Chapter 27: Axe Sound and Candle Shadow
February 8th, 1:15 p.m.
Just at this moment, the case had taken a dramatic turn. In the dead silence since the case was reported, a suspect with a name and surname appeared. Shen Kuo and Xu Chong were both frozen in place, speechless for a long time.
"Master, can you confirm this person?" Xu Chong finally stood up and asked anxiously.
"Based on these things alone, we can't be completely sure. However, since he can perform such a clever trick, he has another suspicion. You must know that he is the descendant of Yu Hao, the wood saint who wrote the "Wood Classic", and he has a family tradition of mechanical engineering. Not only does he have this ability and is in the right position, but the time is also right. I calculated that the last time the round mound was repaired was in August or September last year, so he should be in the East and West Eight Works Department. Moreover..."
"What else?"
"I remember that in December last year, he came to Xiangguo Temple to see me and asked about the celestial phenomena."
"Have you asked about the celestial phenomena?" Shen Kuo asked vigilantly.
"Well, at that time, he came to see me with two bottles of 'Bingtangchun' and a bag of fat sheep. He said that he had just met a friend who claimed to be a half-immortal and was good at astrology. This friend saw that the harem was unlucky and there were signs of a great disaster in the world. He knew that I had read the "Astronomical Records" of the past dynasties, and wanted me to verify it for him. I didn't care at the time, because I knew that his family had been skilled craftsmen for generations, and his family was wealthy but a little unkind. They often took advantage of natural disasters to do some hoarding business, and it was reasonable for them to want to predict disasters and make some short-lived money. Since I was short-handed and accepted the gift, I looked up at him for several nights. After checking the celestial phenomena, it turned out that the so-called half-immortal was right. There was indeed a guest star that violated the imperial star Bei Gou Chen. According to the Ganshi Star Classic, there was a disease in the harem and there would be a death. During this period, it was discovered that there would be a solar eclipse in the capital on the second day of February. I never believed in judging the good and bad things in the world by the vast changes in the starry sky, but I was greedy for the two bottles of "Bingtangchun" given to them by Liuyi Jushi, so I made a few random judgments. The causal conclusions I made were not my own, and they were all based on research. In addition to parroting the "Astronomical Records" of previous dynasties, they also attached to the "Jingyou Astrology Notes" by Yang Shaoqing. "
Shen Kuo and Xu Chong looked at each other, each with their hearts full of galloping horses. Suddenly, they had a vague clue to all the strange things. Although it was still a mess, it was better than having no clues at all.
"Master, you saved my life. Do you know where Yu Jing lives?"
"I only know that he has a family in the capital, but I don't know where. I also heard that he has a second home outside the city. Some say that he usually lives in a brothel."
"I'll go back and inform Bao..." Xu Chong was smart enough not to say the three words "Master Bao" in full, "I'll go to the higher-ups and ask for permission to capture this man."
"You are in such a hurry to leave, what can we do?" Shen Kuo asked as he chased after him.
"You and Lord Yang can just listen to him here. I think Lord Yang will be cautious. We need to go to the Imperial City Department to check the details of this person in the East and West Eight Works, and then go to Kaifeng Prefecture to find out his address. The earliest we can do it is tomorrow."
As he spoke, he rushed to the stable like the wind. But Shen Kuo followed him out of the house to stop him, for he had another thought in mind.
"Xu Jieji, please tell Baolongtu. Master Huailiang told me the details of Yu Jing. Huailiang is the most intelligent person in the capital, and he is indispensable in solving cases. If such an open person speaks in a veiled manner, I am afraid that he will be disappointed."
"I understand what you mean. You want the adults to meet him and investigate together. I will definitely let you know."
Shen Kuo returned to the house and soon heard the neighing of horses outside. Xu Chong was really an impatient person.
Huailiang sat there without saying a word.
"Master, if this case is solved, you will be the first to achieve the credit."
"If it's broken, I just ask not to mention me," Huailiang brushed off the dust on his shoulders, "I have some friendship with the Yu family. The essence of his family's mechanical skills is all in the "Wood Sutra". This book is divided into two volumes. The lower volume is not passed on to others, but I copied a few pages to help me reconstruct the skyscraper. After all, they are doing me a favor. However, I exposed Yu Jing. Amitabha, good, good!"
Huailiang clasped his hands together and chanted Buddhist mantras.
