[Baiyutang] Wind-dried clothes

The night is thin, the cicadas are gradually subsiding, and the sound of frogs is rising and falling. Seeing that the number of travelers in the inn has decreased slightly, the waiter in the Fuan Inn near Songjiang lights up the oil lamp, and is about to lean on the counter to eat some leftovers to fill his stomach.Today the shopkeeper left some perch soup for him, although it was cold, it still tasted delicious.The waiter in the shop turned the opening of the porcelain bowl away, and was about to put his mouth on it to drink the soup, but he heard a trombone from outside the door: "Come quickly! My master is not well!"

As soon as the waiter turned around, he saw a boy dressed as a servant at the entrance of the inn holding a limp man and struggling to move into the inn. up.While dragging the man away, the servant boy was sobbing.

Xiaoer recognized that it was a guest who lived in Fang, and was panicked, and was about to go up to ask, but a man dressed as a scholar stepped in from the side, hurriedly helped the servant boy to hold the dying man, and asked: "You What happened to the master?"

The servant boy didn't look at it carefully, but in his tearful eyes, he saw a scar on the scholar's right eyebrow, and cut one eyebrow in half.When he saw someone coming to help, he cried and said: "Today my master went to the street and was entangled by a bully, and he said that my master harmed his elder brother, and he couldn't stop him, so he punched my master in the heart. The master had endured it before, but somehow he couldn't do it on the way back..."

The crying of the servant boy attracted many people to peek out from the crack of the door, but most of them were clearing the snow in front of the door by themselves, not caring about the frost on the roof of others, just watching the fun together.Only the waiter from the shop came up from the other side and also helped the servant boy to hold him up.

The waiter and the scholar half dragged and carried him upstairs, and the servant boy followed behind them, sobbing.Entering the room, just as the person lay down on the couch, the person's body convulsed a few times, his eyes popped out, and he died in an instant.

Xiao Er, who came with him, couldn't bear to see this miserable situation, so he turned his face away.The servant boy trembled a few times, then lay down on the edge of the couch and burst into tears.The scholar also sighed again and again.

A peddler who had followed four people to watch the bustle looked at him all the way, and then asked in surprise: "But Qin Zhihai, the former prefect of Chengdu, Mr. Qin?"

Before the servant boy responded, the merchant continued: "Can you let the villain in... have a look?"

Several daring people also booed one after another, wanting to enter the house to find out.The scholar said to Xingshang: "Do you recognize this Master Qin?"

"Master Qin, who doesn't know? My younger brother was resettled in the Shu region. He was unlucky to meet a traitor. He was almost wiped out of his family property. He was also charged with an unfounded crime by the traitor and sent to prison. A certain person is far away overseas, and it is inconvenient to communicate with each other. Seeing that his younger brother is about to die unjustly in prison, fortunately, he meets Mr. Qin. He hangs a bright mirror and upholds justice. At the risk of offending the sycophant in the court, he put the traitor in prison and eliminated the great harm for the people. Master Qin is a kindness to rebuild his younger brother, and he is the parents of Qingtian to the common people... Such a kind person, how... How did he suffer like this? Unexpected misfortune?" The merchant shook his head and sighed.

The bystanders all heard in a low voice.The scholar said loudly: "Brother, please tell me the appearance of the perpetrator in detail." The crowd also agreed, clamoring and urging.

The servant boy wiped away his tears, and said slowly: "That shabby tall man, with triangular eyes, and two mustaches... By the way, there is a big blue birthmark on his left cheek..."

"Ah, I know, brother, isn't the guy you're talking about the street rogue Hu Silang?" Xiao Er cried.

"It is precisely because of Geng Jie's outspokenness that my master offended the dignitaries in the court. He was dismissed as an official and returned to his hometown. Today, I passed by here and saw that it was getting late. I rested in your shop and went out. Buying some rare things to send to the old lady and Anren, who would have bumped into such an evil spirit on the way. The evil spirit said that he was the brother of Niujie, the leader of the Shiyang mountain bandit. Yangshan's nest of thieves was wiped out. He said that my master killed his elder brother and wanted to seek revenge on my master. Panting for breath, the shabby house seemed timid, afraid of killing people, so he yelled and slipped away. I helped my master back, and on the way, for some reason, the master convulsed and foamed, and came back Then... then I went..." The servant boy began to cry again as he spoke.

