Xi Rui walked to Meng Tianchu's side and was about to explain, Meng Tianchu waved his hand, ignored Xi Rui, and walked straight into the door, Yue'er smiled playfully, walked to his grandfather without speaking, Xi Rui glanced at Yue'er with disgust, and whispered: "Let you sleep at home, what are you doing when you run to your uncle?" ”

Xi Yuan: "My lord will go to the hall first to sit and roast the fire for a while, it's so cold outside, you should come to pick you up." ”

Meng Tianchu looked at Xi Yuan and said, "Xi Yuan, I heard that you are very familiar with Saihuatuo in Hangzhou Mansion?" ”

Looking at Xi Yuan's expression, it seems that Yue'er didn't tell Xi Yuan about diamonds, Xi Yuan was stunned at first, and immediately smiled and nodded yes.

Meng Tianchu saw that Xi Yuan admitted it, and said: "Does Lord Lizheng have diamond powder at home?" ”

Xi Yuan was really blinded this time, peeked at Xi Rui, saw that Xi Rui was expressionless, and just led Meng Tianchu and them into the hall, and almost stumbled when he crossed the threshold of the hall, but fortunately, Meng Tianchu saw it and held it in time, and this time Xi Yuan didn't even dare to raise his head.

After everyone entered the door and sat down, Xi Rui saw that Xi Yuan stood aside in cringe and did not speak, so he had to speak: "Xi Yuan, what about the prefect asking you, are you dumb?" ”

Xi Yuan couldn't open his mouth for a long time, and Yue'er joked: "Uncle, you just said that Meng Tianchu is not looking for trouble with you, look, I know that the walled village from far away will not really like the lakes and mountains we have here." ”

Xi Rui scolded: "Yue'er, you go back to me quickly, don't talk here." ”

Yue'er pursed her lips and said, "Then I won't speak." ”

Xi Rui: "That's not good, let you go back, give it back to me, if not, be careful of me..."

Yue'er was anxious and said: "What's the big deal, isn't it just that the prefect's new official took office with three fires, and the first one came to your house when the old prefect didn't go well." Who doesn't know..."

When Meng Tianchu heard Yue'er say this, he knew that Yue'er didn't know the purpose of his two visits to the village, which made Meng Tianchu have a clearer idea of the doubts in his mind before.

Meng Tianchu: "Miss Yue'er means that the official has the heart to get along with your grandfather?" ”

Xi Rui: "Lord Meng, please forgive me, I'll let Yue'er leave immediately." ”

Meng Tianchu stretched out his hand to stop it, and said to Yue'er: "I didn't have a hard time coming for your grandfather, just for a murder case that has not been solved for many years, so I came to disturb your grandfather and uncle three times and twice." ”

When Yue'er heard this, she seemed to be very interested, and said, "What case?" ”

At this time, Xi Yuan, who had been silent, suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Yue'er's hand and went out. He said to Meng Tianchu: "My lord, diamond powder is available at home, please allow me to take Yue'er away, and I will come back immediately to ask for sin." ”

Meng Tianchu: "No need, I just want to ask, and I'm done." It's okay to leave with Master Xi and Miss Yue'er. ”

Xi Yuan's sweat came out, and Xi Rui also had a gloomy face, so he said boldly: "My lord, although I have diamond powder, I will not take it out to harm others." ”

Meng Tianchu sneered and said, "How did you know that someone was killed?" ”

Xi Yuan knelt on the ground with a thud, and Yue'er stood next to her uncle trying to pull Xi Yuan. At this time, a few people came in from the Xi Mansion and couldn't help but say that they dragged Yue'er out, Yue'er struggled, but no one helped, and after a while, Yue'er was taken away.

Xi Yuan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to speak, Meng Tianchu suddenly changed the topic and said, "Master Xi." I'd love to know why your granddaughter fell ill three years ago, and is it related to Xi Shu? ”

Xi Rui's face was even more ugly, and he said: "Lord Meng, Xi Yuan secretly hid the diamond powder banned by the imperial court, you take him away, I will never stop him, but please don't use your rich imagination, thinking that as long as you are in the surrounding village, it must have something to do with Xi's death." Isn't that ridiculous? ”

Meng Tianchu: "I'm just asking. Because I asked Xi and he said he knew your granddaughter. Because his sister used to be Yue'er's personal maid. ”

Xi Rui sneered: "So what? It's just that the old man bought it as a maid, and there are more than 40 girls in the Xi Mansion, so you can't doubt them one by one, what do you say, Master Meng? ”

Meng Tianchu laughed, and Xi Rui also laughed, only Xi Yuan knelt on the ground with a bitter expression.

