I am imprisoned in Kaifeng Mansion
Chapter 44
After Cui Tao laid the green tiles on the roof of the gazebo, he stepped on the ladder and painted the wooden pillars with red lacquer.
Ping'er sighed that the octagonal gazebo was exquisitely made, "I think it's not worse than those high-end marquis houses, and it will be more beautiful if it is hung with white gauze."
"Yeah, it's even more beautiful. When the wind blows in the middle of the night, the white gauze flutters, and inside hangs a hanged ghost in white clothes with disheveled hair, sticking out a coquettish long tongue, just thinking about it is exciting." Wang Siniang pretended to agree with the truth. retorted.
When Ping'er heard Wang Siniang's words, she suddenly remembered the Xinghua Lane case, and a specific picture flashed in her mind, and she decided not to bring up this suggestion again.
After Cui Tao painted the paint, she climbed down from the ladder and pinched her waist to look at the entire octagonal pavilion.The vermilion pillars and octagonal blue tiles, under the sunlight and the reflection of the green trees in the courtyard, look a little elegant, but it seems that there is something missing.
What's the difference?The artistic conception of small bridges and flowing water.
The area of this desolate courtyard is large enough to build a four-foot-long small arch bridge on the east side. There are small ponds on the left and right sides of the bridge, and then there is a slight slope. A small river is built under the bridge to let the water flow from the small pond on the north to the south. For small ponds that are square, the ponds can be half a foot square in size, and you can raise some lotus or koi.Small and exquisite, complete with five internal organs, it is adding interest.
Do it when you think about it, don't hesitate!
Cui Tao planned a circle on the ground with a wooden stick, and then dug up.Tell Wang Siniang and Ping'er that she wants a few baskets of small round stones, just pick them up from the river.Wang Siniang and Ping'er immediately took the basket and led a little donkey to the river to look for it.
After Cui Tao dug the hole, she washed her face and went to the street to find a mason and ordered a small stone arch bridge.After paying the money, the stonemason said that in three days it would be able to carve according to Cui Tao's request, and then sent it to Kaifeng Mansion, and asked Cui Tao specifically if he wanted to carve the stone railings on the stone arch bridge.
Cui Tao chose the auspicious cloud pattern as the pattern, and paid for the carving.She went to another street to buy fine lime, fine clay and white plaster mud, mixed them well, and spread them thickly on the river, forming a rigid waterproof layer similar to a layer of concrete.After Wang Siniang and Ping'er brought back the four baskets of small stones, spread another layer of mud, stick the stones on, and wait for it to dry.
Make a small water channel in the upper reaches of the pond, leading to the well behind the yard, and build a small reservoir beside the well. When the small pond needs to be changed, you can scoop out the water in the pond. Flowers, and then pour water from the well into the reservoir, and the water will flow to the small pond along the channel.Some flowers and plants can be planted on the narrow side of the water channel to cover it, so it will not be ugly.
After Cui Tao arranged these things, she took a shovel and a basket and went to the outskirts of the mountains to dig some suitable trees and flowers and came back.Cui Tao would not spend money to buy these things. The flowers in the mountains are not only free of money, but the key point is that they grow naturally in the wild, and their biggest feature is that they can grow well without much care.
If you buy some expensive and beautiful varieties such as peonies and orchids, you will have to take special care of them when you plant them in the yard. If you don't manage them, you will get insects and diseases.
Wang Siniang and Ping'er also followed Cui Tao, and when it came to finding wild flowers, Ping'er was the best.As soon as she enters the mountains, she will be like a butterfly that has been released, wherever there are flowers, there will be her.
Cui Tao dug up two wild hawthorns and mountain grapes, which were great to eat and see.I dug up another bamboo-leaf prickly ash, that is, rattan pepper. When the rattan pepper matures, I picked some to make rattan pepper fried chicken. It must be delicious.
When the three of them went back, it was almost dusk. While it was still bright, everyone planted these trees and flowers, and there was already a prototype of an exquisite small garden on the east side of the courtyard.When the stone arch bridge is set up, water will be added to the pond, and a miniature water wheel will be built and installed. Fish and lotus will be raised, and the flowers, plants and trees will grow well, which will definitely make the scenery more beautiful.
"Suddenly I like this place so much, I can live here for the rest of my life." Wang Siniang couldn't help but sighed at the beautiful scenery, and then asked Cui Tao what her plans were in the future. If she could live in Kaifeng Mansion for the rest of her life, she would definitely live here with her for the rest of her life.
Ping'er whispered, "I also—"
"You can do it, just look at your personality, you are destined to marry someone." Wang Siniang said directly to Ping'er.
"Why do you think so much, live in the present, let's talk about it when you feel comfortable now." Cui Tao felt a sense of accomplishment looking at the fruits of her labor these days.
For dinner, I made beef brisket stewed with yams and pork ribs with beans and rice, both of which had meat in them, so you have to eat meat to be energetic when you do hard work.But the beef brisket and yam are stewed with soup, the taste is not greasy, it tastes fragrant and nourishing, and it is just right with the fragrant ribs and dry rice.
Cui Tao specially kept a portion in a food box, and took it to the prison to send to Zhu Erniu.Zhu Erniu was also convicted for abducting and selling his lover with his elder brother. Considering that he had surrendered himself, the sentence was not heavy. He was only sentenced to one year in prison, and he would be transferred from the prison in Kaifeng Mansion in three days.
Because Sun Laotou is acquainted with Cui Tao, Cui Tao is now considered a member of the Kaifeng Mansion, so it is convenient for Cui Tao to enter the prison and directly deliver meals to Zhu Erniu.Cui Tao was good-looking, and the people in the men's prison hadn't seen women for many years. When they saw Cui Tao coming in, their eyes were all straightened, and some people even whistled secretly. Reining in, he stared straight at Cui Tao with a squinting expression.
Since Cui Tao dared to come in, she naturally expected these scenes. In fact, the current situation is much better than she imagined.She carried the food box to Zhu Erniu's cell, but saw two men who were in the same cell with him rushing towards him, but Zhu Erniu turned his back to the direction of the cell door, with his head facing the wall, and curled up into a ball with his hands wrapped around his knees. .
"Zhu Erniu!" Cui Tao shouted.
Zhu Erniu raised his head suddenly, at first he thought he was hallucinating, turned his head tentatively, and when he saw Cui Tao, he got a little excited, staggered to his feet, and hurried to Cui Tao.
"You...why are you here?" After the trial of the case for so long, Zhu Erniu naturally knew that Cui Tao was not the little lady he knew back then who went to Changyuan County to find relatives. She was working in Kaifeng Mansion, and she was from the Yamen. .
Cui Tao brought him the food in the food box.
Zhu Erniu swallowed when he smelled the fragrance, and then burst into tears.On the contrary, he was worried about the other prisoners who were watching the excitement, so why are he still crying? There is such a beautiful little lady delivering food to him, and the food is still so delicious.Sure enough, he was a newcomer, so it was too easy to get overwhelmed.
"It's inconvenient for me to come to see you when you're on trial. Now that everything is settled, I'll come here to pay you back. Until you leave the prison in Kaifeng Mansion, I'll come and deliver it to you every day." Cui Tao knelt down and followed Zhu Erniu said.
Zhu Erniu wiped his tears with his sleeve, "The one I bought is not as fragrant as yours."
"That's right. I made it myself. Naturally, it's the most delicious." Cui Tao boasted bluntly.
Zhu Erniu laughed through his tears. He heard that Cui Tao made it himself, so he must try Cui Tao's craftsmanship.He took a sip of the stewed yam from the beef brisket first, and then couldn't stop.
When Zhu Erniu raised his arms to grill the rice, his sleeves slipped down, and there were several bruises on the exposed forearm.
Cui Tao silently watched him finish eating, then put away the bowls and chopsticks.Zhu Erniu scratched his head and thanked Cui Tao very gratefully.
