Xiuwalou is a famous restaurant in Songjiang Prefecture.
People are used to hearing names like "Zuixian", "Wanlong", "Heming" and "Baofeng", and at first they were quite curious about the word "Xiu Wa".
The owner of the restaurant, surnamed Feng, said that he and his wife gave birth to three daughters at one time, which was a great joy for them. He also said that each of his daughters was more beautiful than the other, hence the name "Xiu Wa Lou".
Boss Feng is in his forties, with a chubby face, sloppy eyebrows, and a pair of gentle bull's eyes. His smile when greeting people is natural and sincere. Sometimes when he sees flowers coming at the door, he doesn't bluff away people like other families. Instead, he asked the waiter to bring him a bowl of rice, and even gave Xiao Huazi two pieces of Yexie soft cake.
As time went by, the locals praised Boss Feng, who came from Jiangxi and worked his way up from a boy to a shopkeeper, and began to take care of his business.
The year before last, Boss Feng had renovated Xiuwa Building. Each private room on the second floor was decorated with three or five pieces of fine porcelain produced by famous kilns in Jingdezhen, such as multicolored auspicious animal lotus petals and blue and white peony pens with entwining branches. Washing and the like are all appreciated by ladies, grandmothers or literati when they are fashionable.
The restaurant has a story and style, and its reputation has become stronger. Silk merchants and cotton merchants who come to Songjiang Prefecture also use this place as a good place to treat guests and discuss business.
This day happened to be the day when the government offices of one prefecture and three counties were having a rest, and the weather in early summer was comfortable and pleasant. By noon, the Xiuwa Building was full of guests, and even the dozen private rooms surrounding the corridor on the second floor were also crowded with guests.
"A steamed anchovy with Wuzhou ham."
"One portion of braised eel with seed-bearing river shrimp."
"Ten smoked leprosy silks."
"A plate of four-cheeked seabass stuffed with diced bamboo shoots and minced meat."
The guys shuttled up and down, their voices as clear as the recitals of opera singers, rising and falling one after another.
However, no matter how lively it is to announce the name of the dishes, it is not as lively as the guests chatting about the latest news in the city.
Boss Feng personally carried a pot of "Stinky Winter Melon Steamed Stinky Amaranth Stems" and a pot of Shaoxing rice wine, and passed through the waves and noises to serve the dishes to the guests in a private room, then lifted up his robe and walked downstairs. , came to the atrium of the restaurant with red durian flowers, and the distinguished guests, who had always been late and had to sit at extra tables, apologized one by one and ordered the waiters to present a few pickled side dishes.
"Boss Feng, the God of Silkworms punished the foreigner who groomed herself in the Han Mansion and almost roasted her into silkworm chrysalis. Have you heard about it?"
A diner picked up half a chicken foot with spicy sauce, slurped the dripping juice, smacked his lips and chatted with Boss Feng.
"I knew it that day," Boss Feng said with a calm expression as he poured a round of wine for everyone at the table. "We are busy with business all day long and are not lucky enough to go to the parade. But how could such a shocking thing be spread? Not fast? But..."
Boss Feng turned around and ordered a waiter to quickly bring some hot tea to the private room upstairs. Then he turned to the old man gnawing on chicken feet and said, "But, little brother, I don't believe it. They say that Miss Zheng brought it The imperial court took a fancy to the weaving method of Zhangrong in her hometown, and the handkerchiefs mixed with silk thread and our Songjiang cotton, and ordered them to be sold to foreigners. Isn't this quite honorable? The Silkworm Goddess knows the silk spun by her descendants, and sends You should be happy to have such a useful use, why did you punish that self-combing girl..."
Before Boss Feng could even say the word "even", a mixture of male and female screams suddenly came from upstairs behind him.
The old diners in front of him also had a look of horror in their eyes for a moment. The chicken bones in their mouths fell on the plate with a clanking sound, and they jumped up like bullets.
Boss Feng looked back and was stunned.
But I saw a private room on the second floor, under the blue sky and white sun, but the fire was surging, like a huge dazzling red lantern.
