The Red Mansions

Chapter 121 Hangzhou Detour
end of October.

At Hangzhou Wharf, as soon as the merchant ship docked, I heard someone shouting Jia Yun's name from the shore.

In the room, the charming and the beauties were extremely excited.

I have been floating on the river for more than a month, and although I also went down to the shore to rest halfway, it was only a short stay after all.

At the same time, this trip also gave Jia Yun a comprehensive and profound understanding of ancient roads.

The two girls were chattering and playing non-stop, Jia Wenlin went upstairs to report that Xue Pan was waiting on the shore.

So Jia Yun hurriedly told the two girls to stop making trouble, and hurriedly packed up the salute and got off the boat.

Jia Yun's destination was Ningbo, and the reason why he had to disembark in Hangzhou was because he had to go to Zhejiang to report to the Minister of Political Affairs and Envoy to obtain his identity certificate, so he had to disembark halfway.

"Brother-in-law, this way!" Xue Pan raised his hand and shouted from a distance.

Coming to the bow, Jia Yun took a deep breath and waved to Xue Pan with a smile on her face.

After stepping on the ground with the first step, the whole person is relaxed and at ease.

The wharf is crowded with people, there are many sails and masts, and the loading and unloading is busy. Walking on the wet stone road, feeling the "sparse and impenetrable" scenery, the fatigue on the body gradually fades away.

Hangzhou, a city favored by the West Lake, is like a woman, graceful in the rain.

The reputation of "there is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below" expresses people's sincere admiration for this city throughout the ages.

In the golden season of gold, nine, silver and ten, there are warm sunshine, sweet-scented osmanthus fragrance all over the city, oil-painted landscapes, and occasional autumn rains, revealing the elegant and beautiful beauty of this city, which is so beautiful that people are enchanted.

After reuniting with Xue Pan, Xue Pan smiled happily and said, "I've been waiting for you for half a month, if you don't come again, I have to go along the coast to find you!"

Jia Yun said with a smile: "The river on the road is silted up, it's all blocked, and it's snowing again in some places, the waterway is difficult!"

"I guess that's it!" Xue Pan smiled, then grabbed Jia Yun's shoulder and said, "Go, go to the other courtyard to take a bath and rest for a while, and I will wash you off at night!"

Of course Jia Yun would not refuse, now that they are all in the land of Zhejiang, there is no need to worry about going to the chief envoy.

Xue Pan prepared a carriage, and Jia Yun asked Meiren and Liren to get into the carriage, got on the horse by herself, and walked side by side with Xue Pan.

"Last time Eunuch Dai told you to come to the south of the Yangtze River with you, and you may get an official position. Is there any shadow?" Jia Yun asked Xue Pan.

After negotiating the conditions with Eunuch Dai, Xue Pan followed the people he sent to Jiangnan within a few days.

Xue Pan nodded and said: "Thanks to my brother-in-law this time, I was appointed as the doctor of the fifth-rank household department of Guangdong Qingli Sizheng not long after I arrived here. Of course, it is just for a name, but it is also convenient for walking. "

After a pause, he moved closer to Jia Yun and said in a low voice, "It's mainly for the convenience of our Xue family to collect overseas rare treasures for the palace."

Jia Yun nodded. The main income of the Xue family comes from two sources.

One is that the Xue family, as an imperial merchant, is responsible for purchasing miscellaneous materials for the royal family with internal funds and food, and the profits are very considerable.

This is equivalent to taking the royal family's silver and doing business.

This means that Xue Pan is messed up and incompetent. Otherwise, relying on the name of the imperial merchant and doing various monopoly businesses, the Xue family would not be able to decline.

You must know that the Xue family's reputation of "a good year with heavy snow, pearls like earth and gold like iron" is not a joke.

The second aspect is that the Xue family has businesses all over the country, which are equivalent to chain stores, selling some cloth, clothing, shoes and socks, rouge and gouache, calligraphy and painting, antiques, furniture, fresh food and other items.

Among them, opening pawn shops, shroud shops, and spice shops is the most profitable.

Opening a pawn shop, or a pawn shop, is a lucrative business.

Many declining families put their own antiques and other things in pawnshops. For things worth 500 taels, the pawnshop will only pay 50 taels.

If you want to redeem your own things, you need to add a certain amount of money to redeem them.

If there is no money for redemption within the stipulated time, then the thing is a pawnshop.

Of course, the premise of opening a pawn shop is that the background is strong enough, otherwise most people will not be able to open it for a long time.

