"Are you alright?"

The fox suddenly moved to Xing Ruyi's side, and when he saw clearly that it was a tea bowl that was broken, his face instantly tensed.

"Is ma'am?" Steward Qiao's face also sank, and he looked at the tea bowl on the ground and asked, "That bastard smashed it?" ”

"Stewardship."

A little maid in an emerald green dress hurried out.

As soon as Steward Qiao saw this maid, his brows wrinkled: "Miss again?" ”

"Yes!"

"And why?"

"If you go back to the steward, this slave doesn't know." The little maid's head lowered more and more: "Miss Fang Cai said that she was thirsty and wanted to drink water, so the slave maid hurriedly went out to make the new tea for the young lady in the house this year." But I don't know why, the young lady only took a sip, and then angrily threw the tea bowl out.

The slave didn't know that there was anyone in the courtyard, and she didn't know that the steward had brought you back with a distinguished guest. It's all the slave's fault, it's the slave maid who didn't serve the good lady. ”

"It's none of your business, Miss's temper is something that ordinary people can't figure out. Quickly packed up the things on the ground. Steward Qiao said, turned to Xing Ruyi and apologized: "Mr. and Mrs. just arrived in our Zhuangzi and encountered this kind of thing, it is really old and inconsiderate. Fortunately, Mrs. was not hurt, otherwise, Mo said that the old man, that is, the young master, the old man didn't know how to explain. ”

"It's okay, people have bad times." Xing Ruyi shrank back: "I'm afraid that this young lady of your family is also a temper tantrum." ”

"Miss, she ......" Steward Qiao hesitated, and seemed to be a little unspeakable: "My young lady's situation is a little special, and this temperament is indeed not good." The old lady apologized to the two, and asked the two to ignore it for the sake of the young master. ”

Xing Ruyi nodded, his eyes slipped over the maid who was picking up the pieces with her head down, and didn't say anything more.

The fox was still protecting Xing Ruyi, and his face was gloomy.

In the hall, Master Qiao also had a gloomy face. On the stool next to him, there were two old men, and behind the old man stood a middle-aged man. Judging from the middle-aged man's dress, it should be a farmer in Qiaojiazhuang, with mud spots on one trouser leg. The hands naturally droop, but the sleeves are covered with pleats, and at first glance, they look like they have been rolled up and fallen all year round.

The palms are broad, the fingertips are blackened, and they are covered with calluses, which are also left by years of labor.

"Master, Mr. and Mrs. Yin have arrived."

"Mr. Yin, Mrs. Yin." His eyes fell on the faces of Xing Ruyi and the fox, and Master Qiao's face softened slightly: "I've always heard Sheng'er mention the two, but when I saw it today, I knew that what Sheng'er said was true." You may be seated! Steward, tea, good tea! ”

"Yes, sir!" Steward Joe retreated.

Master Qiao seemed to have just remembered the people sitting and standing in the hall, he first pointed to the two old men sitting there with sad faces and said, "These two are the elders of my Qiao family, Second Uncle Qiao and Third Uncle Qiao." Standing here is a tenant on my Zhuangzi, named Qiao Feng. These two are friends of Sheng'er, surnamed Yin. ”

"Mr. Yin, Mrs. Yin." The two old men stood up: "Since we are distinguished guests in Zhuangzi, then we will talk about our affairs later." ”

"I'll arrange for someone to look for it later, and I'll ask you two to help organize it when we go back. Recently, the Zhuangzi has not been peaceful, so let our people stay in the Zhuangzi as much as possible, and it is best to take care of each other. Master Qiao Zhuang sent the two old men to the door first, and then said to Qiao Feng, who was following him: "You also know the temperament of your lady. Don't worry, find a few more places to ask. Perhaps, when it gets dark, the people will come back. ”

"I see, I'll follow what you said, and look for some more places."

Master Qiao sighed, patted Qiao Feng twice, and waved him away.

"Although it is a little abrupt, Ruyi still wants to take the liberty of asking, what happened in this Zhuangzi?"

"Something happened." Master Qiao Zhuang returned to his seat, looked up at Xing Ruyi several times, and then spoke: "The two of you are friends of Sheng'er, that is, friends of my Qiao Jiazhuang. I won't hide these things from the two of you anymore. I did post some things on Qiaojiazhuang, and it was some strange things. ”

"Strange things?"

"Yes!" The owner of Qiao Zhuang sighed: "In the past half month, there have often been people missing in my Qiaojiazhuang, and the missing ones are still women. ”

"Woman?"

"It's a woman, and she's of different ages and temperaments, but she's disappeared in a similar way. They all stayed at home one moment, and the next moment they were gone. To this day, there is no one alive, and no corpse is dead. I also sent people to report to the yamen, but the yamen has a lot of affairs, and they can't take care of us here for the time being. ”

"I see that middle-aged man frowned, but his wife is also missing?"

