Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 197 Qingyun Road Security
There are three courtyards in the Shangfang in Wuqingyi, all of which are adjacent to each other. Cao Yong lives in the one on the west side, and Yan Zongbing and Wang Zongbing live in the courtyard next door.

These two have always been foreign military officers, and they are rarely in Beijing. Cao Yong met them for the first time, let alone familiar with them.Why did they hastily remove a deputy general from the second rank?Couldn't it be that the deputy general will take revenge, so he took the ruthless hand to avoid future troubles?That would be a bit of a joke, not to mention, those who can be the commander-in-chief, who doesn't have family power behind them, may not take Zuo Shiyong seriously.

"Chen Hongdao! Chen Hongdao!" Cao Yong suddenly thought of him, and asked Wei Hei: "If it is arson, it will inevitably show traces. Will this be related to the Chen family and his son?"

After thinking for a while, Wei Hei nodded, "This lieutenant general was a second-rank high-ranking official. He died in the inn so inexplicably. Someone must come forward to investigate. If nothing can be found by then, give the person surnamed Chen a press." The crime of "revenge murder" is closed, and I can't help it!"

Cao Yong didn't like Chen Hongdao, a rotten Confucian who didn't know how to adapt and affected his family.Honesty is certainly good, and such a virtuous family is also admirable, but since a big man has become an official, he can't even protect himself and his family. How can he be the "Master Qingtian" who makes decisions for the people?But looking at the sake of the three children, Cao Yong could not stand idly by.It's just that it's early in the morning, even if you want to do something, you have to talk about it in the morning.

Cao Yong was about to go back to the room when he heard someone calling someone outside. It was Zhang Admiral's personal soldier who came to ask Cao Yong to make up his mind.

Originally, such a calamity at the post station had nothing to do with everyone, but the rank of the deputy general was too high, and the post chief had already lost his mind, so he asked Admiral Zhang, the highest official, to make up his mind.Although admiral Zhang has a high official position, his status and title are not comparable to Cao Yong's. He didn't dare to trust him, so he sent his own soldiers to ask Cao Yong to make a decision.

Where would Cao Yong diligently help them worry about these things? !Then he replied, let Admiral Zhang decide.

Immediately, in addition to immediately sending someone to report the case to the Infantry Commander's Yamen in the capital, Admiral Zhang also notified from the courtyard, please postpone your departure tomorrow, everything will be discussed when the Infantry Yamen's official dispatch arrives.There are more than a dozen officials living in this post station. Although there are dissatisfaction in their hearts, why are they talking so much at this time to arouse suspicion?
The next day, after grooming and washing, Chu Yu wanted to change the dressing for Cao Yong's wound.How could Cao Yong show her the several-inch-long bloody hole?Then he changed the subject seemingly casually, and talked about the little girl of the Chen family, at the age of eight or nine, how much it would be stimulated to witness her relatives being abused to death with her own eyes.

Chu Yu looked at Cao Yong with a little worry, and said: "What the forehead said is true. This little kid must have been scared. I don't know if I can sleep last night. Otherwise, let's go over there." to see her?"

Cao Yong nodded and said: "Alright, let's go and see! I don't know if her father's condition is better. Fortunately, those two boys seem to be sensible. Otherwise, the family is old and young. People look sad!"

Chu Yu sighed softly, paused, and said, "Let's pick out some snacks from the capital and give them to her? Little girls like these snacks..."

Cao Yong knew that Chu Yu liked dim sum, so he said this in a way that he could hold her hand tightly, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

In addition to preparing snacks for the little girl, Cao Yong and Chu Yu also found two leather jackets for the two teenagers, sealed two bags of silver, and then took a few people to Chen Hongdao's residence.

Because the fire broke out in the middle of the night and burned the lieutenant to death, there were a lot of discussions everywhere in the post station. Naturally, few people believed that it was "accidental water leakage".After all, because some people heard some rumors about the Acton incident, the suspicion gradually fell on the Chen family and his son.Everyone said everything, and there were a lot of bad words.

