Liujiazhuang in Hexi is not to the west of the Yellow River, but to the west of the Haihe River in Tianjin. There is a large Liujiazhuang.
After years of reproduction, Liujiazhuang has hundreds of households and a population of five to six hundred, making it a medium-sized village.
On this day, a wandering Taoist priest suddenly came to Zhuangzi. He was holding a fly whisk in his hand, carrying a certificate on his body, and had an immortal spirit and extraordinary bearing. He claimed that he had traveled here from Longhu Mountain and came to Zhuangzi to have a rest and have some tea and rice.
Jiajing worshiped Taoism, and the people also respected Taoism. When the villagers saw the certificate, it was indeed the Taoist priest of Longhu Mountain, and they were immediately in awe, saying that the Taoist priest's meal was mine!
This is not just because the villagers are generous and hospitable, but they also want something. They all say that the Taoist priests in Longhu Mountain are good at exorcising ghosts and evil spirits. If there are patients at home, or they feel that everything is not going well recently, they all want to ask the Taoist priests for help.
have a look.
The Taoist priest was noncommittal and just looked around while eating. Suddenly his face became solemn and he looked in one direction.
"The resentment is overwhelming. Has your Zhuangzi seen an increase in patients in recent days?"
It's summer now, and the heat is coming. It's not surprising that there are patients in Zhuangzi. No one will count whether there are more patients than usual.
But looking at the solemn look on the Taoist priest's face, everyone couldn't help but feel that it was indeed more serious than usual, and they couldn't help but nod their heads.
"Are there any of the children in Zhuangzi who have trouble sleeping in the middle of the night, have nightmares, or even cry out in confusion?"
Thinking back on it, everyone thinks it is indeed true. An aunt even gave an example, saying that her grandson had been crying harder than usual recently, and she asked the Taoist priest to explain it.
"Is there a new grave in that direction? Within three days?"
Everyone looked at each other, and the aunt whispered: "Yes, the old patriarch passed away just three days ago, and the new patriarch, his son, went to the capital with a group of people to file a lawsuit."
The Taoist priest was stunned: "Why is your clan leader still hereditary? I heard that nowadays clan leaders are generally elected by their fellow clansmen who are senior and virtuous."
A young man said: "He was also elected. But Liu Xia gave money to every household and asked everyone to choose him.
Originally, my father was the most promising to be the leader of the clan, but there is no way, who can make this family rich and have the support of an official as big as a minister!"
The aunt hit him: "Please lower your voice so that others can hear you!"
The young man said loudly: "What are you afraid of? All his people have followed him into the capital! Didn't you hear what the Taoist Chief said? The old patriarch may have a grievance!"
Everyone stopped talking and looked at the Taoist priest. The Taoist priest was silent for a long time and sighed.
"This is your clan's business, I shouldn't have to deal with it. Farewell, farewell. It's a pity for Zhuangzi, alas..."
The villagers felt even more unsure. The aunt even knelt down and begged the Taoist priest not to give up the treatment.
The Taoist priest sighed: "Do any of you know the inside story? If you can know the real situation, maybe I can do something about it.
Otherwise, if you follow my way, you will be unable to do anything."
The aunt quickly poked the young man: "Liu Shang, didn't your father go to see the old patriarch the day he died? How did the old patriarch die?"
This is a rule. Not to mention the death of a clan leader, but also the death of an ordinary farmer, several senior and virtuous people must be invited to the scene together to prove that the death was natural, and then the person can be buried.
Otherwise, in a remote place, if everyone dies and reports it to the government, and then waits for the government to send people to go through this series of procedures, people will be stink.
Later, when you go to the government to go through the procedures for canceling your account, only the tribesmen can provide proof. If you don't have a certificate from the tribe, the government will either not cancel your account, or they will have to open the coffin and conduct an autopsy to confirm the body before canceling your account.
When the government opens the coffin for an autopsy, it is actually not only to check whether the person was killed, but also to confirm that the coffin is not empty and that the person is indeed dead.
Because there was a head tax in the Ming Dynasty, if the person died, he would not have to pay the tax. As long as he was still breathing, he would have to pay the tax. If he could not afford it, his family would have to pay it.
Therefore, the government's practice of opening coffins and conducting post-mortem examinations is half a criminal investigation and half a tax audit. But regardless of the nature, who wants to have their graves dug up and their coffins opened?
Therefore, in order to avoid this terrible process, this folk rule was firmly implemented and continued. Even after Wu Dalang died, Pan Jinlian still knew how to find a few neighbors to visit and prove it.
It's a pity that the money of the high official Ximen was not as powerful as Wu Song's knife, and the onlookers who were bribed turned against him in the end. It was a typical failure case.
The young man hesitated for a moment and gritted his teeth: "My father didn't let me say it originally, but since it is related to the safety of the village, I said it.
My father said that the old patriarch did die of natural causes. There were no wounds on his body, but his expression looked very strange..."
In the Yan Mansion, one corner of the iron triangle changed. Zhao Wenhua was on a business trip, and Liu Tai filled in the corner.
Compared to Zhao Wenhua, who is submissive and timid, Liu Tai has a much tougher temperament. This may have something to do with the nature of his work.
