Summer is hot.
The sunset became more and more brilliant.
Di came to the window, put his hands behind his back, and admired the red clouds reflecting the sky.
It has been more than four months since I arrived in the capital, and in less than two months, the Qiu Wei held in August will officially kick off the imperial examination that determines the life and destiny of countless scholars.
In view of this atmosphere, cultural gatherings are held less often now, and the sound of Gongsun Ce playing the piano next door is no longer so frequent. Everyone has entered the stage of preparing for the exam.
Di Jin became much more relaxed.
The imperial examination items in the Tiansheng period were relatively simple. They mainly included classics and poems, and policy theory may or may not be included. It was the examiner's preference. Even though classic meanings and policy theory were secondary test points, poetry and poems occupied the absolute majority. Main test points.
In other words, no matter how good the previous essays on classics and meanings are written, if the poems and poems are not up to standard, they will definitely not be selected.
Poetry, as an examination topic, has strict restrictions and many taboos, so it is actually difficult to perform poetry for exams.
There are so many famous poems throughout the ages that describe the importance of the imperial examination and the scenery of the imperial examination high school, but how many of them were written during the imperial examination?
Therefore, all the big guys who are good at poetry and prose don't like this form. Fan Zhongyan wrote to Renzong, "Jinshi first develops policy and theory, and then poetry and prose. Those who learn all subjects and understand the meaning of classics". Su Dongpo wrote to Shenzong, "Since the article says, then policy and theory To be useful, poems and poems are useless." Zhu Xi also "wanted to give up poems and poems and divide them into classics, classics, histories, and current affairs."
But Di Jin was more adaptable to this examination system.
In terms of actual literary talent, he is definitely not as good as these literary giants of the Song Dynasty. Standing on the shoulders of giants does not count as copywriting, but dancing in shackles, and dancing in the style of Xikun style, will be formalized for sixteen years in later generations. The cultural education and the logical thinking ability cultivated by him allowed him to make many summaries and explore the know-how, and he felt like a fish in water.
"This is science! The study of imperial examinations!"
The more Di Jin learns, the more confident he becomes, and he is no longer in a hurry to rush for the exam. Treating the last period before the imperial exam with a normal attitude is actually a way to cultivate leisurely thoughts about wealth.
If it were Guo Chengshou, would he be worried about the results of the imperial examination? Won't! Therefore, it increasingly highlights the poetic temperament that today’s examiners like most~
"Brother Six is quite leisurely!"
At this moment, a crisp voice came from behind. Di Jin smiled slightly and turned around: "Sister, has the house been sold?"
Di Xiangling came to the table, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip, sighing: "Forget it, the mansion in Taipingfang cannot be sold for the time being, and I don't want to sell the house in Shuanggui Lane. The remaining three... Ha! Still have them? I came across a haunted house and the price plummeted!"
The room where Mrs. Hu set herself on fire has been exposed to the Liu family's sight. Although Liu Congde and Liu Congyi are still at home thinking about their mistakes, the house cannot be moved.
Di Xiangling was not willing to sell it in the future and decided to keep the deed of the house. If one day he could find the culprit who forced Mrs. Hu's family to death for the capital's house, he would burn it to her during the Qingming Festival and forget about his own property. A matter of mind.
However, the other three buildings can be sold. Di Xiangling is really short of money recently. He thought that such a good thing with a price but no market would not be easily solved. Unexpectedly, there are houses in the capital that are worth a lot of money, but they are not for sale. On the way out.
Di Jin's brows narrowed: "A ghost house? Could it be..."
"That's right, the house where thirty-five members of the capital were massacred is in the same alley!"
Di Xiangling said in an unlucky tone: "It's not far from these three houses, and it's also affected. It's also an alley with the lowest rental price in the inner city. Those who have a little spare money would rather live outside. I don’t want to live next to that haunted city!"
Di Jin narrowed his eyes slightly: "What a coincidence?"
"It must be a coincidence!" Di Xiangling thought for a while and said: "The deeds to these five houses were collected by Liu Mei eleven years ago, and the murder case was three years ago. There is a difference of seven or eight years! Why are they not next to each other? ah!"
Di Jin pondered for a moment and turned to the outside of the courtyard: "Are those monks from Mount Wutai still there?"
"exist!"
The Wutai Mountain monks were in confrontation with the Imperial City Secretary, so traces were inevitably exposed. Now Di Xiangling had discovered everything: "There are five of them in total. The other four monks all call Wu Jing the senior brother. They are quite skilled. They can advance and retreat." There is a tacit cooperation between them. Even I can't kill them all in one battle. If one of them escapes, there will be endless troubles! However, there are definitely not many such monks in Wutai Mountain. If we recruit some good hands to help, it will be more than enough to cover the ground. Got it!"
