Qingxian City.

County office.

"There is still a lot of silver in our yamen's account."

Lu Xuan looked at the ledger in his hand.

The previous county magistrate was greedy, and his subordinates' salaries were still not in arrears.

I don't care much about the "little money" in the warehouse.

"Li Ming."

"The subordinates are here."

"What is the situation of the victims who fled from Qinghe County?"

Lu Xuan asked.

"Back to your lordship."

Li Ming heard this:

"Most of these people live in the west of the city, and the rich have bought houses and land, and they have already gained a foothold.

The moneyless gathered to build shacks and live together, some looking for work and others simply begging for a living. ”

"Go to the treasury and get some money."

Lu Xuan nodded when he heard this, and handed him the account book in his hand:

"Tomorrow, I will go to the west of the city to open a porridge stall, and I will say that the county government will give porridge and help the victims."

"Yes, sir."

Li Ming didn't ask much, and when he was about to go back to prepare for this matter, he heard Lu Xuan say again:

"The first time I gave porridge, I remember not to prepare too much...... If you are literate, the name, place of origin, age, and current place of residence of the person who will lead the porridge should be recorded.

There are also those who are more able-bodied, specially marked and recorded. ”

"My subordinates understand!"

Li Ming was ordered to retreat and leave the yamen.

Lu Ping went out to work, and Lu Xuan had other tasks assigned to him.

Now above the county government, there are only two "stewards" left, Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu.

"What should we do?"

Cheng Lingzhu said.

"Of course, it's what the county lord should do."

Lu Xuan smiled and picked up the file on the table.

In the past two days, there has been a backlog of cases, and there is a stack of complaint papers on the table.

He had a plan in mind, and at this time he had already made a lot of preparations, but he still needed to wait for an east wind.

"Let me see."

Lu Xuan picked up a piece of complaint paper:

"The case of a wife suing her husband for not paying public rations...... Well, that's it. ”

………………

Afternoon.

Qingxian City County Ya.

"Lu Ping, how is the investigation going?"

Lu Xuandao.

"Subordinate, subordinate, incompetent......"

Lu Ping looked ashamed, "No, I didn't investigate...... Investigate it out. ”

"It's not your fault, the Black Lotus Sect has been able to exist in Dakang for hundreds of years, secretly preaching, and it only suddenly appeared during the uprising, so it is naturally very secretive."

Lu Xuan didn't blame him:

"With only one day, it must be extremely difficult to find out what is going on in the whole city."

The task that Lu Xuan gave to Lu Ping was to investigate whether there were Black Lotus demons infiltrating the city.

Qinghe County next door is in trouble with the Black Lotus Sect, and Qingxian City, which is much richer than Qinghe County, is most likely to be spared.

After all, the Qingxian Society belongs to the kind that is very "unpopular with the people", and it has been looting the people for so many years, relying on the force of the three major families and the people's fear of the Qingxian.

Compared with the Black Lotus Sect, which can induce the people to kill officials and rebel, and revolt in various parts of Dakang, it is not at all a rank.

Lu Ping bowed:

"Please, sir, give it again, give it to me...... A few days, I'll be ......"

"No need."

Lu Xuan shook his head:

"I already have an eye on this...... Give you another task, staring at Qin Fu for the past two days.

Who did she see and where she went every day...... Record them all and report them to me. ”

"Yes, my subordinates understand!"

Lu Ping responded.

After he stepped down.

Lu Xuan picked up the paper on the table:

"This case is kind of interesting."

He reached out and flicked it a few times:

"Tang Mo, a wealthy businessman in the east of the city, recently ran to the Qinglou at night, and he hasn't had sex with his wife for two whole months...... His wife had a big opinion about this and took the old public to court. ”

"Didn't the two quarrel, Tang Mo had a cold war with his wife, and he didn't want to deal with her?"

Cheng Lingzhu said.

"Two months ago, the two of them were fine, and the paper was dictated by Tang Mo's wife, and she said that she had not quarreled with Tang Mo."

Lu Xuan shook his head.

"Could it be that his wife is old and decrepit, so that Tang Mo went outside...... Got a tryout? ”

Cheng Lingzhu guessed.

"Two months is enough to visit the Qinglou in the city three times, if he really has a good relationship in the Qinglou, according to the law of Dakang, he can marry home directly.

As for old age...... Tang Mo's wife is only thirty years old this year, and her appearance is not ugly, Tang Mo even has several concubines.

The complaint said that her husband had suddenly become cold recently, and not only did he not have any sexual interest in her, but he also had no feelings for those concubines. ”

After Lu Xuan finished speaking, he added:

"It costs a lot to visit the Qinglou, and the family consumes a lot, but Tang Mo's wife found the hidden silver money in Tang Mo's study...... More than he paid out of his home. ”

"Not only does it cost nothing to visit the Qinglou, but there is also an entry ......"

