Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Wumaxiang and Liufangju in the Shenjing.

It was a sunny and warm day. Wumaxiang was bustling with people and the air was filled with a faint sweet scent.

There are many northern and southern pastry shops on this street, which are quite famous in the capital. The most famous old brand among them is Liufangju, which is famous for its Suzhou pastries.

Liufangju is also the shop with the largest floor space and the busiest business in Wuma Alley. On such a warm spring day, there are many diners coming in and out to consume.

At this time, a tall black horse galloped slowly into the street, attracting the attention of many passers-by.

Because this black horse is so majestic, not only is its body as black as ink, but its four hooves are as bright white as snow.

This kind of BMW with outstanding appearance is rarely seen in the market and it cannot help but attract attention.

But what attracted more attention was a pair of young men and women riding side by side on horses.

The man has a clear and bright temperament, handsome appearance, elegant clothes and a charming demeanor;
The woman sitting behind him was tall and slender, dressed simply and neatly, quite different from other girls.

She had a moon-white soft silk scarf on her head, covering her thick hair, leaving only a few strands of dark brown and dark gold hair visible in her bun.

She was wearing a Sichuan brocade robe with a moon-white magnolia pattern and a deep blue scented sweat towel tied around her waist, which bound her slender waist tightly and made her figure look as graceful as a spring mountain.

Judging from her description, she seems to be quite dashing and heroic, most likely a beautiful lady. Unfortunately, she was wearing a white gauze veil hat that exposed her bun, so her face could not be seen at all.

Although the Great Zhou inherited the laws of the former Song Dynasty, after a hundred years of war and chaos in the south, the country was established. The ethics and morals were not as strict and terrifying as in the previous dynasty, but they were not too relaxed either.

It is not common to see young men and women riding together on the road, but such youthful spirit is not too rare.

Besides, the woman was wearing a veil, which provided some concealment.

Although there were many pedestrians in Wumaxiang, it did not seem crowded at all. The young man was a good rider and he could take advantage of every opportunity to ride.

When they rode to the gate of Liufangju, the young man dismounted first and stretched out his hand to the woman on the horse. The woman just used his palm for a little support and dismounted gracefully as light as a swallow.

When the shop owner saw the two men, he greeted them with a smile, asked the waiter to lead the horses to the stable, and then took them to the private room on the second floor.

Although the store owner did not know the identities of the young man and woman, they often came to the store for a short visit and were regular customers.

As for their identities, the shopkeeper naturally would not inquire. Shenjing was the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty and was full of nobles and high-ranking officials. The common people did not need to know everything and just needed to greet the guests well.

Besides, this couple had been here many times before. They were of first-rate appearance and bearing. They must be the children of noble families. In short, they were people who should not be easily provoked.

The young man said, "Boss, two plates of freshly baked fruit honey cakes, a plate of top-quality Liaodong honey-glazed pine nuts, a number of various popular Suzhou desserts, and a pot of top-quality jasmine."

Although the girl who was traveling with him was wearing a veil, when she heard the boy's clear voice, she could vaguely see a pretty and charming smile through her face hidden by the white veil.

……

That day, Jia Cong went to the Imperial Examination Hall to take the exam. Ai Li rode a horse to see him off. There was a lot of horse riding on the road, so they rode together and sent Jia Cong to the Imperial Examination Hall.

The two also agreed that after Jia Cong came out of seclusion after the imperial examination, they would invite Ai Li to Liuxiangju to sit around, because Ai Li liked Liuxiangju's fruit honey cake and various exquisite Su desserts the most.

However, after Jia Cong finished the imperial examination, he rested for two days, then went to Luocang Mountain to thank his teacher, and then his mansion held a birthday banquet for him.

After being busy for many days, I finally had time to take Ellie out for a stroll.

In the private room by the window on the second floor, Ellie was concentrating on tasting the freshly baked ginkgo honey cake. Girls always have a natural preference for this kind of sweet and fragrant thing.

The white gauze veil hat was still placed next to her. Ever since she was brought back to the capital by Jia Cong, she developed the habit of wearing a veil hat every time she went out with Jia Cong because she felt that her appearance was a little different from others.

While she was tasting the cakes, her bright eyes, which reflected the beauty of the sea, would always look towards Jia Cong.

Noticing that he was concentrating on reading a letter, she smiled knowingly, refilled his empty cup with jasmine wine, and then went to look at the bustling street scene outside the window.

……

This time, Ellie brought a lot of letters with her. They were all letters sent by Feiyu from Jinling, Liaodong and other places during the period when Jia Cong was taking the examination in the Imperial Academy.

Jia Cong's several farms in Liaodong are currently managed by Zhou Guangcheng of Liaodong Xinchunhao.

