Ning Xiao walked to Huo Weilou's side at this time, leaned forward and said, "I have asked his parents that he was indeed at home on the day the Second Miss of the uncle's house had an accident."
Huo Weilou nodded, with a very normal look on his face, "Then how did you find out what happened to Wei Ling?"
Wei Ling died by the Yuxi River. Although there were many people watching at that time, no one knew Wei Ling's identity. Afterwards, as soon as he was brought back to Yizhuang, someone from the Zhongqin House came to pick up Wei Ling's body. go back. After returning to the mansion, the old lady of the uncle's house did not arrange the funeral. Except for the most acquainted people who came to visit, no one else knew that the lady of the uncle's house was murdered and died. Now that the incident has happened for many days, there is almost no news in the public. Lu Wenhe How did he know what happened to Wei Ling
Lu Wenhe said calmly: "Not much is known about this matter, but there are some rumors among the aristocratic families. The villain met the son of Zhongyi Bo the day before yesterday, so he knew about it."
Lu Wenhe just said that Prince Zhongyi bought his paintings, and he also went to the Wenhui in Zhongyibo's mansion, it sounds like there is no flaw.
Huo Weilou showed his face, "So that's the case, but I misunderstood talented Lu."
Lu Wenhe straightened his back, and his face became more relaxed, "I don't dare. Miss Wei has an accident. It would be great if I can help you. It's a pity that I don't have much contact with her."
Huo Weilou nodded, his eyes glanced at his left hand, but he said calmly: "In this case, you can go home, this case has nothing to do with you, if you really have something to ask, then send someone I will go to your house to find you."
Lu Wenhe breathed a sigh of relief, bowed his hands and bowed, turned around and backed out.
When he left, Huo Qinghong said: "This is Lu Wenhe, but it's different from what I thought."
Ning Xiao asked: "Master Hou, do you really think he has nothing to do with the case?"
Huo Weilou sneered coldly, "If Wei Ling just admired Lu Wenhe, he wouldn't even have to cover up buying paintings like this. Wei Ling even kept his maidservant a secret. I guess the two of them are more than that." A bond between two sides."
Huo Weilou pondered for a while and ordered: "Send someone to keep an eye on Lu Wenhe, and find another opportunity to test his skills, especially to see if his left hand has been injured."
Ning Xiao responded, and Bo Ruoyou stepped forward and said, "Master Hou, I'm afraid I still have to go to the uncle's mansion to ask. Wei Ling admires Lu Wenhe, and it's impossible for the people of the uncle's mansion, especially the personal maids, to be completely unaware."
Huo Weilou nodded, at this moment, a guard came in from the outside, first said something to Eunuch Fu, and Eunuch Fu entered the door and said: "Master, Master Sun is here."
Sun Zhao brought Wu Xiang with him, Huo Weilou ordered the two of them to enter, and Sun Zhao said, "I didn't know if I found anything when I went to the uncle's mansion yesterday. Miss Li's family answered all the questions."
Huo Weilou asked, "How did you say that?"
Sun Zhao looked at Wu Xiang, and Wu Xiang said: "The first time I went to Li's house, Miss Li's house was clearly at the mansion, but she didn't see her behind closed doors. I went with the embroiderer that day, and I just saw someone. Miss Li said that she The last time I saw Ms. Feng was at the poetry club on the Shangyuan Festival. After that, she was not in good health, so I never saw her. She also said that she and Ms. Feng had a very good relationship on weekdays, but why did she She didn't know she was killed, but she knew about the cinnabar mole on Miss Feng's back, but she never told anyone about it."
"Miss Li also said that Miss Feng doesn't make friends with many people, or she is close to someone without telling her, so she didn't say anything useful. Apart from this lady, the Li family also has a young master. , that is, Miss Li's elder brother, he also knows Miss Feng, we also asked him, he knows even less about Miss Feng, and basically doesn't know anything about it."
