Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 52 The Yamen closed the case
Yueting said that he planned to go back to his hometown in Yunjian first to see how the crops were growing. During autumn and winter, he invited Wang Heng and Wang Cai to visit his Mohua Village in Zhuangzi. He asked his old servant to go outside the west gate of the county seat. I caught a few four-gill bass under the Xiuye ​​Bridge. Zhuangzi brewed osmanthus rice wine every year. Taro and chestnuts were planted in the garden. A strong fire was lit on the stove to keep the house warm. I drank fish soup and was in high spirits. Wouldn't it be nice to have a drink when you feel better, and not have an elder at home to restrict you?

Wang Heng and Wang Cai were very yearning after hearing this, and they both expressed that they would spend some time at his village no matter what.

Wang Heng said that he would turn his back on what was going on outside the window and focus on studying hard. Bai Ding's identity was too inconvenient.In the Wang family, which is a family of farming and studying, he has lagged behind others since his father's generation. At his age, several uncles have already been born in the family, and the uncles and brothers in other houses are still children at best, so they still have time to reach their twenties. He was a scholar in the middle school and became a student. He passed the imperial examination in his thirties. He went to Nanjing to study in the Imperial College and took a tour of Jinling. Of course, he had to go to the Qinhuai River, and he had to go with the elders.

Wang Cai has no plans for the future and cannot explain why.But I feel that everyone’s descriptions are so touching. I can’t get over it if I don’t say something interesting. I just say that he is going to save some money. After saving enough, he will take a boat to Fuso Kingdom to find his master Mr. Wei, and maybe he can also become a maritime merchant. That’s too much. So happy.Of course, you have to start saving capital.

They were so happy that everyone drank up the entire bottle of water in He Laitang.

We chatted for half the night on the first day, and got up late on the second day.

When Wang Heng and Wang Cai took the flower-carved wine bowl to the Yannian Hall on Ximen Street, it was already three o'clock in the morning.

The doctor who was sitting in the hall understood their purpose. He wanted to test the poison and felt it was a bit tricky. He asked them to sit for a while. He didn't have the ability to do it himself, so he wanted to take it to the inner room to ask the master in the shop to take a look.

Wang Cai was very vigilant and whispered in Wang Heng's ear: "What should I do if they switch my job?"

Wang Heng snickered and said, "I kept half of it and hid it."

The doctor went in for a long time before coming out. He kept shouting and neglecting the distinguished guest.He looked embarrassed and said: "My dear Mr. Dayang said that this is not poison. When tested with a silver needle, the silver needle did not turn black, which shows that it is not arsenic. I have also tried it on cats and dogs. After using it, They are all alive and kicking, and they are not the common chronic poisons. Mr. Dayang thinks the smell is a bit fishy, ​​maybe it is extracted from some kind of herbal medicine. He really doesn't know it. Please ask the two guests to find the old gentleman elsewhere. .”

Wang Cai offered him a hundred dollars for medical treatment, but the doctor refused and did not dare to accept it.

There are two time-honored brands in the city, one is Yanniantang on Ximen Street, and the other is Tianlingtang in Scissor Lane.

I ran to Tianlingtang and what I got was even vaguer than Mr. Dayang’s diagnosis.They just said it didn't seem to be poisonous, and they hadn't seen it before, so they weren't sure.

"If it's not poisonous, then why did Grandma ask the cook, Lao Yang, to drug Master Huiyun? It's unreasonable. I just made a joke with her after making a mess." Wang Cai really couldn't figure it out.

Wang Heng said: "I think it's like a chronic poison. It's slightly poisonous. It's fine if you take it once or twice. It takes a while before the potion takes effect."

"But none of the herbalists know it. Could it be that this poison has never been discovered by others and was just transmitted from a distant place?" Wang Cai began to think wildly.

How confident you are when you go out, how frustrated you are when you come back.I just thought that the case was about to be settled, and all the witnesses and material evidence were there, so I just reported it to Mrs. Zhu. However, it turned out that Sun Xingzhe was only about halfway to the 81st disaster.

After walking down the Zhouqiao Bridge, he entered the south gate of Wang's residence in a few steps. The concierge Lao Fulin came up to him and said, "Seventh Young Master is back. Mr. Huo from the Zhizhou Yamen is here. He has already invited us to serve tea in the side hall."

