The newly appointed magistrate used the money embezzled by his predecessor to buy grain in a nearby county, but some unscrupulous merchants raised the price indefinitely, and the stolen money was just a drop in the bucket.

"But if we don't buy high-priced food, the people won't have food, and even though the law is here, we have to coerce us to buy high-priced rice, otherwise the victims won't have anything to eat."

The newly appointed magistrate said that perhaps he was worried about the disaster, so he also looked very haggard.

"When the disaster is over, we will have to start repairing the dam, but it will take some time. The third prince and the little princess came in the dust, and first went to the mansion with me to live, and when the grain and grass arrived, I sent someone to inform a few people. ”

The mansion looked empty, but there were some valuable items there, and there were some signs of something that was clearly missing.

"Because the silver taels for the purchase of grain and grass in the back were not enough, we sold some valuable things in the original county mansion, and some things that were inconvenient to carry could only be kept, after all, we no longer have other people to manage these things." The magistrate explained, speaking calmly without a little flattery.

Feng Nansang nodded, asked some more about the disaster, and went back to the room with the others to rest.

The grain and grass soon arrived, Feng Nanqi followed Lu Wanwan to give porridge every day, and the people who had planned to leave also stayed, the porridge was not thick, but Feng Nanqi would add some brown sugar to each bowl to increase satiety.

After having new grain and grass, there was an endless stream of figures coming in and out of the kitchen of the county mansion, and it would not take long to replace a cage of steamed buns and a large pot of new rice porridge.

The remaining young and strong people in the county were called in to repair the dam, and those who participated received a bag of food.

After half a month of hard work, everyone finally brought the disaster area back to life, and everyone showed a proud look on their faces, only Feng Nanqi still looked depressed.

Because after so long, there has been no news of Hua Qianchu.

"Don't worry, you should be able to find out his whereabouts by asking around again." Lu Wanwan sat on the side and comforted her,

She had heard Feng Nansang talk about this incident, so she guessed that it must have been this incident that made Feng Nanqi feel sad.

"Hmm." Feng Nanqi is a little listless now, "Sister Wanwan, I always feel that we missed a very important thing, but I just don't know what that thing is." ”

"I can't tell, but I feel the same way as you." Lu Wanwan also frowned when she talked about this.

I don't know if it's because of the girl's natural sixth sense or if it's more careful, in short, the two fell into a strange depression.

"We're here because of the floods, and here the floods are because the dam burst, and the dam burst because of corruption in the previous county. On the other hand, there are bandits who are making trouble, and they also take advantage of this disaster to make trouble, and General Lu will deal with those guys. ”

Feng Nanqi began to scribble on paper again, which was her habit when she was sorting out her thoughts.

"The magistrate is now replaced by the new one, and the original magistrate is now...? Where is the original Zhixian? ”

She paused, as if they had never paid attention to the issue.

"According to the law, officials who embezzle and accept bribes are all dealt with by the officials at the next higher level, so the magistrate should be detained in a dungeon and escorted to Zhongshuling for trial and conviction after the disaster." Lu Wanwan, who is familiar with the law, solved her doubts.

"I think the money from repairing the dam and looting the people's fat and cream over the years should be enough for them to last for three months. It only took a month and a half for the outbreak of the disaster to arrive from here, and it took us nearly half a month to get here from the way, so it was not necessary to sell the things in the house to buy rice and grain in these two months. ”

That's right, this is it. They have forgotten this, the most inconspicuous but the most crucial point.

To prove that all this is not a coincidence, the convenient way is to ask the magistrate. The two of them set off to go to the soup kitchen, but the soup cooker told them that Feng Nansang and Zhixian had gone to check on the progress of the dam construction.

"The dam is some distance from here, let's go to the yamen's cell to see the former magistrate." Lu Wanwan said to Feng Nanqi, and asked the master who was still at the soup kitchen and let him lead the way.

The dungeon's environment was dark and damp, and there was a smell of moldy rot everywhere. In fact, Feng Nanqi has always had a question, so how can the person in prison be relieved?

"Sister Wanwan." She tugged at Lu Wanwan's sleeve.

Lu Wanwan looked back at her and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"Are you afraid of rats?" She took a mouthful of saliva, and her voice trembled a little.

Lu Wanwan smiled and said, "What's there to be afraid of such a thing as a mouse?" When you see people, you run. ”

"That, that, that's what you've got in front of you, there's... There's a mouse, a big one. Feng Nanqi stammered a little, and Lu Wanwan looked curiously in the direction of her finger.

