Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 264: Hunting at Niu Shou Mountain
The hall became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and the young people, who were unaware of the situation, also realized that something unpredictable had happened.

Wang Heng exchanged a puzzled look with Xiaocai, thinking that the elder master of the Li family should be the elder brother of the mountain people, who sent Mr. Hu to celebrate his birthday and brought a handwritten letter from Mrs. Wang. Who is this Mrs. Wang? Mr. Li was happy at first, but when Mr. Hu read the inexplicable letter, he became furious. What was going on?

The old men were more patient than the young ones. Master Chen cleared his throat and continued with the sharpness that was unique to civil servants: "I got a green landscape painting by an unknown artist the other day. It looks very good. Brother Li, please give me a taste."

Li Wan was quite pleased with herself and said, "Mao Qing, I know your vision. Come to my study and take a look later."

Li Wan had a high academic record and passed the imperial examination early, so his kindness was limited to young people. Wang Heng thought that was just a way of showing respect to the wise. In fact, he was very proud of his peers, and it was not easy to get his approval.

After the old men had finished eating the silver thread longevity noodles, a few of them said goodbye immediately. The weather was hot and the journey was long. If Lord Li was not about to be reinstated after the new year, who would come to such a remote place to celebrate his birthday? It was fine as long as they showed up and gave gifts.

There were also several elders of the Li clan, who looked frail and were immediately arranged to rest in the guest rooms.

After dinner, Li Wan and Mr. Chen Maoqing went to the study together, while the young people went to visit the mountain people together.

After passing through three courtyards, I saw the curtain of Li Shanmin's study rolled up, and a young man carrying a medicine box came out and walked towards Mr. Zhao's courtyard. From the back, I could recognize that he was Mr. Zhao's apprentice.

Several people lifted the curtain and entered the house. The servant of the mountain people came up to greet them and said softly, "Second Master took medicine and just went to bed. Last night, his condition was a little dangerous again."

Wang Heng thought to himself, the mountain people were already well yesterday, how come their condition relapsed again while they were recuperating?

Since the mountain people had already fallen asleep, it was not appropriate to disturb them, so they took their leave and left.

Jinyang Jun Li Yan and Xiao Wu said that the scenery near Li's residence in Cuihua Village was really beautiful. They happened to come across beautiful mountains and rivers and wanted to take a walk by the water.

After watching the two men leave, Wang Heng saw that Mr. Chen had no intention of saying goodbye to Wang Heng. He remembered that there was a pavilion next to the Taihu stone behind the mountain villager's study. It was very quiet, so he invited him to sit in the pavilion.

Pavilion means a place to stop.

The entire Li Mansion was not well constructed, but this pavilion was quite satisfactory.

Holding a cup of fragrant tea is the most appropriate thing, but the three people who stopped in this pavilion did not want to be disturbed, so they tacitly did not ask the servant to make tea.

Xiaocai couldn't help but ask, "Second Master Chen, you are an old friend of Shanmin. Is Shanmin's elder brother, Mr. Li, an official in Shuntian Prefecture in the imperial capital?"

Second Master Chen sighed, "You probably have never heard Shanmin mention his brother. When Shanmin was still a young man, Lord Li and Aunt Wang divorced, and Aunt Wang took away Li's eldest brother Huaimin. I heard that Aunt Wang asked him to wait a while before joining the government. Currently, he is probably studying in the capital to serve his mother."

Wang Heng and Xiaocai were both stunned. The Wang family of Taicang Prefecture was an old and conservative farming and reading family. In their minds, only peddlers in the market would divorce their wives, and as for divorce, it was unheard of among scholars.

Li's wife, Wang, divorced a high-ranking official in the court and was able to take her eldest son away. This move was simply shocking.

Xiaocai hesitated and asked, "Is this Madam Wang the biological mother of Shanmin?" "The two sons of Lord Li, Brother Huaimin and Shanmin, are both born to Aunt Wang." said the second Master Chen.

The mountain people were abandoned by their mothers? This thought came to Xiaocai, who was terrified.

