It's hard to be a prodigal

Occasionally, Master Hou tightened his palms, and held Jiang Heng's soft silky hands in the thick and hard palms.

Jiang Heng was already terrified, so he didn't dare to move rashly, and silently knelt down with his head down.

Seeing the little scholar on the ground cowering like a bunch of lambs, Young Master Sui's furious mood eased a bit, and he let go, allowing Jiang Heng to take a breath.

"You don't have to be afraid, the Marquis has never angered you." Intimidating literati is not the way of a general.

Sui Xiaohou got up slowly, walked with his hands behind his back, and asked Jiang Heng to follow him to the courtyard to get some air.

"Yes." Jiang Heng didn't dare to refuse, endured the discomfort of his legs and feet, and silently followed.

As expected of being the number one military general in the imperial court, Jiang Heng looked up at the tall and straight back of Lord Sui Xiaohou, as if standing on tiptoe to be at the same level as Lord Hou's shoulders. Hearing that Hou Jingchuan was invincible with one hand holding a gun, when he entered the house, he saw four A guard was carrying a hollow eagle wing spear, probably the famous goshawk moon-chaser spear in Jingchuanhou's hand.

If he hadn't been lucky enough to meet Lord Hou in the Yingchun Building last time, Jiang Heng would have thought that the famous Sui Xiaohou was a nine-foot man with a strong back and a blue face, a blue face and long teeth. .

I don't know if it's because the impression of Jingchuan Hou was too fabricated before, but when I saw the real face of the young master, I felt unparalleled handsome and heroic.

Sui Xiaohou walked slowly in front of him, and said angrily, "Did you hear about the Holy Majesty's establishment of a crown prince?"

Jiang Heng was stunned for a moment, and nodded. Because he didn't understand the contradiction, he didn't dare to speak casually, and only wrote lightly: "I heard it a little bit."

Couldn't it be that the usurper failed so he became angry from embarrassment?The more Jiang Heng thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he hoped that Jiang Zong would come back quickly, and he would never see his own brother again.

Lord Sui Xiaohou suppressed his anger, and said slowly: "The Holy Majesty ordered me to supervise the construction of the Prince's Mansion. It takes 30 catties of Chaohai stone pearls to make pearl tiles. Your Jiang family's special honey supply has done a good job. Here it is for you, Chaohai is a long way away, so set off as soon as possible to avoid delays in the construction period, and must be completed within four months."

Thinking of Jiang Heng's special offering of honey, he still has lingering fears, he doesn't dare to accept the commission from the palace hastily, but hearing the tone of Lord Sui Xiaohou not to refuse, he can't make up his mind for a while.

Jiang Heng had no choice but to smile lightly: "We are naturally obliged to do the matter of Lord Hou. This is a big matter, so let the villain think about it for a while."

He knows a thing or two about Chaohai. The sky is long, the road is far away, and the ice and snow are rich in expensive stone pearls. They are not pearls in oysters, but grape-shaped boulders that grow on reefs. They are ground into powder and fired into pearl tiles, which are firm and dense. It is crystal clear and dazzling under the sun, and only the royal family is allowed to use it.

Chaohai Jinzhou is separated by thousands of miles of waterways, and the fastest round trip will take about [-] days. The actual preparation time is only a little over three months.

The servant girl finally invited the inattentive Young Master Jiang back in a hurry. Jiang Zong hurriedly put on the silver button on his neckline, and there was still a slight blush on his cheeks. Yue didn't make out anymore, so it was so easy to get together and stir up something good.

Le Lian also walked into the Jiang family compound and saluted respectfully: "I pay my respects to Lord Hou. The villain and Young Master Jiang were inspecting the goods in Ru County, and I didn't come back for a while, so I ask Lord Hou to forgive me."

On the face is decent and indifferent, I must be scolding in my heart.

Jiang Heng hastily told Jiang Zong the whole story, Jiang Zong's expression was solemn, and he exchanged a glance with Le Lian.

He knew the inside story.

The new crown prince is not the queen's legitimate son, but the eldest son of Concubine He Gui.As the empress's mother-in-law's nephew, Sui Xiaohouye naturally turned to the empress's son, but the empress's son who was supposed to be crowned prince was only named King Jing.

