In Yu Hong's rebuke, Niu Xing finally realized the seriousness of the situation. His face turned pale in an instant, his knees weakened, and he hurriedly knelt down in front of Yu Hong, and defended with a trembling voice: "The city lord spared his life, I forgot to report to the official for a moment of greed, but I swear, I didn't steal or rob, these gold bars were all given to me by that Ah Lu." ”

Yu Hong looked at him coldly, without a trace of emotion in his tone: "Although you didn't steal directly, you accepted stolen money, which is also a crime." After speaking, he turned his gaze to Tai Hao, and there was a hint of scrutiny in his eyes: "Vice General Tai Hao, do you really not know the origin of these gold bars?" ”

Tai Hao met Yu Hong's gaze and nodded firmly: "Xia Guan really doesn't know." ”

Yu Hong bowed slightly, and then instructed a servant standing next to him: "You go to the Mu Mansion and invite the Mu brothers here." ”

The official replied, and the figure quickly disappeared from the court.

Taihao watched all this from the sidelines, and an inexplicable doubt surged in his heart. He couldn't help but wonder, how did Yu Hong know that these gold bars were related to the Mu family brothers? Is there anything else in it that you don't know?

Yu Hong seemed to see Tai Hao's doubts, he picked up a gold bar and explained to Tai Hao: "The gold bars in Jiutu City are carefully refined by each merchant, and they will carve unique marks on the gold bars in order to distinguish them from each other. He pointed to a corner of the gold bar, "Look here, there is a hidden word 'Mu', which is the symbol of the Mu family." ”

Taihao took the gold bar and looked at it, and sure enough, he found a tiny "Mu" character in the corner of the gold bar, with delicate carvings, which was obviously from the hand of a craftsman.

A trace of doubt flashed in Yu Hong's eyes: "However, what is puzzling is why these gold bars with the Mu family's logo appear in your room?" ”

Tai Hao's face showed a hint of confusion, he shook his head, and said frankly, "This really makes me feel very puzzled. ”

Yu Hong's gaze turned to Niu Xing, and his voice revealed an undoubted majesty: "Niu Xing, you are the shopkeeper of the inn, you should remember who the guest in Vice Admiral Taihao's room is, right?" ”

Niu Xing looked a little cramped and uneasy under Yu Hong's forced gaze. He struggled to recall, but apparently the answer to the question was not easy to find. He hesitated to speak: "Vice Admiral Taihao's room...... The last guest was ...... It's ......" His voice grew quieter and quieter, and finally became inaudible.

Seeing that Niu Xing couldn't answer, Ah Lu hurriedly said respectfully to Yu Hong: "Back to the city lord, Vice Admiral Taihao's room has been empty before. It was the best room in Snow Lotus Residence, and it had always been prepared for officials in the government. It's been empty for two months, and two months ago the previous lieutenant lived in it. ”

Niu Xing listened to Ah Lu's answer, and suddenly woke up like a dream, he hurriedly nodded and agreed: "That's right, it's the previous deputy general." There was a hint of grief on his face, as if he was relieved that he had found the answer.

A trace of disdain flashed in Yu Hong's eyes, he glanced at Niu Xing, and said coldly: "Niu Xing, you tell me honestly, where did you hide those fifteen gold bars?" The official immediately sent a servant to fetch it. If you can recover all of them, you may be able to reduce your guilt a little. ”

As soon as these words came out, Niu Xing seemed to have been hit by a thunderbolt on a sunny day, and his face was as white as paper in an instant. Beads of sweat the size of beans burst from his forehead and slid down his cheeks, looking particularly embarrassed. His voice trembled and he spoke with difficulty: "Brother-in-law...... No, the lord of the city...... Those gold bars, which should have been ...... by now In the treasury of the Locke family in the east city. ”

"Locke?" Yu Hong's brows tightened, revealing a look of disbelief, "You only got the gold bars last night, and you lost all of them today?" How is this possible! ”

Niu Xing hurriedly defended: "I ...... I just wanted to play a few handfuls, but I didn't expect to get bigger and bigger the more I played, and finally ...... The last fifteen gold bars were all lost to the Locke family. ”

When Yu Hong heard this, he was furious: "You...... You're so lawless! How dare you gamble on such a huge amount of gold bars! You're waiting to go to jail! His voice echoed through the courtroom, full of majesty and rage.

Hearing the word "imprisonment", Niu Xing seemed to have been struck by lightning and instantly collapsed to the ground. He burst into tears and begged for mercy: "Brother-in-law, spare your life, brother-in-law!" You must not put me in jail, I beg you! His voice was filled with fear and despair.

Yu Hong looked at him, and a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes: "Niu Xing, don't climb relatives here." In this case, the official needs to recuse himself and will be handed over to the judicial army to hear on his behalf. As for what he will do with you, it's not up to the authorities to decide. His tone was cold, as if he was talking about someone who had nothing to do with him.

When Niu Xing heard this, he was even more frightened. He struggled to crawl to Yu Hong's feet and grabbed Yu Hong's robe tightly: "City Lord, you can't leave me alone!" If I go to jail, my sister will be implicated. Can you bear to see her suffer? ”

Yu Hong kicked Niu Xing's hand away and said sharply: "You'd better not mention your sister!" Over the years, you have done evil in Jiutu City in the name of your own official, and this official has long wanted to clean you up. If you really go to prison, then you are also to blame, and this official will never intervene to save you! His voice was full of anger and determination.