A rat the length of a man's arm's length was hiding in a corner and watching them with his eyes open.

If it weren't for the dim light in the cell, they would have seen the rat long ago.

It was probably the first time to see such a fat mouse, and the two little girls were frightened in place.

The rat stared at them for a moment, then turned his head and continued to eat the leftovers from the cell. But he hid in the corner around the corner, and several people did not dare to approach.

At this time, the jailer rushed over: "Sorry, sorry, I forgot to say, there is an old friend here who has been here for a long time." Well, you guys come with me, just don't disturb him. ”

Hearing this, the three people, including the master, were shocked.

Feng Nanqi looked at him in disbelief: "How long have you been raising this?" ”

The jailer scratched his head: "It's been almost two years, two years ago it was still a very small one, only the length of a finger, and then I know how it is getting bigger and bigger." Later, I found out that some prisoners didn't want to eat, and then they would talk to him and feed him some food. You know, the food in this prison is sometimes really hard to swallow hahaha! ”

The big black rat heard the jailer's voice, turned its head to look at them again, and went on to eat its food coldly.

When the jailer saw that they didn't dare to walk over, he looked at the big black mouse and said hello: "Big black, let's eat in a different place!" There are a few nobles who want to pass through here. ”

Then this is the big black mouse after hearing the voice, and looked at them inscrutablely. Then he ran away with the plate in his mouth! Note? It's a whole plate! And it's full of all kinds of meals.

After passing by them, he specially glanced at Lu Wanwan, his eyes full of provocation.

"Didn't you say that after the founding of the People's Republic of China, animals were not allowed to become spermatozoa?" Feng Nanqi sighed, "No, have I been single for a long time? No matter how you look at it, the black teacher feels a little clear-eyed. ”

"Qiqi helped me a little, and I suddenly felt a little dizzy." Lu Wanwan held her forehead, a little out of strength.

That's right, this big black mouse has successfully refreshed her worldview.

"Alright, there's nothing left for the rest of the matter, let the little one lead the way." The jailer smiled apologetically.

Feng Nanqi glanced at him meaningfully, this jailer was a little silly.

"Sister Wanwan, seriously, I kind of want to raise that big black mouse." She said something that made Lu Wanwan's worldview completely collapse.

"Then how dirty is the rat, you don't know what disease it has, what if it gets the plague?"

Lu Wanwan made up her mind to dispel this idea, and then a sharp "squeak" came from behind him.

"Hahaha." Feng Nanqi smiled and hiccuped, "This big black mouse is really smart, I like it more and more." ”

Lu Wanwan couldn't help but shiver, and dragged Feng Nanqi away.

After passing the corner where the rat was just now, a little further inside came to the place where the former magistrate was being held.

Lao Li's man had stubble all over his chin, his prison clothes were dirty, and his eyes were sloppy and he looked very listless.

Living in front of the cell, he saw a group of people stop in front of him, and there seemed to be some light in their eyes.

He grabbed the door of the prison with some nervousness, the chains in his hands clanged, and the wooden prison door was also bitten by it.

"How did such a fragile cell door keep the prisoners closed?" Feng Nanqi couldn't help but complain.

"Who are you?" The voice of the former magistrate was hoarse, probably because he had been in the cell for a long time, and he also had a strong sour smell on his body.

"You are the former magistrate Zhang Feng?" Lu Wanwan asked.

"Yes, I am, I am wronged, I am not corrupt!" His voice was hoarse and urgent, especially to clarify himself.

Feng Nanqi and Lu Wanwan glanced at each other, and then asked the jailer and master to retreat.

"You say you're not corrupt? How do you explain the stolen money? Lu Wanwan's voice was solemn.

"Every year, I use the money I allocate from the imperial court to build dams, and this year is no exception.

But this year, I don't know why the dam suddenly burst and flooded, killing most of the people in the county, so I asked people to investigate the cause after the flood was cleared.

However, before the investigators returned, I was suddenly told by Zhu Qi that I had taken bribes and caused the embankment to burst, and a large amount of official silver was found in the room. ”

Lu Wanwan and Feng Nanqi were speechless in surprise when they heard these explanations, and Zhu Qi in his mouth was referring to the current magistrate: "What you said is true?" ”

The villain didn't dare to deceive the two nobles, and what he said was true. Please redress the grievances of the two of you for the little one, and return the innocence of the villain! Tears flowed from Zhang Feng's eyes, these two people were his last hope.

