Dragon Pattern Roll Set

In the Kaifeng mansion, Gongsun had just fallen asleep with his chubby son in his arms when he heard a soft knock on the door.

Gongsun stuffed the fourth son under the quilt, got up carefully, put on his outer robe and went out to watch.

Seeing Wang Chao Ma Han standing at the door, Ma Han whispered to Gongsun, "Sir, there is a life lawsuit. Mr. Zhan said he wants you to do an autopsy, and he also said that you knew the dead man."

"What!" Startled, Gongsun hurried in, got dressed, picked up the small medicine box, and followed Chao Mahan out.

Sitting in a carriage until the foot of Xishan Mountain, I saw the Imperial City Army surrounded Xishan. Ouyang Shaozheng yawned and sat on a stone tablet on the hillside.

Gongsun walked up to him, "What happened?"

"It's all gone." Ouyang held his chin and shook his head, "Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang are in the house."

Gongsun frowned, and saw the commander Cao Lan standing in the gap in the outer wall of the Jin family's old house, waving to him.

Gongsun hurried up the mountain, Chao Mahan helped him over the wall, and saw that many lanterns had been lit in the house, Zhang Long and Zhao Hu were looking around with some yamen servants, and when they saw Gongsun coming, they took him with them. Go through the vestibule and turn around the screen.

At this time, two tall wind lanterns were placed in front of the screen, illuminating half of the courtyard as bright as day.

Even so, the corpse hanging high behind the stone screen was still extremely terrifying.

Gongsun frowned when he saw it, "Who did it?"

Similarly, due to the distorted face of the corpse, Gongsun couldn't tell which person he knew for a while, so he didn't know anyone very familiar, so he asked Zhan Zhao who was standing beside him, "Who is this?"

Zhan Zhao handed a fan to Gongsun.

Gongsun opened it and was taken aback.

On the fan, there is a poem inscribed, the handwriting is elegant and elegant, and the signature is clear - Gongsun Ce.

Gongsun recognized this fan, and the fan was written by himself.

There are not many people in Kaifeng who ask for Gongsun's calligraphy. It's not because Gongsun's calligraphy is not good. On the contrary, Gongsun's calligraphy is so good. It's just...Mr. Gongsun is a doctor, and he has to write countless prescriptions every day, so he asked for his Words are too easy, just ask him to see a doctor, every pharmacy charges a dozen, and anyone who comes to ask for it will give one.

This fan was written by Gongsun to an old man who was a medicine farmer. Gongsun often bought medicines from him, he was very honest.One day, he came suddenly, holding a white fan, and asked Gongsun to propose a poem, and it would be best if he could get another payment.

Gongsun was a little puzzled, the old man didn't look like a fan player, but Gongsun didn't ask any more questions, and helped the old man write.

The old man thanked you a lot and left. After a few days, Tianzun suddenly came to ask Gongsun if he had given a fan to Xie Yiting, the curator of the Xieyi Painting Gallery, and he was bragging about his friendship with you. Woolen cloth.

Gongsun was stunned, a little inexplicable.

Xie Yiting is a businessman in Kaifeng City, who specializes in opening art galleries, and likes to make friends with literati, arty.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang also knew this person. Zhan Zhao knew him because he was a respectable businessman in Kaifeng, so he would naturally make friends.Bai Yutang knew him because Tianzun liked to visit art galleries, and he would buy whatever he saw. People from the art gallery would send it to Baifu and Baifu would pay the bill.Originally, it was enough for a buddy to do this kind of thing, but every time Xie Yiting came to send paintings to the Baifu, so Bai Yutang met him twice, and saw the fan written by Gongsun in his hand.At first, Bai Yutang really thought he was Gongsun's friend. Although he felt that he was a bit of a profiteer, he was still very polite to him.

Later, Gongsun asked the old Yaonong, and it turned out that the old man's parents owed Xie Yiting money, and Xie Yiting said that he could pay it back if he had no money. If Mr. Gongsun could help write a fan and pay the money, the debt would be written off. !

