Chapter 92: Climbing the Wall into the Courtyard
June 7th, Zishi
However, the donkey continued to walk on its own, and Shen Kuo followed it to the east side of the alley, walked deep into the alley, and stopped in front of a corner gate. He looked around and found a wonton stall not far away. It was obviously not possible to climb here, so he hit the donkey on the butt, and the donkey reluctantly walked forward again, walked a distance and stopped again.
Shen Kuo looked around and found that this place was very peaceful. There were no houses with lights on in the streets, and this place was close to the gate and the front yard. To him, everything should be organized, and if he wanted to search a place, it would be best to start from the front yard.
So he took out the claw, opened the fist-shaped hook, and tried to throw it towards the wall, but it didn't hook and fell back down. It made a lot of noise, so he looked around to make sure that the neighbors were all asleep and no one had come out.
He tried to throw it again, but failed again. The sound of it hitting the eaves startled a few hesitant dogs inside the courtyard wall. He had seen Wang Qiaoer, a yamen runner from Jingdong Road, throw a similar flying claw and hook it on the wall of Yu Jing's house. He had also seen Wang Sheng, a yamen officer from Xichuan Road, grab the eaves of a street house in just one throw. It looked very simple, so why couldn't it work for him? Maybe the wall of the Yan Mansion was too high? But thinking back, the wall of Yu Jing's manor outside the city was also quite high.
I was trying to recall how the two of them voted, but I heard laughter in the darkness.
"You can't hook it like this?" It was Xu Chong's voice.
Shen Kuo sighed and put away his claw chain. This moment made him extremely annoyed. This was the third time. How could he be followed by him again, and he was unaware of it again.
Xu Chong emerged from the darkness.
"Brother Shen, you broke into the residence of an imperial official and went to Kaifeng Prefecture. I'm afraid that even Minister Bao can't protect you. You will be beaten with fifty sticks in court."
"I hid this from you and Mr. Bao because I was afraid you would stop me. But I do have some evidence that proves Xiao Ping has some connection with the Yan Mansion."
He put his hands on his hips and looked toward the wall.
"Now that you mention it, it does make sense. The last time she saw you, Yujin Garden was not far from here."
"So I didn't dare to act rashly and didn't come here directly. I just let the old thing walk on its own. As a result, it came here, which shows that it came here a few days after Xiao Ping rode it away."
"However, investigating Xiao Ping's case at this time may be a bit too much, right? The Hell Transformation Picture on the wall of Jingfu Palace is what Mr. Bao is worried about. Xiao Ping hasn't appeared for several months. What's the point of investigating her?"
"Maybe I'm putting the cart before the horse, but this is the only clue right now. There's really no flaw in the scene of the Hell Transformation Picture. Perhaps only Master Huailiang can decipher it. I've already written to him, and I just want to see if he will believe it. I'm thinking, first check Xiaoping. If there's no clue, then go see Master Huailiang."
"Can you send a letter to Huailiang? Do you know where Huailiang is?" Xu Chong asked.
"This... I don't know the details. But maybe there is still a chance to meet the master?" He didn't want Xu Chong to ask him questions, so he quickly evaded the question. Fortunately, Xu Chong didn't ask any more questions.
"Okay, now that I'm here tonight, I'll help you get in. I hope we can connect with the map of the area, which will help us get the reward." It seems that his mind is still full of Jin'er.
"Brother Xu, is your leg injured?"
"It's almost healed. Give me the Western Qiang claw."
Shen Kuo gave the chain claw to Xu Chong. Xu Chong glanced at the courtyard wall, which was about ten feet high.
"This is not a good place. With the shining guest star in the east, people in the yard will see us if we stand on the wall."
Xu Chong actually has some experience in the underworld.
"Oh, what should I do then?"
"Come with me."
He led Shen Kuo deeper into the alley, ignoring the donkey. After walking for a while, they saw a big tree with branches sticking out from the yard.
"Look, this place is great. There is a shade of trees that can hide you and you can get to the house. If you are seen, you can jump over the wall and escape in time."
As he spoke, he threw the chain toward the tree. Shen Kuo did not even look at where the hook went, but saw Xu Chong pull hard and it had already caught it tightly.
"Follow me."
Xu Chong jumped up and climbed up lightly. After a few steps, he disappeared into the dense leaves and could only see a chain hanging down. It was June, and the trees were densely covered with leaves. It was obvious that Xu Chong had put a lot of thought into choosing this tree.
Shen Kuo followed closely and climbed up. He loved climbing trees and mountains since he was a child, and climbing up was not difficult for him, but he was already out of breath when he climbed the tree. Then he saw Xu Chong smiling with his white teeth bared in the darkness.
"Come with me. If you see a dog, don't panic. Leave it to me."
Xu Chong walked forward along the branch, and Shen Kuo, who was sitting on it, also moved forward slowly.
Sure enough, the dog in front heard the noise and ran over, circling under the tree. If it looked up, it would see someone on top. Xu Chong took out a piece of food and threw it down. The dog was startled and looked up to see someone on top. At the same time, the smell of meat on the ground entered its nose, which really attracted it. It hesitated for a moment before giving up its principle and lowering its head to eat the bones on the ground.
