The Second Master of the Red Chamber

At the gate of Yangzhou City, which was dusty and full of people coming and going, suddenly dozens of horsemen and horses approached rapidly.

Although the officers and soldiers guarding the city gate could tell at a glance that they were either rich or noble, they still stepped forward to hear the news because of their duties.

"The imperial envoy enters the city to deal with the case, and you will leave immediately."

The group of people who came had no intention of slowing down at all, and the officers and soldiers of the city retreated quickly after the soldiers who opened the way shouted their orders.

After the majestic party entered the city, the young general at the gate of the city hurriedly called two of his cronies, and said in a low voice: "Go and report to the guard and the grandfather, the imperial envoy has entered the city!"

……

"Once in ten years, the dream of Yangzhou has won the reputation of the brothel, Yangzhou, Yangzhou! The famous capital of Huaizuo really deserves its reputation."

Even if it is not the first time to Yangzhou, Jia Lian is still moved by the prosperity of Yangzhou City, which has the charm of a Jiangnan water town.

Hitting horses on the ten-mile long street, as far as the eye can see, there are small bridges and flowing water, as well as bead curtains and embroidered curtains.On a charming attic in the distance, there are faint voices of warblers and swallows, and among the flowers and branches, they show the unique style of Yangzhou Shouma to tourists from afar.

This is the elegant and romantic Jiangnan, a resort for literati, and a paradise for the rich.

Looking at this bustling and comfortable city, Jia Lian couldn't help feeling a little guilty in his heart when he thought that maybe because of his arrival, he was about to break the atmosphere.

"Is this the first time for Lord Hou to visit Yangzhou?" Liu Xianglian, who was behind her, saw Jia Lian like this and asked with a smile.

"I've been here once before, but it's a pity that I came and went in a hurry, and I haven't had a good look at the mountains and rivers here."

"Hehehe, after Master Hou's major event is over, if you are interested, I can recommend a few places for Master Hou to visit..."

Hearing Liu Xianglian's familiarity, Jia Lian couldn't help turning his head to look at him, and asked with a smile: "Oh, it sounds like Erlang is very familiar with Yangzhou. Tell me, how many friends do you have here?"

Liu Xianglian originally wanted to introduce to Jia Lian the scenic spots and interesting places in Yangzhou, but when she heard Jia Lian say this, she suddenly didn't know how to answer the conversation.

The other guards, although they laughed on the face, they were envious in their hearts.With Liu Xianglian's appearance, I'm afraid those girls who are easy to seduce will be jealous.

Immediately looking at the brothel in the distance, I can't help but feel more yearning.

Although Beijing is prosperous, but when it comes to entertainment, I am afraid it is far inferior to this famous south of the Yangtze River.

"Okay, let's wait for this matter. If you have time, Erlang will take us to have a good time. But you don't need to call me to eat flowers and wine and appreciate beauties. When the time comes, you can go by yourself.

This Marquis is a man with a family, and it is not as good as you who have no worries and cares, and can indulge in chicness. "

Jia Lian talked and laughed, waved the horse's reins, and accelerated to the Yanzheng Yamen.

The guards behind him and the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard smiled at Jia Lian's words.

Although he knew that Jia Lian meant to joke with them, he also knew that as a Marquis, he couldn't get any kind of beauties in the world. I'm afraid he might not really be able to look up to those prostitutes.

But for them, it's different. Who doesn't want to see the world-famous "Yangzhou thin horse"?
Hearing from Jia Lian's tone, it seemed that he did not object to them going to see and see, and each of them couldn't help being moved, thinking that if they had the opportunity this time, they would definitely try it...

When they came to the Yanzheng Yamen, the subordinates performed their duties, and Jia Lian also directly led Yang Xun and others who were greeted by them into the quiet room to discuss matters.

"Well, what have you found out these days?"

"This subordinate is ashamed..."

"Your Majesty's expectations are right. All the accounts and files of the Salt Office have been sorted out and updated by others. There are almost no mistakes or omissions. The subordinates are not proficient in this way, so they have not found anything powerful. clue.

But at least it is certain that the various salt merchants in Yangzhou, and even the entire officialdom in Yangzhou, must have ghosts, and the cover-up is too obvious. "

Jia Lian nodded, and Jia Lian never thought about finding out and solving this matter from the books, unless those salt merchants were fools.

"What about An Siyuan?"

"An Siyuan's coffin has already been transported back. Because it is an official involved in the case, it has not been buried. Now it is placed in the back office."

"Where's his family, have they been interrogated?"

"An Siyuan has a wife, a concubine, and a pair of children... However, his son is not here."