This style of spreading across the land is similar to the way Song Jiang led a group of brothers to rebel ninety years later in history. It was really a small force turning like the wind.
After Di Jin determined the opponent's fighting power, he also said clearly: "No wonder the Beggar Gang helped Wu Jing. There are not many opportunities to make this group of monks owe favors. And since this group of people even use the Beggar Gang, it is also No matter what the means...Did the Beggar Gang show up during the confrontation with the Imperial City Division?"
Di Xiangling shook his head: "I don't know."
She was busy selling her house. How could she care about a group of monks and beggars? Did she unite against a group of spies?
However, Di Jin felt that since his sister was going to develop in Beijing, he had to pay attention to the movements of these local snakes and not to use his trump card to kill them when there was a conflict.
Of course, the two have different personalities. Di Jin will not force his sister to do things at his own pace, but he also analyzed: "The Kaifeng government office has been searching for Wu Jing's whereabouts. If he can hide until now, he must be more or less there." Under the protection of local snakes, I plan to cooperate with Lu Tuiguan, and ask about the tragedy of the family’s extermination, so that I can have an idea."
Chen Yaozi's status was too high and he rarely interfered in actual affairs, unless something big happened to a relative like Liu Congguang.
Judge Wang Boyang is positioned as Fu Yin's deputy. In fact, he is also a high-ranking figure in the Yamen. He has the right to intervene in local cases in the capital. However, this person has some high aspirations and low abilities, and he does not really care about a scholar who has not yet achieved fame. Taking it too seriously, there has been no contact between the two parties since the Liu Mansion solved the case.
On the other hand, the recommendation officer Lu Andao was calm and experienced, and he was more compatible with Di Jin. Obviously, Di Jin was also very popular with him, so after the Liu family case was over, they had several contacts and the two sides had a good relationship.
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Upon hearing that Di Jin was about to ask about the major case that year, Di Xiangling raised his eyebrows and became interested: "Sixth brother has decided to take action?"
"A family of thirty-five were decapitated, and their bodies have not been buried to this day. Such a major case will not be forgotten in ten years, let alone three years. I am now famous, and I am afraid it is unavoidable, but it is also There is no rush, the imperial examination is the top priority right now!"
Di Jin had a clear idea: "Let us make preliminary preparations first. When the time is right, when will the case be formally investigated and in what capacity, and then we will control it. We must not be driven by those revengeful and crazy monks. action."
Di Xiangling agreed very much: "That's exactly the truth! Okay, you go find the official and inquire about the government records. I'll pay attention to the movements of the Beggar Gang and see what evil deeds those rats are doing recently!"
…
When Di Jin's invitation was delivered to Lu An Daozhu's home, the Kaifeng Prefecture official came as promised the next day and brought a priceless but thoughtful gift.
Di Jin took it with both hands, turned it over and read a page, suddenly showing seriousness: "Is this the transcript of a criminal?"
"It is indeed written by an old criminal, who was also my old friend. Compared with his conscientiousness and responsibility, I really feel ashamed of my current position as an official in Kaifeng Mansion!"
Lu Andao was a little nervous when they saw each other off, but when he saw Di Jin's attitude, he suddenly showed joy. He smiled slightly, the wrinkles on his face unfolded, and he also showed a bit of reminiscence.
He looks very old, but in fact he has just passed forty years old. However, the ancients knew their destiny at fifty years old, and forty years old is also the age of forty. For civilians, this is already the stage of old people, but for low-level officials, it is not He is indeed no longer young.
Di Jin is not pretending to pay attention to it, he really needs this kind of criminal records. Song Ci wrote "Resolution of Wrongs" not just based on one person's wisdom, or as in the TV series, it was completely influenced by his father, but because he had served in various local , worked hard at the grassroots level for many years, summarized the wisdom of many predecessors, and finally accumulated a lot of experience.
During this process, his superiors, colleagues, and subordinates all gave him a lot of help, and people in the Song Dynasty liked to write notes. Some of these notes recorded a lifetime of experience and learning, which was equivalent to a inheritance. Each These criminal records are all the experience points that promote the "Resolution of Wrongs". How can we not pay attention to them?
Di Jin would not take a closer look at this time, but just like Yan Shu after reading the first paragraph of the incomplete manuscript, he was attracted by the core concept that human life is as big as the sky. He also only read the first page and exclaimed: "Autopsy At that time, other officials would often avoid it or hide their noses with disdain, but this criminal was willing to personally accept the corpse inspection. This cautious attitude alone is really admirable!"
