Gel makeup

Chapter 40
In the 20th year of Xining, the British princes and others led troops to the south, and the court dispatched them well. The kings, Ping Kou, and General Fuyuan gradually recovered Hunan and Jiangxi.Due to the gradual recovery of local civil and military affairs, the situation between North Korea and China has gradually eased.

After Shen Jiangdong was defeated and disappeared, Xiao Yi kept silent about him.Duan Wang was worried that the sinking of Jiangdong was a trick of Dingfan to instigate internal strife in the court, so he never expressed his position on the matter.King Duan didn't speak, but one or two clan members behind him couldn't sit still and wanted to stir up some troubles.After Jiang Feng left Beijing, there was another wave of pursuit of Jia Guo Mansion in the court.

This time Xiao Yi's attitude was extremely tough, he successively refuted the imperial edicts calling for the punishment of the Jiaguo Mansion, and at the end of the year dismissed the person who first suggested the punishment of the Jiaguo Mansion, causing the court to feel uneasy.Everyone either said that they had old feelings for Shen Jiangdong, or that they didn't want to fall into Dingfan's tricks, and Prince Duan remained silent all along.

Jiang Feng went to Tonghe with Wu Zhenying in the autumn, and soon a letter came in, telling Siqing that she was all well.Siqing's affairs were complicated, and the two gradually lost contact.

The situation in the DPRK and China was tense. Seeing that the investigation of Chen Nanfei was about to end, Siqing felt unwilling, so she discussed with Xiao Yi, and still transferred Tang Peng back to Yulinwei, and reorganized the cleaned-up guards of the government army. The female servant of the inner court selected by Siqing was appointed as the second teacher.Once the matter was completed, Siqing divided her into two groups, the one went to Taizhou to monitor He Shizhi, and the other went to the streets and alleys beside the Cangchun Building to watch the wind.It was probably because there was too much commotion when Jiang Feng was there, and there was no progress after the two groups of people were dispatched, so Siqing had no choice but to figure it out slowly.

At the end of spring, when Yan Mowei's birthday was born, Xiao Yi and Si Qing went to Gu's house in Ginkgo Lane again in low clothes, only to find that the door was locked and the house was desolate. After inquiring, they found out that the couple had left the imperial capital last year and never came back.

Xiao Yi said to Siqing, "Let's go back."

Siqing said: "They didn't sell this house, maybe they will come back."

"I don't know whether I should see the sixth sister or not," Xiao Yi said, "Uncle's matter has not come to an end until today. King Duan is acting like this now, and it is difficult for me to propose to reverse the case for the Jingguo Mansion and Yu Yunhe."

"Prince Duan knows that there should be no internal strife in front of him, and that the pacification of Dingfan is the most important thing. If you want to come to Shangyang County, you can understand it." Siqing said.

Xiao Yi nodded and said: "In the past, the emperor's grandmother said that King Duan was different from King Jing. I didn't take it seriously, but now I feel that what the emperor's grandmother said makes sense."

When talking about the late Empress Dowager, both fell silent.

It turns out that when the Empress Dowager passed away, she had no last words about the affairs behind her. Today, she once advocated building a mausoleum for the Empress Dowager alone.Now the military affairs are endless, and the strength is not enough, so at the end of summer, together with King Xiaojing, he helped the Lingxi to Xijing, preparing to bury the Empress Dowager next to Emperor Wuzong.

In Beijing, the crown prince born to Empress He Rencheng was left behind. Because the crown prince was young, there was the Empress of the Central Palace, and there was Fan Ziran, a cabinet scholar, and Prince Duan was in the middle to mediate.Although there are many precautions against King Duan today, but now that the foreign enemy is present, the old grievances have to be put aside for the time being.Before leaving today, Sun Chengfu, the Jingwei, was taken away, and Cheng Yingzhou, who was more experienced, was left behind.The top twelve guards were originally Shen Jiangdong's old subordinates, but later they all fell into the hands of Zhonggong, so it was expected that King Duan would not be able to restrain them from making trouble.

Xiao Yi left the imperial capital to go to Xijing to see off the mausoleum. Siqing sent her back home with complicated feelings. She and Xiao Yi have been together for six years in a daze.He fulfilled his promise to let her take the back seat, and he seemed to want to win her heart.However, Siqing's position is unstable at the moment, and she is full of thoughts that if Xiao Yi refuses to confess his sincerity to her, she must not be tempted first.Xiao Yi's departure from the imperial capital was undoubtedly a test for her, the middle palace who stayed behind in the imperial capital.The crown prince was not born by her, and there was a king Duan who had always been eyeing her on top of her head. Xiao Yi put her in the imperial capital to hold the line, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

Gu Liangfen and his wife did not return to Beijing until the autumn of the second year, and Yan Mowei still brought his maid Yutang along with her.The water transportation in Jiqiu is busy, and the canal is blocked.Near the Yongtong Bridge Wharf, the closest waterway wharf to the Imperial City, more than a hundred ships were blocked, stretching for several miles, which was a spectacular sight.

