Jinghong Tower

Chapter 402 He is my cousin

On the way here, Li Jinxiu was well prepared to severely punish the pig that was trying to eat her cabbage.

She had Lu Chang as her only granddaughter, but Lu Chang was the only one who had been without a mother since childhood. Therefore, she loved Lu Chang a little more than Lu Zhen who was also raised by her.

And Lu Chang did not disappoint her. He took over Jinghong Tower when he was a teenager. When the capital was in turmoil, Lu Chang always stood at the forefront and never backed down.

Li Jinxiu had thought seriously about Lu Chang's marriage. Lu Chang had brothers, so he could not marry into the family. Li Jinxiu was reluctant to let her granddaughter marry and have to please her mother-in-law. Her granddaughter was as capable as any man, and her talent and strength should not be wasted in the intrigues of the back house.

In the last official examination, Li Jinxiu tried to choose sons-in-law for her grandson without Lu Chang's knowledge. Unfortunately, either they were extremely talented but weak, or they were strong but had a poor appearance. In short, Li Jinxiu couldn't pass any of them.

Li Jinxiu has been obsessed with looks since she was young, otherwise she would not have married Lu Zhong. It was not the strong alliance and mutual admiration as the folk legend said, she was simply attracted by Lu Zhong's face.

Therefore, the prerequisite for Li Jinxiu to select her grandson-in-law is that he must be good-looking. Even if he cannot be as handsome as Pan An, he must have a dignified appearance.

The first glance Zong Qi gave her passed the test.

Zong Qi was tall, straight, handsome, and both his figure and appearance were in line with Li Jinxiu's aesthetic standards. More importantly, Zong Qi did not have the vulgarity of a businessman or the sloppiness of a gangster who thought he was cool.

As a man, you should be clean and tidy.

She asked about the people of Jiangnan, and Zong Qi spoke eloquently and naturally. Li Jinxiu was so fascinated by his words that she had long forgotten that the young man in front of her who was so easy to talk to was essentially a pig eating cabbages.

We chatted until it was getting dark, and then someone brought in baskets of steamed buns and baked cakes for the laborers who were unloading the ship.

It was time for dinner, so Li Jinxiu stood up and said, "Well, young man, thank you for chatting with an old lady like me today. OK, I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he left. Zong Qi quickly handed over a basket with several big pears in it.

Li Jinxiu smiled happily. Of all fruits, her favorite was pear, and it had to be duck pear.

Li Jinxiu carried the basket, walked in a square step, held her head high and hummed a little tune as she walked away.

After she left, one of his men quietly asked, "Boss, who was that old lady just now? She was so arrogant. If you didn't know her, you would think she was the Queen Mother."

Zong Qi glanced at him and said, "Just treat her as the Queen Mother."

Li Jinxiu returned to the capital and came to see He Ran the next day. As soon as He Ran left the palace, she saw the nanny guarding outside the palace. She knew this nanny, because she was someone close to Li Jinxiu.

Li Jinxiu was sitting in a carriage not far away, swinging her feet. There were sliced ​​duck pears on the small table.

When she heard the nanny say He Ran had arrived, she hurriedly got out of the car. He Ran smiled and got into the car. Li Jinxiu followed her up and saw the duck pears cut into crescent shapes on the small table. He Ran smiled and said, "So leisurely? Why don't you take a part-time job in the Ministry of War?"

Li Jinxiu waved her hands quickly: "No, I won't go. People will think that I want to be an official at my age and I am obsessed with being an official."

He Ran laughed loudly, picked up a curved pear with a silver fork and put it into her mouth: "This pear is good, very juicy."

Li Jinxiu smiled with some pride: "Don't you even look at who gave it to you?"

"Who gave it to you? Did your eldest grandson bring it back to you from Zhending? No, that's not right. Most of the trees there grow snow pears. This is a duck pear."

Hearing He Ran mention Lu Zhen, Li Jinxiu snorted and said, "Don't mention him. I get angry when you mention him. These pears were not given by him."

"Who is that?" Although He Ran asked this, she already had a candidate in mind.

Li Jinxiu put away the smile on her face and said seriously: "Boss, do you still remember the man called Zong Qi?"

He Ran nodded: "The leader of the Cao Gang, of course I remember him. It would have been great if I had known him earlier."

Yes, if Zong Qi had become the gang leader earlier, the war between the North and the South might have started a year earlier.

"Boss, what do you think of this person?" Li Jinxiu asked.

He Ran looked at her and suddenly said, "Jinxiu, there is something you may not know yet."

Li Jinxiu felt a little uneasy. Could it be that Zong Qi was not a good person?

"What's the matter?" Li Jinxiu asked.

He Ran cleared her throat and deliberately kept the topic a secret: "This matter can be big or small. I am worried that some people with bad intentions will take advantage of the opportunity to make a big fuss about it. Therefore, I suppressed this matter and did not make it public."

