"My lord." Long Da's tone was flat, "My lord, have you ever thought about it? If Miss An's guess is true, and if there is a trick to blackmail her and kidnap her sister, those people must know everything about the An family. They know An Who in the mansion is important to Miss An, and threats will be effective. They know the locations of the courtyards in the An mansion, where the servants and maids are active, and the conditions of the entrance and exit of the mansion. Take them out of the mansion without being noticed. With such ability, how could they not know that Ms. An ran away from home tonight and came to the Yamen to report to the official. After reporting to the official, she got on the sedan chair as if nothing had happened? Those are carefully crafted, trained, and thoughtful If you still don't suspect that there is a ghost in it, then there really is a ghost." When he said this, he glanced at An Ruochen.

An Ruochen knelt with his head down, unable to see his expression clearly.

"My lord." Long Da said again: "Assuming that Miss An's words are true, the fact that she went to the Yamen to report to the officials has alerted the staff. After she married into the Qian family, even if someone came to contact her and coerce her to help If you want to do something, then there must be a countermeasure against the government. Maybe they will set up a plan, set up a trap, and let us get caught instead. At that time, there will be no truth, no truth, how will adults tell the difference?"

Yao Kun was speechless. He choked for a long time, and had to admit that what Long Da said was very reasonable. He was quite reconciled, wasting a lot of people and energy, and finally was put together by the other party. He knew this in advance, and he didn't want to be taken advantage of.

Long Da said coldly again: "Furthermore, if the other party can kill Matchmaker Xu, what's the difficulty in killing another sister of the An family? Miss An came quietly to report to the official, and no one knew about it. Now the drums are beating in the middle of the night, and everyone is making a fuss. We all know that her father led people to wait outside the yamen, and there must be a turmoil in An's mansion. This news can't be hidden no matter what, if Xiao Zuo really kidnapped someone and planned to blackmail Miss An, what happened to this accident? To protect myself, it is very likely that the two girls of the An family will be killed. Not to mention Miss An, I don’t know where she is. As for Miss An, once the adults let her go home, I am afraid that the sedan chair will only receive the corpse. "

Before he finished speaking, An Ruochen fell to the ground and exclaimed: "General, my lord, I beg you to save the girls."

Long Da ignored her, and then said to Yao Kun: "What I said just now is based on the inference that she is telling the truth. If there are lies, it is another situation. I need to detain her and interrogate her carefully. It is useless to lure the enemy by marrying into the Qian family as usual, it is better to try the case carefully and then think about the countermeasures. And it is a good thing that the other party can't figure out what we are going to do by surprise."

Yao Kun frowned, feeling very embarrassed: "General, Ms. An is an important witness, I understand this. It is precisely because of this that I did not hold a public trial to prevent the news from being leaked. No one else knows about the things described above, except the people in this room. Maybe things are not so bad, we can talk about another unrelated case, although the other side of the staff will be suspicious, but they are not sure. We should be more careful in our actions and not teach them to notice. Miss An married into the Qian family as usual, and everything is normal. After a long time, the secret agents will take it lightly. Maybe it is still feasible to lure the enemy. Even if it is not feasible, we still have As for the clue about Matchmaker Xu, Xizuo still has Miss An Si in his hands, they must take action..."

Yao Kun paused at this point, knowing that this strategy was not reliable, so he sighed, "I know that the general's concerns are quite reasonable, but Miss An is a married person, and the matchmaker is marrying, and the etiquette is appropriate. You and I are court officials. , it’s supposed to relieve the common people’s worries, not ruin the marriages of the common people. If this matter is not handled properly, there will be troubles between the An and Qian families, and I’m afraid it won’t be good.”

