Dali Temple is cold.

When Zhao Wanning came with silver candles and Tian Xiaocao, it was noon.

There are no guards at the entrance of Dali Temple. There are only two stone lions carved from white marble and a large vermilion drum.

The noon sun shines on the three words of "Dali Temple", revealing a trace of majesty.

In order to confirm his thoughts, Zhao Wanning confirmed with Tian Xiaocao again: "Xiaocao, did the sister you mentioned before come here to report the case?" ”

Tian Xiaocao shook his head: "It's not this. ”

Zhao Wanning nodded, and then stepped forward with Tian Xiaocao, she picked up a drum hammer in one hand and struck it towards the drum surface.

After these days of exercise, Zhao Wanning's strength finally became a lot bigger, and she alternately hammered with a bone hammer in one hand.

When the passers-by saw two well-dressed women with a little beggar beating drums and shouting grievances, they were also curious, so they gathered around.

Originally, a group of people gathered at the gate of Dali Temple.

Soon the guards on duty rushed out.

The drum outside Dali Temple has not been beaten for a long time. After all, the responsibility of Dali Temple is to hear cases where the sentence of Jingzhao Prefecture has been sentenced or above, and second, to retry the death penalty cases and difficult cases transferred by the Criminal Department and Jingzhao Prefecture.

In ordinary cases, people go to Jingzhao Mansion to report the case first. Only cases that are not accepted by the Jingzhao Mansion, or cases involving the relatives of the ministers of the DPRK and the central government, will come to Dali Temple.

When the guard saw that it was a richly dressed woman beating the drum, he stepped forward and asked, "Girl, do you know that this drum is not played casually?" ”

"Of course I know. This drum is used to beat the drum and cry out for grievances. Zhao Wanning replied: "I'm here to report the case." ”

Seeing this, the guard invited the three of them into the Dali Temple.

The people outside the door thought that they could see some liveliness, but who knew that the messengers of Dali Temple directly invited people in, and there was no excitement to see, so they dispersed again.

The entrance of Dali Temple returned to calm.

The three of Zhao Wanning were received by Lu Chunnian, the judge of Dali Temple, and Lu Chunzhi's brother.

Lu Chunnian has been busy trying the case for the past few days, staying up for several nights in a row, and he hasn't even returned home. After staying up all night today, when he was still in the back hall to make up for the rest, he was suddenly called up, and he looked very haggard.

Lu Chunnian barely opened his eyes, swallowed the yawn that was about to blurt out, sat in the lobby and asked, "I don't know what the girl is doing with the drums?" ”

"I've seen adults." Zhao Wanning and the three saluted respectfully, and then replied: "The people's daughter is just beating the drum for others, and she is the one who really wants to report the case." ”

Tian Xiaocao took two steps forward cooperatively, and then knelt in front of Lu Chunnian with a plop.

Lu Chunnian, who was still in a daze, was startled by Tian Xiaocao's kneeling, and even fell asleep.

As soon as Lu Chunnian saw the two women coming in with a little beggar, he thought that the little beggar had offended the two women. The heart said that today's women are also quite bold, and they dare to come to Dali Temple to beat the drum and voice their grievances at a little thing, so their attitude is also perfunctory.

But he never thought that the person who wanted to report the crime was this little beggar. Lu Chunnian was instantly interested, and in this year, even beggars came to beat the drum and voice their grievances.

Tian Xiaocao knelt down and choked up: "Adult, the villain Tian Xiaocao has grievances to report." ”

As he spoke, Li Wei took Pei Yue to the lobby.

Pei Yue saw Zhao Wanning at a glance. Due to the fact that there were many people in the hall at this time, Pei Yue was not easy to greet Zhao Wanning, so he had to follow behind Li Wei.

"What's going on?" Li Wei helped Tian Xiaocao to get up, "How can you let the little girl kneel for you?" ”

"Master Li! You've come at the right time. Seeing his boss coming, Lu Chunnian immediately walked down and quickly explained: "This little girl is here to beat the drum and complain." ”

Li Wei glanced at Zhao Wanning and Silver Candle standing next to Tian Xiaocao.

Lu Chunnian continued to explain: "These two girls are here to accompany the little girl to report the case, and they have nothing to do with them. ”

"What's the grievance?"

