The royal capital is located in the east south of the Huaijiang River, and Yixian is below the royal capital and belongs to Jiangdong.
There are many vegetations and beautiful mountains and rivers in the south. Living here has been affected by the warm mountains and soft water for a long time. Even the people are extremely delicate and gentle, and the folk customs are peaceful.
The old man speaks Mandarin with an accent, and you can hear the softness of the water town in his voice, especially the last word "yo" that is drawn out, even if he is swearing, it sounds like flirting.
"The name of the little girl who threw herself into the Luoxi River is Xiuzhen." The old man said slowly in a tone that was completely inconsistent with his appearance: "The previous generations of the Tong family have been farming. You probably don't know that in our place, there are As the saying goes, 'A cow will die from exhaustion before spring, and a baby will starve to death after autumn'."
"In those years, the Huaihe River was flooded. The upper reaches could no longer withstand it, so they poured water into our Yi County. I don't know when the land in Yi County will start to become unsuitable for growing crops."
"Let's go back to the Tong family. In Xiuzhen's father's generation, the county office began to ask people to plant fruit trees. The life of farming was indeed easier, but it was not as good as it was. In short, they were starving to death. "
"Xiuzhen was sold by her father to a family outside the family when she was five years old. With the money, her father started a business. Over the past few years, she gradually saved up a small shop."
The Orchid Pavilion is close to the water, and weeping willows are hanging in the water, creating waves of water ripples along with the gurgling voices.
The old man spoke slowly and slowly, and stopped from time to time to sigh, "Some changes happened to the household member's family when Xiuzhen was twelve years old, and the family moved from Yi County to another place. However, they were kind-hearted and did not move the family to another place. Xiuzhen sold out and went to another place, but instead gave her a deed of sale to let her go home, which was regarded as a good relationship between master and servant."
"It was originally a happy event, but it was different when we arrived at the Tong family. It was just because Xiuzhen's father discovered that the family business had not been good since Xiuzhen returned. I don't know how he planned it, but it wasn't long before Xiuzhen was betrothed."
Under normal circumstances in the Daning Dynasty, marriage was not discussed until a woman was fifteen or older.
Twelve years old is indeed too early.
"When you talk about betrothal, you are actually selling your daughter. The other party's son is a fool." The old man said in disdain: "Her father took the money and became happy again. He directly replaced the small shop with a big one. Within two years, he also sold the shops around him. After I came down, the business got bigger and bigger.”
Among the three of them, Mo Yan listened most intently, "Oh, you sold your daughter for glory."
"No!" The old man snorted disdainfully and said, "He finally tasted the sweetness."
"Then what happened next?" Mo Yan was urging, as if he was really listening to the story.
The old man sighed again: "Xiuzhen, a girl, has a bad life. Last year, her idiot husband fell into the river and drowned. Her husband's family thought she was unlucky and drove her back."
This time, Xiuzhen's father was not unhappy. Instead, he stared at Xiuzhen with a burning gaze, as if he were looking at a glittering golden mountain.
"Selling his daughter once will take his business to a new level." Yun Qi saw through it and said, "What is his plan this time?"
"He betrothed Xiuzhen to another family." The old man gestured, "A widower in his fifties."
Lu Anran was looked down upon by her grandmother and shunned by her second aunt in the Lu family, but at least she had a father who really cared about her. She really couldn't understand why someone would do such a disgraceful behavior to a daughter who was closely related to her, even if they weren't close.
The old man knew about this because Xiuzhen refused to marry even if she died this time. The trouble became so big that several neighboring families even tried to persuade her. They all talk about talking about each other, but life is getting better now, so why bother to separate the father and daughter.
If Pianxiu Zhen's father is bitten to death, she must be married, and she must be tied to someone else's house before she can die.
Everyone scolded him for not being a human being, but he only thought that he could go up a level this time, and that he might be able to bring his business to the capital and become prosperous from then on.
The old man counted the days, stroking his sparse beard and half-drowsing, "About three or four days before the wedding, a fox fairy came to the city, and somehow he chose Tongjia Xiuzhen."
How could Xiuzhen's father give up on such a golden boy and run away? The money in his hands is not as real as the fox fairy and white fairy.
"Following Xiuzhen and jumping into the river, Tong's family was also burned down."
It happened that the shops were connected, and when the fire started, it was impossible to put it out, and it was completely burned in a short time.
"Oddly enough, except for a few Tong's shops, everything else is safe."
After hearing this, Lu Anran raised his eyebrows and lowered his eyes slightly and said, "How did the fire start in the first place?"
The old man raised his head to the sky, opened his mouth slightly, lowered his brows and half-squinted his eyes, thinking back: "A will-o'-the-wisp fell on the main house at night, and it started to burn with a bang. From the west end to the east end, there were several houses. On the roof of the shop, a fire dragon formed, and behind it, the fire dragon opened its big mouth and swallowed up all the rooms below in an instant."
When the fire broke out, everyone living nearby woke up. Even the water in the water tank was scooped out, which did not stop the fire. Just when everyone was frightened that their own homes would be burned, the fire suddenly became smaller again.
In the end, except for the Tong family, no other families were affected, which made everyone more convinced that the fox fairy would bring disaster.
—
After bidding farewell to the old man and leaving Lanting, the three of them walked in the direction of Tong's house.
Yun Qi chuckled and said, "If I had a father like this, I would have to throw myself into the river."
Mo Yan's eyes widened: "Did she throw herself into the river on her own initiative?"
Yun Qi turned the jade bone fan in his hand skillfully in a circle, and said with an unclear smile: "It's not clear whether she took the initiative to cast He, but there must be something fishy about this fox fairy."
Lu Anran hummed, "That's right, we don't believe in ghosts and gods."
