Red House Shoufu

Chapter 432 The End of the Kong Family and the Crisis of Prince Teng
There are countless boats on the Qinhuai River, and it is quite normal for Liu Xianglian to spend the night in a place where fireworks go to every place he travels.

Now that she is the one who is about to get engaged, Liu Xianglian, who calmed down, brought up the past, and turned out to be like a child, blushing and shy.

I only heard Liu Xianglian shyly said: "Elder brother may not know, but my little brother has no other skills. He has a very good sense of smell and memory. Since my little brother found the book on the table, he started to check the traces inside and outside the house. This person should be a novice. The traces on the face were wiped clean, but he neglected to hide the smell."

Oh?
Lin Shu asked curiously: "Brother Liu, can you be sure that this smell is the unique smell of rouge on the boat?"

"I've never smelled it anywhere else until at least last year."

Liu Xianglian said solemnly: "In the Qinlou Chu Pavilion, there are many singers who have unique habits. In addition to the rouge and gouache purchased uniformly in the building, many pavilions will make their own spices with unique fragrances. Rouge and gouache to attract benefactors. Especially in the south of the Yangtze River, the wealthy sons spend a lot of money, they are not short of money, and it is common to make unique spices."

"So that's it. So, that family of painters is extremely suspicious of harboring members of the White Lotus Sect." Lin Shu pondered for a while, and already had a guess in his mind.

I saw Liu Xianglian shook her head, frowned and said: "Brother is a little optimistic. Judging from the experience of my younger brother, the painter is said to be the master behind the painter, and they should all be members of the White Lotus Sect."

Lin Shu was stunned for a moment, then cupped his hands and asked, "How do you say it? Brother Liu, please tell me in detail."

"On the surface, the White Lotus Sect is a traitor wanted by the imperial court, but it has a good reputation in the Jianghu. My younger brother has traveled all over the country and made many friends in the Jianghu. Many people have dealt with the White Lotus Sect, such as Cao There are quite a few people in the Beggars’ Gang, the Beggars’ Gang, the corpse hunters by the Yellow River, the Qinlou Chu Halls in various places, and even the secret sects, who are actually spies of the White Lotus Sect.”

Speaking of this, Liu Xianglian sighed: "Oh, brother may not believe it. I have reported this matter to the local government, but no one took my words seriously. Even if it is because of the face of the Duke of Li Sending people to investigate is often in vain. Why? Because those clerks in the government office may have colluded with the White Lotus Sect."

Although Lin Shu was a little surprised by what Liu Xianglian said, he also believed that what he said was true.

The cult of the White Lotus Sect has long had extremely strong vitality among the low-level people in Dachu.Just like leeks, after one stubble is cut, another stubble will grow again. It is really a wild fire that can't be burned out, and it will grow again when the spring breeze blows.

Perhaps because of the sudden excitement of the conversation, Liu Xianglian drank the tea in the cup in one gulp and talked about what he had seen and heard in Jinling.Lin Shu, a native of Gusu who has lived in the south of the Yangtze River for 18 years, has never heard of the Jinling rivers and lakes that Liu Xianglian mentioned.

According to Liu Xianglian, Jinling's surname is Zhen during the day, and the White Lotus Sect's world at night.Among the various Buddhist temples, there may be a Buddha who is the Holy Buddha and the Virgin of the White Lotus Sect.

Moreover, almost all the major gangs in the south of the Yangtze River are more or less connected with the White Lotus Sect, and such evils as human trafficking have almost formed a complete business chain.

The more Lin Shu heard it, the more frightened he became. He knew exactly who was standing behind which of the underground forces in Jiangnan. Now that he contacted Liu Xianglian, he could deduce that the imperial court had rectified Jiangnan several times in the past few years. Once it is the reason why Ontario will be in chaos again in a few days.

Some people need the White Lotus Sect to muddy the waters in the south of the Yangtze River, and the White Lotus Sect wants to use these people to hide themselves and develop secretly.

In this way, after he went to Jiangnan, he might have to guard against the White Lotus Sect.

……

Lin Shu sent Liu Xianglian outside the mansion, and when he was about to go back after watching him leave on horseback, Fu Quan whispered in his ear, "Master, someone is watching our house."

"It's okay, just stare at it, don't startle the snake, and see if it's staring at us or at Liu Xianglian."

Lin Shu greeted several neighbors who passed by with a happy New Year greeting. He didn't seem to notice the spies at all, and glanced at the people who were staring at his door from a distance from the corner of his eye.

Ah!The level of stalking was not as good as the people sent by Wang Ziteng last time.

"Let people touch it and follow it quietly to see who sent this person. Remember, don't disturb them first, maybe we can follow the vine to catch a big fish."

After returning to the mansion, Fuquan took the order to arrange for the generals who were good at tracking to set off, and then summoned all the soldiers to strengthen the defense of the mansion.

At night, the family general came back to report that the spies did not come for the Lin family. Not long after Liu Xianglian left, the spies returned to a yard near the Liu family.

