Chapter 5 Chapter 1: The guest of honor

"So Brother Lu came to Biancheng to find relatives?" "Well, it's a pity that the peach blossoms are still there, but the old man has passed away. I don't know where I'm going now..." Lu Yuanqing seemed to sigh a little, shaking his head slightly. Shen Bai looked at him quietly for a long while before he said: "So, Brother Lu is familiar with Biancheng?" Lu Yuanqing nodded, "I lived in Biancheng with my father for several years when I was young. I don't know Biancheng very well, but I'm not unfamiliar with it either." Shen Bai laughed lightly when he heard the words, "It's so good. To tell you the truth, Brother Lu, Yutang and I are both newcomers. It will be very inconvenient to live in Biancheng in the future. Besides, I was in a hurry. Apart from me and Yutang, there is no one else. Bring other people, so Shen Bai took the liberty to invite Brother Lu to be my guest teacher, how about it?"

Lu Yuanqing was startled, "Me?" Shen Bai nodded with a smile, but Song Yutang at the side turned his face away unhappily. Seeing this, Lu Yuanqing smiled awkwardly, and said hesitantly: "But I, apart from being able to write a few words, are not proficient in the rest. I'm afraid I won't be able to do this job as a master." Song Yutang sneered sarcastically: "Don't, don't say that, how can you not know anything? In my opinion, there is some self-knowledge." Shen Bai glanced at him slightly, and Song Yutang shut his mouth embarrassingly. Shen Bai looked at Lu Yuanqing again, and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lu, are you willing?"

Lu Yuanqing was silent for a while and then said: "Then can I have a monthly salary? Can I arrange a place to stay?" Shen Bai smiled even more when he heard the words, "Don't worry, except for not having an official position, I have everything else." Lu Yuanqing didn't hold back, "Since Mr. Shen sincerely invites you, how can Yuan Qing refuse to obey?" He has already let go, and changed the address from brother Shen to Mr. Shen, everything is self-evident. Shen Bai nodded joyfully, "I treat Brother Lu as a guest and friend, so there is no need to be so cautious and call me an adult."

Lu Yuanqing shook his head lightly and said: "We used to be friends when we met by chance. I called you Brother Shen, and you called me Brother Lu; now you ask me to enter the yamen as a teacher as a county magistrate. It is different from before. It is orderly and respectful. There is no difference between being humble, and this ancient ritual cannot be discarded." Shen Bai looked at Lu Yuanqing's expression, it was as stable as when he first saw it, the expression on his face was rather dull, but his eyes were bright, he was by no means stupid.An ordinary boy in civilian clothes knows a lot about official etiquette, and he subconsciously implements it. Is this boy really just from a civilian background?He is very interested in this kind of person who can't see through at a glance.

Lu Yuanqing glanced at Shen Bai again, "I have one more request." Song Yutang glared over again when he heard the words, the young master invited him warmly, but he was still so picky and babbled, really... Shen Bai didn't take it seriously, "Please tell me." However, Lu Yuanqing moved a lot closer as if he was afraid that Shen Bai would not be able to hear clearly, and said word by word with a smile: "I want Mr. Shen to write a letter of appointment, stamped with the official seal of the county government office, and formally hire me into the government office as a teacher."

Shen Bai smiled, "Okay, I will high-five Brother Lu today, and I will never break my promise." The night was dark, and a group of three people had arrived at the gate of Biancheng County Yamen. Shen Bai looked back at Lu Yuanqing: "Really not going in?" Lu Yuanqing looked at the gate of the Biancheng County Yamen, the dim red light of the two red lanterns fluttering in the wind, reflected the dark ground into a mottled color.Looking down, there are two mighty and majestic stone lion statues on the left and one on the right.The yamen was tightly closed, with a lacquered red gate and a copper ring the size of a face. Under the copper ring, there was a pair of copper plate door gods, hanging on the left and right, with extraordinary momentum.

Lu Yuanqing withdrew his gaze and said with a smile: "No, I will wait for the sealed document at the gate of this yamen tomorrow morning, and I will take my leave." After saying that, he cupped his hands at Shen Bai, then turned around, tightened the green cloth behind his back, and slowly disappeared into the somewhat foggy street. Shen Bai watched him go away, and then asked Song Yutang in a low voice: "Did the flower picker really get lost just now?" Song Yutang paused when he heard the words, and then said: "This person looks very much like a person, but with that person's ability to pick flowers and steal willows, and his unrivaled lightness skills, how could it be possible for me to catch up with him, and he was so panicked that he dropped that one?" A strand of hair? I don’t understand, I really don’t.”

