Nongmen Shenjue

Due to Zhong Jun's provocation, the trip to Beijing had to be postponed.

You can't investigate the case out of thin air. Since you want to find out the whereabouts of the maid, you must first understand some information about the maid.It's not enough to just ask Zhong Jun, what's more, how much does this young master know about a little maid?Even though the maid's disappearance is now a mystery, Zhong Jun still failed to remember the maid's name.

"To my house?" After the spring outing, Zhong Jun was not surprised to hear Chen Shiliu's request.Nodded: "Yes, but if you have any questions, it's best to ask them all at once."

That maid was from Mrs. Zhong's courtyard, so the questioning was naturally aimed at people in the same courtyard, and the matter involved the inner house, so it was quite sensitive.Zhong Jun was able to agree without hesitation, so he was naturally confident in persuading Madam Zhong, but he couldn't do one thing the other.

Fu Jingchun was quite curious when he saw other people, but he definitely couldn't follow them all, so he took the lead and said: "Well, three days later, I will hold a banquet in the mansion, and everyone will go to the banquet together, and listen to the follow-up of this matter."

Everyone has no objection.

Zhong Jun's father was a bachelor from the fourth-rank Imperial Academy. In the capital city where the rich and powerful gather, this official position is not high, but the Zhong family has been in the Imperial Academy for generations. The grandfather of the Zhong family was once an official to the Imperial Academy. .Although Zhong Jun was only 17 years old, according to the precepts of his ancestors, he had taken the imperial examinations in a serious way, and he already had the reputation of a scholar, so he could be called a young talent.

Don't look at Zhong Junqing's arrogance and arrogance with people's sentiments, but the Zhong family's family style is strict but not rigid, and the elegance can be seen from the layout of the house.

Inviting the three of them to sit down in the flower hall to have tea, Zhong Jun first went to the inner house to report to his mother.

The reason for the three of them was that apart from Mu Qingyan and Chen Shiliu, there was also Wei Yangyu.

Chen Shiliu turned to Wei Yangyu and asked Fan Er: "Wei Xiaosan, you have to remember what I said. At the beginning of a while, you can only watch and not talk, so as not to disturb the case."

Wei Yangyu felt that he was a villain, but if he wanted something from others, he had to hold back and nod in agreement.

He's really curious.

Not long after, Zhong Jun turned around and came back, followed by the housekeeper.

"Mother promised you to ask the servants, but the result of this matter should not be passed on lightly." In fact, when he just mentioned this matter, he suffered a lot of reprimands.Even if the ones to be questioned are maidservants, they are also the servants of the wives and ladies, and they are all from the families of innocent girls. Not to mention being questioned, it is not appropriate to meet a foreigner.

Mu Qingyan will investigate the case again. After all, he is not an official. If he is an official, it is easy to explain to the outside world.

Mrs. Zhong couldn't help calling Zhong Jun "nonsense".

But the matter has come to this point, Fu Jingchun and other young masters and brothers all know about it, so it will be useless to refuse.What's more, Mrs. Zhong will feel uneasy if she can't find the maid for a day.Whether it is good or bad, there must always be a conclusion.Therefore, in the end, Zhong Jun was allowed to mess around, and he was afraid that he would be young and inappropriate, so he specially asked the housekeeper to come over to help.

Mu Qingyan said, "Let's talk about the basic situation first."

Chen Shiliu added next to her: "The missing maid's age, name, personality, who she was friends with and who she didn't get along with. When did she enter the mansion, did she know anyone outside, how often she left the mansion, etc."

The steward said: "I have to ask the big maid in the madam's courtyard."

Each courtyard has a big servant girl in charge, who is in charge of the little girls below.

When the servant girl came over, they didn't face each other directly, a screen was erected in the middle, Mu Qingyan and the three sat behind, and saw the people coming in through the screen, because of the bright light, they could see the other person's appearance.In doing so, it's not about the difference between men and women. The servant and the master are not so particular about it. The main thing is that there are three men on their side, so that the maids who come in will not be nervous when they see it.

Instead, Zhong Jun sat in front of the screen, and the housekeeper stood outside the door.

This big maid is twenty years old and looks handsome: "Third Master."

"Sister Qingmei, Mr. Chen wants to ask you something, just tell the truth."

"Yes." Qingmei knew it before she came, although she was a little nervous, she was still steady.

Chen Shiliu, who was asking questions, basically didn't need Mu Qingyan to tell him what to ask. After such a long time of experience, Chen Shiliu was no longer what he used to be.

Qingmei straightened her thoughts and said, "The missing maid is named Tong'er. She is a second-class girl. She is fourteen this year. Tong'er is seven or eight years old. Her family has only one grandmother. The old man is old and has no relatives to entrust her to her." , sell Tong'er into Zhong's house to find a way out.