In order not to startle the snake, Lin Fu's family general did not show up, but secretly rented a nearby house and watched this person from afar.

Lin Shu wrote a letter and sent it to Zuo Lan, the commander of the Embroidery Guard.This kind of stalking live embroidered clothes guard is the best. Whether Liu Xianglian is alone or weak, or let the embroidered clothes guard keep an eye on it, it can be regarded as a kind of secret protection.

From the second day of the Lunar New Year, Lin Shu took his young daughter-in-law Wang Yuan and younger sister Daiyu to visit relatives and friends from house to house.In-laws such as the Ningrong Mansion, the Wang Family, and the Zhongshun Prince Mansion are the focus of visits.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, early in the morning, the Lin family's carriage rolled over the snow from last night, and slowly arrived at Zhongshun Prince's Mansion, which is located in Xiaoyongfang.

Gao Yongheng is still the same, he will drag Lin Shu to listen to his new play as soon as he comes up.The protagonist on the stage is none other than Jia Baoyu's good friend Jiang Yuhan.

Lin Shu didn't like the babbling tune very much, but Gao Yongheng told Lin Shu the story in the play with great interest.

After Gao Yongheng hummed a few words to the beat, he excitedly said to Lin Shu: "I don't want them to sing this play outside, so I can only entertain myself and have fun. Brother Huang is really, the Kong family It was all taken away by the prince, so why worry about it, I just took this opportunity to show those sour scholars, what kind of saints are they in their hearts..."

The more Lin Shu listened, the more uncomfortable he became, and he said quietly: "My lord, am I not what you call a sour scholar?"

puff……

The little princess Gao Yunwan on the side was the first to laugh out loud, followed by Princess Cui, Wang Yuan, and Daiyu all laughing together.

Gao Yongheng also knew that he was rude to say so, and apologized to Lin Shu with a slap on the forehead: "Jinyu, it's my fault, I didn't mean that..."

"My lord, you don't have to be like this. In fact, what you said makes sense."

Lin Shu waved his hands and said, "I'm afraid this play is what the prince told you about Shandong after he returned to Beijing. From this play, I saw that the Kong family forced people into prostitution and occupied the good land of the people in Qingzhou. The story of abandoning a poor wife to marry a daughter of the Confucian family should refer to Fu Congru, the former county magistrate of Sishui."

"That's true. This king never thought that the descendants of a dignified saint would be so unbearable."

Gao Yongheng sighed, and told Lin Shu about the process of writing the play.

After Gao Wanjiang returned to Beijing, Gao Yongheng learned a lot of evil things about the Kong family from his son.This master didn't know what it was for, so he couldn't sleep that night because of his anger. He woke up in the middle of the night and wrote several playbooks.

To say that Zhongshun Wang Gao Yongheng is also a talented person. Princess Cui burst into tears after reading the playbook, and when it was sent to the palace the next day, the imperial concubine Yang was also sympathetic and depressed. For two full days.

Originally, Gao Yongheng planned to have these plays performed in his own theater in the next year, but unfortunately this plan was shelved before it was implemented.

Yesterday the emperor recruited him into the palace, saying that there would be changes in the affairs of the Kong family, and told him not to spread these dramas to the outside world and wait for his order.

Lin Shu had heard about this matter, Qufu Confucianism is indeed rotten, but Confucianism needs a saint, or in other words, Great Chu needs a person who can unite the hearts of Confucians in the world.

The rotten one is Yanshenggong Mansion, and the reputation of Confucius cannot be tarnished.Now that Yanshenggong's mansion was rotten, the emperor turned his attention to Nan Kong, who had always had a good reputation.

In the second year of Jianyan in the former Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou, Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, worshiped the heavens in Yangzhou, and Kong Duanyou, the 48th generation grandson of Confucius and Duke Yansheng, was ordered to accompany the sacrifice.Since then, the Jin soldiers invaded southward on a large scale, Huaiyang was in danger, and Gaozong's monarchs and ministers rushed southward in a hurry.In the first month of the third year of Jianyan, Emperor Gaozong stayed in Lin'an, and because of Kong Duanyou's meritorious service in leading the people of the nearby tribes to cross the south, he bestowed a gift on his family in Quzhou.

During the Southern Song Dynasty, six generations of Nanzong inherited the title of Yanshenggong, and Quzhou became the activity center of the Confucian family and Confucianism at that time. The stars surround Quzhou like the moon.Many descendants of the Confucian family went to the common people and were active in the southeastern provinces, contributing their intelligence and wisdom to the southward spread of Confucianism and the northward spread of Neo Confucianism.

After Kublai Khan unified the Central Plains, he ordered Kongzhu, the eldest grandson of the third generation of Confucius of the Southern Zong, to move north from Quzhou to Qufu, where he carried the noble to Qufu to worship.

After receiving the edict, Kong Zhu immediately went to Beijing to meet him, and stated his dilemma to Kublai Khan face to face.He said that Quzhou has five generations of tombs, and the Confucian family temple has a considerable scale like Qufu.If you follow the imperial edict and move north, you really can't bear to abandon the tombs of your ancestors; if you don't abandon the tombs of your ancestors' temples, it will be against the holy will.Kong Zhu expressed his willingness to hand over his dukedom of Yansheng to his brother Kong Zhi in Qufu.

