Daming's Bizarre Story: Painted Skin

In the cold night, the fine wind blows back and forth, passing through the wall and veranda, making bursts of dilapidated sounds, like a leak in the sky.

The faint noise coming from a distance was not so real, Madam Li asked leisurely: "Are you curious about why I can change my face?"

Change face?Zhaoran thought that maybe it meant the same thing as changing the skin, so he nodded: "Yes."

Mrs. Li put down the handkerchief in her hand, turned around and said, "Because my face is like this."

Suddenly seeing a face, Zhao Ran yelled in fright, stepped back a few steps, the color of the face may be light or light, but nothing more than red lips and white teeth, black pupils and black eyebrows, but the face in front of him was completely blank.

If it weren't for Zhaoran, other people would have fainted from fright when they suddenly saw this face, but fortunately Zhaoran himself will crawl out of the grave too, if you say it's weird, it's indistinguishable from Mrs. Li.

He stabilized his mind, and said: "Mrs. Li deliberately left a human skin in the princess's sedan chair, pretending to be dead, and then pretending to be Mrs. Li. Mrs. Li covered up two facts, you are still alive... and Mrs. Li died gone."

Mrs. Li smiled: "Miss is really a bold person. Of the people who have seen my true face in the world today, you and Tan Ning have the least gaffes. It's a pity that the time is not right, otherwise we may become close friends and we don't know. .”

Zhao Ran laughed sarcastically: "No, Mrs. Li is so bold and witty, how dare my little girl climb over her."

Mrs. Li picked up the comb and gently combed her hair, saying: "Once upon a time there was a nameless flower that stood in the mud and was looked down upon by people. One day a person stood by the mud and said, "This flower is so beautiful, so The flower was folded at the waist and let the man pick it in his hand..."

Her voice weighed on people's heartstrings, and it was like falling snowdrops, alluring and cold: "Time is like an arrow, a white horse flies by, and a rabbit flies away, but no matter how fast time goes by, it can't be faster than people's hearts repeat. Although the flowers are bent, The flower pickers may not walk a few steps before they get tired of the flower and throw it back into the mud."

"Madam Li is not a nameless flower to be discarded." Zhao Ran said.

Mrs. Li put down the comb in her hand and smiled lightly, as if she said exactly what was in his heart: "The girl wants to say that I am a piranha."

Zhao Ran asked: "Then the concubines who died in Li's house were also killed by Madam?"

Mrs. Li said indifferently: "It's just a few water-based flowers, and they will die when they die, why is it surprising?"

Clearly said: "If Madam intends to kill all the concubines, why take them to show their face in front of the princess, wouldn't it be better to let them die silently?"

Mrs. Li answered irrelevantly: "How do people know what will happen tomorrow?"

Zhao Ran frowned and said, "Those concubines should not be killed by Madam, but Master Li, so Madam took the remaining two concubines to see the princess, not to kill them, but to... Protect them, right?"

Mrs. Li asked without answering: "You are so interested in these trivial matters, but I am not curious at all?"

There were many questions in Zhaoran's mind, and suddenly the picture of Zhou Wang's banquet flashed across, in which there was a faceless man, he thought it was not well drawn, but when he thought of this, he asked, "Could it be that Mrs. Li... is also calm?" Did you come out of the village?"

Mrs. Li said "Oh", "So you also know about Ronghou Village?"

"A few days ago, there was a monster in Rongjiazhuang, and I also heard it from people." Zhao Ran asked, "Is Mrs. Li from Rongjiazhuang?"

"No." Mrs. Li shook her head slightly, "I'm a southerner, and I've been in the homeless troupe since I was born. My real name is Wuse, and I changed my name to Huang Shanshan when I met Tan Ning. But I did move here to accommodate the village. from somewhere."

"For...human skin?"

Although Mrs. Li can put on makeup every day, it is not convenient to put on a piece of human skin after all.

"You know that too?" Mrs. Li asked in surprise.

Zhao Ran had no choice but to be vague, and asked: "I heard the news from a person who is acquainted with Rong's Village. Madam has been to Rong's Village, have you ever heard of Rong Xian?"

Mrs. Li shook her head lightly, and then asked plainly: "Have you ever seen a picture of King Zhou's banquet?"

Mrs. Li still shook her head, she obviously couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, and asked again: "Then when Mrs. Li was in her hometown, did you ever hear the stories about King Zhou's banquets and other people's feudal lords?"

