The Delicate Lady Coroner Chapter 24: One inch of gold 24

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Chapter 24 An Inch of Gold 24

The water surface is slightly rippled, and the yellow fragrant plums sinking at the bottom have only flowers and no branches. It is impossible for others to break the yellow fragrant plums and throw them into the water one by one. And the flower bones are all in full bloom, as if they are about to end their flowering period and are blown down by the wind.

Chuntao also saw clearly what was under the water, and said with surprise: "There are actually plum blossoms in the water..."

Bo Ruoyou looked at the lotus pond in front of him, then glanced at the plum forest to the north, "Is this lotus pond dry all year round?"

Chuntao thought for a while, "That's not true. Every spring and summer, it rains a lot, and some water can accumulate in the lotus pond. But in autumn and winter, it dries up again. Gardeners will throw some water in the spring rain season. If you put the lotus seeds in, some flowers will bloom in the summer if you are lucky. If you are not lucky, it will be empty. No one comes here, but it does not hinder the view."

Bao Ruoyou didn't know what he thought of, and suddenly asked: "When the living water of Huanhua River was diverted into the house, how did the canal be built?"

When the prince of the previous dynasty was there, there were three inner lakes in the palace. If they could collect water to form a lake, it would not be possible to simply divert water. Most of them would have to build culverts. However, Chuntao was a little confused and said: "This... this servant doesn't understand. , I only heard that many craftsmen were used at that time, and the momentum was huge."

Bao Ruoyou glanced into the lotus pond again, then suddenly turned around and headed in the direction of Merlin. Merlin had just been here the night before, but she just stood outside and took a look. This time, Bo Ruoyou went straight into the forest.

The rest of the house is full of wintersweet, but here is yellow fragrant plum, and there is a large bamboo forest between the plum grove and the lotus pond. She has not seen the bamboo leaves in the lotus pond, but she happened to find yellow fragrant plum. Why?

The plum grove only feels fragrant and fragrant at night. Looking at it during the day, I can see a large area of ​​yellow fragrant plums in full bloom, which is even more pleasing to the eye. It is now halfway through the first month and the weather is gradually getting warmer. There are indeed petals falling under the plum trees. , the first plum blossoms to bloom have begun to wither.

Last night, the Embroidered Clothes Messenger came to the forest to investigate. Looking at it now, you can see that the traces on the ground are a bit confusing. The Embroidered Clothes Messenger said that there are traces of people in this plum forest, and the murderer is lingering in this forest. Pass.

Bao Ruoyou's heart moved, and she walked deeper into the plum forest. The plum forest was not denser than the bamboo forest, and it was not easy to hide people. Bao Ruoyou stopped and walked, but she got some plum blossom fragrance on her body. Just when she couldn't think clearly. At that moment, she caught a glimpse of the dry well in the distance.

The dry well that the embroiderer mentioned last night.

The dry well has been abandoned for many years, and the well platform has long since collapsed. It is surrounded by moss and grass. If you just take a quick look, you may not be able to tell that it is a well. But what caught Bo Ruoyou's attention were the two plum trees beside the well. The branches of the two plum trees stretched horizontally. If any petals fell, they would fall into the well. Bo Ruoyou walked quickly towards the dry well.

The well platform has long since collapsed, and only the wellhead, which is the size of a bucket, is still intact. Standing at the wellhead and looking down, it is pitch black inside and nothing can be seen clearly. Not only that, there is also a smell of damp mud coming out of the well. Bao Ruoyou felt that this smell was somewhat familiar.

Chuntao stood aside a little puzzled, "Girl, these wells in the woods are mostly dug for watering gardens, not for drinking water for cooking, and the wells here have long been abandoned."

Bao Ruoyou nodded. The snow beside the well platform had melted, and the snow water seeped along the well wall into the darkness below. Bao Ruoyou leaned forward and looked in, but still couldn't see anything. She was a little anxious in her heart. She put one hand on the collapsed well platform, which was no more than a person's knee high, and leaned forward to look down. The more she leaned forward, the heavier the pressure on the well platform became. Suddenly, a piece of brick suddenly loosened, and she immediately stepped forward. A mistake...

"Girl!"

Chuntao yelled in fright and grabbed Bo Ruoyou's arm. Bao Ruoyou himself was startled and quickly stood up and took a step back. Chuntao's face turned pale, "Girl, be careful, if you fall, At the very least, you will break your leg!"

When Bao Ruoyou heard these words, he felt that he had seen her before, and then he heard Chuntao say: "They said that the silly girl fell from this well back then."