Shen Bai nodded, "Are you talking about the jade-faced fox Liuyin who disappeared in the rivers and lakes a few years ago?" Song Yutang smiled, "My lord knows a lot about these things in Jianghu." Shen Bai smiled almost rascally, "Who told me to be the ignorant Young Master Shen in the capital, I should." After saying that, his expression straightened, "It's not Liuyin." Song Yutang was also taken aback, "What does the young master mean?" Shen Bai looked at the direction where Lu Yuanqing had disappeared for a long time, and thoughtfully said: "Isn't there that piece of fabric? Go and check, there will always be clues. Well, it's foggy, Yutang, let's go into the yamen. What do you think of Lu Yuanqing?"

Song Yutang knocked on the door knocker of the yamen, shook his head and said, "This person's origin is unknown, why did you keep him?" "He said he came here to search for relatives, but the person he was looking for has passed away. We met him at the post station. On the mountain not far from the post station, there is said to be a mass grave. Yutang, work hard, I want you to go to a place." Dongfang had just turned pale, but saw a person running in a panic, perhaps running all the way without stopping, already dizzy and confused. "Ouch!" Then there was the muffled sound of human bodies colliding, as well as the sound of gasping and a slight moan of pain. One person staggered a few steps backwards, but finally failed to stabilize and was knocked down by someone vigorously. land.

The one who fell on the ground was a very young son, his figure looked extremely thin, his face was a little dull, maybe he was knocked stupid. Standing not far in front of him was a young man dressed as a servant. He had only been running forward desperately. He didn't realize that there would be someone walking so slowly on the street so early in the morning, so he didn't raise his head.Seeing that he bumped into someone now, he was dumbfounded on the spot, glanced at the county government office that was close at hand, and scratched his head anxiously. The young master who was sitting on the ground seemed to have just come back to his senses. He stood up slowly with his arms on the ground, and flicked the dirt on his body.The little servant was rubbing his hands anxiously, and asked anxiously, "Young master, are you hurt? It's all because the little one didn't have eyes when he walked, and he bumped into the young master. You, my lord, don't care about the villains, so don't be like the little ones." I care about it. But this young man, I really have something urgent to go to our Biancheng county office, if you...if you are healthy, I...you can go there."