After Gongsun found out, he didn't pursue it. Most of the people in Kaifeng Mansion knew about it. Fortunately, Xie Yiting was also a measured person. He didn't hold the fan carried by Gongsun himself for bluffing. Sometimes there is a topic or something.

Xie Yiting, he is neither good nor bad, he is a well-rounded businessman, and he is also well-dressed and dignified on weekdays, why is he dying in such a miserable state?And why did he come to the haunted house in the middle of the night?

Gongsun walked over and leaned against the wall to look at the lantern pole on Xie Yiting's neck, surprised, "This murderer must have deep internal strength and high martial arts skills?"

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang nodded. The lantern pole is made of ordinary wood. It is impossible to hang the ordinary wood on a person and insert it into the stone wall without some internal strength.

Gongsun shook his head, "Who did Xie Yiting offend? He even put two paper flowers around his neck. What does that mean?"

Bai Yutang asked, "Is it some kind of custom?"

Gongsun stroked his chin and thought, "I've never heard of such a custom."

Zhan Zhao frowned.

At this time, Cao Lan came in and told Zhan Zhao that he had sent people from the Imperial City Army to search nearby, but there was no one on the road in the middle of the night, so no one should have seen what happened.Almost everyone nearby was also asleep, and they didn't hear anything, and they didn't know if the house had ever been lit.

Zhan Zhao nodded, which was also expected.

Gongsun ordered Xie Yiting's body to be taken down, and after a brief examination, he told Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang, "There is no other trauma, only this pole died after being pierced through the throat. I will take it back and check to see if there are any other clues." .”

Zhan Zhao asked Zhang Long and Zhao Hu to carry the body and go back with Gongsun.

At this time, Chao Mahan came over, "Master Zhan, there are many houses behind, most of which have sealed doors and windows."

Zhan Zhao looked at the sky, it was almost dawn, and the murderer acted cleanly, without leaving any clues. As for the huge scale of the Jin family's old house, it would be a big project to investigate.The murderer insisted on letting Xie Yiting die in this haunted house, and he probably had his own purpose... It seems that he wants to investigate the old case of the Jin family.

Zhan Zhao asked Wang Chao Ma Han to go back and report the details to Lord Bao, and went down the mountain with Bai Yutang himself, intending to go to Xie Yiting's house to inquire.

At the foot of the mountain, Ouyang Shaozheng was crossing his arms, chatting with a chubby soldier.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang walked over.

Ouyang saw the two, pointed to the little soldier, and said, "His family lives next door to Xie Yiting's."

Zhan Zhao raised his eyebrows—what a coincidence.

The soldier's surname was Wang, and everyone in the barracks called him Xiaopang Wang.

Zhan Zhao asked him, "Are you familiar with Xie Yiting?"

Wang Xiaopang shook his head, "I'm not familiar with him, but I am familiar with his maids."

Zhan Zhao looked up at the sky, while Bai Yutang nodded, being familiar with the maids usually means knowing them well...

"Then do you know any clues related to Xie Yiting's murder?" Zhan Zhao asked.

Wang Xiaopang nodded, "First of all, Xie Yiting probably didn't come here by himself."

"Oh?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Why do you infer that?"

"Shopkeeper Xie is the most timid! His family worships the gods every first and fifteenth day of the lunar new year. There are many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas in the house. What's more, all the women in his family are not allowed to put powder on their faces!"

Zhan Zhao was curious, "Why are you not allowed to apply powder?"

"It's scary to see a pale face in the middle of the night!" Wang Xiaopang narrowed his eyes, "His maids said he was most afraid of ghosts! That day the maids were playing Die Xian at night, but shopkeeper Xie bumped into him. I lost my temper with the boss and almost drove them all away."

Zhan Zhao rubbed his chin, it sounds like he is really afraid of ghosts.

"What else?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Has he had any grudges with anyone recently?"

"Hmm... I've never heard of this, but there was a robbery in his house a few days ago!" Wang Xiaopang said.

