Chapter 43: The thief of the lithoseal pharmacy was tragically burned, and the guest house villa prepared for a poetry meeting

In the afternoon of the same day, Li Yunhan left the dock, went to the East Market to buy pen and ink, and returned to Wanglin Pavilion at dusk.

In the evening, he flipped through the poetry books by candlelight, got up and made a cup of tea; Looking at the starry sky outside the window, I had a lot of thoughts for a while.

While contemplating, Mei Dai came in with a brocade quilt in her arms, and said softly: "The wind has just sudden, and the little girl is afraid that Mr. will be cold at night, so she will send a brocade quilt." ”

"Thank you, girl." Li Yunhan bowed slightly.

Mei Dai spread the brocade quilt on the bed, approached Li Yunhan, and said softly, "I have no sleep in the spring night, and I am willing to spend the night with Mr." ”

"Girl, this is ......"

"Sir is kind to me, what else is there to worry about?" Mei Dai said and unbuttoned her blouse, slightly exposing her breasts, "What are you afraid of, it's quiet and no one knows here." ”

"Please respect yourself, girl."

"The gentleman is depressed, and the little girl can see it at a glance!" Mei Dai finished speaking, and went to lie down on the bed.

Li Yunhan was in a hurry, grabbed the inkstone on the table, and splashed the ink on the bed.

Mei Dai was shocked for a while, got up and said timidly: "Mr. doesn't like me? ”

"If you don't leave, I'll go to Qing Gongzi!" Li Yunhan scolded.

As soon as the words fell, I saw a knock on the door of the house, Chu Qing strode in, and said, "When I passed by, I heard someone talking in the house, but unfortunately ......."

"Childe came in time." Li Yunhan looked angry.

"Why is my brother angry?"

Li Yunhan glanced at his eyebrows and was silent.

"Childe, forgive me," Mei Dai sobbed as she dressed, "The little girl is ridiculous for a while in order to repay ......her kindness."

"This," Chu Qing smiled dryly at Li Yunhan, "It's excusable." ”

Li Yunhan said lukewarmly: "Even if you know your kindness, how dare you want to repay it!" ”

Chu Qing smiled and comforted a few words, and when Li Yunhan's face calmed down, he walked out of the room with his eyebrows.

After dusk, the cold wind suddenly blows, the sky is overcast, and the streets are sparsely populated.

Lou Quan and his daughter were very tired after a busy day, so they closed the store early. The two of them ate hastily, and Lou Yue went upstairs to rest alone.

Lou Quan opened the account book and counted the day's accounts again in the dim light. After seeing it, he smiled a little, poured a glass of wine and drank it leisurely.

In a daze, there was a noise from the backyard. He thought it was a rat messing around, but he didn't care.

After a while, the noise grew louder and louder; He felt that something was not quite right, so he took the oil lamp and looked at it.

Lou Quan gently pushed open the back door, only to see that in the hazy night, a masked man in black opened the warehouse and was searching for something inside. It turned out that this person was Mi Hong, and he brought Yuan Chong to find the two lost official seals.

Lou Quan thought it was a thief, so he put down the oil lamp, picked up a wooden stick and beat it. Mi Hong was caught off guard and was stunned. When Lou Quan swung his stick and was about to fight again, Yuan Chong pounced from behind and choked his neck.

"What about the two official seals?" Yuan Chong asked in a low voice.

Lou Quan trembled and pointed to the lotus pond: "Lost, the pool is ......"

Yuan Chong slapped Lou Quan on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious. Lou Quan fell to the ground and hit his head on the stone steps, and blood flowed out when he landed.

Due to the silt at the bottom of the pool, it was very difficult for the two to find it.

At this time, Lou Quan, who fell to the ground, suddenly woke up, stretched out his arms, legs and feet and kicked wildly, but unexpectedly knocked down the oil lamp and ignited the firewood pile on the side.

The fire took advantage of the wind and immediately burst into flames......

At this moment, Lou Yue was sleeping upstairs, and was suddenly woken up by a burst of smoke, so she hurriedly put on her clothes and went downstairs to check.

Lou Yue arrived in the backyard, but saw the flames rising and the smoke billowing out, choking people out of breath. When she found her father lying on the ground and moaning quietly, she hurriedly helped him up.

