Winter silence, sleepless nights.
In the hall, Taishu Yin sat at the head of the table, and those behind him moved down in order and crowded to the door.
There were so many people, but there was silence.
The candlestick crackled slightly, and a candle burst out, finally startling the silent people.
Uncle Yin held the crutch in his rough and old hands and slammed it on the ground. The sound was like a chime: "Yin Quan, this is your family matter, but you are also from Yinjia Village and the head of Yinjia Village. In addition, what is happening now is The village is in a state of panic all day long, and I am relying on my old age to act like an old man, so I have to ask some questions."
Village Chief Yin's skinny cheeks and cheekbones are high and his face is as heavy as iron. His eyes are filled with gloom. He clenches his fists and remains silent when he hears the words. If you look closely, the veins on his forehead are twitching slightly, which shows that he is feeling unsatisfied. The surface is calm.
Uncle Yin took a breath and continued: "Yin Quan, I can't advise you on sad things, but you can't dwell on the dead while you are alive. Tell us what you are thinking, so that we can help you make a decision. .
Everyone in the Yin family village has the same surname and has the same roots. No one will look at it from the sidelines. But you are the head of the family and the head of the village. You have to come up with an idea first. You are the backbone of our entire village. "
Village Chief Yin spoke with a hoarse voice: "Da Zhuang and the others heard from the other side of the road today. They have reported to the county government, and the county government has also sent people to help. The road will be open as soon as tomorrow afternoon."
Uncle Yin was slightly stunned: "So, people from the Yamen can come over tomorrow, then... what do you think about this case?"
Village Chief Yin was silent again.
After all, whether it was the Jin family who turned into a ghost and took revenge, or the Wei family who had bad intentions and committed suicide out of fear of crime, it was all a family scandal.
"On the way here, I heard them say that it was the Jin family who possessed the Wei family and killed three of Tianxiang and the others, and finally caused the Wei family to die under the golden hairpin. I once advised you not to stay as a foreigner, but now it's really happened. Uncle Yin's eyelids twitched, and he considered: "Prince Hongzhi of Shangyuan Temple has profound teachings, so I invited him to perform rituals. As for performing Dharma and giving alms... how many households in the village are there? A little bit of everything.”
The people in the village looked at each other, and their expressions showed reluctance because it was about money.
Uncle Yin's face twitched downwards: "The Yin family village has always been in and out of the same village. We have ancestors from the same lineage. How can we be divided into two?"
"When other people benefited, they didn't share my share." Mrs. Tian held the words in her mouth and muttered secretly.
Lu Anran happened to be close to Mrs. Tian, and he heard her muttering in a low voice. He turned his head and glanced at her, and Mrs. Tian smiled flatteringly at her.
The others also had the same mentality as Mrs. Tian and started whispering among themselves.
Uncle Yin was about to say something more when Village Chief Yin stood up, glanced around and successfully told everyone to shut up, then slowly raised his hand, cupped his fist at Lu Anran and said, "Miss Lu, I'm here to trouble you."
Facing everyone's puzzled looks, Lu Anran turned sideways and did not answer immediately, waiting for Village Chief Yin to say something later.
Village Chief Yin took a deep breath and exhaled it. He seemed to have made a decision and solemnly said: "Please tell the public the truth about what you see and know."
Everyone was even more puzzled, why did he get involved with a rich lady who was just a passerby?
Yunqi flicked his wrist, opened the jade bone fan and waved it back and forth, letting out a soft chuckle from his mouth.
Hearing this, Lu Anran stood there with frowning eyes, his whole body was like a flower in the water. When there is no wind or rain, the autumn water is long, and the air is filled with clear frost, and he does not compete with anyone.
It was just a pair of sharp eyes, which were burning, and actually made the extremely dark night seem a bit frighteningly chilly.
Everyone couldn't help but shudder, but they heard her gurgling voice like cold water say: "Yin Tianxiang was found dead in the room at 3:30 on the 19th day of the lunar month."
