The Shen family's house in a cool summer

In the evening, Sun Ke finally asked everyone in the Shen family, big and small, before getting up and walking towards the yamen.

It was a very hot day in July, and it was still a sunny day with no clouds in the sky.Sun Ke wiped the sweat from his forehead while thinking about what he heard at Shen's house just now.It's really confusing in a crowded place, and the huge amount of information made it impossible for him to fully digest it for a while, and he could only barely remember some key points by constantly recalling and sorting it out in his mind.It's really not that easy to work as an errand in the Yamen.

When he was sighing, he saw the gate of the Yamen Mansion in front of him.

Summer is generally relatively quiet, after all, it is already so hot that those thieves have no intention of committing crimes.So in this season, the yamen is the most deserted, and many people will put their one-year vacation on this day, such as Zhang Lie and Zhao Gan, who staggered each other's leave.

At this time, the number of people on duty in the yamen was reduced by half compared to usual, and it was very deserted.When Mr. Xu has nothing to do every day, he will sit in his study and study his collections of classics and history.

Sun Ke knocked on the door of the study, and Master Xu was indeed inside.

"How to say?" This was the first sentence Master Xu opened the door.

Sun Ke followed Mr. Xu into the house. This was the first time he stepped into Mr. Xu's study, so it was inevitable that he felt a little nervous and excited.However, he didn't have the courage to look here and there, but politely repeated the words that he had sorted out in his head many times just now: "My lord, I asked those older servants, they It is said that Chou Xi was a very cheerful young man, and he was very kind to others, and they are all very sorry that he died like that..."

"Get to the point." Xu Mo interrupted Sun Ke, and looked up at him.

Sun Ke's heart trembled, the logic in his mind suddenly broke, and he hesitated for a long time, not knowing where to start and continue.

"Who did Chou Xi have trouble with during his lifetime?" Xu Mo asked.

"I never heard that I had a feud with others. I heard that I had a very close relationship with a girl in the kitchen at that time." Sun Ke replied.

A light flashed in Xu Mo's eyes, and he continued to ask leisurely, "Oh? Tell me in detail."

Seeing that Master Xu was interested, Sun Ke was relieved. It seemed that this was the key clue. He reorganized his thoughts in his mind and said, "Xu Mo likes to chat with that girl very much, and every time he goes out to do errands They would bring some gadgets for that girl. Some people saw them often hiding in the kitchen..." At this point, Sun Ke's face turned red, but Xu Mo didn't seem to realize that he stopped, He looked up at Sun Ke again.

Sun Ke unconsciously avoided Xu Mo's sight, only felt his face was burning, and he continued softly: "Do those... things about men and women..."

Xu Mo: "Is this girl still in the Shen family?"

"Evicted a few years ago, it seems that her hands and feet are not clean."

Xu Mo nodded again.

"Then I asked, isn't Chou Xi the young master's best friend? They all laughed, disapproving, and said that the young master can only play for fun, and the servants can only match the servants. Some people said that Chou Xi approached the young master , I just want to ask for some benefits."

"Ask for some favors?" Xu Mo paused, and Sun Ke immediately understood that this was another concern of the adults, and immediately continued: "Some people say that when they saw Chou Xi sneaking out of the master's room, he was a thieves. Yes, maybe something was stolen."

When Sun Ke said this, he stopped, wanting to wait for Xu Mo's reaction.

However, the adult was completely silent.Just when Sun Ke couldn't bear the silence and wanted to continue reporting, Xu Mo slowly asked, "Who said this?"

Sun Ke rolled his eyes, trying to connect the testimony with the witness, "...it should be Young Master Shen."

The corners of Xu Mo's mouth curled up slightly, and he looked at Sun Ke with a smile on his face: "Let's talk to this young master."

Sun Ke, who couldn't catch the adult's train of thought at all, let out a "oh" in a daze, watched the adult step out of the room, and then followed closely.

The Shen family obviously didn't expect Master Xu to leave and come back so quickly, the doorman said with apologetic expression: "Master Xu is really sorry, our Eldest Young Master just went to the store, I'm afraid we won't be able to see you now."

Xu Mo replied politely: "We are here to find your young master."

The guard was slightly taken aback, and immediately went in to report.

After a while, I saw him running back, "The young master asked the adults to go to the kiosk in the backyard."

Xu Mo nodded, and brought Sun Ke into Shen's residence.

In the small pavilion, Young Master Shen was playing with chess pieces by himself. When he saw Xu Mo, he raised his head and smiled, beckoning them over.

"Master Xu, what do you want me to do?"

