Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 99 Night Talk at the Zhejiang Guild Hall
I received good news that day. The director of the Quanzhe Guild Hall in Changchun Lane in the city sent a letter. My friend Zhuge Xian, who was imprisoned in the Imperial College in Nanjing, returned to his hometown early to celebrate the New Year. It was almost the same as before and after the winter solstice. When passing through Suzhou City, I had to visit a lot of places. Now, I am just going to get a pair of the latest crystal glasses. Please invite the Wang brothers to Pan Heng.

At this time, he was overjoyed. Wang Cai thought that Zhuge Xian would not come until the Chinese New Year.

Seven days later, it is the eve of the winter solstice. Suzhou people customarily celebrate the winter solstice during the New Year.

The academy will have a five-day holiday starting tomorrow. School will be dismissed early in the afternoon. Every household will have a banquet to worship their ancestors.

The chief attendant of the Quanzhe Guild Hall had already been waiting at the Zhaishe concierge. There were two small sedans parked beside him. He said with a smile on his face: "Please get on the sedan, Mr. Wang. Mr. Zhuge from Lanxi County, Jinhua Prefecture is waiting for you at the guild hall to start the banquet." .”

From the academy to the Quanzhe Guild Hall in Changchun Lane, it is not far, but the walk is also strenuous.It is very suitable to travel in a small sedan chair.

Zhuge Xian was waiting at the second door of the Quanzhe Guild Hall. When he saw the guests parking and getting out of their sedan chairs, he smiled and said, "How shameful!"

"Come on, come on." Wang Cai talked to Lou Dongxiang.

"You are so slow that my head and neck bones are also stretched." Zhuge Xian said.

The warm pavilion of the Quanzhe Guild Hall was as warm as spring. Zhuge Xian welcomed the two guests into the pavilion and seated them separately.

The reunion of young friends after a long absence brings great joy.

Zhuge Xian was a thin and small figure, as if he had not grown much in the past six months. He squinted his eyes and expressed emotion: "I have never seen this before. I look a head shorter than you all. Brother Wang Qi is just fine. I will be taller next year." He’s only slightly shorter than Brother Xiaocai.”

Zhuge Xian always called Wang Heng after Xiaocai. Knowing that the two of them were brothers, he also changed their names.

Wang Heng smiled bitterly and said: "You have been admitted as a scholar with your hard work this year, but it is no better than anything else. We have been running for another year like a wild horse, and we have gained nothing at all."

Wang Cai saw the copper hot pot boiling over a low fire on the round table. Smoked fish, meatballs, winter bamboo shoots, and bean sprouts were packed into eight-treasure boxes, with egg dumplings embedded in the center, exuding an alluring aroma, so he picked out a piece of meat. Yuan swallowed it in one gulp and said seriously: "A'Xian, you mainly eat too little green vegetables and tofu. If you follow us for a few months and eat in the dining hall, you can be sure to grow taller. As the old saying goes, green vegetables and tofu keep you safe."

Zhuge Xian was unhappy and frowned: "I would rather eat in the dining hall. I like cabbage, cabbage, and green vegetables. My nephew, the patriarch of the clan, sent a nephew with a gray beard to pawn for me in Nanjing City. The second master, he is not the second master, but my own grandfather. He needs to drink a bowl of rice porridge every morning before going to school. It is said to be as nutritious as rice porridge. Occasionally, he buys a pair of sesame seed pancakes fried in a shop to satisfy his craving. Go back and let him know. He complained about me for several days. I can eat anything sold in the market. How can I feel good after eating at roadside food stalls? I just keep silent. If I want to reply with a sentence or two, it is me If you rely on your seniority to suppress him, he will cry like a master."

Wang Cai said: "This second master is really a wonderful man."

Zhuge Xian chuckled and said, "It's better to treat guests to food."

So he asked the servant to serve the food first and enjoy it.After dinner, the table was removed, tea was boiled in earthen pots, and we talked for a long night.Wang Cai brought the manuscript "Notes from Bagua Village" with him. Zhuge Xian read ten lines at a glance and flipped through it in a short time.