Cheng Lingzhu's face was strange, "This person won't do it to subsidize the family...... Well, that kind of profession. ”

The infrastructure of Qingxian City is quite complete, and there is even Rabbit Alley, all of which are small and delicate faces.

"Maybe it's true?"

Lu Xuan laughed.

He stretched:

"But I suspect that he left every night on time, rain or shine...... Maybe I'm going to some kind of party. ”

"Black Lotus Sect?"

Cheng Lingzhu reacted quickly.

"Possibly."

Lu Xuan nodded.

When a man has no interest in women, either he is not good or he has found something more interesting.

"Tonight, let's go to the vicinity of Tang's house to see what this Tang Mo is doing."

………………

It's night.

Tang family.

Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu traveled lightly and lurked near Tang Mo's house.

It's almost time for curfew.

A figure left the Tang family.

The man was in his thirties, and after going out to look around for a while, he bowed his head and walked away quickly.

It is the male owner of the Tang family, Tang Mo.

Lu Xuan and the others followed.

Passing through several streets, Tang Mo turned around.

Before the husband and wife go to work.

He came to a small alley.

Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu glanced at each other, and their faces became strange.

This is the famous ...... of Qingxian City Rabbit Alley.

Lu Xuanxin said good guy, this is really here to earn money to subsidize the family.

The design of Rabbit Alley is not the same as that of Qinglou.

It's not a floor, it's not a room.

Instead, in an alley, there are many small courtyards along the street, with doors ajar.

These small courtyards are often shared by several people, and guests come to the door to choose.

Tang Mo entered a remote courtyard here, Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu followed, and after listening outside the wall for a while, they turned into it.

There was a big house in the yard, and the two climbed up to the roof.

Lu Xuan moved his hand and began to lift the tiles.

Hollow out all the thatch, wood and other materials underneath.

A hole appeared in front of the two of them.

Through the hole, Lu Xuan saw the scene below.

It's a ...... A very solemnly decorated room.

There is a white jade statue in the room, the image is a woman, her face is quiet and beautiful, but she is holding a black lotus in her hand.

In front of the woman's seat, there are also nine oil lamps in the shape of a lotus platform.

In front of the nine lotus flowers, there are neat futons, no less than twenty in number, all full of people.

Tang Mo is also among them, but his dress and image have changed greatly.

The brocade robe was taken off and replaced by a black cloak.

Different from the blue and black uniforms of the Blue Immortal Society, the dress of the Black Lotus Sect is black with purple in color.

The house was dimly lit, with only nine oil lamps.

The black-cloaked people of Yishui gathered together, and at first glance it was not a serious party.

The first person describes the old man, sitting on a futon, and reciting the slogan:

"The catastrophe is coming, the heavens and the earth are dark, the sun and the moon are ...... light"

"The silt comes from the chaos of enlightenment, and the black lotus is in the ...... of prosperity"

"The government forced the people to rebel, and the people turned over......"

The rest of the believers in the audience also chanted along with him.

The propaganda lasted for about an hour.

All the believers looked pious, and when the chanting was over, the head of the Black Lotus Sect raised his arms:

"Drink the holy wine!"

Beside him, a believer entered the inner room and brought out a jug and cup.

The wine is poured out and is crystal clear.

Everyone drank the wine in their cups in turn, and the leader said:

"Burn the holy incense!"

Another believer took out an incense burner and put a black lump the size of a fingernail into it.

The incense was lit, and wisps of green smoke came out and lingered in the house.

The believers who had drunk the holy wine immediately had an extremely intoxicated look on their faces after smelling the holy incense.

All of them are fluttering, as if they are about to soar.

Looking at this group of people who were smoking and drinking, Lu Xuan also knew what the Black Lotus Sect relied on to attract believers.

No wonder Tang Mo didn't touch his wife for two months, so he had to come here for a party.

It took a total of an hour to drink the holy wine and smell the holy incense.

Whether it is in the wine or in the incense, it is adulterated with some kind of drug.

Lu Xuan could clearly see that these people's faces were pale, without any blood, but their eyes were full of bloodshots, and they looked extremely excited.

After the event, the leader began to assign tasks.

The main thing is to preach, pull down the line, and look for the next person to join the church.

It is worth mentioning that because there is too much order in Qingxian City, the infiltration of the Black Lotus Sect starts from the "upper level", and the progress is very slow.

The people who participated in the party were either landlords and wealthy people or wealthy businessmen, all of whom were relatively young.

The Black Lotus missionary method is simple.

Talk about fairness with mud legs, and talk about power with landlords and rich businessmen.

