The Red Mansions

Chapter 205 People are in the East City, drifting to the point of losing contact

Under the eaves in front of the ancestral hall, Jia Heng looked at Sister Feng who was frightened, and said, "Your brother Lian didn't come this morning, didn't you know?"

For such a living person, he didn't come to the ancestral hall, and he was distracted by these cumbersome etiquette just now, so he really didn't pay much attention.

Because of the ancestor worship, a lot of old and young masters of the Jia family came. Some of them were sick or had urgent matters at home. They would be told and recorded in the family sacrifice activity book. Afterwards, he would check the book after he took it. , will notice who did not come.

Ping'er said anxiously: "Second master didn't come back last night, grandma was still a little angry in the morning, but the matter of offering sacrifices to ancestors in the ancestral hall here is urgent, so I had to come here by myself."

"Show me this sachet." Jia Heng frowned, took the sachet from Sister Feng, looked at her hair, and said in a deep voice, "This hair was cut off with a dagger... Lian's second brother has been captured by the gangsters."

Tie a strand of hair to something next to your body and hand it to Sister Feng, which in itself is a warning signal from the villain.

"Even who did it, there is some vague speculation." Jia Heng's eyes were deep, thinking.

It's not difficult to guess, except for the Three Rivers Gang, those who can resort to such indiscriminate means are hardly second-guessed.

As for King Qi, he has long been constrained to study at home, how dare he act like this?How stupid does this have to be?
Sister Feng's complexion was pale, and she said, "A villain? What villain can he provoke?"

Not only Sister Feng, but everyone under the eaves was in an uproar. In fact, some men, such as Jia Chen, Jia Qiong and others, had just vaguely guessed.

Jia Lian has been kidnapped!

Jia Mu's face also changed slightly, and she said in a startled voice: "Brother Heng, you have to save Lian'er..."

All the female family members beside them were worried, and all turned their eyes to Jia Heng.

Jia Amnesty also showed worry on his face, and said anxiously: "How could he be captured by the gangsters? Lian'er is usually kind and friendly, and he hasn't offended anyone..."

No matter how much he beat and scolded that son on weekdays, he would not expect anything to happen.

"Hurry up and report to the official, the most important thing is to report to the official!" Jia Amnesty said anxiously.

"Report to the officials in Jingzhao Mansion!" said the man from Jia's Mansion.

Another man from the Jia family came up with an idea: "Let the servants look for it first?"

Sister Feng is in a hurry at the moment, and she is about to order the servant to report to the official.

Jia's mother was also anxious, and said anxiously: "Brother Heng, you are now mentioning the Wucheng soldiers and horses, you have to take care of this matter."

After all, Jia Lian is the grandson of the head of the Rong Mansion, and Jia's mother also hugged Jia Lian when she was a child, how could she not have feelings?

Everyone was taken aback when they heard the words. They hadn't realized it before, and it seemed that there was no need to report to the Jingzhao Mansion. Isn't this Lord Heng in front of him the official of the Wucheng Army and Horse Division?

Where else can I report to the official?
Jia Heng looked stern, and said: "Everyone, don't think wildly about this matter, and let yourself be confused. I will go to the front yard and order someone to investigate."

If it was the Three Rivers Gang, then there must be someone behind, otherwise, wouldn't it be a wink thrown at a blind man?

Thinking of this, I asked Sister Feng and said, "When Brother Lian went out, was he alone or with his servants?"

Sister Feng was already very anxious at the moment, upon hearing this, she quickly said: "He... took Xing'er, Long'er's, and rode out on horseback."

Everyone was taken aback when they heard the words, and they all looked at Jia Heng.

Jia Heng said: "Second brother Lian should not be in danger for the time being, so don't worry, everyone is just kidnapping people and asking for money."

He couldn't express his conjecture about the Three Rivers Gang at this moment, it would not help and add to the disturbance.

Otherwise, if Jia Lian was not found, Jia She and Mrs. Xing would blame him for provoking thieves in front of the whole family, young and old, so that his family Lian'er would suffer.

Afterwards, everyone came back, and it didn't matter what Jia Amnesty and Mrs. Xing wanted to say in private.

