Tang riddles

On August [-], Weizhou County, Youzhou Prefecture, Hebei Road.It was almost noon, and the restaurants and restaurants were overflowing, and merchants from all over the world came to the shop to rest their feet.A caravan selling furs just entered Weizhou County, and chose a restaurant closest to the market to enter the store to start.

Several hungry men sat together, ordered a large plate of food, and devoured it.After a while, the hunger in the abdomen was eliminated, and the few people chatted while drinking slowly.

"You tell me, are our furs sold to regular customers as in previous years, or are they simply sold on the spot? The discounts given by Changfengtang are really attractive. We travel thousands of miles south every year. It's really hard work. Now I don't want to leave after encountering such a good thing when I walked to the county seat." One of the thin men said.

"But, I don't know what's in it. We are all peddlers. We collect some fur from hunters to make a difference. We can't compare with big merchants. If we accidentally fall into the trap, won't we lose everything? It's too busy." Another strong and burly man said.

"Hey, Lao Wang, you can enjoy a [-]% discount on selling goods with a trade coupon. You can't find such a good thing with a lantern. Moreover, one per person, five people, our batch of furs, Sell ​​it in five batches, isn't it a profit? What are you hesitating about?"

"I'm just afraid that there won't be such a good thing. How can there be such a thing in this world? Changfengtang must have a plan." Old Wang is very cautious.

"Why are you so stubborn? We've already got the trade coupons, let's try it out. With such a big company as Changfengtang, how can you cheat us of money from peddlers like you?" the thin man persuaded.

The two merchants who were drinking at the other table couldn't help laughing when they heard what they said, and they came over and said:

"Brothers, don't worry. We've already used this coupon. It's genuine. Changfengtang is no fool. We came from the south to the north, and we made three times what we had in previous years."

"Look, look, Old Wang, don't be so timid, after we finish eating, let's go to Changfengtang." The thin man smiled.

"Hey, it's not just us traders who can get trade coupons, even ordinary people can get them, and there are discounts for buying and selling. It's just that the quantity is limited, and there is a time limit. Right now, it's a mess, and Changfengtang is besieged. I advise you You guys, don't eat, hurry up, otherwise you may not be able to get in the queue until the day after tomorrow." The businessman selling inkstone said with a smile.

Hearing this, several fur traders hurriedly dropped their bowls, chopsticks and money, with food still stuffed in their mouths, rushed out of the restaurant, and rushed to the market with their carts.If you're late, you won't be able to catch up!

After the few people left, in the corner of the restaurant, an ordinary-looking man with shabby clothes took out two copper coins from his pocket and paid for the meal.Then he got up, grabbed his package, and walked out of the restaurant.He stood on the road, looked left and right, and went to the market.

The man stood outside the Changfeng Hall, looking at the crowded Changfeng Hall, with no expression on his ordinary face.It's just that his eyes have a kind of extinction-like darkness, like ink that is so thick that it cannot be melted, slowly rolling in the depths.He tightened the package on his body, bypassed the crowd, walked through the market, and walked towards the west gate of the county seat.

At the west gate of the city, he found a caravan going west, gave him a few copper coins, and was allowed to ride in the caravan's wagon.He huddled among a pile of goods, and followed the caravan slowly out of the west gate.After the caravan gradually disappeared around the bend, two young men in full outfits drove out of the west city gate slowly.The leading man, with a short mustache on his lips, released an inconspicuous little sparrow from the bamboo cage hanging beside the horse, and the little sparrow followed the caravan with fluttering wings.The man with the mustache looks at the bird with a smile on his lips.

"Captain, is it really that person?" the entourage behind him asked.

"Since the master of the sect released the national trade coupons on August [-]th, there are very few people who have not received the coupons. The master of the sect gave us the screening criteria. People who have not received the coupons, go west alone, and have no characteristics, he just happens to meet the requirements. Although I'm not sure it's him, but there is nothing wrong with staring at him, no matter how cunning a person is, he will show his flaws. I have sent a message to the sect master, and the sect master will come later. Our duty is to follow that person from afar. Don't lose it. You kid, give me some energy, this task is very important, if you lose it, be careful of the sect master's punishment."

"Yes!"

……

On August 21st, in the morning, Shen Sui's team was preparing to set off at Guiyan Post, a hundred miles west of Fanyang City.Huyan Zhuoma hurried over with a smile on his face, holding a declassified letter in his hand, and found Shen Sui who was fastening the saddle.

"Master! Good news! They are from Huzhou."

"Oh?" Shen Sui hurriedly took the letter in his hand, quickly browsed through it, with a smile on his face.

