The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 371 The Xue Family
When paying the bill with the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper said with a smile: "The guest officer is curious about whose family the pair of dolls just now belong to? Hehe, those are really famous merchants all over the world.

The guest officer can see it, well, the mule carts and horse carts on the side of the road that can't be seen at a glance until the gate of the city belong to their family.

I heard that they came back from the Qianxiang Kingdom this trip, and I don’t know how many expensive spices and goods they bought, tsk tsk tsk, what a pity..."

"Great merchants?" Jia Lian asked thoughtfully.

It was because Jia Lian had also discovered long ago that there was indeed a long queue of goods piled up beside the yellow road leading directly to the border market outside, and it was hard to tell how many goods there were at a glance.

At first he thought it was a grand occasion made up of many merchants, but he didn't expect it to be owned by one family.

"It's the old capital of the founding of the country, the Xue family in Jinling, that's a wealthy family that has been around for hundreds of years.

Although it is now in decline, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, which is still not comparable to other merchants.

Just by looking at the appearance and upbringing of the children in other people's families, one can also know the background of these big families. "

There was deep envy in the shopkeeper's eyes.Perhaps for all business people, building a century-old wealthy family is their ultimate dream.

"Xue family, no wonder."

Jia Lian was stunned, he felt that he should know who the girl he saw just now was.

"By the way, why did the shopkeeper say it was a pity?"

Under such circumstances, Jia Lian decided to ask more questions when he met old family friends.

"What else can it be? Those black-hearted people can eat people without spitting out their bones! Even such a big family can't escape, let alone others. If things go on like this, who will dare to come to this desert to do business in the future? I'm afraid This thousand-year-old road will be desolate again in the future..."

A look of regret and indignation appeared on the shopkeeper's face.

The waiter who was serving Jia Lian's tables just now just came back, and now he answered, "The guest officer doesn't know, but the Xue family came here three days ago, but they haven't been able to enter the city. I heard it's because..."

Xiao Er wanted to reveal the news, but was stared at by the shopkeeper, and then the shopkeeper gave Jia Lian an apologetic look.

Jia Lian understood, nodded and left the counter.

When walking back, Aqi had already gone to lead the horse, so Princess Zhaoyang smiled and asked him, "Is that little girl pretty just now?"

Jia Lian glanced at her, nodded calmly and said, "It is indeed very beautiful."

"Did you fall in love with her? I see that you have never left her eyes just now. Unfortunately, she is a girl from a wealthy family. If she is from a small family, Erlang can buy her home and be a personal maid, usually teasing and so on. "

Jia Lian was speechless when he heard the words.People in this era don't have awareness of the protection of minors, they can drive any kind of car!

"I'm not qualified, but with Qingran's status, it's no problem to call me a maid by my side. Why don't Qingran take care of me first?"

Perhaps the relationship between the two of them was too restrained before, so that after the Hu's farmhouse, the two of them were a little wanton.

In this kind of wantonness, the barriers and gaps between the two of them were almost eliminated, and there was nothing to talk about.A joke like this is not inappropriate.

Princess Zhaoyang rolled her eyes slightly, but then nodded her head in a serious manner: "This proposal is not bad. I just happen to have never seen such a cute little sister before, and besides other things, it must be very eye-catching."

Princess Zhaoyang responded with a smile, and gave Jia Lian a meaningful look.

Jia Lian also looked at her, and suddenly realized why men in the world always face east today and west tomorrow, and even a fairy would not be satisfied.

All kinds of women in the world are all kinds of styles.

For example, at this time, if it was Wang Xifeng, he must have scolded him for not being happy, and pinched him on the waist before giving up.If it was Miaoyu, she would either mourn or sigh, or be cold-hearted.If it was You Shi, he would probably not say a word.

And if it was Qin's Keqing, she might have smiled sweetly, and then whispered in secret, how to help him get his daughter back...

And this Zhaoyang is even more unique, what he says and does makes him quite unpredictable, hazy, and his clever smiles always make people feel excited.

That's why, it's not that the man's heart is not firm, but that the random flowers are gradually becoming charming.

