Li You arranged the sleeves of the shroud, bowed deeply to his mother's body, carefully unbuttoned the collar of the shroud, checked the situation on the neck, and couldn't help but sigh deeply.

There was no strangulation mark on the mother's neck, but it was indeed suffocated to death, so it seems that the murderer of the mother can only be Chun Tao. "Hey!" A sense of sadness swelled up in Li You's heart.

Why? Why!

Li You was puzzled, and the sadness in his heart gradually turned into anger. So, he arranged his mother's shroud, covered it with a white cloth, and strode out of the main hall. He must immediately ask Chun Tao why he killed his mother.

Li You came to the courtyard in three steps and two steps, and was about to walk to the wing room where Chunmei lived, but saw a person leaning on the edge of the stone in the middle of the courtyard. After Li You looked at it carefully, he couldn't help but shake his head, this person turned out to be Wang Miao.

Li You came to Wang Miao's side. At this time, Wang Miao hugged her shoulders, curled up in a ball, and slept soundly. Li You hesitated again and again, but finally stroked Wang Miao's head. "Wang Miao, why are you sleeping here?"

When Wang Miao heard Li You's voice, he felt a shock all over his body, and then hurriedly stood up. "Uh, Childe." Wang Miao lowered his head, not daring to look at Li You.

"What's wrong?" Li You frowned. Now that his mother has passed away and Chun Tao has become a suspect, Li You sincerely hopes that Wang Miao will not have any more problems.

"I, I see that you have been staying in the mourning hall, and you don't let me accompany you, I'm afraid that after you know the cause of the old lady's death, you will make it, make it..." Wang Miao said this, not daring to say any more, but Li You had already understood what he meant, and finally had a trace of warmth in his heart. Thinking about it, when they first met, Wang Miao refused to speak out, and he had the same concerns.

Fortunately, this experience still retains a little warmth for himself after all.

"Miao'er, come with me, I have something important, I have to ask Chun Tao in person." After Li You finished speaking, he strode towards Chun Tao's wing, Wang Miao looked happy and followed closely behind him. A moment later, Li You came to Chun Tao's door.

Bang!

Squeak!

Li You slapped the door hard, but the door was slammed open. Li You suddenly felt bad in his heart, pushed all the doors open, and looked inside through the lantern in the corridor.

In the spring peach room, there is no one!

Not good!

Could it be that this spring peach has absconded in fear of sin?

………

Li You left the mansion with Wang Miao and went straight to the county office.

Bang!

Li You sat in front of the bookcase and knocked on the shocking wood vigorously. A moment later, the officer on duty ran out in a panic.

"Your Excellency!" The messenger hurriedly saluted Li You.

"Immediately order the chief bookkeeper Yang Ming and the head catcher Liu Zhong, let them hurry to the front of the hall, and the official will issue a reward notice!" Li You's eyes widened, and his face was full of anger.

"Yes!" The officer on duty knew that something was wrong, and immediately ran out of the lobby quickly.

Three or five minutes later, Yang Ming, the chief bookkeeper, appeared in the lobby.

"Your Excellency!" Yang Ming had beads of sweat on his face, and his breath was a little short, obviously trotting all the way over. Yang Ming is of medium height, slightly fat, originally from Xiucai, but failed to win the imperial examination many times, so he made the main book under Li You, hoping to survive a background.

"Master Yang, this official wants to issue a reward notice immediately, please come immediately." Li You didn't allow Yang Ming to breathe, and immediately gave an order.

In the middle of the night, he was taken to the county office, and Yang Ming naturally understood the seriousness of the situation, and immediately sat down in front of his bookcase. "My lord, I don't know who you want?"

"Spring Peach!" Li You squinted at Yang Ming and said through gritted teeth. Yang Ming was stunned for a moment when he heard Chun Tao's name, then rolled his eyes, and immediately understood what Li You was referring to, so he reached out and picked up the brush.