This time, the little Marquis of the Sui Dynasty was asked to supervise the construction of the Prince's Mansion, obviously deliberately belittling and humiliating the Marquis of Jingchuan and the Queen's family. No wonder the Marquis got so angry.

In the previous life, the Little Marquis of Sui was beaten into King Jing's henchman. Later, Prince Jing conspired against him, and the Dongchuang incident completely lost his power.

The fact that today's Holy Majesty can spoil his concubine and kill his wife has become a laughing stock for people all over the world who dare not speak out. There were civil servants and military generals who once petitioned for the rectification of the name of Sui Xiaohou Ye. Can't survive.

In the previous life, it was also the Sui Xiaohou who supervised the construction of the Prince's Mansion, and appointed the Lin family to purchase and transport Chaohai stone pearls, but unexpectedly discovered an omission. With the downfall of King Jing and Sui Lan's loss of power, the Lin family was ruined and was ransacked and exiled.

Jiang Zong had a terrible headache.

As a businessman, even if he was powerful in his previous life, he can do nothing to turn the tide for the royal family. It's just that he is lucky that the Jiang family was lucky and did not catch up with the fate of destroying the family.

He didn't want to have anything to do with Sui Xiaohou at all. The house in the capital that Sui Xiaohou rewarded two years ago was entrusted with several connections by him, and it was transferred to someone outside the Guan.

Just as Jiang Zong had a splitting headache, Le Lian lightly supported his waist, and said calmly: "Master Hou, our Le family also has a share of the special honey offering, let us also cooperate this time."

Jiang Zong kept giving Le Lian winks, but Le Lian turned a blind eye until Jiang Zong stepped on his foot, then gently pinched Jiang Zong's fingertips and gave him a comforting look.

Lord Sui Xiaohou waved his hand, yes.

After seeing off the great Buddha, several people got together to discuss the matter.

Jiang Zong grabbed Le Lian by the collar, so that he had to lower his head slightly to look at him, and scolded angrily: "You idiot, can't you see if I give you a wink? Why do you have eyes? You might as well play the erhu with your eyes."

Le Lian: "...I saw it."

Jiang Zong gritted his teeth and said: "Can't you see that I don't want to take this job? I'm still rushing to get up. When the time comes, I will confiscate my house and exile you to dig a canal next to me. I'll see what you do."

Le Lian bent his eyes, put his hand on the top of Jiang Zong's hair: "Dig with you."

Jiang Zong was so angry that he squatted on the ground and buried his head in his arms: "I mean, I don't want to dig a canal."

Le Lian also knelt down and patted him on the back: "No, be careful."

In the past, Le Lian's behavior style can be described as "seeking wealth and wealth in danger", he dared to try things that others dared not do, and managed well, so in just a few years, he has become better than others.

Jiang Zong knew him well, so he nodded, turned his head and shouted that Jiang Heng had no brains.

Jiang Heng whispered: "Why don't you... push this matter to the second uncle and the others? The second uncle sees that money is open, and he definitely doesn't want to let go of the business that can make money."

"You're stupid. You're taking money from the imperial court. If something happens and the whole family is exiled, isn't your surname Jiang?" Jiang Zong pulled his ears angrily, "Father and mother can give birth to a son as smart as me, with your brain If it’s not enough, make up half of it with paste, right?”

Jiang Heng shrunk even smaller and dared not speak.

This matter must not be underestimated, after discussing for a day, in order to be safe, it was decided that Jiang Zong, Lelian and the two would personally lead people to Chaohai to prepare Shizhu.

In just three days, the Liaison Jinzhou Bodyguard Bureau hired forty bodyguards with excellent kung fu, three experienced ship repair craftsmen, and a wandering doctor who took a boat to Chaohai, and set foot on the journey to Chaohai. merchant ship.

Leaving Jiang Heng to handle all the affairs of the Jiang family's major firms, he was even more overwhelmed.

-

Le family house.

The young master Lehe entertained guests in the house, and discussed with several shopkeepers about getting through the checkpoints in the capital to traffic in goods.

