"PS: Every once in a while, there will always be this salted fish period where you are not energetic and don't want to do anything, and it feels so boring."

———— the following text————

Zhao Yu guessed right, at this moment, sneakily following behind their group, it was Luyang County Lieutenant Ding Wu and several county guards, when Zhao Yu and the others left Zheng Township, Ding Wu, who was waiting outside the tun, noticed it.

Looking from afar, Ding Wu and the others saw that more than a dozen or twenty people left Tunzi under the escort of Ding Lu and several people, heading north.

Six of them wore hats, while the remaining dozen did not.

Although Ding Wu had already read Wang Qing's wanted warrant, he couldn't see who Wang Qing was on the other side from such a distance, but he was sure that Wang Qing was definitely among these people—as for the others, they were undoubtedly Wang Qing's accomplices.

"County lieutenant, what should we do?" A county guard asked Ding Wudao carefully.

Ding Wu frowned and thought for a moment.

At this time, there were only four or five county soldiers around him, and there were more than ten or twenty people on the opposite side, if it was an ordinary little thief, Ding Wu would not be so cautious, but according to Gao Chun, the county lieutenant of Ye County, the Black Tiger Village group of thieves was not a bandit in the general sense, it was a fierce man who dared to confront the officers and soldiers head-on.

Even, there are powerful people like Chen Mo in this group of fierce people who even Zhang Jing can't defeat in a short time.

If there was a conflict, he was not afraid, but he was worried about four or five of his subordinates.

Thinking of this, Ding Wu said in a low voice: "...... first Follow for a while, if it is really the remnants of the Black Tiger Village, find their current lair first, and then make plans. ”

"Yes." From the side of the county to comprehend.

Unexpectedly, after only walking out of a mile, the group of people in front of them suddenly stopped continuing to face north and turned to the east.

"Found ......"

Frowning, Ding Wu immediately realized that their group had been discovered by the other party, and the other party suddenly changed direction, definitely to deal with them.

But just leaving like this, Ding Wu felt unwilling in his heart.

After thinking for a while, he said to a young county guard: "Little San'er, you go back to the county office immediately to call someone, and I will keep an eye on it for a while." ”

"Yes, County Lieutenant." The young county boy nodded and walked away.

Immediately, Ding Wu said to the remaining four county guards: "The other side must have noticed us, and you all stay vigilant." ”

"Yes."

After some arrangement, Ding Wu continued to take the four county pawns forward,

After following like this for nearly an hour, Ding Wu gradually felt that something was wrong.

The group in front of them was already aware of their tracking, but why didn't they come and ask them?

If this were the case, he would definitely come forward and ask the person who was following him: "What are you doing with me?" ”

But the other party didn't, as if ...... The other party is very clear about his identity as Ding Wu.

It is not difficult to guess this, and it is very likely that Ding Lu revealed it to this group of people.

But the question is, why did the people in front of them behave so 'kindly'?

You must know that during the hour when he led people to follow, although he was careful to watch out for ambushes from the other party, the other party did not seem to have that intention, and just led them around in a circle in the woods that passed along the way, trying to get rid of them.

As a group of Yingshan Fierce Kou, who fought against the officers and soldiers in Kunyang County and killed more than 1,000 officers and soldiers before and after, this approach was too kind.

The only explanation is that some of the people in the group knew him and didn't want to harm him.

『…… Who is it?'

Thinking of Ding Lu's abnormal behavior of 'shielding' Wang Qing, Ding Wu seriously suspected that among the group of people in front of him, there were definitely people who knew him.

Just as he was secretly guessing, he suddenly heard a county official next to him whisper: "Damn, how did this group of people get here?" This place is haunted......"

Hearing this, Ding Wu noticed the surroundings and looked around.

At this time, he found out that they were brought to the field forest on the north side of the Hou Mansion in Luyang Township by the group of people in front of him.

On the north and east sides of the Luyang Township Mansion, there are quite vast fields and forests, some of which are cultivated by the Township Mansion, and some are rented to farmers in the townships of the county, but since the Luyang Township Hou family suffered a few years ago, because they were charged with 'colluding with the rebels and plotting to rebel', these fields and forests that originally belonged to the Zhao family were taken over by the Luyang County Ya.

