Brocade tears

At the end of March in the 11th year of Wanli, Mencius arrived in Nanjing.Thanks to the care and escort of the employees of Zhao's Grain Company, the journey went smoothly without any accidents.Fireworks in March, Jiangnan is the time when the grass grows and warblers fly and flowers bloom everywhere. Mencius Xiu, who is used to living in the north, saw the local customs and customs in the south of the Yangtze River for the first time, which really made him feel much happier. No matter how calm and precocious the 15-year-old boy is, he still has the heart of a child.

Zhao's Grain Company has a fairly large branch in Nanjing, the former backyard of the business, and Mencius was originally arranged to live in the house behind the business.It was ten minutes before noon when he arrived in Nanjing. Regardless of the exhaustion of the boat, he immediately went out, intending to familiarize himself with the streets of the city.A man took him along the street for a walk, but he never thought that it was raining lightly in the afternoon, and Mencius didn't have an umbrella, so when he returned home, his clothes were all wet.Although he hurriedly changed into dry clothes and took a bath with hot water, he still caught a cold and developed a fever the next day.

I don't know if it was because of the acclimatization of the environment, but the disease turned out to be very serious. I couldn't get out of bed for five or six days.The folks at the food store invited an old doctor with white beard and hair and a fairy-like character to see him. This old doctor is a famous doctor who is famous far and wide. After seeing his illness, he prescribed several medicines and let him Just one serving.The doctor also said that his body was congenitally deficient in qi, and external evils could easily invade and needed to be recuperated.He prescribed several prescriptions for Mencius, marked the order according to the time, and strictly followed the doctor's prescription to take the medicine and decoct it. After about one or two years, he was able to adjust his body to the point where it was [-]% better than it is now. It won't be so easy to get sick.Mencius Xiu was really overjoyed, he didn't expect this old doctor to be able to cure the stubborn illness that Daoist Luo couldn't cure in the past.After inquiring, I found out that he met the genius doctor of the time.

This old doctor's name is Li Shizhen, and the name of Dongbitang's miracle doctor is like thunder, and Mencius has also heard of it.He was really lucky, the old doctor was writing a pharmacopoeia, traveled around, tasted all kinds of herbs, and happened to settle in Nanjing recently.He works temporarily at the Tongjitang pharmacy, the largest in Nanjing, and there is an endless stream of patients every day.It took a lot of effort for the guys to invite him over.It was really because I was frightened by Mencius Xiu and thought he was going to die soon.

In the end, Li Shizhen told Mencius that when his body was recuperated, it would be best to move his meridians regularly, which would help him strengthen his body.If he wants, he can go to Tongji Hall, the old doctor will take him to play a set of Wuqinxi when he has time, and guide Qi movement, which is very useful.The old doctor also said that he does not plan to leave Nanjing for the next six months.

Meng Zixiu did not expect that he would meet a nobleman as soon as he came to Nanjing. Maybe it was a lucky moment. The Meng family suffered so much that even God couldn't bear it.If his body can get better, then he can do more things. Since he was weak since childhood, he knows that the body is the foundation of everything.

So in the first year in Nanjing, he devoted most of his energy to taking care of his body, and followed Li Shizhen's instructions to take care of medicine, food supplements and exercise. After a year, his body really improved a lot.In the letter he wrote to his family in Jingzhong, he mentioned that his health has improved a lot, but he guessed that if his sisters had not seen his current state with their own eyes, they would not believe what the letter said, and it was right that he was away from home Report safe.

Of course, he couldn't forget the deep hatred in the sea of ​​blood. While recuperating his body, he also started an investigation.Before leaving Beijing, he had already done a simple investigation into the death of his father and brother, and there were three suspicious people before and after, and he wrote them down one by one.First of all, the only person who knew that his father had robbed Li Sui'er from the imperial prison——Chu Yiyi, the deputy of the prison in charge of the prison.The second is Li Xuming, Li Laosan who committed suicide by hanging himself. It is necessary to investigate himself and everyone he has come into contact with.The last one is Li Sui'er, this girl is also suspected.

