The old things I repaired have become fine

Chapter 548: A little flame fell from the wick of the lamp, instantly lighting up the entire house!

Shen Le almost subconsciously held his breath. It smelled... too good, so good that it almost made him faint!

Legend has it that high concentrations of indole will have a strong odor, but when diluted a thousand times it will smell like jasmine...

So what I smelled was a strong floral scent. Was it because the spices were so dense that they condensed into a foul-smelling gas?

No... I don't want it... Wait, this isn't perfume, the smoke is from burning spices, it's...

Shen Le instinctively took a step forward, wanting to see the fuel in the incense burner more clearly. With this step, his toes sank deeply.

He looked down and saw a thick, dense carpet under his feet. A gorgeous jewel-like pattern was condensed in the center, with intricate and gorgeous flowers extending out in all directions.

The flowers extended to all four sides, and were condensed into a wide edge with palm leaves, roses, tulips, and various other plants. Shen Leqing couldn't help swallowing:
"Persian Isfahan carpet..."

This carpet is densely woven with silk as the warp and the finest lambswool as the weft.

The lines of the carpet were so thick that the longitude and latitude were almost unrecognizable to the naked eye. Shen Le squatted down and touched it. The touch of his fingertips was delicate and soft. Even if it was not as soft as cashmere, it probably wouldn't feel hard when worn on the body.

The density is at least 130 knots/10 cm, maybe even higher!

He once heard from his mentor that this kind of carpet is still for sale in Turkey. A 1.2m*2m high-density carpet can easily cost tens of thousands. And the carpets here...

The carpet here...

From time to time, there were flashes of brilliant light in the carpet patterns. Without looking closely, Shen Le knew that gold and silver threads were mixed in.

And it was extremely thick. Really thick. When you stepped on it, half of your foot would be sunk into the carpet.

As the saying goes, "Colorful silk is fluffy and fragrant, the thread is soft and the flowers are indescribable. The beauty steps on it to sing and dance, her silk stockings and embroidered shoes disappear with her steps."

For a carpet of this thickness, "a carpet of one zhang costs one thousand taels of silk" is no joke. As for the price, Shen Le has several small goals in mind, so he would never dare to lay a carpet like this at home...

He took one step forward cautiously, and then another. Next to the two pillars in front of him, there stood a large cauldron, shining brightly, with smoke rising from it, burning the spices he smelled;
The closer he got, the more he had no idea what this thing was. In any case, it was something like sinker, sandalwood, speed, descending, and ambergris.

But it was the screen next to him that made him dumbfounded:
Is this agarwood?
This must be agarwood, right?
This faint fragrance, even in the midst of strong incense, still persists in showing its existence. It can only be agarwood, right?!

Such a large agarwood screen... two meters high, five or six meters long when unfolded... nowadays, it is no longer a question of whether you can afford it or not, but whether there is such a large piece of wood...

"Keep playing!"

"Keep dancing!"

A loud shout hit Shen Le's ears and almost made him fall backwards.

Shen Le looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of dancers walking to the center of the courtyard, spreading their arms and spinning at high speed. Their sleeves were raised high, and their long sleeves and ribbons were spinning around their bodies like wind and clouds.

There was loud applause from all around, and a few high-nosed and deep-eyed seafarers whispered to each other and praised quietly:

"Only the Pu family can keep such a good Persian dancer..."

"Shh..."

"They are not all Persian dancers. Look at the third one on the left. She is from the Huang family... Look at the first one on the right in the second row. She is surnamed Zhao. She is a real royal daughter..."

Shen Le's heart sank heavily.

Is this the foreign merchant? Is this the foreign merchant who sold the entire Citong City to the Tartars, stood on the flesh and blood of the people in the city, and sucked blood from the maritime trade of the entire southeast coast to achieve his own wealth and glory?
The daughters of the Huang family, even if they were from a branch family, were the daughters of the most elite gentry families in this city...

