Zhang Yue led Ji Rumo down the mountain, and walked about two hours to the county seat, Zhang Yue's footsteps have always been very fast, two hours of mountain roads are nothing to her, she carefully observed Ji Rumo, only to see that his breath was stable, and his spirit was still bright. I thought to myself, Rumo looks thin and weak, and I can't imagine that my physique is not bad. Another total, people are guests after all, although they accommodate themselves to go down the mountain, it is not good to pull people around, so he asked,

"Rumo, after entering the county seat, where are you going to take a look?"

Rumo said softly, "Xiao Wu, I'm not familiar with this place, I just want to observe the local customs, where you go, I'll follow." ”

"Okay, you can follow me." Zhang Yue couldn't hear it.

"Good!" Rumo replied,

Zhang Yue thought about it, first go to the broken temple in the south of the city to check the body of the deceased. After thinking about it, the first time I came out with Rumo, I went to see if the corpse would not be good, so I said tentatively, "I went to investigate the case I told you before, I have to go to the broken temple in the south of the city to see the corpse of the woman first, it may be, it will be a little boring... Stuffy, or you wait for me in the teahouse in front. ”

"It's okay!" Rumo said as usual.

Zhang Yue's heart warmed, to be honest, she was really a little scared to go alone, so she had done everything possible to accompany her before, and it was best for Rumo to be willing to accompany her at this time.

Zhang Yue led Rumo to the southern suburbs of the city and found the broken temple, which really contained a black lacquer coffin. Zhang Yue guessed that this coffin should contain the corpse of the old man's eldest granddaughter. So his hands slowly moved the lid of the coffin, and a corpse smell rushed to his face, and the body of the female corpse in the coffin had begun to decompose, Zhang Yue was so smoked that he coughed several times, and Rumo frowned slightly.

When the smell of the corpse dissipated somewhat, Zhang Yue looked at the female corpse, folded his hands, and chanted words in his mouth, "Amitabha, this girl who died unjustly, I have no intention of offending, mainly to help you settle your grievances, I am a good person, I also helped your grandfather and your sister before, and now I want to help you, so you have to move your body, you can't come to me at night." The good-looking Ji Gongzi next to me is also a good person, and I can't go down the mountain to help you without him, so you can't go to Ji Gongzi at night....." Zhang Yue crackled and said a lot. Rumo was beside her, her eyelashes moved slightly, and she looked at her with a smile.

After Zhang Yue finished speaking, he began to examine the corpse, and he had heard the old man say that he had experienced the corpse, and he said that he had been strangled to death. She lifted the woman's jaw slightly, and sure enough, she found a pinched purple finger mark on her neck. Then she looked at other parts of the woman's body, she unbuttoned the woman's clothes and pants, and found that there were still many wounds on the woman's chest, back, inner thighs and other places, some of which looked like whips, and some of which looked like fire burns. There are also bruises on the hands and feet. Zhang Yue's eyebrows furrowed.

After checking it all, Zhang Yue put the female corpse back on, put on her clothes layer by layer, took out a white handkerchief from his arms, and covered his face. Then the coffin lid was closed again. Just walked out of the broken temple with Rumo, put a bucket of well water on the side of a well in front of the temple, and washed his hands, Rumo kept quietly, did not speak, and when Zhang Yue finished washing his hands, he suddenly spoke, "Xiao Wu, you are not from the government, and this woman is not related to you, why should you care about this case?" ”

Zhang Yue said with a smile, "My uncle is the head catcher in the city, and he is very famous in this area, he often tells me about solving cases when he goes home, and after a long time, he understands a little bit of skin, and he also has some interest in investigating cases." ”

"So you went down the mountain to investigate the case, is it out of interest?"

"No, no, huh! Although I am the most unsuccessful of all the apprentices of the master, I do not have the university knowledge of Senior Brother Lu's teaching, nor do I have the ambition of Senior Brother Dongyang to become an official, but I still want to do something beneficial to the people. So I thought I could do my best to help solve the case, return the innocence of the unjustly killed, and restore the peace of the people in the county. ”

Rumo was silent for a while, and then whispered, "You're actually very good. ”

"Huh? What did you say? Zhang Yue didn't hear clearly.

