Chapter 7 Chapter 5: True and False

In this world, if you want to say "a rooster lays an egg, a sow climbs a tree", it will make people feel that this is a fantasy.But although eunuchs are castrated people, it is not uncommon for eunuchs to marry wives in history.Although outrageous, such things have happened in all dynasties. In the Tang Dynasty, Gao Lishi saw that the daughter of the civil servant Lv Xuanhe was smart and beautiful, with elegant manners, and was shocked to be a heavenly being, so he married her.Lu Xuanhe was immediately promoted to Shaoqing, and later served as governor.Li Fuguo, the eunuch at the time of Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty, married Yuan Zhuo's daughter as his wife because the emperor favored him, so Yuan Zhen became the governor of Liangzhou.

The closest and most influential to modern times is the marriage of "Xiao'anzi", the celebrity of Empress Dowager Cixi in the late Qing Dynasty. "Little Anzi" An Dehai, a large eunuch in the late Qing Dynasty, recorded in history: "(his) lectures and readings, and the classics of Mencius; the art is exquisite, he knows books and can write." After the death of Emperor Xianfeng, An Dehai became Cixi's confidant , Acting as the secret envoy of the Nala clan and Prince Gong, he traveled between Rehe and Beijing, making the Xinyou coup a success in one fell swoop, getting rid of Sushun, Zaiyuan, and Duanhua, and depriving the eight ministers of Gu Ming of their right to govern.

In the winter of the seventh year of Tongzhi (1868), Xiao Anzi held a wedding banquet at Yipinxiang, the largest restaurant in Beijing.Xiao Anzi is wearing a boa robe and a flower feather on his head. He is here to marry a wife openly.She married Ma Xiaoyu, a beauty who sang Danjiao in Huiban, stage name "Nine-year-old Red", and known as Grandma Ma.The Empress Dowager Cixi specially rewarded one thousand taels of silver and one hundred bolts of silk and satin, and brought a large portion of "members" with her to show her love for Xiao Anzi.The rare news of eunuchs marrying wives quickly spread in Beijing...

The woman sat in a dignified manner, and spoke in a leisurely manner. She did not mention Liu Zhong's matter first, but threw out some historical stories. Han Fang nodded, she was right, some powerful young eunuchs would buy property in their hometown, and then marry a wife, as a man, he would have no regrets in his life. Seeing Han Fang's approval, the crow's feet in the corners of the woman's eyes welled up, and a wry smile appeared on her face: "It's a pity, even if the eunuch can marry a wife, so what? It's just a decoration, and it can't be passed on to future generations!"

"That kid just now?" Hearing this, Han Fang asked tentatively. The woman did not hesitate, took a sip from the teacup on the table, and then said slowly: "Early before marrying into Liu's house, the man in my family died in an accident. The child was just one year old at that time. The man died. , life was extremely hard, and I lost the courage to live. At this time, the Liu family came to propose marriage, and they wanted to die anyway, so it didn’t matter what happened, so I got married, and now eleven years have passed in the blink of an eye.” "Oh, since the Republic of China was changed, all the eunuchs in the palace have been dismissed from the palace. Seeing that your family is quite wealthy, why didn't Liu Zhong return to his hometown, but instead opened an antique shop in Beijing?" Han Fang asked tentatively after hearing this. road.

The woman wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve, and was speechless for a long time. After a while, she said sadly: "Although I am married to him, my life is no different from that of a living widow. Reuniting with his family, he always said that there is still a big thing to be done, so he can’t come back for the time being. You heard it just now, because he hasn’t come back for a long time, even the children have no affection for him. The children are young and always ask about their father’s It's hard for me to tell the truth about the situation, and I just evade it every time. Sigh!"

"So that's what happened, I understand." Han Fang nodded slightly. There was a moment of silence in the room, everyone was silent, but Han Fang felt a bit of depression, which was a breathless feeling.Looking up from the window, the white lanterns in the courtyard are swaying with the mountain wind. I always feel that there are too many secrets hidden in such a luxurious house... At this time, the woman raised her head and said softly: "Just the day before yesterday, I suddenly heard that Yunxuan died in Beijing. I felt like the sky would collapse, and now I haven't even seen the bones. According to the people from the police station , He was involved in a murder case, and the body cannot be transported back to his hometown for the time being, so what we enshrine now are his clothes." With another soft sigh, the woman lowered her head and wiped the corners of her eyes again.

After a while, the woman asked with a puzzled expression: "Just now I heard that Mr. came from the capital, what important business is there in our remote place?" Han Fang was taken aback, and thought to himself: "I'm afraid this woman is not that simple, it seems that the topic is here." But he smiled slightly on his face, and replied calmly: "Oh, it's nothing serious, I heard that the inkstone here is one of the best in the world, so I want to come here to find a good inkstone. You also know that those who like to dance and write have higher requirements for inkstones, ha ha."

