Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 93 Toad wants to eat swan meat
Lao Liu thought that the abandoned garden with collapsed walls on the way here was probably the Shi Garden that Mrs. Liu mentioned, so he asked: "Ms. Liu, do you know how the Shi family fell into decline?"

Madam Liu straightened her clothes and looked like she was about to go out, and said, "I wasn't married yet here at that time. I heard that I was involved in a lawsuit, but I don't know anything else."

"What happened at Xiaomei Shi's house is unusual." The door opened and a young man came in, about eighteen or nineteen years old. He was dressed like a young boy in Tsing Yi and was very neatly dressed.

Seeing that it was her son Ah Xing who had returned from work, Mrs. Liu hurriedly sifted a tea cup of water for him. Ah Xing took the tea cup, but was not in a hurry to drink it. She pressed the tea cup on the Eight Immortals Platform and said to Lao Liu: "Master Cha, what did the Shi family's father and daughter commit?"

Without waiting for Lao Liu to reply to him, Ah Xing poured beans out of his bamboo tube: "Lao Shi said they were going back to their hometown to worship their ancestors. He was lying. That day, I squatted in the hole in the wall all night and watched his father and daughter. The two of them burned all the things in the house for half the night. Although I was far away I couldn't see what they were burning. I saw them moving box after box. Even if they don't come back for a year or two, there is no need to burn all the things in the house before leaving. , it’s obvious that he dared to leave only after destroying something shameful.”

Lao Liu perked up: "What else did you see?"

Liu Axing said blabberingly: "I'll scare you when I tell you. Shi Xiaomei and the others burned for half a night. Finally, two big birds emerged from the fire. They chirped and flew southward. I was so frightened that I squatted in the hole in the wall. I can't move. It's strange, I haven't seen the Shi family father and daughter go out, why did they disappear? "

Mrs. Liu did not expect that her son would have such an adventure. She poked Ah Xing's forehead with her finger and said angrily: "If you want to eat swan meat, please open your eyes wide and look at our poor family. Please behave yourself." The mistress serves as a matchmaker, and it is only right to have a fair-headed and upright daughter-in-law."

When Liu Ah Xing saw that his mother refused to show him any favors in public, he was eager to say goodbye with a pale face.

Lao Liu looked impatiently at the quarrel between mother and son, coughed dryly, and asked, "Mrs. Liu, you usually work as a helper in the Shi family. Do you think you have the key to the front door of the Shi family?"

Madam Liu took her hand away and went to touch the cupboard. After thinking about it, she hesitated and said, "Lao Shi is not at home. Is it appropriate to open the door?"

Lao Liu said solemnly: "If the official is handling the case, whatever happens, I will be responsible for it."

"That's okay." Madam Liu took out the copper key and put it into her cotton-padded jacket, "You guys come with me."

The gate of Shijia Abandoned Garden is not far from Donghengtou of Ligao Candy Store.

The dark and mottled wooden door is almost integrated with the decaying parapet. Pomegranates are hanging on the tall trees with their holes open, swaying in the cold wind.

When I opened the door and went in, I was surprised that it was not as filthy as I imagined.

The garden is very large. When you come to the alley from Jiayu Square, you can see that the West Garden, with its walls half-collapsed, is basically abandoned. There are indeed traces of ashes on the open space in the West Garden.

The East Garden is in good repair. Although the buildings are older, the three courtyards are neatly arranged. The fields in the garden are flat and planted with various plants and vegetables. It can be seen that they have been carefully taken care of.

The courtyard still retains the atmosphere of the owner's life. There are several salted herrings hanging under the stove, a lot of straw and charcoal piled in the firewood shed, and there is a dustpan on the porch with Shi Xiaomei's embroidery on it, which is embroidered with two gold brocade fish. , with bulging eyes, very playful, all it takes is the owner's slender jade fingers to embroider a few water plants and it's done.