But at this time, Mrs. Wang frowned, looked at Jia Mu, and guessed softly: "Old lady, don't Wu Xindeng and his family members see their house being ransacked, hold a grudge, and take risks, that's why they tied up Lian'er..."

Jia Amnesty and Mrs. Xing: "..."

Jia Heng glanced at Mrs. Wang, secretly thought, the level of this second wife Zhaidou is several ranks higher than that of Mrs. Xing.

When everyone heard the words, they were all guessing for a while, chattering and talking about everything.

A junior like Jia Qin didn't have any scruples about where to speak, so he said in a low voice, "Second Uncle Lian, don't be caught stealing someone's wife and got stuck in the closet, right?"

Although this was said in a soft voice, it was still heard by several men present, all of them looked strangely, and looked at Sister Feng in unison.

But in this way, it dilutes some of the dignified and worrying atmosphere just now, making the atmosphere more comical.

Sister Feng's face was ugly, she pinched her waist, and said, "Fuck your mother! That bastard is messing around! You stand up for me! My second master never provokes those bastard wives."

Jia Qin shrinks back into the crowd, she won't admit it.

Mother Jia saw that the commotion was really not good, especially outside the ancestral hall, but she also understood that Sister Feng was worried about Lian Er, so she didn't say anything, but looked at Jia Heng, and said anxiously: "Brother Heng, you are in front of the outside now. The official is in charge of Shenjing's one-acre three-point land, what do you think is the way?"

When everyone heard this, they all turned their eyes to Jia Heng again, and saw that he was calm, holding a sachet, and his eyes seemed to be thoughtful.

Xindao, as expected, he is used to doing things outside.

Jia Heng said: "Since the villain is willing to ask for money, it is easy to handle. The second brother Lian will not have to worry about his life. Four brothers, Jia Qiong, Jia Chen, Jia Fan, and Jia Fan, please work harder and come with me. Others should not linger in the ancestral hall, but go to the side courtyard to eat first. When I need to find someone, I will call everyone. The rest of the female family will accompany the old lady to Huifangyuan to have a meal and talk, and send messages between servants and mother-in-law. Sister-in-law Feng, You come with me too."

When everyone heard the words, they all nodded and felt that the arrangement was very appropriate.

Let Jia Qiong, Jia Chen, Jia Fan, and Jia Lin, four young men in their early twenties, follow along, and they can also fight from the sidelines.

Regarding the disappearance of Jia Lian, to put it bluntly, only Jia Amnesty, Sister Feng, Jia Mu and others were worried. As for the side brothers, how many were worried from the bottom of their hearts?

There are also those who are selfish and even want to make trouble.

Jia Heng called the four youths of the younger generation, and then walked towards the front yard with a strand of hair.

Jia Mu waved her hand and said anxiously, "Lian'er's father, you follow along to see if you can help me?"

Jia Amnesty nodded, his expression darkened.

The people in front of the ancestral hall were also guided by the servants, some went to the side courtyard, some went to Huifang garden, and some went to Huifang garden. The ancestral hall gradually regained its tranquility.

When I came to the front yard, because it was almost noon, some guests also came to celebrate.

Among the four kings and eight princes, some still sent the stewards of the mansion to the Ningguo Mansion to congratulate them, even if the ceremony was too late, they were escorted by Jiao Daying to the side courtyard for a drink.

Obviously, the four kings and eight princes don't have much intimacy with Jia Heng, who grew up from a small clan to a big clan. In other words, the current flag of the Jia family is still Jia Amnesty.

Yu Zhen, Han Hui, Song Yuan, and Feng Ziying, son of Shenwu General Feng Tang, visited in person, and Jia Heng's cousin Dong Qian, who came to help, welcomed them to the flower hall and took a seat.

On the other side of the flower hall, are the subordinates of Wucheng Bingmasi who came to visit, as well as Cai Quan, Xie Zaiyi, Fan Yi and others.

Speaking of which, these are all of Jia Heng's connections after he entered Ningguo Mansion.

Han Hui asked Dong Qian with a smile, and said, "Why don't you see Ziyu?"

