The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

Zhong Wei, the owner of Yuezhi Tea House, showed up and walked in.Jia Cong took a look, and his face had lost a little indescribable sadness, presumably his temperament is not suitable for being a spy.On the day Jia Huan came, he told Zhong Wei the truth, he wanted to pry Zhong Heng to go to Luzhou.After all, Zhong Wei is a son of the general family, and he doesn't think much of Green Forest from the bottom of his heart. Zhong Heng always felt that "my nephew is so miserable" when Zhong Heng was a bandit; therefore, he agreed with his nephew to go to Luzhou, and sent I went to look for Zhong Heng, and he will be here in a few days.

Jia Cong thought for a while, and said: "Your Zhong family should avenge their revenge first, otherwise you two will not feel at ease in what you do. These few people who came to Ezhou from the capital are all masters, and Zhong Heng is also a master. Not bad. There is no way to enter Prince E’s mansion to assassinate him, so we can only deceive him. Didn’t you use Miaoyu to lure him?”

Zhong Wei said: "It seems feasible at first glance, but after a little thought, it will not work. How could it be possible to come to Ezhou when Master Miaoyu was captured by him? He must be suspicious."

Jia Cong said: "Who says she is Miaoyu's master in Beijing? Miaoyu is an aunt, but she is not! She is the tea lady of this Yuezhi Teahouse! But it just so happens that she looks very similar to Miaoyu. Isn't Ren Tanghui the elder? Does it look like Yang Liulang?"

Zhong Wei thought for a while: "It's a way. I just don't know if Master Miaoyu is willing or not."

Jia Cong said: "It's easy, I'll go coax her." Jia Huan and Chen Ruijin laughed at the same time, Zhong Wei remembered that he had come to persuade him to surrender on Situ Pan's behalf, reached out and nodded at him, and smiled too.

There is a small clean room at the back of the teahouse, which is dedicated to making tea for Miaoyu.Naturally, she doesn't care about everyone's tea, she only cooks tea for the elegant room once a day.Because he never showed up, Zhong Wei said that the tea art master was an old man in order to avoid gossip.Later, Shi Li wrote to him with an idea, asking him to let go of the rumors, saying that the old man was originally a tea art master in a big teahouse in the capital, and that year when there was chaos in Beijing and the teahouse caught fire, he ruined his face.Zhong Wei did what he said, and as expected, everyone believed him, so no one came to spy on him.Their teahouse is tightly guarded, and their life is still stable.

After eating and drinking, Jia Cong sneaked into Miaoyu's small clean room and knocked on the door. Miaoyu was sitting on the futon reading scriptures.Jia Cong stepped forward and made a bow.Miaoyu stood up and recited the sound of Buddha.

Jia Cong sat cross-legged across from her, looked at her face carefully, and said seriously, "I've come to ask Master for something." Miaoyu said nothing, and motioned him to just talk.Jia Cong said: "Master, please change this Ziyi for a while."

Miaoyu raised her eyebrows and said, "Why?"

Jia Cong said: "Pretend to be a tea lady surnamed Lu, and only say that she is a disciple of this tea art master, from Wuxi. The Lu family in Wuxi was originally your mother's mother's family. Someone under King E knows you, and he will be lured out sooner or later."

"You want to use me as bait."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "If he doesn't die, you won't be safe either. Our family saved you more than once, it's like you repay my favor."

He spoke so frivolously, it was obvious that there was no room for discussion.Miaoyu recited a Buddha: "Monks don't commit killing."

Jia Cong said: "This is not killing, but saving people. King E is licentious and brutal. If he died one day earlier, many innocent people would survive. You see, since Ezhou fell into his hands, ordinary people have become increasingly poor because of him." He collected a lot of exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes. He collected these taxes not for other things, but to hire a few more green forest masters for the E Wangfu, so as to prevent the people who were ruined by him from seeking revenge from him. .Sometimes, killing to stop killing is a last resort. If you don't stop, you will kill more. Please help Lu Chaniang."

Miaoyu said: "When King E is dead, will his son get rid of those exorbitant taxes?"

Jia Cong said: "Not necessarily. But as long as he is here, those taxes will increase. His son doesn't have so many enemies, and he may not be willing to spend a lot of money to invite people from the green forest to stay in the mansion, so there is a possibility of tax reduction. If the prince still collects taxes, he will probably use the money he used to hire green forest people to drink tea and buy things, which can be regarded as active in the market and commerce in Ezhou, and ordinary people will still benefit."

Miaoyu said: "Is Mr. Jia discussing with me?"

Jia Cong said: "No. This matter must be done, please return the favor, Master."

Miaoyu sneered: "People have to bow their heads under the low eaves. In this way, I can't refuse?"

Jia Cong shrugged and said, "I can't help Lu Teaniang if she insists on thinking this way. How can she be as good as she wants? But I hope you don't feel ashamed. You will have to pay back when you come out to mess around. You can just treat it as a practice." Miao Yu He clased together and recited a Buddha.Jia Cong said, "After this matter is over, Master has no debts and is light, so don't worry about the discomfort of King E coming to find you again, isn't it good?"

