Although Dong Ming is an old official, he was very interested when he heard that a young lady from the prefect's family came out alone to find a man to watch the excitement... After talking to him for a long time, it was like listening to a play and then left. The five girls of the Tan family were just frightened.
He was a little confused, but Dong Ming woke up not long after he left. He couldn't help but regret his stumble.
After returning home, Dong Ming told his daughter-in-law: "I have decided to go to Taiwan with General Jarvis to serve."
His wife was slightly startled, and after a while she said: "Why is it so sudden? I was caught off guard."
Dong Ming sighed: "I'm just a petty official, not even a rank. When people call me 'Sir', it's really a compliment. Jia Lian, the prefect of Taiwan, is the eldest grandson of Rongguo Prefecture, and is incomparable to Master Tan. Moreover, these days, General Jia and
Their military advisor Lin all thinks highly of me, and I have a promising future."
Seeing that her husband had made up his mind, his daughter-in-law had to say: "You guys have your own ideas, but my mother-in-law has no one to take care of her."
Dong Ming said: "I will go there first and settle down to pick you up. I still have money at home, so I don't need to bring any money with me. The Taiwanese government has its own arrangements."
His daughter-in-law advised: "As the saying goes, a poor family has a rich road. Since it is your first time to go, bring more money with you to be prepared."
"Even if you bring more, how much can you bring?" Dong Ming waved his hand, "If I say you don't need it, then you don't need it." His wife had always regarded her husband as her first priority, so she lowered her head and went down to pack her luggage to comfort her mother-in-law and children.
Dong Ming went to the Yamen to greet his colleagues and said frankly that he was going to Taiwan. Since Tan Mo was dead, Li Qizhi drafted a letter and sent it to Beijing. He didn't know who his successor would be, so he had to go to the Tan family to resign. Tan Mo
The uncle said happily: "When we get to Chengtian Mansion, I hope Mr. Dong can say a few kind words to Mr. Jia on behalf of our family." Dong Ming agreed with his hand.
On this day, because he was about to leave home, Dong Ming bought some snacks in the shop to comfort his children. He happily carried the snacks and walked home. When he passed a street intersection, Dong Ming had an unknown thought in his heart.
Just when he regained consciousness, a figure bumped out of nowhere. Without waiting to see his face clearly, he raised his knife and pointed it at him before stabbing him. Dong Ming hurriedly dodged, avoiding the first blow but not the second one, causing him to be stabbed in the abdomen.
A hole was poked. The man ran away and ran out of the market in the blink of an eye without knowing where he was going; the knife was still on Dong Ming's body.
This place was very close to his home, and someone immediately called his wife. Dong Ming's wife was so frightened that she could not move as if she had lost her soul. His son was twelve years old this year, and he quickly asked someone to go to Jarvis.
The camp reported the news and asked people not to touch Dong Ming's knife until the doctor came. The neighbors helped carry him back home. Dong Ming looked at his son and said happily: "You are sensible!" His son was still holding on just now.
Hearing this, he held his father's hand and burst into tears.
Jarvis and others were packing their things to set up camp. When they heard the news, they were shocked and hurriedly led the two military doctors to Dong's house. Dong Ming saw him and smiled bitterly: "I'm sorry to be so kind to the general. I'm afraid it's a little official."
I can't leave." Jarvis waved his hand to tell him not to speak. This time he brought a Western surgeon, who was originally a missionary hired by Starship Medical College in Guangzhou and was good at surgery, so he took the decision here.
The doctors in the house were busy rescuing people, but Jarvis couldn't help, so he went out and saw many people watching the fun gathered outside, and asked if anyone knew who the assassin was. Everyone shook their heads or didn't see clearly.
, or they didn’t recognize him. Jarvis clasped his fists and asked them to help him pass the message: If there are any clues about the murderer, he will be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver.
Back in the house, Dong Ming's son saluted him and thanked him, and said: "Just now I heard your nurse sister said that the medicine my father will need to use later will cost several hundred taels of silver to prepare a little bit. This shows that the general has great regard for my father.
So generous, why is the reward only one hundred taels?"
Jarvis saw that his eyes were clear, and he really wanted to know the reason, and said: "For ordinary people, one hundred taels of silver is already a lot... If I say that I offer a reward of one thousand taels, some careless people will think that there is something wrong with it.
Why do you dare not come here for fear of being implicated?" Then he asked his name.
The child said: "My name is Dong Yu."
Jarvis laughed: "Dongpo said, everyone raises his son hoping to be smart, but I have been deceived by being smart all my life. I hope that my child will be stupid and stupid, and he will be a good minister without any trouble. This name is obviously chosen by Mr. Dong." He secretly thought in his heart.
Thinking about it, Dong Ming was smart all his life, but he was still a small official in his forties, so he was inevitably confused. "What do you want to do in the future?"
Dong Yu pouted and said, "I want my father to be a prisoner, but I dare not tell him. He only ordered me to study hard."