Gu Liangfen stood alone on the bow of the boat, and saw the sparse tree shadows swaying on the shore, and raised his head to see the Tongzhou City Tower and Yongtong Bridge in the misty rain.A few jackdaws flew towards the sky, and a few black shadows could be faintly seen moving.

Suddenly I heard a silk merchant approaching the boat greet: "Brother Gu, everyone is on my boat, how about a drink or two?"

Gu Liangfen agreed, and said to Yan Mowei across the curtain, "I'm going to have two glasses of wine, and I'll be back in a while."

Yan Mowei was seasick for several days, so he just sat in the cabin, agreed, and Gu Liangfen went to the silk merchant ship through the partition between the boats.

Entering the cabin, the inside is filled with smoke, several business owners and boat prostitutes sitting and drinking, shouting five times and drinking six times, there is a turbid noise.

After Gu Liangfen greeted them, Fang found a seat and sat down.As soon as she sat down, a pink head with long hairpins and pinched temples and half-exposed breasts came up to her and smiled charmingly: "What a handsome and pleasant lord, come, slave and lord have a couple of love..." She was red There are woven silver eyebrows on the waist of the master, and the hickey on the neck is like.Gu Liangfen smiled, and shifted to the seat next to her, leaving Fantou empty.There was also a thin porcelain merchant who spoke fluent Mandarin and laughed: "Brother Gu is the famous Liu Xiahui. If you have no eyesight, let's go."

Everyone drank, listened to music, and talked about profits.Gu Liangfen drank the good Jinhua wine on the boat, so he drank two more glasses and walked to the window, but he didn't hear the sound of rain.When I opened the window, the rain had stopped.The clear light sprinkled into the cabin, clear and clear, not stained by a speck of dust.He was thinking about Yan Mowei, and after sitting for a while, he got up and said goodbye.

Gu Liangfen and his wife got off the boat at Yongtong, and the people in Wuzhai told Gu Liangfen that Wu Zhenying had gone to the imperial capital, so they returned to the imperial capital and still lived in the house in Ginkgo Lane.

The house has not been lived for many years and needs to be cleaned.Gu Liangfen saw that Yan Mozhen looked tired, so he told Yutang a few words, brought his own gift, and went to Shuangxing Street in the south of the city to pay homage to Wu Zhenying.

Yan Mowei said, "I'll go with you, if I'm not too rude."

Gu Liangfen smiled and said, "Old man Wu doesn't care about this, you just rest, I'll go and tell you today that we're back, and we'll go together tomorrow."

Gu Liangfen went to Wu Zhai alone, and paid homage to Wu Zhenying, Wu Zhenying asked, "Is there any news about you, Uncle Fu?"

Gu Liangfen said: "I have inquired carefully, Fu Shibo did not return to Jiahe. Passing Yuhang, I went to ask Shibo's old friend Mr. Lin Shiyi, Mr. Lin, and said that he hadn't seen Shibo in recent years." He deliberately told Wu Zhenying that Siqing was actually in the Imperial Capital Thinking of Siqing's words again, I wonder if the timing is right, so I keep my mouth shut.

Wu Zhenying said: "Forget it, let's wait and see."

Gu Liangfen asked, "Why are you living in the Imperial Capital at this time of year?"

"Xuan Bin has a lot of things stored here, and I don't come here often, I'm afraid it's inconvenient, or people will miss it, so I think I'll put it back to Tonghe." Wu Zhenying replied.

"Who dares to think about your house?"

Wu Zhenying smiled, but did not speak.

Gu Liangfen then said: "By the way, I heard from the staff that something happened to Duke Jia, Mrs. Jia is here with you, why didn't you see her? We called Yongtong, but we didn't see him either."

Wu Zhenying suppressed her smile, sat back in the chair, and slowly said: "Last year, she lived with me in the Tonghe house for a few days, and married a girl who was with her. Later, she said that she would go back to Fuzhou to visit her mother's grave. So since I left, I didn't come back to Tonghe Mansion, and I didn't send me a letter. I guessed at that time that she went south to find her husband-in-law."

"Going south?"

