Osmanthus Alley is cleaner and tidier than Jiaoye Alley where the Zhou family lived before. The ground is paved with neat bluestone slabs, and there are clean courtyard walls on both sides of the alley, so it does not look messy.
When Li Hong reported his wife missing in the seventh year of Tianyou, the address recorded was No. 17 Guihua Lane. He entered the lane and walked about a cup of tea before arriving at the door of No. 17.
But when Jiang Lingyao stopped and took a look, she found that No. 17 had been vacant for a long time. The door was covered with spots and the door knocker had long been rusted and stuck to the broken wooden door.
Because it was an ordinary house, there was no lintel, but under the porch was a dense spider web, as if no one had lived there for a long time.
Jiang Lingyao frowned slightly. She took a step forward and knocked three times on the door. After waiting for two seconds, there was still no answer. Jiang Lingyao said, "Su Ning, ask the yamen runner to ask the pawnbroker who manages this deserted house. We will go in and search directly."
Shen Suning hurried back to the alley entrance, gave some instructions to the bailiff, and then returned to the door of No. 17, where she saw her senior sister still looking at the outer wall of the house.
"You see, this house has been unoccupied for many years, but its courtyard wall and outer door are newly built and do not match the foundation."
Shen Suning took a closer look and found that it was indeed the case. The foundation was obviously made of old stones, while the courtyard wall above and the foundation were made of two different types of stones and did not match.
Jiang Lingyao frowned and asked, "Does this place pass through water?"
There is no need to go to great lengths to rebuild a house like this. If it were not truly uninhabitable, the people would not change the house at will.
Jiang Lingyao's guess was reasonable. The courtyard wall was too high, and the two of them couldn't see clearly even if they stepped on it. Shen Suning said softly, "Senior Sister, why don't we go in first?"
"Wait a minute."
The two of them waited at the door for a moment. Fortunately, the yamen runners were very familiar with the major and minor events in Wanping. In a moment, they not only found the broker, but also brought him over.
The brothel owner was a middle-aged man in his forties with pale face, droopy eyes and a thick nose. When he saw the two superiors with great momentum, he immediately stepped forward to beg for mercy: "My two superiors, what's the matter? You can ask me anything. There is no family in Osmanthus Lane that I am not familiar with."
Jiang Lingyao nodded calmly and pointed to number 17, saying, "I will only ask about this household."
When the clerk saw that it was number 17, he immediately looked miserable. After a long pause, he finally said in a low voice: "Sir, this household, this household is haunted..."
Jiang Lingyao said, "Do you have the key? Open it and let us go in to check."
The yamen runner seemed a little timid, but he still handed the key to the yamen runner and whispered, "Sir, this family is really scary. In the past, when it rained, there were always cries coming from them. Neighbors have complained to me many times. Because of it, the two houses I own are not easy to rent out."
Jiang Lingyao raised her eyebrows slightly and waited until the yamen runner opened the mottled door. With a creaking sound, the mess inside was revealed.
Although the outer courtyard wall and gate have become dilapidated and abandoned due to long-term disuse, the inside is becoming more and more dilapidated and terrifying. The walls and window frames of the main house have been burnt to charcoal, and only the tiles on the roof have been replaced with new ones, so it doesn't look too scary from the outside.
This house is slightly larger than Zhou's. In the narrow courtyard there is a small kitchen with only a stove left, and a shed for storing firewood.
The main house consists of a main room and two rooms on the left and right. If it had not been burned down, it would have looked very spacious and grand, and would have been an excellent residence.
Although Li Hong was only an inspector in the Ministry of Justice, he had been in officialdom for many years. He was nearly thirty years old, and after ten years of ups and downs in officialdom, he had indeed accumulated some wealth.
It seems that if this person is Li Hong, and his wife is Xiuhong, then after redeeming Xiuhong, the two should have some money left, and their life should not be difficult.
Jiang Lingyao stood in the charred courtyard, looking at the house inch by inch. She asked, "Do you know who rented this place and why the fire started?"
The pawnbroker had a bitter face and sighed repeatedly: "To be honest, this house was also in my hands at that time. My family has been in the pawnbroker business for generations. When I was in my twenties, my father handed over the three houses in Guihua Lane to me. Just after I took over, a couple who were said to be from Datong would move to Wanping every two days."
