Chapter 4 Chapter Three: The Pomegranate Skirt Kills Four
After the Yipin Tomb incident, Li Lianhua stayed at Fang Duobing's house for two days, and then left because he missed his Lianhualou.After he left, Fang's sickly sister-in-law He Xiaofeng vomited and had diarrhea for three months, and she dared not tell anyone that she had taken the medicine prescribed by Li Lianhua and had a bad stomach.
However, when Mr. Fang, the eldest son of the Fang family, finished explaining about Yipin Tomb, and leisurely returned to Pingshan Town to look for Li Lianhua, he suddenly saw a green hill, and his vision suddenly widened because there was a house there. Now it's gone.
After staying there for a while, people in Pingshan Town saw a scrawny young man in white clothes pointing at an open space and furiously yelling: Damn Li Lianhua, he ran away with a turtle shell on his back again!damn it
Passers-by looked at him with sympathy and curiosity. The owner of the wooden house hired two cows to pull the house away a few days ago, and some kind-hearted people in the town even helped him.Asked why he moved out, the owner of the house said that because someone who wanted to repay his kindness insisted on giving him the property, he couldn't bear it, so he had to move out overnight. Quan Xiang reported that this made the scholars in the town sigh, such a noble character is rarely seen in the world.
Fang Duobing pointed to the open space after the move of the Auspicious Pattern Lotus Building and scolded the time for a stick of incense. He looked up to the sky and sighed: This dead lotus with a tortoise shell on its back, unless he is happy, it will be extremely difficult to find him. He is used to it.
1. The wedding dress is inauspicious
Xue Yu Town is a lively place, ten miles away from this place is Cailian Village.Speaking of Xue Yu Town, not everyone within a hundred miles knows it, but when it comes to Cailian Village, everyone knows it.There is a famous scenic spot nearby, with beautiful mountains and blue water, and four streams pour into this pond. The climate is warm all year round and lotus flowers bloom in full bloom. In addition, the lotus here has a strange color, with light blue petals in full bloom. It is elegant and beautiful, and is favored by literati and scholars. Officials and nobles come here to pick lotus, so it is called Cailian Pond.
About fifty years ago, someone bought a lot of land with a radius of ten miles from the lotus pond, built a manor, incorporated the lotus pond into his own manor, and named himself Cailianzhuang.The current owner's surname is Guo, and his first name is Dafu. Although the name is a bit vulgar, he claims to be a refined guest.
Guo Dafu deals in medicinal materials as a business, earns money well, and has no worries about food and clothing. His most worrying thing recently is his son Guo Fu.Guo Fu is a Chinese character, implying that misfortune and good fortune depend on it. It is an auspicious name. He can recite three hundred poems at the age of three, and he can read "The Book of Songs" and "The Analects of Confucius" at the age of five, which is a treasure in Guo Dafu's heart.When Guo Fu was eleven years old, Guo Dafu sent Guo Fu to Baichuan Academy to learn martial arts, and worshiped the most elegant of the four Fobi and Baishi, the disciple of the beautiful Zhuge Yunbiqiu. He only hoped that he could study and learn martial arts. Master study hard, even if you can't become a generation of knights in the future, you can still be a good person.But a month ago, when Guo Fu returned home after studying, Guo Dafu was very troubled. In addition to wielding knives and guns and shouting to kill, this child actually forgot all the words he knew when he was a child. Confucius called Guo Zi, and Guo Dafu was so angry that he almost smashed Guo Fu's head with the pot in the kitchen. Guo Dafu's son was unlearned and incompetent.
It was because of this that Guo Dafu married Guo Fu's daughter-in-law Fang Zhishu Dali early on, and taught him this unworthy son well. He only hoped that the influence of his family would improve Guo Fu.He hired tens of thousands of taels of silver to marry Gu Xizhi, the most famous talented woman in Xue Yu Town, to get started. As a result, this talented girl was weak and sick, and died before she could get started, and Guo Dafu's tens of thousands of taels of silver was wasted.As a last resort, Guo Fu finally married Pu Susu, the most famous brothel prostitute in Xue Yuzhen.Although this Pu Susu was born in a brothel, she was a young man and famous for her poems. Moreover, since she was a famous prostitute, she was much more beautiful than a talented woman, so Guo Fu happily welcomed the bride.Unexpectedly, less than a month later, Pu Susu drowned in the lotus pond and died. Within a month, two women related to Guo Fu died one after another. The rumors in the alley made Guo Dafu extremely annoyed, and the homicide case in Cailianchi inevitably greatly reduced the number of dignitaries who came here, which made Guo Dafu even more annoyed.
On May 11th, it was the season when the green lotus was in full bloom, but Cailian Village was very deserted, and the bustling scene of the past was completely gone.After Guo Fu lost his wife, he mostly practiced swordsmanship. He cut off a lot of ginkgo trees carefully planted by Guo Dafu in the backyard.Guo Dafu just sighed at the deserted yard and ledger these days. He lost his mother when he was young, his wife when he was young, and now his daughter-in-law died for no reason. Could it be that he sold fake medicine once when he was young, and now the retribution is on his wife and children up?That's not right, Guo Dafu thought hard, if it was retribution, how could even his own mother who has no memory be retribution?When his old mother died, he was still breastfeeding, and he hadn't sold fake medicine yet.
master.The maid, Xiufeng, came over with a cup of hot tea. There was a young man outside the village who said he wanted to see the lotus pond. He was not allowed to come in, but there have been few people coming in recently. Sir, what do you say?
When Guo Dafu heard her say that he was not allowed to come in, he knew that the person who knocked on the door was probably a poor ghost. After thinking about it, he waved his hand impatiently: Come in, come in, since Susu died inside, there is no one If you have been in the water, it is good to go to the bad luck.
Where is this?Suddenly, a human head popped out of the lotus-picking pond at Guo Dafu's feet, asking blankly, where are the steps to climb up?Is anyone here?At that moment, Xiufeng screamed, the cup of hot tea fell down, and the person in the water hurriedly shrank into the water with a crash. Only then did Guo Dafu see clearly that there was a person, a man, under the lotus leaf and lotus, and he couldn't help shaking his hands. He called out to the servant: Come here!There are thieves!There are water thieves!
water thief?The people in the lotus pond were even more dazed. After looking around for a while, they suddenly realized, is it me?
Xiufeng nodded repeatedly in shock, and suddenly recognized who he was: Master, this is Mr. Li who knocked on the door outside the villa just now.
Guo Dafu looked suspiciously at the drenched man: who are you?How could it be in the water?
The person in the lotus picking pond coughed in embarrassment: the wooden bridge outside the village is a bit slippery
Xiufeng and Guo Dafu were stunned, it turned out that this person fell into the stream outside the village and was washed into the lotus pond by the stream, he was not a water thief.
Are you here to see the lotus?Guo Dafu said.
The man in the pool nodded repeatedly: Actually, it was because there was one piece of wood missing in my house.
Before he finished speaking, Guo Dafu's face became happy: Can you compose poetry?
The person in the pool said: "Poetry?"