"Not here?"

"Well, it is said that he was raised at grandma's house... But my lord, I always feel that there is something strange about this matter. Then An Siyuan can be regarded as a high-ranking official who sits on one side, and has only one son under his knees. Instead, it was sent to the father-in-law's house, which was a bit unreasonable.

Moreover, the Xiaguan saw that An Siyuan's wife, Xu Shi, looked depressed all day long, and seemed to have something on her mind, but the Xiaguan couldn't ask anything.

Because the imperial court has not yet convicted An Siyuan, then the Xu family is not considered a criminal, and it is inconvenient for lower officials to press him too far. Therefore, there is no result of the investigation, and the lower officials are incompetent. I hope your lord will forgive me. "

Jia Lian waved his hand, Yang Xun has only been here for a few days, and he is humble, it is still very easy for these people in Yangzhou to tease him.

As for the suspicious points Yang Xun mentioned, they are basically nonsense.If there were no such doubts, the imperial court would not be so concerned about this matter, and he would not have to come here.

After asking some more details, Yang Xun and the others answered them one by one. After seeing Jia Lian thoughtfully, Yang Xun and Zhao Cheng, a white householder in Jinyiwei, looked at each other and took out a stack of bank notes from their pockets. Yang Xun said: "This is the gift from the salt merchants on the day I first entered Yangzhou. The officials and others have accepted it according to your lord's instructions, and I ask Lord Hou to dispose of it."

Jia Lian glanced at them, "Since it was given by those salt merchants, you can take it. They occupy the entire Jiangnan salt shop, each of them is filthy rich, and they made such a big incident, I have to wait thousands of miles For a trip, they should contribute some of their hard-earned money.

However, you should also be clear that His Majesty personally instructed me to strictly handle the inspection of the Salt Administration. Therefore, you must not think about taking someone's hand and covering it up softly, otherwise, if something happens in the end, I will be fine. I can't protect you. "

The two of Yang Xun's hearts trembled slightly, and they immediately responded.

He was not polite any more and took back the bank note.There is nothing to worry about, those salt merchants are willing to give such a generous amount of money even to their followers, so it is impossible to be stingy with Jia Lian.

The reason why he chose to hand over the bribe money was just to see Jia Lian's attitude.

Although he guessed that Jia Lian was not a pedantic person, but seeing Jia Lian didn't even look at the bank note and let them accept it, it was inevitable that they would have admiration and affection for Jia Lian.A Shangguan who has a structure and is willing to make his subordinates profitable is a convincing Shangguan who is willing to follow.

After the discussion, Jia Lian came out and saw that Lin Youquan was arranging guards to drive away idlers and arrange defenses. Jia Lian was also very relieved.

This is also one of the reasons why he did not go to the Xingyuan prepared by the local government, but directly lived in the Yanzheng Yamen.Lin Youquan can be regarded as the boss here. With him arranging these matters, he is familiar with the way and is not easy to lose.

After a brief explanation, Jia Lian came to An Siyuan's coffin.

Because he was an official involved in the case, a simple coffin was placed in the side hall, guarded by a few family scrolls and slaves in filial piety.Wait, no one came to condolences, and no one dared to come to condolences.

Adhering to the idea that death is the most important thing, Jia Lian first went to the spirit to burn a stick of incense and bowed twice.

Maybe he knew Jia Lian's identity, maybe it was because the soldiers who raised their hands inside and outside were so fierce that the people in the An family all seemed a little cautious and fearful after Jia Lian entered the palace.

But according to etiquette, someone has to thank you on your behalf at this time.So a woman in her thirties, with a good-looking appearance and a plump figure, stepped forward and bowed to Jia Lian.

Behind her, there is a girl of twelve or thirteen years old, with a clear appearance and very beautiful features, who follows the woman step by step, and at the same time has the intention of poking her head, as if looking at him.

Jia Lian looked over, "Is Madam An's wife?"

"Return to the imperial envoy, the concubine is the Xu family." She didn't look at Jia Lian, her voice was gentle, and there was no emotion in her expression.

"Madam's condolences."

"Thank you, Mr. Imperial Envoy."

After Jia Lian said this, he stopped talking, just lowered his head slightly, and looked at the woman in front of him.

Now, the atmosphere in the secluded mourning hall suddenly became quieter.

The soldiers around Jia Lian looked serious and did not look sideways.And a small number of An family members lowered their heads one by one.

The woman also seemed to have noticed something, and finally looked up at Jia Lian, bowed and was about to back down.

"I don't know Mrs. Xu, what do you think about Mrs. An's death?"