The open partition door was like a red lantern with a hole, and a dazzling, fast-moving fire ball rushed out.
It turned out to be a man who was on fire, wailing and rolling in the corridor.
Suddenly, the whole restaurant was shouting and screaming, and there was a loud sound of broken dishes. The guests on the second floor rushed down, and the guests on the first floor rushed out, just for the word "escape".
Boss Feng shouted: "Pump, pump, put out the fire."
The guys woke up from a dream, went to the corner to get a bamboo water gun-style fire-fighting tool "pump", and rushed to the water tank.
Their movements were already considered swift, but when they filled up the water and turned around
When running toward the fire, the man on fire who had screamed and ran towards the stairs like crazy a moment ago had collapsed on the stairs.
The guys were divided into two groups, three of them sprayed water on the fire and the stairs, and the other seven or eight went to put out the fire in the private room.
The fire at the back was not strong, and soon died down. However, the fire on the guest's body was like a maggot attached to the bone, stubbornly contending with the water column, until the victim's head, face, limbs were blackened, and the bones were exposed. The flames turned into The sparks eventually burn out.
Boss Feng sat down on the ground and chatted with his teeth for a few times before he realized what he was doing and said in a trembling voice: "Report, report to the officer, report to the officer quickly!"
An older waiter rushed out, but the two cooks who came from the back kitchen exclaimed: "Why are there bamboo foil pieces on the table? Oh, there are them on every table, and they also have the words "Two o'clock chicken" written on them. What do you mean?"
…
In the evening, the sky is filled with brilliant clouds.
In the garden of Han Mansion, Zheng Shoukuan was talking with Han Ximeng and Zheng Haizhu.
While Zheng Haizhu was recuperating at home, Shoukuan went to school every day as usual, taking care of school affairs with Manager Cao, following up on the progress of clothing and embroidery orders with Tailor Fan, and attending classes with the children.
"Auntie, everything is as usual in the school. Several young men sent by Liu Captou patrolled the surroundings from morning to night, but found nothing unusual. Mr. Yao refused to go home to rest, saying that she was an official. She is in school, and the evil people in the dark should not dare to cause trouble to the school, otherwise if they harm her, Zhuang Futai and Mr. Huang will definitely investigate thoroughly."
Han Ximeng looked at Zheng Haizhu and praised sincerely: "Azhu, you have good eyesight. When I first met Mr. Huang, this lovely wife, I thought she was no different from the young mistress who hangs around the back house and plays with pearls and jade. I didn't expect her to be with you. When I go out to do things, I actually have some tenacity and courage.”
Zheng Haizhu pursed her lips and smiled.
She had just relied on an experience to choose Huang Zunsu's wife, that is, a promising child would most likely have a good mother. Huang Zongxi's mother should have "magic value".
Of course, there are also counterexamples in reality, so Zheng Haizhu feels that he is lucky and Yao is really capable of handling things.
Han Ximeng asked again: "Shou Kuan, have Mr. Lu and his second brother been to Sheshan?"
Shoukuan nodded: "Master Lu said that Master Gu took him to visit all the mulberry gardens and the shop with the white horse float. Master Lu said that in order to make sulfur and charcoal into soup, it requires extremely high Heat, so Master Gu went to find out if any of these families were involved in blacksmithing or kiln burning..."
As soon as Shou Kuan said this, a burst of screams from a maid and a woman suddenly sounded from the front yard.
Then came the shouts of Butler Peng and the servants.
"Bar the door, bar the door!"
Amidst the sound of ping-pong, the maid and mother-in-law ran to the backyard with a look of panic on their faces, protecting their mistress Qian.
Han Ximeng stood up suddenly: "Second Aunt, what's the matter?"
During these days, the second master of Japan and South Korea went to Suzhou to discuss business, and the second mistress, Qian, was the backbone of the family.
At this moment, she tried her best to show a calm demeanor. She did not answer her niece, but said to Zheng Shoukuan in a deep voice: "Ah Kuan, you should escape from the back and call people, Gu Mansion, Dong Mansion, the county government, just talk about the silkworm farmers." My uncle's son surrounded our house, and later it was said that someone else was coming and wanted to arrest Ah Zhu and burn him. Let the officials and servants come and save his life."
