(For some reason, there was a power outage for two days. I got a call at about 7 p.m. and started coding quickly. Fortunately, I have half a chapter that I wrote yesterday. I will try to code two more chapters tonight and try my best to keep updating tomorrow.)
Chapter 346 Madam¡¯s Smile
The General¡¯s Mansion is the residence of a prince of the Shang Kingdom and occupies a large area. Mrs. Chu and Luo Yao did not live together. She and her four dowry maids lived in a separate courtyard in the general's mansion. After bypassing the small lake and walking for a while, I discovered the small fenced-in courtyard surrounded by bamboo forests. The locust tree in the courtyard that was already higher than the roof looked particularly disharmonious in the bamboo forest.
"This is Madam's residence. Madam has been waiting for a long time."
Sun Zhe led Fang Jie to the door and stopped. He smiled and said, "Madam likes to be quiet. I can't go in at will, so I can only take you here."
Fang Jie nodded in thanks, and then saw the door being pushed open from the inside, and two women in plain dresses walked out slowly. The two women wore almost the same clothes and walked in similar postures. It looked as if there were no feet under the long skirts and they seemed to be floating forward.
The faces of these two people are equally white, but they are almost the same as the Chu family.
"My maid Qiu Ju, my maid Dongmei has met Mr. Xiao Fang."
These two women look like they are no longer young. Their figures are out of shape, and the wrinkles on their foreheads and corners of their eyes are telling others that they are no longer young.
Fang Jie returned the gift, Qiu Ju said that Madam has been waiting for a long time, and then invited Fang Jie in.
As soon as he walked into the courtyard, Fang Jie suddenly felt a chill running down his spine. It was like walking down a deserted alley at night and being stared at by something unclean from behind. That kind of threat is as if it is close to the back of the head, and a ghost will pounce on the person at any time.
At this moment, Fang Jie saw a tree doll hanging on the big locust tree.
There was a wind blowing, and the dolls hanging on the trees swayed with the wind. Each doll is exquisitely crafted and looks lifelike with all its features. I don¡¯t know how long these dolls have been hanging on the tree. They were exposed to wind, sun, rain, and the small clothes on the dolls were completely torn. Precisely because of this, those dolls looked particularly eerie.
When it swings, it¡¯s like a group of little devils grinning at people.
These dolls look as big as a three-year-old child and as small as a newborn baby. The most incredible thing was the fine workmanship. When he passed by the locust tree, Fang Jie subconsciously glanced at the nearest doll and found that the doll was so detailed that even its eyeballs, eyelashes and even teeth were so lifelike. After just a few glances at Fang Jie, he couldn't help but look away and his heart grew tighter and tighter. When he looked at the doll, it was as if the doll was also looking at him, which made him feel uncomfortable.
There are no less than fifty or sixty dolls in this tree.
Seeing Fang Jie staring at the doll, Qiu Ju said apologetically: "Ever since the eldest young master's accident, Madam likes to have people make dolls. One or two are made every year, and there are as many as sixty or seventy. These dolls are from The famous Su Ji Ming Wu Shop in Jiangnan is so exquisite that it almost looks like the real thing.¡±
"What is a ghost shop?"
Fang Jie didn¡¯t understand and asked subconsciously.
"It's justspecialized in making things for dead people."
Neither Qiu Ju nor Dong Mei seems to dislike this handsome young lady, Xiao Fang, who has changed from their past habit of being cold and cold towards others. Dongmei whispered as she walked: "The business that Su Ji takes is all because family members have passed away but the family members are reluctant to let go. If you ask Su Ji, Su Ji will make a dummy that looks like the dead person and match the deceased person." almost the same."
When he heard this, Fang Jie's scalp almost exploded, wondering how could such a business be done in the Southwest. But he didn't know that people in the southwest would inevitably be affected by the living habits of the He tribe because of their long-term contact with the He tribe barbarians. It is said that the He people who live in the jungle do not bury their loved ones after they die. Instead, he invited a wizard to cut off the head of the deceased with great ceremony, brew it with a secret method, and hang it at the door of his house. It is said that the head treated by the wizard's secret method can guarantee that it will not rot for decades.
