Chapter 3 3. Being a eunuch

Li Shubai took Huang Zixia back to the Kui Palace and entered the Jingyu Hall where he lived. Huang Zixia flipped through the imperial calendar, while Li Shubai sat by the side and watched with cold eyes. She saw that she flipped from the 17th day of the first month, to the 21st day of February, then to the 19th day of March, and then to today. The speed was so fast that she almost put it down at a glance. up. "If there are officers and soldiers patrolling tonight, they can focus on the southeast area of ​​the city, especially the houses with pregnant women. They are likely to be the targets of the murderer." Huang Zixia said while playing the emperor's calendar.

"Are you sure the murderer's fourth target is a pregnant woman?" Li Shubai asked with raised eyebrows. "Very likely." Huang Zixia said. Li Shubai turned his head and called out, "Jingyang." A eunuch came in from outside the door, his eyebrows were curved, he was very happy and cute: "My lord." "Go for a run and invite Cui Chunzhan, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, to come over." "Yes." Jing Jing agreed, without even looking at Huang Zixia who was standing in the hall, he saluted and was about to go out.Li Shubai pointed at Huang Zixia again, and said, "Take her down first, and arrange a suitable place for her, remember she is a little eunuch."

"Yes, please rest assured, my lord."
The felon Huang Zixia, who was arrested all over the world, became a little eunuch in Kui Wang's mansion just like that. Along the way, Jingyang introduced several routes of the palace to her, and ordered a few things to pay attention to, then took her to the north residence where the eunuchs lived, got her a separate room, and asked someone to deliver everything Daily necessities and three sets of eunuch clothes, and said to her: "Little father-in-law, you are new here, so I won't assign you responsibilities, just remember to pay your respects to the prince every day."

Huang Zixia thanked him again, went to the eunuch next door to inquire about daily life, and then went to the kitchen to get some food. Tired of running around all day, accidents happened again and again, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep right next to the pillow. When I woke up, it was already high in the sun.When she went to fetch water from the well, the eunuch who was sweeping the courtyard said to her, "Grandpa Jingyang told us to tell you to go to Yubing Pavilion when you wake up." She quickly drank a bowl of porridge, and after inquiring about the route, she changed into eunuch clothes and ran to Yubing Pavilion.Yubing Pavilion is the study room of the palace, surrounded by sparse flowers and trees, and the doors and windows are mostly made of transparent screens.

Before Huang Zixia entered the door, he saw Li Shubai sitting inside through the carved window, looking at the map of the capital. Hearing her footsteps, he raised his head with a calm expression: "Come here." Huang Zixia walked up to him. He pointed to the map and said, "The murderer didn't show up last night. But according to your thinking, is the murderer going to appear in the northwest tonight?" Huang Zixia was slightly surprised, and looked up at him: "My lord already knows what method I use to judge?" "You know how to read almanacs, and so can I." He said calmly, sliding his fair and slender fingers across the twelve squares in the northwest of the capital, and said, "I have already asked people to inquire about the twelve squares in the morning. There are quite a few people who are pregnant. Among them, there are many who are already pregnant. For example, there is a pregnant woman in Xiudefang who is seven months pregnant; Just conceived, a June."

"Puningfang." Pointing her finger at a courtyard, she said affirmatively. Li Shubai tilted the map a little bit, looked at the detailed composition of Puning Square on it, and said: "The house of the pregnant woman is next to the former residence of British Gong Li." Looking at Puningfang, Huang Zixia suddenly remembered something, hesitated for a while, and finally held back, planning to wait until the case is solved. But Li Shubai seemed to have thought of it too. He glanced at her casually and said, "Zhang Xingying's home is also in Puningfang." "Well," since he took the initiative, she took up the topic and said, "If this case can be solved, will the prince consider letting Zhang Xingying return to the guard of honor?"

"Impossible." He said without hesitation. Huang Zixia argued: "Zhang Xingying asked me to impersonate him and join the prince's guard of honor to enter the city. Although it is unreasonable, he is indeed a rare good person. Knowing kindness and repaying it is also a gentleman's virtue. Can the prince forgive him and let him go to the city?" He followed me to investigate the case first?" "Wishful thinking," he rebuffed again, "Although the circumstances are understandable, I don't need an emotional person by my side." Huang Zixia bit her lower lip and said in a low voice, "Please forgive me..."

He interrupted her: "If the person who made a mistake can come back safe and sound in a few days, then what's the use of me making punishment laws? How will I control my subordinates in the future?" Huang Zixia lowered her head and was speechless, so she gave up her thoughts and asked, "Then what should I do next?" "Go to bed again, and follow me to Puningfang at night."
Northwest of the capital, Puning Square. As usual, after the second watch, all the workshops in Chang'an City were closed, and no one was allowed to walk on the streets outside.So Li Shubai pretended to be a scholar for pleasure, while Huang Zixia was his book boy. The two of them went there in the evening wearing ordinary clothes and stayed overnight in the inn in Puningfang.

