Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 204: The manure load also picks out the smoke and water vapor of the Six Dynasties
It is very interesting to walk on the ancient roads of the capital after sunset in the autumn breeze.

Ancient locust trees, jackdaws, and blue-brick and black-tiled horse-head walls are the most suitable places for newcomers to experience the golden powder of the Six Dynasties and the romance of the Wei and Jin Dynasties while walking.

Wang Heng walked around and took small steps. It took him about half an hour to return to Zhuge's house in Suojin Village.

The old nephew Ah Li hurriedly asked Xiao Wang's mother to serve rice to Mr. Wang Qi. Several of them had already used it, so Wang Heng told him that Mr. Siye Zhang had left the food.

Since Xiaocai's arrival, the sixth old man, Zhuge Xian, has become visibly lively. At this moment, he is listening to Xiaocai's talk.

"It's true, even the dung basket can pick out the smoke and water vapor of the Six Dynasties." Xiaocai sighed sincerely.

Whenever people talk about comedy in the market, if there is a joke, there must be a praise, and praise is especially important.

Zhuge Xian asked appropriately: "What did Brother Xiaocai see?"

Xiaocai looked fascinated and said vividly: "I just saw off Lao Tai and the others. I happened to look at the wild eyes, and then walked across Liuqiu Bridge to take a look at the small house we rented. The sun was setting in the west, and I saw only two people. The dung carrier, carrying two loads of empty dung buckets, rested on Liuqiu Bridge to watch the sunset. It was such an elegant scene. I didn’t want to wait until I came back from a trip around the house. I saw the tea stall next to Xicen Laozi in the alley. The two dung bearers were leaning on the big bluestone, drinking rain flower tea, which made people sigh, after all, they were in the capital, and the servants and bartenders smelled like smoke from the Six Dynasties. "

Zhuge Xian echoed: "Of course, you can only see Fengya through the eyes of a Fengya person. After all, Brother Xiaocai is a first-class Fengya person."

Zhuge Xian is now so good at talking, and the young scholar is not stingy in praising him: "A Xian has really made progress since he was admitted to the South Prison as a prison student. It's great to see all the talented people."

Zhuge Xian said with a smile: "I'm just a humble servant. I haven't learned one ten thousandth of the knowledge of the doctor in the Imperial College. The doctor is worried about me. He needs to pass on some magic weapons to me. He said that he would give me a hundred top hats. When the top hats are distributed, I just graduated, but coincidentally, I just lost one."

Unexpectedly, he was teased by Zhuge Xian, and the young man was so angry that he must be beaten with old fists. The young companion was neither gentle nor serious, making a lot of noise.

Wang Heng ate crabs at Mr. Zhang's place and felt a little thirsty. He heard from Wang Cai that there was a Cen Laozi tea stall in the west of the alley. It was not dark yet, so he might as well go and have a cup of tea. He saw Xiao Only then did he talk to Zhuge Xian so passionately that he had no time to pay attention to him, so he had to go alone.

From Zhuge's house to Cen Laozi's tea stall, the bluestone road goes west for more than a hundred steps.

There was an old man serving as a stove in a small bamboo pavilion, it must be Mr. Cen. He didn't greet the customers. The sign on the shop sign said ten cents for a pot, so Wang Heng put in ten cents.

Mr. Cen was minding his own business, making tea. When the tea was boiling, he poured it into a thick magnetic pot, and a fragrant fragrance hit his nostrils.

Wang Heng looked around, but he didn't see the two Yi people who carried out the smoke and water of the Six Dynasties with the dung bearers that Xiaocai mentioned, and felt a little disappointed.

It was getting dark, and the tea-goers had almost dispersed.

Wang Heng walked back and first saw the west gable wall of Zhuge's house. On the side near the alley, a large circle was drawn with white ash at some point. He couldn't help but be startled. He recalled that he had just arrived at Zhuge's house yesterday and went to the Imperial College at noon. At that time, he didn't seem to see the white circle on the gable wall. He stared at it for a long time, and unconsciously, he was thinking a lot and all kinds of doubts came to his mind.

