Kaifeng Monster

Chapter 17 Pleadings (1)
It was late autumn, and Duanmucui led a group of disciples to Jinyang.

On the eve of departure, Zhan Zhao went to Duanmu Thatched Cottage to help Duanmucui pack his luggage.

It was cold in the middle of the night, and the cold wind pierced through the bones. Duanmucui shivered while tidying up: "Zhan Zhao, people say that the further north I go, the colder it will be. I'm going to freeze to death this trip."

Seeing that Duanmucui was only wearing single clothes, Zhan Zhao couldn't help frowning: "If you keep wearing so little, you might not be able to live if you stay here."

Duanmucui was so angry that she was dumbfounded.Zhan Zhao was amused in his heart, but on the surface he just pretended to be ignorant, and went over the things that everyone in the mansion entrusted to Duanmucui. The Qi black tea cake was given by Mr. Gongsun, who said it was a daily drink in winter to warm the stomach; It was a light and warm hooded cloak; what Zhang Long and Zhao Hu presented was a hollow carved copper hand stove with five butterflies holding birthdays.Duanmucui was angry at first and didn't want to talk to Zhan Zhao, but later seeing that the copper hand stove was really cute, she couldn't help playing with it, and said: "They are being polite this time, they are only going on a long trip, so there is no need to send such things ?”

Zhan Zhao said with a smile, "It's been three months since we left, and the northern land is bitterly cold. It's rare for them to show such kindness... Is it dangerous to accept demons this time?"

At the mention of monster collection, Duanmucui suddenly lost energy, and said listlessly: "It's not dangerous, it's just a lot of hard work. Speaking of it, it's always your emperor's father who is not good."

Zhan Zhao was dumbfounded.

A few days ago, Duanmucui came to Kaifeng Mansion to pay a visit to Mr. Bao, and asked him to help him "make a dragon robe", so he didn't react for a long time.After Duanmucui left, Mr. Bao and Mr. Gongsun talked secretly for a long time, and the next day they went to the palace to face the saint. It was absurd to say that they actually brought back a dragon robe from the palace.

According to Mr. Gongsun, everything was for the destruction of Jinyang city during Taizong's reign.

Zhan Zhao has heard a little about this matter.

At the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty, because most of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms made their fortunes in Shanxi, there were rumors among the people that Shanxi had a royal spirit and the dragon veins were in Jinyang.Taizu has always wanted to pull down Jinyang City, but unfortunately he failed to complete his work in his lifetime, and it was not realized until the time of Taizong Zhao Guangyi.After Zhao Guangyi captured Jinyang City, in order to completely destroy Jinyang Wangqi, he first set fire to Jinyang City. It is said that the fire burned for three years before it was extinguished, and then flooded the city with water from Fen and Jin. Completely reduced to ruins.

Because the matter involved Emperor Taizong of this dynasty, most people keep it secret, and as time goes by, fewer people know about it, and more people don't know about it.

When Zhan Zhao sent the dragon robe to Duanmucui, Duanmucui first asked, "Is the emperor happy to give it?" Then he complained repeatedly, "Your emperor's father did something wrong." "But I want to turn hostility into peace" "Get a piece of clothing and burn it, which can be regarded as comforting the dead."

It was then that Zhan Zhao realized Duanmucui's intention for the dragon robe.

Duanmucui had been away for more than a month, and just now he asked someone to bring back a letter, just a few lines, complaining about the coldness in Jinyang, and he had to blame "your emperor's father" again.Several people in the Kaifeng Mansion circulated it, Bao Zheng said: "Miss Duanmu's letter, it's better to burn it after reading it, otherwise it will be troublesome for people with ulterior motives to report to the official's house."

Thinking about it, the emperor would have to go crazy if he saw the paper full of "the emperor's father".

Then Gongsun Ce wrote a letter to Duanmucui, focusing on paying attention to the situation in Jinyang. Of course, this is also the emperor's intention. An emperor doesn't want to hear that a certain place in the territory is full of hostility and hinders the community.After the key point was finished, everyone in Kaifeng Mansion greeted Duanmucui Biao.Zhao Hu said very honestly: "Mr. Gongsun, please help me ask Sister Duanmu, since she can escape from the earth, she should come back to see us."

The letter was sent to Jinyang, and Duanmucui was really speechless.Speaking of it, it is always bad for the land mother to be jealous. Duanmucui inevitably contacts the land father-in-law frequently for the sake of earth escape. What happened a while ago when Shangxian came and went frequently, which caused the soil to become loose, and the little god couple were busy rectifying it during this time.The implication is that in the near future, Duanmu Shangxian is asked not to toss about in the ground.

