Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

The night was dark, there was no moon in the sky, only the flickering light of stars.

As the passenger ship passed through Zhenjiang, night had fallen and the river was surging, gently hitting the hull.

The monotonous and fragmented sound of the river waves rises and falls, like the surging and tangled waves of heart that will never stop.

Jiang Liu and his two guards retreated to the rear cabin to rest, leaving the front cabin alone for Jia Cong and Zou Min'er to sleep.

There was only a small table, two stools and a couch wide enough for two people in the front cabin, and there was no room for anything else.

Although the rear cabin was larger, with the boatman and Jiang Liu's three companions, six people were squeezed in, and there was no room to even put their feet.

Jiang Liu knew that Jia Cong had been very close to Miss Zhou since he arrived in Jinling, so he naturally would not let Jia Cong and himself squeeze into the back cabin.

Zou Miner said nothing and looked a little uncomfortable. Jia Cong also realized the problem. There was an awkward atmosphere in the narrow cabin.

When he and Zhishao came to Gusu from Yangzhou, they lived in the same cabin and even slept on the same bed. Their relationship was already established, but they had not yet consummated their marriage, so it was considered normal.

But Zou Min'er was completely different to Jia Cong. Even to him, because of past grudges, there were hidden vigilance and dangers between them.

Jia Cong was used to living in the mansion. If he was squeezed together with six men, he would rather go to the bow of the boat to enjoy the breeze until dawn.

He saw that although Zou Min'er looked unhappy, she didn't say a word and didn't drive him out of the cabin, so he pretended not to know and dozed off with his eyes closed while leaning on the desk.

Asking him to sleep on the same bed with Zou Miner, he didn't have the nerve or the courage to do so.

Zou Min'er leaned on the couch, not daring to turn around.

There was another person breathing in the room, and my current situation was inseparable from this person.

My heart was in turmoil and I couldn't fall asleep at all.

While I was in a daze, confusing images kept appearing in my mind.

In the spacious and luxurious inner house, she lived in an embroidered tower, dressed in fine clothes and fed with delicious food, loved by her parents, and even her dreams were filled with sweetness and beauty.

All of this was shattered overnight. His father committed suicide for his crimes, his mother died of worry in prison, and he himself was demoted to a lowly position in the Music Bureau and was put on a carriage heading north.

She exchanged the only golden hairpin on her body for a hard copper hairpin from a female prisoner in the same car.

She secretly sharpened the copper hairpin until it was sharp enough to easily end her life.

This copper hairpin became her only support, giving her the faint right to say no to her tragic fate and accompanying her in fear as she walked through the days filled with bad news.

She was demoted to the Shenjing Jiaofangsi as a lowly official. Because she was literate, she was not sent to the 16th floor to receive guests, but was arranged to the Jiaofangsi music club.

But this was not a lucky start. The wives of criminal officials who were demoted to the Jiaofangsi had their families broken up and were left without anyone to rely on. They were the lowest class of people in the world.

No matter where they were assigned, they could not escape the fate of being ravaged by others. Perhaps this was the humiliation and punishment of the imperial power on the offending officials.

Her youth and beauty soon attracted the covetous attention of the nobles who came and went from the Imperial Music Bureau. Some clerks began to seduce and threaten her with words, but they failed to succeed.

She naively thought that the Jiaofangsi was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites and that it was not a brothel. Although the clerk threatened her verbally, he did not dare to use force.

But when the nobleman's desire burned to the extreme and Li Mu received enough benefits, her momentary luck became vulnerable.

Finally one day, she was forcibly carried by two strong men to a strange room in the office.

The disgusting smile on the face of that distinguished figure made her twitch and feel nauseous.

That scene would have been unforgettable for her, but strangely, she still couldn't remember the man's appearance. Perhaps she simply didn't dare to remember.

Just when she was about to kill herself with the copper hairpin in her hair, Du Qingniang suddenly appeared and saved her at the critical moment.

Du Qingniang also accepted her as her apprentice, giving her a talisman to protect herself in the Jiaofangsi.

All kinds of chaotic scenes flashed through Zou Miner's mind, making her consciousness a little confused and in a dazed state of being half asleep and half asleep.

In a trance, she wondered why Du Qingniang appeared so timely that day. Even if she had been a moment later, the sharp copper hairpin would have pierced her throat.

It suddenly occurred to her that this coincidence made her feel familiar. It seemed that Jia Cong had met her in Ziyun Pavilion by coincidence?
She felt a twinge of realization in her heart.

That was the first time she met Jia Cong, and she still keeps the leather belt with tiger pattern and jade plate...

