A Complete Explanation of the Negative Textbooks of the Imperial Examination

Chapter 63: Lie

“The county magistrate, who will I call next?”

“Call the clerk who answered my question at noon today.”

The honest clerk arrived at noon, and when he saw Xiao Jingduo, he hurriedly bowed his head and saluted: “Xiao County Chancellor.”

“Don’t be polite, just sit.”

Even if Xiao Jingduo said this, the other party was still frightened and sat down under Xiao Jingduo.

“What’s your name and how many years have you been in the county government?”

“The little one is called Ma Liu, and he has been a clerk in the county government office for ten years.”

“It’s been so long… Since that’s the case, you should know the county magistrate well.” Xiao Jingduo wrote down something on the paper, and then asked, “In the past few days, has the county magistrate had any Anything unusual, it doesn’t matter what it is, just say it all.”

“What’s abnormal?” Ma Liu fell into memory, “There seems to be nothing different, the county magistrate Chen is still the same, he drinks every day after handling government affairs, and he drinks more and more these days. The more ferocious, the more unreasonable the county magistrate is. The county magistrate is also pitiful. Since his wife left, he has been in a bad state. Later, the young lady also passed away, and the magistrate became more and more sluggish. , his face was pale, and although he only had one face-to-face, it could be seen that the magistrate was not in good health…”

Looking unusually weak?”

“Yes, that’s right! How did you know the situation at that time, county magistrate?”

“Just guessing.” Although Xiao Jingduo didn’t explain much, he already understood in his heart. According to Ma Liu’s description, the county magistrate Chen clearly took the medicine for vomiting and diarrhea, which made his body pale. virtual. This unexpected discovery made Xiao Jingduo’s thinking suddenly clear. He found another way of thinking and quickly asked: “Since the county magistrate Chen has no wife and children, who will take care of his daily life?”

“He is an old servant in the county government office. This old servant is also some years old. When he was old and frail, the county magistrate did not drive him out, but kept him in the county government office. Waiting for the flowers and plants, and helping out in the kitchen.”

“Serving flowers and plants, helping in the kitchen…” Xiao Jingduo was thoughtful. Seeing this, Ma Liu asked curiously: “Xiancheng, he is a servant, what do you ask him to do?”

Xiao Jingduo did not answer, but asked: “When the county magistrate Chen is drunk, who usually takes care of him?”

Ma Liu replied, “It’s also that old servant.”

“Drunken people are the most troublesome. Can an old servant take care of him?”

, are all arranged by the old servant alone, very caring.”

“You really are a loyal servant.” Xiao Jingduo smiled pointedly, stood up and said, “Now take me to the place where the magistrate’s body was found.”

Although Ma Liu is unclear, he still leads the way. Xiao Jingduo followed Ma Liu and once again came to the west courtyard where the magistrate lived.

“The county magistrate, the magistrate died in this room.”

Xiao Jingduo stood at the door and looked around roughly. This is the main courtyard where the magistrate lives. It is more spacious than the east side, but the general structure is similar. They are all facing south. The front is a tall main house, surrounded by wing rooms on both sides. , There is a ring corridor connected to the eaves, and a small door is opened at each of the four corners of the yard, and there are steps connected to the ring corridor.

“Are these corner doors locked at night?”

“It turns out that when Mrs. and Miss was still there, there were female relatives living in the backyard, so the county magistrate’s corner door would naturally be locked, but after the lady went, the magistrate didn’t bother to open and lock the door every day, just It’s enough to hide it.”

So it makes sense for Sun Sizuo to say that he saw the moon go all the way here by mistake.

Xiao Jingduo kept the structure of the yard in mind before pushing the door into the house.

Chen county magistrate’s house looks very poor and ordinary. There are three main rooms connected, the middle is the place for meeting guests, the east is the study, and the west is the bedroom. Xiao Jingduo walked towards the east first.

You can also see a tree of white flowers. Xiao Jingduo couldn’t recognize what kind of tree it was, but there were flowers in front of the window and bamboo behind the house. It was really elegant to be able to read here. It can be seen that before the county magistrate Chen was not addicted to drinking, he was still a rather elegant person.

Westinghouse is the place where the magistrate’s body was buried. There was a bed against the north wall of the house, and the bedding was stained with blood. Xiao Jingduo took a closer look and found that blood had seeped into the bedding, and it had turned black. Xiao Jingduo made a visual inspection and found that this was probably where the neck was, so this place had the most blood stains. There were many blood spots on the wall that were drawn into arcs, which looked very terrifying.

