I'm watching the gate in the jail

A room full of porcelain won't grow legs and disappear by itself, and this is an imperial ware factory for the royal family, and there are officers and soldiers guarding the entrance and exit.

Not to mention the finished porcelain, even if you want to transport clay and other production materials out of the gate, you must have a warrant from the guarding eunuch and customs clearance.All goods can only leave after being counted and checked by officers and soldiers one by one.

Before going off duty every day, all craftsmen, cooks, and handymen entering and leaving the imperial equipment factory must remove their clothes and conduct a body search to ensure that nothing is carried before they are allowed to leave.

In order to prevent imperial kiln ceramics from being lost to the people, all craftsmen in the Imperial Ware Factory adopt the "sit together system" and "mutual protection system". If one person is found to be carrying something, all of them will be punished.If you want to protect yourself, in addition to ensuring that you don't sneak or hide, you must always pay attention to your companion's every move.

"In the past, someone tried to smuggle out the gold powder used to color porcelain and sell it... After being reported, he was directly sentenced to hang. I didn't expect to lose a whole warehouse of porcelain now. Who can do it?"

He Langzhong had a bitter old face, full of fear.

In Daming, stealing royal tribute was a capital offense.

Now it has been found that a whole warehouse of imperial porcelain is missing. Although it is an old thing that has been sealed up, it is reasonable to say that it will not be paid as tribute, but it still belongs to the royal name.If it is really calculated according to the continuous sitting system, no one in the entire imperial kiln factory will be able to escape.

"What else can I do? Guard yourself and steal."

Wanda took the register book and flipped through it quickly.

"All of them are only records of storage, and only a batch of kiln-shaped dragon-pattern plates from a month ago have been released from the storage. There are about [-] pieces of utensils left... I counted them just now, and now there are only less than [-] pieces left. .”

The remaining [-] pieces are either large dragon jars, imitation bronze tripods, or imitation of large jade wares from Zhou Dynasty and Qin Dynasty. It is estimated that they were kept because they were too large and inconvenient to transport.

I just don’t know whether those missing porcelains disappeared with the last batch of kiln-made utensils, or were smuggled out little by little before...

"The imperial ware factory will be closed from now on, and all craftsmen, handymen, pottery supervisors, and guards are not allowed to enter. Songzhi County, immediately report to the state government to strictly investigate the caravan merchant ships along the way, and immediately report any clues. The goods and personnel stay where they are. Seizure."

"Yes."

"I will report to Jiangxi Chengxuan Political Commissioner, requesting the guards to send troops to support. I will write a letter today and report this matter to the yamen of Yingtian Mansion and Shuntian Mansion, as well as the Holy Majesty."

Qiu Zijin acted resolutely, arranged everything properly, and pretended to investigate to the end.

Wanda thought the case was too clear, and nine out of ten it was the "Eunuch Liang" who did it.Now that everyone else has gone to the capital, if they don't send people to the capital to chase after the murderer, what is the investigation here?

If you want him to say, just ask Eunuch Wynn to order Dongchang to arrest him. He's just a eunuch, but can he find Wuzhishan?

"Do you think these Xiaoqiu can't guess?"

Yang Xiuxian patted Wanda's shoulder lightly.

"The clues in this case are too clear. An eunuch is nothing, and it is very easy to catch him. Xiao Qiu, he does not want to catch the criminal, but wants to use this case to trip up some people he wants to trip up. ...and maybe the 'superior' also wants to trip someone up."

Wanda listened to Yang Xiuxian's analysis, then turned to look at Qiu Zijin who was dispatching troops, and remained silent.

Even if he knew in his heart that this beautiful scholar was not a white sugar ball, but a black-bellied sesame dumpling, he still couldn't accept the setting of "black-hearted scholar" for a while.

Guanghuai was right.

What is a Liang eunuch, the key is who he gave this batch, or should I say these batches of imperial kilns.

These people are undoubtedly the rich and powerful families in Beijing, and they may even be generations of hairpin tassels, relatives of the emperor and the like-they are really afraid of the emperor's brother-in-law.

