The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 477 Nothing is a coincidence

"I didn't expect to be able to travel with Master Zhen! Nowadays, refugees are everywhere and it's difficult to travel by land. If it weren't for your face, I wouldn't be able to find a passenger ship to the north for a while. My mother and sister are not convenient to show up in public. Thank you for your willingness to give us a ride."

On the passenger ship returning to Beijing, Xue Ke came to Zhen Shiyin at the bow and bowed to him, saying, "You are going back, but what is the urgent matter?"

After all, Xue Ke was the second son of the Xue family, so some arrangements had to be made for the whole family to go to Beijing. When Zhen Shiyin revealed his idea of ​​returning to Beijing, he did not hide it.

He had already intended to ask Zhang Yun逸 for help, so how could he give up the opportunity to travel with Zhen Shiyin?

After paying a little attention, he found out Zhen Shiyin's itinerary, and then pretended to meet him by chance and made an excuse to travel with him.

Of course, what he said was true. Even if it wasn't a disaster year, there were still bandits, not to mention the large-scale grain failure.
Relatively speaking, the waterways are much safer and the space for ships is very limited.

The reason why Zhen Shiyin was able to find a boat back to Beijing so quickly was entirely because of Zhang Yun逸's business card and Jia Yucun's face.

Therefore, it is not inappropriate to say this.

Although Zhen Shiyin was not clear about his purpose, he would not reveal the inside story when it came to Zhang Yunyi's plan. He said perfunctorily, "It's not an urgent matter. I just missed my daughter and grandson after being away from Beijing for a few months!"

"I'm really sorry to trouble you to travel such a long distance for my Xue family's affairs. Please don't be polite to me for the boat fare this time!"

"When I was stranded outside, it was thanks to your aunt that she took care of me. Anyway, one more person on this ship won't make a difference, so don't be polite!"

"Then the boy won't be so hypocritical with the old man!" Xue Ke smiled and tried, "No wonder the aunt entrusted you, it turns out there is this relationship. I think my elder brother had a lawsuit before, so I guess he and Mr. Zhang are close friends, right?"

As the two were talking, they suddenly heard an exaggerated shout from behind: "Oh! So Mr. Zhen and Nephew Xue are here! This is really a coincidence, I didn't expect that you two are also relatives of Rongguo Mansion."

This interruption gave Zhen Shiyin a chance to avoid Xue Ke's questioning. He turned around and said with a smile, "We are not relatives, but we have some connection!"

"That's also very rare! Don't worry, sir. Although I don't have much money with me and can't afford the boat charter fee at the moment, I will have my elder sister to help pay for it when we get to Rongguo Mansion!"

If Xue Ke's act was deliberate, then Xing Zhong's was pure coincidence.

Although the three parties all had the plan to go to Beijing, Xing Zhong was not like Zhen Shiyin and Xue Ke. One needed to arrange follow-up matters, and the other had a lot of luggage.

He picked up his bag and left, but because the money he prepared was not enough, he thought of saving as much as possible. He took Xing Xiuyan and her daughter on a small boat to Jinling, intending to find a cheaper cargo ship to go to Beijing.

Unexpectedly, at the dock, he heard Xue Ke and Zhen Shiyin trying to get close to each other, and when he heard them talking about Rongguo Mansion, he approached them in a familiar manner and started a conversation.

Upon learning that the two were also going to Beijing, he chartered the entire ship.

I thought, if you don't take advantage of a good deal, you'd be a fool. It's a chartered ship anyway, and one more family of mine won't make much difference. Why would I be willing to go to a cargo ship and suffer injustice?

So he shamelessly went with them.

He saw that Zhen Shiyin and Xue Ke were well-dressed and had chartered the entire boat, so it was obvious that they did not need their own money for the fare.

As for what I said just now, it was just a polite remark. Even if the two of them went with the flow, I had already told them to go find Madam Xing.

"Don't mention the ship's fare. The cabin is empty anyway. My nephew Xue just said that you don't have to be polite!"

