问猫

这里是黑猫的地狱，它们随时都会被扔进滚烫的水中做成汤药。

在房间一个相对空旷的幽暗角落，平行摆着八只铁笼，如同赌场上的骰子。

潘泽坤提着灯笼凑过去观察，空气中扬起纷繁的丝质绒毛，他蹲下去靠得更近一些，不禁张大了嘴巴！

每个铁笼内都放进了一件衣物，已经被黑猫撕扯得褴褛破碎。

这时，一直跟在身后的王光北面色土灰，他用颤抖的声音说：“没错，全是我的衣物！”

当夜，书生第内锣鼓喧天，张灯结彩。

佘老爷宣布了一件令所有人都感到惊讶的事情。原来，潘泽坤此次前来，不单是为了亡兄，还是奉父母之命前来与佘蔓萝完婚的。

按照旧时的说法，此举被称为“冲喜”，就是冲淡连日来的阴霾晦气，为书生第注入新的气象。

佘蔓萝自是不敢违背父命，苦泪涟涟地被人送入了洞房。

深夜，潘泽坤进屋，神色严肃，全然不似一个新郎倌。他静静地坐在桌子边对佘蔓萝说：“我知道，你喜欢的是常致远。”

佘蔓萝的眼泪簌簌落下。

潘泽坤又道：“你可知我也是喜欢你的？”

佘蔓萝看着烛光摇曳下的潘泽坤，没有说话。

“你真不记得我了？”潘泽坤有些动情。

佘蔓萝擦干眼角的泪，浅浅地摇头。

“为何要帮他躲过所有人的怀疑？其实你根本没有喝下那些汤药。”

潘泽坤转而补充道，“我说的他指的是谁你应该很明白。”

佘蔓萝的表情猛然凝住，仓皇地抬头看着潘泽坤，眼里满是讶异。

就在这时，潘泽坤原来的住处里传来一声震耳欲聋的钟声！

浑厚绵长的钟声在深夜里听起来异常惊心动魄。

“果然不出我所料！”潘泽坤兴奋地起身，朝外跑了出去。

院内。

王光北瘫坐在大钟之下，喘着粗气，一见到潘泽坤便喊：“快去抓住他！”

书生第里跟过来的家丁倾巢出动了。

潘泽坤将王光北扶起来，在院中的石阶上坐下。王光北惊魂未定地说道：“真的是他干的！”

潘泽坤赶忙打断他，不让他再说下去，只道：“等佘老爷来之后再说不迟。”

王光北愣了一下，遂问道：“你该称呼我老师为岳丈的，怎么还称呼佘老爷？”

潘泽坤笑了，低声回答：“跟你一样，我也是在演戏给他看。”

书生第的大堂内，灯火齐明，佘老爷穿戴整齐地坐在太师椅上，看上去之前根本没有更衣休憩，更像是在等着看一出好戏。

常致远被五花大绑后摁倒在地。

潘泽坤不动声色地走上前说道：“咱们就从虎骨说起吧。小姐得病是假，只不过你由此提出了大量收购黑猫的要求。我哥哥和赵三哲死时都做了同样的动作，后来我顿悟，明白那动作是指黑猫，是想告诉我们要调查收购黑猫的始作俑者！”

常致远冷笑道：“那我大量收购黑猫，不为小姐的病，难不成还有别的企图？”

“有！”浑厚的声音从众人背后传来，是守城军官翟坚，“还记得当初我问潘泽坤在城门下做什么，他答在赏月。我断不会愚蠢到因为这样的回答就与他喝酒交谈。”

翟坚清了清嗓子，转头对佘老爷说：“老大哥可知道我们北洋军阀最新的禁令？”

“严禁与城外倭寇进行鸦片交易，违令者斩。”佘老爷说。

“众所周知，储松城盛产罂粟花，做成鸦片可谋暴利。但家国危亡之时，断不能让它们流通出去祸害黎民百姓。那晚，潘泽坤指着城墙上一排鬼魅般的黑影让我看，竟然是上百条黑猫！它们正接连越过城墙，向城外面跑去！我当即用箭射下一只，竟发现它的腹部绑着一大块鸦片！”

所有人都惊异万分，连佘老爷这般见过世面的人都乱了方寸。

“我认出了为首的那只大黑猫正是佘老爷的宠物，便断定贩卖鸦片人肯定在书生第内。所谓欲擒故纵，我索性放任那人为所欲为。”潘泽坤继续说道，“后来我家兄曝尸于墓外，继而又看到倭人乘船远去，便打开埋于地下的棺材，发现里面满是钱财，我至此终于明白了你们的交易手段！”

王光北指了指常致远，忙问道：“快说来听听！”

“那只黑猫无疑是储松城内的猫皇，身上的气息会对其他猫产生刺激。每次常致远杀人后都负责主持丧葬事宜，暗中又给尸体灌下毒药。”

“人已经被杀，为何还灌下毒药？”守城官员翟坚不解。

“这在稍后会讲到。大家一定记得佘老爷的黑猫被戴上了嚼子吧？

目的不是为了防止黑猫乱吃东西，而是防止它半夜出城门时闹出大的声响。那日我发现，每座院落的柱子上都有黑猫留下的爪痕，而这座院落又是平直建造，这说明黑猫是顺着回廊柱子上的连贯横木爬出了戒备森严的书生第！

”这只猫皇刚生了仔，常致远把小猫寄养在城外墓地。猫的嗅觉灵敏，便在万籁俱寂之时出外寻找儿女。而其他的黑猫载上鸦片后，也跟随出了城门。猫毕竟是动物，黑夜出没极为正常，自然不会引起守城官兵的怀疑。猫皇带领众猫来至墓边，悲剧就开始上演了！“