Subsequently, the Luyang County Government rented part of the land to local refugees who had no land to cultivate.

But I don't know when the haunted legend has appeared in this area.

There are many examples of this kind of haunted rumors, some people say that they have seen the dead guards of the Xianghou Mansion in the middle of the night, some people say that they have seen Cao Ju, the chief steward of the Xianghou Mansion, and even say that some people have seen the Luyang Xianghou family of four.

For these haunted rumors, the people who live in the township are very scared now, and they dare not go out at will, but some people are not afraid, and even speak for the ghosts, saying that the Luyang township family was a good person when they were born, and they are also good ghosts after death, and they will only protect the people of Luyang, how can they do harm?

Anyway, there's everything to say.

For these absurd haunted rumors, Ding Wu naturally scoffed.

He believes that people die like lights go out, and instead of making him believe that the people of the Xianghou Mansion have become ghosts after death, he would rather believe that they are living people, such as the guards of the Xianghou Mansion led by Zheng Luo - he would rather believe that it was Zheng Luo and others who were dissatisfied with the county government renting the fields of the Xianghou Mansion to others, pretending to be ghosts to scare these people.

Of course, this is just Ding Wu's speculation, after all, Zheng Luo and other guards have long been missing.

As for what he was going to do, Ding Wu subjectively neither wanted to delve into it, nor did he want to know.

By this time, it was completely dark.

Fortunately, there was still a faint moonlight, and Ding Wu and the others could barely see the object they were following, so that they would not be thrown off because the other party was walking around in the forest.

Suddenly, there was an exclamation from the front, and one of them exclaimed, "What's that?!" ”

Immediately, the forest was silent.

Just when Ding Wu was confused about what was happening in front of him, he suddenly heard an urgent shout: "Ghost, ghost......"

Immediately, the chaotic sound came in a stream.

"It's a ghost ......"

"Hell yes!"

"Quick, go."

After a panicked movement, the group in front seemed to be running away.

If there is no land, there seems to be a woman's voice during the period.

Seeing this, Ding Wu and the others immediately followed.

However, they had not walked a few dozen steps before they suddenly stopped, and they were shocked to see a white figure crawling out of the dirt with great difficulty in a hole beside the tree in front of them.

"Why...... Why bother me and my young master? …… You abominable, abominable ...... Jingnu hates it, I hate it so much......"

With endless resentment, the female ghost stood up on the ground and spoke intermittently.

"Goo-"

The county guards around Ding Wu swallowed their saliva in unison, held their breath, and turned their heads to look at Ding Wu.

As if silently asking: what to do?

At this time, Ding Wu's eyes widened, looking at the scene in front of him in disbelief.

He opened his eyes wide and looked at the female ghost in front of him carefully, only to see that the female ghost was wearing a dirty and torn dress, but it was this white and green dress that made Ding Wu's eyes widen in disbelief.

Because he recognized that the white and green dress was the dress of the maid in the inner courtyard of the township mansion back then.

"Young Master...... Whining...... Young Master...... My young master......"

The female ghost covered her face and cried, and the cry echoed in the forest, making people feel more and more creepy.

"She—she doesn't seem to notice us?"

A county pawn swallowed his saliva and asked his companion in a low voice.

The other nodded, and then whispered, "She...... She is the maid of Zhao Ergongzi, Jingnu, right? Could it be that this is the place where the second son was killed? ”

Hearing this, several other county officials involuntarily looked around, as if they were afraid that something would come out of nowhere.

One of them hurriedly clasped his hands together and bowed thoughtfully: "The second son has a spirit in the sky, my name is He Wu, I am not the one who harms you......"

"Ahh

Suddenly, the female ghost in front raised her voice, startling the county official named He Wu also screamed and jumped up several feet high.

I saw that under the gaze of Ding Wu and others, the white-clothed female ghost looked into the depths of the forest, and said intermittently in a voice of surprise: "I heard it...... Jingnu heard, and the young master was calling me...... Young Master ......"

Under the unbelievable gaze of Ding Wu and others, they saw that the female ghost in white did not see any obvious movements, but the whole person 'floated' in the direction of the depths of the forest, and the county soldiers saw that their scalps were numb and they gasped.

