The housekeeper found the magistrate and handed the paper to the magistrate, and after the magistrate read it, he looked at the butler with some embarrassment.

When the housekeeper saw this, he also told the county what Sai Mengwei said, and after hearing this, the magistrate could only say to the housekeeper: "This county knows about this matter, and the county will definitely handle it impartially." ”

After the magistrate finished speaking, the housekeeper bowed to the magistrate, and the magistrate saw that the housekeeper was unwilling to leave, and he also understood in his heart that he asked the head catcher to arrest Zhou He.

"This matter must be handled well, when you get to the Zhou family, you can bring people here. Needless to say, other things. ”

Seeing that the housekeeper was here, the head catcher understood, and took the catcher to Zhou's house.

Zhou Hu was still complaining to his father, saying that this general judgment was not done after taking the money, if it wasn't for the fact that his silver was not enough, he would have gone to the prefect's yamen first and sued the general judgment.

After listening to this, Zhou Hu asked Zhou Hu what was going on, and Zhou Hu said that he didn't understand it, so the general verdict was not explained.

Zhou Yuanwai stood up, paced back and forth, and said, "No, this Meng family should have nothing to do with the general judgment." ”

Zhou Hu said that it should be, and it took three days to dredge up the relationship by himself, which is less than two days, how could Sai Meng come out so quickly.

Zhou Yuanwai looked at Zhou Hu, and said with some hatred: "You didn't inquire more in Yong'an City, what is going on?" ”

"Isn't the child out of money?"

"Sai Mengwei is not a good person, we have repeatedly opposed him, he will never let us go so easily, you prepare, tomorrow take your brother to your uncle's place, to avoid the limelight."

Although Zhou Yuanwai knew that Sai Mengwei would find trouble for himself, he didn't expect that this Sai Mengwei would start so quickly.

After the head catcher arrived with the people, Zhou Yuanwai hurriedly stepped forward and saluted the catcher and said, "Brother Tan, who are you?" ”

"On the order of the old ancestor of Zhi County, I came to arrest Zhou He, where is Zhou He now? Please also come with us to the Yamen. ”

When Zhou Yuanwai was saluting, he handed over the silver, but the head catcher did not accept it, and said to Zhou Yuanwai: "Zhou Yuanwai, please Ling Lang and I will go for a trip." ”

"Xiao'er is not at home now, please Brother Tan and talk to the county master."

"Really? We're going to be ordered to search for it, too. ”

Zhou Yuanwai saw that these officials really wanted to be arrested, so he continued: "It's not a secret, the dog is sick now, if he goes to the prison and is rushed by that resentment, he is afraid that his life will be confessed inside." ”

"Outside Zhou Yuan, it's useless for you to tell us about this matter, you should always talk to your husband and ancestor about it."

Saying that, the head catcher made a gesture of please, and Zhou Yuanwai had no choice but to take the head catcher to Zhou He's room.

Zhou Yuanwai looked at the head catcher pitifully, and the head catcher looked at Zhou He, without any pity, let a strong man carry Zhou He, and then said to Zhou Yuanwai: "Zhou Yuanwai, you don't have to think of a way to do this matter, I see that you are also a respected old gentleman in this county, I can tell you that this matter is from the general judge." You want to maneuver, but you're afraid that it will be difficult. ”

After the head catcher finished speaking, he left here, Zhou Hu saw this situation and asked in a panic: "Father, what should I do about this matter?" ”

Zhou Yuanwai looked at Zhou Hu's panicked appearance, did not speak, but paced back and forth in the courtyard, and after an hour, Zhou Yuanwai said to Zhou Hu: "Go to Yong'an City to inquire, who is the judge of this Sai Meng, his Meng family took out the silver, and my Zhou family also took out the silver." ”

When Zhou Hu left, Zhou He also brought Zhou He, and after Zhou He reluctantly saluted to the magistrate, he even had to be supported when he got up.

Seeing this situation, the magistrate said to the catcher: "Since he is sick, then there is no need to be shackled, so he can take care of him and don't let him die in prison." ”

After the magistrate finished speaking, he said to the housekeeper: "You can tell Master Meng Zhuang that this county will be promoted tomorrow and handle this matter well." ”

"It's really a respected lord of Lao County." After the butler thanked him, when he got up to leave, one hundred taels of silver tickets were left at his table.

The magistrate picked up this silver ticket, and couldn't help shaking his head, thinking about this matter, if it was in the past, even if he didn't eat a thousand taels of silver, he would have to eat five or six hundred, but there was a general warning in front of him, and he was lucky to have this hundred taels of silver now.

At this time, the county asked what should be done about this matter tomorrow, the county magistrate looked at the silver ticket in his hand, and sighed to the county cheng: "What else can I do, since ancient times, there is money to recognize money, but there is no money to recognize reason, you go and let people investigate, whether this matter is true or not, and the Zhou family is not so easy to mess with." Really, this is the fire at the city gate and the fish in the pond. The two of them fought back and forth, and they had to involve the county. ”

After the county received the order, he went to investigate, but the result was that there was such a thing, so the county magistrate asked the criminal master how this case should be judged.

"I don't know how you're going to judge, sir?"

