As soon as Meng Ran and Geng Huyuan walked out of the teahouse, the team from the Zhichong Mansion was taking a few steps forward, slowly came to the two of them, hugged their fists very politely, and asked in a loud voice: "But Meng Gongzi?"

"It's down there. Meng Ran returned the salute.

"In Xia Wang Wuyi, Tian is the fourth team of Hangzhou Zhechong Mansion, and I have a few questions I want to ask Gongzi for advice, I don't know if it's convenient?"

Meng Ran gestured with a gesture of please, "Team Wang is asking for a talk." ”

Wang Wuyi glanced around, stretched out his hand and invited, "Meng Gongzi here, please." ”

Meng Ran and Geng Huyuan followed Wang Wuyi to a secluded place on the side of the street, which was a half-dead corner where they could check all the situation nearby.

Wang Wu kept asking in a blank manner: "Meng Gongzi went north from Lin'an, but he passed through the new town?"

Meng Ran nodded slightly, "Exactly." ”

"What day did you pass through the new town?"

"I arrived in the new town the day before yesterday and left yesterday morning. ”

"Did you encounter any strange things in between?"

"Yes. ”

"Is it convenient to say?"

Meng Ran pondered for a while, and said slowly: "We were drinking tea in a teahouse, and we were invited to the second floor by the people of the Imperial City Division for questioning, and then let us leave the teahouse. Later, when the Imperial City Division pursued the murderer in the new town, and when we tracked down the inn where we were staying, we met the two of us again. ”

Wang Wuyi's expression was a little solemn and fell into deep thought.

At this moment, a figure suddenly jumped from the eaves to not far behind them, it was the Imperial City Wolf Guard who appeared in the lobby of the teahouse before.

The man took out a token from his waist, the copper token was gilded throughout, and the pattern of the Xuan Wolf was carved on the side of Meng Ran, and the words 'Xuan Wolf Wei General Banner Ma Shun' were written in the center of the token, which was thought to be his official position.

As soon as Wang Wu saw the token, he immediately gave a military salute, "Wang Wu, the fourth team of Hangzhou Zhechong Mansion, has seen Ma Zongqi as soon as he sees it. ”

Ma Shun waved his hand, "You're welcome, it's the right thing to do when you hurry up and handle the case." ”

Wang Wu bowed his head slightly, and stood there half-bowed.

"Where did you just ask?"

"I asked Meng Gongzi what he saw and heard in the new town. ”

"Oh, go ahead and ask. ”

Wang Wuyi turned to look at Meng Ran and continued to ask, "On the second day, the new town should already be under martial law, why can you two still leave the town?"

Meng Ran explained: "The guards at the entrance of the town were the people of the Imperial City Division, and those people had seen the two of us in the teahouse, so they didn't check more. ”

"And where did you go after you left the new town?"

"First arrived at Heshan Town, rested for half an hour, and then passed through Yihe Town, and went straight to Jiaxing City. It was only yesterday evening that he was stopped at the gate of the city, and he stayed outside the city at night, and he entered the city this morning. ”

After Wang Wu finished asking, he looked straight at Ma Shun, the chief banner of the Imperial City Division, Xuan Wolf Guard.

Ma Shun thought for a few breaths and asked Meng Ran, "Who is the person who asked you in the teahouse?"

Meng Ran was stunned for a moment, "Eh, I don't know who it is, I just saw a white wolf embroidered on his chest." ”

"White wolf, are you sure you're not mistaken?" Ma Shun's voice was quick and sharp, like a knife that had just come out of its sheath.

"I was not mistaken. ”

"Hmm—" Ma Shun paused for a moment and continued to ask, "Did those people say anything to you when you were at the entrance of the new town?"

Meng Ran shook his head, "That didn't mean anything." ”

"Have you ever found anything out of the ordinary?"

Meng Ran thought for a moment and said, "The leader of that team of men and horses is squatting under the city gate, looking very sad and sad. ”

Ma Shun frowned and thought for a while, then waved his hand to signal Meng Ran that they could go.

Meng Ran and Geng Huyuan hugged their fists at Ma Shun and Wang Wuyi, and then left.

When the two of them walked away, Ma Shun turned to Wang Wuyi and asked, "Do you believe their words?"

Wang Wuyi bowed his head slightly, "I believe it." ”

"Why?"

"Because that Meng Gongzi is from the official family, he would not dare to lie about this matter, he must know the seriousness of the matter. ”

"Oh, what's his background?"

"His father died early, but he didn't have much influence, but his father-in-law retired from the position of the head of the household, and he was afraid that he still had some influence in the court. ”

"Hubu Shilang?" Ma Shun looked at the street corner where there was no one anymore, repeated in a low voice, and then ordered: "You go to the county government to inquire if there is really such a person." If there is, then these two people don't need to be traced anymore, if not, they will be taken down immediately. ”

"Yes. ”

Wang Wu answered, and then whispered to a sergeant, who hurried away after hearing this.

......

After Meng Ran and Geng Huyuan crossed a few streets, they saw a bookstore, Meng Ran turned his head to Geng Huyuan and said, "Uncle Geng, I originally planned to write a letter to Xue'er, but now I am completely out of interest, how is this good?"

Geng Huyuan smiled slightly, "Then read a book here for a while, write a letter when you are interested, if you don't have a heart, let's find an inn to rest." ”

Meng Ran bowed slightly, "What Uncle Geng said is reasonable. ”

The two tied their horses to the door of the bookstore and walked in.

I saw that there were four or five rows of antique solid wood bookshelves in the very wide bookstore, and the shelves were full of books, including new books with a strong ink fragrance and old books with badly worn corners.