Lu Andao smiled bitterly: "Actually, according to the law, if the corpse is not inspected if it is fulfilled, if the officials do not come to see it in person, if the cause of death is not determined, or if the determination is inappropriate, it will be punished in violation of the law. But this kind of law, No one follows it anymore…”
Di Jin also sighed softly, solemnly accepted the criminal record, and bowed his hands in salute: "Thank you so much, Brother An Dao, Jin will definitely live up to this generous gift!"
Lu Andao smiled and said: "Your calling me brother makes me look much younger, so I'll ask you to call me Shi Lin!"
Di Jin smiled and said, "Brother An Dao, please come!"
"Shilin please!"
The two of them entered the main hall and sat down. Lin Xiaoyi and Zhu Er served tea and then left. Lu Andao looked at the slightly deserted hall and sighed sincerely: "Shilin is as simple as ever, neither arrogant nor impetuous. It is really rare. ah!"
Di Jin's life was actually not that simple. He would never treat himself poorly when it came to food and drink. Lin Xiaoyi also visited many restaurants in the capital to let the young master try them one by one to find the food that best suited his taste.
There was no way, there was a big gap between the living standards in ancient times and modern times. If he still had to save his life, Di Jin really couldn't stand it.
But in the eyes of outsiders, it is a rare and precious state of mind to be the same before and after becoming famous. After all, human nature is the same in ancient and modern times, and there are too many examples of sudden fame and fortune.
Di Jin smiled and said a few words of modesty. After chatting about the recent major events in the capital, he introduced the topic: "Is there any news about the fugitive Wu Jing?"
Lu Andao's face turned bitter: "No! Chen Dafu was furious, and we were also in a state of panic. We are even more ashamed of Shi Lin's efforts in solving the case and arresting the culprit!"
The murder case of Wu Jing that killed Chen Zhijian and Dong Ba was solved by Di Jin, and it was Di Jin who arrested them. Now that the criminals have escaped, the Kaifeng government office has lost its face, not to mention that the criminal is extremely vicious and there is a possibility of revenge... …
Di Jin said: "This murderer is indeed different and extremely arrogant. However, after he was captured, he also revealed his motive. The reason why he wanted to kill innocent people was to force the Kaifeng government office to investigate an old case from that year. For this reason, he did not hesitate to kill the innocent people. In the realm of Kaifeng Mansion, the evil spirits continue to kill in the name of redressing their grievances, causing people to panic and the world to be uneasy!"
"This motive..." Lu Andao's expression suddenly changed: "I have also heard that the owner of the massacre of thirty-five families in the capital was related to these thieves. However, this case is not a trivial matter and must not be pursued rashly!"
But at this point, he realized that it might be too late: "Is Shilin's invitation just for this case?"
Di Jin was also very calm: "That's right! Whether it was Wu Jing's escape from prison or my current residence in the capital, they are all related to this case. I really will not pursue it rashly, but there are some things that it is useless to just avoid! "
"Can't you avoid it...Can't you avoid it..."
Lu Andao's eyes were stunned, and he murmured for a moment, then suddenly said: "Shi Lin, do you know why my old friend's criminal records are here with me?"
Di Jin's eyes flickered: "Could it be that?"
Lu Andao nodded and said in a deep voice: "That's right! The author of that record, whose surname is Yuan Minggang and whose given name is Hongjing, was an official in the Kaifeng Prefecture three years ago. It is precisely because of this case that he has not been seen alive or dead!"
Di Jin's face became solemn: "This Yuan Tuiguan died in the line of duty?"
The word "martyr in the line of duty" did not exist in the Song Dynasty, but Lu Andao could also understand the meaning and showed sadness: "No, he was not designated as martyred in the line of duty, he just disappeared, and even suffered a stigma. His family still does not give him preferential treatment!"
Di Jin said: "Infamy?"
Lu Andao said slowly: "Because the case files he handled were also burned in a fire, and an official saw that he set the fire with his own hands in order to burn down the execution room. Fortunately, the soldiers put out the fire in time, so that it did not affect the whole place. The government office, but many of the case files in the execution room were also destroyed, and Yuan Hongjing also disappeared that night, never to be seen again!"
After a pause, Lu Andao's voice was full of fear and reluctance: "The haunted house in Yulin Lane is still there. This case will probably be spread in the streets of the capital for a long time, but as far as Kaifeng Mansion Office is concerned, it is no longer the case. No clues can be found, and those who have remembered it are eager to forget it... This is already a complete mystery!"
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