The surface of the water was slightly rippling, and the Huangxiangmei that sank to the bottom of the water had only flowers, but no flowering branches. It was impossible for others to pick up the Huangxiangmei and throw them into the water one by one. And the flower buds are in full bloom, as if the flowering period is coming to an end, being blown down by the wind.
Chuntao also saw the things at the bottom of the water clearly, and said in surprise: "There are plum blossoms in the water..."
Bo Ruoyou looked at the lotus pond in front of her, and then at Meilin in the north, "This lotus pond has been dry all year round?"
Chuntao thought for a while, "That's not true. Every spring and summer, when there is a lot of rain, some water can accumulate in the lotus pond, but in autumn and winter, it dries up again. The gardeners will throw some lotus seeds into it during the spring rainy season." , If you are lucky, some flowers will bloom in summer, if you are not lucky, it will be empty, no one usually comes here, but it is not a hindrance to the view."
Bo Ruoyou didn't know what came to mind, and suddenly asked: "When the Huanhuaxi running water was brought into the mansion, how did you build the canal?"
When the prince from the previous dynasty was there, there were three inner lakes in the mansion. If they could gather water to form lakes, it would be impossible to simply divert water. Most likely, there were hidden canals. At that time, many craftsmen were employed, and the momentum was huge."
Bo Ruoyou glanced into the lotus pond again, then turned around and walked towards Mei Lin. Mei Lin had only been there the night before, but she just stood outside to look at it. This time, Bo Ruoyou went straight into the forest.
The rest of the mansion is full of wintersweet, but here is Huangxiangmei, and there is a large bamboo forest between the plum forest and the lotus pond. She has not seen bamboo leaves in the lotus pond, but she has found Huangxiangmei. Why
At night, the plum groves only feel rich and fragrant. Looking at them in the daytime, I can see a large area of yellow plums in full bloom, and the scenery is even more gratifying. Now it is halfway through the first month, and the weather is getting warmer. There are indeed petals falling under the plum trees. The plum blossoms in full bloom have begun to wither.
The embroidered clothes envoy came to investigate the forest last night, and looking at it now, one can see that the traces on the ground are somewhat chaotic, and the embroidered clothes envoy said that there are traces of people in this plum forest, and the murderer wandered in this forest.
Bo Ruoyou's heart moved, and she walked deeper into the plum forest. The plum forest is not as dense as the bamboo forest, and it is not easy to hide people. Bo Ruoyou stops and stops, but some plum blossoms smell on her body. Just when she couldn't figure out her thoughts, she At a glance, he saw the dry well in the distance.
Embroidered clothes make the dry well mentioned last night.
The dry well has been abandoned for many years, the well platform has long since collapsed, and the surroundings are covered with moss and weeds. If you just glance at it, you may not be able to see that it is a well, but it is the two plum trees beside the well that caught Bo Ruoyou's attention. The branches of the plum tree stretched horizontally, and if any petals fell, they could fall into the well. Bao Ruoyou quickly walked towards the dry well.
The well platform has long since collapsed, and only the head of the well, the size of a bucket, is still intact. Standing at the head of the well and looking down, the inside is pitch black, and nothing can be seen clearly. Not only that, there is also a damp and muddy smell wafting out of the well, which is as thin as a cloud. Inexplicably, this smell is somewhat familiar.
Chuntao stood aside, somewhat puzzled, "Girl, most of the wells in these forests are dug for watering the garden, not for drinking water and cooking, and the wells here have long been abandoned."
Bo Ruoyou nodded, the snow beside the well had already melted, and the snow water seeped along the wall of the well into the darkness below, Bo Ruoyou leaned over to look in, but still couldn't see anything, she was a little anxious in her heart, so she supported it with one hand On the collapsed well platform that was less than knee height, she leaned forward and looked down. The more she leaned forward, the heavier she was pressing on the well platform. Suddenly, a brick suddenly loosened, and she immediately fell forward...
"girl!"
Chuntao yelled in shock, and grabbed Bo Ruoyou's arm. Bo Ruoyou was also startled, and quickly stood up and took a step back. Chuntao's face turned pale, "Girl, be careful, it's the easiest thing if you fall." You're going to break your leg too!"
Hearing these words, Bo Ruoyou felt that she had known each other before, so she heard Chun Tao say, "I heard that the idiot fell from this well back then."
Bo Ruoyou's heart skipped a beat, and she asked with a tense expression, "Silly girl fell into the dry well, did she fall into this well?"
