Chapter 487 Encountering officers and soldiers catching foxes by chance
Breakfast is bird's nest stewed with rock sugar, which is still the sweet drink that Sanhua Empress likes.
The people in the Xu Mansion seem to have figured out the fact that Empress Sanhua likes to eat sweets. There is also a lot of sugar in this bowl of bird's nests. Each bowl is decorated with one red date, two wolfberries, and three pieces of white fungus, and it can still smell faintly.
It is made with great care to get the same sweet aroma as snow pear tea.
The little girl looked serious and couldn't stop drinking.
"Did the ghost removal in the house go well last night?" Song You asked the old man in no hurry.
"Thanks to Mr., I was just a little scared at first, and I was unfamiliar with fighting, but I soon discovered that it is not much different from fighting with others." The old man said while holding the bowl, "Of course, Mr.'s talisman must be powerful.
, otherwise it’s useless to be afraid.”
"Actually, there are many folk methods that can be used instead of talismans in matters such as seeing ghosts, protecting the body, and fighting ghosts. They are mostly in the hands of folk experts and can be obtained through inquiry."
"I also used some last night." The old man said respectfully, "I collected them all from everywhere. I don't know which ones work and which ones don't. I prepared them all and used them all."
"Now you know what works."
"yes……"
"What happened to the old woman?"
"..."
The old man was silent for a moment, and then said: "I did not order her to be beaten to death."
"oh?"
Song You was very interested and thought for a moment: "Can she cure the chest pain inherited from the Xu family?"
"That's right." The old man sighed and replied, "Firstly, although the old woman was greedy and vicious, she did not harm anyone in the family. Secondly, my Xu family has been suffering from chest pain for a long time, and it is true that she is the only one who can."
There is a way to cure it. Third, the old man has already seen clearly that although the old woman is fierce and greedy, she is just bullying the weak and afraid of the strong. In fact, she does not have much courage. She was punished last night, and the old man has made an agreement with her to start a new life at home.
She laid out the spiritual tablets and offered sacrifices to her once every fifteenth day, so that she could ensure that my Xu family would no longer suffer from chest pain."
"The master of the house is so courageous."
Song You couldn't help but smile after hearing this.
Originally, he just wanted the Xu family to no longer be afraid of these evil spirits. As long as they were not afraid, it would be easier for them to deal with evil spirits again. After the incident spreads in Fuyao County, it may also affect the city and even surrounding counties.
The people are no longer afraid and have more courage.
But he didn't expect that on the first day, he would directly dare to negotiate with ghosts.
He does have some heroic courage.
"Ghosts are ghosts after all, and they are different from people. The head of the house knows this. I won't say anything more if I want to persuade you. The head of the house just needs to think carefully and be more cautious." Song You said, paused, "I just told Xu Xiaoguan
After that, since the matters in the house are over, we have to move on. This afternoon, we have to say goodbye to the head of the family. Thank you for your hospitality."
When the old man heard this, he was also surprised.
Naturally, he tried to persuade her to stay, and Xiaozhi moved her with emotion and reason, and the words sounded pleasant, but the Taoist's mind was already determined and would never change.
…
The noon banquet was very lively.
Song You and Sanhua Empress were both invited to the main table, and the Xu Mansion specially arranged a high bench for Sanhua Empress.
The dishes on the table are sumptuous.
Chicken, duck, fish, delicacies from the mountains and seas, everything that flies in the sky, swims in the water on the ground, and grows in the soil, can all be found on this table. Not only are the ingredients rich and precious, but the craftsmanship is also very particular.
There are also some special dishes among them.
The three main dishes in the middle of the table, a whole piece of steamed pig face and a whole boiled sheep head, symbolize that the Xu family is also prestigious. The price of sheep in Yuzhou also illustrates the strength of the Xu family. In addition, there is a
A large casserole with a white background and gold glaze contains a fine old hen and a coiled snake, supplemented by precious medicinal herbs and fungi, and is full of delicious fragrance.
Three local specialty side dishes were specially placed near Song You and the girl.
It's a boiled dish, and there are almost a few whole ones on the plate, chopped into small pieces, with the head and tail intact, and neatly. There is only a small dish of soy sauce next to it for you to dip it in.
A plate of smoked, blackened meat like bacon.
A piece of roasted meat looks crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
"..."
Song You turned his head and stared at the girl silently.
The girl was also silent and turned to look at him.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Song! On behalf of everyone in the Xu family, I would like to propose a toast to you!"
"..."
Only then did Song You look away.
The girl also followed his example and withdrew her gaze.
The banquet started soon.
Needless to say, Sanhua Empress, when she stretched out her chopsticks, she picked up her staple food and turned her head to stare at the Taoist.
Song You ignored her and didn't look at her.
People in Yuzhou love to eat snakes and rats. Eating rats here is a very normal thing. Although rat meat is usually not on the Xu family's hospitality menu, now that it is on the table today, the Xu family will eat it from time to time.
Pick it up with chopsticks, just like eating any other meat.
Every time at this time, Sanhua Empress would turn her head and stare at her Taoist priest, as if she was telling him something with her eyes.