Bo Ruoyou's heart skipped a beat, and he asked with a tense expression: "When the silly girl fell into the dry well, did she fall into this well?"

Chuntao nodded, "Yes, so this place is very dangerous."

Bo Ruoyou's voice became more and more urgent, "How many days did you say she fell down?"

Chuntao nodded, "Yes, I heard it will take three or four days."

"Then how was she discovered?"

Chuntao thought for a while, "It seems that a young boy came to the forest to do something. He heard something moving in the well. At that time, everyone knew that the silly girl was missing and thought she had run away. Then the young boy called someone, but this wellhead It was so narrow that most men couldn't get in, so they had to put the rope down and let the silly girl tie herself up, and then the others pulled her out together."

There were thunderous sounds in his ears, and his heart was beating like a drum. Bao Ruoyou looked at the dark wellhead, and suddenly a horrifying thought came to her heart. Chuntao didn't know what she was thinking. , I saw her face turned white and her eyes were frightened, as if she had thought of something terrible, and she couldn't help but become frightened.

"Girl, what's wrong? Did I say the wrong thing?"

Bao Ruoyou didn't answer. She shook her head and suddenly turned around slowly. Her eyes searched everywhere. She was sure that there must be traces around the well platform, but she didn't know where the traces were, so she looked aimlessly. After a few laps, she suddenly fixed her gaze on a plum tree east of the well platform.

The plum grove is old, and the thinnest plum trees are as wide as the mouth of a bowl. The plum trees at the mouth of the well are thicker than elsewhere, and the one on the east side is enough for one person. Bo Ruoyou found a few faint marks on the thick plum tree. She frowned and walked forward, walking around the plum tree.

The bark of the plum tree is rough and dark brown, with cracks all over it. Just at the waist-high level, there are a few faint traces of being rubbed, and these traces are uneven and shallow on the back near the well platform. The well platform was deep, and Bo Ruoyou's expression changed several times. When he looked at the well mouth again, there was a slight fear in his eyes, as if there was some man-eating monster hiding under the well.

The breeze brought out the smell of mud from the well. The branches of the plum tree were stirred by the wind, and a few petals fluttered down. The petals swayed and sank into the mouth of the well, falling silently into the darkness.

Bao Ruoyou suddenly turned around and left. Chuntao hurriedly followed, "Where are you going, girl?"

Bo Ruoyou originally wanted to go to the ancestral hall, but when Chuntao asked, she changed direction and came to the front yard.

Bo Ruoyou's footsteps were so fast that Chuntao even had to jog all the way to keep up, "Girl, what's wrong?"

Bao Ruoyou shook his head and didn't answer. His gentle aura faded, and he actually seemed a little aloof. Chuntao was very close to her because of her gentleness and kindness. Seeing her expression like this, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed for a moment. I was shocked and didn't dare to say anything at the moment.

Bo Ruoyou arrived at the study where Zheng Wenyan was killed.

Because this was the place where the crime occurred, there was a government official guarding the door. Seeing Bo Ruoyou coming, the government official did not stop him. Bo Ruoyou went straight into the study. She walked under the transom where she had been earlier and moved in. The stool stood up.

She was not tall and it was difficult to see the whole picture clearly. Bo Ruoyou glanced at the tea table beside her. She got down neatly and asked Chuntao to help, drag the tea table over and stood on the chair again. Chuntao went to the table and looked at it, dumbfounded.

Bo Ruoyou, who stood on the table, finally saw the entire transom clearly.

Bao Ruoyou got off the table after looking at it twice, put the table and chairs back to their original positions, walked out of the study door and headed towards the ancestral hall. She wanted to find Huo Wei Tower.

……

Huo Weilou left the front yard and went to the fire scene of the ancestral hall. Eunuch Fu followed Huo Weilou. He felt that Huo Weilou was in a good mood today for some reason. He took a step forward and said: "Master Marquis, something is going to go wrong with His Highness's marriage. You seem to Very happy."

Huo Weilou frowned, "What do you mean?"

Eunuch Fu sighed, "Your Highness is three years younger than you. Not only did he make an appointment early in the morning, but he was also granted a marriage by the Holy One last year. This time the case is settled. If there are no major changes, we will get married in March. I see you don’t say anything, but I’m actually quite jealous in my heart.”

Huo Weilou: "..."

Eunuch Fu sighed, lowered his voice and muttered: "The Holy One has wanted to grant you a marriage many times, but you have blocked it every time. You are already old and there is no one around you. You don't even know how to spread the word outside. You..."