"Of course I've heard of it." Mrs. Li smiled slightly. Although she didn't show any expression on her face, her voice was very pleasant. "Although my parents fear me like a snake, my grandfather likes me very much. When he was young, he He often hugged me and sat in the ancestral hall at home and told those stories. He said that I was the real familyless person, because the family ancestor was a faceless person who was good at painting all kinds of faces. Seal your face and wait."

"Actors, opera sons, royal generals, gifted scholars and beauties, there are more than a thousand faces on the stage, and they probably live up to these three words." Mrs. Li lightly rolled up her hair. Although her face was colorless, she was infinitely charming. , "But my grandfather never called us aliens, only that we were survivors."

"The bereaved family?" Zhao Ran asked, "Where did the bereaved family come from?"

Mrs. Li shook her head: "Baimianhou's Ronghou Village has been annihilated for many years, and these legends have long since ceased to exist in the homeless class. I only heard about them from my grandfather. Unfortunately, when I was young I like to listen to stories about gifted scholars and beauties, so my grandfather didn’t pay attention to what he said.”

She spoke with a sense of loss, as if she was recalling the past, recalling the time when she met Li Tanning on the stage and made love at first glance. After ten years of wandering, looking back on the past, she suddenly felt that the gifted scholars and beautiful ladies were still in a dream.

"Why didn't Madam leave?" Zhao Ran couldn't help asking.

Mrs. Li came back to her senses, her face was blank, but Zhao Ran clearly saw her pursing her lips and smiling slightly: "Because you don't have to go!"

Zhaoran was taken aback for a moment, but saw Mrs. Li throwing herself towards him as soon as Madam Li moved. In front of her was a long-sleeved and broad gown, with black hair and white face, like a doll without coloring. Her slender fingers raised towards Zhaoran's neck. Come.

Zhao Ran didn't even have time to yell, but felt a gust of wind blowing from behind him, and someone across from him slapped Madam Li, Madam Li was immediately sent flying, and fell heavily to the ground.

Even so, Zhaoran still raised his hand and couldn't help but touch the neck that was almost cut off just now. Although his neck was broken, he might not die, but there was still a chill on his back.

He turned his head and saw a scholar stepping in from the threshold behind him, it was Jiu Ru.

"Don't kill her yet!" Zhao Ran hurriedly stopped Jiu Ru, fearing that this little Buddha would kill Mrs. Li and subdue the demon in a fit of excitement, and he still had a lot of questions to ask.

Mrs. Li lay on the ground and chanted softly: "From the past to the present, there are so many stories in the period. There are very few talented people, but there are also gods and ghosts, which are too trivial to watch. It's just that it doesn't matter about the weathered body, even if it's good, it's in vain. Talk about legends It's easy to make people happy, but difficult to move people... When people get old, the stars are not the same, and the spring is the same every year." The last sentence is barely audible.

Zhao Ran's complexion changed: "Not good!" He hurriedly jumped onto the stage, and before he got close to Mrs. Li, he was pulled back by the people behind him. In an instant, a ball of fire ignited on the stage, and Mrs. Li's whole body was on fire. .

In an instant, the colorless Mrs. Li became... black.

But after a while, Mrs. Li was burnt to charred bones, but her upper and lower jaw moved, as if she was still alive, she was so frightened that she couldn't help shaking her upper and lower jaw.

Jiuru stepped onto the stage and looked down at the charred bones from top to bottom. He was wearing white clothes on top, his fingers stretched out through the firelight, and he grasped its pharyngeal bone. Turned into fly ash.

Zhaoran involuntarily touched his throat again, swallowed his saliva, and breathed a sigh of relief again.

----

Footsteps came from behind, Wen Zhigeng strode in, looked at the fire on the stage and frowned, "Who is this?"

"Master Wen, what did you find on the tower?" Zhao Ran asked back.

Wen Zhigeng glanced at him, and said coldly: "Of course it's Li Mo, a rebellious son!"

Zhao Ran seemed to have figured something out, and grinned: "This is the adult's dog slave!"

"What did you say?!" Wen Zhigeng was shocked and angry.

Jiu Rudao: "This is Mrs. Li, the person we see is always Mrs. Li."

Zhaoran clicked his lips, thinking that Jiuru is really boring.

