Under the cover of night, in a remote and desolate place, you can see a very large house not far away. The door of the house is closed, it is dark, and there are no lights at all. Two very shabby red lanterns hang high in front of the door.
The driver slowed down, pulled over, turned to me and whispered: "This is it. I don't know what you are doing here in the middle of the night. Anyway, be careful, I'm leaving."
After the driver finished speaking, he turned the car around and drove away. It looked like he didn't want to stay here any longer.
Looking closer, the gate is an old-fashioned courtyard gate from the Qing Dynasty. When you look up, you can see an ebony plaque that reads: "Baojia Guozhuang".
I knocked on the door twice.
"Is anyone home?"
After calling a few times and seeing no answer, I turned around and suddenly found a half-open door next to me. I looked around and saw no one around, so I slowly opened the small door and went in.
I have a bad habit that needs to be corrected. When I see an old house like this that no one lives in, I always want to go in and look through it to find some antiques to sell.
Entering through the small door, the space suddenly opens up.
The courtyard is very large, estimated to be thousands of square meters! There is an old elm tree in the courtyard. In addition, from west to east, there are a row of stone pillars of unknown purpose placed neatly against the courtyard wall.
There was an abandoned kennel in the corner. The top of the kennel was filled with all kinds of debris. I saw something that looked like a wood carving, so I walked over and rummaged through it.
It is a hollow wood carving of flowers and birds. This thing was a component on the beams of wealthy families in the past.
Just then, I heard movement behind me and turned around to look back.
Almost scared me!
In front of me is an old man wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket. The old man is hunched over and has wrinkles on his face. He is holding a walking stick in one hand and a lantern in the other. He is staring at me without blinking.
"Uncle, what are you doing? Why are you walking silently? You scared me to death!"
The old man's voice was hoarse. He leaned on his crutch and said, "It's so late. What do you do?"
I hurriedly threw away the wood carving in my hand and defended myself: "I was introduced by a friend to find the descendants of the Bao family Guozhuang. Are you right?"
The old man held the lantern and slowly shook his head and said, "So you are looking for my young lady. Come with me."
Just like that, I followed him, but as he continued, I stopped and cold sweat began to break out on my forehead.
This old man... was actually wearing a pair of pure white cotton shoes. Judging from the style of the heels, he was clearly a pair of longevity shoes.
"Why did you stop? Miss lives in the west wing."
I pointed to his feet.
The old man looked down and said with a grin: "It's getting cold, and Lao Han's feet can't stand the cold, so I put them on in advance. Didn't I scare you?"
I quickly said it was okay and followed him.
When they arrived at the west wing, the old man knocked on the door and called: "Miss, have you gone to bed? There is a guest looking for you."
Soon, the voice of the old lady came from the house, saying who is looking for me, please come in.
After entering the house, the old man lit a candle first, and then I saw an old lady with gray hair wearing a thick cotton coat, sitting on the kang smoking a cigarette.
The old lady looked not as old as the old man, she was probably sixty or seventy years old. Although she was not young, she still seemed to have a graceful air in her eyebrows. This kind of temperament was only possessed by young ladies from wealthy families in the past.
After talking with her, I learned that she was a direct descendant of the Bao family Guozhuang, and her name was Bao Wenfang.
Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared. Why did I come here all night in a hurry?
Yesterday, I heard Lao Xiong mention the words "Baojia Guozhuang" for the first time, and I always felt a little familiar. Then I suddenly thought of it.
A month and a half ago, Boutou and I bought a large number of Kangding local county annals to read, and the Baojia Guozhuang was mentioned in one of them.
It is recorded in the county annals that during the Qianlong period, the male owner of Guozhuang accidentally killed a merchant due to a conflict. The male owner was very filial. Because he was about to be arrested, he could no longer support the old man, so he kowtowed to the old man 999 times and cried.
: "Mom, the gift of childbirth! I can only repay you in the next life!" He kowtowed every time he said it, and he kowtowed for a day and a night.
Then the Yamen sentenced him to death, and he was punished with a life for a life, and he was beheaded after Qiu.
Later, this little incident spread to the capital for some reason. After hearing about it, Emperor Qianlong issued an edict: "In recognition of your filial piety, you are specially allowed to return home with your crime. After a hundred years, your loved ones will come to Beijing to be punished."
Three years later, the old man passed away, and the male owner of Baojia Guozhuang kept his word. He went to the capital and was beheaded.
