Detective in the Red Chamber

"Is this..."

Second Sister You pulled the handkerchief pretending to be hesitant, and said coyly, "Sister Xiangling pleaded for Caixia, and Sister Rong also agreed, and discussed to arrange her in my room."

Speaking of this, she hastily waved her hand and said, "It's not that I don't want to, my master is so spirited, and I'm worried that I don't have any sisters to share with me! It's just..."

She leaned closer to Sun Shaozong's ear, and whispered a few words.

Sun Shaozong couldn't help laughing when he heard that, he held her in his arms with his backhand, and joked, "You are a 'greedy'! Come on, let me put all my troubles in the future, and I will just pour it on you!"

The second sister You couldn't help being overjoyed when she heard that, she quickly pursed her red lips, made a leather cup and filled it with shochu, and drank it with Du and Sun Shaozong.

During the period, I couldn't help swallowing a little. The 30-year-old wine is very strong, and she is a shallow person. Before I knew it, I was three parts drunk and seven parts flattering. Bai Yu teased like a meat worm.

After a while, Sun Shaozong couldn't hold back, and he didn't care that there were two little maids waiting outside, so he immediately put the food and drinks aside, and went up to him...

There are poems and half Que

The flowers and trees are moist, and the roots are strong and the branches are proud.

——Song Yu Liangneng

Chapter 658 Uncle Xing was obsessed with seeing wealth and honor

The next morning.

Second Sister You sluggishly got up from the bed, but Sun Shaozong's shadow had already appeared in the study.

Since this was not the place to wash, she simply tidied it up, and brought a mattress under her buttocks to prevent side leakage, and was going back to her west wing, where she combed and washed carefully.

Unexpectedly, after leaving the small courtyard of the study, just a few steps along the corridor, I heard someone shouting from behind, "Aunt You, Aunt You, please stay!"

Second Sister You looked back, but it turned out that Yuanyang was trotting after her.

Yuanyang is now a veritable housekeeper, and even Ruan Rong has to be courteous. Naturally, Second Sister You dared not neglect her, so she agreed with a smile in a hurry, and asked, "Could it be that the eldest lady has something to order?"

Recently, Jia Yingchun often invited several concubines from the second room to accompany him because he took Xing Xiuyan to stay at home for a while, so Second Sister You asked this question.

Yuanyang shook her head and said, "I just heard from the second master that Caixia was assigned to my aunt's room, so I wanted to tell her a few words, but I ran into my aunt first."

"Speaking of Caixia, she was originally easy to get along with, but in the past two years, she has become a lonely person. Although she has figured it out now, I am afraid that it will be difficult to change back to the past after a while. temper."

Saying that, he solemnly bestowed another blessing, and said earnestly, "So I ask my aunt to remind you more, and don't let her make mistakes again."

What she said here was sincere, but Second Sister You didn't care about it at all.

Two eyes full of autumn water swept the mandarin duck back and forth from head to toe, only to look at the mandarin duck who was feeling weak, so he covered his mouth and smiled coquettishly, "I said that when I woke up this morning, there was nothing around me, But it turned out to be gone..."

Although she didn't finish what she said later, Yuanyang still couldn't guess what she meant, and said in a hurry, "Where is Auntie going! The second master got the letter from the uncle's family last night, so he went to our courtyard to forward it early in the morning——" When I saw me in front of my wife, I just mentioned this sentence."

…………

It is true that Sun Shaozong went to Jia Yingchun's courtyard early in the morning to hand over the letter from home - although the letter was actually written to him, since it was a letter from home, how could he not forward it to the nominal eldest wife for review?

Of course, the real family letter had been burned to ashes long ago, and this one was copied and imitated by Sun Shaozong after he got up in the morning.

It doesn't matter if the handwriting looks alike, anyway, Jia Yuanchun doesn't care about it.

It only mentions that the eldest brother will stay in Liaodong. As for the postponement of sowing, it will not be too late to mention it when we have a night talk in bed in the future.

Since it was in public, Sun Shaozong didn't want to flirt with Jia Yingchun, so he just handed over the family letter in a serious manner, and asked about the health of his sister-in-law and 'little nephew', so he left the main room directly.

The striding star was about to step out of the courtyard, when a person suddenly appeared obliquely - it was Xing Xiuyan who was a guest here recently.

Seeing her Tingting curling up to the front, she gave a salute from Zhang Xuyuan, and said respectfully, "I have taken care of you a few days ago, but it's a pity that Xiuyan has no long-term possessions, so I can only stay in the Changcui Nunnery with sister Miaoyu." Let’s pray for the disaster relief for the adults together.”

Why are you penniless?

When he bent his knees just now, his legs were obviously very long - of course, compared to the unscrupulous Princess Beijing Jing, they were still a little inferior.

Sun Shaozong stopped in his tracks, returned the gift slightly, and said with a smile, "The cloak was given by my sister-in-law, what does it have to do with me? Rather..."

Just as he was talking, he saw a woman, Sa Yazi, rushing over. Seeing the two of them blocking the doorway to talk, he was stunned for a moment, and then hurriedly stepped forward to salute Sun Shaozong.