"We found the household registration information left by the Nanliang period in Huzhou. Although it is very ancient information, but fortunately it is well preserved. It is recorded in it that the Yin family from the west has a total of 52 households, more than 30 People. It was a large-scale one-time population immigrant at that time. Since the origin of this large family was unknown and the previous household registration information could not be found, the government was very troubled at the time. Later, the head of the Yin family at that time met the Wu Xingshen family. Mr. Dalang, under the guarantor of Mr. Dalang of the Shen family, the government allowed the Yin family to naturalize and settle down in Huzhou. At that time, Wu Xing and the Shen family leased a piece of farmland under their name to the Yin family, and did not collect rent for the first ten years. The Yin family changed their surname to Shen and settled down here, building houses and farming for nearly 30 years. Until later, the Yin family started their own business, returned the Shen family's land and [-] years of rent, and moved the family to Jinling. "Huyan Zhuoma said.

"Well, it's about the same as I guessed. However, it doesn't seem to mention whether Wu Xingchen knows Yin's secret or not."

"It's hard to say. Come to think of it, the ancestors of the Yin family shouldn't be so stupid as to tell outsiders such an important secret. However, there were records at the time that the language used by the Yin family was weird, like the elegant words of the Spring and Autumn Period, with serious Bashu accent. It is not difficult to suspect that Yin was born in Bashu and has been isolated from the world for a long time."

"Yes..." Shen Sui nodded.

"Besides, something strange happened when checking the household registration. One of the volumes of materials was lost, and the numbering did not match. The manager of the archives insisted that this was impossible. The files there had been sealed for an unknown number of years. No one cares about it, and many of them are moldy and rotten. We are the only people who have come to check the archives in the past ten years, except for the government. We checked the traces and found that someone sneaked into the archives recently and stole that volume of files. All the files related to the Yin family have been searched, so the dust is thinner than other files."

"Hmph, there really is an ulterior secret." Shen Sui lingered on the spot with his hands behind his back, "Taking only one volume instead of destroying all of it is really trying to cover it up. What is recorded in that volume, there should be time frame."

"Yes, Emperor Wu of the Southern Liang Dynasty moved to Huzhou in the second year of Datong, and Emperor Wu of the Southern Liang Dynasty moved out of Huzhou in the early years of Yongding. In the past 30 years, the penultimate volume was missing. The last volume only recorded one sentence, which explained that the Yin family moved out of Huzhou. Huzhou. It means that the records of the last three years are gone.”

"Something must have happened in the past three years that made Yin Shi decide to separate from Shen Shi and go out independently. There are many possibilities, discord? Or something else. Yin Shi is dependent on others, so he should act carefully and not dare to offend Shen Shi easily. Because Why the discord? Did Mrs. Shen know the secret? No way, if it was so, how could Mrs. Yin be so calmly let go when there was a bloody storm? What is it?" Shen Sui lingered, talking to himself, His eyebrows were furrowed.

"Chishi! Come here." Zhang Ruohan's call came from a distance, but Shen Sui didn't hear it, and was still lost in thought:

"Will it be related to the current situation? In those three years, before and after Chen Baxian proclaimed the emperor, Nanliang was in turmoil, and the Xiao family emperor died tragically one after another. Wu Xing's Shen family is also a big family in Nanliang, so I am afraid they will not be spared. However, Wu Xing is far from the capital building. There is a distance between Kang and Jiankang, why did the Yin family move there when Jiankang was in such turmoil?"

"Master, Madam is calling for you." Huyan Zhuoma reminded.

Shen Sui reacted suddenly, and saw Zhang Ruohan in the second carriage not far away, raising the curtain and looking at her.Shen Sui put aside his thoughts, and said to Huyan Zhuoma:

"Okay, get ready to go!"

"Here!" Huyan Zhuoma responded.

She stepped onto the carriage in a few steps and entered the carriage.I saw Zhang Ruohan comforting Qianhe who was lying on the floor of the carriage with a pained expression and trembling body involuntarily.

"It happened again?" Shen Sui asked.

"Yeah, Qin Nu hasn't come out yet, I happened to come to see her, and she fell ill. I'm afraid I won't be able to suppress it."

"Okay, I'll do it!" Shen Sui took out a small pill from the pouch, stuffed it into Qianhe's mouth, and forced her to swallow it.Then she joined forces with Zhang Ruohan to press Qianhe firmly on the floor of the carriage.Qianhe began to twitch and struggle, her body trembling violently. After a while, her expression gradually returned to normal, and her body no longer trembled, just calm as if she was asleep.

"Almost once every five days." Shen Sui said.

"How many more pills were found from Bai Liuniang?" Zhang Ruohan asked.

"Not much, judging from the interval between attacks, it can last for at most five months." Shen Sui replied.

