Chapter 44: Painted Skin

After all, Taishou was a big member of the party, and he quickly recovered from his horror, and directly reprimanded the general arrest for his nonsense, and asked him to come up with conclusive evidence. Everything was a verbal interrogation, and no evidence was left that could be used, and the arrest was stopped for a while.

Taishou was quite proud, and asked Zhao Zhizhou to ask another person to check the body, and he waited. Anyway, the boss had already made up his mind to kill the Zhao family's big house, and no matter how much work they wanted, it would be in vain, unless they could find out the real Sun Magpie and Fang Sheng. However, the guards had already been sent to search for and kill the two, and it would not be long before the fake corpses could be replaced with real ones.

As soon as his words fell, Zhao Zhizhou waved his hand and said, "Everyone is here today, so you don't ask for anything to do it, and the official will directly bring someone over to you." After the words fell, he clapped his hands, and saw several people come out from the bystanders and push a man and a woman tied up with flowers into the court.

"Hey, they've been standing next to me for a long time, why didn't I notice?"

"yes, I didn't even notice it with a rope."

The people whispered, quite surprised, but they didn't have the heart to investigate, just because they knew that these two people must be the legendary masters who had been dead for eight days - Sun Magpie and Fang Sheng. The Sun and Fang families, who were crying miserably and desperately just now, now have gray faces and stiff backs, and they can't wait to turn into green smoke and disappear here immediately.

Tai Shou was also shocked, and he didn't understand how the Zhao family could find people faster than the master's secret guards. Could it be that those two dead ghosts are helping each other in their dreams?

Sun Magpie and Fang Sheng staggered into the court, their clothes in tatters, and their heads and faces stained. They lived a very hard time in the mountains, they thought that they would escape for ten days and a half months, and when Zhao Youshu was sentenced to exile, Zhao Zhizhou was dismissed and sent to Shangjing, and they could take a hundred taels of silver to get married in other places, but they were unexpectedly frequently searched and assassinated, but fortunately, the Zhao family found them in time and brought them into the city, otherwise the two corpses now placed in the hall should be themselves.

At this time, Fang Sheng had no intention of concealing it at all, and wanted to reveal all the layout and inventory, but Sun Magpie secretly pinned his hopes on the son of the Zhao family, saying in his heart that he was so fanatical about himself, and he wanted to marry himself as his wife, and now he should have pity for himself. Just ask him to ask for it, and then promise it with his body, maybe the blackmail will pass, and he can marry into the official family as a lady.

She thought very beautifully, Danfeng'er raised her eyes slightly, and looked at the young man pitifully and waterily.

It is also due to her bad luck, she met Youshu from the end of the world, not the previous Zhao Youshu, the words "pity the fragrance and cherish the jade" have long been abandoned, and replaced by "women and children need to be vigilant the most". In order to end the matter quickly, Youshu strode over, grabbed the bun on the back of Sun Magpie's head with her left hand, ripped off her ear with her right hand, and carried her around the court, saying, "The cinnabar mole behind the ear is natural, you can take a look." ”

Poor Sun Magpie was slipped around by him like a monkey, and screamed in pain, and when he let go, the earlobe was torn and blood dripped down. She wanted to cry and called "Zhao Gongzi" without tears, but the man didn't even look at her, squatted down and lifted Fang Sheng's feet, and aimed the soles of his feet at everyone.

"Sure enough, there are three moles, and his is indeed Fang Sheng!"

"The corpse on the ground doesn't need to be asked, it must be for Zhao Gongzi to dream of the two people."

"Is it the two of them, you can go to Jiaxing to check the household registration, and you can get the results in less than three or five days."

The people talked a lot, but they saw Zhao Gongzi put down Fang Sheng's big feet, turned his back and slapped his nose, and then took the handkerchief handed by Zhao Zhizhou and wiped his hands desperately, obviously smoked by those two pickled things. Many people laughed kindly, and they all felt that this Zhao Gongzi looked a little childish, and he was white-tender, well-behaved and cute, where is the big traitor?

The main owner had been found, and Taishou was irrefutable, and he staggered back to his place, trying to think about how to get out of trouble.

