I'm afraid you'll be widowed

Standing in the gloomy alley, Pei Gong kept watching quietly.

Watching Fang Cenxi's every move, he couldn't help curling the corners of his lips teasingly.

Fang Cenxi seemed to be the same when he first met him.

Even though the identity of the inner guard has been found out now, he still disguises himself very well in front of others.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Pei Gong would probably have found it hard to believe that the leader Linyuan, whose rumors are limited and whose deeds are deep and hard to detect, is Fang Cenxi.

The Fang Cenxi he knew would buy scallion pancakes for beggars on the side of the road in Xianghai, would give two coppers to orphans and widows to wash clothes in Tianshui Lane, and would risk his life alone in order to save Jiang Sanqiaoer's life. Go to Heqiao Village.

The Fang Cenxi he knew was approachable, kind to others, and not afraid of powerful people.

Therefore, Pei Gong can't imagine that a person who abandons his conscience and enters the inner guard to seek fame and fortune can see the sufferings of the people, understand the sufferings of the world, and pretend to be so secretive.

Yu Zirong, the county magistrate who oppressed the common people, was undoubtedly the inner guard.

If it weren't for relying on the backing of the inner guard to cover up, Yu Zirong would definitely not be able to cover the sky with one hand at the foot of the capital.

At that time, Pei Gong only felt that it was very satisfying, after all, Yu Zirong's downfall was what he deserved.

But thinking back carefully now, Fang Cenxi didn't show any mercy to Zirong just because he was in the Thirteenth Division.

The filthy quarrels and collusion that Pei Gong thought should happen, but in the end they all disappeared into the sky, without even a trace of them appearing.

The entire county government office in Xianghai was almost completely searched by Jin Yiwei.The citizens of Xianghai County all celebrated with their foreheads and hands in gratitude.

What's more, after returning from Xianghai, he spent all day hanging out with Fang Cenxi.

If Fang Cenxi really wanted to frame Duke Liang's mansion, why didn't he take the best opportunity to do it?How could Duke Liang's mansion continue to exist in Shuntian, until now he got the position of Thousand Households bestowed by Emperor Deqi himself?

Pei Gong always felt that Shisansi was like a rat's nest.

Anyone who has the slightest connection with it seems to be ashamed to say so.

Therefore, the inner guards dare not show their true colors to others, dare not confess their identities, and should be deeply ashamed of this.

But Fang Cenxi was different, even if his life was on the line, he even dared to slap Pei Gong.

They seemed to have completely torn their faces apart. Now that things have happened, there is no need for Fang Cenxi to bother to pretend to be docile in front of Pei Gong.

It's just that the person in Pei Gong's eyes seems to be the same as before.

Pei Gong was actually very contradictory, he couldn't indulge his resentment against Fang Cenxi's pursuit of fame and fortune.

But there was always a hurdle in his heart, maybe he was blaming Fang Cenxi for lying to him, maybe he was blaming him for being cold-hearted, or he couldn't tell how credulous he was in others.

However, the harder Pei Gong tried to understand, the more confused he was about what Fang Cenxi wanted.

If Fang Cenxi wanted fame and fortune, he should have made a lot of money in Xianghai and Yu Zirong; if he wanted to be loyal to the Thirteenth Division, he would not go to the case bank to steal files as Zeng Zhe said before; Liang Guogong's mansion, he should have set up a trap in one fell swoop by taking advantage of Pei Gong's unpreparedness.

But Fang Cenxi didn't have any.

He can endure humiliation as if he is extremely ambitious, and he seems to be indifferent to everything because he has nothing to ask for.

Fang Cenxi was still standing in the shade of the wall.

His discussion at the Dali Temple Government Office does not seem to be over yet.

"Fang Sizheng, but if this case is carried out in this way, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles."

"It's still the New Year's Eve, but we can't even go back to Shuntian, how can this be good?"

Fang Cenxi did not show any impatience because of these words.

His face is still gentle: "It is the responsibility of Dali Temple to eat the king's salary, to bear the king's worries, and to be sued and severely sentenced for injustice."

"The family reported that Zhou Xing was missing. At that time, Zhou Xing still had an elderly mother, a sick wife and children. Now that Zhou Xing is alive and dead, how does his family live?"

"Widows and orphans have said several times that they have found Zhou Xing's whereabouts, but the government office rejected them again and again. They went to Shuntian to appeal without hesitation, is it just to pester the government office for money?"

"Time and time again, they want husbands and sons, people, and future livelihoods."

"You all read the books of sages and sages. If you can return to the capital calmly, how can you see such a family starve to death?"

Several Dali Temple government offices looked at each other in blank dismay, but suddenly no one responded.

After a while, someone asked again in a low voice: "But..."

"Fang Sizheng, the brocade guards who were staying with us in the inn, looked at the people who came here, especially the Qianhu who took the lead. I heard that it was even more difficult to talk about it. Could it be that they came here for this matter? ? If you offend Jin Yiwei, it will not end well."

When Pei Gong heard that he was mentioned, he couldn't help but look down.

Hearing the words, Fang Cenxi suddenly reached out and patted the government office's shoulder: "It's okay, there is no need to worry."

After Fang Cenxi finished speaking, he just turned his eyes sideways.

He seemed to know early in the morning that someone behind the wall looked at them, and met Pei Gong's sight: "I owe him money, and he is targeting me, not Dali Temple."

Pei Gong was startled, then frowned immediately, and then dodged to hide behind the wall in the corner.

Several people in the alley were still talking in the Dali Temple Government Office.

"Fang Si is looking at that corner no matter what. Did you hear some movement? There must be someone following the government office. I'll go and have a look..."

