Eighth Master cuts leeks in Qing Chuanwen
Chapter 76
【Favourability adjustment widget, close! 】
Yinzhen closed the plug-in, just in time to hear Yunxu calling him: "Fourth brother, why are you in a daze, let's go."
Yinzhen rubbed his forehead and said, "Here we come."
The uncle and the prince were also going to the Ministry of Households, and the four of them happened to be on the way, so they came to the Ministry of Households together.
They all came to look for Lu Bohe, the right servant of the household department, and Lu Bohe greeted him, saying: "I don't know what the prince, uncle, fourth master, and eighth master are here today?"
The prince said: "The emperor just issued a decree to clarify the amount of casting and circulation to the people with the uncle. As the right servant who manages the money law, Mr. Lu should have some records. Take out all the accounts and let them Take a look at this palace."
"Yes, please wait a moment, Prince."
Lu Bohe went to collect the accounts, and quickly brought a lot of account books, and put them next to each other. When the prince saw it, he felt dizzy and said, "So many?"
The prince was raised intensively since he was a child, and has a brilliant literary talent, but because he studied too hard when he was a child, he doesn’t want to look at these things now, especially the accounts, which will remind the prince of the pain of learning geometry, and he can’t help rubbing He rubbed his forehead.
When the uncle saw the prince's face, he laughed immediately, and seemed to remember that Taizi was not very sensitive to numbers. The smile on his lips melted away, and the uncle's face froze after realizing it. What was he doing?What's so ridiculous?
The prince and the uncle were ordered to check the circulation of the minted currency. Yunxi and Yinzhen looked at each other, and then walked up to Lu Bohe.
Yun Hu seemed to be chatting and said: "Lord Lu, you are really responsible for exposing the Baoquan Bureau's forging case this time."
"Don't dare dare," Lu Bohe said, "As an official of Qianfa, I don't dare to slack off for a moment!"
Yunxu said: "I heard that someone reported on the Baoquan Bureau. I don't know... who is the person who reported it?"
Lu Bohe said: "Actually, let's not hide it from Eighth Master, the lower officials don't know who this whistleblower is."
"You don't know either?" Fourth master frowned.
Lu Bohe said: "That's true, I dare not lie. One morning, as soon as I left the house, I saw a blood book placed at the door of my house. This incident, and it lasted for four years, shocked the officials, so we started to investigate the case."
blood book...
It still appeared suddenly.
Didn't see anyone complaining.
Lu Bohe said: "Actually, the lower official is also a little curious. I don't know who the person who reported this is. But it was still early in the day, and there were no people on the street. The lower official asked about it on the street, and no one saw it. Who is the person who sent the blood book? The lower officials made many inquiries to no avail. After checking, they found that every item in the blood book was true. The Baoquan Bureau was really full of private pockets. Being implicated in revenge, it is reasonable to be reluctant to show up."
It is indeed a reasonable thing.
But there are also unreasonable places.
For example, Lu Bohe, who specializes in money management, didn't find out about the casting, and the furnace head was a relative of Suo'etu, so the secrecy was kept so strict, how did the whistleblower find out?
Yunyu whispered to Yinzhen: "I always feel that if we want to find out more, we should start with this whistleblower."
Fourth Master nodded and said, "Eighth Brother and I want to go together."
"It's not right, it's not right!" The prince suddenly knocked on the account book and said, "This account is not right."
Lu Bohe was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, and said, "Prince Mingjian! I don't dare to cheat! These accounts are all recorded by the household department, and there is absolutely no discrepancy!"
The prince said: "Look for yourself. Is the amount in circulation correct? Even if the mixed copper coins are damaged and easily damaged, then after four years, the rate of loss will be subtracted according to the speed of Baoquan Bureau's coin casting. The amount of currency remaining in circulation does not correspond to what it is now, and the amount in circulation is far less than expected. Whose pockets did all this money go into?!"
Lu Bohe kowtowed again and again, and said: "This... you don't know, Prince, please let me tell you."
Ruberher didn't cheat on the books, and if he did, he wouldn't be so blatant.
The prince was right. The amount of minted coins, minus the amount easily damaged by adulteration, should be the amount currently circulating in the market, but the actual amount in circulation is much less than what they calculated.
Lu Bohe said: "The crown prince does not know that there are often unscrupulous merchants among the people who exchange silver for small coins and melt them to obtain copper. Therefore, the amount of small coins among the people is decreasing day by day. Because it is profitable, such merchants are banned repeatedly!"