Xu Chong called Shen Kuo to follow him, and the two walked across another branch to the eaves of the second floor of the house. The house in the Yan Mansion was very majestic, and the eaves on the brackets extended a lot. It was convenient for them to quietly land on the second floor. Shen Kuo looked back and saw that the dog was still chewing bones there. As the saying goes, a man who eats people should be grateful. This basic trust between man and dog has been established. Naturally, it doesn't care what you say, and it won't bark.
Shen Kuo looked around and saw several shirtless gatekeepers sleeping on recliners at the gate not far away. They didn't seem to pose any threat.
The two jumped into the pavilion. Xu Chong opened the door first and went in. There was no one inside. The two walked through the hall to the north window. From here, the yard was really big. There were two more yards in the back, and finally a pavilion in the fourth. There seemed to be a two-story attic there, and the lights were on. The building had a flat roof with a grape trellis, and it seemed that there was a shadowy figure moving behind the trellis.
Shen Kuo came here today with no purpose. He only knew that this Yan Mansion might be related to Xiao Ping, but how to get in? How to deal with the dog? How to find Xiao Ping? If Xiao Ping is not here, what should he do next? He had not thought about it carefully. Although Xu Chong was an officer, he knew some tricks to climb over the wall and enter the courtyard, and he also had some experience on where to look.
"If you want to find Xiaoping, you should go to the third courtyard at the back." Xu Chong said.
"Why?"
"This is the front hall and study, it can't be here. The back is where the women are, and it doesn't seem like a secret place. If there is such a place, it must be in the back garden. You just followed the donkey and it stopped at the back corner gate. I think it is a hidden place to go in and out."
Xu Chong once again demonstrated his meticulousness.
Shen Kuo agreed. It was not the first time that he sneaked into someone else's courtyard. He was almost caught last time in Guliugang, Zhongmou County, but he did not learn any lessons. He had no idea this time. Fortunately, Xu Chong appeared in time, otherwise, he might still be trapped outside, or be chased by a dog and captured as soon as he came in.
Xu Chong had already checked the route on the second floor. The two of them climbed out of the attic on the second floor without going downstairs, stepped on the low wall on the side of the crescent-shaped door and walked forward, directly crossing the middle courtyard and easily reaching the last courtyard.
This is the Yan Mansion Garden, with a pond and an exquisite attic next to it, which is also the only place with lights on. The two of them stretched out their arms and climbed up to the big tree next to them, looking behind the grape trellis on the second floor.
But there was a reclining chair, and an old man with white hair and beard was sitting there, wearing a loose nightgown. There was a maid holding a palm leaf fan serving him. However, the maid leaned against the grape trellis and stopped fanning herself.
The two of them approached slowly, peeking in from behind the leaves. Gradually, they heard snoring. The old man was already sleeping soundly, and the girl fanning him behind him also dozed off. Xu Chong originally planned to go down from here and sneak into the second floor of the house, but now there was someone on the platform, so he had to find a way around.
Shen Kuo looked down at the white-bearded old man, but he couldn't tell whether he was the owner of Guliugang Villa. He would only know for sure if he stood up and took a few steps or spoke .
Just as he was moving forward to talk to Xu Chong, the sleeping old man suddenly became alert.
"Yue'e, is there any movement?"
"Master, didn't you hear it?" The maid woke up and dropped the fan in her anxious hand to the ground.
"On the tree, it's on the tree... I was awakened from my light sleep, and I seemed to hear some movement in the tree just now." The old man stood up and looked towards the big tree where Xu Chong and Shen Kuo were hiding.
"Sir, it's probably the raccoon that Xiao Ping brought back. It's gone to play on the tree again. Yesterday, it was the raccoon that grabbed a turtledove from the tree and ate it. There were bird feathers all over the ground."
"That raccoon doesn't look like a domestic cat. I don't know where he was caught. He is just as wild and untamable as Xiao Ping. He doesn't look like a beast that can understand human nature. I just thought that when she kidnapped Xiao Qi, she took this little beast with her?"
"Xiao Ping and the young master ran away in a hurry, and they didn't take the raccoon cat with them. So it has been in the mansion ever since, haunting like a ghost. It wanders around during the day, catching fish in the goldfish pond, catching birds in the trees, and catching mice in the warehouse. It always disappears in a flash, and is only seen a few times a day. However, there are fewer mice in the kitchen."
"It's good to be able to catch mice. Even a few months old civet cat knows how to repay a favor. Xiao Ping, this lowly creature that thousands of people ride on, actually disobeyed me and kidnapped my most beloved child. If I catch this bitch, I must beat her to death, cut her into pieces, stuff her into a sack, and throw her into the Bian River. And that rebellious son must never be forgiven. He even secretly married a whore and I don't know where he ran off to. I'm so angry, so angry."
Shen Kuo on the tree had already recognized that the old man's voice was the same one he heard in Guliugang Villa that day. Judging from his tone, it was probably Yan Shu. This old man was also an important official of the previous dynasty who had served as Tongpingzhangshi and Shumiyuanshi, but he spoke so vulgarly and even said that Xiaoping was a prostitute. If it wasn't for the fact that it was unreasonable to sneak into his house, Shen Kuo wanted to jump down and grab his beard to argue with him. Who said that prostitutes in brothels must be lowly?