"How is it possible? I obviously caught Li Mo on the clock tower, and he died by himself!" He was at a loss in the case of No Lamp Alley, but he is not a fool after all, "Ms. Li pretending to be Mrs. Li... "

Zhao Ran ignored him, but walked over to look at the human-shaped black gray and murmured: "What is she doing here?" This is a deep house, if Mrs. Li finds that Wen Zhigeng is approaching Li's house with Jin Yiwei In a hurry, she changed herself into a dog slave and made her loyal servant into Li Mo, but even if she was sure that her loyal servant could deceive Wen Zhigeng, she should seek a way out as soon as possible.

Wen Zhigeng sneered: "I'm afraid she thinks she can cheat the world."

After he finished speaking, he saw that Zhaoran didn't seem to pay any attention to him at all, so he couldn't help feeling a little annoyed. He saw Zhaoran jumped onto the stage, picked up the charred wood next to him and pulled it out, and said, "There are marbles underneath!"

Wen Zhigeng's heart moved, he turned his head and said sharply: "Go and shovel away that stone, be careful what's hidden underneath!"

Jin Yiwei worked together, and it still took some effort to pry open the whole block of marble, revealing a square stone cave inside, in which there was only a black jade-inlaid box about a foot wide.

Wen Zhigeng took the box in his hand, checked it repeatedly, but found no mechanism hidden lock, he opened the box carefully.

It was just dawn at this time, when Wen Zhigeng saw the contents of the box clearly, even if he was usually cruel and murderous, he couldn't help loosening his fingers, and the box fell to the ground.

The mountain wind was a bit strong, and the things inside were blown to a corner of the stage pillars. Under the first ray of morning sun in the morning, they looked like human skin.

——The human skin of Li Mo, Li Tanning's newly-appointed Supervisory Censor of Henan Province, Mr. Li.

When she looked back on the stage, she saw that there was a young scholar in the audience, with clear eyes, green bamboos and green bamboos, like a gentleman stealing jade, she was moved by one side. , she fell in love with this person after all.

Therefore, even though she killed him, she hid his human skin deep on the stage. When the catastrophe was imminent, she still refused to leave alone, and still wanted to venture back here.

Wen Zhigeng gritted his teeth and said, "What a poisonous woman!"

Zhaoran climbed up to the stage, took off the human skin from the pillar, lit a candle, and said to Mrs. Li's black ashes on the ground: "Since you like this thing, take it with you on the road."

"You are so courageous, quickly put down the evidence!" Wen Zhigeng shouted.

Zhaoran held the burning human skin and handed it over in surprise, "Could it be that Mr. Li's human skin, Mr. Wen, you also like?"

"You..." Wen Zhigeng became angry.

Zhao Ran breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew his hand: "If Mr. Wen doesn't like it, then give it to someone who likes it." After speaking, he threw the human skin into Mrs. Li's black ash, and the human skin disappeared after three swipes. Burned to ashes.

Now, even if Wen Zhigeng had an opinion, it would be all right.

----

Zhao Ran came out of the mansion and saw that the gate of Li's mansion was full of people early in the morning, some carrying burdens, some carrying cages whispering there, Wen Zhigeng was in a bad mood at first, frowned and shouted: "This is doing something. What?"

Jin Yiwei stepped forward and said: "Last night at dusk, Li's mansion ordered people from Wudeng Lane to go out of the city to catch fish. They said it was one tael of silver per catty."

The leading civilian came over with a handwritten contract: "Master Li also wrote a contract for us, agreeing to pay the money and deliver the goods."

Zhaoran thought that Mrs. Li must be afraid that when Jin Yiwei attacked Li's house, it would bring disaster to the neighbors, so she paid off the people in Wudeng Lane in advance. No wonder there was so much trouble in the Li Mansion last night, the Lane without Lights was like a dead end, no one came out to visit.

The leading commoner said: "Master Guan, Master Li has lived in our alley for ten years, but he is a very kind person. I don't know what kind of law he committed?"

Wen Zhigeng sneered a few times: "What law did he commit? He committed the crime of treason. You have been on the street with him for ten years and no one has reported it. I am afraid that they are already colluding. Take them all down. Check if there is any evidence." No treason."

Obviously, he had seen Wen Zhigeng's ability to turn black and white, so he had no choice but to pull the sleeve of Wang Zeng next to him.