"My elder brother said that people can only see the truth when they are in trouble. When Mrs. Cui was in my state, she even brought me food. I will definitely remember this kindness for the rest of my life."
"I said that I came to pay you back, so it's not a kindness, don't forget." Cui Tao put the empty bowl back into the food box, and said to Zhu Erniu, "Don't think about it, take good care of your body, it's only a year. It will be fine in the past.”
Looking at his listless look before, one could tell that he was thinking too much and had never had a good meal.
Zhu Erniu nodded as if inspired.
"I've always had a question, so I don't know if I can ask you." Seeing Cui Tao nod, Zhu Erniu continued, "I don't understand, since the body was moved to the ravine by the eldest brother and burned, it is impossible for him to burn the burned body." When the corpse is brought back, how can there be black ash in the cracks of the car?"
Under the protection of Zhu Daniu, Zhu Erniu will be more innocent, but the dangers in the world are not concealed by someone, and he has reached the age when he should know the truth.
"Because some corpses were scorched before they were loaded into the truck," Cui Tao said.
Zhu Erniu was stunned, he didn't understand and wanted to ask why, so he heard the bearded inmates in the same cell laugh at him for being stupid.
"Haven't you ever seen a red-hot iron burn on a person? Doesn't it turn black after a while? If it's not black enough, then just throw it on the charcoal fire and burn it!"
Everyone then burst into laughter, and Zhu Erniu became a little flustered.
Cui Tao got up, walked to the bearded man, and looked at another tall and strong prisoner in the same cell.
"Don't bully him in the future, he is under my protection."
"Pfft!" The bearded man hurriedly moved up to Cui Tao, pretending to bow to Cui Tao through the wooden railing, "Yes, yes, yes, such a beautiful lady, of course we will listen!"
That's what he said, but it was clear from the tone of his speech that he didn't intend to listen at all.Cui Tao is a member of the government, they can do nothing in front of her, but as soon as she leaves, they will bully Zhu Erniu, as long as they can't catch him, no one can do anything.
"I said he was under my cover."
The bearded man suddenly felt his arm being pricked, and then severe pain and numbness spread to his entire arm.The pain made him burst into tears. When he saw a silver needle on his arm, he wanted to pull it out with the other hand, but as soon as he raised his hand, the other hand was also pierced. Immediately he felt His two arms seemed to be crippled.
"If I see any injuries on his body again, I'll use something ten times more powerful...to treat your illnesses. Remember, it's healing, not torture! Who told me to be kind, I always like to show mercy Woolen cloth!"
Cui Tao waited for the yelling bearded man to beg for mercy before she took off the silver needle.
"These two acupoints I pierced to open the tendons and treat pain around the shoulders. If you don't believe me, if you move around, do you feel that your shoulders are more comfortable than before?"
The man with the beard moved his two arms. His original intention was to see if his arm was really useless. If it was, he would file a complaint and scold the little lady for viciously abusing lynching.But after he moved, he found that his shoulders really seemed to be a lot looser?But he didn't want to have the pain just now again.There is no healing process that is more painful than the disease itself!
When the bearded man looked at Cui Tao, he saw her raise an eyebrow at him.Now he understands his implicit threat, when it comes to playing dirty, he can't beat a little lady in the government!But if you can't fight, you can't fight, so you have to stay low and play small, and ask Cui Tao to rest assured with a smile.
"Everyone will remember from now on, I will cover Zhu Erniu too! Whoever dares to bully him will bully me!" After the bearded man finished shouting, he smiled and asked Cui Taoke if he was satisfied.
Cui Tao didn't even look at him, and left with the food box.
Priest Sun gave Cui Tao a little, and couldn't help laughing and sighing: "Only Mrs. Cui can subdue that hozen."
Cui Tao heard what Prisoner Sun said, and knew that the bearded man had a story, so he asked him what crime he committed.
"He was a road robber, and he took a few brothers to appear and disappear on various official roads. Originally, he would change places after a robbery, and no one could catch him. Who knew that he became arrogant, thinking how great he was, and was so stupid a month ago. Single-handedly ran to Wang Yuanwai's house. You said that no matter how powerful he is alone, he can still deal with dozens of other guards in Wang Yuanwai's house? He was beaten in the back, fainted, and then sent to the hospital. I'm in the prison." Prisoner Sun said with a sneer.
"When did he rob, day or night?" Cui Tao asked again.
"It seems that when I was having lunch, I climbed over the wall and went in. I found a middle-aged man in rich clothes. I thought it was Wang Yuanwai, so I robbed him. Unexpectedly, the man was not Wang Yuanwai, but the housekeeper!" Sun Lao The more the head said, the more funny it became.
Cui Tao thought about it for a while, and said to Prisoner Sun: "You should pay close attention to him, I think he is a bit strange, and he may not be safe."
"Miss Cui said, he has never been safe, and we will keep a close eye on him." Sun Baotou agreed, and he did not forget to tell Cui Tao, Zhu Erniu, please rest assured, they Will also help to look after some.
After Cui Tao thanked her, she said goodbye and went back to the deserted courtyard.
Wang Siniang immediately came over to greet Cui Tao, "Han Tuiguan came just now, but he left again when he saw that you were not here."
"But what's the matter?" Cui Tao asked.
Wang Siniang shook her head.Seeing that Cui Tao turned to look for Han Qi, Wang Siniang hurriedly told her that the official Han Tui had left Kaifeng Mansion.
Cui Tao: "It should be nothing urgent." If there is something urgent, Han Qi will naturally send someone to look for her in the prison.
Cui Tao didn't care anymore, so she took a shower and changed clothes, getting ready to sleep.
After turning off the lights, Cui Tao routinely closed her eyes and meditated. After about half an hour, she suddenly felt someone outside the window.
Cui Tao immediately got out of bed and put on his shoes. At this moment, an arrow pierced the window paper and hit the ground. The people outside the window turned and ran away.
A piece of paper stuck in the arrow.
Cui Tao picked up the arrow and immediately followed the figure.
The figure probably didn't expect Cui Tao to react so quickly, and followed him closely without dressing or reading the note?
He is very familiar with the environment of Kaifeng Mansion, running around corners and corners, looking for a chance where the cat is, but Cui Tao doesn't give him a chance to hide.Finally, he ran to the mortuary and the utility room, because the place was hidden and dark, he finally got a chance to hide, and the cat remained motionless.
The morgue in Kaifeng Mansion always has a gloomy atmosphere at night, and the yard next to the mortuary where the utility room is also piled up with many objects.
Although Cui Tao lived in a utility room before, the things piled up in the yard often changed.For example, when she lived here before, most of the yard was still empty. Now there are many dilapidated tables and chairs piled up on the east side of the yard, and banners, some wooden boxes, wooden frames and planks, and even a few iron pots on the west side of the yard.
The military patrol shops under the Kaifeng Mansion sometimes search some merchants who set up stalls randomly. These things should be piled up here when they inspected them recently during their patrols.
Whether it is the utility room or the morgue, if you choose to enter one of the two, then once the person hides in another place, he will be given a chance to escape completely.
Cui Tao picked up a broken table leg from the ground, closed his eyes, and stood by the wall where the two yards of the utility room and the mortuary room met, motionless.
Half an hour later, there was a clicking sound from the courtyard of the utility room.
Cui Tao still didn't move, because the voice sounded like the sound of throwing stones or something, and it was likely that the other party was probing, deliberately slamming around.
Sure enough, after a while, there was a slight sound of leaves on the other side of the corpse room, and then Cui Tao felt footsteps on the other side of the corpse room, and gradually approached the gate of the courtyard.
Cui Tao raised the broken stool leg in his hand and threw it in the direction of the sound. There was a scream of "ah", and something fell to the ground in response.
Cui Tao rushed over and immediately trampled the person under her feet.
"I want to see who you are."
Cui Tao picked up the man, saw that the man was going to grit his teeth, immediately stepped on the instep of the man, and then kicked the crotch, causing the man to open his mouth and scream in pain.Cui Tao pinched the man's chin fiercely, and used the broken stool leg to jam the man's mouth.
