Placid Chang'an

For a few days in a row, Su Cen went for a walk on the street when he had nothing to do, and he understood something.

Wang’s Salt Shop and Jia’s Salt Shop are open opposite each other. Every morning, the two have negotiated the price before opening to welcome customers. Although the price is expensive, there is still a steady stream of customers.Everyone in such a big Yangzhou City needs to eat salt. Private salt dealers alone are not enough to pay for the salt consumption in Yangzhou City. In addition, the government has cracked down on it, and the private salt has dropped sharply. The common people can only grit their teeth and pay high prices for official salt. .

Due to the rise in salt prices, the dishes in teahouses and taverns are a few copper coins more expensive than usual.There are also some who really can't afford salt, their faces are pale and their feet are sloppy, and some even have symptoms of facial swelling, nausea and vomiting.

It's time to meet that He Xiao.

Just in time for Master Wang to celebrate his [-]th birthday, Su Lan was naturally invited due to her status in Yangzhou City and her relationship with He Xiao, so Su Cen took this opportunity to follow along.

The largest salt merchant in Yangzhou City celebrates his birthday, and the scene is full of style. Almost half of the merchants in Yangzhou City show their heads, and the banquet is even held in the courtyard. Only those who are famous are lucky enough to be allocated to the inner hall.

Su Cen was considered to be in the favor of Su Lan, and was not assigned to the courtyard in the cold weather.

"Zian," a person greeted as soon as he entered the inner hall.

Su Cen followed the sound and saw that the person was dressed in auspicious grasses, clouds, cranes, and brocades, but he had no intention of jumping away, but he was greeted with a smile by the imposing Zhuang Zheng, with the shrewd and trimmed mustache on his mouth. He said to Su Lan: "Zian, why didn't you tell me when you came?"

This must be the Uncle He who caused trouble in Yangzhou City.

Su Lan stopped and said with a smile: "You are busy enough today, so I won't make trouble for you."

"It's true that I'm so busy that I didn't touch the floor. I wanted to meet you outside the door." The man patted Su Lan's shoulder familiarly, "You sit down first, I'll wait... Who is this?"

He Xiao's eyes fell on Su Cen, and there was a gleam of vigilance in his eyes.

It just so happened that Su Cen was also looking at him with great interest.

Su Lan introduced: "I have a distant cousin named Li Xu who has never been to Yangzhou City, so I'll take him out to see the world." Then she said to Su Cen: "Zi Xu, this is what I mentioned to you. Brother Lan Fu."

Su Cen smiled lightly, cupped his hands and said, "I've heard of you for a long time."

He Xiao put on a smile in a polite manner, "Since he is Zi'an's younger brother, he is also my younger brother. Just tell me if the servant has any bad hospitality."

Su Cen nodded slightly, then followed Su Lan into the inner hall and sat down.

The male guests and the female relatives sit separately, and the female relatives set up another banquet in the inner courtyard.Yue Wanqing greeted Su Lan and headed towards the inner courtyard. It happened that a person came out to greet her. When she saw Yue Wanqing, she held hands and exchanged greetings. After a while, she frequently looked towards Su Cen. Yue Wanqing smiled. I made fun of her, and then muttered something softly.

Not a while after Su Cen sat down, he saw Yue Wanqing come back to the inner courtyard and the girls kicked shuttlecocks to the roof, but the boys were all waiting in the front hall, and it was not easy for them to go to the room. , and then came over to ask Su Lan to help.

Su Lan smiled helplessly, the corners of her eyes and brows were full of doting, she smiled apologetically at everyone on the table, and just when she got up, she heard Yue Wanqing say: "I didn't think carefully, you still have friends, why don't you... Xu come with me."

"It's okay, I..." Su Lan had already stood up, only to see Yue Wanqing stare at him meaningfully, and suddenly realized: "Ah, yes, I really can't get away from here, Zixu, you just go there Bar."

Su Cen rolled her eyes silently in her heart, this acting is too clumsy.

The Wang family's house was built in a very grand style. Following Yue Wanqing around a shadow wall, through the courtyard and through a small moon gate, Yue Wanqing said: "You wait here, I will find someone to move Come on the ladder."

Su Cen took a few steps back and looked at the roof after the people left. Naturally, there was no shuttlecock.

Now he has reached the age of marriage. Before he was in the court, the court clearly stipulated that officials were not allowed to do business, and it was not easy for brothers and sisters-in-law to introduce these merchants and women to him. Now he came back under the name of being dismissed from office, and his official career was not going well. , I thought about letting him make the house first.

This place is not as desolate as the north. An osmanthus tree is blooming in the courtyard, and the surrounding grass is mixed, which is quite emotional.

Su Cen was thinking about how to find an excuse to get out, but before he could think about it, he heard footsteps approaching, so he could only make a good posture, and see you later.

