Chapter 109 Boss Pei
June 18th, 10:00 pm
Shen Kuo left dejectedly and returned to the city before the city gates closed.
He was a little absent-minded. He almost bumped into passers-by several times while walking on the road and was given several cold stares. He could hardly breathe because of the things in his heart. Huailiang is back, but should he be asked to participate in this case? Should this matter be reported to Lao Bao first? If Bao Zheng is told, the result will be certain. Lao Bao will probably come in person to invite the monk out of seclusion. Huailiang hid in the vegetable garden in the north of the city and did not tell himself that he was back. He probably didn't want to be involved in endless worldly affairs. A series of questions lingered around him, making him entangled.
However, another thought came to mind. If Master Huailiang really didn't care about this case at all, why did he come back? His return had nothing to do with the sudden appearance of the guest star and what happened next?
In short, he simply couldn't make sense of his chaotic thoughts. Once he entered the city tonight, the gate would close behind him and he wouldn't be able to go back.
He was not in a hurry to go to the military office, so he wandered around and saw the lights on in front of him. He went to the door and asked, and found out that there was a night show of ancient stories. So he wanted to go in and listen to it to relieve his worries. It was not expensive, because the show had been open for a long time, so the waiter at the door only charged him half of the price.
When he entered, he easily found a table near the front and sat down, because there were not many people. Soon, a waiter brought tea. He sat there without any intention to listen, but vaguely felt that the gentleman in front of him seemed to be talking about strange anecdotes in the late Tang Dynasty, and he also picked out horror stories and exaggerated them to the utmost.
Seeing that several listeners were getting bored and getting up to leave, the one who just came in was also absent-minded, looking down and thinking about something. The gentleman who was talking about ancient things was actually interested. He suddenly clapped his hands on the wood. Shen Kuo was startled and woke up from his wild thoughts. The other two who were about to leave also stopped and listened to what else was said.
"The old story of Huang Chao pounding rice for military rations has come to an end. Dear readers, do you know the story behind the "Transformation of Hell"? "
As expected, these words won people's hearts, and the two who were about to leave found an empty table and sat down.
Shen Kuo also perked up. He knew that long and complicated stories might not keep people interested in this field, because everyone knew those stories, so sometimes he had to add some street talk and anecdotes. If he wanted to talk about "The Hell Transformation Picture", he had to combine it with current events.
"Hehe, everyone knows about the bloody picture of hell on the palace wall. But you may not know why it is this picture?"
The gentleman read the beard and watched the audience's reaction. He noticed that everyone was very interested.
"This painting was painted by Wu Daozi back then. But how did he see hell and paint such a lifelike hell scene?"
"Please give me some money and listen to what the master has to say."
The waiter next to him came out with a plate and walked past each table. Shen Kuo was forced to take out a few copper coins and throw them in. In fact, he knew this story, but it would be embarrassing not to throw in a few coins. The gentleman listened to the copper coin gentleman and smiled.
"Let's just say that Wu Daozi was invited by Zhao Jinggong Temple in Changlefang, Chang'an, to paint a picture of hell for a mural to warn people not to do evil. However, he had no idea how to start . Please think about it, who has ever seen the real hell?"
The audience nodded. Shen Kuo was just curious. He just asked a question - why was there such a picture in the palace? Let's see how he got back to the point.
"However, after a few days, Wu Daozi could not imagine what hell looked like. It was still white and powdered. The abbot of the temple could not wait any longer, so he invited a young painter Huangfu Zhen to take over Wu Daozi's painting. Wu Daozi had always been jealous of Huangfu Zhen's talent, and was afraid that his position as a painting saint would be lost, so he hired a few vicious men to kill Huangfu Zhen. That night, Wu Daozi felt that he had no opponent, so he fell asleep peacefully. Who would have thought that he would fall into the hell of endless suffering in his dream. He saw with his own eyes all kinds of terrifying ghosts and monsters in hell and the ways of punishing sinners. For example, those who had done evil in their lifetime would be thrown into a boiling oil pan alive... When they were fished out, they were already roasted pig heads. I just want to ask, are you afraid?"
Everyone who was listening to the book nodded to show that they were afraid.
"Wu Daozi woke up in fear and painted this horrific picture of hell on the white wall of the temple overnight. Sure enough, when people entered the temple the next day and saw it, they were all horrified by such a horrible and cruel hell. They all asked Wu Daozi how he could paint such a scene that no one had ever seen. Wu Daozi only said that he saw it in his dream and was afraid that he would not be able to escape the punishment of hell after death. He had no choice but to paint it to wake people up, and perhaps it could atone for his sins and eliminate his karma."
"Sir, why is this "Hell Transformation Picture" also exposed in the palace?" Finally, an ignorant audience member asked this question. Shen Kuo also wanted to know this question.
