Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 79 Yun Fei
  Yun Fei had a very good impression of Jia Qiang that day. She was a handsome young man with a graceful demeanor. Most importantly, she was able to command respect from the two great families in Jinling.

She mistook the Jinling Zhen family's concession that day for respect, but the truth was similar.

She is a smart woman, and her reputation is getting better and better now. If she doesn't find a good family, she may become a plaything of a child of a certain family.

Especially the Zhen family. Without Jia Qiang's help, they would have been captured by the Zhen family that day.

In addition, she also lost confidence in the salt merchant Wang family. She originally thought that since she was in Yangzhou, she could protect herself with the influence of the Wang family. But looking at the results, two consecutive waves of people did not take the Wang family seriously at all.

Perhaps the Zhen family did not expect that their persecution would make Yunfei decide to follow Jia Qiang.

And Jia Qiang was the last one to know about all these things, which is amazing enough.

"You don't know?" Jia Min's expression softened slightly and she asked again with confirmation.

"I met Yun Fei for the first time a few days ago with some new friends I made, and then I met Xue Pan. Did that idiot send her here because he thought I liked Yun Fei? "Jia Qiang shook her head and said helplessly.

"No matter what, since you are here, you should stay. I just talked with Yun Fei. That child is very talented and can be a companion for Daiyu. Do you have any objections?" Jia Min asked Jia Qiang, glaring at her. .

"Listen to Master's mother's arrangement!" Seeing Jia Min's demeanor, Jia Qiang knew she couldn't violate it and nodded in agreement.

Jia Min smiled with satisfaction. She regarded Jia Qiang as her son-in-law. Although Jia Qiang and her daughter were still too young, many families decided on the marriage since they were young.

Although it is normal for a man to have three wives and four concubines, if he takes in concubines before they get married, wouldn't that be embarrassing for the lady? As Daiyu's mother, she has to take care of this.

Jia Qiang didn't know what Jia Min was thinking. He just felt that Jia Min had solved a big problem for him by arranging Yunfei well.

Living as a guest in the Lin Mansion, he even brought a woman to live with him, which might make him embarrassed.

"Brother Qiang, can I read these books?" Jia Qiang had just chatted with Jia Min, and Lin Daiyu gently pulled his sleeve and asked.

"Sister Lin can choose whatever book she wants to read. Just treat it as her own book!" Jia Qiang looked at Lin Daiyu and replied with a smile.

Lin Daiyu was very happy, but all the books were packed in boxes and needed to be sorted out to make them easier to find.

"After a while, let the old housekeeper clean up a room and come out. Then buy some bookcases and put all these books in the bookcases. They must also be protected from insects and moisture. There are many rare and rare books in here. It would be a sin to destroy them!" Lin Ruhai picked up a book with great care and said something.

"Listen to the teacher's instructions!" Jia Qiang said. He also knew how precious books were in this world.

Don't underestimate these two thousand books. They are an unimaginable wealth in this world and can become the foundation of a scholarly family.

The ancestors of the Xue family were also high-ranking officials in the court, and the ancestor Xue Gong was once a member of Ziweishe. The main job is to draft pardons and carry out the emperor's will. His nature is similar to that of a personal secretary.

After that, the Xue family turned to business and paid less attention to their own book collection.

Of course, this was also to thank Jia Qiang, so that the Xue family was able to take out their own book collection, which was considered a benefit to Jia Qiang, making Jia Qiang's book collection comparable to that of many big families.

Yun Fei has been in a state of uneasiness since she was in the carriage with her personal maid Zhi Mo.

As a woman and a well-known courtesan, too many people took a look at her appearance.

This year, the backer that protected her fell, making it even more difficult for her to resist.

"Hey!" She sighed softly, agreeing to Xue Pan's ransom was actually a huge gamble, and she was betting on her own future.

"Miss, if you don't want to, we'll leave!" Zhimo advised.

Yun Fei couldn't help but laugh, she had redeemed herself, how could she escape so easily.

She only hopes that Jia Qiang can take pity on her and not meet someone who has betrayed her heart like some sisters in the past.

As the carriage entered Lin's mansion, she became even more anxious.

Until the car curtain was opened, she did not see Jia Qiang that day, but saw a graceful and luxurious woman.

The woman was not harsh. After introducing each other, she learned that the woman was the wife of Mr. Lin, the censor of salt inspection, and Jia Qiang was Mr. Lin's disciple and lived in the Lin Mansion in Yangzhou.

Of course, Yunfei also saw a trace of scrutiny in Jia Min's eyes. For some reason, she knew that she must satisfy Jia Min before she could gain a foothold.