One is a handsome young man in troubled times, and the other is a handsome and refined young man. Even men have to look back a few times along the way.After they lived in the inn, the proprietress came four times under the pretext of delivering water. The boss was worried about the proprietress, so he came five times. "Forget it, I'd better contact someone from the Ministry of Criminal Justice. I'll go out tonight." Huang Zixia tied up her hair and was about to go out. "As for you, you may be blocked by the boss and the boss's wife." Li Shubai said coldly: "I can't live in peace, do you think you can stay out of it?"

Huang Zixia was about to speak when she saw the proprietress coming over gracefully and gracefully with a teapot outside the window. She turned her head to look at Li Shubai, and Li Shubai also looked at her, with that half-smile look on her face again, and said: "I'll give you a moment, let me go." For a quarter of an hour, it seems that the proprietress will not give up so quickly if she does not take strong medicine.And for a woman with a swaying heart, the biggest medicine is of course—— Huang Zixia stood in front of Li Shubai, pulled his hand and pressed it on his waist, and then pleaded in a voice that could just be heard outside the window: "Oh my lord, we are outside, we need to avoid people Eyes and ears! Don't, don't touch here... Oh, it's even worse here, I hate it, they are all men, what will others say when they see it..."

The graceful figure of the proprietress really stiffened. Li Shubai's hand that was pulled and pressed on her waist also froze instantly.But just for a moment, he opened her hand calmly, turned his face to drink tea: "The proprietress in this shop is annoying, she always comes to stare, did she find that I only like men?" Outside the window, the proprietress ran away quickly with the teapot in hand, and Huang Zixia seemed to hear the sound of her broken heart letting out all the way. She couldn't bear to say: "Why add the word 'annoying'?" "In order to let you complete the task faster." He put down the tea cup expressionlessly. Huang Zixia hung the latch on the door, opened the window and looked behind, then turned over and jumped out of the window, beckoning to him: "Go!"
The second alley next to Li's former residence, the sixth house, the Wei family with pomegranate flowers in the courtyard. The capital is very expensive, and the Wei family is not very big. The so-called courtyard is actually just a small place with a square meter. There are two bungalows at the back of the courtyard, and the surrounding walls do not reach Huang Zixia's chest. They squatted quietly by the opposite bridge hole, hiding their figures with a few clumps of peonies. The second watch had passed, the voices of people on the street were silent, and the lights were all extinguished without sound. Tonight, the moon was overcast and the dizzy light was dim. After squatting with her for a while, Li Shubai simply sat under the peony flowers and admired the moon's shadow in the water. Huang Zixia lowered her voice: "Why is the prince here? Where are the people from Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment?" "No notice." He said leisurely, pulled down a budding peony next to it to look at it, and said thoughtfully, "This year's weather is warm, and the peony has already budded before the peony blooms." Huang Zixia suddenly understood that he was going to catch that perverted, cruel and mysterious murderer, but his only companion was this guy in front of him who seemed to have no consciousness at all. She had to ask again feebly: "Why didn't you notify Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment?" "Cui Chunzhan from Dali Temple tried to persuade me that we must strictly guard the east of the city. The key to this case is definitely Sifang. I think that since he is stubborn, his opinion should be respected—so he is now setting up a net in the east of the city. .” "And what about the Ministry of Criminal Justice?" "The person in charge of this case in the Criminal Department is Shangshu Wang Lin, the father of your unmarried husband-in-law Wang Yun, the former father-in-law—do you want to meet him?" The water waves under the bridge reflected the shimmering moonlight on her face. For a moment Li Shubai saw her expression fluctuate slightly, just like the water surface at this time, but it disappeared in a blink of an eye, as if it was just the moonlight shining on her face. Phantom cast from above. She spoke lightly, and all her emotions disappeared into the air without a sound: "Forget it, let them go to the east of the city." It was the middle of the month during the conversation, and there was a sudden commotion in the Wei family.Someone lit a candle in the east room, and soon someone started boiling water in the kitchen, and the whole family was anxiously busy.A man put on his clothes and opened the door, and walked out of the yard. Someone called him from behind: "Mother Liu Wen lives in the fourth house in Chouhua Lane, don't look for the wrong one!" "Don't worry, mother!" Although the man left anxiously, his voice was full of joy. Huang Zixia stared at the upstairs without moving, and Li Shubai let go of the peony, saying, "It looks like it's about to give birth." "En." She replied, her eyes fixed on the courtyard wall.I saw a figure walking slowly in the darkness, standing by the pomegranate tree, and yelled twice inward from the partition wall: "Coo, coo—" In the dark night, this shrill and ominous sound was mixed with the groans of pregnant women giving birth, making people feel horrified when they heard it. "Owl." Li Shubai said