Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen
Mr. Di went back to the building and changed into the navy blue robe and put on the black hat.Then he went out of the Yimen Gate of the county government office, turned onto the street, hired a small sedan chair and went straight to the east gate.
The sedan chair stopped in front of a row of bungalows in Dongmen.Seeing a silk shop, Mr. Di went in and spent two taels of silver to cut a piece of high-grade golden silk and two bolts of wenge. He went to the fruit shop and bought two smoked fat ducks and a box of moon cakes. Follow the address to find the Wong Kee Pottery Shop.
After half a day, Mr. Di saw a small pottery shop at the end of a winding and dark alley.The outside of the shop is covered by a cloth tent with many patches, and inside the shop are a pile of bowls, plates, tea sets, drowning pots and jars made of coarse porcelain.A ragged man was sitting behind the booth.
Di Gong stepped forward and said hello: "I wonder if Mr. Huang is shopkeeper?"
The man was very surprised, nodded his head and said: "Exactly. What do you want to buy?"
"My surname is Song, and I belong to the same family as the shopkeeper's wife," said Jin Huate, who was passing by to visit her sister. "
Shopkeeper Huang was half-believing, turned around and shouted to a middle-aged woman in the room who was immersed in her needlework: "My wife, one of your relatives has come to visit you. Please sit in the store and wait for me to make a cup of tea."
The woman was also very surprised when she came out to meet her. She had never heard of any brothers from the same family.As soon as Di Gong handed over the gift, he said: "Sister, my third uncle wrote from the capital saying that both my uncle's parents passed away, and told me the address of your house. It happened that I was passing Jinhua from Huizhou to the capital to collect accounts. Then I turned around to pay my respects to my sister. I offered two small gifts to express my gratitude, and hoped that my sister would accept it with a smile."
When the woman saw the silk and wenge, she shouted "lucky" in her belly, and when she saw the smoked duck and moon cakes, she was so happy that she closed her eyes with a smile.Then he immediately recognized this unknown cousin.
"Brother spends so much money, how can I feel sorry for my sister? Today, the lanterns have exploded so many times, I suspect that some lucky person has come to visit."
Shopkeeper Huang hurriedly said: "My dear, hurry up and cut up the smoked duck, and get a big bowl and a few porcelain cups. Today's Mid-Autumn Festival, I will prepare a bottle of white wine early. I never dreamed that there would be smoked duck to drink with. It’s really an auspicious city. Husband, I don’t know a word about your natal family, but it turned out to be very prosperous.”
The woman frowned and said, "Your brother doesn't know, but because of your second sister's family, no one dares to visit us anymore."
"I have heard a little about Mo's husband in the south. The second sister died for festivals. Although it is sad, but after all, our Song family has got rid of the relationship with the Mo family. Sigh, I don't know—what happened to nephew Wen Xian?"
"One article? In the early years, I heard that he was already a scholar when he was studying in the capital. This kid has a high heart, how could he think of me as a poor aunt! Don't mention him! Come, come, drink and chat. The smoked duck is cut up, and the wine It’s also done.”
"I heard from Third Uncle that the Mo family was not good to Second Sister and often abused her." Di Gong took a sip of his wine and resumed his conversation.
"No, General Mo thinks highly of your second sister, and the husband and wife are also very affectionate. After Yiwen was born, she was even more happy, but your second sister was originally..."
"She's a..." Shopkeeper Huang interrupted angrily.
Mrs. Song hurriedly interrupted him: "Shut your mouth!" Then she turned to Di Gong and said, "There is no way out, maybe it was my father's fault," she sighed deeply, giving her porcelain I poured a little white wine into the glass, drank it with a raised neck, and said, "My sister was originally a very quiet girl, and she was always lovable. When she was fifteen years old, one day she went to the field to cut rabbit grass, and picked a She thought it was a good time to play with a fox cub, so she took it home. My father saw that it was a very beautiful black-haired female fox, and was very scared, so he killed it secretly. My sister fell ill the next day, feeling depressed and depressed It’s like losing your soul, completely different from the one in your head.”
Shopkeeper Huang tore open a duck leg, put it into his mouth, and couldn't help but interjected: "The soul of that black fox has possessed her body!"