Even Ding Wu was bluffed speechless, looking at the direction in which the white-clothed female ghost disappeared, and opened his mouth in astonishment.

At the moment, he didn't care about following the group of people in front of him, and his mind was full of the female ghost in white just now.

At this time, there was a faint whining sound in the forest, and I didn't know if it was the wind or the ......

The county officials didn't dare to delve into it, and one of them lowered his voice and said to Ding Wu: "County Captain, this place is too evil, let's better go around, right?" If this is really the place where Zhao Ergongzi was killed, it won't be good for us to disturb him......"

Rao is Ding Wu, after seeing Fang Cai's terrifying scene, he also lost his square inch, and nodded.

So, a few people tiptoed back cautiously along the way they came.

After they withdrew from this forest, from behind a tree, Zhao Yu slowly walked out, watching the back of Ding Wu and the others leaving.

"Are you gone?"

With a soft inquiry, behind another tree, the white-clothed female ghost with a cloak stretched out her head, lifted the messy hair in front of her forehead and asked Zhao Yu.

If you look closely, it's obviously Jingnu.

"Gone, scared away by you."

Zhao Yu plucked a dead leaf from Jingnu's hair.

As soon as she heard this, Jingnu was very happy, and it was only in her mind that in a certain forest north of the Marquis Mansion in Luyang Township, there were still buried clothes that she and Zhao Yu had changed back then—to be exact, the clothes of her and Cao An.

Ding Wu thought that Zhao Yu and the others were trying to get rid of him by turning around in a few forests, but in fact, Zhao Yu and Jingnu were just looking for the place where they were buried according to their memories.

But unfortunately, when Zhao Yu and Jingnu found the clothes they had changed back then, Cao An's clothes had been gnawed by insects and ants beyond recognition, and even Jingnu's clothes wrapped in the inner side were also gnawed by insects and ants and there were holes everywhere.

This made Jing Nu feel distressed, after all, it was the only piece of clothing she brought out from the Xianghou Mansion.

But there is a mistake, it was this old clothes that were gnawed out by insects and ants that frightened Ding Wu and the others - of course, the most important thing was the 'floating' feeling created by Jing Nu standing up straight and walking with only her toes, which scared Ding Wu and the others on the spot.

"That's a good idea, isn't it?"

"Mmmm, that's good, take credit."

"Hee-hee."

After praising Jingnu, Zhao Yu turned his head and looked in the direction where Ding Wu and the others left.

It is undeniable that Jing Nu's idea is really good, but Zhao Yu also knows that this matter can only bluff Ding Wu for a short time, and after a long time, Ding Wu will inevitably guess that he was tricked when he carefully recalls today's 'ghost encounter'.

Thinking about it carefully, Ding Wu would even begin to doubt whether Jingnu was still alive, and even doubt him Zhao Yu.

But there is no way, this Ding County Lieutenant is really staring at the ground too closely, with this tail, how dare Zhao Yu and the others return to the small mountain village where they temporarily lived?

As for whether Ding Wu would guess that he Zhao Yu and Jingnu were still alive because of this, Zhao Yu didn't care very much, after all, he used to have a pretty good relationship with Ding Wu - it was precisely because of this that he didn't want Chen Mo, Niu Heng and others to get rid of Ding Wu by force tonight.

After all, under the condition that Ding Lu, Feng Bu, and Zu Xing had learned about this incident, the secret that he was destined to be Zhao Yu's death would gradually spread, and it would eventually reach the ears of Ding Wu and even the county commander Liu Wei in the future.

Since this is the case, Zhao Yu thinks it is not a bad thing to take advantage of Jingnu's strategy of 'not having a small trouble' to test the reaction of Luyang County Ya first, and to test the reaction of Ding Wu and Liu Wei and others.

After all, if the remnants of his Black Tiger Village want to hide in Luyang, it is not enough to rely on Ding Lu and others to help him, but also depends on the attitude of the Luyang County Ya.

Otherwise, the county lieutenant Ding Wu directly led the officers and soldiers to search for the whole county, and sooner or later they would be found.

On the other hand, if the Luyang County Ya can turn a blind eye to this, then who can help them?

『…… Let's see how Liu Wei and Ding Wu react."

Zhao Yu thought secretly in his heart.

