Liu Shimin waved the strong man from Brocade Square to step aside, and then asked Hu Guihua: "Was there anything going on at your house four nights ago?"
Hu Guihua's face was obviously red.
"Back to father-in-law, no, there's nothing happening. Cao Min's dyeing shop doesn't work at night."
Liu Shimin squinted and said meaningfully: "Yes, you run a dyeing shop, not a restaurant. Besides, a restaurant owner wouldn't mess around with this in the middle of the night."
After speaking, he made a gesture, and the entourage pushed up three people, both men and women.
Liu Shimin straightened his face: "Mrs. Hu, are you familiar with these neighbors? This is a tofu grinder who lives next door to you. This is a collector of night incense. This is a doctor who is particular about the timing of boiling medicine. Some You have to take the medicine at night. Early this morning, our family quickly dug up the streets in front and back, asking door to door before we found a few of them. Come on, you guys, let’s talk about it. What strange thing did you hear that night?"
"When I returned to my father-in-law, I heard that chickens were being killed in the dyeing workshop."
The three of them gave the same answer submissively.
"Why are you killing chickens in the middle of the night? Tell me!" Liu Shimin suddenly turned to Hu Guihua and shouted angrily.
Everyone around him, including the Shanghai magistrate who accompanied him but was ordered by Liu Shimin to temporarily stand outside the door, couldn't help but tremble.
However, Hu Guihua was indeed more sophisticated than ordinary Taoist women, and she still argued: "A common woman, a common woman suddenly suffered from a hidden disease this year, and she got a folk remedy from a wandering monk, saying that she had to take the blood of a rooster at midnight. , soak autumn dates and steam them before taking them to cure the disease."
Liu Shimin sneered, stopped talking nonsense with the woman, and rushed out the door: "Shanghai County, bring your county afternoon officer and the police in quickly."
The people whose names he called quickly filed in respectfully and stood with their arms folded.
Liu Shimin signaled to his entourage, took out a porcelain bottle, pulled out the stopper and gave it to Wu Zuo to smell.
"Is this the thick salt and vinegar juice you use to test human blood?"
"Back to father-in-law, yes."
"Okay, put things out."
In response to Liu Shimin's instructions, the entourage brought out three pottery basins one after another. Two were filled with chicken blood, but the third one was filled with a ball of soil.
Liu Shimin said: "Sprinkle."
The attendant followed the order, spread a white cotton cloth on the ground, poured the first cup of chicken blood on it, and then dripped in the salt and vinegar juice. After a while, that part turned into a light purple-red color, which was very different from the original color of chicken blood.
Liu Shimin personally walked over to several large dye vats to inspect them, and then directed his followers: "This vat of dye paste is made from large-leaf banyan trees with lime added. Come and get it."
The attendant then took a varnished wooden spoon from the bamboo box he brought, scooped out the dye paste and poured it into the second bowl of chicken blood. He held it in his hands and shook it for a while, poured some onto the white cloth, and then poured it with salt and vinegar sauce.
The magistrate of Shanghai County came forward with his subordinates to watch. He said in wonder that afternoon: "Hey, little one, this is the first time I know that chicken blood mixed with this dye paste will not change color when exposed to salt and vinegar sauce." ”
Liu Shimin sneered and told the Shanghai magistrate: "Wu Zuo means the same as human blood."
Hu Guihua lay on the ground with her forehead buried in her face, trembling to herself.
Finally, a lit wind stove was brought up, and Liu Shimin's entourage placed the third pottery basin directly on the wind stove for baking.
Not long after, white powder particles visibly precipitated on the surface of the yellow mud, which was originally reddish-brown like old blood.
Liu Shimin turned his head and teased the county magistrate: "Shanghai County is a blessed place. The loess behind a small nunnery can easily burn lime."
Although the magistrate of Shanghai was only in the seventh rank, he was not a man of honor. He had already considered the first sentence of the interrogation in his heart, and immediately said sternly to Hu Guihua: "Hu Guihua, you are serious about recruiting me. Why did you conspire with your son to murder Yang?" Hui merchants also blamed the nuns of Jiulian Temple!"
When Hu Guihua heard Liu Shimin say that lime had been burned, she had already collapsed on the ground. But the word "son" in the mouth of the magistrate made her jump like needles again. She knelt straight, raised her head and spoke loudly. : "Eunuch, eldest lord, this matter has nothing to do with my son. He went out to work that day to study at the county school, and slept in the school at night. Many villagers can testify."
The county magistrate said solemnly: "This matter? This is such an outrageous thing. Is there any accomplice? Please tell Eunuch Liu truthfully!"
Hu Guihua's voice was weak: "I will explain, I will explain..."
…
Zhang Dai and Zhang Yanke were waiting anxiously at the inn.
"Master, who are you looking for?"
At noon, the man who was wiping the porch in the courtyard glared at the young official in soap boots who went straight to the door of the upper room. He just asked a question when he saw that the man took off his gauze hat and tore off his mustache. It turned out to be a woman.
