The He family's old house is very close to the Tianwentang Museum, and it is the destination to bypass a few small alleys.

In winter, the small alley seems much deserted, and in summer, the natives who sit at the gate of the compound and shake the fan to enjoy the cool all return to the house, drink some wine and rub mahjong, and from time to time there are a few words mixed with laughter "Hi, Hu." "The poles hanging on both sides of the path to dry clothes are also empty, after all, it is more than ten degrees below zero outside, and no one will want to hang out the clothes and freeze them with a layer of ice ballast. However, there are a few bundles of green onions and cabbage at the door of several households, presumably for the winter specially tuned vegetables, with the big red couplets pasted on the wooden door, inexplicably a little more New Year's flavor.

Although it was only a dozen minutes' walk, He Manzhou hadn't been here for a long time.

Sometimes when she commutes to work, she will deliberately avoid this alley, for fear of meeting a familiar neighbor to inquire about Lao He. The concerned eyes of those uncles and aunts are like a knife, which can easily tear through her defenses, even if it is just a simple sentence, "Your father can go on vacation for a long time, and I am really relieved that you are alone, Lao He said no, when will he come back", it will make He Manzhou finally disguise the strong and instantly break the work.

How to answer, He Manzhou also wants to know when Lao He will come back.

Bypassing the big willow tree in front of you, it is the old house of the He family.

The compound that has not been cleaned for a long time looks dilapidated, with a knocker on the left and right of the red lacquered gate, and mottled rust on the ground. The old wood bears the mottled scars of the road. There are Spring Festival couplets on both sides of the gate, which are also a little old in the devastation of rain, snow, wind and frost, and the edges have long been broken into strips, and the joy that should have been carried has been discounted, and there is an inexplicable sense of ruin.

He Manzhou's fingers gently brushed the edge of the paper of the couplet, which she bought with Lao He the year before last.

It was a small market not far from the park next to it, He Manzhou picked a pattern of a golden boy and a girl holding a koi cornucopia, Lao He wanted to buy something else along the way, but she was afraid that there were too many things and refused to go any further.

On the way home, He Sheng said vigorously: "You should bring that lucky character with you, blessing is coming, Chinese New Year's Eve should have a good color, so that you can spend the whole year safely and smoothly."

He Manzhou was annoyed by the talk, and joked no big or small: "Don't be so superstitious, you are a university professor, materialistic, we have to be safe with or without Spring Festival couplets." ”

"How can this be superstition," He Sheng raised his eyebrows angrily, but his tone was very serious, "There are special customs during the New Year's holidays, and the ancients ascended to the top to make sacrifices, and they were endowed by the wind. In modern times, these etiquettes are much simpler, but no matter how concise, a sense of ritual is essential. Throughout the year, say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, and always leave some good hopes for important people. ”

He Manzhou "cut", too lazy to break with this literati anymore.

She didn't say much, but she thought in her heart that next year, she must remember to buy two blessing characters for Lao He, hang one in the inner room, and stick another one outside, so that their father and daughter can be safe.

It's a pity that it was too late in the end...... He Sheng did not wait until the New Year.

There was dark green moss on the edge of the door frame, and the layer of wood next to the ground was a little rotten, revealing a dilapidated dark gray, no matter how you look at it, it is completely out of line with the He family's former "exquisite and elegant". The courtyard gate on the opposite side is half open, and you can hear the crisp birdsong coming from inside, and several old men are jokingly teasing, obviously you are chatting with me every word, but they are stunned to say a little bit of the meaning of raising the bar.

"Hey, Lao Zhao, you are holding your uncle, and there seems to be movement at the door, you go and see if someone is coming." Lao He has a lot of good things in their house, but don't recruit thieves?"

"If you recruit a thief, you can't steal it during the day," the old man who answered the phone was full of anger and said jokingly, "Have you ever seen a thief who came to the door during the day, at most he stepped on the point, and he didn't dare to do it." ”

"It's okay to step on the point, I'm not afraid of thieves stealing, I'm afraid of thieves worrying, it's always right to be careful in everything. When the second master Guan is careless in Jingzhou, how can you guarantee that you will not make any mistakes in your life. No, I have to take a look for Lao He, but don't really have anything wrong. ”

As the voice of these words got closer and closer, an old man wrapped in a military coat walked over.

He looked like he was in his sixties, ordinary but very energetic, with a kind heart, and at the same time, he also had a bit of a chic posture that was not too big to see the excitement.

"Hey, who should I be, it turns out that Xiaozhou is back......" Seeing He Manzhou, the old man was stunned for a moment, and then quickly greeted enthusiastically, "This is really rare, child, we haven't seen each other for a year, right? Let me ask, have you Lao He's family moved, you can really do it, and you don't tell us old neighbors." ”

"It's not like my dad went abroad, the big house is too deserted, so I moved to a new house. I happened to pass by the unit today to get something, are you and Uncle Zhao in good health?"

