Battle of the Red Mansions

Without staying in the backyard for too long, Lin Ruhai welcomed Tu Jingyang to the main hall, and then politely asked him why he came.

After all, he is a noble scholar, and he doesn't have so many dirty thoughts. Even if Tu Jingyang came here with Lin Xuan, Lin Ruhai didn't think about it. It must be a serious matter for Prince Ning'an to come to Yangzhou. He just listens to orders. enough.

Ah Xuan came back from the capital, if Prince Ning An didn't want people to know that he came to Yangzhou, it would indeed be a good idea to go with Ah Xuan.

And at this time, he came to his house to cover up people's eyes and ears, and he could almost guess what this master might be doing.

Half a year ago, the emperor ordered him to secretly collect evidence about the collusion between Jiangnan salt merchants and officials. Although there is not much progress now, some clues have been sorted out.

If there is Prince Ning An sent by the emperor to help, then the progress will be much faster. After all, he is just an ordinary official, not even an imperial envoy, but Prince Ning An is different. There are more things in control than him.

Let people come over without revealing their identities. It seems that the relationship between the emperor and Prince Ning'an is really good. After all, for this kind of thing, it is dangerous to show your face.

It would be a good way to dig out all the moths and send an imperial envoy over so that he and Prince Ning'an can pick them out easily.

In short, they did the work, and the emperor remembered their contributions. After a few years of qualifications, he would be able to leave the position of inspector and censor.

To be honest, Yan Yun is not a good official, although it is a fat job.

Sitting in the position of Salt Transport, the Lianghuai salt merchants would naturally think of ways to deliver things to him, but the emperor was staring at him, and even if he collected those things, he would eventually turn them over to the state treasury.

Although with the Lin family's wealth, he can live well without the filial piety of those salt merchants, but the feeling of not having money is completely different from giving it away after turning it around in his hands.

Who said that scholars should keep their ears to the outside world and only read the books of sages and sages, and scholars also have to eat, even if they are from a scholarly family, they all have private property at home.

Most of the emperor's rewards cannot be sold, and can only be stored in the warehouse. It is disrespectful to touch them, let alone exchange them for silver.

He doesn't need to accept bribes, but he can't do anything in this position if he doesn't accept bribes, which is a bit embarrassing. Although Lin Ruhai is not a saint, he doesn't want to just waste decades here.

Therefore, officials related to salt and iron are all hard work.

Thinking of this, Lin Ruhai asked his servants to bring up new tea, and then waved everyone away, leaving only the two of them in the main hall.

The two sat down separately, and Tu Jingyang didn't make any fuss, straightened his expression and directly stated the mission this time.

"Master Lin must know exactly what to do, so I won't say much. The main thing is up to Master Lin. I just need to deal with things in the dark that can't be handled in the open."

Clearly stating his position, Tu Jingyang, who looked very harmless, curled his lips into a smile, and asked Changyuan to take out the things he had sorted out these days.

"Master Lin may not know much about the current situation in the capital in Yangzhou. The water here in Nanjing is deep. I will send someone to send me any news I find out. Lord Lin, if you need anything, just ask."

Glancing at the thick stack of papers, Lin Ruhai nodded, "Don't worry, my lord, the next official will definitely live up to the emperor's expectations, and will go all out to clear the Jiangnan officialdom."

He, Lin Ruhai, has studied Confucianism for many years, and being an official in the imperial court not only kept the Lin family from falling down, but also naturally had his own ideas.

As the predecessors said, in this life, a scholar should establish his heart for the world, establish his life for the people, inherit the knowledge of the past saints, and create peace for all generations.

It is too grand to inherit the sage's unique knowledge and bring peace to all generations. It is difficult for him, a small official, to do it, but he still has to work hard to make a living for the people.

Knowing that Lin Ruhai is the confidant of their royal brother, and because of Lin Xuan's relationship, Tu Jingyang didn't suspect anything randomly.

If there was something wrong with this person, their imperial brother would not have taught him such a big matter.

However, even knowing that Lin Ruhai would not bend the law for personal gain, Tu Jingyang still reminded him vaguely.

