Chapter 25 Chapter One

This story happened in Lanfang.Di Gong served as county magistrate there for four years, but was still not promoted.On New Year's Eve, I was crouching on the official case and reviewing official documents.Unconsciously, I shivered.He stood up, wrapped his thick leather robe tightly, and pushed open the sill window.Outside the window, the heavy snow had just started, and the sky was still gloomy. A gust of bitter north wind blew in, almost extinguishing the candle on the desk. Di Gong glanced at the big bed next to the wall, the mattress, pillow and quilt were neatly spread on the bed.There was a faint flame in the brazier under the bed.Tomorrow is the first day of the New Year—he will be here for the fifth year.On New Year's Eve, the yamen was extremely quiet, and most of the yamen servants were off duty.Several officers are in the duty room around the furnace bucket card.Two months ago, my wife, accompanied by Hong Canjun and others, went back to her hometown of Taiyuan to visit her relatives. She will not return to Lanfang until spring next year, when the weather is warm and the flowers are blooming.

Duke Di drank a cup of tea by himself, took out the fur hat and put it on, pulled down the ear protectors on both sides of the fur hat, lit a candle, and walked through the dark corridor to the duty room. ——He wanted to go there to join in the fun with the yamen servants on duty. A large brazier was burning in the middle of the guard room, and three yamen servants surrounded a wooden table, on which a game of cards was laid out, and there were piles of walnuts and dried fruits.A yamen servant was sticking his head out of the sill window and yelling loudly. Di Gong's sudden appearance made them startled, and hurriedly left the table to kowtow and say hello.

Di Gong asked the yamen servant who shouted loudly: "On New Year's Eve, why do you see you swearing?" The yamen servant was panicked.After a while, he muttered: "There is a child who broke into the yamen room in the dark to find his mother. I saw that he was dressed in rags, and I suspected that he was a little beggar who stole something, so I yelled a few times and just wanted to drive him away. Didn't scold anyone." "Come to the yamen to look for his mother on New Year's Eve? What's going on?" Di Gong felt suspicious, and hurriedly opened the window again, leaning over to look out.

On the street outside the Yayuan, I saw a little boy walking away from the wall.In the biting cold wind, he could only hear his cry: "Mom...where did you go? There is blood all over the ground...I slipped." Di Gong was alert, turned around and ordered: "Prepare your horse to wait!" Di Gong galloped out of the yamen and quickly caught up with the child.He reined in the reins, dismounted and helped the child into the saddle. "I'll take you to your mother, and Hugh will cry. What's your father's name? Where does he live?" "My father's name is Brother Wang Mo, and he is a peddler who sells wontons. My family lives in an alley to the west of the Confucius Temple, not far from Ximen." The child replied softly, with tears in his eyes.

"It's not hard to find." Duke Di drove his horse carefully along the snow-covered street towards the Temple of Confucius, and two government servants rode their horses silently guarding left and right.Snow fluttered and fell again, and the north wind blew on my face, making it painful. "What's your name?" Duke Di asked the child again. "My name is Baosheng, you...you are the master of the yamen, right?" The child's voice trembled. "Oh, Baosheng, where did your father go?" "Master, I don't know. Dad came home and quarreled with Mom. Mom didn't prepare the New Year's Eve dinner, saying that there was no white flour at home. Dad scolded Mom and asked Mom to go to the quality shop to find shopkeeper Shen. Mom cried, so I had to hide." I didn’t dare to persuade them. I knew a guy from Mipu. I thought I didn’t have anything to eat at home, so I might as well borrow a few catties of flour from that guy to make my parents happy. When I found that boy, I had no choice but to return home empty-handed. When I got home, my father and mother were gone, and the floor was covered in blood... Oh, and I even slipped."

He sobbed again, his little body trembling.Duke Di wrapped him in his leather robe, tightened the reins, and quickened his pace. At the gate of the Confucian Temple, Di Gong got off his horse first, and then helped Wang Baosheng off the saddle.He said to the yamen servant: "The Wang's house is in an alley not far away. We tied our horses here and talked loudly all the way." Wang Baosheng led Mr. Di into a narrow alley. The houses on both sides of the alley were crumbling.He pointed to a false wooden door and said, "Master, this is my home." The dim candlelight flickered in the hut, and it was very quiet.The upstairs of the hut was brightly lit, and there was a faint sound of frolicking.

