The master said not to judge people by their appearance

Two days ago, Xie Yunlan asked Xu Xin to send people to guard the banks of the Cangjiang River and warn the people not to go into the water in the near future. However, after warnings were given, there were still fishing boats launching into the water and encountering snakes.

In other words, the snake was aimed at Zhang Li, and the boatman who was driving the boat also fell into the water, but he was not seriously injured, and only Zhang Li was killed.

But Zhang Li should be imprisoned in the prefect's mansion, so how did he escape from Cangzhou City and get on a fishing boat at the pier on the north bank of the Cangjiang River?

Xie Yunlan frowned deeply, looking at the body that had just been salvaged, it was indeed true Zhang Li.

"Thank you, sir..." Xu Xin didn't come over until now. He was out of breath and his forehead was covered with sweat. When he saw Zhang Li's body, he seemed to be frightened, and the fat all over his body trembled.

Without waiting for him to catch his breath, Xie Yunlan asked, "How did Zhang Li escape from the prison?"

"This, this..." Xu Xin stammered, "I don't know..."

He thought of something again, and quickly said: "It should be the same as He Zhu, it was made by that monster!"

Yeah?Xie Yunlan pondered, then why didn't Zhang Li die directly in the river like He Zhu, but instead sat on a fishing boat and was knocked over and dragged into the water?

"Master Xie, this is the boatman who is driving the boat." The guard brought the boatman over.

The boatman also fell into the water. He was wrapped in wet clothes and still in shock. When he saw Xie Yunlan, he said, "My lord, I saw a monster! It's in the water! It has a woman's face, but its lower body is a long snake tail!"

"That's a snake." Xie Yunlan frowned, "Didn't the government inform you not to go into the water in the near future?"

He looked at Xu Xin at the same time.

Xu Xin hurriedly said: "Thank you sir, I will send someone to notify you!"

"It's a notification..." The boatman also said.

It's just that the person who notified is probably not paying much attention, and the person who listens is even more so.Xie Yunlan knew it at a glance, and he cursed secretly, what exactly can Xu Xin, a rich man, can accomplish.

"What did you do in the water?" Xie Yunlan glanced at the corpse on the ground, "And what did he do?"

"I took him across the river," said the boatman. "He came to me before dawn and asked me to take him across the river on a punting boat. I didn't want to take him across the river. It was so dark that he didn't get up yet, but he He seemed to be in a hurry, and gave me two taels of silver, I have never seen so much money in my life!"

Two taels of silver is not much for dignitaries, but for these fishermen who make their living from fishing, it is enough for a year.

So the boatman hurriedly got up from the bed, he didn't pay much attention to the government's notice, he had two taels of silver in front of him, and he didn't care much. In the dark sky, he supported the boat and took Zhang Li across the river.

"My boat hadn't gone far when I bumped into a monster. With a flick of its tail, the monster overturned my boat and dragged the man into the water to drown him! I saw everything!" the boatman said in fear. "If I didn't swim fast, I'm afraid I would have died!"

In this way, Zhang Li should have taken the initiative to take the boat into the water. Did he want to escape?So how did he escape from prison?

Xie Yunlan walked to Shen Fan who was yawning, and asked, "Did any monster come to the prefect's mansion last night?"

Shen Fan shook his head: "I didn't feel it."

Xie Yunlan: "Could it be that it has some way to hide its breath?"

"Maybe there is, but as long as it uses its devilish energy, it will definitely reveal its flaws." Shen Fan said.

To transfer a person out of the prison without disturbing anyone, it must be necessary to use demon magic. The last time when He Zhu was killed, Shen Fan was not in the prefect's mansion, so he didn't notice it, but this time Shen Fan Fan lived in the other courtyard of the prefect's mansion, not too far from the prison. If Zhang Li was taken out of the prison by the snake, he would not be completely unaware.

So... Xie Yunlan's gaze turned to Xu Xin again, and Xu Xin shrank from being watched, probably because he realized that his behavior was too guilty, so he quickly smiled again, trying to pretend that everything was normal.