Suddenly, in a daze, she felt someone approaching, an invisible shadow seemed to suffocate her, and there was a masculine scent that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

She suddenly remembered the day when she was carried by two strong men to a strange room.

She suddenly woke up, quickly pulled out the sharp copper hairpin from her hair, raised her jade arm high, and stabbed the man's throat with all her strength!
At the critical moment, she found her wrist being held by a strong and warm hand.

The powerful force of his hands caused a pain in Zou Miner's delicate wrist, and the palm that was tightly holding the hairpin was forced to loosen.

The sharp copper hairpin was not taken away...

……

In the second half of the night, the temperature on the river surface dropped significantly. Jia Cong had been practicing qigong and swordsmanship with Qu Hongxiu since he was a child, so his blood was strong and healthy, so naturally there would be no problem.

He noticed that Zou Miner on the couch was just dozing off at first, which was not surprising. It was normal for a woman to have some concerns in this situation.

But as time passed, the river waves swayed, and Zou Min'er gradually fell asleep.

After a while, he saw Zou Miner's cheeks were rosy, her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and even sweat was coming out of her forehead. She looked like she was in a dream, isolated and helpless, which made people feel pity for her.

He found that the cabin window was not closed tightly, and the river breeze kept blowing into the cabin, blowing Zou Miner's hair.

Jia Cong stood up and closed the wooden window tightly. He glanced at Zou Min'er lying on the couch, took off his outer robe and prepared to cover her with it.

Unexpectedly, Zou Miner suddenly woke up, pulled out the hairpin on her head and attacked him...

……

Zou Min'er held his aching wrist and saw clearly that the person who had approached him just now was Jia Cong.

I saw that he was holding his copper hairpin in his right hand. The edge of his palm had been cut by the hairpin and was dripping with blood. He was still covered with his robe.

She suddenly understood, and her heart couldn't help but soften. She wanted to say something apologetic, but suddenly she remembered the dream she had just had.

My heart sank slightly, but what I said became: "What did you just do!"

Jia Cong said coldly: "The river wind is too strong, I am afraid you will catch a cold. We are in Gusu to do business, if you are sick, it will delay my work.

Besides, it’s not like I, Jia Cong, have never seen a woman before. You’re overthinking it!”

Zou Miner: “…….”

Jia Cong walked to the place in the cabin where clean water was stored and washed the wound on the edge of his palm.

Zou Miner thought for a moment, took out a clean silk handkerchief from her body, and walked forward to bandage his hand. Youyou said, "When I was demoted to the Shenjing Jiaofangsi, life was not easy. There were always some people who were powerful and full of evil.

I have developed a habit. Whenever a man gets close to me, I will give him a hairpin. Either he dies or I die!"

After hearing her cruel words, Jia Cong could probably imagine that a daughter of an official with outstanding appearance would be at the mercy of others once she was demoted to the Music Bureau.

How many lewd and powerful people will be tempted to covet her? It must be very difficult for her to survive to this day...

To be honest, if she hadn't discovered Zou Huaiyi's crimes, perhaps she wouldn't have ended up like this.

But there is right and wrong only when there is cause and effect in this world, and it seems that neither I nor she is wrong.

Jia Cong saw Zou Min'er bandaging herself carefully with a silk handkerchief. This originally frightening and cold woman seemed to show a rare trace of tenderness.

He was also relieved, and half-jokingly said: "It will be difficult for a daughter to find a husband in the future if she is so fierce."

When Zou Miner heard this, her pretty face turned red, her eyes were red, and a layer of anger appeared on her face. She pushed his hand away.

She said angrily, "I am no longer the daughter of an official family. I am a lowly musician working for the Imperial Music Bureau. How can someone like me say such things?"

Seeing her mood swings, Jia Cong felt a little helpless.

However, I also realized that my unintentional words had hurt others, and I regretted my careless words.

Zou Min'er walked back to the bed angrily, grabbed Jia Cong's robe and wanted to throw it on the ground, but she didn't throw it away in the end.

She half covered herself with the robe, lay down on her side with her back to him, closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, no longer paying any attention to Jia Cong.

……

Jinling, Xianghefang.

Three men came to the gate of a small courtyard.

The man in the lead was wearing fine clothes, had a decent appearance, and had a calm expression and demeanor, exuding a sense of shrewdness and competence.

The other person was wearing a blue gown, a square scarf on his head, and holding a folding fan. He was a scholar with a good academic record, but he had a Western pocket watch hanging on his chest, which he often took out to check the time. The shape of the watch was a bit strange.

The third man was wearing coarse cloth and carrying a wooden box on his back. His hands were rough and had many scars. He looked like a craftsman.