Lu Chunnian scratched his head: "I haven't said it yet, I was just about to say that you came." Who is this? ”

Pei Yue stepped forward and arched his hand: "Under Pei Yue." ”

"Oh, oh, it turned out to be Master Pei of Pei Temple, and Lu Chunnian, the judge of Dali Temple, has seen Master Pei." Lu Chunnian saluted with a very eye-catching eye.

Zhao Wanning on the side didn't want to reveal his identity, so he followed Lu Chunnian to salute.

Pei Yue wanted to help her get up but didn't dare to step forward, so he could only silently accept Zhao Wanning's gift. Seeing that Zhao Wanning didn't want to recognize her, Pei Yue had mixed feelings in his heart.

After a few people met the ceremony, they finally got down to business.

Tian Xiaocao told the story of the group of traffickers again in front of several people.

Li Wei was also born into a farmer's household, so he naturally knows how sad the life of the people is in disaster years.

"Why is there a flood in Qingzhou? Why is there no movement at all? Levi asked.

That Qingzhou was originally in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. How can there be flooding in the upper reaches of the Yellow River? Besides, if there was a flood disaster in Qingzhou, then the officials of Qingzhou Mansion should immediately report it to the imperial court, but Li Wei did not hear the Shengshang mention the disaster in Qingzhou in the court.

Bad thoughts rose in Levi's heart.

Where would Tian Xiaocao know this? She only told her story about what she saw, and what she saw was that her home was flooded, and she fled and ran into human traffickers.

It rained heavily in Qingzhou for half a month, and the torrential rain was so rapid and heavy that it washed down countless houses and flooded thousands of hectares of fertile land. Farmers who depend on the fields for food have lost their livelihoods, houses and homes, and have to flee in all directions to beg for food. Tian Xiaocao's family went all the way south.

Qingzhou is in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and even Qingzhou has flooded, so the situation around the Yellow River and downstream is naturally not optimistic.

Tian Xiaocao also talked about the tragic death of the sister who reported the case, and the arrogance of the man who led him when he said that he had someone in the court.

The brows of several people in the hall became tighter and tighter.

No wonder this little girl would choose to come to Dali Temple to report the case, I'm afraid that there is indeed a corrupt person in Jingzhao Mansion.

It is a matter of the people in the Yellow River valley and the security of the capital, and the matter is very high, and Li Wei can't handle it, he feels a little tricky.

"Tian Xiaocao, this official asks you, is what you said today true?" Li Wei squatted down, looked into Tian Xiaocao's eyes, and asked seriously.

Tian Xiaocao nodded: "My lord, what the villain said today is what he has seen and experienced with his own eyes, and he has absolutely not concealed or lied." ”

Levi bowed, he also believed that such a young child would not lie. He stood up and said to Zhao Wanning: "This matter is very serious, I am afraid that I will report it to the imperial court." I took this case, but it is only a matter of the ministers of the DPRK and China, and everything must be done carefully. I hope the girl can keep it a secret for the time being and don't spread the matter. ”

"Yes, sir." Zhao Wanning also knew that this matter was very involved, so she stroked Tian Xiaocao's forehead, "It's just that this little girl must not be able to return to the hands of the trafficker." ”

"Indeed, she is the informant of this case, and she is also an important witness." Li Wei stroked his beard and pondered: "There are some men in this Dali Temple, but I am afraid it is not convenient to take her into a little girl." ”

Indeed, although there are spare rooms in Dali Temple, there are some rude men in Dali Temple. Tian Xiaocao is only seven or eight years old, and he still needs to be taken care of, where can they take care of these men?

Zhao Wanning pondered for a moment, then had an idea in her heart, and she smiled slightly: "Then I'll take her home." ”

Zhao Wanning was thinking about putting Tian Xiaocao in the bookstore and living with the Su sisters. Tian Xiaocao and Su Yu are of the same age, so they should be able to play together.

Li Wei arched his hand and said gratefully: "The girl is righteous." This Tian Xiaocao is the informant of this case and an important witness in this case. If it is discovered by someone who has a heart, it may endanger her life. I hope the girl can keep her safe. ”

"If it's inconvenient, my Dali Temple can also send someone to protect it."

As soon as Li Wei reminded him, Zhao Wanning also realized that he was a little hasty in putting Tian Xiaocao in the bookstore.

It seems that Tian Xiaocao has to be brought back to the eldest princess's mansion. It was because she didn't think about it carefully, she originally thought that it was for convenience, so she put Tian Xiaocao in the bookstore to take care of her, but she ignored Tian Xiaocao's current situation, she is an important witness, if the other party knew that Tian Xiaocao came to report the case, I am afraid that they would attack her. Then putting Tian Xiaocao in the bookstore may cause death for the bookstore.