The temperament of someone who has been a police chief all year round is definitely different from that of a labor contractor. At least he is not so scrupulous about human life.
"Brother Donglou, Guo Junyong's petition has only been delayed for one day. Tomorrow we will definitely win a complete victory!
It’s just that in the Liu Family Manor, there is still some discussion about the death of the old patriarch, especially the patriarch Liu Xia, who also used tricks to become the leader, so I’m afraid he won’t last long.”
Yan Shifan glanced at Liu Tai. His arrogance had been polished off a lot by Xiao Feng this year. In addition, the Yan Party had been repeatedly attacked. Loyal fans like Liu Tai were rare, so he was very polite when he spoke.
"Master Liu, why are you so worried? As long as we win tomorrow, our goal will be achieved, and Xiao Feng will never be able to hold his head up again.
If Xiao Feng wants to admit that he is just a son-in-law, a surrogate son-in-law, what else does he want to do in the officialdom? Even the Taoist sect would probably find him embarrassing.
If Xiao Feng refuses to admit it, we will accuse Liu Ruyun of deceiving the clan and take over Zuixian Tower!
Let those who follow Xiao Feng and those who are against the Yan family see the consequences of following Xiao Feng. This is to scare the monkeys!
As for how long Liuxia's clan leader can be the clan leader in the future, what does that have to do with us? We paid for him to become the clan leader, but we don't care how long he can be the clan leader?"
Liu Tai nodded, convinced: "Dong Lou's words are reasonable, but is the old patriarch's death really seamless?"
Yan Shifan laughed loudly: "No matter how old he is, he is still a man. Is it any wonder that he is so comfortable? Who else can find any evidence from this?
Even if someone has doubts about what you do, murder cases are under the jurisdiction of the Criminal Department, and you are the left assistant minister of the Criminal Department, can't you settle this matter?"
Xiao Feng came back from treatment feeling exhausted, his lips were burning and a little swollen.
When Liu Xue'er saw him coming back, she hurriedly prepared him face wash and took out the rice left by Qiao Niang from the pot. Xiaomei couldn't get her hands on him, so she had to run after him.
Xiao Feng was filled with shame. He wanted to say something but couldn't speak, so he could only eat in a dull manner. Because his lips hurt, he ate with a grin on his face.
Liu Xueer thought the food was not to his liking, so she was a little anxious and asked Xiaomei in a low voice: "What is our family eating today? Why don't you go over and order some."
Xiaomei was stunned for a moment before she realized that the "our family" the lady mentioned refers to the Liu family. The Liu family has ancestral precepts, so every meal is not careless and there is always something delicious.
"Madam, isn't this bad? You've already gone through the door and you still go home to get food? Besides, Qiao Niang knows this and thinks we think her cooking is not delicious!"
Liu Xueer thought about it, and could only watch Xiao Feng with a grin on his face as he finished his meal, washed up, turned off the lights and went to bed.
As usual, Liu Xueer walked to Xiao Feng's side with her hands, held Xiao Feng's finger, and prepared to go to sleep with satisfaction. Xiao Feng finally couldn't help it anymore.
"Xiaoxue, today, I am here to treat people."
Liu Xueer admired her very much: "Wow, brother Xiao Feng, you can also treat people's illnesses? I thought you were just testing people's words."
"That, that, this method of treatment is a bit strange."
"Yeah, I know that the treatments for many diseases are very strange.
For example, every time my father had blisters at the corners of his mouth, Peng'er and I gave him medicine for two days but it didn't get better.
Later, my mother asked dad to go back to the house and gave him medicine, and it disappeared the next day."
Xiao Feng was silent for a moment, feeling that it would be better not to explain the treatment method of Liu Tong's blisters to Liu Xueer in detail.
"When I treat people this time, well, I need to put my tongue into other people's mouths, but I swear, this is really necessary for medical treatment."
Xiao Feng said without confidence, but Liu Xueer was unexpectedly moved.
"I once read a book and said that there was a doctor named Gou Jian who personally tasted the patient's feces to determine the condition of the patient.
He is very brave. Brother Xiao Feng, you are not afraid of the patients getting dirty in order to treat them. You are also very brave! No wonder people call you Zhenren!"
Xiao Feng was speechless. This girl had read all the books. Gou Jian did taste Fu Chai's feces and told Fu Chai that his condition was not serious, so he moved Fu Chai and escaped with his life. But Gou Jian was really not a serious doctor.
Moreover, putting his tongue into Princess Chang'an's mouth seems incomparable with Gou Jian's brave behavior.
Xiao Feng was still thinking about how to explain it clearly to Liu Xueer, because he felt that he could hide this matter from anyone, but it was not good to hide it from Liu Xueer.
Unexpectedly, after Liu Xueer praised brother Xiao Feng, she fell asleep happily. A slight snoring sound accompanied by the sweet smell of the girl blew into Xiao Feng's ears.
Xiao Feng felt warm in his heart, turned sideways, and gently held Liu Xueer in his arms.
Liu Xueer felt warm and safe in her dream. She moved her hand slightly and murmured in her sleep.
"Yingxiang, please discuss with Yunqing who will be the first concubine, and then tell me."