Chapter 56: Heaven and Earth
After these words were spoken, everyone else was speechless.
After a long while, Old Wei asked awkwardly, "Then...will my son's condition improve if he eats more meat?"
"You'd have to keep eating for a long time to survive. But as far as I know, you're the only one left alive after the Battle of Yellow Sand Valley. While there are military benefits, you and your brothers have over ten children between you, and elderly parents to support. With only a few dozen acres of land at home, it's already difficult to make ends meet. Could Xiao Wei possibly live alone for so long while the whole family is in this predicament?"
Needless to say, Xiao Wei had already shaken his head decisively: "Forget it, I... I will find another way out."
Old Wei sighed and patted him on the back. Although he was frustrated, he still said to Ling Tianshui, "Ling Dianjun, we old buddies wrongly blamed you before, thinking you had some ulterior motive. Now I kowtow to you and admit my mistake!"
"That's fine." Ling Tianshui stopped him and said lightly, "But you can go home and wait. News should arrive in the next two days."
The Wei family father and son were puzzled by this, so Captain Ma shamefacedly asked on their behalf, "What's the news?"
"The Northern Yamen is sending someone to garrison Yanxing Gate recently. You'll need to stay there for two to three months to handle some trivial matters. The veterans in the army refused to go, and since I saw that Xiao Wei was being cautious, I introduced you to them. They'll provide you with three meals a day, and don't take all your salary home. Save some for yourself to buy lamb liver or something like that. After you've recovered, you can be transferred back to the Northern Yamen Forbidden Army. You'll have your own way in the future, so don't let your father and the veterans down."
Little Wei, who was already disappointed, suddenly burst into tears of joy. After being pressed to the ground by his father, he kowtowed awkwardly to thank Ling Tianshui and Qiandeng, and then hurriedly ran back home along the mountain path. His steps looked lighter than a rabbit.
Qiandeng smiled, turned his gaze away from Xiao Wei, and looked at Ling Tianshui beside him, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Ling Tianshui naturally knew what she wanted to say, and simply said, "If the prince and the prince were still alive, they would probably do the same."
Qiandeng nodded silently, saying nothing all the way.
When they arrived at the farm, Qiandeng met Uncle Ying and talked about the Wei family's affairs, asking him to not worry about Xiao Wei's future.
Uncle Ying naturally remembered that he had a grudge against Ling Tianshui because of this incident, and he couldn't help feeling embarrassed and self-blaming.
Ah Zhong also sighed and said, "Indeed, there are many differences between wealthy families and ordinary families."
Sister Ying, who was standing nearby, only heard the general idea and then said, "But most of the things are pretty much the same. You can tell what they are for at a glance."
Daimao was still at the farm taking care of his father's funeral. When he heard the county lady coming, he rushed over to serve her. When he heard her words, he laughed and retorted, "Just now, we used the plum vase as a vase, and it was only after Aunt Xuanji pointed it out that we realized we had made a fool of ourselves."
"That's true. The main thing is that the wine bottle and the vase are similar in shape. We haven't seen them before, so how can we tell them apart?" Sister Ying couldn't help but laugh. She added, "Maybe there are other things that are wrong too, but as long as they are similar, we can just use them anyway. It's no big deal."
While listening to their idle chat, Qiandeng recalled the story about bamboo silk yarn that Aunt Xuanji had told her before.
In fact, it is not just the poor who don’t understand the rich. Even a spoiled royal lady like her doesn’t understand the life of ordinary people.
Therefore, there are many things that seem normal to others, but she actually doesn't understand them.
She walked into the courtyard where she rested and sat on the couch she had sat on before. She looked at the house where her husbands had lived before and murmured subconsciously: "I don't know..."
At this moment, a ray of light seemed to split the chaos in front of her, shattering the confusion that had been lingering in her mind.
The shape is the same... more or less the same... She doesn't understand the ordinary life, and ordinary people don't understand her life...
Everything she saw seemed to be turned upside down. She stared at the house in front of her for a moment, then suddenly turned around and walked out, quickly heading towards the courtyard where the men were staying that night.
Daimao and Sister Ying didn't understand what was going on, so they trotted after them in confusion.
Ling Tianshui, currently serving as the Imperial Palace's military commander, was at the manor house, checking on all necessary precautions and was not present. Cui Fufeng, who was alone in the front yard, saw Qiandeng rushing out and chased after him, asking, "What's wrong?"
