Except for stealing

Pei Yan was skilled in riding, and Shen Yiqing slept soundly all the way, and it was already noon when he woke up.

They arrived at Zhao County, the first county seat of Wuling County.

Two boys and three girls went missing in Zhao County last year.

Now that he has arrived here, Pei Yan plans to stay here for two days to investigate.

The local county magistrate is a short and fat man, with his big belly and oily face, it can be seen that he is really doing well in this small county.

Shen Yiqing yawned and stood leaning on the horse, watching the county magistrate running out of the county government all the way, sweating profusely and panting, his whole body was a large character of "xu".

"I don't know what's the matter, my lords, come to Zhao County?" He was nervous with naked eyes, not only feeling guilty, but also guilty.

Along the way, Shen Yiqing fed Pei Yan's bay red BMW a lot, and now he is very close to him. Seeing that he was tired, he gently rubbed Shen Yiqing's face with his neck.Shen Yiqing chuckled, touched it, and when she turned her head to look again, Pei Yan had already returned.

He declined the county magistrate's invitation to live in the county government office, and decided to stay in an inn.

Shen Yiqing slept all the way, and was not very sleepy anymore. After eating at noon, she stayed alone in the room for a while, feeling bored, so she opened the window and looked out.

Although it is only a small county, it can be seen that the people here are very rich, and the street is full of hawking, which is more lively than most of the places they have passed along the way.

Ordinarily, they kept it secret all the way to Wuling County this time, and it was impossible for the county magistrate to know in advance and make such a scene for them to watch.And looking at the smiles on the faces of these people, it doesn't look like a fake. Could it be that the county magistrate who looks like a corrupt official is actually a good official?

"Magistrate Hu?" The waiter gave a thumbs up, his eyes full of reverence: "That's the parent officer of our Zhao County!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry about food and clothing now, five years from now, we'll be too poor to afford food," a grizzled old man said tremblingly, "Thanks to Hu Only when the magistrate arrived, we survived!"

"That's a living Bodhisattva!"

"Yeah yeah……"

Wang Biao snorted and said in a low voice: "I see that the jade pendant on the county magistrate's waist is worth hundreds of taels of silver. It looks like a corrupt official."

The shop waiter slapped the teapot on the table with a "bang", pinched his waist and said angrily, "How dare you disrespect the county magistrate, get out, you are not welcome in the shop!"

The lobby, which was still bustling just now, fell silent for a moment, and the diners looked over one after another, their eyes were cold and very unfriendly.

Shen Yiqing and the others: "..."

Jia Er was the quickest to react, he pressed down Wang Biao's stiff neck, and said with an apologetic smile: "My brother is a fool, he always likes to talk nonsense, please don't be as knowledgeable as him."

Everyone looked at Wang Biao in disgust for a while, and then turned their eyes away.

Wang Biao straightened up aggrievedly, and was about to say something, but Shen Yiqing smiled and said, "You shouldn't be judged by appearances, and you'll know his details when the county magistrate Hu has a banquet tonight, isn't it, Pei Yan?"

Pei Yan didn't answer.

He looked at the taciturn Pei Yan, kicked his leg, and said, "Why didn't you talk to me all the way?"

He also had a gloomy face, as if others owed him.

Pei Yan closed her eyes, took a sip of tea, and said lightly, "I have nothing to say."

Anyone can feel something wrong with this neither salty nor light tone.

Shen Yiqing frowned, dropped the chopsticks in his hand, stood up, and the smile that had been hanging on his face disappeared, and said: "If you have nothing to say, don't say it. When the young master is willing to talk to you? It's cloudy and sunny all day long. Maybe, who cares about you?"

The louder he spoke, Jia Er and the others didn't dare to say anything. When he got angry, turned around and went upstairs, Jia Er looked at his boss, and saw that his face, which had been gloomy for a day, was even more serious now. Expressionless, he sat where he was, with his thin lips tightly pressed together, and stopped eating.

He didn't eat, and their subordinates couldn't eat, so they stopped their chopsticks.

Jia Er couldn't stand it any longer, sighed, and said, "My lord, why don't you go and see Mr. Shen."

