As soon as the words "Cai family" were spoken, the flower hall immediately fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to him.
However, Zhao Xin suddenly stood up and walked towards the main room on the east side of the second entrance. After entering the house, he closed the door. Everyone else in the flower hall didn't know what was going on and turned to look at Liu Sheng. Liu Sheng shrugged helplessly and said, "Let's wait a moment."
After Zhao Xin locked the door, he sat on a chair and fell into deep thought. He felt that Tong Zhilin's matter was a bit strange and he needed someone to think about it.
Why is it the Yizhu Tower in Dongtai again? I just arrived in Shanghai yesterday and met Tong Zhilin by chance today. As for the Cai family, shouldn't they be living in Tuancha Town, Dongtai? Why did they end up in Shanghai, hundreds of miles away?
What is that power in the dark going to do? Zhao Xin felt a little guilty. From the moment he landed on Bear Island, there seemed to be some kind of force pushing him to have entanglements with the Xu family and Shen family in Dongtai, and the entanglement became deeper and deeper.
From Lu Shoushan, Pan Xiucheng and the Xu brothers who escaped from Ninggu Pagoda, to Shen Jingdan and his daughter in Nagasaki, to today, almost all of them are related to the Dongtai Literary Prison. Even Huang Maocai got involved because of Shen Jingdan; and Shen Jingdan is Shen Xuan's adoptive father.
Zhao Xin suddenly felt something in his heart. "Could it be that God in the dark sent me to come here to avenge them?" However, he quickly rejected this idea. Do the ghosts of grievances linger? Then come out and sit down and chat. This is too ridiculous!
But today it’s Tong Zhilin and the Cai family. So what’s next? If we follow this line, we will encounter Liu Yong, He Shen, A Gui and Qianlong.
What happens if it all ends? Being kicked back to another time and space by God and calling it a day?
The more Zhao Xin thought about it, the more he got a headache. I don't know how long it took for me to be so entangled, but I suddenly heard someone knocking on the door outside the house.
"Master, Xu Dayong is back." It was Lu Shoushan's voice.
Zhao Xin sighed, stood up slowly, opened the door, nodded to Lu Shoushan, and walked towards the flower hall.
Xu Dayong was wiping the rain and sweat on his face with a towel. After wiping off, he said: "It has been found out that the owner of that family is named Cai Hu."
"What! Say it again!" Pan Xiucheng, who was sitting in the hall, and Lu Shoushan, who was following Zhao Xin, took two steps forward and grabbed Xu Dayong's collar and shouted.
"Ah?! Brother Lu, Brother Pan, household, the head of the household is calling, calling Cai Hu." Xu Dayong was trembling and startled, not knowing what he said wrong.
"It's indeed the Cai family!"
"The emperor has paid off his hard work! It turns out to be the Cai family! Master, madam, I can finally avenge you!"
Liu Sheng walked over, separated the three of them, and said to Xu Dayong: "How did you find out? Where is Wu Siyu? Tell it from beginning to end."
"Revenge? What is going on?" Xu Da rolled his eyes wildly. He was so frightened by the reactions of Lu and Pan that he didn't know what to say. Wang Yuanfang took a look, picked up the cup of tea he had just filled, and handed it to Xu Da's hand.
"Drink some water first, sit down and talk slowly. They are not against you."
"Yes, yes." Xu Da nodded with a bow, drank the tea in the cup in one gulp, dipped his buttocks on the round stool, and spoke slowly.
"Me and Brother Ang, oh, no, it's Master Wu"
Three hours ago, Xu Dayong took Wu Siyu to the small courtyard on Sanmao Pavilion Street.
"Master Wu, that's right there." In the drizzle, Xu Day used his chin to indicate the location of the courtyard to Wu Siyu.
Wu Siyu watched for a while and then said to Xu Dayong: "You keep an eye here while I go for a spin." After saying that, he walked towards the intersection on the north side of the yard.
More than half an hour later, Wu Siyu had walked through the streets and alleys around the yard. He memorized the terrain in his mind and found that the streets and lanes around the courtyard formed a "field" shape, but the center of the "field" was not in the middle, but in the upper right corner. The location of the small courtyard is in the small square on the upper right.
On the north side of the "tian" shape is Hanjiaxing Road, on the east side is Sanmaogezhi Street, on the south side is Yangjingbang, and on the west side is Laomo (pronounced Tongzha) Road. Because it rained today, there were not many pedestrians on the north, east, and west roads; however, boats on the Yangjing Beach in the south came and went.