"Melting money?" The prince obviously didn't know about this kind of thing before.
The uncle was very clear, and said: "I have also heard that one tael of silver can buy seven catties of copper, but if one tael of silver is exchanged for copper coins, it can be exchanged for one thousand. If you melt the thousand copper coins, you will get eight catties of copper." It’s more than a catty, which is a whole catty more than buying copper directly, which is only a tael of silver, and merchants use a lot of copper, so there is no need to say more about the benefits.”
"So that's how it is." The prince suddenly realized, "The amount of money is so high that there are so many unscrupulous merchants?"
Lu Bohe was also helpless, and said: "It's true, it has been repeatedly banned. Over the years, some copper mining taxes have been relaxed, and the number of people mining copper has gradually increased, but melting money is still profitable. As long as it is profitable, there will naturally be some people who flock to it." The lawless people are scrambling to scare each other, and the Ministry of Household Affairs has sent many people to manage this matter, but... alas—it’s true that it has been repeatedly banned. If you investigate today, there will be people who will knowingly commit crimes tomorrow.”
The prince and the uncle were going to continue to look at the accounts, while Yunxi and Yinzhen planned to start with the informant. The two came out of the household department and went to Lu Bohe's residence, intending to ask questions from the side. Early in the morning, someone sent It must be very eye-catching when you come over with a blood book. If someone sees it, they will definitely not forget it.
Yunxi and Yinzhen walked around Ruberhe's house, and by coincidence, this street happened to be the place where Yunxuan used Guo Xiu's routine that day.
Yunxi and Yinzhen were tired from walking, so they planned to go to that small shop to sit down and drink some tea and lunch.
The two walked in, and as soon as they entered, they heard someone say in surprise: "Ba Ye!"
Yun Hu turned her head and looked, coincidentally, it was Li Zhongqiao, not only Li Zhongqiao alone, but also an acquaintance next to him, isn't it Guo Ying, Guo Xiu's youngest brother?
The two bowed to Yunxi and Yinzhen. Li Zhongqiao saw Yunxi, like a puppy wagging its tail, and said, "Baye, do you want to take a bath today?"
Yunhu said: "It's not Xiumu, he's out to do some business, so he can just have a bite."
Li Zhongqiao took a rest today, because the Shuntianfu Township Examination was re-examinated a few days ago, the Imperial Academy worked overtime to review the examination papers, now that the matter was over, the academicians of the Imperial Academy began to take a rest, today it was Li Zhongqiao's turn.
It just so happened that Guo Ying, who is a writer of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, also took a rest today, so the two made an appointment to eat here.
The shop opened on the street, and Yunxi called the shopkeeper to ask if he had seen a strange person with a blood book in his pocket early in the morning, and threw it at the door of Lu Bohe's house.
The shopkeeper didn't have much impression, and said: "Ba Ye, you also know that I am the only one in this shop. The villain must have been busy in the back kitchen at that time, and I didn't see anything."
Guo Ying said, "I'm somewhat impressed by Ba Ye's words."
"Do you have an impression?" Yunxu asked in surprise.
Guo Ying nodded and said, "That day when the official came to eat breakfast, do you remember the shopkeeper?"
"Remember, Mr. Guo San came early."
Guo Ying had to work overtime that day, and she had to translate some manchu and Chinese texts, so she didn’t leave work until early in the morning. She left the Metropolitan Procuratorate and went home. She passed by a small shop, and Guo Ying came in for breakfast. The shop hadn’t opened yet. , the shopkeeper was still preparing, but Guo Ying was a regular customer, so the shopkeeper invited him in and asked him to have a cup of tea first.
Guo Ying said: "There is indeed a person wandering around the door of Mr. Lu's house, left something behind and left. I didn't pay attention at that time, I just took a look."
Yunyu said: "Then do you still remember the general appearance of that person?"
"About?" Guo Ying laughed.
Fourth Master frowned. It seemed that Guo Ying didn't pay attention at the time. After such a long time, maybe he didn't even remember what he looked like. It was hard to find a clue.
But Li Zhongqiao said: "Ba Ye, don't worry, Brother Guo has the ability to never forget!"
As Li Zhongqiao spoke, he was very proud, as if he had never forgotten his stature.
Guo Ying nodded and said, "I'm a low-ranking official, I do remember it, but it's not an approximate, but very clear."
He immediately stood up and walked to the counter of the food shop. The shopkeeper borrowed a pen and ink, but the shopkeeper didn't have good rice paper here, so he tore off a page from the ledger and handed it to him.