Pei Yan didn't say a word, and the few of them didn't dare to speak anymore, they just watched his face secretly with their eyes.

After a cup of tea, Pei Yan took two deep breaths, stood up suddenly, and walked quickly to the stairs.

When his shadow disappeared, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and An An began to eat with peace of mind.

Pei Yan walked to Shen Yiqing's door and raised his hand, but after a while, he put it down again.

He just stood there with his head down. A guest passed by behind him and looked at him strangely. When he reached his door and turned around, he saw that he was still standing in front of that door, motionless.

There was no sound in the room, Shen Yiqing was about to fall asleep, Pei Yan's drooping eyelashes trembled slightly, and finally he moved, left the door, and returned to his room.

But as soon as he opened the door, he froze.

Shen Yiqing was lying on his bed, eating fruit with one leg crossed, when she saw him coming in, she dexterously turned over and sat up, and patted the place beside her with her hands casually.

Pei Yan: "..."

Pei Yan stepped in, slowly closed the door with his backhand, walked slowly in front of him, buttoned his sleeves and tightened them slightly, looked down at him for a while, and said, "Yiqing."

This is Pei Yan's room, but Shen Yiqing greeted him generously like the owner: "Sit."

Pei Yan stood there for a while, and sat beside him.

The window was open, and the warm sun of May came in. The two of them sat by the bed, and for a moment they could only hear the crisp sound of Shen Yiqing gnawing on the fruit.

Pei Yan looked down at the light and shadow falling on the corners of their clothes, and pursed his lips lightly.

After a while, his hand became slightly hot, and Shen Yiqing put it on the back of his hand.

Pei Yan's heart trembled, and she heard Shen Yiqing's voice with a smile: "I just realized why you are so awkward with me."

Pei Yan didn't speak, just stared at the light and shadow under his feet with lowered eyes, and didn't move.

Shen Yiqing leaned over to his eyes, blinked at him slightly, and said, "Pei Luopu is jealous."

Pei Yan looked directly into his eyes, with no expression on his face.

But he didn't answer, which meant that Shen Yiqing was right.

Shen Yiqing's eyes curved, and he said softly, "Don't be angry."

Pei Yan avoided Shen Yiqing's sight, turned his head to the side, and hummed softly.

Shen Yiqing half-kneeled by the bed, supported Pei Yan's leg, leaned forward and leaned in front of him, said with a playful smile, "Don't be angry, Brother Pei."

Pei Yan: "..."

Pei Yan's ears turned red, but he still didn't speak, and hid to the side again.

At this moment, Shen Yiqing was half leaning on Pei Yan's body, her weight was almost on his legs, half twisting her body was very awkward.

He directly stretched out his hand and turned Pei Yan's face towards him, and coaxed him in a tone that would hurt his mother: "Don't be angry, Brother Immortal."

Pei Yan's heart was broken, he was not angry since the first sentence he said, and now he was being acted like a spoiled child again, even the gods couldn't stand it.

Before the smile in Pei Yan's eyes faded away, Shen Yiqing closed his eyes, leaned forward slightly, and pressed his lips together.

Pei Yan wrapped his arms around his waist, opened his mouth obediently, and felt Shen Yiqing clumsily licking his tongue in.

There was a sweet taste of fruit between his lips and teeth, his tongue was soft, and he licked the tip of his tongue lightly, like this, he supported his shoulder and wanted to back away.

"Well……"

Pei Yan pressed the back of his neck and sealed his lips.

The room was quiet in the afternoon, the two hugged each other and kissed lightly, completely unaware that in the county government office two streets away, County Magistrate Hu quickly became an ant on the hot pot.

Master Wu stood aside and persuaded earnestly: "My lord, you have been around for noon, please sit down and have a rest."

Magistrate Hu paced back and forth in the room, sweating profusely, and the beautiful maid followed behind and fanned him panting.

"Did they know that I was bought as an official?" Magistrate Hu wiped his sweat guiltily: "Can I keep my head?"

The master reassured: "Dali Temple is in charge of the prison trial, and it will not be directed at you."

