Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 39
The two exchanged glances, and Wang Gen stammered: "Miss Huiyun fell into the lake, and she lost her breath when she was rescued. She has no breath."

Wang Heng was surprised when he heard what he said was nondescript and walked inside.

The water pavilion has been set up as a stage today. There are three booths at the west end of the water pavilion for the theater troupe to apply and remove makeup.

The musicians who were supposed to be waiting for the performance instructions in the lamp pole were huddled in the corner in twos and threes, and it seemed that they were already under the supervision of Wang Jiajian's servants.

Butler Wang Gen pointed to the first room next to the hall and said, "Miss Huiyun is here."

Wang Heng glanced at the corner of his eyes and saw that this was a very small penthouse. Even in the dark, he couldn't see anything clearly. In the blur, he could see a back figure lying motionless on the bamboo collapse.

The housekeeper Wang Gen wiped the sweat from his head and said: "The old woman in the house just did the test and said that Miss Huiyun has died. How can this be a good thing? How can I explain it to the master and his wife?"

A good living man, with a beautiful country, and a general who was still singing opera, died suddenly. This matter became difficult. Wang Heng pondered for a moment and said: "Let me ask a doctor to come and have a look first. I will go back to Ming Dynasty to see your uncle." .”

Wang Heng pondered his words all the way, and quickly returned to Tanyingxuan. He quietly gestured to Madam Zhu's maid, Guixiang, who followed him out. Wang Heng explained the situation to her in detail, and Guixiang was also shocked.

After a while, Guixiang quietly returned to Mrs. Zhu, and the banquet ended hastily.

The night was already deep, so it was not easy to invite a doctor, that is, the king's house. The doctor who was familiar with the residence hurriedly came with a medicine bag on his back.With only a pulse, he said that he was unable to recover and asked to take care of the funeral directly.

Mrs. Zhu sighed and said: "Master, I don't want this to happen in my good life. I will reward her with a good coffin and let her family take it back."

Wang Heng stepped forward and asked: "Wang Gen asked me to ask my uncle for instructions. Do you want to report to the official?"

Master Yuan Yu thought for a long time and said: "Of course I have to report it to the official. Youdao is the county magistrate who will destroy the family. Human lives are at stake and we can't be careless."

Wang Heng said: "My nephew thinks so too. There were so many guests yesterday that we couldn't hide it. Miss Huiyun was quite famous. Everyone knew that she was hired into the palace and disappeared without any reason. It seems like she was guilty of not reporting to the official position. "

Master Yuan Yu nodded, with a very majestic look on his face, and said: "Our family upholds the ancestral precepts of loyalty and has never insulted a servant to death. We must report to the official to find out everything." He looked at Wang. Heng said again: "I am going to Suzhou to visit friends in the next few days. I will leave this matter to you and ask you to practice it."

Wang Heng said yes repeatedly.

The officials sent by the Taicang Prefecture Yamen arrived very quickly. Captain Huo was about forty years old, thin and capable, with bright eyes.He brought a woman from the government office who was in charge of examinations and politely announced that he wanted to examine Miss Huiyun's body.

The woman was doing old work, so she followed the yamen rules and began to investigate one by one.But she seemed extremely confused, checking her hair and hands and feet repeatedly, and then fell into a daze.

Huo Bantou seemed to have great confidence in the woman and did not go to help her. He cupped his hands towards Wang Heng and said: "This case is not yet clear, so we have to summon a few family members of your house and ask them to wait outside the door. .”

Suo'er, the little maid serving Huiyun, was first questioned. Huo Bantou asked: "Did Miss Huiyun do anything unusual yesterday?"

Suo'er rarely saw the gentleman and showed a scared look, but her speech was still clear: "Master Huiyun got up early yesterday as usual." She thought for a while and said: "Because there was a big play in the afternoon, the kitchen was more busy than usual. After I ordered a snack, Master Huiyun seemed to have a weak appetite, so I enjoyed it."

Huo Ban raised his head and scanned the crowd with his eyes, and said, "Sir, Master Wang, is there a roster for the Dengyun class?"

Wang Heng and Zhao Zhanyun exchanged glances. Zhao Zhanyun came out of the queue and saluted Leader Huo, "My lord and I will take the order."

