At the gate of Yangzhou City, which was filled with dust and crowded with people, dozens of horsemen and horsemen suddenly appeared approaching quickly.
Although the officers and soldiers guarding the city gate could tell at a glance that he was either rich or noble, they still stepped forward to hear the news because of their duties.
"The imperial envoy has entered the city to handle the case. Please retreat as soon as possible."
After receiving his orders, he quickly retreated.
After the majestic group entered the city, the young general at the city gate quickly called his two confidants and whispered: "Hurry and report to the guards and the prince that the imperial envoy has entered the city!"
…
“I have been dreaming of Yangzhou for ten years and won the reputation of a brothel. Yangzhou, Yangzhou! The famous capital of Huaizuo is indeed worthy of its reputation.”
This was not his first time in Yangzhou, and Jia Lian was still moved by the prosperity of Yangzhou City, which has the charm of a Jiangnan water town.
Riding a horse on a ten-mile long street, as far as the eye can see, there are small bridges, flowing water, and beaded curtains and embroidered curtains. From a charming attic in the distance, there is also the faint singing of warblers and swallows. Among the blooming flowers and branches, the unique style of Yangzhou's thin horse is displayed to tourists from afar.
This is the elegance and style of Jiangnan, a resort for literati and a paradise for the rich.
Looking at this prosperous and comfortable city, Jia Lian couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt when he thought that perhaps his arrival would break this atmosphere.
"Is this your first time in Yangzhou, Lord Marquis?" Liu Xianglian behind him asked with a smile when he saw Jia Lian like this.
"I've been here once before, but unfortunately I came and went in such a hurry that I didn't get to see the beautiful scenery of this place."
"Hahaha, after the important matters of the Marquis are over, if you are interested, , my subordinates can recommend a few places for the Marquis to visit..."
Listening to Liu Xianglian's familiar appearance, Jia Lian couldn't help but turn his head and glance at him, and asked with a smile: "Oh, listen It seems that Erlang is very familiar with Yangzhou. Tell me, how many good friends do you have here?"
Liu Xianglian originally wanted to introduce the scenic spots and interesting places in Yangzhou to Jia Lian, but when she heard When Jia Lian said this, he didn't know how to answer the question.
Although the other guards laughed at him on their faces, they were envious in their hearts. With Liu Xianglian's appearance, it would be easy to seduce the ladies in the flower house and make them jealous.
Then I looked at the brothel in the distance, and I couldn't help but feel a little more longing for it.
Although Beijing is prosperous, when it comes to entertainment, I am afraid it is far behind this famous mansion in the south of the Yangtze River.
"Okay, let's take care of things here. If you have time, Erlang will take us to have a good time. But there is no need to call me to eat flowers and wine and admire the beauties. You can go by yourself when the time comes.
I am a man with a family. I am not as carefree as you, and can be as free and unrestrained as you want."
Jia Lian smiled and waved the reins of his horse. Speed up and go to Yanzheng Yamen.
The guards and the officers and soldiers of the Imperial Guard behind them all smiled at Jia Lian's words.
Although he knew that Jia Lian meant to joke with them, he also knew that with his status as a marquis, he could not find any kind of beauties in the world. I am afraid that he might not be able to look down on those prostitutes.
But for them, it’s different. Who doesn’t want to see the world-famous “Yangzhou Skinny Horse”?
Listening to Jia Lian’s tone, it seemed that he didn’t object to them seeing things, and everyone’s heart was moved, thinking that if there was a chance this time, they would definitely give it a try...
When they arrived at the Yanzheng Yamen, their subordinates performed their duties. Jia Lian also directly took Yang Xun and others who were greeted by them into the quiet room to discuss matters.
"How is it, what have you found out these days?"
"I am ashamed..."
"Master Hou As expected, all the accounts and files of the Salt Administration have been sorted and updated, and there are almost no errors or omissions. The subordinates are not proficient in this, so no strong clues have been found.< br />
But at least it is certain that the various salt merchants in Yangzhou, and even the entire officialdom of Yangzhou Prefecture, must have evil intentions, and the cover-up is a bit too obvious."
Jia Lian Nodding, Jia Lian never thought about finding out and solving this matter from the books, unless those salt merchants were fools.
"What about An Siyuan?"
"An Siyuan's coffin has been transported back a long time ago. Because it was an official involved in the case, it was not buried. It is now placed in the back office. Within."
"Where are his family members, have they been interrogated?"
"An Siyuan has a wife, a concubine, and a pair of children... However, his son is not Not here."
"Not here?"
