Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Jinling, Xinglongfang, Jia's old house, Jia Congyuan
In the afternoon, the scorching sun waxed and waned in intensity, shining through the dense branches and leaves of the sycamore trees in the garden, casting flickering spots of light onto the desk.

Douguan was sleeping soundly on the couch in the study, while Lingguan was practicing calligraphy at her desk, looking at the copybook left by Jia Cong.

Lingguan Ya's silky black hair shone in the sun, and on her snow-white and tender earlobes she wore a pair of gold-thread earrings inlaid with oriental pearls.

As her wrist turned, the pearls on the earrings swayed gently, flashing a lustrous milky white light.

The light spots projected in from the window seemed to catch her eye, so she put down her brush, stood up to the windowsill, and tiptoed to lower the bamboo sunshade.

The slender body stretched and pulled up has revealed slightly undulating curves, just like the buds on a cardamom branch about to bloom, indescribably graceful and beautiful.

She returned to her desk, picked up the brush and wrote a few strokes, then put it down with some boredom.

He sat at the desk, propped up his face with his hands, and stared blankly in boredom.

Jia Cong has not returned home for the past few days. Lingguan has already memorized the new words taught by Jia Cong. She even read "Meeting the True Love" which Jia Cong bought for her to relieve boredom many times.

It seems like there really isn’t anything new to do.

Since returning from the birthday celebration at Zhen Mansion that day, Jia Cong has never returned home again, and Lingguan misses him very much.

Two days ago, Jiang Liu came back to report that the Third Master had some important business outside and would not return home until he was done.

Although she had received Jia Cong's confirmation, time passed and Jia Cong never came back, which made Lingguan worried every day.

Ever since she followed Jia Cong away from Gusu, she has become accustomed to Jia Cong's presence.

She thought that when she returned to the capital in the future, she would perform in the Jiaofangsi with her sisters in the opera troupe.

If I can no longer be with him, reading, writing and singing songs every day like I do now, I will suffocate to death.

Unlike Lingguan who was worried about Jia Cong, Douguan had no taboos when Jia Cong was away from home for many days. She ate when she was supposed to, slept when she was supposed to, and practiced when she was supposed to, and her life was still happy and simple.

Lingguan glanced at Douguan, who was curled up on the couch and sleeping soundly, and wrinkled her nose in envy.

Suddenly I heard light footsteps and a slender figure behind me.

She was very smart. Jia Cong's courtyard was behind the second gate. Apart from her, Douguan, and two maids arranged by the Jia family, there would be no one else walking around.

She was filled with joy and turned around, calling out, "Third Master, you're back. I haven't seen you for so many days."

Seeing Lingguan's face full of joy and smiles, Jia Cong couldn't help but ask, "Did you miss me?"

He was used to telling these jokes to his close friends like Zhishao, and after not seeing Lingguan for a few days, they came out naturally.

I felt something strange after I said it out loud. After all, Lingguan was different from Zhishao and Wu'er, and it seemed a bit abrupt.

But I didn't expect Lingguan, who was still young and didn't quite understand, didn't care at all and said with a slight scolding, "I know I miss you, but you didn't come back earlier."

Jia Cong was slightly stunned when he heard this, but he was actually amazed by her straightforward and outspoken temper, which was really somewhat similar to Daiyu's personality.

"I'm back, and I brought you something."

Jia Cong opened the package in his hand. Inside was a blue book box cover. He opened the ivory box label and found five neatly stacked blue books.

The cover reads "Cui Yingying Waiting for the Moon in the West Chamber", which is the same as Wang Shipu's The West Chamber that is often referred to in later generations.

Lingguan followed Jia Cong to study and write for a while. Although she still couldn't recognize some rare characters, she could recognize a few words on the cover.

When he saw the five brand new copies of The West Chamber, his eyes were filled with joy and admiration.

Jia Cong laughed and said, “You said before that your master was illiterate, and she taught you opera scripts by dictating them to you from your ancestors, and you said that you could read the opera scripts yourself now that you knew how to read.

So I bought you this set of Xixiang Zaju scripts. You have sung many songs in the past, and you can find them all here."

Lingguan happily took the book and started flipping through it. Suddenly, she thought of something and asked, "Third Master, have you finished your work outside? Why don't you stay at home today?"

Jia Cong replied: "The matter is not settled yet. I came back to see you and Douguan, and I will leave soon."

When Lingguan heard this, her face fell and she frowned and said, "You still have to go out. It will take a few days for you to come back. I already know all the characters you taught me, and I am still waiting for you to teach me new ones."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I'll have time to study and write later, but I came here this time to take you with me."

When Lingguan heard this, her face lit up with joy, and she asked with a smile, "Where are you taking me, Third Master?"

In order to take care of Zou Min'er, Jia Cong has stayed in the old house in Mingze Lane for five days.

After all, he is still responsible for the work of the Firearms Department of the Ministry of Industry. His absence for several days could be attributed to him taking care of Zou Miner's funeral.

If you delay too long, it will definitely arouse suspicion among people around you, so it's time to get out and show your face.

Moreover, Zou Miner's injuries are now stable and she no longer needs his care day and night, but he cannot be in Mingze Lane all the time. Zou Miner needs someone to accompany her.

But Zou Min'er was trying to fake her death to get away, and the matter involved the Jinling Chariot Division. Jia Cong did not dare to hire a strange woman to serve her, for fear that the news would leak out.

So he thought of taking Lingguan to look after Zou Miner, which would be the safest and most reliable option.

……

Gusu, Tielingguan Wharf.

In the afternoon, the sun is like fire.

Many cargo ships dock early in the morning every day, and that is the peak time for port handling.

The poor laborers in the city would take advantage of this time to grab business. As long as they worked hard for a morning, they would have food to eat for the day.

When the sun rises to the zenith and the cargo ships docked in the morning for loading and unloading, the peak period has passed and the dock has entered the quietest time of the day.

After a busy day, the dock laborers gathered in groups of three or five and chose a shaded spot on the dock to drink tea, gamble, or take a deep sleep to relieve the fatigue of half a day's work.

There is a big banyan tree on the east side of the pier, where the shade is the coolest and it is the coolest place on the pier.

However, the coolies at the dock avoided this best place, preferring to find a place with less shade than to seek bad luck under the tree.

A few days ago, some coolies from other places came. They were all strong and powerful, and they took away a lot of business as soon as they arrived at the dock.

As a result, some local old coolies were very dissatisfied and stepped forward to provoke them, hoping to scare away these outsiders.

But I didn't expect that these foreigners were not only strong, but also very good at fighting.

The provocateur was beaten up in no time, and from then on, no one at the dock bothered these outsiders anymore.

The laborers who move goods at the docks are paid for their labor, and naturally they believe in conquering others by force. If someone is stronger than you, you will naturally submit and admit defeat. This is also the unspoken rule of this industry.

Under the big banyan tree at the pier, six people were sitting in a haphazard manner, taking up the entire shade.

Four of them were big, sturdy men, and at first glance they looked like strong and powerful characters.

The fifth person was a thin man, but he looked energetic and had a pair of bright eyes.

In addition to these five people, the sixth person under the tree looked a little different. He was neither strong and muscular nor lean and strong.

Compared with the other five people, he was much older, already in his thirties, wearing a short grey coat, with a thin figure and ordinary facial features.

In short, no matter his age or appearance, this man doesn't look like someone who can do hard labor at the dock.

In fact, he was the leader of this group of foreign coolies, responsible for getting work for them and the ship owners, settling accounts, counting and transporting silver and money, etc.

……

The lean man walked over to the middle-aged man and sat down, asking, "Brother Zhang Wu, where did you ask Yu Xiuzhu to go so early in the morning? He was so mysterious and wouldn't tell me when I asked him."

The man called Brother Zhang Wu smiled and said, "I let him go to a brothel." The thin man was shocked by what the other party said, and his mouth was wide open. He asked, "You let him go to a brothel, Brother Zhang Wu, what are you doing?

The Third Master asked us to go to Gusu to find the whereabouts of that person, and you asked us to carry the heavy bags and let Xiuzhu go to the brothel... "

Zhang Wu Ge smiled slightly. This time, Earl Weiyuan had drawn fifty people from somewhere and let four people from the Jinling Central Vehicle Department lead them to go to various states along the river to gather information.

Because Gusu is a big city in the south of the Yangtze River, where merchants gather and water and land transportation are well developed, it is one of the few centers for the flow of people and wealth in the south of the Yangtze River.