Li Jinxiu: That Zong Qi is indeed not a good person. You see, the boss has said so. No, I will chop him to pieces when I get back.

"Boss, what's going on? This is the capital. If the sky falls, I, Li Jinxiu, will help you. We are not afraid of anything. Whoever dares to take advantage of the opportunity to make trouble, I will use him as a sacrifice. Boss, whether it is the evil ambition of that Zong, it doesn't matter, I will have him cut into pieces right away!"

He Ran saw that her expression was becoming more and more gloomy, and felt that the time was almost right, so he said: "It's not a big deal, it's just that I have a new cousin, Zong Qi, he is my cousin."

Li Jinxiu: "What? Who is your cousin?"

Li Jinxiu sent He Ran back to Laomofang Hutong, and then hurried to Jinghong Tower.

When they entered, they happened to meet a worried lady coming out. They were both stunned. The lady quickly knelt and saluted: "Miao greets Madam Zhongyi. Hello, Madam Zhongyi."

Li Jinxiu nodded: "No need to be polite, I have something else to do, so I won't keep you here."

She knew who this person was. She was the wife of Feng Zhaoyan, the former Jingzhao Yin. When the capital was moved, Feng Zhaoyan was ordered to stay in the capital. Lu Pingnan was in charge of leading the troops, while Feng Zhaoyan was in charge of calming the people and defending the capital.

But less than a month later, as the news of the Jin army's victory reached the capital, Feng Zhaoyan fled with his beloved son and concubine.

Yes, when Feng Zhaoyan fled, he only took away his concubine and the son she gave birth to, and left his original wife, two daughters, and his sixty-year-old mother in the capital.

In addition, he also took away the gold and silver obtained through corruption and abuse of power over the years, and even took away a century-old ginseng that he had saved for his mother.

In the first year after the capital was moved, prices in the capital were extremely high, and Miao could only sell her jewelry and dowry to support her family. Later, when He Ran came to Beijing, the situation in the capital finally stabilized. Miao and her daughter made some needlework and sold it in the shop. Last year, when Mrs. Feng passed away, Li Jinxiu even asked her daughter-in-law to go and pay her respects and gave her a considerable silk gift.

As for Feng Zhaoyan, he has not been seen since he left the capital. Now many officials who went south have returned to the capital, but there is no sign of Feng Zhaoyan.

Li Jinxiu guessed that Miao was most likely here to entrust Jinghong Tower to find Feng Zhaoyan.

Therefore, Li Jinxiu was too lazy to greet Miao and just sent her away.

Then a scumbag who is unfaithful, unfilial, unkind and unfaithful should be dead. Why bother looking for him? He is a cheapskate! Because of this little episode, Li Jinxiu's fiery heart gradually calmed down. When she saw Lu Chang, she had returned to normal.

"What is Miao doing here?" Li Jinxiu asked leisurely.

Lu Chang said: "Mrs. Miao's daughter saw Feng Zhaoyan's concubine and went home to tell her, so she came to us and wanted us to find the concubine."

Li Jinxiu snorted coldly: "Does she know how much it costs to ask Jinghonglou to do the work? Can she afford it?"

Lu Chang smiled: "She said that Feng Zhaoyan and the concubine took away a lot of money. If we find the concubine, we will also find Feng Zhaoyan. Feng Zhaoyan's money is the reward for Jinghong Tower."

Li Jinxiu's eyes lit up. Back then, Feng Zhaoyan was known as Feng Baopi. This man was very courageous and he would still commit corruption even under the emperor's nose.

The silver he took away was not a small amount.

"Okay, then you can ask someone to look for him. Maybe Feng Zhaoyan is really in the capital."

After finishing the business, Li Jinxiu looked around. All the maids and servants in the room had tactfully left. Li Jinxiu then asked, "What do you think of Zong Qi?"

Lu Chang blushed and said awkwardly, "It's okay."

"Not bad? How good is it?" Li Jinxiu said this, but she felt regretful in her heart. It seemed that her tender cabbages could not be preserved.

Lu Chang's face turned even redder: "That guy is pretty good."

Li Jinxiu: "He is several years older than you! Don't believe that a man is still beautiful at 41. That's nonsense. I have lived for a long time and I have never seen a man who is still beautiful at 40. Even your grandfather is not good at it. He is far worse than when he was young. Think about it, the Zong guy is older than you. When you were young and beautiful, he was already fat and greasy. Don't you feel disgusted?"

Lu Chang: ".I didn't think that much."

"So, you young people, don't just look at the present, you have to look further ahead. No matter if a man is talented or not, rich or poor, the most important thing is to be pleasing to the eye, don't you think?"

Lu Chang: "Yes, you are right."

Li Jinxiu stood up and said, "I have no objection to this marriage, but you have to think about it carefully. If he becomes bald and fat in the future, you can't dislike him. Understand?"

