The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 233: Came to the door on a rainy night, but didn’t meet him when crossing the city

It was night, and there was heavy rain in the sky. The rapid raindrops violently hit the banana leaves outside the window, making a crackling sound, like a dense drumbeat on the battlefield. Above the head, there were scorching thunders one after another, and one after another lightning tore through the dark night sky. It also illuminated Ji Jinxiao's old face with deep wrinkles.

Ji Jinxiao had a close relationship with Kang Lingcheng, and the latter even recognized him as his godfather. However, this godson was obviously not very honest, and he actually kept something secret.

Ji Jinxiao thought that everything would be fine after killing Kang Lingcheng and Kang Dazhi and his son. Even if the Jin Yiwei finally found out that Kang Lingcheng had indeed colluded with the pirate Gu Sanmazi to sell smuggled salt, the fire could not burn Ji Jinxiao. After all, there was no evidence to prove it.

However, Kang Lingcheng concealed the fact that his second son Kang Dayong was not drowned that year. Now Kang Dayong led thousands of pirates to capture Haimen County, killed the local officials, and claimed to avenge his father and brother. How can Ji Jinxiao return the favor? Can you sit still?Therefore, he asked Dai Li, the commander of the Yangzhou Guard, to take the initiative to recruit the thieves. The purpose was to eliminate brothers Kang Dayong and Kang Yi as soon as possible to avoid further trouble.

In addition, Ji Jinxiao was also worried that the Kang brothers had evidence against him. If it fell into the hands of Yi Hong, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, the consequences would be disastrous. So now he regretted being too reckless and hastily decided to assassinate Kang Lingcheng and Kang Dazhi and his son. .

jerk...

A pale electric light flashed through the night sky, and then a thunder exploded, shaking the candle flame on the candlestick. At this time, a young eunuch holding an umbrella hurriedly came to the door of the room and reported: "Master Manager, Mr. Zhang Visit.”

"Who?" Ji Jinxiao frowned and asked. There was thunder and lightning and heavy rain outside, so he couldn't hear clearly for a while.

"Master Zhang!" the little eunuch repeated. The rain was so heavy that his clothes, shoes and socks were all wet.

Ji Jinxiao pondered for a moment and said calmly: "Take him to the secret room, our family will be there later."

The little eunuch hurried away.

Soon, Ji Jinxiao saw Mr. Zhang in the secret room. The two sat cross-legged on the floor. After a long time, Mr. Zhang said with slight dissatisfaction: "Assassinating Kang Lingcheng and his son is too reckless. Eunuch Ji should have discussed it with me in advance!"

Ji Jinxiao sneered: "Whose idea was it to kill Lin Ruhai in the first place? Now that it has become a big deal, you are blaming our family?"

Mr. Zhang frowned and said: "My original plan was to poison Lin Ruhai with the chronic poison god without anyone noticing. Unexpectedly, Jia Huan, a bastard, found out and failed. However, this didn't matter in the first place. It was just an ordinary plot." It was a murder case, but Eunuch Ji took the initiative and asked Kang Lingcheng to instruct Gu Sanmazi's men to ambush Lin Ruhai, which made the matter bigger."

Ji Jinxiao said displeased: "Our family is just trying to eliminate hidden dangers, but unexpectedly, the concubine Jia Huan caused trouble again. If this kid hadn't broken through the siege and went to Yunti Pass to invite reinforcements, Lin Ruhai would have died long ago. Well, how can there be so many things behind?"

Mr. Zhang frowned angrily: "Jia Huan has done bad things many times, which is not what I expected. But it has come to this point. It is useless for us to blame each other. We can only find a way to settle the matter as soon as possible. The man above is a little anxious. ."

"Dai Li has led his army to Haimen County. He will kill brother Kang Dayong." Ji Jinxiao said in a deep voice.

Mr. Zhang shook his head and said: "Brother Kang Dayong has dozens of bow ships and thousands of pirates who are familiar with naval warfare. Dai can defeat him immediately, but it will not be easy to kill them unless the navy is used to encircle Dulong Island."