Huo Weilou couldn't bear it anymore and paused slightly, but before he could turn around, Eunuch Fu started to slap himself in the mouth, "Oh, look at this old slave's mouth, you can tell he is talking nonsense. The Marquis serves the country and the people, so what does it mean to get married? , I want to tell you, there is hardly any woman in the world who can match the Marquis."

Huo Weilou glanced at Eunuch Fu with a raised eyebrow and continued to walk forward. Eunuch Fu chuckled and followed him, "I just said a few jokes. I think the Marquis is in a good mood today. I can't tell. , we can solve this case today in one go."

Huo Weilou raised his eyebrows, was he in a good mood? When did he feel better?

Eunuch Fu has been taking care of Huo Weilou for many years, so he didn't know what he was thinking, so he said, "I noticed it when I just entered the house. Miss Bo seemed a little nervous. Hey, it's been so many days, Miss Bo." I'm still afraid of you."

Afraid of him?

Huo Weilou sneered, she was not afraid of him.

For a moment, Huo Weilou remembered how Bao Ruoyou said she wanted to repay him, and she actually felt that she was repaying him by investigating the case with all her heart.

Huo Weilou laughed in his heart. If everyone thought like her, then why would he use thunderous methods in the officialdom and just show kindness to civil and military officials? He was really childish and naive.

Although he thought so in his heart, Huo Weilou himself didn't realize that his eyebrows had softened a bit.

Eunuch Fu said again: "It's a pity that Miss Bo is a woman, but she plans to be a widow all her life. If this continues, getting married will be a problem..."

Wu Zuo has a lowly status and is often in the company of dead people. Who in the ordinary family would want to marry such a girl?

The focus of Huo Weilou is on the previous sentence: "When did she say she wanted to be a widower for the rest of her life?"

Eunuch Fu said: "On the day when the third master Zheng was in trouble, the old slave accompanied her to examine the second master's body. I asked him casually on the way. She said that she did not believe in Buddhism or Taoism. Since she had the skill of making a living, she just If you believe in the knife in your hand, if the case is solved, you will continue to be a gangster in the future."

Doubts emerged in Huo Weilou's heart again.

He has seen generals who have been fighting for decades, and good officials who have worked for the people. They may be loyal and courageous, or selfless. , smart and smart, but chose the most difficult profession. If he had nothing to ask for, he would really be a sage.

"Did you say anything else?"

Huo Weilou asked again, and Eunuch Fu shook his head, "That's not true. The old slave was thinking that we would be going to Luozhou in a few days, so he didn't ask any more questions. He was just a little worried about her, and she herself was worried. I wonder if I have thought about it."

It is difficult for a woman in this world. If she insists on being a widower, it will be difficult for her to find a good husband.

Huo Weilou didn't know what he was thinking, so he remained silent for a while, but soon, the ancestral hall arrived.

The snow has melted, and there is mud around the ancestral hall fire site. The yamen and the guards in the mansion are all busy. Several embroidered clothes envoys are supervising nearby. When they see Huo Weilou coming, the embroidered clothes envoys guarding here come to greet them. .

Huo Weilou asked: "How?"

The embroiderer said in a deep voice: "It's very slow, and a lot of wood was burned, and the rest of the books and silk were turned into smoke. It's very difficult to find clues."

Huo Weilou walked closer, and the outermost wooden beams and other objects had been moved away. At this moment, he only saw a few blackened broken walls standing. Suddenly, Huo Weilou's brows moved slightly, and he looked towards the back of the original main hall. position, "Did you smash the wall?"

The broken wall that has not collapsed must be demolished, but Xiuyi said, "Not yet, we are still cleaning up the debris."

The phoenix eyes of Huo Wei Building are narrow. When the house was built, the holes in the wall needed to be reserved for wooden rafters and beams. But at this time, the holes in the wall were obviously lower than elsewhere. In one minute, Huo Weilou quickly walked towards the broken wall. When he got there, although the wall had been burnt black, he could see more and more clearly that it was indeed different from other places.

There is still a large pile of rubble and wood under the wall that has not yet been cleared. Huo Wei said, "Clean this place first. There seems to be a collapse under the wall. Let's see if there is anything buried."

This mansion has been built for many years, and the location of the ancestral hall is a top priority, so there is absolutely no chance that it will collapse for no reason. Thinking that Xiu Yishi had deduced that there was a dark room in the ancestral hall, Huo Weilou's expression became solemn for a moment.

When He Cheng saw this, he said: "I'm afraid it will take a day and a night to clean up this place, and we will have to wait."

"Maybe you don't have to wait so long."

