Da Suining

Chapter 258 Snow

a heavy rain.

The world was confused.

The strong wind and heavy rain raged in Qingcheng, and the blue tile roofs were like fried beans, pouring down non-stop.

Soon it became a river.

The fish was washed out from nowhere, and was also trapped in the flowing water, mixed with the wood, and floated to nowhere.

The newly bloomed kapok was hit by the heavy rain and fell to the ground, floating and floating in the rain, swinging and swinging, without a trace.

After spring, it should have been getting hotter and hotter, but for some reason, such a sudden rain came.

The rain stopped in the afternoon, but the sky was still cloudy.

Heads poked out in twos and threes on the street, looked up at the sky with shrunken hands and sighed: "God doesn't let people live, it's time for the earing of the wheat, with such a rain, how many people will go hungry next year?" gone."

"More than 30 years ago, there was such a heavy rain. Although it did not harm the crops, it caused damage to hundreds of households in Qingcheng because of the collapse of the houses. I remember that I was only six or seven years old, and I went to watch the fun. Yo, the house collapsed and people fell inside, it was really miserable, I remember that the rainwater was red at that time."

An old woman selling tea was sitting near the door. Because there was no one there, the rain stopped again, and she was very leisurely. She poured a cup of tea and slowly smelled the tea, then looked up at the dark half of the sky: "According to me Said, oh my god, it’s unpredictable, this rain may not be the only one.”

The old woman has been selling tea on the long street for decades, and now her hair is as white as snow. She has heard a lot, seen a lot, and the so-called well-informed probably refers to a person like her. Those who are trustworthy are just a little puzzled: "Ma'am, what do you mean, the rain will continue?"

"It may not be rain." The old woman warmed her hands on the stove.

It's almost time to wear summer clothes, and the gauze clothes I had taken out to dry a few days ago, now it's time for the stove to keep warm.

I want to laugh when I say it.

The old woman took a deep breath, held up the tea bowl to warm her hands, and said slowly: "Look at the weather, it might be cold at night, I'm afraid I have to take out the quilt, if it's not raining, it will be even colder."

"That's not going to cause hailstorms." The middle-aged man from the shop next door said, "It's not good to have hailstorms at this time. The crops are not harvested. Besides, there are still people in our escort agency carrying darts outside. How can we make it on this road?"

"Probably there will be no hailstorm." The old woman comforted him: "Based on my experience of living for six or seventy years, it is very likely that there will be a snowfall."

Everyone laughed.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Because Wang Mama, you are joking." The middle-aged man said: "You don't even look at how many months it is now, it's all for this. In previous years, after another month, the wheat would have been harvested. How could it snow? Woolen cloth."

The old woman's voice is still slow: "You people who travel north and south should know more. Don't say that the south and the north are two kinds of weather, even in the same place. Sometimes the weather is abnormal. Isn't there Dou E in the play?" Injustice, isn’t that just snow in June? It can still snow in June, let alone now.”

"That's because of grievances. It's only June and it's snowing, and it's still in the libretto, so there are too many things to do." The middle-aged man shrank his hands: "If you are old, don't tease us. We broke up."

At night, the north wind blew all night.

The wind roared like it was about to tear off the roof.

The last time I heard such a strong wind was in the winter of Qingcheng.

The ice sellers were all ready to come to the door to sell, but they didn't expect that when they opened the door in the morning, there was snow all over the place.

No wonder it always feels cold under the blanket at night, no wonder it still feels not warm with an extra quilt.

The bird that was still singing in the middle of the night suddenly became silent.

The sound of clappers on watch at night became more and more rare, until it was cut off directly.

It turned out that there was a lot of wind and snow.

Every household in Qingcheng opened their doors, their mouths wide open in shock.

Those who didn't pay attention, stepped on the ground, and jumped directly into the snow, and their faces were covered with snow, which was cold and painful.

Those vegetable sellers who were still wearing unlined clothes, just pushed the door open with their loads, and then hurriedly closed the door. No matter what, they had to put on the cotton clothes at the end of winter. Otherwise, it was such a cold day, let alone selling vegetables. Probably walking on the road, I froze first.

The snow is as big as a mat.

The blue tiles of Qingcheng are now so white that you can't see the edge at a glance.

"In this terrible weather, I even invited someone to catch birds. The wind this night froze most of the birds to death." A man in a robe clapped his hands.

The other person shook his head and said: "Don't talk about catching birds, I also set a trap in the back mountain forest, and I was going to catch a wild boar to satisfy my greed. I can't even find my own trap."