People from the old Zhu's family have been suspicious since they fought against Emperor Hongwu.

You must know that using imperial utensils means "overstepping".In the eyes of the Zhu family, the word "transcendence" is basically synonymous with "rebellion".

The scorching warm wind blows on the face, bringing the sticky touch unique to summer in the Jiangnan area.Wanda vigorously wiped the sweat dripping down from her temples, and gritted her teeth.

The "root" of this case is not in Jingdezhen, but in Beijing.

It seems that the capital city in July is about to change again.

It was already sunset when everyone left the Imperial Artifact Factory, and the entire Imperial Artifact Factory was blocked by officials sent by the county government.It is estimated that it will take some time to transfer troops from the state capital, but the officers and soldiers of the Raozhou Thousand Households Office will arrive tomorrow.

Hearing that the imperial kiln tribute was stolen, the whole town suddenly became jittery.

The last time such a big case happened was during the reign of Xuande.

At that time, Eunuch Zhang, the supervising eunuch, was corrupt and tyrannical, beat the craftsmen, and privately distributed tribute to the royal relatives in Nanjing as bribes.In the end, he was captured by Dongchang and returned to the capital.

For the same case, the county magistrate, magistrate, chief envoy, and almost the entire imperial weapon factory were sent to prison, beheaded beheaded, and assassinated.

Except for a few old craftsmen who fired kilns for the imperial kiln in the past, and their craftsmanship could not be replaced, almost all the staff and horses in the entire imperial kiln factory were replaced.Many people lost their livelihood even if they didn't lose their heads.

These are all things of the past, and many young people have almost forgotten them, only the old people in the town still vaguely remember them.

Who would have thought that the young inspector censor would set off such a big storm just after returning to his hometown to praise the official, bringing the peaceful town to the center of the whirlpool.

"How could Young Master Qiu do such a thing? The Imperial Equipment Factory is unlucky, and his family can stay out of it?"

"Isn't it... If you really find yourself, I'm afraid it's time to 'go around without food'."

Seeing that the sky darkened little by little, some people gradually gathered in the roadside wild shop.After dinner, the villagers who had nothing to do got together, drinking tea, and discussing the major events that happened in the town today.

"His family also burns ceramics. There are a few craftsmen whose craftsmanship is no worse than that of the Imperial Artifact Factory. Do you still remember that there is a young man surnamed Yuan, because he can make good underglaze red. At the end of last year, he was banned by the Imperial Artifact Factory I specially invited him to burn a set of porcelain for the newly born emperor's eldest son."

"Don't mention it, something happened...you all forgot about the 'Kiln Explosion' last year?"

"Hey, stop talking, someone is here..."

Because something happened, the people in the town were extra vigilant towards strangers.

Seeing two strange young men approaching from a distance, everyone immediately became alert, either pretending to drink tea, or talking about other topics.

Wanda and Yang Xiuxian walked into the restaurant, sat down opposite each other, and ordered two bowls of noodles.

"Isn't the Qiu family's food delicious? Didn't you say that his chef's cooking skills are top-notch, even the big restaurants in Beijing can't compare. Why would you rather go out to eat this kind of rough food now?"

Yang Xiuxian handed the chopsticks to Wanda and said amusedly.

"Don't mention it, it's very polite to eat at his house. Even if I go in... to see my sister and brother-in-law, it's not that big of a show."

Xiao Er brought up two bowls of noodle soup with only pickled vegetables, and Wanda, who had been busy all day, directly picked up the big bowl and sucked it up with a big gulp.

"Really, no matter how delicious his food is, I can't eat it."

Wanda put down the bowl, feeling a little unsatisfied, and asked Xiaoer to serve two steamed buns, dipped them in pickles and ate them.

"Don't talk about noodles, I think prison rice is better than Xiaoqiu's rice."

Yang Xiuxian looked at the exaggerated winking expression, and shook his head dumbfounded.

However, he also felt empathy for Xinghai's words.

Needless to say, the welcome banquet on the first night, because of Qiu Zijin's insistence on delaying the wedding date, they almost broke up in a row, and the dishes on the table were basically left untouched.

