Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

The Mengjiang Hall in Taiping Town, Changzhou County, is a simple small temple, but the incense in the temple is very prosperous. Because there is a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree in the temple, it is a sacred tree that the people of Taiping Town are proud of. Foreigners come to Taiping Town , relatives and friends always take them to pay homage to the sacred tree. It is said that it is very effective.

Outside the yellow wall of Mengjiangtang, two young people stopped and looked up at the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree. One of them said: "The best thing is here. Turn right along the bluestone road and face the second house to the west. There is a big tree at the door. Beech."

Fei Yue'er was embroidering upstairs in the hall. God knows, the goldfish she embroidered looked like bait, and the plum blossoms looked like braised lion heads.

Even so, her mother said to her neighbor, Mrs. Xu, without a blush or a heartbeat: "My Ayue, the double happiness picture she embroidered, was spotted by shopkeeper Yang of the embroidery workshop at a glance, and she wanted to pay two taels of silver for each picture. Go, let me think about it. Although our family is not in good times right now, we have been officials for generations, so how can we let the things in our boudoir live outside."

Since returning home in the autumn of last year, her father, Fei Limu, went to sea and there has been no trace of her. She, her mother, and her younger brother have been living in peace and quiet in the countryside.

Fei's mother already knew that her husband could not be counted on at all. In the spring of this year, she began to prepare for Fei Yue'er to choose a son-in-law. She was beautiful, graceful, knowledgeable and well-educated. Needless to say, these qualities were necessary for a lady. Fei's mother focused on praising Yue'er. She is smart and capable. I wonder what mother-in-law would not like a daughter-in-law with skillful hands who can sell a piece of embroidery for two taels of silver.

"Sister, teach me how to practice swordsmanship." Fei Xiaodi shouted downstairs. Fei Xiaodi is ten years old this year and has already started practicing martial arts. It is not convenient for him to ask for lessons at home, so Yue'er is teaching him.

Fei Yue'er was so happy that she jumped three feet high, drew out her Qingfeng sword, held five sword flowers in one stroke, and jumped down from the hall.

The two siblings couldn't wait to fight on the ground downstairs. The swords clashed with each other, and the green light shone. Then they moved in a flash, using their skills to rush towards the backyard martial arts field.

Uncle Zhong, the disciple of the Fei family, came to deliver a message. He saw Yue'er flying down in the air. Before the words "Sister Yue" could be uttered, the two siblings had already made a few "bang bang bang" moves, and then moved like lightning from a rabbit. When I entered the martial arts field in the backyard, I couldn't help but be stunned.

Fei's backyard was huge, and Old Zhongbo was very old. He was panting from exhaustion when he walked quickly to the martial arts field.

"Sister Yue, there are two princes from Taicang outside who are here to visit. Madam, please go out and talk."

The Fei family is a family of military officers, and they are not as fussy as scholars. Fei's mother is reasonable and has great trust in Yue'er.

Fei Yue'er was bored at home for a long time. When she saw her friends coming to visit, she was so happy that she danced with joy. She didn't even bother to change her clothes, so she walked to the hall with three steps at a time.

From a distance, I saw two young men sitting in the main hall. The one wearing blue shank was Wang Heng, and the one wearing white robe was Wang Cai.

Fei's mother looked at them with a smile, and asked the little maid Zhu'er to serve her guests the highest standard, Daohe Zhai's pine nut candy, sesame and peach cake, plus a bowl of honey water.

Fei's mother had heard from Yue'er that the Wang family in Taicang was a well-known family. These two young men with warm smiles had been regarded by her as a "benefits" that her daughter should receive, and she diligently let the little maid Zhu'er pass her by. Face wash.

She doesn't mind that her son-in-law's family is a civil servant. Her daughter has a rich dowry and excellent martial arts. She can draw a stone bow when mounted, and can embroider plum blossoms when dismounted. She claims that she can control anyone.

Fei's mother tried her best to deal with it tightly, and everyone in the hall was talking and laughing. When Fei Yue'er came in, the two young people had changed the title of Fei's mother from "Madam" to "Aunt Fei".

"Ah Yue, I'll meet your two cousins ​​soon." Fei's mother spoke in a particularly loving tone.

