Jinghong Tower

Chapter 374 Zong Qi
The next people summoned included officials who did not flee with Emperor Yonghe, merchants in the city, children of noble families, and the grandson of Prince Songjiang who came from afar.

No matter who it was, they all felt the gentleness of Mr. He.

Yes, Mr. He was so gentle that for a moment they suspected that the person in front of them was a substitute.

There was no thunder or torrential rain. The head of the group, Mr. He, was kind and humble. He carefully inquired about their respective situations and gave them just the right amount of encouragement.

Among them, the Prince of Songjiang was the nephew of Taizu Zhou Chi. After Min Lan's comeback, the Prince of Songjiang wrote to the court, saying that Min Man's allowing Min Lan to come back was against Taizu's will and thus offended the Min family.

In less than a year, the Prince of Songjiang and the Crown Prince died suddenly in the mansion one after another. Their grandson Zhou Yuan secretly asked a coroner to perform an autopsy, and it was found that they were poisoned by chronic poison. Zhou Yuan found the people who poisoned them, who were servants of his grandfather and father. These people not only took money to do things, but were also threatened. Zhou Yuan followed the clues and found out that the mastermind behind the scenes was related to the Min family.

After the death of the Prince of Songjiang and the Crown Prince, Zhou Yuan's title was not granted for a long time. Not only that, Zhou Yuan and his two uncles were in danger one after another. One uncle was so frightened that he is still crazy.
Over the years, Zhou Yuan's family has been shrouded in the shadow of death until Min Man's identity was exposed and the Min family was destroyed.

However, Min Lan was still alive at that time, and Zhou Yuan did not dare to overturn the verdict, so he could only lead the whole family to continue staying indoors.

Now that Emperor Yonghe has fled and Jinling has a new owner, Zhou Yuan comes to see He Ran and he has only one request.

He wanted to take his family and leave Songjiang and return to Jin.

This branch of theirs was expelled from the clan because they followed Zhou Chi, and they were wandering outside for nearly a hundred years.

The four emperors who succeeded each other all came to power illegitimately, and the origins of Emperor Yonghe, who was far away in Fujian, were even more unknown.

The Zhou royal family completely declined.

Zhou Yuan and his family had only one wish, which was to return to their hometown. Even if they could not return to Zhoujiabao, as long as they were in Jin, their wish would have been fulfilled.

Zhou Yuan presented He Ran with a red-lettered iron certificate and was willing to donate the entire Songjiang Palace's savings over the years.

He Ran asked Zhou Yuan to stay in the inn first, as the matter of Songjiang Palace had to be investigated in detail by the Embroidered Uniform Guard before a decision could be made.

Another one is the Lu family, which is listed as one of the four major families along with the Hu family and the Chen family.

The Lu family is the leader of the four great families, but the Lu family’s situation is rather special.

Lu Qingshu from the fifth branch of the Lu family fled with Emperor Yonghe!
The main reason why these noble families have always been able to remain standing during changes of dynasties is that they can judge the situation and will not let their children take sides randomly.

Emperor Yonghe had an unknown origin and he ascended the throne in a hurry. By that time, He Ran's army had already arrived in Zhenjiang, and it was clear who would win and who would lose.

At that time, the head of the Lu family summoned back all the Lu family members who were serving as officials in the court overnight and strictly ordered them not to act rashly.

However, Lu Qingshu still abandoned his parents, wife, children and entire family and followed Emperor Yonghe.

To be honest, Lu Qingshu's action was enough to get his entire family executed.

After learning that Lu Qingshu had escaped, the Lu family found a body, announced to the public that Lu Qingshu had died suddenly, and even held a hasty funeral.

However, the Lu family knew that there is no wall that is impenetrable. Since Lu Qingshu was an official of the Later Zhou Dynasty, this matter would be exposed sooner or later.

The Lu family has been very cautious these days, and the incident at Jiangnan Tower has made them even more afraid.

After much deliberation, Patriarch Lu made a difficult decision. Rather than being found out or reported, it would be better to admit it proactively.

The head of the Lu family opened the ancestral hall at night to expel Lu Qingshu from the family, and then brought the family tree to see He Ran and reported the matter to He Ran.

He Ran took the family tree and looked at it, then smiled gently: "The head of the Lu family is very righteous and is a role model for aristocratic families. Many of the Lu family's sons have entered officialdom, but are they all still unemployed at home now?"

The head of the Lu family said hurriedly: "Yes, some are teaching in the clan school, and some are studying and discussing at home."

