But speaking of which, why hasn't Daddy been gone for so long and hasn't come back?

Liu Ling broke off a branch in the courtyard, and the leaves on it were picked off one by one, and the leaves in one place dispersed with the wind, and Liu Xiao still did not come back.

It stands to reason that at a normal speed, it doesn't take so long to go from the City Lord's Mansion to the old woman's home. Even if it is the traces left by the inquest site, in terms of time, it should be enough.

Maybe something else happened. Liu Ling plucked the last leaf.

In the City Lord's Mansion, Liu Ling wandered around the empty courtyard.

"Young master, come and eat in the house. The old man who cooked came out and greeted him.

"Ah Weng, you said that Daddy should be fine, right?" Liu Ling kept staring outside the gate of the City Lord's Mansion. But after staring at it for a long time, there was no way to see the shadow of Daddy's return.

"How can it be, young master, you are too worried. The lord of the castle should have encountered some other important things to do on the way, and he was busy again. Adults have always been in charge of every day, so don't take it too seriously, young master. It won't be long before the lord returns. Aung reassured.

"But I don't know why, when my father went out today, I always had a feeling of unease, Ah Weng, you have followed your father since I was born, and you know best about your father. Is there anything different about him lately?" asked Liu Ling.

In the City Lord's Mansion, only Ah Weng, who cooks, has passed the age of antiquity. Ah Weng has been a servant in the City Lord's Mansion, the old servant who has followed his father for the longest time, and the old man who knows his father's mind the most.

"Young master, I'm afraid it's because of so many incidents that happened today that you have some worries. Don't worry, adults are not ordinary people, don't forget, adults are four-grade soul masters. Looking at the entire Lan City, no one can compare with the city lord. You're just worrying too much. Everything is normal today, Lord Castle, rest assured, rest assured. Ah Weng said, and once again beckoned Liu Ling back to the inner room to eat.

"Today, Ah Weng specially made the best fish soup. This is also the young master's favorite dish. The old man invited the young master to the inner room, and as soon as he came in, Liu Ling smelled a rich aroma of fish soup.

On the sandalwood table, a large plate of fish soup in a white porcelain bowl was placed in the center, and four dishes were placed around, all of which were Liu Ling's favorite dishes.

Liu Ling looked at the table full of dishes and stopped.

"Young master, why don't you sit down to eat?" the old man was curious.

Liu Ling stood there, silent for a while, and finally turned his head to face the old man: "Ah Weng, this morning, before Dad went out, he was always by my side, you shouldn't have spoken to him, right?"

The old man didn't understand why the young master was still struggling with this matter, and replied, "That's right. Today, Ah Weng has not even seen the face of the city lord. Adults should go to the study early in the morning to deal with official business, these days of drought, the construction of the Weishui River has been busy day and night. As for whether the adults went out or not, I only found out after you said it just now, young master. ”

"In that case, you shouldn't have received any instructions from your father today, right?" asked Liu Ling again. She looked at the food on the table.

"There's really nothing to ask for. The old man replied.

Liu Ling turned his head and looked at the old man very seriously.

"Aweng, don't lie to me. Is there something important going on in the past few days, Daddy let everyone hide it, especially don't let me know, right?" Liu Ling's eyes became sharp.

Such a change made the old man a little overwhelmed for a while. He didn't understand why the young master would suddenly say that.

"What are you talking about, young master? I don't understand. You'd better eat first. The old man's eyes were a little erratic.

"Ah Weng, why is I the only one on this table?"

"This, this is because this table of food is prepared for you, young master. The people have their place to eat, has the young master forgotten?"

"This meal is for me alone? In the past, I used to eat with my father, Liu Yuan, and Liu Yu. Since Ah Weng didn't know that Daddy and Liu Yu and Liu Yuan had gone out together, why didn't they prepare their meal?"

"This ......"

"Moreover, today's dishes are only what I like to eat, and the dishes that my father likes to eat are not cooked, which means that Ah Weng you know in advance that your father has important things to do when he goes out. ”

"Well, the young master is really smart, and everything can't be hidden from your eyes. Indeed, just yesterday, the lord of the castle suddenly told me that he had important matters to solve, and that he might have to go out today and it would be inconvenient to come back. ”

"There's something important to solve? What is it? Daddy said yesterday that he had something to go out. That is, this incident has nothing to do with the death of the old woman, which happened unexpectedly today. However, when he told Ah Weng about such a thing, he didn't tell me that it shouldn't be an easy task. ”

"The young master is right, it is true. ”

"Tell me, what the hell is going on? Let you keep this secret without even telling me. ”

"Actually, it's about the sudden drying up of a tributary of the Huai River. ”

"Is the branch of the Huai River that dried up three months ago?" asked Liu Ling.

