Idle courtiers

Chapter 26 Don't talk about the rules of the game (ask for a recommendation ticket)
After asking about the case from Mei’s house, Zhou Nan looked at the painter Li beside him, and couldn’t help but ask, “Painter Li, is it better? Haha, a painter works for the yamen. I’ve never seen anything in my life. so?"

Painters were technical jobs in ancient times, but unfortunately their status was not too high.In the yamen, whenever there is an official document of sea arrest, and it is necessary to draw a picture to arrest a criminal, painter Li will be asked to draw the portrait.In addition, if there is a homicide case, he is also required to draw the dead.Therefore, he is usually quite courageous.

"I, I, I... I..." Painter Li's feet were a little weak, and he simply sat down on the stone railing by the river bank, shaking his head constantly: "Leader Zhou, you really have a big heart. Those who dare to kill people. If you and I were really killed by others today, there would be nowhere to call for injustice."

"Don't be afraid, I'll treat you to a drink to calm down later."

"Don't, don't, don't, if you still have appetite, let's do it another day." Painter Li shook his head with a pale face: "I really didn't expect to encounter such a dangerous errand today, his mother, Guixian Cheng, this son of a bitch, wants to kill Brother Zhou, how can it be brought up?" On my head, is there any reason?"

"Guixian Cheng wants to kill me?" Zhou Nan was startled and couldn't help asking.

Painter Li said angrily: "Brother, you really don't know anything. Although Guixian Cheng is a foreigner, he has only been in our county for two years, but he is familiar with local people. A while ago, there was a vacancy in the yamen. Make up people to go in. After all, this is also a job of two or three taels of silver per month. After a few years, it is no problem to accumulate hundreds of taels of money. I don’t know how many people are watching this position, and some people go to the county magistrate. You If you leave the family of the county venerable, you will be punished if you ruin their good deeds. Otherwise, Guixiancheng knows that you have a blood feud with the Mei family, so why didn't others send you to take charge of the disappearance of the Mei family widow?"

So that's the case, Zhou Nan frowned.Having said that, the matter is perfectly clear.

He sighed in his heart, this world is really dark!For the sake of a lowly status as a yamen servant, Guixian Cheng would do such a cruel thing, why?
But on second thought, yes!For a modern person like him, a lowly yamen servant was a second-class citizen in the Ming Dynasty.But there are two or three taels of silver for work and food every month.Coupled with gray income, there are also five or six taels.In the ancient times when the poor were everywhere, this was a huge amount of fixed income, an iron rice bowl, and wouldn't it be too much to grab?

Come to think of it, Guixian Cheng would not kill me, Zhou Nan.He just wanted to make me suffer badly in this case, and then beat me up and kick me out of the county office.

Take a beating... A breath of cold air rose from Zhou Nan's heart.Yes, Guixian Cheng gave a death order to solve the case within three days, and today is the third day.

At the moment, Zhou Nan did not delay.After breaking up with Master Li, he hurried back to the county government with the confession and drawings he had just asked from Mei's house, and sat in the execution room to look carefully.

After looking at it for a long time, I didn't have the slightest clue.

The daughter-in-law of the Mei family, Sister Su, was redeemed by the eldest son Mei when she was 14 years old and married into the Mei family. She is 25 years old this year.Since her husband's death, she has lived alone in a small building in the backyard of Mei's house, surrounded by a woman who takes care of her, and does not go out on weekdays.

According to the mother-in-law's confession, on the day Miss Su disappeared, she went to wash clothes at the small pier at the back door.Originally, as the wife of the Mei family, the mother-in-law would naturally do this kind of housework.But that day, Sister Su washed small clothes, so it was naturally inconvenient to hand them over to others.

This wash lasted an hour, the mother-in-law found something was wrong, went to the pier to look for it, only to find that the person was gone.I thought he had slipped and fell into the water and drowned, but the family members salvaged it for a long time but failed to find it.Moreover, the flow of the river in this section is also slow, and it is impossible for the corpse to rush too far.

When asked about this, Zhou Nan asked the old lady again that there were few belongings in Sister Su's house.He replied that there was nothing missing, whether it was clothing or jewelry.

Hearing this, Zhou Nan dispelled the inference that Sister Su had eloped with someone.If she really eloped with someone, how could she not bring any money, and what is her lover up to?

