The Legend of the Concubine in the Harem

Looking at Fu Qingsu with her eyes closed, Lin Qiao was very sure that there had never been such a person in her memory, not even a woman who looked similar to her.

After the villagers dispersed, Linjiazhuang gradually became quiet.

Linjiazhuang does not cover a large area, but it is located outside the town. The Lin family's fields are just a few steps away, but at the same time it is closer to the county town than the town. When Old Man Lin is on duty, he always sets out from his home early in the morning.

Lin Qiao asked the servants to clean up all the tables, chairs and other items in the yard. Before they finished cleaning up, Old Man Lin came back with a yamen runner.

"Uncle Zheng." Lin Qiao put down the stools in his hands, stacked them in the corner, and greeted the visitor, "Thank you for your help."

Captain Zheng was about the same age as Old Man Lin, but he looked younger and more robust. He smiled and said, "What's the problem? The county magistrate heard from Old Lin that a stranger appeared in your house, so he took it very seriously and sent me here."

As a juren, Lin Qiao was really too young.

In those days, it was more difficult and arduous for children from poor families to take imperial examinations than for children from official families. The Lin family was just a small landlord in the county, and the fact that Lin Qiao could become a juren at the age of 18 was a remarkable thing even in the imperial capital.

After thanking Captain Zheng for his appreciation of the local county magistrate, Lin Qiao took the two of them into the room where Fu Qingsu was accommodated. On the way, he briefly recounted what had happened in Linjiazhuang today. He did not emphasize the strange phenomenon of everyone seeming to be sleepwalking. He only said that it might be because a dish was not cooked thoroughly when cooking on the stove today, which caused the people in Linjiazhuang to have hallucinations.

Captain Zheng said, "Your family lives by the mountain, and when the season comes, the people in the village can also enjoy some mountain delicacies. However, although these mountain delicacies are delicious, there are always people who get into trouble after eating them. You should be more careful in the future."

"I understand. Thank you Uncle Zheng for your concern." Lin Qiao said, raising his hand to lift the curtain hanging on the door frame. "I don't know where this girl came from. I just asked a few questions and she fainted."

Captain Zheng glanced at the person lying on the bed, his eyes swept across her wedding dress, and then fixed on Fu Qingsu's face.

"Huh?" Captain Zheng seemed to be thinking about something.

Lin Qiao raised an eyebrow: "Uncle Zheng recognizes you?"

"She seems familiar, but I can't remember where she is familiar for a while. But I can be sure that she is not from our town. There are more people coming and going from the county town every day, but..."

Captain Zheng stroked the short beard on his chin and said, "She has a fair complexion and her hands look like they have never worked before."

"Although I can't see clearly, there seems to be a thin layer of calluses on the fingertips and knuckles of her right hand, which should be left over from writing." Old Man Lin interjected. Although he is not young, he was born with a pair of superb eyesight. Even at this age, his eyesight has not declined.

Lin Qiao inherited this pair of sharp eyes: "There are traces of nail dyeing on the base of her little finger nail. Only this finger was dyed, and the flesh around the nail plate is slightly swollen. And looking at the remaining color, it must be that she used golden phoenix flowers and spicy things to wrap the finger to dye it, and it's not finished yet. It seems that she has never seen such a dyeing method before, so she is curious to try it."

"She's not from here," Lin Qiao concluded. "Judging from the color left on her nails and the redness and swelling of the surrounding skin, she must have had them painted last night."

"Uncle Zheng, have there been any wealthy families or retired officials who have moved here from the county in the past month?" Lin Qiao had been busy planning to go to the capital these days and had not paid much attention to the changes in the county.

This woman who suddenly appeared in his home and caused strange things did not look like someone raised by an ordinary family. Captain Zheng usually either patrolled the county town or served as a guard beside the county magistrate. He felt that she looked familiar, but he could not remember who she was. It was only possible that he had accidentally seen this woman before.

Captain Zheng raised his hand and scratched the back of his head a few times: "Hiss - half a month ago, there was indeed a family that settled in the county. The family's surname was Zeng, and the man in charge even went to the county government to visit the county magistrate. At that time, I vaguely heard a few words that the man came from Kyoto, and the elders of the family seemed to be officials in the capital."

"Oh?" Lin Qiao thought for a moment and asked, "Does Uncle Zheng know what he did after leaving his elders and coming to our county?"

Captain Zheng spread his hands and said, "Hey, it's been decades since we've had a scholar like you, Xiaolin. I really don't know what he's going to study here..."

He fully expressed his incomprehension of scholars, and then said: "Let's go back to the county first and find the Zeng family to ask them if anyone is missing. The girl's current condition may not be convenient for her to move, so I can only trouble your family to take care of her first. If it is true that someone is missing, I will ask them to come and take the girl back."

"Then I'll have to trouble Uncle Zheng." Lin Qiao agreed with a smile.

After seeing Captain Zheng off, the father and daughter returned to the house.

Father Lin asked uneasily, "What happened today is really evil, are you sure?"

"Yes, but not much. Dad, you need to cooperate with me first." Lin Qiao said, and moved a chair over, then took out a hemp rope from the pile of firewood by the wall.

Father Lin was confused: "What are you going to do? The girl is unconscious and can't run away, right?"

He put the chair in front of Old Man Lin and made a gesture to invite him to take a seat. Lin Qiao explained, "When this girl was awake, you valued her very much. You were afraid that I, as your stepson, would treat her badly. When you talked, it seemed like you wanted to ask me to have a meal of rice noodles..."

"Bah, bah, bah! What nonsense are you talking about! I was...it was the monster that made me lose my mind. Don't talk nonsense, you little bastard. What if it really is your mother who comes, and she misunderstands you? How bad will that be?" Old Man Lin had already understood what his daughter was trying to do. He sat on the chair, cursing, and let Lin Qiao tie him up with a hemp rope.

After tying up my father.

Lin Qiao scooped a spoonful of cold water from the kitchen with a dry gourd ladle, put the wake-up powder in it and stirred it a few times, then dipped her finger in the water and sprinkled it on Fu Qingsu's face.

The woman on the bed trembled and slowly opened her eyes.

The moment she opened her eyes, Old Man Lin's head drooped down suddenly. When he raised it again, he only looked in the direction of Fu Qingsu, and found that he was tied to a chair. Without thinking, he started to scold Lin Qiao for being an unfilial son.

Lin Qiao lazily picked his ears and stuffed a steamed bun left over from the banquet into Old Man Lin's mouth.

Fu Qingsu, who was still a little confused, saw this scene of loving father and filial daughter, and immediately felt cold in her heart. She subconsciously shrank her body and asked Lin Qiao stutteringly: "...What do you want to do?"