The winter in Zhaoyi is still bustling and lively, and people's interest in having fun is not slightly reduced by the cold.

The thoroughfares are bustling with cars and horses, and even the small streets and alleys are not deserted.

The hawkers shouted and sold through the streets and alleys, the baskets on their arms, the carts in their hands, and the willow baskets on their heads were all fundamental to feeding the family.

Zhaoyi is a paradise on earth, and all the three religions and nine streams like to live here, even if they beg for food at the feet of the Son of Heaven, they will feel superior.

However, no matter how prosperous the place is, there are occasions where there is no lively place, these places are dark and dim, and the people who live in them are like rats in the gutter, sneaky and clever, and they are also doing things that cannot be seen.

Windless street, as the name suggests, the street is narrow and windless and not breathable.

In the winter, it is fine, but in the summer, it is hot and humid, and from morning to night, the smell is stinking, and mosquitoes and rats are rampant.

Every year on dog days, many people die here, some from heat, and many from cholera and malaria.

Rao is so, and there are still people who do not want to leave, because this is where they settle down.

Those who live on the windless street, except for the poor, are selling wild medicines, which is known to everyone in the capital.

When you go to the pharmacy to grab medicine, you have to have a doctor's prescription, and it is an ironclad rule to catch medicine according to the prescription.

But there are always some diseases that cannot be seen, such as being pregnant with an illegitimate child.

There are always some medicines that can only be traded privately, such as poisons.

The wild men here have their own specialties, and some of them specialize in "iron brushes", a strong fetal pill.

After eating it, the abdominal pain was unbearable, like an iron brush scraping and peeling off the viscera.

But one dose will be effective, and two doses will be fatal.

Some sell "hammering gongs" - drugs that can make people quickly dumb without being fatal.

It doesn't hurt to drink, but it can quickly make people dumb.

There are also all kinds of poison powders that are sold, such as aconite, hook kiss, strychnine, and all the poisons that can be named are available here.

Liaodong crane top red, Mobei black scorpion, a little bit can kill people.

None of the medicines here are cheap, five to ten times more expensive than listed pharmacies, but there are still people who buy them.

It's not that these people like to do wrongs, but the medicine here is all about human life, in other words, they are buying and selling human lives.

Guo Shouyi, who sells iron brushes, does not believe in the word benevolence and righteousness the most in his life, and his medicine sells at least a few hundred pairs every year, with one tael of silver per pack.

It's not cheap, and there are people who want to bargain.

Guo Shouyi said: "One or two pieces of silver can buy more than a pack of medicine, but also decency and peace, are you worth it?" ”

Like the other nomads who sold medicine, he never saw the face of the buyer, but only dug a hole in the wall one foot square, and when the people outside handed him the silver, he stuffed a bag of medicine out.

Because of this, his abortion pills are selling exceptionally well.

Before it opened today, Guo Shouyi leaned on the wall and picked his teeth, humming the lyrics without a sentence in his mouth, absurd and out of tune.

"Dangchang" is the sound of silver coins falling into the copper plate.

Guo Shouyi was very familiar with this sound, and knew that it was business that came to the door.

A tael of silver, no more, no less.

Guo Shouyi grabbed a packet of medicine casually, put it on the copper plate, and pushed it outward.

The white and tender hand picked up the medicine bag, Guo Shouyi even saw a delicate wrist, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

I went up and pinched it, and the hand retracted as if it had been burned, but it kept holding the medicine bag tightly.

Guo Shouyi guessed that this woman was either a small family with a low family background but a well-off family, or a maid with a head and face in a large family, and the poor would not have such hands.

On such a cold day, as long as you do some rough work, it is inevitable that your hands will have scars, wounds, calluses or chilblains, and even if you are careful, your skin will be rough.

But this hand is like a ball of cotton, soft and white.

The man outside the wall took the medicine and put it in his arms, pulled down the hood on his head to cover most of his face, and walked out of the alley without looking back.

The walker was in a hurry, and her wide dark blue robe kept her out very tightly, and the pair of azure embroidered satin shoes underneath were a little dazzling, like the only two flowers left on a dry old tree.

At the mouth of the alley was a humble carriage parked, its black canvas canopy covered with dust, and the men who drove it were about forty or so, and they were short and stout.

The hand holding the whip crossed over to block the woman who was in a hurry, and said in a rough voice: "Girl, please get in the car, someone wants to say something to you." ”

The person who was stopped was a little annoyed, but she didn't want to dwell on it too much, so she turned sideways to get around.

"Girl, don't toast or eat," the groom's iron pincer-like hand grabbed her wrist, making it impossible for her to break free.

"You don't want to be recognized here, do you?" The coachman lowered his voice and said.

The coachman's words made her scared, what was the origin of the other party? What is the purpose of stopping yourself? Will it kill people?

In just a moment, several questions flashed through her mind.

But in the end, she got into the car.

She can't refuse, the other party must already know her own business, if she doesn't comply, I'm afraid that there will be no good fruit to eat.

It was very dark in the car, and she came in from outside as if she was blind.

She became more and more panicked in her heart, and she didn't even dare to breathe, and when she got used to the darkness in the car, she could only see a vague shadow sitting opposite.

The other party seemed to be wearing a very wide cloak and a hood on his head, making it impossible to distinguish between men and women.

"Who are you?" She asked nervously, cold sweat broke out in her palms, this person acted so strangely that it made people's hearts crist.

"You don't need to know who I am," the shadow spoke, as if through a thick cotton cloth, and his voice was so distorted that "it's enough for me to know who you are." ”

"You must have mistaken someone, I've never had a grudge against anyone." She said with fear.

"Don't worry, I don't have any grievances with you, I came to you today, I just want you to do something for me, and I will give you fifty taels of silver after the matter is completed." Shadow said.

"What do you want me to do, what do you want me to do?" She became even more nervous when she heard this, she was not stupid, this person was so sneaky, he would never let her do anything good.

"I've got a packet of powder, you take it back," Shadow handed over an object, a small packet that could be held in his hand without being noticed.

"No, no, I can't," she pushed the bag away, "I can't kill anyone." ”

"I didn't let you kill," the shadow's voice carried a hint of annoyance, "You just need to ......"

The latter words were whispered in her ear.

"You can not agree, but I promise that in less than an hour, your affairs will be known by the Xiao family," the shadow said playfully, "Do you say that it will be fun then?" ”

"Don't! Please," she knelt down, terrified, "don't let anyone know." ”

"Don't worry, I'm just asking you to do a little favor, and it won't make a big mess," Shadow soothed, "What's more, she's not a good person, and I have no choice but to do it." ”

Seeing that she was still hesitating, the shadow said slowly: "Of course, you can not agree, but your reputation cannot be saved no matter what." ”

She shuddered, gritted her teeth, and finally took the paper bag.

Painting the hall back

Painting the hall back