The Second Master of the Red Chamber

The Qiu family, a fourth-grade military officer's family, is a middle-class official family in the capital.Qiu Tianyin, the commander-in-chief of the left camp of the Imperial Guard, was also considered a middle- and high-level general in the Imperial Guard.

"Cry, cry, cry, just cry. Can Pan'er come back to life if you cry to death!"

In the back hall of the enemy's family, Qiu Tianyin looked at his wife who had been crying in front of him for a long time and cursed in a very depressed way.

"Master, you must avenge our Pan'er. Pan'er can't die in vain. We must let the evildoer of the Xue family pay for our Pan'er's life. Oh my, my poor Pan'er..."

"Don't worry, Pan'er's death will not be in vain! Prince Zhongshun has promised to supervise the Criminal Department to handle the case impartially. With Prince Zhongshun here, even if the Xue family has a great background, they will not be able to escape their guilt. I will definitely We will make Xue Pan pay for our Pan'er's life!
Okay, you go down and leave me alone. "

Just when Qiu Tianyin was tiredly driving his old wife away, he suddenly saw the housekeeper rushing over. When he saw him, he shouted: "The master is not good, then Jia Lian, the Marquis of Zhenyuan of Jiajia, is calling..."

"what!?"

Qiu Tianyin immediately stood up and walked outside, asking the housekeeper what was going on.

"Replying to the master, the second master was ordered by the master to receive guests in the outer courtyard. Suddenly, Jia Lian came with people, saying that he came to pay homage to the master. The second master remembered the master's instructions, and all the four major families in the old capital and their relatives and friends came together When he refused to receive him, he persuaded him to leave with good words.

But Jia Lian not only ignored the second young master, but his soldiers directly blocked our door.The second young master didn't dare to make any decisions, so he came here to ask the master to make the decision. "

"Bastard!"

Qiu Tianyin was furious.

Speaking of his order not to allow the Xue family and their relatives and friends to enter, the main reason was that many people were entrusted by the Xue family to come to intercede, which made him take the trouble.He simply ordered all families who were close friends with the Xue family to stay away. This would indeed save a lot of trouble.

But this Jia Lian actually dared to do this. He felt that Jia Lian was relying on his family background and official rank, and did not take his enemies seriously at all.

He walked to the outer courtyard angrily, and saw the second son jumping at the gate from a distance and cursing: "Jia Lian, don't think that you are a marquis and dare to act wildly in our enemy's family. I will have my father report this matter to Be loyal and obedient to the palace, report it to the imperial court, and punish you for your wild and rebellious crime..."

Hearing his son's shouting, Qiu Tianyin couldn't help but glance at the housekeeper: Is this what you call "good words and advice"?
His steps slowed down involuntarily, he suppressed his anger, straightened his appearance and walked over.

When Fang arrived at the door, he saw two rows of armored officers and soldiers in neat uniforms and solemn expressions lined up on both sides of the door.Surrounded by invisible officers and soldiers, several tall horses stood, led by a young man wearing a black crown and colorful clothes, with a face like a bright moon and eyes like new stars.

He just rode so demurely on the white horse, and he gathered boundless power into his body, making everyone who looked at him feel ashamed.

Qiu Tianyin's heart trembled, and he secretly thought that this person could achieve such a reputation and be entrusted with important tasks by His Majesty. He was really not an easy person to deal with!

"What happened?"

"Father, you are finally here! This is the man. Not only did he break into my enemy's house without permission, but he also had his son beaten. Oh, father, you must make the decision for me."

Qiu Tianyin, who was pretending to be casual at first, saw his son looking at him pitifully with a slap mark on his face, and the anger he had just suppressed began to rise again.

Do the people from these four major families really think that their enemies are weak and can be bullied? !

After glaring at his son and telling him to step back, Qiu Tianyin looked at Jia Lian and asked in a deep voice: "May I ask Lord Zhenyuan, what does this mean?"

When Qiu Tianyin looked at Jia Lian, Jia Lian also saw him.Jia Lian has only been in the court for a short time, and he has been away on business all year round, so he still doesn't know many officials in the court, especially military attachés like Qiu Tianyin.