And every meal after that made them realize what it means to "eat without knowing the taste".

The Qiu family had breakfast every morning, and there was a girl knocking on the door early in the morning. Even the guests had to do whatever they wanted, and went to the main hall to eat with the big guys—at this time, Qiu Zijin had already invited his parents Too safe.

Lunch and dinner are even more grand, although the children and grandchildren of all parties do not need to gather, the rules of Qiu Zijin's own family are enough to make Master Xiaowan who is used to being casual.

Because Wanda's status is the highest, Qiu's father and Qiu's mother have to wait for Wanda to move the chopsticks before using the chopsticks.

Moreover, the Qiu family strictly enforced the ancient motto of "Don't talk when you eat, don't talk when you sleep". During the whole meal, no one would speak aloud except for the interlacing of cups and plates and the slight sound of chewing.

Even the maids and servants came forward to serve soup with vegetables, but they did so quietly.

If the spoon accidentally knocked into the bowl and made a louder sound, everyone would look over in silence.Especially Qiu's mother's reproachful eyes made you want to throw down your job and find a hole in the ground.

What Wanda can't stand the most is that as soon as he puts down his chopsticks, it means that he has finished eating.Everyone else at the table would stop eating at the same time, stand up and salute him.It was not until he left the dining room that the others sat down to continue eating.

It made Wanda feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, neither eating fast nor slow.

No matter how delicious the dishes are placed on the table of the Qiu family, it is only a part of the grand meal procedure.

How the dish itself is is completely unimportant.

This made Wanda, who still considers himself half a "cook", very angry, and felt sorry for the lack of basic "respect" for the exquisite dishes on the table.

It's really embarrassing for Qiu Zijin, I don't know how he survived the past ten years with such a gluttonous stomach.

After eating the steamed buns, Wanda touched his bulging belly, and signaled to Yang Xiuxian that it would not be too late to go back after a couple of strolls.

Now the evening breeze is blowing, and it is much more comfortable than during the day, suitable for walking around.

Besides, the Qiu family was really bored, if it wasn't for Xiao Qiu's face, he really wanted to live in the official post in the county.

Seeing the two handsome young men leave, everyone in the wild store started talking.

"Those two looked like they were from the capital, and they were still wearing official boots."

"Could it be that he came with that young master of the Qiu family? Could it be the Jin Yiwei who came to investigate the case?"

"I don't think so. Look at that kid with big eyes, white face and no beard...he is a 'father-in-law', he should be the little eunuch of Dongchang."

Wanda, who hadn't gone far, heard her feet stagger, and turned her head angrily.

You are the father-in-law, and your whole family is the father-in-law!

These gangsters are so brave.

"Fuliang has been a prosperous place since ancient times, and merchants and officials have come and gone in an endless stream. The people in Jingdezhen are used to seeing big men and big merchants. Maybe they are also merchants themselves. Naturally, they will come here with ordinary villagers elsewhere different."

Yang Xiuxian smiled and helped him steady.

"Xiaoqiu's actions mean that he has offended all the parents in his hometown? If this case is really thoroughly investigated, it will definitely affect the whole body. The Imperial Equipment Factory is just the beginning, and it may involve a series of family forces. ...How will Xiaoqiu deal with himself then?"

Wanda said worriedly.

Southern Anhui merchants are different from northern Shanxi merchants. Most of them are linked by clan and blood ties, and they are keen to pursue political career in the WTO.

There are so-called "Confucian businessmen" and there are so-called "Business Confucians". "Business" and "Confucianism" are mutually external and support each other.

Different from the vast rural areas, more than half of the families in Jingdezhen are engaged in business and education. Once the family cultivates children who are officials, it means a double harvest of wealth and power.

Qiu Zijin used the power of the whole family to make the young children who finally entered the officialdom must bear the responsibility of supporting the whole family of the Qiu family, and even the whole county and the whole prefecture.

It also means that the huge wealth group behind him has spread its tentacles from the mall to the officialdom.

Imperial examination fame is just a stepping stone, and wealth is the link that can truly connect all forces.

