The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 868 - 846: Three Questions (Additional update for reward from "Qi An Yi Jing Cun Zai", a book friend)

Chapter 868: Chapter 846: Three Questions (Additional update for reward from "Qi An Yi Jing Cun Zai", a book friend)

"Then tell me, when was the last time County Magistrate Bai left the city? Other than the time you all fled for your lives."

Erji was stunned for a moment, then after carefully recalling for a while, he finally said, "It seems to be about half a month before that, probably in April?"

"You don’t need to remember the exact time, just tell me, who accompanied County Magistrate Bai that day when he left the city?"

"It was me, Deputy Magistrate He, and Brother Du from the County Governmental Office." Erji tried hard to remember because the Old Madam occasionally used to ask them about their affairs in Yizhou City, so Erji would recall them from time to time. Although twelve years had passed, many events were etched in his mind.

"Where did you go after you left the city?"

Erji couldn’t help scratching his head, and after a while, he said, "We went to a villa in the outskirts. We left in the evening, walking towards the sun, it was to the west. I don’t know whose villa it was. After Brother Du and I entered the main gate, we stayed in the courtyard, while the master and the others went into a study, and didn’t come out until morning. We returned to the city in the morning."

County Magistrate Tang asked, "After that, did County Magistrate Bai say anything memorable, or how did he look?"

Without thinking, Erji said, "The master looked very troubled, having not slept well for several nights. Not long after, the master’s study was rummaged through, and he was almost hit by a runaway carriage during the day. Then Deputy Magistrate He and Lord He’s son disappeared after leaving home. The master investigated and apparently, the prospects were grim. Upon returning to the County Governmental Office, he took us out saying we were to inspect the fields, but turned towards the capital city instead. However, as soon as we got on the official road, assassins caught up with us..."

All these events were related, and Erji had recounted them many times, so he recounted them very smoothly now, "We were pursued all the way. Brother Du then led us off the main road and into the roads within Luojiang County. The master also said to go to Luojiang County, because he heard that Lord Tang would inspect Mianzhou next. Who would have known..."

Erji didn’t continue; the rest of the matter was well-known to everyone.

However, County Magistrate Tang was unfazed and asked, "Are you sure you don’t know whose villa it was that you went to that night?"

"I don’t know."

"Who was at the villa that night?"

"We only saw a mute servant. Aside from him, we didn’t see anyone else."

After a pause, County Magistrate Tang asked, "You set off in the evening; how long did it take you to reach that villa?"

Erji opened his mouth, but he didn’t quite remember that detail.

County Magistrate Tang asked, "By the time you arrived at the villa, had the sun set?"

"It had set, but there was still afterglow in the sky, very red, no longer dazzling to the eyes."

Only then did County Magistrate Tang move on from this question and asked, "In your memory, what was the most profound thing that happened before you fled?"

Erji turned pale and didn’t speak for a while.

County Magistrate Tang just stared at him.

Erji involuntarily looked towards Daji, who slightly nodded to him. Erji then said with a trembling voice, "One evening, Deputy Magistrate He came to our door and said he needed to take the master somewhere, but wouldn’t allow the master to bring anyone else."

"I was worried and insisted on following, and then I went with Deputy Magistrate He to the West City Gate. We hid in an alley and saw a thousand armored soldiers from the Prince’s palace setting out from the city gate overnight."

County Magistrate Tang leaned forward slightly and asked, "The city gate was opened overnight?"

"Yes."

"Had County Magistrate Bai received an invitation before that?"

Erji said, "I know very little about the master’s official affairs, but the master was also surprised that day, so he clearly didn’t know beforehand."

"And then?"

After swallowing nervously, Erji continued, "Then Deputy Magistrate He led us through a tunnel out of the city."

The audience: ...

"After getting out of the city, we didn’t chase after them. Deputy Magistrate He took us through a shortcut to a mountain. Looking down from the mountain, we could vaguely see lights in a valley, where many guards were stationed." Erji clenched the blanket, "I don’t know how many people there were, but our master calculated the number of their tents, and then his face looked really bad. He said a phrase, a phrase..."

County Magistrate Tang pursued, "What phrase?"

"He said the Prince of Yizhou was plotting treason."

County Magistrate Tang stared at him, and Erji could not help but raise his hand to swear, "Lord, I speak the truth. The Prince of Yizhou is planning a rebellion. He embezzled the river work silver to cast weapons. Our master said that if the Prince of Yizhou rebels, all the people of Yizhou will be buried with him."

War meant death; the Prince of Yizhou needed people for his rebellion, so he would surely conscript able-bodied men. The areas affected by the court’s suppression would most likely include Yizhou, and not only Yizhou, the entire Jiannan Circuit could become hell.

Erji might not have thought of this, but Bai Qi had, and so had County Magistrate Tang.

He nearly instantly understood what Bai Qi intended to do.

County Magistrate Tang stood up and paced back and forth twice before turning to look at him and asked, "Can you guarantee your words? Not a single addition?"

"Yes, I can swear that if I’ve lied, in my next life I will still be disabled, lying in bed unable to move for all my years."

County Magistrate Tang glanced at his legs beneath the blanket, sighed, and then went out.

Bai Shan quickly packed up the map, taking Manbao with him as they followed out.

County Magistrate Tang stood in the courtyard waiting for them. As soon as they came out, he immediately turned to look at the two and said, "Without evidence, we cannot do anything. Old Madam Liu had mentioned that four years after the flood disaster in Yizhou, people still went to your village looking for someone. Clearly, County Magistrate Bai had crucial evidence in his hands, which even after many years, could still inflict great harm on the people and events of the past."

Bai Shan nodded.

County Magistrate Tang then looked at the map in their hands and stretched out his hand, "Let me have a look at it."

Dafu quickly set up a table for them, and the three of them studied it for a while. County Magistrate Tang pointed to the place where Zhou Yin’s bodies were discovered and noted how far it was from the small trail; evidently, they had been on the run for quite a while.

Thinking that Zhou Yin must have been trying to run to Qili Village, he drew three routes from that trail, "People panic when they’re fleeing for their lives, but since Zhou Yin managed to get this far into the dense woods, he was clearly continuously heading towards Qili Village. No matter how he ran in the woods, he was always going in that direction."

He decisively drew a large circle including all three routes within it, then said, "He would definitely not run out of this circle. Bai Shan, have your men start searching this area first."

County Magistrate Tang paused before asking, "Do you have enough men? Shall I send you some reinforcements?"

With the vastness of Dahu Mountain in mind, Bai Shan considered for a moment and then thanked him with a bow, "Then I must thank you in advance, Lord Tang."

County Magistrate Tang nodded and waved his hand with a smile, "No need to be polite. I’ll write a letter in a moment. Find someone reliable to take it back to Luojiang County, and go directly to Yang Heshu. He will arrange people for you."

Bai Shan and Manbao were surprised and pleased, "County Magistrate Yang is back?"

"He has returned. Just paying a formal visit, how much time can that take?"

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