen Xisheng twirled his beard and turned his head, looking meaningfully at Ouyang Rong beside him.
During the two days in Longcheng County, although he was silently dealing with matters assigned by his friend, he did not just rest behind closed doors at his residence, but witnessed with his own eyes the methods of his good friend and disciple.
It is no exaggeration to say that Ouyang Rong's clever operation of splitting up the Liu family was an eye-opener for him.
But what Shen Xisheng appreciates most is Ouyang Rong's restrained use of public power within his duties.
Don't look at it as insignificant now.
It seems superfluous to put it on a seventh-grade county magistrate, and he is not a minister of the court who holds huge power and needs to be cautious in everything.
However, didn’t Master Di also go up from such a sesame official position?
Therefore, just for this reason, Shen Xisheng felt that he was already beyond most of the young heroes he had seen at Luojing Yushitai.
The wind rises at the end of Qingping, and the waves form between gentle waves.
Clues can be seen in the details.
Shen Xisheng stroked his long beard and nodded slightly, but he seemed to be thinking of his old friend, and his mouth was a little sour.
Ouyang Rong didn't know what Shen Xisheng was thinking.
In the morning, the craftsmen and private slaves of Guyue Sword Shop came to work one after another. They were frightened by the intensity of the blue-clothed detectives searching the sword shop, and they stopped and gathered around them.
After each sword furnace was searched, Yan Liulang returned to report. At present, most of the sword furnaces have been searched, and there are no abnormalities yet.
Ouyang Rong listened for a while, then stepped forward to arrange and give instructions in person.
The sword furnaces at the core of Guyue Sword Shop are all close to the river. The wind on the river is strong and it is quite cold on the body.
Ouyang Rong tightened his sleeves.
While Ouyang Rong was busy, Shen Xisheng turned around and spoke a few words to Xie Lingjiang, the daughter of an old friend. The latter responded politely, glancing at the senior brother's back in front of him from time to time.
"Good niece...uh."
At a certain moment, Shen Xisheng called out again, but there was no response from Xie Lingjiang. He turned around and found that Xie Lingjiang's figure had disappeared behind him, and his face was startled.
Xie Lingjiang only disappeared for a short while and then turned back.
But there was something extra in the sleeves of her robe.
"Here."
Xie Ling Jiang's robe sleeves were bulging, he stepped forward, reached out and took out a piece of sugar cake wrapped in his robe sleeves, and silently handed it to Ouyang Rong.
Ouyang Rong, who was looking into the distance, was stunned and looked down.
"This is……"
Xie Ling Jiang Bai Shengsheng squeezed the hot cake held in his little hand forward and signaled.
Ouyang Rong raised his hand and took it, "Thank you, junior sister."
He took a bite of the hot sugar pancake and subconsciously asked, "By the way, you don't want to eat it?"
Xie Lingjiang shook his head, continued to hold his sword and looked around with a cold face.
At this moment, she seemed to feel a certain gaze and turned around to look.
It was Shen Xisheng's rather resentful look.
Xie Lingjiang: "..."
"Ahem."
Shen Xisheng, who had been watching silently for a while, couldn't bear it any longer. He covered his mouth and coughed, and took another look at the handsome young man and beautiful woman in front of him.
Xie Lingjiang averted his eyes slightly and asked in a low voice: "Uncle Shen didn't eat anything in the morning?"
With that said, he was about to turn around and go to the morning market in the sword shop he just passed not far away to sell cakes.
Ouyang Rong reacted, put down the hot cake, broke off a small piece of what he had eaten, and handed the remaining large piece to Shen Xisheng, "Mr. Shen, fill your stomach."
Shen Xisheng waved his hand to decline, and called out to Xie Lingjiang: "It's okay, it's okay, I'm not hungry at all."
Being fed indeed.
Shen Xisheng glanced at Xian's niece again. This girl is very attentive and remembers so clearly whether your senior brother has eaten in the morning.
Just as the awkward atmosphere between the three of them eased a little.