Shopkeeper Sun of Yinshou Building was already half drunk, chatting vaguely, and when he mentioned Lelian, the second young master of the Le family, everyone asked a few gossip along the way.

Shopkeeper Sun chuckled: "Xiaohe, you Lejia really shouldn't let Lelian go. He went to the north like a fish in water, and got mixed up. A few days ago, I had a guy who came back from Huizhou. Everyone knows the name of Young Master Lelian."

Shopkeeper Li followed up and said, "I've heard about it too. As long as we know that Maple Leaf Residence in Jinzhou, Lelian bought this flower house as soon as he came back. Buying a flower house is not a big deal for a wealthy family. , but the owner of Hualou has a lot of connections, so he has to have strong connections to take over."

"What's more, do you know how arrogant the young girl in Maple Leaf Residence is now? They say they don't sell their bodies, but it's different to have the backing of a big boss." Shopkeeper Li's tone was sour, "None of us know Le Lian's background, who has connected with Shen Fang, dare not offend at all."

The eldest young master Lehe took a sip of his wine slowly, and said grimly, "Yes, my younger brother really has a bright future, and I'm starting to regret letting the tiger go back to the mountain."

Shopkeeper Sun said with a smile: "He went to Chaohai by boat, and he took the job of the imperial court. It's not what it used to be."

Lehe smiled slightly, his eyes gloomy.

At the beginning, he bought a murderer to rob and kill Jiang Zong Lelian in Jinshui Mountain, but he failed, making him live two years longer.

This time, I can't let go of this good opportunity.

-

The merchant ship went upstream along the Jinshui River. The weather was fine, and the deck shook slightly.

Le Lian stood on the deck and leaned on the side of the boat to look at the endless Jinshui River.

Jiang Zong leaned against the mast and sat in the middle of the deck with his arms folded, his face turned pale and his breathing became stagnant.

"Brother, why is it uncomfortable?" Le Lian brought a cup of tea, squatted beside Jiang Zong, and fed him patiently. He tried to press his palm on his forehead, but it didn't seem to be hot.

Jiang Zong tried his best to take a deep breath, but he felt dizzy whenever he smelled the faint smell of water vapor.It seemed that the salty sea water poured in from all directions, submerged him, froze him, filled his mouth, nose and lungs pervasively, the ship shook slightly, and felt as if it was going to hit the rocks, Jiang Zong couldn't help but put his hands behind his back, Hold tight to the mast to free yourself from the fear of drowning.

Seeing that his face was getting paler and paler, Le Lian was worried, and kept asking, "Do you want to go back to the boat to rest?"

Jiang Zong reluctantly shook his head: "Don't worry about me, I'm just a little afraid of water."

Le Lian was surprised: "Why didn't you say it before?"

If he knew that Jiang Zong was uncomfortable on the boat, Le Lian would rather go to Chaohai alone than agree to Jiang Zong's boarding the boat.

"I, I was not afraid of water before." Jiang Zong closed his eyes wearily.

In his previous life, he took more boats than others, no matter how bumpy it was, he never felt uncomfortable, but now when he saw the boundless water and stepped on the rootless deck under his feet, he couldn't help thinking of drowning in the sea in his previous life— —

The boat under his feet was in pieces and gradually sank, and the crazy shaking almost stirred up all the internal organs. In the darkness, the boundless salty sea water engulfed every living person around him one by one. In his ears, he could hear the sound of raging waves and screams. , that was the first time Jiang Zong felt helpless, extreme fear and panic.

"Brother Zong, Brother Zong!" Le Lian hugged Jiang Zong, who was unconscious, on his knees. Jiang Zong's pale hands tightly grasped Le Lian's skirt, making his joints stiff and painful.

Jiang Zong passed out completely and limp in Le Lian's arms.

In the darkest moment in the previous life, it seemed that there were such hands holding him, warming his gradually icy body with warm chest. At that time, he could no longer open his eyes, and his five senses were gradually stripped from his body. Roaring, desperate and heartbroken.

He seemed to have completely died in that person's arms, and he had nothing to do with the previous life.