Chapter 24 Chapter Twenty-Three

Half an hour later, Di Gong and his entourage came to Ni Shouqian's other courtyard in the eastern suburbs. They saw a group of government servants, clearing roads, sorting out furniture, and patrolling the back garden. It was very busy. Di Gong stands in the compound, in front of it is the stone gate, and entering the stone gate leads to the labyrinth.Di Gong said to Hong Liang, Ma Rong, Tao Gan and all the yamen soldiers: "After entering the palace, it is estimated that we can reach the pavilion within a short distance. However, we don't know what it is, so every time we move two feet forward, we must One yamen soldier stayed behind so that he could echo the front and back yamen soldiers. In this way, if there is any change, we can get in and get out!" Then he said to Ma Rong: "You hold a long gun and clear the way ahead. I don't believe there are traps in the palace, but this place has been deserted for many years, there may be beasts and lizards infesting, it's better to be careful."

The group walked through the stone gate and entered the maze.The palace was very dark, and the rotten branches and leaves gave off a bad smell.Although the palace road is narrow, the two can still walk side by side.The trees beside the road are lush, and the boulders are lined up in rows, just like two thick walls, but there are no pine trees.The branches and leaves of the two rows of trees merge into one above the head, and there are strings of wisterias, either coiled around the tree, or hanging gracefully. Di Gong and Ma Rong have to bow their heads from time to time to pass.The tree trunk was covered with giant fungi, and Ma Rong picked one out with the tip of his gun, and a cloud of stinky white powder flew into the air immediately.

Di Gong called out: "Ma Rong, beware of poison!" Di Gong stopped at the first left turn, pointed to the three ancient pines growing together in front, smiled slightly, and said, "This is the first road sign." Ma Rong suddenly shouted: "Master, be careful!" Hearing the sound, Duke Dee jumped to the side of the road. As soon as he dodged, a palm-sized spider fell to the place where Mr. Dee was standing with a snap. It was covered in furry yellow spots, and a terrible blue light shone from its eyes.Without waiting for it to crawl away, Ma Rong stabbed it through the heart with a gun.

The palace road seemed to lead in the original direction, but after a few feet, it suddenly turned straight to the right again. The group walked along the palace road for about ten feet, and Di Gong ordered Ma Rong: "Stop! There is the second road sign ahead." Following the direction Di Gong pointed out, four pines stood side by side. Di Gongdao: "We have to leave the palace road here and take a shortcut. Ma Rong, look carefully between the second and third pine trees!" As soon as Ma Rong swiped his long spear in the thick branches and leaves, he was so frightened that he retreated a few steps and pushed Di Gong backward.I saw a three-foot-long red viper crawling over the rotten leaves, and disappeared into a hole at the root of the tree in the blink of an eye.

Ma Rong laughed at himself and said, "Why is this poisonous snake not seen in Ni Shouqian's landscape paintings?" Di Gongdao: "Before we leave, I ordered you to wear long hunting boots. That's the reason. You can search carefully with me again!" Ma Rong squatted under the branches and leaves to take a closer look, stood up and said: "There is a small path at the end of this place, but it is too narrow, and it is difficult for one person to walk through. Therefore, I will go there first, separate the branches, and you can go on." While speaking, Ma Rong got into the dense branches and leaves.Di Gong wrapped his robes tightly around his body, and followed behind with Hong Canjun and Tao Gan.All the Yamen soldiers didn't understand what he meant, and they stared at Fang's arrest.Fangzheng drew out his dagger from his waist, and ordered all the yamen soldiers to say: "If a beast comes out of its hole to hurt people, you must be the first to be the first to surround and destroy it, and don't let it run away!"

The trail was only a few feet long, and in a short while, Di Gong and his party went up the palace road again. Seeing a sharp bend on the left and right, they walked to the left first.When I came to the corner, I saw a long and straight palace road in front of me.Di Gong shook his head and said: "It's a shortcut, it won't be so long, you have to go in the opposite direction to find it." Then he returned to the original place, then walked to the right, and when he reached the corner, he saw a passage of more than Zhang.Di Gongxi said: "This is it!" He pointed to the left and right sides, and saw five long pine trees separated by the roadside, three on one side and two on the other.

Di Gongdao: "According to the scroll, the pavilion must not be far from here. I think there may be a path between a pair of pine trees here, and the three trees on the opposite side are the foil." Ma Rong was impatient, so he took a big step and walked towards the weeds growing between the two trees.Unexpectedly, he didn't take three steps, but he started to curse.It turned out that both his feet were sunk in depression, he managed to pull out his legs, and said angrily, "There is a pool of stagnant water ahead!" Di Gong frowned, and said: "But it's a mischief again! Since entering the palace, everything has been tenoned and stitched everywhere. Why did it cut off the way here? Ma Rong, if you search carefully, there must be a pool of fate." path!"

