What a good plan, one neglect and slowness is not enough, but also add another frame-up... Not necessarily framing up, that's too light, this must be to make it into a pot of accepting bribes and disregarding human life, firmly pinning it on County Magistrate Li's head...

  Guo Sheng gazed at the small door leading to the backyard, looked for a moment, and lowered his eyelids. This matter was not urgent, there was no need to rush to see Miss now, it could be said during afternoon class.

  ………………

  Li Xia has been holding her breath and calming her mind for the past few days, not saying that she doesn't hear anything outside the window with her two ears, it's almost the same.

  Guo Sheng arranged for Li Wenlan to recite books around the old ginkgo tree, and when he sat down beside her gently, Li Xia was truly focused on drawing characters.

  "Miss, Zhao Hongqing from Xikou Town has indeed come to Conghua County."

  Guo Sheng's first sentence shocked Li Xia's mind and spirit, and she couldn't write another word.

  Zhao Hongqing, who lost his wife and was wrongly accused of killing her, hanged himself in prison. Is he coming to frame my father?

  Li Xia's back was slightly stiff, sitting upright and motionless, even her hands and the pen in her hand were still.

  Kuo Sheng briefly stated his findings and speculations from this morning, looking at Li Xia with a cold expression, "Miss... we..."

  Li Xia listened to Guo Sheng finish speaking and had already understood everything, her heart filled with wave after wave of sorrow.

  His guess was not wrong at all, Zhao Hongqing must have been instructed by the Hu family, the Hu family... must have taken orders from the Constitutional Court, and in the county government there is Wu County Wei who responded to the outside world, and also has Wutong this scoundrel who doesn't even want his life for silver.

  This time is like this, last time was also about the same...

  Father is stupid, but that murder case of his wife also started from the Procuratorate, one ring linked to another, weaving a big net, even if Father was not stupid, he couldn't escape...

  That Lian Gui... Li Xia opened his mouth, wanting to let Guo Sheng go and check if the person who found Wutong was called Lian Gui. The words reached his lips, but he swallowed them back, unable to say more. Besides, whether or not it was Lian Gui was no longer important.

  Li Xia dipped her pen into the inkstone, slowly filling it with ink. She picked it up, but then put it back down again. She didn't feel like writing anymore.

  "You handle it, whatever you want to do. Remember two words: balance." Li Xia said, jumped off the chair, swung her arms and walked out of the classroom, heading back to the dormitory.

  Guo Sheng stood up and looked far away at Li Xia's tiny back, only feeling that the back was slowly expanding in his eyes, expanding into a vast expanse of sorrow and desolation.

  Guo Sheng finished checking Li Wenlan's homework, and after looking at the words she had written for nearly half an hour, he ended the class. As he packed up his writing tools, he couldn't help but think about this matter.

  In this matter, Magistrate Li is still the host family, and after all, he's not a clay Bodhisattva. To be on the safe side, it's best to remind him first.

  Guo Sheng made up his mind and went to the signing room to find County Magistrate Li. As expected, although all the people in front of the hall had left, County Magistrate Li was still sitting in the signing room drinking tea and reading a book.

  When he saw Guo Sheng enter, County Magistrate Li hastily stood up and invited Guo Sheng to sit down in front of the public desk.

  County Magistrate Li is now much more polite and respectful to Guo Sheng than before, not because he has seen Guo's talent or character, but because Guo has become the teacher of his youngest daughter, Xiao Liu. What he values most is the respect for teachers and the importance of education.

  Guo Sheng first said a few words about Li Wenlan's reading, and indeed praised her several times. This wasn't flattery; Li Wenlan was truly good material for studying.

  Magistrate Li stroked his whiskers, occasionally bursting into loud laughter. These past few months, he had been living a carefree life, often laughing for no reason at all.

  "By the way, there's something else. Last time I went to Hangzhou City, my uncle mentioned it once. Although it's not a big deal, if something happens, then there's no small matter. I think we should report it to County Magistrate." Guo Sheng got to the point.

  "Go on!" said Magistrate Li with a smile.

  "It's just a matter of licentious worship, the county magistrate also knows about it. To prevent the harm of licentious worship to the villagers is a routine official duty for the prefecture and county..."

  Before Guo Sheng could finish speaking, County Magistrate Li burst out laughing and pointed at Guo Sheng, "You all think alike. It seems that I don't need to worry about this matter anymore."

  Guo Sheng's back straightened up in an instant, and his face didn't reveal anything, "Oh? Is that so? Who did you come to an agreement with? Wu County Magistrate? What did he say?"

  "It's only natural for him to do this, it's also his duty. Yesterday evening, Old Wu was still grumbling about these things with me. To tell the truth, what Old Wu said is not wrong - the villagers are ignorant and superstitious, and this kind of thing is just like the ban on wearing silk and gold jewelry: even if there's an order from above, it won't be carried out below. Which village or town doesn't have its own big tree, strange rock, yellow skin, household god, or whatnot? It's best to just turn a blind eye - whether you manage it or not, it can't be managed."

  The county magistrate felt that he was quite qualified in terms of being familiar with the people's feelings.

  "What did Wu County Magistrate mention to the county lord about this licentious sacrifice?" Guo Shengke didn't have the heart to drag on any nonsense with Li County Magistrate, and directly returned to the main topic.

  "Oh," County Magistrate Li laughed again, "it's said that there's a Zhao Hongqing whose wife likes to go around worshipping this immortal and that god..."

  Kuo Sheng's head spun dizzily and a cold sweat trickled down his back as he belatedly realized that someone had seized the initiative from him...

  "Is it Zhao Hongqing from Xigou Town? The one who filed a lawsuit against the Five Gods Temple outside of town?" Guo Sheng interrupted Li County Magistrate, not in the mood to listen to idle chatter.

  "Huh? Which town......" County Magistrate Li was taken aback for a moment, "I didn't think much of it, the villagers are ignorant..."

  "How was County Magistrate Xun dealt with?" Guo Sheng cut in again, interrupting Li County Magistrate's words.

  "What's the benefit of being cautious? Mr. Guo, don't worry, I understand what you mean. Now that the Empress Dowager and the Prince are both living in Hangzhou City, everything must be handled with extreme care. However, one cannot be too careful either. This matter of chastity or not, let me tell you, when I was in Taiyuan Prefecture, I saw many such cases. It's an unavoidable thing, and don't worry, nothing out of the ordinary will happen. Sometimes, it might even be a good thing."

  Magistrate Li was interrupted several times by Guo Sheng, but he didn't get annoyed and instead smiled, gesturing to Guo Sheng to calm down with a downward motion of his hand, and continued to advise him with a good-natured smile.

  "Has County Magistrate been dealt with? Always a lawsuit." Guo Sheng knew he was getting impatient, and hastily bowed his head to smile and indicate that he understood, but immediately asked another question.

  "What can be done about it? This ignorant country bumpkin, who can't even manage his own wife's constant praying to this god and that spirit, has brought the matter to my attention. As the county magistrate, I have a duty to uphold justice, but I'm not in a position to intervene in such personal matters. Besides, let alone his wife, if my own wife wants to go pray or burn incense, all I can do is hold my nose and accompany her. Old Wu was right - once we're aware of the situation, that's the end of it; what else can be done? It's hard for an honest official to meddle in family affairs."

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