Inscription of Different Cases

In order to investigate the case, Han Lang and Zuo Shu went to the study where the Taifu was killed.This room has an independent courtyard, the environment is quiet, and the sound from outside can hardly come in.I heard that Tai Tuo doesn't like to make noise when he is alone, so the servants rarely come here, at most there will be only two servant girls serving tea.As for the female relatives, except for the favored Fifth Aunt Du Shi who is occasionally brought here, the rest rarely set foot in this place.

Passing through the winding corridors and stepping on the gravel road paved on the grass, Yu Zuo Shu and Han Lang walked into this place shaded by flowers and trees under the leadership of the servants.The scenery is not bad, and the smell of tea blows in the room, which smells quite comfortable.It's a pity that the two of them had no intention of admiring it. As soon as Yu Zuoshu entered, he introduced the situation to Han Lang with ease, which showed that he had checked it several times.

"Master Taifu has a very famous hobby, that is, tea tasting." He said.

Han Lang looked around and found that it was indeed the case.Apart from the usual tables and chairs, this room only has two bookcases and a long couch for people to rest on.There are few treasures and antiques loved by literati around. There is only one calligraphy and painting hanging on the wall, which seems to be the work of Master Taifu himself.In addition, there are large and small tea sets in the room, wooden, porcelain and even glazed cups and bowls, a pocket stove, and many bottles and cans of unknown purpose.

Do you need to be so particular about drinking tea?Han Lang was puzzled.He can understand that Master Taifu loves tea, and he can also understand that the study is arranged as a tea room for this reason, but these utensils are of extraordinary quality, and many of them are not commonly used for drinking tea.Only then did Yu Zuoshu explain that Master Taifu not only tasted tea, but also paid attention to tasting ancient tea. His series of routines were created after studying ancient books by himself. For this reason, he also wrote several books and gave them to the bookstore. copy.Of course, his hobby is not popular. Although he often recommends it to his relatives and friends, he is still the only one who continues to use this method of tea tasting.

"Because it's too troublesome, and the taste may not be good." Yu Zuoshu said with a wry smile.

It turned out that the Taifu did not drink the tea leaves dried by the farmers. After the fresh tea leaves were obtained, he did every process by himself, and even the servants were not allowed to intervene.This is his interest, and no one else can say anything about it.Saying that, Yu Zuoshu opened the pocket stove and asked Han Lang to have a look: "This stove is for him to bake tea cakes."

On the sunny space outside the window, there is a bamboo mat spread out on the ground, which is where the Taifu hangs the tea cakes.Then there is the mortar for grinding tea leaves and the sieve for sifting tea, which Yu Zuoshu introduced to Han Lang one by one.The last is the water used for washing and filtering. It is said that someone picked it from the mountains outside the city and stored it in a water tank half the height of a person.The last is the spring water for making tea, and the stove for making tea. According to Yu Zuoshu, after the tea is boiled, a pinch of sugar, a few slices of orange peel and mint are added to complete the whole process.

Han Lang was dumbfounded, thinking that he always drank tea with hot water and then poured it into his mouth, and brought so much mess.Yu Zuoshu seemed to see what he was thinking, and said with a smile: "You must never mention the matter of making tea with Master Tai Tuo, he will definitely get angry. He always said that his method is the most correct, or He gave his own tea a name called 'Ming Congee'."

No wonder no one is willing to try his method, will it taste good?Han Lang slandered.

"Anyway, Master Taifu had an accident after making tea," Yu Zuoshu said, "According to the maid who was serving at the time, Master Taifu suddenly started to cough after taking the first sip, with a painful expression on his face. The lord poured a glass of water and gave him some comfort, but unexpectedly it didn’t work, until he fell off the chair.”

As he spoke, he pointed to the table and chairs in front of him: "He was sitting here at the time."

Han Lang nodded, and then asked, "Is there only a maid by his side?"

"Yes, the maid who poured tea for him was named Fangyue, and she was already killed with a stick because she was suspected of poisoning him by Mrs. He. In addition, the maid who poured water for him after he choked was named Shu Yun, who was later told The people I passed all the way are still in the house now."

Han Lang frowned, subconsciously tapped his chin with his knuckles: "Master Yu, have you checked who these two servant girls belong to?"