On the other side of the shop, there are calligraphy and paintings on the wall, including pictures of ladies, splashed ink on landscapes, pen and ink from the previous dynasty, and inscriptions from the present dynasty.

The two of them were looking at themselves, and a middle-aged man with a slight fortune walked out from behind, thinking that it was the owner of the bookstore.

"Are you here to buy books or calligraphy and paintings?"

Meng Ran replied unhurriedly: "Let's see if there is anything worth starting." ”

The middle-aged man stroked his beard under his chin and said very calmly: "You two can read it, call me if you need it, and I'll read the book later." ”

Meng Ran arched his hand, "Boss, please take care of yourself." ”

Afterwards, the bookstore owner continued to read the book, while Meng Ran put his hands behind his back and slowly looked at the calligraphy and paintings on the wall.

Geng Huyuan followed behind Meng Ran and looked at it for a while, then pointed to a picture of the Tiger Descending the Mountain and said, "Young Master, this painting is good. ”

"Oh, where did you draw it?"

"This painting vividly captures the charm of the tiger and the atmosphere of slaughter, which is a wonderful brushwork, and it is really rare to appear in such a shop. ”

Meng Ran sighed, and said in a slightly puzzled tone: "Uncle Geng, there are many paintings that are better than this "Tiger Descending the Mountain", why do you say that it is rare?"

Geng Huyuan smiled mysteriously, and patiently explained: "Ordinary people can depict these paintings of flowers and landscapes, ladies and beauties, and the charm can also be revealed, but the fierce charm is difficult to tell on the paper." As the saying goes, it is difficult to draw the skin and bones of a tiger, which means that it is easy to draw the appearance of a tiger, but it is difficult to draw the momentum of a tiger. ”

Meng Ran suddenly realized, "Uncle Geng, then you mean that the person who painted this painting is very likely to have seen a real tiger." ”

"Yes, that's what I mean. ”

At this moment, a young man's figure flashed behind the bookshelf, looking like he should be fifteen or sixteen years old, he was dressed in white, gently hit his left hand with the folding fan in his hand, and praised Geng Huyuan loudly: "You are right, it is very much in line with my heart." ”

Then he shouted into the depths of the store, "Boss, I want this painting." ”

The owner of the bookstore soon appeared in front of the three of them and saluted the young man in white, "Childe, do you want this picture of the Tiger Descending the Mountain?"

"Not bad. ”

The young man in white shook his fan elegantly, his face proud.

"Ten taels of silver. ”

"What, why is it so expensive, are you deliberately raising the price?" the young man in white closed the folding fan in his hand and looked at the bookstore owner with a displeased expression.

Meng Ran took half a step forward, "This painting is what we took first, if you are too expensive, we will buy it." ”

The young man in white laughed contemptuously, and said in his mouth: "It's just ten taels of silver, what's the big deal." Boss, wrap this picture for me, I want it. ”

Meng Ran glanced at him, then stopped talking, and turned to look at other paintings, and soon two paintings came into his eyes.

Not far from the "Tiger Descending the Mountain" hangs a picture of a lady, there is a plain fragrance on the white painting paper, although the beauty in the picture only shows a side face, but the makeup is light willow eyebrows, very graceful and charming, she is smiling at the osmanthus full of trees at this time, and the world is independent.

There is a column of small characters inscribed on the right side of the painting, which reads 'Autumn Lady Picture, painted on August 19', and there is a stamp under the handwriting, Meng Ran took a few closer looks, and then remembered that this is Gu Kaizhi's three words, thinking that this is Gu Kaizhi's painting.

Meng Ran was overjoyed in his heart, but his face was silent, he glanced back at the white-clothed young man who followed him, and then moved a few steps forward, looking at a pair of splashed ink not far away, only to see a wide lake painted on the paper, there is a small island in the middle of the lake, there is an attic on the island, there is a red sun in the sky, and the light of the sunset dyes everything into a pale yellow, beautiful.

On the right side of the painting is inscribed a poem that reads, 'Autumn flowers on the wild boats, and the sunset with the waves', without an inscription such as a stamp or name.

Meng Ran looked at the other paintings for a while, although the rest of the works had their own different advantages, but they couldn't get into his eyes, he probably looked at it, turned around and walked in the direction of the calligraphy works.

After a few glances, Meng Ran was deeply attracted by one of the words, which not only contained perseverance, courage and enterprising positivity, but also contained the hermit spirit of blandness, distancing and quiet leisure, and even better, the poems were excellent.

Meng Ran couldn't help but chant: "The wind returns to the clouds, the rain is clear, and the lake is warm and bright." The red mountain apricot hair is broken randomly, and the new green water is flattened.

The wings are low, the white goose is still heavy, and the tongue is astringent. No, Jiangnan Spring is not good, and the mood is reduced by decay and illness every year.

Good poetry, good calligraphy. Boss, I want this calligraphy. ”

The bookstore owner walked up to Meng Ran and said softly, "Ten taels of silver." ”

"Okay, I want it, wrap it up. ”

As soon as Meng Ran's words fell, the young man in white also shouted, "Boss, I'll give fifty taels." ”

The bookstore owner looked at Meng Ran, and then turned his gaze to the young man in white, looking like he couldn't make a choice.

The young man in white snorted coldly, "Seventy taels." ”

The bookstore owner glanced at Meng Ran apologetically, "I'm sorry, this calligraphy belongs to that son." ”

The corners of Meng Ran's mouth twitched, but he didn't say anything, just sighed softly.