swear not to be concubine

Chapter 93

The person Mrs. Jian wanted Bai Wei to marry was Feng Yongcai, the son of Nanny Zhu who was serving by Mrs. Wu's side.

Jian Yan asked Bai Wei, she just found out that when Bai Wei went to look for Xia's mother in the small kitchen a few days ago, Feng Yongcai was there for some reason.At that time Feng Yongcai saw her, and his words were somewhat sloppy.Bai Wei didn't pay attention to him at the time, she just thought that he was an unpromising servant in Xu's house.

But then after Feng Yongcai found out who Bai Wei was, he went back and tortured Nanny Zhu, asking her to come and propose marriage to Mrs. Jian, saying that he wanted to marry Bai Wei as his wife.

Mother Zhu naturally didn't allow it at the beginning, but instead she gave Feng Yongcai a hard time, saying that if you like any other maids in Xu's house, it's fine, I can ask the old lady to make the decision, and I will reward you for wife.But this Bai Wei is the maid of Jane's family, how do you want me to open this mouth?
It's just that Feng Yongcai didn't follow, he only said that he wouldn't marry if it wasn't Baiwei, and even made all kinds of noises about not eating and wanting to go on a hunger strike.

Nanny Zhu gave birth to Feng Yongcai's son, not to mention not eating for a day, but she would feel very heartbroken if she didn't eat for a day, so she had to agree at that time.After thinking about it for a while, she hesitated to say this while Wu Shi was in a good mood, meaning that she wanted Wu Shi to come forward and tell Mrs. Jane about it.

After hearing this, Mrs. Wu didn't take it seriously, she just said it, but she was just a maid.I gave Mrs. Jian 20 taels of silver, and let her go and buy a maid to use it. Can you still refute her face because of a maid?
So Mrs. Wu didn't come forward, but sent Caizhu to tell Mrs. Jian.

Mrs. Jane naturally has nothing to be unhappy about.She thought the same as Wu Shi, Bai Wei is just a maid, who is not married to marry?There's really no point in offending Mrs. Wu because of her.So she agreed straight away at that time, and only said that Nanny Zhu would go back and pick up a date to report it, and then she just sent Bai Wei out.

Then Mrs. Jian thought that Bai Wei was Jian Yan's maid after all, and if she wanted to marry her, at least she should tell Jian Yan to make her well-prepared, so that she could order Pearl to pass it on. This word.

As soon as Jian Yan understood the whole story, her arms became limp from anger, and she was speechless for a moment.

Just like that, they didn't say anything to Bai Wei, and handed her over like an item.

When I think about it, I am actually like this.And who came to tell her, didn't Mrs. Jane sell her directly?
Jian Yan sincerely feels wronged for the women of this era.

She turned her head and saw Bai Wei standing beside her. Although her lips were tightly pursed and her face was pale, she still kept her back straight.

When Jian Yan saw her, she couldn't stop feeling sorry for her.

"Bai Wei," she said softly but firmly, "I will never let you marry this Feng Yongcai. Never."

Bai Wei has tried her best to help her for so many years. She wanted to get her out of slavery and marry her favorite brother Zhou. How could she marry that Feng Yongcai?According to the news that was inquired in April just now, that Feng Yongcai is not a good guy, who doesn't take advantage of eating, drinking, whoring, gambling and clothing?Bai Wei married such a person, but it really ruined her.

"Girl," Bai Wei said softly at this time, "You still don't want to quarrel with your wife because of your servant. Your wife doesn't want to see you, and your future is still in her hands. And if it makes her unhappy, that servant will definitely die."

Hearing what she said, Jian Yan felt even more sad for a moment.

"Don't worry, I won't quarrel with my mother. It's useless even to quarrel with her. Since she has already agreed to Wu, how can she go back on her word? I will naturally think of other perfect ways. "

Jian Yan thought about this method all night.The next day, she said to Bai Wei: "According to the news from Si Yue's investigation yesterday, this Feng Yongcai likes to gamble. If that's the case, then let's let him gamble. Now go find Mama Xia and ask her to make an appointment." I asked Brother Zhou to meet with you. Then you told Brother Zhou to follow Feng Yongcai to see which casino he usually goes to gamble. After that, no matter how much money he spent, he must buy off the players in this casino. People, put water on Feng Yongcai and let him win."