"Sigh... I hope the information sent back from the west is accurate." Zhang Ruohan said.

"Don't worry, we have screened out the six most suspicious people, and each of them has a small group of people quietly following them. If we continue to eliminate them in this way, we will definitely find the person pretending to be a bluebird."

"How are you sure that the fake bluebird will go west?" Zhang Ruohan asked her, "If she goes in another direction, wouldn't we just miss it?"

"No, she will go west, because she wants to go back to the main altar. The cult originated in the desert of Longxi, and there must be their base there." Shen Sui said, and then she further explained, "Bai Liuniang said something very intriguing. : The place where the saint is located is the place where the main altar is located. Then, what about the great pope? Is the great pope just a display, does the cult really have no place of its own?

According to my research, the saint is a religious symbol, a fire sacrifice above the six priests of the sky, the earth, water, plants, animals, and human beings, and a person who directly talks to the supreme god of Zoroastrianism—the god of fire .She has the right to teach, but not official power.The Pope is the real administrator of religion and has the highest authority.Such a religion with clear teaching and official power will not be without its own base.Throughout Buddhism, Taoism, Dashiism, and Nestorianism, there is no religion without its own altar. People with faith always need a holy place.

Bai Liuniang's words cannot be fully believed, but it can be conjectured that the cult does have a general altar, and Bai Liuniang is trying to cover it up.Even inside the cult, few people know where the saint is.If the conflict between the Holy Maiden and the Great Pope is true, then the Holy Maiden will guide me to the main altar after letting the fake bluebird guide me to investigate Fan Yang's matter.What the Pope is trying to hide is what the Holy Maiden is trying to make me find out.Bai Liuniang is my best guide, even if she doesn't say anything, I can get what I want to know from her reaction. "

Shen Sui lifted the curtain of the car, and glanced at the prison car where Bai Liuniang was imprisoned in the distance.The prison car was covered with wooden boards, making people think it was a truck, not that there were people in it.

"If she really wants to lure you to the main forum, why not just tell you where the main forum is? It's not difficult to leave some information." Zhang Ruohan looked at her profile and said.

"It's not that she doesn't want to, it's that she can't. She has to use a rather roundabout way to guide me, so that people around her can't see the clues. It's too risky to leave a message to me, and she's not sure what I will do. Do it, will it be leaked to the people of the Great Pope? Perhaps, she can't help herself."

"Chishi, I'm very worried. I don't know how long it will take to go, our child, what should we do." Zhang Ruohan said while stroking his lower abdomen.

Shen Sui took her hand, pulled her into his arms, and said gently: "Don't worry, no matter where we go or where the child is born, I will be by your side. I will definitely protect your mother and daughter. I The Yin family has long since lost their hometown, and the world is their home, and our child was born on the journey, which is considered to have inherited the fine traditions of the Yin family." At this point, she laughed herself first.

"Nonsense, this child still needs a stable home. You didn't see the eyes of father and elder brother when we left. They were very worried. I'm afraid that after a long time, there will be a rift between you and them." Zhang Ruohan said angrily.

"Well, I will end all this as soon as possible, and then we will go to Jinling to settle down." Shen Sui said.But she already understood in her heart that the rift between Zhang and his son might have been formed long ago.Let's go, if there is nothing, it's okay, if there is something...

"I always feel that things won't end so quickly. Don't forget, even if you crusade against the cult, there is still Mao Mao. The oath that the three of us made back then, I don't know when it will be fulfilled. Mao Mao is also a hard life. What should she do in return for the marriage?"

"Maomao will marry Li Changxue, a political marriage, there will be no reality of marriage, so don't worry too much. In order to recuperate in Fanyang, she must do this. In this way, she can win the support of the Li family. In Fanyang, This is her biggest bargaining chip."

"Have you talked to her?" Zhang Ruohan looked up at her.

"I've talked about it. I don't need to remind her. Mao Mao knows what she should do." She looked at Zhang Ruohan's clear eyes and said, "Lotus maid, Mao Mao has already stepped on the road of the king. All the resentment in the past , will turn into her driving force, she will no longer be emotional, she knows how to do the best to realize her dream. I think, in a few days, we will receive her marriage news, she must be unrestrained and unrestrained .”

"The emperor's road..." Zhang Ruohan's eyes were full of worry, "This is a road of no return, can she still be the same as before?"

"Who can always be the former self? No matter you, me, or her. After so many years, things have changed."

Zhang Ruohan smiled, even if things are different, you still come back to me.

The author has something to say: I read The Legend of the Demon Cat today, and it’s really hard to describe... I’d better continue writing my Tang riddles and write about the Tang Dynasty in my mind.

PS: I will have a cat...