Two hundred and seventy years ago (1748 AD)

A rainy night in early summer

In early summer, at night, the sky is cloudy, the air is stagnant, and where the heaven and earth meet, there is a faint sound of thunder, and occasionally a lightning bolt, like a silver snake swimming in the sky, faintly and strangely.

A small city with earthly lights shining under the sky, the sky is cloudy and rainy, although the city gate is open, but few people have entered and exited, and occasionally there are passers-by who are hurrying to enter the city, like a tired bird returning to its nest.

Suddenly, from this lonely city gate, a horse galloped out, the man on the horse held the reins in one hand, flicked the whip in the other, bowed the body to urge the horse to gallop, although the sky and the earth were dark, but the horse, actually able to go all the way along the official road, obviously a good horse, and just after the horse galloped out, another horse also followed, just because the horse seemed to be a little weak, even if the horse man struggled to raise the whip, he could not follow the horse in front.

In the night, it was faintly visible that the man on the back of the galloping horse in front of him was a young man, slender and agile. As he urged his horse into the wilderness outside the city, the thunder rolled through the air, the wind and clouds, and in an instant the rain fell like beads on the earth and on him.

The man galloped a mile in the rain, to a reed, suddenly, the sky a thunder sounded, this thunder accompanied by a lightning bolt that pierced the sky, instantly made the man crotch under the originally calm horse was also suddenly frightened, the horse neighed, raised the front hooves, and was about to run into the reeds, immediately the man was in a hurry, slammed the reins, the horse jumped into the air, standing in place, the man by the lightning just now, but saw the reeds, is already a river, the reeds grow on the riverside, very lush.

The man let out a soft cry from his mouth, calming the horse under his crotch a little, and then urging the horse forward to the river. The river was now under the batter of heavy rain, and the sound of the flow was turbulent. The man stood by the river around his horse, listening to the rain falling on the surface of the river, and the river rolling eastward, as if he were the only one left between heaven and earth. He could only wander around in the dark rain, not knowing where to go. At this moment, another lightning bolt shone on his figure like a chicken in soup, and a handsome face that was sprayed by the rain, and the expression on his face was anxious and dazed.

He turned over and dismounted, stepped on the river stone to the river, and looked at the river in a daze. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky again, and under a white light, he suddenly saw a crystal thing between the river and the reeds under his feet, and among the pebbles of the river. He leaned over and fished it out of the water, it was a silver hairpin, he stroked the hairpin with his fingers in the dark, and vaguely discerned, although the hairpin was simple in ornamentation, but it was also extremely exquisite, the hairpin was carved out of a flowing cloud with silver sheets, and there were star grains on the edge of the flowing cloud.

Suddenly, the rainstorm stopped, the sky was full of clouds, a bright moon also showed its face, there was a sudden light between heaven and earth, the man in the rain was soaked, but he didn't realize it, holding the hairpin in his hand, staggering by the river in the moonlight, looking around.

What is he looking for?

……

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency!" The sound of horses' hooves was accompanied by the shouts of approaching, and the horse, which had been chasing the man from outside the city gate, had also made a special move to the river, and the man on the horse, though he had a hat on his head, was also wet in his robes. He came to the river, turned over and dismounted in the moonlight that had pierced the clouds, took off a sheepskin poncho from the saddle, came to the man, and draped the poncho over his shoulders: "My lord, what are you doing here, it is raining so hard, you don't go home after your business, and suddenly ride out of the city from the county office, if something happens, how can I explain to the old lady?" - My lord, what are you...... What's wrong? ”

The man, known as the adult, wiped the sheepskin poncho off his shoulder, threw it back to the man wearing the hat, and sighed: "The rain has stopped, what's the use of asking for a poncho?" People are dead, so what's the use of saying more? ”

The man in the hat hesitated for a moment and said, "My lord, what you said, but ...... Is the murderous female who was sunk in the river tonight? "

"Chang'an, but I've been looking through her case file overnight these days, and I feel that she may not have killed anyone, and she may be a wronged ......," the young adult raised his voice.

The man named Chang'an saw the silver hairpin in the adult's hand at a glance, he sighed, and said: "My lord, let's go back, according to the prison head Li Ming, according to the arrangement of the state capital Lord Qian, because this case involves the reputation of Lord Zhou in the middle of the court, the female prisoner will be escorted here after dinner tonight, and the secret sinking river, and there are only two jailers to execute the prisoner." According to Li Ming, this is also to protect the reputation of the Zhou and Yang families, and the case will be closed in this way, and the state government will report the case to the imperial court with beheading. - My lord, you have only been in Qingyang County for more than a month, this cousin seduced his cousin for adultery, and the case of killing his cousin with his backhand is a little unreasonable, but it is not through your hands, after you arrived, this case has been closed by the former county magistrate and the current state capital, Lord Qian, just like you said, everyone is dead, you are unwilling, and there is no way. You see, we're both soaking wet at this point, so let's go back quickly, and we'll all get sick if we stay a little longer. Ahh......h ”

The young adult silently walked up the embankment from the river, came to his mount, turned over his horse, and said to Chang'an in a muffled voice: "Let's go back!" ”

The night sky after the rain, cloudy and moonless, flickering and dark, the young adult urged the horse forward, and from the sound of Tete's horses' hooves, he could feel the loneliness and heaviness in his heart at this time. Chang'an urged the horse to follow behind him, and he didn't dare to say much, so the two of them were in the lonely moonlight, in the wilderness, urging the horse to walk slowly, and returned to the city by the same way without saying a word.

……

The land is far away, the rain is scattered, and the bright moon hangs high.

It's midnight.

In the depths of the reeds by the river, like a gust of wind, the branches and leaves of the reeds swayed for a while, but it was not the wind, it was clearly a creature in the reeds.

A person, a woman, indeed.

She staggered to her feet from the water, brushed aside the reeds, and staggered to the river with her muddy hair and her hair scattered.

She was wearing a coarse cloth shirt and trousers, and in the moonlight, the cloth shirt had a big black word "prisoner" on it, and her clothes had been torn in several places, and her long messy hair was also dripping with mud.

But even though she crawled out of the muddy water, she did not seem to be injured, and when she first got up, her steps staggered, but when she stood firmly, her waist was straight, and her thin and slender figure showed a kind of vigor and high-spiritedness.

She came to the river, squatted down, stretched out her hand to pick up the river water, washed the mud on her face, pulled the long hair on her head, stood up, looked at the bright moon in the sky, and muttered: "I am not dead, I am not dead, so everything is still in time...... It's just that this county master, since you said that I was wronged, why didn't you come to the rescue before my execution? Don't you have to put me to death and then hurry up, and then come and do what you are doing in a foolish way? I remember that I should have had a relationship with you, and just three days ago, you came to see me in prison, stood outside the prison door, stared at me, a scarred death row prisoner, for half an hour, but left without saying a word, and the female cell head told me that you were the new county magistrate. But what are you here for tonight? You say that I may have been wronged, and you know that I am dead, have you come to cry cat and mouse? As far as I can see, although you know that I have been wronged, but you are also afraid of power, and dare not do anything, and when I die, and your conscience is disturbed, come and make a gesture so that you can have an explanation for yourself, hmph, what a hypocrite......"

The woman muttered for a long time and sneered. She straightened her messy long hair, stood by the river, stared up at the night sky, and said in an angry voice: "The sky is above, from now on, yesterday's me, dead, today's me, will be named after this heavenly cloud, for Ni Shang, I Ni Shang swear to the sky today, one day, I must kill those wicked people who ruined my reputation and harmed my life, and avenge myself!"

……