Traveling through ancient times to escape famine, the prince led me to rebel

Chapter 208: Knocking on the Door

The ones who were in charge of cooking and serving meals today were Qiu Niang and Du Kongqing. It wasn't originally them, but somehow, before dinner, these two girls volunteered to do this undemanding job.

After all, cooking for so many people, even if someone else is doing the preparation of the ingredients, cooking is indeed a physical job.

Moreover, the person distributing the food has to wait until everyone has received their food before it is his or her turn to eat. By then, the food is cold and needs to be heated up, which is very troublesome.

"Kong Qing," Zhang Changzong called out to someone he was more familiar with, "You need another bowl of rice over there." He nodded towards Butcher.

Kong Qing took the empty bowl swiftly and asked casually, "Which officer is it?"

"The one with the mole on the corner of his mouth, Ma Chao."

Du Kongqing paused holding the bowl, and Qiu Niang beside him suddenly spoke up: "Is it him?"

Zhang Changzong had hardly ever spoken to Qiu Niang, so he was a little surprised to hear her take the initiative to talk to him.

However, he knew that Qiu Niang lived in Luo Xiaoran's house, and they had a close relationship, like sisters, so he was quite polite to her.

"Yes, that's him."

At this time, Du Kongqing had already filled the brown-bottomed, white bowl with rice and handed it to Zhang Changzong.

After Zhang Changzong left, Qiu Niang approached Du Kongqing, frowning slightly, "Your croton powder has been stored for too long, and the medicinal effect has dissipated. He has eaten two bowls and hasn't gone to the toilet yet."

Du Kongqing was also very puzzled. Logically, Ma Chao should have run away holding his stomach long ago, but why was he still eating like a pig?

Just when the two were wondering what was going on, Ma Chao, who was eating heartily, suddenly felt a burning pain in his abdomen.

At first he thought he was just too full, but then he felt a rapid downward movement, accompanied by dull pain.

Without even bothering to say hello, Ma Chao covered his stomach and ran quickly towards a woods downwind of the official road.

The sky had completely darkened. After the rush, Ma Chao had an expression of relief on his face.

He pulled up his trousers, fastened his belt, and without even getting into the pit, he started to walk out.

When there was still a turn before walking out of the woods, Ma Chao was tripped by something and then hit on the head with a club and lost consciousness.

……

After finishing his meal, Butcher felt a little surprised to see that Ma Chao had not returned yet.

It took this kid so long to relieve himself. Could it be that he was really irritated today and thus had constipation?

……

Ma Chao woke up slowly, holding his head. He was lying alone on the ground. Before he could see clearly where he was, a voice suddenly rang out: "Are you awake?"

Ma Chao was so scared that he immediately got up from the ground and looked around vigilantly.

"This way!"

Following the sound, Ma Chao finally saw a blurry figure standing in the darkness, "Who are you?" He subconsciously reached for his sword, but found that only the scabbard was left.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

At this time, Luo Xiaoran was not using crutches. She was standing straight not far from Ma Chao, holding a big knife in her hand.

Under the bright moonlight, the knife seemed to be coated with a layer of silver, flashing a cold edge.

"It's you? What are you going to do?"

When Ma Chao saw that the other person was Luo Xiaoran, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and the mole at the corner of his mouth seemed particularly relaxed.

"What should I do?" Luo Xiaoran said sternly, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you this? Why did you lead Tu Ye to find Zhang Erhe that day? You were the one who pushed Zhang Erhe and I down the mountain, right?"

……

As the night grew deeper, many people fell asleep by the light of the fire.

Butcher waited for a long time with all his might, but Ma Chao didn't come back, and he immediately felt something was wrong.

Although this new guy has a rather impulsive personality, he is not a sneaky person. Could something have happened to him?

Thinking of this, Uncle Butcher could no longer sit still. He pulled out a burning branch about two inches wide from the campfire and hurried towards the woods.

After about a quarter of an hour, Butcher ran out in a panic and kicked his two sleeping companions, waking them up.

"Ma Chao is dead!"

This night is destined to be sleepless.

There was only one person who slept very well, and that was Luo Xiaoran, whose hands and feet had not yet recovered.

……

The supervising bailiff died, which is a big deal.

Tu Ye did not bother to think of ways to obstruct the corvee process on the spot. He mounted his horse and hurried to the Fuyuan County Government to report the matter.

"What did you say?"

An Luhai sat on the armchair he was used to, stroking the rosewood armrest, and stared at Master Tu with a stern expression.

Mr. Tu clasped his hands together, his back slightly bent, and when he heard An Luhai's question, he lowered his head even more:

"It looked like he had slit his throat. When I found him, there was blood all over the floor."

"Slit his own throat?" An Luhai sneered, cursing Ma Chao in his heart as a waste, useless at all, who failed to kill Luo Xiaoran and got himself into trouble instead.

"Yes, sir." replied Master Tu.

"Could it be that Luo Xiaoran killed him?" An Luhai asked suddenly with his eyes slightly narrowed.

"This..." Butcher paused and groaned in his heart. He knew that the county magistrate disliked Luo Xiaoran, but he really couldn't figure out how Luo Xiaoran killed Ma Chao with just two crutches.

"Luo Xiaoran was seriously injured and her limbs were disabled. If she had killed Ma Chao, there would have been clues left. I was incompetent and failed to find them."

After Master Tu finished speaking, An Luhai remained silent for a long time.

Master Tu thought about the official road that was about to be completed, and glanced at An Luhai who was thinking about something. Finally, he gritted his teeth and asked:

"Sir, the corvée service is almost finished. Do you want me to find another excuse..."

Before Mr. Tu could finish his words, the door of the county government office was suddenly pushed open, and two teams of armored soldiers filed in. The man in the lead was dressed in black, and he was the Prince of Yan's close attendant, Lin.

An Luhai immediately stood up from the rosewood armchair, went to meet him, and saluted, saying, "Greetings, sir. I wonder why you are here today?"

Although Wei Lin was the chief of Prince Yan's secret guards, he was not a secret guard. He was also a garrison officer of the fifth rank, two levels higher than An Luhai, a county magistrate of the seventh rank.

There was no expression on Wei Linqingjun's face. His voice was cold and his eyes were deep.

"Didn't Lord Yun Huyun make it clear last time? Luo Xiaoran and Du Kongqing are people protected by Prince Yan's Mansion. Why are you still using corvée to embarrass the Hexi Village where they live?"

The smile on An Luhai's face froze instantly. He put away his hands in greeting, raised his waist that had just bent, and said calmly:

"How can you say this? It was Princess Qingyi who ordered the construction of the official road. Only Hexi Village and Hedong Village are closest to this official road under my jurisdiction. It is most convenient to let these two villages build the official road."

"Since we are building a lime road, why don't you provide lime?" Wei Lin asked.