Bai Wei opened her eyes wide, and asked puzzledly, "Let him win? Why?"

Jian Yan held her hands and continued: "Only if he wins, the white money is placed in front of him, and when he loses later, his eyes will turn red, and he has been thinking about winning come back."

Bai Wei became more and more confused: "Girl, do you want him to win or lose?"

"Win first and then lose." Jian Yan said slowly, "Let Big Brother Zhou buy off the people in the gambling shop, let Feng Yongcai win first, let him win a lot, and then let him lose slowly. In the end he Losing all the money he won, even his own capital, he will definitely think about getting it back. Who would not feel distressed when he sees the pile of vain money that originally belonged to him suddenly disappear? What's more, he won so easily before, so he always kept a fluke in his heart, thinking that he would win next time. When he lost all his money, he asked the people in the gambling shop to lend him money , Borrow a lot, he can borrow as much as he wants, preferably he will never pay back. I know that borrowing money in these gambling houses is very expensive. Then let the gambling house the next day The people in the house went to Feng's house to ask for money. According to the methods of those people in the gambling house, he couldn't help but not return it."

"But girl," Si Yue was also confused, "Since you know he's not going to go out, why do you force him like this?"

"Since he still hasn't made it, then he will naturally find a way to pay it back. Otherwise, those thugs in the gambling shop will not be polite to him, and breaking hands and feet is just a matter of talking." Jian Yan snorted coldly, and then He continued, "I remember that Feng Yongcai's old man and Feng Yongcai are currently managing a restaurant in the Xu family, and the daily profit is not bad. If you are forced to helpless, you can't really look at yourself as the only one. His son's hands and feet were cut off, but they don't have so much money to pay back. What can they do? They can only embezzle the profits of this restaurant. At that time, we will think of another way to bring this matter to the Wu family Going there, I don't believe that Mrs. Wu will have someone who will not be annoyed—no matter how loyal a servant is, once they use their own money privately, and it is still a large amount of money, they will not be tolerated. At that time The Wu family will definitely take action to punish them."

Having said that, she turned her head and said to Bai Wei: "You tell Brother Zhou again, and ask him to find out more recently whether Feng Yongcai and his father have enriched their own pockets when they ran the Xu family's restaurant for so many years. I reckon There should be some. At that time, we will bring this matter to Mrs. Wu, how can Mrs. Wu tolerate them? It will be light to drive them away from the Xu family. I am afraid that they will report to the officials and let them All the money that has been pocketed in these years has been spit out. At that time, the Feng family will still be able to take care of Feng Yongcai and Bai Wei's marriage? It must not be. As long as the Feng family does not mention it again, the matter of Bai Wei and Feng Yongcai will naturally be That's all."

Bai Wei and Si Yue immediately became happy when they heard this.

"I'll go find Mama Xia right now, and ask her to call Big Brother Zhou over." Bai Wei's face was finally cleared of gloom, and a few traces of smiles appeared on her face.But soon, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

"Miss," she said in a low voice, "I'm afraid this time because of the servants, you will spend a lot of money."

"What are you talking about?" Jian Yan said with a smile, "You and Siyue are my family members. If the money earned is not spent on you, but on whom? That is, is it possible that you are still guarding these dead things and watching you suffer for nothing?"

Seeing what Bai Wei wanted to say, she hurriedly said: "Okay, don't dawdle here. Hurry up and take a few taels of silver to find Mother Xia, and immediately go find Big Brother Zhou after annoying her. But it has to be done quickly, who knows what day the Feng family will choose to pass the door? We have to be ahead of them."

Only then did Bai Wei let out an oh, and turned around in a hurry.

Then Zhou Lin followed Jian Yan's instructions, and a series of things went smoothly.As for Xu's house, the words of Nanny Zhu begging the old lady to let Bai Wei marry her son gradually spread among the maids and servants, and everyone knew it for a while.