There are also some honest people who couldn't help but speak up to defend Chen and his son. ——The third-class house of this post station is in the large courtyard, where several households of high-level officials live.If Chen Hongdao came out to commit murder in the middle of the night, how could there be no movement at all?He is just a sick and weak scholar, although he has three children by his side, the eldest is only fourteen or five years old.The deputy general and his cronies followed a dozen people, how could his family be able to deal with it!

*
Chen Hongdao's family was housed in the east wing of the courtyard here, with only two rooms.When Cao Yong and Chu Yu came, they were sitting around the table, staring at the steamed buns in a daze.It was Chen Hongdao's second wife who died last night. If it wasn't for the fact that the father and son couldn't bear to eat cold steamed buns and went to the kitchen to cook, they wouldn't have caused such a tragedy for no reason.

Hearing the greeting from outside the door, Chen Hongdao got up quickly and invited Cao Yong and Chu Yu to come in.

Last night he already knew that Cao Yong was the consort of the princess, so he naturally guessed Chu Yu's identity, and respectfully invited Ann.Because of Cao Yong's kindness in saving his father's life, the Chen family brothers originally regarded him as a real hero, but seeing his father treat him with such respect, they also knew that he was also a member of the officialdom, and looked at Cao Yong. Yong's expression is no longer so eager.

The little girl stood peacefully behind her two brothers, looking at Cao Yong and Chu Yu with a trace of curiosity and uneasiness.

Chen Hongdao invited the two to sit down, Cao Yong and Chu Yu looked at the cold steamed buns and boiled water on the table, and looked at each other.

Chen Hongdao tidied up his sleeves, cupped his fists respectfully and bowed to Cao Yong: "Chen was confused for a while, thank you Mr. Cao for your help! Chen has nothing to repay for saving his life. If there is an afterlife, Chen is willing to be married Huan, to repay the kindness of the adults!"

Cao Yong waved his hand: "It's just a little effort, no need to be polite, just let me ask you, do you have to go to this capital? It's freezing cold, 'the road is difficult and dangerous', you have to think more about them."

Chen Hongdao was startled, and then heard Cao Yong's subtext, but still nodded firmly: "Thank you for your reminder, but the skeleton of Chen's wife is still in the capital, no matter what, Chen can't abandon her! "

pedantic!Cao Yong couldn't help cursing inwardly, the dead is more important than the living, knowing that there is danger, but still being so reckless, has this person read into the stomach of a dog?But after scolding him, I couldn't help admiring him for sticking to his style of doing things so persistently.

Chu Yu had already taken the snack box from Xi Yun who came with her, put it on the table, and called the little girl softly.The little girl had already been lured by the sweet smell of the dim sum, but she still stood behind her brother, looking at her father with questioning eyes.

Along the way, the little girl was taken care of by her concubine. Now her hair is messed up and her face is not very clean. She looks really pitiful.Chen Hongdao felt uncomfortable, first thanked Chu Yu, and then nodded to his daughter.

The little girl hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't resist the temptation of dim sum, she moved her fingers step by step to Chuyu.

Since childhood, Chu Yu had many younger brothers and sisters in her family, and she was the best at coaxing the children, but with just a few words, the little girl became close to her.Chu Yu wiped her hands with a handkerchief, and then pushed the snack box in front of her, letting her choose her favorite food.

The little girl looked at Chuyu, picked out the biggest piece of walnut cake, and brought it to Chen Hongdao with both hands: "Father, eat!"

Chen Hongdao had a sore nose, choked up and couldn't speak. He just shook his head and signaled his daughter to eat by herself.

The little girl didn't move, she just looked at her father like that, and at some point her dark eyes were covered with mist: "Father, don't die!" Perhaps in her heart, she didn't know what death was at all, but because The mother disappeared, and the second mother disappeared, more or less knowing that "death" means that she is no longer by her side.

Cao Yong couldn't stand it anymore, stood up, and said to Chen Hongdao: "Your son is very sensible, and your daughter is so filial, even if you don't think about yourself, don't you think about the three brothers and sisters? "

Where can Chen Hongdao speak?He tried hard not to lose his composure, but he still didn't mean to change his words.

