The Concubine Wushuang of Red Mansion

Chapter 85
Jia Cong hesitated a little, and was about to say that it was too late today when the curtain opened and a girl wearing a red feather satin double-breasted gown came out. She looked at him with a pair of amber-clear eyes and shouted softly. "Third brother!"

It's Daiyu.

Suddenly coming out of the hot room, it seemed colder outside.

Jia Cong had no choice but to walk over and said, "Miss Lin, what's the matter?"

After hearing the word "Miss Lin", Daiyu's eyes dimmed suddenly, and she was about to shed tears due to the sadness. She lightly pursed her lips, raised her head, looked at Jia Cong and said, "Third brother, I originally said You are here, please come in and have a cup of tea, the second sister, the third sister and the fourth sister are all here."

"I'm afraid I don't have time!" Jia Cong said, raising his hand to straighten her bangs that were blown by the wind. The little girl had an admiring look on her face, and for someone as wandering as him, she moved her hand. Jia Cong held back again and said, "Go in, blow the wind carefully and you will feel dizzy!"

After saying that, Jia Cong turned around and walked into the snow.

He is not a cold person, and he has no intention of hurting Daiyu, a poor person in the world of red mansions. However, his current situation is already intolerable. If he gets closer to the girls, he will also cause them unhappiness. .

"Third brother!" Daiyu took two quick steps, caught up with him, and grabbed his sleeve.

Jia Cong turned around and Dai Yu whispered, "Third brother, you...be careful, it's snowy!"

In the cold sky, Jia Cong felt as if he had drank a glass of strong wine, burning his whole body with blood. Daiyu's smart eyes were full of worry. She must not have told him to be careful because of the slippery slopes. Dongfu was really Sima Zhao's mind is known to everyone on the road, if things are kept secret, things will be done, and if a few things are not kept secret, it will cause harm. Jia Zhen is really a fool.

"It'll be okay, go in. Your body is already weak, and you'll get sick again due to the cold." Jia Cong saw her small face as big as a palm, and her eyes were filled with tears that were trembling, but gradually filled up. Smiling, he also smiled at her, "Don't worry about me, third brother never loses!"

Daiyu let go of his sleeves, eyes dim with tears, and saw that before Jia Cong walked out of the courtyard, the wind and snow filled his back.

"Girl, please be more considerate of Third Master. Third Master is doing this for your own good!" Zijuan supported Daiyu and persuaded her to enter the house.

In the house, Tanchun and others saw only Daiyu and Zijuan coming in. Daiyu's eyes were red and she was very surprised, "Is the third brother so alienated from us? He doesn't want to come?"

Yingchun was also surprised, but she was dull by nature and didn't know what to say when faced with this situation.

Xichun was young and playful, she didn't care about anything and just followed her sisters.

"It's not that he's divorced, he's afraid he has something important to do." Daiyu explained.

Baoyu felt sorry for Daiyu, and when he saw her crying, he angrily said, "What can happen to him? He just doesn't want to pay attention to us. He is really confused. Even if the old lady doesn't like him, what does it have to do with us?" ? Are we going to punish him according to the clan rules? It can be seen that he can only write two poems and a few words, and he is not a very clever person. "

"You are the only one in the world who is uncanny. Even we are not uncanny." Daiyu retorted.

"How long have I told you that you are incompetent? I just said this, not because he has let you down." Baoyu was heartbroken, and sweat broke out on his forehead.

"What do I want him to do to live up to my heart?"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Sanchun was extremely anxious. Tanchun was about to persuade Baoyu, but he saw that Baoyu became happy again, and bowed to Daiyu, "Good sister, it's my fault, I shouldn't have gotten angry. Come on, just spare me this!"

It turned out that Baoyu became happy when he heard that Daiyu had left her and Jia Cong alone. It was not that he couldn't stand Daiyu's anger. Whenever the two of them quarreled, it was Baoyu who started the quarrel because he wanted to distinguish Daiyu's heart. Huizi, since he knows that Daiyu doesn't take Jia Cong seriously, how can he not be happy?
But she didn't know that Daiyu had a very stupid nature. She was worried about her third brother. Since the third brother said that he would never lose, she believed his words and felt relieved.Furthermore, she was worried that Jia Cong was true, but if Jia Cong didn't appreciate it, that was Jia Cong's business and had nothing to do with her.

