Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Jinling, the world's money house.

In the inner room of the backyard of the money shop, Zhen Fangqing was wearing a solid blue shirt and long skirt with a loose belt, simple and unpretentious.

Her long hair was tied into a bun, and she wore no other jewelry except a pearl hairpin.

Her facial features are delicate, her appearance is pretty and elegant, her demeanor is graceful, and her eyes are as clear as water. She is looking at a wooden box on the table, as if thinking about something.

Next to the wooden box was a deposit ticket. Baozhu brought Jia Cong's handwritten letter, which came with the deposit ticket.

Two days ago, Baozhu brought Jia Cong's letter. Zhen Fangqing went to Sihai Money House that day and found the deposit corresponding to this deposit ticket.

Although Jia Cong's letter was very serious, her relationship with Jia Cong was also quite special.

But this deposit was withdrawn illegally after all, and the deposit files of Sihai Money House have always had an excellent reputation.

This behavior was somewhat contrary to her credibility. From a business perspective, she always had to understand the general situation of the inventory in order to prepare for future troubles.

At this time, the door of the inner room opened and Liu Xian, the chief steward of the second branch of the Zhen family, came in.

Zhen Fangqing asked, "Uncle Xian, have you found out who Gu Yanzhen is?"

Liu Xian replied: "According to the Third Lady's suggestion, I checked the relatives and female relatives of Zhou Zhengyang and Zou Huaiyi, and found that Zou Huaiyi's wife's surname is Gu, which is a bit too coincidental.

How did the third girl guess it? "

Zhen Fangqing's face changed slightly, and he said, "Yu Zhang's letter said that this deposit was from his friend's home, and it was also said to be related to an important national case.

He asked me to consider the overall situation, break the bank's business rules, and help him withdraw his deposit.

In fact, the imperial edict sent to Nanjing this time was nominally to set up a branch of the Nanjing Firearms Bureau to coordinate firearms affairs in Jiangnan. However, these are ordinary matters, and the emperor can just send an official from the Ministry of Works.

However, he sent the dignified Earl of Weiyuan to Nanjing to take charge of the construction of these government offices, which was somewhat a waste of talent.

The timing of Yu Zhang's visit to Jinling was also very strange, as he happened to be on the verge of absconding when Zhou Zhengyang, the commander of the Jinling Guards, was afraid of the crime.

Moreover, Zhou Zhengyang was exposed as the mastermind behind the major case of the Water Supervision Bureau, and Yu Zhang was the person who solved this huge case. There would be no such coincidence in this world.

Therefore, I guess that Yuzhang's order to set up a branch of the Firearms Bureau in Jinling was only an open matter. In secret, he might have been carrying out a secret order to investigate the follow-up of Zhou Zhengyang and the major case of the Water Supervision Bureau.

In order to allow me to make an exception and take out the stored items, he had to say that the items were related to important national cases.

It is easy to guess that this stored file is related to a major case of the Water Supervision Bureau.

In Jinling, the two people who are closely related to the Water Supervision Bureau case are Zou Huaiyi and Zhou Zhengyang, so I asked you to follow the clues to investigate. "

Liu Xian said: "Miss San is really smart, you can guess such a complicated thing.

I went to check Mrs. Zou's maternal family, the Gu family. Mrs. Zou's parents had died many years ago, and Mrs. Zou had no brothers or sisters. After the Zou family got into trouble, the Gu family also fell into decline.

I met an old woman who was guarding the gate at Gu's house. She had been Madam Zou's wet nurse when she was young. I asked her and found out that Gu Yanzhen was Madam Zou's maiden name when she was a child.

But this name was changed when Madam Zou was five years old, so very few people know it. "

Zhen Fangqing's expression changed, and he said, "Zou Huaiyi asked his wife to keep this item in his archives, and asked Madam Zou to use her childhood nickname which is unknown to the public.

He just doesn't want others to know that this item is related to him. He hides it so secretly. This item must be related to his important secrets."

Zhen Fangqing stroked the wooden box on the table and said, "Yu Zhang wants it so badly. I think my guess is correct. The things in this archive must be related to the Water Supervision Bureau's major case."

……

Liu Xian asked, "Miss San, do you have any concerns about this matter? Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked me to inquire about the origins of the person who deposited the item?"

Zhen Fangqing said: "Uncle Xian should know that my father supported Du Hengxin when he was a nobody and promoted him to the position of a thousand households in the Water Supervision Department.

Du Hengxin returned the favor by using his power as the Water Inspectorate to facilitate the Zhen family's maritime trade business. This allowed the Zhen family's maritime trade business to flourish and become the leader in Jinling City.

Ever since I took over the family business, Du Hengxin's successor Zou Huaiyi, should have received instructions from Du Hengxin and also paid more attention to the Zhen family business in terms of waterway procedures.

