Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Jinling, Fenglefang.

This place is not as prestigious as Xinglongfang, where the old houses of nobles and princes of the Great Zhou Dynasty are located.

Since the establishment of the Maritime Customs in Nanjing, it has become a hub for maritime trade in the south of the Yangtze River.

Small and medium-sized officials in the secondary capital took advantage of the convenience of maritime trade and made fortunes through maritime trade through their family members.

Fenglefang is conveniently located in Jinling City. The ten-mile Qinhuai River is just a short walk away.

It is not as prosperous as Nanjing, but it is not a remote and desolate place either.

It is the most ideal place to live for small and medium-sized officials who have wealth but do not want to be too ostentatious.

A three-courtyard house with white walls and red doors in the alley, among the many official residences being built, looks inconspicuous like a speck of dust in the light.

The study in the house is filled with books and antiques, exuding a refreshing and elegant atmosphere.

Behind the desk, there was a middle-aged man with a dignified demeanor, with a warm and calm expression. The sky-blue glazed Song Dynasty teacup in his hand flashed a cold and beautiful light in the morning sun.

In front of him stood a young man with a respectful demeanor and his hands hanging down. He was of medium build and had an ordinary appearance. Half of the little finger on his left hand was missing.

"Sir, since Jia Cong arrived in Jinling, he has been in love with Miss Zhou in Qingyin Pavilion. According to your instructions, I have been placing secret agents near Qingyin Pavilion.

There was nothing unusual until now, but yesterday something strange happened, and it was related to the new lady Zhou in the pavilion."

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up slightly. He knew that his subordinate was efficient and careful with his words. Since he said it out loud, there must be some reason for it.

The young man continued, "That day, Jia Cong and Madam Zhou returned to the pavilion from outside, and they brought five or six young girls with them.

When they reached the entrance of Qingyin Pavilion, a woman selling rouge and hairpins on the street suddenly came forward and addressed Madam Zhou as "Miss".

The woman also said that she was the cook in the mansion, and there had been no news of the young lady since the mansion was ransacked.

But that lady Zhou denied it to her face, saying that the woman had recognized the wrong person! "

After hearing this, the middle-aged man paused for a moment in the azure-glazed teacup in his hand, then placed it on the table, his eyes flickering.

She repeated the key points of the young man's words several times: "Miss, the cook in the mansion...after the mansion was confiscated!"

The young man said: "Our people happened to see this scene and found it a little strange, so they reported it to me.

I asked someone to find out where the woman lived. Because I felt that the matter was suspicious and I couldn't ask others to do it for fear that the news would leak out, I went to the woman's house myself.

After spending some money, they finally found out what happened. The mansion that the woman mentioned that was confiscated turned out to be the Zou Mansion of Zou Huaiyi, a captain of the Water Conservancy Bureau!

She said that the lady Zhou in Qingyin Pavilion was Zou Huaiyi’s only daughter, Zou Min’er!”

The middle-aged man usually behaved calmly and amiably, but upon hearing the news, he stood up from his chair in shock and asked in a deep voice, "The musician who was in love with Jia Cong was Zou Huaiyi's daughter!"

The young man said, "That musician named Zhou was ordered by the Ministry of Rites to stay at Qingyin Pavilion in Jinling to purchase female singers and performers from Jiangnan.

She called herself Madam Zhou. Zhou and Zou are homophones, which was an attempt to conceal her identity.

I have confirmed with that woman repeatedly. She said that she had been a cook in the Zou Mansion for nine years and that she watched Zou Min'er grow up. She would definitely not make a mistake!
Zou Min'er was originally the daughter of an official who never left her home. She grew up in the inner courtyard and few outsiders knew her true appearance. If she hadn't met the cook in the mansion, it would have been difficult for others to detect her identity. "

……

The middle-aged man looked grim, his eyes dark and sharp, and he said, "Back then, Jia Cong broke into Zou Huaiyi's house and arrested him, forcing him to commit suicide in court.

Zou Min'er and Jia Cong have a paternal murder grudge against each other, so how could these two be together? There are rumors that they have an ambiguous relationship, which is a complete mess.

