Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 557: Hidden Gift from the Emperor

"Report, General Ning, a large amount of silver was found in the inner hall, and the entire hidden compartment is full."

"Report, General Ning, a large amount of silver coins, as well as many ancient paintings and other objects were found in several nearby mansions,"

"Report, General Ning, we found several items belonging to the imperial family in the secret compartment in the back hall."

In the courtyard of Lai Mansion,

Soldiers from inside and outside came to report that a large amount of silver and royal belongings of Ouchi were found in the inner hall of the main house pointed by Lai Sheng, as well as in the houses of several stewards outside.

When Ning Bian heard this, he was shocked. The Marquis really had a clever plan. He guessed that the secret hand left by Jia Zhen of Ningguo Mansion was to hide the wealth in the slave's home. Who would have thought that, but what Ning Bian didn't know was that this was Zhang Jinyu Just hit by accident.

"Then what are you waiting for? Send someone over to check it carefully. Pack up all the money and those things, and escort them back to the military camp with General Duan. Remember, there is not even a tael of silver left. If anyone If you lose your silver, go and get the whip yourself.”

"Yes, General Ning, brothers all understand."

The soldiers hurried back to deliver the order.

Ningbian was worried and took people to the inner hall of Lai Mansion. He saw that in the innermost part of the inner hall, under the bed next to the octagonal lamp, there was a dark room that had been opened long ago. Inside was a lot of official silver. After a rough estimate, There are at least 300,000 taels of silver. I need to take a careful inventory of the details. Hey! What is this?

Ning Bian looked at a grid on the right side of the darkroom. He reached over and took one of the boxes. He opened the wooden box and saw a gold Ruyi pole inside. There was also the word "royal" on it. It was a thing of the palace. Good guy. .

Then, a large number of imperial guards poured out of the gate, followed the footprints on the ground, found their way, and began to chase him in all directions.

"Come here, take all the boxes on the grid and go back and report to the Marquis."

Ningbian did not dare to neglect, closed the box and ordered,

"It's easy to say. The Za family will go back and report it now. Liu Qianhu, be careful in everything. People have to be caught, but you have to know when you will catch them."

Liu Qianhu has been in the Imperial City Division for many years, and he can tell at a glance that the evil way is escaping from this gate. Outside is the alley of Ningrong Street, and opposite is the residential area extending in all directions. He must be hiding here, as long as he searches carefully , it will definitely not be able to run away, but it will definitely require a lot of manpower.

The door and the courtyard wall fit perfectly, and you can't tell if you don't look carefully. Another point is that this place is too remote. If you don't search carefully, who can find it?

Liu Chen had a gloomy face, looked at the alley in front of him, and ordered,

"Be careful. Today, we will lock the location of the demon path."

Outside the house,

Zhang Jinyu looked at the two stone lions lying on the ground in front of the Ning Mansion and felt a little funny. Jia Zhen, this prodigal, was digging his father's grave. Logically speaking, these should be used to suppress Qi, but they were broken by him. Oh, what a waste.

As soon as I arrived here, I saw that the door had already been opened. There was a copper lock at the corner of the door, and the key was inserted on it. Under a tree next to it, there were several Taoist priest uniforms, thrown there in a mess, as the people outside said. Yes, a temple leader and two apprentices.

"Liu Qianhu, immediately send people to start investigating from here, searching for the evil way, I guess it hasn't gone far,"

"Yes, Lord Chihu."

Without waiting for Liu Chen to reply, he went back with his servants, leaving Liu Qianhu and the people in the Imperial City Department confused. Baihu behind him approached carefully.

"Sir Qianhu, let me know what your father-in-law means, whether the demon will be arrested or not."

"Yes, Eunuch Ming, I will send someone because of my humble position. However, there is still something about the Marquis borrowing troops from the Grand Eunuch, and I still need Eunuch Ming to report it."

"What baby? Take it here and take a look."

"Master Marquis, the good news is, as you expected, the Lai family really has a lot of money hidden, and there are also many good treasures. Look."

"Yes. General Ning."

While he was thinking, Ning Bian's voice came from behind him. When he looked back, he saw Ning Bian with his soldiers, holding wooden boxes in his arms. At the end, Lai Sheng, who was covered in blood, was dragged away. come over.

"Yes, sir. Brothers, chase after me."

"Of course we have to arrest him. Find him first. Once you find him, don't take action first. Wait for my order."

Ningguo Mansion,

Eunuch Ming took Liu Qianhu and others to the secret door that Si Konwei of the Imperial City mentioned. This place should have been left behind when the Ningguo Mansion was built. It was surrounded by a garden with dense weeds and dense woods.

Zhang Jinyu became interested after hearing this. Anything that can be called a treasure must be valuable. No matter how you say Ningguo Mansion is the Duke's Mansion, the good things are not the least bit good.

Ning Bian quickly handed over the box in hand. Zhang Jinyu took it and shook it. It was not light. Then he opened the box and saw a rectangular jade slip in the box. It was as white as jade and had no stain at all. It was priceless at first glance. , and also wrapped in yellow cloth. Could it be a gift from the emperor?

