Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 747 We Are Not the Same Kind of People
"Report, Grand Eunuch, we have arrived at Jinling City."

"Report, eunuch, the rain outside is gradually easing, and the water level in the canal has risen by about ten feet, but it is not turbulent."

"Report to the eunuch, Captain Li has assembled his troops and is ready for orders."

The voices of reports reached the top cabin of the ship. Xiao Guizi got up early and waited in front of the bed with her robe in hand.

Eunuch Yang touched the quilt on his body, lifted it and sat up, sighing;

"It's a little useless after all. I just closed my eyes for a while and felt very tired. If it were in the past, I wouldn't have been so pretentious."

"Godfather, you must not say these things. The past is the past, and no one can say anything. Everyone has to be in high spirits. Godfather, you have worked so hard for the court. Your son sees it with his own eyes and feels sad. I just want to pray to God to keep you safe and sound."

Xiao Guizi choked up, wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, and showed a trace of grievance, not knowing whether it was sincere or false, but it made Eunuch Yang sigh. He didn't expect that in the end, only this rootless person who shared the same suffering was by his side. He didn't know if those local officials understood this. With a cold light flashing in his eyes, he sat up, supported himself with his hands, stood up, changed his clothes, and everything was in order.
"Tell them to keep everything stable. Leave a captain to watch over the ship. No one is allowed to board the ship when I am not here. Li Yun and Niu Hu will take more than half of the troops with them."

"Here, godfather."

Xiao Guizi nodded and went out to give the order. The reason for this arrangement was that Yang Chi remembered the time when he was in Jiangnan with Marquis Luo Yun. He left heavy soldiers to guard the ship. The marquis once said that one should consider defeat before talking about victory. One should leave a way out, otherwise, if others overtake him, he would have no way to retreat, and he would be caught in a jar. Bah, how could he become a turtle?

While waiting, Xiao Guizi also came back and reported back.

"Godfather, everything has been arranged. The carriage is ready."

"Well, then wait. It's raining so hard, who would come to the dock to wait for me?"

Yang Chi squinted his eyes and looked out the window through the shadow on the cabin wall. He didn't know if it was Lord Jing or Lord Zhuang, or if they were both leading the state officials here.
Outside Jinling City,

The canal wharf on a rainy night seemed dark and quiet, with only a few lonely lights in the restaurants and warehouses facing the street. The faint lights flickered in the darkness, like fireflies that could go out at any time.

Jia Yucun, Hu Wenxuan, and a number of yamen runners parked their carriage in a warehouse at the dock to avoid the heavy rain outside. Many of them wore straw raincoats, but it was of no use as their inner clothes were almost soaked.
"Sir, there is still no sign of a boat on the river. Do you think Eunuch Yang's boat will arrive tonight? Did we miscalculate the time?"

Hu Tongzhi was feeling a little restless in the carriage. He went around the South City Gate to the dock to greet Eunuch Zhao tonight, avoiding the eyes and ears of Lord Jing. He even did not inform Lord Zhuang. Lord Futai made a risky move.

Jia Yucun closed his eyes and sat in the carriage to rest. He pretended to be calm on the outside, but he was actually a little confused on the inside. However, if he didn't do this, he was afraid that he would become a stepping stone for others in the days to come in Jiangnan.

"Master Hu, don't be anxious. Now that we are here, we should make the best of it. If our government officials don't come, we may not be able to come in the future. You should know that the more people come, the safer we will be. The premise is that we must stick together as a group."

"What the governor said is very true. I wonder if Judge Ma wants to understand it."

I don’t know what’s going on, but these days, Ma Guangcheng, the magistrate of Jinling, has been staying at home on the pretext of being sick. I don’t know if he is really sick or has other thoughts. He hasn’t come to the yamen for quite a while. It’s really strange.

Jia Yucun's face darkened when he heard this. The three of them were supposed to stick together, but unexpectedly, Ma Tongpan jumped out at the critical moment.
"Don't worry, Master Ma will figure it out."

Just at this time,

Suddenly, a bailiff outside shouted:

"Report, Your Excellency, there is movement on the canal. It seems that a ship is approaching the river bank and will soon arrive."

