Tai sui

Around dawn, two figures landed in the backyard of Xi Ping's guest room, they were Pang Jian and Zhao Yu.

"The deceased Dong Zhang came back from the Guozijian yesterday, and went outside the city. It's called Taqing, and he actually went to visit the grave." Zhao Yu briefly reported to Pang Jian that Mr. Dong was raising an outer room outside the city. Someone found a gengtie written on big red paper on the carriage he was riding in when he was alive, and the birthday horoscope on the gengtie was the same as that written on the paper money he scattered, and it belonged to that concubine."

"Oh, the peach blossom debt in the underworld." Pang Jian said coolly, "I'm afraid that this Mr. Dong is not going to visit the grave, but is watching the general election. He is afraid that his "Golden House" will be discovered by others, so he went there specially to arrange it. ?”

Compared with other fairy sects such as Kunlun, Xuanyin Mountain values ​​the understanding of disciples more. Therefore, young children with undeveloped spiritual intelligence are not selected in the general election.

The journey to immortality is long, and it is burdened by mundane concerns. The immortal sect also stipulates that candidates for election are not allowed to marry.

But the general election only happens once every ten years, which makes Jinping’s family suffer. Before each general election, a batch of unnamed illegitimate sons and their unnamed mothers have to die. Pang Jian has long been surprised No wonder.

"The tomb... should have been swept away," Zhao Yu sighed, and said in a low voice, "The driver who drove Dong Zhang's car yesterday was the biological father of the outsider girl."

Pang Jian frowned: "You mean the driver who opened the door and was the first to be killed by the 'Flying Curse'?"

"Exactly," Zhao Yu said, "If the coachman hadn't died, we would have to send him to the prison for strict investigation."

"Who else is in the coachman's house?"

"There is no one else. He is an old widower with only one daughter under his knees. He disappeared at the beginning of the year. He is a servant of the family. He is usually taciturn and rarely interacts with others except driving the car. Nothing was found in the place where he lived. The bed There are a lot of paper ashes underneath, it can be seen that everything that can be burned has been burned... Dutong, I think this is indeed the usual style of those evil spirits."

His life experience is miserable, he lives alone, and does not communicate with others.

Pang Jian gave a noncommittal "hmm", approached the guest room, and listened to the movement in the room: "I slept soundly, this kid can hold his breath."

"Being able to sleep peacefully under the eyelids of the eight 'karma beasts', maybe there is no ghost in my heart." Zhao Yu said, "After this investigation, Dong Zhang's death may be inseparable from his driver. His Majesty is fine, it may be true..."

With his hands behind his back, Pang Jian glanced at him lightly, with difficulty distinguishing between joy and anger.

Zhao Yu looked at his words, and immediately changed the subject: "But it's a coincidence that he met him twice. The subordinates think that they should find out who this prince of the Marquis has contacts with on weekdays. Luckily, it's all Jin Ping. It’s not difficult for people who know everything in the city.”

Pang Jian laughed after hearing this, and said to himself that this person surnamed Zhao deserves to be born in a common surname, and he is really leak-proof.

What he said seemed to be neutral, but in fact, he had been quietly choosing the prince of Yongning Hou, and he did not forget to imply that Xi Ping's family background was innocent, and even if he was involved in this matter, he should be passive and innocent .

"Okay, then you can take the lead to investigate, and I don't care. Hey, I am from a countryman, not as good as your rich family. I can't figure out the relationship between those aunts and uncles in Danguifang," Pang Jian Glancing at the darkened guest room, he said meaningfully, "This little boy is quite popular."

The popular little boy Xi Ping slept until dawn.

He stayed up every night and woke up every morning. He hadn't had such a solid sleep for a long time, and his muscles and bones were stretched.Just as he was about to get out of bed and call the bell to come in to serve him, he was suddenly hit by something.

Xi Ping dazedly fumbled for a while, and pulled out a small kit from under his buttocks, only then remembered that Jiang Li gave him a gift.