Although what I have done in the past few years has not violated any national laws, I have never crossed the line.

But my father put a lot of effort into supporting Du Hengxin. The fact that he could become a second-rank official was closely related to my father's support.

My father has always been a wise man. Did he do this just to help the Zhen family business? I always feel that it wouldn't be that simple...

I am worried about my father and the Water Supervision Bureau... "

Liu Xian's heart skipped a beat when he heard this, and he said, "Miss San suspects that the master was involved in the Water Conservancy Bureau case?"

Zhen Fangqing looked gloomy and said, "A son should not blame his father. I hope I am wrong. My father disappeared five years ago, and Zou Huaiyi committed evil deeds in the outer sea after my father disappeared.

The two dates don't match, but if the things in the archive are the secret records or accounts of the Water Inspectorate at that time, I'm worried that my father might be involved.

After all, what my father did back then created a special relationship between the Zhen family and the Water Supervision Bureau.

Throughout history, noble families, wealthy, prosperous, and prestigious, have often been overthrown overnight because of a single word or an incident. The Ningguo branch of the Jia family was a lesson learned.

I am worried that this archive file might involve the Zhen family, but I don’t know what the consequences will be.”

Liu Xian said, "The Third Miss's concerns are very reasonable. Before we hand this wooden box over to Earl Weiyuan, we should open it and take a look. If there are any disadvantages to the Zhen family, we can resolve them in advance."

Zhen Fangqing looked at the wooden box on the table with his eyes downcast, and said, "Yu Zhang specifically entrusted this matter in writing, but I wanted to snoop through his things. I really feel guilty.

Yu Zhang looks like a gentleman, but he is tough and resolute inside. He knows everything and nothing can be hidden from him. Once he knows what I have done, there will be a rift between him and me... "

When Liu Xian heard what Zhen Fangqing said to the end, he could see the sadness in her words. She must have cared about Jia Cong very much and didn't want to create any resentment towards him.

He knew that his third daughter was extremely intelligent, as smart as any man, and always handled things cleanly and efficiently, rarely hesitating like his daughter did.

After all, the old lady and the eldest master in the mansion were determined to arrange a marriage between her and Jia Cong. Subtly, this made the third girl have a special concern for Jia Cong.

……

Liu Xian said: "It is natural for the Third Miss to think this way, but this matter concerns the safety and survival of the Zhen family. This is a farewell act and a last resort. It cannot be considered a breach of trust.

When the master founded Sihai Money House, the sources of the deposit files were varied, especially the secret deposit files under the signed contracts, which contained hidden risks.

Therefore, the master left a secret door on the contract storage box in case of emergency. This is also a way of self-protection in business.

My master asked me to find a skilled craftsman to do this matter. Only my master and I know the details, and no one else knows it.

As long as you pry open a mortise and tenon joint at the bottom of the storage box, you can remove the bottom of the box and take out the things in the box without breaking the seal of the wooden box, and the person who deposits or takes things out will never find out. "

Liu Xian saw that Zhen Fangqing looked somewhat moved, but still hesitant and unwilling to accept it, and sighed slightly in his heart.

The Third Miss used to be such a wise and decisive person, but now that she is involved with the young man from the Jia family, she has become fussy and indecisive.

It is said that girls are extroverted. Even before the third girl and Jia Cong's marriage was finalized, she already began to favor him.

Liu Xian thought about it and decided that he should take charge of this matter himself.

The third girl was concerned about her friendship with Jia Cong, but she had been supported by the second master for many years and could not bear to see anything happen to the second house.

He took the storage box from the table, pulled out the wooden hairpin on his head, and pushed hard on a place at the bottom of the box.

Zhen Fangqing was startled and shouted, "Uncle Xian, wait a minute!"

However, Liu Xian's movements were so skillful and swift that Zhen Fangqing didn't have time to stop him.

A hidden mortise and tenon at the bottom of the box had popped out, and one side of the bottom of the box was raised. Liu Xian pulled it gently with his hand, and the entire bottom of the box was opened, and the sealing paint on the lid was intact.

Liu Xian took out a thick blue cover booklet and several letters from the storage box and handed them to Zhen Fangqing.

He said, "Don't worry, Third Miss. This matter concerns the safety of the Zhen family. Even if Marquis Weiyuan knew about it, he would be considerate of you.

Besides, the young lady doesn't know how to open the box. If Earl Weiyuan notices or blames me in the future, just say that I acted on my own initiative and open the box to check."

Zhen Fangqing smiled bitterly: "Uncle Xian, what are you talking about? What's the difference between you opening the box and me doing it myself?"

……

She thought that Jia Cong was already wary of the Zhen family because of the fact that his eldest son's third brother privately kept muskets. If he knew about today's secret peeping, she would be afraid that she would be even more distant from him from then on.

