Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Ningrong Street, Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

The autumn wind brings coolness, white clouds cross the sky, the flowers and trees in the courtyard are lush, and there is a faint fragrance in the air from time to time.

The sun had just risen to the zenith. Jia Cong had done his scriptures homework for half a day. Wu'er brought the maids to prepare lunch, and the eight people in the yard gathered together to eat.

The maids were clearing away the dishes, tables and chairs. Jia Cong was walking on the corridor in the courtyard when he saw Daiyu and Zijuan entering the courtyard.

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Why is my sister here?"

Daiyu smiled and said, "I just had lunch, so I'm afraid I'll stop eating, so I'll go visit my third brother."

Jia Cong smiled and took Daiyu to the study to sit around, and asked Qingwen to serve her warm tea.

After the two of them had exchanged a few words, Jia Cong pointed to the guqin hanging on the wall and said, "A few days ago, Mr. Zhang checked your pulse and happened to see this guqin. He also said it was a rare antique.

I don't know much about the guqin, but my sister has been good at it since she was young. Can you tell what's good about it?"

In the past, the East and West Mansions were either filled with incompetent young men or mediocre people like Jia Zheng. Except for Yuanchun who was good at playing the zither, there was no one in the Jia family who had the elegance and talent to appreciate the zither.

Even a person as intelligent and talented as Tanchun did not inherit her sister's hobbies. She only loved calligraphy since childhood and did not like the zither.

Among the sisters in the Manchu mansion, only Daiyu learned to play the zither in Yangzhou when she was young.

This ancient zither left by Jia Cong's biological mother was only hung in the storehouse of the East Courtyard. It was as unknown as Jia Cong himself. Who would have cared about it?

When Jia Cong moved into Qingzhizhai in the West Palace, the people who came and went were all his sisters. Even if his sisters paid attention, they became accustomed to it after a while.

Although the people in the Jia family were not good at playing the zither, it was common to hang a zither in their rooms as decoration. Baoyu had one hung in his room, and Jia Zheng had several hung in his room, just for show...

Daiyu smiled and said, "Third brother's master's wife, Madam Cui, is a famous zither player in the Great Zhou. Third brother learned the skills of his master, but not the skills of his master's wife. There are rare items hanging on the wall, but he doesn't know what to look for."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Brother is dull, please give me some advice."

Daiyu said: "In fact, when I saw this zither in Qingzhizhai, I thought it was quite good. I heard from Wu'er that this zither was the only relic left by my aunt, and it has always been with my third brother.

Although I was a little curious, I didn't dare to touch it casually. My third brother never mentioned it, so I didn't ask too much. "

Jia Cong smiled, took the zither off the wall, put it on the desk, and said, "Sister, you are knowledgeable. Please take a look at this zither and see what is so special about it."

Daiyu stroked the zither, noting that it was hung on the wall every day, yet it was spotless. She smiled and said, "Although this zither is not used often, it is still clean."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I told Zhishao that this zither had been hanging in the storeroom all along, accompanying me as I grew up. Since then, she has treasured it very much and always cleans it with a duster."

Daiyu said, "Maybe Sister Zhishao is thinking back to those days in the storehouse, and that's why she cares so much about this zither. Who knows?"

Daiyu gently stroked the body of the zither, feeling its warm touch, and lightly plucked the strings, which produced wonderful sounds like clear spring water flowing through metal, which lingered and reverberated.

Daiyu smiled and said, "Third brother, your piano has a wonderful sound. It is indeed extraordinary."

After saying this, she became interested and sat down in front of Jia Cong's desk. She plucked the silk string instrument with her slender fingers, and the sound of the instrument arose, like flowing clouds and running water, gently plucking, rubbing, and picking.

A song of high mountains and flowing water came slowly, with lingering sounds of piano and elegant music floating in the air. When Zhishao, Qingwen and others in the yard heard it, they all stopped what they were doing and listened attentively.