Guo Dafu looked at him up and down for a while, and the young man who was washed in by the water looked like a poor scholar: That's all right, non-noble and elegant guests are not allowed to enter my lotus picking village, if you can compose poems, write a few lotus poems for me Shi, how about I let you live in the village for three days?
The people in the pool are full of confusion: the ancients wrote a lot of lotus poems
Guo Dafu smiled all over his face: Yes, yes, but that’s not about this year’s Qinglian, is it?
The dull and stiff minds of the people in the pool turned their minds twice, and then they suddenly realized: after the murder case, the reputation of Cailianzhuang was greatly damaged, and Guo Dafu hoped that a few lotus poems would be spread, in exchange for the elegant name of Cailianzhuang.
The people in my pool hesitated, hesitated for a while, and finally made up their minds, I should be able to write poetry.
Guo Dafu cupped his hands again and again, and when the wet young man in the pool could compose poems, his net worth increased a hundredfold: Come, please change the clothes of Mr. Li, please sit down.
The water thief in the pool transformed himself into a son, and cupped his hands in a gentle manner in the water, as if he was truly a talented man who could compose a poem in seven steps.
The water thief who fell into the water was Li Lianhua who had just moved to Xue Yu Town.His lotus building with auspicious patterns lost a piece of wood when it was dragged by a ox. Although there was a remedy for the wood, there was no pattern. Li Lianhua had no choice but to re-carve it by himself, looking for lotus as a model.When I arrived at Cailian Manor one day, I accidentally fell into the water, and when I emerged again, I became Mr. Li who could compose poetry, which he never expected before he fell into the water.
Mr. Li, please.Xiufeng led Li Lianhua to the guest rooms in Cailianzhuang. The rooms are all equipped with clean new clothes, and Mr. Li can choose whatever he wants.
Li Lianhua was nodding her head when she tripped suddenly and fell forward with an oops, Xiufeng helped him up in time: the threshold in the village is a bit high, be careful.
Li Lianhua looked down, and sure enough, the threshold of Cailianzhuang was an inch higher than ordinary houses, people who are not used to it could easily trip over, so she said: Shame, shame.
Soon Xiufeng led him to live in a spacious and elegant guest room. You can see the five-mile lotus pond through the window. The scenery is quiet and pleasant. There are paintings and calligraphy hanging in the room. The tenant is full of poetry.
After Xiufeng retreated, Li Lianhua opened the suitcase. The clothes inside were all in line with Fang Sickness's preferences. They were all silk Confucian shirts, with occasional small embroidered cloud patterns, very delicate and elegant.He thought for a while, picked out the most expensive white dress and put it on, looked in the mirror, and was delighted to see a man with the appearance of a wit reflected in the mirror, even he himself was very satisfied.Standing up and looking around this elegant room, there are respectfully pasted calligraphy and paintings on the wall, which say that lotus flowers with human faces reflect each other in red, lotus flowers are still smiling in the spring breeze, and even thousands of trees and lotus flowers are blooming. The magistrate of a certain county, the owner of a certain village, and the owner of a certain village.
Li Lianhua admired it for a while, then turned her eyes to look out of the window. In the blue lotus season, the lotus leaves outside the window are green and green, and the small light blue lotus hides under the leaves. It is really innocent and lovely, and it has a different flavor than the red lotus and green leaves.
Suddenly, a puff of black smoke rose from such a quiet and elegant lotus pond. Li Lianhua poked her head out of the window to look out, and saw an old woman in brown clothes paddling a boat slowly in the lotus pond. There is a stove, and a stack of ghost paper inside is burning vigorously.After burning the ghost paper, the old woman sat in the boat and sighed at the pond full of green lotuses, and suddenly began to curse brokenly. She cursed in a language that Li Lianhua couldn't understand. She turned over the window and talked to the old man by the pool The wife said hello, boarded the boat smoothly, and chatted with her.
This old woman, surnamed Jiang, is Guo Dafu's nanny. She has been in Guo's house for more than 40 years. She is burning paper money for Pu Susu. Li Lianhua started chatting with her about the price of soy sauce yesterday, maybe it has been a long time No one scolded the owner of the sauce shop with her for being so short. Mrs. Jiang liked this new scholar better, and Li Lianhua soon learned about some trivial matters of the Guo family.
Guo Dafu's grandfather was a Hmong man, who became the door-to-door son-in-law of the Guo family's grandmother, and settled down in Xue Yuzhen very early.Since Guo Dafu’s grandfather started the business of medicinal materials, the Guo family has always been prosperous, but for some unknown reason, the population has always been small, and since Guo Dafu’s father’s generation, the Guo family’s three consecutive wives have died strangely. Strange, and it has nothing to do with this pond of lotus.Guo Dafu's grandfather gave birth to two sons, Guo Dafu's father, Guo Qian, and Guo Dafu's uncle, Guo Kun. Guo Qian was as shrewd and capable as his father, and managed the medicine business in an orderly manner. Guo Kun was born with dementia and was always supported by his elder brother. , a mediocre family, nothing out of the ordinary.After Guo Gan married his wife, his family moved to Cailian Pond and built Cailian Village. The Zhuangzi was built within a month, but Guo Gan's wife Xu fell into the pond and died, leaving behind Guo Dafu who was born less than a month ago. .Heartbroken by his wife's death, Guo Gan dismissed his servants and closed the door to thank guests for more than ten years, leaving only a few servants behind.After Guo Dafu grew up, he married his wife, Wang Shi. One year after their marriage, Wang Shi fell into a pond and died, leaving Guo Fu and his son.Now that Guo Fuxin's wife, Pu Susu, fell into the pond and died again, Jiang Pozi even suspected that there was something evil in Guo's family, or that he had provoked some water ghost.
When Mrs. Guo died, was her mother-in-law the first to find out?Li Lianhua asked cautiously, her eyes full of admiration and curiosity.Mrs. Jiang suddenly became a little conceited and straightened her neck: Susu drowned under your window.
Li Lianhua was taken aback: Under my window?
Mrs. Jiang nodded: that guest room was the old lady's new house fifty-three years ago, but because the old lady drowned in the pool under the window, the old lady didn't live there and moved to the west hall, and the room was changed to a guest room.
Li Lianhua was horrified: That that means that the three wives of the Guo family all drowned in the pool under the window of my room?
Mrs. Jiang sighed: The water there is no more than half the height of a person. I still can't figure out how to drown people?If there is a ghost, there are no less than twenty or thirty adults who have lived in the guest room over the years, but nothing has ever happened.If it is anything else, there is a difference of more than twenty years between the death of the old lady and the death of the wife, and the difference between the deaths of the wife and the young lady is another twenty years. The three of them don't know each other, and one is a scholar. A girl from the family, one is the daughter of a fisherman, and Susu is still a young man, and she can't get together anywhere.
Li Lianhua also sighed: So the mother-in-law is here to point the ghost paper to save her?
Mrs. Jiang's voice became louder: the three wives are all good people, and they are all considerate of servants. If there is really a water ghost, the old woman will try her best to send it to hell!
Li Lianhua was full of admiration, paused, and stood up: Mother-in-law, the three wives were all drowned in the lotus pond, so how did the old Mrs. Guo pass away?
