Tang riddles

During the first two days in Liangzhou Fucheng, the city was very quiet and orderly, and the people had no worries about food and clothing, and it was a thriving scene.Shen Sui took Zhang Ruohan and the others around the city a few times to get a taste of the style of the important town in the west.Almost half of the entire Liangzhou prefecture city is occupied by the Lanling Xiao family's mansion, so there are actually not many areas where you can walk around at will.Among them, there are soldiers guarding each square city to maintain order in the city.Most of the citizens in the city are military households, and their sons and daughters are all in the Hexi army.Except for military households, there are some artisan households who built houses for the army, and most of the rest are merchants.

The city was built fairly neatly, quite similar to Chang'an City, with straight and horizontal streets without too many twists and turns.After strolling around, Shen Sui came to a conclusion that the man they had been following for a long time could not have been hiding in this market for half a year without being discovered.Bai Wuding, head of the Liangzhou branch of Qianyumen who accompanied her to visit Liangzhou Fucheng, told her that Qianyumen had visited every inn in the city and inquired about almost all the permanent residents, but they could not find the man after searching for two months. Obviously, the man's hiding place will not be in the city of Liangzhou Prefecture.The neighbors and neighbors here are very familiar with each other. There are strangers who have lived for six months, and they will not have no impression at all.

The surrounding area of ​​Liangzhou Mansion is almost flat, and apart from Guzang Mountain, there are not many complicated terrains to be seen.The Qianyu Gate on Guzang Mountain was also carefully searched, and the hundreds of birds and hounds released did not yield any results.In this way, only the Great Wall in the north may have Tibetans, but there are a large number of Hexi troops stationed there, so it is not easy to sneak in.

In this way, only the Xiao family's mansion in Lanling, which occupies half of the Liangzhou mansion, remained, and Qianyumen had never searched it.

"Perhaps I need to go to Lanling Xiao's." Shen Sui finally said.

However, Shen Sui's trip did not take place because her master, Sima Chengzhen, went to the Lanling Xiao Clan for her first, and brought a key person out to meet her.

After all, the well-informed Lanling Xiao family knew about Sima Chengzhen's arrival in Liangzhou.After all, this is the territory of the Xiao Clan in Lanling, and there are people from the Xiao Clan in the city. Even Qian Yumen would not dare to do anything wrong in Liangzhou Mansion, and the ability to investigate was greatly weakened.In addition, Sima Chengzhen deliberately asked his disciple Sun Xuanhe to go to Xiao's mansion to hand over the famous card, and the head of the Xiao family personally welcomed Sima Chengzhen into the mansion.

When Sima Chengzhen left the Xiao's mansion, there was a woman, wearing ordinary slave clothes, with a black face, blocking his way at the side door, and claiming that she wanted to see Xuedao to kill Shen Bozhao, so Sima Chengzhen sent She brought it back.In the back hall of Guiyan Station, when the woman saw Shen Sui, she knelt down with a plop, prostrated herself on the ground, and cried and begged:

"Mr. Shen, please save my son."

"This lady please get up quickly, don't get excited, I don't know what's going on, please speak slowly." Shen Sui quickly helped her up.

The woman calmed down, stabilized her mind, wiped off the black paint on her face, revealing a fair and beautiful face, then watched Shen Sui and slowly explained the whole story.

"My concubine's surname is Zhao. She is the daughter of the old owner of the Zhao's Medical Center in Liangzhou Prefecture. She married Xiao Sinan, the eighth man of the Xiao family in Lanling, as my concubine. Many years ago, my husband died in battle, leaving me and my son orphaned and widowed." Mother, I was lucky to be taken care of by my husband's wife, the Princess of Jin, but the princess was recalled to Chang'an, and my son and I had to live together in Xiao's mansion. My husband has made great contributions to the country. Although he left early, the family treats me Mother and son are also very respectful, and these years have been pretty good. But until more than half a year ago, the originally peaceful life suddenly changed."

Shen Sui didn't expect to see Xiao Balang's widow mentioned in Momao's mouth here and now, but she was not very surprised. After a moment of silence, she asked:

"Why did Mrs. Zhao know that I am here, and still want to ask me for help?"

"My concubine is very familiar with the name of Mr. Shen. My son studied medicine under his uncle, and his uncle would often tell him the legendary stories of Mr. Shen. My son admires you very much and often mentions you to me. You are a big A well-known detective in the Tang Dynasty, who has solved countless big and strange cases, he is both gentle and powerful, and has extraordinary intelligence. The name Xuedao Mingjuan is also well-known in Hexi. After Mr. Shen arrived in Liangzhou Fucheng, my brother sent me a letter, telling me You and I came with the Taoist party, so this concubine secretly followed Master Sima to see Mr.