Guo Ying held on to the brush, wrapped her sleeve with her left hand, and drew a few "shua, shua, shua" strokes, instantly outlining the eyebrows and eyes of a middle-aged man, it was amazing.
Guo Ying completed the painting, handed it to Yunxuan, and said, "Baye, this person has grown up like this. Although I only took a look at it, I can't make a mistake."
Yunhu nodded and said with a smile, "I really like seeing Guo Bitie more and more."
Fourth Master: "..."
Guo Ying was not shy either, she smiled calmly and said, "Thanks to Ba Ye's great love."
Yun Hu said again: "Someday the procuratorate will be unable to continue, remember to come to Ba Ye's mansion, Ba Ye sells roast goose rice to support you."
Fourth Master: "..."
It is much easier now to get the portrait of the person who reported it. You just need to find someone according to the portrait.
But there is one problem, which Yinzhen considered very thoughtfully: "This portrait should not be published on the list, for fear that the people involved in the Baoquan Bureau will retaliate and report."
Yun Hu nodded and said, "Indeed."
Yinzhen said: "Let's investigate in secret, so as not to startle the snake."
If they can't investigate in a large area, the progress will be slower, but fortunately they are not in a hurry, and Fourth Master's task is not a time-limited task.
After walking outside for a day, the two of them prepared to go back to the house and continue to investigate tomorrow.
"Brother!" As soon as they reached the gate of the mansion, they heard someone calling Yunxi.
It's the old nine and the old ten.
Lao Jiu smiled and said: "Brother, let me wait! Where have you been all this day, let's go to Qingfeng Tower, I heard that their house has a new dish."
After running for a day, Yunxu felt a little tired, so she didn't want to go to Qingfeng Tower, and Laojiu also saw it, so she didn't feel sorry for Yunxuan, and said: "Okay, let the starling rest more, I will go with Laoshi."
Just as he was about to leave, he said strangely, "Eh? Myna is holding... this is a portrait of Lao Laizi? Myna, do you know him too?"
"Lao Laizi?" Yunxi frowned, and exchanged a glance with Fourth Master, it really didn't take much effort to get here, it turned out that Lao Jiu knew the person who reported.
Yunxu immediately unfolded the portrait and said, "Ninth brother, do you know this person?"
Lao Jiu said: "Yes, isn't this Lao Laizi? I have known him for a long time. He is a businessman who specializes in making troubles. , I like to buy from him, hey, by the way, the clock that Huang Ama celebrated her birthday last time, myna, do you still remember, I was going to give it to Huang Ama as a birthday present."
How could Yunxi not remember?When Kangxi celebrated his birthday, Lao Jiu was going to give Kangxi a bell, but fortunately he didn't send it that time, otherwise Kangxi's face would turn green.
Lao Jiu said: "I bought that watch from Lao Laizi. His surname is Lai, and people who know him call him Lao Laizi."
A merchant?Yunyu didn't expect that the merchants reported the Baoquan Bureau, which was a very strange thing, and it seemed impossible.
Yun Hu said: "We want to meet this old rascal, where can we find him?"
"Liulichang!" Lao Jiu said: "He has a shop in Liulichang. It looks like he sells pens, inks, papers and inkstones, but in fact it's for some rare things. I always go to Liulichang to find him."
Liulichang is located in the west of Beijing, where Han officials live. Every year, there are many students gathered for the imperial examinations. The bookish atmosphere is extremely strong. Over time, many stalls selling pens, ink, paper and inkstones have evolved.
Lao Laizi has a stall in Liulichang, and on weekdays he makes a living by trading for princes and nobles.
Yunhu said: "Come on, let's go and have a look now."
"Brother?" Lao Jiu said, "Don't you want to rest? Go now? It's almost dark."
Yun Hu nodded and said, "Go now."
So the four of them went to Liulichang together. Lao Jiu was familiar with this place. Although it was a place where Han people lived, the culture was very rich.
Lao Jiu said: "It's just ahead."
A small shop, after entering the door, I saw someone standing behind the counter fumbling with an abacus.
"Guest officer! Just take a look?"
When Lao Jiu saw the shopkeeper, he said strangely: "What about Lao Laizi, why didn't you come today?"
"Oh, you are talking about the previous shopkeeper."
"Before?" Yunxu asked, "What, the shopkeeper changed?"