"Father, what's wrong with you?"

Lou Quan's eyes widened, he used all his strength, and said, "Official, Yin ......"

Lou Yue looked in the direction he was pointing, and there was a man in black standing on the wall more than ten steps away, and let out a long howl at her, and the howl was extremely terrifying.

Lou Yue didn't care about chasing the man in black, and hurriedly dragged her father out of the fire; But before she could be treated, her father could no longer open his eyes.

In the early morning of the next day, Du Shaoling took advantage of the gang's negligence in managing the newcomers, and quietly slipped out of the dock and rushed back to Fulong Villa by taking the opportunity to go to the toilet.

Du Shaoling entered Wanglin Pavilion and woke up Li Yunhan.

Li Yunhan was very dissatisfied when he saw it, blinked his eyelids, and said, "Why did you come back after three days?" ”

"Brother Li, you guessed it right this time, the Hedong Gang is indeed involved in the grain relief case." Du Shaoling gasped.

"Oh?" Li Yunhan sat up straight.

"Tomorrow, they're going to carry the food."

"Where?"

"North of the city, Sanhekou Barracks."

"Barracks...... Chen Yeshuo, an old fox, can really hide. Li Yunhan frowned, "Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, how could he choose this time?" ”

"Don't ask, I'll tell you everything you know anyway."

Li Yunhan got dressed, paced a few steps, and turned around and said, "I've made a mistake, let's go back to the dock again." ”

"No, that's too dangerous!"

"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Li Yunhan smiled slightly, "After the matter is completed, please go to Haiminglou to eat lettuce soup and sea bass, how about it?" ”

"Well, that's pretty much it." Du Shaoling smiled bitterly and agreed.

While the two were talking, Chu Qing entered the house. When he saw Shaoling, he couldn't help but be stunned and asked him where he went last night?

Du Shaoling coughed dryly and said, "I ate flower wine, but I couldn't rush back for a while because of the curfew." ”

"What kind of flower wine to eat?"

Li Yunhan said with a smile: "He, he found an errand to do in King Hui's Mansion, and asked someone to go to Pingkangfang to drink and celebrate, and he was pregnant with a drunken beauty." ”

"Brother Du is so Yaxing." Chu Qing smiled faintly, "Why are you leaving again?" ”

"Come back to pick up your luggage, and say hello to Childe by the way." Du Shaoling said.

"Don't go," Chu Qing patted him lightly, "Tomorrow the mansion will hold a poetry meeting, how can you be missing." ”

Du Shaoling's face was embarrassed when he heard this, and he said: "No, I have to talk about faith and righteousness when I say that I will try to work tomorrow." ”

"No need," Chu Qing smiled, "I'm familiar with King Hui, just ask someone to report it." ”

"How embarrassing is this," Li Yunhan hurriedly played a round, "Let Shaoling try work first; If he has free time, he will try to rush back. ”

Without waiting for Chu Qing to react, Shao Ling said goodbye to the two, picked up the package and went out.

"Childe came to see you early in the morning, I don't know what's going on?" Li Yunhan asked.

Chu Qing looked at the bed and said, "I soiled the mattress last night, which affected my brother's sleep, and my little brother had a hard night." ”

"No problem; I've been used to it all these years, and I can only sleep soundly when I smell the scent of ink. ”

"Brother Yaqu," Chu Qing smiled, and then took Li Yunhan to the living room.

The two of them used the morning and drank tea for a while. Chu Qing got up and said, "We should also go." ”

"Where?"

"Buy a bed and futon for my brother." Chu Qingdao.

Li Yunhan smiled: "For such a trivial matter, just send someone to it, so why bother with the son." ”

"No," Chu Qing pretended to be mysterious, "I will go to Xuanyangfang and visit Lord He Wen." ”

"Lord He," Li Yunhan was stunned, "Could it be that it is also to prepare for the poetry meeting?" ”

"That's right, the posts have been sent. He Jian is a veteran of the four dynasties, and his protégés are all over the world, if he can be invited to come to cheer, wouldn't it be better! ”

"Hmm; At the poetry meeting, the literati and scholars gathered together to recite the wine and the wind and the moon, so unhappy; He Laode is highly respected, and with him, he can have more reputation. ”

"No, it's to recruit talents from all over the world."