Ji Rumo smiled and said, "After you checked the corpse, did you find any clues?" ”

"Well, there are some discoveries, as you have just seen, that the woman is covered with whip marks, and there are rope marks on her hands and ankles, indicating that she has been imprisoned and abused for several days. The final cause of death should have been strangulation to death. Presumably, the perpetrator of violence is psychopathic and twisted, very vicious and cruel. I had guessed that the murderer would be a cruel thug like a rogue. However, it was strange to me that although the clothes that this woman was wearing when she died were in tatters, she could still see that they were very fine silk fabrics, and how could the old man who sang and sang be so poor that he could afford to buy such good materials for her granddaughter to make clothes. It should be the clothes that the murderer changed for her, and ordinary rogues should not have such high taste, let alone the financial resources and such taste. ”

"It is the silver silk satin produced in the Jiangning area, it takes a lot of manpower to make, and a hundred weavers can only spin less than ten horses a year, the price is very expensive, and they are basically paid tribute to the royal family and magnates, and the people can't buy it even if they have money." Rumo talked slowly.

Zhang Yue looked abrupt, "Oh, Rumo is not from the capital, and he has a lot of knowledge, so in this way, the range of people who can have such expensive clothes in Zunhua City is small, this is an important clue!" I need to tell my uncle to go. Rumo, will you come with me to the county government again? ”

"Okay." Rumo said softly.

Zhang Yue and Rumo left the broken temple and rushed to the county office, after giving their identities at the door, the county government officer on duty took them to the capture room, and in the capture room, Jin Cheng was telling something with a catcher at this time, and saw Zhang Yue come in with some surprise, and was just about to speak,

"Yue...?" Zhang Yue was afraid that her uncle would reveal her daughter's identity, so she quickly took over the conversation, "The more I miss you, uncle, so my nephew came to see you today." As he spoke, he pouted behind him, and then made a look at Jin Cheng. Jin Cheng saw that there was a strange and handsome man behind her, and immediately understood what she meant. "Ah, Xiao Wu, you are not studying in the academy, why did you come to the county office?"

"Uncle, I came to you today for something! Oh, by the way, this is Ji Rumo Ji Gongzi, a friend of my third senior brother, who has been temporarily living in our academy for the past few days, and the master asked me to entertain him well. He is with me today. Rumo, this is my uncle Jin Cheng, the head catcher of the county government. ”

"Good for the golden head." Rumo bowed slightly.

"Ji Gongzi is polite." Jin Cheng saw that Ji Rumo had an extraordinary appearance and a noble temperament, so he hurriedly returned the gift.

Jin Cheng told the head catcher in front of him again, and let the man leave first. Zhang Yue inadvertently saw that Jin Cheng was opening a case on the book case beside him, and stepped forward to take a closer look, it turned out to be the case file of the girl's disappearance. Hurriedly asked, "Uncle, how is the disappearance of that girl going?" I'm here today to give you important clues? ”

Then Zhang Yue told Jin Cheng about the discovery of the autopsy in the broken temple in the south of the city, she thought that her uncle would be very happy, but Jin Cheng sighed after hearing it and said, "Xiao Wu, don't take care of this case anymore." Today, the county magistrate ordered that the case should be closed, and it was finally determined that it was committed by a rogue criminal. ”

"What?" Zhang Yue was taken aback, "Uncle, this can't be said!" What does the county magistrate think? First, the case was not closed and the case was buried, but now the case is closed in confusion! Rumo frowned slightly beside him.

The uncle scolded in a panic, "You be quiet, full of nonsense, you dare to scold the county master, you don't want to die!" ”

"But, uncle......"

"Okay, don't say it, Xiao Wu, I'll say it again, you don't care about this matter anymore, this matter is not as simple as you think. Hurry up and take your friend back to the academy, I still have an errand here, so I won't accompany you two. After speaking, Jin Cheng arched his hand towards Ji Rumo and hurriedly left the capture room.

"Uncle, uncle..."

Zhang Yue stood there, panting for breath.

Rumo looked at her angry and corrupt appearance, and persuaded, "Xiao Wu, don't be angry, your uncle must have his reasons." Let's leave. ”

Zhang Yue turned his head and glanced at Rumo, picked up the file on the bookcase and put it in his arms, covered his mouth and smiled, "Wait, take this with you." ”

Rumo was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and shook her head helplessly, "Let's go!" ”

After leaving the county office, it was past noon, and Zhang Yue thought that before returning to the academy, he had to go to Zhaojia Village at the foot of the mountain to help the villagers repair wooden cattle. Then he turned to Ji Rumo and said, "Master Ji, before I go back to the academy, I still have to go somewhere, can you bother to come with me again?" ”

Ji Rumo nodded slightly.

