Chapter 17 Visiting the Lake and Encountering Immortals

"Huh?" Sun Yixie jumped up from his chair as soon as he heard what the servant said. At that moment, he even sobered up a little bit, "What did you say? Make it clear, what kind of goblin?"

"That...that's...this...Hi! Young Master, I'm stupid and can't explain clearly. You'd better go over and have a look for yourself." This servant is indeed stupid, and he talks nonsense He couldn't come up with anything useful for a long time. The only reason why he was here was obviously because of his quick legs and feet.

"Come on, let's lead the way." Sun Yixie didn't bother to talk to him anymore, so he took advantage of the situation and prepared to follow him.

Of course, he also had to explain to Yun Shili: "Brother Yun, let me go and see what's going on. You can do it yourself."

"No~" Unexpectedly, Yun Shili stood up at this time and said with a bit of a smile, "I have never seen a goblin in my life. Let me open my eyes today."

In Yun Shili's view, the so-called "monster trouble" is either someone being suspicious or someone pretending to be a ghost; no matter which one, he can solve it, and he is happy to help Sun Yi. Solve this matter harmoniously.

But... Sun Yixie doesn't see it that way.

Brother Sun is someone who has seen ghosts, monsters and foxes with his own eyes. He clearly knows that there are some supernatural phenomena in this martial arts world.

At that Lanruo Temple, Xie Run, the third boss of the Yong Escort Bureau, had the same idea as Yun Shili, and Xie Run’s martial arts was not low, but if it weren’t for Sun Yixie, Xie Run would The third leader was probably burned to death in the alchemy room of the temple.

So, in Sun Yixie's eyes, Yun Shili's reaction at this moment was roughly "never dead".

"I'm telling you, don't regret it. Some things are better to be believed than not." Sun Yixie reminded Yun Shili with a serious look.

But Yun Shili didn't appreciate it at all, and was still laughing: "Hey! I said it's Yixue, why do you believe that at such a young age?"

"You don't believe it, right? Okay... just follow me." Sun Yixie felt that it was useless to persuade him, so he sneered, "Ha... if something happens then, don't blame me for not reminding him. It’s up to you.”

“What’s going on?” Yun Shili was still very determined. It’s really difficult to shake this kind of cognitive difference with just one or two words. , "Maybe it's just a wild cat or dog or something, or maybe there's a thief stealing something..." He paused, "Now you've caught up, Yun is quite experienced in solving cases, let's see what I do for a moment I'll help you settle this matter in just a moment, so I won't live in vain."

After he said this, Sun Yixie stopped arguing with him and just replied. He turned over and asked his servants to lead the way, leading them towards the west wing.

In ancient times, wealthy familiesThere are certain rules for the layout of a house: the owner’s living room is usually located in the north of the house, and the owner’s bedroom is located in the north-south direction, and is connected to the living room; The east wing on the east side is occupied by the owner's son, and the rooms for working and receiving guests are also located on the east side; while the west wing is for the female family members, including the owner's daughter, sisters, aunts, nieces, etc. They all live in the west wing. If the family does not have a daughter, or the daughter is married, the west wing can also be used as a guest room; as for the last south wing, it is for the servants.

Although due to climate differences in various regions, the customs and layout of mansions in some places will be different, they generally follow this rule, and Sun Mansion is no exception.

Since Sun Yixie is the only son in the family, and his father has no sisters, aunts or nephews, no one lives in the west wing of their Sun Mansion most of the time.

On weekdays, the northwest half of the room in the west wing is left empty and is used as a spare guest room. It can be used at any time in case a female guest comes or the guest room in the east wing is full; The half of the room to the southwest was used as a storage room to pile up messy things.

The place where the accident happened tonight is in the southwest.

Sun Yixie and Yun Shili rushed to the scene under the leadership of the servant. When they arrived, they saw a large group of servants gathered around the door of a storage room and talking.

"Master, you are here!" As soon as he saw Sun Yixie's figure, an old man came up quickly and said, "Come and take a look, there is something wrong in this room!"

