Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 196: A lot of help
The carriage stopped at the county road, the curtain opened, and two pretty women got out.

Judging from the way the two women were dressed, they should be a master and a servant.

The leading woman bowed politely to Lu Zheng and said with a smile, "My humble self, Zhao Ru, greets Master Lu."

Lu Zheng had no impression of this woman, so he returned the greeting and asked, "Miss, do you recognize me?"

Zhao Ru said, "At the Changchuan County Literary Gathering, I had the honor of witnessing Mr. Lu's demeanor. The memory is deeply engraved on my mind."

Lu Zheng suddenly realized that being too famous might not be a bad thing.

Zhao Ru turned to look at Wang Wu, who was being held nearby, and asked curiously, "Just now I saw Master Lu chasing this guy. What happened?"

When she saw Lu Zheng and Wang Wu having a conflict just now, she didn't think twice and ordered people to stop Wang Wu instead of helping him.

Lu Zheng calmly told what had just happened.

Zhao Ru frowned slightly and couldn't help but say, "When I passed by this teahouse before, I felt that this shop owner was not a good person. I didn't expect that he would collude with the demon to harm people. Take him away and give him a thorough interrogation."

Wang Wu gritted his teeth and said, "You are slandering me! How dare you lynch me? This is against the law. You hurt me like this, you are forcing me to confess. I want to see the authorities!"

Zhao Ru's tone turned cold as she said, "My father is the magistrate of Tong County. How can he not touch a villain like you?"

Wang Wu's expression suddenly froze. He never thought that he would hit two iron plates today. He was afraid that he could not endure it.

One of the guards said nothing and quickly struck Wang Wu with a palm, crippling his martial arts skills.

Wang Wu only felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, and his whole body curled up like a shrimp. He was dragged to a room in the teahouse for interrogation like a dead dog.

After a while, cries for mercy were heard from the room.

Guards led the horses to drink water and feed grass.

Zhao Ru asked the maid to bring tea sets from the carriage and go to the teahouse to make tea, so that she could sit with Lu Zheng for a while.

Zhao Ru smiled and said, "I didn't expect to meet Master Lu here. I heard that you have killed all the demons in Kaiyang County. Now you are coming to Tong County to eliminate the demons?"

Lu Zheng said, "Miss, you're exaggerating. How could I possibly have the ability to completely eliminate all the demons and ghosts in a county? I was planning to go to the state capital and passed by this teahouse. I felt that it was a bit strange, so..."

"I see." Zhao Ru nodded slightly. "I've heard that Master Lu hates evil and hates evil wherever he goes. I'm lucky enough to see it with my own eyes today."

Lu Zheng couldn't help but say: "It's just some small things, not worth mentioning."

Zhao Ru looked at Lu Zheng and said softly, "Mr. Lu has done many great things. I wanted to visit you a while ago, but couldn't find the door. Today, I have the good fortune to meet you, and I'm shamelessly asking for your advice."

Hearing this, Lu Zheng said, "It's okay to just talk, as long as I can help."

Zhao Ru's expression straightened, and then she said, "Earlier in Kaiyang County, I learned about some newly issued decrees, which were said to be issued by the young master..."

Lu Zheng thought Zhao Ru wanted to talk to him about poetry or articles, but it turned out that she wanted to ask him about this kind of thing.

Thinking that the other party's father was the magistrate of Tong County, Lu Zheng quickly understood Zhao Ru's intentions.

Lu Zheng did not hide anything and told everyone about the matter.

He also took out the latest planning booklet for Zhao Ru to read.

Zhao Ru was overjoyed, her pretty face flushed slightly, and she asked a little embarrassedly, "This...can I make a copy?"

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "There's nothing wrong with that. However, this is the plan for Kaiyang County. The situation in Tong County is different from Kaiyang County, so just use it as a reference."

"I know."

Zhao Ru asked the maid to bring pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and copied it herself.

She held a thin brush and her hands moved quickly, and tiny words appeared on the paper.

While transcribing, Zhao Ru also asked some questions that she didn't understand.

Lu Zheng answered them patiently one by one.

After a while, a guard who was interrogating Wang Wu came closer and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Zhao Ru finished copying another paragraph, then stopped writing and asked without looking up, "Did that person confess?"

The guard then said respectfully, "He confessed. That man was in league with two snake demons, a rat demon, and two wild ghosts. He usually targeted passersby, and many people have been killed over the years..."

After listening to the guard's story, Lu Zheng thought to himself that it was no wonder that he hadn't noticed any demonic aura here.

Wang Wu usually acted cautiously and never came into contact with demons and ghosts. Instead, he communicated with demons and ghosts through mice that could speak human language. He also did not personally participate in killing and robbing to avoid being contaminated by bad luck.

Those who are proficient in the art of observing qi may be able to see that Wang Wu is abnormal, but it is not easy to find evidence of his guilt.

When Lu Zheng came to rest before, he felt something strange about Wang Wu, but there was no evidence at the time, so it was not easy to force him to confess.

"He's not a good person." Zhao Ru frowned. "Take your men and get rid of those demons."

Upon hearing this, the guard named two companions and quickly went into the mountains.

Zhao Ru turned and continued to copy and ask for advice.

