Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 484: Reading the Book of Sages
Rongguo Mansion,
Central courtyard,

The attackers in Jia Baoyu's yard and She Yue all smiled bitterly to themselves. They never expected to encounter such a thing while visiting the garden.

Seeing that Mr. Bao was so interested and holding the flowers tightly in his hands, he refused to let go.

The wife of the Zhou family was in a dilemma. She didn’t want to go or not. She thought to herself that she didn’t know if she didn’t read the almanac when she went out. Today’s gift of flowers was a twist. The master of the house was most afraid of Mr. Bao. Although It looks pleasant, but if hysteria breaks out, I'm afraid no one can control it except the second master. But now that the second master has entered the ministry, he is much busier with official duties, so the wife is in charge of the second master Bao's affairs. This mother Looking at my son, he can't even bear the pain, so he can't scold him harshly.

When Master Bao asked about the girl from the Xue family, Mrs. Zhou was also very embarrassed. After all, she was a girl from the concubine's family and she had never seen her before. The old lady had not seen the girl from the Xue family just now. She didn't even say a word. He didn't say anything about it. How could he know if she was good or not? He shook his head.
"Return, Second Master Bao, I just came out of the old lady's house and didn't see Miss Xue's family. I heard she was busy with something in her room, so Second Master Bao asked if Miss Xue's family was okay. , I don’t know how this slave knows, but I think it should be good.”

When Jia Baoyu heard this, she felt even more regretful. She was even a little worried that Xue Baochai was not used to living here. She should take some time to see her and get close to Sister Bao. It would be better to send flowers first. I don't know. Sister Lin thought about herself. She hadn't seen her for so many days. When she saw the wife of the Zhou family still standing here, how could Jia Baoyu be in the mood to care about her? She asked people to say,
"Okay, you go back first. I don't want you to send flowers. I will send them for you."

Jia Baoyu looked at the bouquet in his hand, his face was full of joy, and he looked a little anxious.

"Yes, Second Master Bao, I'm going back right away."

There was no other way. Seeing Master Bao like this, Mrs. Zhou had no choice but to go back.

After seeing the person leave, Jia Baoyu could not bear it any longer and said to Xiren Sheyue,

"You guys, don't follow me. I have nothing to do today anyway. I'll read in the afternoon. You guys, why don't you go back to the house first? I'm going to send flowers. I'm sure Sister Lin will be happy. After sending the flowers, I will go back."

Jia Baoyu was anxious, so he shouted out words to chase him away. Xiren and Sheyue suddenly felt something bad, and Huarong was panicked. The second wife gave her many warnings, and she must take good care of the second master Bao, and never go to Xiaoxiyuan.

It was too late to hide from Miss Lin, so they didn't even think about provoking them. The two of them handed the things in their hands to the maid behind them, and then walked directly over, one person blocking the other. Seeing that Second Master Bao wasn't paying attention, Xiren snatched them away. He put the artificial flowers wrapped in brocade cloth, then put his hands behind his back and advised,
"Second Master Bao, it's been a long time since you came out. I'm afraid you're tired from visiting the garden, so you'd better go back and rest early. I'll send these two flowers to Miss Lin for you."

"That's right, that's right, it's still so far to the west. Mr. Bao, you have to go back to rest and read in the afternoon. In the evening, my wife will come over to check your homework. If you can't answer it by then, what about the slaves? Being blamed.”

Without waiting for Jia Baoyu to speak, the other girls following behind, as if they had agreed upon it, surrounded Jia Baoyu and dragged him away. She Yue turned around and said,

"Sister Xiren, go and come back quickly. I'll take Mr. Bao back to the house first. You have to be faster, otherwise you won't be able to hold him down."

"I know, I'll be back as soon as I deliver it."

After saying that, the two ran in opposite directions, especially Xiren. He ran to the corner of the yard and disappeared. Jia Baoyu was anxious and kept pushing, but She Yue and the others didn't care. , you pushed what I was holding, making Jia Baoyu's face flushed, and his hands had nowhere to rest. From time to time, he touched places he shouldn't have touched. He followed the maids back to the "Bishan Cabinet" reluctantly or reluctantly.

the imperial palace in the capital,

Besides, Zhang Jinyu and Shen Zhongxin looked at each other after leaving the palace gate. Shilang Shen asked,
"Master Hou, when should I go to investigate?"

Zhang Jinyu understood what Mr. Shen said. It was just a house raid. Logically speaking, it was best to go at night, so that no one would notice and the noise would be small. But since the house was about to be raided, being sneaky was not a problem, but there were too many people doing this kind of thing. It's probably not good, I always feel a little addicted. When I heard about the house raid, my calm heart still surged, and I asked back,
"Whenever Master Shen thinks it is best to go, I am willing to cooperate with you."