The shopkeeper said with a smile: "That's right. This young master doesn't know. I sold this store. The previous shopkeeper sold the shop, saying it was... oh, he said he wanted to go back to his hometown."
Lao Jiu asked in surprise, "Why did you suddenly sell the store?"
Lao Laizi enjoys eating among the nobles, and the money he receives from Lao Jiu every year is not a small amount, so why did he suddenly leave?
Yunxu frowned slightly, feeling that there was something vaguely wrong with this matter, but she couldn't say why.
Could it be that Lao Laizi ran away temporarily because he was afraid of being retaliated against?
But the stove has already been caught, and no one knows that he is the informant. The old Laizi is doing well in the capital, and he is like a fish in water, so why run away?
Yunhu said, "My shopkeeper, I wonder if you can still contact Lao Laizi."
"This one……"
Fourth Master heard him hesitate, and said: "Why, the man has already left?"
Lao Jiu made a gesture of calmness, and at this moment he proudly puffed up his chest and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper, this is for you."
As he spoke, he waved his hand. Old Ten seemed to know what he was going to do. He took out a large silver coin and put it on the counter, "Boom!"
The shopkeeper's eyes suddenly "brightened", staring at the silver: "This... this..."
Lao Jiu smiled and said: "If the shopkeeper is willing to contact us, this is just a deposit, how about it?"
Lao Jiu knew very well that the shopkeeper's hesitation was not impossible to contact. If he couldn't be contacted, he would have denied it a long time ago. There is no need to hem and hew. He must be able to contact him like this, but he felt that it was troublesome and unnecessary.
Lao Jiu took out the silver taels, and the shopkeeper was naturally pleased.
The shopkeeper's attitude changed just now, and he said with a smile: "Yes! I can contact you! Of course I can!"
Yunhu said, "It's good if we can get in touch."
The shopkeeper said again: "What a coincidence, gentlemen, tonight, if you wait a little longer, the old laizi may come, and he will return to his hometown in two days. I still have half of the store's money. He, he will definitely come to pick it up, either today or tomorrow, or... how many of you are waiting?"
Yunxi and Yinzhen exchanged a look, and everyone decided to stay and wait. The shopkeeper was very enthusiastic. After all, he took the money and invited them to the inner hall of the shop, where they sat down, drank hot tea, and warmed up by the fire.
It was getting dark, and it was gloomy outside, as if it was going to snow.
After a while, snowflakes really floated, scattered from the sky.
A black figure walked on the street of Liulichang, shuttled alone, came to the front of the shop, and looked left and right.
Because it was late, the shop was closed and the door was closed, but the lights were on inside.
The black shadow came over and slapped the door three times with "bang bang bang".
squeak-
The door of the shop opened, and the shopkeeper came out, and saw someone coming: "Lao Laizi, you are here."
The person who came was Lao Laizi, a middle-aged man who was exactly the same as the portrait drawn by Guo Ying.
The old Laizi squeezed into the shop, brushed off the snowflakes on his body, and said, "I'll collect the money."
The shopkeeper said: "It's all here, you take it, oh yes, someone is looking for you."
"Is someone looking for me?" Lao Laizi asked strangely while counting some money.
The shopkeeper said: "That's right, I said they are your acquaintances. I haven't been able to find you. I've been waiting here. I've been waiting for a while. Wait, I'll call them."
The shopkeeper turned around and entered the inner room, the old Laizi rolled his eyes, suddenly remembered something, his face changed drastically, he turned around and wanted to rush out the door.
bang——
With a muffled sound, the door closed at this moment.
Lao Laizi was almost covered with his nose, and screamed, someone came out from the inner room. Seeing that Lao Laizi was about to run, the man turned his wrist, grabbed the teacup on the tea table and threw it over. It hit the door panel and closed the door at once.
The old Laizi looked back, his eyes widened.
The one who came out from the inner room and threw the teacup was none other than Fourth Master Yinzhen.
Fourth Master said with a cold face, "Where are you going?"
Yunxu also came out, and said with a smile: "It's a good thing to report lawlessness, why are you running away? Don't worry, we are all good people."
Yinzhen closed the plug-in, just in time to hear Yunxu calling him: "Fourth brother, why are you in a daze, let's go."
Yinzhen rubbed his forehead and said, "Here we come."
The uncle and the prince were also going to the Ministry of Households, and the four of them happened to be on the way, so they came to the Ministry of Households together.
They all came to look for Lu Bohe, the right servant of the household department, and Lu Bohe greeted him, saying: "I don't know what the prince, uncle, fourth master, and eighth master are here today?"