And the daughter of the Zhao family... He had looked up information before. At the end of the Song Dynasty, when Citong City was broken, the Yuan army carried out a massacre here, and almost all the daughters of the royal family were killed...

Then, were the women of the royal family retained, raised like slaves, and driven like singers?

He walked forward slowly. What he saw was a prosperous scene, with Arabic-style gilded bronze mirrors and rhino horn engravings from Southeast Asia hanging on the walls;
On the table were a silver ewer with gilt and engraved patterns in imitation of Arabic shapes, a cloisonné enamel plate inlaid with gemstones, and a clear, transparent cobalt blue glass bowl with patterns, which looked like it was made in Syria.
In the ceramic jar on the table, the waiter was taking out large chunks of stewed beef, and the smell of a lot of spices filled the air. Shen Le sniffed:

Pepper, cinnamon, what is this? Oh, see, it's saffron. If he hadn't followed his mentor to a banquet hosted by a client, he really wouldn't have known this precious thing...

Well, they are all imported goods, spices imported from Southeast Asia or even the Mesopotamian region. Even if they are not worth a fortune, one cauldron worth one gold is the minimum.

In addition, a waiter pushed over a whole roasted lamb, half-knelt in front of the guests, cut off the parts they wanted for the guests, and served pomegranate juice as a side dish.

Shen Le carefully examined the desserts on the tall golden plate next to him and barely recognized the candied dates and dried figs...

This exotic-style table might be fine in the Arab world, but if it were to be displayed in Qitong City, Shen Le couldn't even imagine how much it would cost.

Just like that, looking at the expressions of the host and the guests, it seemed like this happened every day, just an ordinary joy.

Shen Le took a deep breath, tried to make his steps as light as possible, and walked around in a circle.

The mansion still had the familiar layout, with three courtyards in front and back, and two rows of guard houses on the left and right, all of which were renovated by Shen Le himself;

However, all the arrangements are completely different.

On the left side of the first entrance, a chapel was built. It was spacious and had a bronze-based enamel prayer niche and a Persian tile floor.

The second entrance is the hall where the host entertains guests today. The third entrance is where the female family members live. The two guard houses on the left and right house the guards and servants on the left and the singers and dancers on the right.

Shen Le walked around the alley on the right and entered the small room. He heard an old woman's voice scolding him:
"After eating the host's meal, you should be grateful for the host's kindness! - Don't think that you are all noble ladies, ladies from wealthy families, how could you fall to this point?
—Bend down! Bend down! Bend your waist! Press down! And you! Jump up! Didn’t you have lunch? ! "

Then came the whistling sound of a whip breaking through the wind, and the young girl's cry of pain. After a pause, the middle-aged woman's attentive, cautious persuasion was heard again:

"Mammy, calm down. These girls are here to accompany the guests. It would be embarrassing if they got hurt. Please take a rest. I'll do it here. I'll do it..."

Shen Le couldn't bear to listen any longer, so he quickened his pace and walked back to the main hall.

The singing and dancing had not yet ended, and the banquet was still going on. However, the host had left the table without anyone noticing, and was walking in the quiet corridor, supported by a young man:

"Father, should we... restrain ourselves a little? After all, the world has changed. The emperor has banned maritime trade. Rumors have spread about our family..."

The young man asked in a low voice, his face full of worry. The middle-aged man with a big belly beside him paused and shook his hand away:

"You don't understand this! - What's wrong with the emperor? The emperor also needs to eat! The emperor also needs money! He fights wars every year and every month. He fights in Liaodong and the northwest. Where does he not need money?

We have been in charge of maritime trade for so many years, how much do we earn for the court every year! The ban on the sea is only temporary, and we will reopen it after all the remaining bandits are cleared out!"

"But father...the money in the family..."

"It's time to make a scene." The middle-aged man patted his son's arm and said in a serious tone:
"Without money, who will do business with you? Without money, who will follow you to go to sea? How do you let people know that you are rich? You rely on banquets like this, and spend money like this to show off -

When we become prudent and frugal, and count every penny we spend, our family will never be able to recover!"