Chu Yiyi, who is in charge of the prison, can't investigate right now. He has already discussed this matter with Ah Qing and left it to Ah Qing to investigate.And Sui'er's identity is too mysterious, he can't find an entry point to investigate her for a while, so he can only put it aside temporarily.Li Laosan and the people who have been in contact with him are the main direction of his current investigation.

Before leaving Beijing, he had obtained some information from the letters and neighbors near Li Laosan's home, including a few drinking buddies who were very close to Li Laosan's house.

According to Xinke, Li Laosan had been exchanging letters with someone in Nanjing since the tenth year of Wanli, and the two communicated very closely. There was no signature on the letter, and he didn't know who the letter was written by.The letters passed by the two of them were very thick and tightly wrapped, and there seemed to be a lot of content written in it, with a mysterious feeling.Because it was a personal letter, Li Laosan never used the official channel of communication, and let the private messengers deliver it. During that time, the messengers could get a lot of benefits from him.

Neighbors told Mencius that Li Laosan used to be in the uniform of Jinyiwei, running between the prison and his family, and lived a very regular life.But since the tenth year of Wanli, he often does not manage the prison, but pretends to go out, not knowing where he is going, and sometimes he will travel far away, and will come back after a few days.

This point was also confirmed by Li Laosan's drinking buddies. Li Laosan did often go out pretending to be casual. A drinking buddy mentioned that once he saw Li Laosan outside the palace of Lu Wang in Zhongzhong, Beijing, sitting in the palace in casual clothes. At the side of the small stall outside, it seems to be watching something.Another drinking buddy said that one time when he was drinking with Li Laosan, Li Laosan mentioned to him that he would go on a long trip in the near future. After repeated questioning by him, he told his drinking buddy that he was going on a trip. Huguang Hengzhou, he did go out for a long time before returning.

For the time being, only Meng Zixiu knew about these clues, and he did not tell his sister Meng Qing.The main reason is that he was afraid that Meng Qing would investigate indiscriminately in the capital and cause trouble. After all, she is in a situation where she can't help herself. She is not by her side, and no one is watching her to persuade her. Things went wrong.He still hoped that he would find out the facts before telling his sisters.

According to these clues, Mencius can basically draw the following speculation: Li Laosan got in touch with someone in Nanjing through some channels, and he may have been entrusted, and the client is likely to be the person in Nanjing who is related to him. people to contact.And the content of his investigation is obviously the younger brother of the current Holy Majesty - King Lu.This can be proved by his monitoring Luwang Mansion and going to Hengzhou, Huguang, because Huguang Hengzhou is the fiefdom of Luwang. In the tenth year of Wanli, just before Luwang went to the fief, Hengzhou was building Luwangfu at that time. .

When he left Beijing, he chose Nanjing as his first stop, not only because Zhao's grain company had a certain property in Nanjing and could take care of him, but also because this clue leading directly to Beijing became the starting point for him to investigate the death of his father and brother. point.

About a month after Meng Zixiu arrived in Nanjing, his body was recuperated and he gradually adapted to the climate in the south of the Yangtze River, so he began to follow this clue to investigate.Because the scope of investigation was too broad, he had to find a suitable starting point.The first thing to target is the officials above the Nanjing officialdom, especially the officials who served in Nanjing in the tenth year of Wanli. It is not easy to get the list, but it is not difficult for him.According to a well-informed employee of Zhao's Grain Company, there is a well-known Dr. Zang Maoxun in Nanjing here, named Zang Maoxun.Since Wanli took office ten years ago, he likes to hang out at the Guangling Tea House on Pishi Street, gathering a group of students and literati to chat about official affairs.

Mencius wanted to find such a person the most, so he went to the Guangling tea shop on Pishi Street, got close to Zang Maoxun, a doctor of the Nanjing Imperial College, and gained his trust.From his mouth, he gradually found out some officials, large and small, from all departments above the officialdom in Nanjing, as well as some official secrets that happened in the ten years of Wanli.