"Brother Ling?"

"My elder brother, Yu Zi'an, is the current owner of Zhao's Medical Center, and has also been a supplier of medicinal materials to Changfengtang in Liangzhou for many years. Mr. Shen is the owner of Changfengtang, and my brother is still very familiar with it." Zhao looked up. , looked at Shen Sui and said.

Zhao Zi'an... Shen Sui seemed to have such a person in his impression, who was a medicine supplier that Liangzhou Changfengtang had cooperated with for many years.She glanced at Qin Nu in the wheelchair in the distance, Qin Nu nodded and gave her an affirmative answer.

It's just that Shen Sui only knew one thing and didn't know the other, he didn't expect this person to be Zhao's elder brother and Xiao Sinan's uncle.It's not surprising that Zhao Zi'an knew her. Most of the businessmen who had close business dealings with Changfengtang knew the names of the Shen brothers, but they didn't know that Changfengtang was a disguise of Qianyumen.It's just that Zhao Zi'an actually let his sister who lived in a high-end mansion run out at risk, but he didn't pay a visit in person, which is a bit strange.

Zhao seemed to see Shen Sui's doubts, and explained:

"Brother only knows that I want to take my son to meet Mr. Shen, but he doesn't know the real situation. Today, my brother notified me that my husband has arrived, and made an appointment for him to pick up our mother and son tomorrow. Maybe after a while, my brother will come to see him off." The post. The concubine came here one step ahead, and there are some things that the concubine needs to tell Mr. Shen personally. Moreover, the concubine does not want my brother to know about this matter. Please also ask Mr. Shen to reject his brother's greeting card, it is merciless Please, Mr. Shen Haihan."

Shen Sui nodded, and said: "These are trivial things, Mrs. Zhao, please tell me what happened."

Mrs. Zhao bit her lip and said: "My son has been smart since he was a child. Because he admired Mr. Shen's ability to solve crimes, he also liked to play tricks since he was a child. Dogs, he is very good at it. He studied medicine with my brother, in his words, in order to have the ability to examine dead bodies in the future. This kid... is indeed a bit of a loser, especially obsessed with Jiugongge and Hetu Luoshu Those esoteric arithmetic. About half a year ago, this child went to Xiao’s Academy, and when he came back, he brought back a jigsaw puzzle from somewhere, and was addicted to it all day long. He was lying in front of the desk to put together the puzzle. For a while, he pretended to go to school, but he didn’t know where he was. I didn’t know that he skipped class for nearly two months until Mr. Xi found me.

Seeing that this is not going to work, the servants in the courtyard and I forcibly destroyed the jigsaw puzzle, but my son reacted violently. After we took the jigsaw away, he was so extreme that he hit the pillar to beg for death, and became even more insane after the attempt , talking gibberish.We were so frightened that we returned the puzzle to him, and he returned to his original state, but he just crouched in front of the desk and put together the puzzle, completely ignoring us and not saying a word.We guessed that the child might be bewitched by an evil spirit, so we went to the temple to ask for talismans to exorcise him, and sprinkled salt, soybeans, and dog blood on him. Finally, we secretly invited Taoist monks to perform the ritual, but nothing worked.On the contrary, the child sank deeper and deeper. Seeing that he was losing weight like this, he was dying, lying on the couch unable to move, and still holding on to the puzzle piece.

The concubine is not the wife that Balang Mingmei is marrying. My son is a concubine. Although he is the only blood of Balang, his status is not high after all.When Hachiro left, there was still power and the princess was in charge, so our mother and son could have several years of peace.But Hachiro has been away for so many years, and the princess never came back. Right now, the infighting among the Xiao family is getting worse, and our mother and son are in a more difficult situation in the manor. I'm afraid that outsiders will throw rocks into my well, and my mother and son will have nowhere to stand.Except for the servants in our hospital, outsiders only know that my son is suffering from a serious disease and cannot go out.It's just that the longer the time, the more difficult it will be to conceal it, and there's nothing I can do if it goes on like this.I implore Mr. Shen to help me today, Wan Wang to save my son, don't let the Xiao family's bloodline be cut off! At the end of Zhao's speech, she kowtowed and fell to the ground, weeping uncontrollably.

"Da Lang, what is a puzzle?" Wu Ya who was beside Zhang Ruohan quietly approached and asked.

"It is a game that originated in the West. It was introduced to the Tang Dynasty through the food merchants, but it never became popular in the Central Plains. It can only be seen occasionally in the Western Regions. This game, in simple terms, cuts a picture into countless pieces. Small pieces, after being messed up, put them back together."

