Guanqingzhai

There are fish in Huangquan, named Yin and Yang.Twin life and double death, carrying yin and yang.One life and one death, the soul returns to life.

That night, there was a thick fog, and the moon seemed to be covered with fine hair. Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the lake, and then there was no more sound. After an unknown amount of time, crying voices came from the lake. The voice, crying hoarse at first, then only sobbing like a broken heart.

"My child, my child..."

"You want your baby?"

"Who are you……"

"People who can help you. It's just that you have to agree to my conditions..."

The conversation became quieter and quieter, only the sound of the lake lapping on the shore, and a dark cloud covered the faint moonlight.That is a woman who feels as if she is in the underworld.She nodded numbly, and a green lantern lit up in front of him, illuminating the woman's face very coldly, and the eyes of the child's body beside the woman, which were originally closed, had opened at some point.

It is also the sound of water waves. On the night of April, when the lanterns are first lit, Yingying and swallows are singing in disorder.Even at night, there are people coming and going on the painted boats along the moat.When I push the cup and ask for the cup, the moon is already on the tip of the willow, but I am still half drunk and half dreaming.The sound of the water is as soft as a soft whisper.

"I said Mr. Hu, are you painting or not?" A woman in a bright red brocade dress lay reclined on the couch.

The woman had a pretty face, her eyebrows were expressive, she frowned slightly, she had maintained this posture of lying on her side and holding flowers for an incense stick of time.

Hu Yue held the wine glass, took a sip and said, "Hongqiao, don't worry, this painting needs drunkenness, without drunkenness, there will be no charm."

Hong Qiao smiled, she ignored Hu Yue's drunken words, but stood up and said, "The painting is not drunk, the young master is almost drunk."

Hu Yue raised her eyebrows slightly, her handsome face had already turned crimson because of the half-pound daughter's red wine.He said: "Miss Hongqiao's daughter, Hong Na, is the best in the world, and Miss Hongqiao's people are also outstanding in the world. Even if the wine is not intoxicating, people are intoxicating."

Hongqiao raised the corners of her mouth slightly, and said with an uncomfortable smile on Hu Yue's face, "Young Master's mouth is too eloquent, but you come here and only want wine but not silver... What kind of person are you?"

Hu Yue grabbed Hongqiao's jade-like chin and said with a smile, "Don't you know who I am?"

"Who are you, of course she doesn't know."

The voice came from behind Hu Yue, and Chu Jue walked to the drunk friend with a calm face, sat down and looked at the two of them, and said, "Why don't you call me if you have good wine?"

Hu Yue put down his hand and laughed, feeling a sense of guilt for some reason, he poured it for Chu Jue attentively and said, "Come and draw for Miss Hongqiao."

Hu Yue thought to herself: Last time you came here, you spent a lot of money, and all the girls revolved around you, how can I be a poor scholar?Now as soon as I come, the first question I ask is why didn't Mr. Chu come?

Miss Hongqiao looked at the figure with only one round and said, "There is no progress at all. Why did you draw a single shadow for so long?"

Chu Jue looked at the figure but smiled and said, "Hehe, it's really good to draw. Beautiful people, beautiful paintings and delicious wine. No wonder Brother Hu left me to come here."

Hu Yue ignored Chu Jue's sour teasing, just looked at the figure on the paper with a smile and said, "That's because she hasn't drunk." After being on paper, the original dry and hard lines will melt with wine.

Then, on the paper, a painting of peonies in a drunken play apparently appeared.

Hongqiao's eyes widened.She couldn't help shouting: "Ah, it's really... a painting."

Hu Yue put away the wine glass and handed it to Chu Jue. Chu Jue shook his head knowing what he meant, and poured him the wine.Hu Yue said: "It's a pity that no matter what, it's just a painting. She doesn't have a beautiful body like Miss Hongqiao. No matter how beautiful the painting is, it's not as good as a real person."

Hongqiao put down the peony flower in her hand, and sat beside Hu Yue, she was too surprised to speak, stroked her temples, and sighed: "Mr. Hu is indeed a genius."

Hu Yue showed a somewhat displeased expression on purpose, and said with her mouth curled up, "Where does the ghost word come from?"