Wang Heng felt wary and hurriedly entered the door and walked to the hall, beckoning Wang Cai and Zhuge Xian to go out and look at the white circles on the gable wall. After thinking about it, they determined that there was no white circle on the gable wall in the morning. It was unclear when it was painted on the gable in the afternoon. Know.

Wang Heng frowned and said: "This white circle cannot be drawn by a child for fun. The circle is too big and the child cannot reach it so high." Xiaocai asked suspiciously: "Seventh brother suspects that there is a gangster plot?"

Wang Heng said: "I suspect that the white circle is a mark made by gangsters. They are either plotting against Ah Xian or me and Xiaocai. However, Ah Xian has lived in Suojin Village for more than a year. He stopped painting earlier and stopped painting later. It happened that the white circle appeared the next day after we arrived, so I guess it was aimed at us.”

Zhuge Xian looked around in confusion and said, "But Brother Wang Qi and Xiaocai are strangers here and no one knows them at all. Who would target you?"

Wang Heng shook his head and said: "This is also what I can't figure out. It seems that I am touched in my heart, but I can't figure out my thinking. Is it related to the snitch that Su County Master arrested last night?"

Xiaocai scratched his head and said, "Even if the snitch came here last night to cause trouble, he shouldn't have come to us. There's no reason."

Wang Heng thought for a long time and asked Zhuge Xian: "How many male and female servants are there in your house?"

Zhuge Xian said: "There is only one maid, Xiao Wangma, one servant, one cook, one coachman, one handyman, including my nephew Ah Li and me, a total of five men and one woman."

Wang Heng's face was as heavy as water, and he paced back and forth and said: "The old nephew is too old, and Xiao Wang's mother is a woman. There is no need to tell them anything. A Xian is thin and weak. The Zhuge family barely has four strong men, plus me and Xiaocai. But there are only six people. Judging from the way the county government deployed so many people to arrest the snitch last night, it is likely that tonight will not be peaceful. The doorman, the cook, the coachman, and the handyman A Lu are divided into two shifts to stay on duty at night. They change shifts when Zichou meets. They only say it is to prevent theft. , no need to say anything else.”

Zhuge Xian thought so and ordered him to go down.

"I thought of a plan, but I don't know if it will work." Xiaocai said: "If the white circle is really drawn by the snitch and wants to cause trouble for us, I looked at the snitch and found that he is very familiar with the Suojin Village area, otherwise he wouldn't have to do it. Remember, I asked Alu to get some white ash. Taking advantage of the dusk outside and every house closed in, we drew exactly the same white circles on the gables of the ten or so houses in the alley for them to find. Nowhere."

Wang Heng said: "You can only be a thief for a thousand years, but you can't prevent a thief for a thousand years. Even if they can't confirm which one it is tonight, they will definitely make a comeback in the future."

Xiaocai smiled and said, "Let's go through the customs tonight first. The county government is tight on arresting him. Maybe the snitch will be caught in the next day or two."

Zhuge Xian repeatedly said yes, so Wang Heng asked Xiaocai to give it a try.

Not long after, A Lu mixed the white ash, and Wang Cai and the two took advantage of the night to draw white circles for the twelve houses in the alley from east to west. It took a lot of time to complete.

Returning to Zhuge's house, he saw Zhuge Xian busy in the courtyard, transporting many rubbles from the back garden, and telling everyone in the house not to go out again at night. He and his old nephew pushed a wheelbarrow around the front and back of the house. Shi, it took him more than an hour to enter the hospital. He just said: "Today is too hasty, so I can only make a hasty cloth. I hope I can withstand it for a while."

Wang Cai opened the courtyard door and leaned over to look outside. He saw strange rocks and strange peaks outside the door, bursts of black smoke and flying sand and rocks. The young man couldn't help but be horrified.

Zhuge Xian quickly stepped forward and closed the door tightly.

Xiaocai was stunned for a long time, his feet were trembling, and he stammered: "Zhuge's Eight Formations."

Wang Heng was overjoyed when he heard this.