The young man finished speaking anxiously, then looked at the young master's face, raised his breath suddenly, and rushed towards the gate of the yamen. It was Lu Yuanqing who was knocked to the ground by this reckless boy. He watched the young man rush to the gate of the county yamen in a panic, pulled out the drumsticks on both sides of the yamen-shaped drum, and beat it recklessly. Lu Yuanqing watched from the side and kept shaking his head.At what time did you want the county magistrate to be promoted to trial?It would be strange not to be beaten away by a random stick! Sure enough, within a short while, a pair of yamen servants opened the gate of the county yamen, and a big black man at the head roared with raised eyebrows: "Bold and unreasonable people, don't open your dog eyes to look at the sky! This early morning Yes, what is your name? Our master has not gotten up yet, and wants to sue, come back after Maoshi!" But this young servant was full of burning eyebrows, and he said with a bitter face: "You two servants, I really have something important to tell the magistrate, you two should help pass it on! Human life is at stake. God, please help me!" As he spoke, he took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and handed it flatteringly. As the saying goes, if you have money, you can turn a millstone... Ahem, no, it's a ghost miller. Lu Yuanqing looked at the two yamen's servants with a funny face and immediately changed their expressions. The speed and degree of twisting were beyond admirable, especially the big black man who was staring at him before. Snatching it over, he grinned and said, "Say it earlier! Just wait, I'll report to the magistrate, just wait a moment!" The young man kept saying yes, although he looked anxious, but he could only wait at the gate of the yamen. The boy was waiting impatiently, and when he wanted to play the drum again, someone patted his back lightly from behind him. It was just a very light slap, but it scared the boy out of his wits for a moment, and he screamed loudly. shouted. When he yelled, the person behind him who was patting him was startled, the two of them backed up a few steps together, both of them were quite frightened. The person who photographed him was naturally Lu Yuanqing. While stroking his chest, he sighed: "Little brother, did you see a ghost in broad daylight?" Seeing that it was the young master who had just been knocked down by his recklessness, the young man was a little embarrassed for a while, not knowing what to say. Lu Yuanqing smiled and comforted him: "Don't panic, I'm not here to take the opportunity to blackmail money, I'm just curious, do you have a great grievance for coming to the county government to play drums so early in the morning?" Seeing that Lu Yuanqing didn't come to settle accounts with him, the young man let out a long sigh of relief, and said helplessly, "Young master, you don't know something, a homicide happened in our house... Alas, overnight, A girl died strangely, and... well, I'm too embarrassed to say." Embarrassed to say?Could it be... Lu Yuanqing's curiosity was aroused, and he asked, "What's wrong with that girl?" The young man looked embarrassed, and when he was hesitant to speak, he heard someone next to him say: "I don't know who is disturbing people's dreams so early in the morning. It turned out to be Mr. Lu! But you came too early, right?" ?” Hearing this, Lu Yuanqing raised his head, and saw a person slowly walking out of the yamen, it was none other than Shen Bai's guard whom he met yesterday - Song Yutang. For some reason, the man seemed quite dissatisfied with himself.Lu Yuanqing just smiled, "Guard Song may have misunderstood, this little brother is in a hurry to beat the drums and wants to see your Master Shen." Only then did Song Yutang notice the servant, and frowned slightly, "You have something to sue?" The young servant nodded sharply when he heard the words, "There is a murder case in the villa's house, and it is extremely urgent. Otherwise, with the courage of the villain, I wouldn't dare to bother the adults so early in the morning." Murder! Song Yutang was taken aback, "Then come with me quickly." After saying that, he glanced at Lu Yuanqing again, "Won't Master Lu enter the yamen together?" The boy was also surprised and said: "It turns out that the young master is the master of the yamen!" Lu Yuanqing smiled at him, "Not yet." Fu turned to Song Yutang again and said, "Where is the sealed document I mentioned yesterday?" Song Yutang was displeased when he heard the words, but he still took out something from his sleeve and threw it over casually, "Here, you want a sealed document. I really don't know why the young master has taken a fancy to you..." Of course, the second half of the sentence It was mumbling. In fact, Song Yutang deliberately made it difficult for Lu Yuanqing. What he threw out was a piece of paper, in short, a piece of paper. How heavy could a piece of paper be?In addition, Song Yutang was on the stone steps at the entrance of the yamen, and Lu Yuanqing was not only standing under the stone steps, but also some distance away from the stone steps. Not to mention the distance between the two, and the angle of Song Yutang's throwing the document was also intentional. Deviated from where Lu Yuanqing was standing, he thought in his heart that Lu Yuanqing would never be able to take the document into his hand no matter what, and had to bend down to pick it up. It cannot be denied that he really wanted to humiliate this person. After throwing the document, he waited for the document to land, waiting for Lu Yuanqing to be embarrassed, but he was wrong. In the windless morning, suddenly a gust of wind blew up and brought this document impartially. The document floated in front of Lu Yuanqing with the wind, and all he had to do was stretch out his hand and catch it gracefully. Lu Yuanqing gently unfolded the document in his hand, looked carefully, and then smiled and said, "Then let's go into the yamen." It's just that the smile and words were not directed at Song Yutang, but at the stunned servant. Song Yutang's "conspiracy" failed, and he didn't know whether he was guilty or angry. He just glared at Lu Yuanqing, snorted, and walked into the Biancheng County Yamen first. Shen Bai sat in the side hall, listened quietly to the boy's statement, frowned slightly and said: "You said that the maidservant who died in the mansion was completely naked without an inch of hair on, and her lower body was scratched so badly?" The young servant had an embarrassing look on his face. Seeing that Shen Bai's expression was as usual, it seemed that he had never seen the world, so he calmed down and said, "Wei Zhou, the villain, reported to the elder, it is true. Mrs. Peng of the clothing workshop was afraid of delaying her getting up in the morning, so she took the clothes that she named to wear and wanted to send them there early, but when she passed by the back garden, she seemed to see a white patch from a distance. Huahua's thing, I was still wondering what it was, and when I got closer to see it, I was so frightened that I even dropped the clothes in my hand on the ground. She shouted this in the quiet morning, but it didn't shake the whole body. The mansion was alarmed. When we rushed over to take a look, alas, that white thing turned out to be the red dress of the servant girl in the mansion who served his wife. She also died a miserable death. An innocent girl with yellow flowers was killed The man was stripped naked, and his body was left in the back garden of the mansion, below... he was caught horribly! Oh, what a crime!" Hearing this, Shen Bai sat quietly for a while before asking: "People in your house, have you ever moved a corpse?" The young man said: "Except for putting a piece of clothing on the dead body, I haven't moved anything... My lord, you can't let a girl from a good family die like this, and let others look at her with disgrace, right?" Shen Bai nodded when he heard the words, and said to Song Yutang who was at the side: "Yutang, tell me to go down and call the post-mortem officer and head arrester of the yamen, and bring a few yamen servants with me to the Liu residence." After saying that, he smiled at Lu Yuanqing and said, "I'm sorry for the trouble that Master Lu worked so hard on the first day he entered the Yamen. Please also go to the Liu Mansion with me to see the situation." Lu Yuanqing bowed his chest and said: "My lord has an order, how dare Lu refuse to obey." At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps coming from the entrance of the side hall. Song Yutang smiled secretly, glanced at Lu Yuanqing, and thought, this is a good show.