The Delicate Lady Coroner Chapter 72: Sihexiang 12

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Chapter 72 Sihexiang 12

But there was official business, and there was no way that Bao Ruoyou would miss it. At dawn the next morning, she left the house and went to Lanzhengfang. Sitting on the carriage, she couldn't help but think of last night.

After returning home last night, she hesitated several times but did not tell Cheng Yunzhi about meeting the eldest lady of the Bo family. She knew that Cheng Yunzhi was deeply resentful of the Bo family, and she was probably young when she left home, and later she She was favored by her adoptive father and mother, and if she did not treat the Bo family as close relatives, the blame in her heart would be lighter. Therefore, she was afraid that telling Cheng Yunzhi about the matter would arouse an unhappy impulse in his heart and come to her door. But in her It seems that now is not the best time to return to the Bo family.

I have neither told Cheng Yunzhi nor should I tell Huo Weilou. I keep this matter in my heart and there may be no need to say it out loud.

But for some reason last night, she could not help but open her mouth to Huo Weilou. Huo Weilou has always had a prestigious reputation. After getting along with him for two months, she felt that he was well-deserved. Everyone who followed him was loyal and surrendered to him, and they saw his vigorous and resolute behavior. Although his methods were harsh and cruel, he rarely adhered to strict justice. Later, he was seen to be lenient to Song Meiniang and others, and he was known to be benevolent. After all, he also had a gentle side. I don't know. Unconsciously, her trust in him was as much as Cheng Yunzhi's.

She does not understand the affairs of the court, but it has always been difficult to distinguish between clean and dirty officialdom. Although Huo Weilou has a bad reputation, in her opinion, he is wearing the name of wielding power and protecting the country and the people. He must be the first to contribute to the affairs of the Great Zhou Dynasty, including Haiyan, Heqing, and hundreds of civil and military officials both inside and outside the court. How can people not be willing to follow such a figure?

As my thoughts were spinning, the carriage had entered Lanzhengfang and soon stopped in front of the gate of the Hou Mansion. At this moment, the sky was slightly bright, and the fish belly white sky was penetrated by the bright light. The morning sun was about to break through the clouds, and it was as thin as a ghost. When the gate of the mansion was opened, the entire Hou Mansion was even quieter than last night.

The attendant went to report, and she walked along the corridor to the main courtyard. The attendant of the Hou Mansion seemed to be quite relieved about her, and did not follow her. Instead, she heard the sound of swords singing on the side of the fork in the road. She showed a hint of hesitation and walked over as if she had been bewitched.

Turn around a flower stand with lush vines and leaves, Bo Ruoyou caught a glimpse of Huo Wei Tower dancing a sword in the distance.

He was dressed in a black bun and was lean and strong, his forehead and hairline were soaked with sweat, his movements flashed with brilliance when he jumped up, and the three-foot green edge in his palm looked like a swimming dragon. His sword energy was vertical and horizontal, making the surrounding flowers and trees rustle. During the shaking and strong wind, Bo Ruoyou seemed to hear the roar of dragons and the chirping of cranes. It was not the first time that she had watched Huo Weilou dance his sword, but this time she was a little stunned.

Huo Weilou saw her as soon as she appeared at the entrance of the flower garden, but he did not stop until he finished practicing this section before he stopped. When he turned around, he saw Bo Ruoyou looking at him intently, and the corners of his lips could not help but grow. smile.

He raised his hand to wipe his forehead, and with a flick of his hand, a string of flying sweat beads came out. He strode towards Bo Ruoyou, his whole face was covered with sweat, but for no reason, he had the power of a roaring mountain and a tsunami. Pressure, and the closer Bo Ruoyou came, the more she felt that he seemed to be shining, attracting her attention inexplicably, and she even forgot to salute for a moment.

"Take it." Huo Weilou didn't mind at all or made fun of him, he just handed over his sword.

