A piece of Japanese incense

Chapter 181 Ma Fujun

The man suddenly stood up and bowed respectfully to Zhi Yihe, his tone gentle and full of surprise: "My dear lady, what you were holding in your hand just now was a silver bracelet made of chicken blood vine? Is it engraved with plum, orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum and fairy mouse patterns?"

"Yes, could it be that you are..." Zhi Yihe gently unfolded the bracelet wrapped in the handkerchief and placed it in his palm.

The man stepped forward to take a closer look, his eyes reddened as he identified it. He held the old woman's hands tightly and called out loudly, "Mom! It really is my sister's bracelet! We finally found it!"

"Really? Let me touch it! Young lady, can you let me touch it?" The old woman stretched out her hands tremblingly.

"Well, sure." Zhi Yihe agreed gently and handed the bracelet to the old man.

The old woman first touched it carefully with her fingertips, and then covered her entire palm. She followed the outline of the silver bracelet, from top to bottom, from left to right, and rubbed it carefully, touching every texture and every pattern.

"It's hers, it's hers...my Jun'er..."

The old woman was overwhelmed with grief and almost fainted from crying. Zhi Yihe supported her and got into the carriage.

Before they could calm down, Zhi Yihe could no longer suppress his curiosity and asked in a low voice: "Excuse me, since this is your sister's silver bracelet, when was the last time you two saw each other?"

The man wiped away the tears from his eyes, his eyes were bloodshot, and he said with emotion: "To answer my wife, my little sister has been missing for thirteen years."

"Thirteen years... Thirteen years~" The old man couldn't help crying out in grief again: "We have been looking for you for thirteen years, why... why are you buried here like this..."

"My dear, please don't blame me. In the past ten years, in order to find my little sister, my father passed away, my arm was broken, and my mother's eyes were blinded by crying..."

"How did you injure your arm?" Yu Yi asked.

"We went to my younger sister's husband's family to ask for her, but they interrupted us. My father... was also beaten to death." The man touched his hand and said timidly.

"This is outrageous! Is there any law here? Have they been arrested and put in jail?" Yu Yi was indignant.

"No..." The man shook his head, his words vague.

"Your sister was also pregnant. After she disappeared, her husband's family should have joined you in looking for her, even if it was for the sake of the child..." Zhi Yihe looked confused.

"How did you know my sister was pregnant?" The man was surprised and said weakly, "Hey, ladies, you don't know, my sister... was taken away by a high-ranking official to be his concubine. The official is extremely snobbish, and my family is of low status and has little influence..."

"Jun'er...my Jun'er..." The old man called his daughter's name in a trance.

Seeing this, Zhi Yihe decided to send them home first: "Don't worry, it may be difficult to find my sister's remains, but I believe the government will give you an explanation."

"I will always remember your kindness and generosity. Today, I finally found my sister's whereabouts. I will feel a little comforted when I go to my father's grave to pay my respects."

"I haven't asked you yet, big brother. May I ask what your little sister's name is...?"

"Oh! Fujun, Ma Fujun, Fu means blessing, Jun means gentleman."

Zhi Yihe nodded, silently chanted her name, and asked, "When Miss Fujun disappeared, how many months old was the fetus in her belly?"

"It's been more than two months. She had prayed for it with great difficulty, thinking that as long as she gave birth to a boy, her life would be easier in the future. Who knew... Oh!"

Yuyi and the man helped the old lady get off the carriage, while Zhi Yihe was deep in thought inside the carriage, recalling the page of drawings about Ma Fujun.

After Yuyi got on the carriage, the driver asked, "Madam Zhi, are you going home?"

"Can the big brother named Kuang Ye return to the team?" Zhi Yihe asked.

"I'm here!" She was startled by the rough and honest response from the wilderness outside the car.

Yuyi lifted the carriage curtain and asked calmly, "Have you found out what our young lady wanted you to find out?"

"Yes! Miss, Wang Zude was originally from Xiangjiang. In the spring of the 27th year of Jingrui, he was sold into the General Yan's mansion as a slave. In the 9th year of Zhaoding, he entered the Eastern Palace and was later promoted to deputy eunuch. In the 16th year of Zhaoding, he suddenly disappeared..."

