When it was a little dark, the group arrived at Liulin Village.

Liulin Village is a village in the north mountain under the rule of Yunzhou, and there are not many people in the village, scattered in the north, south and west of the mountain. And because most of them are mountain roads, they are not close to each other.

The autumn wind was whining in my ears, and because I was in the mountains, it was even colder at night than outside.

Xiao Qinglang looked sideways and saw Xu Chu shudder, then showed a look of annoyance, couldn't help frowning, and after a while, he turned around and ordered Wei Guang to take off the cloak from the carriage and give it to her.

"Let's wear it first, the mountains are not as good as the outside of the house, and even the doctor is not easy to find if you get cold."

Xu Chu originally wanted to excuse himself, but when he thought about it, he simply put it on his body. This draped on, I really feel a lot warmer.

The fragrance of green bamboo surrounded, revealing a bit of warmth in his bones, which made Xu Chu squint comfortably.

This time, Xiao Qinglang came with Xu Chu, and only brought Wei Guang, a noodle stall, to follow, and when a few people were discussing where to spend the night, they saw Wei Guang blinking silently and saying that he didn't know.

"Brother Wei is really a treasure of words, it's not easy to find a daughter-in-law." It was rare to see Wei Guang's usual indifferent expression blinking and puzzled expression, which made Xu Chu feel a certain contrast and cuteness. I've dealt with it in the end, so it's normal to laugh a few words now.

However, before Wei Guang could react, Xiao Qinglang raised his eyebrows meaninglessly, "Brother Wei? ”

"That's right, doesn't the prince think that Brother Wei is old enough to find a daughter-in-law?" Xu Chu followed Wei Guang's example and winked at Xiao Qinglang.

Sure enough, Xiao Qinglang glanced at Wei Guang carefully when he heard this, and then nodded in agreement: "It's not small, I went back and found the eldest lady of the Chu family to introduce you to a good girl." ”

Wei Guang, who had a somewhat bitter expression, heard this, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Lord Wang, spare me, the fright of my subordinates hasn't passed yet, can you let Aunt Chu come again." After that, he swallowed a mouthful of spit, looked at Xu Chu and said with difficulty, "Miss Xu can't joke anymore, if Aunt Chu finds a stronger woman than me, then I will be really scared to death......

Aunt Chu of Jing'an Wangfu likes to tell people the matchmaker the most. It's not unusual to say that the matchmaker is strange, what is strange is her aesthetics, in her eyes, only those women with big buttocks and round shoulders and thick waists are still good, good and capable...... The first time, she said goodbye to Wei Guang, and Wei Guang, who was still happy, couldn't close her mouth for several days, and when she took the meeting, she found that the woman was really thicker than herself, not to mention Yin Tao's small mouth willow eyebrows, but those fists were bigger than sandbags.

From then on, every time he saw Aunt Chu, he hated to hide and go, how dare he take the initiative to send it to the door?

The three of them walked towards the village as they spoke, but at this time, they saw two men carrying fishing nets. Two people, one old and one young, talked about today's harvest. Obviously, the two of them were also stunned when they saw Xu Chu and his party, and they couldn't help but stop.

"How many are outsiders? Why did you come to our mountain so late? ”

"The two fellows are polite, my little sister and I wanted to come to the mountains to relax, but because we got lost, we entered the village for a while. I wonder if you can make it convenient for us to borrow it for one night? Naturally, it was Xiao Qinglang who accosted him, and at this time, he didn't have the slightest attitude of being a prince, so he only asked with a gentle smile.

Most of the people in the mountains are hospitable, and when I saw that a few people did not look like evil people, and there was a delicate woman accompanying them, I didn't hesitate for too long.

"We don't have many rooms in the mountains, I'm afraid you're really getting together for a night." With that, the two of them took Xu Chu and a few people to the shore.

They stayed overnight with a father and son, and their father Liu Dashan was over half a hundred years old, and his face was wrinkled and vicissitudes. His son Liu Tiezhuan is also in his twenties, and he is quite honest and sincere. That is, on the way to his house, Xu Chu and others knew that the life of the villagers of Liulin Village was not entirely dependent on the farms, but also on a large pond behind the mountain that appeared at some point.

"There is living water in the pond, so there are often big fish, and we ordinary people have no other hope, and if we can't find a good job on weekdays, we will go to collect a few nets of fish to exchange for money." Liu Dashan couldn't help but smile when he saw Xu Chu looking at his fishing net, "I heard the elders in the village say that this is a blessing from the mountain god to our village, and someone looked up along the water flow earlier, but they never found the source......

