Zhu Lan is dead

After hearing Falan Daoming's reason, Yu Changqi realized that the old host Huiru was a money-grubbing, lustful wine and meat man when he was young. He was originally a soldier in the Zhennan Army barracks. The former abbot of the Puxiang Temple in the south was rescued and returned. Later, after the old abbot passed away, he became the abbot of this Puxiang Temple for some reason.

Because this Puxiang Temple is a national temple, it is respected by people, and its incense is at its peak every year. Seeing this carefree life, worrying about food and clothing, Huiru stayed to be the host and colluded with the local government. , Take in some deserters from time to time and let them do some business for him.

However, the emperor of this dynasty does not believe in Buddhism, and since no one really manages this remote area, a bunch of "bandits" are raised here on the mountain, and they eat and sit alone. Let them turn a blind eye and close one eye to not care about it.

Although Falan is impatient and rude, he is also righteous. Ever since he came to this temple, he couldn't get used to these fake monks who were like bandits. He wanted to eradicate these evils for Puxiang Temple, but Because he had no power, no power, and nothing he could do, until he heard that Yu Changqi was coming, he said this with the mentality of giving it a try, and things took a turn for the better.

"Can those people be dealt with?" Yu Changqi suddenly asked Jin Yuanyi.

Jin Yuanyi said: "All of them have been captured, even the host has admitted his guilt, it's just..."

"Just what?"

"It's just that I interrogated the host several times, but he still refused to reveal the whereabouts of the treasure scroll."

Jin Yuanyi said that they have been staying in Lincheng County for more than a month now. Although they have solved the big phenomenon of local corruption and bribery, they originally wanted to find the reason for the whereabouts of the treasure scroll, but they have not found anything so far. Your Majesty Although he didn't make a clear statement about the prince's trip this time, those courtiers were different, and they got nothing after such a long time. This was clearly to provide reasons for those courtiers to continue to block them.

Yu Changqi naturally knew in his heart who made the treasure scroll. He has been in contact with Ye Fan for so long, but he has never understood his identity and origin. This person could have directly stated in whose hands the treasure scroll was held, and by doing so, the death penalty might be reduced when he was taken to the capital for trial. It was as simple as Ye Fan threatened him.

Who is still manipulating everything behind the scenes?

There were some bad thoughts in his heart, and Yu Changqi was a little helpless. He felt that he might be in a quagmire, and he might not get rid of the relationship with Ye Fanji so easily before some things came to light. Entangled.

*

"After staying for such a long time, shouldn't it be time to return to Beijing?" A Yan sat in the yard, picking out the medicinal herbs that were spread out, and said to Jin Yuanyi who was standing beside him basking in the sun.

They originally planned to return to Beijing after the end of the day. The affairs of the Puxiang Temple have been taken care of, and those people who are affected by the so-called plague will be decocted by Falan. Breaking the rumors, the streets of Lincheng County have become lively again in the past few days, wine shops and restaurants have opened one after another, and each household has helped each other treat patients suffering from cold and fever.

Lincheng County has changed from the previous desolate and decadent scene, and restored the harmony and tranquility of the past. Originally, it was going back to Beijing this time. Regardless of whether the treasure scroll was found or not, it was always going back to Beijing to give His Majesty an explanation.

What's more, Yu Changqi is an important minister of the dynasty, so it's not appropriate to stay outside for too long. It's a pity that those people said that a festival will be held in three days to eliminate the bad luck in the city for these years. , After all, he wanted to keep them to celebrate together, and the young master Zhou Suyun heard that there was a puppet show performed by a stranger. He grew up in the palace, so it was inevitable that he would be a bit novel about these things, so Yu Changqi simply agreed.

"My lord said that I'll be back tomorrow. Tonight, the people in the city will be holding a ceremony to wash away evil spirits. The young master has never seen it before. Now he is already clamoring for the lord to take him to the street!" Jin Yuanyi said bored.

"Young master is young and ignorant, the prince actually let him do whatever he wants, it's just a ceremony, what's the fun in it?"

Jin Yuanyi glanced at Ayan when he heard the words, and said with disdain: "I don't know who is letting him do things all day long, hugging him in his arms and pampering him, he has no manliness at all!"

A Yan tilted her head and squinted over, "You're the only one who is manly, basking in the sun, why don't you come and help me? Virtue!"

"..." Jin Yuanyi didn't bother to chat with her any more, and walked over slowly, playing with the medicinal herbs that were spread out.

Suddenly, A Yan remembered something and said, "Hey? Why haven't you seen that kid these days?"

"What do you mean by Ye Fan?"

A Yan nodded, since he disappeared that night, Ye Fan has not been seen for a few days in a row. Although it is not surprising that the child disappeared, he was brought back from the outside by the prince, and he might be used to wandering outside. , had left a long time ago, but these few days even the prince never mentioned him at all. If Zhou Suyun hadn't always read Ye Fanji's name, she really thought that this person didn't exist at all.

Jin Yuanyi heard the words, but he didn't take it seriously and said: "Maybe he went to beg for food again, I think that kid is bored, he looks like he can't see through his smile, he doesn't look like a good guy at first glance, cut it open It must be black, it would be better to disappear now, nothing has been done, if he dares to come back, he will definitely beat him to the teeth!"

Ayan rolled her eyes speechlessly, "I finally understand why the young master would rather get close to a stranger than you!"