The day before yesterday was so magical that he forgot about it.

Unpacking the brocade pouch repeatedly, Xi Ping took out a piece of ruby ​​from the inside. It was not as fine as a blood jade, it was only a tiny bit bigger, and there was no workmanship, so it looked less valuable than the brocade pouch.It's just that the jade is soaked in a faint fragrance, which is as moist as cream, and it looks like a woman has kept it close to her body all year round.

What does it mean to give someone something close to you?Normal people would understand that Xi Ping was a little tired and crooked, and just about to throw it aside, he felt the notch on the other side of the jade.

He turned the jade over casually, and saw that there were small characters engraved on that side: Ning'an Chen's Baishao, Ding Chou on the ninth day of April.

Ning An Chen?Who?

There is not even a flower carved on this jade, so what kind of money is it?Besides, the inscription is mostly the year, month, and occasionally the day, and the hour is not written together, and it is not the birth date...

Wait, birthday horoscope!

Xi Ping woke up suddenly.

No... this is not a signature, this is the birthplace name and date of birth!

There is an old custom in Dawan. The lady in the boudoir hangs a piece of "birthday jade" on her body to keep her warm. If you buy jade, you will give a piece of Dendrobium beads in return, which means "a perfect combination of pearls".

That is to say, the birthday jade engraved with eight characters is about equal to Geng Tie.

It is said that what fell out of Wang Baochang's body was also a piece of birthday jade, and the words of the former Zhao Zunzhang in Zhuang Wang's mansion are still in my ears-write eight characters, and do not accept things similar to Geng Tie!

Xi Ping threw the jade to the foot of the bed, jumped up and slapped his body for a while, as if promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis could prevent him from turning into a zombie.

Overnight, he had almost forgotten Dong Zhang's rotten face, but now he was reminded by the broken stone that was suspected of being a birth jade, and he remembered it again.

He didn't even have a chance to be a son-in-law, so he was about to be robbed to become a ghost son-in-law?After death, he has to be shaved to look at his head!

Is this the fateful way a confidante should have?

No, Xi Ping said in his heart, he must never agree to this marriage!

He didn't even have time to put on his shoes, so he was about to rush out the door, intending to raise his voice and beg the elders in blue to "beat the mandarin ducks with a club".

Hao Zhong was making the bed outside, he was stunned to see his young master spraying guns like salutes, and a half-yawned yawn flew away in fright.

"Master, why..."

Then I saw the young master propping one hand on the door of the guest room, raised his hand solemnly to interrupt him, meditated for a while in this posture, then turned back as if raving, and went back to the inner room.

Xi Ping rushed to the door and suddenly remembered that the jade was given to him by Jiang Li.

Jiang Li wanted to harm him...it didn't make sense.

First, he thought that he was the cutest man in the world, and he absolutely did not believe that any woman would be willing to harm him.

Besides, he was worthy of Jiang Li, and the women's clothes with bare breasts and backs were all worn by the public, and what else could he do if he overwhelmed Quan Jinping's unrepentant female ghost?

If you take ten thousand steps back, even if Jiang Li begs him and doesn't give birth to hatred because of love, then casually pouring a spoonful of rat poison in his wine is enough to kill him eight times, and there is no need to arrange the marriage after him first.

Xi Ping retrieved the red jade through the sweat towel, and wondered—but if Jiang Li didn't want to harm him, then what is this thing?

At this time, Zhao Yu's voice sounded outside the window, and Xi Ping heard the elder ask the bell: "Has your family's eldest son woke up?"

This is Tianji Pavilion, not his house, and it is inconvenient to dawdle too late, so Xi Ping hastily packed the jade, washed it hastily, and came out to meet people.

