Pork Shop
A familiar yet weak female voice was heard, and Yuanli blurted out, "Hongxiu?"
The woman quickly let go of her upon hearing this, and collapsed to the ground, panting exhaustedly. The blood on her dress had already dried. She helped Hongxiu onto the bed, feeling extremely anxious. After much hesitation, looking at the increasingly frail Hongxiu, Yuanli finally took out her necklace and summoned Ah Cha to revive her.
Yuanli was in a state of panic when faced with Ah Cha. Ah Cha had been the Pluto for countless years and was a veteran ghost. He knew what Hong Xiu was at first glance. However, Ah Cha did not ask any questions and revived Hong Xiu as she requested.
Yuanli whispered in gratitude, "Thank you, A-Cha. I will definitely repay you for this kindness. If you need me in any way, just let me know."
"It's here right now." Cha Suxun moved closer to her until he could hear her breathing. Then he slowly said, "Follow me back to the underworld, and illuminate everything I have, just like before."
The magnified handsome face and the magnetic voice in her ear made A'li feel a little guilty. After being kidnapped, she was made a god, but she never went to the underworld to inform him, and she didn't even find a new candle for him.
"Forget it, being a god is so good. My Netherworld Mountain is so gloomy and dark, it's definitely not as bright and sunny as the heavenly world." Cha Suxun stepped back a few steps, keeping his distance from her and said, "I won't tease you anymore. You can keep this ghost. Stay away from the people in the underworld. As long as you don't cause trouble to the world, you will be safe."
After saying this, Cha Suxun's figure disappeared. In the dim room, he turned into specks of silver light that drifted away until he completely disappeared.
When Hongxiu woke up, she sat up with tears in her eyes. Yuanli hurriedly sat beside the bed and asked what had happened. As soon as she opened her mouth, Hongxiu grabbed the corner of the quilt and cried even harder.
"A-Li, Huai'an deceived me so much. I originally thought his spirit was wandering the world and hadn't come to Wangchuan to find me. But last night, I followed his trail and found him. He had been reincarnated and became a scholar."
After hearing this, Yuanli was furious, but not surprised. Countless ghosts, suffering daily, bathed in the Forgetful River. Some, seeking to soak for a thousand years, so they could see their loved ones in the afterlife; some, unwilling to reincarnate due to their deep attachments; and some, simply to witness their deceased loved ones' reincarnations, passing through the bridge, a glimpse from afar.
In this world, love is the only thing that cannot be explained or understood. Among the mortals in this world, there are many women like Hongxiu, who are betrayed by love yet wait patiently for hundreds of years.
"Is your injury also related to Huai'an?"
"There's a demon in the Imperial Examination Hall! Last night, I followed the trail and saw a very beautiful woman sitting in Huai'an's arms, kissing me. I angrily pulled her down, but Huai'an's eyes were still blurry. The woman hit me, and I could only watch as she sucked Huai'an dry."
Yuanli helped her tidy up her clothes and asked her to take refuge in Prince Wen's mansion. She would return to find her as soon as she was done with her work.
Wen Yici came to look for her after he finished his work. Seeing the delicious food, his eyes were filled with joy and his appetite was whetted. He ate until his stomach was a little full. Yuanli asked him if it was to his liking. He wiped his mouth and said calmly, "Not bad."
After coming out of the Imperial Examination Hall, he dismissed the carriage and servants, and only took a few skilled subordinates with him, and took her for a stroll in the prosperous Kyoto to digest the food.
Kyoto is brightly lit at night and is more prosperous than during the day. It is the imperial examination period and there are many wealthy people coming in. The vendors simply open until midnight just to make a few more taels of silver.
On the noisy street, pedestrians kept talking about how delicious the cooked meat from Lao Zhang's family was, like pickled pork. Although it was lean meat without even a bit of skin, it was still oily and fragrant.
"The lean meat tastes as oily and fragrant as fat. Is it really that magical?"
"I heard from the servant at home that it was indeed delicious. They bought some raw meat, but it was knocked to the ground by a cat, so they threw it away. However, I always feel that the color and texture of the meat look a bit strange." Yuanli said nervously.
Wen Yici looked at his subordinates behind him. Lin Jian shook his head, but Wang Wu replied excitedly, "Your Highness, my wife left home early today and grabbed a portion. She brought it to me during dinner. I shared it with a few brothers and they tasted it. It's really delicious. The pork tastes like a mixture of lamb and beef."
After listening, Wen Yici stopped, turned around and whispered a few words to Lin Jian, then he walked away quickly.
Wen Yici whispered in her ear, "Madam, do you want to know why that meat... tastes different from pork?"
Yuanli nodded, her face full of gossip. She felt that the meat was a little different, but after Wen Yici kept her in suspense, he smiled and stopped talking, and took her to visit the shop.
Passing by a pearl hairpin stall, an old lady in coarse linen clothes enthusiastically called out, "Sir, buy a pearl hairpin for your wife."
Seeing that she didn't object, Wen Yici approached the stall, picked up a pair of silver mandarin duck hairpins, and said, "Madam, do you like them?"
"Madam, you are so lucky! This is a pair of mandarin ducks, chosen by your husband himself. We will surely live happily together until old age."
A shy blush crept onto Yuanli's cheeks. He approached her, holding the pearl hairpin in his hand. His fingers caressed and stroked her fine black hair, pinning it into her bun. After a careful look, he lowered his head and said, "My lady is more beautiful than the silver hairpin."
While putting the pearl hairpin on her, the old lady saw the Wen token on his waist, and then looked at them nervously, behaving much more restrainedly.
