The grand event of praying for the truth has been over for more than half an hour, and the pilgrims and believers have all descended the mountain one after another.

On the winding mountain road, two women accompanied by a tall Taoist priest, bathing in the sunset and slowly descending, the two women are Wang Yuehan and the maid Xiaozhen, and the young Taoist priest is Wu Ming with a gloomy face.

The three of them stopped and rested under the big tree in the middle of the mountain, Wang Yuehan faced the sunset, took a deep breath to adjust the disordered breath, and a layer of fine beads of sweat appeared on her delicate face, which glowed with a charming luster under the glow.

Xiao Zhen leaned on Wang Yuehan's side, pointed to the top of the mountain that was about to disappear in the distance and said something excitedly, and finally stuck it in Wang Yuehan's ear, pointing to the small wooden house on the mountain and whispering, which soon aroused Wang Yuehan's low anger.

The two quarreled for a while, the shyness on Wang Yuehan's face disappeared, and he turned around and came to Wu Ming: "When I left the mountain gate, I faintly heard what Daoist Chengzhi said to you, why didn't you go to the town to get a certificate, and then go to the county to get the identity certificate issued by the government of the Republic of China, but to send it to Longhu Mountain?" Longhu Mountain is under the jurisdiction of Yingtan, but you are from Huanggu Town! ”

Wu Ming, who was sitting on the stone slab, raised his head: "How do you know that I am from Huanggu Town?" ”

Wang Yuehan was slightly stunned: "I guess, your accent is a local accent." ”

Wu Ming stared coldly into Wang Yuehan's eyes: "How long have you been in Huanggu Town?" ”

Xiao Zhen hurriedly replied: "Last autumn, our young lady only married here, the fifth day of the seventh month of the old calendar left the hometown of Yingtan, the seventh day of the first month to Shangrao County, lived in our Wang Lao Man's house, after the Mid-Autumn Festival to take the eight sedan chair to marry to this ghost place, if it weren't for the young lady's illness has not recovered, we would have gone to Nanchang a long time ago, who wants to stay here?" Why is this so, you ask? ”

Wu Ming nodded: "There is something you should have heard, last summer, there was a poor person in Wujia Village in the west of the town who was killed by the Chen family in Huanggu Town, and then her son went to take revenge, but the revenge was not avenged, but was framed by the Chen family as a red bandit, put into the county prison, tortured to death, this matter was quite big at the time, Huanggu Town and the surrounding villages all knew about it, you won't have heard of it, right?" ”

Wang Yuehan and Xiao Zhen looked at each other, and then moved their eyes to Wu Wei's face.

Xiao Zhen's big eyes widened: "I heard, the people in our house said that the wicked man who entered the house with a knife late at night to commit murder later let hundreds of red bandits rob the prison and rescued them, on the day of the robbery, the guns and cannons in the county town kept bleeding, and the officers and soldiers under our old man Wang alone were killed and injured more than 20 people, and more than a dozen mansions of officials and rich gentry burned the red bandits to ashes, and later I heard that the bold and wicked man dared to return to Tianjia Village on the first day of the Lunar New Year to repair the grave of his dead wife and burn incense, which caused the number of families in our house to double, It wasn't until the second young master sent someone to quietly send more than a dozen long and short guns from Nanchang that it was better, but at night, the housekeeper and the master of the courtyard had to inspect the front and rear yards, and people were not allowed to move around, for fear that the outlaw would come to kill people again, huh? Why is this so, you ask? ”

"What do you say?" Wu Ming looked over coldly.

Xiao Zhen exclaimed in fright, took two steps back and sat on the stone steps.

