The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 160 Salt Owl
Tiehu came back almost an hour later. He was shirtless and wet. He was holding someone in his hand who was also wet. It was the butler Diao Sheng.

Tiehu threw Diao Sheng in front of Jia Huan like a dead dog and said: "This guy can run quite well. I chased him for a few streets before I caught up with him. My tung stick also broke. Later, this guy got into the river. Water is very slippery, and if I hadn't smashed a brick in my haste, I might have let him escape."

Jia Huan took a look and saw that Tiehu still had two eyebrow-level sticks tucked into his waist. It looked like they had been cut off by sharp blades, which showed that there had indeed been a fierce fight.Looking at Diao Sheng, he was lying on the ground dying, with blood still oozing from his shoulders and the back of his head. It was estimated that Tiehu's brick had just hit the back of his head, and he didn't know whether he could survive, so he quickly asked Xiao Lei to ask the doctor for treatment. This Diao Sheng cannot die yet.

"Well done, Huzi. Thank you for your hard work. You go down to rest and change. I will give you a handy weapon later. You have made a great contribution this time. I'm afraid Master Lin will also be rewarded." Jia Huan patted the iron happily. Tiger's shoulders.

Tiehu grinned when he heard this, turned around and went down to change clothes.

Jia Huan and others guarded Diao Sheng, then went to the room to report to Lin Ruhai: "Uncle, the traitor Diao Sheng has been captured by Tiehu, but he was seriously injured and is asking for medical treatment."

Lin Ruhai was drinking the medicine brought back by Jia Huan. Hearing this, he said happily: "That's great. If you rescue him, he will be imprisoned first and then he will be interrogated carefully when he feels better. Brother Huan, you are really my uncle's lucky star. "

Jia Lian was also present at this time, and he felt even more embarrassed when he heard this. He had been here for more than half a month, but he didn't even realize that Lin Ruhai was poisoned. He was eating, drinking and having fun with Diao Sheng every day. As a result, Jia Huan discovered the clues as soon as he came. Seeing through the conspiracy of Diao Sheng and Aunt Zheng, and saving Lin Ruhai's life, these two things are completely different!

In addition, during this period of time, Jia Liandai accepted the benefits of several concubines from Lin Ruhai and promised to give them more when dividing the inheritance. Now that Lin Ruhai cannot die, there is no need to think about the inheritance, and the benefits will not be vomited. When I came out, I felt both physical pain and shame.

Jia Lian put a box of land deeds and house deeds back on the desk in front of Lin Ruhai, knelt on the ground, and said shamefully: "My nephew is confused, I didn't expect this evil slave Diao Sheng to be so bold. Fortunately, these land deeds and house deeds have not yet been I had time to resell it, so now I will return it to my uncle in full. As for the part of the property that has been sold, my nephew will definitely try his best to recover it."

"Well, Brother Lian is not your fault for this matter. Even I was deceived by that evil anger. It would be best if the properties that were sold can be recovered. If not, forget it."

Lin Ruhai was generous and didn't blame Jia Lian for the sake of his relatives. However, he had been very ill before and thought he didn't have much time left, so he let Jia Lian torture him. Then he learned that he was just poisoned. There was still hope of survival, and naturally he could no longer tolerate Jia Lian's "extraction", so he took back all the house deeds and handed them over to Lin Daiyu.

Lin Daiyu originally hated the smell of copper the most. Like Jia Baoyu, she was unwilling to pay attention to economic matters. They were like-minded. However, after this incident, her ideas seemed to have changed. For the first time, she did not refuse and handed over this box. The land deeds and house deeds were all collected.

Moreover, after Lin Ruhai drank the medicine brought back by Jia Huan, she had several orgasms one after another. Although her legs were weak, her whole body seemed to relax a lot. This shows that the antidote prescribed by Feng Jiren is still effective.

In the afternoon, Mr. Jiang came back. He raided Diao Sheng's house in Yangzhou, and also captured Diao Sheng's father, wife and children. They were all put into the prison of Patrol Salt Censor's Yamen, waiting for Lin Ruhai's death. Feel down.

It is worth mentioning here that through the search of Diao Sheng’s house, not only a large amount of gold and silver were found, but also many antiques, calligraphy and paintings that originally belonged to the Lin Mansion, and Diao Yide also confessed that Diao Sheng also bought several items in the Yangzhou area. The manor and real estate amounted to about 6 to [-] taels. Tsk tsk, it showed how hard this rat Diao Sheng dug into the Lin family's walls. Even Lin Ruhai was a little shocked after hearing the news.

In fact, the ancestors of the Lin family were also marquises, but they were no longer passed down to Lin Ruhai's father's generation. The reputation of a gentleman was cut off in the fifth generation. When Lin Ruhai arrived, he relied on science to become an official and won the top prize in one fell swoop.

Therefore, the Lin family is not only an old noble family but also a family of poets and writers. Although it is not as glorious as the Jia family, it still has some wealth, otherwise the Jia family would not marry Jia Min to him.Lin Ruhai had saved a lot of money during his years as an official. The amount of money issued by the imperial court to the Salt Patrol Censor alone was 5000 taels a year. Therefore, Lin Ruhai's property and savings in Yangzhou totaled at least 20 taels. If the ancestral business in Suzhou is added to the above, it is possible to double it. If Lin Daiyu spent this money on her own, she would not be able to spend it all in several lifetimes. She would be an absolute rich woman.

It is a pity that in the original work, Lin Ruhai's rich inheritance did not fall into Lin Daiyu's hands, and it was most likely that the Jia family was advantaged.

