Outside the southern city of Luzhou, along the banks of the Weishui River that runs through the city, there are lush willow forests, and the banks of the river have become a place for children to play in the water in the hot summer.

In a bend of the blue water only three miles away from the city gate of the southern city, there are more than a dozen children playing in the water, touching fish and shrimp, and playing carefree.

A tiger-headed child, a fierce man plunged into the water, dived into the reeds to hide, and the rest of the children waited for dozens of silent counts to find them in all directions, they were playing a game of catching water ghosts.

After a while, a child spotted the trace of the tiger-headed child, and swam over with a cry of joy and splashing, and shouted, "Here...... Here, I'm the best. ”

When the children heard the news, they made a splash; When they came to the reeds, they suddenly found the tiger-headed boy staring at something in a daze, as if he was stupid.

All the children arrived, and when they followed his gaze, they ran in astonishment, and the corpse of a man that had swelled and rotted floated among the reeds, and the stench spread in the wind, and flies flew around the corpse.

The news spread quickly, and some people hurried to the city government to report to the officials, and at the same time, the number of onlookers who rushed to hear the news was hundreds, and people were talking and speculating about what kind of person's body it was, whether it was killed by someone, or whether he committed suicide by throwing himself into the river.

The servants arrived one after another, and while examining the body, they consulted the surrounding people to see if anyone knew the deceased; There was a person in the crowd: "Looking at this person's physical appearance, it seems that the master of the Su Ji Garment Shop in the city is called Qin Dalang, but his face is swollen, and he is really not sure." ”

After being reminded by this person, someone suddenly realized: "It seems to be Qin Dalang, the last time I went to Su Ji to order clothes, he measured the size for me, and he looked like a very kind person, how could he not think of throwing himself into the river?" ”

Since someone recognized the identity of this person, the officials hurriedly recorded it, and when they went back to Su Ji to investigate, they were busy and said: "Don't look at it, what is so beautiful about the dead, scattered and scattered, everything will be handled by the government." ”

A man of medium stature in the crowd wearing a hat stood on the side without saying a word, carefully watching the man roll his eyelids and break his mouth and busily until the officials came to drive him away, and then left with the little guy around him.

Qin Dalang's body was finally found three days after his disappearance, and the officials went to Su Ji to verify Qin Dalang's identity before officially announcing that it was Fu Qin Dalang, the master of Su Ji's ready-to-wear shop, who had indeed thrown himself into the river.

The news spread quickly, people speculated about how Qin Dalang died, people who knew him did not believe that Qin Dalang would commit suicide by throwing himself into the river, on weekdays, this person was kind, and he couldn't see any soft thoughts, and he worked in Su Ji, and the salary was also quite generous, so there was no reason to commit suicide by throwing himself into the river.

However, the Luzhou government quickly released the news to calm down the discussion, and the notice said: According to the inquest, Qin Dalang did commit suicide by throwing himself into the water, and no one else should make rumors to confuse people's hearts, and they each worked quietly to support their families.

The notice of the government dispelled people's doubts, although they sighed and sighed, but Qin Dalang was just a small person, and there were not many people he made friends with on weekdays, and soon Qin Dalang's death became old news, and it was replaced by another notice.

"Fellow villagers, tomorrow, at the right time, the Yamen of Luzhou Mansion will hear the case of Su Ji Shaodong's beating on the street, and at the request of the Su family, they will be allowed to observe and watch; At that time, it is not allowed to make noise and make too many words, and violators should be punished in contempt of the court. ”

The people who watched this notice were all excited, Su Xiaoguan's name has long been a household name, this time can be said to be out of the limelight, like a superstar in Luzhou City, but unexpectedly, he beat the prefect's son on the street, this time he is going to suffer.

People are curious, some excited, some worried, some sigh all kinds of reactions, most people hold a kind of psychology to see the excitement is not a big deal, anyway, these rich people whether they are businessmen or officials, life is always more free than the common people, no matter who is good and who is bad, people are happy to see two dogs biting each other, each biting a mouthful of hair, it is best to tear off a piece of meat each, the people are good to talk about, join in the fun.