The prince said: "The emperor just issued a decree to clarify the amount of casting and circulation to the people with the uncle. As the right servant who manages the money law, Mr. Lu should have some records. Take out all the accounts and let them Take a look at this palace."
"Yes, please wait a moment, Prince."
Lu Bohe went to collect the accounts, and quickly brought a lot of account books, and put them next to each other. When the prince saw it, he felt dizzy and said, "So many?"
The prince was raised intensively since he was a child, and has a brilliant literary talent, but because he studied too hard when he was a child, he doesn’t want to look at these things now, especially the accounts, which will remind the prince of the pain of learning geometry, and he can’t help rubbing He rubbed his forehead.
When the uncle saw the prince's face, he laughed immediately, and seemed to remember that Taizi was not very sensitive to numbers. The smile on his lips melted away, and the uncle's face froze after realizing it. What was he doing?What's so ridiculous?
The prince and the uncle were ordered to check the circulation of the minted currency. Yunxi and Yinzhen looked at each other, and then walked up to Lu Bohe.
Yun Hu seemed to be chatting and said: "Lord Lu, you are really responsible for exposing the Baoquan Bureau's forging case this time."
"Don't dare dare," Lu Bohe said, "As an official of Qianfa, I don't dare to slack off for a moment!"
Yunxu said: "I heard that someone reported on the Baoquan Bureau. I don't know... who is the person who reported it?"
Lu Bohe said: "Actually, let's not hide it from Eighth Master, the lower officials don't know who this whistleblower is."
"You don't know either?" Fourth master frowned.
Lu Bohe said: "That's true, I dare not lie. One morning, as soon as I left the house, I saw a blood book placed at the door of my house. This incident, and it lasted for four years, shocked the officials, so we started to investigate the case."
blood book...
It still appeared suddenly.
Didn't see anyone complaining.
Lu Bohe said: "Actually, the lower official is also a little curious. I don't know who the person who reported this is. But it was still early in the day, and there were no people on the street. The lower official asked about it on the street, and no one saw it. Who is the person who sent the blood book? The lower officials made many inquiries to no avail. After checking, they found that every item in the blood book was true. The Baoquan Bureau was really full of private pockets. Being implicated in revenge, it is reasonable to be reluctant to show up."
It is indeed a reasonable thing.
But there are also unreasonable places.
For example, Lu Bohe, who specializes in money management, didn't find out about the casting, and the furnace head was a relative of Suo'etu, so the secrecy was kept so strict, how did the whistleblower find out?
Yunyu whispered to Yinzhen: "I always feel that if we want to find out more, we should start with this whistleblower."
Fourth Master nodded and said, "Eighth Brother and I want to go together."
"It's not right, it's not right!" The prince suddenly knocked on the account book and said, "This account is not right."
Lu Bohe was so frightened that his face turned pale, and he knelt on the ground with a thud, and said, "Prince Mingjian! I don't dare to cheat! These accounts are all recorded by the household department, and there is absolutely no discrepancy!"
The prince said: "Look for yourself. Is the amount in circulation correct? Even if the mixed copper coins are damaged and easily damaged, then after four years, the rate of loss will be subtracted according to the speed of Baoquan Bureau's coin casting. The amount of currency remaining in circulation does not correspond to what it is now, and the amount in circulation is far less than expected. Whose pockets did all this money go into?!"
Lu Bohe kowtowed again and again, and said: "This... you don't know, Prince, please let me tell you."
Ruberher didn't cheat on the books, and if he did, he wouldn't be so blatant.
The prince was right. The amount of minted coins, minus the amount easily damaged by adulteration, should be the amount currently circulating in the market, but the actual amount in circulation is much less than what they calculated.
Lu Bohe said: "The crown prince does not know that there are often unscrupulous merchants among the people who exchange silver for small coins and melt them to obtain copper. Therefore, the amount of small coins among the people is decreasing day by day. Because it is profitable, such merchants are banned repeatedly!"
"Melting money?" The prince obviously didn't know about this kind of thing before.
The uncle was very clear, and said: "I have also heard that one tael of silver can buy seven catties of copper, but if one tael of silver is exchanged for copper coins, it can be exchanged for one thousand. If you melt the thousand copper coins, you will get eight catties of copper." It’s more than a catty, which is a whole catty more than buying copper directly, which is only a tael of silver, and merchants use a lot of copper, so there is no need to say more about the benefits.”
