The Republic of China Conspiracy Records

Chapter 158 Poppies (7)

The books on the bookshelf are arranged tightly, so it is sandwiched between two books. You can't see it when you stand in front of the bookshelf. You can only feel it when you put your hand in it.I suddenly touched a sign, and I was naturally very surprised, so I clamped it with my hands and wanted to take it out.

Unexpectedly, as soon as I exerted force on my hand, the bookshelf shook and almost fell towards me.Seeing this, Ji Mingmei hurriedly helped me stabilize the bookshelf.Steward Lin also got up from the ground at this time, helped Ji Mingmei hold the bookshelf together, and said: "This bookshelf is old and in disrepair, and there is a piece missing at the foot, and it will shake with a little force. I have been thinking about giving it Make up a piece, but never be free."

Listening to his words, I remembered that the people from the town office went to check on the roof beams, and the bookshelf almost fell when I stepped on it, so I nodded and took out the thing between the two books.Unexpectedly, after taking it out, I was even more surprised, and my eyes widened almost immediately.

This brand is dark and square, about one finger long and two finger wide, with neither patterns nor engravings on it, just like charcoal carvings.When Ji Mingmei saw this sign suddenly, she was also taken aback, and cried out: "This... how could this thing be here!"

What we didn't expect was that the sign I took out from the bookshelf turned out to be a keepsake of the Six Arts Association.

There are six of this brand, and I, Ji Mingmei, Bu Ying, Jindi, and Hu Xiaotian each have one, adding up to five, and the remaining one is on Gu Yin's body.Since this brand is so important, the person who owns it must not let it go away easily, so could this brand belong to Guyin?The ancient sound is in Donglin Town?

The person behind the horned beast knew me, and when we were in prison, the horned beast appeared to clear us of suspicion, and it looked like Guyin indeed.But I have been on the road for many years looking for him, since he is here, why is he hiding from us?

It was also his intention to let me go on the road to become a city patrol horse, but now I am in front of his eyes but he refuses to show up.He disappeared back then, probably because he learned the key clue to the tragedy of the Wei family.Therefore, since Gu Yin is in Donglin Town, I may be only one step away from the truth.

And what I have been searching for for a long time may find the answer here.When I thought of this, I was suddenly out of breath.Seeing my body trembling slightly, Ji Mingmei knew what I was thinking, and she was also shocked, "Could it be that what happened to the Lin family is related to the tragedy of the Wei family back then!"

Someone was ordering the horned beast, and that person was naturally nearby when Yuan Chumo died, but he didn't know where to hide.Ji Mingmei took the iron plate from my hand and looked at it carefully for a long time. I was about to echo what she said just now, but she tilted her head and said to me in astonishment: "This plate is fake!"

When I heard this, I immediately took the brand back from her hand, and said in surprise as soon as I got it: "It is indeed fake."

The authenticity of this brand is easy to identify, because the real brand is cold to the touch, no matter how you hold it, it will not become warm. Although it is dark, it can be seen in the dark.And the sign in my hand at this moment, before we hold it in our hands, it is already warm and humid, soaked in sweat.

I was anxious and didn't notice this before, but now I noticed it and said to Ji Mingmei: "Then is this brand imitated by the Lin family, or by Yuan Chumo?"

Steward Lin had already got up from the ground, and he half-understood from the sidelines, so he interjected, "This is not from Donglin Thatched Cottage. I have never seen it in the Lin family for so many years."

Although he didn't know the truth of what he said, and even if he had never seen this brand before, it could not mean that it was not faked by the Lin family, but there was no need to tell him this.I thought about it for a while, and then I was a little guilty. I thought that the people behind the horned beast killed Yuan Chumo and the mayor to protect the collection of books in Donglin Thatched Cottage.

But looking at it now, it seems that the person knew that someone was forging the token of the Six Arts Association, so he killed him.I originally thought that this person was the one I imagined, but when I saw this sign, I was a little shaken, thinking that this person really looks like Gu Yin.

To know the truth, the most direct way is to ask Lin Yubin.We came here to investigate the Wenling landslide, but unexpectedly learned that it was also related to the tragedy of the Wei family, so no matter what, Lin Yubin couldn't get away with it.I thought I couldn't hold back anymore, so I said goodbye.

