Jinghong Tower

Master He San was already very frightened and had not yet recovered from his fear. Just now, the maid who looked well-behaved pushed him lightly, and he involuntarily walked forward more than ten steps. This was not something a human could do. Could the maid beside He Ran be a ghost?
Yes, how could he forget that He Ran had some magic power to turn beans into soldiers, otherwise how could she have sent them brothers to jail so easily?

Thinking of the days he had spent in prison, Master He San felt horrified. He should have taken a long-term view and should not have listened to that master and hurried here with his mother.

Qi Hong turned and left. Hearing the sound of the door being locked outside, Master He San finally realized the situation.

Old Madam He stared at him and screamed "ah ah", but apart from "ah ah", she could not make any other sound.

Mr. He San stretched out his hand and tried to close Madam He's jaw, but he didn't know where to start. Forget it, how could he do that?

Master He San sat down on the ground with a thud. He exerted too much force and his tailbone felt as if it was broken.

Now he is lucky enough to be able to protect himself, so he doesn't have time to care about me.

No one knows where that bastard He Shuquan has gone. He has disappeared since he left Old Man Yu’s house that day.

Old Madam He was still screaming, and Mr. He San regretted that he was too kind.

He shouldn't have waited until it was almost dark before arriving. He should have chosen the morning when there were a lot of people coming and going in front of Madam Renyi's house, and he should have come with drums and gongs.

Yes, at least most of the people in Jinling City must know that he is He Ran’s biological uncle. Would He Ran dare to deny him and send him to this small dark room?

She wouldn't dare even if she had the courage!
Although there were quite a few people gathered in front of the mansion today, it was far from enough, and Master He San regretted it very much.

He is just too kind and he shouldn't feel sorry for He Ran.

A child's character can be seen at the age of three. He Ran was not a good child when she was young.

How old was she at that time, maybe thirteen or fourteen, yet she dared to set up a trap to put her uncles in jail.

By the way, there is also Yan. Before He Ran was found, Yan was the glorious eldest wife of the He family. But ever since He Ran came back, Yan's life became more and more miserable. Later, she simply disappeared and her life or death is unknown.

Another person who is getting worse and worse is He Shuyuan.
The more Master He San thought about it, the angrier he got. Who was he? He was the emperor's uncle. Imprisoning the emperor's uncle here was a great act of treason.

The fear gradually faded away, and Master He San regained his confidence. He shouted and cursed.

Scold He Ran for being unfilial, unkind, and unjust.

At this time, Liuxia had already led people to search outside the mansion. Someone saw that Old Madam He and Mr. He San came in a carriage, but as soon as they entered the mansion, the carriage left.

Afterwards, the residence of Master He San was also discovered. The landlady testified that Mr. He San had become rich and people came to his house to give him gifts, including houses and carriages. As for who these people were, the landlady testified that Mr. He San definitely didn't know.

Even the matter of Old Man Yu that Mrs. He found could not be found out, but there was no trace of He Shuquan.

He Ran felt that Old Madam He and Mr. He San were just greedy and selfish. Although they were not very smart, they were not too stupid either.

Before He Ran came to Jinling, she was a traitor, and the He family mother and son would definitely not mention her in front of others.

After He Ran came to Jinling, she became a huge fortune in the eyes of the He family and their son, and they would never tell anyone else.

Therefore, the person who leaked the information could only be He Shuquan.

He Ran doesn’t really care about what’s happening with the He family; what she cares about is the person behind this matter.

He Ran thought that it would be better to leave this matter to Zhong Yi, and she would not take care of it.

Zhong Yi originally just wanted to find an excuse to go to the government office, but now that he received the task, he immediately got busy.

The next day was destined not to be peaceful.

The street where Madam Renyi's mansion is located is considered a place where high-ranking officials in Jinling City live. Liu Shanhe also lived nearby in the past. Although the Liu family had been ransacked long ago, there are still many official residences here.

It's just that the dynasty changed. Ever since Emperor Yonghe fled, in the eyes of the people, the people who lived in official residences, that is, ordinary wealthy families, no longer had the original fear, but instead became more curious.

Moreover, He Ran lives in Madam Renyi's residence. Therefore, these days, anyone in Jinling City who is still able to walk around here will come to take a walk and have a look, and some will even go close to the legendary yellow line to feel the excitement.

Therefore, every morning, there were a lot of people living nearby. Even the manager who went out to purchase groceries from the mansion would secretly look in the mirror before leaving, to avoid being discussed by young wives, aunts and old women about the blackheads on his nose.

The steward went out through the back door and did not see the crowd gathered at the front door.