Moreover, Gusu and Songjiang are the most important ports of entry to the sea among the states along the river. If Zhou Zhengyang escapes to the sea, he will most likely have to pass through these two places.

Therefore, half of the fifty people were sent to these two places to gather information, and Zhang Wu alone brought twelve people to Gusu.

Although Zhang Wu had been instructed not to inquire about these people's origins, he still guessed their identities through his interactions with them.

When these people mentioned the Earl of Weiyuan in private, they would respectfully call him General or Lord Earl, so most of them were Earl of Weiyuan's subordinates and comrades in the army.

The military spirit revealed in these people's behavior also confirmed Zhang Wu's guess.

Among these people, only Jiang Xiaoliu would call Weiyuanbo "Third Master" from time to time.

Zhang Wu is an old man of the Jinling Royal Chariot Service and an experienced spy of the Royal Chariot Service. He knows a lot about the prominent figures in both Shenjing and Jinling.

Naturally, he was well aware of the past of a person like Jia Cong, not to mention that Jia Cong was now temporarily the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Chariot Department, and was still his immediate superior.

He knew that Jia Cong was born in the Rongguo Mansion in Shenjing and was a native of Shenjing, and that this Jiang Xiaoliu was also from Shenjing.

Judging from the familiarity in his expression when he mentioned Jia Cong, he must have been Jia Cong's close confidant in Liaodong. I'm afraid they were already familiar with each other in Shenjing before that.

……

Zhang Wu smiled and said, "Brother Jiang, you don't know that the reason I asked Xiuzhu to visit the brothel was not to let him enjoy himself, but to let him get information."

Jiang Xiaoliu was surprised to hear this and laughed softly, "Brother Zhang Wu has such a good job, why doesn't he let us do it for him? What good can Xiuzhu's literary appearance do?"

Zhang Wu smiled and said, "It's his literary and elegant spirit that I want. It's only appropriate for a man like him to linger in brothels.

You guys all look so brave and strong, with a strong military spirit. If you go to a place full of debauchery, you will be too conspicuous and it will be easy for people to see your flaws.

The only way you won't be so conspicuous is if you stay at the dock where you work hard.

The others are not as conspicuous as you, so I arranged for them to go into the market to investigate."

Jiang Xiaoliu laughed softly and said, "Brother Zhang Wu, you guys have so many rules, there are so many rules for checking news and visiting brothels.

But you asked Xiuzhu to go to the brothel to get information. Is there any place where we can find Zhou Zhengyang's whereabouts?"

Zhang Wu said: "We have Zhou Zhengyang's secret files. Zhou Zhengyang is a lustful man. Although he has a beautiful wife and concubines at home, he still spends his days in brothels and is used to pursuing women.

People like him would most likely not be able to resist going to brothels for entertainment even if they are hiding or escaping. This is a common problem among lustful people.

Besides, the flow of people in the brothel is complicated, so it might be a good place to hide."

Jiang Xiaoliu looked strange and said, "Brother Zhang Wu, there are so many brothels in Gusu City. If you ask Xiuzhu to look for them one by one, he will be exhausted to death."

Zhang Wu smiled and said, "Zhou Zhengyang is a third-rank military officer in Jinling, with a high position and prominent status. A man like him would never go to those private dormitories, but would definitely go to the most luxurious brothel in the area.

There are only three or four places like this in Gusu. I told him the specific places. Xiuzhu only needs half a day to go there. "

Jiang Xiaoliu listened to this and muttered, "Three or four is not a small number. Xiuzhu is a weak boy. Can he handle it..."

……

As the two were talking, a young man suddenly came over from the dock. He was wearing a moon-white thin silk gown, a square scarf on his head, a folding handbag slanted across the back of his collar, and he walked with a swaying step, looking very romantic.

As soon as Zhang Wu saw this man, he laughed softly and said, "Xiuzhu is only a soldier, which is a bit of a waste of talent. He might be more suitable for our line of work."

The young man walked under the big banyan tree and shouted, "Mr. Zhang, how much cargo is left on my ship? I have to tell you first that if it is not unloaded before sunset, I will make it clear.

You won't get a penny!"

The young man's arrogant words attracted the local coolies who were resting near the dock. They even saw Zhang Wu nodding and bowing, inviting the young man to sit down and rest his feet and drink tea.

