Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Jinling, Xinghua Lane, Yao’s Wine Shop.

The blazing afternoon sun seemed to be able to melt iron and gold, baking the bluestone slabs on the ground to a scorching heat.

The images of the houses on both sides of the alley were slightly distorted in the scorching air.

On the tall and sturdy sycamore tree in front of the wine shop, cicadas were chirping hysterically, their voices solitary and loud.

In the past, the chirping of cicadas would only highlight the peacefulness and tranquility of a summer afternoon, but today they make people feel depressed and uneasy.

This was the first time Jia Cong walked into Yao's Wine Shop. Perhaps because of his preconceived notions, this ordinary-looking shop seemed quite strange to him.

In the wine shop, a boy of about seventeen or eighteen was steaming and drying distiller's yeast on the drying rack at the door. Under the baking sun, a strange aroma of wine filled the alley.

At the corner of the shop lobby, two sturdy men, shirtless and with muscular arms, were pounding glutinous rice with a stone mortar and hammer.

A maid in simple clothes was cleaning and wiping the tables, chairs and utensils in the shop.

These people and scenes seem ordinary, and this looks like an ordinary wine shop.

But Jia Cong was a martial artist, so he could see whether it was the boy at the door, the two strong men pounding rice, or even the maid sweeping the floor.

Every gesture and movement of these people reveals a dexterity and agility that ordinary people don't have.

Jia Cong told the maid who was sweeping the floor that she was introduced by Miss Zou from Qingyin Pavilion. The maid's eyes narrowed slightly and she ran to the back hall to call for help.

……

In a room on the second floor of the wine shop, a man and a woman sat facing each other, and the atmosphere seemed a little solemn.

The man is in the prime of his life, full of youthful vigor, unparalleled handsomeness and extraordinary demeanor.

The woman in Huaxin is in her prime, beautiful, charming, enchanting and graceful.

There were also two dark iron plates on the table, one was the identity token of the China Railway Company, and the other was the commander-in-chief's order.

Xu Qinnan had carefully checked the identity token and recognized it. Zou Miner had shown it to her when she first met her in Xinghua Lane.

Zou Min'er went to Jinling to assist in the investigation of Zhou Zhengyang's major case, and to control the personnel of Jinling Zhongche Si in this matter. Although Xu Qinnan was an old employee of Jinling Zhongche Si, she had to obey her orders.

But Zou Miner never told Xu Qinnan that there was a commander-in-chief of the Central Vehicle Department who was in charge of assisting in the investigation of this matter.

She did not tell Xu Qinnan about this, which was also the common practice of the secret agency. Important information would only be circulated to necessary people when necessary.

What Xu Qinnan did not expect was that the secret commander of the Imperial Chariot Department was actually the well-known Weiyuan Earl Jia Cong.

As the person in charge of the Nanjing Secret Files of the Imperial Chariot Department, she had long known that Jia Cong was ordered to go to Nanjing to take charge of the Firearms Department of the Secondary Capital, but she had never met Jia Cong in person.

She had even heard that Zou Min'er lived in Qingyin Pavilion and had close and ambiguous relations with the young man Weiyuanbo.

Originally, she thought that Zou Min'er, who was a spy for the China Railway Company, was probably using this kind of affair as a cover for a casual affair, so she didn't take it too seriously at the time.

Even if Zou Miner and this Earl Weiyuan really had an affair, that was Zou Miner's private matter and had nothing to do with others.

Xu Qinnan had been able to work in the Jinling Chariot Department for four years and was considered by Zou Miner to be a smart and capable person who could be a great help to Jia Cong in his Jinling affairs.

She was naturally a very astute person. As soon as she saw Jia Cong show Zou Min'er's identity token and explain her own identity.

She quickly connected many things together and immediately determined some key information.

The Earl of Weiyuan in front of him must have been the same as Zou Min'er. He received the emperor's secret order in Shenjing and went to Nanjing to investigate the Zhou Zhengyang case.

As for the management of the Firearms Bureau of the Secondary Capital in Nanjing, it was just a cover for outsiders.

Xu Qinniang knew that Jia Cong had been very popular in the past two years, and this young man was now in the emperor's favor.