He Ran smiled, "Now there is the Yonghe false emperor in the south and Wang Hao in the west ready to make a move. There are still tough battles to be fought. Before the troops move, the food and grass must go first. There is still a shortage of 300,000 taels of silver for the food and grass alone. I am now in need of officials with strong backgrounds and who are familiar with the political orders and people's sentiments in Jiangnan. It is rare to have such a respected and prestigious family as the Lu family. Why not ask the head of the Lu family to select a few smart and capable people from his children to take on this task."

The head of the Lu family was stunned. Asking the Lu family to raise food and fodder?
This is clearly asking for money from the Lu family!

But if this task is done well, the future of the Lu family's children will be secure.

What a great guy He Ran is! He not only threatened the Lu family, but also made them pay money, killing two birds with one stone.

But at the same time, the Lu family was saved, and the children of the Lu family could re-enter officialdom, and it might even be smoother than before.

"The boss values ​​me so much. On behalf of the clan members, I would like to express my gratitude to the boss. The boss can rest assured that the Lu family will live up to your trust."

Of the three hundred thousand taels, the Lu family must pay at least half, and the other half will be raised by the Lu family.

After seeing off the head of the Lu family, it was almost dusk. He Ran stretched and said to Xiaoli, "Prepare the meal."

Xiao Li smiled and said, "Boss, don't you see what time it is? Dinner has been prepared and is warming on the fire."

Xiaoli brought the dinner. Xiaoba had gone off to play somewhere, and He Ran sat alone at the table.

A bowl of white porridge, a boiled egg, and a plate of blanched vegetables.

When she was alone, her dinner was always simple. At most, she would add a plate of peanuts when she wanted to drink.

She recalled that when she was a child, her parents were busy with work and her grandfather had not retired yet and often did not come home for dinner. Whenever there were no adults at home, that was when she and her brother were the happiest.

They would invite a group of friends to their home to play, and they would cook together. Once there was a fire, they even called a fire truck.

Afterwards, my brother took all the responsibility on himself and was beaten up by both the men and women.

From childhood to adulthood, my brother was like a god in the hearts of the children in the compound. The beating he received that time did not bring him down to earth, but instead made him more down to earth. Everyone looked at him with even more admiration.

He Ran smiled. Among all those children, she must be the one who admired her brother the most.

Later, her brother went to military school, joined the army, and became a top soldier. He made great military achievements at a young age. Her brother will always be her pride.

He Ran was still smiling, but tears were already flowing out.

Her brother died in a plane crash and no one on the plane survived. She and her parents rushed to the valley where the plane crashed, but they did not find her brother's body or any of his belongings.

In the end, like other survivors, they only brought back a bottle of soil. Her brother was buried in that valley, and this was the soil from there.

He Ran finished the last mouthful of porridge, returned to the bedroom, changed into dark clothes, thought for a while, and took out a jar of wine.

She originally wanted to wait until after these two busy days, but now she couldn't wait any longer. She wanted to see her brother immediately. She had a lot of things to ask him and a lot of things to tell him.

He Ran quietly avoided the eyes and ears outside the mansion, walked through two alleys, and saw Liuxia waiting there with a horse. He Ran jumped on the horse, and Liuxia followed closely behind, disappearing into the night.

The city of Jinling at night has gradually regained its former prosperity, with colorful lights flickering, red sleeves waving, restaurant waiters standing at the door to greet and see off guests, and the fragrance of osmanthus fluttering in the wind.

The master and servant rode their horses through the bustling streets and dismounted in front of a magnificent restaurant that was brightly lit.

Liuxia whispered, "Ruyi Tower is the property of the Huizhou clan."

He Ran walked up the steps confidently, and a woman in green came up to greet her: "Sir, please come in, our master has been waiting for you for a long time!"

He Ran looked at her without saying anything, and followed the woman into the restaurant.

The restaurant was very well designed, with a staircase hidden behind a huge flower tree. The woman in green pointed and said, "Dear guest, please come in."

Above the stairs is a corridor covered with thick Persian carpets. Walking along the corridor, there are two open doors.

The light inside the door was soft. Upon closer inspection, it was not a lamp, but a dozen huge pearls.

A man sat alone in the bright pearl light, looking calm and peaceful, without any murderous intent.

He Ran walked in and the door closed silently behind her. Liuxia and the woman in green stayed outside the door.

He Ran raised the wine jar in his hand: "I have wine."

Zong Qi pointed to the table and said, "I have some snacks to go with the wine."

He Ran chuckled: "That's great, I won't set the kitchen on fire again this time."

Zong Qi's eyes, which seemed to have seen all kinds of things in the world, were filled with tears, but the smile on his lips became softer: "With brother here, I am not afraid of fire."

He Ran broke the mud seal on the wine jar and poured a glass for herself and Zong Qi: "This glass of wine is to celebrate our reunion after a long separation."

Drink one glass and pour another.

He Ran asked, "When did you come here? You don't know how sad my parents were back then. My mother was seriously ill."