thoughtfully, "It's really ominous." The owl is an owl. The ancients said that when an owl sings outside the window at night, it is counting people's eyebrows, and if they are counted, they will kill people.And giving birth is commonly known as somersaulting on the back of the coffin, so after hearing the bird's cry, everyone in the house panicked.An old woman immediately ran out of the kitchen and shouted, "I'll cover my daughter-in-law's eyebrows first, father, hurry up and boil the water!" The father-in-law hurried to the kitchen, and the old woman pulled the veil over the daughter-in-law's forehead to make sure that the eyebrows were not exposed, and heard the owl cooing twice again outside the window.She quickly picked up the clothes drying pole next to it, ran into the yard, and beat the pomegranate tree, trying to drive the owl away. And the moment she went out, the man had already circled to the back of the house. Huang Zixia jumped up, but Li Shubai was faster than her, took her hand, and flew over the peony bush.Huang Zixia only felt the wind in his ears fluttering, and after a few steps, he had already arrived at the back of the house, and saw the black shadow flashing into the back door. Li Shubai kicked the door open and pushed Huang Zixia in, but he didn't go in himself! Huang Zixia saw the murderer's dagger was raised high, about to stab the pregnant woman's belly.Shocked, she was pushed by Li Shubai again, staggered a few steps, and fell heavily, her shoulder hit the murderer's side, knocking him to the side hard. Seeing that his signs were revealed, the murderer grabbed the dagger and tried to escape.Huang Zixia was lying on the ground, unable to stop him, he could only grab the flower stand next to him and sweep towards the murderer's feet. The flower pot on the flower stand fell to the ground with a loud bang, and then the murderer tripped over the swept flower stand, fell to the ground and gnawed at the mud. Before he could stand up, Huang Zixia had already got up and kicked him fiercely on the wrist joint. The murderer suffered from pain, and suddenly couldn't hold the dagger in his hand. Huang Zixia grabbed it and put it on his lower back: " do not move!" On the other hand, Li Shubai stood at the door all the time, looking at her leisurely, until she subdued the murderer, and then said: "That's right, your skills are neat, but unfortunately you don't have any tricks." Huang Zixia was speechless: "You won't come in and help me?" She was at this critical moment, but he was still standing by, not even moving his hair under the moonlight, bathed in the moonlight, and he was so ecstatic . "There is a woman who wants to have a baby inside, how can I go in as a man?" He leisurely looked up at the moon in the sky, and blocked her back with one sentence, "How is the situation of pregnant women now?" Before Huang Zixia could speak, the cry of the child had already resounded throughout the room. The mother-in-law who heard the chaotic voices in the yard finally ran over tremblingly, and saw that in the room where only the daughter-in-law used to be, there was now a little book boy, a man in black who was pointed at by the book boy with a dagger, and a weak son. A daughter-in-law, a baby wriggling and crying on the daughter-in-law's bed, and a man standing outside the back door looking at the moon, plus a flower pot that was just broken, and a smashed flower stand, which made her dumbfounded. Terrified: "Oh my God! What... what's going on?" The neighbors next to him heard the cry of the child, and they opened the windows to inquire, and the father-in-law also came to the door with hot water.Amidst the noise, Huang Zixia could only helplessly raise his head and smile at them, saying, "Sorry, we are here to catch the robbers." The father-in-law and mother-in-law looked at the dagger in her hand, stared blankly at each other, and then shouted outside as if waking up from a dream: "Come here, help, there are robbers coming to kill—"
Fortunately, the patrolling soldiers on the street came quickly, and after seeing Li Shubai, they quickly tied up the murderer. After rushing over, Mrs. Wen was very surprised, and said: "The mother was frightened, so she exerted all her strength, and the baby came out immediately. Fortunately, the mother is healthy, so the mother and child can be safe—I will wash the baby quickly." The child's father held the child's mother's hand, and said affectionately: "Miss, you have worked hard, I have decided, how about we name this child 'Shocking'?" The weak mother leaned on the bed weakly: "'Shocked'? Why don't you call it 'Shocked'?" "Good idea, it's decided like this, Wei Xingsheng, it's very good, very good..." Huang Zixia saw that even for a person like Li Shubai, the corners of his mouth inevitably twitched slightly.
When Cui Chunzhan and Wang Lin ran to Kui Palace in fear, it was already dawn. Seeing their reddened eyes, Li Shubai ordered someone to serve tea to calm them down, and said, "The perpetrator of the 'Fourth Plan' has been arrested, and the interrogation will begin tomorrow." Wang Lin quickly nodded and said yes, but Cui Chunzhan hesitated a little, and asked: "My lord, there is no clue about the cause of the crime or the evidence of the crime so far. The lord is sure that the one caught tonight is the 'four plan'." murderer?" "Yes or no, after tomorrow's interrogation, don't you know?" Li Shubai brought tea to see off the guests, and said, "The curfew in the capital city, all the workshops are closed at night, and you can't come and go. He must stay in the inn in Puningfang beforehand. You can Go check out the inn where he's staying."
