Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 115
The bright sunshine is still there. After arriving here, there is no tense atmosphere before, and some can only relax in laziness. Mrs. Wang in the carriage also pulled up the curtains of the car, and the second daughter also looked out with her face covered. From time to time, there was laughter like silver bells, and everyone walked slowly along the way to appreciate the great rivers and mountains of Dawu.

Zhang Jinyu knew that walking west along the official road would lead to the capital in less than a day, but Zhang Jinyu hadn't decided whether to go to her mansion first after arriving in the capital, or to enter the palace to face the saint, but she thought that there were still fifty thousand war horses behind her With such a large amount of fat, it is better to send it away earlier.

Thinking of this, I decided to go to the capital to face the saint directly, send the horse out, and then see if there is any benefit in the flickering emperor. The point is that there is a lack of people outside the pass.

After walking for a long time, Zhang Jinyu finally arrived at the boundary of the capital with the army. Yesterday, he did not rush on the road. In the evening, he camped and rested in the open space beside the official road of Zhongzhou.

After a night of rest, Zhang Jinyu was very pleased to see that he felt refreshed when he woke up in the morning, and the brothers did not look tired.

They buried pots and made meals on the spot, packed up after eating, and then set out on the road, continuing to the capital.

When the time comes, the gates of the capital city are wide open,

Qian Ke rode a horse, entered the city non-stop, and ran towards Rongguo Mansion. When he got to the side gate of Rongguo Mansion, he got off his horse and was about to rush in without giving any notice, but was immediately stopped by the porter.

"What do you do, you know where this is, dare to break in?"

Qian Ke got angry in a hurry, was stopped, suddenly became angry, and cursed directly,

"Blind your dog's eyes, I'm from the house, and now I have an urgent matter to find Housekeeper Lai, can you afford to delay if something goes wrong?"

"Good guy, you still dare to swear at people, come here, come over and teach me a lesson, why haven't I seen you in the mansion for so long. I still don't believe it!"

As soon as the porter called for someone, a group of people came out of the room immediately, surrounded Qian Ke and wanted to beat him.

Qian Ke was pushing and shoving angrily, and the noisy voice happened to be heard by Youyuanzi's second grandmother, Wang Xifeng.

I was also upset and scolded, these undisciplined things are really lawless, making trouble for my aunt every day.

Wang Xifeng is angry these days. Jia Lian has been in the military camp for so long and never returns home. She doesn't even have a word in passing. She doesn't take herself seriously. went to him.

Just thinking about how to find him these few days, or tell his uncle Wang Ziteng to give Jia Lian a rest, he heard the noise at the gate, how decent it was, so he asked Ping'er to take a look What happened.

When Ping'er walked to the gate of the Duke's Mansion, he saw that the porters were pushing and shoving around a person, exhaling fragrance to each other, and their hands were a bit heavy, so he hurriedly shouted;

"Stop it, what happened?"

The concierge boy stopped his hands when he heard this, and when he looked back, it was Miss Ping'er who was next to Second Grandma. He didn't dare not to listen, so he replied,

"Miss Ping'er, this person claims to be from the house, and says he is looking for housekeeper Lai for something, but I have never seen him in the house for so many years, I am afraid he is here to find trouble."

When Qian Ke heard the boy's words, she became anxious and hurriedly said;
"Don't listen to his nonsense. My uncle is Qian Hua, the steward of the house. Now there is an urgent matter to report that something happened to our people in Fuling County."

Ping'er was dubious when he heard what this person said, and he seemed very anxious, but when the people from Jia's mansion or Qian Hua went to Fuling County, he didn't know about it when he was with the second grandma, so he asked suspiciously ,

"Do you have proof, when did the people in the family go to Fuling County?"

"Miss Hui Ping'er, it was my uncle Qian Guanshi and Pan Guanshi from Ningguo Mansion who went to Fuling together to buy new year's goods. Now everyone from No. [-] in the Second Mansion has been arrested, and their lives and deaths are unknown!"

Ping'er was shocked when he heard about this. He knew about the purchase, but why did he get involved with the Ningguo Mansion and appeared in Fuling County?

"You guys come here together, Second Mistress is in the yard, so be careful what you say and do."

"Yes."

Ping'er led them to the yard to meet the second grandmother Wang Xifeng, and Ping'er briefly explained what happened in front of the door.

Wang Xifeng snorted coldly after hearing this,
"Okay, I dare to deceive my aunt. I asked Qian Hua to buy new year's goods. Why did he go to Fuling County? Don't tell me that the food there is better than the one in Beijing?"

Qian Ke faltered in fright and couldn't say a word.

Wang Xifeng was even more convinced that this matter was unusual.

"Why do you still say that you are getting involved with Pan You'an, the deputy steward of Ningguo Mansion? Don't tell me you have to make an appointment to go together even when you buy vegetables? Tell me quickly, grandma's patience is limited."

"Second Mistress, little one, I don't know where to start."

"I think you won't cry until you see the coffin, come here and prepare the family law."

The boys rolled up their sleeves and shouted,
"Yes, Second Mistress!"

Just as he was about to catch Qian Ke, he heard a voice from outside the yard, "Slow down!"

