It’s midsummer, and the sun is baking the earth in Qingzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province like a furnace. There was a heavy rain a few days ago, and there is a lot of water in the low-lying areas of Yunhe Town. However, under the raging sun, the rain quickly fell.
It dried in the sun, and the ground after the water accumulated was wet and muddy. When exposed to the scorching sun, it cracked and rolled up pieces of palm-sized soil. The bare-chested dolls ran around in it with bare feet.
Peel up the soil piece by piece and stack it up like tiles for playing house.
The weather is too hot. Except for these excited children, everyone else is too lazy to cheer up. Unless they want to go to the ground, they are enjoying the coolness in the shade in front of the house and behind the house to escape the heat. There are not many pedestrians on the road. Even if they are
The big willow trees with thick shade are also listless in this ghost weather. The willow branches are drooping lifelessly. Only the cicadas hidden in the trees are chattering endlessly, making people drowsy.
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At dusk, the hot feeling gradually dissipated. The sun set in the west, and the afterglow was like mist. Looking around, it was a smoky red. The area around Zhaoyue Bay in Yunhe Town was especially cooler at this time, because there is a tributary of the Mi River here.
The water bay covers an area of about five or six acres. Lotus flowers are planted all over the bay, and willows and mulberry trees are all around. It is a place to cool down and cool down.
However, the villagers did not dare to come here to escape the summer heat, because this is the private property of the Yang family in Qingzhou. The lotus flowers in the bay grew very vigorously, and the bay was full of lotus flowers, and the beauty was busy in the cabin, giving birth to
Turn on the charcoal stove and start cooking dinner.
Thinly sliced tender lotus roots with a delicate flavor are fished from the inlet, and the lively shrimps are fished from the root nests under the willow trees by the river. As for the fat chickens, tender sheep, and old wine, they are all produced by our own shop.
There is also a plate of mulberries that are washed like black agate, which makes people salivate. These fresh mulberries are collected from the mulberry trees growing by the bay. They have been carefully counted. Now I have sent the young master to catch another one.
When the fat fish is served with wine, the merits are complete. All the food is produced by the family, and it is very wild and gamey.
When the stars began to twinkle, the cicadas who had been noisy all day were tired, and the lake became quiet. Young Master Yang and the beauty exchanged cups and enjoyed themselves. From time to time, the beauty would relax her arms and giggle.
Smiling, she put her arms around Young Master Yang's neck and had a fragrant "leather cup" with him affectionately.
It's a pity that this is the private property of the Yang family. Outsiders don't dare to wander here, and the servants and servants have wisely avoided it early. The only one who was lucky enough to see this scene was the one with wide eyes, leaning on the lotus leaf and exerting all his strength.
Several toads with bulging bellies.
When a crescent moon slanted up in the sky, cups and chips were intertwined in the boat, and the laughter and chatter disappeared, but there were faint sounds of "chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp, chirp chirp?"
Yang Xu took off his long robe, lay on his back with his belly exposed, the fishing rod in his left hand hanging on the lake, and holding a wine bottle in his right hand, looking at the stars in the sky, drinking a sip of the home-brewed wine, and enjoying himself.
This beauty named Tingxiang is really good. She has a pretty appearance like a flower. She can cook delicious dishes that are full of praise and her ability to serve people is even more amazing. If not for this, I would have gone to Taizhou Mansion a few days ago.
When he left, Mr. Yang would not have bought her for a high price of two hundred guan.
The fish bit the hook. It was dim at night and I couldn't see the fish bobber sinking into the water. However, the fishing line was stretched straight and the sudden force on my hand could be felt. But at this time, Yang Xu had reached the state of bliss, where could he still
He had enough time to pay attention to the fat fish biting the hook. He groaned and suddenly lost the wine bag. When the wine gurgled onto the deck, his hands had already tightly grasped Tingxiang's hair and shook the steps on her head.
It was knocked down, knocked against the side of the ship, and fell into the water with a "dong" sound, and her hair suddenly fell down like a waterfall.
Just at this moment, there was a "splash" sound, the waves split, and a figure suddenly emerged from the water on one side of the boat. The man pressed the side of the boat, quickly jumped onto the bow with a body of water, and squatted steadily on the bow.
Like a large frog on the side of the boat, the boat was heavily weighted and sank suddenly in his direction, but his feet were tightly clasped on the side of the boat and remained motionless.
Tingxiang tilted his body and called out "Oh!". At this moment, the man raised his right hand, and a cold light flashed in his hand. Just like the crescent moon in the sky, a cold and cold light pierced with a "pop" sound.
Entered Yang Xu's heart.
"Yeah." Yang Xu grunted, but before he could scream, the man pushed his arms forward, flicked his legs, and immediately fell into the water. His speed was as fast as lightning. From getting on the boat to entering the water, the whole action was done in one go.
As fast as lightning and flint, no one could see his appearance clearly from the beginning to the end. He disappeared, only the water ripples shook violently, shattering a bay of the moon.
There was a gleam of fear and disbelief in Yang Xu's eyes. The light gradually dissipated, and the left hand that was holding the fishing rod hung weakly on the side of the boat. As soon as his fingers were loosened, the fat fish that bit the hook hurried away dragging the fishing rod.
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The girl with disheveled hair looked pale and looked a little sluggish. She reached out tremblingly and touched her wet lips. A fishy-sweet taste slowly seeped into her mouth, which was just splashed on her face.