Long Daping said flatly: "In my opinion, border wars are the most important thing for the safety of the country. If this negligence allows the secret agents to act recklessly under our noses and destroy our country's prestige, Nanqin secretly laughs Don't say that they won't fight this battle in the near future. They just probed through the inside and outside of Pingnan County, and then lured and coerced a hundred or eighty people like Miss Xu Matchmaker An to find out information for them. Not only Pingnan County, There are also those who go to other counties to get married, do business, or work as errands, all the way to the capital..." Long Da dragged on the end of the sound, and suddenly accentuated: "Master Yao, I don't have time to think about how these two families are going to fight. Well, I just think about the faces of the civil and military officials and the emperor in the court. My lord can't imagine that the capital is so far away, so I think about the case in front of me. What kind of case would call a bride waiting for a sedan chair to come to interrogate in the middle of the night? This newlywed Niang came to play the drums with injuries all over her body. Forgive me for being stupid, I can't figure out how to make sense of it. You have to figure it out yourself. We don't know who the secret is and where he is hiding. Miss An goes home Is there any danger to her life in the future? If something happens to her, will her family and the Qian family come to make trouble? I am not familiar with them, and I don't know. It is good for you to think about countermeasures in advance. And I will report back to Beijing in the future. When the emperor asks these questions, I can only answer truthfully."

These words hit Yao Kun's vital point at once, he knew which one he could afford and which one he could not afford to blame for the people's censure and the emperor's. Yao Kun thought for a moment as a predicament, and said: "The general is right. There are indeed many doubts in it, and it is indeed dangerous for Ms. An to go back like this. Well then, if the general wants to detain Ms. An for questioning, just do so. The wedding is postponed."

"My lord." An Ruochen quietly listened to Long Da and Yao Kun's words, and said on the ground at this moment: "Minister girls are not very capable, but those thieves and villains kidnapped my dearest sister, I can't ignore them, I would like to do it for my lord." They lure the enemy."

Yao Kun glanced at Long Da, feeling embarrassed again: "General Long, look at this matter, now the girl is begging to get married as usual..."

"My lord." An Ruochen was still kneeling on the ground, but interrupted Yao Kun's words: "My lord, a civilian girl is not asking for marriage. Everything the general said before is reasonable. Once a civilian girl gets married, it is unknown whether she will live or not. The folk girls beat the drums to report to the officials in the middle of the night, I'm afraid it will arouse their suspicion."

Yao Kun was annoyed: "Then what kind of enemy did you lure?"

"My lord, the daughter of the people is so bold, I beg your lord's permission to dissolve my engagement with Master Qian. I am willing to join the army to lure the enemy."

"..." Not only Yao Kun, but also surprised faces in the room.

An Ruochen fell on the ground, everyone couldn't see her expression clearly, but she continued: "What your lord said just now is very reasonable, I will beat the drums to report to the officials in the middle of the night, and then I will go to the sedan chair as usual as if nothing happened, and the other party will definitely know that this is the case. A trap. Either they killed my sister and stopped looking for me, and pretended nothing happened, or they killed me to avoid future troubles. If not, they must have ulterior motives in pretending to be tricked into contacting me. And this Intentionally, I'm afraid it's Fu'an County."

Yao Kun frowned. Fu'an County is the largest county in Pingnan County, next to Zhonglan City, the prefecture. In terms of transportation, it is the main road leading to other counties and the capital. In terms of people's livelihood, Fu'an County is a major grain-producing county in Pingnan County, and it is also the most important place for rear supplies during war preparations. For evacuation of civilians and troops, delivery of supplies, etc., Fu'an County is the closest and most convenient route to Zhonglan City. An Ruochen is going to marry the father of the magistrate of Fu'an County, and she will become the stepmother of Qian Shixin, the magistrate of Fu'an County...

"My lord, the minnv lost her sister and was afraid of her own life, so she made such a terrible plan to escape from home and report to the officials as a last resort. This action made it difficult for the lord and the general to capture the thief, and the minnv was really terrified. But no matter what, the minnv wanted to find her sister If a civilian girl wants to be a bait, she has to be a more attractive bait than getting information about Fu'an County."

"What could that be?!" Yao Kun asked in shock. More attractive than the information about Fu'an County is the information about his Pingnan County Mansion. This is not something to play with.

