PFC Chapter 205: Catching the Turtle in the Jar
Chapter 205: Catching the Turtle in the Jar
After changing their clothes, Li Yuer and his sister quietly slipped out through the back door.
After buying some gifts, the two rented a horse carriage and went to Huihai County.
Now that County Magistrate Wu and his minions are gone, the security in the county has improved a lot. Perhaps because they have lost their backers, the people in the gambling house dare not come out to bully others. However, privately, they have never given up looking for County Magistrate Wu and his son.
The clerks have been quite busy these days, and have been working overtime to handle official business at night.
When I went home for lunch at noon, I suddenly saw the Li brothers and sisters who came to visit.
"Yu Baoer, Erlang, you are here?"
No longer forced by Master Du to assign "corrupt" tasks, the clerks are now more energetic. It can be seen that under the governance of County Magistrate Wei, the government affairs have become much more clear-headed these days.
Lin smiled and said, "Look at these two. They always bring gifts every time they come. They are really being polite."
Li Erlang greeted politely, "It's just some food, not ordinary things, you may not think highly of it, but what kind of relationship do our two families have, of course there is no need to be polite."
Li Erlang was handsome and sweet-spoken, which made Lin laugh happily. "Look, this young man is so good at talking. I'm sure they will live in harmony and have a smooth life in the future."
Li Erlang blushed and told the clerk their plan.
Speaking of Ma Shenpo, the clerk frowned and said, "This Ma Shenpo seems to be the one who participated in the Dragon King's wedding. After Zhao Mang came up with the idea of the Dragon King's wedding, he used Ma Shenpo's name to help with fortune-telling and deceive the people.
There are also several cases of illegal human trafficking involving her.”
Thinking about the Dragon King getting married and almost ruining their family, Li Erlang was furious, "This kind of person should be thrown into prison and severely punished."
The clerk nodded, "Yes, the old county magistrate had already started investigating her before he left, but something unexpected happened. The transfer order was issued too suddenly, and the county magistrate was replaced, so the case was left unresolved.
Now that Magistrate Wu and his son are missing, County Magistrate Wei has to prioritize cleaning up the mess left by Magistrate Wu and his son, and prioritize major issues concerning the country's economy and people's livelihood, which has become a good opportunity for her at the moment.
But the adults have almost investigated what she did, and they just need a strong piece of evidence. You did a good thing this time. If things really develop as you said, then the witch Ma will be in trouble this time, and she will definitely get the punishment she deserves. "
Li Yuer and his sister smiled at each other, "That's good."
After refusing Lin's invitation to dinner, the two hurried back to set up the scene, waiting to catch the witch red-handed.
That night, the night was dark, a crescent moon hung on the treetops, and the sound of the night watchman sounded the prelude to midnight.
According to legend, the yin energy is the heaviest at midnight in a day.
The entire Xinpu Town was in darkness, and the prosperity and bustle of the daytime had now sunk into the world of dreams.
"Meow~Meow~" A few untimely cat calls came from the back alley of Li Yuer's new house.
Then there were a few more cat meows, as if responding to the previous one.
A dark shadow climbed up to the top of the wall. Judging from its shape, it was obviously not a cat. "What a damn bad luck! Why is this broken wall so high?" A male voice complained in a deliberately low voice.
A female voice came from below, "The walls of rich families are all high. Those with low walls are all poor. How can poor people make money?" She also spoke in a deliberately low voice.
The man climbed over the wall, jumped into the yard, walked to the back door, opened it, and let the short and fat woman in.
As soon as the woman came in, she walked in one direction, as if she knew the way.
"Come on, put the things up quickly."
The two men came to the west wing. As it was a new house and they were going to perform a ritual, the door was not locked. The man pushed it lightly and it opened.
"Great, it's unlocked."
The woman warned, "Be careful, wear gloves, and don't leave fingerprints."
It’s a new house and there’s a lot of dust. Just touching it will leave a clear handprint.
There was no practice of checking fingerprints to catch thieves in this dynasty, but fingerprints are different from animal claw prints and it is easy to tell that they were done by humans.
The two men sneaked into the house. There was no furniture in the new house and it was empty.
The woman lit the candle in her hand, dripped a few drops of wax on the windowsill, stuck the candle on, and the room instantly became brighter.
The man looked up at the beams of the house, "Grass! It's so tall."
"Of course. How can the beams of a rich family be short? A tall beam indicates good luck in career and wealth. Only a poor person's beams are short. It suppresses their luck, and they cannot raise their heads and make money for the rest of their lives."
The man said in embarrassment: "This is not easy to get on. There is nothing to stand on."
After thinking for a while, the man decided to use his unique skill. He took out the Flying Tiger Claw, swung the rope up, chose the best angle and timing, and threw it out with a "whoosh".
"Ding!"
The man grabbed the beam with his flying tiger claws, pulled the rope, and after making sure it was firm, he began to climb up the beam with the help of the rope.
When he climbed onto the beam, he took out a voodoo doll pierced with silver needles from the basket on his back and placed it on the beam.
The night wind suddenly arose, and the shadow of the withered bamboo outside the house fell on the window paper, swaying in the wind, like a demon with bared fangs and claws.
The woman below suddenly felt uneasy. She said anxiously, "Are you ready? If you are, come down quickly. My right eyelid is twitching."
Without waiting for the man to reply, with a "bang", the door was kicked open forcefully from the outside. Accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, Captain Zhong and a group of yamen runners rushed in.
Ma Shenpo was so frightened that her face turned pale. "You? What are you doing?"
The clerk came forward from behind and said, "We have caught him red-handed. Take him away!"
Ma the witch tried to argue, "What do you mean by catching someone red-handed? We are here to exorcise evil spirits, and we just found out that someone has placed a voodoo doll on the beam of the house."
The clerk laughed sarcastically, "Do you think we are fools? You broke into a private house at night, secretly hid the witchcraft items on the beams of the host's house, pretended to be ghosts, and used this to defraud money. Now you are caught red-handed, and you still want to quibble? Take you away!"
The bailiffs did not give the two men a chance to argue and tied them up. Ma the witch struggled and argued, but the bailiffs gagged her with a rag.
The buck-toothed man who was with her was being held in a dejected manner, saying nothing and looking as if he had accepted his fate.
The bailiffs escorted the two men to the county government office. When they arrived at the gate of the government office, they met another group of bailiffs who were acting separately.
The leading yamen runner reported to the clerk: "Sir, we have completed the investigation you asked us to do. We have placed the items in the evidence area. Please check them."
The clerk nodded and said with a clear mind, "It's time to catch these people in one fell swoop. They have been stirring up trouble in Huihai County for many years, pretending to be ghosts and ghosts, killing so many people, and causing so many innocent families to be separated and unable to live in peace. This is the retribution they deserve."