It's just that the person who came here was not a pretty girl, and once he entered the Moon Gate, he shouted loudly, "Little Cicada, listen to me, I really just went to the Emerald Building to listen to the music..."

Su Cen clicked his tongue twice in his heart. This excuse is not new. He only listened to the music when he entered the flower building. It is still a bit credible for others to say this, but the person in front of him...

When the visitor saw Su Cen, he couldn't help being slightly taken aback, and immediately put on a disgusted expression, "Why are you? Where's Xiaochan?"

Su Cen smiled helplessly, "I disappointed the Second Young Master, I am indeed the only one here."

"Obviously he's coming this way," Jia Zhen and the second son of Jia said impatiently, and stepped forward to push Su Cen. He wanted to see if there was someone hiding behind Su Cen, but he never thought that there was someone behind Su Cen. On the first flower step, Su Cen tripped and fell down, and pulled Jia Zhen again with the idea of ​​pulling someone on his back, and they both fell into the flowers.

Both of them were thrown in a mess. They rubbed their heads and rubbed their waists before recovering, only to hear a soft "ah" from someone at the moon gate.

The two looked up, and saw a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl covering her mouth with a handkerchief, her face blushing, but the excitement in her eyes was undisguised, and she stammered: "You... you go on, what am I None of them."

Su Cen Jiazhen: "..."

Jia Zhen hurriedly stood up and took a few steps forward to explain: "Little Chan, listen to me, I don't know this person, I'm here to find you."

Xiao Chan glared at Jia Zhen, probably because she disliked how this man could pull up his trousers and refuse to recognize him. Instead, he looked at Su Cen with a smile on his face, and asked thoughtfully, "Is this young man alright?"

Su Cen stood up and straightened her clothes, and said politely, "Miss Lao is concerned, I'm fine."

Xiao Chan looked at this man in front of her, not only was he courteous and courteous, but also had a romantic look in his eyebrows, dressed in white clothes, he thought to himself that all the handsome men in the world were trying to be masculine, but how affectionate and wronged they were, they were so inhuman. Compassion arose spontaneously, and he rolled up his sleeves and pointed at Jia Zhen and asked Su Cen, "Did he bully you? Tell me and I'll make the decision for you!"

Su Cen thought to herself that the girl's thoughts are really strange now, and then saw Jia Zhen winking at him, and scratched his finger on the neck to show a threat.

This is a happy couple.

Su Cen smiled and said, "It was an accident just now, Mr. Jia and I did not know each other before."

"Really?" Xiao Chan pouted slightly disappointed, and whispered, "It's a pity."

Looking around at the same spot again, she walked back and said, "Miss Wanqing just lied to me, saying that there are colorful butterflies here, not even a caterpillar."

Jia Zhen breathed a sigh of relief when the people left, and reluctantly said to Su Cen, "Thank you very much."

Su Cen nodded slightly, walked out of the moon gate from the side of the person, and just took two steps when he saw Jia Zhen following up, hesitatingly said: "Do you know the way out?"

Su Cen glanced at the man, "So you got lost?"

Jia Zhen said stubbornly: "Master, how can I get lost, I just... I'm too lazy to look for it."

Su Cen smiled lightly and walked forward on his own.

When the two came out of the inner courtyard, the front hall was already open, and the room was very lively.Along the way, the two of them had nothing to say, but they got to know each other for a while. Jia Zhen pulled Su Cen to sit at a small remote table, not bothering to squeeze in with the big people inside.

After getting acquainted with him, Su Cen found that the Second Young Master Jia was not that annoying, so he dragged him and started talking nonsense, saying that this little cicada was the second lady of the Wang family, and that the little girl looked like a monkey when she was a child, but why? The longer the past few years, the better he looks, and he has also thought about marrying someone in the future, but his father has always been dissatisfied, so this marriage is still far away.

Su Cen raised his head, "Then you boarded the flower boat to hire Miss Qingchen?"

Jia Zhen raised his neck and said: "A man, who doesn't have three wives and four concubines, Xiao Chan is the main wife, but it doesn't affect Qing Chen being a concubine."

"Men have three wives and four concubines?" Su Cen disagrees, "There are not a few people who are monogamous and monogamous. Like Wang Zuozhi, Xun Lingjun only had one wife in the Tang family in his life, and the founding emperor of the previous dynasty was the only one in his life. The queen is alone, what's more, Wen Zhenggong's wife has not been pregnant for 30 years, and Wen Zhenggong still refuses to take concubines, how can it be said that every man has three wives and four concubines?"

Jia Zhen waved his hand, "Forget it, I can't tell you with your sharp tongue, besides, those you mentioned are big shots. I'm an ordinary person, what's wrong with taking a concubine?"