At this point, the young man finally had nothing to say and bowed his head in silence. The father and son walked slowly down the corridor with heavy steps and came to the third residence.

The middle-aged man stretched his limbs, slowly lay down on the couch, and sighed:
"Ugh……"

They said that as long as they could hold on, there would be a day when the sea would be opened, and there would be a day when these foreign merchants would be employed, but...

but……

When will this day come...and how long can the Pu family hold on?
Life was so good under the Yuan Dynasty... My ancestor Pu Shougeng was named General Zhaoyong and served as the Maritime Affairs Officer of Fujian and Guangdong. Life was so good back then...

At that time, the Pu family was flourishing and prosperous.

Even for playing chess, a garden was specially set up, with 32 beautiful women holding black and red chess pieces with name tags, following the orders of the players to move forward and backward, which is still a good story today...

He slowly closed his eyes and fell asleep, leaving Shen Le standing beside him with a gloomy face. He looked left and right, wanting to find a hammer to beat him to death, or a knife to kill him.

Why hasn't this guy died yet?

Why hasn’t this hateful family, the family that betrayed Song and Meiyuan, perished yet?

How many years did Zhu Yuanzhang keep them... Why didn't he kill them as soon as the country was established? Was it because he had too many things to do and he didn't think about it?

He walked around the mansion, racking his brains to think, but he could not remember when the Ming Dynasty started, nor did he hear the current reign title from the guests or servants.

He wanted to walk out of the mansion and look at the street, but a strange force restrained his steps and prevented him from leaving.

Then you should hurry up!

Can you please let me see the ending soon?

Shen Le circled around in circles, but couldn't get out of the mansion. On the third circle, he suddenly saw the girl from the Huang family in the group of dancers, being hugged by the son of the owner of the mansion, and whispering to him.

Shen Le took a few steps forward carefully, and heard the young man whisper:
"Mother Lian, I will be getting married in half a month. After I get married, I will ask my father for you and let you be my concubine, okay? Then, you won't have to accompany the guests..."

Lian Niang lowered her head, her face flushed, and she neither said yes nor no. After a long while, she replied softly in a voice as soft as a mosquito:
"I'm afraid the lady is too strict..."

"It's okay, it's okay. Fatima is gentle and kind to others. If you are still afraid of her, I have a small house, but I can't come to see you every day..." They huddled together, whispering, as if they had endless things to say.

Shen Le always felt that Lian Niang's body was a little stiff and the smile on her face seemed a little forced.

However, every time she raised her head and looked at the young man, her eyes were still full of affection and love, which made Shen Le doubt himself:
"Did I see it wrong? - Never mind, I must have seen it wrong. Anyway, a single guy like me is definitely not good at this..."

He looked for a while, then turned around and walked out again, intending to find an opportunity to change the scene. He hadn't taken two steps when there was a loud bang outside, like the collapse of the sky and the crack of the earth!
"who!"

"What are you doing!"

"Go in! Go in! Go in!"

"Officials are doing business, no one is allowed to disturb! Get out of the way!"

"Your Majesty!"

"Master, please understand. I am not from the Pu family! I am here to attend the banquet!"

"Kneel down! Everyone, kneel down! No one will care about you now!"

Shouting, cursing, crying, and commotion filled the air. The soldiers' iron boots rumbled across the banquet table, stepping on the soft and thick floral carpet, leaving one black mud print after another, without any mercy.

That is to say, the country had just been founded and these soldiers still had some military discipline.

Although he occasionally picked up small items and put them in his arms and touched a pretty girl, he would never rob her on the spot or drag her into the room.

However, the scene of extravagance, prosperity and wealth just now was no longer visible. Pomegranate juice spilled on the ground, the pottery jar with beef fell on the felt carpet, and the cobalt blue glass bowl broke into pieces.

The incense burner that had previously smoked Shen Le was pushed to the ground, half of the ashes were scattered on the steps, and a large bucket of water was poured on it, trampling it into a muddy ground...

