Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 4 The Strange Case of Lanxi
The mountain flowers are scattered in red and crimson, and the Rongjiang River is covered with smoke and water.People are carrying plows and hoeing, and the drizzle stops. The road leads to the mulberry trees and the setting sun is slightly bright.

This poem "Spring Day on Lanxi Road" written by Guanxiu, a poet from the Tang Dynasty, describes the scenery of Lanxi County, Zhejiang.

The two rivers in Wuqu run to the foothills of Lanyin Mountain and merge into Lanjiang River, which flows quietly through Lanxi County. Lanxi County has beautiful mountains and rivers and rich products. Since ancient times, it has been known as the confluence of three rivers and the thoroughfare of seven provinces.

A strange case recently occurred in Lanxi County, Jinhua Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty. He Xiucai, a student member of the county, went out to the city to visit paintings. He left for more than a month and there was no news at all.The He family was a big family in the county, so they reported it to the county government. The county sent capable personnel to investigate, but they were unable to do anything and could not solve the problem for a long time.

He Xiucai's family was rich, and his father also served as a county magistrate when he was still alive. He was only a child when he was a child, and he is now deceased.

He married Zhu, the daughter of his deceased father in the same year, and the daughter of a noble official in Jingzhao.This Grandma He relied on her beauty and family background, and her personality was somewhat unpeaceful.He Xiucai was very indifferent to the imperial examinations and only devoted himself to studying calligraphy and painting.How could Grandma He be willing to just be a talented lady? She always wanted to persuade her husband to make progress, so there was some discord between the young couple.

The day before He Xiucai went out was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and people from various shops came to check accounts. Grandma He saw that the expenditure on antiques, calligraphy and painting was not small, so she carefully made a few notes.

He Xiucai was young and thin-faced, his face turned purple and he said: "When my parents were alive in the past, they never cared about my expenses. Besides, I am not a rotten scholar confined to a study. I also know a lot about the world. The wealth of our He family is food." I can eat my ancestral property for several lifetimes."

Grandma He had good intentions and claimed to be a good wife, but her duty as a good wife was robbed of her. She sneered: "The ancestors of the He family have done well and have earned millions of dollars, but my father-in-law is only willing to be a county magistrate and study hard for 30 years." You have put in a lot of effort to gain fame, but I wonder how you, a young scholar, can keep such a big family's privacy."

After the couple had a quarrel, He Xiucai walked out to relax.

The Jin Family Calligraphy and Painting Shop in front of Tianhou Palace in the county seat is a shop that is well-established in the county and often visited by He Xiucai. Seeing him coming, Xiao Jin, the shopkeeper of the calligraphy and painting shop, immediately invited him upstairs. He mysteriously talked about a few good paintings and invited him to Palm palm eye.It was just a few landscape sketches of Xuande and Shen Shitian, and He Xiucai felt a little uninterested.

Shopkeeper Xiaojin knew that He Xiucai studied under Huang Dachi in the late Yuan Dynasty, so he smiled and said: "Shen Shitian studied under Huang Dachi in his middle age. These sketches have an ethereal ink tone. Even if they cannot compare with Dachi, they are rare." of treasures.”

These few words aroused He Xiucai's thoughts, and he said to shopkeeper Xiao Jin: "Look out for the original works of some great idiots. Money is not a problem, but they are better copies of "Fu Chun Scroll", "Snow Ji Tu" and "Xia Shan Tu" , are equally worth collecting. Hey, it’s just an idiot’s dream. How can I get a masterpiece from a small Lanxi County? At least I have to go to a villa in Hangzhou’s West Lake to stay for a few days and visit the ancient times.” After saying this, he shook his head in despair. Very.

Shopkeeper Xiao Jin pondered for a moment, frowned and said: "Speaking of Huang Da Chi, it's not that there are no clues at all. The descendants of Ye Shangshu in Changle Village, Yanshan have fallen into disgrace, and Master Ye wants to transfer an authentic scroll of Huang Zijiu's works hidden in his family to others. . This Ye Shijiu is a very scoundrel, and he is extremely embarrassed right now. I have done business with him once or twice, because he is ruthless, and I really don’t like dealing with him."