Jia Cong is such a smart man, it is impossible that he does not know that Madam Zhou is Zou Min'er. This treacherous and shameless boy pretended to be in an affair with her to confuse people. There must be something fishy going on when things are out of the ordinary! "

The young man seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "When the Zou family was ruined, why didn't you get rid of Zou Huaiyi's wife and daughter to eliminate the trouble forever? Now his daughter is getting together with Jia Cong, I'm afraid there will be unpredictable risks."

The middle-aged man sighed, "Back then, Zou Huaiyi was a rare and capable person. He firmly controlled the ships of the Marine Supervisory Department, colluded with the Japanese wanderers, and made sure everything in the offshore area was done perfectly.

All foreign goods obtained from overseas were transported to Nanjing through his hands, distributed to various places, and then sold and exchanged for silver through reliable merchants.

A person like him, who shoulders such a huge responsibility, will definitely leave a way out for himself. He will definitely leave secret records and accounts for foreign ocean cargo transactions and distribution and sales.

This is to protect himself from being defeated and to avoid being eliminated and silenced one day. This is actually something that everyone knows tacitly.

However, no one expected that a character like Jia Cong would appear back then. His actions were so swift and strange. He quietly transferred salt soldiers from Yangzhou, surrounded Zou's mansion and arrested people by surprise.

We have no time or opportunity to implement any countermeasures we can take.

Afterwards, our people wanted to enter the Zou Mansion to search for the secret files and accounts in Zou Huaiyi's hands, but the Zou Mansion was guarded by the Yangzhou salt soldiers for three days.

Jia Cong and Prince Ning were so tight-lipped that even the Jinyiwei and people from Yingtian Prefecture could not enter the Zou Mansion at that time, let alone our people who entered the mansion to search for secret files and accounts.

Afterwards, I used a lot of connections and learned that the Dali Temple and the Court of Inquisition did not find the key evidence from the Zou Mansion.

I once suspected that Zou Huaiyi would leave the hidden information of the secret files and accounts to his wife and daughter, so I did not eliminate the mother and daughter at that time.

I once sent people to the Yingtian Prefecture Prison to keep an eye on them, and even bribed the jailer to keep a close eye on the actions of the mother and daughter.

If they had this secret account, they would definitely hand it over to the government to protect themselves and atone for their sins.

But nothing happened. Mrs. Zou even died of worry in prison. Miss Zou had no idea how to deal with it, so she was sold to the Jiaofangsi by the government to be a prostitute.

I think Zou Huaiyi also knew the risks of secret accounts and did not tell his wife and daughter directly about the relevant information. I think he must have used other methods to hide it in case of emergency.

If it weren't for this, and in order to avoid unnecessary trouble and alarming the Magistrates' Court and the Dali Temple, Zou Min'er would not have been able to leave Jinling alive!"

……

The young man said, "Last time Zhou Zhengyang was involved, the Magistrates' Court launched a massive manhunt for him, and our connections and informants in Shenjing were almost destroyed.

Otherwise, you can also ask the Shenjing Jiaofangsi for some information about Zou Miner, and maybe you can find out why she is with Jia Cong."

The middle-aged man sighed, "Jinling and Shenjing are far apart, and it takes ten days to send news back and forth. Too many things can happen in ten days.

The purpose of Jia Cong's going to Nanjing was to set up a firearms bureau in the secondary capital. Zou Min'er was implicated by Jia Cong and, ostensibly appointed by the Ministry of Rites, entered Nanjing under an alias.

These actions were too meticulous, and even the Ministry of Rites seemed to be covering them up. These things were too unusual.

Being able to do things to this extent, you may not be able to find any information in Shenjing...

But one thing is certain, Zou Miner does not have the secret files and accounts left by Zou Huaiyi, and she does not know the existence or whereabouts of these things, otherwise Jinling City would not be as peaceful as it is now.

Originally, she was just the daughter of a convicted official who had fallen into slavery and was not worth mentioning at all.

Now it seems that this woman is not simple, the risks are unpredictable, and it is very likely that things will go wrong!"