Thinking about it, he reached out and rummaged through the box, and saw a brocade cloth under the jade slip, which read, "In the 23rd year of Tianbao, it was given to Rongguo Mansion."

Really, these things have been given away, some are hot to the touch, close the box,

"Put these things away and don't let others see them. I didn't expect this old boy Jia Zhen to be so thoughtful. But he will be unlucky when he meets me."

After saying that, he threw the box to the guard behind him.

Looking at Lai Sheng who was still crying,

"Let him go and let him go back to send a message to Jia Zhen. I won't be polite to him for the back-up he left behind. The thirty thousand taels of silver in the treasury can be regarded as being left for him to buy a coffin, so there is no need to thank me. .”

"Thank you soon, Lord Marquis."

Seeing that Lai Sheng was indifferent, Ning Bian kicked him. Lai Sheng staggered and fell to his knees. He took advantage of the situation and buckled his head.

"Thank you, Lord Marquis."

"get out!"

"Yes, slave, get out of here."

Lai Sheng endured the pain and crawled back to Ning Mansion. Zhang Jinyu was relieved for a while.

"The Marquis is indeed majestic. For a slave to be beaten like this by you, it is considered that the Marquis showed mercy."

Sister Feng's voice came from the west. The voice was clear and sweet. When she looked up, she had changed her clothes. She was no longer the light yellow skirt she was wearing just now. Instead, she was wearing plain clothes and a big coat. She had a different charm. .

It made Zhang Jinyu's eyes light up. What a good guy, the ghost is still lingering. Thinking about it, Wang Xifeng is the one who can stand out in front of him.

"What happened? Why are you back?" "What else could it be? Could it be that your soldiers raided the Ningguo Mansion?"

Wang Xifeng saw that the soldiers beside the Marquis were holding sandalwood boxes in their hands. They must be valuable items. After a while, what was left in Ning Guo Mansion?

"Haha, then you must underestimate me. I haven't even taken a tael of silver from the things in the Ning Mansion. Believe it or not."

Zhang Jinyu laughed, these things were not taken from Ningguo Mansion, but from Lai's house. It was different. Who knows where these things came from.

Wang Xifeng felt helpless when she saw the Hou Ye cheating. She didn't know how much money Ning Guo Mansion had lost.

"Whatever the Marquis says is whatever it is. Where did these things come from?"

"These things you said,"

Zhang Jinyu pointed to the objects held by the soldiers behind him and said,

"These were collected from the Lai family's house. They were Lai Sheng's filial piety to me. They have nothing to do with you."

"What, I got it from Lai's house."

Wang Xifeng didn't believe it at first, but just now in the west, she did see many soldiers coming out of the alley opposite. However, the Lai family were just slaves of the Duke's mansion. How did they get so much wealth? She wanted to ask again, but suddenly she saw the alley opposite. Inside, a group of soldiers came out carrying boxes of various sizes and carried the boxes to the cavalry team not far away.

Ping'er behind him looked over in disbelief and asked in a low voice,

"Grandma, are there any silver in those boxes?"

Wang Xifeng thought a lot in an instant. Could it be that Brother Zhen had left the money behind and hid the money in the Lai family? At this time, Wang Xifeng would not have thought that the Lai family had sucked the money from the Ning and Rong houses over the years. , after all, who would have thought that for a slave, the money in his family could be compared to the money in the Duke's treasury.

"It seems that the Marquis has also gained something. Since it was not taken from the Ningguo Mansion, I can't say anything. If the Marquis cares about the friendship between the two houses, he still needs to be merciful."

Wang Xifeng made it clear directly, and Zhang Jinyu understood clearly that the old lady in Rongguo Mansion couldn't sit still. It didn't matter that she had almost got the things, but she still had to give her face. If she didn't give it to the old lady, she still had to give it to Daiyu.

"Since it was Sister Feng who spoke, I have to give him some face. Since we are all our own people, in this way,

Ningbian, let our people withdraw from Ning Mansion and hand over the matter of sealing Ning Mansion to the people of the Imperial City Division. Leave a thousand brothers behind to assist the prince in hunting down the demons. Let Duan Hong take the rest back to Dongdong. Daying, take a good rest and go to the market tonight to buy meat and come back for extra food! "

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Ning Bian cupped his fists, accepted the order, turned around and left.

Only Wang Xifeng felt a little strange in her heart. Could it be that she really wanted to leave? Suspiciously, she looked back at the gate of Ningguo Mansion. The soldiers surrounding the mansion all evacuated after receiving the order.

At the main entrance,

Only the people from the Imperial City Division were left to watch. Outside the mansion, soldiers from the Hou Mansion also began to gather. They slowly walked along the street towards the East City Gate and returned to the East City Camp.

After a while, there were very few soldiers left on Ningrong Street. Only the prince and his party, the people brought by Wang Xifeng, and the soldiers behind the Marquis were left.

