He sat on the couch, holding the quilt in his arms,
Startled, he turned his head.
A pitch black room.
The white moonlight flowing on the floor in front of the bed.
There are also wooden windows that constantly let in the sound of summer insects.
It was midnight outside, the moon was as quiet as water, and he was still on the bed in the familiar Meilin courtyard.
The young county magistrate looked dazed.
"Why did I wake up again? It's still the same long, long dream..."
With a murmur, Ouyang Rong lowered his head and rubbed his sleep-numbed face.
He whispered casually: "Made by a craftsman."
The words just left my mouth.
Three feet away from the bed, leaning at the foot of the bookshelf, was a long and narrow wooden box.
"Clang——!", "哐——!"
The sound like a trigger being pulled echoed through the room, and the wooden sword box suddenly opened its mechanism, spreading its wings like a butterfly.
On the right "wing", a long sword is inserted obliquely, and the snow-white sword body emits gray moonlight.
It's the moonlight sword.
The left "wing" is empty... No, the sword that warms the left wing is too fast, faster than the blink of an eye.
An "arc" was floating quietly in the center of the dark inner room.
Ouyang Rong took a long breath, seemingly feeling relieved.
Get out of bed.
Opening the window, Ouyang Rong was wearing a thin white shirt, looking up at the moon with a frown on his face.
In the sky, the crescent moon is like a knife, hanging in the west sky.
In the room, the cauldron sword was like an arc, hanging still in the air.
Ouyang Rong turned his back to the "craftsman's work" and looked at the moon in trance.
It has been three days since I recovered from my illness and came back to life.
He was ready to regroup and start over, but for the past three days, he had been haunted by a strange dream every night.
During the day, when I was handling official duties at the county government office, my mind often wandered.
Now that I'm awake, the memories of broken dreams are still in my mind.
His whole body felt as hot as if he had swallowed a golden crow, and then he touched a slender woman who was as cool as the moon.
One is hot and one is cold, the sun and the moon blend together, as if they are performing a courtesy of the Duke of Zhou.
Ouyang Rong vaguely remembered that he seemed to be particularly rude.
What impressed her most at this moment was that he seemed to have taken a big bite on her soft white neck and collarbone, venting like a beast.
The latter hugged his head tightly and silently endured everything he vented.
That woman who looked like a still moon made him feel as fragile and delicate as a small boat before the stormy waves.
But when touched, it is like a quiet sea that embraces all rivers and can withstand all the violent storms that men throw at it.
This taste and feeling is extraordinary.
"Is it a dream..."
Ouyang Rong whispered, suddenly turned his head and glanced at the dark Dagushan Mountain in the distance.
"Unknown miracle doctor...Mrs. Zhao..."
There was a murmur at the window.
There seemed to be an impulse in his heart.
The next moment, the window closed with a bang.
In the center of the room, a blue "arc" disappeared.
In front of the bookshelf, there is a wooden sword box with its wings retracted and the mechanism closed.
The short-haired young man put on his regular clothes, took out a bronze mask from under the pillow, and stuffed it into his sleeve.
He turned around and walked to the bookshelf, picked up the Mohist sword box, slung it behind him, and walked out quickly.
Ouyang Rong, as light as an ape, quietly left the yard.
But there is nothing to hide in Meilu Garden.
In the past two days, Meilu Garden has been very quiet. Zhen and Ye Weilai have not returned yet. Ouyang Rong lives alone, accompanied by only a few old doorkeepers. He leaves early and returns late.
Only his junior sister came to see him every day. As for the several invitations from the Li Xian family next door, Ouyang Rong declined them all with excuses.
During the day, he went to the Longcheng County Government Office and led Diao Xiancheng and Yan Liulang to handle all the matters on July 15th. At night, he went home and took care of all the food, clothing, and daily life by himself.
It’s a quiet moment amidst the busyness, which is rare and fulfilling.
This also gave Ouyang Rong the opportunity to calm down and think seriously about some issues.
For example, what is important and what is not important.
This involves his future plans.
His heart calmed down, and that was why the "biting dream" that had been lingering in his mind for several days was so weird and conspicuous.
