Hey, I was hoping to find another job and make more money, but I didn’t expect to become a Bodhisattva. I sighed in my heart, and bought the cheapest coffin with the burly man. When I came back, I saw that Tu Laosan was already there.
She was put into clean clothes and lay on the door panel, as if she was asleep.
"Mom, don't worry. From now on, you are my biological mother, and I will always be filial to you."
"Okay, good daughter, I just suffered a lot for you. You didn't get much blessing from marrying into my family. The third child still treats you like that. It's because our Tu family can't tolerate you."
"Mom, look what you said, my mother's family doesn't care about me, so I'm lucky to be able to call you 'Mother'."
"Okay, okay, you two, I'm going to cry after you." The woman in yellow scolded, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finally calmed down. Only then did the three women realize that we were back.
"My dear, thank you very much. I'm really sorry to let you work in vain. Since you don't want any money, I'll give this to you. You can keep it for use or pawn it. I think this veil is quite comfortable to touch.
, maybe it’s worth a few bucks.” The old woman thrust a white handkerchief into my hand.
"No, I said I was helping, how can I ask for your things?"
"Hey, brother Jianghu, take it! We are neighbors, and helping is a matter of friendship. You don't usually deal with us. How can we repay the debt we owe you?"
Brother Chu also advised that he had just gone to buy coffins, and they had gotten to know each other. He usually helped people move goods at the dock, and went to the mountains to collect firewood early in the morning. As he was about to go out this morning, he was called to knock on the door and report.
Officer... is busy till now.
I know they are all kind-hearted people. Like me, although I have no money, I never like to owe others. Just like me, Fatty Wang and the others, no matter how hard I earn money, I will still buy him a bottle of wine from time to time.
Buy some jewelry for Wang Jiajia.
"Okay." I took the handkerchief and felt a coolness in the palm of my hand, my heart trembled, and my eyes straightened. Yes, it was this silk handkerchief, as pure white as frost and snow, as thin as cicada wings.
Madam Mu said, this is made of ice silk. It feels like ice in the summer, but this piece of handkerchief is worth one or two silver coins, which is equivalent to a thousand coins when converted into copper coins.
That's right, it's this silk handkerchief, Madam Mu's silk handkerchief, with a faint fragrance of gardenia on it!
"Where did this silk handkerchief come from?" I asked in surprise.
"Oh, please don't take it too seriously. It's probably because this unfilial son was out eating wine and begging for something from some woman." The old woman said, looking at her daughter-in-law guiltily and pointing.
Tu Laosan: "Just press under him."
"Is it clean?" I blurted out.
"Oh, I've washed it and it's clean." Mrs. Tu Laosan quickly replied.
"I mean, was there anything dirty on it when you picked it up?"
Madam Tu Laosan lowered her head in embarrassment: "There was a little vomit, but... I washed it all off. Really, this veil is thin and it will dry up in a while."
Vomit? I recalled Tu Laosan's body carefully, and there was indeed vomit around his mouth and on the clothes on his chest.
Under him? I was about to check his back, but Magistrate Xu came. Because it was clear that he was being suffocated by a foreign body in the airway, I didn’t insist on checking his back.
I felt uneasy if I didn't ask clearly: "Where is it pressed?"
"Oh, under the back. We found it when we moved him to wipe his body." The old woman also said.
"What's the matter? Brother Jianghu?" Brother Chu saw me in a daze and asked.
I don’t know if my feeling is right, but I just feel that something is a little strange: Silk handkerchief, Mrs. Mu’s silk handkerchief, how come it is in Tu Laosan’s hand? I saw Mrs. Mu just now, she didn’t seem to have a handkerchief in her hand
, is her silk handkerchief still there? Has it been lost again? In other words, some women in Wanhualou also use silk handkerchiefs of this material and fragrance?
"It must be a gift from a woman from Wanhua Building. I think it's made of silk. I'm afraid it's worth some money. If my benefactor is taboo, then I'll exchange it for money and give it to you." Madam Tu Laosan suddenly said.
.
"Oh, no, no, no, I've been doing adultery with my master since I was a child, and I don't have any taboos about it. I'm just worried that the origin of this silk handkerchief is unknown. If someone sees it in the future and says I stole it or something, and gets into trouble, then
Sorry. Uh, are you sure this was given to him by someone else?"
"That should be it. Yesterday, when he entered the house, I heard him ask: Beauty, is this veil given to me?"
"He asked? Who?" My heart tightened: "Was there anyone else in the house at that time?"
"There is no one. But he was drunk and probably imagined that the woman from Wanhua Tower came back with him, so he disliked me and locked the door."
"Oh." I responded, stuffing the veil into my arms: "Then I'll accept it. Come on, Brother Chu, give me a hand."
While I was putting the coffin in order, I lifted up Tu Laosan's clothes again. Just now, he smelled so bad that I thought he was covered with corpse spots. But now I looked closely and saw that there was a bruise on his left upper abdomen.
Zi, I'm afraid it was caused by a bump somewhere. Although it is not fatal, this place is directly opposite the person's stomach. If it hits like this, it is likely to cause vomiting.
"Are you ready?" the old woman asked.
"Oh. Okay." I nodded towards the old woman: "How does he drink normally? I didn't expect that such a thing would happen after drinking."