The courtyard where Tong Zhilin is located is not big. Xu Dayong said on the road that it was an ordinary small courtyard with two entrances, covering an area of just over half an acre. Wu Siyu took a closer look and found that the gray-white courtyard wall was not too high, almost two meters; however, a lot of plaster on the wall had fallen off, and it looked like the entire wall had been gnawed by a dog.
Wu Siyu pretended that his shoelaces were loose, went to squat under the courtyard wall, and pretended to adjust his oil shoes. At this time, I heard several coughs coming from the hospital. Other than that, there was no movement.
When he returned to the grocery store, he found Xu Dayong leaning on the door frame, chatting happily with a shop assistant inside. Wu Siyu coughed, Xu Dayong looked back, quickly turned around and walked over.
"Master, do you have any silver with you?"
Wu Siyu thought for a while, then reached out from his pocket and took out a piece of broken silver the size of a small fingernail. Before coming to Shanghai, Zhao Xin crushed a few silver ingots with pliers and gave them to everyone.
"Sir, please wait for me for a while." Xu Dayong accepted it and went to the door of the grocery store again. After talking to the clerk for a few words, he gave him the broken silver.
After Xu Dayong told Wu Siyu the information after the investigation, Wu Siyu asked him to go back and report quickly, while he watched from here first.
"The family's surname is Cai, and the head of the household is Cai Hu, who is said to be from Tongzhou. The yard was bought a year ago, and it has been more than half a year since we moved here. The clerk at the grocery store said that two months ago, Mr. Cai My father fell ill, and even after seeing several doctors, he failed to find a solution. This morning, the old housekeeper followed the advice of the shopkeeper and went to the City God’s Temple to ask for a talisman to ward off disasters and illnesses.”
After hearing this, Ding Guofeng scolded: "This family of bastards named Cai has done something extremely unscrupulous and yet they still want to seek blessings from gods? What a dream!"
Lu Shoushan and Pan Xiucheng looked at each other, walked to the door of the flower hall, knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to Zhao Xin, and shouted in a sad voice: "Master!!"
"You two want to take revenge?" Zhao Xin said calmly, sitting at the top of the flower hall.
"Master, please do it for me!"
"Get up and answer the question. Let me ask you a question first." Zhao Xin asked in a calm tone without comment, "Who killed the entire Xu family?"
Pan Xiucheng said first: "Cai family! And that Tong Zhilin!"
"Is this really so? If you think so, then even if you kill Tong Zhilin and Cai Hu, the Xu family's revenge will still not be avenged, and the dead will not be able to rest in peace."
Lu Shoushan thought for a moment and said, "Xiucheng, you made a mistake. It's the imperial court."
Liu Sheng nodded: "Shoushan is right! If we don't overthrow this court and eliminate this system, the same thing will happen again in the future."
Fatty Huang was trembling at the side. He did not expect that this group of outsiders would suddenly talk about overthrowing the imperial court. It would be fine if this was in Beihai Town, but this is Shanghai, under the rule of the Qing Dynasty!
Shen Jingdan twirled his beard and looked expressionless, but his heart was also pounding.
Zhao Xin turned to Shen Jingdan and said, "Boss Shen, is there a study room in the backyard? We would like to borrow it to discuss something."
Shen Jingdan knew that it was not convenient for people like Zhao Xin to say anything in front of him and Lao Huang, and he and Lao Huang did not want to be involved in these things. So he got up and led Zhao Xin and others to the study room in the backyard. Xu Dayong also wanted to follow in, but Lu Shoushan asked him to guard outside the door.
Everyone entered the study, and after Lu Shoushan closed the door, Zhao Xin said to Liu Sheng and others: "Without further delay, let's discuss what to do in the evening?"
Liu Sheng turned his head and saw that Xu Dayong was not there, so he asked Lu Shoushan to let him in.
"How many people are there in the Cai family's yard?"
"I heard the clerk at the grocery store mention it. There are always seven or eight people, but never more than 20."
"I'll go! The difference range is too big."
"How about we use a drone?" As soon as he said these words, Ding Guofeng remembered that it was still raining outside.
Wang Yuanfang thought for a while and said: "Let me talk about two issues first. First, the people who take action cannot start from Shen Zhai, otherwise it will drag down Boss Shen and Boss Huang. Second, even if it rains, we can't do it during the day. Action. And once the action is successful, we will leave Shanghai immediately. In addition, the hands and feet of those involved in the action must be cleaner, and strive to make this matter an unsolved case."
