The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

But it was said that one day when Jia Cong and Chen Ruijin returned to Chengtian Mansion, they arrived at the gate of the magistrate's yamen, and a gate came forward to greet him: "The third master is back!"

Jia Cong jumped off his horse and asked, "Is everything all right at home?"

Menzi said: "Second Lord is arguing with someone."

"Ok?"

The door said: "The land reclamation order we made, isn't it possible to get fields? There is no need for road introductions."

"Yes." Jia Cong said, "What's wrong?"

Menzi said: "Of course it's okay for us, but people are not very happy. Many poor people and slaves ran over from Fujian, and their manpower has dropped sharply. They have been here several times. This kind of thing never comes back to Lian." The second master was in charge, so he asked someone to invite Minister Lin." He lowered his voice, "It just so happens that our Xiangye Lin is so busy every time that he has no time to talk to them. This time, the governor of Fujian, Mr. Huang Wengang, came in person."

"Oh." Jia Cong frowned, turned to Chen Ruijin and said, "I seem to have heard of Huang Wengang's name before."

Chen Ruijin said: "He is the governor. He was originally the official of Lian's second master. The third master must have heard of it."

"No." Jia Cong said, "I've heard it elsewhere." Nai strolled across the threshold, walked around the hall and went to the back.It is better for Jia Lian to deal with those officials.

There is no idle time behind.Mrs. Huang was complaining to Wang Xifeng with tears in her eyes, saying how those families who had lost their tenants and slaves persecuted their masters and how difficult it was for their masters.Who is Wang Xifeng?Immediately, he also took a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his tears facing her, saying how desolate Taiwan is, it is surrounded by wilderness and no people live, and even the roads are just small dirt roads.Lian's second grandma is used to staying in Beijing, how can she bear this?Tears rolled down as if they didn't want money, pear blossoms were crying with rain, and the woman was heartbroken when she saw it.This Mrs. Huang is young, and she is the continuation of Huang Wengang who married a few years ago. Where have you seen this?Instead, she turned her head to comfort Wang Xifeng.A daughter-in-law who came with Mrs. Huang coughed several times, and Ping'er hurriedly asked: "My sister has a bad voice?"

The daughter-in-law was embarrassed, and glanced at their wives a few times, feeling extremely anxious.Suddenly, he caught sight of an eight-leaf hibiscus embroidered screen on the desk, and asked, "It's such a delicate job, girl, who embroidered this?"

Ping'er said: "This is originally a western glass screen. Our young master was naughty and broke the glass while playing, so he went to the embroidery workshop and ordered an embroidery to make up for it."

The daughter-in-law's eyes flickered, and she looked at the embroidery carefully for a long time, and said, "Embroiderers are rare. Miss, do you know who embroidered it?"

Ping'er suddenly felt that her expression was a bit strange, and he quickly laughed and said: "I don't care about these embroidery orders, I don't know. There are many embroidery workers in the embroidery workshop, and it may not be done by one person. It is said that such For large pieces, there are several embroiderers working together in the embroidery workshop."

The daughter-in-law nodded: "That's right. It's impossible for one person to make such a large item." Nai looked closely at the embroidered screen for a long time.

For a while, Wang Xifeng finished fooling Mrs. Huang, Jia Lian denied Governor Huang, and the Jia family sent the Huang family and his wife out of the mansion.Huang Wengang's face was dark from the moment he left the magistrate's yamen, and he cursed as soon as he entered the post house. After scolding Jia Lian, he scolded Mrs. Huang again.

The daughter-in-law who followed Mrs. Huang stepped forward and saluted: "Master, I have something to say."

Huang Wengang glanced at her: "Say."

The daughter-in-law said: "Just now, when the servant and his wife went to see Mrs. Jia at the back, they saw a table screen on the desk in their house. I recognize the embroidery worker." Nai stepped forward and said in a low voice, "It must have escaped from our house last year." That Liu Bao’s family made it.”

"What?!" Huang Wengang's eyes lit up, "Say it clearly!"