"Hey, he gets drunk almost every day. Every time he comes back, he vomits everywhere. I don't want anyone to complain. One time I said a few words too much and he almost beat me up. I even scolded him the day before yesterday, saying that he always
One day I will be drunk to death. I never thought that God... God would listen to what the old woman said this time." The old woman slapped her hand on the coffin and shed tears again. No matter how unfilial she is, he is still her son after all.
How can you not feel sad when a white-haired person gives a black-haired person a gift?
Brother Chu and his wife comforted each other again, and then we loaded the coffin on a cart and dragged it to the mountain to find a place to bury it. Compared with the grand funerals of wealthy families, which are more elegant and beautiful, poor families can have a coffin when someone dies.
Just lying down and having someone worship you is already pretty good.
I am truly worthy of the Tu family’s mother-in-law and daughter-in-law’s gratitude. As for the silk handkerchief they gave me, Mrs. Mu once said that it is worth one tael of silver, which is a thousand copper plates, which is equivalent to the fact that I am giving five pieces of silver.
Tianfu.
Madam Mu, is this your silk handkerchief? Tu Laosan’s death, you... do you know?
When I returned to the Jianghu Inn again, it was already close to noon. The storyteller, Old Man Fang, was slapping the wood on the case and still telling the story of Fairy Baiyun who was doing harm to the people. However, I had something on my mind and was not in the mood to listen.
He elaborated.
"Hey, Li Lang." Uncle Fu came up to him.
"Uncle Fu, just call me Jiang Hu."
"Okay, Jianghu, haha, this name is related to our inn. Are you here to get the load?"
"No, I want to ask Madam Mu about something first."
"Looking for our boss?" Uncle Fu frowned in embarrassment: "Then you go to the back room and have a look. I don't know if she is still in the room."
"Guest room?"
"Oh, third floor, room 1, Tianzi."
"good."
I ran to the backyard, followed the stairs to the third floor, and saw the number plate on the door at the end. I hesitated a little. How should I ask her? I am the only one who delivers tofu to her, not from the Yamen.
catch fast.
Just when I was hesitating, the door opened, and Madam Mu was still wearing a white gauze dress, like a white lotus emerging from clear water.
"Li Jianghu? Do you have a problem with me?" She opened her red lips slightly and asked softly.
I held the silk handkerchief behind my back tightly and tried to calm down: "Mrs. Mu, you...did you throw something away?"
Madam Mu looked at me calmly: "I lost a silk handkerchief. It's the white ice silk handkerchief you saw the day before yesterday."
I was shocked: "Then... where was it lost?"
"On the street." Mrs. Mu said, turned around and walked into the house, sitting down in front of the dressing table.
I looked into the room and saw that all kinds of furniture were arranged in an orderly manner and the objects were exquisite. It didn't look like a guest room, it looked like a lady's bedroom.
"Come in, how can you talk when you are standing so far away?" Mrs. Mu smiled slightly at the corner of her mouth. This smile was like a magnet, attracting my legs to move towards her uncontrollably, although I knew in my heart that I would enter like this.
The women's room was not very nice, not to mention the fact that a man and a woman were alone in the same room.
"I wonder where exactly Madam Mu's silk handkerchief was lost? Since it is worth a lot of money, have you gone to look for it?" I didn't dare to look directly into her eyes and lowered my head and asked.
"Compared to life, what is a mere tael of silver?" Madam Mu said, suddenly a hint of panic appeared in her words: "Last night at 3:30, I met a drunk man on the way home.
He blocked my way and asked me to go home with him, and he also touched me. I kicked him during the push and pull, and I was able to escape, but he snatched the silk handkerchief from my hand."
I can imagine her helplessness at that time. Fortunately, she ran away. That Tu Laosan was a devil when he was drunk. It would be terrible if she fell into his hands.
She kicked him, and it must have been the bruise on the left upper abdomen. From this point of view, everything seems to be correct.
I showed the silk handkerchief: "But this silk handkerchief?"
She took it and looked at it carefully, her eyes full of surprise: "Where did you find it?"
I told everything that happened without any reservation. I raised some questions along the way: "Mrs. Mu, I heard that your brother is a popular figure around the imperial envoy. Uh... you were bullied last night. Why didn't you report it to the official?"
Woolen cloth?"
Madam Mu smiled faintly: "I was separated from my father and brother when I was still in my mother's womb. I only met my brother a few years ago, and I have never met my father at all.
My mother told me before she died that I should love each other dearly to my brother. However, after all, we did not grow up together. Although we share the same blood, it is difficult for us to be too close.
My elder brother has always wanted to fulfill his father's last wish and become a good official who works diligently and loves the people, so he followed the imperial envoy to Xiangzhou City. He is busy with official duties, how could I bother him just because he is a deceiver? Besides, I
It’s okay, isn’t it?”
"Yes." I nodded slightly, feeling the need to say something to comfort this poor woman, so I said: "As a woman, Mrs. Mu can run this inn by herself, which is really admirable."
Tears suddenly filled her clear eyes: "On Chinese Valentine's Day three years ago, my husband and I got married in this guest room. The next day, we bought this inn... I thought we could grow old together.
When I grow old, who would have thought...he will leave me..." This chapter has been completed!