"Ah?" Zheng Shoukuan was shocked, "Second Grandma, why did you burn my aunt?"
Qian just pushed him away: "I will tell your aunt that you should leave quickly and don't let anyone block you."
Zheng Shoukuan woke up and walked away. After a while, the maid who had passed by ran back and reported breathlessly: "Second Grandma, A Kuan went out. Within a few breaths, a man seemed to come from the front and surrounded me, cursing and just banging on the door. I haven't caught Kuan yet."
Qian frowned even more and said briefly to Han and Zheng: "The silkworm farmers said that at noon at the Xiuwa Building on the other side of the city, a merchant from Ningbo bought some shameful purses embroidered by Ah Zhu. She was burned to death by Heavenly Fire, which was exactly the same as the fire that burned A-Zhu that day. Silkworm Queen also left a bamboo foil in the restaurant, clearly pointing to the word Zheng. Lao Peng and I don't believe this kind of nonsense. However, the silkworm farmers Like crazy."
Zheng Haizhu thought to himself, what is this mess?
Have I ever sold a purse to a Ningbo merchant? What the hell are you saying about being shameful?
But she quickly glanced at Han Ximeng.
The two of them knew each other tacitly: a wonderful scene is coming.
However, at this moment, we still have to hide it from everyone in the courtyard, especially the stupid and evil girl in the third room.
In order to act realistically, the kind-hearted second grandmother could only be frightened for a while longer.
Zheng Haizhu then said with an urgent expression: "Second Grandma, Miss, let's not guess who framed me for now. Let's go to the cellar to take shelter. It will drag on for a while."
Mrs. Qian nodded, supported by Han Ximeng, and walked to the kitchen in the side courtyard. At the same time, she ordered her mother-in-law and maidservant: "Quickly go to the east courtyard and ask the third grandma and A Ying to come over."
…
Although the space buried underground is dark, it blocks the noise and violence on the ground tightly. On the contrary, it makes people feel safe because of its warmth and silence.
Han Ximeng and his two wives were sitting in the corner with his second mistress.
Zheng Haizhu leaned against the bolted door of the cellar, pressed his face against the crack of the door, and stared at the movement outside.
It was already the end of the day, and there was no lamp in the kitchen, so it was dim.
The crack of the cellar door faced several stairs, and a few rays of twilight filtered in through the small window next to the chimney and fell on the wooden steps.
Soon, the little maid guarding the kitchen door called out, "Miss, here you are." The door opened, and Han Xiying's voice said, "Close the door quickly, and be careful when those people rush in."
Immediately, Han Xiying's embroidered shoes appeared on the wooden steps.
"Second aunt, eldest sister." Han Xiying's trembling voice sounded.
Zheng Haizhu could feel the fine steel chisel in her sleeve, which was always handy, but her hand was still wrapped in gauze. If the wrong person came in, she would not be able to use this short blade as flexibly as before.
Zheng Haizhu gritted his teeth, lifted the wooden latch, and opened the cellar door.
In the dim light and shadow, behind Han Xiying, the faces of three rough and cold men appeared.
Han Xiying saw clearly that the person who opened the door was Zheng Haizhu, and she immediately started crying: "Don't kill me, don't kill me."
At the same time, the three men shouted and cursed, covering up Han Xiying's artificial crying.
One of them reached out and dragged Zheng Haizhu up the stairs and pressed him against the stove.
The other two pounced on the other women.
Han Xiying cried on her face but smiled on her heart, and ran up the stairs. Unexpectedly, the man who should have violated Zheng Haizhu appeared in front of her.
She was shocked, but before she could react, the man had already restrained her and tied her up with a cloth belt. He said to Zheng Haizhu who got up from the ground, "Look at her, I'll go help us." A handful of people."
Then rush into the cellar.
In the cellar, the situation a moment ago quickly reversed.
The man who had just knocked down Han Ximeng was subdued by two of his accomplices in an instant. His hands were tied and he was lifted to the ground.