Just like in "A Dream of Red Mansions", she entrusted Baoyu wholeheartedly to Baoyu. Even though Baoyu was unaffordable and failed her in the end, she just shed tears without complaining at all. Just like when she went to earth to repay her debt with the Scarlet Pearl Immortal Grass, the debt was repaid. Liangqing is average.

At night, Zicuckoo helped Daiyu to sleep. She saw that Daiyu had not slept for a long time, tossing and turning. She didn't know what she thought of, but she would burst into tears. She couldn't help but persuade her, "Young lady is too petty today. It's clear that Mr. Bao is the best." He was trying to defend the girl, so why did the girl bother to say those words to hurt him? If it breaks out again, how can we get over it? "

"If you want to fight for him, I will go back to the old lady tomorrow and ask you to serve him!"

"I feel sorry for the girl, and the girl doesn't know it." Zijuan saw that the last time Daiyu and Baoyu had a fight, Baoyu threw the jade again, and the wife was obviously very tired of the girl, so she became worried. .

"The old lady is old and young, and the girl is still young. She can make do with it now, but what about the future? She always gets into trouble because of one or two things. The girl doesn't care about anything else, but only Mr. Bao. For the girl’s sake.”

Daiyu closed her eyes, tears falling from the corners of her eyes. How could she not know Zijuan's heart? But if she didn't quarrel with Baoyu and were truly like sisters, wouldn't the wife be upset?

After all, it’s the pain of living under someone else’s roof!
Daiyu couldn't help but think of that man. He was kneeling in the snow, his figure was thin, but he was like a mountain.

"You talk a lot today. It's too late and you're still saying this."

"I also want to think more about the girl. Is the girl still annoyed with the third master today? The third master is a more pitiful person than the girl. He is like this, how can he still have the mood to play and write with the girls? The girl usually Don’t you feel sorry for the third master? You don’t want to be more considerate of him!”

"How long have I said that I don't understand him?" Daiyu said angrily, but her tone was finally more relaxed.

In Jia Cong's yard, the lights were on in the study. Jia Cong was sitting at the table reading. Qingwen came in, holding a porcelain bottle in her hand and handed it to him, "It was the third master's servant He Gui who met me. The person who asked me to bring it in said it must be handed over to the third master."

Jia Cong took it, opened the porcelain bottle, and saw a candied fruit inside.

Qingwen also followed suit and said "Hey", "I just sent you some candied fruit. It's just one. What does it mean?"

Jia Cong had already closed the porcelain bottle and said with a smile, "I don't know where he got it from. He must have wanted me to have a taste of it. It's late at night. You and She Yue can go to sleep and leave me alone!" "

"Third Master, we agreed earlier that if you stay up late again, She Yue and I will take turns staying with you. I'm on duty today. Anyway, if Third Master doesn't sleep, I won't sleep!"

In the master's room, there are often maids accompanying the bed. If it is a bed, the maids will make a bed on the floor under the shallow corridor. If they are close to the master, they will sleep on the same bed. There are also suites with a large bed in the pavilion. Accompanying.

There is only a small canopy bed in Jia Cong's room. Since it is connected to the study room, there is no big bed. Do two maids need to make a bunk on the floor?

If he really wanted to sleep with him, he would have to sleep in the same bed with him. How could Jia Cong agree?

"I'm going to bed now, you go to bed first." Jia Cong stood up, Qingwen quickly helped clean up, and warned, "Third Master, please go to bed quickly and don't stay up late. I heard that if you stay up too late, you will not grow taller. "

Jia Cong smiled, and after she went out, he sat back at the table and started tinkering with the candied fruit.

Jia Cong naturally knew what was going on in the East Mansion. It was only after eating this kind of candied fruit that Jia Zhen could move forward and achieve perfection between the bed curtains.

Jia Cong smelled the candied fruit, drank some of it, tasted it lightly, but didn't swallow it. After rinsing his mouth with tea,
Fortunately, he had strong willpower and was afraid of hurting his body if he did this at such a young age, so he got over it overnight.

The next day, after Jia Cong came back from the palace, he went to East Street and bought some medicinal materials and spices. On the way back, he opened the car curtain and saw refugees everywhere, shivering in the cold wind, and some One or two, holding a stick, trudged through the snow.

"Are there more refugees this year than in previous years? Why have they all entered Kyoto?" Jia Cong asked.

"There are more, and there were more in previous years. This year, the emperor was considerate of the people and did not let the soldiers and horses of the five cities drive them away. But it looks like there are more than in previous years." Old He Tou drove the carriage and said worriedly, not doing well in the year. , it is inevitable for everyone to worry.

