Jinghong Tower

Liuxia knew about He Shuquan as soon as he left Madam Renyi's house, but she didn't know his identity.

"Miss Liuxia, I have checked and found out that the boy's name is A Quan, and he is a gangster who collects protection fees. He came here to inquire about Mr. He's affairs, and I think he is asking for someone else."

It had been less than two days since Mr. He moved in, and at least twenty groups of people had already arrived with visiting cards.

These people were either merchants or officials who went south that year.

According to the news from Jinghong Tower, many people are asking about Mr. He's preferences, whether he likes jade or agate, Longjing or Biluochun, Suzhou embroidery or Sichuan embroidery, and whether he likes pretty boys or handsome men.

Of course, they were not only trying to find out about Mr. He's preferences, but also He Xiulong. Strangely enough, the overwhelming rumors about He Xiulong a while ago have disappeared just like that. However, Liuxia was not surprised at all. In the face of absolute force, what does a little bit of spit count for?
Therefore, He Shuquan's appearance was not taken seriously. In the eyes of Liuxia and others, he was just here to inquire about information. If he really got any useful information, it would be bought by some official or businessman going south.

This was soon verified.

He Shuquan originally only told Master He San that He Ran liked the old woman's sugar cakes, but as soon as he came out of Old Man Yu's house, he met Li Wu, who was hanging out with him.

"Ah Quan, where have you been these past two days? You didn't even come to make money?"

He Shuquan asked hurriedly: "What kind of fortune-making thing?"

Li Wu looked around and lowered his voice and said, "You don't know yet? Now, if you can find out what the boss He and the brave general like, let alone the two of them, even the preferences of the maidservants around the boss He are worth two taels of silver."

He Shuquan's eyes lit up: "A maid is worth two taels of silver? Then how much is Mr. He worth?"

Li Wu stretched out a palm, waved it in front of He Shuquan, and said, "It's worth this amount."

"Five taels?" He Shuquan asked hurriedly.

Li Wu gave him a look of contempt: "Five taels of bullshit, it's fifty taels!"

"Fifty taels? So much?" He Shuquan exclaimed.

"Of course, it was the Lord Wang who lives in Zouma Lane. Yesterday, he spent fifty taels of gold and silver to buy a piece of news. It was real gold and silver, fifty taels. This news was spread by the servant in Lord Wang's house. There is no doubt about it."

He Shuquan's eyes widened: "It's really fifty taels, my God, what kind of news is so valuable?"

Li Wu shook his head: "Of course they won't tell anyone. How can the news of fifty taels of silver be spread casually? If someone hears it, wouldn't the news be wasted? Just like that, many people were wandering outside Lord Wang's mansion today. Don't mention it, some actually heard some news."

"What news?" He Shuquan was now interested in all the news related to He Ran.

Li Wu said, "I know you are very poor, so it's no big deal to tell you. Lord Wang sent people out early this morning to search for the best golden nanmu wood in Jinling City."

He Shuquan had heard of the golden nanmu, so he asked hurriedly, "Is the golden nanmu going to be given to Mr. He? Mr. He is not very old, is he? Is he preparing funeral supplies at such a young age?"

Li Wu was stunned and took a few steps back, trying to stay as far away from this idiot as possible. If someone heard them, they would think they were in the same group.

"Stop talking nonsense. Mr. He is still young, what kind of funeral supplies are you preparing? Pah, Pah, Pah, golden nanmu is not only used for funeral supplies. Please leave. I still need to go and get information to make money. I won't talk to you anymore."

Li Wu was about to leave when He Shuquan grabbed him and said, "Besides Lord Wang, who else is willing to pay fifty taels of silver for the information?"

Li Wu was startled: "Do you have any news?"

He Shuquan nodded.

"What's the news about Mr. He?"

He Shuquan nodded again.

Li Wu narrowed his eyes, looked him up and down, still not quite believing it: "Where did you hear this news from? Is it credible? I heard that those who are willing to pay a lot of money for the news are people of status, and they won't cheat you just because they want to. Don't let them break your leg before you get the fifty taels of silver."

He Shuquan became anxious when he heard this. Who is he looking down on?

"You don't believe me about the news about the great boss? That's because you don't know who I am."

"Aren't you A Quan? By the way, you still owe me fifty cents. How could I not know who you are?" Li Wu said disdainfully.

He Shuquan snorted coldly: "Listen carefully, my name is He Shuquan, and I am from Zhending, Zhili. Did you hear that clearly? What do you remember?"

