Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 237 Surrender
The two young detectives tried to speak calmly. Considering Xiaodie and her father's status as servants, if they acted too surprised, it would most likely scare them and make them keep silent.

Xiaocai casually asked a few questions about the situation of Mr. Meng in Cuihua Village, which gave Xiaodie and her daughter the illusion that the two princes were sent by Lord Zhang to work in Mr. Meng's mansion. Xiaodie and her daughter seemed to have lived in Cuihua Village for a long time, and they described the route to Meng's mansion in detail.

Xiaocai took the opportunity to ask, "When will your wife return home today? When we were going down the mountain, Mr. Zhang specifically told us to say hello to Mrs. Liu when we passed by her house."

Xiaodie said, "Yesterday, Madam went down the mountain and fell ill when she returned home. Madam Xu, Madam's godmother, heard that Miss Wanying had passed away and was afraid that Madam would be too sad, so she sent someone to take Madam home this afternoon to stay in Jiangning County for a few days."

Wang Heng glanced at the empty courtyard and asked, "So many servants, have they all been taken to Madam Xu's house?"

The old man said, "Madam has gone with Xiu'er."

Xiaodie added, "To be honest, Master, the servants and old ladies employed by the villa on the mountain were all hired to keep up appearances. In our family, it was only my father and I who took care of the whole family. Sister Xiu'er was bought not long ago."

Mrs. Liu and Le Niang, judging from their appearance, you would never expect them to be so vain. No wonder their family finances are so poor.

Mr. Zhang would never guess whether he could still receive the 1,000 taels of silver as a reward for writing.

"Well, then, what about Butler Ade?" Xiao Cai was stunned. Butler Ade might not be hired temporarily.

"Ade was originally the master's follower. After the master passed away, he was released with mercy and lived in the next village. Sometimes, when there were affairs outside, Ade would help out with the master's kindness." Xiaodie seemed to be hesitant to speak.

Xiaocai felt that there was something behind her words, but he didn't want to ask more details. After all, Xiaodie was a maid in a wealthy family and had some experience. Once she became suspicious, she would not say anything.

Wang Heng asked indirectly about Liu Biejia's official position during his lifetime and Mrs. Liu's family background, but Xiaodie and her daughter were not as knowledgeable as Ade, and knew very little. After talking for a long time, he only found out that Mrs. Liu's maiden name was Xu, and she was an old relative of Xu's godmother, who lived in an old garden called Li Garden in Jiangning County.

They drank a cup of tea for a long time, and watching the sun's shadow move across the window, the two said goodbye and walked out of Liu's house.

There was no one around, so Xiao Cai asked directly, "Seventh Brother, do you suspect Mrs. Liu?"

Wang Heng shook his head and said, "There is no evidence, only vague feelings. If we make too subjective assumptions, we may wrongly accuse someone. Let's go to Mr. Meng's house to visit him. He is an old resident of Cuihua Village. Maybe he can find some clues."

They returned from Liu's house to Putong Pagoda, and then walked north to Meng's house at the entrance of the village. The sun set in the west, and the heat was swept away. The two of them walked very fast.

Arriving at Mr. Meng's house, he was about to knock on the door when he saw five or six men who looked like farmers rushing out from the path. One of them was a sturdy man carrying a man on his back. They knocked on the door of Mr. Meng's house. The corner door of Mr. Meng's house creaked open, and an old man came out. Seeing so many people in front of the door, he was stunned and said to the farmers, "Old man Qiu, what are you doing?"

Several old men, led by farmers, cried and said, "Brother Meng, please tell Mr. Meng that I want to borrow the ox cart."

The old man asked, "Old Qiu, what do you want the ox cart for? How long do you think it will take?"

Old man Qiu said with a bitter face: "Let's go back to Jubao Mountain, get on the bus at the foot of the mountain and come back."

The old man said, "Then I will go and ask my master for you. You wait at the door and don't move around."

Not long after, a tall and burly old man came out with the old man. He was wearing a silk robe, had sharp eyes, and was very imposing. He didn't look like a farmer at all.

The old man pointed at old man Qiu and said, "Sir, this is Mr. Qiu from Xihengtou. They want to borrow a bullock cart to go to Jubao Mountain."

Mr. Meng glanced at Old Man Qiu and the other farmers, looked at the person on the burly man's back, and cast his gaze on Wang Heng and Xiaocai. He seemed a little puzzled and asked, "Old Qiu, the sun is about to set now. Why are you going to Jubao Mountain? Are you going to Jubao Temple to burn incense?"

Old man Qiu burst into tears and said, "Master, my son Qiu Erlang came home from Jubao Temple early this morning. I don't know why he suddenly became crazy and said that a ghost was trying to catch him. I thought he might have violated some taboo of the temple master, so I sent him to Jubao Temple to be examined by the monks."

The person on the burly man's back suddenly screamed, "Monk, don't come to me, don't come to me."

Wang Heng's heart moved, and he took a few steps forward and said, "Old Qiu, is your son Qiu Erlang, the pilgrim who first discovered the murder of Jubao Temple monk Guangheng when he went to Jubao Mountain to pay homage yesterday evening?"

Old man Qiu was so frightened that he trembled. Seeing that it was a young scholar, he said, "My son Qiu Erlang did go up the mountain to worship yesterday evening. How did he cause a murder case again? I really don't know."

Wang Heng bowed to Mr. Meng and said, "Mr. Meng, I am a student of the Imperial College in Nanjing. My brother and I have been entrusted by Mr. Zhang, the abbot of Jubao Temple, to investigate the murder of the monk Guangheng."

Mr. Meng was shocked. He knew Guangheng and asked in amazement, "Master Guangheng was murdered?"

At this moment, the man on the burly man's back rolled off the ground, slapped himself a dozen times, ran to Wang Heng, and kowtowed: "Master Wang, I know you. I'm here to turn myself in. I was the one who killed Monk Guangheng."