Chapter 48 fourth quarter

Chang Nian sighed: "Since the lord must listen, the old minister has no choice but to speak." I said, "Of course, what are you waiting for, tell me!" "It happened during the year of Dijie. One hot summer evening, I was waiting for Jiehou to take a bath in the courtyard. Suddenly I heard a scream from behind the courtyard. It was so terrible that at dusk The cicada's cicadas were frightened to silence. Jiehou and I were also taken aback. He immediately sent the servants around him to inquire about what was going on. The servants rushed to the place where the screaming Go, and after a while, bring back a maidservant with disheveled hair and mottled mud on her clothes, she seems to have rolled and crawled on the ground, her face is also very pale, and she looks extremely frightened."

As he talked for many years, the look of horror on his face became more and more intense, as if it was about to drip.Seeing him like this, I involuntarily leaned my body forward, feeling the pleasure in my heart, and feeling numb in my scalp at the same time, I was so contradictory that I would soon be immersed in the joy brought by fear, and my ears really refused Miss any word. "Jie Hou asked her at that time: 'Did you scream just now? What's going on? I can't tell the reason, and I will be severely punished today!' The maid knelt on the ground, trembling all over: 'Master... lord, The death of the maidservant is a capital crime. Just now the maidservant...passed by the Cang Pond in the back garden, and suddenly saw...a woman...woman with loose hair, sitting on the water...water surface in the center of the pond, combing her hair with a comb , while... sneering at the slave girl, suddenly she... shouted to the slave girl, give back my... child, return... my child, the voice was very miserable, as if someone had choked her throat, slave... slave She was so frightened...she wanted to run, but her legs were so weak...that she couldn't move. She yelled at me a few words...and then slowly sank into the water. This servant has never...never seen such a sight, So...so frightened...screamed...screamed.'" Over the years, he has even imitated the maid's intermittent voice perfectly, which is worthy of his eloquence that is obvious to all.

Not only did I feel the coolness on my back, but even the cold hairs began to stand on tiptoes, and all stood up.I asked: "No way, there is such a thing?" I stopped for a long time like a trick, and I urged him: "Quick—tell me quickly, what's going on?" Chang Nian nodded, and continued: "Jie Hou reprimanded her and said: 'Nonsense! Why do you want to be beaten?' The maid stammered and cried, 'Slave maid...doesn't maidservant...has a half sentence... A lie, it's all...all...it's what I saw with my own eyes. I hope the Lord...Jun Mingcha.' She cried and kowtowed. Seeing that her body was limp, Jiehou thought it was not a lie, so he immediately took her and a group of servants to the rear I went to check by the Cang Pond in the garden. At that time, it was dusk and the afterglow was gone. The center of the pool was calm and there was no abnormality. Only the lotus flowers on the side of the pool were still faintly visible. Jiehou asked the maid: "Where is there any woman? I'm afraid It's all made up by yourself, or you've been blinded by it." The maid cried again: "What the maid said...is absolutely true...true." Jie Hou frowned, and told an old maid beside him :'Take her back and see a doctor, so she will be healthy and healthy.'

"The old maidservant took the maidservant as ordered. The doctor was called to see the next day, but nothing was found wrong. A day later, news came that the maidservant had thrown herself into the Cangchi and died. Jiehou thought that The servant girl suffered from the disease of madness, and sighed a few times, but she had no choice but to give up. But, who knows that the matter is not over, and soon after, a more terrifying thing happened again." Speaking of this, Chang Nian himself His voice trembled, and following his voice, I felt the fear and excitement in my head, and my soul seemed to return to more than 20 years ago, and I was with my father, and everything in front of me was covered with old colors .

