The sun is setting, and the city of Luzhou is full of sunshine. Burning clouds appeared in the sky. Ye Yuanhang poked his head out of an alley. No matter how beautiful the scenery is, he has no intention of appreciating it. Looking around, I didn't find anyone selling sugar cane, nor did I see anyone buying sugar cane. I touched the copper coins on my body, it was not easy, I hid in the alley for three hours and didn't dare to show my head. Walking out of the alley, he saw an inn in front of him, Ye Yuanhang walked over and stood at the door, only to see a yellow plaque on a black background above the main entrance, 'Come to the inn again'. A guy bent over and ran in three steps and two steps.

"Guest officer, do you want to be sharp, or do you want to stay in the hotel."

"I'm staying in the hotel, I'm hungry, get me something to eat, how much silver taels do you have to eat and live here?" Yuanhang asked, rubbing his stomach.

"Ouch, you're welcome, officer. To tell the truth, the day after tomorrow, our Luzhou Tang Yuanwai will set up a ring at the south city gate to recruit a housekeeper for the mansion. What an errand, no, it's been overcrowded lately, and the room has been full almost every day lately. They are all here for the stewardship. We have temporarily opened a few additional rooms in the backyard, and now there is only one bed left, and it is a room for three people. If the guest officer doesn't dislike the small one, he will take you over to have a look, and the fifteen pennies do not include food. The man gestured with his hands and feet.

15 Wen ...... If you live overnight, you will spend half of your property, and Ye Yuanhang is really a little reluctant. Seeing that he was a little hesitant, the guy hurriedly said: "Guest officer, it's not a small lie, there is no place in other inns at all, and it will cost at least twenty wen in the near future." Our house is open to the side of the house, so it is so cheap, you don't believe that you will wander around again, but after coming back, there is no small location can not be guaranteed. ”

Ye Yuanhang saw that the guy looked handsome, and his face was sincere, not like a lie. Besides, it's getting dark, and I'm really afraid that I won't be able to find a place to stay.

"Okay, lead the way, and get me two more flatbreads to satisfy my hunger." Yuanhang nodded bitterly.

"Okay, guest officer, please come with me." Seeing that he had succeeded in attracting guests again, the fellow bent down to lead the way.

When I arrived in the backyard, I saw three wings connected together. It's a little shabby, but it's clean.

The guy pointed and said, "This was originally the grocery room of a small store, but because there have been too many guests recently, the shopkeeper asked to clean up the temporary guest room that was added to the house." Guest officer, you are more responsible. ”

Entering the house, Ye Yuanhang saw that there were three beds, two of which were erected against the wall inside, and the other bed was horizontal under the window near the door. Inside, the two-bed guests were chatting. One person has slightly white skin, is in his thirties, has a thin body, and looks like a scholar. The other was about 20 years old, and he looked like he was a follower. Ye Yuanhang nodded and smiled with the two, then came to the bed at the door and lay down, who called us later, I can only show them the door. On this day, Ye Yuanhang was so tired that he even forgot about his hunger. At first, I heard a few words of conversation between the other two, and fell asleep within a few minutes, and when the guy brought two flatbreads, Ye Yuanhang had already gone to eat a big meal in his dream.

"Mine!"

"What's yours, it's obviously mine, do you want to get rich, do you still have the royal law?"

Early in the morning, before Ye Yuanhang woke up, he was disturbed by the noise. When I opened my eyes, the two people in the room grabbed a small package with both hands, and no one let go, and the guy was standing in the middle of the house with a man of rich size.

"Don't quarrel with the two of you, the contemptible person is the shopkeeper here, since you all say that this package is your own, then let me ask, what is in the package?" The innkeeper asked, picking up the package.

"It's two strings of good beads." The emaciated man was the first to answer.

"It was two strings of beads, and I woke up in the morning to see him opening my package, and if I hadn't woken up, he would have taken it." The young man who looked like a follower said angrily.