The emperor even sent such a person to Nanjing secretly, which shows how much he valued and paid attention to the matter of Zhou Zhengyang and the major case of the Water Conservancy Bureau that year.

Jinling is the core hub of half of Jiangnan. The calm sea in Jinling City is related to the stability of the six states and one prefecture in Jiangnan. No wonder the emperor cares so much about it.

After understanding these key points, Xu Qinnan's mind became somewhat profound. She couldn't help but think of how she had been in Nanjing for many years, how she had worked hard alone, how her relatives had been separated, and how deep her ambitions were...

……

While Xu Qinnan was thinking and calculating in her heart, Jia Cong was also secretly observing her expression and behavior.

This seemingly beautiful, bright and charming female owner of the wine shop is not as pleasing to the eye as she appears.

Jia Cong thought about how she, as a member of the Hidden Gate, had spent such a long time infiltrating the Imperial Chariot Division and eventually became a backbone figure of the Imperial Chariot Division in Jinling.

Faced with such an extraordinary woman, Jia Cong had to be extremely cautious.

Jia Cong said: "Before Miss Zou died, she gave me her identity token and asked me to come and see Shopkeeper Xu. In the future, Shopkeeper Xu will have people pass on the intelligence reports from the states along the Yangtze River to me.

In addition, Miss Zou left a message before her death, asking me to take over the management of all matters concerning Zhou Zhengyang's case and to coordinate the manpower of the Jinling Zhongche Division on her behalf."

Xu Qinnan's expression changed slightly, and her watery and charming eyes moved around unsteadily.

He said: "Master Jia, the intelligence from the states along the river will be reported to you as soon as possible, there is no problem.

Logically speaking, you hold the token of the commander-in-chief of the Central Vehicle Department, and your position is above Qinniang, so I should obey you.

However, the China Railway Company has its own rules of conduct. The China Railway Company in Shenjing has issued an order for us to be under the command of Miss Zou. Now Miss Zou has died unexpectedly.

According to the practice of the Central Vehicle Department, the Shenjing will issue another order to appoint a new person in charge. Before the order is issued, I am sorry that I cannot comply with it for the time being. I hope Lord Jia will forgive me. "

Jia Cong was not surprised to hear this, because the Imperial Chariot Division was an inner court agency with strict rules, not some gang.

It is too easy to think that Zou Min'er can make the Jinling Carriage Company obey him just by relying on a token and a so-called last words.

For Jia Cong, before the Imperial Chariot Department in Shenjing learned of Zou Min'er's death and issued an imperial decree, he had to ensure information connection between himself and the Imperial Chariot Department to avoid gaps and omissions.

The bottom line purpose of his trip was to prevent the original affairs from coming to a standstill or being disturbed.

As for whether the Jinling Central Vehicle Division personnel headed by Xu Qinnan would immediately obey his orders completely, he did not force it.

Jia Cong said: "The Ministry of Rides has its own rules and regulations, so we will naturally follow them. You can report this matter to the capital first, and I have no objection.

I won't make things difficult for you on ordinary matters. You can wait for the new decree to be issued and then act accordingly.

However, it takes ten days for letters to travel back and forth between Jinling and Shenjing, and during this period, one might be tempted to consider something unexpected happening, which would affect the progress of the arrest of Zhou Zhengyang.

Therefore, there is one urgent matter, and I would like to ask Manager Xu to mobilize the manpower of the CRRC Corporation Limited to complete the matter as soon as possible."

In fact, Xu Qinnan knew clearly that as long as the news of Zou Miner's death was reported back to the capital, Jia Cong would be able to succeed with the emperor's favor and his position as the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Chariot Department.

I am afraid that the Lord and the Emperor will naturally let Jia Cong replace Zou Min'er to control the Jinling Central Chariot Department.

Xu Qinnan's words just now were simply the stance she had to take as a member of the Imperial Chariot Division, in order to avoid being criticized in the future.

This is also her usual style of doing things in Jinling after many years. When something is true, it is also false. Even she has to believe it herself in order to make others believe it more...