"Master Xu, how did Zhang Li escape from the prison?" Xie Yunlan's tone was a little cold.

"I, I don't know..." The sweat on Xu Xin's forehead grew more and more.

"Really?" Xie Yunlan narrowed his eyes, "Who was the guard on duty in the prison yesterday? I want to see if this prisoner will disappear out of thin air!"

It is true that the prisoner will not disappear out of thin air, but the guard who knew the truth did not speak easily.Last night, there were guards in the prison one by one, but Xie Yunlan pushed them all into the prison, which was the place where Zhang Li was originally interrogated.

It was still Zhang Li who was beaten yesterday, but today it was them. There was a lot of shouting in the prison, but no one spoke first, as if they were worried about something.

Xu Xin was terrified as he watched from the side. He felt as if the plank hit him, and his fat body trembled unconsciously. He wanted to find an excuse to leave, but Xie Yunlan stopped him.

"Where is Master Xu going?" Xie Yunlan said with a pleasant expression.

"I, I'm going out to get some air..." Xu Xin made an excuse.

"The person being interrogated is Master Xu's man. It's better for Master Xu to watch on the spot." Xie Yunlan's tone was not serious, like a suggestion.

But the two guards blocked the exit of the prison, one on the left and the other on the right. Except for the guards under trial, all of them were brought by Xie Yunlan from Beijing. Xu Xin couldn't leave even if he wanted to.

Xu Xin had no choice but to sit back in his seat embarrassingly.

"Master Xu drinks tea." Xie Yunlan personally poured a cup of tea for Xu Xin.

Xu Xin tried his best to smile, picked up the teacup and wanted to drink it, but his hands were trembling badly.

As if Xie Yunlan didn't notice his abnormality, she also poured a cup of tea for herself and drank it by herself.

He Zhu's death didn't have a big impact in Cangzhou. After all, no one saw the monster with their own eyes and thought he was drowned. However, Zhang Li's death this time was someone who saw the snake with his own eyes.

The news spread quickly, and the people talked about it.When Luo Hongyuan received the news of Zhang Li's death, his entire face turned pale, and his fingers trembled no less than Xu Xin's, or even worse.

"Where's Xu Xin?" He asked the servant who came to report the news.

"Master Xu seems to be interrogating the case with Master Xie, saying that they are investigating how Zhang Li escaped from prison." The servant said.

"Xie Yunlan!" Luo Hongyuan gritted his teeth, and at the same time he was a little uncontrollably anxious. He paced the room and ordered, "Continue to investigate. If Xu Xin comes out, call him over immediately!"

"Yes." The servant replied.

A day passed, Xu Xin failed to come out from the prefect's mansion, and the guards did not confess at the same time.

Xie Yunlan didn't show any anxiety on his face, he sat in the prison calmly for a whole day, as if he still had a lot of patience to spend with them.

But Xu Xin couldn't hold back any longer. Those boards missed him, but after hearing the screams all day, he suffered a lot mentally.

Just before he couldn't bear to confess to Xie Yunlan, Wang Tai who went to Yangzhuang to investigate Luo Yong'an came back.

He came back alone, Xie Yunlan asked immediately after seeing him: "Is Luo Yong'an in Yangzhuang?"

"Yes!" Wang Tai said, "It should be said that he never went back!"

Ten years ago when the God of the River appeared, Xu Liniang was chosen by the people as the bride to marry the God of the River. Luo Yongan, who had lost the blessing of Xu Liniang's fame, ran back to his hometown overnight in fear of Luo Hongyuan's revenge. This is a widely circulated saying in Cangzhou, but in fact Yes, Luo Yongan never went back.

He never appeared again, whether it was Cangzhou City, or his hometown Yangzhuang, or any other place, he seemed to have disappeared out of thin air.

Xie Yunlan's mood changed a few times, and suddenly she slapped the table with a "bang", and Xu Xin almost fell off the chair in shock.

"Bring Luo Hongyuan here!" He ordered coldly.

The Luo family has deep roots in Cangzhou and has a background in the court. Even the prefect Xu Xin has to slander Luo Hongyuan, lest he offend him.Luo Hongyuan's personality is domineering and strong. After careful investigation, he has done many illegal and public outraged things, but after so many years, who would dare to touch him?