Seeing his tall stature and steady eyes, he knew that this person was not a drunkard. No wonder he came from a poor family, curried favor with the loyal and obedient prince, and then moved to the fourth rank of officialdom.

After hearing the other party's question, Jia Lian replied calmly: "Master Qiu, are you asking about the second young master? Oh, this is my kind intention.

Just now, the second young master was too excited and spoke rudely.It would be nothing if he just spoke rudely to me. I and Mr. Qiu are officials in the same court and belong to the same colleagues, so I will not argue with the younger generation.

However, the second young master said in a nonchalant manner that the enemy was a member of Prince Zhongshun's palace. If I did not retreat, my enemy would report to Prince Zhongshun's palace what would happen to me?
I thought to myself, Lord Qiu, as the general of the Imperial Guard, is responsible for the safety of the Forbidden Palace and has a heavy responsibility. Even if he really wants to recognize the master, it should be His Majesty. How can he change his identity to someone else?
Therefore, for the sake of Master Qiu's future and life-or-death plan, I asked someone to slap the Second Young Master to warn him of his sudden slip of the tongue.If Mr. Qiu feels that what I have done is wrong, I would like to apologize to Mr. Qiu. "

Jia Lian rode on the horse and handed over his hand very politely.But his polite gesture made Qiu Tianyin's heart skip a beat.

What a show of force!Why couldn't Qiu Tianyin understand the meaning of Jia Lian's words? This meant that the owner of his enemy's family was disloyal, implying that King Zhongshun formed a clique for personal gain and had evil intentions!

But he really didn't dare to ignore it.If others said this, Qiu Tianyin would not care about it, but Jia Lian would not.

It is rumored that this son is a close associate of the emperor. If he uses this as an excuse to slander him in front of the emperor, he may not be loyal and obedient to the palace. His enemies will only be remembered in the emperor's heart.

Therefore, he slapped the second son with his backhand, and then said to Jia Lian: "What Marquis Zhenyuan said is absolutely true. The dog is young and ignorant, and speaks lies. He should be warned. Although my enemy has relations with Prince Zhongshun, it is only because of When Xiaguan was in despair, Prince Zhongshun was kind to Xiaguan.

As for the ignorant people who say that the enemies are people loyal to the palace, it is really nonsense.How can I, Qiu Tianyin, eat the emperor's salary and be loyal to the emperor without knowing the duties of the emperor and his ministers? Thank you for your understanding of what happened today. "

As he spoke, Qiu Tianyin bent down and bowed deeply. After he stood up, he said expressionlessly: "I just don't know why the Lord Hou is here today. To be honest with you, my enemy's family has been doing a lot of things recently." Things are not going well, the dog is newly mourned, if the Marquis has no other instructions, please forgive me for not having time to receive him..."

Before Qiu Tianyin finished speaking, he saw Jia Lian stand up and dismount, waved his hand casually and said: "Master Qiu, there is no need to be polite, I also know about the eldest son of your house, and I would like to ask Master Qiu to express my condolences.

Speaking of which, I am an old friend of the eldest son. Knowing his misfortune, I am very sad and have come here specifically to pay homage to express my condolences. "

As he spoke, Jia Lian took the three hundred silver ritual gifts from Xue Baochai behind him, placed them in Qiu Tianyin's hands, patted his shoulders to express relief, and then walked towards the gate by himself.

Qiu Tianyin opened his mouth, but he didn't know what to say for a moment.He didn't think that Jia Lian couldn't hear his thank you, and why did he say that he and Pan'er were old friends?Humph, if Pan'er really had a friendship with this person, he wouldn't have taught that evildoer of the Xue family to be beaten to death!

Taking a deep breath, Qiu Tianyin thrust the sacrificial gift into his son's hands and followed Jia Lian.He wanted to see what Jia Lian wanted to say when he came here. If he came to intercede for the Xue family, he would teach him what it means to kill someone to pay for his life, and to pay back his debt!
……

Jia Lian's arrival caused quite a stir among the enemies.