Zong Qi sighed, "I was on a passenger plane back then. When the plane crashed, I lost consciousness and had no idea what happened afterwards. When I remembered the past, I was already Zong Qi. I was already thirteen years old at that time."

"Ah? You only found out about this when you were thirteen?" He Ran thought that her brother was the same as her in her previous life, and suddenly came to another time and space, but it turned out not to be the case.

Zong Qi nodded and said, "I never believed in reincarnation until I escaped death that time."

"The story starts with the Zong family. Everyone knows that the Zong family is not only a wealthy businessman in Huizhou, but also benefits the hometown, builds bridges and roads, and does good deeds.

But outsiders had no idea that the clan was rotten to the core.

I come from the eldest branch of the clan's eldest son. My great grandfather has two families, also known as the two big ones.

The so-called "two heads are big" means that a man marries a concubine in addition to the original wife. The concubine originally lived in Yangzhou, but was later brought back to the old house in Huizhou and became equal to the original wife.

My father in this life is the eldest son of my original grandmother. His second wife gave birth to four sons, but my grandmother only had my father. You can imagine what kind of life she lived during those years.

When my father was eight years old, he was nearly killed by his concubine, Wu. In order to save my father, my grandmother took the initiative to go to the village.

That farm was my grandmother's dowry. It was more than 400 miles away from Huizhou City and was a remote place that Mrs. Wu could not reach. My grandmother raised my father there and helped him get married and have children.

My mother was born in a farming family. She was simple and kind. My father read a few books with the accountant in the farm, but he liked doing business more and managed the farm in an orderly manner over the years.

Later they gave birth to me, and our family of four lived a simple and happy life.

But no one expected that even though we had already distanced ourselves from the disputes of the clan, those people still did not let us go.

Old Master Zong spent money to donate a seventh-rank official position to himself. At that time, the prefect of Huizhou, Lord Yu, attached great importance to etiquette and laws. He was very unhappy to learn that Old Master Zong not only had a concubine, but also let his eldest son live outside.

When the news reached the old master of the clan, the clan members advised him to let the eldest son come back to inherit the family business. Those people did not really want to help my father, but they thought that my father grew up outside and had never learned business, and that if he came back to take charge, they could get more benefits.

So Mr. Zong sent someone to the farm to bring our family of four back.

I think you can guess what happened next. Wu hired bandits to rob people on the road and killed my grandmother, father and mother. When my father saw a boat coming towards us, he used his last bit of strength to throw me into the river.

He Ran was shocked: "You were thirteen years old at that time? Can you swim?"

Zong Qi shook his head. "Yes, I was thirteen years old that year and couldn't swim. But if my father hadn't thrown me into the river, I would have certainly died at the hands of those people. At that time, the people on the boat saw someone committing a crime on the shore and rushed over. Throwing me into the water at this time, even though I couldn't swim, there was still a glimmer of hope."

He Ran nodded: "Uncle is very quick-witted."

Zong Qi continued, "That boat belonged to the Cao Gang, and the one who saved me was Han Da, the leader of the Cao Gang.

I was already injured when I fell into the water, and I choked on water in the river. I remained unconscious after being rescued. Mr. Han buried my relatives for me and took me to Yangzhou.

When I woke up, I was already in Yangzhou. When I opened my eyes, it felt like a lifetime ago.

I remember my name is Lin Peng. I am a soldier. There are four generations living together in my family. I have parents, a sister, great-grandfather and grandfather.

I remembered everything.

From that moment on, although I was still a thirteen-year-old child, I had a mind and insights that did not belong to that age.

A year later, with the help of the Han family, I returned to the Zong family and began my road to revenge. "

He Ran calculated the time. According to rumors, Zong Qi took over the family business at the age of eighteen, and his brother returned to the Zong family at the age of fourteen, so there was a difference of four years.

"After returning to the clan family, there will be many dangers, right?" He Ran asked.

A hint of murderous intent flashed in Zong Qi's eyes: "I just got back, and several sons of the Wu family attacked me personally. Four adults beat a half-grown child and wanted to beat me to death. In the critical moment, it was the people sent by the head of the Han family who saved me again.

When I came back again, my so-called grandfather, Old Master Zong, took the antidote himself, lit some incense in the room, and then personally served me a cup of poisoned wine, so that I could laugh it off with him and forget our grudges.

Although my body in this life has not yet grown, the strict training I received in my previous life has been deeply engraved in my bones. When I sensed the incense, I held my breath and pretended to faint. My grandfather, seeing that I had fainted without drinking the poison, personally pried open my mouth and poured the poison into me.

So I killed all the attendants and guards around Master Zong, and locked their bodies together with Master Zong in the house for seven days!"