The Delicate Lady Coroner Chapter 52: Sanzhumei 07
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Chapter 52 Three Plants Mei 07
Bo Ruoyou felt a chill running down his spine almost instantly.
She couldn’t help but say, “Who is outside?”
The words echoed in the narrow corridor, but the only response she received was the soft creak of the small door. Bo Ruoyou frowned, grabbed the teapot in her hand, and walked up to the terrace.
Pushing the door open, the stinging cold wind on the terrace suddenly hit him. Bo Ruoyou’s breath was suffocated, but he saw that there was indeed no one on the terrace, and the swaying fire in the corner was someone who came to burn it. Live something.
This is the place where Li Yuchang fell to his death. Could anyone come here to worship?
Bao Ruoyou was a little puzzled. At this time, the strong wind in the river blew out the flames. Bao Ruoyou thought that what was burning was some kind of paper money charm, but when she glanced over, she saw in the dim light Seeing the half-burned book, she frowned slightly and stepped forward to pick it up. When she held it in her hand, she realized that it was not a book, but a handwritten booklet.
She looked at the ground and saw a lot of ashes, so she knew that more than one book had been burned. However, this book was at the bottom and the wind was too strong, so it was only half burned before it went out. .
What others want to burn has nothing to do with her, but Li Yuchang fell into the river here. Logically speaking, this place is not auspicious. Ordinary people just want to burn whatever they want, so how can they come here? Although she couldn’t see clearly what was written in the booklet, she felt that it must be related to Li Yuchang.
Bao Ruoyou shook the ashes on it and walked out with the storybook. When he entered the corridor, in the dim light, Bo Ruoyou saw that it turned out to be a storybook, and there it was. On the title page, a large word “Huan” was written in elegant handwriting. Half of the second word was burned off, but Bo Ruoyou still recognized it, it was the word “hun”.
Seeing the word “Return to the Soul”, Bo Ruoyou immediately thought of “The Return of the Soul” mentioned by Butler Qian. “The Return of the Soul” is a storybook written by Li Yuchang to Liu Huiniang, and had high hopes. Although Li Yuchang is dead now , “The Return of the Soul” has not been finished yet, but even so, how could the script be burned?
Nowadays, most of the operas in the north and south are based on legendary scripts of the past dynasties. If there are new opera scripts in the market, they will often become the magic weapon for each theater troupe to win. Nowadays, although “Return of the Soul” has not been finished, whether it is the opera actors or No one from the Li family should burn it so easily. The script has not been burned yet, and the person who burned it must have just left. So who is the person who burned the script just now?
Bo Ruoyou turned his eyes and looked at the corridor in the distance. It was already not too early, and the cabin doors were all closed. It seemed that no one had come out. And tomorrow morning when the boat arrives at Changfeng Ferry, the people from the Yuchun class will get off the boat. It seems that she doesn’t need to ask why the playbook was burned.
Looking at the storybook with only half left in his hand, Bo Ruoyou was a little at a loss. He seemed to have no idea who to ask the Yuchun class to return it. Besides, since someone chose to burn it, there was probably a reason. And it didn’t seem good if she threw it away randomly. She couldn’t help but smile bitterly, then turned and went downstairs to get water for Cheng Yunzhi.
After delivering the water, Bo Ruoyou went back to the house and threw the play into the wastebasket in the room, thinking that she would ask the boatman to take it away tomorrow, but somehow, she looked at the play that had fallen into the wastebasket. Ben, suddenly became curious.
What kind of story should Li Yuchang write for Liu Huiniang?
By some strange coincidence, Bo Ruoyou picked up the playbook again. Half of the playbook was burned, but the writing on the remaining half was still clear. She flipped through two pages at random, and was attracted by the incomplete story. Live, because Li Yuchang’s words are gorgeous and elegant, and the words alone are pleasing to the eye. Although each page is only half, Bo Ruoyou still pieced the story together.
“Return of the Soul” tells the story of a young man and woman who fall in love but cannot get married. The young boy in the play is named Chen Lang. He is handsome, gentle and has great literary talent. He met Miss Liu at a poetry party. , but due to the disparity in status, he was forced to die by Miss Liu’s relatives. After his death, his obsession could not be eliminated and he could not fall into reincarnation. He only turned into a ghost and wandered the world. Miss Liu became lovesick and was about to die. At that time, he saw the ghost of Chen Lang.