When Hongqiao said this, she seemed to have thought of something suddenly, she got closer to Hu Yue, poured him a glass of wine, and said: "This is what the girls in the painting boat said... Don't be unhappy, my lord, they That's an unexpected compliment to you, by the way, Mr. Hu knows that there has been a public case recently."

There were originally two oirans in this workshop, among them, Hongqiao was known as the peony oiran, while the other girl Linlian was regarded as the lotus oiran. The two oirans competed for beauty. This Linlian girl is good at calligraphy, painting and poetry, she is a talented woman.

Hongqiao's face showed sadness and resentment: "But sister Linlian died at the end of last year..."

This Lin Lian was taken as a concubine by Zhao Yan, the servant of Huangmen, but at the end of last year, Lin Lian, who had just left his citizenship, drowned in the pond in Zhao Yan's backyard.The body had been eaten by fish, and only a few tattered pieces of clothing remained.The originally cold and beautiful woman ended up in a horrible and sad end. "

However, a few days ago, Zhao Yan's servants found Lin Lian who had died in the painting boat. At this time, Lin Lian was not called Lin Lian, but Xiao Ni, and she was just the daughter of a peddler who made a living selling pollen.

But the people in the Zhao Mansion firmly insisted that Xiao Ni was Lin Lian, and wanted to arrest her.Xiao Ni's father refused, saying that his daughter was a young girl, not an oiran or concubine.

Hu Yue said, "Then there was trouble with the Yamen?"

Hongqiao nodded, and continued: "Actually, it's easy to check. Since Xiao Ni's father said that his daughter is unbroken, he can check it with a stable woman. I didn't expect... It's really a yellow flower." girl."

Hu Yue said, "That means this flower girl is not Lin Lian?"

Hongqiao leaned closer to Hu Yue and said, "Actually... that's why I invited you here."

Hu Yue said, "What do you want me to do?"

Hongqiao twitched the corner of her mouth, revealing a playful smile: "My servant will accept this painting first."

After finishing speaking, she put the scroll into the back room, and took out a box from the room.She said: "This is what Lin Lian left with me before she died. She said that she has no father or mother, and no place to settle down. If something happens one day and there is no body, just bury the box." Falling into a grave for her, if she still has a trace of pure soul, she will also have a place to return to."

After she finished speaking, she put the box on the table. The three of them looked at the box, and Hu Yue spoke first: "What's inside the box?"

Hongqiao said, "It's a set of clothes."

Chu Jue said: "Clothes, do you want you to set up a tomb for her?" Hong Qiao continued, "I didn't think it was strange at first. Sister Linlian would put a set of clothes with me, and after she died, I could also set up a tomb." It is a tomb of clothing.But... it's a men's suit. "

Hu Yue's hand holding the wine glass paused, and continued: "Could it be the clothes of the person she admires?"

Hongqiao said: No, because this suit is so small, it feels like it was worn by a doll.And I feel like Lin Lian foresaw that she was going to die before she got married. "

Hu Yue asked: "Then what does Miss Hongqiao want me to do this time?"

Hong Qiao said: "Mr. Hu, can you help me find out the cause of Lin Lian's death? And the purpose of the children's clothes in this box."

Chu Jue, who had been drinking and didn't interrupt, said at this time: "I'm afraid it will be difficult, because Miss Linlian's body is gone. As for the purpose of Tongyi, it is too difficult to determine, everyone is dead, there is no way to know the truth."

Hu Yue said, "What if you can call back souls?"

Chu Jue smiled wryly and said, "This is also a way."

Hongqiao waved her hand and said, "There's no need to try, I have asked a Taoist priest to do the method of summoning the soul, but the Taoist said that Lin Lian's soul cannot be summoned."

Hu Yue said disapprovingly, "Warlocks are mostly liars without real skills. How much money did you give him?"

Hongqiao tilted her head and said: "Mr. Hu's words are very true. That Taoist priest is not very decent. He drinks alcohol when he comes and asks girls to dance for him. His eyes don't want to be a monk at all. He is simply a Taoist priest waiting for him." A prodigal son. You have collected a lot of money!"