But what Liu Xian said was right. This matter concerned the safety and survival of the Zhen family, regardless of whether his father had done anything against the rules.

If I could know it in advance, I would feel more secure, after all, she is the daughter of the Zhen family.

She took a deep breath, picked up one of the letters and began to read it.

Liu Xian bowed to her, then bowed and left the room, closing the door gently. There were several letters in the storage box, all of which were correspondence between Zou Huaiyi and others. The content of the letters and the correspondents made Zhen Fangqing more and more shocked.

Now she finally understood why Jia Cong wanted to get this storage file.

Fortunately, although the contents of these letters were horrifying, they had nothing to do with the Zhen family. Zhen Fangqing put them aside after reading them.

Finally, he began to flip through the thick blue booklet.

She flipped through a few pages and realized that it was something like an account book.

The above records date back to four years ago, recording information on more than 20 ships, as well as the types and quantities of foreign goods carried by each ship.

As well as the foreign goods on the ship, how they were transported to Nanjing through the Water Inspectorate, through what channels they were dumped, how much silver was earned, the details of the number of people involved in the profit, etc.

Zhen Fangqing is not a girl who stays away from the inner chambers. She is the person in charge of the Zhen family's business. She handles the complicated business affairs every day and is very well-informed about the information from the outside world.

Naturally, I know the anecdotes of the major cases of the Water Conservancy Bureau back then. It is said that Zou Huaiyi, a captain of the Water Conservancy Bureau, colluded with and bribed Japanese ronin to rob merchant ships in the open sea and plunder huge amounts of foreign goods and wealth.

Zhen Fangqing is in charge of the family's maritime business and is very familiar with all the details of transporting foreign goods by sea.

Just by looking at a few pages, I knew that the ship information recorded in the blue booklet must be the merchant ships that were looted by ronin in the open sea that year.

In fact, it is very simple to verify it. All you have to do is go to the Maritime Customs Office to check the archives to find out which ships have been reported missing for no reason in recent years. By checking the two items, everything will be clear.

Every time Zhen Fangqing read a page, the names mentioned there made her tremble with fear and her face turned pale.

She knew very well that the contents of every page of this blue booklet were enough to stir up a bloody storm in the Jinling officialdom.

……

Fortunately, this shocking information did not involve my father, and probably did not involve other people in the Zhen family.

Zhen Fangqing turned the blue booklet to the last few pages. The content there was no longer the previous account information.

Rather, it is a collection of excerpts of events, as if Zou Huaiyi had copied down some of his own experiences in the booklet.

Some of the content caught Zhen Fangqing's attention.

Du Hengxin, the commander-in-chief of Jinling mentioned above, was a concubine of the Du family, a prominent family in Jinling, before he became successful.

Du Hengxin was born in a poor family. When he was young, he was determined to achieve fame and make progress. However, the head of the Du family, Du Hengchang, disliked him and thought that he was greedy, so Du Hengxin was quite neglected in the family.

In the 20th year of Yong'an, Du Hengxin reported that the head of the family, Du Hengchang, was in collusion with the Hidden Sect and intended to start an uprising in Jiangnan. The entire Du family's direct line was wiped out, and even the concubines were implicated. Du Hengxin was promoted from a small flag officer in the guard army to a centurion.

It is also written above that Du Hengchang had two sons and three daughters, one of whom was adopted. Except for his children who died in prison, the others were demoted or their whereabouts were unknown.

It also writes that in the same year, the King of Wu committed treason in the capital, which was suspected to be related to the destruction of the Du family in Nanjing, which led to the shaking of the country and the ascension of a new king.

Much of the information above is fragmentary, and the connections between them are vague and not very clear.

It seems that Zou Huaiyi collected this information from various channels and then recorded it in a book.

The fact that he could record this information in the secret book must have made him feel it was very important, even private.

Perhaps he wanted to collect and analyze this information and eventually get the result he wanted...

On the penultimate page of the blue booklet, Zhen Fangqing suddenly saw his father's name.

It was written above that nineteen years ago, there was a famous scholar named Mr. Xiliu in Jinling, who was a scholar with extensive knowledge. He accepted disciples as his disciples in his school in Jinling.

Fifteen years ago, Mr. Xiliu traveled on the sea and disappeared.

The following content is the names of some of Mr. Xiliu’s disciples at that time, including his father Zhen Yingquan.

When Zhen Fangqing saw the names of the other two disciples, his face changed drastically and his eyes were full of disbelief.

Her heart trembled, and after a moment of contemplation, she gently tore off the page, folded it carefully, and put it in her arms.

He put the letter and the blue booklet back into the box, and followed Liu Xian's example by sealing the bottom of the box.