It's just that because of what happened at the door, even Qiu Tianyin was "very polite" to Jia Lian. The rest of the Qiu family did not dare to confront him anymore, but secretly looked at the most famous young marquis in the country curiously.

Qiu Tianyin stood outside the mourning hall and watched as Jia Lian walked to his son's coffin and worshiped three times. Then he took three sticks of incense from the attendant and inserted them into the incense burner devoutly.

Seeing this behavior, Qiu Tianyin almost began to doubt whether his unlucky son really had a deep friendship with Jia Lian during his lifetime!
The hostility towards Jia Lian in his heart has subsided a lot.It's not that he really believed Jia Lian's words, but it's really difficult for people like Jia Lian to create life-or-death hostility.

Therefore, when Jia Lian came out of the mourning hall, Qiu Tianyin paid his respects and said straight to the point: "Since the worship of the Marquis has been completed, I will not stay with the Marquis anymore. If you have other instructions, please ask the Marquis to tell you."

However, the official has something to say first. If Lord Marquis is also here to intercede for the Xue family, I will forgive the official for being disrespectful. "

Faced with Qiu Tianyin's ugly words, Jia Lian's expression did not change, and he was even a little surprised: "Master Qiu, why did you say this? Since ancient times, it has been said that murder must be repaid with life, and debts must be repaid with money. It is a natural and right thing to do. How can I do this for the Xue family?" plead!"

A few steps away, Baochai, who was dressed as a maid, looked slightly moved but made no sign.

Qiu Tianyin was also stunned, "Then Master Hou, this is..."

"Oh, but when I come here, I really have something important to talk to Mr. Qiu."

Jia Lian glanced around and said, "Master Qiu is not going to talk to me here, is he?"

Qiu Tianyin hesitated for a moment, then cupped his fists and waved his hand: "Please."

After arriving at the main hall, Qiu Tianyin asked someone to serve tea. He originally wanted to let Jia Lian speak first because he was not sure about Jia Lian's purpose.But who knew that Jia Lian didn't seem to be in a hurry, and even had the time to comment with him on his enemy's tea and tea-making techniques. Finally, Qiu Tianyin's patience ran out and he took the lead and said:

"We Mingren do not speak secretly. Please express your intention to come. If there is anything that my enemies can do, please give me your instructions. But if the Marquis still comes to intercede for the Xue family, please give me your instructions." Don’t open your mouth.”

While speaking, Qiu Tianyin could not help but glance at Baochai who was standing beside Jia Lian again, secretly saying that the rumors were true, this Zhenyuan Marquis was really a romantic marquis.There are rumors that the reason why he refused the Queen Mother's offer of marriage was because he was worried that after marrying the eldest princess, he would no longer be romantic and would let down all the beauties.

Now it seems that it is not groundless.I don't know what he wanted to do when he brought such a beautiful maid to his enemy's house today.

Jia Lian took a sip of tea before putting down the tea cup and said with a smile: "Although I am not here to plead for the Xue family, what I said is indeed related to the death of Mr. Ling?"

Sure enough!Qiu Tianyin said coldly: "Oh, I wonder what the Marquis wants to say?"

Jia Lian smiled and clapped his hands. After a while, Qiu Tianyin saw Jia Lian's personal guards and kidnapped someone.

Qiu Tianyin glanced at Sun Shaozu, who was staring at Jia Lian on the ground and could not speak due to the stuffing in his mouth, and asked in surprise: "Who is this person?"

Jia Lian smiled and said: "This officer's surname is Sun Shaozu, and he is also one of the main culprits who caused the misfortune to the young master. But because of his cunning, he absconded first on the day of the incident. Fortunately, the officers and soldiers of our Military and Horse Division had paid attention to this person, so they could not Let this officer go unpunished. Today, I am also preparing to personally escort him to the Ministry of Punishment for severe interrogation. Thinking that Mr. Qiu sent a white-haired man to a black-haired man because of the drunkenness and troublemaking of such a dandy, I felt very unbearable, so I sent him away. Bring it along the way so that Lord Qiu can vent the pain and anger in his heart."