Hu Yue and Chu Jue glanced at each other, and Hu Yue continued, "Is the Taoist priest called Xuan Mingzi?"

Hongqiao was taken aback for a moment, and she said: "That's the name, he looks like a pervert."

Chu Jue smiled slightly: "It's him, Master Canmei."

Hu Yue asked, "What else did he say?"

Hongqiao said: "This lustful and money-grubbing Taoist also said that Lin Lian's soul has actually been dispersed long ago. In such a situation, he can only make one guess, that is, Lin Lian died more than ten years ago, and he died so disastrously. .”

Hu Yue frowned slightly at this time, and he said, "But Lin Lian died at the end of last year?"

Hongqiao nodded.Hu Yue frowned, looked at Chu Jue and said, "Can we go and see the pool where Lin Lian died?"

Hong Qiao said: "Then you can come into the Zhao residence with me tomorrow. That Zhao is going to take a concubine again."

Chu Jue said, "Could it be that this time he wants to marry Miss Hongqiao?"

Hongqiao replied with a look of disgust: "Hmph, he likes my aunt, but my aunt still thinks he is unworthy. This time he married Huayan from Lefang."

She suddenly thought of something, and said, "However, recently, this guy named Zhao seems to have lost his wife all the time, and he really hit the mourning star."

Zhao Shilang, who has always lost his wife, has never married the main wife, and the side houses have not stopped one after another.Moreover, Minister Zhao is from an official family, so he really doesn't have to worry about not being able to marry a concubine.

But no one expected that Zhao Yan, whose wife had been dying that night, would also die.

What was supposed to be a happy event turned into a funeral, and Hongqiao asked Hu Yue who was next to her, "This...do we still want to go in?"

Hu Yue said: "Of course I have to go in, and I also want to meet Zhao Yan's body. Things have become interesting."

Hongqiao was a little scared, she said: "I still want to see dead people... I don't want to see it."

Hu Yue said: "It doesn't matter, Brother Chu and I can go and see."

Hongqiao nodded obediently, then withdrew to look out for the two of them.

The hall was set up as a mourning hall, with white cloth and white sails everywhere, Taoist monks played and chanted scriptures on both sides, the mourning hall was very large, and the coffin was parked in the back hall.Hu Yue and Chu Jue couldn't see the corpse.

But in the crowd, Hu Yue recognized Xuan Mingzi at a glance. He was mixed with Taoist monks, and he was dozing off while others were chanting sutras. When he woke up, he would ring the bell a few times.

Hu Yue walked up to Xuan Mingzi and bumped into him, Xuan Mingzi looked sideways at Hu Yue, then closed his eyes but said, "You really came."

Hu Yue smiled slightly: "Didn't you tell Miss Hongqiao that I want to come?"

The corners of Xuan Mingzi's mouth turned even higher, and he said with a smile: "Old fox, what do you think of this matter?"

Hu Yue said at this time: "Can you take me to see the corpse?"

Xuan Mingzi shook his clothes, then looked around and said, "Come with me."

Xuan Mingzi walked towards the back hall with the bell in his hand, Hu Yue and Chu Jue followed, the back hall was very quiet, there was no sound, only two maidservants knelt beside the coffin and kept burning paper.

The servant girl saw a stranger entering and was about to call out, but Xuan Mingzi said: "Don't call out, these two are my Taoist friends, he said that your master died strangely, there must be evil spirits in the house, So I want to see your master's body."

The two maidservants looked at each other, and one of them who was slightly older said, "Then please take a quick look, otherwise the old lady will know, and we will not be offended."

Hu Yue walked into the coffin. Zhao Yan lying in the coffin looked as if he was asleep. His skin was still bloody, and he couldn't tell he was a dead person at all. But when he touched his arm, he felt obviously stiff. Without the heat, it was indeed a dead body.

The two maidservants whispered to each other for a while, and finally the older one walked forward and said, "Did the three of you come here because of Aunt Lin's death?"

Xuan Mingzi wanted to speak, but Hu Yue blocked him with his fan, Hu Yue smiled slightly and said, "That's right."