"What was stolen?" Zhan Zhao asked, "Painting and calligraphy or money?"

"I don't know about that." Wang Xiaopang continued, "It was about half a month ago in the evening, that day I was eating my mother's bag of wontons with my father in the yard, and I heard the mess in the Xie Mansion next door, like What happened, I went to the door to take a look. I saw his family members coming in and out, but then closed the door soon. The next day I asked his maid, and I heard that Xie Yiting came out of the painting last night. When he came back from the library, he ran out of the study not long after he entered the study, saying that a thief had been intruded! He kept asking who had entered his study just now. The housekeeper said that no one had entered his study, so he asked him if he had lost something and whether he wanted to report it to the authorities. Shopkeeper Xie didn’t let the police report, so he asked them to look for it, and even asked if anyone had entered his study room, but in the end he didn’t say what was lost.”

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang frowned - don't say anything about the loss, and don't report it to the official?

Ouyang Shaozheng smiled, "Don't be something shady."

"Xie Yiting sells paintings and calligraphy, maybe like antique dealers, secretly helping people sell stolen goods. Most of this kind of dirty things are hidden at home...unexpectedly stolen. In this way, you can neither make a public announcement, let alone report to the authorities." Bai Yutang said.

Zhan Zhao nodded, "So, is it black and white?"

"Is there any more?" Ouyang patted the little soldier on the head, "You and the maid are already mature like this, there must be something else, think about it!"

"Hmm..." Wang Xiaopang poked his head and thought for a while, then clapped his hands, "Ah! By the way, his servant girl mentioned that she thanked the shopkeeper for scolding someone at home!"

Zhan Zhao was curious, "Who did he scold?"

"The dean of Taixue, Master Lin Xiao!" Wang Xiaopang said.

Zhan Zhao frowned.

Bai Yutang didn't understand, "Why did he scold Lin Xiao?"

"Hmm... It seems that he wrote to Mrs. Lin to recommend the son of a big buyer to study in the Imperial Academy. Who knew that the old man said that he had to pass the exam to enter the Imperial Academy. want to go in."

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang wanted to laugh when they heard this, it was indeed Lin Xiao's temper.

"His girl said that shopkeeper Xie lost his temper that day and scolded Mrs. Lin very fiercely." Wang Xiaopang was quite gossipy, probably because he asked the maids about what Xie Yiting scolded, so he told Zhan Zhao and the others learned, "He said Mr. Lin is a wooden fish head! Pedantic! He has been doing this for so many years! He also said that the most annoying thing is that he is old and immortal."

Both Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang frowned, they both respected this somewhat "pedantic" old master, and even called him "Immortal..."

"Listen." Ouyang was curious, "Do Xie Yiting and Lin Xiao have friendship? It feels like we've known each other for a long time."

"Probably not..." Wang Xiaopang blinked, "Shopkeeper Xie is so good at bragging! If you get a fan written by Mr. Gongsun, you can blow it so that everyone from nine blocks away knows that he has friendship with Mr. Gongsun. Lin Xiao Master, that is the headmaster of the academy, if you have friendship, how can you not brag about it to the whole world?"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang looked at each other—indeed, a little suspicious.

After asking Wang Xiaopang about it, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang simply borrowed him from Ouyang Shao and took him to Xie's residence together.Zhan Zhao arranged a task for him. When he and Bai Yutang went to Xie's house to investigate, Wang Xiaopang took the opportunity to find familiar maids, and then asked if there were any clues. Some said that those maids were afraid of getting into trouble, so they probably wouldn't talk to officials. Said, but not necessarily without telling the neighbors next door.

……

When Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang arrived at the Xie Mansion, several yamen servants were already at the door. Sure enough, the people in the Xie Mansion had already received the news. According to the rules, they were going to send someone to the Kaifeng Mansion to identify the corpse.Xie Yiting had a group of wives and concubines, five or six wives, big and small, crying like tears.Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang took a closer look, and found that it was exactly as Wang Xiaopang said, they didn't put on any powder, and they all looked up to the sky.

