The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

Chapter 557

Jia Xu and others went to Zhen Zangzhu's house to see his mother, and they felt embarrassed when they saw that this person was unfilial.Li Cuihua sat down on the wooden bench with Fennel's support, she was stunned for a long time, she burst into tears, and wiped her sleeves.After a long while, he said: "What a cruel person! I have been away for more than 30 years without even a letter."

"If there is a letter, my aunt might die as well." Jia Xu looked at her and said, "The lower officials came back and never heard that your son is the son of Mr. Zhen."

Li Cuihua wiped her tears again: "After all, I am a widow."

Seeing that he didn't believe it, Jia Xu stared at her again and said, "Aunt Li just believes me. I heard that you have a painting left by Mr. Zhen Deren here. Please take it out for me to see."

Li Cuihua hurriedly said: "The old thing only gave me ten taels of silver, and nothing else! Really! If I coax you to be struck by lightning!"

Zhen Zangzhu said impatiently at the side: "I have already told all the masters, so you don't have to hide it."

Li Cuihua was startled; Jia Xu looked at her with a half-smile.Li Cuihua faltered and said: "Yes... there is a painting...but..." Before he finished speaking, Liu Er grabbed Zhen Zangzhu's shoulder.Zhen Zangzhu shouted like killing a pig, and Liu Er's saber was clearly placed on his neck.Li Cuihua jumped up: "What are you doing!"

Jia Xu smiled and said, "I'm very busy."

Zhen Zangzhu shouted: "Give it to him! Give him the painting! Give him the old man's letter too! Give him everything else!"

Li Cuihua was still a little dazed, but Zhen Zangzhu screamed again—Liu Er had already passed the knife forward, and along the edge of the knife, there was a line of blood on Zhen Zangzhu's neck.Li Cuihua was so frightened that she hurriedly shouted: "My lord, spare me! I'll get the things right away!" She even rolled and climbed inside.

Hearing the sound of rummaging through boxes, Li Cuihua ran out with a small bundle in her hands and unwrapped it herself.There are two sheets of paper stacked inside, one is the painting that Zhen Zangzhu said just now, which is about the lake in the mountain depression just now; the other looks like a letter.Fenix ​​took the letter and handed it to Jia Xu, Jia Xu opened it, looked at it, and said with a smile, "Is this really yours?"

Li Cuihua tremblingly said: "It was given to me by my girlfriend back then."

Jia Xu then handed the letter to Fenix, "Is it your grandfather's handwriting?"

Fen Xiang took the letter and said, "I've never seen his old man's handwriting." After a second glance, he knew it was wrong.She couldn't read the handwriting on the letter, but she has read quite a few words now, so she can understand the letter.It is true that Zhen Deren said that Zhen Zangzhu is his own son, but the mother of the child written on it is "Li Shi's Tao Niang in Xiaoci County", not Li Cuihua.

Jia Xulang said in a loud voice: "Many people around here are surnamed Li. Zhen Deren's other concubine is also surnamed Li, named Li Taoniang, who also adopted a son from a relative's family. This Li Taoniang later married and gave birth to a son and a daughter. Because the adopted eldest son was originally from her natal family and still surnamed Li, she loved her very much. The eldest son fell and died more than 20 years ago."

Fennel took a sudden breath: "Stumbled and fell to death?"

Jia Xu nodded and said: "It's been too long, and the villagers can't remember the exact year. Li Taoniang is heartbroken." He said while staring at Li Cuihua.Li Cuihua trembled slightly with fright.Jia Xu coughed, and continued, "Now it seems that the dead one is the real Zhen Zangzhu, and he was secretly killed by the people of the court, pretending to have lost his footing."

Li Cuihua screamed, "What?!"

Jia Xupi smiled and said: "Don't you know that Zhen Deren is a criminal? He ransacked and beheaded all over the family back then. Naturally, the root of the weeds must be eradicated, even the illegitimate son raised by him and Li Taoniang. I just don't know how he missed it back then. Pass this one." Nai turned to look at Zhen Zangzhu.

Li Cuihua was stunned.After a while, trembling all over, he shouted, "My son is not his son!"

Zhen Zangzhu was also confused, but he was still in Liu's second hand, shouting: "Mother! What's going on!"

Li Cuihua shouted vigorously: "Really! I heard that Tao Niang's hoof taught her son to pretend to be Mr. Zhen's son, so I got an idea! I stole these two things from their house."

Jia Xu frowned: "Please explain more clearly."

Seeing that Liu Er didn't intend to let her son go, Li Cuihua wept pitifully.If this appearance was dressed up by a woman in her teens or twenties, she would be really charming; but she is over a hundred and a half years old, and Jia Xuliuer is not moving at all.Li Cuihua had no choice but to speak.

