Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 428: Planning a Marriage

Jinling, Dazaimen, Xinchunhao Jiangnan Head Office.

It was just past noon and the sun was scorching. Jia Cong came out of Xinghua Lane and rushed to the main store in the scorching heat.

Not long after he entered the store, Jiang Liu left the store alone and went to the branch of Xinchunhao on Chengxian Street.

Not long after, a few gray pigeons took off from the backyard of the Chengxian Street branch, circled in the sky above the roof, and then spread their wings and flew eastward.

At sunset that day, groups of people would leave the farms on the eastern outskirts of the city and go along the official road heading east.

……

Jia Cong was busy until sunset before returning to his house in Mingze Lane.

As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he saw Lingguan coming up to him and said, "Third Master, I've been waiting for you for a long time. You're finally back. I have something urgent to discuss with you."

Seeing that she looked strange, Jia Cong was about to ask her what happened, but Lingguan took her hand and led her into Zou Miner's room.

Lingguan picked up the portrait on the table and said, "Third Master, I just wanted to tell you this. I have seen this person in Gusu."

When Jia Cong heard this, his heart suddenly jumped, because the portrait in Lingguan's hand was exactly Zhou Zhengyang.

Zou Miner, who was leaning on the bed, said, "Do you still remember when we first saw Lingguan in Jinbi Garden, she was punished by the troupe owner to wash clothes.

Because at that time, Suzhou Wei Commander Luo Xiong brought his men to book the entire Jinbi Garden, and that was Lingguan's first time to perform on stage.

After Lingguan finished singing the piece, Luo Xiong's friend took a fancy to Lingguan and asked her to sing the Qinglou tune "Sa Jin Shan".

As a result, Lingguan was unwilling to sing and had a conflict with Luo Xiong's men, breaking the troupe's valuable crown, which was punished by the troupe owner.

Lingguan said, "Third Master, the villain who asked me to sing Sprinkling Golden Fan is the man in the portrait."

Jia Cong's face changed and he asked, "Lingguan, have you remembered carefully? That person is really the one in the portrait."

Lingguan said seriously: "Third Master, although it has been a long time since this happened, that man was so shameless that he asked me to sing the little tune in the brothel. I will remember it even if he turns to ashes.

He looks so much like this portrait, almost identical, that I can't be mistaken."

Jia Cong took out the letter from Suzhou from his arms and read it quickly.

It said that Zhou Zhengyang went to Gusu Hongxiang Tower for prostitution several times, and each time he asked Hua Niang, who was good at singing, to spend the night with him.

And the brothel tune that Hua Niang would sing every time was the song "Sprinkling Golden Fan".

There is no doubt that the friend who came with Luo Xiong when he booked Jinbi Garden to watch the opera was Zhou Zhengyang who was in hiding.

Jia Cong's heart was filled with shock, and he and Zou Min'er looked at each other at the same time.

They could read the meaning in each other's eyes. The dignified commander of Suzhou Guard had actually been in cahoots with Zhou Zhengyang.

The most important reason why Zhou Zhengyang has been difficult to find and arrested is obviously the hiding and sheltering of Luo Xiong, the commander of Suzhou Guard.

Then another question becomes obvious. Luo Xiong must be involved in the major case of the Water Conservancy Bureau, otherwise he would not have sheltered a wanted criminal of the imperial court.

As for why Luo Xiong dared to take such a risk, it is not surprising if you think about it carefully. Zou Huaiyi left behind the so-called secret account, and Zhou Zhengyang must have also left behind means to control and save his life.

Jia Cong said to Zou Min'er: "The Water Supervision Bureau case seems to have implicated more and more people. At first it was the Water Supervision Bureau, then the Jinling Guard, and now even the Suzhou Guard cannot escape the connection!"

The Jinling Commandery was under the jurisdiction of the Water Supervision Office, Jinling Guard, Zhenjiang Guard, Changzhou Guard, Suzhou Guard, and Songjiang Guard, and it commanded a total of over 10,000 guards from various places.

Now, half of the garrisons have been implicated in the major case of the Water Supervision Bureau. This is too sensational.

Jia Cong made full preparations for his trip south this time, and even secretly transferred a considerable force to deal with the crisis.

But now that Zhou Zhengyang has Luo Xiong's protection, it would be extremely dangerous for Jia Cong to confront the 1,500 elite guards under Suzhou Guard with the power he holds.

Although Jia Cong received a secret order to go to Jinling, the imperial edict only asked him to cooperate with the Dali Temple to arrest Zhou Zhengyang and investigate the follow-up of the major case of the Water Conservancy.