Jia Cong lowered the thick curtain and leaned against the wall of the carriage. The brazier in the carriage was burning brightly. He stretched out his hands and slowly lit the fire.

Although the world of Red Mansions is not a certain period of history that he lived in in his previous life, it is not completely unrelated. He has been studying in the palace recently, and there are many books in it that are not available outside. He knows that although this is the Great Shun Dynasty, it can There is actually a Jin Kingdom in the northeast, and its founder turned out to be a man named Nurhachi.This had to make Jia Cong vigilant.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and Jia Cong leaned forward, almost falling into the brazier. Outside, Lao Hetou's voice was extremely urgent and trembling, "Third Master, the carriage was stopped by refugees!"

Jia Cong stabilized his figure, walked out of the carriage, stood on the shaft, and looked at the refugees gathered in front of him.

Suddenly, there were so many refugees. If there was a riot, he would have to die here today.

But why did these refugees block his car?

Walking at the front was a man in his 30s, wearing a jacket so tattered that the flesh could be seen, holding a stick in his hand, and knelt down in the snow, "My lord, please take a bite of the food!" "

Jia Cong became more and more suspicious when he saw that this man had a broad face. Although he was skinny, he did not look weak.
Behind this man, there were also ragged, emaciated refugees, but their eyes were dull, and they looked like zombies. The cold wind blew on their bodies, like knives cutting them. These people seemed to have lost all feeling.

Jia Cong knew that once he took out something silver or a snack, these people's eyes would turn green and they would eat him too.

Jia Cong then ordered Lao He to say, "Stop first, wait for a while, and wait for the troops from the Wucheng Army to clear the way, and then we can leave!"

His master has sent several soldiers to follow him from a distance. Jia Cong is not afraid. In this situation, they will not come forward easily, but they will definitely move in to rescue the soldiers.

Lao Hetou came in. How could he dare to come in? He had to watch the horses. He just leaned against the carriage and sighed, "The world is getting more and more difficult. This winter, it snowed several times in a row. I heard that the snowstorm was so serious that there was no harvest in several surrounding provinces. Where can the people go to make a living?"

Jia Cong was still facing the fire. After a while, he heard the sound of horse hooves and shouts from outside. It seemed that someone was coming to drive away the refugees.

After the noise passed, Lao He gave the first shout, and the carriage moved slowly again.

Jia Cong opened a little of the carriage curtain and saw the refugees standing on the roadside, looking at the carriage blankly. The man before had a gloomy look and looked towards the carriage. When his eyes fell on the curtain, His eyes narrowed sharply.

Beipotai Temple is located on Chen Fengmen Street, close to Chenqiao Gate. It was originally a place full of incense and a paradise on earth.

At the end of the Jin Dynasty, when Dashun's army invaded the capital, it was here that the first Duke Rong Guo led his troops to conquer the city gate.

All the buildings in Chenqiao Gate were destroyed by artillery fire, and Beipotai Temple was the first to bear the brunt. Now only a dilapidated main hall and five magic treasure buildings are left in ruins, becoming a gathering place for refugees and beggars.

At this time, in the main hall, an offering table was carried out and placed in the middle. On the table, there was a piece of braised pig head meat, a few braised chickens, and a bowl-sized bowl of steamed buns piled on it. A dozen homeless people were sitting around, eating. The mouth must be full of oil.

"Grandma, I finally had a full meal. When I caught the young master, I stewed him and ate him. Hehe! The one with the thin skin and tender meat is indeed the son of a wealthy family."

The man who spoke was the man who had glanced at Jia Cong on the roadside. His name was Zhang Maozi. He was from Shaanxi. His family had a few acres of land. If he had grown up, he would not have starved to death, so he would not have to leave his hometown and become a refugee.

Unexpectedly, the government came to collect tax money every three days. One of the money from the craftsman's class was said to be owed by his grandfather, which was more than five taels of silver.

This craftsman's class of silver is the tax paid by city people with crafts and trades in silver. According to Emperor Taizu's regulations, craftsmen are divided into three-year classes, and they take turns to serve in the capital for three months. They are paid as scheduled. shift.

In the 21st year of Yongjia, it was stipulated that the shift craftsmen could work on their behalf. Those who were willing to contribute silver would be required to pay nine coins of silver per month for each southern craftsman, and six coins for each northern craftsman. Those who were unwilling would still be on duty.

