Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 244: Li Dalang returns home with malicious intent, and Miss Yu dies at her weak spot

Today is not the day for court hearing. The three shifts of yamen runners are all investigating the matter. There are not many people in the six rooms, and only Old Sun is in the household department.

Since Master Zhang had personally taken care of the matter, Old Sun happily took out a bunch of keys and went to unlock the warehouse.

The things that had been stored in the warehouse for many years had never seen the light of day and were almost buried in dust. Old Sun felt embarrassed and was eager to dust off the things before inviting the young master in. Xiao Cai stopped him with a smile and told him that it was okay to speak directly.

Old Sun helped pile up the volumes of the county annals that he thought were relevant, and said with a smile, "Whatever is in the library of the county academy, we also have in our household office. If they don't have records, we may have them too."

Mr. Zhang, the lawyer, was also a man of honor. He had heard of the great names of Zhang Xiru and Zhang Huishou of Xingshe, and he hit it off with the two young men right away. He had been in the government for many years and was very good at entertaining guests, so he stayed with them in the household office and chatted with them, and ordered their servants to prepare tea, snacks, writing materials and writing materials for them.

Wang Heng and Xiaocai spent half a day sorting and reading through the documents, but the result was very disappointing.

Jiangning is a large county. County annals have been compiled many times in history. After checking, it was found that the most recent county annals was compiled in the tenth year of the previous emperor, which is forty years ago.

In this county annals, Feishan stands tall in the southeastern territory, occupying one page, which introduces in detail that Feishan is 170 feet high, 250 steps in circumference, with a cave in the mountain and a stele of Taizu's poems on the mountain.

Unable to find the cause, Wang Heng asked Master Zhang: "Old sir, do you know why the Feishan mentioned in the county annals disappeared without a trace?"

Master Zhang thought for a moment and said, "I visited here 20 years ago and indeed heard someone mention that there was a famous mountain called Feishan in the county. Now only a small part of the mountain base remains, but it has been so long that no one can clearly explain its origin."

Sensing the visitor's disappointment, Master Zhang thought for a moment, then took out a thin volume titled "The Complete History of Rebuilding the Treasure Tower" from the storeroom and handed it to Wang Heng. The two of them didn't know what was going on and looked at Master Zhang with a bit of confusion.

Master Zhang flipped through a few pages of the book and apparently found his target. He stroked his beard and smiled, "Master, please look here."

"The stone materials used for the Jubao Terrace were all transported from the Feishan ruins."

So, Feishan was being quarried?

According to the records of Li Xunzhi, who wrote "Recollections of Hexiang Tower", the magistrate of Pu County was tempted to open the mountain to obtain stones and sell them to wealthy merchants. The excuse he used was to build an official road between Jiangning County and Shangyuan County.

After the news leaked, local students jointly boycotted it, which alarmed the nobles in the imperial capital. Two eunuchs in the imperial capital came forward to warn the magistrate Pu, who retreated in the face of difficulty and did not destroy Feishan.

What was the reason why Feishan was opened up and the stones were not used to repair the official road, but to rebuild the Jubaotai?

The writing time of "The Origin and Development of the Reconstruction of Jubaotai" is in the twentieth year of the previous emperor, which is thirty years ago. What happened at that time?

I am full of doubts and bitter hatred that no one can understand.

Xiaocai asked, "Mr. Zhang, among all the county magistrates in our county, there is one named Puxian Zun. Do you know what his experience as an official was like?"

Master Zhang lowered his head and thought for a long time. He said, "I have been in Jiangning County for 20 years. During these years, there has not been a county magistrate named Pu. If there was one, it might have been 20 years ago. This is a bit difficult to deal with. I will ask the old people in the county government carefully, but it is not appropriate to make a big fuss and cause controversy. If I hear anything, I will write to you and let you know."

Master Zhang spoke sincerely, and the two men accepted his kindness and asked him to write the letter to Wang Heng, the head of Zhengyi Hall of the Imperial College in Nanjing.