The imperial edict did not give him the right to deal with a third-rank military officer, let alone a guard commander with over a thousand troops under his command.

If the expedition is launched without a clear reason and the response is not handled properly, it may cause a mutiny in the army, or even provoke a war in the south of the Yangtze River, shaking the six states and one prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River.

Jia Cong himself was once a general commanding troops, so he naturally understood what it meant to be involved in a series of disasters and the huge risks involved.

Jia Cong remembered that before leaving Beijing, he went to bid farewell to his teacher Liu Yanxiu.

Liu Yanxiu once warned him: If you find anything, keep it secret and report it to the empress immediately and wait for the emperor's decision. Don't act rashly or you will get too involved and suffer the consequences.

……

Jinling, Xinglongfang, the old residence of the Jia family.

Jia Cong was writing furiously, drafting a memorial to be sent to the capital. The matter of Zhou Zhengyang was so complicated and involved so deep that it exceeded the scope of the secret decree.

Jia Cong remembered his teacher Liu Jing'an's reminder that reporting the details of the matter to Emperor Jia Zhao was a necessary step.

The memorial reported in detail the discovery of Zhou Zhengyang's whereabouts in Gusu and the fact that Suzhou Wei commander Luo Xiong had hidden and sheltered Zhou Zhengyang.

It also includes an investigation and speculation on Zhang Kangnian and Du Hengxin, as well as the role played by Zhen Yingquan of the Zhen family behind the scenes.

The reason why he also included this information in the memorial.

This is because this information has a vague connection with the Zhou Zhengyang incident and even the major case of the Water Supervision Bureau that year.

This will allow Emperor Jiazhao to have a complete understanding and judgment of the affairs in Nanjing.

Moreover, even if he did not report this information, Xu Qinnan would definitely report it to the palace through the Central Vehicle Department.

Taking into account the suspicious nature of the emperor, Jia Cong did not save this little bit of ink in the memorial.

After the memorial was written, he read it carefully again, made some revisions and polished it, then rewrote it, put the memorial into a secret box, and sealed it with wax.

He then wrote a letter to the Minister of War, Gu Yankui, the content of which was basically the same as that of the memorial.

He walked out of the study, out of the inner courtyard, into Xuanhe Hall outside the second gate, and handed the secret box to Jiang Liu who was waiting there.

He instructed Jiang Liu, "Take five firearms soldiers with you as guards, and travel day and night to speed up the process. The memorial must be delivered to the capital within four days."

To send a letter from Jinling to Shenjing, it would normally take five days for the post station to change to fast horses before it could reach Shenjing. Jia Cong compressed the time to four days, which was also an extremely fast speed requirement.

Jia Cong added: "This letter should also be sent to the residence of Minister Gu of the Ministry of War as soon as possible, and ask him to reply and have you send it back to Jinling as soon as possible.

The imperial edicts in the palace will only be delivered by the imperial guards, but Minister Gu's reply letter will be sent back and forth by you. After you get the reply letter, ask Ai Li to send it to me with Feiyu. Don't delay for a moment, remember!"

In addition to reporting the incident, Jia Cong also wrote a letter to Gu Yankui and asked Jiang Liu to get the reply as soon as possible.

The purpose was to ensure that the information could be delivered to Jinling faster than normal imperial edicts.

As soon as his report reached Shenjing, Emperor Jiazhao would definitely call Gu Yankui into the palace to discuss the matter, and Gu Yankui would definitely be the first person to know the content of the reply.

The palace issued an imperial edict, which was urgently sent to Nanjing by the imperial guards.

Therefore, Jiang Liu could not access the imperial edict, nor could he know the content of the imperial edict as quickly as possible.

The content of Jia Cong's letter to Gu Yankui was almost identical to the memorial, so Gu Yankui's reply would certainly include the contents of the imperial edict.

Jia Cong could only use this roundabout method to let Jiang Liu get the content of the reply as soon as possible.

Through Ai Li's flying feather message, the distance from Shenjing to Jinling is so long that Jia Cong will receive the message in less than two days.

It usually takes five days, or even longer, for the imperial edict to be transmitted from Shenjing to Jinling.

Jia Cong was able to know Emperor Jia Zhao's decree three days in advance, which gave him ample time to act in Jinling.

He did this based on another concern.

The confession of Zhou Suqing during the interrogation at the Dali Temple was leaked, which led to Zhou Zhengyang learning the information in advance and escaping.