After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked into the house with a pile of medicinal materials, leaving Jin Yuanyi with a puzzled expression on his face.

*

At three o'clock in the morning, the weather in autumn is chilly, and after the sun goes down, the chill will increase for no reason. In the past, it gets dark early, and the streets and alleys in the city are quiet, but today is different from the past. Lincheng County The lights in the courtyard are brightly lit, and the streets and alleys are full of laughter.

Many vendors directly set up their stalls on the street, and they pulled up countless bright lights in the air. The orange light dispelled the cold in the night, and the crowd was bustling. There were jugglers performing on the street at this time of year.

"This is more lively than the Shangyuan Festival in the capital!" Zhou Suyun looked around, his big eyes like water grapes alluded to the excitement and festivities of this small town, and his small hands clenched uneasily, as if wanting to touch those Something never seen before.

Yu Changqi led him through the streets and alleys. The figures, one big and one small, looked inexplicably warm, and the frosty eyebrows and eyes in the past seemed to be infected by the atmosphere. He smiled slightly and said, "If you like, I will It’s just to have fun with you, but I won’t have it when I go back.”

Emperor Zhou had always advocated simplicity and diligence. Banquets or festivals held in the capital would be kept simple unless there were special reasons. With such limitations, the festivals in the capital would not be as lively as other places.

Hearing this, Zhou Suyun pouted quite dissatisfiedly: "Little uncle, can you stop being so disappointing, I will lose my interest in a while!"

Yu Changqi smiled: "I won't talk anymore, just enjoy yourself!"

Before the words were finished, a group of pedestrians suddenly boiled up and ran towards a place not far away. Zhou Suyun immediately grabbed Yu Changqi's sleeve and ran forward together with the pedestrians.

Amidst the crowds, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in the crowd, Yu Changqi was startled, and then looked around, but in an instant, the light and shadow were inseparable, and when he was looking for it, it had already disappeared.

At this very moment, the little hand holding his sleeve disappeared, as if being sucked into the depths by the crowd, Yu Changqi felt bad for a while, and immediately walked forward with the crowd.

Until the door of a puppet show performance, there are a lot of people coming and going. Two big orange lanterns and a plaque without words are hung in front of the eaves.

In front of the door there was a waiter seeing the guests back and forth, seeing Yu Changqi Jiu standing in front of the door and not getting up, he came up and asked: "Guest officer, do you want to go in and have a look, this puppet trick is performed for the first time today, no compensation will be charged!"

Remembering that Zhou Suyun came here excitedly because he heard about the puppet show, if others came here with the flow of people, it might not be impossible. Thinking this way, he paused and walked in.

Bypassing the high wall in front of the hall, there is a large open-air circular patio-like courtyard in the middle. There are green bonsai in the courtyard, and dozens of bright lights are hanging from the sky around it, reflecting the whole courtyard as if it were daytime, and it is located in the center of the courtyard. There are also viewing seats set up with dozens of rows of high-back chairs, about five or six feet away from the main performance stage.

At this time, there were no empty seats here, and the entire auditorium was filled with figures, whispering to each other, as if talking about the performance with great interest.

Yu Changqi stood not far away and glanced around, and found that Zhou Suyun was not there. When he turned around and was about to leave, a man who seemed to be in charge of the place came over, with kind eyebrows and kind eyes, and said with a smile: "Since the guest officer is here, how about you?" Why do you have to go, why don't you stay and see!"

Yu Changqi just waved his hand, not wanting to be entangled, at this moment a soft child's voice accompanied by a figure rushed into Yu Changqi's arms, his movements suddenly stopped, Yu Changqi looked down and saw Zhou Suyun hugged his waist and looked at him with a smile.

"Little uncle, you are here, I have been waiting for you here for a long time!"

Yu Changqi frowned: "When did you come here, how can you leave without authorization?"

Zhou Suyun curled his lips, but the man in charge said: "I just brought him in when I saw him wandering in front of the door. Don't blame the guest officer. Since he is here, let's take the child to appreciate it." Well, it’s just a trick anyway, it won’t take too long!”

Hearing this, Yu Changqi lowered his head, only to see Zhou Suyun blinking his long eyelashes and pretending to be pitiful at him, sighed helplessly, and said, "Forget it, I brought you here according to your wish."

As soon as the manager saw that Yu Changqi agreed, he led them to sit on the seats far from the right side of the stage.

"The guest officer is surprised, there are really too many people here, there is only one seat left here, you will make it!"

"It's okay." Yu Changqi nodded, and after the man in charge left, the lights above his head were extinguished one by one, and finally there was only one light left in the center of the stage for people to see the changes on the stage.

A one-foot-high screen was set up on the stage, and two splints were exposed underneath, which were used to manipulate puppets.

A bell rang from nowhere, and at this moment two figures in long clothes appeared in front of the screen. The two figures looked like ordinary people, all decorated with clothing materials, and their every move was vivid.

That is the puppet manipulated by Yanshi in the puppet show, drawn by the people behind the screen with silk threads, pitching up and down, nodding to the rhythm of the song, and holding the hand to dance to the festival, ever-changing, just as you want.

What was staged seemed to be a scene of parting. From time to time there were voices from behind the scenes to match the behavior of the puppets. At this time, the atmosphere was strong, and there were cheers from time to time. The snacks at the table didn't stop talking, but just watched the performance on the stage with a pair of big eyes.