"My lord." An Ruochen looked up, her eyes were red, haggard and weak: "Your lord just said that Matchmaker Xu is a clue. I guess the adults will strictly investigate those girls who she said were pro-matchmakers and slaves. My lord, I will It's a girl like that. I was almost controlled by Matchmaker Xu. After she died, I felt relieved. No one threatened me anymore. If an official came to ask about this at this time, I would naturally not admit it. Those girls must be This kind of thinking. Your lord has no proof, so naturally you can't arrest them and torture them to extract confessions. Therefore, the girl thought, the general and your lord need someone who can really talk to those girls before they can find out the news."

An Ruochen looked at Yao Kun, and continued: "My lord, if I marry into Fu'an County and become a married woman, it will be difficult for me to move around, and I can't often visit Zhonglan City, that would be too depressing." Doubtful. Only if I am divorced and accepted into the army can I have a status."

Yao Kun was dumbfounded: "It's nonsense, there is no reason for women to join the army. Besides, you were recruited into the army by General Long. If you ask questions, can those girls believe you?"

"I am the last big marriage negotiated by Matchmaker Xu. Does anyone in Zhonglan City or Pingnan County know? Those girls are from experience, so they will naturally believe my relationship with Matchmaker Xu. As for why I dare to contact you even though I am in the army." For them, it is natural that the general asked me to investigate the case. However, I will tell them that this is the first step that I have successfully completed the explanation from above."

Long Da raised his brows high.

Yao Kun was still in shock: "What did your superiors tell you?"

"Take advantage of Matchmaker Xu's death to report to the government. After gaining trust, inquire about the government's information, take her place, and continue to control those girls to inquire about information."

Yao Kun was stunned.

Xie Gang quickly realized: "In this way, you can not only find out from them who worked for Xu Matchmaker and what they did, but you can also trick them into finding out the detailed information for us."

An Ruochen bit her lip, showing hesitation and fear: "This matter seems to be a bit difficult, but I am willing to give it a try. I told them that if I want to continue to gain the trust of the general, I must have news to confirm it." Just report. They should believe me and tell me what they know."

Yao Kun said: "After Mrs. Xu died, wouldn't someone else have contacted these girls? It's your turn?"

Long Da spoke at this time: "Under normal circumstances, the spies lurking in the city and the countryside use a single line of communication. In order to prevent one person from being involved in an accident, the whole nest will be caught. If there is no emergency, they will not commit crimes in a row, and they will not communicate frequently to avoid being caught. People should investigate. The danger your lord said is true. Maybe when Ms. An shows up and says those words, the other party will know that Ms. An is lying. But there is still a chance. If the other party does not notice, we can continue. If the other party finds out, we will We need to inform the real spy leader, we can follow the vines, and we can track down the clues. And Ms. An in the Ziyun Building, has the opportunity to get in touch with generals at all levels in the army, and can also get close to the military secretary. It's a huge temptation, if they really have Miss An Si in their hands, it should come in handy at this time."

"They will definitely infer that Miss An has served for the general." Yao Kun said.

"So they will be very careful, but they have to give it a go. This is their closest chance to the Long Family Army." Long Da replied calmly. "As for whether someone took advantage of Matchmaker Xu's death to sneak in as a spy, I will definitely investigate." He said, staring at An Ruochen, apparently still having doubts about her confession.

An Ruochen fell to the ground and kowtowed: "Your Excellency, the General is very clear, what the girl said is true. The girl only wants to save her sister, and the girl wants to find out the real culprits behind the scenes even if she is not married. I beg the general to help you." .”

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Long Da said indifferently: "You are not a monk after entering Ziyun Building, who stipulates that you will never marry for life."

"..." An Ruochen didn't know how to answer these words.

Zong Ze's face is broken, General, you have become serious again without warning. It's not appropriate to make such a mistake at this time.