"This ......" The shopkeeper saw that both parties knew what the item was, and he couldn't figure out who it belonged to for a while.

"I advise you to return the things to their original owners as soon as possible, and if you continue like this, I will send you to the officials." The shopkeeper used a killer trick and began to scare them.

"If you see an official, you will see an official, and I'm afraid that you won't make it." The young man who looked like a follower said loudly.

"Okay, you have reason to go all over the world. Just ask Master Zhizhou to give me justice. The emaciated man looked calm.

Seeing the stalemate, the shopkeeper had no choice but to say: "Go to the government, you have to return the innocence of the store." ”

Turning around and seeing Ye Yuanhang, he stepped forward to salute and said, "This son, please go down too, after all, there are only three of you in this room, so you can be a witness." ”

"Huh? What does it have to do with me, I haven't eaten flatbread yet. Yuanhang didn't want to mess with the government, so he hurriedly excused himself and said.

"Thank you, when you come back, the shopkeeper will invite you to eat good wine and food." The shopkeeper bent down and forced a smile.

Alas! I can sleep and get out of the lawsuit, my life......

In the Zhizhou Mansion, Liu Wen, the prefect of Luzhou, was drinking tea and chatting with a guest in the living room.

"Outside Tang Yuan, you said that you are looking for a housekeeper, and with such a big formation, you can just promote a clever one in the mansion, isn't it?" Liu Wen pointed his finger at Tang Yuanwai and said.

"Your Excellency does not know that a steward is no better than a servant, and he must be at ease. If it weren't for the old housekeeper's age and poor health, how would I be willing to change people. Tang Yuanwai looked sad. The old housekeeper was left by his father and grew up watching Tang Yuanwai. Although he is a servant, he is better than a relative.

"Report! My lord, the innkeeper in the city came to report to the official. He Liufeng, the chief catcher, knelt on one leg in front of the hall, clasping his hands into fists.

"What happened?" Lord Liu took a sip of tea, not in a hurry or slow.

"It's two tenants who have a dispute over the items, and they express their opinions, and they can't hold on to each other, so I have come to ask the adults to decide."

"Do I have to deal with this little thing myself? What do you want? Liu Wen set up an official frame in front of Tang Yuanwai.

"My lord, the villain is guilty. It's just that the villain can't break off to bother the adults, and ask the adults to make decisions for the people. He Liufeng bowed his head and said.

"My lord, since you want to try the case, then I will retire first, and please take care of the villain's troubles tomorrow." With that, Tang Yuanwai put a silver ticket on the table.

"Hey, you're too polite." Governor Liu put the silver ticket in his sleeve and said, "It's okay, it's okay." Tang Yuanwai doesn't have to leave in a hurry, and there is no need to ascend to the hall for such a trivial matter, you can sit down, and when I finish my trial, we will go to the south gate to walk for a while. Someone came, and brought the innkeeper and others to the living room. ”

He Zhutou took Ye Yuanhang and the others to the living room. The shopkeeper and others hurriedly knelt down to Governor Liu to say goodbye. Ye Yuanhang stood on the side, looking at the two people sitting on the top, wearing long robes made of silk, and their faces were relatively rich, and they couldn't tell which one was the prefect without wearing an official uniform.

"Be bold and make a fool of the people, why don't you kneel when you see an adult? Want to rebel? Seeing that Ye Yuanhang was still standing stupidly, He Zhutou hurriedly scolded.

I am a witness, not a plaintiff or a defendant. Do you have to kneel too? Besides, a few of them are kneeling there and there is no place for me to kneel, yes, those who can sit on it are estimated to have status, since that side is full of kneeling, I will kneel on this side.

Thinking of this, Ye Yuanhang knelt down for Tang Yuanwai, "Villain Ye Yuanhang, please say hello to adults." ”

His kneeling scared Tang Yuanwai a lot. Although at home, people also kneel when they see themselves, but this is in the Zhizhou Mansion, you kneel for me, how embarrassing the face of the Zhizhou Lord is. Tang Yuanwai hurriedly helped him.

