Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 376: Can't Live Here*
At this point, the guard outside the door shouted, "Master Meng is here!"

When Yang Zheng heard this, he immediately went out to greet them. Meng Changqing, along with Bafang Xibei and a group of yamen runners, came on horseback.

"Sir." Yang Zheng apologized as soon as he opened his mouth, "I was negligent in taking precautions..."

"Stop, stop." Meng Changqing raised his hand, "Don't say that." Then he asked, "Are there any casualties?"

Yang Zheng looked ashamed, "I just arrived and haven't had time to ask."

Qian Deming, the squad leader who followed Meng Changqing, stepped forward and said to Yang Zheng, "Captain, it is my fault for failing in my duty."

Yang Zheng waved his hand, "Let's talk about it later."

While they were talking, Meng Changqing had already entered the house. Seeing a couple crying on the ground, Meng Changqing asked them, "Are you hurt?"

Wan Bao shouted, "The master is asking questions, come back quickly!"

"After all, they are victims. Talk to them nicely, move the stool behind them, and help them sit up."

"Yes."

Meng Changqing said indifferently, "It has already happened. Crying won't help. Sit on the stool and take a break."

She looked around the room and saw obvious signs of dragging. She followed the signs and saw a small amount of food scattered on the floor in the inner room.

"It looks like during the robbery, one of the bags came apart." Yang Zheng stood behind Meng Changqing and speculated based on the traces in the house: "Among the robbers, one must have been weaker, or the victim must have held the bag, so the bag opened and left traces of dragging the bag."

"The victim is still alive and seems to be fine. We can find out what happened when they calm down. Go outside and ask the bystanders if they heard anything at the time. Pay attention to the expressions of the bystanders."

"Your Excellency believes that the robbers may have been working together from within..."

Meng Changqing lowered his voice and said, "Don't make any assumptions, just go and check it out."

"Yes!"

After Yang Zheng left, Meng Changqing called Qian Deming and Sun Dayu over again, "Tell us more about what happened at that time."

Qian Deming said: "Tonight is my shift, I am leading my brothers to keep an eye on the dangerous mountain as usual.

Following the adults' instructions, the brothers on the lookout tower kept their eyes on the dangerous mountain all the time, but their vision was impaired at night and they could not see far. Suddenly, I heard someone shouting, and I immediately sent Wanbao to call Dayu, and I took the brothers on the night shift and ran over here.

When we arrived, we saw the couple sitting at the gate crying."

"So you didn't even see the robbers?"

"Yeah." Qian Deming felt so ashamed that he couldn't even lift his head.

Meng Changqing asked again: "Dayu, when did you come? When did you chase the robbers?"

"I was resting in Annan Village with the brothers from the day shift. When I heard Wanbao calling us, I came here immediately. Judging from the distance, I arrived only a little later than Qian Bantou."

Qian Deming nodded, "Indeed, I had just asked someone to help the couple into the house when Dayu and his men arrived. As soon as we met, we immediately decided that Dayu would lead his men to follow the trail, and I would lead my men back to report the news."

Meng Changqing nodded after listening and waited for a while. The crying in the main room gradually subsided.

"Have you asked the couple what happened at that time?"

Qian Deming was helpless. “They just said that people from the mountain came down to steal their food. When we asked them other questions, they just cried.”

"Is this family the only one who suffered the robbery in the entire village?" Meng Changqing asked.

"Judging from the reactions of those people outside, it should be only this family." "Yeah." Meng Changqing walked out of the house. Yang Zheng and his men were still questioning other villagers. Bafang and Xi Bei followed behind Meng Changqing.

"This is strange when you think about it carefully," Bafang said. "From the nearest observation tower to here, the distance is not far. Qian Deming and his men came here as soon as they heard the noise. How come they didn't even see the trace of the robbers?"

Xi Bei said: "This is not surprising, if the robbers were also keeping an eye on the lookout, they would naturally be able to see the yamen runners early and evacuate in time.

It is no secret that Changqing has deployed this group of people. It is normal for them to know that someone is watching them on the dangerous mountain."

Meng Changqing walked around the house and came to the door again.

"Master, what did you see?"

"I didn't see anything, or maybe I missed it." Meng Changqing said, "Master, you and Bafang go around again and see if there are any special marks on the wall or nearby."

"Row."

Yang Zheng also learned about the situation and came to report to Meng Changqing, "I interviewed all the people watching in the yard. They all said that they were awakened by screams and heard the noise. They knew someone was stealing food, so they immediately found something to block their door. They didn't dare to go out until the bailiffs came."

Yang Zheng lowered his voice, "I saw that they looked terrified, but also lucky that they hadn't been robbed. There was no abnormality."

"So they didn't see the robbers themselves?"

"Yes."

"Got it." Meng Changqing said, "You take the people outside to guard, I will go in and ask about the situation."

Meng Changqing moved a stool and sat in front of the victim couple, "It's time to calm down. Are there only two of you in your family?"

The two nodded at the same time, and the man even said, "It's just the two of us. Even if there were more people at home, they wouldn't dare to stare at my house."

“How much food did they steal?”

The man collapsed and said, "They've all been taken away! I've worked so hard to farm for a whole year, all for other people. How am I going to live in the future?"

"Is the person okay?" Meng Changqing asked.

"It would be better to kill us." The woman's face was covered with tears and snot, and she didn't bother to wipe them off. "They just want us to starve to death!"

"It's better to live a miserable life than to die. Besides, you have a baby in your belly." Meng Changqing asked again: "How many people did they bring? They can steal all the food in your house."

"Yes..." the woman recalled with tears in her eyes, "There were nine or ten people who broke in with knives and snatched all the food they saw. They even looted the earthenware jars by the stove."

The man added, "If someone hadn't called the bailiffs over, they would have taken away even the sweet potatoes and pickles in the cellar."

Meng Changqing: "Who called the bailiffs to come?"

"It was the people on the mountain who shouted," the man said. "They left someone outside to keep watch."

"How do you know it's someone from the mountain?" Meng Changqing asked, "Do you know the person who came?"

The woman said, "I know them. They are the same people who used to have conflicts with my husband in the mountains."

"According to what you said, the robbers don't have a good relationship with you, so they targeted your house to rob?"

"That must be the case. They are here to take revenge on us," the man said. "I was one of the first to go down the mountain, and I live closest to the path they take to get up and down the mountain."

"Master!" The man knelt down in front of Meng Changqing, "We can't live here anymore. They didn't hurt anyone this time, but they may not do that next time. My woman is still pregnant. If they really have evil intentions, all three of us will die."