Yao Kun didn't think that Long was dishonest, he felt that what he said was right, no one stipulated that Ms. An would not marry for life, but this time the marriage was abandoned, and she served the court again, so it would be difficult to get married in the future. And it was him who was in trouble. How should I tell An Zhifu and Qian Pei?

Yao Kun sent someone to take An Ruochen down, and after whispering with the master Bo Jiang Hongqing, he had a private business with Long Da alone.

"The general should think twice. There have been no women in the army since ancient times. Would it be against military law to call women into the army?"

Long Da chuckled and said, "Your Excellency is right. Is General Luo, who defeated Northern Chu earlier, a man or a woman?"

Yao Kun was really upset. Isn't that the first dynasty, and the female general came out. Besides, he is a general who can lead troops to fight, how can An Ruochen compare with him? Anyway, he made his ugly words clear, so don't look for him when the time comes to take responsibility. Yao Kun said: "It's good for the general to have a good idea. You know, if something goes wrong in this military matter, even if I want to share the responsibility for the general, I will be powerless."

Long Da smiled again, the smile was warm, making his face more handsome, and his tone was also gentle: "Master Taishou is worried about me, Long Mou is very touched."

It was only then that Yao Kun realized the change in Long Da's attitude. It seemed that the usual cold disguise melted away in the room where only the two of them were left.

Yao Kun was stunned for a moment, his mind was dazed, and he almost thought he was being molested. Quickly gathered his mind, Long Da lowered his voice and said: "My lord, in the current situation, you and I are on the same boat. The danger of Nanqin is incomprehensible, and Pingnan County will never be safe. Although I am a general, I am not I wish to see a war. In the event of a war, my soldiers will bleed and lay down their lives. The people in your county will not be able to live in peace. How can your life be easy for me and my lord? In the past, I had no clue and had to fight head-to-head with Nanqin. Now that I have clues, how can I Can I let it go? If I can capture the fine work and stop the war, then I don’t need to go to the battlefield to fight with my life. Wouldn’t it be good for my lord to keep Pingnan County safe? In the future, I will repay my lord’s contribution in the court. It’s just In the current situation, I need the adults to be united with me to make things happen."

Long Da's voice was low and mellow, and every sentence entered Yao Kun's heart. The more Yao Kun listened to it, the more pleasant and reasonable it became. The two of them were so and so, and they negotiated quickly.

Yao Kun asked Bo Jiang Hongqing to arrange An Zhifu and others first, and then sent someone to Fu'an County to invite Qian Pei over. Jiang Hongqing asked carefully, Yao Kun said that he was going to get married, and taught An Ruochen to quit the An family so that he could serve in the army.

Jiang Hongqing hurriedly reminded in a low voice: "My lord, didn't we agree earlier that this matter should be handled by General Long. He wants to call someone to handle the matter, so naturally he will handle the issue of suitability. This is reasonable, and he naturally cannot refuse. My lord Forget it, An Zhifu is fine, Qian Pei is not easy to deal with."

Yao Kun frowned, quite unhappy: "I don't know the priority of the matter? You just have to do it quickly."

Jiang Hongqing went. Yao Kun sat quietly in the room and waited, waiting and regretting. I had thought clearly before, but I changed my mind after talking with Long Da. I really felt like being dragged into a mud pit in a daze. But now, there is no way to talk back.

Long Da, Xie Gang, and Zong Zeqing were in another room, and they also ordered and arranged, and the two followed orders.

An Zhifu was led into the yamen, panicked, secretly stuffed some silver taels for Jiang Hongqing, and asked him what was the matter. Jiang Hongqing put the silver into his sleeve calmly, invited An Zhifu to sit, and said seriously: "Master An, this matter should be considered a good thing, but it is indeed a little troublesome. It depends on how you look at it."

An Zhifu hurriedly said: "Please make it clear, my lord."

"Your eldest daughter is clever and alert. General Long has taken a fancy to her and plans to recruit her to serve the country. This is a great thing, isn't it? But, if you want to work with the general, today's marriage cannot be done."

