Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

On the other hand, Cui Bianxu, who also decided to lie down, did not have such an easy life.

This is the difference between private enterprises and government agencies.

He wanted to lie down and take it easy, but the case would eventually come back to him.

Cui Bianxu really couldn't figure out what the magistrate of Chang'an County did for a living.

How come the disappearance case of a lady from the Li family has not been investigated for so many days?

The Mid-Autumn Festival is over!

Not only did they not finish the investigation, they also lost a day because the whole city was celebrating on July 15th - there were too many people, and everyone in the Chang'an County Government went out to maintain public order.

"Are you telling me now that your findings indicate that Madam Li has ascended to heaven?"

Cui Bianxu had lost all his temper. He looked at the magistrate of Chang'an County in front of him with full of curiosity. If he had the chance, he would like to open the guy's head and take a good look at what was inside such a big head.

No wonder Li Zuocheng didn't accept this statement. Who else could accept it? What would he say when his brother came back?

"Brother, your wife is amazing. She has ascended to heaven at such a young age!"

Li Zuocheng is not crazy!

The magistrate of Chang'an wiped the sweat from his temples. He felt that this was a bit of a lie, but it seemed that this was the only way to deal with it. "Replying to Mr. Cui, Madam Li is a low-key person. According to the maid, she never likes to go out or socialize with others. She is only keen on practicing Taoism and becoming an immortal..."

"Upon inspection, there were no signs of damage to the doors or windows, no signs of a struggle inside or outside the bedroom, and no property was lost. Neither the maids in the courtyard nor the patrolling servants heard or saw anything unusual..."

What's more, a healthy person suddenly disappears while sleeping at night. Isn't this practicing Taoism to become an immortal?

As a public official of the Tang Dynasty, between legendary romantic anecdotes and erotic affairs, he could only reluctantly talk about the former...

It's better than telling Li Zuocheng: Maybe your wife eloped with someone, right?

Cui Bianxu laughed angrily, "According to what you said, this is still a great thing for the Daoists. Even so, if someone from our Great Tang ascended to heaven, why didn't you report it all the way to Luoyang with drums and gongs, and have His Majesty issue an order to celebrate properly?"

"This this....."

The magistrate of Chang'an smiled awkwardly and continued to wipe his sweat, not knowing what to say for a moment. If he dared to report like this, he would be dismissed from his post the next day!

It was too hot that day and his clothes were wet. It seemed that the ice in the Dali Temple was not enough.

The two looked at each other, and a brief confrontation was successfully broken when the magistrate of Chang'an put his hands in his pockets and decided to give up first. As subordinates, when they encountered problems that could not be solved, didn't they just hand them over to the leaders?

The Dali Temple has approved this matter, so Cui Shaoqing has to accept it even if he doesn't want to.

"Mr. Cui, I will take my leave now. I will have someone send the case files to you when I get back." As he spoke, his heels began to move outward little by little.

Cui Bianxu kept telling himself in his heart: I have been pretending for so long, I must not fail and fall victim to this fool!

"Well, leave now." If you don't leave now, he might become rude.

He tried to keep a straight face, and waited until the figure of the Chang'an County Magistrate disappeared from his sight, then he jumped up and closed the door.

"How could such a smooth-talking person exist in this world? It's simply outrageous! He's truly a smooth talker and a shameless person! Why didn't he get passed over in the civil service exam?! Old dog!"

Cui Bianxu lowered his voice and started walking around in circles in the room again. His feet were a little itchy, but this was the Dali Temple. He kicked something with his feet, and then the whole Dali Temple knew that he was locked in the room and throwing a tantrum in broad daylight!

It’s so annoying!

This official's job was not pleasant, and he even felt a little miserable. He knew that he could be demoted at any time for some reason, but he still had to hold on.

Chang'an County delivered the case files very quickly. The yamen runners hurriedly put down the files, bowed and ran away, fearing that they would suffer wrath if they were a step late. When their leader returned just now, his face was not looking good!

Of course, the most important thing is that this Shaoqing Cui looks a bit creepy.

Cui Bianxu watched them put down their things and hurried away with a frown on his face. He was still feeling angry. He was ready to be demoted and made trouble again, but now they were causing trouble!

