Chapter 333: Flaws Everywhere
Some things, once someone is suspicious, there will be more and more flaws.
Autumn leaves are Zhang's henchmen, although not every flaw can be seen, but what Zhang sees, she also sees, all she needs is an opportunity to associate with it.
Under her detailed description, Zhao Wei and Zhao Xiu found more and more suspicions.
For example, when she accompanied the Zhang family and the Mi family from the Cao family to Jiannanhou Mansion, Zhao Jiong and the Niu family were already preparing to bury the old county prince. It was still summer at the time, and it was not impossible to say that it was to prevent corpses*, but it was so hurried that even Zhang's wife, the main wife, could not see the old county prince for the last time. What's even more strange is that at that time, Zhao Jiong and his wife had already changed into the clothes of the old county prince when they were buried - not a shroud, but the old county prince's past military clothes, with a full set of equipment, including helmets. The old county prince is a military general, and it is okay to wear such clothes to be buried. The problem is that he was in his sixties at the time, and he was considered a high life expectant among the founding heroes, so the house had already prepared a longevity clothes, so why didn't he change into a seirely sewn longevity clothes, but instead wore a military uniform? Besides, it's the old question - what are you doing in such a hurry to change your clothes?
Akiba saw a bruise on the corner of the old county's forehead, and that was where she could see. And what about under the helmet of the old county duke? Is there something out of the ordinary? When Zhang threw herself on her husband and cried bitterly, why did Zhao Jiong hurriedly blame Zhang for some trumped-up reasons? also specifically mentioned a blue on the forehead of the old county duke, which was nothing. No one asked where the bruise came from, but he took the initiative to say it, which made people feel a little eager to cover it up. And before the Zhang family returned home, he had been blocking Zhao Zhuo from approaching the corpse, could it be that he was also worried about what the latter would find?
For another example, Zhao Jiong and Niu's claimed that the old county prince had something to do in the study of the main courtyard, so they drove all the people waiting inside and outside the study to Zhuangzi in Shandong. And these people. Soon after, he was said to be dead. Since there were people waiting inside and outside the study, why did Zhao Jiong accuse the Zhang family of not disciplining his subordinates well, so that when the old county prince fainted. No one found out? Isn't that a paradox?
For another example, the people who were originally waiting in the front yard of West Road were later beaten for negligence and failure to discover the old county prince's physical discomfort in time, and they were also driven to Zhuangzi in other places. The whereabouts of these men are also unknown. Because the whereabouts of the servants of the Zhao family are complicated, some of them were sold after being confiscated into the official ranks. Some were kicked out of the house before that to make a living. Some were dismissed or resigned after Zhao Jue left with the Niu family, and some were sold by the official after Zhao Jue's bad incident, so many people do not know their whereabouts. Zhao Xiu and Zhao Wei both guessed. Maybe they all ended up in the same fate as those in the study.
There are also haunted rumors in the front yard of West Road, Akiba has personally experienced it, and she knows better than the mother-in-law who only knows the gossip below.
She said: "It was the third day after the death of the old prince, the first emperor, the first empress, the current saint and several princes have already come, but before the first seven, the old lady is still living in the main courtyard, and has not been driven to the side courtyard. Although the subordinates in the mansion guessed that the eldest lord would attack the queen. The old lady will lose power, but no one expected that the old man would do such a desperate job, just if he would maintain his face, so he was polite to those of us in the old lady's courtyard. The old lady was sad and lay down in the house for a few days. I became more and more sleepy after taking medicine. On the fourth day, he refused to eat again, and only then did he sober up. I'm also willing to eat some porridge and water. I immediately went to the big kitchen to ask for hot porridge, and I heard the cook there talk about it. The cook there and the mother-in-law who were picked up were sons and daughters, and she happened to know the details. According to her, the mother-in-law, who was worried about her little grandson who had just been born in the family, went to the night patrol earlier than usual, and wanted to go home early after the patrol, but when she reached the mewright outside the courtyard, she heard the crying inside, as if a man was whispering, but she could not hear clearly. She was worried that she was a thief. Because the eldest lady had only repeatedly ordered during the day that no one was allowed to enter the courtyard without permission, for fear that someone would steal the things in the house. She was afraid that a thief had stolen something, and she, who was on duty at night, had to take the blame, so she ran to the gate of the courtyard to see who was talking inside. ”
Zhao Xiu listened nervously: "What did she see?" ”
Akiba turned his face to look at her: "There is no one in the courtyard, but there is a light in the main house, and there are many shadows, as if there is a person in white clothes lying on the ground, not knowing what he is doing." He cried and muttered as he threw paper money into the sky and wiped the ground with something. The woman thought that someone who had served the old prince in the past, and wept in that house, but instead of being afraid, she raised her voice and cried out, 'Who is there?' The young lady said that no one is allowed to come in, you are so bold! The man was so frightened that he knocked over something at his feet. The woman realized that it seemed to be a basin of water, and then she smelled blood, and when she became suspicious, the light went out, and the white shadow disappeared. ”
Zhao Wei hurriedly asked: "So, that mother-in-law doesn't think it's haunted?" "And how did the rumors of haunting come out?