The polite words had been said, and Xu Qiniang had no need to deliberately embarrass Jia Cong. She nodded slightly and said, "Master Jia, please speak." Jia Cong said, "I think Miss Zou must have arranged for you to pay attention to the actions of Zhang Kangnian, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War."

Xu Qiniang replied: "Miss Zou said that when the adults entered the Zou Mansion to question Zou Huaiyi, Zhang Kangnian's reaction was very strange. It seems that he hinted at him to commit suicide with words. He is very suspicious.

And his relationship with Zhou Zhengyang is somewhat unusual, so I was asked to arrange personnel to monitor his daily behavior, but no suspicious behavior has been found so far."

Jia Cong said: "In addition to monitoring Zhang Kangnian's movements, we need to add one more person, Du Hengxin, the commander of the Jinling Commandery."

When Xu Qiniang heard Du Hengxin's name, her heart skipped a beat and she asked, "Master Jia, Du Hengxin is the second-rank chief officer of the Jinling Commandery. Could he also be involved in the case?"

Jia Cong said: "There is no concrete evidence to prove that he is related to the case.

However, Zou Huaiyi, a captain of the Water Conservancy Bureau, Zhou Zhengyang, the commander of the Jinling Guard, and even Zhang Kangnian who was transferred to the Ministry of War, were all under his command.

His official position is higher than Zhang Kangnian, so he naturally has more power. At present, there is still no clue about Zhou Zhengyang's whereabouts, so it is reasonable to investigate him as usual.

Moreover, fifteen years ago, when the emperor first ascended the throne, he was transferred to the Divine Capital and rose from a small flag to a hundred households.

But after being transferred back to Nanjing, he worked for thirteen years before being promoted to the second-rank commander. Normally, he was highly regarded by the emperor and his promotion should not have been so slow.

So in addition to paying attention to his daily behavior, it would be best to also collect details of his tenure in Jinling over the past decade... "

After hearing this, Xu Qinnan's mind was in turmoil. She had found out about the old story of the Du family and Du Hengxin's unusual origins from the old official in Liuhe that day.

There were indeed a lot of major events that happened that year.

She once warned Zou Miner that the Du family's affairs might involve the drastic change of imperial power at that time, and the dangers involved were unpredictable, so she asked her not to touch it easily.

She didn't expect that Jia Cong would also pay attention to this person.

However, Jia Cong did not mention the connection between Du Hengxin and the Jinling Du family at all, and Xu Qinnan had no reason to dissuade him, otherwise it would be too obvious.

Moreover, she had no idea whether Zou Min'er had told Jia Cong about the Du family's secret.

For someone like Xu Qinnan, she would subconsciously weigh the risks before doing anything or saying anything. This has become her instinct.

"Don't worry, sir. I will arrange for someone to handle this matter today."

……

After Jia Cong finished speaking, he was about to turn around and leave when Xu Qiniang said, "My lord, Miss Zou and I worked together, and her unfortunate death was totally unexpected.

I heard that Miss Zou's funeral was handled by adults. I wonder where Miss Zou was buried. I want to go and pay my respects to her."

Jia Cong looked back at her and thought that Zou Min'er was indeed careful and had thought of this a long time ago.

After receiving her instructions, I immediately worked on the matter.

He even asked Jiang Liu to conceal his identity, paid someone to find an abandoned unidentified female corpse from the mass grave in the west of the city, and carefully groomed it.

Finally, they replaced the staff and found another funeral maker in the city to bury the female corpse in the grave.

Even if someone opened the coffin to examine it in the future, or even tried to look into the past, they would not be able to find any flaws.

He came to see Xu Qinnan specifically after the tomb on Fuzhou Mountain was completed, and did not take into account the possibility that the other party might ask about Zou Miner.

Jia Cong said solemnly: "She was buried on Fuzhou Mountain, west of Taiping Gate, next to her mother's grave. This was also her last wish.

Judging from her appearance and skills, the murderer who assassinated Miss Zou is confirmed to be the female bandit Shui Luosha, who is under the command of Liu Ao, a giant thief from the East China Sea. Please ask Manager Xu to report this to the Central Vehicle Department.