So Chen Ruijin was asked to buy some tea lady clothes for Miaoyu.Because Miaoyu doesn't like to talk to people, everyone thought she had been persuaded by Jia Cong.When Miaoyu saw the clothes, she knew more and more that this matter was beyond her control, so she had to endure it.

The next day, the news spread in Ezhou City.The tea art master with a burnt face in Yuezhi Tea House has taught a beautiful female student and has already graduated. Three days later, he is going to cook tea for the private room guests in their tea house.Good guy!Disfigured by the old tea art master and the young and beautiful female disciple, the idlers in Ezhou immediately burst into joy.Others said that this woman was from the Lu family in Wuxi, and she was the niece of Xianyi Zhongqin's concubine family!When she was young, she was implicated by her cousin's uncle, and she lived incognito in the countryside for many years. It was not until Prince Yizhong was rehabilitated in the old year that she was able to restore her original surname.Countless people came to Yuezhi Teahouse to inquire, but the people in the teahouse did not answer—neither telling the truth nor telling lies.Others became more and more curious.Three days later, the private room was fully booked.Sure enough, among them was the chief historian of Prince E's Mansion.

On the day when Lu Chaniang officially showed up to make tea, the teahouse was full early in the morning.Miaoyu had no choice but to make tea for the tea guests one after another with a sullen face and shame.Those guests came here out of curiosity, but now they were shocked when they saw this woman, and they clicked their tongues everywhere.Although Miaoyu has practiced in front of the Buddha for many years, she is a woman after all. At first her face was flushed with embarrassment, but she pretended to be deaf and dumb, her eyes fixed on the tea set; later she became indifferent, her face like a clay sculpture.Who knows that in this way, in the eyes of others, she has a different charm, and she will not be angry if she does not answer others when talking to her.

King E was naturally present in the private room ordered by the chief historian of King E.As soon as Lu Chaniang entered the door, King E and the Chief Historian both gasped!But seeing that the tea lady didn't look sideways, she went forward and made a good fortune and then just cooked tea. It was obvious that she didn't recognize the chief historian or the king of E.The Chief Historian couldn't help asking: "Has this Miss Lu Tea been to the capital?"

An old tea lady who accompanied Miaoyu hurriedly said: "Lu Cha Niang grew up in the south and only came to Ezhou half a year ago. She has never been to the capital."

The chief historian glared at her and said, "I'm talking to Lu Chaniang, so don't interrupt."

The old tea lady said: "The guest officer doesn't know. Our tea lady Lu has a strange temper, and never talks to anyone when cooking tea. I just cooked tea several times in the next door, and I didn't say a word."

The chief historian said: "The next door is the next door, and this place is here. Lu Chaniang, I'm asking you something!"

Miaoyu didn't realize it.The old tea lady said: "As soon as Lu Tea lady entered the tea ceremony, it was as if she had entered into a sedation. She didn't hear what the guest officer said at all."

The chief historian wanted to speak, but King E stopped him.He could see that the woman's mind was really on the tea set, and she really didn't hear what the chief historian said just now.Not long after, the tea was ready, and the old tea lady brought the tea to the guests from Lu Cha Niang, the chief historian and others did not dare to take the lead of King E, and sat still.A young eunuch next to King E stepped forward to take a cup of tea and took a sip. This was a poison test.After a while, the little eunuch was fine, so King E took another teacup to drink, his eyes lit up, and he shouted: "Good tea, good tea!" He looked up at Lu Cha Niang, and saw that the woman's aura was gone in an instant. , Dazedly saluted like a wooden man, turned around and left without waiting for King E's reward!The chief historian hurriedly shouted: "Lu Teaniang is back!" Lu Teaniang turned a deaf ear and disappeared all the way.

The old tea lady stepped forward to salute and said: "The tea lady Lu only cooks tea for each private room once every three days, and she doesn't do it herself anymore. In the next two days, she also has to study the tea ceremony and doesn't cook tea for the guests."

The chief historian snorted, "A tea lady, what a grandeur!"

The old tea lady smiled and said: "Guest officer, if you still want to drink tea from Cha Niang Lu, please come back in three days."

"Hahahaha..." King E suddenly laughed, pointing at the old tea lady and said, "I know! Your boss is doing this on purpose, your shop will never lack customers, right?"

The old tea lady saluted again: "Guest officer, our teahouse never lacks customers."

King E praised: "Good idea!" He took another sip of tea and praised, "Good tea!"

The old tea lady said, "Drink slowly, all guests." She also withdrew.

Who would dare to snatch Lu Taniang's tea from King E?King E drank the pot of tea all by himself—there was not much teapot with big ideas anyway.After drinking the tea, King E stood up and shook his sleeves and said, "It's not tea made by Cha Niang Lu, so don't drink it. Come back in three days." He picked up his feet and left.The accompanying people, together with the Chief Historian Ding Yajian, did not take a sip of tea.

It's a pity that King E didn't drink the tea three days later, and he suffered from heartache that night, and died before his death.

Zhong Wei was stunned for a long time when he got the news: "What's going on!"