Bao Ruoyou took it blankly, but she didn't expect that the sword was much heavier than she thought. Her hand slipped and she almost dropped the sword to the ground. Huo Weilou had already let go, and at this moment he couldn't help but put her hand on the sword. They held it together, lifted it up, and frowned again, "Has the soul been lost?"

Bao Ruoyou hugged the sword hurriedly and laboriously, and then he realized that he was rude and slightly blessed, "Master Hou——"

The corners of Huo Weilou's lips curved, and he strode forward with Bo Ruoyou following behind. Later, he felt his face was a little hot, and looking from her direction, he saw a dark brocade robe with complicated dark patterns sticking to his On his body, his well-textured ape's back and wasp's waist are highlighted. He is not a strong body, but every inch of his body is thinned and attached to the bones. It is just right and stiff, which contains a huge amount of strength.

Bao Ruoyou couldn't help but look away, while Huo Weilou, who was walking in front, had already taken off his belt. When he reached the main courtyard, he even opened his lapel. When Eunuch Fu came out of the main courtyard, he saw at a glance Seeing Huo Weilou's disheveled appearance, and seeing Bo Ruoyou struggling to hold his long sword behind him, he came forward with a soft cry, "Be careful of hurting yourself."

Handing the long sword to Eunuch Fu, the man from Huo Weilou had already disappeared. Bo Ruoyou moved his sore wrist, thinking for a moment how Huo Weilou could dance so smoothly with such a heavy sword.

"Youyou, it's too early for you——"

Eunuch Fu entered with his sword in his arms, and Bo Ruoyou followed him and whispered: "If you are late, I'm afraid the Marquis will question you."

Eunuch Fu couldn't help laughing, "You are not a serious subordinate of the Marquis, and there is no need for an autopsy today. Why are you afraid of his questioning?"

Bao Ruoyou smiled and said nothing. She was surprised at first when she saw Ning Xiao acting so well-behaved in front of Huo Weilou yesterday, but now she understands very well, because she doesn't want to let Huo Weilou down.

I had this idea for a long time, but it was because Huo Weilou was very prejudiced against women, even to the point of being out of sight, so she worked hard because she was not convinced. Later, when she arrived in Luozhou, because she wanted something, she did not dare to be scornful. , up to now, in addition to doing her best when running errands, she still doesn't want to let Huo Weilou down.

It's a pity that she is not a man, otherwise, being a serious subordinate of Huo Weilou and following him to build a career, wouldn't it be a happy life?

This thought flashed past, and Bo Ruoyou entered the study and looked through the pile of books again. What Huo Weilou said last night was absolutely right, because today she carefully read through Wei Ling's post, the post she actually wrote. , are all in elegant regular script, but there are two nights of running script, which are also written in a sloppy way. It can be seen that Wei Ling himself is not satisfied, so he only wrote two pages and then stopped writing. If a young girl like Wei Ling, What can make her willing to study something she is not good at?

Eunuch Fu came in to deliver hot tea, and Bo Ruoyou recalled what Huo Weilou said last night when he was looking at the rubbings: "Master Hou has been out on the march since he was a child, but he seems to be very good at calligraphy, and his handwriting can be read through the back of the paper."

Eunuch Fu put the tea cup on the table and sighed after hearing this, and Bo Ruoyou looked at him with some confusion.

"You may not believe it, but if Mr. Hou had not gone to the battlefield, he would have won the top prize at least by taking the scientific examination." Eunuch Fu sighed, "Although Mr. Hou practiced martial arts when he was young, he still won the top prize. He was also taught by the Master in the Imperial Academy together with the princes. The poems he wrote in parallel prose when he was a year old were spread to the public, and his students also made rubbings and passed them down."

Bao Ruoyou was really surprised now, "Then the Marquis... did he go to the battlefield because he preferred marching?"

