Jiang Bao stubbornly held the brocade box, no matter how much Taihao ordered, he was reluctant to open it. At this moment, Jiang Bao's mother seemed to hear the movement in the house, she hurriedly rushed into Jiang Bao's bedroom, grabbed Taihao's arm, and said enthusiastically: "Vice General Taihao, come with the old slave and taste the steamed buns just steamed by the old slave, the taste is really good!" ”

Taihao was pulled to the kitchen by her, looking at the buns in front of him, but he didn't have much appetite. He couldn't be sure of the contents of the brocade box, and the doubts in his heart could not be dissipated. So, he shirked and said, "The official won't eat the buns, I'm going back now." With that, he turned and walked out the door.

Seeing this, Jiang Bao hurriedly followed: "Vice Admiral Taihao, send you the small one." ”

When the two came to the door, Tai Hao stopped, looked at Jiang Bao, and said earnestly: "Brother Jiang Bao, this official hopes that you have nothing to hide from me. ”

Jiang Bao lowered his head, his voice trembling a little: "The little one will never dare!" ”

Taihao nodded, then turned to leave. Jiang Bao watched his back disappear out of sight and sighed deeply. For him, this experience seemed to have escaped from the mouth of a tiger, and he felt extremely lucky, but his heart was also full of mixed emotions.

Tai Hao slowly paced back to the Snow Lotus Inn, his thoughts were chaotic along the way, and it wasn't until he entered his room that he calmed down a little. He made the bed with his hands, and then carefully took out the book "Drunken Cat and Mouse" cheats from his bosom. He looked at this secret book, and a sense of helplessness surged in his heart: "Always carry it with me, it's not a way after all, I have to find a safe place to hide." ”

He looked around, his eyes revealing a kind of searching anxiety. Eventually, his gaze fell on the beams, "Just hide there, between the beams and pillars in the heights, even the bandits will not be able to detect it." ”

Taihao took a vertical leap, and his body landed on the beam as lightly as a swallow. He carefully wrapped the book in a black cloth and hid it next to the pillar in the middle of the beam. After doing all this, he calmly jumped off the beam.

He was weathered, but he slept peacefully like a child this night. However, when the darkness outside the window woke him from his slumber, he slowly opened his eyes and saw nothing but darkness. "Looks like I'm waking up early again." He muttered a little self-deprecatingly.

The silence of the night was broken by a slight knock on the door, and a man dressed in a night suit quietly entered the room. His steps were light, every step seemed to be carefully calculated, and he was clearly a seasoned thief. Tai Hao was lying on the bed, and although he appeared to be asleep on the surface, he was actually on his toes all the time.

"The shopkeeper swore during the day that there would be no more bandits, but I didn't expect to come so soon." Taihao sneered in his heart, "This time I want to see which thief who is not long-sighted dares to steal my silver taels again and again." ”

The man searched around the room and finally settled on Tae-ho's bed. He walked over lightly and began to rummage through Taihao's baggage. However, he didn't notice that Taihao had been pretending to be asleep, but in fact he was secretly observing his every move.

When the man held the silver two tightly in his hand and was about to leave, Taihao suddenly made a move. He grabbed the man's arm and pulled him hard, pulling him in front of him. The man was taken aback and hurried to break free, but it was too late.

Taihao didn't intend to hurt him, but used the third trick in "Idle Cats Listening to the Sea", "Zhu Shen Canghai". I saw his fingers lightly tap twice on the man's chest, and the man immediately stiffened and couldn't move.

Taihao calmly got off the bed, and with a slight stroke of his fingers, the flame of the candle flickered and danced in the darkness. He walked slowly over to the man who had been pointed, and reached out to remove his mask. Under the mask, a young face was revealed, which looked like an underage teenager.

Taihao frowned slightly, and there was a trace of doubt in his heart. He shot like lightning and quickly solved the boy's acupoint. The young man obviously didn't expect Tai Hao to let him go so easily, he immediately pulled his legs and ran, but how could Tai Hao let him escape easily? I saw Taihao's figure move, quickly caught up, and knocked the young man to the ground with one palm.

The boy fell to the ground in pain, clutching tightly in his hand the broken silver he had stolen from Taihao's baggage. He looked at Taihao in fear, and begged for mercy with a trembling voice: "Uncle spare his life!" Uncle spare his life! ”

Tai Hao looked at him coldly and asked, "Where did you come from as a bandit?" The young man trembled and replied, "The little ones are the local people." Hearing this, Taihao walked slowly to the table, poured a cup of tea, took a sip gently, and then said, "Come here!" The young man got up from the ground tremblingly, and arched his hand: "Uncle spare your life!" Taihao pointed to the stool next to him and said, "You sit down, I have something to ask you." The boy sat down slowly and slowly on the stool in fear, his body tense, as if ready to run away.

