Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 254: Back to the Past
This intricately carved golden heart is truly a disaster. Several lives have been lost around it. It is an ominous object no matter how you look at it, but people are dazzled by it and flock to it.

Wang Heng thought for a moment, then picked up his pen and wrote a reply letter to Master Zhang.

In the letter, he repeatedly thanked Master Zhang and Mr. Gu for their loyalty and righteousness, and for trusting him in revealing the old government files. He also knew a little about the interests in the government office and would definitely not act on his own, but if he made any discoveries, he would report them to Master Zhang.

I still ask Master Zhang to inquire about the experience of County Magistrate Pu of Jiangning. County Magistrate Pu's past is related to a mystery that involves a wide range of people. He will go down the mountain in five days, and the address for receiving letters is Nanjian Zhengyi Hall.

After sending the officer Jia Wu away, Xiaocai refilled the pot of water and said in a mysterious voice, "It seems that this murder case is more complicated than I thought. Is the Chen family of Jiangning County, which owns the golden heart, a branch of the Chen family of Nanjing Yingtianfu, the secular family of Monk Guangheng? How did the unknown golden heart get into the hands of Monk Guangheng? Why did Monk Guangheng carry such precious jewelry in the waterfall viewing pavilion?"

Wang Heng paced back and forth in the corridor, nodded and said, "Good question." In a blink of an eye, Xiao Cai frowned again: "Unfortunately, it seems that no one wants us to get to the bottom of it. The relatives of the victim don't need the truth. Chen Ergongzi's servant Ah Sheng hasn't replied to the message yet, and maybe he won't come. Seventh brother, are we going to disregard a life?"

Wang Heng sighed and said, "Maybe the Chen family is afraid of something. Let's wait a little longer."

The drizzle continued to fall slowly, gradually hitting the roof tiles and gathering into gurgling streams, soaking the clusters of evening primroses under the eaves.

The dinner bell rang, and Wang Heng and Xiaocai went to have lunch in the dining hall of the Vimalakirti Courtyard. They were about to sit down when they saw Li Wei and Xiao Wu push the door open and sit across from them.

They smiled at each other and followed the tradition of not talking while eating, and each of them ate their meals. It was unusual for a nobleman of the Joseon Dynasty like Jinyang Jun, but he ate the radish and tofu soup with gusto and even had an extra bowl of rice.

Even someone like Xiaocai, who came from a difficult background, feels inferior to him.

After dinner, they walked into the corridor together. Wang Heng asked, "Jinyang Jun, are you still going to the Sutra Library this afternoon?"

Li Wei shook his head and said, "It's raining today, and the light in the Sutra Library is particularly bad. It's not suitable to copy after noon. I plan to leave the main peak of Jubao Mountain and walk around in the afternoon."

Xiaocai suggested: "The scenery of the Foguang Pavilion where Mr. Zhang lives is very beautiful. Mr. Jinyang might as well go and take a look."

Li Fu said with a polite smile, "It's a hot summer day. Mr. Zhang may want to take a nap. I don't want to disturb his peace. I saw the green bamboo forest from afar yesterday. I will go to the back mountain to visit it later. I heard that there is a waterfall in Jubao Mountain. It is also a pleasure to watch the waterfall in the rain."

Xiaocai took the responsibility and said, "Jinyang Jun, I will lead the way."

Li Wei smiled and said, "That's great. I'd love to trouble you two. However, we still want to go down the mountain from the back and then climb up to stretch our muscles. I used to love mountain climbing when I was in my hometown, so I won't bother you two."

Xiaocai's cleverness disappeared, and he said stubbornly, "Don't bother me. I know the way down the mountain. I have nothing else to do, so I'll practice my legs and feet. I'll show you the way."

Wang Heng smiled secretly, and followed Li Fu and the others, apparently agreeing with Xiaocai's statement and being a diligent guest.

When we went out, it was drizzling, so no one took an umbrella.