At the end of last year, Zhou Guangcheng escorted the farm's harvest to Shenjing. He said that since Sun Zhanying, the hereditary commander of the Datong Army, surrendered to the enemy, the three border areas of Datong, Xuanfu and Jizhen were often harassed by Mongolian cavalry.

Since Xinchunhao established a branch in Liaodong, it not only relied on the cheap manpower and materials in Liaodong, but also built workshops and produced its own perfumes and other products.

Relying on the rich local products of Liaodong, such as medicinal materials, furs, wild delicacies, and timber, the company sells goods from the north to the south, and its business is prosperous and profitable, even comparable to the head office of Xinchun Jiangnan.

Therefore, relevant news about Liaodong and the Nine Borders would often be transmitted via the Liaodong Xinchun and Feiyu and reach his desk in a timely manner.

But since he left Liaodong, the nine border towns have been peaceful.

But ever since the Datong commander Sun Zhanying defected to the enemy, the originally peaceful Nine Frontiers began to experience some ripples, like ripples in stagnant water.

Jia Cong once led troops to fight in Liaodong, and had a keener perception of the dynamics of the nine borders than ordinary people.

Due to the fluctuations of war in Datong, Xuanfu and other places, if one is damaged, all will be damaged, and the entire nine borders will be affected to varying degrees.

No matter he is an official appointed by the imperial court, worrying about the dangers to the country and border towns, or he is talking business as the actual controller of Xinchunhao.

All of this had to make him pay more and more attention to the affairs of Datong.

In addition, Datong is not only an important place in the Nine Frontiers, but also a distribution center for northwest timber, wild delicacies, fruits, livestock and local products.

Therefore, shortly after Zhou Guangcheng returned to Liaodong at the end of last year, he received a letter from Jia Cong, asking him to deploy personnel and establish a branch in Datong.

After several months of operation, the Datong branch of Xinchunhao has established a firm foothold in the local area. Information on Datong's local business conditions, war fluctuations, etc. is often transmitted through Feiyu.

The letters sent by Zhou Guangcheng not only described how the remnant Mongolian cavalry often harassed villages and towns on the border.

Half a month ago, a great battle took place at Woshabao, 90 miles away from the Datong border.

According to the news brought back to the city by scouts from the Datong border army, Wosha Fort was not within the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty and had been occupied by the remnants of the Mongolian Urat tribe.

Half a month ago, Anda Khan of the Tuman tribe suddenly sent elite troops to capture Wosha Fort overnight and killed all 3,000 members of the Urad tribe who were entrenched there.

Because it involves the internal strife of the remnant Mongolian tribes, the surrounding troops naturally watched the fire from the other side of the river and strictly guarded the border villages...

The other two letters came from the Jiangnan headquarters of Jinling Xinchunhao and were just delivered to Shenjing yesterday.

The content of the letter involved the Zhen family in Jinling. After reading it, Jia Cong felt a little heavy.

Qu Hongxiu said in the letter that since the Jinling Jinyiwei commander Ge Zhicheng was dismissed, the new Jinyiwei captain Wang Zhangjiang is a powerful figure.

As soon as he arrived in Jinling, he looked into the old case involving Zhen Shiwen and firearms, which had caused quite a stir.

Because the Jinling Jinyiwei were investigating cases and arresting people, many of their actions were done on the surface, so they could not be concealed from anyone. In addition, Liu Hai, a captain of the Jinling Jinyiwei, was a close friend of Jia Cong.

Qu Hongxiu naturally had the channels to learn the details of this matter in a timely manner...

As for why Qu Hongxiu was so concerned about the affairs of the Zhen family, once he got the news, he immediately used Feiyu to send a message to himself.

It must be because he and Zhen Fangqing had a marriage relationship. Although the marriage was cancelled, their relationship was still somewhat unusual. Qu Hongxiu felt that he must be concerned about this matter...

……

In the northern suburbs of Shenjing, there is the Mausoleum of Emperor Hongxuan.

To the west of the imperial mausoleum, there are several villas for the royal family who guard the mausoleum to live in.

During these two years, apart from the late emperor's adoptive mother, Concubine Zhen, no prominent members of the royal family had passed away.

Therefore, except for the first one, the other villas guarding the mausoleum are quite deserted.

In the middle of the main room of the villa, there is a Thai blue incense cauldron with the pattern of Fu Lu Shou Xiang Yun, flickering with a fiery red glow. The milky white smoke of ambergris slowly floats out of the cauldron, filling the room with a faint fragrance.

The deep winter has passed in the capital, but for Zhen Fangqing, who has long been accustomed to the warm waters in the south of the Yangtze River, the warm March now makes her feel unusually comfortable.

Apart from burning incense and praying at the tomb of Empress Dowager Zhen every day, she spent most of her time guarding the mausoleum.

