Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 32

After a few days of rest, the fatigue caused by the journey is gone.

Wang Heng knew that his foundation was too weak, so he met Mr. Wei and taught him some calligraphy skills. He only practiced calligraphy for more than a year, which was obviously not enough for his ambition to take the imperial examination, so he practiced calligraphy diligently every day and did not dare to slack off. .

In the afternoon of that day, I was quite drowsy, and I was very sleepy in spring, so I took Xiaocai and walked outside the house.

"Master, where are we going for a stroll?" Xiaocai asked.

"You won't forget the revenge of being beaten by someone, right? Go check out the third house under Neigao Bridge in Ximen." Wang Heng said.

Xiaocai shook his head and said, "No way, that girl just said it casually, she probably made it up."

Wang Heng said with a smile: "Just go and take a look, maybe there are some clues."

Wang's residence is not too close to the west gate. The two of them were sweating under the bright sun and had just arrived at Gaoqiao.

Looking at the third house under Gao Bridge, Wang Heng couldn't help but be stunned.It was a majestic house, with the layout of a government office, surrounded by high walls, and officers and soldiers guarding the gate. In the middle hung a gilt plaque with the name "Shibo Division" on a black background.

In the Ming Dynasty, the goods for tribute missions generally entered the Municipal Shipping Department's treasury from Liujiagang, the Municipal Shipping Department Pier. Except for the direct supply to the imperial capital, the rest were purchased by the local government according to grade. Therefore, it was a very important government office. Deploy heavy troops to guard it.

The two looked at each other. Wang Heng kept his expression and pretended to watch the scenery. He walked around the wall of Shibosi and found nothing. He couldn't help but become dejected. He simply leaned on the railing of Gao Bridge and blew in the wind, admiring this building built in the Yuan Dynasty. The ancient bridge of the Zheng Dynasty.

Looking around, he saw a small banner-like object floating on the branches of a large locust tree inside the wall of Shibosi. Wang Heng took a closer look and saw that the small flag was vaguely embroidered with a cloud-like pattern, and it seemed that it was also embroidered. I'm reading the font, but I really can't make it out clearly.My heart moved, but in the end I found nothing.

Wang Heng thought thoughtfully and asked: "How come someone hangs an inexplicable flag on a tree in the heavily guarded Shibo Division?"

Xiaocai hesitated for a moment and said: "Yes, it couldn't have been done by a naughty boy. Besides, why did it tie it to a tree near the wall so that it would float out when the wind blows?"

Wang Heng said: "The flag may be a tool to convey the message, but who knows, does it have anything to do with the girl?"

Xiaocai shook his head and said, "This thing is weird."

The two discussed for a long time but couldn't get to the point.

Returning to the Wang Mansion, the disciple Fulin Bo said: "Seventh Young Master, Madam, please go to Baoxia Hall to entertain guests."

Wang Heng thought that since he was entertaining guests in the inner courtyard, it would be a good idea for the whole family and there would be no need to change clothes.

Zhu Shuren has one son and two daughters. Her only son, Mr. Chenyu, has been living in Nanyuan. Wang Heng has been back in Taicang for several days and has still not seen him.Mr. Chenyu has one wife and one concubine, and has nothing to do for the time being.

In addition, the owner of the house no longer had a male son. Perhaps this was also a major reason why Zhu Shuren took him in.

In the Baoxia Hall, sitting under Zhu Shuren was a young scholar, with a face like a crown jewel, and he looked amiable.Judging from his clothes, he is a famous Confucian scholar.

Zhu Shuren said happily: "Qi Lang, this is your uncle's disciple Yu Ming. He is a second-ranked scholar in the first two subjects. Your uncle sent him to report the news."

Wang Heng made a long bow and said: "My dear Wang Heng has met Mr. Yu Ming."

"Brother, I'm so happy." Yu Ming cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Today, the Holy Lord has appointed the old man to be promoted to the bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion. Mr. Shen will be the first assistant, and Xianggong Xu and the old man will be the second assistants." "The Holy Master is grateful for the hard work of my mentor. I will give you three months' leave so that you can return home to visit your relatives, and then you can join the cabinet after your birthday."