Most people don't understand why the Su family wants a public trial, Su Xiaoguan is either a hip cane, or he pays money to forgive his crimes, in short, it is a matter of losing face, and the Su family asks for an open trial, is it not enough to be embarrassed?

Of course, there are still people who know the secret, and a small number of people can even feel that this matter is unusual, a small brawl case can actually issue a notice and ask for a public trial, isn't this an act of taking off your pants and farting? If there's no secret in between, it's a hell of a thing.

In Bao Mansion in the south of the city, Bao Zheng stood in the courtyard with his hands, holding an ancient acacia tree in the courtyard thoughtfully, and there was a person who looked like a master standing behind him, and the two were talking softly.

"My lord, do you think there is something strange about this?" That master is humane.

"Master, what do you see?" Bao Zheng asked rhetorically, his master is a smart person, and Bao Zheng likes to chat with him whenever there is a case to inspire his own thinking.

"According to the normal procedure, such a small case can generally be dealt with on the same day, this morning, it has been nearly three hours since Lord Zhu learned the news, it stands to reason that the trial should be completed, why should the trial be delayed until tomorrow, if it is not intentional, then this Zhu Governor has other important things to do, and this matter will be delayed." The master stroked his long hair and said.

Bao Zheng's thick eyebrows furrowed, nodded and said: "Master's analysis is very reasonable, but what important things does a prefect who can spend more than an hour chatting in my house have to do?" Isn't it a contradiction that this matter is so important that it has to be postponed than such an official matter as a trial case? ”

"Maybe there is an emergency, but I don't know." Master said.

Bao Zheng said: "Let's take it for granted, in the three hours between Su Jin beating people and sending a notice to the government, let's take a look at what happened." ”

The master suddenly stopped his hand twisting his beard, opened his mouth wide, and said, "My lord...... You ......"

Bao Zheng stretched out two fingers and said: "The first thing is that the Su family went to the government office and asked for a public trial of the case; Why did the Su family do this, I am afraid that they felt that the matter was a little tricky, for fear that the prefect would pretend to be public and private, and use the eyes of the people to supervise them; And the second thing is that the body of Qin Dalang, the shopkeeper of the ready-to-wear shop who disappeared for three days without seeing anyone alive and without seeing the corpse, was suddenly discovered, and the place where it was found was precisely the reeds of the Sanli Bridge where children would go to play in the water every day. ”

"That's right, if the person who has been missing for three days drowns in Sanli Bridge, he should be found soon, and the Su family should have searched everywhere, why can't the Su family find it, but it was seen by a few little dolls?" The master followed Bao Zheng's train of thought, and the conclusion he got surprised him.

"Do you think...... Someone deliberately let Qin Dalang's body appear during this time period, and it is very likely that this Qin Dalang did not commit suicide, but ...... Homicide. "The conclusion that the master has reached is indeed shocking.

Bao Zheng was silent, holding the old trunk and patting it gently.

"But after the investigation of the yamen, the conclusion of suicide was concluded, what is this for?" The master was still immersed in the case and couldn't extricate himself, muttering to himself.

Bao Zheng turned around and said: "All these things are inextricably linked to this Su minor official, and this official is becoming more and more interested in this Su minor official; Master, you don't need to be entangled, the things you do are very easy to understand, and the things you do are the works of the Luzhou Mansion, what you say and what you do is probably beyond your control; What the official is concerned about is, what does it mean for these things to happen? What is the connection with the case of this Su petty official beating people? ”

The master pondered for a while, and suddenly smiled: "I'll know tomorrow, why don't you worry too much, I guess your lord will go to watch tomorrow." ”

Bao Zheng showed a rare smile, and the smile flashed on his white face: "Master is right, the answer will be revealed tomorrow." ”