Although the source of the leak was eliminated after a bloody purge by the Magistrates' Court, the officials in Shenjing were numerous and their relationships were complicated, and the people who could access the palace information were even more diverse.

No one can guarantee that the leak will not happen again.

He could know the latest news a few days in advance before the imperial edict was sent to Jinling, so he could make arrangements in advance to prevent possible leaks and the adverse consequences.

……

Jinling, Zhen Mansion, Yuhe Hall.

Old Madam Zhen was in a very sad mood that day, because five years ago today was the day when her second son Zhen Yingquan went to sea and never returned.

Five full years have passed. To say that my life or death is uncertain is just a powerless self-deception.

Not only had Old Madam Zhen completely given up hope, but even Second Mrs. Zhen, who was deeply in love with Zhen Yingquan, could not accept her husband's departure at first.

Two years ago, he had no choice but to give up and designated today as the anniversary of Zhen Yingquan's death. Every year, he would hold a memorial service in his own courtyard and abstain from fireworks for a day.

Mrs. Zhen Er has been in poor health since Zhen Yingquan's accident. Her old illness relapsed some time ago, and her family went to Fushou Lane to invite Zhang Youpeng to come and treat her.

But Zhang Youpeng happened to be in an emergency room, and after that, there was no sign of this miracle doctor for more than ten days, and no one knew what he was busy with outside.

As the anniversary of Zhen Yingquan's death approaches these days, the second wife of the Zhen family has become increasingly sad. Today she has stopped eating and drinking, and her complexion has become even worse. For unknown reasons, she suddenly fainted this morning.

The Zhen family hurriedly invited a famous doctor in the city to provide emergency treatment.

Zhen Qingfang sent someone to Fushou Lane again, and finally met Zhang Youpeng at home. She quickly invited this miracle doctor to the Zhen Mansion to diagnose her mother.

After Zhang Youpeng arrived at the Zhen family, he took the pulse of the second wife of Zhen, prescribed medicine, and gave her a few injections. His condition stabilized, and the Zhen family members breathed a sigh of relief.

After visiting her daughter-in-law, Old Lady Zhen returned to Yuhetang in a depressed mood. Thinking of her second son, she sighed again.

At this time, the eldest son Zhen Yingjia came in and said, "Old lady, I just received a reply to the letter I wrote to the Jia family in Rongguo."

When Mrs. Zhen heard this, she was slightly cheered up. She knew the purpose of her eldest son's letter to the Jia family, which was to communicate with the Rongguo Jia family and arrange a marriage for the third girl in the family.

He immediately asked, "What does the Jia family have to say in their reply?"

Zhen Yingjia replied: "Jia Cunzhou was very respectful and polite in his reply. He has already mentioned Jia Cong's marriage to Madam Jia.

But the lady over there said that Jia Cong will not be old enough until next year, so he is still too young, so they want to postpone the marriage for a year or two."

After hearing this, Old Lady Zhen felt a little disappointed and said, "What they said makes sense. It's a little early for you to be old enough to dance with an elephant.

But the third girl is a few years older than Cong'er. She has been busy with the family business in recent years and has high standards. None of the children from the Jinling aristocratic families are worthy of her attention.

They just kept growing older like this. Congge could wait, but Sanyatou couldn't.

Moreover, there is another matter here. Madam Jia and I are also from a family of handkerchiefs. She was born in a family of dukes and married into a family of dukes. There are many twists and turns in her mind.

Although it is true that Cong'er is young, I'm afraid that as a grandmother, she still has some intention of selling him at a high price.

People outside are saying now that Congge is the youngest among the nobles listed in the Ministry of Clan Affairs. He is well-known and favored by the current emperor.

For a young earl like him, when he reaches adulthood, the emperor will most likely grant him a marriage as a sign of honor and favor. This is a customary practice in the imperial court.

Madam Jia was born in a noble family and knows this rule better than I do. She said that Cong'er is young and there is no rush to discuss marriage, but it is just a euphemism.

How could she easily arrange a marriage for her grandson and lose the honor of being granted a marriage in the future?"

Zhen Yingjia smiled and said, "The old lady is really insightful. Once you know the content of the letter, you can figure out the root cause.

In fact, I had thought of this a long time ago. When my son wrote to Jia Cunzhou, I never thought that the marriage between the two families could be settled with just a letter. It was just a way to communicate with each other in advance.

Marriage between a man and a woman requires both fate and destiny. His Jia family of Rong State has the honor of being granted marriage, so my Zhen family may also have the honor.