Late at night, Ouyang Rong carried his box and left Luming Street.
He sneaked around to bypass the curfew and left the city under the stars.
No one was notified.
When the first light of dawn illuminated the Buddhist temple on the top of the mountain, Ouyang Rong arrived at Donglin Temple, and the hem of his clothes was wet with dew.
Ouyang Rong found the hair directly and said directly:
"Do you know that I was recuperating in Sanhui Yuan not long ago?"
"ah?"
The beautiful man who was copying scriptures and reading in the morning was stunned for a moment, and looked up at the county magistrate who had gone up the mountain early in the morning:
"I know a little bit, but Sanhui Yuan was rented by Mrs. Xie after going through the formalities. Later I heard that you, the county magistrate, were in a coma and moved in.
"Xie, Madam Xie, you asked my master to treat you at first, but he was not proficient in this disease, so he humbly gave in.
"Mrs. Xie seems to have asked for a doctor from out of town later."
Ouyang Rong asked intently: "Have you and the monks seen the doctors and medical assistants in Sanhui Yuan during these days?"
Xiufao touched his head and said, "The young monk didn't see it. The main reason is that Madam Xie and the others have closed the courtyard and don't allow us monks to get close. The senior brothers probably didn't see it either.
"I heard that Miss Xie hired a miraculous doctor, but I don't know where he came from. He's so mysterious that even the morning and evening meals are brought from the mountain, not from the temple."
Ouyang Rong asked: "What is the name of the miracle doctor?"
"I don't know, little monk." Xiufa shook her head, as if remembering something, and said in a daze:
"But I heard that in addition to the miracle doctor, there is also a good woman from a good family who takes care of the patients' daily life. It seems that Miss Xie and Mr. Xie brought her help from the mountains. When they entered the temple, Miss Xie was still registering with the senior brother who was guarding the door.
After a while, there should be a name."
Ouyang Rong said calmly:
"After I left the day before yesterday, is there anyone still living in Sanhui Yuan? Where did this good girl go?"
"I don't know, but on the day the county magistrate recovered from his illness and came down from the mountain, Sanhui Yuan became empty and uninhabited. It had been cleaned by the monks.
"This lady from a good family must have gone down the mountain, and she doesn't know where her home is."
"Okay." Ouyang Rong sighed softly: "Where is the roster for entering the temple? Take me there."
"Okay, county magistrate, please wait a moment."
Xiufan put down the Buddhist scriptures and took a break with the uncle who supervised the morning reading in the temple.
Ouyang Rong followed him and silently went to the main entrance of Donglin Temple, where he got a thick roster from a monk.
Ouyang Rong quickly opened it, followed the corresponding date, and found the specific page number on which the name of the person was registered on that day. He scrolled down line by line with his fingertips.
"Mother Zhao?"
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and whispered, which was the familiar handwriting of the young junior sister's upright and graceful character.
However, only two characters were registered, not the full name.
He pursed his lips, his eyes slightly disappointed, but not too surprised.
Women from the Qian Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty were mostly called so-and-so mother or so-and-so girl outside the country. Only people close to them could know the specific names of their maidens.
Most of the other female donors on the roster that Ouyang Rong was flipping through were also like this. Older women even registered directly as Li or Wang.
"This Mrs. Zhao should be Miss Zhao as the junior sister and teacher mentioned. She is right... Is her surname Zhao..."
Ouyang Rong tried hard to search his memory, and found that he really didn't know anyone named Zhao in Longcheng, except for one squire.
His brows were not loosened.
Immediately, Ouyang Rong asked the monk receiving the guests at the door if he still had memories. After confirming that the monk had no memory, Ouyang Rong turned around in disappointment.
The clue is broken.
Mrs. Zhao, who was suspected of being violated and bitten by him, is missing.
"What is the county magistrate looking for?" Xiufa asked curiously.
"Dream." Ouyang Rong whispered.
"Dream?"
The young novice monk Zhang Er was confused.
Ouyang Rong walked slowly down the mountain.
In fact, he was not sure whether it was a dream or not.
But when I woke up that day, my waist and back ached like falling apart, and now my suspicion has deepened.