Looking at Jia Lian who was speaking seriously, Qiu Tianyin sneered: "Master Hou, could it be that the current official is a three-year-old child, and he thinks that if he just picks a slave to take the blame, the subordinate will believe him?"

"Slave, he is not a slave. This Sun Shaozu was originally an officer in Datong Prefecture, Shanxi. He was dismissed last year for beating his superior while drunk.

Speaking of which, the Sun family is a family of military officers, and their ancestors were also high-ranking military generals, and they even happened to serve under my ancestors.Speaking of which, Sun Shaozu is still a legitimate disciple of my Jia family.

As for taking the blame?Haha, although I, the Jia family, are family friends with the Xue family, if I say that I, Jia Lian, would sacrifice my family friends and disciples in the Rongguo family for the sake of a Xue family dude, even Lord Qiu may not believe it. "

Sun Shaozu, who was pale due to excessive blood loss, felt hatred in his heart when he heard Jia Lian's words.He still can't figure out when he offended Jia Lian so much that he admitted that he was a disciple of Rongguo Mansion, but at the same time wanted to kill him at all costs.

If it is said that he is taking the blame for Xue Pan, but Jia Lian started to deal with his Sun family last year!Could it be that Jia Lian had some foresight and knew whether something would happen to Xue Pan this year?

Qiu Tianyin was also confused. He believed that Jia Lian's identity would not make up any random identity.If this person really comes from a family of military officers and is not a slave of the Jia family or the Xue family...

"The Marquis said that he was the main culprit who murdered my son. How can I prove it?"

"It is not difficult to ask for proof of this matter, and I will not seriously treat Mr. Qiu like a child and deceive Mr. Qiu with lies that can be easily exposed. When Mr. Qiu Pan was killed, there were many witnesses present. Master Qiu only needs to find a few witnesses to confirm, and then he will know that what I said is true.

If Mr. Qiu can trust me, I have already sent people to invite the old bustard of Jinxiangyuan and several turtle slaves who were present at the time. They are waiting outside the door. Mr. Qiu will ask them to come in and find out the truth and falsehood. "

Qiu Tianyin pondered for a moment and said: "The official understands the good intentions of the Marquis. But there is no need to go to such trouble. The official has his own way of verifying it."

With that said, Qiu Tianyin ordered the housekeeper: "Go and call Zhang Rang!"

The housekeeper left in response, while Jia Lian took a sip of tea silently, frowning and not knowing what he was thinking.

After a while, a man dressed as a servant with bandages on his arms and head was brought by the housekeeper.

"This is my son's personal servant when he was alive. He was always at the scene on the day of the incident. If this person is really the main culprit who killed my son, he must have known him...Does the Marquis understand what I mean?"

Qiu Tianyin looked at Jia Lian and saw that Jia Lian just smiled casually. He turned around, pointed at Sun Shaozu and said solemnly to the visitor: "Zhang Rang, do you know this person?"

The visitor walked up to Sun Shaozu, looked carefully for a long time, and suddenly said loudly: "It's him, it's him! Master, he is also the person next to the dog thief Xue Pan. Apart from Xue Pan, this person was the most vicious that day! The slave was there at that time To protect the uncle at the door, Xue Pan led several people to come and cause trouble for the uncle. The slave wanted to protect the uncle, but this man punched the slave in the head and beat the slave to pieces on the spot. He was unable to protect him. Good old man..."

When Baochai heard what the boy said, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.Although Baochai also had a detailed understanding of the incident that day, his eyes had never been on Sun Shaozu.

Because Sun Shaozu had not been arrested, she, Aunt Xue and others thought that Sun Shaozu, like Feng Ziying and others, was just present and did not take action.

Therefore, although Baochai knew that Jia Lian wanted to use Sun Shaozu to blame his brother, he didn't know what the chances were, let alone whether his enemies would accept this trick.Now it seems that Sun Shaozu is really not innocent.