Jiang Lingyao's heart moved. No wonder they did not find Li Hong and the other two in the files of their migration from Yanjing to Wanping. It turned out that they had changed their place of origin.
Li Hong should have changed his place of origin back to Datong, so that it would be more difficult to investigate him if he moved from Datong to Wanping.
Jiang Lingyao asked: "Can you check the other party's household registration?"
Yazi frowned and whispered, "Sir, although you are a stranger, you are a kind person. I will tell you the truth. Please don't tell the officials in Wanping."
After Jiang Lingyao agreed, the broker said, "Sir, we are a small family doing business, how can we check other people's household registration? Even though the government has issued an order, it is just a formality. We will accept whatever the tenant shows us. The couple said they were from Datong, but they spoke the official language of Yanjing, and I understood it as soon as I heard it."
The business of a pawnshop is based on regular customers and favors. If they just follow a script, they will have no business.
Jiang Lingyao said, "Well, just tell me, and I know it."
Yazi heaved a sigh of relief and said, "If this family hadn't been in trouble, I wouldn't have remembered it so clearly."
"The husband and wife were plain-looking, about 30 years old. The wife was pretty and kind. She was not young anymore. She came to Wanping alone and had no children. I thought they were sad in their hometown and had left their hometown to start a new life."
"They looked at several houses in a row, and finally they liked this one. They bargained down the price and rented it. They have been renting it for three years."
Jiang Lingyao asked: "Do you know what their names are?"
Yazi said: "I remember, the man's name is Li Hong, Hong means big, and I don't know the wife's name, but I know her last name is Lin, so I usually call her Mrs. Lin."
Jiang Lingyao asked again: "Do you remember what they look like, especially what's special about your wife's face?"
Yazi was stunned for a moment, and thought for a long time with a sad face, then said: "Sir, to be honest, it has been too long, and I don't remember it. I only vaguely remember that Madam Lin had a mole at the corner of her lip, and because of this, the aunts and uncles in Guihua Lane often muttered about it, saying... that what they said was not very nice."
Jiang Lingyao's heart was beating like a drum.
By this time she could confirm that this Mrs. Lin was the deceased Xiuhong, that is, Lin Xiuhong.
Although she was beautiful, she still had a bit of a vulgar air about her, which led to gossip among the neighbors.
The two of them rented the place for three years, which means they really want to make a living and settle down here.
Jiang Lingyao said, "Please continue."
Yazi took a breath and said, "Yes, Mr. Li and Ms. Lin came to Wanping, and they didn't stay indoors. Mr. Li had good handwriting and could use an abacus. He worked as a bookkeeper for the wine shop during the day and copied books at night to earn some money. Ms. Lin was skillful. She was not good at embroidery, but she was very good at sewing. So she bought a lot of embroidery and made new clothes to sell. The two of them lived a colorful life."
"What a pity..." Yazi's eyes also showed some regret, "What a pity that something happened in March."
Jiang Lingyao asked: "What's the matter?"
The guard said, "Master, come and check. Have you found any clues? Back then, I remember it was April of the seventh year of Tianyou. One day it seemed to have rained heavily. Li Langjun came to look for me in a panic and asked me if I had seen Lady Lin. Of course I didn't know. A few days later, I often saw Li Langjun looking for someone near Wanping. I don't remember how many days he looked for her. In the end, Li Langjun went to the government to report the case."
"Later, the person was not found. Mr. Li suddenly lost his energy and spirit. He quit his job at the restaurant and locked himself in his home. But after two or three months, he accidentally burned himself to death at home."
Jiang Lingyao turned around and looked at Yazi: "You tell me yourself."
Yazi racked his brains and said, "I vaguely remember that because Mr. Li and his wife rented the house for three years, I didn't take care of it. Who knew that Ms. Lin disappeared, and Mr. Li searched for her day and night. In the end, he reported it to the police, but it seemed to be of no use..."
When Yazi said this, he covered his mouth hard and almost shivered.
Jiang Lingyao said calmly: "Just tell me."
The agent said, "The government couldn't find him. In fact, Li Langjun had looked for me. I... I knew some friends who could help me find him. He paid me some money, so I gave him some help. But my friend said it was hard to find him, so he gave up after ten days of searching, and he didn't want the money back."