The woman nodded: "That's right, the inkstones in Qingxi County are famous all over the world, and the craftsmanship of inkstones has already begun as early as the Jiajing period." Han Fang nodded, and asked seemingly casually: "I don't know what is the most important thing in making inkstones? We are all laymen, and we know very little about this craft." Speaking of this, Han Fang seemed to think of something , Probe took out the inkstone from Yunxuan Antique Shop from his pocket, placed it gently on the table, and asked, "For example, what is the difference between this kind of inkstone and ordinary inkstones?"

The woman was taken aback for a moment, then picked up the inkstone and looked around, then gently placed it on the table: "Sir, you also know that I am a weak woman with a young son, and I rarely show my face in public. Making the inkstone It's all a man's work, I'll find you a master with good eyesight to watch it for you." "Alright, I'm sorry." Han Fang smiled, and put the inkstone into his bosom again. The woman stopped talking, and the room returned to calm. Han Fang originally wanted to ask more about the specific situation, but seeing the sadness on the woman's face, he stopped this idea. It was getting late, so let's talk about it tomorrow.Yucheng next to him was impatient for a long time, his stomach was rumbling all the time, why hasn't the meal come yet?His eyes flicked out the door, his neck stretched out like a giraffe.

Finally, the woman hurriedly wiped her eyes again, picked up the teapot and poured some water into the oriental teacup, and said apologetically, "Sir, please sit down and have a cup of tea first, and I'll go and rush the meal." She said. After saying this, get up and leave. Just as the woman got up, suddenly a white shadow flashed over, wrapping around her neck like a silver snake!With a scream, the woman's face turned purple, and her mouth was hooting.Facing this sudden change, Yucheng was instantly stunned. He screamed and jumped up. He turned his head and saw that the cold-faced female killer Lin Zheng was holding a silver whip in her hand, and the other end was tightly wrapped around the woman. neck! "You, what are you doing?" The woman's face changed color, her eyes suddenly became extremely blood red, she struggled, and suddenly opened her mouth, as if she was strangled by Lin Zheng's soft whip and couldn't breathe.Before she could say it, she spit out a cluster of poisonous needles shining faint blue light from her mouth, and the target was Han Fang. Lin Zheng was startled, she used her right hand forcefully, and her body jumped up, following a white arc, her white coat blocked Han Fang's front door, and only heard a slight and dense "chachacha" With a sound, those poisonous silver needles were all stuck on her clothes.Immediately, Lin Zheng frowned slightly, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and with force, the woman's head flew out like a ball! The old lady who was blind in one eye was pushing the door in with a food tray, and her head landed on the tray without deviation.The food on the ground was scattered all over the ground, and the ferocious head was also mixed in the food. The bloody scene was disgusting.At this time, Yucheng almost peed his pants again, not to mention eating, all the contents of his stomach spit up at this moment. "You, why did you kill my wife?" The old lady finally came to her senses. She approached Han Fang tremblingly, staring at him with horrifying eyes, wishing to tear him to pieces. The accident just happened in a flash, and Han Fang was still in shock. When he heard the questioning, he glanced at the body that fell to the ground, and said slowly: "She is not your wife." While speaking, Han Fang Fang walked to the head, touched the chin and gently peeled it off. With the sound of tearing, it seemed that a layer of film had been peeled off the woman's face.When I looked again, a strange face appeared in front of everyone. "How did this happen? Who is this?!" The old lady stared at the head and took a few steps back in fright. Yucheng forcibly held back the discomfort in his stomach, hurriedly approached Han Fang, and said anxiously: "Master, this woman is not Liu Zhong's wife!? Then who is she? What's going on?" "Originally, I didn't doubt her identity at first, but a small detail just now made me suspicious. When I took out the Qingxi inkstone, she behaved very abnormally. Just imagine, a girl in Qingxi How can people who have lived in the county all their lives not say a word about the inkstone? Even women who don’t go out of the door should have heard of it.” Speaking of this, Han Fang’s words are as follows: Turn, "Just now I just suspected that there was something wrong with her identity, but why did Lin Zheng make a sudden move? It's about her." At this time, Lin Zheng had already wiped the blood-stained silver whip clean, and with a shake of her hand, the whip made a big arc and quickly penetrated into her waist.Now Yucheng finally understood that the whip would be wrapped around her waist when not in use, and if she didn't look carefully, she would think it was her belt. Lin Zheng packed everything up, turned her head, and glanced at the crowd with cold eyes. She didn't say a word, but threw the teacup on the table to the ground. With a crisp cracking sound, the cup broke instantly, and the tea inside The water flowed out with a slight "sizzling" sound, and a few white bubbles appeared. "The tea is poisonous!" Seeing this, Yucheng screamed from the side, subconsciously looking at the tea in front of him. Lin Zheng didn't look at Yucheng's surprised expression, stared at the table, and said slowly: "Just as this woman was pouring water, I found that her fingers trembled. This is a very rare way of poisoning. The venom Hidden in the crevices of the nails, it is impossible to guard against when poisoned, this kind of poison kills when swallowed, it is very powerful." "Miss Lin, my old man owes you two favors." Han nodded to Lin Zheng to express his gratitude.Afterwards, Han Fang's expression froze, he stared at the trembling old lady, and shouted: "Quickly tell me, where is the real lady?" "I, I don't know!" The old servant seemed to be