"What do you mean by that?"

Chu Qing smiled and said: "Fang Jin's northern border is full of wolf smoke, if we can gather talents and lead soldiers to the north to protect the territory and the people, won't we be famous for a hundred years!" ”

"Childe has lofty ambitions, but Yun Han can't do it."

Chu Qing was very proud when he heard this, and said: "I can't hide it, Qing has lived in Yuyang for a long time and is familiar with the border generals; If the elder brother intends to join the army, the younger brother is willing to recommend it, and he will be able to reuse it. ”

"No need," Li Yunhan thought for a moment, "I'm just an ordinary cloth dress, and I'm used to being unrestrained; However, since the son said that he would make contributions to the country, I also have a sentence, I don't know if I should talk about it or not? ”

"Say it."

"I advise the son to clean himself and not compete with the small people."

Chu Qing was alert when he heard this, and asked him why he said this?

Li Yunhan took a sip of tea and said, "If the prince really has the heart to serve the country, he might as well do more good deeds, starting from relieving those victims in the east of the city." ”

"Oh, I see." Chu Qing smiled, "Disaster relief has its own court, what does it have to do with me!" ”

"The emperor has eyes, but virtue is the auxiliary," Li Yunhan lowered his voice, "If the prince insists on going his own way, I am afraid that in the end, the bamboo basket will be empty." ”

"Brother is too careful, everything in the world is determined by heaven, why should you and I worry about this trivial matter." Chu Qing said with a smile.

Li Yunhan, Chu Qing and others walked out of the villa and walked casually on the street, looking at the shops and crowds on both sides from time to time. The sun shines on the body, warm, and it feels very pleasant.

When passing by the Yuequan Pharmacy, I suddenly saw a group of people watching something.

Li Yunhan stepped forward quickly, looked away from the crowd, and saw Lou Yue kneeling on the side of the street in filial piety clothes, crying in a low voice, and erecting a wooden sign on the side to sell his body to bury his father. The onlookers lamented when they saw it, and some even threw down a few copper coins.

Li Yunhan looked up and saw that the Yuequan Pharmacy had been burned down, leaving a pile of ruins, broken walls, broken tiles and scorched wood......

Li Yunhan couldn't help but be taken aback, and hurriedly helped Lou Yue up to ask.

Lou Yue cried: "Last night, my father was unfortunately killed, the shop was burned, and the medicinal materials were all gone, so I had to ......do this in order to prepare for my father's funeral."

"What about the murderer?"

"Ran away."

"It can't be that you offended someone, right?" Chu Qing leaned closer and asked.

"No, my dad is usually friendly and has never had any enemies."

Chu Qing said, that is to make money and kill people!

Lou Yue shook her head and said how could it be? Before the accident, a lot of new medicinal materials were purchased, and there were not a few pieces of cash left in the store.

Li Yunhan asked her if she had reported to the official?

"Reported. The officials of Jingzhao Mansion came to inspect and said that my father had died of a blow to the back of the head and excessive blood loss. Since the scene was destroyed, no evidence was left, and the officials were unwilling to investigate, so I was asked to take care of the matter later. Lou Yue looked sad.

At this time, Da Fu quietly walked over and stood behind the crowd and watched coldly.

"What happened last night, tell me in detail." Li Yunhan persuaded.

Lou Yue eased her mind and said, "I was too tired yesterday, I went to bed upstairs early." By the time I opened my eyes, the fireworks had already jumped up to the second floor. When I went downstairs to see my father, he was lying on the ground unconscious and dying. ”

Chu Qing glanced at the Yuequan Pharmacy and said angrily: "The capital is the best place, how can a gangster dare to be so mad!" ”

"Afterwards, I repeatedly speculated that there was one person who was the most suspicious." Lou Yue said.

Li Yunhan asked, who?

"Who else will there be, Princess Pingyu."

Everyone was stunned.

Li Yunhan said: "Girl, don't talk nonsense, how could she be so ruthless?" ”

"I don't think so," Chu Qing disagreed, "Those princesses and young ladies in the capital are all like wolves and tigers, and it is very common to kill people for revenge." ”

"Yes, it must be her! For the sake of Wang Jie, she came to the door several times to make trouble, and once said cruelly to her face that she wanted to kill someone. Lou Yue said loudly.

