Wang Yanqing vaguely heard the movement, turned around, and found a group of people walking along the river bank, it was Lu Heng and his party who went to the mountain to check the terrain. Wang Yanqing hurriedly put down the stone in his hand and said to Li Zhengze, "The person I was waiting for is back, come here first today, you go back quickly."
Li Zhengze saw the crowd, put away the stone in fear, and ran away. Wang Yanqing got up, but accidentally noticed that the corners of the skirt were gray. She was embarrassed, and quickly and quietly cleaned up.
Fortunately, the army did not notice her, and the yamen surrounded the prefect and the magistrate, passed by Liuyin, and walked straight to the village. Only Lu Heng left the team and walked in her direction.
Lu Heng led the horse and stood under the wicker under the dazzling sunshine of midsummer. He glanced at Wang Yanqing and asked with a smile, "What are you doing?"
Wang Yanqing's skirt was a little messy, because after sitting outside for a long time, her temples were sweating and her snow skin was reddish. Wang Yanqing raised his hand to brush the broken hair on his cheek, and said, "It's nothing."
Just as her hand was about to touch her cheek, Lu Heng held it. Lu Heng took out the veil and carefully wiped the soil on her fingers: "I saw you playing with soil across the river. How old are you this year?"
"It's not playing with dirt." Wang Yanqing corrected righteously, "I'm teaching the art of seeing small and knowing works and arranging troops."
Listening to this, Lu Heng couldn't help laughing: "Qingqing actually has such talent. Why don't you teach me such a unique skill, but pass it on to outsiders first?"
Wang Yanqing snorted softly: "You shouldn't learn to play rocks, it will damage your authority when seen."
Lu Heng finally laughed lightly. The bright sunshine in July was dizzying, he laughed softly, his body was slender and straight, with bright stars and rivers in his eyes, and the smell of the mountains and forests on his body.
Before they came back, Wang Yanqing felt that a mountain village with filial piety was located in the mountains and mountains, and the silence was terrifying; but as soon as they came back, Wang Yanqing felt that the place was green and green, wild and wild, full of wildness and vitality.
It all changed because of him.
Wang Yanqing looked at his dark blue official uniform, on which Feiyu was staring at her with a pair of copper eyes, staring back at her with open teeth and claws. Wang Yanqing said, "Second brother, why are you wearing dark clothes in such a hot weather?"
Lu Heng carefully wiped the dust off her fingertips and said, "If you wear red or purple, it would be too stupid to walk in the forest."
Lu Heng wore red clothes when he went to court and when he was driving, but he mostly wore casual clothes when he went out for tasks, and a few occasions where his identity could be revealed, he wore cyan and black official uniforms. Jin Yiwei's clothes are so conspicuous that he doesn't want to reveal them unless necessary.
At least he didn't want to do something as stupid as wearing a red shirt in the forest.
Lu Heng's horse is well-kept. Even if there is no leash, it will not run around. It grazes quietly under the tree. When Lu Heng blows the whistle, it will come over automatically. Lu Heng put away the veil, held Wang Yanqing's hand, and walked towards the village with the other hand on the reins. He glanced back as he passed a tree.
Behind the tree trunk, a little boy quickly retracted his head, revealing only a pair of black eyes, looking at them curiously and fearfully.
Lu Heng recognized that this was the child who was talking to Wang Yanqing just now, and he asked, "Who is this?"
"The grandson of Li Zheng's family is called Li Zhengze."
"Ping said is regular, good name."
The two stopped when they clicked, this is not the place to talk, and they didn't talk deeply. After they returned to the village, it was almost time, everyone drank water and ate, and after resting for a day or two, they set off towards the county seat.
It is unrealistic for so many people to live in Hegu Village. Lu Heng has already seen the surrounding terrain, so there is no need to stay in the village anymore. It is better to go to the more convenient county office. Lu Heng never wronged himself in terms of food, clothing, housing and transportation.
In the evening of the same day, Lu Heng, Cheng Zhifu and others arrived in Qi County and stayed in the county government office. The county magistrate Tao Yiming asked the prefect and the commander to go to the best restaurant in the city for dinner, and at the same time, he hurried back to the county government to clean up the room.
