Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 105 No.20 Four Levels Dream
Wang Heng knew that Huang Yongning had sent a team of people from here to Piaomiao Peak to search, so he only focused on the point where he fell into the water, and searched all the way along the river, so that he would not disappear without a trace.

Discussing with Huang Yongning about searching along the river, Huang Yongning didn't have much idea and all agreed with him.

After searching along the river for most of the day, I met a farmer at the boundary of Han Village who provided an important clue. Yesterday afternoon at around [-]pm, he was washing his hands by the water and saw something strange floating upstream. He was frightened. As soon as I was excited, I subconsciously wanted to use a bamboo pole to fish it out. However, the current was very strong at that time, and it floated downstream and disappeared in the blink of an eye.Now someone came up and said that there was a person who fell into the water. The farmer thought it was somewhat similar. He still remembered that it seemed to be a ball of royal blue, which exactly matched the color of Huang Yuntai's robe yesterday.

Huang Yuntai immediately promised a reward of 100 taels of silver and asked him to spread the news in the village. Anyone who could provide effective clues to find the Huang family would be rewarded with 100 taels of silver.

Going further down, no new discoveries were made until dark, so the three of them had no choice but to return to Wanhu Village.

They were out for a day, and the people in the east building of the villa were in panic all day long.

In the morning, Shuisheng came back and asked Yinfeng for the leather boots that Huang Yuntai wore at home. Yinfeng took the leather boots and went under the Sanying Bridge to compare the footprints. The result confirmed Wang Heng's speculation. Yinfeng concluded that the footprints were left by Huang Yuntai. of.

Several people sent by Huang Yongning came back one after another, but they found nothing. The eldest sister of the Huang family, the only head of the east building, was sick in bed. She never took care of things and no one bothered her.

Although the family members were large in number, they had little knowledge and were all as frightened as headless flies.Seeing Huang Yongning coming back, he breathed a sigh of relief and each responded to his uncle. Basically, there were no clues and no trace.

When the steward, Lao Yan, saw that the servants had finished talking about what was going on, he came up and said, "Uncle, the second master said that the Dongting Chamber of Commerce has important matters and asked you to go there."

Huang Yongning leaned on the gauze chair, crossed his legs, and sneered: "The second master is not the head of the chamber of commerce now, but he has taken on the air of being the head of the chamber. When he has won over the other members of the chamber of commerce, he will remove the subtitle and call it "hui". He should serve as the leader for two consecutive terms, and then use his brain to ask our eldest brother to run errands for him."

Lao Yan did not dare to say anything and quietly retreated.

Wang Heng had no intention of listening to these family secrets, and was sitting there pretending to be sipping tea attentively. Unexpectedly, Huang Yongning stopped him: "Seventh Young Master has worked hard for our family all day long. Since he is a good friend of Yuntai, he is also a good friend of the same family. How about we come to my inner courtyard to have dinner together and discuss matters?"

Wang Heng had no choice but to follow Huang Yongning. The inner courtyard where Huang Yongning lived was the courtyard in the east building. The style of the Wubao was to have surrounding buildings on all sides, where troops could be stationed, and the family members lived in the middle, which was relatively safe.

The servants walked through the hanging flower door and entered the inner hall. Huang Yongning invited Wang Heng to take a seat in the side room where he usually lived.

Wang Heng calculated that it was already the third day since he took a boat to Xishan Island on the winter solstice. The academy had a seven-day holiday. Excluding one day for the return journey, there was not much time left. However, everything that happened in Wanhu Village was incomprehensible. Mind, it is inconvenient to say goodbye, that would seem too cold.

There was only one seat in front of Huang Yongning's Eight Immortals Platform, and the maid brought one from another room for Wang Heng to sit on.

While waiting for the meal to start in the kitchen, I heard the sound of rustling footsteps. A middle-aged woman came from the side hall. She was wearing a cotton coat and skirt made of fine materials. She was dressed very freshly. She also had a hairpin in her hair. The eye circles are red.

She walked in and blessed Huang Yongning, wiped her tears with sobbing eyes, and said after a while: "Uncle, I won't see anyone alive or dead, so you can't just wait around."

Huang Yongning nodded heavily and said: "Mother Fang, you are right. There is a reward now. Maybe there will be clues tomorrow or later. Naturally, we can't just wait. Everyone who can be sent out by the village tomorrow morning will be asked." Send them out to look around.”

Huang Yongning introduced to Wang Heng that Fang's mother turned out to be Huang Yuntai's nanny and an old member of the Huang family.Mother Fang stood in the room, hesitant and hesitant to speak, as if she had something to say.

Huang Yongning said warmly: "Mother Fang, you are an older person who wants to listen to your advice. The seventh young master here is Yuntai's classmate and friend, and he is the closest to him. If you have something to say, it doesn't matter."

Mother Fang cheered up and said: "He Xiangu from Mingyue Bay is the most efficacious person from all over the country. We might as well go to her to understand the dream, and we can also find out whether the uncle is still alive. If we want to find it, where can we find it?" go."

Huang Yongning stood up, with his hands behind his back, looking from above to the ground, and then from below to the skylight. He thought about it and said, "Mother Fang, it's all up to you."

Mother Fang said: "He Xiangu always practices dreams in the middle of the night. The uncle's business is very urgent, so we might as well rush there overnight. It's the turn of Youxu now ([-] o'clock in the evening), and although it's raining a lot, we can go to Mingyuewan Village Two hours is enough."

Huang Yongning nodded and ordered the people around him: "Let Lao Yan prepare three sedans immediately. We will go out after a while, and find ten villagers with oil lamps and torches to clear the way. There are so many people at night, so we can do things easily."

He turned around and bowed to Wang Heng, saying: "The Han family has only a few heirs and no brothers or sisters to help them. The seventh son is tired and has to go with me again. This will give me courage."

Wang Heng said without hesitation: "Even if Brother Yongning doesn't call me, I still ask to go with him."

Mingyuewan Village at the foot of Shigong Mountain on Dongting Xishan Island, at the turn of midnight (eleven o'clock in the middle of the night).

In the cold rain of winter night, after nearly two hours of trekking, the three sedan chairs of the Huang family in Wanhuzhuang carrying Wang Heng, Huang Yongning, and Huang Yuntai's wet nurse Fang Mama stopped at the westernmost corner of the village, where the famous witch He Xiangu's family was. Residential.

Wang Heng pushed open the sedan curtain and looked through the candlelight. He saw a house made of earth and stone. In front of the house was a chest-high bamboo fence, and inside the fence was a courtyard about an acre wide.

But at this moment, the house was actually brightly lit.

There were other carriages and sedans parked in the courtyard. When they saw a group of them getting off the sedan, a slim young girl came out of the back room, holding an oil-paper umbrella, folding her skirt as a courtesy, lowering her head and saying respectfully: "Your Majesty, please come with me."

Stepping into the courtyard, the young girl led them to sit down in a teahouse. Although it was a country house with paper windows and a hut, it had a unique atmosphere.There is a yellow clay stove in the room, with a plain earthenware pot on it. The water is boiling until it smokes and releases a faint fragrance.

The young girl served three cups of tea to the guests with an elegant gesture. Fang's mother said, "May I ask if this girl is the sixth aunt next to He Xiangu?"

The young girl bowed her knees and said, "It's Nunu."

Mother Fang said: "Is there still a spot for Fairy Aunt today?"

Liu Gu smiled and said: "It's raining heavily today, so only two nobles came. Madam is the third family. Madam and the two gentlemen took a rest, and then Fairy Lady came over."

(End of this chapter)