"Say it one by one, what is it?" Governor Liu took a sip of tea and asked.

"Lord Qiyu, the little one is from Jingzhou, and he runs a jewelry workshop in Jingzhou. Yesterday I stayed in the inn again, and I got up early today to leave, but this person grabbed me and said that the two strings of hand beads in my bag belonged to him. These two strings of beads were made in my own workshop and were going to be sent back to my wife and concubine. Please be aware of it. The emaciated man replied first.

"You're talking nonsense." The young man who followed him was furious. said: "Adult, the little one has been working as a buddy in a jewelry store in Jiangzhou for three years. A few days ago, I brought news from my hometown, and I have already told me about the next family business. So I used the savings I had saved for half a year to buy these two strings of hand beads from the shopkeeper, and I planned to return to my hometown in Quanzhou from Linchuan via Luzhou. Who knew that last night I met such scoundrels who wanted to dominate my hard-earned beads, and asked the lord to be the master of the people! At this point, the young man was already crying.

"It's not easy to do, put the two in prison first, and then send people to Jingzhou and Jiangzhou to investigate their identities, and then you can get the owner of this thing." Liu Wen waved his hand lightly.

"Adults can't, this time it's a fast horse and it takes more than a month, the villain urgently needs to go home to get married, don't dare to delay." The young man said hurriedly.

"Yes, my lord, the villain is also in a hurry, and I hope the adult will make a clear decision." When the emaciated man heard that he was going to prison, he also hurriedly interjected.

"Haha, I knew you two wouldn't agree. That's good, I'll be a good person, since each has its own reason, you two strings of beads, get it and go home quickly. How is it? Liu Wen raised his eyebrows and said with a smile.

"This ......" both of them had sad faces after hearing this.

"If you don't listen to the official again, then the beads will not be put into the treasury, and each person will play twenty boards and coax them out of the hall." Governor Liu immediately sank down and shouted angrily.

"Don't be an adult, the villain recognizes it, and is willing to hold a string with him, please calm your anger." The emaciated man was a little scared.

"What about you? Do you have a different opinion? Governor Liu looked at the young man.

"Since the adults have broken off like this, the little people have nothing to say." The young man who looked like a follower sighed and said.

"Haha, that's not the end of it, you guys step down." Liu Wen waved his hand and looked at Tang Yuanwai proudly.

"Wait!" This foolish Zhizhou choked Yuan Hang's anger in such a judgment, stood up and said, "My lord, how can this bead be divided equally?" It's clearly only one of them, so wouldn't it be cheaper to judge the case like this. ”

"Bold!" Governor Liu shouted. said, "I also know that one of them must be false. But now both of them say that they urgently need to return home, and they do not have enough time for their officials to investigate, so they can only take a compromise approach. Besides, the two have agreed, who are you? Is there a different opinion? ”

"The villain doesn't dare, but the villain feels that he shouldn't wronged a good person, nor should he let a bad guy go. The villain has a way of determining who owns the bead. As soon as Yuanhang's words came out, he was shocked.

"Oh, young man, you say you have a way to get to the bottom of the case?" After hearing this, Tang Yuan looked at Ye Yuanhang.

"Yes, villains have a way." Yuanhang nodded in reply.

"My lord, since this son has a way, let's let him give it a try, do you think it's okay?" Tang Yuanwai turned his head to plead with the prefect for Ye Yuanhang.

"Well, I'll see how you can tell." Liu Wen was about to scold Yuanhang, but when he saw Tang Yuanwai talking, he had to give some face.

Ye Yuanhang walked up to the two of them, straightened his body, and rubbed his knees.

"Be lenient in confession, strict in resisting!" Ye Yuanhang shouted suddenly.

The sudden sound really startled the two of them. Even the teacup that Tang Yuanwai had just picked up in his hand knocked over to the ground. Tea spilled.