Zhang Yanke had already seen him under the window. He stepped out hurriedly and scolded the guy: "This is my friend from Songjiang. Go to the outer courtyard quickly. We have something to talk about."
Zheng Haizhu put down his gauze hat and fake beard on the stone table in the courtyard and said to Zhang Yanke: "Third Young Master, I saw that you scared the little boy. I was just about to ask him to give me a bowl of water."
Zhang Yanke clapped his hands and said, "This is not easy yet."
He entered the room diligently, took out the teapot and cup, made a cup, and presented it to Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, you have worked hard. When I look at your face, I know that the real culprit has been found. What, is it the dyeing shop?" Someone did it?”
Zhang Dai patted his younger brother on the shoulder and signaled him not to rush to ask questions. He also sat down across from the stone table and watched Zheng Haizhu drinking water as thirsty as an ox. He said softly: "Breathe slowly and speak slowly."
Zheng Haizhu drank the third cup of tea in one gulp and came to a conclusion first: "You can rest assured, Sister He was indeed wronged."
Then he spoke eloquently: "This morning I went to the guest house, dressed up as a man, and went to the dyeing workshop with my father-in-law. Eunuch Liu's people had already completed the secret visit and found a few witnesses who said they heard chickens being killed in the dyeing workshop that night. Here we are. After Eunuch Liu inquired about the dyeing workshop, it turned out that among the five dyeing workshops in Shanghai County, this was the only one that could prepare oxblood red and vermilion dyeing paste. According to Eunuch Liu's instructions yesterday, I gave three demonstrations respectively, and the county magistrate also understood it. Well, because the evidence is irrefutable, the county magistrate did a little interrogation, and the proprietress Hu Guihua recruited him."
It turns out that Hu Guihua was originally from Xiuning, Huizhou. The rich businessman Mr. Hu and Mr. Yang, the rich businessman of Qimen, had become enemies over the years because of their peers' bidding and competition for goods.
Master Hu learned that Master Yang was helping a nun print books in Shanghai County, so he bribed Master Yang's servant Yang Amo and his neighbor Ye Carpenter. Together, several people poisoned Mr. Yang and Sister He in the nunnery. The servants and neighbors spread rumors, making the government and people think that the two had an affair and then fell out. The nun and Mr. Yang died together in anger.
On that day, the workers in the dyehouse were on holiday and their son was studying building a house in the county. Hu Guihua was the only one in the dyehouse, which was very convenient. In the name of looking at the dye paste, Yang Amo lured his master into the workshop, tied him up with a prayer belt that Carpenter Ye stole from the nunnery, and then moved him to a quiet time and poured poison into him until he died.
Carpenter Ye and Yang Amo transported Mr. Yang's body to the back door of Jiulian Temple via a boat on the riverside.
Carpenter Ye went in first, preparing to poison Sister He, but unexpectedly found that Sister He was not in the nunnery.
Yang Amo advocated dragging Master Yang's body into the nunnery first, but Carpenter Ye was a ruthless and sophisticated character. He said that if the nun came back the next day and there was no witness there, it would be easy to accuse her of killing someone when she went out. It doesn't make sense. How could anyone kill someone and not abandon the body somewhere else but go out to do something first?
Ye Mujiang then suggested that he simply throw Mr. Yang's body into the river, but leave traces of murder in Jiulian Temple, and let him expose it through a show.
Anyway, many men in the neighborhood coveted the nun's beauty and hated her for teaching little girls how to read. The older, jealous women even wanted the nun to be sued.
At that time, all the accumulation and bones will be destroyed, and the good people will spit and spit, and they will be able to help the public in sentencing the nun to death by beheading.
However, Master Yang had been dead for more than half an hour, and when Yang Amo stabbed him with the knife, not much blood came out.
In desperation, Yang Amo returned to the dyeing workshop and killed two chickens with Hu Guihua, but the blood volume was still not enough.
Hu Guihua, a woman who runs a dyeing workshop and gets a job from the brocade workshop, naturally has to deal with all kinds of people from the county magistrate, petty officials to the commander-in-chief. She was very attentive and remembered hearing Lao Wu talk about the inspection method when he was bragging. When the duck was put on the shelves, he mixed chicken blood with the dyeing paste of big-leaf banyan tree. After a test, it was still rich red and did not turn purple, so he put a bucket of it and gave it to Carpenter Ye to take to the scene of the fake death-eucalyptus.
Zhang Yanke listened to Zheng Haizhu's words without blinking and realized: "So, the footprints that Miss Zheng took me to find are Yang Amo on the right foot, and the other one wearing nun shoes is Ye Mujiang?"
Zheng Haizhu nodded: "Exactly. I saw the police officers taking Yang Amo, Ye Mujiang and Mr. Hu to the county government office. The county man also interrogated those three people in front of Mr. Liu and found out a few clues. Come here, that’s why it’s so late.”
Zhang Dai finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
This Miss Zheng is really the one who made the most contribution this time.
