In the sunlight, the blood-red color of the stone tablet with a white background seemed to become increasingly darker.

Bai Zhu frowned and said, “What happened next? Did the stone tablet work?”

The assistant opened his mouth, intending to say, “It worked.” But after seeing Bai Zhu’s rather displeased expression, he hesitated. Ever since the new emperor ascended the throne, perhaps due to the former emperor’s obsession with seeking immortality, both the court and the local authorities no longer endorsed ideas like using marriages to ward off misfortune. And the younger they were, the less they believed in such things!

The young Master Sicheng of the Dali Temple was clearly not someone who believed in such things. Realizing this, the waiter quickly changed his words, saying, “Who knows, really! Either way, with such expensive medicinal herbs keeping him alive, we’ll take it day by day!”

This was not entirely said to please Bai Zhu. Thinking of the expression on the face of the owner of Linliu Manor, the guy felt that what he said was true.

“It was a serious illness after all. Even a thousand-year-old ginseng would be useless.” The waiter said, “The owner of Linliu Manor was trembling and shaky when he walked the few steps from the door to the sedan chair. His face was pale and bloodless. I saw him coughing up blood several times!”

All in all, the owner of Linliu Manor really looked like he didn’t have much time left.

Bai Zhu said “Hmm” and then asked the waiter, “He has no children. Since he has suffered a serious illness, has he mentioned how to deal with his millions of taels of wealth?”

Speaking of this, the waiter suddenly became excited: “You are not the only one who is curious about this, we are also very curious! Because the owner of Linliu Manor really has no relatives, even if he wants to give his wealth, there is no one to give. At first, we all thought that his money was going to be either confiscated by the government or he could give it out to the people himself, to show that he was a good person before his death. I didn’t expect… it was not the case at all!”

Bai Zhu looked at the waiter who had become more alert, and took out another dime from his sleeve pocket and handed it to him.

The waiter’s eyes lit up when he received the change. He took the silver and shouted “Thank you, sir” while telling the whole story.

“Everyone thought so at first. But one time, the sedan bearers from Linliu Village came to my place for tea. I had nothing to do, so I asked them casually. Sir, what do you think the bearers said?” said the waiter.

Bai Zhu immediately took over the conversation: “What do they say?”

The waiter, who got the cooperation, became more excited to talk: “The owner of Linliu Manor is really the richer he is, the more stingy he is. He has already prepared to take his huge fortune into the grave with him!”

When the word “grave” was mentioned, the officers around Bai Zhu looked at each other subconsciously: the common point was indeed here!

Although they were excited in their hearts, they still did not react much on their faces, allowing Bai Zhu to continue: “He actually did this?”

Hearing the other person’s tone of surprise, the waiter became even more excited: “Sir, have you ever seen such a person? I haven’t seen one either! I heard that before he fell seriously ill, the owner of the manor had already prepared for his funeral. The sedan bearer said that the funeral was so grand that he had to live a life of idleness!”

Bai Zhu heard this and said “Hmm”, thought for a moment, and then asked the waiter, “Once a person closes his eyes, he knows nothing. How can the owner of the manor guarantee that the people who help him prepare the ceremony will do so after his death? Wasn’t he afraid that the manager would run away with the money?”

After all, what the owner of Linliu Manor was going to bury with him was not a small sum of money, so even a manager with many years of experience might be tempted.

As soon as the waiter heard Bai Zhu say the word “manager,” he laughed: “Why would the owner of Linliu Manor let the manager do such a thing? Of course, the person who is in this business should be asked to handle it!”

Bai Zhu raised his head and glanced at the waiter: “What’s this business?”

The waiter pointed casually in the direction of the city: “Only a few people are doing that kind of business, and we don’t know which ones they are… Hey, but the tombstone should be made by the Yuan Family Tombstone Shop in the city. Today, on Shuangyang, early in the morning, the manager of the village went to deliver the Buddhist scriptures and cassocks!”

When Bai Zhu heard this, he raised his head and looked out the window again at the elegant Linliu Manor. After looking for a while, he couldn’t help but sneer: “So that’s it!”

……

……

The Double Ninth Festival was just a few days after the Mid-Autumn Festival. Although Wang He claimed that he was not old enough to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival, thinking of the “still edible” mooncakes in the Mid-Autumn Festival gift box, he still accepted Yu Jijiu’s kindness with a cold face and “reluctantly”.

The square-sized Chongyang wooden box was carved quite delicately. To be fair, the holiday cakes made by a small public kitchen were no less delicious than those in restaurants outside.

Xun Zhou, who was reading, looked up and secretly glanced at Wang He, who had a cold face. After the person who sent the gift box left, he stood up and walked to the gift box sent by Yu Jijiu and asked Wang He: “Teacher, I want to see this gift box. Can I open it and have a look?”

Wang He glanced at Xun Zhou, who took the initiative to speak and handed over the steps, coughed, and said, “Then… open it and take a look!”

The lid of the wooden box of the Double Ninth Festival gift box was opened, revealing the Chongyang cake cut into squares. Looking at the cake covered with sprinkles, Wang He immediately reached out and picked up a piece and put it into his mouth.

Xun Zhou looked at the white porcelain jar next to the Chongyang cake, on which were written three elegant and delicate small characters: “Osmanthus Honey”.

When the stopper of the white porcelain jar was opened, a rich aroma of honey mixed with the fragrance of osmanthus immediately gushed out. Wang He, who was happily rejecting the soft and glutinous Chongyang cake in his mouth, raised his eyes and looked over here.

When the good student Xun Zhou saw Wang He’s actions, he immediately handed over the osmanthus honey in his hand.

Wang He took the cake and poured some osmanthus honey on it. The osmanthus honey was rich and sweet. The already rich taste of the Chongyang cake was made even richer with that spoonful of osmanthus honey. For those who love sweet things, it was really hard to refuse.

The Chongyang cake was poured with osmanthus honey. Before he knew it, three Chongyang cakes had been eaten, and half of the jar of osmanthus honey had been used up. Wang He then put the osmanthus honey back into the gift box with reluctance and said to Xun Zhou, “The saint advocates frugality. There is no need to buy the snacks that satisfy your cravings on the road. Just use this!”

Xun Zhou did not expose Wang He’s intention, but smiled, nodded and said yes.

Wang He added: “When I go out to visit friends, you should stay at home if you have nothing to do. Study hard and study your lessons!”

Xun Zhou nodded again, picked up the packed luggage, and sent Wang He out.

After taking two steps, Wang He stopped again and turned to look at Xun Zhou: “I am not such a petty person. The crime was not committed by his daughter. It’s okay for you to take care of the daughter of that old man Wen Xuance. There is only one thing you need to remember!”

Xun Zhou hurriedly asked Wang He what was going on.

Wang He glanced at him and said, “Those people in the Dali Temple deal with vicious criminals all the time. I think Wen Xuance’s daughter is fine, but don’t get involved with them and get into trouble. Do you understand?”

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