In addition, the whereabouts of the Water Rakshasa must be tracked down by the China Railway Company. Miss Zou cannot lose her life in vain, and we must make that woman pay with blood!"

Xu Qinnan saw that Jia Cong was handsome and had been speaking carefully and politely since they met. But at the end of his speech, his tone suddenly became grim, revealing a gloomy murderous aura.

I felt a little terrified in my heart. Before she died, Zou Min'er entrusted everything to Jia Cong, which showed how much she trusted him. It was said that these two had always had an ambiguous affair, and it seemed to be true.

Xu Qiniang said: "Don't worry, sir. Miss Zou is from the Imperial Chariot Division. If she is assassinated, it will be a shame for the Imperial Chariot Division in Jinling. I have arranged to search for the traces of the Water Rakshasa in the city.

We also destroyed Liu Ao's two stalls in the city and eliminated the five spies that Liu Ao had planted in the city. Although there is still no trace of the Water Rakshasa, it can be considered as a relief for Miss Zou."

Jia Cong's eyes lit up and he asked: "A few days ago, murders occurred in a rice store and an antique store in the city. It turned out that you were the ones who did it."

Xu Qiniang smiled slightly, charmingly, and said, "We recently found these two places. These people were originally pirates who killed people and plundered goods.

After coming ashore, they were engaged in the business of selling stolen goods and passing messages, and they all had ways to escape death. The Jinyiwei had found evidence of their connection with Liu Ao in two shops.

Once Miss Zou's case is reported to the capital, I believe these two cases will soon be resolved..."

……

When Jia Cong walked out of the Xinghua Wine Shop, he felt a little relieved.

This Xu Qinniang, who was over 20 years old, was mature and charming, with a beautiful figure and enchanting manner. She looked like a beauty selling wine.

Such a moist and beautiful woman is probably every man's blessing. Most men will involuntarily lower their guard against such a woman.

But this person is actually not simple inside. After Jia Cong interacted with her, he found that although she spoke softly to him, she was tough in her bones.

Even though she had Zou Miner's identity token and her position was higher than hers, she still had her reasons and was neither arrogant nor humble. She was respectful on the surface, but she did not lose out at all inside.

Moreover, when Jia Cong was talking to her, he could vaguely feel that every word she spoke was neither fast nor slow, as if she had thought carefully about each word, and every word she said was carefully considered, and her mind was quite deep.

Although Zou Miner is also smart and shrewd, she seems much more immature compared to Xu Qinnan's profoundness and sophistication. This is determined by her age and experience.

What's more, Xu Qinnan was able to remain hidden for so many years, silently, and finally transformed herself from a hidden person into an agent of the CRRC.

Without amazing perseverance and wisdom, it would be absolutely impossible to achieve this.

But she never dreamed that there was Qu Hongxiu by her side, just like the most complicated game that was suddenly cheated by someone.

No matter how realistic Xu Qinnan's disguise was, it was still a fake in his eyes.

When Jia Cong reached the entrance of Xinghua Lane, he couldn't help but look back at the wine shop located in the middle of the lane.

Among the surrounding houses and shops, it does not seem special at all, blending in with the rest of the world and looking nothing special.

At this moment, Jia Cong's mind was circling with Qu Hongxiu's words:
Xu Qinniang married to Jinling eight years ago, most likely under the arrangement of the sect, who had been planning this matter for a long time. It is unknown who in the hidden sect had set up such a long-term plan, and I am afraid that his intention is not small...

When he walked out of Xinghua Lane, he entered the prosperous and bustling streets of Jinling City, where people were flowing and the market was filled with pearls.

I couldn't help but feel worried and emotional.

Jinling is a place where tigers crouch and dragons coursing, and it is also the place where Taizu of the Great Zhou Dynasty rose to power.

The core of the six most prosperous states and one prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the location of the secondary capital of half of the country.

Emperor Jiazhao's maritime policy started from here, and countless foreigners who admired the glory of the Han Dynasty in the Central Plains sailed thousands of miles and stopped and landed here.

Such a magnificent and dazzling city, while radiating beauty and splendor, also hides too much gloom and darkness. (End of this chapter)