Opening a shroud store sells funeral supplies, such as incense wax, money paper, shrouds, and birthday materials.

The ancients always paid attention to generous burials, so opening a shroud shop is a very lucrative business, although it doesn't sound good.

The last one is to open a spice shop.

The Xue family has the convenience of an imperial merchant, selling some spices such as musk, borneol, etc., which is to make money by picking them up.

However, these very profitable businesses are now severely harmed by various managers, managers, and buddies, and they are losing money almost every year.

Because the industries involved in Xue's business route were messy, when Jia Yun negotiated with Dai Quan, he gave him a favor and asked Jin Yiwei to help recover the money.

Although it will cost tens of millions of taels of silver, it can save a lot of time, and by the way, let Dai Quan taste the sweetness, so that he will help the Xue family wholeheartedly in the future.

It can be said that as long as those corruption tumors are dealt with, the Xue family can make money even if they lie down. After all, many industries they operate have monopoly attributes due to their status as imperial merchants.

Jia Yun told Xue Pan, "Now that you are an official, you can't do anything wrong."

"You also know that this time for your Xue family, I sacrificed a lot. I wasted a chance to try, which can't be bought with money."

"The ugly words are up front. If you have another accident in the future, it will be impossible for me to pay so much."

Xue Pan nodded and said: "Don't worry, my brother-in-law. When I came to Jiangnan, my mother told me that I will follow you when I have nothing to do. I must have you watching. My mother and sister are also relieved. I can let go of myself. Don't be afraid of being murdered by traitors."

Before Xue Pan became a "living dead", it would be a lie to say that he is not afraid.

In addition, after Jia Yun carefully analyzed the situation faced by the Xue family and him with him later, she was even more frightened and had trouble sleeping and eating, which is why he was very responsible during this period.

But Jia Yun knew that this guy was restless.

Like Qin Keqing's younger brother Qin Zhong, Xue Pan used a few taels of silver to harm Jia Yun without Jia Yun's knowledge.

This is also due to Qin Keqing's father vomiting blood and falling ill, and was bedridden, otherwise, after knowing the ins and outs, he would definitely come to Xue Pan to settle the score.

Xuejia Bieyuan is located in Xixi Wetland, covering a wide area, with pavilions, terraces, pavilions, rockery and pools.

Because it was still early, after bathing and changing, Xue Pan was not in a hurry to host a banquet for Jia Yun, but let them rest for a while.

Jia Yun really wanted to take it easy. She had been on the boat for more than a month, and even though she had been on the ground for a while, she still felt that the world was shaking.

In autumn and winter, the forests are fully dyed, and the trees in the other courtyard are verdant. The most beautiful autumn colors are still hanging on the treetops, and yellow leaves are falling from time to time.

"One stream and one smoke", the rivers intersect vertically and horizontally, the waterways are like alleys, the river branches are like nets, and the fish ponds are like scales and dotted with stars, forming the unique wetland scenery of Xixi.

The autumn wind brings a slight coolness, and the silvery white reeds are in full bloom, swaying with the wind, and snowflakes cover the ground. Looking at the whole reeds from a distance, it seems to have entered a painting, which is too beautiful to behold.

Meiren and Liren had been bored on the boat for more than a month, and they were already bored. When they were free, they would run around in the other courtyard, looking around, having fun.

Jia Yun took a deck chair and sat by the small lake drinking tea.

After a while, Xue Pan came over and asked the servant to serve some food and drink, and chatted with Jia Yun.

"How long can my brother-in-law stay in Hangzhou?" Xue Pan asked.

Jia Yun smiled and said, "How many days? Where are the few days? Tomorrow, I will go to the chief envoy's yamen to file a record, and then I have to leave for Ningbo again."

Because of lack of time, he didn't even visit some of the senior teachers who were officials in Hangzhou. He planned to wait until he took office and stabilized before going.

After taking a sip of wine, Xue Pan sighed and said, "Brother-in-law came at the wrong time. The pirates in Ningbo have been making a lot of noise recently. I heard that many people died a while ago."

"Oh? There is such a thing?" Jia Yun frowned. He had just arrived in Zhejiang, and he was on the boat all the way, so he hadn't heard the slightest news.

Xue Pan said: "You should be ignorant. Ningbo has blocked the news, and it probably won't be able to. After all, this matter is too big."

Jia Yun nodded and asked, "How much information do you know about Ningbo?"