The sudden sound made everyone in Huo Weilou turn around, and they saw Bo Ruoyou coming quickly. She was out of breath because she was running too fast. She was blessed, "Master Hou, sir , the folk girl made a discovery."

Huo Weilou stared, "What did you find?"

Bao Ruoyou swallowed and then said: "There is probably a dark room under the ancestral hall. Not only that, the dark room may be connected to the culvert left in the mansion in the past years. When Miss Zheng was lost and the silly girl was rescued, she was lame. It may have something to do with this culvert."

He Cheng frowned: "Underdrain? Why did you mention it above the underdrain?"

The corners of Bao Ruoyou's lips pursed slightly, "Because... the folk girl speculated that the murderer who murdered the old lady, Second Master Zheng, and Third Master Zheng is now hiding in that culvert."

The murderer is hiding in the culvert?

At this point, although there are many doubts, the identity of the murderer has not been determined. However, Bo Ruoyou revealed the murderer's hiding place. Where to start?

Huo Weilou stared, and Eunuch Fu couldn't help but said: "Miss Bo, do you have any evidence?"

Bo Ruoyou nodded, "If you have evidence, please come with the girl, it's in the plum forest to the north."

Meilin had just searched last night and found nothing. But at this moment, Bo Ruoyou said that there was evidence in Meilin. Huo Weilou looked solemn, but did not question it. He ordered the embroidery envoy to continue cleaning up the collapsed area. , and then followed Bo Ruoyou to the Plum Grove. They went directly from the ancestral hall to the Plum Grove. The place they passed was a path lined with pine trees. There was an abandoned thatched cottage outside the path. The Plum Grove was next to the thatched cottage. East.

Bo Ruoyou walked and said: "The folk girl just discovered that there was flowing water in the lotus pond east of the bamboo forest. In the flowing water, there were withered yellow fragrant plum petals, and there were a lot of them. So the folk girl felt strange. Later, the folk girl When I arrived at the plum forest, I found a dry well in the plum forest. There were plum trees growing beside the dry well, and the petals just happened to fall into the dry well."

He Chengdao: "I checked that well last night and it has been abandoned for many years..."

"What you said is true, thanks to the good sunshine today."

At this moment, the sun is setting in the west, and most of the snow everywhere has melted. Walking under the pines and cypresses, there is even snow dripping down.

"The snow water melted and flowed into the well, so that there was water flowing underneath it. The water flow carried the petals into the lotus pond. Only then was the girl discovered. The girl learned that there was an inner lake in the house, so she diverted the living water from Huanhua Stream. , to divert live water into a lake, we must build culverts."

Huo Weilou said in a deep voice: "Even so, how can we tell that there is a murderer hiding under the culvert?"

Bo Ruoyou said: "Because Shagu, Shagu has a low status and is an outsider, but she appeared in the place where the murderer appeared last night, and it was also at the intersection of the plum forest and the bamboo forest. The girl just learned that , Silly Gu accidentally fell into the Meilin Well two years ago and stayed underground for three or four days before being rescued. The folk girl checked the injuries on her legs. Although they had healed, not only were the bones of her legs broken, but there was also blood. , she is stupid and thin, it is really strange that she can still call for help after being underground for three or four days in such a situation."

After a pause, Bo Ruoyou said: "The folk girl thought it was because someone was helping her underground."

Ordinary frail women fall into a well, not to mention being injured, even if they are not injured, it is difficult for them to survive without starving for three or four days. But the silly girl was injured and survived for three or four days. The only explanation is that there is someone under the well. Gave her food and even treated her injuries.

Bo Ruoyou's words made He Cheng shudder, "You mean... there is a culvert hidden under the Marquis Mansion. There is a man hidden in the culvert... a man who has never seen the light of day. It was this man who harmed me. He and the Zheng brothers?"

Bao Ruoyou didn't hesitate, "Yes, although Shagu is stupid, she just reacts very slowly. After being saved by this man, Shagu felt the desire to repay his kindness. Later, most of them were helped by Shagu Then, this person was able to come out of the culvert."

He Cheng was horrified to hear that it was two years ago that the silly girl fell into the well. The Anqing Hou Mansion looked at the rich and powerful, but there was a person living underground in this mansion with endless pavilions?

Is this person a human or a ghost?

Seeing He Cheng's expression, Bo Ruoyou said: "This thought is indeed unbelievable. A common girl never thought about it, but the silly girl was seriously injured after falling into the well, but she survived. And in order to hide it, Aunt Yu The evidence was that the ancestral hall was set on fire, and there was also collapse in the ancestral hall, which made the daughter of the people think of this possibility."