"Hehehe... I can't talk about this in detail. If there are people from the Imperial City Department or Kaifeng Prefecture here, they will tie me up with a chain and you will inevitably be implicated as well."
"Well, nowadays, those detectives have their own big cases to deal with, so how can they have the leisure to listen to the history? Sir, just talk, and we will not say anything after listening."
Some people are stirring up trouble again and are not afraid of causing trouble.
"Okay, okay, I only have one word to say, karma. If you think about the foundation of the Song Dynasty, if you count carefully, it also came from an orphan and a widow. Therefore, since Emperor Taizong, there has been a continuous cycle of karma. However, when the luck is there, there is no need to be afraid of those flower demons, fire dogs, demon children, and hat demons, because there is still the Book of Heaven. But now, the guest star is in the sky, the sun and the moon are in the same sky, and even the Book of Heaven can't suppress it. Did you know that the dragon who received the Book of Heaven on the left Chengtian Xiangfu gate in the palace died last night?"
"Yes, a few months ago, I saw those puppets flying in the sky in the city, and I felt that the country was about to perish and evil spirits were rampant." Another ignorant person was talking nonsense.
"Wait, wait, wait, sir, you need to mention those words. We are only talking about luck and karma. You can talk about evildoers, but you can't mention the destruction of the country."
Everyone in the audience smiled knowingly, looking as if they understood.
Shen Kuo came out of the tile house. It was late at night and there were few people on the street. He was still worried. Misleading people must be the focus of Maitreya's research. Every step they take is based on this. The weakness of human heart is that it believes in hints the most.
Therefore, even if it is a fake prophecy, it is not straightforward, but all hints. Sure enough, the "Hell Transformation Picture" on the wall has a purpose. He didn't think this trick was clever at first, but today, Mr. Shuogu gave him a hint, and he finally wanted to see through it. It is nothing more than a metaphor that the Zhao family got the country by illegal means, so due to karma, retribution is coming. To put it bluntly, it is still the same thing. At the beginning of the year , they used prophecies to cause trouble, and now they use guest stars to cause trouble, and they all focus on people's hearts.
When he arrived at the Juntou Division, the lights were on. When he entered the lobby, Lao Bao was writing at his desk. Seeing him come in late at night, he invited him to sit down.
"Cunzhong, you didn't go to Yang Chunguan's place?"
"I...I didn't go there because of something."
The pillow heard him hesitating and it seemed like something was wrong.
"Cunzhong, if you have anything to say, just tell me."
"I……"
He was still hesitating when someone came in from behind. They both turned around and saw that it was Xu Chong.
"Jieji Xu, I haven't seen him all day today. I wonder where he went?" Lao Bao asked with a slightly dissatisfied tone.
"Sir, I apologize first."
Xu Chong suddenly knelt down on his knees. This startled both of them. Bao Zheng was stunned and stopped questioning Shen Kuo.
"What crime have you committed? Tell me quickly."
"I saw the mask hidden on the body in the morgue this morning and recognized it as that of Prime Minister Di. I knew someone was trying to implicate Prime Minister Di. I was afraid that Prime Minister Di was framed by thieves and didn't know the truth, so I took the initiative to go to the Daxiangguo Temple."
"You..." Bao Zheng was speechless for a moment. His face was dark and it was dark here so it was hard to tell whether he was angry or not.
"Bao Longtu, how are you?" An old voice came from outside the lobby.
Then a hunchbacked figure walked in tremblingly.
The man who came in was an old man, but Shen Kuo recognized him. He was the first prime minister of the Song Dynasty who came from the military. He had seen Di Qing coming out of a sedan chair outside the Daxiangguo Temple. At that time, Di Qing was also very old and had a hunchback. Of course, people said that it was because of a carbuncle on his back.
"Is it Mr. Di? Now that you are here, please take a seat." Bao Zheng quickly bowed.
Di Qing sat down tremblingly. Xu Chong stood up wisely and asked someone to pour tea. It was not unexpected for Shen Kuo that he took the initiative to involve Di Qing this time. He had known Xu Chong for a long time and knew that he took Di Qing as a role model. He also often lamented the low status of military men in the Song Dynasty. He came from the Western Army, so he was naturally close to Di Qing. Moreover, he was a little afraid of Wen Yanbo, because when Wen Yanbo was in charge of the military power, he had killed his generals for no reason, so he always believed that Di Qing could not be a bad person. Probably because he saw the mask in the morning, he predicted that someone wanted to implicate Di Qing in the case, so he went to inform on him.
"Cunzhong, you should step down first."
Shen Kuo quickly left. Only Bao Zheng and Di Qing were left in the hall.