Zhao Zunzhang received Zhuang Wang's ancient paintings and avoided suspicion in front of people. He treated Xi Ping much more kindly in private. What he meant" Yun Yun, and then handed him a small porcelain bottle: "I heard that Lord Hou has a heart disease, and we had to disturb us late at night yesterday as a last resort. These heart-protecting pills were made by the ancestors of my family in the inner sect. The medicine is mild and mild. , mortals can also use it, take it back to your father for me, and you will come to the door to make amends someday."

Xi Ping accepted the thank you, Zhao Yu laughed again and said, "You are young, calm in the face of major events, calm in heart, maybe you will have a great future in the future."

After Xi Ping listened, he didn't take this talk seriously, and deduced that Mr. Zhao must have been spying on him while he was sleeping yesterday—he could only get the word "quiet" when he was asleep, so he asked: "Mr. I wonder if it's almost washed?"

The smile lines on the corners of Zhao Yu's mouth froze, this prodigal son didn't know whether he had a heart or a lack of heart, he spoke without turning a corner, and said: "Your family background is innocent, and there is no suspicion in the first place, just like you said, we will keep you overnight, but It’s just because you’re afraid that you’ll fall into those evil ways when you don’t know it.”

Xi Ping changed his words in a polite manner: "The elder, is my innocence still there? Is it not dirty?"

Zhao Yu: "..."

"You...you're fine for the time being," Zhao Weichang, after all, has a city mansion, and he insisted on holding his steady Bodhisattva face, and said softly, "Go home first, don't worry your family."

Xi Ping pinched the small porcelain vase given to him by Zhao Zunzun, and thought to himself how rare is the scrap of pickle skin that the third brother gave him that day, so that Tangtang could rush to sell it to him while walking in the world?

He was full of heart and soul, tasted the matter, and felt that the painting given by King Zhuang was more like a sweet handle than a precious gift to Mr. Zhao.So he tentatively said: "But sir, I'm still afraid, you... so what, do you have something that can protect you, can you bring it to me?"

Zhao Yu paused, staring at Xi Ping slightly.

Xi Ping pretended to scratch his head and scratched his head: "I thought that the South Street was full of paper money yesterday, so I didn't dare to go home. Although I cleaned it up, if there are stones, bricks, or other corners, there are still a few pieces hidden in the corners. ? Hey, why don't I go to Zhuang Wang's mansion today to grab a meal..."

His words were interrupted by a paper fan that Zhao Yu handed to him.

The bones of the fan are quite plain, the fan is open, there are auspicious cloud patterns at the four corners, and a monster whose eyes take up more than half of the head is painted in the middle—it is the "embroidery" and "mural painting" in Xiping's house the night before.

As soon as Xi Ping opened the folding fan, the monster on the paper moved by itself.It first scratched the ground with its front paws, made a movement similar to cats and dogs burying excrement, and then ran to the other side of the paper fan!

"What magic weapon is this?"

"This is not a magic weapon. It is the 'karma beast' enshrined in the Tianji Pavilion. According to legend, it is a divine beast under the South Holy Throne. It is jealous of evil." Zhao Yu said, "It can be placed on paper, silk, walls...except for the ground, anywhere there is calligraphy and painting. Shuttle——where there is no painting, you can write a few words with whatever you like. Ordinary evil things will be burned if they encounter Karma Beast. If you encounter the paper money like last night again, you can use a fan to blow it away."

Xi Ping let out a "hey" and put the paper fan into his arms: "Then I won't be polite, thank you sir!"

Zhao Yu didn't bother to talk to him any more, and wanted this kid to get out of here quickly: "If you think of something again, just send someone over and talk about it."

Having said that, Xi Ping remembered the birthstone jade he carried in his bosom, and was about to talk about it, when a blue-clothed pegasus barged in from the front door: "Woo——Brother Zhao, are you all here?"

Before Zhao Yu could answer, Pang Jian walked out from the courtyard wall in response, "You're in a panic, what's the matter?"

Good guy, the legendary wall penetration technique!

