The old lady said the same thing. Her cabbage was the same, it was eaten by rats and was completely torn apart.
Originally, everyone was watching their quarrel with a mentality of watching the fun, but now, no one in the court could laugh.
The table in the county government office, which was already a little shaky, suddenly collapsed and fell down.
A mouse squeakingly ran out, and the dagger in Shen Xining's hand accurately pierced the mouse. The mouse struggled slightly and then died.
Shen Xining picked up the mouse, looked at its physique, and was silent.
"Although this place is hot and humid, the rats and other animals have mostly run away after the flood."
The magistrate nodded.
"Master Shen is right. This matter is not simple. We need to organize the whole city to enforce strict restrictions and kill these rats first."
The bailiff was a little confused.
"This, sir, is easy for you to say, but even a good cook cannot cook without rice. Without funds, what should we do?"
The magistrate was shocked.
"Where is the previous funding!?"
"Sir, please stop joking with us. The few taels of silver you gave me were two months ago. Now, the tools needed to kill rats..."
"I have the silver."
Shen Xining took out the silver note, which had one thousand taels of silver on it.
"This is the relief money your county deserves, and it is also the silver specially approved by the court this time. You can use it as you see fit."
The magistrate and the yamen runners were dumbfounded, but Shen Xining felt that the situation was not optimistic. Such a large number of rats might have been caused intentionally by someone, but what was the purpose? He needed to catch this person first.
That night.
Shen Xining changed into his night clothes again, ready to go and catch someone. Xie Zhaoan had just coaxed Xie Ning to sleep, and when he walked out of the house, he saw Shen Xining hurriedly walking outside in this outfit. Xie Zhaoan inexplicably felt a headache. Does Shen Xining now regard him as a martial arts general
Shen Xining took some yamen runners with her and prepared to arrest someone, but when she was about to walk out of the gate of the county government office, she seemed to remember something and strode to the side of Xie Zhaoan.
"Fourth Prince, may I borrow your men for a while?"
Xie Zhaoan frowned.
"cannot."
Can she dispatch the Moon Shadow Guards at will
"After the matter is accomplished, I will reward you handsomely."
"What can you thank me for?"
Xie Zhaoan stood up with a disdainful smile on his face.
"Even if you have something from the past, why would I care?"
Xie Zhaoan seemed to be venting his anger on purpose and closed the window directly. The window closed in front of Shen Xining's eyes, only an inch away from her nose. Shen Xining looked at the window so close to her and touched her nose. The feeling of being humiliated was really unpleasant.
She brought a group of yamen runners to guard the city gate. A group of people were lying in the grass, making rustling sounds from time to time. Shen Xining's eyes were bright, staring at the movements at the city gate, waiting for someone to appear.
However, for several nights in a row, not only did they not find anyone, but they themselves were found to have many bags on their bodies.
It was night again, and Shen Xining wanted to ask people to catch that man again, but no one was willing to go.
"Sir Shen, we also want to serve the people and the country, but we haven't seen a single person for several days. We have almost caught all the rats in the city. Maybe you are overthinking it and it's not that someone deliberately threw the rats there. Do you think this is possible?"
Another yamen runner even lifted up his trouser legs, revealing his red and swollen calves.
"Sir Shen, I've been lying there for several nights. Not to mention the mosquitoes and other things, my legs are so swollen that I can't walk. My brothers still have to work during the day. Can you rest tonight?"
It was clear that the group of people didn't want to go again, so Shen Xining didn't force them.
"Okay. Then everyone should have a good rest tonight."
Despite this, Shen Xining never gave up. She put on her clothes and went to the city gate alone.
After a few night watches, Shen Xining's eyes almost narrowed. Suddenly, the sound of mice squeaking reached her ears. Shen Xining's heart almost skipped a beat. She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the people carrying the mouse cages. They were all wearing black clothes. The leader had a mask on, so his face could not be seen. He gave orders calmly.
"Hurry up, some of you go to the south, some of you go to the west, spread out, and remember, throw the garbage into the homes of the elderly, the weak, women, and children."
Several people followed the order and dispersed. The leader was holding a female rat, the largest one among all the rats. His eyes were full of vigilance, and it was obvious that he was an old hand. Shen Xining picked up a small stone and flicked his finger slightly, and the stone flew towards the cage.
The female mouse was frightened and flew around in the cage. The leading man lowered his head to check. Shen Xining took this opportunity to rush to the man's side, put the dagger against his throat, and made his voice hoarse.
"Don't move, or I'll kill you right now!"
Oh.
"Sir Shen, as expected, you discovered it after all."
"You know me? Who are you?"
The group of people who had scattered the rats came back, and seeing Shen Xining against the boss's neck, they all took out their weapons to deal with Shen Xining. However, the leader suddenly raised his hand. Shen Xining frowned, and before he could react to what he meant, the people around him cut their necks with knives and committed suicide.
Shen Xining was greatly shocked. Before she could retract the dagger in her hand, the man had already turned his body slightly to the side. His neck was severely cut by her dagger and he fell to the ground, dead.
The outskirts of the city are the most desolate. At midnight, there is no sound except the sound of the wind for miles around. Now there is the sound of a mother mouse losing control and hitting the cage. The moonlight shines on the several corpses lying on the ground, making this place look even more desolate.
Shen Xining clenched the dagger in her hand. She felt cold all over. She didn't know if it was caused by the wind or the fear of these people who treated her life as worthless. Who on earth ordered these people
Shen Xining carried the female rat back to the county government office. Her face was pale. She fell into a coma after returning to her room. Many things appeared in her dream, including the faces of those people, the way the man died on her dagger, and what the man said with a grin.
"Master Shen, it's you, you are here, it's you who killed me, it's you who killed me!"
"Master Shen, you have such a cruel heart!"
The man's face was covered in blood, his mouth was wide open, and his hands were also covered in blood. He held Shen Xining's shoulders tightly and shook him.