"So that's how it is." The prince suddenly realized, "The amount of money is so high that there are so many unscrupulous merchants?"
Lu Bohe was also helpless, and said: "It's true, it has been repeatedly banned. Over the years, some copper mining taxes have been relaxed, and the number of people mining copper has gradually increased, but melting money is still profitable. As long as it is profitable, there will naturally be some people who flock to it." The lawless people are scrambling to scare each other, and the Ministry of Household Affairs has sent many people to manage this matter, but... alas—it’s true that it has been repeatedly banned. If you investigate today, there will be people who will knowingly commit crimes tomorrow.”
The prince and the uncle were going to continue to look at the accounts, while Yunxi and Yinzhen planned to start with the informant. The two came out of the household department and went to Lu Bohe's residence, intending to ask questions from the side. Early in the morning, someone sent It must be very eye-catching when you come over with a blood book. If someone sees it, they will definitely not forget it.
Yunxi and Yinzhen walked around Ruberhe's house, and by coincidence, this street happened to be the place where Yunxuan used Guo Xiu's routine that day.
Yunxi and Yinzhen were tired from walking, so they planned to go to that small shop to sit down and drink some tea and lunch.
The two walked in, and as soon as they entered, they heard someone say in surprise: "Ba Ye!"
Yun Hu turned her head and looked, coincidentally, it was Li Zhongqiao, not only Li Zhongqiao alone, but also an acquaintance next to him, isn't it Guo Ying, Guo Xiu's youngest brother?
The two bowed to Yunxi and Yinzhen. Li Zhongqiao saw Yunxi, like a puppy wagging its tail, and said, "Baye, do you want to take a bath today?"
Yunhu said: "It's not Xiumu, he's out to do some business, so he can just have a bite."
Li Zhongqiao took a rest today, because the Shuntianfu Township Examination was re-examinated a few days ago, the Imperial Academy worked overtime to review the examination papers, now that the matter was over, the academicians of the Imperial Academy began to take a rest, today it was Li Zhongqiao's turn.
It just so happened that Guo Ying, who is a writer of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, also took a rest today, so the two made an appointment to eat here.
The shop opened on the street, and Yunxi called the shopkeeper to ask if he had seen a strange person with a blood book in his pocket early in the morning, and threw it at the door of Lu Bohe's house.
The shopkeeper didn't have much impression, and said: "Ba Ye, you also know that I am the only one in this shop. The villain must have been busy in the back kitchen at that time, and I didn't see anything."
Guo Ying said, "I'm somewhat impressed by Ba Ye's words."
"Do you have an impression?" Yunxu asked in surprise.
Guo Ying nodded and said, "That day when the official came to eat breakfast, do you remember the shopkeeper?"
"Remember, Mr. Guo San came early."
Guo Ying had to work overtime that day, and she had to translate some manchu and Chinese texts, so she didn’t leave work until early in the morning. She left the Metropolitan Procuratorate and went home. She passed by a small shop, and Guo Ying came in for breakfast. The shop hadn’t opened yet. , the shopkeeper was still preparing, but Guo Ying was a regular customer, so the shopkeeper invited him in and asked him to have a cup of tea first.
Guo Ying said: "There is indeed a person wandering around the door of Mr. Lu's house, left something behind and left. I didn't pay attention at that time, I just took a look."
Yunyu said: "Then do you still remember the general appearance of that person?"
"About?" Guo Ying laughed.
Fourth Master frowned. It seemed that Guo Ying didn't pay attention at the time. After such a long time, maybe he didn't even remember what he looked like. It was hard to find a clue.
But Li Zhongqiao said: "Ba Ye, don't worry, Brother Guo has the ability to never forget!"
As Li Zhongqiao spoke, he was very proud, as if he had never forgotten his stature.
Guo Ying nodded and said, "I'm a low-ranking official, I do remember it, but it's not an approximate, but very clear."
He immediately stood up and walked to the counter of the food shop. The shopkeeper borrowed a pen and ink, but the shopkeeper didn't have good rice paper here, so he tore off a page from the ledger and handed it to him.
Guo Ying held on to the brush, wrapped her sleeve with her left hand, and drew a few "shua, shua, shua" strokes, instantly outlining the eyebrows and eyes of a middle-aged man, it was amazing.
Guo Ying completed the painting, handed it to Yunxuan, and said, "Baye, this person has grown up like this. Although I only took a look at it, I can't make a mistake."
