Longevity, starting from traveling and telling stories

Chapter 186 The Case of the Beheading of a Beauty, Qin Xianglian

In the provincial capital of Fengtian Prefecture, Ye Aniu was walking on the wide streets.

It is a bustling place with a constant flow of traffic and shops of all kinds, far from being comparable to a small border town.

He looked around, overwhelmed and amazed at the lively scene before him.

"Wanjun! Where do you live?" Ye Aniu asked Lin Wanjun in a low voice while she was in the backpack.

"Sir, my home is in Zhongjia Village not far from this street." Lin Wanjun's voice came softly from the backpack.

Ye Aniu followed her instructions, turned left and right, and finally arrived in front of a small mansion.

A plaque with the two large characters "Zhongfu" engraved on it was hung upright on the door of the mansion.

The door looked new, obviously someone had carefully painted it with tung oil.

Looking inside through the crack in the door, the courtyard is clean and tidy. Although the decoration is not luxurious, it is warm everywhere.

"Stop..." Just when Ye Aniu wanted to get closer to see what was going on, a shout interrupted him.

The man who came was an old man, dressed in rather luxurious clothes. He was furious and shouted, "Who are you? How dare you trespass into Master Zhong's residence? You look like a student, with shifty eyes. Are you trying to bribe me?"

Master Zhong? Didn't Wanjun say this was her home? Ye Aniu was stunned for a moment, then bowed and said, "My name is Ye Aniu. May I know what your name is, old gentleman?"

"No problem. My name is Zhong Dakang, and I'm the village chief of Zhongjia Village." Zhong Dakang responded with a proud look on his face and bowed.

Ye Aniu was not offended by his arrogance. He continued to ask with a bow, "Mr. Zhong just said that this is the residence of Lord Zhong? Is this Lord Zhong Zhong Kang?"

"How dare you..." Zhong Dakang said sternly, "Master Zhong is the hope of our Zhongjia Village. He's the son-in-law of the current prime minister, a third-rank official, and the chief examiner of this provincial examination. How can you address him by his first name?"

Isn't this right? Ye Aniu whispered to himself: "Wanjun? You didn't say your husband is such a high-ranking official!"

"I don't know either." Wanjun's low voice came, saying: "Maybe Zhongkang passed the exam in the years since I died! Could you please ask Uncle Zhong?"

"Okay." Ye Aniu finished his conversation with Lin Wanjun and asked with a bow, "I'd like to inquire if this Lord Zhong has a wife named Lin Wanjun?"

"Wanjun?" Zhong Dakang's face changed drastically after hearing this. He didn't want to mention it anymore and even denied it flatly: "I don't know any Wanjun. You should look for her somewhere else!"

After saying this, Zhong Dakang fled in a hurry as if he had seen a ghost.

No! This guy must know something, Ye Aniu pinched his chin. Although the house looked brand new, the door was closed and no one lived there.

Forget it, let’s find a place to rest first. He just said that the examiner this time is Zhong Kang, so there will definitely be a chance to meet. Then we can let Lin Wanjun come out to recognize him.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to find anything here as no one has lived here for a long time. I heard what Zhong Dakang said just now that the chief examiner of this exam is Zhong Kang. Maybe you two can meet then." Ye Aniu turned his head and said to the backpack in a low voice as he walked.

Lin Wanjun responded in a low voice in the backpack. The two of them communicated along the way, causing many people to think that Ye Aniu was a fool who was talking to himself.

Soon, Aniu arrived at the door of a rather grand inn. The inn was called Jieyuan Building, and it seemed to be a place where scholars and writers often lived.

When you walk in, you will see that the interior is luxuriously decorated, with expensive murals hanging all around, and there are also many poems written by officials of the time. I think these are the calligraphy works left behind when they were students, and they are extremely precious.

"Boss, please give me a room." Ye Aniu said as he came to the counter.

"Five taels of silver a day." The shopkeeper was calculating on an abacus without even looking up.

Five taels! Too expensive! I can't afford it. Are houses in the provincial capital so expensive? Ye Aniu touched his empty pockets and prepared to leave quietly.

When the boss saw that there was no sound for a long time, he looked up and saw a young man who was dressed simply but had an extremely handsome appearance. He immediately felt a sense of appreciation for his talent.

