Chapter 13 Mrs. Jiao of Liuhoumen was kidnapped by someone sent by the Yu family

It was an evening a few days after Zhonglian returned to Yangzhou. As usual, the Confucius Temple ushered in the busiest moment of the day.Songs and dances in the Qinhuai River are always flourishing at night. The lights are bright and the moon is hazy. In the light and moonlight, this river filled with wine and powder is covered by a five-color gauze. The curling sound is also very pleasant.At dusk, people come from all directions, and the Confucius Temple by the river is a good place for tourists to stop and watch. The Confucius Temple is still under restoration. Zhao Liewen has a grand plan that overwhelms his predecessors, and it will take some time to fully realize this plan.Simple sheds for temporary business were set up everywhere on the old site, mostly selling tea, wine, and snacks.There are often circles of people on the empty ground, most of them are people who go to the rivers and lakes to run the wharf, selling art and selling medicine to cheat a few money to make ends meet.More kennel-like sheds lived with homeless people fleeing famine in northern Jiangsu and northern Anhui.There are many people and shops here, and it is easier to eat a meal than other places.This is the epitome of the so-called Jiangning City that has returned to the imperial court: on the surface, it looks bustling and bustling, with revival of all industries, but in fact it is muddy and chaotic. .Blood and tears were hidden in the singing and dancing hall, and dirt was hidden in the bustling caves. This was the case in all major cities at that time. Jiangning City, which had just stabilized from the drastic changes, had this feature even more prominently.

There is a small bird market in the loofah alley on the west side of the Confucius Temple. Several old men sat cross-legged on the ground, and placed several bamboo cages in front of each of them. Four or five birds were locked in the cages.Some of these birds have bright feathers, sing loudly, and jump up and down non-stop;In a cage made of wicker, a shiny black crested mynah without a single hair, called out in a blunt human voice to a rich man wearing jade and gold in front of him: "Master, master!" The young master inserted a finger into the cage, teasing mynah, and said with a smile, "My name is Luo Erye, Luo Erye!"

The crested starling rolled his small black and yellow eyes, opened his mouth and tried a few times, and suddenly called out: "Second Master Luo!" Second Master Luo was as happy as a bird in a cage, he jumped up and down and asked, "Old man, how much does this starling cost?" Knowing that this was a rare buyer, the old man couldn't think of a suitable price, so he casually stretched out two fingers and said tentatively, "Master, this price." "Two hundred Wen?" Second Master Luo asked casually, not knowing how much this starling was worth. "Two hundred Wen? Young master, you look down on my old man too much. Where can I find such a crested starling who can speak human language!" The old man's big round head shook like a rattle.

"Two taels?" Second Master Luo consciously made a slip of the tongue and hurriedly changed his words. The old man shook his head again, looking quite mysterious. Second Master Luo touched the shiny melon skin hat, opened his eyes wide, and said to himself: "It must not be twenty taels!" "Exactly twenty taels, young master!" the old man said calmly, while clumsily filling the tobacco pot with dried tobacco leaves. "It's so expensive!" Erye Luo put one hand into his pocket, touching the silver in the bag. "Master, you don't know the beauty of this starling." The old man took out two pieces of granite and beat it hard.Sparks splashed onto the paper twist held between the fingers of his left hand, and after five or six taps, the paper twist ignited.He twisted the paper on the smoke pot, and a puff of smoke came out of his mouth.After taking two puffs, he took away the tobacco rod, grinned with a big rough mouth and said, "This starling is from Ryukyu Island. Last year I bought it from a foreign merchant for twelve taels of silver. Every day I use finely chopped Feed it with lean meat, feed it with water from Yanzhi Well, bathe it with spring water from Zijin Mountain, take it to the Drum Tower to listen to a big show in the morning, and teach it to speak in the afternoon. After half a year of training, it can now greet people, what words You can learn it as soon as you listen to it, and you can also recite Tang poems!"