Chuntao nodded, "Yes, so this place is very dangerous."
Bo Ruoyou's voice became more and more urgent, "You said she fell for several days?"
Chuntao nodded, "Yes, I heard it will take three or four days."
"Then how was she discovered?"
Chuntao thought for a while, "It seems that a young man came to do something in the woods and heard movement in the well. At that time, everyone knew that the idiot had disappeared and thought she had run away. Then the young man called for someone, but the mouth of the well is narrow. Ordinary men can't go down either, so I had to put a rope down and let Sha Gu tie herself up, and then the others pulled her out together."
There was a thunderous sound in her ears, and her heart was beating like a drum. Bo Ruoyou looked at the dark mouth of the well, and suddenly a terrifying thought came to her heart. Chuntao didn't know what she was thinking, but saw Her complexion turned pale and her eyes were terrified, as if she had thought of something terrible, she couldn't help being frightened.
"Girl, what's the matter, did the servant say something wrong?"
Bo Ruoyou didn't answer, she shook her head, turned around slowly, her eyes searched around, she was sure that there must be traces around the well platform, but she didn't know where the traces were, so she just looked around aimlessly for a few times, Suddenly, her eyes fixed on a plum tree on the east side of the well platform.
The plum grove has been around for a long time, and the plum trees are the thinnest and as thick as the mouth of a bowl. The plum trees at the mouth of the well are thicker than other places because they are close to the water. On the plum tree, Bo Ruoyou found a few faint traces, she frowned and stepped forward, walking around the plum tree.
The bark of the plum tree is rough and dark brown, with many cracks. Just at the waist height of the plum tree, there are a few circles of faint traces of being polished, and the traces are uneven. The side near the well platform is shallow and the side is away from the well platform. Shen, Bo Ruoyou's expression changed a few times, and when he looked at the mouth of the well again, there was a little fear in his eyes, as if there was some man-eating monster hiding in the well.
The breeze came out with the smell of mud from the well. The branches of the plum tree were stirred by the wind, and a few petals fluttered down. The petals dangled and sank into the mouth of the well, falling silently into the darkness.
Bo Ruoyou suddenly turned around and left, Chuntao hurriedly followed, "Where is the girl going?"
Bo Ruoyou was going towards the ancestral hall, but when Chuntao asked, she turned around and came towards the front yard.
Bo Ruoyou's footsteps were so fast that Chuntao had to trot all the way to keep up, "Girl, what's the matter?"
Bo Ruoyou shook her head and didn't answer, the gentleness around her body faded, and she seemed to be a bit aggressive. Chuntao was very close to her because of her gentleness and kindness. Seeing her expression like this, she was shocked for a moment. Don't dare to say too much now.
Bo Ruoyou went to the study where Zheng Wenyan was killed.
Because it was the place where the crime happened, there was a government officer guarding the door. Seeing Bo Ruoyou coming, the government officer did not stop her, so Bo Ruoyou went straight into the study. She walked under the earlier transom, moved a stool and stood there. go up.
She is not tall, so it is difficult to see the whole picture, Bo Ruoyou glanced at the tea table beside her, she quickly came down to the ground, asked Chuntao to help, dragged the tea table over, stepped on the chair and stood on the table, Chuntao, who was looking straight ahead, was dumbfounded.
Bo Ruoyou, who stood on the table, finally saw the whole picture of the transom.
Bo Ruoyou got off the table after taking a look, put the tables and chairs back to their original positions, and went out of the study gate to the direction of the ancestral hall. She wanted to find Huo Weilou.
…
Huo Weilou left the front yard to go to the fire site of the ancestral hall, Eunuch Fu followed behind Huo Weilou, inexplicably felt that Huo Weilou was in a good mood today, he took a step forward and said: "Master Hou, the Second Highness's marriage is about to go wrong, you seem to be very happy. "
Huo Weilou frowned, "What do you mean?"
Eunuch Fu sighed, "Second Highness is three years younger than you. Not only did he make a baby marriage early in the morning, but he was also married by the Holy Lord last year. This time the case is settled. If there is no major change, we will get married in March. This old slave looks at you." I don’t say it out loud, but I’m actually quite jealous in my heart.”
Huo Weilou: "..."
Eunuch Fu sighed, lowered his voice and muttered: "The Holy Majesty wanted to give you marriage many times, but you blocked it every time. You are not young anymore. There is no one around you, and you don't know how to tell you..."
