Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 73 Sand (I went out to play all day today, so the update is late, please forgive me.)
……

On the sixth day of June, everything goes well.

Yangzhou Wharf.

Seven ships flying the Ningguo Mansion's flag slowly set out.

"Brother, it seems the boat behind us has changed?"

Xue Ke looked at the ships following behind him with confusion. Although the styles were similar, he knew for sure that they were not the previous grain-carrying ships.

"good."

Jia Rong took a sip of tea and smiled faintly, "I brought some extra things to send to the capital. There is no rush for food. After all, it is still summer. It is okay to buy some first and store it."

Xue Ke: “…”

Brother Rong's actions were truly unpredictable, and he was completely confused.

"Please invite your sister over so we can have dinner together?"

"Ah good."

After a while, Xue Baoqin came.

She was wearing a light green Xiangshui skirt, a moon-white brocade sash tied around her waist, a gold-thread hairpin inserted in her high ponytail, and had beautiful eyes and a charming smile.

"Brother Rong, are you willing to host?"

"Yes, what do you want to eat?"

The three words "Brother Rong" sound so comfortable!
Xue Baoqin counted on her fingers, "I want to eat sweet-scented osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root, crab roe buns, shrimp balls..."

Jia Rong didn't wait for her to finish and said with a smile, "When you get to Kyoto, you can eat as much as you want. Now, I'll serve you duck blood vermicelli soup and two steamed pomfret."

"Ah? Brother Rong is stingy!"

Xue Ke said, "Qin'er, stop messing around."

Jia Rong: "It's okay."

Baoqin: “Hehe…”

Soon, a table of dishes was placed on the table, along with two pots of Shaoxing wine.

Jia Rong said with a smile: "Today I will treat you to a good meal. There will be no food in the next few days. This time we need to rush to the capital in one go without stopping the boat."

Xue Baoqin asked, "Rush to Kyoto in one go? What's the urgent matter?"

She had followed her father all over the country since she was young, and was not a reclusive lady. She naturally knew that it would take at least ten days to travel from Jiangnan to Kyoto, and staying on the boat the whole time... wouldn't that be boring to death?
Xue Ke said: "Qin'er, don't ask, Brother Rong has his own reasons!"

Jia Rong didn't intend to hide it at this time.

After all, they are both family members.

"The boat is carrying the tax silver for Jiangnan salt ingots. Bandits may come to rob the silver, so we should leave quickly to avoid more trouble."

Xue Ke: “…”

Xue Baoqin: “…”

As expected of people who have traveled far and wide and seen the world, the brother and sister did not seem to be too shocked.

Jia Rong smiled again and said, "As long as the tax money arrives in Beijing smoothly, it will be a great achievement and will be very beneficial to Brother Xue. At least the title of being listed in the Ministry of Revenue will be well deserved."

Xue Ke bowed to Jia Rong and swore, "Thank you, Brother Rong. I will never let you down. Even if bandits come to rob the tax silver, I will fight to the death. I only ask you to take good care of my sister. I will die without regrets!"

Jia Rong hurriedly helped Xue Ke up and said with a smile, "It's not that serious. I have a backup plan. If the thieves dare to come, I will make sure they never return. Then it will be a great achievement. Isn't it wonderful?"

"That's what the elder brother said!"

"Brother, I'll give you a toast!"

Xue Ke picked up the wine glass and drank it all.

Jia Rong also drank a full cup.

Baoqin also picked up the wine glass and said with a smile, "Brother Rong, I'll toast you too." After she took a sip, two red clouds suddenly rose on her pretty face.

Jia Rong laughed and said, "You two brothers are trying to get me drunk."

Baoqin said with a smile: "Brother Rong has a huge appetite, how could he get drunk? I'll toast you another glass!"

Xue Ke said: "I'll toast to you, big brother!"

Jia Rong: “…”

……

The sky was gloomy, hot and humid.

Huaiyang official road, rocky forest.

"kill!"

“Kill!” “Swoosh!”

There were the sounds of arrows breaking through the air, swords clashing, shouts and screams. After many twists and turns on the battlefield, it finally came to an end with the setting sun.

The remaining rays of the setting sun shone on the earth, and blood flowed like a river, painting a desolate picture.

"Sir! The traitor Zhang Maoye colluded with the rebels and robbed tax silver. The evidence is irrefutable and he has been executed!"

A minor official came forward to report.

Governor-General Hu Jiansheng of Liangjiang was overjoyed!
"Hahaha, good!"

"Sure enough, they are colluding with the traitors!"

Recovering the tax silver and beheading the traitors of the imperial court, his contribution this time, hehe...

Just as he was getting excited, another minor official suddenly came up and said in a panic, "Sir, something is wrong!"

Hu Jiansheng frowned: "What's wrong?"

The clerk trembled and said, "There is no silver in the box!"

"what?"

Hu Jiansheng's heart skipped a beat: "If it's not silver, then what is it?"

"It's... full of sand!"

"impossible!"

Hu Jiansheng’s first reaction was, Impossible!

Can silver be the same as stone?

Even a fool can see that!
Hu Jiansheng didn't care about his image and trotted to the convoy.

The horses had been frightened away for a long time, and only the carts were left there. The carts were filled with large red-painted boxes and sealed with the signature of the Yangzhou Salt Inspectorate.

Some of them were open and they were filled with sand!
sand?

What's the meaning!
He felt like this was a mockery!

He really wanted to ask Zhang Maoye why he teamed up with the bandits to rob boxes of sand!
Unfortunately, Zhang Maoye’s head had been split apart and he could not answer him. Even none of Zhang Maoye’s close associates were alive as their heads had been split apart.

"Sir, what should we do now?"

The clerk asked anxiously.

"Let's go back first!"

Hu Jiansheng is very confused now.

I couldn't figure out what went wrong for a while.

The tax silver was replaced with sand, which must have been the work of the Salt Inspector, and he understood that.

But, what method did Lin Ruhai use to make the rebel believe that there was silver on the carriage and attract people to come? So that he also fell into the trap?

Not only did they fail to recover the tax money,

He also killed Zhang Maoye!
Not good!

……

Weishan Lake Water Village.

"Lady Bai Lian, things are just as you expected. The land route is full of sand, and the tax silver is transported by water."

Lady Bai Lian above smiled softly, took a sip of the tea on the table, and sighed: "Zhang Maoye died for us once."

A beautiful young girl beside him chuckled and said, "Zhang Maoye was played around by his master, but he still thinks he is right. He really deserves to die!"

Lady Bai Lian nodded and asked, "How many of our brothers have escaped?"

The people below hurriedly replied: "To answer your Majesty's words, the brothers did not fight hard, they just rushed over and ran away, so the damage was not great."

"That's good!"

"By the way, have you found out where the real tax money is?"

"To answer your Majesty, we have already found out. The eldest son of Ningguo Mansion is on the ship returning to the capital. There are more than 300 elite guards! They will be arriving at Weishan Lake soon."

"Oh? Ningguo Mansion!"

Lady Bai Lian thought for a moment and said, "Let's test their fighting ability. It doesn't matter if they are difficult to deal with, but conserving their strength is the most important thing."

As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately stood up to oppose them!
It is Bai Lian’s left protector, Bai Tang!

"Your Majesty! Two million taels of silver are enough to strengthen my Bai Lian. Why should we save our strength? I think we should do our best to win!"

……

(End of this chapter)