The movement from the morgue attracted the attention of the patrolling yamen servants, and everyone ran over with lanterns to see what was going on.Only then did Cui Tao see this person's face clearly. She even recognized him. It was Kong Lin, the prison guard who survived the case of "Cui Jiuniang" sending poisoned rice back then.The jailer who claimed he had to go on patrol to get away with it.
"It's actually you."
Cui Tao asked the yamen servant to fetch bamboo tweezers from the mortuary to check whether there was any poison in Kong Lin's mouth. Ordinary dead soldiers would hide poison in their mouths when performing tasks, just in case.
Cui Tao searched for a long time with bamboo tweezers, but did not find any foreign objects such as wax pellets fixed in the gap between the back molars and the like.
"What about poison?" Cui Tao asked.
"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" Kong Lin's mouth was still stuffed, making it inconvenient to speak.
"Where's the poison?" Cui Tao asked again.
Kong Lin shook his head violently with tears in his eyes, saying that there was no poison at all.
Only then did Cui Tao let go of the hand pinching his chin, and withdrew the stool legs.
Kong Lin's mouth could finally close normally, but his cheeks were so painful that his tears flowed down again.
After the incident, someone rushed to notify Han Qi.
Cui Tao ordered Kong Lin to be tied up first, and waited for him to speak slowly.She took off the note on the arrow.
Same place.
Only these four words were written on the note.
Cui Tao asked Kong Lin where his old place was, and Kong Lin shook his head in horror. His lower lip was still trembling, and he was still unable to speak.
Han Qi hurried over at this time, he already knew about the previous situation on the way, and after seeing Cui Tao, he directly asked her if she had found anything.
Cui Tao handed the note to Han Qi, and then Li Cai rubbed Kong Lin's cheeks so that he could speak as soon as possible.
Kong Lin cried loudly and knelt down to apologize to Cui Tao and Han Qi.
"Damn the villain, the villain shouldn't be obsessed with greedy things, and ran to secretly send a message to Mrs. Cui."
Cui Tao also realized at this moment that Kong Lin should not be a dead man, but a temporary bribe.
"Then why did you grit your teeth just now?" Cui Tao complained dissatisfiedly, causing her to come up with an extra set of defensive measures.
"I...I'm afraid." Kong Lin said in a low voice.
"That's not scary enough. If you're scared enough, you won't dare to go to me." Cui Tao poked Kong Lin's face with the broken stool leg in his hand, and asked him who bribed him with money to spread the news like this .
"I've never seen this person before. My mother is seriously ill, and she needs ginseng soup to hang her life. The shopkeeper of Dechang Pharmacy told me that if someone asked me to help with this matter, ten catties of ginseng would not be a problem. He also told me Said, this is just an old friend sending a message, it's not a big deal. I was hesitant to do it, but seeing the note said see you at the old place, it really seems that Mrs. Cui's old friend is looking for her, maybe I should do it It’s a good thing. Besides, my mother’s illness can’t wait any longer, so I agreed.” Kong Lin’s cheeks finally got better, and he honestly explained everything he knew.
The yamen servant immediately escorted the shopkeeper of Dechang Pharmacy.The shopkeeper confessed that there was indeed a woman in her 20s who asked him to help with this task after spending ten pennies.
"She said she was an old friend of Kong Dalang, and because she was afraid that he would not accept her relief, she thought of such a trick so that Kong Dalang could take the ginseng with peace of mind." The shopkeeper claimed that Kong Dalang was Kong Lin, and said that the ten catties The ginseng was kept in his pharmacy, waiting for Kong Lin to get it.
Whether it is Kong Lin or the shopkeeper of Dechang Pharmacy, they are pretending to be confused. They must all know that there is something wrong with it, but they choose to deceive themselves into believing that 'reason' full of flaws out of greed.
"Just take the ginseng, you can't make it cheaper for that person." Cui Tao said to Kong Lin.
Kong Lin was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Cui Tao to say such a thing to him, he cried even more fiercely, and kowtowed repeatedly to show that he was wrong.
"Forgive you for your filial piety. I will record today's affairs for the time being. I don't care about you. I will go home and take care of your mother. As for this Kaifeng mansion, I will not be able to take half a step in the future." Han Qi said to Kong Lin .
Kong Lin repeatedly kowtowed to thank him, he knew that if his matter was discovered, it would definitely not get better.Unexpectedly, both Han Tuiguan and Mrs. Cui were considerate of him generously, and felt even more guilty in their hearts, crying and kowtowing countless times before they were willing to resign.
"The person who sent the message didn't know that Mrs. Cui had lost his memory? But he didn't know where this old place refers to?" Wang Zhao rubbed his chin and asked puzzledly.
"City God's Temple," Han Qi said suddenly, looking at Cui Tao, "try."
Cui Tao nodded.
I remember that Han Zong once said that when she was placed in his old house in Dengzhou, she received a letter saying that she would see her in Chenghuang Temple.So the old place may indeed be the Temple of the City God, if not, then it is not, anyway, they do not know other places.
Cui Tao then went to the Temple of the City God with a lantern alone.Secretly, Han Qi sent people to follow and protect, and at the same time, Han Qi sent people to ambush in advance in all the streets and alleys leading to the Town God's Temple.If someone really leaves from the Town God's Temple, it will be impossible to escape.
It was already late at night, and the streets in front of the Town God's Temple were desolate, empty, and so quiet that one's heart sank.
In the whole street, the only sound is the sound of Cui Tao walking with a lantern.
When we arrived in front of Chenghuang Temple, we found that the door was locked, so Cui Tao stood outside the door and waited.After waiting for a while, she heard a voice behind her carefully, so she carried the lantern and walked to the back of the Town God's Temple, but the back door was open, and Cui Tao walked in.Then I saw a woman in black clothes standing in the middle of the courtyard with her back facing Cui Tao's direction with a big knife in her hand.
"You're here." The female voice was low and sharp.
"Well, here we come." Cui Tao agreed calmly.
"You really don't have amnesia, you're just pretending." The woman in Xuanyi suddenly turned around and looked at Cui Tao coldly.
Cui Tao felt an indescribable disgust in the other party's eyes, and was very sure of the unfriendly attitude of the other party.It seems that old friends are not seen in old places.
Looking at this woman again, she has a medium appearance, a medium body, and is almost middle-aged. There is nothing outstanding about her body, but the expression of disgusting people is very outstanding.
"Since you don't have amnesia, why don't you come back?" Seeing Cui Tao staring at her, the woman in Xuanyi felt that her behavior was offensive, and her tone became more and more unhappy.
"I don't want to be controlled by others anymore." Cui Tao also knew that if she continued to look at it, the other party would become suspicious, so she looked away.
"Oh, controlled by others?" The woman in Xuanyi sneered, "How powerful you are, a coquettish vixen who hooks up with men whenever you see him, who dares to restrain you?"
"If I was really good, would you talk to me like this?" Cui Tao asked back.
"You——" the woman in Xuanyi suddenly glared at Cui Tao, drew her knife and pointed at Cui Tao, "I think you are tired of living, you have stayed in Kaifeng Mansion for a long time, and you still dare to talk back to me! Believe it or not, I am here today Killed you!"
"Aren't you the one who sent someone to kill me before?" Cui Tao spoke in a semi-certain tone, also to prevent the woman in Xuanyi from finding out that she had lost her memory.
"So what if it's me, you can't do such a simple thing as asking you to take the salt transportation map, and let Meng Da and his wife die, what use do you think you have? It's best to die!" The woman in Xuanyi With a cold snort, "The pavilion master said, if you pretend to have amnesia, you still have a place in Kaifeng Mansion, which may be of some use. You can consider saving your life for the time being and giving you a chance to atone for your crimes, but everything you do in the future You must obey my orders."
"Oh." Cui Tao responded.
"Is this your attitude?" The woman in Xuanyi was annoyed again and glared at Cui Tao.