Ma Liu was so frightened that he turned his head away, he really couldn’t figure out, what’s so good about such a scary thing, Xiao Jingduo could still stare at it for so long.

After checking the bed, Xiao Jingduo walked to the window along the blood trail. There was a large pool of black blood seeping on the bed. Besides, there were also splashes of blood on the edge of the bed, on the steps, and on the ground. These uniform blood pools continued to the center of the room, and then a large pool of flowing blood spots appeared. .

Ma Liu added: “The county magistrate’s body is lying here.”

No need for Ma Liu to say, Xiao Jingduo guessed it based on the shape of the blood. He straightened up, walked to the window, pointed to the candlestick under the window and said, “Is this candlestick placed here from the beginning?”

“Yes, there are too many incidents today. It’s too late for us to collect the corpse of the magistrate, and we don’t have time to clean up the house.”

It seems that Magistrate Chen likes to read by the window very much.

Ma Liu walked around behind Xiao Jingduo and asked curiously, “Xiancheng, did you find something…”

There was a sound of “Ouch” from outside the door, Xiao Jingduo walked out quickly, and saw a gray-haired servant clutching his forehead, standing there in awe.

Ma Liu also hurriedly chased after him. When he saw the person, he was stunned: “Why are you?”

Then turned around and said to Xiao Jingduo: “Xiao County Prime Minister, this is what I told you, the old servant who serves Chen County Magistrate’s daily life.”

“It turned out to be you.” Xiao Jingduo looked at the old servant and said a word slowly. Ma Liu always felt that there was something in Xiao Jingduo’s words, but he couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so he just thought he was listening.

The old servant bent down and bowed to Xiao Jingduo: “The old servant has seen Xiao Xiancheng.”

“Well. Are you responsible for the daily meals of the county magistrate Chen?”

“Don’t dare to be, the old slave is just playing the kitchen.”

For your grace.”

Xiao Jingduo smiled and did not answer. He raised his hands and said, “Aren’t you helping in the kitchen, please lead the way, I want to see what the kitchen looks like.”

The old servant hunched over and led the way, and he arrived at the kitchen in no time. The county government office in Jinjiang County was dilapidated, and the kitchen was not wronged by its identity, just as dark and chaotic. Seeing Xiao Jingduo coming in, everyone else in the kitchen stopped and looked at Xiao Jingduo, not knowing what to do.

“I’m just looking at it, you don’t have to worry about me.” Xiao Jingduo smiled casually, and then walked around the kitchen. Ma Liu anxiously followed behind Xiao Jingduo, and said ramble: “Xiancheng, what are you looking for? Just instruct the younger ones to find it. The gentleman is far away from the kitchen. You are an official of the imperial court, so how can you come to the kitchen in person…”

However, no matter what Ma Liu said, Xiao Jingduo ignored it. Ma Liu felt bitter in his heart, this new county magistrate seemed young, how could he be so hard-hearted, he couldn’t persuade him at all. Ma Liu was chasing after him, and he wanted to say more, only to find that the straight back of the person in front stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Ma Liu asked.

Xiao Jingduo narrowed his eyes and focused on the corner of the stove. There was a dry purple petal that looked like it had fallen accidentally.

Xiao Jingduo sneered in his heart, so it was.

“Xiao County Chancellor?”

Xiao Jingduo immediately put away his expression, turned his head and smiled: “I’m just curious, I’m just walking around. It’s hard for you today, go back.”

“Huh?”

Ma Liu was called inexplicably and was sent away inexplicably. He scratched his head, he really didn’t understand what was going on, he called out to Xiao Jingduo’s back, but the young county magistrate just walked forward and ignored him.

“What the **** is going on…”

Feng Butcher was detained in the county government office. He couldn’t go anywhere, and he was not allowed to do anything.

He thumped the wall angrily and shouted, “Is there anyone? You bastards, come and fight me one-on-one!”

Usually, this kind of remarks are called in vain, but this time, before the echoes dissipated, Feng Butcher saw the entrance of the ya prison lit up, and then a tall figure appeared in the light, Turned around into the dark.

Feng Butcher narrowed his eyes and carefully identified the person who came. The other party walked forward unhurriedly, and the lanterns hanging on both sides of the wooden fence were blown by the wind, which just cast the light on the other party’s face.