The leader knocked on the door, and it took a long time before someone came to open the door.

However, the person who opened the door was not an ordinary Zhou person, but a blond-haired and blue-eyed Western Yi person.

The leader and the scholar were not surprised.

However, the craftsman was frightened by the appearance of the western barbarian and was full of doubts.

The scholar with the Western pocket watch turned out to be an interpreter who was fluent in the foreign language. He spoke a lot to the Western barbarian, and the man invited the three of them into the yard.

The three men entered the yard and sat down. At the signal of the leader, the craftsman placed the wooden box he was carrying in front of the Western barbarian and then opened the lid for him.

There was a flash of silver light in the box, and the Western barbarian's eyes were filled with surprise and astonishment...

About half a meal's time had passed before the three men left the Western Barbarians' yard. The craftsman among them was still shaking his head with a look of disdain.

The leader first said goodbye to the scholar interpreter, and then got on a carriage with the craftsman.

……

The carriage ran for a cup of tea and stopped in front of a courtyard in the east of Jinling City. The two people in the carriage got off and entered the courtyard.

In the main hall of the courtyard, a young man had been waiting here. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a solid blue shirt with a loose belt, simple and unpretentious.

He has delicate features, is handsome and elegant, has a graceful demeanor, and has a very good appearance, but his every move and gesture is somewhat feminine.

The two entered the lobby, and the young man asked, "Uncle Xian, how is the matter going?"

The middle-aged man with shrewd and capable manners was Liu Xian, the housekeeper of the second branch of the Zhen family, and the right-hand man of Zhen Yingquan, the father of Miss Zhen San.

Liu Xian said, "Master, the Third Master arranged for that man to stay in a house in Xianghefang. It's not difficult to find him. I just took Master Chen to see him. He said that this man is not a silversmith."

When the young man saw the craftsman called Master Chen, his eyes looked inquiring.

Liu Xian said, "Master Chen, you are the most famous silversmith in Jinling City. You said this man is not a silversmith. Tell my young master the reason. You will be rewarded."

Master Chen's face lit up with joy, and he said, "Master Zhen, I, Old Liu, have been a silversmith all my life, and I have taught countless apprentices in Jinling City.

To tell whether a person has the skills of a silversmith, I don’t need him to do anything. I just need to talk to him for a few words and look at his hands, and he will definitely not be able to hide anything from me.

This time I went there, I brought a box of silverware with me. Xian Ye told the foreign man that he had heard that he was a famous silversmith overseas and had come to visit him.

He also said that our silver shop was in need of skilled craftsmen and wanted to invite him to work in the shop, and he could collect his own salary, but the foreigner refused without even a second thought.

I could see it clearly from the side and he looked extremely uncomfortable. I took out the box of silverware again and asked him to appraise it and to tell me which pieces were the best.

As a result, the few pieces that the foreigner liked were not of top quality, and some of them were even just prototypes made by two of me, apprentices of one year.

I chatted with him about some silverware. The foreigner talked a lot and the scholar interpreted it for me. Then I realized that this foreigner was a complete layman who knew nothing about it.

Master Zhen, based on my experience as a silversmith all my life, I can guarantee that he is not a silversmith at all, and his hands are a bit strange. "

Miss Zhen San asked, "What's so strange about his hands?"

Master Chen said, "There are black burn marks on his right thumb, index finger, and middle finger. They have seeped into the skin and flesh and cannot be washed off.

As a silversmith, I do delicate work every day and have trained my eyes to be very good. I can see very clearly. A silversmith's craftsmanship will never leave such marks on his hands.

My brother-in-law is a blacksmith. He works by the furnace all year round, and his fingers have these burn marks, so I think he might be a blacksmith.

Master Chen was quite complacent about his own knowledge, but the delicate young master Zhen in front of him didn't seem to be very interested in what the blacksmith said.

He just said to Liu Xian: "Uncle Xian, please send Master Chen out."

Liu Xian took out two hundred-liang silver notes and handed them to Master Chen, saying, "Master Chen, I'm asking you for help, and only we know about it. You can't tell anyone else."

Master Chen took the banknote with a smile on his face and swore to keep the secret.

Miss Zhen San was walking back and forth in the main hall as usual, which was the action she would do when she couldn't figure something out.

When Liu Xian came back after seeing Master Chen off, Miss Zhen San said, "Uncle Xian, do you believe that the Englishman is a blacksmith? It's unreasonable for my third brother to invite a blacksmith all the way from England.

This is too strange, Uncle Xian, please arrange for someone to keep an eye on this Englishman and find out where he came from. I'm worried that the third brother of the eldest wife will cause trouble again." (End of this chapter)