The two lanterns are covered with blue wax paper outside, so they appear blue and faint lanterns are hung in front of the ancestral hall.
The damaged threshold was abandoned under the porch, and the bulky censer was overturned and covered with ashes.
The plaque is still there, the handwriting is faintly recognizable, and the vermilion painted on the walls and pillars has faded. The yard is full of weeds, some of which have grown into the gaps of the roof tiles, and the copper bells hanging from the corners of the eaves hang alone, and the wind does not ring.
Ye Xiao let out a shrill cry in the shadows, and as soon as the person came, he fluttered his wings and flew away.
The ink carp looked around, and several rough men with sticks lay down on the ground.
When they entered the door just now, these people thought that the ink carp was here to grab the territory, and they rushed up with an angry scream. As a result, they looked like this in the blink of an eye. Coupled with the painful buttocks they fell, they looked around in amazement.
"who?"
"Did Chen Mazi send you to ask for trouble?"
The questioning stopped abruptly, because they saw the crooked mouth leader who was pushed forward by Lu Min.
Their leader's face was blue, and he looked terrified.
Others disguised as walking corpses were also chased one after another, some covered in mud, some trembling, their necks shrunken like a quail.
Don't ask me now, I've definitely hit a hard point.
Everyone was silent for a moment, and their expressions were not so much flustered as they were the dazedness of a stone finally falling.
- cheating near Taijing, don't they think that there will be an accident one day
Stealing and cheating are different from murder. Murder may be a temporary emotion, but there are prepared and premeditated actions, and people have more or less thought about the worst possibility.
Seeing that Mo Li and others were killed before they came up, a tiny hope rose again in their hearts.
"This..."
The head of the crooked mouth didn't know what to call these evil stars. He cried and begged for mercy: "We were blind and provoked everyone, but the brothers really have no money, and they can't find a few coppers from all over."
"Why do you want to stay here if you can't cheat money?" Mo Li suddenly asked.
The leader looked embarrassed, and then argued: "When I go back, I can only cultivate the fields, suffer all kinds of exploitation, and I can't make a lot of money all year round. If the weather is good, I can barely fill my stomach, so don't think about wine and meat. Although people here are hungry and full, but when they are full, they can really eat and drink enough. Isn’t it impossible to do this? A few days of hard work in exchange for a few days of relaxation? We just chose the latter one."
Lu Min was stunned. Are people's lives so difficult now
"Nonsense!" Meng Qi said with a cold face, "You are a corpse hunter in western Hunan, not a farmer at all. Where did you farm the land? Take other people's difficulties on yourself, thinking that you can fool the past?"
Everyone was shocked, and the leader of the crooked mouth said quickly: "No, no, there are only four or five real corpse hunters, and the rest are... I taught them. I haven't driven the corpse, but they are scared to pass by."
He looked at Meng Qi Mo Li's face, and said embarrassingly, "Everyone on the rivers and lakes knows what it is to chase corpses. Our brothers have no place to stand, and follow me back to my hometown to resume the old business. It's not all a lie. Is it? It's better to defraud the living of money than to deceive the dead, isn't it... "
Lu Min was stunned for a moment. He didn't know what the corpse in Xiangxi was, let alone the tricks in it.
Mo Li casually used voice transmission to enter the secret and told him: "The so-called chasing the corpse is to divide the corpse into several pieces to help people take it back, pretend to be a corpse at night, and rest during the day. When you arrive at someone's house, no one is allowed in the mourning hall, and then the corpse is pieced together. The hands and feet were exposed, the clothes were filled with straw, and the other parts were covered with talismans, claiming that no strangers were allowed to touch the corpse, otherwise the corpse would be deceived. They brought back only the head and limbs of the corpse, and they burned or buried the torso."
Lu Min's eyes widened in disbelief.
People at that time attached great importance to the integrity of the body. Hanging was a lighter punishment in criminal law than beheading. This is the reason. Even if they commit suicide, people often choose to throw water and swallow gold, and few use a knife.
Lu Min shouted angrily, and was about to pick him up and beat him.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the head of the crooked mouth hurriedly dodged.
"I've seen a few people who hunt corpses back then." Meng Qi slowed down, his voice was biting with a chill, he stared at the crooked leader, who only felt like a knife had been cut from his face Pass.
"In the earliest days, the corpse was also transported with the whole body, and then it changed..."
"Why did it change?" Mo Li asked involuntarily. Mr. Qin told him about the corpse expulsion. He didn't know anything about this industry.
