"Sir."
Just as Qin Mu and Li Xiangjun were creating a charming atmosphere, they were interrupted by Qiao'er's call. Li Xiangjun stepped back with a red face, and she almost fell down because her whole body was weak.
Qin Mu didn't care about anything else and stretched out his hands to hold her slender waist, which felt warm and soft, and so slender that he could not hold it in his hand, just like the delicate and graceful willow branches in early spring.
"Hmm." A soft hum escaped from Li Xiangjun's lips, and the shy expression on her face was like a delicate flower covered with dew, so beautiful that she could captivate the whole country.
Qin Mu quickly let her go, turned around and asked the little girl seriously, "Tell me, what's the matter?"
The little girl bit her lower lip lightly, her eyes as bright as stars scanning back and forth between Qin Mu and Li Xiangjun. Seeing Qin Mu's unfriendly expression, she waved her hand and said, "Sir, it's none of my business. It's Uncle Tian and Uncle Wu who are looking for you."
Seeing that it was already the first update of the day, Qin Mu was really angry. These two blind guys, I just got back, can't you let me rest for a night first
He came to the second hall with a lot of resentment. Before he could sit down, Tian Yimu and Wu Wangcai rushed up and said, "Sir..." Noticing Qin Mu's unfriendly expression, they quickly fell silent.
Under the flickering light, that tuft of hair and triangular eyes were so disgusting. "Tell me, if there is nothing urgent and you have to come out in the middle of the night to scare people, I will send you to the eighteenth level of hell."
Triangle Eyes was smarter. He immediately shrank back, exposing a tuft of hair. With nowhere to retreat, he could only report in a stern voice: "Your Excellency, a body was found in a ravine in Zhoutian Town two days ago. After a careful investigation of the scene, I found a knife wound on the victim's abdomen, two inches and one centimeter long. It can be determined to be a homicide. Although the murder weapon has not been found yet, judging from the size of the wound, the murder weapon should be..."
"What is it? Tell me."
"My Lord, the murder weapon should be a saber used by the army..." Wu Wangcai said this and glanced at Qin Mu carefully. Based on his experience in handling cases, he could almost conclude that this case involved the Zhoutian Town garrison, and the relationship between the military and Qin Mu...
"Has the deceased been identified?"
"Reporting to the county lord, the deceased was a miner in Zhoutian Salt Pond. His surname was Zhou and his name was Kui. He was 33 years old. He was previously an attendant of Wang Gong, the military governor of Ganzhou. After Wang Gong arrived in Huichang, he placed him in the position of the general flag of Qianhu. Later, he was exiled to Zhoutian to mine salt for violating military law."
"What else did you find out?"
"This..." Yi Tumao hesitated for a moment, and seeing Qin Mu's indifferent expression, he quickly replied: "Please punish me, Your Excellency. I am incompetent and have not found anything else."
Qin Mu said calmly: "Well, this county will investigate this kind of murder case personally, you don't have to worry about it."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
According to the court's regulations, when a homicide occurs in the jurisdiction, the chief officer must personally investigate the scene. Although Wu Wangcai vaguely guessed that there was something else going on in this case, he had to report it to Qin Mu as soon as possible.
Qin Mu appeared calm on the surface, but he was secretly angry in his heart. Several people that Wang Gong had placed in the Qianhu Suo were all exiled to Zhoutian to mine salt for violating military law. Zhou Kui was one of them. Perhaps this guy wanted to escape or had some hidden agenda, which led to his fate.
What made Qin Mu angry was that Ning Yuan had to ask him to wipe his butt after he took a shit.
"Tian Yimu, what do you want from me in the middle of the night?"
Tian Yimu swallowed his saliva and pointed to a pile of documents on the desk and said, "Your Excellency, these are documents that urgently need your personal approval and signature. Some of them have been delayed for several days."
"that's it?"
"My lord, there is one more thing. Wei Yingchao, the ambassador of the Taxation Department from the provincial government, insisted on taking people to Zhoutian Salt Pond early tomorrow morning. I tried my best to persuade him but failed. Your Excellency, what do you think about this matter..."
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "If he wants to go, let him go. It just so happens that tomorrow this official will also go to Zhoutian to investigate the murder scene. You don't have to worry about this matter, Yitian."
"Please give your orders, my Lord."
"I have something for you to do. Well... I want to get married. Please choose an auspicious day, the sooner the better. Uh, prepare the betrothal gifts and make it grand. Then, go to Ganzhou... Well, uh, you know."
Qin Mu, who had a serious face, showed an embarrassed expression when talking about this matter. There was nothing he could do as he really didn't understand the current etiquette of marriage, how to organize it, etc.
"Congratulations, His Excellency the County Master. Congratulations, His Excellency the County Master." Tian Yimu and Wu Wangcai both had happy expressions on their faces and congratulated in unison.
"Don't worry, sir. Leave this matter to me. I promise to get it done properly."
