Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 19: Red Plum Blossoms in the Snow
Xiao Jindong drove his car to the side of the road early to make way for Zhou Junxing's convoy.

The street they passed through was not very wide, and there were many vendors on both sides of the street, which took up a lot of the road and slowed down the progress of the convoy.

The dozen or so guards with swords in their hands drove away the street vendors who had no time to retreat, causing chaos on the street for a while.

A fat old woman accidentally fell to the ground after being pushed by a guard, and then she stumbled to get up. This scene caused some passers-by to curse in low voices.

Jia Cong also frowned as he watched. Looking at the domineering behavior of these guards, he knew that Zhou Junxing was not a good person either. No wonder he was impeached by so many people back then.

Jia Cong was sitting in the car, his position much higher than the pedestrians on the road. When the old woman fell, his eyes were drawn to her through the car window.

I saw the old woman supporting herself with her hands, trying to stand up with difficulty. When she lowered her head, a piece of skin on the back of her neck was inadvertently exposed.

Her skin was as delicate as snow, with a bright red blood mole the size of a little fingertip and shaped like a petal, just like a red plum blossom in the snow, which was stunning.

When the old woman raised her head and straightened up with difficulty, the collar behind her neck moved, completely covering the red plum blossoms in the snow. No one on the street noticed this scene.

But Jia Cong was sitting high up in the car and could see it clearly. Although it was only a moment, that look of amazement seemed to be engraved in his mind.

When Jia Cong looked again, the old woman had already staggered to the side of the road. She disappeared in the surging crowd and Jia Cong couldn't even see her appearance clearly.

Jia Cong remembered that when the old woman supported herself on the ground with her hands, the skin on her hands was like dark, dry bark. But how come the skin on the back of her neck was so delicate and white? There was something strange about it.

But it was none of his business, so he thought about it for a while and let it go.

Chunhua Tower is located in the west of Shenjing City. It is not the most prosperous place in Shenjing City. The hustle and bustle of Shenjing is all in the East City, where every inch of land is worth a lot of money.

The land there was snapped up and divided up by wealthy people with vision and wealth decades ago. Now, even the richest businessmen who want to settle down and do business in Dongcheng have to rent houses and half of the money they earn has to be fed to those greedy people who hold the land deeds.

In comparison, Xicheng was built on Lei Street in Xicheng when the retired emperor was in power because the eastern city of Shenjing could not accommodate more people, in order to expand the entire territory of Shenjing.

Over the past ten years, large tracts of land have been available in Xicheng at less than half the price of that in Dongcheng, which is unimaginable in the impoverished Dongcheng.

Xu Chunhua, the owner of Chunhua Tower, is a far-sighted businessman. Nine years ago, he spent very little money to buy a large piece of land in the most central area of ​​West City and built a six-story Chunhua Tower, which is the tallest building in West City. Standing on the top floor, one can overlook the entire West City of Shenjing.

When Xiao Jindong and Jia Cong arrived, they saw three people already sitting in the private room. They were leaning against the window, looking at the scenery of West City and chatting about something.

One of them, a middle-aged scholar in his forties, stepped forward and said, "Jindong, you are here. We have been waiting for a while. Who is this child?"

Xiao Jindong smiled and said, "This is Jia Cong, the calligrapher of those calligraphy works. You have always wanted to meet him, so I have invited Brother Cong to come here today."

Xiao Jindong pointed at the middle-aged scholar and said, "This is He Jizhen. Mr. He is famous in Shenjing City for his bamboo paintings. He is known as He Qingzhu."

The other two were a scholar in his thirties named Zhou Xizhe, who was good at painting landscapes and had considerable fame in the calligraphy and painting circles of Shenjing.

The last one is the youngest, looking just over twenty years old, named Liu Bi. He is good at painting lotus and is well-known among the students. In his free time, he would send his paintings to Xiao Jindong's shop for consignment, just as a pastime.

Although Liu Bi is the youngest, he is a juren who just passed the provincial examination. Passing the provincial examination at such a young age is considered early in the imperial examination.

He Jizhen was very worldly-wise. When he saw that the writer of those calligraphy works was indeed a ten-year-old child, he kept saying that the young were to be feared.