Lingguan was trained in opera and was much more sensitive to music than ordinary people. She could not help but run into the study, find a small chair, move it to sit next to Daiyu, and listen intently with her chin propped up.

Jia Cong carefully observed Daiyu's graceful posture as she played the piano. She was leisurely, elegant, and unparalleled, like a fairy from another world. He could not help but stare at her.

After a long time, Daiyu finished the song. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly and she kept smiling. She seemed to be very happy. She turned around and saw Jia Cong staring at her, and her face blushed slightly.

Wei Wei scolded: "Third brother, why are you staring at me?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I didn't expect that my sister is not only beautiful, but also has such a great talent. She plays the zither so beautifully. There are few people like her in the world, and you don't allow me to look at her more."

Daiyu smiled and said, "Now Third Brother has become even more capable. He can say sweet words to please people easily. This is rare in the world. But he has only said this to me?"

Jia Cong said, "Sister, do you think you are unique in the world? I am speaking from the heart."

Daiyu turned around and asked Lingguan with a teasing look on her face: "My dear sister, when you and your third brother were in Jinling, did he also coax others in this way?"

Lingguan blushed slightly when she heard this. She suddenly thought of Zou Min'er and that night in Gusu. She said anxiously, "Don't think too much, young lady. It's nothing."

……

Daiyu smiled slightly, not taking it to heart, and said to Jia Cong, "Third brother, this zither left by my aunt is indeed excellent. It is the best zither I have ever played."

Daiyu called Zijuan who was outside the door and said, "Zijuan, go to the third shelf of my bookshelf, the fifth book from the left, which has Longxi Yuzhen's Notes written on it, and bring it to me."

When Zijuan brought the book over, Jia Cong saw that the pages of the notebook were old and looked like it had been there for many years.

Daiyu took the book and flipped through it while saying, "Third brother, this Longxi Yuzhen Notes is a collection of miscellaneous notes written by a Tang Dynasty writer and a unique copy printed in the Song Dynasty.

This notebook contains many anecdotes about the guqin from the Tang and Song dynasties. When I was learning the guqin as a child, my father specially collected them from outside and gave them to me.

This ancient zither left by my aunt is of an ancient and unique style, quite different from the current Yaoqin. I have seen a similar one in this notebook. "

Jia Cong saw Daiyu turn to one of the pages, which had pictures of the back of several real guqins. The style of the guqin bodies was almost exactly the same as the one Jia Cong had.

Jia Cong took the notebook and saw the following words written on it: The best zither maker in the Tang Dynasty is Mr. Chen from Longxi. His nine strings are skillfully designed and lacquered, and his work must be of supernatural craftsmanship...

Daiyu said: "Third brother's zither is old, the material used, the planing and the lacquer are all top-notch, it is exactly the same as the Tang Dynasty zither in the notes, it is probably a rare Tang Dynasty zither.

Such treasures would be regarded as precious gems by zither lovers and would never be easily given away. They would be treasured by the family and passed down from generation to generation. This zither must be a family heirloom of my aunt.

I often hear rumors about my aunt. Although she came from a poor family, she has such a treasure with her. I think my third brother's mother's family must be extraordinary."

After hearing what Daiyu said, Jia Cong looked at the old jade harp and his heart was slightly focused.

My biological mother was just a courtesan of low status, so how could she have such a rare guqin with her?

Two years ago, because of his achievements in Jinling, Emperor Jia Zhao posthumously conferred the fifth-rank imperial title on his biological mother Du Jinniang. Jia Cong had spent a lot of time and effort to investigate his biological mother's past in the capital, but to no avail.

This matter has always left a question in Jia Cong's mind, and Daiyu's words just now aroused his thoughts. After thinking about it for a long time, he still had no clue.

However, Daiyu's Longxi Yuzhen Notes, which recorded anecdotes about the guqin, was very novel and interesting. The two sat side by side at the desk and read the book together.