This was nothing, Bo Ruoyou thought about what he saw on the boat, but wanted to ask Miss Li about what happened that day, so she told what she saw on the boat on Weiyang Lake, Wu Xiang was startled, " I haven't heard Miss Li's mention this, but it's been a long time, maybe she didn't expect it, so I'll ask tomorrow."
Huo Weilou pondered for a moment, "One is that the Li family wants to inquire again, and the other is that Lu Wenhe is quite suspicious, and the uncle's house also needs to inquire. Wei Ling admires Lu Wenhe, if what Lu Wenhe said is true, will someone else take advantage of her? The admiration for Lu Wenhe has been made secretly, and Wei Ling has not found any other suspicious points for the time being, only the admiration for talented people is very likely to give the murderer an opportunity."
After a pause, Huo Weilou continued: "Feng's family, Feng Wodan acted quite strangely on February 2nd. It seemed that he deliberately got rid of his maid. She might also want to see someone privately. One more thing to focus on.”
Ning Xiao immediately said: "Subordinates go to do it."
After running for more than half a day, the sun was already setting in the west. Huo Weilou originally intended to keep them eating in the mansion, but a servant suddenly came to the palace. The servant came in a hurry, and said in front of Sun Zhao and others: " Marquis, hurry up and enter the palace, His Majesty is waiting for you."
Bo Ruoyou waited at the side, feeling a little nervous when seeing this, could something have happened
The one who came was Fuquan, the great eunuch next to Emperor Jianhe, who was of the same generation as Eunuch Fu. He urged Huo Weilou first. Seeing this, Huo Weilou had to change his clothes and prepare to enter the palace. While changing clothes, Fuquan glanced at Bao Ruoyou , "This girl is—"
Eunuch Fu laughed and said, "This is the new work that Lord Hou found."
Bo Ruoyou blessed Fuquan, Fuquan was slightly surprised for a moment, and when he wanted to ask again, Huo Weilou had already come out, he explained a few words to Fu Quangong, took another look at Bo Ruoyou, and left the house.
As soon as he left, Ning Xiao spoke for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, Ning Xiao said: "It's too late to go to the uncle's mansion at this time, let's go to the uncle's mansion tomorrow, and then let the Feng family and the Li family come to the mansion Ask the Yamen."
Sun Zhao and Wu Xiang agreed, and everyone got up to leave. Eunuch Fu sent everyone to the gate of the house, and Bo Ruoyou went home in the carriage that came in the morning. Hei, Bo Ruoyou suddenly had a thought, she opened the curtain and told Uncle Liang, "Uncle Liang, don't go home now, go to Changshun Street on the east side of the Yuxi River."
Uncle Liang agreed, and walked towards Changshun Street. The Moyi Painting and Calligraphy Gallery was on Changshun Street, not too far from home, so it was not a waste of time.
Lu Wenhe's paintings are consigned here, and Wei Ling often comes here to inquire about Lu Wenhe's poems and paintings, and the place where he was killed is by the river nearby. Before going to the place where Wei Ling was killed, although it was impossible to leave any clues, but now that she couldn't figure it out, she thought of patrolling.
When the carriage stopped in front of the Moyi Art Gallery, there was a man in blue shirt talking to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper didn't know what he saw, and he burst into exclamation, "Okay, excellent, especially this word, it's so lifelike, if it goes well this time, I'll share it with you..."
The voice suddenly dropped, and Bo Ruoyou didn't hear it clearly. When she got out of the carriage and walked to the door, she saw the man in green shirt answering with a gentle smile, and the shopkeeper said: "It's not easy knowing you have a younger sister, Don't worry, I will definitely sell you a good price for the paintings you defend in the future."
After saying this, the shopkeeper caught sight of Bo Ruoyou, he was startled, and while rolling up the picture scroll in front of him, he said to the man in the green shirt, "Okay, I'll go find you when I have news, it's getting late, You go back."