The root cause of the drought is the drying up of tributaries on the south bank of the Huai River, which has caused Lancheng to lose its water supply. The completion of the Weishui River should have solved this problem.

"It's the branch that dried up three months ago. The lord of the castle felt that this matter was very strange. After all, the branch on the south bank of the Huai River has never shown signs of drying up. Just three months ago this year, it suddenly dried up, and there was no sign of depletion. This made the city lord feel very strange. ”

After listening to the old man's words, Liu Ling thought about it carefully, and it seemed that this was indeed the case. Although the drying up of the Huai River should be a natural phenomenon, if you think about it, it is difficult for a river to suddenly dry up in a short period of time unless it loses its source. According to the normal trend, the water flow of the tributaries should gradually weaken until it is exhausted.

However, the tributary on the south bank of the Huai River leading to Lancheng was very strange, and it suddenly dried up in almost a few days, and there was not even the slightest sign of a water source remaining.

"Water is very important for Lancheng, a city that is not close to the sea. Therefore, the city lord thought about this a few days ago, and decided to find time to investigate the root cause of the depletion of the water source. It's just that because the Weishui River is about to be opened a few days ago, it is inconvenient to take time, so it has been delayed until today. ”

I see. Liu Ling understood. In order to understand the reason for the depletion of the branch on the south bank of the Huai River, it is also essential to bring Liu Yu and Liu Yuan as helpers.

"However, didn't Daddy investigate the cause of the depletion when the branches of the Huai River dried up?"

"At that time, the lord of the castle did not expect that things would be abnormal, so he only did a brief survey of the branch and ended up, and spent the main energy on the construction of the Weishui River. Young master, think about it, when the water source is cut off, the whole city will definitely fall into unrest and panic. The most important thing is to be able to make a river as soon as possible to solve the urgent need. ”

After listening to this, Liu Ling felt that it seemed to make sense.

"That's why I went to the upper reaches of the river, including the main trunk of the Huai River. in order to know the cause of the real depletion. If the main trunk of the Huai River also shows signs of weak water flow, then it is normal. If the main stream is the same, then there must be another reason for the depletion of the tributaries. The old man continued to explain.

"What Aung said makes a lot of sense. In that case, I can only wait for my father to come back. Liu Ling picked up the rice bowl, picked up the fish and meat, and feasted on it.

It was close to dusk. As the sun sets, the clouds on the horizon are gilded. A few birds returned to their nests, landed in the distance into the jungle, and disappeared.

How much time is left. If Daddy can show up at the gate at this time, he should be able to catch this hot meal.

Liu Ling used chopsticks to pick up the last grain of rice in the bowl that had been cooled and put it in his mouth. Liu Xiao still didn't come back.

Liu Yu and Liu Yuan did not come back.

I don't know why, but the worry in my heart is even more serious. What the old man said to her could not eliminate the worries in her heart at this time.

It's getting late, do they want to sleep in the open air on the edge of the Huai River?

Soon, the stars climbed into the night, holding an arc of the moon high. In the courtyard, looking at the starry sky, the cool night breeze blows Liu Ling's bangs. The pair of watery eyes under the bangs looked at the stars in the sky, flashing with a worried look.

She didn't count the stars today, as she used to, and when she was tired, she went back to the house to rest. This night, without her father watching the stars with her, she always felt that the night wind was blowing on her body, and it was a little cooler than before.

The gates of the City Lord's Mansion have been closed. What Liu Ling wanted to hear most now was the knock on the door she was looking forward to.

But the wish is just a fantasy, and it has been another hour and a half, and the stars in the sky seem to be a little tired, but Liu Ling still didn't hear the knock on the door.

When will I be able to come back?

"Hey, what are you doing here?" said from behind him. Liu Ling looked back, it was Wang Er.

"What's the matter, I want you to take care of the stars?" Liu Ling glanced at him.

"No, I just asked curiously. Actually, I also like to look at the stars. Wang Er sat beside her and smiled.

The stars in the sky twinkled a few times, as if they were also responding to Wang Er's smile.

"Have you counted, how many stars are there in this sky?" asked Wang Er.

"I'm not counting. Liu Ling said.

"Then what are you doing, don't you have to count the stars?" Wang Er wondered.

As he spoke, he first stretched out his hand and began to count the stars in the sky one by one.

"I'm not like you, counting the stars just to make myself sleepy. Liu Ling said angrily.

"I understand, it's because your father hasn't come back yet, and you're very worried, so you can't sleep, so you come to the yard to watch the stars, right?" Wang Er said.

"You're smart. Liu Ling said.

"I'm still comfortable, I just had a good night's sleep, and now I can't sleep, so I came to the yard and happened to meet you again. But speaking of which, don't you think there's something strange about your father?" asked Wang Er.

He looked at Liu Ling, and Liu Ling looked at him.

"What do you mean? What's weird about it?"