Zhao Zhizhou didn't give him a chance, and ordered Sun Magpie and Fang Sheng to write a confession on the spot, Sun Magpie was illiterate and dictated, and the master wrote it on his behalf, and then ordered the families of the two to also explain the blackmail, write them one by one and draw them. Worried that the above would question the authenticity of the confession, Zhao Zhizhou did not stop doing it, and asked all the officials and people present to be witnesses.

Naturally, the people had nothing to do, and the officials did not dare to do it, so they signed their testimonies one by one or pressed their fingerprints.

After getting a thick pile of evidence, and detaining Sun Magpie, Fang Sheng, the families of the two, and the chief arrest in the prison under his jurisdiction, Zhao Zhizhou was satisfied and left with his son. As for Taishou, he had already fainted in the public court and was buried by rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves thrown by the people.

As soon as the father and son left the yamen, they saw that the Wang family had prepared a carriage and was waiting on the side of the road. The family hugged each other and wiped a few tears, and talked in a low voice after getting into the car.

"Son, sure enough, those two people entrusted you with their dreams?" Wang looked curious.

Youshu pursed her lips and hesitated, and after a while, she said frankly, "Mother, it's not a dream, but they told me in person." I have yin and yang eyes, and I can see ghosts. After the words fell, he stared closely at the expressions of the husband and wife, if they were disgusted and alienated from him like the master, he would immediately leave the Zhao family and go elsewhere to make a living.

He had figured out that having something special was not a fault, but a gift, so why should he be criticized by others for it? If you can't accept it, stay away, he has long been used to it.

Zhao Zhizhou showed a frightened expression and said hurriedly, "Son, why didn't you say it earlier?" If you see a ghost who has died unjustly while you are eating, won't it affect your appetite? ”

Wang glared at Xianggong fiercely, feeling that he didn't care about the idea at all, so he hugged his son and patted him, "Don't be afraid, son, if you see it, don't see it, they won't take the initiative to provoke you." But that's not okay, what if you get entangled? Mother will take you to the temple to ask for a peace charm, and then find a monk to cast a spell for you. If it's okay, don't be afraid! ”

Zhao Zhizhou came back to his senses at this time, and hurriedly opened the curtain and asked the coachman to go to Zhenguo Temple.

Youshu's mood fluctuated, she was sad and happy at first, and finally sighed. In the world, only father's love and mother's love are the greatest, no matter what their children look like, they can tolerate and accept them for no reason. From then on, he no longer had to hide and hide, because he was not at fault. Of course, that is for the Zhao couple, and others need to be doubly guarded. The art of ghost mastery was nothing to him, but it was an extremely useful tool in the eyes of some people.

He touched his hot chest and said briskly, "Daddy doesn't need to worry, my son can control his yin and yang eyes, and he can't see anything when he doesn't want to see it." ”

Zhao Zhizhou and Wang let go of their high hearts, but insisted on taking their son to Zhenguo Temple to ask for a peace charm, and also folded the grapefruit leaves in the temple and brought them back to bathe their son. When the family of three left, the entire grapefruit tree was bald, and there was not even a walnut-sized green fruit left-

After returning home, Zhao Zhizhou immediately wrote the truth of the matter in a letter, begging the old lady to make decisions for himself. The old lady saw that the people behind him were targeting the entire Zhao family, and he felt that he couldn't condone it, so he immediately went to the emperor to investigate it strictly. Emperor Zhong Kang was an ambitious monarch who ruled very harshly, and could not tolerate such tricks. And he faintly noticed the handwriting of the princes of the dynasty, and he was even more furious, hand-picked to supervise the imperial history, known as the iron-faced Yama, Lord Min Wenzhen, thoroughly investigated the matter, and gave Shang Fang the sword, but "if I come in person, cut first and then play".

As soon as this pomp was put out, the princes were scared and sick. Looking at the posture of the father, he actually planned to deny the six relatives! They no longer dared to meddle in the affairs of Lin'an Mansion, recalled all the spies and secret guards one by one, and regarded those officials involved as outcasts and ignored them.

Poor Taishou still thought that the master would definitely try his best to protect himself, but as soon as the superintendent of the imperial history came, he would first sentence him to death for six internal organs, and the rest of the people would be beheaded, or punished with a rod, or exiled, and each had its own place. Officials who were promoted by colluding with the new Taishou were dismissed one by one and never hired.