Wang Zeng thought for a while and said: "Master Wen, Rong'an is a small town, and there are hundreds of people in Wudeng Lane. They are all arrested, and the town prison can't accommodate them. I think they are all ignorant people. Let’s forget about the punishment.”

"Okay, since the son-in-law said so, let's be lenient, small punishments and big punishments... then each household will receive ten sticks." After finishing speaking, he walked away.

Zhaoran looked at Wen Zhigeng's back and couldn't help grinding his teeth, wondering if his father hadn't given him bones since he was a child, and he would bite people twice when he grew up.

----

There is no such thing as a son-in-law's mansion here. Wang Zeng went back to the mansion, and everyone got on the horse.

Zhao Ran turned his head and took a look at the Li Mansion, but he didn't see where Jiuru had gone, but he saw Jin Yiwei tossing around inside, and he was going to tear down the Li Mansion.

"What exactly is Master Wen looking for?"

Wang Zeng glanced at him, and his words were warning: "You are too curious, and Wen Zhigeng has nowhere to escape if you provoke him. He has a dog slave who is very good at tracking."

Zhao Ran chuckled, Mrs. Li would choose the dog slave to impersonate, but she knew two things: first, she had seen the dog slave before, and second, she was absolutely sure that the dog slave would not appear by Wen Zhigeng's side.If these two things were added together, then the dog slave probably told her to kill him, so Mrs. Li could be sure of it. "

The dog slave was killed, how could Zhao Ran be unhappy.

Hearing his treacherous laugh, Wang Zeng said, "What did you think of?"

Zhao Ran turned around and asked, "Master Consort, do you want to know where the thing Mr. Wen is looking for is?"

Wang Zeng narrowed his eyes, stared at the back of Zhao Ran's head and said, "Could it be that you know where it is?"

"The Li family killed four or five concubines in a row... But Mrs. Li is obviously a kind person, so she shouldn't have killed the concubine." Zhao Ran said, "As for Mrs. Li, the person she would like is gone. He should not be a bloodthirsty person, so there is a reason for him to kill his concubine."

"He hid things in batches in the coffins of the concubines." Wang Zeng came to his senses immediately.

"My son-in-law is wise and generous!" Zhao Ran said.

Wang Zeng glanced at him: "It's logical for you to praise me for being wise and powerful. How can you keep up with me?"

Zhao Ran giggled and said: "That's because I know that I have won the credit for the son-in-law. A wise and generous person like the son-in-law will definitely not be stingy in rewarding the servant girl."

Wang Zeng said: "Okay, you don't know your origin, it's really not easy to get a concubine letter, you have to figure it out slowly, and wait for me to get you another household post first."

Zhao Ran wondered who would want your concubine's book, so he hurriedly said, "Then why don't you give me two taels of silver?"

Wang Zeng said in a deep voice, "Is this marquis' concubine worth only a few taels of silver?"

Hearing Wang Zeng's displeasure, he shut up sensibly, but in his heart he thought that it would turn into gold?

----

He tossed and tossed for another night, and fell asleep until evening. Before he had eaten two bites of the ham elbow, Wang Zeng had already opened the curtain and came in, saying: "The coffins of the concubines of the Li family have been found."

Zhao Ran immediately jumped up from the chair and said, "Let's go!"

Li Mo killed five concubines, what was hidden in the coffin, he was clearly curious.

Probably in order to avoid Wen Zhigeng's eyes and ears, Wang Zeng didn't ask people to bring the coffin into the post station, but found a nearby Yizhuang to store it.

The Yizhuang was quiet at night, the guards stood in the courtyard without even holding the torches, they stepped in clearly, seeing the figures inside, under the bleak wind and cold moon, it really made the hair on the back.

"Young Master, put it all inside."

Wang Zeng nodded, and went straight into the inner hall without saying a word, Zhao Ran hurriedly followed, poked his head from behind Wang Zeng, and saw five black lacquered thin-skin coffins neatly placed inside, from new to old.

The concubine is just a thing, and the burial is treated lightly. The Li family is the richest man in Rong'an Town. The coffin for the concubine is not much better. Compared with the ordinary white leather coffin, it is also painted with a layer of paint.

Even if such a coffin is dug and opened, there will be no funerary goods inside, so no one will think about it at all.

"Open!" Wang Zeng ordered.