Chapter 1
At the mouth of the ancient well was a lantern, and next to the lantern was a bulging cloth bag, splashed with blood. On the bluestone strip of the well platform sat a man and a woman, staring blankly at a tall begonia on the edge of the well platform, without squeaking. It was early summer, and it was already very hot here, and in the middle of the night, there was no trace of wind. Through the faint fire of the lantern, you can faintly see a collapsed high wall at the end of the dense trees, and outside the wall stands a majestic Buddhist temple, with wings on both sides facing the stone floating trees written on the east and west, solemn and quiet.
The Hanzi shook the begonia vigorously with his hand, only to see that the fall was colorful, and the white petals flew and scattered them one by one. Some fell into the ancient well, and some stuck to the blood on the edge of the well platform, oozing a desolate crimson. - The scene is very beautiful.
The woman stood up, shook her long skirt, and finally spoke, "Throw that fearful thing into the well." I remembered that my heart was trembling, and my hair was straight. No one will come here, this well has been dry for more than ten years. ”
Hanzi sneered, bent down to move the lantern, and whispered, "Don't be busy!" I have my own hiding place, very coincidentally, and it is foolproof to take care of this matter. He was already drunk and was doing his mother's spring dream. ”
He stood up, unwrapped the cloth bag, took a serious look at it, and smiled again: "Tonight you have your own good place to go, and you want that stinky skin bag to do even more." Then he wrapped the cloth tightly and carried it to his hand.
The woman crouched on the well platform and looked down, and the darkness was not at the bottom. The circle of the well is overgrown with weeds, and the guard handle of the well is still hanging from a half-decaying rope.
The man did not throw the bag into the well, but carried it deep into the bush. It took half a day to turn back, his face tired.
"Let's go look for that bag at this moment..." The woman's face flashed with joy.
"Busy with what? I'm tired. ------------------------------------------------------ Wait for the storm to subside, and then try to get it before it's too late. ”
He stared blankly at the starless night sky. In the distance, the Temple of Buddha was separated by several horizontal clouds, almost towering over the heavenly dome.
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Chapter II
The sweltering, dry air enveloped Lanfang City. This remote town of Longyou was under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate of Anxi, and Di Renjie was appointed as the county commander here half a year ago.
Di Gong straightened out the rule of officials, persuaded the class of agriculture and animal husbandry, enwei and shi, and lenient and strict, and soon the Lanfang city management was well and well-ordered, and the hundreds of industries were prosperous, and the soldiers and people were obedient. The daily affairs in the office included Hong's joining the army, Dong Li, and although Hong joined the army and was skilled in official duties, Di Gong was instead idle, and his sleeves were idle. As the days went on, I only felt distracted, lazy, and uninteresting.
On this day, on the occasion of Madame Di's birthday, the government office went up and down to purchase arrangements and was busy with the birthday feast. The subordinate officials paid homage to each other, and Di Gong refused one by one, only to prepare a lively and lively family banquet, so that the ten or so people in the mansion and slaves could enjoy themselves, and it was also just to drive away the idle chatter of this long time. At Lady Di's request, only the female abbot of The Sekiyo-an, Baoyue, was allowed to accompany her. ——Although he is a foreigner, he is not a layman.
In the early morning, Di Gong walked out of the mansion alone, and when he returned, he had already gone up three days. He happily entered the inner courtyard, changed into a clean lake blue ge robe, opened the window, sat down in a chair, and admired a rosewood box in his hand. This is what he bought after traveling to several antique shops in the city, and in the evening he will solemnly offer it to his wife as a birthday gift.
Hong took a plate of wine and food and walked into the inner courtyard.
"The old man didn't eat breakfast, where did he go this morning?" At the moment, I think I am hungry in my stomach. ”
Di Gong smelled a smell of roasted pork, and he didn't feel hungry, so he remembered that he hadn't eaten today.
"Lanfang this place is cold in the winter, the bones are numb, the summer has just arrived, and the heat is breathless, all day long only feel trance, groggy, the old man can take care of his body." ——I saw that the old man came back from the archive yesterday, and the bookstore was still lit up in the middle of the night, and there were some difficult cases in the old account books. For a long time, they came to the place of Jing'an, the people were happy, and there were no criminal lawsuits to make trouble in the yamen. ”
Di Gong tore off a small pig leg and sent it to his mouth, only to find it fragrant and delicious.
"How did the dishes on this night's birthday table come to me at this moment?"
"Where is the old man, this is the leftovers in the kitchen." Ma Rong went to the meat market early in the morning to bring a whole pig, tied up under the kitchen and not yet slaughtered. ”
Di Gong ate and pushed the cup tendon. Hong joined the army and went forward to clean up, returning one by one to the wooden plate, and was about to turn around. Di Gong said, "Hong Liang, do you remember the unsolved case that occurred in this Lanfang, the theft of the fifty ingots of imperial gold from Zou Jingwen, the treasurer of the Jingshi Si Zhen Ya gate." ”
"The old man was originally interested in this case. The Ministry of Punishment has hung up a headless lawsuit and has not been resolved. Besides, at that time, the old man had not yet taken office, and the case was as early as last year..."
"Yes, to be precise, the case occurred last year, on the second day of the first month of August in the year of Xin Wei. ——Hong Liang, this time is calm and uneventful, idle for a long time, no case to reason, very bored. Yesterday, I occasionally rummaged through the old files in the Office of public offices, and I became interested in this huge case. We have time to spare that day, so let's discuss it. ”
Hong Put down the plate: "When we were still in Puyang, I read about this from the di scribe. At that time, the Capital Division was shaken, and two senior members of the Household Department were stripped of their official positions, but the fifty ingots of imperial gold were muddled into the sea, and there was no news. ”
Di Gong smiled, "Hong Liang, I didn't expect you to remember this clearly." Tell me how the fifty ingots of gold were stolen. ”
"Treasurer Gu Gu Jingwen was ordered by the Holy Master to go from Jingshi West to Shatuo To collect imperial horses, passing through Lanfang City and staying in guanyi. Overnight, fifty ingots of gold turned into a pile of lead bars. ”
While he was talking, Ma Rong walked into the Inner Courtyard and reported, "Lord, I bought a fat pig of three hundred catties, and the boiling water has been prepared, and I am waiting to be slaughtered." ”
Di Gong smiled: "This fat pig is consumed by you alone, I don't eat much with Hong Liang, the wives are afraid of greasy, the slaves don't dare to rob you, and the only guest is a vegetarian." At this moment, Hong Liang and I are talking about a huge gold robbery case that happened here last year, and you may as well sit and listen. ”
Ma Rong pulled over a chair and sat down. - He, like Hong Liang, heard it
When there is a case, it is excited, addicted to it, and cannot stop.
Hong Liang continued: "After the gold ingots were stolen, the officials sent by the Beijing Division to closely pursue them for more than three months, but nothing was found. Zou Jingwen derelicted his duties and was imprisoned in the Capital Division, and also implicated Hubu Shangshu and Anxi Dadu Protector, and the shock of the dynasty was known to the world. ”
Di Gong asked again, "In your opinion, who may be the thief who committed this crime?" ”
It is reported that at that time, Zou Jingwen carried three leather suitcases of general light and heavy weight, and only he knew which leather suitcase the gold was hidden in. In fact, none of the guards of the Inner Court who accompanied him to protect him nor the soldiers sent by the Lanfang Official Office knew the purpose of Zou Jingwen's visit, let alone that he was carrying huge gold. Later, Zou Jingwen said in prison that the corner of the leather suitcase containing gold had a crack in the corner, but it was the suitcase that had been changed, but the other two suitcases were not moved. - The thief who stole gold must be an internal thief. ”
Di Gong shook his head, "Saying that it is an internal thief does not match at all." - The gold thieves exchanged lead strips for gold, originally just to confuse Zou Jingwen and delay the hour, until Zou Jingwen arrived in the Shatuo Kingdom to find that the gold was stolen, it was too late, the criminals had already fled. If this thief escapes, will he not be defeated? When the sea fishing documents come down, they are determined to be Qin criminals, and they can't pass the border pass, where to hide? If you are a thief, even if you don't go out of the border pass, you can still swing in and out of Lanfang City, who knows? In addition, there is a general rule that the imperial envoys of the Kyoshi imperial envoys have a general practice of checking the objects they have every day before going to bed and after getting up. At that time, the gold was replaced by lead bars, and Zou Jingwen found out early the next morning. The thief knows this general rule, so why bother with this. ”
Hong Xianjun nodded, "The former county commander tortured the four soldiers guarded by the guards for seven days and seven nights, and there was no follow-up." And go and throw the city in the skin. bummer. beggar. The thief was arrested and caught together, and after a month of trouble, where did he see the shadow of gold? Or was he stripped of his official position. ”
Di Gong said, "The government should not only search in Lanfang. Although the gold was robbed in Lanfang Guanyi, the criminals were probably plotting long before Zou Jingwen arrived in Lanfang. According to Yun, Zou Jingwen stayed overnight in the town of Zhimu before he went to Lanfang. The criminals were afraid that zou Jingwen had found out that Zou Jingwen had taken the huge gold from Lanfang to Shatuo with the huge gold, and the huge gold was hidden in the leather box with a crack in the corner over there. ——The criminal was already waiting for Zou Jingwen in Lanfang. ”
Hong Joinjun was puzzled: "According to the old master's words, the gold thieves may have found out a message from anywhere in the Beijing Division, and even Zou Jingwen learned of the secret letter before he left the Beijing Division." ——Five thousand miles from Jingshi to Lanfang, if it were the last town. ”
Di Gong smiled, "I said yes and the last town leaked the news with its own evidence." Zou Jingwen confessed in prison that the suitcase containing the gold ingot was only cracked when it arrived at the end of the town, and he said that there was a gold ingot with sharp edges and angles, and the road was rubbed, and he fell off the horse again, causing the crack to break, and finally it was taken advantage of by the miscreants. At this moment, we sent someone to bring an official letter to the last town to inquire about Zou Jingwen's whereabouts that night. For example, did he meet guests when he stayed there overnight, did he send or receive letters, did he shop for money, did any women deliberately pester, and so on. ”
Ma Rong nodded frequently and said suddenly, "Old Master knows where Lieutenant Fang has gone." I came back from buying pigs, and I haven't seen anyone else yet. It is most appropriate to send him to the end of the town. ”
Di Gong said, "I just heard the news, and Lieutenant Fang arrested a pimp." Last night, two drunken men in a hotel in the city got into a deadly fight. The details of The Inner Mile are still unclear, and we will know when Lieutenant Fang returns. ”
Hong Shanjun suddenly saw that there was a rosewood box on Di Gong's book case, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "The wooden box on the old master's book case has never been seen before, and I think it is a rare antiquity again." ”
"Wooden box?" Di Gong came to his senses, reached for the bookcase and took the wooden box, and handed it to Hong Shanjun: "I bought it at the Bone Dong Shop on the back street of the Confucius Temple." I saw that the lid of the box was inlaid with a piece of white jade, carved into an ancient seal 'Shou' character, just to celebrate the birthday of the big birthday, this wood is also extremely valuable. ”
Hong Junjun handed it to Ma Rong with appreciation, and Ma Rong squeezed it in his hand and looked at it carefully, saying: "This box can be used to put the birthday post." Unfortunately, there are two knife marks on the lid of the box, which is very bad. This side is divided into a 'in' word, and the head is like a 'down' word. Lord, I'll get a carpenter to polish it. ”
"That's a good idea, and I've seen the scratch too." Di fair. "Can half a day's work be completed in the afternoon?"
"Why does it take half a day for these little jobs?" Ma Rong wanted to put the wooden box into the sleeve, and opened the lid curiously.
"There's a piece of paper stuck to the back of the lid."
"That's the price tag, you tear it up." Di fair.
Ma Rong slipped the fingernail of his little finger under the piece of paper and gently picked it up. Suddenly said: "Lord, this is not the price target sign, there are two lines of small characters on it." ”
Di Gong took the piece of paper and couldn't help but say, "I am hungry and thirsty, my life is at stake, and I hope to save it quickly." --------------------------------------- ”
"Lord, if a girl named Bai Yu is in danger and cries for help, she may have encountered an accident and been imprisoned by the gangsters." ——Xin Wei September, Oops, it's been almost a year, maybe this white jade girl has starved to death. ”
Hong Joinjun said, "Maybe it's just a boring joke, it's a joke, you don't have to take it seriously." ”
"What a joke!" Ma Rong was anxious. "If you look at this font, black, purple, dry and fishy, if it had been written in blood, glued to the box and thrown out of the window or chimney. Although it is true that he has died long ago, but this white jade has come from a strange way, how does the old man look? ”
Di Gong slowly twisted his long whiskers, and Mu Ran stared at the white jade engraved with the word 'Shou' on the lid of the box, and he was unconscious. I overheard someone outside the door reporting it.
"Come in. But Lieutenant Fang? ”
Lai Renguo was Lieutenant Fang, and when he saw that he was radiant, a proud smile flowed on his face.
"Lord Qi Yu, the pimp who caused the murder has been obtained, and his name is Ah Niu." The one who was killed was also a scoundrel named Shen San. ”
Di Gong nodded, "If you don't go to the hall early, I will summon you for trial." Will the witnesses all be together? ”
"The treasurer, the guys, the miscellaneous servants in the hotel, all arrived. The signature of the hotel is called 'Mahou Hotel'. - There are also diners who were in the store at that time, who can also testify. ”
Di Gong nodded satisfactorily, "At this moment, you should go down first and wait for the ascension of the Pai Pai." ”
After Lieutenant Fang left, Di Gong silently picked up the rosewood box, fiddled with the rosewood box in his hand, looked at it melancholy, and said, "Whether this white jade is true or not, it is no longer an auspicious birthday gift." There was still half an hour left in the morning, and I had to go to the bone shop to choose another birthday gift, and ask about the origin of this wooden box by the way. Hong Liang, you go to check last year's official file to see if anyone came to Yamen in September to report the case, dao is a woman named Bai Yu suddenly disappeared. ------------------------------------------------------ ”
Chapter III
At the end of the hand, the south gate is bustling with traffic inside and outside, bustling, and pedestrians are like crucian carp. Only the White Lotus Lake is sparkling, the green fog is faint, and it is still cold. Rows of weeping willows are like teams of maiko draped their long fluttering strips on the water, and a spire pagoda on the falling flower pier in the lake shows a slender figure in the jasper-like waves.
Di Gong and Ma Rong walked on the street in disguise, as if they were not recognized. Seeing the most lively city hall in the south gate, Ma Rong suddenly saw a woman with wide eyes staring at the two of them. The woman's body was long, Tingting was like a jade tree, dressed in the Robe of Daogu, and wrapped a large feather scarf around her head, covering half of her face, revealing only the pair of red silk eyes, as if a cloud of anger was released.
Ma Rong was stunned and felt nahan in his heart. On the way, a large car roared across, and the woman suddenly disappeared.
"Folding in on the right is the back street of the Confucius Temple, and the bone Dong Shop is in the center of the street." Di Gong said. He suddenly saw Ma Rongmuran standing on the side of the road, looking confused.
"Ma Rong, what did you see?"
"Lord, there is a woman who looks at us from afar, and a pair of eyes are trying to spew fire, and the end is suspicious."
Di Gong looked around and smiled, "Hugh is going to be suspicious of the gods and scare the ghosts!" I am afraid that you yourself have seen the woman, and your eyes are spewing fire. ”
Ma Rong was about to argue, and saw that he had reached the head of the bone Dong shop. Di Gong pushed the door in, and a clean-looking old treasurer behind the counter greeted him with a smile.
"But the guest officer wants to make one or two pieces of gold and silver jewelry and jade bracelets for his wife." Saying that, he had already held up a lustrous jasper plate with a gold and silver bracelet in it. Pearl necklaces and earrings sparkle and sparkle. ——Looking at the cabinets, there are some dull old porcelain bottles. Baoding incense burner; famous calligraphy paintings on the walls, and wooden carvings of earth puppets on the ground. ——It turned out that the shopkeeper still sold gold, silver and jade as a bulk.
Di Gong chose a pair of carnelian bracelets that were finely shaped into the shape of plum blossom branches. - A small piece of character tied to the bracelet is marked with the price: twenty-two pieces of silver.
Di Gong paid the silver and asked with a smile, "Does the treasurer remember me?" Early this morning I have come to your number and bought a rosewood box with a white jade 'Shou' character on the lid. ”
The old treasurer narrowed his eyes, recognized it carefully, and smiled: "Exactly, exactly, it is, mo fei that wooden box is not called mrs. intention, and wants to return." ”
"No, just ask about the origin of the wooden box, it is an extraordinary composition." When I collect it, I always want to note its origin, such as the hand of a famous craftsman of which dynasty. ”
The old treasurer blinked and scratched his head again: "Stop, stop, the guest officer and such Yaxing?" This wooden box came from the hands of a famous worker, and I don't know it under the commission, but I only know the value and accept it. When I went to check the account books, I clearly recorded the details of the incoming and outgoing accounts. He said and went to the silver cabinet drawer to pick out a thick book and read it page by page.
"Yes, yes. Officer, the rosewood box was purchased from Mr. Li Ke three months ago and acquired with a basket of worn-out antiques. The guest officer can go to Mr. Li Ke and ask for advice. ”
"Who is Li Ke?" What is the business of making a living? Di Gong asked urgently.
"Hey hey, that Li Ke is a Danqing hand who has a strange habit of stopping, and he draws a good hand of landscapes and rivers." Unfortunately, fate is bad and no one appreciates. To this day, he is still living in a small broken house, and the ghosts are ashamed to come to the door. ”
"Where does this Li Ke live now?" Di Gong asked.
"His little broken house is in the middle of the street under the Drum Tower, dirty, and the guest officer is interested in meeting him?" You may wish to tell the guest official that Li Ke's brother is called Li Mei, who is a grandfather with a lot of furniture, and dongcheng has a gold and silver jewelry number, all gold, silver, and pearl gems. Compared to him, we really called the little witch and saw the big witch, only a pile of old rags, worth a few dollars? When the guest officer saw him, he recognized a friend, which was interesting. ”
Di Gong was puzzled: "Li Mei is a grandfather, but his brother Li Ke is poor and poor. ”
The old treasurer sighed: "Filial piety, filial piety, Li Ke, he does not value a 'ti' word the most, he has never known how to respect his brother, he acts wildly, and his temperament is obedient." As the days go by, the brothers naturally see each other as strangers. ”
Di Gong nodded, carefully wrapped the jade bracelet into the sleeve, and thanked the treasurer for walking out of the bone Dong Shop.
"Ma Rong, this place is very close to the Drum Tower, why don't we take this opportunity to visit that Li Ke?"
Ma Rong agreed and followed Di Gong to the Drum Tower.
There was a horizontal street behind the drum tower, and at the intersection Di Gong asked for the door, and soon found the dilapidated hut where Li Ke lived.
Di Gong buckled on the wooden door for half a day, and finally opened it, and saw a tall man with sleepy eyes and loose clothes. A few handfuls of black dirty beards grew on his thin cheeks, and a worn-out robe was stained with color.
"Who are you?" How to rush into the cold house. ”
Li Ke looked at Di Gong and Ma Rong in horror, a pair of eyes flickering, full of suspicion and hostility.
"Is there Mr. Li Ke under your feet?" Di Gong Salute.
Li Kemuran nodded.
"The county ordered Old Master Di to visit in person, but he still didn't know the etiquette?" Ma Rong couldn't help but open his mouth.
Li Ke was shocked in his heart, glanced at Di Gong in fear, hurriedly bowed down to return the salute, and spat out a few words: "The little man is honored to be honored, and it is honored to be honored." ”
"I heard that Mr. Li is a master of Danqing and has great achievements. The county is the most fond of landscape painting, and occasionally passes by today, and by the way, I pay homage to the worship steps to comfort my desire. ”
Li Ke was embarrassed: "The maid hired by the villain has not been there for two days, and the house is a mess, and it is impossible for Old Master Di to stay." ”
"No problem, no problem." Di Gong smiled as he stepped into the inner room and sat down on a chair by the painting table, admiring the painting tools on the table.
The nibs in the pen holder have dried and cracked, there is no dripping water in the wash, and a thick layer of ash has accumulated on the stone. A large silk drape was spread out on the table, but there were pickles and dishes. Di Gong couldn't help but furrow his brows, shake his head and sigh.
The scrolls on the wall, "landscape" are not many, Qinguan Hanyue, Hanhai sand moraine, Changhe Camel Shadow, Jia Lan Wind Day, Da Van Gogh Rhyme God Show, very wind bone. The rest are All Buddhist paintings, mostly based on Buddhist stories, and some are mixed with pagan gods, grinning teeth, and grotesque forms. ----------------- The gods are like the Holy See, with many names, supplemented by colorful and golden makeup, which disturbs people's eyes. While watching, Di Gong couldn't help but sigh frequently, and his heart was irritated.
"Mr. Li is a famous painter of landscapes, how to write about these many heretical and evil gods, staining people's eyes."
Li Ke blinked his eyes and replied in a low voice, "Reply to the old master, the people here will see the landscape when they go out, and the people who live with each other all their lives are also the landscape." What is the solution to this poor mountain and evil water? You paint it again in a realistic form, for the printing clay, who appreciates? But those Buddhist paintings sold well. ”
Di Gong nodded, "This county will order a large landscape of the Middle Hall from the foot, and when the painting is good, it will give out ten pieces of silver. I will recommend you to the famous eunuchs and the mo people and let them also buy your landscape. ----------------- ”
Li Ke couldn't help but kneel down and prostrate his head in thanks.
"Mr. Li, do you know this wooden box?" Di Gong took out the rosewood box from his sleeve and placed it on the table, while looking closely at Li Ke's face.
Li Ke was very surprised, and doubted in his heart: "Lord, this wooden box villain has never seen... How did the old man think of asking the villain to examine this wooden box. ”
Di Gong wiped the word 'Shou' of the white jade with his hand, but did not speak.
Li Ke said calmly, "This kind of wooden box bone May be available in the Dong Shop." Rambling said that the villain has no money, even if he has money, he will not buy it. ”
Di Gong put the wooden box into the sleeve, smiled slightly, and seemed to ask casually: "Brother Ling Li Meike once bought your calligraphy and paintings." ”
Li Keyin's face darkened: "My brother is an agent, sitting on the Jia business, only know how to make money, and this Mo Danqing has no connection at all." And he always despises the little people, so he has not passed for a long time. ”
Di Zheng said, "Guess this county, the foot is still empty, and he lives here alone." Oh, Ashita said he hired a domestic worker to help him make a living. ”
Li Ke's face flashed a hint of gloom: "Lord, the villain has long sworn that he will never marry for life, only with pen, ink and paper as a companion." The villain's maid Yang Mude only served the shop paper and ink. The framed degree hid all kinds of chores, but unfortunately the old man did not see him today. He has clever hands and feet, and there are still many ink and ink in his belly. Oops, shame, shame, the tea has not yet been with the old man for a mile. He said and got up to look for the teapot.