This kind of thing that seems horrifying to the Central Plains people is a habit that has not changed for thousands of years among the He people.
The way of thinking of the He people is completely different from that of the Han people. To give an example: a long time ago, a poet from China traveled all the way to the southwest because he was curious about the way of life of the He people. It took him several years to finally integrate into the He people. In the life of the tribe, I became friends with an old hunter of the He tribe. He lived in the old hunter's home and went hunting with the hunter every day. He drank rice wine, ate barbecue, and cracked open the eggs of birds when he saw them.
After living in the jungle tribe for five years, the poet became more and more homesick, and then said goodbye to the old hunter.He said I was going back and I missed my relatives. The old hunter was very reluctant to let her go and tried to keep her several times, but the poet was so homesick that he couldn't keep her. The poet personally cooked a table of food, poured rice wine for the old hunter, and prepared to have a final drink with his old friend.
After three rounds of drinking, the old hunter said to the poet that you are leaving. I know you will definitely not come back. I will miss you if I never see you again. Can you leave me something as a souvenir? The poet said okay, what do you want? The hunter cut off the poet's head with a knife, brewed it with a secret method, and hung it next to the bed.
This is it.
Every night before going to bed, I would talk to people¡¯s heads for a while, and there would still be two pairs of bowls and chopsticks on the table for dinner every day.
Yongzhou is less than a thousand miles away from the jungle where the He tribe barbarians live. This place is better. It is closer to the He tribe, and many Han people have begun to get used to the things of the He tribe.
Although Fang Jie has lived in Nanyan for a long time, he does not understand the lifestyle of the He people. Because Emperor Murong Shai of Nan Yan began to use troops aggressively against the He people after the founding of the country, so that no He people could be seen in Nan Yan anymore. After arriving in Yongzhou, I heard some mentions, but Fang Jie was not very interested.
Hearing Dongmei talk about it at this time, he suddenly thought that this so-called Su Ji could make such exquisite things. This weird style seemed to have the shadow of the He people.
The more he thought about it, the colder his heart became, and the more he felt that those dolls were staring at him.
"Master Xiaofang is afraid of these dolls?"
Dongmei asked in surprise.
Fang Jie smiled coquettishly and said to himself that this lady of yours is just a pervert. You have seen each other all day long, and you are used to it for decades, but how can others not be surprised when they see it?
"It's justnot used to it."
He replied and quickly left the big locust tree and walked inside.
¡¡
¡¡
When we were approaching the door of the house, Mrs. Chu came out to greet her. It can be seen that Qiu Ju Dongmei's plain clothes were also influenced by her. This lady was not wearing a brocade dress but a white cotton dress. Pure white clothes are unlucky for mourning, so her clothes are decorated with some light yellow flowers and the color of the belt around her waist has also changed. But even so, he still looked as if he had just walked out of the mourning hall.
Fang Jie hurriedly bowed and saluted, saying he had met Madam.
He met him as a junior, and Mrs. Chu didn't dodge, so she accepted it as a matter of course and said lightly, "Please come in." When she spoke, her tone was strange and seemed a bit stiff.
Fang Jie followed her into the house. Although he was prepared, he was still startled.
In the house, everything on the table, hanging on the walls, and even hanging from the beams are all exquisitely crafted dolls.
Fang Jie took a deep breath and found that the smell in the room was a bit strange.
"What does this smell like? It doesn't seem to be sandalwood."
Fang Jie asked subconsciously.
Chunlan, the oldest maid, asked Fang Jie to sit down and pointed to the incense burner not far away: "This is called phoenix tail incense, which is unique to Cangman Mountain in the south. It looks like a cassia tree but with paper strips intertwined together." Then it separates, just like the tail of a phoenix, and because it smells so fragrant, it is called phoenix tail incense and has the effect of settling down. "
Fang Jie made a sound, sat down on the chair and said to Mrs. Chu, "I'm sorry for bothering you, madam."