County magistrate Hu was even more frightened when he heard the words, his legs started to tremble, he sat down tremblingly leaning on the table, and said in horror: "Then I'm going to lose my head even more?"

Master: "My master is too worried."

County magistrate Hu supported his head: "If they find out those unjust, false and wrongly decided cases, I will definitely move my head!"

His chubby face turned pale with fright, he grabbed the master's sleeve and looked at him in panic: "Go and get ten thousand taels of gold and give it to them tonight, maybe you can save your life."

Master: "..."

The master sighed deeply: "Master, you have been in office for five years, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. The biggest case is that a farmer in the west of the city lost a flock of ducks, and the prison is empty. How could there be any unjust, false or wrongly decided cases?"

He poured tea for County Magistrate Hu, and said: "This lord from Chang'an is no better than those people in Wuling County. He can send some gold and jewelry every year without any worries. If this lord doesn't like those things, I will charge you with bribery." But what should I do?"

Magistrate Hu held back for a long time, staring at Magistrate Hu with not-so-intelligent eyes, looked left and right, approached mysteriously, and asked tentatively in a low voice: "Then send the beauty?"

The master choked, and explained directly: "No, just treat it as a light meal, and you can answer whatever the adult asks."

"Our county magistrate is a rare and honest official in the world. Don't talk about collecting people's fat and anointing, he never asked us for a penny."

In Huanxi Building, the waiter poured tea for the two of them, and said: "Three years ago, the old Jia's house in the west of the city lost ducks, and those ducks were used as a dowry for his daughter. If they lost it, the girl would not be able to marry. He cried sadly and wanted to hang himself, but then County Magistrate Hu came, and guess what?"

At this moment, County Magistrate Hu hadn't arrived yet, but Shen Yiqing was already a little curious about the county magistrate, and said, "Magistrate Hu solved the case on the spot?"

The clerk raised his head and shook his head, looking very proud, and said: "Magistrate Hu didn't solve the case at all, he paid for the duck money out of his own pocket, not only didn't need old man Jia to pay back the money, but also added 100 taels of silver when he learned that his daughter was married As a dowry, now his daughter is living a prosperous life in that savage husband's house with this silver."

Shen Yiqing: "..."

"Before County Magistrate Hu came, we were so poor that we couldn't afford food here," the man said with starry eyes, "When he came, we thought he was just like those county magistrates before, a corrupt official who stripped the people of their conscience. Things, that day..."

On that day when the new county magistrate of Zhao County arrived, the sedan chair was carried to the entrance of the county town wall, and a group of ordinary people knelt on both sides to greet him, and saw a fat old man with a big belly get off the very luxurious sedan chair. A group of sallow-faced and emaciated people walked back and forth for two steps in disgust, and the first sentence was: "How can my master stay in this shitty place?"

He turned around and was about to go back to the sedan chair, took two steps and then stopped, but he didn't leave.

On the day of arrival, the county magistrate opened a warehouse to release grain, and went to Lin County to buy food if there was not enough food. The people of Zhaocheng had a full meal for the first time, and then repaired the city walls, streets, and schools. The county magistrate did not ask the people for a penny. , are all out of pocket.

In the past five years, the people of Zhaocheng did not pick up their belongings on the road, and did not close their doors at night. There is no one who did not feel grateful to the Lord Qingtian.

Shen Yiqing: "Where did he get so much money?"

"Ashamed, ashamed," the door was pushed open, and County Magistrate Hu walked in in trepidation, bowed and bowed his hands, and the next sentence was: "Xiaguan's family has a gold mine."

Shen Yiqing laughed out loud, then turned to look at Pei Yan: "This man is really interesting."

County magistrate Hu waved his hands again and again, submissively said: "I don't have much talent, I just have money."

Shen Yiqing couldn't help laughing all the time, Pei Yan also showed a smile in his eyes, and said: "Master Hu, you don't need to be polite, please sit down."

County magistrate Hu wiped the sweat from his forehead, sat down, and could see that he was very nervous, the flesh on his face was tense, and he only sat on one side of the stool: "What orders does your lord have when you come here this time?"

