The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 460

Jia Lian's personal guards, including the imperial guards and Jin Yiwei, totaled more than two hundred people.

With these manpower, it is enough to control the entire Xunyan censor's yamen, and those who should be expelled should be expelled. Even the yamen servants and handymen necessary to maintain the operation of the government office have stipulated the scope of activities and are not allowed to move around.And a strict order was issued, and those who violated it would be punished directly by assassinating imperial envoys according to their intentions, and the law would be executed on the spot.

Therefore, soon the entire Yanyan censor's yamen became tense.

Jia Lian also relaxed a little.

Although in his capacity, the officials and squires in Yangzhou are unlikely to dare to attack him.But since he decided to help the emperor with some serious business, he naturally had to guard against the other party's impatience.

Jia Lian always likes to make decisions before making moves. He doesn't want the capsized boat in the gutter to happen to him.This is also the reason why he will detour to Nanjing to transfer troops when he returns from Suzhou.

There are also a lot of garrison troops and Yachai in Yangzhou, but he is worried about using them.

"Second Master..."

Entering the main inner courtyard, Zhao'er and Xing'er came up to meet them, Jia Lian nodded, and they said, "We have changed all the things in the second master's house, and the second master can sleep in peace. .

In addition, the An family's wife and miss were also placed in the house by the second master, and Auntie Aqi and the others watched them.

The second master should be more careful, the An family lady is very stubborn, the servants originally arranged for them to take a bath and change clothes first, but they refused to die, and the servants did not dare to hurt them, so they can only let them... ..."

Zhao'er and Xing'er were originally insignificant servants in Jia's mansion, but because of their good fate, they were the first group of people who followed Jia Lian, so now they are considered among the top slaves in Jia's mansion.

Especially Zhao'er, Jia Lian took him almost everywhere these years, which not only made him more knowledgeable and conversational, but also became more and more in line with Jia Lian's wishes.

Jia Lian stopped walking towards the main room, seeming a little curious: "Bather and change clothes? I just want to ask them something, why bathe and change clothes?"

"Yes, yes, the second master really just wanted to ask them questions... but the servants were thinking, after all, they want to discuss things with the second master face to face, and the second master likes to be clean, and a man died in their family, which is unavoidable. I was afraid that it would be passed on to the second master, so I wanted to ask them to wash it."

Zhao'er and Xing'er all nodded and bowed, smiling as if Er Ye was right in everything they said, but we all knew it in our hearts.

Jia Lian didn't bother to pay attention to them, and walked into the house.

There were three people in the main house, three women.Aqin was dressed in light and heavy clothes, bent over to make the bed, and at the table next to her, Mrs. Xu and her daughter were standing in white clothes and filial belts. But after seeing Jia Lian enter the door, they all looked at him with resentment.

"Grandpa is back."

Ah Qin saw Jia Lian, turned around and went to the tea room to get a cup of hot tea.

Jia Lian took the opportunity to sit down, turned to look at the mother and daughter in the corner, and said to Ah Qin, "They have been standing like this, why don't they sit and wait for me?"

Ah Qin glanced at the mother and daughter who were on guard, with a hint of amusedness and disdain flashing in their eyes, and then said softly: "My lord has wronged the dead, and my servant let them sit, but they refused, and even scolded him." , so slaves can only be left to them.

However, they dare not go out, hee hee, my sister is guarding the door! "

Jia Lian asked casually to ease the atmosphere, and asked Ah Qin to step down.

"Yes, I won't bother my master's pleasure anymore, I hope my master will have a better time tonight..."

Xu Shi still held grudges, Ah Qin took a special look at Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Xu before going out, and said so.

This naturally changed the expressions of the mother and daughter again, and Mrs. Xu even pulled her daughter behind her to block it.

Her eyes were angry and helpless, knowing that she would not escape being humiliated tonight, she was also mentally prepared, just thinking that she must protect her daughter from harm.

