Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 423: The Suspected Tomb Buried with a Fragrant Soul

Mingze Lane, Jinling.

Lingguan was humming a little tune in the kitchen, washing rice, cooking porridge, and preparing dishes. She was busy running around, looking very happy.

She was used to doing these things in the opera troupe, so she was naturally familiar with them when she was busy and didn't take them seriously.

When Jia Cong first brought her over, she was shocked to see Zou Min'er lying in bed seriously injured.

However, she was very smart and did not ask the reason. Since Jia Cong brought her here, he must have his reasons.

Besides, she could see that Miss Zou was seriously injured, and the Third Master must have been coming here these days.

She couldn't see him even if she stayed in the old house in Xinglongfang, so it would be more interesting to stay in Mingze Lane.

Zou Min'er in the room heard the noise coming from the kitchen and said to Jia Cong who had just changed her medicine, "Why did you bring Lingguan here?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Your situation is special right now, and I can't stay here all the time. Apart from Lingguan, the others in Jinling are either unsuitable or untrustworthy."

Zou Miner smiled and said, "This little girl is quite capable, but she has a rather stubborn temper. She will not last long in the Jiaofangsi, a place full of good and bad people."

Jia Cong was slightly stunned when he heard this. At the beginning, Zou Min'er represented the Music Bureau to purchase female actors, and Lingguan had signed a contract to sell herself with the Music Bureau. Naturally, she would have to join the Music Bureau as a miscellaneous actress when she returned to the capital in the future.

The girl refused to submit to the tyranny and sang brothel tunes like "Sprinkling Golden Fan", and even the flower crown on her head fell off.

What Zou Miner said was absolutely right. With such a strong and stubborn character, she really couldn't survive for long in a place like the Jiaofangsi where the social classes were complicated.

However, Jia Cong was not too worried about this. In fact, when he brought Lingguan back to the Jia Mansion, he never thought of sending her to the Music Bureau in the future.

Once the matter in Jinling is settled, there will naturally be many ways to deal with it when we return to the capital.

……

Zou Miner said: "The people from the Central Vehicle Division will lead your 50 men to search for information in the states along the Yangtze River. We need someone to take charge of the daily information exchanges.

Now I can't show up again, and you hold the token of the head of the Central Vehicle Division. I will inform you in detail about the Central Vehicle Division's Jinling counter and personnel, and you will be in full control from now on."

Jia Cong asked, "Should we report this matter to the Shenjing Central Vehicle Division first? If I am in charge of it directly, will it arouse suspicion?"

Zou Miner smiled slightly: "Just say that I entrusted it to you before I die. Even if a dead person does something out of the ordinary, who can say anything?

Besides, it usually takes ten days to travel back and forth from Jinling to Shenjing by express horse. Instead of wasting time, you might as well just say that I am dead.

Quickly controlling the personnel of Jinling Zhongche Division will greatly help you to arrest Zhou Zhengyang and eliminate the legacy of the Water Conservancy Division case, which is what I want to see."

Ever since Zou Min'er was seriously injured and dying, and luckily escaped with the help of Jia Cong, her mood has changed a lot.

In thinking about many things, the two people have gone from having their own grudges to being closely dependent on each other, and unknowingly standing on the same side.

Jia Cong knew very well that Zou Huaiyi had committed suicide to cover up his guilt of conspiracy in order to save his wife and daughter, but ultimately failed to achieve his goal. This had become a thorn in Zou Min'er's side.

Jia Cong can only resolve Zou Miner's heart knot if he clears up the legacy of the Water Conservancy case.

……

Zou Min'er and Jia Cong explained the names and characteristics of the six important officials of the Zhongchesi in Jinling. These six people each had subordinate branches in Jinling.

As long as these six people are under control, more connections and resources of CRRC Corporation Limited in Jinling will be under control.

Zou Miner added: "The CRRC has an important station in Jinling, and I contacted and deployed the personnel of the CRRC in Jinling through it.

That place is in the east of the city, Yao's Wine Shop in Xinghua Lane. The shopkeeper, Xu Qinnan, is one of the six people I mentioned.

