Placid Chang'an

One person said that he had seen a ghost, and he might have been delusional or exaggerated, but if two people said they had seen it, there should be something.

Su Cen asked, "Where is the ghost you saw?"

"It's right by the master's window," the little maid vowed, "we live in the upside-down room facing the master. When I got up last night, as soon as I opened the door, I saw a faint light in the master's room, as if there was a figure standing there. Looking at me from the window, at first I thought it was the master who came back. But when I looked again, the gate of the backyard was still locked and no one had moved at all. I was almost scared to death at that time, so I quickly got under the covers and suffocated. I didn't dare to move all night."

"You're not right," the boy interrupted, "that ghost was obviously sitting at the master's desk, and the lady asked me to bring sugar water to the master that night, but I didn't expect the master to fall asleep. I hit it straight, and the bowl was so frightened that it shattered."

After saying this, everyone fell silent, their faces turned pale, and some timid ones even trembled.From this point of view, this ghost can not only move, but also entrenched in Xu's house and refused to leave after killing Xu Youhuai, so the next one to die may not be whoever it is.

Su Cen frowned, and asked the boy, "You have seen a ghost, what does that ghost look like?"

The little servant looked at Su Cen tremblingly, frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "It's similar to what Xiaojuan said, green and miserable, lying on the master's table, I didn't dare to look at it, I yelled and left gone."

"What happened next?" Su Cen asked.

"Later..." The boy thought for a while, "Later the master woke up, and after lighting the lamp, the ghost disappeared."

"Your master doesn't know about this?"

"I told the master at the time," the servant frowned puzzled, "but the master said I was pretending to be a ghost, scolded me, and didn't let me speak out."

The boy sighed and shook his head, "I didn't expect the master to be killed by that ghost so soon."

Su Cen stood up and checked the clues, that is to say, Xu Youhuai knew that his house was haunted, and told the servant not to speak out.Then what kind of logic is this, is it impossible to raise a ghost concubine at home behind everyone's back?

The yamen servant stepped forward and asked, "My lord, what should we do now?"

Su Cen looked at the direction of the backyard and thought for a moment, then said, "I'll see what this ghost looks like at night."

Su Cen sat in the main hall facing Xu Youhuai's semi-lag mourning hall and waited for dark. Xu Youhuai's two concubines and a group of servants looked at each other for a while, and finally the little maid who had talked to Su Cen came over timidly and asked Su Cen Cen: "My lord, what about us?"

"Huh?" Su Cen recovered from the case and said, "What should you do?"

A group of people glanced at each other, and they dared not disobey the orders of their lord, so they didn't know who was the first to kneel down with a plop: "Master, you died so miserable..."

The others followed closely, and started howling at the mourning hall.

Su Cen, who was sitting in the mourning hall, said, "..."

Su Cen admired the howling mourning posture without a drop of tears. At the same time, he felt that if they were lying in this empty coffin, they would be able to howl like this.

Su Cen got up resentfully, and decided not to delay other people's "business".

After walking two steps, Su Cen remembered something again, and turned around to ask, "Did your master eat garlic before the accident?"

The servants were puzzled by the question, and the cooks looked at each other and shook their heads silently.

Coming out of Xu's house, Su Cen remembered that it was not far from the West Market, so he sent the yamen servants to stroll to Xu Youhuai's antique shop by himself.

The West Market is different from the East Market, because most of the people living around it are ordinary merchants, and there are not as many rules as the East Market. There are many small merchants and hawkers, and most of them sell daily necessities such as oil, salt, sauce and vinegar.And because it is close to the Jinguang Gate in the west of the city, most foreign merchants and Hu merchants from the west enter through this gate, so there are also some exotic and rare things in the West City.There is a poem that says "Wuling was young in the east of Jinshi, laughing into the Orchid's restaurant", which refers to the scenery of the west market.

Xu Youhuai's Cuijixuan is hidden among these shops. The left neighbor is a makeup shop, and there are many people chattering about the new poinsettia in the official family. The right neighbor is a tea shop, and the old storyteller is talking about fresh In the script of offering sacrifices to the god of fire, the god of fire, Zhu Rong, sent down the punishment of heaven because someone perverted and dominated power. Su Cen sighed, how could everything be related to that person?

And this Cuiji Xuan looks quite weird in the middle, the neighbors are very lively, but there are few people in front of it.

It may be that I want to take a good artistic conception of quietness in the midst of noise, but it's a pity that I can't get it quiet, and I can't get into trouble.

What surprised Su Cen even more was that Xu Youhuai died yesterday, but the store is still open today.

Su Cenxin stepped into the shop. The waiter sitting in the shop must have gotten used to the solitude of the shop. He raised his eyelids and said, "Guests take care of themselves", and didn't bother to talk to him anymore.

