"You... Alas, mother, how can you let me say hello to you? ”

Ning Xiaoxiao rubbed her frowning brow with her ring finger, trying to stabilize her emotions and find a way.

"The name on the marriage book must not have been written by the old sister, right? Don't count, do you count and see how many dowries you have received? The official tried to find someone to carry back to the Shi family, and returned it to see if he could return this family business. ”

"Really, you have to retreat?" His mother looked full of pity, and with a fluke mentality, she asked, "Can you return half of it?" ”

Hearing this, Ning Xiaoxiao was a little angry, he looked at his mother, and reprimanded in a low voice:

"The marriage has been withdrawn, how can there be any reason for this dowry to be refunded in half? Besides, you didn't ask our little sister's opinion and rashly agreed to this marriage, and the other party's net worth is innocent, and you haven't found out? Seeing that the other party has a lot of money, you rashly wrote a marriage letter, you are going to push our little sister into the fire pit! ”

"Lin Xiaoxiao."

Her mother yelled at him, her eyes filled with tears and her mouth full of tears.

"Do you have to say that about your mother? Do you want your sister to die? Mother just wants her to marry better, mother is just for her good, don't you always think that she can't get married, will she become an old girl in the future? It's rare to see a person with such a good family background, who knows it's a pit? Who wants to fall into the pit? ”

"Hmph."

Ning Xiaoxiao sneered, and finally couldn't bear it anymore.

"Look at what you said, where did you fall into the pit? You have fallen into the eyes of money, you must have seen that other people's families are rich, and the dowry is sufficient, and if you say a few good words casually, you will listen to it flutteringly, can Shi Gongzi's face be bearable? Besides, his character is so bad that there is nothing in the sky and nothing in the ground, if you want to marry, you can marry yourself, and then you will wear a red hijab on your sedan chair. ”

As soon as these words came out, colleagues almost couldn't help but applaud, they had never felt that Lord Ning was so masculine and mighty.

His mother choked on the spot, so angry that she couldn't breathe.

scolded repeatedly: "You rabbit cub, my mother is kind and angry to say a few words to you, are you like this to raise the bar with your mother and talk back?" ”

"Is this a question of backlash? There is a problem with that person, the people in the government are already investigating him, and when the evidence is conclusive, they will arrest him and put him in prison, do you marry your little sister, do you want her to be widowed, or do you want her to go over to support justice and murder her husband? Ning Xiaoxiao retorted loudly.

"That.. What can I do? This... This dowry can't be refunded. Her mother said timidly, her voice getting quieter and quieter.

"What do you mean, what does it mean that the dowry can't be returned?"

Ning Xiaoxiao frowned slightly, there was always a feeling that a catastrophe was coming.

"More than half of this dowry has been spent." Her mother said with a broken jar.

"Where did you use it? Can I return it? Do you take it to buy something, or do you use it to buy a dowry, you tell me, I will discuss with the owner of the store to see if I can take it and return it. ”

"No, the dowry has been used by your mother to do business, and it has been put in, and you won't come back for the time being." Her mother frowned, pouted, and sighed.

"You're really going to laugh at me, you're still learning to do business, you're good at it, where are you going to invest your money? What kind of business are you doing? Ning Xiaoxiao asked patiently.

"Raising pheasants, listening to others, is easy to make, the money invested can be doubled, and the pheasant farm that your mother partnered with, I heard that raising pheasants still has to be paid tribute to the current queen mother, what a face, the opportunity must not be lost and will not come again, then your mother must not hurry up to invest money."

"And how much did you vote?"

Ning Xiaoxiao no longer had any hope.

"My mother gave the dowry to the pawnshop, took 6,000 taels, and threw it all in." His mother happily pointed to six.

Wow, six thousand taels, I can hear the ears of the subordinates around him, they have been on errands all their lives, and it is difficult to see so much money.

With so much money, it was invested so easily, and she really deserved to be the youngest Qing official in history.

The person who was even more shocked was Ning Xiaoxiao, and her face changed greatly.

Why does this pheasant sound so familiar?

Moreover, to pay tribute to the current queen mother?

"The person who is partnering with you in the business shouldn't be the one on the outskirts of the city, surnamed Yan, right?"

His mother slapped her hand and praised again and again:

"You really deserve to be the youngest Qing Officer, you are really like a god, it is that family!"

She patted her son's shoulder and said proudly: "Don't worry, son, this matter will be profitable, those pheasants will be sent to the palace tomorrow, and when the palace settles the accounts and we divide the money, we will go to the Shi family to apologize and return all the dowry." ”

Ning Xiaoxiao bit her lip, turned her head to look at the 'whimsical' mother, and took a deep breath.

"Mother."

"Well, son, you say, what's the problem?"

Looking at those bright eyes, Ning Xiaoxiao couldn't bear it anymore.

"The chicken farm you mentioned had a fire just a few days ago, and a lot of pheasants were burned to death."

"All his pheasants are dead? It's impossible, this morning they also said that their pheasants were good, why did they die suddenly, besides, the Yan family raised nearly 2,000 pheasants, and the death of a dozen should not be in the way. ”

"Not only a dozen died, but more than a thousand died, and all of them were burned, and the rest of the estimated condition is not good, you must know that the palace is not as good as ordinary people's homes, they have no compromise, not to mention that the pheasant is not good at hair, it is burned, even if it is missing a hair, people don't want it."

Hearing this, Ning's mother's whole face collapsed, a thunderbolt on a sunny day, her scalp was numb, and her back was cold.

Wouldn't all the money she had invested before be wasted?

"Then what should I do, if the money is not returned, the dowry will not be refunded, what should I do about Ning Cute?"

Now, she really pushed her daughter into the fire pit.