潘泽坤愤恨地将目光投掷在才行致远身上，继续说下去。

”其实，不只王光北的衣服被盗，我哥哥和赵三哲死前的衣服也被盗走。王光北的衣服何以会出现在后院的那间房内？很简单，就是为了让黑猫们熟悉他们身上的气味，继而出城去寻找尸体。由此我推断，王光北将是下一个被谋害的人。黑猫们来至墓前，由于连日没有喂食，便将我哥哥的尸体吃掉，随后又因尸体有毒，所有黑猫相继死去。躲于一旁的倭寇便把黑猫身上的鸦片取走，将给常致远的钱财放于棺材内。而猫皇则因为戴了嚼子，并没有中毒，安然回到书生第。“

常致远的脸色变得很难看，嘴角在轻微地抖动。

”再说说那个奇怪的闷响，这正是你杀人的手段。所有人都把注意力集中到大钟上，便忽略了敲钟的巨大木桩。常致远把我哥哥喊到大钟前，突然解开捆绑木桩的绳索，惯力使木桩冲下来，正好撞在哥哥的胸口上！“

王光北掏出一封信对常致远说：”你写下这封署名潘泽坤的信约我来至大钟前，本想杀人灭口后再将信毁迹，却不料中了我们的计策！

潘泽坤和小姐结婚是为了激怒你，而我来赴约也是事先设计好的！“

常致远叫道：”你们陷害我！有谁看到了？“

”我！“孔博走进来，全然没有之前的呆傻之气。

”你没有疯？“常致远惊叫道。

”我若不装疯卖傻，想必早被你杀了吧！“孔博冷冷地笑道。刚才他躲在院外，看到了常致远意欲杀害王光北的全过程。

”但是，潘泽阳被杀当晚，我并不在场！“常致远仍想狡辩。

”呸！“挤在人群里的线儿唾了一口道，”你骗我和小姐说潘泽阳他们私自将国宝文物卖给倭寇，该杀。我们信了你，事后还帮你遮掩！

没想到你才是败类！“

远处的厢房内突然发出一声佣人的惨叫。

佘蔓萝愤恨中自缢身亡。

潘泽坤久久立于屋外，一言未发，俄而泪流满面。

数年后，有人在一张老旧的照片上发现了潘泽坤和佘蔓萝两人的合影。

那是1911年，清帝退位，举国上下，男性一律剪掉脑后的长辫。

照片前是少年时的潘泽坤，眉眼俊朗，辫子正被一刀剪断。不远处围观的人群里有个懵懂女孩，她左眼睑下有颗细微的泪痣，也在浅浅地笑着。

当年他对她一见倾心，她对他却无丝毫感情。

然而，宿命如此，再美好的少年，也只能马不停蹄地错过。

Introduce:Clear emperor give up the throne a winter after 3 years, whole Chu Songcheng is blown by the sea wind of salty raw meat or fish thorough, strange cold clinking. This day of dusk, edge street city stuck Zhang Gao to show downstairs: The somebody in at present government office contracts disease, be badly in need of medicine bringing, the cat does not have size, every fur black person all but, every all trade silver dollar only, child old man does not have bully, this day. A young man takes outside city gate, just was defended the officers and soldiers of the city is strict search crosses a body. His look is brisk, ground of dashing eyebrows small frown admires the annunciate before inspecting have sth in mind, the knife cuts kind of trenchant facial features to be in the Yu Hui with lazy languid more show delicate. Colour of sky is gradually dim, the pedestrian on the street of chilly gradually rare, far transmits the xiao sound of lonesome hidden bitterness. The man stretchs his hand, uncovered annunciate. The student of hundred years history inside, one clique is auspicious. In backyard unfrequented, the servent in the home also seldom clean, the withered leaf of shrivelled crisp walks to give out " creak creaks " noise, there is the odour of white sandalwood in the air of dry and cold. There is a delicate girl below tremendous pagoda tree, she is wearing small jacket of silk bag-sleeve a kind of Chinese-style jacket with buttons down the front, the private parts is a crimson purple cotton cloth grows skirt, thick ground was set above a lot of bead piece, boast purpose halation is given out below dawn. The most conspicuous is shoe of cloth of round head of that pair of black on her foot, be like two weird black cats. The girl's eye is cheated by a face-cloth, see not clear look, wherefrom is fragile if in breathing, can listen of wind-bell,go out, the about that she does not cross 8 years old seventeen. Other sound of sth astir is not had again in backyard, static be like grave. Girl appreciably hesitates, smell the flavour in smell air, gropingly walks to the ancestral temple of altitude. The door " Zhi ah " be pushed, the light outside is illuminated come in broke up dark, the memorial tablet consecrate of ancestor of past dynasties of a surname home is on the desk, altitude still hanged a lot of picture, of course, she is completely invisible. The girl did not go before face directly, turn the body however, forward left and slowgoing move. The girl's corners of the mouth shows a smile suddenly, she talked eventually, "Line, fast come out, I see you! " unmanned and respondent, girl right now deep-set in a mottled smooth shadow. The girl continues forward gropingly. "Catch you! " a pair of legs that she feels a person. Unmanned still immediately. The girl appears some are furious, come to face-cloth tear down urgently. Those who waited for an eye to get used to ancestral temple inside slowly is dim, she discovers to there still are a pair of legs in him hand. That double leg along with its master body together, condole is on house bridge. Inside hall of She Jiazheng hall, it is as before before of face decorate dress up. An old-fashioned wooden armchair of carve of 4 pairs of engrave is discharged relative to one word, can see into the door altitude is being written that piece " student " board. The length below a few go up fragmentary the china that placed heavy and complicated of a few decorative pattern, connect nobility of body strange beauty. A surname lord has drunk a servent to give the ginseng that come