In Suzhou Embroidery Street soaked by plum rain, Tang Ren squatted on the doorstep of "Jinse Pavilion" and ate a wine-made cake. The oil paper was wet by the rain, revealing half of the yellowed embroidery. The moment Qin Feng lifted the curtain of the embroidery shop, the smell of sandalwood mixed with blood hit his face - the old embroidery lady Aunt Xue was lying on the skewer, with a silver needle piercing her throat, and a string of blood beads were nailed on her neck, forming the shape of the Big Dipper.
"This needlework... is double-sided three-different embroidery!" Su Chen lightly touched the satin on the back of the corpse, and the bloodstains actually ooze out a peony pattern on the other side. "The blood spots on the front are stars, and the back is the stamens. The murderer knows Su's unique embroidery skills."
Tang Ren kicked over the embroidery basket, and out rolled a piece of embroidery with gold thread. On the embroidery was a torn painting of "Snow Scene at Hanji Temple", and there was an extra ink mark on the eaves of the bell tower - the same as the pine smoke ink in Aunt Xue's fingernails. A figure wearing a bamboo hat flashed by the window, and when Tang Ren chased out, he only picked up a mulberry leaf, with a small hole in the leaf vein caused by the needle, and even the two words "Huqiu" were not visible.
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In the blue printed cloth dyeing workshop at the foot of Huqiu, Qin Feng pushed open the creaking wooden door. Tang Ren's neck was entangled by the hanging cloth, and he pulled a piece of indigo cloth while struggling - the faded part showed the outline of a human figure, which seemed to be the pressure marks of a corpse wrapped in cloth.
"There's something wrong with this dye vat!" Su Chen used a bamboo pole to stir the dark green water, and a tangled mass of silk floated up, with half a jade button tied to the end of the thread. The owner of the dye shop, Old Wu, was drunk and muttered: "Old lady Xue came to borrow the ancestral indigo dye the other day, saying that she wanted to restore something... Song Dynasty's 'Qingbi Xiu'."
Suddenly, there was a sound of fingernails scratching against the back wall. After prying open the compartment, the secret compartment was filled with moldy embroidered shoes, with birth dates embroidered in silver thread on the soles. Stuffed inside the oldest shoe was a marriage certificate from 1953: "Marriage between the Xue and Lu Clan", with the man's name blurred out in blood.
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When he broke into the Kunqu Opera Museum at night, Tang Ren was entangled by the sleeves of his costume. Qin Feng drew a light and saw the dark red dragon robe in the suitcase - this was the one the famous actor Mr. Yun wore when he was spotted twenty years ago. Su Chen opened the collar and saw that the eyes of the dragon embroidered with gold thread were double-sided, with the left eye green and the right eye red.
"This needlework is Aunt Xue's unique skill!" Qin Feng wet his costume with tea, revealing the blood-written lines on his armpit: "What can we do about the beautiful scenery and beautiful weather? Who can enjoy the joyful events?" Tang Ren touched the hidden pocket of his skirt and took out half a jade pendant with teeth marks - exactly the same as the offerings in the Lu family ancestral hall.
The night watchman, Old Yang, approached with a lantern in hand: "Boss Yun was also at the Cha Lu family before he died..." Before he finished speaking, a skeleton in costume fell from the ceiling of the stage, with faded Q-shaped cloth strips wrapped around its sleeves.
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On the incense table of the Silkworm Temple by the Taihu Lake, Tang Ren found Aunt Xue's blue printed cloth. Inside, the Silkworm statue had a jade silkworm pupa inlaid between its eyebrows, and the pupa's belly was carved with tiny holes. Su Chen looked through the moonlight, and the light spots on the cloth formed a picture of Taihu Lake, with the three words "Biluochun" marked somewhere.
"This is a code word!" Qin Feng scraped away the word "tea". "The word 'Bi' was half eaten by worms, leaving only 'Wang' and 'Bai' - there is a Baiwang Island in Taihu Lake!" The statue suddenly turned, and a poison needle shot out from the secret door. Tang Ren covered it with a cloth, and the cloth burned when it encountered the poison, revealing a line of scorch marks: "The soul of the silkworm girl of the Lu family returned to her hometown."
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The rented fishing boat was sailing through the waves. The old fisherman pointed to the isolated island of Wuji and said, "The island was originally called 'Canhua Island'. In 1958, the mainland conducted experiments there. Later..." The conversation was interrupted by a sudden reef collision. When everyone swam to the island, Tang Ren's ankle was entangled by seaweed - it turned out to be a ball of silkworm silk soaked in oil!
The iron door of the abandoned silkworm room was covered with scratches. Qin Feng pried open the rusty lock, and the musty glass jars were filled with deformed silkworm corpses. The experimental log recorded: "In the 12th year of the Showa era, Lu tested silkworm poison on living people." Tang Ren kicked over the wooden box, and out rolled the body wrapping - embroidered with the stage name of Boss Yun.
"Look here!" Su Chen removed the tiles and revealed a vertical well sealed with cement. A skeleton was embedded in the well wall, and the word "Xue" was engraved on the silver bracelet on the wrist. In the swaddling clothes tightly held in her arms was a jade silkworm pupa - the pupa was full of pinholes, and when light was transmitted through it, what was reflected at the bottom of the well was actually the face of Hanji Temple.
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At midnight, the ancient bell of Hanxiao Temple rang by itself, and Qin Feng followed the sound to find the secret room. The inner wall of the bronze bell was cast with silkworm-shaped inscriptions, and Aunt Xue's silver needle box was stuck at the impact point. Tang Ren turned the bell pestle, and the bricks cracked to reveal the corridor - at the end of the secret room, there were piles of blue and white porcelain with Q marks, and a piece of human skin was stuck to the bottom of each porcelain, and the pattern matched the silkworm seed file of the Lu family.
Su Chen raised his hand and pointed it at the mural: Before the Japanese army withdrew in 1945, they sealed poisonous silkworm eggs into porcelain. To keep the secret, the Lu family sewed the insider into the dye vat. At the end of the mural, a figure holding embroidery is exactly the stalked boss Yun!
"So he is Aunt Xue's son..." Qin Feng picked up half of the blood embroidery, and the back of the peony showed a baby's smiling face. The morning bell shook off the dust on the beams, revealing the list of craftsmen who sealed the poisonous porcelain. The first page clearly stated the grandfather of the current director.