Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 898 Go to Nanshan Mountain
"call"

"My Lord, we have arrived at the Marquis's Mansion."

A soft cry,
Ning Bian's voice came from outside the carriage. Zhang Jinyu got off the carriage. He wanted to talk to Daiyu in Rongguo Mansion, but when he saw the deed of Xuanzhen Temple in his hand, he became more curious about Jia Jing's identity and whether he had concealed anything.
As the saying goes, the longer the night, the more dreams one may have. There is no time to hesitate. I will go back home first and then take someone to take a look.
After getting off the carriage, Zhang Jinyu ordered;

"Ningbian, take a hundred personal soldiers, change horses and go to Xuanzhen Temple. Send another hundred people to escort them to Xuanzhen Temple after the nun finishes the ritual. They will come after us. That's it. We'll talk about it after we get back."

"Yes, Lord, I will arrange it right away."

Ning Bian responded and turned to go into the mansion to make arrangements.
Zhang Jinyu stood in front of the mansion gate without moving, just waiting for the people and horses to come out, and then he could ride over. While waiting, several carriages came from the west and stopped in front of the mansion gate. Zhang Jinyu was still curious about who came here,
A familiar person got off the carriage. It was the housekeeper of the Wu family. He got off the carriage carefully and found the Marquis in front of the door. He took two steps at a time and bowed deeply when he arrived in front of him.

"My Lord, I am sorry to bother you again."

"You came at the right time. Why are you here today?"

Zhang Jinyu smiled. He really admired the Wu family's style. They said they would come today and would never wait until tomorrow. This showed how powerful the head of the Wu family was.
"My Lord, I came here today to bring you some special products from Shu, a box of Shu brocade, and many other special products from Shu, including a box of golden cloud thread. The head of the family also reprimanded the second master of the Wu family for the last incident, so I'm here to apologize to you, my Lord."

Looking at the butler Wu who spoke carefully, Zhang Jinyu suddenly remembered Wu Shiqi, the co-governor of the West City Military Department. It seemed that he was really from the Wu family. Now that it was made clear, it would be easy to talk.
"Well, since Lord Wu has spoken, how can I not give him face? So, you go directly to the Ministry of Works and find Lord Qin, and tell him that I said to ask the master craftsman to go to Wu's house and draw the picture first, okay?"

Butler Wu's face was overjoyed, he bowed and said;
"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your kindness."

"Butler Wu, you are too polite. Someone, come and take the things in. Butler Wu, I have something else to do. You go first."

Zhang Jinyu waved his hand and asked the doorman to move the things in. Shu brocade is a good thing, but unfortunately, the road to Shu is difficult, as difficult as climbing to heaven. The best Shu brocade is not produced much every year, and the amount that can be sent to the capital is even less.
Who is the governor of Shu? Now the Shu of Dawu is quite large, including Hanzhong, Chuanzhong, and Nanyun County. It is vast and sparsely populated, but it has a lot of good things. However, the Ye Kingdom is in the southwest, and the general of Shu has been guarding there and everything has been peaceful. I thought about a lot in an instant, but the distance is too far, so it is useless to think.

Seeing the Wu family's housekeeper walking away, I thought that the Wu family was really wealthy. A box of Shu brocade, which was more valuable than gold, was actually sent to me. Oh, and the matter of the Guo family, I will talk about it tomorrow.

After waiting for a while,

The guards rushed out of the mansion, Ning Bian also came out with his horse, and Zhang Jinyu did not waste any time. It was almost noon, and the round trip took almost an hour. He jumped on the horse and led his men to the east gate in a hurry.
"Drive, drive!"

There was a sound of horse hooves, and the people on the street quickly made way to avoid bumping into the noble. When they arrived at the East City Gate, Ning Bian shouted loudly without waiting for the soldiers on duty at the gate to inquire.
"Lord Luo Yun is on the move, get out of the way."

When the soldiers at the city gate saw this, they quickly shouted to drive the people to both sides, allowing Luo Yunhou's cavalry to leave. There was quite a lot of noise. On the top of the city wall, the city gate general Lin Ping looked at the cavalry leaving the city and asked in confusion:

"What's going on? Did something happen outside the city today? There were so many soldiers coming in and out of the city to pass on messages?"

"General, there is nothing happening outside the city. The brothers who went out on patrol have been replaced twice."