Eunuch Fu shook his head, "No, there's nothing you like or dislike. The Marquis only does what he should do." Seeing that Bo Ruoyou didn't understand, Eunuch Fu said: "Silly girl, there are many civil servants in the court. There was a lot of verbal and written criticism, but the ones who spoke the toughest words were those in charge of the troops. At that time, the barbarians from the north were attacking, and the country of the Great Zhou Dynasty also needed someone to defend it."

Eunuch Fu said with some sigh, "Although I have watched the Marquis grow up, he is really admirable. With the respect of the prince, there is no enjoyment and glory in staying in the capital. If you say you don't want it, then you don't want it. In the north After guarding for five years, he finally had the military power in his hands. Even if he said he didn't want it, he would not want it anymore. He could afford it and let it go, and he never caused anyone to worry about him. That's why Your Majesty trusts him so much now."

Bo Ruoyou felt a little trembled in his heart when he heard that. There were many rumors in the market, but these words came from Eunuch Fu’s mouth, and they were really convincing. Huo Weilou joined the army as a young boy, but he was willing to go to the battlefield and endure hardships at such a young age. She thought Huo Weilou liked to march and fight, but she didn't expect that he was also very talented when he was young.

There is nothing I like or dislike, the Marquis only does what he should do.

This statement sounds simple, but everyone has seven emotions and six desires. If a person can abandon desires and only do what he should do, what kind of strong will and self-control does this require?

Bo Ruoyou's admiration arose spontaneously in his heart.

Huo Weilou had already changed into a robe when he walked into the study. He had just taken a shower and his hair was still wet with moisture. In addition, he had sweated, and he was in high spirits. When Bo Ruoyou saw him, He stood up and saluted quite attentively.

Huo Weilou waved his hand, "What did you find?"

Bo Ruoyou pondered for a while, "The folk girl discovered that the second young lady not only read calligraphy, but also looked at paintings. If it is true that she has a secret relationship with others, then this person should be very good at these two things. The second young lady has entered Lingxiao's poetry Society, I think she is considered a talented woman. There are many young scholars in the capital, and the publication of books and books has been popular in recent years. Could it be related to these people? If the other party is also a child of an aristocratic family, it seems that there is no need for her to hide it from everyone. See you."

"A young lady from an aristocratic family and a down-and-out scholar and talented scholar are common in story books." He glanced at Bo Ruoyou and asked, "Have you read any story books recently?"

Bao Ruoyou was stunned, "I don't see many women of the people, and I haven't seen them recently,"

These stories of talented men and beauties are the most exciting. Bo Ruoyou is very indifferent in this aspect, so naturally he will not go to see these. However, Huo Weilou said seriously: "You haven't seen much, so you need to see more. Look."

Bo Ruoyou was confused as to what he meant by this, but Mr. Fu said openly, "Master Hou, Ning Xiao is here."

After Huo Weilou walked to the desk with a certain expression, Bo Ruoyou also looked at the door. After a while, Ning Xiao strode in. He probably didn't expect Bo Ruoyou to be here, so he glanced at her in surprise.

Huo Weilou asked: "Is there any news?"

Ning Xiao bowed in response, and then continued: "The second lady's personal maid said that she did go to other libraries to buy, but she didn't go there often. Her favorite is Chongwen Library, the library with ink characters. She I can't remember. The subordinate thought that either the second young lady went to other places very rarely, or the second young lady went to other places without knowing it, and then followed the Marquis's instructions to investigate this capital city all night long, with ink in its name. There are about thirty libraries in the country, but only five can print the book last night."

The book last night was considered a rare book. It had been lost long ago. Now there are only various rubbings circulating in the market, and the money is quite expensive. Ning Xiao took out a scroll from his sleeve and said, "These two in the west of the five cities, There are two in the east of the city and one in the south."

Bo Ruoyou couldn't help but ask: "Are there any near the Yuxi River in the east of the city?"