Pei Yan: "There are indeed some things I want to ask Mr. Hu."

Master Hu hurriedly said: "You say you say it."

Pei Yan put the teacup to his lips, raised his eyes, looked sharply at the magistrate, and said, "I want to know, has there been a population loss in Zhao County in recent years?"

Mr. Hu was frightened into a cold sweat by his eyes, and was a little out of breath under his coercion, so he could only stammer and reply: "This... this... I don't know..."

Pei Yan put the teacup back on the table, quietly, but County Magistrate Hu trembled in shock.

He cowered like a fat mouse who was caught stealing oil, and quickly looked at the master waiting at the door.

The master stepped in bravely and said on behalf of the county magistrate: "My lord, Fengcun lost a girl three years ago, Lingcun lost a boy two years ago, last year the twenty-year-old son of the old Liu family in the county lost Yes, but that's a born fool, why did Jo get lost by himself."

Shen Yiqing unfolded his fan, looked at the county magistrate, and said slowly, "Don't you know?"

The magistrate was so frightened that he slid under the table and knelt down.

The master also knelt down, looking at the cold-faced adult, his lips trembled a few times, but he didn't dare to say anything.

Pei Yan said coldly: "If you don't say..."

Before Pei Yan could figure out how to scare him, the magistrate hurriedly said, "Say, say!"

Then he winked at the master at the side, and hinted at him with a voice through the gap between his teeth: "Say it..."

The master looked back at him: You asked me to say it.

County Magistrate Hu was startled, and kept nodding to urge him.

The master fell on the ground, coughed softly, and said loudly: "Return to your lord, the county magistrate may have forgotten that those people came to report to the officials at that time."

Shen Yiqing raised her eyebrows: "What about after that?"

Master: "Master Hu gave 1000 taels of silver notes, and those three families never came again."

Shen Yiqing: "..."

The room fell silent, until Pei Yan smiled half-smile, and said slowly: "What a master Qingtian."

Shen Yiqing turned the teacup around, leaned on the seat and said lightly: "Sure enough, nine out of ten things in this world can be solved with money."

The stupid officer's legs had already softened from fright, and he sat slumped on the ground.

It was night, and there were very few pedestrians on the street, and the two walked side by side, Pei Yan curled up his hand hanging by his side, and coughed lightly, Shen Yiqing turned to look at him, but the back of his hand was lightly touched.

The corners of Shen Yiqing's lips were raised, and he lowered his head. After a while, his hand was gently held.

"Tomorrow, ask Jia Hu and Wang Biao to take people to Fengcun and Lingcun respectively to check." Pei Yan tightened his hand, looked down at the road under his feet, and said a little cautiously: "You and I go to Liu Let's take a look at home."

Shen Yiqing said "um", then the two of them stopped talking, and walked another hundred or so meters, Shen Yiqing, who had been quiet all this time, suddenly laughed.

Pei Yan turned to look at him, but Shen Yiqing avoided his sight.

He looked at the street beside him, his eyes were full of smiles, and under the light of the lanterns at the door of the people on the roadside, it seemed to be full of stars.

"I grew up with you, and I've never seen you like this." Shen Yiqing said softly.

"I hope you like it."

Pei Yan said in a low voice.

The wind of early summer came through the streets and alleys, lifted the son's hair and clothes, Wuling's moistness, which is different from Chang'an, caressed his handsome face, and the pampered little son raised his neck high, and made a soft "hum" sound, his eyebrows and eyes But bent.

Jia Er and Wang Biao left before dawn. Liu's family was in the county town, so there was no need to worry.

After Shen Yiqing slept well, she yawned and opened the window. Today is cloudy and windy, as if it is going to rain.

He stretched himself, and was about to look for Pei Yan, but his eyes suddenly paused.

He leaned on the window, his eyes widened slightly, and then he shouted to several people passing by on the street: "Brother Li, Brother Zhang, Brother Ma!"

Those people had sharp eyes and ears, raised their heads, and laughed when they saw him, clasped their fists and said, "Young Master Shen."