Steward Lin was a little confused after hearing what we said for a long time. He wanted to ask something, but seeing that we were leaving in a hurry, he couldn't ask, so he had to lead us out of Lin's house.We thanked him at the door, and then we were about to turn around and go to Xiyuan Town to look for Lin Yubin, when Steward Lin suddenly said: "If you two pass by the book shop, please tell the second lady, the few sold out in the book shop This book. I will send it to the bookstore later, so I won’t bother her to go to the bookstore again.”

"Okay. Is Guanshi Lin responsible for the printing of books in the bookstore?" I thought of the book whose cover and content were misplaced, and asked him again.

"Yes, I have always been taking care of the affairs in the workshop." Manager Lin replied.

I nodded when I heard the words, and walked towards the town side by side with Ji Mingmei. When I reached the door of the book shop, I stopped by and talked to the second lady.Yesterday, it was the second wife who went to the town office to report to the officials to invite us, but presumably Lin Yubin and Manager Lin had told her about seeing the horned beast last night after they returned, so she was not surprised to see us appear.

I told her what Guanshi Lin said, and the second lady thanked me after hearing the words, and we were about to go out, when the second lady let out a "huh", pointed at me and said in surprise: "So the person who wants to buy the rare books in my library , it's really you guys!"

This was inexplicable, so Ji Mingmei and I looked at her in astonishment.Seeing our surprised look, the second lady became suspicious, "Isn't it? Then why are you holding this iron plate?"

"We found this in the thatched cottage, not our own." I immediately turned around and walked back to the book shop, and handed her the iron plate in my hand. "Someone ever mentioned to you that you want to buy the rare books in Donglin Thatched Cottage?"

The second lady took a look at the iron plate and handed it back to me, "Just two days ago, someone came to the book store and asked me if I could take out some rare books in the thatched cottage. Someone was willing to pay a big price to buy them. If I want, someone will come to me with an iron plate at that time, and I will give the book to him."

So Yuan Chumo and the mayor stole the books from the thatched cottage because someone was asking for a high price for the books in the thatched cottage!

Ji Mingmei and I looked at each other, and Ji Mingmei took the second lady's hand and said, "Someone is privately asking for a rare copy of thatched cottage, didn't you tell Mr. Lin about it?"

"If it wasn't for the meeting last night, I... I haven't seen him for several days," the second lady said in a low voice, with a lonely expression.

Lin Yubin had a concubine in Xiyuan Town, so he would naturally neglect her.We don't know if she already knew about it, and we dare not mention it to her.I coughed lightly, stared at her and said, "In that case, the mayor had a rare copy of thatched cottage with him when he died, did you think of anything?"

"My father-in-law appeared in the thatched cottage to steal the book, but he failed to get the book out of the thatched cottage, so the mayor took the opportunity to take the book. These two are working together to steal the rare book from the thatched cottage!" The second lady really thought After reading this, I don't know why I didn't tell anyone about it.If I hadn't asked at this moment, I'm afraid she wouldn't have said anything.

Ji Mingmei also looked at her with inquiring eyes, and the second lady smiled wryly: "The one who died in the thatched cottage was my wife's father, how dare I say this."

It turned out that she was afraid of offending Mrs. Lin, so she kept silent.As a good concubine, she had already had a difficult life at home, so it was reasonable for her not to dare to offend the old lady.

"Who is this person who asked you to buy a rare book?" Ji Mingmei asked her.

"I don't know. It was a beggar from Donglin Town who came to spread the word, saying that a passing guest gave him two dollars to tell him these words." The second lady replied.

Someone asked the second lady to buy a rare copy of thatched cottage, and agreed to use an iron plate as a record.But the iron plate appeared in Donglin Thatched Cottage, which is interesting.Since the iron plate appears there, it means that the buyer has appeared in the thatched cottage.Since he can enter the thatched cottage by himself, wouldn't it be more convenient to steal the books himself, so why would he ask others to buy them?

This person tried to bribe the second wife but failed, so he went to bribe Yuan Chumo instead.However, although Yuan Chumo succeeded, he died before he could take the book out of the thatched cottage.At this time, the mayor received the report from the Lin family and took the opportunity to take the book away when he went to the thatched cottage.But Ji Mingmei and I discovered Yuan Chumo's death. No one else knew about Yuan Chumo's death except us and the Lin family. How could the people who bought the book know that Yuan Chumo was dead and asked the mayor to help bring the book out? Woolen cloth?

Ji Mingmei hesitated for a moment, and said, "Unless the person who wants to buy the book is the mayor himself?"

"Not bad." I replied.