"Really, recite a song for Second Master!" Second Master Luo became more and more interested. "Okay, listen, master!" The old man threw away the black cigarette stick, squatted down in front of the wicker cage, and said affectionately to my starling, "Good boy, recite the song 'Spring Mian, Unconscious Dawn' for the young master!" As he spoke, he passed a slender little earthworm.The starling snatched the earthworm in one gulp, choked twice on his neck, and swallowed it vigorously.After a while, he rolled his small eyes, opened his mouth a few times, and cried out hoarsely.

"Chun Mian is not aware of dawn." The old man Jing was reading at the side, and Luo Erye felt that the hoarse voice just now seemed to be called these five words. "Recite it again!" the old man ordered the starling.The bird hoarse again. "Singing birds are heard everywhere." The old man read from the side again.Luo Erye savored carefully, not bad!Is such that.The bird chirped ten times in a row, and the old man dubbed it: "'You know how much the flowers fall when the wind and rain come at night.' Well, you recited it well! I'm not bragging, young master, you just walked all over the city of Jinling , I can’t find another one.” The old man said with a smile, and picked up the old cigarette rod again.

"Not bad, not bad, I bought it." Luo Erye said as he took money out of his pocket.After a while, he blushed and said, "Old man, I didn't bring enough money today. You are waiting for me here at this time tomorrow." "You mean what you say?" "What did you say?" Second Master Luo yelled as if he had been insulted, "I, Second Master Luo, have a lot of silver, so twenty taels is nothing! Anyone who doesn't come tomorrow is a bastard!" "How much money does the young master have?" The old man stood up and asked softly, leaning over his face.

Second Master Luo was about to answer, but his ears were sucked by the conversation of the two people next to him. "Uncle Ba, a fairy came to the Butterfly Boat in Huazhong today. I can assure you that there is no beauty in Jinling City that can match her, not even Xi Shi and Zhaojun in ancient times." "Is there such a stunning woman? Then I have to go to the meeting tonight, eighth uncle. How much is a seat?" "The price is not low, a full five taels!" "It's really as beautiful as Xi Shi and Zhao Jun. It's worth spending five taels of silver. I'm afraid you kid will deceive me."

"Uncle Ba, when did my nephew lie to you? If you are not satisfied, I will pay the five taels of silver. Tomorrow I will buy flowers and wine at the Yanchun Pavilion and apologize to you!" "In that case, I must go, Uncle Ba." This is what Erye Luo is most interested in!He also didn't care about answering the old man's words, and waved his hand: "Don't be wordy, see you tomorrow!" After finishing speaking, he followed the uncle and nephew and walked towards the Qinhuai River. Behind, the old men in the bird market were laughing and chatting: "Old man Niu, you are too greedy. Your stupid bird is not worth 500 yuan, and you have to sell it for 22 miles!"

"Brother, don't be jealous, this is my luck. I think this playboy must have a lot of money, and twenty taels of silver is nothing to him!" "Old man Niu, I'm not jealous, I'm doing it for your own good! You shouldn't let him go, you just accept how many taels he has in his pocket, why do you have to ask for twenty taels?" "I don't have to sell twenty taels. In fact, he only needs to take out two taels, and I'll sell them. Those two damned ones don't come sooner or later, but they come when he takes out the money. Don't say anything Don't say it, I just want to say a bitch, and force this Luo Erye to go away, I hope he can come tomorrow. If it is really sold for twenty taels, I will invite my brother to go to Shuitianlou to get drunk."