Walking into Xie's mansion, indeed, there are Buddha statues everywhere, and apparently the family burns incense all the year round, the smell almost catches up with the temple.

Bai Yutang got a headache when he heard a large group of women crying. After thinking about it, he asked the butler beside him, "Does your shopkeeper have books and paintings in your house?"

The housekeeper nodded, "The valuable masters of calligraphy and painting are not kept in the gallery, they are all in the warehouse at home."

So, Fifth Master went to see the painting and calligraphy, and left Zhan Zhao to ask the housekeeper and others.

……

The warehouse of Xie Mansion is not too big, after all, the Xieyi Painting Gallery is just an ordinary painting gallery, and the rare treasures owned by Xie Yiting are also limited.

Bai Yutang walked into the warehouse and looked at the paintings hanging on the wall. In addition to calligraphy and paintings, there were also several jade carvings in the warehouse.

Bai Yutang asked the boy who opened the door, "Does your master sell other things besides calligraphy and painting?"

"I don't sell anything else." The boy shook his head, "But the master will resell some things for his friends. These jade carvings are all placed here by his friends."

"Do you know what kind of friend it is?" Bai Yutang stared at one of the white jade Buddha statues.

The man shook his head, "Master always says it's not something valuable, and we as servants don't dare to ask more about it."

Bai Yutang is an expert, especially researched on jade wares, he can tell at a glance that this jade is an ancient relic, quite rare and definitely not a "frivolous thing".Usually this kind of jade is rarely sold by anyone who owns it, because it can be passed down as a family heirloom.Even if there is an accident and you have to sell it, there are still a large number of jade guilds rushing to sell it... Just find a gallery to trade in such a secret way, there is only one reason - this jade is not visible, in other words, it is stolen goods.

In the Kaifeng mansion, there are records of theft and lost property from various places, and Bai Yutang has gone through them earlier... So, Fifth Master started to think.

Zhan Zhao asked the housekeeper and the wives, and the clues he got were not as good as what Xiaopang and the maids got, especially the wives were crying so much, Zhan Zhao had no choice but to ask the housekeeper to take the wives to Kaifeng Mansion to recognize them. Once the body was found, go to the warehouse behind to look for Bai Yutang.

When he arrived at the door of the warehouse, he saw Bai Yutang standing in front of a white jade Buddha statue with his hands behind his back, frowning in thought.

Zhan Zhao leaned in, and Bai Yutang suddenly raised his head.

Zhan Zhao blinked.

The two looked at each other for a while, Bai Yutang pointed at the white jade Buddha, and said, "It's not in the records of stolen goods in the past 20 years."

The corners of Zhan Zhao's mouth twitched, this mouse has such a photographic memory...

The two left Xie's mansion, and Wang Xiaopang also ran out. The girls were all frightened, and they didn't ask any questions for a while. He said that he would continue to ask questions in a few days.

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang said goodbye to him and went back to Kaifeng Mansion.

The two were walking on the streets of Kaifeng. At this time, the sky was bright.

Zhan Zhao stretched his waist and yawned, "Another night of tossing around."

The two of them didn't feel much sleepy anymore, and the nearby breakfast shops were all open, so Zhan Zhao dragged Bai Yutang to Lehezhai to eat fried buns.

Lehezhai’s pan-fried buns are the most famous in Kaifeng. The pan-fried buns are paired with mutton bone soup, and you have to queue up every day to eat them.

Zhan Zhao always wanted to eat, but he couldn't get in the queue. It happened to be early today, and there was no one in the shop, so he dragged Bai Yutang into the shop.

The shopkeeper cheerfully greeted, "Master Zhan Wuye, a rare customer! How much do you want to eat?"

Zhan Zhao thought for a while, "Fifty is not enough, one hundred..."

Bai Yutang looked at Zhan Zhao speechlessly.

Zhan Zhao held his chopsticks in his mouth, "I just want to pack it up and give it to my little four and grandpa to taste, don't look at me like I'm an idiot!"