Huo Bantou has been sitting for a while, with half a pot of tea in his stomach, feeling very uncomfortable.He does not bully good people in daily life, but he has a lot of arrogant habits in the yamen. His ears are accustomed to hearing flattery, and he feels a little unhappy sitting on the bench in the house of a rural eunuch.

When Huo Bantou saw Wang Heng coming, they greeted each other and readily stated their intention.He came to study today. The county government has closed the murder case of Master Huiyun. Based on the results of the autopsy on the spot and the identification of two widowers, the government believes that Huiyun became unconscious after being bitten by a poisonous snake, fell into the lake and drowned. .The summer in Jiangnan is humid and hot, snakes and insects are prevalent, and venomous snake bites are common, so Huiyun's death was accidental.

Yamen Duan died unexpectedly, which was actually expected.

After seeing off Captain Huo, Wang Heng returned the yamen's judgment to Madam Zhu. Madam Zhu only said that she knew it and did not ask about his situation.On the way back, I met a gentle and fair young man on the veranda, the second gentleman of the accountant. The second gentleman took out the roster and said happily: "What a coincidence, I just went to your room and no one was there, so I don't have to run away." Two trips. One tael from Wang Cai, please sign."

Wang Cai thanked Mr. Er and said, "Thank you for taking the trouble to make a special trip."

Mr. Er said: "You're welcome. I'm in a hurry this time to give out the silver reward. I'm going to the next place to hand out the money. I'll take my leave."

The workload of distributing rewards to people in the house is really not small.However, they had orders from previous years for reference. The accounting room should have the basic situation of the servants in the entire royal residence. Thinking of this, Wang Heng suddenly realized something.

"Let's go to the counting house and have a look." Wang Heng said to Wang Cai.

The counting room is located next to the front hall. Mr. Da is a middle-aged man who is a little too white. He is making calculations. When he saw Wang Heng and others coming in, he said with a smile on his face: "Seventh Young Master, what gust of wind brought you here." He hurriedly invited everyone to take a seat. He had obviously heard that his wife asked Wang Heng to learn to take care of the general affairs.

Since Wang Heng arrived at the Wang family mansion, he has met Mr. Da several times, but has never interacted with him.

"Madam doesn't care much about the family affairs now. Grandma is in charge of the expenses of each room in the house, the servants, and taking care of the gifts. Madam ordered me to come and take a look. I will know a little bit about it, and I will wait until she asks about it. It's easier to get back to her when the time comes." Wang Heng pulled out Mrs. Zhu's tiger skin.

Mr. Da is very smart. He firmly remembers that he was promoted by Mrs. Zhu.He bowed his head and nodded with a smile, and said: "I know, I will obey my wife in everything. Seventh Young Master, what should we watch first today?"

Wang Heng said: "Let's take a look at the roster of servants in the mansion."

Mr. Da took out several large pieces of mulberry paper from the second row of the round-corner cabinet, "The list of servants in each room is here."

Wang Heng asked: "Like the young servant Zhaoer brought by Mr. Yuming, they should also have received rewards. Are they on the list?"

Mr. Da said: "Everyone who has been paid a monthly reward is on the list. Foreigners are divided according to which house they belong to. If the person has left the next time the reward is distributed, they will be checked off. That is the government We keep separate records for those born inside and those hired from outside."

"Oh, you did it very carefully." Wang Heng showed a look of approval, "What kind of people are hired from outside?"

Mr. Da turned over the mulberry paper and said: "There are not many people hired from outside. There are four bearers in the master's chair, Lao Yuan, the white desk chef in the kitchen, Xiu Gu, the cook in Aunt Zhou's room, and the second lady's room. There’s Granny Sun here, and one or two temporarily hired handymen, that’s all.”

"Ah, Aunt Zhou also has another small stove?" Wang Heng was a little surprised.

The master, the madam, the eldest grandma, and the second girl who has not left the palace all cook in the kitchen. Why does Aunt Zhou enjoy the privilege?
"Oh, she is said to be a female cook, but in fact she is probably a maid who knows something about herbal medicine. Because Aunt Zhou has been sick all year round and is now a vegetarian, the uncle allowed her to build a small stove and let a knowledgeable person serve it. .”

It turns out that Aunt Zhou has already started to become a vegetarian.

Wang Heng asked: "What is this beautiful girl's background?"

Mr. Da said: "It's a small family in Aunt Zhou's natal town. Her family once opened a restaurant, but she came out to help as a servant when her family's financial situation deteriorated."

(End of this chapter)