Su Cen took a random look at the things in the store, and sure enough, as the clerk said, most of the things in the store were worthless, and even Su Cen could tell the authenticity at a glance, Xu Youhuai could not support Xu Youhuai with these things alone. Live that big family.

Su Cen went straight to the counter, knocked on the table, and asked, "Where's your shopkeeper?"

"Dead," the clerk looked up, seeing that Su Cen didn't look like he was going to buy something, and said directly: "The one who burned to death yesterday is my shopkeeper. If there is something to be returned or exchanged, I can't decide, and there is no one now." If you can make the decision, you will suffer from being dumb, admit it."

This guy must also know the virtues of his shop, and Su Cen laughed at him with a look of familiarity, "Your shopkeeper is dead, what are you still doing here, who will pay you?"

The guy lowered his head and made a lot of calculations, "The shopkeeper is gone, the boss is still there, but you don't even want to return the goods, our boss only comes here once a year or so, you won't see him."

"Master?" Su Cen raised his eyebrows, "Isn't this shop owned by Xu Youhuai?"

"Yes." The clerk was not ambiguous at all, but he continued: "But there are two bosses above, but they can't be seen on weekdays."

Su Cen asked: "Who are these two bosses? What do they look like?"

"No, did you buy something worthless in our store?" The clerk finally raised his head and looked at Su Cen, "I don't think you look familiar? I don't remember what you bought in our store." ..."

Su Cen didn't want to talk nonsense with this person anymore, so he took out his waist card and waved it in front of the assistant, "Dali Temple is handling the case, I ask you what to answer."

The guy was taken aback, and immediately stood up and nodded at Su Cen, "So it's an official, I was talking nonsense just now, don't take it seriously, people in our store don't return goods every day, we sell Everything is absolutely genuine, no one can deceive a child..."

Su Cen: "Boss."

"Oh, Master," the boy complimented, "Our Master, I haven't seen it either."

"..." Su Cen took a deep breath, "Do you know what crime it is to lie to the court order?"

"My lord, my lord..." The clerk hurriedly came out from behind the counter, knelt down on the ground, and was about to hug Su Cen's thigh.Su Cen took a step back in a hurry, the clerk was in vain, and hurriedly said: "Everything the villain said is true, there are indeed two bosses above, but every time the boss comes over, the shopkeeper dismisses us, I really didn't see What does this owner look like?"

Seeing that this guy really didn't look like a liar, Su Cen could only wave his hands to make people stand up, and then told the two owners that if they came to the store again, they should go to Dali Temple to report the crime as soon as possible.

There are two mysterious owners in such a shop with no serious stuff, Su Cen can't help but wonder whether these two owners belong to this Cuijixuan, or the small warehouse in Xu Youhuai's house?

The matter here came to an end, Su Cen heard something happened outside the door, there were many voices for no reason, as if there was some dispute.

Su Cen went to the door and took a look, only to see that there were quite a few people gathered outside the door. Among the crowd, a man who looked like a servant was holding on to the sleeve of a female family member, trying to argue about something.

Behind the young man was a young man who wrapped himself tightly in a big snow-white fur, his complexion was a bit pale, but his brows and eyes were quite delicate, and he was no different from Qu Ling'er.

The young man stretched out a jade hand from the big coat and tugged at the boy's arm, frowning and persuading him: "Danqing, forget it."

"How can it be forgotten?!" The boy called Danqing was about to cry, "This is the master's painstaking painting, how can you say forget it!"

The female relative who was dragged by Danqing also looked helpless, "Since it is a painting and it is not a precious thing, let your son draw another one."

"What do you mean it's not a precious thing? My young master has been painting this painting for a whole month, stayed up countless nights, and almost got a cold." Danqing grabbed the man's sleeve and did not let go. "I don't care, you have to pay for it." My son's painting!"

"I'll pay? How can I pay? Can I draw another one for you?" The female family members tugged at her sleeves, "I think you are just trying to blackmail people, and hit me with a broken painting. I haven't let you You pay me rouge!"

Su Cen glanced at the picture scroll held in Danqing's other hand, and there was indeed a place that was different from the ink color, and there was a place of bright red for no reason.

Su Cen was not a nosy person, seeing that it was getting late, and was thinking of going around the crowd and rushing back to Xu's house, when he just took two steps, he heard the young man say: "It's really not something valuable, We were the ones who offended the girl by being abrupt. Danqing, let's go."

The voice was cold and clear, which matched that appearance very well. There was no trace of resentment in the words, but it seemed to be a sincere apology.

Danqing reluctantly let go, and the female relative flicked her sleeves and left with her head held high. The crowd watching saw that the excitement was gone, and scattered away one after another.

The young man wants to take the painting from Danqing, "Throw it away."

"My lord..." Danqing frowned and complained, hugging the painting tightly in his arms, reluctant to throw it away.

The young man sighed to himself, "What are you keeping for useless things?"