"Baosheng, isn't this upstairs your house?" Duke Di asked. Tailor Liu lived upstairs.My family lives downstairs.Tailor Liu's house held a banquet tonight and invited many guests. " Di Gong ordered the yamen servant: "Let this child and all the guests stay upstairs, and just ask Tailor Liu to come downstairs to see me." Duke Di pushed open the wooden door and walked into the Wang family's hut. The room was empty and cold.There is a wooden frame in the corner, and a small oil lamp flickers on the wooden frame.There is a simple wooden square table in the center of the room. On the square table are three blue-rimmed porcelain bowls, a crock pot and a kitchen knife.The kitchen knife was spattered with blood, and the blood flowed from the table top to the flagstone floor along the legs of the table.The stone floor is uneven, and puddles of blood have accumulated in the depressions, which is shocking.

A yamen servant said: "My lord, this big kitchen knife is undoubtedly... the murder weapon, so much blood!" Duke Di nodded, and wiped the edge of the kitchen knife with his hand.The blood on the blade has not dried yet.There are two beds side by side against the wall of the room, one large and one small.Dirty and dilapidated walls.There is a gate to the west, leading to the kitchen. Di Gong walked into the kitchen and touched the stove with his hands. The ashes in the stove were cold.He shook his head and walked out again. The yamen servant couldn't help but said again: "My lord, the poverty of Brother Wang's family doesn't seem to be the result of robbers and murders by strong people."

Di Gong looked down and suddenly saw a silk handkerchief at the foot of the big bed, he bent down to pick it up.With the help of the light, I saw the word "Shen" embroidered in gold thread on the silk handkerchief. "Brother Wang Mo's wife must be worth an adulterer! After Baosheng went to the rice shop, Brother Wang Mo found this square silk handkerchief. The character 'Shen' must be the adulterer's surname. Baosheng didn't mean Shen of quality shop. The shopkeeper? Brother Wang Mo was furious when he saw that his wife hadn’t prepared dinner, and seeing this square silk handkerchief, how did he get over it? He picked up the kitchen knife and killed his wife. ——It’s a matter of course, It's not unusual. At this moment, Brother Wang Mo must have gone to hide the body."

The yamen servant said: "Master's judgment is correct. The villain has seen that brother Wang: he has a big body, like a cow. He carries a pair of wontons all day long and carries them on the street." Di Gong remembered that there was a pair of wonton baskets in a corner of the kitchen. Another yamen servant dragged a skinny old man into the room.The old man was obviously drunk and hazy, and he walked lightly, with difficulty landing on his heels.He looked at Di Gong with a pair of small red eyes and smirked, and then spewed out a strong smell of alcohol. ——Di Gong thought that this person must be Tailor Liu.

"Tailor Liu, a homicide happened in this house, did you hear or see anything unusual just now?" Tailor Liu squinted his small eyes and smiled, hiccupped, and said, "That woman wanders around all day long, what good can she do? She only knows money. Brother Wang Mo is as poor as I am, hehe...she has seen I'm going to shopkeeper Shen who runs a quality shop. It's true that Qian can communicate with the gods. I came here in the afternoon." Di Gong asked again: "There is a board between your upstairs and this downstairs. When the couple quarreled, what did you hear?" "Returning to the old man, although the villain is separated from Brother Wang Mo by a floor, there is a banquet at home tonight to bid farewell to the new year, and there are many guests. After drinking a few cups, everyone drank and made noises, and the poor wife has clumsy hands and feet. Turned over a big wooden basin, wiped the floor, cleaned it up, and tossed about for half a day. Therefore, I never heard how Brother Wang Mo and his wife quarreled downstairs." "Tailor Liu, did anyone leave the banquet?" "No one has ever left the banquet! Butcher Li slaughtered a fat pig for us, and all the guests were waiting for the barbecue, so how could they easily leave the banquet? I was so busy taking care of the kitchen and the banquet. The brazier went out again. I picked a few pieces of charcoal from the kitchen, and the room was full of smoke. When I went to open the window to let the smoke out, I saw Mrs. Zhang running downstairs." "She ran out alone?" Duke Di asked urgently. Tailor Liu sneered, "I'm still looking for shopkeeper Shen." Di Gong looked down at the bloody blood on the ground, and asked, "Which direction did Mrs. Zhang go?" "The villain saw her rushing towards the west gate." Di Gong frowned, and his face was serious: "I am wronged Tailor Liu to go upstairs and tell all the guests to leave here temporarily." Tailor Liu nodded in agreement, and a yamen servant supervised him to go back upstairs. Upstairs was still frolicking, and the guests were in full swing. Di Gong said to another yamen servant: "You wait here for me. If Brother Wang Mo comes back, arrest him immediately. —— Shopkeeper Shen must have been stabbed to death by Brother Wang Mo when he arrived by accident, and he was left behind. The silk handkerchief, while Mrs. Zhang ran out of the house in fright."