Xi Ping stared straight at Pang Jian and forgot his words for a moment—with this ability, if he came home in the middle of the night, he didn't want to drill somewhere, and he would definitely not be cut by his old father blocking the door!

Seeing that Lan Yi turned over and got off the horse, he took out a gaudy paper card from his arms: "Dutong, Senior Brother Zhao, please look at this."

"what?"

Xi Ping glanced at it with his head: "The drunken flower appreciation card?"

"Yes, it's the ticket for the private seat on the last day of the Flower Appreciation Meeting," the blue-clothed half-immortal said, and opened the paper card. The paper card was actually double-layered. , It is a birthday horoscope!

"Let me see it," Pang Jian narrowed his eyes, then turned to ask Xi Ping, "Have you ever touched it?"

"No," Xi Ping shook his head, "I don't need a ticket, I can get in just by face."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Pang Jian satirized him unabashedly, turned his head and looked cold, and ordered, "Boss Zui Liuhua, the madam, and those who are in charge, as well as those who wrote this invitation and bought pen, ink and paper , bring them all back to me, and put them in prison awaiting trial!"

Xi Ping was stunned.

Every kid in Dawan knows about the "Suppression Prison". The urchins grew up listening to "If you are disobedient, people will lock you up in the prison".It is said that it is the place where the evil spirits are locked in the Tianji Pavilion. There are a hundred thousand evil spirits whining in it every night. As long as mortals enter, they will never return.

This... as for?

But apart from him, no one seemed to have any objections.

Zhao Yu asked: "Do you want to seize Zui Liuhua?"

"What are you waiting for if you don't seal it? This kind of dirty place should have been sealed long ago!" Pang Jian pointed at Sang and scolded Huai, then glanced at Xi Ping impatiently. Please go back, or do you have something else?"

Xi Ping had nothing else to do, and he walked away with the wind blowing under his feet.

It wasn't until then that he realized that not everyone could live in the "guest room" of Tianji Pavilion.

Without princes, cousins ​​and concubines and aunts, no matter how big the business is or how popular they are, if they are suspected of evil spirits, they will immediately have to go to prison and wait for their souls to be searched.

Then... not to mention singers and prostitutes like duckweed and weeds.

Xi Ping made up his mind in the blink of an eye, he had to keep the matter of Yu a secret.

Such a sensitive thing at such a sensitive time, the elders must take her to prison if they know it.Just leave that small body, go in and still have a way to survive?

He still doesn't know what happened to the birthday jade, so he can't kill her so hastily.

The prosperity at the Flower Appreciation Fair is like a fire of cooking oil, the prosperity burns the eyes, and then it goes like a gust of wind.The Jinjin Cave the night before, and the Mouse Cave today, once they were shut down, the hozens were all gone, and even the colored silk at the door faded.

It is said that none of the big and small stewards escaped, and all went to the town prison.

As for the girls in the building, because they are all of humble origin, they are not considered human beings, so they haven't been sent to prison together, but they are locked in the building together with the cat and dog Parrot raised by Zui Liuhua, and they are not allowed to move around. To prepare for investigation at any time - this is what Xi Ping found out when he went out to find out after he returned from Tianji Pavilion.

Xi Ping asked, "Where is Jiang Li? Is he also locked up in the building?"

"Miss Jiangli is not here," the bell replied, "It's a coincidence that she just left Nancheng early in the morning."

"What did she do out of Nancheng?"

"It is said that I burned a stick of incense to make a wish in the Nansheng Temple before, and it really worked. Didn't I get the camellia crown? So I went to fulfill the wish today."

Xi Ping was almost overwhelmed after hearing this—"Nansheng Temple" is more than ten miles south of Jinping City. According to legend, it is the place where the founder of the Xuanyin School of State Religion, Nansheng Xianzun, ascended.Then Xuanyin Mountain almost wrote "men and women can't get married" into the sky, and someone went to Nansheng Temple to ask for a camellia crown!

Xi Ping: "Ling ass! If it is really Ling, Nansheng and his old man would have cooked her up! What did she think?"

