Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 111 Trap
After a night of chaotic dreams, at dawn, a clear child's voice really shouted: "Brother Wang Qi, wake up quickly."

Wang Heng was so frightened that his chest was pounding. He opened the thick curtain and glanced outside the window. The north wind was blowing hard and snowflakes were flying. He saw a lean and lean man in the corridor downstairs. The [-]-year-old boy, wearing a bright red double-breasted leather jacket, stood on tiptoes and shouted toward the window of his west wing: "Brother Wang Qi, wake up quickly."

Wang Heng pushed open the window and shouted down: "Little brother, do you have a problem with me?"

The little boy was very articulate and asked, "Are you Brother Wang Qi, my cousin's classmate and friend from Yuntai?"

Wang Heng said: "I am Wang Qilang from Ziyang Academy."

The little boy was overjoyed when he heard this and said: "Brother Wang Qi, I am the eighth man from the third room, and I will come to your house to find you right now.

Huang Xiaoba moved like the wind. General Wang Heng put on his clothes, walked to the small living room, opened the lattice door, and Huang Xiaoba flew in.

Huang Xiaoba looked up at Wang Heng and said, "Brother Wang Qi, can you catch sparrows?"

Wang Heng was stunned and scratched his head. He was incompetent in literature and martial arts, and his skills were not very good. His old face turned red and he said: "Well, I have never caught him."

Huang Xiaoba raised the corner of his mouth and said, "I know how to do it. I'll teach you." After saying that, he took Wang Heng's hand and ran downstairs.

Behind the hallway door downstairs, there was a small wheelbarrow. Huang Xiaoba pushed it away neatly. He crossed the hall and came to an open place and stopped.

Just when Wang Heng was about to ask, Huang Xiaoba made a silent gesture with his fingers, took out a bamboo rice cover from the wheelbarrow, tied a thin hemp rope to one end of the rice cover, and propped it up on the snow with a small wooden stick. The rice cover was half open and half closed, and a handful of rice was sprinkled on the snow under the rice cover.

At this time, the sky was bright, and from time to time, flocks of birds flew in to look for food. A few house finches soon discovered the rice grains under the rice cover, and jumped into the rice cover to eat. Huang Xiaoba steadily pulled the thin hemp rope. , calmly lifted the rope, the small wooden stick fell to the ground, and the house sparrows were all trapped under the rice cover.

Huang Xiaoba couldn't hide his excitement and glanced at Wang Heng.

Wang Hengqiao gave a thumbs up and praised: "There is a way."

Huang Xiaoba pretended to be humble and said: "Actually, it's nothing. It's snowing in the middle of winter and the birds are hungry. I spread some rice and made a good trap. How could the birds escape?" Lose."

As he spoke, he swung the rope, picked up the rice cover and threw it on the wheelbarrow. The covered house sparrows were so frightened that they forgot to escape immediately. After a while, they fluttered away.

Huang Xiaoba was still unfinished, and shouted to the sky: "Little bird, little bird, don't fall into the trap next time, that is, I am teasing you, and if it falls into the hands of others, you will be steamed and braised." After he finished speaking, he waved his hands to Wang Heng and pushed the wheelbarrow away in a hurry.

Wang Henglin was there, waiting for Huang Xiaoba to disappear without a trace. He was still wondering whether the baby had woken him up so early in the morning. Could it be that he wanted to say these words to him.What does trap mean?Is Wanhuzhuang a big trap?Huang Xiaoba was just a child, and he was a stranger to him. If he was spreading the news on purpose, an adult must have told him about it. Who was that person?
After standing there for a long time, I thought of the strange maid in the inner courtyard again. Suspicions abounded in Wanhu Village. Since I was separated from Brother Yuntai, the dispute between Huang Yongning and Mr. Huang Er in Wanhu Village had nothing to do with him. Wang Heng secretly made up his mind to wait for the heavy snow to subside and immediately go to Xishan Pier to see if passenger ships have resumed traffic.

The sound of silk and bamboo music came from the front hall, and today's dojo began again. Wang Heng thought about going to pay a few bows to the head of Brother Yuntai first, so that his worries would be settled and he could leave satisfactorily.