Ordinarily speaking, with his status, it seems that it is not good for him to have much contact with Ziyu who is already a martial artist, but in fact it is not so, if his father still avoids it, but he has never been an official, and secondly, he has had friendship with Jia Ziyu before, so there is not much taboo.

In fact, Han Huang, the second assistant of the cabinet, once told Han Hui and Jia Heng to move around more in the mansion.

It can be said that the current ecology of Chen Han's officialdom is like this. The political tycoons like the cabinet ministers are paid attention to by the censor's officials in every move. Instead, their sons bear the heavy responsibility of communication outside.

For example, several academicians hardly need to think about it, and they will not visit each other at all to show their integrity, that is, the so-called official hall says that correspondence is not restrained.

Dong Qian said with a smile: "Mr. Han, my cousin should be offering sacrifices to the ancestors at this moment. Wait a minute, and I will come out for a drink."

Han Hui smiled and said, "I'm not in a hurry, I just want to ask him, should I start writing the second part of the Three Kingdoms Manuscript? We are all waiting for it."

This is a joke between friends.

Yu Zhen said with a smile: "Zi Yu is leading the emperor's messenger now, I'm afraid he doesn't have much time to write scripts."

Han Hui picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile, "Not necessarily. If he doesn't follow up, I'm afraid that the scholars in Shenjing City will break the threshold of Ningguo Mansion."

According to his father, the sage in the palace is the biggest supporter of the Three Kingdoms script, who would dare not write about it?
That is to say, Ziyu led the emperor's messenger recently, and when he was free, he was bound to press for questions.

Just as the two were discussing, several people suddenly came down from the eaves of the corridor.

Jia Heng asked Sister Feng, Ping'er and others to wait in the wing room behind the flower hall, and then Fang led Jia Qiong, Jia Chen and others into the flower hall.

Everyone in the hall quickly stood up and greeted them with smiles, but some people still saw Jia Heng's expression was wrong.

"Ziyu..." Song Yuan got up and called out.

Jia Heng bowed his head to Song Yuan far away, approached, and cupped his hands at Han Hui, Yu Zhen, and Song Yuan, and said: "Brother Han, Brother Yu, Mr. Song will have dinner first, there is an urgent matter in the house, I need to go disposal."

The three of them were shocked when they heard the words, and looked at each other in blank dismay.

Cai Quan, who was at the other table, also had a confused look on his face, and asked, "What happened, do you need help?"

When Han Hui heard the words, he also said: "Ziyu, if it's convenient, you can talk about it, one person counts the short, and two people count the long."

Jia Heng briefly narrated what happened, of course he didn't mention his guess about the Sanhe Gang, but only said that Jia Lian was kidnapped.

Cai Quan's eyes flickered, and he naturally guessed the hidden meaning.

Han Hui and Yu Zhen didn't think much about it for a while, so they could only say words of relief.

But at this time, there was a noise from under the eaves of the corridor, and everyone looked at it.

I saw a young servant coming under the eaves of the corridor, with a panicked expression on his face, he said: "Master, there are a few people outside who didn't take the invitation card, claiming to be the friend of the uncle, carrying a few boxes of gifts, saying that they are gifts for the uncle."

With that said, hand over the gift slip.

Jia Heng came out of the flower hall, took the gift slip with an indifferent expression, looked at the titles on the gift slip, lingered on the names of Li Jinzhu and Pan Jian, sneered, and said, "Is this the ceremony before the soldiers, or the soldiers before the ceremony?"

Cai Quan came out and looked over, surprised, and said: "How dare this group of people come to the door? Is this showing off?"

Jia Heng said: "It's nothing more than thinking that I will throw a mouse trick."

"What should we do now?" Cai Quan frowned.

Jia Heng chuckled lightly and said: "The door is open to welcome guests, you go to find Qu Lang now, he should be in my old house in the wicker alley right now."

He already knew where Jia Lian was now, it was in Jinmeilou!

The reason why he is so sure, Gein, is that Jinmeilou is a brothel!
With Jia Lian's temperament, he probably went to Dongcheng to have fun, and fell into the hands of the Sanhe gang, and then these gang took Jia Lian as a means of coercion and dialogue.

