Chapter 34: someone is staring at me
Chapter 34 Someone Staring at Me
Zhao Taigong looked at Chu Nanzhi with firm eyes, and asked sharply:
"My son stayed at home well. He didn't go out that night when the incident happened. My wife and the maids in the mansion can all testify. If it wasn't for the bandits, who would be able to do such an evil thing?"
"Yesterday, the woman checked all the files recorded since the incident, including the information obtained from the search by the yamen servants and the visits by tourists, and found no traces of suspected bandit gangs entering the city recently."
"There are hundreds of servants in the county government office. It is inevitable that there will be some rough people who neglect their duties. It is not known if they are perfunctory."
"Since Taigong knows hundreds of government servants in the county, is it true that everyone is not fulfilling their duties?"
Chu Nanzhi was not in a hurry, and he stated with reason and evidence: "If this is the case, how can the county magistrate Hu manage this hundred-mile-large county in an orderly manner all these years?"
Seeing him falling silent, Chu Nanzhi thought for a while, and suddenly smiled meaningfully:
"The woman heard that there are countless nursing homes in the Taigong's mansion, and the bandits want to enter the deep house of your mansion in the middle of the night to take people away. It is difficult to do it without a group of dozens of people. If a mighty force breaks into the inner courtyard and can take away a smart and intelligent person without making a sound, these nursing homes in your residence should also be cleared."
As soon as these words came out, the faces of Zhao Taigong and everyone around him became extremely ugly.
Chu Nanzhi became more calm, and continued:
"Not to mention that there was a curfew that night, all the city gates were closed, and there were county government guards patrolling on duty. Come to this county, it is not an exaggeration for Mr. Hu to sue you for defaming the imperial court official."
County magistrate Hu was shocked by the woman's sharp words, and couldn't help thinking that the twenty taels of silver were indeed spent in the right place.
And savoring carefully, in fact, although he didn't think about the woman's words so comprehensively, he had thought about many aspects, and even really thought about the ending of losing both with the old man.
Helplessly, being in the officialdom, there is always some restraint. In addition, I was disturbed by this case recently, completely messing up my mind.
While thinking about it, I became envious of this woman's free and unrestrained temperament.
Taking advantage of her prestige, the magistrate Hu immediately made peace with the old man and said:
"The grandpa is the most wealthy squire in this county. As a parent official, I will have to rely on the grandpa in many places in the future. I definitely don't want to form a grudge with the grandpa, and make both sides hurt."
Zhao Taigong gradually felt Hu Maoxi's intention to invite this woman.
This woman is not arrogant or impetuous, her words and deeds are well-founded, without any mistakes, and she can give people a strong sense of oppression invisibly, which has to be convincing.
It is no wonder that it is not easy to solve the tax and bank case that stumps everyone.
It seems that if you want to be stubborn again, you may really end up in a situation where both sides will suffer.
Lao Shen's deep gaze slowly looked at Chu Nanzhi, and Mr. Zhao finally let go of his posture:
"I also invite brother Hu and Mrs. Chu to enter the mansion for a talk."
Then he and his step-wife led the crowd into the mansion.
As soon as Chu Nanzhi led Sibao into the courtyard gate, he was shocked by the magnificent scene in front of him:
You can see green willows hanging around everywhere, hand-painted verandahs on all sides, corridors in the courtyard, dotted with mountains and rocks, and you can have a panoramic view of elegance and luxury.
Around Yong Road, there are clusters of gardens, connected by pools and waters, magnificent yet elegant and secluded.
After staying in the village for a long time, it was the first time she entered such an environment, and Chu Nanzhi had the illusion that Grandma Liu had entered the Grand View Garden.
Sibao has never been to such a good place, looking at the pavilions everywhere, couldn't help pulling Chu Nanzhi's hand.
Seeing her strange appearance, Chu Nanzhi just bent down, when she heard Xiao Sibao muttering in her ear:
"It's so beautiful here."
Then the topic changed: "But I'm so scared, I always feel that someone is staring at me."
Chu Nanzhi was so frightened that her heart shuddered, her whole scalp went numb, and she looked around, but apart from the towering pavilions, there were endless towering trees.
The environment is indeed a bit darker.
After recovering from the horror, Zhao Taigong and his wife, the county magistrate, and the county magistrate were all staring at her in bewilderment.
The aggressive demeanor scared her so much that she could hardly breathe.
