Guobei County, the county government

One after another, people returned to the antechamber.

After they had completed the instructions of the magistrate, they were taken out of the house one by one by the goatee catcher and the messengers. Then he was arranged to take a bath and change clothes. Finally, under the reminder and care of the sheepbeard catcher, he returned to the front hall and waited without saying a word.

At this time, there were a lot of people sitting in the front hall, but the atmosphere was lifeless.

As soon as Shopkeeper Zhou entered the front hall, he saw that his father had changed into new clothes, and he was sitting upright drinking tea at this time. He hurriedly ran over, squeezed his father's hand left and right, patted his father's leg, and then asked something with an anxious face.

The old man Zhou, who was drinking tea and thinking about things, was called back to his senses by his son's beating, and looked up to see his son's mouth open to speak, and the concern on his face. Hurriedly waved his hand to stop Shopkeeper Zhou, who was about to speak, and then nodded, indicating that he was fine. He didn't want his son to be beaten as well.

The people were soon together, and the scholar was sitting drinking tea, his face was ruddy, not at all like a person who had just suffered from flesh and skin.

The painter looked left and right at the people around him, scratched his head, and then lowered his head again.

......

"Lord Zhixian is now waiting for you, Mr. Wei, please!"

The sheepbeard catcher had just left the front hall for a while, and at this time he walked in with his head up, and his loud voice pulled everyone's thoughts back, and they all looked at Mr. Wei in unison.

Nodding, Shi Shiran stood up and arched his hand towards everyone in the room, Mr. Wei nodded towards the sheep's beard catcher, and walked straight out.

The same nod counted as a response, leaving Mr. Wei to be led by a messenger, and the sheepbeard catcher remained in the front hall, continuing to guard the other people in the house.

A plant of incense

A single servant in a black soap suit ran back and whispered in the ear of the goatee catcher.

"Old Shopkeeper Zhou, please!"

On the other side,

"The problem that I haven't figured out until now is how the painting was stolen. ”

The voice came from a small house, with a large table in it, and at one end of the wall sat the county magistrate, and at the other end sat Mr. Wei.

Mr. Wei didn't speak, just nodded slightly.

"This painting has been in your hands for two days, right?" Seeing that Mr. Wei didn't answer, the county magistrate frowned, and the words changed.

After thinking for a while, Mr. Wei said truthfully, "About three days ago, I picked it up on the way home on the autumn equinox, and at first I thought it was wood. ”

What is happening now in this hut is both a trial and a chat. You have to control this measure.

Mr. Wei understood the intention of the county magistrate from the moment he came in, and he understood that he had to tell the truth selectively and speak less now.

Sure enough, after Mr. Wei finished answering, the wrinkled brows of the county magistrate on the opposite side relaxed a lot, raised his hand and knocked on the table with his joint, and lowered his head slightly, "If it wasn't for the scholar who ran out of nowhere and killed someone, what are you going to do with this painting?" The last word fell, and the county magistrate raised his head and stared at Mr. Wei's eyes tightly.

There was no other expression on his face, and Mr. Wei unhurriedly shook the hem of the robe on his legs slightly, and lifted his legs. Then he said leisurely, "I still have to pay it back, but not now." As he spoke, the corners of his mouth grinned to both sides, and with a bright light in his eyes, Mr. Wei looked at the county magistrate easily.

With one hand propped up on the edge of the table in front of him, the county magistrate leaned forward, forming a shadow that covered most of the table.

"You say, is it a good thing that someone is dead?"

Mr. Wei shook his head with a smile, "Really?"

"Is it a good thing that the dead are bad people?"

Mr. Wei also moved closer to the table, and the light in his eyes brightened a lot, "Isn't it?"

"Is it a good thing that the thief who stole the painting is dead?"

"Good thing?" both had elusive smiles and expressions on their faces.

The county magistrate leaned back and let out a burst of laughter, the light in the room was not bright, and Mr. Wei could vaguely see the beard on the man's chin behind the table shaking.

Knock!

After laughing, there was a short knock on the door, and the county magistrate rubbed his chin and adjusted his expression,

"Okay, go ahead, the owner of the painting is coming soon. ”

"It's a good thing to return to its original owner! Mr. Wei stood up, sat down, and took two steps back as he spoke.

"I'll go to your house for dinner in two days. At the moment when Mr. Wei went out, the voice of the magistrate came.

Mr. Wei, who was just about to turn around, stopped, turned sideways, bent over, pushed the door and left.

Call...

After taking a breath of the cold air outside, Mr. Wei felt a stone in his heart fall. He knew that the matter of the scholar's murder had finally been completely revealed.

Taking a deep breath and glancing left and right, Mr. Wei walked away.

The magistrate looked through the closed door for a while, with some inexplicable smiles on his face, a fox disguised as a dog?

......

As soon as Mr. Wei left, the shopkeeper of Lao Zhou arrived, he just came to go through the motions, so he thanked the county master again, stayed for a while, drank a few sips of tea, and was ready to leave.

"My lord, what about my son, you see, can you let him join me. Before leaving, the old shopkeeper Zhou whispered a request to the county master who accompanied him with an embarrassed face.

Shaking his head, the county magistrate said helplessly, "You don't need to worry about this, the process of going still has to go, you can't make it difficult for the official." As he spoke, he raised his hand to signal that Old Man Zhou could go home.

"Yes, yes, it's the little old man who didn't think it through. Then retire first, my lord. Knowing that he had trespassed, the old man Zhou quickly accepted it, and thanked the county magistrate again and again.

Sent the old man Zhou outside the house, the old man of the county took away the smile on his face, looked at the back of the old man in front of him with his hands behind his back, and said indifferently

"Please, shopkeeper Zhou comes over. ”

"No, sir. ”