Let’s get back to the subject. When General Jiang raided Diao’s house, in addition to counting his belongings, he also focused on searching letters. It turned out that Diao Sheng was actually connected to the salt lord Gu San Mazi.

It is said that Gu Sanmazi was a notorious salt lord on the southeast coast. He was once active in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. At first, he only sold some private salt on a small scale to make some hard money. However, Gu Sanmazi was quick-witted and knew how to work hard. Through Bribery, honey traps and other methods lured a large number of local officials into the trap. The private salt business grew bigger and stronger, and he gathered a large number of desperadoes under his command. They bullied the market and even beat people to death in the street. They were very arrogant. Arrogant.

One time, Gu San Mazi was enjoying himself in a brothel in Suzhou. He got jealous with a scholar and accidentally beat him to death. However, Gu San Mazi didn't take it seriously, because with his connections, he could at most pay some money to settle the matter. Unexpectedly, this scholar had some background. He was an official of the Ministry of Science and Technology. A memorial was written to Da Tian Ting, which immediately attracted the attention of the imperial court, and a governor was specially sent to supervise the matter.

Gu San Mazi was miserable now. His business of more than ten years was ruined. Even he himself was almost caught and executed. The officials he dragged into the water were sacked, exiled, beheaded, and the entire Suzhou officialdom Cleaned thoroughly.Gu San Mazi escaped by chance and fled into the sea with his remnants. From then on, he started the business of piracy. A few years later, Gu San Mazi recovered his strength. While continuing to make a living as a pirate, he returned to his old business of selling private salt. Moreover, he became more unscrupulous and acted more cruelly.

In the past few years, Lin Ruhai had been actively investigating salt smuggling in the position of Yangzhou Salt Patrol Censor, and actually arrested many of Gu Sanmazi's minions. Gu Sanmazi was so angry that he even threatened to chop off Lin Ruhai's head. That's why Lin Ruhai There is probably this reason for entrusting the orphan girl to the Jia family. The position of Salt Patrol Censor is so coveted. If you are complicit, the emperor will kill you. If you are not complicit, the salt lords and stakeholders will also be eager to kill you. your life.

It's like walking on thin ice, like facing an abyss!

However, in Jia Huan's view, Lin Ruhai was able to hold the position of Salt Patrol Censor for so many years, which was obviously quite capable and skillful. At least he won the emperor's trust. Jane was in the emperor's heart, otherwise she would have left long ago, or even The head fell to the ground.

Let's say that after General Jiang reported to Lin Ruhai about the raid on the Diao family, he took out a letter and handed it to Lin Ruhai and said, "This letter seems to be written by Third Master Huan to your Excellency."

Lin Ruhai took it, opened it, read it, and handed it to Jia Huan. The latter took it, glanced at it, and nodded: "This letter was written by Huan'er to his uncle last month. It was probably intercepted and hidden by Diao Sheng." .”

"Diao Nu, you are indeed lawless." Lin Ruhai said angrily, and at the same time, she was secretly grateful for Jia Huan's timely arrival. If Jia Huan's period of filial piety had been longer for another month and a half, he would have been buried.

Thinking of this, Lin Ruhai became even more grateful to Jia Huan.As the saying goes: One drink and one peck, could it be a predetermined decision? Orchid, catkins and fruits all have their origins. These are the good karma planted by Yu'er's family letter back then, and now it has saved her own life.

"Brother Huan, you have been busy for a day and you must be tired. Go down and have a rest. If there is nothing urgent, you can stay in the house for a while. When my uncle is energetic, he can have a long talk with you. You are also in the right place. I have a companion with your sister Lin. During this period, your sister Lin was so frightened that she shed so many tears. She didn’t have any brothers or sisters around her who could talk to help her. It’s really hard for her!” Lin Ruhai stroked the sparse beard under her chin, He looked distressed.

Jia Huan said hurriedly: "My uncle's illness has not improved yet, so Huan'er will have to stay for a while. We will leave after my uncle's illness recovers."

Lin Ruhai's heart warmed up when he heard this, and he nodded and said, "Huan'er is interested."

Jia Huan bowed and left the room, leaving Mr. Jiang alone here. It was estimated that Lin Ruhai was discussing important matters with him, and it was not suitable for him to participate in official matters.

Let's say that Jia Huan left Lin Ruhai's house and went to the cell in front to see Diao Sheng's injury.It is said that there is a prison in the Yamen of the Salt Patrol Censor, which is specially used to imprison salt dealers. The salt soldiers who were responsible for guarding knew Jia Huan at this time, and when they saw him arriving, they immediately let him go respectfully.

Jia Huan came to the cell where Diao Sheng was imprisoned and found that Diao Sheng's head had been bandaged and he was sitting blankly in a corner. It seemed that he had saved his life. Seeing Jia Huan's arrival, he suddenly showed hatred.

Jia Huan looked calm, nodded and said, "I'm not dead, and I'm not stupid either. It's good." After that, he turned around and left.

Diao Sheng was stunned for a moment, then jumped up and cursed: "Jia Huan, don't be complacent, sooner or later you will cry. If you have the ability, kill me now, otherwise I will kill you sooner or later."

"Bah, how dare you bare your teeth when you are about to die!" A salt soldier raised a water and fire stick and stabbed Diao Sheng in the lower abdomen. The pain caused the guy to fall to the ground and struggle.

Jia Huan turned around and said calmly: "I hope your bones are as hard as your mouth."

Diao Sheng gritted his teeth in pain and said every word: "Jia Huan, someone will kill you to avenge me." After saying this, he grinned strangely.

Jia Huan frowned, turned around and walked out of the cell.

(End of this chapter)