Taihao looked at him and knew in his heart that this young man was not a real thief. He spoke: "At a young age, I just did some things like stealing chickens and dogs. Did you steal the silver taels in my baggage last time? The young man shook his head repeatedly, his eyes full of fear and denial: "No, the little one is here for the first time, not the little one who stole it." ”

Tai Hao stared at the young man in front of him, his voice low but with an irresistible majesty: "What's your name, how old are you this year?" ”

Yang Shun lowered his head and clasped his hands, as if trying to restrain his fear: "Small...... His name is Yangshun, and he is twelve years old this year. ”

"You're only twelve years old and you dare to steal." Taihao's tone revealed a deep disappointment and anger, "How many times have you stolen?" ”

Yang Shun's eyes flickered, as if thoughtful, and after a moment he replied, "Little one...... I don't remember. ”

Tai Hao narrowed his eyes slightly, as if assessing the authenticity of this young man. Then he said, "Do you know who I am?" Yang Shun shook his head: "I don't know the little one." ”

"Okay, then I'll tell you." Tai Hao's voice revealed a cold majesty, "This official's name is Tai Hao, and he is the deputy general who took office to defend the city. ”

When Yang Shun heard this, a smile suddenly appeared on his face, as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw: "It turned out to be from the government, and the small one really has eyes and doesn't know Mount Tai." However, we have already paid the autumn tribute to the government. Therefore, please also ask Vice Admiral Taihao to put the small one away. ”

Tai Hao frowned, obviously very unfamiliar with this "Qiu Gong": "What is Qiu Gong?" Yang Shun explained: "It's the autumn tribute, Vice General Taihao, don't you know?" The little one is working in the Mu family, so ......" His words revealed a strange message, as if behind this simple theft, there was a deeper secret.

Taihao was confused, but when the word "Mu family" came into his ears, a bright light seemed to flash in front of his eyes. On that night at Jiang Bao's house, Jiang Bao's mother also mentioned this name. He stared at the young man in front of him tightly, and his tone revealed a kind of urgency: "You said that you are working in the Mu family, this official has just arrived in Jiutu City, and there is still a lot of things you don't know about here, what is this Mu family you talking about?" ”

Yang Shun seemed to be a little surprised by Tai Hao's reaction, but he still replied: "Vice General Tai Hao, don't you know this, the Mu family is the number one family in our Jiutu City, and we are all mixed up with the two brothers of the Mu family." ”

Tai Hao smiled slightly, with a hint of sarcasm in this smile: "Listening to what you said, are they more powerful than the government?" ”

Yang Shun nodded, as if to affirm Taihao's guess, but then he seemed to realize his gaffe, hurriedly closed his mouth, lowered his head and said: "Of course it can't be compared with the official mansion, the official mansion eats the imperial court meal, and we still have to stutter about the official mansion." ”

Taihao nodded, as if thinking about something. After a while, he spoke again: "Do you recognize a person named Jiang Bao in the yamen?" ”

Yang Shun shook his head: "I don't know, but our boss, the two brothers of the Mu family should know each other." Because, all the officials, officials, and soldiers in Jiutu City will be dotted by our boss, but the amount of money is different. You have to pay money four times a year, the spring is called Chungong, the summer is called Xia Gong, the autumn is called Qiu Gong, and the winter is called Winter Gong. Vice Admiral Taihao, didn't you receive this autumn tribute? ”

Tai Hao stared at Yang Shun, and his tone revealed an inquiring meaning: "Is it a gold bar every time?" ”

Yang Shun nodded again and again, as if he was eager to prove his words: "Yes, yes, yes, every time you give gold bars, did you receive it?" ”

Tai Hao smiled slightly, and a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes: "I didn't receive it." He had already determined in his heart that the gold bar he saw in Jiang Bao's house was undoubtedly the autumn tribute given to Jiang Bao by the Mu family.

When Yang Shun heard this, a mixture of anger and incomprehension appeared on his face: "Even Deputy General Taihao didn't give it, it's really unreasonable, and the little one who looks back will definitely inform the Mu family brothers about this." His words revealed a kind of awe and loyalty to the Mu family, as if he was a member of the Mu family and was fighting for the interests of the Mu family.

Tai Hao watched his expression change, and couldn't help but be a little curious: "You said that the Mu family in Nancheng has the final say, are there any other family forces?" ”

Yang Shun seemed to be asked some secret, he looked around, and then lowered his voice and said: "Lord Taihao, you don't know this, there are four major family forces in Jiutu City, the Luo family in the east city, the Yang family in the west city, the Sun family in the north city, and the Mu family in the south city. These four major families are more powerful than the other, and they only need to pay tribute to the government on time every year, and everything else will be settled by the government. His tone revealed a kind of awe for the four families and a deep understanding of the city, as if he was a part of the city, and knew the rules and secrets of the city.