In the early morning of the next day, Zhao Yu and his party returned to the small mountain village of Yuchang.

At this time, the county lieutenant Ding Wu and others also returned to the county seat.

After dawn, the county guards who followed Ding Wu yesterday spread the news of last night's encounter with ghosts in the county government, but Ding Wu was carefully recalling the before and after of their encounter with ghosts last night.

Just like Zhao Yu guessed, after thinking about it repeatedly, Ding Wu gradually felt that something was wrong.

Because it's too coincidental.

Jingnu's ghost didn't appear sooner or later, just when he Ding Wu was chasing a group of Ying bandits?

This coincidence made it difficult for Ding Wu not to think that it was a deliberate arrangement.

"County Lieutenant, Your Excellency summons."

At this time, outside Ding Wu's class room, a county guard came to make a report.

"Okay, I got it."

Ding Wu nodded and walked towards Liu Wei's study in the county office.

When Ding Wu walked into the study, Liu Wei was sitting behind the desk looking at something similar to a drawing, and after looking up at Ding Wu who walked into the room, Liu Wei asked puzzledly: "Ding Wei, I heard the people in the yali say that you took someone to Zheng Township to arrest that Wang Qing yesterday, but you ran into a ghost at night, what's going on?" ”

Ding Wu then told Liu Wei about his trip to Zhengxiang yesterday and what happened after that.

Immediately, he lowered his voice and said, "Gong Liu, I suspect that the second son is still alive, and he is among the Ying thieves. ”

Hearing this, Liu Wei immediately raised his head and glanced at Ding Wu in disbelief.

He stood up, closed the doors and windows of the room, and then sat down behind his desk, and asked in a low voice, "What is the basis for this?" ”

Ding Wu obviously knew that this matter was very important, and he lowered his voice and said: "When the Xianghou Mansion family suffered, the soldiers of the Liang Chengjun directly said that the Xianghou and his wife died in the fire of the Xianghou Mansion, and the eldest prince threw himself into the Shahe River in the south and died, while the second prince threw himself into the North River and was killed by random arrows...... The sand river is turbulent, and the body of the eldest prince cannot be fished, which is understandable, but the body of the second prince has not been fished out, and more importantly, I saw Jingnu last night......"

After a pause, he frowned and added, "I've never believed in ghosts in this world, but I was really taken aback last night and didn't come forward to take a closer look. But when I think about it this morning, I always feel that the ghost of the Silent Girl appeared too coincidentally, as if it was just to scare me away. ”

Liu Wei glanced at Ding Wu, lowered his voice and said, "You mean, Jingnu is still alive, and she has a lot to do with Ying Mountain Thief?" ”

"More than that."

Ding Wu shook his head and said, "In case, I mean in case, if Jingnu is still alive, then the second son...... I think nine times out of ten, I should still be alive. Liu Gong, you also know that Jingnu will not abandon the second son. ”

“……”

Liu Wei frowned, thoughtful.

They all know the relationship between Zhao Yu and Jing Nu, and they know that Jing Nu is the concubine arranged by Zhao Yu's mother Zhou for her son, and since they knew the second son, the second son has been inseparable from Jing Nu.

Based on what they once knew about Jing Nu, they would rather believe that Zhao Yu abandoned Jing Nu than that Jing Nu would abandon Zhao Yu.

In other words, Zhao Yu is alive, and Jingnu is not necessarily alive; But Jingnu is alive, and Zhao Yu is very likely to be alive!

And this also explains why Ding Lu would shield Wang Qing, who was obviously wanted, for the sake of the second son's face.

Thinking of this, Liu Wei immediately took out the wanted warrant sent by the county lieutenant of Ye County from the desk, and carefully read the leader of the Ying bandits on the wanted warrant.

Guo Da, Niu Heng, Chen Mo, Wang Qing, Chu Jiao, Zhang Feng, Ma Hong, Liu Heimu......

However, there is no one similar to the second son of Zhao in his impression.