After hearing this, the scholar said indignantly, "If you commit crimes in the street in broad daylight, do you think I have no law in the Song Dynasty? Xiaosheng will ask the county magistrate to come! If anyone is willing to guide Xiaosheng, I will be grateful." Three or four people shouted and squeezed forward, willing to lead the way for this rather chivalrous scholar.

Not long after the scholar left, when the crowd was about to leave, only one person had no intention of leaving.This is a gray-clothed man with a bushy beard several feet long on his cheeks. He is a burly man in his mid-fifties. What is strange is his pair of bright green eyes, and his beard is faintly tinged with sandalwood purple under the light of the oil lamp. Gloss flow.After all the people left, there were only a few scattered people, and then he entered the house, and asked the servant boy who was still lying on the couch and crying bitterly: "Can you show me the injury?"

The servant boy cried out of breath, and agreed in a trance.

"I'm offended." Uncle Zibeard whispered, and gently opened Qin Zhihai's skirt, exposing his left chest.The waiter who was still standing by the side gasped when he saw the situation.Bowl-sized bruises covered the chest of the corpse, covering the very heart, which fit perfectly with what the servant boy said.Uncle Zibeard stretched out his hand to press on the bruise, only felt that the subcutaneous bone was intact, but with his eyes, he could only feel that the flesh had been damaged.Seeing this, the servant boy burst into tears and said, "My master has been upright all his life, but he never thought he would end up with such a murderous hand."

Uncle Zibeard thought for a while, and asked the waiter in the shop: "Do you know who this Hu Silang is from?"

The waiter said: "This Hu Silang came to join his brother a year ago. I really don't know what he did before. It is said that he has been a butcher, a porter, and a salt dealer."

"You usually see him juggling with guns and sticks, or has some amazing skills?"

"He is just an ordinary butcher, that is, he has more strength."

Uncle Zibeard pondered for a while, then asked the servant boy: "Who else did you meet on the way to help your master back to the inn?"

The servant boy shouted: "That's right! My master was just panting a little earlier, but a tall and thin man came up for no reason on the way, saying that he wanted to help me, so he supported the master together with me. The man was still concerned and asked if my master was injured. Where, my master pointed to his heart, and the man saw that the master was out of breath, so he asked me to rub it for the master. I did what he did, but it didn't work. The man said that my strength was too weak, so he gave it to him himself. The master rubbed it. After a while, the man saw that he was approaching the inn, so he shied away and said that he had some things to do at home, so he let go and left. As soon as he left, my master twitched and foamed... Then... ...Later..." The servant boy choked up.

"That's right...Little brother, don't cry, tell me about that person's detailed appearance."

"...that man was about 30 years old, fair-skinned, slender-eyed, sparse mustache, I can't remember the rest."

The waiter asked: "Could it be that Hu Silang is not the murderer, but this man?"

"Don't dare to make a statement. Don't make this matter public, let alone talk to the government, I'm afraid there are some people with ulterior motives."

"Dare to ask the knight's name?" the servant boy asked anxiously.

Uncle Zibeard smiled, and said: "Brothers in the Jianghu show love, and gave a nickname of 'Northern Xia' to a certain one."

Xiaoer looked at his purple beard and said in surprise: "You...you are the Northern Xia, Ouyang?" After saying that, he pulled the servant boy over and shouted, "Ouyang, it's not too late to uphold justice for you. Thank you?" The servant boy understood in his heart, and hurriedly threw himself on the ground, making two loud noises.

Bei Xia Ouyang Chun helped the servant boy up, but when he asked the shop waiter, he changed the subject: "Do you remember the girl who came with a certain person?"

The waiter in the shop immediately recalled what Ouyang Chun had pointed out, and said, "I remember it very clearly." There was indeed a young girl living with Ouyang Chun today, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with white teeth and bright eyes, pretty and smart, dressed in Wearing green clothes and yellow clothes, he even coquettishly asked Ouyang Chun to order steamed sea bass on the table.The waiter in the shop thought it was his pearl, and saw her go out in gray clothes this afternoon, and she didn't know why.

"When that girl comes back, I would like to trouble you to send her a message. Let her stay at the inn for a few days and ask her to wait for her when she comes back. Don't rush out to find someone. Just remember it."

"I won't forget it, sir, just relax." Xiaoer promised repeatedly.

"Thank you so much. I'll go now!" Ouyang Chun nodded, and with a flash, he left the room and disappeared in the night.