Ten minutes later, Yang Ming handed the painted portrait to Li You. After Li You saw it, he nodded with satisfaction.

"My lord, how much is the bounty?"

"Wuguan!"

"Wuguan!" (5,000 copper coins!) Yang Ming showed a surprised expression, but seeing Li You's resolute face, he didn't say anything more and sat back in his seat.

After another five minutes, the officer on duty returned to the yamen.

"Your Excellency." The messenger saluted Li You with a fist.

"What? Where is Liu Zhong? Li You frowned and looked at the errand officer coldly.

"Report to your lord, Liu Tou is not at home." The officer replied hurriedly.

"Not at home?" Li You looked dissatisfied. "Have you asked his family?"

"Report to the lord, the villain asked his two sons, and they all said that they said that they went to the adult's house to help during the day today, and they never went back."

Haven't been back? Li You frowned, carefully thinking about the experience of the day, and it seemed that he had not seen the impression of Liu Zhong. Suddenly, Li You's eyes lit up. "Liu Zhong now, do you still have a wife?"

Hearing this, Yang Ming couldn't help but stop his pen and looked at Li You in surprise.

"Two years ago, Liu Tou's wife died of illness." The messenger didn't know what Li You's intentions were, and after a little thought, he answered truthfully.

"Is there a concubine?" Although he knew the result, for the sake of prudence, Li You still asked.

"Nope." The officer hurriedly replied.

"Hmm." Li You nodded. "You go to Liu Zhong's house and wait, and when Liu Zhong comes back, let him come to my mansion to talk back."

"The little one understands." The officer turned and left.

Li You sat in his seat and thought carefully. Chun Tao is nearly forty years old, but he has not been married so far, Liu Zhong is over forty years old, and his wife is newly mourned, no wonder when he first arrived in Shengtang County, Liu Zhong came to the house to help when he was fine. And Chun Tao is her mother's personal maid, except for going out to buy vegetables, she hardly has contact with outsiders, but now she dares to abscond away from home, and she must have received help from others. At the same time, coupled with the fact that he came back, Liu Zhong did not take the initiative to come to visit, and he still did not return home in the middle of the night, Li You had seven or eight points of affirmation in his heart. "Master Yang, please revise the prepared notice slightly."

"What do you command?" Yang Ming immediately stood up.

"After the amount, add life and death." Li You looked at Yang Ming meaningfully. Yang Ming showed surprise again, but seeing that Li You had no intention of discussing with him, he didn't dare to say more.

"Subordinates obey!" Yang Ming handed a prepared notice to Li You's desk. "My lord, do you want to make a few more copies?"

"Not anymore." After Li You finished speaking, he stood up. "Master Yang, I really don't want to invite you to the county government at this time."

"Your Excellency, this is the duty of your subordinates."

"Wang Miao, go home." Li You picked up the notice and left the yamen.

Yang Ming kept staring at Li You's back, his face cloudy.

Li You returned home, immediately returned to Chun Tao's room, and after looking around, he finally found a pair of half-contained soles under Chun Tao's bed. Li You compared it with his own feet, and it was half a finger bigger than his own feet.

Now there is no other possibility, but I don't know if this Liu Zhong is an accomplice. Considering that Liu Zhong and his family are all in the county, Li You is still inclined to his own preliminary judgment. Liu Zhong should just be assisting Chun Tao to abscond.

Ay! Li You sighed again.

………

Early the next morning, Li You continued to be busy in the mansion, although he had been worried, but after repeated deliberation, he still insisted on his judgment. Around noon, Liu Zhong finally came to Li You.

When Li You saw Liu Zhong, his hanging heart finally fell to the ground. He led Liu Zhong directly to the study, sat down in the upper hand position, picked up a cup of tea, and looked at Liu Zhong coldly while hanging the tea leaves with the lid.

Although Liu Zhong is five big and three coarse, he is like a child who has done something wrong at this time, standing in front of Li You with his hands down, and he doesn't dare to take a breath.