How did Baochai know that in order to curry favor with Xue Pan, Sun Shaozu naturally tried his best to show off and almost didn't treat Xue Pan as his father?In that situation that day, of course he took the lead and just wanted to have a good chance in front of Xue Pan!
Qiu Tianyin did not expect this to be the case.Although he also knew that Xue Pan was not the one who beat his son to death that day, but in his mind, the other participants were just Xue Pan's followers and servants, so they naturally did not care.

All he wants is for Xue Pan to die.

At this time, I knew that Sun Shaozu was indeed one of the participants that day. Thinking that Jia Lian had revealed his identity from the beginning, Qiu Tianyin already roughly understood what Jia Lian meant.

After waving his hand to let the boy go down, Qiu Tianyin said: "Thank you very much, Mr. Hou, for catching the murderer of my son and bringing him to justice. Everyone in the enemy family is extremely grateful to Mr. Hou. But...

Even if this person also participated in beating my son that day, it does not mean that he is the main culprit.Who doesn't know that Xue Pan is the real murderer of my son? As the saying goes, every injustice has its owner and its owner has its owner. It is a matter of life and death for my son. If the official believes one side of the story and lets the real murderer go unpunished, I'm afraid my son will know. I will never die with my eyes in peace. "

Qiu Tianyin didn't want to offend Jia Lian, let alone let Xue Pan go, so he used euphemistic but clear words to block Jia Lian's next words.

Jia Lian nodded and said: "Master Qiu is right. I have no intention of excusing Xue Pan. What I said just now is that this person is one of the main culprits."

Qiu Tianyin's eyes showed gratitude.I have some admiration for Jia Lian. To be fair, if he were the other party, he would not be able to be so calm and talkative without being intimidating in his high position.

Jia Lian waved his hand and asked someone to take Sun Shaozu down, and continued: "To be honest, when Sun Shaozu was an official in Datong Mansion, he was a domineering and evil person. Last year, his family fortune suddenly declined, and he was tossed around. Living in the capital, he met Xue Pan by chance.

Xue Pan was only seventeen or eighteen years old. He was very young and easily deceived.Because of his own embarrassment, Sun Shaozu tried his best to please Xue Pan, hoping to take advantage of Xue Pan's power to stand up.

I was not present when the incident occurred, and I did not dare to rashly judge the situation at that time.But Lord Qiu, just imagine, no matter what you say, Young Master Ling is still a tiger in the general family, and Xue Pan is just a dandy, who is addicted to wine and sex, has a bloated body, and is very stupid.

How could such a person, even after drinking wine, be a match for Mr. Qiu?Not to mention beating the eldest son to death, there might be something strange in this that ordinary people would overlook. "

Baochai couldn't help but feel a little sad when she heard Jia Lian's critical words about Xue Pan, even though she knew that Jia Lian meant to show weakness in front of Qiu Tianyin.It turns out that in the eyes of outsiders, my brother is really so miserable. Even the second brother Lian looks at him in this way.

Qiu Tianyin was not a fool. He knew that Jia Lian must be pleading for the Xue family in a roundabout way.But even so, he felt that what Jia Lian said was somewhat reasonable.

It is common for young men from aristocratic families to have conflicts and get into trouble after drinking.If it weren't for deep hatred, who would really kill him?That's why he was so angry when he learned that his son had been beaten to death, and vowed to make the Xue family pay with blood.

But now I look back and think about Jia Lian's words, combined with the Sun Shaozu I just met. This man is so powerful. If he was one of the perpetrators that day, I'm afraid it is really possible that he is the culprit who caused his son's death.

Seeing that Qiu Tianyin did not speak, but his eyes were obviously thoughtful, Jia Lian said: "I know that due to the relationship between the Jia and Xue families, no matter what I say, I am suspected of being glib in front of Lord Qiu. In this way Well, that day, Sun Shaozu was not the only one who went to Jinxiang Courtyard to have a drink with Xue Pan and others. There were also several princes and princes, including Mr. Feng Ziying and Mr. Feng from the Shenwu General Mansion.