"It's so expensive... This is a Persian carpet..." Shen Le was so distressed that he trembled a little. It was because he was in a memory and couldn't do anything, otherwise, he really wanted to pick up the things and leave:
And that glass bowl is also worthy of being in a museum!
Into the museum!
Shen Le walked around the house, looking left and right. When he rushed out, the whole house had been searched.

Men and women, young and old, were forced to kneel in the front hall and listen to an official read a proclamation:
"The decree states... people with the surname Pu are not allowed to hold official positions..."

No one knew where this official was from, and his accent was odd. Shen Le had to guess and use the historical materials he had read to barely understand what he was saying.

However, everyone at the scene understood immediately, especially the children of the Pu family, who burst into tears. Some cried out for injustice, some begged for mercy, and some cried out—

But so what?
I haven’t asked you to pay with your lives yet!
So many lives!
So many people!

Shen Le clenched his fists and stared at the scene fiercely. After the official finished reading something that was probably an imperial edict, he changed to another proclamation and began to read:
"Confiscate the mansion... the business... the dock..."

The middle-aged man's body tilted and he fell softly to the ground. Shen Le could even read his mental activity:
It's over, everything is over. They are not allowed to enter the government, they are not allowed to be officials, their property is confiscated - this is to drive the Pu family to death!

Forced to death, forced into the mud, forced to the lowest point, unable to turn over again...

After the announcement was read, the official waved his hand and the soldiers immediately rushed forward, pushing people out like wolves and tigers.

Some of them cooperated obediently, saying that they were just guests, and only pushed and shoved - they probably had to go to jail and wait for their families to bring money to redeem them;

Some of them were obviously the masters, and they were kicked and beaten more. Even the middle-aged man argued for a while, and a flash of knife flashed, and blood immediately splattered on the steps...

"Good kill!"

Shen Le clenched his fist and swung it. As soon as the knife came down, the scene immediately became silent, and the children of the side branches and the servants in the house all bowed their heads.

After a while, the leading official handed over the documents, whispered a few words to the people around him, and left with his men.

Only the low-ranking officials who had spoken to him were left behind, looking up at the hall in front of them, their lips moving with a look of mixed sadness and joy:
"Ancestors, please come to me... this ancestral temple... is finally back..."

He looked up for a long time, tears streaming down his face, dripping into the dust. Some of the soldiers around him lowered their heads to wipe their tears, while others pressed their fists to their mouths and noses, trying hard not to burst into tears.

The low-ranking official was stunned for a while, then raised his hand and waved:
"Do it!"

At the command, someone immediately dragged the Pu family members out of the crowd one by one and pulled them out of the door, obviously to be dealt with separately.

The middle-aged man's body was also among them, dragged down the steps and over the threshold, leaving a long trail of blood, as if drawing an end mark in this ancestral hall with blood.

The servants watched in silence, no one dared to speak, until all the Pu family members were dragged away and someone started to clear the servants, then a young girl screamed and ran out of the crowd:

"Uncle Qing? Uncle Qing from the third room? I'm Ah Zhen! I'm Ah Zhen from the fifth room!!!"

Ah Zhen... Shen Le looked in the direction of the voice and saw Lian Niang, one of the dancers who performed the Hu Xuan dance before the banquet and who was later hugged by the son of the owner of the mansion and said sweet words to him.

So your name is Ah Zhen. So, you have never forgotten your name is Ah Zhen for even a moment...

Shen Le felt a tightness in his chest, and suddenly he had an urge to burst into tears.

He blinked hard a few times and looked up at the roof. After a while, he came to his senses and saw the official staring at the girl with a surprised look:
"You are Ah Zhen? You are... Wei'an's daughter, Ah Zhen who was born on the Qiqiao Festival? Didn't your father say that you were lost? When you were lost, you were only this little..."

He measured the height until it reached his chest. The girl nodded vigorously with tears in her eyes:
"I'm not lost, I was kidnapped...kidnapped and sold here...luckily I met my uncle...uncle, please save me!"

