Hou Men Splendid

Chapter 71 Strange Island
"The sacrifices on this island mostly use animals, which is the same as the ones here in Pengcheng." Master Xu pointed to the files that Shao Ziyu hadn't read yet, "This also includes local customs. Officer, many things still have to follow the customs here."

"Isn't it a human sacrifice?" Shao Ziyu didn't look at the files, in other words, he had already read them before Mr. Xu came. Mr. Xu was startled, and then smiled, "Mr. How could people be used to sacrifice to the river god on the island? This is against the law."

"I see that there are people living on these islands, and they are not far from Pengcheng. Why do you not report the number of people living on the islands every year?" Shao Ziyu would not doubt it at first, but looking at these islands The number of people on the Internet, no matter how you look at it, something is wrong.

"Master Shao, you are overthinking. There are also birth, old age, sickness and death on this island. Children grow up and old people naturally die. They don't know how to perform human sacrifices. It was forbidden many years ago." Master Xu saw that he was worried. What, I have some contempt for the rich kid from Luodu City in my heart, it looks like he wants to make some achievements, but why stare at such a non-existent thing.

One was about to leave, Shao Ziyu naturally wouldn't say any more, sat down and talked about other things, Master Xu had explained to him some things about Pengcheng.

After a simple lunch, Master Xu took Shao Ziyu to the prison and told him about the felons locked inside. When he came out, Master Xu pointed to the wall outside the prison and said, "This wall has been reinforced many times. , During the three years I have been in office, I have strengthened it twice. Many years ago, the gangsters ran amok on the official river road in Pengcheng. Adults still can't take it lightly."

Mr. Xu is also a cautious person. Like him, he stays in a certain place for three or six years, and then goes to the next place. Only when his achievements are good during his tenure and no major incidents occur, can he be promoted, so He is prepared in advance.

Shao Ziyu's expression changed, "The robber who committed something."

"I robbed people's good houses, robbed businessmen on official roads, and made a few small nests after the big case more than ten years ago." Master Xu paused, "Master Shao, those are a bunch of shameless people."

Shao Ziyu glanced at the city wall, followed Mr. Xu out of the prison, and returned to the hall. It was already afternoon.

Mr. Xu will leave early tomorrow morning, and the banquet has already been set up in the Wenxian Tower, the largest one in Pengcheng, and the officials and big households in the city say that there are not too many tables, but in fact there are several tables.

Mr. Xu is just a drunkard, and after three cups, he would forcefully persuade him to drink. When others are toasting, he drinks with others. This is the time to fight for alcohol. It's a pity that Mr. Xu has such a big wine stomach, and he can't hold much. , I got drunk in a few moments.

The protagonist of this banquet was drunk, and the people below were also drunk. Although Shao Ziyu was disrespectful, others respected him and drank a lot. The tea in his hand kept running. Shao Ziyu looked at these tables. The officials in this place are comparable to those in Luodu City. Officials are much more comfortable, and the same is true. Many officials would rather stay in the place than go to Luodu City. When they get to the root of the imperial city, any official who comes out at random will not be able to crush him, and the big family behind him can crush him. In some small counties in the area, a magistrate can be the emperor of the land, so don't live too carefree.

The banquet ended very late, and when he came out of Wenxian Building, Guanyan was waiting by the carriage, saw Shao Ziyu coming out, and quickly stepped forward to help him, he didn't look too drunk, but he was smelled of alcohol, and there was Master Li, who was helped out by two people, was still drunk and wanted to continue drinking.

Shao Ziyu lifted the curtain and took a look at them, and told Guanyan to go back to the prefect's mansion. Lin Qingran and brother Han were still awake.

Brother Han is very energetic. He refused to sleep with his nanny, and Lin Qingran hugged him to sleep, but he also refused to sleep. Lin Qingran reprimanded him, and he lay on the bed, playing with his little feet , Smiling at Lin Qingran, drooling.

Hearing movement at the door, Gu Lu turned around and looked at the door.

Shao Ziyu came in and saw that he was in good spirits, so he washed his hands, picked him up from the bed, raised his head high and faced each other, and rushed towards Brother Han with a face full of alcohol, the little guy waved his hand and gave Shao Ziyu a slap With a slap, Lin Qingran behind him smiled, "You've caught him."

The smell of alcohol on Shao Ziyu's body was indeed heavy, so he put it down and hugged him in his arms, Brother Han sniffed him, and wanted to get close to his face.

Lin Qingran took him from his arms and urged him to take a bath. When he came out of the bath, Brother Han was still lying down between them, with his head facing Lin Qingran and his feet resting on Shao Ziyu's arm superior.

I don't know how long it lasted, Lin Qingran fed him once, and finally fell asleep

The next day after seeing Master Xu off, Shao Ziyu went back to the yamen, where several governors and chief bookkeepers were waiting for him. They were assisting Shao Ziyu in dealing with the affairs of the yamen. Some minor disputes among the common people were not handled in the magistrate’s yamen. There are magistrates in various counties, and the cases also go from low to high.