As for beauty, it doesn't seem to matter, at least it's not close to beauty.

Zhou Nan took out the portrait of Sister Su painted by artist Li and looked at it, which was an ordinary woman.Small nose and small eyes, if you really want to rate it, you can barely score fifty, which belongs to the kind that will disappear immediately when thrown in the crowd.

So, what about kidnapping?

That's not true, Andong County is a prosperous area, the core area governed by Huai'an Prefecture, and the law and order is quite good.Moreover, which kidnapper dared to kidnap Mei Yuan's family without opening his eyes?

So, what's going on?
Zhou Nan pondered this matter until the afternoon and didn't figure it out. He was frustrated, and now he could only ask the gods and Buddhas to bless him, and bless Sister Su, who was caught and sent back to Ann because there was no way to lead her halfway. east.

At this moment, someone shouted: "Zhou Dai's team leader, Zhou Dai's team leader." There was sarcasm in the voice, which interrupted Zhou Nan's meditation.

Zhou Nan: "So it's Lao Lin, what do you dare to ask?" Everyone in the yamen knew that Zhou Nan was going to be punished for being evil to the county magistrate, and no one spoke to him these days, which made Zhou Dai's team leader very boring.I was suddenly called today, and I was really a little bit overwhelmed.

Lao Lin: "The head of the county magistrate's succession team went over to ask questions. I guess you should go quickly about the case of the Mei family!"

Hearing this, thinking of the three-day deadline, Zhou Nan felt uneasy and secretly warned.

The county magistrate is the second official, equivalent to the executive deputy county magistrate and deputy department-level cadres in later generations.Ordinarily, he can be regarded as the second head of the county.However, the status of the county magistrate in the Ming Dynasty was quite embarrassing. He was not a Jinshi, and he was only a scholar. From the seventh rank, he was not an imperial official.So, the lobby is unusable.

Therefore, Zhou Nan met Mr. Guiyuangui who wanted to drive him out of the yamen in the court of justice.

The Judgment Hall is small and as dimly lit as houses in this era.There was a table inside, and behind the table sat an official in his forties, with a black gauze cap on his head and a grass-green official uniform on his body.Because it was too dark, I couldn't see clearly what kind of birds were embroidered on the patch on his chest.

This person has big ears, swollen eyelids, and looks like a greasy middle-aged man who is dissatisfied with desire.

Beside the table stood two yamen servants carrying water and fire sticks.

Zhou Nan had no choice but to kneel down and kowtowed: "I have seen Mr. Gui." Traveling to the Ming Dynasty, everything else is fine, but it is annoying to kneel when seeing an official.No way, do as the Romans do!

"Crack!" Gui Yuan slapped the gavel fiercely: "Zhou Nan, have you found out the truth about the disappearance of Mrs. Mei's family?"

"Returning to the master, there are some clues." Seeing him being fierce and domineering, and looking like he was asking him, Zhou Nan was annoyed in his heart, and replied lightly in his mouth.He also roughly talked about his previous trip to Mei Mansion, and finally said: "Master Gui, according to the villain's opinion. This matter is neither that Sister Su ran away from home, nor was she kidnapped by someone. There are many doubts in it. I can't find out the time either. However, Sister Su doesn't have a guide, so she shouldn't be far away, maybe there will be news in two days."

"Shut up!" Gui Yuan slapped the gavel hard again, pointed at Zhou Nan with the halberd, and shouted sharply: "There will be news in two days, so why don't we just wait here and do nothing. Two days, let alone two days, the Mei family can't wait for one day. This matter is related to a woman's chastity, how can it be treated as a child's play. It is clear that you, a shameless subordinate, are sloppy and slippery. Come here , call me!"

Hearing a typing, Zhou Nan was shocked.I am a modern person, with thin skin and tender meat, how can I be tortured for eating.Moreover, Gui'er, whose surname is Gui, is deliberately looking for labor and management, so he will definitely hit hard when he is served by the government servants.Now that the weather is getting hotter day by day, I have injuries on my body. Once I get infected, I might die.

He hurriedly yelled: "Master Gui, you gave me a three-day period, and now I'm going to be punished at Shenshi in the afternoon, I don't accept it!"