"Well, it is said that he is raised at grandma's house... But my lord, I always feel that there is something fishy about this matter. Then An Siyuan was considered a high-ranking official, and he only had one son. Instead of keeping him by his side to educate him well, he sent him to his father-in-law's house instead. This was a bit unreasonable.
Moreover, the official looked at An Siyuan. Siyuan's wife, Mrs. Xu, looked depressed all day long and seemed to have something on her mind, but her subordinates couldn't find out anything.
Since the court has not yet convicted An Siyuan, the Xu family is not considered a family member of the offending official. It is inconvenient for the subordinate to interrogate too much. Therefore, no result of the investigation is found. The subordinate is incompetent. I hope you will forgive me. ”
Jia Lian waved his hand, Yang Xun had only been here a few days, and he was still humble. It would be easy for people in Yangzhou to fool him.
As for The doubts Yang Xun mentioned are basically nonsense. If there were not such doubts, the court would not be so concerned about this matter, and he would not have to come here.
Asked again Yang Xun and others answered the details one by one. After looking at Jia Lian thoughtfully, Yang Xun and Jinyiwei Baihu Zhao Cheng looked at each other and took out a stack of banknotes from their arms. Yang Xun said "This was the gift from the salt merchants on the day I first entered Yangzhou. The lower officials accepted it according to your Lord's instructions and asked the Marquis to deal with it. "
Jia Lian glanced at them and said, "Since it was given by the salt merchants, just keep it. They occupy the entire salt shop in the south of the Yangtze River. They are all extremely rich, and they have caused such a big incident. I have to wait thousands of miles to make a trip. It is also right for them to give some of their hard-earned money.
However, you should also know that this inspection of the salt administration was strictly handled by His Majesty himself. Therefore, you must not think of taking advantage of others to cover up, otherwise If something goes wrong in the end, I can't protect you. "
Yang Xun and his wife were slightly frightened, and they immediately responded.
But they were not polite anymore and took back the banknotes. There was nothing to worry about, those salt merchants Even their followers were willing to give away such a generous sum of money, so they would not be stingy towards Jia Lian.
The reason why they chose to hand over the bribe money was just to see Jia Lian’s attitude.
Although I guessed that Jia Lian was not a pedantic person, seeing that Jia Lian did not even look at the banknotes and just let them accept them individually, it was inevitable that he would have admiration and good impression of Jia Lian in his heart. He has a pattern and is willing to benefit his subordinates. A Shangguan who can be trusted is a Shangguan who is convincing and willing to follow him.
After the discussion, Jia Lian came out and saw Lin Youquan arranging guards to drive away idlers and arrange defenses. Jia Lian was relieved.< br />
This is one of the reasons why he did not go to the residence prepared by the local government, but lived directly in the Yanzheng Yamen. Lin Youquan is also the boss here. He arranges these things, and he is familiar with them. It’s hard to make mistakes if you are familiar with the road.
After a brief explanation, Jia Lian came to the place where An Siyuan’s body was buried.
Because he was an official involved in the case, it was just a coffin. It was placed in the side hall, guarded by several family members and slaves in mourning clothes. No one came to express condolences, and no one dared to express condolences.
With the idea that death is the most important thing, Jia Lian Go to the spiritual front firstOne stick of incense and two bows.
Perhaps they knew Jia Lian’s identity, or maybe the soldiers guarding the inside and outside were so fierce that the people of Anjia seemed a little cautious and fearful after Jia Lian entered the palace.
But according to etiquette, someone has to thank you on your behalf at this time. So a woman in her thirties, with good looks and a plump figure stepped forward and bowed to Jia Lian.
Behind her, there was a girl of twelve or thirteen years old, with a delicate appearance and very beautiful features. She followed the woman step by step, and at the same time she was poking her head, as if sizing him up.
Jia Lian looked over and asked, "Madam, is Mr. An's wife?"
"Back to the imperial envoy, I am the Xu family." Without looking at Jia Lian, his voice He was gentle and gentle, with no emotion in his expression.
"My condolences, Madam."
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy."
After Jia Lian said this, he stopped talking and just spoke in a low voice. He tilted his head and looked at the woman in front of him.
At this time, the atmosphere in the secluded mourning hall suddenly became quieter.
The soldiers around Jia Lian looked serious and looked intently. The few An family members lowered their heads one by one.
The woman seemed to have noticed something. She finally raised her head and glanced at Jia Lian, bowed and was about to leave.
"I wonder what Mrs. Xu thinks of Mr. An's death?"