Di Gong said, "This county has resigned, and at this moment it is waiting for me to go to the council early." Please, the middle hall landscape, don't forget it. He stood up and exited the inner room.
Li Ke kept delivering to the door.
Turning out of the street, Ma Rong scolded: "Li Ke lied in the face of this old master." The old treasurer's account book was clearly noted, and Li Ke was unwilling to accept it, and he was clever and foolish. It seems that this wooden box is strange, and it is necessary to ask Li Ke about the broken mile. ”
Di Gong nodded, "At this moment, I will go back to the county first, and you can ask About Li Ke's behavior in the neighborhood around here." By the way, I also asked about the whereabouts of that Yang Maode, and Li Ke did not say that he had not returned for two days. ”
Ma Rong agreed, and he made a draft in his heart.
After Di Gong left, Ma Rong turned around on all sides and saw a tailor's stall at the head of the street corner, and a fat woman fifty meters away under the pergola was cutting a plain silk. Ma Rong smiled and groaned and leaned forward: "The old man has a good business, is diligent and diligent, and occupies a good land." ”
The fat tailor looked up and saw Ma Rong dressed up, very powerful, and did not dare to be sloppy, so he responded: "The official of the guest is awarded, but this business is light, where is the good land?" ”
"There are bare sticks without wives living in the opposite door over there, and this one who makes clothes and tailors hats is not begging you."
The fat tailor snorted in his nostrils: "The guest officer is not referring to the poor acid of the painting, a copper coin to buy food, and a few photos in the square hole." If his ass is exposed outside, he won't buy a pair of pants to wear, how can he earn his money? His servant is even more of a scoundrel, a bunch of fox friends and dog friends, happy to touch and gamble, what kind of not to come? Half of the neighborhood is hiding from them. ”
"This Li Ke's poverty is very much, that Yang Maode did to stop evil, how to hook up and make a place, and became the master and servant." Ma Rong wondered.
The seamstress smiled slyly: "God knows how the two of them hooked up together." Hmm, this half of the neighborhood has seen the wooden house several times, and there are women coming in and out in the middle of the night, which is like a pig and a dog, which really tarnishes the reputation of this horizontal street. On that day I was going to move elsewhere, and the guest officer said that it was a good land. ”
Ma Rong listened carefully, thanked him, sang a fat voice, and swayed away from himself.
Chapter IV
Ma Rong rushed back to the county court, and Di Gong's hat and soap boots were neatly arranged and was about to ascend to the church. Hong Joinjun pulled a collar of water green soft satin official robes on Di Gong's body and shook it vigorously, gently smoothing the folds. Ma Rong busily recounted how to have a conversation with the fat tailor.
Di Gong said, "Hong Liang, you will also listen to the record of the missing official in the county bureau file." ”
Hong Joinjun said: "According to the records of the file, two people disappeared in September last year. On the fourth day of September, a horse dealer came to report that his daughter was missing. But in December his daughter came home with a man in her arms and a baby in her arms. On the ninth day of september, another goldsmith, Mi Dalang, left home on the sixth day of the first month and did not return for three days. Only there is no record of Bai Yu's disappearance. ”
Di Gong asked, "After the horse dealer's daughter returned home, there was no more turmoil, right?" ”
"The horse dealer personally came to Yamen with his grandson in his arms, and the family was harmonious and harmonious, and it was very harmonious."
"Did Mi Da Lang come home later?"
"Nothing more." Hong joined the army and answered.
A copper gong sounded, the three drums were completed, and Di Gong turned out of the main hall. The eight servants stood on both sides of the table, looking at the eagle with the same eyes.
There were only a dozen idle people waiting to hear the trial and watch the liveliness.
Di Gong looked around the hall and issued an order to sign, summoning the criminal Ah Niu.
In an instant, Ah Niu arrived and knelt under the lobby. Di Gong ordered Lieutenant Fang to first repeat Ah Niu's criminal complaint.
Lieutenant Fang stepped forward and said, "Last night, the criminal Ah Niu and PoPi Shen San ate wine and gambled money together at the Mahou Hotel in Dongcheng. Shen San accused Ah Niu of rolling the dice and causing a quarrel, followed by a fight. After being persuaded by everyone, he left the store in sorrow and threatened to go to the Purple Light Temple outside the city to decide between male and female. At sunset, the guards at the east gate saw the two of them quarreling out of the city and went all the way to the Purple Light Temple.
"Early this morning, Meng Orion came to Yamen to report the case, and when he stopped at the Purple Light Temple, he found a dead body lying in front of the table in the main hall. When he heard the news, he immediately led the army to the Purple Light Temple. Seeing that the brain shell of the deceased had been chopped off and rolled in a pool of blood next to the corpse, he looked down and saw that the result of the murder was Shen San, and the murder weapon was the sacred axe of the temple sacrifice weapon. He immediately searched the temple and saw Ah Niu sleeping soundly under a white fruit tree in the flower bed in front of the temple. His body was covered in blood and he was captured on the spot. At this moment, the treasurer of the Mahou Hotel and several drinkers had already arrived in front of the hall to testify. ”
Di Gong listened to Lieutenant Fang's narration, nodded, and said, "Let Hondo see the murder weapon." ”
Ma Rong opened the oil-paper package handed by Lieutenant Fang, and saw that it was a large axe with a sharp handle, and the back of the axe was also engraved with the head of a god, and the axe blade was shining coldly, stained with several stars of dry blood.
Captain Fang said, "Lord, when the Purple Light Temple was sealed, it was not carefully inspected, and there are still two such divine axes and two Fang Heavenly Divine Halberds hidden in the niches of the East Hall." ——This axe was originally a sharp weapon for slaying the ghosts of the demon town, and no one has ever activated it. Even the rogues who inhabit this temple all year round do not dare to steal, for fear of disaster. Who knew that this Ah Niu had the audacity to kill people, and even chopped off Shen San's head. ”
Ma Rong couldn't help but sigh, "It is rare for a rogue to fight and cause such a crank god axe to be moved." ”
Di Gong caressed his beard and asked, "Does this Shen Sanlan Fang have a small family?" ”
Lieutenant Fang replied, "Shen San is alone, has no wife or child, and lives in the abandoned Purple Light Temple." I heard that there was one of his brothers in the last town, named Shen Wu, who was also a licensed chicken and dog thief, and had been detained by Junzhen. ”
Di Gong turned back to Ah Niu and asked, "Last night's incident, you came to this hall in detail, if there is any concealment, carefully skin and flesh." ”
Ah Niu raised his head and looked at Di Gong in confusion: "Qingtian Grand Master, the villain has been wronged!" The villain and Shen San can be regarded as the best friends, how can they kill him on a normal day. ”
"When the two of you were fighting at the Mahou Hotel, you threatened to go to a duel at the Purple Light Temple, is that true?"
"This is not denied by the villain! Although the villain and Shen San are close friends, quarrels and fights are commonplace. Sometimes for the sake of grinding the hour, sometimes for the sake of the face. Yesterday in the hotel when rolling dice Shen San pointed at me to get hands and feet, when the villain gambled, the best at making hands and feet, Shen San often to catch the mechanism as a play, in fact, I two joked, figure a funny, help the head. How could a villain have a bad idea and ruin his life? The little man chicken did not dare to kill. ”
Di Gong patted the shocked Tang Mu: "Ah Niu, you are stubborn, sharp teeth, prevaricating this county, when did you make up such a clever word." ”
"The villain's sentence is true, he does not dare to deceive his heart, and he visits with the big master." Ah Niu gritted his teeth.
"Hondo asks you again, what happened to the two of you when you left the hotel?" You have to recruit from the real thing! ”
Ah Niu sweated profusely and replied in a low voice, "After leaving the hotel, the two of us will go out of the East Gate and return to the Purple Light Temple." ”
Di Gong saw that he was silent, and slapped the shocked hall again: "What about the Purple Light Temple?" ”
Ah Niu shivered, "When Shen San climbed up to the offering table at the Purple Light Temple, he slept head-to-head, and the little man also went to the flower bed to rely on a tree to nap." After a tired day, he poured more yellow soup, and the little man soon fell asleep. Suddenly woken up by this grandfather in the dream, Dao Xiaoren committed the crime of murder, and without saying a word, he detained the villain to yamen. ”
Di Gong asked again, "Is there anyone else in the temple who spends the night?" ”
"Last night, there was no one else outside the villain and Shen San."
Di Gong ordered Ah Niu to kneel to the side and turn to Shu Zuo: "Hand over Shen San's corpse, what do you have to say about Shen San's corpse?" ”
Xu Zuo respectfully presented the autopsy and said, "Shen San's body has no marks of fighting and injuries, Shen San is a scoundrel who is good at fighting, how to clean up and wait for death?" Besides, why did the murderer chop off his head? ------------------------------------------------------ ”
Di Gong was slightly shocked, nodded frequently, and then said, "Wait until the main hall has personally examined the body before making a judgment." Come, put Ah Niu in a big prison. Retire! ”
Chapter V
Di Gong, Hong Liang, and Ma Rong came to the back hall, where Shen San's body was temporarily buried.
Hong Liang took out the pipe key and opened the door, and a musty cold air rushed in. There was only one long table in the hall, which counted as a corpse bed. The body was covered with a large reed mat, and under the legs of the table was a bamboo basket covered with linoleum.
Di Gong said, "I'll look at that human head first." ”
Ma Rong bent down and lifted the bamboo basket to the long table and gently lifted the linoleum.
The head is facing down. Ma Rong held his breath and carried a piece of blood-stained ear with a hard stroke, turning his facial features upwards.
Di Gong silently examined the severed head. Shen San's dark face was swollen and swollen, and there was a scar on his left cheek and right forehead. The two black beads shattered, covered with blood, and spilled a streak of blood on the outside of the eye socket. The thick lip kiss was crooked and deformed, and a mouth of jagged yellow teeth was exposed, as if smiling. The skin and flesh of the neck were torn and eroded, and the dried whiskers were dripping with bean-sized blood droplets.
Di Gong frowned, "This Shen San knew at a glance that it was not a good kind, and the evil people were grinding against each other, which led to today." Ma Rong, remove the piece again. ”
Ma Rong placed the bamboo basket on the leg of the table and re-covered it with linoleum. He gently removed the reed mat covering the corpse.
The body was naked. -----------------
Ma Rong said, "A good figure!" On the strength of the victory over Ah Niu is more than enough. Lord, you see that there is a bruise on the root of his neck, needless to say, it must be strangled by rope. - Ah Niu strangled him first, and then cut off his head with a god axe. ”
Di Gong nodded, while pressing his palm flat on the chest of the corpse, and then bent the legs of the corpse and elbows.
"Lieutenant Fang judged well, but he was killed at midnight." Di Gong said to himself, while gently lowering his arm, which was not yet stiff, and breaking the dead man's clenched right fist with his hand. ——The palm is smooth and soft, and I look at ten fingers carefully. Di Gong couldn't help but frown, and a trace of coldness passed through his heart. ------------------------------------------
"Hong Liang, the blood-stained baggage in the corner of the wall thinks it is the bloody clothes of the deceased, so bring it up and spread it out with me."
Di Gong pulled out a pair of trousers from the baggage to compare the corpse's legs, and couldn't help but lose his voice: "This head and the corpse are not one person!" ”
Hong Liang and Ma Rong were shocked and looked at Di Gong's indignant look, dumbfounded.
Di Gong glanced at Hong Liang and Ma Rong and explained, "There was not only one Shen San who was killed, but two people. Here was Shen San's head and the other man's body. The murderer deliberately swapped the heads of the two dead people, hiding Shen San's body and another human head! ”
Hong's army was shocked and asked busily, "Where did the old man start with this dissection?" ”
Di Gong said, "Although that head is Shen San's, Lieutenant Fang can recognize it, and he doesn't have any doubts." However, the corpse was covered with fine skin and white flesh, and its body was evenly balanced, and there was no navel in the palms of its hands and feet. This corpse was obviously a little taller than Shen San's, and the blood coat was not originally worn on the corpse. The murderer had the means to conceal our mischief. It seems that the case is far from being caused by ordinary scoundrels and scoundrels. ”
Hong Liang woke up like a big dream: "Lord, what should we do?" ”
"We must not be alarmed, nor do we know, but only believe that Shen Sanyi was killed." Seal the body and secretly investigate it. ”
"So, how do you find Shen San's body and another human head?" Ma Rong was confused.
Di Gong smiled lightly, "This is exactly what I have to think about." However, it is more important to find out the motive of the murderer and why he had to exchange the heads of the two dead bodies. - We still have to ask Ah Niu at this moment. ”
The prison is separated from the back hall by only one wall, which is the way. Ah Niu had put on the iron chains and sat in prison sighing.
The jailer opened the cell door, Di Gong went inside the cell, and Hong Liang and Ma Rong waited outside the cell door.
"Lord, the villain is really wronged. The villain and Shen San have been messing around for many years, although they often quarrel, but their hearts and tempers are still similar, where will they kill him? The little man with the big axe had never seen it either. ”
Di Gong picked up a stone bench and sat down, and Yan Yuesi asked, "It is precisely because I feel that the case is strange here in this hall, and I still have a few words to ask you." ——If it wasn't you who killed Shen San, then who would it be? Besides, where did the blood on your clothes come from? ”
Ah Niu looked at the ragged clothes on his body, and sure enough, there were several blood stains.
"The old man is high up, and the little man really doesn't know how there will be this blood on his body, and he remembers that he hasn't seen it when he was in the hotel." Naturally, some people hate him, but hating him will not be able to chop off his head with an axe. Who would do such a vicious hand? ”
Ah Niu scratched his scalp, and the black beads turned around, and suddenly he was stunned and did not move.
"Lord, could it be... Could it be that Shen San had encountered him..." An unusually terrifying light appeared between Ah Niu's eyes.
"Shen San, who did he meet?" Di Gong asked urgently.
"Lord, there is a ghost in that Purple Light Temple, and it haunts you from time to time." Whenever there is a bright moon on the third and fifth nights, she will inevitably come out to wander, wearing a shawl and wearing a long snow-white dress. I heard that Ping Xi was hiding in the grave at the root of the wall at the western end of the Zen room, where it was originally a garden, because it was occupied by this ghost, no one dared to take a step closer, and everyone said that the ghost would cut off the head and suck up the blood of the people. ——The villain in the lobby of the appropriate talent was confused for a while and forgot about it. At this moment, I remembered that when the old master came to ask, I thought it must be the ghost of the ghost, otherwise how could I really cut off Shen San's head. ”
Di Gong stood up indignantly: "Hugh has to talk nonsense and confuse the official." I ask you again, which one has Shen San quarreled with recently? It's not that I drank alcohol and fooled around, but I really had some vendetta, such as a rich woman..."
The old man reminded the villain that Shen San was having a fight with his brother Shen Wuda last month. That Shen Wu was really a deceitful and deceitful pervert, and he actually snatched Shen San's good powder head with a few stinky money. Shen San cursed to kill his brother, and Shen Wu was so frightened that he took the powder head and hid in the town of Jimu, never daring to show his face again. Shen San also had to admit that he was obscure, complaining that the mother-in-law was weak, where did he really have the ability to rush and hunt down and kill in the last town. ”
Di Gong asked again, "Among Shen San's acquaintances, there is a man with a rich body and fine skin and white flesh." ”
Ah Niu frowned, thought for half a moment, and then replied: "Once the little man did see him whispering with a man with a strong and powerful man, the man was white-skinned and tender- and did not have a beard, like an agent, wearing a collared blue robe, wearing a black Ben hat, and looking very good." ”
"If you see this person, do you still recognize him?"
"Lord, this is hard to say. I remember that they were standing behind the corner of the Purple Light Temple and talking, and the little man only glanced at it when he walked by. Later, the villain asked Shen San, and Shen Sanling took care of many idle things. ”
Di Gong said, "Ah Niu, the more you remember, the sooner you will be released." Hurry up and search the stomach today, and then seriously return to life in the lobby tomorrow. ”
Ah Niu prostrated his head like pounding garlic: "The little man knows, he does not dare to hide half a point, only asks the old man to be super open-minded and spare his life." ”
Di Gong walked out of the cell door and said to Hong Liang and Ma Rong, "Ah Niu Guo was used as a trap by someone to top the cylinder, and this case must be tried in detail tomorrow." ”
The three of them crossed the wall, and Di Gong smiled, "Today is a festive day, the birthday feast of the mansion has begun, I have to rush to accompany the relatives to have a few drinks." In the afternoon, Hong Liang and I went to the Ziguang Temple to investigate the scene, and Ma Rong went to all parts of the city to confess with various displaced people, and carefully inquired about the mechanism of the crank-handled god axe. When there are temple blessings, wild monks, and witches, they must be entangled, and they must ask some internal affairs.
Chapter VI
Before the luncheon had been withdrawn, Di Gong hurried to the ya hall, where Hong and Lieutenant Fang were already waiting. ——Di Gong and Hong joined the army on the official palanquin, and the eight servants lifted up like flying out of the county gate. Straight to the east gate.
In the car, Hong Asked, "Lord, I still don't understand why this murderer has changed the body of a dead body." ”
Di Gong smiled bitterly, "I can't guess this for a while, but there are two things that can be inferred." First, the murderer wanted to cover up his guilt of killing another person, and second, he did not want to expose Shen San's body. At this moment, our top priority is to find Shen San's body and the other human head as soon as possible, and with these two things, it is not difficult to determine the purpose of the murderer's crime and the intention of changing his head. I guessed that these two things must be hidden in the hidden place inside and outside the Purple Light Temple. ”
The official car left the east gate and soon reached the foot of the Purple Light Temple. At the foot of the mountain there are about a dozen families and a small hotel. The beggars and displaced people in the hotel looked curiously at the official car, and Orr gathered a group of idlers watching the liveliness.
"Hong Liang, the messenger only said that he was going to the temple to find a cage, and Hugh let the idlers find out the inside story."
Di Gong and Hong Liang got out of the car and climbed the mountain according to the instructions of Lieutenant Fang. Four servants followed, and the other four stood guard at the mountain roots, laying out the forbidden rings.
Entering a tall stone archway, it is a gentle mountain path. The ancient cypress pen stands in the middle of the road, and the thick shade hangs down, blocking the daylight of the pavilion at noon. All the way to the mountain birds hissed, cool breeze, sequential viewing, and did not feel tired, there was a sense of dazzling on the mountain shade road.
Just as I was wandering, I didn't realize that I had reached the top of the mountain. A red wall is between the dew trees, and the four trees outside the mountain gate are indistinguishable. An ancient plaque under the eaves of The Heavy Rest Mountain reads "Purple Light Zen Temple" in four large golden characters. The ancient plaque flew in front of and behind the birds, chirping and chirping.
Di Gong looked up for half a day, admiring in his heart, a quiet place. Thinking that the terrible murder was taking place in this monastery, I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows.
Lieutenant Fang said, "There is a sheep intestine trail on the right side of this mountain gate, which leads to Qingfeng Temple." The Purple Light Temple has been abandoned for many years, and there are still incense and fire Buddhist things in the Qingfeng Temple. The abbot's master, named Baoyue. ”
Di Gong nodded, this treasure moon is the only foreign guest that Lady Di has invited tonight.
"Let's go to the main hall to see the murder scene first." Di fair.
Lieutenant Fang led the way, and Di Gong and his party entered the mountain gate. When you are greeted, you will see a pair of seven-level stone floating tutu crawling with wisteria, ancient and colorful, and saga cutting clouds. One of the cobblestone paths is two rows of neatly arranged monuments. The left and right Zen rooms are dilapidated, and there is a partial hall in the middle of the Zen room, and the outside of the partial hall is originally a flower furrow, and the fence is jagged. The grass inside the fence is miserable, and the wild is lonely.
"When Ah Niu was arrested, he was sitting under the white fruit tree on the side of the flower bed." Lieutenant Fang pointed out.
Di Gong listened, did not say a word, and went straight into the Great Hall.
The hall of the Great Hero is empty and lonely, and the wind is forced. The three great Buddhas in the middle of the center are black, and the spiritual veils are dirty and torn. The offering table in front of the Buddha's seat is long, and the candlesticks on the table are gone, but they are covered with broken grass mats. It was Shen San's bedside for many years, and when he died, he was leaning on one of the legs of the table.
There is nothing in the temple except the twelve pillars of Nanmu. The two walls of heavenly arhats, crooked from side to side, full of spider webs, everywhere are bat droppings, tanuki traces, smelly and pungent. Behind the door of the temple were several piles of charcoal embers.
Hong Junjun knelt down and carefully examined one of the legs of the table, which was indeed spattered with dried blood.
"Lord, the footprints left and right before and after this desk are disordered, and it seems to have been covered up several times and then raised." Looking closely at this footprint, it was definitely not Shen Sanyi's. ”
Di Gong also bent down to examine it carefully, and then wiped a few wipes on the dust with his palm. Then Lieutenant Fang led four servants to start searching the entire temple, only to find the thieves' cages. Everything that is suspicious needs to be checked, and if there are loose marks on the wall and floor tiles, it is necessary to pry up and carefully inspect, and cannot be easily let go. If something suspicious is found, there will be an additional reward.
Lieutenant Colonel Fang ordered Ya Gong to first carry the two Fang Heavenly Halberds and a Divine Axe in the niches of the East Side Hall for Di Gong to examine, and then scattered to search for the cage.
Not a moment later, Fang Tianji and the crank god axe were lifted. Di Gong took a closer look, and it was actually Ming Huang who was forced to force people with a cold blade, so he ordered him to carry it to the Ya Bureau when he went down the mountain.
Di Gong and Hong joined the army and went to the rear hall with Lieutenant Fang first. The four servants went straight to the side hall of the West Chamber.
The apse is empty and there is not a single statue of Buddha. The frescoes of Shakyamuni Shakyamuni on the three walls are still fresh in color and vivid in image. ——Di Gong found that after the death of the lotus floor tiles excavated a lot, the new similar someone has carefully searched here.
In the middle of the night, the four servants reported one after another, and some people on both sides of the Zen room had rummaged and searched. The lotus floor tiles of the West Side Hall were almost all excavated and neatly stacked against the wall. Although the lotus floor tiles of the east side hall have not been excavated, they are obviously carefully placed after being excavated. The stone slabs on the walls of each Zen room have been excavated. One by one, the servants tossed and turned, and found nothing. They said that the cage of stolen goods was probably stolen by the first attacker.
