Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 74

Fei Yue'er said in the letter that her ancestor Song Yangong rose to prominence after going abroad several times, and was appointed by the imperial court as the deputy chief military officer of Jibei. He lived in the north for the rest of his life, and naturally he could not go to the big island in the Devil's Sea to hunt for treasures.

Before his death, Song Yangong also wrote a few lines on the last page of "Tian Xin Ji Xing Lu", to the effect that this life was extremely prosperous, and it was hard to imagine such a situation when he was humble at that time. He still remembered the parchment delivered by the Arabs. The situation was just a dream. It was a pity that we were weak that day and could not find out what the treasure was. It was a pity.

Fei Yue'er speculated that her father returned to his hometown to worship his ancestors that year, and accidentally saw the records of Songyan Gong. It is possible that the parchment was sandwiched in "Tianxin Ji Xinglu". In the past, it directly led to a big change in her father's thinking, from a law-abiding petty official to a careerist.Although her father had a parchment map, he didn't know much about going abroad, so he moved the family back to his hometown of Changzhou County, and found a job with the Shipping Department of Taicang City, working there one after another, waiting for the opportunity to come.

Yue'er couldn't understand the absurdity of her father's actions. The Immortal Cult was also obsessed with it and sent people to follow her father all the way to hunt for treasure. There was a rumor more than a hundred years ago that even if the treasure was real at that time, Da Dao might have already Being occupied by someone else, and with the ever-changing sea route, her father was really frustrated and couldn't leave.

This ended Yue'er's letter. Wang Heng and Xiaocai were filled with sighs after reading it.

Wang Cai clicked his tongue in amazement and said: "It takes a lot of courage to ignore the security of this world and pursue a fortune that is thousands of miles away in the mist."

Wang Heng said with a smile: "Apart from anything else, I admire his perseverance. He has been hiding in the Shipping Department's Yamen for several years. He must have been secretly looking at archives, such as star positioning, sea charts and routes, and information about overseas voyages. I must have read all the rules."

Wang Cai nodded and said: "Do you still remember that Mr. Wei often hums a little tune, the sea laughs, the tides on both sides of the bank are rolling, ups and downs follow the waves, remember today, the sky laughs, the tides in the world are rising one after another, God knows who loses, who wins. Fei Limu That’s because he can’t sing, otherwise he would be so impassioned with the three brothers Wu Sange and Zhang Wuge he taught while running across the ocean humming a tune.”

Wang Heng frowned, shook his head deliberately and said, "You can tell me all the good and bad. This shows how complicated people's hearts are."

The two were chatting and laughing for a while, and when they heard someone knocking on the door, Xiaocai hurried out and saw that it was the maid in Mrs. Zhu's room.

The little maid said that there was a Lu Sheng from Huating who had a letter of recommendation from Dong Xiangguang, Lord Yuan Yu’s protégé, and Master Chen Yu’s teacher and friend, and she definitely asked to see the master of the Wang family.

Madam Zhu sent him to Nanyuan to leave his job. When Master Chen Yu heard him talking about Mr. Yu Ming, he said that he knew nothing about Yu Ming and sent him back to the mansion. Madam Zhu asked the seventh young master to go to the west wing to receive him. .

Wang Heng straightened his clothes, and then he and Xiaocai followed the little maid.

Passing through the verandah, the main room winds a few steps west, and you arrive at the west side hall, which is used to receive ordinary visitors, and the furnishings are simpler than elsewhere.There is a young scholar sitting in the hall, wearing a jade-colored Lan shirt, with black hair tied on top of his head, and a Xiaoyao scarf on his head. He is known to be a student who has attended school.

"Brother," this Lu Sheng was a familiar one: "Xiao Sheng, Lu Da'an, layman Huating Xiangguang, is Xiao Sheng's uncle."

Wang Heng bowed his head gently and said: "Brother Lu, you are polite." Dong Xiangguang of Huating was a junior who was supported by Master Yuan Yu, the eldest master of the Wang family. From this point of view, he could be regarded as a family friend.

Lu Da'an smiled and said: "Xiao Sheng came here to pay his respects to Mr. Wang and his wife. Secondly, he came to pay a visit to Mr. Yu Ming on the order of his cousin, the owner of Xiaohe Village."

"The owner of Xiao Hezhuang, could he be the owner of Liuzhuang, known as Old Master?" Wang Heng blurted out.