"What if I don't listen?" Cui Tao wanted to know whose life they were threatening her to submit to.
"Your Lu Erlang will die, and so will Han Erlang." The woman in Xuanyi snorted coldly.
Obviously, Lu Erlang in her mouth refers to Lu Gongbi, and Han Erlang refers to Han Zong.
"As for me, I have recently become obsessed with Feng Shui."
The woman in Xuanyi gave Cui Tao a disgusted look, "What do you want to say?"
"The word 'two' is a bit offensive to me. I don't like Er Er very much. So you kill this person if you want, don't threaten me. Everyone is an independent individual, each living according to his own ability. Are these two big men incapable of protecting themselves? Why do you want me, a weak woman, to pretend to be a grandson, pretend to be a dog, and sacrifice my life to protect them?"
Cui Tao calmly waved to the woman in Xuanyi.
"So you go kill it, don't be shy!"
The woman in Xuanyi froze for a moment, frowned and looked at Cui Tao again, and finally found that there was something different about her, even very different.
"You really lost your memory, you are lying to me!" The woman in Xuanyi suddenly realized.
"I'm sorry, I could have pretended longer, but your words are really not pleasant, and people can't bear it." Cui Tao shrugged innocently, winked at the woman in Xuanyi, and asked her what she planned to do next, "Should I continue to threaten me with these two men, or change to a new one? Oh, how about my father, Cui Mao? He's hated me recently!"
Cui Tao's eyes revealed hope, as if she was announcing to the woman in Xuanyi: Come on, come and hurt my family, come and help me clean up the trouble!
The woman in Xuanyi really didn't expect Cui Tao to say such a thing, and thought she was crazy.Even her own father is not filial, she really has completely lost her memory!But for a person who lost his memory, why did his temperament change so much, and even become so terrifying? She had never thought that Cui Tao, who had a beautiful face, was so scary before!
"Speaking of which, we've been chatting for so long, but we still don't know which onion you are? Tell me about yourself?" Cui Tao smiled at each other.
The woman in Xuanyi took a few steps back as if seeing a ghost.Immediately, he moved his eyeballs, raised the big knife in his hand, and faced Cui Tao.
"The pavilion master said, if you don't have amnesia, you still have some uses. Now that you have amnesia, I guess it should be useless!"
"Nonsense, I'm useful. I just built an octagonal gazebo and a small pool, and they look great. Besides, are you guessing the pavilion master's thoughts casually? You have to ask for clarification!"
The woman in Xuanyi suddenly realized that she might have been tricked!
She was so angry that she slashed at Cui Tao with a knife. Cui Tao screamed and backed away again and again.
Cui Tao seemed to be very scared, and her steps of dodging were a little staggered, but Cui Tao was lucky enough to dodge every knife slashed by the woman in Xuanyi.The woman in Xuanyi was so angry that she speeded up her steps and used all her serious energy to deal with Cui Tao, but found that Cui Tao was still able to dodge.Only then did she realize in horror that Cui Tao wasn't lucky at all, she knew martial arts!
When the girl in Xuanyi was distracted, after hearing Cui Tao's cry, the officials of the Kaifeng Mansion surrounded the Temple of the City God, and some archers squatted on the roof and the wall, aiming at the girl in Xuanyi.
The woman in Xuanyi was shocked, knowing that she might not be able to escape this time.
With red eyes, she glared at Cui Tao viciously, "You vicious coquettish fox, I'll kill you!"
Then she attacked Cui Tao with more ruthless tricks.
Cui Tao has already retreated behind the yamen servants, and has never been within the scope of protection.The woman in Xuanyi can only talk to the yamen servants in front.
Cui Tao took the opportunity to shoot the woman in black with a silver needle, intending to knock her out.The woman in Xuanyi felt the shooting of the silver needle, turned around and waved the knife, blocked the silver needle, and then flew out a large number of flying knives, forcing the servants to retreat, and ran towards the Temple of the City God.
The yamen servants immediately followed, but they saw the woman in Xuanyi standing in front of the God God statue suddenly stopped, then dropped the porcelain bottle in her hand, and fell to the ground.When Cui Tao rushed over, her pulse was already weak, and she died immediately.Before he died, he did not forget to give Cui Tao another look of disgust.
It seems that this woman does not like her quite much.
"The person who can get in touch with the master of the Dizang Pavilion is loyal and well-trained. He hates me. Unfortunately, he died." After Cui Tao concluded, he turned to ask Han Qi why he came here.
"I met Han Zhongwen halfway." Han Qi said lightly.
I actually met Han Zong.
Cui Tao pouted, "What a coincidence."
Cui Tao then thoroughly searched the woman in Xuanyi's body, except for a silk handkerchief embroidered with lotus flowers, it was just a money bag, which contained three pieces of Jiaozi with a denomination of ten guan, and a string of pearls, of ordinary size and fineness. It's also very ordinary, and it seems to be something for her own use.But the material of the lotus silk handkerchief was not ordinary, it was icy and slippery, and its luster was even better than the string of pearls in her purse.The embroidery of the lotus is also very good, but one corner of the veil is dirty, with yellow oil stains sticking to it.
The clothes of this woman in Xuanyi were made of ordinary materials from the inside to the outside, and the hair accessories on her hair were also very ordinary. There were at most two silver hairpins, but they were neither delicate nor expensive.This handkerchief is obviously not suitable for her identity, and it is also dirty. It is very likely that someone else didn't want it and she kept it.
"She is so loyal, could this handkerchief belong to the owner of the Dizang Pavilion?"
It is said that the masters of the Dizang Pavilion and the Tianji Pavilion are husband and wife, but no one knows which one is male and which one is female.Now it seems that it can be deduced a little bit that the owner of the dizang pavilion is a woman.
Han Qi also felt that there was a possibility.
At this time, there was a noise outside the Town God's Temple, and Han Zong's voice was heard again.
Cui Tao walked out.
When Han Zong saw Cui Tao coming, he looked at her with concern, asked her if she was okay, then looked at Han Qi seriously, and asked how he could let Cui Tao be the bait, it was too dangerous.
"Once something happens to her, who will be responsible?"
"Me." Han Qi replied.
Han Zong glanced at him with a frown, but didn't say much after all, and told Cui Tao not to do such a risky thing next time. "Even if you want to deal with Di Zang Pavilion, you tell me, let me do it."
"But the people in Dizang Pavilion are threatening me with your life to submit."
"There is such a thing? I can protect myself, but you must not listen to them." Han Zong said hastily.
Cui Tao took Han Zong to see the body of the woman in Xuanyi, and observed Han Zong's reaction.
Han Zong widened his eyes slightly, looked at the woman lying on the ground in surprise for a while, then asked Cui Tao suspiciously: "Is she from Dizang Pavilion?"
Cui Tao nodded.
……
At the gate of Kaifeng Mansion, after Cui Tao smiled and said goodbye to Han Zong, she turned cold and said to Han Qi, "He probably knew the dead woman in black."
Han Qi looked at Cui Tao in puzzlement.
"The time for a person to really show a surprised expression is actually no more than a blink of an eye. He just pretended to be surprised for too long."
In addition, Han Qi happened to meet Han Zong on the way to Chenghuang Temple, which is also suspicious.But it is impossible to testify against a person based on these alone, so we can only continue and watch.
"I've been busy lately. I finally came across something to do, and ended up dying like this."
Cui Tao stretched her waist and sighed.
"Oh, by the way, I can probably be convicted of the crime. I was indeed ordered to steal the salt map from the Mengda couple. But at the Dizang Pavilion, it seems that they don't want the Mengda couple to die, so I was reprimanded by her. one time."
Han Qi agreed, "You have made outstanding contributions in the Jiao corpse case, even if you are convicted, there will be no big problem."
"Then after you're convicted, will you tattoo my face?" Cui Tao touched her smooth cheek.
Han Qi's lips moved slightly, as he was about to comfort Cui Tao——
"If it is stabbed, I want to stab it right between the eyebrows, right in the center, so that everyone can see it, that's grand!" Cui Tao excitedly said.