"Then how did this ghost fire burn the house?" Mo Yan asked.
Yun Qi put away his fan and put his hands behind his back, raising the corners of his mouth slightly, "Let's go see Tong's house first."
Tongjia's shop is on the busiest street in Yi County. From a distance, I can see a large pile of ashes standing out among other shops.
Occasionally, people passing by took a look at it, shook their heads and said, "You've done evil" and walked away.
Most of the houses in the south are made of wood, and the shops are lined up from west to east. If a house catches fire, it will spread quickly and harm the neighbors, so a large vat is placed in front of every house.
As soon as the white-soled soft boots stepped in, they were immediately stained with black dust, as if white jade was stained.
"The burning was very thorough. Even if it was done artificially, it would be difficult to find any evidence." Yun Qi turned around and came back.
Lu Anran moved his gaze somewhere, "Why only these few rooms were burned down."
Yun Qi said playfully: "It's still Tong's shop."
Mo Yan hissed: "Is there really a fox fairy?"
Lu Anran glanced at him sideways, with a strange look in his eyes that made Mo Yan almost jump, "Look, what are you looking at?!"
"Use your brain more and read more." Lu Anran said calmly.
Mo Yan immediately complained, "Your Majesty, she is targeting me."
A small one today, a big one tomorrow, unloading the coachman is just around the corner!
"Don't say that, Mo Yan also has many advantages." Yun Qi said as expected.
Mo Yan puffed out his chest and saw Yun Qi clenching his fist and dragging his chin, thinking for a moment, and then said leisurely: "At least the carriage is running pretty well."
Mo Yan: "..."
There was nothing to see in the fire scene that was reduced to a pile of coke, so Yun Qi sent Mo Yan to investigate around.
Before leaving, Lu Anran walked to the two nearby shops that were almost affected and took a look at each.
Because they share the same wall, the exterior wall was blackened and there was a burnt smell.
"What did you find?" Yun Qi asked when he saw Lu Anran peel off a small piece of wall covering and put it under his nose to smell it.
Lu Anran crushed it hard with two fingers and rubbed a little powder with his fingertips. He suddenly raised his head and said with bright eyes, "I probably know why the fire didn't spread."
Yun Qi stared at Lu Anran's eyes. At this moment, her eyes were shining brightly, brighter than the stars. A person with such a pair of eyes must have an interesting soul that is different from ordinary women.
Everyone in the world yearns for beauty, but Yunqi suddenly discovered that under such a pair of bright and eye-catching eyes, no matter how beautiful the skin is, it will be eclipsed.
"What's wrong?" Lu Anran frowned, wondering why Yun Qi was suddenly in a daze.
Yunqi smiled calmly and said, "Your fingers are dirty." He took out a snow-white brocade handkerchief and lowered his head to wipe it with her.
—
All the way back to the inn, Lu Anran pressed his fingertips into the palm of his hand, as if he could still feel the residual warmth left by Yun Qi, as well as the slightest palpitation in his heart at that moment.
The unfamiliar feeling made Lu Anran uncomfortable, and he frowned unintentionally.
Yun Qi's voice sounded at this time, "According to what you said, someone was playing tricks and throwing fire from a distance."
Lu Anran suppressed other thoughts, nodded and said: "For example, it can be done by lighting an arrow on fire and shooting it out."
Mo Yan always likes to sing to Lu Anran, "What others see is a will-o'-the-wisp."
"There is a medicine called mica. It is a stone that can calm down the body. It can make the fire go down, and the fire can bring down the water. It is a symbol of both relief. Therefore, it calms the five internal organs, benefits the essence of the child, and improves eyesight."
"ah?"
"It also has a name, called phosphorus stone."
"oh."
Mo Yan scratched his head, still not understanding.
When I returned to the inn and looked at the moon, I realized that the stone contained phosphorus and burned like a will-o'-the-wisp.
Guanyue said in awe to Lu Anran: "With one trip, Miss Lu will be able to discover the truth about the divine fire descended by the Fox Fairy from the sky. It is really powerful."
Mo Yan folded his arms and watched him play quietly.
"If the walls on both sides were smeared with fire-proofing materials, the fire was controlled within the confines of the Tong family." Guanyue said: "The so-called magic power of the fox fairy is just to deceive the people."
The question is, "Where do we go to catch the Fox Fairy now?"
He never showed up by himself, except for the first time when he brought disaster to the Tong family, and he would 'tell her dreams' every day, foretelling the next woman, and then some family members would take the initiative to send the woman there.
The Luoxi River is too big to be guarded by officers and soldiers along the way.
Yun Qi said firmly: "We will find out at midnight tonight."
Guan Yue remembered, "By the way, another woman has to be chosen tonight!"
Every day, I dreamed of it, and the next day at Mao hour it was bright and the door of the fox fairy's cave was wide open, asking for a wife.
Mo Yan said with emotion: "The gods also wake up early and work hard at night."
Guanyue twitched the corner of her mouth and said casually: "Cultivation of immortality and inevitability, absorbing the essence of the sun, moon, heaven and earth."
Yun Qi clapped his hands and brought the two strangers back to the topic, "Has the county office asked?"
Guanyue returned to his seriousness for a moment and said: "Yes, my subordinates asked those people under the arrangement of Cheng Zhixian, and the situation was similar. When they were sleeping, they suddenly felt hot all over and felt as if they were in heaven, and then a divine voice came to satisfy them. The Fox Fairy demands it, otherwise there will be disaster."
"Is there a pattern for who you dream about each time?"
Guanyue shook his head, "They are all different, four or five more, one or two less."
Lu Anran had questions, "Since there is a dream foretelling it, Magistrate Cheng will also know which household in advance, right?"