This was not enough, and he secretly gossiped with He Bo's wife, saying that the gods have a noble status, are young and beautiful, and the guy in your family is inevitably distracted, and he will be tired of you in the long run.Mrs. He Bo didn't have any opinions. Hearing this, she felt sad. She pulled a rope and was about to hang herself.Public opinion always sympathizes with the weak, and the soldiers and crab generals around him all accuse He Bo of liking the new and loathing the old for his lack of virtue, and the opposition party is ready to impeach He Bo with accusations.He Bogong has one head and three big heads, he avoids Duanmucui for fear, how dare he go to see her?Therefore, Duanmu Cuitu couldn't escape, and there was no way to escape in water. He was so angry that he slammed the table loudly, and shouted that the three aunts and six women with long tongues were harmful.

According to Duanmucui's temperament, of course he would not admit that he was not fair to He Bo, the land, and simply ignored the letter from Kaifeng Mansion, pretending that he hadn't seen it, until three months passed, and then hastily returned to Fengdao to collect demons here. It's over, and I will return to Beijing Yunyun soon.

The Kaifeng mansion didn't hear about him for two months, and they were all worried.Zhao Hu even talked about taking a day off to visit Duanmu in Jinyang.Zhan Zhao didn't say anything, but asked the concierge Jinyang every few days if he had a letter.In fact, there is no need for him to ask, Mr. Gongsun has long told the concierge to "reply to your lord as soon as Duanmucui's letter arrives."

Therefore, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they received a letter from Duanmucui.Counting the days, as long as Duanmucui does not delay on the way, when he returns to Kaifeng, it will be just in time for the New Year.

At that time, everyone was looking forward to it with joy, no one expected that Duanmucui would never catch up with this New Year's Eve dinner.

Let’s talk about Duanmucui again.In the third month of Jinyang, setting up an altar to worship the heavens and performing rituals to appease the ghosts, I was really exhausted, and I managed to make it to the end of the day, which was the coldest month in the north.Duanmucui is most afraid of the cold, how can she stay?He ordered his subordinates to pack up and return immediately. Along the way, he scolded Tu Hebo and others all over again, because he thought that if they hadn't made mistakes, they would have already returned to Kaifeng with Tudun now.

Hurry up and hurry up, this day will arrive at the boundary of Wenshui, and stay at the Yuelai Inn, the largest chain inn branch in Wenshui County that night.I was going to leave early the next morning, but at dinner time, I learned about a "big event" in Wenshui County tomorrow from the mouth of the neighbors.

Frankly speaking, Duanmucui would never be interested in any kind of wedding, funeral, or elopement in a pig cage. However, this matter is related to Duanmucui's profession, and the term is called "receiving demons".

Duanmu Cui was really puzzled. Before entering Wenshui County, she used the Paishan Palm Technique and the Nine Star Flying Ambush technique to secretly figure out when she was bored. The waves, the surrounding clouds are calm and fine, and they have nothing to do with the demon.Collect demons?What kind of demon do you accept?Could it be that they are bluffing and cheating?Show off in front of yourself to collect monsters, isn't it Lu Ban's big ax in front of his door?

Duanmucui decided to stay in Wenshui for a day, and go to meet the so-called master of monster collection tomorrow, and then expose his hypocrisy in public, and remind the residents of Wenshui County to look for professional brands such as Xihualiu when collecting monsters. Blindly fooled.

Thinking about it this way, I am so proud that I am laughing in my dreams.

On the second day, I went to watch with great interest. I thought it would be convenient to ask along the way if I couldn't find a place. In fact, there was no need for her to ask. All the people in the street tended to go to Wang Dahu's house where the monster collection was held.

Along the way, Duanmucui mingled with the crowd, but she got a rough idea of ​​the cause of the incident.

The matter is simple. Wang Xiu, the daughter of Wang Dahu, the richest man in Wenshui, suddenly suffered from a strange illness before her marriage.Suddenly one day a wandering Taoist came to the door and said that the black air above Wang Dahu's house must be haunted by demons, and he wanted to choose an auspicious day to collect the demons.

