"The prisoner has arrived—" With a shout from the officer, several men and women in prison clothes walked in with each other's arms, and the shackles made a clanging sound on the ground. Chu Mo took a general look, their hair was scattered and draped over their bodies, there was a little blood on their faces, they looked embarrassed, and their bodies were dirty, they must have suffered a lot inside.

But the strange thing is that these prisoners saw that he was not like an ordinary life-saving straw, and they did not cry out for injustice, nor did they have any fear, but just lowered their heads lightly, and their eyes were blank.

The servants entered the main room, stood on both sides, stood straight, and the prisoners gathered in the middle of the room, kneeling slowly, Chu Mo roughly counted, there were seven or eight people.

The empty main house is finally lively, and it even looks a little crowded. Chu Mo smiled mildly and said, "I am the manager of the county government and the county magistrate of this county, so let's tell me about the situation of this case one by one." ”

Get to the point. The woman on the far left straightened up, looked around, plucked up her courage, looked at Chu Mo and said loudly, "The folk girl has seen the adult. ”

Chu Mo looked at her, this woman was very delicate, even if her face was sticky with some mud and her face was gray, she still couldn't stop her beautiful appearance. The woman's hair was glued into a strand, and she didn't have time to brush it on her shoulders, she raised her head, looked at Chu Mo with bright eyes, and said: "My lord, the folk girl is called Liu Xiaoxiao, she lives in Yuzhou, and she is a native of Ninghai County. Just three months ago, the folk girl married Master Niu and became a concubine, and the folk girl ......"

As he spoke, Liu Xiaoxiao's voice began to be intermittent, her body continued to twitch, and her beautiful eyes turned into a pool of water, which looked particularly pitiful.

She forcibly endured the choking in her throat and sobbed: "This old man Niu's family has a lot of money, and he is rich, and the people's daughter is indeed ...... It's a good life in the future, but this old man, he is irritable by nature, and after marrying the people's daughter home, he often ...... They insulted me, beat me, scolded me, whipped me at worst...... The subordinates in the family have often been beaten by him, and they all dare to be angry but dare not speak, everyone knows the tyrannical temper of Master Niu...... The housekeeper can testify on behalf of the people's daughters. These folk girls can endure it...... Can be ...... in recent days Sir because ...... That thing...... ......"

Liu Xiaoxiao seemed to be unable to speak, hiding her face and crying.

Looking at her distressing cry, Chu Mo said softly: "What is it?" ”

Liu Xiaoxiao raised his head, his face was covered with pear blossoms, and there were still two tear stains on his haggard face. She stopped talking and turned her head to look at the person beside her.

At this time, a man straightened up, saluted, and said aloud without humility or arrogance: "Lord County Commander, let me tell you." ”

Chu Mo turned his head to look at him, the man looked like a white-faced scholar painted in a book at a glance, he was not very old, but his eyes flashed with rare fortitude, if he hadn't lost a little weight in prison, and there was some dirty dust, he must have been a handsome rich man.

The man's voice was like a Hong Zhong, and he politely arched his hand and said: "Lord Hui, the grass people are Niu Ran, the eldest son of Niufu, and Liu Xiaoxiao is my third mother." My father is Niu Tao, he met a businessman surnamed Liu in business, and the two had some business dealings some time ago. In order to make a deal with that Liu merchant, my father actually arranged for my third mother to stay in the guest room of Liu merchant late at night! What a shameless person who can do such a beastly act. However, not long ago, my father actually said that the Liu businessman deceived him, suspecting that it was my Sanniang who was his spy, and in a fit of anger, he wanted to kill my Sanniang. ”

After speaking, he bent down generously, kowtowed, and said, "Please be aware of it!"

After listening to his words, Chu Mo roughly understood this old man Niu, and he asked the few people kneeling below, "That...... Who is Merchant Liu?"

At this time, a slightly chubby man, with a snow-white face and eyes like a mouse, seemed to be in a cold sweat, the expression on his face suddenly cried and mourned, his arms shook, and he shouted: "Wronged, my lord!"

"Oh? Chu Mo's eyes narrowed, revealing an approachable smile.

