Qincheng is known as the Peach Blossom City, and now is the season of peach blossoms.
Tao Mo lifted the curtain of the car by a small corner, quietly watching the peach trees popping up every now and then on the side of the road, the spring spirit seemed to spread silently in the peach pistils on the peach trees.
Hao Guozi was instructed by Master Jin to park the carriage in front of an inconspicuous inn.
The carriage shook twice because Hao Guozi and Master Jin got out of the carriage. Tao Mo was hesitating whether to wake up Gu She, but Gu She had already sat up by himself.
"It's here." Tao Mo said something out of words.
Gu She nodded slightly, got up and got out of the car.
Tao Mo was about to follow, but was blocked by Master Jin. Master Jin said to Hao Guozi as he walked in, "You park the car here, and I'll come whenever I go."
Hao Guozi was at a loss.
The road in front of the inn is not wide, they have two horses, one cart and one block, making it difficult for passers-by to walk. Gu Xiaojia and Lao Tao had no choice but to lead the horse to the stable of the inn first. When they came back, Master Jin just came out with a plate of steamed buns, handed them to Tao Mo, and jumped into the car.
Old Tao grabbed him, "Is this going?"
Master Jin said: "The magistrate's yamen has many rules. We are already late now. Logically speaking, we are supposed to meet in the afternoon, so we should arrive in the morning."
Gu Xiaojia snorted coldly: "What a big shelf."
Mr. Jin said: "Otherwise, why is it called the magistrate's yamen?" Seeing that other people had no intention of leaving, he said, "Seeing that the magistrate's mansion is not suitable for a large number of people, if it spreads out, it will be a joke. Let me go with the master." In fact, To visit the boss, Tao Mo should go alone. There are so many people, it seems that he is pretending to take Joe. It's just that Tao Mo is neither literate nor well versed in official interactions, so if he is left to go alone, I'm afraid that something will happen.
Lao Tao also knew this truth, he held Master Jin's hand without any trace and said: "In this case, I will leave everything to Master."
Master Jin felt a heavy bag stuffed into his cuffs, and smiled tacitly, "Don't worry."
As the carriage was about to leave, Tao Mo looked at Gu She reluctantly.
Gu She raised her lips slightly.
Tao Mo felt at ease immediately.
This trip is three hours.
Seeing the sun slowly set to the west and the sky getting darker, Lao Tao's complexion became more and more gloomy.
"Go and have a look at the gate of the magistrate's yamen." Gu She said suddenly.
Gu Xiaojia couldn't sit still for a long time, and ran to the direction of the barn as soon as he got the order.
Lao Tao glanced at him.
Gu She stared blankly at the untouched tea in front of her.
"You didn't have to come." Old Tao said.
Gu She said: "There are three different things: not having to come, not wanting to come and not coming."
Old Tao said: "My young master has neither money nor literary talents, but I don't know how to attract Mr. Gu to pay him off?"
Gu She said: "Why did you stay by his side?"
"Master Tao has been kind to me."
"That's all?" Gu She asked lightly. There are thousands of ways to repay gratitude, but Lao Tao chose the most difficult and labor-intensive one.
Old Tao said: "At least the Tao Manor is kind to me, and it's reasonable for me to stay with the young master. Young Master Gu's intentions are hard to fathom."
"Really?" He didn't seem to want to explain.
Lao Tao lightly pressed his fingers on his knees, and thousands of years passed in his mind. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said softly: "Master Gu, you know that my young master is actually... only male?"
Gu She tilted her head, raised her eyes slightly, her eyes were as clear as spring water, but could not reflect any emotion, "Oh?"
…
Lao Tao is angry.
He originally planned that Gu She would not dislike Tao Mo after knowing that Tao Mo had a habit of cutting off his sleeves, so he would not stop their communication. If one day, the two hit it off, it would be a good story... right? It would be best if Gu She knew about it and avoided Tao Mo. It also saves the two from being confused in the future.
But what is the meaning of such a bland and emotionless word "oh"? Is it because your heart is full of turmoil, but you hold back? Or is the heart still like water, which has nothing to do with him
Lao Tao was entangled in Gu She's attitude, but temporarily put aside the matter of Tao Mo's delay in returning.
About half an hour later, Gu Xiaojia came back, her cheeks were flushed from the cold, and she was rubbing her hands as she walked.
"Where's the young master?" Old Tao looked behind him.
Gu Xiaojia sat down, poured a cup of hot tea and drank it in one gulp to warm up his body, before saying, "I haven't come out yet, Hao Guozi is still guarding there."
Lao Tao's heart skipped a beat.
Gu She said: "Have you inquired about it?"