That day Jia Xu came to see her with Zhen Deren's portrait, asked about the past, and casually said, "I don't know which one is better, you or that Li Taoniang." People scattered in the mountains, and Li Cuihua and Li Taoniang didn't know each other back then.Later, when I was going to the market, I happened to hear someone say that Mr. Zhen, who came to paint in the city, had hooked up with a little widow somewhere, so he was a little bit annoyed, and quietly went to see the other one; so they recognized each other.Because they are both somewhat pretty, they all wanted to cling to Zhen Deren, so they became enemies and had countless quarrels.In the end, Zhen Deren didn't marry anyone and left by himself.The two felt bored and didn't live close together, so they rarely saw each other in the next thirty years or so.Many years later, someone suddenly came to inquire about Zhen Deren, and mentioned Li Taoniang, which aroused Li Cuihua's old thoughts, wondering if Li Taoniang is as good-looking as she is now.

So she chose a day to secretly go to the village where Li Taoniang lived to peep, not wanting to hear what Li Taoniang said to her second son behind the haystack.The eldest son adopted by the co-author who fell to his death that year was Zhen Deren's son.Zhen Deren knew about Li Taoniang's pregnancy when Li Taoniang didn't realize it, and deliberately asked people to tell Li Cuihua about Li Taoniang, so that she came to look for Li Taoniang, so that Li Taoniang would take the opportunity to avoid her distant relatives and secretly give birth to her son.He left letters and paintings for her, and led her to the col with the lake, and told her that their son would be a high official in the future.

Because the child died early, many years later, someone with full authority actually came to the door with Zhen Deren's portrait.Li Taoniang thought, since Zhen Deren's son is about the same age as her second son, why not let the second son pretend to be the eldest son so that he can become an official in the future.Li Cuihua was furious when she heard this, and she deliberately scolded Li Taoniang as a bitch, and dared not do anything wrong with her son by her side.So she carefully concealed her whereabouts until she heard that Li Taoniang took her second son to the mountain depression that Zhen Deren took her to.

The child who died was Zhen Zangzhu. His early name in the village was Li Zangzhu, and he was about the same age as Li Cuihua's adopted son.Then she thought, since he is not Mr. Zhen's son anyway, it would be better to give my son than her son.Then one day, when there was no one in Li Taoniang's house, he sneaked into their house and searched secretly. After a while, he found a letter and a painting from Li Taoniang's pillowcase.She hurriedly hid her things in her bosom and slipped home, and told her son all the stories about Li Taoniang and her eldest son as if they were her own.Her son believed it as soon as he heard it, he really thought that he could become a high official, he was so happy, so he ran to the mountain col to build a shed and waited for the rabbit, and really waited for Jia Xu.

Jia Xuwen couldn't help but laugh: "So you are pretending."

Li Cuihua nodded like a chicken pecking rice: "I really brought my son from a relative's house, not Mr. Zhen's."

Her son shouted: "So it's fake! You old woman, you coaxed me to stay here for so long."

Jia Xu hummed: "It's not a loss, otherwise your life would not be saved."

Li Cuihua hurriedly said: "My lord! Please let me let my son go, he doesn't belong to Mr. Zhen!"

"Forget it." Jia Xu put away the letters and paintings, and looked at his mother and son coldly, "I don't even know what's going on, so I dare to rely on you indiscriminately." Nai ordered Liu Er to let the holiday go. Zhen Zangzhu.

Li Cuihua rushed over to support her son; Fake Zhen Zangzhu cried out in pain, Li Cuihua hurriedly tore off his clothes and bandaged him.Jia Xu didn't bother to care about these things, so he turned and left; Liu Erfen followed behind.

After going out, Jia Xu asked Fen Xiang, "What do you think?"

Fennel thought for a while: "I believe it."

Jia Xudao: "What Li Cuihua said is probably true."

Fenix ​​hurriedly asked, "Is there a fake one?"

Jia Xu said, "Her son is indeed your grandfather's son." Fenix ​​was surprised.Jia Xu took out a portrait from his pocket, "This is your grandfather, do you think he looks like that fake Zangzhu?"

Fenix ​​looked at it, and it really looked like the grandfather in memory, only much younger, and his eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to the fake Zhen Zangzhu, and she couldn't help sighing: "So this is the son that grandfather hid."

Jia Xu nodded and said: "Zhen Deren knew that what he did was a secret of the heavenly family, and if he didn't keep it, he would be silenced. The three sons in the family might not be able to escape the emperor's murderous hand, so he deliberately hooked up with two young widows. Both women were pregnant. He gave birth to his child, and he managed to coax them both to be born quietly; it happened that both of them were sons. This Li Cuihua was originally a very romantic master, and she had hooked up with many men, but her mouth was tight; Li Taoniang seemed to be honest. There are many, but they are talkative. Your grandfather chose Li Cuihua's son as a real "Zangzhu"; Li Taoniang's one, which has both paintings and letters, is a bead thrown out. If the late emperor carefully investigated him Li Taoniang's son would have saved Li Cuihua's son from the disaster. If not, when the new king comes to power, the good thing of becoming an official will naturally fall to Li Taoniang's son. Although Li Cuihua's son has no status, he can live a good life. You Grandfather is very laborious, but it is a pity that he is counting the lives of his own children and grandchildren."