"What terrible thing?" I replied involuntarily, and at the same time shook Luo Fu's palm tightly. "Just half a month after the maidservant died in Cangchi, it was also a sultry night. The old maidservant who was in charge of the mansion also came to report to Marquis Jie tremblingly, saying that she had just passed by Cangchi and saw a young and beautiful woman. Sitting on the surface of the pool, her belly was round and her lower body was covered with blood. She peeled the lotus pods with both hands, and put the lotus seeds into her mouth. She kept saying that you should eat the child, and you should eat the child. Moreover, she threw herself into the water half a month ago. And the dead maid was also standing on the water behind her, brushing her hair meticulously, and when she saw me, she smiled at me and said, "Old sister, long time no see, come, help me."

"No way, if there is such a thing, is she crazy too?" I took a breath and said loudly.My voice surprised even myself. "Jiehou was also very surprised at the time, but he knew that the old servant girl in charge had always been calm and would not lie, so he immediately took someone to the side of the pool to check, but he still found that the wind and waves were calm, only the lotus flowers on the side of the pool and the willows on the bank were drooping. It showed a strange tranquility. In addition, on this hot night, the edge of Cangchi felt windy and irritating to the skin. Jie Hou also felt that it was a bit unusual, so he immediately ordered a few bold and strong men The servant stood guard by the pool, and went back by himself."

I interjected, "Did those middle-aged male servants find anything?" "According to the few middle-aged male servants, they didn't find anything, and they were so sleepy in the middle of the night that they all fell asleep. In their sleep, they heard the sound of 'plopping' water from time to time, as if something had been thrown into the pool They wanted to see where the sound was coming from, but their eyes seemed to be glued and they couldn't open them. In addition, they could vaguely hear the cries of a young woman begging for mercy. "After hearing this, Marquis Jie didn't dare to delay any longer, so he immediately asked someone to invite a well-known magician from the Sanfu area to inspect it, and at the same time, he also found a few who had worked under the Marquis Ai of Xiyang, who was the previous owner of this house. The old servants came to inquire and asked if there had been such a beautiful woman in this house before. Jiehou first asked the old maid in the mansion to describe the appearance of the beautiful woman she saw in the pool, and one of the old servants listened. , His complexion changed drastically and he trembled all over. Jiehou felt that there was something secret, so he immediately left the old servant to ask in detail, and the old servant terrifiedly revealed a tragic story about the former owner of this house, Xiyang Aihou’s family. "

"What a sad story?" I screamed, and I found my voice had changed.Thinking that the place where this story took place is in my house, fear and cold sweat immediately soaked my whole body. After looking at me for many years, he continued: "The old servant said: "Twenty years ago, when I was a servant in this house, I was lucky enough to meet Xiyang Aihou's youngest wife. She was a very beautiful woman. Only fairies in the sky can be so beautiful. At that time, all the male servants in the mansion worshiped the little mistress very much, and they all said that as long as the little mistress ordered a word, we people would go through fire and water for her, and would be willing to die. We all I like the little mole on the top of her nose, and think that mole makes this little mistress more charming. At that time, our lord Xiyang Aihou was also very fond of this little mistress, and it can be said that he obeyed.

"'Later the little mistress became pregnant, and we occasionally saw her and found that she had a bulging belly. Xiyang Aihou loved her even more, saying that if she gave birth to a son, he would ask the emperor to cede his title to her. Half of the households in the town were given to the son to make him a prince. We were also happy for the little mistress for no reason at that time, and felt that she deserved such good luck because of her beauty. But later, we servants found that the prince's mansion The atmosphere was rather tense. It is said that Aihou’s wife, our mistress, was very angry when she heard Aihou’s promise to the mistress, and took her two sons to fight on hunger strike. However, one night, the Marquis of Ai was ordered to go to the nearby Gaoling County to convey documents and handle official business. The mistress and her two sons suddenly broke into the side yard with their servants and took the child who was about to give birth The little mistress was thrown into the pond, and the little mistress and her unborn son were drowned alive.'