……

Inside the long queue of goods piled up, there is a temporary tent in the middle.

This place was originally the residence of the master of the Xue family, but at this moment, it is full of drugs and death.

The butler walked in and saw his master propping up on the sickbed and waving to him, so he rushed forward to meet him.

"How about it, they still refuse to agree to let it go?"

The housekeeper nodded dejectedly, and then said angrily: "Master, those people are simply bandits and hooligans! We paid the border tax in Yulan City, but they insisted on denying it, and said that it was the order of Anxi Jiedu envoy, To raise military supplies, food and salaries, all merchants who come and go must pay half of the money for the goods!

Isn't this an obvious robbery?

And the servant found out that other merchants only need to hand in more property than usual, but they just keep us!

Master, let's just take a detour, we can't spend it here forever..."

The housekeeper's words made the face of the second master of the Xue family look even more depressed.He shook his head and said: "Since ancient times, it has been said that people do not fight with officials. The reason why they do this is because they see the value of the goods in our hands, they become greedy, and deliberately make things difficult for us.

Now they are detaining our goods, apparently unwilling to give up until they achieve their goals.They have officers and soldiers in their hands. If we choose to detour, they will charge us with unwarranted crimes such as smuggling, and the situation will be even worse.

Forget it, anyway, this is the last time I walk this path, and I probably won't have the chance to do it again in the future, so let them go..."

The second master of the Xue family glanced at his heavy body, and said in a somewhat decadent resignation.

The housekeeper said anxiously after hearing the words: "Master, think twice, we have spent an unknown amount of money for this trip, so we pointed to transporting these goods back to the Central Plains for sale. Now if we hand over half of the goods again, we will not be able to make this trip. I'm going to lose everything.

Besides, these goods are not all from our family, if they are handed over, how will the master explain to the other families in the city..."

"I walked this way in the early years, and I know that guard well. Before, he promised me that he would let us pass as long as he paid [-]% of the goods."

"But……"

"That's it, there's no need to say any more, cough cough cough..."

The severe coughing caused a pair of visiting sons and daughters to rush into the tent.

"Father~~!"

The second master of the Xue family looked at the pair of well-behaved and lovely children who were fluttering in front of the couch, and reached out to touch his daughter's bun, with a look of relief finally appearing in his eyes.

He was seriously ill during the business trip, and encountered this bad thing again.

Now, he doesn't care too much about the gains and losses of property, and his only thought is to escort his son and daughter back to Jinling safely, so as to keep his incense alive.

"Tad'er, Qin'er, help me get up, let's go to the city..."

……

The border city is simple, and the city walls of the border city are only made of black bricks and mud.It can only prevent bandits and thieves, and it is obviously vulnerable to the army attacking the city.

But it is such a small border town, but there are nearly a thousand officers and soldiers stationed there.

Just because this is a border market, relying on the past merchants from various countries, it has gathered huge wealth.

Therefore, in addition to the officers and soldiers guarding the city gate, there are also some civilian officials sitting here.All merchants who enter Wei from other countries need to pay a certain amount of money or goods, which is a border tax.

At this time, at the gate of the city, a young man in his twenties, with a medium appearance and a skinny figure, walked out of the city gate surrounded by seven or eight followers.

Seeing a passing young woman with a bumpy and graceful figure, her eyes lit up immediately, and she hurried two steps forward, then stretched out her hand to provoke the other's downcast face.

The little woman raised her head, revealing a slightly strange, rather than attractive face, accompanied by a loud exclamation, causing everyone around to look at each other sideways.

The man next to the woman saw that she was about to swear, so he quickly stopped her and dragged her into the city.

"It's such a damn bad luck, there is really no woman in this place to see!"

The young man who lost his interest cursed secretly, shook his head and glanced at the water dragon-like goods still piled up in the distance, and his face became even more unhappy.

The surrounding tax collectors and city gate officials turned a blind eye to the young man molesting women in public, instead they all surrounded him and showed great hospitality.

"Why did my uncle come here in person today?"