"I just listened to it. I don't know much, and I can't do anything if I want to know more. All the gates entering and exiting Ningbo are blocked by officers and soldiers." Xue Pan shook his head and replied.

After a pause, he continued: "Brother-in-law is useless to worry about now, anyway, you are going to take up the post there, and you will know everything when you take the post."

Jia Yun also knew this was the case, but she was afraid that her eyes would be darkened, and she would be caught off guard if something unexpected happened.

But he didn't worry too much, after all, he was only Cixi county magistrate, even if something happened, there would be a tall man to take care of it, so he didn't need to stand out, and the court wouldn't hit him if something happened.

When Jia Yun was pondering, Xue Pan suddenly said, "By the way, Miss Lin's father is also in Ningbo. Do you think it's a coincidence?"

Jia Yun shook her head and said, "What's the coincidence? Mr. Lin is the censor of salt inspection in Yangzhou. He has the duties of admiral, guard and inspector to arrest smugglers. Ningbo, especially Cixi, is a high-production area of ​​sea salt. He doesn't go there very often. Is it normal?"

Cixi Salt Field is located to the north of Dagutang on the south bank of Hangzhou Bay. From east to west, Cixi has three salt fields: Longtou, Minghe, and Shiyan.

Among them, the salt output of Shiyan and Minghe accounted for more than 60.00% of the output of the seven major salt fields on the south bank of the Qiantang River Estuary, which shows their importance.

In terms of salt quality, the salt produced in these two places ranks first in the list, and the output of sea salt also ranks first in Zhejiang for a long time.

Lin Ruhai, as the censor of Yangzhou salt inspection appointed by the new emperor, has great power and wider jurisdiction.

The censor who patrols salt is the supervisory censor who patrols the salt government. The supervisory censor is in charge of supervising officials, inspecting counties and counties, correcting punishments and prisons, and rectifying court rituals.

Compared with other censors who inspected salt, Lin Ruhai not only had the right to admirals and inspectors to arrest smugglers, monitor salt administration, and rectify lawlessness, but also had the right to inspect salt field affairs, that is, to appoint officials in salt fields. .

Especially the survey right, the most important thing is to kill people. After all, it is more uncomfortable to control someone's hat than to control other people's pockets. Therefore, it is normal for Lin Ruhai to die of illness at a young age.

After all, salt merchants are the ones who dare to rebel for the sake of profit, let alone kill a regular seventh-rank official.

"I can't figure it out. You said that my uncle is not very old. Why did you send Miss Lin to Jia's house to raise her since she was a child? It's not for a human to live under the fence!" Xue Pan pondered.

Jia Yun smiled and said, "It's amazing, Big Brother Xue has also started to think about things now, haha..."

Xue Pan smiled awkwardly, and said, "Actually, I didn't ponder this question myself, but I heard Yinger ask my sister once, so I just listened to a few words."

"Oh? Then what did Baochai say at that time?" Jia Yun asked with a smile.

Xue Pan shook his head and said, "She just shook her head and didn't say anything, so I kept this matter in my heart. Didn't this just happen to be talking about your uncle, so I wanted to ask you for advice?"

Jia Yun shook her head and said, "Don't ask about this matter, knowing too much is not good for you."

In fact, he had also figured out the real reason why Lin Ruhai sent Lin Daiyu to Jia's mansion, but the more he thought about it, the more chilling he became.

In Jia Yun's view, there are three reasons.

One is that Lin Ruhai's son and wife passed away one after another, and he suffered a great blow, which made him fall into complete pessimism about life.

In particular, Lin Ruhai was ordered to come to Yangzhou to serve as the censor of salt inspection, and he had only been in office for more than a month, and it happened that his wife passed away during this period.

Judging from Lin Ruhai's age, Jia Min was only in her forties at this time. How could she die suddenly when she was living a comfortable life?
The original text only used four words to describe it: I got sick?
As for what kind of disease, but did not say.

However, with Lin Ruhai's shrewdness, he must have sensed the danger, but he was powerless to protect Lin Daiyu, fearing that his daughter would follow in the footsteps of his wife and son, so he rushed to send Lin Daiyu away.

The second is Jia Mu's sudden letter, saying something to Lin Ruhai, which caused him to ignore the rules and send Lin Daiyu away who was supposed to be a filial piety for three years. Outsiders don't know the inside story.

The third is to hold a position with huge benefits such as the Xunyan Yushi. Needless to say, there are dangers, corruption, and corruption. If Lin Ruhai is unwilling to join forces with others, his ending is doomed to tragedy.