The man thanked Bo Ruoyou with a smile, turned around and saw Bo Ruoyou, a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes, he nodded to Bo Ruoyou before walking out, the shopkeeper came forward respectfully, " Miss, why are you back?"
Bo Ruoyou and Huo Weilou had only come here in the morning, so the shopkeeper naturally wouldn't mistake her, seeing that she was the only one here, the shopkeeper was a little uncertain, but Bo Ruoyou looked at the man who left, "This is also because of you Books and paintings are consigned here?"
The shopkeeper knew that she had heard their conversation, so he said generously: "It's mainly imitation paintings. His own paintings are also very good, but he has no talent and reputation, and his own paintings can't be sold. It's imitation paintings and imitations." The works are very good, especially the landscape paintings, and the several high-priced antique landscape paintings in Xiaoren's shop are all from him."
"That's a pity." Bo Ruoyou said.
Bo Ruoyou was the only one who came, and the shopkeeper was not as frightened as in the morning, and his words were a little more casual, "It's not a pity, anyway, I still have this skill, and I have met such a conscientious shopkeeper as a villain. If you meet someone who has no conscience, you can just give him a few taels of silver for a painting, but here, the villain will directly give him at least 10 to 20 percent."
Bo Ruoyou smiled, "Harmony makes money, and the shopkeeper is kind, so the business will naturally get better and better."
The shopkeeper bowed happily, "Thank you for your good words." After speaking, he asked a little uncertainly: "What is the lady doing now? It's not here to buy paintings, but it's still for the girl's business?"
Bo Ruoyou came twice, regardless of whether there was Huo Weilou or not, the shopkeepers were all calm, and they couldn't see any concealment, so Bo Ruoyou said, "No, it's because of that talented Lu."
The shopkeeper raised his eyebrows, "Girl want to buy his paintings?"
Bo Ruoyou said with a gentle smile: "I don't want to buy it, but I want to see his paintings and poems. People often say that his words are like the person, and the paintings are the same..."
The shopkeeper suspected that Lu Wenhe had something to do with the girl they inquired in the morning, and now he was even more certain, and was a little afraid that he would get into trouble for a while, "It doesn't matter if the girl wants to see it, but... it's just a small shop and I don't know anything."
After Bo Ruoyou made a promise, the shopkeeper asked Bo Ruoyou to wait a moment.
The shopkeeper entered the inner room for a while, and quickly took out a stack of poetry collections and two paintings from the inside, "These are imitations, made by three people respectively. Lu Caizi's genuine products are selling well, but others are still there. This imitation After all, they are not as good as ancient paintings. Miss should know that in this industry, the longer the time, the greater the fame and the more valuable things are. These imitations, that is, those who like Mr. Lu but have no money to buy the real ones, can be bought at most ten taels of silver. .”
Bo Ruoyou flipped through the collection of poems at random, and saw that most of Lu Wenhe's poems were sublime in meaning and unrestrained in spirit, with beautiful diction and lofty ideas. Even if Bo Ruoyou was not good at poetry, after reading one after another, he couldn't help but be attracted by Lu Wenhe's literary talent.
He is not ugly in life, he is even quite handsome, but he does not look very outstanding. The boldness and broad-mindedness in his poems are not reflected between his eyebrows and eyes, and he also lacks the arrogance of literature. He would be surprised that the person who can write these poems is so magnanimous, but thinking of Lu Wenhe's background, Bo Ruoyou is a little relieved.
It can be considered that he was born in a family, but his family was in decline, and he had to sell poetry, calligraphy and painting for a living. Just like Wei Ling mentioned that he would spare no money to buy his calligraphy and painting, he would not only be unhappy, but would be annoyed. Hidden in the bottom of her heart, she didn't dare to show it, Bo Ruoyou was a little bit embarrassed, flipping through the pages, but suddenly came across a poem about homesickness and nostalgia.
"Chuling across the clouds... Chuling, is talented Lu from Chuzhou?"
