Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Suzhou, Jinbi Garden.

Just now, Douguan ran to the laundry room and told Xiaofu what happened, which made the little girl very surprised.

She knew that Commander Luo had sent someone to buy her, and she knew in her heart that if she was bought by Commander Luo, she would definitely not have a good ending.

But the female coach of the troupe liked her very much and told her that she would definitely persuade the owner not to sell her.

After Xiaofu joined the opera troupe, the people who treated her best were Adou and the master, so she believed that the master could protect her.

As long as she washes clothes obediently recently and doesn't cause any more trouble, everything will be fine once this incident passes.

Maybe the troupe owner would change his mind and let her perform on stage again, and her life would be better in the future, so she would practice singing while washing clothes.

After all, she was only a little girl of twelve or thirteen years old. Although she had been sold since she was young and had suffered a lot, she was still inexperienced and unaware of the dangers of the world.

Until just now, Adou told her that the boss had privately received the deposit from Commander Luo to buy her, but the other party was not in a convenient position now, so he had not come to take her away, which really scared her.

Later, Adou told her that Mr. Jia and Miss Zou who came to the laundry room in the morning were capable and honest people. She had begged them, and Mr. Jia was willing to take Xiaofu away.

Moreover, Master Jia is very capable, and it seems that even Commander Luo dare not offend him.

After hearing what Adou said later, Xiaofu's mood, which had already hit rock bottom, slowly recovered.

She was sold by her family when she was young. Although she had a stubborn temper, it didn't seem difficult for her to accept being sold again.

As long as the person who bought her was a good person and didn't mistreat or bully her, she would be content.

She remembered that just now in the laundry room, she was so hungry that she felt weak. The young man who gave her Zhen'er cake spoke so kindly and his smile was so beautiful.

He also sincerely praised her for her beautiful singing. He was afraid that she would be embarrassed to eat the snacks, so he coaxed her with words. No one had ever treated her like this before, which made her feel warm in her heart.

Xiaofu felt that it was a good thing that he bought himself.

……

When Xiaofu and Douguan entered the main hall, the other four little actors chosen by Zou Miner had already put their fingerprints on the contract of sale.

These little actors were sold to opera troupes by their families for various reasons when they were young. Although they were sold again, they couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

However, they all know that there are fewer and fewer performances by opera troupes nowadays, and if this continues, eating will become a problem. Having a good place to go may not be a bad thing.

Moreover, Jia Cong and Zou Min'er seem to be very kind. I heard that they will be taken to Shenjing in the future. It is the capital of the Great Zhou and the most important city in the world.

Therefore, for these young girls who are not very worldly-wise, the excitement in their hearts is even greater than the nervousness.

Among the five young actors chosen by Zou Min'er, Douguan is the youngest and is even more fearless than a newborn calf.

Besides, she had just gone to ask Jia Cong and Zou Min'er for help, and these two people could indeed save Xiaofu.

This made the little girl feel that the two of them were capable and good people, and she was very willing to follow them in the future.

When Xiaofu put his fingerprint on the contract, he couldn't help but look up at Jia Cong, with a hint of confusion and uneasiness in his eyes.

Seeing Jia Cong looking at her tenderly and nodding at her, Xiaofu suddenly felt courageous and confident, and she pressed her fingerprint on the contract without hesitation.

The owner of the troupe, Chen Youcai, finally made the deal. Although Jia Cong and Zou Min'er only bought five small plays in the end, it also reduced a lot of burden for the troupe.

The female coach of the troupe was named Zhang. She was a woman in her thirties with a beautiful appearance. She should have been a prominent figure on the stage at the time.

The five little plays that were sold today, as well as Xiaofu who does the laundry, were all disciples that she had spent a lot of effort to teach. Now that they have all been bought, she is afraid that it will be difficult for them to meet again in the future, and she feels very reluctant to let them go.

But nowadays, it is increasingly difficult for opera troupes to make a living, and it may be a better way out for these young actors to be bought by reliable people.

Among all the disciples she had taught, Xiaofu had been with her for the shortest time, but he had the highest talent, which was rare in her life.

Although he had a stubborn temper, he was a child of character and she loved him very much.

She smiled and said to Xiaofu, "Xiaofu, you sang very well the last time you went on stage for the first time. I will give you a stage name now. Next year you will be a young girl, so you will be called Lingguan from now on.

Now that you have a stage name, it's time to perform a serious little play. In the future, you must listen to Master Jia and Miss Zou and don't be too willful. They will definitely treat you well."

When Jia Cong heard this, he was shocked. This Xiaofu was indeed Lingguan. No wonder he looked so similar to Daiyu.

Because Jia Cong had not yet had time to send the letter to Du Hengxin, it cannot be ruled out that Luo Xiong will cause trouble for Lingguan.

To be on the safe side, he and Zou Min'er will take Lingguan away from Jinbi Garden today, and will pick up the other five little actors they bought this time when they leave Gusu.