It is estimated that the Qixian county government has never been so lively. Two adults came to the government at one time, and each brought many attendants. It was a lot of trouble to clean up the room, arrange the staff, and cut the grass and feed the horses. During this period, the magistrate Tao Yiming proposed to give Lu Heng the residence of the county magistrate's main hospital, but Lu Heng refused.
He has a habit of cleanliness in this regard. He doesn't like to touch other people's things, nor does he like others to touch his things. He would rather live in a small but clean empty house.
Knowing that the big man was coming, the restaurant had already cleared the venue. Lu Heng, Cheng Zhifu, Tao Yiming and other officials of the prefecture ate on the second floor, while Wang Yanqing ate alone in the box. To be honest, Wang Yanqing was very satisfied with the result, she didn't have to think about other people's faces, and she didn't have to worry about her face, she ate a meal at ease.
Social entertainment in the officialdom is generally like this, three points for eating and seven points for drinking. Wang Yanqing thought they would make trouble for a long time, but she didn't expect it to end after waiting for a while.
The shop assistant came in and respectfully invited Wang Yanqing to come downstairs. Wang Yanqing went out to board the sedan chair, and soon the porter got up and walked to the county office.
Wang Yanqing was a female family member and did not dismount from the horse at the same place as the men. He did not dismount until after entering the courtyard wall. Immediately after she came out, a servant girl stepped forward and led Wang Yanqing to the place where she was staying tonight.
The small county office was overcrowded at the moment, but the place where Wang Yanqing went was still quiet and quiet. This yard has just been cleaned up, the place is not big, but it is very quiet. There are three rooms in the front, surrounded by walls on both sides. The other courtyards are connected by ebony doors. Several bamboos are planted in the courtyard, like a small square in a chessboard.
In the courtyard, there is a cross corridor made of stones, and there are still traces of water sprinklers on it. The maid led Wang Yanqing to the door of the house, pushed open the door, and said, "Girl, this place was originally a place to store documents. The county magistrate knew that Lord Lu likes to be quiet, and immediately ordered us to clean it up. The hot tea and hot water have already been boiled. Look, girl, is there anything else missing?"
Wang Yanqing lifted her skirt and stepped into the threshold. Hearing this, she shook her head: "No, it's work."
The maid wiped her hands on the skirt and said, "That's good. There is something else in the kitchen, the slave's house will go first. If you have any orders, just call someone, and the slave will retire."
Wang Yanqing subconsciously said thank you. After the maid left, Wang Yanqing walked slowly in the house. The three rooms are not big enough to compare with the Lu residence. The west room is filled with many boxes, cages and scrolls, with almost no place to stay. The main room is well-furnished, with calligraphy, paintings and chairs. The east room is vacated for Lu Heng to make. Bedroom with bedding.
All of this seems to Wang Yanqing to be unremarkable, but for the county government, it is not easy to clean up like this. Where she stayed temporarily, Wang Yanqing didn't have high hopes. She turned around and suddenly realized why there was only one bed
Lu Heng came in and found Wang Yanqing rummaging around in the house, asking, "What are you looking for?"
Wang Yanqing's heart was indescribable, she frowned and said, "Why did they only prepare one room?"
More than one room, there is only one bed.
Lu Heng replied calmly, lifted his clothes, sat down, and said, "Today you have to rush to say that it is my maid, and the maid and I live in the same room, isn't it normal?"
Wang Yanqing was stunned, unable to answer for a while. Lu Heng poured tea leisurely, glanced at her calmly, and said with a smile, "Why, do you want them to rearrange it?"
Asking the magistrate to clean up a new room and come out is just a matter of Lu Heng's words, but in this way, they will change their rhetoric and be capricious, which may arouse suspicion from outsiders. Wang Yanqing gritted his teeth and said, "Forget it, it's not unheard of before anyway, don't bother."
Lu Heng was drinking tea leisurely, but when he heard this, he put the tea cup back on the table with a bang, and lost all interest in drinking tea. Just as Wang Yanqing put down her burden, she suddenly heard a noise from behind, and turned around in surprise: "Second brother, what's the matter?"
Lu Heng sat up straight, pulled the corner of his lower lip coldly, and said, "It's okay."