Huo Weilou couldn't bear it anymore, he paused slightly, but before he turned around, Eunuch Fu started to slap himself, "Oh, look at this old slave's mouth, you can tell nonsense, Marquis is for the country and the people, marriage is nothing, you want to be old The slave said that it is difficult for a woman in the world to match Lord Hou."
Huo Weilou glanced at Eunuch Fu with a crossed eyebrow, and continued to walk forward. Eunuch Fu laughed and followed, "This old slave just said a few jokes. This old slave thinks that Lord Hou is in a good mood today, so I don't know. We can solve the case in one go."
Huo Weilou raised his eyebrows, is he in a good mood? When did he feel better
Eunuch Fu has taken care of Huo Weilou for many years, so he didn't know what was going on in his heart, so he said: "The old slave saw it when he first entered the room, but Miss Bo seemed a little nervous, ah, it's been a few days, Miss Bo is still afraid of you .”
Afraid of him
Huo Weilou snorted lightly, she was not afraid of him.
For a moment, Huo Weilou remembered how Bo Ruoyou said she wanted to repay him, and she felt that she was repaying him by investigating the case carefully.
Huo Weilou laughed from the bottom of his heart, if everyone thinks like her, then why does he use thunderous tactics in the officialdom, and just show kindness to civil and military officials, that's really childish and naive.
Even though he thought so in his heart, Huo Weilou himself didn't realize that his brows and eyes softened a little.
Eunuch Fu said again: "It's a pity to say that Miss Bo is a woman, but she plans to be a maid for the rest of her life. If things go on like this, getting married will be a problem..."
Wu Zuo has a humble status and is often accompanied by the dead. Who in an ordinary family would want to marry such a girl
Huo Weilou's emphasis is on the previous sentence: "When did she say that she wanted to work as a writer for the rest of her life?"
Eunuch Fu conveniently said: "On the day when Mr. Zheng's accident happened, this old slave accompanied her to examine the body of Mr. Second. She asked me casually on the way, and she said that she didn't believe in Buddhism. Dao, the case has been solved, and I will continue to work in the future."
Huo Weilou's doubts popped up again.
He has seen generals who have fought for decades, and good officials who have worked for the people. They may be loyal and courageous, or they may be selfless, but no matter how righteous they are, they also have their own desires. , but choose the most difficult job, if you have nothing to ask for, then you are really a sage.
"Did you say anything else?"
Huo Weilou asked again, and Eunuch Fu shook his head, "That's not true, the old slave thought, we will go to Luozhou in a few days, so I didn't ask any more questions, but I was a little worried about her, and she didn't know it No."
The world is so difficult for women, if she insists on being a prostitute, it will be really difficult to find a good husband.
Huo Weilou didn't know what he was thinking, so he didn't make a sound for a while, and soon, the ancestral hall arrived.
The snow had melted, and the fire site of the ancestral hall was covered with mud. The government servants and guards in the mansion were all busy, and several embroidered envoys were on the sidelines to inspect.
Huo Weilou asked: "How?"
The embroidered clothes envoy said in a deep voice: "It's very slow, and a lot of wood has been burned, and the rest of the books and silks have been turned into smoke and dust. It is very difficult to find clues."
Huo Weilou got closer, and the outermost wooden beams and other objects had been removed. At this moment, only a few charred and broken walls stood standing. Suddenly, Huo Weilou frowned slightly, and he looked at the original position behind the main hall. "Did you hit the wall?"
The broken wall that has not yet collapsed must be smashed down, but Xiu Yi said, "Not yet, and I am still cleaning up the debris."
Huo Weilou's phoenix eyes are narrow. When building a house, the holes on the wall need to be reserved for the wooden rafter beams, but at this time, the holes on that section of the wall are obviously a bit lower than other places. Huo Weilou immediately walked towards the broken wall, and when he got there, although the wall was burnt black, he could see it more clearly, it was indeed different from other places.
There is still a large pile of rubble and wood under the wall that has not been cleaned up. Huo Wei said, "Clean up here first, there seems to be a collapse under the wall, and see if there is anything buried."
This mansion has been built for many years, and the location of the ancestral hall is the most important thing, so there is absolutely no possibility of it collapsing for no reason. Thinking that the embroidered clothes envoy had deduced that there was a dark room in the ancestral hall, Huo Weilou's expression suddenly became solemn.
Seeing this, He Cheng said: "I'm afraid it will take a day and a night to clean up here, and I have to wait again."
"Maybe it won't take that long."
The sudden sound made Huo Weilou and the others turn around, and they saw Bo Ruoyou walking quickly, panting for breath because of running so fast, she was blessed, "Master, my lord, daughter Discovered."
