False evidence

Chapter 453 Painted Skin (3)

I scoffed at what Eunuch Sun said.

Of course I know what he meant.

He was a eunuch, a eunuch from the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty lasted for 276 years and had a total of 16 emperors.

Those that are widely known can be counted on one hand.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor;

Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) seized the throne under the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials".
Zhu Houzhao, the rogue emperor, is known for his role in the "Dragon and Phoenix Play" incident.
Then there's Emperor Chongzhen, who hanged himself on Coal Hill. Few people probably even know the real name of this last emperor.

There was another emperor who only reigned for four years, but his reputation in later generations was quite significant.

That was Emperor Jianwen, whose throne was usurped by his uncle.

Emperor Huizong of Ming's original name was Zhu Yunwen!

Throughout history, eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics. Of course, exceptions included outliers like Zhao Gao, Liu Jin, and Wei Zhongxian.

Most eunuchs were not very literate.

Eunuch Sun was no exception. He probably knew even fewer characters than Xiao Shen San.

Therefore, although Zhao Qi deliberately explained that Zhu Yunwen's "Wen" meant "civilized," Eunuch Sun probably still didn't understand.

Even if he understood, in the current dynasty, daring to share the same name as the emperor, even if the pronunciation is the same but the characters are different, would be a capital offense.

I asked Zhao Qi, "What exactly did Zhu Yunwen do that you want to investigate?"

"That's the right question."

Zhao Qi opened the drawer, took out a folder, and handed it to me. "Take a look at this first."

I took the folder, opened it, and after just one glance, I felt a strange sensation.

That wasn't computer typing; it was a photograph that was enlarged and printed out.

The content itself was written with a brush, and at the very top, there was even a brush-painted portrait.

The painting depicts a woman, but judging from her headdress and hairstyle, she is definitely not from this era.

"What's this? A wanted poster?" Erpang asked in a simple voice.

“It’s a missing person notice.” Zhao Qi put his legs up on the table again. “Yang Surong, born in 1630, went missing on April 25, 1644.”

For ordinary people, privately posted missing person notices are not preserved.

Yang Surong's father was once a third-rank official in the imperial court, and after retiring, he became a wealthy man. Therefore, the notice seeking his beloved daughter not only circulated widely at the time but was also recorded in the local county annals.

I glanced at him, turned the page, and found it was another photocopy and printout, with content similar to the previous one.

Zhao Qi lit a cigarette, took a puff, and said:

"Lan Zhaodi was born in 1705 and disappeared in 1722. Judging from her name, you can tell that her family was of modest means. The reason this document has been preserved to this day is because her childhood sweetheart, who was engaged to her, went insane after passing the imperial examination and learning of her disappearance. He then spent his days carrying this document around, searching for his wife. Ten years of hard study went unnoticed, but one success made him famous throughout the land, yet he went mad for a woman... If this were today, it would be considered a strange and absurd story. That's why you can see this document."

Turn the page again, and it's still similar.

But then nearly forty years passed.

Keep scrolling down...

I finally couldn't help but look up and ask, "These missing women not only span a long period of time, but some even cross dynasties. What is the connection between them?"

"Let's finish reading first." Zhao Qi stubbed out his cigarette. "If you keep reading, you'll see what's wrong."

Because the matter might be related to Li Meizhi, Liang Yuan and I watched very attentively. Erpang, who was initially distracted, later became much more serious out of curiosity.

Turning the page again, on the second line, both Liang Kaiyuan in my mind and Liang Yuan beside me let out a soft exclamation:
"This Tang Feifei shares the same birthday as Meizhi!"

"Meizhi was also born on this day!"

I quickly skimmed through this missing person notice from the Republican era, eager to turn to the next page...

When I got to the last page, I looked at Zhao Qi again, and for a moment I didn't know what to say.

Zhao Qi raised one eyebrow: "Do you still think I'm the one who harmed Li Meizhi?"

Liang Yuan shook her head. "What exactly is going on? Could it be that all the missing people were born on the same day as Meizhi?"

He said this because, ever since that Republican-era missing person notice, all the missing persons have had the same birthday.

Zhao Qi shook his index finger: "To be precise, they were just born on the same day of the same month. The first few didn't have their birth dates recorded, but..."

Seeing him look at me, I said without hesitation, "The ages are different, and the portraits are rough, but judging from the prominent features in the portraits, the personalities are similar, and they are very likely born on the same day."

"now it's right!"

Zhao Qi clapped his hands, put his legs down, abandoned his nonchalant attitude, quickly manipulated the mouse, and then turned the computer screen towards us:
"This is what I investigated, and my wife compiled it."

I first looked at the bottom right corner of the screen, which showed only one page of the document.

The content is concise and numbered.

I skimmed through it, then asked in shock, "Is all of this true? Where did you find all this information?"

"It's impossible to find someone to investigate, but I can find someone from another world to investigate." Zhao Qi grinned. "I forgot to tell you something. Master Shen from the funeral parlor on Shuangshan Road is my sworn brother. Go ask him, and he'll tell you that I have the ability. I can guarantee that the accuracy of this information is over 95%."

Erpang, who was slower than me at using the computer, said at this moment:

"Everyone in them has the surname Zhu. And they all know those missing women... Zhu Bajie carrying his wife?"

I had only taken a sip of tea when I heard his last sentence, and I immediately spat it out.

Indeed, the documents on the computer matched the files Zhao Qi showed us.

For example:
The first page features Yang Surong, the head housekeeper of the household, whose name is Zhu Jiale.

The second one, Lan Zhaodi, had a fiancé who had a study companion named Zhu Kaihe.

The third……

the fourth……

The last document shows that Li Meizhi is missing.

Also related to someone surnamed Zhu—she rented a space to open a kindergarten, and the landlord was Zhu Yunwen.

I pondered for a moment and said to Zhao Qi:
"Without your explanation, it's hard for us to imagine what connection these missing people have. The only three things we can think of that the missing people have in common are..."

First, their dates of birth; second, there is someone surnamed Zhu in their vicinity, or perhaps a family with that surname; third, the missing persons range in age from fourteen to thirty-nine, and are all women.

Zhao Qi rubbed his nose. "If you have some knowledge of history, you should be able to think of more."

I shook my head, about to say that my understanding of history was only at the junior high school level, and that I had learned most of it from period dramas.

In her mind, Shen Fangyun suddenly said:
"The first one is Yang Surong, who disappeared on April 25, 1644. On the same day, month, and year, a major event also occurred."

"What is it?" Liang Kaiyuan, Lü Xin, and I asked at the same time.

"When Li Zicheng entered Beijing, Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian, with disheveled hair and a covered face, hanged himself on Coal Hill!"

(End of this chapter)