A group of hurried figures appeared on the street in the direction of the sword shop gate, and the first one was Liu Zian.
"Sir Shen, Lord County Magistrate, you two have come here. How come you don't know how to hear from Liu, hahaha."
Liu Zian approached with a smile, turned around and spread his hands to indicate the direction of the Liu family mansion:
"Come on, come on, tea has been prepared in my humble house. I would like to ask you two adults to move over. With your presence, my humble house will be in full bloom."
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and finished the hot cake without any movement. He showed no intention of moving away from Shen Xisheng, Xie Lingjiang and others. The words he said casually made Liu Zian's smile freeze for a moment.
"I don't bother Young Master Liu to entertain me. I just came here to find a lost person. The security situation in Longcheng County is not very good recently. I don't know if Liu Er has ever seen this girl before..."
Ouyang Rong turned around and reported the case to the Zhang family. He told the story of bringing people to search for Zhang Qian, the female ear worker.
Liu Zian forced a smile, shook his head and said:
"Your Excellency, County Magistrate, the common people have heard a little bit about the disappearance of this girl, but they have never seen her. In the past few days, the stewards of the sword shop have been asked to look for it, but there is no news...
"Lord County Magistrate, there must not be one here at the sword shop. We have checked it many times. Why don't we ask you to find it somewhere else?"
Ouyang Rong smiled and shook his head seriously: "It would be better to search more. Maybe we can find the person? Is there something unspeakable about Liu Ershao's refusal? Or is there something wrong with this ancient Yue sword shop? Something for everyone to see?"
"Haha, of course not, of course not. If there is anything that cannot be checked, the Jianlu County Magistrate by the river can check it."
Liu Zian waved his hands quickly and said with a smile.
Ouyang Rong glanced at him, then turned around and ordered Yan Liulang and others to continue searching the remaining sword furnaces by the river.
Behind him, Liu Zian, who couldn't get anything in, led the sword shop stewards to wait with their hands tied, looking at each other helplessly from time to time.
After a while, the search was completed, and Yan Liulang and other detectives returned.
The former glanced at the silent Liu Zian behind Ouyang Rong, cupped his hands and said:
"Report to the Ming Mansion, Mr. Shen, the female worker Zhang Qian was not found."
Liu Zian, who was behind him, felt relieved when he heard this, and silently looked sideways at Ouyang Rong's expression.
The young magistrate nodded slightly, suddenly turned around, and was about to leave.
Liu Zian smiled and followed:
"My Lord County Magistrate, it's normal to not find the person. The grassroots have sent people to look for him several times before. Well, I don't know where the person has gone... Why don't you two go to the humble house to have a cup of hot tea first..."
Ouyang Rong kept walking and took the lead to walk somewhere inside the sword shop.
"Sir, what are you..."
Liu Zian was stunned when he saw this, but the next second, when he saw clearly the direction Ouyang Rong was going, his face was confused for a moment, and then turned pale again.
Ouyang Rong followed something he had heard in his memory and silently walked into a morning market not far away where Xie Lingjiang had just bought sugar cakes.
At the moment, it seems that because of the messengers from the county government, the early market, which was supposed to be very lively at this time, is now quite deserted. However, there are still some diners in twos and threes, and they all raise their heads and look at Ouyang.
Ouyang Rong stretched out his palm to the side, and Yan Liulang silently handed over a pot of rice wine that had been prepared long ago.
Ouyang Rong stepped forward alone and walked to a dining table in the back of a breakfast shop.
A soft "bang" sound.
A jar of wine fell on the table in front of an old craftsman who was eating pasta in silence.
Old Jiangzuo lowered his head and ate quietly for a while, then slowly raised his head, looked at Ouyang Rong who was watching him calmly, and then turned to look at the pot of rice wine on the table.
Ouyang Rong, who specially rushed to an early market today, said with a smile:
"I heard Ah Qing mentioned you, and she asked me to bring you a pot of rice wine. I hope you'll accept it."
The old craftsman nodded silently.
