Mrs. Tian hesitated for a moment and then said cautiously: "Master Hou, I brought some calming pills. Do you want... do you want to give her two pills?"
"Oh?" Qi Ning thought to himself that it would be nice if that was the case, and nodded: "Then I'll do your part."
After these days, it was not easy to do something small for Qining. Mrs. Tian was happy and said hurriedly: "Then I will go get the medicine now." As if it was an unparalleled event, she hurried back to the house to get the medicine.
Wei Yujiang came over at this time and said softly: "Master Hou, please rest early. If the Dongyang County Magistrate comes, I can answer my humble duty to him."
Although he is only a judge in the Autumn Trial Division of the Ministry of Justice, his rank is still much higher than that of a mere county magistrate.
Qi Ning shook his head and said: "I can't sleep for a while, I just think this thing is a bit weird."
"Master Hou, are you talking about that woman?"
"She said her husband was kidnapped by a ghost. What does the ghost mean?" Qi Ning said thoughtfully: "Did she imagine it herself, or did she see something she shouldn't have seen? Sishen Wei, just now You also saw that when the woman mentioned the ghost, she trembled all over. It was a fear that penetrated into the bone marrow, and it seemed to have left an extremely terrifying memory in her mind."
"Master Hou is saying... that what the woman said may be true?" Wei Yujiang was slightly surprised.
Qi Ning said: "It's hard for me to judge. After all, she is unconscious. As you said, I can't tell whether she is just imagining it or if it is real."
"If it is true, can she really see ghosts?" Wei Yujiang frowned and said, "Master Hou, could it be that when her husband was dying, his soul was possessed by ghosts, but she saw it?"
Qi Ning was stunned, thinking how could you say such nonsense? How could ghosts really exist? But I suddenly thought that this is due to the different times. From top to bottom, people still believe in ghosts and gods. Although Wei Yujiang is an official, it is the result of the times. There is nothing wrong with believing in ghosts and gods.
Qi Ning smiled slightly and said softly: "Actually, I don't believe in the theory of ghosts and gods. I don't talk about monsters and gods. The so-called ghosts and gods are nothing more than human hearts."
Wei Yujiang nodded slightly and said nothing.
The two of them didn't wait too long in the inn. In about half an hour, Wu Dalin had already brought the Dongyang County Magistrate over. The Dongyang County Magistrate was dressed in official robes. As soon as he entered the inn, he saw Qi Ning sitting on a chair. , turned around and glanced at Wu Dalin, Wu Dalin nodded slightly, the Dongyang County Magistrate immediately ran forward, knelt down in front of Qi Ning, and said respectfully: "I am the magistrate of Dongyang County Meng Da, pay my respects to the Marquis!" His scalp was on the ground, Extremely respectful.
The status of a mere local county magistrate and that of a hereditary prince in the empire is vastly different. To see Jin Yihou here tonight, he is naturally terrified.
Qi Ning raised his hand and said: "Meng Zhixian, get up and speak."
Dongyang County Magistrate Meng Da stood up in a hurry, and stood aside with his hands down cautiously. Qining saw that he was in his early fifties, with a fat figure and a black beard under his chin. He motioned for Meng Da to sit down next to him. Magistrate Meng hurriedly said: "Exit Officials don’t dare, and subordinates don’t dare!”
Qi Ning didn't waste any time and asked straight to the point: "Mengzhi County, there is a matter for you to handle here. You will take him there in a while and send someone to investigate."
Meng Zhixian was confused and didn't know what Qining meant, but he still said: "Yes, yes, I will do my best."
"Do you know what it is?" Qining asked, staring into his eyes.
Meng Zhixian said in embarrassment: "I don't know, but I will do my best to complete the errands assigned by the Marquis, even if I have to go through mountains of swords and seas of fire."
Qi Ning smiled faintly and glanced at Wei Yujiang. Wei Yujiang then said: "Mengzhi County, we found a woman here. Her husband was missing. She was looking around with her child. I heard that her child died of illness. This woman She couldn't stand the excitement, so she went crazy. But as a local parent, you always have to investigate the reason for her husband's disappearance. "
Meng Zhixian hurriedly asked: "Is this what the Marquis is talking about? Your Majesty... Your Majesty knows this."
"Know about this?" Qi Ning frowned and said, "Since you know, why didn't you investigate?"
Meng Zhixian immediately said: "Returning to Mr. Hou, the woman came to the Yamen more than a month ago and claimed that her husband was taken away by someone... No, at that time the woman said that her husband was taken away by a ghost. Please I will make the decision for her to find her husband." He spread his hands and said with a confused look on his face: "Master Marquis, that woman was talking nonsense from the beginning. How could I help her find her husband? After questioning her carefully, she And I can’t say anything, except that my husband was captured by a evil spirit...!"
"Was her child still there at that time?"
"Here, a three- or four-year-old baby." Meng Zhixian said: "The official asked her to go back with the child first, wait until she figured it out, and then come back to report the case, and then... then someone sent her out of the county government office."
"Send it out?" Qining stared at Meng Zhixian with sharp eyes.
Meng Zhixian felt a chill in his heart and lowered his head and said, "Xiaguan...Xiaguan just thought she was messing around, so he sent someone to drive her out."
Qi Ning snorted coldly and asked, "Did she go to the Yamen again later?"
