Snow White Luoyang City

Chapters 3, 4, and 5

three

The Niu family is on the wealthy side of Luoyang City, and the son of the Niu family has not recovered from the death of the head of the family, and the son of the Niu family has died in the brothel again.The Niu family mourned and cried in the house all day long, making the whole street gloomy, and everyone who saw the Niu family going out was afraid to avoid it.

It happened that when Pingxiu returned to the inn, he passed by here.

There were a few young men at the door who were talking about something, when they saw a monk, they came up and said, "Hey, Master, can I trouble you?"

Pingxiu raised his head, looked left and right, and was sure he was calling himself, so he lifted up his robe and walked up a few steps: "What's the matter?"

The young man earnestly said: "The master's family does things, but the masters he invited said that they would not accept this job. We dare not disobey the master's wishes, master... If you accept this job, I will give you two double the price."

Pingxiu saw those boys gathered together to look at him, the oldest of them looked like 17 years old, the one who asked him was at most ten years old, he looked so pitiful.

He thought for a while: "The little monk can only recite some Buddhist scriptures for salvation, and nothing else."

"That's fine!" the boy was happy, and while reaching out for money, "I'll pay first..."

"No need." Pingxiu refused, "It's just a matter of convenience, you can keep the money and spend it yourself."

The servants brought him into the house, and they were respectful all the way. After entering the door, Pingxiu found out that this was Niu's house.

Although he has lived a quiet life on the mountain these years, Pingxiu himself is not a peaceful person. In his master's words, his bad nature has been present since childhood, and he may not have a relationship with Buddhism, so he only shaved his head but did not enact the precepts Scar, if there is still a bond with the world of mortals one day, then he will continue to return to vulgarity.

Pingxiu looked around and asked curiously: "Young monk, you just arrived in Luoyang, did you hear that there was a murder case in Niu's house?"

"Isn't it?" The ten-year-old boy had a good impression of him. Pingxiu was originally very gentle, and at first glance he was a very talkative type. Coincidentally, he liked to laugh, so he was easy to like.

The servant lowered his voice and said to him: "Master died during Xiaoshu, the old lady said it was a plague and must be cremated..."

It seems that this Niu family is probably not a very good person. Pingxiu found that when the boy talked about this, he didn't have any sentimental emotions, but seemed to be talking about other family's affairs.

The boy said again: "Now the master's bones are still cold, and the young master is dead again. I see the plague or something..."

The boy next to him pulled him: "Why do you talk about everything? In case someone overhears, watch your skin carefully!"

The boy pursed his lips, probably because he was young and not very sensible, he secretly made a face with Ping Xiu and stopped talking.

All the way into the side hall, a mourning hall was temporarily set up inside.There are white cloths and white lanterns hanging everywhere, against the unmelted snow on the ground, it feels a bit cold and solemn.

An old lady came out from the mourning hall. Her complexion was vicissitudes, her pupils were dull, and she looked at Pingxiu blankly: "Who is this?"

Pingxiu clasped his hands together and said Ami, "My little monk, Pingxiu, is a monk from the Temple of Observing Buddhas. He just arrived in Luoyang a few days ago when he was traveling this time."

"Watching Buddha?" The old woman was puzzled, "Haven't you heard of it?"

"It's just a small temple in the east of the Yellow River near Jinan."

"It's so far away..." The old woman forced a smile, "Thank you, little master."

So he recited the scriptures quietly, and no one disturbed him, and the servants who came and went changed tea and water for the people in the mourning hall, all with great care.

After reading the scriptures, the old lady asked him to stay for a fast meal, but Pingxiu declined, not because of anything else, but because staying here really made people feel uncomfortable.It's hard to explain that feeling, there's a subtle weirdness, but I can't tell what's weird.

He already knew that the old woman was Niu Hong's wife, and even Niu Chong's mother. She lost her two closest relatives at once, no wonder she was out of her mind and looked dull.

Pingxiu bid farewell and left, but was stopped by Bai Yunfei as soon as he went out.

Bai Yunfei looked at him coldly: "The monk who just entered Luoyang City knows the Niu family?"

"..." This is really a big injustice.

"Bai Butou." The boy who sent Pingxiu out didn't know the relationship between the two, so he said nervously, "Are you here to find the old lady?"

"I don't understand some aspects of Niu Chong's case." Bai Yunfei said in a serious manner, "Please inform me, I'll bring you for a new autopsy."