Lin Xiuhong's disappearance was indeed unexpected. She and Li Hong had almost no familiar friends and relatives in Wanping. She left home in the morning and never returned. It was obvious that she had been killed or in trouble. After searching for her for so many days, even the government searched for her but to no avail. Li Hong must have given up in the end.
The guard said, "Mr. Li burned himself to death in his home. The fire was not very big at the time. When the fire brigade arrived, the main house was just on fire. The fire brigade put out the fire and found that Mr. Li had drunkenly passed out while drinking and broke the wine jar under the lamp, which caused the house to catch fire."
"It was really tragic back then."
How tragic it is that a living person was burned to death and the entire family was completely wiped out.
Jiang Lingyao asked, "What do you mean by haunted ghost?"
Talking about this, it makes Yazi even more uncomfortable than the disaster that happened back then.
"Oh, please don't mention it. This house is mine. I rent it out. No one can help me with this tragedy. Fortunately, Mr. Li has paid the rent for three years. I thought I would renovate it and rent it out again after the death. But it rained a lot in summer. It rained all day in Wanping. I don't know if No. 17 was wronged or not, but whenever it rained, there would be cries. Many neighbors complained. Even the foreman I was familiar with refused to take the job. I had no choice but to leave it there."
"Many years have passed, and the courtyard wall is in a state of disrepair. The houses nearby are not rentable, so I paid a lot of money to have the courtyard wall repaired, but I dared not touch the inside anymore."
Yazi had a very good memory. What they were doing was the reselling business, including leasing and selling. He could remember what happened back then very clearly.
Jiang Lingyao said, "Then I understand. This yamen runner will take you to the county yamen, and you just need to write a confession truthfully."
After the broker left, Jiang Lingyao and Shen Suning were the only ones left in the dark, dilapidated house.
Jiang Lingyao looked at Shen Suning: "Suning, what do you think?"
Shen Suning's face showed no sadness or joy, but her tone was firm: "This Li Hong is that Li Hong, Senior Sister, we found the person."
————
Jiang Lingyao could never have imagined that they would find Li Hong so unexpectedly.
If it weren't for this sudden murder, they would never have looked through the missing persons file, and Li Hong's name and address appeared clearly there.
Jiang Lingyao sighed: "Time is also destiny."
Perhaps it was really God's pity that he could not bear to see loyal ministers die unjustly and good people buried, so he gave clues one by one today, after so many years.
"There is a destiny in the dark."
Shen Suning didn't know why Jiang Lingyao wanted to investigate Li Hong, but since her senior sister wanted to investigate, she would help, and she had no doubts deep in her heart.
Seeing her senior sister finally smile, she was quite happy, but it was hard to smile on her usually cold face. However, Jiang Lingyao could see the joy in her eyes.
Jiang Lingyao shook her hand, smiling with relief: "Su Ning, thank you very much."
Shen Su Ning shook her head and said, "We are sisters. Senior sister, please don't say thank you anymore."
The two of them exchanged a few simple words of emotion, and Jiang Lingyao went to the main room.
"Let's look for some relics from that time in the ruins. It would be great if we could find some clues."
As Jiang Lingyao spoke, the two of them did not mind the dirtiness and entered the main room and began to search.
The main room of the main house had been completely burned black by the fire. The tables, chairs and benches had long since turned into unrecognizable pieces of charcoal. Even if there were any valuable items, most of them had been taken away by the pawnbroker, and the rest were just remnants that no one wanted.
The main room was where the fire started. It was burned so severely that almost nothing was left. Only the beams were still barely supporting the house, preventing it from collapsing.
The two of them went to the right room, which should be where clothes and belongings were stored. There was a table under the window.
This place is the farthest from the main room, and although it is not exposed to the fire, it can still be seen as a desk.
As for the closets and trunks inside, they were not badly burned, except that the doors were missing and all the wearable clothes and bedding had been taken away, leaving only a few half-burned old clothes.
Jiang Lingyao squatted down to take a look, and found that it was already rotten, so she did not touch it.
After looking at the right room, the last one to look at was the left room.
The room on the left is the bedroom where Li Hong and his wife live. There is a narrow earthen bed in it, and the other end of the earthen bed is connected to a small kitchen. It is the most common style of farmhouse.
Except for the earthen bed, all other household items were burned, and only a charred mound of earth remained of the bed, with nothing left.
It only took the two of them a moment to walk around the house. They could see the entire burnt house from beginning to end, and there was really no clue left.