Huo Weilou stared, "What did you find?"
Bo Ruoyou swallowed, and then said: "Mostly there is a dark room under the ancestral hall. Not only that, the dark room may be connected to the dark canal left in the mansion in the early years. When Miss Zheng got lost and the silly girl was rescued, it may be related to this It's about the culvert."
He Cheng frowned: "The dark canal? How did you get to the top of the dark canal?"
The corners of Bo Ruoyou's lips twitched slightly, "Because... the girl guessed that the murderer who murdered the old lady, Mr. Zheng, and Mr. Zheng is now hiding in that dark ditch."
The murderer is hiding in the culvert? !
Up to now, although there are many doubts, the identity of the murderer has not been determined, but Bo Ruoyou has revealed the place where the murderer is hiding. Where does this come from
Huo Weilou stared, and Eunuch Fu couldn't help but said, "Miss Bo, do you have evidence?"
Bo Ruoyou nodded, "There is evidence, please come with the girl, it's in the plum forest to the north."
Mei Lin just searched last night, and obviously found nothing, but at this moment, Bo Ruoyou said that there was evidence in Mei Lin, Huo Weilou looked solemn, but did not question it, and ordered the embroidered clothes envoy to continue cleaning up the collapsed place, and then Follow Bo Ruoyou to Meilin. They are going directly from the ancestral hall to Meilin. The place they pass is a path lined with pines and forests. Beyond the path is an abandoned thatched hut, and Meilin is to the east of the thatched hut.
Bo Ruoyou walked and said: "The folk girl just discovered that there is flowing water in the lotus pond to the east of the bamboo forest. In the flowing water, there are many withered yellow plum petals, so the folk girl felt strange. Later, the folk girl came to the plum forest. I found a dry well in the middle of the plum grove, and there was a plum tree beside the dry well, and it happened that the petals could fall into the dry well."
He Chengdao: "That well was inspected last night, and it has been abandoned for many years..."
"My lord's words are right, thanks to the good weather today."
At this moment, the sun has already set to the west, and most of the snow has melted everywhere. Walking under the pines and cypresses, there is even snow dripping down on them.
"The snow water melted and flowed into the well, so that there was a flow of water under it, and the water flowed into the lotus pond with petals. This was discovered by the minnv. The minnv learned that there was an inner lake in the mansion. To become a lake, we must build underground canals."
Huo Weilou said in a deep voice: "Even so, how can we say that there is a murderer hiding under the dark canal?"
Bo Ruoyou said: "Because of the silly girl, the silly girl is of low status, she was originally an outsider, but she appeared in the place where the murderer appeared last night, and it was also in the place where the plum forest and the bamboo forest intersect. Two years ago, she accidentally fell into the Meilin Well, and was rescued after staying in the well for three or four days. Minnv inspected her leg injury. Although it has healed, her leg was not only broken, but also bloody. It's really weird to be stupid and thin, but to be able to call for help after three or four days underground in such a situation."
After a pause, Bo Ruoyou said: "The girl thought it was because someone in the well helped her."
An ordinary frail woman fell into a well, not to mention being injured, even if she was not injured, she would hardly survive starvation for three or four days, but the silly girl was injured and survived for three or four days. The only explanation is that someone gave her food down the well , and even healed her injuries.
Bo Ruoyou's words made He Cheng shudder, "You mean...there is an underground canal hidden under the marquis' mansion, and there is a hidden canal in the underground canal...a person who can't see the sun, and this person killed the old lady and the brothers of the Zheng family..." ?”
Bo Ruoyou didn't hesitate, "Yes, although the idiot is stupid, she just reacted very slowly. After being rescued by this person, the idiot felt the heart of repaying her gratitude. Later, most of the time, with the help of the idiot, This person was able to come out of the dark ditch."
He Cheng was horrified when he heard that it was two years ago that the idiot fell into the well. This Anqinghou's mansion looks rich and noble, but there is actually a person living underground in this mansion with many pavilions
Is this person a human or a ghost
Seeing He Cheng's expression, Bo Ruoyou said: "It's unbelievable to think about it. Minnies didn't think about it at first, but the silly girl was seriously injured after falling into the well, but she survived well. In order to hide the evidence, Nanny Yu even tried to hide the evidence. The ancestral hall was set on fire, and the ancestral hall also collapsed, which made the women think of such a possibility."
Fugong said fairly: "If there is really someone hiding underground in the Hou's mansion, who is this person?"