Meng Tianchu looked at Xi Rui and said: "Let's talk about Xi Yuan, because the diamond powder found in Wu Min's stomach is exactly the place where the imperial court strictly prohibits its use, if it is enough to a certain amount, it is not as simple as dismissal, Lord Xi was also an official of the imperial court, so he naturally knows how powerful it is, so I only came to ask Lord Lizheng, first, Sai Huatuo said that if this diamond powder is taken in small amounts, it will take three or two years for the patient to die, and the cause of death is generally not found when he dies. But if you want to give a person to eat this diamond powder for two or three years in a row, then at least three taels or more, I also got Sai Huatuo's order, so I came to ask, look at Lord Lizheng..."

Xi Yuan: "Master Meng, I have no grievances with Wu Min from the neighboring village, why should I kill him?" I'll admit that I have diamond powder here, but my diamonds are used to grind jade. ”

Meng Tianchu: "I also know this, so Master Lizheng has a hands-on habit?" ”

Li Zheng saw that Meng Tianchu didn't believe it, so he said: "If you don't believe it, you can go to see the handicraft workshop of the lowly job with the lowly job to know a thing or two." I've had this hobby since I was a child, and you can ask anyone about it. ”

Meng Tianchu: "If your diamond powder is really used to grind jade, then is it generally possible for anyone in your workshop to go in and take the diamond powder away?" ”

Xi Yuan thought for a while and said, "No one will be able to enter that handicraft workshop." ”

Meng Tianchu: "Just you?" Nor can you and your wife? ”

Xi Yuan shook his head and said, "No, Master Meng, isn't that so, even more so that you can't clear your name for yourself?" ”

Meng Tianchu: "That's not true, the official didn't say that the diamond powder in Wu Min's belly was from your Xi Yuan's hand." ”

Xi Yuan: "Otherwise, adults should go and see Xi Yuan's things first." ”

Meng Tianchu looked interested, and said, "Okay, I'm very interested in this, let's go and have a look." ”

Xi Rui: "Master Meng." What are you? ”

Meng Tianchu said with a smile: "Since Li Zheng has already explained, why don't we believe it, let's go, go and see." ”

Xi Rui's face looked a little better, and with Meng Tianchu, they except for the door of the hall.

Meng Tianchu followed Xi Yuan to a walled room on the east side of the backyard, and the door was locked.

Xi Yuan took out a bunch of keys, skillfully took out one of them to open the door, and then stood at the door and said to Meng Tianchu: "Lord Prefect, there is a reluctant request from the lowly position, this..."

Meng Tianchu looked at the people behind him. Knowing that Xi Yuan probably didn't want others to go in, he turned back to Zuo Jiayin and said, "Why don't you wait for me outside for a while, and I'll go in and take a look and come out." ”

Everyone stopped in response, Meng Tianchu followed Xi Yuan in, and even Xi Rui was standing outside and was not invited.

Meng Tianchu followed Xi Yuan to a house of about 40 square meters, only to see that there were a lot of things in the house. But it is also neat, except for some commonly used subway pots, dustpans, hourglasses and the like, most of the objects Meng Tianchu has never seen, a large case with stones of different sizes and jade models that have been preliminarily prototyped, it seems that this Xi Yuan really likes jade.

Xi Yuan looked at everything in the room with great interest in Meng Tianchu, and said, "Master Meng, although many people like jade, a good thing. As the saying goes, gold and silver are priceless, but if you find a good piece of jade and carve it into a vessel, it is a chore. With that, he walked over to a clay pot hanging from the wall. He took it off, and then walked to Meng Tianchu about a crockpot, and Meng Tianchu saw that it was something the size of a grain of sand.

Meng Tianchu pointed to those things. Looking at Xi Yuan, Xi Yuan said: "This is what you are talking about diamond powder." ”

Xi Yuan nodded ashamedly.

Meng Tianchu: "How many of these?" ”

Xi Yuan: "Half a catty is more." ”

Meng Tianchu: "How come Sai Huatuo also knows that you have this thing?" ”

Xi Yuan sighed and said, "I forgot when I told him, alas, disaster comes from the mouth, it's really true." ”

Meng Tianchu: "You still hand in this, can't you polish jade except for this thing?" ”

Xi Yuan: "Although there are many jade attacking tools, most of them can't be used easily. Jade is an extremely delicate thing. If you don't pay attention, you're ruined. Legend. The best diamond powders are black and red. Yellow and other stone sand are produced in Zhili and Lu County. There are also in Yunnan and other places. It resembles a very crushed ballast, which must be mashed with a sample mortar like rice grits, and then sifted through a very fine sieve. Then measure the thickness of the sand, float off the slurry, and soak the clean sand in water to apply"

When Meng Tianchu heard this, he said, "You mean that there are several colors of diamond?" ”

Xi Yuan snorted and said, "Exactly, but what I usually use is yellow." ”

Meng Tianchu then remembered that Wu Min's belly was black, and said, "Why? ”

Xi Yuan: "First, this kind of one is easier to get, and second, I am used to it." ”

Meng Tianchu: "Don't you have diamond powder of other colors in your workshop?" ”

Xi Yuan: "Does the prefect mean that Wu Min's abdomen is not yellow?" ”

Meng Tianchu said frankly.