Fen Xiang said with emotion: "By chance, these two girls believed him."

Jia Xu said: "Just look at these ordinary mountain people, how many of them can compare with your grandfather? He really wants to deceive, these women are no match."

Fennel was silent for a while, speechless.After a while, she asked, "What's next?"

"Of course I'm looking for Li Taoniang." Jia Xu said, "Fortunately, it's not too far away." Nai winked at Liu Er.

Liu Er said to Fenix, "I've offended you." He picked her up from behind and started running.Fennel screamed in fright.Jia Xu chuckled and followed behind.

The two of them walked quickly, and they rushed to the outside of Li Taoniang's village in a short time, and heard the commotion in the village.Jia Xu frowned, and ordered Liu Er to stop first, put down the fennel and go to investigate.Not long after Liu Er went in, he came out and replied: "Li Tao Niang and her son both died unexpectedly, the village is in trouble."

Jia Xu's brows were immediately knotted, and he said after a while, "Obviously someone is investigating. It's not an important person, why did you silence him?"

Fenxiang thought for a while and said, "Didn't Mr. Jia say that someone is investigating this matter? They even kidnapped him. Could it be those people who did it."

"There's no need to kill people." Jia Xu said, "Not to mention that Li Taoniang is married, even her son is not Zhen Deren's."

Fen Xiang said: "I'm afraid that Li Taoniang still has some clues. They are afraid that Mr. Liu will come back and ask her, and she will tell you. Kill people to silence them, in order to prevent Mr. Liu from knowing too much."

Jia Xu rubbed his chin for a while after hearing the words, and said after a long time: "It really makes sense. They just hope that we don't find out anything."

Liu Er asked: "My lord, do you want me to go to Haosheng to check how the two of them died?"

Jia Xu shook his head and said, "No need. Since they are also looking for it, it can be seen that they are also anxious. Let's hurry back to that mountain depression. Although we don't know what the use is, the enemy is always in the dark. It's better to be clear than to be confused."

The three of them didn't enter the village, they turned around and rushed back to the mountain where they didn't know what was hidden.When he got to the lake, Fennel suddenly felt a little scared, and couldn't help but look around to see if someone was coming.Jia Xu only held the painting and pondered over the scene, muttering, "What's the secret? Two rabbits."

Liu Erdao: "Mao Rabbit, Mao travels four times in the earthly branch. Does it mean the second moment of Mao time?"

Jia Xu raised his head and looked up at the sky: "It's too late." He looked at the painting again, "Look at the shadow of the tree, Zhen Deren's painting is in the afternoon...about Moshen time? The two rabbits must not refer to the time , should refer to the direction."

Fennel suddenly asked, "Could things be hidden in the water?"

Jia Xu asked, "Why are you in the water?"

Fennel said: "Otherwise, why did you choose a place with a lake? Water vapor is perishable. A carpenter should hide things away from water vapor. Dig a hole to bury important things, and look for a dry place. Why did you choose this place?" ?”

Jia Xu pinched his beard, "There is some truth to it." Nai ordered Liu Er, "Go down and find out."

Liu Er took the order, took off his outer clothes to reveal his strong tendons, and jumped into the water with a plop.Jia Xu was still thinking about the painting.After more than a quarter of an hour, Liu Er emerged from the lake and said, "My lord, don't guess."

Jia Xu sat on the rocks by the lake and didn't lift his head: "What? What did you see?"

Liu Erdao: "There are twelve small stone beasts under the water, which are exactly the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac."

Jia Xu was overjoyed: "It's so straightforward, we guessed for a long time! That stone rabbit must have hidden secrets."

Liu Erdao: "I'll take that stone rabbit up."

Fennel's heart jumped up immediately, and she shouted, "Lord Liu, don't move around, what if there is a trap?"

Jia Xu hurriedly said, "Very well, I'm just about to remind you of this, second child, you should be more careful." Fen Xiang glanced at him, thinking that he was postponing, she curled her lips slightly.

Liu Er clasped his fists and said: "Take orders." A savage pierced him down.After a while, he floated up, "It seems that there is no mechanism."

"There is no mechanism?" Jia Xu said decisively, "How could there be no mechanism? Absolutely impossible! These things must have mechanisms, you just need to check, and don't act rashly."

Liu Er lifted a stone rabbit as big as four fists from the water: "I've already brought it."

Jia Xu was surprised, glared at the rabbit for a few times, jumped back seven or eight times, and looked around in surprise—nothing happened.Liu Er couldn't help laughing, Fen Xiang also covered her mouth and laughed.