Zhou Xizhe was in his prime, a meticulous and steady man. Seeing that Jia Cong had such great calligraphy skills at such a young age, he was secretly amazed.

Liu Bi was young and full of vigor. He was very proud of his success in the imperial examinations and was one of the most talented people in West City. He had been very impressed by Jia Cong's calligraphy. Now that he saw that Jia Cong was too young, he was amazed in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. "Everyone, my brother Cong and I were delayed on the way, so we are late. I will drink three cups of wine to apologize for my sin."

After Xiao Jindong finished speaking, he poured himself three cups and drank them all in one gulp.

Seeing Xiao Jindong's generosity, several people applauded. Jia Cong was still young, so no one would let him drink the penalty cup. He Jizhen was very considerate and asked the waiter for a pot of jam water for him.

Zhou Xizhe asked, "What delayed Jindong on the road?"

Xiao Jindong smiled and said, "What a coincidence, I just happened to run into Zhou Junxing's motorcade heading to Beijing, so we, the common people, naturally have to give way to him."

Liu Bi raised his eyebrows and said, "Did Zhou Yanluo really return to Beijing?

This man made his fortune by accusing others of his own crimes. He is cruel and immoral, and is despised by all. Your Majesty has always been wise, so how could he employ such a treacherous and cruel official? "

Zhou Xizhe was a steady and cautious person by nature, and he quickly advised: "Brother Liu, please be patient. The emperor must have his reasons for employing such people.

I heard that Zhou Junxing killed the remnants of the Hidden Sect in Dezhou, and the Hidden Sect’s bandit nest in Dezhou was wiped out, and almost no one of the hundreds of bandits escaped.

The court was very pleased with this, and it was because of this that the emperor promoted him from his post as a military officer in Dezhou.

Now that this person is in the limelight, Brother Liu needs to be careful with his words. There are many people here and they are gossipy. If the news gets out, it will cause trouble."

Liu Bi's heart sank. He would take part in the imperial examination this year, which was a major event that would affect his future.

This week Yan Luo is good at fabricating charges and is omnipresent. If someone spreads his words and reaches his ears.

If this evil villain causes some trouble and delays my imperial examination, then everything will be over!
The thought of this made my heart go cold. After all, I was still young and I had to keep my mouth shut at this juncture. I would wait until the day when I passed the imperial examination and achieved fame. Then it would not be too late to fight the enemy for my country.

He Jizhen was a gentle person with a wide range of social contacts. He knew a lot of rumors and said, "I heard that the emperor transferred him to the Magistrates' Court in order to curb the threat from the hidden sect.

In recent years, the Hidden Sect has shown signs of resurgence, and private associations and gatherings have become increasingly popular. The court is worried that the Hidden Sect will cause trouble again, and the emperor is also quite concerned about this matter. "

Zhou Xizhe suddenly said: "The Hidden Sect has always been strange and unpredictable, and it is difficult for ordinary officials to deal with it. Letting a tiger-like official like Zhou Yanluo to control it is a method of fighting two evils."

When Jia Cong heard this, his eyes lit up. This Zhou Xizhe actually had some insight.

Seeing Jia Cong was silent, Xiao Jindong smiled and said, "Brother Cong, do you feel a little bored listening to our idle chatter?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I also find it interesting. I have read some historical records of our dynasty before. It said that when Taizu conquered the world, he helped the Hidden Sect. Why did they become enemies later?"

The history books that Jia Cong read were all obtained from Tanchun. There were some incomplete and untrue parts in the historical facts written in them, and I guess the author of the book also had some concerns.

Xiao Jindong runs a bookstore and has read a wide variety of books. Naturally, he can connect and verify each other, and knows more about these anecdotes than ordinary people.

“It is said that the leader who founded the Hidden Sect was also a hero like Taizu, otherwise he would not have been able to accomplish such great things.

It is said that when Taizu pacified the world and established the Great Zhou, the leader of the Hidden Sect was so proud of his achievements that he coveted the country, which led to the extermination of the sect... "

He Jizhen laughed at the side: "We are here today to have fun together, why are we talking about these nonsense? Let's drink some wine, and Brother Cong, have some jam."

(End of this chapter)