Chapter 4 Chapter Four

Di Gong glanced at his colleague with sharp eyes, leaning on the back of the chair and stroking his long beautiful beard slowly. "Luo Xianggong's words are in line with my intentions. This is definitely not a case of gangsters or thieves who robbed property. Even if Song Yiwen carelessly forgot to lock the door of the back garden, and a gangster sneaked into the backyard late at night, he will carefully investigate After some noise in the house, he will never rush into the room. If he sees that the scholar is about to go to bed, he will wait patiently outside the house, and sneak in to steal when the scholar is fast asleep. Luo Xianggong, I think about it It was Xiucai who took off his hat and robe and was about to go to bed when he heard someone knock on the door of the back garden, so Xiucai put on his hat again and ran out to open the door."

"Exactly." Luo Yingyuan replied. "There's still dry dirt on his felt shoes." "I have also noticed this. The visitor must be someone familiar to Xiucai. Xiucai unlatched the door and let the man enter the backyard. After entering the house, he was asked to wait for a while in the outer study, and then he went into the bedroom to change clothes. Just as he The murderer killed him when he turned to enter the bedroom. In any case, the hat fell on the dead man's head. It was the murderer's greatest negligence. Just imagine, who would wear a hat while sleeping? This flaw shows that the murderer is premeditated Killing people and the scholar did not take precautions."

Luo Yingyuan nodded in agreement, and said: "I think the murderer's motive for committing the crime is probably blackmail." Di Gong was startled, straightened up involuntarily, and asked, "Blackmail? Where did this idea come from, Mr. Luo." Luo Yingyuan took down a book from the bookshelf, turned to the page with the note, and said, "The shopkeeper Meng's mother is a very careful old lady, and her books are neatly placed. But now the order of the books is complete." What's more, when the old lady reads a good poem, she writes her comments on a note on the page where the lines are inserted. You see, there is exactly such a note on this page But the comments on this note do not match the original poem. I found that many of the notes were in the wrong place, obviously someone had flipped through them and re-folded them. Of course, Xiucai may have flipped through these books, but he will not put them The notes were hurriedly clipped, and the dust on the back shelves of the bookshelves showed signs of recent touching. I think the murderer made such a mess of the room to give the appearance of a thief looking for money, when in fact he was Looking for a piece of paper, or a bill, or some sort of deed. If a murderer kills for something like that, he means blackmail."

"Luo Xianggong is very good at distinguishing and analyzing. If you look at these transcripts written by Xiucai himself, the first six pages are filled with words, and the next fifty pages are blank. Every piece of paper is numbered by Xiucai. It can be seen that he is a careful person. Now the order of the stack of notes is scattered, and dirty fingerprints are still left on the blank paper. This clearly shows that the murderer has carefully read the stack of notes. Imagine a thief who would pay attention to a stack of useless A note!" Luo Yingyuan nodded frequently, and then sighed deeply.

"It seems that the murderer has found what he needs, let's go into the study and take a closer look!" The two of them carefully checked the scattered things in the study again, sorting them out and putting them back in the drawers.Suddenly Di Gong saw a booklet titled "Jade Flute Spectrum", and Song Yiwen's private seal was stamped on the cover.He rummaged through it from beginning to end, and found no tunes or lyrics, but lines of incomprehensible symbols.Judging from the division of symbols into chapters, there are a total of twelve scores recorded. Luo Yingyuan turned his eyes and said: "Yes, I saw a flute hanging on the wall of his study."

"Has Mr. Luo seen this score before?" Di Gong asked. "Never seen." Luo Yingyuan went into the bedroom, took down the flute from the wall, and played it to his mouth; after a few strokes, the flute made a very piercing tone.He smiled wryly, put down the flute, and said: "I used to play very clear and loud, but it's been a long time since I haven't played it. Hey, brother Dinian, this flute is also a good place to hide things. The scroll of the written document is tight, can it be inserted into the flute pipe?" He squinted one eye at the pipe for a moment, then shook his head dejectedly.

Di Gong dusted off the dust all over his body, and said: "Meng Shuzhai said that Song Xiucai never had any relatives or friends in Jinhua, and he himself rarely saw Song Xiucai's traces. The person who knows Song Xiucai's situation best is to help him. The maid who delivered food is gone. We can ask the maid who delivered food to the scholar." "Brother Dinian, please leave this matter to you. I have to go back to the Yayuan now. Sirs Shao and Zhang should have woken up from their lunch break, and Master Ruyi. At the same time, my wives and concubines are also looking for me to discuss buying for the Mid-Autumn Festival. matter."

"Okay. You go back to the Yamen first, and I will stay here and ask again. Luo Xianggong, you can't be hasty in buying for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Cough, how many young masters and daughters will we meet?" Luo Yingyuan grinned and said: "Eleven sons and six daughters. To tell you the truth, brother Nian, my eighth wife is also a very troublesome matter. Oh, I remembered, I still have to go on the way back to Yamen." A trip to Sapphire Square to pick up some Kabuki and dance girls. Fortunately, Sapphire Square is only a few streets away along the way. "Is that a firework courtyard?" Duke Di asked.