……

Suzhou, Rong Xiang Inn.

Because Jia Cong brought his female relatives with him, he booked an independent courtyard behind the inn.

It rained last night, washing the ginkgo tree in the yard, making it full of lush green and freshness.

The bluestone slabs on the ground radiated moist light, the tiles on the eaves dripped with water, and the sun shone from the east, casting a bright red glow, creating a dazzling scene of light and shadow after the rain.

Early in the morning, Jia Cong found paper and pen and prepared to write a letter to Du Hengxin.

Lingguan had already set up bamboo poles in the yard and went into the house to pack up Jia Cong's clothes, preparing to take them out for washing.

She wore an embroidered light blue cross-collared long vest, a pink and white jacket, and a light purple long skirt. She looked indescribably pretty and lovely.

Because Lingguan was originally just a maid in the opera troupe, the clothes she wore were very shabby.

This dress was just bought for her by Zou Miner yesterday.

The early morning sun shone on her black hair, and the flying strands at her temples seemed to glow with a gentle halo.

She is young and thin, but has a slender figure, well-proportioned and beautiful. Because she is an opera actress, her movements are gentle, graceful and charming, which makes her stand out from the crowd.

She was used to doing things in the opera troupe and was very hardworking.

Jia Cong's timely appearance this time saved her from the fate of being bought by Luo Xiong. She always wanted to do something for Jia Cong.

But apart from singing, she didn't know how to do anything else and could only help him wash clothes.

Seeing Jia Cong spreading paper and washing his brush, she smiled and went forward to help him grind the ink, but her movements were quite unfamiliar.

Jia Cong smiled and asked, "Lingguan, have you never ground ink before?"

Lingguan tilted her head and replied, "My family was poor before, so I couldn't learn to read, and I never ground ink, but I saw that others were grinding ink this way."

Lingguan had a great talent for learning opera, and was naturally a very smart person. Jia Cong smiled and demonstrated to her a few times, and she soon imitated him and rubbed out a pool of soft and dense ink. When Lingguan had just washed a piece of clothes and hung it in the yard to dry, Jia Cong had already written a letter and asked a personal soldier to send it back to Jinling immediately.

At this time, Jiang Liu came in to report that Zheng Xiaohai's boat had returned to Tielingguan Ferry.

After hearing this, Jia Cong became excited and quickly called Zou Min'er to rush to the ferry. When leaving, he glanced at Lingguan who was washing clothes. After all, he was a little worried, so he took her with him.

Du Hengxin has not received his letter yet. After all, Suzhou is Luo Xiong's territory. What if his people come to Jinbi Garden to ask for Lingguan?

Jia Cong didn't think that Chen Youcai would keep his mouth shut, and that might cause further trouble.

Moreover, Luo Xiong has a close relationship with Zhang Kangnian. Jia Cong does not want to conflict with him at this time, so it is safest to keep Lingguan by his side.

……

Gusu, Tielingguan Ferry, on a double-sail passenger ship.

Zheng Xiaohai was very surprised by Jia Cong's appearance. Jia Cong had chartered his ship with a large sum of money, which made him earn a lot of money. Naturally, he was impressed by Jia Cong.

He originally thought that Jia Cong had come to charter his boat again, but he didn't expect that this was not the case at all. Moreover, the questions Jia Cong asked made him really reluctant to answer.

Their shipping business also has its own taboos and etiquette.

Especially those who were willing to pay a large sum of money to charter his ship and he provided them with special services. Some of his actions were not tolerated by the government, and if they were made public, it would cut off his own business.

It was not until Jia Cong showed him the official seal that he broke out in a cold sweat. He never expected that he had been running a boat to avoid inspections by military ships and had always kept a low profile, but he still got into trouble with the law.

Seeing Zheng Xiaohai's expression, Jia Cong knew that he had subdued him, and said, "You make a living by sailing. As the saying goes, you live by the water, so it's harmless to seek benefits and avoid harm on the waterway.

But I once heard you and your wife say that before me, you helped someone evade patrol by warships, and this person might be a serious criminal wanted by the Jinling government.

You must tell me everything about that man. If you conceal the truth and the criminal gets away, you will not be able to escape responsibility if the government investigates him!"

Zheng Xiaohai said with a bitter face: "Sir, that man paid a lot of money to rent my boat. I really didn't know that he was a serious criminal in Jinling, otherwise I would never dare to accept his business.

Last month someone came to Gusu to find me and asked me to go to the outskirts of Jinling to take over a business. The rent was very high, and since there was money to be made, I naturally had to send out the ship.

The man took my boat for two days and arrived at a remote waterway outside Jinling City.

We took six people on board, and the leader was a man in his forties. The people around him treated him with great respect, like a high-ranking official…”

Jia Cong was shocked when he heard this and looked at Zou Min'er. They had both read the documents on Zhou Zhengyang's case. There were a total of six confidants who disappeared with Zhou Zhengyang.