Ning Xiao nodded, "Both the two families in the east of the city are near the Yuxi River, one is near Dongshi, and the other is on the east side of Changxingfang, not far from where the second young lady was found. Yesterday I went to Chongwen Museum When I asked the boy in the library, he recalled that he had indeed met the second lady because he often went there and recognized her. However, the second lady did not buy the book yesterday, but looked at it and left. When he left, he went in the direction It was just after we left Fushun Street that there was no other abnormality. The waiter said that although the second lady bought many books, there was no other difference, and she did not see anyone at Chongwen Library."

Bo Ruoyou couldn't help but said, "So the second lady said that going to Chongwen Library was just a pretense? What she actually wanted to go to was somewhere else?"

Huo Weilou continued: "Most likely he went to the east of the city."

Fushun Street is not close to the Yuxi River, and the place where her body was found is far away from Fushun Street. It is difficult for the murderer to kidnap a living person and go east. Only Wei Ling went east by herself. Most likely.

Huo Weilou stood up and said, "Let's go."

Ning Xiao responded and walked out. Bo Ruoyou breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this. He wanted to say something but didn't say it. His eyes were flashing with an impatient light. Huo Weilou had just taken two steps and looked back at her. , "Want to go together?"

Bao Ruoyou nodded immediately, obviously waiting for his words, Huo Weilou said: "Then follow."

As soon as Bi Huo Weilou turned around and walked out, Bo Ruoyou's eyes suddenly brightened up. Ning Xiao frowned slightly, looked at Huo Weilou, then at Bo Ruoyou, and then followed him.

Bao Ruoyou felt a little guilty when he saw her. After all, it was not her turn to search and find her. She couldn't help but be more grateful to Huo Weilou. He saw what she was thinking in her heart and satisfied her even more. This made her feel two emotions in her heart. A secret joy.

After leaving the mansion, Huo Weilou had already boarded the carriage. When he saw Bo Ruoyou coming out, he opened the curtain and said outside: "Follow me."

Ning Xiao got on the horse's back. When he heard this, he frowned even more and stared at Bao Ruoyou, as if he wanted to poke a hole out of her body. This was not the first time that Bo Ruoyou was in the same car as Huo Weilou, so he hurriedly climbed up.

The carriage rumbled, because Lanzhengfang was in the west of the city, and it took half an hour to walk to the east of the city. Along the way, Bo Ruoyou opened the curtain and looked outside. He only talked about the case with Huo Weilou, and Huo Weilou looked at him. She felt a little funny for a moment, "Sun Zhao is really worthy of me recommending you to the Jingzhao Mansion. You are thinking about the case and you have nothing else to say?"

Bo Ruoyou was slightly stunned, "Now that the case is urgent, civilian women are naturally concerned. Aren't the Marquis concerned? The Marquis finally came to visit after a day off..."

After Bo Ruoyou finished speaking, he thought for a moment, what could she say to Wu Zhaohou?

Huo Weilou sighed in his heart, and suddenly asked: "You said your adoptive father was sick, how is he now?"

Bo Ruoyou raised his lips and said, "My foster father knows some medicine and always prescribes prescriptions for himself. Now that winter has passed and the weather has warmed up, he is feeling much better. Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your concern."

Huo Weilou thought for a while and said, "If something is wrong, I will also ask the imperial doctor to take a look at him."

Bo Ruoyou was flattered for a moment and said, "Thank you, Mr. Marquis. If my foster father gets sick again, the daughter of the people will come back and trouble Mr. Hou."

When Huo Weilou saw her like that, he knew that she was following him now and had no heretical thoughts. He felt that she was stupid for a while, and that she was rare for a while, so he asked her about the current situation of her home and asked questions. Even Liang Shu and Liang Aunt had a rough idea. Along the way, by the time they arrived at the first bookstore, the sun had already climbed into the sky.

The first bookstore was called Hanmo. It occupied a street-facing shop in the East City. It was very spacious. Later, his expression immediately changed a bit.