Zhao Xin responded quickly. After hearing this, he said: "This matter is easy to handle. Shoushan, go and ask Boss Shen if there are any dilapidated and uninhabited temples or old houses outside the north or west gate of the county."
At this time, Lu Shoushan already knew that Zhao Xin and others were going to help him avenge the Xu family. He was overjoyed and quickly agreed, and hurried out of the house to find Shen Jingdan.
"As for the retreat, I went to tell Shen Jingdan and asked him to arrange a boat. Our original plan was to go to Yangzhou; to the north of that house is Yangjingbang. We boarded the boat from there and took the Wusong River to the South Canal. It took two days Just arrived in Yangzhou."
At dusk, a awning boat stopped at the intersection of Xiyangjingbang and Sanmaogezhi Street. The boatman driving the oar was wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat, as if he was waiting for someone.
After nightfall, the heavy rain that had fallen all day turned into a thin and dense drizzle. The roads were so muddy that not even the watchman was willing to come out due to the weather and roads.
Next to the road leading to Jing'an Temple outside the west gate of Shanghai County, a shabby voice came from a dilapidated house. Seven people wearing dark gray coats and hoods with only their eyes exposed came from a low The force of the courtyard wall came out and walked to the street. These people clung to the wall on the street, stopped and walked all the way, and sneaked out of the small courtyard on the north side of Sanmao Pavilion Street.
Xu Dayong, who was hiding in an alley and observing the courtyard, suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him and knew that the person who wanted to do something had arrived. He turned around and was shocked!
Seven dark shadows were squatting behind him, and the eyes of the leader were like cold stars in the rainy night.
"How is it?" This was Wang Yuanfang's voice.
"Sir, someone came out in the evening and went back after half an hour. No one else came out."
"Okay. You can retreat and wait for us on the boat."
Wang Yuanfang nodded to the people behind him, so after the seven people waited for a while, they quickly rushed to the outer wall of the courtyard. Liu Sheng found a good position, faced the street, crouched down and got into a horse stance; Ding Guofeng took two steps back, sprinted, stepped on Liu Sheng's knees, and rushed upwards. Liu Sheng took advantage of the situation and pushed hard, and Ding Guofeng was Climbed the wall. He first lay on the wall and observed the yard for a while, then made a gesture to the six people outside, and then disappeared on the wall.
This wall-climbing location was chosen by Wu Siyu in advance. He carefully observed the area for a long time in the afternoon to confirm that there was not a kitchen or toilet behind the wall.
The other six people outside the wall hid in the shadows and moved slowly towards the courtyard door. After a while, I heard two "da da" sounds coming from the yard. After a while, the courtyard door was gently opened.
In order to prevent the courtyard door from making any noise when opening it, Ding Guofeng carried a full pot of soybean oil with him. He poured half of the pot of oil into the two door shafts for lubrication.
When Wang Yuanfang saw the courtyard door opened, he waved his hand and six people filed in.
The rain kept falling, and a faint scent of blood slowly drifted away from the small courtyard, and then spread on the streets along with the drizzle and westerly wind.
After entering the courtyard, there were suddenly several exclamations in the two main rooms, east and west.
"Who? Who is it?!" Cai Hu, who lived in the main room on the west floor, was awakened by the sound outside the door. He stood up and saw that the door was actually open, and the rain mixed with the cool breeze was blown into the house, which made him shiver.
Since the Xu family was punished by the court in the forty-sixth year of Qianlong's reign, the Cai family has gained nothing. I originally thought that if I sued the Xu family, I could get back the eight paddy fields that I sold. Who would have thought that he would suffer hardship and go to jail, but the emperor saw clearly the selfish motives of the Cai family and only allowed him to be released on bail. What a waste of effort!
After Cai Jiashu, his son, and Tong Zhilin came out of prison and returned to Dongtai, the reputation of the Cai family was completely ruined. Not to mention Tongcha Town, the entire Dongtai knows that the second son and the second son of the Cai family are a pair of bastards! Not to mention that they have no credibility in their conduct and work, they actually ruined the Xu family and Shen family of Nuo Da; who dares to associate with them!