Di Gong twisted his whiskers and groaned, and without saying a word, he pulled Hong's army to go to the two-compartment Zen Room to check them one by one. He also ordered the servants to pry up the floor tiles of the Daxiong Hall and the apse hall for a closer examination, and sure enough, someone also churned it over. So he ordered the servants to search all over the temple again, the flower road, the trees and turf, and checked it again and again.
After The servant left, Di Gong said, "Some people have carefully searched this monastery, although it is not to find the hidden bodies and heads, nor yesterday or the day before yesterday, but there is a period of time." I can conclude that the person who came was looking for something small, less than a foot in circumference, which should be a treasure of gold and silver. ”
Hong Joinjun exclaimed, "How can I see it?" ”
"After digging up the floor tiles, the people only looked at five or six inches of earth and stone, and the broken walls were only three or four inches thick." HongLiang, I can also conclude that there is more than one person who is looking for the treasure, at least two. A thick branch and a large leaf, randomly digging up the floor tiles and piled them on the half. The other is deeply hidden, and after rummaging, the floor tiles are placed one by one so that no traces are revealed. As a result, some of the Zen rooms are intact, while others are in ruins. ”
Hong Xianjun frequently nodded, and then said, "But will the person who is looking for things be related to Shen San?" Besides, was Shen San one of those two seekers? ”
Di Gong clapped his hands and said, "That's right." It is feared that Shen San and another victim had an affair with the murderer in the search for things, and finally they were killed. It seems that the corpse and the human head were not in the temple, and I did not see a single drop of blood before and after me. Of course, it is not easy to find it after going to the flower garden and the front pavilion of the eaves, this stick and green tree is continuous, where to dig? ”
While he was talking, Lieutenant Fang turned back empty-handed with four exhausted servants, looking dejected.
Di Gong ordered Ya Gong to go to the four wall circles and the garden trees to look for details, and he and Hong Joinjun first went to Qingfeng Nunnery together.
Di Gong and Hong Liang walked out of the mountain gate of the Purple Light Temple and folded to the right into a stone path of sheep intestines. ——Qingfeng'an is three miles away from the Purple Light Temple, and it is not far to go.
Along the way, Hong joined the army and said, "I think that the murderer must have the same party, kill Shen San and two people in succession, cut off his head, change his head, hide Shen San's body and another head, and then he did not forget to splash blood on the sleeping Ah Niu." The murderers, like the treasure hunters who came to this temple, had at least two of them, and for what reason were they? ”
Di Gong said, "When the world is in turmoil, monks in monasteries often hide Buddha statues, magic tools, gold and silver treasures to prevent theft. Therefore, when the general temple is built, it is often secretly opened with a secret room, which is very clever, and it is said that it is an outsider, even the haters in the temple may not know the inside story, and the only abbot of the second abbot is in charge of the secret. If this Purple Light Temple has also buried a number of treasures in the past, then the love of treasure hunters and murderers can be followed by the end. However, I have never heard that the Purple Light Temple has been buried and abandoned for many years, nor have I ever heard that someone has come here to search for treasures. ”
"Lord, if someone finds a message in some kind of book, booklet, or letter, he will mix up three or four rogues to try to get lucky. Shen San and the same deceased were in the toilet. When the treasure first appears, the infighting is red, the blood axe is severed, and it is logical that the treasure hunters and murderers are just strung together on this line. ”
Di Gong's belly was convinced: "Hong Liang, after you return to the palace today, you will carefully examine the historical records of this Purple Light Temple to see if there is really a record of hidden treasures." ”
The two sides discussed and explored, very interesting, and did not feel that they had arrived at the gate of The Breeze Temple.
Qingfeng Nunnery is located in the green forest on the mountainside, far away from the world, and it is small and quiet. A delicate pink wall is wrapped in the shape of banana leaves, the outside of the wall is repaired, and the pomegranates on the wall are illuminated, as if entering the painting.
Hong's army gently tapped the brass ring on the dark gate with his hand. In a moment, someone activated the latch, and the door opened a line, revealing a handsome apricot face.
"I wonder what the two benefactors do?" Questioning is lukewarm or lukewarm.
"This is my name post, and the troublesome girl handed it to the abbot's Master Baoyue." Di Gong handed over the name of the fiery red seal.
Who knew that the girl did not look at the famous post, lightly opened the cherry lips and said, "Master is going to go into the city at night to order the old master's family to celebrate his birthday, and at this moment he is taking a nap." --------------------------------------- "Say it and close the door."
Di Gong sighed, "Stop, since Master is resting, we are not in a position to disturb." I asked the girl only one word, and then left. ”
"I wonder what question the benefactor has asked?" The girl was polite and polite.
"Last night there were rogues up and down this mountain, but in the middle of the night, did Bao'an hear any unusual noises?"
"Against the giver, we fell asleep as soon as the sun fell, and we did not hear any sound." Say lower your eyelids and don't say a word. With one hand, he always fixed the door latch and refused to let people into the nunnery.
Hong was about to open his mouth to appear, and when he saw Di's public intentions, he did not make a sound.
Di Gong thought that the ancients also had a night to stop the drunken lieutenant's doorman, and the girl in front of her was in the middle of her speech, not profane or inferior, but had a scheming, and did not feel the praise in her heart. It is not convenient to force her, not to mention that Baoyue is about to enter the house at night to wish her wife a happy birthday; some words, it is better to ask Baoyue in person at night, so I pray and resign, saying that I am disturbed. Seeing this Qingfeng Nunnery pattern, Di Gongshi believed in the good fortune of this treasure moon, and was also relieved that his wife knew a high priest outside the dust.
When Di Gong and the two returned to the Purple Light Temple, Lieutenant Fang and his four servants still hadn't found any cages.
Di Gong said, "The hour is not early, let's go back to Ya." Lieutenant Fang sealed all the portals of the temple's inner temple pavilion, leaving two servants to wait here, and then sent someone to change the guard after night. ”
Chapter VII
There are two sides to the conversation. Moreover, Ma Rong disguised himself as a beggar from a foreign land and chose the poor neighbors to walk around. Whenever I see a tea shop, a hotel, or a gambling game, I pay attention to mixing up and secretly exploring the unreal.
In the northwest corner of the city, there is a district square called Beiliao, because of the five hu miscellaneous places, merchants gathered, is the place where the men of the various trunks and waterlogging go to roam and inhabit, and Neiri Yudona and other unproductive livelihoods. Recently, due to the inconvenience of entering and exiting the North Gate, it was necessary to go around the Xuanwu Emperor Temple, and some people secretly opened an opening in the city root, and it was convenient to enter and exit the county town, so the nine-stream figures of the Three Sects of Er were all gathered in this North Liao camp to make a living.
Ma Rong also shook his way to Beiliao. The narrow checkerboard-like streets are smelly and dirty, full of sewage, pedestrians and vendors are endless, and the streets are full of shops, and business is booming. Many small stalls in the streets and alleys are often red with stove fire and oily incense on the other, which is very tempting.
Ma Rong walked for half a day, did not feel hungry in his stomach, and was facing a small porridge shop, just about to enter the store and sit down, and saw that the female treasurer who added fire to the stove was very kind, and there were two children wrapped around under the green skirt.
"Oh, it turned out to be Chief Horse!" Why is it so poor? Mo was not thrown out by the old man in the court. ”
The woman recognized Ma Rong first.
Ma Rong looked closely, and it was an old acquaintance. The woman, whose name was Turbe, was a Hu man who had been smuggled here by a horse dealer, leaving her two children to fill the courtyard with powder. After meeting Ma Rong and loving her very much, Ma Rong paid some money to redeem her, and although the bustard felt that the money was small, she did not dare to stop it. Ma Rong sent a lot of coils to make a living for herself. Turbe opened a small porridge shop with that money, married a peddler, and brought back his children, and his life was well-off, but he could not forget Ma Rong's kindness. Ma Rong listened to Di Gong's advice and never interacted with him from then on, so he neglected for a long time.
At this time, Ma Rong listened to Turbe's words and whispered, "Where did this go; there is a business here today, and I have to dress like this." ”
Turbe will understand, busy bringing Ma Rong into the inner chamber, and Na Tou worships. Old feelings in the belly. I couldn't help but sob.
Ma Rong smiled and said, "Turbe, I saw you today, and I was asking about something." ”
Turbe collected tears and said, "You said slowly, I went to the stove to scoop a bowl of chicken juice porridge to eat with you first, and when I saw you enter the store, I wanted to eat porridge." I would have recognized you earlier, or I would have done your business. ”
Ma Rong cried out in unison, and there was a faint thunderclap in his abdomen.
In a moment, Turbe brought a large bowl of chicken juice porridge, on which two chicken legs were piled up, and half of the chicken gizzard was buried in the porridge.
Ma Rong was overjoyed, took the bowl, and like a swift wind sweeping away the clouds, he instantly put it all into his stomach. Nai Xie said, "Delicious, delicious."
Turbe asked, "I wonder what you're going to ask?" ”
"There was a pimp in the city named Shen San, who fought with people last night, and his head was chopped off, using the crank god axe hidden in the Purple Light Temple. --Have you heard any rumors related to this Shen San? ”
Turbe shook his head and asked, "Where was the head chopped off?" ”
"It was in the Purple Light Temple. The dead body lay at the offering table in the main hall of the Purple Light Temple, and the brain shell and body were separated. ”
Turbe stuck out his tongue, expressed fear, and shook his head again: "The Nu family has never heard of that Shen San, but when it comes to the Purple Light Temple, I think of a person." Three horizontal streets away from here, there lives a witch, named Tara, who can understand the cause and effect of the three worlds, not like the fortune tellers in the world, and the bu gua asks the class only covets the reward silver and blindly talks about praise. This Tara did not want to tell the truth to mortals, often praised the ghosts and cursed the gods, did not talk nonsense in the clouds and fog, and never asked for silver. You may as well ask about this tower, and I don't know if I can tell you the truth. ”
Ma Rong thanked him, stood up to say goodbye, lifted the curtain, and was about to step out, Turbe stepped forward and pulled Ma Rong's arm, and Zi swollen his face and said, "My husband has been out for a month, you can't... Do you want to sit a little longer? ”
Ma Rong said, "But this business matter, come to see you again." ”
Out of the porridge shop Ma Rong Yi Turbe pointed, crossed three horizontal streets, asked a passerby, and soon found the witch Tara's residence. So he lifted the curtain and walked in.
The room was very dark, and in the middle niche was a one-horned god holding a crank axe and angry-eyed King Kong. Separated by a crisp wine lamp, I vaguely saw two figures sitting on one side of the wooden table in the corner. One was an old woman, draped in greasy and shiny sheepskin. At the other end sat a woman wrapped in a black veil, revealing only a black braid on the back of her neck.
Ma Rong picked up a low stool and sat down. The two mumbled for half a day, ignoring Ma Rong. Ma Rong patiently looked at the ghostly black shadows of the two people in front of him, feeling both disgusted and curious in his heart.
In the middle of the night, the old woman prostrated her head a few times, stood up trembling, and limped out. The witch stood up and watched, without saying a word. Suddenly, he looked back at Ma Rong, and a look of surprise flashed across his face.
Ma Rong's eyes greeted him, and he couldn't help but be surprised. --------------------------------- At this time, he saw clearly that this Tara was not only long and long, but also had a charming posture, and although he looked old, he was still a handsome Peugeot and a fox. The corners of her mouth were closed, and a cold light flashed on her face.
Ma Rong felt cramped and uneasy, and for a moment he forgot how to ask questions.
"It turned out to be the grandfather in the yamen, how did he break in here to hook up on business?" Tara opened his mouth first. "In the morning, I saw you follow the master's back in a panic, and you were lost and confused."
Ma Rong was intimidated and pondered, "This witch is really powerful, she already recognized me in the morning, so she could have guessed my intentions, so it would be better to simply spit it out."
"Lady Tara guessed, I am the one who did the work in the yamen." Now there is a case of murder, there is no end, the break can not be broken, special to the immortal house to seek advice, hoping that Niangniang will take the time to point out, so as to open the Mao Plug. ”
Tara smiled slyly, "Could it be that some woman instigated you to come?" ”
Ma Rongzheng said, "What is not a woman's business is actually something that I look up to Niangniang's name and specifically come to ask for questions." ”
"It's not a woman's head, where did you think of coming here?" Tara smiled.
Turbe, she just pointed out a portal. Where did she know that the public murder in the yamen was as urgent as a spark. Ma Rong was anxious.
The laughing shadow disappeared from the corner of Tara's mouth, "I don't mean Turbe's flower fox, but a woman named Bai Yu." ”
Ma Rong was shocked, straightened his ears and asked, "Which woman?" ”
Tara ignored it and thought to herself, "She was born at the beginning of the fifth month of the fourth month of the fifth month of the year, and died at the beginning of the tenth month of the tenth month of The beginning of September, and lived to be nineteen years old." ”
Ma Rong was surprised: "White Jade! Miss Bai Yu lived to be nineteen years old. Dare to ask Niangniang, how did this Miss Bai Yu die in the early Tenth Unitary period in early September last year, and where did she die? ”
"Death by death."
"Where did you die?" Ma Rong was impatient.
Tara had already turned around and was speechless in front of the god's elephant seat.
Ma Rong jumped up and roared, "If you don't tell me where Miss Bai Yu died, tomorrow I will put you in a big prison with an iron train and see if you say anything more." ”
Tara sneered, "Tomorrow is my limit, I'm afraid it's too late." ”
Ma Rong was indignant, kicked over the stool, and rushed out of the door.
Chapter VIII
At the time of the lights, Di Gong listened to Ma Rong's report in the street, agreed to Ma Rong's proposal, and issued an order, asking Lieutenant Fang to take someone to Beiliao to detain the witch Tara in the court, and then ask questions in detail.
He looked down at the rosewood box on the bookcase, and the white jade on the box shone with a cold glow under the candlelight.
Ma Rong was just about to resign, and Di Gong said, "Ma Rong, this Tara is probably an unusual person, and he hastily spit out miss Bai Yu's birth and death time and month." Inside this wooden box, there are many songs, and Miss Bai Yu does not seem to belong to the fiction. ”
Ma Rong doubted, "Lord, the note left by Bai Yu clearly signed September 12, but this Tara said that she died on the tenth day of the first month of September, how this day is two days worse, it is also inexplicable." ”
Di Gong said, "It seems that only Tara can solve this layer of doubt." I'm just afraid that her words really have a magic meaning, and tomorrow we may not be able to catch Tara. At the same time, we can post a notice at the door of the ya, stating that Miss Bai Yu disappeared in September last year, and the hanging gold asks those who know about the situation to inform the inside story and indicate the whereabouts. - This two-pronged approach may be gained. ”
Ma Rong nodded and said yes. Di Gong turned to Hong and joined the army: "You have consulted the official of the archives, you may wish to talk about the historical facts of the rise and fall of this Purple Light Temple and the Qingfeng Temple." ”
Hong Joinjun cleared his throat and took another sip of tea, but said: "The Purple Light Temple was founded by the monks of the Western Domain, and it has been 20 or 80 years since then. During the Qianfeng period of the State Dynasty, because of the obscenity and evil gods in the temple and the filth of the wind cult, it was sealed by the government, burned more than 80 statues of gods, and sent more than 300 monks to the temple. At the same time, the official government built a Qingfeng Nunnery in the west three miles of the Ziguang Temple, continued the incense, and standardized the interpretation of the scriptures. At that time, there was only one female nun abbot, who taught and nurtured her nature and maintained Buddhist affairs.
"Two years later, due to the infestation of sand and gravel, the official road through the western region moved north. For a while, the merchants were scattered, the city was depressed, and Lanfang tended to be snubbed. The nuns of The Seonfu-an and the monks who guard the Purple Light Temple have fled the world. Last year, the former county order proposed to close the Qingfeng Nunnery, and it happened that Zhang Silversmith died in the city. This silversmith has thin savings, but has no children, his wife Shen Shi su is good Buddha, dust and thoughts fade, so he is determined to cut his hair and become a nun, and donate his family property to decorate the Buddhist hall of the nunnery. The government remembered his sincerity and gave the Qingfeng Nunnery to the Shen clan on August 20 last year. The Shen clan wore a robe and accompanied by green lanterns, and changed his name to Baoyue, which is now the abbot of Qingfeng Temple. Whenever the Seifu-an is allowed to enter the incense, it is usually closed. Bao Yue only has a little maid named Chun Yun serving by her side, and the extreme is simple..."
Ma Rong listened impatiently: "My Tao is nothing new and interesting, but I don't mention whether there are treasures hidden in the temple." ”
Hong shook his head: "I don't see a single record of buried belongings." ”
Ma Rong said, "After eating dinner, I will go to the East Gate to go around again, or I can find out the whereabouts of Shen San and Ah Niu." ”
Di Gong let out a "hmm" and said, "You might as well go and find the beggars in this city." ---------------------------------------- The servants served carefully and in a low manner, like slaves. This group head's encounter with his subordinates was very well understood, and when he asked about Shen San and Ah Niu, he would not be unaware of the inner and middle bottom details. ”
Ma Rong added another move: "Also, the severed head and the corpse are not out of the Garden of the Zen Temple." Tonight I also went to the Purple Light Temple to investigate, and many scenes overlooked during the day were refreshing at night. I used to spend time in the green forest, but tonight I think with the eyes of a thief about the place where the body is hidden, such as the person I killed and the crime I committed. ”
Di Gong nodded in agreement, and a smile of appreciation appeared on his face.
In the back mansion, the birthday feast is open. In the middle hall hung a large "Shou" character of Di Gong's handwriting, silver candles were burning high, and flower lanterns were shining. Several pots of peonies and begonias in the courtyard have been moved into the hall, and the atmosphere is graceful and luxurious.
Di Gong entered the hall, and the three ladies and the abbot of Qingfeng Nunnery, Baoyue, hurriedly bowed down and greeted Di Gong and sat down. The following were seated in turn, and a group sat at a table. ------------------------------------------------------
Bao Yue sat on Di Gong's right head, and Di Gong took the opportunity to look at her. Although Baoyue is forty years old, she is still elegant in demeanor, bright in appearance, and a pair of eyes with clear crystals. I lowered my head and stroked the cup tendons.
Di Gong stood up and said, "Today's wife's birthday, the house is preparing water and wine, talking about Shiga." It was just a family banquet, and there were no outsiders. Master Baoyue, the wife has always respected, today condescending to come, it is a great fortune, only hope that the joy of this audience, but also let the birthday star chart a joy. Saying that, the leader toasted Madame Di with a cup.
The second lady, the third lady, and the baoyue rotated the toast, and the birthday star was busy turning left and right, and he couldn't wait, and he didn't feel that his face was red and his steps were unstable. The wine has not been inspected three times, one by one delicate and soft breathing, the powder face is spring, the seat is on the ear and eye touch, the iron bracelet is shaken, and the ring Isdin Dong.
Di Gong was drunk and his ears were hot, and he was feeling intentional, Bao Yue turned his face and whispered, "Old Master Di came to visit during the day, and was stopped outside the door by the untouchable person of Chunyun, and I learned about it afterwards." Only blame me for not being strict in my restraint, causing this negligence, begging the old man to forgive me. ”
Di Gong smiled, "Hong Liang and I just walked around at random, I wanted to ask about it, last night in the Immortal Nunnery, I heard the scene of the fight on the mountain." ”
Baoyue said busily, "Chunyun, how did she get back?" ”
"She never heard."
Baoyue added, "Chunyun, this little slut, behaves misbehavingly, often hooking up with the pimpy idlers in the mountain villages and laughing." I have seen her standing at the entrance of the nunnery several times with a filthy beggar handing over her eyebrows, for which I have been beaten several times, and I have no regrets. - It's really a demon that has entered the mind, Amitabha. "Say a few words of sutra with ten thoughts.
Di Gong thought in his heart, that Chunyun had an affair with the beggar on the mountain, I was afraid that he could really spit out some clues that Shen San had been killed, and the pippi people were most happy to brag in front of the woman.
"My relatives and cadres, Ma Rong, are going to go to the Purple Light Temple tonight to spy on it, and maybe they will even visit the Xian'an temple to inquire about the news."
Baoyue shouted, "Oh, I have to hurry back to the nunnery." I'm not at home, and the Ma Rong who saw you in this spring cloud really doesn't know how to behave ugly. ”
Chapter IX
At the beginning of the twilight, Ma Rong went to the General Temple for a walk. In the past, this general temple was also a place where all the beggars lived and gathered. Half a year ago, Yamen caught a group of horse thieves here, and Lieutenant Fang specially stepped up his inspection, so the incense gradually became cold. All the beggars were hiding, and those who really had no home went to the Purple Light Temple.
The door of the General Temple temple has been closed, and there are only a few idle people selling incense candles in the temple. Temple Zhu also turned off the lights early and went to bed. Ma Rong walked around the front hall and behind the hall for half a moment, knowing that he had no taste, so he left in sorrow.
He was swinging out of the arch stone archway, but he saw that a small hotel on the opposite street was still illuminated. The row of doors was halfway up, leaving only two doors in and out, and the treasurer was lying on the accounting table fiddling with the abacus beads, as if waiting for the final business.
Ma Rong was overjoyed, hurriedly squeezed into the store door, leaned over the greasy and slippery counter, and grabbed a handful of loose money from his waist pocket and sprinkled it on the counter.
The treasurer was so thin and dry that he looked like a wax corpse, and he busied himself with a hot smile on his face: "The guest officer thinks that he wants to eat wine in the hall, and when I go to the stove to get some dishes." He reached out his fingertips to knock the pile of loose money into the drawer.
Ma Rong stretched out a palm to cover the copper coin and smiled: "Gong Monkey Anxious, there is still something to say." No matter how much wine is scooped, I still have to ask a letter in the next place, and when I can answer, there is a reward of silver. ”
The thin treasurer looked at Ma Rong on his back: "The guest officer asked, but everyone who knows the small ones can say it." I just don't know what letter the guest officer asked. ”
Ma Rong leaned over and whispered, "The treasurer knows Shen San's thief." ”
"Shen San? ------------------------------------------------------ ”
"This thief was slaughtered last night and still owes me a debt. But he often comes to you to eat wine on credit. ”
The treasurer nodded, "In his spare time, he always sits in that corner and eats wine, a lamp and a half, not much to eat, and not on credit." A few days ago, he actually ate three cups in a row, and after drinking, he spat out that Marshal Zhao Gong was taking care of him, and the stagnation had been opened, and he was about to get rich, and he was very proud. It sounds like taking someone short and blackmailing money. ”
"Who is the treasurer who can hear him blackmailing?"