They showed the injustice of the world to the common people, and promised the Black Lotus that everyone was equal and fair everywhere, so as to win the hearts of the people and promote the uprising.

They promised the landlords and wealthy merchants that they only needed to donate a part of their money to the rebels when they joined the church, and after the uprising, they would not only be able to keep most of their property, but also give them a half-official position after the uprising.

Now that Dakang is full of smoke, the Qinghe County next door has been breached, and I heard that the landlords who refused to surrender have been lit with sky lanterns.

The rich people of Qingxian City were worried all day long, and half-coerced and half-voluntarily joined the Black Lotus Sect.

These new recruits are all relatively young and have a "momentum".

Instead of sitting back and waiting, you should take the initiative to join, and maybe there will be a chance to change your life.

It is worth mentioning that most of the rich people in Qingxian City have a close relationship with the three major families, or someone in the family is a core member of the Qingxian Society.

But these people are also grass on the wall, and the wind blows in that direction, of course, which way it will fall.

Towards dawn, the Black Lotus Cult meeting ended.

Under the cover of night, the believers quietly left.

Tang Mo lowered his head, leaned against the wall, and as soon as he stepped out of the alley with his front foot, he was beaten with a stick on his back foot.

With a "bang", he was knocked unconscious.

………………

The next day.

Midday.

The two figures came to the rabbit alley.

In the remote courtyard, the courtyard gate is closed.

Lu Xuan took a knife to open the door gate, and walked in with Cheng Lingzhu with a swagger.

There was a "rabbit master" on duty at the door, and he immediately came to investigate after noticing the movement, but before the alarm was issued, he was stunned by Lu Xuan.

He kicked open the door of the house, and the three members of the Black Lotus Sect were eating and drinking, and when he looked up, he saw someone breaking in.

A stout man reacted very quickly and was about to touch his knife.

Lu Xuan struck him on the wrist with a knife, interrupting the spell casting, and the pain made the man cry on the spot, and his wrist trembled uncontrollably.

The other person also reacted at this moment, but before he could make any moves, he was struck in the neck by Lu Xuan and passed out.

Lu Xuan swaggered down on the stool, and the horizontal knife in his hand rested on the neck of the middle-aged man in the lead.

"Two heroes...... What does this mean? ”

The middle-aged man forced his composure.

"Name?"

Lu Xuandao.

"Money...... Money rush. ”

The middle-aged man replied.

"What for?"

Lu Xuan asked.

Money rushes to the Adam's apple rolling:

"Ask for ...... in this rabbit alley Begging for ......"

"Ask what you're doing in the Black Lotus Sect."

Lu Xuan patted him on the neck with a knife.

"Heroes are all ...... Got it all? ”

Qian Chong glanced at the knife on his neck and tried to deviate his head.

Lu Xuan didn't talk nonsense, and turned around and gave Cheng Lingzhu a look.

Cheng Lingzhu put down the cloth bag he was holding, and then opened it.

Inside, one is Fang Dayin.

"This official, the magistrate of Qingxian City, Wu Bond."

Lu Xuanlang said.

After looking at this big seal, Qian Chong's eyes straightened:

"Good Hammo...... Don't make fun of me. ”

"Don't you think I'm like it?"

Lu Xuan raised his chin.

"Don't dare, don't dare ......"

Qian Chong said again and again.

He thought to himself, you want to say that you are a bandit, but it is not like acting.

"It's just...... How did the county magistrate know we were here? ”

Because during this time, Lu Xuan opened the court to try the case, and many people were familiar with this Lord Wu.

Qian Chong had also seen the excitement, and after taking a closer look, he found that this "bandit" was really the county magistrate of Qingxian City.

"In the first two days, a woman reported that her husband went out every night, which affected the relationship between the husband and wife, so the official arrested him for interrogation."

Lu Xuan raised his eyebrows, "I thought I was dealing with a family matter, but I didn't expect to stab the Black Lotus Sect's nest." ”

"That's how it was exposed."

Qian Chong calmed down at this time:

"In the case of Lord Huiwu, the villain was a subordinate of one of the commanders of the Church, who had been sent to the city to spread the doctrine and find like-minded brothers......

I don't know if Lord Wu came to find the villain today, what do you have to order? ”

He has a flexible mind and a very lively mind, otherwise he would not have been able to do undercover missionary work.

Since County Magistrate Wu did not bring officers and soldiers over, but "paid a private visit to Weifu", and did not raise a knife to kill himself after entering the house, he definitely did not come to clean up the demons.

[I just don't know what this magistrate wants to do......]

Qian Chong thought in his heart.

Lu Xuan said very calmly:

"I'm going to join the church, what do you think?"

(End of chapter)