Originally thought that Jia Lian would tease her and force her to submit as he did when he was in the mourning hall, but until Ah Qin left for a long time, Jia Lian did not see anything, did not speak, just held the teacup in his hand and sipped lightly. Sip, as if thinking about something.

After calming down the restless daughter, Mrs. Xu finally spoke first: "The humble concubine Pu Liu has the appearance of being a family member of a criminal official, and her status is lowly. And my lord is an imperial envoy, and I heard that he is still a marquis. How noble is your status?

So, why bother to make things difficult for me, my lord, please raise your hands high. "

Mrs. Xu was afraid of offending Jia Lian, so she looked at Jia Lian as calmly as possible.

When Jia Lian heard the sound, she turned her head.Faced with Jia Lian's appearance again, Rao felt extremely despised and hated Jia Lian in her heart at this time, and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart, it's a pity that such a good skin should be endowed by God to such a dog official.

"When did the officer say that he was going to embarrass you?"

Seeing that Jia Lian was resting, and even looked at her with a smile, Mrs. Xu frowned, "Since your lord has no intention of embarrassing you, please let me, mother and daughter, leave..."

"I'm not busy. Didn't I agree that I have something to ask you two? After I finish asking, I will let you two leave."

"Is this true, my lord?"

Even guessing that Jia Lian was deliberately teasing her, Mrs. Xu couldn't help raising some hopes.

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Of course, if you are willing to recommend yourself as a pillow seat after the questioning, I don't mind letting you stay."

As soon as Jia Lian said this, Mrs. Xu hadn't spoken yet, and Miss An, who was hiding behind her, couldn't help but yelled angrily: "Bah, dog officer, you are not allowed to insult my mother!"

It can be seen that the girl's resentment towards Jia Lian has been accumulated for a long time.Just cursing like this at this time is already the result of trying hard to suppress it.

Jia Lian smiled, took a look at the little girl, and said to Mrs. Xu: "Your love is so shameless, isn't she afraid of offending this official? When the time comes, you will deliberately convict Mrs. An of a felony, and let the An family's female relatives be imprisoned." Official suffering?"

Mrs. Xu's complexion changed drastically, she knew it would happen!
Jia Lian was ordered to go to the south of the Yangtze River to investigate the case of the salt administration. Once the court finds that the salt administration has made serious mistakes, his husband will be the number one offender.Even if his husband is dead, as long as the court thinks he has committed a serious crime, it will naturally punish the An family.

As for whether the Yanzheng government made any mistakes, and whether her husband, An Siyuan, was innocent or a heinous crime, it was obviously up to Jia Lian, the imperial envoy, to decide.

Sure enough, Jia Lian still wanted to threaten her with this and make her submit.

But what can she do? She has expected and prepared for this since the day her husband was escorted back to Beijing by the emperor's decree.

The husband is an official ordered by the court, and if nothing happens, she is a noble official wife, an imperial wife.

If something happens to your husband, all the people in the family will be implicated.

As for the family members of offenders, the most common and most frightening punishment is what Jia Lian just said to be an official.

What is an official charge?He was detained and brought to justice as an official prostitute.In Jiaofang Division, there are countless women like this.

As far as Mrs. Xu is concerned, she can do it herself, but she absolutely cannot accept this punishment for her daughter.

So almost instantly, she resigned to her fate, and no longer had any fluke and resistance mentality.

He hurriedly stopped his daughter, and then apologized to Jia Lian: "The little girl is rude, I hope the adults will see her young and ignorant, so don't bother with her.

As long as the lord is willing to be merciful, let me settle down and live, criminal woman, I am willing to listen to the lord's orders..."

Speaking of this, Mrs. Xu felt extremely ashamed.After all, she is a decent official wife, not a woman of the world, if she is not concerned about a pair of children, even if she is dead, she is unwilling to say such self-willing and degrading words.

Her daughter, An Cai'er, felt her mother tightly clutching her hand, and couldn't help but glance at her mother. Seeing the shame in her mother's eyes, her little face was also covered with tears.