Wu Zhenying sighed: "I didn't find her either, I don't know how she is now."

Gu Liangfen said: "The matter of Duke Jia is indeed strange. I heard that the imperial court recovered Hunan and Jiangxi, and went to dig up the tomb set up by the rebels, but it turned out to be empty. Anyway, Duke Jia might not be dead, and Take it easy and take a look."

Wu Zhenying nodded: "What you said is right, let's talk about it later. When discussing this marriage, I told Brother Jiang that Qi Dafei is not a couple. After twists and turns, Xuanbin finally got married, and he didn't have a few days to live. God. If you have eyes, let her husband and son-in-law be safe and sound."

"I'm surprised, how did this marriage get discussed?" Gu Liangfen asked.

Wu Zhenying thought about it for a while and replied: "It seems that Brother Jiang was kind to the old Jia Guogong back then, and the old Jia Guogong's wife rescued the wife of Zheng Yiqin, who was the cabinet back then, to force Baoshan, so that the marriage was made."

Gu Liangfen said: "Zheng Yiqin? Isn't Zheng Yiqin also an old member of the Gushan Society?"

Just as he was talking, Uncle Lu who was next to Wu Zhenying walked in and said, "There is a guy at the door, saying that Mr. Gu's cargo ship got stuck on the Linqing Customs note, and he is in a hurry to see Mr. Gu."

Wu Zhenying asked, "Is your daughter-in-law alright? You go about your business."

Gu Liangfen said: "She's okay, but she's really tired from the journey and got a bit of a cold. Then I'll go first, and we'll bother you tomorrow."

These few shipments of Gu Liangfen encountered some troubles that were difficult to solve. Although he arrived at the Imperial Capital first, he had to go south and return to Linqing to deal with it.So he told Yan Mowei a lot of words, and Yutang a lot of words, Yan Mowei smiled and said: "Just go, I'm such an old man, and I'm not a child, so you can tell me a few words for nothing."

Gu Liangfen smiled, said goodbye to Wu Zhenying, and hurried south to Linqing.

As soon as Gu Liangfen left the capital, Du Sizhong of the Imperial Academy rushed to look for Gu Liangfen at his shop in the imperial capital.Because of Yan Mowei's special status, Gu Liangfen never stayed in his own house when he visited and entertained in the imperial capital.The clerk knew that Yan Mowei was a no-nonsense person, so he led Du Sizhong to Wu Zhai in the south of the city to find Wu Zhenying.

It turned out that Gu Liangfen's restaurant at the entrance of Yizhong Alley was supported by Wu Zhenying. He walked along the alley to the other end, and the more he walked, the quieter he walked, and he went to the other end and walked through an alley. It was deserted, and there was a big tree The sycamore tree, under the tree is Wu Zhai.

The clerk knocked on the door, Wu Zhenying's butler surnamed Lu opened the door, and the clerk said: "This Hanlin master is a friend of Mr. Gu Heng, and he said he has something urgent to see Mr. Gu. Coincidentally, Mr. Gu is not here, so the younger one will invite you This Hanlin Grand Master is here."

Uncle Lu hurriedly stepped forward to salute Du Sizhong. Du Sizhong was very polite and said: "I heard from Liang Fen that Mr. Wu and Mr. Fu Linchuan have a very close personal relationship. I have something about Mr. Fu Linchuan, and I want to tell Mr. Wu."

After hearing this, Uncle Lu hurriedly invited him in, sent the clerk away, and kept saying that he would treat him poorly. When Wu Zhenying came out, he didn't know Du Sizhong. Uncle Lu hurriedly said: "This is Mr. Du from the Imperial Academy. I wanted to see Mr. Gu, but Mr. Gu is not in Beijing, so I came to see you."

Wu Zhenying hurriedly saluted him and said, "I'm sorry."

Du Sizhong has an extraordinary appearance and is usually meticulous in his clothing, but today the hairpin on his head is crooked.He had recently lost his wife, his face was sallow, and he looked sickly. He said, "My teacher, Yuhang Lin Shiyi, made a deal with Mr. Fu Linchuan in the South. We met once. I accidentally heard that the king of Anping County and others returned to Hunan and Jiangxi and arrested many people. They said that Dingfan was rebellious. Mr. Fu was among them because he had healed the wounded of the rebel army. Come here to inform Mr.

After Du Sizhong finished speaking, he even bowed down, Wu Zhenying's complexion changed drastically, and he quickly supported him, saying: "Thank you Nehan for telling me, the old man will go to find out the news."

