Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 175 My Heart Follows You Back

In Fenglefang, Jinling, there is an unremarkable three-courtyard house.

In the study room filled with a refreshing and elegant atmosphere, a middle-aged man with a dignified demeanor sat calmly, his expression relaxed and steady, and his every move seemed unhurried.

In front of him stood the respectful young man, of medium build, ordinary appearance, with half of the little finger on his left hand missing.

"Sir, I just received news that yesterday, the Wu County government in Gusu sent a letter saying that Jia Cong was assassinated in Gusu. Today, Yingtian Prefecture and Jinyiwei Qianhu Division sent a large number of troops to Gusu.

According to the news from the Guards’ Experience Division, Experiencer Cui Bowang asked for leave four days ago and is now missing. His younger brother Cui Boliang is Zou Huaiyi’s confidant and was killed by Jia Cong at Zou’s birthday banquet that day.”

The middle-aged man frowned and asked, "You mean Cui Bowang avenged his brother and was the mastermind of this assassination!"

The young man replied, "There is no concrete evidence yet, but it is very likely that he was the one who did it. Otherwise, it would not be such a coincidence that Jia Cong was assassinated in Gusu and he happened to be on leave and not in Jinling."

"Investigate immediately. If it is indeed Cui Bowang who did it, ask him whether he left any evidence. In any case, we cannot let him fall into the hands of the Royal Guards, otherwise, we will be implicated."

"Jia Cong is not in Jinling, why did he suddenly go to Gusu? What's the matter?"

"It is said that he fell in love with a beautiful nun during the opening ceremony of the main hall of Da Ci'en Temple. He asked for the list of nuns in the Buddhist Registry Office, and then he looked for nunneries in Jinling City but couldn't find any. So he went to Gusu to look for her."

The middle-aged man looked disdainful and sneered, "What a great poet and calligrapher, famous throughout Jiangnan, but he is nothing but a lecherous and lascivious person!"

……

On the third day after the official document was sent from the Wu county government office, Jinling Yingtian Prefecture and Jinyiwei Qianhu Division each sent troops to the Wu county government office to hand over the prisoners and handle related matters.

The injured assassin was interrogated overnight, and he soon confessed the identities of the three assassins and the mastermind behind the incident, Cui Bowang, an officer from the Jinling Guards.

As soon as the confession was obtained, the information was transmitted back to Nanjing by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

When the newly appointed Jinling Jinyiwei Captain Ge Zhicheng received the news, he was like a shark smelling blood.

He had just been transferred from the Capital to be the Chief Officer of the Jinyiwei Qianhu Division in the Temporary Capital. He was full of confidence and urgently needed achievements to gain a firm foothold.

The mastermind behind the assassination of the hero in the Water Inspectorate case turned out to be a sixth-rank military officer of the Jinling Guard. This piece of information alone was enough to make the Jinling Guard subject to the control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

And whether Cui Bowang can catch bigger fish through this, the possibility is very high.

Ge Zhicheng had just been transferred and his background in the Jinling officialdom was still clean.

If I do not put my all into this assassination and retreat because of concerns about the powerful guards, I am afraid that I will be known as a mediocre and greedy person when I first take office.

The current emperor hates those who are insignificant and incompetent in their work the most. If this is the case, the lucrative position of the chief of the Jinling Capital Jinyiwei that he has just obtained will probably come to an end soon.

Therefore, he had to get to the bottom of it. As for whether it would cause a huge trouble, it was not what he was considering now. Fortune and wealth have always been sought through risk, and if the sky falls, there will always be people above to hold it up.

As a result, a large-scale manhunt covering the three states surrounding Jinling was launched in full swing.

……

Jia Cong was arranged by the magistrate of Wu County to stay in a small courtyard in the back court. After recuperation for a few days, his injuries had recovered somewhat, but it was still inconvenient for him to use his hands. On weekdays, Jinghui even served him when he drank water and ate.

She has been staying by Jia Cong's side for the past two days. After going through the life-and-death crisis that day, it seems that some things have changed.

People in the county government office found it very strange that this pretty nun, who was neither a monk nor a layman, took such good care of Mr. Jia.

However, seeing that they were all calm and composed, as if it was natural and reasonable, no one said anything more. The people in charge of Yingtian Prefecture and Jinyiwei who came to Wu County to handle the case were actually acquaintances of Jia Cong.