It turns out that although Mr. Yuming passed the second-level Jinshi exam a few years ago, he only served as a county magistrate in Fujian. Now he is only idle in Imperial Capital, writing Nanqu opera scripts for a living.

He wrote a new book "Begonia Pavilion", which was full of twists and turns. Lord Yuan Yu liked it so much that he ordered him to rehearse it into a play and perform it at the birthday banquet.

At that time, people enjoyed listening to southern music. Of course, a housewife like Zhu Shuren was a dream come true.

"Since my husband ordered me to buy a few actors or hire famous actors, it's all cheap. Let the uncle handle these things and let him fulfill his filial piety to me. If there is anything he is too lazy to do, Qi Lang will run an errand for him." Zhu Shuren ordered.

Wang Heng said repeatedly: "What the aunt said is absolutely true. If my nephew doesn't contribute in his good life, he will be embarrassed to watch the show."

The palace was very large, so Zhu Shuren personally ordered the housekeeper Wang Gen to place Mr. Yuming in the Shenliu Courtyard across the courtyard, which was specially designed for students and friends to stay for a while. She also asked Wang Gen to select a few boys to serve him.

Yu Ming said: "Master's wife cherishes the rewards. The student has brought enough servants from home to use them as much as possible."

Zhu Shuren nodded in agreement.

Early the next morning, a message came from Mr. Chenyu of Nanyuan Biye. He had invited Zhao Zhanyun, a disciple of Mr. Liangfu Qujia of Nanyuan Pier, to come to his house to teach. It was too troublesome to hire an actor to teach him, so he invited an actor. The theater troupe came to rehearse "Begonia Pavilion".

The eldest brother had no plans to return home in the near future, so he was told to read on his own and read a lot of books. The imperial court emphasized the most important thing in recruiting scholars, so he was allowed to write a few large characters and send them to Nanyuan, so that he could give him some comments.

As for Mr. Yuming, he didn't mention it. It seemed that the eldest brother had no intention of meeting him.

The elegant wisteria and begonias are in full bloom, making the royal residence full of vitality.Wang Hengfu was in a daze over the Huanghuali case, worrying about how to write a banner with large characters. How could he, an out-of-school child, know what Taige style was.

Xiaocai came to report that Mr. Yuming sent a servant to give him a gift. Everyone in Wang's family was polite and gave him two precious inkstones, two popular new books in Beijing, and a printed copy of Nanqu's "Haitang Pavilion".

Worry added to worry, Wang Heng was worried about returning the gift.

He came to his uncle's house penniless, and the accountant paid him one or two months' worth of money. He also made several new seasonal clothes, and every piece of paper in He Laitang belonged to his cousin.

"A piece of scholarly favor paper." Xiaocai said.

Wang Heng was so sad that he said: "Mr. Yuming is a second-class Jinshi. How can I give him this three-legged cat?"

Xiaocai shook his head and said, "My master painted the Stove King and Bodhisattva during the Chinese New Year, and the New Year painting of Big Ah Fu. Don't all the neighbors say that the painting is good."

"You think Mr. Yuming is the eldest brother of our Lanxi County Government." Wang Heng breathed a sigh of relief and said: "After being inspired by you, I remembered that there were a lot of bad sketches in Brother Chenyu's wastebasket. Let me see. It's a good painting. He hasn't been to Helai's study for a few years, so he may have forgotten it. I picked a painting and made a payment, and the gift came out."

'You can't do it, you absolutely can't do it. Xiaocai said hurriedly: "I heard from my cousin yesterday that I don't seem to like Master Yuming very much. In the past few years, Master Yuming has been coming to Taicang every year, but I have never received him once. He only said that he was in retreat." "

Wang Heng shook his head and sighed: "In this case, I have to waste some words and thank him empty-handedly, that's it. Our entire possessions are only two taels of silver and one hundred big coins, which is enough for us."

(End of this chapter)