Kublai Khan was overjoyed, and praised Kong Zhu for "rather violating honor than morality, and he is the queen of a true saint".In this way, Qufu Kongzhi won the hereditary title of "Yanshenggong" due to the courtesy of Kongzhu in Quzhou.

Different from the Confucians in Qufu, Nan Kong always followed the teachings of the sages, focusing on academic education and educating the people. The prosperity of the culture in the south cannot be separated from the great contribution of Nan Kong.

The emperor had sent a secret edict to the Confucius family in Quzhou, ordering Kong Renzhan, the contemporary patriarch of Nankong, to go to Beijing, intending to persuade Kong Renzhan to take over as the sacrificial officer of the most holy teacher, and preside over the responsibility of offering sacrifices to Confucius.

As for the title of Lord Yansheng, it will become history by now.Da Chu will no longer have the title of Lord Yansheng, but only the unique official position of the second rank of the most holy teacher enshrined officer.

The suspension of Gao Yongheng's playbook is probably also to reunite people's hearts so that the Qufu incident can be passed safely as soon as possible.After all, Wang Ziteng was too ruthless. Except for a few real great Confucians who had not participated in illegal activities, all the Confucians in Qufu died on the way to Beijing.

The Embroidered Clothes Guards have already entered Beijing with a secret concert, and there are a large number of elites in Jiangnan, Henan, and even around the capital are secretly conspiring to enter Beijing collectively and sit quietly in front of the Great Chu Gate...

There is no need to think about the secret support behind this matter. No matter how tough the emperor is, it is impossible to offend all the scholars in the world.Before he can cultivate enough talents, he still has to compromise, otherwise who will manage the people in the world for him?

Lin Shu learned about this matter from Qian Qianli yesterday when Lin Shu went to his teacher Qian Qianli's mansion to pay New Year's greetings.

He briefly explained the reason to Gao Yongheng, only to see Gao Yongheng scolded angrily: "Emperor Hongwu of the former Ming Dynasty really did not make a mistake in saying something. Everyone is allowed to speak frankly, but the workers are not allowed. See it , It is said that a scholar can't rebel for ten years, but this scholar's troubles are enough to cause turmoil in the government and the public."

Princess Cui looked at the embarrassment on Lin Shu's face, and frowned: "There are too many scholars in the world, are they all people with wolfish ambitions to disrupt the court? Wei Ge, Qian Ge, Zhang Ge... what? One is not for the country and the people? Let’s say Jinyu, isn’t she a scholar?”

"Hey~ Ma'am, don't be angry, I'm just the quickest to speak out."

Gao Yongheng confessed quickly, and changed the subject very quickly.

The opera on stage was still babbling. He glanced at Princess Cui and the others who were attracted by the opera on stage, pulled Lin Shu to him, and whispered about Wang Ziteng.

I saw Gao Yongheng said furtively: "Wang Ziteng is in big trouble this time. He instigated someone to secretly poison the food of the Kong family, and he was discovered. Song Peien, the procurator of Shandong, sent the impeachment memorial to the emperor on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month. On the brother's table, the court will open the seal in the next year, and this case will definitely cause huge waves. Your family's revenge will finally be avenged, do you want to burn the sky, do you want me to help you?"

"Don't, my lord, don't get involved in this matter, I'm afraid many people will be involved in this matter, we'd better hide on the shore and watch the show!"

Lin Shu smiled wryly, with infinite emotion in his heart.

Although there is no definite proof that Wang Ziteng participated in the assassination of Lin Ruhai, Wang Ziteng once told him clearly that when the Zhen family arranged for people to be poisoned, the Wang family also contributed to the flames.

Including Jia Min and Daiyu's serious illness and poisoning, the Wang family played an indispensable role in it.If it weren't for the fact that he couldn't grasp the evidence, Lin Shu would have sued the Wang family before the imperial court with a complaint.

It's not that Lin Shu didn't want to take revenge, but the fact that the Kong family was poisoned to death by Wang Ziteng exploded, and there would definitely be huge waves of dislike in the whole world.

Not to mention anything else, the time for this matter to be uncovered is wrong.

Lin Shu is about to go south to work, and Lin Bo and Lin Feng will stay in the capital to participate in the Spring Festival. There are so many boys in the family who are scholars, what if they are involved in this matter?
It would be great if this matter was uncovered years ago, at least he was still in the capital at that time, and he could keep the Lin family from being involved in this mess.

Lin Shu glanced at Daiyu who was concentrating on watching the play, and the resentment on his face disappeared for a moment. He said to Gao Yongheng: "It is estimated that there will be many people who know about this, but the capital is still calm so far. I'm afraid there are quite a few people waiting for an opportunity. For example, in the Chunwei Grand Competition, those moves to Beijing are the best chess pieces. What are we going to do with it? Maybe it will cause a commotion."

(End of this chapter)