"My husband was always weak. He was busy with government affairs all the year round. His health was poor. Perhaps he couldn't bear the hardships of being escorted. That's why he died of illness on the way..."

"Mrs. Xu is sure that Master An died of illness?"

"Yes……"

Jia Lian asked casually, as if she didn't care about Mrs. Xu's answer at all.But in reality, Jia Lian still paid attention to Mrs. Xu's demeanor.

Seeing that when she answered, she pretended to be serious, but her brows and eyes were lowered involuntarily, so she knew that Mrs. Xu might know something.It's just why she didn't want to tell him?If An Siyuan was really murdered, he is obviously the only one who can avenge An Siyuan's injustice.

Without forcing her, Jia Lian glanced at the young girl behind her, and said with a smile, "I heard that Mrs. An has a pair of sons and daughters. This must be Ling Ai. But I don't know, where is the eldest son now?"

"The child is naughty, so I handed it over to his grandfather to raise..."

"Oh, where does your father live, and how many years has your son been sent?"

"My father was originally from Datong Mansion, and he was sent there. It has been four or five years since he was sent..."

Jia Lian smiled, walked closer and asked, "Four or five years? Could it be that Madam has never missed Young Master Ling, and is willing to keep him in Grandpa's house so far away?"

Mrs. Xu glanced at Jia Lian again, "Of course I miss it a little bit, but my father is a well-educated man, and he is at home, just to raise his children and grandchildren. It's better than being with me and my wife, so..."

"Master An died of illness suddenly, and Madam didn't accept to order the young master to come back to fulfill his filial piety?"

"Here, his father is under suspicion. It is better to discuss the future after the court investigates the Yanzheng and clears his name..."

"Oh, it's rare for Madam to be so clear-sighted. I thought Madam would be heartbroken when Mrs. An passed away, but I didn't expect Madam to be so calm and quick that she could answer all my questions fluently, as if she had been rehearsed."

Mrs. Xu was taken aback, and looked up again, because Jia Lian was not even one step away from her at this moment.At such a distance, if Jia Lian was rude to her, she would not even be able to respond, so she hurriedly took a step back and said hastily: "It is sad to be sad, but I know it is useless. Now I only hope to cooperate with the government and investigate the salt administration. To atone for the sins of my husband. As for the question of the adults, several adults have asked similar questions before, so I can be prepared..."

"yes."

Jia Lian showed a meaningful smile, and when Mrs. Xu was quite uneasy, Liu Xianglian came to send a message: "Master Hou, Yangzhou prefect, Fucheng and other adults, come to see me."

Jia Lian nodded, but did not move his footsteps, still smiling and looking at Xu who was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

In this situation, anyone who is smarter can probably see Jia Lian's thoughts.

Sure enough, Jia Lian seemed to have run out of patience, and approached Mrs. Xu again, and said with a smile: "It turns out that I have been sad. I thought Madam was not sad at all. After all, with Madam's beauty, even if Mrs. An is gone, I want to choose another one." A good son-in-law is not difficult."

Seeing Jia Lian's poor dagger, Mrs. Xu's complexion suddenly became sullen, and she glared at Jia Lian angrily, and finally bowed her head and said: "After all, the concubine is also the wife of the imperial court official, and the imperial envoy please respect yourself."

"Hehehe, Madam, don't worry, I just feel that Mr. An's death is quite suspicious. I want to find out the real cause of Mr. An's death, so that Mr. An's spirit is in heaven.

How about this, I still have something to do this time, I will invite my wife to my residence tonight, and the two of us will have a good talk. "

"you……"

This dog official really wanted to see the color.

"Forgiveness is hard to obey."

Mrs. Xu's eyes showed sadness, but Jia Lian didn't seem to notice it at all. Instead, he ordered his left and right to invite Mrs. Xu to his room tonight.

"You are not allowed to bully my mother!"

The young girl was also new to understand human affairs, she was too afraid to interrupt before, but now she was about to cry when she saw her mother being bullied, she immediately stood between Jia Lian and Mrs Xu, and shouted softly.

Jia Lian looked down at her, stretched out his hand as if wanting to pinch her little face, but was avoided by her, then smiled and said: "You are the daughter of Mrs. An, right? It just so happens that I have something to ask you, so you can follow your mother's advice." , tonight at my residence to listen to the questioning."

After Jia Lian finished speaking, he glanced around, and several people immediately took care of the mourning hall.

This way of acting, not to mention the resentment in the eyes of the servants of the An family, even the guards of the Imperial Army who followed Jia Lian, were dumbfounded.