Han Qi: "..."
Ping'er sighed that the octagonal gazebo was exquisitely made, "I think it's not worse than those high-end marquis houses, and it will be more beautiful if it is hung with white gauze."
"Yeah, it's even more beautiful. When the wind blows in the middle of the night, the white gauze flutters, and inside hangs a hanged ghost in white clothes with disheveled hair, sticking out a coquettish long tongue, just thinking about it is exciting." Wang Siniang pretended to agree with the truth. retorted.
When Ping'er heard Wang Siniang's words, she suddenly remembered the Xinghua Lane case, and a specific picture flashed in her mind, and she decided not to bring up this suggestion again.
After Cui Tao painted the paint, she climbed down from the ladder and pinched her waist to look at the entire octagonal pavilion.The vermilion pillars and octagonal blue tiles, under the sunlight and the reflection of the green trees in the courtyard, look a little elegant, but it seems that there is something missing.
What's the difference?The artistic conception of small bridges and flowing water.
The area of this desolate courtyard is large enough to build a four-foot-long small arch bridge on the east side. There are small ponds on the left and right sides of the bridge, and then there is a slight slope. A small river is built under the bridge to let the water flow from the small pond on the north to the south. For small ponds that are square, the ponds can be half a foot square in size, and you can raise some lotus or koi.Small and exquisite, complete with five internal organs, it is adding interest.
Do it when you think about it, don't hesitate!
Cui Tao planned a circle on the ground with a wooden stick, and then dug up.Tell Wang Siniang and Ping'er that she wants a few baskets of small round stones, just pick them up from the river.Wang Siniang and Ping'er immediately took the basket and led a little donkey to the river to look for it.
After Cui Tao dug the hole, she washed her face and went to the street to find a mason and ordered a small stone arch bridge.After paying the money, the stonemason said that in three days it would be able to carve according to Cui Tao's request, and then sent it to Kaifeng Mansion, and asked Cui Tao specifically if he wanted to carve the stone railings on the stone arch bridge.
Cui Tao chose the auspicious cloud pattern as the pattern, and paid for the carving.She went to another street to buy fine lime, fine clay and white plaster mud, mixed them well, and spread them thickly on the river, forming a rigid waterproof layer similar to a layer of concrete.After Wang Siniang and Ping'er brought back the four baskets of small stones, spread another layer of mud, stick the stones on, and wait for it to dry.
Make a small water channel in the upper reaches of the pond, leading to the well behind the yard, and build a small reservoir beside the well. When the small pond needs to be changed, you can scoop out the water in the pond. Flowers, and then pour water from the well into the reservoir, and the water will flow to the small pond along the channel.Some flowers and plants can be planted on the narrow side of the water channel to cover it, so it will not be ugly.
After Cui Tao arranged these things, she took a shovel and a basket and went to the outskirts of the mountains to dig some suitable trees and flowers and came back.Cui Tao would not spend money to buy these things. The flowers in the mountains are not only free of money, but the key point is that they grow naturally in the wild, and their biggest feature is that they can grow well without much care.
If you buy some expensive and beautiful varieties such as peonies and orchids, you will have to take special care of them when you plant them in the yard. If you don't manage them, you will get insects and diseases.
Wang Siniang and Ping'er also followed Cui Tao, and when it came to finding wild flowers, Ping'er was the best.As soon as she enters the mountains, she will be like a butterfly that has been released, wherever there are flowers, there will be her.
Cui Tao dug up two wild hawthorns and mountain grapes, which were great to eat and see.I dug up another bamboo-leaf prickly ash, that is, rattan pepper. When the rattan pepper matures, I picked some to make rattan pepper fried chicken. It must be delicious.
When the three of them went back, it was almost dusk. While it was still bright, everyone planted these trees and flowers, and there was already a prototype of an exquisite small garden on the east side of the courtyard.When the stone arch bridge is set up, water will be added to the pond, and a miniature water wheel will be built and installed. Fish and lotus will be raised, and the flowers, plants and trees will grow well, which will definitely make the scenery more beautiful.
"Suddenly I like this place so much, I can live here for the rest of my life." Wang Siniang couldn't help but sighed at the beautiful scenery, and then asked Cui Tao what her plans were in the future. If she could live in Kaifeng Mansion for the rest of her life, she would definitely live here with her for the rest of her life.
Ping'er whispered, "I also—"
"You can do it, just look at your personality, you are destined to marry someone." Wang Siniang said directly to Ping'er.
"Why do you think so much, live in the present, let's talk about it when you feel comfortable now." Cui Tao felt a sense of accomplishment looking at the fruits of her labor these days.
For dinner, I made beef brisket stewed with yams and pork ribs with beans and rice, both of which had meat in them, so you have to eat meat to be energetic when you do hard work.But the beef brisket and yam are stewed with soup, the taste is not greasy, it tastes fragrant and nourishing, and it is just right with the fragrant ribs and dry rice.
Cui Tao specially kept a portion in a food box, and took it to the prison to send to Zhu Erniu.Zhu Erniu was also convicted for abducting and selling his lover with his elder brother. Considering that he had surrendered himself, the sentence was not heavy. He was only sentenced to one year in prison, and he would be transferred from the prison in Kaifeng Mansion in three days.
Because Sun Laotou is acquainted with Cui Tao, Cui Tao is now considered a member of the Kaifeng Mansion, so it is convenient for Cui Tao to enter the prison and directly deliver meals to Zhu Erniu.Cui Tao was good-looking, and the people in the men's prison hadn't seen women for many years. When they saw Cui Tao coming in, their eyes were all straightened, and some people even whistled secretly. Reining in, he stared straight at Cui Tao with a squinting expression.
Since Cui Tao dared to come in, she naturally expected these scenes. In fact, the current situation is much better than she imagined.She carried the food box to Zhu Erniu's cell, but saw two men who were in the same cell with him rushing towards him, but Zhu Erniu turned his back to the direction of the cell door, with his head facing the wall, and curled up into a ball with his hands wrapped around his knees. .
"Zhu Erniu!" Cui Tao shouted.
Zhu Erniu raised his head suddenly, at first he thought he was hallucinating, turned his head tentatively, and when he saw Cui Tao, he got a little excited, staggered to his feet, and hurried to Cui Tao.
"You...why are you here?" After the trial of the case for so long, Zhu Erniu naturally knew that Cui Tao was not the little lady he knew back then who went to Changyuan County to find relatives. She was working in Kaifeng Mansion, and she was from the Yamen. .
Cui Tao brought him the food in the food box.
Zhu Erniu swallowed when he smelled the fragrance, and then burst into tears.On the contrary, he was worried about the other prisoners who were watching the excitement, so why are he still crying? There is such a beautiful little lady delivering food to him, and the food is still so delicious.Sure enough, he was a newcomer, so it was too easy to get overwhelmed.
"It's inconvenient for me to come to see you when you're on trial. Now that everything is settled, I'll come here to pay you back. Until you leave the prison in Kaifeng Mansion, I'll come and deliver it to you every day." Cui Tao knelt down and followed Zhu Erniu said.
Zhu Erniu wiped his tears with his sleeve, "The one I bought is not as fragrant as yours."
"That's right. I made it myself. Naturally, it's the most delicious." Cui Tao boasted bluntly.
Zhu Erniu laughed through his tears. He heard that Cui Tao made it himself, so he must try Cui Tao's craftsmanship.He took a sip of the stewed yam from the beef brisket first, and then couldn't stop.
When Zhu Erniu raised his arms to grill the rice, his sleeves slipped down, and there were several bruises on the exposed forearm.
Cui Tao silently watched him finish eating, then put away the bowls and chopsticks.Zhu Erniu scratched his head and thanked Cui Tao very gratefully.
"My elder brother said that people can only see the truth when they are in trouble. When Mrs. Cui was in my state, she even brought me food. I will definitely remember this kindness for the rest of my life."