Daughter-in-law: "Master, Liu Bao's family and I were all in the first wife's house in the early years. At that time, she called her Fu Que. Do you still remember?"

Huang Wengang thought for a long time: "It seems that there is a person named Fu Que who is always with Qiangwei?"

"Exactly!" said the daughter-in-law, "the madam gave her and Qiangwei to the fourth master. After a few years, when she got older, she was allocated to Liu Bao as a daughter-in-law. After Liu Bao died, her mother-in-law complained about her hard life." , Kefu, she couldn't bear to listen to the old man's nagging, so she ran away."

Huang Wengang glanced at her, his face darkened: "Are you reading that right?"

The daughter-in-law hurriedly said: "The slave grew up with Fu Que, learned needlework together, and made needlework together. It's really true! She must have done it."

Huang Wengang nodded: "Good, very good!" Nai gritted his teeth and said, "Jia Lian wants me to show the evidence, so I'll show him the evidence!" Looking at the daughter-in-law again, "If it's true, the master will reward you very much. !" The daughter-in-law hurriedly bowed down to thank her.Huang Wengang stroked his beard and said, "So, the Jia family is hiding the fugitive slaves in my house?"

The daughter-in-law hurriedly said: "The aunt next to Mrs. Jia said that the embroidery piece was made by an embroidery workshop outside."

Huang Wengang frowned and said, "Which embroidery workshop?"

The daughter-in-law said: "She said she didn't know."

Huang Wengang's face darkened immediately: "I don't know where to find it? There are too many embroidery workshops."

The daughter-in-law said with a flattering smile: "Master, don't worry, not to mention Mrs. Jia is the magistrate of Taiwan, just looking at Mrs. Jia's overall demeanor, you can tell that if they order embroidery in their mansion, it must be the best one in Chengtian Mansion. He added, "Just now I have inquired about it on the way back. The best embroidery workshop in Chengtian Mansion is called Camellia Embroidery Workshop. It is at the intersection of Zhongshan Road and Zhongzheng Road."

Huang Wengang repeatedly praised "Good, good, good", and ordered the daughter-in-law: "Go to the Camellia Embroidery Workshop and watch! Find the lotus!" The daughter-in-law bowed her head and walked away with a smile on her mouth.

So she changed into bright clothes and went out for a stroll, looking for people at the posthouse to find out how to get to Zhongzheng Road, Zhongshan Road.People told you to take a bus and carriage all the way.The daughter-in-law followed her advice and found the store of Camellia Embroidery Workshop.When we got to the place, we went in and had a look, it was indeed the best embroidery workshop in Chengtian Mansion, there were all kinds of embroidery products, all of them were good, and the price was extremely high.She became more and more convinced that Jia's embroidered screen was bought here.After wandering around back and forth, I found several Fuqu's handicrafts, and I got the bottom line.

She then pointed to a Xipa that was obviously made by Fu Que and asked the shop assistant, "This handkerchief is so finely made! Who made it?"

The man said: "For you have vision! This is made by one of the best masters in our embroidery workshop."

The daughter-in-law asked again: "What's the name of this master?"

The clerk smiled and shook his head and said, "The masters don't do work in the store, how do we know."

The daughter-in-law said angrily: "I don't know, but I still say that it was made by the best master. It is obvious that I am coaxing me, isn't it?"

The guy said: "I'm not coaxing you to grow old. This Xipa was delivered with a lottery. S-level masters are the best masters. There are only four S-level masters in our embroidery village."

"It's so." The daughter-in-law nodded and gritted her teeth secretly, "It's a good skill. I think the salary is not bad?"

"We don't know more about this."

"Then where do the masters in your embroidery workshop do their work?" The daughter-in-law smiled and said, "I also have a little bit of flower tying skills, maybe I can try it in your embroidery workshop?"

The clerk said, "Oh, are you here to apply for this job?" He quickly led her outside, pointing to the road and showing her how to go, "This is our embroidery workshop." The daughter-in-law bent down and thanked him, and turned around. left.

