Chapter 21 The Twelve Evils of the Shen Family
"what happened?"
Zhao Wumian followed her gaze and saw a rather lively lantern stall with quite a few people gathered there.
The lantern vendor was shouting: "Look, look, guess the lantern riddles, you only need one or two taels of silver to participate in the competition, and those who answer all ten questions correctly can choose any rare treasure from the stall."
They are said to be rare treasures, but in fact they are just calligraphy and paintings, antiques, jade and the like.
Bai Liuli looked at one of the red pearls that was the size of a quail egg with a straight gaze. Her mood was not right. Her original happiness disappeared and her expression was tearful. She was about to cry but tears welled up in her eyes.
Zhao Wumian frowned and looked closely, his expression turned ugly, and he stretched out his hand to block Bai Liuli's sight.
"stop looking……"
"Do you know my brother?"
Bai Liuli lowered his head and used magic to wipe away the tears in his eyes, but his eyes were still red.
Zhao Wumian sighed: "From your expression, I think I recognized him. I don't know how to explain this kind of thing, because I have killed my people with my own hands, so I don't feel any guilt. But after all, I am different from you. It's a bit difficult for you to pretend not to see it... The dead are gone, and the living can be pursued. You can feel the pain, but don't think too much. Before I die, I will never let you fall into this situation!"
"..."
Bai Liuli's eyes became even redder and she hugged Zhao Wumian's arm tightly.
That thing looked like a pearl on the surface, but it was actually the most precious treasure in the sea, the [Ningbi Pearl] - a special pearl made by gouging out the eyes of mermaids and fusing the eyeballs with blood and tears.
If you know how to use it, you can generate and control water vapor in the air out of thin air. It is a treasure that water-based warriors dream of.
Valuable.
Now it is placed on the table as a prize, and people probably regard it as an ordinary mermaid teardrop.
The tears of mermaids are related to their mood, and the pearls formed are colorful.
Among them, the ice-white pearls formed from tears of joy from the heart are called [Moon Pearls], and are the treasures among tear beads. This kind of red is the most common pearl formed due to fear and terror, and is not much more expensive than ordinary pearls.
If this is a teardrop, the only thing worth noting is its size. One this big is usually the result of multiple tears merging into one, and its formation is quite accidental. It can be considered a "rare treasure".
"Don't be sad. We are out for the Lantern Festival. If you come back with red eyes from crying, how can I explain this to my dad?"
"Um……"
Bai Liuli cast a spell again to wipe away the tears in her eyes and responded softly.
"Now that you have seen it, take it back with you. You can bury it or offer it as a sacrifice. It is up to you."
"Brother, you are so kind..."
Bai Liuli buried her head in Zhao Wumian's chest and abdomen, her voice soft.
Zhao Wumian laughed: "If the people from the Pacification Office heard this, they would probably sneer at me..."
He led Bai Liuli forward. Several people had already paid to guess the riddles. Zhao Wumian took a quick glance and found that the questions on everyone's paper were different. This was strange. With such a large number of riddles, the person behind this stall must either be rich and able to collect them through various channels, or have someone who can get a group of talented people and celebrities to help come up with questions.
Or maybe both.
As soon as Zhao Wumian approached, the originally dense crowd immediately made way for him.
The stall that was bustling with discussion just now suddenly became dead silent.
The Jinyiwei were notorious for their viciousness, especially recently, they had been hunting down Hu Weiyong's followers all over the city, capturing hundreds if not thousands of his students and old friends as well as his own warriors. The blood and energy of the killings was so intense that the Taiping Dike was filled with blood and energy that lasted for a long time.
There were constant howling sounds in the Ministry of Justice's Prison, and dead bodies were carried out from the Pacification Prison every day. Such power had made ordinary people so afraid of the tiger that they would avoid Feiyu Xiuchun as much as possible.
The lantern vendor was stunned for a moment, then he came over with a normal expression and a big smile on his face to greet him: "Sir, are you interested?"
To have this attitude shows that one has a good background.