terrified, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time. Suddenly, there was a sound of footsteps in the courtyard, Lin Zheng was the first to react, and a white shadow broke through the door, followed by Han Fang.But it was still a step too late. When we rushed to the courtyard, everything was calm again, only the white lanterns fluttered in the wind, dancing an inexplicable dance like ghosts one by one... "what!" At this time, there was a miserable cry from the wing room, and everyone froze, and rushed into the next room.It turned out that when Lin Zheng and others were inspecting the courtyard, the old servant entered the side room and found that A Yu, who had already fallen asleep, had disappeared. He burst into tears and murmured: "My child, my child is gone !" A candle was burning in the room, and the light was somewhat dim. The old servant knelt down on the ground, a pair of old bark-like hands were slowly stroking the quilt, and tears dripped down on the bed sheet like broken beads.Han Fang walked over quickly, and quickly reached out to touch the bed. It was still warm, so it shouldn't be long. "Master, did those villains take the child away?" Yucheng walked over, his voice trembling slightly, probably he hadn't recovered from the panic just now. Han Fang didn't agree, and his sharp eyes quickly swept across the small room. There was an antique cabinet against the wall. He walked over and opened it gently, and the clothes were neatly arranged, all of which were children's clothes.There are cotton-padded clothes and trousers in winter, short-sleeved shirts in summer, long johns, long johns, and hats. From here, we can see the mother's care and care for her children. The old servant stood up tremblingly, she walked up to Han Fang with one cloudy eye open, bent her body and said hissingly: "I brought up this child, Madam dotes on him very much, but no matter what I don't like it It occurred to me that the madam is a fake! Now that even the child is gone, what should I, an old woman, do?" The old man's face was full of sorrow, and Han Fang couldn't help but feel moved when he saw it. "Old man, please tell me about the past few days. What's going on?" Han Fang helped the old servant to sit by the bed and asked in a gentle tone. The old servant wiped his tears with his sleeve, squinted one eye, and thought back to a few days ago: "It should be at dusk, and people from the village came home to report that there was a call from Beijing. Liu's house walked more than two miles forward. Road, there is a big hotel there, and there is a telephone in the hotel, so if you have anything to call in a few miles around, you will go there." Speaking of this, the old servant stared at Han Fang and sighed softly: "You also know the situation of Master Liu. He rarely comes back in Beijing, and occasionally he only stays for two days when he comes back, and then leaves with the goods. Our inkstones here are famous , the antique shop run by the master in Beijing, the inkstones inside are all produced in Qingxi." Han Fang nodded, from this point of view, what the old servant said is true. "I remember that day, A Yu was playing in the yard. He said that there was a phone call, and his wife went out in a hurry. A Yu insisted on going with him. He must have gone for more than an hour. When he came back, he saw his wife's face. His face turned pale. I asked what happened, and she said that the master died in Beijing. Because he was involved in an important case, the body could not be transported back for the time being. Together with my wife, I set up a mourning hall at home first, and people must return to their hometown after death. We can't let the master's wronged soul wander around. It's all planned. After seven days, my wife will take the child to Beijing, but, but now My wife and child are gone, what can I, a lonely old woman, do?" Speaking of this, the old servant started to cry again, and his tears were moving. Han Fang sighed: "Understood, maybe something happened at the hour when I went out. The real wife was hijacked, and then someone pretended to be his wife and entered Liu's residence..." After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Then the Liu family, apart from the wife and Child, who else is there?" It was a casual question, but the old servant's expression changed unexpectedly, and he sat on the bed unnaturally, hesitated for a moment before replying nervously: "No, there is no one else. gone." "You're lying! There are other people in the family. Now that the child and wife are gone, what are you still hiding?" What kind of person is Han Fang? Did not say it. The old servant bit her lips tightly, as if she had made up her mind. She stood up from the bed with a hunched body, picked up the candlestick next to her, and looked at Han Fang with an extremely ugly face: "Okay, follow me." Han Fang and Yucheng looked at each other, and they walked out slowly. At this time, Han Fang realized that Lin Zheng was missing, maybe... He looked out the window and followed the old servant out of the house. Entering the yard, turning a corner, there is a narrow path hidden beside the tall wall, which can only be passed sideways.The old servant walked cautiously in front, Han Fang followed, and Yucheng followed closely.The light was very weak. At this time, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and the sky was a bit terribly overcast. It seemed that heavy rain would pour down at any time.On one side of the alley is a high wall, and outside the high wall are trees with teeth and claws. The towering trees are several feet high, covering the sky above.Han Fang felt the oppression from above, and felt a little uncomfortable. Stepping on thick dead branches and leaves, I finally passed the narrow alley.Han Fang suddenly felt a bright light in front of his eyes. It turned out that they had arrived at the backyard of Liu's residence.The backyard looked a little barren, with a lot of weeds growing on the ground, and the leaves were not cleaned in time. At this time, the cold wind blew, and these dead branches and leaves danced with the wind, like little ghosts shuttled back and forth, and one of the leaves flew to the The top of Yucheng's head was so frightened that he hurriedly brushed it off.