Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 230 Defending Feishan
At dusk, a thin mist rose from the mountains, and the courtyard was shrouded in fog, making people and objects look hazy.

Wang Heng and Xiaocai heard from the servants of the Liu family that Mr. Zhang was invited to the temple by Abbot Zhihai of Jubao Temple. It seemed that as it was late today, Mr. Zhang would not ask them to stay by his side anymore.

After the vegetarian meal, the two of them went to the west wing to read and write.

Xiaocai's story had somehow reached a bottleneck, and he sat there for half a day without being able to come up with a few words.

He also wanted to be like a master carpenter and accomplish things naturally, but unfortunately he was not able to do so.

So he complained to himself: "Two years ago, Master Yuan, the chef of our mansion, wanted to take me in as his apprentice. If I had accepted him as my master, I would have graduated long ago. That day, Madam Cheng, the owner of Dixi Pavilion, wanted to persuade me to quit. I should have listened to her advice and joined Cheng Xiucai to find an apprenticeship in a bookstore in Suzhou City. After another year of hard work, I should have become a head waiter."

Wang Heng's ears were already calloused from listening to his chattering, and he regretted that he had no cotton wool at hand so he could plug his ears with it and have some peace and quiet.

I just wrote a few lines and then muttered: "If the positive characters in the first two volumes suddenly turn evil, will the readers scold me?"

Wang Heng laughed secretly. Xiaocai's readers were only Wang Heng and Zhuge Xian, so there was no need to talk about the word "you". So he pretended to be deaf and dumb, took out the book "Memories of Hexiang Tower", pretended to be engrossed in reading and ignored everyone.

Reminiscences of Hexianglou by Li Xunzhi
The next day, the autumn scenery was pleasant, and I invited Fu Niang to go to Nanshan to see the flowers. Fu Niang had made preparations and asked Chen Sou to carry the wonton basket and go with her.

There are small paths all the way south from the villa. There are low clouds in the distant mountains and bright mountain flowers. It takes nearly an hour to reach the foot of the mountain.

Old Man Chen smiled and pointed out that this was Feishan, which was said to have flown from the sky in ancient times.

This is really a small and exquisite mountain, about twenty meters high and only a few hundred steps around. Looking up, there is a cave on the mountain that connects the north and the south. Golden lantern flowers are blooming all over the mountain, as red as mud and brocade.

Old Man Chen stayed at the foot of the mountain to prepare food for Yu and his wife. Yu and Fu Niang climbed up the mountain along the steps. Although Fu Niang was weak, Feishan was small. Yu and his wife walked around the mountain arm in arm as if strolling in a garden. There were cliff carvings, pavilions, caves, and poetry steles from previous dynasties. A mountain is not famous for its height, but for the immortals living there. Although Feishan is small, it displays the style of a famous mountain everywhere.

After coming down the mountain, we were tired and thirsty, so Old Man Chen prepared tea for us. Fu Niang brought a mat, and my wife and I sat together on the green grass at the foot of the mountain. After we finished drinking, Old Man Chen warmed the wine and cooked some food.

That day the wind was clear and the air was bright, and people were wearing green shirts and red sleeves, and the whole mountain was red and green. After the wine and food were ready, my husband and I sat on the ground and ate them.

Suddenly a man jumped out from the mountain and said with a smile: "You are drunk without drinking, which makes people feel intoxicated. How about I have a drink?"

The visitor was tattered, about my age, wearing a very strange robe and had short hair.

I have always been hospitable, so I invited him to drink with me.

The guest was well-spoken and had profound insights. He said his name was Yunke and that he was a wandering Taoist who came to Feishan to practice Buddhism.

Yunke and I hit it off right away and had a very pleasant conversation. Yunke learned that the person sitting at the same table was my wife, Funiang, and he called her "sister-in-law" with respect, without being at all surprised.

I was used to seeing the villagers pointing and talking about my wife and I because we were traveling and drinking together, so I got along better with Yunke and invited him to the villa in Cuihua Village for a banquet. Yunke was a good drinker and Funiang was an excellent cook. Yunke would come to visit my villa from time to time and was also quite polite. He would always bring a stone, a tree, or a flower in a unique way, which my wife and I liked. After more than a month, Yunke suddenly came to say goodbye, saying that he would buy a boat and go south to Tiandu Mountain, the ancestral home of the sect, to get a magic weapon.

I was reluctant to say goodbye, but Yunsheng said that the separation would only be a few months, and he would still have to practice at the foot of Fei Mountain in the future.

At the end of the month, Qian Xiucai, a classmate of mine from the county school, came to my villa to look for me. Dozens of students from the county school jointly wrote a letter to persuade the magistrate of Jiangning, Pu Xianzun.

It turned out that recently, a wealthy businessman had obtained an approval from a doctor in the Ministry of Works in Nanjing to build an official road between Jiangning County and Shangyuan County. He was still short of some stones, so he planned to blast Feishan in Jiangning County to get the stones.

This matter was not kept secret and was known to others. The county students jointly advised Magistrate Pu not to do such a thing that would anger God and people. This time, Scholar Qian came to me for my autograph.

I was shocked. Feishan is small and exquisite, with beautiful scenery and poems by famous people from past dynasties. It would be a pity to blow up the mountain to get stones.

Qian Xiucai angrily scolded that the dog official was from a donated class, and he probably just thought Feishan was a barren mountain. Besides, if it blocked his way to make money, he would blow it up even if it was a fairy mountain.

I signed my name generously and repeatedly asked Mr. Qian to make sure Feishan was saved.

However, things are unpredictable. Pu County Zun insisted on his own way and not only did he not listen to the advice, but he also stripped Qian Xiucai of his honors and beat him with more than ten boards to set an example for others.

The stonemasons in the county gathered together and were about to open the mountain to get stones, but several scholars including me were at a loss as to what to do.

Suddenly, it was heard that two eunuchs had come from the imperial capital to investigate the stele of Taizu's poems. The gentry led the eunuchs to Feishan, and when they saw that the stele of Taizu's poems was intact, the eunuchs praised Pu Ling with a few words.

Although Pu County Master was blinded by greed, he still knew his limits and wanted to keep his official hat, so he dispersed some of the stoneworkers, and Feishan was temporarily safe.

When Wang Heng read this, he unexpectedly saw the record of Feishan which had disappeared. He was overjoyed and quickly pointed it out to Xiaocai.

Xiaocai flipped through it, sighed repeatedly, and said with regret: "This Feishan is so beautiful. Although it was temporarily preserved in Li Xunzhi's notes, we know that it will eventually disappear."

Just as I was about to continue to see what was going on, I heard mournful crying outside the yard.

Wang Heng and Xiaocai stepped out of the room and heard crying coming from the east wing. They walked slowly towards the east wing with suspicion, only to see a dark shadow suddenly appear. As soon as he opened his mouth, they knew it was the housekeeper Ade.

Ah De said softly, "My two young masters, nothing happened. It was Miss Xiaolian who was saddened by Miss Wanying's filial piety and couldn't help but feel sad. She has been persuaded to recover."

Since the matter concerned female relatives, Wang Heng and Xiaocai decided not to intervene any further, nor to show any enthusiasm, and returned to their room in silence.

At this time, the fog was heavy and the mountain wind was howling.