It didn't take long for Zhao Ru to finish copying the entire booklet, and she couldn't help rubbing her sore wrists.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "If a young lady with your talent could become an official, it would be a blessing for the people."

Zhao Ru was delighted when she heard this, as if she had eaten honey. However, she felt a little embarrassed and said, "Mr. Lu, you are too kind. I am just a woman, how can I be an official?"

In Anguo, there was indeed no precedent for women serving as local officials, but there were no shortage of powerful women whose words and deeds could affect the lives of many people.

"Even though I can't be an official, I can still do a lot for the people. I am not an official either," said Lu Zheng.

Zhao Ru's eyes were blazing as she spoke, "I think my father would be delighted to see you, Young Master Lu!" She paused, sensing a tinge of ambiguity in her words, and blushing slightly, added, "My father is a benevolent official, and he'll surely get along well with you..."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "I'm passing through Tong County this time and I just want to buy some good drawing paper. I'll visit you when I have time."

Zhao Ru was delighted when she heard this, and then she blinked and said, "Sir, aren't you going with us?"

Lu Zhengdao said, "I'm used to traveling alone, so I'll take my time. I don't want to delay you."

"Is that so?" Zhao Ru didn't want to force him, so she said, "Then I will wait for you in Tongcheng."

Lu Zheng took a sip of the fragrant tea and said slowly, "Speaking of which, I don't know much about Tong County. I wonder if the young lady could tell me a little bit about it?"

Zhao Ru was naturally happy and told Lu Zheng some stories.

About half an hour later, three guards came back from the mountains, each of them covered in grass debris.

"Miss, the two evil spirits have been killed, but we only found a trace of the two monsters. They are hiding in the deep mountains and are difficult to find for the time being."

The two ghosts had no idea what was happening there, so after searching for them, they found them and killed them on the spot.

As for the snake demon and rat demon, they must have been frightened by their previous failed attempt to kill Lu Zheng and fled in panic, and their whereabouts are unknown.

Zhao Ru frowned slightly when she heard this. "You can't even do this. Keep looking!"

This incident happened in Tong County, and her people couldn't even find the two little demons, which made Zhao Ru feel embarrassed in front of Lu Zheng.

"This……"

The guard showed a hint of difficulty on his face. "I don't know where those two monsters are hiding. It will probably take a long time to find them. We still have to escort the young lady back to the county..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng said, "Those two monsters are cunning and won't show up in the short term. Miss, take your men back to Tongcheng first. I'll be here."

Zhao Ru couldn't help but ask, "Won't this delay the Master's business?"

Lu Zheng waved his hand and said, "I don't have anything important to do. I'm just sightseeing."

Zhao Ru hesitated for a while, but decided to leave first.

She gave Lu Zheng an invitation, asking him to come to her home when he arrived in Tongcheng.

Afterwards, Zhao Ru got on the carriage and continued on her journey, escorted by several guards.

As for Wang Wu, he was tortured to a miserable state and was tied up and taken to Tongcheng.

The teahouse returned to silence, leaving Lu Zheng sitting alone.

He took out his whistle and blew gently for a while.

After a while, two birds flew to the teahouse and looked at Lu Zheng.

I can attract birds here too... Lu Zheng thought.

He revealed his identity and asked the two birds to help him find the snake demon and rat demon in the mountains.

Upon hearing this, the two spirit birds agreed without hesitation.

Lu Zheng expressed his gratitude and gave out two pills as a reward.

The spirit bird happily took the pill and flew away excitedly.

The two spiritual birds sang all the way, calling out to the ordinary birds, asking them to pay attention to the situation in the nearby mountains.

After a while, a group of passers-by came to the teahouse and found a table to rest.

One of them glanced around the teahouse, but seeing no sign of Wang Wu, he shouted, "Where's the owner? Bring me a pot of cold tea!"

Lu Zheng turned around and said, "Wang Wu committed some crime and was taken to the government office."

Everyone was shocked and confused when they heard this, and some of them didn't believe it.

"What did he do wrong? How do you know?" someone asked.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "He colluded with demons and ghosts to harm people and was just taken away... If you want some tea, please help yourself."

"Wang Wu and his men are pretty good, but the tea room here charges a high price. We occasionally stay overnight here, and no one has ever been killed. How could he collude with demons and ghosts?" someone said.

Lu Zheng then recounted in detail what Wang Wu had done.

After hearing Lu Zheng's story, everyone was shocked.

It turns out that the reason Wang Wu was able to open a teahouse here for so many years was because there were demons and ghosts behind the scenes supporting and causing trouble.

"Wang Wu is such a person. Have those monsters been caught?" someone asked curiously.

"The ghost is dead and the monster ran away." Lu Zheng replied.

The expressions of several people suddenly changed slightly and they felt uncomfortable.

"This place is unlucky. Why don't we leave quickly, otherwise those monsters will come back." Someone suggested.

When the others heard about this, they didn't want to stay any longer and got up to leave.

One person looked at Lu Zheng and couldn't help but ask, "Young man, are you staying here to wait for someone to join you? We are going to take the road to Kaiyang County. Do you want to go with us?"

Lu Zheng bowed and said, "Thank you very much, but I came from that side and I'm not going the same way as you guys."

After hearing this, the few people said nothing more and walked away quickly, leaving this place of trouble.

(End of this chapter)