"People who normally transport coffins back to their hometown will be looked down upon, while those who drive corpses are feared. They live in special rooms divided by the villages along the way, and even the foot shop and tea shop where they go to rest are colleagues who can't understand life. The relatives of the deceased respectfully presented gifts of thanks and food, and they would pay a visit on New Years and holidays, and thank them for three years in a row, until the mourning was over and the clothes were removed. There are various advantages in this, so they choose to be a corpse driver who pretends to be a ghost. , not the corpse carrier."
Meng Qi sneered at the people who were stumbling around, and continued with a sneer, "Some people don't believe that they are chasing the corpses, and they are quietly following them to see if they have carried the corpses on the road. The person who disturbed the walking corpse will have bad luck, and he will surely die within half a year, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he was murdered for money."
"No, no, the little one has never done this before." The head of the crooked mouth denied it and tried his best to defend, "That's all the old yellow calendar. Forty years ago, the government arrested a lot of people in Xiangxi, and they all went to prison for their crimes, and they all over the place. The shady houses where the corpse hunters lived in Xiangxi have all been leveled... I have no food for a long time, otherwise why would they be here to cheat?"
Mo Li calculated in his heart that this was an order from the official government of the Chu Dynasty.
Most of them were aware of the crime of the corpse hunters, so they used thunder. pressure.
However, the corpse hunters are deeply ingrained in the Xiangxi area, and there are always fish that slip through the net and escape, and the leader of the crooked mouth must be one of them.
"Even if you go back to chase the corpse now, you won't be willing." Meng Qi directly pierced through the minds of this group of people, and said with a half-smile, "As you said just now, how can you compare to cheating here if you work hard to live your life? Are you happy? Staying near the Zhuhou Temple and pretending to be a walking corpse is scary, and you don’t have to go over mountains and mountains, and you don’t have to worry about disposing of the corpse.”
The crooked mouth leader was speechless.
That's right, it's scary to go out on the front foot, and the back foot can get the property right away, and the fool will go back to the old business! Moreover, the Chu Dynasty officials exposed all their tricks back then, and there were more people who hated them, wouldn't they go back to court death
Mo Li looked at him one by one and realized that everyone was avoiding his gaze subconsciously.
Meng Qi left the person in the corner of the courtyard and entered the ancestral hall directly.
Mo Li was going to go in originally, but Mr. Jin Shui and the carriage were still outside the ancestral hall. He was worried that Lu Min would not be a match for these people, so he stood in the courtyard and didn't move.
The damage of Zhuhou Temple is not serious, the building is still intact, the biggest problem is that it is in disrepair.
Mo Li walked to the incense burner and reached out to touch the dust on it.
The leader of the crooked mouth has been carefully observing their actions. At this time, an idea suddenly occurred to him, and he thought that these two people came to pay homage to Zhuhou Temple
This is very common, and many scholars come here every year, and then they become the fat sheep in the eyes of the head of the crooked mouth and others.
The leader of the crooked mouth sighed in his heart. Originally, he only felt that he was unlucky. The "fat sheep" in front of him was stolen from another group of people. There are so many liars and robbers near Zhuhou Temple, even if he doesn't do it. For others, it is estimated that there is a lack of luck.
If these two people are here for Zhuhou Temple, then there is no problem of luck, and they are destined to be planted today.
In this wild country, Zhuhou Temple is the best place to stay. If he and his brothers have not worked hard, they may not be able to occupy this place. Now that this advantage has turned into a life-threatening talisman, how can this corpse hunter leader not be annoyed
"I have incense here, do you want your son to use it?"
The crooked mouth leader desperately winked at his subordinates, and Mo Li turned his head to look at him unexpectedly.
The leader struggled to squeeze out a smile, and his subordinates moved quickly, and actually took out a box of incense from the corner.
This is relatively inferior sandalwood, mixed with a pungent smell.
Mo Li took the box with his eyes down and asked in surprise, "What are you doing with this kind of thing?"
The leader's heart was stunned, but he had no other choice but to gamble.
"This... Rumors say that Zhu Hou has the ability to control gods and ghosts. Although I can't read a few words, I still have to be sheltered by his old man. He has a place to shelter from the wind and rain, and he occasionally offers incense."
"yes?"
The ink carp put the box containing the sandalwood to the side.
At this time, Meng Qi also came out. Although he looked worried, he didn't have any murderous intent.
The head of the crooked mouth secretly said that it was a fluke, if it wasn't for the people who spread Zhu Yan so magical and taboo, and replaced another old official of the Chu Dynasty, they would have tossed this place beyond recognition.
"What should these people be like?" Mo Li asked Meng Qi through a voice transmission.
It is obviously impossible to stay here, not for Zhuhou Temple, but for not harming passersby.
The problem is to capture this group of corpse hunters, as well as other scammers - even if all the bandits in the vicinity are captured, as long as one or two slip through the net, within a year, the bandits will gather here again.