Shen Kuo was waiting outside, and he didn't know what they were talking about. He only knew that they talked for several hours and didn't finish until morning.
Xu Chong was also waiting in the yard. From a distance he could see that the conversation between the two people inside was not intense. Bao Zheng even called people in to pour water from time to time.
The two of them had nothing to say. Shen Kuo felt that what Xu Chong did today was inappropriate, and he should at least inform Lao Bao. As for what he thought, it would be convenient to ask today. When he looked east, the strange star seemed to be a little dimmer than yesterday.
Then I remembered what was mentioned in the heavenly book: guest stars come and go without a trace and are unpredictable, but they can come and go as they please.
"Tell me, how did the dragon survive last night?" Xu Chong asked the question proactively, probably wanting to ease the awkwardness.
"I don't know either."
“Why did that pen come alive with just one touch?”
"You have known Wang Sheng for a long time. Did he say anything?"
"I haven't said that."
"I saw him holding the brush last night, and the way he did so was not right, which shows that he is not a painter. If the brush really has magical power as the rumors say, it would require the unity of man and brush. So Zhang Sengyou was not just another person if he could bring the dragon on the wall to life."
"Yes, I saw that the prince consort can also paint. He colluded with the shopkeeper Pei and also used this brush to paint dragons and tigers for the rich people in the city. None of them survived."
Xu Chong said.
"Wait a minute, you said, the Prince Consort and Shopkeeper Pei are in cahoots with each other?"
"Am I wrong? Didn't you see it with your own eyes?"
"No, it's just that what you said seems to have some meaning."
"What's the meaning?"
"Let me ask you, why did Shopkeeper Pei collude with the Prince Consort?"
"Why else? Isn't it just for money?"
"I just went to Wazili and heard the story of Wu Daozi's painting of the transformation of hell. That is clearly the story in Youyang Zazu. However, most people in the world don't know it, so we still need to go and hear about it in ancient times."
"So what?" Xu Chong no longer understood what Shen Kuo wanted to say.
"I mean, whether it's the magic brush or the map of hell, they're all folk tales."
"yes?"
"Listen to my detailed explanation. See if it makes sense. Wu Daozi's "Hell Transformation Picture" is actually recorded in "Youyang Miscellaneous Records". Whether it is true or not, it is well documented. Zhang Sengyou's "Magic Brush Bringing the Dragon to Life" is just an idiom."
Xu Chong stared blankly, not understanding at all.
"If there hadn't been this fight between Boss Pei and the Prince Consort, very few people would have known about this story."
"Yeah, so what?"
"Is Shopkeeper Pei really just doing this for profit?"
"If he doesn't do it for profit, then is he doing it for fame?"
"Maybe it's just for the name?"
"If anyone wants to be famous, it should be the prince consort. What does it have to do with him?"
"It's not the name of the prince consort, but the name of the pen. After their commotion, everyone knows the idiom and allusion of adding finishing touches to a painting's dragon. Otherwise, how could Wang Sheng bring the dragon to life?"
Xu Chong admitted that he could never keep up with Shen Kuo's thinking, so he simply kept silent.
"You must know that Maitreya's actions are always based on people's hearts. And to move people's hearts, you need to lay out a story first."
"So the idiom that Sengyou added the finishing touch to this painting is not for profit, but for paving the way?" Xu Chong finally got the idea.
"Maybe?"
"I've known for a long time that he's not a good guy. Now that you're like this, it's really suspicious. How about we bring him in for interrogation at daybreak? And bring Jin'er back with us?"
"This is just my momentary thought. I just recalled that Boss Pei accompanied the prince consort to show off the pen everywhere, which was indeed suspicious. The story of this pen has only been known to the world in recent months. At that time, there was no guest star."
Shen Kuo paced in the yard. The more he thought about this Boss Pei, the weirder he felt. But it was not to the extent that Xu Chong said he would capture him and torture him. Maybe he was just after profit? Of course, Xu Chong's thoughts were understandable. He just wanted to rescue Jin'er, who was Boss Pei's concubine.
"But Jin'er seems to have stayed with the Queen?"
Shen Kuo suddenly thought of another thing. He had heard about this matter from Shi Wenbin, who knew everything about the palace. He said that Jin'er had entered the palace, and later the government's new policy was to cut redundant staff from the palace first, so she was dismissed and sent to a brothel outside the palace for no reason. Was this another coincidence?
"Xu Chong, Master Shen, please come in. We have something to discuss."
In the lobby, Di Qing went to the back hall to rest, and Lao Bao invited the two to come in. Although his expression could not be seen clearly, his voice was much gentler, especially when Xu Chong's name was mentioned, Xu Chong breathed a sigh of relief, as if a cloud had passed?