Xi Yuan thought for a while and said, "Lord Prefect, Xi Yuan used his own head to vouch for you, I really didn't..."

Meng Tianchu looked around the workshop and saw a yellowed portrait hanging on the opposite wall, so he walked towards the portrait, Xi Yuan hurriedly followed, Meng Tianchu said: "You now hand over all the existing diamond powder in your hands, as for Wu Mindi's death, I will always find out, and I will naturally know if it is you when the time comes." ”

When I walked to the portrait, I saw a painting of a plump young woman sitting on a chair and holding a fan, half covering her face, but the painting was very ordinary.

Meng Tianchu pointed to the portrait and said, "Lord Lizheng, this is your masterpiece?" Xi Yuan smiled and said, "Where is it, it is done by the cheap." ”

Meng Tianchu nodded, a man put his wife's painting in the place where he often works, Xi Yuan should naturally know that this painting is general, but it has been hanging, and the time is not short, so Xi Yuan is still a person who values love.

Meng Tianchu: "How many ladies does Lord Lizheng have?" ”

Xi Yuan: "Three rooms." ”

Meng Tianchu: "This should have been painted by your original wife?" ”

Rizheng nodded yes.

Meng Tianchu naturally wanted to find out Leng Xiaozhen's true identity. Since such a coincidence made Sai Huatuo say that Xi Yuan has diamond powder, and Leng Xiaozhen and the surrounding village seem to be really related, although Yin Susu stayed in the cell all night almost in vain, but she heard Leng Xiaozhen tell Wen Zhu that she still wanted to go back to her husband's house to see, and said that she had a good relationship with her husband in the past, and it was only because Wu Min wanted to blackmail herself that there was something to do later, as for how Leng Xiaozhen made her family feel that she was dead, and how did she let Wu Min blackmail herself. Wu Min caught what trick he had, Leng Xiaozhen was always tight-lipped, but Meng Tianchu would not give up.

Meng Tianchu: "Don't be so nervous first, it's just that Wu Min used to work here a lot, so naturally ask, don't think about it." But even before the case is settled, you have to tell us wherever you go. ”

Xi Yuan hurriedly nodded and said yes. Meng Tianchu opened the door and saw that everyone was already frozen, so he turned to Xi Yuan and said, "This official is a little hungry, if you have anything here that can be put in your mouth as soon as possible, I will not be polite to you." ”

Xi Yuan first closed the door carefully, and then put the key in his arms. Meng Tianchu saw it in his eyes, and Xi Yuan said: "I'll let people prepare to go." ”

Xi Rui: "My lord, my family has already prepared, why don't you come to me to eat?" ”

Meng Tianchu: "Let's talk about it tomorrow, since I have arrived at Lord Lizheng." We'll just harass him, what do you say? ”

Where did Xi Yuan dare to say no, he smiled humbly and welcomed Meng Tianchu and them into the hall, and first asked his subordinates to serve some snacks. Let Meng Tianchu and them eat, and then hurry up to let people prepare meals.

Xi Rui: "Xi Yuan, why don't you go to the house and ask the housekeeper to bring the prepared meals in a food box, and when you do it here, Master Meng will already be hungry." ”

Xi Yuan hurriedly went out when he heard this, and Xi Rui suddenly remembered something and went out with him. Look at the time. Meng Tianchu approached Zuo Jiayin and whispered a few words to her. Zuo Jiayin nodded again and again.

After a while, a maid came, Zuo Jiayin signaled the maid to come to his side, asked some irrelevant words, and when Xi Rui stepped across the door, he suddenly pretended to be careless and knocked over the quilt in front of him, the maid was startled, and quickly took out his own champa to rub Zuo Jiayin, Xi Rui stepped forward and was about to reach out to hit the maid, Zuo Jiayin stopped her, and said with a smile: "Master Xi, don't blame her, it's me who is not small."