Jia Yucun immediately opened his eyes, exchanged glances with Hu Wenxuan, and thought to himself, Here they come, and immediately gave the order;
"Hurry, go to the dock to greet them and tell the brothers that they have worked hard all night and will return to claim their reward."

"Well, sir, don't worry, the brothers understand."

After saying this, the bailiff opened the warehouse door, waved his hand, and led the convoy out, with Jia Yucun's carriage following at the end.

Just like that, after a while, there were welcoming figures on the shore of the pier. Many of them were holding torches, which made the pier port brighter.

The ship on the canal had apparently also spotted the light of the pier. Under the command of the captain of the river transport guards, the ship gradually approached the shore.

The deck was lowered, and a large number of imperial guards, wearing straw raincoats, rushed down. Finally, there was even a carriage following the crowd at the end. As soon as it stopped, Jia Yucun in the carriage immediately lifted the curtain and bowed.
"Your humble servant, Jia Yucun, the prefect of Jinling, and Hu Wenxuan, the deputy prefect of Jinling, come to see the eunuch."

This report was clear and loud. In the quiet rainy night, it was very conspicuous except for the sound of rain. However, it made Eunuch Yang in the carriage opposite frown. Why did only the two of them come here? Where were Lord Jing and Lord Zhuang? Or maybe they didn't come at all.
He asked with a cold face;

"It's the dead of night. What kind of greetings are you offering? Lord Jia is really hardworking. He waited for me in the rain. I wonder who is coming?"

This question couldn't be more clear, but for the sake of safety, I still have to ask again. Jia Yucun knew the deep meaning of it, paused, and continued to reply;
"My Lord, the only people who came to the dock were me and Lord Hu."

"Your humble servant Hu Wenxuan pays respect to the eunuch."

Hu Wenxuan spoke up at the right time, proving that only the two of them were thinking this.

"Godfather, something is wrong. I had already informed the people in the Imperial City Department of your coming. If they hadn't received the message, Lord Jia wouldn't be here. But if they had, how come others didn't see it?"

Xiao Guizi was talking in a low voice in the carriage, unable to figure out the relationship. Only Yang Chi had a meaningful look on his face.

"It's not that the people haven't arrived, it's that they haven't come to the dock. They must be waiting at the west gate. I just don't know how this Magistrate Jia could have arrived first. His surname is Jia, could he be from the Jia family in the capital? I haven't thought of this before."

"Then, Godfather, how should we get into the city?"

Xiao Guizi asked quietly. There were many things in it that he didn't understand.

"Then ask Lord Jia,"

Yang Chi thought about it. Since this person could come first, he must have some purpose. No matter how Lord Jing arranged it, or Lord Zhuang did it on purpose, he still understood the rule of first come first served. After figuring it out, he asked;
"Thank you for your hard work, sirs. May I ask how we got to the dock? And how we get back?"

This is what Eunuch Yang wanted to ask, how to arrange it when he returns, or whether Magistrate Jia has other ideas. He also heard the hidden meaning in the words just now.
Jia Yucun wiped the rain off his face with his sleeve, stared at the carriage in front, and continued;

"My Lord, I came from the south gate and have been waiting here for a long time. It is raining heavily this night. I would like to ask you to go directly into the city. Shen Wanhe is still waiting in the restaurant to welcome you. It is closer to go to the south gate."

After hearing what Prefect Jia said, not to mention others, even Hu Wenxuan beside him was a little surprised. Was it too reckless for the Prefect to avoid Lord Jing and the others?

Eunuch Yang sat in the carriage and heard this, with the corners of his mouth curled up. He finally understood what Magistrate Jia meant. Shen Wanhe, the boss of the Weaving Bureau and the richest man in Jiangnan, was interesting, really interesting.
"Then follow Magistrate Jia's arrangements. Let's go."

"Yes, eunuch,"

"Someone, come back the same way."

A scolding,
The huge convoy actually slowly headed towards the south gate of Jinling.

The Imperial Palace, Kunning Palace
At this time, Queen Jiang actually stood up and came to the table, pinched some cakes and swallowed them easily. Chun He beside her continued to serve her.

"Your Highness, are you feeling better now? Perhaps you are feeling a little uncomfortable because you are hungry." "Yes, you are feeling much better now. You were a little uneasy just now. I have not asked about the affairs of the harem in detail these days. Are Concubine Wu and Concubine Zhou feeling better now?"

