The people at the door were all wearing black government uniforms, wearing speed boots, carrying fixed knives, and had arrest badges hanging on their waists.
The leader was tall and burly, with a full beard and a long scar at the corner of his eye. His eyes were very sharp, and he looked like a head catcher.
"Who was so arrogant just now and dared to speak arrogantly? Don't you know that slandering court officials will lead to jail time?"
Although the man who looked like a headhunter was asking questions, his eyes had already fallen on Shao Xi and the two of them.
Shao Xi felt a little panicked at the moment, thinking that Old Wu always told him to be careful and keep a low profile, but why did he speak so unabashedly when talking about the official family today?
"Are you taking the lead? What we just said was ours. Is it wrong? A small county magistrate dares to enact laws privately. Aren't we afraid that the court will investigate and remove him from his official position?"
In Shao Xi's eyes, Lao Wu was crazy today. It wasn't a big deal if someone caught me saying those words before, but now I'm actually saying it back in front of someone. Is this a death-defying rhythm?
"As expected, he is a troublesome man. He is so bold and arrogant. He dares to act so arrogantly in front of us. Tie these two people up and take them back to the county government office."
The head catcher waved his hand, and several of the catchers behind him rushed forward and surrounded the two of them. Some of them had already taken out the ropes from their arms and were about to tie them up.
Old Wu looked around and asked slowly with drooped eyelids: "Tie us up? You guys are not qualified enough. Do you know who my young master is?"
Not only the surrounding police officers, but also Shao Xi were stunned by the question.
Who are you? He was a wild child who was hunted down and wandered in the grasslands for ten years. Can this also be used to brag? Could it be that these police officers stopped arresting them because of this? Shao Xi felt that Lao Wu just took the wrong medicine today. This is a disease and must be treated!
"You are so shameless! On the ground of Wanxian County, I don't care who you are. If you dare to insult the county magistrate, you are seeking death. I will take you down!"
The head catcher said as he walked forward, apparently wanting to do it himself.
"Wait a minute." As he said that, Old Wu lifted up his clothes and put his hand along his belt into his pants and took it out. It looked like he was scratching an itch.
Shao Xi was embarrassed and wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. It's okay to brag and talk big, but to make such indecent actions at this time is really embarrassing.
After a while, Lao Wu finally took out a brand from his pants, which was about the same size as the one given by Zhang Huanzhi. He reached out and slapped the table, and said lazily: "If you're not blind, just see for yourself!"
The catcher glanced at the brand on the table with a look of disgust. After all, it looked like a flavorful brand.
But when he saw the words on the sign clearly, his whole face froze as if he had been injected with hyaluronic acid, and he didn't respond for almost half a minute. The detectives next to him stared at him with wide eyes and open mouths, wondering if their leader had been tapped on an acupuncture point.
Suddenly, the catcher lifted up his clothes and knelt down, raised his fists with both hands, and said in his mouth: "Young man Zhang Chong, I don't know that two adults from the 'Jingcheng Division' are here. I just offended you with my careless words. I offended you. Please My lord, forgive me.”
Everyone present, including Shao Xi, was stunned. Is this being bewitched? He looked so fierce just now, why did he become as well-behaved as a little sheep now? What brand is this? What the hell is "Jing Cheng Si"?
"I'm sorry, it doesn't matter what I say. Just ask my young master!" With that said, Old Wu picked up the jug and started drinking.
Zhang Chong hurriedly turned to Shao Xi, "Sir, I really didn't know that you two adults were here. My words were very offensive. Please forgive me."
Shao Xi was thinking: Will I become an adult? What on earth is that "Jing Cheng Si"? It would scare a policeman like this. It seems that the brand that Lao Wu took out is quite effective.
I was thinking in my heart, but I replied: "My lord, please get up quickly. The two of us also passed by this place. When we were staying at the hotel, we heard the waiter say that we should leave a detailed record. We were puzzled and asked. There are also inappropriate words, I hope you will not care about them."
Zhang Chong stood up tremblingly and said: "Thank you, sir, for not blaming the villain. In fact, we have no choice but to do what you just mentioned. Since the county magistrate took office six months ago, banditry has been everywhere in the surrounding area, and the Yamen has not enough manpower. It is really impossible to prevent it. You can come up with this plan."
"How can banditry cause such trouble that the entire county has to shut down the city in advance? Didn't this matter be reported to the county so that the county guard could send troops to eliminate it?"
Zhang Chong sighed and said: "I don't know where the bandits came from. They are very slippery. The county has sent troops to clear them out several times, but every time the soldiers and horses arrived, the bandits disappeared. Once the soldiers and horses withdrew, these bandits did not know where they were. It came out of nowhere. It really annoyed the county governor."
"Did someone leak the news in advance and tip off the thieves?"
"The strange thing is here. Every time the report is reported, the county magistrate sends a special person to the county, and it is not handled by others. But every time, the thieves seem to have received the news in advance and disappear without a trace."