Bo Ruoyou asked, but the shopkeeper smiled wryly for a moment, "I don't know this villain, he said he is Lu Jijiu's nephew, maybe his clan is in Chuzhou?"
Bo Ruoyou nodded, and then went to look through the rest of the poems. After reading for a long time, she finally collected the poems. These poems are all the same set, but the imitators are different. Still able to tell the good from the bad, Bo Ruoyou looked at it and took out the last book, "This book is very well written."
Bo Ruoyou flipped through the rubbings of the former calligraphy sage bought by Wei Ling, and naturally knew how sharp the calligraphy sage's brushwork was. She moved slightly in her heart, and planned to buy this collection of poems. , this collection of poems was written by the person you met just now, he can imitate several kinds of characters, and he can write every kind of characters very well."
The shopkeeper seemed to want to show his insight into people, and said: "He is excellent at anti-painting, from painting, to inscriptions, to seals, to mounting, there is no one who can't do it. He is really an all-rounder, so the villain values it." As for him, when he brought the first painting over and asked the villain to help sell it on consignment, the villain knew that he was powerful, and he offered a higher price than he expected at that time."
Bo Ruoyou was slightly surprised. She just wanted to buy this collection of poems to get to know Lu Wenhe better, but she didn't expect to have a chance encounter with the copyist of the collection of poems just now.
Saying that Bo Ruoyou pointed to the two paintings, the shopkeeper unfolded the scrolls, "One was shown to the lady and adults in the morning, and the other was an earlier imitation. It was poorly made and has not been sold yet." .”
When the second scroll was opened, Bo Ruoyou saw that the brush strokes in the lower right corner hadn't been cleaned up, and even she could see the flaws. Those who understand painting are naturally more discerning. The shopkeeper pointed to the painting and said, "Although the painting is flawed , but the lady should be able to see that the talented Lu has quite a style in his paintings, just by looking at his composition and brushwork-"
Bo Ruoyou seemed to understand, but asked again, "Can he draw people?"
The shopkeeper nodded, "Draw, of course draw—"
Bo Ruoyou's eyes lighted up slightly, but the shopkeeper said, "He's very good at drawing goddesses, but he's not very good at drawing ordinary ladies and beauties."
This statement made Bo Ruoyou's eyes darken. If he really likes women in red skirts and beauties with cinnabar moles, it is impossible for a person who devotes himself to poetry, calligraphy and painting to not reveal the slightest clue, but Lu Wenhe actually doesn't draw pictures of beauties.
Nodding his head, Bo Ruoyou looked at the imitated painting without mistakes, "Is this painting imitated by that young master just now?"
When I asked the shopkeeper, he laughed, "No, no, other people imitated it. He is proud and arrogant. Everyone else's paintings are imitated, but he doesn't imitate Lu Caizi's paintings. He said that he has that skill, so it is better to imitate the paintings of everyone in the previous dynasty." work."
Bo Ruoyou couldn't help raising her eyebrows, if she was really arrogant, why did she still open up Lu Wenhe's poetry collection
Thinking like this in my heart, it would be rude to say it out, Bo Ruoyou smiled lightly and said nothing, holding the poetry collection, she also felt that she had gained something, and seeing that it was getting dark, she bid farewell to the boss, so that he didn't have to mention it to Lu Wenhe For this matter, the boss was afraid of getting into trouble, so he naturally rushed to respond.
Bo Ruoyou left the calligraphy and painting hall, first crossed two alleys to the Yuxi River, and then asked someone to go upstream to the abandoned dyeing workshop. Before arriving at the dyeing workshop, night had completely fallen, and the way she came was all remote. , Bo Ruoyou was thinking, it was almost dark when Wei Ling came that day, how dare she come to such a remote place alone
Unless there is someone she trusts to accompany her, or she has a reason to come even if she is afraid.
