Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 165: Different Paths, Different Destinies

Chapter 165: Different Paths, Different Destinies

A banquet was made more glorious by Jia Cong's Linjiangxian.

All the people present at the banquet were born into a literary family and knew that a perfect poem could bring immeasurable fame and fortune to the author.

After today's banquet, this exquisite and beautiful song "Linjiangxian" will surely be sung in Jinling very quickly, and this young attendant will probably become famous throughout the south of the Yangtze River.

At that time, Jia Cong's troops surrounded Zou's mansion and uncovered a major case of the Water Inspectorate, which caused many people to suffer losses in maritime trade interests. Many people in the Jinling officialdom were hostile to Jia Cong.

But now the situation has become a setback and is difficult to reverse. Even if someone takes Jia Cong's life, it will be of no avail.

Moreover, this man is a descendant of the Jia family of Rongguo, has a noble family background, and has been favored by the emperor many times, so he has a very strong foundation. Now, because of his two excellent poems, I am afraid that his fame will soon become overwhelming.

The people present here today are all the backbone of the various government offices in Nanjing, and their minds and plans are extraordinary.

Those who were not deeply involved naturally had many more thoughts after seeing what happened to Jia Cong today, and expressed their willingness to make friends with Jia Cong.

Those who secretly harbored hostility towards Jia Cong also restrained their expressions and thoughts, and became more cautious and thoughtful.

When the banquet was over, Jia Cong was about to leave, but was stopped by Yang Hongbin, because he would return to the Dali Temple in Shenjing to take up his new post the next day, and he came to say goodbye to him.

"Brother Cong, don't you think there's something strange about what happened at the banquet today?"

Jia Cong replied, "Of course not. I have never met Ruan Hongcheng before, but he suddenly questioned me. It is really unreasonable."

Yang Hongbin said, "I know some of the reasons. Do you remember that day when you led your troops into Zou's mansion, several of Zou Huaiyi's centurions were killed on the spot because they resisted."

"Of course I remember. After checking, I found that several centurions were involved in Zou Huaiyi's murder and robbery, and they were all his accomplices."

Yang Hongbin said: "One of the people who was shot dead was Cui Boliang, who was Zou Huaiyi's most trusted man, and this man was Ruan Hongcheng's brother-in-law!"

Jia Cong was shocked when he heard this: "No wonder Ruan Hongcheng is so hostile to me and he questioned me like this today."

Yang Hongbin added: "Ruan Hongcheng made a lot of money from foreign goods in recent years thanks to Cui Boliang's relationship. He not only bought a house in Fenglefang, but also married two concubines.

Cui Boling was shot dead by you on the spot, which cut off his source of income. Naturally, he is extremely hostile to you, but he is just a low-level civil servant and is not a cause for concern.

But Brother Cong should pay more attention to the person next to him at the table today. This person is Cui Bowang, the officer of the Jinling Guards, and Cui Boling's brother!"

Jia Cong suddenly remembered that he had just met Cui Bowang at the banquet and felt that he looked familiar.

On that day at Zou's house, Cui Boling took the initiative to draw his knife on him, which left a deep impression on him and he naturally remembered his appearance.

Now he understood that the reason why he felt that face was familiar was because Cui Bowang and Cui Boling looked similar, and of course it was because they were brothers.

Yang Hongbin continued: "Because Cui Boliang tried to resist that day, he was killed on the spot. It is currently impossible to verify whether Cui Bowang, Ruan Hongcheng and others were involved in the Water Supervision Bureau case.

Now we are sending academies, Dali Temple, and government offices of various parts of the capital to Nanjing to rectify omissions and rectify the administration of officials.

Those who are implicitly related to Zou Huaiyi's case dare not make any unusual moves for the time being.

But Brother Cong has to wait until the main hall of Da Ci'en Temple is completed before he can leave Jinling. This will take quite some time, so it is always better to be more careful and be prepared."

If Yang Hongbin hadn't reminded him, Jia Cong would never have known that there was such a entanglement behind today's banquet.

When Zou Huaiyi was executed, Jia Cong felt that there must be a hidden story behind the incident, so he decided to withdraw in time. Now it seems that the wind is about to calm down, but the tree is still standing.

The two also agreed to meet and drink together again after Jia Cong returned to the capital at the end of the year.

As Prince Ning left Nanjing and returned to the capital, Jia Cong's duties as Prince Ning's counselor came to an end. His connection with the major case of the Water Supervision Bureau was completely severed, at least on the surface, which made him feel somewhat relieved.

Since he could think of everything that happened in Jinling, how could Prince Ning, Yang Hongbin and others who were involved in it not think of it, not to mention the emperor in Shenjing City who was full of scheming.