There was a commotion outside again. It was Yang Wei De who had come into the yard. He must have been startled by the noise of Xu Chong riding his horse straight out of the stable.
Shen Kuo and Huai Liang went out and saw Yang Wei De and a middle-aged Taoist priest already there. They thought that this Taoist priest was the first disciple of Zhang Zhenren of Mount Longhu - Taoist Master Li Cheng'an.
The two men greeted the Taoist priest. Shen Kuo wanted to know about Yang Wei De's progress, whether he could use their method to calculate the time or place of the next appearance of the hat monster. However, Huai Liang was beside him, so he couldn't ask.
Huailiang was quite tactful. He turned to say goodbye to Yang Wei De and said that he had to go back early to prepare for lunch as he was afraid that there would be too many people at noon and the waiter Xiao Yi would not be able to handle it.
This monk is quite interesting. He has not yet investigated the entire case in detail, but the clues he provides are always to the point.
Of course, with the monk's intelligence, he should have guessed it. Xu Chong had almost called out Bao Daren just now. There were not many people with the surname Bao who could handle such a big case in the court, so he should have guessed it. So Shen Kuo suggested not to hide his head and show his tail, and directly recruit him to join the gang. Of course, this matter was not up to him.
After Huailiang left, Xu Chong quickly asked Yang Wei De about their calculation results.
Yang Wei De and Li Cheng'an smiled at each other but did not answer.
"Cunzhong, why did Xu Jieji leave in such a hurry? What's the reason?"
"There is some clue about the shaking of the Altar of Heaven and Earth, and he has found some clues that can be traced. He is anxious to report the matter to Lord Bao."
"Bao Longtu must be getting mad with anxiety. If he fails in the hat monster case again, the government will probably demote him to Xichuan Road." Yang Wei De said with a smile.
"Brother," Taoist Li interrupted, "I was ordered by my master to visit Bao Longtu yesterday. I was very polite, but he just sat at the table drinking tea and didn't even look at me." Li Cheng'an looked indignant, and it seemed that he was offended yesterday. Shen Kuo could imagine this scene. Old Bao really didn't like people who were mysterious.
"Brother, you don't know, when the imperial concubine passed away and the hat demon case broke out, the government promoted him to investigate the case. Bao Zheng often looked down on the strange Taoist magic and asserted in front of Shi Yaban that the case must not be mysterious, but someone was just playing tricks. He claimed that he would solve the case and catch the culprit in a few days. Now that the culprit has not been caught, he still has to keep up appearances."
"I'm afraid that this time, if Senior Brother verifies the calculation again, he will be convinced."
"I don't think so. Taoist Li, how could you know that this old donkey is as stubborn and black as him?" Yang Wei De suddenly pointed at the old donkey who was eating in the barn. The old donkey was startled by being pointed at, and the grass in his mouth fell out.
"Cunzhong, does this donkey have a name?"
Yang Wei De asked for no reason.
"I bought it on the road, but I haven't named it yet."
"Since this stubborn donkey has no name, why not call him Heizi?"
Yang Wei De and Taoist Li laughed together. Shen Kuo could only smile awkwardly.
"Oh, right," Yang Wei De turned serious, "I have something to discuss with you. Yesterday, the Prince Consort's family across the street invited me and Taoist Li to come over to chat at noon today. He has set up a banquet. Since you don't have to go to the Military Headquarters to see that stubborn donkey today, why not come with me. The Prince Consort is sincere and hospitable, and he likes to make friends with young talents the most."
"Student obeys."
"It's already 15:00. Let's go back to the study and chat. His housekeeper will come to invite us later."
"Master Huailiang said he had to go back to prepare for lunch. It's too early now. If we can stay, we can chat for a while."
"Don't worry, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. I just don't know how the handsome monk Huai Bing fell into such a shabby state, selling roasted meat in front of the Daxiangguo Temple?"
"It's a long story..."
After the three of them entered the Yang family's study, Yang Wei De forgot to continue asking about Huai Bing's misfortune, probably because he didn't really care. After a while, they started talking about the changes in the palace that they really cared about.
Taoist Li Cheng'an was obviously the one who was most familiar with these matters. Since the twelfth month of last year, he had been residing in the palace with his master Zhang Zhenren and had presided over seven or eight ceremonies of fasting, offering sacrifices and exorcising ghosts. Naturally, he had seen and heard much more in the palace than Yang Wei De, who could only enter the palace a few times a year.