Originally, there was another possibility for this matter, that is, the Lin family who went to report to the official told the mayor about it and made this request to him.However, if the Lin family wants to steal books, it is much easier than Yuan Chumo and the mayor, and there is no need to cheat others. This is why the people who bought the books came to bribe the second lady first, so I ruled out this possibility first.

The second wife hesitated for a moment and said, "But, the mayor doesn't have any books in his house. What does he want this book for? Besides, he...he can't read. He and Lin Guanshi are Weng's son-in-law, and sometimes he will come to his home to invite Lin The steward helped him read some texts, so I know."

The mayor is illiterate!
I was stunned for a moment, and then concluded that the person who bought the books behind the scenes would definitely not be him.Rare ancient books are precious, but they are just a pile of old paper in the hands of an illiterate person, and it is useless to give them to him, let alone a big price to buy them, so there must be someone behind the mayor.

Perhaps this person is Yuan Chumo himself. The Yuan family has its own library, and has robbed Donglin Caotang of rare books over the years, with the motive of stealing books.Perhaps he failed to bribe the second wife, so with the help of his daughter, Mrs. Lin, he sneaked into the thatched cottage and tried to steal by himself.After his death, the mayor realized his motives, and wanted to privately take the book to the Yuan family in exchange for some reward.

But if this is the case, wouldn't it be more convenient for Mrs. Lin to steal the book by herself and give it to him?So my guess might not be right.I thanked the second lady, and then I walked out of the bookstore with Ji Mingmei, going to Xiyuan Town to ask Lin Yubin for clarification.After we arrived in Xiyuan Town, we quickly found out the gate of Yuan's house, and asked the servant who opened the door to pass the word to Lin Yubin.

The servant thought that he was busy with Yuan Chumo's funeral, and also saw that I was a patrol horse, so he took us directly to a side courtyard.We hadn't reached the gate of the side courtyard when we heard fierce quarrels coming from inside.I stood at the door and looked in, only to see two middle-aged men and a woman standing in the courtyard, both wearing filial piety clothes, and they were fighting with each other.

One of them was the "Lin Yubin" we had seen in thatched cottage.I saw that there was fire in their eyes, they were just about to start a fight, and I was suddenly surprised.What happened to the Yuan family, the three of them didn't go to make arrangements for the funeral, but they still wanted to make a noise.What's more, Lin Yubin is the son-in-law of the Yuan family, and he is the son-in-law, so he actually quarreled with the Yuan family in front of the mourning hall.

No matter what the reason is, this is an extremely disrespectful act, if it spreads out, I'm afraid it will be stabbed in the spine.At this time, the people in the courtyard saw us poking around, and thought we were idlers watching the excitement, so they yelled at us and told us to leave.The servant hurriedly said: "This is a city patrol horse, here to find my uncle."

Lin Yubin heard that someone was looking for him and came out of the courtyard. He looked angrily at me and asked me, "The patrolling horse? Ah, so you saw the horned beast killing people. I heard that Mr. Inquire about something. What is it, sir?"

"There is a place called Wenling Town, does Mr. Lin know?"

"Wenling Town?" Lin Yubin had a strange expression on his face. Instead of answering me immediately, he was silent for a while, as if he was considering whether he should answer whether he knew or not.

"If you know, you know. If you don't know, you don't know. Why does Mr. Lin still think about this for a long time?" Ji Mingmei raised her face and asked him. Although she was questioning, her eyes were clear, so that it would not be offensive.

"I know." Lin Yubin replied as soon as she finished speaking, "Almost 20 years ago, an old friend of the Lin family was from Wenling Township, and he came to Donglin Thatched Cottage as a guest."

"May I ask who is the old friend of the Lin family?" Ji Mingmei and I were very surprised. Seeing Lin Yubin looking at us, I hurriedly said, "I'm also from Wenling Town."

"Oh, since you are from Wenling Town, sir, do you know Mrs. Wen?"

As soon as I said this, I shivered. It was Mrs. Wen who came to visit the Lin family back then. "Then do you know that Wen's family has been buried by landslides?"

"I heard." Lin Yubin glanced back, "It's inconvenient to talk here, let's talk about it when we go back to Lin's house." He walked out of the courtyard as he spoke, and the person who had just quarreled with him also walked out of the courtyard. Yuan Haowen, the eldest son of the Yuan family.He came to the door and shouted: "You killed my father, do you want to just go away like this?"

(End of this chapter)