Xia Xue, Ouyang Yong, and Ouyang Qian walked out of the inn side by side and walked around the county. On this morning, as usual, the streets were crowded with ants, and the big shops on both sides of the market were doing briskly business, but they didn't hear the sound of laughter, and the customers spoke very lowly, and often looked left and right before speaking.

Xia Xue felt that the death of the previous county commander Yang Dao was strange, she suspected that he was poisoned, and in the future she knew that some drugs would induce heart disease and cause sudden death, including some Chinese herbal medicines. For example, the Chinese herb "cimicifuga", which is used to treat irregular menstruation and muscle twitches, can cause increased blood pressure and severe heart damage. For example, ephedra, a Chinese herb used to lose weight and treat asthma and airway narrowing, can cause increased blood pressure and increased heart rate, leading to heart attacks, strokes and sudden death. For example, it has the ability to replenish blood and regulate blood. Angelica sinensis, a Chinese herbal medicine that relieves pain and moistens the intestines, contains natural coumarins, which cause severe bleeding. For example, the Chinese herbal medicine "Lobelia", which is used to treat abdominal edema, edema of the face and feet, carbuncle swelling and boils, and snake bites, can cause palpitations, dizziness, vomiting and other symptoms, and can cause hypotension, stroke, coma and sudden death when used in large quantities.

Therefore, Xia Xue took the Ouyang brothers and sisters to visit all the pharmacies in the county, and finally came to the largest pharmacy "Baicaotang". The shopkeeper of the pharmacy is called Chai Gui, with a donkey face, a short beard on his lips, a thin and timid figure, and two shoulder blades.

Xia Xue first put a gold ingot on the counter, and the pharmacy shopkeeper Chai Gui's eyes immediately lit up, and then Xia Xue looked at no one around and asked Chai Gui quietly: "Chai shopkeeper, do you have any drugs that can make people sick?" ”

When Chai Gui, who had seen the money open, heard this, his face immediately turned cloudy, his eyes were full of horror, and he hurriedly pushed the gold to Xia Xue, shaking his head again and again, "Guest officer, I'm sorry, we don't have this kind of thing in our pharmacy." ”

Xia Xue's eyes were like swords, she smiled meaningfully, and turned away.

Along the way, Xia Xue and the three of them found that the largest pawn shop, money shop, and cabinet shop in Qingyuan County were all thunderous. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, institutions specializing in the storage and lending of coins and valuables were called cabinet fangs. The business is to keep gold and silver property on behalf of merchants, collect a certain rent, and merchants need to use the time to withdraw with a post (equivalent to a check) or a token, which is the earliest prototype of the bank. The trading of silver and pawnshops in later generations is the most profitable and wealthy industry.

In addition, the largest inns, casinos, green buildings, restaurants, pharmacies, grain stores, oil and salt non-staple food stores in Qingyuan County are all Lei Zhentian, which can be said to control the economic lifeline of the entire Qingyuan County.

The streets are full of people and tourists. The three of them wandered on the street to the door of one of the most luxurious and magnificent green buildings, only to see a large stone archway standing at the door, resting on the eaves, double lions arching and guarding, and the twelve stone pillars were still rugged and tough despite the erosion of wind and rain. On the card is written with the four big characters of "Meixian Le Yuan".

Xia Xue had a keen sense of hearing, and suddenly heard a slight crying and groaning, and couldn't help but be stunned, the sound came from the backyard of "Meixian Le Yuan", so the three of them walked through the Xuan Hall and touched the backyard. Le Yuan is mostly open at night, so there are very few people in the morning, and Xia Xue and the three of them walked to the backyard without meeting anyone.

The sound came from the right corner of the hall, intermittently. When the three of them approached again, they saw a woman tied to a column, her dress torn, her hair scattered, and her body covered with purple wounds.

Xia Xue hurriedly stepped forward and untied the rope. The woman fell to the ground and fainted. When Xia Xue touched it, there was still heat, and she knew that there was no danger to her life. I saw that a vitex on the ground had broken its skin and branches, and there were blood stains on it.

"I just don't know who this girl is poisoned by, so ruthless." Ouyang Qian and Ouyang Courage muttered to themselves indignantly.

After a while, the woman struggled to wake up, and saw that it was a handsome young man who rescued her, her face was red, but she was afraid in her heart, and shouted softly: "You don't care about me, otherwise I will cause trouble for you and me." ”

Xia Xue was still angry: "What is your name, why are you tied up here and beaten?" ”

The woman said tremblingly: "The slave's name is Zhou Ju, eat the master's lessons, and eat commonplace, don't make noise with the little brother, otherwise my life will be over." ”

Xia Xue comforted: "Zhou Ju don't be afraid, my name is Li Yi, what do I support." Today, I have a fate, and I am here to save you. Who is your lord? Why did he abuse you? ”

When Zhou Ju heard this, she was moved in her heart and couldn't help crying "wow".