Taihao stood aside, quietly listening to the conversation between Yu Hong and Niu Xing, and couldn't help but feel a complex emotion in his heart. In his previous cognition, Yu Hong has always been a corrupt official who bends the law for bribes and colludes with the "four major families", and countless bribes and bribes make him full of contempt and disdain for Yu Hong.

However, at this moment, Yuhong gave him a delusion. In the process of interrogating Niu Xing, Yu Hong's selfless, rigorous and meticulous attitude was similar to the Yu Hong he knew in the past. Taihao couldn't help but wonder if he had misunderstood Yu Hong all along? Maybe he wasn't as corrupt as he thought he was, but a really good official?

This illusion made Taihao feel an inexplicable shock. He began to re-examine Yu Hong, trying to find more possible flashes in him. However, the doubts and confusion in my heart are still difficult to dispel. He didn't know if he should trust the fish in front of him, or continue to be vigilant and wait for more facts to verify his judgment.

At this time, a servant led a middle-aged man into the public court, and Yu Hong's face was immediately filled with a flattering smile. He hurriedly instructed the servant: "Quick, quickly move a chair and let Master Mu sit down and reply." ”

The official did not dare to slack off, and quickly brought a chair and carefully placed it beside the man. However, the man did not sit down immediately, but respectfully bowed his hand to Yu Hong and said, "Yu Hong City Lord, I don't know what you asked me to do?" ”

Yu Hong responded with a smile: "It's not a big deal, Master Mu, you take a look first, these gold bars belong to your Mu family?" As he spoke, he motioned for a servant to bring the open brocade box to the man.

The man just glanced at it hurriedly, and then nodded affirmatively: "Don't look at it, this is our Mu family's thing." This brocade box was created by Xin Da in the west of the city, and this kind of brocade box is only customized by our Mu family. At a glance, I saw the mark of my Mu family on this gold bar, this is our family. ”

After hearing this, Yu Hong frowned slightly, and continued to ask: "But these gold bars were found in Vice General Taihao's room, have you found any missing gold bars recently?" ”

The man didn't rush to answer Yu Hong's question, he turned to face Tai Hao, and said respectfully: "Presumably this is the newly arrived deputy general Tai Hao, right?" Deputy General Taihao, who has been admired for a long time, and Mu Dalang, a grass people, is polite here. ”

Tai Hao looked at him and said lightly: "I have heard of your name, you are Mu Dalang, so Mu Erlang didn't come?" ”

Mu Dalang replied: "My brother is still dealing with some urgent affairs in the house, so only the grass people come this time. ”

Tai Hao stared at Mu Dalang and asked in a serious tone, "Mu Dalang, what are you talking about these gold bars?" ”

Mu Dalang smiled slightly and replied: "Of course, these gold bars are for us to honor Vice General Taihao, and this is a tribute to Vice General Taihao. Two days ago, we had already put them in Vice Admiral Taihao's room. ”

However, Tai Hao sneered and said sharply: "Mu Dalang, you are blatantly bribing the officials of the imperial court, and you dare to say it so unashamedly!" His voice was filled with anger and contempt, as if he was shocked by Mu Dalang's ignorance and audacity.

When Mu Dalang heard Taihao's words, he was immediately shocked. He obviously didn't expect that in Jiutu City, a place where officials and bandits are a family, there would be such an honest and bribe-free official as Taihao. An expression of disbelief appeared on his face, as if it was all beyond his imagination and comprehension.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Yu Hong hurriedly got up and pulled Taihao to a corner of the court. He lowered his voice and said cautiously to Tai Hao: "Vice General Tai Hao, the status of the Mu family in Jiutu City is not trivial, not only a large taxpayer, but also the owner of all our officers and soldiers. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to question Mu Dalang directly like this. ”

Taihao just wanted to refute, but Yu Hong had already turned around and returned to the desk. He put on a businesslike face and said to Mu Dalang: "Okay, Master Mu, this official has already understood what happened. You go back first, and wait for the official and Vice Adjutant Taihao to study the case carefully, and they will inform you of the results. ”

Taihao was unwilling, he instinctively wanted to stop Mu Dalang and continue to investigate his bribery. However, after all, he is only a lieutenant general defending the city, and has no right to interfere in judicial trials. Under Yu Hong's urging, he could only watch Mu Dalang leave calmly, his heart full of helplessness and resentment.

As soon as Mu Dalang's figure disappeared outside the court, Yu Hong immediately turned around and whispered to Tai Hao: "Vice General Taihao, you can accept these gold bars." Since it was found in your room, the gold bar should naturally belong to you. If you insist on not accepting it, then it will be difficult to continue the trial. After all, if there is no gold bar from the owner, how can we conclude that Ah Lu and Niu Xing stole it? ”

There was a hint of earnestness and helplessness in his voice, as if he was troubled by the complexity of the case. However, in this seemingly reasonable explanation, there is a vague revelation of an unspeakable conspiracy and calculation. After hearing this, Taihao couldn't help but sneer in his heart. He understood that Yu Hong's words were just making excuses for his own greed.