"Small...... The small one is Merchant Liu...... Oh no, the little one's name is Liu Zhenwei, and he is from Anshe Town. The small one is a law-abiding child who is not deceived by the law. Occasionally do a little business, and I have the honor to talk about business with the Niu master of Niufu, which is a small opportunity that I can't ask for. can do business with Master Niu, it's too late for the little ones to be happy, how can they ...... How can I have the courage to deceive him? Even if Master Niu doesn't die, I won't be able to get along in Anshe Town, I, this old man Niu has a big business......

"Hmm. Chu Mo didn't avoid his begging gaze, and nodded thoughtfully. Then, he set his sights on a little girl.

The little girl looked a few years younger than Liu Xiaoxiao, and she still had a little baby fat on her face. From the moment he came in and knelt down, he kept his head down silently, did not speak, and did not react in any way.

Chu Mo looked at the little girl, leaned closer, and said gently, "What about you?" ”

After hearing this, the little girl raised her head, her immature eyes looked at him vacantly, her mouth pursed, she thought for a while, and said to him: "My name is Niu Lian, and I am Niu Tao's daughter." ”

"Well, then what?" Chu Mo asked.

"My brother is Niu Ran, he will protect me, but when he is away, my father wants to kill me. The little girl's rustic voice resounded throughout the room, as if a stone had been cast in the hearts of the people, causing a ripple.

Such a simple sentence lingered in the aftermath, and even the official couldn't help but turn his head to look at her secretly. The little girl was not yet in her prime, and her short body sat on the ground, feeling very pitiful. The wide prison clothes were draped over her body, making her even thinner. There was no expression on her face at all times, like a godless puppet.

Niu Ran's reaction was not small, and he hurriedly said to Chu Mo: "Lord County Order! Niu Lian is still a child, and it is inevitable that she will impulsively say something inappropriate. ”

"It's fine. Chu Mo waved his hand, picked up the remaining volumes of documents on the table, and said, "So, the remaining few are the housekeepers of the Niu Mansion, the eldest lady, and the second lady?"

"It's my lord. An old man stooped and bowed.

"Do you have anything to do with this case? According to the dossier, it was you who reported the case to the government?" asked Chu Mo.

The old man said: "My lord, Mingjian." The villain is a native of Anshe Town, has been with the Niu Master for more than ten years, and is also loyal to the Niu Mansion, the bills, money and land deeds of the Niu Mansion are all through my hands, and I was also instructed by the Niu Master to manage all the following businesses, which is considered the old man of the Niu Mansion, and he is also thoughtful to the Niu Lord, including the young master and the girl, I also watched grow up, how could I hurt the Lord? But in the early morning five days ago, I went to Mr. Niu's bedroom as usual to report to him the flow of money in the past few days, because there were some mistakes in the middle, so I was anxious, and I went in by myself without waiting for Mr. Niu to call me, and after entering, I found that Mr. Niu was lying on the bed, the whole bed was blood, and there was a knife on the man's chest, I was shocked and frightened, and hurriedly retreated, and said hello to the people and went to the county government to report the case. ”

The housekeeper's words were reasonable, and there was not a trace of omission. It can be seen that the housekeeper is also a strict person on weekdays.

Chu Mo nodded, put on a serious look, and said to him, "So, do you know what Niu Tao and the others did?"

After hearing this, the housekeeper hesitated for a moment and said, "Villain...... I've heard a little about it, and I've heard people in the house say that the old man's character has never been very good...... But what is it...... The villain only knew a thing or two, and did not investigate it carefully. ”

Chu Mo nodded again, and asked the remaining eldest lady and second lady, "What about you, what do you have to say?"

Among the remaining two women, the younger one turned his head to look at the other next to him, and then said in a trembling voice: "County...... The county order lord ......"

Chu Mo doesn't look very old, he looks like a descendant, but his gestures in the public hall exude a calm and unhurried aura, and he doesn't feel awkward when he is called the master, he looks at her lightly, waiting for the following.

"The folk girl is the second room of Master Niu, called Chen Rong, and she is also from Anshe Town. Master Niu is indeed often too strict with his subordinates on weekdays, and he likes to beat people, and his subordinates have always had a bad evaluation of him. I also know these things, but the eldest lady and I are both weak women, and we only persuade the old man to do it, and no one can stop him, so ......"

Chu Mo listened and looked at the eldest lady. She was slightly fat, her face was pale, she didn't seem to have recovered from the incident, and there were still two tear stains on her face, and her face was haggard, and she had been silent.