Su Cen stopped walking and felt a little moved. The painting is just a painting when others see it. Only the person who actually painted it knows how much effort has been put into the painting. This young man said he was going to throw it away, but he probably felt a lot in his heart. Tangled.

But if the painting is dirty, it is dirty, and the painter can't see even the slightest flaw in his work, otherwise he would throw the painting away.

For no reason, he thought of his black bamboo painting back then. If someone hadn't bought it later, he would be the one who would rather tear it up than sell it for ten taels of silver.

Su Cen turned around and said to the boy, "Show me the painting."

Danqing was stunned for a moment, and turned to ask his son's opinion. The young man also looked up at Su Cen, and then nodded slightly after a while.

The painting hasn't been mounted yet, only a thin layer of drawing paper. Su Cen unfolded it little by little against the wind, and couldn't help but be taken aback when he saw the painting: ""Shuhesha Bird Picture"? Did you draw this?"

I saw a lotus leaf in the painting, the lotus pod was half unfolded, a sand bird perched on the branch, and looked at a small insect above, the whole picture was done with fine brushwork, and the leaf veins and spots on the withered lotus were completely visible, Su Cen did not remember If I am wrong, this is the "Shuhesha Bird Picture" by Ma Gong, a master of fine brushwork in the former dynasty.

It's just that now a little rouge has stained the drawing paper, which is a bit out of tune with the original simple and elegant painting style.

The young man cupped his hands at Su Cen, "I'm not talented, the painting is not elegant, it will hinder my son's viewing."

"That's not what I meant," Su Cen shook his head, "If your painting hadn't been framed, I would have mistakenly thought it was the real one."

"No, I marked it," the young man stepped forward, pointing to the section under the dead branch of the lotus, "I just left a mark here in case someone would use it as a fake."

Su Cending glanced at it, and there were dots and crackles, and the word "Yugui" was vaguely there.

Danqing raised his chin proudly, "My son is amazing, many people come to ask for paintings, if not for my son's poor health, he might become a painting saint of the dynasty!"

"Danqing," the young man frowned, turned his head and smiled embarrassedly at Su Cen, "Young Master, I am just good at tracing. Someone will ask me to trace some ancestors' paintings, and I am also afraid that some people will use it. For other purposes, so every painting has left such a mark."

"Yugui?" Su Cen asked.

"My surname is Li, Li Yunxi, and Yugui is my name."

"Su Cen, Su Zixu," Su Cen replied, and handed back the scroll, "What was your painting originally intended for?"

Li Yunxi pointed to a shop on the street, "The painting was ordered by the painting studio in front, and I planned to send it today, but now it seems that it will take a few more days."

"They will also sell it when you send it to the painting studio," Su Cen said with a smile, "Then why not, you can sell this painting to me."

"You want this painting?" Li Yunxi raised his head in surprise, but then lost his eyes, "But the painting is dirty."

"What I want is not this "Bird Picture of Shuhesha"." Su Cen shook his head, looked at people and said, "What I want is your "Bird Picture of Shuhesha". This painting is full of other people's things , I want to see your painting, the position of the rouge is just right, I want you to take advantage of the situation and draw me another lotus flower, is that okay?"

"Lotus?" Li Yunxi tilted his head and looked at Su Cen, frowning slightly, looking a bit suspicious, "But this painting is a remnant autumn lotus, where did the lotus come from?"

"Ma Gong's painting is indeed residual lotus, but this is your painting. If you let it be autumn, it will be autumn, and if you let it be summer, it will be summer. I said I want your painting, so you don't have to stick to it anymore. other people's things."

Li Yunxi bit her lip and thought for a moment, then she suddenly became enlightened, smiled at Su Cen, and handed the scroll to Danqing for him to keep it safe, "You are right, I will be the master of my painting, and I will give it away when I finish it." for you."

"I said, I bought your painting," Su Cen emphasized the word "buy", took out a silver ingot and handed it to Li Yunxi, "This is considered as a deposit, and I will give you the ending when I receive the painting." payment."

"No need..." Li Yunxi's slender fingertips held a silver ingot that turned red from the cold, but Su Cen refused to take it back, blushing in desperation, and whispered: "That won't take so much."

"Why don't you have confidence in your own paintings." Su Cen left the address and asked Li Yunxi to deliver the paintings to the door. Then he left and left, turning around and heading towards Xu's house.

It wasn't until Li Yunxi watched Su Cen's back disappear into the deep twilight that Li Yunxi slowly withdrew his gaze. After standing for a long time, his body became cold and he buried his head and coughed.

"It's getting cold, young master, let's go back." Danqing hurriedly helped Li Yunxi to follow his back carefully, seeing someone coughing for a long time before he stopped.

Li Yunxi took another look at the direction Su Cen was leaving, and sighed softly, "Heaven's proud son", with a bit of envy in his eyes.

In the end, he gathered his cloak and walked away. The goal was not elsewhere, but the painting studio on the corner of the street.