Chen Ruijin said calmly: "The tea water is poisonous."

"Who got it?"

"I."

"Huh?" Jia Cong poked his head and said, "Why didn't I hear you say it? Last night I was still thinking about how to lure him outside the city, how to set up an ambush, isn't it in vain?"

Chen Ruijin smiled and said: "The third master often said that you must hide secrets from your own people first before you can hide them from outsiders. The guards around King E are highly skilled in martial arts. Instead of trying to lure him out of the city in the future, it is better to take advantage of him. Take precautions. He doesn't usually eat and drink outside the mansion. He heard that there are food samples in the mansion. Isn't it afraid that King E will do something wrong when he sees Miaoyu and make me pretend to be an old tea lady? This opportunity must not be missed , Time never comes."

Zhong Wei said: "Why is the little eunuch who tested the poison safe?"

Chen Ruijin said: "In the old years, I heard the third master Cong talk about the green forest. Someone poured poison and medicine into the cup, but the wine was not poisonous." Jia Cong rolled his eyes. "So I also put the poison and medicine in the cup. It's just not the cup in front of King E. The little eunuch who tested the medicine would only try the tea in front of King E. It's good tea that comes out only once every three days. It was the first time that it was cooked for people to drink, and the king of E praised it very much. How could others dare to drink it? Of course, the king of E swallowed it alone. That cup of poisonous tea will enter the stomach of the king of E sooner or later."

Everyone was silent for a moment, Jia Cong applauded first, and others followed suit.

Only Zhong Wei stood in a daze, still in disbelief: "Is he dead now?"

Jia Cong said: "Dead. Do you want to find an excuse to set off firecrackers to celebrate?"

Zhong Wei was still in a daze and couldn't recover.Jia Cong patted him on the shoulder and went out.Jia Huan also patted him on the shoulder and went out, and the rest of them followed suit and patted him on the shoulder and filed out.All the people came out of the house, and there was a heartbroken wailing sound from inside.

Chen Ruijin said in a low voice: "It is inevitable that the government will come to investigate later."

Jia Cong said casually: "Check it out! Can you find anything else?" Everyone smiled.

Sure enough, in less than half an hour, someone from the yamen came to ask questions.How can ordinary government servants be the opponents of these old spies?Let them talk a few words at will and then dismiss them.Although Prince E's Mansion suspected that the tea in their teahouse was poisonous, someone had tried the medicine before, so it couldn't be justified.

Jia Congnai stretched his waist and went out without saying a word.He rode a horse all the way to Jia's horse shop in Ezhou, met the shopkeeper, and took him to inquire about the situation in Ezhou for a whole day, and returned to the teahouse after dinner.

Zhong Heng arrived in Ezhou that evening.Not long after entering the city, he was shocked when he heard that King E was dead. He rode his horse and ran to the teahouse.Zhong Wei's eyes were already swollen from crying, and he was just listening to Jia Cong's bad idea to put boiled eggs on it.As soon as he saw him, he said: "Since you are here, let's sacrifice to your parents tonight." Zhong Heng shed tears, and the two of them hugged each other and cried.

Jia Cong watched from the sidelines for a while and said, "I feel uncomfortable, let's go for a walk." Jia Huan hurriedly followed.

The two of them didn't ride horses either, they walked casually on the street with their hands behind their backs.Passing by a market, wandering around, saw a candied haws seller yelling and selling candied haws, so I bought two bunches.The candied haws seller left for a while, and they followed casually until they reached the entrance of a small restaurant in the market.It was chaotic inside, and they were drinking and drinking wine everywhere. The two of them thought it was interesting. They looked around for a while, and saw a man who looked like a scholar sitting in the corner drinking, so they walked over to the table next to him.

King E's new funeral, all the idlers in the city are wondering how he died, and this restaurant is no exception.After listening to this, Jia Cong smiled and said, "If I were an official, I would seal up the tea house where the tea lady cooks tea every three days!"

Jia Huan asked, "Why?"

Jia Cong said: "Yesterday King E drank their tea and it disappeared. Who knows if they have anything to do with King E's death? What if there is? Besides, their tea lady may not be very talented. It is true that she is good-looking. Yes, that method is really good! Seal them for three to five months and half a year, take advantage of this time, let the big cousin open a tea house, also get a beautiful tea lady, and cook tea once every three days!"

Jia Huan glared at him: "Damn idea!"

Jia Cong laughed a few times.The two brothers stopped talking about this matter, just drinking and eating snacks.The scholar looked at them a few times.

I really didn't expect that the magistrate of Ezhou would do things so quickly.This day, Tea Lady Lu was preparing to cook tea for the second time, when a group of yamen servants came from the downstairs of Yuezhi Teahouse, they made a noise and drove all the guests out of the teahouse.He only said that the lack of security of the teahouse had something to do with the death of King E, so he sealed the gate with a seal and was not allowed to open.No matter how Zhong Wei argues, the yamen servants ignore him anyway!Zhong Wei hurriedly changed his clothes and went to the yamen to ask to see the magistrate, but the door said that the master had been in Ewang's mansion for the past few days and never came back.