……

Since Jia Cong went to Jinling, Daiyu and Tanchun have been living with Yingchun in the East Palace.

Later, Xiangyun came, and little Xichun also stayed with Yingchun most of the time. Although the Earl's Mansion was away from its male owner, it was still as popular as before, and became more and more lively and cheerful.

Although the sisters in the mansion all lived a comfortable life, Baoyu was the only one who was not in a very good mood.

The reason, of course, was that his sisters all went to live in the East Palace, and now he was often the only one left alone in the West Palace all day.

Not to mention others, even Lin Daiyu went there, and was so happy there that she didn't want to leave, which made Baoyu very sad.

He wanted to go to the East Palace to play with his sisters, and even planned to follow his second sister Yingchun's example and arrange a place for him to stay in the East Palace.

Anyway, the East Palace is bigger than the West Palace, and there is plenty of space there. He doesn't care how he lives. As long as he can see his sisters every day, especially his sister Lin, that is the most beautiful thing in the world.

Unfortunately, he went to the East Palace several times, but couldn't even get in the door.

The small door connecting the back corridor of the East Palace and the West Palace is usually guarded by two maids. It is said that they were bought by Jia Cong from Jiangnan, and they are very dedicated and responsible in their work.

Whenever they saw Baoyu coming, the two old women's faces turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

It is said that the uncle had gone out and ordered that there are only women in the East Palace at the moment, and in order to avoid suspicion, all outside men are not allowed to enter the East Palace.

Once, Baoyu acted like a spoiled brat and followed Yuanyang to the East Palace, but the two old women let Yuanyang in with a smile and still kept Baoyu outside the door.

Fortunately, although Baoyu was a playboy, he was not too evil-minded and did not go to complain to Grandmother Jia immediately, otherwise trouble would have definitely occurred.

It was Tanchun who got the news. After all, Baoyu was her biological brother, so she went to the West Mansion and coaxed Baoyu a few words, and the matter passed quietly.

Tanchun knows Jia Cong's thoughts best, mostly about Jin Chuan's affairs. She thinks Baoyu is irresponsible and can't stand Baoyu's daily idleness.

There is an even more important point. I don’t know if others have noticed it, but Tanchun knows it clearly in her heart that her third brother does not want Baoyu to be entangled with Sister Lin.

……

The rumor that Baoyu was not allowed to enter the East Palace also reached Wang Xifeng's ears. Wang Xifeng also came from a noble family, so she naturally knew the rule that outsiders were not allowed to enter the inner house.

But Baoyu has been hanging out in the inner house since he was a child and grew up with his sisters. In the eyes of others, people would habitually avoid using the word "outsider" to describe him.

It seems that this word is only used for people like Xue Dashazi.

Therefore, Wang Xifeng felt that Jia Cong was making a big deal out of nothing. His sisters had always been close to him, but he was very close to them, yet he was so annoying to Baoyu, which was a bit like a prefectural official setting a fire.

However, the situation in the Jia family has changed now. Mrs. Wang has brought up the topic of a perfect match, and is determined to get Baochai to help her seize power.

Wang Xifeng is a shrewd and insightful person. She will not let herself lose power in the Jia family. Naturally, she will not stand on Baoyu's side in everything as she did before. At most, she will just pretend to be powerful in front of Lady Jia.

Moreover, Jia Cong is now on the rise and has indisputably become a leading figure in the Jia family. Jia Cong is her brother from the second branch of the family and is the person she and Jia Lian can rely on the most.

Therefore, her thoughts now naturally lean towards Jia Cong.

After all, the time she spent with her sisters was limited. Every time she saw Jia Cong appear, he was with her sisters. She would never think too much about it. After all, it is always darkest under the lamp.

So unlike Yingchun and Tanchun, she was not extremely attentive to Jia Cong's affairs and had long noticed the unusualness between Daiyu and Jia Cong.

Therefore, Wang Xifeng did not think too much about the fact that Baoyu was not allowed to enter the East Palace.

Moreover, sisters such as Yingchun, Daiyu, Tanchun, etc. went to Rongqing Hall to pay their respects every day, and would often go to Wang Xifeng and Li Gongcai to sit and chat.

