Favoring the concubine and killing the wife? She divorced the concubine and lived with her concubine

"What are you looking at, sir?"

Xue Wu poked his head out and followed Su Ze's gaze. Su Ze quickly reached out and turned him around.

"Nothing... How's the investigation going?" Su Ze wanted to change the subject, but Xue Wu was unwilling to do so. He clearly saw Su Ze looking at Xiao Lan stealthily.

"Why are you looking at Madam Sun?" Xue Wu's eyes were full of scrutiny.

Su Ze was caught in the act and felt a little guilty. "I accidentally saw it. This Madam Sun is brave and resourceful. She is very powerful."

Xue Wu felt a little proud when he heard this, "Yes, she was very smart when she was little, and she was also very well-behaved and sensible."

Xue Wu's adjective made Su Ze couldn't help but look back at Xiao Lan again.

Is he well-behaved? Is he sensible?

"You still remember the few months we spent together as children?"

"Yeah, it's a pity that I am not worthy of this status." Xue Wu lowered his head, and Su Ze could see his miserable face clearly.

Su Ze was silent for a moment and then continued asking questions.

"How is cleaning up?"

"The bodies have been taken away and moved to the county government office. The coroner has also been called there. But the cause of death should be quite clear." Xue Wu's sadness was fleeting. After all, this kind of sadness had not lasted for just one or two days, but had continued since he was a teenager.

"Where are the knives?" Su Ze finally changed the subject, so he took Xue Wu away from their previous position. Xue Wu's voice was too deep, and he was afraid that Xiao Lan had already seen them.

"It's the standard of the city defense army." Xue Wu followed Su Ze and gradually walked away.

Xiao Lan looked back and heard Xue Wu's voice. Naturally, she knew it was Su Ze eavesdropping. She didn't look back. If the county magistrate who looked exactly like the scumbag was not Su Ze, then there was no need for her to get too involved with him.

However, as a thank you, when the constables and yamen runners were finally about to leave, Xiao Lan came forward to express his gratitude to everyone for saving his life.

As representatives, Su Ze and Xue Wu were naturally the last to leave, and Master Cui also stayed with Su Ze.

"That evil slave and the old woman were both burned to death. Now Master Sun is bedridden. You will be the master of this family from now on." Xue Wu continued to speak bluntly.

Xiao Lan looked at Xue Wu. She felt that Xue Wu was too honest. How did he get to where he is now in this officialdom? Xue Wu was too tall. She had to look up at him. His eyes were full of sincerity. Xiao Lan couldn't help but smile.

"Thank you, Captain Xue, for your help. Once the repairs are complete, I will definitely host a banquet in your honor to express my gratitude."

"You're welcome. Even if Madam and I don't know each other, this is my duty!"

The two exchanged pleasantries, and Su Ze seemed like an outsider. Xiao Lan thanked Xue Wu gently, and Su Ze saw all the gratitude in her heart and eyes.

"Madam Sun, upon hearing that something happened to the Sun family, Lord Su rode his horse at full speed, carrying a quiver on his back. Our Lord Su is an excellent archer, and he can shoot an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away. He must have helped us a lot last night." Master Cui looked at the three of them and said something out of the blue.

Everyone went to see him, but he left with the lame excuse of going somewhere else.

Now that things had come to this, Xiao Lan could no longer pretend not to see it and bowed to Su Ze.

"Thank you so much, Lord Su, for saving my life. I have no way of repaying you!"

Su Ze was dissatisfied. Why did he have to hold a banquet to thank Xue Wu for coming to help, but he had nothing to repay him when it was his turn? Although he did not feel ashamed of Master Cui's taking credit for himself, he was also dissatisfied with Xiao Lan's perfunctory attitude.

"The man who kidnapped you hasn't been caught yet. I heard he's paying close attention to you. You were so treacherous to him last night, I'm afraid he'll come back for revenge. It'd be best if you come to the county government office in the next two days to have his portrait painted. If he can be apprehended quickly, it will be a great protection for you." Although Su Ze was unhappy, he still had to give the necessary instructions. Originally, this part was meant for Xue Wu, but seeing that Xue Wu was staring at Xiao Lan, he couldn't move his eyes away, so he probably had forgotten about it.