Bai Yutang innocently drank tea from a teacup, which meant—whoever said you're an idiot, don't be so sensitive...

Soon, the mutton bone soup and steamed stuffed buns were on the table, and the waiter ran to pack them for the two of them.

Zhan Zhao was dipping fried buns in vinegar while chatting with Bai Yutang, "Maybe it's really black and white, but the method is very similar to vendetta."

"And he died in the old house of the Jin family." Bai Yutang poked two holes on both sides of a fried steamed stuffed bun with chopsticks, and asked Zhan Zhao, "Is the case of the Jin family an unsolved case back then? There is a file in Longtu Pavilion Is it recorded?"

"Maybe, you can look it up." Zhan Zhao chewed on the steamed stuffed bun, "But I want to go to Taixue first after breakfast."

"Looking for Master Lin Xiao?" Bai Yutang asked.

"Maybe we can find something." Zhan Zhao added while drinking the soup, "But I have to go back and take a look at Duoduo first."

Bai Yutang teased him, "This pony is born, or I can keep it in your room."

Zhan Zhao nodded and nodded, "Okay! Let Xiao Wu take it with him, maybe there's a word 'Wang' on his forehead."

……

There is no impenetrable wall in this world. When Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang returned to Kaifeng Mansion with two big boxes of pan-fried buns, word spread on the streets of Kaifeng that the shopkeeper of the Xiyi Painting Museum died in the old Jin family’s house. It’s weird. up!Also, Lao Tan, who was on watch last night, ran into the Jin family's grandson's daughter-in-law. This is a ghost!

When Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang came to the backyard, they saw that everyone was awake, eating raw fried buns and gathered around to ask about the case. Zhan Zhao gave a general introduction.

"Well, I just said that something will happen to the Xieyi Pavilion sooner or later." For some reason, Pang Yu, who was in Kaifeng Mansion early in the morning, shook his head while eating raw fried buns.

Zhan Zhao asked, "Do you know him?"

"I'm not familiar, but I've heard people mention that this kid occasionally sells stolen goods for others." The young master shook his head, "But as he is so shrewd, he should know how to advance and retreat. implicated."

"Old Tan was so scared that he almost peed his pants last night!" Bao Yan was also curious, "Did he really see the granddaughter-in-law of the Jin family?"

"Didn't his granddaughter-in-law die 20 years ago?" Zhao Pu wondered, "Maybe she must be forty too!"

"So it's a ghost..." Lin Yehuo touched his chin, "Or it's some kind of face-retaining technique!"

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang thought about what Xiaopang said earlier about the theft of Xie's house.

Zhan Zhao also asked the housekeeper just now, and the housekeeper said that something was indeed lost half a month ago, not in the warehouse, but in the master's study.But Xie Yiting didn't say what it was, and no one was allowed to mention it, but after the theft happened, Xie Yiting was suspicious all day long, as if he had something on his mind.Zhan Zhao went to Xie Yiting's study and looked around, but found nothing unusual, most of them were ledgers, and they were brought back for people to check.

After dinner, Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang were going to Taixue to find Master Lin, and Bao Yan and Pang Yu happened to be there too.

Gongsun was about to do an autopsy, and Xiao Liangzi went to the Prime Minister's Mansion with Zhao Pu early in the morning. Zhao Pu had a chat with Wang Chengxiang, and Xiao Liangzi happened to learn how to write from Wang Qi.

Therefore, the fourth son, who was not taken with him, decided to follow the crowd to visit Taixue.

Also nobody brought Tianzun and Yin Hou, but the two old men chose to go to the monk to play chess.

The aunts went to buy clothes with the money they won.

Zou Liang went to the dog farm to see the newborn puppies. Lin Yehuo struggled between buying clothes and seeing the puppies, and finally decided to take the mute to watch the puppies together.

Ouyang Shaozheng didn't sleep all night and went to catch up on sleep.

Long Qiaoguang and Doro went hunting in the paddock. Today, the Eighth Prince is going to enter the palace for a day, and Nangongji is in charge of safety, so Doro has nothing to do.

