Chapter 3: Witchcraft
The ninth day of the first lunar month, the hour of Mao.
Yang Wei De and Bao Zheng came to the first scene of Yulin Street together. They came here directly after leaving the palace. Wen Xiang suddenly felt a pain in his chest for no reason and did not come with them.
Yulin Street is not far from the Forbidden City, and it is just a moment's walk from Donghua Gate. At this time, the Imperial City Bureau's guards and others have already guarded the scene, and no outsiders are allowed to approach.
It had been six hours since the white-bone demon flew into the air, and the guard said that no one had approached the stone tablet since then. The snow on the ground was very dirty, but there were not many footprints. I think it was trampled by the first batch of imperial guards and Kaifeng Prefecture envoys, but the Kaifeng Prefecture people had already been sent back.
Bao Zheng was very interested in checking it out, and asked Yu Hou to question a few people who were present at the time.
Yang Wei De didn't know how to investigate the scene. He was still thinking about the nursery rhyme, trying to use this information to deduce the entire conspiracy.
The burden left by the black-robed skeleton was still there, and the box on one side had been opened, revealing some tools for the Seven Sacred Swords illusions, including a cane for performing levitation, a flute of unknown purpose, and an umbrella with a gunpowder wick hidden inside.
Yang Wei De had seen similar performances of the Seven Sacred Swords in Wazili, the most famous of which was performed by a magician named Xue Tinghe. As soon as he opened his umbrella, smoke rose. After the smoke dissipated, the person holding the umbrella disappeared, leaving only the opened umbrella rolling on the ground. Such an amazing performance attracted applause from the whole house, but no one knew how it was done. At that time, Yang Wei De suspected that there was a tunnel under the stage, but he did not hear the sound of the mechanism opening or people falling. As for how to produce smoke, it was guessed that it was a special formula of gunpowder, because even if he was sitting in the fourth row, he could smell a faint smell of sulfur. Now it seems that the guess is correct. So, is the smoke created by the demon who soared into the clouds also made of gunpowder?
There was also a stack of yellow paper in the box, on which was written the nursery rhyme. The mastermind behind the scene was afraid that no one at the scene could remember such a long nursery rhyme, so he deliberately left the words, which was really thoughtful.
According to the neighbors, when the skeleton turned into a cloud and flew toward the palace, everyone ran away. About a moment later, someone returned trembling with fear. By then, the box had been opened, and the yellow paper was scattered everywhere. No one knew how much had been picked up.
The words on the yellow paper were written in all sizes and in all directions. It seemed unnecessary to scribble them all over just to hide the handwriting, or it might be to remind people of the ghostly scribbles of the spirit-carrying art, adding to the mysterious and eerie atmosphere.
He turned around and saw Bao Zheng questioning the witness who was closest to the monster that took off at the time - Li Dadan.
Li Dabing had not yet recovered. When he was questioned and forced to recall the past, his eyes were dull and empty.
"Let me ask you, did you see with your own eyes that monster rising into the air and hanging just above your head?" Bao Zheng asked.
"I saw it with my own eyes."
"But your confession said that the skeleton controlling the puppet first released the white mist and enveloped it. This is true."
"true."
"You know, according to the Song Dynasty Criminal Code, anyone who fabricates something supernatural and bizarre to confuse the public can be charged with spreading rumors. The lighter punishment is caning, and the heavier punishment is hanging."
"I would never say such nonsense even if I die." Li Dabing fell to his knees and bowed his head.
"You didn't actually see the Skeleton Monster rise into the air. All you saw was a cloud of smoke rising into the sky."
Li Dabing looked at Bao Zheng with his mouth wide open. His brain was working unusually slowly and he was unable to figure out what this black-faced official wanted to ask.
"Sir, everything I said is true."
Seeing that he was in a daze, Lao Bao decided not to dwell on this issue any longer.
"Let me ask you again, you are closest to this cloud, do you smell anything?" Bao Zheng changed the question. Not far away, Yang Wei De thought: I finally asked a useful question.
"No."
"Is there any smell of sulfur or saltpeter?" Lao Bao asked.
"I swear, there is no such smell. The mist is warm and light, but it does have a floral scent."
Bao Zheng looked worried and could not ask any other questions.
Yang Wei De came up to him.
"Let me ask you, how many times did he recite that nursery rhyme?"
"Five or seven times?"
Yang Wei De turned around and found Bao Zheng already studying the broken stone tablet. There seemed to be words on it. Bao Zheng wiped off the mud and snow on it and tried to make out what was written.
“Is it an odd or even word?”
"Sir, this is Shan Xiongxin's tombstone." An officer nearby interrupted. The man who spoke was handsome and capable, with a Shanxi accent. He was probably a member of the imperial guards from other places who happened to be in Beijing and was temporarily sent to investigate this case.
"Shan Xiongxin? Shan Xiongxin, a great general at the end of the Sui Dynasty?"