"Master Lin, the Jiangnan Zhen family has a deep connection with the capital, and the Rongguo Mansion is no exception..."

Frowning and waiting for Jingyang to finish speaking, Lin Ruhai paused for a moment, and then retorted subconsciously, "This is impossible, the prince is too worried."

Rong Guogong is his father-in-law, and he knows his conduct well, so he is not someone who would be involved in these matters.

In the past two years, Duke Guo was still leading troops to fight, and he didn't have time to get involved in these matters. The generals were simple-minded, even Duke Rong was no exception.

Knowing that Lin Ruhai would say that, Tu Jingyang just smiled, and then said slowly, "Master Lin is right, Duke Rong is indeed brave in fighting and dedicated to the country, and Duke Rong is not the only one in the Rongguo Mansion."

There is not only one family of in-laws in the Rongguo Mansion, and it is not the Duke but the wife of the Duke who is connected with the Zhen family. On Rongguo Fair Day, more people stay in the barracks than at home, and he probably doesn't know that the women in the family are here. What did you do all the time.

Some thoughts flashed through his mind, Lin Ruhai was stunned for a moment, then stood up and bowed to salute, "Thank you, my lord, for reminding me, these things... I will pay attention to it..."

It's not easy for him to talk about the Yue family's affairs, but his wife can. If this is the case, then he can't let others go because of Rong Guogong.

"Your Majesty Lin, you don't need to be too polite, Rong Guo is just and selfless, and this king can't bear him being dragged down too hard by the woman in the back house."

After helping Lin Ruhai up, Tu Jingyang immediately discussed other omissions with him.

Cleaning up the officialdom is easy to say, but in practice, it will take a few years to see results.

In a rich place like Jiangnan, there is a lot of money and a lot of things, and there are a lot of greedy people.

There are countless talents in the world waiting to be appointed, those officials who have a vegetarian meal should pack up and prepare to live in another place.

After a few days, if Lin Ruhai can be replaced with some powerful helpers, the situation may be better.

The two discussed the current situation for a long time, and when the sky became dark, Tu Jingyang got up and prepared to leave.

Taking a look at the sky outside, Tu Jingyang asked Lin Ruhai not to come out to see him off. He came here to deceive others. It would not be very good if Mr. Lin sent him out in person.

Seeing the master walking in front of Xingbu Xianting, Changyuan followed quickly, "My lord, shall we stay in Yangzhou or go to Jinling next."

"It can be done anywhere. We don't have a certainty about this matter. It doesn't matter if we stay in Yangzhou for a few more days." He said indifferently, and Tu Jingyang closed his fan, "Remember to have someone check Zhen's house carefully. Remember, their family had a lot to do with Yizhong back then."

"I remember correctly, it's just that they were not caught because they withdrew too quickly." Changyuan nodded and told the information he knew.

"In this case, let's focus on their family this time." Tapping his hand with a fan, Tu Jingyang thought of something again, and then said, "It seems that the imperial merchant Xue's family is also in Jinling, remember to let someone take good care of it." , the money of the Daqing Dynasty should be kept in the hands of our own people."

Since the master had already said so, Zhang Yuan naturally took the order, but he seemed to remember that something happened to the Xue family these days.

"Master, the Patriarch of the Xue family is ill and it seems that he can't last for a few years. Their family has a big business, and they are making trouble now."

Xue's family is an imperial merchant, even though they carry the word "imperial", they cannot escape a merchant.

There are several brothers in the Patriarch's generation, one or two are staring at the huge family business, but Patriarch Xue's son is a dude with no business knowledge, once he dies, will the orphans and widows still be able to keep the family business?

"Arguing?" Tu Jingyang raised his eyebrows, and said in a tone that didn't fit his image, "Since that's the case, then things are much simpler."

Taking advantage of his illness to kill him, the Xue family's family business started from the royal family, since the current owner is unable to keep it, then he should help behind.

Outside the city, Chang Heng quietly led people to surround the monk with the scarlet head and the lame Taoist priest, and followed the trails to find them. It stands to reason that with the speed of the two of them, they should be able to catch up with them in the city, but they just couldn't.

