Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 106 Meeting in a Dream
After waiting anxiously for tea for a long time, the sound of a skirt moving through the gauze curtain in the tea room came, and then an old female voice came: "What do you want, your distinguished guest?"

Mother Fang said: "Immortal aunt, the Huang family of Wanhuzhuang, please ask the eldest brother, Huang Yuntai, to appear as a god."

Liugu came out from behind the screen, asked about Huang Yuntai's birth date, wrote it down with a red pen, and then went back behind the curtain.

The room was silent, except for the lingering fragrance.

Suddenly someone rolled open the curtain and said softly: "Aunt Xue is here."

A burst of heavy footsteps came closer and closer, "Xiaomei, why are you calling me so urgently?" This was the voice of an old woman.

"Aunt Xue is tired from walking. Let's sit down and have a rest." The curtain roller Xiaomei said: "There is a stranger on the first day of the second lunar month in the Jiashen year. The fairy aunt asked Aunt Xue to call him for a visit."

Aunt Xue muttered something in her mouth, suddenly stamped her feet, and exclaimed: "Ah He, this person has just been in the underworld for two days. This is against the rules. The judge will punish him. I'm leaving."

Silence returned behind the veil, and for a long time, the soft words of He Xiangu and Sixth Aunt were heard.

After a while, Sixth Aunt came out again and said, "My lord, please go back. We can't find the person you are looking for. Please come back after May [-]th."

Mother Fang took Liu Aunt's hand, quietly stuffed two silver coins, and said with tears: "Six Aunt help me, I can't find the uncle, and our whole family has no way to survive."

Liu Gu calmly held the silver coin, put it into her sleeve, and said, "I'll think of a way for you. I'll let you know whether it works or not."

When she came out from behind the veil again, she said with a smile on her face: "Xiangu saw that you were pious and wanted to help you. She went down to the underworld to find someone in person. However, if she goes there, she will definitely be hurt. I'm afraid I have to stay in seclusion for a month or two to recuperate.”

"Excuse me, Fairy Lady, for a quick trip. I'm willing to reward you with 100 taels of silver." Huang Yongning said sternly.

Sixth Aunt's eyes were filled with joy and she said, "Just wait and see, Fairy Aunt will definitely make it happen." After that, she returned to the veil.

Wang Heng was tired from days of hard work and mentally exhausted, so he unknowingly fell asleep leaning on the coffee table.

Suddenly there was a strong wind outside the house, and the rain became even stronger. It poured on the roof beams and made the mountains ring.

Wang Heng felt a gust of dark wind blowing, rolling up the gauze curtain. There were sighs inside, and then, there was a soft call: "Little Wang."

Suddenly he woke up from his dream. This voice was undoubtedly Huang Yuntai.

Before this, Wang Heng had always had the attitude of watching a play. He had to believe the stories about gods and ghosts, but not completely.

"Brother Yuntai." Wang Heng said involuntarily. It is impossible for He Xiangu here to know what they are called on weekdays.

"Xiao Wang is really a believer. It's only half a day before we can swim together arm in arm. Alas." The voice was low and seemed to be choked: "Now that I am returning to the netherworld, it is the result of Wanhuzhuang's injustice in the previous life. In fact, it is also me. My fate is like this, so I have to accept my fate. Xiao Wang, please go back to the academy. From now on, between the peaches and plums in the spring breeze and the sycamores in the autumn rain, a cup of tea will make you and I get to know each other."

"Uncle, how can you let this old slave live?" Fang's mother beat her chest and cried loudly.

"Mother Fang, from now on, my brother-in-law will take charge. He will take care of the family and there will always be a place for you."

Huang Yongning asked: "Yuntai, who harmed you?" There was silence behind the scenes for a moment, "It's all the injustice done by the ancestors of the Huang family in the past life. If there is a grudge, there is a grudge, and if there is a grudge, I will take revenge. Brother-in-law, don't worry about it, just let it go to me." Let’s make a break here.”