I have already sent someone to invite Mr. Feng. Why not let him tell Mr. Qiu face to face what happened that day? I believe that after Mr. Qiu understands this, he will have a clearer understanding of the cause of Mr. Ling’s death. .Presumably this is what Mr. Qiu wants to prevent Mr. Ling from dying unexplained. "

After saying that, Jia Lian asked someone to invite Feng Ziying in.Qiu Tianyin raised his eyebrows but did not refuse.

Feng Ziying was naturally invited by Jia Lian.After meeting Qiu Tianyin, he told in detail how they and Xue Pan met in Jinxiang Courtyard and what happened during that time. Of course, the key point was how Sun Shaozu curry favor with Xue Pan and how he learned about Qiu Panqiang. Dian Yun'er then encouraged Xue Pan to find trouble.

In short, it is Feng Ziying's task to define Sun Shaozu as the culprit.

"Xue Pan was very drunk that day. Although my nephew, Wang Ziwen, Chen Yejun and others tried to dissuade him, Sun Shaozu tried his best to encourage him. We couldn't persuade him, so we could only watch Sun Shaozu take Xue Pan upstairs. .

I have never seen what happened next, so I can’t say for sure.However, when I heard about the incident and hurried over, Mr. Qiu had already died. At this time, except for Xue Pan and his two young men who were present in a daze and were taken away by the Yamen of Shuntian Prefecture, there was no one else. Sun Shaozu has long since disappeared. "

Feng Ziying finally said this.

Qiu Tianyin listened silently, and suddenly said to Feng Ziying: "If I remember correctly, during the three years of Ningkang, you had a fight with my son in a restaurant, and severely injured my son. He took him for half a month before getting out of bed. "

Feng Ziying looked ashamed: "My nephew didn't dare to lie in front of Uncle Shi. When he was young and full of energy, he made a big mistake. Afterwards, my father severely punished my nephew. He also said that if Uncle Shi hadn't been so generous, , I am afraid that my nephew will not be able to escape from prison in the first place.

My nephew still remembers Uncle Shi's forgiveness and vowed not to fight anyone over trivial matters again.Now I have joined the service of Lord Zhenyuan and am determined to be a person like Uncle Shi and my father in the future. "

Qiu Tianyin waved his hand, "You don't have to please me. At the beginning, the two of you were just quarreling with each other. You both had your own injuries. Naturally, I don't take it to heart. General Feng is a world-class hero and a loyal minister of the imperial court. I I don’t dare to compare with Old General Feng, but if you can be like Old General in the future, fighting on the battlefield and making contributions to the country, it will not be considered as a disgrace to the lintel of your Feng family."

Only then did Jia Lian realize that the Feng family and their enemies seemed to have some friendship.No wonder Feng Ziying and Qiu Pan met each other.

But Qiu Tianyin said that the younger generations had their own disputes, so they didn't take it to heart... I'm afraid both families were generals, and his son had never beaten Feng Ziying, so he was embarrassed to say anything more.

But I heard Qiu Tianyin suddenly ask: "Did you just say that you joined Zhenyuan Hou's tent?"

Although he was asking Feng Ziying, his eyes were looking at Jia Lian.Jia Lian said: "That's it. Mr. Feng has outstanding martial arts skills and is a general. He volunteered to serve as the martial arts instructor in the newly established firearms camp of this lord, and the results were very good.

I cherish Young Master Feng's talents and have already reported to the court that I am ready to appoint Young Master Feng as the Chief of the Musket Battalion under my command. "

Qiu Tianyin twitched the corner of his mouth, thinking that no wonder Feng Ziying left her good father alone but came to curry favor with Jia Lian. It was indeed beneficial.

Damn it, I worked hard for most of my life to be promoted to the rank of fourth-rank imperial guard captain. This kid went straight to the rank of fifth-rank Qianzong as soon as he came up. He is only two small steps away from me!

Qiu Tianyin said nothing.Feng Ziying glanced at Jia Lian and quietly retreated.

And Jia Lian is not in a hurry, he is here just to stabilize this enemy.Only if this enemy keeps an eye on Xue Pan, or even resolves the conflict, will the rest of the matter be easy to handle.

Therefore, this can also be said to be the most important part of saving Xue Pan. (End of chapter)