Shen Zhongxin hesitated secretly and looked at the sky. It was just after noon. Now all the officials in the ministries were probably going back to rest. The ministries and halls of the imperial court were also starting to prepare meals. There must not be many people. Therefore, it was better to start things sooner rather than later. Thinking of this, his eyes brightened and he said,

"Master Marquis, after a busy day, I should have gone back to rest, but the emperor's order is difficult. If we go earlier, we may have more clues about the matter. Therefore, I think it is better to take action as soon as possible and arrest the family members of the offending officials immediately. I am afraid it will be too late. , I’m afraid something might change.”

This statement is reasonable, and Zhang Jinyu also agrees. If someone has an evil intention and hides or transfers the money, it will be troublesome. Especially for civil servants, it is rare for them to do things so neatly. He praised,

"Master Shen has thought carefully, and I agree. In this case, Ningbian, immediately call Ji Yunhui, lead the Royal City Guards, join Liu Qianhu and others, and immediately ask him to lead troops to search the residences of various officials in Beijing and Cangcang. As for Cui Dehai Master Cui’s house, Master Shen, how about you and I go and see for ourselves.”

"Dare to obey."

Immediately, the two men led the soldiers and headed straight to Cui Mansion in the East City. As for the others, they all mounted their horses and circulated orders. After a while, a large number of imperial guards gathered and followed Zhang Jinyu and Master Shen. The road was full of armored men, holding long knives in their hands, walking majestically forward, making the sound of armor clashing.

When passing by the market, I saw so many soldiers walking by, which caused a commotion. The people passing by looked over cautiously and quickly got out of the way.

Many tea drinkers in roadside teahouses and diners in wine shops stretched their heads to look over, especially those in restaurants. They could see clearly and some diners discussed it.

"What's going on? There are so many soldiers, but what happened?"

"You don't know that something big happened last night. The granary in Jingcang caught fire."

"These people who are going to arrest people are afraid that the capital will be in chaos."

"Oh no!"

Various discussions came from everywhere. Zhang Jinyu heard it on his horse and didn't pay attention. He lazily led his soldiers and crossed the street. Ji Yunhui led the imperial guards of the palace to the front and immediately knelt down on the Marquis's side. In front of the horse,

"See you Lord Marquis, I humbly accept the order and bring five hundred royal guards to serve you."

"Well, I came just in time. Just take the people and follow me. Today, you will inspect Cui Dehai's mansion."

"Yes, the humble post takes orders."

When Zhang Jinyu saw the professional house confiscators coming here, she didn't need to do any more work. She asked Ji Yunhui to follow him and hurried all the way to the south residence not far from Ningrong Street, which is adjacent to the houses near Yunqiao. .

Not to mention anything else, as long as it is a corrupt official's mansion, there is no one that is not beautiful. At least it has a big character. Not only is the mansion big, it is also magnificent.

This is the case with Cui Mansion. First of all, the place was chosen well. The big house next to the river, coupled with the lively market around it, can be said to be a quiet place in the bustle. There is a unique artistic conception here. If in the previous life, it would be a proper symbol of the King of Earth. .

"call"

Zhang Jinyu arrived at the gate of Cui Mansion, reined in his horse, and

Looking at the two stone lions and the vermilion door in front of the mansion, it is the door to three rooms. It is quite impressive. There is an old locust tree outside the door. Of course, the soldiers sent by Liu Qianhu are still there. Guard.When they saw the visitor, hundreds of households on duty ran over, knelt down on one knee and bowed,

"I am sorry to see you, Lord Marquis, but I hope you are safe."

"Well, get up and talk."

"Thank you, Lord."

After seeing the people getting up, I wanted to dismount, but there was a market around, and there were a lot of people coming and going. The curious people gathered around in circles, and more and more people gathered, forming a crowd.

Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but have a headache when looking at these people. The habit of people in the capital watching the excitement has not changed.

"Master Shen, you give the order."

"Okay, Ji Qianhu, this is the order from the Ministry of Household Affairs. I am ordering you immediately to lead people to search Cui Dehai's residence. No one in the residence should be spared, and all of them will be taken to prison."

"Yes, I humbly accept my orders. Come on, go in and arrest them."

Ji Yunhui took the order, led a large number of imperial guards, opened the middle door and rushed in. Immediately, screams came from the courtyard, and then the sound of women crying, and then, one after another, came Those who entered were escorted to the front yard to kneel down, and many ladies and young ladies were escorted over in fancy clothes, which made the people around them stare.

Someone else said secretly,

"Oh my god, this is a house raid, the master and the lady have been arrested,"

"That's not true. Logically speaking, the most rare thing is beheading, but those female relatives may be in misery."

"Brother, what do you say?"

"Hey, my dear friend, you don't know about this, right? If the family members of the criminal officials and the women are not dead after being convicted, they will all be sent to the Jiaofang Department to serve as official prostitutes and they will not be able to redeem themselves. Oh, you The eldest lady who said it was good did this."

