Inside the carriage, Ye Chang asked Su Fengnuan, "What did you say to Xu Yunchu through sound transmission?"
Su Fengnuan told Xu Yunchu that the housekeeper killed Yun Ni to Ye Chang.
Ye Chang heard the words and said, "The housekeeper of Guozhang's mansion is a son of the family, and has served the three generations of Guozhang, Guojiu, and Xu Yunchu. Unexpectedly, he became a family thief."
Su Fengnuan said, "Since the housekeeper committed the crime, we can't get rid of the inner house. It's not good for us to stay in the Guozhang's mansion. When the matter comes to an end, if it is related to the case of the secret channel of the agency, Xu Yunchu will definitely tell us result."
Ye Chang nodded.
Su Feng warmly said, "It's still early, do you want to go to the courtyard at the exit of the secret road?"
Ye Chang said, "Go!"
So, Su Fengnuan ordered the driver outside, "Go to the West Street market."
"Yes." The coachman replied and drove the carriage into West Street.
Ye Xidao, "I didn't expect that the exit of the secret road turned out to be in a deserted courtyard in the West Street market, and the deserted courtyard was sealed. The seal of the government has been unoccupied for many years, which is really interesting." tight."
Ye Chang said "Oh?"
Su Fengnuan then told all about what she, Ye Xi, Xiao Han, and Xie Xuan had found in that courtyard.
Ye Chang said, "After going to that courtyard, it seems that we need to go to the Ministry of Households to check carefully, and also go to the government office and the Ministry of Punishment to check the files. Who is the owner of the mansion?"
Su Fengnuan nodded.
The carriage arrived at the West Street market. This area of houses is where the people in the market live, and it is also where the poverty behind the prosperity of the Southern Qi capital lies.
Su Fengnuan lifted the curtain of the car, looked outside, directed the driver, and turned into a narrow alley.
Coming to a dilapidated door, Su Fengnuan said to the coachman, "This is the place, stop."
The coachman reined in the horse's reins and stopped the carriage.
Just as Su Fengnuan was about to jump off the carriage, Ye Chang held her hand, got out of the carriage first, and then handed her hand to her. Su Fengnuan understood, took his hand, and slowly got off the carriage .
In the alley, there was an old man with a gray beard sitting on a stone pier in front of a courtyard door in the distance. His clothes were sloppy. When he heard the movement, he looked to this side. Surprised look.
Ye Chang and Su Fengnuan glanced at each other, then walked towards the old man not far away.
Ye Chang shouted, "Old man!"
The old man stood up slowly leaning on the wall, looked at Ye Chang and Su Fengnuan, both of them were dressed luxuriously, and their looks were unparalleled, he asked in amazement, "You two noblemen, what's the matter for you to come to this kind of place?"
Ye Chang asked, "The old man just saw us, why did he look strange?"
The old man heard the words and said, "It's been more than ten years since the government put a seal on this family and sealed the courtyard. This is the first time that the little old man has seen someone come to the door, so I'm surprised." After finishing speaking, he asked , "Dare to ask why Miss Young Master came here?"
Ye Chang said, "Come to investigate the case."
The old man was even more surprised, "Didn't the case be closed more than ten years ago?" After speaking, he looked at the two of them, and then at Ye Xi, Xiao Han and Xie Xuan who were following them, seeing Xiao Han and Xie Xuan Wearing the clothes of the guards of the Su residence, he immediately asked in surprise, "A person from the residence of General Su?"
Ye Chang smiled and said, "The old man seems to be very clear about the clothes of the guards in each government."
The old man said, "Little old man with such a humble life, what he fears the most is to offend the nobles of the various prefectures in the capital, so he will always remember the servants of the various prefectures." After saying that, he took two steps forward and looked at The carriage that the two of them were riding in immediately said, "Little old man is old and dizzy, it turned out to be the carriage of the Rong An Palace." After speaking, he asked in surprise, "It seems that the young master and the lady are Ye Shizi and General Su of the Rong An Palace. Miss Su from the mansion?"
Ye Chang smiled, "Although the old man lives in the market, he has a lot of knowledge."
Su Fengnuan smiled and said, "It's the two of us."
The old man took two steps back and hurriedly saluted, "Young old man is rude, so I didn't know it was two distinguished guests who collided just now."
Ye Chang said, "I'm sorry, old man."
Su Fengnuan was extremely respectful when he saw him, and bowed his hands back, "Old man, we are just two juniors, you don't need to greet us."
The old man said, "King Rong An was so heroic back then. He and his concubine defended the territory of the Southern Qi Dynasty and died in battle. His son broke the case of the noble concubine Yue, negotiated peace negotiations with the Northern Zhou Dynasty to destroy the Northern Zhou's majesty, supervised the household department on behalf of the emperor, rectified the household department, and checked households In the ink corruption case, General Su made many contributions to protect us in the Southern Qi Dynasty. Ms. Su defended Yanbei, fought in the Western Region, and defeated Prince Zhou Zhou. It spread all over the market and became famous all over the world. , Jiangmen Hunv, well deserved, the little old man has the honor to meet you two today, it is really a great honor for three lives."