This big change in Lin'an Mansion has nothing to do with Zhao Zhizhou, he received an official document from the supervision of the imperial history, and ordered him to return to Beijing immediately to report on his work. Because of several refusals to hand over his son, Zhao Zhizhou's reputation of "teaching his son is not strict, and his son is murderous" has already reached the ears of the saint.

Youshu is looking for "Zhao Youshu" every day, but she only finds herself every time, and gradually accepts her fate. He was worried that Zhao Zhizhou would be hit, so he racked his brains to comfort him, but he didn't expect Zhao Zhizhou to be very open-minded, stroking the young man's head and smiling, "As long as my son is safe and sound, it doesn't matter what happens to him." ”

"Yes, let's live our lives well. Our family of three is staying together, how can we get over the hurdles that we can't overcome. My mother's dowry is too much to support you. Wang smiled very heartily.

Youshu squeezed out the small dimples on the side of her cheeks, and she also smiled, her eyes were exceptionally bright. He likes this home very much, especially like it.

But as it turned out, he was thinking too simply. In addition to the big house, the Zhao clan also has two rooms and three rooms, and four rooms and five rooms from the concubine.

Youshu's family entered from the side door, and before they had time to put down their luggage, they were taken to the main hall to visit their grandfather and grandmother, and met the second uncle, third uncle, fourth uncle, fifth uncle, second aunt, third aunt and so on. Youshu followed Wang's shouting, quite dizzy.

Mrs. Zhao led her sons to the study to talk, and Mrs. Zhao left the Wang family to reminisce. She only has affection for the Dafang family, looking lukewarm, and several aunts also have a sharp edge in their words, intentionally or unintentionally mentioning that Zhao Zhizhou can be demoted, and her expression is quite gloating.

The dream of a warm little family was shattered, Youshu was very depressed, and she kept her face black and didn't speak the whole time, and let these women hold the handle, saying that he was uneducated and arrogant, and he was spoiled as rumored.

"When you come home, you should follow the rules of the house. You're sixteen this year, so it's time to read some books and make a name for yourself. Look at your brothers, they were all selected for Xiucai before they were twelve or thirteen years old, and they either studied hard in the study all day long, or went out to participate in literary meetings. Where is like you, walking cats and dogs, doing nothing, and robbing women of good families. It's also your luck that you escaped this time, and next time you won't be so lucky, it's better to change those old problems. Old Madam Zhao looked down on this grandson between her words, and the rest of the concubines also snickered.

At this moment, a handsome boy in a big red brocade robe ran in, holding a bouquet of red and white camellias. He trimmed the flower branches with scissors, inserted them into the bottle in a staggered manner, and said with a smile, "I just went on an outing with His Royal Highness the Nine, and I saw that the camellia bloomed well and the aroma was very fragrant, so I brought it back for the ancestors to appreciate and appreciate." When the words fell, he saw Youshu and said affectionately, "This is the fifth brother of the uncle's family, right?" Sure enough, good talents! ”

His tone was sincere and his smile was bright, but how keen his five senses were, how could he not see the deep disdain hidden in his eyes. It seems that such people who are not right-mouthed and hypocritical and pretentious, he is most disgusted, and he is not even willing to deal with things, but only pouts.

His disobedient little dimple ran out against him again, and this pouting mouth was sunken, as if he was smiling, so that the handsome boy did not notice the young man's dislike at all.

Old Madam Zhao, who was still lukewarm, smiled with a wrinkled face at this moment, pulled the young man into her arms, and said proudly, "Wang, you haven't seen this nephew for a long time, right?" ”

Wang smirked, "Isn't this Yu Song, the sister-in-law of the second uncle's family?" Sure enough, people are as their name suggests, like the pines and cypresses carved in jade, tall and handsome, and their bearing is extraordinary. ”

Old Madam Zhao smiled at the Wang family and echoed, "That is, Yu Song is the companion of His Royal Highness Jiu, and he just won the promotion this year." At the age of eighteen, he is the first one in my Great Xia! Speaking of which, you wrote to me the year before last saying that Youshu was also gone, what were the results? ”

Ask while knowing the answer! How about the results have not been written to the old lady? Wang gritted his teeth with hatred, and he had to squeeze out a smile on his face, not to mention how uncomfortable it was. She couldn't bear to scold her son, so she changed the topic and said, "Why don't you see Yulin?" ”

Zhao Yulin is the son-in-law of the third room, and like Zhao Youshu, he is also an unsuccessful person, he only knows how to have fun and play wantonly all day long, and he can be called a big magic star of the Zhao family. As soon as she said this, Mrs. Zhao's face changed, and the expression of the third lady, who was still laughing happily just now, was slightly stiff.