He said it was okay, but listening to this tone, it didn't seem like it was okay. Wang Yanqing looked at him for unknown reasons, so good, why was he suddenly angry
Wang Yanqing put things aside temporarily, sat down at the table, and looked at him with a pair of bright eyes with concern: "Second brother, what do you remember?"
Lu Heng also wanted to know why he couldn't find it himself. He exhaled, gritted his teeth secretly and said, "It's nothing, I think of a hapless person."
Listening to his tone, it seems to be someone in the officialdom. Wang Yanqing sighed and stopped asking. She wiped off the water on the table, poured tea for Lu Heng again, and said, "Second brother, don't think about the unhappy things, the moment is the most important."
Lu Heng narrowed his eyes and smiled vaguely: "You are right, I am narrow-minded."
"Second brother, did you find anything on the river today?"
It was obvious that he asked her to call her second brother at first, but now, Lu Heng was very upset when she heard the "second brother". He said, "There is no one now, so you don't have to call me second brother all the time."
Wang Yanqing looked back, although there was no words, but Qing Lingling's eyes silently expressed this meaning: "What are you talking about?"
Lu Heng raised his eyebrows, and he felt that his words were illogical and completely untenable. Lu Heng gave it a try, but couldn't make up a perfect rhetoric for a while, so he gave up: "Forget it, let's talk about it later. Maybe they thought that the people from the capital were trash, so they took me to see a few flood-prone places. ."
"and then?"
"It's a bunch of nonsense." Lu Heng said, "Listening to a fool to lie is a kind of torture. I probably know the surrounding terrain, so I came back early."
Wang Yanqing nodded with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Lu Heng took a sip of tea and asked calmly, "What about you, the great actor."
Wang Yanqing was thinking very seriously at first, but when he heard what he said, Wang Yanqing looked embarrassed and said, "The situation was special at that time, so I could only resort to this..."
"You don't have to explain it to me." Lu Heng said with a smile, "You never have to apologize for what you want to do, even to me. Your approach is very good, I was almost deceived by you, but... "
Wang Yanqing's eyes showed nervousness, thinking that he had made a mistake. Lu Heng took a long sip of tea, and when he had enough appetite, he said lightly, "It's just that the acting is too bad."
Wang Yanqing asked, "Is it exaggerated?"
Lu Heng nodded: "So you know it yourself."
Wang Yanqing was a little distressed, but she really tried her best. She sighed and asked humbly for advice: "Second brother, how should I act?"
Lu Heng opened his mouth and was about to give pointers, but he didn't react until the words came to his lips, and said with a smile, "I haven't studied these things, how do I know?"
Wang Yanqing failed to improve, and waved his hands brokenly: "Forget it, leave this matter alone. Second brother, I think you need to take a look at this."
Wang Yanqing took out something from his purse, Lu Heng took it, looked left and right, and asked with a smile, "How did you get it?"
Speaking of this Wang Yanqing, he became energetic, and continued: "When you checked in Aunt Liu's house, I could see that Li Zheng's expression was wrong. He was sweating frequently, rubbing his hands unconsciously, and looked very restless. I knew something, so I tried to infiltrate their house. After I entered the house, I found that the Lizheng family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didn't seem to be dealing with it.
Wang Yanqing stopped, Lu Heng held back his laughter, looked at her intently, and nodded lightly: "I can understand, one army does not allow two commanders, and my brother and I didn't get along well when we lived in the same mansion, not to mention mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. go on."
Wang Yanqing was a little surprised. She always felt that he was someone who asked his daughter-in-law to be filial to her parents-in-law and take care of her younger siblings. She didn't expect Lu Heng to be unexpectedly enlightened in this regard. But why does she feel that way? How could she have such a big misunderstanding of her second brother
Wang Yanqing felt that she was outrageous, and continued to explain: "I learned from the conversation with Lizheng's daughter-in-law, Wu, that Lizheng and his wife made a lot of money, but they kept their daughter-in-law secret and secretly confessed to their grandson. Mrs. Wu heard that. Mrs. Wu felt that they were greedy for the funeral expenses of the widow and orphans from the imperial court.
Lu Heng raised his eyebrows and praised sincerely: "Qingqing, you have done a lot in a day today. As long as the people in Jinyiwei are half as capable as you, Daming will be invincible."