Lu Anran faced everyone, and the clear and clear voice flowed in the room.
"The deceased was in a kneeling position, completely naked, with his upper body swooping down in the tub, and his head covered with an embroidered chrysanthemum bellyband."
"Except for the bath tub, the bedding in the room was messy, and there was a large stain in the middle. There was a lot of water on the ground in the room, and there were several charcoal basins."
This description made everyone feel a little embarrassed, and Village Chief Yin's face was extremely gloomy. However, Lu Anran's tone was casual, which made it difficult for people to interrupt.
Yun Qi raised his eyebrows, looking like he had known this.
Lu Anran: "The deceased's face was swollen and cyanotic, with bleeding under the eyelids, a distended pulse in his neck, and traces of bleeding in his ears, mouth and nose. A foreign object was found in his nose, which was later confirmed to be sediment wrapped in coagulated blood."
After a pause, he added: "The conclusion is that the back of the head was hit hard with a blunt object and he died of suffocation."
Uncle Yin's whole body trembled, and he tightened his grip on the crutch, "This..."
No one gave him an answer, so Lu Anran continued: "Su Su, whose name is Yin Qiusu, disappeared on the night of the 20th night of the winter lunar month and was found at the entrance of the cliff in the west mountain at midnight the next day."
"Wearing a peach red flowered short coat, iron gray cotton trousers, and soft-soled cotton shoes with rabbit ears and cherry ears."
"The head and facial features are bleeding, internal organs are suspected to be damaged, the face is blue and slightly black, all limbs are broken, the little finger and elbow of the right hand are broken, and the exposed skin is damaged."
"Afterwards, the deceased was washed with vinegar, and it was found that the internal ribs were broken in four places, the left calf was fractured, and the right wrist bone was fractured. The cause of death was a ruptured spleen."
The voice is emotionless and indifferent, and every sentence is like stones hitting the frozen river, making people restless.
Lu Anran suddenly turned his attention to Yin Tianming, "One more thing. Thanks to Mr. Yun's carefulness, he found that the place where Su Su fell from the cliff had been tampered with."
"Wha, what?" Yin Tianming's feet went weak, he was frightened and confused, and his facial expressions were extremely complicated.
Lu Anran stopped looking at him and said to Village Chief Yin, "Do you want to continue?"
Village Chief Yin cupped his fists and bowed down to Lu Anran. His face was filled with a heavy gloom, and his tone was hoarse after trying his best to suppress it. "Yin misunderstood Miss Lu and Mr. Yun last time. The two of them ignored their past grudges. I can't bear it." Thank you, I will personally escort a few of them out of the village when the road opens tomorrow."
The implication is that there is no need for them to be present for the rest of the matter, and the people of Yinjia Village will handle it internally.
Lu Anran was not a nosy person. The doubts in her mind were cleared and she would not dwell on individual merits and demerits. She nodded slightly to Village Chief Yin and turned around to go out.
Yun Qi was a step late, waving his fan and chasing after him: "Slow down, why are you in a hurry? Those who are in a hurry to be reincarnated sleep in the Buddhist hall."
Village Chief Yin slammed the door in his face rudely.
Not far away, Lu Anran stood, the color of snow reflected in his eyes, a hint of cool irony.
Yun Qi's eyes raised with frivolous teasing: "Ugly girl, you have the guts to laugh at my prince."
"If the prince is so disrespectful to the dead, it's no wonder he's not lovable."
"Haha~ I want an old man to do what he likes to do, what? Are you planning to please me?" Yun Qi leaned over and narrowed his peach-blossom eyes, "I discovered it a long time ago. You have been wanting to have bad intentions towards me for a long time. "
Lu Anran turned around and said, "Your Majesty, you think too much."
Yun Qi walked back side by side with her, closed his fan and knocked on Lu Anran's shoulder, "A bunch of old men are working secretly behind closed doors. What do you think they are going to do?"