Miss Liu recovered from her serious illness. From then on, she met the ghost of Chen Lang every night. Several months after the meeting, the Liu family again forced Miss Liu to marry and even invited Taoist priests to catch the ghost. Eliminate filth…
Bao Ruoyou rarely read folk tales in the past. He thought they were all beautiful stories about talented men and beauties, but he never expected that “The Return of the Soul” would be so twists and turns and bizarre. Li Yuchang’s sharp writing style and exquisite diction are so beautiful that he wrote about two people. It makes people happy when they are in love, but it makes people heartbroken when they are separated in life and death. Bao Ruoyou had only read more than ten pages, and she wanted to find the complete script. She couldn’t figure out why someone would use this script as a masterpiece even if she didn’t love Nan Opera. Its burnt.
Do you have a copy of the script or do you want to completely destroy it?
Bo Ruoyou continued to read with half of his doubts and half of his love for the story, because each page was only half of the page. Everywhere was lost, and the story lost its original interest. Gradually, Bao Ruoyou’s mind became lighter. She flipped through the pages faster, and soon she had read the entire book. However, just when she was about to put down the book, she At this time, she raised her eyebrows.
Because the handwriting on the last few pages of this storybook is actually a little different from the beginning. Although it is still elegant and accurate, and the writing is clear on the back of the paper, it lacks the smooth flow of the previous words, as if… it seems like someone is deliberately imitating it.
Bao Ruoyou shook her head at first, thinking that maybe the last two pages were ghostwritten, but when she started to read the content of the play, her eyes suddenly changed.
This story is written in a play version. In addition to the narration and lyrics, each scene is also described as how the actors appear, leave, and their expressions and intonations. This last turn is the most heartbreaking in the play. place.
Only half of the story shows that Chen Lang was captured by a Taoist priest, who wanted to make his soul fly away. In order to save Chen Lang, Miss Liu finally agreed to get married to the tribe, so Miss Liu came to send Chen Lang’s soul back to **** in the middle of the night. The lyrics of this scene were extremely sad and heartbreaking, but what made Bao Ruoyou look solemn was the description of Chen Lang’s departure.
Chen Lang entered the gate of the underworld and embarked on the road to hell. As long as he waded through the water of the Forgotten River, he could forget that Miss Liu had fallen into reincarnation. He looked at Miss Liu outside the gate, He retreated step by step and refused to give up, but Ms. Liu’s stern words forced him to fall into the water of Wangchuan. It’s a pity that he only thought Miss Liu was empathic and didn’t know that she was about to be forced to get married.
The second half was burned, and the libretto was cut off abruptly. Bo Ruoyou could no longer watch the next play, and Butler Qian said that Li Yuchang had not finished writing the script, and Bo Ruoyou did not know what Miss Liu’s final story would be. Whether she was married or not, she only found one thing extremely strange.
In this play, Chen Lang falls into the water of Wangchuan River, and Li Yuchang falls into the river. There is an uncanny sense of coincidence.
Huo Weilou once said that debris piled up on the side of the ship. If you stepped on those canvas masts, you could fall into the river with almost no effort. The Huangquan Road when Chen Lang left was also there. On a path surrounded by strange rocks and ghosts.
Bo Ruoyou was half-hearted to be sentimental about this poignant story, but when he saw this, he felt an inexplicable chill down his spine. After Li Yuchang fell into the river, the folding fan made for singing “The Return of the Soul” also disappeared. , could it really be Jiang who sang this part of the lyrics?
If the entire script is written in the same handwriting, but the handwriting of this last fold is actually different, then did Li Yuchang write this last fold himself, or was it added by someone else without his knowledge? Going up?
A chill came up from the soles of his feet. Bo Ruoyou looked at the burned playbook, and then at the last scene, feeling that Li Yuchang’s fall into the river might not be that simple.
Li Yuchang is a theater fanatic. If someone deliberately wrote such a aria, and then used the topography of the building to make him sing on the balcony and then fall into the river…
Bo Ruoyou stood up suddenly. No, of course it couldn’t be that simple. No matter how much Li Yuchang liked singing, there was no reason for him to fall off the boat out of thin air. But after he drank wine that night, it was different.
Only those who are drunk may be confused.
But isn’t this a script written by Li Yuchang himself? Someone added a aria but he accepted it calmly? But why do they have to be written in similar handwriting? If Li Yuchang wanted to pretend that he wrote it, why didn’t he write it himself?