Huo Weilou took Bo Ruoyou to look inside the bookstore, but his eyes did not stop until he found the running script rubbings of the former calligrapher, "How many people usually buy these rubbings?"

The shopkeeper said with sincerity: "It's not too much. The person responsible for the rubbings worked very **** this set of rubbings. It takes two or three months to produce one copy, so it is not cheap. Most of the people who buy this book are some talented people." , I want to improve my calligraphy."

Huo Weilou glanced at Ning Xiao, and Ning Xiao immediately took out a portrait and asked, "Have you ever seen her come to buy this set of rubbings?"

The portrait was of Wei Ling, and I don’t know who painted it. It was quite lifelike. The shopkeeper looked at it, but shook his head, "Most of the people who bought this set of rubbings were young gentlemen. I really haven’t seen this girl before."

Huo Weilou stared at it. It was not Wei Ling who came to buy it, but someone else might have bought it and gave it to her, "How many rubbings have you sold in the past six months?"

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly, "Not even ten books yet."

"Do you know their identities?"

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Of course I don't know this. The guests just buy something and leave, and the little people won't bother."

Huo Weilou then darkened his eyes and asked some more detailed questions, but the answers given by the shopkeeper were all disappointing. He did not waste any time and led people directly to the bookstore on the east side of Changxingfang.

The carriage traveled for another two sticks of incense. When he got off the carriage, Bo Ruoyou saw a Moyi calligraphy and painting studio. Not only books were sold here, but also paintings were sold. The shop was opened on a side facing the Yuxi River. On the side, it looks a little deserted, but as soon as you enter the shop, you can see several imitations of famous paintings hanging in the middle. An outsider like Bao Ruoyou was shocked and almost thought they were genuine works.

The shopkeeper was dozing behind the counter, and said without raising his head when he heard the voice~IndoMTL.com~You can look at the paintings as you like, the prices are clearly marked, so be honest. If you want to customize imitation paintings, engravings, rubbings, and rubbings, please negotiate the price before starting the work. In addition, there are also poems, paintings, essays and the most fashionable storybooks by major talents in the capital..."

The shopkeeper recited a string of words smoothly, and then he raised his head when he realized something was wrong. He saw Huo Weilou and Bo Ruoyou entering the door, and both of them were very charming. He quickly stood up and said, "What do you two want to watch?" What?"

As soon as he said this, he caught sight of the embroiderer outside the door. The shopkeeper's expression changed slightly and he immediately walked out, "Sir, our small business is clear whether it is genuine or imitation. There is no deception." A guest trip——"

Huo Weilou looked at the shopkeeper for a few seconds, only looking at the place where the rubbings were placed. However, when he glanced over, he didn't see the painting book where Wei Ling was looking at the capital. He lowered his eyes and signaled to Ning. Xiao, Ning Xiao showed Wei Ling's portrait again. He thought that this place was particularly remote, and he was afraid that he would still find it without success, but he didn't expect that the shopkeeper let out a light sigh.

"I have seen this young lady before."

This statement made several people in Huo Weilou look up, and the shopkeeper said again: "This lady likes the paintings and calligraphy of the great talent in mainland China. I have asked several times in the past two months, but in the end she changed the "Song Tao Tu" I missed it with "Canglang Pavilion"."

Huo Weilou raised his eyebrows, "Who is the great talent in mainland China?"

The shopkeeper was stunned, "Your Excellency, you don't know? The great talent in Lu is Lu Wenhe. He is the nephew of Lu Jijiu of the Imperial Academy. He won the Jinshi at the age of fifteen. He could have won the first prize, but he was unable to go because of illness. In the examination room, the copies of his paintings were no worse than the real ones. In the past two years, he began to make his own poems and paintings. At a young age, he had the style of a generation. His poems and paintings can be said to be hard to find in the capital. , the shop is not talented, and I have some friendship with the talented people in mainland China, and I can occasionally order his paintings, but sometimes he only produces one painting every six months, which is really in short supply."