He originally thought of watching from the city to the outside of the city and then directly tied them away, but he didn't expect that there were still traces of the two people in the city, and it was as if they disappeared out of thin air as soon as they left the city.

Standing outside the city gate for a while, Chang Heng asked around the small tea stalls, and everyone said that they didn't see any monks with scarlet heads or lame Taoist priests, which was strange.

He clearly watched those two people coming towards the city gate, but now they are nowhere to be seen in the city, and no one saw them outside, so they can still fly with wings?

There was no clue at all on the official road, Chang Heng waved his hand to get the people squatting in the dark to retreat, and then he gritted his teeth and rode back to the city by himself.

They have a residence in Yangzhou, before the lord came out of the Lin residence, he went to let someone clean up the yard first.

After all, it has not been lived in for several years, even if it is often cleaned by people, it must be cleaned up before moving in.

In other words, the monk and the Taoist priest are so conspicuous walking together, and the Taoist priest is still limping on one foot, how could he lose people?

Forget it, no matter what, he should go and find out what happened to these two unscrupulous monks.

When Tu Jingyang brought Chang Yuan to this house, Chang Heng was sitting on a tree with his face on his face, not knowing what to think.

Seeing their lord come back, Chang Heng's expression was not very good, he turned over and got down from the tree, and then stepped forward to say that he didn't catch the monk with the scarlet head and the lame Taoist priest.

"The appearance of those two people should be very conspicuous, but few people in the city remember them, and there is no trace of them after going outside the city, as if they disappeared out of thin air..."

Frowning and listening to Chang Heng's words, Tu Jingyang folded his arms and lowered his eyes in silence. If it was an ordinary monk or Taoist priest, he would not be so capable of escaping from his hands. Those two people were really not easy.

After talking about losing people outside the city, Chang Heng hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "My lord, I have also heard some news from the servants of the Lin family. Not many people and not hearing too much.”

Looking at Chang Heng who was struggling with what to say, Tu Jingyang only thought it was a private matter, and he didn't think much about it, so they didn't have anything to do to check the privacy of other people's homes.

"It's okay, let's talk."

Feeling that this matter is not very good for Lin Xuan's reputation, Chang Heng's voice also subconsciously lowered, "The old man in Lin's mansion said that the scarlet monk had already been to their house when Master Lin was just born. What did you say that Lin Xiaoye was born on July [-]th, he is the most difficult to control people around him, and then he will be taken to become a monk..."

His expression gradually sank, Tu Jingyang rubbed the center of his eyebrows, "And then?"

"Then a few years later, Mr. and Mrs. Lin Houye went. Mr. Lin thought that the problem was with him. Since then, he has never had a birthday. He knew that Mrs. Lin married a wife, and Mrs. Lin didn't know the twists and turns. Made him a bowl of longevity noodles."

After finishing the matter in a low voice, Chang Heng raised his eyes to look at their prince, and then quickly lowered his head.

It's normal for the prince to be unable to accept such a thing for a while, after all, when he heard it himself, he thought that the pitiful Lin Xiaoye the wives were talking about was not the Lin Xuan he knew.

When the prince first came to Yangzhou, he followed him, but he had never met Lin Xiaoye, but after spending so long at Hangu Pass day and night, in terms of the friendship between the two of them every day, Lin Xuan seemed to be able to smile. Definitely not a straight-faced person.

Such a laughing young man was bullied like this when he was a child, no wonder he rushed up with a gun as soon as he saw the skinny monk and the lame Taoist priest today.

If this matter fell on him, his approach would not be much calmer than Lin Xuan.

Their prince usually dotes on Lin Xiaoye like something, so he must not listen to this matter.

Chang Heng did not guess wrong. Tu Jingyang had a bad feeling in his heart when he heard half of it, but even so, he never thought that the reason why Lin Xuan would be vague or change the subject every time he asked about his birthday was because this.

He asked so many times before, is he exposing his scars every time?

The child is silent and confused, that kid is also stupid, doesn't he know how to tell the matter?

Who is Tu Jingyang, and can he be far away because of this?

It took a long time before he let out a deep breath. Tu Jingyang felt even more disgusted with the scarlet-headed monk and the lame Taoist priest, "Let your subordinates pay attention. Once you find the traces of these two people, report them immediately. Of course, you can also capture them alive."