Zhang Yue smiled, "Brother Rumo is really easy to talk to." Let's go. ”

So Zhang Yue led Ji Rumo to Zhaojia Village under Wuling Mountain, and as soon as he entered the village, he saw a young voice coming from under the big tree at the entrance of the village, "Brother Zhang is here." Brother Zhang!! ”

Zhang Yue took a look and saw that a seven or eight-year-old boy was squatting under a big tree and playing with mud, and it was actually Zhao's father's youngest son. waved his hand, "Dog, I'll come and repair the wooden cow, you can take me to your father." ”

"My dad is at home, and my sister-in-law is going to give birth. My father, my mother, and my brother are guarding it. I'll take you. As he spoke, he ran over and grabbed Zhang Yue's hand with a pair of dirty little hands stained with mud. Zhang Yue didn't care at all, and let the dog pull him forward. When Ji Rumo saw this scene, the corners of his mouth rose slightly, and then followed.

Zhang Yue was dragged to a house not far from the entrance of the village, and entered the yard, and a bunch of people in the yard, the dog shouted from afar, "Dad!" Mother! Brother Zhang from the academy is here. ”

The people in the courtyard looked at the door one after another, and Father Zhao took a few steps to greet him when he heard the voice.

"Young Master Zhang, you're here!"

"Daddy Zhao, I'm really sorry, the academy has been busy these days, so I just took a break to come over, and your daughter-in-law is giving birth today?"

Father Zhao wiped the sweat on his head, "Yes! My wife and mother are both inside, and they have been giving birth all morning, but they haven't given birth yet. ”

"Oh, oh!"

"Young Master Zhang, since you're here, let's go see the wooden cow."

"Daddy Zhao, your daughter-in-law has a baby, do you want to wait."

"Don't worry, my son just guards here, seeing that the weather is getting warmer and warmer, the work in the field can't be delayed, it's related to the livelihood of the people in the village for a year."

"That's good! You lead the way. ”

Father Zhao turned around and instructed his son a few words, and then hurriedly took Zhang Yue to the farmland.

When I got out of the yard, I found that Zhang Yue also brought a handsome man with him. Busy asked, "Who is this?" ”

"This is Ji Gongzi, my friend. Rumo, this is Zhao Lao, the village chief of Zhaojia Village under our mountain. Zhang Yue hurriedly introduced.

Father Zhao saw that Ji Rumo was extraordinary, and hurriedly said, "Ji Gongzi is good!" ”

Ji Rumo smiled and bowed back to Father Zhao.

There was nothing to say on the road, and soon the three of them arrived in front of a large area of cultivated land, only to see that many villagers were doing farm work on the cultivated land. Someone saw Father Zhao coming with Zhang Yue and shouted, "The village chief is here with Young Master Zhang, and now the wooden cow is saved." ”

Everyone brought Zhang Yue to the wooden cow, and Ji Rumo saw the appearance of the wooden cow, the so-called wooden cow is not the appearance of a cow, it is a box-like object with wheels. Both box-shaped objects were lying in the field at this time.

Zhang Yue went up to touch this, that touch. opened a small wooden door on the side of the box-shaped object, put his hand in, and touched it for a long time, Father Zhao next to him hurriedly said, "Young Master Zhang, according to your instructions, before planting seedlings with wooden oxen, we all twisted the wooden rods in the small wooden door twenty times. Then the oxen began to work in the aisle. But a few days ago, the wooden rod in there suddenly couldn't be twisted. It's killing us. ”

Zhang Yue withdrew his hand and squatted on the ground to ponder, Ji Rumo looked at these two strange objects, and then looked at Zhang Yue's serious appearance, and couldn't bear to interrupt her train of thought. After a while, Zhang Yue put his hand in again and tinkered for a long time, and then there was a creaking sound inside, and then he saw that the box-shaped object with wheels was slowly walking forward, and where he walked, a row of rice seedlings appeared neatly on the ground. A cheer came from the crowd. Zhang Yue then went to another wooden cow, and after a few beats in the same way, the wooden cow also began to operate, and walked forward to start working, and the cheers of the crowd came again.

