Dayue's yamen regulations have their own formula, there are two pavilions specially used to post the list notice in front of the gate, which is to promote the good and admonish the evil, and the door bypasses the shadow wall, which is the majestic yamen hall, that is, where the main hall is located. However, it is not used for office, and is only used for the routine training of subordinate officials in the county order every month, or when major cases are to be heard.

The real place where the officials worked was around the lobby, through the second hall behind a vertical arch. Li Ling and the others entered the area through the door with the messengers, and saw that there were more than a dozen rooms lined up, which were the signing rooms for county officials and officials to handle various affairs. According to the different identities of each person, the size of the signing room for their office is also divided into three, six, nine and so on, the most spacious in the middle is naturally the public office of the county order, and on both sides is the public house of the main book and the county clerk.

However, judging from the current regulations, the public house of the county, known as the fourth master, is not much smaller than the public house of the county order, and it is a first-class existence regardless of the lighting environment. Li Ling, who was waiting for the report from the government to summon him, peeked at the green-robed official who was sitting behind the bookcase and reading the book in his hand.

However, as the head of the jaw raised his head and looked out, Li Ling made eye contact with him, but his heart trembled, and he quickly closed his eyes. The other party's gaze is as sharp as a knife, coupled with the two obvious nasolabial folds, which immediately gives people a strong sense of oppression and makes people's hearts feel worried.

"The plaintiff came in and spoke." The voice of the classic history is not wavering, but it has its own majesty, so that Li Ling and the three of them did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly stepped into the room. Gu Yuezi and the others knelt down very fluently and knocked on the officials, but Li Ling hesitated slightly, he was really not used to being so humble and courteous.

But soon, he persuaded himself to follow the customs, and knelt down with him, saying: "Li Ling, a grass citizen, knocks on the fourth master." ”

"Look up." The history didn't mean to get them up, but after sweeping their faces, he said, "Didn't the paper say that there were thieves who broke into the house at night and injured people?" The three of you are a family? ”

"My lord Mingjian, it was this Li Ling and Li Gongzi who were robbed and injured, and Xiaomin Gu Yuezi and this Xu Cang Xu Gongzi came to help testify. Because we were also there at the time...... "Gu Yuezi was worried that Li Ling was too nervous or something, so he rushed to help explain.

But Dian Shi didn't finish his words at all, and immediately interrupted: "Since you two are just witnesses, then retreat first." The official said, and only let the plaintiff come in and reply. ”

He was so businesslike and unsympathetic, so Gu Yuezi couldn't speak, only glanced at Li Ling, and after handing him a careful reply, he withdrew from the door with Xu Cang, who was also in a trance, and waited in front of the corridor.

After carefully looking Li Ling up and down again, Dian Shicai said: "You and carefully tell the official what happened last night, there must be no omission, and you must not add oil and vinegar, if it is found that you are lying, this official will not spare you!" ”

Li Ling frowned lightly, the words of this classic history are so strange, how can there be a reason to warn the plaintiff as a prisoner first? But since the other party said so, he could only nod honestly, and then slowly told everything that happened last night. Fortunately, for him, this kind of narration is not too difficult, and as for the pressure that the other party puts on him, he can handle it now.

Listening to him slowly and clearly explain the robbery and injury that happened last night, Dian Shi's eyes also showed a touch of discoloration, until Li Ling said that his home was robbed of nearly a hundred taels of silver, he frowned slightly and interrupted: "A hundred taels of silver? Where did you get all this money in your house? Don't try to talk big about it and fool me about it, do you know what the end is? ”

"The grass people don't dare, the grass people just say the truth."

"Then where did you get all these taels of silver? Don't tell me that your parents left it. ”

"It's the manuscript fee that the grass people have recently earned from writing novels and running a bookstore." Although Li Ling felt that the other party's reaction was a little strange, he still answered honestly and told the story of writing "Romance of the Gods".

Dian Shi nodded clearly: "I see, it seems that there is really something to do." But since you haven't even seen the other party's appearance clearly, I'm afraid that the official and the county government won't be able to track it down. ”

"But ......"

He immediately waved his hand to interrupt Li Ling's speech: "According to the official's inference, it should be just a thief wandering around, and it was only because the money was revealed when you brought the silver before that he targeted it, so there was such a catastrophe." I'm afraid that at this time, the thief has already escaped from my Jiangcheng County, even if the official really sends the county officials and other people to the whole city, I am afraid that it will be impossible to find people. What's more, you don't even know what he looks like, let alone find someone. ”

"My lord, the grass people actually still have a discovery, that is, there is a tattoo on the thief's wrist, which looks like some kind of flower and leaf, as long as I look at it again, I will definitely distinguish it!" After Li Ling completely calmed down at night, he remembered the little tattoo that appeared on his wrist when the thief swung his stick at the time, and felt that this should be an important clue to follow.