Gong Fu said fairly: "If there is really someone hiding underground in the Hou Mansion, who is this person?"

At this time, the group of people had already walked outside the plum forest. Eunuch Fu's question made Bo Ruoyou pause slightly. She hesitated for a moment and said: "It must be one. She is hidden by the Hou Mansion and cannot be allowed to see the light of day." person."

Eunuch Fu and He Cheng looked puzzled. Huo Weilou looked at Bo Ruoyou and understood what she meant, "You mean, the Hou Mansion not only falsely reported Zheng Yunni's birth date, but also concealed something more important. Something?"

Bo Ruoyou immediately nodded, "The eldest lady is quite fond of the silly aunt. At first, the daughter of the people couldn't understand why it was not someone else but the silly aunt, but today she thought of the Hou family's order to preserve the marriage between the eldest lady and the second highness. After a lot of trouble, the daughter of the people thought that maybe what the palace wanted to hide was not just the unlucky day of the eldest lady's birth."

"The Fourth Master Zheng once said on the night when he first returned to the house, 'Twins are inherently unlucky. If they are born in the yin period of the yin year, they will really bring disaster to the world.' The eldest lady's birthday is already unlucky, but If the eldest lady gave birth to twin girls, the old lady must have understood that the marriage between the Marquis and His Highness was not guaranteed, so she made the decision to keep one and hide the other. Because of this, it is reasonable for the eldest lady to go crazy. And she loves Silly Auntie, her facial features are somewhat similar to Miss Zheng’s, and the sachet she made for her daughter is exactly the same.”

"Twin daughters..." He Cheng's eyes trembled slightly, "This...if this is the case, then the Hou Mansion is truly guilty of deceiving the emperor!"

Eunuch Fu was also a little surprised, but he was not as surprised as He Cheng: "In order to preserve glory and wealth, the more centuries-old a family is, the more they will resort to any means. If you explain it this way, everything can be explained. ”

He Cheng frowned and said: "But the silly girl is ugly, and you also said that she only has the same facial features as the eldest lady..."

Bao Ruoyou hesitated for a moment, "The girl has not figured this out yet, but she thought that there must be something strange underground. If she could go down and investigate, find the murderer's hiding place, and then catch the murderer, Then you can understand why."

Everyone had arrived at the mouth of the well. Huo Weilou first ordered the embroidery envoy to bring people here, and then asked: "Where is the evidence left?"

Bo Ruoyou hurriedly walked to the plum tree east of the wellhead, "There are traces of rope binding here. The silly girl was pulled up with a rope. The girl guessed that she learned this method because of this. , and later used this method to rescue the man below. When the murderer killed Mr. Zheng, he used a rope to fall from the Yaoyue Pavilion."

"In addition, the girl just went to the study where Mr. Zheng was killed. The air window was indeed very small, but the girl thought that the murderer might be extremely thin and could climb in through the window."

Seeing that Bo Ruoyou had done so many things silently, Mr. Fu expressed his admiration, "Miss Bo, you are so attentive that you can discover these things. Many side details seem irrelevant. Who knows?" Once you connect them together, everything makes sense."

Bo Ruoyou glanced at Huo Weilou and said with lowered eyes: "It's just a guess, I just hope I'm not wrong."

The embroiderers quickly arrived at the mouth of the well with ropes and other equipment. However, the wellhead was only as big as a bucket, and it was okay to put the bucket in. These embroiderers were all wide and long, making it difficult for them to go down. Bo Ruoyou hesitated for a moment. Said: "Master Marquis, why don't you call the short guard from earlier, plus the civilian girl, then you can go down and have a look."

Bao Ruoyou was slender and could go down on her own, but she didn't dare to ask for help, so she suggested calling the guard named Zhao Wu. Zhao Wu was once suspected because of his short stature and good at kung fu, and was later arrested. After it was proven that he had nothing to do with the murder, he was never seen again. Now that it is difficult for an ordinary adult man to get out of the well, he can come in handy.

However, Huo Weilou looked at her for a moment and said, "If there is really a mystery behind it, it would not be appropriate for you two to go together."

As he spoke, Huo Weilou looked back and said, "Dig a well."

Bo Ruoyou was about to speak but stopped. Huo Weilou ordered the embroidered men to dig the well and said, "Go and catch the silly girl."

If Bo Ruoyou's calculation is correct, Shagu is very likely to be an accomplice of the murderer, and she should naturally be detained.

Although digging the well took a little time, it was the safest in the end. If there really was another world under the Hou Mansion, Huo Weilou and He Cheng would have seen it for themselves, and the embroidered clothes envoys were all powerful and clean. , not long after, the entire well platform was dug up, and a big pit was dug at the wellhead.