"Alright, alright, the wooden cow is starting to go again. Young Master Zhang is amazing! Thank you, Master Zhang. ”

"No thanks! You're welcome! Zhang Yue wiped the sweat on his forehead with his hand and smiled happily.

Ji Rumo looked at the wooden cow planting rice in the field in amazement, and then looked at Zhang Yue happily, his eyes full of questions and amazement.

At this time, the dog ran over from a distance, "Daddy——, sister-in-law gave birth, sister-in-law gave birth, gave birth to a big fat boy." ”

"What! I have grandchildren! Ha ha!! ”

The surrounding villagers congratulated Father Zhao one after another, and Zhang Yue also echoed.

Father Zhao seemed to think of something, and said to Zhang Yue, "Young Master Zhang, you are a talented scholar, and you don't know a few big characters, so you can name my grandson." ”

Zhang Yue hurriedly excused himself, "No, no, I can't." ”

The surrounding villagers also echoed and asked Zhang Yue to name him, Ji Rumo looked at Zhang Yue with a smile, and also said, "Little Wu, Daddy Zhao is sincere, you can name this child." ”

Zhang Yue looked at Ji Rumo and said a little shyly, "Okay then... Uh-huh, let's call it a good harvest. I hope that the crops in our village will be a good harvest year every year! Daddy Zhao, can you see it? ”

Daddy Zhao grinned, "Ahahaha! Zhao Fengshou. Ok, good, good! Today is really a double happiness, the wooden cow has been repaired, I have added a grandson, I Zhao Laohan want to invite everyone to drink wine today. Young Master Zhang, you are the great benefactor of our village, you must stay today to drink the happy wine. ”

Zhang Yue saw that it was not early, and hurriedly said, "I won't stay today, Daddy Zhao, my friend and I have to rush back to the academy." Let's do it another day. ”

Father Zhao kept him several times, and saw that Zhang Yue insisted on leaving. had to let them leave, and before leaving, Daddy Zhao wrapped a large piece of braised meat for Zhang Yue and stuffed it into his hands.

Zhang Yue looked at the sky and thought, I am afraid that I have to rush back to the academy at night today, and the mountain road is difficult to walk at night, she doesn't care, it's just like ink...

She said to Rumo a little apologetically, "Rumo, it's getting late, because my business has delayed the time to go back to the academy, and we are afraid that we will have to go up the mountain to the academy at night." The night road is not easy to walk, you are a distant guest, I...."

"It doesn't matter, you can just enjoy the night view of the mountains." Rumo replied softly.

"Okay then." Zhang Yue knew that Ji Rumo comforted him at this time, when it was dark at night and not in the middle of winter, how could there be a night view to enjoy. But he also had to rush back to the academy. came out in a hurry today, Zhang Yue didn't bring the lighting for the night road, so she asked Father Zhao for 2 guiding lanterns and fire folds. He and Rumo left the village and walked back to the academy along the uphill road.

The sun in the west was sinking a little bit against the side of the mountain, and when it was all hidden at the end of the mountain, the mountain road was no longer visible, Zhang Yue lit the fire fold and lit the two guiding lanterns, and handed one to Rumo. Rumo took the lantern and the two walked side by side on the mountain path. At night, Wuling Mountain was quiet, and only a few distant animal calls could be heard occasionally. Zhang Yue had also walked at night a few times before, but Xiaotong accompanied her. Xiaotong was not here today, Rumo was very quiet, Zhang Yue felt bored for a while, so he started talking, "Rumo, did you come to the academy to ask for words for your father?" In the empty mountains, her crisp voice seemed a little ethereal.

"Uh-huh".

"You went up the mountain so far to ask for a word for him, your father must have loved you very much, right?"

"Yes, maybe."

"Huh?! Why? ”

"He chose me to be the heir to the family. But he doesn't talk to me except for checking his schoolwork, and he prefers to be close to his other younger brothers. Rumo's voice was a little bitter.

"He must still love you very much, otherwise why would he choose you as the heir?" Zhang Yue hurriedly comforted.

"Maybe it's because I'm his first son."

"Your father is so partial to your brother, won't your mother fight for you?"