Zhao Wumian took out one or two taels of silver and handed it to him.
The lantern vendor smiled even more brightly, and immediately handed over a piece of paper and a pen: "Please look, sir, here are the lantern riddles. You can take your time to answer them, or ask your relatives and friends for help. As long as you hand in the answer sheet within one stick of incense, and get all ten questions right, you can choose any rare treasure."
Zhao Wumian took it and glanced at it: "Can you still find someone to help you? You are very confident about these riddles."
The lantern vendor smiled but said nothing.
Who would do business at a loss?
The price of one tael of silver is very expensive, but the things on the stall are definitely worth the admission ticket.
Zhao Wumian found an empty table, spread the paper on the table, and took a pen in his hand. Liuli stood obediently beside him, looking at the paper. She was literate and had learned the Four Books and Five Classics of the human race in the mermaid tribe on the bottom of the East China Sea before being captured.
Zhao Wumian intentionally distracted her and said with a smile, "Try first and see how many you can answer."
The little girl's sadness came and went quickly, and she soon became immersed in solving the problem.
The onlookers felt relieved when they saw that Zhao Wumian did not behave rudely and was very gentle towards the girl traveling with him, and continued to discuss in a low voice.
"There are ten puzzles, some are difficult and some are easy. For example, this one, 'young woman with yellow silk, grandson with mortar', is obviously a quote from a classic. Cao Cao asked Yang Xiu about it back then. If you have read it, you will definitely know the answer. But what is this 'one shape, one body, four arms and eight heads, one eight five eight, flying spring flowing upwards'?"
"And this, two strokes are big and two strokes are small, guess a word, what word is that? Who came up with this question?"
"This is a difficult one. How can you know that a drop of water can become a huge thing? Guess a word..."
"There's actually a poem here: Originally an honest envoy to Zhuzhou, he was promoted to an imperial envoy to Huguang, alarmed the five ministers, drove away the Hanlin scholars, and beat an ordinary thing... I didn't even understand the literal meaning!"
"Looking at the things on the table, they can't be simple. The seal in the middle looks like it was made by the master of gold and stone, Wu Gongjin. If it's sold, it will cost at least fifty taels of silver. The quality of the things is so high, and the puzzles are so difficult. Who owns this stall? Could it be that someone from the Imperial College?"
Everyone racked their brains and thought hard.
Bai Liuli also finished answering the questions, and only got five out of ten right. He was a little worried: "Brother, is Liuli too stupid? I don't even have a clue about the rest."
"how come."
Zhao Wumian rubbed her head. "It's not easy to answer these. The rest are relatively unfamiliar to you. For example, this one, the big one doesn't talk about the small one, the small one talks about the big one. If you want to know the big one, you have to ask the small one in detail. Here's a style of writing. You may not have come across it. This is 'Book Notes'."
Zhao Wumian gave a brief explanation, and Bai Liuli suddenly understood.
Then, he went through the remaining four questions again. He did it without thinking, and his words came to mind and were well-founded.
Zhao Wumian didn't care about other people's looks at all, and he didn't lower his voice deliberately when he spoke. The onlookers were a little confused when they heard him solve the problem so quickly, and they looked at each other in bewilderment.
Do the lackeys of the Pacification Office have this ability?
The lantern vendor was also a little surprised and carefully took note of Zhao Wumian's appearance.
A beautiful woman among the respondents raised her head and looked at Zhao Wumian with her eyebrows slightly raised.
This person is about thirty years old, with fair skin, a slender waist and still some charm. She holds a small folding fan in her hand, looks playfully, then picks up the paper in her hand and walks towards Zhao Wumian gracefully.
Zhao Wumian had already handed the paper with the answers written on it to the lantern vendor.
The lantern vendor looked at it carefully, and his eyes were filled with admiration: "Correct. Which one would you like to choose?"
Zhao Wumian pointed at the pearl, and the vendor took the item without saying a word and handed it to him solemnly.
Zhao Wumian handed it to Bai Liuli, who held it carefully in his hands, and the two turned around to leave.