She has been in Jinling for many years, is familiar with the Jinling connections, is smart and capable, and can be of great help to you in your work."

When Zou Miner told Jia Cong the address of the stall, he was stunned for a moment, and felt a chill in his heart for no reason.

Zou Miner noticed that his expression was a little strange, and asked with concern: "What's wrong with you?"

Jia Cong smiled and replied: "It's okay, I was a little distracted just now."

Although he spoke to Zou Miner in a light-hearted manner, his heart was filled with turbulent waves!

In the east of Jinling City, Xinghua Lane, Yao’s Wine Shop.

This address has been hidden in his mind for two years. Although he has been to Nanjing twice, he has never been to that place.

For him and Qu Hongxiu, it was a forbidden place that they would never touch unless absolutely necessary.

Two years ago, Jia Cong went to Nanjing on business for the first time. At that time, the Longtan Port massacre occurred in Nanjing. Dozens of Japanese ronin broke into the city, and the whole Nanjing was in crisis.

Qu Hongxiu was worried about Jia Cong's safety, so before he went to Jinling, he gave him an iron plate of his hidden identity.

When he encounters a crisis that is difficult to deal with, he can take this Hidden Gate identity plate to the Hidden Gate’s secret stall in Jinling and seek help from the lady owner there.

At that time, Qu Hongxiu also carefully told him not to take this step unless it was absolutely necessary.

If Jia Cong had encountered risks that were difficult to resolve in Jinling at that time and really sought help from the people in the Hidden Sect, I am afraid that it would have opened the door to disaster from then on.

Whether Qu Hongxiu could leave Hidden Gate smoothly, and whether the two of them could still focus on the development of Xinchunhao in the next two years, all became unknown and risky.

The location of this hidden secret stall is the Yao Family Wine Shop in Xinghua Lane. The Xu Qinnan that Zou Miner mentioned is most likely the shopkeeper that Qu Hongxiu mentioned.

……

Jia Cong moved from the East Courtyard to the West Mansion of Rongguo. In the past four years, he has encountered many risks and twists and turns, but none of them has been as mysterious and unpredictable as the current one.

There are two possibilities for this situation.

The first possibility is that Xu Qinnan betrayed the Hidden Sect and defected to the Zhongchesi.

Another possibility is that Xu Qinniang is the Hidden Sect's secret agent in the Zhongchesi.

If the truth is the second possibility, then even the heavily guarded secret service of the Great Zhou Dynasty would be infiltrated and corrupted, and the hidden power of the Hidden Door would be too terrifying.

No matter which possibility it was, Jia Cong didn't want to touch or disturb it easily.

In the Great Zhou, the imperial court treated the affairs of the Hidden Sect as a flood and a beast, and would rather kill the wrong person than let him go.

As long as you get involved with the Hidden Sect, the end result will be a miserable death.

The Jinling Du family back then was a lesson for us. This is what Jia Cong knew. How much more might he not know?

……

Zou Min'er on the side was telling Jia Cong in detail about the personnel composition of the Jinling Zhongche Division, especially the situation of the lady who was the shopkeeper of Xinghua Lane.

Although she was smart and clever, she could never have imagined that her mention of the Yao Family Wine Shop in Xinghua Lane would bring such horror and shock to Jia Cong's heart.

Zou Miner said: "The personnel we sent to the states along the river would send back information regularly, which would first be sent to the Xinghua Lane stall, and then reported to us by Xu Qiniang.

So you have to contact Xu Qinnan as soon as possible to avoid missing any news. Also, before you meet her, you have to help me with the funeral arrangements.

I think the assassination in the inner courtyard of Qingyin Pavilion must have been reported to Xu Qinnan in every detail.

Since I could even deceive the coroner of Yingtian Prefecture, Xu Qinnan would never have thought that I was just seriously injured and faked my death. Since she already had a preconceived idea, it was not difficult to deceive her.

After my mother died, she was buried in the mass grave in the east of the city. After I arrived in Nanjing, I moved her to Fuzhou Mountain, west of Taiping Gate. Please help me build a grave next to my mother's grave..."

