Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 28 Lan Jiang’s despair
Lu Quanhai bowed and bowed to the audience before leaving.

Mr. Wei and the other three were so absorbed in listening that they even forgot to eat.

Wang Heng picked up a dish with chopsticks and found that it was already cold, so he asked the waiter to bring it back to the pot to heat it up.

While waiting for the dishes, Wang Cai said in confusion: "According to the common saying in "Good Words to Encourage the World", if you can't repay the debt you borrowed from Cuiping Mountain, you will have to be killed by the woman in black robe. Ye Shangshu was hooked to death. Yes, the uncle of the Ye family is also dead, but since this woman in black robe has also demanded debts from Ye Jiu, why is Ye Jiu still alive and well?"

Wang Heng hesitated and said: "I think it was Ye Jiu who paid off the debt."

"But, Ye Shijiu has been in embarrassment for a long time, how can he afford the three sacrifices and six gifts?" Wang Cai said.

"Maybe I contributed a chicken, a hare or something." Wang Heng was not very confident.

Mr. Wei remained silent until his eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "Lu Quanhai, how did he know? Although he made it up, it sounds like he was actually there, which is at least somewhat authentic. Besides, since Shopkeeper Xiaojin knows So, Ye Shijiu was probably involved. Why did Lu Quanhai write "Good Words to Encourage the World"? Could he know some inside information?"

Mr. Wei quickly picked up the rice, and Wang Heng and Wang Cai also sped up when they saw this.

Mr. Wei called the waiter over and told him that he wanted to invite Boss Lu to have a meal and talk, but he had to send a letter to invite him in advance.

The waiter smiled and said: "On weekdays, Boss Lu always has a cup of tea and a break before leaving. He never takes money. He likes to chat and tell stories with others when nothing happens. But today, unfortunately, our shopkeeper brought someone with him. I met him and stood at the door, looking like we were about to go out together."

Mr. Wei opened the bamboo curtain on the second floor and looked down. He saw a two-column carriage parked in the open space next to the shop sign. Lu Quanhai turned sideways and talked to the people in the carriage. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, and the carriage hung down. After closing the curtain, Lu Quanhai turned around and said a few words to the people next to him. After a while, the waiter led a green donkey and diligently put the reins into his hand.

The carriage started slowly, and Lu Quanhai followed behind on a donkey.

When Mr. Wei saw this, he hurriedly waved to the two disciples to follow him downstairs.

His movements were quite nimble, and when he walked out of the gate, he saw the back of Lu Quanhai riding a green donkey in front of him.

Because it was mid-afternoon (around three o'clock in the afternoon), the city gate would be closed in more than half an hour. At this time, there was an endless stream of pedestrians on the official road, the carriages were moving very slowly, and Lu Quanhai's green donkey was even more leisurely, heading west. Go up to the Sandong Bridge.

The three of them stepped up their pace and could barely keep up.

There happened to be a small boat sailing out from the deep bridge hole, and the sound of rowing was really a sound of green mountains and rivers.

Lu Quanhai seemed to be quite emotional. He stopped and stood at the end of the bridge, staring at the Lanjiang River for a long time. His sleeves were full of river wind, and then he got up to catch up with the carriage in front of him.

The carriage and the green donkey passed the West City Gate Tower one after another. After entering the city, they walked east from the main thoroughfare of Ximen Street to Guanqiao, turned a corner, and drove towards the alley.They came to Qingshijing Alley again. This path made the three Mr. Wei who were following them extremely suspicious.

The three of them parked far away under the big locust tree at the entrance of the alley. With their peripheral vision, they saw the carriage parked at the side door of Jin's house deep in the alley.

A middle-aged man jumped out of the carriage, wearing a black leather robe. Viewed from the side, his nose was high and his skin was a little dark.

The valet opened the side door, and the middle-aged man and Lu Quanhai bowed their hands to each other.

"Brother Lu, please."

"Master Zhang Liu, please."

They walked into the Golden Mansion side by side. The manservant looked around and immediately closed the door tightly.

Mr. Wei muttered: "Master Zhang Liu, is he Ah Liu, the clerk from the Jin family calligraphy and painting workshop whom He Xiucai knew?"

The old house of the Jin family is not small, with three courtyards, four closed doors and strong walls.

Mr. Wei walked around and found an old willow tree at the foot of the wall in the northwest corner of the backyard. If you climb the branches, you can reach the top of the wall. The wall is covered with vines, and you can slide down the dead vines.

Even though Wang Heng and Xiaocai were so curious, they also felt that Mr. Wei was a bit weird and a little too eager.

Xiaocai smiled and said, "I'm good at climbing trees, so let me go up to pick you up first."

Mr. Wei looked around and saw a dim sky. It was going to be night soon and the back alley was deserted. He thought it was a good time.

Xiaocai held the tree with both hands and jumped to the willow branch. He stretched his legs across the wall. Wang Heng followed the same example and stepped onto the wall.

The difficulty came from Mr. Wei. Although he was tall, he only held a writing brush on weekdays, and his hands and legs were weak. He was still a child and stepped back onto the branch of the tree. He reached out and dragged Mr. Wei up.

They climbed down from the wall and sneaked into the Jin family's old house. The three of them tiptoed, fearing that they would be discovered by the servants in the house.

(End of this chapter)