Whenever this happened, Baoyu would naturally follow suit to join in the fun, which helped to relieve some of his boredom and depression.

At this time, Wang Xifeng would also seize the opportunity to make jokes, ease the atmosphere, and play both sides between Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang.

The embarrassing situation of Baoyu not being able to enter the East Palace was gradually eliminated.

One of the reasons was that Mrs. Wang had never liked Daiyu. As for Yingchun moving into the East Palace, she had not thought about it long ago, so it was exactly what she wanted that Baoyu did not go to the East Palace.

Besides, the girl she liked, Baochai, was living in the Lixiang Garden in the West Palace in a well-behaved manner.

As for Lady Jia, since she knew that her grandson had set up a separate household and lived separately, which was no longer the same as in the past when he was raised in the West Mansion, she wanted to set up rules in her own house, and there was nothing wrong with these rules.

Since her own Baoyu was not too upset, although Grandmother Jia was a little unhappy, she had to muddle through. If she wanted to punish the boy, she had to wait until he came back from Jinling.

Although Baoyu's inability to enter the East Palace may not seem like a big deal, what it reflects is not simple.

Because of these intricate inner-house entanglements, even though Jia Cong was not in the mansion and only Yingchun was in charge of the Earl's Mansion, the clear distinction between the East Mansion and the West Mansion had become increasingly obvious.

……

Early that morning, as Jia's grandmother was feeling bored for the past few days, Wang Xifeng called a small opera troupe to perform in the grand hall.

The troupe performed a recently adapted Western play called "Pansi Cave". Even an old actor like Lady Jia was hearing it for the first time.

So he asked Mrs. Wang to bring Baoyu to join in the fun.

He also asked Yuanyang to go to the East Palace to call Yingchun, Daiyu, Tanchun, Xiangyun and other granddaughters, and asked Amber to invite Baochai and Aunt Xue, so that everyone could listen to the new play together.

The new play was sung lively, and after the end of the play, Jia Mu was still in high spirits and took everyone back to Rongqing Hall to talk.

After chatting for a cup of tea, Jia Zheng came into the hall with a letter. He looked quite proud and said that it was a letter from the eldest master of the Zhen family in Jinling, and he needed to report to the old lady.

When Li Gongcai saw the second master entering the hall to discuss serious matters, he took the sisters out of Rongqing Hall, and the sisters went to Tanchun's room to talk.

When they were halfway there, Xiangyun remembered that her handkerchief had fallen in the hall, so she turned back to get it, and no one paid any attention.

Only Tanchun's bright eyes turned slightly, as if she had thought of something, and she just said that she would go back with Xiangyun to get the things, and asked the sisters to sit in her room first.

Daiyu turned around to look at Tanchun's leaving figure, her bright eyes moving as if she was thinking about something...

Xiangyun really left her handkerchief in Rongqing Hall. Tanchun accompanied her back to get it, but she had her own thoughts.

Among the sisters, Tanchun is the most clever and intelligent. She had just heard her master say that he had received a letter from the Zhen family in Nanjing, and she had been thinking about it.

She knew that the Zhen family in Jinling and the master had not had much contact. How come a letter suddenly came and the master went to talk to the old lady specifically? The letter must have mentioned something important.

Moreover, Tanchun thought that her third brother was in Jinling. She had always been most concerned about Jia Cong's affairs, so she couldn't help but associate what was said in the letter with her third brother.

What she would think is not unreasonable.

Because the last time, Mrs. Zhen brought their third daughter to the mansion to pay a visit to the old lady, the Zhen and Jia mansions had just had some contact.

Tanchun still remembers the outstanding character and appearance of Miss Zhen San.

At that time, Mrs. Zhen wanted the third brother to come out and meet her. Since Jia Cong was conferred the title, Tanchun and her sisters have seen too many similar dramas.

This time, Third Brother has been on business in Jinling for more than a month. Why did the Zhen family in Jinling send a letter at this time? Could it be related to the visit of the Zhen family's women that day...? (End of this chapter)