"Ten miles of long streets and well-connected streets, and you can see the gods on the Moonlight Bridge.

Life is only for Yangzhou and death, Zen Zhi Mountain is a bright and beautiful cemetery."

Walking in Yangzhou with a horse In the city, Jia Lian was immediately attracted by the bustling scene of the Huainan water town.

The long ancient streets, smoked willow painted bridges, wind curtains and green curtains.

Although it is a small city, looking at its wind and moon, it seems to be better than many in Beijing!

It is strange that throughout the ages, scholars have always favored Yangzhou, saying that "one part of the world is a bright moonlit night, and two parts are rogue Yangzhou", and "a spring breeze is ten miles away from Yangzhou, and it is better to roll up a bead curtain."

However, Jia Lian didn't have much time to watch Yangzhou Fengyue at this time. He casually asked passers-by about the location of Yanzheng Yamen, and then took Zhaoer and others there.

At this time, it was just the fifth day of their journey south!

Driven by Jia Lian’s persistence and money, the seven of them traveled almost day and night, and arrived in Yangzhou in just four days.

Because the city gate was already closed when we arrived in the middle of the night last night, we had to stay at a farm outside the city for half the night. We entered the city early this morning, found an inn, took a bath and rested, and immediately set off for the Lin family.

…

There are four salt policies in the world, the first of which is Yangzhou.

The salt tax has been one of the most important sources of tax revenue for the government since ancient times. At present, the annual income from the salt tax is even close to 20 million taels!

Therefore, the status of Yangzhou Salt Administration, which controls the land of the Huaihe River and accounts for almost half of the world's salt tax revenue, is evident from this.

And in this term, the status of Yangzhou Yanzheng Yamen has become more and more prominent.

Because the contemporary Salt Patrol Censor was not only from a noble family background, but also was already a senior official of the Lantai Temple when he came to the salt administration, and was a third-grade official with a well-established Miaohong roots!

When such a person arrives in Yangzhou, how dare all the demons and monsters not treat him with caution?

Even the magistrate of Yangzhou cannot interfere with the salt administration, and the highest official rank is lower than two ranks. Therefore, when meeting each other, he must first salute to the other party. For the Yangzhou magistrate, this was also a depressing matter that could not be discussed externally.

The Xunyan Censor’s Yamen is divided into two parts, the front and rear. The front is the official Yamen, which is used for offices and residences for a few officials. The back Yamen is the official residence of the chief official Lin Ruhai.

In fact, most of the local yamen in the Wei Dynasty were like this. Combining the official yamen and officials' official residences into one not only made it easier for officials to manage politics, but also allowed officials to bring their wives and children with them. The joy of gathering together as a family is commonly known as the official residence system.

At this time, Jia Lian and others came to the front of Xunyan Censor’s Yamen, although the door is open, it is quiet inside.

However, there were many government servants waiting outside the door. When they saw Jia Lian wearing a white mourning, they knew they were here to express their condolences, so someone immediately got on his horse and led Jia Lian and others eastward along the white wall. .

Jia Lian was not surprised at all. He still had these basic common sense after spending many years in Beijing.

No matter how high the official position is, it is impossible to occupy the official office in front to handle official affairs, so Jia Min's mourning hall can only be located in the private residence at the back.

According to Feng Shui theory, if the door cannot be opened to the south, the east door is the first choice. Because Qinglongmen is the auspicious gate, all officials who live in the Yamen usually go to Qinglongmen on the left side when traveling and visiting relatives!

Arriving at the main entrance of the official residence on the east side, I saw that it was a bleak place with white sails hanging high.

Within the high wall, the sound of chanting sutras and chanting Buddha can be faintly heard.

Jia Baoyu and others slowly stopped in front of the door, and soon an old man in white clothes came out. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully, and then said: "This is the mansion. Go to the housekeeper, I wonder if this young master is...?"

The housekeeper felt very strange. Just by looking at the appearance of the group of people in front of him, he knew that he was here to express his condolences.

On the one hand, Jia Lian and others were very unfamiliar, and on the other hand, it had been more than ten days since the obituary was due. It was not a day for all the houses to pay their respects together, and no condolences were received from the three houses. post. Therefore, it is really unexpected for Jia Lian and his party to arrive here.

Besides, if you are not a close relative or descendant of the Lin family who comes to pay homage, you only need to dress modestly and go to the door to tie a filial piety belt, which will be enough respect. How could he be like Jia Lian and actually be Bai Xiao?

As the old housekeeper of the Lin family, he was quite sure that if there was such a person in the Lin family, he would definitely know him.

Jia Lian turned over and dismounted, bowed to the other party as well, and said solemnly: "Jia Lian, the younger generation of Rongguo Mansion, has come to pay homage to my aunt on the order of the ancestor of the family."

In fact, the housekeeper Jia Lian looked unfamiliar, but Jia Lian looked a little familiar to the housekeeper.

