The oil lamps in the house were like beans, and the furniture was simple. There was a wooden bed placed against the wall. On the wooden bed, an old man with dense wrinkles on his face was staring at Geng Chaozhong in shock.
Next to him stood a middle-aged man in his forties. It seemed that the two of them lived together.
"Who are you?" The middle-aged man cautiously picked up the broom beside the bed.
"On the order of Emperor Kant of Datong, I came to pick up the old things!" Geng Chaozhong raised his fist casually.
"Your Majesty?" The old man put on a single coat and sat up.
"Yes, the emperor has got something, but the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" inside is not the Qing Dynasty version, but a copy made during the Tongzhi period. You and Eunuch Jin are so brave, you dare to deceive the emperor!" Geng Chaozhong shouted sternly.
"Oh?" The old eunuch on the bed glanced at Geng Chaozhong, his eyes sparkling, and after hesitating for a moment, he said again: "Who are you?"
"I am a disciple of Grandmaster Huo Diange. On the order of the emperor, I came to Peiping to investigate this matter!" Geng Chaozhong replied.
Huo Diange, the master of Bajiquan in the Republic of China, is also the current internal commander of Puyi. When Geng Chaozhong was in Qingdao, he once worshiped him as his teacher and learned Bajiquan. (See the second volume of my book "The Lone Wolf in the Sea of Spy")
"Oh, it turns out he is Commander Huo's apprentice. I am disrespectful." The old eunuch waved his hand, looked at the middle-aged man next to him and said, "Hengye, please go out first. This friend and I have something to talk about."
The middle-aged man next to him had a confused look on his face. He glanced at Geng Chaozhong, then at the old eunuch, and hesitated to leave.
"Go out, don't worry, we are acquaintances, nothing will happen to you," the old man ordered.
A middle-aged man named Hengye walked out hesitantly.
"Who are you?" the old man asked.
"I already said it just now." Geng Chaozhong replied coldly.
"Now that things have come to this, why bother to deceive others?" The old man's cloudy eyes revealed a trace of sadness, "I heard the gunshots in the palace just now. I'm afraid Jin Minzhu is already dead, right?"
Geng Chaozhong nodded slowly.
Jin Minzhu should be Eunuch Jin's name. Geng Chaozhong knew that it would be difficult to deceive this old guy, so he originally just took it as a precaution. Now it seems that this person is extremely shrewd and has long seen through his intentions.
"As we get older, we can't sleep when it's windy or rainy," the old man said with a self-deprecating smile, "I know that sooner or later such a day will come."
"Yes, I was the one who killed Eunuch Jin," Geng Chaozhong said, "You should also know the reason for my coming."
"I know," the old man nodded, "you are here for the antiques that were swapped, but let me tell you, you are late, the antiques have long been shipped back to Fengtian."
"No, the antiques were not shipped back," Geng Chaozhong said firmly, "I can be sure of this."
The old man was silent for a while.
Eunuch Jin was very anxious when he was dying. He was obviously afraid that Geng Chaozhong would find out something from the little eunuch. In other words, if the antique had been shipped back, he would never be so anxious. Therefore, Geng Chaozhong was sure at that time that the antique must be
It hasn't been shipped yet.
Now the old eunuch's reaction obviously proved his judgment.
"I haven't asked you your name yet?" Geng Chaozhong broke the silence.
"My surname is Luo." The old eunuch spoke.
"Mr. Luo," Geng Chaozhong considered his words, "I have no intention of harming the lives of you and your family, but if I can't get those few things, I don't guarantee what I will do."
"Ahem," Eunuch Luo covered his chest and coughed a few times. His gray eyes looked out the window. After a long time, he said, "I can give you something."
"Tell me, I am not a murderer. As long as you tell me the whereabouts of the treasure, I can let you and your family go." Geng Chaozhong said calmly.
boom!
The door was pushed open, and the middle-aged man named Hengye rushed in with a wooden stick. Geng Chaozhong sighed and kicked out without looking back. The middle-aged man groaned and fell to the ground.
.
"My patience is limited," Geng Chaozhong glanced at Eunuch Luo again, "I know that you and Eunuch Jin are alone in the palace and alone outside the palace. He is responsible for unpacking the cultural relics, and you are responsible for preserving the cultural relics. If
Yesterday, the Japanese snatched cultural relics. Eunuch Jin will hand them over to you, and you will transport all the cultural relics back to Fengtian. What I said is right!"
"You are right," Eunuch Luo smiled bitterly, "I really didn't expect you to move so fast."
"Where is the thing?" Geng Chaozhong asked again without answering.
"If you let him leave, I will tell you the whereabouts of the cultural relics." Eunuch Luo pointed to the middle-aged man who was moaning on the ground.
"I can't tell, but you have a bit of a father-son relationship." Geng Chaozhong had a teasing look on his face.
"I have seen Hengye since I was a child. Besides, he is my nephew." Eunuch Luo looked at the middle-aged man on the ground with a kind look.
"Everyone has the feeling of licking a calf, I can let him go." Geng Chaozhong's expression softened a little.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many eunuchs would adopt a male from their own nephew to pass on the incense. Geng Chaozhong was not surprised.
"Hengye, go back! Go live a good life in the countryside, and don't come back to Beijing again." Eunuch Luo ordered the middle-aged man.
"Dad, I'll go with you!"
The middle-aged man crawled to Eunuch Luo's bed with difficulty, his face full of sadness.
"You go out first, I will find you in a moment." Eunuch Luo stretched out his withered hand and touched the middle-aged man's head, with a look of kindness on his face.
Geng Chaozhong secretly sighed that even a physically disabled eunuch still had innate human emotions.
"Sir, sir, please, please leave my father alone!" The middle-aged man turned around and hugged Geng Chaozhong's leg tightly.
"Don't worry, as long as your father returns the government's belongings, I won't kill him." Geng Chaozhong raised his foot and gently kicked the middle-aged man away.
"Dad, give him the things and I will take you back to the countryside." The middle-aged man looked at Eunuch Luo again.
"Well, you go out first, don't worry, I'm still waiting for you to take care of yourself until you die!" Eunuch Luo had a smile on his face.
The middle-aged man finally relaxed and walked out slowly.
"It's right there," Eunuch Luo pointed to a mahogany box in the corner, "Originally, after today, I was going to give it away."
Geng Chaozhong walked over and unscrewed the copper lock on the box. When he opened it, he found that it was indeed the stolen cultural relics inside!
"I don't want this to be a fake," Geng Chaozhong looked at Eunuch Luo, "You should know that no matter where your son goes, it won't be too difficult for me to find him."
"Don't worry, it's all true," Eunuch Luo nodded, "I didn't even know you were coming, so how could I deceive you with fakes in advance?"
Geng Chaozhong nodded, took out the things in the box one by one, then pulled a piece of cloth from the bed, packed everything and put it on his back.
"Farewell!"
Geng Chaozhong said this, turned around and was about to walk out. At a glance, he saw the old eunuch stuffing something into his mouth. Geng Chaozhong saw clearly that it was a gold bar!
Geng Chaozhong paused, but did not stop him.
Eunuch Luo swallowed the small yellow croaker with great effort, then struggled to get up, kowtowed in the direction of Fengtian, and shouted hoarsely:
