Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Wen Chongguang continued:

"Those who were at the Shen family on the afternoon of August [-]th were the first to say goodbye because we were going back to Suzhou City. By the time we left the north gate, it was already closing time for the city gate. If Mrs. Ye Shen and the others wanted to go back to Fenhu, They should go out at the east city gate, and Shen's House is located near the north gate. In other words, even if Ye Shen leaves Shen's House to the east gate after us, it should be too late to leave the city. So how could Fangxue be at Fenhu that night? The old man died of illness, and besides, how could a person who was fine in the afternoon fall ill and die in just a few hours, which is puzzling?"

Wang Heng and Xiaocai were shocked when they heard this. Their earlier suspicions about the Ye family's shadow resurfaced. Judu couldn't sit still and stood up.

"The Shen family lives in Songling Town, Wujiang County. Who is the current patriarch of the Shen family? Is he Miss Fangxue's grandfather?" Wang Heng suddenly asked.

"The patriarch of the Shen family is my uncle Shen Bohe. He is the Prime Minister of Guanglu Temple who retired and returned to his hometown. Ye Shen and the others are from the second family. Ye Shen's father and Fang Xue's grandfather are long gone. The second family is the head of the family. It’s Shen Jundu, Ye Shen’s brother.”

Wen Chongguang said a lot in one breath and regretted it. He changed the topic and stared at Zhang Xiru and said: "Brother Xiru, the man named Xue offered to redeem the small Cuibao for [-] taels. It is estimated that it will cost [-] taels to redeem it. I We have already raised part of it, but the two hundred taels will eventually fall on you."

Zhang Xiru sighed and said: "Old Wen, you know me. My eldest brother is in charge of my family's property, and I am a well-known poor official."

Wen Chongguang's eyes were nervous and he just said it was gone and became dejected.

Zhang Xiru then said: "Someone who compiled the collection sent me a thousand taels of silver. I saved some money and gave you a hundred taels." After that, he shouted to the old servant and asked him to give Wen a hundred taels of silver. gentlemen.

Wen Chongguang was overjoyed, took the ticket and said, "That's OK, I'll find a big bottle to move another hundred taels."

Zhang Xiru shook his head slightly and said: "Oh, Dazun himself is facing a lawsuit, but thanks to his virtuous wife, he can still cope with the situation."

Wen Chongguang smiled, bowed his hands to the three of them and resigned.

Wang Heng and Xiao Cailuo sat down and saw that Mr. Zhang had many visitors, so he stood up and left.

On the way back to the boat, Wang Cai said: "Brother Seven, there is a lot to do with Miss Ye San. We can't just watch Brother Yueting suffer a loss."

Wang Heng said: "We have to find out what's going on and help Brother Yueting get back the bride price. Ye Tianli doesn't know what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd. How can there be such a marriage?"

After boarding the sampan of the boat, Wang Heng ordered the boatman to sail to Songling, the town of Wujiang County. They wanted to visit Songling before returning home.

Going to Songling from Yunjian County is not the same waterway as going to Fenhu. It goes westward along the Wusong River. The journey is much longer. It is not until the sunset that we cross Songling Road from the end of the song and look back at the smoke. Crossing under the "Fourteen Bridges" Chuihong Bridge and entering the east gate of Songling, Wang Heng only said that he would visit the county town for a few days and let the boatman go back to Yunjian.

When they entered the city, they first found an inn in Taipingfang near the bustling Chenghuang Temple and rested for the night. Then early the next morning they went to look for a house near the North Gate.

Shen Bohe was an official who became an official. It was not difficult to find out his residence. After asking for information, he roughly found the place.

Seen from outside the wall, surrounded by green trees, Shen's House can be regarded as an old mansion.

Recalling what Wen Chongguang said, the Shen family members lived together, and it turned out that there were several corner doors opening in the wall, which affected some of the beauty. There are many people living in the mansion, and naturally there are many servants. The front door is relatively quiet, while the corner door is very lively with people coming in and out.

After paying attention for a while, he saw a woman who looked like a servant coming out with a vegetable basket on her arm. Xiaocai stepped forward, smiled and saluted, and said, "Sister-in-law, please take a step to speak."

The woman was a little stunned. Seeing that he was a gentle young man, she was not too afraid and said, "Who are you?"

Xiaocai pointed to Wang Heng with a smile and said: "We are students from Ziyang Academy in Suzhou City. This prince is going to marry you soon. We have something to ask."

"Oh, that's what happened." The woman obviously understood.

Xiaocai took out a small amount of money, shook it, and said, "Sister-in-law, do you want to earn this small amount of money? It's easy. Just reply with a few words."

The woman waved her hand and said, "There are a lot of people here. Come on, let's go to the melon shed and talk."

After walking a few steps inside, there was something deserted under the melon shed. Everyone stood still, and Xiaocai asked: "Are you from the first or second house?"

The woman said: "This slave is the cook of the second room."

Xiaocai said "Oh" and looked at Wang Heng happily. He accidentally bumped into the servant of the second room.

"How many daughters does Shen Jundu have?" Xiaocai asked.

The woman said: "Our master and his wife have no daughters."

Xiaocai secretly thought that it was a coincidence that he asked the wrong person in the first sentence, but the woman didn't seem to be suspicious. There were many relatives in the Shen family, so she just said that she asked the wrong head of the house.

"How many sisters does Shen Jundu have?"

"Grandma Fourth Aunt and Grandma Sixth Aunt are both our master's biological sisters. Well, if we talk about it, the concubine of Grandma Sixth Aunt's family is my wife's adopted daughter."

"Is the concubine of Sixth Aunt Grandma's family Miss Ye San?" Wang Cai was shocked.

"Yes, Sixth Aunt Grandma wanted to isolate them as mother and daughter, and she was not willing to raise this girl herself. Our wife was kind-hearted. At that time, the little girl our wife gave birth to died, so she took Miss Ye San and raised her for more than ten years. Fortunately, my sixth aunt still lives in our house all year round on the pretext that she wants to take care of her daughter. The first-level master can't take care of her, so she has to take care of these aunts and cousins."

Miss Ye San was actually a concubine, and the marriage certificate given by the Ye family to the Jiang family legitimately stated that she was the direct descendant of the Ye Shen family.