It's really nonsense, before entering Wang Dahu's house, Duanmucui paid special attention to the top of Wang Dahu's house, except for the black smoke rising from the chimney of the kitchen, how could there be any "black air hovering"?
The people who came to watch the excitement surrounded Wang Dahu's house in a dense manner, scrambling to see the feat of subduing monsters.The servants guarding the gate only respected Luo Yi but did not recognize anyone, and blocked most of the spectators from the gate. Seeing that Duanmucui was dressed in an extraordinary manner, he didn't care about looking at the face, so he politely invited him in.

Even after being strictly screened, the courtyard is still very crowded, with complaints of bumping and trampling from time to time.When Duanmucui was walking in, he suddenly heard a sound from the side, a young servant who was holding a teacup somehow slipped and turned towards Duanmucui.Duanmucui's eyes were quick and her hands were quick, she quickly reached out to support the man.

The man flushed with embarrassment, spilled tea all over his body, and hurriedly apologized to Duanmucui.When Duanmucui looked up, the man in front of her was only eighteen or nineteen years old. Although he was dressed poorly, he had a fair complexion, delicate features, and although he didn't talk much, he was very polite. The words comforted him and said: "There are so many people, it is inevitable to bump into each other, just be careful."

The young servant was still worried, seeing what Duanmucui said, his eyes were full of gratitude, just at this time a little servant girl came over and saw the servant overturned the teacup, and said dissatisfiedly: "My lord, you should take it easy , this tea is not free."

Duanmucui was taken aback, looked at the boy and said, "You...you are the uncle of the Wang family, so isn't the Wang embroidery yours..."

The young man bowed his head without answering, and hurriedly packed up the teacup and left.Duanmucui couldn't help laughing when he saw a big patch on the back of his back, and thought to himself: I'm afraid I heard wrong, dressed so shabby, a little maid can tell him what to do, how could he be the son-in-law of the Wang family.

The golden gong rang three times in a few minutes, but it was the Taoist priest who collected the demons who set up an altar in the courtyard.The crowd flocked to the courtyard, Duanmucui didn't want to join in the fun, and found a chair from a distance to sit down.

Someone came to pour tea for Duanmucui, when he looked up, it was the young servant whom he had just seen.

Duanmucui gave a snort, and said with a smile: "It's you again, why did that little girl call you 'uncle' just now?"

The young servant seemed to be very hesitant, and after a long time he said in a low voice: "I am Liang Wenqi, Wang's parents and Queen's embroidery, and she is indeed Xiaosheng's unmarried wife."

Duanmucui was taken aback for a moment, thinking that she had always regarded him as a servant, she felt a little embarrassed: "It turns out that it is Mr. Liang, how dare you work for Mr. Liang to pour tea for me."

Liang Wenqi lowered his voice: "It's okay, I was originally doing some odd jobs at my father-in-law's house."

Duanmu Cui was like falling into the clouds and mist, knowing that he shouldn't ask, he still couldn't hold back: "Since you are doing odd jobs in the Wang family, why did Master Wang allow his daughter to you?"

When Liang Wenqi bumped into Duanmucui earlier, Duanmucui not only did not speak harsh words to each other, but comforted her gently. Therefore, Liang Wenqi was grateful to her. Hearing her question like this, he didn't feel disobedient, so he smiled reluctantly. : "When we first got married, the two families were still close friends. Later, my father was framed, so I had no choice but to join my father-in-law..."

After speaking, his face showed sadness, and his voice was almost inaudible.

When Duanmucui heard him say "when we got married first", she already made a rough guess.At that time, the family was right, so they were naturally happy to get married, but now that one party's family is in decline, the other party naturally shows regret.Although Liang Wenqi was taken in because of his face, he was forced to do some menial work.Guessing that Liang Wenqi's life here will not be easy, and it is uncertain whether this marriage will be successful in the future, he can't help but feel a little embarrassed, so he changed the topic: "This Miss Wang family, what strange disease is there, the doctor can't see it?" okay?"

Mentioning Wang Xiu, Liang Wenqi's brows became even more worried, and he shook his head and said, "I don't know what's wrong with Xiumei, she is bedridden in the winter, I want to visit her several times, alas..."

Hearing what he said, Duanmucui knew that the Wang family would not allow him to visit Wang Xiu, and she didn't know what words to comfort him.On the contrary, Liang Wenqi smiled and said, "Sit down, girl, I'll go make tea elsewhere."

Duanmucui had mixed feelings in her heart, she picked up the tea bowl and drank it slowly.The Taoist priest was humming and didn't know what spells he was reciting, but suddenly raised his voice and shouted: "God master kills, don't avoid the powerful, first kill the evil spirits, and then kill the night light. Why don't you subdue, what ghost dare to do it? Urgent Urgent as a law! Go with the knife!"