At this time, a neatly dressed and sleek young man, accompanied by a middle-aged woman and a young girl, was kneeling in front of the mansion gate, begging Mr. He to release his master.

His masters are the grandmother and uncle of Mr. He, who disappeared after they came to the house to acknowledge their relationship yesterday.

The onlookers were talking about it. Someone who had been here yesterday testified, "Yes, I saw it last night. An old lady and a middle-aged man. They did say they were relatives of Mr. He."

"Then it seems that what this young man said is true. What's the point of him disappearing? He must be enjoying his life."

"That's right, they are having a family reunion."

"Nonsense! How can a family reunion not send someone home to send a letter? Besides, these are Mr. He's grandparents and uncles. Have they always been wandering outside? When Mr. He was in the capital, he didn't send anyone to pick them up?"

"What do you know? If they were respectable, how could Master He not bring them to the capital to enjoy a good life? I heard from others that Master He's grandmother followed an old bastard and warmed his bed."

"real or fake?"

"Of course it's true. I heard it."

The door of the mansion opened, and a pretty maid came out. She said to the three people who were crying, "The old lady said that you have no respect for your master. You took advantage of her old age and frailty, and stole the fish scale books of her house and shop and secretly rented them out. I didn't believe that there would be such a mean servant in the world, but now I see that it is true. Come, bring them in and let the old lady deal with them personally!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several strong women came out and dragged the three people in.

The onlookers said: "I said these three weren't good people, and I was right. They even rented out the old lady's house and shop secretly, and now they come here to pretend to be nice. Such cunning servants should be punished with a beating first."

"Didn't the old lady go to warm the old scoundrel's bed? How come she still has a house and a shop? Was it given to her by the old scoundrel?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Everyone in the world knows that Mr. He is from the Zhending He family. The He family is a scholarly family. Mr. He's father is also an official. When the old lady went south, she must have brought a lot of money with her. Isn't it normal for her to buy a few houses and shops?"

The three were brought into the mansion, but not only did they not see Old Madam He and Mr. He San, but they were also locked up.

At this time, He Ran just found out one thing, that is, Old Man Yu, who served as Madam He's meal ticket, has disappeared.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards found Old Man Yu's home and the gambling house where he usually worked, but there was no trace of him. Calculating the time, Old Man Yu disappeared before the mother and son of the He family came to recognize them.

At this time, Xiaoli brought in three gift boxes. One of them was from Zongqi, a wealthy businessman from Huizhou; one was the head of the Hu family, one of the four major families in Jinling; and the other was the eldest son of Chen.

This Young Master Chen is the eldest son of the head of the Chen family.

The head of the Hu family hurried over from Zhenjiang overnight, riding non-stop all the way, and his thighs were rubbed raw.

As for why the head of the Hu family went to Zhenjiang, it was certainly not to check on the business as he said. He went to Zhenjiang after He Ran entered the city, and actually he was hiding away.

He Ran held a banquet at Jiangnan Tower, and he was of course included in the invitation, but he and his two sons were not there. It was his cousin, Mr. Hu Si, who came.

On the surface, it seemed respectable that Mr. Hu Si came here for him, but with a little inquiry, one could find out that Mr. Hu Si was born out of wedlock, had failed in the imperial examinations many times, and had no say at all in the family.

When the head of the Hu family, who was far away in Zhenjiang, heard about what happened that night, he was so frightened that he sweated through his clothes.

He is not afraid of death, but if he were to be like the head of the Chen family, being dragged out by a woman in dishevel, without even shoes on in front of everyone, he would rather die!
The more the head of the Hu family thought about it, the more shocked he became. He Ran was a shrew!

How could a person as calm and elegant as him be a match for a shrew?
So the head of the Hu family didn't say anything, didn't even take the carriage, and rode back to Jinling on horseback.

After returning to Jinling, he sent a letter to Madam Renyi's residence, and then came over eagerly waiting for an audience. Also sitting beside him waiting was a tall, handsome young man with extraordinary demeanor.

The head of the Hu family couldn't think of any family in Jinling City that had such an outstanding descendant, so he couldn't help but take a few more glances. The young man was very generous and met his gaze neither humble nor arrogant, with a smile on his lips, but a bit of coldness in his eyes.

The head of the Hu family trembled in his heart, but still asked: "Which family are you from?"

The young man bowed and said, "I am Zongqi from Huizhou."

The head of the Hu family was startled again. He had heard of this name!

Young Master Chen was the first to be summoned.

He told He Ran two things. One was that his father had handed over the position of head of the family to him. After that, his father was going to write a book and would live in a manor outside the city.

