"I originally thought it would be my amazing work. I worked hard and didn't rest at night. I almost burned my eyes out." Chen Rulin smiled bitterly and touched his wrist. "When I finish it, Butler Jiao will come to do it." The painting was taken away.”
"Later I found out that the painting was sent to the Duke of Qi's Mansion." Chen Rulin looked up at the outside of the shop and said, "I feel a little uncomfortable, but I understand. I was living in the Cheng Mansion for food and clothing, and these paintings should have been left there. Cheng Mansion. The paintings of several other painters were taken away by Butler Jiao."
"Until one day, the master came to me angrily and asked me why I inscribed my name in the secret part of the pavilion of the painting." When Chen Rulin said this, his voice trembled uncontrollably, "I was a little puzzled at the time, and I didn't understand at all what he was saying. say what."
"Master Cheng kept saying that I was a sinister villain and treacherous. He also said bad things about him, and we couldn't get any good results. A few days later, we were kicked out of the Cheng Mansion."
An Ying asked: "When you left the Cheng Mansion, you said, "Teach the master and starve the apprentice to death. What do you mean by this?"
Chen Rulin paused, "I didn't say that. It was said by Wang Hai. Where did you hear it?"
An Ying didn't answer, took out his notebook, took notes, and asked, "Is Wang Hai one of the painters?"
Chen Rulin looked at Liang Su and Su Huangzhe next to him and said, "These words are indeed not what I said. But then I thought about it for a long time and talked with several other painters several times. I should know what he said. What's the meaning."
"Besides me, there were three other painters in the Chengcheng Mansion: Wang Hai, Cao Meng, and Liu Da. Cao Meng painted figures, Wang Hai painted landscapes, and Liu Da painted flowers and birds. Cao Meng was an upright man, and he would spend his days copying ancient paintings in his room. He painted and didn't socialize with others. Wang Hai and Liu Da were older than us, and Wang Hai was more active. After I was kicked out of the Cheng Mansion, I looked for him. At that time, he was teaching children's painting in an academy on the outskirts of the city. painting."
"He said that he discovered it when he entered the mansion. Because he painted landscapes, unlike my boundary paintings or Cao Meng's figures, which were all detailed and meticulous. Sometimes it would take more than a month to complete a sketch. His landscape paintings It often takes half a day to complete a painting. After he said that the painting was completed, it would be taken away by Butler Jiao and he was not allowed to nominate it for signature."
"Gradually, he and Liu Da came to know that Mr. Cheng wanted our paintings not just like other nobles who kept our paintings to play with, but also that in the future we would become everyone and he would also have a good reputation. He just wanted to use our paintings. Pretending to be my own painting.”
"Actually, it's nothing. But the bad thing is that my name is mentioned in a secret place on my "Jinling Map", which seems to have ruined Master Cheng's affairs. Only after Master Cheng became furious did he send us Drive them away."
Chen Rulin touched his wrist again, "I came to this conclusion after asking several other painters afterwards. What Wang Hai said actually refers to Mr. Cheng's concubine."
"Qing Niang?" An Ying asked.
"I don't know what the name is. It was brought by Butler Jiao." Chen Rulin said as he recalled: "I didn't have much contact with her. Boundary drawing is not something ordinary people can learn. It's all childish skills. That woman often followed Wang Hai later. Learn some landscapes, flowers and birds from Liu Da."
"Wang Hai said that the concubine had been studying for three years. Wang Hai said that this was most likely the result of the concubine's manipulation."
"I wanted to find Master Cheng again later, but..." Chen Rulin's voice deepened.
"Did you also get hurt on your hand?" An Ying stared at his wrist and said, "You touch your wrist when you talk about the past."
Chen Rulin nodded, "One day, I was covered by someone's head and beaten severely. That person seemed to know that I was a painter and kept hitting my wrists. Although most of my back was cured, if it was a delicate job like boundary painting, I It can’t be done no matter what.”
An Ying nodded, "So you later opened a paint shop and stopped painting. But your current situation is much better than Cao Meng's."