If it is not a dream, the "woman in the dream" is most likely Mrs. Zhao who takes care of him personally.
This is something Ouyang Rong cannot tolerate.
It cannot be said that he has tarnished the chastity of a good woman for nothing, and even his rudeness may have left a lifelong psychological shadow on her.
What, you said the other person might be taking the initiative and even enjoying it?
But what is she planning?
Ouyang Rong couldn't figure it out.
Was it simply because he was handsome, talented, and wealthy, but why did she disappear afterward?
The blackmailer is not that blackmailed. Could it be that he is 100% sure to save the seed and is certain that he cannot escape? So he disappears for the time being, and there will be another big wave in the future?
This guess becomes more and more outrageous.
Ouyang Rong shook his head slightly.
Looking at the back of the young county magistrate who was running up the mountain for a "dream" gradually walking away, Xiufa couldn't help shouting:
"Master, why don't you go to the Zaozhaiyuan to have a meal before leaving? You're already here. I remember that you like to go there."
Ouyang Rong's footsteps slowly stopped.
"I like to go there..." He murmured to himself and suddenly nodded slightly: "There is another place that I also like to go to."
"What?" Xiufa was stunned.
But the next moment, the young novice monk saw the young county magistrate suddenly turn around, pass by him like wind, and re-enter the temple gate.
"Hey, my lord, this is not the way Zaozhaiyuan is going to go."
Ouyang Rong turned a deaf ear and strode forward. He was more mature than his hair.
A quarter of an hour later, Ouyang Rong came to a monastery that was more familiar to him than Zaozhaiyuan.
In the Beitian Nursing Home, under the early morning sun, all the patients were getting up and queuing up to eat in the hospital.
The old, weak, sick and disabled look very pitiful.
Ouyang Rong walked around the courtyard and didn't see two familiar figures.
He went straight to the backyard, came to a wellhead, and inspected the underground palace.
Except for Master Xiuzhen, there was no one there.
The old Taoist man in the crane cloak and the mute girl with the broken finger are not in the Beitian Nursing Home.
Ouyang Rong turned around and walked away silently.
But this time, he no longer left directly like the last time he came here to look for someone and came back disappointed.
"What is the list of disabled patients admitted to the hospital during this period?"
At the gatehouse of Beitian Almshouse, the steward Xiu Du looked blankly at the young county magistrate who came to the door early in the morning, and asked curiously.
"That's right." Ouyang Rong stared at him: "There are also records of patients who have recently left Beitian Nursing Home... get them all.
"Beitian Nursing Home receives funding from the county government. These details should be very detailed."
"Mingfu is right, please wait a moment while the monk goes to get it."
Seeing Ouyang Rong's serious expression, Xiu Du nodded quickly and turned around to get the booklet from the courtyard.
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and waited.
Before this, he had found the old Taoist man wearing a crane cloak and a mute girl with a broken finger here twice.
The first time was the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The mute girl with severed fingers was present, but the old Taoist man with the crane cloak and fur coat was not.
The second time was to resign quietly and stay overnight at Donglin Temple to reminisce about the past and find someone before redeeming the blessings from the underground palace.
Neither the old Taoist man in the crane cloak nor the mute girl with the broken finger is here.
At that time, Ouyang Rong only looked around and did not investigate carefully, thinking that they were taken down the mountain by his family.
"Please take a look at the Ming Mansion. They are all here."
After a while, Ouyang Rong got a thick book with a dirty cover.
He took a deep breath and read through it carefully, his brows became more and more frowned, and at a certain moment his fingers paused on a line of records.
"It's actually registered... Could it be that I'm overthinking..." Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and murmured: "Are they really a patient admitted to the Beitian Alms Home?"
The roster in hand shows that the old man Qiu Qiu and the mute girl with severed fingers have indeed been admitted to the nursing home recently.
The date of admission was after the date when "Zhao Niang" registered to enter the temple.
Even this admission list is more complete than the temple admission list. It not only records the symptoms of the disease, but also records when the admitted patients recently left.
Ouyang Rong found out at this moment that the old man Heyi Qiu and the mute girl with a broken finger had gone through the formalities and left on the morning of the day he recovered from illness.