Mrs. Jiang was taken aback: Grandpa?The old man was terrified by the death of his daughter-in-law, and passed away a month after his wife passed away.She murmured that she must have thought of the old lady, the old lady was really pitiful.
Li Lianhua sighed again: It's really pitiful.
That night, Guo Dafu sent Xiufeng over to ask Mr. Li how he was staying. Li Lianhua quickly took out the poem he had written, and Xiufeng accepted it with satisfaction, saying that the master invited Mr. Li to the side hall for dinner, and Li Lianhua bowed to thank him. As Xiufeng walked to the west of Cailianzhuang, Guo Dafu first took the poem written by Li Lianhua, shook it open, and was very satisfied.
The windows in this side hall are very large, with openings on all sides, and there is also a lotus pond outside the window. At this time, it can be called a beautiful day, and it is mesmerizing.
The Guomen dance is full of emerald yarn, and the ten-mile hairpin jade is accompanied by others.It's really a corporal in the forest, watching the lanterns with chrysanthemum wine in melon fields.Guo Dafu shook his head and finished reading Li Lianhua's poems, admiring him very much. Mr. Li is very literary, Guo admires him very much, he will be a top student in high school in the future.
Li Lianhua was obedient, Guo Dafu said: Please, please.The two raised their glasses politely and began to pick up vegetables.
I heard Susu passed away?Li Lianhua bit her chicken paw and asked.Guo Dafu was stunned, feeling a little displeased, and this Young Master Li asked him the last thing he wanted to mention: the family was unlucky, she had an accident.
Li Lianhua was still biting the chicken paw, and said vaguely: I went to Beijing to take the exam a few years ago, and I met Susu once
Guo Dafu was stunned again, only to hear Li Lianhua continue: "When I came back this time, she has married Mr. Guo, and I am happy for her, unexpectedly this happened."He seemed to sigh softly with resentment: Can you tell me what she looked like when she died?Is it still beautiful?
Guo Dafu suddenly felt relieved: it turns out that Mr. Li did not come here for picking lotus ponds. Pu Susu is well-known, and there are not a few young people who have such thoughts. Now that people are dead, he is a little I feel sympathy for Li Lianhua.
Susu died wearing a wedding dress. The child was extremely beautiful when she was born, and she also looked like a bride when she died, very beautiful.He didn't know that Li Lianhua's words made Fang Duobing laugh so hard that his stomach ached. He bet that Li Lianhua didn't know Pu Susu at all.
Wearing a wedding dress?Li Lianhua wondered, she has been in the house for more than ten days, why is she still wearing her wedding dress?
Guo Dafu's face showed a few traces of pride, and he coughed: Guo's grandfather is a Miao people, and he brought a set of Miao people's wedding dress from Miaojiang. The clothes were hung with gold and silver ornaments and brocade patterns, which were worth thousands of gold. An adult asked me for it several times, and someone offered me a hundred thousand taels of silver to buy it, but I would not give it or sell it. It is a family heirloom.Back then, my wife would take it out of the suitcase and wear it whenever she was free. No matter what woman she was, she would be fascinated by that wedding dress.
Li Lianhua groaned: There is such a strange thing in the world?
Guo Dafu was even more proud when he heard it, and clapped his hands: Tweety.
A sixteen-year-old maidservant with a tall stature came up nimbly: Master.
Guo Dafu ordered: "Bring the young lady's wedding dress from Fu'er's room. It is also an elegant thing for Mr. Li and I to drink wine and enjoy the dress together."
Cui'er should have retreated, Guo Dafu said: "Although this wedding dress is a family heirloom, but my first wife died wearing this dress, he suddenly lost his mood, drank a glass of wine, my mother wore it The first person to die in this wedding dress, the peerless treasure is often ominous
Li Lianhua sighed, and suddenly said in a low voice: Didn't Yuanwailang think about it, maybe
Guo Dafu was a little horrified by what he said, what?
Li Lianhua coughed and took a sip of wine: Maybe there is a ghost in the lotus pond!
Guo Dafu frowned: Since the death of my mother, every inch of this pond has been turned over. There is nothing in the pond except some small fish and shrimps, and there are absolutely no water ghosts.
Li Lianhua breathed a sigh of relief, and said happily: "It's fine if you don't have it, it's fine if you don't have it."The two turned to talk about other things. Guo Dafu admired Li Lianhua's poetic talent and asked him to write three more poems tomorrow. First of all, even the three hundred poems can be completed in seven steps, and he will never go to the eighth step.
Two, half a ghost face
After drinking with Guo Dafu, it was already the third watch.Li Lianhua was a little tipsy, and was in a very happy mood. Although Guo Dafu was said to be an elegant person, he was not very discerning, and the scenery was elegant and the dishes were exquisite. Today's fall was very worthwhile.Especially seeing the Guo family's ancestral wedding dress, the wedding dress is indeed exquisite and gorgeous, rare in the world, compared with the Han people's phoenix crown and Xiapei, it has an irresistible magnificent beauty.
It was a set of sapphire blue wedding dress, the whole body was embroidered with brocade, trees and flowers, people digging wells, people drinking and singing, people dancing in circles, the ground is full of melons and fruits, the sun, moon and stars are flying in the sky Two large birds that look like phoenixes but not phoenixes, every inch and every inch shines with bright colors of brocade, even in places where there is no light, they still shine.Seven strings of silver ornaments are hung on the neck of the bundle, and a huge flower strung with silver beads and gold beads is hung on the chest. The flower core is cast in gold, which is very gorgeous and splendid.The upper and lower sapphire blue brocades of the wedding dress are covered with gold and silver threads, and there are very thin crystal beads on them, which are full of brilliance.The waist is belted with jade beads, and the skirt is extremely narrow, like a barrel. On the flat skirt, a group of happy people are dancing in a circle, just around the skirt. There are silver chains and bells on the bottom of the skirt.From a man's point of view, it is piles of gold, silver and jewels. From a woman's point of view, no matter how ugly a woman is, as long as she is still young, she may feel that she will be able to see herself in this wedding dress with her usual beauty. Different styles.
But in Li Lianhua's eyes, it was a strange skirt, it was covered with gold, silver and jewels, and the skirt was very narrow.Is it really just a coincidence that a wedding dress was worn by three women and all three women died unexpectedly?Lying on the bed, facing the big window facing the lotus pond, he yawned, and his thoughts turned to the poem he wrote to Guo Dafu. I wonder if Guo Dafu saw the mystery in the poem?When he was looking at the starlight outside the window and fell asleep, suddenly half a face slowly moved out of the window, following him faintly.
He stared blankly at that strange face, for a long time he thought he was dreaming, suddenly the face moved, and slowly disappeared towards the window Li Lianhua suddenly woke up, it was a strange picture A face that knows something, swarthy cheeks and nose, flying hair, a surprisingly bright but bloodshot, emotionless eye. There is a lotus pond under the window, and there is only a small wetland. This semi-human standing outside his window Zhang Lian, where is he standing?He heard footsteps leaving. Whatever it was, at least it walked on two legs, like a person.
ghost?Li Lianhua sighed. Although he had never seen a ghost, the thing outside the window was alive, not like a ghost.If it is a human, he believes that it is better for a human to pretend to be a ghost than a ghost to pretend to be a human, but who in the Guo family wants to dress up like this in the middle of the night and silently look at him in front of his window?If he fell asleep and didn't see it, wouldn't he be sorry for the painstaking effort?It was so strange that he got off the bed and took a look under the window: there was indeed a line of footprints on the wet ground outside the window.