So when Xu Zhong announced Xiu Mu, Xu Miaojin thought about it, and finally decided to tell him this.

Although she has also seen something wrong between Xu Zhongxuan and Jian Yan these days, Bai Wei is the most capable maidservant around Jian Yan after all, marrying her to Feng Yongcai like this is equivalent to breaking Jian Yan's love It's not good to be left and right.

And sure enough, after Xu Zhongxuan heard what Xu Miaojin said, his long brows frowned, and he asked displeasedly, "Why did Mother Zhu suddenly have Bai Wei's idea?"

Xu Miaojin shook her head: "It's just that her worthless son fell in love with Bai Wei and insisted on marrying her. Nanny Zhu told the old lady about it, and the old lady told Mrs. Jian about it , and then it was settled.”

Xu Zhongxuan's frown became even tighter for a while.

He naturally knew that Bai Wei was Jian Yan's right-hand man, if Feng Yongcai was allowed to marry Bai Wei, Jian Yan would be in a lot of inconvenience in the future.It's just that if he directly came forward to tell Wu about this matter, firstly, he would slap Wu in the face in public, and no one would be able to get off the stage; secondly, the most important thing is that everyone would easily associate this matter with him and Jian Yan Going to his body, there will be rumors and rumors, this is also a situation he doesn't want to see.

So it's better to do it quietly.

So he called Qi Sang over, bowed his head and whispered a few words into his ear.Qi Sang took the order and went to handle it by himself.

Qi Sang has been by his side for so many years, and has been valued by him all the time, so his ability should not be underestimated.Two days after he finished his duty, Qi Sang came to report to him everything he had found.

All of this includes the background of everyone in the Feng family, what responsibilities they are responsible for in the Xu family, and what mistakes have been made in the past, all kinds of things related to the Feng family.

Naturally, the focus of the investigation was still the restaurant that Feng Yongcai and his father were in charge of.Xu Zhongxuan also wanted to find out whether Feng Yongcai and his father had filled their pockets when they ran the Xu family's restaurant over the years.

Even if there is not, it can also forge witnesses and physical evidence to say that there is.When the time comes to present these evidences in front of Mrs. Wu, she will naturally send Feng Yongcai and others down.Presumably at that time, she would naturally not marry Bai Wei to a servant who had made a mistake and was about to be kicked out of the Xu family.

After Qi Sang reported in detail all the things he could find out about the Feng family, he paused, hesitated, and finally said: "My lord, this subordinate and Qi Hui have been together for the past two days. When I was tracking Feng Yongcai, I found that another person was also investigating everything in the Feng family, including the restaurant. Maybe that person even bribed the people in the gambling house where Feng Yongcai usually went, and asked those people to give Feng Yongcai Let the water go, first let him win a large sum of money, then let him lose a large sum of money, and write an IOU. No, the thugs from that gambling house block the door of Feng's house every day, threatening If you don't pay back the money, Feng Yongcai's arms and legs will be cut off, so Feng Yongcai and his father have no choice but to embezzle the money from our restaurant to cover the shortfall of the gambling debt."

At that time, Xu Zhongxuan was standing behind the case and drawing with a brush.

The lotus leaves are green, the lotus flowers are pink and tender, and the koi is bright and beautiful. It is exactly the same picture of lotus leaf koi that I gave Jian Yan that day.And he has drawn no less than five pictures of lotus leaf koi these days.

He didn't look up either, and kept the brush in his hand, still slowly sketching the scales on the koi's body, and asked faintly, "Oh? Who is that man?"

"The treasurer of Shijin Pavilion, Zhou Lin."

"Shijin Pavilion?" Xu Zhongxuan still didn't raise his head, and his hands didn't stop, "Why is the shopkeeper of Shijin Pavilion setting up tricks for Feng Yongcai like this? But has Feng Yongcai offended him before?"

After hesitating for a moment, Qi Sang finally gritted his teeth and said everything.