In addition to checking the business accounts sent by express horses from Jinling, she would read and write to relieve her boredom. She had copied the Xijiangyue calligraphy that Jia Cong gave her countless times. Since the funeral of the old Concubine Zhen, Jia Cong had come to the imperial mausoleum once in the next six months.

That was because of the spring memorial ceremony. The Jia and Zhen families were old friends, and he paid homage to the old Concubine Zhen on behalf of the Jia family. The two met because of this.

Apart from this, even though the two were in the same capital, they never met again.

It’s not that Jia Cong was unwilling to see her, but the two of them had a marriage agreement, which was later revoked due to an accident, which made the relationship between them special.

If there was no legitimate reason, given their ambiguous relationship, and they were having a secret meeting in the imperial mausoleum villa, it would cause a big trouble if it got out.

In March, the spring breeze was gentle and the clothes were thin. Zhen Fangqing had already changed into a fur coat, because during the mourning period, people only wore plain clothes.

She wore a blue plain front-breasted jacket, a plain white silk top with a stand-up collar, and an ivory skirt. Apart from a silver hairpin, she had no other head ornaments.

Although she was dressed in plain clothes, she did not look dull, but looked even more elegant like a chrysanthemum. Her pretty face was as white and translucent as snow, her eyes were as clear as water, and she was graceful and charming.

At this moment, she was looking through the Zhen family store accounts that were delivered from Jinling Express ten days ago, speculating on the current progress and possible profits of several businesses on the account.

Shenjing and Jinling are thousands of miles apart, so it was very timely and quick for her to get the Zhen family's business accounts for nearly half a month.

……

At this time, footsteps were heard outside the door, and a woman in her thirties came in with a smile on her face.

He said, "Miss Three, the servant of Marquis Weiyuan just brought a letter, saying that the Marquis had specially asked for it, and asked you to open it yourself.

Although the girl's wedding did not come to fruition, Weiyuan Bo still cared about her. Not only did he prepare thoughtful and meticulous gifts for her during the New Year, he also sent her special letters. "

Liu Xianjia's words were full of joy, and Zhen Fangqing was also happy when she heard it, and asked, "Where is his servant? Take out a hundred yuan and treat him to tea."

Liu Xianjia said, "The servant put down the letter and left."

When Zhen Fangqing heard this, he was stunned and felt something was wrong. Why did he send a letter out of the blue?
She quickly opened the letter in her hand, and when she read the contents, her face changed drastically.

Seeing that Zhen Fangqing looked unhappy, Liu Xianjia asked hurriedly, "Miss, what important matter did Earl Weiyuan mention in the letter?"

Zhen Fangqing stood up and walked a few steps, her pretty face slightly pale, and said: "Yu Zhang said in the letter that he got news from Jinling that the Zhen family had trouble recently.

After Wang Zhangjiang, the new captain of Jinling Jinyiwei, took office, he began to investigate the old case of the third brother smuggling muskets and hiding Ottoman fine iron, which caused a lot of trouble. "

Liu Xianjia was shocked and said, "The Third Master of the First House is dead, and his case has been closed, so why are the Jinyiwei digging up the old case again?

Besides, many of the people left by the Third Master in the shops were dishonest and left evidence, but they were all cleared up by the Third Lady. What else can the Imperial Guards investigate?"

Zhen Fangqing said: "Chen Xun, the original manager of the Zhen Mansion, was once my father's follower. After my father passed away, he became my third brother's confidant and helped my third brother to smuggle the guns.

After my third brother passed away, I checked the accounts and found that Chen Xun had done many things that violated the rules. In order to clean up the family business, all his deeds were reported to the government, and others were imprisoned and interrogated.

But he has two sons, one of whom is the manager of Haiyun Pavilion. The third brother secretly stored Ottoman fine iron in the warehouse of Haiyun Pavilion, and it was this son Chen Rong who was in charge.

Ever since Chen Xun was convicted and imprisoned, Chen Rong got wind of the news by chance and secretly fled out of Jinling City.

Therefore, this person was just a manager. He ran away privately. Our Zhen family did not mention it, and the government did not pay attention to this person.

Unexpectedly, the new Jinyiwei captain Wang Zhangjiang was an extremely powerful figure. I don’t know what means he used to unravel the case and finally came up with the idea of ​​​​the escaped Chen Rong.

He also sent out elite Jinyiwei to search for Chen Rong everywhere, and with such magical powers, he captured Chen Rong from Quanzhou.

Chen Rong was imprisoned by the Imperial Guards, but he could not bear the torture and confessed his third brother's past affairs six days ago.

The Ottoman fine iron in the Haiyun Pavilion warehouse was not deposited by my third brother’s friends at all.

Instead, the third brother took advantage of the Zhen family's ships and ordered them from the Ottoman Empire himself, and Chen Rong was personally involved in this matter.