"No, I just saw that there is no one, just a dog running away from God. There is an important matter at hand, don't delay any longer, go to the government office to find someone first and then talk about it."

Hearing the voices of several people talking farther and farther away, Pei Gong finally realized that he was a little distracted and knocked down the debris piled up in the corner of the alley.

When he went to look again, Fang Cenxi had already left with the people from Dali Temple.

Pei Gong couldn't help but pursed the corners of his lips again.

He seemed to be getting more and more confused about the person in front of him.

--------

Winter night falls very early.

As soon as the sky was stained with a thin layer of soapy blue, the shops on the street began to close one after another.

Pei Gong turned back to the inn, and saw that everyone had come back one after another.

The accompanying hundred households were sitting in the house, talking to other banner officials about various matters.

Seeing Pei Gong coming back, Fang got up one after another and cupped hands with Pei Gong.

"The third master is back?"

Pei Gong nodded lightly.

Then he sat down at the table and poured a cup of hot tea to moisten his throat: "I saw that Baoxing's head office in Baodi is still very lively today."

"However, it seems that everyone knows about Baoxing's counterfeit banknotes."

"Third Master is right, we all heard about it today."

"Furthermore, this Baoxing family has a great business, and it is second to none in the Baodi Mansion. The boss Fan Tianhe is even more charitable. Since more than ten years ago, he has sponsored many poor students to study."

"I heard that even today's Baodi magistrate and the two general judges in the mansion received Fan Tianhe's favor back then, so the Baoxing name is even more unambiguous in this Baodi mansion."

"Fan Tianhe?" Pei Gong repeated the name silently, "Isn't there a township examination Jie Yuan called Fan Tianhe in Baodi Mansion decades ago?"

"When the late emperor was still alive, did he beat the Dengwen drum?"

"Exactly, Boss Fan is also interesting. His family is considered to be a scholarly family. In the early years of Baoyilu Lianhe, everyone said that he was the reincarnation of Wenquxing. In the end, he was very talented in writing. He still failed in the Beijing entrance examination."

"This Boss Fan couldn't hold his breath, so he went to beat Deng Wengu. The examination papers were brought back for a heavy sentence, causing a lot of trouble. Everyone in the court was in danger, but in the end he still failed to participate in the palace examination."

"He threw away his pen and books, and didn't stay in the next year any longer, but returned to Baodi to start a business."

"Now that Baoxing Bank is doing well, who can say that Boss Fan is courageous?"

Several people chatted about the past more than 20 years ago, and once talked about it with relish.

"Nowadays, there are quite a few Dayuan in the court who are taking that subject? Master Shoufu is, and there are more than a dozen of the six departments and six subjects that are worthy of the name."

"If Boss Fan takes one more subject, he will be famous in court."

"It's a pity that he was completely lost. The sons of the Fan family are all famous, and there are countless Baodi students who were funded by Boss Fan."

“He just won’t write his own pen anymore.”

Pei Gong listened to the gossip calmly, couldn't help arching his knuckles, and lightly knocked the table twice expressionlessly.

"It's far away, let's talk about business."

"I finished talking earlier and went to eat, aren't you hungry?"

Several people laughed dumbfoundedly, and then hurriedly changed the subject angrily.

"Speaking of which, Jingzhong Baoxing is closed, and some people say that the manager of Shuntian came here for the first time."

"In the restaurant, a well-known dyer named Zhou Xing was invited to a banquet."

"Later, the shopkeeper died unexpectedly not long after returning to Shuntian, and that Zhou Xing was nowhere to be seen."

"Zhou Xing?" Pei Gong only felt familiar when he heard the name, "Missing?"

"Exactly." The banner official reported to Pei Gong in a deep voice, "This man is a native of Baodi Mansion, and there was a dyeing workshop at home."

"He is quite well-known in Baodi. I heard that no matter what kind of look the cloth gives, he can blend it with a single glance. He is a capable person."

"It's just that for some reason, the dyeing workshop stopped doing it and owed a lot of money, so the man ran away. I'm afraid his hands were not clean, so he abandoned his wife and ran for his life."

Pei Gong listened to this bit by bit, trying to recall where he had heard of Zhou Xing's name.

"Zhou Xing..."

"Third Master, I'm afraid Zhou Xing knows a lot of inside information about the case this time. He can mediate and get involved. I'm afraid this counterfeit ticket is still linked to him."

"Should we communicate with the people on the Baoxing ship first, and find out this Zhou Xing before we talk about it?"

Pei Gong hesitated.

In the afternoon, the case that Fang Cenxi and everyone in Dali Temple talked about seemed to be Zhou Xing?

The Zhou family was also looking for someone, but the government office refused to accept it, forcing the Zhou family to go to the capital to file a complaint.

At this moment, Pei Gong suddenly frowned slightly.

He realized that Jin Yiwei and Dali Temple seemed to be looking for the same person.

The current two cases are probably caused by an incident.

But merging the case is no small matter, not to mention that Jinyiwei and Dali Temple have the Yamen on their shoulders, let alone do it lightly.

Pei Gong thought for a moment, then raised his knife and got up.

"Where does Zhou Xing's family live?"

"It's the first one in Mao'er Lane, but the third master, we went to look for it in the afternoon, and we waited for a while, but there was no one."

Pei Gong rubbed his forehead.

He understood that Fang Cenxi was cautious, so he couldn't help but become more determined.

"It's okay, you go and rest yourself, I know where to ask for someone."

The author has something to say:

Master Xiaofang: A silly dog ​​who runs away

Pei Gou: I suspect you are swearing, but I have no evidence