"Liu Zhong, where did you go last night?" Three or five minutes later, Li You asked.

"Villain, villain..."Liu Zhong was originally an honest man, and he must have thought of his words before coming, but under Li You's authority, he still panicked. The villain ate too much wine and accidentally slept on the side of the road. ”

"Oh, which side of the road did you sleep on?" Li You grimaced and continued to ask. Liu Zhongzhong is not good at lying.

"The villain drank too much, I really can't remember." Liu Zhong hurriedly replied.

"Can't remember? Where was that, and the wine? ”

"Uh... In, in..."

"Liu Zhong, you are so bold!" Li You took the case.

"The villain is guilty! The villain is guilty! Liu Zhong was so frightened that he immediately fell to his knees.

"Guilty? What sin do you know? Li You suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uh... Villain, villain..."Liu Zhong hesitated, not knowing how to answer.

"Liu Zhong, get up." Li You motioned for Liu Zhong to stand up. Liu Zhong raised his head, hesitated for a while, and finally stood up.

"This official is looking for you not for anything else, but because of the murder of my mother." Li You said as he carefully observed Liu Zhong's reaction. After Liu Zhong heard this, he did not panic or be frightened, Li You once again affirmed his judgment, and felt a little better. After getting along for more than two years, I still have some trust in Liu Zhong and Li You.

Li You paused for a moment and then continued. "This official suspects that the murderer is Chun Tao!" Hearing this, Liu Zhong's body shook violently, but immediately returned to normal.

"So, the official plans to send a bounty notice, what do you think?" After Li You finished speaking, he picked up the reward notice and showed it to Liu Zhong. Liu Zhong didn't react much at first, but when he saw the end, he couldn't help but face like a blank piece of paper, and sweat immediately flowed.

"My lord, this, this life and death aside, isn't it..."Liu Zhong's lips couldn't help but tremble.

"Murder the master's mother, according to the law!" Li You's voice was violent, and Liu Zhong immediately knelt on the ground, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

"My lord, you spare her, you spare her, she didn't mean it, she didn't mean it, she didn't mean it, woo..." It seems that this Liu Zhong has true feelings for Chun Tao.

"Didn't mean to? How do you know? Li You continued to question Liu Zhong.

"Yes, she told me." Liu Zhong hurriedly replied.

"Liu Zhong, where is Chun Tao? The official wants to ask him face to face! When Li You heard this, there was a trace of expectation in his heart. If it is a mistake, then the mother is under the nine springs, which can be regarded as some comfort.

………

Li You took Wang Miao and Liu Zhong out of the mansion, turned left and left and walked right for about half an hour, and finally came to a small courtyard.

Liu Zhong motioned for Li You and the two to wait, then came to the door and slapped them five times in a row. A moment later, footsteps could be heard in the courtyard.

Squeak! The door is left and right, and Chun Tao is dressed in coarse cloth clothes and appears in front of the door.

"Chun Tao, don't hide, my lord, I know it." After Liu Zhong said this, tears immediately flowed. Li You walked straight to Chun Tao, and when Chun Tao saw Li You, he immediately knelt on the ground. "My lord, it's all Chun Tao's fault, woo..."

"Aunt Tao, now is not the time to cry, I need you to tell me everything that night in detail."

"Yes, yes, woo..." Chun Tao heard this, trying to control her emotions, and stopped for a while.

The group walked into the house, Li You sat in the upper position, and Liu Zhong and the others sat on the left and right.

"Aunt Tao, say it quickly." Li You looked at Chun Tao eagerly.

"Hey, it's all my fault." Chun Tao sighed deeply. "That night, the old lady had been troubled, so I fed her medicine and caressed her for a while before finally falling asleep. Who knew that in the second half of the night, the old lady's heart began to hurt again, I went to get the medicine, but the medicine had been eaten, so I kept helping the old lady caress it, but the old lady's pain became worse and worse. Ay! Speaking of this, Chun Tao sighed again, Li You knew that it was the most critical moment.