At this time, the group of people had already walked outside the Mei Lin, and Bo Ruoyou's footsteps were slightly paused by Eunuch Fu's question, she hesitated for a moment and said: "It should be someone who was hidden by the Hou's mansion and could not let her see the light of day. "
Eunuch Fu and He Cheng looked puzzled, Huo Weilou looked at Bo Ruoyou, but understood what she meant, "You mean, the Hou Mansion not only lied about Zheng Yunni's birthday, but also concealed something more important?"
Bo Ruoyou immediately nodded, "The eldest lady loves the idiot very much. At first, the women couldn't understand why it was not someone else but an idiot. But today, I think that the Hou family has gone through a lot of trouble to protect the marriage between the eldest lady and the second highness." The girl thought, perhaps, what the mansion wants to hide is not just that the eldest lady was born on an unlucky day."
"The night Zheng Siye just returned to the mansion, there was a saying, 'Twins are unlucky. If they are born in a cloudy year and a cloudy time, it will be a real disaster for the world'. The eldest lady's birthday is already unlucky, but if the eldest lady Since they gave birth to twin daughters, the old lady must have understood that the marriage between the Hou Mansion and the Second Highness would not be guaranteed, so she made the decision to keep one and hide the other. Because of this, it is reasonable for the lady to be crazy. And her beloved fool, with Miss Zheng's eyebrows are somewhat similar, and the sachet she made for her daughter is also exactly the same."
"Twin daughters..." He Cheng's eyes trembled slightly, "This... If this is the case, then the Hou Mansion is really guilty of deceiving the emperor!"
Eunuch Fu was also a little surprised, but he was not as surprised as He Cheng was so surprised that he couldn't help himself: "In order to preserve the prosperity and wealth, the more a century-old family, the more they can do whatever they can. If you explain it this way, everything will make sense."
He Cheng frowned and said, "But idiot is ugly, and you also said that she just has the same eyebrows and eyes as the young lady..."
Bo Ruoyou hesitated for a moment, "I didn't think about this, but the girl thought that there must be something strange in the well. If you can go down and investigate for a while, find the murderer's hiding place, and then catch the murderer, you will understand." That's why."
The crowd had already reached the mouth of the well, Huo Weilou first ordered the embroidered envoy to bring people, and then said: "Where is there any evidence left?"
Bo Ruoyou hurriedly walked towards the plum tree on the east side of the mouth of the well, "There are traces left after being tied up with ropes. I was pulled up by ropes at the beginning. The girl guessed that it was because of this that she learned this method. Later, she rescued her." The person below also used this method when he came out, and when the murderer killed Zheng Erye, he fell from the Yaoyue Pavilion with a rope, and it was also the same method."
"In addition, Minnv just went to the study where Mr. Zheng was killed. The air window is indeed very small, but Minnv thought that the murderer might be able to climb in through the window even if he was extremely thin."
Seeing that Bo Ruoyou has done so many things in silence, Mr. Fu admired, "Miss Bo, you are as meticulous as a hair, and you can discover these. Many side details seem to be irrelevant, who knows how to connect them together?" , but everything makes sense.”
Bo Ruoyou glanced at Huo Weilou with downcast eyes and said, "It's just a guess, I hope I didn't guess wrong."
The embroidered envoys quickly arrived at the mouth of the well with ropes and other equipment, but the well mouth was only as big as a bucket, and it was okay to put it in a bucket. These embroidered envoys were all wide and long, and it was difficult to get down. Bo Ruoyou hesitated for a moment and said: " Lord Hou, if you don't call the guards who were short in stature earlier, together with the women, you can go down and have a look."
Bo Ruoyou was slender and could go down by herself, but she didn't dare to push her too hard, so she suggested to call the guard named Zhao Wu. I haven't seen it since I had nothing to do with it, and now it's difficult for an ordinary adult man to get out of the well, but he can come in handy.
However, Huo Weilou sized her up for a moment, "If there is a mystery behind it, it is not appropriate for you two to go together."
While talking, Huo Weilou looked away, "Dig the well."
Bo Ruoyou hesitated to speak, Huo Weilou ordered the embroidered clothes envoys to dig a well while saying: "Go and catch the idiot."
If Bo Ruoyou's calculation is correct, the silly girl is very likely to be an accomplice to the murderer, so she should be detained.
