Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 221 "Memories of Lotus Fragrance Tower"

The carriage of Liu Mansion galloped along the official road and when it entered the foot of Jubao Mountain, there was a muffled thunder and heavy rain came as expected.

Liu's coachman suggested taking shelter from the rain in Maodian at the foot of the mountain. Thunderstorms come and go quickly. From here to Huaying, there is still a long way to go by horse carriage. Once you reach Huaying, you can only climb up the stairs. Ridge, rely on your legs to climb the Lianxing Peak where Jubao Temple is located.

Zhang Xiru thought it made sense, so he ordered him to stop at a tea shop next to the road. He had already taken ten taels of silver in the carriage and gave it to Xiaocai, asking him to take care of the chores in the mountains.

Xiaocai scalded the cup with his own hands and asked the tea shop clerk to brew three cups of strong mountain tea. He thought that Liu's coachman did rough work and did not need to drink strong tea, so he asked the waiter to pour him a bowl of sugar water.

Wang Heng saw that there were no edible snacks in the tea shop, so he took out a few pieces of mung bean cake made by Yao's mother yesterday from his package. It had a Soviet-style mint flavor and Mr. Zhang was very useful.

The three of them sat under the bamboo eaves and had tea, with the rain gurgling outside the curtains, which was very wild.

At first it was raining heavily, and there were white flowers all around the tea shop. It was impossible to tell the sky or the sun. Gradually the rain gradually became thinner, and a tall mound rose up due to the south. It seemed that there were people crawling on the mound, and they behaved strangely.

"Man, what's that high mound in front of you?" Zhang Xiru also headed back into Jubao Mountain, and couldn't help but be curious.

"Sir, that is the famous treasure gathering platform." The waiter looked up and saw a faint figure on the treasure gathering platform. He smiled and said: "Another idiot who came to dig for treasures. Our tea shop is opened here. , You must not do the business of these idiots. Today there is a storm, thunder and lightning, and there is only one person. On weekdays, there are groups of three or five, and there is an endless stream. "

"What kind of treasure are you digging for?" Wang Heng couldn't help but be surprised.

The clerk said: "It is said by the ancients that Shen Wansan's cornucopia is buried under the treasure trove. These idiots come one after another to dig for treasures. They don't even think about it. If it really existed, the country would have been in the dynasty for hundreds of years and it would have been buried long ago. Digged out.”

Mr. Zhang couldn't help but smile and said: "It's hard for him to keep his obsession despite the heavy rain. His ambition is so strong that he can't do anything else with his patience."

Everyone agreed and laughed, saying that small wealth comes from frugality, and great wealth comes from heaven. It is your duty to be diligent and thrifty.

After chatting and joking for a while, the rain stopped quickly. The driver of the Liu family caught a glimpse of a white cloud floating over the ridge and came over to ask for permission. Do you want to set off immediately?
Mr. Zhang nodded slightly. When he saw Xiaocai standing up and carrying the bag on his back, he was about to leave. However, Wang Heng was stroking the tea cup and looking at the tea that Cai Er had brewed, as if he was reluctant to part with it. The difference in their personalities was evident.

Mr. Zhang stood up and went outside, and the two book boys followed behind.

The mountain road winds toward the east. The driver of the Liu family drove the car in front of Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang got on the car. Wang Heng and Xiaocai stood on the south side and waited for him to sit down before getting on.

After the rain, the sky was blue and the sight became much clearer. Wang Heng looked south and saw the figure on the treasure gathering platform still there. At this time, he slowly stood up from the ground and ran around on the high platform with disheveled hair. Wang Heng couldn't help but be shocked when he saw it. Extremely frightened, he pointed his finger in the direction of the treasure gathering platform and shouted out loud: "Ruan Youhai, this person turns out to be Jiaozhi Ruan Youhai."

Xiaocai looked along Wang Heng's direction. His sharp eyes immediately said, "It's really Ruan Youhai."