There was a sound of exclamation from the crowd, like the sound of knives piercing through the air. When Duanmucui raised her head anxiously, she felt dazed in front of her eyes. A stream of warm blood sprayed on her face. She barely opened her eyes, and the tea in the tea bowl was already dyed red.

Before he knew what happened, he heard the old man sternly shouted: "What a monster, I will tell you to separate your corpse this time!"

The crowd clamored and cheered, and a large group of people surrounded Duanmucui not far away, and some people shouted from time to time.

"What a monster, you have been here for so long."

"Thanks to the Taoist master's method, he subdued this demon."

"This time, Miss Wang's illness is about to recover."

While speaking, the Taoist leader said loudly again: "Quickly present the head of the demon, and the poor Taoist will burn it to ashes with the real fire of Taishang Laojun's samadhi, otherwise the head will be combined with the corpse within three quarters." One body, then this demon will do harm to the world again."

The crowd startled, screamed and backed away.Someone raised the demon head high and shouted loudly: "Here, here, let the way out, I will send the demon head to the Taoist priest."

Duanmucui's gaze fell on the monster's head, his face turned pale suddenly, and his ears vibrated endlessly like a drum beating.

Who is that bloody head, if not Liang Wenqi?
The old Taoist took the head and threw it into the copper furnace that had been set up earlier, and several servants hurried over to raise the fire.Not long after, the flames ignited, and the burnt smell came out from the copper furnace, those who were close couldn't help covering their noses and backing away.Some people leaned forward and peeped into the copper furnace, saying: "What a monster, it smells so bad when it burns."

Not long after, the monster's head was burned, and several servants wrapped the remaining body in a straw mat and took it out.That Wang Dahu was full of joy, came out from the inner courtyard, bowed to the Taoist priest and said: "The Dao master has magical skills, the little girl is really well." He shook his head and sighed: "My uncle, I really can't think of it, but I was fascinated by the evildoer." At the end, he bowed his hands to the crowd: "Thank you all the folks for coming to help out, and I will set up a banquet in the lower backyard. Today, my little girl is very happy, and I will entertain all the folks."

There was a lot of joy in the crowd, you pushed and shoved, and they all went to the backyard happily, leaving only a few servants and maids to sweep.

Ping'er, the little maid who had reprimanded Liang Wenqi earlier, was putting away the teacup by the table, when she suddenly saw a young woman in a light fur coat standing still, she couldn't help but stepped forward and said, "Girl, we have to clean up here. The guests all went to the backyard."

After calling twice, the woman just didn't answer, Ping'er felt strange, she stretched out her hand to push the woman, who knew that just as she touched her body, the woman fell down in response.

Ping'er's face turned pale, and the boy next to him, Li San San, boldly came over to check on the woman's breath, and suddenly let out an ahhhhh, scared out of his wits, crawled away with hands and feet, and said in a trembling voice: "The head of the house, it's amazing, this The girl was scared to death."

There are such a group of people active in every city. They eat melons in the shade of the trees with fans in summer, and keep warm by wrapping their sleeves around the stove in winter. When the day is neither hot nor cold, they hang out in the bustling and lively streets. Watching husbands and wives quarreling, brothers fighting against each other, local ruffians making troubles, hooligan gang fights, and officials arresting people is a pleasure.

Laitou San is a typical representative of this kind of people in Kaifeng.

In the afternoon of this day, the sky was gray, and the cold wind poured straight into people's necks, and a heavy snowfall was in sight.There were not many pedestrians on the road, and the only few hurried on with their necks shrunk.Seeing that there is nothing exciting to watch today, the man who was squatting in the corner outside the restaurant sighed, got up and patted the dirt on his buttocks, suddenly remembered something, raised his foot and kicked the same-minded man who was leaning against the corner Nap Scar IV.

"Fourth son, have you noticed," Scarlet Three said thoughtfully, "Xihualiu hasn't come to the streets to pick people up for a long time... How long has it been? A month?"

"It's not enough..." Scar Si yawned, changed direction and continued to doze off, didn't even bother to open his eyes, "I remember that Xihualiu didn't show up a few years ago, and it's been almost two months since I was busy. "

"Strange..." Laitou San muttered, "Where did all the people from Xihualiu go?"

When I looked up, I suddenly snorted again: "It's snowing, when did it fall?"

(End of this chapter)