Li Jinxiu felt that she had to make it clear that Zong Qi was the cousin of He Dadang, and He Dadang attached great importance to this cheap cousin. What did this mean? It meant that Zong Qi was not someone he could just kick whenever he wanted.

As long as he doesn't make any mistakes in principle, we can just clean up the mess and move on.

Therefore, she had to warn Lu Chang first. There is no girl who doesn't like to be coquettish. Now Zong Qi is young and handsome, and she likes him for a while. What if he is no longer young and handsome in the future, she will not like him anymore, and her life will become a mess. That is not acceptable.

Li Jinxiu left after she finished speaking, leaving Lu Chang some space, telling him to think carefully about it, as it was a matter of a lifetime, and he must not act impulsively.

Li Jinxiu walked out of Jinghong Tower and went to find Du Hui. These days, she and Du Hui were preparing for the women's college that the boss mentioned, which is a school that teaches girls to learn crafts. She took some time off from her busy schedule these two days for Lu Chang's matter.

Lu Chang sat alone in the room, thinking about what Li Jinxiu had just said, and then thinking of Zong Qi. She leaned over the table and smiled secretly.

She liked Zong Qi, not only because he was good-looking, but also because of his ideals. She never expected that there would be someone in the world who was so compatible with her.

However, Lu Chang is not someone who would let his feelings interfere with his work.

Feng Zhaoyan had been the Jingzhao Yin for ten years. Many people in the capital had seen him, including someone who had seen him in Jinghong Tower.

As for his concubine, Lu Chang quickly found out her background and drew a portrait of her in just one day.

For Jinghonglou, this is just a small business, and it may not even make any money. After all, no one knows whether Feng Zhaoyan will spend all the money. If he is penniless, then this business will be in vain.

Therefore, Lu Chang did not take this business seriously. She had several other orders, each of which could make more money than this one.

Jinghong Tower took action and found the whereabouts of the concubine in less than three days.

The person who was sent out came back and reported what he had found out truthfully, and Lu Chang was surprised.

Although Feng Zhaoyan's concubine's surname was Zhang, she was actually just an adopted daughter of the Zhang family. Her surname was Feng, the same as Feng Zhaoyan's.

At first, Feng Zhaoyan wanted to take her as a concubine, but because her surname was Feng, Feng Zhaoyan did not want to be criticized, so he gave her an identity and let her be brought into the Feng Mansion as a concubine as the adopted daughter of the Zhang family.

Not only is Aunt Zhang's maiden family surnamed Feng, but they are also officials.

Her father had been a county magistrate. Although she was a concubine's daughter, she was born beautiful and had learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, singing and dancing with her elder sister since childhood. It can be said that when she and her sister were in her mother's home, they were brought up according to the standards of favored concubines.

County Magistrate Feng was self-aware. He knew that with his official position, if he wanted his daughters to become wives, they could only marry into small families. If that happened, it would not be of any help to him or the entire family.

So he took another approach and sent both daughters into the palace.

Not long after, the opportunity came. Emperor Gaozong held a beauty contest, and his eldest daughter Feng Qingqing was chosen to enter the palace and become a talented person.

Emperor Gaozong was full of energy, and Feng Qingqing became pregnant soon after entering the palace.

The palace was a den of wolves and dragons. Less than ten days after the news of Concubine Feng's pregnancy was announced, she had a miscarriage.

Gaozong was young and would have many children in the future. Besides, there were so many women in the harem that he had long forgotten who Feng Cairen was.

This incident was like a small stone falling into the sea, and soon disappeared without a sound.

County Magistrate Feng also had to retire because of his injury.

Now that the Feng family has lost their official status, it would be extremely difficult to send their daughter to the palace.

Although concubine's daughter Feng Jianjian could enter the palace to serve the emperor like her elder sister, her treatment at home plummeted. Soon, her father died, and her biological mother committed suicide because she had offended her stepmother. Her stepmother had disliked Feng Jianjian for a long time, and now that no one was protecting her, she wanted to find a poor scholar for Feng Jianjian to marry, the poorer the better, so that she could get rid of the anger she had been feeling for years.

Ever since she could remember, Feng Jianjian had been taught how to serve men. Now that she was asked to marry into a poor family, she didn't want to be the wife of a wealthy man.

Feng Jianjian ran away. Her aunt had married in the capital, and she wanted to go to the capital to join her aunt.

She came to the capital and found her aunt. Her uncle was a prison guard in the Jingzhao government office. When he saw that his niece was beautiful, he had an idea.

So he tried every means to arrange for Feng Jianjian to meet Jingzhao Yin Feng Zhaoyan by chance. Feng Zhaoyan fell in love with her at first sight and asked his uncle's family to adopt Feng Jianjian as their daughter, changed her surname to Zhang, and allowed her to enter the Feng Mansion as a concubine as a daughter of the Zhang family.

Do you still remember Feng Cairen?