Chapter 24 Chapter Six

Di Gong silently watched the excited Ke Yuanliang, and suddenly slammed his fist on the table, and shouted sharply: "Bold Ke Yuanliang, dare to tease me with Yuzhu's nonsense again! Tell me the truth! I remember correctly! In other words, when I was a babbling child, my grandmother told me the story of the Royal Pearl when I was coaxing me to sleep—unexpectedly, today you come to use the words of the Royal Pearl to fool me.” Ke Yuanliang sat down, wiped his sweaty forehead with his sleeve, and said seriously: "How dare you fool the master? This is the truth, I can swear it. She saw the imperial bead, which was the size of a pigeon egg. , the whole body emits a crystal clear white light. Hu Po said that anyone who sees it will be amazed."

"Then, what kind of ingenious skill did Dong Mei use to obtain this world-renowned rare treasure?" Duke Di asked sarcastically. "Dong Mei got this imperial bead from a poor old woman next door to his lodging. He had helped the old woman a lot, and the old woman gave this bead to Dong Mei as a reward before she died. Because of this The old woman had no children and lived alone all her life, and before she died, she had to reveal to Dong Mei this ancient and terrible secret that had been strictly guarded by her family for three generations." Di Gong nodded slightly, motioning for Ke Yuanliang to continue.

"That is a very curious story, sir, but it is entirely true and without adulteration. The old woman's grandmother was a cook in the palace. When her mother was only three years old, the ambassador of Persia The minister dedicated this famous bead to Emperor Taizong, the grandfather of today's emperor. Emperor Taizong gave it to the Empress Empress on her birthday ceremony to show her favor. On that day, there was a sensation in the harem. They all surrounded the empress to see the brilliance of the rare treasure, congratulated her on accepting the favor, and wished her prosperity and wealth forever. The little girl who was playing on the steps outside the inner palace door saw the excitement and sneaked into the inner palace. In the palace, she saw that the imperial bead was placed on a gold silk inlaid brocade cushion on the table. Everyone was talking to the empress, she picked up the imperial bead and looked at it, and thought it was fun, so she went She put it in her mouth and ran out quickly—she wanted to take the bead to play in the garden. When the empress found out that the bead was missing, she immediately summoned the eunuchs and the guards of the harem for questioning. All the doors of the harem were closed, and everyone They were all searched. But no one suspected the little girl who was playing in the imperial garden.

"The most suspicious palace maids of the four empresses were tortured to death, and dozens of eunuchs were severely whipped. However, the imperial pearl was still not found. That night, the emperor heard the news and hurriedly sent the chief inspector of the inner court to the harem to conduct the most thorough search." Blush appeared on Ke Yuanliang's cheeks. He was intoxicated by this wonderful ancient legend, and his excitement made him temporarily forget his grief.He took a quick sip of tea and said, "The next morning the cook found her daughter sucking something in her mouth, so she scolded her for stealing something in the imperial dining room. The little girl innocently spit out the imperial pearl." Show it to her mother—the royal pearl is moist and warm, and it feels very comfortable to hold in her mouth, so she didn't feel like holding it all night. The cook was scared out of her wits when she saw the royal pearl. The director or the empress told the truth, but she still couldn't escape the crime of beheading the whole family. The blame for the four maids who died innocently will be settled on her head. The beads were hidden secretly. The search lasted for several days. Officials from the Criminal Department of the capital and the Dali Temple were also ordered to help the director of the inner court to search and question. After cross-examination and body-searching, no one was tossed to death. The emperor offered a huge reward for this imperial bead, while writing about Hai Nei Guan Yi Chuan port's strict visits and secret investigations. This matter quickly spread throughout the Kyushu. I have thought of all the ways I can think of, but there is still no sign of Yuzhu.

"The cook gritted her teeth and kept the secret in her belly all the time, not daring to reveal a word. She didn't tell her daughter, the mother of the old woman, the one who actually stole the Royal Pearl, until she was about to die. And gave her the Royal Pearl, and made her swear to keep it secret. She was silent all her life, and passed it to the old woman when she died. The old woman married a poor carpenter who was in debt, and she lived in poverty until her death. Sir , you can imagine how they lived in fear and fear day and night. They held the largest treasure in the legend, but the treasure was useless. Because once they are reported to the government, the most serious consequences will be brought immediately. On the other hand, they are not willing to secretly throw away or destroy this pearl, or think of other ways to get rid of this terrible shadow. This bead is destined to haunt its unfortunate bearer for the rest of his life.

