Things have developed to this point, and there must be some strange clues in this.

Hopefully, it's still too late.

Soon, the group came to the back mountain, which was in the innermost part of the temple.

Some wild vegetables and herbs are planted on the mountain for the monks to enjoy, and the monks come to take care of and water them every day, so the vegetation here is flourishing.

The wind blew for a while, and it was cold.

The thatched hut is halfway up the mountainside, and the half-human-high grass and trees cover half of the thatched house, revealing only a little bit of withered yellow from the verdant green.

In front of the thatched house, a bamboo fence was enclosed in an open space for easy settlement, and there happened to be a mother-in-law cleaning.

Seeing a group of people coming, their mouths were wide open, and their faces were frightened.

Her eyes swept over Zhang Yuanji, a flash of panic flashed in her eyes, and she said tremblingly: "The little boy is still resting, and he has never woken up." ”

At this time, Zhang Yuanji also tried to speak for himself, "My brother's health is not good, and there is a noisy sound of monks hitting the bell and chanting scriptures in the temple every day, so I deliberately let him sleep in this thatched hut and be quiet." ”

"I heard that Zhang Gongzi often takes Zhang Xiaogongzi to the temple to pray for blessings, then you should know that the temple has always been like this, and I didn't hear this kind of noisy sound where I live, just say no to the elders? Why do you need to sneak people to the back mountains yourself? Zhao Yuanling's face was pale, and he unceremoniously recognized his words.

"Amitabha, what the donor did was indeed inappropriate." Elder Huiyuan also agreed.

"Get out of the way, let's go inside." Zhao Yuanling said unceremoniously to the mother-in-law who stopped at the door.

The mother-in-law glanced at Zhang Yuanji, and the other party reluctantly acquiesced, so she had to give in.

When he entered the house, he thought that Zhang Yuanqing would be tied up and imprisoned here.

But she was wrong.

The house is simply furnished, with no furnishings except for a bed.

Zhang Yuanqing lay quietly on the bed, his eyes closed, as if he was asleep.

There happened to be an open window next to the bed, and the window was full of green, and the fresh rural light made people feel happy, as if they were really recuperating.

There was a neat cloth next to the bedside, on which were placed a pot of tea and two teacups, in addition to a leftover medicine bowl and two plates of delicate and soft snacks, it seemed that Zhang Yuanji did not treat him harshly.

When he heard a noise in the house, he still didn't get up, and it was more like he was asleep than he was asleep.

"Zhang Yuanqing." Zhao Yuanling stepped forward and called.

The eleven or twelve-year-old child, whose face was smaller than a slap, looked as if he was only eight or nine years old, and his eyes were still closed, and he had no intention of opening them.

Zhao Yuanling looked at the mother-in-law on the side and asked, "How long will it take for him to wake up?" ”

The mother-in-law shook her head, looking very innocent, "This old slave doesn't know either. ”

Mo Bai took a step forward, and said in a non-serious voice: "Now we are assisting the city lord in the investigation, if you deliberately conceal it, it is the crime of covering up." ”

Ximen Zhong followed behind Mo Bai, and when he heard him move out of the word city lord, he immediately stepped forward to show his city lord token, and when he saw his mother-in-law, he immediately showed a panicked look, the corners of his mouth rose, and his arrogance was written on his face.

He likes this feeling the most, so he never takes silver taels when he goes out, as long as he takes out a token, the other party will immediately show a look of admiration and admiration for "there are eyes but not Taishan", which makes him feel great satisfaction in his heart.

The little guys saw Ximen Zhong showing this kind of cheap smile on the side, and they immediately wanted to cry without tears.

His vanity was satisfied, but they were miserable, and those who didn't know the goods directly beat them out, saying that they were cheated and deceived. As soon as she heard the word "sin", her mother-in-law immediately panicked.

Without waiting for him to ask, he said, "The little boy will wake up when he still needs a cup of tea." ”

"A cup of tea?" Zhao Yuanling looked suspicious.

"Yes." The mother-in-law nodded apprehensively, afraid that she would not believe it, and continued: "The little boy will wake up every day and fall asleep after an hour. ”

"So he's awake only one hour of the day, and the rest of the time he's asleep?"

In the face of Zhao Yuanling's surprise, the mother-in-law did not feel anything abnormal, as if such days had lasted for a long time, and this was Zhang Yuanqing's routine all along.

"Isn't it like a dead man who only wakes up for an hour a day?" Ximen Zhong muttered quietly, and was frightened after seeing Zhang Yuanji's terrifying gaze.

He rubbed behind Mo Bai all of a sudden, and said stubbornly: "I'm not wrong! ”

"That's because my brother is suffering from a strange disease, and I can't allow you to talk and laugh!"

In the face of his roar, Zhao Yuanling was unmoved, she was waiting.

The work of a cup of tea passed quickly, and as the mother-in-law said, he woke up.

Zhang Yuanqing's eyelids moved slightly, and his breath became a little undulating, but he still didn't open his eyes.

"Zhang Yuanqing."

Hearing someone call his name, the person on the bed suddenly shook, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that the room was full of people, and his eyes were glazed, and he couldn't say a word.