"Flute master Wu Xiaoyi, piano master Yuan Dalang, lamp bearer Mrs. Zheng, Xiaodan Hongyun, Xiaosheng Yueting..." "Everyone in the team is here." Zhao Zhanyun looked around and frowned slightly.

But Huo Bantou was sharp-eyed and asked: "Is there anything I missed?"

Zhao Zhanyun said: "There is a rough maid named Yu'er in the team. She was hired temporarily before entering the old man's house. She is not a member of the Dengyun class. It was a mess yesterday. I don't know where she was hiding. .”

Huo Bantou waved his hand and said, "That's all. Tell me who discovered that Miss Huiyun fell into the water first."

Mrs. Zheng, who was in charge of the lighting, said: "My slave is in charge of the costumes in the team. I sent the costumes and several actors for the third scene of "Resurrection". Xiaosheng Yueting and Xiaodan Hongyun were put on makeup in the same room as the others. , the slave girl took care of them first, and then went to Master Huiyun's ear room, but saw that Master Huiyun was not in the room, so the slave girl put her clothes on the couch and left. After the time for a stick of incense, the slave girl went in again, There was still no one in the house, but I saw that the window was open, and somehow I looked out of the window like a ghost. Yesterday, when the candles were brightly lit, I saw what seemed to be a dark thing floating on the lake."

Mrs. Zheng swallowed her saliva, but she was still very frightened when she recalled it: "My slave had a bad heart and wanted to call someone but couldn't. Fortunately, Hongyun walked over and called a group of people."

Huo Bantou said: "When did you go to Miss Huiyun's room?"

Mrs. Zheng said: "I remember it true. The firecrackers started to be set off at Mr. Wang's birthday banquet. The master graciously allowed the theater troupe to use some food. They just grabbed a few bites of snacks and that was all. Hongyun then ordered me to put on the third scene of " I picked out the clothes of "Resurrection" early and went to Huiyun's room. It was about time for a cup of tea after setting off the firecrackers. "

Captain Huo asked Mrs. Zheng to step back, and asked Xiaodan Hongyun to come in.

Hongyun is timid and timid, and pulls back her trousers as a courtesy.

Leader Huo asked: "When did Miss Hongyun see Huiyun for the last time?"

Hongyun said slowly: "To tell you the truth, in the second play "Lost Soul", Sister Huiyun only appeared in the first half and then left the stage. I have never met her before."

Huo Bantou asked: "Mrs. Zheng said that after the Wang family had a banquet and the troupe had some food, didn't you see Hui Yun at this time?"

Hongyun showed a hint of embarrassment and said: "Sister Huiyun is the top one in the class. All the meals are prepared by Wang's chef alone. The little maid Suo'er gives them to her and she never eats with everyone."

Huo Bantou asked: "Miss Huiyun is not young, has she ever made a marriage arrangement?"

Hongyun was stunned, thought for a moment, and replied: "I have never heard that Sister Huiyun has any engagement. Maybe Mr. Zhanyun can know something." She paused and hesitated: "There was a time when Sister Huiyun seemed to be He let it slip and claimed that he was the eldest son of the Wang family, and no one among the sisters dared to ask the truth."

"Oh, there is such a thing." Wang Heng was secretly surprised.

Huo Ban turned around and said to Wang Heng, "We still have to ask Mr. Zhanyun to ask questions."

Mr. Zhanyun was very haggard and was waiting in front of the door. "Huiyun is the most ambitious and ambitious. There are not many people in her family anymore, and she has no marriage relationship with her. If she is not an official, it will be difficult to get in." Her eyes, I think this is where she gets the short end of the stick..."

Wang Heng heard what Mr. Zhan Yun said was very meaningful, but he stopped there, thinking that he must have some secrets that he refused to tell the truth.

There were groups of male and female servants watching the excitement in front of the waterside pavilion of Wang's residence, whispering to each other. Only a pretty maid in a maid's dress could be seen, leaning on the rockery and listening intently.

Wang Hengxin said, this girl is so unfamiliar, I am afraid she is either from cousin Tanyang Zixiulou, or from Aunt Zhou's house. It is really unfortunate that the family has disturbed the cultivation of these two people.

(End of this chapter)