"When the old woman's husband died, she was still very young. She worked hard to maintain a poor and difficult life by helping people wash and mend. She never dared to tell anyone about this royal pearl, let alone sell it for a fortune. Huge gold. Just like her grandmother and her mother, she only took out the Royal Pearl and gave it to Dong Mei on the eve of her death." There was a long silence in the study.Ke Yuanliang took a peek at Duke Di—he didn't know whether the story had really moved Duke Di. Di Gong didn't speak, he felt that Ke Yuanliang's words might be the most concise and credible explanation for this century-old mystery, but how many smart people have been puzzled by it for so long.The queen was surrounded by a group of excited princesses and ladies, chirping and talking, and they dragged their long long skirts. Who would notice the little girl jumping and playing on the ground?However, this may or may not be a well-written fairy tale, a deception devised with great effort.

After a long silence, Duke Di calmly asked, "Why didn't Dong Mei donate this imperial pearl to the imperial court and explain why? It is easy for the government to find out the old lady's genealogical family. For the family of the harem cook, the imperial court will reward him with a large bounty, far exceeding your ten gold ingots." Ke Yuanliang replied: "After all, Dong Mei is a scholar who moved from a foreign country, sir. He is afraid that the government will not believe his words and will send him to prison for torture. Therefore, this arrangement is reasonable and reasonable: he gets ten Gold ingots, and I will dedicate this long-lost royal pearl to its original owner, our supreme sage."

Di Gong was still suspicious of Ke Yuanliang's words, especially he couldn't believe his last confession.An infatuated antique collector often disregards any moral concepts, and sometimes criminal laws and axe can't restrain his greed.Di Gong thought it was more likely that Ke Yuanliang secretly collected the imperial bead by himself, and secretly enjoyed it for the rest of his life. Mr. Di said coldly: "Mr. Ke, you must tell me all the inside information Mrs. Hu Po told you. Now you have caused the loss of the Royal Pearl. I hope this is only a temporary loss. I will do my best. Can track down the murderer and recover Yuzhu. Yuzhu is likely to be a fake in the end, and this story is just a fake show, a hoax. Mr. Ke, I will ask you one last question, did Dong Mei tell you about his Repaired the pavilion in the Emerald Villa to store the antiques he bought?"

"No, sir, never heard him. I'm sure Amber didn't know about it either." "Ok." Mr. Di stood up to say goodbye, and just as he turned around, he suddenly saw a tall, dignified and beautiful woman standing at the door of the study.Ke Yuanliang hurried forward, grabbed her arm, and said softly, "Go back to your room, Jinlian, your illness is still not cured!" The woman didn't seem to hear him. Di Gong saw that the woman was about thirty years old, with an extraordinary beauty.She has a high and straight nose, her cheeks are as red as a glow, her delicate and transparent mouth is clearly marked with vermilion lips and white teeth, her phoenix eyebrows are curved and slender, her ears are carved out of white jade, and a pair of jade pendants flicker under her ears.But what was strange was that there was no expression on her calm face, and a pair of dry and dull eyes were staring blankly at the front.She was wearing a black satin dress that was the same as amber, with two water sleeves dragging behind her back, and a purple silk belt around her body, showing her shapely breasts and slender waist even more.A shiny black cloud was combed back directly, and a small lotus flower made of gold thread was pinned on it.

"The poor wife is a little mentally disturbed, master." Ke Yuanliang whispered. "A few years ago, she lost her mind after a brain disease and high fever. She always stayed in her own room. Tonight, her maid must have been negligent and let her run out alone. At this moment, the whole family is worried Amber's disappearance is filled with anxiety and horror." He bent down again to approach his wife and said a few words of tenderness, but Jin Lian ignored his hesitation and just stared straight ahead, occasionally raising her long, slender fingers like white jade to stroke slowly. with her long hair.

Di Gong glanced at the strange woman with deep compassion, and then said to Ke Yuanliang, "Take a good look at Mrs. Gu Zun, I don't need to see you off here."