Wen Yici took out a tael of silver and handed it to the old woman, but she quickly waved her hands and said, "No, no, no, I won't take any money. This silver hairpin is for Madam. Thank you for suppressing the bandits at Wangjiapo and saving my family."
Yuanli insisted that the old woman accept it. This amount of silver was enough for the poor to eat and wear for a year. Although the old woman was selling silver hairpins, her clothes were very simple. But the old woman refused to accept it, saying that the hairpin was worthless. Her ancestors had been making pearl and silver hairpins in Jiangling for generations. When the bandits burned, killed and plundered, they fell into decline and fled to Kyoto. The poor couldn't afford it, and the rich didn't like the things on the stalls, so they only made silver hairpins.
When Yuanli mentioned her children, the old woman stroked her white hair and said with a sad look, "My eldest son was beheaded by bandits and died by hanging on the city wall. My second son's leg was broken, but he can sit at home and make hairpins with my old man. I also have a little daughter who works as a maid in Prince Wen's palace. I come out to sell hairpins during the day. It's enough for our family to make a living."
After thinking for a moment, Yuanli took off the plum blossom hairpin she had worn today and took out ten taels of silver. She said, "If you don't mind, come to my house and work for me. I'll use this ten taels of silver to buy some materials and make a finished pearl hairpin for me to see. If your craftsmanship is really good, I'll negotiate a business deal with you."
"No disdain, no disdain. Madam, you appreciate me. I am so grateful."
"You can pick out some from what you have at home and let me see them. Take this hairpin to the mansion to find Steward He. When he sees you, he'll know you belong to me and won't stop me." Yuanli stuffed the pearl hairpin and silver into the old woman's hand, leaning in close and whispering, "Prince Wen's Mansion, don't tell anyone."
The old lady nodded, packed up her stall, said goodbye to her, and hurried home to prepare what she wanted.
Wen Yici looked at her in confusion, but she confidently kept it a secret for him, and then followed him around in a good mood, but her mind naturally drifted elsewhere.
About an incense stick's time later, Lin Jian returned to his side and took the group to Zhu Rou Zhang's butcher shop.
The pork shop, which was usually closed at night, had its door closed, but the lanterns hanging on the eaves were brightly lit. Lin Jian kicked the door open, and the door panel became a little unstable.
The pork in the shop had already been sold out. Several shop assistants were kneeling on the ground, carrying wooden buckets and rags, scrubbing the floor vigorously. Their faces were filled with fear as they asked, "Sir... Sir, you are visiting so late at night. What brings you here?"
"The cooked meat in the shop today is exceptionally delicious. It's a pity I didn't buy any. Why don't you make another portion for me tonight?"
"Sir, it's not that I don't want to, but there's really no meat left in the pork shop. Besides, the cooked meat is made by the boss, and we are just hired hands. We really can't do it. Please come back another day."
As soon as the waiter finished speaking, several guards "invited" Zhu Rou Zhang over and bought some pork. He was muscular and strong, but his legs were shaking and his forehead was covered with sweat.
Zhu Zi Zhang was cutting the pork with trembling hands. The slices of meat were almost thick like lumps. When the fried meat was served on the table, Wen Yici did not taste it. He only let Wang Wu, who had said he had tasted it before, try a piece.
After only one piece, Wang Wu frowned and asked in confusion: "My Lord, this tastes wrong."
Zhu Rou Zhang knelt down and opened his mouth several times but could not explain anything until a guard in the backyard exclaimed, "Found it!"
Several of the servants lost their patience and kowtowed, begging for mercy: "Sir, sir, we confess! That cooked meat wasn't pork, it wasn't pork! The evidence of the washed meat scraps is buried under the tree in the backyard!"
Zhu Rou Zhang turned around and slapped them a few times, his mouth pursed and his eyes filled with disappointment. He pointed at them with a trembling hand and said, "Think of me, Zhu Rou Zhang, who has never treated you harshly, and has always been kind to your families. He has always given you pork and silver during festivals. Can't this stop you from talking?"
Wen Yici held her in his arms, and the guards took out a pile of hair and several hard bones and placed them in front of him. At this time, Zhu Rou Zhang was no longer afraid and said calmly: "I divided the people, but I didn't kill them."
Upon hearing that it was a human, Wang Wu and several guards who had eaten cooked meat at noon began to vomit. Even with Prince Wen present, they couldn't hold back.
Yuanli's eyes widened in shock, and she shrank back into Wen Yici's embrace. It wasn't like she hadn't suspected this, but she'd thought what she'd heard on the banks of the Wang River was cruel enough. She hadn't expected this Zhu Rou Zhang to be even more perverted.
Wen Yici covered her ears and asked, "Who is she?"
"I don't know her. The day before yesterday, I stayed up all night slaughtering pigs. Manxianglou ordered a lot, so I slaughtered a few extra, about five, and they were all piled up in the warehouse. When I arrived yesterday, I was busy cutting up the pork. By then, she had already lost her skin and was lying bloody in the pile of pigs. I was scared, but I was also afraid that if I reported it to the police, they would misunderstand and arrest me. I have parents, wife, and children at home, and I can't let anything happen to her."
"So, you cut her up and fried her by yourself, and sold her to regular customers. What about the arm and even leg bones?"
Pork Zhang sat on the ground, looking at his shaking hands and crying, "Yes, who knew that human meat was so delicious? It was sold out in less than two hours. Haha, bones, the soup in Manxianglou today should taste no worse than my cooked meat, right?"
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