Seeing Wang Cai looking at him nervously, Zhuge Xian said with a smile: "Brother Xiaocai's writing is very beautiful. I won't say more about your praises, but I would like to give my opinions."

Wang Cai nodded repeatedly and said, "That's right, let's brainstorm."

"Brother Xiaocai's script obviously focuses on the bizarre and twists and turns of the plot. Although the plot is ingenious, I think it is too fragile, just like the Seven Treasures Pavilion that dazzles the eyes and ears and cannot be broken into pieces." Zhuge Xian thought about it. , and added: "Also, my ideological level is not high enough, and I have not disclosed the current situation of the Ming Dynasty. There are many kinds of scripts at present, and it is not easy to become popular for a while. I summarized it, and the intention is the key. We must always criticize the evils of the times and dare to expose the chaos in the court."

Wang Heng sipped his tea, nodded and said, "Mr. Wei once mentioned that in overseas countries, the koan scripts written by Xiaocai are divided into two schools. One is called the original school, which focuses on solving puzzles and derivation, and the other is called the social school. , just like A Xian said, reflecting the shortcomings of the court and exposing the darkness of the system in the process of settling the case."

Zhuge Xian clapped his hands and said: "Brother Xiaocai might as well add in the background of the imperial court's repeated ban on maritime trade. The bank capital is making waves just to force the imperial court's maritime trade policy. Written in this way, the criminal motives are more reasonable and realistic. A direct attack on people’s hearts.”

"A'Xian's ideas are all good ones, but I don't want to write them like this just yet." Wang Cai thought about it for a while and said, "I wrote this story because I like solving public cases and riddles. The fun lies in peeling off the cocoons layer by layer and seeking answers. The truth. Coupled with the realistic background, it may resonate with the reader, but I have poor knowledge and made the wrong comment to mislead the reader. What's the matter with my wife? Furthermore, today's Holy Emperor is in the hall, and the system cannot be said to be corrupt. The temple is dark.”

"Brother Xiaocai, if you become an official, you must be a good hand." Zhuge Xian punched Xiaocai and said with a smile: "Liu Siye of the Imperial College was awarded the second-class Jinshi in his 20s. He wasted his time on his academic career. It took me 30 years to teach, and then I told us that I had this idea."

"I'm different from you. I come from a poor family. I'm not a reclusive person who studied hard in the sunny days. I'm an old villager. I can read and even write a few rudimentary scripts. It's all thanks to the teachings of Mr. Wei and Mr. Wang San. I am supported by my family, and no one asked me to become a scholar, so naturally I have no ambitions for the world." Wang Cai sighed and said: "Furthermore, the story must be completed first before we can talk about other things. It is too big a step. Egg."

With the last sentence, the atmosphere turned from sadness to joy, and Zhuge Xian said angrily: "This three-singing and three-sigh show that it is a scriptwriter, with ups and downs."

After chatting and laughing for a while, Zhuge Xian invited them to visit Shantang Street tomorrow because his eyesight has become increasingly blurred recently and he wanted to go to Yimeizhai on Shantang Street to get a pair of crystal glasses.

Wang Cai had been to Shantang Street and immediately volunteered to lead the way.

Zhuge Xian saw that Wang Heng was a little distracted, so he asked if there was any difficulty.

Wang Heng told his college classmate Huang Yuntai about his instructions. Today is the seventh day since Brother Yuntai returned to his hometown, and there is still no trace of him.

It's a long story, and Xiaocai told it all over again, treating Longxing as a fake painting case.

Zhuge Xian said with great interest: "This fake painting case is very fancy, but it may actually be very simple. The money is very attractive. Mr. Liu of the county government may have looked in the wrong direction. The young man who pawned the pawn said that his ancestor withdrew the money from the Plum Blossom Taoist priest." I bought it from the descendants of Mr. Huchuan. Who is this Mr. Huchuan? Where does he live? It is not expected that he is an unknown person. He must be a member of the poetry and calligraphy family. His descendants should still be able to pay a visit if they are interested. If you find it, I would be interested in solving the case."

(End of this chapter)