Jarvis said: "You also need to study. It's not bad to be like your father. If you do well, you will have a bright future."
Dong Yu glanced at him: "My father is so powerful, why doesn't he have a good future?"
Jarvis said: "He just didn't have enough luck in the past." Yin asked him, "I heard Mr. Dong said that you will stay in Zhangzhou temporarily and pick him up someday. In my opinion, it's better for you to leave together."
Dong Yu's eyes were red, and he asked in a low voice with slight trembling: "Can my father still go?"
Jarvis stroked his head and said, "Master Dong will be able to survive. How can he be willing to leave such a good son like you?"
Dong Yu shed tears. After a while, he asked: "General, look, who wants to kill my father?"
Jarvis smiled bitterly and said: "I don't have any clues either. It's just that I just took a look and found that the assassin is not a practicing master, otherwise Mr. Dong would not be able to support us. If the assassin himself has no grudge against Mr. Dong, it is the person who hired him.
If you can't find a suitable assassin, you can exclude some very powerful people. Think about it, does Mr. Dong have any enemies?"
Dong Yu lowered his head and said, "There are too many. All the prisoners he captures are enemies."
"This is going to be hard to find." Jarvis said sadly, "He is the best at handling cases, but it happens that he himself is assassinated now."
Dong Yu stayed aside for a while and suddenly asked: "Why did General Jia kill Magistrate Tan?" Jarvis glanced at him. He said with flashing eyes, "My father said it was you who did it.
!”
Jarvis knocked on his forehead and said: "Things that cannot be discovered must be analyzed; and then verified after analysis. You can't cheat." Dong Yu pouted.
The Western doctor and his assistant were busy in the room for six hours. It was already midnight after the operation, and Dong Ming fell into a coma.
The next day, many people came to the door and said they had clues about the assassin, or they saw people they didn't recognize, or they were blind. Jarvis gradually drew the appearance of the assassin based on what these people said. He smiled and said: "In the early years
Cong'er is making trouble for us to learn sketching from a Western painter, and I don't think it will come in handy now." Daiyu has never learned it, and secretly thinks about learning it when she returns to the island.
Until one day later, a grain merchant finally said: "When Mr. Dong was assassinated, I saw the old mullet from Heshui Bridge running away in a hurry. I called him but he didn't answer -
It's clearly him."
Jarvis asked: "Who is Old Mullet?"
"He is an idle guy, he has no serious job, and he doesn't have much ability. He only helps people with Taipingquan." The guy said, "In fact, he doesn't even have any clothes that can show people. That day he washed his face and wore
It's so neat that I almost can't recognize it."
Jarvis then asked him to see if any of the sixteen portraits he had drawn looked like Old Mullet, and he picked out the assassin with just two or three glances. Jarvis ordered people to go to Heshui Bridge to look for Old Mullet.
The neighbor said that he had not seen him for several days. He asked the neighbor to choose the old mullet among the sixteen portraits, and immediately picked out the assassin. Jarvis gave the young man a hundred taels of silver.
He went to Old Wuyu's house to check it out personally. The house was bare and impoverished, and there were two clothes and a pair of shoes thrown on the table. The local security guard who accompanied him said: "Old Wuyu only has a few clothes and shoes, and nothing more."
"Jarvis nodded and asked the neighbors about this man's temperament, friends, places he frequented, and if there had been anything strange in recent days. Several neighbors said that he was really weird these days, very happy, and even said he recognized fairies.
Nai roughly determined that the old mullet was the assassin. Jarvis drew a few more portraits of the old mullet and ordered people to take them to tailor shops and clothing stores across the city to check, but most of them had never seen this person before. A few of them had never seen this person before.
A shopkeeper recognized Old Wuyu, but he had never bought or made any clothes. Someone did recognize him. Not long after Dong Ming was assassinated, Old Wuyu left the east gate of the city and never came back.
Jarvis then returned to the camp to discuss with Lin Daiyu with all the things he found. Daiyu thought: "Old Mullet is well-dressed, but he can't find a tailor or shop. Someone must have made it for him. Now that he recognizes the fairy,
This woman is either unparalleled in beauty or of high status. Only if the two things are put together can she be called a 'fairy'."
Jarvis said: "Maybe it's a famous fan in the city, but not many fans can make clothes."
Daiyu said: "There is no guarantee that she is a female dependent of a wealthy family."
They had just talked for a while when someone from outside came to report: "Mr. Dong is awake." They then went out of the tent to pull the horse and bridle the horse and rushed to Dong's house.
Dong Ming is still weak at the moment, and the military doctor can only say a few words. Lin Daiyu said: "Master Dong, to make a long story short, have you ever offended any beautiful woman?"
Dong Ming thought for a while and said flatly: "No."
Jarvis said: "Anyway, Mrs. Dong is not here, have you ever offended any fans?"
Dong Mingdao: "I have never offended him. I did help a few fans when investigating the case last year."
"Where are the women from the wealthy family?"