Shen Kuo also wanted to explore the strange case from this completely different metaphysical direction. After all, so far, the so-called "Xunli School" of Huai Liang, which "follows the way, conforms to the reason, and explores the root", and the "Qimen School" represented by Yang Wei De, who specializes in "mystery", have each proved their name and conquered a city. These two seemingly completely exclusive exploration methods are cooperating in some subtle way, and there is even a glimmer of hope that the whole mystery will be solved.
Taoist Master Li Cheng'an twirled his beard, immersed in the memories of that day.
"Brother, do you still remember the day when the Hat Monster first entered the Forbidden Palace and the evil aura permeated everywhere?"
"That day, I also entered the palace at night and saw the skeleton puppet left by the hat monster in the imperial garden. The puppet's weapon also had the concubine's birth date and horoscope. It was so weird..." Yang Wei De said.
"It's not just the Imperial Garden. Someone also saw the hat monster sneak into the inner court Fengchen Treasury. After checking, they found that some things were 'lost'."
"What was lost wouldn't be gold or silver. Nor would it be royal utensils, right?" Yang Wei De asked tentatively.
"Absolutely not. If there is any gold or silver lost, then this hat monster is probably a fake. It must be the eunuch in the inner court who stole the property."
"What is that?"
"They are a few 'odd things'."
Taoist Priest Li has a talent for storytelling and he kept the suspense just right. After saying the words "anecdotes", he stroked his beard and stopped talking.
"'Anecdotes'? Could it be something that can corroborate some absurd rumors? Please explain clearly, Taoist Priest." Yang Wei De said with shining eyes.
"Do you know the old story of the axe sound and candlelight in this dynasty?" Taoist Priest Li lowered his voice. "Do you know the old story of the axe sound and candlelight in this dynasty?"
"How could I not have heard of it? Although those rumors of treason in the market cannot be spoken of, everyone knows about them."
Yang Wei De pretended to be cautious and did not tell the story, but Shen Kuo, who was far away in the south of the Yangtze River, also knew about the case. He was even convinced that this was the most popular and best-kept wine table joke in the Song Dynasty.
According to the legend, before his death, Taizu summoned the future Emperor Taizong to his bedroom. The eunuchs saw the flickering of candlelight and the sound of an axe in the bedroom. When the eunuchs entered with trepidation, Taizu had already passed away. There is no way to describe the scene, and the truth is unspeakable. Only the words "axe sound and candle shadow" are left for future generations to imagine.
This story may not be true, but it contains many elements that the people love to hear: brothers, grudges, conspiracies and imperial power. It is completely impossible to prevent the spread of such a story. The emperor of the Zhao family was enlightened and wise, so he did not choose to defend himself but to turn a deaf ear to it.
However, at this moment, Taoist Li kept shaking his head, making Yang Wei De a little confused.
"Could the rumors be false?"
"Since this involves public affairs, I can only speak frankly. The rumors in the market are all false..."
"Not true?"
"The rumors that Taizu died from an axe are far from the truth. Everyone thought it was the ceremonial axe in front of the palace, but they didn't know it was just a small jade axe," the Taoist priest gestured with his hand, which was only the size of a palm, "that object is small and light, and it definitely can't kill people, but it is extremely evil."
"When the Taoist priest entered Fengchen Palace, did you see the jade axe?"
"When I entered the Fengchen Palace, the white jade axe had disappeared, but I saw the concave mark inside the iron box that contained the axe, and it was indeed only that big. Later, I asked my master, and he confirmed that after Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, he asked me to tell him about the story of my predecessor, Master Zhenjing, who sealed the jade axe with a talisman in the iron box. I was curious and asked my master about the old story of the axe sound and candlelight. My master pondered for a moment and told me what he heard from Master Zhenjing, which was completely different from the rumors in the market."
"Completely different? Brother, can you please tell me about it?"
"This..." The Taoist twirled his beard as if he wanted to keep the secret, but a servant came to report that the housekeeper of the Prince Consort's Mansion across the street had come to ask for more, so the story was paused and the three of them got up and went to the Prince Consort's Mansion together. Shen Kuo felt itchy in his heart, and the most tormenting thing was the desire for the unknown, although he was not happy to see how true the story behind the Taoist would be.