Without him, the money would come too fast.
The yamen who once colluded with the bandits and the people in the small town who set up traps together have become accustomed to the "good life", so how can they be willing to cut off their fortunes
These people's sins do not lead to death, and it is impossible to kill them, and they cannot kill them completely.
Meng Qi may not pay attention to the grief after his friend's death, because he was well prepared, he would not be too sad to see the ruined scene of Zhuhou Temple, but Zhuhou Temple became a den of bandits, which was unbearable.
"It's very difficult, isn't there someone ready-made?" Meng Qi motioned Mo Li to see Lu Min.
"You mean?"
"Prince... No, Emperor Yongchen only asked us to take his younger brother out of Taijing, and agreed to hand it over to Jin Yiwei at a place to pick up. Eighty percent of the person in charge of this matter is Gong Jun, an acquaintance, it's better to do things better."
"… "
Mo Li looked at the smile on the corner of Meng Qi's mouth, thinking that the fat mouse was going to cause trouble again.
Sure enough, I heard Meng Qi continue to say: "I think Lu Min is very enterprising and doesn't want to be too far away from the capital. The nearby town is a good choice."
"Can you leave Mr. Jin Shui behind and investigate the fraud case?" Mo Li raised his forehead.
"Exactly." Meng Qi said solemnly, "The reason why this way of making money is good is because the government is unwilling to be involved with Zhuhou Temple, and always avoids this side, and has to worry about not being seen by the emperor. These liars In order to hide here safely, as long as there is a bottom line, things will become much easier."
Jin Yiwei's reputation is not for nothing.
Even if there is a good fortune, as long as people hear the three words Jin Yiwei, they will immediately withdraw.
Mo Li was silent for a long time, Fang sighed: "Why is this!"
Why did the world become like this? The king's preferences can dominate the lives and deaths of thousands of people. A scruple of worrying about causing trouble can make county officials turn a blind eye to bandits. Now even Jinyiwei can become a good strategy for governing the country, isn't it absurd
The sky, which was covered by dark clouds, finally started to rain.
The ink carp used internal force to drain the rainwater, and the ground he stood on was dry.
The head of the crooked mouth was stunned, because he couldn't hear the two people talking, and he became more and more frightened.
Meng Qi frowned and looked at him, sealed everyone's acupuncture points in a blink of an eye, and brought the ink carp into the ancestral hall.
There are messy bedding and pots and pans scattered inside, only the main hall is still clean.
Mo Li went all the way to the tablet offering table. The statue enshrined could only see a man in an official robe holding a jade wat. His eyebrows, eyes, and face were all carved in a very standard way, that is to say, he couldn't see any difference from others at all. .
"That's why Zhu Wenwen, the Marquis of Leyang, became the Duke of Wenwen."
The document is Zhu Yan's posthumous title.
Wise and wise is called Xian, and knowledgeable and sage is called Xian. A person has the wisdom to understand the world, and the talent of the sky and the latitude, the word offering is low.
"What kind of person is the Marquis of Leyang?"
Mo Li heard of Prime Minister Deng, who likes to eat mutton, at home
Yuanzi is particularly beautiful General Song, Meng Qi never said anything about Zhu Yan.
Everyone has a side of affection and sex, and sages are no exception.
Meng Qi frowned and sold the old friend decisively.
"Zhu Yan is lazy!"
"lazy?"
Mo Li was stunned, Zhu Yan is from Jiangnan, where the literary style is at its peak, and a child prodigy who is less than sixteen years old can emerge every three or five years. Under such circumstances, Zhu Yan became famous as a teenager. He was full of poetry and books, and knew almost everything. How can such a person be lazy
"He is afraid of hardship and trouble. He won't remember until the sun rises to the mid-heaven. In addition to his poor health, he is afraid of cold and heat. It is often said that after the world is settled, he will resign from office and spend a leisurely day at home, reading books, drinking tea and eating melons. In short, don't let him go to court before dawn."
Meng Qi was distracted for a while, and continued, "He is too lazy to speak and curse people, too lazy to fight for the position of the first mastermind, and if he doesn't get married and has no children, Deng Shusheng once said that even if the world's most beautiful people take turns to take off their clothes and pass in front of Zhu Yan, they are not as good as one. This book is more attractive to Zhu Yan, after all, it takes less effort to turn the book."
When Mo Li heard the words, he was amused at first, and then he was stunned.
Such a person who was so afraid of trouble and hardship decided to help the world and make suggestions for Emperor Chu Yuan, and finally died of illness in the army.
"Brother Meng, the old friends are gone, but there will still be people who care about the world like the Marquis of Leyang, who do not seek fame and wealth, but only for the common people."