Seeing this face, even if Butcher Feng has a bad memory, he can recognize people.

“Why are you?” Butcher Feng snorted and said reluctantly, “Who did you learn kung fu from, and your skills are pretty good.”

“Hmm.”

“What are you doing!” Butcher Feng was suddenly blown up.

“I still have a lot of things to do outside, and I don’t have time to spend with you.” Xiao Jingduo’s expression was cold, and his words were extremely concise, “Honestly answer, you sneaked into the county government office last night, where did you come? doing what?”

Although Butcher Feng couldn’t stand Xiao Jingduo’s indifferent and arrogant appearance, but Butcher Feng was more convinced of this new official than others. Although he was reluctant, he still answered honestly: “It was the county magistrate Chen who invited me here.”

“Huh? Why?”

Feng Butcher shook his head, but refused to say any more.

Although Xiao Jingduo has only been here for a day, he has already been worn out by the evasiveness of the people here and his speech style. He said angrily: “If you have something to say, what kind of man is hiding?”

“Hmph, I knew that you officials are all virtuous.” Feng Tuhu was already angry, and was easily provoked, “You officials from the imperial court are all the same, weak I’m afraid of things, I’ve been thinking about messing around with mud all day, anyway, you will be transferred when your term is up, what’s your business with the lives of the people in our county?”

Xiao Jingduo remembered what the master clerk had mentioned, there seemed to be a quarrel between Butcher Feng and Magistrate Chen, so he asked tentatively, “You seem to have a younger sister?”

When he mentioned his sister, Butcher Feng immediately became furious: “Shut up! You little white faces are indeed a virtue! I warn you, don’t hit my sister’s idea!”

“You?” Xiao Jingduo didn’t care what Feng Tuhu said at all, he repeated the key words in Feng Tuhu’s words, and immediately asked, “The other is Sun Sizuo?”

Feng Butcher was taken aback: “How do you know?”

Sure enough, it was inseparable from his guess, but Xiao Jingduo never had the habit of explaining his decision to others. He ignored Feng Butcher’s question, and walked two steps in the aisle with his hands behind his back, Shen Shen Sheng said: “Sun Sizuo said that you were the murderer and found your knife in the county magistrate’s house. If you still refuse to explain what you did to go to the magistrate in the middle of the night, then I can’t help you.”

Feng Butcher was a little confused: “Do you believe me?”

Xiao Jingduo sighed, raised his hand and pressed his eyebrows. Even so, Xiao Jingduo had to be patient and said, “Yes, before the case is finalized, tell everything you know immediately.”

Feng Butcher is not a fool. Seeing that the situation is not good for him, now there is a person who is willing to listen to him and tell the truth, Feng Butcher will naturally not refuse. He paused for a moment, and then hesitantly said, “The county magistrate Chen came to me to discuss… Miss Chen’s disappearance.”

“Missing?” Xiao Jingduo was alarmed. Everyone in the county office said that Miss Magistrate was dead, but Butcher Feng said, “Miss Chen is just missing?”

“Yes, I don’t know the specific details. That’s what the county magistrate Chen told me. After I received the letter, according to what he said in his oral message, I told him at Zishi. He slipped into the county government through the corner door of the county magistrate, and when I found the house of the county magistrate, I only saw that his house was completely dark. I couldn’t figure out what he was trying to do, so I could only secretly open the door and groped inside. Go. As soon as I entered the house, I felt wrong. When I was halfway, I seemed to step on something. I killed pigs when I was a child, and I immediately realized that it was the smell of blood. ”

“I was frightened, so I quickly touched the candlestick and lit it with a torch. As soon as the candle was lit, I realized that the bloodstain that I just stepped on was actually from the county magistrate Chen, who was lying on his back. There was blood all over the ground. I squatted down and tried his breath, and found that I was out of breath. I had no idea what to do when I saw this, and I didn’t know what to do when I heard someone shouting outside. Sigh. I was taken aback, and ran out quickly. As soon as I went out, I bumped into the boy from the Sun family. What’s even more hateful is that the boy was still pulling my sleeve, insisting that I was the murderer, and the others didn’t listen to my explanation. . We quarreled from midnight to noon, and later, you came.”

