Tang riddles

"I don't know why Erlang is looking for me?" Zhang Ruohan asked after Wu Ya served tea.

[I came here today to apologize on behalf of my brother. My brother offended Mrs. Zhang, felt uneasy, and felt ashamed to look for Mrs. Zhang again, so I had to come here on my behalf.My brother is reckless, but he has no malicious intentions, and he still hopes that Mrs. Zhang will be happy. 】

Zhang Ruohan smiled lightly, as if the previous incident had passed away for her and she didn't care much.Just said:

"How could Ruohan not understand Dalang's personality, so he wouldn't blame him. I'm afraid that Dalang came here in such a hurry at that time, he had something to discuss with Ruohan."

[Ms. Zhang San is really smart.That's right, my brother met Mr. Zhang Daoji on the boat at that time, and San Niangzi was also present at the beginning.After San Niangzi left, Mr. Zhang proposed marriage to his brother...]

"Marriage? Who's with whom?" Zhang Ruohan's smile faded, and she lowered her eyes, as if she asked on purpose.

[Naturally, it belongs to the third lady and her brother. Zhang Gong loves her brother very much and hopes to promote the marriage between her brother and Mrs. Zhang.My brother really has no choice but to refuse, so I accept it for the time being.Afterwards, he wanted to find Mrs. Zhang San to discuss this matter.What my brother means is, don't misunderstand Mrs. Zhang, he has absolutely no wrong thoughts about Mrs. Zhang.If Zhang Gong came to find his wife to talk about this matter in the future, it would be better for the third lady to have a mental preparation in advance. 】

Zhang Ruohan smiled again, and said:

"Ruohan understands, it's Ruohan's fault for Erlang to come and tell me."

[What does San Niangzi say? Since San Niangzi has become Jinlan brother and sister with her brother and is older than me, she is also my elder sister.I don't want to see Mrs. Zhang San misunderstand my brother. 】

"Actually, if Erlang doesn't make this trip, Ruohan won't misunderstand. I understand Dalang's thoughts, why would he want to marry me. Ruohan is old and has passed the marriageable age. With my temperament, I am afraid No man would like it." Zhang Ruohan said this rather lonely, but her tone was still indifferent.

Shen Jin was sweating, so, sister Lianmai misunderstood another aspect, her sister has never disliked Sister Lianmai, even if she became Shen Sui, she would never let Shen Sui This character was also misunderstood as unwilling to marry the lotus maid sister.But how to explain this, could it be said that "my brother actually loves Mrs. Zhang San very much and wants to marry Mrs. Zhang very much"?Then why did she have to make this trip today? It's better not to explain, just let Sister Lian Maid misunderstand.

【Third Lady, please don't think like this. The third lady is only virtuous because of her appearance. Only the third lady doesn't want to marry. How can there be any reason why men don't want to marry? ] Shen Jin thought about it and said.

But never thought that Zhang Ruohan's cold eyes suddenly looked into Shen Jin's eyes, and said, "Erlang, do you want to marry?"

[This...] Shen Jin was completely defeated, he was tongue-tied for a while, and then slowly said, [Third Lady, don’t tease me, Jin, who has been disabled for many years, has long been unable to marry a wife, even if he does, it will be a delay that woman's life. 】

"Don't talk about delays. If that woman really likes you, no matter how many difficulties and obstacles there are, it is the best choice to go with you for the rest of your life and never leave. She will definitely not regret it."

Shen Jin frowned, feeling that there was another layer of deep meaning in Zhang Ruohan's words.It didn't seem like he was speaking to her, but rather like asking her to relay it to someone.

Shen Jin always felt that it was not good to stay here any longer, so she smiled and said:

[Thank you, Mrs. Zhang San, for your comfort. It is inconvenient for Jin to stay for a long time, so I will leave. 】

Zhang Ruohan leaned over, put the hand stove on the table, and made a clatter.

"Wait a minute." Before Zhang Ruohan could speak, Qianhe, who had been silent all this time, said suddenly.While talking, she took out an oiled paper bag from her sleeve pocket, handed it to Shen Jin's direction, and said:

"I bought this from a merchant when I got off the ship just now. The high-quality Yuhua tea was picked from Runzhou this spring and given to Dalang Erlang to taste."

Shen Jin frowned, then raised a smile, motioned for the bluebird to take the tea bag, and said:

[Thank you Qianhe for your kindness. 】

Shen Jin left Zhang Ruohan's room.Qianhe said quietly:

"Sanniang, if you do this, I'm worried that something will go wrong."

"Don't worry, I understand that guessing can only be guessing after all. I can't get Shen Sui to admit it voluntarily. If I want to make things progress, I must make a breakthrough on Shen Jin. Since he came to the door on his own initiative, it is also Great opportunity, try him out, he may be easier to break through than Shen Sui."