"It's quite tragic to be so beautiful. It's a pity."

The two passers-by talked in a low voice, feeling sorry for the woman in the house. At this time, there was a Liu Ke Yanguan around, and the Yan Cong of the Jiangnan people was unforgivable.

It seems that in the capital, these people from the Imperial City Department are actually lawless. In broad daylight, without going through the review of the Ministry of Punishment and the Supervisory Office, and without the edict of conviction, it is simply treasonous to search the palace of the capital official without authorization.

Thinking of this, Yan Cong's face flushed. He thought that as an official, he had made no achievements so far. He only had the character of an official. He was really ashamed. Now that he encountered this, if he stopped them, he would definitely shock the court officials. Reporting to the emperor and admonishing him in the Palace of Qianqing will definitely leave his name in history.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help it any longer and was about to go out and scold them. Only his friend Lu An, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, quickly reached out his hand, pulled Yan Cong's sleeve, and asked anxiously and quietly,
"Brother Yan, what are you trying to do? I didn't see Marquis Luo Yun and Shilang Shen there, and there are also a large number of people from the Imperial City Department here. It must be a major case last night. You must not interfere, lest you get burned."

Yan Cong turned around and saw his friend Lu An, with worry and questioning in his eyes, and he comforted him.

"Brother Lu, there is no need to be afraid. The more this happens, in public, he will definitely not dare to do anything to us. What happened last night was a major case, but it can only be convicted and punished without going through the joint trial of Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and the three divisions of the Supervisory Office.

Wherever you can judge privately and make decisions without authorization, this is public revenge for private revenge. We are studying the teachings of saints. Wherever you can see such dirt, you must take care of it. Brother Lu, if you are afraid, just wait and I will go. "

"Hey, wait a minute, Brother Yan, think twice."

Another Hanlin scholar, Qi Liang, even ran to the front to stop Yan Cong, blocking his way.

"Brother Yan, this matter is unusual. The Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel are now divided into two factions in the court. One is the head of the Jiangnan officials, and the other is the leader of the Zhongzhou civil servants. Great changes are coming. Are you trying to stop them again? Marquis Luo Yun, that is a fierce tiger outside the pass, isn't it a sheep entering the tiger's mouth?"

When Qi Liang went to court this time, he felt that the court was strange. Nowadays, everything needs to be done carefully, and more importantly, he should protect himself wisely. If he is in the wrong team, he may be in vain for 20 years of hard work.

Yan Cong also hesitated in his heart, what he said was unreasonable, but suddenly he heard the cries of many women in the courtyard, and many servants shouting "Unjust!".

I couldn't bear it any longer. If this matter sets a precedent in the capital, and the court officials and everyone are concerned about the danger, then over time, the country will be ruined.

"Brothers, this matter has nothing to do with you. Trial first and judgment later is the way of heaven. To act so absurdly, where do you place the national law and where do you place the court? Today, whether it is a sword or a sea of ​​​​fire, I Be strict and obedient, resolutely go alone, and you will have no regrets even if you die!"

"Brother Yan,"

"Brother Yan!"

After speaking, Yan Cong bowed to his friends Qi Liang and Lu An, then pushed them away and walked over. Only the two of them stayed where they were, with shameful and uneasy expressions on their faces. Everyone looked at each other and saw cowardice. Suddenly Lu An said,

"Brother Qi, I just found out today that I just studied and learned nothing about the way of saints. Now Brother Yan is gone alone. As his good friend, I can't help him. Instead, I try to avoid and dissuade him. In fact, I am ashamed, I have lost all my face, I cannot be alone in this matter, I have lost the way of a scholar and a saint, so I will go too."

Qi Liang laughed instead,
"Haha, you two are going to go, leaving me alone to linger here, what's the point, go together, go together."

The two of them straightened their clothes, looked straight, and squeezed in.

outside the door,

Zhang Jinyu and Shen Zhongxin were riding on horses, looking in from the outside. They saw that the people in the house had almost been caught. As for the belongings in the house, they were also carried in boxes of various sizes. Not to mention, looking at the small boxes over there, they were heavy. Yes, it must be fake money. It is indeed the home of a corrupt official, and treasures are indeed indispensable.
"Master Shen, how many thousand taels of silver do you think we can find?"

Shen Zhongxin looked at the box in the courtyard inside the door and couldn't help but feel angry. Corrupt officials were only greedy for people's wealth and wealth. How many people had been ruined by this money. As for how much, he really didn't know how much. After all, he had never checked it, just himself. In the house, the most valuable thing is probably the house. The only other things that are valuable are the books, and probably not much else. But since he was greedy for money, I think it is quite a lot.
"Master Marquis, if the official's prediction is correct, Cui Dehai may have been greedy for 10 taels of silver. The more valuable thing is this house."

(End of this chapter)