Jia Cong listened to Zou Min'er's voice gradually becoming weaker as she finished speaking, so he comforted her, "I will definitely help you get it done, and others won't be able to see any flaws."

But he felt helpless. It seemed impossible to avoid Xu Qiniang. All the news along the river was reported to Xinghua Lane first. It was no problem before when Zou Miner came forward. But now he had to contact Xu Qiniang as soon as possible.

……

Zou Miner took the tiger-patterned jade leather belt from the bedside.

After Zou Min'er was assassinated that day, she thought she was doomed, so she told Jia Cong the secret hidden in the jade belt.

But that day Jia Cong was only concerned with treating his injuries and did not open the jade belt to check what Zou Min'er had hidden.

He also knew that this jade belt had a special meaning to Zou Min'er. Ever since he brought her to Mingze Lane to recuperate, this jade belt had been placed next to her pillow.

Zou Miner stroked the white and smooth surface of the leather belt, as if she recalled something, and a slight blush appeared on her face.

She asked Jia Cong to find a pair of scissors for him, and used the scissors to gently pick open the seams behind the third jade buckle of the jade belt, and pulled out a carefully folded piece of paper from inside.

Jia Cong saw her open the paper and found it was a receipt with intricate patterns printed on it and some words written on it. It looked a bit like a pawn ticket from a pawn shop.

Zou Miner said: "That day in the backyard of Qingyun Pavilion, the female assassin kept asking whether my father had left behind the secret files and accounts of the Water Supervision Department.

In fact, my father left me nothing.

This piece of paper is a deposit receipt from the Sihai Money House on Jinhongwen Street in Jinling. It is the only thing my father left behind, and it was not left to me.

Before my father's birthday that year, his trusted old servant Wei Bo had to go home to attend the funeral. I don't know whether my father realized that something was wrong or was just taking precautions out of habit.

Let Wei Bo take this deposit slip back to his hometown. If there is nothing wrong in Nanjing, he can bring this slip back with him.

At that time, this ticket was placed in a secret box and sealed with wax, which shows how much my father valued this ticket. "

After the Nanjing Incident, Wei Bo dared not return to Nanjing, but the Court of Inquiry should have found clues about Wei Bo from the mouths of other servants of the Zou family.

They even hunted Wei Bo for more than half a year. Later, Wei Bobei fled to Shenjing and handed the ticket to me.

As soon as I arrived in Shenjing, I asked someone to go to Sihai Money House to collect the items stored in this deposit ticket.

However, this deposit record is extremely particular and a special contract has been signed with Sihai Money House. It must be collected by the depositor himself, and his appearance and handwriting must also be verified.

Except for the depositor himself, no one else can collect it.

The person who deposited the things was my mother. It must be my father who asked my mother to deposit the things.

Moreover, my mother used an old name that she had not used for a long time, obviously to conceal the fact that the Zou family had such a storage file.

I think all these operations must have been instructed by my father to my mother, and it should be a precautionary measure to leave a way out.

The Zou family was wiped out and my mother died in the Yingtian Prefecture prison, so according to the contract of Sihai Bank, it is difficult to withdraw this deposit file. "

……

After listening to Zou Min'er's words, Jia Cong's heart moved slightly, and he asked, "Do you think your father stored things so obscurely? Those might be the secret accounts of the Water Inspectorate!"

Zou Miner replied: “I don’t think he needs to use such a tortuous method to hide some gold and silver objects. If he is collecting gold and silver, he should let his only daughter know.

But if Wei Bo hadn't told me about this, I would have known nothing about it. My father must have thought that my knowing about this would not be good for me.

Although my mother is a person who collects things, she certainly doesn't know what she is collecting.

If the items collected in Sihai Money House were really the secret accounts of the Water Inspectorate's looting from the outer seas, if my mother knew the details, she would definitely dissuade my father given her personality.

But until the Zou family was raided and my father committed suicide, my mother still had no idea what she had done.

Later, we were imprisoned in Yingtian Prefecture. When the jailer read out my father's crimes, my mother learned the truth and died of anger and despair.