Zhi Yihe applauded and praised: "I know what happened next. Brother Kuangye is amazing! He found so much information in such a short time! Has Brother found anyone who knows the writings of Xiangjiang thirty years ago?"

“Well…” Kuangye scratched his head, with a hint of helplessness in his tone: “Miss Zhi, there was an outbreak of plague in that place. Twenty years ago, everyone died or fled. There are no more people there.”

"That's it..."

Kuang Ye continued, "But I have already sent people to look for him, and there should be news soon."

Zhi Yihe rubbed the ends of his hair and said, "Thank you for your hard work. Let's go back to Zhangxian Temple!"

"This..." The driver looked embarrassed, not knowing what to do.

Zhi Yihe knocked on the car frame impatiently, a little unhappy: "Don't worry, I will explain it to him clearly."

So, they returned to Zhangxian Temple again. As night fell, the temple was much quieter than the hustle and bustle of the day. When Zhi Yihe went in, he saw Fanzhou and others sitting around Hefeng, studying the drawings.

Seeing her come in, He Feng's attitude was much more relaxed than in the afternoon: "I knew you wouldn't go back obediently."

Zhi Yihe grabbed the blueprint, found the page with Ma Fujun, covered the other patterns, and only exposed the word "horse": "Look at this pattern, does it look like a horse standing sideways? The head is up and the tail is down, the back is facing right, the top is the horse head with eyes, the middle is the horse body, the bottom is the horse tail, and the left is the two feet."

He Feng held his chin and said, "Well... they are somewhat similar."

"Before Emperor Zhaoding unified Xiqi and Dongli, many places were desolate and backward due to continuous wars. People could hardly even get enough food and clothing, let alone read and write. So they used symbols and pictures to convey information. I guess these are the crimes of the Crown Princess that Steward Wang recorded in Xiangjiang characters."

As Zhi Yihe spoke, she lowered her head to examine the drawing: "Based on the current clues, this picture should be of Ma Fujun... 'Two months'... 'Seventh month'..." She compared the drawing with others and added: "Male..."

"This one is... 'January'... 'June'... also a male."

He Feng copied the same words: "'Two months', 'May', 'woman', 'jade hairpin'!"

People gathered around, holding the drawings, comparing and analyzing the text on them.

"Why are some marked as the tenth year of Zhaoding and others as the fourteenth year?" Yu Yi asked uncertainly.

One person immediately responded: "That's right! It seems that there are only these two years!"

Zhi Yihe muttered softly: "Aban is one year younger than me, that is - the twelfth year of Zhaoding. The Crown Princess conducted the experiment two years in advance and successfully gave birth to triplets two years later, but in the fourteenth year of Zhaoding... why did they start the experiment again..."

He Feng chatted with her, "That is to say, four years later, she needs to restart this plan to help her give birth to a child to consolidate her position. However, she didn't give birth during this period. Did it fail? Or is this method not meant for her? Between the 14th and 15th year of the Zhaoding reign, were there any noble families that gave birth to children?"

Zhiyihe Putou thought of something, raised his eyes and looked at Yuyi.

Yuyi pulled her aside and whispered in her ear: "Miss, I seem to remember that Master Siqi seems to be..."

"Shh!" Zhi Yihe stopped Yuyi and decided that no matter what, it was time to meet Dog Dad.

"It's getting late. Let's wait for the coachman to buy food for everyone and then we'll set off back." Zhi Yihe said to He Fengyan.

Hefeng and Zhiyi walked outside the temple. It should have been an empty area, but now it was covered with bones. He whispered, "I was a little harsh towards you today. Are you angry with me? Will you blame me?"

"How could that be?" Zhi Yihe replied nonchalantly.

"You are still a fugitive after all. There are many people in Beijing who know you. I am worried..."

"Oh~ I see! I really thought I was the one causing trouble for Lord He." Zhi Yihe said with a smile on his face.

"Thanks to you, otherwise there wouldn't be such significant progress in the case."

"Then on the day when you claim your credit, what can you give me as a reward?" Zhi Yihe turned his head and looked at him with a forced smile.

Hefeng placed his hand on Zhi Yihe's head, his eyes deep and unfathomable, as if hiding the silence of the stars and the depth of the sea: "What does Ah He want?"