Lao Liu asked Madam Liu, "Madam, look, what is missing in their courtyard?"

Madam Liu shook her head and said, "Everything is there."

Lao Liu lowered his head to think, then suddenly raised his eyes and said, "Madam, think about it, did they hang calligraphy and paintings on the wall in the past?"

Madam Liu looked confused and said, "Master, I don't know how to read. I have never paid attention to these things. It seems that I haven't." She tried her best to think and said, "Old Shi sometimes reads in his own bedroom. I remember that he is in his room." There is a whole shelf of books, but I didn’t see any space on the shelf just now.”

The books are all there, so what are they burning?
Lao Shi, who runs a pear paste candy shop, often reads books and has a certain collection of books, something that many well-off families in Suzhou cannot do.His family's financial situation seems to be good, but it is puzzling that his daughter, who is young enough to get married, shows up to open a shop.

Lao Liu's inner thoughts were ups and downs. This case was not simple.

Liu Ah Xing, who was standing aside, suddenly interrupted: "There is a Bodhisattva statue missing in the living room. It was embroidered by Shi Xiaomei herself."

The Buddha's hands and citrons on the fruit plate on the living room table have not shriveled, and the wall is blank. It seems that the embroidered statue has indeed been taken away. There are many belongings in the house, so it makes sense to take away only one embroidered statue of Bodhisattva. It doesn't make sense.

"Who do the Shi family father and daughter usually associate with?" Lao Liu asked Chief Yu Jia.

Yu Jiachang, who had never spoken before, could only say: "Although the Shi family is an old family, they have always been solitary and have never interacted with anyone. They only do business quietly."

Liu Ah Xing's heart was moved and he hurriedly said: "A while ago, there was a poor scholar in his late teens or 20s who often came to the store to look for Xiaomei Shi. He had red lips and white teeth. He was a pretty boy."

"Scholar, do you know his whereabouts?"

"I heard that he is a student of Ziyang Academy, and his surname is Wang."

"Ziyang Academy." Lao Liu hesitated a little. This was a place where gentlemen gathered. The gentlemen in the academy were all famous scholars. Lao Liu decided to look for other clues instead of looking into the academy.

It was getting late, and a group of people walked past the Ligao Candy Store again. Chief Yu looked at the stone incense burner on the side of the store's front door, frowned and said, "When did there be a stone incense burner here?"

Mrs. Liu thought for a moment and said, "It was probably moved from Shijiayuan last month."

Lao Liu took a look. This stone incense burner looked clumsy, and it was different from the incense burners in temples nowadays. When he looked inside the incense burner, he saw a thin layer of ashes.

Suddenly, Lao Liu's heart moved, and he pushed the stone incense burner to the ground. The ashes were scattered on the bluestone slab and scattered in all directions. Several white pieces of paper left by the burning were exposed. The remaining pieces of paper were all painted with talismans, and they looked exactly like Longxing Zhong. The Taoist talismans on the hemp paper wrapping the "Fishing Picture" were very similar. Lao Liu carefully wrapped these fragments in a handkerchief and kept them as physical evidence.

The Shi family father and daughter are indeed connected with the Baiyuan Sect.

Lao Liu asked Yu Jiachang to spread the word in the streets and alleys in this area. Maybe some neighbors would know the exact whereabouts of the Shi family and his daughter. Anyone with clues who reported it would be rewarded with ten large sums of money by the Yamen.

Although it is not a big reward, there are still brave men.

Early the next morning, Lao Liu was wrapped in a pair of Jianglu cake rolls and deep-fried. Before he could take a bite, Yu Jiachang hurriedly brought a middle-aged rough man to find him.

This man had thick hands and feet and a dark complexion. He felt uncomfortable in the arresting hall. He lowered his head and never raised it.

Chief Yu introduced him as Ali, a porter from Chunshan Store in Dongting, south of the city, and he had important clues to report to the official.

(End of this chapter)