The duke of the governor's family is leaving again

Chapter 202 The Second Lock
Taking two steps back, the two of them entered Zhou's Gold Shop with the door wide open.

Ancient gold stores are different from modern gold stores. After all, there were no glass display cabinets in ancient times, and they were located in border towns with complex conditions. Gold ornaments were not placed everywhere in the shops.

Zhou's Gold Shop didn't have a magnificent scene, but it was arranged similarly to an ordinary pawnshop. The shopkeeper Zhou sat behind the counter, and he could only hear the sound of tinkling, and his head couldn't be seen when he approached.

The counter is really high.

"The treasurer."

Chen Yuan yelled, and the jingle finally stopped. The young shopkeeper Zhou put down the work in his hand, stood up and looked outside the counter, "I don't know what the two servants are talking about?"

Because of this outfit, coupled with her unattractive figure, she was used to being treated as a government servant by unknown people, and Chen Yuan was already used to it, "Do you keep the designs of the jewelry made by your Zhou's gold shop?"

A gold shop needs the protection of yamen servants even more. Shopkeeper Zhou is very polite to Chen Yuan and Zeng Shuisheng, "Yes, I don't know when the two poor men want to check the gold jewelry made by which family?"

Chen Yuan is not very familiar with the previous emperors of Nanli Kingdom, and those who are used to the dates recorded in the Western calendar find it difficult to convert them into the emperor's year.

Moreover, Chen Yuan had doubts about the identity of Sheng Dongyue who died in the Sheng family's ancestral house. It was impossible for Yu Shouqian to be in the Sheng family's hometown at that time, but his buttocks had the same auspicious cloud pattern brand of Changshou lock.

Chen Yuan couldn't explain why, so she simply turned the drawing board to the page where Zeng Yu was painting, held it up and handed it to shopkeeper Zhou, "How big is this auspicious cloud pattern you made here?"

Shopkeeper Zhou leaned over and glanced forward, and then told the source, "This auspicious cloud pattern was designed by my grandfather. Many customers like to use it, so it's not special."

This answer made Chen Yuan very disappointed.

But I heard shopkeeper Zhou say, "However, the auspicious cloud pattern in the picture that the poor master handed me seems to have a crescent moon hiding behind the auspicious cloud. Because the drawing is not very clear, I can't be sure. If it is a crescent moon, first quarter moon, full moon The moon and the full moon should be added by Old Master Sheng to the draft of the pattern drawn by my grandfather, and the custom-made longevity lock to celebrate the birth of his daughter Dongyue..."

Chen Yuan didn't see anything about the crescent moon and first quarter moon in the sketches drawn by Zeng Chi's poor painting skills.

But shopkeeper Zhou explained the origin of this sketched jewelry in one word, he should be very familiar with the design drafts produced by his family, Chen Yuan did not doubt what he said, and couldn't hide his excitement.

Before she could open her mouth to ask again, shopkeeper Zhou said again, "This drawing is too unclear, I can't see all the details clearly, if there is no waning moon or waning moon on it, it is not the longevity lock that old master Sheng customized for his daughter gone."

For some reason, Chen Yuan's heart froze, and she felt that this matter was very important, "Why did shopkeeper Zhou say that, if there is no waning moon and waning moon, then who ordered what kind of gold jewelry for whom?"

"It's an eternal knot lock that Sheng Dongyue asked my father to create. A woman hopes that the relationship between husband and wife will last forever, and she doesn't want the relationship to be full and then lose, so she specially asked my father to remove the patterns of the waning moon and the waning moon. "

Concentric lock!
This word was like a thunderbolt, which shocked Chen Yuan's bewildered mind and dispelled the fog in front of her eyes.

More than one lock!

If this is the case, then the doubts in her mind before have an explanation.

To confirm the conjecture, Chen Yuan had to see the patterns with her own eyes, "Please tell shopkeeper Zhou to find the patterns of these two locks and show me."

"Hold on."

The yamen servants came to the door not to find fault, and the shopkeepers burned incense.