The treasurer shook his head, "Shen San's slippery and treacherous behavior is probably a boast, but it may not be a matter of fact." ”
"Isn't it that he has found some secret letters, and he is so proud of digging treasures." Where does this pimpy idleness live? ”
"No sure, Dongzang West Nest, Cunning Three Caves, East Gate Outside the Purple Light Temple is the most frequent... Come, come, ask questions, don't eat wine. He said and handed over the wine cup, and saluted Ma Rong's lips.
Ma Rong swallowed on his neck, wiped his mouth, and asked, "Which one is the head of the beggars in this city?" ”
The thin treasurer frowned, "Tuantou? I heard that it was a half-body paralysis, and I had already taken care of myself, and no one was filial piety. The poor men, out of their weight, scattered in three or five stars. Now the door is deserted and sloppy, and the turtle is cowering in a broken house waiting to die. ”
Ma Rong asked urgently, "What is the name of the head of the regiment, and which broken house does he live in?" ”
"The audience called him a 'monk', but he really had never married a relative. Where to live, but not very clear, the guest officer can inquire by himself. ”
Ma Rong understood it, laughed and took the handful of loose money into the drawer, sucked out the last mouthful of turbid wine, threw away the wine cup, and the noise was loud, and he flew away.
He had just turned out of the street corner, but he saw Li Kecang coming, looking panicked and peeping. He stepped forward to block it and arched his hand: "Mr. Li has seen the courtesy." Mr. Li was in such a hurry to hurry, but what was he doing? ”
Li Ke saw that it was Ma Rong, so he replied, "It turned out to be Chief Ma." Oh yes, my maid Yang Mude has not yet seen his face, I am afraid there will be an accident. I was very worried and was looking for miles everywhere. I don't know where he wandered around. Where did Chief Ma come from at this moment? ”
"I went to the Purple Light Temple outside the city. If Mr. Li still can't find Yang Maode tonight, that is, to throw himself into the county to report a dishonesty, Yali will try to find you. ”
Li Ke nodded continuously, and then he bid farewell to Ma Rong.
Ma Rong walked towards the East Gate, and by the time he reached the East Gate, it was already dark and the stars were shining. He took a wind lamp from the gatekeeper and headed straight for the Purple Light Temple.
The mountain path of the Purple Light Temple is like a sheep's intestine, and the rocks are like canine teeth, all the way up, only to hear the loose waves and the foxes are miserable. Ma Rong couldn't help but tighten up and quicken his pace. When I climbed to the outside of the Purple Light Temple, I was already panting and soft.
Ma Rong stood on his heels and turned back to look down, below the mountainside had been obscured by clouds and mist, and there was a mixture of factions. Before and after the cliffs, mountain birds return to their nests, thousands of wings and jaws, and the sound is like thunder. Ma Rong watched for a moment and looked up to see the ancient plaque at the mountain gate of the Purple Light Temple. The mountain gate is open, and there is no one to leave.
Ma Rong was just about to step into the threshold, "whizzing", a black shadow appeared behind the gubai on both sides, and two bright and dangling silver gun heads were facing Ma Rong's heart socket.
Ma Rong was horrified and was about to fight, but he heard a familiar accent: "Oh, it turned out to be Uncle Ma Rong." ”
Two shadow graveyards knelt down. Only then did Ma Rong recognize that it was two waiting servants. One of them, Fang Jingxing, is the son of Lieutenant Fang; he is smart and alert, diligent and dutiful, and Ma Rong is very appreciative on weekdays.
Uncle Ma Rong was frightened. We were ordered to supervise at the temple gate, and we had not yet seen any idle people come up the mountain. Fang Jingxing knelt down.
Ma Rong hurriedly said, "You two get up." I am going to go into the monastery to investigate at this moment, and you are waiting outside the two mountain gates, and you will not recognize one place, and the temple wall will turn around on all sides, and if you see suspicious people, you will not be allowed to say anything, that is, you will be taken. When I have a situation inside, whistle with you, and you immediately go into the temple to meet you, and there must be no mistake. ”
When Ma Rong entered the monastery, he felt a little bit of hair in his heart. Under the bleak moonlight, the temple is quiet and silent; the flowers and trees are monumental, gloomy and cold. In this atmosphere, he had to put himself in the shoes of the murderer and think about what to do with the murderer carrying the body and the severed head.
He pushed open the wooden door of the Great Hall, and the hall was pitch black, so he lit the wind lamp and carefully examined the surrounding walls. There was nothing unusual about it, only a strange musty smell. - The corners of the temple and the back of the door are full of bats and foxes. Ma Rong pierced out of the back door of the main hall and folded around the flowers and trees towards the western wall. - The western wall is dilapidated, collapsing several gaps, and the inside of the wall is lush and densely covered with trees.
Ma Rong staggered closer to the western wall, while pulling away the leaf vines that wrapped around his feet and knees. Suddenly he froze: behind the wall flashed a woman in a long white dress, her posture was fluttering, and her shadow was hazy.
The night moon was shining, the white light was full, Ma Rong blinked his eyes, and rubbed his eyelids hard, thinking that he had not misread it, and the scene in front of him was by no means an illusion. He hurriedly jumped out of a wall and chased after it, not caring that the branches "clicked" and broke several pieces of flesh on his shins.
Out of the dense forest outside the wall is a wild rose bush, red and white, which is beautiful. The woman's skirt flashed behind a large tree and was never seen again. It was dark on all sides, and the moon was slanting behind the corner of the temple.
Ma Rong was hesitating when he suddenly saw a path in the wild rose bush, although it was full of wild grass, but it was completely different from the roses on both sides. He was overjoyed, but it turned out that there was a feasible road here, so he slowed down and gently searched along the path. - He found the trail bypassing the garden and leading to the monastery's Western Zen Room.
After walking through the rose bushes, the front suddenly opened up, and the figures of the two stone floating tu in the temple were faintly visible. A few trees of snow-white begonias are especially clean in the night, and the begonia petals are scattered on the ground, dotted with stars, and the dark incense floats.
Ma Rong suddenly saw an ancient well under a tall begonia tree, with broken bricks and stones on the side of the well platform, and vines and grasses. He approached the well platform, raised the wind lamp, and took a picture of the well, which turned out to be a dry well, not deep. The well circle is covered with weeds and moss, and the bottom of the well is pitch black, like a pile of rocks.
Isn't this well a place to hide corpses! Ma Rong tied the wind lamp to the lower end of a half-broken well rope on the well platform, and suddenly saw a few traces of blood on the side of the well circle. When you look closely, there are blood stains on the well platform, and several of the begonia petals stuck to the mud are stained red. Ma Rong thought, the corpse and the severed head must be hidden at the bottom of this well.
He jumped on the well platform, grabbed the outer edge of the well with both hands, and fell into the well with the lower half of his body. Two legs groped for half a day in the underground wall circle, and finally stepped on a hard stone, so they loosened their hands and jumped into the bottom of the well.
Ma Rong suddenly felt that his right foot was landing on something soft, and he couldn't help but reach out and touch his feet. ouch! It was a human leg, and then I leaned down to look closely, and there was a headless corpse under the rocks. The body is strong and strong, with its back facing upwards, and it has an indigo pattern. The swollen right shoulder was a blur of blood and flesh, and there was a deep purple-black knife mark.
"This corpse should be Shen San's, and the human head wants to be in this well." Ma Rong bent down and touched around, helplessly covering his body from the light of the wind lamp, unable to look closely.
Suddenly he found a depression in the lower end of the well wall, and he kicked out a few broken bricks, and then he drilled into the depression so that the light of the wind lamp could shine directly on the bottom of the well.
Sure enough, the light was clear, and the head was not seen, but a blue cloth bag was pressed against the side of the big stone. He reached out and picked up the blue cloth bag that was about to be unwrapped, and with a "jumping" sound, a brick and stone hit the well circle, bounced to his left shoulder, and fell to the bottom of the well.
Ma Rong was taken aback, looked up, and saw another brick and stone thrown from the wellhead, and he hurriedly dodged it again.
"Not bad! Someone secretly killed me. Ma Rong quickly touched a stone from the ground and threw it, extinguishing the wind lamp hanging at the mouth of the well, and suddenly the well was pitch black. He took advantage of the situation to insert his entire body into that recessed wall.
One by one, the bricks and stones flew down from the wellhead, and one of them almost smashed Ma Rong's toes. Suddenly, another boulder fell from the wellhead and hit Shen San's body, making a dull noise, and the corpse was almost into meat sauce.
Ma Rong was in a hurry, hurriedly screaming bitterly, and then moaning in pain, and finally stopped abruptly, holding his breath.
Sure enough, I didn't see any more bricks and stones thrown down. Half silence. Ma Rongnai quietly drilled out of the four walls and rubbed his stiff legs for half a day before he could flexibly come over. He threw a stone out of the bottom of the well to test it, but there was still no sound, so he had the courage to climb up and drill out of the wellhead.
Chapter X
In the back hall, Shen San's body stopped on another long table, and Di Gong looked at it silently. Ma Rong waited by candlelight, and the two were half speechless.
The hourglass had been revealed at the end of the hour, Madame Di's birthday feast had been dispersed half a day earlier, and the mansion was sleeping peacefully inside and outside, and the whole office was quiet. Di Gong was secretly awakened by Ma Rong and rushed here to examine the body of Shen San, who had just been carried into the county court.
Di Gong finally spoke: "It is clear at the moment that Shen San was killed by a blade wound in the back shoulder, while the other victim was strangled by a rope." Ma Rong, in your opinion, who is the villain who threw the stone down the well? ”
Ma Rong shook his head.
"Before and after you jumped out of the Western Wall, did you find someone secretly following?"
"Lord, when I jumped into the garden, I didn't see anyone following me, I was very alert, and I always looked around every step of the way, only to see the dry well and forget the signs." Rushing down the well, he was almost killed by people who did not understand. At this moment, I thought that the evil man must have followed the path outside the wall, and when he saw that there was a wind lamp hanging from the wellhead and a sound under the well, he had the evil intention of killing people. After hearing my screams, he groaned slightly, and then he luckily left, thinking that I would die at the bottom of the well. ”
"But didn't you say you saw a woman in a long white dress?" Di Gong was surprised.
Ma Rong slapped his head on the door and shouted, "I forgot about that ghost!" Lord, the woman in the long white dress must be the ghost that people have been rumored to be, no doubt, only a flicker, then there is no shadow, where will it be a living person? I tracked her for half a day. ”
"You can see the face of the ghost!" Di Gong asked.
Ma Rong sighed and said, "Where do you see the face of the ghost?" At that time, I only suspected what kind of woman entered the temple at night, so I had the courage to follow out of the wall, who knew that it was a ghost, and now that I want to come, there are still many fears. I hadn't seen her face for a long time, and if I had, I would have been scared half to death, I was afraid that my own spirit saint had come out to see the old master. ”
Di Gong bent down to look closely at the thorn marks on the back of the corpse, which were indigo and dark green, and could not be distinguished because of the smashing of the boulders and the blurring of flesh and blood.
"You keep the candle flame closer, Ma Rong, this second half of the image has some eyebrows."
Ma Rong moved the candle to illuminate it, and Di Gong exclaimed, "There is a Buddha originally embroidered on this Ojiri, and the skin of the embroidered Buddha has been torn off, and it is not real to see." But the handwriting on both sides of the Buddha is clearly recognizable, on one side is 'purple light high light', on the other side is 'gold wrapped around the waist'. Ma Rong, these two sentences clearly say that there is indeed gold hidden in the Purple Light Temple. Shen San was the one who found the secret letter to dig for gold in the temple, and the murderer must also be looking for hidden gold. ”
Ma Rong said, "I heard the wine keeper across from the General Temple say that Shen Sanxiang was blackmailing someone, and it was the gold digger who blackmailing him." The gold diggers are unbearable, and they are cute and murderous. ”
Di Gong said, "Then, who was strangled by the rope?" Isn't it also a gold nugget? Shen San wanted to blackmail him, or this person was also Shen San's accomplice, and the two of them deceived the gold diggers together, and as a result, both of them were killed and killed. However, the murderer killed the two of them and then bothered to change them as prime ministers, which was not only an aggressive and strange thing, far beyond reason. Oh, you're not saying that a blue cloth bag was found in the well. ”
"Lord, the baggage is in this corner." He said and bent down to lift the blue cloth bag.
"Ma Rong, we will go back to the study at this moment for a closer inspection, and you will close this door tightly."
The two men left the side hall and hurried to the study. Ma Rong held a candle in one hand and the blue cloth bag in the other.
Di Gong suddenly asked, "Ma Rong, how many people know about the corpse you found?" ”
Only the two servants who were waiting at the mountain gate of the Purple Light Temple knew that this body was wrapped tightly in a blanket and carried back to the county office. He also concealed the guards at the East Gate, only to see a sick and dead displaced person during the patrol, and transported it to the chemical factory to be burned. ”
"Well, tomorrow morning, Shen San's whole body will be dragged to the chemical factory and burned, so as not to let the idlers find out the inside story, and the longer they hide it, the better." The overseers of the Purple Light Temple did not have to be replaced. ”
Ma Rong nodded and said, "Tonight when I entered the Great Hall of the Purple Light Temple, I still smelled a musty smell, and I always suspected that the human head was buried in the Great Hall, but I couldn't find it." Why didn't the murderer also throw his head at the bottom of the well, it was really strange. ”
Di Gong said, "Yes, there are two things to tell you, at dinner Lieutenant Fang came to report that Tara had gone into hiding and had not been detained." According to Yun, Tara has a deep vendetta with her neighbors, and the Hu people there hate it even more, but they are afraid that she has witchcraft and dare not make a mistake. Today, I heard that the official order signed her, saying that she had violated the law, and she was full of excitement, and they all came to help search for her, but there was no trace. Another thing, Bao Yue of Qingfeng'an at tonight's birthday feast told me that her maid, Chun Yun, was a light and gentle woman who often flirted with the scoundrels of the Purple Light Temple. You might as well go talk to her privately and show some truth. However, we must not let Baoyue know about it, so as not to have any branches. ”
As he was talking, he had arrived at the Inner Courtyard Study. Di Gong lit the candle, and Ma Rong immediately unwrapped the blue cloth bag.
The cloth bag is a foreskin made of a blue robe with only a pair of black pants and a pair of worn-out felt shoes. Ma Rong searched carefully and shook his head in disappointment.
"Lord, nothing. The murderer had been prepared for it and had not left a trace of guilt. ”
Di Gong twisted his whiskers and suddenly said, "You just said that you met Li Ke on the road, and he was looking for his servant Yang Maode." The female tailor did not say that Yang Maode often interacted with idle and rogue films and misbehaved. Ah Niu also mentioned that Shen San once had a sneaky relationship with a man wearing a blue robe. The other victim was none other than Yang Mude. Li Ke is not saying that Yang has not returned home for two days, I am afraid that he has already become a headless ghost. ”
Ma Rong said, "Tomorrow I will call Li Ke to identify the corpse, and although the sharp eyes of the painting are headless, they will certainly be able to recognize Yang Maode." ”
Di Gong shook his head, "Ma Rong, you should bring a basin of clean water." ”
Ma Rong did not understand Di Gong's meaning, so he had to go to the wooden shelf to get a copper basin, and then scooped a basin of clean water from Man Ping and brought it to the book case.
Di Gong grabbed the blue robe and trousers and rubbed them hard, only to see dust and fine chips falling into the copper basin. After slowly clarifying, the gray soil floated on the surface of the water, but the bottom of the basin sank with several dark fine grains. Di Gong reached into the water and crushed it vigorously; the vermilion purple variegation rippled into a water halo and emitted ripples.
Di Gong was overjoyed: "This powder grain is exactly the fine crumb of Heshi that was glued to Li Ke's family when he was a maid." You see there are still several stars of ink stains on the placket. ——It must be Yang Mude who wears this set of lines. Ma Rong, I really didn't expect us to make this progress, God help me. ”
Ma Rong could hear the gods, and then looked down at the variegated dissolving in the copper basin, and the color patterns were floating, and he couldn't help but realize it.
Di Gong continued, "Hong Liang carefully read the records of the Ziguang Temple, and he has never seen any record of hiding gold." After the government closed the monastery that year, it did not hear that some monks had secretly returned to the temple to excavate secretly, so it can be seen that there were no such rumors among the monks in the temple. --Ma Rong, if I am right, if there is gold hidden in the temple, it must be the fifty ingots of imperial gold that were robbed last year by Gu Zou Jingwen, the treasurer of the Beijing Division! ”
Ma Rong exclaimed, "The theft of Zou Jingwen's funds was last year, how did he have a seizure at this time and take two lives?" ”
"The robbery of the imperial gold was last year, but the thieves always had to lurk for half a year and a year before they dared to expose the stolen goods." The perpetrator may only tell the master or accomplice to hide the gold in the Purple Light Temple, but not the exact location, if he himself suddenly dies or absconds, the rest of the insiders will surround the treasure like hungry tigers and sheep, flies and bloodstains, and perform a shocking tragedy. ——Shen San and Yang Maode are the ghosts of this tragedy, and although there is no lack of glue in it, there are probably two of its original committees. The gold digger's tracks were broken by Shen and Yang, and he immediately committed murder; or the gold diggers were blackmailed by Shen and Yang wei and started to kill. ”
Ma Rong nodded, "But it turns out that the floor tiles and wall panels of the partial hall and the Zen room were all excavated, precisely to search for the fifty ingots of imperial gold!" ”
Di Gong smiled, "I think that the murderer, Shen and Yang are not looking for gold, and the fifty ingots of imperial gold are still hiding in a corner of the temple unharmed." ”
"Where did the old man's words come from? Could it be that Shen and Yang discovered the gold and were killed by the murderer? ”
Di Gong shook his hand and said, "The murderer's fruit is gold in hand, I am afraid that he has already fled, he will never move flowers and trees, replace the corpse, let alone stay and leave, and wait for the official government to capture it." Your distress in the well shows that the murderer is still stirring in the temple and has not stopped. We should be the first to look for gold, and when the gold is in hand, we should not worry about the murderer not revealing his true face. ——At dawn, we will go to the Purple Light Temple! ”
Chapter XI
Five more chickens sang, the sky was bright, and Ma Rong invited Fang Jingxing to quietly transport Shen San's body to the chemical factory for burning. Rush back to the office just in time for breakfast. After eating breakfast, he threw away the bowl and rushed to see Di Gong at the Inner Courtyard Bookstore.
Di Zhengyi and Hong Joinjun talked in detail about Ma Rong's encounter and his judgment last night, and when they saw Ma Rong come in, they said with great joy: "Sit down, we will go to the Purple Light Temple, first, we must try to find the location of the gold, and second, we must capture the real murderer in the hidden temple." ”
Lieutenant Fang came in and said, "Wu Zongren asked to see the old master, saying that there was an urgent matter to discuss, and Li Mei, the treasurer of the De Dajin, came with him." ”
Di Gong asked, "Who is this Wu Zongren, I have never heard of it before." ”
"Lord." Lieutenant Fang said. This Wu Xianggong had previously been an aide to Long Right's envoys, and later served as a long historian in Buzhou, and was prominent for a while. Eight years ago, he was impeached by Yousi for perverting the law for corruption, and had to endure the pain of changing the three thousand taels of silver to fight the movement of Yasi, only to be spared, for which he lost his furniture, and since then he has been devastated and embarrassed. Although there is a manor in the hometown, there is no worry about food and clothing, and it is not the weather when he was an official. In the past few years, Wu Xianggong has resigned himself, is indifferent to the world, and rarely socializes, so the old man does not know. ”
Di Gong nodded and asked, "You said that the name of the one who came with you is Li Mei?" ”
"Yes, sir, this Li Mei is now in the East City root to open a Big Gold, and also operate the cabinet shop business, and spare savings." Treasurer Li and Wu Xianggong had a close past, so they accompanied the visit. ”
Ma Rong rushed, "Lord, this Li Mei is the brother of Li Ke who painted." ”
Di Gong ordered him to change his clothes and ordered him to meet the guests in the hall.
Su Zhen and Hong joined the army and accompanied Wu Zongren and Li Mei into the hall. Di Gong greeted him, Shu Li looked at the tea, and the guests sat down.
Di Gong saw that Wu Zongren was neatly dressed and hated, his spirit was gloomy, he was fifty years old, his face was sallow, and a bunch of goat's beard under his chin trembled from time to time with the pouting of his jaw. Li Mei has broad shoulders and a broad back, a strong body, sitting under Wu Zongren's head, looking at the nose, nose to mouth, breathing, and all kinds of uneasiness.
"Wu Xianggong came to the office early this morning, and he didn't know what to teach." Di Gong took a sip of tea and opened his mouth first, deliberately not mentioning Li Mei.
Wu Zongren stood in a hurry, bowed down and said, "Old Decadence rushed to see Old Master Di today, just to inquire about the little girl's information." Since the Office had already posted a notice, it must have discovered the whereabouts of the little girl Bai Yu. ”
Di Gong was shocked in his heart, put down the tea cup, and looked at Wu Zongren doubtfully.
"Dare to ask Treasurer Li why he came with Wu Xianggong."
Wu Zongren smiled dryly, "The old decay has already given the little girl Xu and Mr. Li." A month after Mr. Li performed the dowry, Bai Yu suddenly disappeared, so he had not yet completed his marriage. Respecting customs, the old decay naturally regards Mr. Li as the east bed. Look to Lord Di to see. ”
"That's the way it is." Di Gong let out a deep groan, spread out the folding fan, and slowly fanned it.
"Can Wu Xianggong simply tell his subordinates how Ling Yuan disappeared?"
Wu Zongren twisted the handful of goat whiskers under his chin and said calmly: "Bai Yu is my only daughter, who is graceful and graceful, and has always been regarded as a pearl in the palm of her hand." Three years ago, his wife died, and the more he loved and obeyed. The little girl was exquisite and intelligent, and at the age of eighteen, she was only matched with this Mr. Li Mei by the old decay. The little girl also felt that she had a lifelong dependence and was happy in her heart.
"I don't mean to be old and decaying, and I don't want to grow out of the branches, and turn out the changes." There was a qingyi slave named Yang Maode, who had heard earlier that the Chinese had also entered the companion county school, but they were poor and helpless, so they dropped out of school halfway and took care of this lowly business. The old man pitied his youth for misfortune, so he took it in his home and took care of some chores. Who knew that this man did not recite the Lord's grace, but repeatedly seduced the little girl and gradually entered the harbor. ”
Li Mei was trying to interject. Wu Zongren made eyes glaze over, Li Mei sighed, and listened carefully.