Thinking of this, the boss decided to give him a chance, as a way to establish a good relationship with him, so he bowed and said, "My student, I see that you have a noble bearing."

"We have a rule here. If you can recite a poem, your room fee will be halved. If you are very satisfied with the poem, your room fee will even be waived."

"Oh? There are such rules?" Ye Aniu asked in confusion.

"Haha!" The shopkeeper smiled calmly, "Of course. Those who come here to take the exam are all pillars of the country."

Then, he slowly ran his finger across the mural, pointing to the poems covering the wall and said, "The poems here were all written by the officials of the current dynasty when they were preparing for the imperial examinations."

"With these calligraphy works, it will naturally attract many scholars and poets to come, and my business will naturally flourish."

Not bad! This shopkeeper has some brains, Ye Aniu nodded.

It is extremely difficult to obtain calligraphy works by high-ranking officials of the current dynasty, but if you can obtain it before they graduate from high school, it can be considered an investment in their potential. It seems that this boss regards me as a potential stock.

It's a pity that my mind is a little confused when it comes to poetry. How about looking through that book and trying it? Ye Aniu thought for a moment and said, "Boss, I won't show off my poetry skills. After all, there are so many excellent works before."

Then he changed the subject and said, "How about I tell a story for this Jieyuanlou? If the boss is satisfied, I can use the story to offset the rent. How about that?"

Tell a story? The shopkeeper was taken aback. This was the first time he had encountered such a thing, so he responded, "That's fine, but I'll be frank. If it doesn't go well, don't blame me for being ruthless. It's almost time for dinner, and there's a table over there. Why don't you try it?"

"Thank you..." Ye Aniu bowed his hands to express his gratitude. Hehe! There is hope for free rent.

He closed his eyes slightly, and the divine book flashed with rosy light, standing in the air and turning pages automatically. There were countless stories in it, but Ye Aniu could not see them clearly at all.

Suddenly, the pages of the book stopped, and a story immediately emerged in Ye Aniu's mind. That was it.

At noon, more and more students came to Jieyuan Building.

The originally spacious hall was now gradually filled with bustling crowds of people.

The students were dressed in long gowns, sitting in groups of three or five, discussing poetry and songs; or sitting alone in the corner, quietly reading the book in their hands.

Ye Aniu stood on the stage in the corner and took a deep breath. Strangely, he didn't feel the slightest bit of stage fright, as if he experienced this all the time.

He was holding a piece of square wood he had just found in his hand and slamming it hard.

"Snap!" The crisp sound instantly attracted everyone's attention. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over here in confusion.

at the same time.

At some point, Ye Aniu's other hand had a scroll made of a book.

He cleared his throat and began to tell the story: "Everyone, I am Ye Aniu, just like you. Because I am short of money, I would like to tell you a story called "Qin Xianglian Sues Chen Shimei" (from the traditional opera "The Case of the Chopping of Mei" also known as "Qin Xianglian")
When the students in the audience heard this, they immediately became interested.

"What stories can a bumpkin have?"

"Isn't this another cliché story of someone being abandoned by a brothel? Boring."

Seeing the mixed reactions, Ye Aniu ignored them and began to speak loudly: "There was a woman named Qin Xianglian. She had a husband who loved her, named Chen Shimei. They had a pair of children..."

Ye Aniu told the story vividly, using the scroll in his hand as a prop to gesture constantly, and his tone switched between low and gentle to high, fully arousing everyone's emotions.

When the story of Chen Shimei, who abandoned his wife and children in order to curry favor with the rich and powerful, was told, "Bang!" the table was slammed loudly, and a student, with eyes wide open and a face full of anger, cursed loudly: "This Chen Shimei, I, Chen Shaorong, am ashamed to be a fellow scholar! I am also ashamed to share his surname!"

A burly and straightforward student nearby also said bluntly: "Such an ungrateful person is a disgrace to the teachings of the sages!"

A kind-looking scholar wearing a scholar's cap shook his head helplessly and sighed, "Alas, greed is the result of greed. Fame and gain have blinded one's eyes. It's a pity for Qin Xianglian."

There were also some students sitting in the corner, reminding each other: "There are such people in this world. When we graduate from high school in the future, we must not forget our original aspirations and our wives who have shared our hardships at home."