Chen Rong continued: "After the folk girl married into Niufu, she has not been able to give birth to a son and a half daughter to the master, and the master often beats me, but what can I do." The eldest lady has a kind temperament and does not argue with the master, but she is old and has lost the appearance of her youth, and has been left out by the lord in the cold. ”

"Since Niu Tao has done so many things that violate the law, why don't you report it to the official?" The master, who didn't know when he returned to the court, walked to the side of everyone and asked her.

"Master Niu has a tough wrist and has a good relationship, even outsiders tell him not to move, not to mention that we are from the house, so we can only endure it. To be honest, as soon as Master Niu died, I don't know how many people in the town were happy. Chen Rong said.

The master looked at Chu Mo and did not answer.

Chu Mo and Master glanced at each other and frowned, this case didn't look like it used to be, and there might be a lot of inexplicable troubles in it.

Syllable!

Chu Mo was helpless and knocked on the shocking wood, and said loudly: "Then let's stop here today, I know the general facts of the case." As for the rest, I'll try it again next time, so you can go down first. ”

The officials began to come forward one after another, urging the people who were kneeling on the ground. They got up slowly, the shackles clanged, and the court suddenly became lively again.

Waiting for everyone to walk out slowly, the master whispered to Chu Mo: "My lord, is that it?"

Chu Mo shook his head and said, "It's too late, this case looks trickier than imagined." We have to hurry up and not waste time on these people. Nothing can be asked from their mouths, and the useful things are on the paperwork. Tell the head catcher and the servant to meet in the town of Anshe and see if they can find anything useful. ”

The master answered, Chu Mo took another book from the table, and said to the master: "Look, I just noticed something interesting. ”

The master took it suspiciously, looked at it, his eyes were wide open, his gray-brown pupils stared at Chu Mo, and he showed a rare shocked expression, and said, "Yan impermanence?"

Chu Mo smiled and shook his head.

The master stroked his beard, tightened his brows, shook his head and said, "Hiss...... It's really a bit tricky, the powerhouse of Yan State actually intervened in the political affairs of Wu State, this is not a trivial matter...... Quite possibly...... We can't be the master, we're in trouble......"

Chu Mo put his hands behind his back, walked a few steps to the side, and said: "This matter is not trivial, it is much more important than the case of Niufu, you go on, let the people below pay attention to the recent movements in Hangzhou, don't report it to the prefect first, we can't be blind, understand?"

After hearing this, the master arched his hand and said, "I know, don't worry." ”

With that, the master respectfully withdrew from the main room.

The entire main room was quiet again, and only Chu Mo stood alone in the center of the main room, holding those thin volumes of paperwork in his hands.

After a while, behind the side door next to the table, a figure flashed softly.

The figure was very agile, and it looked like it was strolling leisurely, but it didn't make a single movement, and it came to Chu Mo's side very quickly.

After the figure stood still, he saw that it was the coachman in Chu Mo's carriage. At this time, he had already changed his outfit, wearing light armor, and an ordinary military camp uniform, which looked particularly neat and well-proportioned on his body. He had a sidecar at his waist, and his whole person exuded a mysterious and murderous aura, and he felt an oppressive atmosphere within a few steps.

Chu Mo looked at the clerk lightly and said to him, "You have been behind the door just now?"

The coachman bowed his head and saluted: "Yes, the subordinates will not leave the son." ”

"How do you feel about those people in Niu Mansion?" Chu Mo asked casually.

The coachman understood what he meant, and replied: "Those people are just ordinary people, there is no threat, they are not people who practice martial arts, but that Niu Ran knows a little bit of fists and kicks." ”

"That's good. Chu Mo closed the paperwork, handed it to the coachman on the side, and said, "I don't want some troublesome people to interfere with me, so you don't have to pay attention to those little people." There's a tricky bug here, and I've been flying around in Hangzhou recently, so you can help me take a look. ”

The coachman took the paperwork, flipped through it roughly, his face became slightly solemn, and he frowned: "Is this ...... That prince of the Yan Kingdom?"

"Well, you tell your people, don't act rashly, don't startle the snake until you don't know the origin of the other side. We don't know where he's going, and ...... You and your people don't have to be his opponents. Chu Mo said to him, his gentle face revealing a calm and sophisticated face that did not match his age.

"What do you mean...... the boy," the coachman asked.

"If he wants to be rough with us, we'll use our brains with them. Chu Mo smiled slightly.