Because this place was used for irrigation and gardening, the well was not as deep as imagined. When the last ray of light fell below the horizon, the pit turned into the shape of a huge funnel, and the embroiderer had already jumped into the bottom of the well.

"Master Hou, there is indeed a culvert half as tall as a man below."

Bao Ruoyou clenched his fists and waited for a long time. After hearing this, his heart relaxed.

At this time, the embroiderer who was sent to detain the silly girl returned to the well and said: "Master Marquis, the silly woman is missing."

Huo Weilou frowned, and the embroidered messenger said: "The last person who saw her was the eldest lady's maid. At noon, the eldest lady asked her to go and talk. She stayed with the eldest lady for an hour and then left. , she was supposed to return to her own courtyard, but she disappeared since then. Even the officials responsible for guarding the main roads in the palace said they had never seen her."

Huo Weilou frowned and looked at the bottom of the dark well. The silly girl disappeared. Was she with the murderer?

"I am not afraid that she will disappear, but I am afraid that the murderer will also disappear."

After Huo Weilou finished speaking, he ordered the embroiderers to light torches and quickly went to the bottom of the well. Seeing this, He Cheng quickly followed, but his round body slipped as soon as he stepped on the slope. He Cheng slid to the bottom and heard another "dong" sound. He Cheng finally fell heavily and sat in front of Huo Weilou. He grinned in pain, but did not dare to show his clumsiness anymore. He climbed up in a hurry, watching from the side. The embroiderer coughed slightly, suppressing a smile.

Eunuch Fu is too old to come down and do the hard work, but Bo Ruoyou does his part.

There was already an embroidered envoy down there who went to explore the way and came back to report: "Master Marquis, there is a rockery and rocks at the bottom of the lake about ten feet east of here. There was an exit originally, but now it is blocked. The sand and gravel are It poured down, and now only half of it can be crossed. The yellow fragrant plum that Miss Bo saw flowed from there, and the end point should be at the lotus pond in the east."

The culvert is made of huge rocks and is only half a person tall. To walk in it, you have to bend down. Huo Weilou shined a torch and saw that there was indeed a thin stream of water at the bottom of the culvert, mostly snow in the soil. Formed by water seeping down.

He nodded, "Search west."

After saying that, someone was already heading west. The embroidered messenger holding the torch said: "Master Marquis, please——"

Huo Weilou did not move. He raised his eyes and looked up, as if waiting for something.

The embroidered clothes messenger followed and looked over, and saw Bo Ruoyou walking down the slope. She walked carefully, but the snow and mud were slippery, and the people watching were frightened. Finally, they were almost at the bottom of the well, and Bo Ruoyou was walking down the slope. Ruoyou jumped down. Although he staggered a little when he landed, he still stood firm. Huo Weilou then personally took the torch and headed west.

The embroiderer blinked, "Miss Bo, please first——"

Bao Ruoyou didn't realize he was there and followed him forward. Just then she heard the embroiderer's words of return and said: "The blocked place in the east is probably the filled-in lotus pond."

Huo Weilou responded, followed by He Cheng, rubbing his sore sit bones from the fall.

All the way to the west, everyone was wearing cat clothes. They saw that this culvert had been abandoned for many years and was covered with moss. Occasionally there were mice and reptiles scurrying through. Fortunately, Bo Ruoyou was following. If she were an ordinary lady, she would probably He changed his color and ran away. Although spiders were occasionally seen, spider webs were rarely seen in the entire culvert. It must be that someone often walked here.

Bao Ruoyou used the light of the torch in Huo Weilou's hand to look at the culvert carefully. The more he looked, the more traces of people he found. As he walked, he also saw a few old clothes with no visible color. Qin in the snow and water. At the same time, a rotten sludge smell that could not be ignored lingered on the tip of Bo Ruoyou's nose.

The smell appeared again, and Bo Ruoyou looked confused for a moment.

It was pitch dark inside the culvert, all illuminated by torches. The further you walked in, the colder it became. Soon, an embroidered messenger at the front turned back and said, "Master Marquis, there is an iron gate in front of you. There are several branching roads behind the door, but only one is more crowded."

Huo Weilou then ordered: "Take people to look at several other places."

The embroiderer responded, and Huo Weilou took Bo Ruoyou and He Cheng to the iron gate.

It is said to be an iron gate, but it is just an iron fence with extremely small intervals. It is already rusty. There is a big lock on the iron gate. Although the lock is locked, the chain is broken due to rust and is thin. Ruoyou looked at the lock and the broken chain thoughtfully.