Combined with what Qu Lang said last night, Pan Jian and Huang Zhuo, the second leaders of the Sanhe Gang, haunted the vicinity of Jinmeilou. This is strong evidence!
All the clues are intertwined, needless to say, most of them went to see Jia Lian!
"I'm in Dongcheng, whoring to Miss (Lian) Lian!"

A word suddenly came to Jia Heng's mind, his face turned weird, and then he thought about countermeasures.

The top priority is to rescue Jia Lian first, and then depending on the situation, take Li Jinzhu and Pan Jian who have thrown themselves into the net, and finally release a thunderous blow.

But he said that in the garden of fragrance——

Daiyu wore a pair of plackets with a light yellow trim and a white bottom, a long duck-egg blue skirt, and a bun with airy bangs. She was sitting on a wooden chair in a gazebo surrounded by curtains, holding a book in her hand, Watching intently, the Zijuan on the side is serving.

At this time, Qingwen brought a tray with several cups of tea cups on it, and said, "Miss Lin, have some tea."

Daiyu put down the book in her hand, raised her eyes to look at Qingwen, the bright eyes under Chunshan Dai's eyebrows flickered slightly, took the teacup, took a sip, put down the teacup, and asked: "Qingwen, Are you Brother Heng's maid?"

She felt that the person who called Qingwen, with his demeanor and aura, somewhat resembled her...

Daiyu is shrewd and intelligent, and she can undoubtedly know whether others are like her.

In Chapter 22 of A Dream of Red Mansions, there is a scene in which Jia Mu celebrates Xue Baochai’s birthday, and everyone has a banquet and listens to an opera. Jia Mu loves the Xiaodan and the clown so much that she orders someone to bring them in.

Seeing Lingguan, Sister Feng smiled and said that the child looked like a person. At that time, others could tell, but they didn't say anything, but Shi Xiangyun smiled and said that he looked like sister Lin, so everyone laughed.

Then Daiyu was very angry. In fact, because of Daiyu's temperament, she might not take it too seriously, but Baoyu tried to cover it up. In Daiyu's eyes, she thought that Baoyu thought her petty and took her for something.

Qingwen said coquettishly: "It turned out to be from the old lady's house, but was sent to the son's house. We met the girl last time when she came to the mansion."

Daiyu smiled lightly and said, "I have seen it before."

But he remembered that the girl in front of him once said something to ridicule the second brother Bao, living off the rouge on the girl's mouth...

And that Uncle Heng also said that Second Brother Bao can eat rouge quite a few times.

This couple, master and servant, really have the same temperament.

Qingwen said softly: "Girl, the pavilion is quiet and deserted, be careful not to catch a cold."

According to Qingwen's temperament, it is actually difficult to care about Daiyu, but the little girl is obviously in a good mood.

Here, Zicuckoo smiled and said, "Girl, I just said that it's a bit cold here."

"It's almost noon, and the sun is coming out, so it's not too cold." Daiyu looked at Zijuan, smiled and said, and then turned her gaze on Qingwen's face: "Qingwen, Brother Heng What book did I teach you to read?"

Qingwen said: "Uncle is still teaching me how to recognize characters, such as thousand-character prose, I have probably recognized one or two hundred characters."

Daiyu's starry eyes flickered, and she said softly: "One or two hundred characters is not a lot, but you have to serve Uncle Heng's daily life and food, do you have time to read and recognize characters?"

Qingwen raised a pretty face, and said softly: "Why don't you have time, the uncle usually doesn't call me around very much, for example, if I don't go, he doesn't call me for the tea and water. It's up to you."

When Daiyu heard this, her face was slightly startled, her eyes were dark, and she said: "Although you are a servant girl, you live your life like a young lady."

These words are a kind of emotion, Daiyu may not live as comfortably as Qingwen in Xifu.

For some reason, Daiyu suddenly remembered what Uncle Heng scolded Second Brother Bao earlier, saying that the four limbs are not working hard, and the five grains are not distinguished.

If you talk about falling behind others, but you can't do it yourself, then the words don't have much convincing power at all.