Although the digging of the well took some time, it was the safest thing in the end, and if there really was another world underground in the Hou's Mansion, Huo Weilou and He Cheng should also take a look at it for themselves, and the embroidered clothes envoys were all powerful, clean and neat, and it didn't take long. , the entire well platform was dug up, and a large hole was dug at the wellhead.
Therefore, the place is for irrigating the garden, and the well is not as deep as imagined. When the last ray of afterglow falls to the horizon, the big pit is in the shape of a huge funnel, and embroidered clothesmen have jumped into the bottom of the well.
"Master Hou, the bottom is indeed a dark ditch half the height of a man."
Bo Ruoyou clenched her fists and waited for a long time. Hearing this, she felt relieved.
But at this time, the embroidered envoy who was sent to arrest the idiot returned to the well, but said: "Master Hou, the idiot is gone."
Huo Weilou frowned, and the embroidered messenger said: "The person who saw her for the last time was Da Furen's maidservant. Da Furen ordered her to speak at noon. She stayed by Da Furen's side for an hour before leaving. She went back to her own courtyard, but disappeared after that, and the servants in charge of guarding the main roads in the mansion even said that they never saw her."
Huo Weilou frowned, and turned to look at the bottom of the black hole, the silly girl disappeared, is she with the murderer
"I'm not afraid of her disappearing, I'm afraid that the murderer will also disappear."
After Huo Weilou finished speaking, he ordered the embroidered clothes envoys to light the torches, and quickly went to the bottom of the well. Seeing this, He Cheng hurriedly followed, but just as his chubby body stepped on the slope, his feet slipped, and then he slid He slid to the bottom and heard a "boom" again. He Cheng finally fell heavily and sat in front of Huo Weilou. He grinned in pain, but he didn't dare to show clumsiness any more. Instead, he coughed slightly with a suppressed smile.
Eunuch Fu is getting old, so it's not convenient for him to come down and make troubles, but Bo Ruoyou is doing his part.
There was an embroidered envoy at the bottom who went to explore the way, and came back to report: "Master Hou, there is a rockery at the bottom of the lake a dozen feet to the east. There used to be an exit, but now it is blocked, and sand and stones are pouring down. Now there is only half of the water left to cross, and the Huang Xiangmei that Miss Bo saw flowed through there, and the end point should be the lotus pond in the east."
The culvert is made of huge stones, only half a person's height, and you have to bend over to walk through it. Huo Weilou illuminated it with a torch, and you can see that there is indeed a thin stream of water under the culvert, most of which is snow water seeping from the mud made.
He nodded, "Search to the west."
After the words were finished, someone had already gone west, and the embroidered envoy who was holding on to the torch said: "Master Hou, please—"
Huo Weilou didn't move, he raised his eyes and looked up, as if he was waiting for something.
The embroidered clothes envoy looked over and saw Bo Ruoyou walking down the slope. She walked carefully, but the slush was wet and slippery, and the onlookers were frightened. Finally, she was almost at the bottom of the well. After jumping down, although he landed a little staggeringly, he still stood firm, and then Huo Weilou personally took the torch and headed west.
The embroiderer blinked, "Miss Bo, please—"
Bo Ruoyou didn't realize he was there, and followed her forward, she just heard the embroiderer's words in return, and said: "The place blocked in the east is probably the filled lotus pond."
Huo Weilou responded, and He Cheng followed behind, rubbing his painful sitting bones.
All the way to the west, everyone was dressed in cats, and saw that the dark canal had been abandoned for many years, covered with moss, and mice and reptiles occasionally scurrying by. Fortunately, Bo Ruoyou followed. Although there are occasional spiders, but there are very few spider webs in the entire underground canal, it seems that people often walk here.
With the light of the torch in Huo Weilou's hand, Bo Ruoyou carefully looked at the dark ditch. The more she looked, the more she noticed more human footprints. between water. At the same time, an unignorable smell of rotten mud lingered in Bo Ruoyou's nose.
This smell reappeared, and Bo Ruoyou's expression was difficult to understand for a while.
The dark canal was completely lit by torches. The further you went in, the colder it became. Soon, an embroidered envoy at the front folded back, "Master Hou, there is an iron gate in front of it. Behind the iron gate is an iron gate." There are several side roads, but only one is more traveled."
Huo Weilou then ordered: "Take someone to look at a few other places."
The Embroidery Envoy responded, and Huo Weilou brought Bo Ruoyou and He Cheng to the iron gate.
It is said to be an iron gate, but it is just an iron fence with very small intervals. It has long been rusted. There is a big lock on the iron gate. Although the lock is locked, the chain is broken due to rust. Locked and broken chains are thoughtful.