This one is the steward of the Sun Mansion. The slave takes the surname of the master, so his surname is also Sun.

Steward Sun is already in his sixties this year and is a "veteran employee" here. He has watched all the young masters of the Sun family grow up with his own eyes.

Some people may find it strange when they see this. "Three generations" includes Sun Yixie's grandfather. Could it be that this housekeeper has been working here since he was ten years old?

It’s true. When Butler Sun first came to the Sun Mansion, he was ten years old and was “sold” by someone.

In those days, this kind of thing was very common. Many poor families had too many children to feed, so they picked an older one and sold it to serve as a maid in a wealthy family.

Luckily, I caught up with Dong Jiarenyi, and he treated you as a human being and talked to you about basic human rights. Of course...you can't think about labor laws or anything like that.

As for those who are unlucky, they will be beaten and scolded for the rest of their lives.

Steward Sun is undoubtedly lucky. From being a handyman to being a servant, and then being a housekeeper, although he has experienced hardships and fatigues, he has never been beaten or scolded very much.

The heads of the Sun family over the past few generations have treated their servants well. As long as you abide by the rules, work hard, and don't be scheming or commit crimes, the treatment will not be bad; even if you sell yourself to get here. Yes, I will also calculate your wages for you. After working for ten or eight years, if you have saved enough money and say you want to leave, I will even pay you more.Give you some severance pay so that you can do some business on your own after you leave.

It was considered very benevolent for the rich people at that time to be able to do this... There were many people who treated their servants like pigs and dogs, beating, scolding, and mistreating them to death and then burying them. As long as they sold themselves As long as the deed is there, the government won't be able to deal with it.

So it makes sense that the Sun family can have such power in Hangzhou. It is through the accumulation of these little things bit by bit that they can slowly build up a reputation.

If something happens to the Sun family one day, the people are willing to say a few good words for them, and even contribute a little bit... For example, last time Sun Yixie mobilized all the silversmiths in the city to make silver. If someone else does the work of hands and feet, even if they have money, they may not be able to do it so neatly.

Not to mention Butler Sun's loyalty to his employer - he has stayed in this house for fifty years, and this is his home. In addition, he himself has never been married and had children... To put it bluntly, he regards Sun Yuanwai and Sun Yixie as the same as his own son and grandson; now he asks his servants to only call Sun Yixie He came here without notifying Master Sun, because he knew very well that this kind of matter had to be handled by a smart and capable young master. Not only would calling the master not solve the problem, but it might even frighten him.

"Hiss..." When Sun Yixie heard the housekeeper's words, he immediately sucked the wind between his teeth, frowned and asked, "What's going on? What's going on in that room?"

"But it doesn't matter." Sun Yixie understood what he meant, so he agreed again.

After receiving a positive answer, the housekeeper nodded and continued: "Master, do you still remember that in the evening, the prefect sent someone to deliver a painting?"

"Yes, that's right. That painting." Butler Sun lowered his voice, moved closer, and looked sideways at the storage room a few meters away. "When Xiao Wu, who was on night watch just now, passed by the door of the house, he heard a woman in the house. He walked closer and listened, and the woman seemed to be singing...

"Ordinarily, there are only things piled up in this room, and there shouldn't be anyone there, let alone in the middle of the night..." Who would sing in that dark room?

“The more Xiaowu thought about it, the more wrong he became. Feeling scared, he came to my room and woke me up... When he told me about this, I thought it was this kid who was dreaming in the middle of the night. , but I thought about it again. Xiao Wu is usually a very honest child and won't lie, so I followed him to have a look.

"I didn't expect...it was so loud..."

Speaking of this, a clear look of fear appeared on Butler Sun's face: "Old slave, I'm afraid too. I didn't dare to open the door, so I poked the window paper on the door and looked in through the light of the lantern. I was stunned... but when I saw it, it was actually the woman in the painting singing...…"

His words stopped abruptly here.