"I said that I came to pay you back, so it's not a kindness, don't forget." Cui Tao put the empty bowl back into the food box, and said to Zhu Erniu, "Don't think about it, take good care of your body, it's only a year. It will be fine in the past.”
Looking at his listless look before, one could tell that he was thinking too much and had never had a good meal.
Zhu Erniu nodded as if inspired.
"I've always had a question, so I don't know if I can ask you." Seeing Cui Tao nod, Zhu Erniu continued, "I don't understand, since the body was moved to the ravine by the eldest brother and burned, it is impossible for him to burn the burned body." When the corpse is brought back, how can there be black ash in the cracks of the car?"
Under the protection of Zhu Daniu, Zhu Erniu will be more innocent, but the dangers in the world are not concealed by someone, and he has reached the age when he should know the truth.
"Because some corpses were scorched before they were loaded into the truck," Cui Tao said.
Zhu Erniu was stunned, he didn't understand and wanted to ask why, so he heard the bearded inmates in the same cell laugh at him for being stupid.
"Haven't you ever seen a red-hot iron burn on a person? Doesn't it turn black after a while? If it's not black enough, then just throw it on the charcoal fire and burn it!"
Everyone then burst into laughter, and Zhu Erniu became a little flustered.
Cui Tao got up, walked to the bearded man, and looked at another tall and strong prisoner in the same cell.
"Don't bully him in the future, he is under my protection."
"Pfft!" The bearded man hurriedly moved up to Cui Tao, pretending to bow to Cui Tao through the wooden railing, "Yes, yes, yes, such a beautiful lady, of course we will listen!"
That's what he said, but it was clear from the tone of his speech that he didn't intend to listen at all.Cui Tao is a member of the government, they can do nothing in front of her, but as soon as she leaves, they will bully Zhu Erniu, as long as they can't catch him, no one can do anything.
"I said he was under my cover."
The bearded man suddenly felt his arm being pricked, and then severe pain and numbness spread to his entire arm.The pain made him burst into tears. When he saw a silver needle on his arm, he wanted to pull it out with the other hand, but as soon as he raised his hand, the other hand was also pierced. Immediately he felt His two arms seemed to be crippled.
"If I see any injuries on his body again, I'll use something ten times more powerful...to treat your illnesses. Remember, it's healing, not torture! Who told me to be kind, I always like to show mercy Woolen cloth!"
Cui Tao waited for the yelling bearded man to beg for mercy before she took off the silver needle.
"These two acupoints I pierced to open the tendons and treat pain around the shoulders. If you don't believe me, if you move around, do you feel that your shoulders are more comfortable than before?"
The man with the beard moved his two arms. His original intention was to see if his arm was really useless. If it was, he would file a complaint and scold the little lady for viciously abusing lynching.But after he moved, he found that his shoulders really seemed to be a lot looser?But he didn't want to have the pain just now again.There is no healing process that is more painful than the disease itself!
When the bearded man looked at Cui Tao, he saw her raise an eyebrow at him.Now he understands his implicit threat, when it comes to playing dirty, he can't beat a little lady in the government!But if you can't fight, you can't fight, so you have to stay low and play small, and ask Cui Tao to rest assured with a smile.
"Everyone will remember from now on, I will cover Zhu Erniu too! Whoever dares to bully him will bully me!" After the bearded man finished shouting, he smiled and asked Cui Taoke if he was satisfied.
Cui Tao didn't even look at him, and left with the food box.
Priest Sun gave Cui Tao a little, and couldn't help laughing and sighing: "Only Mrs. Cui can subdue that hozen."
Cui Tao heard what Prisoner Sun said, and knew that the bearded man had a story, so he asked him what crime he committed.
"He was a road robber, and he took a few brothers to appear and disappear on various official roads. Originally, he would change places after a robbery, and no one could catch him. Who knew that he became arrogant, thinking how great he was, and was so stupid a month ago. Single-handedly ran to Wang Yuanwai's house. You said that no matter how powerful he is alone, he can still deal with dozens of other guards in Wang Yuanwai's house? He was beaten in the back, fainted, and then sent to the hospital. I'm in the prison." Prisoner Sun said with a sneer.
"When did he rob, day or night?" Cui Tao asked again.
"It seems that when I was having lunch, I climbed over the wall and went in. I found a middle-aged man in rich clothes. I thought it was Wang Yuanwai, so I robbed him. Unexpectedly, the man was not Wang Yuanwai, but the housekeeper!" Sun Lao The more the head said, the more funny it became.
Cui Tao thought about it for a while, and said to Prisoner Sun: "You should pay close attention to him, I think he is a bit strange, and he may not be safe."
"Miss Cui said, he has never been safe, and we will keep a close eye on him." Sun Baotou agreed, and he did not forget to tell Cui Tao, Zhu Erniu, please rest assured, they Will also help to look after some.
After Cui Tao thanked her, she said goodbye and went back to the deserted courtyard.
Wang Siniang immediately came over to greet Cui Tao, "Han Tuiguan came just now, but he left again when he saw that you were not here."
"But what's the matter?" Cui Tao asked.
Wang Siniang shook her head.Seeing that Cui Tao turned to look for Han Qi, Wang Siniang hurriedly told her that the official Han Tui had left Kaifeng Mansion.
Cui Tao: "It should be nothing urgent." If there is something urgent, Han Qi will naturally send someone to look for her in the prison.
Cui Tao didn't care anymore, so she took a shower and changed clothes, getting ready to sleep.
After turning off the lights, Cui Tao routinely closed her eyes and meditated. After about half an hour, she suddenly felt someone outside the window.
Cui Tao immediately got out of bed and put on his shoes. At this moment, an arrow pierced the window paper and hit the ground. The people outside the window turned and ran away.
A piece of paper stuck in the arrow.
Cui Tao picked up the arrow and immediately followed the figure.
The figure probably didn't expect Cui Tao to react so quickly, and followed him closely without dressing or reading the note?
He is very familiar with the environment of Kaifeng Mansion, running around corners and corners, looking for a chance where the cat is, but Cui Tao doesn't give him a chance to hide.Finally, he ran to the mortuary and the utility room, because the place was hidden and dark, he finally got a chance to hide, and the cat remained motionless.
The morgue in Kaifeng Mansion always has a gloomy atmosphere at night, and the yard next to the mortuary where the utility room is also piled up with many objects.
Although Cui Tao lived in a utility room before, the things piled up in the yard often changed.For example, when she lived here before, most of the yard was still empty. Now there are many dilapidated tables and chairs piled up on the east side of the yard, and banners, some wooden boxes, wooden frames and planks, and even a few iron pots on the west side of the yard.
The military patrol shops under the Kaifeng Mansion sometimes search some merchants who set up stalls randomly. These things should be piled up here when they inspected them recently during their patrols.
Whether it is the utility room or the morgue, if you choose to enter one of the two, then once the person hides in another place, he will be given a chance to escape completely.
Cui Tao picked up a broken table leg from the ground, closed his eyes, and stood by the wall where the two yards of the utility room and the mortuary room met, motionless.
Half an hour later, there was a clicking sound from the courtyard of the utility room.
Cui Tao still didn't move, because the voice sounded like the sound of throwing stones or something, and it was likely that the other party was probing, deliberately slamming around.
Sure enough, after a while, there was a slight sound of leaves on the other side of the corpse room, and then Cui Tao felt footsteps on the other side of the corpse room, and gradually approached the gate of the courtyard.
Cui Tao raised the broken stool leg in his hand and threw it in the direction of the sound. There was a scream of "ah", and something fell to the ground in response.
Cui Tao rushed over and immediately trampled the person under her feet.
"I want to see who you are."
Cui Tao picked up the man, saw that the man was going to grit his teeth, immediately stepped on the instep of the man, and then kicked the crotch, causing the man to open his mouth and scream in pain.Cui Tao pinched the man's chin fiercely, and used the broken stool leg to jam the man's mouth.