"On the tenth day of the beginning of September last year—the old decay remembers clearly—I told the little girl that tomorrow she could go to the Guanyin Hall to ask for a sign from god, ask for a good day, and complete the marriage with Mr. Li as soon as possible." Who knew that the little girl suddenly changed her mind and insisted on refusing marriage. The old man repeatedly pressed the question, and only then did he spit out: He had already made a lifelong engagement with Yang Mude, a thief prisoner. When the old decay was angry, the three corpses jumped violently, and the seven tricks were smoked, and the pursuit of Yang Maode was not there, only to scold the little girl fiercely, reprimanding her for being incompetent, and being incorruptible and shameless. Unexpectedly, Bai Yu was deceived deeply, and his will was already decided, so he sneaked away at that time and disappeared again. ”
Wu Zongren frowned in pain, and then raised his eyes to look at Di Gong sadly.
"Old Master Di, the old decayed head also thought that Bai Yu would go to her aunt's house for a few days, spit out her heart, and when the breath calmed down, she would naturally come home, and at that time she didn't see the truth." That aunt was my ex-wife's sister and loved Bai Yu for ten minutes. After two days, I sent someone to my aunt's house to inquire, and I learned that Bai Yu had not gone there, but that the situation was serious. On the one hand, Yang Maode was summoned for interrogation, and on the other hand, he sent people out to look for him. Who knew that Yang Maode denied it again, saying that he had nothing to do with Bai Yu, that he had never privately committed to life, and that he did not know her whereabouts. ——After the inquiry, Yang Maode did indeed spend the night in a courtyard that day, and did not search for half a suspicious evidence, so he had to resign Yang with a loud voice, and then asked him to keep a secret rest to publicize. There were hurried visits here, but there was no more information. Bai Yu did not leave a single word when he left home. Now, by reckoning, something happened to her on her way to her aunt's house. ”
"Why didn't Wu Xianggong report to the officials at that time?"
Wu Zongren sighed and said, "Old Decadence is an old-fashioned person, a poet who is a family heirloom and values the reputation of the face." What kind of ugly thing is the little girl's elopement, where dare to publicize it again? I had to secretly visit. Besides, the former county commander was a stupid and confused official, and he believed him. I am afraid that if I have not found it, I will make a boiling noise, and the ugly noise will be everywhere, telling me how to be self-contained. ”
"Old Master Di smiled." Li Mei finally opened her mouth. "The villain is subjected to this twist, although the humiliation is unbearable, but the disposition is thick, and the obsession is not dead." No matter what happens to Miss Bai Yu, as long as she is still alive, the little man is still determined to be a husband and wife with her, and it will be a good thing for a hundred years. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ”
Wu Zongren glanced at Li Mei impatiently and said, "Old Master Di, The official now has the information of the white jade, and he is eager to show it." ——Is the little girl still alive? ”
Di Gong put down the folding fan, took out a note from his sleeve, and asked, "Miss Bai Yu was born on the fourth day of the first month of May in the year of Nongshu." ”
Wu Zongren nodded, "Not bad." It is also recorded in the household registration file. ”
Wu Xianggong said it well, and at the moment the official only knew this--her birth year and age. However, when we have a slight eyebrow at the visit, we will tell you. I hope that the two of you will not worry too much and expect too much. ”
Wu Zongren and Li Mei stood up and resigned.
When Di Gong sent them out to the bottom of the steps of the hall, he turned his face to Li Mei and said, "Treasurer Li, I heard that your brother Li Ke painted a good Danqing." ”
Li Mei nodded, and a trace of shadow passed across her face.
"Old Master Di, the little man knows nothing about painting, and he has no interest in it."
Di Gong was slightly surprised, and it was inconvenient to ask any more questions, and Hong joined the army to send Wu and Li out of the office.
Ma Rong saw Wu and Li turning out of the moon cave door of the garden and said excitedly: "Lord, in this way, Tara's spirit sign is indeed not bad, and the note in the rosewood box is by no means a fake." Oh my God, how do we do it! ”
Di Zheng was about to speak, when he suddenly saw Hong Xianjun leading the old butler in the mansion to hurry over. The old butler staggered and rushed forward to invite Ann, and said, "The wife told the old man to go back to the house, saying that there was an urgent matter to discuss." ”
"What's the big deal? So panicked. Di Gong asked busily.
The old butler said, "In the morning, a noble lady visited the gurudwara and presented a post, and the single way was to see his wife, saying that there was an urgent matter to report." ”
"Do you know what name is written on that post?"
"The name post is written with the words 'Wu Zongren', and the person who came claimed to be Lady Wu. Mrs. Wu begged her to see her. The wife had always asked about the official affairs of the government office, and she panicked, so she sent a small one to come here to ask the old man to return to the mansion for consideration. ”
Chapter XII
Di Gong hurried back to the mansion and saw Ming Ti, and sure enough, wu Zongren's wife Zhou Shi asked to see him. Thinking that this was not sooner or later, not first, not later, he and his wife came to see us two at the same time, which showed that Bai Yu was missing, and there were many mysteries inside. This Lady Wu must also have many words to hide from Wu Zongren. So he arranged for Madame Di to meet her in the inner room, and a maid of honor appeared on the screen, while he himself hid behind the screen to eavesdrop.
Zhou Shi was wearing a light blue cloud-banner threaded crepe jacket, underneath which were crepe-encrusted gauze pants, wearing a moon-colored autumn ribbon, swinging into the inner room, and saw Mrs. Di hurriedly kneeling and prostrating. The pile of hair, as high as a hill, trembled and shook, and the pearlescent light shot people.
Madame Di stepped forward to pick up the Zhou family, let her sit over, and brewed a cup of Taihu Lake Biluochun on it herself. While laughing, he said, "Mrs. Wu smiled, I never do things with Ya Zhong, and I rarely meet guests." Today to see Mrs. Wu, it is not convenient to let Yahuan hold the cup, so that it looks more like a sister, and there is no difference. Mrs. Wu can say anything, so that the yahuan can quickly mouth and spread it around. ”
Zhou Shi nodded, thanked him again, swallowed his saliva, and said, "I shouldn't have been abrupt and obedient, bothering my wife, but a big rock in my heart was hanging, sitting restlessly." Early this morning, my husband Wu Zongren came to Yali to see Old Master Di and accused me of killing his precious daughter Bai Yu. ”
Madame Di was taken aback, the tea spilled on the skirt, and for a moment her eyes were dazed, and she could not pick up the conversation.
Zhou Shi panicked, afraid that he had frightened Lady Di, not a trick, and hurriedly said: "Mrs. Don't be surprised, forgive me for being reckless, the exit is not covered, and the words can't turn around." ”
Lady Di Fang calmed down and asked euphemistically, "What happened in the palace, so terrified." How did your lord sue you for killing his daughter? Mrs. Wang's original original, carefully said. ”
"When my husband died in the front room, he left a daughter named Bai Yu, who was pampered and doted on. As this young man grew older, he had a lot of thoughts, and he was like a lot of love all day long, sighing long and short, obsessing about men, and he had no good family body. Later, when I saw that she was in private contact with the wild man, I informed my husband. Who knew that my husband not only did not believe it, but also thought that I had deliberately tarnished her reputation and scolded me. Sure enough, this little hoof eloped with the wild man, but it was his face! This Wu Zongren should have understood what kind of licensed his daughter was, but he accused me of killing Bai Yu and hiding the corpse. Suddenly, he said that I had kidnapped her and sold her to the courtyard. Randomly made up, blood spewed from people, telling me how to endure this evil breath? However, he also preemptively came to the yamen to file a complaint, so that this was a narrow relief to me. ”
Madame Di forced herself to calm down and thought, "Mrs. Wu only needs to report the name of the wild man, isn't the truth out?" The government can also follow the traces. ”
Zhou Shi raised an eyebrow and sighed, "But all the obscene women in the world are strangely ghostly; let you be twelve points fine, spy in every way, and never spit out a shadow sound, it can really be said that you bite off the iron." Even if the peeping catches and eats her a few words, the left and the right say, ten nine are all on the Road, and they are coaxed by her. What's more, my husband didn't believe in his daughter's defilement, only thought it was me slandering, and when something really happened, he blindly suspected that I had assassinated her. Although I captured the traces of the trinity, I did not take it to the truth, how do I know the name and surname of the wild man? ”
"So, where was Mrs. Wu the night Miss Bai Yu fled?"
Zhou Shi patted his leg and said, "I wasn't home that night, so I went to visit an old relative." Therefore, my husband insisted that I had done it and set a trap. ”
"Your relatives can make it clear to Mr. Wu where you went that night, and there is no glue in this matter."
Zhou Shi's face was embarrassed: "Don't hide from Mrs., that night it was Yang Maode, the domestic servant who gave up the house, who sent me a message, and the hour was different, and I didn't see it, so I hurried home." ”
"Isn't Yang Mude able to testify?"
"No, my husband has dismissed him, not because he has done something wrong, but because he suspects that he has an affair with Bai Yu." Bai Yu had seduced him in every way, using provocative words and being brazen. But this Yang Maode was really a Zhengzheng man, with a dignified style and bones, sitting in a state of confusion, and disdainful of the ugliness of bai yu. Bai Yu had no choice but to think about others. ”
Madame Di groaned, "That's the way it is." Since Mrs. Wu has no one to testify, this matter may be difficult in court. ”
Zhou Shi said, "I only ask Mrs. Di to make a statement in front of Old Master Di and inform you of these many grievances." No matter how dare my husband arbitrarily throw lawsuits, confuse the public opinion, and cannot stop his wife's correct opinion. ”
"Mrs. Wu's words are bad, Di Fuming has ancestral precepts, and Nei Min is not allowed to ask Ya Zheng. Since the wife has many unspeakable heartfelt songs, why not confront them in person in the public court, and forgive your lord for not being able to win. ”
Zhou Shi laughed and said, "This is natural." With your wife as the master, a word of prosperity, so that I can also have a place to stand and argue, and hope that my wife will protect me in the future. "Say goodbye and stand up and say goodbye."
Madame Di did not keep it either, and sent it all the way to the entrance of the cloister of the Flower Hall.
Chapter XIII
Di Gong repeated the original words of Lady Wu Zhou to Hong Andma Rongxian and asked them for their opinions. Hong Joinjun said, "This Lady Wu has a ghost in her heart and a mysterious look. Wu Zongren did not sue her, but she was suspicious of the ghost and was anxious to dissect the ghost. It can be seen that bai yu's death is difficult for her to get rid of. If Bai Yuguo had a good friend with a wild man and a thin eye, she would not fail to find out her name. ”
Ma Rong said, "Zhou Shi, she is in a trance, dodging and dodging, and she feels very suspicious." She had an ambiguous relationship with that Yang Maode, and betrayed Wu Zongren to go to a private appointment, which was clear evidence, and also falsely accused Bai Yu of being unchaste. What is strange is that Wu Zongren resigned from Yang Maode at the head, and Li Ke continued to hire him. Li Ke was strapped for money, but why did he add one more person to eat? ”
Di Gong smiled and said, "This Yang Maode is very strange, and he is the most critical person in this case." Last year, Bai Yu disappeared, and now the Ziguang Temple murder case was connected by him alone and at both ends, and now he has become an unknown unjust ghost, and even the head has not been found, and the world has such a coincidence. At this moment, we must find out the ins and outs of Yang Maode. Once the person's actions are exposed. The two cases before and after are in full swing. ”
There was a knock at the door, and the clerk on duty came to pay tribute: "Treasurer Li came alone to see the old man, and begged the old man to give him a meeting." ”
"Pass Li Mei in!" Di Gong said. "When I saw that Li Mei had something to say in her heart, I wanted to say it several times, but I was blocked by Wu Zongren."
Li Mei entered the Inner Courtyard Study, and when she saw Hong joining the army and Ma Rong present, she was at a loss.
Di Gong smiled and said, "Treasurer Li does not want to see the outside, these two are my relatives and are working together to find the whereabouts of Miss Bai Yu." You have nothing to say, don't be cramped!. ”
Li Mei stooped down and sat down and said, "Old Master Xin Mengdi saw it, repeatedly disturbed, and was very afraid." The villain only said a few words, but the old man Haihan. ”
Di Gong nodded in agreement. Hong joined the army and brought a cup of new tea.
What the villain said earlier, here is a solemn repetition: No matter what happens to Miss Bai Yu, once you find it, immediately complete the marriage with her. Just in time, I boldly speculated that the old man had already briefly explored the whereabouts of Miss Bai Yu, and hoped that the old man would show his kindness. Even if she had been killed and died, I would carry the body home and bury it in the graveyard of my ancestors as a sign of my ambition.
Secondly, the villain knew that Miss Bai Yu and Lady Wu did not have feelings, and they were afraid that the Zhou clan would make a sound and make a fuss, and many of the skins were not good-looking, so Er blindly forced himself to be patient. Mr. Wu lao also knows the inside well. All kinds of involvement, blending from the middle, are ultimately useless. Lady Wu is a person in the city, it is difficult to talk to, it is difficult to support, poor Bai Yu innocently suffered a lot of grievances. ”
Di Gong asked, "Before Zhou Clan married Mr. Wu, what was the original livelihood?" ”
"Mrs. Wu only married Mr. Wu on May 15 last year. Her ex-husband is the goldsmith Mi Dalang, and the character does not need to talk about it, eating, drinking, gambling, all of them are addicted, and they are good at doing tricks and feet on gold and silver work, specializing in such shady deeds. Mrs. Wu has been smoked for a long time, and she has accumulated habits naturally, and she is finally a Benli villain. Contrary to Mr. Wu Lao's mind and mind, miss Bai Yu was caught in it, and her heart was difficult to express. ”
Di Gong said suddenly, "I heard that Miss Bai Yu and Yang Maode have a head and tail in private, is this true?" ”
Li Mei argued, "Isn't that reasonable!" That Yang Maode, a third-rate figure, how obscene and dirty, how could Miss Bai Yu be fond of him? ——This sounds like Wu Fu's tone, and it is really a terrible rumor! It was precisely to avoid rumors that Mr. Wu drove Yang Maode away. ”
"That's right." Di fair. "As soon as Yang Mude was dismissed from wu here, he was immediately employed by His brother Li Ke, and didn't Li Ke know that Yang Zhi was a human being and had an ugly reputation?"
Li Mei's face changed: "The villain and Li Ke have long since severed their brotherly love." He is a descendant who does not seek to grow, and he is the same as Yang Maode. And delicious and lazy to do, want to enter the wrong. Although it is a good painter, it is not a good talent. Who knows what he and Yang Mude are doing in their backs, and it is best for the old man not to mention him again. ”
Di Gong ran hesitantly, and Han Yannai asked, "What else does Treasurer Li have to say to this county?" ”
Li Mei said suddenly, "The little man has said goodbye." ”
"Don't forget that Treasurer Li is about to show a notice informing the nearby states and counties to cooperate in finding Miss Bai yu." I hope that treasurer Li will present an image of Miss Bai Yu as soon as possible, indicating in detail the address of the year armor, clothes and clothing, and what to wear, for verification. ”
Li Meiwei stood up to thank him and resigned. Hong sent him to the head of the Inner Gate.
Di Gong asked Li Zhi what he meant.
Ma Rong said, "I thought he had some important clues, but he turned out to be so painless and uninvited." Lord, I always feel that this Li Mei is suspicious, and he has come to see him alone this time, I am afraid that I have deep concerns. ”
Hong joined the army and said, "Most likely he came to accuse Lady Wu of coming." One is to reveal her life, and the other is to tarnish her reputation. He and Lady Wu, the two emperors who were so perched, seemed to have ghost fetuses in their hearts. However, the background of Miss Bai Yu's disappearance remains unexplored. ——Li Mei was anxious to know the whereabouts of Bai Yu, and she also wanted to put out our words, which meant that it was difficult and must be guarded against. ”
Di Gong nodded frequently, "Originally, I planned to go to the Purple Light Temple this morning to search, but who knew that I was delayed by this succession of requests to see." At noon, he had to hurry up and make plans after dinner. Ma Rong, you can go around the city alone at noon, and it is best to find the beggar leader named 'Monk'. First, to find out the details of Shen San's and Ah Niu's past grievances, and second, to inquire about miss Bai Yu's disappearance last year, perhaps Bai Yu is still alive after suffering hardships. In short, the camera acts calmly, do not rush, and must beware of conspiring with people in secret. ”
Chapter XIV
Ma Rong slipped out of the back corner door, still dressed as a beggar from yesterday. He first went to the General's Temple to ask for a divine signature. Old Miao Zhu took ten copper coins, shook the lottery tube, and Ma Rong probed out one and handed it over, seeing that it was "on the top of the auspicious", and his heart was very happy.
Turning onto Xishi Street, Ma Rong swung to the beggars, intending to talk to people. Helplessly, the beggars in this city are sunny every day, each one is familiar, and today the cold is coming down as a king kong evil man, I don't know which way the strongman came, they are all intentionally wary. Dodge fear is too late, where do you dare to answer with Ma Rong? Ma Rong was hit by several blank eyes, his heart was angry, and he had a bad seizure, so he had to swallow his breath and hesitate in the streets and alleys, hoping to meet one or two scoundrels who could talk and ask for letters.
Suddenly, Ma Rong caught a glimpse of three poor porters stepping into a small hotel, so he crept behind and staggered into the curtain. - The porter, like a beggar, can answer many words.
The hall was dirty, with only three dilapidated square tables, five or six benches, and a dozen or so poor men eating and chatting.
Ma Rong bought a bowl of inferior liquor and sipped it alone. One by one, the people in the hall stared at him curiously, and no one would come forward to talk. Ma Rong wondered for half a day, thinking that if Qiao Tai was present, the two could make up a live drama, fight and make trouble, fake and true, the image was forced, and dengshi could induce this gang of dry and waterlogged men, and there was no worry about answering questions.
As he was thinking, the curtain moved, and a prostitute in a scruffy dress came in, looking depressed, and poured a cup of water and wine into her throat, while asking the shopkeeper to credit the account, saying that she would be able to make money tonight. The shopkeeper twisted her thin shoulders, and smiled, "Last night's credit has not been returned, and I have come to fight white food again." I see that this flower skirt around your waist is worth two days of wine money. Saying that, he pretended to be a gesture and started to pull. The hall was full of laughter.
The prostitute said angrily, "You old dog of plague corpses, you are still entertaining your mother-in-law." Afraid that I will not succeed in ten copper coins? Duh, one more cup! Tomorrow will pay you together. ”
The old shopkeeper was still hippie and flirtatious, but refused to go to the urn to scoop wine. Ma Rong walked to the counter, swung a string of twenty copper coins from his waist in front of the shopkeeper's eyes twice, and squeezed them into his arms: "I paid for this wine money!" ”
The shop was quiet when it was boarded, and then there was a "tut" sound, talking about stealing. The shopkeeper Chong Ma Rong accompanied the smiling face. The prostitute was emotional, but she rushed forward to give a blessing to Marlena: "Dare to ask the hero's name, so that the little girl can be admired." ”
Ma Rong turned back and said loudly, "Meet you land." ------------------------------------------------------ The days are uneven, my brothers have been killed, and this time they will not be spared by the enemy family. ”
The crowd looked at each other in amazement. An old man inside whispered, "Yamen has already caught Ah Niu and is waiting for the split head." In fact, Ah Niu had not killed anyone, and it was displaced people from other places who had killed Shen San. ”
"Whoever killed it, crashed into my hand, one knife and two pieces, and the king of Yan Luo went to the front of the pin number." ——The little lady can know where the 'monk' of the tuanhu tuantou of Lanfang lives here. I was going to visit him. ”
"The 'monk' has lost his fortune, the courtyard has collapsed, and he has been unable to move lately, and I am afraid that he will lie alone in bed waiting for death." The prostitute replied.
"The troublesome little lady pointed me to the road, and there is a string of copper coins here to thank you."
The prostitute replied, "Where does the little girl dare to be so greedy?" The hero fought righteously to save the emergency, solved my temporary difficulties, and made the little girl admire twelve points, and she will be repaid in the future. I will now lead you to the 'monk', who may know the murderer of your brother. ”
Ma Rong was overjoyed and followed the prostitute out of the hotel. When the checkerboard-like streets and alleys turned east and west, turned seven times and turned eight times, forked a bridge, and when the zhengdang was dizzy and sore, the prostitute said: "When you arrive, the 'monk' lives in the cellar in front of you, you go alone!" Saying another blessing, he bowed his skirt and said goodbye.
Ma Rong pulled out a string of copper coins from his waist to hand over, and the prostitute scolded: "No, no, no, the little girl is such a small person, there is no time to meet again." "Fly away."
Ma Rong entered the cellar, only to feel that the four walls were dark and damp, filled with a bad smell of rotten mold, and it took half a day to grope in the dark to reach the stone ladder mouth, and at the stone ladder mouth sat a cock-breasted and hunched eye, with a strange face.
Zigzag down the stone ladder and into a stone chamber. Cockfighter screamed, "'Monk', there are guests coming to see you!" He grinned and described it as very funny.
The 'monk' lay on a bed covered with felt mats, and an oil cup was lit at the head of the bed. The dark walls are covered with various portraits of bodhisattvas, and in the middle niche is a one-horned monster god holding a crank axe.
Ma Rong looked closely at the "monk" in front of him, the "monk" was bare-headed, his eyes were closed, and although his body was magnificent, he was very weak. At a glance, the fruit is a desolate scene of a recent death.
"Bye-mae Lao Zhang, under the name of Shao Ba, is Shen San's cousin, who came up from the town of Zhidu yesterday. ——The three Shen brothers died unjustly, and they came to take care of the aftermath. ”
The monk asked, "Why didn't the fifth elder come?" ”
"The fifth brother is in the big prison and can't get out."
"How did you come up with the idea to come here to find me?" I'm long gone. ”
"The fifth brother said that you are the earth star of Lanfang City, the land lord of Fangfang." Seeing you, you will surely find the real murderer who killed the third brother. Therefore, he took the liberty of percussing the old man and pleading for help. ”
"I don't know who killed Shen San. But I knew why Shen San had been killed. ”
"Look at the old man's bright light and light up the mechanism." Ma Rong said respectfully and handed over a silver letter.
The "monk" did not receive the silver: "I have half of my body into the coffin, do you want this silver bird to use?" ”
Ma Rongzheng said, "The old man doesn't want silver, he must want gold." Looking forward to the old man clearly indicating where the Purple Light Temple was hiding gold, when he found it, he would never renege on his word. ”
The monk smiled slightly and nodded, "I have a piece of advice that I hope you will remember." Get the gold and forget the murderer. He said and drew a wooden plaque from under the pillow and handed it to Ma Rong, on which was painted a line of flowing clouds and two bats.