The person in charge of Yingtian Prefecture is Yan Yuanliang, Jia Yucun's trusted aide.

The person in charge of the Jinyiwei surprised Jia Cong a little. It turned out to be Liu Yong, the general flag of the Water Conservancy Bureau who was guarding the construction site of Da Ci'en Temple.

It turned out that Ge Zhicheng, the newly transferred chief of the Jinling Jinyiwei Qianhu Division, and Liu Hai's second uncle, the Qianhu of the Maritime Customs who died in the Longtan Port bloodbath, were once colleagues and close friends.

In this major case of the Water Conservancy Bureau, Liu Hai was one of the few officers of the Water Conservancy Bureau who was not implicated.

Moreover, because of his doubts about the Longtan Port bloody case, he was demoted by Zou Huaiyi to guard the construction site, which became the best evidence for Liu Hai to prove his innocence.

After the major case of the Water Monitoring Bureau was solved, a large number of officials in the bureau were arrested and imprisoned for their involvement in the case, but he was promoted from the general flag to the rank of centurion, which was considered a blessing in disguise.

After Ge Zhicheng was transferred to the Jinling Qianhu Suo, he urgently needed to cultivate confidants with local roots in Jinling. Liu Hai became his best candidate, so he used his connections to transfer him to the Jinyiwei a month ago.

According to the itinerary, the two of them will escort the prisoners back to Jinling tomorrow. Before leaving, they went to the backyard of the county government office together to visit the injured Jia Cong.

Yan Yuanliang glanced at Jinghui, who was drying clothes in the yard, with a look of surprise in his eyes, and said, "Chengshilang, before we set out, the prefect had instructed us to return to Jinling as soon as possible.

Now the remnants of the Water Inspectorate are still there, and if another assassination attempt happens, the consequences will be unpredictable.

Jinling is the secondary capital, and the security is tight, so it can suppress the scoundrels. If the official returns to Jinling, his own safety will be guaranteed. If he stays in Gusu, the prefect will be unable to do anything if something happens."

Liu Hai on the side also said: "Master Jia, before I came, the captain also told me that you are the victim of the Gusu assassination case, and we need your cooperation in the investigation of the case.

Moreover, now that you have returned to Jinling, the Imperial Guards are fully confident that they can ensure your safety."

In fact, when things got to this point, Jia Cong had already intended to leave Suzhou, Wu'er and Qingwen were still staying in the Jia family's old house, and the matter of returning to the capital to submit to the imperial edict could no longer be delayed.

At this time, Jinghui came into the room with the dried clothes, and she listened to what Yan Yuanliang and Liu Hai said.

Yan Yuanliang and Liu Hai saw that Jia Cong did not reply, but instead looked at the pretty little nun with questioning eyes.

It seemed that whether to return to Jinling depended on the little nun's decision, and both of them felt strange.

Seeing Jia Cong looking at her eagerly, Jinghui blushed and said without thinking: "Jinling is safer than here. I will go back to Jinling with you."

After saying this, she seemed a little shy and walked out of the room. She seemed to be able to hear her own quickening heartbeat. Thinking of her master and senior sisters, although Jinghui was reluctant, she was still happier in her heart.

Yan Yuanliang and Liu Hai saw that when Jia Cong heard the little nun's words, it was as if he was listening to the sound of nature. A bright and proud smile appeared on his face, and he must be very happy.

They both laughed strangely to themselves.

On that day, Jia Cong was in the consecration hall of Da Ci'en Temple. When he saw a beautiful nun, he lost his composure and searched all over the temple for her. This was soon regarded as a joke by the officials present and spread around.

Afterwards, he borrowed the list from the officials of the Monks' Registration Office to inquire about the origins of the beautiful nun. He also borrowed manpower from the Yingtian Prefecture and searched all the nunneries in Nanjing but could not find her. So he came to Suzhou to look for beauty.

These things could not be concealed from anyone, and quite a few people in the Jinling officialdom knew about them.

He actually found the person he was looking for.

From the perspective of Yan Yuanliang and Liu Hai, the little nun was actually completely devoted to him. It was rare and unique for this young master Jia to go to a nunnery to look for beauties and be so romantic.

(End of this chapter)