Sheng Shian

"Huh?" Shen didn't respond.

Liu Changze let go of his hand and left inexplicably.

Shen Shi was keenly aware of the sadness, and panicked in his heart, as if something flashed by, so fast that he had no time to catch it.

He picked up another pen like a wandering soul, and continued to complete his painting, only to see that the red sun was dyed into a ball of black ink.

All charming thoughts are gone.

Shen Shi gritted his teeth, so angry that he just wanted to scold his mother.

He turned his grief and anger into strength, and shouted out: "Xu County Chancellor, promoted!"

The reward situation is better than Shen Shi expected. Chongming is poor and remote, even if they sell private salt, they are squeezed by others. 200 taels of silver is an astronomical figure for them, and they dare not even think about it...

So much so that everyone was so anxious that after clearing the mountain, they had to collect it from house to house.At that time, everyone was in danger and terrified when they heard the salt, but anyone who had iron catalpas in their homes threw them into the barren mountains and ridges at night.

Li Butou was carrying a pile of iron catalpas in the woods in the eastern suburbs and asked: "Xu County Chancellor, why did the master ask us to bring these waste back to the government office?"

Xu Xiancheng was dressed in light bunts, his head dripping with sweat, and said: "Cutting the grass does not remove the roots, and the spring breeze blows and it will regenerate."

"You who have studied, your brains are easy to use." Li Butou shook his head confusedly: "I never understand, you said that the reward is so high, why does the master give 150 taels to the three chiefs?"

Xu Xiancheng said: "Don't you know the virtues of the village chiefs in Chongming? If they collude to cheat money, is there any point in offering a reward? The alliance between the village chiefs must be broken first..."

Catcher Li is still confused.

Xu Xiancheng went on to say: "You didn't see that for three days, the master and the three chiefs seemed to be hiding some secret, and they suddenly took the lead in suppressing the mine tyrants. If you were other chiefs, would you feel comfortable?"

Catcher Li suddenly realized: "The master wants to destroy the trust between the chiefs by bribery."

"Not entirely true." Xu Xiancheng chuckled: "Suspicious, confused. This is only the first step. The most deadly thing is that once the reward is offered, it reveals the cooperative relationship between the village chief and the government... ...."

Xu Xiancheng was a little tired from his back, he took a few breaths, Li Butou took some for him, and urged: "Go on, go on..."

"The mine tyrants naturally felt betrayed, and with the voices of the unsuspecting common people, their dissatisfaction with being squeezed by the chief for so many years exploded at once. Internal troubles and foreign aggression, the betrayal of relatives, the trust between the chief and the mine tyrant has completely come to an end. .”

Xu Xiancheng paused for a moment, and looked into the distance. This piece of land that was once barren in his heart suddenly cut off the carrion and sprouted new shoots.

He laughed silently.

Li Butou didn't understand, but he was also a little happy, and said relaxedly: "Master once said that trust is the most difficult thing to build. Once it is gone, it can't be repaired."

"Yeah, the gap has already happened, everyone is shouting and beating, who dares to risk his head to become a mine tyrant..." Xu Xiancheng bent away, the master is still waiting for us. "

"Don't, don't, don't..." Li Butou showed a mournful face: "Xu Xiancheng, walk slowly, there are so many shovels that you can't go fast..."

When Xu Xiancheng heard this, his small body started to walk like flying, as if the panting just now was just to trick him into taking more disguises.

"You...!" Catcher Li cursed and followed.

Shen Shi's hands were numb from patting the gavel. There was a huge pile of miners kneeling under the stage, and there were still a pile of people waiting for trial outside the door. He said in a hoarse voice: "The seven people on the left played ten boards, and the younger ones Punishment. The eight people on the right will be fined five taels each. The five people in the middle will be imprisoned for three years. Procrastinate..."

"Master, have a cup of tea to moisturize your throat." He took a cup of tea kindly and considerately.

Shen Shi's throat was about to smoke, and he raised his head and drank it without saying a word.Like a trickling stream flowing through the desert, moistening from the throat to the lungs, he said in surprise: "Honeysuckle ginseng tea...Where do you get ginseng from Chongyang..."

Sheng Yi laughed and said: "Master Hou is tasting tea in the yard, reward me!"

Shen pursed his lips. Didn't Liu Changze hate the smell of ginseng the most?

Before he had time to think about it, he slapped the gavel again, pointed at the hall and scolded: "You formed a gang, harmed the common people, reclaimed tens of thousands of stones of private salt, and put you in death row, pending trial!"

The prisons in Chongming Mansion are all overcrowded, Shen let four people with the same crime live in one room, and if there are vicious bullies, let Shun He appease them.

Without leaving a stick of incense, you will become honest and responsible.

People came up one after another from behind, and Shen Shi took a gap and said, "Master Jiang, give me the record of today's death cell."

Master Jiang sorted out the books and handed them to Shen Shi.

As soon as Shen Shi raised his head, he happened to see Xu Xiancheng who had come late, and hurried down to take Tie Qiu for Xu Xiancheng and said, "Leave the rest to the county magistrate!"

"Master, the interrogation has lasted all night, go and rest." Xu Xiancheng persuaded.

Shen Shi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you."

During the peak period of cracking down on mining tyrants, everyone naturally did not dare to be vague for a moment, and tried cases in shifts.

Shen Shi and Xu Xiancheng also divided their jobs, he interrogated at midnight, and the county magistrate interrogated during the day.

One is because he can only act conveniently during the day, and the other is because he has already handed over a recommendation letter to the capital for "Xu Xiancheng as the new county magistrate of Chongming".