Now that Xiaoqiu made such a fuss as soon as he came home, it was tantamount to directly hitting the whole town in the face.

Although on the surface, the theft of the tribute was "accidentally" discovered by him when he was inspecting the imperial equipment factory.

But all officials know that no matter what the case is, it can be "big or small", it just depends on how big the trouble is.

Qiu Zijin could handle it in private and secretly, instead of making a big fuss like he is now, making it clear that he would not give face to local officials and related forces-even if part of this force came from his own family.

"The relationship between the Qiu family and the Yuqi Factory is very deep. Half of the dolomite used by the Yuqi Factory comes from the hills of the Qiu family, and the pine firewood and charcoal burned in the official kiln also come from the hills of the Qiu family. It is said that there are seven mountain fields under the name of the Qiu family. There are as many as eight of them, spreading for hundreds of miles, all the way to Linxian County. More than half of the mountain fields... After Qiu Zijin won Tanhualang last year, his mother "purchased" them from the mountain people by various means of."

As for how Qiu's mother acquired so much land in just one year, and how many forces will be involved behind this series of transactions, it is really unknown.

Wanda was speechless.

"Before, Xiao Qiu said that he wanted to get rid of the control of his mother and the Qiu family... Could it be that he intends to destroy the entire Qiu family?"

If the Qiu family was really involved in this case, even if Qiu Zijin had the credit for "killing relatives with righteousness", the emperor would not confiscate his family and exterminate his family.In the future, the Qiu family may also decline from now on, and will no longer be as prosperous as it is now.

"You are wrong. Qiu Zijin's move is not to 'destroy' the Qiu family, but to 'preserve' the Qiu family."

The Yang family has served the king for several generations. Although it is the family of generals, compared with the upstart Wan family, it is still much more thorough.

"how do I say this?"

"The purpose of the imperial examination is to select talents for the country. Although the sources of talents are eclectic, no king would be willing to have his court controlled by a few big families. Get up and relax."

After hearing this, Wanda nodded her head half-understood.

"That's exactly what Taizu set up the North and South List back then. It was to balance the power distribution of officials in the north and south. If these big southern clans use the wealth accumulated from generation to generation to control the government, then it will really be a 'country'. country'. If this power continues to grow, what do you think the emperor will do?"

"You mean... like the great grandfather treated Shen Wansan back then?"

Wanda asked with wide eyes.

"exactly."

Yang Xiuxian sighed and nodded.

"Even if Shen Xiu took the initiative to donate all her family property back then, she could not escape the tragedy of ransacking her family. If the Qiu family insisted on going their own way, they would end up on this old road sooner or later."

Shen Xiu, also known as Shen Wansan, is rich enough to rival an enemy country.

Legend has it that he once offered gold and silver to build the city wall of Yingtianfu in Nanjing, and said that he could reward Zhu Yuanzhang's million-strong army with a reward of "one person, one tael".

In the end, he offended the suspicious Hongwu Emperor and was dispatched to Yunnan.Later, his son-in-law was involved in the Lan Yu case, which resulted in the entire Shen family being ransacked and exterminated, and almost no one survived.

This story was not only well-known in the Ming Dynasty, but even in the south of the Yangtze River 600 years later, the legend of Shen Wansan's house being ransacked was circulating everywhere.

Wealthy businessmen and court battles.

There is really nothing new under the sun. The story that happened 100 years ago is just a different version, and it continues to be staged.

"Xiao Qiu is 'cutting his tail to survive'. Severing his entanglement with the Qiu family will also sever the entanglement between the Qiu family and the forces in the court."

This is the "relief" that the ghost-faced man said.

And the price of "freedom" is huge.

"From now on, Xiaoqiu will be the only one who wanders forward on his official career. 'Heaven and Earth Monarch, Parent and Teacher', as far as he is concerned, there is only one 'jun' to serve from now on."

When Yang Xiuxian said this, he couldn't help admiring.

From the moment he left the Qiu family and Jiangxi to Beijing Guozijian, the career that the 14-year-old boy designed for himself was a road to walk alone.