On the second day, the Ministry of Criminal Justice and Dali Temple interrogated the murder weapon. It was confirmed that it was the murder weapon of the first few victims. The scriptures copied by the murderer were found from the inn where the murderer stayed and matched with the handwriting left by the murderer at the scene. Comparing, the pen and writing habits are completely consistent. The murderer knew that he could not deny it, so he could only confess, and revealed the reasons and details of the previous murders. Since then, the "Fourth Plan" that has been raging in the capital for more than three months has been solved in one fell swoop. In the Zichen Hall of the Daming Palace, Emperor Li, who had been feeling unwell recently, suddenly regained his energy after hearing the news, and ordered the kings, as well as Cui Chunzhan, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and Wang Lin, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, to have an audience. "Change your clothes and follow me into the palace." Huang Zixia had just finished her sleep and went to Yubingtang to meet Li Shubai, and she received such an order. Huang Zixia asked in surprise, "Entering the palace?" "I said that if you solve this case within ten days, you are qualified to do things for me. So, starting today, I have one thing for you to do for me, and this thing needs to be confirmed by you status." He stood up, with a leisurely and elegant posture, and he didn't look like he was negotiating a deal with others, "In short, today is an important day for you, a little eunuch in the palace. If I don't take you, wouldn't it be less A lot of fun and excitement?" She bowed her head and said "yes". Li Shubai went to the door again, and told the people standing there: "Call Jing Yi over here." After a while, Jing Yi came, with a very clean and bright appearance, he looked at Huang Zixia for a few times, and then asked, "What is your order?" Li Shubai asked slowly: "You are my subordinate in charge of personnel affairs in the mansion. Let me ask you, how many eunuchs are there in the mansion now?" "A total of three hundred and sixty-seven people." "What if the three hundred and sixty-seven people suddenly become three hundred and sixty-eight people?" Jing Yi understood, took another look at Huang Zixia, thought for a while, and said, "I remember that last year Jiucheng Palace suffered from heavy rains and natural disasters, and many young eunuchs were lost. Most of those eunuchs were sent to the palace because they were orphans, and some of them had no bones left. , so far no whereabouts." Li Shubai nodded: "So, she may be a scattered eunuch in Jiucheng Palace?" Jing Yi said sincerely: "This is how the servants guessed, but they still can't remember who it is. Please allow me to check the files." Li Shubai waved his hand to signal him to go down.After a while, he came over with a thick roster and said: "The slaves have already found out that there is a young eunuch named Yang Chonggu in the Jiucheng Palace, who is in charge of cleaning the pavilion of 'Chang and Yanlan'. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, five feet five inches tall, slender and thin. He entered the palace as an orphan, and he was lonely and friendless in Jiucheng Palace. He stayed alone in Yanlan Pavilion, so everyone thought he was dead During the natural disaster last year, the palace has canceled his name file." "Well, I just didn't expect that this Yang Chonggu survived a catastrophe and entered my palace." Li Shubai looked at Huang Zixia and asked, "What do you think of the identity Jing Yi mentioned?" Huang Zixia stood there, filled with emotion.She had been on the run for several months, trying her best to cover up her identity. Who would have thought that such a short sentence would allow her to have another identity and become another person. From then on, she would appear in front of others openly and no longer need to cover up. cover up. Who can question what Li Shubai, the Kui king of this dynasty, said, and who dares to question it? So she bowed to Li Shubai and said: "Slave Yang Chonggu, thank you, my lord."
Entering from the Jianfu Gate of Daming Palace, after passing through the overlapping Zhumen and high walls, you will see the tall Hanyuan Hall.On the high platform, there are many halls and palaces, like a phoenix spreading its wings to embrace all the people who enter the palace gate.Behind the Hanyuan Hall is the majestic and magnificent Zichen Hall, and the magnificent cornices and brackets at the back of the hall are endless, reaching as far as the eye can see. The Zichen Hall is the inner hall. In recent years, the emperor summoned his ministers to the Hanyuan Hall less often, especially when he was with princes and close officials.Not long after Huang Zixia waited in the hall, the emperor in black uniform came in surrounded by eunuchs. His figure was slightly plump, but not fat. With a round chin and slender eyebrows, he had an amiable appearance. Emperor Li, thirty-nine years old this year, but since he came to the throne more than ten years ago, he has been indulging in sensuality and ignoring government affairs.Although it is a bit reluctant to say that he is a Taiping emperor, he has not done anything to disturb the people, and the lives of the common people are quite stable. Huang Zixia thought to himself, although they are brothers, the emperor seems much gentler than Li Shubai.Looking at Zhao Wang Li and the others again, I thought to myself, everyone seems to be more fooled than this Li Shubai, why can only this kind of person help him... The emperor sat down, and said to Li Shubai with a smile on his face: "Fourth brother, there is really nothing in the world that can defeat you! I just thought about entrusting you to handle these 'four plans' the day before yesterday, but the result has not yet come. Before you have time to speak, you have already solved the case last night, you are really fast." Li Shubai said: "This is not due to my brother, there is someone else who solved the case." The emperor's eyes fell on Cui Chunzhan, and Cui Chunzhan hurriedly bowed in fear and trepidation: "This case is solved, and everything depends on King Kui. The ministers are guilty, and they did not listen to King Kui's instructions. They only patrolled the east of the city. It was King Kui who went there alone." , Catch the real culprit on the spot and solve the case.” The emperor's eyes fell on Huang Zixia who was behind Li Shubai, and asked: "Fourth brother, it seems that the little eunuch behind you has never been seen before?" "Qizou the emperor, this is the person who solved the case, and I dare not take credit for it, so I brought her to the hall to face the saint." Everyone's eyes immediately fell on Huang Zixia. Seeing that the young eunuch had a delicate face, when he came up to kowtow to the emperor, his eyelashes were always down, his expression was calm, and he didn't even move his hair, which made people feel even more impressive. The emperor smiled and said: "This is the inner palace. I am used to casually with my brothers. You see, today are all my brothers. Chun Zhan is also the nephew of Concubine Cui, and Wang Shangshu is the queen's uncle. You little Eunuchs don't have to be too restrained. What's your name?" "Slave Yang Chonggu, kowtow to the emperor." She knelt down and saluted. After all, Kang Wang and Li Wen were young, seeing that she was about the same age as him, he quickly jumped out and asked, "Are you the one who solved the case? I'm still puzzled, tell me quickly, isn't this case the 'Four Plans'?" ? Why are there murders in the south, north and south, but the last one is not in the east?" Huang Zixia looked up at the emperor, saw him nodding, and then explained: "This is just the inertia of ordinary people's thinking. After combining the four sides of the 'Chang Le Wo Jing' Bodhi, and seeing that the case happened in the north, south, and west sides of the capital, I think the murderer committed the murder. The law is southeast and northwest. Unexpectedly, the murderer just borrowed this name, but did not follow this law. In fact, the third person killed by the murderer before was in Chang'anfang, southwest of the capital, not the west of the city at all. So I think , It was a mistake to decide the case according to the Quartet." Zhao Wang Li hurriedly asked: "Then, I heard afterwards that you set the murderer's target at the southeast of the capital on the first day, but at Puningfang in the northwest of Beijing on the second day. What's the reason?" "There are many clues in this case, and we have to start with the sentence that Master Zhuang Zhen mispronounced." Huang Zixia said in detail, "That day in Jianbi Palace, I heard the details of the case from the princes. That Master Zhuang Zhen On the day of the Dharma conference, the scriptures that must have been recited could not contain a thousand words, but the murderer could immediately recognize the mispronounced word in the Buddhist scriptures. If he is not a Buddhist, he must be a believer who is familiar with Buddhist scriptures. And the curfew in the capital, If you want to kill people in various places, you have to stay in various places on the same day. There are no Buddhist temples and pagodas in the places where the previous incidents happened. A monk who stays overnight will definitely attract the attention of others. Therefore, believers have a greater chance of committing crimes. And this person killed many people. He must not be a true convert to Buddhism, but must have been deluded by the crooked ways of the people. Superstitious people must have trust. According to the previous inference, this matter did not follow rumors from all directions, so I thought again, superstitious people often have a A habit is to read the almanac when doing things.” So after looking through the almanac, she found that the murderer's azimuth exactly matched the auspicious azimuth determined on that day in the almanac.On the date of the third murder, the almanac said southwest of Italy, and looking at the dates of the previous two murders, one was due north of Italy and the other was due south of Italy, which coincided with the location of the murderer.Therefore, she guessed that the murderer must be based on the almanac, not everyone's guess, one person from each of the four sides. And Li Shubai also noticed this immediately after she looked through the almanac, so on that day in the northwest of Italy, the two of them ambush together in front of the pregnant woman's house in Puningfang, and came to sit on the sidelines. "So that's it!" Li Wen hurriedly asked again, "Then, how did you know that the murderer would definitely attack that family? How did you know that the target this time must be a pregnant woman?" "Because the first three people lost their lives, one watchman was an old man, and the other was a blacksmith in his prime. Not to mention the killing of these two people, the child in Shantang was weak and weak, and was dying. Even if he was not killed, he would not survive. What time is it, and why did the murderer kill him?" Huang Zixia said, pausing for a moment before saying, "Then I noticed one thing, that is the middle-aged blacksmith, the place where he was killed was in the medicine hall—— In other words, he was killed when he went to see a doctor." Li Wen was still thinking, Li Run was holding