"Wait a minute, sir." The lantern vendor hurriedly said, "I have another question. If you can answer it, I will give you another treasure."
This should be the main course...
Zhao Wumian smiled and said, "Still want to pick from the ones on the table?"
"of course not."
The lantern vendor smiled and said, "To be honest, sir, my mistress recently made a bet with someone. The bet was very generous and it was hard to refuse. However, she asked many talented people to solve the riddle but none of them could. So she used the riddle guessing event of the Lantern Festival to find a scholar with quick wit to help her."
It turned out to be the case.
Zhao Wumian asked: "Who is your master?"
The lantern vendor looked proud: "The 'God of Wealth' Shen family."
As soon as these four words came out, the whole audience was in an uproar, and then nodded one after another. No wonder there were so many puzzles and such a big project!
There was only one God of Wealth in the Ming Dynasty, Shen Wansan, the richest man with a fortune as vast as that of Shi Chong.
But Shen Wansan should not have used this method. With his wealth and wide circle of friends, he could probably have invited anyone to become a Grand Secretary of Wenyuan Pavilion. There was no need to use this method to hook up folk masters. This was most likely a playful act by the younger generation of the Shen family.
The lantern vendor took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zhao Wumian to read. It was the first line of a couplet.
——The white snake crossed the river with a red sun above its head.
This is both the first couplet and a riddle, and the answer is "oil lamp". So the second couplet should also be a riddle, and it must be well-balanced.
The difficulty increased all of a sudden.
Zhao Wumian seemed to have seen this couplet somewhere before. After thinking about it for a while, he picked up his pen and wrote at the bottom of the paper: A black dragon climbs up the wall, covered with thousands of golden stars. He added the answer at the end: Scale, in case someone couldn't guess it.
"it is good!"
The lantern vendor was no ordinary man. He immediately realized that the second half of the couplet was brilliant and applauded loudly.
Scales and oil lamps are common objects. What’s more interesting is that “oolong” and “ten thousand golden stars” are homophones of “wucong”, which is a mockery of those who can’t guess the answer.
"Your Excellency is very intelligent!"
The lantern vendor completed his task and put away the precious paper. He felt relieved and said with a smile, "The master has prepared four other treasures: natural treasures, martial arts secrets, magic weapons, and rare calligraphy and paintings. I wonder which one you want?"
Zhao Wumian asked: "What are they?"
The lantern vendor said, "The natural treasure, the lower grade Xuan-level Tianshan Snow Lotus, the martial arts secret book Yin-Yang Taoist magic method "Five Elements Positioning", the magic weapon "Moon in the Well", and the rare calligraphy and painting "River Bank" by Dong Yuan, the master of the Five Dynasties."
This is what we call rare treasures!
Zhao Wumian was mentally prepared, and was shocked by these things. They were full of sincerity.
I don't know what the stakes are, but it's worth the money... It's really a game for the rich...
Logically, I should choose rare treasures to improve my cultivation first, but I have evil spirits now, so I can't use them. Later, I will have the Taotie magical power to absorb energy directly, but it is not necessary. As for the rest, calligraphy and painting are useless, and I have weapons, so the only thing left is the Yin-Yang magic "Five Elements Positioning".
Zhao Wumian has wanted to learn magic for a long time.
Coincidentally, Yin-Yang Taoism is the largest sect among the eight major sects in the world that is famous for its magic.
It is rumored that Yin-Yang Taoism originated from the ancient pre-Qin Yin-Yang School. Yin-Yang techniques, like Taoism, are derived from the Nine-Character Mantra and the Six-Jia Secret Blessing: Lin, Bing, Dou, Zhe, Jie, Zhen, Lie, Qian, Xing. When combined with corresponding hand seals, one can use one's own true Qi to mobilize the natural forces between heaven and earth. It is extremely powerful and is a major category of martial arts, requiring extremely high qualifications.
People who lack spirituality cannot practice magic or become sorcerers.
Zhao Wumian’s spirituality is also at its peak, and it would be a waste if you didn’t understand him.