Mrs. Song nodded, and said: "Father invited a Taoist priest who is good at raising demons and fighting ghosts, dipped in the fairy water, burned the talisman, and recited many mantras, but it didn't work. I was very anxious. At the age of sixteen, he would She flirted with the younger generation's family. Because she was born handsome, her parents couldn't put their minds at ease. They stared at her back sooner or later, for fear of any accidents. Later, when they heard that General Mo wanted to accept the junior, they entrusted a lady Ma who sold pollen to talk about marriage. Unexpectedly, it was predestined destiny, Madam Ma went to go, as expected, it was easy to say, and then the wife of General Mo also liked her very much. The Mo family picked out the dowry, accepted the dowry, and picked an auspicious day, and carried it to the mansion in a sedan chair Married. After beating her and giving birth to Wen, everyone in the Mo family liked her, and the servants and servants also respected her, and drove her to call her the third wife."
"She destroyed herself! This black vixen finally committed a scandal." Shopkeeper Huang couldn't help but say something after drinking a lot.
Mrs. Song brushed a lock of white hair that fell on her forehead, and continued: "One day, I happened to meet a maid in Mo's house on the street. She smiled and told me that the third wife will be married in half a month When I went home to visit my parents and sisters, we all said that the third wife was filial. "At that time, I felt cold and knew that something was wrong.Because my sister has never been home to visit in the past year. ——It did come later, she was eight months pregnant, and of course it wasn't General Mo's.We gave her many medicines, but to no avail, and a girl was born prematurely.We didn't dare to take him in, so she threw the child on the road, hoping that someone with kind hearts would pick it up.Temporarily wrap the child tightly with a piece of red silk.That kind of material is usually only cut by monks to make cassocks. "
Mrs. Song saw the terrified expression on Di Gong's face, and hurriedly smiled and said, "Maybe you haven't heard about it carefully? Although it is disgraceful and humiliating to the family, it is always an old thing eighteen years ago. I just want to mention it." Woke up to that poor niece, and felt sad." As she spoke, she couldn't help sobbing.
Shopkeeper Huang said: "Come on, my wife. Why are you bringing up these old things? What day is it today? My brother-in-law has come so far away and shed tears to show him, to ruin his drinking. Alas, we only blame ourselves for having no children. So whenever she mentions that poor girl, she will cry. Well, to make a long story short, General Mo happened to discuss matters in the womb of the Nine Tailors and never returned to the mansion. How can paper cover the fire? Later, General Mo heard about this when he returned to the mansion I can't help the three corpses jumping violently, and the five internal organs are full of anger. Let someone guard them first, and try to catch the adulterer. When the official business is over, he will personally chop off the head of the adulterer and adulterer. My sister-in-law took a break that night A piece of white silk was hanging on the beam, and General Mo couldn't find the adulterer in time. The next day, the imperial envoys led the imperial guards and surrounded the general's mansion. After copying out the secret letter of the Ninth Prince, he was kidnapped and taken to the southern suburbs to have his head beheaded. ——The two sons were also tied up and killed together. Fortunately, Yiwen was a child after all, only five years old, so he escaped with his life... Come, come, let's have a drink with my brother-in-law. Why are you talking about these old imperial calendars? It's not good to be an official It's funny, when an imperial decree comes down, the whole family will be copied and executed. It's better for us poor couples to be at ease."
"Sister, do you know the adulterer's name?" Di Gong asked.
Song said: "Your second sister never uttered the name of that person, but she only knew that he was an official. He was romantic and learned, so he captivated your second sister's heart, and did such a scandalous thing." Come."
Di Gong hastily took two sips of wine and got up to leave.Shopkeeper Huang and his wife kept three items.Di Gong said: "Young brother is going to Hangzhou tonight, come visit your sister and brother-in-law later!"
Shopkeeper Huang and Mrs. Song accompanied him all the way to the head of the alley, watching Mr. Di swing away towards the east gate before returning to the shop.The two of them were overjoyed, so they didn't bother to dig into the origin of this virtuous brother.
When Mr. Di returned to the county government office, he went to the study of the inner government office to have a look, but he did not see any guests coming to the party.It was still early, so I hurried back to the building to change clothes.After changing his clothes, he took out the copy of Miss Yulan's case file from the drawer.He hurriedly flipped through the pages, and stopped when he found an anonymous letter reporting that the dead body of the murdered servant girl was buried in the Yulan Bailu Guanma Yingshu.