Li Yunhan pondered for a moment after hearing this, arched his hand at Chu Qing, and said, "Son, I'm sorry, the deceased was killed, and I can't accompany him." ”

"It's okay," Chu Qing said and ordered his entourage to take out some silver taels and hand them to Lou Yue, "It's not a lot of silver, let's use it for emergency relief first." ”

Lou Yue bowed in thanks: "Thank you, son." ”

At this time, Steward Ni arrived in a hurry, pulled Chu Qing aside, and whispered a few words in a low voice.

Chu Qing turned around after hearing this, said goodbye to Li Yunhan, and left with his subordinates. However, he secretly left Ah Kuai.

On the same day, Li Yunhan, Da Fu and others found a cemetery outside the city and helped Lou Yue bury Lou Quan.

Ah Kuai hid in the bushes not far away, secretly watching.

Lou Yue cried while burning the paper: "Dad, you died too miserably, my daughter will definitely avenge you!" ”

Li Yunhan stepped forward to persuade her not to be too sad.

Lou Yue got up, gritted her teeth and said, "Hmph, old witch, I must kill you!" ”

Li Yunhan retorted, in the current situation, it is difficult to conclude that Princess Pingyu is the murderer.

"Everyone is dead, and you still speak for her," Da Fu's face was angry, "and Wang Jie, it's not shallow to hurt people!" ”

"Hmph, this ungrateful thing, I can't spare him!" Lou Yue opened the bag beside her as she spoke, took out seven or eight old clothes, and threw them into the fire one by one, "Dad, bring these clothes, it won't be cold when you get to the underworld." ”

Lou Yue said that Bi threw the empty bag into the fire, and was grabbed by Li Yunhan the moment it fell.

Li Yunhan took a closer look at the bag. It was found that the lower left corner of the bag was painted with two black triangles, one large and one small, and some salt grains were stained in the cracks of the bag.

Li Yunhan put the salt grains in his mouth, tasted them, and said, "Well, it's salt." Yue'er, this bag is from a pharmacy? ”

Lou Yue shook her head and said that she picked it up in front of the store.

"This bag seems to have been filled with salt," Li Yunhan's face was solemn, "By the way, what will Uncle Lou explain when he leaves?" ”

Lou Yue pondered for a moment, suddenly remembered something, and said, "By the way, he said 'official seal'......"

"Official seal," Li Yunhan frowned, "Isn't it the two stone seals engraved with the 'Jinzhou County Seal' and the 'Xiao Guan Seal'?" ”

Lou Yue said yes.

"What about the seal?"

"Before the incident, my father threw it into the lotus pond; But when I fetched water to extinguish the fire last night, it was gone. ”

Li Yunhan lowered his head and thought for a while, saying that this case is not simple, and the murderer is afraid that there is someone else!

"You, don't excuse the princess, who else will there be if it's not her!" Lou Yue Road.

Li Yunhan said don't worry, wait until he meets Wang Jie and finds out the truth.

"Hmph, I'm trying to settle accounts with him!" Lou Yue said and took out a short knife from her arms and shook it.

Seeing this, Li Yunhan hurriedly stopped her and persuaded her not to mess around!

Bidding farewell to Lou Yue, Li Yunhan and Da Fu returned to Zhiyuan.

The two rested for a while, and then talked about Lou Quan's murder, and they both thought it was too strange. Then he and Wu Qi went out and walked along the street with the bag. The three of them searched for a number of rice shops and salt shops along the way, and finally an old shopkeeper recognized the rice bag and insisted that it was a salt bag from the Hedong Gang.

Li Yunhan asked, how can you see it?

The old shopkeeper pointed to the corner of the bag and said that the two triangles were the symbols of their gang.

"Sign ......" Li Yunhan looked confused.

"I don't know much about this; Some say it's a bird pattern, others say it's a flame," the shopkeeper hesitated, "By the way, why are you asking about this?" ”

Li Yunhan smiled: "As for me, I want to find them to sell some salt." ”

The shopkeeper sneered and said, "Don't look for it; I'm afraid that if you come to the door, they won't recognize you. ”

"Why is that?"

