There are more and more mysteries, and because of the long time, they are getting harder and harder to solve. But the harder the mystery is, the greater the temptation for Fu Mingrui. This is a kind of competitiveness. Some people consider it an achievement to chase the harder it is to chase a woman. For Fu Mingrui, the case is the woman, and the harder the case is, the more obsessed he is.
"The deceased was about seven feet tall..." Wu Guang began to examine the bones. When he saw the scars all over the body, his heart tightened. These scratches showed that the deceased had suffered extremely cruel abuse. The other party had been using a knife to cut all over his body, and the sharp knife also cut his bones, so there were marks on the bones. "The deceased did not die of natural causes. Judging from these scratches on his remains, he was constantly tortured... He must have died of torture..."
"How cruel!" Yi Jixuan frowned and bared his teeth. "I have heard that some scholars have a habit of abusing their wives. Could this be Huang Ye's wife?"
"Master Yi, this skeleton is a male." Wu Guang pointed to the pelvis. "The biggest difference between females and males is the pelvis."
"Hiss..." Yi Jixuan touched his arm, it was as if those scratches were all scratches on his body, making him unable to bear the sight any longer, "I won't watch it anymore, it's too cruel." Yi Jixuan turned around and walked out of the dark little room.
"How old was the deceased?" Fu Mingrui looked at Wu Guang.
Wu Guang carefully examined the skeleton and said, "Preliminary judgment is that the deceased should be around sixteen to eighteen years old."
"A teenager?!" Fu Mingsu was a little surprised and thought carefully, "Huang Ye's children are still alive, who is this teenager? Is he the child of a servant?"
Fu Mingrui looked at the skeleton on the ground solemnly. If the scratches on his body were restored, what kind of cruel abuse had this boy suffered before his death? There were almost no intact bones on his face, chest, arms, finger bones, thigh bones, and his body. How much hatred did the person who hurt this boy have for him? That would make him do such a beastly act without any humanity!
Fu Mingrui raised his head, thought for a moment, and looked at Wang Quan: "Send someone to catch up with Chen Chu and tell them that another skeleton has been found. Notify everyone to detain all the people over 30 years old in Huang Ye's family. Send people to the Yi family to set up a court. Tomorrow I will try the case behind closed doors in Huang Ye's old house!"
"Yes!" The loud voice dispelled the coldness in the hut.
The sunlight broke through the dust, fell on the thin skeleton on the ground, and shone into the two dark, empty eyes in the skull.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the capital city is particularly lively and the inspections at the city gates are becoming more stringent.
The restaurants in the shopping streets were decorated with red silk lanterns to welcome guests from all directions. During festivals, the capital was the most prosperous time.
Red silk has been strung around Mirror Lake, and a variety of exquisite lanterns have been hung. The lotus, jade rabbit, and Chang'e are flying to the moon, and the dragon, snake, horse, and sheep are celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival together.
Each lantern has a blank piece of red paper pasted on it. It is not that there are no riddles, but that they are left for the young men and women to come up with their own riddles on the day. This can be regarded as the annual matchmaking meeting in Beijing. If you miss the Mid-Autumn Festival, you will have to wait for the Lantern Festival next year.
That night, boys and girls will leave their own riddles on the lanterns and hide their own messages inside. Here, it is key to write meaningful words, because many men and women prefer lanterns with beautiful words.
It is not Mid-Autumn Festival yet, but the whole capital is already filled with a festive atmosphere.
Every household also hung up red Mid-Autumn Festival lanterns, and fathers in the yard began to make cute rabbit lanterns for the children.
Artists flocked to the capital to make a fortune during the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival.
The person Fu Mingrui had caught before was also a magician who was planning to make a fortune on the Mid-Autumn Festival night.
Huang Ye's family moved out of the capital the year after Huang Ye disappeared and moved to the East Suburbs mansion, which was originally the summer residence of Huang Ye's family. It was also the place where many Beijing scholars lived in their old age.
The eastern suburbs are surrounded by mountains and rivers, and the sound of the national temple bells is cleansing every day. Even the royal palace was built here, so many dignitaries also built their own summer resorts here.
Although it is a suburb, the housing prices here are only more expensive than those in the residential areas of Beijing.
After Huang Ye's death, the Huang family was already in a state of decline. None of Huang Ye's children inherited his painting skills, let alone his descendants. Today, the Huang family's children rely on Huang Ye's connections in the academy of literature to make a living by holding some idle positions in the academy of literature in the capital.
The other source of income is still mainly from selling Huang Ye's paintings. They also kept some of Huang Ye's paintings before his death, and sold one whenever they were in financial difficulties. Huang Ye's later paintings are very easy to sell, because of the bright colors, so hanging on the white wall is very eye-catching. They are deeply sought after and loved by merchants in Beijing.
As the years passed, the price of Huang Ye's paintings rose. So if Xiao sold just one painting, the whole family would be able to live for several years. Huang Ye's paintings could really support his descendants for a hundred years.
Huang Ye’s eldest son is now 65 years old. He passed away due to illness a few years ago. His eldest grandson Huang Zong also retired from the Academy of Literature a long time ago. Now his great-grandson Huang Jiao has taken over the position of clerk in the Academy of Literature.
Huang Jiao put on the uniform of the literary college and bowed to his father: "Father, I am going to the literary college."
"Yes." Huang Jiao's father nodded, "Go and say goodbye to the ancestors."
"yes."
The ancestor mentioned by Huang Jiao’s father was Huang Ye’s wife: Lu.
Fifty years have passed, and this Lu family is still alive.
The old ancestor had already sent her precious great-grandson Huang Jiao to the courtyard. She was almost ninety years old this year. She was a real, famous longevity star. As long as her birthday passed the Mid-Autumn Festival this year, she would be ninety years old. Seeing that there were only seven days left before her birthday, Mrs. Lu was particularly radiant these days.
Because then, she could enter the palace to meet the emperor, receive the emperor's title, and get a seal of the God of Longevity, which would be a great blessing! So she had been a vegetarian, and as long as she could move, she would go to the National Temple to chant sutras and burn incense.
The Huang family had also begun preparing for the 90th birthday early, just waiting for Lu to return after being conferred the title. The high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital would surely come to the Huang family to congratulate them, and there would be another wave of gifts, which would further increase the reputation of the Huang family.
Mrs. Lu had already planned to auction off a painting by Huang Ye on her birthday, and then add her own calligraphy to it and print it with the seal bestowed by the emperor. This painting would surely be able to sell for more than one million taels!
"Ancestor, I'm going to the Academy of Literature." Huang Jiao bowed respectfully to Lu.
Mrs. Lu smiled at him lovingly: "Okay, okay, go early and come back early."
"Yes. Ancestor."
"So good." Mrs. Lu looked at Huang Jiao with full doting.
Just then, the old butler hurried in: "Master - Master - Oh! Ancestor!" The old butler was surprised and saluted quickly.
Mrs. Lu looked at him unhappily: "What are you doing? You're so nervous so early in the morning."
The old housekeeper looked tense, and dared not speak for a moment, looking at Huang Jiao's father Huang Zong. The Huang family members beside him also stepped forward and looked at the old housekeeper in confusion. (To be continued)