At this moment, Cao Yong suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, a confusion of "the righteous way in the world is the vicissitudes of life".Actually, what's wrong with Chen Hongdao?His wife, in order to save him and help him clear his grievances, is not afraid of life and death; he is a big man, how can he say that because he is afraid of the bumps in the road ahead, he abandons his wife's bones in another country, so that the desperadoes cannot rest in peace.

This is all that needs to be said, and what to do is his own choice.Cao Yong was a little depressed, so he asked the two brothers to help him get a pen and paper, and roughly wrote down what he knew yesterday, and also wrote down the admiral Zhang, Yan Zongbing, Wang Zongbing, and several inspectors who knew their names. On it, finally sign your name.I listed these names on purpose, knowing that I should tell others, not to close the case indiscriminately and suppress the idea of ​​suppressing this matter, so as not to make Chen and his son scapegoats.

After writing and folding it, handed it to Chen Hongdao, and then said: "Zuo Shiyong is in the banner, you are a Han, this case will either be interrogated by the yamen of the infantry commander, or by the yamen of Shuntian Prefecture. Okay, but there will be some mistakes if the guarantee is not complete. If the other party wants to force you to confess guilt in order to close the case as soon as possible, then you can hand over this letter, which may protect you; if the other party is still fair, you don’t need to make extra troubles! "

Chen Hongdao has also been used to the warmth and coldness of people for more than a year, so he was a little puzzled by Cao Yong's sudden enthusiasm, so he didn't reach out to accept the letter for a while.

When Cao Yong saw it, he felt bored and couldn't help laughing at himself. When did he become so kind and wanted to tear up the letter, but when he saw the three brothers next to him, he finally couldn't bear it and threw it on the table.

Chu Yu saw his displeasure, got up to say goodbye to Chen's father and son, and followed Cao Yong out.

In the courtyard, several low-level officials staying in the same courtyard were all dressed neatly and waited at the door because they heard that the Chen family had a "noble person" visiting.What I saw was a young couple, followed by a servant girl, they didn't know how to address them for a while, so they avoided the road and dared not go forward.

It wasn't until the people were far away that he thought about it with extraordinary insight, patted his thigh and said: "Hey, look at the fur cloaks on those two, it is not something that can be worn by ordinary people, who is this little prince from the mansion?" Bar?"

Another pouted: "Who are you bluffing? All the Lord Belle who came out of this palace wore yellow belts. Although the son was a bit more expensive, he didn't look like a clan. It should be some governor who came to Beijing!"

Everyone made some guesses, not knowing when the Chen family had such a noble relative, so they were somewhat scrupulous and did not dare to talk nonsense.

It is for this reason that Cao Yong made this trip deliberately. Although the conversation with Chen Hongdao is not speculative, it can be regarded as reaching the original intention.

At noon, the officers and soldiers of the yamen commanding the infantry in the capital, together with several arresters from the Shuntian Mansion, rushed to the scene.Speaking of which, the military officer from the Bujun Yamen is still an acquaintance of Cao Yong-Changling, the son of Fu Ding of the Bujun Academy.

Although these two people are not familiar with each other, they are aunts and cousins ​​who are close relatives. They have also dealt with each other because of the epidemic situation before, so meeting each other naturally requires some pleasantries.

Before Cao Yong left Beijing, Fu Ding's family also passed by. Because he just said goodbye in a hurry, he didn't leave a meal, and he didn't meet Changling face to face.Afterwards, Fu Ding did not specifically mention Cao Yong's release from Beijing to his son.Therefore, at the moment when he first saw Cao Yong, Changling was slightly surprised.

After knowing that he has been let go to guard the way, this time he is specially taking the princess back to his hometown to visit relatives, Changling doesn't know whether to be jealous of his youthful pride, or to laugh at him for finally losing his sacred heart and being sent out of Beijing.