"Ye Shangshu? Is this the Ye Gong who borrowed silver-foil ingots from sinister debts last time we listened to books at Zhangjia's old store in Sandongqiao?" He Xiucai asked.

Shopkeeper Xiao Jin sighed: "I don't know who made up these messy rumors. No wonder others said that this Mrs. Ye Jiu is really not a person, and her ancestors' names have been ruined."

He Xiucai didn't take it seriously and said, "It's just giving him more money. Let's go to Mr. Ye's house and have a look."

Shopkeeper Xiaojin smiled and said: "Ah, my uncle He, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and my family also has a banquet of drinks to reunite the whole family. How can I go more than 30 miles out of the city?"

He Xiucai thought about it and said, "That's right. Let's go early tomorrow."

Shopkeeper Xiao Jin hurriedly said: "Sir, why don't you wait a few days? I'll send my clerk Ah Liu to Changle Village to find Mr. Ye and ask him to take this scroll into the city."

He Xiucai, however, refused to comment and said, "At the beginning of the morning tomorrow ([-] o'clock in the morning), I will come to find you and go with you." Shopkeeper Xiao Jin was about to say something else, but He Xiucai had already left and disappeared.

He Xiucai returned home. Before he could feel comfortable, he went to the study to rest.

His companions Qiuguan and Qingguan, who had served him since childhood, came to talk to him and asked him to go back to his grandma's house to rest. They said that grandma was so virtuous and how hard it was to take care of the family business. The uncle should not do anything. No, it would be shameful for a grandma to do so on such a festive day as the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Seeing that Qiu Guan and Qing Guan were not facing him, He Xiucai was so angry that he kicked them out.

Early the next morning, He Xiucai wore a home-made lake blue silk shirt and called his old servant Uncle Zhong to prepare his horse. Uncle Zhong saw that he was not wearing a blue shirt and knew that he was not going to the county school, so he asked, "Where are you going, uncle?"

He Xiucai knew that he had to go back to his grandma for everything, so he lied and said, "I'm going to the countryside to visit my old friends."

Seeing He Xiucai mount the horse and leave, Uncle Zhong asked anxiously: "Why don't you let Qiu Guan and the two boys follow?"

He Xiucai remembered that the two of them had betrayed the Lord yesterday to pray for honor, and snorted coldly, and only said: "The journey is not far, and there are companions traveling with them. I don't want them to wait on me today, and I will give them a day off."

After saying that, he clipped the saddle and disappeared in a flash.

Early in the morning, the Jin's calligraphy and painting studio had been wiped clean, the door panels were shiny, and the shop opened for business happily.

He Xiucai tied his horse to the old locust tree in front of the store and walked into the store. When he saw shopkeeper Xiaojin standing in front of the counter, they all bowed their hands in greeting.

He Xiucai said: "Shopkeeper Xiaojin, the autumn weather is crisp and clear. With such good weather, let's go to Changle Village in Yanshan Mountain."

Shopkeeper Xiao Jin was confused: "Uncle He left too fast yesterday. I haven't finished talking yet. Our shop's clerk, Ah Liu, who went to Mr. Ye's house, has taken a leave of absence these days to do business at home. How about we wait for him?" Are you leaving after you come to work?"

He Xiucai said displeasedly: "Brother Jin is used to being a spoiler. He just went to Yanshan Mountain once, which is only more than thirty miles away. He just asked for word of mouth when he arrived at the boundary."

After saying that, he dragged shopkeeper Xiao Jin away. The He family was a big customer of the Jin family's calligraphy and painting workshop, and they helped him a lot on weekdays. Shopkeeper Xiao Jin couldn't afford to offend him, so he had to ask the waiter to lead the horse and reluctantly followed He Xiucai. behind.

Going west out of Lanxi County, there are smooth and wide official roads. The two of them rode along them and saw the faint green mountains and the vast water, and the scenery was everywhere as far as the eye could see.

He Xiucai was in great spirits and proudly shouted to shopkeeper Xiao Jin: "Brother Jin, if I hadn't pulled you out, how would you have seen such a good scene?"

Shopkeeper Xiaojin snorted and said deliberately: "Thank you very much."

(End of this chapter)