"But can the fish in the pond keep fishing? Won't it be finished? Xu Chu was a little confused, she naturally didn't think that the old man was lying to herself, but if she had been fishing for several generations, and this was not the sea, how could she say it.

Hearing Xu Chu's words, Liu Dashan couldn't help laughing, "The little girl is right to ask, if you just fish, how can you get it endlessly." It's not that every autumn before the ice freezes in our village, we will buy some seedlings and throw them in, and then wait for a winter to catch up with the ......."

After a few words, they arrived at Liu Dashan's house. At this moment they pushed open the wooden door and shouted to the family that they had returned. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a woman with her hair wrapped in a coarse cloth turban, who looked a little yellow and thin, came out of the room with wooden planks on the side, wiped her hands and asked heartily, "Can you catch a fish today?" ”

She didn't expect someone from her family to come, especially someone who looked luxurious and dressed very decently. Now when I looked up, I saw a yard of people, but I was bluffed for a moment.

"Auntie, we are brothers and sisters passing by, and we want to borrow a night at your house." Xiao Qinglang arched his hand and said.

And Xu Chu on the side naturally accosted and said: "Don't be afraid, auntie, my brother and I are not wicked people......"

"Hey, it's not a big deal to borrow, but I'm afraid that a few people will dislike it at home."

That woman is Liu Dashan's old wife, Liu Zhang, and she is also a simple person. Originally, the family usually only ate some porridge and wild vegetables, but now that the guests came, it was naturally not easy to treat them slowly, so she was the master and killed a fish, and she also dug a bowl of noodles and cooked pimple soup ruthlessly.

Xu is they haven't eaten meat for a few days, and Xu Chu, who already likes all kinds of food, so the group has a lot of fun. And Xiao Qinglang doesn't pay attention to any food now, and as Xu Chu put a few mouthfuls of food in the bowl in front of him, he also frowned slightly and ate without changing his face.

After eating and drinking, Xu Chu helped Aunt Liu clean up the dishes and chopsticks. When she was at home, she often did these jobs, so her movements were quick.

On the edge of the stove room, Xu Chu and Aunt Liu squatted on a stone to scrub the pots and dishes, gossiping by the way.

"Auntie, I heard my uncle say that there was a big incident in our village twenty years ago?" Xu Chu's face was curious, as if he was full of doubts.

"Hey, be quiet, that's a damn thing." Aunt Liu asked when she heard her so prickly, and the old man really didn't have the door in his mouth, but looking at Xu Chuxiao's handsome and diligent appearance, she didn't have the frame of a blessed nobleman, and she also liked it very much in her heart. looked left and right, and saw that night was falling and there was no one around, so she whispered, "Look at your age, I'm afraid you were still a milk doll at that time." ”

"Twenty years ago, a few robbers came to our village and killed several people, and the whole village was so panicked that no one dared to open the door." Aunt Liu sighed, "Later, on the south bank, several families worked together to kill the leader of the bandits, and also arrested a few small bandits. It's just that someone died, who in the village dared to go to see it, and fortunately, the uncle of the Wu family over there was a servant of the yamen, and he knew how to tell the yamen messengers, so he didn't let those families resist their lives......"

"Later, there were a few ghosts on the south bank, and those families moved away, and no one in our village dared to go there." Seeing that Xu Chu heard it in a fog, Aunt Liu couldn't help but stretch out her hand and point to the south, "It's over there, I heard that there will be a ghost fire over there at night now, but it's crazy." Two months ago, there were still people who heard bursts of cries coming from there at night, miserable and miserable, not to mention how terrifying. ”

"It's been decades, do you remember what the surnames of those families were? Those people are really bold, and the most vicious bandits dare to catch them. ”

"How can you not remember, there are only so many people in our village, the Zhang family, the Li family and the Wu family, who moved away next to each other after receiving the government's reward, I heard that people have made a fortune outside. The Liu Dafu brothers didn't move out, they asked for a piece of land in the village on the west bank, and then they each took the reward and married a daughter-in-law, and now their lives are quite prosperous. As she spoke, Aunt Liu sighed, "It's just that a pair of children of the Li family were killed by the bandits, and Uncle Wu gave the corpse to be examined, saying that it was cut down and the bloody forest was unrecognizable...... Half-grown child, sensible and clever ......"

"Does the eldest lady remember the sick daughter-in-law of the Li family?" Xu Chu remembered what the Li family's housekeeper said, and hurriedly asked.

