After sending Jin Youji back to the craftsman's camp, Zhou Jun picked up his horse. As soon as he crossed the south of the bridge, he saw Hua Yue standing at the other end of the bridge, waiting there with his head lowered.
Zhou Jun drove his horse over and asked Huayue, "When did you come?"
Huayue pursed her lips and replied, "I will be here while you are having a drink with others."
Zhou Jun asked: "Then why don't you come over?"
Huayue shook her head and said, "I just don't like meeting outsiders."
Zhou Jun smiled helplessly and stretched out his hand towards Huayue: "Come up."
Huayue grabbed Zhou Jun's arm, turned over, and got on the horse.
Zhou Jun rode his horse forward and asked, "In a few days, it will be the New Year. I wonder what it's like in Bachuan?"
Hua Yue: "I read the letter from Ba Chuan. Rou Xing has already set a wedding date. I'm afraid Ba Chuan is busy now?"
Zhou Jun asked funnyly: "Are you homesick?"
Hua Yue: "Luoyang is prosperous. It was interesting to stay there at first, but after a long time, it became boring."
Zhou Jun: "We will return to Chang'an when the Lantern Festival is over."
Huayue: "Well, it would be better to go back earlier."
As they talked like this, the two of them arrived at the door of the inn.
Asking the innkeeper to lead the horse into the stable, Zhou Jun took Hua Yue into the front hall of the inn and saw Liu Zai in official robes, sitting on a chair and waiting.
Seeing Zhou Jun coming over, Liu Zai stood up, smiled and picked up what he was holding.
Zhou Jun looked over and saw a pot of shochu and a bag of sheep roast in Liu Zai's hands.
After giving Huayue some copper coins and asking her to buy some food such as steamed cakes, Zhou Jun and Liu Zai walked into the courtyard of the private courtyard, found a clean place, and set up a table and chairs.
The two sat down, Zhou Jun picked up the drinking utensils and poured wine for them.
Liu Zai took out a certificate of admission to the memorial hall from his arms and handed it to Zhou Jun.
Zhou Jun didn't know why, so he went to the Memorial Hall to read the petition, and saw a notice from Henan Province, saying, "The floods in eight counties including Huaiyang, Suiyang, and Qiao have flooded the city, sweeping away many houses and shops, and countless people have drowned."
』
Sighing, Zhou Jun slowly put down the suit.
Liu Zai took a sip of wine and asked, "Does Erlang still remember the theory of Ying Long?"
Zhou Jun nodded.
Liu Zai: "It's really amazing. What the book said on that day is exactly right. In the market, there were originally disbelievers and scoffers, but now they are all in admiration."
Zhou Jun: "What is the disaster situation in Henan Province?"
Liu Zai: "It is not optimistic. This flood came without any warning. Both the Hydrology Department and the Astronomy Department were devastated. Most of the eight counties in Henan were turned into a swamp. This year's harvest is probably gone."
Zhou Jun remained silent.
Liu Zai: "But there are also some country folk who have seen the Yinglong Heavenly Book and are convinced of it. They moved their homes to higher places in advance and escaped this disaster."
Zhou Jun looked better after hearing this.
Liu Zai asked Zhou Jun again: "This flood disaster was mentioned in the book of that day. What does Erlang think?"
Zhou Jun smiled slightly and said, "It's just a coincidence."
Liu Zai thought about it carefully and agreed, "Maybe."
Putting the matter aside for the time being, Liu Zai took a sip of wine and asked, "Hasn't that Zoroastrian demon come again recently?"
Zhou Jun shook his head and said: "I haven't come back yet, so I think I quit because of the difficulties."
Liu Zai: "When that incident happened, I also told you that it would be better to report it to the county office and then send officials to inspect the Zoroastrian temple. Maybe there will be gains."
Zhou Jun: "Since the thieves dared to rob someone halfway, they must have come prepared. If they failed to catch the prisoner on the spot, they would naturally not leave any evidence afterwards."
"Besides, there are no less than forty Zoroastrian temples in Luoyang, the eastern capital, and there are tens of thousands of Zoroastrian believers. Let’s not say whether we can find any clues through a large-scale search. What if the Zoroastrian believers backlash and cause trouble?