"Thank you, Lord Su, for the reminder!"

Seeing that Xiao Lan was indifferent to him, Su Ze didn't want to talk to her anymore and turned away.

Xue Wu wanted to say something, but saw Su Ze had already turned and left. He knew that the yamen had a lot of things to do, so he didn't dare to delay any longer. Even if he was reluctant, there was nothing he could do.

-----------------

After returning to the county government office, everyone went to Su Ze's study.

Xue Wu was tired after a night of drinking, so he found a seat and gulped down a pot of tea. Cui, on the other hand, stood beside Su Ze with a serious expression.

"Master Cui, are you saying that the city garrison refused to see you yesterday on the pretext of something?" Su Ze also drank a cup of tea before speaking.

"Yes, I went there as soon as you left yesterday. The gatekeeper helped me pass on the message, but he said the garrison commander was not feeling well and could not get up to see me. I said it was an emergency and asked for help. The gatekeeper went to pass on the message again, but there was no reply. I waited until dawn but no one showed up." Master Cui truthfully recounted his experience of last night.

"I'm afraid it's the garrison who went there with a knife." Xue Wu drank the entire teapot.

"That man ran so fast last night, I couldn't see him clearly... Madam Sun was blocking him completely..." Su Ze reflected on the scene from last night, and the gestures Xiao Lan made towards him as she was captured and retreated appeared in his mind. Those scallion-white fingers made such obvious gestures in the rainy night, and they looked surprisingly experienced and skilled. Could she have been a gangster before?

"She is really capable. She was able to cooperate with you to escape under such circumstances." Xue Wu was very happy and proud when he thought of this.

Su Ze didn't understand why Xue Wu was so proud, since he was the one cooperating with Xiao Lan.

"Yes, Madam Sun is indeed a heroine, but aren't we discussing official business now? If these people can be caught earlier, wouldn't Madam Sun be safer?" Master Cui couldn't help but remind her.

"I'm still worried. I think we need to send someone to protect the Sun family. Judging from what the servants and Mr. Sun heard at the time, the leading bandit was very fond of Madam Sun and was willing to take away her daughter and maid, just for Madam Sun to willingly follow him." Xue Wu's face was full of worry. His Xiao Lan was too outstanding and was always easily noticed by others.

Su Ze didn't think so. He picked up the bloody big knife on the table and said, "This man has suffered heavy losses now. Even if he has some skills, it will not be easy for him to escape the city-wide search. The most important thing now is to find out what the garrison was like yesterday. These knives are all standard ones of the city defenders, but they don't have the same marks. They may be imitations." Su Ze stared at the knife, but he was thinking about other things.

He didn't believe that Xiao Lan had such great charm that she could make a bandit leader risk his life in one night!

Everyone rested for a while but could not come to a conclusion. At this time, Liu Shoubei from the city finally arrived late.

"Oh, Lord Su! Last night was really... Oh, I can't help you at all." The person who came was Liu Yu, the garrison commander in the city, in charge of the garrison troops.

Because this city is close to other kingdoms to the south, it maintains a garrison. While the garrison is supposedly higher in rank than the county magistrate, these military officers have never been above the magistrates. On the contrary, they maintain a close personal relationship, mutually beneficial.

When County Magistrate Su took office as a new official, Liu Shoubei offered to host a welcoming banquet, but Su declined the invitation, so the two did not have much interaction.

"Captain Liu doesn't look like he's unwell! Are you feeling better now?" Su Ze stood up and clasped his fists in salute, but he was not polite in his words.

"Oh, it's all my men's fault. They saw that I rested early and thought I was not feeling well!" Liu Shoubei stepped forward and gave him a light support.

"Captain Liu!" Xue Wu also saluted. After paying his respects, Master Cui went downstairs to ask someone to serve tea.

"These lunatics are so bold! How dare they openly break into private houses and kidnap civilians! It's despicable! Lord Su is brave and resourceful! I heard that a lot of people have been arrested? Hand these people over to me, and I will get to the bottom of it for you. After all, I have been guarding the city here for many years, and I may have heard of a thing or two about these bandits." Liu Yu said indignantly, as if he was very angry about the behavior of these bandits last night.

Su Ze and Xue Wu looked at each other, knowing that someone was coming to ask for someone.