"Ah? Who is so boring." Wu Ya said in surprise.

Shen Sui raised his forehead, glanced at Zhang Ruohan, Zhang Ruohan understood, beckoned and said: "Wu Ya, come here."

Wu Ya knew he had interrupted Da Lang's business, stuck out his tongue, and silently retreated to Zhang Ruohan's side.Shen Sui helped up Mrs. Zhao who was kneeling on the ground crying, and said:

"Ms. Zhao, don't be in a hurry. How about this? I'll make some preparations. I'll follow you to the mansion to meet your son and the jigsaw puzzle."

"Okay, okay, thank you Mr. Shen, thank you Mr. Shen!"

Shen Sui called his subordinates to look at Mrs. Zhao, said goodbye to Sima Chengzhen, led a group of people into the backyard, and entered the house to change into a disguised identity.

Zhang Ruohan and Shen Jin chased after her and entered the house with her. Shen Jin said slightly worried:

【Sister, is there any danger? The puzzle is so tight. 】

"Hehe, there is no evil in this world. You are just a timid girl. Mrs. Zhao has also seen and touched the puzzle, but nothing happened. It means that the problem is not evil or poison, but the puzzle itself. Look Only those who understand will fall into it." Shen Sui laughed.

"But, could this be a trap?" Zhang Ruohan was also worried.

"Does the maidservant think that Mrs. Zhao is a member of a cult?" Shen Sui said, "If it's really a trap, it's too much. It's better to use a rare thing like a jigsaw puzzle as a lure trap than to show up quickly , isn't it whimsical?"

Zhang Ruohan bowed her head, pursed her lips and remained silent.

Shen Sui softened her heart, stepped forward to hold her hand, and persuaded softly: "Don't worry, I'm just going to check on the situation, if anything goes wrong, I will leave immediately." She paused, and then said to the two:

"This puzzle is very important. It may be the guide map left to me by the saintess of the cult. It has a great relationship with the person who killed the bluebird. He disappeared here for half a year, and the time when Xiao Balang's son got the puzzle It fits well, he may be here for the puzzle. So I guess it will help us find the location of the cult's main altar. I have to go there myself. No one in our group knows the puzzle better than me right now .”

"Chishi, be careful." Zhang Ruohan repeatedly urged.

Shen Sui nodded solemnly.Immediately, she changed into a short and coarse cloth shirt worn by servants, and made some simple disguises to make herself look ordinary, and followed Mrs. Zhao to the Xiao's mansion in Lanling alone.

They entered through the side door that was rarely seen, and hurried through the stone steps of the corridor, the courtyard pond, and the elegant scenery they passed by had a Jiangnan charm and a long meaning, but Shen Sui didn't have such a leisurely mind to savor it slowly.They walked for a full quarter of an hour before arriving at Wufangyuan where Xiao Balang lived.Xiao Sinan lived with eight cousins, but they belonged to the fifth house of the Xiao family. After he left, the fifth house no longer had a master, only the Zhao family and his son Xiao Keqin still lived there, barely counted as masters.There are only three or five old servants left in the courtyard, and they are generally over forty years old.

The old servants were very happy to see their mistress returned, but restrained themselves.They were quiet and quiet, the leader of a male servant led Shen Sui to Xiao Keqin's dormitory together with Mrs. Zhao, right now, the little master was lying on the couch, already seriously ill to the point of unconsciousness.

When Shen Sui saw Xiao Keqin on the couch, although she was mentally prepared, she was still taken aback.This ten-year-old child was already skinny and emaciated like a rotten tree.Those shriveled cheeks were already out of shape, and it was shocking to look at.But his eagle-claw-like hand was holding a strange thing tightly.

Shen Sui took a closer look and couldn't help being very surprised, even a well-informed person like her had no idea at all.What Xiao Keqin held in his hand was not a puzzle made of flat cardboard as she imagined, but a sphere.It is an irregular sphere composed of several hexagonal pyramid wood blocks and several pentagonal pyramid wood blocks. There is a small protrusion in the center of each pyramid wood block for easy grasping.And Shen Sui noticed that the central bulge on the upper left side was marked red, and the central bulge on the lower right side was marked blue.

"Why do you say this thing is a jigsaw puzzle?" Shen Sui stared at this strange thing for a long time, unable to explain it, before asking Zhao Shi beside him.

"My son... what are the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle? He always mutters to himself like this. When we took this thing away, he still shouted to give me back the jigsaw puzzle! Isn't this... a jigsaw puzzle?" Zhao asked Shen Sui with a pale face .

"It's not a puzzle...it's a maze..."

The author has something to say: here comes something interesting, this plot is very mind-boggling, I hope I don't make myself dizzy first.