What exactly is that?What is the reason for looking at him outside his window in the middle of the night?What is the relationship between the three homicides of the Guo family in the past 50 years and the black-faced weirdo who appeared in the middle of the night?He listened to the silent sound of frogs outside the window, thought about it, and fell asleep in a daze,
Early the next morning, Li Lianhua knew immediately that Tweety's face was related to the murder in the middle of the night.
She died under Li Lianhua's window again, wearing the wedding dress that Li Lianhua and Guo Dafu rewarded yesterday, but the priceless gold and silver beads on her chest were gone.
Guo Dafu was so furious that he spent a lot of money to invite the military patrol shop to come to investigate, but the government officials handcuffed Li Lianhua first: this person is unknown, and he lived at the scene of the murder but claimed that he did not hear any sound. In Lianzhuang, there was a homicide in Cailianzhuang.According to the many years of experience of the officials and gentlemen in handling cases, it is likely that this outsider did it.
Be bold!How dare you undo the shackles privately!Come on!Escorted the prisoner back to the yamen jail, the magistrate Wang Heigou Wang Heigou Wang of Xue Yu Town just learned that there was a murder case in Cailian Village. .
Your Honor.The yamen servant who was squatting next to the prisoner watching him wind the wire hastily said, the wooden shackle is broken, and he is repairing it, once it is repaired, put it on him immediately.
Wang Heigou was furious and kicked the servant: Idiot!Can't you fix it yourself?
The yamen servant rolled on the ground: "My lord, the small ones can't be repaired."
Wang Heigou strode up to the prisoner, only to see that the wooden shackle had rotted into two pieces, and the prisoner was carefully using a wire to tie the two ends together. Seeing him coming, he said apologetically, "It's almost ready."
Wang Heigou said impatiently: Hurry up!Then he turned back and asked the yamen servant: Who is the prisoner's name, and where is he from?
The yamen servant said: "His surname is Li, his name is Lianhua, and he is a poor scholar."
Wang Heigou asked again: How did he kill Tweety?
The yamen servant said: "I don't know the little one."
When Mr. Wang was asking the question, Li Lianhua had already repaired the wooden yoke and put it on his wrist. His wrist bones were thin, and the wooden yoke would fall off his wrist at any time. Wang Heigou looked impatient and waved his hand: Forget it, my lord is here, I forgive you for not making any mistakes, so you don't need to wear it.
Li Lianhua said: Yes, yes.
Wang Heigou sat down on the chair and asked carelessly: How did you kill Tweety yesterday?Invite it from the ground up, or you will be punished with great punishment.
Li Lianhua asked blankly: Who is Tweety?
Wang Heigou jumped up from the chair in anger, and sat down again: Tweety is the little girl here to watch tea and deliver water, do you fancy her young and beautiful, and want to flirt with her, and if she doesn't follow you, you will drown her ?
Li Lianhua stared blankly at Wang Heigou, her face full of confusion, as if she didn't know what he was talking about.Guo Dafu smiled at the side: Although Mr. Li is a stranger, according to Xiaomin, he doesn't seem to be such a vicious person.
Wang Heigou snorted: "What happened last night, tell me the truth!"
Li Lianhua frowns: last night, the grass people were sleeping, it is nothing
Wang Heigou was furious: You don't know anything?That means you don't know how Tweety died?Be bold!Come on, give me a stick!
Li Lianhua quickly said: I know, I know!
Wang Heigou calmed down his anger: You know, bring me all of them.
Li Lianhua felt a little wronged: I won't know until I see Tweety's body.
Wang Heigou thought about it: Well, the evidence is in front of me, I'm sorry you don't dare not know.
His master got up and led Li Lianhua to the side hall where he drank yesterday. Tweety'er's body was lying on the ground dripping wet, her wedding dress had not been taken off.
Li Lianhua stared at the corpse for a while. The wedding dress on the little girl was neatly dressed, the flower hanging on the chest was gone, and her whole body was dripping wet. On the surface, there were no injuries, but the neck was slightly crooked, which made him Reminds me of the white bones in Yipin's tomb, and there are some slight scratches on the chin.
She she is clearly he murmured, raised his head and looked at Wang Heigou in confusion: She obviously died with a broken neck
Wang Heigou's eyebrows twitched: Nonsense!She clearly drowned under your window, how dare you argue?
Li Lianhua remained silent and did not dare to argue, but the yamen servant went over and kicked Tweety'er's head: My lord, this Tweety'er's head may be a bit weird, she only turned to the right.
Wang Heigou paused: Is the bone really broken?
The yamen servant twisted Tweety'er's head with his hands in disgust: it wasn't completely broken, I'm afraid it was a broken bone.
Wang Heigou was furious: Li Lianhua!
Li Lianhua was startled, and stared blankly at Wang Heigou, only to hear him pointing at his nose and yelling, "To deal with such a weak woman, you actually twisted her neck and drowned her in the water!"It's a murderous maniac
Li Lianhua frowns: If I have broken her neck, she is already dead, why should a dead person be drowned in the water under my window?
Wang Heigou was taken aback, and the hall was completely quiet for a moment. Li Lianhua's question was not easy to answer.Li Lianhua slowly added another sentence, not to mention
Suddenly someone in the hall asked loudly: What's more?
This person's voice was loud and full of energy, which startled Li Lianhua, he saw that this person was tall and brave, he was Guo Fu's son, Guo Fu.
Besides, there's one thing I can't figure out all the time.Li Lianhua murmured, I heard that there have been three murders in Cailian Village in the past 50 years, all of which were wives who fell into the pond and died, but Master Guo's first wife was a fisherman's daughter.He looked at Guo Dafu blankly, could it be that the fisherman's woman would drown in the lotus pond and die?
Guo Dafu was shocked, he was speechless for a while, his first wife was indeed a fisherman's girl, but after marrying into the Guo family, he stayed away from the fishing boat, he actually forgot this festival.
Li Lianhua continued: "If Mr. Guo's first wife was not drowned, then he looked at the crowd in the room apologetically, and Guo Dafu lost his voice: Then the three members of the Guo family were all murdered to death?"
Wang Heigou frowned again, Li Lianhua was obedient, he didn't say that all the girls of the Guo family were killed, it was Guo Dafu himself who said it.
Wang Heigou said: Even if there are doubts in this case, you, Li Lianhua, are the most suspicious!Don't try to justify the crime of murder with verbal arguments.
Li Lianhua frowned, but Guo Fu said loudly: If there is a murderer, I will definitely catch him!I am a disciple of Fobi Baishi, and it is the duty of my disciples to catch the murderer!If Yun Biqiu heard his senior disciple explain Fobi Baishi in this way, he might feel that his coldness would worsen.