But she is not an ignorant child anymore. She understands what her father's death means to the family, and she was frightened by the word "charge an official" in Jia Lian's mouth just now. What to do, what to say.

Seeing the appearance of these two people, even Jia Lian, who was only planning to do a simple show, couldn't help but wiped his nose, thinking that he must be like the villain dog officer in the TV series at this time.

So he coughed lightly, finally put away his joking mentality, and said seriously: "Okay, it was just a joke.

This official has always been upright and strict, and he is strict with himself. How can he do things that deliberately frame his colleagues.

If Mr. An is innocent, I will naturally not frame him maliciously.

But I want to ask Madam again, Mrs. An really died of illness, and even Madam didn't notice any doubts? "

This is the second time Jia Lian asked this question, and this time, Jia Lian's face was serious, as if he had something bad in his heart.

Mrs. Xu thought for a while, and replied: "The magistrate sent someone to return my husband's body that day, saying that he could not bear the severe cold of the journey, and died of an illness. He also ordered me to wait for my husband's body to be placed properly, and no burial is allowed. , Waiting for the court to come down to check.

Since my lord still has doubts about my husband's death, why didn't I open the coffin for an autopsy instead of asking about my concubine again and again? "

Mrs. Xu looked at Jia Lian quite seriously.

Seeing Mrs. Xu like this, Jia Lian laughed.Just be willing to speak up.

"Of course I can open the coffin for an autopsy, but if you think about it, even if Mr. An died of murder, since the people behind him dare to kill the official ordered by the imperial court, they are not afraid that the imperial court will send people to investigate. Naturally, they are fully prepared.

In this way, I am afraid that even if the official opens the coffin for inspection, he will not be able to find anything.

However, if Madam is here and can provide me with some clues and information, perhaps I will be sure to find another way. "

What Jia Lian said was natural, Madam Xu also put away her shame and looked at Jia Lian without blinking.

After all, she shook her head, "Since my lord has said so, why bother to ask about my body. When the magistrate sent back my husband's body, my body also inspected it. My husband did indeed die of cold.

Therefore, adults should worry too much. "

wind chill?It seems that he was frozen to death.

Jia Lian, like Lin Ruhai, absolutely did not believe that An Siyuan died of a natural illness.It must be that the Jiangnan Salt Administration is tricky. Those people were afraid that An Siyuan would be exposed in front of the court after he went to Beijing, so they had no choice but to silence him.

Judging from Lin Ruhai's years of experience in leading the salt administration, he can probably guess what it is, and Jia Lian also thinks that Lin Ruhai's guess is reasonable.

It's just that Mrs. Xu, since she lives with An Siyuan in Xunyan Yushi Yamen, it is impossible for her to know nothing about her husband.

Why insist that her man died naturally?

"My wife and Mr. An's son are not in his grandfather's house."

Jia Lian suddenly laughed.

Mrs. Xu was stunned for a moment, "My lord, why did you say that?"

"If my guess is correct, Young Master Ling should be in Yangzhou now. Moreover, as long as I don't leave Yangzhou for a day, Madam will not see Young Master Ling for a day. Madam, the only way to ensure the safety of Young Master Ling is to It was in front of the official, pretending not to know anything.

I don't know, is my guess correct? "

As soon as Jia Lian said this, Mrs. Xu's face was quite calm, but An Cai'er, who was only shoulder-high beside her, looked shocked and looked at Jia Lian as if she was not a human being.

"Madam, there is no need to rush to deny it first. It is very simple for the officer to verify this conjecture.

There are so many people in the Yanyan Yushi yamen, as long as I send someone to arrest them all and interrogate them one by one, I don't believe that each of them can keep their mouths shut like Madam.

As long as any one of them has seen Young Master Ling in the past four or five years, I will know that Madam is lying.

However, if I really do this, I will naturally startle the snake.To me, it's not a big deal, but to Mr. Ling, it's probably not a good thing.