Tong'er is shy, she can only concentrate on her work, she is a bit stupid in her mouth, and she doesn't like to argue with others, and no one can make things difficult for her.In the past, Tong'er only stayed in the mansion and didn't go out. In the past two years, she grew up gradually. We wanted to take her with me. She knew it was good. Whenever she went out, she had to bring some small things back to share with the little sisters.At the beginning, she was limited in going out, it seems that it started half a year ago, and she went out once a month, and she didn't go out with other people. When people asked her, she just smiled and looked very happy.This time is also the same, she will leave the house on a fixed day, we don't care, who knows she will never come back. "

Without pausing, Qingmei said again: "However, Tong'er and Xiaoyue entered the mansion at the same time, and they have the best relationship."

Qingmei's implication is very clear, if anyone knows Tong'er's secret, only Xiaoyue can.It's just that she didn't say it clearly, she must have asked several times before, but she didn't ask.

Then Satsuki came in.

Xiaoyue is not as good as Qingmei, not to mention seeing outsiders, even when facing Zhong Jun, her nervous little face turns pale.

Facing Xiaoyue, Chen Shiliu's voice was abrupt and forceful, full of threats: "Do you know that valuables have been lost in Madam's room? Now that Tong'er's whereabouts are unknown, we suspect that Tong'er stole the things. If you don't report the knowledge, you may be an accomplice." ! Do you know what is the crime of stealing the owner's property?"

Xiaoyue was not scared at all, and shook her head again and again: "No, no, I am not an accomplice, and Tong'er did not steal anything."

Zhong Jun pouted, thinking that Chen Shiliu was a fraud.

"Then tell me honestly, what did Tong Er go out of the house for?"

"She..." Xiaoyue hesitated, whether it was because she was afraid: "I really don't know, I just count money when I see her. We are second-class maids, and the monthly money is sent to us every month. In the mansion, there are clothes for four seasons. If there is a family member, the money will be saved by the family. If there is no family member, it will be saved or spent directly. Although Tong Er has no family, she does not spend a lot of money. They are all saving, and when they have saved enough, they will exchange copper coins for broken silver and keep them. In recent months, she has changed. She goes out once a month, and she has to bring a lot of money. Not only silver coins, but sometimes Reward, she wrapped all the good fruit cakes in a handkerchief and took them out. I saw it once, and she told me not to tell people, lest people would laugh at her. I asked once, and she said that the cakes and fruits were for The old lady next door used to eat it."

At that time, there was a certain standard for the monthly money of the maids. For a family like the Zhong family, the maid who was in charge of the master's wife would get one or two taels of silver, and for a second-class like Tong'er, it would be five hundred dollars a month.But at the beginning, Tong'er had no money to take when she first entered the mansion, and as she grew older, her income was limited, and the money did not increase until she was promoted to second-class monthly.

That is to say, no matter how frugal Tong'er is, the money she has saved is not a big sum.She has been in the second class for less than two years, even if she didn't spend a penny, it would only be eleven taels of silver, including the rewards she had saved before, 15 taels would be the best.

Furthermore, a second-class maid is also in the wife's yard, so it doesn't matter if she can't get up or down.

It's just that everything seems ordinary and seems to be unprofitable, which makes Tong'er's disappearance seem strange.The first reaction of the Zhong family was that Tong'er had an accident when going out, so they searched everywhere and asked the county government officials to inquire, but they found nothing.

When Xiaoyue asked new clues, everyone had the same guess.

"She is a little girl with no relatives and no reason. The money she has accumulated over the years will never be given to others easily. This person may have known her or coaxed her by tricks. The little girl is just the age to be deceived. It's really fascinating." What others say is what they say. Maybe it was just for money at the beginning, but the little girl didn't have much money. After the money was searched, it was estimated that the other party thought about it. The two had a dispute, or their minds were exposed, so they simply didn't do anything. Don't stop, there's a killer!" This was Chen Shiliu's guess, he handled many small cases, most of which were caused by money.

Mu Qingyan got up: "The result will be given in three days."

After leaving Zhong's house, he walked around from the main door to the side door, stopped for a while, and walked towards the street.I walked slowly all the way, passed through several streets, and turned into an alley.This alley is full of small households, and there are shopkeepers carrying burdens, children chasing and playing, and women leaning on the door to gossiping.

Mu Qingyan was in front, Chen Shiliu and Wei Yangyu followed behind.

The three of them were dressed in brocade clothes and silk, and their appearance and temperament were not vulgar, which made people look suspicious.

Mu Qingyan ignored it, and walked past one by one, and finally stopped at the gate of a certain family's courtyard.The gate of the courtyard is not big, and the old wooden door is half-opened and half-closed. In the courtyard, there is an old woman picking up beans. The woman next to her is greeting her two children, talking to the old woman about the daily necessities at home. .

Mu Qingyan turned back and left the alley, followed by Chen 16 and two.

Wei Yangyu was confused, wanted to ask but didn't dare to ask, so he asked Chen Shiliu, but Chen Shiliu just put on airs and didn't give a clear answer.Wei Yangyu fought with him all the way for this.