At this time, a yamen servant came quickly and reported that the lost gold and silver hanging flower was found in the guest room where Li Lianhua lived, and it was placed on the desktop of his window sill.Wang Heigou squinted at Li Lianhua, and sneered endlessly. Li Lianhua shook his head with a confused face. How did the hanging flowers get on his table?It's really weird, he obviously didn't see it when he got up in the morning, but after a second thought, he asked: "Where is the poem I put on the table?"
poetry?The yamen servant wondered, what poem?There is this hanging flower on the table, without any poems.
Li Lianhua smiled wryly. He woke up in the morning and wrote a poem on the table, but it disappeared.While in doubt, Mrs. Jiang rushed in with a broom in her hand, pointed at the yamen servant and cursed a lot in slang.
Li Lianhua didn't understand, Wang Heigou and Guo Dafu knew that the gold and silver hanging flowers were picked up by Mrs. Jiang when she was cleaning the fallen leaves in the lotus pond this morning. The lotus boat passed by Li Lianhua's window, and she just thought Li Lianhua was in the room and threw it He went in and called him to take it to the master, but he didn't know that Li Lianhua had already been detained by Wang Heigou.But the poem on Li Lianhua's desk was indeed taken away by someone.
Wang Heigou took the gold and silver hanging flower. The hanging flower was originally a change from the Miao family's breastplate. It was a big flower with a silver butterfly pendant hanging under it. It was quite heavy. He weighed it. It is said that there are twenty taels.There was still some filth from the pool hanging on the flowers, which seemed to have been scooped up from the bottom of the water.
Mrs. Jiang, where did you pick this thing up?
Mrs. Jiang glanced to the east: behind the grocery room, there is the bronze mirror given to the old lady by the old man.
Guo Dafu's father once erected a bronze mirror as tall as a person for his wife, and set it on a large stone mixed with inferior jade veins in Cailianzhuang. The large stone is not far from the grocery store, and the surrounding scenery is quiet, surrounded by trees and The bushes completely hid the storeroom, and only the path between the two storerooms could be seen.
Grocery room?Guo Dafu wondered, it was far away from the guest room, how could the hanging flowers fall there?
Guo Fu, however, had strode out, heading straight for the grocery store.All the people followed him to the east of Cailian Villa. The Cailian Villa has a radius of ten miles. The two grocery rooms were used to store brooms, books and other things, but they have been emptied for a long time, because they never imagined that they are too far away from the main house when they built it. .
The houses here are not built.Guo Dafu said, I heard that I made a mistake when I drew the ground. The open space by the pool is not that big, and after the house is built, there will only be a little path left in the middle.
There is only a very narrow path between the two houses, about the width of one person, and the terrain is sloping. The path is almost a steep slope, leading to the pool.
That's where I picked it up.Mrs. Jiang pointed to the edge of the pool, which was placed in a very shallow place, and could be picked up with one hand.
Li Lianhua knocked on the door of the grocery room, and the door opened unexpectedly, even Guo Dafu was taken aback.The room is covered with dust and cobwebs, it seems that no one has been there for a long time, there are some messy footprints on the ground, but because the footprints are too many and too messy, they can't be identified clearly.There are also a few pieces of paper, one of which is withered and yellow and seems to have been around for a long time, floating in the corner, the rest are still new and seem to be recent things, one of which is the most familiar, it is actually the poem that Li Lianhua lost.
Who carefully put his morning nonsense poems here?Li Lianhua took a step faster than the yamen servant, picked up the few pieces of paper, and saw that on the withered yellow paper was written in block letters: At the time of the crystal, the boundary stone was cubic, and the wedding dress could not be scattered.Under it, there is no signature, only a round of the moon is drawn.The other ones are Li Lianhua's poems, but the other is like an account book, with the pennies of a certain item written in pieces, and the penny of a certain item. They are all such trivial things, but there is nothing strange about them. place.The rest of the new blank papers also had those strange characters written on them.
Li Lianhua took a few glances, glanced at Wang Heigou, and said cautiously: "Master Wang, this murderer seems to only kill women wearing that wedding dress."
Wang Heigou said impatiently: Nonsense!
Li Lianhua paused: Then if someone acts as a bait, maybe he will appear again.
Wang Heigou frowned: Who dares to take on such a life-threatening matter?
Li Lianhua said: I.
Everyone in the hall was startled, Guo Dafu said in surprise: You?
Guo Fu said in a loud voice: For such a dangerous matter, it is incumbent on my sect disciples, so let me do it.
Wang Heigou slapped the table suddenly: Forget it!It's you, the official sent the government servants to ambush Cailianzhuang, hehe, if the murderer doesn't show up, it's you who killed Cui'er, you can't deny it.
Guo Fu still insisted that he wanted to take risks alone, Guo Dafu pulled his son, rolled his eyes and said: "The wedding dress Li Lianhua can wear, can you wear it?"Guo Fu didn't understand Lao Tzu's intention at all, and kept saying that he wanted to subdue demons and eliminate demons.
At present, several people in the hall discussed in detail how to catch the murderer, but once Li Lianhua found the murderer, he shouted loudly, and all the yamen servants rushed up to catch him.Mr. Wang was very satisfied with such a plan, so he went back first, and came back in the evening.
Guo Dafu was frowning. Although Li Lianhua's trick to lure the enemy had a little reason, just now almost the entire Guo family was in the side hall. If there was a murderer in the family, with so many eyes and ears, no matter how they heard it, how could it be so? So stupid, still come to kill?Could it be that the murderer is not from Zhuangai?Then how did he know when someone in the village wore that wedding dress?How did he arrive in time to kill?
Guo Fu thought: Li Lianhua is a scholar, he has no strength to restrain a chicken, no matter what, he will lurk in the side hall and bring down the murderer immediately.
3. The murderer
That night, after eating dinner, Li Lianhua really felt creepy in front of the wedding dress worn by the four women.
Four women, all dead, some long dead.
It took a full incense stick before he slowly began to put on the suit, and it took a full meal before he put on the complicated set of clothes.Then he pondered for a while, opened the window, sat in the room for a while, drank a cup of tea, and then walked towards the mirror stone in the grocery store.