"Naturally, it's light, why bother to offend the Zhou family for the sake of a Meng family."

"Then it's simple, if he really snatched the Fang family's lady, he would naturally die, but now it hasn't been done, according to the law of Dayu, it's just forty rods, three thousand miles."

The magistrate nodded, and the next day it was sentenced.

Zhou Yuanwai originally thought that according to the lazy nature of the magistrate, he would definitely hold it for more than ten days, but he didn't expect to be sentenced the next day.

Because Zhou He's illness was not well this time, the county magistrate was extrajudicially gracious, wrote down the forty boards, and waited until Zhou He arrived before he was tortured.

In this way, Zhou He will have one less killing stick, and it can be regarded as a little reward for the county magistrate's receipt of his Zhou family's money and silver over the years.

As for the departure, this can't be delayed, because Zhou He can't walk, so the Zhou family has a high price and specially finds a few people to carry Zhou He.

After Zhou Hu came back, he told Zhou Yuanwai that he had inquired clearly, and this time it was a young master from a family surnamed Ge, who found Master Fan, and let Sai Meng taste it back so quickly.

"Young master of the family, how did you come here and know this surnamed Meng."

"This young master's uncle is Zhang Longqing."

"It turned out to be Zhang Longqing, you go and find your uncle."

Zhou Hu then went to Yong'an City again and found his uncle Zhang Yi, Zhang Yi saw Zhou Hu coming, but there were some surprises, let Zhou Hu sit down, and said to Zhou Hu: "Xiaogang, why do you have time to come to me." ”

"Uncle, I don't know if you have time, go to my house and sit down."

"Naturally, there is time, is something wrong?"

Zhou Hu told him what had happened recently, and after Zhang Yi heard it, he slapped his palm on the table angrily and said to Zhou Hu: "How can this be reasonable, this surnamed Meng is really too deceitful." ”

After Zhang Yi arranged, he and Zhou Hu went to Zhou's house, and after Zhou Yuanwai and Zhang Yi saluted, Zhou Yuanwai said to Zhang Yi: "Brother-in-law, I am looking for you this time to ...... you."

"Needless to say, I've already heard my nephew say that this man surnamed Meng really gave him three points of paint, and he opened a dyeing workshop. Brother-in-law, you can rest assured, this prefect's yamen is up and down, they are all my brother who changed posts, I said a word, not only Sai Meng has been imprisoned, even if this prefect, the black gauze hat can't be saved. ”

Zhou Yuanwai shook his head, Zhang Yi saw this situation, and said unhappily: "Brother-in-law, don't you think I'm talking big?" ”

"Brother-in-law, you misunderstood, I want to tell you that there is a young master from this family surnamed Meng, and he has a good relationship with Master Fan."

"Huh? Master Fan, I have dealt with him, and since this person is also in the prefect's yamen, then this matter is not easy to handle. ”

Zhou Yuanwai said that he was also a tricky matter.

Zhang Yi thought for a while and told Zhou Yuanwai: "The so-called snake beating seven inches, this Sai Mengwei, there are so many people in Zhuangzi, and the daily silver needs are not a few, so we might as well start from here." ”

"Brother-in-law, please speak clearly."

"I know a man, nicknamed Yizhimei, who is a gentleman on the beam, if he steals the ledger, then we will buy off the bookkeeper and find a night to get his money."

Zhang Yi said that after this trouble, the Zhou family lost a lot of silver, so the Meng family also lost a lot of silver, and they only needed to add a fire, so they could make Sai Meng feel in a hurry.

Zhou Yuanwai said this method, but this bookkeeper is not easy to buy.

"When the time comes, as long as he buys off the people in his house, and then Yizhimei steals the key to the account room, and steals the account book, the account room will send him to the river.

Zhou Yuanwai said that this method was good, so the two sides took their own actions.

By October 20, Zhang Yi also invited Yizhimei, and Zhou Yuanwai also bought off some of the guards of Mengfu.

On the evening of the twenty-first night, the sky was beautiful, the dark clouds covered the moon, and a plum branch changed into a night clothes, and he couldn't see him clearly a few steps away.

Yizhimei heard Zhou Yuanwai say that there are masters in this Saimeng Taste Mansion, so he cautiously avoided the residence, he knew that even if there were masters, they were all good food and drink, and they would never let the masters defend this account room.

When he arrived at the account office, the master of the account room was planning to calculate today's expenses, so Yizhimei jumped down, pierced the window paper with her fingers, and blew her secret five watches back to the incense inside.

The bookkeeper smelled the aroma and yawned incessantly, and in less than a quarter of an hour collapsed on the table.

Yizhimei entered the account room, then took off the key, opened the lock of the storeroom, and then went to the backyard to connect with people as agreed.

Because of the large number of diners in this Sai Meng Taste Mansion, Sai Meng Wei did not want these diners to be restricted, so the management was not strict, giving Yizhimei and others a chance to be called.

It was not until the next day that a servant came in to clean the account room, and when he saw that the door of the storehouse was not locked, he realized that something was wrong and called for Sai Mengwei.

When Sai Meng came in, the silver and title deeds in the treasury disappeared without a trace, and his eyes suddenly went dark.