"The subordinate also checked Zhou Lin specially. It was found that Zhou Lin had already recognized Mama Xia in our small kitchen as a godmother. After calling out and intimidating her, Mama Xia told her everything. She only said that Mrs. Jian arrived at our house not long ago, and this week Lin came to find her. He told Mama Xia that he He was just a boy in a woolen shop. Because of his relationship with Bai Wei, he saw that Bai Wei followed Miss Jian to Tongzhou, and he followed him immediately. The two of them had frequent exchanges on weekdays. In addition, Zhou Lin was injured in the middle, and Bai Wei He even bribed Mother Xia and the doorman, and went out to visit Zhou Lin secretly for a day. As for why Zhou Lin was injured, his subordinates also investigated. , spent money to invite a group of rogues to make trouble, smashed Shijin Pavilion, and injured Zhou Lin. Shen Chuo was there at the time, and he took the initiative to teach those rogues a lesson. At that time, Shijin Pavilion was closed for a few days. But then the door was opened again, and no one dared to come to make trouble. The subordinates also checked, and it turned out that Shen Chuo was covering the Shijin Pavilion. And then, for some reason, Shen Chuo opened in other state capitals one after another The Seven Family Shijin Pavilion is exactly the same as this Shijin Pavilion in the capital. His subordinates asked Qi Hui to search for a few members of the Shen family, but they couldn't find any connection. It seems that Shen Chuo kept this matter very tight. Only one family member said that they had seen Zhou Lin come looking for Shen Chuo, and it was from then on that Shen Chuo began to prepare for opening Shijin Pavilion in other state capitals."

Xu Zhongxuan's complexion began to slowly become heavy.

He put down the writing brush in his hand, sat in the armchair behind the desk, clasped his hands on the desk, looked up at Qi Sang, and said in a deep voice: "What's the relationship between Zhou Lin and Jian's family this week?"

"The subordinate found a maid next to Mrs. Jian and asked about it. According to the maid, Zhou Lin was originally a boy in a woolen shop when Jian's family was in Longxing Mansion. He and Bai Wei were both girls of Jane. The nanny brought them here, and sold it into Jian’s house as a servant. It’s just that Mrs. Jian sold the family property and shop, and this week Lin redeemed herself. After that, she didn’t know where Zhou Lin went. Then the subordinates went deep I felt that there must be some secrets about Zhou Lin this time, so I searched all the way, and finally taught my subordinates to find out that Zhou Lin is really a good hand in business this week."

Next, he described how Zhou Lin lived in a dilapidated temple in the suburbs from the beginning, how he started with 1000 taels of silver and opened a wool shop, and how he opened Shijin Pavilion later. To this day, when people in the capital mention Zhou Lin, they all give a thumbs up and praise him, and they have all told Xu Zhongxuan about it.

Xu Zhongxuan's complexion became more serious.

He doesn't care whether Zhou Lin is a talent or not. What he cares about is that Zhou Lin is related to Bai Wei, but Bai Wei is related to Jian Yan.

Shen Chuo, Zhou Lin, and Bai Wei, these three people, at first glance, have no connection, but when you think about it carefully, they are inextricably linked.

Zhou Lin is the buddy of Jian's family. Bai Wei and Zhou Lin were brought by Jian Yan's nanny and sold into Jian's family as slaves. There are seven assorted pavilions.

However, where did the 1000 taels of silver that Zhou Lin started his business come from?At the beginning, he was just a boy of Jane's family. Where did he get the 1000 taels of silver?And if he is really as talented in the business field, why didn't he show it in Longxing Mansion, instead he started to become a blockbuster after he arrived in Tongzhou?And Shen Chuo, what kind of agreement did he and Zhou Lin reach, that they would take action to cover Shijin Pavilion, and would open seven Shijin Pavilions in a row in other state capitals?What role did Bai Wei play in this process?
In the blink of an eye, he suddenly remembered the lucky cats in Xu Miaojin and Xu Miaoning's rooms, and that day when he saw Jian Yan and Shen Chuo sitting and chatting opposite each other in Shijin Pavilion.

"When did this Assorted Pavilion open?"

He suddenly asked Qi Sang in a deep voice.Qi Sang thought for a while, and then replied: "I didn't ask the exact date, but I vaguely remember that it was opened in May."

