Taichu Yandao: Starting from the Villain

In the third year of Taichu, Shiba County.

The night was as soft as black silk, covering the entire town.

Under the hazy moonlight, everything was silent, except for the dim lights in a few brothels, from which the occasional unbridled noise could be heard.

Amidst the singing of birds and dancing of swallows, most of the smiles were bought with gold and silver. Only in the Xingzi room was the melodious sound of the pipa, and a sweet voice sang: "... Moreover, back then, we would have been able to accompany each other and play the flute deep in the Phoenix Tower."

"Playing the flute in the depths?" Wang Qinghu was stunned. A soul-stirring picture flashed through his mind and he couldn't help swallowing.

He was a rough man who never understood lyrics or music. He only knew that sweet singing was pleasant to the ears and that the beauty before him was alluring.

But when he looked at that beautiful face, the desire that had risen instantly dissipated, and he sighed and said, "It's getting late, you should go to bed early, I'll leave first."

He stood up after he finished speaking. After three or five steps, he had just put his hand on the bolt when he heard a sweet voice saying:

"Lord Wang...why don't you stay here tonight?"

Wang Qinghu turned around abruptly, his breathing became rapid, his eyes full of unbridled desire.

He strode forward, but after a few steps, he found that the beauty opposite him frowned, like a frightened deer.

"Hey..." Wang Qinghu stopped and said, "I haven't saved enough money to redeem you yet, I'd better go back!"

Under the flickering candlelight, Xing Er, who was originally nervous, was stunned. Her eyes were full of tenderness and she said softly:

"In the past six months, if it weren't for Lord Wang's care, how could Xing'er, as the family member of a criminal official, protect herself? Lord Wang, please stay. Xing'er... I won't regret it!"

When she finished speaking, her voice was as soft as a mosquito's and her pretty face turned red with embarrassment.

Wang Qinghu no longer hesitated, strode to Xing'er and picked up the beauty.

"Ah..." Xing'er screamed in shock, her pretty face becoming even redder.

Wang Qinghu didn't care and carried the beauty straight to the big bed.

The hibiscus tent was warm, as if sunshine was shining in every corner. The two looked into each other's eyes, and their breathing and heartbeats were in sync, like a surging piece of music.

After a long while, Xing'er leaned close to Wang Qinghu's ear and said softly, "Sir... please be gentle to me!"

Wang Qinghu's mouth was dry and he used one hand to grab the soft part while using the other hand to untie his belt.

Bang, bang, bang...

However, at this moment, there was a frantic knock on the door, and an anxious voice said, "Captain, are you in there? Lord Li is looking for you."

"Fuck @#￥..." Wang Qinghu was so angry that his three spirits jumped wildly. He shouted angrily: "Are you sick? Get out of here now!"

"Master, the county government office was robbed and a Buddhist scripture was lost. Lord Li asked you to rush to the county government office within two quarters of an hour." said the voice outside the door.

"You fucking ..." Wang Qinghu had already cursed out, and suddenly changed his tone: "Wait, scriptures?"

He pushed hard and jumped up from the bed, with a bad feeling in his heart.

At that time, the emperor believed in Taoism. The whole Yan State built Taoist temples and copied scriptures. Especially in recent years, the emperor directly issued decrees and promulgated all kinds of supernatural orders.

It’s not that bad for ordinary people. Ancestral temples are built, Buddha statues are built, and Taoist statues are built. Ordinary people don’t care what is being built, they only care about how much wages they will get for building these things.

However, people like Wang Qinghu who work for the government are bound to be involved in it. If he is not careful, he may be killed.

"I'll come again another day, you should go to bed early!" Wang Qinghu said and went straight to the carved wooden door.

"Brother Hu, you must be careful!" Xing'er said softly.

Wang Qinghu paused, but did not turn around. He pushed open the wooden door and said, "Let's go to the county government office!"

Outside the door, a young constable looked anxious and hurriedly followed Wang Qinghu.

Wang Qinghu strode forward quickly, and after walking a few steps he suddenly turned around and asked, "Are you here directly to see me?"

The young detective was terrified and said, "I went to your house first, but I couldn't find it..."

Wang Qinghu's face looked extremely ugly and he quickened his pace again. His home was in East City, and it had already taken his young apprentice more than fifteen minutes to go back and forth.

A quarter of an hour later, at the gate of the county government office.

When Wang Qinghu arrived, two people were already waiting under the dim light.

The man on the left is named Chen. He has a fair complexion and is a head shorter than Wang Qinghu. He holds the same official position as Wang Qinghu, both of them are deputy chief constables of the eighth rank.

The man on the right is named Su. He wears a scholar's cap, has a goatee, and holds a bamboo fan in his hand. He is the confidant of the county magistrate, Lord Li.

When the two saw Wang Qinghu coming, their frowns relaxed.