Li Wu: "Your name is He Shuquan, and you are from Zhending. What? Zhending? Your last name is He? Is what you said true or false? You are really from Zhending, and your last name is really He?"

He Shuquan: "It's more true than pearls. Not only do I have the same surname as Mr. He, but we are also from the same clan and branch. Her father is my eldest uncle, my father is her third uncle, I am her cousin, and she is my eldest sister!"

Li Wu stared at He Shuquan and suddenly remembered something. About two or three years ago, when A Quan had just started hanging out with them, they were once reading comic books together and A Quan suddenly said that He Ran was his sister. Everyone thought he was bragging, and some people forgot who it was and slapped A Quan in the face, telling him to talk nonsense.

"Ah Quan, why didn't you tell me before that you were from Zhending?"

As a gangster, there is really no rule to check the household registration. Ah Quan spoke with a northern accent and said he was from the capital, so no one doubted him.

He Shuquan snorted, "Can I tell you? If I tell you, won't you hand me over to the government?"

Li Wu put his arm around He Shuquan's shoulders and said, "Look at what you said. You really underestimate me. We are brothers who have risked our lives for each other. Even if the government comes to arrest you, I will protect you at the cost of more than 100 pounds. I just got two smoked rabbits. Let's go to my house and have a few drinks together."

At night, Master He San was lying alone in bed dreaming. He Shuquan had not come home yet. Master He San had long been used to this. If He Shuquan came home on time, Master He San would suspect that he must have gotten into trouble outside.

On the same night, Zhong Yi came to Jinling from Yangzhou.

Yes, Zhong Yi went to Yangzhou after receiving He Ran's letter.

The first thing he did after arriving in Yangzhou was to take drastic measures to investigate those who spread rumors about He Xiulong.

At that time, He Xiulong had already set out to attack Zhenjiang. She didn't know that while she was fighting bloody battles on the front line, someone was fighting for her honor in the rear.

In ten days, Zhong Yi had arrested more than three hundred people, and the prison in Yangzhou government office was packed to the brim.

Among these more than 300 people, some spread rumors, some hired people to spread rumors, some organized the spread of rumors, and some just followed the crowd and joined in the fun.

Among these people, some accepted money to do things for others, while others simply could not stand the fact that He Xiulong was in a high position as a woman.

These people are the ones that Zhong Yi personally tries and judges.

One person was subjected to lingchi, five were beheaded, and the rest were sentenced to twenty to fifty lashes. More than eighty strong people were sent to hard labor camps, where they would not be released for ten or eight years.

On the day of the execution, except for the six people being executed, all other prisoners were taken to the execution ground to watch the execution. Two people were frightened to death on the spot, and the others vomited, had incontinence, cried loudly, or fainted on the spot. Because of the large number of people, the case was not completed until recently, and Zhong Yi came to Nanjing to report on his work.

On the way to Jinling, Zhong Yi learned that He Ran moved to the former Duke Dingguo's Mansion, and also learned that He Ran conferred the title of Lady Meng as Lady Renyi. Zhong Yi was stunned.

He knew that He Jinghong had a good relationship with Old Madam Meng, but he didn't expect that He Ran would respect Old Madam Meng so much.

Could it be that He Jinghong had told He Ran about Old Lady Meng’s deeds in the past?

I think this must be the case, otherwise, considering the relationship between Old Lady Meng and Duke Dingguo, He Ran would not have no grudges against her.

Zhong Yi quickly convinced himself that he arrived in Jinling at night and went to see He Ran after arriving.

As soon as he arrived at the gate of the mansion, Zhong Yi instinctively felt that someone was following him. It seemed that Jinling City also needed to be cleaned up.

When Zhong Jian saw He Ran, He Xiulong happened to be there too. As soon as he entered the room, Xiao Ba flew into the air with a roar and screamed loudly: "The villain is coming, the big villain is coming!"

He Ran: “I didn’t teach it.”

Xiao Ba: "Master Ba doesn't need to be taught. Master Ba is self-taught."

Zhong Yi didn't want to argue with Niao. He slowly took out a handful of shelled melon seeds from his pocket and handed them over. Xiao Ba immediately shouted, "Someone, test Master Ba for poison."

Zhong Yi picked up a few melon seeds and threw them into his mouth. Xiao Ba shouted, "You are unruly. Eat less!"

Xiaoli came over and took Xiaoba away along with the handful of melon seeds. Xiaoba was held in Xiaoli's arms and was still shouting, "Put me down! Master Ba wants to perish with the villains!"