?”
Seeing that Liu Zai was thoughtful, Zhou Jun added: "Also, a certain person is the head of the eighth rank. The adults in his family are not high officials in the court, and the clan is not a powerful family. Why is it that Zoroastrianism is not found by others, but it is with him alone?
I'm in a dilemma? If the county magistrate investigates this matter deeply and asks the reason, how will he answer?"
Liu Zai heard this and understood the trouble of this matter.
Zhou Jun waved his hand and said: "I am now a neighbor of Yikuang. Next door is the Dali Temple, the official residence of the Yushitai Foreign Minister, and the surrounding areas are guarded by Marquis Wu. Even if the Zoroastrian religion dares to come, they will definitely throw a trap."
Huayue returned to the courtyard at this time and brought steamed cakes, rice cakes, fried food and other items.
Zhou Jun placed the food on the table one by one.
Huayue took his share and returned to the wing.
Zhou Jun asked Liu Zai: "Earlier you talked about the Silla Nuya case. There are not many days until the first month of the year. Is there any progress?"
Liu Zai took a bite of the steamed cake and said: "I searched through the Cao Chronicle and found that there is a cargo ship every month, coming from the direction of Yanggu. What Guan Yin reported was fish, shrimp and other items, but the place where the cargo was dropped was not
What kind of market place is this? It’s Yongtongfang South Alley.”
Zhou Jun: "Yongtongfang South Alley? What's there?"
Liu Zai: "The south lane of Yongtongfang was originally a Buddhist temple. During the Kaiyuan period, many pilgrims and monks were burned to death due to flooding. After that, there were reports of hauntings. Because of this, the surrounding houses gradually became deserted and no longer exist.
People are willing to live there, but eventually it becomes a taboo.”
Zhou Jun: "That's it."
Liu Zai: "In the past few days, I have also discovered that whether it is Dali Temple or Yushitai, someone seems to be deliberately obstructing the investigation. Therefore, Zai has no intention of asking others for help regarding the cargo ship. He plans to disguise himself and search carefully.
One day the truth will come out."
After hearing this, Zhou Jun was a little worried and advised Liu Zaimo to act alone.
The latter just said that he should use his own discretion.
The two drank for a while, and Liu Zai returned to the mansion.
Huayue walked out of the wing and came to the patio. Seeing Zhou Jun sitting there with a solemn expression, she asked, "What did Liu Yushi say?"
Zhou Jun: "He said that there is a Buddhist temple in Yongtongfang that is haunted..."
Huayue opened her eyes wide and quickly covered her ears: "Ah, I won't listen, I won't listen, don't tell me!"
Zhou Jun was a little surprised and asked with a smile: "Are you afraid of ghosts?"
Hua Yue: "Tiger, leopard, snake and scorpion exist in form and can be killed with sharp blades. Ghosts and monsters are indistinct, so where is the way to win?"
Zhou Jun: "It's just a Buddhist temple. It caught fire a few years ago and many people were burned to death..."
Huayue hurriedly covered her ears again and shouted loudly: "Stop talking! Say something else, something else!"
Zhou Jun saw Hua Yue's panicked look, shook his head and said with a smile, "Okay, let's talk about other things. Do you still remember Master Mao Shun I mentioned to you?"
Hua Yue: "But the master craftsman with incredible skills will naturally remember it."
Zhou Jun: "Master Mao Shun has a high reputation among craftsmen and is good at his craftsmanship. Originally, I wanted to befriend him so that I could easily search for craftsmen in the future. But after spending some time together, I discovered that this man might be hiding something.
matter."
Huayue: "Hide it?"
Zhou Jun: "When Master Mao Shun was in Chang'an, he invited a group of familiar craftsmen and asked them to sign up to participate in the construction of Shangyuan Lantern Tower, but they were not allowed to tell anyone about the invitation."
Huayue was puzzled: "Are you worried that these craftsmen have received special care?"
Zhou Jun: "Probably not. I don't know the specific reason. In short, just pay more attention in the next few days."