Sun Shaozong straightened his face and scolded, "What's it like to be in a panic this early in the morning?"

The mother-in-law hastily called out Zhuang Tianqu, "Second Master Mingjian, it's not that my old lady is being rude, but it's the uncle of the Xing family who came to the door early in the morning and said that he was in a hurry to see Miss Xing. How can I dare to neglect you?" ?”

Hearing that it was Xing Zhong who came to look for his daughter, Sun Shaozong couldn't do anything wrong, so he stepped aside a little and gave Xing Xiuyan the initiative.

When Xing Xiuyan heard that her father rushed to the door, although she was startled, she was not confused.

First he said no to the old woman, then he confessed to Sun Shaozong, and finally went to the main room to report to Jia Yingchun, and then followed the old woman to the front.

Speechless all the way.

Seeing that the front hall was not far away, Xing Xiuyan quickened her pace subconsciously, but suddenly a person came out from under the eaves, grabbed her wrist, and urged her repeatedly, "Girl, hurry, hurry, go back to Rongguo Mansion with Dad!" !"

The one who flashed out suddenly was naturally Xing Xiuyan's father, Xing Zhong.

Hearing his impatient urging, Xing Xiuyan's heart trembled, and finally she couldn't help showing a little panic, and said in a shy voice, "Father, could it be mother... What's wrong with mother?!"

"What?"

Xing Zhong was taken aback when he heard the words, then hesitated, and looked at the woman who was leading the way.

Seeing this, the old lady took her leave immediately and left.

When there was no one around, Xing Zhong urged him again, "Your mother is very well. It is the second grandma who has fallen into some evil spirit and wants to pay this month's allowance in advance. You can go back with me to get it, so that you can make up for it." Fill in the recent shortfall!"

It was only now that Xing Xiuyan knew that he came to the door anxiously, and wanted to use his monthly bill to pay off the debt!

For a moment, he felt extremely distressed, and shook off Xing Zhong's hand, complaining all over his mouth, "Father, what kind of family property are we, don't you know in your heart? How can you support yourself when you are living without food all day long?!"

Seeing that Xing Zhong's eyes flickered, he obviously didn't take these words to heart.

Xing Xiuyan had no choice but to persuade her earnestly, "Even if you don't think about yourself, you should still be considerate of your mother—for example, the snow a few days ago, if I hadn't sent some old clothes over, it would have been frozen... "

"Noisy!"

Xing Zhong suddenly let out a muffled voice, interrupting his daughter's words.

At the beginning, he felt that he wanted something from his daughter, so he resisted not to refute - now he heard her expose his shortcomings again, but he couldn't hold back anymore.

Blowing his beard and staring, he turned his hands back and scolded, "Don't listen to your mother's nonsense from now on, why are you living on a living? I was following your uncle to develop contacts!"

"I followed your uncle as a father, and I don't know how many princes and grandsons I have met recently. When we start a business in the future, whoever will help you cheer us up, and it will be enough for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives!"

"What's more, when you're out for entertainment, it's your uncle who takes the lead, and I just take the odds and ends. Speaking of which, we still make money!"

Seeing that he was complacent and didn't take the plight of the whole family seriously, Xing Xiuyan's intestines were green with regret. If he had known this earlier, he should have persuaded his father to stay in Suzhou in the first place, so as not to be fascinated by the wealth and splendor.

Just as he was thinking about how to persuade his father to return when he lost his way, Xing Zhong suddenly let out a 'huh', staring at his daughter's head as if he had discovered a new land, and the more he looked at his eyes, the brighter they became.

"Good daughter, you... Where did you get the gold, silver, pearls and emeralds on your end?!"

It was for this.

Xing Xiuyan hurriedly said, "Sister Yingchun borrowed this from me, it's not..."

"It's nothing!"

Xing Zhongxi said something like "I heard that my niece is a generous person--the thing I lent you, do you still have the nerve to ask for it?"

Having said that, he patted his daughter on the shoulder, and said in a 'magnanimous' way, "If I had said that there was such a good thing, would Daddy be willing to ask you to go back? Forget it, you can stay here for a few more days with your second sister at ease. Get along well!"

After finishing speaking, without waiting for Xing Xiuyan's reaction, he walked around with his hands behind his back, and went like an official.

Xing Xiuyan drove a few steps behind, but really didn't know what to say to him.

In the end, he sighed helplessly, raised his hand and plucked seven or eight out of the pearls and emeralds all over his head, leaving only one hairpin tied with three thousand green silk, and went to the backyard to find Yingchun.

Chapter 659 Busy Morning

But Xing Xiuyan was short-tempered at the beginning, and in a fit of rage, she pulled out all the pearls and emeralds from her head, and planned to return Jia Yingchun to the backyard.

After walking a few steps, she regained some clarity and rationality in her mind - Xin Dao said that if she sent the jewelry back at this time, no matter how "open-minded" the second sister was, she would have to ask what happened.

That's it!

It's better to find a reason to return it to the second sister when I wash up at night.

Having made up her mind, Xing Xiuyan was about to go back on the road when she suddenly heard two men talking at the corner ahead.