"Thank you so much, sir! When I get back to Rongguo Mansion, I will report the truth to my elder sister!"

At this point, he paused and asked, "I heard from you that you are a relative of Ningguo Mansion. One of us is a relative of Rongguo Mansion, and the other is a relative of Ningguo Mansion. We are also a family, so I won't be polite to you! I see that there are soldiers protecting this ship, so I think it is also..."

"Uncle, don't you know yet?" Xue Ke interrupted with a half-smile, "Mr. Jing and Mr. Zhen of Ningguo Mansion have been gone for more than a year. Ningguo Mansion is now the residence of Mr. Zhang of Tiangongyuan."

"Uh..." Xing Zhong was stunned, unable to hide the embarrassment on his face, "Well... as the saying goes, a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. Since we live next door, we are also a family, right..." Jia Jing and Jia Zhen died in accidents, and they were far away in the capital, unlike Jia Zheng this time, who had an accident in Jiangnan.

Xing Zhong was not as well-informed as Xue Ke, so he didn't know that things had changed in Ningguo Mansion.

Upon hearing that this Ningguo Mansion was not the same as that Ningguo Mansion, he couldn't help but worry about the shipping fee again.

Zhen Shiyin is used to the ways of the world, so how could he not see it?

He smiled and said, "Yun Yi's biological mother was originally a lady from Ningguo Mansion, and she was not just a neighbor!"

"Ah!~Oh..." Xing Zhong's expression suddenly became interesting, "So that's what I mean! A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Any young person in my brother-in-law's family..."

At this point, he seemed to remember something and hurriedly said, "Oh, right! Could it be that Mr. Zhang from Tiangongyuan is the same Mr. Zhang who invented glass?"

Although he had limited information, he had heard of the reputation of Tiangongyuan and glass.

In addition, he was a little clever and guessed that since he could occupy such a big Ningguo Mansion, he must hold a high official position and a noble status, so he asked this question.

Without Zhen Shiyin's answer, Xue Ke smiled and flattered, "If it wasn't for Mr. Zhang from Tiangongyuan, how could he be worthy of the Duke's Mansion?"

"Oh! My apologies!" Xing Zhong immediately stood up in awe, bowing and kowtowing, smiling, "I wonder what your relationship is with Mr. Zhang?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Xue Ke, who had been rushing to speak just now, suddenly kept silent, and the scene became a little awkward for a while.

Xing Zhong seemed to realize that he had asked something he shouldn't have asked. He scratched his head and was thinking about how to make up for it, but he heard Zhen Shiyin said calmly: "Thanks to Yun Yi for not abandoning my daughter and taking her as a concubine. He also felt sorry for me because I only have this one daughter and want to cut off the family line. Let the child take my surname and carry on the family line!"

Zhen Shiyin was not embarrassed to explain, but Zhen Chengsi was involved in this matter. Saying that he was a concubine would obviously lead to misunderstanding, and his own grandson was just a bastard's son.

"This……"

When Xing Zhong heard this, a look of astonishment flashed across his face, and then he realized that he had exposed someone's shortcomings.

He quickly made up for it, "It's easy to find a good son-in-law, but it's hard to continue the family line. With Mr. Zhang's status, he is willing to let the child change his surname. The old gentleman is really lucky!"

He was quite quick-witted and actually found a way to make up for it.

Zhen Shiyin was quite pleased with this.

He twirled his beard and smiled, "Yes! Yes!"

While Xing Zhong was trying his best to flatter them and chatting with the two of them, he was secretly observing Zhen Shiyin.

It was known that Zhen Shiyin's daughter was just Zhang Yunyi's concubine, and he was well dressed and had an extraordinary demeanor.

The thought that the father of a concubine was more glamorous than himself, the brother-in-law of the Rongguo Mansion, made him feel proud.

While I felt ashamed of myself, I always felt something was wrong.

For a moment, he lost interest and chatted for a few more sentences before returning to his cabin in disappointment.

……

(End of this chapter)