HCB Chapter 151 The Mystery of the Woodcarving
Chapter 151 The Mystery of the Woodcarving
Just after noon, Gu Qingyun returned to the Dali Temple. Bai Jinyu seemed to be much better, and his cold sweating problem was gone. Gu Qingyun looked at Bai Jinyu and said to Xin Hai, "Let's go to the Zhao Mansion again. You stay here to take care of him. I don't feel comfortable leaving him to others."
"But what can you do? I usually follow you." Xinhai was very anxious. He had followed Gu Qingyun since he was a child and had always been Gu Qingyun's playmate and bodyguard. If anything happened to Gu Qingyun, he would also die with him.
"Don't worry, I won't put your life in danger." Gu Qingyun smiled and turned away.
Xinhai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was a little worried about his own life, but Shaoqing was also worried.
At the Zhao Mansion, according to the rules, Lord Zhao should have been buried and laid to rest.
But the truth of the matter remained unresolved, the Dali Temple was at a stalemate, and in the end, Lord Zhao's coffin remained at home.
Whenever the Dali Temple came to visit, Mrs. Zhao's face was full of resentment, and her eyes were so fierce that it seemed as if she wished Gu Qingyun would die.
"Madam, we are conducting a routine investigation of the crime scene." Gu Qingyun could only make up an excuse.
"The New Year is almost here, how long are you going to take? My husband is gone, do you want all the people in our Zhao family to live in the criticism and sadness of others? The New Year is almost here, how long are you going to take?" Mrs. Zhao's tone was very stern, like a poisoned sword.
"Madam...it will be soon. I will make sure you have a happy New Year." Gu Qingyun lowered his head. He had no business in this matter. The dead are the greatest. If he acted like this every day, it would indeed be against the will of heaven.
Madam Zhao sneered, "Okay, let's see how you can help us have a good New Year. I can't afford to offend you, the Dali Temple, but don't forget that my husband is also an upright official of the Dayan Dynasty. Don't force me to go to the emperor to ask for an explanation."
Gu Qingyun lowered his head and nodded repeatedly. There was nothing he could do since it was his own fault for being unreasonable.
Everyone dispersed, and Gu Qingyun led people into the house, "Search as quickly as possible to find out if there is anything strange."
Everyone nodded and quickly went their separate ways.
After searching for a while, I found no secret room or secret compartment. Everything seemed to be in the open.
Zhao Huaiqing looked at everyone's faces and finally said, "Actually, I've always felt that there's something very strange."
Several people looked at him in unison and motioned for him to speak.
"Doesn't this woodcut look a bit strange? Although the tiger is lifelike, he carved it very shallowly on such a thick board. Although there is no requirement for the depth of carving, he didn't even make a single hair exceed the minimum scale. It doesn't look like he used any technique, but rather like he did it on purpose..." Zhao Huaiqing paused and explained, "Woodcut works usually appear on seals and woodcut prints. It's like carving words on a radish. If you carve very shallowly, it may stain the surrounding objects and the words will not be so clear. If you carve deeper, there will be no problem. The depth will vary depending on the image you choose."
Zhao Huaiqing stood next to the tiger again and said, "This tiger is obviously more of a wood carving. If it was carved so shallowly, it wouldn't have such a deep three-dimensional effect. Such a thick piece of wood is carved so well. Could it be that it is just for use as a seal? This doesn't make sense."
Everyone gathered around the wood carving. Gu Qingyun stepped forward and knocked on it. "Then why did he carve it so shallowly?"
Zhao Huaiqing was also puzzled. "This wooden board looks natural. It doesn't look like there is something hidden inside. If it is a whole piece, it shouldn't be so light."
"Not to mention Huanghuali, even ordinary wood wouldn't be so light." Gu Qingyun weighed it.
"Is it... that it's empty inside? It's empty, so he can only carve very shallowly." Zhao Huaiqing said again.
Several people went up to take a look, and weighed it again, "It's really light, it looks like it was pierced by something."
Zhao Huaiqing squatted in front of the tiger and began to feel carefully, "How can such a thick piece of wood be hollowed in the middle?"
The craftsmanship has reached an astonishing level.
After groping for a long time, Zhao Huaiqing said, "No, I can't figure out the trick. I need to find a master who specializes in calligraphy and painting. Maybe he can figure out the clues."
"But it's difficult for the master craftsman to bring it into the Zhao Mansion, and it's also difficult for us to take the wood carving away." Gu Qingyun said helplessly.
Could it be that it was done secretly again like last night?
"If you don't want to hurt someone for no reason tonight, you can't take this risk." Wu Huan looked at Gu Qingyun's expression and said rationally, then said to Zhao Huaiqing, "Look carefully, maybe there is something missing."
Zhao Huaiqing then began to study the painting again.
Suddenly, a scream was heard in the yard. Zhao Huaiqing was startled and his hand slipped, and the wooden sculpture fell straight down and broke into two.
And when it was split into two, it didn't just break into pieces, but the entire wooden board at the back fell off.
The scream was also startled by the sound of the wooden board. Mrs. Zhao's youngest son ran into the house crying and kept crying, insisting that he saw his father at home.
Everyone was scared by his appearance. Didn’t his father already die?
If I saw it at home, wouldn't it be like seeing a ghost?
But who would have thought that the boy kept crying and muttering that he really saw his father. However, when he pulled his father's sleeve, his father saw him and shook him off.
The younger brothers from the Dali Temple had no idea what to do, and the maids and old women surrounded them in a circle. But one of the maids still ran back and called Madam Zhao.
Mrs. Zhao began to cry again, as if she could fall into extreme sorrow at any time and anywhere. She fainted several times and said that her son was suffering from hysteria because he had lost his father.
Finally, she took the child back to her yard while crying.
Everyone in the Dali Temple held the wooden board tightly without moving, so they were able to walk.
Otherwise, I don’t know how to explain why this piece of wood broke into two pieces?
You don't know what's going on until the wooden board breaks. It's really scary when it breaks.
It turned out to be a whole map, which marked all the large tombs near Kyoto Prefecture.
"This is actually a tomb map." Zhao Huaiqing stroked it carefully, his face full of shock.
"Why did Zhao Ping hide a tomb map behind this board? Is he a tomb robber? That's not right... If he was a tomb robber, he could just go there directly. But as far as I know, he doesn't like to go out much, not even for social events and drinks." Wu Huan touched his chin, puzzled.
"Have you found out before that he would take orders privately? All kinds of handicrafts come from him. Maybe this board was not originally his, but the buyer brought it to him and asked him to make it into that shape, but he died on the night he finished it. No matter whether it was the buyer or other people, they didn't have time to take this wood carving away." Gu Qingyun spoke slowly. The moment he saw the board, he felt that this was an order from Zhao Ping.