Chapter 182 Weird
Xie Zhao stood up and walked around the small Buddhist hall with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.
"Yuzhu, although this place is no longer under the jurisdiction of the capital, my husband passed by here when he traveled from Jiangnan a few years ago."
Xie Zhao had a photographic memory and he didn't remember there was a village here.
Xiahe Village is not within the scope of his memory.
If it is a migration of refugees in recent years, then why are most of the houses in Xiahe Village thatched houses, shabby in appearance but not so shabby on the inside?
"Yuzhu, the altar in the small Buddhist hall is made of the finest red sandalwood, and the Buddha statue is plated with gold powder."
The cakes and pastries in the Buddhist temple had been left for a few days and were stained with incense ash. Upon closer inspection, one could see small red words underneath the cakes, indicating that they were from a century-old brand.
"This piece of hawthorn cake costs ten coins, which is enough for ordinary people to buy two kilograms of rice. Even if they are pious, they will not exceed their own ability."
The woman who delivered the letter was wearing a patched linen dress, and when she fell, a corner of her inner garment that was exposed was made of fine silk.
“Rich people gather in Xiahe Village, why pretend to be poor?”
Being low-key is for outsiders to see. When things are abnormal, there must be something wrong. The people of Xiahe Village have secrets that cannot be told.
All the villagers died and the women cried until they fainted, but Xie Zhao only heard joy in their crying, not a single bit of sadness.
"Can you hear that?"
Jiang Yuzhu was suspicious, and following Xie Zhao's instructions, she gently rubbed the Buddha's body with her hands. Immediately, golden powder covered her fingertips, and it was indeed gold powder!
Xie Zhao did not respond, but pointed at the Buddha statue and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, the Buddha statue will give you and me a surprise."
After saying this, Xie Zhao walked around to the back of the Buddha statue and untied the red cloak that was draped over it.
Behind the cloak, there was a huge hole.
The hole was blocked by iron sheets. Xie Zhao pried it open with a dagger, then made chopsticks out of tree branches and reached into the Buddha statue to feel around.
There were a lot of things inside, and Xie Zhao easily put on a gold bead necklace.
There is a jadeite statue of Guanyin hanging under the necklace, which is very valuable.
Jiang Yuzhu watched it with her eyes wide open, then took the necklace in her hand and examined it carefully, and finally confirmed: "Yuanhe, it's real!"
Gold is precious. This gold necklace is enough to feed the whole village!
Hiding the gold in the Buddha statue, combined with the villagers' hidden wealth, made Jiang Yuzhu think more and more that it was not simple.
It was already dark outside the window, and a perpetual lamp was burning in the Buddhist temple.
After waiting for a while, footsteps were heard outside the door.
The servant brought in a little girl of eight or nine years old and reported back, "Master, Madam, this little girl was found in a family's cellar."
When she was found, the little girl looked dazed and didn't make any noise.
Her lips looked chapped, and she must have not had any water for several days.
"We gave her a glass of water."
No matter what the subordinates asked, the little girl did not answer.
"What's strange is that as the only two survivors in the village, the little girl hid in all directions after seeing the woman, sobbing and shouting something."
Xie Zhao looked around and ordered, "Tell that woman that we will send someone to report to the authorities before dawn tomorrow, and take the little girl to stay in the Buddhist temple tonight."
As soon as his men left, Jiang Yuzhu immediately asked, "Yuanhe, do you suspect that the woman did it on purpose? Is she one of the murderers?"
After all, the massacre of the entire village was no small matter. After reporting to the police, they found a witness. The government was eager to make a big deal out of a small matter.
Otherwise, once the incident gets out of hand, the performance of local officials will be greatly affected.
Jiang Fulu was in the Ministry of Personnel, so Jiang Yuzhu had some understanding of official evaluation.
If a horrific case occurs in an area under the jurisdiction of the local officials, most of them would like to cover it up and not let anyone know, unless they really can no longer hide it.