"The Shen family is indeed the Shen family."
Zhao Wumian said: "The martial arts of Yin-Yang Dao can be openly used as rewards."
The lantern vendor said, "Don't worry, sir. Five Elements Positioning is not a core inheritance. My old master is a distinguished guest of Shugu Mountain. This secret book was also won by the master in a game with the Yin Yang Taoist Mountain Ghost. She can do whatever she wants with it. I pointed it out in public, and the Yin Yang Taoist will not think too much."
"very good."
Zhao Wumian said: "Then let's do Five Elements Positioning."
The lantern vendor gave the money very readily, and immediately took out a secret book from the bag on his back, and said carefully: "May I ask your name, sir, so that I can report back..."
"Zhao Wumian."
As soon as the words came out, the woman who was about to come over stopped in surprise.
The lantern vendor was also stunned for a moment, with an expression that showed that the meeting was even more famous than before.
Zhao Wumian took the secret book and walked away with Liuli.
"What a coincidence..."
The woman smiled, glanced at Zhao Wumian's back, turned around and walked to a courtyard somewhere on the bank of the Qinhuai River.
"Hua She, you bastard, you're finally back! I was starving to death!"
"that is!"
There were two people, one fat and one thin, in the main hall of the courtyard. The fat one was tall and strong, while the thin one was short and small. They were sitting around the octagonal table, holding chopsticks in their hands, waiting for food.
"I encountered an interesting thing on the way back."
The woman called the Transformed Snake took off the purse from her waist and reached inside. The opening of the purse suddenly expanded, and then she took out four roasted lambs, six plates of gourd heads, ten jars of girl's red wine, and a large table of side dishes from the small bag. The fat man and the thin man's eyes lit up immediately, and they took the food and ate and drank.
The fat man picked up the lamb leg and put it into his mouth, mumbling, "What's the matter?"
The woman also sat down at the table: "The Shen family is setting up a stall to guess lantern riddles. The rewards are very generous. Among them is a [Ningbi Pearl], which is a treasure that amplifies water magic."
The thin man asked, "Did you get it back?"
The woman shook her head. "How can I dare to use force? I'm the last skin left. If I'm wanted too, you two will really starve to death. Those riddles are quite difficult. They are probably from the Imperial Academy or Feng Man Lou. I can think of seven, but I can't answer the remaining three. Then a Jinyiwei came and not only recognized Ningbizhu, but also answered ten questions correctly. Who do you think he is?"
"..."
The fat man's movements were slightly stiff, his face gloomy: "It can't be Zhao Wumian!"
The woman nodded and poured herself a glass of wine. "He is more handsome in person than in his portrait. I didn't realize it until he told me his name. My charm had no effect on him. From beginning to end, he only glanced at me and then didn't even look at me. He is indeed someone who can regain consciousness instantly under the power of truth."
boom!
The thin man slammed his fist on the table and glared at the woman with bloodshot eyes: "He was the one who killed the Prime Minister, you shouldn't be so harsh!"
The woman smiled, "Does the tone of voice matter? The order to kill the Prime Minister was issued by Zhu Yuanzhang, and the ones who captured the Hall Master were Mao Xiang and Jiang Huan. Half of the Twelve Evils were killed by the four Prime Ministers of the Pacification Division, and they are in a state of panic all day long. None of us are ready to take action against them... They have already picked on the weak, so don't worry about your face."
The thin man glared: "You!"
The fat man said in a deep voice: "Okay, the situation is difficult now. The Prime Minister is dead, the hall master is imprisoned, and Yipintang is like a rat crossing the street, and everyone is shouting and beating it. The rest of us should not fight among ourselves.
The tunnel dug by Li Li is almost open. We will leave the city in a few days... It's not in vain to stay in Beijing this time. We know Zhao Wumian's weakness. He can't escape! The Prime Minister has been so kind. I can't repay him. Let's send this kid down to apologize first. Everyone else, wait! Wait! Come!"
The thin man smiled grimly: "Understood!"
……
(End of this chapter)