"My late husband has always been frail and has been busy with government affairs all year round. His health is already poor. Xu Shi could not bear the pain of being escorted, so he died of illness on the road..."
"Mrs. Xu, are you sure Mr. An died of illness?"
"Yes..."
Jia Lian asked casually, seemingly not caring about Mrs. Xu’s answer. But in fact, Jia Lian still took Mrs. Xu's expression in his eyes.
Seeing how she pretended to be serious when she responded, but her eyebrows lowered involuntarily, we knew that this Mrs. Xu might know something. But why didn't she want to tell him? If Ellsworth was really murdered, he was obviously the only person who could clear his name.
Without forcing him, Jia Lian glanced at the girl behind her and said with a smile: "I heard that Mr. An has a son and a daughter. This must be your daughter. But I don't know where the eldest son is now?"
"The child was naughty, so he was brought up by his grandfather..."
"Oh, where does your father live, and how many years has your son been sent there?"
"My father is originally from Datong Prefecture and was sent there for four or five years.Right..."
Jia Lian smiled, walked closer and asked, "Four or five years? Could it be that Madam has never missed Mr. Ling and is willing to leave him at her grandfather's house so far away? "
Mrs. Xu glanced at Jia Lian quietly again, "I miss him a little, but my father is a well-educated man and is idle at home, so he can educate his children and grandchildren. It is more convenient than following me and my wife. Better, so..."
" Mr. An suddenly died of illness, and the wife did not accept the young master to come back to fulfill his filial piety? "
"Since his father is under suspicion, it would be better to wait until the court investigates the salt policy and clears his name before discussing future affairs..."
"Oh, it's rare for Madam to be so clear-headed. I thought that Mrs. An would be heartbroken when Mr. An passed away, but I didn’t expect that she was so calm and agile that she could answer all the questions asked by me fluently, as if they had been rehearsed. "
Mrs. Xu was stunned and raised her head again, because Jia Lian was less than one step away from her at this moment. At such a distance, if Jia Lian was rude to her, she would not even be able to react, so she hurriedly Taking a step back, "It's sad to be sad, but I know it's useless. Now I just want to cooperate with the government and investigate the salt administration to atone for my late husband's sins. As for the adults' questions, several adults have asked similar questions before, so I can be prepared..."
"Really. "
Jia Lian showed a meaningful smile. Just when Mrs. Xu was quite uneasy, Liu Xianglian came to send a message: "Master Marquis, the magistrate of Yangzhou, the prime minister and other lords are here to see you. "
Jia Lian nodded, but did not move his steps. He still smiled and looked at Xu, who was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
In this situation, anyone who is smarter Everyone could probably tell what Jia Lian was thinking.
Sure enough, Jia Lian seemed to have exhausted his patience, and approached Xu again and said with a smile: "It turns out that she was sad. I thought Madam was not sad at all. Well, after all, with Madam's beauty, even if Master An passes away, it will not be difficult to choose a good son-in-law. "
Looking at Jia Lian's picture, Mrs. Xu's face suddenly showed a sullen expression. She glared at Jia Lian angrily, and finally lowered her head and said: "After all, I am also the wife of an official of the imperial court. Please respect yourself, the imperial envoy. "
"Hahaha, don't be anxious, madam. I just feel that Mr. An's death is still quite suspicious. I want to find out the true cause of Mr. An's death so that Mr. An's soul is in heaven.
Well, I have something else to do this time. I will invite my wife to my residence tonight, and we will have a good talk. "
"You..."
This dog official is really motivated by sex.
"I'm sorry to obey my order. ”
"You are not allowed to bully my mother!"
That girl is new to understanding human affairs. Before, she was afraid and did not dare to interrupt. Now she sees her mother being bullied. He cried, immediately stepped forward to stand between Jia Lian and Mrs. Xu, and shouted softly.
Jia Lian looked down at her and stretched out his hand as if to pinch her face. When she dodged it, he smiled and said, "You are Mr. An's daughter, right? It just so happens that I also have something to say. If I ask you, follow your mother and come to my residence tonight to listen to the questions."
After Jia Lian finished speaking, he glanced around and saw several people immediately guarding the mourning hall.
Such behavior, not to mention the angry expressions of the servants of the An family, even the imperial guards who followed Jia Lian were dumbfounded.
Lord Zhenyuan, are you so romantic?
Moreover, is the Marquis so unscrupulous and careless? Even if he falls in love with the mother and daughter of the An family, they can't do anything behind the scenes, but they do it in public. Aren't they afraid that they will spread bad words about him after returning to Beijing?