"Of course," Yu Zuoshu waved his hand, "Fangyue served the fifth concubine, and Shu Yun used to be with the fourth concubine. At that time, the fifth concubine was too unwell, and when the master asked her to accompany her, she didn't Go, so I asked my servant girl to replace me."

From this, it seems that only the eldest wife, Mrs. He, is the one who really didn't participate, but it's hard to say. "The eldest wife insisted that Fangyue did it, but she didn't pursue the fifth concubine Fangyue served? Isn't this in line with her style?"

Yu Zuoshu also showed a look of entanglement: "Indeed, according to the habit of the eldest wife to run on the fifth concubine, the maid next to the fifth concubine poisoned the Taifu. She can completely exaggerate the facts and say that the fifth concubine is the mastermind behind the scenes." , take the opportunity to get rid of this thorn in my side."

Han Lang picked up his words and continued: "However, the eldest lady didn't do this. Instead, she killed the maidservant with a cane, which is equivalent to suppressing the matter. Her behavior seems to be in collusion with Fifth Aunt Tai. Otherwise, there are ghosts in your heart."

"It is indeed possible," Yu Zuoshu agreed with his point of view, and then said something else, "A medicine bottle was found on Fangyue's body, which contained poison, but Fangyue said that she picked up the medicine bottle outside. Yes, I thought it was some lady's missing perfume, and I was wearing it to give it back to them."

Han Lang sighed: "Now that the person is dead, there is no proof of death. Have you checked other things in this room? Especially these sugar bowls, mints and so on."

"I've sent them all back to Dali Temple. They're using animals to test the poison. There's nothing to say yet," Yu Zuo Shu said, pointing to the sky outside. "It's almost dinner time. Let's go see other people."

It was dusk, and the lanterns were lit one after another in Taifu's mansion, which looked like a flickering firefly from a distance.After all, Yu Zuoshu and Han Lang were officials of Dali Temple. Although they came to investigate the case, the Taifu's mansion still treated them as guests.In the evening they held a banquet in the small building in the atrium, and they are now inviting two people to take their seats.

A small lake was built in the atrium, and the small building stood by the lake, with the roof transparent on all sides, just in time to enjoy the night view.There was a cool breeze, and the servant girl thoughtfully asked the two if they wanted to close the window, but Yu Zuoshu refused with a smile.

But the fourth aunt, Mei, interjected: "It's better to close it, this kind of kitsch is really uncomfortable."

As she said that, she glanced at Fifth Aunt angrily.Fifth Aunt was raising a cup and sipping tea, but she didn't react much.Han Lang was not far from her, and he smelled a faint fragrance, not like the kitsch smell that the fourth aunt said, it was a bit like the fragrance of flowers, just such a wisp, wafting around, making it difficult to detect its fragrance exist.

Han Lang couldn't help but look at Aunt Wu a few more times. This woman seemed to have a gentle temperament, with a fresh and refined temperament.He thought of the rumors he had heard before, that this woman had learned spells and was also good at divination, she looked like a practitioner, and wondered if she was from a certain school of celestial masters.

If you have a chance, you should try it out.

The dinner is full of delicacies that are rarely seen on weekdays, and it is quite rich.Now is the time when the crab meat is full of oil. Both the eldest wife and the fourth concubine asked the maids to peel the crab meat, but the fifth concubine only cooked the only vegetable dish on the table that didn't have much oil.The two sons from the Taifu's mansion were also there, and the eldest and young master still looked sickly, and seemed to have forgotten the fate he had with Han Lang back then.The second young master is personable, he is about the same age as Han Lang, and always comes to talk to him.

Han Lang asked a few words casually, and learned that the second young master was also on duty in the court, and his career was flourishing.Whenever the two talked about this, his mother and fourth aunt would smile all over her face and look around the audience proudly.The young master lowered his head and didn't talk to anyone, and the fifth concubine also pretended not to see it, staring at the small lake outside the window and remained motionless.

The whole meal was really undercurrent, everyone was suing their stomachs, and how many fake laughter happened.After listening to it for a long time, Han Lang felt that his expression was frozen from laughter, and his cheeks were sore.After the dinner was over, Han Lang dragged Yu Zuoshu out of the room, and kept saying that he couldn't stay in this place, and that he would be driven crazy by those eccentric people if he stayed any longer.

