Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 43: Two trials first launched in Hainan

"Go back! Go back!"

Hai Yue and Hai Rui stood at the bow of the boat, waving to their relatives and friends on the shore.

Five days ago, the results of the provincial examination were announced.

Haiyue performed stably and won the first place again, which attracted everyone's attention and caused considerable controversy.

After all, his essay was not at all stunning enough to surpass all others, and some old students immediately questioned whether the examiner was biased.

This is more than just bias. If it weren't for the need to save some face, Gu Shanjie would have wanted to visit in person, hoping that the top candidate would remember his kindness and say a few good words in front of Wu Lin. When Wu Lin returned to Beijing, he would remember that there was a pitiful prefect in Qiongzhou and transfer him away from this southernmost place.

Haiyue really wanted this guy to get out and stop bringing disaster to her hometown, but it was absolutely impossible for her to say nice things to him. Wouldn't that confirm the behind-the-scenes deal?
On the other hand, he highly respected the prosecutor Shao Jing. Wu Lin obviously knew who was really trying to rescue him and praised him highly. Master Ji Hua burst into tears, thinking that Dong Weng had finally made it after more than ten years of hard work.

Back to the topic, after the provincial examination was over, the two brothers did not delay and packed their luggage to head north to Guangzhou, the provincial capital of Guangdong, to participate in the academy examination presided over by the provincial education commissioners.

The college entrance examination will be held in June, so there is plenty of time. However, I have just agreed to travel with Wu Lin and his party as well as the Annan delegation, so it would be better to set off earlier.

"Take care, mother! Take care, mother!"

At this time, on the bow of the ship, Hai Rui waved desperately to his mother. Xie looked at her son with a look of pride and reluctance. Hai Yue couldn't help but feel a little envious when she saw this.

He could not accept Hai Rui's mother's extremely strong desire for control, but when he saw the mother and son bidding farewell to each other, he couldn't help but think of his relatives in his previous life, as well as his elusive parents in this life, and he was a little absent-minded for a moment.

The sea breeze was blowing, and a faint fragrance wafted over.

Hai Yue turned her head and saw Li Yuying in mourning clothes, looking haggard, staring blankly at the pier in the distance.

After the Battle of Qionshan, the confrontation between the Li family envoys and the Mo family killer group came to an end. It seemed that the latter had failed, and Mo Zhengyong was also escorted north by officers and soldiers as a prisoner. But in fact, only Li Yuying was left in the Annan envoy group.

For this reason, the Qiongzhou government had to equip it with maids, attendants and guards to form a somewhat decent team.

Seeing Li Yuying's pitiful appearance, and thinking of how Princess Fanglian had played a significant role in both cases, Haiyue moved to her side and whispered, "Princess."

Li Yuying came back to her senses and forced a smile: "Master, I'm fine..."

Haiyue didn't offer any words of comfort, but handed something over: "Here."

"This is?"

Li Yuying took it and was confused at first, but after flipping through it briefly, she finally realized, "Is this the young master's new version of Journey to the West?"

"After the provincial examination, I wrote two more chapters to complete the story of Baoxiang Kingdom. By the way, I also started the next challenge, the King of the Golden Horn and Silver Horn in the Lotus Cave of Pingding Mountain."

Hai Yue said, "I originally had no intention of writing this book... Well, it's not that I won't write it anymore, but I'll wait until I'm successful and famous, then finish it and pass it on to future generations! Otherwise, if the person who was originally going to write a new book sees this work and decides not to write it themselves, wouldn't that be a sin?"

Li Yuying didn't fully understand what he said, but she understood a little bit. She pursed her lips and said, "Sir, you are so sure. Will this work be passed down to future generations?"

Scholars of this era value modesty and would not dare to boast like this. However, Hai Yue said confidently, "I can definitely do it! The journey to obtain scriptures is actually a journey to cultivate the mind. Subduing demons and monsters is like subduing the demons within. This magnificent journey spanning 18,000 miles will ultimately achieve spiritual perfection and sublimation!"

"The path of spiritual cultivation... conquering the inner demons..."

Li Yuying seemed to understand something and accepted it solemnly: "Thank you for the gift of the book, sir. I will definitely read it!"