After finishing her cakes, Queen Jiang drank some tea to calm herself down and thought about what was going on in the harem. She hadn't heard any movement from the two of them for several days, which was very strange. Could it be that something else had happened?

"Your Highness, the two of them have become much more obedient and rarely leave the palace. However, as far as I know, although the two of them do not go out of the mansion, many people go out, such as Concubine Xu, Xiao Shixuan, etc., who have been there one after another."

Thinking that the harem has been peaceful these days, although the Queen Mother does not want to interfere, the every move of the concubines in the harem is under her eyes, and what's more, she is afraid that the world will not be in chaos.

Queen Jiang reached out and flicked the wrinkles on her sleeves, then stood up and returned to the bed, leaning against the quilt at the head of the bed. She yawned as she felt sleepy.
"Chun He, you should also go back and rest. Since Concubine Wu has become much quieter, tomorrow morning, send someone to her palace to tell her to go to the palace and find Concubine Zhou and bring the newly-appointed maids to make some osmanthus cakes. Tell her that I will have them for dinner."

"Yes, Master, I will obey your order."

Chun He walked over, helped the empress cover the quilt, and then cleared the tea and snacks on the table one by one, and then left the inner hall.

In Wu Guifei's Chunli Palace, it was late at night and the sound of falling leaves could be heard in the palace. Coincidentally, footsteps in the room woke up Wu Guifei who was still sleeping.

"Who's out there?"

"My lady, it's the servant."

Following the sound of footsteps, the female historian Song Shuang, dressed in eunuch's clothes, hurried over from the corner and whispered;
"My lady, I just came from the laundry department and I have news from the master."

The low whisper also alerted Concubine Wu who was still in a daze, that there was a letter from the servants in the laundry department.

"What happened?"

"Your Highness, this is not good news. According to the master, several princes of the vassal states entered the capital early. Their itinerary was to be secretive, but they had a conflict with Marquis Luo Yun in a restaurant. Several guards were killed, and the princes wanted to report it to the authorities. However, Mr. Xu, the confidant of the King of Han, saw them and led his men to stop them. They disposed of the bodies privately. Otherwise, it would have become known to everyone now."

Song Shuang squatted at the head of the bed and whispered, he didn't know what the master was doing, and he didn't even give him any tasks this time.

"What a bunch of rubbish! For such an urgent matter, those princes and heirs of the vassal states actually showed off so much and even fought with Marquis Luo Yun. Are they afraid that Your Majesty doesn't know? What does father say?"

Concubine Wu cursed and instantly lost her sleepiness. It was said that the princes of various places were serious, but how come their sons became idiots? They did not keep a low profile in the capital and caused such a big commotion. It was definitely impossible to hide it from the people of the Imperial City Bureau. I wonder if my father was careful.

"Your Majesty, the master is fine. This matter was reported by Mr. Fan, the Prince of Zheng. It should have been handled. As for whether the Imperial City Department knows about it, it depends on their ability. However, Marquis Luo Yun presides over the special examination and has seven days of free time. Even if Your Majesty knows about it, there is still a time difference."

Song Shuang lowered his head and repeated what he had heard from the eunuch in charge of the laundry department.
"In that case, does father have any instructions?"

Concubine Wu still had a cold face and asked angrily, "How can Marquis Luo Yun be fooled? If you are not prepared, the truth will be revealed when His Majesty asks about it after the imperial examination."
"Your Highness, don't worry about it. The master told you to stabilize the harem and gather information, and not to do anything else. The princes have already moved to a hidden place, and no one has discovered them for the time being. What's important now is that the princes have already moved. He said that there will be news in the palace in the next few days."

After speaking in a low voice, he pointed to the northwest.

Concubine Wu's eyes narrowed and she looked over. Isn't that the direction where the retired emperor's Changle Palace is located? Could it be that they want to enter the palace?

Instantly, Concubine Wu thought a lot, whether to sneak into the palace or enter openly. However, looking at the way they were acting, they were sneaking around. Openly would probably not work for these people. That meant sneaking into the palace, hiding from the eyes of others. Who in the palace could be their support?
Even if someone comes to pick us up, it will probably only take a few days. After all, today is the first day of the Enke, and there are still two days left in the three-day Enke.