Yunhu nodded and said with a smile, "I really like seeing Guo Bitie more and more."
Fourth Master: "..."
Guo Ying was not shy either, she smiled calmly and said, "Thanks to Ba Ye's great love."
Yun Hu said again: "Someday the procuratorate will be unable to continue, remember to come to Ba Ye's mansion, Ba Ye sells roast goose rice to support you."
Fourth Master: "..."
It is much easier now to get the portrait of the person who reported it. You just need to find someone according to the portrait.
But there is one problem, which Yinzhen considered very thoughtfully: "This portrait should not be published on the list, for fear that the people involved in the Baoquan Bureau will retaliate and report."
Yun Hu nodded and said, "Indeed."
Yinzhen said: "Let's investigate in secret, so as not to startle the snake."
If they can't investigate in a large area, the progress will be slower, but fortunately they are not in a hurry, and Fourth Master's task is not a time-limited task.
After walking outside for a day, the two of them prepared to go back to the house and continue to investigate tomorrow.
"Brother!" As soon as they reached the gate of the mansion, they heard someone calling Yunxi.
It's the old nine and the old ten.
Lao Jiu smiled and said: "Brother, let me wait! Where have you been all this day, let's go to Qingfeng Tower, I heard that their house has a new dish."
After running for a day, Yunxu felt a little tired, so she didn't want to go to Qingfeng Tower, and Laojiu also saw it, so she didn't feel sorry for Yunxuan, and said: "Okay, let the starling rest more, I will go with Laoshi."
Just as he was about to leave, he said strangely, "Eh? Myna is holding... this is a portrait of Lao Laizi? Myna, do you know him too?"
"Lao Laizi?" Yunxi frowned, and exchanged a glance with Fourth Master, it really didn't take much effort to get here, it turned out that Lao Jiu knew the person who reported.
Yunxu immediately unfolded the portrait and said, "Ninth brother, do you know this person?"
Lao Jiu said: "Yes, isn't this Lao Laizi? I have known him for a long time. He is a businessman who specializes in making troubles. , I like to buy from him, hey, by the way, the clock that Huang Ama celebrated her birthday last time, myna, do you still remember, I was going to give it to Huang Ama as a birthday present."
How could Yunxi not remember?When Kangxi celebrated his birthday, Lao Jiu was going to give Kangxi a bell, but fortunately he didn't send it that time, otherwise Kangxi's face would turn green.
Lao Jiu said: "I bought that watch from Lao Laizi. His surname is Lai, and people who know him call him Lao Laizi."
A merchant?Yunyu didn't expect that the merchants reported the Baoquan Bureau, which was a very strange thing, and it seemed impossible.
Yun Hu said: "We want to meet this old rascal, where can we find him?"
"Liulichang!" Lao Jiu said: "He has a shop in Liulichang. It looks like he sells pens, inks, papers and inkstones, but in fact it's for some rare things. I always go to Liulichang to find him."
Liulichang is located in the west of Beijing, where Han officials live. Every year, there are many students gathered for the imperial examinations. The bookish atmosphere is extremely strong. Over time, many stalls selling pens, ink, paper and inkstones have evolved.
Lao Laizi has a stall in Liulichang, and on weekdays he makes a living by trading for princes and nobles.
Yunhu said: "Come on, let's go and have a look now."
"Brother?" Lao Jiu said, "Don't you want to rest? Go now? It's almost dark."
Yun Hu nodded and said, "Go now."
So the four of them went to Liulichang together. Lao Jiu was familiar with this place. Although it was a place where Han people lived, the culture was very rich.
Lao Jiu said: "It's just ahead."
A small shop, after entering the door, I saw someone standing behind the counter fumbling with an abacus.
"Guest officer! Just take a look?"
When Lao Jiu saw the shopkeeper, he said strangely: "What about Lao Laizi, why didn't you come today?"
"Oh, you are talking about the previous shopkeeper."
"Before?" Yunxu asked, "What, the shopkeeper changed?"
The shopkeeper said with a smile: "That's right. This young master doesn't know. I sold this store. The previous shopkeeper sold the shop, saying it was... oh, he said he wanted to go back to his hometown."
Lao Jiu asked in surprise, "Why did you suddenly sell the store?"
Lao Laizi enjoys eating among the nobles, and the money he receives from Lao Jiu every year is not a small amount, so why did he suddenly leave?
Yunxu frowned slightly, feeling that there was something vaguely wrong with this matter, but she couldn't say why.