The Yuxi River is gurgling, and the dyeing workshop is located on the river beach. The wooden door of the outer courtyard has long been damaged, and it is now wide open. Standing outside the door, you can see that the wooden racks for drying cloth in the courtyard are still erected, but most of them have fallen to the ground. , outside the courtyard wall are several large dyeing vats, the mixed dyes inside exude a rancid smell, and the dyeing vats reach the gentle slope of the river beach, the stains left by the dyes are especially obvious, the place is dilapidated and dirty, The surrounding houses are some distance away, and coupled with the sound of running water, I am afraid that even if Wei Ling called for help at that time, no one would hear him.
Bo Ruoyou took advantage of the dim light from a distance to look into the yard, and she could see clearly up close, but the deeper part of the yard was pitch black. When Bo Ruoyou was a little nervous, she suddenly saw a shadow in the distance. In a flash, her expression changed, "Who's there?"
When Uncle Liang heard this, he immediately stepped forward, "Is there anyone in the yard?"
Bo Ruoyou's palm was sweating a little. At this moment, a cat ran out from the yard. It was a black wild cat. The black cat ran towards a hole in the wall next to the gate of the yard, and slipped into it. After getting out of the hole in the wall, he took a spiritual look at Bo Ruoyou's side. It was a pair of green cat's eyes. Facing the faint light in the distance, the ghostly eyes made Bo Ruoyou's heart palpitate.
"Miss, don't be afraid, it's a cat." Uncle Liang comforted her.
Bo Ruoyou breathed a sigh of relief, "Only cats come to this place." Looking around again, Bo Ruoyou said: "It's getting late, go back, foster father should be worried."
Sitting in the carriage, Bo Ruoyou and Uncle Liang went home together.
This night, Bo Ruoyou slept quite uneasy, and had another nightmare. In the dream, the cat's eyes turned into human eyes, and a green light flashed, looking at her bloody. She blinked, but those human eyes turned into human eyes again. She opened her eyes with a smile, but that smile was cruel and vicious, and Bo Ruoyou was startled awake.
Before dawn, Bo Ruoyou was a little restless when she got up. She was afraid when she first started the autopsy, but she hasn't been like this for a long time. Could it be that she was scared when she almost fell into the river yesterday
Bo Ruoyou stroked her heart, thinking for a moment that it was Huo Weilou who rescued him again, and she followed Huo Weilou, as if all her dangers would be resolved by him, saying that he was her nobleman would be an understatement.
Huo Weilou didn't say yesterday that she was going to the Marquis' Mansion today, so she went to the Yamen first, and just outside the Yamen when she got off the carriage, she heard the sound of horseshoes galloping towards her, when she turned around, she saw Ning Xiao coming.
Ning Xiao was also a little surprised when he saw her, as if he didn't expect her to be so early.
"Deputy Commander." Bo Ruoyou blessed himself.
Ning Xiao waved his hand, "You don't have to be polite to me."
After speaking, Ning Xiao had a strange flash of eyebrows and eyes, and entered the Yamen without saying a word. He said as he walked, "I have sent people to the Feng family and the Li family, and brought Miss Li and Feng's servants over to ask talk."
Bo Ruoyou thought that the Embroidered Clothes Envoy really had a tough attitude in handling the case, if the yamen's servant came to the door, it would take a lot of effort, and after entering the back hall and waiting for two sticks of incense, Miss Li was invited first.
Miss Li's name is Yuluo. When she entered the door, she was supported by a maidservant. She coughed with a handkerchief as she walked. In the hall, there was someone who was particularly sick and weak, and I felt sorry for him.
Ning Xiao ordered Bo Ruoyou to ask questions, and Bo Ruoyou cut to the chase and said, "Miss Li, do you still remember that you and Miss Feng went on a boat trip last autumn, and Miss Feng fell into the lake that day?"