Feng Nanqi still felt a little suspicious, "What do you use to make me believe you?" ”

After Zhang Feng heard this, his whole person suddenly became decadent.

yes, what proof does he have to believe him?

Suddenly, like crazy, he took out a letter from a corner and stuffed it into Lu Wanwan's hand through the crack in the door of the wooden prison.

"Before, someone came to kill me, and two men dressed in white saved me and left this thing behind. They said... He said that if he handed it over to the disaster relief people who came from Arashi Castle later, he would be able to live. Zhang Feng's eyes rolled uneasily, as if he was recalling something terrible.

Lu Wanwan opened the envelope, and there was nothing on it, only a flower with a gilt seal.

"It's the mark of the snow tud." Lu Wanwan said that she put the envelope away and asked some more questions, "What are the characteristics of those two people?" ”

Zhang Feng is trying to recall: "They were dressed in white clothes, and they wore white masks on their faces, and a flower was engraved on the mask, which was exactly the same as the flower on the envelope.

Judging from the physical shape, like a man and a woman, the martial arts are very high. ”

"Anything else?" Lu Wanwan frowned, these characteristics that Zhang Feng said were exactly the same as the appearance of Xuedi's people circulating in the rivers and lakes, but why did Xuedi's people meddle in this matter?

"Didn't you see them?" She pressed again, but apparently couldn't ask anything more.

"Both of them had masks on their faces and couldn't see anything but their eyes."

Feng Nanqi had been staring at Zhang Feng's eyes, and Lu Wanwan asked her opinion.

"I don't know what Snowy's purpose is, but I'm sure he's not lying." She came to a conclusion, and her tone was unmistakable.

"I have one last question." Feng Nanqi said, "How long has it been since you bought that fake stone mountain in the backyard of your mansion?" ”

Lu Wanwan frowned after hearing this, but Zhang Feng looked overly excited.

"Fake Rock Mountain? What fake rock mountain? I've never bought anything like that! ”

"You're lying, judging by the moss at the bottom of that fake rock mountain, you've been buying it for a long time." Feng Nanqi's tone was unwavering, but Zhang Feng was obviously hysterical.

"Nope! No way! I haven't bought it! I didn't! His eyes widened, probably because he had been frightened in the past few days, and he was extremely sensitive to what Feng Nanqi said.

Feng Nanqi tugged at Lu Wanwan's sleeve and planned to leave: "Sister Wanwan, let's go." ”

"Don't go, you'll save me, right? Every day, every day, someone wants to kill me, I don't dare to sleep or eat. I didn't dare to eat it until the rat was fine the next day. He clutched the cell door with both hands, his eyes full of horror when he saw Feng Nanqi and the others planning to leave.

"Please, don't leave me, save me! Help me! I am wronged, wronged! ”

Until they were far away, they could still hear his voice crying out for grievances.

"What's next?" Feng Nanqi asked Lu Wanwan, who was frowning.

She thought about it and decided to discuss it with Feng Nan-san first, no matter what, and then investigate secretly.

"By the way, why are you asking about the rockery?" Lu Wanwan was still very curious, she remembered that there was indeed a huge rockery in the mansion, but she didn't care about it at the time.

"Because I found that the soil at the bottom of the rockery was obviously inconsistent with the soil of the mansion.

Although the color is very similar, if you look closely, you will find that there is black soil underground, and I have looked at every part of the courtyard of the mansion, and I have not found any traces of black soil.

But the moss at the bottom of the rocks proves that these stones have been in the yard for a long time, so I need to check with this magistrate.

The rockery was moved from somewhere else. ”

Feng Nanqi explained, "When we entered the mansion, many things were emptied, and those things were not very valuable antique treasures.

Someone deliberately put those things that looked more valuable in the mansion, and they were confused. ”

After listening to this, Lu Wanwan sighed that she was indeed not as careful as this little girl: "How did you notice this?" ”

"Because of the cabinet." She grinned at Lu Wanwan, "There is a big cabinet in the study, and that cabinet is used to put some precious things.

How could a person who has the money to afford such a valuable rockery not have the money to change to a slightly more high-end cabinet?

There are also some pieces of furniture or something, and there will inevitably be some traces after a long time, and the things we see when we go in are not the ones that have been placed there for a long time.

Although it has been deliberately cleaned, the traces at the bottom cannot be completely removed.

Here's why. As soon as I entered the mansion, I felt that it was very unnatural. ”