Zhang Xiru turned around, looked outside the curtain, and asked suspiciously: "Ruan Youhai, a Jiaozhi official?"

Wang Heng nodded, Zhang Xiru turned sideways and got out of the carriage. He looked carefully and said with a frown: "He is a student from a foreign domain. What is he doing at the treasure gathering platform? He also behaves crazy and out of character."

After saying that, Mr. Zhang angrily ran towards the treasure gathering platform. He took three steps at a time and came to the foot of the mound. He shouted loudly: "Ruan Youhai, what are you doing?"

Approaching the high platform, Wang Heng observed that Ruan Youhai looked wrong, his eyes were empty and his face was dull, as if he was sleepwalking. Ruan Youhai heard Zhang Xiru shouting from the audience, and suddenly his eyes froze, as if he had come back to his senses.

Zhang Xiru is the sixth-rank imperial official of Nanjian Siye and the right-hand man of Jijiu. Even though he has never taught the subjects of Zhengyi Hall, Ruan Youhai recognized Mr. Zhang at a glance.

Wang Heng was about to open his mouth to speak to Ruan Youhai, and opened and closed his mouth slightly. In an instant, he was shocked from ear to ear by Ruan Youhai's actions.

But when Ruan Youhai seemed to be invisible, he jumped to the west of the treasure gathering platform like a dragonfly touching water. A kite turned over, rolled down from the west side, and disappeared into the dense forest.

Ruan Youhai made these movements in one go. No one expected that he would intend to escape, nor did they expect that he was so agile, and they actually watched him escape.

Xiaocai reacted the fastest and hurriedly chased him dozens of feet away. The mountains and wild fields were so vast that no trace could be found for a long time.

"What a weirdo." Xiaocai lowered his hands and returned to the treasure gathering platform.

"Mr. Zhang called him, why did he run away?" Wang Heng felt incredible.

Zhang Xiru was stunned for a moment and said: "Let's go up and see what kind of tricks they are doing."

The treasure gathering platform is two feet high and ten feet wide. The platform is covered with weeds. The three of them looked around at a loss. If there is a treasure buried under this small high platform, even if it takes hundreds of years to dig out the earth with a spade, it should still be there. The truth is out.

"There is something here." Xiaocai picked up a cloth bag from the grass.

"Nine times out of ten, this was left behind by Ruan Youhai." Wang Heng said.

The cloth bag was embroidered with gold thread to look like a crane. Inside the cloth bag was a thin old book. In addition, there was a piece of equipment that neither Xiaocai nor Wang Heng knew what it was.

Zhang Xiru fiddled with it: "It's a compass."

"A compass used by Mr. Feng Shui?" This is even more confusing. Ruan Youhai, a Jiaozhi official student, should come from a prominent family in Jiaozhi. What does such a young man want to do with a compass?
That old book is a manuscript, with the title "Reminiscences of Hexiang Tower" written by Li Xunzhi on the title page.

Xiaocai hurriedly flipped through a few pages. It seemed to be a novel written by the author describing his ten-year relationship with his wife, Mrs. Chen.

Li Xunzhi, this name is very unfamiliar. This time, not only Wang Heng and Xiaocai knew nothing about Li Xunzhi, but even Mr. Zhang, who was well-informed and memorized, had never heard of it.

Mr. Zhang then told Xiaocai to put the bag away and when he returned to the South Prison, he asked Ruan Youhai to claim it.

The three of them came down from the treasure gathering platform and got on Liu's carriage. After half an hour of hard work, the carriage arrived at Huayang. There were already Liu's servants waiting there to lead the way.

Going up more than 200 stone steps from Huayang, you reach Lianxing Peak, the main peak of Jubao Mountain. You can hear the melodious ringing of bells from afar on the mountainside, and when you look up, you can see towering pavilions and cigarette smoke in the sunset.

Everyone secretly praised what an ancient temple it was.