"Master Hou really gave me face, I don't know. He thought I was the one who persuaded me."

Although Wang Xifeng did not admit it, her face was like a peach blossom and she was happy in her heart. No matter what happened today, in the eyes of outsiders, she was the one who persuaded her to leave. Unexpectedly, the Marquis gave him such face, so she still had to do things tonight. of.

"Hey, Sister Feng is too polite. Daiyu is under the care of Sister Feng in Rongguo Mansion. I, my lord, will bear this in mind and do my own thing. The matter of Ning Mansion, to be honest, it involves a lot. The demon cholera has ravaged the capital. It's not like I can do whatever I want. As for the things in Ning's house, I haven't touched them at all. These were found from the Lai family's house, so they were naturally confiscated, do you understand?"

Zhang Jinyu was riding on a horse, leaning over to talk to Wang Xifeng about this matter. They were not far away. The scent of osmanthus on Wang Xifeng's body penetrated her nose, full of femininity, and a little distracted.

Wang Xifeng was stunned when he heard this. What was involved was so big. He just raised an alchemist to practice Taoism, and he didn't break any royal laws.

"Mr. Hou is trying to trick me. There have been many cases of nobles supporting alchemists throughout history. There are more monks. There are many eminent monks from Jing'an Temple in Beishan, and many members of the clan have become monks. If it is according to what Mr. Hou said, Aren’t they all big things?”

Although Wang Xifeng didn't know about the major affairs of the court, she had seen a lot of big and small things after becoming a housekeeper. The so-called big things were nothing more than someone getting in the way, and small things became big things. Since the Marquis said this, someone must be trying to stir up trouble, but , the old lady has already sent a letter to her distinguished relatives, and those who are causing trouble must also weigh it.

"Sister Feng is right, but if the person who caused the obstruction is not one person, but a group of people, let me tell you, this matter can be trivial."

Zhang Jinyu thought that she would use this matter to see how the nobles would respond. Whether these people in the capital would be led by the North Prince's Palace or the East Prince's Palace would come forward, or even the Duke of Zhenguo's Palace would set up a separate hilltop, so that they could deal with it.

However, what Wang Xifeng just said, the eminent monks of Jing'an Temple actually have members of the royal family becoming monks there, and the summer palace in Maple Leaf Valley and Princess Dawu are living in seclusion there. What kind of idea is this? Jing'an Temple will pray for blessings in a few days. , is there anything hidden in it?

It seems that Beijing is becoming more and more interesting.

The eldest princess has come out, and those princes from all over the country who are secretly eager to enter the capital and express their filial piety to the Supreme Emperor cannot sit still. This opportunity is rare, the Supreme Emperor is ill, and His Majesty is even injured. The people of the south of Beijing Chaos is everywhere, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I wouldn't be indifferent if it were it for me.

The civil servants of the northern and southern rural parties in the capital will definitely not sit still and wait for death. They will definitely disrupt the court. This reason is probably what happened today, and Ningguo Mansion is the fuse.

However, I don't know how the civil servants will stir up the trouble. There are many people in the court who have secret thoughts.

Thinking about something for a while, Wang Xifeng stood below. Seeing that Mr. Hou was thinking about something and said nothing, his narrow eyes were always staring at his breasts, and his eyes never left. He endured the shame and opened the door. mouth,

"Thank you, Mr. Marquis, for reminding me. I must go back and tell the old lady about this matter. The banquet mentioned by Mr. Marquis today should be done sooner rather than later. We will prepare wine and food at the house today. If Mr. Marquis is willing to reward me, I will do it when the work is done." Let's go to the house and have something to eat. It's getting late, so I won't accompany the Marquis to enjoy the breeze."

After Wang Xifeng finished speaking, she pulled Ping'er and her servants to protect her, turned around and ran away. Zhang Jinyu looked confused and left before he could say a few words.

Only the prince and his father-in-law, who were sitting in the carriage, felt deeply that the Marquis was very blessed.

"Dad, the demon in Ning's Mansion seems to have gotten the news and escaped through the secret door of Ning Guo's Mansion. My son has sent people to hunt him down. We don't have enough manpower and we need to borrow troops from the Marquis."

The prince and his father-in-law who were sitting in the carriage suddenly opened their eyes. The internal affairs were half done. The demon road left. The pursuit would take time. The civil servants and nobles of the court had time to prepare. Since your majesty did not want the chief minister of the cabinet to When it comes to becoming an official, civil servants can only make excuses, and the nobles cannot be severely damaged by this matter, so when it comes, the internal minister will let him take charge of the matter.

"It is expected that the demon will leave. If you have such ability, you will naturally not sit still and wait for death. If you send people to search carefully, you will not be able to escape far. The Ningguo Mansion has also been sealed off. Well! Stay behind and watch Jia Zhen Don't make any mistakes with Jia Rong and his son,"

"Yes, godfather, my son has already given instructions. Liu Qianhu will take the people to stay in person. However, godfather, what should we do with the internal affairs?"

"Not in a hurry!"

(End of this chapter)