Xu Mo glanced at the chessboard, but he didn't know what to do.

Young Master Shen also noticed his glance, and said with a smile: "Master Xu, is he interested in going for a walk with me?"

Xu Mo withdrew his gaze, and replied coldly, "No need. I came today to inquire about Chou Xi."

No, when Young Master Shen heard this name, his face immediately pulled down, and he said angrily in a suppressed voice: "He deserved what he deserved, what he deserved."

"how do I say this?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. When he came out of my father's room, he obviously picked up a lot of good things." Young Master Shen sat down at the table, picked up a chess piece and flicked it twice in his hand.

"Young master, can you see what he took?"

Young Master Shen was a little impatient: "He hid it all, who knows what he took? Dad did too. I asked later if there was anything missing, but he said no. How could it not be! That brat who doesn't fish Is it just a casual visit to Daddy's room?"

"Besides that, is there anything else suspicious about Chou Xike?"

Young master Shen stopped what he was doing, his eyes rolled up, he should be remembering, suddenly the chess pieces on the table shook, he slapped the table, and the expression on his face was unusually angry: "Could it be that kid? Killed our whole family?"

Xu Mo was taken aback, and quickly answered, "How do you say that?"

Young Master Shen clenched his fists, pounded on the table, and gritted his teeth: "That day, I saw him and the chick in the kitchen sneaking around while no one entered the kitchen, and I followed behind secretly, and I saw them I put something in the dish together. Because my back is facing me, I can’t see clearly. So I deliberately didn’t eat dinner this day.”

"and then?"

Young Master Shen continued while recalling: "I remember that night was very quiet, and the house seemed to be dead. Because I didn't eat dinner, I was so hungry in the middle of the night, so I planned to quietly go to the kitchen to find something to fill my stomach, and then ...Then I saw a figure flying past my eyes like a ghost. I panicked and fled back to the room immediately. Speaking of which...Chou Xi seems to have disappeared the next day... I remember I wanted to question him the next day, but I couldn’t find anyone.”

"Young master, do you remember, what are the characteristics of that figure?"

Young Master Shen closed his eyes, and tried his best to replay the scene of that night in his mind, "I remember...his arms would glow. The figure flashed too fast, and there was a distance, I couldn't see his appearance clearly at all. But it was vague I remember his bright arms, especially dazzling in the dark."

"Thank you, young master, for your cooperation."

This is an important clue. Although finding another person after ten years is like finding a needle in a haystack, if Young Master Shen asks here again, he won't be able to get any more information.After Xu Mo's observation, the young master must have not lied.

Seeing that the questioning was over, Young Master Shen's playful smile immediately came to his face, and he pointed to the chessboard: "Master Xu, do you really want to play a game with me?"

"It's really inconvenient to have official business today."

Young Master Shen resentfully said: "It's a pity, it's been a long time since I played chess with anyone. I used to play chess with my second brother, so I was very happy."

Xu Mo narrowed his eyes, feeling something strange.For some reason, he asked a little more: "Young Master Shen, can you haunt your house?"

But I didn't want to, this question, Young Master Shen suddenly showed panic, and it was only for a moment, and he was suppressed by him the next moment, but Xu Mo could clearly see that he was suppressing, his facial expression was very stiff.

Young Master Shen laughed twice with a "hehe": "This must be some servant who is making troubles. I have been completely fine for the past two days. I don't believe in ghosts and gods."

Xu Mo smiled slightly, and made a bow: "Then I will take my leave."

After leaving the Shen residence, Sun Ke followed Xu Mo, and began to struggle with his thoughts again.

Xu Mo frowned when he saw that the little follower lowered his head and walked very hesitantly, and asked, "What's the matter?"

Sun Ke hesitated for a long time, but decided to speak out: "Sir, when it comes to ghosts, the villain has also heard about it."

"Oh? What did you hear?" Xu Mo slowed down and walked side by side with Sun Ke, which made Sun Ke feel a little cramped, and almost stuttered in his voice.

"That, that, the servants of the Shen family said, that at night, they would hear a man's voice, low, like a ghost crying. Then, there was the sound of clothes rubbing. But when they turned on the lights and went out to see, there was only one figure None... This... Is this a ghost?"

Xu Mo laughed when he heard this.Sun Ke looked at that pretty smile and was a little confused.

"All the ghosts in this world are people." Xu Mo said calmly, and then added, "Humans are much scarier than ghosts."

After saying this, Sun Ke was still in a daze, and nodded numbly. He only felt that what the adults said was very reasonable, and infinite admiration surged in his heart.At this time, he felt that someone had patted the top of his head, and he turned his head immediately. There was no one, which was strange.

