The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 159 Hot Potatoes
Tiehu chased him out like the wind. Jia Huan held a gun in his left hand and a sword in his right hand, guarding the door of the room vigilantly. He did not know how many accomplices Diao Sheng had lurking in the house, so he did not dare to take it lightly.

After a while, the boy Shitou hurried over with a knife. Jia Huan asked hurriedly: "Have you caught Diao Sheng?"

Shitou shook his head and said: "We caught a servant, but Diao Sheng escaped from the house. Brother Hu is chasing him. He is worried that there are still accomplices in the house, so he asked me to come back to protect the third master."

Jia Huan secretly nodded. Although Tie Hu was tall and thick, and spoke in a loud voice, outsiders might think he was just a big fool, but in fact Tie Hu was an extremely careful person, and he also had rules and regulations when it came to doing things. In comparison, his brother Tieniu is really honest and honest, and he lacks Tiehu's ruthlessness. This can be seen from the fact that Tiehu borrowed money from him and finally killed all the Black Panthers. This boy He is a person who does great things.

"Third Master, what is this?" Shitou's eyes lit up when he saw the double-barreled musket in Jia Huan's hand, and he asked curiously.

Jia Huan handed over the musket and said solemnly: "This is a musket. Look here. Turn the wheel on it to fire. Hold it, and don't look at yourself with the muzzle. I don't want to collect your body." ." After speaking, he pointed at the servant whose head was shot.

When Xing Wei saw the bloody hole on the servant's forehead, he couldn't help but stick out his tongue, carefully took the gun and started playing with it.Firearms, crossbows, and armor are all contraband, and ordinary people are not allowed to possess them. The first time I touched a firearm, it was such a delicate firearm. Not to mention how excited Xing Wei was. The more he played with it, the more he couldn't put it down.

Jia Huan handed over the task of guarding the door to Xing Wei, then turned back to check on Lin Ruhai. The latter's body was already very weak. Just now, he kicked Aunt Zheng in a panic, vomited blood and fired. It was due to excessive consumption. Like a deflated rubber ball, she fell down on the bed and kept panting. Lin Daiyu and Xueyan's master and servant were in a hurry and were a little at a loss.

"Sister Lin, please let uncle lie down and rest for a while." Jia Huan quickly stepped forward and helped Lin Ruhai lie down. After the latter lay down, he fell asleep.

"Ah, Master Huan, you... are bleeding." Xue Yan suddenly covered her mouth and exclaimed in shock.

Lin Daiyu lowered her head and took a look, wasn't it? Jia Huan's right hand was bloody, her face changed drastically, and she blurted out: "Huan'er, are you injured?"

Jia Huan raised his right hand and looked at it, and found that there was indeed a piece of skin under his elbow, and his entire forearm was stained with blood. It should have been caused by the knife that cut off the sleeve before. He was so focused that he didn't feel any pain at all, so he relaxed now. , suddenly felt burning. Fortunately, the wound was not wide, and the bleeding had stopped automatically. He smiled easily and said, "It's okay, it's just a skin injury."

Lin Daiyu's eyes were slightly red. She took out a clean handkerchief from her sleeve and silently helped Jia Huan bandage the wound.Jia Huan felt a faint strange fragrance going straight into his nose, and when he looked at Lin Daiyu's peerless face so close at hand, he felt a little lost.

He had smelled the fragrance on Xue Baochai's body. It was very cool and sweet. It was said to be the smell of cold scented pills. But the fragrance on Lin Daiyu's body was faint, like orchid but not orchid, like musk but not musk deer. It was probably the body of her daughter's family. Fragrant, could it be that Lin Daiyu really took the form of the crimson pearl fairy grass written by Cao Gong, so she has the fragrance of fairy flowers and exotic herbs?
"Thank you." Jia Huan touched the handkerchief tied to his elbow and smiled.

Lin Daiyu shook her head: "We haven't seen each other for a few years, but Brother Huan is actually related to me. Even if I want to thank you, I will still thank you." After saying that, she looked at her dying father on the bed and shed tears.

Jia Huan comforted: "Sister Lin, don't worry. Now that the cause of my uncle's illness has been found out, I believe that my uncle will get better soon."

Xue Yan nodded and said: "Exactly, girl, please stop crying."

Lin Daiyu touched from her sleeve, obviously intending to take out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, but she found nothing, and then she realized that the handkerchief was tied around Jia Huan's elbow.

Jia Huan subconsciously took out his handkerchief from his arms and handed it over. Lin Daiyu hesitated for a moment, but took it. She was a little embarrassed and turned around to wipe her tears, leaving Jia Huan's slim and delicate back.

There was a strange flash in Xue Yan's eyes. The girl had mysophobia and would never use things that others had used, let alone handkerchiefs. I remember that the girl cried once, and Mr. Bao gave her a handkerchief to wipe her tears. As a result, the girl immediately Throwing it back made Second Master Bao extremely embarrassed.

At this time, there was a rush of footsteps outside the house, as if a large group of people were coming. Jia Huan couldn't help being startled, and quickly ran towards the door with his sword in hand.After Lin Daiyu wiped her tears, she wanted to return the handkerchief to Jia Huan. When she turned around, she found that the latter had run away, so she had to put the handkerchief away.

"Who are you?" There was a sharp shout from outside the door, and the sound of a sword being unsheathed.

Shitou blocked the door with a gun in his left hand and a sword in his right hand, and asked loudly: "Who are you?"

"I am Jiang Bin, the commander of the Salt Army under the Salt Patrol Censor's tent. Who are you? Why are you here? Are you part of a group of murderers?" the man asked sternly.

