After Li Zhiyun took the portrait back to King Chu's Inn, he handed it over to his guards and asked them to search for it throughout the city and nearby towns. However, a few days passed, and the maid named Liu Gu seemed to have disappeared from the world and was never found.
On this day, Li Zhiyun came out of the county government office with two subordinate officials and walked towards the King Chu Inn. The portrait had been posted for several days. The guards and government officials searched the whole city and nearby villages and towns. However, they still could not find out the whereabouts of the maidservant. Li Zhiyun couldn't help but feel anxious. The days passed by without any progress in the case, and he could not live in Pizhou indefinitely. What should he do next?
After they walked for a while, Li Zhiyun looked up and saw people and cars passing by on the street in front of him. It was noisy and messy like a pot of porridge. He pointed with his hand and said, "Where is that place? Why are there so many people?" Cai Hu stared at it for a while and said, "It seems to be a market." Li Zhiyun felt a little bored, so he said to two subordinate officials: " It’s okay to go back to the inn now, why don’t we go to the market.”
The three people crossed the road and walked along the street. They saw that there was indeed a market in front of them. This market covers a large area, and the middle of the road is busy with traffic and people coming and going. The merchants on both sides of the road include those carrying burdens, some carrying baskets, and more of them are driving large groups of livestock and camels to carry goods. , the sheep are sold directly. There are countless shops and stalls around, some selling hot food, and more selling groceries and daily necessities.
Looking at the lively and busy scene in front of him, Li Zhiyun sighed in his heart and said to Zhang Zheng: "Although Pizhou is located in a remote area, it is densely populated, with developed commerce and business, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. If it hadn't been for that shocking murder, this place would really be a place like this." What a paradise!" Zhang Zheng nodded and said, "It seems that the officials in Pizhou have good governance and outstanding political achievements."
As the three of them walked, they looked around. The crowds around them were bustling and crowded. Suddenly, Zhang Zheng lightly nudged Li Zhiyun with his elbow. He turned around and saw Zhang Zheng slurping his mouth forward. Li Zhiyun looked in the direction he pointed and saw a man wearing flowers beside a stall in front of him. The woman in gown was selecting goods. She had a bundle slung on her right elbow, and a man next to her had already put his hand into the bundle.
Li Zhiyun whispered: "Catch this guy!" Zhang Zheng heard the order, pushed aside the pedestrians blocking the road, rushed forward, and grabbed the man's wrist with his big iron-like hands. The man's hand has been taken out of the baggage, and there is a beaded jade hairpin between his two fingers. As soon as Zhang Zheng exerted force, the hairpin fell to the ground. The man couldn't bear the pain and shouted: "Ouch, what are you doing?"
The woman then remembered her baggage. She turned around and found the hairpin that had fallen somewhere. She quickly picked it up and looked at it. She shouted, "Okay, if you dare to steal the hairpin I just bought, I will beat you to death." !" After saying that, he raised his fist and punched the man headlessly. The thief was abhorrent, and the onlookers applauded.
Li Zhiyun walked over and said to the woman: "Since nothing was lost, you should leave quickly and leave this person to us." He asked Zhang Zheng to take the thief to a deserted place and looked him up and down. This man looks to be in his thirties, has a sinister look, and does not look like a good person at first glance. Although the thief was caught, he still put on a confident posture and glared: "Who are you? Why are you arresting me?" Li Zhiyun ignored him and said to Cai Hu: "Search him." Cai Hu said. Hu stepped forward and touched the man's whole body. Finally, he took out a silver bracelet from his arms and turned around and handed it to Li Zhiyun.
Li Zhiyun took it and took a look. The silver bracelet looked familiar. He looked at the inner wall of the bracelet and saw two small characters chiselled on it: Wei Ji. Li Zhiyun's eyes lit up. Isn't this bracelet exactly the same as the one they found at the building member's wife's house? He raised his head and said to Cai Hu: "Go back to the inn immediately and go to my room. The silver bracelet you found in the maid's room last time is on the desk. Take the bracelet and go to the county government office to find us immediately." Cai Hu clasped his fists and accepted the order and left.
Li Zhiyun asked Zhang Zheng to escort the thief, and the three of them returned to the county government office together. After entering the county government office, he asked the government officials to find Magistrate Wang and tell him the situation. Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Wang immediately went to court to interrogate the case, while Li Zhiyun sat aside to assess the case.
The yamen officer escorted the man to the lobby and knelt down. Magistrate Wang slapped the man on the ground and said, "Listen to those who are kneeling. Who is your surname, where do you live, and what do you do for a living? Quickly and honestly recruit him."
"Back to my lord, my surname is Zheng. He is a famous mountain man. He lives in Darong Village outside the city and works as a farmer at home."
"Since you are working at home, why do you go to the city to steal?"
"My lord, it is clear that the villain did not steal. The villain was wrongly accused."
"Zheng Shan, you stole in a shop and everyone got the stolen goods. How dare you make excuses?"
"Sir, this little man was really wronged."