Afterwards, in the conversation between Jia Min and Yun Fei, in addition to asking about how she met Jia Qiang, they also talked about some poetry topics. Yun Fei's performance was very good, which made Jia Min appreciate her even more.

"Yunfei, you will live in the backyard from now on. The room is being tidied up. If you have any requests, you can ask for them at any time. The monthly payment will be 20 taels per month!" Jia Min made the decision with a chuckle.

Yun Fei felt relieved and bowed to express her gratitude.

Yunfei is not short of money. She has saved a lot of money over the years, and she takes it all with her.

The meaning of these two taels of silver is completely different. This is Master Jia Qiang's recognition of her.

There was also a trace of bitterness in her heart. Originally, she had a glimmer of extravagant hope, wanting to become Jia Qiang's first wife.

But the two taels of silver mentioned by Jia Min almost made it clear that she would only be Jia Qiang's concubine from now on.

Yunfei quickly adjusted her mentality and realized that becoming a concubine was the best destination for women like them.

Don't think that the story between the poor scholar and the famous prostitute in the play is true. The makeup, food, clothing and supplies that the famous prostitute uses in daily life are not provided by the poor scholar.

If you really give up makeup, exquisite food and clothing, beautiful women will become ordinary in just a few years.

Yunfei really wanted to see Jia Qiang, but she couldn't meet Jia Qiang for several days.

The backyard is the residence of Miss Lin Daiyu of the Lin Mansion. Yun Fei's room is not far from Lin Daiyu's residence. Lin Daiyu often talks about poetry with Yun Fei.

A few days later, Yunfei found out a lot about Jia Qiang and learned about Jia Qiang's special status in the Lin family, and she couldn't help but feel enlightened.

From Jia Min's arrangement, this was intended to allow her to get along with Lin Daiyu. In addition to Lin Daiyu's fondness for poetry and prose, and being able to chat with her, she also wanted her to accompany Lin Daiyu well, and even help Lin Daiyu after they got married.

Needless to say, Yunfei was smart enough to be able to survive in the environment of Jinling Qinhuai Lake. She had guessed Jia Min's thoughts from her several meetings with him.

This made her feel envious every time she looked at Lin Daiyu.

Although Lin Daiyu is still young, the seven-year-old Lin Daiyu has already shown a graceful, agile and poetic demeanor like a clear spring. She will definitely be a stunning beauty when she grows up.

Yun Fei was very confident about her appearance. Even if Lin Daiyu grew up, her temperament cultivated in wealth would at most surpass her own, and she would still be outstanding in appearance.

Otherwise, how could she be called the number one courtesan in the south of the Yangtze River? This was achieved by defeating countless beauties. What she envied was that Lin Daiyu had her family find the best husband for her at such a young age. How could she be like this, where every step she took was like facing an abyss, and if she took a wrong step, she would be shattered to pieces.

It is out of this mentality that Yunfei treats Lin Daiyu more carefully, and does not despise Lin Daiyu in the slightest because of her young age.

Jia Qiang didn't ask about Yun Fei these days, and he didn't understand why Jia Min paid so much attention to Yun Fei, but he had big things to do, so he didn't ask any more questions.

Besides, Yun Fei lived with Lin Daiyu, so he couldn't go there even if he wanted to.

He lives in Lin Mansion and lives in a guest room.

He could go into the garden of the mansion, but he couldn't go any further back. This was already a restriction due to his young age and the fact that he was Lin Ruhai's disciple.

Today, Jia Qiang left the house and was invited by Huang Zhiyuan to have a drink.

"Brother Jia, come here quickly, I'm waiting for you!" When Huang Zhiyuan saw Jia Qiang, he waved and shouted as if there was no one around.

This restaurant specializes in Huaiyang cuisine, and business is at its peak at noon. Huang Zhiyuan's voice on the second floor attracted the attention of many people.

Jia Qiang was not used to being watched like this. He quickened his pace and went up to the second floor.

"Brother Huang!" He wished he could step forward and gag Huang Zhiyuan, but if he wanted to make friends with Huang Zhiyuan, he still had to endure these things.

"Everyone, this is Master Lin's disciple!" Huang Zhiyuan pulled Jia Qiang into the box and introduced him to the people inside.

Jia Qiang looked inside the box and saw eight people sitting there, each with a servant behind them. This showed that these people had extraordinary status.

Huang Zhiyuan introduced Jia Qiang one by one. The eight of them were very fond of Lin Ruhai's identity as a disciple and took the initiative to make friends.

Among the eight people, five are members of the eight major salt merchant families, and the rest are also related to salt merchants.

Of course, all the people who come here are under the age of twenty, and only people of this age can easily make friends with Jia Qiang, a disciple of Lin Ruhai.