I didn't expect to meet again, which is also considered fate. Shen Yiqing greeted: "Meet again, where are you going? If you are not in a hurry, have a light meal together?"

Several people bowed their heads and said a few words, the middle-aged man surnamed Li smiled and said: "If that's the case, it's better to be respectful than obedient."

Shen Yiqing wiped her face, went to the next door and knocked on Pei Yan's door.

Pei Yan quickly opened the door, stood at the door with folded arms, and said in a leisurely tone, "Mr. Shen really woke up early enough."

Shen Yiqing kicked his calf and urged: "Let's go."

Pei Yan laughed: "Don't be in a hurry, eat first before leaving."

Shen Yiqing pointed to the downstairs, and said: "Do you still remember those Jianghu people I met in the inn the day before yesterday? It happened to meet, and we had a light meal together."

Pei Yan: "..."

Pei Yan's smile faded, he took half a step back, raised his hand to close the door, and said indifferently: "Go by yourself."

Shen Yiqing blocked the door and followed him into the house, wondering: "Pei Yan, you never liked sour food so much before."

Pei Yan sat at the table with his back to him, picked up the teacup, looked down at the undulating leaves inside, and said in a muffled voice: "It used to be sour, you just don't know?"

Shen Yiqing was stunned for a moment, then slowly raised her lips, leaned over and put her arms around his neck.

Pei Yan trembled slightly, looked at him sideways, and saw Shen Yiqing smiling with his chin resting on his shoulder.

The distance between the two was too close, and after staring at each other for a while, their ears gradually turned red.

The fragrance of jasmine wafted from outside the window, staining the corners of the young master's eyes and hair, Pei Yan's Adam's apple rolled down, and he asked a little tensely, "What are you doing?"

Shen Yiqing's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his shadow was reflected in his clear eyes, and he whispered, "I don't do anything, I just think you're so funny."

Pei Yan: "..."

Pei Yan was about to push him away, when Shen Yiqing said again: "I like it very much."

Pei Yan's chest throbbed, and then he jumped up in a heart-shattering manner. His knuckles curled up slightly, and he wanted to hug Shen Yiqing, but Shen Yiqing let him go and stood up.

"You don't want to go down to eat, I'll ask someone to bring the food to the room." Shen Yiqing was in a good mood, with the corners of her lips raised, she turned and walked out, saying: "I'll eat faster, and I'll go investigate the case after dinner."

Just as he opened the door, there were footsteps behind him. He turned his head and saw Pei Yan walking over.

Shen Yiqing knowingly asked: "What are you doing?"

Pei Yan hooked his neck, led him out of the door, and said: "Accompany you to meet the guests."

It was not yet noon, and there were not many people eating, those people were sitting in the lobby, when they saw Shen Yiqing coming down, they greeted with a smile: "Brother Shen."

Pei Yan was dressed in white today, he was dressed like a handsome young man in Chang'an City, he was very handsome, he held a folding fan, bowed his hands, smiled and said: "I'm coming to Pei Yan, everyone is polite."

After everyone returned the salute, one of them laughed and said, "At that inn, I thought Brother Pei was just like our little brother Lin, a cold-faced and taciturn person, but today it seems that's not the case, in Xia Zhangyuan."

That man was sturdy and had a loud voice. He was the one who lost money playing dice with Shen Yiqing the night before.

Pei Yan is a master who talks about people when he sees people, and talks nonsense when he sees ghosts. Compared with Shen Yiqing, he is better at dealing with people. In addition, these people have bold temperaments, so they quickly became acquainted.

"We are going to Jinghu Mountain Villa to celebrate the birthday of the owner of the villa," Li Yunshan said, "Brother Lu, I had a bad stomach upset yesterday and was delayed all night. Two."

Pei Yan: "Jinghu Villa? That's in the southwest of Wuling County."

Li Yunshan smiled and said, "Exactly."

Shen Yiqing looked at the person who was having a stomachache, and saw him face pale, half lying on the table, with drooping brows, very painful, and his expression became more and more painful.