The shouting became farther and farther away, and the room finally became quiet.

He Xiulong couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zhong Yi pursed his lips tightly and said nothing. This bird was left for He Ran by that man. His body was completely different from the previous one, but the bird always had a bad face every time it saw him.

In his last years, the man must have complained to the bird about him, so much so that even after he was reborn, the bird still didn't like him.

He Ran smiled: "I have spoiled Xiao Ba, and he is outspoken. Commander Zhong, please don't bother with him."

Zhong Yi smiled rarely. He Ran wanted to say, "You'd better stop laughing. You look really creepy when you laugh."

Even He Xiulong shifted her eyes away. Commander Zhong still had some color when he wasn't smiling, but this smile... Fortunately, she had walked out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood, otherwise she would have been scared and had a nightmare.

Zhong Yi was unaware of anything. He thought his smile, as bright and dazzling as the sun shining through an iceberg, could melt away all the misunderstandings and resentments in the world.

So this rare smile will only last for a moment.

He put away the smile on his face, and He Ran and He Xiulong both breathed a sigh of relief.

A smile from Zhong Yi can be so destructive.

Worried that Zhong Yi would laugh like Tang Bohu when he was courting Autumn Fragrance, He Ran quickly changed the subject and asked about business.

When it came to business, the atmosphere in the room finally returned to normal.

In the past two or three months, He Xiulong's mind was focused on fighting. She initially deliberately ignored the dirty words that slandered her, but later she forgot about them when she became busy.

It was not until now that she realized that when she was conquering cities and territories, the head of the He family had already sent Zhong Yi to clear her name.

"Boss, Commander Zhong, thank you."

He Xiulong stood up and bowed deeply to the two of them.

He Ran said: "I know you don't care, but I do. I won't allow anyone to slander my general."

Zhong Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Master, Jinling City is not stable either. Anyway, whether it's Yangzhou or Jinling, as long as there are a lot of scholars, there are many unstable factors. By the way, Master, there must be a lot of people sending visiting cards these days. I wonder if there are any cards from those big families and academies?"

He Ran smiled and shook her head: "Haven't you guessed it? Of course not. These noble families and academies think highly of themselves and obviously haven't accepted me yet. Those who sent me invitations all came with requests, mostly merchants and officials who went south."

Zhong Yi snorted coldly: "They are all spoiled. If you pick one of them and execute his entire family, even his nine clans, I wonder if they dare to do it again."

The corners of He Ran's mouth twitched. It was simple and crude, but it would have an obvious effect in a short period of time. However, it was only a short-term solution and it would not cure the disease.

He Ran said in a cold voice: "I think they are all idle. The imperial examination has been suspended in recent years, and they have lost their direction of struggle. In addition, the court is turbulent, so these idle people get together when they have nothing to do. From being sad about the passing of time to satirizing the government and criticizing officials, after a while, they will come up with some troubles.

People, you can’t just sit there doing nothing.”

Zhong Yi heard the hidden meaning of He Ran's words: "The boss wants to recruit officials to Jiangnan?"

He Ran said, "When I held the official examination, it was mainly for the purpose of selecting concubines. At that time, there was a shortage of available people. Now that we have a reserve of officials, the next official examination must be more precise and detailed. I have already written to Mr. Feng and asked him to come up with the rules as soon as possible."

In other words, examinations are necessary. The previous boy's examinations, county examinations, and provincial examinations must all be repeated, and a new examination system must be added. Not only scholars have to take exams, but craftsmen as well. They are either taking the exams or preparing for them.

The next day, Zhong Yi changed into casual clothes and went out to the streets with his Jinyiwei.

As soon as I walked out of Madam Renyi's house, I heard Xiao Ba's voice coming from above my head: "The villains are out on the street, pedestrians, get out of the way!"

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At this time, in a house in Jinling, Li Wu was carefully picking up the teacup and taking a sip: "Good tea, really good tea."

The person sitting at the head said calmly, "Give him something to take back."

Li Wu quickly stood up and thanked him.

The man gestured for him to sit down and asked, "Where is He Shuquan now?"

Li Wu: "I invited him to drink and gave him a knockout drug. He is sleeping in my house and he won't wake up until night."

The man was quite satisfied: "Good, well done. He is not very old, so he should not have come south alone. Where are his family members?"

Li Wu said: "This Ah Quan has a father who is a gambler. But now he hooked up with the old man Yu who is the gambler, and his father also got a job as a gambler. As for his grandmother, I am afraid it would pollute your ears if I tell you about her." (End of this chapter)