Chapter 1 - One inch of gold 01
This is Bo Ruoyou’s first time in Anqing Houfu.
At the beginning of the heavy snow, the clear sky is like blue, the continuous pavilions and pavilions are gorgeous with vermilion lacquer, noble and majestic, in the distance snow-pressed pines and cypresses, Qiong twigs and jade hanging, close by, under the white wall, two clusters of Lamei are blooming in the cold, and the fragrance hits people.
Bo Ruoyou looked at the Kuo Da and graceful mansion while slowly following behind the Qingzhou prefect He Cheng.
On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month today, the weather was extremely cold, but He Cheng took a towel and wiped the sweat on his forehead as he walked. “The New Year’s people are calling you, because there is really no way. This case is very difficult and tight. In the entire Qingzhou Mansion, apart from you, I can’t think of a second person who can help.”
Two days ago, the arrest of the prefectural government’s Yamen approached Qingshan County. In the same night, Bo Ruoyou got into the carriage that came to Qingzhou City.
Needless to say, He Cheng encountered a troublesome case again.
He Cheng is five feet tall and is middle-aged. He wears a big fur collar today. He walked more and more round. “The deceased was the old lady of the Hou Mansion. He was found dead in the Buddhist hall. People were stiff when they were discovered. Now almost half a month has passed, and the cause of death cannot be verified. Not only that, but strange things happened in the house…”
Bo Ruoyou didn’t expect that it was the old lady of the Hou Mansion who died.
Qingzhou is an important town in the south of the Great Zhou. Although it is hundreds of miles away from Kyoto, it is a family land for many generations. The Zheng family of Anqing Houfu is one of the Qingzhou families. She never heard of the death of the old lady from the start to the city. The Hou Mansion concealed the matter extremely strictly.
Seeing He Cheng didn’t say anything, Bo Ruoyou asked, “Something strange happened?”
Bo Ruoyou spoke with a soft and clear voice. He Cheng looked back and saw that she had bright eyes like stars, her eyebrows resembling daisies, and she wore a blue Hunan skirt with a cloak of moon white bamboo branches, and she was calm and calm. Calmly, quite a bamboo style.
He Cheng retracted his gaze and said with a sigh, “Let’s do an autopsy first. The old lady’s death is very strange. Her old man did not have any old illnesses, nor did he see any injuries after death, nor was it poisoned. You know, the cause of death cannot be found. Without any other clues, there is no way to start the case. I’ve really been like a fight these days.”
Bo Ruoyou only felt that He Cheng hadn’t said everything. Seeing that he was sweating profusely, he calmed down and said, “However, if a mortal dies, there must be a cause of death. Don’t worry, the adults will do their best.”
He Cheng smiled wryly, “I believe in you, but I must be fast.”
At this point, He Cheng’s voice is even more serious, “You are my own, and I will not hide it from you. You should know that the Anqing Hou Mansion is noble, and the old lady was born in Xinyang Hou Mansion. Looking back, she is still a filial piety who has passed away. The cousin of the empress dowager, so the death of the old lady is of great importance. After the incident, the capital received news. The Xinyang Houfu has sent people to Qingzhou, I’m afraid it will be here tonight.”
He Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, “The news of this case is strictly blocked. According to the Hou Mansion, it is best to find the murderer silently. Now let’s take you to examine the body of the old lady. You’d better check it out before dusk. The result is, no, you can’t wait until dusk, it’s better to find out the cause of death within an hour—”
Bo Ruoyou understood why He Cheng was so panicked.
Although she was not a native of Qingzhou, she grew up in Qingshan County under Qingzhou. Later, by chance, she was combined into Qingshan County’s government work. Normally, only the unsuccessful case that has been delayed for a long time, or the tragedy with many deaths and injuries, He Cheng would invite her.
Seeing He Chengji’s burning eyebrows, Bo Ruoyou also raised his spirits. The two turned around the two flower beds. The more they walked in, the more remote the location was. Just when Bo Ruoyou asked how far away the morgue was. A secluded courtyard came into view.