After sunset, there are thousands of miles of starry sky, and a bright moon hangs in the sky.

Under the refraction of the moonlight, the Shen family's house was bathed in a faint cold light, which also cooled the temperature of this scorching summer day.

There is a particularly bright spot in the backyard. If you approach slowly, you will find that it is the place where the skeleton was found.There is a peach blossom tree growing on that piece of land, which looks taller than the surrounding small flowers, grasses and trees. The thick branches and leaves spread out towards the sky, forming a natural shelter.At this time, under the moonlight, the dew on the leaves is shining with a little silver light, and the whole tree seems to be wrapped in silver. It is a wonderful sight from a distance, but it is chilling to think of the bones buried in that land for ten years. .

Not far from the peach blossom tree, there were two figures, a man and a woman, chattering and chattering, and the chatter was heard, mixed in the cicadas' cries, but they didn't seem so noticeable.

The two figures suddenly fled away in a hurry, and disappeared without a trace, leaving only a few leaves that were carried away and slowly fell on the grass.

"Second Young Master invited me to your residence so late, what's the matter?"

Xu Mo looked at the man in white in front of him and asked.When he was about to go to bed, the Second Young Master Shen came to visit suddenly and invited him to the Shen residence together.Xu Mo, whose sleep was disturbed, was in a bad mood to be honest.

Shen Yi smiled faintly, "Of course it's investigation."

"Is there any case that cannot be investigated during the day, but must be investigated at night?" Xu Mo was obviously dissatisfied with the interruption of his work and rest.

Shen Yi didn't realize it at all, or he didn't care. "There are a lot of people in the daytime, so it's not better than coming at night."

Xu Mo gave him a supercilious look, since he's here, let's take a good look.This peach blossom tree has absorbed the essence of ten years of corpses, but it has grown tall and mighty, which makes people sigh.

"Master Xu likes this tree?" Shen Yi walked to Xu Mo's side and looked sideways at him.

"Why did the second young master say such a thing?"

"You have been staring at it just now. If it is a person, I would suspect that Master Xu is in love with it."

Xu Mo couldn't help throwing him another look.

But Shen Yi didn't care at all, and continued on his own, "This tree was planted when I was born, so it can be considered to be the same age as me. If it could talk, we wouldn't have to work so hard to investigate the case." .”

"Can a tree talk?"

Shen Yi smiled again, "Did someone say that Mr. Xu is a bit boring?"

"So what if it's boring?"

"No, I really like boring people." Standing under the peach blossom tree, Shen Yi seemed to be covered with a layer of halo, which almost merged with the peach blossom tree, and looked very bright under the darkness of night. Eyes, very unreal.

Trees are beautiful, and people are also beautiful. At that moment Xu Mo felt that he saw the scene of heaven.But the beauty's word "like" made his heart throb a little, and he thought it was just an admiration for beauty.

In this beautiful scenery, Xu Mo suddenly felt very uncomfortable.On the soil under the tree, there was a little golden light, which was extraordinarily dazzling.

Xu Mo stepped forward and bent down, only to realize that it was a pair of gold bracelets.

Shen Yi also squatted down and carefully looked at the pair of gold bracelets.

"Is this something from your mansion?" Xu Mo picked up the pair of gold bracelets and put them in front of his eyes for a closer look. There was nothing special about them, they were just a pair of ordinary bracelets.

"I've never seen it before." Shen Yi replied.

"Why are you here?" Xu Mo muttered to himself, lost in thought.

After a long time, I heard someone calling in my ear: "Master Xu, look at the strange pattern engraved on the bracelet."

Following Shen Yi's pointing, there was indeed a small pattern, which seemed incompatible with the pattern of the entire bracelet.Xu Mo looked at it carefully again, and always felt that he had known him before, but he almost couldn't remember it.

He put the bracelet into his skirt, intending to take it back and investigate it carefully.Immediately, he stretched out his hand and scratched in the soil a couple of times, for fear that there might be other things.However, apart from this pair of gold bracelets, there seems to be nothing else.

Seeing that the investigation was almost done, Xu Mo was about to say goodbye, but Shen Yi snatched him first: "Master Xu, let me take you home."

Xu Mo was about to refuse, but was snatched away by Shen Yi: "Don't be polite to me, Mr. Xu should investigate the case for our Shen family, that's what it should be."

Seeing that Shen Yi was so courteous, Xu Mo didn't bother to be polite to him, so he followed him back to his residence.