What he wants to do is not just a "pure minister", but a "solitary minister".

No relatives, friends, or comrades-in-arms, in order to wash away the "original sin" of being born in a wealthy family.Use this way to express your absolute loyalty to the country and imperial power.

This topic was too heavy, and Wanda, who wanted to go out to relax, felt sick when he heard it.

In any case, he still recognizes Qiu Zijin as his "brother", although his motives for approaching him are impure.

Since Daming's glorious civil servants can't tolerate him, let Jin Yiwei of Daming's dark forces take care of Xiaoqiu!

"Hey, is that another courtyard of the Qiu family over there? I heard from the servants of the Qiu family that Miss Rong, who is Xiaoqiu's fiancée, lives in the 'Bailin Courtyard' in the south of the city."

Wanda pointed to the low wall not far away, a shaded garden and asked excitedly, "Isn't it over there?"

"what are you going to do?"

Seeing that Wanda's eyes were so excited that stars were about to pop out, Yang Xiuxian became alert.

"You said it was so hot during the day, and now it's finally cooling down... Will this Miss Rong family go for a walk in the garden before it's completely dark to relax?"

Wanda said, regardless of Yang Xiuxian's objection, he grabbed his sleeve and pulled him to the bottom of the courtyard wall.

"After this Miss Rong and Xiaoqiu get married, they can be regarded as the 'siblings' of you and me, right? Xiaoqiu abides by the rules and has never seen what Miss Rong looks like so far. As his elder brother, Let’s take a look for him first.”

As he spoke, he walked around the courtyard wall, and based on the growth of the trees and the faintly exposed corner of the rockery, he calculated the location of the garden, put his hands together, and leaned half of his body out.

"It's nonsense, isn't this a girl from an abrupt family? It's not polite!"

Yang Xiuxian was so anxious that he wanted to pull him down, the next moment he saw Wanda turned his head excitedly, pointed inside with his finger, showing the mouth shape of "coming out", then hooked his finger at Yang Xiuxian, signaling him Lie down together and "reward together".

Speaking of which, Yang Xiuxian is also full of curiosity about this "Miss Rong" who almost froze Li Daitao.That being the case, he stopped being polite, stood on tiptoe and jumped lightly, landing beside Wanda.

Master Xiao Wan really knows how to choose a place, and deliberately lays down behind a rockery. Through the exquisite stone eyes, he can clearly see the entire artificial lake and the garden at the other end of the lake.But if you look here from the garden side, you can't see anything.

"It's coming out, it's coming out... It should be a girl. The girl is okay, she's pretty."

Looking at the little girl who came out from the other side of the corridor with a double bun, wearing a lotus color silk skirt and fanning, Wanda excitedly touched Yang Xiuxian's arm with her elbow.

Master Yang is very suspicious of whether his young lover and boss often do this kind of thing of stealing people's walls, stealing incense and jade, otherwise why is there no shame at all?

If it wasn't for the conditions, he suspected that he would want to eat melon seeds.

This Miss Rong's visit to the garden was quite grand, only two or three girls began to come in and out and get busy.

The girls moved out a small tea table for a while, and a small round stool for a while.

Someone brought fragrant tea, and someone brought Yuyao Yangmei and chilled watermelon that Shuilingling had just picked and put them on the coffee table.In order to prevent mosquitoes and flies from invading the young lady in summer, some people lit incense in several places in the yard.

Wanda lay on the stomach for a long time, her arms were sore, and the abdominal muscles that had been propped up began to hurt slightly, but she didn't see that "Miss Rong" move out of the boudoir.

"what……"

Xu Shi was so exhausted from being busy early in the morning, Wanda couldn't help but narrowed her eyes, opened her mouth wide, and let out a big yawn.

Even though he knew that there was a lake across and he couldn't hear him on the other side, Yang Xiuxian still covered his mouth with his index finger on his mouth.

That's how he indulged Xinghai. If any other captain of Jinyiwei did this kind of thing while performing surveillance missions, Yang Qianhu's whip would be merciless.

Wanda rubbed the corners of her eyes wearily, and was about to say, "Let's stop playing, let's retreat", when he heard a ringing sound coming from the corridor.