Huo Weilou knew that the Imperial Academy offered wine to Lu Jia, but he didn’t know about Lu Wenhe. He glanced at the hall and asked, "Which painting is his?"

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly for a moment, "Of course there are none in the store. His paintings will be snatched up as soon as they come out. If you want it, the shop can only ask someone to ask if you can get this painting if you give me a higher price." In the hands of adults, it is still an unknown quantity."

Huo Weilou was noncommittal, "This lady comes here a lot?"

The shopkeeper nodded hurriedly, "I haven't seen it before, but it's been a lot in the past six months. To be honest, the shop has its treasures, and the customers who come to the shop are all generous. Therefore, in the past six months, Lu The paintings of the great scholar were also sold by our store. This lady didn’t know where to find out about it, so she came and asked many times. She didn’t buy the paintings and articles of the great scholar, but she knew that the great scholar was good at running calligraphy, so she I bought some other rubbings and went back."

If Lu Wenhe won the first prize, Huo Weilou would naturally know about it, but since this person did not excel in the scientific examination, he would naturally not know about it, and he wanted to know what the talents and learning of this famous talent in the capital were. .

"How much do Lu Wenhe's poems, calligraphy and paintings cost?" Huo Weilou asked.

The shopkeeper stretched out his hand and gestured with his index finger, "At least they all start at a hundred taels. He published a collection of poems and essays, and was later bid for this amount. It was also sold by our store——"

He spread his fingers and looked pleased.

Huo Weilou raised his eyebrows, "If he is so talented and learned, why don't we know that he has continued to take scientific examinations? And he is so famous, so he must be very popular on weekdays. I wonder where he lives. Is he willing to become an official?"

Huo Weilou was so discreet that the shopkeeper couldn’t figure out his identity, so he said cautiously: "It would be a bit vulgar, sir, to think so. This talented man from mainland China is quite proud of being a scholar. How many people are there in the capital?" Wenhui gatherings invited him, but he never showed up, and he never openly relied on paintings to make money. He was so arrogant that he even wrote a parallel essay criticizing the North Korea——"

As if realizing that he had said something he shouldn't have said, the shopkeeper quickly changed his words, "It's not a criticism, it's just that he has some doubts about the current government and opposition parties, so he has no intention of becoming an official. He is now a double At the age of ten, if I really wanted to take the scientific examination, I would have won the top prize long ago."

The shopkeeper only saw the embroiderers wearing official uniforms, but did not identify them, so he dared to talk nonsense. Bao Ruoyou stood aside and really sweated for him, but Huo Weilou smiled normally. , "Even if he is a literary giant, he may not necessarily be a good official who prays for the people. Although he dares to criticize the current ills, he does not have the courage to join the officialdom to change the way. It is said that he is just a sour scholar."

The shopkeeper couldn't help but glared, took a deep breath and said: "If you insist on saying that, then... then I will have to bring out Mr. Lu's paintings to convince you."

I just said no, but now I said to take it out. Huo Weilou looked very interested. The shopkeeper immediately turned around and went to the inner room. Bo Ruoyou shook his head and just looked at the calligraphy and paintings in the hall, looking at them. , Bao Ruoyou suddenly saw a row of photo postcards on the bottom shelf. She couldn't help but step forward and pick up the copybook, "This post is a very good imitation."

Huo Weilou walked up behind her, looked over her shoulder, and finally said softly, "What's so good about it?"

Perceiving some dissatisfaction in his words, Bo Ruoyou pondered for a moment, "But if you look carefully, it's true."

Huo Weilou was satisfied at this moment. At this time, the shopkeeper held out a landscape painting like a jewel, "Sir, please look at this. This is just a replica, but you can also see some skill. Your Excellency, I think this How about painting?"

Huo Weilou turned around and raised his eyebrows as soon as he took one look, "I have seen this painting before."