The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Although he was dressed rather slovenly, wearing the rough cloth of a stable boy, a closer look revealed that he was actually quite handsome and had a good appearance.

If you tidy up, people will praise your good looks when you go out.

Especially the eyes, which are the best, full of vitality and wildness, just like an eagle in the desert. One look at it and you know it is not something that can be kept in a cage.

Judging from his age, he is probably in his early twenties, still very young.

Even though Zhao Renzhi was grabbing his head at this time, he was not afraid, but just looked at him with contempt and disdain.

Zhao Renzhi himself was a person with extremely high self-esteem and was also very arrogant. When he saw this look, he immediately became angry and slammed the pangolin's head to the ground.

After a few "bangs", a few streams of bright red blood were left on the pangolin's head.

Some even flowed into my eyes.

This man was also very tough. He endured it without making a sound, let alone begging for mercy.

"Okay, I think this guy is not afraid of physical pain. There is no point in torturing him like this. It's more important to ask about the real thing," Qian Jie advised.

"We finally caught him, don't knock him silly." Zhang Pingan saw that the situation was almost over, so he spoke out to stop him.

"Hmph, I'll let you go for now. Killing you will dirty my hands!" Zhao Renzhi threw the man away after hearing this and took out a handkerchief to wipe his hands.

He still knows what is important.

This person must be thoroughly interrogated before being dealt with.

Zhang Ping'an called a doctor to clean and bandage the man, then asked Chi Bao to loosen the bandages slightly.

Then, knocking on the armrest of the chair, he asked in a deep voice, "Pangolin, as far as I know, you're just a tomb robber seeking wealth. Why did you risk coming to the post station to steal our things? You should know that we don't carry much valuables on our western tour. This is not the usual style of people like you!"

Pangolin's face was pale because he had just lost too much blood. Upon hearing this, he just stared at the few people without saying a word.

A pair of dark, wild eyes clearly revealed one meaning: he would not say anything.

"Heh, do you think we won't know anything if you don't tell us?" Qian Jie sneered and slapped the armrest of the chair.

He stood up and said solemnly, "Since we were able to capture you in just two days, you should know that we are not those good-for-nothings in the government office. We have plenty of ways to deal with you!"

"Hmph, now that I've been caught by you, I have nothing to say. You can kill me or chop me up as you please!" Pangolin curled his lips and replied after hearing this.

The voice is unexpectedly cool and pleasant.

Zhang Ping'an knew that to deal with such a desperado, he could only outsmart him. After pondering for a moment, he stood up with his hands behind his back and said, "Let me guess. Since you're not here for money, but you've taken such a huge risk to sneak in, could it be that you want to steal the Great Zhou map and token from me? Or is it related to the Guazhou military camp?"

"Or is it related to the Jinwu Khanate?"

Ordinary people will not be interested in the national map. Only those who understand it and need it will understand the value of such a thing.

"You think too much, I just want money!" This time, the pangolin reacted and denied it.

"Don't lie to us. Since you are here to make money, you could have just taken the banknotes and left on the first day. Why do you have to keep looking for opportunities to sneak in again and again? Isn't this superfluous and unnecessary?" Zhao Renzhi obviously didn't believe this nonsense.

Zhang Pingan couldn't help but smile after hearing this. He walked closer to Pangolin, stared into his eyes, and said slowly, word by word, "The more you deny, the more I guessed right. Don't worry, you won't die so soon. You still have a lot of use!"

After saying this, he ordered Chibao: "Put a heavy yoke on him, give him some medicine, assign a few people to guard him, and take him with you to set out the next morning."

"Yes!" Chi Bao has now become Zhang Ping'an's right-hand man. He does whatever he is told without asking any more questions.

Just pick up the person and leave.

"Wait a minute!" The pangolin suddenly struggled hard and shouted.

"Hmm?" Zhang Pingan raised his hand after hearing this, indicating that he had finished eating and stopped for a while.

Pangolin stopped, paused, and then asked, "I told you, you can kill me or chop me up as you please. Since I've been doing this, I've long anticipated this day. But, I want to know, how did you know what I looked like in disguise?"

"I want to die knowingly!"

Looking at the stubborn look in front of him, Zhang Pingan sneered nonchalantly: "Why should I let you be ignorant? Reciprocity is a traditional virtue that has been passed down for thousands of years. You don't even want to tell me the truth, so why should I be honest with you? This is not fair!"

After saying that, he waved his hand and asked Chibao to take the person away.

Zhao Renzhi always used the method of using force first and courtesy later when conducting interrogations, and would torture the victim severely before speaking.

Seeing this, he asked somewhat unwillingly, "Are you going to keep pressing on like this? This kind of person is a servile person, stubborn and stubborn. If you don't break his bones, he won't say anything."

"Brother Zhao, it's not that I don't know how to torture you, but the journey to Guazhou is long and the weather in the northwest is bad. If he is seriously injured and dies on the way, all our efforts will be wasted and the loss will outweigh the gain. Let's leave him alone for now. You also said that he is stubborn and won't confess easily. In this case, let him guess for himself. He will speak naturally when he wants to," Zhang Pingan said calmly.

"Ping An has a point. He said that he could catch the person, and now he has caught him. Some things cannot be rushed," Qian Jie said with a smile.

"But Ping'an, I'm also quite curious. How did you find his lover in Piaoxiangyuan? You made this woman speak so quickly, and I didn't see you do anything special!"

"I've done a lot, I just don't talk about it like you guys do," Zhang Ping'an rolled his eyes.

He said lazily, "The women in brothels have been around so many men, they won't easily believe a man's verbal promises. Although this Pangolin treated Miss Hongxiu very well and promised to redeem her, he obviously doesn't understand women in such places. Sincerity is the cheapest thing. No matter how nice the words are, they are not as real as the deeds. I just gave Miss Hongxiu a good name in Weinan and a thousand taels of silver, and she agreed without hesitation."

"It's that simple?"

"It's that simple! Don't underestimate the allure of Liang Ji for this prostitute. Although I haven't figured out the origins of this Pangolin, he has told Miss Hongxiu many times that his family doesn't approve of him marrying a prostitute, which shows that his family still has a very strict control over him. After repeated disappointments, Miss Hongxiu is getting older and older. How can she delay any longer? Naturally, she has to plan for the future!"

"But this Pangolin has been robbing graves for several years, and he has robbed many large tombs. It doesn't make sense for him to be so poor. To redeem a prostitute and settle her down outside, he would need at most 8,000 taels of silver. How can he not even come up with this little money?" Qian Jie shook his head in confusion.

"It's easy for you to say. Can eight thousand taels of silver fall from the sky? Even if an ordinary small landlord were to earn this much in his lifetime," Zhang Ping'an felt that his second brother-in-law was from too good a family and too wealthy.

"However, your doubts are reasonable. We need to find out where his money went. I have already sent people to investigate secretly. It may take some time. When we have the news, they will send us a letter by carrier pigeon."

"Hey, this pangolin has really good taste. He immediately chose the top pick. It really cost me a lot of money."

After catching the thief, Zhang Pingan and his companions felt much more at ease.

However, the security of the post station was not relaxed at all, but became even tighter.