And judging from his series of arrangements for Lin Daiyu, it is not difficult to guess that he has made a certain kind of determination.

If Jia Yun guessed correctly in the last point, after Lin Ruhai died, there shouldn't be much money left, and even if there was, it wouldn't be too much.

For one thing, Lin Daiyu was a woman and had no inheritance rights in ancient times. If Lin Ruhai had too much inheritance, even if he transferred it to Jia's mansion through various methods, the offshoots of the Lin family would make trouble.

Second, if there are too many inheritances, it will bring danger to Lin Daiyu.

So when Lin Daiyu returned to Jia's house in the book, she brought few other things, but she brought a lot of books.

"Brother-in-law, do you want to visit uncle after you go to Ningbo?" Xue Pan asked.

Jia Yun pondered and said, "For the time being, let's not contact each other for now. This time I'm going to be an official, there is only one principle, keep a low profile."

"Low-key?" Xue Pan was at a loss, wondering: "Isn't being an official just to hope for political achievements? How can you be low-key?"

Jia Yun raised her head and said with a smile, "Then try to keep a low profile. After all, I am too young. I think I am the youngest official in Jiangnan."

In the evening, Xue Pan asked the kitchen to prepare a sumptuous banquet for Jia Yun.

After eating, Xue Pan yelled again that he wanted to call some Yangzhou skinny horses to serve Jia Yun, but Jia Yun refused.

It's not that he pretends to be lofty, but that he likes plump and plump horses, and thin horses, which are not to his taste.

Besides, isn't it nice to be accompanied by two peerless beauties, Meiren and Liren?

Silent all night.

Early the next morning, Jia Yun went to Zhejiang Chengxuan Political Envoy's Yamen to report and file the case. After finishing the matter, without further delay, she set off for Ningbo.

Yesterday he heard from Xue Pan that there was a big mess in Ningbo, and instead of avoiding it, Jia Yun wanted to go and have a look as soon as possible.

There is also a waterway from Hangzhou to Ningbo, but Jia Yun felt that he had spent enough time on the boat before. Although riding a horse would be a little harder, he still chose to ride a horse, which made Meiren and Liren suffer.

Autumn is thick, the mountains and rivers change color, green, yellow, red, multi-colored, nature overturned the palette at this time.

On the official road, more than a dozen horses galloped forward, raising waves of dust.

Hangzhou is more than 100 kilometers away from Ningbo. Jia Yun and his party stopped and walked because they were concerned about horses, and they arrived in Shangyu in the evening.

Shangyu belongs to Shaoxing Prefecture, and the masters here are very famous, and they are a highly regional and professional staff group.

Jia Yun will also invite the master in the future, but now he doesn't need it. After all, he is just a small county magistrate now, so there is no need to make such a big show.

Furthermore, with his current status, it is not easy to invite excellent masters. After he passes the Jinshi examination in the future, the status problem will be solved easily.

In the evening, they rest at the post station, but the Xue family has no other courtyard here, so even Xue Pan also crowded the post station.

After taking a bath and changing clothes, the charming woman waited on Jia Yun and combed his hair.

From the bronze mirror, Jia Yun saw that the charming woman behind her was hesitant to speak, so she couldn't help laughing and said: "You are always a cheerful and generous person. If there is something you can't say, you have to hesitate, that's all, but in my eyes Make a show in front of you!"

The charming man grinned, bent down, hugged Jia Yun's neck, pressed his face together, and the fragrance of his body lingered on Jia Yun's nose.

She smiled and said: "Master, since you left the capital, you have been obsessed, and you often think of beauties. Could it be that the concubine is not beautiful?"

Jia Yun laughed loudly, turned around and put the charming girl on her lap, looked down at the charming charming girl and said: "You are so beautiful, whoever says you are not beautiful, see if I don't beat him to death!"

The charming woman smiled and said: "Since the concubine is beautiful, the master can't neglect the beautiful woman too much!"

As she said that, she also raised eyebrows at Jia Yun, which made Jia Yun's heart soaring.

Jia Yun lowered her head and pecked her a little, and said apologetically, "I've really left you out in the cold during this time, so that's good, choosing another day is worse than bumping into it, so let's bump into it now?"

"Bump, of course we have to!" Meiren smiled happily, and added: "It's better to hit hard!"

Jia Yun thought it was funny, laughed, took out her hand, hugged the charming woman, and then walked to the bed, soon, the room was full of melodious sounds...

(End of this chapter)