The captains around him were a little puzzled. If there was any problem, they should have known it at the first time. They didn't know what the adults in the military department meant. Since the princes of the royal palaces entered the capital, they required the soldiers guarding the city gates to patrol within a radius of 20 miles outside the city every day and report immediately. Guarding the city gates was already a boring job, and now it was even more tiring. Many brothers complained. The good thing was that the food was much better.

Lin Ping looked up at the cavalry going away, with some curiosity in his eyes. Why are there so many things going on today? In the early morning, there were soldiers entering the city. Now Luo Yunhou went out. Could he be going to the camp outside the city? But the direction is wrong. The camp is on the north side, and Luo Yunhou went to the south. It's interesting.
"I feel a little uneasy today. Tell the brothers to be alert and keep an eye on the city gates. Tell the patrolmen outside to go five miles further out."

"Uh, it's my Lord."

The captain agreed with a bitter face, whoever's turn it was in the afternoon would be miserable.
Zhongshun Wangfu,

The chaotic footsteps in the front yard caused some chaos in the yard. The two trusted stewards rushed to the study in the backyard in a panic, wanting to see the prince.

Fortunately, he met Zhou Liang, the chief official of the palace, who stopped the man.
"What are you guys doing in such a panic?"

"Your Excellency, something happened at the mausoleum."

Several trusted stewards hurriedly replied, and Zhou Liang was shocked by just one sentence. He looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he led the person into the study.
"My Lord, I'm afraid something happened in the mausoleum."

After he pushed the door open and entered, he spoke directly, shocking the loyal prince Zhou Jianan who was sitting behind the desk so much that he even threw away the tea bowl he was drinking from. The fine Ru kiln porcelain fell to the ground and broke into several pieces.

Asked urgently;

"What happened to the mausoleum again? It's already been fixed, right?"

I'm talking about the earth dragon turning over. After the dome is fixed, the main hall can be built. How can there be any accidents?
After some questioning, several managers immediately knelt on the ground in fear and kowtowed repeatedly. The chief clerk in charge replied:

"Your Highness, the main hall has been fixed, but today, at some point, the east side chamber of the mausoleum's underground palace has been leaking water, and it can't be stopped. When Eunuch Song found out, he hurriedly ordered me to bring people to the city to ask Your Highness how to remedy the situation."

This was said anxiously. King Zhongshun was already angry about this matter. Now he heard a minor official asking him how to remedy the situation. He instantly became furious and picked up the memorial on the table and hit him, cursing;
"Damn it, if something goes wrong with the mausoleum you built, and you ask me how to fix it, do I know?"

Seeing the prince was furious, Zhou Liang tried to persuade him.
"Your Majesty, calm down. The best way now is to solve the Dongling issue. We must not make any mistakes. Besides, those people in the capital are still waiting for the master craftsman to use them. Your Majesty, what is more important!"

As soon as the words fell,
The entire study room fell silent. Even the furious Prince Zhongshun remained silent. The matter of Dongling involved Changle Palace. If the emperor knew about it, there would be no chance to remedy the situation. There were also the families of the queens. He put down the memorial in his hand and calmed down. He asked;

"The water seepage is serious. What does Yuan An say?"

"Your Highness, the water seepage occurred last night and did not spread to the central palace. Master Yuan has already built a dam on the east side and closed the east side chamber. Although there is a solution, it is a bit costly."

He quietly raised his head and glanced at the prince, whose gloomy eyes were fixed on him. The chief clerk shrank his head in fear, swallowed his saliva and continued;

"Your Highness, before we came, Master Yuan said that one is to dig a underground palace specifically for the purpose of diverting water and draining it, and the other is to adjust the layout, with the west higher and the east lower, to ensure that the central palace and the west hall are safe. It would be best if both are used. The underground river has risen and the terrain has changed, so we will need to be prepared for any eventuality in the future."

"Stop talking. Since you want to change it, then do it well. Tell me, how much more money do you want to spend?"

This is the main point. Building a mausoleum costs money. Now, if we calculate it, not only has the money that the palace had previously obtained been sent back, but if we build more, I am afraid that the palace will have to make up the shortfall.
"Your Highness, Master Yuan said that the underground palace would not cost much, and the excavated soil could be directly used as landfill. It would take a long time and require many people to dig a water channel to the east side of the imperial mausoleum, and we don't have enough manpower."

The chief clerk had no choice. Yuan An and his people were all guests of the royal palace. How could they dare to hide anything? Therefore, when they came, Yuan Dajiang also explained the way to remedy the situation, and he dared not not tell them.