"This time, my uncle personally raised military resources and food for Lord Jiedu. With such hard work, he will definitely be praised and appreciated by Lord Jiedu when he returns. When the time comes, my uncle will be successful and successful, and don't forget the little ones... ..."

"It's easy to say." The young man smiled and accepted all these flattery, and then said with a cold face: "Then the Xue family still refuses to hand over the goods?"

"Young uncle don't need to get angry. With so many of them, every day of delay outside the city will cost you a lot. As long as we detain them for a few more days, we won't be afraid that they won't submit obediently."

"Hmph, these Xue family members are so ungrateful, they angered me, and brought people to carry all their goods!"

The youth's eyes are full of greed.

According to the estimates of his subordinates, once the Xue family's goods are transported to the Central Plains, they will be worth at least tens of thousands of taels of silver!

He had never seen so much money in his life, so he couldn't let it go now that he had the opportunity.

"Young master, no! This Xue family is also a famous family in Jinling, and Jinling is the old capital of the country, and the rich and powerful are everywhere.

Although the Xue family has fallen, it is hard to guarantee that there are no other relatives and friends in the world.

If we rob their goods and be stabbed to the court by them at that time, I am afraid that Master Jiedushi will be in trouble! "

"What are you afraid of? My brother-in-law is the governor of Anxi, and he is in charge of a hundred thousand soldiers. He is the king of this land. Who can trouble him?"

Having said that, the young man temporarily suppressed his anger.

The others also kept smiling faces, constantly persuading him to calm down.

Suddenly seeing the movement of Xue's caravan, all the officials immediately returned to their positions, and put on a posture of being ready.

"Master Xue, have you thought it through?"

Seeing the second master of the Xue family who looked like he was dying, the leading officials stepped forward and laughed.

"Cough...Master Wang, can this matter be more accommodating? We have indeed paid the border tax in Loulan City. In the past, we can rely on the documents issued by other border cities..."

"Master Xue!"

The official interrupted the second master of the Xue family impatiently.

"We have made it very clear to you that today is different from the past.

Now other barbarian states are restless, the court's peace with Oala has failed again, and the border situation is tense.

Now the imperial court specially ordered the Anxi Jiedu Mansion to prepare the army for war, but this war requires money and food?We can't let our son-in-law fight the enemy desperately with an empty stomach, right?

For this reason, Lord Jiedu personally sent a special envoy to urge the raising of military supplies, rations and salaries. In such a national crisis, I also ask Master Xue to consider the overall situation and cooperate with Anxi Mansion's decree, so don't embarrass me..."

Hearing this, the steward of the Xue family couldn't help but said: "But most of our hands are spices and cloth leather brought back from Qianxiang Kingdom. These things can't be used as military supplies."

The official replied without a smile: "It was because you said you didn't have so much silver that you were asked to pay the goods. If you don't want to, you should pay the corresponding silver. Hmph, I don't know what to do! You think this is Can't do it in the Central Plains? In this Anxi Mansion, you have to follow the rules of Anxi Mansion!"

Although the second master of the Xue family looked ugly, he still reluctantly held the butler to prevent him from offending the people in front of him.

"What your lord said is that we are willing to cooperate with the Anxi government's government order and assist the Anxi government in raising military supplies and food. We just hand over the goods."

Hearing the agreement of the second master of the Xue family, the official immediately changed his face, and hurriedly said with a smile: "That's it, with a sensible person like Master Xue, why worry about not being able to raise military supplies and grass for your lord. Master Xue Don't worry, you helped the Jiedu Mansion today, and the Jiedu Mansion must remember that in the future, when your caravan arrives in Anxi Mansion, with the support of the Jiedu Mansion, it will be unimpeded throughout the entire Anxi Mansion. Earn it back..."

With a cooperative smile, the second master of the Xue family took advantage of the situation and said: "My lords are right, but please be a little more flexible, my lords, it is really difficult for me to wait for the return of Qianxiang country. After paying the border tax, the consumption of a group of people is also huge. If I pay another [-]% of the goods here, I will not even be able to earn back the capital after working hard for half a year. People from various families in the partnership go on business."