Just when Liu Wei was extremely disappointed, he saw Ding Wu say in a low voice: "Liu Gong, these wanted warrants don't mean anything. When he was having wine with Gao Chun that night, he once mentioned to me that he had encircled and suppressed the Black Tiger Village that day, and Zhang Jing and General Zhang, who had come to our Luyang a while ago, participated, and General Zhang pointed out that there was a very powerful strategist in the Black Tiger Village, who had repeatedly seen through his scheme...... You know, General Zhang is the adopted son of Taishi Chen, and he is deeply taught by Taishi Chen, and he is extremely skilled in martial arts and the art of war, but some people can compete with him, which is not something ordinary people can do. ”

Hearing this, Liu Jian was also skeptical.

In his impression, that second son of Zhao is indeed very smart, but he has not heard that the second son is good at the art of war.

However, with the idea that he would rather believe what he has than what he doesn't, Liu Jian decided to take a good look in case the second son is really alive......

Thinking of this, Liu Wei's hands trembled slightly with excitement.

He immediately said: "Captain Ding, you immediately bring someone to question Na Ding Lu......"

Hearing this, Ding Wu lowered his voice and said, "It's easy to question that Ding Lu, it just so happens that I also plan to teach this kid a lesson, but the question is...... What if the second prince is indeed still alive and is in the midst of that group of Ying bandits? ”

“……”

Glancing at Ding Wu, Liu Wei's excited mood suddenly calmed down.

It was only then that he suddenly realized that this was indeed a problem.

After pondering for a while, Liu Wei said in a low voice: "You first find a way to get out of Ding Lu's mouth, if he did see the second son that day...... After that, I will go to see the second son. …… Please. ”

"Obedience."

Ding Wu responded with a fist.

After getting Liu Wei's entrustment, Ding Wu thought about it.

If you want to find Ding Lu to talk, the best way is to let this guy be full of wine, but yesterday they just blushed, and Ding Wu really couldn't pull his face to go to him Ding Lu to drink.

『…… I have to find a way to get him to come and beg me, and take the initiative to invite me to drink.'"

Ding Wu thought to himself.

So, he immediately sent twenty county soldiers to Zheng Township to find fault.

At the same time in Zheng Township, Ding Lu was explaining to Zheng Yong in his house the reason why he released Wang Qing, after all, he could hide this matter from ordinary people, but it was really difficult to hide Zheng Yong, because Zheng Yong was the eldest son of Zheng Township Chief, and he would take over his father's position as Township Chief in the future.

Yesterday, Zhao Yu asked Ding Lu to find a way to prepare some food for him, and although Ding Lu agreed, he still had to get Zheng Yong's help to a large extent.

When he learned from Ding Lu that the second son of Zhao was still alive, Zheng Yong was shocked in his heart.

After all, more than two years have passed since the tragedy of the Xianghou Mansion, and Luyang County has gradually accepted this fact, and suddenly Ding Lu told Zheng Yong that Zhao Ergongzi was still alive, Zheng Yong was naturally incredulous.

After calming down, Zheng Yong asked Ding Ludao, "What are the plans of the second son?" ”

Ding Lu lowered his voice and said: "The second prince subdued a group of bandits, that is, the group of Ying bandits, he probably wanted to use this as a force to find revenge on the enemy. ”

"Bandits?" Zheng Yong frowned.

Seeing this, Ding Lu explained: "You know, the second son's enemy is from the official family, and even the county government couldn't withstand the pressure back then, so he could only rely on lawbreakers. ”

Zheng Yong nodded with relief and said: "The Xianghou Mansion is kind to Luyang, although I dare not agree with the second son's proposition, but I am willing to secretly help the second son, the food you said, no problem, I will let the village give you some even, and you will bring it to the second son." …… I hope that the second son can subdue those bandits, and don't cause trouble to the township. ”

"You can rest assured of that."

Ding Lu swore to promise Zhao Yu down.

And at this moment, Zu Xing hurriedly walked into the house and said to Ding Lu: "Big brother, Ding Wu sent twenty county soldiers to find fault, and this group of people did nothing, just urged our people to speed up digging the canal, and threatened to cut wages or something if the construction period was delayed." ”

"This is really ......" Ding Lu touched the beard on his chin and said with a smile: "How did our family become so stingy?" Come on, Ah Xing, you go to the county seat, invite Ding Wu to come and drink, and say that I will make amends for him. ”

So, that night, Ding Wu was invited to his home by Ding Lu as he wished, and set up a wine to entertain him.