Prince Zhongshun had a headache. He had never thought about changing the layout of the underground palace. If the emperor knew about it, the consequences would be unpredictable. But if he didn't change it, he was afraid that the underground palace would be flooded. Who could guarantee that the water level in the underground river would not rise? He rubbed his head with his hands and looked at the chief secretary Zhou Liang, as if asking,
Zhou Liang's face turned bitter. How could he dare to say such a thing?
"Your Highness, I don't understand this matter. As the saying goes, everyone has his own specialty. I don't know how to build an underground palace. Since Master Yuan has a remedy, Your Highness needs to make the final decision. But one thing is for sure, this matter must not be spread out. The new Master Craftsman Fang cannot keep it secret."

After saying a few words, he implied that Lord Fang was mentioned. This man had just arrived, and the matters concerning the mausoleum could basically not be hidden from him. Moreover, Lord Fang had not been to the palace since he took office. These were all hidden dangers.

But Prince Zhou sneered.
"Sir Fang is a bit self-righteous, but since he dared to take up the post, he should know my methods. The accounts have been smoothed out, it's nothing more than a matter of water seepage. In this case, according to Yuan An's words, prepare with both hands, dig ditches, raise the ground, and you guys, go and pass the order." "Yes, Your Majesty."

The chief clerk nodded in agreement. The matter was settled when the prince spoke. But he remembered what Eunuch Song said, that most of the money for the mausoleum had been spent, and the subsequent changes were too big, so the money was not enough. He knelt still, knelt down and asked;
"Your Majesty, I have something to say,"

"Well, anything else?"

Prince Zhou's face darkened and he asked unhappily. The chief clerk shrank his head and said with some embarrassment;

"Your Highness, Eunuch Song told me that most of the money on the mausoleum account has been spent. If we start building another water diversion canal, the money will definitely not be enough, so I told you to remind your Highness."

"Damn it, money, money, if I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have done it in the first place."

Zhou Jianan was instantly annoyed. If he hadn't wanted to embezzle some money, how could he have ended up like this? He remembered that when Dilong turned over, all the money he had earned before was sent back. Since it was not enough, he wrote another memorial and submitted it.
Just as I was about to start writing, I put my hand back. This was not right.

"Changshi, how do you think this matter should be resolved?"

Zhou Liang thought that the prince would just ignore the matter and that would be the end of it, but he didn't expect that he would still ask for the money. How could he ask for it from the court, but the prince couldn't ask for it.
"Your Highness, the water seepage was caused by the last natural disaster, so this matter should be reported to the court, and the silver issue should also be included. However, Your Highness should not submit a memorial on this matter. I think it would be better for the new craftsman Fang to submit a memorial, and Your Highness can follow up with a memorial. This way, it will be reasonable and even if the emperor knows about this matter, it will be public knowledge."

"Okay, well said."

The vague uneasiness in my heart also dissipated. It was impossible for the construction of the imperial mausoleum to be without problems. If major events could not be reported, how could minor events not be reported? In this case, he looked at the people kneeling on the ground and gave orders;
"Get up. Tell Lord Fang what I said exactly. Ask him to submit a memorial to report this matter. Don't waste time."

"Yes, I will take your orders."

Several people kowtowed quickly, stood up and left. Zhou Liang also bowed and slowly left. In the study, only the Zhongshun King Zhou Jianan was left sitting on a chair. He looked normal, without any sign of anger just now. He murmured;

"It seems that we need to find another place to raise money."

The wealthy families in the capital are all owned by someone else, and the Jiangnan area is out of reach. In this case, thinking of the secret information sent by the housekeeper, the trade route outside the Great Wall will at least double the profit after it is opened. Can we cooperate with Luo Yunhou? For these things, we can let the prince go and test the waters. Thinking of this, he shouted to the outside of the door,
"Someone, go find the prince,"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

To the south of the capital, there is a mountain named Nan, which is collectively called Nanshan by the people of the capital. The mountain is majestic and stretches for several miles, like a green screen lying on the earth, echoing the prosperity and bustle of the capital.

Zhang Jinyu followed Ning Bian, riding a horse with his soldiers, to the south mountain pass. Looking up, he saw undulating mountains, swaying green shadows, and a winding mountain road leading into the deep mountains. It was indeed a good place to go.