The bell then said: "Master, why don't I meet her on the way? Let Miss Jiangli find a place to hide, don't come back now, you see what happened to Zui Liuhua..."

"That's fine," Xi Ping nodded hesitantly, "Well, you can ask her for me when you see her, she gave it to me yesterday..."

He stopped talking when he said this, and didn't say anything for a while.

After waiting for the bell for a long time, I couldn't help asking: "What did she give you yesterday?"

"Forget it, you don't have to worry about it, I'll go on my own." Xi Ping glanced at the sky, now he's leaving the city, and he will be back before dark, so he stepped into his riding boots, "Close the windows and doors for me. When my father and the others asked, they said that I didn't sleep well in Tianji Pavilion, and I needed to make up for it."

"No, young master... Hey, young master!" Hao Zhong's tiny facial features wrinkled into a mess, Xi Ping ran away again before he had time to protest.

Good son, you really have extra legs.

Although Xi Ping didn't believe that Jiang Li was going to kill him, but she gave him such a thing at this time, it was hard not to make people think: both Wang Baochang and Dong Zhang had their attacks after meeting him, and the reason for the accident happened to be drunk. Liuhua, who gave him a piece of birth jade as a gift for no reason, happened to be out of the city at this time, avoiding the inspection of Zui Liuhua.

If it's all a coincidence, it's too many coincidences.

It was an ordinary person who saw Dong Zhang's death with his own eyes, and was involved in such a weird thing, so he had already handed over the birthday jade to Tianji Pavilion.

However, the son of the world has made great achievements in the journey of death, and has always been unwilling to follow common sense.

He decided not to say anything, and went to find Jiangli by himself, and asked about the ins and outs of this piece of jade.

Even if there is something wrong with this thing, the last two deaths were late at night, as long as he can come back before dark, there is still time to go to Tianji Pavilion to call for help.If there is no problem with this jade, because he wrote an extra date of birth on it, he would fill the shit with a live girl into the town prison. Is that what a person with eggs did?

Just like that, Xi Ping left Nancheng alone with eight catties of courage and his own reasons.

Going out from the South City Gate is the Grand Canal. Along the canal, apart from the shabby migrant workers' houses, there are smoky factories. The lighters inside are "humming" day and night, and there is a layer of water floating near the shore. Green oil, fishy smelly.

Along the river, there are peddlers selling mixed noodle cakes, and the peddlers are yelling "one penny and two cents" half-deadly. The shirtless laborers squat on the bank, gnawing on the salty smell coming up from the sewage.

Everywhere is smoky, but the "Pilgrimage Road" on the Nanshan Mountain is spotless.

On both sides of the mountain road leading to Nansheng Temple, there are white marble railings, as tall as a person, and the carvings are not auspicious animals and auspicious clouds, but inscriptions on dust removal and pollution.The light green bizhang Lingshi is embedded under the railing, lingering with the rare spring scenery outside the south city, like a fairy road that has accidentally fallen into the mortal world.

Xi Ping covered his nose as soon as he got out of the city gate, puffed up his chest and took a long breath. He didn't open his nostrils to breathe until he galloped on the pilgrimage road.

If you want to go to Nansheng Temple, you have to take the pilgrimage road every time you go back and forth. Even if the time is approaching, it is time to go back, and you will meet on the way.Lao Zhang, the coachman who is about to leave, is a hunchback. He is so special that he can be seen two miles away. At this moment, there are not many people on the road, so he will definitely not miss it.

Unexpectedly, Xi Ping ran all the way to the foot of Nanshengmiao Mountain, but he didn't see Jiang Li.

By this time the sun had begun to set in the west.It was neither the New Year nor the festival, and it was not the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. There were not many pilgrims in Nansheng Temple, and there were only a few carriages and horses in the Luoma Pavilion outside the temple. Xi Ping asked around, but he said that he had never seen Zhang Tuozi.