Shen Suning couldn't help but feel a little sad, but Jiang Lingyao said thoughtfully: "Just now, that bastard repeatedly said that this house was haunted, and that whenever it rained, there would be the sound of ghosts crying, is that right?"
Shen Suning said: "That's right."
Jiang Lingyao narrowed her eyes, walked quickly to the narrow courtyard, and looked around the yard.
The small kitchen next to the left room had been burned down, leaving only the stove. The stove on it had been taken away, leaving a pitch-black hole.
Opposite the small kitchen, all that was left of the shed used to store firewood was a dark patch of ground, and next to the shed, a patch of half-human-high weeds grew wildly in the dilapidated courtyard, adding a bit of vitality to the charred yard.
Jiang Lingyao walked forward step by step. She took the sword from Shen Suning and pushed aside the dense and messy weeds bit by bit.
"If the sound of rain is what triggers the ghost's cry, then the key point must be in the courtyard."
As Jiang Lingyao finished her words, the long sword hit something hard with a bang.
The two looked at each other, then dived into the weeds together and saw a well covered with weeds in the corner of the courtyard.
After struggling to push aside the layers of weeds on top of the well, the two of them saw a long-abandoned dry well. The mouth of the dry well was covered with moss due to years of rain erosion and weeds, but because it had not been burned, it was the newest old thing in the courtyard.
Jiang Lingyao bent down and looked inside, and could only see mottled moss on the well wall and the pitch-black bottom of the well.
Because it was a small well dug in their own yard, the well mouth was very small and could only accommodate wooden barrels in and out, and it was completely impossible for people to go in and out.
Jiang Lingyao frowned slightly. She took out a fire starter from her arms, turned it on, and let the flame rise slightly, hanging over the wellhead.
After just three or two breaths, the flames began to dance, swaying slightly with the wind coming up from the bottom of the well.
It can be seen that the bottom of the well is not completely blocked, and there are still air vents or water channels.
The well mouth was too narrow and deep, so even if the two men thrust the fire into the well, they could not see what was going on inside.
Jiang Lingyao said, "Wanping is no different from the capital. If you have money to dig a well, the water you get is bitter. You can't drink the water, it can only be used for washing clothes and bathing. If you want sweet water, you have to find a water store to deliver it."
"The well in their home should be the bitter well, but it has been abandoned for many years and is covered with thick dry grass. Whenever it rains, the well bottom dries up and the water rises, there will be a gust of wind that swirls in the well, so there is the sound of ghosts crying."
In the early years, perhaps because the death of the Li family was so tragic, the sound of the wind on rainy or windy days was mistaken for crying. Later, weeds grew and covered the well mouth, and the crying sound became real.
Jiang Lingyao lowered his eyes to look at the narrow well mouth, and suddenly said: "If a person no longer wants to live and wants to burn everything in his home, then where would he put the only thing he wants to leave behind?"
Shen Suning's eyes lit up: "It will be put into the well."
Only by hiding things deep in the well can they avoid being burned. Even if someone wants to draw water from there to put out the fire, they probably won't pay special attention to whether there are other things in the well.
Shen Suning asked: "Senior Sister, what are we looking for?"
Jiang Lingyao was slightly stunned, but after a moment, she shook her head: "I don't know. I don't know whether Li Hong will leave any clues, and I can't be particularly sure that Li Hong is the person we are looking for, but we are already here and have seen this well."
So, why not give it a try?
Jiang Lingyao and Shen Suning each took a long bamboo pole, reached into the well, and gently tapped on each mud brick at the well mouth.
They knocked very carefully, again and again, and only the crisp sound could be heard.
Until Jiang Lingyao knocked on a mud brick near the well mouth, the sound it made was not crisp, but instead had a reverberating and ethereal feeling.
The two of them looked at each other. Shen Suning looked at the location of the mud brick and said to Jiang Lingyao, "Senior sister, hold my waist. I'll open it and take a look."
Due to the narrow well mouth, the two young girls could not enter, so it was even more impossible for Li Hong to get in. Therefore, the special mud bricks were located three or four rows below the well mouth, and could just be touched by reaching in.
Jiang Lingyao hugged Shen Suning's waist tightly. Shen Suning bent down lightly. The dagger in her hand was extremely sharp, and it made a clear dent around the mud brick.