Fangzheng made a signal, and the soldiers immediately drew their swords and cut down the weeds and thorns by the pond.After a while, Xiaochi's silhouette was revealed, and the blisters where Ma Rong's foot was sunken were constantly turning over. Di Gong leaned down to take a look, and quickly retracted his body. It turned out that a strange-shaped head was slowly protruding out of the water, with a pair of yellow eyes staring straight at the person. Seeing Ma Rong, he gasped and raised his pistol in a hurry to stab him. When Di Gong saw him, he quickly pressed his arm. A large salamander slowly emerged from the water. It was five feet long and looked frightening.It climbed to the shore and burrowed into the aquatic plants.

Everyone was shocked.Ma Rong said: "I'm not afraid of fighting five or six strong men by myself, but I'm a little scared when I see this kind of water monster." Di Gong said happily: "When I read old idle books, I only knew the name of salamander, but I don’t see anything, and today I’m lucky enough to witness this monster for the first time, so I’ve learned a little more.” Di Gong glanced at the edge of the pool, only seeing mud and water plants, and then raised his eyes to look at the surface of the pool, and said to Ma Rong, "Do you see a faint stone under the water ahead? It must be the first road stone to pass across the pool. , let's go up and have a look!"

Ma Rong stuffed a robe around his waist, stepped on the stone, and tried it in the surrounding water with a long spear. He said happily, "There is another piece in the front left!" Ma Rong separated the weeping branches and stepped onto the second road stone.Di Gong and others also tucked their robes into their waists, and followed Ma Rong forward.Suddenly Ma Rong stopped and almost knocked Di Gong into the water.Ma Rong pointed to a broken branch, and whispered to Di Gong: "Master, this branch was broken by human hands. The branches and leaves are not yet withered and yellow, which means that this person passed the pond yesterday. He slipped and fell on the stone and stretched out his hand to grab it. The branch steadied itself, so it broke the branch."

