Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 56 Huiyun’s Secret

Wang Heng said hurriedly: "In urgent matters, follow authority. Miss Yue'er doesn't need to be polite."

"Sister Yue'er is brave and resourceful. She is a hero among women. As a child, I feel ashamed to be inferior to her." Wang Cai listened to the story with rapt attention. The grievances he had suffered had actually been forgotten.

Yue'er smiled slightly and said: "I quietly changed back into women's clothes and walked into the city from the west gate tower. My father's house in the city must have been out of reach, but others didn't know that the scissors my father rented made Wang's family happy. The mansion is in the shape of a riding building. The front looks like a saddle, and there is a long and narrow alley in the middle. The alley divides the riding building into the east building and the west building. They seem to be independent houses, owned by the Wang brothers respectively. , after the fall of the Wang family, both the east and west floors were rented out. My father rented the west building. He thought the tenants in the east building were noisy, so he also rented the east building. I moved into the east building disguised as a woman, so naturally no one noticed. There are also my servants in the east building, and from the outside it just looks like another house."

Wang Cai couldn't help but patted Yue'er on the shoulder, but felt it was inappropriate, so he retracted his hand and shouted, "You must be a ancestral scout, you are too cunning."

Yue'er smiled bitterly and said, "It's a matter of wealth and life, so naturally you have to think more carefully."

"On the fourth day, when it was almost dawn, I went out. I put a green cloth scarf on my head and a bamboo basket in my hand. I pretended to be a young lady hired by a well-off family and went to the market to buy vegetables. I bought it in the East Market. I bought a handful of lettuce and a fish from the West Market. I walked from the West Market to Gaoqiao and walked eastward from the wall of Shibosi. Sure enough, I saw a big locust tree. I slowed down and saw floating branches floating on the branches of the big locust tree. There was a small silk flag embroidered with cloud-like patterns, and there was nothing else. For three days in a row, I walked past the wall of the Treasurer of Shibo at this time every day, and I never saw Duan. The mark that uncle agreed with me."

"I was anxious, so I climbed over the wall and entered Uncle Duan's house that night. The drums were just beating at the third watch and it was still early. Uncle Duan was in the study, and an old servant was making tea next to him. When Uncle Duan saw me coming in, he talked to me The guests and hosts sat down, looked at the old servant, and asked the old servant to change the tea leaves and cook yellow tea instead. I had no intention of drinking any tea, even fairy tea. I was about to talk about business, but Uncle Duan beat me to it. Before he spoke, he also said that he got a basket of good Guangdong oranges a few days ago, and told the old servant to cut a plate and give it to me to try. When did Uncle Duan become so verbose?"

"No," Yueting slapped the table and said, "There is something wrong with this old servant. Secretary Duan is the master. Why does he have to visit the old servant frequently? He is clearly under the control of others."

"Brother Yueting is a person who runs the dock after all, so he can see it accurately." Yu'er nodded and said: "Although I was a little suspicious at the time, my mind didn't move so fast. The old servant was beaten twice by Uncle Duan, and his expression changed. The weather was uncertain, and it suddenly occurred to me that Uncle Duan first mentioned yellow tea and then Guanggan, both of which meant yellow. Could it be that he was implying that things were screwed up, that is, the matter of finding physical evidence for my father was screwed up. I was frightened, and then Get up and tell Uncle Duan that there is something urgent and say goodbye."

"At this moment, the old servant suddenly picked up a long stick and attacked me. Since I was alert, how could I be hit by him? I pulled out the sword from my waist and fought him thirty or fifty moves. This old servant also Somehow, my martial arts skills were much better than those of the group who intercepted me on the official road, so I became brave and ruthless. From the corner of my eye, I saw Uncle Duan's mouth opening and closing, as if he was saying "Run!" ", woke me up with one word, and kept fighting with him. It would be bad if they still had accomplices, but this old servant was very skilled, and I couldn't get rid of him for a while. I had an idea, regardless of the court. Uncle Duan struck three swords in a row. The old servant thought I was going to hold Uncle Duan hostage, so he stood in front of Uncle Duan on the defensive. I only waited for him to settle down, then kicked the door and jumped out of the atrium. There was a thick neem tree in the courtyard. With the force of a leap, the tree trunk climbed over the eaves, got into Nanmen Street and escaped. "

"Going back to the east building, I feel lucky that I really entered the room rashly today." Yue'er said with lingering fear.

Everyone's hearts were lifted in the air. Although Yue'er had extraordinary martial arts skills, she was only a teenage girl after all, so it was difficult for her to cope with it.

Yue'er continued: "I met Uncle Duan rashly without following the agreed method, which had very serious consequences. In the next few days, I pretended to be a young lady buying groceries, and looked at the big locust tree of Shibo Division every day. , no sign appeared, and I went around to Uncle Duan's apartment. For several days, the door was closed tightly, and there was no light at dusk. I had no choice but to wait. On the seventh day, I saw the door of Uncle Duan's apartment. When I opened the door, there was an old man who was mixing paste at the door. He wrote two words "for rent" in big letters on red paper. I went up to talk to him and heard him say that the annual rent was 20 taels of silver, and the former tenants no longer rented. , I pretended that your boss's house was not clean and not worth 20 taels of silver a year. The old man was a little annoyed and asked me to stop talking nonsense, saying that the former tenant was an official, but now the Yamen has sent him to Quanzhou for business. "

"This is terrible. All the efforts were wasted in one careless move. Quanzhou is far away from Taicang, so where can I find Uncle Duan? Besides, Uncle Duan may have been retaliated by the superior officials, and I don't know whether he was persecuted or not."

"I was discouraged for a few days. It seemed that all was lost. I still couldn't give up. So I wandered around the city and outside the city all day long, trying to find clues. God paid off. One day, by chance, I met a green car. The carriage stopped in front of Yaxing Gate, and a small flag was placed on the carriage. The flag was embroidered with patterns like clouds. It looked familiar to me. Isn't this the small flag on the big locust tree? Uncle Duan placed this small flag. There was no guarantee that there was no deep meaning, and it was the only clue now. So I quietly followed the people in the carriage into Yahang. It turned out that the carriage belonged to the Dengyun Troupe, and their troupe wanted to hire some rough maids in Yahang. I was secretly happy. , turned right and went to the fish shop next door. I promised the fish seller Aunt Li a small amount of money and asked her to take me to the dental shop. She said that she was a girl from her parents' village and she used to work as a helper in the Wang family's house in Scissors, but because her master had left. I need to find a new employer in another place. The Ya people were very happy, so Aunt Li recommended me to Dengyun Class as a maid."

"A few days later, the Dengyun Class was invited to Tangliyuan of Wangzhai, and I followed him into the Wangzhai. I was thinking every day that Uncle Duan hung the banner of the Dengyun Class on the big locust tree to pay tribute to What meaning do I convey that my father’s case is related to the Dengyun Class? There are so many people in the Dengyun Class, who is the key?"

"After careful consideration, the leader of the Dengyun class is Master Huiyun, so I had to keep an eye on her first. I kept an eye on her day and night, and I discovered a secret."

(End of this chapter)