In addition to Xie Niang, you and Yin Niang have apprentices? ”

"No, most of the people selected at that time had to be taught the rules by the eldest sister first. However, Xu is the eldest sister is strict, and almost no one can stand it, and most of them secretly ran away. "Speaking of this, Yu Niang is also quite sorry." At the beginning, those children were very talented, and if they could study the arts with their hearts, I am afraid that their achievements will not be below us in the future. ”

Xu Chu and Xiao Qinglang glanced at each other, their expressions a little solemn.

It stands to reason that if you are not forced to do so, you will not devote yourself to the trip of an artist, and since you have come to learn art, you will never be an unbearable person.

It's like taking apprentices in a troupe, and the short-tempered master often beats and scolds the apprentice, and even makes it difficult everywhere, but there will be people who grit their teeth and persist in order to survive.

And those children who sold themselves in red makeup buildings, common sense speculates that they must be people who are desperate in their families, how can they run away without caring about anything because of the harsh and strict rules?

Among them, there must be twists and turns. Moreover, there is also a family that makes paper people, and there are also paper people at the scene of Xie Niang's death.

Xu Chu asked a few more questions, but saw that Yu Niang was not clear, so he stopped.

"Besides, has Jade Niang noticed anything unusual?"

"Nope."

"Yu Niang, do you think today's Xie Niang incident is an accident?" Xu Chu looked at her for a moment and asked.

Yu Niang was stunned for a moment and shook her head, "At this time, I still have to check whether it was an accident or not, I don't dare to say anything." It's just that the eldest sister's flying dance is not a day's work, if she is said to have an accident because of a mistake in her dance steps or strength when dancing, I don't believe it. ”

"Is it possible that someone has tampered with the beams and wires used to build the Flying Dance?"

Hearing this, Yu Niang shook her head again, "The props were all brought by us from the Red Makeup Building, and our sisters checked it carefully the night before the performance, and there was nothing wrong with it." It wasn't until tonight that the golden steward brought someone to take it away, and everyone thought that no one would secretly do anything. ”

Xu Chu nodded, she really didn't find a mechanism on the beam, and the wire was also an ordinary wire. Except for the long bloodstain where Xie Niang was strangled, there really wasn't anything abnormal.

After asking again and again, there was nothing to gain, so Xu Chu said, "I don't know if Xie Niang's relics are still there?" ”

"Here, the eldest sister's accident happened so suddenly, and we haven't had time to pack her things yet. Moreover, Lord Song has also informed that before the matter of the eldest sister is investigated, no one can act rashly. So I was worried that I would get into trouble, so I reminded Yin Niang and Yu Niang early that they were not allowed to touch the eldest sister's things. ”

"In that case, let's check it out first."

Xie Niang's things are not small, a box and a wardrobe, and a makeup box on the table. It can be seen that her life is extraordinarily exquisite, that is, she is very particular about dressing. Right now, in the wardrobe she used in the room, in addition to a few matching clothes and a cloak, there are only two pairs of thick-soled buckskin cotton boots left.

It looks like it was placed this morning, and the bed and utensils are neat and clean, which should be done by the mother. Xu Chu and Xiao Qinglang slowly looked around, until they saw a lump of baggage on the side of the bed, and then frowned slightly.

"This is the clothes that Xie Niang changed yesterday?" Xu Chu stepped forward to open the baggage, and saw a set of clothes stacked inside, along with obscene clothes, heels, shoes and socks. She asked, looking under the soles of her shoes and seeing that there were still dried mud stains on the soles.

"Yes, we have to socialize a lot, so we change our clothes almost every day. Not only the outer shirt and the inner shirt, but also the handkerchief and head flower will never be worn the same for two consecutive days. Yu Niang replied softly. And the hidden lady and the girl who were branched into the inner room on the side also nodded in agreement.

Xu Chu thoughtfully led your head, lifted the clothes in the baggage, and just about to take a closer look, he heard a "bang", and a porcelain bottle fell from the clothes. She crouched down to pick it up, and with a slight shake she could hear that there seemed to be something inside.

Under the faint candlelight, the lines of the porcelain vase are graceful and smooth, although there is no carved pattern, but it is also elegant and exquisite. At this time, when it was pinched between Xu Chu's fingers, it inexplicably glowed with a cold luster, making everyone in the room hold their breath.

"This is a tranquilizer." Yu Niang's voice was slightly choked, "In the early years, the eldest sister supported the red makeup building, exhausted her hard work, and fell into insomnia, so she had to take tranquilizers all year round to help her fall asleep." ”

Xu Chu saw that she was starting to cry, so he put away the porcelain vase and comforted her softly. Yu Niang is not an ignorant person, and she did not delay her for too long, so she spontaneously took Yin Niang and Yu Niang and retreated to the door.

She looked up and saw that the corner of the makeup was covered with a snow-white handkerchief, which looked like it should have been thrown casually, and half of it was still hanging on the table.