Huo Weilou looked back at her, "How is it?"
When Bo Ruoyou heard his question, she subconsciously straightened up to answer, but she forgot that she was in the tunnel at the moment, and seeing that she was about to hit the hard rock above her head, Huo Weilou suddenly stretched out her hand to block—
Bo Ruoyou only felt Huo Weilou's palm pressing on the top of her hair, and she was stunned for a moment before realizing it, and hurriedly bent down, Huo Weilou withdrew his hand lightly, because he also bent over, he seemed very close to her, Bo Ruoyou You Yu was about to retreat, but He Cheng was behind him. He Cheng fell and lay on his back for a while, his waist was too much to bear, and he was sweating profusely at this moment.
Bo Ruoyou couldn't help lowering her eyes, "The dark ditch draws running water from the outside, and set up a gate to prevent people from sneaking into the mansion through this channel, and secondly, once there is a flood, it can prevent foreign debris from pouring into the inner lake—"
After a pause, Bo Ruoyou raised her head and took a look. Naturally, there was only a cold and hard stone wall above her head, but they went all the way west after going down the culvert. Right now, they should be under the pines and forests between the Mei Lin and the ancestral hall. In the mansion, this iron gate may be just to block some aquatic plants."
On the ground on both sides of the iron gate, there were indeed many rotten water plants and branches. Bo Ruoyou frowned and looked back and forth, "The girl is wondering when the iron gate was locked and when the chain was broken."
Huo Weilou said: "If it's as you said, at least the chain was broken two years ago."
Only with this iron gate open can the silly girl be rescued.
Bo Ruoyou nodded and didn't say much, Huo Weilou walked forward along the most visited underground canal. The further he went in, the less snow and water under his feet. At the end, the soles of his feet were only mud that had dried up for many years. Jie Huanpo appeared in front of everyone, and at the end of the gentle slope, there was another half-closed iron gate.
The iron gate is still open, its shape is almost the same as the iron gate just now, and there is also a big lock on it, but because the iron gate is on a gentle slope, it has only been damp and never wet, so the rust is much lighter. His chains are also broken.
It's just that the lock didn't break due to rust, but was broken.
The chain was as thick as Bo Ruoyou's thumb, but it was broken by someone. I don't know how long it took the person who broke the chain to break it.
The iron door opened with a "squeak", and there were stone steps going up inside the door, and the height of the corridor was raised, even Huo Weilou could stand upright. , but after walking less than ten steps, a dark room came into view immediately.
With just one glance, Bo Ruoyou could tell that this was a woman's living room. There were simple furniture and ornaments in the room, and an embroidered bed was placed in the north. It's very old, plus there's no light here, the humidity is extremely heavy, and mildew spots can be seen on it.
There is a desk against the wall on the west side, and on the desk is a lamp that has run out of oil. Bo Ruoyou stepped forward to look, and felt that the lamp had not been lit for many years.
There is another door in the northwest corner of the dark room. After Huo Weilou saw the dark room, he walked into that door, but just as he opened the door, his footsteps stopped, and Bo Ruoyou felt suspicious, so he also walked forward Go, when she got to Huo Weilou's side, her eyes darkened slightly.
There is a door separated, but the inside of this door is full of collapsed bricks and stones, just like a good house, suddenly the sky collapsed, Bo Ruoyou couldn't help but said: "This is..."
"This place is under the ancestral hall." Huo Weilou said, his voice was full of sternness, "There is indeed a dark room under the ancestral hall, and there are people hiding here. We are afraid that we will find out, so we will destroy this place."
Although the inside of the door has been filled with bricks and stones, it can still be seen that it is quite spacious, and there are also furniture and books. Bao Ruoyou took a step towards the door, and happened to see half a piece of paper under a red brick. Paper.
It was a piece of rice paper that had been yellowed for a long time, on which was copied a seven-character poem, the ink color was almost faded, and now only the remaining two sentences can be seen, the handwriting on it is almost exactly the same as the handwriting on the sprinkled gold paper.
Bo Ruoyou hurriedly handed it to Huo Weilou, Huo Weilou looked at it, and knew that Bo Ruoyou's guess was probably right, he turned around and looked at the only dark room left, "The ancestral hall was on fire yesterday, you met the murderer last night, Now that there is no one here, the murderer may never come back."
Bo Ruo said in a deep voice: "The iron gate connected to the underground drain has been unlocked, and the higher-ups may not know it, or guess it, so they dare not search it with great fanfare. They are afraid that Lord Hou will find out what happened back then, so they simply do nothing. .”