A group of people walked out of the courtyard, from the release pond to the back mountain, passed the archway, and meandered along the small south-facing hillside. Soon, a green bamboo forest appeared before their eyes.

Everyone stopped. The bamboo forest, soaked by the drizzle, looked even more lush and green, and the fragrance was refreshing. However, under the beautiful scenery, Li Wei and Xiao Wu seemed a little absent-minded. Xiao Cai said jokingly, "Jinyang Jun, if we go forward, we will see the Buddha's Light and Clouds, two of the six scenic spots in Jubao Mountain. You have to get up very early to see them. If we want to see the waterfall, we have to take another road. The waterfall is the way down the mountain."

Li Wei and Xiao Wu discussed it and decided to go down the mountain via the waterfall.

So everyone turned back. The road was slippery after the rain, and it took a lot of effort to trek to the waterfall viewing pavilion.

The murder happened only a few days ago. Perhaps because people deliberately avoided the murder site, the area near the waterfall viewing pavilion seemed a bit desolate, with wild grass growing wildly and vines tightly entwined around the branches, loving and killing each other under the nourishment of rain.

Only the waterfall facing the east of the pavilion remained as before, flowing majestically and with a sound like thunder.

Xiaocai pointed to the steps on the west side of the waterfall and said, "There is a path down from here. It will take less than half an hour to get down the mountain. You guys can take your time to explore. My seventh brother and I are going back to the temple."

Li Wei smiled and said, "Thank you both."

Watching the backs of Li Fu and the other person gradually disappear in the mountain path, Wang Heng asked meaningfully, "Xiaocai, what are you up to?"

Xiaocai smiled and said, "It was just a joke with them. Jinyang Jun and his men clearly wanted to go down the mountain, but they didn't tell us the truth. I wanted to follow them and see how they would evade us. It was raining and the road was slippery, and I was impatient to climb the mountain."

Wang Heng asked suspiciously, "Jinyang Jun is copying scriptures for Madam Jin. What important matter is there that requires him to go down the mountain in the rain?"

Xiaocai thought quickly, "Perhaps Jinyang Jun can use the excuse of staying at the monastery to worship Buddha to get rid of his dozen servants and go with his confidant Xiaowu to do something that he doesn't want others to know about."

"That being said, Li Fu, a nobleman, must be having a hard time in the Li Dynasty." Wang Heng shook his head and sighed.

The two of them guessed wildly for a long time, but in the end they couldn't guess anything, so they put Lu's chaotic thoughts behind them.

Not long after, they returned to the villa. The young monk came up to report that Senior Brother Wuming had brought someone with him, who was the steward of the Chen Mansion, and wanted to see the Wang brothers. The steward of the Chen Mansion was now waiting in the hallway.

Wang Heng and Xiaocai were overjoyed and rushed to the hall, but they saw that it was not Asheng, the servant of Mr. Chen Er, but an old man in his early fifties sitting in the hall, wearing a silk shirt and trousers, dressed like a butler of a wealthy family.

When the old man saw the two young men appear, he stepped forward and saluted, saying respectfully: "I am Chen Lianshui, a servant of the Chen family. I am here on the orders of my second son to answer the two princes."

Wang Heng looked at Chen Lianshui and said, "Thank you for your hard work, old housekeeper. The mountain road is slippery. You must be careful when you turn back. Didn't the second young master say that Ah Sheng should come?"

Chen Lianshui said, "Asheng ate too much cold melon last night and got a stomach upset. The second young master said that Young Master Wang was anxiously waiting for a reply, so he asked me to come. For some reason, the second young master came out of the temple yesterday and started tinkering with the jade rockery in the study of Chunshui Garden. He also asked me to help. After working for half a day, we didn't find anything. The second young master asked me to tell him that the jade rockery is a whole piece without any mechanism."

The old housekeeper's words declared that all previous speculations were invalid. Wang Heng and Xiaocai were both very depressed and stunned. Could it be that there was no inside story and they were just making groundless suspicions?