Bo Ruoyou’s mind was in a mess, and she couldn’t help but pick up the playbook and read it. She suddenly thought, is it possible that this playbook was not written by Li Yuchang himself? Or maybe the person who added this aria was good at imitating himself and was someone Li Yuchang trusted very much, so he asked him to write it after himself.
Bao Ruoyou suddenly thought of Liu Huiniang.
The person who drank with Li Yuchang was Liu Huiniang, and the person who talked to Li Yuchang that night was also Liu Huiniang…
Bao Ruoyou started pacing back and forth in the room. She spent a lot of time reading the play. At this moment, the whole building was quiet, and Huo Weilou must have rested. She could only use this suspicion to find someone. ? And the Yuchun class will be disembarking tomorrow.
After hesitating for a long time, Bo Ruoyou felt that she had no other choice but to go to Huo Weilou. She picked up the script, straightened her dress and went out.
Walking to the door of Huo Wei Building, Bo Ruoyou raised his hand and knocked on the door. After a few knocks, footsteps sounded inside the door.
Soon, the door was opened. Huo Weilou was wearing a black cloak with his clothes half open. He seemed to have rested. When he saw Bo Ruoyou, he was also slightly surprised, “What’s wrong?”
Bo Ruoyou said, “Master Hou, the daughter of the people thinks it is strange that Li Yuchang died.”
Huo Weilou’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Is there any evidence?”
Bao Ruoyou hesitated for a moment and said with some confidence: “There is no evidence.”
Huo Weilou stared at her, then turned and walked into the house after a moment, “Come in and talk.”
After Bao Ruoyou entered the door, he first showed Huo Weilou the playbook. Huo Weilou was surprised that she had discovered this thing. Bo Ruoyou smiled bitterly and said: “A common girl didn’t think so much at first because she didn’t know how to deal with it. So she took it back to the house and almost threw it away, but she couldn’t help but look through it. This time, the girl discovered something unusual.”
She first told the story written in the playbook, then turned to the last fold, “Master Marquis, please look, the handwriting here is different from the previous one. When the daughter of the people read it, she almost didn’t notice it, but there are several The handwriting is too obvious. I have seen people imitating other people’s handwriting before. Lord Marquis, please take a look at it too——”
Huo Weilou took the script and read it for a moment, and it turned out that the handwriting was not the same person’s, “So what if the handwriting is not the same person’s?”
Bo Ruoyou asked him to read the play script, “The story of Chen Lang’s falling into Wangchuan and Li Yuchang’s falling into the river are almost the same, and this twist is different from what he wrote before. Don’t you think it’s strange, Lord Marquis?” ?”
Huo Weilou looked at Bo Ruoyou. The case had been decided and there was no need to investigate too much. Even if there were doubts, when the Yuchun class disembarked tomorrow, the matter would have nothing to do with them anymore. But Bo Ruoyou seemed to have no connection at all. Don’t let go of doubts.
“It is indeed strange, but even if he fell into the river because of the play, it is difficult to conclude that someone deliberately murdered him, because he sang the play himself, drank the wine himself, and he followed the miscellaneous He walked up the pile of objects instead of being pushed down by others.”
Bao Ruoyou frowned, and a third of her heart was in favor of Huo Weilou, but she felt a little unwilling to do so. Although she was not familiar with Li Yuchang, a living person suddenly died beside her. How could she really do this? Forget it?
She clenched her sleeves tightly, her brows narrowed and she no longer looked at Huo Weilou, feeling conflicted and hesitant. As a female author, she does feel that it is her duty to redress the grievances of the deceased and seek justice. However, she is not the savior of the world, nor can she investigate the cause of every death. And if she wants to trouble Huo Weilou now, it would be fine if she has proof. For now, she only relies on the handwriting in the script. And guess, what confidence does she have to ask Huo Weilou to come forward to investigate the matter?
“Why don’t you speak?” Huo Weilou asked her when he saw that she seemed discouraged.
Bo Ruoyou raised his eyes and glanced at Huo Weilou, with a rather dejected look on his face, “The daughter of the people only felt that there was something suspicious here, so she wanted to report it to the Marquis. But the autopsy was done by the women of the people, and the women of the people speculated This method was too weird and ingenious, just like what the Marquis said, even if it was true, he was not forced to do it. Or, perhaps, the last part of the play was indeed written by someone else, but no one else thought that he would be involved in the play. Too deep, and then fell to death…”
Bo Ruoyou sighed, “Xu is a daughter of the people who takes it for granted. Over the past few years, women of the people have worked for widows, and they seem to have developed a habit. Whenever someone dies for no reason, they will always dig deeper. Now it is possible Invent a murderer that does not exist.”