At this time, the afternoon autumn sun is warm, the ancient scholar is singing, the jade zither is playing faintly, the two figures are leaning against each other, rubbing their ears together, the fragrance is subtle, and the look is very peaceful and beautiful.

……

The two of them followed the tips described in the book, flipping through the guqin again and again, comparing it with the book, which was quite fun.

The bottom of the zither was engraved with the words "Anxiang" in ancient seal script, and there were no other inscriptions.

This zither has been with Jia Cong for many years, so he certainly knew that there were inscriptions on the bottom of the zither. It was common to have inscriptions and postscripts on jade zithers, so he never paid much attention to it.

At this moment, the bright autumn sun outside the window was shining through the window, onto the desk, clearly showing the bottom of the guqin.

Because the ancient zither is very old, the bottom of the zither is painted black, red and dark purple in color. At first glance, there is nothing unusual.

But Daiyu was observant and suddenly noticed something strange. She turned the bottom of the zither towards the sunlight and looked at it carefully.

"Third brother, there's something strange about the bottom of this zither. If you don't look closely, it's all the same color, but if you look closely under the sunlight, you can see that some places have different shades of color.

The lighter areas look more like brush strokes.”

Following Daiyu's instructions, Jia Cong carefully examined the piano in the sunlight and indeed found that some places on the bottom of the piano were slightly lighter in color.

If it was just normal light indoors, it would not be noticeable at all. Only by chance and under the sunlight could it be barely noticed.

The two of them leaned against each other, trying to study the bottom of the zither. However, although the lighter areas looked like strokes, it was difficult to make out the writing. The two of them looked at it for a while but were still at a loss.

Perhaps because it had been facing the autumn sun for too long, the bottom of the zither was slightly warm. Daiyu slightly fanned her nose and said, "Third brother, it smells so good, like the smell of rouge."

Jia Cong also smelled a hint of sweet and subtle fragrance of excellent quality, and subconsciously sniffed the side of Daiyu's face.

Daiyu pushed him away with a red face and said, "Third brother, you are thinking wrongly. It's not from me, it's the fragrance from the bottom of the zither."

Jia Cong smiled slightly and moved closer to the bottom of the guqin. Sure enough, the fragrance became clearer.

In his previous life, he came from a family of calligraphy and painting mounters, so he knew a few tricks about antiques. He carefully examined the bottom of the zither under the sunlight.

He then plucked a hairpin from Daiyu's head and gently scraped the lighter part of the bottom of the zither with it. After just a few movements, some black and red powder fell off.

The powder was very fine, neither sawdust nor lacquer. Jia Cong dipped his fingers in tea, and ground the powder on his hands. Soon it became a bright red mass with an increasingly rich sweet fragrance.

Daiyu was a girl living in the boudoir, so she was naturally very familiar with the things women used in their daily lives, and she was even more certain about it.

She said, "Third brother, this is top-grade rouge, there is no mistake. It was used to fill the bottom of the zither. After a long time, it turned hard and dark red, very similar to the color of the lacquer."

Jia Cong said to Lingguan, "Lingguan, go get me a bowl of hot water, and then stand guard outside the door and don't let anyone in."

Lingguan looked confused and didn't know what Jia Cong's intention was, but she still ran to get some hot water, then left the study, closed the door, and sat obediently on the steps waiting.

Jia Cong used the steam from hot water to fumigate the bottom of the zither. The areas that were originally lighter in color absorbed the water vapor and became a deep red, and the complete handwriting could almost be seen.

He then used Daiyu's hairpin to clean off the rouge that had blocked the deep red area on the bottom of the zither, and several clear lines of handwriting immediately appeared.

The edge of Xuanwu, the peak of Luofeng, the closure is beautiful, the generations are sad. The destiny of heaven cannot hide the fragrance, the life and death are long, and its virtue is profound.

Daiyu muttered a few words to herself. Although she felt the meaning was obscure and difficult to understand, she felt an inexplicable lingering feeling in her heart. She turned her head to glance at Jia Cong beside her, and a blush appeared on her pretty face.