Although Cui Bianxu cursed, he still had professional ethics. Since the case file had been delivered, he could only hold his breath and start reading it.

The missing Lady Li was Li Xingquan's second wife, only 20 years old...

Cui Bianxu was shocked. This Li Xingquan is already over fifty, right? He is really an old man who never ages. He married a wife who is not even older than his son.

After complaining, he continued reading. The time of disappearance was the night of July 13th, and Li Xingquan, as the chief clerk of the Dushuijian, left Chang'an on July 11th to go on a business trip to Huainan Road.

According to criminal investigation practice, the first suspect is an acquaintance, so Li Xingquan is the first suspect.

Generally, officials would not go on official business alone. Since Li Xingquan was on an official business trip with a formal approval document, he had someone traveling with him, and he had traveled for two days. It was absolutely impossible for him to sneak back in the middle of the night and kidnap or kill Madam Li.

After all, he is just a civil servant, and an elderly one at that.

He continued to read. According to the investigation of the Chang'an County Yamen officers, this Lady Li had bright eyes, white teeth, charming red lips, a graceful figure, light steps, picturesque eyebrows and eyes, a smile as beautiful as a flower, and every frown and smile was full of charm. In short, she was beautiful, extremely beautiful.

Cui Bianxu frowned again. What was wrong with the people in Chang'an County? There were only so many words that could be written on a piece of paper. Spending half a page describing how beautiful Lady Li was was fine, but why didn't they mention her facial features? Did she have any moles or anything like that?

It's all such empty descriptions!

Okay, let’s continue reading. Cui Bianxu was amused. What was written on the remaining half of the paper?

Li's wife, Zhao, behaved dignifiedly, managed the household well, and served her husband wholeheartedly. Li Xingquan loved Zhao very much, treating her like a confidant and protecting her like a precious jewel. They were together every day, and the couple was in perfect harmony, with the beautiful lady adding fragrance to their lives...

'Snapped'

Cui Bianxu flipped the paper over vigorously and rubbed his eyebrows. Couldn't he just write a summary: Zhao was stunningly beautiful, and the couple lived in harmony and treated each other as equals?

Idiot, you have to write a whole page about something that can be written in two sentences!

Why don't they write about the couple's affairs in bed, so that he can open his eyes! ?

In fact, Cui Bianxu was a bit unfair to the people in Chang'an County. It's not that they talk too much nonsense. On the contrary, they are too serious and want to make progress too much!

If it was Li Xingquan who came to report the case, they wouldn't have bothered writing so many words. He was just a small official, so the gesture would be enough.

But Li Xingquan is not here!

The person who reported the case turned out to be his brother Li Xinglian! He was a fourth-rank Shangshu Zuocheng!

If they can't solve the case, don't they have to show in other ways that they are doing their job seriously?

(The position of Shangshu Zuocheng has a long history, and the main job of Shangshu Zuocheng in the Tang Dynasty was to assist the prime minister, which was equivalent to the prime minister's secretary and deputy)

Look at this portrait of Zhao. The level of realism has far exceeded their previous level of seriousness.

After drinking two sips of water and calming down, Cui Bianxu stood up, opened the door, and looked around with a cheered-up mood: Great, it’s still this shabby place, the Dali Temple.

After taking ten deep breaths, his emotions stabilized. He turned around and sat down, and started looking at the rest again. He put Zhao's portrait aside. For some reason, he felt that Zhao looked slightly familiar.

On the morning of July 14, the maids who were responsible for serving Zhao went to wait for her to get up on time. However, after a long time, no one was called from inside the house, so they became suspicious and pushed the door open, only to find that Zhao and the maid who was on night watch had disappeared without a trace.

Cui Bianxu was numb, his body and face were numb.

It's not just one missing person, it's two missing people!

What's with all that talk about ascending to the Tao? Who ascends to the Tao and takes their maidservant with them? Is this because after ascending to the Tao, they're worried there won't be anyone to serve them, so they bring a close friend with them?

Next came the on-site investigation record. After receiving the report, the yamen runners of Chang'an County searched the entire Li Mansion inside and out three times, but found nothing. As the Chang'an County Magistrate had just said, there were no signs of damage to the doors and windows, and no money was lost.