Wang Heng sorted out his thoughts. The second son of Chen addressed Li Wan as "Sir", but addressed Madam Wang as "Aunt Wang". It was obvious who was closer and who was more distant. So he asked with full of doubts, "Madam Wang, the mother of the mountain people, her maiden name was Yizhen? Or was it Yizhen?"

The second son of Chen shook his head and said, "As far as I know, that's not the case. Aunt Wang is a great-granddaughter from a famous family in the imperial capital. Her maiden name has been rumored in the world, but I am not in a position to make it public. Anyway, it is not Yizhen."

"I remember now. I've heard of Fusheng Rice Shop and Linlang Pavilion." Xiaocai's eyes lit up and he said, "In 'Reminiscences of Hexianglou', Fusheng Rice Shop was mentioned. It was at the entrance of the alley of the author Li Xunzhi's old house. As for Linlang Pavilion, I heard from Mr. Zhang, the lawyer of Jiangning County Government, that it was the largest antique shop in Jiangning County more than 20 years ago."

Wang Heng explained to Mr. Chen Er that "Memories of Hexiang Tower" was a note novel. Combined with what Master Zhang said, it could only prove that there were two such shops in Jiangning County decades ago, but nothing could be inferred.

Mr. Hu read the letter aloud in public, which must not be well-intentioned. He represented Li Huaimin and Mrs. Wang. What exactly did they want to achieve?
The sky was filled with doubts and there was no clue, which made the young people silent.

After thinking for a long time, Wang Heng was the first to come back to his senses. He smiled and said, "Second Master Chen, you have been chatting with us for a long time. Don't you have anything else to say?"

Mr. Chen's face froze, his hands trembling slightly, and he said, "Of course."

His voice trembled as he said, "After coming down the mountain from Jubao Temple that day, I went straight back to Chunshui Garden. The jade mountain in the study was well preserved. It was a birthday gift from my uncle to my father for his eighteenth birthday. I fiddled with it for half a day and discovered the secret passage with Ah Sheng. The base of the jade mountain was indeed empty."

Xiaocai was a little nervous and asked, "What did you find on the base?"

"It is a scroll of hunting at Niu Shou Mountain. The signature is Yun Qing, the owner of Chun Shui Garden. It is my father's handwriting. My father's secular name is Yun Qing."

Master Chen’s name is Chen Maoqing and Guangheng’s name is Chen Yunqing. These are indeed the names of the two brothers.

Monk Guangheng was a well-known talent in his secular family, so it was not surprising that he could paint a few strokes.

Wang Heng stared at the second son of the Chen family. Seeing that he was wearing a silk robe, he was obviously unclothed. He couldn't help but guess, "Is the scroll of hunting pictures gone?"

The second son of Chen sighed and said, "There are still many doubts about my father's death. I promised you two that day that if you find anything, I will have my personal servant Ah Sheng deliver it to Jubao Mountain."

"That evening, our Chen Mansion's housekeeper Lian Shui came to Chun Shui Garden to assist me in the water and land ritual. I don't know how he found out about this. The next morning, I asked Ah Sheng to go up the mountain to deliver something to you two. Ah Sheng left early in the morning and didn't come back until the lights were on at night. He told me that as soon as he left Chun Shui Garden, he was stopped by the housekeeper Lian Shui and was taken to the old house in the city with his paintings."

"I rode into the city and told my uncle that my father was murdered by the farmer Qiu Erlang. There are still many unsolved doubts in the case. My uncle only asked me to go back to mourn and let him handle everything else. The hunting map was also left with my uncle."

It turned out that day, Chen Lianshui, the steward of the Chen Mansion, went up the mountain to report to Wang Heng and Xiaocai. He was sent by Master Chen to ask how it happened that Ah Sheng had a stomachache after eating too much cold melon.

Master Chen and Guangheng are brothers. Guangheng's vast fortune has now fallen into the hands of his descendants. There is no reason for Master Chen not to get to the bottom of it. Could it be that he has some hidden secret?