Shen Shi yawned and walked out. He was about to look for clues according to the information of the head of the mine tyrant who had been imprisoned, when he heard his stomach groan.

He looked at the sun above his head and couldn't open his eyes because of the stabbing.

Only then did I realize that it was almost noon.

Shen was never someone who wronged himself, he had money in his pocket, so of course he would go to the best restaurant to eat something.

Although the best restaurant in Chongming is hard to describe in one word.

"Master Shen, here we are, is it still the same?" Xiao Er said.

Shen said, "As usual."

Xiaoer said sincerely: "Okay, send it to the government office immediately. Mr. Shen is not only good to our people, but also to the government servants. We in Chongming have a parent official like you, it is really an eye-opener..."

Shen Shi shook his head with a smile: "There is a guest, you go quickly."

"Got it!"

Shen walked upstairs. He had a place where he often sat, an inconspicuous place near the window.

But today it's a bit too conspicuous.

Shen Shi bit the bullet and walked over, cupped his hands respectfully and said, "Your Majesty has seen Lord Hou..."

His voice, like sand and stones being rolled over, was ugly and tight.

It's better to shut up.

Liu Changze's beautiful brows were frowned, and his whole face became sharper. Impatiently, he grabbed the celadon teapot and knocked it on the empty seat opposite him, and said without refutation: "Drink up."

Shen twitched the corner of his mouth...

A pot, drink up.

Does he still need to eat?

What kind of mining bully should be caught? He saw that all the mining bullies combined were not as domineering as the man in front of him.

Shen Shi swaggered and sat down, poured a glass, and took a sip.

He looked at the dishes on the table again, there was nothing delicious, and he didn't seem to have touched his chopsticks.

Shen Shi beckoned to Xiao Er and pointed to the table.

He thought for a while, drank another cup, felt his throat feel better, and said with a slightly clearer voice: "Hu drinking is not a waste of good tea."

Shen Shi also poured a cup for Liu Changze and said, "Master Hou invites me to drink tea, and I invite Master Hou to taste Chongming delicacies."

Liu Changze looked at him with dark eyes, and Shen looked back with a half-smile.

Oh, the sky is high and the emperor is far away, little bastard, you still have to be a corporal.

Xiaoer delivered the food in time and said: "Master Shen, if you didn't say that I was your friend earlier, you were negligent, you were negligent."

Shen said in a fluent local accent: "It's nothing, please help me remove the previous dishes."

"Come on!" The little second-hand man cleaned up quickly, and put four dishes and one soup on the table. He seemed to have more appetite than before: "Master, please eat slowly."

Liu Changze raised his eyebrows, looked at him again and said, "Chongming dialect."

"As the parents and officials of the common people, of course you have to know it." Shen Shi picked up a wooden dish and said, "This dish looks ordinary, but it is a unique dish in Chongming." , even in the capital, you can’t get it.”

Liu Changze didn't talk nonsense to him, and got up directly to leave.

I saw that Shen Shi, who was lazily slanting and holding a cup of tea, said with a straight voice: "Master Hou, don't you want to know who is selling private salt?"

Liu Changze paused.

"Chongming is poor and poor, and the people can't get out of the mountains for the rest of their lives. So who is behind them selling them? The New Deal advocated by Lord Hou has an order to promote price balance. Isn't the sale of private salt the most influential existence in the market exchange price?" Shen continued Said: "This man's hands and eyes are open to the sky, even the salt mine that the court doesn't know about, also has his handwriting. Can the Lord Hou let him go unpunished?"

Liu Changze said, "Who is it?"

"Look, you'll know if you don't."

Shen Shi put the case file given by Master Jiang on the table and said: "The lower official hasn't eaten yet, so I'll trouble Lord Hou to wait."

Liu Changze sat back on the bench expressionlessly and looked at the file.

Shen was speechless.

It's really hard to coax the young master to have a meal. He hasn't done this job for many years, and he's quite unfamiliar with it.

Shen Shi looked at him for a while, then took out a clean wooden set, put a few dishes in Liu Changze's bowl.

Liu Changze turned a blind eye.

Shen Shi finally couldn't help asking the question he had always wanted to ask: "Master Hou, why do you hate me so much?"

The gap was too big, and he couldn't stand it.

In the past, Liu Changze saw that he was very obedient, but now he is either smoking or fierce, which is too strange. Although Liu Changze has a bad temper, he can't be so weird, I can't figure it out...

And Liu Changze just gave him a glance, and said disgustedly: "I hate it."

Okay, then don't eat it.

Shen Shi picked up a bowl of rice in displeasure, his cheeks were as bulging as a hamster's, he didn't eat much, he couldn't eat the food on the table, he wasted everything, and cast an annoyed glance at Liu Changze.

Seeing that his bowl was empty, Liu Changze closed the case file, threw it to him and said, "Let's go."

"Your officer obeys." Shen Shi said vaguely.

Liu Changze frowned and walked out.

Shen stood up and drank some tea to rinse his mouth. He was so fast that he had time to grab Xiao Er, took out two silver coins from his purse, and said a few words in his local accent: "Ginkgo taro puree for me and send it to the Yali."

Xiao Er immediately went to the kitchen to order.

The chef poked his head out from the oil fume and said, "You heard me wrong! Master Shen, how can he eat sweets? Didn't he panic because he said he was tired..."

Xiaoer shouted: "Old man Kong, you are full of farts, I have been a clerk for more than ten years, and I have never missed the name of the dish!"