Akiba replied, "I don't know, but the woman saw that the white shadow had disappeared, and heard footsteps rushing over, so she hurriedly greeted her, and when she saw that it was the eldest lady, she immediately reported to her what had happened before." Unexpectedly, the eldest lady scolded her, and said that she spread rumors and had bad intentions, so she called someone to detain her in the firewood room, and no one was allowed to visit. On the second day, he drove the whole family out of the house. The cook was upset for her in-laws, and she was also a daughter who felt sorry for herself, so she chatted there. She was originally the maid of the old lady of the Qin family in front of her, so she didn't buy the account of the small long house very much. I heard that she was also kicked out of the house later, as if she said that she wanted to go back to her hometown to open a small restaurant. ”
Zhao Wei asked her: "Since even the mother-in-law's in-laws know these things." It can be seen that the news has spread. Didn't anyone notice the difference? Besides, what does such a thing have to do with haunting? Why did everyone say that the woman saw a ghost? ”
Akiba sighed: "Although the mother-in-law who was picked up felt wronged, and her relatives and friends were also fighting for her, not many people believed her words. Because the next morning, after hearing the rumors, some old family members wanted to go into the courtyard to see what was going on. The eldest lady didn't allow them, but they were allowed to look in at the courtyard gate. They didn't find any paper money, they didn't see any blood, and the house was clean inside and out. But the woman swore again, and then someone said that maybe she was a bumper. ”
Zhao Xiu won't believe that it's really haunted. She said to Zhao Wei: "The person who wears white clothes is very likely to be wearing filial piety on his body. The cry sounds like a man, maybe it's Zhao Jiong? He carried a lantern. In the middle of the night, the third watch went to the courtyard where his grandfather lived before his death, fetched a basin of water to wipe the floor, and some people smelled blood at the gate of the courtyard. Is there blood on the floor over there? As soon as he was discovered, the Niu clan came out, maybe the Niu clan was looking out for him? The woman was on patrol in advance and ran into them. was locked up by them on random charges. The next day, he was directly thrown out of the house, and then the rumors in the house became haunted. I think the place where my grandfather died. It must have been in his own yard, and in the main house. Because there were some traces left in the main house, Zhao Jiong and Niu were afraid of being discovered, so they said that their grandfather fainted in the study of the main courtyard. In order to cover up this fact, they shut up the people who were waiting in both courtyards. ”
Zhao Wei's expression was terrifyingly gloomy, and he didn't say anything.
Akiba suddenly remembered something: "By the way...... Warm the car! ”
Zhao Xiu was puzzled: "What kind of warm sedan chair?" ”
"The old lady uses a warm sedan chair to come and go in the house in winter." Akiba said, "That thing is lighter than a normal sedan chair. There are felt curtains around to block the wind, and only four mothers-in-law are needed to lift them. The old lady was weak, so the princess ordered someone to build a warm sedan chair, so that she could sit and go to and from the courtyard in winter, so that she would not be blown by the wind and cold. ”
The reason why Akiba suddenly lifted the warm sedan chair was because she remembered. On the same day, he returned to the main courtyard of the Hou Mansion with Zhang. I have seen the warm sedan chair placed at the corner of the verandah. But it was summer, and there was no need to warm the sedan chair. If the Zhang family needs to borrow transportation in the house, the representative. There is also a sedan chair made of bamboo. That thing was supposed to be put away. However, after Autumn Leaves found out about this, along with all kinds of chaos after Zhang's fainting, when she was free, she couldn't find the warm sedan chair.