"It's not that simple." Qin Mu hesitated for a moment and said, "Governor Yang loves his daughter dearly and is very likely not willing to let her get married so soon. Do you have any solution for this?"
Tian Yimu's triangular eyes turned slightly, Qin Mu understood, and quickly signaled to Wu Wangcai, so Yituomao had to bow and retreat.
Tian Yimu then took two steps closer and whispered, "Your Excellency, please forgive me for asking, but is your sudden rush to get married related to the prefect's dispatch of the tax ambassador, Wei Yingchao, to Zhoutian Salt Pond?"
Tian Yimu was always clever, so it was not surprising that he could guess this. He no longer concealed it and nodded slightly, saying, "Yes, because of the Nanchang incident, the prefect had some grievances against me, so he sent Wei Yingchao to Zhou Tian."
"To mend the rift between the county master and the prefect, it is indeed most appropriate to marry the prefect's daughter as soon as possible. If the prefect is unwilling, we might as well find some excuses based on his birth date."
"Birth date?"
"Yes, according to the horoscope, the wedding date must be particular, even for the emperor. The prefect will not be able to refuse when the time comes."
Indeed, Yang Tinglin had said before that he wanted to arrange the marriage of Qin Mu and Yang Zhi as soon as possible. His excuses would have shown that he was going back on his word. Now he was making excuses based on the birth data and insisted that Qin Mu and Yang Zhi were only suitable to get married this year. Unless Yang Tinglin was going to break up with him, he would have no choice but to let his daughter marry him.
To put it bluntly, this is forced marriage, but Tian Yimu's method is more subtle.
"Sir, if it really doesn't work, there is another way you can try." Tian Yimu glanced at Qin Mu with some hesitation in his words.
"What is it?"
"This... County Master, the prefect is a Hanlin scholar, and he is an upright official. His good reputation is hard-earned. We might as well send someone to Ganzhou City to spread some gossip about why the prefect wants to break off the engagement..."
"Huh?" Qin Mu came to his senses after being stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but look at Tian Yimu twice more.
Although this guy's idea is very harmful, it is definitely effective. Nowadays, people should be honest and trustworthy. Breaking off an engagement without reason will be criticized and despised by the world.
For an upright person like Yang Tinglin, what he cares most about is undoubtedly others' doubts about his character. Once this rumor spreads, it will be so powerful that even if Yang Tinglin is the prefect, it will be difficult for him to defend himself.
If someone were to be sent to propose the wedding date and send a gift to urge the wedding, Yang Tinglin would have no choice but to agree to it in order to dispel the rumors. If he continued to refuse, it would undoubtedly confirm the rumor that he was planning to break off the engagement.
"Yimu, according to what you mean, we should put the prefect on the fire first, roast him until he is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and then give him a rain of marriage proposal to rescue him. Is that right?"
"This... Your Excellency, I have no other intentions..."
"Then what do you mean?"
"I just want to help the county lord solve his problems."
"Then why are you nervous?"
"I'm not nervous... No..." Tian Yimu's face was shaking with sweat. This was really a difficult matter for him. Yang Tinglin and Qin Mu would become father-in-law and son-in-law after all. No one knew whether Qin Mu would use him to fill a hole in the future. Alas, he was too eager for credit this time.
"It's good that you're not nervous. Being nervous won't get you anything done. Ahem, let's do it this way. I'm sorry to trouble you with this."
"Don't worry, sir. I know what to do and I will do it properly."
After Tian Yimu left, Qin Mu worked late into the night, and it was not until the third watch that he finished all the official business that had accumulated over the past few days.
The reason why it was so fast was that Tian Yimu had included a note in each urgent document, which provided one or two solutions for Qin Mu to choose from.
Only when he felt that Tian Yimu's plan was not suitable did he need to think about it himself. In this way, he would be able to handle government affairs with twice the result with half the effort.
The next morning, Qin Mu originally planned to go to Zhoutian Salt Mine in person to properly resolve Wei Yingchao's issue, but he changed his decision because of a piece of news from Anyuan County.
The bandit leader Gu Xiancheng retreated to Jiulongzhang, south of Ning'anyuan County. Ma Yongzhen and Cui Feng's troops not only failed to quickly eliminate Gu Xiancheng, but also started an internal conflict.
This news made Qin Mu furious, but also forced him to reflect deeply on his current situation.
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ps: I was so dizzy from typing so much today that I went around for a look and found that most authors who are listed in Sanjiang or strongly recommended will publish a speech of gratitude, such as Sanjiang speech, and speech of gratitude for the book being published. I suddenly remembered that I have written two or three books, and it seems that I rarely wrote any speeches. In fact, I have been writing books for so long and have many feelings. I am very grateful to every reader who supports me. But if I have to write a formal speech of gratitude, I often don’t know what to say, and I feel that whatever I say will be fake. Only by coming up with real and wonderful stories can I repay everyone’s kindness. Uh, I don’t know what I am saying, haha, let’s go typing, let’s go typing.
Finally, I will sleep in bed tonight and update twice tomorrow. Don’t forget to support me.
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