"This is indeed strange. However, there are bandits outside the city attacking merchants. Why do they have to close the city gate early every day and leave detailed records of those who stay in the hotel? Have bandits ever sneaked into the city?"
Asked about this, Zhang Chong looked helpless, "That's true. This was originally done to prevent bandits from sending people to sneak into the city to find out information. Every day, we would personally go to various inns to collect detailed records and submit them to the county magistrate. Sir, I will personally screen them. I don’t want the number of attacks on merchants to increase, forcing merchants to spend a lot of money to hire guards before they dare to cross the county. What’s more, there have been quite a few in the city recently. The thieves broke into the houses of some wealthy households in the city late at night, killing people and stealing goods. But we closed the city overnight to search, but found nothing, which is really puzzling."
"No wonder we saw a depression in the city when we entered the city. It turned out that there were bandits in the city, which made people panic."
"When you two adults come to Wanxian County, it's really inappropriate to stay in an inn. I'll report it to the county magistrate and take them to the government office to rest."
Shao Xi will be knocked down when he hears this! I just frightened you with a brand I don’t know what it is. What if I don’t reveal my identity when I get to the government office? It's better to find a way to fool him quickly and escape early tomorrow morning.
"No need, the two of us will live here and leave early tomorrow morning. All the detectives, please go and do your own errands! I won't disturb you later."
Zhang Chong quickly bowed and saluted: "Since the two adults have their own arrangements, I don't dare to disturb you. I will patrol the city at night. If you have any errands, please ask the store owner to call me here. I also invite you two. Sir, please rest early and I will take my leave."
After finishing speaking, Zhang Chong explained to the store owner, and then led the police officers to salute Shao Xi again before turning around and leaving the inn.
After the previous fuss, even the innkeeper knew that these two people had a good background, and hurriedly ran out to serve them in person. Not to mention good wine and food, we also arranged two of the best guest rooms. People who were so frightened that even Capt. Zhang was so scared that they had to be kept happy even if they were lying on the ground.
After the two of them had finished drinking and eating, they went upstairs and returned to the room. Shao Xi asked Lao Wu: "What is the sign you just took just for? And what is the 'Jingcheng Division' in Zhang Chong's mouth?" ?”
Old Wu put the sign on the table and said: "You should remember that I told you before that the owner of the village and I were both members of the secret spy network of the Ministry of Rites. In fact, this secret spy network was affiliated to the 'Jingcheng' Under the rule of Si'. On the surface, your father's identity is the Minister of Rites, but in fact he has another secret identity as the Inspector Shi of the 'Jingcheng Si'."
"Can you tell me more details? I don't understand this shit or that shit when you say this."
Old Wu was very happy with Shao Xi, "This 'Jingcheng Department' is responsible for supervising officials of various ministries and departments within the court and gathering secret information from foreign countries. It is independent of the six ministries of the three provinces and the five prisons of the nine temples. It is directly under the supervision of the current Holy Emperor." Even the Yushitai has no right to interfere with the supervisory behavior of the "Jingcheng Division". The department consists of the sixth-rank inspector, the sixth-rank inspector, the fifth-rank inspector, the fifth-rank inspector. Shi Zheng, the fourth grade, and Inspector Shi Zheng, the third grade. At that time, the owner of the village was not only the Minister of Rites, the Fourth Grade, but also the "Jingcheng Division" Supervisor, Shi Zheng, the Fourth Grade. Although this was highly valued by the Holy One, this identity could not be made public. .”
Shao Xi nodded, indicating that he understood. Then he asked: "Then it stands to reason that after my father resigned and returned to his hometown, this 'Jingchengsi' sign should be returned. Why does it appear in your hand?"
"The owner of the village only resigned as the Minister of Rites, but the inspector Shi of the 'Jingcheng Division' did not resign. In the six years after his resignation, the owner of the village has been using the spy network to secretly investigate a major event. The family tragedy is not only related to the nine-color glazed buckle around your neck, but also has a major connection with this matter. Therefore, even though the owner of the village was killed, the Holy Emperor was unable to publicly investigate the matter. This sign belonged to the owner of the village back then. "
"No wonder this brand is so easy to use, then won't we be able to pretend to be big-tailed wolves wherever we go from now on?"
Old Wu gave Shao Xi a hard look and said, "It's okay to use it to bluff people, but don't really think of yourself as Inspector Shi. If someone finds out that you are pretending to be a court official, you will lose your head."
"Then you just took it out and pretended to scare people?"
"Of course I'm different from you. Although I'm not on the register, I'm still the inspector of the 'Jingcheng Division' in name."
Shao Xi curled his lips and said: "It's not just in name. It's been discovered that you are also a shady person with no evidence."
Old Wu's face darkened when Shao Xi retorted, and he said, "Put the sign away, maybe it will save your life in the future." Then he turned and went back to his room.
Shao Xi looked at the sign on the table and became worried. Thinking of the way Lao Wu took the sign out of his pants before, he really couldn't do it.
Pulling his neck and shouting to the next room: "Can't you wash it before giving it to me?"