Everyone was talking at once, expressing their indignation towards Chen Shimei and serving as a reminder to themselves and others.

As Ye Aniu continued his story, his tone suddenly darkened: "Qin Xianglian traveled thousands of miles to find her husband. It would have been fine if Chen Shimei had disowned his children, but he actually..."

When the students in the audience saw Ye Aniu suddenly pause, they all stood up involuntarily, their hearts in their throats, their eyes full of urging: "Hurry up and speak!"

Ye Aniu looked at the students below the stage and felt slightly relieved. Accommodation should be no problem now.

"Pa!" Ye Aniu slapped Fang Mu hard again and said in an excited tone: "In order to prevent the news of his marriage from being discovered, Chen Shimei actually sent people to hunt down and kill his wife and children..."

"What an ungrateful Chen Shimei..."

"What a heartless person."

"It is true that most loyal people are butchers, and most unfaithful people are scholars." Ye Aniu looked at the students present with sharp eyes and suddenly spoke out.

Some people had their eyes wide open and were unable to speak, holding their breath; some people seemed ashamed, as if they had done something wrong, but without exception, no one refuted them.

Seeing this, Ye Aniu continued in a sad tone, "Fortunately, Chen Shimei's retainer, Han Qi, was kind-hearted. After understanding Qin Xianglian's plight, he couldn't bear to kill her. Fearing that he would be unable to report back, he resorted to committing suicide."

"This man is a real man..."

"This man's death is not a pity. He knew his master was an ungrateful person, yet he was still so foolishly loyal..."

At this moment, Ye Aniu suddenly raised his hands to the sky and said, "Qin Xianglian has heard that Bao Zheng of Kaifeng Prefecture is an impartial and just judge... so she took Han Qi's steel knife and went to Kaifeng Prefecture to sue Chen Shimei."

The students began to whisper again.

"Chen Shimei is the current emperor's son-in-law. Does Bao Zheng dare to take the case?"

"That's right. If the consort of my Great Zhou Princess behaves like this, who would dare to offend her?"

"Stop talking nonsense and keep listening."

"Snap!" Ye Aniu slapped the wood again, which made the discussion quiet down.

Then he began to narrate how Bao Zheng learned about the case and knew that it involved royal relatives and was of no trivial importance, but he was not afraid of power and still decided to arrest Chen Shimei.

"Chen Shimei denied everything in court, and Bao Zheng decided to find out the truth." Ye Aniu felt a little dry in the mouth at this time, so he took a sip of water and paused for a moment.

The audiences were all extremely anxious and wanted to throw money to urge them to hurry up.

Seeing that it was almost done, Ah Niu continued aloud, "Bao Zheng sent the Southern Hero Zhan Zhao to conduct a thorough investigation overnight. He went to Chen Shimei's hometown to inquire, and sure enough, the truth was just as Qin Xianglian had said. Chen Shimei was indeed her husband."

"Bao Zheng was immediately enraged and wanted to bring Chen Shimei to justice...but at this moment..."

As Ye Aniu paused, a one-liang silver note flew over. "Stop dilly-dallying..." the man said impatiently, "Hurry up and tell me, I have plenty of notes."

"Exactly. Who would listen to us if we spoke so slowly? If those rough guys outside saw us, they'd think we couldn't listen."

Ye Aniu happily put away the banknotes and said with a cupped hand, "Thank you very much, brother."

Then, he continued in a loud voice: "But at this moment, the Queen Mother arrived..."

Then, he began to vividly describe how the princess asked the empress dowager to intercede for her husband in order to prevent him from being beheaded by Bao Zheng.

"Alas...it's a pity that justice can't defeat power in the end. If we go to high school in the future, we must not fear the powerful."

"Yes! We should learn from Bao Zheng and seek justice for the people."

Upon hearing this, Ye Aniu nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Bao Zheng is known for his ruthlessness. Even when the Queen Mother pleaded for mercy, he remained indifferent."

"I saw him with his eyes wide open, taking off his hat and feathers, and said in a rather sharp tone, 'Close the door.'"

Then, Ye Aniu's eyes became firm and resolute, filled with the brilliance of justice, and he suddenly shouted to the students present: "Open... behead..."

Then he threw the wooden block to the ground and shouted angrily, imitating Bao Zheng: "Chop off..."