Could it be that Lao Laizi ran away temporarily because he was afraid of being retaliated against?
But the stove has already been caught, and no one knows that he is the informant. The old Laizi is doing well in the capital, and he is like a fish in water, so why run away?
Yunhu said, "My shopkeeper, I wonder if you can still contact Lao Laizi."
"This one……"
Fourth Master heard him hesitate, and said: "Why, the man has already left?"
Lao Jiu made a gesture of calmness, and at this moment he proudly puffed up his chest and said with a smile, "Shopkeeper, this is for you."
As he spoke, he waved his hand. Old Ten seemed to know what he was going to do. He took out a large silver coin and put it on the counter, "Boom!"
The shopkeeper's eyes suddenly "brightened", staring at the silver: "This... this..."
Lao Jiu smiled and said: "If the shopkeeper is willing to contact us, this is just a deposit, how about it?"
Lao Jiu knew very well that the shopkeeper's hesitation was not impossible to contact. If he couldn't be contacted, he would have denied it a long time ago. There is no need to hem and hew. He must be able to contact him like this, but he felt that it was troublesome and unnecessary.
Lao Jiu took out the silver taels, and the shopkeeper was naturally pleased.
The shopkeeper's attitude changed just now, and he said with a smile: "Yes! I can contact you! Of course I can!"
Yunhu said, "It's good if we can get in touch."
The shopkeeper said again: "What a coincidence, gentlemen, tonight, if you wait a little longer, the old laizi may come, and he will return to his hometown in two days. I still have half of the store's money. He, he will definitely come to pick it up, either today or tomorrow, or... how many of you are waiting?"
Yunxi and Yinzhen exchanged a look, and everyone decided to stay and wait. The shopkeeper was very enthusiastic. After all, he took the money and invited them to the inner hall of the shop, where they sat down, drank hot tea, and warmed up by the fire.
It was getting dark, and it was gloomy outside, as if it was going to snow.
After a while, snowflakes really floated, scattered from the sky.
A black figure walked on the street of Liulichang, shuttled alone, came to the front of the shop, and looked left and right.
Because it was late, the shop was closed and the door was closed, but the lights were on inside.
The black shadow came over and slapped the door three times with "bang bang bang".
squeak-
The door of the shop opened, and the shopkeeper came out, and saw someone coming: "Lao Laizi, you are here."
The person who came was Lao Laizi, a middle-aged man who was exactly the same as the portrait drawn by Guo Ying.
The old Laizi squeezed into the shop, brushed off the snowflakes on his body, and said, "I'll collect the money."
The shopkeeper said: "It's all here, you take it, oh yes, someone is looking for you."
"Is someone looking for me?" Lao Laizi asked strangely while counting some money.
The shopkeeper said: "That's right, I said they are your acquaintances. I haven't been able to find you. I've been waiting here. I've been waiting for a while. Wait, I'll call them."
The shopkeeper turned around and entered the inner room, the old Laizi rolled his eyes, suddenly remembered something, his face changed drastically, he turned around and wanted to rush out the door.
bang——
With a muffled sound, the door closed at this moment.
Lao Laizi was almost covered with his nose, and screamed, someone came out from the inner room. Seeing that Lao Laizi was about to run, the man turned his wrist, grabbed the teacup on the tea table and threw it over. It hit the door panel and closed the door at once.
The old Laizi looked back, his eyes widened.
The one who came out from the inner room and threw the teacup was none other than Fourth Master Yinzhen.
Fourth Master said with a cold face, "Where are you going?"
Yunxu also came out, and said with a smile: "It's a good thing to report lawlessness, why are you running away? Don't worry, we are all good people."
You'll Also Like
-
Naruto Shadow Mage
Chapter 619 9 hours ago -
In Genshin Impact, we start to save the Five Yakshas
Chapter 180 15 hours ago -
The Godfather of Football
Chapter 11 15 hours ago -
The story of a rich man started with his girlfriend's betrayal
Chapter 183 15 hours ago -
Pirates: I am not dead, the sea king just wants them to be happy
Chapter 188 15 hours ago -
I was born to be a king
Chapter 186 15 hours ago -
Zongman: People in Fairy Tail, with a superb understanding
Chapter 73 15 hours ago -
Re-create the famous Marvel scene, all the Avengers died
Chapter 66 15 hours ago -
Tomb Raider: Cultivating Immortality from Guanshan Taibao
Chapter 32 15 hours ago -
Summon the Seventh Generation at the Start
Chapter 204 15 hours ago