Ma Rong was puzzled: "What is the use of this wooden card?" ”
"Tonight you take this wooden sign to go to the Qingfeng Temple, and when you see Chunyun, ask her to examine this wooden sign, and she will assist you in finding the gold."
Ma Rong exclaimed, "Could it be that this Spring Cloud already knows where the gold is hidden?" ”
The monk shook his head, "No, just waiting for you to cooperate." How capable can she be as a weak woman? ”
"Dare to ask the old man why he didn't go to The Qingfeng Temple in person, but asked outsiders to ask for half a bargain." Ma Rong still had a cloud of doubt in his heart.
"Oh, people die for money, birds die for food." Isn't Shen San a lesson from the past? The monk sighed. I am already a candle before the wind, so why should I covet this money? ”
"The old man knows a man named Yang Maode, but he is also a ghost who died for money."
The "monk" said, "Oh, oh, Yang Maode, if you forget your form a little, I am afraid that you are also a Yang Maode." ”
Ma Rong was astonished, and when he was about to ask more, he saw that the "monk" had covered his face and was lying down, and the snoring had started in an instant. He understood that the "monk" was about to evict the guests, so he got up and withdrew. Behind the cockfighting eyes, he shouted strangely, "That little fox in Chunyun is charming, don't miss it tonight." ”
Ma Rong pondered that the original Tao was only Chunyun's hook-up with the rogue idle man in the Purple Light Temple, but it turned out that he also had such a deep relationship with this "monk", which was breathtaking. Tonight when I go to The Breeze Temple, I really have to be a hundred times more careful and talk to her for a while.
Chapter XV
Ma Rong returned to the Inner Courtyard Study, and Di Gonggong spoke to Li Ke. Hong joined the army and unfolded several landscapes on the book, and the two axes were pressed with green town stones.
Di Publicized Ma Rong sat down and continued, "Mr. Li is deeply sorry that he was unable to paint a new painting for me. Although these three-axis old books are full of vigor and vividness, they are not more vivid than the new ink, and the fragrance can be touched. Of course, at present, in this western border city, silk paper is expensive, and ochre dan is in short supply. Moreover, painting still needs a state of mind, a sense of object, a strong mood, or because of the clarity of emptiness, or because of the touch of the medium, the chest is full of oil, and the inner landscape overlaps, in order to be able to transport the pen to be angry and splash ink. Mr. Li has recently been confused and troubled, unable to write, and can be forgiven. ”
Li Ke was full of shame and replied, "Old Master Di is very knowledgeable and proficient in this way, and the villain feels admiration." ...... It was Old Master Di who said, the little man has felt nostalgic for the world in recent days, his spirit is stagnant, he has not had the heart to paint, and he has failed to live up to the old man, and he is very ashamed. These three old works are accepted by The Lord Di, and when the mood of the future is better, they will definitely give grace and sacrifice ugliness, and pay more attention to it. ”
Di Gong smiled, "I thanked you here first." I only hope that Mr. Li will promise a thousand gold, and do not hesitate to ink like gold. As he turned around, he asked Hong, "Where do you think this three-axis painting is suitable for hanging?" By the way, you will talk with Mr. Li for the time being, and I will go to the back garden with Ma Rong. ”
Ma Rong followed Di Gong out of the study, turned around the corridor and followed a thin stone passage, through the weeping flower door at the end of the pink wall, to the back garden, and sat down under a cool tea rack.
"You've been in town for half a day, and you want to get a big buck." Di Gong asked urgently.
Ma Rong detailed the encounter of the half day, especially a conversation with the "monk".
Di Gongxi said, "This 'monk' seems to be an unusual figure, tonight when you go to Qingfeng Nunnery, you are looking for Chunyun, trying to find out his experience and tracks, and what kind of relationship he has with Chunyun." Although the murderer was not detected for a while, the fifty ingots of imperial gold stolen last year had the hope of recovering it. ”
Ma Rong nodded, and the two of them stepped out of the shade of the flowers and followed the same path back to the study.
Two huge candles burned in the study, shining like daylight. Hong's army had hung the three-axis landscape side by side on the wall of the study, and for a moment the elegance was full of color. Li Ke stared thoughtfully at the three-axis painting and sighed.
Di Gong and Ma Rong entered the house, Li Ke rushed forward to pay respects, and Di Gong looked at the wall of the middle hall with satisfaction and caressed his whiskers.
Li Ke said, "Can the old master check Yang Maode's tracks?" The case in the Purple Light Temple was really appalling, and the villain was only worried that Yang Mude was also involved in it. ”
Di Gongguan smiled. "Mr. Li doesn't have to worry about that case, how can this murder case not be solved?" At present, the official government has not yet seen Yang Maode's information, and if he is really in the case, it can also be investigated clearly. ”
Li Ke stood up and prayed, waiting to say goodbye, when he suddenly thought of something.
"Old Master Di, the little man remembered one thing last night, and just in time he forgot to say that the little man had indeed seen the little rosewood box."
Di Gong was shocked: "Rosewood box? You think about it. When and where did you get that play. ”
"About half a year ago, I remember an old beggar who brought the wooden box to sell to me. The wooden box was covered with mud, and I did not see a piece of white jade embedded in the lid of the box. He only needed five copper coins, and I was afraid that he would be begging for trouble, so I bought it and threw it in a broken basket. After that, I forgot that maybe it was sold with the bone Dong shop, but I don't know how it got into the hands of the old master. ”
"Mr. Li asked the old beggar where he got this wooden box?"
"The old beggar had a pair of cockfighting eyes, and the shape was funny. According to him, he found it on the barren slope behind the Purple Light Temple, and said that it was next to a rabbit's nest. He said he used to go there to pick up hare cubs and catch finches. ”
Di Gong said, "Thank you Mr. Li for this remark, the origin of this wooden box is clear." ”
Li Ke resigned, and Di Gong did not stay, and ordered Hong to join the army and send him to the front street gate, while he himself began to walk back to his inner neighbor. At this time, his heart was slightly relaxed, Li Ke's words did not sound like nonsense, if the wooden box was really picked on the barren slope behind the Purple Light Temple, then the cause of Death of Miss Bai Yu was also closely related to the Purple Light Temple.
Chapter XVI
As soon as Yue'er hung up on the Eastern Heavens, Ma Rong went out of the city, lightly familiar with the road, and after a while he touched the foot of the Purple Light Temple. Following the stone steps of the mountain path, we reached the small forest outside the Purple Light Temple, and after giving a whistle, two servants on duty flashed out of the woods, saw Ma Rong, and reported that they were fine. Ma Rong told them to stay where they were and carefully supervise, and he had something to do to investigate at Qingfeng Temple. The servant pointed out the path to the Qingfeng Temple, and Ma Rong went westward. At this time, the clouds are like silk, the breeze is cool, and the whole mountain view is very beautiful and peaceful.
Arriving at The Qingfeng Temple, Ma Rong walked around the powder wall outside the temple, paying attention to the terrain. He saw that the back of the nunnery was covered by a bamboo fence, the wall was slightly shorter, the greenery on all sides was verdant, and there was no movement, so he chose it as a place to climb over the wall and enter the nunnery.
After the moon moved into a thin cloud, Ma Rongli flipped into the wall of the nunnery and groped for the maid Chunyun's residence—only the upper porch cloud room and the hut were lit with candles—and knocked lightly on the door three times.
There were footsteps in the house, the purple door squeaked open, and a white and delicate face was revealed in the flickering of the candle flame, and the screw was crooked, and a jade noodle was inserted. He wears only an apricot red light crepe shirt with a water-green crepe skirt underneath.
"What are you?" In this dark night, boldly enter the solemn Buddha's realm. The woman put the candle on Ma Rong's face.
Ma Rong pondered that this handsome woman must be Chunyun, so he bowed his hand and said softly, "I was sent by the 'monk', and my name is Shao Ba." One side handed the woman the wooden plaque with the picture of the drifting cloud bat.
The woman took the wooden sign, examined it carefully according to the candlelight, and dengshi smiled: "It turned out to be Brother Shao." I am Chun Yun, the maid of Master Baoyue, the abbot of this nunnery. Saying that the door was opened, Ma Rong flashed in.
The house is simply furnished, and on the dresser sits an ancient porcelain vase with a cluster of wild roses. A wooden bed was covered with a mat, and the pillow was disheveled, emitting a burst of aroma.
Ma Rong smiled and said, "A good Immortal Cave Mansion, living in a daughter-in-law in the middle of the moon, told me Shao Ba to find it so hard." The 'monk' even sealed a dumb mystery. ”
Chun Yun also laughed, "Why have I never seen you?" Was it also my father's friend? Gong was so young and born so heroic. ”
Ma Rong was secretly shocked and said, "It turns out that Chunyun Girl is the daughter of a 'monk', how to give birth to a princess." I am Shen San's cousin, and your father sent me to cooperate with you in digging up the gold in the temple over there. ”
Chun Yun's hot eyes glared at Ma Rong, "It turns out that Big Brother Shao has this big responsibility." This matter is also not urgent, and it is slowly unfolding. ”
Ma Rong pouted, "When Shen Sansheng was born, his teeth were very tight, and he kept this matter from me. But your father had big eyes and entrusted me with heavy responsibilities. - I just don't know how they originally agreed to divide it? ”
"Shen 33 out of 6, Yang Maode 6 out of 3." Shen Sanyuan was a disciple of my father, and Ping Xi respected his father very much, so half of his 36 miles were evenly with my father. The gold secret letter is revealed by Yang Maode, so he accounts for a large share. ”
Ma Rong was puzzled: "Yang Maode first learned of this hidden gold secret letter, how could he not dig it alone, but pull Shen San to dissect it?" ”
"There are still people behind Yang Maode, and I heard that they are very fierce and cruel. Yang Maode was blindly afraid, where dare to act alone. I had to pull Shen San as a companion and strengthen my courage. Who knew that the disaster would happen unexpectedly, Shen San was killed, and Yang Maode did not know where he had been taken. Of course, my father did not allow me to search privately, and I was able to gain a firm foothold here, which was also my father's deliberate arrangement, so that I could spy on the movements inside and outside the Purple Light Temple at any time and wait for the opportunity. ”
"Is the man who hid the gold still alive?" Why didn't he take it alone, layer by layer, and make up a lawsuit for so many lives? ”
"Those who wanted to come to the gold hiding also died a long time ago." But the mouth breeze is revealed, layer by layer, and the joints are gelatinous. Yang Mude's back is unknown how many layers of people, and the Purple Light Temple inside and outside does not know the number of geometric times that have been excavated. According to my judgment, I am afraid that Shen and Yang have made their eyebrows, and the gold has arrived, and they have been secretly calculated. Now that this gold is gone, I dare not say, but since my father sent you to assist me, let's carefully consider how to act. ”
Chun Yun took out a piece of paper folded into a square victory from under the seat, unwrapped it and spread it flat on the table. ——It was a hand-drawn floor plan of the Garden of the Purple Light Temple.
"When Master Baoyue is asleep, we can go to the Purple Light Temple together." Father said that 80% of the gold is hidden in the Hall of the Great Hero, you can go to the candle fire and carefully memorize the pattern, do not catch the scoop, and then turn the gourd. ”
The lights in Baoyueyun's room were extinguished, and Ma Rong and Chunyun quickly picked up a horn lamp and slipped out of the room.
"Brother Shao, this horn lamp can't be lit at this moment." Since Shen Sanheng's death, Yamen has sent a guard to hide in the woods, and we should be careful to bypass Fang Hao. ”
Ma Rong agreed, and then asked, "Will you find my cousin's murderer tonight?" I heard that the murderer was bold and still hiding in the temple. It can also be said that he was timid, and finally did not dare to go out of the temple door, for fear of being seized by the government. ”
Chun Yun said, "How could the murderer be trapped in the temple waiting for death?" There are several gaps in the back wall of the temple, which can be escaped long ago. I think it is still gold that is still not found, and I am not willing to rest. But tonight is a good moon, and I am sure that I will meet the ghost. ”
"Ghost, have you seen that ghost too?" Ma Rong's heart was filled with fear.
"Seen. It looked like a tall woman, wearing a fluttering birthday dress, wandering east and west. ”
"Will Shen San be strangled to death by this ghost?" Ma Rong asked suddenly.
"No, no, that ghost never hurts. I bumped into her once, and she was so frightened that she disappeared without a trace. There is a yang fire in the living person, and a wisp of her yin soul will not be able to resist the yang fire in the end. Big Brother Shao needn't be afraid, it will never be the ghost who killed your cousin. My father also said that the ghost was changed by the celestial fairy, and his heart was good. ”
Ma Rong was slightly emboldened, and in his heart he regretted showing a cowardly attitude in front of this weak woman, so he took the horn lamp and strode forward.
Seeing the small forest outside the Purple Light Temple, Ma Rong deliberately inserted himself into the forest and wanted to bypass the two servants. Who knew that just when he was about to go out of the forest, he saw a servant lying on the ground and sleeping soundly. Ma Rong was secretly happy, so he boldly approached. Suddenly he noticed that there was something strange about the servant's posture, so he carefully bent down and looked at it carefully. If you don't look at it, you will be surprised to see it, and it turns out that the servant has already frozen to death.
"Lady Chunyun, hurry back to Qingfeng'an!" The murderer is really coming tonight! ”
"What's going on?" Chun Yun walked behind and asked.
"A servant of the government was strangled to death by the murderer and lay dead by the pine tree. You should still be careful to dodge. ”
"No! I feel more afraid to go back alone, so I might as well be next to you and be bold. Even if you really encounter a murderer, it will help you. ”
Ma Rong was overjoyed, he didn't expect that this weak woman was not shy, and there was even a chivalrous atmosphere. ——He really needs Chunyun to help him at this moment.
"We must climb through the gap in the back wall of the temple, and we must not let the murderer find us." Ma Rong said with one hand holding the spring cloud, and tiptoed towards the back wall of the temple.
At this time, he suddenly remembered another servant on duty, Fang Jingxing, who was also secretly calculated! Why is there no trace of it at this moment. I couldn't help but feel a pang of numbness in my heart, and my hair stood upright when I stepped up. He instructed Chunyun to wait under a black pine and go to the back wall of the temple to take a peek at it himself. If there is no movement, call her again.
Chapter XVII
"Ghost!" Ma Rong seemed to be suppressed by the spell, he couldn't believe his eyes, and he stood still like a nightmare. Suddenly, he remembered that it was this white ghost that had guided him to the ancient well that night and found Shen San's body. Could it be that tonight this kind ghost has come to secretly help me solve the case? Thinking of this, he strengthened his courage and pulled out his legs to follow the ghost slowly.
The ghost walked for a while, and after a month of cave doors, he looked back at Ma Rong. Suddenly, she stood up and lifted her two long sleeves high, forming a semicircle on the top of her head, and the long hair on her head was scattered in all directions. Ma Rong was so frightened that he immediately stopped, unable to guess what this ghost was going to do. Just as he was ignoring it, there was a loud noise, and the door of the moon cave collapsed, raising a piece of dust, the white dress flashed, and the ghost disappeared suddenly.
Ma Rong shouted "Fluke" in succession. Apparently, the ghost's gesture was to warn him that if he took the liberty of following him again, he would be destroyed in an instant. ——Ma Rong was only three or five steps away from the Moon Cave Gate.
He shook the dust on his head, and was about to wear around the pile of rubble, when he suddenly felt someone pulling the corner of his clothes, and his heart was shocked, only to feel the cold inside and his legs weak.
"Brother Shao, what's wrong?" ——Chun Yun also climbed over the back wall at some point and followed him all the time.
Ma Rong was horrified, saw that it was Chunyun, and put his mind at ease. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, he suddenly saw a black shadow behind the rubble pile flash into the West Side Hall, and he immediately pulled out and chased after him.
The moon is hazy, the stars are falling, and the scenery inside the temple is faintly recognizable. Ma Rong jumped from the corner of the flower path to the steps of the West Temple, and suddenly saw the black shadow penetrate into the apse again. Ma Rong also followed the apse, which was pitch black and could not distinguish the five fingers. Zheng Jue hesitated, and suddenly heard a creaking sound, and the black shadow had sneaked out of the hall door, took three feet and two steps, and suddenly sneaked into the Great Xiong Hall in front of him.
Ma Rong had entered the Great Hall of the Great Xiong, and he had memorized the plan of Chun Yun, so there was no obstacle to his actions in the darkness. He fumbled to the right corner of the altar in the Daxiong Hall, gently lifted the curtain, dodged into the niche, and used the weak light of the moonlight through the circular air window to monitor the reappearance of the black shadow.
Suddenly he could hear a creak in front of the altar, as if someone was moving the offering table. Ma Rong gently stepped out of the niche and touched the Buddha statue in the middle, trying to peek carefully from behind the lotus seat. Suddenly, a white light flew from the left, and Ma Rong's eyes were sharp, and he hurriedly dodged, only to hear a loud bang, it was a dagger.
Ma Rong scolded angrily in his heart, and when he looked again, the black shadow had quickly passed through the front door of the main hall.
He shouted, "Where are the thieves running!" "Jump off and chase." Just arrived at the door of the temple, I was tripped by a rope, and fell to the ground, only to feel that Venus was flying in front of me, my lips and nose were painful, and my hands and legs were numb. When the struggle stood up and chased again, the black shadow had already run out of the mountain gate and did not know where to go.
Ma Rong scolded incessantly, only complaining that he had acted recklessly, and that his achievements had failed, causing the murderer to escape. When he covered his face in pain and looked closely, it turned out that what had tripped him was a soft rope ladder, and there was an iron hook at each end of the rope ladder. He shouted "obscure" a few times, so he had to follow the same path out of the apse, and saw Chunyun sitting cross-legged in the corner waiting for him.
"Mother, the thief's root slipped and fell into a sharp rope, turned three times and two turns, and then disappeared, causing me to fall down, and I was almost thrown by his dagger." Ma Rong spat out a mouthful of bloody spit, only to feel the tearing pain between his lips and kisses.
"Miss Chunyun, I'll send you back to The Breeze Temple first."
Chun Yun nodded and snuggled up to Ma Rong and slowly turned around Qingfeng'an. When I arrived at the nunnery, I saw that Baoyue's cloud room was silent and still had no lights, so I walked back to my room with confidence.
Ma Rong returned to the gate of the Purple Light Temple and whistled, but he did not see Fang Jingxing coming, thinking that the little house had indeed been killed. Step by step, he went deep into the woods to look for it. Stepping over a huge Luo Han Pine, Ma Rong suddenly stepped on the air and fell to the ground. Can't help but break the mouth to scold, only to feel the pain in the lips and tongue, haha does not squeak at once. When you are about to stand up, you will open your eyes and look at it, and suddenly your hair will stand upside down in fright.
Two steps away, a blood-stained human head was rolling! It turned out that when he fell, his body hit the human head, causing it to roll. The place where the stepping was originally a shallow pit had been newly dug, and according to the situation, it was as if someone had just dug a human head out of the mud.
Ma Rong boldly looked at the man's head. - Thank goodness, it wasn't Fang Jingxing. Then, this head should be Yang Mude!
"Yang Mude's head was originally buried here, telling us to find it." But why did the murderer want to dig it out? Ma Rong couldn't help but be full of doubts, so he looked around. Sure enough, not far ahead, about ten steps away, there was a person lying there, still moaning slightly.
Fang Jingxing was unconscious, his armor cracked a hole, and there was a blood stain inside and out. The murderer apparently took advantage of his lack of preparation and stabbed him with a dagger. Ma Rong had to rush back to Qingfeng Nunnery to ask Baoyue and Chunyun to rescue him first, and he immediately went down the mountain to yamen to repay Di Gong.
When Ma Rong finished his hard fight at the Qingfeng'an Purple Light Temple, Di Gong showed joy and praised him. -- The facts of the case seem to have taken a turn for the better, but Ma Rong's hardships are not small.
Fang Jingxing finally woke up under the rescue of Baoyue and Chunyun. According to him, when he was patrolling, he occasionally heard the sound of digging soil in the forest, and when he looked closer, he saw a human head on the side of the newly dug earth pit. He was about to turn around when he was attacked and nearly lost his sex
life.
Di Gong sighed and said, "Why is this murderer so impatient?" In two or three days, he killed Shen San and Yang Maode, attacked Fang Jingxing, strangled another pawn, and Ma Rong yourself almost ate his plot. - This impatient behavior, the end is suspicious. ”
Ma Rong shook his head, and Hong's thin old face showed a melancholy look.
Di Gong continued, "Since the murderer brought a rope ladder with an iron hook, he wanted to hide the gold ingot at a high place, and he needed to climb the rope ladder to get it. At the moment we know that at least three people are secretly searching for this gold ingot. One is the culprit who killed the man. The second was Shen San and Yang Maode, who obviously heard the secret letter and intervened in the middle of the way. The third is the 'monk' who has coveted this property for a long time. --------------------------------------- This ghost is even more suspicious, and in my head I am just a fool and a fool's nonsense, and I am not sitting on the truth. That day Ma Rong, you yourself did not dare to determine whether you had seen it clearly, but tonight you were twelve points sure that the existence of this ghost was tangible and concrete, and seemed to be involved in the sin of plotting your life. Now we must first find out the origin of the ghost's identity, investigate it in detail, and must no longer deceive ourselves and turn a blind eye. ”
Ma Rong listened to Di Gong's words in frustration and said slowly, "Lord, but I am still a little suspicious of this ghost, whether she is secretly helping me or deliberately harming me, I really dare not judge." Last night it can be said that she guided me to the ancient well, and it can be understood that she lured me to jump into the ancient well and let the murderer throw a boulder and kill me. In the same way, tonight's events can be regarded as instigating me to pass through the door of the moon cave that is about to collapse, or it can be judged that when she found me on the verge of danger, she suddenly stopped me, and her gesture at that time was really terrible, and I was frightened by her strange behavior that I stopped moving--so she secretly saved my life. ”
Di Gong said, "Now you can conclude that the ghost is a long woman wearing a long white dress and almost full of silk, not a ghost ghost." She has flesh and blood, form and shadow, and is deliberate on human intrigue. Regardless of whether she is helping you or harming you, she often haunts this garden of the Purple Light Temple, which cannot but surprise me. From the verdict of the case in the past few days, she is by no means an outsider who has nothing to do with the robbery of gold. ——Ma Rong, tomorrow morning you will go to Qingfeng'an to see Fang Jingxing's injury, and after breakfast we will gather here to make a decision. The murderer is desperately struggling, killing people in a frenzy, it seems that the hour is pressing, and the hidden gold is about to be revealed. We must not be held by his nose any longer.