Zheng Xiaohai said that someone went to Gusu and found a boat, and then picked up six people on the waterway outside Jinling City, making a total of seven people, which exactly matched the number of people in Zhou Zhengyang's group. "

Jia Cong asked again: "What do these people look like? For example, their attire or words, is there anything that you find strange?"

Zheng Xiaohai thought for a moment and said, "Except for the leader, everyone else carried knives, the same as the officers and soldiers of Suzhou Guard.

They rarely speak, but when they do, they sound fierce, and the way they walk and sit looks like they are officials.”

Jia Cong's eyes lit up. He knew that Zheng Xiaohai was talking about the Yanling Sword, which was the standard weapon of the officers and soldiers of the Great Zhou Guards.

Moreover, Zheng Xiaohai could see that these people were all appointed by officials.

Those who fled with Zhou Zhengyang were either centurions or general flag officers, all of whom were high- and middle-level officers in the Jinling Guards.

The behavior and manners of these people are very different from those of ordinary people and soldiers. This is the result of the long-term official-centered system and is easily seen by others.

The number of people matched. The leader was forty years old, the same age as Zhou Zhengyang. The weapons they used were all goose-feather swords used by the garrison troops. Even their identities and behaviors matched.

Jia Cong and Zou Min'er were both greatly encouraged. Now they were basically certain that the group of people who chartered Zheng Xiaohai's passenger ship were most likely Zhou Zhengyang and his trusted accomplices.

Jia Cong asked again: "After you took these people on board, how many days did you travel on the road? Where did you finally send them off the ship?"
Zheng Xiaohai said: "We set out from outside Jinling City, and they asked me to go to a fishing village east of Changzhou.

It would have taken less than two days to get there by boat, but they said they were merchants from Songjiang, going to Nanjing to do business, and didn't want to be looted by warships on the way, so they asked me to avoid inspections along the way.

This is actually a very common thing. Many people who do water business will look for experienced ship captains just to save the toll.

Besides, since they paid a lot of money to charter my boat, I would naturally help them do these things.

But during that period, it seemed that something happened in Jinling City, and the number of military ships checked along the way was more than usual.

I accepted a large sum of money from the customer, so I naturally couldn't let my reputation down, so I was very careful along the way. It took me three days to travel by water, which was a two-day journey, and I finally avoided all the military ships along the way."

Jia Cong asked quickly: "Where did they get off the boat in the end?"

Zheng Xiaohai replied: "They got off the boat at a fishing village called Haishanzhu. The fishing village is east of Changzhou, bordering Suzhou. It takes less than half a day by water to reach Suzhou.

As for where they went ashore, I don’t know.”

Nagisa Umiyama!
Jia Cong and Zou Min'er looked at each other. The Royal Chariot Division had received news that the centurion Chen Kuishan, who had fled with Zhou Zhengyang, had appeared in Haishanzhu.

All the details that Zheng Xiaohai just mentioned are completely consistent with the clues left by Zhou Zhengyang.

Zhou Zhengyang took advantage of Zheng Xiaohai's familiarity with the waterways and escaped from Jinling to Haishanzhu by water, but after they went ashore, no one knew where they went.

Zheng Xiaohai said with a bitter face: "After they came ashore, they gave me 100 taels of silver and told me not to tell anyone about it. I kept my mouth shut after receiving the money.

My lord, I really didn't know that they were serious criminals in Nanjing. If I knew, no matter how much silver they gave me, I would not take them across the waterway.

Sir, please don't arrest me and bring me to justice. I will never do this kind of business again."

Jia Cong glanced at him and said, "I won't arrest you now, but no one can tell anyone about what I'm looking for you for today, otherwise you'll be accused of committing a serious crime, and if it gets out, no one can save you!"

After leaving Zheng Xiaohai's passenger ship, Jia Cong said to Zou Min'er: "We will return to Jinling tomorrow."

Zou Miner asked, "We haven't figured out Zhou Zhengyang's whereabouts yet, are you going back now?"

Jia Cong said: "If we can confirm that Zhou Zhengyang escaped through Haishanzhu, then our trip will not be in vain.

According to common sense, Zhou Zhengyang would continue to flee eastwards towards Suzhou and Songjiang, which is the most suitable direction for going out to sea.

The big cities along the way are densely populated and it is easiest to hide your tracks, so he will most likely hide in these places.

We can't find it with just a few of us, so we can only rush back to Jinling as soon as possible and mobilize more people to search for it."

Zou Miner said: "Zhang Kangnian is highly suspicious. He has served in the Jinling Guards for many years, and people like Luo Xiong, the commander of Suzhou Guards, have close ties with him.

Now he is the chief of the Six Military Departments in the Temporary Capital. If he is involved in this matter, Zhang Kangnian will know it immediately as long as we mobilize the Jinling government staff."

Jia Cong said in a deep voice: "So we can only call on people who have nothing to do with him, so as not to alert the enemy and achieve twice the result with half the effort." (End of this chapter)