Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 122 Qu Xiaomei

Nearly an hour later, Uncle Yan returned to the Carving Hall and sighed before opening his mouth: "Oh, Master."

Wang Heng said sincerely: "Old Yan, I know you are having a difficult time. It's not easy."

The eldest sister of the Huang family named Lao Yan to organize the funeral, not other members of the Huang clan. Obviously, Uncle Yan is still worthy of trust. It is difficult for him to defeat four people with two fists. At this moment, Xiaocai cannot fly here, and whether he can win allies is crucial. ,
Uncle Yan was held up high, and he had to gather his energy and said: "The big carriage of the company was ordered by my uncle to call the maid. It was supposed to be driven by Shui Sheng or Bingsheng, but their mother was seriously ill yesterday, so the two of them came together." After asking for leave, my uncle just said that it was okay, and it was the same for him to let his servant drive the carriage. It snowed heavily yesterday, and the stable boss Zhangtou and Lao Yutou were hiding in the kitchen to warm themselves by the fire. They did not see who was driving the car. car."

"If Brother Yongning's maid passed it on, which maid was it?" Wang Heng asked.

"It's a little maid named Qu Xiaomei." Uncle Yan came prepared and asked clearly.

"Little sister Qu." Wang Heng had no memory at all. Suddenly, his heart trembled. He remembered the little sister Huang Xiaoba mentioned and asked hurriedly: "Is little sister Qu still in the inner courtyard of the east building?"

Uncle Yan said slowly: "It's strange to say that the young master asked me to pay attention to the fact that he didn't ask for leave, but he was not there. The little maid who lives in the same room with Miss Qu said that she didn't come back to sleep last night and didn't tell anyone where she was going. She didn't tell anyone where she was going today. No one in sight.”

Wang Hengteng had to stand up. If Qu Xiaomei didn't come back all night, would she be silenced by the murderer?

After thinking about it, he asked again: "What does this little sister Qu look like?"

Uncle Yan squinted his presbyopic eyes and tried to think back: "That little sister Qu has actually just been in Zhuangzi for more than a month. She is about fourteen or fifteen years old. She is a country girl with a dark skin and very flexible eyes."

"Little sister Qu is new here, so who recommended her?"

Uncle Yan frowned: "It seems that she was recommended by the steward of Li Xiucai's family in Mingyuewan Village. She was said to be a girl from their next-door neighbor Qujiazhuang. Because the masters of the Qu family all live in Suzhou City, they don't go to Zhuangzi to choose. Maid, this girl has reached the age where she should learn to behave, and she would like to come to our village as a maid to help make up for the household expenses."

"Li Xiucai of Mingyuewan Village?" Wang Heng had vaguely heard of Li Xiucai's name a few times. Fortunately, there was an old man like Uncle Yan, who knew the ins and outs of all the people in the village.

"It's the uncle's good friend Li Xugu, and Li Xiucai is the uncle's general acquaintance." Lao Yan said.

Wang Heng remembered that the day after arriving at Wanhu Village, Liu's mother mentioned that Huang Yuntai had stayed at Li Xiucai's house the day before.

Uncle Yan added: "Li Xiucai is frail and sick, and lives in seclusion on weekdays. Something happened to his uncle, and there was a snowstorm for many days. Although others did not come in person, they sent stewards to express their condolences."

No wonder Li Xiucai didn't come to Huang Yuntai's Ping An Jiao ceremony.

"The little maid Qu Xiaomei stayed away all night. She was either silenced or an accomplice of the murderer of Brother Yongning." Wang Heng said in a low voice.

Uncle Yan was slightly frightened and said: "It's unlikely. Qu Xiaomei's family is a guest of the Qu family in Xishan. This Qu family is the Qu family of Tongpan." Wang Heng was also stunned. He had only been studying in Fucheng, Suzhou for half a year. , I didn’t know much about the crowned figures in the city, but two months ago, Mr. Tongjuan’s niece, Miss Qu San, ran into a ghost during the day. This incident caused a huge uproar and no one knew about it.

Wang Heng was very surprised that Qu Xiaomei actually came from Tongpan's manor.

"I want to search for the things that little sister Qu left behind." Wang Heng said that since little sister Qu left without saying goodbye, some of her belongings must still be there, and maybe he will find something.

Uncle Yan nodded: "Okay, I'll go with you and ask the stewardess to open the door of her room. You can look through it carefully."

Uncle Yan loudly ordered the boys: "Now I am serving the seventh prince Wang's meal. You can take care of him more. If you don't understand something, just come back to me. If you are lazy, I will expose your skin carefully."

The two stepped up their pace and quickly walked to the hanging flower door of the inner hall. Uncle Yan stopped a maid and asked her to invite the lady in charge of the inner hall.

After a while, the lady in charge came out to greet her. Uncle Yan briefly told her, saying that because Qu Xiaomei had not returned home all night, he was afraid something would happen, so he wanted to take a look at the house where she lived.

The lady in charge turned around and took a bunch of keys. She took Wang Heng and Uncle Yan into the hanging flower door and walked along the corridor to the side room where Huang Yongning usually lived. There were several rows of bungalows near the flower garden, and the maids in the inner courtyard were there. Live here.

Qu Xiaomei lives in the last room at the west end of the first row. The room is small and dimly lit, with barely enough room for two small canopy beds. The housekeeper can recognize her bed and chest of drawers.The bedding on the bed was neatly folded, but when I opened the chest of drawers, it was very messy. Some of the little maid's clothes were scattered, and a few furoshiki were stuffed randomly. There were dozens of copper coins scattered in the box.

Wang Heng carefully listed them out one by one. If he didn't believe it, there would be no clues. No matter how careful the planning was, there would be no flaws.

Sure enough, when I searched the second baggage, something puzzling appeared.

The first one is an embroidered statue, a solemn and kind goddess with white hair, wearing a Xia Phi, holding Bagua in both hands.

What kind of statue is this?Wang Heng has never seen it.

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva and the Queen Mother of Western Heaven are not alike.

Wang Heng looked at Uncle Yan, and Uncle Yan shook his head.

The second item is a jade plaque. The jade is of very good quality and is a very rare Khotan jade. The jade plaque is engraved with the word "Yuxu". Such a thing would never appear in a little girl's cupboard in the countryside.

(End of this chapter)