Yu Zuoshu chuckled: "Brother Han, where are you going? When you get a wife in the future, isn't it the same?"

A gloomy voice suddenly interjected from the side: "Who wants to ask for a wife?"

When Yu Zuo Shu and Han Lang turned their heads, the former blinked in surprise: "Oh, why is Mr. He here?"

It turned out that He Yijiu was waiting at home anxiously, so he went all the way to find him, and now he was standing carelessly outside the porter's room. Seeing that this man was not dressed like a court official, and he looked fierce, he was hesitant to send him away. put in.The two were in a stalemate, He Yijiu saw Han Lang from a distance, and heard such a sentence as soon as he caught up.

"Master Yu, have you finished your official business talks?" He Yijiu stretched out a hand and abducted Han Lang directly behind him, as if protecting food, "I came to pick him up. Is it time to let him go?"

Yu Zuo Shuren looks thin and thin, compared with He Yijiuyi, he is as weak as a scholar.Although He Yijiu said two questions, his tone was not like a question at all. As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled Han Lang to say goodbye to Yu Zuoshu.Feeling helpless, Yu Zuoshu could only say, "Okay, okay, brother Han, we can discuss it tomorrow."

Han Lang is obviously not much shorter than He Yijiu, but when the other party's arrogance came out, his aura dropped, and He Yijiu "lifted" him out of the room like a rabbit, and stuffed him into the sedan chair outside. .Before he could sit still, his ass was pinched by the other party, and the man laughed in a voice that only he could hear: "You still want to ask for a wife? What should I do if it itch here?"

As he spoke, his hands went where they shouldn't be. Han Lang was annoyed by his obscene words, so he punched him directly: "What nonsense!"

He Yijiu took his fist with a smile, and put it on his lips for a kiss: "How is the investigation going?"

As soon as Han Lang heard about the case, he became energetic, his eyes lit up all of a sudden, and he couldn't care about anything else.He began to talk about his discoveries during the day, and the more he talked, the more excited he became. He took out several doubtful points and analyzed them one by one, talking non-stop.He talked all the way, and He Yijiu hugged him in his arms, and raised his hands all the way.Han Lang didn't resist at all in his excitement, and he was a little short of breath when he talked later, when the cold wind blew outside, he realized that his clothes were almost taken off by that person.

"You, you don't even look at the place!"

What was said just now was in vain, the two of them pulled off the sedan chair, dragged into the backyard, rolled onto the bed, and then Han Lang completely forgot about the case.The night passed, and the next day was a comfortable sunny day.He got up smelling the aroma of breakfast, and was ready to go out after everything was settled, but He Yijiu followed him all the time, and after sending him out the door as usual, he followed him out, and bolted the door.

Han Lang was a little surprised: "You don't look at the store?"

"Someone else is running the shop," He Yijiu said with a smile, "I'll go with you."

So Yu Zuoshu, who was already waiting in Taifu's mansion, saw such a scene: the sedan chair stopped, and a young man with a radiant and handsome appearance came down, followed by He Yijiu who was like a Dharma protector.The gatekeeper almost didn't dare to go up to greet him, and the servants serving in the Taifu's mansion were also whispering. After all, the temperament of the two did not match too much. If Han Lang walked behind, it would be a scene of escorting a murderer. .

But this "murderer" looked nonchalant. Faced with Zuo Shu's astonished expression, he pointed to Han Lang and said, "I'm used to accompanying him when he investigates cases. I'm sorry."

After finishing speaking, she still looked doting, with a helpless expression of "my daughter-in-law likes to cling to me, it's hard to handle".Han Lang rolled his eyes, neither denying nor admitting, as if he had nothing to do with him.He Yijiu took advantage of everything, and even followed Han Lang at all times, never leaving a single step.

Seeing this, Yu Zuoshu felt helpless.He Yijiu listened to all the business matters he and Han Lang said, and that was nothing. Sometimes when the two got closer, He Yijiu would step over and put him between him and Han Lang, as if guarding against him. posture.

Yu Zuoshu was speechless, thinking that I wouldn't eat Han Lang again, so what?