Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 92 The Master of Shiyuan
Erchaofeng said quickly: "I listen to Mr. Da. I must report it to the official to prove my innocence."

The imperial dynasty sent people with hemp paper with talismans drawn on it to report to the officials in Wuxian County. People doing business believed in being harmonious and making money. They were unwilling to alert the officials unless they had to. However, this huge loss could not be reported to the officials. I can't explain it to my boss.

The people at the Wuxian County Government reacted surprisingly quickly. On that day, Mr. Liu came to interrogate him. He asked very carefully. He recorded the figure, behavior, and clothing of the young man in the painting one by one. Several people present that day were hanged. Try your best to recall until you can't ask anything.

The official Lao Liu told the people in Longxing that he suspected that the young man was a remnant of the Bai Yuan sect that was exterminated by the court more than 20 years ago. If anyone in the pawn shop found the whereabouts of the young man, they must first go to the county government to report him, and then go Capture.

The boss of Longxing only believed in Marshal Zhao Gong and did not go to the Immortal Temple, which was close at hand on weekdays. He didn't know what religion he taught, so he could only fight with each other after hearing it.

Gongshi Lao Liu has been working as an official in Wuxian County for 30 years. He is a good hand in arresting people. Lou Xianzun, the magistrate of Wuxian County, relies heavily on him.Not long ago, Mr. Tong Xuan's niece Qu San found the paper kite at the scene of a ghost encounter during the day. Lao Liu recognized it as Bai Yuan who taught the demon earlier. This time the Longxing Pawn Report received an unknown talisman, it was also the case Lao Liu took on. , he felt that it seemed familiar, and he dug out the old files from decades ago, and it turned out to be the spell of Bai Yuan's sect.

Because Lao Liu was experienced and well-versed in handling matters, Lou County Master handed over the two cases to Lao Liu for handling together.

Lao Liu sorted things out in the arrest hall. He had almost no clues at hand, so he could only start with hemp paper.

Confucian Temple Huisheng Paper Shop is the largest paper shop in the south of the city. The shopkeeper recognized that the evidence of Longxingdang's hemp paper was a type of Yangcun hemp paper. This kind of hemp paper is not used for writing, but is usually used for papering windows. It is sometimes used to wrap candies and cakes. Its advantage is that it can be pulled continuously and is resistant to rubbing.

The sales volume of Yangcun hemp paper is not very large. In Suzhou city, it is exclusively distributed by Huisheng Paper Co., Ltd. However, it is not easy to figure out where it goes.

Lao Liu extracted from the shopkeeper's account book the shops and hawkers that had purchased goods in the past two or three years. He found that the list was a bit too long. It was too cumbersome to go from house to house to investigate, and there was no guarantee of a breakthrough. He had to go back to the Yamen first and dig out the old books. Look for clues.

The old files in the yamen were left behind by his master. Back then, Lao Liu followed his master to arrest the demons of the Bai Yuan Sect several times, but at that time he was just a young boy who was ordered to work as an errand and did not know much about the case. After that, the Bai Yuan Sect was destroyed and the case was discovered. The file was naturally shelved.

Old case files record that the Baiyuan Sect's contact point was a pear candy shop next to the twin towers of Dinghui Temple. The Baiyuan Sect conspired to rebel against the officials and supported the leader's rebellion. Because someone reported on it, all the prisoners were captured by the government and sentenced according to law. , only the contact person who opened the pear candy shop escaped.

Lao Liu discovered that there were two pear paste candy stores in the list of purchasing merchants copied by Huisheng Paper Company, and decided to go to these two stores to explore first.He called his apprentice and asked the shopkeeper of Huisheng Paper Company to send a clerk who knew the two stores to show him the way.

The first one is very close to the Wuxian County Government, Lou's Pear Paste Sugar Shop in Changchun Lane. It is a two-bay shop that is quite large and spacious. There is also a doctor sitting in the shop. It is said to be a sugar shop, but in fact it also sells some medicinal materials. People were coming and going in the store, and business was booming.

Lao Liu looked coldly and saw that the pear candy wrapped in the shop looked very similar to Yangcun hemp paper.

The shopkeeper of the sugar shop saw a group of people standing at the door of the shop for some reason. He was familiar with the clerk of the paper shop and concluded that they were not here to cause trouble, so he came forward to greet them and invited them into the inner room of the shop.