"Alas! This is the fourth missing person in the past half a month. Master Qiao patted his leg: "Since the Zhuangzi has disappeared one after another, I let the steward pass on the word, not only increasing the number of patrols in the Zhuangzi, but also letting the big guys wander around the Zhuangzi less if they have nothing to do, and try to stay at home if they can stay at home." There are few people in this family, so it is best to discuss living together for the time being, so that such a thing does not happen again. But I couldn't prevent it. "Can you take the liberty of asking again, what is this Big Brother Qiao's wife?" Xing Ruyi thought of the faceless female corpse by the lake: "I mean, what obvious physical characteristics does this Brother Qiao's wife have. My father-in-law and I came from the direction of Yong'an, and we will continue to the north later, take note of these characteristics, and if we meet, we can also send a letter to Master Qiao Zhuang in time. ”

"Physiognomy features." Master Qiao Zhuang thought about it, got up and walked to the side and took a few picture scrolls: "After this person disappeared, I immediately drew their portraits. Mr. and Mrs. Yin can take a look, look at the way they have come, and they can meet people with similar appearances. ”

In the original concept of Xing Ruyi, the people who are most likely to disappear are roughly divided into three categories: one is those who have unclear brains or are too young to distinguish the direction, or have no heart to defend against others. One is the money in the family and is remembered by thieves. There is also a category of people who have good looks and have been abducted and deceived by people who covet their beauty. But obviously, the four missing people on this Qiaojiazhuang are not among these three categories.

There are four portraits in total, and the women in the paintings are also different in height, shortness, fat and thinness, but what is common is that they are average in appearance, and even some ugly.

The first missing person was the daughter of Qiao Laoxi, a tenant in Zhuangshang. The facial features are quite upright, but there is a birthmark larger than a palm, and this birthmark is still born in the center of the face, covering her originally good facial features. Because of this birthmark, she is nearly eighteen years old, unmarried, and has been staying at home, leaving an old girl who not only makes others sigh and pity, but is always talked about behind.

The second missing person is the daughter of the Qiao Eight family, who sell meat in the village. There's nothing wrong with appearance, the problem is in height. This Qiao Baliang married his own cousin, which is a relatively common way to marry in this era. But in the era when Xing Ruyi came, this was called consanguineous marriage. Qiao Baliang's daughter is the result of the marriage of close relatives, she is a dwarf.

The third missing person is the youngest daughter of the old blind family in Zhuangxitou, and she is also the most impressive of the four portraits. Her facial features are somewhat "casual", with a wide forehead, small eyes, and wide eye space. The nose is long, the nose is short, and the nostrils are larger than those of ordinary people. That mouth was not bad, but it was buried on such a face.

It is said that this person's appearance is given by his parents, and he can't help himself if he is born well. But there are people everywhere who look at their faces, and a girl who looks like this will inevitably not be talked about.

Xing Ruyi shook his head and turned his gaze to the fourth portrait. With just one glance, she recognized the person in the painting.

"Who is this?"

"Hello Niang! It's not a big name, it's just that everyone in Zhuangzi calls it that, and when they shout, they are used to it. Master Qiao pointed and said, "She is Qiao Feng's wife." Speaking of which, this Qiao Feng is a kind-hearted and good boy, but his family situation is a little more difficult, and he has only talked about this family business in his thirties. This Xi Niang, who was originally a widow with a widow, was disgusted by her original in-laws because she was lazy and gluttonous, so she had no choice but to marry Qiao Feng.

After the two got married, the big and small things in this family were still handled by Qiao Feng, and the delicious food and drink were all sent to her by Qiao Feng, who was both pampered and coaxed all day long. But this bride is a non-stop, in addition to eating and drinking, is idle and has nothing to do to pull the match, and there are some chicken and dog things, although I am the owner, but after all, I am still an outsider, some things can't be said, and I can't say it. ”

"This is really a scripture that is difficult to read in every family. Although I only saw one time, I could see that Brother Qiao was indeed a generous person, and when he met Xi Niang, he was afraid that it was also fate. ”

"It's also me, the owner of the village, who was negligent, although I knew about Qiao Feng's family, I couldn't stop it in time. Now, it has hurt such a generous person. ”

"Each of them has their own marriage, and these things are not something you have to worry about."

"That being said, when I saw Qiao Feng just now, I ...... in my heart."

"When did this bride disappear?"

"I can't say exactly when. I just heard that Qiao Feng said that when he got up early yesterday, he was still asleep at home. It has been raining a lot recently, and this Qiao Feng is a diligent person, so he can rest assured that he can't work in the field, so he went to the field after breakfast to take a look and put the ridges together. When he went home, the house was deserted, Xi Niang was not there, and he was used to it, so he didn't go out to look for it, so he worked on his own.

Seeing that it was dark, the bride had not returned home, so he was in a hurry. I have searched for the places that should be found, and I have searched for the places that should be found, but I have never found anyone. I waited patiently all night, and only came to report to me today. It is estimated that this bride, like the first three, is missing. ”

"Have you ever asked in Zhuangzi?"

"What did you ask?"

"After getting up early yesterday, has anyone in the Zhuangzi seen Xi Niang?"