The maid was so frightened that she didn't dare to speak, Zuo Jiayin said to Meng Tianchu: "Why don't I go back first, my clothes are all wet." ”

Meng Tianchu pretended to be unhappy, and Zuo Jiayin smiled and said to the maid: "Why don't you tell the lady you are looking at it, and borrow me a set of clothes to wear first?" ”

Xi Rui: "Madam, why don't I let someone go back and get Yue'er for you?" I'm afraid that you can't look down on Xi Yuan's family? ”

Zuo Jiayin smiled, and sneezed before he could speak, Meng Tianchu hurriedly said: "It's important to keep warm, if there's anything you can't look at on the ground, hurry up, just find a set here." ”

Then the maid said: "Then the lady will come with the slave maid, and I will take you to the second lady to see, her figure is similar to yours." ”

Zuo Jiayin got up, smiled at Meng Tianchu, and then followed the maid away.

Coming to the inner courtyard, the maid led Zuo Jiayin to the door of a room and knocked on the door quietly, calling out to the second lady, the door soon opened, and a little maid said, "Is there something wrong?" ”

The maid looked back at Zuo Jiayin timidly, Zuo Jiayin was looking at her with a smile, she seemed to have the courage, and said to the little girl: "Tell the second lady, say yes..."

Before the maid finished speaking, the little maid looked at the beautiful woman behind the maid and said, "Who are you?" ”

The maid hurriedly said: "This is the third lady of the prefect, you must not be rude." As she spoke, a woman came out of the house, not smiling, holding a delicate small stove in her hand, a white jacket on her upper body, and a long green skirt on her lower body, which couldn't help but make Zuo Jiayin think of the green onions in the kitchen at home.

The woman lazily raised her eyes and looked at Zuo Jiayin, and said casually: "You are the third lady of the prefect?" ”

Zuo Jiayin was really cold this time, shivered, the maid saw it, and hurriedly walked to the second lady and said the reason succinctly, who would have thought that the second lady would smile faintly and said, "But I don't have new clothes here, how can this be good?" ”

Zuo Jiayin got angry, turned around and left, the maid hurriedly followed, and said to Zuo Jiayin: "Madame, don't be angry, our second lady has no other meaning, or..."

Zuo Jiayin said angrily: "No need! ”

Meng Tianchu saw that Zuo Jiayin was still dressed in wet clothes and walked in angrily, Xi Rui hurriedly got up and before he could speak, Zuo Jiayin said loudly: "Lord Xi, this nephew's family is big, I can't afford to provoke it, I'm too cold to stand it, I want to go back." With that, he turned and walked towards the gate.

Meng Tianchu hurriedly asked Tulong to follow, and then asked the maid, the maid Zhiwu told what had happened, Meng Tianchu glanced at Xi Rui, Xi Rui was furious, and was about to come back with Xi Yuan with the housekeeper, and almost hit Zuo Jiayin with a full bosom.

Xi Yuan was about to give a salute, Zuo Jiayin had already left, Xi Yuan was puzzled, Xi Rui walked forward quickly, and said, "You, you are in a big trouble." Xi Yuan was stunned for a moment, and saw Meng Tianchu walking forward with a gloomy face, passing by him without speaking, thinking to himself about the diamond matter Master Meng was not so angry, he had only been gone for a while, why was everyone angry?

Xi Rui: "Why are you still stunned here, why don't you hurry up and chase the adults back, I'll go after the Heavenly Master, if you can't chase back, I think you really can't eat and go around." ”

After Xi Rui finished speaking, he hurriedly went to chase Zuo Jiayin and Slay the Dragon, Xi Yuan heard Xi Rui say this, so he had to chase the prefect back first.

Hall.

Meng Tianchu and Zuo Jiayin sat in front of the three braziers, Zuo Jiayin's clothes had been changed clean, and it was his son's wife's clothes that Xi Rui asked his subordinates to quickly whip back and get back.

The door has been closed, and there are more than a dozen candlesticks in the room, which are very bright, and the ginger soup bowl on the table has just finished drinking, but Meng Tianchu and Zuo Jiayin still stretched their faces, so that Xi Yuan on the side was up and down in his heart, and he stared at the three women on the ground viciously, and he couldn't wait to drag them out and cut them immediately.

Xi Yuan said cautiously: "Lord Prefect, the lowly position is not strict with the discipline of the lowly on weekdays, which led to such a catastrophe today, and the lowly position is really ... It's really... Sin deserves death. ”

Zuo Jiayin sneered: "Lord Lizheng, you don't need to say this, it's not the right time for my own clothes to get wet." ”

Xi Yuan listened, and walked in front of his second lady is a slap, the second lady just covered her face and didn't dare to scream Xi Rui said angrily: "What is such a woman who doesn't understand the rules doing at home?" Someone's coming! ”

The door opened, and the second lady panicked, and hurriedly crawled to Xi Yuan's feet, holding Xi Yuan's legs with both hands and shouting for mercy.

Meng Tianchu: "Xi Yuan, don't play any bitter tricks in front of us, it's just a piece of clothing, if your wife is beaten to death, we will be guilty." ”