Seeing that this trick was effective, the Wang family left with his son Shi Shiran. Say that my son is not a weapon, first see if your son's fart-tare is wiped clean, hum!

Back in the remote and deserted small courtyard, the mother and son hurriedly asked the servants to pass the meal, but saw Zhao Zhizhou walking in with a slump in his head, pounding the table and sighing.

"What's the matter? Scolded by the old lady? Wang asked cautiously.

"Scolding is secondary, but pity my son for carrying the black pot for me." Zhao Zhizhou rubbed his forehead and said that he had hoped to be transferred to the two Huai salt envoys. Now the Holy One is still hesitating, and he doesn't know who this errand will be. In order to prevent corruption in the salt transport, the imperial court will issue an additional 300 taels of incorruptible silver every year, so there is a saying in the Great Xia Dynasty - it is better to go to Beijing and have a first-grade salt road.

Zhao Zhizhou is not rare in power, but he attaches great importance to gold and silver, and he rubs shoulders with fat errands, and the pain in his heart can be imagined.

Wang patted Xianggong's fat shoulders and comforted, "Forget it, this matter is a foregone conclusion, don't think about it anymore." Come, let's eat. ”

Youshu was very guilty and whispered, "There is really no way to remedy it?" ”

Zhao Zhizhou twisted his eyebrows and pondered for a moment, and said, "Yes, there is, but that road is a bit difficult to walk." The words fell and looked at his son with a face, "Son, I have been getting along with your third brother for a long time in the past few days, if he goes out with His Royal Highness the Nine, you will definitely follow him with a dead face, and help your father see what hobbies the Nine Emperors have." ”

"Why do you want your son to tie up the third child? You don't know that today the old lady is squeezing our son with the third child, and she is so angry! Wang felt uncomfortable.

Zhao Zhizhou couldn't, so he had to explain to the mother and son carefully. It turns out that although the Holy Lord is extremely strict with the princes, there is one exception, that is, the Nine Emperors. The Nine Emperors are not only the queen's concubines, but also the auspicious clouds are all over the day of his birth, and the Sanskrit sound falls from the sky, Qin Tianjian will take his birth date to count, good guy, except for the wrong year, it is the same as the Zongsheng Emperor, and it can even be said that it is not bad! What's even more amazing is that the Nine Emperors can speak at the age of half a year, and they can read a lot of books at the age of three.

Some eminent monks asserted that this son has an extraordinary background, and he is the reincarnation of the Holy Emperor of the Overlord Sect, and will lead the Great Xia to unify the north and south, step on the rivers and mountains, and recover the great cause.

Emperor Zhong Kang was still a little skeptical, but when he saw that the Nine Emperors were growing up, the more they showed their supernatural features, so he gladly accepted it. He was very harsh on all the princes, but he was the only one who was like an ancestor, and he was named the crown prince when he reached the age of eighteen.

The Nine Emperors are seventeen this year, and they will be eighteen in a few months, so it is no wonder that the other princes are eager and brazenly compete for power.

In order to pave the way for the Nine Emperors, Emperor Zhong Kang naturally had to transfer people from him. Zhao Yusong, the second concubine of the Zhao family, was selected as the companion of the Nine Emperor Princes in his early years, and the Zhao family was naturally regarded as the descendant of the Nine Emperor Princes. Because of this, this big pie almost hit Zhao Zhizhou's head. It's a pity that this kick in the door was stirred up, otherwise their family would have moved to Yangzhou in a few months to eat and drink spicy.

Listen to Daddy count Yangzhou's special snacks one by one, what Yangzhou fried rice, crab roe soup dumplings, hibiscus dumplings, braised silver carp head...... Youshu's saliva flowed down three thousand feet, and her eyes were brighter than ever. As for the reincarnation of the Nine Emperor Princes and the Holy Emperor, he didn't believe it until he saw it with his own eyes. I am afraid that there will be no such excellent character as the master.

"Go to Yangzhou! I'm going to Yangzhou! He clenched his left hand into a fist and slammed it into the palm of his right hand.

"If my son wants to go, then let's go! We will send what the Nine Emperor Princes like! Wang also followed suit.