Lu Anran turned her eyes and landed on the jade bone fan on her shoulder, "Ghosts and monsters can't resist the evil intentions of the human heart."
—
The next day, the sky was high and the clouds were wide, the tits were singing loudly, and it was a good weather for a long trip.
Lu Anran and his party packed their bags and said goodbye to Village Chief Yin and others, and a dozen people left the village in a mighty manner.
When they arrived at the entrance of the village, they heard a movement and opened the carriage curtain, and saw several government officials preparing to leave the village.
Chun Miao said in surprise: "It's been less than half an hour since they arrived, so fast?"
A dark shadow came down from above, blocking the skylight. Lu Anran raised his head, and he didn't know when Yunqi came close to him on horseback. He asked, "Did you give Yin Quan the letter from the Jin family?"
Lu Anran nodded: "Yes."
The romantic prince gently waved his jade bone fan, his posture was lazy, and he could not hide his nobility. His smile was like a spring breeze, blowing green on both sides of the south of the Yangtze River. He laughed lightly and said: "It seems that they are going to let the ghost of the Jin family take the responsibility for the murder, too. It's better to kill people with ghosts than to show off your family's shame."
There was only room for one carriage on the trail outside the village. Yunqi raised his eyebrows: "Are you leaving first?"
Lu Anran lowered his eyelids and said, "Your Majesty, please."
Yun Qi evoked a silent smile, "See you in the capital." He raised his hand to greet Guanyue, and the two of them rode off in the wind and snow.
Lu Anran put down the curtain and said quietly: "Let's go."
—
The wind turned violent at night, as fierce as a ghost, lingering above Yinjia Village.
In the Buddhist hall of Village Chief Yin's home, the candlelight was weak, and the old door hit the frame time and time again, making a suppressed gasp.
The three incense sticks burned to the end, and as the last white smoke curled up into the sky, they went out silently.
Suddenly, the candlelight flickered a few times, then went out, and a wisp of green smoke slowly rose up.
In front of the soul of the deceased, the incense should not be cut off and the candle should not be extinguished.
However, the Yin family father and son who were supposed to take care of this place were delayed in coming.
The wind blew in through the cracks in the door and window, taking away the strong smell of candle smoke inside, but another strange fragrance broke in without permission.
The fragrance was vague and faint at first, and slowly became more and more intense.
'Click -' The sound of unlocking the door, and then the door was slowly pushed open. The strong wind and the bright snow came in unstoppably. The small Buddhist hall was like a small boat in the sea, swaying in the wind and rain, with no shore to lean on.
In front of the door, there is a figure, with white clothes fluttering and curling, and long hair hanging loose, like ferocious seaweed, dancing and flying wildly, accompanied by the sound of wind behind him like howling ghosts and wolves, it is eerie and cold.
This person looked like a woman, but she turned her back to the light and couldn't see her true face. She closed the door behind her back and plunged the entire Buddhist hall into boundless darkness again.
Fortunately, soon, a bright flame lit up and jumped above the candlestick.
The woman took out the hand that had been shrinking in her arms, and in her hand was a tablet. The flickering light of the fire shone on the dark tablet, which was indescribably dark and terrifying.
She placed the memorial tablet in the middle of the table, twisted three sticks of incense and lit it in the incense burner. The smoke curled up again, like clouds and mist, filling the Buddhist hall.
After doing this, she took another candlestick, lit it, held it in her hand, and walked to the stone Buddha statue.
The Buddha statue has been moved upright, but without the base, it is close to the earth. It still has kind eyebrows and kind eyes, and looks to save all living beings.
"I think it's nothing more than blasphemy for people like you to repent before a Buddha statue." The woman spoke in a low voice, her tone colder than Han Ye, with a strong sense of ridicule.
She moved her hand slightly to the side, and the firelight suddenly illuminated two people.