There were no major events in the yamen. The most lively event in Pengcheng was the River God Festival, which lasted for three days. The law and order issues would need to be arranged in the yamen. Shao Ziyu would also go to participate in the River God Festival.

Both the governor and the head secretary are from Pengcheng, Shao Ziyu left them to ask some questions.

In the evening, the two guards sent out came back. In the room, Shao Ziyu's face became more and more serious, "You mean, the people on that island are very guarded."

"Yes, Eleven and I went to the village after landing on the shore. When they heard that our accent was not from Pengcheng, they became defensive. Although it was not obvious, we just walked around the village. Seeing them like this, I didn’t ask any more questions and came back directly.”

These two guards were the fourth-class guards accompanying him, and their observation ability was much higher than that of ordinary people. Whether they were wary or not, they could easily detect it. They were still wearing ordinary attire. What were they guarding against?

Shao Ziyu called the master again to inquire about the situation on the island, and what he got was the same as Master Xu said at the time, "Master Xu also went there once, and they have the same sacrificial method as Pengcheng."

"I don't think there are many residents on this island. Mr. Chen, tomorrow you will take a few people to the islands and register the people in each household, including the ages of adults and children, the number of people in the family, and the number of people in the family. There are a few of them, and who is going out? I don’t think it’s clearly recorded in the files here.” Such household registration information is usually reported by the head of each village himself, and it’s not like sending people to spot checks every year. To investigate, but now he has doubts and feels something is wrong, so he must understand clearly.

After making arrangements for someone, the master went to the pier the next day, and Lin Qingran, the magistrate, also invited the official's wife to be a guest.

Most of them came here to flatter Lin Qingran, especially the officials' wives who wanted to make a living under Shao Ziyu, who were even more enthusiastic. For Lin Qingran, the more enthusiastic the better, it sounded convenient to ask for any news.

It's just that there is flattery, and naturally there are also temptations. Mrs. Zhizhou here is about the same age as Lin Qingran, her husband was transferred here, and she is the daughter of a large family near Pengcheng.

The place has a local arrogance, and outsiders are rejected except for flattery. Originally, Mrs. Xu's term of office has expired, and Mrs. Qian, the magistrate of the state, has given a lot of money to the governor of Huizhou. Her husband is young and promising, and the magistrate must be him. .

However, with an official document from the Ministry of Officials, no matter how much money was collected, there would be nothing wrong with it. Shao Ziyu came by airborne, and in Madam Qian’s view, it was because of her husband’s official position that she was not found, so Lin Qingran was not pleasing to her eyes. .

Brother Han is only three months old, and Lin Qingran has enough milk, and she will swell in less than an hour. She squeezed once when she went back to the room, and the wife who had given birth could see her swollen chest. Mrs. Tongjuan asked Lin Qingran, "Is Mrs. Shao feeding the child herself?"

Lin Qingran nodded and said with a smile, "My own relative."

After listening to it, the expressions on their faces were different. People who could afford it would hire a nanny, and it would take another year to raise a child by themselves.

"Could it be that all the wives in Luodu City raise their children like this, and they have to feed them themselves." Madam Qian smiled, she didn't like it at all, so she immediately added the words.

Lin Qingran shook her head, looking at Madam Qian's rich attire, "Madam Qian has never been to Luodu City, right?"

Madam Qian is not stupid, she understood what she meant, and her expression was a little uneasy, a lady beside her gently took her hand, "Madam Shao, it is worth going to Pengcheng, I don't know What are Mrs. Shao's daily hobbies?"

This is the second person Lin Qingran met who put all his emotions on his face, "I don't have much preference, just stay at home."

"Next time there is an invitation, Madam Shao, please don't refuse." The one next to Madam Qian is smiling, and the contrast is really not small.
After chatting until the afternoon, Lin Qingran sent them out, and it was time to try Aunt Yuan, the cook, and invited her to the front hall. Aunt Yuan seemed a little nervous, so Lin Qingran first asked Si Qin to hand over the wages for the past few days to She then asked her, "Aunt Yuan, you said that your husband died of illness during the famine, did you?"

"Yes." Aunt Yuan lowered her head.

"Aunt Yuan, that's not what I found out." Lin Qingran looked at her, and Aunt Yuan grabbed the clothes, and suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to Lin Qingran, "Ma'am, I didn't mean to It's a secret, so I really don't want the two children to know that their father is still alive." Aunt Yuan began to cry as she spoke.

And what I said next is no different from what Lin Qingran heard. Aunt Yuan and her two children were kicked out. They did come out of the village, but the family environment is not bad. Her husband went to the exam four years ago. For example, there was no news as soon as he left, and he sent a letter of divorce to Aunt Yuan three years ago, so it was understood, and the children didn't even want it.

Aunt Yuan could only tell the two children that their father died of illness on the way to the exam, and that they were going to leave the village, and they were actually kicked out of the house. She does some mending at home, and she doesn't even know what her husband is doing there.

Lin Qingran asked her if she still had the divorce letter, Aunt Yuan took it out, Lin Qingran read it, and hehe, could this be another Chen Shimei.

(End of this chapter)