"My lord's name is Lei Zhentian, he is the richest and most powerful boss in Qingyuan County, and he opened the largest green building, casino, inn, restaurant, cabinet shop, money village, pawn shop, etc. in Qingyuan County. I was snatched by the lord and sent here later. Last night, there was a banquet in the drunken fairy building, and there was a gentleman at the banquet who salivated several times, and he was not serious. The slave was afraid to dodge, and accidentally spilled the wine, staining the gentleman's clothes. So the lord got me here, slapped me a few times, and then pulled me by the hair and hit me against the pillar, and I struggled a few times, and then the lord was furious, and in his rage, he tied me to the pillar and beat me with wattles...... Li Gongzi, this is a common thing, you don't have to worry about me. If the master knows, he will be angry with you and me, and you and I may not be able to save our lives! Hurry up and go! ”

When Xia Xue heard this, isn't this the eldest daughter of Zhou Cheng, who was forced to be a robber? It turned out that she was actually here, it seemed that she was snatched away by Lei Zhentian and sold to Qinglou after getting tired of playing, and she couldn't help hating this bully Lei Zhentian even more in her heart.

But it is not appropriate to alarm Lei Zhentian at the moment, so I have to comfort Zhou Ju and let her endure it for a few more days, and promise to come to rescue her. In order to prevent Lei Zhentian from angering Zhou Ju, he let her drink some water and eat some dry food, and then tied her to the cylinder again with a rope, but this time it was looser. Then Xia Xue and the three quietly withdrew from the "Meixian Le Yuan".

Xia Xue and the three of them walked around the county seat until dark and decided to go to the yamen of Qingyuan County to have a look. As the three of them rode along the way, there were still a few vendors on the street, and customers sat around the small stalls of oil lamps, drinking tea or eating noodles, but most of them were numb and silent. Xia Xue and his party walked slowly from north to south on the street, they just turned their heads to glance at them, then lowered their heads and picked up the noodle bowl and the tea cup.

Xia Xue walked through an arch that spanned the street, and the street was divided into two sides, left and right, along a high wall. When Ouyang Yong and Ouyang Qian saw each other, they thought that this must be the back wall of the county yayuan.

A line turns left, along the high wall to the east, to the south, and then to the west, until the head of a black lacquered gate, above the lintel hangs a piece of wind erosion and rain stripped wood sign, on which there are four big characters of "Qingyuan County Ya".

Ouyang Yong threw the orange off his horse and knocked on the door again.

The door opened. Mending Wu has a short stature, his facial features are not very even, his complexion is slightly dark, he is dressed in shabby clothes, he has a hawk nose and harrier eyes, and his beard is unkempt. He raised the lantern in his hand, looked Ouyang Yong up and down, and said angrily: "You bastard doesn't know anything, don't you know that this yamen has always been closed?" ”

Where could Ouyang Yong bear such humiliation, he reached out and grabbed the other party's beard, pulled forward and pushed back, and slammed his head into the doorpost, only to cry and beg for mercy.

Ouyang Yong shouted: "What about your county order? We want to see him! ”

The doorman trembled all over and didn't dare to speak, Ouyang Yong was angry, flew up with a kick, and actually kicked this guy unconscious.

Seeing that the doorman had fainted, Ouyang Yong directly pushed open the yamen, and Xia Xue and his party entered the yamen and stopped in the front yard of the flower hall.

Xia Xue got off the horse and took advantage of the lantern light to look around the courtyard, but saw that the door of the flower hall was locked and locked, and the windows of the opposite hall were also closed one by one, and the hall in the courtyard was pitch black, and no one was seen.

Continuing to walk forward, the left compartment of the front yard is the lower room where the patrolmen and the guards live, which is empty, and the back is the cell. The cell was also empty, needless to say, the cell had not been used for a long time, but the door was sturdy and the windows were barred.

Xia Xue said: "Let's go to the lobby and the yahall to have a look." ”

Ouyang Yong carried the lantern, came to the door of the lobby, pushed the door open, and the rusty hinge creaked. When he came to the hall, Ouyang Yong held the lantern aloft, only to see that the dust was all over the ground, the cobwebs were all over the wall, the scarlet tablecloth covering the public case had long been faded and tattered, and a black rat scurried past the table.

Xia Xue beckoned to Ouyang Yong, walked up to the high platform, walked around the public case, and pulled aside a curtain embroidered with a pig in the center that separated the lobby from the county order's internal study, and the dust fell down one after another.

There is only one bookcase, a chair and three wooden stools in the inner study, all of which are wobbly and dilapidated. Ouyang Yong opened the small door of the stall in the middle, and a damp smell hit them. There is a bookshelf next to the wall, on which are placed the suitcases of official documents, and over time, there is a layer of white mold.

When Xia Xue saw it, she couldn't help but shake her head and sigh: "I don't want the case file to come to this step!" After speaking, he kicked the door to open the cloister, and walked back to the compound silently, with Ouyang Yong leading the way with a lantern in his hand.

If you don't pay for a private visit, it's really hard to imagine that there is such an official yamen in the Angel Kingdom, and it is conceivable that the county magistrate of Qingyuan County has not been on duty for a long time. The county magistrate is the highest administrator at the county level, in charge of local government affairs, supervising finance, taxation, treasury, justice, supervision and conscription, etc., what an important national responsibility, Feng Qi, the county magistrate of Qingyuan County, has not been working for a long time, and the county government is empty, like a haunted house. The seriousness of corruption and neglect of government can be described as outrageous, Xia Xue was furious, her silver teeth were clenched, and she gritted her teeth at a corrupt and corrupt official like Feng Qi, if it wasn't for the current need for a secret investigation, she estimated that she would immediately order the county order Feng Qi to be arrested and severely punished.