Xu Chu frowned slightly, stepped forward and picked up the handkerchief, looked at it for a long time before he muttered thoughtfully: "Why is it wet?" ”

She turned her head and looked at Yu Niang from afar, "Xie Niang has the habit of night tea?" ”

"No, the eldest sister's eyes will be swollen on the second day of drinking water at night, so she rarely uses night tea."

Xu Chu was slightly surprised when he heard this, and the doubts in his heart became deeper and deeper, and he felt more and more that this handkerchief that was still cold and wet was strange. But now there are so few clues that she can't make any valuable inferences.

When leaving the Splendid Garden, Xu Chu made a special excuse and looked at the rockery near the low wall. Fortunately, Yu Niang and the others were sad and panicked, and they didn't have the heart to deal with her, so they let her be.

When they arrived at the rockery, Xu Chu and Xiao Qinglang looked carefully, but they still didn't find any clues or inappropriateness. After thinking about it, she simply walked to the side of the rockery and looked at it. But I saw that the bluestone was craggy, although it was elegant, but when it approached, it looked too large and abrupt.

She circled around the rockery, and after a long time, she saw that the rockery did not fit together, but there was a small gap formed because the two rockeries had edges and corners.

Xu Chu leaned over to take a look, and couldn't see what was going on inside, so he could only hear the faint sound of water flowing by. It just so happens that there is a small pool of water at the back of the water pavilion, so it seems that it should flow over from the rockery.

The lack of useful clues made her a little frustrated. However, she still subconsciously glanced up at the rockery, and somehow, she always felt that there should be some clues here. Even if that clue can't uncover the truth of Xie Niang's death, it should be able to solve the mystery of the paper piercing people that crossed the window in the middle of the night.

Xiao Qinglang calmly swept over where Xu Chu walked, and even the clothes were stained with dust from somewhere, and he never bounced them off. His expression was gentle, neither urging nor impatient, so that Xu Chu had no pressure.

This is also the reason why she is willing to follow him to investigate the case, and she will never overstep her bounds, let alone impose his ideas and discoveries on herself. Such a boss, not to mention the current era, is rare in an era where everyone is equal.

"Since you haven't found it, it's better to go back and rest first, it's getting late tonight. Even if there is a difference here, I am afraid that it will be difficult to see the traces. Xiao Qinglang said, and reached out to take the glass lantern handed over by Wei Guang. Then walked up to Xu Chu, the two of them breathed intertwined, so that Xu Chu involuntarily lowered his gaze, and the coldness of his body was a little more gentle.

Xiao Qinglang's face became softer and softer under the orange candle, and his smile deepened, staring at the woman in front of him who was only up to his chest, his gaze was calm but could not hide the lightness in it.

However, before he could reach out and take her hand, he saw her suddenly bend down and grab his robe and lift it up. Such a sudden movement made Xiao Qinglang's eyes pause slightly, and then he also looked at his robe.

But I saw that the skirt that had always been clean was rubbed with a lot of dust and black marks from nowhere, and if I didn't look closely, it would be like rubbing against the bottom of the pot.

"It's the ashes of burned incense paper, and some sludge......"

Xiao Qinglang's eyebrows stretched, and he didn't care about the ambiguous posture of the two of them at this time, but said calmly: "When I left the place where Yu Niang and the others lived, the robe was not dirty. ”

They walked along the promenade and did not encounter any accidents, so the only possibility is that the ashes and sludge were contaminated in the rockery.

Thinking of this, Xu Chu suddenly suddenly, she turned to look at the foot of the mountain that she had ignored. This rockery is not natural, but someone dug a pit here and placed it in it. Now if you look closely, you can still see that there is a layer of mud formed after being soaked in water under the rockery.

She didn't like the smell of this place, and the filth was disgusting, so she reached out and probed into the crack in the stone.

After a moment, her face changed, and she grabbed a handful of incense candles and yellow paper that had not been burned.

Obviously, someone hastily burned it and then stuffed it into a crevice in the mountain to hide people's eyes and ears.

"Someone burned incense paper here!" Xu Chu looked in front of the damp yellow paper knife lamp, "It's paper money......

And also...... As she spoke, Xiao Qinglang had already picked out a piece of yellow paper with a slightly dark color and the size of a palm that was different from the usual before, but saw a few words vaguely written on it.

The piece of paper was slightly thicker than the paper money, and the color was bright, and although most of it had been burned away, only a dime remained, but it could already be seen that the words of those ghost drawings were as red as blood.

Xiao Qinglang's expression changed slightly, "It's the Maoshan Ghost Killing Spell." ”

His tone was calm, inexplicably with some coldness, he glanced at the rockery and said, "The divine master kills, does not avoid the strong, first kills the evil ghosts, and then cuts the night light." ”

Xu Chu was puzzled by his sudden condensation expression, just thinking that he was worried about the case, he didn't ask questions immediately, but thought about it silently. She looked at the burned spell in her hand and thought for a moment.

If the Splendid Garden was also haunted, how could Jin Manshan let people arrange for Xie Niang and others to stay? Or is Xie Niang also involved in the haunting of the villa, and she came here for another purpose?