Zhang Maozi's grandfather has been dead for more than ten years, and the bamboo craftsmanship has not been passed down. He still owes the craftsman's class more than five taels of silver.He also said that he had received several royal favors and had them reduced or exempted several times, otherwise he would have owed more than ten taels of silver.

Poor Zhang Maozi is still unmarried at the age of 30. The few acres of land in his family have suffered from disasters due to poor growth in the past few years, and he owes more than [-] taels of tax money, totaling [-] to [-] taels of silver.

On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, the tax collectors came to collect taxes again. The policemen wanted to ransack their home and robbed valuable things to sell. Under the force, his father was knocked to death on the doorpost. Zhang Maozi saw what happened. Wow, he immediately picked up the bench and swung it at the guard, killing one person on the spot and injuring two more.

Seeing that the situation was not right, his mother bumped into a policeman in order to let her son escape for his life. When she was dying, she hugged the man's leg tightly and urged her son to escape for his life.

Only then did Zhang Maozi escape with the protection of his mother's life, and there was no way back from then on.

Later, when I met Wei Gongbao and his group, I realized that it turned out that he was not alone in this fate. Without the acceptance of Wei Gongbao and others, Zhang Maozi would have died of cold and starvation here.

Two days ago, they took a big order, and the other party paid a deposit of 20 taels of silver in one go, asking for the life of a child.

Zhang Maozi took the initiative to ask Ying to investigate the situation, which led to what happened today. He encouraged the refugees to block the road on the street and forced Jia Cong to come out for a meeting.

Sure enough, he was just a child of seven or eight years old, and he was born well. But now Zhang Maozi's temperament has changed drastically. He just feels that this world is a shitty world, and everyone deserves to die.

"Have you seen everything properly?" Wei Gongbao asked.

"Read it carefully. I have never seen a child born better than that child. It is absolutely wrong. It would be a pity to kill him. I heard that beautiful boys and girls in the city can be sold for a lot of money." Zhang Maozi smiled. road.

"No need to add any extraneous details. The other party said that if we get it, we still have 80 taels of silver. What's wrong with buying such a life with 100 taels of silver? With this money, we can change the sticks in our hands, and we may not be able to do it in the future. Can’t take big orders.”

"That's the truth. Brother, please tell me how to do this task. How about I take the lead this time?" Zhang Maozi just arrived, and a single visit to the sentry could not make him gain credit in this gang.

Wei Gongbao took out a worn piece of paper from his arms and drew a few random lines on it, "I heard that the boy is very smart and never goes out. Usually, he only takes these two routes, but today he was able to run Going to East Street is also an opportunity. It’s a pity that we didn’t know it beforehand, and there are fewer of us there.”

"What the eldest brother said is that if there are too many people, he won't be able to leave today. That kid is also a bit smarter. If he forces people to drive us away today, the younger brother can shout. When there are more people, rush up and kill that kid. He was killed on the spot, it’s hard to tell, and all the money was in hand.”

"Are the people from the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division coming soon?"

"It's pretty fast. There are shops nearby, so we don't dare to be too showy. That's just the way that kid is. He always goes to crowded places, and it's hard to make a move, so I just endured it."

"Hey, 80 taels, we can't let the brothers sleep with the oiran, find some women, we can have fun too." Wei Gongbao said, licking his thick lips, and the others also laughed lustfully after hearing this, They are all people who haven’t touched meat for a long time.

The atmosphere became lively and the blood boiled. Everyone expressed their opinions, and soon they sent out people, including scouts, ambushes, and hands-on people. They chose a good day and planned to finish the work and celebrate the New Year.

Jia Cong was sitting in the carriage, with Zhang Maozi's face constantly echoing in his mind. After the other party saw him, his eyes did not waver, which made Jia Cong very suspicious that he was waiting for him there.

He tapped his hand lightly on the small table. He really couldn't understand. When he came out of the palace today, he also went to East Street to buy medicine on an impromptu basis. He also used the excuse of buying medicine for his aunt. His whereabouts were unknown. Whoever is exposed will only mean one thing: someone is following him.

Jia Cong was too lazy to open the curtain and take a look. He didn't want to alert anyone, as long as he knew who was attacking him and who he planned to use.

idiot!

Jia Cong cursed in his mind, picked up the herbal medicine at hand, brought it to his nose, and took a deep breath.

　Big chapter!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)