Mr. Dee took out the anonymous letter, and took out the anonymous letter that denounced General Modling from his sleeve and put it on the desk.He stroked his beard slowly and compared them carefully.The two anonymous letters are both copies, and the handwriting of the two copies is naturally different. We can only judge from the words, tone, and style whether the two anonymous letters are from the same author.Duke Di looked at it for a long time, but he was unsure, shook his head, stuffed the two letters into his sleeves, and walked towards the inner office.
Luo Yingyuan was flipping through his newly engraved poetry collection, and was about to choose a few poems that he was satisfied with and recite them in front of the distinguished guests.Yiyi hopes that Shao Fanwen, Zhang Lanbo, Yulan, Master Ruyi and others can sincerely make a fair evaluation and write a preface for his poetry collection.
When Duke Di met Luo Yingyuan, he hurriedly said, "Mr. Luo, I have made a new discovery. Song Xiucai's mother, General Mo's second concubine, was called the third wife in the mansion. Later, she got married to an unknown The officials committed adultery, gave birth to a daughter, and abandoned the girl. This illegitimate daughter is none other than Zhu Hong from the Black Fox Temple."
A look of surprise appeared on Luo Yingyuan's face.
Di Gong continued: "The abandoned baby was wrapped in a piece of big red silk. When someone picked her up, she thought about it and named her Zhu Hong according to the color of the big red silk. In this way, Zhu Hong and Song Yiwen are half-brothers and sisters." This is why Xiucai told Zhu Hong that he could not marry her. It also shows that Zhu Hong's father may be the murderer of Song Xiucai. General Mo had already seen through the adultery before he was executed, and threatened to chop the adulterer himself after he was caught. Put their heads down. Song Yiwen's mother knew she was going to die, so she hanged herself, and General Mo was beheaded by the imperial envoy the next day. Naturally, the adulterer was never found. Perhaps General Mo knew the name of the adulterer in his heart. It’s just that I violated the king’s law, and it’s too late to punish him.”
"My God! Brother Dinian, where did you get so many real inside stories?" Magistrate Luo was surprised and admired.
Di Gong said again. "I thought that General Mo had indeed participated in Jiu Taiyu's treason, and his death was his own fault, which is not a pity. And that good husband must be afraid that General Mo would expose his adultery, so he took the first step and sent a letter. Anonymous believed that General Ya was dead, which caught him off guard. Song Xiucai saw this and tried to prove his father's innocence and false accusation. It cannot but be said that Song Xiucai's intentions were wrong, and neither was his plan. possible."
County magistrate Luo asked: "Since General Mo participated in the treason, it is commendable to write an anonymous letter to report him. Why is he afraid of a scholar instead of putting him to death and hurrying!"
Di Gongdao: "The whistleblower who wrote the anonymous letter must be an insider of treason and a decent official. For the sake of reputation and future, he must not let his adultery be disclosed to the world. Besides, I think he himself must be involved Otherwise, he would never have known that the Ninth Prince had a secret letter to General Mo, and he even knew the place where the secret letter was hidden. Later, the imperial envoy offered a reward, but he still refused to show up to accept it. This is exactly what His brilliance is also his cunning."
"My God! Who could this person be?"
"It seems that my old saying is still the same as the suspicion of killing Little Phoenix. It is one of the guests you invited. Of course it can't be Miss Yulan, because the murderer is Zhu Hong's father. Yes, wait a minute Hui Zhu Hong will tell us who this mysterious person is, and although he covers his face every time he goes back to see his illegitimate daughter, Zhu Hong can recognize him by the shape of his voice."
"Brother Dinian, let little brother come in, I don't think Master Ruyi will be. He is a character, which woman would regard him, an ugly monk, as her lover?"
"Luo Xianggong, I can't say for sure. Song Xiucai's mother is a mentally abnormal person. His family blamed this situation on the possession of a black fox's soul. Anyway, she was only seventeen years old when she entered General Mo's mansion. , and the general is over sixty years old. Perhaps it was Master Ruyi's strange appearance that attracted her attention and love. Master Ruyi has a peculiar nature, talent and wisdom, which can often make a woman emotional. He knows everything well, speaks and wills, but he is a very suspicious person. Minwu Temple where he lives is so close to the Black Fox Temple, it is the most convenient thing for him to visit Zhu Hong, and everyone else has to worry about it. It’s a bit of a risk. Mr. Luo tried to find out when he was meeting with the guests later, whether Zhang Lanbo and Master Ruyi were in Jinhua when he beheaded General Mo 18 years ago. Mr. Shao was the governor of Jinhua Mansion back then, so there is no need Ask again. Yes, you might as well ask again, when Miss Yulan was arrested in Bailuguan this year, were the three guests also in Xin'an at that time."