The movement from the morgue attracted the attention of the patrolling yamen servants, and everyone ran over with lanterns to see what was going on.Only then did Cui Tao see this person's face clearly. She even recognized him. It was Kong Lin, the prison guard who survived the case of "Cui Jiuniang" sending poisoned rice back then.The jailer who claimed he had to go on patrol to get away with it.
"It's actually you."
Cui Tao asked the yamen servant to fetch bamboo tweezers from the mortuary to check whether there was any poison in Kong Lin's mouth. Ordinary dead soldiers would hide poison in their mouths when performing tasks, just in case.
Cui Tao searched for a long time with bamboo tweezers, but did not find any foreign objects such as wax pellets fixed in the gap between the back molars and the like.
"What about poison?" Cui Tao asked.
"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" Kong Lin's mouth was still stuffed, making it inconvenient to speak.
"Where's the poison?" Cui Tao asked again.
Kong Lin shook his head violently with tears in his eyes, saying that there was no poison at all.
Only then did Cui Tao let go of the hand pinching his chin, and withdrew the stool legs.
Kong Lin's mouth could finally close normally, but his cheeks were so painful that his tears flowed down again.
After the incident, someone rushed to notify Han Qi.
Cui Tao ordered Kong Lin to be tied up first, and waited for him to speak slowly.She took off the note on the arrow.
Same place.
Only these four words were written on the note.
Cui Tao asked Kong Lin where his old place was, and Kong Lin shook his head in horror. His lower lip was still trembling, and he was still unable to speak.
Han Qi hurried over at this time, he already knew about the previous situation on the way, and after seeing Cui Tao, he directly asked her if she had found anything.
Cui Tao handed the note to Han Qi, and then Li Cai rubbed Kong Lin's cheeks so that he could speak as soon as possible.
Kong Lin cried loudly and knelt down to apologize to Cui Tao and Han Qi.
"Damn the villain, the villain shouldn't be obsessed with greedy things, and ran to secretly send a message to Mrs. Cui."
Cui Tao also realized at this moment that Kong Lin should not be a dead man, but a temporary bribe.
"Then why did you grit your teeth just now?" Cui Tao complained dissatisfiedly, causing her to come up with an extra set of defensive measures.
"I...I'm afraid." Kong Lin said in a low voice.
"That's not scary enough. If you're scared enough, you won't dare to go to me." Cui Tao poked Kong Lin's face with the broken stool leg in his hand, and asked him who bribed him with money to spread the news like this .
"I've never seen this person before. My mother is seriously ill, and she needs ginseng soup to hang her life. The shopkeeper of Dechang Pharmacy told me that if someone asked me to help with this matter, ten catties of ginseng would not be a problem. He also told me Said, this is just an old friend sending a message, it's not a big deal. I was hesitant to do it, but seeing the note said see you at the old place, it really seems that Mrs. Cui's old friend is looking for her, maybe I should do it It’s a good thing. Besides, my mother’s illness can’t wait any longer, so I agreed.” Kong Lin’s cheeks finally got better, and he honestly explained everything he knew.
The yamen servant immediately escorted the shopkeeper of Dechang Pharmacy.The shopkeeper confessed that there was indeed a woman in her 20s who asked him to help with this task after spending ten pennies.
"She said she was an old friend of Kong Dalang, and because she was afraid that he would not accept her relief, she thought of such a trick so that Kong Dalang could take the ginseng with peace of mind." The shopkeeper claimed that Kong Dalang was Kong Lin, and said that the ten catties The ginseng was kept in his pharmacy, waiting for Kong Lin to get it.
Whether it is Kong Lin or the shopkeeper of Dechang Pharmacy, they are pretending to be confused. They must all know that there is something wrong with it, but they choose to deceive themselves into believing that 'reason' full of flaws out of greed.
"Just take the ginseng, you can't make it cheaper for that person." Cui Tao said to Kong Lin.
Kong Lin was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect Cui Tao to say such a thing to him, he cried even more fiercely, and kowtowed repeatedly to show that he was wrong.
"Forgive you for your filial piety. I will record today's affairs for the time being. I don't care about you. I will go home and take care of your mother. As for this Kaifeng mansion, I will not be able to take half a step in the future." Han Qi said to Kong Lin .
Kong Lin repeatedly kowtowed to thank him, he knew that if his matter was discovered, it would definitely not get better.Unexpectedly, both Han Tuiguan and Mrs. Cui were considerate of him generously, and felt even more guilty in their hearts, crying and kowtowing countless times before they were willing to resign.
"The person who sent the message didn't know that Mrs. Cui had lost his memory? But he didn't know where this old place refers to?" Wang Zhao rubbed his chin and asked puzzledly.
"City God's Temple," Han Qi said suddenly, looking at Cui Tao, "try."
Cui Tao nodded.
I remember that Han Zong once said that when she was placed in his old house in Dengzhou, she received a letter saying that she would see her in Chenghuang Temple.So the old place may indeed be the Temple of the City God, if not, then it is not, anyway, they do not know other places.
Cui Tao then went to the Temple of the City God with a lantern alone.Secretly, Han Qi sent people to follow and protect, and at the same time, Han Qi sent people to ambush in advance in all the streets and alleys leading to the Town God's Temple.If someone really leaves from the Town God's Temple, it will be impossible to escape.
It was already late at night, and the streets in front of the Town God's Temple were desolate, empty, and so quiet that one's heart sank.
In the whole street, the only sound is the sound of Cui Tao walking with a lantern.
When we arrived in front of Chenghuang Temple, we found that the door was locked, so Cui Tao stood outside the door and waited.After waiting for a while, she heard a voice behind her carefully, so she carried the lantern and walked to the back of the Town God's Temple, but the back door was open, and Cui Tao walked in.Then I saw a woman in black clothes standing in the middle of the courtyard with her back facing Cui Tao's direction with a big knife in her hand.
"You're here." The female voice was low and sharp.
"Well, here we come." Cui Tao agreed calmly.
"You really don't have amnesia, you're just pretending." The woman in Xuanyi suddenly turned around and looked at Cui Tao coldly.
Cui Tao felt an indescribable disgust in the other party's eyes, and was very sure of the unfriendly attitude of the other party.It seems that old friends are not seen in old places.
Looking at this woman again, she has a medium appearance, a medium body, and is almost middle-aged. There is nothing outstanding about her body, but the expression of disgusting people is very outstanding.
"Since you don't have amnesia, why don't you come back?" Seeing Cui Tao staring at her, the woman in Xuanyi felt that her behavior was offensive, and her tone became more and more unhappy.
"I don't want to be controlled by others anymore." Cui Tao also knew that if she continued to look at it, the other party would become suspicious, so she looked away.
"Oh, controlled by others?" The woman in Xuanyi sneered, "How powerful you are, a coquettish vixen who hooks up with men whenever you see him, who dares to restrain you?"
"If I was really good, would you talk to me like this?" Cui Tao asked back.
"You——" the woman in Xuanyi suddenly glared at Cui Tao, drew her knife and pointed at Cui Tao, "I think you are tired of living, you have stayed in Kaifeng Mansion for a long time, and you still dare to talk back to me! Believe it or not, I am here today Killed you!"
"Aren't you the one who sent someone to kill me before?" Cui Tao spoke in a semi-certain tone, also to prevent the woman in Xuanyi from finding out that she had lost her memory.
"So what if it's me, you can't do such a simple thing as asking you to take the salt transportation map, and let Meng Da and his wife die, what use do you think you have? It's best to die!" The woman in Xuanyi With a cold snort, "The pavilion master said, if you pretend to have amnesia, you still have a place in Kaifeng Mansion, which may be of some use. You can consider saving your life for the time being and giving you a chance to atone for your crimes, but everything you do in the future You must obey my orders."
"Oh." Cui Tao responded.
"Is this your attitude?" The woman in Xuanyi was annoyed again and glared at Cui Tao.
"What if I don't listen?" Cui Tao wanted to know whose life they were threatening her to submit to.