Lord Zhenyuan, are you so flirtatious?
Moreover, is Hou Ye so unscrupulous and carefree?Even if he fell in love with the An family's mother and daughter, he couldn't use any means behind his back, but he did it in public, so wouldn't he be afraid of them spreading bad words about him after returning to Beijing?
Or, Master Hou is sure that he will take advantage of it afterwards to seal their mouths, so he doesn't care?If this is the case, it's not bad, no one wants to travel thousands of miles south.

On the contrary, Jia Lian's personal guards and others are more familiar with Jia Lian's habits, and they are a little bit unconvinced that Jia Lian, who has always been lenient under the imperial court, would do such a shameless thing.

Therefore, when the brothers of the imperial guards quietly asked if Master Hou has always been so chic and coquettish, they all replied: "Don't be silly, Master Hou is not this kind of person, he must have other reasons, but... ..."

But it's not impossible, Master Hou was in the mansion before he joined the army, but he was notoriously lustful.

Later, although he restrained himself a little, maybe it was because he wanted to gain fame with peace of mind.

Now that Lord Hou has become famous, maybe there are so many worries?

Then Mrs. Xu's life is so full of charm, and her daughter is also cute and charming. It's not surprising if Master Hou can like it...

Not to mention how Jia Lian's molesting of Mrs. Xu was secretly spread, but Jia Lian met all the officials in Yangzhou leisurely.

The magistrate Wu Zhirong and other human advocates asked Jia Lian to move into the imperial envoy, saying that this was in line with Jia Lian's status, but Jia Lian directly vetoed it.

Just when Wu Zhirong and the others were a little embarrassed, Jia Lian agreed again, and they would prepare him for a banquet tomorrow, which made Wu Zhirong and the others breathe a sigh of relief.

Immediately, he wanted to make friends while the iron was hot, but Jia Lian said: "I just arrived in Yangzhou and I am very busy, so I won't accompany you any longer, you go on your own.

By the way, I would like to trouble you, send someone to move all the accounts, income and expenditure records, etc. of the Salt Transport Division, and I will check them one by one. "

"Yes, the next official will send someone to do it immediately."

"Well, you go."

Wu Zhirong and others who were kicked out of the main hall by Jia Lian spontaneously gathered in the front hall.

One person couldn't help laughing and said: "How powerful is this Marquis of Zhenyuan? He really thinks that the salt administration can be sorted out from the accounts of the Salt Administration Office and the Salt Transport Department? I bet, give For a year, he couldn't find any flaws, and in the end he must have returned to Beijing in dismay..."

"Shh, keep your voice down."

Fu Cheng interrupted him and looked at Wu Zhirong, "I don't know what Fu Zun thinks?"

Wu Zhirong pondered, shook his head, and said nothing.He has only just met, and he still can't quite see Jia Lian's behavior style.

Suddenly a clerk from the Yanzheng Yamen walked over, Wu Zhirong immediately stopped when he saw this, and the clerk whispered in his ear.

"really?"

"It's absolutely true. When Jia Lian saw Xu Shi, his eyes lit up, and he wished he could eat her on the spot.

Pretending to ask about An's family, he asked Mrs. Xu to go to his residence tonight for interrogation.Even more shameless, he let his daughter go with him.

Now that An's mother and daughter have been guarded by his people, they may not escape the end of being abused by him. "

"The imperial envoy asked An Siyuan? How did Mrs. Xu answer?"

Yacha then explained the matter in more detail.

Wu Zhirong felt relieved, and then felt very strange.

In Jia Lian's capacity, to be so lustful?Not necessarily, Beijing is the residence of the Son of Heaven, these dignitaries are in the capital, if they don't dare to publicize it, they are all overwhelmed.

After finally getting out of Beijing, it is natural that the fox pretends to be the tiger, and has no worries.

Besides, Mrs. Xu really has the capital to seduce men. He still wants to wait for the matter of the Yanzheng to pass, and see if there is a chance to accept her as a wife.

Unexpectedly, Jia Lian took his love away.

There was no jealousy at all, but I just felt that if Jia Lian was such an easy-to-handle person, it would be a good thing for them.

Therefore, this matter was immediately reported to the left and right.

The officials on the left and right were naturally also surprised, and then they all laughed: "Since this imperial envoy is so lustful, it is really easy to deal with. Those salt merchants have no other skills, but they are better at raising beauties." .

In this way, the nobles don't have to worry, just pass the news on to them, and let them find a way to win over the emperor's close minister, hehehe.I'm afraid those salt merchants will be overjoyed. With the addition of someone with such a strong arm as a backer, their life will be even better in the future. "

"It's reasonable to say that the salt government has nothing to do with us, so let them figure it out on their own."