Ji Jinxiao nodded and said: "This matter is indeed difficult. The imperial court also sent troops to encircle and suppress Dulong Island, but in the end they returned without success. If the Kang Dayong brothers fled back to the sea, it would be very difficult to kill them."

Mr. Zhang's eyes flashed and he said, "Maybe we should contact Kang Dayong to have a chat!"

Ji Jinxiao mocked: "They want our heads, will you give them to them?"

Mr. Zhang said calmly: "Maybe the other party is a smart man and doesn't want our heads? And if we don't talk, we won't be able to get his heads."

Ji Jinxiao was slightly stunned when he heard this, then clicked his tongue and said: "You scholars are still insidious, so let's talk. I hope that guy is a smart man who understands things. By the way, Yi Hong has already rushed to Haimen County with Jin Yiwei."

Mr. Zhang said calmly: "Yi Hong was born in the army and has quite a bit of courage, but he is very happy with his achievements. He even dreams of finding a marquis immediately, so it is normal for him to rush to Haimen County."

Ji Jinxiao said cheerfully: "On the battlefield, swords and guns are blind. If Yi Hong dies on the battlefield and sacrifices his life for the country, the emperor will probably make him a count, but it is unlikely that he will be made a marquis. Since the founding of the Jin Dynasty, except for the four founding Apart from the twelve princes of Wang Ba Gong, there seems to be no one who has become a prince based on military merit."

……

It was raining heavily, and two air-dead wind lanterns were hung on the bow and stern of the building ship, swaying in the wind and rain, emitting a misty light.Xue Baochai looked at the river surface that was like thousands of arrows shooting out, and the small boats swaying with the waves not far away. He couldn't help but think of two poems: "The spring tide brings rain in the evening, and there is no boat on the wild crossing."

However, it is not spring now, but midsummer, so despite the strong wind and rain outside the boat, Xue Baochai, wearing only a thin summer shirt, does not feel cold, but feels cool and comfortable.

Aunt Xue was timid. There was lightning and thunder outside, so she sat in the cabin and kept chanting. Her maid Wen Xing lit a box of sandalwood next to her, and the scent of sandalwood lingered in the cabin.

"Baby girl, don't stand in the wind outlet for too long. If you catch a cold, come and sit here quickly." Aunt Xue reminded her daughter when she saw her daughter standing at the cabin door for a long time.

"The weather is hot now. It's time to cool down for a while, so it's so easy to catch a cold." Xue Baochai smiled, but still walked back to his mother and sat down.

At this time, there was a loud thunder above the head. Aunt Xue was so frightened that Aunt Xue quickly put her hands together and recited Amitabha, and said: "The weather in summer is the most changeable. The sun is so bright during the day and it is so hot. Who would have thought that this time It was thundering, windy and raining again. Fortunately, there is still a canal here. If we happen to sail into the river, the wind will be strong and the waves will be high, it will not be a joke." Ying'er smiled and said: "What are you afraid of? Our ship is big, no matter how big it is. Even the wind and waves cannot overthrow it.”

Aunt Xue's expression suddenly changed and she hurriedly said: "Bah, bah, bah, the little man's family has nothing to do. It's no wonder that the Dragon Prince is weird." After saying this, she wanted to twist Ying'er's mouth.

Xue Baochai hurriedly smiled and said, "Mother, please spare this little hooves for once. I will teach my daughter a lesson later."

Aunt Xue then gave up and chanted Buddha several more times. Ying'er stuck out her tongue secretly, but she didn't dare to do it again.

I don’t know if Aunt Xue’s recitation of Buddha worked. The wind and rain outside gradually weakened, and the thunder and lightning disappeared.

Xue Pan walked up from the lower cabin, his cheeks slightly tipsy. He had obviously just drank. Aunt Xue frowned and said, "Why are you drinking again?"

Xue Pan said nonchalantly: "I just had two drinks. By the way, the ship will arrive in Yangzhou tomorrow. Do we want to visit Uncle Lin?"

Aunt Xue looked at Xue Baochai, obviously asking for her opinion.Xue Baochai muttered: "After all, we are relatives, so we cannot lose our etiquette. Then we will stop at Yangzhou Pier tomorrow, and my eldest brother can go ashore and enter the city to visit Uncle Lin."

