Master Luo Cao

"You are the Wang family?" Kou Luoche said, put the badge back into his pocket, and said: "I heard that your child was lost a few days ago?"

"...Yes." Wang stepped aside and said, "Two officials, please come in."

The house of Widow Wang's house was damp and cramped, with only one window open, and the skylight came in scattered from outside.The two big men felt crowded as soon as they walked in. They politely declined the little Mazha brought by Widow Wang, and just stood there and said, "Can you tell me the specific situation?"

Widow Wang opened her mouth, but before she could make a sound, her tears had already flowed down, she choked and said, "My Abao went to the mountain to collect firewood the day before yesterday. I asked my neighbors to look for him on the mountain outside the county gate. A group of adults held torches and searched for him in the middle of the night, but they didn't find any traces. It was almost dawn when I found it. They didn’t want to look for it anymore, they told me to go home and have a look, saying that Abao might have gone home by himself. But when I got home, there was no shadow of my baby…” Widow Wang wiped her tears as she spoke. , "I was anxious and sad at the time, and passed away all at once. When I woke up again, Ah Bao had already returned!"

Fu Yunshu asked, "How did he come back?"

"No one knows." Widow Wang shook her head, "The family at the entrance of the alley discovered it first. They said that Bao had fallen at the entrance of the alley, covered in blood, so they hurriedly brought the child to my house, but they saw I also fainted on the ground, so I hurried to hire a doctor, I am fine, it's just Abao... Abao..."

Kou Luoche said: "We heard that there is no wound on Abao's body?"

Widow Wang cried and said: "I saw so much blood on his body, I was really scared to death, but the doctor said that his pulse was steady and strong, he didn't look like he had lost too much blood, and there was really no place on Ah Bao's body that was bleeding. , so I carefully took a cloth and wiped him clean, and checked again, except for some small scratches caused by the fall, there was indeed no other wounds. I was relieved, thank you very much Send the person away, and then stay beside A Bao, waiting for him to wake up and ask him what's going on. But who knows... but who knows..." Speaking of sadness, Widow Wang finally couldn't help crying Crying loudly, "My Ah Bao has lost his mind!"

Fu Yunshu opened his mouth to ask more questions, but seeing Widow Wang crying so hard that he almost lost his breath, he couldn't bear it anymore, so he could only wait for her to calm down a bit, and then asked, "What's the reason for this insanity?"

Widow Wang cried and said: "I don't care if I ask him, he is like a deaf man, just lying on the bed stupidly, touching him a little, screaming like he is going to cut him off, muttering something all the time ...as if reciting a person's name."

"A person's name?" Kou Luoche asked, "What's his name?"

Widow Wang shook her head and said, "He read vaguely, and couldn't hear clearly at all."

Fu Yunshu said: "Madam Wang, we want to meet Abao, can we?"

Perhaps it is rare to see such a polite official, Widow Wang was stunned, two drops of tears accumulated in her eyes fell down, and when she came back to her senses, she quickly wiped her red and swollen eyes, and said: "The official is so polite, naturally No problem. Bao is in the room."

It is said to be the inside, but in fact, it is just a thin wooden board that divides a room into two halves. When they walk around the wooden board, the two see a bed. A seven or eight-year-old child is lying on the bed, his eyes are blank. Staring at the white curtain above his head, he muttered something.

Kou Luoqiao walked over to the bed and knelt down, putting his ear close to the child's mouth. He felt that the child was reading fast and softly. He really couldn't hear what he was saying. He could only roughly judge that it was three words, which sounded like is a person's name.Turning his head to meet Fu Yunshu's questioning eyes, Kou Luoche shook his head, then tentatively stretched out his hand, and poked lightly on Abao's thin arm.

This poke was like a silver needle piercing into the flesh, and it made Abao scream like a pig being hunted down. Fu Yunshu quickly covered his ears, but Kou Luoche, who was close to him, was unlucky and grinned. suffering.After a scream, big tears rolled down Ah Bao's eyes, and he finally uttered a clear human voice—"Don't cut me! Please don't cut me!"

Fu Yunshu looked at it pitifully, felt pity in his heart, walked up to him, and comforted him softly: "Don't be afraid, no one will kill you, Ah Bao, you have returned home safely..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ah Bao started calling that name again, this time his voice was loud enough for everyone in the alley to hear what name he was calling.After Widow Wang was taken aback for a moment, she began to roar angrily: "Bao, don't worry, when mother catches this thief, he will sink him into the river in front of everyone to avenge you!"

But Kou Luoche turned his head and looked at Fu Yunshu who was also in a daze in disbelief.

Abao on the other end seemed to have been lifted from some taboo, crying and shouting, "Fu Yunshu! Fu Yunshu! Fu Yunshu!"