Another person pointed to the canal not far away and laughed: "Look, the flower boat stopped there last night, singing and dancing, enjoying wine, food and beauties, and rested there. It was frozen, the flower boat was frozen in the middle of the canal, and those people were all trapped, and early in the morning, the servants of each family took tools to dig the ice there to save people."

The old woman was still leaning against the door selling tea.

It's just that some charcoal was added to the stove, and the fire was fully burned.The tongue of fire licked the old woman's hand.

The middle-aged man in the shop next to him became more and more convinced: "Mother Wang, you are really well-informed. I heard you said it was going to snow yesterday, but I didn't believe it. When I went back, I told my wife this as a joke. In the second half of the night, the snow fell like chaff. When I woke up in the morning, the kennels in the yard were covered by snow. I really admire you, old man. If you sit here to watch the weather, then our bodyguard agency will carry darts It’s much more convenient. You’re really smarter than the door god posted on the wall.”

"It's not so magical." The old woman smiled, "It's just that I have grown up and seen a lot, so I don't think it's strange. After all, you are still young."

"According to Mama Wang, is the current snowfall God's will, or is it like the song in the play, someone has been greatly wronged?" The middle-aged man began to gossip.

The old woman looked up at the sky, and then at the other side of the long street.

At the end of the long street is Qingcheng Yamen.

The weather was bad, and the snow continued intermittently. It was more than a foot thicker than when we woke up in the morning.

If it was winter, everyone would be sitting around the stove drinking tea, roasting peanuts and chatting about gossip.In such a cold day, no one wants to go out for a walk.

It was as if as soon as he went out, the heat that covered him all night suddenly evaporated. No matter how thick the clothes he wore, his hands and feet were cold, and his tongue was straight when he spoke.

Today is very different.

Qingcheng yamen is busier than ever.

Master Qingcheng sat on the head, and together with him was the eldest prince Guo Cong.

The usually majestic master, because of the presence of the eldest prince Guo Cong, was a little cautious, and would sneak glances at him from time to time.

Lu Yu sat down.

Xu just sat beside Lu Yu.

The yamen servants on both sides wore dark blue vests, and everyone had a cold face.

Xu just coughed twice, the sound was like an old donkey pulling a cart, or a jar leaking air.

He didn't want to take him with him at first, but because Lu Yu had an affair with Xiang Suining, it would be unfair if he no longer called an imperial physician.

So Xu Zhi followed him again, God knows that from the palace imperial hospital to this Qingcheng government office, the old imperial doctor also took a rest in a sedan chair, sometimes said that his waist was about to loosen, and sometimes said that he was dizzy.Coupled with the snowy weather, the air sucked in like a knife, young people can't stand it, let alone his age, it's not easy to hold on.

So the master of Fuya called for silence twice, but the old doctor still couldn't hold back his cough.

"Physician Xu, it's such a cold day, otherwise please rest, in case you fall again." Lu Yu shook his head.

"The old man is in good health, he is in good health, he only coughs once in a while, it's not a big deal, but Imperial Physician Lu, now trying this case, is closely related to Miss Xiang Er, I'm afraid it's you... your heartbeat is much worse than my cough. "Although Xu Zhi is young, he still has the mentality that watching the excitement is not a big deal.

"Let the eldest prince try the case. The eldest prince is wise." Master Qingcheng gave way.

Guo Cong did not act arbitrarily: "This is your yamen. Although I am a prince, my father also said that we are jointly adjudicating cases. After all, it is the first time I have handled cases in this government yamen. You have to be familiar with the lord of the government office. We can also settle this case as soon as possible."

Master Qingcheng was praised by Guo Cong: "Not to mention, it is fair and just for me to judge the case, why should someone come to me, even if it is a dead person, I can make him speak. "

"Then bring someone up."

The yamen servant quickly brought a few people here.

The first one is spring fish.

Chunyu seems to have received preferential treatment, she is in good spirits, and her hair is not messed up.

Now when she came to the lobby, Yingying also knelt down, raised her head and said, "What the servant said is true, and those things that hurt people are all from the second girl..."

The harmful things were brought up one by one, and they went through the scene again in front of Master Qingcheng, Guo Cong and others.

"The heart of the most poisonous woman." Master Qingcheng shook his head, "I said Chun... what is it?"

"Spring fish."