"Third brother, the meaning of these words is hard to understand, but after reading them several times, they are unforgettable. I wonder who carved them and covered them with rouge. Could it be my aunt who did it?"

Jia Cong stared at the writing in a trance. The rouge used to seal the writing would soften and change color if heated slightly, so it must not be too old. This guqin was a relic of his biological mother, so it was probably his biological mother who sealed the writing with rouge.

But why would she do this...?
Jia Cong said to Daiyu, "Sister, someone used rouge to cover up the writing, which must be because they don't want others to see it. This seems a bit strange.

You and I only need to know about it, don't mention it to anyone else, to avoid complications."

Daiyu nodded slightly, then stood up and left the study. When she came back, she was holding a dressing box with several boxes of rouge in it.

Originally, Zijuan could have done this kind of thing, but she did it herself. It is estimated that all the rouge belongs to Daiyu.

Jia Cong knew what Daiyu meant without asking. He selected two darker colors from the rouge, picked up the rouge with a hairpin, and sealed the words again.

Finally, the guqin was hung back on the wall. I believe that it won’t take much time for the sealing rouge to harden and change color, and no traces will be visible to others.

Jia Cong and Daiyu were both lost in thought as they stared at the guqin on the wall. Suddenly, they heard Lingguan's voice outside: "Third Master, the housekeeper outside the second gate came to report that many soldiers had entered Ningrong Street and were heading towards the West Mansion!"

……

Rongguo Mansion, Rongqing Hall.

Shi Xiangyun came to the Jia Mansion these days and originally wanted to stay with Yingchun in the East Mansion for a while.

But since Jia's mother hadn't seen her for several months, and Baoyu was still recuperating in the house and couldn't be with her often, Jia's mother asked Xiangyun to stay with her so that they could talk and relieve her boredom.

At noon that day, Jia's grandmother went to visit Baoyu's room first, and asked Xiren and other maids to take good care of him, and asked Xiangyun to accompany her for lunch.

As Grandmother Jia was old, she could not take too many naps to avoid insomnia at night. The grandmother and granddaughter were sitting idly in Rongqing Hall. She was just about to send someone to the East Palace to call Daiyu and other granddaughters to come over.

When Mrs. Wang came with Aunt Xue and Baochai to pay their respects, Grandmother Jia had forgotten all about it and they all gathered around chatting and having a good time.

But Xiangyun was young and active. She wanted to go to the East Palace to play and talk to Jia Cong and Yingchun. She was really restless and after listening to the conversation between Lady Jia and Mrs. Wang, she soon felt drowsy.

The atmosphere in Rongqing Hall was harmonious, but suddenly everyone heard hurried footsteps outside, mixed with panicked voices. Jia Mu and others were surprised.

Just then, Lin Zhixiao's wife stumbled in, her face pale, and said, "Old lady, something terrible has happened, many soldiers have broken into the mansion.

They said that they were following the Emperor's decree to arrest Master Wenlian and that everything was in turmoil. My boss asked me to come in and report that the government troops had surrounded the gate of the mansion."

Jia Mu and others were terrified. These words were too horrifying. Why did it look like a house was being confiscated inside and outside? How could Jia Lian, who was innocent, have committed a crime?

Xiangyun, who was drowsy just now, suddenly became alert when she heard these scary words, and her big eyes moved back and forth.

He stepped forward and pulled the pale Baochai, saying, "Sister Bao, don't stay here. Let's go to the East Palace to ask Third Brother for help."

When Baochai heard this, her eyes lit up, and she followed Xiangyun and hurried out of Rongqing Hall.

Grandmother Jia, Mrs. Wang and others were so frightened that their legs were trembling. Aunt Xue's face also changed when she heard this.

Jia Zheng went to the yamen early this morning. Jia Lian was in trouble at this time, and there was no capable man in the mansion.

Jia's mother and others were panicked and asked Lin Zhixiao to send someone to call Jia Zheng back home. They could not think of any other solution.