"Brother Jia, you are unethical. You brought the Yun family into your house, but I was just a step too late. I still wanted to ask the old man to help him redeem his life!" After drinking a glass of wine, Huang Zhiyuan beat his chest and said to Jia Qiang.

Jia Qiang's eyes were filled with the impression that Jia Qiang was not a brother enough, so Jia Qiang almost thought it was true.

"You still have to go to Xue Pan for this matter. He sent me to the teacher's house without saying a word, and made me complain in front of the teacher!" Jia Qiang shook her head and replied.

"Brother Zhiyuan, just brag, how can your old man give you money!" Mr. Ma said with a laugh.

"Fei Ji, why don't you bring some money out? Let's all walk together to the salt, and we'll have enough money!" Another Mr. Cheng answered with a smile.

Jia Qiang's heart moved slightly. The young masters talking about walking salt together were probably not official salt.

It's just that when these young men talk about their personal affairs in front of him, aren't they afraid that he will leak the news?

Or maybe this private salt has reached the level where it can be made public, and there is no need to avoid him, the disciple of the patrolling salt envoy?

"Brother Jia, do you have any silver in your hand? Could you throw it in too, so that it can be tripled in one go?" Mr. Cheng looked at Jia Qiang and asked with a smile.

Jia Qiang was slightly startled. He looked at Huang Zhiyuan, wanting to see if Huang Zhiyuan was cooperating with this group of people to mess with him.

But Huang Zhiyuan shook his head gently at him, indicating that he should not agree.

"I'm just a poor scholar, where can I find money?" Jia Qiang shook her head and replied when she saw him.

Mr. Cheng and Mr. Ma looked at each other, unwillingness flashing in their eyes.

What they thought was good was that as long as they dragged Jia Qiang into the illegal salt trade and let Lin Ruhai find out about Jia Qiang, they could watch Lin Ruhai catch his disciple with his own hands.

Their family had a deep feud with Lin Ruhai, and their actions were even more extreme.

They did not dare to send people to assassinate Lin Ruhai openly, but by constantly attacking people around Lin Ruhai, Lin Ruhai's body and mind were constantly affected.

They used this method quite often, and some of the former Salt Patrolling Envoys were upright. Under this method, their families were first destroyed, and then the Salt Patrolling Envoy died of a serious illness.

Seeing that Jia Qiang did not take the bait, the two young masters were not too anxious. There would be plenty of time in the future.

Jia Qiang had a meal with these young men, and then they were going to a brothel. He had no intention of following them anymore, so he said goodbye.

"Brother Jia, I didn't expect that they would prepare to trick you, but they are unlearned guys, they can't do it even if they want to trick you!" Huang Zhiyuan sent Jia Qiang downstairs, there were no outsiders around, he smiled said.

"I would like to know about salt walking, and I would like to ask Brother Huang to help me answer my questions!" Jia Qiang had no intention of letting him go.

"Trading illegal salt is a serious crime. My Huang family was not involved, so I don't know anything. You asked the wrong person." Huang Zhiyuan shook his head in denial.

After Lin Ruhai returned home, Jia Qiang found him.

"Teacher, do you know about the secret affair?" Jia Qiang asked.

He has also thought a lot about investigating the salt affairs these days, but has never gotten to the point.

I heard about the salt smuggling incident today, and I wanted to use this as an entry point, maybe I can find out the salt merchant's background.

"Brother Qiang, private salt in Yangzhou, or private salt in Jiangnan, has existed since ancient times. Although Daqian strictly manages each salt farm, there are always some loopholes. The profits from selling private salt are too great, and it has supported a group of powerful people. I have also hunted down smuggled salt dealers, but I couldn’t deal with the smuggled salt dealers if I brought them too little, and there was no gain when I brought too many and the information was exposed!” Lin Ruhai replied in a deep voice.

Jia Qiang's eyes flashed. He relied on force. No matter how many private salt dealers there were, he could easily deal with them.

Besides, this kind of action to eliminate illegal salt dealers can also bring him a lot of experience.

"Teacher, is there any news about large-scale illegal salt trading? It doesn't take many salt soldiers. As long as you send me a hundred trustworthy people, I can wipe out the illegal salt trading!" Jia Qiang promised.

Lin Ruhai hesitated. Emperor Jingwen was able to send Jia Qiang here and said that Jia Qiang's military power was amazing. He believed it.

But now Jia Qiang, firstly, is his disciple, and secondly, it is related to the safety of his wife Jia Min, so he does not want to do anything uncertain.

"If nothing can be done, retreat immediately and don't show off!" Lin Ruhai responded helplessly.

When Jia Qiang discussed the salt affairs with him, he was not his disciple, but an imperial envoy under the emperor's order. He still knew this clearly.

(End of this chapter)