Wu Zhenying sent Du Sizhong out, turned around and said to Uncle Lu: "It seems that Du Nehan knows about Brother Fu!" He was talking about Fu Linchuan's involvement in Yu Yunhe's case back then.

Uncle Lu said: "That matter is over."

Wu Zhenying said: "Not necessarily! If something happens, I'm afraid Liang Fen will be affected too. You go to Liang Fen's place, tell his wife what happened, and send her back to Tonghe. In case something happens, you won't be able to leave Beijing. , it’s a bad thing.”

Uncle Lu went to Shuangxing Lane to meet Yan Mowei. Yan Mowei had a special status and was most afraid of causing trouble, so he told Yutang not to pack his things anymore, and only packed his belongings to go out.Uncle Lu called two reliable men to send them two masters and servants.

It was already dark when Uncle Lu returned to the Wu residence, so he lit the lamp and told Wu Zhenying.Wu Zhenying said: "I just asked someone to inquire. It is said that the king of Anping County has arrested many people and returned to Beijing to make up for it, as if..." Someone knocked on the door again, and Uncle Lu went to open the door. holding a sword.Uncle Lu looked at it, and asked tentatively, "May I ask who you are?"

The visitor raised his waist card and answered three words in a low voice. Uncle Lu was shocked, looked at the person's face again, and asked him to wait suspiciously.But the man took out a sword from his pocket and showed it to Uncle Lu, who hurried to see Wu Zhenying.

Wu Zhenying asked: "Who is it?"

Uncle Lu whispered in Wu Zhenying's ear, "The general of Jingwei, Cheng Yingzhou."

Wu Zhenying snorted coldly, "I don't deal with people from the government, who knows if it's true or not? If it's true, what are you doing here quietly at night?"

Uncle Lu said: "He has that sword in his hand, the one you gave Miss Jiang—"

Wu Zhenying was startled, "Xuan Bin?"

Cheng Yingzhou walked into this unremarkable residential house, and saw only one lamp in the courtyard under the twilight, and an old man in a wide robe and long sleeves walked down precariously and said "I'm sorry".

Cheng Yingzhou was stunned for a moment, and said with a bow: "I am here to see Mr. Wu by the order of my mistress."

Wu Zhenying wondered, "What's your name?"

As soon as Cheng Yingzhou heard this, he took out the dagger in his sleeve and offered it with both hands. Wu Zhenying took it. At first, he thought it was Jiang Feng's, but when he was about to ask, he turned over the sword and saw the scratches on it, and suddenly said in shock: " Siqing?!" Looking up at Cheng Yingzhou, he asked again, "Is it Siqing? She is really in the capital?"

He called Siqing by name, it was really taboo, Cheng Yingzhou had no choice but to say: "My mistress said, if you don't know about my mistress, you will know after seeing this sword."

Countless thoughts flashed through Wu Zhenying's mind, and she wanted to ask Cheng Yingzhou Siqing if she knew what happened to Fu Linchuan.But he had experienced a lot, suppressed his doubts immediately, and said: "The general came to the door, what are you talking about?"

Cheng Yingzhou replied: "My mistress wants to meet with my husband, may I ask you, is it convenient for you tomorrow evening?"

After hearing this, Wu Zhenying knew that Siqing might know about Fu Linchuan's accident, so she appeared to see herself, and said, "How about being here tomorrow night?"

After hearing this, Cheng Yingzhou said: "It's so good. Looking around, he said, Mr.'s house is tight inside and outside? Please boldly ask Mr. to clean up the house, otherwise it will not be good for me."

Wu Zhenying agreed, returned the dagger, and sent him out.It turned out that Cheng Yingzhou came here alone, and went quietly through the alley.

Wu Zhenying returned to the house and asked Uncle Lu blankly: "Is he really Cheng Yingzhou? Who is Cheng Yingzhou's 'mother'?"

Uncle Lu said: "That must be a nobleman."

Wu Zhenying sat down in the chair, "This is impossible, there is no fraud, right? Maybe the sword has changed hands?"

Uncle Lu shook his head: "When you called Miss Siqing's face, his expression changed again and again, probably not. Do you still remember that when Miss Jiang came back, you once asked 'Brother Fu, is that girl in Beijing? '? Maybe Miss Jiang knows some shadows."

Wu Zhenying suddenly turned around: "Yes, Xuan Bin seems to know some shadows." But he said, "How is this possible? I don't know that she is in Beijing? Neither does Liang Fen?"

Uncle Lu said: "The things in the world are hard to say."

Wu Zhenying was silent for a long time and murmured: "Sure enough, it's Siqing, brother Fu's matter may have turned around a little bit."

(End of this chapter)