Wang Yuehan helped Xiao Zhen up, her delicate body trembled slightly, her eyes were full of grief, for a long time, she endured the huge waves in her heart, and stepped forward to look at Wu Ming worriedly: "Have you been hiding in the Prayer Truth Temple?" ”

Wu Ming nodded helplessly: "Can't you hide if you can't be provoked?" Don't talk about this, Xie Lu thank you and Xiaozhen for helping me clean so many things, so that I can save a lot of things, don't worry, I will leave in two days, there will always be a place for me to live in the world, don't come in the future, the mountain road is not easy to walk, and I can't tell right and wrong. ”

Wang Yuehan was silent for a moment, then turned around and picked up Xiao Zhen, who was weak in her hands and feet: "Xiao Zhen, don't be afraid, the rumors are not credible, Wu Daochang is not the kind of murderer they say, otherwise he would not risk death in the broken temple to save us, don't be afraid, you go down the mountain first and wait for me, I will go back after a few words with Wu Daochang." ”

Xiao Zhen ran out of ideas, nodded frequently and turned around to leave, walked a few steps and turned back again, and saw Wang Yuehan signaling her to leave, only to panic and quickly go down the mountain.

Wang Yuehan looked at Wu Ming, who was expressionless, and plucked up the courage to ask after a while: "So, you already know your own life experience, and you also know who I am?" ”

Wu Ming nodded and didn't speak, there was no emotion in his deep eyes, and he didn't seem to care about all this.

Wang Yuehan stroked the hair blown by the mountain wind: "Since the first time I saw you, I have been guessing that you look too much like the deceased eldest brother of the Chen family, and I have also heard a lot of things about you, and I am full of suspicions, but I can't confirm it, and I don't dare to ask the people in the house. ”

Wu Ming stood up: "This matter has nothing to do with you, okay, take care!" ”

"Wait!" Wang Yuehan caught up with the two stone steps, her eyes were flushed, and her face was full of reluctance that could not be concealed: "Can you tell me where you are going?" ”

Wu Ming's figure paused, and he slowly turned around, with a rare sadness and gentleness in his eyes: "I don't know how to go, maybe go to Shanghai, maybe go to Guangzhou or even Hong Kong, take one step at a time." ”

Wang Yuehan looked up at Wu Ming, who looked lonely, and couldn't say a word.

Wu Ming sighed faintly, turned around and strode up the mountain, and when his figure disappeared into the bend above, Wang Yuehan's eyes were already full of tears, and he sat on the stone steps weakly and wept.

Night has fallen, and the horse lamp is hanging high in the living room of the main house of Chen Mansion in Huanggu Town, and the atmosphere is solemn.

Chen Jiyao sat on the chair of the master in the main hall, his eyes slightly closed, and his face was very ugly. There was a plump woman in her forties sitting on the side, with a round face and fair facial features, and it could be seen that she was very standard when she was young, if it weren't for the slightly larger mouth and slightly thinner lips, she could be called graceful and rich. She was wearing a dark blue silk shirt, her hair was shiny and not messy, and the phoenix and golden hairpin on her head trembled frequently.

A tall butler in a black poplin robe stood behind the woman, and four strong, sharp-eyed servants were scattered around the hall, all eyes focused on the coachman kneeling in the center of the main hall.

The panicked coachman has truthfully told the young grandmother Wang Yuehan the process of praying for the truth and burning incense today, and said that he was careful not to delay on the way back, but he couldn't explain why he arrived home after dark, but he couldn't help but defend that the second young grandmother went down the mountain late, and only went down to the foot of the mountain after the sun went down, and then rushed home without any delay.

"Get out!"

The coachman scrambled to his feet amid the woman's sharp scolding, and bent over to flee in a series of accusations.

The woman then asked the family members to stand back, stood up and walked to Chen Jiyao, who was pale: "Master, you have heard, what kind of incense does your daughter-in-law burn for so long?" The ritual of praying for the truth has ended at noon, and the people who went to the town to burn incense have already returned, except for your daughter-in-law, who can walk back and forth in an hour after a few steps down the mountain, why did she go down to the foot of the mountain after dark? She is not a little daughter-in-law with a three-inch golden lotus, if she causes any gossip, where will our Chen family's face go? ”

"Alright, alright! When she greets her tomorrow morning, you say that it would be good for her to give her a few words of warning, you are the eldest wife, and it is your business to discipline your inner family. Chen Jiyao stood up impatiently, and there was no reason in his heart.