In the end, there was only one person left in Kaifeng Mansion who had nothing to do—Wu Yifu, a sick scholar.

Wu Yifu just woke up, and Zhan Zhao coaxed him for a long time. He barely ate two buns, but said he was stuffed and had a stomachache. He looked sick and didn't feel very well.

The fourth son took his pulse several times but failed to feel the whole pulse, and was so shocked that his forehead was sweating.

Wu Yifu patted him on the head, An Wei said, "Don't worry, I won't die."

In the end, Zhan Zhao and the others went to Taixue, and brought along the sick scholar who was walking around to digest food.

Halfway there, I met Ge Qing.

Ge Qing also went to the Taixue, and Zhao Lan was locked up by the queen mother, and she was not allowed to go out. She was still thinking about the horse name book, so she asked Ge Qing to find it for her.

Ge Qing was overjoyed when he saw Zhan Zhao and the others, but when he looked behind Zhan Zhao and the others, he didn't see Tianzun, so he froze for a moment... Tianzun didn't go to the palace for a banquet last night either.

Everyone looked at Ge Qing helplessly - this kid is too honest, all emotions are on his face, is it really okay?

The fourth son held Ge Qing's hand, "Xiao Qingqing, Tianzun will be back when we have dinner later, you can come too."

Ge Qing's head was biting like a chicken pecking at rice, everyone was powerless—poor boy...

Turning a corner, at the gate of General Ouyang's mansion, I met Ouyang Chunhua again, also going to Taixue.

Chunhua is a clever ghost, last night he felt that Ouyang Shaozheng seemed to be a little concerned about the "nephew" next to Mrs. Lin Xiao.In fact, he was also curious. He always felt that that person didn't look like Mr. Lin Xiao's relatives, and he didn't have the same style of painting, so he wanted to inquire about it.That's all right, let's go together.

In the distance, the Taixue with white walls and black tiles came into view... At the door, occasionally a few young people passing by raised their feet and looked around.These are estimated to be students who are about to enter the Imperial College. This is to take a look in advance to get acquainted with the surrounding environment.

When everyone came to the gate of Taixue, they saw several imperial city troops guarding, and indeed Taixue stepped up their guard.

Naturally, the Imperial City Army would not stop Zhan Zhao and the others, saying that Mrs. Lin had just arrived and brought a young man whom he had never seen before.

Everyone heard what Chunhua said just now, and they also knew that a "nephew" suddenly came to Mrs. Lin's family, so they were a little curious.

Except for Bao Yan and the others, it was the first time for the others to come to the newly built Taixue, and they were really surprised when they entered the door.

The fourth son raised his face and turned around, "Oh! Much better than the original style... No wonder the emperor said yesterday that he spent a lot of money, so don't let him touch the wall of Taixue..."

While talking, he walked backwards, with a "bang", he bumped into someone, and looked back... two long legs, so the little four raised his face.

The fourth son looked up at the person whose leg was hit by him, and that person was also looking down at him.

The two sides looked at each other.

The fourth son blinked - he didn't know this person.

The man also blinked, and said, "Tuanzi!"

The fourth son squinted - what? !

The man squatted down, stared at the fourth son for a while, and suddenly "poofed", smiled and beat his knee, "It's so round! Hahaha... It seems that Xiyuanzhai's candy doesn't shake."

Everyone silently raised their faces and thought about it...Xiyuanzhai's Tangbudui is a world-renowned dim sum. Of course there is a branch in Kaifeng. Speaking of it...his Tangbudui is the same as the world's Tangbudui, they are all round , the only difference is that Xiyuanzhai's candy always pinches two small pink ears, so it looks like a round fat rabbit.

Being said so...

Everyone subconsciously went to see the fourth son, and two words popped out of their minds—like!

"puff."

Pang Yu and Zhan Zhao couldn't hold back, and let out a pop.

I saw the fourth son turning around.

Everyone gasped—there was a murderous look in Tuanzi's eyes!