It was not too late, and there were four yamen servants ambushing outside the door of the guest room, but he heard the sounds of the yamen servants pulling out the lotus pods and chewing fresh, licking chicken feet, cursing secretly, and slapping mosquitoes.There were also a few yamen servants in ambush at the grocery store, and when he walked slowly to the mirror stone, he only heard a whimper, which startled him. It took him a while to realize that it was snoring, and he couldn't help sighing.走到鏡石之旁，他對著鏡面裡的人看了一陣，鏡中只見寶藍色嫁衣光彩閃爍，鏡中人若是個女子，倒也華麗，但李蓮花只覺鏡裡站的是人妖，遠遠不及他平日的英俊瀟灑。
左看右看，不見兇手的影子，他打了個哈欠，本想在地上坐坐，卻發現裙身太窄根本坐不下去，只得繞著兩間房屋轉了幾圈，那幾個衙役躺倒在地下稀哩呼嚕地睡覺，李蓮花從他們身上跨過兩次，心裡很是抱歉。
郭禍躲在鏡石之後，睜大眼睛看著李蓮花穿著那身嫁衣在兩間房屋之間繞來繞去，心裡大惑不解，要說他在誘敵，未免太過悠閒；要說他並不是在誘敵，那他又在做什麼？正當他迷惑之際，突有所覺，猛然回頭，只見身後不遠處，樹後蓮池之上，一張毛髮亂飛，黑漆漆的臉正在搖晃，一雙空蕩蕩的眼眶正陰森森地看著他那眼眶竟是空的，裡面什麼也沒有。郭禍見了突然出現在身後的這一張臉，喉頭咯咯作響，全身冰涼，他本想喊出聲來，卻突地發現自己什麼也喊不出來，他本以為世上絕無鬼怪這等東西，眼前卻活生生地出現了個鬼！
在他全身僵硬的時候，那張臉慢慢地往遠處移開了。郭禍仍然全身僵硬，眼睛直勾勾地瞪著那張鬼臉，直到那張臉移開到了兩丈之外，他才驀然發現那其實並不是一個鬼！那是一個人，背著一個袋子，那袋子裡不知裝著什麼東西，露出一蓬毛髮和兩個類似眼窩的窟窿！那人其實背對著他，他背後背著的那袋東西就正對著郭禍的臉，把他嚇了個半死，而那人之所以會無聲無息地靠近又離開，是因為那人坐在木盆裡。
江南水鄉，兒童多乘木盆穿梭於蓮池之間，採摘蓮子香菱，那人就坐在這麼一個木盆裡。採蓮池本有溪流灌入，潛流之中不生蓮藕，木盆被潛流推動，以至於移動無聲無息。
Who is this man?郭禍心神稍定，咽喉仍舊咯咯作響，發不出絲毫聲音，受驚過度，身體也做不出任何反應，眼睜睜看著那木盆緩緩飄遠了些，在兩間雜貨房中間的那條小路盡頭停了下來，那個人佝僂著背，背著那袋東西，動作似乎十分遲鈍地走了過來。郭禍心中大疑：這人的行動很是眼熟難道是
只見那人走到了鏡石之前，似乎是往鏡子上貼了什麼東西，然後退到鏡石旁邊樹叢之中躲了起來。
李蓮花恰巧這個時候從房子中間繞了回來，噢了一聲，他走到鏡子前面看東西：晶之時
郭禍恍然大悟，那人又在鏡子上貼了那張怪字條，看來的確從幾十年前開始，這人就做過這種事，殺害郭家幾代女子的兇手，看來的確是他！可是又怎麼可能？how could be?他怎麼可能做出這種事？毫無道理啊
突然呵呵一陣低沉的怪叫聲響起，那躲藏在樹叢裡的怪人突然衝了出來，把背後那東西從包裹裡拔出來，帶著怪異恐怖的笑聲，舉著那東西衝向李蓮花邊說：呵呵呵他死了他死了你永遠不能和他飛！永遠不能和他飛！
郭禍大吃一驚那人手裡舉著的東西，赫然是一個骷髏頭！那東西竟不是好似有一蓬亂髮和兩個眼窩，它真的是一個骷髏頭！有骷髏就有死人，這個死人是誰？怎麼會出現在他手裡？
李蓮花顯然被嚇得魂飛魄散，哎呀一聲掉頭就跑。從這裡要回主房，有兩條通道，一條是繞過兩間房屋，穿過鏡石旁邊的樹叢小道，再經過花園回到主房；另一條是穿過兩間雜貨屋，直接從後門奔進廚房，然後穿過小徑，回到主房。
李蓮花想也沒想便直奔雜貨屋，顯然奔向廚房要比繞道花園快得多，而且這怪物就是從樹叢裡跳出來的，誰知道花叢草叢裡還有沒有它的同夥？
郭禍這時終於緩過勁來，從鏡石之後爬了出來，正要喊叫，突然他看到了一件讓他全身再度僵硬冰涼的事
李蓮花從第一間雜貨屋的正門奔了進去，邁過第一間房屋的後門門檻的時候絆到了裙襬，他往前跌倒，雙手本能地要去撐地，這兩間房屋之間的道路卻是往下傾斜的，李蓮花左手撐住了地面，右手卻沒有撐住，失衡之下砰的一聲，頸項扣在第二間雜貨屋的門檻上，摔倒在地，接著順著傾斜的小路滾進蓮池，隨即不動了。
郭禍全身發冷他好像看見了好幾個女子跌倒的身影，包括他的妻子蒲蘇蘇她們一個接一個在這門檻之間摔倒、受傷，然後滾進蓮池溺水而死而兇手竟是這個拿著骷髏頭將她們趕向陷阱的人！他突然能發出聲音了，驚天霹靂的大喊了一聲：來人啊！快救他！快點救他！
隨著一聲大叫，他渾身氣力似乎恢復了，縱身而起，一把抓住了仍在揮舞那個骷髏頭的人，在他鐵臂之下，那人猶如一隻小雞，應手被擒。
郭禍不可置信地看著他，這樣的人怎麼可能想得出這種事？怎麼做得出這種事？
這個被他一把抓住的人，竟是他癡呆的叔公郭坤！
難道潛藏在他家中五十幾年的殺人惡魔，就是他這個出生即是癡呆的叔公郭坤嗎？在樹叢後睡覺的衙役被驚醒，一陣驚叫混亂之後將郭坤牢牢縛住，有人到池邊想把李蓮花撈起來，但那身嫁衣卻有三十來斤重，加上李蓮花的體琅重，一兩個人是撈不起來的，所以即使池水並不深，也極可能將他淹死。
王黑狗和郭大福聞訊匆匆趕到，王黑狗大喜過望，郭大福卻是滿腹疑惑，郭禍與衙役們抓住了郭坤後，便一把把池中的李蓮花撈起，只見他全身無傷，雙眼緊閉，卻不醒來。
看來殺死郭家四個女子的兇手，就是郭坤！王黑狗大出意料之外後，喜上眉梢，本官破獲五十多年陳案，當真是還民以公正的清官啊！
郭大福呆呆地看著郭坤，仍然不敢相信這個到了七十歲仍舊神智不清的人會是兇手，但他卻是當場被抓個正著的現行犯。一群衙役在老邁瘦小的郭坤身上扣了七八條鐵鏈，壓得他彎下腰去。他突然大哭起來，抓著郭大福的褲子，一副受了委屈的模樣。
王黑狗大怒，撩起官袍踢了郭坤一腳：殺人不眨眼，竟還敢哭哭啼啼？給本官掌嘴！yes!有個衙役立刻走上前去，啪的一聲，賞了郭坤一個耳光。
我說王大人，未經升堂審案，私設刑罰，毆打犯人是犯法的喔有人悠悠地道，何況其實郭坤並不算元兇。
王黑狗嚇了一跳，左右張望：誰？突然醒悟是誰在說話，大怒道：李蓮花！虧本官為你擔憂，你竟敢裝死恐嚇本官？來人啊
李蓮花慢吞吞地從地上坐了起來，池水從他衣襟上流了一地，他卻愉快的微笑著：大人難道不想知道郭坤手裡那個骷髏究竟是誰嗎？
王黑狗滯了一滯：這個這個他瞪起眼睛，你知道？你竟敢戲弄本官！來人啊
李蓮花縮了縮脖子：豈敢、豈敢。
這回王黑狗學聰明了，冷笑道：本官還真看不出你不敢。
李蓮花又微笑道：過獎、過獎。把王黑狗氣得七竅生煙，郭大福聽得目瞪口呆。
李蓮花端正坐好，有些惋惜地看著被池水和泥漿弄髒的衣服，對著目瞪口呆看著他的眾人，投以非常溫和的微笑，就像是他的品性一向如此端正：其實從一開始姜婆婆跟我說郭家三代夫人墜池而死的故事時，我就知道兇手可能是郭坤。他指了指郭坤，採蓮池池水有深有淺，但在客房之下淺水之中溺死，未免有些奇怪；何況死者之中有人是漁家姑娘，若不是溺水而死，那便有兩種可能：其一是她意外溺死之前受了傷，以至於無法掙扎；其二是她是被人所殺，假裝溺死在水裡。接連幾人都是這般死法，我和常人一樣都會想到是不是有人謀害。他微笑道，只不過大家或許都會對連續五十幾年和命案發生的時間相隔二十幾年感到疑惑，覺得不可能有人埋伏郭家五十幾年，只為殺這幾個不相干的女人，所以便又想到意外。可是我卻以為他緩緩地道，我卻以為這事如果是有人謀害，兇手是誰再清楚不過那就是在採蓮莊中住了超過五十幾年的人，那是誰？姜婆婆？不，五十三年前，她侍候郭大福祖父的時候只有十三歲，還是個小姑娘，之後嫁與姜伯，她要是夜裡出門，姜家老小豈能一無所知？那麼還有誰呢？除了姜婆婆，在五十幾年前便住在採蓮莊內的人，能自由走動不管做什麼大家都不會覺得奇怪的人，還有一個，叫做郭坤。
郭大福失聲道：可是坤叔他天生癡呆，怎會做出這種事
李蓮花微微一笑：他不明白自己在做什麼，我說他不是元兇，因為這殺人之事一開始不是他做的，他也許是偶然看見了，便模仿著玩罷了。
王黑狗全身一震：模仿？
郭禍和郭大福面面相覷：模仿？What's the meaning?