Miss Rong is about to show up?

The drowsiness flew away immediately, Wanda's eyes widened, and with the help of the moon that had slowly climbed up and the lanterns in the yard, she tried her best to walk towards the little mat that had been set up in the garden with gentle steps. The woman looked up.

"Hey...it looks much older than Xiaoqiu, doesn't it?"

Qiu Zijin is only 17 years old this year, and the woman in front of him should be about [-] years old.

She combed the latest Su-style hair, and a light summer dress vaguely outlines an exquisite figure, which is quite charming.

It's a pity that the distance is too far, and the facial features are somewhat blurred, but it should be a tall and slender woman with fair skin and beautiful appearance.

Unexpectedly, Mother Qiu is actually a supporter of "sibling love".He thought that according to Mrs. Qiu's temperament, she would marry her son a small and docile young wife - after all, she was young so she could control her.

After Miss Rong sat down on the round stool, she asked all the maids standing beside her to step down one by one, leaving only a big girl by her side.

One of them was standing, the other was sitting, fanning and eating fruit, as if they were whispering something.

It's too far away to hear them clearly, but they don't seem very happy looking at their expressions.

That's right, it took more than half a month to get from Changping to Jingdezhen by boat, but the wedding was inexplicably delayed.I heard that this girl was sent here by a servant of the family, and she didn't have any brothers from her natal family to help her, so she was really depressed.

Wanda looked at it for a while, and found it meaningless, pulled Yang Xiuxian's arm, and jumped down first.

Unlike Wanda, Yang Xiuxian seems to have seen something.

From the helplessness of being forced against the wall at the beginning, his expression gradually became serious.

Wanda jumped off the courtyard wall, turned around and saw Yang Xiuxian was still lying on it, and pulled the hem of his clothes strangely.

Not waiting for Yang Xiuxian to turn around and jump down, the servants of the Qiu family who were patrolling outside the yard walked over from a distance.

"Who? Don't move!"

The two servants didn't see Yang Xiuxian who was still on the wall, but only saw a sneaky young man standing under the wall, and ran over with a lantern.

"Come on!"

Yang Xiuxian turned around and jumped down, grabbed Wanda's arm, performed lightness kung fu, jumped three or two times, and left the two servants far behind.

"Hey... I was gasping to death. Fortunately, I ran fast, otherwise it would be too embarrassing."

The two circled around and finally returned to the outside of Qiu's house.

Wanda supported the stone pillar under the Enrong Archway with one hand, and covered his stomach that was running a little bit with the other hand and said.

After all, this is a feudal society with strict etiquette, and Xiaoqiu's mother is such an old lady who cares about rules.If someone finds out that they, as officials of the imperial court, actually spy on unmarried women, it will not be as simple as "losing face".

This distance was nothing to Yang Xiuxian at all. He walked behind Wanda and gently rubbed his back with his hands until Wanda finally calmed down and his breathing returned to normal.

"Did you... find something wrong?"

Yang Xiuxian observed for a while, now the night is quiet and there is no one around.He hesitated, and whispered in Wanda's ear.

"Not right?"

Recalling what he saw on the wall just now, Wanda shook his head in confusion.

"Didn't you notice, that Miss Rong...has been eating plums all the time."

Yang Xiuxian glanced at Wanda and asked, "Why do you think she doesn't eat watermelon?"

"Don't tell me, I want to eat bayberry too."

As she spoke, Wanda felt that her mouth began to salivate automatically.

"When you jumped off the wall just now, Miss Rong suddenly vomited."

Yang Xiuxian said with a downcast face.

"Vomited?"

Although Wanda really wanted to say that Ms. Rong might have eaten badly in Xia Tian.But think of her plump figure...

The last time I saw such a similar scene, it seemed to be in Zhaode Palace.

"Xiao Qiu, he..."

Wanda slowly opened his mouth wide.

No wonder urging marriage was the same as urging death before, that's how it is.

The author has something to say: Xiao Qiu: The person I love is my Daming!

Wanda: Love is a ray of light!