"Steward Zhao, you keep calling the little one over. I don't know what orders you have."

Although this mandarin is fairly fluent, it is unavoidable to bring out some foreign accents. There is only Zhao Nan in the whole family with such an accent.

And the Steward Zhao he was talking about was undoubtedly Zhao Zhongji.

Zhao Zhongji was expressionless, and pushed a set of brocade long gowns into Zhao Nan's arms, saying, "I just got the news this morning, and I'm afraid it's too late to go to the clothing store. This clothes are newly made by me during the Double Ninth Festival, so you can make do with them first. "

"This...how does this work?"

Zhao Nan panicked and refused again and again, but was still forced into Zhao Zhongji's hands.

This was not over yet, Zhao Zhongji shook out a purse from his sleeve again, and threw it on the gown, "This is 15 taels of silver, and the key to the guest room in the West Kua Courtyard."

"The villain... the villain is really... really..."

Zhao Nan became more and more panic-stricken, his waist seemed to be bent by the silver, but in his lowered eyelids, a pair of pupils were rolling around.

"okay."

This is Zhao Zhongji finally got some emotion on his face, he waved his sleeves impatiently, and scolded, "Don't make me stupefied here, it was nothing before, but now the second master wants to flatter you, and you still put on such a face Who is it for? Do you want to put eye drops on the second master, or do you think that my old Zhao is deaf and blind, and I can’t ask you what you did in Huguang?!"

Zhao Nan was so grateful that his expression froze, and his facial features twisted and changed. It took him a long time to forcefully laugh and said, "There is an old saying that 'a man who leaves his hometown is cheap'. I am a villain, and I dare not act recklessly when I first come here. Deliberately trying to deceive you."

Zhao Zhongji may not be aware of these four words when others say them, but thinking about Zhao Nan's actions in Wuxi, he really feels that the word "township" is a bit of an eyesore.

But he didn't say anything else, just sniffed and smiled, and explained that the two families of Zhao Nan, Sun and Liu were fateful friends, and they must not lose face in front of Young Master Liu.

Then he walked away with his hands behind his back.

Zhao Nan held the clothes and money in his hands and stood still for a while, then laughed at himself and muttered, "That's right, how can I have any hometown to speak of now?"

With that said, he turned his head and went back to the lower courtyard to change clothes.

After he had walked far away, Xing Xiuyan turned out from behind the corridor pillar, thinking about the phrase "a man who is far from his hometown" just now, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Not to mention how Xing Xiuyan returned to the backyard with mixed flavors, and re-inserted his head full of pearls and emeralds.

But he said that Sun Shaozong left the main courtyard, and originally wanted to go back to his home to have breakfast, but he was stopped by the porter Wang Jin halfway, saying that it was Qiu Yunfei and others, they all rushed over, and now they are waiting in the front hall.

As soon as Sun Shaozong heard this, he hurriedly asked someone to set up a light meal in the front hall, and chatted with Qiu Yunfei while eating.

Everyone rushed over at this point, wanting to report the latest progress

First of all, after the two houses were dug three feet, near the back door, there is a piece of land with a radius of three feet. The dead grass and fallen leaves.

This basically proved Sun Shaozong's previous speculation that the two houses were not prepared for murder, but had other uses.

But I continued to dig down to a depth of more than five feet, but I didn't see anything special.

And digging deeper, the traces of turning over have long since disappeared...

According to Governor Qi Lianhai's deduction, someone may have buried something in spring and summer, and then dug it up in autumn. over land.

In this regard, Sun Shaozong gave a considerable degree of affirmation, and believed that this was the main reason why the murderer chose these two mansions and set up a murder trap.

In addition, the owner of one of the haunted houses has been successfully contacted, but he doesn't know anything about the tenant's information.

And on the lease contract kept by the landlord, there is only a single name, Wang Er.

Generally speaking, the things that can be unearthed from this clue are quite limited, but even so, the Jinmen Mansion still has to send someone to contact them.

After Qi Lianhai and Zhao Wuwei finished their reports, Qiu Yunfei said, "I have some clues here, but unfortunately, I encountered some resistance, and I couldn't find anything further."

But it turned out that he arrived in Daxing County yesterday evening, and blocked Wang Qian who was about to leave the office.

After talking about Wei Shougen and Wang Baochang, Wang Qian panicked immediately, regardless of the distinction between clean and dirty, and let Qiu Yunfei summon officials and servants overnight to investigate one by one.

According to the results of repeated investigations, there were only three people who had private contacts with Wei Shougen after noon, and the most suspicious of them was Yang Hancai, the county government official.

"This Yang Hancai is the deputy criminal officer of Daxing County. The beggar in the county fled to the death. Although Wei Shougen inspected it, it is Yang Hancai who is finally responsible for checking the purchase and sale!"

"Besides, according to the chronological calculation, the last person Wei Shougen saw before his death was also Yang Hancai!"

"Based on these two points, I originally wanted to take him down for interrogation, but I was stopped by Wang Qian."

"Why is that?"

Hearing this, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but wondered, "Since he let you find this place, and then suddenly jumped out to stop him, wouldn't it just cause people to be suspicious?"