People in Cangzhou dare not go down to the common people or go up to the government.

But Xie Yunlan dared.

Wang Tai directly brought a few guards with him, armed with knives, and broke into the Luo family compound. The head of the Luo family, Luo Zhantu, was not in Cangzhou when he went out to participate in the chamber of commerce. At this moment, the Luo family only had some female relatives in the back house except Luo Hongyuan. The Luo family heard them He wanted to take Luo Hongyuan for interrogation, so he naturally refused to comply, and surrounded him clamorously, but when the guards flashed their knives, they all fell silent.

Luo Hongyuan was also frightened. These guards had all followed Xie Yunlan on the battlefield, and they were full of evil spirits. They were completely different from the officers and soldiers he had seen since childhood who only slandered and flattered him. Tai and the others escorted him to the prefect's mansion.

This is the first time for Luo Hongyuan to come to such a dark, filthy place with a rotten smell, especially as a prisoner.The arrogant arrogance of his usual sons and brothers was half frightened when the guards raised their knives. Now seeing those guards in the prison who had been beaten for a day covered in blood, the remaining half was also wiped out.

But when Xie Yunlan asked him if he had something to do with the River God incident ten years ago, he still insisted and said, "What does it have to do with me? The River God was met by Zhang Li!"

Xie Yunlan looked at him and said, "Let me ask you again, Zhang Li lied about seeing the god of the river, did you instigate it?"

Luo Hongyuan felt a little guilty and timid under this gaze, but then he thought that Xie Yunlan would not dare to really touch him, otherwise when his aunt came to question him, Xie Yunlan would not be able to explain it, so he stiffened again, raised his chin and said: "No! Thank you, sir, don't spout blood!"

Xie Yunlan smiled, turned around, and gestured to the guards on both sides.

Luo Hongyuan's shoulders were grabbed by one left and one right, he suddenly became nervous, and panicked: "What are you going to do?!"

The guard didn't answer, and directly dragged Luo Hongyuan onto the torture tool.

"Xie Yunlan! My aunt is Mrs. Luo! You can't touch me—!" Luo Hongyuan was so panicked that his voice broke.

Xu Xin who was at the side also said: "Master Xie, he belongs to Mrs. Luo..."

Xie Yunlan glanced at him, Xu Xin shut up embarrassingly.

"Ah——!" The punishment stick hit Luo Hongyuan, and Luo Hongyuan let out a miserable howl. He grew up rich and well-clothed, and his parents pampered him. Where did he suffer this kind of crime? After beating for a long time without opening his mouth, Luo Hongyuan was beaten ten times, so he cried bitterly: "Stop beating! I said! I ordered it! I ordered it..."

Xie Yunlan raised his hand to call the guards to stop, Luo Hongyuan was put down from the rack, he couldn't help trembling in pain, as soon as the guards released him, he collapsed to the ground.

Xie Yunlan walked up to Luo Hongyuan, looked down at him, and asked, "Why did you instigate?"

"Because I want to take revenge on Xu Liniang..." Luo Hongyuan said tremblingly.

The truth was exactly as Xie Yunlan had guessed. The incident with the River God was all because Luo Hongyuan wanted to take revenge on Xu Liniang.Although Xu Liniang has never accepted Luo Hongyuan, and has rejected Luo Hongyuan a lot, but Luo Hongyuan is domineering, and the woman he likes cannot tolerate the other party's refusal.

In his opinion, Xu Liniang's usual behavior of returning the jewels was just lust, so he didn't get angry. He didn't expect Xu Liniang to be so ignorant that he dared to marry Luo Yong'an privately. This incident completely angered Luo Hongyuan. This woman has to be taught a lesson.

But Xu Liniang was too famous in Cangzhou, he couldn't do too much, and was warned by his father to ground him because of the smashing of Caiyunfang.

At this moment, Zhang Li approached him.