"That's right. When Shan Xiongxin was captured and killed by Li Shimin, the King of Qin, in appreciation of his great leadership, buried him in this busy city." The young Yu Hou was not at all afraid of the high official and answered calmly.
"Oh. So there is such a story."
"It is said that the jujube tree next to the tomb," Yu Hou raised his head and pointed at the treetop, "is the Zaoyang Spear used by Shan Xiongxin . Its leaves are sharp, unlike those of ordinary jujube trees."
"Oh. How do you know so much?"
"Since last night, Guard Shi has ordered me to guard here and not allow anyone to pass by. I have also questioned the local security guard and several relevant witnesses."
"Well, well done. Do you know how long this monument has been broken?"
"I asked the neighbors, and they said that the stele has been damaged for about twenty years. The older ones said that in the summer of the first year of Jingyou, a thunderbolt hit the jujube tree, cut off a thick branch and smashed the stele. Later, the jujube tree bloomed again in the spring and survived. It is said that the tree protected Shan Xiongxin's grave from being struck by lightning, and Shan Xiongxin's ghost kept the tree from dying, which is also a good story." This Yu Hou was quite eloquent. What was originally just an irrelevant testimony from the neighbors became somewhat legendary after he interpreted it.
Bao Zheng nodded approvingly.
"Although this stele is in ruins, the characters are powerful and ancient. Do you know who wrote it?"
"It is said that this inscription was written by Li Shiji, a fellow townsman and friend of Shan Xiongxin." Yu Hou continued to answer fluently. It seemed that the neighbors were interrogated by him last night and this morning.
"It turns out that this broken stone tablet actually contains some cultural anecdotes. I will come to copy the words on it in a few days." Bao Zheng patted the remaining snow on his hands.
"Mr. Bao." Yang Wei De interrupted Bao Zheng's interest. He discovered that Bao had not thought things through.
"Oh...what advice do you have for me, Mr. Yang?"
"Do you still remember the weapon in the hand of the skeleton-shaped puppet found in the Imperial Garden?"
"Oh!" Bao Zheng was shocked and realized that he had missed something.
"That skeleton puppet also uses a spear."
"Could it be that..." Bao Hei frowned and pondered the connection.
"For example, the first line of the prophecy..."
"The grave of the heroes?" Bao Zheng couldn't help but take a breath and turned to look at the stone tablet. "Could it be here?"
After Yang Weide's advice, Lao Bao realized that the first three prophecies had all come true. If things would happen in sequence, then the fourth one would come true soon, and they didn't have much time left.
"In Yang Shaoqing's opinion, where is the fourth 'corpse cage' in the cage for collecting resentful souls?"
"It looks like... a prison for death row prisoners, right?"
"What you said seems to make sense." Bao Zheng finally put aside his prejudice and agreed with Yang Wei De for once.
"How does Mr. Bao plan to arrange it?"
"The places where death row prisoners are held in the capital are none other than the Dali Temple Prison, Kaifeng Prefecture Prison, and the Imperial Censorate Prison. If someone wants to play tricks in these three places to cause trouble... that's great. Now that we have some clues, we must plan ahead... Well, I will find some unfamiliar and reliable people from the Military Head Introduction Department, hide them in the dark places outside these government offices, and catch them in one fell swoop. Yang Shaoqing, now the situation is uncertain and the case is unclear, so don't tell anyone else."
"Don't worry, Mr. Bao. I know the importance of this matter."
Bao Zheng finished speaking and left in a hurry, without any sign of fatigue. Yang Wei De was not optimistic that Bao Zheng could wait for an opportunity. He had already realized that his opponent in the dark was a conspirator of a very high level and was not so easy to catch. What was a corpse cage? Literally, it should be a prison cell, but word games can easily create misleading, and he knew this too well.
He walked back alone, not to the Imperial Observatory, but directly to his home outside the city, thinking of having a good sleep first, and then looking for clues about the hat demon from the piles of records left by . The prophecy mentioned the hat demon, which was not a random word made up, but an old word with a specific meaning. When he was young, he heard his father mention it. About thirty years ago, the hat demon appeared in Luoyang, Tokyo and Yingtian successively, causing great panic and political crisis. Someone borrowed the old story of the hat demon, obviously with sinister intentions.
Old Yang's home is right next to Qionglin Garden south of Bian River. It's quite quiet away from the downtown. He usually has to study talismans and alchemy for the government. Whether he's refining elixirs or drawing talismans, he has to concentrate and stay away from the hustle and bustle of the world. It's most suitable outside the city.
It was already late when he got home, and he didn't even have time to eat and fell asleep first. He was not as enthusiastic as Lao Bao.
Bao Zheng's face was often dark, and it was not easy to tell whether he was happy or angry, but Yang Wei De could still clearly see the desire to overcome challenges in his eyes. That was not the look that a man in his fifties who knew his destiny should have.