"Let's go! Go in quickly, or someone will die!" Master Su said as he walked into the yamen.

Wang Qinghu was embarrassed and hurried to catch up with the two.

The three of them walked quickly all the way. Captain Chen's movements were extremely exaggerated. He was obviously walking, but his movements were like he was running, and he seemed to want to swing his arms up to the sky.

"What kind of disease is this?" Wang Qinghu was puzzled.

When the three of them entered the county government office, Constable Chen rushed in with a single step, his chest rising and falling violently, breathing heavily, and said:

"Sir, what happened? I'm late!"

"Hiss..." Wang Qinghu sucked in a breath of cold air. Captain Chen's fake moves were simply the best.

In the main hall, a man wearing the uniform of a seventh-rank official, with a stout figure and a shiny greasy head, suddenly raised his eyes and said angrily:

"It's really neat. Is it such a coincidence? I remember one of you lives in the east, and the other one is on duty tonight."

Captain Chen stepped forward and hurriedly explained: "Sir, this is what I am doing. I am on patrol..."

"Okay, no need to explain. I can't deliver the job anyway, so I'll go to jail and you'll chop off your heads."

Wang Qinghu was shocked and bowed, saying, "Lord Li, your words are too kind. You are very knowledgeable and you are a disciple of the prefect Zheng. What big thing can happen to you?"

Baldy Li stood up suddenly, slammed his palm on the table, and roared:

"Scripture! This time it's a scripture issued by the Jingcheng Jingongguan!"

"The person has changed. The current chief officer of Qingzhou is named Yu. Did you know that Yu will be beheaded?"

Li Guangtou's face flushed red. He sat down on the chair, rubbing his temple and said, "Master, you handled the document. Please explain it to them quickly."

The master stepped forward, tapped the fan in his hand on his other hand, and said, "You all know about the school copying scriptures, but it used to be from the bottom up, mainly because the former Zheng Fuyin was more motivated."

"But this afternoon, I received an official document from Prince Cheng's Palace, ordering all county schools to copy scriptures uniformly and hand in two boxes of copied scriptures every month. If the chief officer fails to do so, he will be punished for dereliction of duty."

"You can't copy as many pages as you want. Each person is limited to ten pages a day. It's useless to copy more. I did a preliminary calculation and according to the situation of the school in this county, it will take about 28 days."

"We had plenty of time, and I had already drafted the announcement, but just over an hour ago, the scriptures that were to be distributed were suddenly stolen."

Wang Qinghu listened carefully. He had no problem with anything else except the ten-page limit per person per day. He was about to ask when he saw Baldy Li suddenly stand up and say:

"So, two days. I'll give you two days. If you can't solve the case, we're all done."

"Two days, how is that possible!" Wang Qinghu was horrified. Just as he was about to speak, Captain Chen spoke first:

"Sir, more than half an hour has passed. The thief may have already escaped from the city. Two days is really too short..."

"You rascal, now you know that more than half an hour has passed..." Bald Li picked up a handful of warrants and threw them at Captain Chen.

The order sticks scattered in the air, three of them hit Wang Qinghu and were about to hit him, but Wang Qinghu caught them one by one in his hands.

As for Captain Chen, he didn't have that kind of skills and could only let the warrant hit him.

Wang Qinghu raised the order above his head and said loudly, "Sir! Can we change our thinking? Since we are copying the scriptures, why not go to the next county and copy one? We can use fast horses, and three days should be enough."

"The neighboring county, you're so smart, maybe they were the ones who did this, don't you know they are from the Yan Party?"

Wang Qinghu's face was filled with embarrassment. He had only been working in Shiba County for half a year and really didn't know about these things.

At this time, Master Su stepped forward again and said, "I have thought of this method as well. I have sent someone to Lanxi County on horseback. You and Magistrate Gongsun are from the same school, so the scriptures must have been borrowed. But the mountain road is rugged and it will take at least seven days to go back and forth. We can only try our best!"

"Not bad!" Li Guangtou's expression softened.

"Also, the city gates were closed an hour earlier today. According to the time calculation, it is impossible for the thieves to escape." said Master Su.

"Really?" Baldy Li immediately stood up, his face full of surprise and joy, and said: "My good master, did you predict this? God is helping me!"

"Your Excellency, today we have issued the salary. I am afraid that everyone will be too lazy, so I have ordered the city gates to be closed in advance."

Li Guangtou shook his head and nodded, very satisfied, and said: "You two should learn from me. It's not that I don't trust you."

"Well, a snake cannot survive without a head. You two have never gotten along. Who of you will take charge of this major case? If you succeed, you will be promoted. If you fail, you will be beheaded."

In the lobby, the flickering candlelight illuminated Wang Qinghu's hesitant face.

Should I take this blame or not?