As long as they are not looking for trouble for themselves, there is no reason for a person who opens the door to do business not to cooperate with the investigation by the government officials.

Shopkeeper Zhou left the counter, went to the back cabinet to find two old and yellowed booklets, and turned to the pages of the long-lived locks customized by Old Master Sheng and the concentric locks customized by Sheng Dongyue, and put them on the counter, pushing them over Chen Yuan's head. .

Chen Yuan reached out to pick up the first booklet, which contained the first draft, revised draft, and final style of Changshousuo, as well as the time, name of the guest, and the name of the person who designed the draft. Under the first draft, there was a request from Old Master Sheng.

I hope that my daughter Dongyue will be prosperous and safe. The added pattern has auspicious meaning and fits the word Dongyue. There are nine out of ten unsatisfactory things in the world. If you don’t want everything to be perfect, half of your wishes are enough, so there is no need to avoid the waning moon and the dying moon. Follow the Tao of heaven, whether it is extremely natural and peaceful.

The pattern of the design draft shows that there is a moon behind the clouds, which are sorted in order of new moon, Emei moon, first quarter moon, waxing gibbous moon, full moon, waning gibbous moon, last quarter moon, and waning moon (lower Emei moon).

The painting techniques of Zhou's Gold Shop are more stable and clear than the sketches of Zeng Chi's memories of paintings, and every detail of the moon can be seen more clearly.

But Zeng Wuzuo can still remember the style of an exhibit 17 years ago, and remember to draw some details, which is also very impressive.

Comparing the two, Chen Yuan can be sure that Zeng Yuzuo's painting is indeed the longevity lock that Old Master Sheng ordered for Sheng Dongyue.

There was no longer any doubt about it.

From the guest's message, it can be seen that Mrs. Sheng is not a forceful person, and is full of fatherly love for Sheng Dongyue's daughter.

Chen Yuan picked up the second booklet.

The auspicious cloud patterns on the outer ring are indeed exactly the same, they are all classic cloud patterns of Zhou's Gold Shop.

There are also moons behind the clouds, which are sorted in order of new moon, Emei moon, first quarter moon, waxing gibbous moon, full moon, and last quarter moon.

Comparing the two drawings, Sheng Dongyue's custom-made concentric lock does not have a waning gibbous moon or a waning moon.

Sheng Dongyue didn't leave a message, "Can I meet your father? I want to know what Sheng Dongyue said at that time."

Shopkeeper Zhou lowered his eyes sadly, "My father went to Chaozhou Mansion three years ago to escort the gold ingots back and encountered bandits who murdered and robbed the goods. He has passed away."

"I'm really sorry, I just came to Weiyu County not long ago, so I don't know the situation." It was so embarrassing for a newcomer, Chen Yuan sincerely apologized.

"It's not in the way." Shopkeeper Zhou also saw the identity of Chen Yuan's woman at this moment, seeing Zeng Shuisheng by her side, and after careful thought, he knew who she was.

He knew that although she was a coward, she was highly valued by the county magistrate, so she should be investigating the case of Yu Shouqian's murder.

Regardless of whether it is better to sell one of the Sheng Mansions or one of the two senior brothers and sisters, it is beneficial and harmless to Zhou's Gold Shop.

Thinking in this way, the young shopkeeper Zhou took the initiative to say, "When my father was still alive, I once sighed with emotion. Back then, Sheng Dongyue urged her father to build the concentric lock, and planned to take Master Yu to Master Yue to lock the marriage after the Qingming Festival. , who knows that she died within two days after getting the lock, and I don't know if the lock has been handed over to Master Yu."

In other words, Mr. Sheng may not even know the existence of this concentric lock.

The time when this lock appeared was just so coincidental, it happened to be two days before the fire in the ancestral house of the Sheng Mansion.

This further proved Chen Yuan's conjecture that the lock that Sheng Dongyue cared more about at the moment was the concentric lock, and she should have carried the concentric lock on her body, but what she wore around her neck was the longevity lock.

(End of this chapter)