a wine glass beside him, and sighed softly: "Life is full of hardships, birth, old age, sickness and death." "Exactly. One is old, one is sick, and one is dead. The only thing left now is the word 'birth'—and that pregnant woman is the only one in Northwest Chang'an who is about to give birth. If the murderer wants to start on that day, watch It could only be this goal. And when he went to kill that day, he happened to meet a pregnant woman giving birth. He was overjoyed, thinking that God was helping him complete this 'birth'." Cui Chunzhan sighed: "The Dali Temple and the Ministry of Criminal Justice jointly interrogated, and the murderer confessed. It turned out that his family suffered a disaster, and he died within a month. Under fear and worry, he believed in a sect from the Western Regions. This religion is also called by everyone in the Western Regions, but who knows that it has spread to the Central Plains. There is an evil method in the religion, which says that disasters can be passed on to others. He got the evil fire on his body, believed in that saying, and thought he killed those four people , I can get rid of the four sufferings, and I will be at ease from now on, free from disease and disaster. Now he is in prison, still obsessed with obsession, making a lot of noise in the prison, saying that he is using the Buddhist scriptures to save others and himself, and he really does not repent! " There was silence in the hall, and the emperor waved his hand and said, "I don't think there is any need to wait until the end of the autumn. Now that you have confessed and all the evidence is complete, why do you keep such a heinous thing? In the past few days, you should reason about the case so that he does not continue to make noise." .” "This matter must be a capital offense, what does His Majesty mean?" "Cut it in half." The murder case that had been noisy for several months in the capital came to an end.Everyone thought about those tragedies, and saw this thin sixteen or seventeen-year-old eunuch in front of him, standing there like a willow branch in early spring.But it was such a frail young man who gently pulled out the first thread from the mess of everyone who was helpless and clueless, sorted out all the thoughts, and unconsciously felt an inexplicable emotion in his heart Come. Li Xiao said: "This little eunuch is really clever, no wonder the fourth brother was reluctant to nod when I asked for it last time." Li Shubai smiled and said, "Ninth brother is talking nonsense, I never said a word 'no' at that time." "Yes, I will testify for the fourth brother." Li Wen also interjected. The emperor had a very good temper, and kept laughing and watching them quarrel, until a female official came in behind him and whispered in his ear, then he said with a smile: "Fourth brother, you have double happiness these days, I will hold a family banquet for you first. Wait until you are overjoyed." On that day, I and the queen will come to your palace in person to congratulate you." A group of people suddenly showed surprise expressions, and Kang Wang Li Wen was the first to ask: "The fourth brother has chosen the princess? Which girl is it?" The emperor smiled and said: "It's not decided yet, but it's coming soon. I will issue a gold book and a jade book when I make it. So what if you just hold back your curiosity and wait? In short, the fourth brother's concubine is of course one of the best in the world. A pair of Bi people with the fourth brother, complement each other brilliantly."
At the spring banquet, a group of people exchanged cups and cups in the palace, and they dispersed only when the red sun was setting in the west. Huang Zixia followed the carriage out of the palace gate, just after he breathed a sigh of relief, Li Shubai had already lifted the curtain of the carriage and called her: "Come up." She climbed into the car helplessly, saw his gaze only swept over her body, and then turned to the car window.She looked out of the car window carved with flowing clouds and five blessings, and the ordinary street scene was slowly passing by. He looked outside and said to himself, "I want to hear about your family's case now." Huang Zixia was stunned for a moment, and asked in a low voice: "Is the lord really willing to intervene in this case?" "What the king said, do you think I will break my promise?" He had a meaningless expression of "do you want to say it or not". Huang Zixia bit her lower lip, and after a long time, she sat down on the low stool opposite him, and said hesitantly: "The matter should start from the day before the murder. The weather was fine that day, and the plum blossoms in my small garden were full of flowers. , Yuxuan and I walked on the snow and picked plum blossoms together, it was a rare and beautiful winter day..." Li Shubai still looked at the slowly passing street outside, and asked, "Who is Yuxuan?" "It's... an orphan adopted by my father after he came to Chengdu. He was admitted as a scholar at the age of eighteen, and the government gave him a small house, but he still often visits my parents." He turned his eyes and saw her face suddenly covered with a faint expression, that face that was pale due to long-term running and thinking, there was an almost invisible blush, which made her look like , is completely different. Yu Xuan, it seems, is the man who grew up with her childhood sweetheart. He turned his gaze out of the window again, the expression on his face was still calm, and he just gave a faint "oh". Seeing that he didn't ask, Huang Zixia faintly felt a little relieved.She took a deep breath and continued to talk about the day that had happened for months, but it was still etched in her heart.