Huo Weilou looked back at her, "How?"

When Bao Ruoyou heard his question, she subconsciously wanted to straighten up and answer, but she forgot that she was in the channel at the moment. Seeing that she was about to hit the hard rock above her head, Huo Weilou suddenly stretched out his hand to block her.

Bao Ruoyou felt Huo Weilou's palm pressing down on the top of her hair. She was stunned for a moment before she realized what she was doing. She hurriedly bent down, but Huo Weilou quietly retracted his hand. Because he was also bending down, he seemed to be very close to her. , Bo Ruoyou was about to retreat, but He Cheng was behind him. He Cheng fell down and crouched for a long time, his waist couldn't bear it, and he was sweating profusely from exhaustion.

Bo Ruoyou couldn't help but narrow his eyes, "The culvert draws running water from outside and sets up a gate to prevent someone from sneaking into the house through this channel. Secondly, if there is a flood, it can prevent outside debris from pouring into the inner lake - —"

After a pause, Bo Ruoyou raised his head and glanced. There was naturally only a cold stone wall above his head. However, after getting off the culvert, they headed west. They should be under the pine trees between the plum grove and the ancestral hall. "But this is inside the mansion, and this iron gate may be just to stop some water plants."

There were indeed many decayed water plants and branches on the ground on both sides of the iron gate. Bo Ruoyou frowned and looked back and forth, "The girl is wondering when the iron gate was locked and when the chain was broken. ”

Huo Weilou said: "If it is as you said, at least the chain was broken two years ago."

Only if the iron gate is open, the silly girl can be rescued.

Bo Ruoyou nodded without saying anything, and Huo Weilou walked forward along the most visited culvert. The further in, the less snow and water under his feet. After walking, there was only mud that had dried for many years under his feet. Soon, a gentle **** appeared in front of everyone, and at the end of the gentle slope, another half-open iron gate appeared.

The iron door is still open, and its shape is almost the same as the iron door just now. There is also a large lock on it. However, because this iron door is on a gentle slope, it is only affected by moisture and has never been exposed to water, so the rust is much lighter. However, the chain on the door was also broken.

It's just that this lock was not broken due to rust, but was broken completely.

The chain was as thick as Bo Ruoyou's thumb, but it was broken by someone. I don't know how long it took the person who broke the chain to break it.

The iron door opened with a creak, and there were stone steps going up inside the door, and the height of the corridor suddenly increased. Even Huo Weilou could stand up straight. Huo Weilou held a torch in his hand and climbed up the stone steps, walking along the stone steps. The stairs went up, but after walking less than ten steps, a dark room suddenly came into view.

With just one glance, Bo Ruoyou could tell that this was a woman's living room. There were simple furniture and ornaments in the room, and an embroidered bed was placed due north. However, whether it was a bed curtain or a brocade quilt, They all look very old. In addition, the place is not exposed to light and is extremely damp. You can also see spots of mold on it.

There was a table against the west wall. There was a lamp that had run out of oil on the table. Bo Ruoyou stepped forward and looked at it, and felt that the lamp had not been lit for many years.

There is another door in the northwest corner of the darkroom. After Huo Weilou saw the darkroom, he walked towards that door. But as soon as he opened the door, he stopped in his tracks. Bo Ruoyou was suspicious, so he followed. Walking forward, when she reached Huo Weilou, her eyes darkened.

There is a door separated by it, but inside this door, it is full of collapsed bricks and stones. It is like a perfectly good house suddenly collapsed. Bao Ruoyou couldn't help but said: "This is..."

"This is under the ancestral hall." Huo Weilou spoke, his voice was serious, "There is indeed a dark room under the ancestral hall. There are people hiding here. We are afraid that we will find out, so we will destroy this place."

Although the door was filled with bricks and stones, it could still be seen that it was quite spacious and there were also furniture and books. Bo Ruoyou took a step towards the door and happened to see a red brick pressed under it. Holding half a piece of paper.

It was a piece of rice paper that had turned yellow over time, with a seven-character poem written on it. The ink had faded, and now only the remaining two sentences could be seen. The handwriting on it was almost exactly the same as the handwriting on the gold-sprinkled paper. .

Bo Ruoyou hurriedly handed it to Huo Weilou. Huo Weilou took a look and knew that Bo Ruoyou's guess was probably right. He turned around and looked at the remaining dark room, "The ancestral hall caught fire yesterday. Did you meet the murderer in it?" There was no one here last night, and the murderer might not have come back at all."