Mu Qingyan told Chen Shiliu: "Go inquire about that family and find out their situation."

"Brother Mu, don't worry, it's a trivial matter." Chen Shiliu took Wei Yangyu with him.

Mu Qingyan sat down at a tea stand, and after drinking the second cup of tea, Chen 16 came back.

"I found out. The family name is Wu, an old woman, and two brothers. The eldest brother is Wu Chunlai, who works as a waiter in a wine shop. He is married and has two sons. The younger brother is Wu Xialai. He is nineteen. Because the family is poor, He doesn’t have a business of his own, so he failed to make a match several times. Mrs. Wu and his eldest daughter-in-law set up a stall to sell pancakes in the market, which is also a source of income. But Wu Xialai, the neighbors often don’t see him, and it is said that someone saw him going in and out of the gambling house The neighbors don't believe it, after all, the Wu family is poor, and it is impossible to give Wu Xia money."

Chen Shiliu said he was tired, so he poured a cup of tea.

Wei Yangyu couldn't wait to interrupt himself and said: "I haven't talked about the important thing for a long time. That little maid, what Tong'er's, she often goes to Wu's house. Tong'er's disappearance must be related to Wu's house. Let's ask, they Don't dare not say it!"

Chen Shiliu sneered, took two fried soybeans from the plate, and stuffed them into his mouth.

"Wei Xiaosan, you can't be in such a hurry to investigate the case." Chen Shiliu preached as if he had come here, and then explained the news in a more orderly way: "Tong'er and his family lived in the same yard with the Wu family, and they lived in the same yard as the Wu family. Very familiar. Tong'er was seven or eight years old when he entered Zhong's house, and he remembered a lot of things, but he was young at first, and he didn't expect to go around with Wu's house. According to neighbors, Tong'er came back to Wu's house for the first time in August last year. As the festival was approaching, I brought a large box of mooncakes. Later, I would come here basically once a month, each time with something to eat or use. The Wu family treated her well, but every time she went, the Wu family had to cut the meat. , The Wu family is not willing to eat meat.

At the end of February, that is, on the 23rd, Tong'er left the house, but did not go to Wu's house.A neighbor even asked about the Wu family, and the Wu family was not surprised at all, they only said that Tong'er had been transferred and was not available, but asked someone to bring something. "

Knowing that, Mu Qingyan went directly to Wu's house.

"Who are you looking for?" The Wu family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were very restrained and nervous when they saw the three of them.

"Don't be nervous, let me ask you something. Every time Tong'er comes back to your house, besides delivering food, have you ever given money?" Mu Qingyan asked very directly.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Wu family were taken aback: "Tong'er? She didn't give money, but she often gave some food. What, is, did something happen to Tong'er?"

Seeing that they were dressed like wealthy people, the Wu family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law thought that Tong'er had made a mistake on errands, and might even have taken something from the master's house, so their expressions changed.

"Tong'er is a good child, she will not do bad things. She said that those things were rewarded by the master, or she bought them with monthly money..."

Mu Qingyan waved his hand and asked again, "Where is Wu Xialai?"

"Xia Lai? He, he went out to look for a job." He said so, but actually guessed that the second son was not doing business, but Mu Qingyan and others saw the menacing attack, and Mrs. Wu instinctively protected her son .

Mu Qingyan asked the last question directly: "Does your family want Tong'er to be your daughter-in-law?"

"This..." The Wu family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law looked at each other and said in a low voice: "That's what happened, and we also saw that the two of them got married. But we know that Tong'er is the maid of a wealthy family, and the master needs to nod for such a big event. Yes, besides, she is not very old, so she didn't dare to mess around, she just wanted to wait until she was older, to beg and redeem her."

Originally, the Wu family didn't dare to think this way, mainly because they had no money to redeem people.

Later, it was Tong'er who said it herself, saying that the Zhong family is kind, if the maids reach the age, those who have family members will be released home, and those who have no family members will be pointed out by the master's family. Don't redeem your body with money, but you can still bring your own savings.

After coming out of Wu's house, he stopped and walked, and arrived at the door of a small gambling house.

"Sixteen, go in and look for it. If someone is inside, bring it out."

Chen Shiliu got into the gambling house, and came out with a young man in his arms after a while.This person didn't know how long he had been in the gambling house, his face was yellow, his eyes were sunken, his hair and clothes were sloppy, and he had an unpleasant smell on his body.Chen Shiliu patiently got the man out, threw him on the ground, and wiped his hands vigorously with a handkerchief.

Wei Yangyu also covered his nose and took several steps back.

Mu Qingyan frowned: "Wu Xialai, where is Tong'er?"

Wu Xialai was in a daze at first, when he suddenly heard the word "Tong'er", as if struck by lightning, he lay down on the ground and began to cry bitterly: "I, I'm sorry Tong'er, I didn't mean it."

"Did it really kill someone?!"