The shopkeeper said that the Hedong Gang did all the big business and never dealt directly with small traders and vendors.

"So, to whom did the goods be sold?"

"Cars have roads, ships have lanes; Who they want to sell to is not for me, the little shopkeeper, to worry about. The shopkeeper shook his head slightly.

Because he was not worried about the grain relief transaction, Chu Qing went to the dock to find Yuan Chong and told him to be careful to ensure the safety of the transaction.

Yuan Chong heard that he was worried about the sky, but it was not good to have a seizure in person, so he came up with a plan and summoned the gang members to the council hall for a meeting to make an example for Chu Qing.

Soon, the hall masters and leaders of the various branches arrived, and they were armed in the hall with a murderous aura.

Outside the hall, there stood more than a dozen gangsters waiting to be punished and some new members. Du Shaoling was also called because he was a new member. He was mixed in the crowd without knowing it, and when he looked up, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Chu Qing, and he retracted his head in fright, and pressed the hat down and down, for fear that he would find out.

At this time, Yuan Chong, who was sitting in the middle of the hall, began to speak; He first clarified the gang rules, and then ordered Wang Xiaoliu, Zhu Er, Liu Dayan and other three escapees.

Yuan Chong shouted at the three people: "This gang leader has always treated you well, why did you flee without permission? ”

Wang Xiaoliu replied tremblingly: "Back to the helper, Xiaoliu is wrong." The house was flooded, and the old lady was dying of hunger, so she went back and brought her some rations. ”

Zhu Er said: "Helper, the little one stole a small bag of salt and found it before he took it away." ”

"Helper Kaig," Liu Dayan bent over and said, "I haven't been paid for three months, and the little one wants to earn more money, so he secretly goes to the West Market to ......find something to do."

"Damn, they're all dying, and they dare to quibble!" You Qian, the master of the Flame Eagle Hall, stood up and shouted, "Why do you want to arrest the three of you, not only because you have escaped, but also because you have gotten around talking nonsense and leaking the secrets of this gang. ”

Wang Xiaoliu and the others hurriedly knelt down and wailed: "Please be aware of the big helper, the little one has never said anything." ”

"No need," Yuan Chong said with a gloomy face, "According to the gang rules, anyone who runs away without permission, steals property, or leaks the secrets of the gang should be punished by throwing himself into the river!" ”

Wang Xiaoliu and the others were so frightened that they cried again and again for mercy.

You Qian waved his hand, and then seven or eight strong men rushed up, and couldn't help but tie up the three people, blindfolded, blocked their mouths, and threw them into the sack.

Wang Xiaoliu and the others kept struggling and wailing in the sack.

You Qian ignored it, and began to name the new members of the gang in the last month. Every time a person is heard, that person is to come up to the court and be questioned.

When he read the name of "Erdou", Du Shaoling's legs trembled when he heard it, and he almost fainted with fright.

Shaoling saw that the guards around him were heavily guarded, and he couldn't escape, so he had to press the hat down again, and slowly walked into the hall with a hard head.

Seeing that he was about to reach the head of the hall, he saw a guard hurriedly running to Yuan Chong's side, saying that Luo Feng had arrived and was waiting outside the hall.

Yuan Chong heard this, and hurriedly accompanied Chu Qing to greet him.

Seeing this, Du Shaoling breathed a long sigh of relief, he turned around and walked straight to the back of the hall.

As he was walking, he suddenly heard someone shouting to him to stop. He shuddered and turned his head to look, but it was Miaojin looking at it with a smile.

"Miss Luo, you ......" Du Shaoling couldn't help but be overjoyed.

"Erdou, it's really boring here," Miaojin seemed to see his predicament, "Let's go, take me to a fun place." ”

Shaoling immediately understood, squeezed his eyes, and said, "Miss Luo, I don't dare to go......"

"What are you afraid of, with me, no one dares to stop you!" Miao Jin Road.

You Qian saw that Erdou wanted to leave, so he immediately caught up and asked him why he left?

"Miss Ben is in a hurry, do you want to take him out?" Miao Jin smiled indifferently at You Qian.

"Miss Luo, this ......"

Miao Jin snorted, and without waiting for You Qian to react, he pulled Shaoling and swaggered away.