Bo Ruoyou said in a deep voice: "The lock of the iron door connected to the culvert has been unlocked. The higher-ups were afraid that they didn't know it, or they had guessed it, but they didn't dare to search aggressively. They were afraid that the Marquis would find out what happened back then, so they simply didn't say anything. Do it endlessly."

He Cheng was also stunned when he looked at the room, "Xiao Bo, you are really not wrong, but the murderer is not here, and he is afraid he is hiding up there——"

Bo Ruoyou's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, "We are here to search, and most people in the house will get the news. I'm afraid the murderer will also know. Just now the embroiderer came to report that the silly girl was missing, will something happen? ”

Huo Weilou glanced at the whole room, his eyes getting heavier and heavier. Bo Ruoyou stood beside him and felt chills all over his body. Apart from the original coldness of the room, Bo Ruoyou couldn't imagine that this place could be so cold. You can still see the light of day when you are in prison, but this place is like a dead man's tomb.

As Bao Ruoyou glanced around, she suddenly saw something placed beside the bed. She went up to take a look and saw two brand-new cloth tiger shoes and an old moon rabbit lantern. The tiger shoes were for young children. The moon rabbit lantern is the most common lantern in the lantern market during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Jiangnan area. These two things have only arrived here in the past two years.

Thinking of this, Bo Ruoyou not only felt a chill running down his spine, but also felt a bit of heavy sadness in his heart.

Huo Weilou glanced at her and said, "Let's go, we will send people to collect all these things later as evidence."

Bao Ruoyou nodded and followed Huo Weilou along the original path back to the culvert. Everyone was bent over and silent all the way. When he came, Bao Ruoyou was still looking for clues, but when he walked back, he pursed his lips and said nothing. I can't even tell. The channel is low. When I first came, I just felt that it was very inconvenient to bend down. But after going back and forth for a cup of tea, the inconvenience of movement was nothing. The boundless darkness and coldness just now. It is the most depressing and despairing.

After passing through the first iron gate and returning to the wellhead, Facing the cold wind blowing in from outside, Bao Ruoyou felt that the feeling of depression was relieved. Eunuch Fu heard the sound above and said: "How? ?Is there anyone?"

Bo Ruoyou said in a tight voice, "Where there are people living, there is no one."

Huo Weilou stood beside her, "Go up and talk."

Bo Ruoyou hurriedly stepped out of the way and asked Huo Weilou to come first. Huo Weilou glanced at her and jumped up neatly. The funnel-like hole had not been dug to the bottom, and there was still a platform half a person high that Bo Ruo needed. You climbed up, she was a little worried, Huo Weilou stretched out his hand from the top, he said nothing, a pair of phoenix eyes looked down at her, his meaning was clear.

The torch in Huo Weilou's hand has been handed over to other embroiderers, and at this moment, the night has fallen heavily outside the culvert. Eunuch Fu is standing at the top. He can only hear the sound of voices, but no one can be seen. He Cheng is standing behind her. Bent back and panting, while the other embroiderers were still in the culvert, Bao Ruoyou knew she had to go up quickly to make room, but she didn't expect Huo Weilou to pull her away.

The surrounding light was dim, and in a place where no one could see, Huo Weilou stretched out his hand towards her.

She hesitated for a moment and handed her hand to Huo Weilou.

Huo Weilou's palm was broad and rough, but quite warm. He grabbed her hand and before she could react, he pulled her up and supported her waist with his other hand. , almost lifted her whole body out of the bottom of the well. When Bao Ruoyou reacted, she was already standing next to Huo Weilou.

She took a step back in shock, "Thank you, Lord Marquis."

Huo Weilou let her go and suddenly said: "How will you repay me this time?"

The light was still dim, and his words were condescending, but his voice was quite low and sweet. Bo Ruoyou's back stiffened at his words. When he raised his eyes to look at him, Huo Weilou had already turned around. going up.

She knew that Huo Weilou was teasing her about what she said that morning, so she pursed her lips and climbed up.

Eunuch Fu waited for a long time and saw Huo Wei coming upstairs to greet him, "Is there really someone hiding down there?"

Huo Weilou nodded and asked again: "Still haven't found the silly girl?"

Eunuch Fu nodded, "Not found."

When Bao Ruoyou walked up, she happened to hear these words. Her brows furrowed even more tightly, and the uneasiness in her heart became more intense. Just as she was about to speak, an embroiderer came from outside the forest, "Master Hou, silly girl has never found you." Come, not only that, the servants of the mansion just came to report that the eldest lady of the Hou Mansion is also missing!"

As soon as they heard this, the expressions of Bo Ruoyou and Huo Weilou changed.