She fell to her knees and kowtowed repeatedly. The official surnamed Huang hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward, took her arm, and led her inside:

"Ah Zhen, you have been here for several years..."

Shen Le breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God, this abducted girl can finally go home...

The Ziyun Huang family is a local big family. They have fought back and there are officials in their family. Even if the girl's parents passed away, there will always be someone to take care of her life...

After a few years, when things cool down, maybe I can find a good person and spend the rest of my life with him...

Unfortunately, the girl surnamed Zhao will probably end up in pieces, with at most a small severance pay and have to fend for herself...

He stood quietly at the gate of the mansion, watching people coming in and out, watching the soldiers moving property and registering it. After a long while, a scream suddenly rang out from the back house:
"don't want--"

Shen Le ran inside. When he was halfway into the house, he saw the official surnamed Huang walking out slowly, talking to the young man beside him as he walked:
"Ah-Jen fell into the hands of thieves, and she did not want to bring disgrace to her family... She committed suicide to preserve her chastity... She should be properly buried, and if possible, we should apply for a commendation for her..."

Shen Le stood there in a daze, his whole body shivering. Committing suicide to preserve his chastity… Committing suicide to preserve his chastity!
If she wanted to commit suicide, why would she come out to recognize you? If she wanted to commit suicide, why would she shout "Uncle, save me"!
For the sake of the family's good name, and to protect the family's girls from being tarnished, are you going to let her commit suicide like this?!

After a long while, he suddenly got a start and ran over, searching every house, every beam, and even the old well.

I found the third entrance in one breath. On the eerie beam where the elderly women of the Huang family had hanged themselves because they were unable to escape, there was a body hanging high up.

Below, a group of young girls were crying as they tried to lift the table, stand on tiptoe, and put her down...

Shen Le looked carefully through the gap between their bodies. He turned one direction, then another, and suddenly saw the red mark on the back of her neck.

The red mark was not U-shaped, but crossed behind the neck... The cross-shaped red mark was a mark of strangulation, not a mark of hanging!
She didn't commit suicide!

It wasn't suicide!

Shen Le was at a loss for a moment. He stood blankly under the beam and in front of the window, with scenes crisscrossing before him:
At one point, Shanshan's golden hairpin pierced her throat, causing her to fall from the eaves and die on the ground.

At one time, the women hiding in the ancestral hall were insulted and killed, one after another, and some even jumped into wells and died;
One time was the day when the Yuan army broke into the city, and rows of old women in the ancestral hall went to hang themselves early in the morning;

For a moment, she thought of the girl who was strangled to death in front of her... Her name was not Lian Niang, but Ah Zhen. After being trafficked for so many years, she always remembered that her name was Ah Zhen...

"Eating people... they are all eating people..."

He murmured in a low voice. The noise around him gradually faded away, and the whole mansion had returned to silence after this disturbance.

Shen Le walked slowly in the mansion. Except for Ah Zhen's body, the mansion was clean and there was no one in it. Only the doors were sealed crosswise.

However, in Shen Le's eyes, there were countless corpses lying everywhere:

The middle-aged man who used to be the owner of the mansion...

The young man next to the middle-aged man...

Old, middle-aged, young, and teenage people who look like middle-aged men...

Men and women, young and old, were all bleeding. Some had their heads chopped off, some had their chests pierced by sharp blades, and some were strangled to death with white silk.

The ground was covered with blood, stench, and the strong fragrance that never dissipated, forming a strange, heart-pounding smell.

"Are they all dead? That's fine..."

Shen Le didn't know whether he was thinking about it or had already said it out loud.

All I knew was a thunderclap, and the tiles fell off the roof. A pole floated up from the eaves, and then a palace lantern, a revolving lantern with silver threads wrapped around a tortoise-shell picture and a floating ship scene on it:

A little flame fell from the wick of the lamp, instantly lighting up the entire house!

(End of this chapter)