意思就是說李蓮花慢慢地道：第一個死的女人，並不是郭坤殺死的，他只不過是看見了殺人的過程，以後一旦看見有那樣的情形，他就模仿兇手的行為，當作在玩遊戲。他一字一字慢慢說道，誘發他行兇的暗示，只怕便是嫁衣郭家家傳嫁衣價值連城，瑰麗至極，每個女子想必都很喜愛，偶爾夜深穿上嫁衣，偷偷在鏡石之前對鏡自賞，想必這種事，郭家的幾個媳婦，包括侍女們都做過。而郭坤卻看見了穿著嫁衣的女人被殺，所以一旦有女子穿上嫁衣，來到鏡石之前，他便模仿元兇的方法，將她們追趕到雜貨房裡，讓她們絆倒在門檻之間，然後摔入蓮池溺水而死。
門檻？郭大福駭然看著那相距一人距離的門檻，這門檻又如何了？
李蓮花提了提那濕淋淋的嫁衣的裙襬：這裙子很窄。
郭大福和郭禍都點了點頭，李蓮花指了指門檻：這兩個門檻卻比莊裡任何一個門檻都高，前後門檻高低至少差了一寸。
王黑狗遣人一查一量，果真如此。
李蓮花繼續道：我剛才跑進屋裡的時候就已算到門檻很高，卻仍舊無法跨過去，前門的門檻給了我錯覺，似乎後門的門檻也剛好能跨得過去，可是後門的門檻卻比前門高了一寸，若只是門檻高了一寸，或者踉蹌一下，步子本就邁得很大的人也可以順利過去，但是他拉直了裙角，這裙子非常窄，裙襬下有鈴鐺銀鏈，一旦奔跑的腳步抬得太高，不絆倒在門檻之上，也會被裙襬和銀鏈絆倒，一樣會摔倒在這門檻之間。
郭大福毛骨悚然如此一來，這高門檻和窄裙就成了殺人兇器，是兇手殺人的工具！這兩個門檻相距只有這麼點距離，一個女子在此跌倒，如果她個子矮些，額頭就會掩在對門門檻上，如果她像翠兒那樣個子高些，脖子就會撞在門檻上，而這件嫁衣織錦厚實、又窄得出奇，無論是什麼跌法，她都不可能蜷縮起來，只能筆直往前倒；加上這些金銀之物沉重至極，弱質女子怎可能在跌倒的那瞬間撐起二十六斤重的衣裳？她的體重、二十六斤重的嫁衣，以及摔倒的衝力，這些力氣一起撞在對門門檻上李蓮花嘆了口氣，就算沒有腦袋開花，但是撞得昏死過去，或者頸骨折斷什麼的，都很正常。還記得翠兒死時跌落的那個掛花和她下巴上的傷痕嗎？她摔倒的時候胸前掛花約莫是飛了起來，摔下去的時候下巴磕在門檻上，竟把掛花銀鏈給磕斷了，所以掛花沿小路掉進水池，被姜婆婆撿到。頓了一頓，他緩緩地道，至於人這條路太斜了，摔倒的人會沿著小路滾進蓮池裡，如果本來就受了重傷，身上穿了這二十幾斤重的衣服，浸在水裡，常然會溺死。
王黑狗皺眉聽得仔細，喃喃地道：不對啊，可是屍身為何會在客房窗下被發現？它怎會從這裡跑到客房去？
李蓮花指指蓮池中空出的天然通道：十里採蓮池並非死水，這水裡有潛流，人摔進水裡後被潛流慢慢推走，最後推到客房窗下，那裡水流緩慢，蓮花盛開，擋住了屍體，郭坤就是借潛流來來往往，採蓮莊的人想必都很熟悉。微略停了一下，他看著從郭坤背包裡拿出來的那個骷髏頭，嘆了口氣，當然還有一種可能，她們溺死以後，郭坤模仿元兇抓著屍體，利用潛流帶回客房窗戶下面。
就算郭坤是個癡呆，你又怎麼知道他是在模仿兇手殺人？說不定是他偶然嚇死了第一個穿著嫁衣的女人，以後就依樣畫葫蘆，凡是穿著這身衣服的女人他都這樣嚇她。王黑狗身為知縣，雖然昏庸懶惰，卻並不是傻子。
李蓮花指著鏡石上那張字條：晶之時，境石立立方，嫁衣，立身覓不敗。他嘆了口氣，這字條
郭大福終於忍不住道：寫的是什麼？
李蓮花突然對他露齒一笑，這是約女人的情書，你不知道嗎？
郭大福被他瞬息萬變的表情弄得一愣：什什麼情書？
李蓮花站起來把鏡石上那字條扯了下來，悠悠瞧了幾眼：這上面寫的是什麼，你們當真沒有看出來？
郭禍搖了搖頭，王黑狗和郭大福滿腹狐疑，眾衙役從後面擠上，目光炯炯，大家都盯著那張字條。
這個晶字，雖然寫得很端正，但是若是寫得稍微潦草一點，寫成這樣。李蓮花從地上拾起一塊石頭，在路邊泥地劃了幾個字，這樣，豈不是比晶之時有意思得多？
眾人凝目望去，只見李蓮花寫的是月明之時四個字，王黑狗恍然大悟，又迷惑不解：這這
李蓮花道：假設郭坤不過在模仿誰某天夜裡的行動，這張字條自然是他抄的，而他沒有看懂原先字條裡寫的是什麼，抄的時候抄錯了許多，就變成了這張怪字條。
郭大福連連點頭：照此說來，這個境石定是他抄錯了，原來肯定是鏡石。
郭禍呆呆地看著那張字條，苦苦思索，鏡石立立方、鏡石立立方
李蓮花咳嗽了一聲：既然開頭是月明之時四個字，不妨也假設這後面也應是四個字，立立方三個字，立方二字疊起來相連，很像一個字
王黑狗失聲道：旁！
李蓮花點了點頭：如果立方二字本是旁，這句話就是鏡石立旁，就有些意思了，而立字若是寫得草些，豈不也很像之字？若是鏡石之旁，就更有道理些。
王黑狗一跺腳：月明之時，鏡石之旁，果然是有人約人到此，有理、有理。那嫁衣二字更加明顯，字條定與女子有關。