Chapter XVIII
In the middle of the night, a torrential rain, the lotus pond was washed to dust. In the early morning, the air is clear and fresh, the lotus fragrance is overflowing, the hibiscus is facing the wind, and the lotus leaves are like a cover. Di Gong was alone and half-groaning before returning to the Inner Courtyard to go to breakfast.
Hong Liang and Ma Rong were already waiting in the inner courtyard. When Di Gong went to breakfast, Ma Rongyu told him that he had gone to Qingfeng Nunnery in the morning, and Fang Jingxing's injuries had healed, and according to Baoyue Dao, he would be healed in another ten days and a half months.
Di Gong said, "Last night I thought about this case carefully, and today we will search the Purple Light Temple again, and then send the 'monk' to his daughter Chunyun to interrogate him." ”
Ma Rong said, "This Chunyun girl is alert and alert, exquisite and lovely, and is buried in the Qingfeng Nunnery by the 'monk'." She can be said to know the Purple Light Temple very well, and she also personally painted a floor plan of the Purple Light Temple. ”
Di Gong drank the last bite of porridge, wiped his mouth, put down the bowl, and nodded: "Ma Rong, the floor plan of Chunyun is very in-depth." He said and pulled the picture out of the drawer and spread it on the bookcase to look at it carefully.
While pointing out the floor plan, Ma Rong repeated the details of last night's round-and-round chase with the murderer.
"When I saw that guy running out of the temple door, I pulled out my leg and chased after it, but I didn't expect to be tripped by a rope ladder and fell to the bruises of my mouth and nose."
Suddenly, Di Gongmeng punched the book case, the tea cup shook upside down, the tea flowed, the wolf was in a mess, and the floor plan was soaked. Hong Liang hurriedly went forward and wiped it with a rag.
"Oh my God! Turns out the mechanism is here! How I didn't see the eyebrows until now. The last time I went to the temple, I felt that the layout of the temple was somewhat unusual, but it turned out to be very exquisite. ”
Di Gong put his hands behind his back and began to pace back and forth, stroking his whiskers. Hong Liang and Ma Rong understood that this case was not far from being solved. However, at this time, no one was willing to ask questions and disturb Di Gong's thoughts.
There were rapid footsteps outside the door of the study, and Lieutenant Fang hurriedly came in to pray.
"The Hu people of Beiliao are surrounding Tara to commit a violent attack, and they throw her with stones and dirt, and they say that she is a demon star, a devil, a criminal, and they are about to put her to death."
When Ma Rong heard this, his heart cried bitterly, and he looked at Di Gong with wide eyes. Di Gong nodded, and he immediately ran out of the courtyard to lead the mount, raised his horse whip, and galloped out of the palace.
There was chaos in Beiliao, Tara's house was on fire, and groups of thugs were booing, shouting, screaming, chasing Tara like a tide. The two servants blocked and retreated, and the few Hu people who ran in front of them threw stones violently. Tara fell to the ground, covered in blood and panting.
Ma Rong rushed toward the crowd on horseback, and while slamming his horse whip, the mob retreated one after another, and then roared and scattered. He got off his horse to rescue Tara. Tara was bleeding profusely and dying. A pair of large, dark eyes flashed with a terrifying light. She looked at Ma Rong wordlessly, as if she recognized it, and a bleak smile appeared on her calm face.
Suddenly, with a loud noise, Tara's house burned down, and several pillars of thick black smoke rose up. The black smoke cleared, and a flame several inches high burst out, and there was a beeping and peeling sound on all sides.
Tara smiled slightly and closed her eyes. Ma Rong picked up her body and put it on horseback, and rushed to the crowd again: "Quickly put out the fire!" Fight the fire with me! Only then did the people wake up and lift water and ladders to extinguish the fire. - Tara's neighbors had been engulfed in flames, and there were panicked cries for help.
Ma Rong returned to the office, exhausted. He instructed the servants to take Tara's body to the human factory and burn it, before returning to the inner ya to restore Di Gong's life.
Di Gong and Hong Liang were listening to the secretary who had returned from the town of Jimu in the study hall to report the results of his visit.
Ma Rong walked into the study, and Di Gong said, "You came just in time, let's listen to the clues from the last town hook." He instructed the secretary to continue.
Ma Rong brewed a cup of tea himself, and was about to drink it, but he saw seven pieces of paper arranged in a horizontal row on the Di Gongshu case, and one of them also had gongkai characters written on it. He was not in a position to look closely, and after taking a sip of fragrant tea, he also calmed down to listen to the secretary's narration.
"As soon as the treasurer of the household department, Gu Zou Xianggong, arrived in the last town, the official Yi dispatched a messenger to serve him. According to the messenger, this Zou Xianggong refused the banquet of the official government, saying only that he was a chariot and horse, and he was physically exhausted, and ordered the messenger to prepare a little wine and drink in the official's caravan. I didn't invite anyone, I ate alone, and I fell asleep. His entourage rested in the outhouse. The servant also said that before going to bed, Zou Xianggong ordered him to find a leather craftsman, saying that a leather suitcase he had carried with him had broken and needed to be repaired that night so as not to delay tomorrow's journey. That night the messenger found a leather smith surnamed Liu, and he himself retired to the lower room to rest. Early the next morning, Zou Xianggong set off on his way. - The servant only knows this.
"I quickly found the leather craftsman, his name is Liu Shanlong. This Liu Shanlong was clever, able to speak the Tao, and was good at a variety of crafts, had a wide range of communications, and was a close friend of the messenger in the official palace, so the messenger asked him to repair the suitcase for Zou Xianggong, which was a good business recommendation.
Zou Xianggong let Liu Shanlong look at the suitcase, and one corner of the suitcase cracked open. Zou Xianggong said that it was because the suitcase had fallen from the horse's back to the ground when crossing the Gobi. That Liu Shanlong carefully looked at the crack in the suitcase, and said that he had to open the suitcase and stitch the tendon line from the inner corner. Zou Xianggong was suspicious in his heart, and only asked the leather smith to think of ideas, and only sewed the cracks outside without opening the lid. The two disagreed, Zou Xianggong did not repair, and Liu Shanlong's business was not completed.
It turned out that when Liu Shanlong inspected the crack in the suitcase, he vaguely found that the box contained gold, and the weight was very heavy, plus Zou Xianggong was reluctant to open the lid of the box, and he was even more convinced. Liu Shanlong knew the three religions and nine streams, gold, silver, copper, iron, silk fur business has been done, this box of gold let him speculate, how can he hide it?
"However, after all, this Liu Shanlong is a timid and restrained, law-abiding, and knows that he is an official's gold ingot, and he does not dare to start a bad idea of robbery." But the itchy skin of the mouth, like a groove of water, can't help but pass it out. The news first spread among the gold and silver jewelers, grinning and half-believing. When Zou Xianggong arrived in Lanfang, the news that he was carrying a lot of money had already gone away in Lanfang.
"Xi Xian said, the wealth is not revealed. Zou Jigong was negligent in his thoughts, and indeed he insulted his mission and was imprisoned. The fifty ingots of royal gold were stolen that night, and there was no more news. When the secretary said this, he couldn't help but sigh, showing a very old-fashioned temperament.
Di Gong bowed his head frequently and raised the tea cup to greet him. The secretary only withdrew.
Ma Rongyu reported the process of quelling the chaos in Beiliao and said that Tara's body had been dragged to the chemical factory and burned. Di Gong nodded satisfactorily, thinking in his heart, a mob that worshipped evil gods had actually mutilated Tara, and the government could not be sure which was the murderer, that is, severe punishment. The most urgent task now is to find out this serial murder and robbery case.
He said, "Let's not go to the Purple Light Temple first." When the secretary came, I was discussing the details of this case with Hong Liang, especially the date of each plot before and after, and I felt that although this case was shiny and colorful, it was very fancy, but there was a line running through it, and the ranking of this date was very exquisite. Oh, you see I have seven pieces of paper lined up on my table, and on each piece of paper I have a name, each name is suspected of being a murderer. - Let's play with these seven names at this moment. ”
Chapter XIX
Di Gong folded the seven pieces of paper together, took a sip of tea lightly, and said, "We are actually facing a case." The day before yesterday we were overwhelmed by three cases. Two of them occurred almost a year ago, when the Imperial Gold of Zou Jingwen, the treasurer of the Household Department, was stolen, and the white jade inside the mysterious rosewood box left a note written in blood. The third is that Shen San and Yang Maode were killed at the Purple Light Temple and changed heads to each other.
"As the case was uncovered layer by layer and deepened step by step, I found that these three seemingly unrelated cases were originally the same breath and had their own origins. The theft of Zou Jingwen's royal gold is the original wedge, and the subsequent progress of the case is all based on this theme and deduces the branches and leaves. ”
Ma Rong was shocked: "But it turns out that these three cases all have a source flow, and the fifty ingots of royal gold performance are the scene of the sword and blood shadow, and the thrilling plot." ”
Hong Liang poured another cup of tea for Di Gong, and Di Gong swallowed it on his neck.
"Just in time I said that the dates in this case are very pregnant and interesting. Let's take a look at this date list first. "Di Gong took out a letterhead from the book drawer." The date on this paper is a note I took note of. ”
Hong Liang and Ma Rong took a look at the letterhead, and the letterhead did indeed list a series of dates:
Fifteen years ago (Qianfeng Dingdi)
The government sealed the Purple Light Temple, and in the same year the Qingfeng Nunnery was built.
Last year (Vinh Lung Shin Mi)
May 15
Wu Zongren married the Zhou clan.
In early August, zou jingwen's royal gold was stolen.
On August 20, the silversmith died, and his wife Shen Shi threw himself into the empty gate and took charge of the Qingfeng Nunnery
Renamed Hozuki.
First Saturday of September
The disappearance of Dairo Kim (Zhou' former husband).
Early October of September
White Jade is missing (Tara Yun, White Jade dies).
On September 12, white jade left a note.
Ma Rong questioned, "Lord, what is the purpose of this goldsmith Mi Dalang?" Also listed in the table? ”
Di Gong replied, "When Hong Liang carefully examined the official files, he occasionally found that a blacksmith named Mi Sanlang had come to Yamen to report the crime, saying that his brother Mi Dalang had never returned after he left the house on the sixth night of the first nine nights of September last year. However, after this Mizaburō reported the case, he did not pursue the matter again, and the matter was closed and hung up. ----------------- Today, Hong Liang went to the Mi family mansion to inquire and confirmed that Zhou Shiguo was the wife of Mi Dalang.
"Mi Dalang has a narrow temperament, a vicious heart, and is good at chickens and dogs, and his courage is not small." Because of the craftsmanship of a lot of gold and silver, a blind flower street willow lane, three tiles and two houses walking. He gradually became at odds with the Zhou clan, quarreled, and finally turned against each other and flew separately. Mi Dalang signed the letter of resignation, nai sheng was remorseful, and wanted to break the mirror several times to re-round, while Zhou Shi was ambiguous and undecided. Later, through Li Mei's mediation, he became Wu Zongren's successor. After Di Gong finished speaking, he moved the chair forward to bring his body closer to the book, while lining up the seven pieces of paper and opening the first piece of paper with his hand.
"Oh, this piece of paper has Wu Zongren's name written on it." Di Gong smiled and set up a pushing position.
"Wu Zongren was impeached by you for perverting the law for embezzlement, and his life was in a mess. After retiring, he was not wide in hand, and he married the Zhou clan as his successor. ——This second piece of paper has Zhou's name written on it, and I have merged her piece of paper with Wu Zongren's piece of paper, and you will not have any objections.
The couple could easily hear the news from the town of Jimu, that Wu Zongren was a regular visitor to the De Dajin, and that Zhou's ex-husband was a goldsmith. After they received this information, they thought that the opportunity could not be lost, so Zhou Shi went to find Mi Dalang for consultation. Mi Da Lang was obsessed with money and started to steal. ——Mi Da Lang used to be a habitual thief through the flying wall, and Zhou Shi naturally knew it well, so he moved out to take the lead.
Mi Dalang stole the gold, changed it into a lead strip, and buried the gold ingot somewhere in the Purple Light Temple. When the Wu couple found him, he refused to admit it and wanted to swallow the gold alone. The Wu couple became angry and joined forces to kill Mi Dalang and move the body elsewhere. The two of them secretly went to the Purple Light Temple to search for several months, but there was no result. I only thought that It was Mi Dalang who deceived him, and it was not necessary that the gold ingot was really buried in the Purple Light Temple.
"Their behavior cannot be concealed from the domestic servant Yang Mude. Yang Maode already had an affair with the Zhou clan, and he spied out the clues from it, or coerced the Zhou clan to spit out the truth, so he teamed up with Shen San and was eager to try. Where is Wu Zongren and his wife willing? When the gold was about to be revealed, they finally designed to assassinate Shen and Yang, and deliberately hid Yang's head in order to cover the eyes and ears of the world. ”
Ma Rong clapped his hands, "If the murderer is really that pair of men and women, will the Zhou clan be the ghosts in the temple?" However, how can miss Bai Yu be explained? ”
When Wu Zongren and his wife killed Mi Dalang, they may have been spied on by Bai Yu, so they did not do anything, and then they did not stop getting rid of her, and at this time Wu Zongren's heart was fierce and no longer cared about her. -- And Miss Bai Yu's disappearance happened to be three or four days after Mi Dalang's disappearance. After the notice of looking for the white jade was posted in the yamen, the two of them were panicked, and at the same time, they found the yamen to spy in every way, urgently asking us what we found, for fear that we would be exposed, and we could also express our innocence, like the posture of our parents. ”
Ma Rong was nodding his head, and Di Gong said, "There is a big loophole in my layer of speculation. Wu Zongren may smash you with bricks and stones at the mouth of the ancient well, and Zhou May also wander the garden in a shou skirt and pretend to be a ghost. But how could the two of them be old, how could they strangle Yang Mude and assassinate Shen San? And how can the Three Of The Night Fight with you in the Great Hall and throw daggers. ”
Ma Rong touched his head and smiled, "But it is also, but it is also." But will the murderer be hired by them for the money, and there will be a brave man under the heavy reward, then the murderer will dare to have no scruples and almost ruin my life. ”
Di Gongguan' er, without answering the call, opened the third piece of paper.
The words "Li Mei" were written on the piece of paper.
Di Gong said, "In this layer of speculation, I assume that Li Mei and Zhou Shi were originally hooked up. After the two of them received the news that Zou Jingwen had paid money to Lanfang, they designed the robbery, and it was still Mi Dalang who started it. In the same deduction, after Mi Dalang's gold arrived, he cheated and changed his mind, betrayed the account, and was removed by Li Mei and Zhou Shi. Bai Yu either discovered the murder plot or detected the adultery between the two. Zhou Shi was fierce and proposed to extinguish his mouth, and Li Mei stole gold with a heart and was willing to give it up. --Today, when he came to Yamen to repeatedly express his loyalty to Bai Yu, it was a refutation that he had a ghost in his heart and was restless. As for the encounter with your Ma Rong in the future, it can be fully explained. ”
Hong Joinjun looked embarrassed, and doubts rose in his heart: "This Li Mei has both committed adultery with the Zhou clan and colluded in stealing gold to kill people, why did she deliberately slander the Zhou clan in front of the old master yesterday?" ”
Di Gong also explained: "This can be seen as wanting to hide the old dew, fake revealing the real hidden, false and true, and shi bu suspicious, so that we can not easily detect the two of his deeds." Moreover, Li Mei also sniffed silk wood to spit out the inside story of this gold theft. The Zhou clan also threw a complaint first, falsely claiming that Wu Zongren had first sued her, screaming and screaming, blindly washing, and her deeds were really suspicious. But there was another woman suspicious. Di Gong opened a piece of paper again, and the name written on the piece of paper was "Bao Yue".
Hong Liang and Ma Rong's eyes flashed with surprise.
"Although this Baoyue is a monk, she is also a very suspicious figure. Don't forget that her original husband Zhang Silversmith died of a sudden heart attack, and whether his sudden death was strange or not, it is worth not to investigate deeply, it is worth doubting that her abbot Qingfeng Nunnery was eighteen days after Zou Jingwen's imperial gold was stolen. At this time, it is most convenient to choose a Seifu-an to stay and monitor and search the Purple Light Temple. This coincidence is so important that we can easily miss it. Again, the night Ma Rong you were in distress at your ancient well, she was at my wife's birthday party. I mentioned on a whim that you were going to go to the Purple Light Temple to investigate, and I remember that she left the temple in a hurry very early, only to say that she had a bad headache, and I was relieved that Chunyun was not. ”
Ma Rong said, "As it is, if the white-robed ghost fruit is her, last night she designed to kill me." ----------------- Seifu-an is very close to the Purple Light Temple, and The treasure moon dressed as a ghost is the most bento. ”
Di Gong continued, "Baoyue is suspicious, in the end it is just an accomplice to assist, and the murderer may be her adulterer." I even suspected that Zhang Silversmith had killed her by the means of her and the adulterer. ”
He opened the fifth piece of paper.
"On this fifth piece I wrote Li Ke's name." He opened the sixth piece of paper,
On the piece of paper, gongzheng wrote the words "Yang Maode".
"Yang Mude!" Ma Rong couldn't help but cry out. "Hasn't he already been killed?"
Di Gong smiled and put the piece of paper of "Zhou Shi" between "Li Ke" and "Yang Maode".
"Let's take a look at the relationship between these three people. As I said earlier, there are various indications that Zhou And Yang Maode may have an adulterous affair. One is an impatient and lonely adulteress in Luxiang City, and the other is a scum of learning and literacy. His two hookups make more sense. Yang Maode has a wide waist and a round back, quite a bold force, killing people and goods, it is not difficult. After Mi Dalang hid the gold and did not spit it out, after letting Yang Maode get rid of it, Yang Maode went to the Ziguang Temple to search many times, but he found nothing. As time went on, he and Zhou Shi couldn't help but get discouraged and lazy, and gradually became suspicious of each other. ”
Di Gong moved the "Zhou Clan" closer to "Li Ke" again.
"Zhou's natural watery flowers, used to attract bees and butterflies, show off the style, and soon joined li ke. - Li Ke lived with his brother Li Mei at that time, and the Li brothers had gone to Wu Mansion to pay respects together, and there were many contacts between the two ends. Li Ke was originally a person who was uninhibited and disregarded etiquette, and he was born with the Zhou clan once, and the second time he became acquainted, and his eyebrows came and went, and he soon became a co-op. Zhou Shi's heart was hot and cold fast, and yang Maode had already left Yang Maode alone. He also instigated Li Ke to go to the Purple Light Temple to look for gold.
"Yang Maode is not a good person, and in the face of this humiliation, will he be willing to rest?" He found Li Ke to show his face and threatened to sue Mr. Wu Lao. Li Ke pretended to be submissive and allowed him to blackmail, but secretly used a plan to kill Yang Maode. Yang Maode was rude, and he was afraid that the hidden gold would be dug up by Li Ke, and the other end was looking for shen san and two temples to search, and finally he was secretly sniped by Li Ke, and a rope strangled him and cut off his head to hide. However, this time the Zhou clan is in the center, and the origin of Li Ke and Yang Maode can be turned upside down, then it is Yang Maode's design to strangle Li Ke. ”
Di Gong folded the pieces of paper on the table into a stack, and was about to put them into the drawer, when Hong Liang suddenly said, "Lord, there is still the last mile, how did you forget?" ”
Di Gong realized, "Yes, yes, there is a seventh." He said and opened the seventh one, but it was all painted with black ink.
"I once wrote a name on it, which seemed to be the name of the ghost in the Purple Light Temple, and then I scribbled it with ink." Maybe it's the name of a dead man again—we left the seven pieces of paper alone. Tonight I will make a final judgment, and this final judgment will require a small test. ”
Ma Rong asked, "I don't know what new things the old man wants to fiddle with, but he has done experimenting." ”
Di Gongfu smiled, "Before you came here, I had already sent someone to send two letters." One to Wu Zongren and his wife, and the other to Li Mei. I invited them to the Great Hall of the Purple Light Temple tonight to listen to me elaborate on the results of Miss Bai Yu's visit. ”
"So, li ke and bao yue, please don't you please?" Ma Rong asked again.
"I want to go to Qingfeng'an Qingbaoyue myself and see Fang Jingxing's illness by the way." As for Li Ke, I was asking you to go and ask for it. When you went to see him at this moment, you said that I invited him to the Purple Light Temple to see the murals; to hear his opinion. But you can't let Li Ke find out that someone else has been invited to the temple, so you must lead him up the mountain and jump into the back wall into the temple and wait in the apse. When he heard that I had been invited, I led him into the Hall of The Great Heroes. - You must not make a mistake in the middle, you can remember clearly. ”
Ma Rong had a lot of doubts in his chest, and his mouth promised to be very smooth.
Chapter XX
It was nearly dark, and Di Gong, Hong Joinjun and Lieutenant Fang led a team of servants to the Purple Light Temple.
The four servants in the first row each held a big red lantern of the "Lanfang Zhengtang", and Lieutenant Fang held a pair of soft ladders and a bundle of fine hemp rope in his hands. Di Gong arranged the personnel inside and outside the Daxiong Hall, hurriedly closed the door of the hall, first did some work in the hall, and half a day he opened the door and left the hall to go to the Qingfeng Temple with Hong's army.
Baoyue personally opened the door of the nunnery, and when he saw that It was Old Master Di and Hong joining the army to visit, he was shocked, and he was busy welcoming people to sit in the zen hall, and ordered Chunyun to offer tea.
Di Gongli said, "After the pawn in Yali was injured, he was very disturbed by Bao'an, and this county has come here to express his gratitude." ”
Bao Yue is the only one, and the money is returned.
Di Gong turned his thoughts and said to himself, "This temple is a place of pure retreat, and the monks and nuns are all people of high quality outside the dust, so they should not take care of worldly affairs and personnel disputes." Who knows, often drowning in it, refusing to get rid of themselves, of course, there are also involuntarily helpless. ”
Although Baoyue didn't quite understand Di Gong's mindless remarks, she also slightly felt that the county order had come to the nunnery in person, and she was afraid that it would be ominous. Could it be that he was really helpless, and the mundane affairs that he couldn't help but pestered, his heart could not help but be worried, and his face was red and white.
Di Zheng said, "Three days ago, a bloody murder occurred in the Ziguang Temple, and tonight the county specially invited several witnesses to investigate and discuss on the spot in the Daxiong Hall of the temple. He also asked Master Baoyue to go to the temple for a little rest and assist the government in solving this case."