There was a thin snowfall that morning, and after the snow cleared, the red plums were set against the white snow, and the world was as clear and bright as glass. Huang Zixia held the plum blossoms in her arms, and smiled for Yu Xuan who was beside her.Yuxuan said: "The day before yesterday I saw a pair of vases in the shop, and I thought it would be the most beautiful to put in your room. I have already bought them, but I forgot to bring them today. In the afternoon I called sent over." She nodded with a smile, holding hands and looking at the beautiful scenery.However, such a beautiful winter day was ruined by the visit of two people. The butler came in with his grandmother and uncle.With a cheer, she threw the plum blossoms to Yuxuan, rushed over and hugged her grandmother tightly. She was doted on by her grandmother since she was a child, and she was very affectionate with her.Seeing this, Yu Xuan left first, and his grandmother looked at him with a smile, but after he left, Huang Zixia heard her sigh softly. The grandparents and grandchildren held hands and went to the mother's room to talk. The mother smiled and said, "Your grandmother and uncle are here for your marriage." marriage.Huang Zixia silently threw away her grandmother's hand, and sat there without saying a word.The grandmother patted her hand helplessly, and said with a smile: "The Wang family is a big family, and Wang Yun is the eldest grandson of the house, and your father has seen it. He has always praised Wang Yun for her excellent appearance and character. Good luck." The mother looked at Huang Zixia sadly, and said to the grandmother in a low voice: "Mother, you don't know, this girl doesn't know what's on her mind, and she is not happy when we mention the Wang family." "Little girl, you're still shy." Grandma laughed. Huang Zixia took a deep breath, and was about to speak up to explain, but the girls came over and said they were going to have dinner.A group of people got up first and went to eat outside. Uncle Huang Jun smiled when he saw her: "Zi Xia, I will become a wife in the future, but I can't eat and it's so late. I have to wait for my in-laws." The father laughed and said, "Where are the parents-in-law who need their daughter-in-law to serve them personally? Zi Xia is still at home after getting married in spring." Huang Zixia froze for a moment, put down her bowl and asked, "Spring?" The mother quickly gave her father a wink, and said to her: "Yes, grandma and uncle came here this time to discuss whether to let you out of the cabinet tomorrow spring. It just so happens that the Wang family also meant the same..." "Actually, you've already made up your mind, haven't you?" Huang Zixia trembled with anger and couldn't help but stand up, "Father, mother, I begged you to withdraw this marriage from the Wang family, but you... still force me to marry Go to the Wang family!" "You child is really ridiculous," Huang Jun had discussed with the Wang family a long time ago. Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but put down his chopsticks and said solemnly, "The Langya Wang family is a century-old family. The two kings before and after the current emperor The queens are all from his family, do you think this marriage can be postponed? You can marry into the royal family because your ancestors have accumulated virtue, you should hurry up and prepare the dowry!" The father also sighed and said, "Zi Xia, this marriage was decided for you and Wang Yun by your grandfather when he was prime minister. Now our family has long since declined, but the Wang family has never disliked us, so it can be seen that they really like you. You Being able to marry Wang Yun is also a good thing, father has met Wang Yun, and his character and appearance are top-notch, no worse than others." "But I just like others, not him!" The elder