"Cousin!" Fei Yue'er was startled, rubbed her eyes, and blessed the two young men: "Seventh Young Master, Xiaocai Brother, has always been a good person."

"Miss Yue'er."

"Sister Yue'er."

Fei's mother smiled and said, "Aunt Zhujun from your best friend's in-law's family married into the Ling family in Taicang, and she is Brother Heng's uncle's family. You are not just cousins."

After that, Yue'er considerately asked Yue'er to sit with her two cousins ​​while she went to ask the cook to cook a few more special dishes.

Xiaocai cupped his hands and said, "We are here this time to ask sister Yue'er for help."

Xiaocai briefly and concisely explained the incident that occurred during Yueting's marriage. Some clues had been found, but the other party was a girl in the boudoir. It was not convenient for them to ask questions, and they did not have the time to fly over the walls to visit Miss Ye San at night. It’s a hiding place, so Fei Yue’er needs to be asked to take action. "You guys." Fei Yue'er's face flushed with excitement: "Why didn't you call me earlier?"

Finally, it was time to venture into the world again. She rolled up her sleeves and was about to get on her horse and whip her whip without wanting to stop.

"Eating is the best thing in the world." Fei's mother flew out with a knife.

After everyone finished their lunch, Fei Yuer changed into men's clothes and put on her night clothes.

Fei's mother had asked the servant to lead three horses and wait at the door. Wang Heng and Xiaocai were very surprised when they saw that the Fei family could lead three horses casually.

Both of them bowed deeply to Fei's mother to express their gratitude.

Fei Yue'er was not in a hurry to mount the horse, and led the bay-red horse a few steps forward. She stopped at the Hall of Generals and said, "Let's go burn incense sticks to Grandpa Mengjiang. We villagers all come to pay our respects when we go out to do errands." Pay homage to the fierce general, and ask the thousand-year-old Ginkgo father-in-law."

In the afternoon at the General Hall, there were pilgrims in twos and threes, no more and no less.

Yue'er paid five cents and took three sticks of incense with the temple Zhu, and distributed them to Wang Heng and Xiaocai. Then they went to burn incense and pray under the thousand-year-old ginkgo tree.

While the three of them were praying silently, they could only hear the village women burning incense standing in a circle, chatting in a fuss.

"I'm afraid he's not a monster."

"No, I've never heard of anyone reviving a dead body."

"Ms. Cheng, you are so courageous to allow such a ghost into your home."

"Grandpa Fierce General, why don't you go collect this kind of monster?"

Listening to the women talking, Wang Heng asked: "Miss Yue'er, what ghosts are these sisters-in-law talking about?"

Yue'er waved her hands and said, "Seventh Young Master, don't bother with them. They just do nothing and cause trouble every day. If they don't chew maggots for a day, they will feel uncomfortable all over."

Everyone was laughing, and Xiaocai wanted to admire his grandpa, the fierce general. The three of them walked back to the main hall, which was empty at this time.

The main god enshrined in the Mengjiang Hall is Liu Mengjiang. The fierce general wears a python robe, a black gauze hat on his head, and court boots on his feet. He is very powerful.

Xiaocai just wanted to speak, but he heard someone talking in the side hall.

"The current Queen Mother of the Holy Mother, at your age, was transformed from a noble chieftain in the southwestern Yi to a prisoner of war, escorted thousands of miles to the imperial capital, and served as a sinful slave of the palace clothes bureau. At that time, she thought that her life was over, and she never recovered from it. , where is the wealth and wealth behind it?"

"The current General Zhenyuan became famous at a young age, and is versatile in both civil and military affairs. He became a general of the Jinglu Guards at a young age. However, he was criticized for being afraid of war, which led to the fall of Jinglu Tunbao to the Tuda rebels. He was almost executed by military law. Well, if the imperial court had not allowed him to perform meritorious service for his crimes, win military merits with one sword as a prisoner, and accumulate decades of strength to hold the seal of a first-class general, if he only thought about his injustice, his will wasted away, and he felt sorry for himself, He died in prison a long time ago, how could he be the most popular minister he is now?"

"Cheng Sheng, your life has just begun."

"gentlemen."

Wang Cai, a young man with sharp ears, blinked at Wang Heng. Seeing that he seemed to have heard the conversation of the people in the side hall, the three of them quietly left the main hall for fear of disturbing the peace.