Duke Di nodded and said softly, "Perhaps this person is still not far from here. We must be careful in case he surprises us." Then he whispered the words behind Hong Canjun, Tao Gan, Fang Zheng and others everyone. Ma Rong murmured: "As long as it is a human, why should I be afraid of him!" He walked forward with a gun. Although the pool was not big, Duke Di and his party didn't know the way. They found a stone and took a step, and finally reached the other side. Di Gong and Ma Rong squatted down, opened the weeping branches, and saw an open space in front of them. A stone pavilion stood under a big fir tree in the center. On the plaque, the words "Ning Xin Xuan" are clearly visible. When Di Gong saw all the yamen's soldiers - as soon as they passed the pool, he ordered loudly: "Quickly surround this pavilion!" Duke Di rushed to the pavilion, kicked open the gate, and two bats flew out flapping their wings.Di Gong turned around, shook his head and said: "There is no one in the pavilion! Fang arrests, you lead all the Yamen to search around outside the pavilion!" After Di Gong finished his orders, he went back to the pavilion, followed by Ma Rong and other three relatives.After entering the pavilion, Ma Rong opened the window, and saw a stone table in the center and a stone bench against the back wall, both covered with a thick layer of dust.On the stone table was a jade cup, about one foot square. Di Gong brushed off the dust with his sleeve, revealing a carved pattern of clouds and dragons, which was truly exquisite.Gently lifted the lid again, and took out a small yellow cloth bag.Di Gong said: "This is Ni Shouqian's will!" Di Gong slowly opened the cloth bag, unfolded the Chinese scroll, and read aloud: will Spring blossoms and autumn fruits, the past and the present are the same.When a person is in his twilight years, when he looks back on the past, he has worked hard all his life, how many crimes have he made?Yu Qingye checked his heart, and realized that although he was short-sighted and deep, he did not humiliate the sage at the top, and lived up to the people at the bottom. For the revitalization of the country and the order of the society, it has been exhausted.Unexpectedly, in the midst of the busy schedule, he neglects the other, abandons his own family and family education, and causes trouble to the wall, and the eldest son Ni Qi becomes a glutton in the end. Ni Qi has evil thoughts in his heart, and his desires cannot be filled. As long as he is alive, he will not dare to do evil, but once he returns to the west, he will cause trouble and make trouble.If Ni Qi dies in the parade, or beheads the execution ground, the cigarettes of the Ni family will be cut off immediately, and the ancestors of the ancestors will surely shed tears.Since ancient times, there have been three misfortunes, the greatest is the lack of successors, the continuation of the Ni family's incense, and the continuation of the Xianmei family.It's also because the Ni family shouldn't be cut off. After less than a year of marriage, they had a son named Ni Shan.Shan'er is intelligent and enlightened, and besides being loved, she spreads shade and shelter widely, hoping that her son will become a dragon and glorify her ancestors.However, if the family property is divided equally between the two sons after death, Shan'er's life will not be guaranteed, so she left a false will on the sick bed before her death, but wrote the real Taoist document on this volume.If Ni Qi changed his face and changed his mind, he and Ni Shan would have half and half of the family property; if it were him.There is no cure for the evil, and all the property belongs to Ni Shan alone. At the same time, Yu hid another will in the interlayer of the scroll, hoping that Ni Qi would discover it.If he acts according to the instructions, then the Ni family will be lucky; if he does not change his bad nature and destroys this will, he will think that the scroll has no secrets to speak of, so he will return it to the widow Mei. I pray to the heavens, I only hope that the wise county master can see through the hidden meaning in the painting, and when he takes out this will in the maze, Ni Qi has not yet become the fourth rank.If he has committed many crimes, please forward this volume of last words together with the attached paper to the official government. May God be merciful and bless my Nimen! Testator Hanlin Bachelor, Huainan, Jiangnan, Lingnan three Former Emissary Ni Shouqian signed and sealed September 15th, the first year of Qianfeng Hong Canjun said: "What this will says is exactly the same as what we know!" Di Gong nodded slightly, took out the attachment and read again: The child does not teach, the father too.Ni Shougan taught his son poorly, which caused the eldest son Ni Qi to commit crimes.Ni Shouqian had nothing to ask for in Gongmen before he was alive, but because of his deep affection, he begged to come to the stage after his death. Ni Shouqian personally The fifteenth day of the ninth year of the first year of Qianfeng There was a dead silence in the pavilion. Di Gong slowly rolled up the paper, deeply moved by Ni Shouqian's heartfelt words. Tao Gan scraped lightly on the stone table with his fingernails, and said, "There seems to be a pattern engraved here!" After saying that, he took a sharp knife and picked off the dirt. Hong Canjun and Ma Rong also started together, and a circle Patterns are gradually revealed. Di Gong looked down and said: "This must be a maze map. Look, the curved palace road just formed the four-character ancient seal - the void pavilion, which is exactly the same as the title of the landscape painting! I thought, this 'void' The two characters are the true portrayal of the heart of the deposed envoy after he resigned from office." Tao Gan said: "The shortcuts in the palace are also clearly marked, but all pine trees are marked with black dots." Duke Di carefully looked at the map of the maze, moved his index finger from the entrance to the exit along the palace road, and sighed: "What an ingenious maze! If someone enters the palace from the entrance, he will keep to the right at every intersection. He has to go through the entire maze to reach the exit. Conversely, if he enters from the exit, he will keep to the left whenever he encounters a three-way intersection. To reach the entrance, he must go through the entire maze. However, if he does not know the shortcut, Then you will never find this pavilion in the palace.” Hong Canjun said: "Master, we need Madam Ni's consent to clean up this labyrinth and turn it into another holy place for sightseeing in the county, which is as famous as the White Tiger Tower in the lotus pond." Fangzheng came in and said, "Master, we searched everywhere for that suspicious person, but he couldn't find him." "Order all the yamen to search carefully among the green leaves on the top of the tree. Maybe this person is hiding among the branches and leaves of the tree." After Fangzheng left, Duke Di saw Tao Gan leaning over to look at the stone bench, he was suspicious, but he heard Tao Gan say: "Master, there are ocher spots on this bench, which seems unusual, could it be blood stains?" Di Gong was startled, hurriedly went to wipe the spots on the stool, and then went to the window, carefully looked at the red blood on his hands, turned around and said to Ma Rongming: "Look at what is hidden under this stone bench?" Ma Rong fiddled with the spear in the dark under the stone bench for a while, only to see a big toad jump out.Kneeling down on the ground again, he took a closer look under the stool and said, "Master, there are only dust and cobwebs under the stool." At this time, Tao Gan took a closer look at the space behind the stone bench, his expression changed immediately, and he exclaimed, "No! There is a corpse here!" Ma Rong and Tao Gan carried out a straight female corpse from behind the stone bench. The corpse was covered with dried blood, and the deceased was a young girl.Di Gong leaned over to see, the girl was killed by a knife in the left chest, and her whole body was covered with scars. Di Gong stood up straight, his eyes were burning with anger, and said: "It seems that this woman was killed here yesterday. Although the body is stiff, the muscles have not rotted yet." Ma Rong said: "How did she come here? She must have been the one who slipped and fell on the road stone in Xiaochi and broke the branch!" After a closer look, he couldn't help blurting out "Ah", and said: "Although this woman's face has changed, she still feels the same. She looks familiar, isn't she Miss Bailan?" Di Gong's face was livid, and he said anxiously: "Quickly call Fang to arrest and come here!" Fangzheng entered the pavilion, looked down at the corpse, screamed, threw himself on his daughter, beat her chest and stomped her feet, shouted the name "Bai Lan" and cried endlessly.This situation is so sad and miserable! Di Gong frowned thickly, lowered his head and paced slowly, lost in thought.Suddenly, he raised his head and asked Hong Canjun, "Hong Canjun, have you ever looked for Mrs. Li's residence?" Hong Liang silently pointed to Fangzheng's back.Di Gong approached and asked urgently: "Fang arrests Hugh to cry, tell me quickly, where is Mrs. Li's home?" Fangzheng didn't look up, just sobbed and replied: "This morning, I sent Heilan to look for him." Hearing this, Di Gong suddenly turned around and pulled Ma Rong aside, whispering a few words anxiously.Ma Rong nodded again and again, and left the pavilion in a hurry without saying a word.