The sound gradually became lighter and disappeared. Inside the gauze, He Xiangu fell to the ground and groaned in pain. The sound sounded like she had vomited a mouthful of blood.

Soon the sixth aunt came out and saw Wang Heng and his party out. Huang Yongning presented 100 taels of silver notes as promised.

On the way home, the rain gradually stopped and snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

This trip can't be said to have any actual gains, but in short, everyone accepted the result that they were least willing to accept.Huang Yuntai has passed away, but his soul has also come to sleep.

Back at Wanhuzhuang, around the fifth watch, Wang Heng was still resting in the west wing room on the second floor of the east building. When he woke up, it was already past noon, and there was snow outside the window.

The search for Huang Yuntai was still going on, and a reward of 100 taels of silver was offered. A nearby farmer picked up a cloth sock by the river and came to Wanhu Village to report clues. Yinfeng recognized it as indeed Huang Yuntai's sock.

It can be seen that sooner or later something will be discovered in the downstream river beach channel.

The people in Wanhu Village are chatty, and it is difficult to distinguish between friends and foes. What happened to Guan Meng at He Xiangu's place was kept secret and there was no need to tell others.

Wang Heng felt that he could not help him much, so he said goodbye to Huang Yongning. Huang Yongning reluctantly stayed for one more day. It was already afternoon, and it would take half a day to go from Wanhuzhuang to Xishan Ferry. By the time he arrived at the ferry, it was almost night. , where are the passenger ships going to the city.

Wang Heng thought that it was reasonable. Tomorrow would be dawn and dusk would come, and there would still be enough light.

I woke up early the next day, with snowflakes dancing lightly, but I saw a beautiful forest and jade trees, and Wanhu Village was wrapped in silver, which was very charming.

Wang Heng grew up in the south of the Yangtze River and rarely saw snow scenes, so he praised it.

Huang Yongning was waiting downstairs in the east building early in the morning, and ordered Zhuang Ding Bingsheng to hitch up the carriage and wait by the side of the lane.

Wang Heng had no luggage, so he walked out of the second door with a bag on his back and bowed his hands to Huang Yongning in farewell.

Huang Yongning said earnestly: "Even though Yuntai is no longer here, Wang Qi Gongzi is still a close friend of my family. If you have free time, please come to the village to stay for a while. In spring, plum blossoms are like snow all over the mountains and fields, peach blossoms are blooming when dipped in water, and loquats and Yangmei are blooming in spring." , the melons and vegetables for summer are all excellent, let me do my best as a landlord for Yuntai."

Wang Heng's heart trembled, and he couldn't bear to disappoint Huang Yongning, so he casually said: "Definitely."

The carriage ran slowly towards the gatehouse. Wang Heng opened the curtain and was about to see the snowy mountains along the way. He saw Master Huang walking quickly from the side road to the east building and met Huang Yongning who was standing outside the court watching the carriage leave. The two people were standing a few feet away from each other, standing there talking.

The car slowly drove out of the main gate, leaving the huge Wubao behind. Wang Heng looked back and felt that Wanhuzhuang looked a bit dilapidated in the daytime.

The mountain road behind the snow was more difficult to walk than expected. Except for one or two ox carts, there were almost no pedestrians on the road. Fortunately, Bingsheng was a cart driver, and he passed Hancun without any risk and reached the official road. At the turn of noon ([-] o'clock noon) we arrived at Xishan Ferry.

Before he got off the carriage, Wang Heng realized something was wrong. The bustling ferry was actually empty today, and the boats were gathered together and tied together with iron chains.

Bingsheng was also surprised when he saw this. He parked the carriage under the old willow tree. He welcomed and dropped off many guests at the village. He walked directly to the huts of the stewards at the pier and saw that the old man on the pier was lighting a fire. When Shui saw someone coming in, he quickly said: "Everyone, please go back today. It's windy and snowy, so the boat can't sail."

(End of this chapter)