Han Ximeng stood up in a hurry and said to Qian and his mother-in-law who were still in shock: "Don't be afraid, those two are not bad guys, they were sent by Ah Zhu's fellow Fujianese in Nanhui."
She and her mother-in-law helped Qian out of the cellar and into the kitchen.
The tied up gangster yelled at the two men: "Whose side are you from? Didn't someone say that someone paid us to play with these two little bitches? If we succeed, we will double the price."
Then he turned to stare at Han Xiying: "Little ***, weren't you the one who let me in?"
Han Xiying burst into tears: "You are talking nonsense, you are talking nonsense."
This time I really cried.
Qian was completely confused and looked at Han Ximeng and Zheng Haizhu: "What's going on?"
But I heard chaotic footsteps outside the door, and an old yet majestic voice said: "Open the door."
…
It was late in the evening when Huang Zunsu returned from inspecting the flood control embankment in Fanjiabang.
He ate a bowl of noodles in a hurry in the check-in room, and then went to the mortuary with two businessmen.
On the way back to the city, he heard that a merchant was burned to death in Xiuwalou, and his condition was extremely miserable.
In the mortuary, Wu Zuo was pulling out the body brought from Xiuwal Tower.
It would be more accurate to say they were corpses.
Because there really wasn’t a few taels of meat left after it was cooked.
Wu Zuo had a look of fear on his face: "Master, this is indeed a fire from the sky. I have never seen someone burn like this in just a few breaths."
Huang Zunsu had long heard from his wife that Zheng Haizhu was almost burned to death when he prayed to the gods a few days ago. Later, he gradually learned about the mulberry leaf spell from the market.
Like his wife Yao, he firmly believed that someone was pretending to be a ghost. Knowing that Lu Xiangsheng and the second young master of the Gu family were investigating, Huang Zunsu did not eagerly use the power of the government to participate in the investigation.
At this moment, Huang Zunsu said to Wu Zuo coldly: "Does this person have any belongings?"
Wu Zuo pointed to a large woven bamboo box painted with tung oil: "Sir, except for the two strings of copper coins in the bones and a few grains of silver, this box is in good condition. The boss of Xiuwalou said that it was this merchant who brought it upstairs and put it there. Those in the private room were not caught in the fire."
Huang Zunsu went over and opened it.
There are piles of embroidery, colorful.
He picked up two purse-like ones, looked at them under the lamp, and couldn't help but let out a hiss.
Wu Zuo and the two servants peeked from the side, not daring to talk to him immediately.
They had already seen it.
In fact, the boss of Xiu Wa Lou, the diners who came back to watch the fun after escaping for their lives, and the passers-by who came after hearing the news have also seen it.
If it's not an erotic picture, it's a war picture.
The terrible thing is that whether the man holding the woman inside or the man holding the knife to kill them all have Japanese appearance and dress with short hair and short shirts, while the woman who is naked, or the man begging for mercy under the knife, It's Akito's hair style, helmet and clothes.
Huang Zunsu threw the purse back into the box.
The official then cautiously said, "Sir, this silk is a high-quality item, printed with the name of the Han family's tailor shop. People say that it was Miss Zheng from the Han family who persuaded the eldest daughter of her family to embroider it. Outside It is said that the merchants from Ningbo, like Miss Zheng from Fujian, are descendants of the Japanese who stayed in the Ming Dynasty."
"fart."
Huang Zunsu scolded angrily.
The official shrank his neck in fear.
Although Huang Zunsu was usually stern, he never hit or scolded them, and he never said rude words.
Wu Zuo secretly gloated about calling you talkative, but you forgot that we all discussed in private that Mr. Huang must have taken a liking to the girl named Zheng and might want to admit her.
At this moment, a person hurriedly walked in from outside the door, it was Mr. Liu.
Liu Captou's face was dripping with sweat, but he looked excited.
He grinned and said, "Sir, the murderer has been found. In front of the hall, Mrs. Miao from the Gu Mansion is leading many people, waiting for the master to go."