Seeing the rural neighbors in front of them all looking like this, Cai Jiashu and his son finally gritted their teeth and decided to separate from the eldest son of the Cai family and live alone. After the separation, Cai Jiashu and his son knew that their reputation in the local area was already bad, so they had no choice but to make a living elsewhere. After a few years, I have accumulated some savings. Cai Hu heard that the soybean business was booming in Shanghai and he knew people in Shandong, so he moved his family to Shanghai County. Not to mention Tong Zhilin, who is already in his fifties, and has been following Cai Jiashu and his son all these years.
Who would have thought that Cai Jiashu has been ill since last month, and Cai Hu even went to several doctors to treat him badly. Tong Zhilin heard that the talismans in the Chenghuang Temple were very effective, so she volunteered to ask for one. Unexpectedly, I was bumped into by Lu Shoushan!
"Master Cai, it's me." A deep voice sounded faintly in the darkness.
"Who is a good man? If you are looking for money, I still have dozens of taels of silver at home. Please let my family go."
"Yinzi, we are not interested. We are not interested in your family either. I want the heads of three people, and I will leave as soon as I finish taking them!"
"Ah? Someone is coming! Someone is coming!"
"Master Cai, stop shouting. We have tied up the servants in the house and thrown them into the kitchen. Please ask Mrs. Cai to stay with them."
In the dark bedroom, a bright light suddenly appeared, shining directly on Cai Hu and the woman behind him who were huddled in the corner of the bed. The two people on the bed were blinded by the strong light and quickly raised their arms to block it. But he saw two masked men running out of the darkness, rushing to the bed and grabbing his woman in a few steps.
Just as Cai Hu tried to stop him, there was a "pop!" sound, and a big man slapped him in the face with a backhand. Cai Hu suddenly felt dizzy and fainted.
"Master! Lao. Uh-huh." Cai Hu's woman saw her husband fainted and was about to call for help. A strong man took out a piece of cloth from his body and stuffed it into her mouth. Then his hands were cut behind her back and tied up. He got up and finally his feet were tied up. The two strong men then carried the frightened woman to the kitchen.
A quarter of an hour later, except for Cai Jiashu, his son, and Tong Zhilin, the other six living men and women in the Cai Mansion were tied up hand and foot, gagged and stuffed into the kitchen.
Cai Jiashu lives in the main house on the east side because of illness. Right now, there was someone standing in front of the bed.
"Mr. Cai, do you still remember me?" Pan Xiucheng stared fiercely at Cai Jiashu, who was lying shivering on the bed, and his low and hoarse voice sounded in the room.
"You, you are! Ahem!" Cai Jiashu seemed to know this person, but he couldn't remember it.
"Mr. Cai, you are living a very comfortable life. Damn you! You have harmed so many people, don't you have nightmares every day?! There are one hundred and sixty-three people in the Xu family. Mr. Xu's students Xu Xiucai and Shen Xiucai’s family has fifty-seven people. Today, I’m here to collect debts for them!”
"What?! The Xu family! Come on." The big case in Dongtai six years ago came to mind. Cai Jiashu was shocked. He raised his hand desperately and was about to shout when a cold light flashed in Pan Xiucheng's hand and a sharp knife was inserted fiercely. In Cai Jiashu's heart.
"You fucking bastard! This knife is for Mrs. Xu! This knife is for the master! This knife is for the young master!" Pan Xiucheng cursed in a low voice while stabbing Cai Jiashu in the heart again and again.
Pan Xiucheng ravaged Cai Jiashu like crazy until a strong arm held him down.
"They're all stabbed to death! They're all dead. Hurry, cut off their heads and leave immediately!"
In the wing room in the front yard, Tong Zhilin was shot in the head. He was completely dead, but...
"You're breaking the rules and cutting off your head." Wu Siyu said softly and angrily.
"how?"
"I can't do this, just kill him."
"Oh, forget it, I'll ask Lu Shoushan to come over."
After burning the incense, six black figures slipped out from the front door of Cai's house, three of them carrying an oilcloth bag in their hands. After Ding Guofeng and others went out, he closed the courtyard door and fastened the latch. He ran up to the top of the wall at a promising position and then climbed out of the courtyard.
A quarter of an hour later, after the awning boat that had been waiting at Xiyang Jingbang for most of the night picked up seven people, the boatman Si held his bamboo pole hard, and the awning boat sailed slowly towards Zhujiabang.
More than an hour later, the awning boat docked at the intersection of Wusong River and Zhujiabang. A thousand-stone sand boat was already waiting here. After the eight people got on the sand boat together, they headed towards the South Canal.
"The man said that he saw the head of that family going out two months ago. He became ill after he came back."
(End of chapter)