Not long after, she found the Camellia Embroidery Workshop, brushed off her clothes and smiled at the door: "Brother, I'm looking for that poor master Zeng from your embroidery workshop. I'm her old neighbor."

The door said: "Please wait a moment." All the way in.The daughter-in-law knew she had found the right person.

Who knew that after waiting for a long time, the doorman came out and said, "There is no S-level master among us with the surname Zeng."

The daughter-in-law thought for a while: "Yes, she must have used her in-law's surname. Is there anyone surnamed Liu?"

Menzi muttered, "You don't know what your surname is." The daughter-in-law hurriedly said something nice, and Menzi had to run again.After a while, Zi Menzi brought a woman in her thirties out and said, "This is our Master Zhang."

This daughter-in-law didn't recognize her at all!I had no choice but to say embarrassingly: "Probably I made a mistake." He knocked on the door again and complained.The daughter-in-law smiled at the door for half a day, wondering: it is clearly Fu Que's needlework, and there is no way she can make a mistake.

She had no choice but to go back to the post house and swear to Huang Wengang again and again: "The servant really recognizes Fu Que's craftsmanship. She embroidered many items in the Camellia Embroidery Workshop. If the master doesn't believe it, you can go to the embroidery workshop to buy one and take it back. Fu Que made it." Hua'er is considered top-notch in our mansion, and many maids and daughters-in-law keep the things she made in the past, so you can tell by comparing them."

Huang Wengang thought: "Since that's the case, she must have been hiding sincerely." Nai hum said, "Since she is a slave of my family, she must be taken back even if she dies." Immediately ordered to change clothes, and then went to the magistrate's yamen.

Seeing him go and come back, Jia Lian hurriedly asked if there was anything wrong.Huang Wengang said: "Master Jia only said that there are no fugitive slaves in your Taiwan mansion, and now there is one in front of you. There is a daughter-in-law named Fu Que in my mansion, who is now working as an embroiderer in one of your camellia embroidery workshops."

Jia Lian frowned: "The owner of the Camellia Embroidery Workshop is capable, how can he take in escaped slaves? Could Mr. Huang make a mistake?"

Huang Wengang said: "Go and check and you will know. Why don't Master Jia go there with the old man?"

Jia Lian thought for a while: "That's fine. I'll change into clothes when I get off the job."

Huang Wengang said: "Wouldn't it be better to just wear official uniforms?"

Jia Lian waved his hand and said, "Official uniforms are worn in the yamen. It's not appropriate to wear them outside the yamen." Then he went to the back to change his clothes.

When they got inside, they hurriedly called Wang Xifeng: "Is there a fugitive slave from the Huang family in Zhou Chahua's embroidery workshop?"

Wang Xifeng was startled: "No way, such a coincidence?"

Ping'er hurriedly said: "I'm afraid it is. Just now I saw that the daughter-in-law who followed Mrs. Huang looked weird at the embroidery screen, so I sent someone to their embroidery village to tell me."

Jia Lian frowned and said, "I just told Mr. Huang that there are no escaped slaves in Taiwan." Because he thought to himself, "send someone over there quickly, so that the escaped slave can go faster!" Quick-legged kid, tell him to go to Xiuzhuang to report the letter.After thinking about it, he ordered someone to tell Jia Cong.

Jia Lian slowly changed into ordinary clothes, and when he came out, he only said, "I've been clinging to the brat for a long time, and my lord has been waiting for a long time." Yunyun, he got into the carriage with Huang Wengang, and started running.

When they arrived at the Camellia Embroidery Workshop, Zhou Camellia, the owner, heard that it was Jia Zhifu who came in person, so he greeted him in person.

Jia Liannai said: "Zhou Dong's family, I will not go around with you anymore. Now someone reports that there is a master in your embroidery workshop who is a fugitive slave."

Zhou Camellia hurriedly said: "My lord, you have wronged Minnv! The embroidery masters of Minnv are all decent citizens with Taiwanese household registration."

Huang Wengang glanced at the daughter-in-law he had brought, and she stepped forward and said, "He's a master of the same class."