By this time, Jia Huan had already rushed to the door and saw dozens of officers and soldiers armed with weapons outside, surrounding the courtyard. Some of them were holding matchlock guns and pointing at the stone with murderous intent.

Jia Huan's heart trembled, and he shouted: "Stone, step back!"

Xing Wei was also a little hairy at this time. He was pointed at by more than a dozen muskets, which was very scary. He quickly stepped aside after hearing this.

Jia Huan stepped out of the threshold, glanced around, and finally landed on the leading officer. He bowed his hands politely and said, "Jia Huan, I wonder what Mr. Jiang and all the brothers are doing here?"

This Jiang Bin was about thirty years old, with sharp eyes and a very tough look. He looked Jia Huan up and down. He probably saw that Jia Huan was wearing a scholar's clothes. His expression softened slightly and he said: "It turns out to be Mr. Huan, who is also a normal person." I have heard Mr. Lin mention you. I dare to ask Mr. Huan, where is Mr. Lin now?" Just as Jia Huan was about to answer, Lin Ruhai's voice came from the room: "Boss Jiang, I am here, come in and talk. .”

When Jiang Bin heard Lin Ruhai's voice, he was relieved. He gestured to the salt soldiers to put away their weapons, and then stepped into the room.

At this time, Lin Daiyu and Xue Yan had already retreated behind the screen. Jiang Bin was shocked when he saw several corpses on the ground. He quickly came to the bed and knelt down on one knee: "I am late, you deserve death!"

Jia Huan secretly winked at Shitou and asked him to exit. Since Lin Ruhai let Jiang Bin in, he should be a trustworthy confidant.

Sure enough, Lin Ruhai said calmly: "Commander Jiang, please get up and immediately lead people to block the city gate and arrest the evil slave Diao Sheng. This person is most likely an undercover agent. We must catch him."

Mr. Jiang quickly took the order and left, leaving a team of people behind to protect Lin Ruhai's safety.

Jia Huan was secretly surprised that Lin Ruhai could directly order the closure of the city without notifying local civil and military officials. This shows that he, the Salt Patrol Censor, has great power, not only overtaking the Capital Transport Salt Envoy, but also over Yangzhou. Above the prefect.

Lin Ruhai squinted for a while, and regained some of his energy. He sat up and sighed: "I am an old cat who has burned his whiskers this time. Unexpectedly, there is a domestic thief lurking next to me. If Brother Huan hadn't been so alert, I would have I don’t even know how Guan Lian died!”

Jia Huan hurriedly comforted him: "Even tigers take naps sometimes, let alone humans. I can only blame Diao Sheng for hiding too deeply."

Lin Ruhai smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Huan, there is no need to defend my uncle and me. I was indeed careless this time. I only looked at the outside but ignored the inside, and was actually penetrated by spies. But brother Huan, don't worry, this Jiang I promoted Bin single-handedly, so I can definitely trust him."

Jia Huan frowned and said, "Uncle, do you think Diao Sheng was instigated by someone else?"

Lin Ruhai nodded.

Jia Huan's heart moved and he said, "By the way, Diao Sheng said in a daze unintentionally that my uncle has blocked too many people's financial paths. Could it be...?"

Lin Ruhai's eyes flashed coldly, and he said calmly: "Everyone thinks that the position of Salt Patrol Censor is a fat job. Yes, it is a fat job, but there is a saying that a big tree attracts the wind. Little do they know how many pairs of eyes there are in the whole court. Keep an eye on it, and if you make a slight mistake, you will be in an abyss, and there will be no recovery. Although I have been cautious and walking on thin ice over the years, I can't avoid offending people. In the past few years, Liaodong has been in a tight situation, waste has increased day by day, and the national treasury has been overwhelmed.

The imperial court has raised the salt tax several times, and I have spared no effort to crack down on illegal salt sales. I patrol the salt fields day and night, just to collect more salt taxes to fill the hole in Liaodong, so it is inevitable to offend people. "

Jia Huan couldn't help but suddenly realized that salt is very profitable, and the interests involved are huge, and the Lianghuai area is the largest salt area in the entire Jin Dynasty. From the dignitaries of the Manchu Dynasty to the local gentry and common people, many people are counting on the Lianghuai area. When eating with salt, Lin Ruhai held on tightly, and naturally touched many people's cakes. I'm afraid that secretly there were many people who wanted him dead.

Tsk tsk, it seems that this position of Salt Patrol Censor is not only a lucrative job, but also a terrible hot potato.

"Then who does uncle think instigated Diao Sheng to murder you?" Jia Huan asked in a deep voice.

Lin Ruhai shook his head and said, "I can't say for sure, maybe it's Salt Owl, maybe it's..."

Lin Ruhai didn't say any more, just closed his eyes tiredly.

Jia Huan knew it and did not continue to ask further, and said, "Uncle is also tired. Let's take a rest first. Huan'er will find someone to clean the house."

Lin Ruhai nodded and said: "Come to find Xiao Lei. Apart from him, no one else in the house may trust you."

Xiao Lei was the son of Butler Xiao. Jia Huan had met him once before, so he went out and called a woman to summon Xiao Lei.

Xiao Lei was probably in his early twenties, so he was probably young, so after Butler Xiao slipped and fell into the water, Lin Ruhai did not let him take over as the steward, but instead hired the more experienced Diao Sheng.

Soon, Xiao Lei arrived, a very calm young man with good work ability. After Jia Huan gave some instructions, he immediately organized people to clean up Lin Ruhai's house, dispose of the body, and at the same time began to convene a group of people. All the servants identify the traitors one by one.

(End of this chapter)