It was the butler Lai who came and ran into the yard in a hurry. When he saw Qian Ke, he knew something was wrong, so he hurried over to comfort him;

"Second Mistress, please calm down. This person is Qian Hua's nephew, a member of the family. How did you make Second Mistress angry? I think you are tired of living."

Qian Ke faltered and couldn't speak, her face flushed in obedience but anxiety, Wang Xifeng naturally saw that there was something tricky in it, but Lai Da was the chief manager of the Rongguo Mansion after all, and the Lai family was brought up by the old lady's natal family. The people who came here should not be too strict, so they gave a face and said,

"It's because the butler has come forward in person, and my aunt has no choice but to save face. It's written down on the board, but it's your intercession. What's the matter?"

Only then did Lai Da look over, he came here in a hurry, and he didn't know what happened, he only heard his confidant boy say that nephew Qian Hua was arrested by the second grandma and would be punished, he didn't say anything else, just look at the money Ke seems to be in a hurry.

"That's right, what are you talking about, isn't it just to buy a new year's goods, what can go wrong?"

Qian Ke's eyes widened after listening to Mr. Lai's words. How can we say this? In the public, seeing Second Mistress's complexion getting more and more ugly, she could only explain in a evasive way,

"Back to Second Grandma, Manager Lai, it's my uncle Qian Hua who brought his family and Ningguo Mansion Deputy Director Pan You'an together to make an appointment to go to Fuling County to buy more fresh vegetables and fruits,"

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Ping'er;
"Wait a minute, Qian Ke, that's not right. The Second Mistress said that she simply bought some New Year's goods in the capital first, and didn't ask you to go to Fuling County to buy anything."

"This this."

Qian Ke hesitated and couldn't tell the reason, but Manager Lai saw that he couldn't do it, so he took the words,

"Second Mistress, Miss Ping'er, the vegetables and fruits in the capital are all brought in from Fuling County. They are expensive and not fresh, so I asked Qian Hua to buy them in Fuling County. Pan You'an, the manager of Ningguo Mansion, also happened to be in charge. It feels good and we agreed to go together.”

"Yes, yes, that's it."

Qian Ke nodded in agreement.

"Well, okay, that's right. The place in Fuling County is indeed a treasure land. It's like spring all the year round. That's not right. Why did you say something happened?"

At this moment, Qian Ke was in a cold sweat, and she hadn't thought about what to say. The person who asked for help looked towards Lai Dana, and it was indeed Lai Dana's puzzled and inquiring eyes, making Qian Ke even more anxious.

Seeing Qian Ke's reaction, Lai Da knew that something might have happened there, and he had a bad heart, so he reminded him on purpose.

"If you have something to say, just say it. You and your uncle went to Fuling County to buy new year's goods. If something happens to you, just say what it is. Don't say anything else that doesn't matter."

Lai Da deliberately emphasized the few words about buying new year's goods and irrelevant things, and Qian Ke immediately understood what Lai Da housekeeper meant, raised his hand to wipe his sweat, and then spoke slowly.

"Second Grandma, my uncle and I went to the farm in Fuling County to buy vegetables and fruits. Suddenly, a large number of soldiers rushed over and started arresting our people without saying a word. Those who resisted were killed immediately, and the rest were caught. The beating was so cruel that it was too horrible to look at."

"what."

Ping'er screamed in fright, and the servants around all gasped, Wang Xifeng couldn't believe it, how could it be possible, this was a deadly attack.

"Then you didn't say you were from Jia's Mansion in the capital."

"I said it, it's useless. I was beaten lightly at first, but after I finished speaking, I was beaten harder."

Qian Ke was also crying there with half truth and half lie, Wang Xifeng was really confused at this moment, that was targeting the Jia family, but in Dawu, the Jia family had no enemies.

"Do you know who the other party is?"

"Back to the second grandma, I know, I heard what Li Cong, the commander of the water transport guards, said, it seems to be Luo Yunhou outside the pass."

"What, impossible."

Wang Xifeng turned pale with shock, and stood up without a sound.Lai Da also dared not speak up, as if the incident was a bit serious, what should I do.

"Tell me the truth, what's going on, and how did you come back! If you don't tell the truth, my aunt will let you lie down and go to the mass grave outside the city."

Qian Ke was so frightened that she knelt down and cried loudly,

"Your sentence is true. I saw my uncle was arrested and ran away early, so I hurried to the Water Transport Yamen to ask General Li for help. General Li took someone to ask for him, but if he didn't come, I reported to the little horse back to the capital. General Li said that the man Luo Yunhou wants to arrest, if he doesn’t come, if you don’t believe me, you can go and see the horse outside, it’s from the Water Transport Yamen.”

Wang Xifeng said sharply,
"Go quickly and see if the horse outside is from the Water Transport Yamen."

Ping'er was worried, so he took someone over to check it himself, and went to the concierge.The horse was still tethered, so he carefully inspected the horse's hindquarters, there was a tattoo on it, and the word "Water Transport" was impressively listed, so he hurried back.

Came to the second grandma and whispered in her ear,

"Second Grandma, I've checked it out. It's indeed a horse from the Water Transport Yamen, with stab marks on it, that's right."

Wang Xifeng's face suddenly collapsed, this incident made the whole family no longer know each other.

(End of this chapter)