But from what Qingwen said, this Uncle Heng... this seems to be commendable.

Qingwen was overjoyed by Daiyu's sentimental words, tied a strand of hair on the front of her front, and said, "The main reason is that the young master treats me well and doesn't regard me as a person right now."

Daiyu quietly looked at the little girl's "squeaky" look, her cherry lips moved, she was speechless for a while.

At this time, Jia's mother, supported by Li Wan, Yuanyang and a group of maids, entered the garden.

Daiyu saw it from a distance, and stopped chatting with Qingwen, got up and greeted Zijuan, calling: "Grandmother, aunt..."

Seeing Jiamu's sad face, she was taken aback, and looked at Tanchun beside her.

Tanchun said softly, "Sister Lin, something happened to Lian's second elder brother, and now the mansion is worried about something."

Mother Jia sighed, and with the support of Yuanyang and Li Wan, she walked towards the attic in Huifang Garden, entered the hall, and after Yuanyang put a cushion, she sat down, and all the female relatives also took their seats one after another.

"I don't know if it's a collision or something. After summer, the men in the mansion keep having troubles, so it's not worrying." Mother Jia sighed, and said: "Tomorrow, I need to go to the Qingxu Temple to pray for blessings." yes."

Mrs. Wang and Li Wan spoke words of comfort.

Tanchun on the side is telling Daiyu the whole story of Jia Lian.

Daiyu frowned slightly, and her starry eyes were filled with worry, she said softly: "Only Brother Lian's hair was sent? Didn't someone send to look for it?"

Mrs. Wang said: "I don't know what's going on now, Brother Heng is in charge of the Bingma Division now, and now he has gone to the front to find someone."

Jia Mu sighed, and said: "Your brother Heng has already gone to find someone. If the gangsters kidnap Lian'er and ask for money, it's okay to spend some money to redeem him."

At this moment, a woman walked through the moon gate, came in a hurry, entered the flower hall, first saluted Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang, and then said softly: "Old lady, Grandma You brought her two younger sisters from the corner gate. come over."

Mother Jia was taken aback when she heard the words, doubts appeared on her old face, and she said, "Brother Zhen's daughter-in-law, why is she here?"

In the past few days, she has almost forgotten brother Zhen's daughter-in-law. Didn't she go back to her mother's house?What are you doing here now?
Mrs. Wang also frowned, her eyes flickered, and she thought, brother Zhen and daughter-in-law, you are not embarrassed or embarrassed, what are you doing here?
Qin Keqing said softly: "Old lady, I sent the invitation card. I asked Miss Ping'er to bring it over yesterday. Sister-in-law Feng said the day before yesterday that although the two men did not seem to have a big fight, they are different from us women in the back house. People are irrelevant, regardless of whether people come or not, they must be notified, with full courtesy."

When Jia's mother heard the words, she suppressed the anxiety caused by Jia Lian, smiled and said: "You have always been kind and generous, Youshi should come here, although Brother Zhen is a little confused...but with her It doesn't matter too much, I also see her past character, she is a good one."

After all, Mrs. You has been in Ningguo Mansion for so many years. When she was the wife of the patriarch, she often led the children of the clan to worship the ancestors. She usually went to the West Mansion to pay her respects to Jia Mu, wiped dominoes with her, and talked to relieve boredom.

Mother Jia really didn't have any distasteful thoughts about this gorgeous brother Zhen's daughter-in-law who came from a small family.

In fact, Mother Jia really likes good colors. Aunt Zhao, Qingwen, which one didn't come out of Mother Jia's room?

Even Qin Keqing was a granddaughter-in-law who was in her favor.

"Yuanyang, go and greet me for me," said Jia's mother.

Qin Keqing smiled lightly and said, "Old lady, I'll go to greet you too, it's logical to do so."

Seeing this, Jia's mother also smiled kindly and said, "You are a refreshing man, go."

If Sister Feng is here, it would be better for Sister Feng, Youshi's best friend, to meet Qin Keqing together.

Qin Keqing, accompanied by the maids Baozhu and Ruizhu, went to welcome the Youshi sisters along with the mandarin ducks.

(End of this chapter)