Li Yuluo was a little surprised when she saw Bo Ruoyou when she entered the door. It seemed that she didn't expect that there would be a woman in the court asking. Now that she heard this, her face was even more surprised. It seemed that she didn't expect them to know about it. Li Yuluo coughed and said : "I remember, it was a bit thrilling that time, because this Odan was also slightly ill."
"After she fell into the lake, you stayed with her on the boat to change clothes, right?"
Li Yuluo nodded, "Yes, there is me."
As soon as this remark came out, Bo Ruoyou couldn't help raising her eyebrows, "How do you say that? Could there be someone else besides you?"
Li Yuluo nodded, "Besides me, there is one other person. She is my good friend and has known Odan for many years. She fell into the lake. We were worried, so we stayed on the boat to accompany her."
But the shopkeeper of Huafang never mentioned this point, the shopkeeper of Huafang only remembered Li Yuluo.
"What's her name? Where does she live?" Bo Ruoyou hurriedly asked.
Li Yuluo frowned slightly, "What do you want to do? Do you want to ask her about the day?"
Bo Ruoyou said seriously: "If necessary, I will ask."
Li Yuluo sighed when she heard the words, "You can't ask her anymore."
Bo Ruoyou was a little puzzled, Li Yuluo's eyes darkened, "Just one and a half months ago, she passed away..."
"Dead of illness?" Even Ning Xiao was surprised now.
Li Yuluo wiped the corners of her eyes, "Yes, she has been in poor health since she was a child, and she suffers from asthma, and it is very difficult in winter. This time, she only survived the Chinese New Year. She is the daughter of Mr. Xu, a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"Xu Kang's daughter?" Ning Xiao asked.
Li Yuluo nodded, with sadness on her face, Feng Wodan and a girl from the Xu family were both her good friends, but they died within two months of each other, so it's no wonder that she couldn't afford to be ill.
Bo Ruoyou also felt a bit sad in his heart, "My condolences are changing. We asked the shopkeeper on the boat. He only remembered that you stayed on the boat to take care of Miss Feng, but he didn't mention Miss Xu. That's why we didn't know about it."
Li Yuluo wiped the corners of her eyes, "Shu'er is not in good health, and she doesn't have much time to go to the poetry club, so I don't think the shopkeeper's impression is deep, but she and Odan are also good friends, and they both like bright colors, She also likes women's things like rouge jewelry. She sees that Odin is in good health and can read books and practice calligraphy like a man. She is very envious. Oudan's family is in the cosmetics business, so he always gives us small things, which is very nice. Okay, but I don't want her two to pass away one after another..."
Li Yuluo's eyes were red, but Bo Ruoyou keenly caught a few key words, "You said that both of them like bright colors?"
Li Yuluo looked up at Bo Ruoyou, and Bo Ruoyou asked again: "Miss Xu also likes red dresses?"
Li Yuluo froze for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, what's wrong?"
When Wu Xiang went to ask her, she obviously didn't reveal too much. Bo Ruoyou only hoped that she was a soldier at the moment, so she asked again, "Does Miss Xu also have cinnabar moles on her body?"
Li Yuluo glanced at Ning Xiao, and said with some embarrassment: "Yes... indeed... why do you always ask about this? I also asked about Odan the day before yesterday."
Bo Ruoyou's expression was complicated, and Ning Xiao had already stood up. At this moment, Bo Ruoyou murmured the word "Xu" as if thinking of something, and she asked Li Yuluo, "When did Miss Xu leave the city for the funeral?"
Li Yuluo was a little confused, but said honestly: "After she died of illness, she stayed at home for many days, and the funeral was on the fifth day of February."
The fifth day of February was the day she returned to Beijing.
Bo Ruoyou's eyes changed, as if he saw the sorrowful mourning procession slowly walking out of the city gate under the afterglow, and the small words that were not real at first glance on the spiritual tablet seemed to be alive at this moment In general, something cold and terrifying jumped into Bo Ruoyou's eyes, and she asked in a difficult voice: "Miss Xu, but is your name Xu Wanshu?"