Zhou Camellia ordered people to invite all the S-level masters in the embroidery village to come out.After a while, only three women came, none of whom were Fuqu from Huangfu.He also said that Master Yang asked for leave today and did not come.The daughter-in-law sneered and said, "Don't fool Zhou Dong's family. Even if our adults are mere second-rank governors, Zhou Dong's family has probably never paid attention to it. Mr. Jia is a majestic fourth-rank Taiwan magistrate. Don't Zhou Dong's family either?" Do you take it seriously?" Huang Wengang gritted his teeth, and Jia Lian was a little embarrassed.

Zhou Camellia wondered, "How do you say that?"

The daughter-in-law said: "When I came in just now, I saw a sign hanging outside of you, displaying the surnames and embroidery works of four masters. There is no one surnamed Yang, but one surnamed Zeng. Could it be that the one displayed outside is not the tallest one?" A first-class master? I see that embroidery is clearly made by Fu Que."

Zhou Camellia hurriedly said: "That's the brand from before. The people below were tired and never replaced it. Our master Zeng got married in the old year, and we took the surname of Yang from our husband."

The daughter-in-law immediately said: "She is Fuqu in our mansion!" Then she turned to Huang Wengang and said, "Fuqu's surname is Zeng!"

Zhou Camellia laughed and said: "This sister-in-law is so quick-spoken. You saw a name tag with the surname Zeng outside us, so you casually said that the name of the person you are looking for was Zeng; if the name tag outside was surnamed Situ, you must The lost person is named Situ?"

Huang Wengang shouted: "Presumptuous! How can you talk nonsense about the Tian family's surname?"

Zhou Camellia said: "Our Master Zeng really escaped from home."

Huang Wengang hurriedly said: "Since this is the case, return this slave to the official!"

Zhou Chahua said: "But she didn't escape from Mr. Huang's house." She sighed softly, "She was originally the niece of Mr. Zeng Tuo in Luzhou. Because the Zeng family wanted to marry Du Dequ, the comforter of Luzhou, they wanted to Marry her to the son of Du Dequ. The uncle of the Du family is black and ugly, just like the evil ghost next to the Vajra Bodhisattva in the temple! She caught a glimpse of it by chance, was frightened, dared not marry, and ran away." She shook her head again, "Although she ran away from home, she always missed the Zeng family in her heart, so she entrusted someone to inquire. A few days ago, I heard that the Zeng family still wanted to marry the Du family. Since the niece and daughter escaped, I had to take The eldest daughter of the Zeng family filled it in. Our Master Yang felt uncomfortable, and felt that he was sorry for his cousin, and he was not feeling well these few days, so he did not come to the embroidery workshop."

Huang Wengang was stunned for a long time when he heard the words: "This..." Although this Fuqu served in his own courtyard many years ago, because of her plain appearance, he really didn't know what the girl's last name was.And Zeng Tu in Luzhou is indeed surnamed Zeng.

Zhou Camellia smiled bitterly and said: "If your lord doesn't believe it, just ask someone to go to Luzhou to find out if Miss Zeng is discussing marriage with the Du family, and then look at what Uncle Du looks like, then you will know whether what the girl said is true or not. "

She spoke in a well-designed and orderly manner, and Huang Wengang didn't know whether to believe her or not.The daughter-in-law was in a hurry: "Master, it really is Fuqu's needle and thread! The slave recognizes it! Fuqu's real surname is Zeng. Her mother is still in our house, and she will know if she asks." Seeing that Huang Wengang was still stroking his beard and thinking, he refused to believe it. She threw herself in hatred and swore, "If this slave mistakenly recognizes her needle and thread, he will be destroyed by heaven and earth, and five thunders will strike him, and he will be destroyed forever!"

At this moment, Jia Cong, Chen Ruijin and Zeng Shi were all eavesdropping in the next room. Jia Cong couldn't help asking: "Sister Zeng, what kind of hatred does this sister-in-law have against you?"

Zeng shook her head again and again: "She and I grew up together, and we have always been friends and sisters!"