Yichuan County No. 38

  There were over a dozen corpses, scattered haphazardly in the wild grass of the open field. Not far ahead was a dense forest, with crows flying overhead from time to time, making "ah" cries.

  This time, however, it was not a murder case.

  These are the refugees who died of starvation, from their skin-and-bone limbs and tattered clothes, as well as the posture of a family's remains huddled together.

  A wave of intense, palpable bitterness surged up in my heart. I had seen scenes like this before in TV documentaries, but because I had encountered too many deaths during my studies, I had started to become numb to death itself. I hadn't expected that when I actually stood at the scene, my emotions would still be so severely impacted.

  Originally, Yichuan County was a place of such poverty and poor living conditions.

  When we rode into the county town of Yichuan on horseback, what we saw further confirmed our thoughts. Because we had just come from Feng County, compared to Feng County, Yichuan County was simply not in the same league.

  The buildings in the county town are generally old and dilapidated, with no grandeur to speak of. Even the stone-paved road in the city center is bumpy and uneven, clearly having been neglected for years. There aren't many shops, and those that exist lack style. People walking on the street wear worn-out and shabby clothes, their faces dull and lifeless.

  He acknowledged him as a sworn brother, but sent him to such a place. What is this emperor thinking?

  After bidding farewell to the people who sent us from Feng County, we didn't go directly to the Yichuan County government office because Nie Qiuyuan convened a small meeting for us.

  He pulled out a yellow piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to us.

  "This matter should only be known by us four. I have already obtained a secret decree from the Emperor, and our next plan needs to change."

  We didn't understand what he meant. The general meaning of the cryptic message written in classical Chinese was simply "I agree with everything you said".

  "My identity has been seen through by Ren Ping, so I've become a dangerous person and can no longer be bound by official duties. I need to ensure flexibility and mobility. From today on, in official matters, Da Chun and I will switch identities. Da Chun will use the name Nie Qiuyuan to handle the political affairs of Yichuan County. This way, it's safer on one hand, and on the other hand, I can move more conveniently."

  Luo Dachun was stunned for a long time, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure out how the county magistrate's heavy responsibility had suddenly fallen on his own head. However, after observing him for so many days, I discovered something strange - that is, Luo Dachun never refused Nie Qiuyuan's requests, whether they were easy or difficult, whether it was a mountain of knives or a sea of fire.

  "…Let's go!" Kou Daichun gritted his teeth and said, "But we have to think of a way to deal with the people from Hou Tuo Shan later."

  "Don't worry, our stay in Yichuan County shouldn't be too long. As for official business, you handle it yourself, that's your forte, I'll secretly lend you a helping hand."

  No matter how you look at it, it seems like a very irresponsible approach. But I think he must have had some unavoidable considerations for doing so. Moreover, this thing gives me an extremely strange feeling, and I suddenly feel that something is not right, but now I just can't figure out what's wrong.

  The county town of Yichuan looks very old, but the county government is quite new, so it stands out in a patch of earth and dust, so we saw it from far away.

  Luo Da Chun followed the gatekeeper and revealed his identity, handing over the official seal and letter that Nie Qiuyuan had given him earlier to the doorman, who went in to report. Before long, a man wearing a green round-necked robe came hurrying over, his voice preceding him:

  "Yi Chuan County Magistrate Wang Jinzhi, respectfully welcomes the Honorable County Governor!"

  Wang Jinzhi was not tall, slender, about thirty years old, with a pair of eyes shining brightly. He bowed his head and kneeled down with a humble expression, but his black pupils scanned and analyzed the four of us without leaving any trace.

  He took a step forward and said to Lu Da Chun: "Everything is ready, just waiting for your arrival!"

  Actually, Moliang and I dressed as men for convenience on the way, but this person obviously saw that we were women at a glance and excluded us. I don't think it's difficult to see who is County Master, because those two men are very good at acting. Nie Qiuyuan had a package on his back and was holding the reins of two horses, normally, the county master himself would not do these things.

  The county lieutenant is the second-in-command, next only to the county magistrate. Anyway, Wang Jinzhi seems like a clever person, at least, very good at reading people's faces.

  However, the surprise hidden under Wang Xiancheng's smiling face was still visible. The surprise was natural, after all, we came riding horses so casually, and the newly appointed superior was a young handsome man, accompanied by an even more demonic handsome man, this kind of thing had a lower probability than winning the lottery.

  Wang Jinzhi and Luo Dachun walked side by side in front, we led the horse and followed them to the county government office.

  The county government office is divided into three parts inside and outside. We first bypassed the main hall, which is the "public trial" public hall most commonly seen on TV. Further forward is the second hall, which is a place for discussing and receiving guests. The third hall is at the back, which is the inner house of the county magistrate and his family members, also the place where we are going to settle down.

  Along the way, Luo Dachun and Wang Jinqi chatted easily. Luo Dachun was originally good at talking, and after a few rounds of conversation, he had a general idea of the situation in the county government office.

  The former county magistrate of Yichuan County, Liu Jin, had just reached the age of retirement half a year ago and returned to his hometown. Recently, all the affairs of the county government have been handled by Wang Jinqi. There are not many people in the county government of Yichuan, and the main officials are even more incomplete. The county magistrate has retired, and originally, the county lieutenant and the chief clerk were both held by Wang Jinqi alone. What's even more unfortunate is that a while ago, County Lieutenant-General got drunk and fell into a ditch in the middle of the night and drowned to death.

  The county lieutenant is equivalent to the current public security chief, who is in charge of criminal and judicial affairs such as capturing thieves and maintaining order in a county. Under the county lieutenant, there are about 30 catchers and runners. Adding some miscellaneous personnel, the entire county government has only more than 50 people. Now, with just over 50 people, the county lieutenant is in charge alone, with no one above him and the county lieutenant himself unable to take charge, making it a very frustrating situation overall.

  "Very well, Mr. Luo Da Chun is also a man of merit, I will report it and let him take the post of Yiquan County Magistrate." Fake Nie Autumn said, pointing at Real Nie Autumn.

  "Yes sir, I will go draft the document now."

  County Magistrate is a pretty suitable position, it's low-key and just right for managing detective cases. Now the criminals in Ikawa County are in trouble.

  "Jin Zhi, bring the county annals and all the important documents in the county to my study. I need to take a good look at them." Now Lu Da Chun seemed somewhat unfamiliar, perhaps it was because - he looked serious?

  A faint glimmer of light flashed in Wang Jinzhi's eyes. He lowered his head and said, "Yes."

  Everything that has been presented so far proves that what we have taken over is a complete mess. Yichuan County, it's still unknown how many mysteries need to be uncovered and how much filth needs to be cleaned up with our own hands.

  My heart suddenly moved. Could it be that Yixian County was a grand test specially prepared by the Emperor for Nie Qiuyuan?