Or is it that the Marquis is sure and will take advantage of it to silence them afterwards, so he doesn’t care? If that's the case, that's not bad. No one wants to travel thousands of miles south in vain.
On the other hand, Jia Lian's bodyguards and others were more familiar with Jia Lian's habits, and were a little unconvinced that Jia Lian, who had always been lenient and strict with his subordinates, would do such a dishonest thing.
Therefore, when the brothers of the Imperial Guard quietly asked if the Marquis had always been so chic and charming, they all replied: "Don't tell me, the Marquis is not such a person, he must be There are other reasons, but..."
But it's not impossible. Before joining the army, the Marquis was famously lecherous in the mansion.
Although he restrained himself a little later, maybe it was also because he wanted to gain fame with peace of mind.
Now that the Marquis has become famous, maybe he doesn’t have so many worries anymore?
Mrs. Xu is so charming and charming, and her daughter is also well-behaved and charming. It would not be surprising if the Marquis could take a liking to her...
Not to mention that Jia Lian teased Xu. The news about his wife was secretly spread, but Jia Lian received a group of Yangzhou officials leisurely.
The prefect Wu Zhirong and other people advocated for Jia Lian to move into the imperial envoy's residence, saying that this was in line with Jia Lian's status, but Jia Lian directly rejected it.
Just when Wu Zhirong and others were chattering, Jia Lian agreed again. They would prepare a reception banquet for him tomorrow, which made Wu Zhirong and others secretly relieved.
He immediately wanted to strike a friendship while the iron was hot, but Jia Lian said: "I just arrived in Yangzhou and I am very busy, so I won't spend much time with you. You can go on your own.
By the way, who of you are bothered? , send someone to bring over all the current accounts, revenue and expenditure records, etc. of the Salt Transportation Department. I want to check them one by one."
"Yes, I will send someone to do it immediately."
"Well, you go ahead."
Wu Zhirong and others, who had been driven out of the main hall by Jia Lian, spontaneously gathered in the front hall.
One person couldn’t help laughing and said: “I thought this Zhenyuan Marquis was so powerful. He actually thought that he could sort out the information from the accounts of the Salt Administration Office and the Salt Transportation Department. Yan Zheng? I bet that even if you give him a year, he won't be able to find any flaws. In the end, he will definitely return to Beijing in despair..."
"Shh, keep your voice down. Some."
Fu Cheng interrupted him and looked at Wu Zhirong, "I wonder what Fu Zun thinks?"
Wu Zhirong looked thoughtful, shook his head, and said nothing. . He had just come into contact with him, and he still couldn't quite see Jia Lian's behavior.
Suddenly a yamen official from Yanzheng Yamen walked over. When Wu Zhirong saw this, he immediately stopped, and the yamen official went to him and whispered in his ear.
"Seriously?"
"It's absolutely true. When Jia Lian saw Mrs. Xu, his eyes gleamed, and he wished he could eat her on the spot.
Pretending to ask some questions about the An family, he asked Mrs. Xu to go to his residence tonight for questioning. What was even more shameless was that he asked his daughter to go with him.
Now that An’s family The mother and daughter have been taken care of by his people, and they may not escape the fate of being abused by him."
"The imperial envoy asked An Siyuan? How did Mrs. Xu answer?"
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The Yamen official explained the matter in more detail.
Wu Zhirong was relieved then, and then felt very strange.
With his status as Jia Lian, he is so lustful? Not necessarily, the capital is the residence of the emperor, and these dignitaries in the capital are afraid to show off, and they are all suppressed.
After finally leaving Beijing, I naturally pretended to be powerful and had no worries.
Besides, Mrs. Xu really has the ability to seduce men. He also wants to wait until the salt affairs incident is over to see if there is an opportunity to make her a wife.
Unexpectedly, Jia Lian’s love was snatched away with a knife.
There is no resentment, I just feel that if Jia Lian is such an easy-to-manage person, it will be a good thing for them.
Therefore, the matter was immediately reported to the left and right sides.
The officials on the left and right were naturally surprised, and then they all laughed: "Since the imperial envoy is so lustful, it is indeed easy to handle. Those salt merchants have no other ability than raising beauties. Each family is more capable than the other.
In this case, the governor doesn’t have to worry, just pass this news to them, and let them think of ways to win over the emperor’s close ministers, hahaha. Those salt I'm afraid Shang will be extremely happy. With someone with such a strong arm as his backer, their life will be even easier in the future."
"That makes sense, the salt policy has nothing to do with us in the first place. Let them figure it out on their own.”