Shen Suning had strong hands. She knocked up and down and left and right and finally took out the whole brick. After taking out the brick, Shen Suning probed the empty mouth with the dagger.
The next moment, both of them heard a crisp "dong" sound.
Jiang Lingyao said: "Be careful."
Shen Suning hummed muffledly, handed the dagger to her other hand, then stretched out her hand and probed into the empty space.
Not long after, Jiang Lingyao saw Shen Suning dig out a tightly wrapped box from inside.
Jiang Lingyao helped Shen Suning to stand steadily before she took a closer look at the box.
The outside of the box is tightly wrapped in a waterproof oil paper bamboo cover. When the bamboo cover and oil paper are opened, there is a square iron box inside.
Perhaps because it had been hidden in a brick hole for a long time, there were not many rust spots on the iron box, and it actually looked quite new.
There was a copper lock on the iron box. Shen Suning, without blinking an eye, used a dagger to break the bolt of the copper lock. After opening the iron box, there was an insect-proof and moth-proof rosewood box inside.
These layers of wrapping are truly careful and meticulous, and also show how important this box is to Li Hong.
Jiang Lingyao opened the box and saw a letter inside.
Perhaps to prevent the paper from rotting, the envelope of this letter is made of satin. When you open the satin envelope, you will find a brocade handkerchief inside.
The case has been investigated to this point, and Jiang Lingyao does not intend to keep it a secret from Shen Suning any longer. Except for her identity, she can tell everything else.
Jiang Lingyao's hands couldn't help shaking. She opened the paper and found that the words were carefully embroidered with thread. No wonder they hadn't been damaged for so many years.
Jiang Lingyao took a deep breath and read it word by word.
The letter said that he was responsible for reviewing the confession files that showed that Taifu Qiao had secretly colluded with Emperor Jingde and concealed evidence of Jingde's restoration.
He found that among them were two students of Master Qiao, one named Li Xin and the other named Zhao Zhong. Both of them initially said that they knew nothing about the matter, but after being interrogated by a Jinyi Guard, both of them changed their statements.
One said that he saw with his own eyes that Imperial Tutor Qiao brought back the token of Emperor Jingde, while the other said that Imperial Tutor Qiao also sent people to contact other nobles in the capital in an attempt to rebel and restore Emperor Jingde.
Both of them were students of Qiao Taifu. Because of their confessions and the testimony of servants in Qiao Taifu's home, Qiao Taifu attempted to restore Emperor Jingde. He was sentenced to death along with his entire family for the crimes of usurping the throne, being disloyal, and committing treason.
Considering that he was the prince's mentor and had tried his best to protect the prince during the Jingde period, his nine clans were not implicated, nor was his head beheaded in public. Instead, he only ordered his family to commit suicide.
When Jiang Lingyao saw this, tears were streaming down her face.
She held the handkerchief in her hands, trembling slightly. The pain and unwillingness that surged up from the depths of her heart almost overwhelmed her mind.
Seeing her like this, Shen Suning hurried forward and hugged Jiang Lingyao's shoulders, anxiously saying, "Senior Sister, don't cry, don't cry."
Jiang Lingyao leaned in her arms, crying her heart out and feeling extremely sad.
When he was three years old, he was held tightly in Jiang Zhisheng's arms. He watched his father and mother both dressed in plain clothes. Everyone in the family looked at her with relief, with farewell and reluctance in their eyes.
They could die, but their three-year-old daughter still had a good life.
Jiang Lingyao still remembers that her mother finally covered her eyes with a hood and told her: "Yaoyao, from now on you have to call Uncle Jiang your father, and the Jiang family will be your home."
Mother's hands were cold, but to Jiang Lingyao they were so warm that she always lingered on them.
The last words her mother said to her were: "Yaoyao, forget the Qiao family, forget your grandfather, forget me and your father. From now on, you are the sixth daughter of the Jiang family, and your name is Jiang Lingyao."
Jiang Lingyao's cries echoed in the ruins-filled courtyard and could be faintly heard outside the mottled door.
Bitter, but not sad.
It was a pain that had been hidden for fifteen years, so painful that it broke one's heart.
A red figure stood outside the door, his eyes lowered and his entire face hidden in the darkness.
At this moment, the Golden Crow hid in the clouds, and only darkness remained between heaven and earth.
It seems to be getting dark.
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