李蓮花微微一笑：既然立字很可能是之字，那麼嫁衣立身覓不散，七個字很可能就是嫁衣之身，覓不散。
郭大福反覆念道：月明之時、鏡石之旁、嫁衣之身、覓不散不對，按道理這最後也應是四字才是。
李蓮花拿石頭在地上寫了一個大大的覓字，隨後緩緩在覓字中間畫了一條線：這很簡單
郭大福見他一畫，全身一震，大叫一聲：不見不散！
眾人目光齊齊聚在那個被一分為二的覓字上，那張怪字條已是清清楚楚：月明之時，鏡石之旁，嫁衣之身，不見不散。
李蓮花慢吞吞地道：這是一個男人約一個女人夜裡出來見面的情書這十六字自不是郭坤寫得出來的，王黑狗看了好一陣子，頹然道：那殺死第一個女子的兇手是誰？
李蓮花也頹然嘆了口氣：我怎麼知道？
王黑狗沒聽到他說的話，自己又喃喃地道：被郭坤拿出來的那個骷髏頭又是誰的不對啊！他突然失聲道，如果郭坤是在模仿兇手殺人，那就是說在五十幾年前，那兇手手中已有一個人頭？那豈不是另有一起兇殺隱案，至今無人知曉？
李蓮花很抱歉地看著他：我不知
他一個道字還沒說出來，王黑狗便一把抓住他胸前衣裳，咬牙切齒地道：本官不管你是知道還是不知道，三日之內，你若不知，大刑伺候！
李蓮花心驚膽戰，連連搖手：我不
王黑狗大怒：來人啊上夾棍！
衙役一聲吆喝：得令！啟稟大人，央棍還在衙門裡。
王黑狗跳了起來：給我掌嘴！
郭禍大怒，一把將王黑狗抓住：你這狗官！我只聽過有人逼婚，還沒見過有人逼破案，你再敢對李先生胡來，我廢了你！
郭大福驚叫連天，對郭禍直呼大膽，郭禍這才放開王黑狗，重重地哼了一聲：師父平生最討厭你這等魚肉百姓的狗官！
李蓮花聞言奇怪地看了他一眼。
王黑狗對郭禍將他擒住之舉大為光火，厲聲指著郭大福：若是三日之內不能找出兇手，本官定要將你們統統關入大牢，大刑伺候！
郭大福嚇得臉色蒼白：這這
郭禍大怒，一把提起王黑狗，郭大福魂飛魄散，撲通一聲對著王黑狗和兒子跪下，一面迭聲喝止郭禍，場面亂成一團。其餘的採蓮莊中人聽說要被全部關進大牢，有些女子便嚎啕大哭起來，有些則是磕頭求饒，有道是雞飛鴨毛起，人仰狗聲吠，使是這般模樣。
李蓮花嘆了口氣：那個那個若是郭大公子肯幫我做件事，說不定三天之內可以
眾人頓時眼睛一亮，郭禍遲疑了一下，放下王黑狗：當然可以！
李蓮花用景仰英雄的目光看著他，慢吞吞地道：既然郭坤所作所為很可能都是模仿而來，他又得到了這個骷髏頭，想必他知道藏屍的地點。他若知道藏屍的地點，說不定他也曾看見此人被殺的過程，那麼如果讓他看見當年那人，說不定郭坤便會重演他所看過的事，所以
他用極其歉然的表情看著郭禍，那就委屈郭大公子扮一次郭老夫人，我來扮演這個骷髏頭
郭禍本是連連點頭，突然大叫一聲：讓我扮奶奶？
李蓮花極其溫和文雅地點了點頭：郭大公子武功高強，和郭大公子一起，即使遇到危難，想必也能逢凶化吉。
郭禍呆呆地看著他，心想只要李先生有求，我自當全力以赴，只是他的法子也太奇怪了吧在眾人疑惑不解的目光之中，李蓮花很愉快地道：給我三天時間，三日之後，月明之時，鏡石之旁，不見不散。
眾人聽了他這句話，都是一陣寒意自背後冒了出來，就好像這鏡石之旁必定有鬼一般。
四、浮生三日
之後王黑狗和李蓮花經過一番討價還價後，決定將郭坤暫時留下，三日之中郭大福等人絕不過問李蓮花言行舉止，一切靜候三日之後月明之時，李蓮花雖信誓旦旦會有結果，別人卻都滿腹疑雲，王黑狗打定主意若是沒有結果，他便將郭坤往上頭一送，什麼五十多年前的隱案，他一概不知。郭大福唉聲嘆氣，愁眉苦臉，一想起老母妻兒之事便煩惱不已。郭禍卻是熱血沸騰，跟在李蓮花身後亦步亦趨，對他的一言一行都深信不疑。
李蓮花先在客房裡睡了一覺，一直睡到第二天早上方才起床，三日之期已經過了一日半，郭禍在他房門口轉來轉去，急得猶如跳蚤，卻又不敢破門而入，好不容易李蓮花起床，卻在房裡衣箱裡翻衣服翻了半天，挑了兩件白衣，比較許久，似是想不出要穿哪件，閉起眼睛換了一件，慢吞吞穿在身上。客房窗戶不關，郭禍那雙牛眼在窗外瞪得快要掉下了，李蓮花才終於開門出來。
他先去了郭大福的書房，這書房自採蓮莊修築以來就有，藏有郭乾和郭大福收集的所有字畫古董，郭禍跟在他身後探頭探腦，李蓮花也不在意。書房之中數個書櫃，最裡頭那個是郭乾的父親所有，第二個是郭乾的，第三個才是郭大福的。李蓮花把三個書櫃一一打開，抽了些字畫出來看，有些是賬本，有些是行草，偶爾有些是水墨法描繪的採蓮莊景致，筆法佳妙，栩栩如生；還有許許多多紅蓮紫蓮，鴛鴦荷下圖，以及一些諸如千樹萬樹蓮花開之類的絕妙好詞。
認真地看了一陣，他搖頭晃腦地捧著一幅行草吟道：幾行歸塞盡，念爾何獨之郭大公子，這下面是什麼我看不懂