The two entered the warehouse, and Miaojin couldn't help frowning when she asked the reason. The two discussed quietly for a while, and suddenly heard Yuan Chong's words in the distance, so they hurriedly hid in the dark corner behind the rice bag.

It turned out that Yuan Chong accompanied Chu Qing and Luo Feng to inspect the warehouse.

Luo Feng glanced at the granary, shook his head and said: "10,000 stone corn, the Hui people are in a hurry, this bit of goods is far from enough!" ”

"Don't worry, adults, when that batch of relief food arrives, it will be enough for them." Yuan Chong replied.

"Then, when will it arrive?" Luo Feng hesitated and asked.

Yuan Chong said that it will be transported back to the wharf tomorrow night, and it will be able to leave for Huifu within three days.

"Well, that's good." Luo Feng let out a long sigh and said to Chu Qing, "Childe, what about Xiao Guan's batch of goods?" ”

Chu Qingdao: "I have seen Chu Yanzhong; As for the horses, he still refused to let them go, saying that he wanted his father to promise him in person; But if it's dust gold, it's much simpler, just send someone to get it. ”

"Childe, this has come and gone, but there is a lot of delay," Luo Feng pondered, "At the moment when Xiongwu City is completed, it is urgent to use money." If you can get back the gold dust first, it can also alleviate the urgent need. ”

"Well, I think so too," Chu Qing paused, "In order to prevent a lot of dreams at night, please ask Lord Luo to go to Xiaoguan with You Qian tomorrow to get back the gold dust." After the matter is completed, someone will be sent to escort it back to Yuyang. ”

Luo Feng said "um" and said, "Then the opening of the Poetry Society tomorrow ......"

Chu Qing said that he didn't bother, this matter had already been arranged.

"Yes, Luo understands," Luo Feng was silent for a moment, then turned his gaze at Yuan Chong, "I brought the two newly engraved official seals, and I will send someone to pick them up later." ”

"No need, Lord Luo, the official seal has been found."

"Oh?"

Yuan Chong said that he accidentally fell on the Yuequan Pharmacy that day, and he had found it.

Luo Feng nodded lightly, saying that it was also fortunate to be lost and recovered; But you need to be careful in the future.

After hearing this, Chu Qing's mind quickly crossed the scene of Lou Yue selling herself to bury her father...... sneered at Yuan Chong: "What about the owner of the pharmacy?" ”

Yuan Chong was stunned for a moment and said, "Childe, what do you mean?" ”

"The shopkeeper is dead, and his daughter is looking for you." Chu Qing said coldly.

"What, he's dead...... Yuan Chong was shocked in his heart, but he still pretended to be calm, "Childe, don't worry, Yuan didn't leave any flaws!" ”

"Anyway, that's a human life!" Luo Feng sighed.

Chu Qing sneered: "The helper is derelict in his duty and misses, but he is really capable!" ”

Du Shaoling was eavesdropping in the shadows, and suddenly a huge gray squirrel jumped under his feet, which frightened him into an exclamation.

Yuan Chong pulled out his knife when he heard the sound, rushed straight over, grabbed Shao Ling who was hiding in the shadows, and asked him why he was eavesdropping here?

"Helper, I'm Erdou," Du Shaoling pointed to the crotch of his pants, "I can't hold it back, I want to pee!" ”

"Okay, Lao Tzu will find you a place to pee," Yuan Chongyi threw him to the ground with all his might, "Come on, lock him up in the cellar!" ”

As soon as the words fell, Miao Jin stepped forward and said, "Don't always love to bully people, I brought Erdou out to play." ”

"You ......"

"That's right," said Miaojin's face as cold as ice, "we're playing hide and seek." ”

"Get out!" Yuan Chong kicked Shaoling hard.

Du Shaoling ran away holding his stomach.

Miao Jin snorted and walked away with a twist.

Chu Qing looked at Shaoling's vague figure and seemed to remember something, so he asked him what his name was?

Yuan Chong said, called Erdou.

"Erdou, why is the voice so familiar...... Chu Qing pondered for a moment and moved his gaze to Yuan Chong, "When I'm busy with the poetry meeting, you must bring him to meet." ”

"Yes, Childe." Yuan Chong agreed.