"Experiment..." The servant trembled in fright, "I have experienced it once before, why do I have to do it again? I am afraid that the old lady will be unhappy."

"This case is full of doubts, please report it."

The boy was in a dilemma, Pingxiu asked curiously: "What kind of doubts?"

Bai Yunfei said coldly: "It has nothing to do with you."

Pingxiu narrowed his eyes, "My lord, although I have been practicing purely, I still know how to write the words "humanity and sophistication". Even if someone is willing to try again if you are so cold-blooded, I don't want to do it now."

Cold blooded?The corners of Bai Yunfei's brows twitched, obviously these two words hit his sore feet.

Pingxiu continued, "Since the little monk meets the lord again and again, I am afraid it is God's will. Since it is God's will, the little monk is willing to help the lord, but there is a condition for the little monk."

Bai Yunfei narrowed his eyes, exuding a dangerous smell all over his body: "What qualifications do you have to negotiate terms with me?"

"Only the little monk can help you."

"Even if you don't help me with this matter, I can still find out. This is my duty."

Pingxiu stopped talking, made a gesture of please, and stepped aside.

four

Sure enough, Bai Yunfei was "invited" out in less than a cup of tea.

Standing in the cold wind, Pingxiu saw him being kicked out with an ugly face, and gloated: "Amitabha."

Bai Yunfei walked over a few steps, the sleeves of his clothes being ripped by the cold wind.

"You!" He said angrily, "As long as you make them agree to the autopsy, you can say anything!"

Pingxiu stood up, brushed the hem of his clothes, and walked forward with an air of a master.After a while, he poked his head out and waved to Bai Yunfei: "It's done."

Bai Yunfei stepped forward in astonishment: "How did they agree?"

Pingxiu smiled, "My lord, don't forget my condition."

"……you say."

"Let me follow you to investigate this case."

Entering Niu's house again, Pingxiu looked at it secretly: a man who looked like he was about [-] years old, wearing an expensive black brocade robe, with a sluggish expression, a little dissatisfaction on his face, staring at Bai Yunfei as if his eyes were covered with invisible nail.

The other is a young woman with a pink skirt and a plain cloak, her hair is very beautifully arranged in a bun, and she wears a beautiful hairpin, like a wintersweet blooming in deep winter, which is particularly eye-catching.

Pingxiu suddenly realized where the weirdness he felt was.

Although the women here wear linen and filial piety, they all wear ordinary jewelry.Especially the one in front of him, the golden hairpin on his head is particularly conspicuous in the plain white.

In the whole Niu's house, although there are white lanterns hanging at the door, the rest of the main house does not seem to be particular about it.A clear boundary is drawn from somewhere, and the courtyard is solemn and quiet, while the rest of the place is not stained with sadness.

Pingxiu gently pinched the beads with his fingers, and blinked with interest.

Bai Yunfei cupped his hands: "I'm sorry to bother you all."

The man in the black brocade robe said: "This is the last time, and you can't touch my brother again."

It turned out to be Niu Chong's younger brother.Pingxiu secretly calculated: the Niu family has many descendants, and the daughters are all married, so there are only a few men left in this house. The eldest son Niu Chong was supposed to inherit the family business, but now he is lying in the coffin. This should be the second son, Niu Mao, right?No wonder he looks like a master, and the woman next to him is the second wife?

Bai Yunfei nodded, apologized again, and took Wu Zuo to the mourning hall.

The coffin is still there, but the body has not been buried because the case has not yet been solved.Fortunately, the dead body would not rot so quickly in the deep winter, but even so, Pingxiu almost vomited the moment the coffin was opened.

Except for Bai Yunfei, Wu Zuo and the old lady in the mourning hall, everyone else's expressions were not very good-looking.

Niu Mao also took a step back, blocking his wife Zhu Shi, who gently raised her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose, from her slightly protruding belly, it could be seen that she was pregnant.

Pingxiu sneaked a peek into the coffin, and some parts of the corpse had begun to rot. It could be seen that the man looked pretty good when he was young, with fine features, but his bones were a little weak.The dead man's face was extremely pale, which also highlighted the faint blackness on his forehead. After the blood coagulated, some spots appeared on his body, and the color was very dark and tended to be blue-gold.

Before Wu Zuo could make a move, Pingxiu let out a snort.

"Is this poisoning?"

Bai Yunfei turned to look at him: "What do you know?"