Therefore, I advise Madam to think about it carefully, whether to tell the truth to the official while there is no one else here, or continue to pretend that she doesn't know anything and work hand in hand with the gang of thieves who murdered her husband.

I don’t hide from Madam, I already have a lot of evidence of the major salt merchants in Yangzhou selling private salt. I’m going to the south of the Yangtze River this time to rectify the salt administration on behalf of the imperial court and kill those who are getting more and more greedy. The arrogance of the salt merchants.

Therefore, if Madam chooses to assist me, I may be able to help you as well.If he continues to work for the tiger, I am afraid that the An family will not be far from the family raiding and extermination. "

After all, Jia Lian was someone who had fought in the wind and snow, and could play well in front of the emperor.

At this time, talking to Mrs. Xu seriously, with a sense of power.

Mrs. Xu's complexion was a little pale, she didn't know why Jia Lian, who used to look like a greedy and lustful dog official before, was able to transform into the incarnation of justice!They also talked about her one after another as a coward and a minion, as if she was already a vicious woman who committed a heinous crime!
She fell silent.People grow up in suffering. In the past, she was a wealthy and honorable lady. Once her husband had an accident, she had to shoulder the burden of the family and worry about the future of the family and children.

Her strength is too weak, so she can only be driven by others.

If this seemingly powerful man in front of her is really as righteous and selfless as he said, then, can she really take this opportunity to win a chance for her family and children?
"My lord, you even know about smuggling?"

"Don't underestimate the court, if you are not sure, why send me down?
Since I dare to come, I am sure to clean up this mess.If Madam can't even trust me, she is doomed to be wronged and humiliated. "

Wronged and humiliated!

That's right, they've reached the point where they can be humiliated by others, so what else can't they gamble?Even if Jia Lian lied to her, the An family just lost more completely.

"Bang~"

Suddenly seeing Mrs. Xu took a step forward, her legs naturally knelt down and made a loud noise on the ground.

"I also ask the imperial envoy, for the sake of being an official in the same dynasty as my husband, save my son.

If the imperial envoy can rescue my son safely, I will call him a concubine, and I will be a cow and a horse for the rest of my life, and I am willing to be a concubine! "

Mrs. Xu slammed her head at Jia Lian with a sad voice, as if grasping at the last straw.

Jia Lian bent down to help her up, and said in a deep voice, "Madam, please explain in detail."

"Yes, it's like this... On that day, my husband was questioned by the court because he was not good at handling affairs, and was later escorted to Beijing by the government officials. The concubine and her two children were in a state of anxiety all day long, fearing that something might happen.

Unexpectedly, before my husband's accident happened, my son suddenly disappeared.

He went out to offer incense to pray for his father, but who knows, he was taken away halfway. We mobilized everyone to search for it, but we couldn't find it.

Later, when Wu Zhirong brought back her husband's body, he said that he died of an accidental cold on the road, but the concubine herself did not want to believe it.

Who knew that Wu Zhirong sent someone to threaten us, saying that an imperial envoy from the imperial court will come to Jiangnan in the near future, and if the imperial envoy asks a question, let me reply according to his wishes.

As long as anyone dares to disobey his will or cause trouble, he will never see my son again...

Please have mercy and save my son, even if his father made a mistake and the child is innocent, please have mercy and save my son, I kowtow to you..."

Mrs. Xu cried and told the story in detail.

Jia Lian was not too surprised.Before, I felt that it was unreasonable for the An family to send their only son to the father-in-law's house, so they tried it out.

It's true, as Mrs. Xu and others are relatives around An Siyuan, if An Siyuan really has something tricky, Mrs. Xu will know something about it.

And for those behind the scenes, to silence An Siyuan is already risking the world's displeasure, and the situation cannot be calmed down easily.

