Zheng Haizhu said "oh".

The head of the cell said that the master of Futai was Zhuang Yuqing, the prefect of Songjiang who took office and whose ancestral home was Hui'an, Fujian.

It seems that Zhuang Futai also has compassion in matters that do not need to be decorated with political achievements.

Hui'an, like Longxi County in Zhangzhou, has begun to appear at this time a group of "self-combing women" who make a living independently.

When Zhuang Futai heard Huang Zunsu and Master Han talk about Zheng Haizhu's identity before, he did not show surprise and resistance. Zheng Haizhu is already planning that under the rule of this relatively enlightened parent, he should actively use Songjiang Mansion as a testing ground for women's participation in foreign trade.

Zheng Haizhu thought about it while following the intermittent cat meow and slowly walked through the cell.

Although the lighting provided by the afterglow of the setting sun was shabby, Zheng Haizhu could still make out that the few women's cells outside were empty.

Not surprising. In this era, the living space of ordinary women is pitiful, the freedom of movement is not a little, and the crime rate is naturally far lower than that of men.

"Sister He......" Zheng Haizhu stopped outside the prison where the prisoner was held, and whispered in a low voice.

On the edge of the wooden fence, a raccoon cat squatted in front of the basin, staring at Zheng Haizhu with its head held high, but quickly stood up and cleverly stepped aside to avoid being touched by the chain.

The nun in the flat hat pounced on the fence from the depths of the darkness.

Her movements were swift, but her expression was the same as when Zheng Haizhu saw her on the street, and she did not lose her temper.

At this moment, because it is close at hand, Zheng Haizhu can see her face more realistically.

The contours of her facial features are still secondary, the key is that her eyes are bright, and there is a faint heroism between her eyebrows, not as numb and sluggish as a grassroots woman, but there is no quiet and solemn appearance of the masters of the Taoist temple.

"How do you know my name before I became a monk?"

After confirming that only one prisoner was being held in this cell, Zheng Haizhu leaned forward and stared at the nun: "Sister He, it was Shanyin Zhang Gongzi who asked me to come in, that is, it is the great monk." ”

"Ah," Sister He heard the affectionate name of "Great Monk", and snorted softly, and the color of participating in the research was immediately replaced by surprise, "Zongzi has come to Songjiang?" ”

"Yes, he and Yanke Gongzi came to see you."

"What are you, girl?"

"My surname is Zheng, and I live in Huating County, and Zhang Gongzi helped my friend, so I was able to get to know him. At the time of Shenzhong today, I led the way to the Nine Lotus Nunnery for my son. ”

Zheng Haizhu calmly looked at the other party, but her words were like gold, and she only briefly explained her origin, waiting for Sister He's reaction.

After a short pause, Sister He directly begged: "Miss Zheng, I didn't kill anyone, please save me!" ”

Zheng Haizhu nodded: "Sister must make a long story short, the cell boss will let me avoid at any time." ”

Sister He immediately sped up her speech: "Today, after noon, I was talking to Master Yang's servant, and I suddenly heard Carpenter Ye shouting in the meditation room that he had killed someone. We hurriedly went to the meditation room to look, and all we saw was blood all over the ground. I was so frightened that I hurriedly went to report to the official, so I ran out into the street, but was stopped by the official and drove me back to the nunnery. They insisted that I had killed Master Yang, saying that my handwriting had been found from his corpse, and that he still had a blessing belt from my nunnery on his wrist. ”

Sister He talked for a while, but finally had no clue.

Zheng Haizhu then took advantage of her breath to stare at the key point and asked, "You don't know the blood on the ground in your house?" What is that carpenter doing in your nunnery? Why did Master Yang's servants come to you? Master Yang's body was found elsewhere by an official messenger? ”

Sister He was determined and replied: "The wooden door of the meditation room dedicated to the ancestor is broken, and I will ask the carpenter Ye to repair it." Because it had not yet been repaired, he instructed me not to do it, and my two disciples were not there, so I did not go in to sprinkle and sweep. Carpenter Ye said yesterday that he was going to Qingpu to do urgent work and come back in a few days, but for some reason, he suddenly appeared today, and he didn't enter from the main gate of the nunnery. Besides, Mr. Yang, a native of Huizhou, met me in the bookstore and was willing to sponsor me to print books. When Mr. Yang returned to Songjiang to talk about business, he asked me about engraving books a few days ago. Today, his servant found the nunnery and said that the old man had not returned all night. Later, when the official arrested me, he said that Master Yang's body was picked up in the small river behind the nunnery......"

She suddenly stopped again, hesitated for a moment in a look intertwined with anger and Qi Rong, and said to Zheng Haizhu word by word: "I didn't kill anyone. If I eat this unjust lawsuit, won't the person who really killed Master Yang be at large? ”

……

The last strand of crimson clouds on the horizon disappeared into the night, and Zheng Haizhu walked out of the corner of the county jail, and walked quickly to the shadows under the camphor tree.

Zhang Dai greeted him, and first said softly: "Just now I also ordered the servants to turn back to inquire about the situation, there were originally two little nuns living in the nunnery, only thirteen or fourteen years old, these days I went to the house of two female Tanyue in Huating County to accompany the copying of scriptures and chanting Buddha, and did not live in the Nine Lotus Nunnery. By the way, the domestic servant also inquired that Sister He only went to Yingtianfu to take the exam at the beginning of the month. ”

In the Ming generation, Buddhism was issued by the Ministry of Rites. Because the monasteries and nunnery could be exempted from forced labor and taxes, Emperor Taizu stipulated that the number of degrees issued by the imperial court each year was fixed, and monks and nuns must pass the examination of the Ministry of Rites before applying for them. In the Wanli period, the discipline was abolished, and the fake monks who had the way to bribe officials at all levels could get the degree, build a fake temple, and hang their own land in the name of the temple.

Zheng Haizhu understood the meaning of Zhang Dai's words, nodded and said, "You want to say that Sister He is a bhikshuni who is on the right path." ”

"Yes, although she lost her loved ones, she wrote a letter to my family last year, her words were calm and elegant, and she invited my mother to come to live in the Nine Lotus Nunnery, which obviously understood that 'happiness is born from suffering, and the effect arises from the cause'. She will never seduce first and make money later, as the peddlers and pawns say. Unless, unless the dead Hui merchant has done something wrong, provokes her to rebel and kill her by mistake......"

"No, Zhang Gongzi," Zheng Haizhu said categorically, "Sister He, but took the initiative to tell me that Master Yang is a gentleman." He was a frequent visitor to several Qingliu bookstores here, and whenever he returned to Songjiang, he would go to the bookstore to pick up unsalable publications and help the owners turn over. Sister He had a young daughter from her employer's family in Suzhou, who loved to read "The Peony Pavilion" and left a book review with 10,000 words. The girl unfortunately died, and her parents thought that "The Peony Pavilion" had exhausted their daughter's hard work, and in a fit of anger they wanted to burn the book review. When she was worried about printing money, she met Mr. Yang in the bookstore, and after Mr. Yang asked to read the manuscript, he immediately donated generously and was willing to fund the money, and there was no exceedance after that. ”

Zhang Dai held his breath and muttered, "This is very similar to Sister He's temperament." Although Sister He is a maidservant in the family, she has been smart and bookish since she was a child, and my mother likes her, and she also let her read and write in my Zhang School by serving me and my third brother. Sister He has always admired talented people, and my mother had helped her find a wealthy tenant family, but she took a fancy to the poor painter and married her. She and the young lady who commented on "The Peony Pavilion", presumably, are also the fate of seeking the same thing. ”