At this time, Cai Hu had already taken the silver bracelet. Li Zhiyun took it and compared it with the silver bracelet in his hand, then handed it to Magistrate Wang and said, "Look, the style and quality of these two bracelets are exactly the same. They should be a pair." Magistrate Wang took it and looked at it, then clicked He nodded, then raised the bracelet and said: "Zheng Shan, tell the truth, where did you steal this bracelet?" When Zheng Shan heard this, he denied it: "Master Mingjian, this silver bracelet is from a villain. The ancestral belongings I carry with me all the time, they stole them from the little people." After saying this, he pointed to Li Zhiyun who was sitting beside him.
"Since it is an ancestral item, why is there only one left?"
"Another little one was accidentally lost."
"Bold and cunning fellow!" Magistrate Wang was shocked. "It seems that you are unwilling to tell the truth without being tortured. Someone..."
Li Zhiyun waved his hand to stop Magistrate Wang and said to the man: "Zheng Shan, let me ask you, have you heard about the murder of the whole family outside the building?"
"Who hasn't heard of such a big thing?"
"Okay," Li Zhiyun said, "to tell you the truth, these two silver bracelets are a pair. Except for the one we found on you, the other one was found by us at the floor member's wife's house. Please tell me honestly, you Was the bracelet on your body stolen from the building member’s wife’s house?”
When Zheng Shan heard this, he was extremely surprised. He opened his mouth but said nothing. Li Zhiyun sneered and said, "We have reason to suspect that you colluded with the bandits, sneaked into the house of the building manager's wife late at night, killed nine members of their family, and took away all the gold and silver, right?" When Zheng Shan heard this, he was frightened. He knelt down on the ground with a thud and shouted: "Master, it is clear that the villain is just a petty thief, and he has no courage to kill anyone! It's unfair, the villain has never killed anyone!"
"Then why don't you recruit the real ones quickly?"
"The villain is going to do it, the villain is going to do it now," Zheng Shan got up from the ground, "Master, this silver bracelet was stolen by the villain from the nunnery on Cuiping Mountain outside the city."
"Is this true?"
"A villain would never dare to deceive."
Li Zhiyun and Magistrate Wang looked at each other after hearing this. Magistrate Wang stood up and said loudly: "Here comes!" The chief clerk who was taking notes stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Sir, what are your orders?"
"Summon a group of government officials immediately and follow me to Cuiping Mountain."
"yes."
Li Zhiyun and Magistrate Wang led a group of government officials and escorted Zheng Shan out of the city towards Cuiping Mountain. Cuiping Mountain is about five miles away from Pizhou City. It is a rugged mountain with green trees. The lush green trees all over the mountain are as blue as the sea and as dark as emerald, and look like a barrier from a distance, hence the name Cuiping Mountain. There are two Zen monasteries on the mountain, one is a monk temple and the other is a nunnery.
Everyone climbed halfway up the mountain along a stone path, and then turned into a fork. After walking for a while, an ancient temple hidden in the green shade appeared in the crevices of the mountains ahead. Arriving in front of the temple, Li Zhiyun looked up and saw on the plaque: Lianxin Temple.
Under the leadership of Zheng Shan, everyone passed through the large Buddhist hall and came to the backyard. There were several rows of bungalows in the backyard. Zheng Shan pointed to a room and said, "The villain's bracelet was stolen from this room."
The nuns in the nunnery were frightened by the sudden arrival of so many ministers, and someone called for the nunnery master. The master of the nunnery is a bhikshuni in her forties and looks very kind. She clasped her hands together and said, "Amitabha, I wonder what business you have come to Han Temple for?" Before Magistrate Wang could answer, Li Zhiyun clasped his hands and said, "Master, excuse me, may I ask Master's name?"
"The poor nun is smart."
Li Zhiyun nodded and said: "Mage Smart, a murder occurred at the house of a building member in Loujiazhuang a few days ago. Nine members of the Lou family were killed. We are looking for an important witness in the case. I don't know where this dormitory is. Where does a mage live?" He said and pointed to the room next to him. The houses where Taoist priests live are called single-room houses, and the houses where monks and nuns live are called dormitories.
"This is Huijue's quiet room."
"Where is Huijue?"
The master of the nunnery turned to a nun next to him and said, "Go and find Huijue." The nun agreed, turned around and walked away. With little effort, she came back, followed by a nun. Li Zhiyun took a look and had to admire the artist's skill. The nun was eighty-nine times similar to the one in the portrait. No wonder they couldn't find Aunt Liu. It turned out that she had become a nun.
Of course Magistrate Wang recognized her, and after giving the order, several government officials immediately stepped forward and surrounded Liu Gu. At this time, Zhang Zheng came over and whispered in Li Zhiyun's ear: "Your Majesty, please come in and take a look."
Li Zhiyun followed Zhang Zheng into the dormitory. The room was not big, about seven or eight square meters, and the furnishings were simple, with only a bed, a few benches and two boxes. There is a small door on the north wall. When you open the door and look inside, you will see that it looks like a storage room, only three or four square meters, and there is nothing except an altar. Incense candles were burning on the altar, and many tablets were enshrined. Li Zhiyun walked over and picked up a tablet. He looked close to the candlelight and saw that it read: Master Lou's memorial tablet. The other one reads: Xiao Cuiling Bit, and "Pillar Spirit Bit" and so on. He counted a total of nine tablets. Obviously, the nine members of the Lou family were enshrined here.