An Zhifu was stunned, he understood every word, but he didn't understand. His daughter, who is greedy for petty gain, stupid, nymphomaniac, has a heart but no guts, and cries all day long to be annoying, can she still join the army and serve the country? An Zhifu thought for a long time, looked around, and asked carefully in a low voice: "My lord, you and I have known each other for many years, and we often come and go. There is no outsider here. If you have anything to say, you might as well just tell me, right? The general has taken a fancy to the little girl..."

"What are you thinking about!" Jiang Hongqing was annoyed, "Tell me, is your eldest girl a shameful woman or a beautiful woman? Where is the general from? He came from the capital! He is a second-rank official at a young age, and there is still a second rank in my Great Xiao Kingdom." Two? How many dignitaries want to marry him, how many people want to put girls in his arms, what kind of beauties has he never seen? There are many rumors about him, have you ever heard half of them? Gossip about his **** and lewdness? What does he come here to fight against the enemy and fight! Do you have that spare time to be seduced by your girl? Besides, if you want to seduce General Shanglong, it's your girl's turn?"

An Zhifu was speechless, unable to refute at all.

"Don't think too much about it. This matter is really an urgent military matter. It is related to the South Qin Dynasty and the matter of treason. I can't tell you more about it. You just need to know that the prefect attaches great importance to it. Your eldest daughter is useful, yes Good thing. As for this marriage, my lord will not make things difficult for you, I have already invited Master Qian to come, and everyone will explain clearly in person. You just wait."

After Jiang Hongqing finished speaking, he left An Zhifu and left. An Zhifu was flustered, after much deliberation, he still felt that this matter had something to do with his batch of Southern Qin jade, and regretted why he didn't ask Qian Pei exactly what method he used to get that batch out. If it is really a treasonous crime, how can he afford it?

An Zhifu called An Ping in and asked him how things were going. Anping Road has sent people to rush to report to Mr. Qian, so they should be able to catch up with the government's people. When Master Qian did that, he should have known it well and had a countermeasure. In short, the master should insist that he does not know what happened.

An Zhifu blew his beard and stared, he really didn't know!

The master and the servant were discussing in the room, but they didn't notice that someone outside the room was eavesdropping outside the window.

After a while, Xie Gang received the news, and Long Dashie also received the news that there was something wrong with An Zhifu's jade business, and the matter seemed to be handled by Qian Pei.

The night will soon be over, the sky is blue, and it is almost dawn.

Yao Kun walked up and down the room, getting more and more anxious the longer he waited. Jiang Hongqing came back to report: "Master Qian is coming soon, the person who reported the letter came back quickly, saying that Master Qian's carriage is behind."

Yao Kun nodded and asked, "How about General Long?"

"I went to Ms. An's room to ask a question, and she came out soon. There was nothing unusual. After that, I talked with Mr. Xie and General Zong in the room. I asked people to go in and listened to it a few times in the name of serving tea. The ears are all talking about the countermeasures."

"Hmm." Yao Kun felt relieved. They deliberately asked Long Da and the others to choose another house to rest, just because they wanted to have other thoughts, so they would only talk about it in private. Now it seems that there should be no problem.

After waiting for a while, Qian Pei arrived.

Qian Pei swaggered into the house, although this is an important place of the county government office, and he was facing the prefect, but he did not hide the anger on his face.

"Yao Kun." He called Yao Kun by name, and asked, "What's the matter? Today is my happy day."

Yao Kun frowned, suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart, and told him the matter. Dao said that Xu Matchmaker who he said was a secret agent. Besides her, there were other people lurking in the city who were spying on Zhonglan City for Nanqin. An Ruochen was involved in the incident by accident, and now the government needs her to assist the army. Fang traps and works carefully, so the marriage has to be cancelled. I hope that Qian Pei can put the overall situation first and withdraw from An's family. It's easier for everyone that way.