From time to time, the scholar walked into the store with two gentlemen, and the crowd gathered again.The scholar said loudly: "Xiaosheng wrote a pleading paper for Mr. Qin and submitted it to the county magistrate. The old man attached great importance to this matter and ordered Xiaosheng to bring these two officials to bring Mr. Qin's body back to the yamen. Several headhunters are hunting down the villain Hu Silang, everyone just rest assured!"

Immediately, the praises of "Mirror Hanging High" and "Master Qingtian" boiled up.In the midst of the cheers, no one saw the scholar retreating to the side and slipping out quietly through the main entrance.

The waiter in the shop looked at the servant boy who was still sobbing, and they both remembered Ouyang Chun's instructions, but did not mention the middle-aged man.When the gentleman moved Qin Zhihai's body, the servant boy silently followed behind them.But the man turned around and scolded: "Who are you? Don't meddle in the government's affairs, just run aside!" Xiao Er was about to step forward to explain, but was scared back by the man's fierce gaze.

At this moment, Dian Dongfang came back from outside the shop, seeing the chaos and bustling in the inn, he couldn't help asking: "What happened in the shop?"

Someone replied to him: "Someone died..."

"What did you say?" The shopkeeper turned pale with shock, and blurted out in a panic: "This is a very dirty thing, it's left in my shop!"The owner of the shop didn't know the situation, he was like a teapot with dumplings, he couldn't say anything, his face was blue and white, helpless, he went out of the shop again muttering: "This is the handicap of Lujiazhuang on the empty island. , find those masters to come and take a look at this matter."

Just less than a stick of incense away from the east of the store, the gentleman carried Qin Zhihai's body downstairs.The waiter who was cleaning up the dishes saw a slender gray figure flashing into the inn.Looking closely, it was the girl Ouyang Chun wanted to send a message to.

The girl had a large jar of wine in her arms, and she put the wine on the table near the door when she came in. She murmured, "The night wind blows so cold." After saying that, she shivered.The shop clerk saw that she was pulling the short brown on her body, and said to herself: "That evil spirit in Songjiang really kills people." Looking closer, he found that the girl was soaked, her clothes were clinging to her skin, and she looked embarrassed when she fell into the water. .She pulled the crown, spread out the long hair that was also dripping with water, wrung out the water in the hair like a towel, and then patted and bounced the hair with her hands.

The girl was loosening her hair, when she suddenly looked up and saw the bustling upstairs, two people came downstairs carrying the dead body head and foot respectively, everyone was still discussing outside, feeling strange, seeing Xiao Er coming forward, she called out: " Second brother, is someone dead upstairs?" After saying that, he said, "Wait for me to go up and have a look."

Xiao Er hurriedly called her to convey Ouyang Chun's instructions.

"What an old man! Anyway, he is also my uncle, and he left me alone to chase the murderer!" She patted the edge of the wine jar and stomped her feet angrily, "Tell me to work for nothing!" The girl is Ouyang Chun's nephew Lu Caichun.

The two gentlemen carried Qin Zhihai's body past Lu Caichun, the girl turned her head to see her, she showed no fear, after suppressing her anger, she leaned over with great interest, and said, "Can you show me the wound?" She was thinking in her heart Well, since Ouyang Chun left her behind and refused to let her pay attention to the matter, she insisted on taking care of it and looking for the murderer. It would be best to find him first and make him feel ashamed.

The public would not want an irrelevant person to intervene in this matter, one of them pushed her away and said: "Outsiders, don't interfere with the government's work!" Lu Caichun was caught off guard and fell back half a step.She has always rolled around in the market place, and she has the habit of neighbors. Seeing people so rude, she couldn't help opening her starry eyes, raising her eyebrows, and she was about to spit out some obscene words.

Just at this time, there was a lot of barking and barking outside the door, several vicious dogs were looking at the store, and the owner of the store among them was speaking respectfully: "Please come inside, Fifth Lord."

Lu Caichun felt strange, and secretly thought that no one had a dog nearby, so how could there be a dog barking at this time.She was thinking like this, but she heard a familiar voice from outside the door: "Coincidentally, two things collided."

As soon as she turned her head, she saw Bai Yutang, who was wearing a verdant green straight gown, walking towards the inn closely following the innkeeper. His attendants were holding two yellow dogs in their hands, and they were growling at her. When the rope was loosened, they wanted to see her pounce on her. .