In this way, the family set the ambition of Yangzhou. The next day, Youshu patiently wrestled with Zhao Yusong, but fortunately, his lip line was naturally upturned, even if he didn't smile, he seemed to have a three-point smile, and he had a sweet dimple bonus, so he didn't look very annoying.

Zhao Yusong didn't reject him, but he couldn't talk about intimacy, he was happy and perfunctory, and he didn't bother to deal with it if he wasn't happy. After a long time, Youshu was also very impatient, and originally planned to send the little ghost to inquire about the preferences of the Nine Emperor Princes, but the Nine Emperor Princes carried dragon energy, and the ghosts did not dare to get close, so they had to give up.

On this day, I don't know why Zhao Yusong took the initiative to invite him out to play, and repeatedly reminded him that the Nine Emperors would also go, so that he should not be rude.

The Nine Emperor Princes are worthy of being Emperor Zhongkang's biological son, and he is also very strict with others, except for a few companions who grew up with him, it is difficult for others to know his true preferences. He can talk to you and smile gently, as if he admires you, and he can find an excuse to send you down when he turns around. I'm afraid that even Emperor Zhong Kangdi himself can't figure out what his son is thinking.

Outsiders can't touch the north, so they can only rely on speculation, and after a long time, naturally there are some unreliable rumors. Knowing that his son was going on a trip with the Nine Emperors, Wang took the trouble to inquire about it, and asked Xiuniang to make a set of gorgeous and extraordinary brocade robes overnight and send them to his son's house in person.

"Mother, are you sure that the Nine Emperors like this style of clothes?" Youshu pulled her sleeves and pulled the hem of her clothes, her expression was very suspicious.

This costume is so beautiful that it has reached the eye-catching Cheng dΓΉ. The hem, cuffs, placket, back and other places are painted with large groups of peonies, the color is mainly dark red and deep purple, and then with the background color of black with gold, it looks more and more purple and magnificent. What's even more exaggerated is that the stamens are actually strung with gold threads with pearls the size of rice grains, carefully outlined and filled, and go to the next station in the sun, which is really sparkling and dazzling.

Youshu blocked it with her hands when she looked in the mirror by herself, afraid of shaking her eyes.

The Wang family still felt that it was insufficient, so he put on a hundred butterflies inlaid with rubies and wiped his forehead, looked left and right, and actually cut a pink camellia and wore it in his ear.

The corners of Youshu's mouth twitched, but she had to endure it because she was considerate of the Wang family, until she picked up a box of fat powder and was about to apply it to her face, and then she said in a sullen voice, "Mother, are you sure that the Nine Emperors like this kind of dress?" ”

"Hey, all the sons and daughters in Beijing are dressed like this, but the Nine Emperors are particularly fond of gorgeous objects." Wang waved his hand disapprenosingly. Daxia is richer than the other four countries, and the costumes tend to be glamorous, and men want to go out to socialize, pay more attention to their appearance than women, wearing brocade clothes and gorgeous clothes are just basic, and they will also apply grease and powder, hairpins and jade.

It's not strange that Youshu walked out in this body, but it was just more gorgeous than ordinary people.

"My skin is already white, and I am like a dead man when I apply grease powder. Forget it. "Youshu can't accept the fashion of Daxia for the time being.

"What nonsense are you talking about, kid? Don't just say the word 'death'! I inquired clearly, the Nine Emperors like young men with red lips and white teeth, and a face like a crown of jade, you can not apply powder, and your lips must be smeared with rouge. He will talk to you when he sees that you are pleasing to the eye, let's only talk to him this time, and when he goes to Yangzhou, who cares about him! Wang grabbed his son and forcefully wiped a strip between his lips.

This rouge is very precious, and it is made with a mixture of natural raw materials such as honey, flower juice, lard, and beeswax, and the taste is very sweet. Youshu stretched out the tip of her tongue and licked it, then looked in the mirror, and felt that only the middle and inner side of her lips were slightly red, and the rest of her mouth was natural, so she accepted it.

At this time, Zhao Yusong's servant came to ask for someone, saying that the carriage was ready and could leave immediately. Youshu was a little hesitant at first, but after taking a few steps, she slowly let go, and it felt normal. Walking naked on the street is not uncommon in the last days, and it is not uncommon to dress flamboyantly and sissy.