The small courtyard has white walls and grey tiles, the snow outside the wall has not melted, and the two bushes of purple bamboo are verdant as daisies. He Cheng said, “This is the place where the old lady stops.”
He Cheng took Bo Ruoyou into the courtyard gate, and when he entered, Bo Ruoyou frowned.
There are sacred spirit banners hanging in the courtyard, but strangely, there are two wooden gourds painted with cinnabar hanging under the eaves of the gallery. Outside the main entrance is a simple bronze tripod with Buddha incense inserted in it, above the main entrance. , Two bright yellow talisman papers are firmly attached.
There were only two government officials guarding the courtyard. Seeing He Cheng bringing a woman, he said nothing, but gave Bo Ruoyou his hand, “Boy girl.”
Bo Ruoyou came to the prefectural government office for many post-mortem examinations, and he was already familiar with these offices.
Bo Ruo nodded quietly, and He Cheng asked, “Can someone come over today?”
Yacha shook his head together, He Cheng seemed relieved, and walked towards the main room with Bo Ruoyou. When he reached the door, he stopped, his chubby body bulged, and he took a deep breath.
Bo Ruoyou: “…”
It has been many days since the incident happened. How could He Cheng still be afraid of the old man’s body?
As soon as this thought settled the door, He Cheng pushed open, and Bo Ruoyou looked into the door naturally—
The next moment, her face became slightly stiff.
She knew how He Cheng took a deep breath.
The hall was square and dim. The morgue’s coffin bed was placed in the center. The old lady of the Hou Mansion lay quietly in a black mourning suit with a pattern of fortune and longevity. Nearly half a month after his death, the head and face exposed from the collar of the mourning coat and the hands exposed from the cuffs are all bruised and swollen, with scars all over them, and they have long lost their human form.
But that’s not what made Bo Ruoyou’s color change.
The room was wide and spacious, and the coffin bed was slightly empty when it was parked in it. However, at this moment, in addition to the corpse of the coffin bed, there were more than a dozen red, green and green paper boys and girls on the left and right sides of the coffin bed.
These paper boys are half tall and short. The boys are dressed in red brocade clothes and the girls are dressed in dark green dress robes. They surround the coffin bed like real children. , The old man is dead, the grandson is fake.
This situation is the creeps that an individual will feel when he sees it.
Bo Ruoyou closed his cloak: “My lord, this…”
He Cheng also seemed helpless, “It’s a long story, don’t be afraid, they are all fake, and the autopsy is done first.”
Bo Ruoyou felt that if it were all true, it would be just as terrifying.
Stepping through the door, Bo Ruoyou’s nose moved, he first smelled the faint smell of blood, and then fixed his eyes. In the dim light, the coffin bed was covered with charms, and the virgins used them even more. The blood-red cinnabar was painted with weird runes, and Bo Ruoyou frowned, “My lord, do people in the mansion think that the old lady’s death during the New Year is quite unlucky?”
The **** smell she smelled was dog blood, coupled with the gourd copper tripod in the yard, the cinnabar charms and the children in the house, it was no longer as simple as the deceased warding off evil spirits. It looked like it was suppressing something fierce. Evil.
He Chengchang sighed, “If it’s just like this, it’s easy. You can do an autopsy first, Xiaobo, I really rely on you this time. If someone from the capital comes, I still have nothing. It’s really unreasonable. .”
The equipment is ready, Bo Ruoyou can do an autopsy at any time, but looking at these virgin boys and girls, Bo Ruoyou is somewhat responsive, “Sir, can these things be removed?”
With a wry smile on his face, He Cheng was obviously also a little embarrassed at the paper boy, but said: “This can’t be moved—”
Bo Ruoyou sighed helplessly, “Then please add two lamps.”
The lamp was quickly lit, and when the lamp was shining, the paper-tie boys and girls became more horrible and gorgeous.