This Second Master Luo is none other than Luo Zhaosheng, the charming aunt in the governor's yamen of Liangjiang and the first-class marquis' mansion.Luo Zhaosheng followed the two people to the Taoye Ferry, and saw a painted boat that was extremely brightly decorated, and there were melodious pipa sounds and beautiful female singing voices coming from the cabin.Luo Zhaosheng thought: The peerless beauty must be on this boat.The uncle and nephew walked towards the cabin on the gangplank, Luo Zhaosheng followed closely.As soon as Luo Zhaosheng stepped on the springboard, the eighth uncle who was walking in front shouted loudly: "Come on!" Immediately two big men came out of the cabin, and said in response: "Come on!" As soon as Luo Zhaosheng entered the cabin, the boat flew downstream as if flying.When he was wondering, the two big men by the hatch came over, one of them thrust a sweat towel into his mouth, the other took out a black cloth and covered his eyes.Luo Zhaosheng's eyes darkened, and before he could understand, his hands and feet were tightly bound. Since the ringing bell pointed to Zizheng and her husband hadn't returned yet, the third girl, Ji Chen, was restless.The old lady who recruited her comforted her: "It's okay, my uncle may be drunk tonight and rest at a friend's house, and he will be back tomorrow morning." Ji Chen sat on the bed, waited until dawn, and waited all morning, but still did not see her husband, couldn't stop crying, and told his mother.Mrs. Ouyang persuaded: "You are in confinement, you must not cry. I will send someone to ask at the house of a friend he usually goes to." Luo Zhaosheng came to Jiangning not long ago, he has few friends, and usually there are only a few Hunan fellows to visit.When it was time for dinner, I searched everywhere, but there was no sign of Mr. Zhan.Now Mrs. Ouyang was also in a hurry, and told her husband about it at night.Zeng Guofan was very angry when he heard this, and said: "It's all because Aunt Wei is too spoiled. He is a father at the age of eighteen or nineteen, and he is so ignorant. He went out for two days and two nights and did not return home. Fortunately, Ji Ze and Ji Hong did not come home." If he is like this, if he is like this, I will break their legs long ago. Tomorrow morning, I will send a few more people to a few friends' houses outside the city to ask, and when I come back, I will give him a good lesson!" After another whole day of searching, there was still no news of Luo Zhaosheng.Not only Ji Chen was crying like a tear, Mrs. Ouyang's eyes were swollen from crying, Ji Chun and Ji Fen were also crying.People in the backyard of the governor's yamen were uneasy, and they were all quietly talking about my uncle.Some said that they were afraid that they had fallen in love with some brothel girl and didn't want to go home; some said that they might have fallen into a river and pond and drowned. "Master, you ask someone to write hundreds of missing person posts and post them everywhere, maybe it will be useful." After being helpless, Mrs. Ouyang finally made this suggestion to her husband. Zeng Guofan narrowed his eyes and scolded: "It's really a woman's opinion. Where is the governor posting a notice to find my son-in-law? You are afraid that the people will have nothing to laugh about!" "Then what should we do? Look at San Meizi crying like that. She is a confinement person, weak and sick, which will kill her forever! These two days, the baby has no milk." Mrs. Ouyang felt sorry for her daughter and grandson. , Talking, actually burst into tears. "Don't cry, don't cry!" Zeng Guofan became irritable, "Go and persuade Ji Chen to stop crying, what's the use of crying! I just send some more people to look around." The next day, Zeng Guofan sent a few more Goshhas to inquire about the news inside and outside the city; When the body is dead, immediately report to the Governor's Yamen. In this way, I spent four days crying and tossing restlessly.Early in the morning on the fifth day, the servant who cleaned the yard found a post without a head on the stone step.The servant was illiterate and gave it to the police.When the patrolman saw it, his face turned pale with fright, and he hurriedly submitted it to the governor.When Zeng Guofan took it to read, there were a few words written on the post: "Master Yu is an upright official, innocent people are locked up, and God and man are both angry. Luo Zhaosheng has now been arrested. Master Fangyu returns to Haizhou, and the official returns to his original post. Let Luo Zhaosheng go. If you don’t reply for three days, you’ll tear up the ticket! If you have something to say, write it on paper and put it on the crooked pine branch at the mouth of the black pine forest outside Shuiximen.” Zeng Guofan was so angry that his face was livid, and he cursed fiercely: "Shameless!" He said to the police, "You are not allowed to tell anyone about this headless post, who