"Okay, okay, we're going to make mutton in the yard," while saying, Zhang Lao happily greeted He Manzhou into the house, and saw her waving her hand again and again before he was willing to give up, "Give a message to your father, take the time to come back and see us old buddies, no one comes to your old house all year round, we all miss him." ”

"Good...... I know, Uncle Zhang, then I'll go in first. ”

After Lao He disappeared, this set of rhetoric has been said countless times by He Manzhou.

At first, because the influence behind this was too deep, He Manzhou didn't want the people around him to have a bad misunderstanding of Lao He, so he simply kept silent. And later, she couldn't tell if it was some kind of self-consolation or self-deception, and it would be nice if her father really just went on vacation.

He Manzhou's mood was a little heavy, and when he suddenly opened the door, a heavy smell of dust came to his face.

The furnishings of the old house are still the same, as the door is pushed open, the north wind mixed with cold air comes in recklessly, there are many suspended dust in the air are clearly illuminated by the sun, and the air has a faint smell of wood, which is the unique fragrance of old sandalwood furniture.

He Manzhou didn't linger much and went directly to the study.

When sorting out the things left by Lao He, all the materials related to the Tianwentang Museum were stored on the bookshelf by her, and if the old house really had a clue to the painting, it must be in the bookshelf.

But he pushed open the door of the study, and before He Manzhou could look for it carefully, he saw the painting scroll that was placed on the table at a glance.

"Strange..... Who put this. ”

It was a painting bag wrapped in crimson brocade, with black and white crane embroidery on the top of the fabric, and a white marble pendant with red tassels hanging on the top.

He Manzhou picked up the painting scroll, and the surface of the cloth was very clean, without much dust.

A strange idea popped into the sky......

Could this painting be-

Thinking like this, He Manzhou pulled away the ribbon next to him with trembling hands.

What catches her eye is a delicate landscape painting, the mountains and rivers of the ink method are chic and wanton, but the details are rigorous and elegant, which is exactly what she has been looking for for a long time - "Ancient Pictures of Mountain Waves".

How so?

He Manzhou was a little confused at the moment, she clearly remembered that this painting should be placed in the office of the Tianwentang Museum, and there were relevant records on the registration every year, why did it appear in the old house inexplicably?

Take 10,000 steps back, even if she really remembers it wrongly, when sorting out the old things, she obviously put all kinds of objects in categories, and it is impossible to just put "Shantao Tales Ancient Map" on the table.

If someone deliberately did it, then the level of crime is too low. Not to mention how he sneaked into the He family's old mansion, just put the painting on the table, leaving an obvious handle, for fear that others would not doubt it?

Or was his purpose to arouse suspicion?

What would have happened if Lao He's notes hadn't been found, and the painting hadn't been found? He Manzhou's brain was running rapidly, and he couldn't help but continue to make up for it in this direction.

If no substantial evidence could be found, the impasse would not have been broken, and even with intermittent dreams as clues, no one would have believed what she said. is as reliable as Shen Chuanyuan, and he is not willing to take risks for these illusory possibilities, and in the end it is nothing more than a palliative treatment.

But now, the evidence is pouring in.

It was as if the people around her suddenly became untrustworthy, and in the darkness, someone invisibly pushed her and asked her to continue to investigate. Or rather, this is not an attempt to cover up at all, but some people deliberately remind her of what she should do.

But where does such "help" come from, and what is their purpose?

He Manzhou didn't dare to continue thinking about it......

Her fingers clenched the edge of "The Ancient Picture of the Mountains", and her knuckles were faintly white because she was too hard. The girl's figure was against the light, the rocking chair that was blown by the wind shook with inertia, the creaking sound of the wooden shaft echoed in the silent room, and the smell of dust seemed to be a little stronger, so that He Manzhou was almost out of breath.

I don't know how long it took for her phone to receive a new message reminder before she pulled back her thoughts.

He Manzhou clicked on it and saw that it was an unfamiliar number, and his words were as concise as ever, and he knew who the owner was without guessing.

"Come on time tomorrow at ten o'clock. ”

This text message is Bai Yicong's final confirmation - whether He Manzhou wants to choose cooperation.

For some reason, He Manzhou suddenly felt a sense of relief.

A tense nerve was miraculously relieved, the sudden feeling of suffocation just now faded, and the fear of the unreal around me gradually turned into an inexplicable reassurance. He Manzhou clutched his mobile phone tightly and read these eight words carefully, but somehow he suddenly thought of Bai Yicong's cold face and asked her what she was going to do.

"Tsk, I really don't know how the Bai family's business is discussed, the owners of the antique city can tell China for 5,000 years with one mouth, and a few casual words are to welcome visitors from all over the world, Bai Yicong spoke so concisely and to the point, and it was actually able to open, it is really an unsolved mystery of mankind?"

Although she was complaining, the expression that gradually relaxed betrayed her mind, and the answer from the bottom of her heart was self-evident.