"Sanniang, although the news this time reveals the relationship between the Shen brothers and Qianyumen to a large extent, it still cannot be said to be equal to Chishi back then. Have you confirmed the identity of Shen Sui and Shen Jin? , if we do this, will it be detrimental to ourselves?" Qianhe confirmed again and again.

"How can there be any disadvantages. If Shen Sui and Shen Jin were insiders, they wouldn't have revealed what happened back then. If they didn't know, they wouldn't understand the deep meaning of my asking you to bring tea, and the meaning of that sentence. "She picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of the warm white water, and said:

"Qianhe, this time the news sent by your friend from the rivers and lakes is very timely and useful. You should keep in touch with her. I think maybe we will know more things soon."

"Yes, Sanniang, I understand."

Shen Jin didn't know exactly what Zhang Ruohan asked Qianhe to find out.At this moment, she is in her room, with an open tea bag in front of her, and a piece of paper attached to it, on which are written two sentences that seem like poetry but not poetry: Runzhou Jiangning Yuhuazhen, Jinling Zijintai City Guest.It is impossible to say that the six dynasties are lonely and lonely, and there are always people who leave people in their dreams.

She put the piece of paper on the desk, and with one hand curled her fingers, she tapped the desk slowly, her brows furrowed.

Bluebird asked her worriedly:

"Erlang, this poem is not good. Doesn't our sect master have a nickname in the Jianghu, that is, 'Taicheng guest'? What does this piece of San Niangzi mean?"

The master of Qianyumen is extremely mysterious, and no one knows his true face.Because the news about Qianyumen is extremely developed, some people in the world dare not refer to the master of Qianyumen at will, so they use the name "Taicheng Ke" to refer to her.It's all because Qianyu Sect took the initiative to release the news that the Sect Master is an old man from Taicheng.As soon as people in the Jianghu think of the Changfengtang of Shen's family in Runzhou, they think they understand the relationship.

[Where is Hutuo? 】She didn't answer the bluebird, but asked.

"I got off the boat and went to make purchases." Blue Robin said.

[Grinding ink and laying paper, I want to write a letter immediately. 】

"Here!"

***

At this moment, Shen Sui is lying on the starboard railing, looking down:

"Zhou Dalang, what's wrong with this sampan?"

"It's just that a piece of wood at the bottom of the boat is broken, and it can't be repaired no matter what. It keeps getting flooded in." Zhou Dalang replied.

"Can you pull up that sampan and let me have a look?" Shen Sui said.

"This...will it not be able to be pulled? My third younger brother and his son are both full of brute strength. I am not as strong as them, so it is not easy to bother you. I can't pull it up by myself." Zhou Dalang looked Very difficult.

"If you want to pull it up, just pull it up. There's so much nonsense here." The mansion soldier who translated for him scolded, "I'll help you, the two of us pull the sampan up."

Shen Sui said in a good-tempered manner: "All right, all right, since Zhou Dalang is in such a difficult situation, I'll go down and have a look, and don't need to pull it up." After saying that, she suddenly turned over, turned around and grabbed the lever, and kicked it with both feet. Living on the outer plank of the ship, it was actually hung on the side of the ship.

Zhang said that he was taken aback, and said:

"Bo Zhao, what are you doing, come up quickly, it's too dangerous."

Pei Yaoqing was also very nervous, and said: "Brother Bo Zhao, don't be brave."

Only Liu Yucheng looked calm and said with a smile:

"He's not showing off, it's a piece of cake for him. He even climbed the Big Wild Goose Pagoda with his bare hands, so you don't have to worry too much."

Shen Sui smiled slightly, let go of his hand, and fell down. He was about to fall completely, but suddenly saw her grabbing the edge of the porthole of the cabin on the next floor, and stabilized himself again.Then she leaped nimbly to the side, grabbed the rope hanging from the sampan, and swung her body onto the sampan.A set of movements is so smooth and smooth that everyone is dumbfounded.

Zhang said in praise: "Good skill!" He couldn't help admiring and loving Shen Sui even more in his heart.

Shen Sui didn't pay much attention to the praise and compliments from above, her attention was attracted by the repair marks on the sampan.After careful observation, she found that the hole was very new, indeed it had been damaged and repaired recently, and it seemed to have nothing to do with Zhou Dalang's words.

However, she took a closer look at the bottom of the sampan. The bottom was wet, with large water marks that hadn't dried up, and there was also sand from the river, which proved that the sampan had been in the water recently.She raised her head and asked the mansion soldier above who was acting as an interpreter:

"Wang Wuchang, what's the weather like in Zigui Hong Kong in the past few days after the incident?"

"It's cloudy and rainy, and the weather has never cleared up." Wang's mansion soldier shouted down.

Shen Sui frowned, and calculated based on his own experience, it was rainy and the riverside was humid.The humidity level of this sampan, I am afraid that the time will be pushed forward by about ten or twenty days.

Ten or 20 days... Isn't that when the crime happened?

Shen Sui frowned.Then she searched carefully on the sampan again, but found nothing special, so she climbed back to the deck.

