On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

Outside the city, on the wild mountain road.

There were three yamen runners and two constables, one of whom was Song Ping.

Song Ping said that he was just helping and it would be better not to reveal his identity. Governor Cao understood what he meant and simply asked Cui Chong to go with him. He also asked Cui Chong to find a set of constable clothes for Song Ping.

Cui Chong was a smart and capable man. He knew what to do without being told by Governor Cao.

The two men, along with two yamen runners, quickly went to the scene of the incident.

They were moving fast. The two servants of the Wu family in front of them, who followed the woodcutter, left the city earlier, but were not much faster than them.

The servant had just arrived and hadn't seen the blood on the ground yet when he heard the sound of horse hooves behind him. Song Ping and his men had already arrived.

When the servants saw that it was government officials who came, they looked at each other in surprise.

They were originally feeling lazy, after all, they didn't take this matter seriously and were just going through the motions, but now they had to cheer up and hurry up to meet them.

"My Lords, what are you doing..."

Cui Chong dismounted first and looked them up and down: "Why should we explain to you what we do? What do you do?"

The servant swallowed his saliva and said, "I am from the Wu family. I heard that something happened to my eldest lady, so the old lady specially asked me to come and take a look."

Song Ping smiled coldly, and said sarcastically, "It's really interesting. I heard that the Wu family was a scholarly family before, but now it seems... the master of the family died, and the eldest daughter-in-law of the eldest son died, but they only sent two servants, and didn't even bring any maids. If we were to see the corpse, what would you two men do? Go up and look at it?"

"Even though they are dead, they still have to endure this humiliation. The Wu family is really a good family with a good reputation and a scholarly family. They have read so much that they have become dogs!"

Cui Chong and the yamen runners also felt that Song Ping was right to scold them. What the hell was that? The Wu family had been in trouble frequently recently, and each of them was not what a human would do.

The bailiff stepped forward and pushed the two servants away: "Get out!"

He pointed at the woodcutter and said, "You, come here."

The woodcutter was also afraid of seeing the official, and the ordinary people all cursed and came forward trembling.

"Guan Ye."

Song Ping saw that the woodcutter was afraid, so he took two steps forward. Although the woodcutter was born in the underworld and worked in the palace, he had less "official" air. As long as he was friendly, he seemed relatively easy to approach.

Song Ping said to the woodcutter, "Brother, I heard that you found the body?"

The woodcutter calmed down and said, "It's not a corpse. I didn't see a corpse either. It's just a pool of blood, some clothes, some shoes, and the Wu family badge."

Song Ping smiled and nodded: "Don't be nervous, where did you see it, can you take me to see it?"

The woodcutter nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes. Come this way."

Song Ping and Cui Chong followed, and Cui Chong signaled two yamen runners to keep an eye on the servants.

The yamen runner looked grim and asked the servant, "Why didn't you report such a serious incident to the authorities?"

The servant was sweating profusely and could not speak clearly. He stammered and tripped over it.

Song Ping followed the woodcutter inside, his hand on the handle of his knife, and looked around as he walked: "Brother, are there usually many wild animals in the mountains?"

The woodcutter replied: "There are many small animals, and I have rarely seen a large animal that can eat people. However, it is winter now and there is little food, so it is possible."

Song Ping nodded: "Then you should be careful too."

The woodcutter was also a little nervous: "You are right, I won't take this road next time."

"Do you come here every day?" Cui Chong asked.

"Yes," the woodcutter said, although he was nervous, a bit of joy flashed across his face. "My son is getting married, and we need to have a wedding. I have to make more money. Mr. Wu has taken care of me and found many good buyers for me. The price of firewood is also higher in winter. I took this opportunity to cut more and sell more. I used to make one trip a day, but now I get up earlier and go home later, so I make two trips a day."

Talking about his son and finding a wife for him, he spoke more unconsciously, and his words were full of joy.

Song Ping took out a piece of silver and gave it to him: "So there is a happy event in your family. This is for you."

When the woodcutter saw that it was silver, he dared not take it. No matter how well he sold firewood, it was still copper coins. Which poor family had ever seen silver in blocks?

"No, I don't dare..."

Song Ping put the silver in his hand and said, "Why are you being so polite? This is not a reward for you. This is a gift for your son. I wish them happiness and a son soon."

The blessing made the woodcutter smile: "Thank you very much, sir."

With money, he worked harder.

"This way, it's just ahead."

Song Ping looked around, while Cui Chong listened attentively.

When I got closer, I saw a large area of ​​fallen dead grass. Although it was winter, there were many plants in the mountains and no one had cleaned them up. The dead grass was just standing there, and now a large area of ​​it had fallen down, as if it had been pressed down by something.

Something had been dragged across it.

Song Ping and Cui Chong looked at each other, one on the left and one on the right, observing both sides.

"That's it!"

When he got closer, Song Ping frowned slightly. Sure enough, there was a large pool of blood that had already solidified. Not only had it dried up over a long period of time, but also because of the cold weather, a thin layer of ice had formed on it.

Song Ping pinched it, smelled it, and found it was human blood.

The woodcutter pointed to a half-sized stone nearby and said, "Put the waist badge here."

Cui Chong glanced at the stone and subconsciously said, "This place is quite conspicuous. If it falls in the grass or between the rocks, it probably won't be discovered."

Song Ping nodded slowly.

Cui Chong asked: "Are there any other places?"

The woodcutter pointed two or three meters ahead and said, "There are clothes and shoes there, but I didn't see anything else, and I didn't look for it anymore."

He looked a little embarrassed. "First, I saw the badge and thought about reporting it immediately. Second, I was really a little scared. I didn't know if the beast had gone far."

This is also human nature. Wild animals, which can eat people, will most likely hold back no matter how curious they are when they are alone and know there is danger.

After all, a person had just been dragged away in front.

Song Ping said to Cui Chong, "You watch here, I'll go to the front and take a look."

"Be careful, call me if anything happens." Cui Chong reminded.

"it is good."

Song Ping walked forward a few meters and saw clothes and shoes.

There was only one shoe, a woman's shoe, and the clothes were in pieces, with one sleeve missing, as if it had been torn off, and there was a lot of blood on it.

Song Ping took out a cloth bag, put his clothes and shoes in it, and closed the bag.

The woodcutter watched from the side, curious but not daring to say a word.

Song Ping looked forward and said, "It didn't go any further, did it?"

The woodcutter nodded: "Yes, you...don't go either, just in case..."

Song Ping smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. He has teeth, and my knife is not vegetarian either."

Song Ping said, and continued to walk forward. The woodcutter hesitated whether to follow him, and Song Ping said, "You stay here."

The woodcutter felt relieved, but also a little ashamed.

"Sir," he said, "there is a cliff not far ahead. It should be snowing and icy now, so it's a bit slippery. Please be careful not to fall down."

Song Ping really didn't know this. After all, it was his first time coming back. He bowed to him and said, "Thank you."

Cui Chong was still worried, because this person was from the palace. Moreover, when he went to the military camp to report the news, he risked going to the palace, and it was Song Ping who met him. Although he was from the palace, Song Ping was humble and very capable.

Cui Chong had a good impression of him.

"Wait a minute, Brother Woodcutter, you stay here and watch. I'll go with him!"