He couldn't help muttering: Is the dog on the bell reliable?

At this time, someone next to him continued to say: "The hunchback coachman? I saw you, but you didn't stay in the Luoma Pavilion."

When Xi Ping turned his head, he saw not far from the tea shop, an old man was setting up an ox cart, ready to close the stall.

The old man muttered while working: "It's that guy with a bent back than me. After shopping, he went south and didn't come back."

Xi Ping: "What did you buy?"

"Flowers," the old man clasped his hands together, and gestured towards Xi Ping, "I brought so many white flowers today, I still don't think I can sell them, so I'll let someone make them round. People from the spring have guests today."

People under the spring...

Xi Ping was taken aback, and looked south in the direction of the old man's finger—it was the direction of "An Le Township" in the south of the city.

"An Le Township" is a cemetery, which is decently repaired, and there are people guarding it every day, but it is not a serious cemetery, and most of the tombstones are engraved with pseudonyms-the missing maid beside the prince and grandson, the daughter who committed suicide out of integrity, the noble man's mansion The concubines carried out from the upper corner gate, the "famous flowers" that withered on both sides of the boat...these people who can't see the light and keep the name, have to go here after leaving the three worlds.

Jiangli lied about going to Nansheng Temple to fulfill his vow, but actually went to Anle Township to go to the grave secretly?

Xi Ping found out from the old flower seller that they hadn't come back yet, so he hurried his horse to Anle Township.

He doesn't shy away from the dead, and An Le Township has nothing to be afraid of.Although it is a cemetery, it has long been a scene in Jinping. Every year during Qingming and Cold Clothes Festival, there are idle sons and brothers going to Anle Township to burn paper together.These people are not empty-handed, and they have to leave some calligraphy when they come, so all kinds of nonsense eulogies are plastered on the old Huai cypress, like psoriasis, and even a little bit of yin is disgusted.

When Xi Ping arrived in Anle Township, there was a fog in the woods.He stopped the horse, and the horse snorted, and its front hooves kept beating back on the ground.

Animals are always very sensitive to the place where the corpse is buried, Xi Ping didn't care, and called out to the gravekeeper: "Is Master Liu there?"

The sixth master is a widowed and lonely old man who guards the tomb. He lives in a small hut outside Anle Township. He receives twenty catties of millet and half a penny a month.

At this moment, the chicken didn't know where it went, and only the old man leaned forward to loosen the soil for his vegetable field.

It may be because of his age, but his digging movements are extremely heavy, like a machine that is about to rust at any time.

"Hey, old man, take a break." Xi Ping casually took out a piece of silver from his pocket, stretched out his hand, flicked it, and threw it into Liu Ye's small courtyard, "Just to ask, is anyone here today?"

Sixth Master stared at the silver beads that fell to his feet, paused, and nodded slowly.

Xi Ping: "A big girl, the driver is a hunchback, right? Are you leaving?"

"Yeah," Sixth Master might have been confused and struggled to speak, "Yeah" after a long time, and then popped out two words, "I didn't leave."

"Okay... hey, by the way, do you know who they came to pay homage to?"

The old man who guarded the tomb was deaf. Xi Ping asked him twice, but he didn't hear him, he was only obsessed with digging.

"Tsk, old man." Xi Ping lost his patience, seeing that it was getting late, he stopped talking nonsense with the old man, and urged his horse into the woods.

Strange to say, his horse was reluctant to go into the woods in every possible way before, but now without the master's urging, as soon as the rein was loosened, it galloped in.

The fog was getting thicker and thicker, and the horses and men who rushed into the forest quickly disappeared, as if swallowed by the fog.

Then a thick mist came out of the woods and surrounded the gravekeeper's hut.

The lone cemetery keeper tapped the smelly soil with a rake, and with a "pop", something fell into the pit on his face, landed in the soil and rolled out...

Not sweat, but a cloudy eye.

The old man was still waving the rake again and again, without realizing it.