When Jia Min married Lin Ruhai, it was when Lin Ruhai was a Beijing official. Later, Lin Ruhai was transferred to other places, and finally he was transferred back to the capital. After being promoted to the adjutant of Lantai Temple, he went directly to Yangzhou to take charge of the salt administration.

In other words, Lin Ruhai only lived in the capital during the first few years when she married Jia Min. Later, although she returned to the capital, she always returned to the capital to report on her duties and did not stay in the capital to serve. This is also The reason why Daiyu grew up in Jiangnan and never went to Beijing with her father.

Therefore, Jia Lian remembered that he must have met the old housekeeper of the Lin Mansion when he was a child, but he just couldn't remember his name, so he pretended not to remember and was just doing business.

　"Rongguo Mansion?" The old housekeeper was obviously stunned.

That was their wife’s natal family, and he naturally knew it. He just never thought that Rongguo Mansion, which was a thousand or two thousand miles away, would send someone here so quickly!

He thought that even if the people from the Jia family went to Jiangnan, it would be at least a long time later. Maybe by then their wife's coffin would be sent back to her hometown in Suzhou for burial.

However, the old housekeeper reacted quickly. After judging that Jia Lian and others were unlikely to be liars, he immediately showed joy: "It turns out that Second Master Lian has arrived. I will go and inform the master now..."< br />
Obviously, the housekeeper knew Jia Lian's name, but he didn't recognize him in person.

"Wait a minute." Jia Lian called to the old housekeeper. There was no joy on his face that he was about to see his elders, only his eyes were full of sadness.

"First take me to the mourning hall to kowtow to my aunt, and then I will go see my uncle."

Infected by Jia Lian's emotions, the old housekeeper immediately covered up his excitement. Color: "What Mr. Lian said is, please..."

　...

In a side hall on the south side of the Lin Mansion's private residence.

Lin Ruhai looked at the dozen or so people in front of him, shook his head and said: "It's useless for you to force me here. This is the court's intention, how can I reject it privately?"

"We dare not force you, sir. We just want to ask you to make the decision for us and explain our difficulties to the court..."

"Yes, yes, this 'donation' It’s really too difficult to be a human being. If we can’t do it, we can just pay a little more tax money. This is not the case of donating and losing!”

“That’s right, Mr. Lin, since you After becoming the Salt Patrol Censor, we all fully support it. We also pay a lot of salt tax every year and hand it over to you in full. Now, you can't withdraw it without any reason. You have lost the Yanyin we were waiting for..."

"I said, I am not going to remove your Yanyin..." The series of bitter cards made Lin Ruhai very tired.

I happened to see the butler appearing at the side of the hall, so I waved to him and asked him what was going on.

The old housekeeper whispered a few words in his ear, which made Lin Ruhai look surprised. After nodding, he turned around and said to everyone in the hall: "I have some private matters, please excuse me."

Returning to the study, Lin Ruhai asked: "Are you sure it's Jia Lian?"

The old housekeeper said seriously: "If you tell me back to the master, you can't be wrong. I am definitely the second master Lian of Rongguo Mansion."

Lin Ruhai was just like the old housekeeper’s previous thoughts: “But the capital and capital are far apart. Even if they got the news, they shouldn’t have come so quickly. Could it be that he happened toIn the south? "

"Who says it's not the case? I don't know, but the people you asked me to arrange to deliver letters to Beijing haven't come back yet! ”

Indeed, how did the person who delivered the letter from the Lin family know whether the Jia family would immediately send people to Yangzhou or take the dry road? Not to mention the dry road, they would not take a carriage and only ride a fast horse?
< br />Isn’t this a lie?

Lin Ruhai wondered in his heart that he had traveled countless times between Jiangnan and Beijing. He knew that the journey was far away, and even taking a carriage to go south would take a long time. It took more than ten days, not to mention taking a boat.

“In that case, why don’t you bring him to see me? "

"Originally, the old slave wanted to bring him to see the master, but Second Master Lian said that it was important to pay homage to his wife first.

Right now, Mr. Lian is reciting the sacrificial rites in the mourning hall. Looking at the length of the poem, I'm afraid he won't be able to finish it in a while. "

Lin Ruhai stroked the beard on his chin, nodded and said: "That's right, their family is different from other families. They have more etiquette and rules in their behavior. In this case, after he has finished the sacrifice, I will take him to the study to see me. "

" The housekeeper must have been, and asked: "The people in the side hall..."

" Just say that I am not feeling well, and tell them to go back separately. ”

　“Yes. ”

The housekeeper nodded immediately, knowing that the master was really tired of those people.

Also, the master’s spirit was not very good after the wife left, but these people are better. It's most disgusting to bother the master again and again!

Turned around to leave, hesitated for a long time, then turned back.

"What else is there? "

"Back to the master, Master Jiao and Master Huan don't know where they are going. I showed up once in the mourning hall early in the morning, but I haven't seen anyone yet. "

Lin Ruhai's hand that had just opened the page paused slightly, and then said: "I understand, go down." ”

　“Yes. ”