It was as if Zhao and her personal maid had disappeared out of thin air in the middle of the night.

The record also stated that Zhao's bedroom door was not locked, but the maids said that Zhao never locked the door when she slept.

This makes sense, as he doesn't even lock the door when he sleeps. Although Li Xingquan is a low-ranking official, he has a good brother. Therefore, his house is quite large, with an outer courtyard and an inner courtyard. Not only are the walls high and deep, but there are also many guards and servants. Not to mention a thief, even a fly cannot come in and out so casually.

He turned to the last page, which recorded in detail the places that the Chang'an County officials had searched in recent days, as well as the places that the Li family had searched themselves. Basically, they had searched the entire Chang'an twice.

Cui Bianxu's face grew solemn. In the maid's oral account just now, there was a passage saying that one of Zhao's maids said that the lady had been practicing Taoism to become an immortal recently and taking Huangjing food every day. Could it be that she really had achieved immortality and ascended to heaven?

This also explains why the Chang'an County Magistrate was so confused and came up with such an outrageous guess.

He was just pondering this when Wang Leisheng came in: "Shaoqing, Minister Liu asked his subordinates to assist in the investigation."

Liu Shangshu is Liu Dewei, the Minister of the Dali Temple. Most high-ranking officials in the Tang Dynasty held multiple positions, and Liu Dewei was one of them. Generally, out of respect, everyone would call him Liu Shangshu.

Liu Dewei was also an extraordinary person. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he followed Pei Renji to suppress the Jianghuai uprising army. After the defeat, he decisively surrendered to Wei Gong Li Mi. In the first year of Wude, he followed Li Mi to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. When he arrived at the new unit, he immediately chose a new leader.

Although he was flexible and could have surrendered quickly enough, the guillotine would not have fallen on his neck, but his vision in choosing leaders was poor. Every one he chose was defeated. In this case, he chose Li Yuanji, regardless of life or death.

This military commander was not very good. When he was fighting Liu Wuzhou, he was captured and ran back. However, this guy was good at getting into officialdom. After he pacified Wang Shichong, he started to have smooth sailing. He was promoted, got rich, and married a wife - the Princess of Pingshou County.

After Li Shimin came to power, the previous Chief Justice of the Dali Temple was accidentally beheaded, so he was successfully transferred to the position of Chief Justice of the Dali Temple and also served as the Minister of Punishments.

This is also the reason why Li Xiaogong felt that Cui Bianxu would not be able to make it in the short term in his crappy position as Shaoqing of the Dali Temple.

This guy Liu Dewei is so good at hiding!

Cui Bianxu looked at his new subordinate and felt a headache. He had heard about the great things this person had done. "Well, take a look at the case file first."

"Yes."

Wang Leisheng was quite happy. Although Cui Shaoqing had a cold personality and didn't like to talk to people, he came from a good family!

His father had once said that no matter whether people with ability and status smiled on their faces or not, none of them had a good temper inside. The only difference was whether they knew how to pretend and whether they liked to pretend.

He was not afraid of Cui Shaoqing's bad temper. If he had such a background, he couldn't imagine how bad his temper could be!

Wang Leisheng sat down and began to look through the case files happily. He couldn't suppress the smile on his face. Things change, and the opportunity to flatter finally came to him!

Cui Bianxu was puzzled by his joy and couldn't help stretching his neck to look several times. He suspected that he had missed something when he was reading the case file, otherwise why didn't he remember seeing anything that was worth being so happy about.

Fortunately, although Wang Leisheng was not very serious in some aspects, he was relatively serious about his work. He got into the state in a short while, took a brush to write and draw on a blank piece of paper, and exchanged a few words with Cui Bianxu from time to time.

Although it wasn't very nutritious, it was mostly gossip: "Shao Qing, this Li Zhubu is over fifty, and his wife is only twenty. They are really strong and healthy!"

Cui Bianxu replied expressionlessly, "Ms. Zhao is the second wife. The previous wife, Ms. Wang, died of illness two years ago."

"I see! Your Excellency is so knowledgeable and well-informed, I admire you! Do you know what kind of medicine Li Zhubu usually takes to maintain his health?"

Cui Bianxu:........