Qian Pei listened to Yao Kun's words with a dark face, and snorted coldly: "Don't care what the reason is, An Ruochen is my wife who will marry, I have three matchmakers and six betrothal gifts, you are the prefect, and the dragon hall is the guardian of the country." General, snatched her away before she got on the sedan chair, and forced me to withdraw from the marriage, is there any law in this? In this world, is it you, Yao Kun, who talk to him, Long Da, and it counts?"

Qian Pei's tone was arrogant, and Yao Kun's anger also rose.

"Qian Pei, these matters were originally important military affairs, and should not be explained to outsiders. It's you, so I explained it to you personally. I have thought about the solution. She will marry you as usual, and then use tricks to lure the enemy, etc. , but after careful discussion, it is really inconvenient. Those secret agents are all shrewd, how she behaved after she married into Fu'an County, and her behavior a little unreasonable will arouse suspicion. Hello. I want you to find a reason to voluntarily resign. Firstly, to ensure that your face is not hurt, secondly, to ensure smooth follow-up arrangements, and thirdly, to ensure the peace of your Qian family. This reason is clear and obvious. You only have benefits, how can there be any disadvantages? "

"Ha!" Qian Pei sneered, "I only have benefits? Where do I get benefits! Yao Kun, you are getting better at talking. You can turn black into white." He stared at Yao Kun and thought for a while. Thinking about it, he suddenly said: "Well, with the friendship between you and me, I will naturally not embarrass you. I have helped you many times, and this time is not bad. But it is a big deal for me to marry a wife, and now it is for no reason. What reason should I give to divorce? Just let An Ruochen marry me as usual today, and three days later, I will divorce her back to An's house. There are much easier reasons for divorcing a wife. "

Yao Kun's face sank, he was almost furious. These years, Qian Pei has been greedy for **** and profit, especially in the matter of lust, he has done a lot of crimes, but every time he suppresses the matter, Yao Kun himself turns a blind eye, but he is disgusted and disgusted in his heart. Now, Qian Pei made this request in front of his face. To put it bluntly, he wants to marry another girl back and ruin it for three days, and then throw it out like rags. After that, whether your government wants to employ someone or not, it has nothing to do with him.

Yao Kun thought of An Ruochen's injuries from the beating, and he understood that the girl was naturally extremely unwilling to marry Qian Pei. She would rather risk her life and serve in the army than marry. Moreover, An Ruochen came to his yamen to report the case after many hardships, but he didn't mention the grievance and heartache of being beaten at home at all, and didn't mention Qian Pei's filthiness at all. But Qian Pei disregarded his prefect's face, disregarded the overall situation, and said such disgusting words.

Yao Kun couldn't bear it any longer, and shouted: "Qian Pei, don't go too far. Everyone should watch the marriage you make, and you should consider it a decent thing? How much older are you than An Zhifu? , Is it appropriate for you to marry someone else's daughter? You don't think about yourself, you don't think about other girls, you also think about Qian County Magistrate. Son is causing trouble."

Qian Pei sneered: "Are you trying to scare me? Don't talk about my son. Let's talk about yourself. Yao Kun, without me, Qian Pei, would you be able to become the prefect of Pingnan County? How did you get up?" You know who is in this position. It’s been almost twenty years now, and you’ve been too prestige, have you forgotten? My marriage is not decent, but yours is not. You divorce your first wife and send her back home. After leaving the country, he married the daughter of the prefect Meng. Do you think that all these years of pretending to be affectionate and dignified can erase the past? Your nasty things..."

"Qian Pei!" Yao Kun slapped the table, shouting angrily to stop him from continuing. Holding his breath, he gritted his teeth for a long time and said, "You're so old-fashioned!"

Qian Pei squinted and stared at him, not showing the slightest intention to give in.

Yao Kun stared at him for a while, and said: "I have made it clear to you, how to deal with it, you should think about it yourself." After saying that, he walked away.

The door was slammed shut with a bang, Qian Pei clenched his fists with a pale face.