"Shuang'er, have our people keep a close eye on Changle Palace. It may not be very clear during the day, but at night, I think those princes should have some impression. I just don't know who is the middleman."

Is it a concubine in the harem, a prince outside, or even a eunuch? After thinking for a while, I still have no target. However, since he can ask like this, it should be arranged. As for who it is, I can always find out.

Song Shuang nodded slightly and responded;
"Yes, Master, Shuang'er knows the seriousness of the matter and has already arranged for someone to do it."

"Then go back and rest."

"Yes, the slaves retire."

Immediately afterwards, there was a sound of footsteps in Chunli Palace, and the palace fell into darkness and silence again, as if what had just happened had never happened.

The private residence of Zuixianlou in Dongcheng,

Fan Wenhai, the trusted military advisor of Prince Zheng, dressed in black, came in from the corner door and entered the main hall without making a sound. The prince in the room was obviously not asleep, and the chief guard Liu Zushan was sitting next to him.

It was dark, and the oil lamp in the room was not lit. When there was movement at the door, Liu Zushan's hand could not help but touch the hilt of the knife. He saw a figure coming in, and he looked very familiar. He whispered, "
"Mr. Fan is here?"

"Well, where's the prince?"

Fan Wenhai walked a few steps into the house, but did not even light the oil lamp. He stood in the house and asked softly;

"Still taking a nap in the room, sir, any plans?"

When Liu Zushan saw Mr. Xu's unusual behavior, he immediately knew that Mr. Xu must have made some moves. If he couldn't get it tonight, would it be too fast?
"Go wake up the prince and have him change into these clothes. Then we'll go out and go around the north city to the palace. Enter from Xuanhua Gate and meet up with the other princes at the gate of Changle Palace. Then we'll go into the palace together to pay our respects to the retired emperor. Once we're there, just follow Eunuch Xia inside."

Fan Wenhai whispered the arrangements and threw the package in his hand over. Liu Zushan was overjoyed. He didn't expect it to be so easy. He nodded and took the clothes. He felt them carefully and saw in the moonlight that they were eunuch's clothes. He immediately understood what he meant and hurriedly got up and went into the inner room, woke up the prince and changed his clothes.

The prince of Zheng, Zhou Zhengbai, was wearing eunuch's clothes and had a dazed look. He just walked out and wanted to ask something when Fan Wenhai grabbed his sleeve. The three of them walked out one after another.

"Your Highness, please don't say anything. If you have any questions, ask them on the way."

After a squeak, they turned into the courtyard alley. In the alley across the street, a carriage was parked. After the three of them got on the carriage quietly, Fan Wenhai whispered;

"According to the plan, Xuanhua Gate,"

"Yes, sir, hold on tight, go ahead."

The driver nodded and gently scolded. The carriage moved slowly, turned right at the intersection, and then disappeared on the road in the blink of an eye. No patrolling soldiers or imperial guards were seen along the way. It was obvious that arrangements had been made in advance.

inside the carriage,
The prince of Zheng, Zhou Zhengbai, asked with sparse eyelids;
"Teacher, why tonight? Aren't you too anxious? After all, it's only the first day of the Encyclopedia exam. Aren't there still two days left?"

The prince's question was also what Liu Zushan wanted to ask. It was indeed too hasty. Why did they do something that was decided in the afternoon at night? I think Mr. Xu should send someone to ask the other princes.

If I hadn't passed by that restaurant before, I wouldn't have known why Prince Chen and his men had come to the capital and committed a murder. Especially Prince Wu, he wanted to report to the police. Isn't he stupid?

"I could have tolerated it before, but now I can't. Before, the prince of Wu and his men committed a crime, and we happened to run into Marquis Luo Yun. We can't delay this any longer. It just so happens that Marquis Luo Yun is tied up in the imperial examination. This is our only chance to enter the palace. Even if someone thinks of it, they will notice it tomorrow and will not calculate that we will come today."

Fan Wenhai explained silently, closing his eyes, with a slightly angry expression on his face. He didn't know whether these princes did it on purpose or deliberately.
It seems that

Leaked his whereabouts,
If you are not compatible with them, you will eventually go your separate ways.

(End of this chapter)