But he clearly remembered that when he saw the lucky cat at Xu Miaoning and Xu Miaojin's place, it was the beginning of summer in April.

At that time, the camphor flowers had just opened, and amidst the faint fragrance, she was kicking shuttlecock under the camphor tree in Xu Miaoning's west courtyard, her figure was as light as a swallow, and her smile was pretty and bright.

Xu Zhongxuan closed his eyes, then opened them again.

He remembered that he asked Jian Yan where the lucky cat came from, and she said that her brother brought it back from the capital for her to play with.But at that time, Shijing Pavilion hadn't opened yet, where did her brother buy this lucky cat?
Another time when he saw Jian Yan and Shen Chuo sitting and chatting opposite each other in the Shijin Pavilion, he was blinded by jealousy at that time, and he never thought about why Jian Yan and Shen Chuo so happened to be in Shijin Pavilion Ge Li met, and what is there to talk about between the two of them?The two of them just met in Taoyuan, and at that time Jian Yan didn't even say a word to Shen Chuo, and Shen Chuo didn't even know her name, how could they be so familiar after seeing each other again?Unless the two of them have had contact in private.

And that day, the door of Shijing Pavilion was closed tightly, and the servants in front of the door guarded tightly, not letting any outsiders in.How could Zhou Lin close the business for nothing because the two of them left a good business, just to let the two of them sit and chat?

And thinking about it now, when he pushed the door in angrily that day, Zhou Lin stood behind Jian Yan and waited on him with his hands down.

After Zhou Lin redeemed himself, he was no longer a servant of the Jian family, so why should he be so respectful to Jian Yan?And at that time, he was still the shopkeeper of Shijin Pavilion, with a wealthy family, while Jian Yan was just a woman in a boudoir.

Unless, unless this Shijin Pavilion has something to do with Jian Yan, it is even possible that this Shijin Pavilion was originally opened by Jian Yan for Zhou Lin.What's more, the agreement with Shen Chuo was also instigated by Jian Yan, otherwise, how could it be possible for a person like Shen Chuo to sit down and chat with a boudoir woman in such a leisurely way?
After leaving the official office the next day, he took Qisang to the Shijin Pavilion in a special way.

Zhou Lin was not there, and it was just a boy who received him.

The little guy still recognized him, remembering that he once bought a string of pink tourmaline beckoning cat bracelets here to give to his beloved girl.Yin asked him with a smile on his face, does that girl like that string of bracelets?Did she ever know your mind?

Xu Zhongxuan just smiled and didn't answer.On the one hand, he slowly looked at everything in the Assorted Pavilion.

On the black lacquered rosewood shelf nearby, there are various styles of beckoning cats, beckoning cats, and other vases and antiques, as well as pots of green radishes and vines with luxuriant branches and leaves hanging down. The bonsai in the far corner, the chairs for people to rest, the dried fruit refreshments that can be taken at will, the books that can be read at will, the calligraphy and paintings of celebrities and the plain piano hanging on the wall, it is obviously just a shop selling things, but But elegant and simple like a study.

At least he had never seen such a shop before.Or in other words, the layout of such a shop was beyond what people of this era could have imagined.

At this time, he saw the beckoning cat on the counter again.

The left and right hands are raised high, each with a small golden bell tied with a red thread.Pointy ears, smiling crescent-like eyes, no matter how you look at it, it is so festive.

It's just that Xu Zhongxuan's eyes were not on this lucky cat.

He just set his eyes on the cushion on which the lucky cat was placed.

On the bright red cushion, a cluster of elegant and noble orchids was embroidered at each of the four corners.

This kind of color scheme, this kind of embroidery, is exactly the same as the orchid on the handkerchief that has been folded and placed in his arms.

And this handkerchief belongs to Jian Yan.Since he picked it up by the pond that day, he has been carrying it with him ever since.During the few months in Shandong, I would take it out every night to see things and think about others.I'm afraid that now he can clearly tell how many stamens there are in that cluster of orchids, so how could he fail to recognize that the orchids on this mat and this handkerchief are from the same hand?

(End of this chapter)