Seeing her regret, Huo Weilou’s eyes softened, but he asked softly, “Then forget it?”
Bao Ruoyou pursed her lips and seemed to be making an extremely difficult decision. Huo Weilou asked her again, “What will you do if you really forget it?”
Bao Ruoyou’s face became even more bitter, but he just said: “It won’t matter. At most… at most, I won’t be able to sleep well.”
The soft color in Huo Weilou’s eyes turned into an indescribable depth. He looked at her for a moment and then said: “The Yuchun class will disembark tomorrow. Once they leave, there will be no accountability for this matter.”
Bo Ruoyou clenched his fists slightly, his face even more sad, but Huo Weilou suddenly said, “Although Li Yuchang is an opera fanatic, he has not often performed on stage for so many years, and he can be considered a performer now. A businessman, therefore, I really don’t believe it if he is said to be so crazy about theater that he can get into the theater without caring about his own safety while singing and acting, and then fall into the river.”
Bao Ruoyou suddenly raised his eyes and looked at Huo Weilou. Huo Weilou looked at her with deep eyes and continued, “But if someone is with him and leads him into the drama, it will be completely different. And , if someone watched him fall into the river without calling for help, and then tried to cover up the matter, then she would undoubtedly be called a murderer.”
Huo Weilou spoke slowly, but in a low and melodious tone, and his eyes reflected the distant lamp. At that moment, Bao Ruoyou almost felt like she was falling into his gaze. She swallowed hard and heard that she had restrained herself. And asked cautiously, “Then Mr. Hou…do you want to investigate?”
“Check.”
Huo Weilou said one word clearly and neatly.
Bo Ruoyou looked at Huo Wei Tower and felt that at this moment, the lanterns in the corner exploded with a “crackling” sound, and something seemed to be beating in her heart. Joy overflowed her eyelashes, because of Huo Weilou trusted her and fulfilled her wishes, and because Huo Weilou was in a high position, he did not regard the lives of ordinary people as trivial.
“The Marquis is wise!” She flattered happily.
Her joyful expression was very obvious. Huo Weilou could see it in his eyes, and the strange satisfaction in his heart came again, as if seeing her happy could also make him feel better. He stood up and looked at Bo Ruoyou. He looked indescribably happy, but there were other thoughts in his heart. While arranging his half-open clothes, he said casually: “Change clothes for me.”
His words were very natural, as if he would give such an order to anyone around him. Bo Ruoyou felt happy, and knowing that Huo Weilou was acting vigorously and resolutely, he wanted to go down for questioning, so he immediately went to the side and took his outer robe. .
Huo Weilou turned sideways and raised his hand. Bo Ruoyou unfolded his robe and put it on for him. Then he went to get the jade belt beside him. Huo Weilou didn’t want to move, but he looked at Bo Ruoyou’s clear eyes. , he didn’t continue to bully her, so he took the belt and tied it on himself.
The cloak underneath him was very loose. When the belt was tied at the moment, it immediately circled his thin waist. Because of his tall and straight body, the thin silk satin clung to his waist, inexplicably outlining a picture with clear texture. With her body erect, Bo Ruoyou watched with interest as he finished dressing and went out, but when she saw this, she felt her heart skip a beat for some reason, and her cheeks also felt strangely warm, and she quickly averted her eyes. Don’t dare to look anymore.
After Huo Weilou finished changing his clothes, he called Lu Ke when he went out. Eunuch Fu had already gone to bed. When he heard the noise, he got up immediately. Hearing that there might be suspicion in Li Yuchang’s case, he immediately became energetic.
In the cabin on the second floor, everyone in the Yuchun class had packed their suitcases and cages early and were waiting to disembark tomorrow. However, they never expected that the embroiderer would come uninvited so late at night, and everyone was panicked for a moment.
The first person to be taken away was Butler Qian. His being taken away naturally alarmed the others. They followed him out to have a look, but the embroidered clothes envoys guarded the corridors on both sides of the second floor and did not allow them to move around freely. .