Shen Yiqing poured him a cup of hot tea and said, "Brother Lu, are you okay?"

The man waved his hand, sweat dripped from his forehead, his expression changed suddenly, he got up hastily, and ran back quickly.

Before Shen Yiqing put down the teapot, he disappeared.

"It's been a day and a night, and it's a lot better now."

It was the cold-faced young man who was talking, and Shen Yiqing was stunned for a while, until he raised his eyes to look at himself, Shen Yiqing realized that he was talking to himself.

Shen Yiqing bent her eyes and smiled, and said, "My name is Shen Yiqing, what's your name?"

The young man looked at his face, pursed his lower lip lightly, and spoke in a flat tone: "My name is Lin Yufei."

"My name is Pei Yan."

Pei Yan, who was talking to Li Yunshan, suddenly hooked Shen Yiqing's neck, took him into his arms, and said with a smile: "Lin Shaoxia looks good."

The boy glanced at Pei Yan, looked away, and didn't answer.

Shen Yiqing looked at Li Yunshan, and said, "Brother Lu, did he eat something bad? He won 50 taels of silver from me in high spirits the night before yesterday."

Li Yunshan said: "It was nothing that night, but the next day it will be bad. I didn't eat anything except the food in the inn."

Zhang Yuan smiled and said: "We are all fine, but his stomach is not up to date. The doctor said that he ate something unclean. It will be better in a few days."

Pei Yan toasted, and the crowd became lively again.

It is also a rare fate to meet by chance, regardless of where you came from or where you are going, to have a drink of strong wine, eat a good meal, and talk about one or two interesting stories about the world.

In the afternoon, the cloud cover was very low, and the breeze carried water vapor across the street, and scattered catkins floated aimlessly, and everyone parted at the entrance of the inn.

Li Yunshan said with a smile: "Brother Shen, Brother Pei, we are going ahead."

Pei Yan and Shen Yiqing clasped their fists together and said, "Farewell."

"Jasmine Cake, Jasmine Cake..."

Just as Shen Yiqing was about to turn around and go back to the inn, a figure suddenly stumbled towards him.

He was startled, and took half a step back. Pei Yan quickly blocked the crazy man with his folding fan, and protected Shen Yiqing behind him.

There was a lot of commotion here, Li Yunshan and the others didn't take a few steps, turned around to look, and suddenly said "Huh".

Everyone knows this guy.

Shen Yiqing asked Pei Yan to put away the folding fan, squatted down, and frowned, "Old man, what's wrong?"

It was an old lady, with gray hair messily scattered on her body, ragged clothes, wrapped in dried mud, and bloodstains on her body, where she was injured.

No one stopped her, she grabbed Shen Yiqing's arm again, her skinny hand like old bark did not know where the strength came from, she firmly grasped Shen Yiqing, her cloudy eyes stared at him, her hoarse voice trembled, Say it again: "Jasmine Cake!"

Jasmine flower cake... Shen Yiqing remembered that at the inn the night before, he had given the old man and her young grandson a few pieces of jasmine flower cake.

Shen Yiqing was a little confused, wanted to help her up, and said, "Do you still want to eat jasmine cake? I'll buy it for you, get up quickly."

The old lady trembled her lips and shook her head desperately, Shen Yiqing and Pei Yan looked at each other, lowered their heads and said: "Don't worry, but what happened?"

The old lady nodded again, and this time she said something else besides the phrase "jasmine cake", a strange sentence: "Master, do you still remember that the old woman has a little grandson?"

How long has it been since then, Shen Yiqing said: "Of course I remember."

As soon as this sentence fell, the old lady burst into tears instantly, clutching Shen Yiqing tightly, and said: "Master, my little grandson is gone."

She wailed loudly and said, "Those people don't even remember that I have a little grandson."

Li Yunshan and others came over, frowned and said, "What do you mean you don't remember?"

Together with Shen Yiqing, Pei Yan helped the old lady up, and asked, "Have you reported to the government yet?"

The old lady nodded and shook her head, and for a moment she was sobbing that she couldn't speak.

Li Yunshan straightened his face and said, "Let's send it to the government first."