"No! That sapphire workshop is similar to Chang'an's Jiaofang. It only serves kabuki and dancers. Whenever there are public and private banquets in the government, they can be called by name. They are good at playing silk and bamboo, and they are good at playing golden statues. The best wine The wonderful function of helping music. I think Song Xiucai here is very fond of music, and maybe he will have a relationship with the good talents or sisters there. I will also inquire about it when I go.” Di Gong nodded in satisfaction, and ordered the housekeeper to bring the maid who usually delivered meals for Song Xiucai.County Magistrate Luo cupped his hands, said "Brother Nian, stay on your feet", and then got into the sedan chair, poked his head out of the sedan curtain and said, "Brother Di Nian, I will send a sedan chair to pick you up in a while." Go back to Ya."

Not long after, the steward brought two young women to meet Di Gong.Two people in one blue cloth dress, with a black silk sash around the waist, and a bone hairpin on the head. "Master, this one's name is Mudan, and she's delivering lunch for Mr. Song, and also doing rough things like making beds and doing laundry; that's called Chrysanthemum. She's delivering dinner for Mr. Song." Di Gong saw that the peony was ugly, with clumsy hands and feet, but the chrysanthemum was watery and handsome, with a round rosy face, which was very attractive, and there was a seductive vixen in its brows.

Di Gong asked, "Peony, you must be very busy when Mr. Song is here?" "Ah! No. Master." Mudan replied hastily, "I've never seen Mr. Song have a visitor. There are not many things here. Mr. Song treats everyone in a friendly way, and he immediately rewards him for washing his clothes." "Does he chat with you in his free time?" Duke Di asked again. "No, my lord. Just to say hello sometimes. He is too busy reading and writing, and never wants to gossip with our servants." "Thank you, Peony. You can go." The butler respectfully took Peony out of the room. Duke Di asked Chrysanthemum: "Peony is a girl from the countryside, but I think you are a girl from the city. Tell me..." Chrysanthemum stared at Di Gong in panic, flashing with fear.She suddenly asked: "Master, Mr. Song's neck was really bitten through?" Duke Di frowned suspiciously. Chrysanthemum lowered her head and said in a gloomy tone: "Slaves, come to think of it, Mr. Zhu must have a lover. That day I saw him sneaking out of the back door of the garden in a black suit." "Have you met Mr. Song's lover?" Duke Di was very surprised. "Master, I haven't seen it. But a few days ago, my husband asked me if there were gold and silver silk double bird hair clips for sale in the silver shop behind the Confucius Temple. It was clear that he wanted to give his lover a gift. But the lover bit It pierced Mr. Song's neck..." Di Gong was taken aback for a moment, and asked anxiously, "Miss Juhua, what do you mean by that?" "Master Song, according to the servants, Mr. Song's lover is a fox, a black fox dressed as a woman. Once he really asked me if there are many foxes in this area." Duke Dee smiled contemptuously and said, "You shouldn't believe such nonsense stories about foxes. Foxes don't hurt people, they are kind and smart." "My lord, the slaves are talking serious things. Mr. Lai is really fascinated by a black fox. He plays his flute every night, and the strange tune is like the cry of a fox, which is frightening. I am restless. My lady and I hear it clearly every night, we are very suspicious, and we often sweat for Mr. Song." "When I came here just now, I saw a beautiful young girl in the embroidery room of the inner house. Could it be Miss Meng's family?" "Back to the master, it must be her. She is beautiful, smart, and treats the servants very well. She is only sixteen years old and already writes good poems." "Chrysanthemum, let me ask you again, have you seen Mr. Song in other places, such as tea houses and taverns?" "No, he never goes there!" "Okay. Chrysanthemum, thank you. You can go." The housekeeper led Di Gong out of the gate of Meng's house, where there was already a black sedan waiting for him. Di Gong returned to the county office in a sedan chair.After entering the library, he took out the six pages written by Song Xiucai from his sleeve and read them carefully.The record briefly recorded some military historical facts and food and goods situation in Jinhua during the two hundred years.What puzzled Mr. Di the most was how this Song Xiucai had been looking up the county school's library every day for half a month, and how he could only make these six transcripts.He suddenly remembered that Song Xiucai's inquiry of historical files was probably just an excuse, and he must have another secret reason for coming to Jinhua. People here have so many legends about the charm of foxes and so much superstition that they really surprised Mr. Di.Although the speakers in the market like to tell the story of the fox turning into a beautiful woman to seduce young scholars, there are also records in ancient books that the fox symbolizes justice and locks up evil. Therefore, some palaces, ancient pavilions and temples often see fox fairy A small shrine used to ward off evil spirits or protect official seals.He remembered.There is such a shrine in Luo Yingyuan's inner office.He couldn't help but stroked his beard and fell into thought. Chrysanthemum's words rang in his ears again. Why do people here have a special interest in foxes?

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