Liu Huiniang’s bun has been let down. She is now wearing a cloak and her black hair is draped over her shoulders. She is standing at the door. Seeing this, she said: “Don’t panic, nothing serious will happen. If you are summoned, everyone will be in trouble.” Just answer the question. If you are not summoned, just go back to your room and rest. You will have to disembark early tomorrow morning…”
“Sister Liu, everything is fine. Why did the Marquis suddenly take away the steward Qian? Nothing will happen, right? Or is it because of the master? We won’t be able to get off the ship tomorrow, right?”
A timid little girl couldn’t help but ask. After asking like this, everyone else also looked over. Now that Liu Huiniang was the most prestigious in the troupe, and steward Qian was taken away, everyone naturally listened to her.
Seeing everyone looking at her eagerly, Liu Huiniang was very calm and said, “What can happen? The master’s death was an accident. We just need to take care of ourselves. Butler Qian is now in charge of our entire troupe. I’m afraid it’s someone else.” Things.”
Her words calmed everyone down a bit, and soon, most of the people in the corridor returned to their houses.
Everyone left, leaving only Yueniang and Chunqin standing at the door. Liu Huiniang looked at them, “You guys should go back and have a rest. What can happen?”
Yue Niang looked at Liu Huiniang coldly, but went to Song Meiniang’s house next door. Liu Huiniang lived across the door from Song Meiniang. When she saw this, she snorted and entered her house. Chunqin looked at this scene and did not dare to say a word. Close the door.
The empty tea shop on the first floor became a place for Huo Weilou to ask questions. Shen Ya was also awakened in the middle of the night. Seeing Huo Weilou’s overwhelming momentum, he knew something was wrong, so he just stayed calmly. Waiting for orders outside.
In the teahouse, Huo Weilou looked at Butler Qian who was kneeling on the ground and asked, “How long have you been in Yuchun Class?”
Butler Qian was confused at first, but when Huo Weilou stared at him like this, a thin layer of sweat quickly broke out on his forehead, “I have been in the Yuchun class for thirteen years, and I am the chief steward next to the master. This time I also helped with accounting for a few years.”
“You have been here for so long, do you want to know anything about Li Yuchang?”
Butler Qian’s eyelids twitched and he said cautiously: “Everyone knows about ordinary things in the class…”
Huo Weilou said in a low voice, “Then do you know that the play “Return of the Soul” was really written by him?”
Butler Qian’s expression changed instantly, “Yes…it was done by the master…it was done by the master for the Liu family…”
His voice was trembling when he spoke, and his eyes only dared to look at the place in front of him. Huo Weilou glanced at Lu Ke, and Lu Ke stepped forward and kicked Butler Qian in the lower back. He screamed in pain. With a sound, he collapsed on the ground and couldn’t get up.
Huo Weilou raised his hand to play with the black jade ring on his knuckles, but Lu Ke shouted coldly: “How dare you tell lies when the Marquis asks you? Do you know what will happen if you lie in front of the Marquis?”
Steward Qian followed the Yuchun class all over the country and developed a slippery heart. If he didn’t speak harshly, he would still have Tai Chi skills to fight. But now Lu Ke is ruthless, and he is not a perseverant person. At this moment, He was so frightened that he couldn’t bear it. He reluctantly got up and kowtowed: “I don’t dare to lie. I don’t dare to lie. It’s just… It’s just that the master has just died. I’m really afraid…”
Huo Weilou didn’t even look at him, but asked coldly, “Who wrote “Resurrection”?”
Lu Ke was full of evil spirits and was still standing next to Butler Qian, as if he could kill him if he told another lie. Butler Qian immediately cried and said: “”Resurrection” is indeed not written by the master, but by the master’s wife. I liked it so much that I took it under my own name.”
Huo Weilou glanced over and asked, “Who is the author?”
Steward Qian did not dare to hesitate and said: “It’s Chen Hanmo and Chen Duzi… He was originally a scholar, but later he failed to pass the examination, and because his family was poor, he could not take the examination again. The master saw that he had good literary talent, so he sent him to the examination. He lived in the garden. The old man’s garden not only raised opera singers, but also musicians and many literati. Some of these people were responsible for composing music and writing play scripts. Chen Hanmo was one of them. The author of “The Return of the Soul” The play script was originally written by him…”
Huo Weilou narrowed his eyes, “Where is Chen Hanmo now?”
When Butler Qian heard this, his expression changed several times, as if he thought of something taboo, “He…he died of illness half a year ago…”