Chu Nanzhi took a deep breath with embarrassment on her face, and then quickly explained pretending to be calm:
"The little girl has never seen the world, so everyone laughed."
After listening to a few people, Matsushita finally moved on.
Arriving at the main hall, Zhao Taigong led everyone into their seats, made tea, screened off the servants, and then he was willing to talk to Chu Nanzhi in detail:
"With regard to the disappearance of the child, what advice does Mrs. Chu have?"
"Xiao Langjun disappeared for no reason, it is indeed a bit strange."
Chu Nanzhi spent so much time talking, her throat was almost smoking, and she quickly swallowed a mouthful of boiling tea. Thinking of the suspicions that magistrate Hu had before, she asked without hesitation:
"The woman heard that the grandpa had traveled far and wide and experienced a lot of hardships before he set up the family business. I don't know if the grandpa had any personal grievances with others in his memory?"
Investigating the case, sometimes it is inevitable to touch some taboo things.
But if you are timid and difficult to speak up, you will definitely not get the information you want.
What she can do is to touch the hearts of others with the gentlest language possible.
"Personal grievances?"
Zhao Taigong took a deep breath, his thoughts lingered for a while, and he began to recall his past experiences.
The stepmother at the side replied in a firm tone without thinking:
"My lord has always been kind-hearted, and he is well-known throughout Luyan Port for his compassion. How could he have any personal grievances with others? This Mrs. Chu is really worrying too much. The investigation should ask questions related to my son's disappearance. , what's the point of such side-talking?"
After saying that, Jiao Didi covered her face and began to cry, sobbing bitterly:
"My son has been missing for many days, and there is no news so far. I don't know whether he is alive or dead. You people in the officialdom still have the leisure to ask about unimportant things. You don't seem to be pleading for your life."
Mr. Zhao Taigong was eager to think about his son, and when he saw his beloved being provoked so sad again, he was angry and annoyed for a while, so he had to suppress his anger and go to comfort the woman first.
Taking advantage of Zhao Taigong's time to comfort his wife, County Magistrate Hu couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and immediately sneaked into Chu Nanzhi's ear and whispered:
"I think it's better to follow the old man's insistence on this truth."
Then he couldn't wait to wink with Sun Xiancheng.
Sun County Prime Minister understood, and the words followed:
"The case of the disappearance of the son is quite bizarre. A living person disappeared inexplicably under people's noses. If it wasn't deliberately done by someone with ulterior motives, there is no other possibility."
Hearing this, Zhao Taigong immediately refused to obey: "It's a piece of nonsense, there are hundreds of nursing homes in the old man's mansion, even if someone dares to have such evil thoughts, and enters this deep house compound, how can it be easy to get out of the body?" .”
Seeing that the old grandpa Zhao was so annoyed by Sun Xiancheng's words, Chu Nanzhi almost burst out laughing.
Xiao Sibao laughed out loud "hee hee".
This little guy is very clever. Just outside the mansion, he heard everyone arguing about the bandits and looting. At this time, the old man began to swear by the mansion's ability to protect the courtyard.
Things that people with ulterior motives cannot accomplish, how can a few small thieves do it.
Thinking about this, Sibao couldn't help but put his little head in front of Chu Nanzhi and whispered: "Is this Grandpa Zhao playing tricks?"
Chu Nanzhi gave a soft "hush" to Little Sibao, and shook her head to signal her to shut up.
Zhao Taigong also realized that his words were wrong, and he stopped discussing whether it was the bandits or the enemy. He deliberately changed the topic, pointed to the woman beside him and said:
"Just now I was in a hurry and forgot to introduce Mrs. Chu. This is my wife, Yu Shi. Just as my wife said, the old man has been bright and aboveboard in his life, and he has no old enemies."
The introduction to the wife in the speech is full of kindness.
After thinking about it again, he looked at Chu Nanzhi with deep eyes, and deliberately added:
"It's about the life of a child, and this old man would never dare to lie about it."
Chu Nanzhi nodded thoughtfully.
Look at his old face, he is sincere, and there is no suspicion of secretiveness.
The county magistrate disagreed with him. On the one hand, the suspicion was drawn to the bandits to exert pressure, and on the other hand, the suspicion was drawn to the enemy just to shirk responsibility.
But no matter which side it leans towards, Chu Nanzhi gradually realized that this case has been led in the same direction by everyone:
Disappearance, not murder.
(end of this chapter)