brother Huang Yan, who had been buried in his meal, finally raised his head at this time, and added fuel to the side and said, "Okay, I don't like the Wang family. When you kill the whole family, you can divorce the engagement." Huang Zixia felt a fire rushing straight to her forehead. She put the bowl in her hand heavily, but her trembling hands couldn't hold the bowl and chopsticks. The soup splashed on the hem of the grandmother's dress beside her, and the grandmother stood up helplessly, and hurriedly asked the girl to wipe it, and sighed: "You child, your temper is getting worse and worse, why are you still throwing the bowl when you are talking well?" gone?" She only felt that her eyes were burning and her tears were about to burst, so she could only cover her face, turn around and go back to the room and cry bitterly. I don't know how long I cried, but I felt a pair of hands patting her gently on the shoulders, and my mother's voice rang softly in my ears: "Zi Xia, don't be so self-willed and sad, this matter... your father and I are also discussing it. If If you really object like this, there is nothing we can do, even if you offend the Wang family, we will definitely not let you suffer like this." She turned to look at her mother with tears in her eyes, only her helpless smile was seen in the tears.She said: "Go back first and apologize to grandma and uncle. Is there anything the family can't discuss?" "But I... I'll go back... It's so embarrassing." She choked up. "You go to the kitchen and come back with another dish. Didn't you make your grandmother's favorite yokotsu soup tonight? Go, come back and serve everyone a bowl, admit your mistake for your attitude just now, and your family will help you find a way的。” 她点点头，擦干眼泪去厨房，亲手端了那一碗羊蹄羹到席上，又亲手给每个人奉上一盏。然而只有她自己刚刚哭过，喉口哽咽，羊蹄羹又有种腥气是她不喜欢的，所以她只喝了半碗杏仁酪。 当天晚上，她一家人全都毒发身亡，而致命的砒霜就下在她亲手端上又亲手给每个人盛上一碗的羊蹄羹中。
暮色沉沉，一路行来，已经是长安华灯初上的时刻。 李舒白一言不发听着，直到她说完停下，他才缓缓地说：“但，就凭这样，也不能说明就是你毒害了全家。难道别的人就没有机会接触到那碗羊蹄羹了？” “没有，”黄梓瑕低声却清晰地说，“羊是前一天仓曹参事遣人送来的，那日下午因为我祖母和叔父来了，所以厨房宰了羊，做了红焖羊肉、羊肉汤和羊蹄羹。” 其余的饭菜并没有问题，甚至羊蹄羹，也因为做得太多了，下人们在黄梓瑕舀走了一大碗之后就分吃了剩下的，但都没有出事。只有黄梓瑕亲自盛好、亲自捧到花厅、亲自分给大家喝的那一碗，饭后还剩下一些。厨房几位大娘端回来之后偷懒，就原样锁在了厨房壁柜内。第二天一早发现了惨案时，壁柜还没开锁，等主事鲁大娘早上过来，在衙役们的注视下打开壁柜拿出昨晚那碗羊蹄羹时，一测便知，正是这一碗内，下了砒霜。 “是否有人在羊蹄羹的碗上下毒？” “没有，我当时因怕自己的手不干净，所以取碗之后顺手将碗洗了一遍。而且，还有一点……”黄梓瑕艰难地说，“在我的房间里，搜出了装砒霜的空药封。” “你买了砒霜？” “是，我在蜀地最有名的归仁堂买的。差官们过去一看售档，明明白白地记录着我签押的字，确认无误。” “你买砒霜干什么？”李舒白问。 “我……”她迟疑地说，“因为之前和禹宣一起看书，有一本《酉生杂记》上记载了一个民间秘方，说三钱钩吻汁可抵半两砒霜之毒，我不信，便与他打赌……因我也曾帮助衙门处理过各种毒杀事件，所以购买砒霜便落在我的身上，而钩吻则由禹宣去山上采集，准备拿隔壁那几只老是咬人的恶犬试一试。” “你们之前也经常做这样的赌约？” “不止一次两次。” “你将此事说明了吗？” “说了，禹宣也帮我证实，但被斥之为借口。” 李舒白微微扬眉：“那个禹宣，现在在哪里？” 黄梓瑕沉默许久，才慢慢地说：“他没有下手的机会。他那日离开我家之后，就去了书院和一群朋友论道，晚上回到家中，再未出门，直到接到我父母死亡的消息才赶来。” “这么说，你行凶杀人的事，昭然若揭。”李舒白慢悠悠地说。 “是，唯一有可能下毒的机会，就在我捧着那碗羊蹄羹从厨房到厅堂的路途。而且，我又有购买砒霜的记录，又有……他们所谓的动机。” 李舒白点头，缓缓说道：“这样看来，唯一有可能杀你父母的人，的确是你了，想要翻案，确实不容易。” 她坐在李舒白的对面，看着马车内精心装饰的锦缎花纹，用金线细细勾描的瑞兽麒麟，祥云五彩闻着车上燃的令人神智清明的苏合香。在这样温暖而柔软的馨香之中，她却如同重新经历了一遍那惨痛的遭遇，令她全身冰凉，无法呼吸。 她的嘴唇像风中枯残的白花，即使是身上绛纱宫服也不能替她增添一点血色。她看着面前人，嗓音略带嘶哑：“王爷，你是否也像他们一样认为，这个世上会有人杀害自己全家，就为——那个理由？” 李舒白看着她，许久，把目光转向车窗外的风景，说：“谁知道呢，人心是最不可测的，尤其是你这种年纪的女子。” 黄梓瑕看着他漠然的表情，颤声说：“若王爷真能如之前所说的施以援手，我相信浮云总不能长久蔽日，我父母的冤仇，定然能昭雪于天下。” “等夏天过去了，我将会前往巴蜀一次，到时候，我带你去，将你父母的案卷调出来全盘重来。我相信，像你这样能轻易破解疑案的人，不至于当局者迷到这种地步，无法洗脱自己的罪名。” 她咬着下唇，许久，才问：“你真能信我、帮我？” 他的目光停在她的面容上，窗外的树影筛过一条条阳光，如一缕缕金色的细线，在她的面容上流转不定。在那金色的光辉之中，她苍白的面容与清澈的双眼，显得惊人的明净夺目，就连阳光似乎都只是她的陪衬，在她面前失去了光辉。 就是这样的一个少女，背负着世上最可怕的罪名与冤仇，却义无反顾地踏上最艰难的路，将一切原本属于少女的柔软娇弱全都深深埋葬，只剩下拼命执着前进的路，光华灼灼。 李舒白那久已平静无波的心，忽然在这一刻微微动荡起来，如同春风拂过深谷的湖面，第一次泛起浅浅的涟漪。 但也只是一刻而已，他将自己的目光再度转向车外，声音也因为刻意的压抑，显得低沉而微带喑哑：“对，我信你，也会帮你。同样地，你也必须要将自己以后的人生交给我。” 黄梓瑕抬头看着他，看着他在此时的夕阳之下，如同山河起伏般轮廓优美的侧面，那是仿佛万年冰霜也难以侵蚀的坚定。 “从今以后，只要你在我身边，就不必再忧虑惊惧。” 她的心里，忽然感觉到一点淡淡的酸涩滴入自己的心湖。眼前如同幻梦般，闪过那年夏季，大片风荷开满池塘。那时那个人执着她的手，亦是这样说话。 到如今，世事变幻，她身世凋零，所幸她拼命努力，终于还是抓住了一线机会，终于站在了面前这个人身边。 马车停下，夔王府已到。李舒白推开车门，自行下了车。回头看见她神情恍惚地从车上下来，他漫不经心地抬起自己的手，扶她下车。 日薄西山，斜晖如金。她将自己的手放在他的掌心中，看见日光下他的面容和那双手一样，莹然生辉。