"What is the three-day period? Isn't today the third day? Is it possible that the master will wait for you until midnight. You are indeed a cunning and treacherous person. Do it, beat me hard, hard!" Guiyuan general The fire stick was thrown down.

I'm stupid, I really want to fight!The three-day period that was agreed, how can you say nothing, it's really two official words, and you can't tell why it's reasonable!What a bitch, are you still talking about the rules of the game?
That's right, this is an evil feudal society with strict hierarchy. If you are beaten, you will be beaten. What else can you do?
Seeing the two yamen servants approaching with grinning grins and holding sticks, Zhou Nan didn't talk nonsense, and jumped up suddenly, and BIU rushed out of the court with a sound, rolled up and ran away all the way.

In ancient times, the authority of the government and county magistrates and county magistrates was unimaginable by later generations, especially in small counties, the parents and officials were simply their sky, the big figures who reached the clouds.Not to mention yelling at you, even if you stare at you, you will be so scared that you will sweat profusely.

Ordinary people would have been paralyzed in fright when encountering such a situation, and could only shout in vain: "Master, spare your life, master, spare your life." But today Zhou Nan directly squalled at the slightest disagreement, really decisive and quick.

When the three people in the hall came back to their senses, they had already fled without a trace.

"You bastard!" Guixian Cheng was so angry that his lungs would explode, he kept shouting: "Catch him, chase him, chase him, what's the point, what's the point?"

The dumbfounded two yamen servants chased after him with their sticks, but how could they catch up.

This is probably the first yamen servant in Anton's history who escaped from the county government in full view. Zhou Nan's move should be recorded in the county annals.

"Fortunately, I reacted quickly, otherwise today would be really bad luck." I escaped from the county government, jumped into a small boat, and kept shouting, and waited until the boat sailed out of the water gate, leaving Andong County in the distance. Finally, Zhou Nan wiped the sweat from his forehead.

It's good to escape the catastrophe, but if you run like this, you probably won't be able to do the job of the county government.This is a job of two or three taels of silver a month!Although the income is not very optimistic, it can still be regarded as a state agency. It is a pity to lose the status of a person in the system.

Could it be that he is now returning to Zhoujiazhuang to continue repairing the earth.

"Hey, if you lose it, you lose it. Anyway, even if you don't escape today, you will probably be kicked out of the yamen after a meal and a beating. It counts as a profit." Now he can only comfort himself in this way: "However, Zhoujiazhuang is probably I can’t go back. First, if the monk can’t run away from the temple, the yamen will definitely send people to the door. Moreover, the reason why the Mei family didn’t come to take revenge after knowing that I went back to Andong County is probably because I was in the system. People, I'm afraid it will affect Mei Pu's future. Now that there is no institutional protection, people may really want to do something wrong."

Thinking of Mei's house, Zhou Nan was startled: It seems that not only can't go to Zhou's house, but also he has to find a way to keep his identity as a yamen servant.

After thinking for a moment, he threw a silver coin to the boatman: "Go to Huai'an Mansion."

It was about a hundred miles by water from Andong County to Huai'an Mansion, and it was upstream again. Zhou Nan lived on the boat that night.On the second day, we walked for another hour and finally reached the ground.

Looking up, I saw a circle of tall and majestic city walls.

Entering the city, you can see neat blue-tiled houses dotted everywhere. The streets are full of pedestrians, and there are shops on the side of the street. At a glance, there are densely packed shop signs on both sides. It is indeed a prosperous and good place.

Huai'an in this era is the largest city in Jiangbei, with a population of 30 million.In addition to being the seat of the Huai'an Prefecture, this city is also the seat of the Shanyang County Government.In addition, there are Yandao Yamen, Hedao Yamen and Dahewei in the city, which can be regarded as quasi-first-tier cities in the Jiajing year of the Ming Dynasty.Although its prosperity is not as good as the two capitals and Suzhou and Yangzhou, it can kill other provincial capitals in seconds.

Chatted with an inn waiter who was standing on the street soliciting customers, and asked about the location of the post station in Huai'an Mansion. The No. [-] head of Andong County, Shi Jieren, was the magistrate of the county.

　During the new book period, your support is very important to the author, please bookmark, please recommend tickets for support, thank you!

　　


(End of this chapter)