The two looked at each other, and the older maid bit her lip, knelt down and said, "There is one thing I hope the three of you can decide for us, we..."

The younger one held her back and said, "Sister Liu'er, the old lady will punish us."

But Liu'er pushed her away: "Our lives are about to die, we are dead anyway!" She looked at the three of them and said, "If we can find out what's going on, maybe...we can still be saved."

The younger girl nodded with tears in her eyes. The older child was named Liu Er. She looked at the three of them and finally fixed her eyes on Hu Yue. It will be gone by the end of the year..."

Hu Yue frowned: "At the end of last year? Wasn't that when Miss Linlian died?"

The two girls trembled when they heard Lin Lian's name, and their already pale faces became even more livid.

While Hu Yue was talking with the two maidservants, Chu Jue kept looking at the corpse and didn't pay much attention to what the maidservants said.Xuan Mingzi squinted at the side and said, "This is obviously a zombie."

Chu Jue reached out and touched the neck of the corpse, he said, "No, it's dead already."

Liu Er turned around and replied: "Master, in fact, at the end of last year, Aunt Linlian passed away not long after her death, but she never died. Her body was still warm, but she could only lie down and couldn't move or speak. Not long after The aunts of the master's other folk prescriptions also died one by one. It's just that although the aunts are all dead, it's strange that our master's complexion has improved, and he can take some supplements. So the old lady has been marrying aunts for the master, every time I marry When one comes back, the master will be better, but the aunt will die in a short time. Then the old lady will give the master another one, and there is already a third one. But I didn't expect the master to die suddenly yesterday, and it was too late to marry new."

Chu Jue said: "It seems that Hu Yue is interested in this matter again. If you are so interested in fame, the current prime minister should be named Hu."

Hu Yue smiled, but didn't answer, but Xuan Mingzi said, "This Zhao Yan looks very young."

Hu Yue said: "Perhaps the food eaten by the officials is more delicate, and the maintenance is good?"

Xuan Mingzi shrugged, he looked back at Liu'er and said, "How old is your master?"

Liu'er wiped away her tears and said, "The age of forty has passed."

Xuan Mingzi said, "But the corpse looks to be in its twenties at most, how could it be a 40-year-old?"

Yan'er continued: "When the master was sick, he became younger and younger. And..."

He glanced at the corpse. Although the corpse's face was very pale, it was extremely handsome, and there was a hint of evil spirit in that expression.

Liu'er held back her tears, and finally said: "The old lady is afraid that the master will cause trouble after death, so let us be buried with him."

Chu Jue shook his head and said: "The matter of human sacrifice is expressly prohibited by the law of this dynasty. This matter is very absurd."

Liu'er and Yan'er looked at each other, knelt down and cried, "There is nothing we can do. Please help us three, our father and mother are being detained by the old lady. If we escape, our parents will be killed." You and your brothers and sisters will be implicated."

Hu Yue knocked on the coffin, and said to Chu Jue, "The corpse has not been tampered with."

Chu Jue said, "Let's go to that pool first."

Liu'er informed the three of them of the general direction of Lin Lian's body, and asked them to pass through the rockery with few people.

On the way back to the hall, they found Hongqiao who had been hanging there. Hongqiao didn't dare to look at the corpse, but she didn't shy away from going to the pool where people died.

But that Chizi Hu Yue didn't let Hongqiao follow.Hongqiao didn't force it, but just asked the three of them to go back to the boat to meet her after checking.

Hu Yue said: "It's a pity that Mr. Zhao's appearance is dead now."

Xuan Mingzi sneered and said, "Others look terrible after death, but this kid is so good, he turned handsome after death."

Hu Yue looked at Chu Jue who was just walking and said, "Brother Chu has been silent since he saw the corpse. Did you find anything?"

Chu Jue was taken aback for a moment, then glanced at Hu Yue, shook his head and said, "I've been thinking about the connection between Zhao Yan's death and Lin Lian's death."

Hu Yue smiled and opened the fan, but Chu Jue said, "But if they are really related, there is still something missing."

Hu Yue was taken aback, he smiled and said, "What do you mean by that?"