"Jiehou asked the old servant: 'What happened next?' The old servant said: 'Aihou drove home from Gaoling County on the third day. After hearing this, he was so angry that he immediately raised his sword and killed him. The mistress and two sons were all killed, and then Aihou himself committed suicide that night. The emperor blamed Aihou for killing his wife and son for a concubine, so he abolished Aihou's other sons and did not let them inherit the title In the end, this house was given to you, the lord, and I was taken in by the lord, and became the lord's servant." Jiehou asked: "You were so panicked just now, why?" The old servant pointed to the old stele and said: "I heard from the old lady that the woman sitting on the surface of the pool combing her hair looks very similar to the little mistress back then, so I was very scared. Maybe the little mistress died too unjustly, and her soul refused to rest in peace.""

I interjected again: "How did my father deal with it later?" Chang Nian said: "The sorcerer that Marquis Jie found took Jiehou and me to wait by the pool that night. In the dead of night, the sorcerer began to draw in the direction of Cang Pond with his mahogany sword. Sure enough, soon we saw ripples on the surface of the pool. The sound of the water rises, and the lotus flowers on the side of the pool seem to be moved by someone, swaying unceasingly. But we can't see anything, only the warlock's eyes are wide open looking at the lake, his mouth keeps closing, and the expression on his face The expression was very tense. We all felt panic, and suddenly saw two circles of ripples beside the lotus, as if something had been thrown into it, and then it was calm again. Afterwards, the magician told us that he saw two women rising from the water in the middle of the lake, among the lotus bushes Haunted. The description of the woman's appearance shows that the warlock is exactly the same as the old maid, and we didn't let them meet beforehand, so it was impossible to discuss it in advance. It can be seen that there are indeed ghosts in the pool." I took a breath: "Then why can't you see it, but the old maid can see it?" Changnian said: "The way of gods and ghosts is unpredictable, who knows? According to the explanation given by the sorcerer, some people have shallow secrets, so we don't see them. Instead, they are childish and innocent, and they hide everything. But their eyes. The warlock said that if we really want to see what ghosts look like, he can write us a talisman. As long as we wear this talisman, we can see ghosts. Both Jiehou and I declined this Suggestion, as the saying goes, it is inauspicious for those who see Yuanyu. What's more, there are two ways of yin and yang, why bother to negotiate?" I felt a little regretful: "Well, even though I said that, I have only heard of ghosts, and I don't know the truth or falsehood. If I can really look at it, I can solve the confusion of my life." Chang Nian said solemnly: "My lord, please don't say that, looking at things that shouldn't be seen is not good for you after all, not to mention that the female ghost was a disaster during childbirth. It ranks first among all the ghosts, and it must be ominous to see it. The young servant girl in the mansion saw it before, and she drowned to death within a few days. The old monument that I saw later also disappeared inexplicably a month later. Even though I sent people to search everywhere, I couldn’t find her whereabouts. Maybe, maybe it was also captured by that female ghost.” I felt cold sweat on my back again: "There is such a thing? It's really scary. Then, what will my father do afterwards?" Changnian said: "Jiehou sent people to pay homage by the pool the next day, begging the female ghost not to harm his family, and promised that every new moon would kill a pig to sacrifice to her. Afterwards, the pool was calm and no strange things happened. .” I was silent for a while, then suddenly shouted as if I remembered something: "So, we don't sacrifice now, what if she comes out to make trouble again?" Chang Nian smiled and said: "My lord, don't worry. In fact, the old minister still sends people to sacrifice on the first day of each month. It's just that the Marquis of the Marquis told me not to let more people know about it. The old minister also knows that the lord has always been timid. Don't worry about it." It's better to have one less thing, so the old minister dared to make his own claim, so he didn't tell the lord." I opened my mouth wide, and said with some displeasure, "Who said I'm timid? Although I'm usually a little afraid of the dark, I really don't believe that there are any weird things in this world." Chang Nian smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth, leaned over and said: "What the lord said is that the old minister is just worrying about himself."