She kept saying that Eunuch Liu was very powerful. With just a few clues, she could lock the dyeing shop from the red dye containing lime and make detailed arrangements for the visit. She also lamented that the boss lady named Hu was a thief, and she really had some strength even when a cornered beast was still fighting.
But in fact, Zhang Dai believed from the bottom of his heart that Miss Zheng was the one who knew how to do things best.
Not to mention her speculation on the fate left behind, nor her ability to seize opportunities like a chess player to invite Eunuch Liu to intervene. Just say that yesterday, when the Zhang brothers thanked Eunuch Liu for coming out to make the decision, Zheng Haizhu was standing by. Smiling Yingying said, "Mr. Zhang is the best at writing Kunqu opera scripts. This time he must write "Master Liu's Wisdom of the Strange One" and sing it all over the south of the Yangtze River."
Zhang Dai immediately understood that this was a promise of thanks to Liu Shimin on behalf of his two brothers.
Jiangnan Weaving Admiral Eunuch, the father-in-law who sits in this position, where is the lack of money?
What he lacked was obviously a good reputation, lest the overfed censors hand over impeachment books like a revolving door.
What's more, he lacks the reputation that comes from the circle of scholars. After all, the people who look down on eunuchs the most in the world are civil servants and literati.
The great-grandfather of the Shanyin Zhang family was the number one scholar, and the fathers of the Zhang brothers were either Beijing officials, local gentry, or staff members of Prince Lu's palace. Prince Lu was regarded as a Xiaoyao who was favored by Lord Long Live. The prince is here.
Liu Shimin prided himself on being an emperor's minister with both intelligence and literary talent. If the Zhang family, who had been officials for generations, wrote a play to praise him, wouldn't it be ten times better than something vulgar and dangerous like Lisheng Temple?
Sure enough, Eunuch Liu narrowed his eyes at that time and said straightforwardly: "Oh, this is good. Mr. Zhang only writes the script of Kun Opera, but our family suggests that you find a troupe of Yiyang Opera to perform it. Yiyang Opera is perfect for acting in such a crowd of people." The situation of officials in charge, hearing and watching the proceedings.”
This quite interested attitude obviously showed that the gift giver made the right choice.
At this moment, after Zheng Haizhu finished talking about his love, he still reminded Zhang Dai: "Sir, you must never forget about writing plays and singing them."
Zhang Yanke looked mature, pointed at Zhang Dai and said, "That's natural. Even if my eldest brother is ignorant, a person like me who knows the importance of things will never procrastinate."
He smiled again and said to Zheng Haizhu: "By the way, Miss Zheng, the thank you gift to Eunuch Liu is a drama. The thank you gift to you must be money. With our current friendship, we will not mention money without mentioning it." Sorry."
Zheng Haizhu was secretly thinking about another troublesome matter. When he heard Zhang Yanke's glib and sincere words, he almost spit a mouthful of tea on the stone table.
Zhang Dai helplessly glanced at his brother who was speaking rudely, and smiled at Zheng Haizhu: "Miss Zheng, that's it. I heard Ru Li'er mentioned that you intend to use the money from selling your ancestral home in Zhangzhou to build a kindergarten. . Yan Ke and I would like to give out five hundred taels of silver each first to use our little effort."
Zheng Haizhu's heart trembled, which was far more surprising than receiving any affectionate confession from the male protagonist and his supporting partner.
The rent and sale of houses in the Ming Dynasty were not expensive, and Shanghai County in this world is far from comparable to Nanjing and Suzhou. Five or six private houses are ordinary but of acceptable quality, plus two small yards at the front and back, and the annual rent is only four. With about ten taels of silver, plus the cost of hiring teachers to teach, craftsmen and technicians to teach, daily management costs, and the cost of purchasing supplies, the two Zhang brothers contracted the expenses of the kindergarten for at least two years as soon as they opened the door.
Hey, this is true, saving a life is better than creating a seventh-level God of Wealth!
Zheng Haizhu already knew the personalities of Zhang Dai and Zhang Yanke in real history. After getting in touch with them this time, he felt that these two brothers were in harmony with each other and that they were both good boys who could work together.
So he didn't hesitate to refuse, and said with a very real expression of joy and gratitude: "Yes, yes, that's great, that will really help me a lot!"
Zhang Yanke laughed: "What I admire is the girl's unpretentious temperament. I guess the next thing the girl wants to ask is when will the money arrive. Don't worry, a gentleman can pay faster than a horse. My second brother This time I came to invite Master Wu to build a garden in Shaoxing. After paying the down payment, there is still some money left. I will find a ticket number in Songjiang Prefecture and I will deposit this amount to you tomorrow."
Zheng Haizhu's thoughts seemed to be running at twice the speed. After nodding, he seriously discussed the next work plan: "The two gentlemen are so heroic and righteous. While I thank you for the children of Songjiang, I can't understand the principles. Just After spending all the money, I will cry and ask the young masters for it. My idea is that in the kindergarten, the hundred taels of silver from my nephew and I, plus the thousand taels from the two of us, must be made into a fund."