Pingxiu said with certainty, "It's caused by poison, and the color of these corpse spots is wrong."

Wu Zuo said: "We know about the poisoning, but the question is what kind of poison is it and how did it get it?"

"You don't know?" Pingxiu looked at him.

"I can only guess that it might be brownish yellow."

Pingxiu thought for a while: "The brown-yellow poison takes a short time, it is colorless and odorless, and the cause of death is the burning of the internal organs."

Wu Zuo saw that he understood, nodded and said: "Niu Chong's internal organs have long been turned into corpse water, but...these green-gold spots can't be made by brown-yellow."

Bai Yunfei said: "There is no medical shop in Luoyang that sells brown and yellow. I originally wanted to start from the brothel but found nothing. The woman who accompanied Niu Chong disappeared in the prison, and then her body was found by the forest outside the city."

"You were the only stranger who entered the city that day." Bai Yunfei said meaningfully, "It's the Chinese New Year, and many shops have been closed long ago. During the Chinese New Year, all the cities can only enter and cannot enter. The murderer wants to throw his body in the wild. If he hadn't left, It’s just entering the city with fake eyes. You just entered the city at this time.”

Pingxiu looked at him, "Then why don't you guess that the murderer has left?"

"It takes days and nights to walk to the nearest city to Luoyang. It's so cold in the twelfth lunar month, not to mention finding a place to live, and it's hard to buy dry food on the road. I checked early in the morning, and there are merchants in the city who are still open." Nothing has been sold in large quantities.”

Pingxiu couldn't speak, touched his head, and had to continue the topic just now: "I know that there are several kinds of herbs, which will have a brown-yellow effect when mixed together, and these spots will also appear."

五

The old lady invited Bai Yunfei and Pingxiu to stay for dinner that night. In order to take care of Pingxiu, they all ate vegetarian dishes.

It was only at the dinner that Pingxiu found out that Bai Yunfei's father was actually the governor of Luoyang City, the man they had met in the government office.

Since he is the son of an official family, it is very interesting for him to be a tiresome head catcher when he can't live a good life.But having said that, since he knew he was Fu Yin's son, how could the Niu family keep him out?

Pingxiu felt that both Bai Yunfei and Niu's family were full of doubts, but he didn't say anything, just drank tea in a muffled voice.

Niu Maodao: "This case has been a waste of hard work, and today we finally have a clue."

"Thanks to Master Pingxiu's help." Bai Yunfei said solemnly: "Bai is not capable enough, so I wasted all this time."

"Don't say that." Niu Mao smiled dryly, "Brother suddenly had an accident, and those who knew the inside story were silenced. Without leaving any clues, it would be difficult to solve the case. But Master Pingxiu is very knowledgeable. Even these weird people Herbs are also recognized, but I have never heard of them.”

Pingxiu shook his head: "There are not many of these herbs near Luoyang. I have traveled all the way, and I have only seen craftsmen use them in the Yellow River area."

"What do craftsmen use herbs for?" Niu Mao was puzzled.

"It is said that some of the juice can be extracted to make wood."

Before Pingxiu finished speaking, the old lady's chopsticks fell to the ground.

Several people turned their heads, Mrs. Zhu took a pair of chopsticks and handed them over again, the old lady's fingers trembled slightly, "It's old, it's useless."

Interrupted by the old lady, these words were naturally revealed.

Bai Yunfei glanced at Pingxiu, and asked, "Then what about the craftsmen in Luoyang?"

Niu Mao nodded, "I think it's reliable, the brothel often makes bedding..." Before he could finish speaking, Mrs. Zhu gave him a firm pinch.

A group of people on the table smiled lightly, it took Pingxiu a while to understand, and his face turned red.

When Bai Yunfei put down his chopsticks, Pingxiu quickly put down the bowl too.

"It's late today, I'll take my leave first."

"Go slowly, both of you." Niu Mao stood up and saw him off, "We are waiting for the day when the case is revealed."

Bai Yunfei nodded, turned and left.When he got out of the gate, he turned to look at Pingxiu: "Do you still want to follow me to investigate the case?"

"Why not? I'm very curious about this case, besides, you promised me, so I can't rely on it." Pingxiu rubbed his head, "But I'm even more curious that your father is a governor, why are you arresting the head? "

"Is there any relationship between what my father does and what I do?" Bai Yunfei frowned, paused and said, "I'll take you to see something."