Tingxiang's body trembled suddenly, and a shrill, horrified scream escaped from her lips: "Ah...ah...help..."
Frightened by the cries, the frogs jumped nimbly from the lotus leaves into the water, and the sound of "Porphy, Porphy, Por," could be heard everywhere.
There was a house not far from the shore, with lights still reflected on the window lattice. Following Tingxiang's screams, the lights quickly moved away, and then the door creaked, and someone walked out quickly holding a lamp and stood on the bay embankment.
He raised his voice and asked: "Master, Master? Miss Tingxiang, what happened?"
Hearing the fragrance, his mouth was full of teeth, and he was caught in a fight. He finally managed to say a sentence, but he said it incoherently and unclearly.
The man on the shore was shocked when he heard this. He quickly dropped the lamp and jumped up. From a distance of more than ten feet, he flew onto the boat with a "bang" and landed accurately on the stern of the boat, crushing the small boat.
There was a violent shaking, and Tingxiang quickly grabbed the side of the boat, forgetting to even scream.
The man who jumped onto the boat was dressed in green clothes and a small hat. He was Yang Xu's personal companion Zhang Shisan. He leaned over quickly and took a closer look at the starlight and moonlight in the sky. His heart suddenly went cold. He was not a headache.
When he saw a dead person, with just one glance, he knew that Yang Xu was dead and that there was no possibility of resurrection. His face suddenly turned ashen.
"Dead? Yang Xu is actually dead! After three years of hard work, there was just some hope for the plan, but he died?"
Zhang Shisan's hands were trembling, his heart was numb, and there was a sense of resentment in his chest. He wanted to scream to the sky to vent the evil in his heart. He suddenly turned to Tingxiang, stared at her fiercely, and asked murderously: "
Who is the murderer and how he assassinated the young master? Tell me quickly!"
Miss Tingxiang pointed to the water and said in a trembling voice: "No... I don't know. That person... that person jumped out of the water all of a sudden and... killed the young master, and then... jumped into the water again and disappeared.
Yes, the slave family...the slave family didn’t even see clearly whether he was a boy or a girl..."
Just as I said this, a gust of wind blew the lotus leaves around, as if someone was gently shaking the lotus stems underneath. When the girl heard the fragrance, she thought it was the assassin who had gone and returned, and she was so frightened that she screamed again: "
Ah! Help, he...he's here again, help..."
"Shut up!"
Zhang Shisan was so angry that he slapped her face with his backhand, knocking half of Tingxiang's face into pieces. Tingxiang was Yang Xu's woman, but she never thought about his follower Xiao
The guy dared to slap himself, he couldn't help but feel scared and surprised. He stayed there for a moment and then stopped screaming.
"What should I do? What should I do?"
Zhang Shisan tightened his arms and before he could make up his mind, he saw a few lanterns shaking in the distance. It turned out that the servants in the villa heard the shouts vaguely and thought it was a sneaky kid in the courtyard of his own village.
The thief came here with a lantern and farm tools such as a fork and a shovel, shouting and screaming along the way.
Zhang Shisan gritted his teeth and thought to himself: "When Yang Wenxuan dies, all our years of hard work will be in vain. I cannot bear this responsibility alone. I will hide the news of his death for the time being, leave this place first, and find them together again."
Let’s discuss countermeasures.”
The decision was made, and seeing the lights getting closer and closer, Zhang Shisan whispered to Tingxiang: "The young master was assassinated strangely, but you were the only one on the boat. You couldn't explain the reason. You only said that the young master was assassinated.
Who will believe you? If this lawsuit goes to the government, you will never get out of it."
Tingxiang cried: "Thirteenth Master, it really has nothing to do with the slave family. The slave family was... at that time..."
Zhang Shisan said sternly: "Shut up, what kind of person is the young master? Human lives are a matter of great importance. The gentlemen are eager to give an explanation to the gentry of the government and the city. Who cares whether a little girl like you is wronged or not? The people's hearts are as strong as iron."
, The official law is like a furnace. Once you enter the yamen, even if you are as innocent as water, the gentlemen will still have a way to make you plead guilty. If you don't want to face a lawsuit, just listen to my instructions and let me make the decision. Don't make any nonsense."
"Yes, yes, yes, the slave family...the slave family listens to you and listens to you." Tingxiang was a girl who was raised in a brothel. She only knew how to serve people. She had never seen such a bloody scene, and she was so frightened that she lost her mind.
, frightened by Zhang Shisan, he immediately agreed.
At this time, the tenants in the village rushed to the shore and shouted to the boat: "Master, what happened? Did a thief break into our house?"
"Nothing……"
Zhang Shisan calmed down and said in a low voice: "The young master was drunk and almost fell into the water, so he was so shocked that he heard Miss Xiang scream."
The servants of the tenant farmers on the shore all knew that their young master was a promiscuous and drunkard, and Zhang Shisan was a close friend of the young master. Naturally, everyone believed what he said. They immediately burst into laughter and said in all directions: "Since
The young master is fine, so I will leave."
Zhang Shisan's eyes flashed slightly and said: "Wait a minute, I just received news from the city that there are some business matters that I urgently need to rush back to deal with. The young master is now too drunk to get up. You guys came just in time.
Go and drive the young master's carriage to the waterside. Miss Tingxiang and I will help the young master return to the city immediately."
After a stick of incense, the door of Yang Mansion Villa in Yunhe Town opened, and Zhang Shisan galloped out in a carriage and quickly plunged into the vast night...