Aunt Xue was the one who had a quick mind and said, "Madam, Cong is also an official figure, so we should ask him to come and deal with it. We women can't handle this kind of thing."

Only then did Grandmother Jia come to her senses and hurriedly asked Yuanyang to go to the East Palace to call Jia Cong over. Only then did they realize that Xiangyun and Baochai were missing in the hall.

Grandmother Jia's face suddenly changed, and she looked shaky. She said, "There's a lawsuit at home, and it's a mess right now. What should we do if these two girls run around like this?"

Mrs. Wang hurriedly asked Caixia to look for her, and asked Yuchuaner to go to Baoyu's room to take care of him. People were coming and going inside and outside, and the place was in chaos.

……

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

After hearing what Lingguan said, Jia Cong was slightly stunned, thinking that something had happened.

Many soldiers and officers entered Ningrong Street. Could it be that they were really going to search and search the Rongguo Mansion? But when he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was a little unreasonable.

After hearing what Lingguan said, Daiyu and others looked surprised and confused.

Jia Cong asked Wu'er to go to the second gate and tell the housekeeper to close the gate and not allow anyone to enter or leave.

He changed his clothes and went to the West Palace. Something happened in the West Palace, and he pretended not to see it in the East Palace, but it was inappropriate, and he couldn't avoid it anyway.

When they walked out of the small door between the two mansions, they met Baochai and Xiangyun coming to report the news.

When Jia Cong heard that the Jinyiwei came to arrest Jia Lian, he was a little surprised, because according to the information he knew, Jia Lian was not involved at all.

The only reason he could think of was that Jia She was involved in the theft of the stolen muskets from Liaodong, and Jia Lian was actually involved?
When Baochai heard the news in Rongqing Hall just now, she was terrified, but now that she ran to the East Palace and met Jia Cong, she finally calmed down.

At this moment, thinking of the soldiers coming to arrest Jia Lian, a light bulb went off in her head and she suddenly remembered something.

He said, "Brother Cong, last time my brother went to Datong for business, he told me something, but this matter is a bit taboo, I am worried that my brother will be impetuous and say something nonsense, so I have never dared to tell you.

Now that I see the soldiers coming to arrest Brother Lian, I think back and realize that there must be some connection."

Jia Cong's expression changed and he asked, "Sister Bao, please tell me quickly."

Baochai said, “When my brother was doing business in Ping’an Prefecture, he heard from his friends there that the master of the mansion made a lot of money by sending sea salt, tea leaves, and iron pots to Datong.

Brother Lian went to Datong several times. I guess he was ordered by the master to go to Datong to settle business. "

After hearing this, Jia Cong understood why he had forgotten this. Jia Lian had been traveling to Ping'an Prefecture in the past, and now he should be thinking about it.

……

Jia Cong asked Baochai and Xiangyun to stay in the East Mansion and return after the situation in the West Mansion was settled. He went through the small door in the alley and asked the gatekeeper to lock the door tightly.

When he entered the West Mansion, he could already hear hurried footsteps and voices everywhere, and it was obvious that the mansion was in a bit of chaos.

Jia Cong did not go to Rongqing Hall either, but just headed towards the noisiest place, which led him to Feng Ji's courtyard.

Before reaching the entrance of the courtyard, they saw many Jinyiwei coming in and out, and the servants of the Jia family who passed by all ran away in fear, fearing that they would be caught off guard.

A sharp woman's voice came from Feng Ji's yard. Jia Cong recognized it as Wang Xifeng's voice. His face changed slightly and he walked quickly towards the yard.

As soon as they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, two Jinyiwei blocked their way. Jia Cong said coldly, "I am Jia Cong, the Director of the Firearms Department. The Jia family of Rongguo is a family of honor and nobility. You brought weapons into the gate. Do you have an imperial decree from the palace?"