Gu Xiaojia said: "How can we not inquire. Both Hao Guozi and I gave the porter money, and the porter said that the person is still inside."
Lao Tao stood up suddenly, and said in a deep voice, "I'll go and have a look."
Both Gu She and Gu Xiaojia knew that he was good at martial arts, so they didn't stop him.
Not long after Lao Tao left the inn, there was the sound of rushing wheels outside.
Gu She and Gu Xiaojia looked out at the same time, only to see that the car hadn't stopped yet, and Hao Guozi rushed in stumblingly, followed by Master Jin who was also in a hurry.
"Oops, oops..." Hao Guozi threw herself on the table and said to Gu She, "The young master has been detained!"
Gu She frowned, and looked at Master Jin.
With just one glance, Master Jin felt a bone-chilling chill run up his spine.
When Lao Tao walked around the magistrate's yamen and came back after finding nothing, he saw Master Jin, Hao Guozi and Gu She sitting at the same table with a disheartened expression.
"What's the matter?" After all, Lao Tao had been through a storm, and seeing their expressions, his anxious heart calmed down.
Master Jin's eyes flickered slightly and said: "My master has been detained by the magistrate."
Lao Tao's face turned cold, "Why?"
Master Jin said: "Being corrupt and breaking the law, dereliction of duty."
"Ridiculous!" Lao Tao slapped the table with his palm.
Master Jin lowered his head and said, "Well, this is actually my fault."
Lao Tao looked at him suspiciously, "What does it have to do with you?"
Master Jin said: "Didn't the roof of the county government house break a few holes a while ago? I allocated a repair fee to Mu Chun for the repair."
Lao Tao frowned and said, "So what?"
Master Jin smiled wryly and said, "Repairing the county government requires the approval of the magistrate. The money I allocated to Mu Chun was actually used by Cui Jiong to honor his master."
Lao Tao's complexion suddenly became ugly. This is tantamount to bribery.
Mr. Jin said: "Actually, this kind of fact is nothing. Almost all the previous county magistrates have touched it, but the name is different. The amount of money that the owner touched is the least among the previous county magistrates, and it is also the most reasonable in name. It is a pity that the magistrate Get it right."
Gu She said: "This is corruption and breaking the law? What about negligence of duty?"
Master Jin said: "Before, didn't the boss have two murder cases?"
Old Tao said: "You mean Miss Tong and Cai Fengyuan?"
Mr. Jin said: "It's them. According to the law of my dynasty, the county magistrate is required to be present for the autopsy. It just so happened that the boss was not there when the two murder cases were autopsied. In fact, where is the county magistrate who accompanied you for the autopsy? I met two people who accompanied me for the first test, but the second time I was unwilling to go."
Old Tao said in a deep voice: "Not many people know about these two things, how did it reach the prefect's ears?"
Master Jin said: "I'm afraid someone has filed a complaint."
"Who?" Old Tao's eyes sharpened.
Master Jin is an old fritter, even if the name came to his lips, he would not spit it out, so he laughed and said: "This is going to be a good investigation."
Gu Xiaojia said: "These two charges are dispensable, at most they can be used as a reprimand. How can we detain people?"
Gu She said: "Someone wants to make a fuss."
Master Jin said: "I think so too. My master is a county magistrate anyway, even the magistrate has no right to detain him without authorization! Even if the master is at fault, he should first report it to the imperial court and let the officials handle it."
Hao Guozi said: "Could it really be...Huang Guangde?" Almost every time something happened, he would point the finger at Huang Guangde, and the other party seldom disappointed him.
Old Tao looked at Master Jin and said, "According to Master, what should we do now?"
Master Jin said: "The enemy is dark and we are clear. It is not appropriate to startle the snake. It is late today. In the early morning of tomorrow, I will go to the prefect's staff to inquire about the news before making any plans."
Old Tao's eyes flashed. He sighed, "That's all."
Gu She couldn't help but look at him more.
It's two o'clock.
Lao Tao rushed out of the inn in night clothes.
The darkness of the night was like an invisibility cloak wrapped around him.
He strode across the eaves and ran towards the cell where the prisoner was held in the magistrate's yamen.
At this time, the oil lamp in the cell was dimly lit.
Old Tao Yun pointed his fingers like flying, and quickly pointed to the guards, and walked into the cell, as if entering a deserted place.
It was late, and most of the prisoners were already asleep. Lao Tao searched through the fence one by one until he reached the last cell. Probably considering Tao Mo's status as an official in the imperial court, he lived alone.
Tao Mo didn't sleep soundly when he was locked up here, but as soon as Old Tao stood at the door, he woke up.