Su Cen narrowed his eyes slightly, "What if Xiao Chan and Qing Chen are incompatible with each other?"

"Ah?" Jia Zhen scratched his head, "I haven't thought about it. Forget it, let's not talk about it, the horoscope has not been written yet, it's too early to worry about it."

Only then did Su Cen put on a sharp look, tapped the rice in the bowl with chopsticks and said, "The Jia family and the Wang family are rightly related, why does your father object to your marriage?"

"I don't know either," Jia Zhen picked and picked from a plate of green vegetables with his chopsticks, "Maybe it's because my father doesn't like He Xiao, you must know, my elder brother passed away two years ago, my father probably thinks that I Marrying with the Wang family, He Xiao will also become my brother-in-law, fearing that it will be detrimental to the Jia family's business."

Su Cen raised his eyebrows, "Is your father afraid that He Xiao will take the opportunity to steal the Jia family's property?"

"This..." Jia Zhen pondered for a while, pulled the stool and leaned towards Su Cen, and said in a low voice, "You don't know how much Yangzhou City has changed since He Xiao came, those officials in the past didn't look down on us at all. Merchant, but what about now?"

Jia Zhen pointed to the hills of congratulatory gifts in the Nuan Pavilion, "Did you see that pot of red coral bonsai with tourmaline inlaid with jade? The signature is from Huating Mountain, but everyone knows that Mr. Xue, the governor of Yangzhou, is from Huating County, Songjiang. The picture of five bats holding a birthday was made by Hu Shangren, who was famous as a painter in the dynasty, and the governor Cao Ren and Hu Shangren are fellow villagers. Therefore, although those officials were not present, they all gave He Xiao some face, It is true to say that my father doesn't like him, but I think my father is actually somewhat afraid of him."

Su Cen looked back at the person at the banquet. It was his father-in-law who celebrated his birthday, but He Xiao was Zhou Huan at each table, with a moderate smile on his face, and his gestures were graceful, Zhou Huan was able to do everything with ease.

As if aware of his gaze, He Xiao turned his head to meet Su Cen's gaze, and toasted Su Cen from afar across the crowd.

Without avoiding it, Su Cen raised his glass as a gesture, and took a small sip.

"Is he quite human?" Su Cen just turned around when he heard Jia Zhen sarcastically said: "You are all deceived by his skin, but I have seen how ruthless he is."

Su Cen raised her eyebrows, "What?"

Jia Zhen got closer again: "It was about two years ago. I came to Wang's house to look for Xiao Chan, and then, ahem, I got lost, and I didn't know where I went. Suddenly I heard footsteps, and I just stayed out When I asked, I heard a shrill cat meow."

"Xiaochan's elder sister, Miss Wang's family, raised a raccoon cat at that time, and she loved it very much. The whole family gave it as an offering, and He Xiao also liked to tease it, but the cat didn't stick to him very much. Only then did I realize that the cat was afraid of him."

"Cats always meow in spring, disturbing people who can't sleep well, but there is nothing wrong with that, cats are like this. The result is He Xiao. When he turned his head and came to the place behind the person, I watched him give the cat to me." Choked to death, without even a trace of expression on his face, just strangled to death with bare hands."

Jia Zhen rubbed his sleeves and retreated from goosebumps, and then said: "I was hiding behind the flower wall, he buried the cat and glanced at me, I don't know if he saw me, but his expression at that time made me feel like that I will never forget it for the rest of my life, he is not killing cats, he can kill even people."

Su Cen pondered for a moment, then said, "May I take the liberty to ask, how did Brother Ling pass away?"

"Do you suspect that He Xiao killed my elder brother?" Jia Zhen waved his hand, "That's not true. My elder brother had a cold at the beginning, and he didn't take it seriously at first, but later it invaded his lungs, and the medicine was cured. Doctors in the entire Yangzhou city I’ve visited them all, no matter how capable He Xiao is, he can’t buy all the medical clinics in Yangzhou City, right?”

Su Cen nodded silently.

After the banquet was over that day, Su Cen immediately called Qu Ling'er into the room, and said that no matter what method he used, he asked Xiaohong if there was any chronic poison that could make people look like they had a cold.

The timing of the death of the eldest son of the Jia family was too coincidental. It happened to be the second year after He Xiao arrived in Yangzhou City. Once the eldest son of the Jia family died, there was only an old man and a younger brother left in the family. The family can only be at the mercy of others.

Qu Ling'er said that Xiaohong is good at poison, and if He Xiao wants to poison others, the most secret and convenient way is to get poison from a secret door.

After Qu Ling'er reluctantly left, Su Cen called Qi Lin over again and cupped his hands: "Please guard Qi to help me take a trip to He Xiao's hometown, I want to know all the details about He Xiao. "