All the officials were not surprised when they heard the words.Yesterday, the second master of the Xue family went to see Shou Bing, and they also knew that Shou Bing would not trust Xue's family if they hadn't reached an internal agreement.

So they pretended to discuss it, and then replied: "Seeing that it is not easy for you to travel thousands of miles, well, let's accommodate, and you can pay [-]% of the supplies. This is my maximum authority, and Master Xue doesn't want it." Don't make it difficult for me to wait."

"Wait!"

Just when the negotiation was over and the two sides were about to organize manpower to intercept the goods, the young man who had been silent all this time stopped and shouted.

Everyone looked around, and saw the young man staring intently at the girl next to the second master of the Xue family. His naked eyes made everyone who knew him frown.

"Cough cough..."

Facing everyone's eyes, Qingqing coughed, and then said seriously: "The laws of the Jiedu Mansion can be accommodated at will?
If my brother-in-law finds out, wouldn't it be my fault for my ineffectiveness?

unless……"

Seeing that the second master of the Xue family didn't know the young man, the officials hurriedly introduced: "This is Lord Jiedu Envoy's...wife and brother, and also the special envoy responsible for raising military supplies and supplies for this trip..."

The second grandfather of the Xue family had already seen the young man in front of him looking at his daughter with unfriendly eyes, but he didn't know the identity of the other party and reacted more.

Now that he heard that he was the brother-in-law of Jiedushi, his heart sank.

Judging by his appearance, I'm afraid he is a lustful person. If he had known this, he should have let Qin'er stay in the carriage!

Protecting his daughter behind him, the second master of the Xue family asked with a serious expression: "Dare to ask my lord special envoy, how can I be accommodating?"

The young man smiled unceremoniously: "Unless you and I become a family, in that case, for the sake of the family, even if Lord Jiedu knows that I am partial to selfishness, he will not say anything... Hahaha , Mr. Xue said yes..."

"you!!"

The second master of the Xue family almost fell down angrily, but he didn't expect the other party to be so shameless that he threatened him with this.

Sensing his daughter's nervous grip on his hand, the second master of the Xue family managed to control his body, and said coldly: "I'm afraid I will disappoint the kindness of the special envoy, my little girl has already promised her."

The young man was anxious when he heard the words, and regardless of other people's faces, he said loudly: "It's okay if you agree, but at worst, just spend more money with me.

How about it, as long as Master Xue agrees to pass on the little daughter to the young master... No, marry me, I will go back immediately and divorce the stupid woman at home, and let your daughter be my wife.

At that time, not to mention exempting you from the [-]% border tax today, but with my support in the future, your Xue family will be able to walk sideways in the entire Anxi Mansion..."

The young man was extremely eager.

He never thought that there is such a beautiful little lady in the world!He didn't know how to describe it, but with just one glance, his three souls and six souls were completely seduced, and a voice in his heart kept telling him: You must get the girl in front of you! !
Facing the young man's absurd and shameless words, the second master of the Xue family was so angry that he couldn't even utter a word, his body was trembling, and he couldn't even stand firmly.

"Father!"

The brothers and sisters of the Xue family rushed to support him, and the housekeeper and others also panicked.

After a while, the second master of the Xue family took a breath and stared at the young man:
"My Xue family, after Ziwei Sheren, a close minister of the great ancestor, has stood in the dynasty for a hundred years. Although it is not as good as before, it is not to be bullied!
My youngest daughter, her fiancé is also the son of Master Mei of the Imperial Academy in Beijing.

Therefore, you might as well tell Mr. Special Envoy that I have absolutely no possibility of agreeing to this marriage! "

The young man's complexion changed, and he immediately said: "Then you must hand over half of the goods!! No, pay [-]%!!"

"you!!"

The hands and feet of the second master of the Xue family trembled in anger. He was already sick, as if he might not be able to breathe at any time.

Seeing this, the young man was secretly happy, if this stubborn old thing died, wouldn't things be much easier to handle?

At that time, the two and a half-year-old children will not be left to him, and he is not afraid that there will be no way to force them to submit...

When the young man was full of expectations, he suddenly saw a barbarian man, who at some point passed the onlookers and came in front of them.

(End of this chapter)