Zhao Wanning secretly thought that it was indeed feasible to bring Tian Xiaocao back to the Eldest Princess's Mansion, and she could be raised in Invite Moon Garden.

There are many guards in the eldest princess's mansion, so it is natural to protect a little girl.

"The guards don't need to, my home is still safe." Zhao Wanning said.

"That's very good." Li Wei said, and then remembered that he didn't know who the woman in front of him was, so he asked, "I don't know what the girl is called?" Where do you live? Later, when I need Tian Xiaocao, where will I find you? ”

The situation is like this, and it is inconvenient for Zhao Wanning to hide his identity at this moment, so he has to say: "Zhao Wanning." ”

"Qinghe County Lord Zhao Wanning?" Lu Chunnian asked.

Zhao Wanning bowed.

The three people of Dali Temple hurriedly saluted Zhao Wanning again: "Xiaguan has seen the county lord of Qinghe. ”

After such a discussion, Li Wei finally wrote the matter into a memo and reported it to the imperial court, and Zhao Wanning brought Tian Xiaocao back to the eldest princess's mansion for protection.

After the incident, Zhao Wanning left with Tian Xiaocao.

After a while, Pei Yue chased out.

"I wonder what happened to Master Pei?" Zhao Wanning asked suspiciously.

In the morning, the crown prince Zhao Wangjin just came to probe her tone for Pei Yue, and I don't know if Zhao Wangjin told Pei Yue about her refusal.

Zhao Wanning was quite embarrassed. How can she know that in this life, she and Pei Yue have only met a few times, and every time they meet, they pass by in a hurry, Pei Yue actually has a deep affection for her and wants to marry her.

But Pei Yue didn't show anything directly, but found Zhao Wangjin to maneuver around. Zhao Wanning was also not able to bypass Zhao Wangjin and directly rejected Pei Yue.

Now that there is a relationship between Tian Xiaocao, in the face of Pei Yue, who has become the temple of Dali Temple, Zhao Wanning can't avoid it.

Pei Yue came to Dali Temple early this morning, and naturally he didn't know that Zhao Wanning had rejected him. He just instinctively wanted to spend more time with Zhao Wanning, so he took the initiative to tell Li Wei that he wanted to send Zhao Wanning home.

After all, Zhao Wanning is now carrying an important person to witness Tian Xiaocao.

Li Wei is over half a hundred years old, what storms have he not experienced? As soon as Pei Yue stared at Zhao Wanning's eyes, he knew what he was thinking. He was also willing to give the young man some opportunities, so he let him go. I silently thought in my heart that I could hand over the matter of dealing with this Tian Xiaocao in the future to Pei Yue.

Pei Yue said in a deep voice: "Master Li said that Tian Xiaocao is an important witness. You and the two weak women of Silver Candle may not be able to protect themselves, so I asked me to escort you back to the house. ”

Zhao Wanning didn't speak, but said that she was thinking too much. Pei Yue just obeyed the arrangement of his superiors.

Although she didn't want Pei Yue to send her, she didn't have a legitimate reason to refuse, could it be said that the eldest princess sent a secret guard to protect them secretly?

on the carriage.

Tian Xiaocao was confused. She is young, and she comes from the countryside, so she doesn't know anything, she only knows that she wants to kowtow when she sees the court official, but she didn't expect that the official she reported today would finally salute this beautiful sister who saved her.

This sister also brought herself home.

She was so dirty that she didn't dare to get into the carriage at all. It was Zhao Wanning who took her hand and took her to the car.

She had never made such a splendid carriage, so large, so spacious, and covered with thick cushions. There was even a small coffee table in the middle of the carriage, on which tea was boiling and white smoke was wafting.

Tian Xiaocao has only been on the family's ox cart. It is said to be an ox cart, but in fact, a board made of wood is placed on two axles and then put on the ox. But their cattle also died on the way to escape.

It was the family's only valuable possession, and her father later sold the dead cattle to a local butcher.

The cows that died of illness were not worth much, but they could be exchanged for some coils, and it was also a life-saving money for the fleeing family.

When the butcher saw that they were pitiful, he gave water to the family of the oxen that were worthless.

The mother cooked a large pot of broth, which was the best meal they had on the way to escape.

Soon, my father and mother and brother fell ill and fell on the road one by one.