Xiao Jingduo sighed after hearing this. The same thing, Feng Butcher and Sun Sizuo’s statements are completely different, and some of them must be lying. As long as the liar is found, I am afraid it is not far from the murderer.

After Butcher Feng finished speaking, he found that Xiao Jingduo did not express his position, and he could not see whether the new county magistrate believed it or not, so he forced himself to ask a question: “What do you mean by not speaking? I mean, believe it or not?”

“You stay here first and wait for your arraignment tomorrow.” Xiao Jingduo left those words and walked out. After taking two steps, he stopped and said coldly, “You have repeated many times today. If you are disrespectful to the court officials, I miss you in jail, so I won’t hold you accountable this time. Next time, I will never forgive you lightly.”

“Hey, hey, wait for you to make it clear…”

There was a knocking sound behind him, Xiao Jingduo ignored it and left without looking back.

After leaving the prison where the prisoners were detained, Xiao Jingduo called a small official and instructed: “The order goes on, and the case of the county magistrate will be formally arraigned tomorrow, so there must be no mistake.”

The news that the county magistrate Chen’s case was about to open for trial immediately spread. As soon as Qiu Ju put her things away, she saw Xiao Jingduo coming back from outside. She hurried out to greet her: “Mr. Dalang, you’re back! I heard that you are going to open a court case tomorrow, do you need to prepare anything?”

“No, it’s enough to prepare the official uniform.”

“Official uniforms… oh yes, tomorrow’s official uniforms have been washed, but there is no incense, so I will ask Xiqi to bring the incense cage!”

“It’s not necessary, we are not in Chang’an, so there is no need for such trouble.”

“How can this be done, Langjun, you are now an eighth-rank official, and you should pay attention to nothing less.” After speaking, Qiu Ju called Xiqi, and the two held the official The clothes and the smoked cage went to the wing, and worked together to incense the clothes.

There have been many exotic caravans in Chang’an over the years, and even spices have become popular. The wind of indulging clothes flourished in the court, and later spread to the people. As long as it was a noble family with conditions, they would incense their clothes before wearing them out. There are two kinds of incense in clothes: cold and warm. Cold refers to putting incense pills in the clothes basket, and letting the folded clothes slowly soak in the aroma. The other is to burn incense with fire, and then cover a small stove with a bamboo Covering the cage, the two worked together to hang the clothes on the smoked cage, moving slowly so that the clothes were scented inside and out. Of these, the second kind of fragrance is naturally more lasting and better to show identity, so Chang’an dignitaries bought incense cages, and even left maids who specialize in incense. When Xiao Jingduo was in the Hou Mansion, these were naturally not lacking, but now that he was outside Beijing, there was no need to keep these troublesome and troublesome habits. But Qiu Ju does not agree with Xiao Jingduo’s rough idea. In her opinion, no matter where she is, she must keep the details delicate.

In this kind of matter, Qiu Ju couldn’t convince Xiao Jingduo, and Xiao Jingduo couldn’t beat Qiu Ju, so she could only shake her head and go with her.

Qiu Ju and Xiqi smoke clothes in the west wing, Xiao Lin is familiar with people from all over the county, and the setting sun shines in the courtyard, which outlines a quiet and reassuring summer scene. In such an environment, Xiao Jingduo calmed down and looked at the Jinjiang County files within three years in the house.

He started to sleep just thinking about reading a few volumes, but after reading a few volumes, he no longer wanted to sleep.

This group of mediocre officials, Xiao Jingduo was so angry that he didn’t want to speak.

The tax records are topsy-turvy, the financial income is in a mess, and the case determinations over the years are even more absurd, obviously perfunctory.

What Xiao Jingduo has to face is such a small county in the southwest frontier, which is remote, poor, and has strong folk customs, and the government does not have any credibility.

How to make political achievements in such a place is obviously a problem that even gods find difficult. And this is only secondary, what really matters now is how to take the first and most crucial first step in establishing his prestige in tomorrow’s public trial.

The author has something to say: Small Theater:

Qiu Ju’s heart: As a chief maid, she must be delicate at all times, and rough straight men like you will not understand.

Next comes the ad break:

A. Master

B. Sun Sizuo (please note that Sizuo is an official title)

C. Honest scribe

D. Fung Butcher

E.Old Servant

F. The mysterious power of a certain green

There are also several flaws in the text. Parents can also actively leave a message. As long as the words are reasonable, there will be red packets dropped~