Wang Heng thought that he had other things to do in the county town, so he thanked Master Zhang and Old Li, said goodbye and left the county government office.

There was one mule cart left from the morning that brought them to the county government office, and it was parked near the land temple in front of the government office. Wang Heng asked the mule cart driver if he knew a place called Liyuan.

The driver walked the streets all year round. After a little thought, he said that there were two Li Gardens in the county town, and he wondered which one he should go to.
Wang Heng asked the driver to go to the old and dilapidated place first. The driver thought about it and said, "Then let's take you to Li Garden in Mi Cang Lane first."

Xiaocai was puzzled and asked, "Seventh Brother, who is this Li Yuan?"

Wang Heng said, "Let's go and visit Madam Xu, the godmother of Mrs. Liu Biejia of Cuihua Village."

Xiaocai vaguely remembers that Xiaodie, the maid of the Liu family, said that Mrs. Liu was taken to the county town by her godmother, Mrs. Xu, who rented an old house called Liyuan.

What's the problem, Mrs. Xu?

Wang Heng looked at Xiaocai's puzzled look and responded, "I'll tell you in detail when I get back."

Mi Cang Lane is an incense stick's length away from the county government office, close to the north city gate. The lane has blue bricks, black tiles and horse-head walls. It is a quiet alley in a bustling city, above the people's home.

The gate of Li Garden was closed. Wang Heng asked the driver to drive around it. Li Garden covered a large area and the outer wall was a bit old, but overall it looked OK. From a distance, the garden was lush with flowers and trees, giving it the air of an old family garden.

It was past noon. Opposite the corner gate of Li Garden, there was a camel carrying pole. An old man was making wontons, and there were two or three diners sitting on the benches.

The two brothers got up very early and hadn't had a proper meal yet. Seeing this, their stomachs rumbled like thunder.

It was getting late, and by the time Wang Heng and Xiaocai had their three cents in their mouths, the other diners had already left, leaving only the two brothers.

Seeing that the old man was idle, Wang Heng asked casually, "Father, is there a Mrs. Xu living in the Li Garden across the street?"

The old man carrying the camel was stunned. Wang Heng added, "We are Madam's adopted relatives, sent by the Liu family of Cuihua Village to deliver the letter."

"It's someone from Le Niang's mother-in-law's family." The old man's face relaxed and he said with a smile, "Mrs. Xu may not be at home at the moment. I just saw a sedan chair being carried to the north. Most likely, Mrs. Xu went to the orphanage."

"Mrs. Xu went to the orphanage to make a donation?" Wang Heng asked cautiously.

The old man sighed, "Mrs. Xu is a living Bodhisattva. She is a major donor to the orphanage. If it weren't for her, the orphanage would have closed long ago."

Unexpectedly, Ganniang Xu was actually a kind woman. Unlike what he had guessed, Wang Heng was extremely confused and followed the old man's words and said, "Mrs. Xu is really a kind person."

"Yes, I have never seen a more amiable lady than Madam Xu, who is wholeheartedly devoted to accumulating merits." The old man sighed, "Only such a kind-hearted person can suppress the evil spirit in Li Garden."

"Is there an evil spirit in Li Garden?" Xiaocai exclaimed.

The old man glanced at them and said: "You villagers are not very experienced and are very curious."

Xiaocai smiled and said, "Father, tell us about it, so that we can have something to talk about when we travel around in the future."

"There is a hanged female ghost in this Li Garden." The old man pondered for a moment and said, "Li Garden was originally inhabited by a wealthy family named Li. In the early years, the county suffered a war. The eldest son of the Li family disappeared for some reason. Later, he came back sick. No one knew why the family closed the door and refused to let him in. Later, a young lady in their family who had never gotten married came out and said a few words to him, and ordered the servants to drive him away. Not long after, the young lady hanged herself for no reason. The government found out that she had been pregnant for several months. The neighbors spread the rumor that the eldest son of the Li family died of illness after being driven away, and cursed the young lady before he died. This hanged ghost would come out from time to time to cause trouble, causing the Li family's descendants to wither and decline."