When Chun Yuji and Hua rushed to the north of the county seat, they bought a few cooking cakes to satisfy their hunger, and searched the streets for Ma Gui. The two went to several places they had been to before, and they went around for more than an hour, but they didn't find any trace of Ma Gui.

Qihua was a little depressed, sat on a stone pier, and muttered: "This horse is expensive, where did he die." "Look around casually.

She jumped up suddenly, tugged at the sleeve of her coat, and flashed behind the tree.

Chun Yu was almost unclear and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Qi Hua pointed to the front and said softly: "Ma Gui." Chun Yuji looked carefully, it was Ma Gui, sitting by the window of a restaurant and eating and drinking leisurely.

Chun Yu was inexplicably nervous and said, "What should I do?" ”

Qihua thought about it, but didn't know what to do, just looked at him helplessly.

Chun Yu hesitated for a while, and then said, "We stopped him in the past, and there was no way to get him to tell the truth." It's better to report to the government, I've seen Zhou Budo, I'll go find him. Qihua didn't have an idea, so he nodded.

Chun Yu glanced at it, Ma Gui was still eating and drinking there, and told Qihua: "I'll go to the county government to report the case, you are staring at Ma Gui, be careful." ”

Qi Hua responded: "Okay, you go and come back quickly, I'll be watching here." If he walks away, I'll follow, making arrow markers along the way, and you can find them by looking for them. ”

Chun Yuji hurried to the county office, and was about to call the official to report, when he accidentally saw a few horses tied to the door, which seemed to have just run for a while, and his body was still exuding heat, and there was a strong man in military uniform sitting on the stone pier on the side.

He felt that the strong man was a little familiar, so he lowered his head and walked back, turned into an alley, leaned against the wall and pondered for a while, and suddenly realized that the man had seen him in Shuofang Mansion and was Fan Mingyou's confidant and entourage.

"Could it be that Fan Mingyou chased here?" He was horrified in his heart, and he also wanted to understand this matter, so he turned around and ran towards the backyard of the county government.

There is a small door in the backyard of the county government, which is ajar and unattended. Chun Yu went in next to each other.

The courtyard is lush with grass and trees, and people walk through the cloister from time to time. He bent down against the bushes and crept to the inner court.

Before he arrived at the door of the inner court, he heard Zhou Budo say: "What Huo Fu ordered, this county must do it." A hoarse voice said: "That Chun Yu is a key criminal of the imperial court, we chased him here from Shuofang, and we can't let him get away." ”

Chun Yu felt that the hoarse voice was familiar, and after thinking about it for a while, he remembered that the person was Fan Mingyou's subordinate Forbidden Army Captain Zeng Yijian. He hurriedly jumped a few steps, hid in the corner of the inner courtyard, and quietly peeked through the back window, and it was indeed Zhou Budo and Zeng Yiji sitting opposite each other in the room.

Zhou Budo said: "General Zeng, don't worry, I have seen that Chun Yuji in the Qin family manor, but I didn't know that he was a criminal of the imperial court, otherwise he would have been arrested a long time ago." You are tired from your journey today, and it looks like it is going to rain, so rest first. Early tomorrow morning, we will go to the Qin family manor to arrest Chun Yuji. ”

"Will he run away?" Zeng Yijian said with some concern.

"Don't worry, he won't be able to run. The owner of the Qin family manor died suddenly a few days ago, and there are many strange things, and I have ordered that no one in the manor is allowed to leave. Besides, the daughter of the owner of Qin Zhuang was suspected of murder and was imprisoned in the county jail by me, and Chun Yuji always wanted to save her, saying that when I tried the case, he would come over to defend her. Zhou Budo laughed after speaking.

Zeng Yijian was also curious and asked about the murder of Qin Zhai.

Zhou Budo said it back and forth about this matter, and said quite smugly: "Although Qin Ruoyun still refuses to confess, the facts are already clear. She murdered her father with witch cups, and her conscience was extinguished, and then she did not repent and strangled her father again, intending to monopolize the family wealth. ”

Zeng Yijian didn't ask again, only said: "People are unpredictable." ”

Chun Yu never thought that Zeng Yike had already chased Yang Zhou, let alone that Zhou Budo would so arbitrarily identify Qin Ruoyun as the murderer. He originally thought that there was still room for defense, but now it seems that he must not be able to go to Zhou Budo anymore.

He couldn't make up his mind what to do next, and sat down in the corner. After staying for a while, he gradually calmed down and decided to go back to Qihua to discuss first.

Chun Yuji hurried to the place where he broke up with Hua, but he didn't see Qihua. So he looked around carefully, found the mark left by Qihua, and chased all the way, and before he knew it, he was out of the city.

The wasteland outside the city of Yangzhou is continuous, and the ravines are vertical and horizontal. Chun searched for a few more times, found a few more marks on the trunk of the tree, and followed for a while. However, to his horror to find that he could no longer find the mark, he walked a little further west, surrounded by wild grass and trees, neither marked nor human.

He became anxious, saw a hill not far away, and ran up in one go. When I reached the top of the slope, I was so tired that I couldn't breathe, and I bent over and gasped for a while before I came to my senses.

He straightened up, his hands on his back, and looked down. Not far away, the sparkling Lu River flows quietly, and further west, the Great Wall of Qin winds its way across the ridge. Far and near, there is no trace of it.