Doing paper tie is also called fishing the yin door. It is the most sinister. The paper man has the rules of not putting the eye on the eye. At this moment, Ruoyou is watched by more than a dozen pairs of black eyes. Although there is a sense of horror in my heart, the face is still Calm and steady, she first lit atractylodes and other objects in the house to defile and deodorize, and then slurred Suhexiang pills, then walked to the coffin bed to observe the corpse.
The moment his gaze fell on the corpse, Bo Ruoyou’s vitality changed.
The gentleness faded away, and solemnity and concentration came up from her eyes. The spirit and affinity all over her body seemed to be wrapped in a layer of frost that no strangers should get near. It was Hecheng who held his breath and did not dare to bother.
Seeing Bo Ruoyou like this, He Cheng couldn’t help but think of the situation when she was called for an autopsy for the first time.
It was a cold winter two years ago. There was a massacre in Qingzhou City. A post-mortem of the prefectural Yamen did not reveal the cause of death for a few days. He visited the Yamen many times and it was hard to find clues. When he was frowning, he heard that there was something in Qingshan County. A powerful female widow can make a dead person speak, so he is summoned in doubt.
After waiting for five days, I saw the legendary female widow. He Cheng was furious, but he felt deceived by rumors. The clinker was so thin that it was so quiet that he inspected dozens of carrion corpses at night. He broke the murderer’s method of killing, and even pushed the murderer’s appearance by seven or eight points. Later, the case was solved three days later. At the end of the year, it was a highlight of his merit book!
At that time, Bo Ruoyou was only sixteen years old, but he was as calm as today.
Bo Ruoyou’s eyes were deep and secluded, and the delicate details swept over the body, the shroud was buttoned tightly, and the rotten body water at the neck had soaked the collar. Although his head and face did not look like a human shape, there were no traces of trauma, and he groaned a little. She leaned forward and untied the shroud.
The decay of the corpse exceeded Bo Ruoyou’s expectation, because joss sticks had been lit in the room.
The hotter the room, the faster the corpse will decay. Not only are the corpse water and dirt on the head, face, lips, nose, and chest, abdomen and **** renewed with green mold and tiny maggots, and the rest of the corpse has visible corpse green and swelling. With the lights, you can also see the branch-like purple blood veins bursting under the skin.
Even so, it can still be seen that the body is intact, the neck is not bruised, the chest, abdomen, and the back are no suspicious marks, and the hands and feet are only normally rotten and green. After a long time of death, the corpse has settled and spread, but only Looking at these, I didn’t notice any abnormality. After checking the body sheet, Bo Ruoyou carefully pressed the five internal organs, and finally checked the top of the skull which had begun to rot and lose hair.
After the two sticks of incense, Bo Ruoyou straightened up and said solemnly: “There is indeed no sign of poisoning, no trauma, and there is no implant to death in the top of the vagina.”
When Bo Ruoyou said more, the frustration on He Cheng’s face became deeper. When Bo Ruoyou finished speaking, He Cheng was about to cry, “That means…you can’t find out the cause of death?”
“The absence of these kinds of causes of death does not mean that there is no cause of death.” After a slight pause, Bo Ruo calmly said: “The girl suspects that the old lady died suddenly due to a hidden illness. If you want to be sure, you need an autopsy.”
He Cheng was taken aback, “The old lady has always been in good health during her lifetime, not to mention that the old lady’s status is honorable, how can she be dissected?”
The funeral customs of Da Zhou were not civilized. Even if he passed away, his body, hair, and skin could not be damaged. Bo Ruoyou’s post-mortem had been so long, and she was not surprised if she encountered this situation.
Bo Ruoyou said calmly: “Many hidden diseases do not have any abnormalities on weekdays, but they can cause violent deaths. If you want to make a conclusion, you can only dissect the body. The old lady is very old and has hidden diseases in the body organs. It is possible, but it is difficult to make a conclusion by looking at the corpse. If you know what kind of hidden disease, you can inquire about the situation of the old lady when she died that day, and you can infer the death of the old lady and whether others are there. Interaction.”