Xiaohezhuang is a famous garden in the south of the Yangtze River. It not only has exquisite courtyards, but also has a large-scale library, which has been painstakingly managed by three generations of the Liu family.The ancestors of the Liu family were important officials in the imperial court. The owners of this generation inherited a wealth of wealth and did not seek official career. They only liked reading and collecting books.

"That's right." Lu Daan frowned and said, "Mr. Yuming passed by Huating a few years ago and stayed in Xiaohe Village for a few days. He and my cousin had a good conversation, so my cousin asked him to do some sports. I can't find him now. I only heard that he came to your mansion a few months ago. Brother, if you have the whereabouts of the jade inscription, please let me know." Wang Heng looked surprised and said, "Brother Lu, why don't you tell me the details? I’d like to check it out for you.”

Lu Daan's eyes evaded and said: "This matter is not in trouble with Mr. Yu Ming, it's just that I don't have enough time here."

Wang Heng sneered and said, "Brother Lu, I wanted to help you with good intentions, but you were evasive and refused to tell me what happened."

"Brother, don't be surprised. I will definitely tell the truth." Lu Da'an said slightly embarrassed: "Mr. Yuming made a good promise in Xiaohe Village that day, so my cousin gave him 1000 taels of silver to use as sports funds. Who would have thought that once he left, For more than half a year, there was no news at all, and not a single message from the entrusted person, so my cousin asked me to come and ask."

"1000 taels of silver." Wang Heng took a breath of air.

Lu Da'an said hurriedly: "Brother, please don't think that I want to recover the money. In fact, I have no such intention. I want to find Mr. Yuming, but I want to tell him that he must give it a try. My cousin is willing to send him back again." 3000 taels.”

"Give him another 3000 taels. Does Mr. Liu have too much money to spend?" Wang Heng asked doubtfully.

Lu Da'an sighed and said, "My cousin is not over forty years old and is gradually showing signs of decay. He has been in poor health recently. I am afraid that he will not die soon, so I am reluctant to spend this many silver coins."

"Is it possible that Mr. Yuming can cure diseases? I have never heard of it." Wang Heng asked again.

Lu Da'an said: "Brother, haven't you heard that the dragon that Xu Zhenjun didn't kill has reappeared in the world? The leader of the Immortal Sect is about to order eight hundred immortals to kill demons and eliminate demons. Now many high officials in the court are worshiping him. He is a disciple of the leader, just to join the leader's list of immortals. My cousin wants to become a disciple of the leader of the Immortal Sect and enter the list of immortals, but there is no way. It happens that Mr. Yuming comes to hang around and says that he has some relationship with the leader's powerful fairy girl. A friendship."

"He's bragging, how can you believe this?" Wang Heng glanced at Lu Da'an, revealing a subtle hint of ridicule.

Lu Da'an was sweating and said: "Mr. Yuming carries a painting with him, a picture of Xu Zhenjun beheading a dragon. He said that it was painted by the leader himself and given to him. I have seen it with my own eyes."

Wang Heng thought for a while and said solemnly: "I do know the whereabouts of Mr. Yuming. He took the Qiongxi ship out to sea on the first day of August. He will not be able to come back for three to five months. He promised you, We have to wait until he comes back to discuss it.”

Lu Da'an was greatly disappointed and asked Wang Heng again and again. If he waited for Yu Ming to return to China, he would send him a message. Wang Heng agreed one by one.

If you have a thousand coins, you would like to have ten thousand dollars. If you are a scholar, you would like to be an official. If you become an emperor, you would like to become an immortal.That day in the underground passage of Wang Tixue's residence, I had a flash of inspiration, and I vaguely felt that there was a connection with cultivating immortals. Now it seems that my intuition at that time was right.

Nowadays, the trend of cultivating Taoism is rising. The owner of Xiaohe Village is suffering from serious illness and is eager to worship the leader of the Immortal Sect in order to be selected by the leader to be listed on the list of immortals and become one of the eight hundred loose immortals.

Haining Temple and Wang Tixue's residence on Ximen Street have become the strongholds of the Immortal Cult. It seems that brothers Wang Yuanmei and Wang Jingmei have also become disciples of the leader. Yes, if you can live forever by practicing Taoism, what else can you do besides being listed on the Immortal List? Important court officials and literary leaders like the Wang brothers were obedient.

(End of this chapter)