Wang Yanqing shook her head, and she was very self-aware of this: "I took up the identity of a woman, so that they were not intentional. If it was a man at home, Qian and Wu would definitely not go out. The second brother's Jinyiwei each We have our own strengths, none of us can replace anyone, we can only do our own thing well.”
Lu Heng didn't notice it himself, there was a trace of unspeakable pity in his eyes. Wang Yanqing's truth is not bad, handling a case is not a matter of one person, verifying, arresting, interrogating, writing documents, any truth condenses the credit of everyone. If his subordinates were arrogant and complacent, he would definitely beat them hard, but for Wang Yanqing, he hoped that she would be more arrogant and selfish.
Lu Heng touched her hair and said, "You have done a good job. You are really irreplaceable when it comes to questioning."
Lu Heng suddenly praised her, making Wang Yanqing very embarrassed. She lowered her head, but a smile appeared on her face: "It's good that the second brother doesn't dislike me. In the afternoon, Qian and Wu both fell asleep, and Li Zheng's grandson Li Zheng was playing alone under the eaves. Because of the cheapness of the child, I did a little trick, and the child admired me so much that he wanted to learn from me. I proposed to let him exchange the most valuable things, I thought he would find the money that his grandmother hid, after all Mrs. Wu said Mrs. Qian had quietly told Li Zhengze..."
Lu Heng found that it was easy for him to laugh when he was with Wang Yanqing, he clenched his fist to his lips, and coughed amusingly: "Qingqing, although this kind of thing belongs to the governor of the government, but Jinyiwei has the name of patrolling the security to some extent. Head, don't say this kind of thing in front of me, right?"
She was honest like a swindler who explained the crime, Lu Heng thought, how could she be so cute.
Wang Yanqing was helpless and defended himself seriously: "Even if he takes it out, I won't touch it."
It's over, more like it. Lu Heng managed to hold back his laughter and said with a smile, "I know. It doesn't matter, I won't tell others, you continue to talk."
Lu Heng put on a posture that I would not report to the official, Wang Yanqing gave him a dark look and said, "As a result, he ran outside the door, dug out a pile of stones under the willow tree by the river, and gave the stone just now to him. got me."
Lu Heng already fully understood her logic line: "So, you will play with him under the tree for an afternoon?"
Wang Yanqing corrected him seriously: "It's a stone."
"Okay, stone." Lu Heng corrected himself and asked, "Where did he find these stones?"
"In the river."
Lu Heng nodded, then his fingers slowly rubbed the tea cup, and stopped talking. Wang Yanqing watched for a while, and then asked quietly, "Second brother, have you figured it out?"
Lu Heng was quite helpless: "I'm honored that you look down on me so much, but it's only one day."
Wang Yanqing responded with some disappointment. She looked at Westinghouse's densely packed files and asked, "It just so happens that there are files in there, why don't we secretly look through them?"
Lu Heng looked at the Westinghouse, there were no lights on there, many files were piled up together, and the shadows were like a giant monster. Lu Heng retracted his gaze with just one glance, and said, "Forget it, there are so many, I won't be able to see it all tomorrow. With a beautiful woman by my side, why should I leave Wenxiang Nephrite Jade behind and go to the cold room to look through the files?"
Wang Yanqing frowned, feeling very embarrassed: "Then what should we do? If there is such a big incident in Hegu Village, it is reasonable that the local governor should deal with it seriously, but the county magistrate has driven them out several times. Could it be that there is something wrong with Tao magistrate? question?"
Lu Heng, like an omniscient database, saw this and said, "Tao Yiming was a member of Zhengde's five-year-old man, Qingyuan man. He is an official. But he has no relatives to support him, nor teachers to help him. Even if he wants to join a certain faction, he will not accept it. Therefore, his official luck is not very good. , the place of employment is mostly poor and remote villages, and there is no oil or water."
Wang Yanqing understands that this is a person who changed his fate by reading, but not completely. Wang Yanqing pondered Tao Yiming's life carefully, she suddenly realized that something was wrong, and asked, "Second brother, Tao Yiming is only a county magistrate from the seventh grade, how do you know so much about him?"
Even if Jin Yiwei collects information, but there are so many high-ranking officials in the capital, and the first-rank officers are not enough for him to watch, why did Lu Heng happen to see Tao Yiming's information
Lu Heng thought that he wasn't stupid, he finished his tea and said, "I didn't know him before, I didn't even know Cheng Youhai. It was made on the wine table just now."