The method of autopsy is not common to every work. In Qingzhou City, only Bo Ruoyou dares to open up the corpses no matter how long they have been dead to examine the organs and bones. He Cheng knows that Bo Ruo’s secret words are reasonable, but he also has difficulties. “I don’t know whether the autopsy of the corpse can be done. Now the Hou Mansion is in charge of the autopsy, and they must agree to the autopsy.”
Seeing Bo Ruoyou’s eyes filled with confusion, He Cheng knew that she did not understand the Anqing Marquis, and said: “After the old lady married the old man, she had five sons under her knees, and the eldest son inherited the marquis position after the old man died, but three years ago He died of illness, and because he had no children under his knees, this marquis was never renewed. Later, the old lady was in charge of the house, and the other four masters also lived in the house. After the old lady passed away a few days ago, it is now The third master and the fifth master are in charge, and most of them will not agree.”
Bo Ruoyou subconsciously asked, “Where are the second and fourth masters?”
When Bo Ruoyou asked, He Cheng’s eyes suddenly became a little weird. He glanced over the old lady’s corpse, and subconsciously stepped back in the direction of the door, as if he was afraid that the old lady’s corpse would suddenly stand up.
“The Fourth Master is traveling abroad and is now on his way back.”
After talking about the Fourth Master, He Cheng should continue to talk about the Second Master, but he stopped talking and took a half step back towards the door, “I just said that after the death of the old lady, something strange happened in the house—”
Bo Ruoyou didn’t know what the old saying He became, but she also wanted to know what had happened to the house, so she quietly looked at He Cheng.
He Cheng’s lips pressed tightly, and there was a bit of horror in his eyes. “The old lady was found the morning of the first day of the new year. Others said that the death of the old lady cannot be separated from the second master. Because the second master and the old lady had a very poor relationship between mother and child because of the renewal of the knighthood last year. They also had a big fight.”
Bo Ruoyou subconsciously said: “Then now…Is the second master detained?”
He Cheng’s eyes condensed, “No, he is dead.”
“Not only was he dead, he was pushed down by the old lady from the third floor of the Yueyue Pavilion in the mansion under the full view of everyone.”
Bo Ruoyou frowned instantly, “But the old lady is already…”
“That day was the seventh day of the first lunar month, and it was the first seventh of the old lady.” He Cheng couldn’t help looking at the old lady’s corpse. “Therefore, everyone in the mansion said that it was the ghost of the old lady who came to kill the second man for revenge. Lord.”
Bo Ruoyou was facing the old lady’s corpse at this moment. He Cheng had finished saying this, but she had always been calm and felt a chill in her back, and she instantly understood why so many paper boys were put there. There is a saying by the masters who did things. After the death of the elderly, the soul is uneasy and gives birth to evil evil spirits. Offering the young yin boy to appease or suppress it.
Bo Ruo calmed down, “So there are actually two dead in this case. Does that adult believe that ghosts kill people?”
He Cheng smiled bitterly, “If you believe it, so many cases have been excused earlier, why should you call you when you encounter difficulties?”
Bo Ruoyou said solemnly: “I don’t know if ghosts can kill people, but it’s very easy for people to pretend to be fascinating and injurious. Adults, do you have to examine Erye’s corpse together?”
He Cheng sighed, “It’s just that it’s a bit difficult right now. After the death of the second master, Zheng Sanye still insisted that it was the second master who committed the murder. The old lady’s evidence, therefore, the second master’s body has not yet been inspected by the government.”
There are many families in Qingzhou City. Anqing Houfu is particularly prominent. Although He Cheng is a prefect of a prefecture, he comes from a poor family and has no background. Therefore, he has to be cautious as the prefect, so that he is completely restrained in this case. live.