After listening to this, Zhao Xiu suddenly thought of a possibility: "Will it be ...... They borrowed this sedan chair to move their grandfather from the front yard of West Road to the main courtyard? The warm car has strong shielding ability, which is enough to hide people's eyes and ears. If you move people into it in advance and then call someone to carry them, as long as you don't show your feet halfway, I'm afraid that even the person who carries them may not know what they are carrying. ”
Zhao Wei muttered: "Then you have to ask someone first, whether someone carried a warm sedan into the main courtyard." There are so many people in the house, and it is not easy to hide people's eyes. ”
Zhao Xiu felt that the difficulty should not be as high as imagined: "They are young masters in the house, and the front yard of West Road is connected to the main courtyard by a side door, and the straight-line distance is dozens of meters away." As long as you make a plan in advance, it is not difficult to ask your subordinates to avoid it for a while. Just like when we invited Qixuan's sister-in-law and niece to play at home, we would also make the manservant avoid it, so as not to collide. If the excuse is found well, no one will be suspicious at all. ”
"If this is the case, then let us take a good look and see how many of the servants who witnessed this are still alive." Zhao Wei said in a deep voice: "This matter is very important, just guess, you can't make a conclusion, you need to have witnesses and physical evidence." The ground of the main house in the front yard of the West Road will be able to reveal its true face the day after tomorrow, and there will be a result at that time. If this is what we think, then we must do our best to find out the whereabouts of the old servants and dig out the truth from their mouths little by little! ”
Akiba has a suggestion: "It's very likely that Mr. Wang knows something. When he returned to the south, he surrendered to the old lady, and was willing to tell what he knew. He was the chief steward at that time, and few things in the house could be hidden from him. If the eldest lord and the eldest lady really asked someone to carry the sedan chair to the front yard of West Road to the main courtyard, he would definitely know. ”
Zhao Xiu deeply felt this way, and suggested that Zhao Wei could first find Wang Fu to explore the situation. In any case, the current Wang Fulai is definitely more inclined to be loyal to the second room. He was an adult back then, and he had probably heard something about his father's side.
Zhao Wei also had an idea: "I have to find that Dr. Liu." If it is said that Imperial Physician Liu once helped Zhao Jiong and Niu's to conceal the cause of his grandfather's death, and then died violently, and he was also killed, then Niu's continued to give Imperial Physician Liu's brother silver until last year, it must be because he knew the inside story. If he could have a little empirical evidence in his hands, it would be 10,000 times more useful than our guesswork here, because Imperial Physician Liu was the only outsider who had access to his grandfather's body. ”
Everything can only be carried out after the craftsman has wiped the plaster from the ground of the main house in the front yard of Houfu West Road. Qiu Ye saw that the time was not early, so he said, "I'm going to see the old lady and the child, go home first tonight, and you will remember to inform me if you have news tomorrow." ”
Zhao Xiu responded, she sent Qiu Ye out, and was about to accompany the latter to see her grandmother Zhang, when she suddenly stopped, turned back to the house, and said to Zhao Wei in a low voice: "Grandmother came back yesterday, and she was full of worries, it must be because she found something." There were so few traces in the house, and my grandmother didn't have a perspective function, so she could see through what was under the surface. Could it be that she reacted so much because she knew something in advance that we didn't know? ”
Zhao Wei was taken aback and said in a deep voice: "Very likely." In the past, when we were young, we didn't care about anything, and even if my grandmother knew something, she would carry it alone. But now, if the truth is what we suspected, then we must not turn a blind eye. Now is the time for us to share our grandmother's worries. ”
He took Zhao Xiu's hand: "Sister, let's go ask grandmother." (To be continued) R655