So these people speculated that this group of villagers must have overestimated their own capabilities, snatched too much business, and were unable to unload the goods in time, so the ship owner would not pay them a sum of money.

This kind of thing is common at the docks. The local coolies didn't care when they heard it, and most of them even looked at it with gloating eyes, so no one paid attention to this side.

The young man sat down, glanced around, and then whispered, "Brother Zhang Wu, I went to the brothels you mentioned this morning, but I didn't hear any useful information from the first few.

Later we went to Pan Xiang Lou in the north of the city and, according to your method, called the most sung lady in the building. That lady was called Hua Niang and was famous for her golden voice in the Hua Lou in Suzhou.

I heard her sing a little song and started chatting with her, and I actually got some useful information."

Jiang Xiaoliu, who was standing by, was confused and asked, "Brother Zhang Wu, why did you ask Xiuzhu to go to the brothel and ask for Miss Hong who can sing? What's so mysterious about this?"

Zhang Wu smiled and said, "This Zhou Zhengyang is not only lustful, but also has a quirk. Every time he goes to a brothel, he picks the top performer who can sing.

And before doing anything, he would ask the other party to sing the brothel's ditty first."

Jiang Xiaoliu had a strange look on his face: "This dog official has so many tricks."

Zhang Wu added: "We didn't know about this secret at first. Later, the Dali Temple tried to arrest Zhou Zhengyang but failed, and even Zhou Zhengyang's wife and son escaped in advance.

But they caught Zhou Zhengyang's wife and concubine. The Dali Temple Chief Yang Hongbin was an expert in interrogation and his methods were very sophisticated.

It was discovered during the interrogation that Zhou Zhengyang's wife, Madam Ru, was the head courtesan of Jinling Hongchunlou ten years ago. When she was young, Madam Ru was not only extremely beautiful, but also had a natural golden voice.

She was best at singing the romantic songs of brothels, which won the favor of Zhou Zhengyang, so he spent a large sum of money to redeem her and let her become his concubine.

But later, Mrs. Ru gave birth to a daughter and gradually aged and lost her beauty, but Zhou Zhengyang's illness was still there, and he would follow the rules every time he went to a brothel. "

Jiang Xiaoliu had a strange expression on his face after hearing this bizarre story. After a long pause, he said, "This dog official has so many tricks!"

Yu Xiuzhu, who was standing by, also chuckled after hearing this strange story.

She continued, “Hua Niang said that some time ago, there was a guest like me who called Hong Xiao Girl, who was proficient in singing, as soon as she came.

The guest also particularly liked to listen to a song called... yes, it was a brothel tune called "Sprinkling Golden Fan".

Because Hua Niang was born with a good voice, she sang the song "Sprinkling Golden Fan" which pleased the customer very much, and he had already taken care of her several times.

He just hasn't come in the last seven or eight days, and every time he comes, he brings followers with him. He seems to be an extraordinary person.

I gave Hua Niang five taels of silver to buy rouge and asked her about the person's appearance. According to Hua Niang's description, the person looked very much like Zhou Zhengyang in the portrait.

But I was afraid that she would become suspicious, so I didn’t dare to take out the portrait for her to identify.”

When Zhang Wu heard this, his eyes sparkled and his expression was slightly agitated. He said, "This is Zhou Zhengyang's unique quirk, and very few other people have this problem.

This person must be Zhou Zhengyang, which at least means he was in Gusu seven or eight days ago, and maybe he is still in Gusu now!"

Jiang Xiaoliu asked, "Since he is a pervert and has visited Hua Niang several times, why hasn't he come in the past seven or eight days?"

Wang Xiuzhu said: "Because seven days ago, the Dali Temple issued the latest picture of Zhou Zhengyang, replacing the old picture of the Ministry of War, and the new picture is said to be very similar to Zhou Zhengyang himself.

Now that the posters are posted everywhere in the streets and alleys, how can Zhou Zhengyang dare to show up in public?"

Zhang Wu glanced at Wang Xiuzhu and showed approval for his quick thinking.

He said, "Today is a great harvest. I will write a letter immediately and have the messenger send it to Jinling overnight to wait for the instructions of Weiyuan Bo and Miss Zou." (End of this chapter)