"I suddenly remembered that Liu Niang had given me a pack of medicine, saying that it was a home remedy for treating heartache and mouth, and that the medicine would cure the disease. At that time, I really had no choice, so I took out the medicine and rushed it to the old lady to drink. After the old lady drank it, she immediately calmed down. Who knows..."Chun Tao said this, tears streaming down again. The old lady suddenly straightened up, covered her neck with her hands, and kept struggling, I was so frightened that my brain was blank, and I could only watch, watch, and whine......" Speaking of this, Chun Tao cried loudly again.

Sure enough. Li You sighed secretly. Li Tian has had a strange problem since he was a child, as long as he eats red dates, his throat will swell and he will have difficulty breathing. The medicine fed by Chun Tao last night must contain a large amount of jujube powder. If it is indeed as Chun Tao said, then she really did not do it on purpose, but this does not mean that she can be exempt from punishment under the criminal law, unless-

Thinking of this, Li You raised his eyes to look at Chun Tao. "Aunt Tao, don't cry, crying won't help. Let me ask you, who is Liu Niang? ”

"Liu Niang?" Chun Tao heard Li You's question, and barely stopped crying.

"She, huh!" When Liu Zhong heard Liu Niang's name, he immediately showed a disdainful expression.

"Liu Tou, do you know Liu Niang too?" Li You looked at Liu Zhong suspiciously.

"I don't know, but no one has heard of her." Liu Zhong still had a disdainful expression. "She was originally a Qinglou woman, and she was later ransomed by his man, but I don't know how, within a few days, his man died, and then, she, she..." Liu Zhong didn't say any further, but Li You had already understood. Water-based poplar is difficult to move by nature.

"Aunt Tao, how did you know her?"

"About a year ago, I don't know when I started, every time I went to buy vegetables, I could always meet her at the market, and I knew her when I came and went." Chun Tao frowned, trying to recall more details. "Later, she often went grocery shopping with me, chatting with me without a match, I was a newcomer, and I didn't know anyone else, and slowly, I became familiar with her."

After listening to Chun Tao's statement, Li You immediately noticed that something was wrong. There are so many coincidences in the world, there must be some conspiracy behind them. "Did you tell her about my mother's hidden illness?"

"I don't remember this very well." Chun Tao frowned again. "I told her about the distressing problem, but about the old lady's hidden illness, the old man has explained, and I have always been more careful."

"Think about it again!" Li You asked further.

"Oh, I remember." Chun Tao showed a sudden expression. "Last winter, there were a lot of red dates on the market, and she wanted to buy some for me, because you didn't allow us to take the people's things, so I shirked it in every possible way, and in desperation, I told the old lady about her hidden illness."

"Aunt Tao, when did Liu Niang give you that medicine? At this time, Li You has already understood the ins and outs, and the key is to distinguish the subjectivity of this Liu Niang. Whether it was intentional or negligent.

Not long after the jujube incident, she sent the medicine over. ＂

What a wicked woman! Li You's eyes widened, and he was furious. Deliberately and painstakingly, she was bent on putting her mother to death, what was her intention! I, Li You, will definitely let you tell the truth!

Li You gritted his teeth and gurgled. "Liu Zhong, immediately bring all your subordinates to arrest Liu Niang, and the official will personally torture him!"

"The villain takes the order!" Although Liu Zhong hadn't understood yet, he heard Li You's order and immediately ran out.

Li You instructed Wang Miao to send Chun Tao back to the mansion and went straight to the county government by himself.

Sitting in front of the bookcase, Li You looked cold, his brows were furrowed, his fists were clenched, and he looked like he wanted to eat people. All the subordinates in the hall stood solemnly, and no one dared to pant loudly.

Half an hour later, Liu Zhong hurriedly ran into the yamen, his face full of panic.

"Oh no, my lord! Oh no! ”

"What's wrong?" When Li You heard this, he chuckled in his heart.

"Liu Niang, dead!"