Qiandeng nodded at him, motioning him to come with her. Then she turned and asked, "Sister-in-law Ying, when Aunt Yingluo checked the artifacts seized from the rebel army, did she make a booklet?"
"Yes, just put it on my side..."
"Go get it. I want to see it."
She ran straight into the golden hall and pushed open the closed door, letting the sunlight shine into the dark room.
Sister Ying hurriedly brought out the list of utensils and asked Qiandeng to check it.
She flipped through the booklet recording the items in the house and compared them with Cui Fufeng.
The cups in this room were originally a pair of celadon cups carved with qilins. However, one of the cups was broken when Meng Lanxi came to cause trouble, and the other was smashed outside Ji Linyou's back window. Therefore, there are no cups or plates in the room now. Even the teapot was sent to the Dali Temple for inspection and sealed in the evidence room. Only a burnt-out oil lamp remains on the table.
It was an ordinary Yue Kiln celadon lamp, flat and round like a bowl. In the middle of the bowl was a small protrusion for placing the wick, and there was a handle on the edge for people to take it easily. It was no different from an ordinary oil lamp outside.
Comparing with the records, they clearly saw that the lamp placed in this room was originally a Xing kiln tall lamp, which had nothing to do with the Xing kiln tall white porcelain lamp in shape, color or pattern.
"Huh? This is the style we use every day on our farm." Sister Ying picked up the lantern and looked at it, a little surprised. "Although I have forgotten what kind of lanterns were placed here that day, the ones given to the gentlemen were all beautiful and unique in style, not something as crude as this."
Daimao reminded him, "Sister-in-law Ying, you forgot. That night, Young Master Jin and Young Master Meng had an argument, and the lamp was broken. We brought this for Young Master Jin, so it's something we usually use on the farm."
"No wonder, that's right!" Sister Ying suddenly realized.
Qian Deng only thought for a moment, then turned and walked towards the house where Meng Lanxi lived: "Let's go and see what kind of lamps there are."
Pushing the door open, the small interior is in full view. The pot, two cups and oil lamp on the table are still there. The Xing kiln white porcelain pot and cup, paired with the Xing kiln white porcelain tall lamp, look like a set.
However, Qiandeng's gaze shifted from the white porcelain goblet to the booklet, and he slowly read out the name of the lamp he expected: "In the second room on the west side, there is a Xing kiln white porcelain pot, two cups, and a tall white porcelain lotus-patterned lamp."
When she mentioned the lotus-patterned porcelain lamp, Sister Ying slapped her head and said, "That's right! Although I was in a hurry at the time, I still remember that lamp. It was the most exquisite of all the lamps. It had high legs, translucent white porcelain, lotus patterns carved around the edges, and gold-painted rims..."
As she spoke, her eyes fell on the porcelain lamp on the table. Although it was considered exquisite, there was no lotus pattern on it anywhere. She looked hesitant. "Strange, this lamp doesn't seem to match the one I remember..."
"Yes, it does not match." Qiandeng closed the booklet and looked up at Cui Fufeng.
Cui Fufeng's eyes were complicated, and his voice was low: "The county lady is saying that Ji Linyou's murder of Jin Tang was just a deception, and the real murder method was actually that oil lamp?"
Qiandeng nodded, looked at the lamp again without saying a word, turned and walked out of the room, indicating that the door should be locked again.
Seeing her gloomy expression, Daimao felt a little worried and couldn't help asking, "County Lady, this lantern doesn't match the original one... Is it a big deal?"
"It's important." Qian Deng said in a low voice that she couldn't hear clearly, "Because it determines the life and death of the two gentlemen."
Cui Fufeng looked at her expression and knew that she had figured out all the ins and outs of the case.
He accompanied Qian Deng back into the house and asked, "Should we ask Ling Tianshui to come over so we can discuss this?"
"No. Don't tell him everything we discovered today." Qian Deng said without hesitation.
Cui Fufeng looked at the slightly cold expression on Qiandeng's face and slowly understood something: "So, Ling Tianshui...?"
Qian Deng nodded, pressed his throbbing temples, and whispered, "I'm really confused right now. I don't want to admit it, but the facts are right in front of me... What should I do?"
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