As she spoke, her feet began to sway slightly, and Haiyue made an inviting gesture: "Come in."

Speechless all the way.

It only took less than half a day to sail with the wind, and by the time we reached Xuwen's pier, the sun had not yet set.

Everyone stepped onto the bow again, their eyes filled with excitement, especially Haiyue and Hairui, as it was the first time for the two brothers to leave Hainan.

Although they were all in the Guangdong Province of the Ming Dynasty, precisely because it was isolated overseas, when they set foot on land again, it seemed as if a whole new world was waiting for them.

A good man has ambitions, so how can he not go out and explore the world?
Resisting the urge to howl into the wind, Haiyue was the first to jump ashore and began to look around the Xuwen Wharf.

Historically, this place was called Xuwen Ancient Port, the first starting port of the Maritime Silk Road in the world as recorded in official historical books.

It is rightly called the Maritime Silk Road. The trading goods carried by the fleet at that time were "zazang", which happened to be a kind of silk fabric. It officially opened the first page in the history of maritime exchanges between China and the West.

It was still the Han Dynasty at that time.

However, due to changes in ocean routes and siltation in the ancient port, the Xuwen Ancient Port gradually declined during the Tang and Song dynasties. By the Ming Dynasty, it had become a small wharf connecting Hainan and the inland.

Compared with Haikoupu, the county-level Xuwen does not have such bustling and prosperous streets. You don’t even need to go into the post station. Just looking at the door, you can tell that it is much more shabby inside.

But at this hour, it was impossible to rush to the next town, so we could only make do with it.

Hearing the commotion outside, the postmaster came out to greet them. He frowned at the sight of such a long procession, but when he saw Wu Lin at the head, he was immediately surprised and delighted: "Inspector Wu, you're finally back!"

"how?"

Wu Lin also stayed here the night before he went to Hainan. It was not surprising that the other party recognized him, but the tone of his voice sounded a little strange.

The postmaster hurriedly said, "President Zong's servant is waiting for Inspector Wu. Hurry! Help him over here!"

Soon, an old man with a wrinkled face was brought over. Seeing Wu Lin, he fell to his knees and sobbed, "Wu... Wu... My... My master... Wuuuuu!"

Wu Lin's expression changed when he saw this, and he went to help the old man: "Hurry up and get up! Is something wrong with Brother Shuyuan?"

Haiyue watched.

Shuyuan was the courtesy name of Zong Chengxue, the magistrate of Qiongzhou. In the previous "Blood Totem" case, Wu Lin wanted to make a trick to escape. He pretended to cross the sea to Qiongzhou, but actually turned back overnight. The team cooperating with him was Zong Chengxue's team.

Otherwise, for a weak civil servant without the protection of the strongman Xiang Ang and his advisor Min Ziyong, doing this would not be a brilliant strategy but suicide.

But Zong Chengxue had come to Xuwen a long time ago, more than a month ago. What happened?
However, the old servant, perhaps due to his age or the shock he felt, spoke incoherently and could not give a complete account of the whole incident. Finally, he pulled out a letter from his pocket and handed it over: "This is... the master's... suicide note!"

Wu Lin took it, opened it slowly, and after reading it once, his hands began to tremble.

But after he put away the suicide note, he didn't say much, just waved his hand: "Let's go in and rest!"

Everyone arrived at the inn and chose a room.

Hai Yue was making the bed when Hai Rui came up behind her and whispered, "Brother, I just made some inquiries. Judge Zong Tong has passed away. The cause of death is very strange."

"Why are there so many deaths lately? The ancient times were still too dangerous..."

Haiyue complained in his heart, feeling nothing. He had never even seen the person before and didn't know him at all. He asked casually, "What happened?"

Hai Rui said, "I heard that before his death, Judge Zong Tong often dreamed of a village shrouded in fog. In front of every house in the village, a rope, seemingly made of jewels, hung. He would wander around the village, unable to leave. The only way to wake up was to put the rope around his neck."

"Huh? This nightmare is indeed strange...and then?"

"Then the old servant woke up early one morning and found that Zong Tongpan had indeed hanged himself in his room. The doors and windows were locked, and there was no outsider!"

(End of this chapter)