Lao Liu got straight to the point and told the purpose of his visit, while paying attention to the behavior of the shopkeeper. Hearing that the shopkeeper was on an errand from the county government, he did not panic and said, "The flood has washed away the Dragon King Temple." It turned out that his boss was the head of Lou Zhixian County. , this shop is the property of the Lou family.

Lao Liu investigates the case and arrests a demon from Bai Yuan Cult. He heard that he is the capital of the Lou family, and he thinks that this trip may be in vain.As usual, I asked about the entry and exit of Yangcun Sesame Paper. The shopkeeper said that he sent a clerk to Huisheng Paper once every six months to pick up the goods, and he put them away when he got them back. Their candy shop was a small profit company, and most people would buy one or two pieces of candy. They are still reluctant to wrap up the paper, and when closing the store at night, they have to keep an inventory of the goods sold, so it is unlikely that they will be stolen.

One of the waiters in the store is his wife's uncle, and the other is a neighbor from Wuxian County. They are both old people in the city.

Lao Liu felt that there was nothing suspicious about this shop, so he told the shopkeeper that this was related to an important case. If there was anything unusual, go to the county government to see him, and he hurriedly went to the second shop to visit.

The second shop was in Ma Yi Ke Lane. The paper shop clerk who was leading the way couldn't see the sign of the silk shop. He couldn't help but hesitate a little. After going around for a while, he finally found a small storefront at the end of the abandoned garden. The row of doors was tightly closed. , there is a dilapidated stone incense burner placed under the eaves, giving it an even more dilapidated feel.

The paper shop clerk went to knock on the door, his hands were covered with dust, and he was even more surprised.

Lao Liu saw the clerk at the paper shop calling for a long time but no one answered the door. He knew something was strange, so he stopped the clerk and went to the commander of the place to ask the reason.

Yu Jia here is about forty years old and is very familiar with the local area. When asked about the Shi family's pear paste and sugar shop, he immediately answered the question. The shop has not been open these days, and the Shi family's father and daughter who own the shop have returned to their hometown to prepare for the Winter Solstice Festival.

"How long ago did the Shi family's father and daughter return to their hometown?" Lao Liu asked.

Yu Jia Zhang paused for a moment and said: "It seems that it was seven days ago. I heard from Mrs. Liu who was doing the laundry. She came to my house once in three days. She came twice after I heard about it."

When Lao Liu heard that seven days ago, his heart skipped a beat and he asked, "What are the origins of the Shi family's father and daughter?"

Chief Yu Jia thought for a while and said: "The Shi family are the local aborigines. I have been the chief for 20 years. The yamen collects taxes, and the Shi family is on the list every year. I am afraid that when Lao Shi said he would return to his hometown, he would return home. Their ancestral home was several generations ago. Although the Shi family opened a shop, they were actually a bit dull and talkative. His wife left early, and she did not come out to chat with the housewife. When I think about it, I really don’t know much about their family. Maybe Mrs. Liu who washes clothes is familiar with them."

Mrs. Liu's home is in a small alley diagonally across from Shijia's pear paste and sugar shop. The houses in this alley are low, the roads are potholes, and the walls are covered with black mold after being soaked by rain.

At a glance, one can tell that the house is populated by rough people like peddlers and foot soldiers. Madam Liu rents the first floor and the bottom of the house.

"Lao Shi?" Mrs. Liu was a little surprised. She turned around and saw Chief Yu Jia. She heard that the government was handling the case and said, "Seven days ago, Lao Shi asked the slaves not to wash clothes for the next month or two. They would go back to their hometown to worship their ancestors the next day. I heard before It was said that their ancestors came to Suzhou from Jiangxi, and it would take only one or two months to go from Suzhou to Jiangxi."

Lao Liu asked: "Are the Shi family old here?"

Mrs. Liu smiled and said: "Uncle Cha is asking someone. Others looked at Lao Shi's shabby clothes and could not guess that he was Mr. Sun from Shiyuan in the past. When I first married in this street, I heard the dead ghost in my family say that he was like this earlier. The houses on the whole street belong to the Shi family, and although the Shi family has declined, they are still better than their neighbors, and the family is still well off."

(End of this chapter)