As the secondary capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Jinling had six garrison departments, which were involved in the political affairs of eight prefectures and one state in the south of the Yangtze River. It had deep roots and wide-ranging implications.

If you find the plant is withering, you can only prune the branches and vines first, and do not rashly dig up the roots or dig up the soil, so as not to shake the foundation of Jiangnan.

This is probably what important figures like Emperor Jiazhao were thinking.

Moreover, given the emperor's harsh and scheming nature, he will certainly not be willing to be deceived. When the right opportunity comes, he will strike back, and it will be a bloody surprise.

However, these affairs have nothing to do with Jia Cong, and they are left for future generations to worry about.

His days in Jinling ultimately came down to copying Buddhist scriptures and praying for Empress Dowager Xianxiao.

But in the Ci'an Hall of Anding Temple, Keqing never appeared again. …

Jinling, Chongyifang, Wu Family Courtyard.

Keqing leaned against the embroidered bed. It had rained all night last night and the weather had become even colder. The tung tree in the yard outside the window had lost most of its leaves and looked a little withered and depressed.

Only a few days had passed, and she had lost a lot of weight, her pretty face looked thin, and her bright eyes, once bright as autumn water, had also become a little dim.

Next to the pillow was a sky-blue handkerchief with a full moon embroidered on it, and under the moon was a silver osmanthus with white flowers.

The maid Ruizhu ran in from outside, holding a few neatly folded papers in her hands, with an excited and happy look on her face.

"Girl, I went to the biggest tavern on the corner and spent ten copper coins to have the errand boy there copy those two poems by Master Cong for me.

Master Cong is really talented. The two poems he wrote are now very famous. It is said that Madam Qing from Qingyin Pavilion personally composed the music for these two poems.

Now in Jinling City, wherever there are lively places, everyone is singing these two songs. They all say that Master Cong is a rare talent who has come down to earth from the world of literature and music."

Keqing looked at the two new poems on the paper, and her bright eyes, as clear as autumn water, sparkled and became gentle and moving.

"Aoyama is still there, How Many Suns……,"

I suddenly burst into tears again, and I didn't know whether I was happy or sad.

He murmured to himself, "He is extremely talented and has become famous at a young age. He will definitely have a bright future."

All she could do for him was to stay away from him quietly and walk her own way.

……

Xinglongfang, Jinling, the old residence of the Jia family.

Outside, the rain was falling rapidly. From the green-tiled eaves, thousands of curtains were hanging down, one after another, washing the bluestone road in the courtyard and wetting the treetops under the corridor.

It rained all night last night and Wu'er caught a cold while on duty. Now he is curled up in bed, breathing fragrant air and having a sweet dream.

Qingwen was fiddling with needle and thread, making a small blue-dyed Songjiang cotton coat for Jia Cong to change into when the weather turned cold.

Jia Cong was reading in the study, and Xiangling was sitting beside him, concentrating on practicing calligraphy, using a model that Jia Cong had written for her.

But it is a new lyric of Mulanhua with reduced words.

We met without saying a word, a hibiscus caught the autumn rain.

The little girl is dizzy with redness, and the servant girl's heart is like a phoenix.

When the general calls out, he is afraid of being seen.

If you want to complain about your deep feelings, you turn around and knock on the jade hairpin.

This was written to relieve Jia Cong's depression since Keqing never showed up again that day.

……

On the icy and rainy streets of Jinling, two carriages were moving side by side in the rain.

The carriage behind stopped when passing Xinglongfang, and the curtain was slightly lifted, revealing a pretty face as beautiful as a rose.

Through the Xinglongfang Gate in the wind and rain, you can vaguely see the tall and majestic old house. The two stone lions at the door are shining after being washed by the rain. Under the tall eaves hang lanterns with the word "Jia" on them, swaying in the wind and rain.

Ruizhu asked in the carriage, "Miss, if you really don't want to say goodbye to Master Cong and leave without a word, will he be worried?"

Keqing's eyes sparkled with tears: "There is nothing much to say when we leave. It is clean to leave like this. He will understand in the future."

The carriage in front also stopped, and the old servant who was driving it ran to the front of the carriage and said, "Madam asked Miss why the carriage stopped, and told her not to waste time, otherwise she would miss the next stop."

The two carriages started moving again, the ruts on the wheel tracks made a creaking sound as they rolled over the cobblestone road, until they completely disappeared in the dense, silky rain.

The cold rain in the city tells of the desolation, and the worldly affairs and laws are determined by each person’s fate.

(End of this chapter)

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like