His eyes looked at Zhao Yuanling, his mouth opened slightly, as if he had something to ask, but his eyes were afraid of him.

Zhao Yuanling knew that it was Zhang Yuanji.

"Amitabha, the little donor looks really worse."

Elder Huiyuan's words came out, and the mother-in-law's body trembled obviously, "This.... This has nothing to do with my mother-in-law, these medicines are all made by the eldest son, as for why the little son has not eaten well, the old slave doesn't know....."

The mother-in-law has betrayed Zhang Yuanji completely.

Zhang Yuanji snorted coldly, "My brother's illness is accumulating over time, how can it be that he has become better because of his medicinal complexion." ”

Zhao Yuanling looked at Zhang Yuanqing, his eyes were facing each other, and the naked eye could see that his situation was much worse, it was only two days of hard work.

When I saw Zhang Yuanqing at first, he was just a person with sunken cheeks and blue and black under his eyes, who had been sick for a long time.

Now it seems that a bloodless face is so pale that it is a little gray, the dark blue under the eyes has now turned into a thick black, the whole person is so thin that it is out of phase, and the lips seem to have not been stained with water for a long time, dry and cracked, and a lifeless appearance.

He propped one hand at his side and lifted the other weakly. Zhao Yuanling frowned, stepped forward and pulled his sleeve open.

His wrist was wrapped in a white cloth to stop the bleeding.

"What's going on?" She breathed for a moment, turned her head to Zhang Yuanji and asked.

"No.... I made it myself. He didn't seem to speak for a long time, and his words were a little rusty, as if someone was pinching his throat.

Zhao Yuanling breathed a sigh of relief, and then his hanging heart suddenly trembled again.

"Why hurt yourself?"

Zhang Yuanqing didn't speak, a pair of eyes like stagnant water looked straight at the ground, his eyes were dull.

I don't know if I don't want to say it, or if I can't say it.

She looked at the mother-in-law who had been taking care of her, and the mother-in-law looked at Zhang Yuanji, and said with a worried expression: "This still has to be asked to the eldest son, and the old slave doesn't know." ”

Zhao Yuanling smelled the smell of medicine in the air, and it seemed to become a little strong, but the medicine bowl in the room was already empty, and the window was open, as if she had thought of something, she opened her mouth and asked her mother-in-law.

"Has the medicine that the little boy drank never changed?"

The mother-in-law shook her head, "The medicine that the little boy took has always been boiled by the eldest son to the old slave himself, this medicine... The length is not much different, and the old slave doesn't know if the prescription has changed. ”

Zhao Yuanling was silent, and after a while, he changed his words, "The medicine in the temple has always been boiled by you?" ”

"It was the old slave who boiled it himself, this medicine slag is still there, the old slave has never been poisoned!" The mother-in-law looked panicked, for fear that they would lay all their sins on their heads. "Are all the medicines boiled in the temple the same? Is there a change in the prescription? ”

The mother-in-law thought about it and nodded her head in a plausible way, "The prescription has not changed, but... The dosage of the prescription in the past two days has increased a little, and the little boy has been asleep for a long time, although he has always woken up at this time before, but there is a time to wake up halfway, since the dose of medicine has been increased, he has been sleeping very quietly until he woke up. ”

"So it can be shown that Zhang Yuanji deliberately framed his own brother, right?"

She slowly straightened up from the edge of the bed, and looked at Zhang Yuanji condescendingly, the other party stiffened his face and did not speak, as if he no longer had the hard spirit before, but he still stubbornly thought that he was right.

"Hold him in custody for me, and report to my father when I go back to the city lord's mansion." Ximen Zhong gave the order, and his servants came to take down Zhang Yuanji.

Elder Huiyuan sighed helplessly on the side, "Amitabha Buddha is born from the same root, so it shouldn't be like this. ”

Zhang Yuanji was escorted down, Zhang Yuanqing's body was obviously relaxed, and Zhao Yuanling's next words made his lifeless face like dead wood, full of spring.

"We have a way for you to meet Nanzhu."

"Really?!" Zhang Yuanqing laughed for the first time, the corners of his mouth were not raised high, but it made people feel very comfortable, it was an innocent and pure smile, not mixed with any impurities.

"But tell me first, why did you kill the merman?"

The corners of Zhang Yuanqing's mouth drooped, and he returned to his previous sluggish appearance.

Zhao Yuanling waited for a moment, but he still didn't speak. Ximen Zhong on the side snorted, "I'm afraid it's the same as Lao Si and them, they want to get benefits." ”

Zhao Yuanling glanced at him, Ximen Zhong immediately closed his mouth, and then thought of how big he used to be, he couldn't help but shrink his head, and his heart was weak for a while.

He whispered, "If I had known they were so miserable, I wouldn't have bought them......

Many merchants and wealthy men buy those seafoods, not knowing what they are, only that they are fish from the sea.

Anyway, they don't live by the sea, most of the rich dignitaries live near the imperial city, which is the most prosperous area, and the sea is the most remote, they may never see the sea in their lifetime.

As long as something has value in their hands, they don't care how it came about or how it was done.