Mrs. Chu¡¯s eyes kept staring at him, and Fang Jie was uncomfortable with that flat, cold look. She seemed to sense Fang Jie's thoughts, and waved her hand without responding to Fang Jie's words: "Master Xiao Fang doesn't like these things, please take them away. This is the first time you come to my place as a guest. You can't make Master Xiao Fang feel uncomfortable." ¡±
The expressions of the four maids changed. They looked at each other and then took off all the dolls in the room.
Without those things, Fang Jie¡¯s inner discomfort has indeed been reduced.
"It was me who invited Mr. Xiao Fang to be our guest. It was my presumption to be presumptuous."
Mrs. Chu's lips curled up in a smile, then she pointed to the dishes on the table and said, "Knowing that Mr. Xiao Fang is tired of eating greasy food in Yongzhou City, I spent the whole morning making a table full of vegetarian dishes. "Xi, I haven't cooked in person for many years, so my skills are quite rusty. The general used to like to eat my cooking the most."
Fang Jie looked at it and couldn't help but praise: "Don't talk about eating, just smell it and look at it and your saliva will flow out."
When he raised his hand, he took out a Gu-breaking Pill from his sleeve. This thing was specially prepared by Fang Jie. Once the poison technique is planted, it will be difficult toEradication, unless the poisoner cracks it himself. However, there is no way to prevent poisonous poisons. In order to prevent themselves from being poisoned by enemies, the He people will take a poisonous pill before eating or drinking in strange places. This medicine is simply made from cocktails and is not difficult to make. After first eating the poison-repelling pill made from cocktail, even if you eat something containing poison, you will quickly vomit it out.
It is said that all poisonous insects are disgusted by cocktails. In the jungle, where cocktails grow there is no poison. Therefore, before the He people go deep into the jungle, they tie a bunch of dried cocktails around their waists to repel insects.
Fang Jie was not worried that Luo Yao's wife would poison him, but when he arrived in Yongzhou, he had to guard against being poisoned.
Especially, Luo Yao Mansion has the most powerful group of wizards.
Fang Jie did not forget a word of Lu Ou's words. Lu Ou said that the person who knows the secrets in the General's Mansion best is his wife Chu. He took out the Gu-breaking Pill from his sleeve and quietly threw it into his mouth before drinking. While eating, she waited until Mrs. Chu poured wine for herself, so Ms. Chu didn't notice Fang Jie's little move.
"Master Xiaofang is only seventeen this year?"
Mrs. Chu asked after toasting Fang Jie with a glass of wine.
Fang Jie nodded: "There are still a few months until I turn seventeen."
"Well, he is three years younger than Zi Xu."
Zi Xu is Luo Wen¡¯s cousin.
"Twenty-three years younger than Xian Chang."
Xianchang is Luo Wu¡¯s cousin. Back then, Luo Yao killed his entire family to save his own life, leaving only his wife, Mrs. Chu, in the family. It seems that the Chu family still can't let go of what happened more than twenty years ago. When she mentioned Luo Wu, her dull eyes changed slightly.
Fang Jie was startled. He felt that his words were a bit awkward but he didn't know what the awkwardness was.
"Eat it and see how it tastes."
Mrs. Chu untied the dishes for Fang and her face softened slightly: "There are very few guests in my small courtyard, and the four of them are too lazy to clean up. It's my fault for making Mr. Xiao Fang uncomfortable. It's really my fault." Feel sorry."
When she spoke, she looked into Fang Jie's eyes, which made Fang Jie even more uncomfortable than those dolls.
"You're welcome, Madam. This is the most delicious vegetarian dish I have ever eaten in my life. I was born in the military, so I have a tendency to indulge in meat. Today is the first time that I feel that vegetarian food can make me unable to stop using my chopsticks."
Fang Jie changed the topic. He really felt that there was something weird about these five women in this small courtyard and this room.
"Just eat it if you like, I will cook it for you when I have time in the future."
Mrs. Chu raised the corners of her mouth, and finally formed a normal-looking smile. It's just that maybe it's been too long since I've smiled, so I still look a little stiff.