"it is good……"

"Well done..."

"Such heartless people deserve to die."

After Ye Aniu finished his story, he walked to the counter.

"Boss, how about it? Can I stay here?" Ye Aniu smiled awkwardly.

The shopkeeper's face lit up with delight, and he said, "Sir, you are truly talented... I just had someone write down the story you told me. Could you please add your name to it?"

Seeing that Ye Aniu was a little embarrassed, he continued: "Sir, you also know that this is the rule. There is no shortage of calligraphy works by high-ranking officials of the imperial court here, and it will not humiliate you."

It's just writing a name, and there's such a nice place to stay, so it's not a loss anyway. After a little consideration, Ye Aniu decided to sign, since it would be a waste if he didn't stay.

After signing, the shopkeeper said happily: "Waiter, take this gentleman to the best study."

"Yes," the waiter quickly agreed, then respectfully extended his hand and gestured, "Sir, please come in."

In the evening, in the Imperial Examination Hall, a handsome official was writing and working when a servant brought him a cup of hot tea.

He took it casually, took a sip of tea, and said calmly: "Nothing has happened recently, right?"

The servant immediately replied respectfully, "Master Zhong, thanks to you, everything is fine. However, an interesting incident has occurred, and the students outside are talking about it."

It turned out that this person was Zhongkang.

"Oh?" Zhong Kang was very interested. "What interesting thing happened? Tell me about it."

The servant then recounted to Zhongkang what he had heard from the students about Ye Aniu's story about "The Case of the Chopping of the Beauty".

Zhongkang nodded. It seemed that this person was a person who hated evil, otherwise how could he have created such a good story. He was indeed a good candidate to become an honest official.

"What's the name of that student?" he asked casually.

"Your Excellency, that student's name seems to be Ye... Ye something, oh! Ye Aniu."

"Ye Aniu? It's a strange name. Pay attention to it." Zhong Kang said with a smile.

"Yes, my lord."

"Knock knock knock!" Just then, someone knocked on the door again.

"Who is it?" Zhongkang asked.

"Your Excellency, the Emperor's uncle Zhang Fulu will be here soon."

"Come with me to greet him."

the other side.

In a luxurious carriage sat a beautiful woman, and next to her was a middle-aged man with a dignified look and a gleam in his eyes. They were the eldest princess and the king's brother-in-law Zhang Fulu.

"Uncle, I don't understand why you recommended Zhongkang? He is the prime minister's son-in-law."

Zhang Fulu said calmly, "Firstly, only in this way will the Prime Minister have no objections. Secondly, Zhongkang is an upright person and does not form cliques for personal gain. He has always been a centrist in the court."

After a pause, Zhang Fulu said in a somewhat surprised tone, "Your Highness seems to be quite concerned about this provincial examination. Why is that?"

Then he showed a thoughtful expression again and said, "Let me think about it. If His Highness cares about the provincial examination, I'm afraid there must be a student who has caught His Highness's attention. Hmm... Could it be that His Highness has taken a fancy to a certain student?"

"Uncle..." The eldest princess interrupted the uncle before he could finish his words and whispered, "No..."

But looking at her expression, it seemed that the more she explained, the more embarrassed she became, which made the king's uncle a little curious about who this person was, and how he could make his proud niece admire him so much and even have a crush on him.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped, and the driver outside could be heard saying respectfully, "Princess, uncle of the king, we have arrived at the Imperial Examination Hall."

"Come on! Come with me to take a look." Zhang Fulu, the uncle of the emperor, said to the princess, "See these so-called scholars, so you can know how to control these scholars in the future."

The eldest princess was speechless for a while. It seemed that her uncle was also talking about himself. After all, he was also from a literary family.

The two men got off the carriage one after another, and saw an imposing official standing at the door, it was Zhongkang.

"Your servant Zhongkang pays homage to Her Royal Highness the Princess, the King's uncle." Zhongkang led the other officials in kneeling, bowing and saluting.

"No need to be so polite..." The eldest princess stretched out her hand to signal them to stand up.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Zhong Kang received the response and immediately stepped forward and said, "Everything is normal at the Imperial Examination Hall this time. Your Highness and the King's Uncle are invited to inspect it."