So, while my son was writing to Jia Cunzhou, he also wrote a letter to the old concubine in the palace and asked the second girl to forward it to the palace."

After hearing this, Mrs. Zhen immediately understood her son's thoughts, and the sadness she had just felt because of her second son also faded away.

He smiled and said, "You did the right thing. Back then, the third girl entered the palace to accompany the old concubine and was raised in the palace. The old concubine has always loved the third girl more than a treasure.

Brother Cong has such a great reputation in the capital, the old concubine will definitely be satisfied with this marriage, as long as she helps the emperor to make it happen. "

Zhen Yingjia smiled and said, "What the old lady said is very true. Madam Jia wants the honor of the marriage granted by the emperor, and we in the Zhen family just want Qing'er to find a good husband and have someone to rely on for the rest of her life.

The two families actually have the same goal, and to help them get married is the best of both worlds. The third girl has a place to stay, and the old lady is relieved of her worries."

Old Lady Zhen sighed, "Your brother has a bad fate. He was a healthy man, but he just went out to sea and died inexplicably.

He only has one daughter, San Yatou, and he treats her like the apple of his eye. If Fang Qing and Cong Ge'er can be together, I will have done my duty to her father."

……

Zhen Mansion, the residence of the second wife of Zhen.

The second wife fainted in the morning, which really scared Zhen Fangqing. Fortunately, Mr. Zhang came back to life with his miraculous hands. After a few needles, he stabilized his mother's heart pulse.

She wanted to go to the shop to check the accounts today, but she temporarily put it off and stayed at home to accompany and take care of her mother.
Today she changed out of her men's clothes and dressed in a feminine and graceful outfit.
She wore a light blue double-breasted top embroidered with broken chrysanthemum branches, a white cross-collared gauze lining, and a beige long skirt embroidered with chrysanthemums. She was graceful and elegant, with a graceful figure.

Just after helping my mother take medicine, I heard from the maid that the eldest wife came to visit.

Zhen Fangqing let the eldest wife into the inner room, and went to the outer room with her maid, where she took out the half-finished embroidery to kill time.

Ever since Zhen Yingquan got into trouble, the first wife began to covet the second wife's business.

The eldest master Zhen Yingjia is just a powerless noble official. Although he looks respectable on the outside, the title of the first wife is actually just a facade.

The reason why the Zhen family was able to gain a foothold among the aristocratic families in Jinling was largely due to the extensive maritime trade business held by the second branch.

It is inevitable that the first wife will have such thoughts.

Who made the second wife have only one daughter and no male heir to inherit the family line?

In fact, with Zhen Qingfang's cleverness, she knew very well that this kind of thought was not only shared by the eldest wife, but also by her seemingly noble and dignified uncle, who was also thinking in the same way.

But my uncle was concerned about the officialdom and the family's reputation, so he never revealed it easily and only let his wife come forward to make plans.

Although the eldest wife usually does a lot of things, she still considers her dignity and bottom line.

Aristocratic families have never been of pure character, so such secrets in their homes are inevitable.

As long as the eldest wife's actions did not amount to disrupting the family's reputation, an experienced and knowledgeable person like Old Madam Zhen, or a smart and intelligent person like Zhen Fangqing, would turn a blind eye.

Zhen Fangqing was sitting in the outer room when she heard the eldest wife and her mother say, "Second sister-in-law, you must take good care of your health. Good days are ahead.

Maybe you will have to marry your daughter off soon."

When Zhen Fangqing heard this, his eyes flashed slightly, and he paid attention to what was said inside.

Then I heard my mother say, "Fang Qing is so absorbed in her business that she has no idea about marriage.

I heard from the old lady that the eldest master had written to the second master of Rongguo, mentioning the intention of discussing marriage, but hasn't this been confirmed yet?"

The eldest wife smiled and said, "The marriage of a noble family cannot be settled with just a letter, but the two families have communicated with each other first.

The eldest master not only sent a letter to Rongguo Mansion, but also sent a letter to the old concubine in the palace, telling her about Fang Qing. Today, he just received a reply from the second young lady in Shenjing.

It is said that the old concubine in the palace is very satisfied with this marriage. When she finds the right opportunity, she will personally advise the emperor that this marriage will definitely be successful... "

Zhen Fangqing, who was embroidering outside, was shocked when she heard this. Her wrist trembled, and the embroidery needle pierced her finger, and a bright red blood bead appeared on the fingertip.

She subconsciously placed her fingers between her soft lips and sucked them, her heart rippled with joy, but also filled with worry.

(End of this chapter)