"Your Lu Erlang will die, and so will Han Erlang." The woman in Xuanyi snorted coldly.
Obviously, Lu Erlang in her mouth refers to Lu Gongbi, and Han Erlang refers to Han Zong.
"As for me, I have recently become obsessed with Feng Shui."
The woman in Xuanyi gave Cui Tao a disgusted look, "What do you want to say?"
"The word 'two' is a bit offensive to me. I don't like Er Er very much. So you kill this person if you want, don't threaten me. Everyone is an independent individual, each living according to his own ability. Are these two big men incapable of protecting themselves? Why do you want me, a weak woman, to pretend to be a grandson, pretend to be a dog, and sacrifice my life to protect them?"
Cui Tao calmly waved to the woman in Xuanyi.
"So you go kill it, don't be shy!"
The woman in Xuanyi froze for a moment, frowned and looked at Cui Tao again, and finally found that there was something different about her, even very different.
"You really lost your memory, you are lying to me!" The woman in Xuanyi suddenly realized.
"I'm sorry, I could have pretended longer, but your words are really not pleasant, and people can't bear it." Cui Tao shrugged innocently, winked at the woman in Xuanyi, and asked her what she planned to do next, "Should I continue to threaten me with these two men, or change to a new one? Oh, how about my father, Cui Mao? He's hated me recently!"
Cui Tao's eyes revealed hope, as if she was announcing to the woman in Xuanyi: Come on, come and hurt my family, come and help me clean up the trouble!
The woman in Xuanyi really didn't expect Cui Tao to say such a thing, and thought she was crazy.Even her own father is not filial, she really has completely lost her memory!But for a person who lost his memory, why did his temperament change so much, and even become so terrifying? She had never thought that Cui Tao, who had a beautiful face, was so scary before!
"Speaking of which, we've been chatting for so long, but we still don't know which onion you are? Tell me about yourself?" Cui Tao smiled at each other.
The woman in Xuanyi took a few steps back as if seeing a ghost.Immediately, he moved his eyeballs, raised the big knife in his hand, and faced Cui Tao.
"The pavilion master said, if you don't have amnesia, you still have some uses. Now that you have amnesia, I guess it should be useless!"
"Nonsense, I'm useful. I just built an octagonal gazebo and a small pool, and they look great. Besides, are you guessing the pavilion master's thoughts casually? You have to ask for clarification!"
The woman in Xuanyi suddenly realized that she might have been tricked!
She was so angry that she slashed at Cui Tao with a knife. Cui Tao screamed and backed away again and again.
Cui Tao seemed to be very scared, and her steps of dodging were a little staggered, but Cui Tao was lucky enough to dodge every knife slashed by the woman in Xuanyi.The woman in Xuanyi was so angry that she speeded up her steps and used all her serious energy to deal with Cui Tao, but found that Cui Tao was still able to dodge.Only then did she realize in horror that Cui Tao wasn't lucky at all, she knew martial arts!
When the girl in Xuanyi was distracted, after hearing Cui Tao's cry, the officials of the Kaifeng Mansion surrounded the Temple of the City God, and some archers squatted on the roof and the wall, aiming at the girl in Xuanyi.
The woman in Xuanyi was shocked, knowing that she might not be able to escape this time.
With red eyes, she glared at Cui Tao viciously, "You vicious coquettish fox, I'll kill you!"
Then she attacked Cui Tao with more ruthless tricks.
Cui Tao has already retreated behind the yamen servants, and has never been within the scope of protection.The woman in Xuanyi can only talk to the yamen servants in front.
Cui Tao took the opportunity to shoot the woman in black with a silver needle, intending to knock her out.The woman in Xuanyi felt the shooting of the silver needle, turned around and waved the knife, blocked the silver needle, and then flew out a large number of flying knives, forcing the servants to retreat, and ran towards the Temple of the City God.
The yamen servants immediately followed, but they saw the woman in Xuanyi standing in front of the God God statue suddenly stopped, then dropped the porcelain bottle in her hand, and fell to the ground.When Cui Tao rushed over, her pulse was already weak, and she died immediately.Before he died, he did not forget to give Cui Tao another look of disgust.
It seems that this woman does not like her quite much.
"The person who can get in touch with the master of the Dizang Pavilion is loyal and well-trained. He hates me. Unfortunately, he died." After Cui Tao concluded, he turned to ask Han Qi why he came here.
"I met Han Zhongwen halfway." Han Qi said lightly.
I actually met Han Zong.
Cui Tao pouted, "What a coincidence."
Cui Tao then thoroughly searched the woman in Xuanyi's body, except for a silk handkerchief embroidered with lotus flowers, it was just a money bag, which contained three pieces of Jiaozi with a denomination of ten guan, and a string of pearls, of ordinary size and fineness. It's also very ordinary, and it seems to be something for her own use.But the material of the lotus silk handkerchief was not ordinary, it was icy and slippery, and its luster was even better than the string of pearls in her purse.The embroidery of the lotus is also very good, but one corner of the veil is dirty, with yellow oil stains sticking to it.
The clothes of this woman in Xuanyi were made of ordinary materials from the inside to the outside, and the hair accessories on her hair were also very ordinary. There were at most two silver hairpins, but they were neither delicate nor expensive.This handkerchief is obviously not suitable for her identity, and it is also dirty. It is very likely that someone else didn't want it and she kept it.
"She is so loyal, could this handkerchief belong to the owner of the Dizang Pavilion?"
It is said that the masters of the Dizang Pavilion and the Tianji Pavilion are husband and wife, but no one knows which one is male and which one is female.Now it seems that it can be deduced a little bit that the owner of the dizang pavilion is a woman.
Han Qi also felt that there was a possibility.
At this time, there was a noise outside the Town God's Temple, and Han Zong's voice was heard again.
Cui Tao walked out.
When Han Zong saw Cui Tao coming, he looked at her with concern, asked her if she was okay, then looked at Han Qi seriously, and asked how he could let Cui Tao be the bait, it was too dangerous.
"Once something happens to her, who will be responsible?"
"Me." Han Qi replied.
Han Zong glanced at him with a frown, but didn't say much after all, and told Cui Tao not to do such a risky thing next time. "Even if you want to deal with Di Zang Pavilion, you tell me, let me do it."
"But the people in Dizang Pavilion are threatening me with your life to submit."
"There is such a thing? I can protect myself, but you must not listen to them." Han Zong said hastily.
Cui Tao took Han Zong to see the body of the woman in Xuanyi, and observed Han Zong's reaction.
Han Zong widened his eyes slightly, looked at the woman lying on the ground in surprise for a while, then asked Cui Tao suspiciously: "Is she from Dizang Pavilion?"
Cui Tao nodded.
……
At the gate of Kaifeng Mansion, after Cui Tao smiled and said goodbye to Han Zong, she turned cold and said to Han Qi, "He probably knew the dead woman in black."
Han Qi looked at Cui Tao in puzzlement.
"The time for a person to really show a surprised expression is actually no more than a blink of an eye. He just pretended to be surprised for too long."
In addition, Han Qi happened to meet Han Zong on the way to Chenghuang Temple, which is also suspicious.But it is impossible to testify against a person based on these alone, so we can only continue and watch.
"I've been busy lately. I finally came across something to do, and ended up dying like this."
Cui Tao stretched her waist and sighed.
"Oh, by the way, I can probably be convicted of the crime. I was indeed ordered to steal the salt map from the Mengda couple. But at the Dizang Pavilion, it seems that they don't want the Mengda couple to die, so I was reprimanded by her. one time."
Han Qi agreed, "You have made outstanding contributions in the Jiao corpse case, even if you are convicted, there will be no big problem."
"Then after you're convicted, will you tattoo my face?" Cui Tao touched her smooth cheek.
Han Qi's lips moved slightly, as he was about to comfort Cui Tao——
"If it is stabbed, I want to stab it right between the eyebrows, right in the center, so that everyone can see it, that's grand!" Cui Tao excitedly said.
Han Qi: "..."
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