If Mrs. Xu and others are silenced... as long as there is a normal mind in the court, they will know that there is a big problem!
Therefore, Mrs. Xu can't wait to kill.But how to make him obedient, so as not to become the person who leaked the news?
It is indeed the simplest and most effective way to control the only blood of the An family and force Mrs. Xu to submit.

If Jia Lian hadn't made up his mind to fight well with the Yangzhou gang, and had the patience to slowly break through Mrs. Xu's defense, I'm afraid he wouldn't have gotten this news.

From this point of view, Mrs. Xu really knows something.

Not in a hurry to ask about the Yanzheng, Jia Lian asked first: "How did you determine that Wu Zhirong took your son away, and he said it himself?"

"It's not that he said it himself. It's just that he threatened me verbally that day. Those who kidnapped my son sent letters to threaten them. Combined with some of their activities with my husband, I still can't guess what happened to me. It was him. kidnapped my son!
My lord, please bring this Wu Zhirong to justice.

A large part of the reason why the Yangzhou Salt Administration collapsed was caused by this Wu Zhirong. "

In order to win Jia Lian's trust, Mrs. Xu did not wait for Jia Lian to ask questions, and took the initiative to explain: "As your lord said, the reason why the salt tax in Lianghuai and Huaihe Rivers fell so much last year was because those salt merchants secretly Selling private salt in large quantities!
In fact, the late husband has already noticed that, one is that the salt merchants are fully concealed, and the other is that every time the late husband wants to summon the salt messengers from the Yushi Yamen and the Salt Transport Department to arrest them, either the salt merchants are in advance. He got the news and withdrew, or he was favored and obstructed by the prefect Wu Zhirong and others.

The most serious time, those people even threatened the lives of my An family and the whole family, so my husband had no choice but to submit, and dared not wantonly investigate private salt...

When there is more private salt, the official salt will naturally be squeezed, and the salt tax will be greatly reduced.

It wasn't until last year when the final calculation was made that the salt tax had dropped by [-]%, that my husband knew that the matter could not be covered, and he became anxious and panicked.Before being escorted back to Beijing by the imperial court, my late husband made a lot of preparations. He said that if he could not conceal his entry into Beijing, in order to keep his family safe, he would expose everything to the imperial court to make up for his mistakes. Forgiveness settles down.

Who knew that those people would be so ruthless that they murdered my husband on the way..."

Mrs. Xu said with a sad face and indignation.

Jia Lian listened quietly, he believed that Mrs. Xu was not lying.Because Lin Ruhai also said that the new policy of the imperial court requires salt merchants to help the imperial court transport grain and grass to the border in exchange for more salt imports.

The advantage of this is that the court can save a lot of expenses, but correspondingly, the interests of the salt merchants will be squeezed.

For more profit, those salt merchants would choose to smuggle salt to avoid salt tax, which makes sense.

"Oh, according to Madam An, Mrs. An is an upright and honest official, and she was completely coerced by Wu Zhirong and others?

I'm just curious, Mr. An has been serving as the salt administrator for two years, why didn't he report to the court when he found out the clue?Why, it must be at the last moment before deciding to expose the wanton smuggling of salt merchants to the copy question? "

"This... Maybe my husband didn't expect things to become such a big mess at the beginning."

Looking at the pretty woman kneeling on the ground in front of her, who was still trying to cover up her beauty, Jia Lian shook her head and smiled, but she didn't expose her.

Why didn't it be revealed in the first place? Naturally, the salt merchants gave them enough benefits!

It's just that the salt merchants' appetites are getting bigger and bigger, which makes this Mr. An more and more uneasy. When he wanted to find a way out, he realized that the thief's boat was hard to get off.

It's a pity that it's hard to be an upright official.Especially such a fat job as Xunyan Yushi.

From this, it further explained Lin Ruhai's ability.After working in Yanzheng for so many years, there have been no major mistakes, and he can still maintain his clean image...

My uncle must have some skills.It's a pity that there is no holiday, otherwise he would have an extra backer and help.

(End of this chapter)