The eldest lady hurriedly grabbed Chen Jiyao's sleeve: "Master, you have to say a few words about her!" She relied on studying in the provincial capital for a few days, thinking that she was high, and she had a straight face all day long since she entered my Chen family, why? Although the Wang family is a big family, but she Wang Yuehan is the one who came out of the family, where can she say that she has a noble status? If it weren't for Fifth Brother Wang's face, would I be so used to her? It's hard for me to be a master, I just know that the way of the Chen, to be the daughter-in-law of the Chen family, you have to behave, she is no longer the crazy talented woman in Nanchang City, a woman must be virtuous when she gets married, and she is not ashamed to show her face all day long, if she didn't go into the city to get any new books last time, how could she attract the scourge of the officials and soldiers in the middle of the road? Until now, she has to say that she is not clean, if you and the third wife indulge her like this again, it is difficult to guarantee that one day the Chen family's face will be lost! ”

"Enough!"

Chen Jiyao glared at the eldest lady in annoyance: "After the Spring Festival, I told you again and again, send your daughter-in-law to Nanchang, let her and Kang'er live their own lives, and give birth to a boy and a woman to inherit the family generation as soon as possible. Hum! ”

"Master......."

Chen Jiyao brushed his sleeves away and didn't look back, the eldest lady was so angry that she stomped her feet, and saw that the direction Chen Jiyao was traveling was the courtyard of the third aunt, and the eldest lady suddenly felt aggrieved, holding her heart and tears like rain.

The housekeeper who was hiding on the side hurriedly went up to help: "Sister, this matter is not over, but you can't be so stiff anymore, otherwise it will only annoy your brother-in-law." ”

"Holy! I married into his Chen family for 28 years and gave birth to two sons to his Chen family, how could he treat me like this? The goblin in Dongyuan only gave birth to a girl, and he didn't give birth to half of the Chen family's inheritance, but he spoiled and held it all day long, disgusted with my old pearl yellow! The eldest lady leaned on her brother and began to cry.

The housekeeper hurriedly whispered: "Sister, be quiet, be quiet!" Think about it, how can you say that you are the main house, you are the eldest wife, except for your brother-in-law, who in the Chen family is more noble than you? The reason why you are like this today is because you are too kind-hearted, and my brother-in-law's tone just now is that you don't take care of your home! You have a lot of power, why do you have the right not to use it? In my opinion, just use today's incident to establish your prestige, Kang'er's daughter-in-law can't move, can't the little girl in the demon next to her move? The master is at fault, and the slave is guilty, so he arrested that girl and tortured him carefully, and he was afraid that he would not be able to grasp the handle? Even if she is killed, she deserves it, Wang Fa will not care, kill a hundred people through this matter, let the people up and down the house take a good look, who is the master of this family! ”

The eldest lady came to her senses, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that her brother's words were reasonable, only to feel that her blood suddenly surged, wiped away the tears on her face, gritted her teeth and commanded hatefully: "You go, ask Qingping in my room to go to Xiyuan, call that splash girl to my room, and then bring the two mothers-in-law in the kitchen together, you must vent your evil anger today, hum!" The old lady can't do it if she doesn't exert her power! ”

The housekeeper smiled: "That's right!" Sister, in my opinion, I'm afraid there is something wrong with the young grandmother, otherwise how could she suffer so much right and wrong? You go back to the room first to recuperate, and then I'll go and order someone to bring the sharp-toothed girl over, and let a few mothers-in-law go up to say hello, see if she has a hard mouth or a hard board, maybe she can't dig up something unsightly. ”