Xue Pan said hurriedly: "My sister and mother are not going?"

Xue Baochai shook his head and said: "Although our Xue family and Lin family are relatives, they are separated by another layer. Moreover, there is no hostess in the back house of the Lin family. It is inconvenient for my mother and I to go there. Big brother can just say hello to Uncle Lin and Sister Lin on our behalf." .”

Xue Pan was greatly disappointed when he heard this. He originally wanted to hang out in Yangzhou for a few days and find some old acquaintances to catch up with.

Xue Baochai was very smart and obviously saw Xue Pan's little thoughts, so he warned: "Brother will return to the ship immediately after visiting Uncle Lin tomorrow. Don't stay in the city. We are going back to Jinling this time for the funeral, not for a tour." We are enjoying the mountains and rivers, they are still waiting for us over there, we don’t dare to delay for too long.”

Although Xue Pan was a clumsy person, he respected and loved this capable sister very much. He nodded and said: "Okay, then I'll go and come back quickly!" Suddenly he turned his eyes and said: "By the way, I heard that Brother Huan is now Also in Lin Mansion, my sister has something she wants me to bring to him."

Xue Baochai nodded and said, "There are a few things that Tan Yatou and Yun Yatou gave to Brother Huan in return. You can take them with you tomorrow."

The next day, the boat of Aunt Xue and her family arrived at the south pier of Yangzhou City. Xue Pan took two servants to the city and went to Xunyan Censor Yamen to meet Lin Ruhai. Unexpectedly, he missed it. It turned out that Lin Ruhai had already arrived yesterday. He led the Gaoyou Guards and Taizhou Guards to Haimen County, and Jia Huan also accompanied him as a staff officer.

Xue Pan didn't see his real master, and as a foreigner, it was naturally impossible for him to go to the back house to see Lin Daiyu, so he could only leave the city and board the ship in anger.

"You're back so soon? Have you seen Mr. Lin and Brother Huan?" Aunt Xue asked curiously when she saw Xue Pan returning within an hour.

Xue Pan said depressedly: "I haven't seen you. Uncle Lin led his army to defeat the thieves yesterday, and Brother Huan also followed."

Aunt Xue said in surprise: "Ping the thieves? What kind of thieves are being leveled? But someone rebelled?"

"I heard that a group of pirates captured Haimen County and killed the county magistrate and captain Bodu. It's really shocking." Xue Pan replied.

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai both changed their expressions when they heard this. The former said with a smile: "It's incredible, are pirates so rampant today? This is clearly a rebellion by attacking cities and plundering territory, killing officials and rebelling."

Xue Pan took a breath and said: "No, I was shocked when I first heard the news, but I heard from Butler Xiao of the Lin Mansion that Uncle Lin had already mobilized three guards to encircle and suppress them. I guess That group of thieves will be eliminated soon."

"Then... it won't be dangerous if we continue south to Jinling, right? Do we want to take a detour?" Aunt Xue's face turned a little pale.

Xue Pan shook his head and said: "Haimen County is still more than 300 miles away from here, and we don't have to pass through Haimen County. It should be fine. There are heavy guards near Jinling. Those thieves should not dare to come and die as long as they are not blind. "

Aunt Xue felt relieved after hearing this, but Xue Baochai was moved in her heart. Uncle Lin also took Brother Huan with him when he went to war. It seemed that he really valued him, but fighting on the battlefield was so dangerous, I just hope he was safe!

At this time, Xue Pan said again: "By the way, Brother Huan is not here, so I brought my sister's things back."

Xue Baochai's bright eyes showed a hint of helplessness, and he said angrily: "Brother Huan is not here, won't you ask the housekeeper to hand it over?"

Xue Pan just woke up from a dream, slapped his forehead and said: "I forgot about this."

Xue Baochai had no choice but to say: "Forget it, let's sail first. Brother Huan will eventually return to Jinling to participate in the provincial examination in August. It won't be too late to give it to him then."

So the building boat set off again, sailed down the canal, entered the Yangtze River, and then headed upstream to Jinling.

(End of this chapter)