Only by capturing him alive can he be properly interrogated. Who instructed this demon Taoist priest and demon monk to try to harm the Lin family again and again.

I don't know, because Lin Xuan unceremoniously drove people away today, Master Boundless and Daoist Miaomiao no longer want to interfere in this world, and he will not be able to find the incarnation of these two people in the world in the future. When Tu Jingyang thought of Lin Xuan The pitiful situation when I was a child wanted to kill the skinny monk and the lame Taoist priest.

Temples and Taoist temples have decrees, but they are all chosen. Even if there are unspecified orders such as restraining his wife and husband, most of them are for earning money for the name change. These two people are so good, they deceived his people It also caused Ah Xuan to be obsessed with it to this day, so he deserved to be killed.

Nodding and remembering the words of their lord, Chang Heng continued, "My lord, there is one more thing Steward Lin said today, that is Zhen Shiyin from Gusu. Their girl was also stolen by a kidnapper after refusing the monk's idea of ​​becoming a monk. , and then within a few years it all went down."

It wasn't a big deal at first, at least it wasn't something that their prince would know, but thinking about the scene where the sloppy monk failed twice to become a monk, and then the family suffered a catastrophe, he felt a little panicked.

After all, when they went to Lin's mansion today, the monk wanted to take Mrs. Lin's one-month-old girl away!

If something happened to the Lin family because they rejected the scorpion-headed monk, it would be a bit scary. The Lin family would not have many children, so they couldn't withstand the blow of Zhen Shiyin.

Obviously, Tu Jingyang and Chang Heng wanted to go together.

Feeling that the scarlet monk and the lame Taoist priest had some evil spirits, Tu Jingyang thought about it for a while, and then decisively asked Changyuan to allocate some people to guard the Lin family.

He still doesn't believe it, he is a majestic prince of the Daqing Dynasty, and his brother is in the present day, and he can't protect the Lin family from an evil monk.

On the surface, Jiangnan is still full of singing and dancing. It is said that the fireworks will go down in Yangzhou in March, but even after March, Yangzhou is still prosperous.

Lin Xuan just rested at home, and then found a chance to gossip with his brother about Rongguo Mansion in the capital.

Anyway, I still feel sorry for the Duke who was brought down by a group of pig teammates.

Of course, Lin Xuan had his own sense of propriety, and just picked up and said something that was not too explicit, such as Rongguo Mansion praying for a child all over the city.

Lin Ruhai's expression changed before Lin Xuan finished speaking. None of the princes of today's sages were so fanatical, and a grandson of a Duke's mansion was so high-profile. Wouldn't he be directly pushed to the forefront of the storm?

No wonder Prince Ning An specifically told him that there were so many things he didn't know.

Tell Lin Xuan not to talk about this with others, he will go to Madam's place by himself, and children should not touch other things.

Being able to get information from Tu Jingyang's news channel, and paying more attention to the contact between the Zhen family and the Rongguo Mansion recently, Lin Ruhai obviously thinks much more than Lin Xuan

This time I really need to discuss it with my wife. The Duke is the backbone of the entire Duke's mansion. Although it is not easy for men to interfere in the back house, it cannot continue like this.

So, having fewer people in the family also has the advantage of having fewer people!

Lin Xuan didn't know about the deep-seated gossip, so he just told what he knew, and by the way, he admired the heroic appearance of the Duke of the State for a while. It is estimated that it will not happen.

As a general, Lin Xuan could also guess that even if someone spread these things to the ears of Duke Rong, the carefree Duke would not think there was any problem.

Bringing himself into Rong Guogong, Lin Xuan felt that he could understand the old Guogong very well. People who practice martial arts never think about things so complicated. I didn't expect that there would be so many mysteries in it.

——It’s just praying for the little grandson so that he can support him better. Their Rongguo Mansion has money, so there is no need to save it for him.

Sighing faintly, Lin Xuan looked at the back of his brother hurriedly looking for his sister-in-law, and sat there with his face propped up, sighing about life.

So, to marry a wife, you still have to marry someone who is gentle and demure and doesn't like to make trouble!