In fact, when leaving the palace in the morning, Old Yang wanted to find an excuse to sneak back home, but he couldn't find a decent and reasonable reason. Unexpectedly, the cunning Wen Yanbo found an excuse to get there first, so he could only follow Old Bao to see the scene. Speaking of which, after not seeing each other for three or four years, Wen Yanbo seemed to have aged a lot, and he was not as sharp as he was in the past. You know, at that time, he dared to speak to the emperor with ridicule. When talking about the case in Erying Pavilion last night, he didn't rush to draw conclusions like Bao Hei, nor did he speak sarcastically to himself.
Not long after lying down, the sound of firecrackers rang out for no reason while he was half asleep. At first, Lao Yang thought the sound of firecrackers came from his dream. The trivial dream also changed with the sound of firecrackers. It seemed that he was walking on the red carpet again. Was he going to re-enter the bridal chamber amid the frolicking of others? He was anxious to see what the lady in his dream looked like this time. Unfortunately, the sound of firecrackers was endless and finally woke him up from his short sweet dream.
He stood up and half-lay down, angry for a while, and then the sound of firecrackers outside stopped, and then he called his wife in to ask what was going on. His wife said that someone had moved into the old mansion next to Qionglin Garden.
Old Yang thought that the grand mansions near Qionglin Garden were all owned by the palace, but they had been empty for a long time. How come someone was living there? His wife said: You have been practicing Taoism and refining elixirs all day and have not heard of the outside world for a long time. Now the mansion is the residence of the prince consort, but the princess is still young and cannot get married. However, the prince consort and his family moved in today and will be neighbors in the future.
Old Yang calculated the time with a cup on his back: "On the Jiaxu day of the Jiawu year, it is taboo to move into a new house, get married, or build a stove. The time is also not auspicious at 2:25 noon. The date of moving is so hasty. How come there is no one who understands this in the Prince Consort's Mansion?"
His wife heard him talking to himself, so she couldn't help but nag him: "It's just a move, why is there so much to it? Isn't it enough to just clean it up?"
"What do you know, woman? Do you know who lived in that old house before? Can you clean it up just by cleaning it?"
"If you know, tell me now. I still have two sets of quilts to be washed and I don't have time to keep you in suspense."
"That is the old residence of Meng Chang, the last king of the Later Shu. He was imprisoned here by Emperor Taizu and later died in an unclear manner, so the place was abandoned. This old mansion is in an unborn place with a gloomy aura. We have to invite Taoist priests and monks to perform several rituals and kill chickens and dogs to drive away the evil spirits before we can move in. How can we be so careless?"
"Then isn't Meng Chang's wife Madam Huarui?"
"Thank goodness you have some knowledge."
"Hey, you think I know nothing, but I often go to Wazili to listen to ancient stories. I have heard of the "Biographies of Ancient and Modern Heroes" and I know some of the stories about the characters."
The lady said this and went out.
It was quiet outside, and Yang Wei De fell asleep and slept until night, then began to ponder the prophecy. As for how Bao Zheng investigated the white-bone monster, he didn't care. Since Bao Zheng felt that having a junior official from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau involved in the investigation would "increase disagreements" and lead the investigation in the wrong direction, he let him investigate it himself.
Judging from what has happened, the prophecies will come true one by one. Next, we will see where the hidden meaning of the corpse cage will come true.
Yang Wei De was not optimistic that Bao Zheng could find an opponent so easily. All he could do was to go to the attic of his study and look through old papers to find records of the hat monster from thirty years ago. Of course, that might not be useful.
After tossing and turning for an hour, he stood up when his waist was about to break. Unexpectedly, he saw the dark Prince Consort's mansion not far from the window. There were many houses there, but only a few lights in the attic. Although it was a little more lively than before, it still looked strange and gloomy. I guess Prince Consort's family didn't have many people and didn't have a big show.
Old Yang also knew some rumors in the officialdom, and knew that the son-in-law Li Wei was actually the cousin of the emperor. There was also a story behind this. When the Empress Dowager Zhangxian was behind the curtain, the emperor was the emperor, and he had never known that he had another biological mother. After the death of the Empress Dowager, he knew that he was born by Li Chenfei. Therefore, he felt deeply indebted, and one day he dreamed that a god asked: Since the emperor is cold and unfilial, how can the people not be loyal? The emperor suspected that he would be punished by heaven, so he betrothed the princess to this nephew as compensation to the Li family. Old Yang also often went to the palace to check the armillary sphere in the clock tower of the Hanlin Astronomical Institute, and heard from the people in the palace that the princess disliked this son-in-law the most, saying that he was ugly, and he was also dull, his head looked a little big from a distance, his facial features were out of balance when he looked up close, and he stuttered when he spoke. But I have never seen how ugly he is, I can visit him another day to see if the rumor is true.