Where does Baoyue dare to push back? He nodded, went to the Cloud Room to take a dark colored cloak, ordered ChunYun to guard the door, and then went out of the nunnery with Di Gong and Hong's army.
When Di Gong and the three of them returned to the Ziguang Temple, Wu Zongren, Zhou Shi, and Li Mei were already waiting in the courtyard of the mountain gate. After a few salutes to each other, they entered the Great Hall.
The hall of the Great Xiong has long been illuminated by lanterns and torches, the three Buddha statues in the middle of the altar, and the slender heavenly arhats in the two corridors. In front of the hall, there was a bell hanging in the east corner, and a drum was propped up in the west corner, and two servants each stood. From the main hall to the mountain gate, Lieutenant Fang had arranged guard duties early, the order was orderly, and the weather was chic.
Di Gong stood in front of the lotus seat of Shakya statue, and let Wu Zongren and Zhou Shi stand in the front of the confession, With Baoyue on the right and Li Mei on the left, facing himself. Hong joined the army and stood behind Di Gong.
Di Gong's eyes were melancholy, and he swept the four people in front of him and said, "This county invited the four of you to come today, just to analyze a case with a plot on the ground. ——Let me start with Miss Bai Yu. Miss Bai Yu is no longer alive, and she died in this Hall of Great Glory last August. ”
Wu Zongren and his wife, Li Mei, and Baoyue were dizzy, looking at each other, and their hearts were like fifteen buckets of water, seven up and eight down. I don't know what kind of intention It is that Old Master Di laid out this doubtful situation in the Dark Night Desert Temple. Hearing that Miss Bai Yu had died in this hall, she couldn't help but rise up in a panic, and one by one she only felt uncomfortable around her.
Di Gong and Hong joined the army to make a look, and Hong joined the army to pass on the four servants who were on duty in the first two corners of the hall to the confession.
"Remove this confession!" Di Gong suddenly ordered.
Each of the four servants held a corner of the confession, turning from east to west, only to hear the four wooden legs of the confession squeak and squeak, turning to halfway, di gong ordered the drinking to stop. Wu Zongren's four Zhang'er Kong were confused, and his heart was more and more chaotic, like sitting on a needle felt iron, not knowing how to be good.
Di Gong looked at it with a glance in his eyes, only as if he was fine, and said, "Wu Xianggong, Miss Bai Yu can't stand Yang Maode's temptations, and has already been engaged to him for life." That night you were planning to choose the auspicious day of the zodiac and make her and Li Shougang complete the marriage. After she escaped from the door, she did not go to her aunt's house, but went directly up the mountain to find Yang Maode in this temple to discuss the plan- Yang Maode often came to this temple to do things, Bai Yu knew. It happened that night, he was not there, but Bai Yu accidentally bumped into a person, who was her killer.
"This murderer plotted to rob the treasurer of the Kyoshi Division, Gu Gu, to go to the Shatuo Kingdom to select the imperial horse of fifty ingots of gold—the goldsmith Mi Dalang was the one who attacked him."
Zhou Shi suddenly let out a groan, his face was as pale as paper, he only pinched two handfuls of sweat, lowered his eyebrows, and did not dare to come out of his nose.
"Mi Da Lang stole the gold ingots and buried them in this temple, obsessively wanting to swallow them alone. The murderer pressed several times, he only pushed that he forgot where the gold was buried, and said that he had been dug up, came and went, and dragged on for more than a month. On the sixth night of early September last year, the murderer finally set out to kill Mi Dalang. But he did not kill with a murder weapon, but used a slight trick to trick Mi Dalang into this temple.
"The murderer knew that underneath the confession in this great hall, a deep shaft had been built in the early years. Just turn the confession from east to west, and the floor tiles under the confession will split into a population. In the past, the monks in the temple were using this basket to store rice, grain, fruits and vegetables to prepare for the soldiers, and at the same time, they could hide the valuable gold and silver magic tools in the temple in the kiln to avoid robbery. ----------------- He said to Mitaro that the gold was hidden in this basket. Mi Dalang was very frightened and agreed to go down and have a look. The murderer lowered the rope ladder and let Mi Dalang go down to the mantle. Mi Da Lang groped below for half a day, turned back and said that there was no gold in the kiln, and was about to climb the rope ladder. Who knew that the murderer smiled, and when he stepped on, he pulled off the rope ladder, turned the mechanism, and closed the entrance.
"It turned out that the gold was indeed hidden in a dark cupboard in the mantle. The murderer had also searched the kiln before, but because he did not know the secret cabinet mechanism, he carelessly missed it. This mi da lang is hiding gold, how can it be innumerable? However, at that time, he was lucky, and for a while he could not figure out whether the murderer really recognized the hidden gold organ, so he still wanted to drag on and confuse the past. When he was imprisoned in the dark curtain, he felt remorse, touched the cabinet mechanism, took out the fifty gold ingots he had hidden, and put them into his robe and long sleeves, only to hand them all over when the murderer opened the curtain again.
Four days later, the murderer did indeed open the population of the people again, and took a picture with a lantern, who knew that Mi Dalang had lost his breath, did not feel insulted, and only hated himself for being reckless. Just as she was stumbling, Miss Bai Yu broke into the main hall and smashed the murderer's mechanism. The murderer's murderous heart rose sharply, grabbed Bai Yu's arm, and pushed it with his hand, poor Miss Bai Yu, Xiang Boo was weak, and dengshi fell to his death in the kiln. ”
"Who is the murderer?" Who is it? Wu Zongren trembled and cried out in a hoarse voice.
Di Gong glanced at Li Mei: "The murderer is Li Ke, the younger brother of Li Gong. ”
Li Mei exclaimed, "The murderer is Li Ke?!" Li Ke's character is crooked and his misdeeds are certain facts, but this murderous act may not dare to be done. Li Ke, after all..."
Di Gongyi waved his hand and stopped Li Mei's whispering: "Open the curtain!" Mr. Wu, you guys back off quickly. ”
Four servants stepped forward, each holding a corner of the confession and gently turning the confession. Half a week after the confession was turned, the green brick floor in front of the confession really cracked out a small entrance, which was dark and dark inside, and a foul smell rose. Wu Zongren was stunned and did not dare to come forward. Di Gong reached out and dragged them along the mouth of the kiln for a week.
The mantle was about two feet deep, and under the lantern torch, there was a female corpse lying in the left corner of the bottom of the kiln, her dress was rotten, but the flesh was intact. Look closely, the bruised face is full of blood, and the eyes are not closed. In the right corner sat a male corpse against the wall, his head hanging low, a pile of shiny gold ingots scattered under his trousers.
"Ah! white jade! My white jade! Wu Zongren howled like crazy. Li Mei cried silently, and the tears were like beads with broken threads, hanging down.
"Where is the murderer?" Wu Zongren couldn't help but pull li Mei's shirt. "Where's that dog brother of yours?!"
Di Gong clapped his hands and said loudly, "Li Ke enter the Great Hall!" ”
The back door of the palace opened, and a man walked in, followed by Ding Ma Rong.
The man saw that the inside of the main hall was open, the lights were bright, the Di Gongguan was solemnly decorated, and his look was majestic and standing in the middle, and a group of panicked people around him understood in their hearts.
"Yang..." Zhou Shi was horrified, lost his voice, and hurriedly raised his hand to cover his face with his long sleeves.
Envoy Di glanced at him, and the four servants immediately put on the man's head and neck, and quickly closed their shackles.
When everyone looked up, it was Yang Maode. I couldn't help but be surprised.
Yang Mude lowered his head and looked haggard.
"What about my brother?" Li Mei suddenly remembered Li Ke.
Di Gong said softly, "Treasurer Li, your brother is already dead, he killed two people, but in the end he was killed by this person." ”
"So you killed my brother?" Li Mei was moved by the brotherhood and lost her voice and shouted.
Di Publicized that the servants would close the curtains, and the servants would turn the confessions, and the entrances would meet. Everything returns to the old view.
"Treasurer Lee, you have listened to the narration of this county. -----------------
Li Ke knew that the Purple Light Temple was the place where lanfang was inhabited by thieves, beggars, idlers, and rogues, and there was a large temple garden, which he alone could not search no matter what. Therefore, he found Yang Maode and promised to hire money to help him search for it. However, he did not spit out the inside story of the imperial gold, only looking for a valuable box left by the monk.
Li Ke and Yang Maode turned the Purple Light Temple's Yiying Hall upside down, but they still did not see the gold, and as the days went on, the two of them gradually became discouraged, leaving behind this beautiful dream of digging up treasure and making a fortune. Later, Yang Maode was expelled by Mr. Wu for the incident of cheating on Bai Yu, so he could run to Li Ke without fear, and Li Ke naturally did not dare to push it. ”
Three days ago, on the night, Li Ke suddenly concealed that Yang Maode had gone to the Purple Light Temple alone. Who knew that Yang Maode had been secretly spying on him, and at the same time Yang Maode and Shen San also went to the Purple Light Temple. The two of them were not prepared by Li Ke. Strangle him to death. Yang Maode took advantage of Shen San's intentions and stabbed Shen San to death with a knife, and changed the two heads, so as not to make Li Ke eat people recognize. ——Yang Mude, is this speculation in this county reasonable and justified? You can argue it as you can. ”
Yang Maode was afraid in his heart, moreover, at this time, he had been caught by The Curse, and was in the position of being slaughtered by others, how dare he resist again, and it was not interesting to ask himself. So he beckoned, "Old Master Di deduced well, Li Ke and Shen San were exactly what I killed." Since I learned that there was a huge amount of gold in the Purple Light Temple, I have long coveted it. Not only did I go digging with Li Ke many times, but I also secretly searched for it several times, but unfortunately I never succeeded. Shen San lived in the Purple Light Temple for many years, and I made a private appointment with him to look for it, and promised to share it, but I still didn't see the shadow of gold. ”
Although Li Ke pretended to be dead, in fact, from time to time he went to the library of the academy to check the literature and dictionary books. On that day, I saw Li Ke returning from the bookstore, full of energy, so unhappy. I also saw that he found a rope ladder and a wind lamp from under the bed, scribbled a sketch, and specially turned out a cowhide bag, hurriedly dressed and stopped, and said that I was going to go to the Thousand Buddha Cave in Xishan to paint. I had already realized the mystery, but I didn't say it in my mouth. At night, I made an appointment with Shen San and manipulated him. Shen San's mouth was fast, and he said that Ah Niu came with me, and I suddenly had the idea of extinguishing my mouth, transferring flowers and trees, and planting Ah Niu.
"That night I killed two people in a row, and I couldn't help but feel afraid in my heart, where would I dare to look for gold again?" The next day, I turned over the sketch drawn by Li Ke and realized that the gold was hidden in the kiln of His Highness Nobita, and didn't Li Ke prepare the rope ladder and the wind lamp for this reason? At this time, the old man came to visit Li Ke, and in a hurry, I impersonated himself, called myself Li Ke, and coaxed the old man. ”
Di Gong asked, "Since you killed Li Ke and Shen San, but also knew that the gold was hidden in the temple' kiln, you could have been patient and waited for the murder to calm down, the momentum of the official government passed, and then you went to get the gold steadily. ”
Yang Maode shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The day after the murder, the official government set up a secret post outside the Purple Light Temple, and stationed a pawn, how dare I rush to take the gold?" Besides, I pretended to be Li Ke, how many days can I delay? Once it is recognized, it is not a bad thing. I was also worried that the government would overlook the overall situation, find out the gold collection organs, and take the gold one step at a time. Therefore, he could not care about the fierce ji and was anxious, but he only wanted to hold the gold in his hand as soon as possible and slip away. Two nights, there were servants who entered the temple to investigate, and it was inconvenient to start, and last night they were almost captured by the lineman. In such a scene, it is inevitable that the heart will be like a fire, desperate to take risks. ”
Di Gong was silent, and after listening to Yang Maode's words, if it was in line with the contract, it was not a fabrication to the wall. The main section of the case has been clearly organized, and the rest of the details are entangled, which can be judged when you go to the Yamen Shengtang for interrogation. So he waved his hand, and the four pawns stepped forward to escort Yang Mude out of the Daxiong Hall.
Wu Zongren's four people woke up from a big dream, and one by one they were like wooden chickens, unable to spit out words.
Di Gong said to Wu Zongren, "Old Mr. Wu asked me yesterday if I had any information about Miss Bai Yu, and I might as well tell you at this moment." Occasionally, I get a note from Miss White Jade that says she is being held here, calling for help. ”
Wu Zongren gasped and enlarged Wu Zhu: "Lord, sure enough, when the little girl was killed, she once called for help." Poor who knew she had died tragically in this living grave! Alas, how did the old man get that note. ”
Di Gong replied: "The note is attached to the back of the lid of a rosewood box, and the lid of the box is also decorated with a round piece of white jade, which is the revelation." The white jade is carved into a 'shou' character, and one side of the word 'shou' is cut out by the knife with a 'in' word, and the other side is drawn with a 'down' word. Later, when I saw the floor plan of this great hall, I realized that the plane of this great hall was exactly the same as the 'shou' character of the white jade. It was on this basis that I figured out the mechanism for opening this curtain. ”
"Could it be that the wooden box was thrown out by the little girl in the basket?" Wu Zongren murmured.
"Mr. Wu, according to the county's judgment, although the note in the box is the name of the white jade, it is not signed by herself. In fact, as soon as she fell off the crater, she broke her head and died instantly. - That was the night of the tenth day of early September last year. However, the note was signed twelve days ago, and it was clearly proved that it was a fraud. The wooden box should have been a scam that someone had carelessly constructed for a certain purpose, but this had nothing to do with Ling Yuan's death. --Mr. Wu, the four of you can go back to the city at this moment, there is no longer your business here, you have witnessed this scene tonight, you should always have some feelings, and in the future, the county will have to come back to listen to your discussions in your leisure time. ”
Zhou Shi walked to the door of the main hall with trepidation, and hurriedly turned back to Di Gong to receive a blessing, looking confused and his steps were confused.
Di Gong said, "I hope that Lady Wu will listen to the advice of this county and henceforth make peace with Old Mr. Wu and entertain the evening scene." A mistake falls into hatred for thousands of years, and a thought difference will make a person discredited and hold a grudge all day long. Isn't the ending of Li Ke and Yang Mude not enough to think deeply?"
Zhou Shi knelt down again, pounding garlic and prostrating his head several times, before he was worried and followed Wu Zongren out of the Daxiong Hall.
Lieutenant Colonel Fang led the servants to turn the confession again, open the straw, and put down the soft ladder of hemp rope, and they were very busy for a while. Di Gong stood alone on the jade platform outside the main hall, looking at the half-wheel jade rabbit with emotion, and was speechless for a long time.
Ma Rongren stood in the corner of the temple, quietly watching the servant collect the corpse of the buried white jade, and sighed frequently.
After Hong joined the army to supervise the sealing of the imperial gold, he slowly paced behind Di Gong.
"Lord, when the old man was explaining the piece of paper, he could have guessed that Li Ke was a fake charge of Yang Maode."
Di Gong glanced back at Hong's army: "Yes." Yang Maode could not draw Li Ke's landscape. Despite my high price, he still couldn't come up with the format of the new work, so he had to fill the old version of the three-axis Li Ke. He also used rhetoric to cover up, revealing his identity. ——Yang Maode also seemed to be aware of my doubts, so he couldn't wait to take the gold and escape. The person who could confront Ma Rong's skills in the dark night of this deserted temple was Yang Maode. ”
"Moreover, when I suddenly ordered Fan Gong to turn the confession to open the curtain, the four people of Mr. Wu did not notice, did not see the panic and dodge, and saw that the four of them had nothing to do with the robbery of gold and killing. These four people have nothing to do with each other, and the only one left is Yang Mude, who pretends to be Li Ke. ”
Hong Joinjun said sincerely, and couldn't stop nodding: "But it turns out that this is the old master's test." Suddenly, a cloud of doubt arose, so he asked, "Then, what is the matter with the ghost in the Purple Light Temple that hides its face and is confused?" ”
Di Gongluo hesitated and replied, "The ghost will no longer wander around in the Purple Light Temple; with the end of this case, the ghost will disappear far away." ”
The cloud of doubt in Hong's heart, far from dissipating, became even thicker.
Chapter 21
Fifty ingots of gold had been sealed in the county treasury, overlapping and stacked, and the dense turns had strengthened the defense. A stagecoach galloped in the night towards the Capital of Anxi in Gaochang Prefecture to protect the gate. —— Di Gongdun asked The Metropolitan Protector of Anxi to personally come to Lanfang to supervise the departure of the Imperial Jin and transport it to the Beijing Division.
Di Gong got up early in the morning to comb his hands, and Hong Joinjun had already served the steaming breakfast. Di Gong was overjoyed, picked up the cup and chewed it up.
Hong Joinjun smiled and squinted as he watched, but did not make a sound. Not long after, Di Gong ate and Hong joined the army in a hurry to clean up.
Di Gong smiled and asked, "Hong Liang, how can you be so diligent today?" ”
"Just wait to hear the old master Shengtang's trial of Yang Maodeli."
Di Gong stroked his beard and said slowly, "This Yang Mude case will be tried tomorrow, and it will not be much fun to think about." Today I will go with you to a man in the city. ”
Hong joined the army to guess the degree, Andi Laoye Wasimo to sweep away the cloud of doubt in my chest.
The two disguised themselves, pretending to be agents, sneaked out of the corner gate of the Houhe Garden, turned onto the street, called a sedan and ordered them to go to the West Market Rainbow Bridge. According to Ma Rong's account, the hut of the "monk" of the head of the beggar group is in a dark alley under the Rainbow Bridge.
The "monk" was sleeping, and the cock-eyed shouted, "'Monk', a black beard and a white beard have come to look for you, get up!" ”
Hong Joinjun said, "The county ordered Old Master Di to meet the 'monk', Hugh Luo. ”
The "monk" listened to Di Xianling's condescending and vain ride, struggled to turn over and sit up, bowed his head and bowed, and said "forgive sins."
Di Gong smiled and said, "Master Father has seen the ceremony." If the county is not mistaken, Master Father Hara was also a monk--the last monk of the Purple Light Temple. Today, the county specially came to visit the master father, and there was a small matter to ask for advice, but the beggar made it clear, in order to enlighten the mortals. ”
The monk nodded solemnly.
"The little people have been running away from the world for many years, and they have long since cut off the Buddha-nature of Hui Gen. Di Xian Ling was brilliant and praised by Hai Nei; although Xiao Min slept quietly, he also knew respect. I just don't know what Old Master Di asked, the little people are ugly, I'm afraid I can't be satisfied. ”
Di Zheng said, "Can a weak woman who has fallen into a deep shaft, her head broken and bleeding, and is on the verge of death still be able to write calmly when she lies down in a dark kiln?" After writing, will it be ugly and ugly? Can she still throw a wooden box with a note sticker out of the mouth of a rabbit's den? ”
The monk was shocked, and fine beads of sweat appeared on the broad jaws.
"How does Old Master Di determine the subtlety?" The monk was enlightened.
Di Gong said coldly, "Those who want to blackmail people have exposed their flaws." Of course, all this was carefully arranged, an old beggar went to Li Ke with a rosewood box, the lid of the box was inlaid with a piece of white jade, and a white jade note for help was posted under the lid. Tell him that his murderous plot was already known, that Bai Yu was not dead—still struggling for help on September 12—that her cries for help had already been heard. If Li Ke understood the interest, he would obediently give out money and silver to honor. ”
But Li Ke didn't understand and didn't look closely at the wooden box. He sold the wooden box with a basket of rags to the antique shop keeper, and I finally bought it in the antique shop. - Your figure has fallen short, and you have thus been exposed. The county asks you, who found the white jade in the temple and was killed? ”
"Tara, it was my Tara who saw that shocking scene. She told me to design a mockup. ”
"Tara?" Di Gong chanted the name meaningfully.
The monk murmured, "Fifteen years, fifteen years, Tara was originally a nun of the Seifu-an Temple, and I was a monk of the Temple of The Purple Light Temple, and the two of them looked at each other from a distance through the empty gate." Fifteen years, fifteen years..."
The monk's voice gradually became louder, and his face flashed red.
"Day after day, month after month, two five inner seals, six roots connected. Later, both of them escaped from the mountain, although they did not become a couple on the right road, every night when the moon was white and the wind was clear, we still stole to meet in the garden of the Purple Light Temple, relived the old feelings, and poured out our hearts. Who knows, who knows the scoundrel. The design of Yang Mude actually confused her! Now it is the two of them who are happy together, doing the spring dream of digging gold every day. Poor me, I was in a wind pain, my legs and feet were stiff, and I could no longer climb the Purple Light Temple. Whenever I think of this, I always feel pain. ”
"However, the two of us have made an oath before the gods that as long as one of us curses the other, the other will undoubtedly die. Tara begged me not to swear, and I couldn't bear to swear. Who knows that the heavens are clear and there is no way to hide, although I did not swear an oath, but the oath was fulfilled. She was eventually killed. As the old saying goes, Heaven listens to itself, and Heaven punishes itself, but this is exactly the case. - Poor insight, I really dare not miss this matter, and I dare not imagine that Tara was willing to be cruel to Yang Mude, a wild dog, for a few ingots of gold, and punished the heavens. - Golden Black World Heart, sure enough. ”
"Your daughter Chunyun was born to her?" Di Gong asked.
"Chunyun is her own blood and bones, and she even left it alone." The monk sighed and couldn't help but burst into tears.
"No wonder that last night when she and Yang Maode designed to push down the wall and crush our servants, they saw that Chunyun followed closely behind before they changed their plans, and the two of them were spared." Di Gong was enlightened.
The monk collected his tears and said calmly, "I heard that the government has transported Tara's body to the human factory and burned it, can this ash and bone breeding give me a piece of it?" I and Chunyun will always be there for you, and we will remember the memory. I forgive her and Yang Maode's filthy deeds, in my memory, there will always be only a pure, gorgeous, pure, loyal Tara, always a moonlit and charming night in the garden of the Purple Light Temple. As he spoke, he couldn't help but sobb and swallow, and his huge body trembled violently.
Di Gong and Hong Liang stepped forward to help him and resigned.
Hong Xianjun sighed: "It turns out that there is still such a lingering marriage between the sins of this conspiracy to kill and steal gold!" It can be seen that the seven passions and six desires of the world cannot be generalized. ”
Di Gong smiled, "So it seems that tomorrow's examination of Yang Maode in the lobby is really the most embarrassing and disgusting tolerance." ”
(End of full text)
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