He Cheng was also stunned when he looked at the room, "Xiao Bo, you really did not make a mistake, but the murderer is not here, and I'm afraid it's hiding up there right now—"
Bo Ruoyou's heart skipped a beat when she heard the words, "If we come here to search, the people in the house will probably get the news. I'm afraid the murderer will also know. Just now the embroiderer came to report and said that the idiot disappeared. Could something happen?"
Huo Weilou scanned the whole room, his eyes became more and more serious. Standing beside him, Bo Ruoyou also felt chills all over his body. Apart from the original coldness of this room, Bo Ruoyou couldn't even imagine that people could live here and go to prison. Even if you can still see the sky, this place is like the tomb of the dead.
When Bo Ruoyou glanced around, she suddenly saw something on the bedside. She went up to look, and saw two brand new cloth tiger shoes and an old moon rabbit lamp. The tiger shoes are for young children. The Moon Rabbit Lantern is the most common lantern in the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Jiangnan area. These two things have only arrived here in the past two years.
Thinking of this, Bo Ruoyou not only felt a chill down her spine, but also felt a heavy sadness in her heart.
Huo Weilou glanced at her, "Let's go, these things will be confiscated later as evidence."
Bo Ruoyou nodded, followed Huo Weilou along the original road and returned to the dark canal. Everyone was bent over, silent all the way, Bo Ruoyou was still looking for clues when he came, but he pursed his lips when he walked back and couldn't say a word Coming out, the channel is low, and when I first came, I felt that it was very inconvenient to bend over, but this time, it took a cup of tea, and the inconvenience of moving is no longer a big deal. The boundless darkness and coldness are the most depressing most hopeless.
After passing through the first iron gate and returning to the mouth of the well, facing the cold wind blowing in from outside, Bo Ruoyou felt that the feeling of depression was relieved by a third, and Eunuch Fu heard the movement on the Internet and said: "How? Can someone ?”
Bo Ruoyou said in a tight voice, "Where there are people, there is no one."
Huo Weilou stood beside her, "Go up and talk."
Bo Ruoyou hurriedly made way for Huo Weilou to ask her first, Huo Weilou glanced at her, and jumped up neatly, the funnel seemed to be that the pit had not been dug to the bottom, and there was still a half-person-high platform that needed to be climbed up by Bo Ruoyou , she was a little worried, Huo Weilou stretched out his hand from top to bottom, he didn't say a word, a pair of phoenix eyes looked down at her condescendingly, with clear meaning.
Huo Weilou had already handed over the torch to the other embroiderers, and at this moment the night outside the dark ditch was already dark, Eunuch Fu was standing on the top, he could only hear voices, but no one could be seen, He Cheng hunched over behind her and straightened up. Panting, the other embroiderers were still betting in the dark canal, Bo Ruoyou knew that she had to go up quickly to make room, but she didn't expect that Huo Weilou would pull her.
The surrounding light was dim, and in a place where no one could see, Huo Weilou stretched out his hand towards her.
She hesitated for a moment, then handed Huo Weilou her hand.
Huo Weilou's palm was wide and rough, but quite warm. As soon as he grasped her hand, before she could react, he pulled her up, and supported her waist with the other hand, almost Lifting her out of the well, when Bo Ruoyou realized, she was already standing beside Huo Weilou.
She took a step back in shock, "Thank you, Lord Hou."
Huo Weilou let her go, and suddenly said: "How will I repay Ben Hou this time?"
The light was still dim, his words were condescending, but his voice was quite low and pleasant, Bo Ruoyou's back was stiff from his words, when he raised his eyes to look at him, Huo Weilou had already turned and walked up .
Knowing that Huo Weilou was teasing her what she said in the morning, she pursed her lips and climbed up.
Eunuch Fu waited for a long time, and when he saw Huo Wei upstairs, he hurriedly greeted him, "Is there really someone hiding out there?"
Huo Weilou nodded, and asked again: "Still haven't found the idiot?"
Eunuch Fu nodded, "I didn't find it."
When Bo Ruoyou came up, she just heard these words. She frowned even more, and her uneasiness grew stronger. Just as she was about to speak, an embroidered envoy came from outside the forest, "Master, the idiot has never found it, not only In this way, the servants of the mansion just came to report that the eldest lady of the Hou manor has disappeared!"
Upon hearing this, Bo Ruoyou and Huo Weilou's expressions changed.