"I'm sorry~ I'm sorry." Ye Yuanhang hurriedly turned around and apologized to Tang Yuanwai with a smile.

"Looks like you're not going to tell the truth." Ye Yuanhang bowed to the prefect. "My lord, I need two basins of water, and add alkali to the water, just add it in a ratio of 5:1."

When the basin came, Ye Yuanhang said to the two, "You put your hands in it now, and don't take it out." Ten minutes later, Ye Yuanhang asked someone to bring a sweat towel to wipe the two of them clean. He grabbed the emaciated man's hand and looked at it carefully. Then he looked carefully at the young man's hands.

"My lord, I have broken it, and this bead belongs to the young man." Yuanhang turned to Liu Zhizhou Shili and said.

"Nonsense, on what basis do you make a judgment?" The emaciated man shouted in disbelief.

"It's very simple, your hands have been washed in alkaline water, and the strong alkali will remove all the dirt from your hands. This way, you can clearly see the lines on your hands. Anyone in the jewelry business must always use their thumb and forefinger to handle it. In other words, the lines of these two fingers have been rubbed by beads for a long time, and they must be duller than the other fingers. As I saw just now, young people's left and right hands are index, thumb and fingerprints, which are difficult to distinguish. The rest of the fingers are clear. And you, all the fingerprints are clearly visible. I must have never touched jewelry very often, am I wrong? After speaking, Ye Yuanhang also grimaced at the emaciated man.

"Thank you Gongzi for being discerning and avenging the villain." The young man cried with joy and kowtowed to Ye Yuanhang.

"It's nonsense, what fingerprints, lines, unheard of. Adults don't want to listen to this person's nonsense, this bead is really made by the villain's workshop. The emaciated man hurriedly kowtowed to Governor Liu.

"I can only say that you are lonely and unheard. Since you are not convinced, I will use a simple method to convince you. Yuanhang said with a disdain at him.

It seems that modern technology is not yet recognized in the country of Daliang. Ye Yuanhang turned around and picked up the beads, walked up to the two, and took scissors to cut the bead thread. He handed it to the two of them and said, "One of you said that he opened a jewelry workshop, and the other said that he was a guy who worked in a jewelry store, so the most basic bead thread should not be difficult for you, right?" Now put these broken beads on, at once! ”

I saw the young man bow his head, hold the beads in his left hand, and thread it in his right hand, and put it on without the slightest mistake. The emaciated man, on the other hand, lifted the bead very high and put it in front of his eyes, and it took him half a day to put one in. The angry Ye Yuanhang went up and kicked him in the chest.

"You should wear embroidery needles, your eyes are all paired, look at your posture and speed to know that you are fake, and say that you open a jewelry workshop, get out of the way." Yuan Hang Qi cursed.

"Your Excellency, your sins, your Excellency. It's the villain who made a big mistake in a moment's confusion, please ...... the adult That confession is strict. Seeing that the matter had been revealed, the middle-aged man hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy, remembering Ye Yuanhang's words, and said the wrong thing in a hurry.

"Bastard thing, come on, pull it down and hit the twenty boards." Liu Wen slapped the table and shouted angrily.

The innkeeper hurriedly stepped forward and said to Ye Yuanhang: "Thank you Gongzi for restoring my reputation." ”

"Don't thank you, is it true that you invited me to dinner? Hurry up, I haven't eaten breakfast yet. Yuanhang whispered to the shopkeeper.

"Huh? Oh, eat, eat. We'll eat as soon as we get back. The shopkeeper was almost speechless.

After bidding farewell to Governor Liu's mansion, Ye Yuanhang ran away with the shopkeeper, he was really afraid that he would not have this meal to eat, after all, he would not have a meal after eating this meal.

Tang Yuanwai stood up, looked at the back of Ye Yuanhang, twisted his beard, nodded lightly, and said secretly: This son is not shallow.