"This...!" Magistrate Meng hesitated slightly, and Wu Dalin said coldly: "The Marquis asked a question, and you still don't answer honestly?" He was once the deputy commander of the Royal Yulin Camp, how could he put a mere local county magistrate in the position? In eyes.
Meng Zhixian didn't dare to hide it, and immediately said: "As I said to Mr. Hou, the woman went there two or three times later, but the official only thought she was talking nonsense, so... he never let her enter the Yamen."
"Do you know the origin of that woman?" Wei Yujiang asked from the side: "Since she went to Dongyang County Government, she is naturally from Dongyang County. Where is her home and what other family members do she have? Can you send someone to find out?"
"I'll be the official...!" Meng Zhixian was sweating on his forehead, lowering his head and not daring to speak.
Wei Yujiang frowned and said: "As a parent official, since someone has complained to the county government, no matter how big or small the matter is, you should send someone to find out the whole story. Even if the woman is talking nonsense, you should always find out why she said what she said. Say such ridiculous things?"
Meng Da fell to his knees and said in fear: "This official has neglected his duty and deserves death. Please forgive me, Lord Marquis."
"Mengzhi County, I will not punish you for your crimes today, and give you a chance to atone for your crimes." Qi Ning said calmly: "Take that woman away tonight and figure out the whole story. I will do it in a few days." I will turn back and ask you about the case in detail. If you can't give me a satisfactory answer then, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Meng Da said hurriedly: "I will definitely do my best to investigate this matter thoroughly."
"Wait here for a while." Qining stood up: "Wait until she finishes eating, then take her away."
"Yes, yes." Meng Da got up and saw Qining about to leave, and suddenly said: "Master Marquis, I'm the official... I have something that I don't know whether to talk about or not."
"Oh?" Qining asked, "What's the matter?"
Meng Da thought for a moment and then said: "Although I have not investigated this case, I have been pursuing several other cases."
Qi Ning sat down again and asked: "What are the cases you mentioned? What do they have to do with this woman?"
"Returning to Mr. Hou, those cases are all disappearance cases." Meng Da said cautiously: "From the year before last to this year, there have been a total of five or six such cases. Without exception, there are always people involved. He disappeared suddenly and inexplicably, and his whereabouts have not been traced.”
Qi Ning and Wei Yujiang looked at each other. They both felt that there must be something fishy. Qi Ning had already asked: "You mean there have been disappearances since the year before last?"
"Returning to Mr. Hou, in June of the year before last, someone went to the Yamen to report the case. It was an old couple. Their son suddenly disappeared one night." Meng Da recalled: "The official still remembers that they said that they had been missing for a long time. , his son always rises before sunset and rests at sunset. He is very obedient. They had already arranged their marriage and saw that the marriage was approaching, but one morning they did not see the child coming out. This had never happened before. They went into the room to see, * *There are still signs of sleeping, but the child has disappeared.”
Qi Ning frowned, and Wei Yujiang had already asked: "What happened next?"
"The old couple immediately searched everywhere, but they searched all over the village and even in their own fields, but there was no trace." Meng Da said: "We searched like that for four or five days, but there was no news at all. It seemed that they were still alive. It evaporated, and none of the relatives or friends had seen the whereabouts of the child. I had no choice but to find the county government office."
"How old is the child?" Wei Yujiang asked.
Meng Da said: "I was already seventeen years old at that time. Because I was born doing farm work, I was quite strong."
"Seventeen years old?" Wei Yujiang continued to ask thoughtfully, "Then can you send someone to investigate?"
"At that time, the fighting on the front line was still going on, and various places were preparing food and wages to supply the front-line war." Meng Da said: "All the energy of the subordinates was focused on preparing food and wages. Unless it was a major human life case, some ordinary cases could only be withheld. , although the disappearance case is bizarre, the manpower in the yamen cannot be spared to search for it, so...!"
Qi Ning could understand. After all, Chu State was fighting the Northern Han Dynasty in Qinhuai at that time. The war was in full swing at that time. Both sides naturally needed the supply of food and grass from the rear. The local government raised food and wages for the front line and naturally did not have much energy to deal with other affairs.
"What about the other cases?" Wei Yujiang asked.
Meng Da was so busy: "The other cases are all similar. Some people disappeared mysteriously, and then they all disappeared without trace. At the end of last year, the fifth case of the same case was received. Several previous similar cases were found together and investigated."
"Then can you get clues from the Investigation Department?"
Meng Da said awkwardly: "My subordinates have sent county police officers to investigate these cases personally, but... But so far, there is not a single clue."
Qi Ning looked at Wei Yujiang and asked: "Sishen Wei, do you think these cases and the disappearance of this woman's husband today are all the same case?"
Wei Yujiang thought for a while and then said: "Master Hou, even if it is not done by the same group of people, there must be a great connection." Thinking of something, he immediately asked Meng Da: "Meng Zhixian, are all those missing people involved?" male?"
"Exactly." Meng Da replied: "The youngest is sixteen years old and the oldest is twenty-seven years old. They are all strong young men."
"Then others have mentioned Li Guisuoren?"
Meng Da shook his head and said: "Absolutely not. The others were only discovered after the men disappeared, and almost all disappeared in the middle of the night." After a pause, he continued: "Only that crazy... That woman claimed that her husband was Being captured by the evil ghost, the official... the official thought it was just nonsense and talking nonsense."