picked it up?" "Wu who sweeps the yard stutters." "Go and tell him, if you tell the second person about this, I will cut off his tongue!" After the patrol left, Zeng Guofan sat alone in the signing room, lost in nervous thinking.It turned out that Luo Zhaosheng was kidnapped by someone bribed by Yuqi's family, which made Zeng Guofan very angry.He hated Yu's family for being despicable and shameful at first, to such an extent.This is not something that the court's order officials can do, it is clearly the work of a green forest thieves!The staunch and stubborn side of Zeng Guofan's character was irritated: You Yuqi did this, and I wanted to fight with you.I'm not afraid that you have Seng Gelinqin as the backstage, you are always my subordinate.At the beginning, Bao Qibao and Chen Qimai were so powerful, but they all participated in it. What a little salt luck is nothing!Then he hated Luo Zhaosheng for not living up to expectations. If he was studying in the supervisor's office and discussing poetry and papers with scholars, how could he be kidnapped?Ji Ze regretted that they shouldn't have called the couple to Jiangning. It was really not enough to succeed, but more to fail! Zeng Guofan hated the habits of the world the most in his life.After much deliberation, he decided that he should not be soft on these people, and that he could subdue them only by confronting toughness.He took out the paper and wrote angrily: Let Luo Zhaosheng go, the governor will consider lenient treatment for you, if you dare to tear up your votes, you will be killed, and Yu Qi will not be able to escape the punishment of the French Open?It was written by Zeng Guofan, Governor-General of Liangjiang, who co-organized the university. After finishing writing, he called Liu Songshan in and gave some instructions quietly. That afternoon, Liu Songshan brought three sentry officers with strong martial arts skills, all dressed as servants, to the black pine forest outside Shuixi Gate, and he saw a conspicuous old pine tree with a crooked neck at the entrance of the forest.Liu Songshan inserted Zeng Guofan's autographed note in the branch of the tree, turned back, walked dozens of steps, and greeted the three sentry officers to bow their waists together, and came to the side of the crooked neck tree from the path, and lay in ambush in the grass, eyes dead. Stare dead.Just wait for someone to appear, then pounce on them, and when someone catches them, they will follow the clues and catch this group of gangsters. Liu Songshan and others lay down in the grass for half an hour, but no one approached the crooked neck tree. When they were disappointed, a vicious goshawk flew out of the black pine forest. The goshawk circled around the crooked-neck tree for a few times, and suddenly, it rushed down like an arrow, grabbed the note with one claw, squeaked twice, and flew into the sky again.Liu Songshan and others looked at it and repeatedly called out "terrible", but they had no choice but to watch it fly into the forest. The next morning, Wu stammered and picked up another headless post, which said: "The ticket has not been torn, Mr. Yu must deal with it leniently, otherwise you are welcome!" Zeng Guofan sneered after reading it, and threw it aside.He went into the backyard and told his wife and daughter that Luo Zhaosheng was kidnapped by strong men and was trying to rescue him. Don't worry, he will definitely be rescued. While Zeng Guofan sent people to keep an eye on the black pine forest, asking them to find out some clues, at the same time he began to feel troubled.For corrupt officials like Yuqi who corrupted the government and corrupted the salt affairs, if they were not severely punished, why would the country be indignant?And this is the first shot to rectify the salt affairs of Liangjiang officials.If the first shot fails to fire, what is the prestige?How to do things in the future?If serious punishment is taken seriously, Luo Zhaosheng's life may not be saved.If a frivolous young man like Luo Zhaosheng were replaced by someone else, he would die a hundred or a thousand, and Zeng Guofan didn't feel sorry for him.But this Luo Zhaosheng is Luo Zenan's son, his own son-in-law, and the father of his little grandson!If he has three ups and two downs, how can he be worthy of an old friend who died for the country?How could he have the heart to make his 21-year-old daughter a widow and his newborn grandson an orphan? Zeng Guofan's heart was suffering bitterly.It's really a dilemma for the left, and neither for the right!Zhao Liewen came to report every day, saying that Yuqi was beaten to death only for 35,000 taels of silver.Ji Chen came to cry every day, begging his father to save his husband.The first step in rectifying the salt affairs was carried out so poorly that Zeng Guofan, who wanted to do Yiyin and Duke Zhou's career, felt very frustrated. At this time, Yuxiang's third scene started again in full swing.