"What kind of sick daughter-in-law, that daughter-in-law of the Li family is a capable master, she is a good hand outside the house, and she doesn't have a headache and brain fever once a year." Aunt Liu raised her voice slightly, looked at Xu Chu and said, "Many mothers-in-law in our village envy the Li family for marrying a strong and capable daughter-in-law." We countrymen are not as good as those in the city, if we are really sick and can't lift our shoulders and can't carry them, then it's fatal. Speaking of which, their family is very diligent, their in-laws are kind people, men and daughters-in-law are also sincere, and now they have silver to enjoy happiness outside......"

Hearing this, Xu Chu was stunned, as if something had exploded in his heart, and there was an illusion that he had suddenly realized it.

Li Jin's original wife is in good health, and it is impossible for her to die because of a few days of hard work and bumps. That is to say, Li Jin made up a story from the beginning. If he was discouraged because he suddenly became rich, then why didn't he continue later? But if it's not because of negative intentions, then why......

Seeing Aunt Liu sighing, Xu Chu also sighed to express his concern. In the next conversation, she was a little absent-minded, until Aunt Liu saw that she was a little distracted, so she asked if she was tired from the journey, and then urged her to rest.

Before nightfall, Xu Chu and Xiao Qinglang met in the room, and naturally told the news they got from Aunt Liu.

"That's interesting." Xiao Qinglang motioned for Xu Chu to sit down, and then took a deep look at Xu Chu, and said with a smile in his eyes, "This king also found something, twenty years ago, the bandits were arrested or killed after fleeing to this village, but the number of people is different. At that time, all the prisoner files of the original crimes in the county prison were accidentally burned, and the files of the criminal department related to death row prisoners were also destroyed. However, after checking the files of the previous three years, the king inferred that the number of prisoners was far greater than the number of fugitives recorded in the crime 20 years ago. ”

As he spoke, he handed the booklet that had already been combed in his hand to Xu Chu's eyes. I saw Xu Chu take the booklet. After a long time, she looked at the record in her hand with a solemn face and said: "Not to mention the Criminal Department, let's just say that the county government has always been very cautious in the management of the place where the files are stored, especially this kind of big and important case, which is respected as a typical safekeeping, how can it suddenly catch fire and be burned?" ”

Xiao Qinglang did not frown, but leaned over slightly, clicked on the place he marked, and said slowly: "These people were randomly snagged and imprisoned in prison during that period of time, they are all lonely and widowed, and there are no relatives and friends in the local area. The king sent people to investigate, but no trace of these people was found. ”

This is naturally also a strange place, there is no one alive and no corpse is dead.

At this time, the two were extremely close to each other, and Xiao Qinglang's demeanor couldn't help but touch Xu Chu's fingertips on the booklet. The warm warmth spread along his fingers, making him look sideways, and then he was stunned for a moment.

"The prince already knew?" Xu Chu raised his eyebrows, "That's why there is a group of Liulin Village." ”

"I just had doubts before I came. This case is up to you to investigate, but this king is in charge of the prison affairs, so naturally he can't be lazy. Xiao Qinglang's gaze seemed to inadvertently sweep over Xu Chu's face, and he didn't know what he thought, so he suddenly chuckled. This smile is like a spring day when everything is recovering, and even Xu Chu can't avoid it.

Xu Chu was a little distracted, and when he reacted, he was facing Xiao Qinglang's warm and dark eyes, which made her heart flutter and jump. She didn't dare to talk to Xiao Qinglang about the case anymore, so she hurriedly took the booklet and her codex and jumped aside, and left in a hurry.

The rest of Wei Guang was a little confused, and he craned his neck and glanced at the dim sky, and said in his heart, isn't Miss Xu anxious?

However, Xiao Qinglang was inexplicably in a better mood, and stared thoughtfully at his fingers.

In the Liu family's cabin, Xu Chu sat on a bed temporarily made of wooden planks wrapped in a cloak and pondered. As for why it's not a quilt, it's because the quilt isn't warm yet.

There are several families on the south bank who have killed bandit leaders and bandits, and the surnames of those families are facing the Zhang family, the Li family, and the Wu family...... There are also two families that stayed in the village and just moved to the local area, Liu Dafu and Liu Dagui's family.

And before the first case, people heard miserable cries and haunted things on the South Bank. Beyond the goblin claims, who is the one who appears on the South Shore, which has been abandoned for decades?

Just when she was thinking in a daze, she suddenly heard a cry outside, ethereal, intermittently with men and women like ghosts crying. The cry was bitter, as if it was full of endless resentment and resentment, and it appeared in the village full of resentment, so that the whole village was shrouded in a terrifying atmosphere......