"I'm not sure, so I might as well lure the snake out of its hole."
Xie Zhao leaned against the wall, and Jiang Yuzhu found a comfortable position and leaned against Xie Zhao's side.
Seeing so many corpses, Jiang Yuzhu lost her appetite and after waiting for half an hour, she was already drowsy.
The little girl said nothing and crawled under the altar, shivering.
The wick of the eternal lamp was about to burn out, and the flame flickered.
After an unknown amount of time, the little girl poked her head out from below, her eyes suddenly brightened as she looked at Xie Zhao, and she said quickly, "If we want to survive, we must flee Xiahe Village, otherwise, it will be very dangerous!"
Xie Zhao nodded slightly without saying anything.
Now, the little girl became even more anxious: "I'm telling the truth. If you don't care about your own life, don't you care about your wife's life?"
Xie Zhao looked at the little girl in surprise. She was a smart girl, so he asked casually, "Why didn't you answer just now?"
"I'm afraid that you and Aunt Zhang are in cahoots."
The little girl crawled out from under the altar, knelt in front of Xie Zhao, and spoke clearly, "Aunt Zhang's man is the murderer of my parents. I was hiding in the cellar and saw everything!"
The little girl's maiden name is Ningxiang, and she is not a local.
Two years ago, my parents came here from their hometown to work and stayed in Xiahe Village.
"There is not just one murderer here, there may be more people, it is hard to tell in a few words. If I am saved, I will repay you!"
Ningxiang mustered up her courage and tried to make a deal with Xie Zhao using her weak power.
The noise woke Jiang Yuzhu up. She leaned on Xie Zhao, calmed herself down, and seemed to be thinking about something.
Before Xie Zhao could express his opinion, Ningxiang ran to Jiang Yuzhu and knelt down, saying, "Madam, please take Ningxiang away from here!"
Aunt Zhang's man will definitely return to silence her.
After making sure that the person in front of her had nothing to do with Aunt Zhang, Ningxiang became bolder.
In most families, women make the decisions. Ningxiang would rather ask Jiang Yuzhu for help and decisively abandon Xie Zhao.
Jiang Yuzhu sobered up and said lazily, "This lady always likes equal exchanges. As long as you are useful, this deal can be done."
Jiang Yuzhu likes a little girl named Ningxiang very much. She is quite clever.
"There is a big secret in Xiahe Village. Aunt Zhang's husband is too greedy, so he wants to kill people to silence them. Apart from those murderers, I am the only one left in the village."
Ningxiang's implication was that only she knew the secret.
She didn't say it now, or she might die on the spot.
People only look at the superficial benefits in front of them. Ningxiang doesn't think that anyone would be so kind-hearted when it comes to benefits.
The best thing to do now is to stay alive, and we can deal with the rest later.
"The murderer was not one person, but a group of people. I heard it all."
Ningxiang was worried about Xie Zhao's manpower. After all, there were only a few people coming to the village to search.
The most urgent thing is to leave overnight.
Ningxiang didn't know how to drive a carriage and didn't have any tools, especially since she hadn't eaten for several days. When she was hungry, she couldn't run far on her own.
Ningxiang's logic was clear, and Jiang Yuzhu nodded and smiled frequently, "Smart girl, this lady likes you!"
Since you have decided to wait in the Buddhist temple, you must have some skills.
Thousands of soldiers were lying in ambush outside the village, but Jiang Yuzhu was as steady as a rock.
Xiahe Village has many secrets and a lot of money. If it is all ill-gotten gains, it would be better to confiscate it and transport it to the south of the Yangtze River in exchange for food and cloth to supply military supplies to the soldiers in the north.
Stay, make more money, and make the delayed time more valuable!
In the second half of the night, the village was quiet, only a few dogs that had not been killed gathered together, making sad cries.
There were heavy footsteps in front of the small Buddhist temple.
Someone lowered his voice and said, "Since we have been exposed, why not send them to hell together!"
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