Because of the flood in the early morning, everyone rushed to put out the fire, which made the fire scene a mess, and there were black footprints everywhere, and nothing could be seen at all.People from the Bujun Yamen and Shuntian Mansion checked it several times, but they didn't get any clues or evidence.But a dignified second-rank official can't die like this without knowing why. Even if someone didn't set the fire on purpose, he had to find the source of the fire before he could make a difference.But under the broken tiles and ruins, where can we find the source of the fire?

From Cao Yong to Yicheng, they all went through simple inquiries.Unsurprisingly, the Chen family and his son were still the most suspected.

The infantry yamen and the Shuntian government backed each other, and finally agreed that the Chen family and his son would be escorted by the Shuntian government, while the infantry government would transport Akton's body and the remains of Zuo Shiyong and others back to Beijing.As for how to proceed with the trial, that is a matter for the adults of the two governments, and has nothing to do with them who are on errands.

After tossing and tossing this morning, Cao Yong felt that the wound was a little itchy, so he went to Wei Hei and asked him to help him reapply some medicine.

After re-bandaging, Cao Yong felt much better. The medicine was not as irritating as yesterday, and it was refreshing and refreshing.But looking at Wei Hei's hands again, it is still the bottle from yesterday, and there is no difference.

Seeing that Cao Yong seemed suspicious, Wei Hei laughed twice, put the bottle on the table, and asked Cao Yong mysteriously: "My lord, guess who sent this medicine? "

Cao Yong shook his head and said: "How do I know this, but Brother Wei is so relieved, anyone's medicine dares to use on me..." Halfway through the speech, he seemed to realize something, and said with a wry smile: "This...is this the county? sent by the Lord?"

Wei Hei nodded, and said in a slightly persuasive tone: "Master, it's not Lao Hei who said it, but it's not the case that you keep everything from the princess like this! You don't want to say it, she doesn't want to go against your will , don’t open your mouth to ask, but can you not worry about it in your heart? No, send medicine to Lao Hei, and don’t ask Lao Hei to say that she sent it, lest you worry that she will know!”

Cao Yong's heart was also hot, and he said with a smile: "I didn't deliberately hide anything from her. I was afraid that she would be worried when she saw it. It was so bloody again yesterday. It would be better to watch it tomorrow, and then let her see it." Let's go!" Speaking of this, he glanced at Wei Hei, and couldn't help joking: "Brother Wei, when will you add a sister-in-law to us? That vanilla is a good girl, if you don't hurry up, wait until she gets engaged, I want to repent but it's too late!"

Hearing the mention of vanilla, Wei Hei's face showed some unnaturalness.

After Wei Bai and Fang Cha left, Vanilla helped Wei Hei do needlework twice because of Fang Cha's entrustment.Later, a daughter-in-law in the mansion teased her with this, and she stopped coming forward to avoid suspicion.

After Cao Yong and Mr. Zhuang knew about this, they both felt that Wei Hei should not give up this good opportunity. He should propose marriage as soon as possible and marry Xiangcao into the family.Such a good wife with a gentle personality and good looks is hard to find even with a lantern.

Wei Hei had no intention of getting married at first, but although he was a little moved by everyone later, considering that he was more than ten years older than Vanilla and hurt his eyes, he was afraid that Vanilla would be wronged, so he refused to let go.After leaving the Cao Mansion and the capital, he felt a little empty, as if something was missing.

Cao Yong looked at Wei Hei's stupid appearance, and secretly thought in his heart, after the new year, when everyone meets in Yizhou, the most important thing is to arrange Wei Hei's marriage.Although Chen Hongdao looked older, he seemed to be only a few years older than Wei Hei. He was already the father of three children, and the eldest son was a half-grown young man.

Because of their homesickness, Cao Yong and others headed south all the way after setting off from Wuqing post.Although it was the twelfth lunar month of winter, fortunately the further south we went, the warmer the weather was, which was much better than when we first left Beijing.Even so, the journey was exhausting, but I was afraid that if I was delayed on the road, I would not be able to catch up with the Spring Festival, so I seldom stayed on the road and headed south all the way.

He set off early every day and rested in the evening, and went straight for more than [-] days. On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Cao Yong finally saw the gate of Jiangning City.
-
(End of this chapter)