Dong Ming said with a smile: "No more, I don't recognize it at all. To be honest, the fifth girl of the Tan family who was at the gate of your camp a few days ago was the first female member of a wealthy family that I have ever seen. Otherwise,
, why is the little official so curious?"
Just as he was talking, someone came in and replied: "I just got the letter. The Tan family is holding funerals again."
"What?" Several people in the room were surprised.
The soldier said: "The sixth girl of the Tan family disappeared last night and was found drowned in the well this morning."
Lin Daiyu said: "She is a wealthy lady, and she doesn't have to fetch water by herself. How can she go to the well?"
The soldier said: "Nowadays, people outside are saying that Master Tan's ghost is still lingering and deceived his daughter into throwing herself into the well."
Jia and Lin looked at each other, and Lin Daiyu frowned and said, "I thought it would be cheaper to go to Zhangzhou without fighting, but I didn't know that there would be more trouble than elsewhere."
Jarvis said: "Ordinary women have their own explanations for throwing themselves into wells, but it is rare for them to be linked to the lingering ghost."
Dong Mingdao: "Master Tan has ten sons and thirteen daughters, five or six of whom died in infancy, and countless concubines. The inner house is in great chaos."
Daiyu said: "Since it is a young lady who died, I will go to the Tan Mansion to express my condolences in person. My father was the minister of the Supreme Emperor when he was in office. With this status, he should be able to see many female relatives."
Dong Ming said: "Even if they don't rely on this status, they will still surround the military advisor." Nai smiled and said, "Uncle Tan even asked a junior official to go to Chengtian Mansion to say a few kind words to Master Jia on his behalf."
Daiyu nodded and said: "In that case, just say that he is Jarvis's strategist."
Fortunately, she was originally wearing plain clothes and did not return to the camp. She wore a Confucian robe and went to Tan Mansion to express her condolences. Because she was followed by a group of heroic soldiers, there were people watching along the way.
When they arrived at the Tan Mansion, Mrs. Tan came out to greet her. Lin Daiyu said a few words of relief, ordered someone to sacrifice some paper money on her behalf, and then went to have tea in the back. The Tan family had overheard her talking to Jarvis and knew that she was one of the ministers.
Women, all the women wanted to stand in front of her. A dozen girls and five or six grandmothers crowded into the whole room.
The ladies held Daiyu in their hands and chatted some gossip, and one of the girls below asked about Jarvis. Daiyu sighed: "General Jia originally intended to marry your family, but who knows that there are a lot of strange rumors outside now?"
, he doesn’t dare anymore.”
As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was shocked and silent for a long time. Mrs. Tan said in a trembling voice: "Why did I hear the master say a few days ago that he went to General Jia's camp to propose marriage, but he refused?"
Daiyu said calmly: "Although I am a female prostitute, I am still a military advisor. If you take your wife before the battle, she will be beheaded in accordance with military law." Everyone in the room took a breath. "If you take your wife before the battle, you will behead her" was originally a comment.
It was a common scene in the playbook, and no one in the female family raised suspicion. Lin Daiyu just said as if nothing had happened, "General Jia intended to send people to Zhangzhou to talk about this after returning to the island, but now he has given up the idea." She shook her head.
Shaking his head, "After all, those who lead the army attach great importance to luck. I'm afraid that Master Tan will not rest in peace, which will affect the outcome of the battlefield."
Below, I saw a pretty girl slumped on a chair as if she was dead. Suddenly she jumped up, screamed and threw herself at another girl, shouting: "You killed the sixth sister! You ruined my marriage!"
I'll beat you to death, I'll beat you to death..." There was a chaos in the room. After hearing this, the soldiers outside didn't care about the relationship between men and women, and rushed in to protect their military advisor. Mrs. Tan shouted, "Stop!"
It took the maid and mother-in-law a long time to separate the two girls. The face of the one who hit him was ferocious, and his beauty could no longer be seen; the cheeks on both sides of his face were swollen.
Lin Daiyu stood among several soldiers like a sword unsheathed, and asked Mrs. Tan calmly: "May I ask what is going on?"
Mrs. Tan was speechless, so she asked the girl who hit her: "Fifth girl, you said that seventh girl killed sixth girl, do you have any evidence?"
The fifth girl pointed at the seventh girl and gritted her teeth and said, "I have heard from outside these days that because my brothers think Mr. Li is a talented person, they want to choose one of us to marry him. She and the sixth girl secretly spied on Mr. Li, and they all
Go! I heard the day before yesterday that Mr. Li has agreed to the marriage, but the brothers have not yet decided who to marry. The sixth sister is dead, didn’t she just happen to marry Mr. Li? "
The seventh girl shouted: "What does it have to do with me! Madam, you are wronged, you are wronged! She spits blood!"
Lin Daiyu's brows moved: Li Qizhi actually agreed to marry a girl from the Tan family? Could it be that he didn't come to Zhangzhou for the firearms business? (..)