Among them, there is only one major event about King Lu, and that is the case of Bai Xianshi, the servant of the Nanjing household department, which happened at the end of the tenth year of Wanli.It is said that Bai Xianshi planned to impeach King Lu for extravagant wedding expenses, rampant and domineering among the people, committing crimes and other crimes, but Dongchang took the lead in launching the attack. Luo Zhi was accused of corrupting ink, his whole family was arrested and imprisoned, and he himself was tortured to death. , his wife and children were sent as slaves. Later, his wife and son also died of illness in prison, and there was only one daughter left. It is not clear where she is now.

The clues seemed to be cut off like this, because Zang Maoxun didn't know the inside story, he only said that the case was very mysterious, Dongchang's actions were too fast, and the punishment of Bai Xianshi was too harsh, there must be something tricky.Mencius Xiu was not reconciled, he decided to find Bai Xianshi's surviving daughter.It is said that this girl's small character is Yuyin, she is not very old, she may have just reached the age of Ji.If a woman of this age falls into slavery, without even thinking about it, she must have entered Fengyuechang, and it is very likely that she has become an official prostitute as a member of the Jiaofang Siyue.

It took more than half a year for Mencius to find this clue, and it was already the beginning of the 12th year of Wanli.When he sent a letter to his family, he wanted to write down the clues he found so far and tell his sister to know.However, the employee of Zhao's Grain Company who sent letters to Beijing brought back bad news, saying that the Meng family had moved to the Xiaochangkou area, where the circulation of letters was not smooth. There are always some hooligans who will come forward to question, extort, and letters and packages may be robbed and confiscated.Mencius was scrupled, and finally did not dare to write down these clues, and only wrote some insignificant content, mainly to report safety.

From March to May in the 12th year of Wanli, while investigating the death of his father and brother, Mencius also began to plan for his own future.He can't always rely on his uncle to help him, and he can't always bother Zhao's grain business in Nanjing.Now his health has improved greatly, and Dr. Li Shizhen also said that he is fine, so he left Nanjing to travel.He also has to consider becoming independent in Nanjing and find a job as well.It's just that he can't carry it with his hands and shoulders, so he can only be a teacher.After searching for two months, he finally got a job somewhere in the city of Nanjing. He worked as a teacher in a squire's home, teaching elementary school to the squire's seven-year-old and five-year-old sons.It's just that this squire is really stingy, and the monthly money he gives is meager, so he can barely make ends meet.Mencius spent a lot of money every month, which was not enough, so he had to write and paint every day, and sell calligraphy and paintings to supplement the expenses.

He was frugal in food and clothing, and actually didn't have much need for money, but because he had to find out the whereabouts of Bai Yuyin, Bai Xianshi's daughter, every time he went to and from the romantic places, it really increased his expenses.This matter can't be hidden from the folks of Zhao's Grain Company. He explained that it was to investigate Bai Yuyin's whereabouts, but the guys didn't say much, but there was always some disbelief in their eyes.Mencius was very helpless. He was old enough to know what a romantic place means to a man, but he really didn't have that kind of thought when he went there, and he didn't know how many people could believe him.

Ten miles away, the Qinhuai River is full of fun, the sea of ​​people is vast, and the random flowers are gradually becoming charming.From March, Mencius searched for more than three months. It was not until the beginning of July in the 12th year of Wanli that he finally searched in a brothel called Meixianglou in the middle section of Chaoku Street, Jiuyuan, by the Qinhuai River. Arrived at Bai Yuyin's whereabouts.At that time, Bai Yuyin was under 17 years old, had just been released, and was striving for fame. It was said that in half a month, the opening/bud night of the guest of honor would be put up for sale.

Mencius felt that something was wrong, how could he bump into this juncture.A good girl from a good family unfortunately fell into this place. If she was really bullied by a client, how could he just sit idly by?If he sat idly by, how could he have the nerve to ask Bai Yuyin for news?But... he was shy right now, and didn't know how to help Bai Yuyin for a while.

In desperation, he could only explore the market first.After spending a large amount of admission fees, he finally found an opportunity to enter the Meixiang Building. He planned to watch a performance of Bai Yuyin first, and then look for opportunities to get close to Bai Yuyin.

He never thought that the choice he made to step into the Meixiang Building that night would cause him to fall into a land of tenderness from which it was difficult to struggle out.But he doesn't regret it, and he will never regret meeting her in this life.