The sky began to darken, Chun Yuji became more and more frightened, looked around, and couldn't help but suppress his voice and shouted: "Qihua-"

The shouts were quickly blown away in the empty wasteland, and only the rustle of the wind through the grass could be heard.

He sat down on the ground disappointed, pulled a sprig of thatch, put it in his mouth and chewed it. Suddenly, he felt a noise behind him, and suddenly got up and turned back. It was the pretty Qihua, squinting and smiling at him.

He stepped forward and hugged her, stared at her face, and muttered, "Where have you been, where have you been, why can't I find you." As he spoke, his eyes were wet.

Qihua was stunned at first, then a flush appeared on his face, and he twisted his body slightly, unable to hide his cowardice.

Chun Yuji realized that he was a little out of shape, put down his hand, and stood there in embarrassment.

Qi Hua smiled and said, "Why can't you find me?" ”

Chun Yu said a few times: "I followed the mark all the way, but when I got here, I couldn't find the mark." He was puzzled again: "You follow Ma Gui." How did you come to such a desolate place? ”

"He came here, and I had to come along." Qihua said playfully.

Chun Yu was speechless for a while.

Qihua smiled secretly, and then said: "I was staring at Ma Gui in the county seat, and I saw that Xiao Yan, the personal maid of Mrs. Qin, also came to Ma Gui and gave him a cloth bag. The horse came all the way here with a cloth bag, and I followed. I saw you coming from afar just now, and I was afraid that I would alarm Ma Gui, so I waited here. He said and pointed to the distance: "There is the Lu River, which can lead to the Yellow River." Ma Gui prepared a boat there, and he didn't know what to do. ”

Chun Yu said: "Ma Gui really has a connection with Mrs. Qin. He was a little worried: "Ma Gui will run away." ”

Qi Hua didn't care: "In this wilderness, where can he run." "Just think about it.

At this time, Qihua asked: "You went to the county office, did you see Zhou Budo?" ”

Chun Yuji recounted the scene he saw in the backyard of the county government.

Qihua was surprised: "Zeng Yijian really chased after him." ”

Chun Yuji looked depressed: "Why didn't he chase after me relentlessly." ”

"You killed the messenger of Huofu."

Chun Yu sighed, shook his head slightly aggrievedly, and said, "That was really an accident, who asked you to hide behind me." ”

Qi Hua stretched out his hand to nod at him and smiled.

"Zhou Budo can't be counted on. I also ran out of ideas, so I came to you. What do you say we should do. Chun Yu returned to the topic, with worry in his words.

Qihua tilted his head and thought for a while, and then said very simply: "Don't think about how to solve the case anymore." I will go to the county prison to rescue Ruoyun, and then take her back to the Qin family manor, let her pack some bags, and go to Chang'an with us. ”

Chun Yu thought about it for a few times, nodded, and said, "It's just that in this way, won't Ruoyun always have to bear the charge of killing his father." ”

Qihua said: "If you can find evidence from Ma Gui and find out the real culprit, you can clear up Ruoyun's grievances." But we have to rush to Chang'an, and we really don't have time, so we have to take care of the rescue of Ruoyun in front of us first, and talk about it later. ”

Chun Yuji was silent for a moment and sighed: "It's okay." We can't control a lot of the Qin family's affairs, as long as Ruoyun is safe. ”

It was dusk, a gust of wind blew, and dark clouds rolled in the sky. Qihua crossed his hands on his waist and said: "The wind is high and the moon is dark, help me to be chivalrous and righteous." ”

Chun Yuji looked up at the sky: "Let's go quickly, if it really rains, it will be troublesome." So saying, he went down the hill.

Qihua hurriedly shouted, "Hey, where are you going?" ”

Chun Yu turned around a few times and said, "Go to the county prison." I wondered how I could ask such a question. But I heard Qihua say: "I'll save Ruoyun, don't go." ”

Chun Yuji looked surprised, stared at her intently, opened his mouth, and didn't speak.

Qi Hua smiled at his appearance and said, "Save Ruoyun and I will go alone." Last time we went to the county jail, the guards were not strict, and the cells were very simple, as long as we didn't alarm the prison guards, we could quietly take Ruoyun out. ”

Chun Yu said: "Then let's go together, I'll watch from the outside." ”

Qihua glanced at him obliquely and said, "What's there to look at, I'm still afraid that you will cause trouble." I'll say you, clumsy, I don't know if to save you or Ruoyun when the time comes. ”

Chun Yu remembered the last time he asked for directions in the county office, scratched the back of his head, and his face was pale. Qihua looked at him embarrassed and burst out laughing.

Chun Yuji knew that Qihua was worried that he would be in danger, so he said so. I calmed down and thought about it for a while, maybe it didn't really help much, but it would add to the chaos. So he nodded and said, "You must be careful." ”

Qihua said: "You don't have to keep an eye on Ma Gui here, go back to the Qin family's manor first, don't alarm others." If you see Uncle Tan, talk to him. After I rescued Ruoyun, I immediately rushed back to the Qin family manor, and we packed some bags and left Yangzhou. Qihua said anything, and Chun Yu nodded a few times.

Qihua said angrily: "You can only nod, you also speak." ”

Chun Yu said a few times: "What you say is reasonable. ”

At this time, there is a cool breeze blowing, stirring the slope of artemisia grass, wafting a burst of fragrance. Qihua wrinkled his nose and sniffed hard, and said with a smile: "Then I'll go first." Then he ran down the hill.

Chun Yu shouted a few times, but she didn't look back, just raised her right hand and waved.