Daming Yinghua

Chapter 50

Zheng Haizhu said "oh".

The master of Futai mentioned by the cell boss was the new official, Zhuang Yuqing, the prefect of Songjiang, whose ancestral home was in Huian, Fujian.

It seems that Zhuang Futai also has a heart of compassion when it comes to matters that do not need to decorate his achievements.

Hui'an, like Longxi County in Zhangzhou, has begun to appear at this time a group of "self-combing women" who make a living independently.

When Zhuang Futai heard Huang Zunsu and Master Han talk about Zheng Haizhu's identity before, he did not express surprise or resistance.Therefore, Zheng Haizhu is already planning. Under the rule of this relatively enlightened parent official, he should actively use Songjiang Prefecture as a test field for women to participate in foreign trade.

While thinking, Zheng Haizhu walked slowly through the cell following the intermittent meowing.

Although the lighting provided by the afterglow of the setting sun was shabby, Zheng Haizhu could still tell that the women's cells outside were empty.

Not surprisingly.In this era, civilian women have a narrow and pitiful living space, little freedom of movement, and the crime rate is naturally much lower than that of men.

"Sister He..." Zheng Haizhu stopped outside the cell where the murdered criminal was held, and whispered under his breath.

Beside the wooden fence, a raccoon cat squatted in front of the water basin, staring up at Zheng Haizhu, but quickly stood up, and moved aside wisely to avoid being touched by the chain.

The nun in the flat hat jumped from the depths of the darkness to the fence.

Her movements were quick, but her expression was the same as when Zheng Haizhu saw it on the street just now, without losing her composure.

At this moment, because she was so close at hand, Zheng Haizhu was able to see her face more clearly.

The beauty of the facial features is second to none, the key is that her eyes are bright and bright, and the brows are faintly heroic, not as numb and dull as the grassroots women, but they do not have the quiet and solemn appearance of the Taoist nunnery masters.

"How do you know my name before I became a monk?"

After reconfirming that there was only one prisoner in this cell, Zheng Haizhu leaned up and stared at the nun: "Sister He, Mr. Zhang from Shanyin asked me to come in, that is, the Great Monk."

"Ah," Sister He whispered when she heard the affectionate nickname of "Great Monk", and the color of participating in the study was immediately replaced by surprise, "The eldest son has come to Songjiang?"

"Yes, he and Mr. Yanke came to see you."

"The girl you are?"

"My surname is Zheng, and I live in Huating County. Mr. Zhang helped my friend, so I got to know him. Today when I applied for middle school, I will lead the way to Jiulian Nunnery for Mr. Zhang."

Zheng Haizhu met the other party's eyes calmly, but he cherished his words like gold, and only briefly explained his origin, waiting for Sister He's reaction.

After a short pause, Sister He called out directly: "Miss Zheng, I didn't kill anyone, please save me, two young masters!"

Zheng Haizhu nodded: "My sister has to make a long story short, the prison boss will let me avoid it at any time."

Sister He immediately sped up her speech: "After noon today, I was talking to Master Yang's servants when I heard Carpenter Ye yelling that he had killed someone in the meditation room. We went to the meditation room and saw blood all over the floor. I was so scared I hurried to report to the official, and then I ran to the street, but was stopped by the official and drove me back to the nunnery. They insisted that I killed Master Yang, that my handwriting was found from his body, and that I was still on his wrist. The blessing belt of the nunnery."

Sister He talked like a cannonball for a while, but she couldn't figure it out.

Zheng Haizhu then took advantage of her panting, staring at the main point and asked: "Your house is full of blood, don't you know? What is that Carpenter Ye doing in your nunnery? Why did Master Yang's servant come to you? The master's body was found elsewhere by an official?"

Sister He regained her composure and replied: "The wooden door of the meditation room dedicated to the ancestor was broken. I asked Carpenter Ye to repair it. Because it was not repaired yet, he ordered not to tamper with it. My two apprentices were not there, so I did not go in to clean it. Carpenter Ye said yesterday that he was going to Qingpu to do some urgent work, and he would come back in a few days, but for some reason he suddenly appeared today, and he did not enter through the main entrance of the nunnery. Besides, Mr. Yang, he is from Huizhou, he met me in the bookstore, and he is willing to help I publish books. Master Yang came back to Songjiang to discuss business, and asked me about engraving books a few days ago. Today his servants found the nunnery and said that the master had not returned all night. Later, when the officials arrested me, they said that Master Yang’s The body was picked up from the creek behind the nunnery..."

She stopped suddenly again, hesitated for a moment in an expression intertwined with anger and Qi Rong, and said to Zheng Haizhu word by word: "I didn't kill anyone. If I take this wrongful lawsuit, I will really kill Master Yang." People, don’t they just roam free in the world?”

……

The last crimson cloud in the sky disappeared into the night, Zheng Haizhu walked out from the corner of the county government cell, and walked quickly into the shadow under the camphor tree.

Zhang Dai came up to meet him, and said softly: "Just now I also ordered my servant to go back to inquire about the situation. There were originally two little nuns living in the nunnery, only about thirteen or fourteen years old. These few days, I went to the house of two female Tanyue in Huating County. Accompanying her to copy the scriptures and recite the Buddha, she did not live in Jiulian Nunnery. By the way, the servants also found out that Sister He went to Yingtian Mansion to pass the exam at the beginning of the month."

In the Ming Dynasty, Buddhist certificates were issued by the Ministry of Rites.Because monasteries and nunneries are exempt from corvee and tax, Emperor Taizu stipulated that the imperial court issued a fixed number of degree certificates each year, and monks and nuns must pass the examination of the Ministry of Rites before applying for degree certificates.In the Wanli period, discipline was abolished, and fake monks with connections could obtain degree certificates as long as they bribed officials at all levels, build a fake temple, and put their own property under the name of the temple.

Zheng Haizhu understood Zhang Dai's implication, nodded and said, "You mean to say that Sister He is a nun who walks the right path."

"Yes, although she lost her dear one, but in the letter she wrote to my family last year, the words were peaceful and upright, and she invited my mother to live in Jiulian nunnery. She will never do the act of seducing first and seeking wealth second as those traffickers said just now. Unless, unless the dead Anhui merchant did something wrong, which provoked her to kill herself in the resistance..."

"No, Mr. Zhang," Zheng Haizhu said firmly, "Sister He just told me that Mr. Yang is a gentleman. He is a frequent visitor to several Qingliu bookstores here. Every time he comes back to Songjiang, he goes to the bookstore to buy unsalable publications. Help the owner of the shop to turn around. When Sister He was in Suzhou, her employer had a young daughter who loved reading "The Peony Pavilion" and left thousands of book reviews. The girl died of illness, and her parents thought it was because "The Peony Pavilion" was exhausted The love of her daughter was a painstaking effort, and she wanted to burn the manuscript of the book review in a rage. Sister He secretly exchanged the manuscript and wanted to publish it as a book when she came to Songjiang. When she was worrying about printing funds, she met Master Yang in the bookstore, and Master Yang asked to read the manuscript Afterwards, he immediately donated generously and was willing to donate money, and he did not exceed the rules afterwards."

Zhang Dai held his breath when he heard this, and murmured: "This is very similar to Sister He's temperament. Although Sister He was born in the family, she was smart and book-loving since she was a child. My mother liked her and let her use it to serve me. Because of my third brother, I studied and wrote in my Zhang’s school. Sister He has always admired talented people. At the beginning, my mother had helped her find a marriage with a wealthy tenant, but she took a fancy to the poor painter. Married. She and the lady who commented on "The Peony Pavilion" must have had the same fate."

(End of this chapter)