But the clues he thought were not valued by the classics at all, and he saw the fourth master smile: "What is a little tattoo?" Do you know how many people in my Jiangcheng County have tattoos? I dare not say more, there are always hundreds. If you put it outside, it will be even more like a carp crossing the river, do you think the county government will spend months or even years looking for prisoners for your words? ”

After a pause, he waved his hand and said: "The yamen will take over this case, but when you can catch the thief and recover the silver for you, it depends on your creation." Okay, I have other things to deal with, so you can step down. ”

Well, I came to the Yamen to waste half a day, but I got such an answer, which made Li Ling unable to accept it. My case is a robbery and injury, isn't it a big case? If you really want to say it seriously, that is, to make money and kill people, in addition to putting on official prestige, he actually put it aside so lightly?

But the questioning words didn't dare to say it in person, so he could only get up stupidly, retreat outside with some lost souls, and go out of the yamen with Gu Yuezi, who also had a strange face.

It wasn't until there was a distance from the yamen that Xu Cang took the lead and said: "The people in this county yamen are too reckless, not only openly asking for bribes, but actually returning the ...... I can't even care about such a case. Is this still my dignified government official? So what protection do we have for the small people? ”

Gu Yuezi smiled bitterly: "That's why I wanted to dissuade you from coming yesterday when I heard you say that you were going to report to the official, it's really not much use to come here, but it will break some money." It's okay this time, if it really angers them, I'm afraid that the plaintiffs and I will have to be designated as defendants by them and suffer a lot. ”

"What a reason!" Xu Cang looked angry again, and he couldn't accept that it was so dark in the yamen until now.

"Who told us to be ordinary grass people, if the rich and powerful go to the yamen to report to the official, it will be another matter."

"For example, Zhuang Qiang?" Li Ling thought about things in his heart and asked casually.

"He is naturally the most special, whoever calls the fourth master is his own brother, but if a person with a talent and a reputation goes to report to the official, he can also be valued by them."

Li Ling was stunned: "Boss Gu, are you saying that Zhuang Qiang and Nadian Shi are brothers?" ”

"yes, why don't you know? The name of the fourth master is Zhuang Hong, who is Zhuang Qiang's own brother, and it is precisely because of such a brother in power in the county government that he Zhuang Qiang can run rampant in my Jiangcheng County, and anyone must be afraid of him. ”

These words made a little question in Li Ling's heart find a vague answer. But after all, this matter is too big, even to these two friends, it is not good to say much, he can only keep it in his heart for the time being. Then he changed the topic and said: "But even so, this matter is a little unreasonable, so the government doesn't care about the case, aren't they afraid that the matter will spread and cause trouble to themselves?" ”

Gu Yuezi immediately smiled: "What do they have to worry about, even if the above is really to blame, they can't blame him on the head of a classic history." Who let our county not have a county order in office for half a year, so if there is a problem, it has to be carried by the new county order. Moreover, this dealer has deep roots in the county, and he is much more powerful than the other three officials, so he is naturally even more fearless. ”

Gu Yuezi is a businessman in this county, and he still knows a lot about some things in the officialdom. And under his explanation, Li Ling and the others finally understood the strange relationship in the county government now. In the absence of the Zhengyin County Order, although the official positions of the main book and the county official are higher than those of the four old masters, in fact, the power of these two foreign officials in the local area is far from being comparable with the classic history, because they will be transferred in nine years and three years, while the small official who is not in the stream can serve as an official here for a lifetime, and he can also pass on his descendants to his descendants, so that the power of the classic history is much greater than that of the other two officials.

In a sense, the history of the fourth place can even compete with the county order of the eldest lord. It is said that the previous county magistrate suddenly resigned from the official because of illness, and he was forced by Zhuang Hong.

After understanding all these reasons, Li Ling and Xu Cang didn't know what to say. Especially Li Ling, when he remembered that he still owed Zhuang Qiang so much silver, and his backstage was so hard, he really felt a burst of pressure.

In the end, Gu Yuezi concluded: "So now it seems that it is impossible for the government to help arrest people and get back the silver, Li Gongzi, you can only think of other ways to make up the gap of a hundred or two taels of silver." ”

Yes, Li Ling also had to admit that he had to find another way to earn more silver.