"Zhou Dalang, when did this sampan break down?"

"More than half a month ago, two days before the accident, there was a water leak, and we have been repairing it."

"Did you go into the water after it broke?"

"No, how to get into the water if it's broken, it won't sink, hehehe..." Zhou Dalang smiled honestly.

Shen Sui also smiled and said:

"I want to go to the kitchen."

Zhang Shuo, Pei Yaoqing and Liu Yucheng nodded in agreement to follow.

"Okay, I'll take some of you there." Zhou Dalang said courteously, and then led the way.

When passing by the mast, Shen Sui pointed to the colored rope used to pull the sail, and suddenly asked:

"Zhou Da, why do you use colorful ropes for your boat?"

Zhou Dalang paused for a moment, as if he was remembering, and answered with a smile after a moment:

"A customer said that the colorful rope looks good, so I changed it. Looking at it now, it is very special and can attract the attention of the guests."

"Oh?" Shen Sui smiled, "The person who taught you how to use colored rope must be a smart person."

Zhou Dalang smiled honestly again.

The galley is at the bottom of the stern, very close to the rudder.The size of the kitchen is quite spacious, almost as large as the bedroom of Zhou's family of seven.The two stove holes are sealed with a thick layer of mud to prevent water from leaking.After the fire is lit, the smoke is exhausted overboard through bamboo pipes.The section where the bamboo tube connects to the stove is also sealed with mud, which is fireproof and has been burnt to black.

Dry firewood piled up the entire wall, and there was a simple high table next to the stove, which was full of ingredients, chopping boards, knives, bowls, and other things.

Just beside the big table, there stood three plain and inconspicuous village women. Even the youngest daughter, Wednesday, looked weather-beaten, without the slightest delicacy and beauty that a young girl should have.Seeing several high officials coming, especially a mysterious silver-faced official who looked very majestic, the three women were so frightened that they didn't dare to raise their heads, let alone speak. Zhou Dalang has to answer all the questions.

Shen Sui became impatient, raised his hand to stop Zhou Dalang, and said:

"Don't talk, I'm not asking you. Zhou Da's family, I'm asking you now, you don't have to be nervous, just tell me what you know. I'll ask again, when the crime happened, you were indeed in the kitchen ?"

Zhou Da's wife Zheng muttered for a while, looked at her husband's eyes, and then said submissively:

"At that time, the few of us were indeed in the kitchen. Since entering the kitchen at the beginning of the application, we haven't been out again. We have been busy making food for the two high officials."

"Who do you mean by 'we'?" Shen Sui confirmed.

"Me, my third sibling, and my niece Amei."

Shen Sui asked Zhou Zhoulang's wife, Feng Shi, and Zhou Zhou's daughter, Amei, if they really stayed in the kitchen as Zheng said.

Both Fung and Ah Mui said it was indeed the case.

Shen Sui didn't ask any more questions.She began to observe the kitchen, which was quite ordinary, the only thing worth noting was a hanging basket, which could go straight to the upper floor, and there were wheels on it, like pulleys on a well.The hanging basket is quite big, and a three- or four-year-old child can sit in it.

"What is this for?"

"It's for serving, and the dishes prepared below can be sent up directly, so there is no need to serve them up and down." Zhou Da hurriedly replied again.

Shen Sui glanced at him, smiled slightly, and praised him: "Smart."

Zhou Dalang smiled honestly for the third time.

Shen Sui finally checked the wine jars piled up in the corner and the basins for washing dishes, first pointed to the wine jars and asked Zhang:

"You didn't drink the wine on this ship?"

Zhang Shuo shook his head: "We drink the wine we brought ourselves."

Shen Sui asked Zhou Da again:

"Is the water you use to wash things directly from the river?"

"Normally not. The river water is turbid and there is a lot of silt. If we really need to use it, we will filter it with gauze before using it. There are several large tanks outside the kitchen. Usually we will fill up the water at the pier and replenish it at the next pier. .It is really not enough, so we will fetch water from the river and filter it before using it.” Zhou Da explained.

The questions Shen Sui asked were extremely trivial and ordinary, and none of them seemed to be directly related to the case, which made Liu Yucheng and Pei Yaoqing more and more confused.Zhang said that his eyes became brighter, and he seemed to have caught up with Shen Sui's train of thought.

When Shen Sui finished the first round of investigation, everyone went to the living room in the boat, closed the door, Shen Sui turned around, and suddenly said seriously to everyone:

"Inspector Liu, you have to make some arrangements. I need to interrogate everyone in the Zhou family alone. Everyone, Mr. Shen has reason to believe that there is something wrong with the Zhou family's family..."

The author has something to say: I want to see everyone discuss the plot, please post more comments.

PS: I forgot to mention one point in yesterday's chapter.In the Tang Dynasty, one chi was about thirty centimeters.Zhu Yuanmao is more than six feet tall, which is more than 1.8 meters.Shen Sui's height is about 172-175.