Second, the Chen family donated 100,000 taels of silver.

He Ran gladly accepted it, and told Master Chen that although this year's official examination had ended, preliminary examinations would be launched in various places in the spring of next year. Only those who passed the preliminary examinations could take part in the first official examination held in the capital.

If any of the Chen family members want to serve the court, they can start preparing for the preliminary examination now.

Young Master Chen was overjoyed and hurriedly thanked him. By saying this, the boss was telling him that the Chen family would not be implicated because of the misbehavior of the head of the Chen family.

Before leaving, Young Master Chen went to say goodbye to Master Hu. Although he was not allowed to say much, when Master Hu saw the joy on Young Master Chen's face, he guessed that what he asked for must have been granted.

I'm afraid the Chen family has suffered a heavy loss.

Looking at the receding back of Young Master Chen, Patriarch Hu shook his head. He caught a glimpse of Zong Qi sitting upright like a pine tree, and quickly withdrew his gaze.

Although Zong Qi was just a merchant, he was extremely ruthless.

Although the head of the Hu family was far away in Jinling, he had heard a few things about Zong Qi.

First, he killed his own uncle, and second, he killed all of his grandfather's servants and guards, and locked his grandfather up with those corpses for seven whole days!
As for the third thing, Mr. Hu was not sure, because before he had time to verify it, the fighting broke out in Yangzhou.

That means Zong Qi took over the Cao Gang!

If this rumor is true, then Zong Qi is a ruthless man who ascended to the position of head of the family by stepping on the blood of his relatives, and now with the Cao Gang, he is even more powerful.

The more the head of the Hu family thought about it, the colder he felt down his spine. The Hu family was wealthy and powerful, and although he considered himself a scholar, he did not want to offend someone like Zong Qi. After all, the Hu family also had its own business, and in Jiangnan, no businessman would be willing to be an enemy of Zong Qi.

I really didn't expect that Zong Qi would come to ask to see Mr. He.

The head of the Hu family felt more and more that his decision was absolutely correct.

Although his clothes rubbed against the skin of his thighs and it was excruciatingly painful, Master Hu did not regret it. It was better for him to suffer a little now than for Master Chen to hide away and be too embarrassed to see anyone.

Patriarch Hu can guarantee that Patriarch Chen will never go out again, and the huge fortune of the Chen family will be handed over to the eldest son Chen.

At this time, the maid came and called for the head of the Hu family to come in.

The head of the Hu family straightened his robe and followed the maid out. Then he saw a few more people coming in. They were all familiar faces. They greeted each other with a fist salute, and they understood each other tacitly.

A new emperor appoints new ministers. Times have changed. Even if the woman above their heads is a woman, they still have to put on their most decent clothes, bring gifts that can impress the woman, and run to line up eagerly.

The head of the Hu family offered 50,000 taels of silver. If he had not hidden in Zhenjiang, if it was him instead of Mr. Hu Si who went to Jiangnan Tower, there would not be this 50,000 taels.

The head of the Hu family sighed secretly, this lesson was so expensive.

After the head of the Hu family said goodbye, Zong Qi was led in.

As soon as he entered the room, the room became brighter.

Before this, He Ran had heard of Zong Qi, but she only knew that he took over the family business at the age of eighteen and became the head of the family at the age of twenty-two. He was experienced and had a high say not only in Huizhou, but also among the merchants in Jinling.

But when she saw him today, He Ran was surprised.

The Zong Qi in front of him looked younger than his actual age, at most in his early twenties, with a handsome face and an imposing bearing.

He Ran only took one look and it was as if a firework exploded in her head.

If the Zong Qi in front of him was a little taller, a little stronger, and a little darker, he would be his older brother when he was young!

Her biological brother, He Peng!

She silently suppressed the shock in her heart and remained calm, but she saw Zong Qi was also looking at her.

There was no respect, hesitation or inquiry towards a superior in that look, but rather understanding and warmth.

It seems to be saying: It’s really you.

Or: I have waited for a long time and finally I met you.

He Ran asked softly, "Is it the Peng in Dapeng bird?"

Zong Qi smiled and said, "No, it means I walk in the wild, and the wheat is lush and green."

He Ran nodded: "Okay, I understand."

Zong Qi stood up and said, "The boss is very busy, Zong Qi will not disturb you anymore, I will visit you another day."

He Ran: "Okay, I'll wait for you."

Zong Qi left. He Ran watched the corner of his clothes disappear at the door, and a smile slowly rose from her eyes.

If there is heavenly music falling into the ears, at this moment, the ice and snow melt. (End of this chapter)