The pair of thin hands trembled and grabbed Ning Xiaoxiao's clothes, and asked in a daze: "Otherwise, let's lie to the cute, hide from her, and wait for her to get on the sedan chair. ”

Ning Xiaoxiao pulled back her sleeves angrily and looked at her mother with a face full of disbelief.

said in a mocking tone: "Otherwise, you and your father will immediately reconcile and marry that Shi Gongzi in a wedding dress, how can you say these nonsense?" She is your biological daughter, my own sister, can that Shi Gongzi marry? You're trying to force her to death! ”

"Okay, don't be angry, my mother didn't mean that, isn't this an expedient measure? Can't help it? ”

Ning's mother, who had nothing to do, sat on the ground like a fool, looking at the ground with a sad face.

"When did you invest this money, and when did you accept the dowry?"

Ning Xiaoxiao felt that something was wrong, everything was wrong.

"Is it still useful to dwell on this now?"

"Yes, say it quickly."

His expression was serious, as if he were interrogating a prisoner.

"Just yesterday, your mother and your father happened to want to visit your two brothers and sisters in the main city, but this place is so big, we are lost, that kind Shi Gongzi... The surname Shi, he was very patient to show the way to his mother, and took us to the criminal department, not long after, he found the inn, and said that he liked our family's cuteness, wanted to marry her, and ordered his family's subordinates to bring a lot of dowry over. ”

"What about the pheasant, when did you invest the money?" Ning Xiaoxiao asked suspiciously.

"This morning, I occasionally heard in the inn that the Yan family, who raised pheasants, had no money to pay the final payment, and was asked for debts, as long as they were willing to partner, they could return the principal and interest when the chickens were sent to the palace, who knows, his house was on fire, and your mother was still hesitant, how do you know that in the market, I heard a white-haired man say that he also voted and made a lot of money, and your mother 'planted' it."

Ning Xiaoxiao figured it out.

This whole thing is a bureau, the pheasant farm caught fire a few days ago, and the goods will not be delivered to the palace tomorrow.

Shi Qianlang first coaxed his mother to accept the dowry, and then found someone to conspire to defraud her mother's money.

Then, when they know about it, everything is too late, people go to the empty building, the money can't be recovered, the dowry can't be returned, and when the time comes, the dead will be able to marry his sister without spending a penny.

"Ahh

Ning Xiaoxiao clenched her fists and roared angrily into the sky with uncontrollable emotions.

"What's the matter, son, my mother knows it's wrong, don't scare me?"

"It's okay, you stay here, don't go anywhere, you know?"

He couldn't help but look at his own mother.

"Know... Got it. ”

It was the first time that Ning's mother had seen her son so angry.

"Where's my dad?"

"He quarreled with his mother and me, and he was still in the inn."

"Alright, I'll go find him." Ning Xiaoxiao returned to her previous state, but she was much more serious than usual, "Ah Cong and Ah Zong, you two come here." ”

"Yes, sir."

The two men each wrapped a few coconuts and ran over, looking very funny.

"Ah Cong, you ask my mother clearly, which store you bought the things you bought in which store, which pawnshop mortgaged the dowry, and how much money and silver were cheated, you have to find out."

"Yes."

Ning Xiaoxiao saw that Ah Cong was a little hesitant, and hurriedly explained: "It was not only a private matter just now, but also a public matter, my mother was deceived by 6,000 taels, and the official wants to file a case, and this matter also involves the arson case of the pheasant farm, hurry up." ”

"Yes, sir." Ah Cong shouted loudly this time.

"What about me, what are I going to do?" Ah Zong asked.

"You find a painter, according to my mother's description, find out the 'Yan family' who cheated her money, and verify whether it is the bitter master of the arson case in the pheasant farm, and the white-haired man in my mother's mouth, who is also wanted, and arrested and interrogated."

"Yes, let's go."

"Don't worry."

Ning Xiaoxiao stopped the pair of siblings.

"In addition, find someone to check the background of the Shi family, how much business he does, how to do business, and how many murders Shi Qianlang has been involved in, all of which the official must know."

"However, the yamen of the main city of these things has already been investigated." Ah Cong was a little embarrassed.

"You go and tell them that this time the Criminal Department and the Yamen will work together to 'encircle the wolf!' ”

The two subordinates have never seen Ning Xiaoxiao's eyes so hot, it seems that this Shi Qianlang is really fierce and unlucky this time.

"Go right away."

The two of them turned around at the same time and rushed towards their colleagues in the Criminal Department, happily conveying the order that Ning Xiaoxiao had just given.

He turned around in a heroic manner, got on his horse, and tightened the reins.

"Xiaoxiao, where are you going?" Mother Ning held the stone lion and looked at him like this.

"Go to the pheasant farm, see if the people have gone far, if there are any clues, remember, you stay here, don't go anywhere!"

Before he could finish speaking, he tightened the reins, drew his whip, and rode his horse towards the suburbs.

The galloping horses rushed all the way through the street, and the men guarding the city gate first recognized him on horseback, and tried to tease him as usual, and asked him why he had just come back and why he was going out again.

How did he know that he rode a horse, and passed by himself as soon as he slipped through the smoke, and he had no chance to speak.

"Lord Ning seems to be a little different today." The little soldier muttered.

"What's the difference?"

"Don't you think it's a little handsome?"

The little soldier stood at the gate of the city, looking at the back of the gallop in the distance, looking in admiration.

"Let's look at the doctor's eyes, he's already handsome." The other soldier teased earnestly.

*

Half an hour later, Ning Xiaoxiao rode to the suburbs, just past the stone monument of Wulipo, was shocked by the scene in front of him, the Yan family's pheasant farm caught fire again, and the fire was in the sky, the smoke was soaring into the sky, and the surrounding trees were burning brightly.