Ye Chang smiled, "The old man has a good eloquence. It's a pity that he lives in the market. I don't know what the old man does for a living?"
The old man immediately said, "The little old man used to make a living from storytelling, but now he is old, sick, and dying, and no one listens to storytelling. I used to save up some savings and barely survived."
Su Fengnuan said, "No wonder the old man is so eloquent. He used to tell stories for a living." After finishing speaking, she asked, "Dare to ask the old man, what kind of murder happened here in the past? The government has blocked it for many years? Generally, this kind of house, if you If no one inherits it, isn’t it sold by the government?”
The old man said, "In the past, there was a family of five who lived here, and all of them died overnight. The officials from the government came with their foremen for an autopsy, but they couldn't find out the cause of death. Later, the government sealed off the mansion. house. Every night, people in this alley would hear the crying in the courtyard. Everyone said that there was a ghost, and people from the government came to investigate at night, but there was nothing, but it still happened every day and night. I heard crying from inside. Later, the people in this alley moved away."
"They all moved away? No wonder this alley is so quiet." Su Fengnuan asked, "Old man, why didn't you move away?"
The old man said, "My wife and I have no children, and my wife has a leg problem. Where can we go? Besides, we are old and live every day. We are not afraid of ghosts. So we stayed."
"What happened next?" Su Fengnuan asked.
The old man said, "After a year of commotion, the crying gradually disappeared, but the people in this alley also disappeared. Not long after, my wife died of illness, and I was the only one left, and I have lived to this day. People in West Street call this alley a dead end, but everyone who lives in Beijing knows it. Therefore, all the mansions here are empty except for the little old man who lives here. No matter how cheap the mansion is, no one dares to buy it, so this alley has been abandoned for more than ten years, except for the rats, I am the only one who is panting."
Su Fengnuan said curiously, "This is really strange!" After finishing speaking, he looked at Ye Chang, "You are in Beijing, have you heard about this?"
Ye Chang shook his head, "I've never heard of it."
Su Fengnuan said, "Didn't it mean that everyone knows everyone?"
Ye Chang said, "I have never heard of it."
Su Fengnuan looked at the old man.
The old man immediately said, "About twelve or thirteen years ago, not long after King Rong An died in battle, Ye Shizi was still young, so he must have been immersed in grief, so naturally he had no time to pay attention to such market affairs."
Ye Chang said, "If it was twelve or thirteen years ago, yes."
Su Fengnuan came to a sudden, "So it was twelve or thirteen years ago?" After finishing speaking, she asked, "Old man, you just said that you have lived here all the time. After a year, there was no crying in that house. After that Is there any other movement?"
The old man shook his head, "There is no more movement, this whole alley is very quiet no matter it is day or night."
Su Fengnuan looked at him, "Although the Spring Festival has passed, it has not yet begun, and the weather is still very cold. Why don't you stay in your own courtyard? Instead, sit on the stone pier at the door and blow the cold wind ?”
The old man said, "No one lives in this whole alley except me. It is very deserted. I just hope that one day, someone will live in and it will be as lively as before. Sometimes I am too lazy to stay in the yard, but As I get older, my legs and feet are not good, and I am too lazy to go out, so I often sit by this door. No matter whether it is winter or summer, I don’t feel cold in winter, and I don’t feel hot in summer.”
Su Fengnuan nodded.
The old man pointed behind him, "This is the little old man's yard, if the two of you don't mind, why don't you go in and drink a bowl of water?"
Su Fengnuan glanced at the sky, then looked at Ye Chang.
Ye Chang nodded, "It happens that we are also thirsty, so let's bother the old man."
The old man repeatedly said not to bother, he hadn't seen anyone in this alley for a long time, especially the two were distinguished guests, so he warmly invited them to his yard.
Su Fengnuan and Ye Chang followed the old man into his yard, and saw that his yard was clean and tidy. Although it was dilapidated, it was not barren. It could be seen that he had lived here all along as the old man said.
There are three houses inside and outside.
The old man invited the two of them to the outside room. There was a table with eight immortals and two square stools. He invited the two to sit down, poured two large bowls of water for them from the pot, and said, "The little old man is so poor that he can't even buy tea." If you can’t afford it, the two of you will make it.”
Ye Chang took a sip of white water from the bowl and said, "White water is the best way to quench your thirst, you don't have to be polite, old man."
Su Fengnuan also took a sip, and said with a smile, "Since the old man makes a living as a storyteller, he must have very keen eyes and ears. In the year when the alley was haunted by ghosts, did the old man know that apart from the death of King Rong An, there are many people in this capital? Did anything unusual happen?"