"It is said that the nobles in the capital who want to become monks but don't want to travel far away buy land and build courtyards in Nanshan to practice. I thought it was nonsense, but I didn't expect it to be true. It looks like there are quite a few houses on the main mountain."

Going up the mountain road, you can vaguely see the hillside, with many houses on it, and you can also see shadows flashing, which must be where people live.

"My Lord, many noble families in the capital have small manors here, and there are also branch courtyards of academies here. The name of Nanshan came from Qiushui Academy in the capital."

Ningbian pointed to the easternmost part of the mountain, and sure enough, there was a loft there. I guess that was the branch courtyard of the academy. He really knew how to enjoy himself.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's go to Xuanzhen Temple first,"

"Yes, Lord Marquis, drive!"

With a swipe of the whip, the group hurried up the mountain road.
The mountain road on the hillside, although winding, was obviously repaired by someone. It was not only flat but also wide. In less than half an hour, we reached the hillside. The houses here were built opposite each other, and each household was close together, forming a large village. The Xuanzhen Temple was faintly visible on the opposite hilltop, but at this location,
Zhang Jinyu was a little suspicious. From this position, he seemed to be able to see the main entrance of Xuanzhen Temple, which looked like a supervisor, so he paid attention.

"Ningbian, take note of this house and find out who owns it and if anyone wants to sell it. If so, ask someone from the real estate agency to buy it."

"Yes, Lord Marquis,"

Ning Bian did not ask any questions. He just took a look at the terrain and wrote it down. He would go back to the brokerage office to ask. These houses, if you look carefully, don't have many people living in them. There may be only a few old servants guarding them.

Skip this place and walk along the mountain path until you reach a fork in the road. Turn south and walk to the end of the road. The terrain is a little flat and the view is suddenly clear. A Taoist temple appears in front of you. The plaque reads "Xuanzhen Temple". The temple faces south and is built against the mountain. The red walls and green tiles are hidden by the green trees, making it look particularly majestic.
Zhang Jinyu arrived at the gate of Xuanzhen Temple. The courtyard in front of the gate was still clean, as if someone had just cleaned it, but the gate was closed and the copper lock on the door was rusty, as if no one had been there for a long time.

"Get off your horse and knock on the door,"

"Yes, Lord Marquis,"

Following Zhang Jinyu's order, everyone dismounted. A personal soldier ran over and banged on the door. After a moment, a person inside the door replied tremblingly;
"May I ask who is visiting? The abbot is not here."

There are still people,

Hearing the voice, the man was not very old. Zhang Jinyu waved to everyone and shouted towards the door;

"Open the door. This place has been given to me. Who are you?"

Upon hearing that it was an official, a little Taoist boy with white teeth and tender teeth was so frightened that he didn't know what to do. But he didn't dare to open the door. He opened it carefully and looked outside through the crack. Seeing hundreds of officials and soldiers outside, he trembled in his heart.
As soon as the door moved, the guards outside did not ask what was going on inside, but directly pushed the door open. With a little force, they knocked the little Taoist boy inside to the ground, who cried out in pain.
Immediately, the personal soldiers of the Marquisate rushed in and checked around. Seeing that there was no one else in the temple, the captain turned back to report;

"Report, Lord, there is no one else in the temple."

"Well, it's a clean way to go. Let's go in and take a look."

Zhang Jinyu stepped onto the steps, thinking in his heart that Xuanzhen Temple was not a small place, and the servants were well-informed and ran really fast. He looked at the side halls on both sides of the gate, which were clean and tidy, and looked at the little Taoist boy who got up, and he had no bad feelings.
asked;

"How come you are the only one here? Where are the others?"

The little Taoist boy quickly replied,
"Replying to the layman, there were several brothers in the temple in the early years, but after the year before last, everyone in the temple returned to secular life, and I was the only one left to serve the temple master. But after the temple master went down the mountain, he has not returned yet."

Not only was he very polite, but he was also very articulate, and he was obviously a smart person. Looking through the front yard, I could see the main hall, which was exquisitely built, with flying eaves, brackets, carved beams and painted buildings. There was also a snow plum planted in the center. There were not many side rooms around, forming a series of small courtyards. With the scenery in the backyard, it was definitely a good place. Not to mention 50,000 taels of silver, even 100,000 taels of silver might not be enough to buy it.
"Don't think about the master anymore, you can't come back!"

"Ah, why do you say that, sir?"

(End of this chapter)