She opened the door and walked out of the inner room, handed the storage box to Liu Xian, and said, "I have seen the things inside, and they have nothing to do with the Zhen family.

Uncle Xian will go to the Xinchunhao Jiangnan Head Office in person and give the box to Miss Baozhu, who will then pass it on to Yuzhang."

……

Jinling, September 7th.

The wide city gate of Taiping Gate was bustling with people coming and going.

Suddenly, five or six fine horses came galloping from outside the city. They reined in their horses and slowed down when they approached the city gate, then joined the crowd and entered Jinling.

The guarding soldiers just took a look and didn't care much.

Taiping Gate leads to the road heading north. These knights on their journey are dressed in different clothes and look dusty. They should all be coming from the direction of Shenjing.

Jinling and Shenjing are the north-south hubs of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and there is frequent exchange of merchants and people's livelihood between the two places.

This kind of situation is not uncommon. Travelers who cross states and counties can enter the city as usual as long as they have complete travel permits.

Not to mention that these knights today, holding waist badges from the Firearms Department of the Ministry of Works, are personnel from the government office who are on a long journey on official business, so naturally there will be no problem.

But what happened next surprised the soldier guarding the gate.

It seemed that the envoys from the Firearms Department of the Ministry of Industry had brought some popularity, and an hour later, groups of horsemen kept entering the city.

It seems like these people all came from the south, and it seems like they all came to the city on this day.

However, as long as the official documents and pass are correct, the gatekeepers will let you pass as usual.

On such a seemingly ordinary day, waves that are barely noticeable to ordinary people are gently stirring in the city of Jinling.

Those dusty knights were scattered among the pedestrians in the magnificent ancient city.

Some of them rushed to the six ministries in the secondary capital, some rushed to the government office of the Military Commissioner's Office, and some were lost in the bustling streets.

……

Jinling, Fenglefang.

Before noon, two groups of people had already entered the three-courtyard house in the alley.

In the study room of the mansion, a middle-aged man with a stern demeanor, suppressed anger in a gloomy face, making the atmosphere in the study room seem extremely depressing.

He questioned the young man in front of him with a low, cold voice that made people shudder: "Why did a large number of people suddenly enter Gusu without any warning and kidnap Zhou Zhengyang overnight?

I sent the Water Rakshasa to Gusu in advance to prevent Zhou Zhengyang from getting into trouble, but why did the Water Rakshasa not take any countermeasures and just watched him get kidnapped!"

The young man replied, “There is no news about the Water Rakshasa yet, but before the messenger from Suzhou Guards set out, Luo Xiong had already found out where the group of people were and led a large group of guards out of the city in pursuit.

I believe he will be able to stop this group of people. As long as Zhou Zhengyang is under control again, there will be a turning point."

The middle-aged man sighed, "These people were able to sneak into Gusu City quietly, find out where Zhou Zhengyang was hiding, and escape smoothly after kidnapping him. Their actions are meticulous, and they are definitely not ordinary people.

Although Luo Xiong has some talent, he is too reckless and reckless. It would be difficult to intercept him."

He then asked, "What's the news about Jia Cong and the five cannons?"

The young man replied, "The day before yesterday, the scouts reported that Jia Cong's troops entered Huizhou, about seventy miles away from Gusu. That night, Zhou Zhengyang was kidnapped in Gusu. This incident must have nothing to do with him."

The middle-aged man sneered and said, "We may have been deceived by him. The one who entered the city to rob people is most likely Jia Cong, and the team that entered Huizhou must be his cover.

This morning, someone from Shenjing came with an urgent message. Jia Cong's personal attendants rushed to Shenjing to report to the palace. The emperor has already issued an imperial edict, and I already know the content of the edict.

In these two days, the imperial envoy will arrive in Nanjing, and then the situation in Nanjing will change!

If my guess is correct, Jia Cong first sent a memorial to the capital, and then took advantage of the opportunity of escorting artillery in Songjiang, Suzhou, to conceal his true intentions, enter Suzhou and kidnap Zhou Zhengyang.

It is said that Jia Cong is always cunning and scheming, and his reputation is indeed well-deserved.

I don't know if Luo Xiong has kept him. It's too late to get information now. It takes two days to go back and forth from Nanjing to Gusu. Two days is enough to turn Nanjing upside down."

The middle-aged man finished his speech with a sad tone: "But we can't just sit there and wait for death. When the time comes, we have to fight for a chance.

If Jia Cong escapes Luo Xiong's pursuit, he will definitely return to Jinling with Zhou Zhengyang and join the imperial envoy to enter the city to announce the decree. This is our last chance!

You should deal with the rest of the city as soon as possible. The official ships are no longer usable. You have connections in the Zhen family fleet, so make arrangements early in case of emergency... " (End of this chapter)