Let’s not talk about Sun Yixie and Yun Shili’s reaction after hearing this. Let’s talk about it first. That painting.

The book here implies that the "Visiting the Lake and Encountering Immortals" was personally made by Han Yu, the great scholar of Huagaidian and the prince's junior master at that time.

Han Yu, like the prefect Lu, was both the number one scholar appointed by the late emperor. Lu Wen was actually Han Yu's senior, having entered the court a few years earlier than him.

But unlike Lu Wen, Han Yu was a world-famous talent who was known as the best in both calligraphy and painting. His calligraphy works, if they were to be sold among the people, would be hard to buy. His talent and learning were appreciated by the current emperor, so he was allowed to serve concurrently. Prince's Young Master.

In the Ming Dynasty that we are more familiar with, the "Three Lords and Three Solitaries" had only empty titles most of the time and did not hold actual positions, but in the "Zhao Dynasty" in this book , the young master is still the assistant minister of the East Palace and has great power. If the prince ascends the throne and becomes the emperor in the future, and Han Yu is not dead at that time, then he will become the grand master and rank first among the three princes.

So how did his painting "Encountering Immortals on the Lake" come into Lu Wen's hands?

This is both sad and ridiculous: when Han Yu first entered the officialdom, he did not One day, he went to Lu Wen's house to avoid asking for help. However, Han Yu came from a poor family and had just become an official. He had not yet had time to be greedy, so he could not even afford the bribe... Helpless, he I could only take out a painting I had painted before. It could be considered a gift at least, so I gave it to him.

I must have seen someone here and wanted to ask again. Didn’t I just say that his calligraphy and painting are worth a thousand dollars? Please? How come he has no money?

Isn’t this nonsense? What was the price of Van Gogh’s paintings when he was alive?

Han Yu had just won the first prize, and his works were no longer as valuable as when he became a junior master.

When Lu Wen got the painting, he felt unhappy, thinking: "You are the first prize." , I am also the top pick, two years ahead of you. People give real money and silver to people who want to pay homage to the dock, so why don't you give me a painting? Hehe... I want to love painting, but can't I paint it myself? ”

So, Lu Wen threw the painting into the warehouse without even looking at it; in his eyes, this thing was not as valuable as those old antiques, but at least he was an official in the same dynasty. It was a gift from someone else, so it’s not a good idea to just throw it away, so just keep it first.

I never expected that within a few years, Han Yu would rise to prominence, and his talent would soon be recognized by the world. According to legend, the calligraphy and paintings he left behind in previous years have become treasures.

At this time, Lu Wencai rummaged through the cabinets to find the painting, asked a craftsman to frame it, and put it in the most conspicuous place in his study. As soon as you hang up, you will show off to whoever comes.

Until today...

Lu Wen said in a hurry because he was forced to ask for a "congratulatory gift" by Sun Yixie when he was at a loss. He made the excuse of "rare and rare treasures".

But where does he have any rare and rare treasures? Lu Wen is just a prefect, and he doesn'tYour Majesty, you can take out such a thing at the drop of a hat?

This matter would be easier to handle if he and Sun Yixie reversed their roles - Brother Sun would probably go home and catch a mouse, paint it white with starch and call it a "Golden Mouse". Then I dare to deliver it to the other party’s home.

But how can Lu Wen have such intelligence? Even if he has the intelligence, he doesn't have the shame.

However, Mr. Lu did not dare not to send it away, because he was really afraid of Yun Shili...

Furthermore, after Mr. Lu returned home, he realized it belatedly. Sun Yixie was pretending to be confused when he came here. He also knew that he had underestimated the young master of the Sun family... This "congratulatory gift" at the moment was probably the step the other party gave him. If he didn't grasp it well, he might be in trouble. To suffer severely.

Having no other choice, Lu Wen gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, and presented the "Picture of Traveling to the Lake and Encountering Immortals" as a gift.

But he didn’t know that there was actually a ghost in this painting.