Song You still turned a blind eye.
Naturally, given his current status in the hearts of everyone in the Xu family, he did not take the initiative to pick up the rat meat with his chopsticks, and no one dared to persuade him to eat it, or ask him why he didn't eat it.
Empress Sanhua was disappointed and frustrated.
…
Song You had packed up his things and led the bay-red horse to the gate of Xu's house.
The old man put things on the horse himself.
First there was a small bag of rice, hand-selected fine polished rice, then a small bag of flour, then pancakes and scones wrapped in oil paper, exquisite snacks, and finally a tray of official silver. But Song You just took the money casually.
I paid two yuan, saying it was money for the talisman. Anyway, the money I brought with me has been gone for a long time and I don’t have any big expenses for the time being. The extra money is heavy.
"There is a saying that goes well, if you hit with one punch, you will avoid hundreds of punches. Although Xu Mansion is no longer afraid of evil spirits, if we wait here and wait for more and more evil spirits in the city to gather towards Xu Mansion, what will happen after all?
Tired of preparing for and dealing with it." Before Song You left, he said to the old man, "However, evil spirits and ghosts also have wisdom. If the Xu family is familiar with the methods of dealing with evil spirits and ghosts, they might as well spread the word to the outside world. If Fuyao County is cleaner, the Xu Mansion will also be cleaner.
If you have some spare energy, you can also help clean the door of your home. If the Xu family has a good reputation, many evil spirits will not dare to disturb them."
"Oh! To be honest, sir, I'm thinking about this too!" The old man was surprised, "Since sir said so, there's nothing to think about!"
"Farewell."
Song You looked calm and glanced at the old man and the scholar named Xu behind him. He bowed his hands and said: "There is still a funeral at home, so please don't send me away far away."
"Farewell! Don't send me far away!"
The girl also imitated her Taoist priest's salute, and her eyes also swept over the old man and the scholar named Xu. As for the others, she ignored them.
Even the horse looked back at them.
"Sir, walk slowly..."
Everyone saluted and shouted repeatedly.
Ahead is still a long and clean alley.
When Song You and his party reached the end of the alley, they heard a series of firecrackers coming from the Xu Mansion behind them. The time was neither morning nor dusk, nor was it a festival. According to local customs, this seemed to inform the neighbors that they were
Someone in the family passed away.
The Xu family had been holding back the body that had been pulled up the night before yesterday, and then they started to mourn it.
White-haired people give gifts to black-haired people.
"..."
Song You shook his head and kept walking.
Exit the alley and head west.
Changjing is in the west, so you have to go out through the West Gate.
Walking down the street and passing through the busy city, it was still the same as yesterday. There were many people catching and driving away foxes. I also saw more official officials, making it noisy.
The further you go to the west city, the more foxes there are.
Even when we walked to Xicheng, it was difficult to see pedestrians on the street anymore, and the shops were all closed. Only a few windows on the second floors of the buildings were still open, and some people stuck their heads out and looked down.
When I saw a Taoist priest and a girl walking through the street with a horse, a believer quickly reminded me:
"Why are you walking on the street, sir?"
"What's wrong?"
"Don't you know, sir, that foxes in Xicheng have become a problem again recently, and they especially like to hide in our streets and alleys. The magistrate thinks they are ominous, and today he invited officers and soldiers to the city to conduct a large-scale search and suppression, so that every household in the nearby streets and alleys
Everyone, go back to your house and don't go out. There were officers and soldiers shooting arrows here just now." The believer upstairs quickly reminded, "There were two arrows nailed to the pillar over there. The officers and soldiers pulled them out when they left.
There are still two holes left."
"I'm a foreigner, I really don't know."
"The order was issued just this noon, and there was no list in advance." The good believer said, "In short, sir, you should either turn around and go back, take a detour, or find a place to hide quickly, and wait until the officers and soldiers come after the fox.
Those bows, arrows and crossbows don't have eyesight. Even if you don't get hit, the officers and soldiers will still scold you."
"good……"
Just as Song You agreed, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from far away.
First there was a loud scream of foxes, and a group of foxes were driven over, followed by several hounds, and then came officers and soldiers on horseback, all holding bows and arrows.
Song You quickly led Ma Rang to the wall.
"Sui Su Su Su..."
The arrow pierced the air and hit the fox.
Many foxes were shot by arrows and fell to the ground wailing or died on the spot. Some foxes hid in corners, thinking they could escape, but were later found by hounds and officers and soldiers. What was even more terrible was that they also appeared at the intersection in front of them.
A large group of officers and soldiers. At this time, the officers and soldiers no longer fired arrows, but they had blocked the large group of foxes in the middle.
Immediately, the officers and soldiers released their hunting dogs and swords, and surrounded the group of foxes.
Dayan followed the route of elite troops, and most of the troops were warriors.
No matter how many there are in this group of foxes, no matter how courageous they are in normal times, no matter how fierce they are now, in front of this group of officers and soldiers, they will just run away without any resistance.
Song You watched silently and said nothing.
Sanhua Empress was also standing with him, her eyes were black and white, unblinking, staring in that direction, with no expression on her face, as if she was used to it.