As he spoke, he extended his hand to signal for them to lead the way. The eldest princess and the king's uncle walked straight in, followed closely by Zhongkang and others.

Everyone entered the Imperial Examination Hall. The eldest princess looked around and saw that the road was straight. Although the rooms on both sides were extremely small, they could barely meet the students' living needs for a few days.

The Mingyuan Building in the courtyard is tall, and the invigilators can overlook the entire venue to prevent cheating.

"Not bad." Zhang Fulu nodded, his tone quite appreciative. "Zhongkang! You did a good job. When I return, I will definitely report to His Majesty for his commendation."

Zhongkang immediately bowed and said modestly, "I dare not do that. This is all my duty. How can I ask for a reward?"

At this moment, the eldest princess suddenly reminded, "I wonder if Master Zhong has received any letters of recommendation recently?"

"Letter of recommendation?" Zhong Kang looked puzzled. "I don't know. I haven't received any letter of recommendation."

No? The princess was suddenly a little depressed. This guy, in his eyes, that priceless letter of recommendation was probably not as good as that one hundred taels of silver!
Zhang Fulu immediately understood what the princess meant. This girl was probably trying to find out about that boy in a roundabout way.

So he asked in a calm tone, "Have you seen any students that caught your eye recently?"

Zhongkang realized that this was the uncle of the emperor testing his understanding of these students. So he immediately began to report one by one. Zhang Fulu nodded beside him.

Based on the ages and some characteristics of the students reported by Zhongkang, after eliminating them one by one, it was found that none of them were the correct ones. This was strange.

Could it be that the man this girl likes is not within Zhongkang's range of attention? Is he just a small scholar with no background?
The eldest princess was a little disappointed when she didn't hear Ye Aniu's name.

"Actually... there is another person. I don't know whether I should tell him or not." After Zhong Kang finished his report, he suddenly remembered Ye Aniu whom the servant mentioned. He hesitated and didn't know whether he should report it.

"Oh?" Zhang Fulu's hope was rekindled, and he asked with interest, "There's another person? Why does it make you hesitate? Tell me."

So Zhongkang told the story of Ye Aniu telling the story of "The Case of the Chopping of the Beauty" in Jieyuan Building.

Sure enough, this girl actually fell in love with this student named Ye Aniu. Let me meet him alone and help her screen him.

The uncle seemed to be listening carefully to Zhongkang's report, but he was actually keeping an eye on the eldest princess and noticed that a different light suddenly flashed in her eyes.

When the eldest princess suddenly heard the story of "The Case of the Chopping of the Beauty", her heart sank. He shouldn't be a person like Chen Shimei!

She was in a very conflicted mood. On the one hand, she longed for him to be by her side, but on the other hand, she was afraid that he would do something like Chen Shimei. What should she do?

After everyone finished their inspection, Zhongkang bowed and said, "Your Highness, the Princess, and the King's Uncle must be exhausted. I have already prepared a place for you to rest. Please move in."

The eldest princess and the king's uncle just nodded calmly on the surface, but secretly they each had their own plans.

the other side.

Lying on the bed, Ye Aniu was thinking about how to get rid of the female ghost while trying to get close to the examiner.

So he asked, "Are you sure your husband's name is Zhongkang? I've heard today that Zhongkang is a third-rank official in the court and the prime minister's son-in-law. Could it be that they just share the same name?"

Wanjun's gentle voice came from the box: "If they have the same name and surname, then how do we explain the house? And Uncle Zhong Dakang has also confirmed it."

That's strange! Ye Aniu fell into deep thought. Could it be another Chen Shimei? Thinking about it carefully, it didn't make sense. This guy's wife had passed away, so remarrying couldn't be considered Chen Shimei.

No matter what, the female ghost's goal is to find her husband, and as long as I lead her to find him, my mission will be accomplished.

As for her family affairs...even a judge would find it difficult to judge family affairs, so it's not her business.

"Knock knock knock!" Just as Ye Aniu was thinking, there was a knock on the door.

"Who?"

"Mr. Ye, I'm the waiter. Our boss wants to ask if you have eaten yet, so he specially ordered me to invite you to dinner, free of charge." The waiter's voice came from the gap in the door.

Free? Another bargain? If I don't take advantage of this, I'd be a jerk! I'm a little hungry anyway, so let's go.
(End of this chapter)