The cool breeze drove away the heat of the afternoon, and the porters leaned on the railing of the canal, drinking tea and napping, leisurely and happy.
Seeing Cheng Muyou and Xu Ziming coming from a distance, they were anxious to get up and salute, Cheng Muyou hurriedly smiled and waved at them, motioned for them to sit down, and said, "You have worked hard for so many days, let's rest for a few days, although there is a little errand in the salt boat docking this time, but the overall situation is quite smooth, thank you."
After speaking, he glanced back at Xu Ziming and instructed softly, "Distribute the dry soup that I boiled last night to them in a while, the autumn weather is irritable, and they have sweated too much these days, drinking some will help restore their strength." ” Xu Ziming nodded frequently, waved his hand at the few officials who were pushing the flatbed cart behind him, and shouted loudly, "My lord said, put the soup down now."
Seeing that the servants moved down the two cauldrons on the flat car, he quickly chased after Cheng Muyou, who had already walked on the dock, in a thank-you voice, and frequently returned salutes to those porters as he ran.
Cheng Muyou stared at the calm river, now that the salt boats had all left, the canal had returned to its former appearance, calm and peaceful, only a few fishing boats could be seen occasionally, no longer as noisy but orderly as a few days ago.
The shops on both sides of the river have reopened, and from a distance, you can see that they are crowded with people.
His eyebrows furrowed, a faint layer of melancholy rose between his eyebrows, and he sighed softly.
Xu Ziming was very puzzled when he saw him like this, so he asked in a low voice, "My lord, you just said that things are going smoothly on the whole, but why are you sighing now?"
” Cheng Muyou looked back at him, "Then Du Zhiyong still hasn't moved?"
” Xu Ziming shook his head, "He basically didn't eat that day, he just sat facing the wall in the prison, and he didn't know what he was thinking." ” Cheng Muyou stroked his chin, "In a few hours, he will be escorted to Bianliang." ” "Is it just for him?
But the subordinates don't understand, why do the adults think that Du Zhiyong is lying, and why do they think that Li Bingwen is not the real culprit behind the scenes?
After all, this person has all the evidence."
Cheng Muyou looked at the river and shook his head slowly, "I can't tell why, maybe it's just an intuition," Speaking of this, he smiled bitterly, "Ziming, as a county magistrate, but relying on intuition to judge the case, do you think I'm too presumptuous?"
” Xu Ziming waved his hand again and again, "I have been by the side of the adult for so long, and I only know that the adult is clever and has never wronged a good person."
What you say is that you rely on intuition to judge the case, but in fact it is not, you should be vaguely aware of something in your heart, but for some reason, you have not completely connected the cause and effect, and you have not found solid evidence, so you cannot make a judgment. ” As soon as these words came out, Cheng Muyou's body stiffened, and he immediately asked, "You mean, I have already thought of who the real culprit is, but I don't want to admit it because of lack of evidence, or for other reasons?"
” Xu Ziming scratched his head and stammered, "That's what I said, I don't know a single word, let alone how to judge a case, my lord, you don't have to mind." ” After speaking, he raised his eyes and glanced at Cheng Muyou, but saw that he was staring at the water blankly, motionless, as if frozen.
Xu Ziming pondered in his heart: Didn't he say the wrong thing and make him angry?
But after thinking about it, Cheng Muyou has always been open-minded, and he would never be angry because of these words, so he tentatively took a step forward and called softly, "My lord" His voice shook Cheng Muyou, and cold sweat slid down his spine.
He looked at Xu Ziming, but his gaze passed through him and landed in an unknown place, and he muttered to himself, "Yes, except for me and my father, only Li Bingwen and him are involved, if Li Bingwen did not commit the crime, then the suspicion will fall on him alone."
Miss Yan said that whoever wants to convict Li Bingwen as soon as possible will be the most suspicious, so it seems that " Speaking of this, a trace of sadness appeared on his face, shook his head slightly, and continued, "But he is a second-class member of the imperial court, how could he do such a thing of collusion between officials and bandits, could it be that Li Lingzhi is dizzy and blinded by money?"
” Xu Ziming was confused when he heard it beside him, and after a long time in his mind, he looked left and right, and asked in a low voice, "My lord, what are you talking about?"
” Cheng Muyou glanced at him, and was about to explain to him, when he suddenly heard a rush of footsteps behind him, and turned around, but saw a servant running from a distance, shouting as he ran: "My lord, Du Zhiyong said that he wanted to see you, but he only saw you."
The cell door closed, Cheng Muyou looked at the face that seemed to have aged overnight, and asked softly, "You want to see me?"
” Du Zhiyong raised a pair of chaotic eyes from between his messy hair and glanced towards the outside of the cell, "I will only tell you this alone, and I will not tell anyone else." ” Cheng Muyou understood what he meant, so he turned back to the Shi brothers who were standing outside and said, "You go out first." ” Shi Fei clenched his fists, "My lord, my subordinates are not at ease" "He's shackled to his hands and feet, so he won't hurt me," he said as he walked over to Shi Fei, drawing his saber and holding it in his hand, "Now you can rest assured, this is only a few steps from outside, if anything really happens, you can rush back in time." ” Shi Fei Shi Jin glanced at Du Zhiyong again, and saw that the shackles on his hands and feet were tightly fastened, so he calmed down and walked out side by side.
Seeing that the figures of the two were no longer visible, Cheng Muyou returned to the cell, walked slowly to Du Zhiyong's side, and looked at him intently, "Say, now there are only you and me here, you don't have to be afraid, tell me everything you know, and Xin'an Mansion will make decisions for you." ” Du Zhiyong raised his head and stared at Cheng Muyou, his face was lit by an oil lamp in the corner of the cell, looking a little strange, "My lord, you have actually guessed it, right?"
Otherwise, they wouldn't have come to me again and again without evidence. ” "I guess it's different from saying it to you in person, Du Zhiyong, you know this very well in your heart."
Du Zhiyong laughed twice, "My lord, although there is no one here, there is no guarantee that the partition wall has ears." ” Cheng Muyou understood, so he moved closer to him a little more, slowly leaned down, and his ear was almost next to Du Zhiyong's ear, "Since I have promised, I will never let a third party know." ” In response to him, there was a nervous strange laugh, Cheng Muyou's heart tightened, his head suddenly sank, and he saw that in Du Zhiyong's open clothes, there was a wisp of green smoke winding out, slowly overflowing towards his mouth and nose.