"Why did you think of Miss Yulan Bai Yuanguan again? Brother Dinian." County Magistrate Luo was puzzled.
"One thing I really believe is that a criminal always likes to use the same method repeatedly to achieve his criminal purpose. It is the same as the method used to denounce General Mo: it was an anonymous letter that reported that Yulan had killed a maidservant. Back then, this person denounced Mo The general wanted to achieve his own despicable purpose, and this year's denunciation of Yulan may have his own despicable purpose." Di Renjie said.
Master Gao walked into the inner office at this time.
Di Gong continued: "Master Gao came at the right time, Mr. Luo, I have an immature idea. I want to entrust Zhu Hong to her aunt, Shopkeeper Huang, and his wife after the child recovers. They have no children. I Mr. Gao is now going to the Black Fox Temple to bring Zhu Hong to the Yamen." Di Gong said and took out two anonymous letters from his sleeve and handed them to Luo Yingyuan, "These two letters are copies, you can only judge from the subtle differences in writing style. It's up to you to judge whether it's the same move, please take a closer look, and don't tell anyone!"
Master Gao approached to greet the two masters Luo and Di.
Luo Yingyuan said to him: "Gao Fang, now you accompany the county magistrate Di to the Black Fox Temple outside the south gate, and bring the little witch there to the Yamen. I want to level the wasteland and demolish the temple."
Mr. Di added: "Mr. Gao, you and I will sit in the same sedan chair, and another sedan chair will carry the doctor behind us. That witch is very sick."
Master Gao took the order and went to order the guards to prepare the sedan chair.
Di Gongbao resigned as the county magistrate of Luo, and went out with Gao Shiye to get on the sedan chair in the courtyard, and the doctor's sedan chair was also waiting on him.When the two sedan chairs left the Yamen, they went straight to the south gate.
When the sedan chair was carried to the gate of Minwu Temple on the temple street, Master Gao said to Duke Di: "Yesterday morning, I was ordered by Master Luo to invite Master Ruyi here. It took a lot of talking, but he just insisted on not coming. Just waited for me to say yes." It was only after you, Master Di, that he changed his mind and agreed to come."
Hearing this, Duke Di straightened up unconsciously, and asked, "Did he say the reason?"
"My lord, I just mentioned your reputation in the investigation and trial of mysterious cases. If I remember correctly, the mage said at the time that he would like to hear your opinion of the fox."
"So that's the case. Did Mr. Gao ask him what the fox means?"
Master Gao shook his head.Suddenly he felt that the sedan chair had stopped, and hurriedly lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and asked, "What happened? Why didn't the sedan chair leave?"
"Going back to my lord, there is a group of people blocking the road at the gate of the city, but it turns out that the witch from the Black Fox Temple fell insane and died."
Hearing this, Di Gong hurriedly got off the sedan chair, and saw six yamen guards blocking the gate of the city with the handles of their spears, and kept driving the curious people back.On the road ahead, Zhu Hong stretched her limbs and lay on her back, motionless.The grime and mud of the tattered dress was a pitiful sight.Two yamen were picking her up with a long fork—a fire was being lit on a hazel bush outside the city.
The inspector knelt down and said to Duke Di: "Master, it's better not to come near, this madness is the most dangerous disease, we are going to burn the dead body."
Master Gao hurriedly asked the inspector, "What's going on? Is this woman really dead?"
"It's really dead. Half an hour ago, we heard strange and shrill screams in the weeds. We thought it was a mad dog biting someone. After a closer look, it turned out that this woman was running wildly and screaming, spitting foam. The limbs were convulsed and convulsed. The soldiers stopped her with spears and threw her to the ground. Once she fell, she never got up again, neither screamed nor hummed. All gone."
Duke Di called the doctor to have a look, and the doctor said he was dead, and asked the soldiers to burn the spear, the fork, and the dead body together, even the bushes in that area should be burned without leaving a blade of grass.
Seeing this, Duke Di had no choice but to sigh a few times and then nodded.He ordered the master and the doctor to stay here to deal with some affairs, and he himself got into the sedan chair and went to the Yamen at the original intersection.
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