They walked down the mountain almost at the same time as Ouyang Rong. Both of them were picked up by family members at the foot of the mountain, and their whereabouts are unknown.
Ouyang Rong frowned:
"Is it such a coincidence? Also, the same goes for Mrs. Zhao and the unknown miracle doctor. They both left on the same day. Is there any connection between the two?
"After I recovered from illness that day, was it true sleepwalking or fake sleepwalking? But there has been a precedent of sleepwalking and falling into the underground palace before. How to explain it? Could it be...no way? This guess is a bit wild.
"Besides, how could the miracle doctor who Xuan Hu saves the world be a patient admitted to the Beitian Nursing Home and be covered in sores?
"The same goes for Mrs. Zhao who takes care of me. If she is a good-natured woman recruited from the mountain to take care of patients, how can she be a patient who needs to be taken in and cared for by Beitian Alms Home?
"There is obviously some conflict between the two, or is one of their identities forged? These conflicts are just artificial traps?
"Then the most likely possibility is that the identity of the Beitian Almshouse is forged.
"But how do you explain these detailed records of discrepancies?
"Could it be that someone guessed that I would turn around to investigate? This person is so thoughtful and cleans up, and he does everything in such detail?
"He is a master. I was almost deceived. It is not unfair.
"But is that so?
"If you are really such a master and want to set up a trap to harm others, you should have closed the net now.
"What the hell is it like to save people like this, not taking any money, and still leaving so cleanly? Are you a charity person, or are you just playing the long game to catch the big fish?"
After frowning and reasoning for a moment, Ouyang Rong shook his head vigorously:
"There are insufficient clues, these are just guesses, and such deductions are useless."
After a while, he sighed and said to himself: "Ouyang Lianghan, why didn't you stay a little longer that day and why did you go down the mountain with your junior sister so quickly..."
But the matter had come to an end, and it would be useless to dwell on it now. Ouyang Rong gathered his thoughts and continued to scan the roster, and immediately fixed on a line of words on the paper.
They are the names registered in the register of the old man Qiu with the crane cloak and the mute girl with the broken finger.
"Mr. Sun, Xiu Niang."
Ouyang Rong was not surprised that the old Taoist priest's surname was Sun. He had already asked the question in a routine that day, and he was verifying it again now.
The name of the mute girl who had been kept out of reach by He Huo Qiu Lao Dao suddenly fell into Ouyang Rong's eyes.
"Xiu Niang?"
Only these two words were registered on the paper. There is no doubt that they were the names reported by the "mute girl's family" who picked up the mute girl. They were registered by the monks in the courtyard. The names were all written in the same name.
And the name "Xiu Niang" is obviously not the mute girl's full name.
Maybe, as Taoist Sun joked in the underground palace before, the old-fashioned customs in his hometown prevent his full name from being revealed easily?
Therefore, Ouyang Rong cannot find any connection between "Xiu Niang" and "Zhao Niang" for the time being, and is not sure whether they are the same person with different titles.
However, he chewed the name "Xiu Niang" for a moment and his pupils shrank.
Ouyang Rong has some impressions!
"No way……"
Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his head, returned the roster immediately, turned around and rushed out of Beitian Almshouse, and quickly left Donglin Temple.
This sudden and sudden movement made Master Shandao and Xiufa, who had just arrived, froze in place.
Ouyang Rong didn't waste any time and rushed down the mountain to return to the county town.
He once heard Ah Qing mention the name "Xiu Niang":
The cook at Meiluyuan seems to be called Xiu Niang! I vaguely remember that she is also a mute girl.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the word "Xiu" appears frequently in women's names, making it easy to name-drop.
But Ouyang Rong suddenly remembered an inconspicuous incident a few months ago.
When Li Dalang entertained guests for dinner at Yunshui Pavilion, Ouyang Rong saw a figure similar to that of a slender mute woman.
At that time, he followed Qian Ying to the kitchen, but saw no one.
But later, Ouyang Rong had a meal of rich and delicious spicy dishes at Yunshui Pavilion. When he returned to Meiluyuan in the evening, he talked to Zhen about it, and the latter seemed to remember it in his heart.