"By the way, Chunyu, the confession you gave earlier said that you were Princess Lu's personal servant. Did you really see Miss Xianger poisoning your princess with your own eyes? Did you see it with your own eyes? You must know that if you frame a good person, Your sin is serious, I can't tolerate sand in my eyes."

"If it's me who framed the second lady, I will be struck by lightning." Chun Yu swore pointing at the sky.

This is the government office lobby, not a place to curse or swear.

Master Qingcheng said: "My lord and I...the eldest prince and I are here, when there is a thunderstorm, everything is judged." On the one hand, he asked the master to record Chunyu's confession, and let Chunyu press his fingerprints on it , and then called two yamen servants: "Give her ten sticks first. The slave tells the master, ten sticks is light."

Although Chunyu panicked, she was willing to suffer.

She lay obediently on the ground, and was pressed firmly by the yamen servant. The long stick fell on her body. Although she endured it, she was in tears from the pain.

She looked up at Lu Yu.

Lu Yu also looked at her.

"Is it worth it for you?" Lu Yu asked her, "Would your concubine feel distressed after you suffered these ten sticks?" Lu Yu asked again.

"Slaves... Slaves... Slaves don't need anyone to feel sorry for. Slaves are just the servants of the princess, and the servants cannot just watch someone harm the princess..."

Chun Yu finally gritted his teeth and endured it.

Maybe it hurt too much.

Her eyes are red.

Even the old doctor Xu Zhi couldn't bear it anymore: "This servant is a good servant. For her master, she dared to stand up and expose Miss Xianger. This ten stick is not light. According to the old man, such a stick is ten It is almost impossible to move, if you hit 35 times one by one, I am afraid that you will die."

Mingzhu was brought up next.

Mingzhu was still wearing the clothes she had left from Xiang's house.

The clothes are thin, as if frightened, affectionate and haggard, with blue eye sockets.

She shivered and came to the lobby, seeing Chunyu kneeling there with blood behind her, she was even more frightened.

Maybe it was cold, maybe it was panic, she fell to her knees beside Chunyu.

"Your name is Mingzhu, right? Chunyu's confession just said that all these harmful things belong to your master. Your master caused Princess Lu to conceive. These are the proofs. You are her personal maid, You must also recognize these things." Master Qingcheng raised his voice.

Mingzhu didn't seem to hear what he said, but turned to look at Chunyu beside her.

"You told them that it was the second girl who killed Princess Lu?" Mingzhu's haggard and thin body disappeared all of a sudden, as if she had suddenly changed into a different person, with sharp eyes, and she wished she could pounce on Chunyu: "Second girl How can I be sorry for you? Last time you were given medicine by Princess Lu... or the second girl, how could you repay your kindness? How could you frame the second girl like this? How much benefit did Princess Lu give you? She killed the second girl What's in it for you?"

Chun Yuqiang retorted vigorously: "I didn't frame the second girl."

"You still say you haven't?" Mingzhu was angry and impatient, and almost shouted: "That villain was obviously not made by the second girl. The daughter's family of the second girl has never made such a thing before. There are those saffron, which I have never seen a girl collect, and arsenic, which a girl would never touch."

"You are just a servant girl. Could it be that your master has done something shameful and will tell you?" Chunyu bit her lip.

"Eldest prince, master...our girl really didn't harm Princess Lu, really not." Mingzhu didn't care too much, she just felt that if the people in the hall believed Chunyu's words, then her own girl would be in danger.

"In the courtroom, don't make noise." Master Qingcheng was a little impatient.

"Mingzhu, you said that none of those things belonged to Miss Xiang. What proof do you have?" Guo Cong asked.

Mingzhu was taken aback.

"No."

"The writing on this villain is Miss Xiang Er's handwriting?"

"Slave...Slave can't read a few words...Second Miss can't write this." Mingzhu shook her head.

"Then..." Before Master Qingcheng finished his sentence, he saw a yamen servant invite him to the back hall, and when he came out of the back hall after a while, Master Qingcheng's face was full of red.

Just now King Lu sent a butler to ask Master Qingcheng to settle the case fairly, and a bag of gold is considered tea money.

A bag of gold, golden.

It's really going to blind your eyes.

Master Qingcheng has worked hard for a year, and his salary is only a few dozen taels. In good years, there are many cases, maybe there is a commission, but it is only a hundred taels.

He has two or three concubines who are comparable to each other in the back hall, all of them are dressed in gold and silver, all of them are expenses, and they suffer from no income, so this is what happened.

(End of this chapter)