Zhang Li accidentally heard that Luo Hongyuan wanted to take revenge on Xu Liniang. He himself was being chased by the gambling house because of gambling debts, so he went to offer Luo Hongyuan a plan to help Luo Hongyuan take revenge on Xu Liniang in exchange for money.

Zhang Li's gambling debt is a huge sum of money that ordinary people can't afford to repay in a lifetime, but it's nothing to Luo Hongyuan.

In fact, relying on Zhang Li alone, this matter would not have spread so widely. It all depended on Luo Hongyuan's secret operations. Even the prefect Zheng Rui at that time was dealt with by Luo Hongyuan, and he promised not to ask about this matter.

In the end, Xu Liniang was tied to a bamboo raft by a group of foolish people and pushed into the icy river, never to see the sun again.

"What about Luo Yong'an?" After explaining about Xu Liniang, Xie Yunlan asked again, "What did you do to Luo Yong'an?"

"He... I didn't do anything," Luo Hongyuan said with a twinkle in his eyes, "Didn't he go back to his hometown?"

"Continue." Xie Yunlan said to the two guards who had just tortured Luo Hongyuan.

Luo Hongyuan quickly changed his words: "No! I sent someone to release the news that he escaped back to his hometown!"

"Where did Luo Yong'an go?" Xie Yunlan asked coldly.

"He, he..." Luo Hongyuan stammered for a long time, then closed his eyes, and said in a heartbeat, "He asked for it!"

On the day when the common people surrounded Caiyunfang, while the women in the building were pushing against the door, Luo Yong'an ran out alone and went to the prefect's mansion to report the case, wanting to ask Zheng Rui to make the decision.

But Zheng Rui had already been taken care of by Luo Hongyuan. When Luo Yong'an was kneeling at the door, Zheng Rui was drinking tea with Luo Hongyuan in the mansion, appreciating the gift from Luo Hongyuan with a smile.

It has been raining in Cangzhou for more than a month, and Luo Yong'an knelt in the cold rain for a long time, until his body temperature became a little bit cold, and he could hardly hold on any longer, and fell down in the muddy rain on the road.

After receiving the news, Luo Hongyuan came out of the prefect's mansion slowly. He specially asked someone to wake Luo Yongan up, admiring Luo Yongan's distressed appearance like a dog in water.

"Aren't you going to rob someone from me?" Luo Hongyuan kicked Luo Yong'an in the face, and said with a sneer, "Xu Liniang is going to marry the River God soon, so you're going to rob him now? Hahaha——"

The servants behind him laughed along with him.

Luo Yong'an stared at him intently, he had suspected that this matter had something to do with Luo Hongyuan, but now he saw that the other party came out of the prefect's mansion and said such words again, he still didn't understand.

Luo Yong'an is a scholar who has no strength to restrain a chicken. He usually can't quarrel with others, let alone fight with others. On the ground, Luo Hongyuan's right eye socket was blackened with a punch.

It's a pity that he couldn't punch the left eye again. The servants who reacted had already pulled him off Luo Hongyuan, cut his hands behind his back, and knelt down on the ground.

"You dare to hit me?!" Luo Hongyuan rubbed his swollen right eye, furious, and kicked Luo Yongan's chest.

Luo Yong'an was kicked and fell backwards, but he was firmly supported by the servants. Luo Hongyuan kicked and kicked again and again. He couldn't do it by himself, so he ordered the servants to do it together.

He has never been so angry in his life. Not only did Luo Yong'an dare to snatch a woman from him, but he even dared to beat him? !

After beating Luo Hongyuan himself was tired, Luo Yong'an's nose was bruised and his face was swollen, his face was unrecognizable, the rain on the ground turned red, he fell into the blood, unable to get up again, but still staring at Luo Hongyuan with his eyes open.

Luo Hongyuan was stunned by this look for a moment, but then he became even more furious. He kept on doing two things and asked someone to drag Luo Yongan away. On that thunderous rainy night before Xu Liniang was about to be sent to the God of the River.

A glaring white light flashed, followed by rumbling thunder. Amidst the thunderstorm, Luo Hongyuan said:

"I asked someone to tie Luo Yongan's hands and feet and throw him into the Cangjiang River..."