Wang Yanqing snorted softly and finally understood why Lu Heng agreed to eat with them. Wang Yanqing felt unbelievable, raised her eyebrows and asked, "There are so many people at the dinner table, and Tao Yiming is not stupid enough to reveal his details. How did you ask?"
This is too simple for Lu Heng, he said casually, "It doesn't have to be him. Judging from his speech, clothes, and demeanor, it's not difficult to infer his family and experience. As long as a person shows up, he is in every aspect. It's a flaw."
Wang Yanqing was amazed. In terms of observing people, Lu Heng is also invincible.
Wang Yanqing asked seriously, "What should I do next?"
Lu Heng looked at her with a smile, and said in a sincere voice, "Sleep."
Wang Yanqing's brows jumped, she thought she heard it wrong, but she and Lu Heng looked at each other and slowly realized that it was true.
Wang Yanqing was silent, not sure what Lu Heng would do. Lu Heng glanced at her and said clearly: "I didn't lie to you, this time it's true. Are you afraid to sleep because you are afraid of delaying the investigation, or are you worried about me?"
Wang Yanqing didn't know whether he was punctured or wronged, and said angrily, "No."
"That's great." Lu Heng raised his chin towards the bed and said, "It's getting late, you should go to bed."
Lu Heng was calm, and saw Wang Yanqing's face slowly turn red with his own eyes. After all, Lu Heng couldn't bear to embarrass her, and before she spoke, he said, "But you are wandering outside, so be more careful. Don't change your clothes tonight, don't sleep too dead at night, and be more vigilant."
Wang Yanqing breathed a long sigh of relief. She wanted to say this just now, but she was afraid that the second brother would misunderstand. Fortunately, my second brother thought so too.
Wang Yanqing was relieved and went to the house to prepare for sleep. Lu Heng sat alone in the hall, looking at the porcelain cup in his hand, and sighed softly after a long time.
The evening breeze outside the window was faint, the moonlight was melting, and the sound was light as if it was an illusion.
After Wang Yanqing washed her hair, she lay down on the bed with her clothes on. Afraid of embarrassment, she blew out the lights in the room before going to bed, leaving only a wall lamp in the corner.
She closed her eyes, and the time seemed to be deformed in the darkness. I don't know how long it took, and there were faint footsteps around her, followed by a familiar aura. Wang Yanqing suddenly woke up from her vague sleepiness. She opened her mouth and called tentatively, "Second brother?"
Hearing this title, Lu Heng felt more and more uncomfortable. He responded, his voice was flat and cold, and he couldn't hear any emotion.
Seeing that it was him, Wang Yanqing closed his eyes again with confidence. Lu Heng found that Wang Yanqing was going to sleep, and his heart was very subtle for a while.
He didn't know whether to thank her for trusting his character, or to hate her for being close to her real second brother.
Lu Heng blew out the last light. He was still hesitating whether to come in to sleep or go to the East Room to deal with the night, but after hearing Wang Yanqing's words, he suddenly changed his mind.
She called out her second brother in her sleep, and then she could sleep peacefully. If he let it go, wouldn't he have a hole in his brain
Lu Heng was lying in bed with his clothes. He didn't plan to sleep at all tonight. Another person was lying so close to him that he could sneak attack on him at any time. How could he fall asleep? So logically speaking, he went to bed and went to the East Room to read a book, and the result was the same.
But when he actually lay down and listened to her long and shallow breathing, Lu Heng was surprised to find that he was not as repulsive as he thought. When Lu Heng was twenty-three years old, on an ordinary summer night, he was lying on an uncomfortable bed in an unfamiliar mansion, and suddenly he was shaken by what he believed in in the past.
He has always believed that he can't trust others, can never sleep peacefully next to another person, and marrying a wife is just another occasion for acting. He doesn't want to, so he has always avoided marrying a wife. He should think so, but in fact, he has not tried.
It seems too arbitrary to draw conclusions so early.
Lu Heng was thinking about his life plan when suddenly he heard an abnormal noise from outside the window. Almost at the same time, Lu Heng suddenly opened his eyes.