This kind of Ottoman fine iron was specially used for forging musket barrels. Chen Rong's testimony proved that his third brother had conspired to privately manufacture muskets that were banned by the court, which was tantamount to treason.

But the third brother had passed away long ago, and the Jinling Jinyiwei could not convict him for the time being. In addition, the eldest uncle was currently the president of the Jinling Provincial Tiren Academy, so he did not do anything extreme for the time being.

However, there was also suspicion of swindling the Zhen family by framing the third brother, and three shops of the Zhen family, including Haiyun Pavilion, were sealed off five days ago.

Four days ago, I entered the Zhen Family compound with official documents to search for evidence at the residence of my third brother. Several of my third brother's private residences in Jinling City were also sealed off."

After hearing this, Liu Xianjia turned pale with fear and said, "Third Miss, the Jinyiwei actually entered the Zhen family compound to search, didn't they find anything?"

Zhen Fangqing also looked pale and said, "After the death of my third brother, I had already cleaned up everything. They won't find anything in the Zhen family compound or my third brother's villa.

I think since my uncle still holds an official position, he may still have some concerns, but I can’t say how long it can last.

In fact, if the Jinyiwei really wanted to convict the Zhen family, they would need to find some evidence. They have always had no shortage of such means...

More than half a year has passed since my third brother passed away. I was worried about this matter at first and made many preparations for the future. But later, when I saw that everything had been calm, I even thought that I was worrying too much.

I didn't expect that after Ge Zhicheng, the court newly transferred a captain of the Jinling Jinyiwei to him, and he turned out to be such a powerful figure. It seemed deliberate no matter how you looked at it.

If he hadn't received instructions from his superiors, why would he pursue an old case so relentlessly? "

……

Zhen Fangqing opened the window and looked in the direction of the imperial mausoleum, muttering to himself: "In the past, the Zhen family had the protection of the old concubine, but now that the old concubine has passed away, the Zhen family has lost its greatest support.

This is probably what is called a reckoning, and this time a disaster is likely to happen..."

The woman from Liu Xian's family on the side can be considered as someone who has experienced many ups and downs. The couple has lived in the second branch of the Zhen family for half their lives and has witnessed the ups and downs of the Zhen family over the past decade.

The second branch of the Zhen family is a place of great importance. It can be said that the prosperity and wealth of the Zhen family over the past few decades all originated from the second branch.

Master Zhen Er was a very remarkable person back then, but it was a pity that he died too early.

As for Miss Zhen San, although she is a girl, she is always resourceful and can do things with ease, which is much better than capable men.

Now that even she has said such things, I’m afraid the Zhen family is really in trouble this time.

Zhen Fangqing saw the letter in his hand and said with a puzzled look: "The Jinling Jinyiwei launched an attack five days ago and searched the Zhen Mansion four days ago. The time was very short.

The journey from Jinling to Shenjing is long, and even if one changes to high-quality fast horses along the way, it will take more than five days to deliver the message.

I think Uncle Xian's urgent letter has probably been sent, but it must still be on the way.

I didn’t expect Yu Zhang to be so powerful that he could get the news so early while in the capital. Since he could send a message to me, he must have received the news within four days…”

Zhen Fangqing couldn't understand how Jia Cong could get the news so quickly.

However, the danger had already occurred in the Zhen family, and she did not want to implicate Jia Cong. It was a great favor that he delivered the news in time.

Fortunately, when Zhen Shiwen was involved in the incident last year, Zhen Fangqing had vaguely anticipated this day and had made many preparations long ago. She had secretly transferred a large amount of materials in the house in various ways...

Zhen Fangqing said to Liu Xianjia: "Auntie Liu, go to the courtyard and ask the servants to prepare more fast horses. When I finish writing the letter, send it to Jinling immediately. Ask Uncle Xian to make proper preparations early."

……

Rongguo Mansion, Jia Cong's courtyard.

After sending Ai Li home, Jia Cong returned to the Earl's Mansion alone. He asked Qingwen and Yinglian to deliver the Su-style cakes he brought back from Liufangju to the sisters' residences.

He took out the pair of lychee jelly rulers from the drawer of his desk, held them in his hands and stroked them, with thoughts surging in his mind.

As soon as he returned home, he immediately wrote an urgent letter and asked Jiang Liu to deliver it to the imperial mausoleum in the east of the city by express horse. This was all he could do at the moment.

The capital city of Nanjing is thousands of miles away, and Zhen Fangqing is out of reach. She hopes that Liu Xian, the manager beside her, can make some effective responses in Nanjing.

He thought for a moment, and finally picked up a pen and paper and wrote another letter.

Then he left the mansion again and went to Ellie's residence again... (End of this chapter)