Until the moment of her death, she did not mention the matter of the deposit in Sihai Bank. She probably thought it was not important, so she subconsciously ignored it. "

Jia Cong thought for a moment and said, "The Water Supervision Bureau case was too big, involving a huge amount of lives and wealth.

As the head of the Water Supervision Bureau, your father has a huge responsibility on his shoulders.

If there is a mastermind behind this, he will definitely leave a backup plan to save his life and retreat.

I think the so-called secret files and accounts serve this purpose, and they cannot be groundless, otherwise the assassin would not interrogate you like this.

These things are a means of saving your father's life, but they are not amulets for you and your mother, and in most cases they are even death warrants.

I think your father must be well aware of the seriousness of this matter, which is why you have never known what a secret account is. Although your mother went to Sihai Money House to deposit things, she didn't know what exactly was deposited there.

The assassin came to the backyard of Qingyin Pavilion to assassinate you because he was worried that you knew the existence of the secret account. Since they couldn't get the things, they just got rid of you to prevent future troubles."

……

Zou Miner's eyes lit up and she said, "The thing hidden in Sihai Bank is most likely the secret account of the Water Inspectorate, but I don't know how to get it.

The Sihai Bank is owned by the Zhen family in Jinling. The Zhen family is very wealthy and powerful in Jinling, and the Sihai Bank has an outstanding reputation in Jinling. If you want to take things illegally, I'm afraid it's impossible."

When Jia Cong heard that Sihai Money House was the property of the Zhen family, his heart was moved and he naturally thought of Zhen Fangqing.

However, the Zhen family is currently suspected of privately manufacturing muskets. Even though Zhen Fangqing's conditions for cooperating with Xinchunhao are very sincere, Jia Cong has to treat it with caution.

Now that the deal between the two parties has failed, Jia Cong seems to have no reason to ask the other party to let him go and let him go to Sihai Money House to get his things. After all, business is business, and such things will greatly damage the reputation of the money house.

Zou Miner handed the storage file to Jia Cong and said, "You should keep this storage file."

Jia Cong took it with a look of surprise. This kind of storage file should be very important to Zou Miner, so why would she give it to him?

Zou Min'er looked at Jia Cong softly, and said, "I am already dead now, and it is not easy for me to show up on a daily basis. This file is of little use to me.

You have many ways to get what my father kept. If it is really the secret account of the Water Inspectorate, it will be very helpful in solving major cases."

Jia Cong discovered that Zou Min'er had been through a life-and-death crisis, and her original sharpness and coldness had unconsciously softened and softened a lot, at least that was the case when facing him.

And her trust and reliance on herself seemed to be growing day by day.

He put the storage file away and said, "Leave the things to me, don't worry. The Zhen family and my Jia family are old relatives and have always had exchanges.

If it were an ordinary time, there would be ways to discuss between the two families, but now the Zhen family is suspected of being involved in a very important matter and has come into the sight of the Jinyiwei.

If it is verified, there will be a disaster, so we need to be cautious when communicating with the Zhen family.

Besides, Miss Zhen San, who is in charge of the Zhen family's business, is quite an expert. It's not easy to get an advantage from her. I'll think of another way."

Zou Min'er also asked Jia Cong to take out the documents and belongings he carried with him. These things were all taken out from the inner courtyard of Qingyin Pavilion by Jia Cong.

He spread all these things on the table and, according to Zou Miner's reminder, screened and classified the useful things so that he could get control of the situation of Jinling Zhongche Division as soon as possible.

Zou Miner pointed to one of the iron plates and said, "This is my identity token. If you take this plate as a token of trust, Xu Qiniang will know that it was my instruction."

Jia Cong held the cold commander's badge in his hand, but his mind was filled with thoughts.

He thought that before going to see Xu Qinnan, he must discuss the matter carefully with Qu Hongxiu.

The Yao Family Wine Shop in Xinghua Lane encompasses the double gloom of the Hidden Gate and the Zhongchesi. For him and Qu Hongxiu, that place is a taboo that requires extreme caution.

In order to deal with it in the safest way, there must be a clear and appropriate response plan.

(End of this chapter)