Although the two false arresters were not thieves, they still escaped from Ciyao County as if.After Kou Luoqiao pulled Fu Yunshu to say goodbye to Widow Wang, he immediately got on his horse and left Lijia Lane quickly. He was afraid that if he hesitated for a while, Widow Wang would find that the little boy in front of her was the Fu Yunshu her son was talking about. Fight hard with them.

At this moment, I have been out of Ciyao County for a long time, and the state capital is close at hand, but Fu Yunshu is still confused and puzzled, he said: "Brother Kou, I really can't figure it out."

Kou Luoche said: "This matter is really weird."

Fu Yunshu said: "Why does that child call me by my name?"

After thinking for a moment, Kou Luoche said, "Maybe he didn't call you."

Fu Yunshu frowned, "It's not me?"

Kou Luoche said, "It's another person named Fu Yunshu."

"Is it a coincidence?" Fu Yunshu shook his head lightly, "I don't think there is such a coincidence."

"That can't be explained," Kou Luoche said with a smile: "You wouldn't have sneaked out to catch a child without me the day before yesterday to scare him for fun, right?"

Fu Yunshu said: "Perhaps the one he called was not the one who took him away?"

Kou Luoche said: "Who would it be?"

Fu Yunshu couldn't think of it for a while. After a long silence, he suddenly said in a low voice: "These cases, one after another, seem to be unrelated but similar, and they are becoming more and more confusing."

"The case can always be postponed and investigated slowly," Kou Luoche said, "Brother Fu, there is one thing you can't escape."

"What?" Fu Yunshu raised his head, but saw Kou Luoche pointing, looking in the direction of his finger, and saw three large characters engraved on the city gate - Jiangbei Mansion.

Thinking of the magistrate's dark and tough face, Fu Yunshu had a headache, and all the cases of human traffickers were left behind. The little county magistrate stroked his forehead and said weakly: "Brother Kou, I feel a little unwell."

"Naturally you will feel unwell," Kou Luoche said without sympathy, "You haven't taken any medicine for the past two days."

The corner of Fu Yunshu's mouth twitched, and he said in a low voice, "I suddenly feel that my illness will soon be cured without any medicine."

While talking, the two of them passed a five-story building, which was considered a rare tall building in Jiangbei. The eaves were covered with all kinds of lanterns. It can be imagined that it must be another beautiful place after nightfall.Fu Yunshu was thinking about which high-ranking official and aristocrat's opera building, but saw a plaque hanging above the gate - Mandarin Duck House.

"Hey," Kou Luoqi kept his eyes on the upstairs, and said, "This mandarin duck restaurant is so grand." It's just a brothel, but there is such a big scene, Fu Yunshu felt vaguely uncomfortable, but he didn't After talking too much, Kou Luoche on the side said again: "I don't know how the investigation of that kid Yang Ye's case is going."

Fu Yunshu said: "He left earlier than us, so he should have come here long ago. Regardless of whether there is any result, when we go back to the county, we will ask him again when we see him." The girls in the mandarin duck restaurant are lost."

Kou Luoche said with a smile: "I'm afraid that kid doesn't have the ability." After a pause, he suddenly leaned into Fu Yunshu's ear and asked softly, "Is the county lord willing to come here to investigate?"

"No... not too good," Fu Yunshu said hesitantly, "It's an insult to gentleness."

"It's just an investigation," Kou Luoche, like a madam in a mandarin duck house, dutifully lures Mr. Fu to spend a lot of money, "Although Yang Ye should have been here, he is young after all, and he didn't have many investigations before. From experience, it is inevitable that there will be negligence and omissions. If we miss clues and cause missing people to be found no longer, or even more people go missing, wouldn’t it be our fault?”

Kou Luoche is very good at coaxing people, opening his mouth makes people unable to refuse.The little county magistrate decided after a moment of contemplation, "Then let's take a look if you have the chance."

The state capital has posthouses specially for visiting officials from various counties, and the two of them didn't look for another inn, and lived in the posthouse directly.Not long after settling down, the magistrate sent someone to deliver a message, saying that Mr. Fu would be invited to come to the mansion tomorrow to have a talk.Fu Yunshu breathed a sigh of relief, and politely sent him away, thinking that he could delay for a while.

Kou Luoche said: "Death early and rebirth early."

Fu Yunshu replied: "It's better to live than to die."

After running around for several days, both of them felt very tired. The post station served many dignitaries and dignitaries, and they were very considerate. They sent someone to bring hot water not long after. Go to the room, eat and drink enough, lie down on the bed, and just start to take a nap, when I wake up, it is already sunset.

Kou Luoche yawned and sat up from the bed, put on his coat, but didn't get up, but sat under the warm blanket, casually picked up a book on the bedside and flipped through it.Since it is a post station, the books on display must be serious. Kou Luoche's eyelids were twitching, and he yawned unceasingly. He was hesitating whether he should continue to sleep anyway, when he saw a black shadow flashing outside his door. And pass.

His heart moved, he quietly put down the book, and walked towards the door without a sound.