Finally, Mrs. Zhen ordered Banxi to invite the cook, also called "Xiu Niang"!
After searching for a while, he found no trace of "Mrs. Zhao", but he unexpectedly came across the identity of the mute girl Yamashita?
As soon as he returned to the county town, Ouyang Rong went straight to Yunshui Pavilion on a busy street in the dock.
Entering the bustling restaurant, he immediately went to the counter, looking for someone to interrogate him just like he did at Donglin Temple.
About a quarter of an hour later, the young magistrate silently walked out of the gate of Yunshui Pavilion.
Walking on the busy street, my face was a little distracted:
"Is it true that this mute girl named 'Xiu Niang' has always been by my side, working as a cook in Meilu Garden?"
A look of surprise appeared in Ouyang Rong's eyes.
He had just cross-examined her carefully and found out that the cook that Zhen asked Banxi to hire at Yunshui Pavilion was indeed called Xiu Niang. She was a mute girl with a broken little finger, exactly the same.
Ouyang Rong couldn't help but mutter: "Why didn't she tell me... Forget it, she can't speak, but even if she can't speak, why didn't she find an opportunity to appear in front of me and let me find out?
"I don't know if I am the man of the house, or if I have something to hide."
Ouyang Rong suddenly remembered the mute girl's clear eyes and vaguely reluctant face when she crawled out of the underground palace.
"When we left, she... why did she look at me like that? But when I came closer, she kept her head silent?"
Ouyang Rong slowly stopped and stood on the street, looking around with raised eyebrows.
The clue is broken again.
The cook Xiu Niang has resigned and has not been to Meiluyuan for a long time. She is nowhere to be found.
Ouyang Rongkong sighed.
Whisper:
"In the dream, I was rude and bitten when I was doing courtesy to Duke Zhou. Is it true?
"Is the mute Xiu Niang actually Mrs. Zhao?
"What if both things are true..."
He couldn't help but fell into silence.
In fact, it is very simple to verify these two questions.
Find the woman with the teeth marks on her neck and neck.
Or meet the mute girl Xiu Niang again and see that there are teeth marks on her neck.
"The underground palace was dark that day, so I couldn't see her neck carefully..."
Ouyang Rong rubbed his eyebrows.
At this time.
"Elder brother, why are you here?"
Ouyang Rong turned around, and Xie Lingjiang came forward in surprise, grabbed his sleeve, looked him up and down, and said with concern:
"I got up early and went to Meiluyuan, but I didn't see you. I went to the county government office, but you weren't there. I've been looking for you for a long time..."
Ouyang Rong felt warm and whispered: "I had a dream."
Xie Lingjiang was confused: "What dream?"
Ouyang Rong suddenly raised his hand and pointed behind her: "Would you like that?"
Xie Lingjiang turned around and looked, "What, candied haws on a stick? Don't eat it, only children like to eat it."
Ouyang Rong glanced at the flawless white neck of the girl in red dress in front of him, and asked:
"Aren't you just a child?"
"You are the one!" she argued.
"Okay, I'll eat it then." Ouyang Rong walked over with a smile.
"..." Xie Lingjiang.
About a moment later, on the snack street, a brother and sister walked side by side in the sunshine with a bunch of candied haws in their hands.
With a "reluctant" expression on his face, Xie Lingjiang followed his senior brother. At a certain moment, the tip of his pink tongue quickly pecked the first candied haws on the stick.
A pair of pretty eyes narrowed like crescent moons.
She glanced at the person who was swallowing all the sticks again. Today, the girl in red clothes stood sideways to protect the food, glaring warily:
"I've eaten it!" After finishing her sentence, she tilted her head and asked: "By the way, you haven't finished talking yet, what kind of dream was it?"
Ouyang Rong flicked the thin stick away and squinted at the Jiangnan Snack Street, where life was gradually recovering in the early morning.
"I suddenly forgot."
He smiled and said, "Let's just think of it as a dream."
Even though it’s late, I’m here! I couldn’t help but add thousands of words to make it up to my dear brothers!