The torch was stuck on the ground in the middle of the room, and the four of them searched separately. Yang Ruoqing placed the target on the table not far away.

The table was a simple Eight Immortals table, covered with dust and cobwebs. Yang Ruoqing picked up the book covered by cobwebs, blew off the dust, and read through each book one by one, page by page.

The top books are the Four Books and the Five Classics, and the bottom books are densely written articles. The papers are all yellowed, but it can still be seen from the handwriting that a scholar once lived in this cellar. Could it be the woman on the bed?

A letter suddenly fell from the pages and landed at Yang Ruoqing's feet.

She leaned over to pick it up and spread it out gently. The handwriting on it was exactly the same as the handwriting on the book and those articles just now. It was obviously written by the same person.

But the content on the letter was addressed to a person named ‘Brother Zhang’.

Yang Ruoqing didn't want to pry into other people's privacy, but when it came to the death of the mother and son on the bed, she could only make an exception once.

The letter paper has aged, the paper has turned yellow, and the handwriting has gradually become blurry. Fortunately, it was sandwiched among other books and was not eaten by mice, but it still looks a bit laborious.

After struggling to read the previous few words, Yang Ruoqing's expression became a little more solemn, and she suddenly called Luo Fengtang: "Tangyazi, try to light a lamp for me again."

Luo Fengtang said: "I happened to find some tung oil."

He came to the table, poured tung oil into the lampstand on the table, and lit it.

Yang Ruoqing put the letter paper close to the lamp, and then read each word carefully.

Luo Fengtang watched her frown getting tighter, and then glanced at the letter paper in her hand. It was covered with densely packed small characters, and several places in the middle were circled in red, as if to highlight them.

Just as Luo Fengtang was about to ask, Risong and Liu Xueyun came to the table one after another.

"There is no other discovery. There should be only the skeletons of the mother and son on the bed in this room." Liu Xueyun said.

That day Risong also said: "I found a lot of rotten and dried things in the corner. They should be similar to cabbage and potatoes. They should be the inventory in this cellar."

Liu Xueyun added: "The mother and son on the bed died before the stock was in short supply. The cause of death is unknown..."

"The child died of diarrhea and fever without medical treatment. As for the woman, the child is gone and the man has not returned yet. She has no idea of ​​living!" Yang Ruoqing suddenly said.

Either die of excessive grief, or die on hunger strike. When a person has lost all hope and falls into complete despair and helplessness, death is a relief for her.

"How come you know so well, Qing'er?" Narisong asked in surprise.

Luo Fengtang and Liu Xueyun's eyes fell on the letter paper in her hand.

Yang Ruoqing handed the letter paper to the three of them and let them read it.

Risong waved his hand directly: "I get a headache when I see those dense words. Qing'er, if you have read it, just tell us what is written on the paper. This will save time, right?"

Luo Fengtang and Liu Xueyun both nodded, "Just say it."

Yang Ruoqing sighed softly and turned to look at the mother and son on the bed, "There were three people living in this cellar. In addition to the two of them, there was also the woman's man, who was the child's father."

"The child's father is a scholar. The books and pen and ink on this table belong to him, and he also wrote these things."

"What? It turns out that there is a family of three living here? Where did that naughty man hide? The women and children are dead, is he living an ignoble existence? Grandma is a bear..."

As soon as the story started, Risong's bad temper came out, and his cheeks turned red with anger.

Although he was irritable, he was full of a sense of responsibility, so others did not blame him.

Liu Xueyun said: "Brother, please be patient and let me tell you the whole thing."

That Risong said "Hmm" and kept quiet for the time being. Yang Ruoqing's deep voice sounded again in the small cellar:

"The person who wrote the letter is named Jiang, and the person who received the letter is named Zhang. Judging from the content of the letter, they should be classmates."

"Jiang Xiucai wrote a letter to ask Jiang Xiucai for help, but this letter of help was obviously not sent. In the letter, Jiang Xiucai told his classmate Brother Zhang in detail what he and his family had experienced, and that period

To him, the situation was a nightmare."

Luo Fengtang couldn't help but ask: "Qing'er, is this Jiang Xiucai really from Jiang Jiapo?"

Yang Ruoqing nodded: "Yes, there was a real village called Jiangjiapo here decades ago."

"According to what Jiang Xiucai mentioned in his letter, the village of Jiangjiapo is not big. There are nearly twenty-three households in the village. The whole village, old and young, only has two to three hundred people. Compared with ours, which has more than two hundred households and two to three thousand people,

Changping Village must be very small, and Jiangjiapo is indeed very small, but the whole village in Jiangjiapo has the surname Jiang, and there is no mixed surname."

"This Jiang Xiucai is the only son of the Jiang family. That year, his childhood sweetheart wife had just given birth to a son, and the family was holding a full-moon banquet for the child."

"On the day of the banquet, a foreign salesman happened to be passing by Jiangjiapo and came to ask for a bite of wedding wine. Jiang Xiucai's parents warmly entertained the foreign salesman."

"The salesman fell ill after having a wedding banquet. It turned out that he was ill before coming to Jiangjiapo."

"The Jiang family is kind and simple. They invited a doctor to see the salesman. He was diagnosed with leprosy. The Jiang family was frightened."

Risong exclaimed that day: "Leprosy? That thing is scary. It spreads from person to person. If it spreads, one person will die. The Jiang family will be ruined, and maybe the whole village will be ruined!"

"What happens next?" Luo Fengtang asked.

Yang Ruoqing continued: "Everyone knows that this disease is difficult, and the doctor was scared away after seeing it. Jiang Lizheng was so frightened that he quickly sealed up the house where the salesman lived, nailed the doors and windows tightly, and called a few cronies over overnight.

Discuss countermeasures.”

"Someone suggested sending the salesman away. As long as he can be sent out of Qingshui Town, he could just find a place to throw it away."

"Some people also suggested that the salesman take it into Mianniu Mountain and find a cliff to throw it down to avoid future troubles."

"There is even a suggestion to bury the person directly, even though the person is not dead yet..."

"When Jiang Lizheng was hesitating, Jiang Xiucai stood up and told everyone that when he was studying abroad, he met a classmate named Zhang. His family had been practicing medicine for several generations. There were also people in their area who had suffered from leprosy.

My classmate’s grandfather was cured,”

"What Jiang Xiucai means is, don't act rashly, let alone hurt people's lives. Isolate the person first and let him go to Zhang's house."

Luo Fengtang nodded secretly: "This Jiang Xiucai is a benevolent person."

That Risong also said: "Did I scold you wrong before? What about the back? Have you invited the Zhang family's grandfather?"

Yang Ruoqing lowered her eyes and glanced at the yellowed letter in her hand, "I don't know who leaked the news. Jiang Xiucai passed by on the road in front of Changping Village in a bullock cart. He originally wanted to go to Qingshui Town, but he was
Chapter completed!