When Wang Heng came to the Carved Flower Hall, it was still early in the morning, and there was still noon left for the old man to rest in the sky. None of the old men from the Huang clan had come yet, and only two of the four Taoist priests in the dojo had arrived.

Wang Heng knelt down and worshiped three times on the futon, praying sincerely in his heart: "Brother Yuntai, although you are rich and surrounded by tigers and wolves in your clan, I am afraid that you will not be able to get what you want in one day. Now that you have passed away, I only hope that you will vote for me." A good pregnancy will bring good fortune and wisdom in the next life.

He lit incense and put his palms together, and saw the curl of incense. Every detail of their relationship appeared in front of his eyes, and he couldn't help but feel sad.

There was no real master in the Huang family, so the Taoist priest played feebly and stopped to rest from time to time. Two other Taoist priests came quietly at some point, and the cat was lazily warming himself by the stove.

Near noon, the Huang family members gradually gathered in the Carved Flower Hall. Huang Wu Taiye saw that his eldest brother-in-law Huang Yongning was not in the Carved Flower Hall to accept the elders of the clan. He felt very uncomfortable. He put the copper stove on the Eight Immortals Terrace and looked around, only to see the steward. Uncle Yan was not there either, so he asked the boy in a loud voice: "Where is Old Yan? He has grown up now, so why isn't he here to serve me?"

The fifth master wanted to find fault with Huang Yongning, but it was not good for his face, so he had no choice but to offend Uncle Yan.

"My uncle has some important matters and has sent Uncle Yan out of the village. The fifth master just gave instructions to the younger ones and handed them over to our brothers." The young man agreed with a smile.

"Hmph." Mr. Huang Wu breathed out from his nostrils and stopped talking. He picked up the stove and went to the dining room to eat noodles.

When Wang Heng heard that Uncle Yan had left the village, he couldn't help but be surprised. What important things did he have to go out to do on such a snowy day?
He was just about to go talk to Huang Yongning, but he secretly thought that he had just made up his mind not to meddle in other people's business in the morning. The Huang family was full of disputes and disputes. Since Huang Yongning didn't invite him to have lunch with him, something must have happened. He had no intention of eating with the old and young men of the Huang family. After dinner and socializing, they returned to the side hall where Brother Yuntai usually ate, and his servant Liu Ma prepared the food and served it.

As the day progressed, I had nothing to do, so I chatted with Ma Liu for a few words, involving matters related to the master's family. Ma Liu was well trained and had a tight mouth. As for talking about other things, Ma Liu was a considerate servant. She saw that Ma Liu was a very considerate servant. Wang Heng was trapped in Wanhu Village with nothing to do, so he kindly reminded him that there was actually a public library in Zhuangzi called Xianyun Building, which was open to the children of the clan. As Wang Heng was a good friend of Huang Yuntai's classmate, he could borrow books there. .It is said that the collection of books is very rich. Compared with the empty bookshelves in Huang Yuntai's father Liang Fenggong's study in the East Building, according to Liu Ma's knowledge, the collection of books in Xianyun Building is dozens of shelves higher.

Wang Heng thanked Liu Ma for her kindness. This was indeed a good idea to kill time. However, Wang Heng remembered that there was also a collection of books in the west wing. On such a snowy day, it was more comfortable to warm up indoors by the fire. If it was in the academy, it would be better to avoid teachers and students. If they suffer from frostbite, classes will generally be suspended for a few days, allowing them to study on their own in the fasting room.

The snow showed no signs of clearing up in the afternoon, and the stove in the west wing was burning brightly. Wang Heng didn't sleep well last night, so he happened to be tucked into bed.

Wang Heng woke up after a long dream after throwing books with tired hands. He felt that the surroundings were unusually quiet. Even the sound of silk and bamboo in the dojo in the front hall could not be heard.He went to find Liu Ma to make a pot of scented tea, but found that Liu Ma could not be found. Not only that, the servants in the entire east building had strange faces.

(End of this chapter)