Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 87
Seeing that Yang Dalang had no companion, Mr. Chu called a boy to take him back. Huang Yuntai took a few steps forward, put his black cloak on Yang Dalang, and said: "It's windy and cold outside, Brother Yang, don't refuse. "

Yang Dalang knew that Huang Yuntai was trying to cover up his ugliness, so he slightly cupped his hands and followed the boy out.

The proprietor invited a small opera troupe from the Kuiyuan Troupe in the city to sing a version of "Night Running" from "The Story of the Sword", performing the hero's end in a desolate and hearty way.

Wang Heng secretly wondered why a wealthy young man like Mr. Chu ordered such a play. It seemed that he was far from understanding this attentive master.

While the meat was fragrant and the wine was flowing, the steward of the Chu family hurriedly replied and reported to Mr. Chu: "Yang Dalang was drunk and staggering. In front of the Canglang Pavilion, he somehow collided with a gangster. The gangster knocked Yang Dalang to the ground with a stick. He turned around and ran away."

Mr. Chu was startled, stood up in a hurry, and said, "Did you ask your servants to catch that rogue?"

The steward said: "I have called four brothers to follow."

For a moment, many people in the audience looked unkindly at Xuesheng Meisheng, who had just had a conflict with Yang Dalang.

Mei Sheng was dumbfounded, but Xuesheng suddenly changed his face and said: "What are you looking at me? Could it be that you are instigating me? I have been in Qingxiang Pavilion and never left."

This is true. Not only have the two of them never left the Qingxiang Pavilion, but their companion has also never entered. The suspicion between the two of them can basically be ruled out.

Mr. Chu said oh, lifted up his robe and walked out: "How is Yang Dalang's injury? Let me take a look."

The steward replied: "Looking like a bloody man, I asked people to move him to the bamboo rafting in the gatehouse."

Everyone in the Qingxiang Pavilion was surprised. When Wang Heng saw Huang Yuntai walking forward quickly, he followed behind.

Even if everyone took big strides, it would take them about a quarter of an hour to reach the north gate of Canglang Pavilion.

Yang Dalang was lying motionless in the concierge. Seen from a distance, he seemed to be stiff, his forehead and cheeks were bloody, and the black cloak that Huang Yuntai borrowed from him was also stained with blood.

As he got closer, Mr. Chu used his hand to check his nose, but he still had breath. He ordered the manager to ask Doctor Ye from Leqiao Lane. After some thought, he simply asked the servants to carry Yang Dalang to the Ye Family Medical Center, so that he could be cured quickly. Get treatment.

Mr. Chu saw Jinxi, the young man he had sent to Yang Dalang earlier, standing on the side of the wall tremblingly, so he called him to ask what was going on.

The young man Jinxi looked confused and said: "The young man served Uncle Yang and walked to the door. Uncle Yang suddenly stopped asking me to follow him. He said that he was sober and asked me to go back to the hall to serve him. The young man was at the door. After chatting with some elder brothers for a while, I heard Uncle Yang scream and fall to the ground, and a figure fled towards the west."

Mr. Chu said angrily: "You can't see clearly what a person who dares to commit murder looks like?"

Jin Xi shook his head and said, "The little man was so frightened that he hurriedly reported it to the steward. The steward called four brothers and chased him." Mr. Chu asked a more experienced servant to go to Yang Dalang's house to report the news.

While they were speaking, four servants from the Chu Mansion came back. The leading man replied: "When we caught up with him, he had already disappeared. A blood-stained jujube stick was thrown by the river next to the house next door. I thought about it. A scoundrel holding a stick must attract attention. He threw the stick away and ran all the way to Hulong Street to escape. We brothers chased him to Hulong Street. It was strange that there were very few pedestrians at that time, and there was a long street. In the north-south passage, we saw only four pedestrians. We brothers came up to ask each other one by one. One of them was the grandson and grandson. An old man in his fifties was holding a young man of six or seven years old. The other couple was a very literary and weakly dressed man. A young scholar in a blue shirt and a Confucian scarf was followed by a teenage book boy, carrying a heavy book box. These four people did not look like the perpetrators of the crime. We couldn't think of a way, so we had to pick up the jujube wood. The stick is back.”

Mr. Chu snorted coldly, took the jujube stick, looked at it, and threw it to the steward. Huang Yuntai pulled it over and looked it up and down.

Mr. Chu asked the steward: "Whose house does this wall between Canglang Pavilion belong to?"

The steward replied: "It's Shen Xiaolian's villa in the south of the city. It's called Ailianju."

"Oh," Mr. Chu said bitterly. Shen Xiaolian was a great scholar in the city. He was determined to be an official. He set up a tent in his house in the south of the city and recruited many disciples. His reputation in Wu was very high. Mrs. Shen was also a well-known talented woman. She had several ladies from famous families. Under his sect, the couple became the leading figures in Gusu City.

Among the classmates who followed the host during the banquet, two or three of them were young and fearful, so they bowed their hands to Mr. Chu and said goodbye.

Huang Yuntai raised his head to look at the sky. The autumn wind was blowing, and the fallen leaves were rustling. It was getting late, so he said goodbye to his master. Wang Heng took advantage of the situation and also said goodbye. Mr. Chu said goodbye to everyone one by one at the north gate calmly.

Wang Heng and Huang Yuntai did not follow them, so they still walked back to the academy together.

There are only three to four hundred steps from Canglang Pavilion to the Confucian Temple. Walking one or two hundred steps to the west, Wang Heng saw Shen's Ailian Residence on the next wall of Canglang Pavilion. The regulations of Ailian Residence are different from those of Canglang Pavilion. It is also surrounded by water on three sides. The north side of Canglang Pavilion is the main entrance, which is connected by a small bridge. The main entrance of Ailian House seems to be at the south gate or east gate. There is no door on the north side. A river separates the house from the road. Just the pavilion railings can be seen across the water.

Huang Yuntai walked past a place, paused briefly, and glanced a few times. Wang Heng followed his gaze and saw that the ground on the river bank seemed to be particularly messy. This was an important thoroughfare in the city, and the riverside was decorated with elaborate decorations. If it hadn't rained all night last night, there wouldn't be so much soil on the stone revetment.

Huang Yuntai said: "The footprints here are messy, maybe this is where I picked up the jujube stick."

Wang Heng shook his head and said: "This is also what I don't understand. A scoundrel holding a jujube stick can easily be recognized. He just throws it away after beating someone. Why should he walk more than 200 steps and throw it across the river at Ailianju?" The shore?"

Huang Yuntai thought for a while and said: "It's possible that the gangster suddenly committed a murder. After injuring someone, he fled in panic. After running for a while, he remembered that the murder weapon was still in his hand, so he was so frightened that he threw it on the ground."

"This idea is indeed possible, but he only needs to throw it into the river. The servants of the Chu Mansion will not find it for a while, but why did he throw it on the other side of Ailianju?" Wang Heng frowned and looked across the river. Go: "There is no bridge connecting Lovely Lotus Residence here. It is impossible for him to hide in Love Lotus Residence. Could it be that this rogue threw his stick here and swam into Love Lotus Residence?"

When Huang Yuntai heard this, his expression suddenly became complicated. He said silently for a moment: "The Yang family will definitely go to the Yamen to report the case. Let's just go back and wait for the news."

Wang Hengshen thought so. He and Yang Dalang had no friendship at all, so he put all the questions behind him and the two of them walked back to the academy in the car.

(End of this chapter)