When the Jinyiwei guarding the gate heard that it was Jia Cong, he was slightly stunned and did not dare to act recklessly. Who in the capital did not know Jia Cong's reputation?

At this time, a man walked out of the yard. He was wearing a black gauze crown, a gold-woven robe with four beasts and flying fish, and a royal belt embroidered with a spring sword. He was more than 30 years old.

When he saw Jia Cong, he clasped his fists and said, "I have long heard of the great name of the Marquis of Weiyuan. I am He Honghui, the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei. I dare not trespass into the Duke's mansion. I am here on the orders of His Majesty to arrest Jia Lian and bring him to justice."

Jia Cong raised his eyebrows and said, "Jia Lian is my elder brother. I don't know what crime he has committed!"

At this time, Wang Xifeng in the yard heard Jia Cong's voice and stumbled out, followed by Ping'er with tears on her face.

But when the two of them ran to the gate of the courtyard, they were stopped by the Jinyiwei guarding the gate.

Wang Xifeng shouted, "Third brother, come and save your brother! He is the eldest son of Rongguo Mansion, how could he be imprisoned by Jinyiwei?"

He Honghui's face changed when he heard this. He took out a document from his bosom and said, "Even if I have the courage of heaven, I would not dare to forge the imperial edict. This is the arrest document of the Jinyiwei. Weiyuan Bo will know it at a glance."

Jia Cong quickly glanced through the document and was shocked. It really wrote that Jia Lian went in and out of Datong, Ping'an Prefecture, colluded with Datong to command the Sun family, and sold contraband such as tea, salt, and iron, which made him suspected of colluding with foreign countries.

Jia Cong silently returned the document to He Honghui. His mind was racing, and he soon figured out the reason. He was afraid that Jia Lian would most likely have to bear the consequences for the crime committed by Jia She.

The emperor has given an oral order and the Jinyiwei has issued an arrest warrant, and the situation is irreversible.

He said in a serious tone: "Whether my brother is guilty of a crime or not can only be determined by the law.

Before the case is filed, please strictly abide by the law, don't harass your family, don't raid your residence, and if you do anything inappropriate, I will file a complaint with His Majesty!"

He Honghui's expression was slightly stern. The whole Kyoto was rumoring that the young earl in front of him was an extremely powerful figure. When he saw him today, just a few words from him were enough to show his potential!
He said quickly: "Don't worry, my Lord. When I came here, Commander Xu had told me that the Jia family of Rongguo had made contributions to the country, and the Jinyiwei would only arrest those who had committed crimes.

We will abide by the rules and will not disturb your family. We sealed off Jia Lian's yard to search for relevant evidence."

At this time, a captain in royal uniform came out from the yard and shook his head at He Honghui.

He Honghui waved his hand, and the Jinyiwei guarding the gate of the courtyard withdrew. Then more than a dozen Jinyiwei filed out of the courtyard, and behind them was Jia Lian, who was tied up.

At this time, Jia Lian was so frightened that his face turned pale and he couldn't even walk straight. He was dragged by the Jinyiwei.

When he saw Jia Cong, he was like seeing a savior, and shouted loudly: "Third brother, third brother, you must save me."

Jia Cong frowned and asked, "Did Second Brother ever do what is written in the document?"

Jia Lian said in panic: "I have been to Ping'an Prefecture. The master asked me to go there..."

When Jia Lian said this, not only Jia Cong's face changed, but even Wang Xifeng was startled.

Although Jia She is dead, his title has not been passed on. He is still the lord of Rongguo Mansion. If he is involved in it, or even the mastermind, the disaster to Rongguo Mansion will be even greater.

He Honghui shouted, "This guy is so scared that he has lost his mind. Block his mouth to stop him from talking nonsense!"

When Jia Cong heard this, he felt strange. Why did the Jinyiwei help the Jia family cover up...

The Jinyiwei heard the order and blocked Jia Lian's mouth, then pushed him out of the mansion, with Wang Xifeng following behind him and bursting into tears. (End of this chapter)