He Cheng sweats constantly on his forehead, which shows that his heart is extremely anxious, but he glanced at the sun that was already slanting west, he knew he couldn’t hesitate any longer, it would only be more troublesome for people from the capital to arrive after dark.” That’s all, I’m going to discuss with the third master now. If I can get the results, I’m relieved of your post-mortem—”
Sometimes He Cheng was too cautious and timid, but he rarely neglected in terms of tolerance, and was regarded as a good official for the people, so Bo Ruoyou said: “Okay, the girl is waiting here.”
He Cheng nodded and pointed to the wing next to him, “Go there and stay warmer.”
After speaking, He Cheng turned around and went out, gave an order with Ya Cha, and took one of them out of the yard.
As soon as He Cheng left, the ya cha was outside the house again, and Bo Ruoyou was left alone in the house for an instant, but she understood the purpose of the mourning hall as such, instead of losing the sense of horror when she first came.
She turned and looked at the old lady’s body.
She has never seen a ghost, nor does she believe in ghost killings. She just wonders who this Yangyanghou Mansion will be, pretending to be an old lady to kill the second master, and then disappearing unconsciously, making everyone think It’s ghosts…
And the old lady, who is hard to find the cause of death, died because of a hidden illness, or was she victimized?
He Cheng’s departure took longer than Bo Ruoyou had imagined. She waited until the sun fell to the west, and then watched the sun drooping and was covered by a few clouds, and the cold wind in the yard seemed to be falling snow again.
After waiting for too long, the weather was about to change again, and Bo Ruoyou became a little anxious. She couldn’t help but pace into the courtyard.
The plain snow layered in the yard, like white silk landing on the ground, and Liangshang Ling’s banners, making this small courtyard more bleak and bleak for no reason, but seeing He Cheng still not appear, her heart also sank to the bottom.
He Cheng’s delay for such a long time must be because he couldn’t convince the two masters.
Is there any other way besides autopsy?
While she was in deep thought, footsteps finally sounded outside the courtyard.
The footsteps are complicated, and there are so many people coming!
Her complexion was shaken, and Bo Ruoyou hurriedly greeted him at the entrance of the courtyard, but as soon as he walked to the entrance of the courtyard, Bo Ruoyou’s footsteps stopped.
There were indeed a lot of people here. She hadn’t seen He Cheng yet, but first crashed into a pair of cold-like phoenix eyes. The owner of the phoenix eyes was tall and handsome, with handsome facial features, and her body was covered in mysterious black robes. Jie Gaogui’s popularity, the cold wind rolled up the snow particles on the ground, and also raised the golden dragon pattern on his robe.
Bo Ruoyou thumped in his heart, it was the royal family!
When Bo Ruoyou was stunned, the pair of phoenix eyes on the opposite side sank as soon as he saw her. Then, a chilling voice rang gloomily, “How can there be a woman?”
This voice was obviously displeased, and He Cheng busy stepped forward from behind, his voice was almost a little frightened, “Hou Ye calm down…Quite your anger, this is the work invited by the lower official.” He looked at Bo Ruoyou, his eyes. With a warning, “What are you doing in a daze, this is Wu Zhaohou, why don’t you visit Lord Hou?”
The change came too suddenly, but fortunately Bo Ruoyou had always calmed down. She returned to her senses in an instant, lowered her eyes and knelt down.
The moment she knelt down, her expression became solemn.
It was Wu Zhaohou!
She grew up in Qingshan County, even the rich and powerful in Qingzhou City, she knows very little, but the word “Wu Zhaohou” is like a thunderous ear, he is like the sun and the moon in the sky, shining on every inch of the territory of the Great Zhou Above.
Huoweilou, Marquis of Wuzhao, his mother was the eldest princess of the dynasty, and his father was the hereditary Dingguo. At the age of eighteen, he was named marquise with military exploits.
He is less than 10,000 people alone. Not only is the flat-headed people afraid of him, but also in the officialdom, but also everyone fears him like a Yama. According to reports, only one year last year, he was dismissed and investigated due to the inefficiency of various officials. Hundreds of people…
Bo Ruoyou was shocked in her heart. At this time, she heard Huo Weilou’s voice asking in a deep voice: “Your Qingzhou government office is a young girl?”