Chen Rulin looked back at the shop, "My wife helped open the shop. I met Cao Meng several times later, and I asked him to come to my shop to help. At least he would have food to eat and a place to sleep. He didn't want to, I won’t force it. Everyone has their own destiny.”
When the three of them left, Su Huangzhe asked: "When we came in just now, you said that the government came here? They came many times. What happened?"
Ding Er, who was next to him, was seeing them off and said, "Hey, they are asking about a girl. She seems to be a runaway slave from a wealthy family. She has no household registration and no road guide. The adults from the Military and Horse Department came to ask several times. Yes, someone said that someone saw a runaway slave appear in our place."
Ding Er added: "We have a mixed bag of good and bad people here. There are all kinds of shops. I guess they are hiding in some shop."
Chen Rulin also said: "I originally opened a shop here because I wanted to see a mixture of fish and dragons here. Mr. Cheng, no matter how big his eyes are, he doesn't care about this small world."
An Ying stopped and said: "Your matter and Cao Meng's matter, I don't think it may be Master Cheng."
Chen Rulin's expression changed, "If you are afraid of Mr. Cheng, just say so. As of now, I won't do anything. Death is like a lamp going out. But you still want to trace a circle for Mr. Cheng, so save your words. . The law of heaven is clear, and evildoers will be punished."
An Ying sighed, "If you wait a little longer, the facts may be different from what you think."
An Ying and Su Huangzhe had just returned to the Punishment Department when Yang Captou from the capital government office arrived quickly.
"Master Su, Master Su." Mr. Yang, his soap coat soaked with sweat, came over with the case file and said, "Hey, there's another case."
The deceased this time was named Wang Qingyan, a court official.
Captain Yang ignored the fact that he was sweating profusely and talked about the case as he walked.
"Wang Qingyan, thirty-eight years old. He was a Jinshi in the 20th year of Yongkang. He was awarded the title of Imperial Supervisor and was later promoted to the Duzhi Magistrate of the Ministry of Hubu. In the fifth year of Qinghe, he was found to be corrupt and the Duzhi Magistrate was dismissed. But I don't know For what reason was he given the position of casual official serving as a minister to the imperial court?"
"Early this morning, Wang Qingyan's wife found that he had been stabbed to death in the study with a sharp weapon. She hurriedly called someone to report the case to the capital government office. When we arrived, we found that the study had obviously been rummaged through, and we thought of the first two cases. Dai Mansion Yin asked us to report the situation to you as soon as possible."
This is a case that just happened, and there may be important clues.
Su Huangzhe and others immediately went to Wang Qingyan's home.
Wang Qingyan's house is a small courtyard with two entrances, with a row of side rooms on each side. Wang Qingyan's wife's name is Qin Manyun. She was sitting in the main room wiping away tears.
"My husband-in-law came back late last night, so he rested directly in the study. This morning, I went to the study to bring him breakfast. When I opened the door, I found him lying on the ground with blood everywhere."
"I was so frightened that I asked the girl to call the doctor and my mother-in-law to report the case. As soon as the doctor came, he said that the person was gone."
Qin Manyun couldn't stop crying when she talked about the scene she saw in the morning. An Ying handed her a handkerchief and asked softly: "Didn't you hear anything last night? Or did anyone else at home hear anything? ?”
Qin Manyun wiped her tears and said, "No. It's really strange. Look, our yard is only six feet in front and back. Normally, if a bowl is thrown here, it can be heard in the back room. But last night, I, the three women and girls at home didn't hear the sound. "
"Then when did Wang Qingyan come back last night?"
"I don't know. My husband has been coming back very late recently. He is afraid of affecting my sleep, so he sleeps directly in the study. I sleep lightly. If he goes back to the main room to sleep and tosses me, I won't be able to sleep for the rest of the night. ”
"So you didn't actually see your husband-in-law last night?" An Ying made a note.
Qin Manyun nodded, then shook his head, "My husband-in-law comes back around midnight recently. When he comes back, he locks the padlock in the front yard and then goes to the study. At midnight last night, I heard the sound of the study door opening. It should be It’s my husband’s return.”
"When I got up this morning, the padlock in the front yard was locked, and the key was on my husband. It should be the same as usual, when he comes back at midnight."
