The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

But it is said that Lin Hai was assassinated in the street, and the assassin was a servant he brought from Yangzhou; it was found that the dagger was coated with a very powerful poison, and the throat was sealed with blood.So he sat in front of the hall and ordered someone to bring him up and asked, "I've always treated you kindly. I won't say such nonsense. I'll just say why."

The man's name was Hu Zhong, he was originally the son of the Lin family, he knelt down and kowtowed calmly, "I know I can't help the master, I just want to die quickly."

Lin Hai raised his eyelids: "You are also a smart person, do you think you can?"

Hu Zhongdao: "I don't know anything at all, how can the master ask anything?"

Lin Hai glanced at him.

Hu Zhongsui said: "The person who came to bribe me was of ordinary stature, hoarse every time, covered his face with a black scarf, and came at night. I really didn't know anything about it."

Lin Hainai asked, "How much?"

Hu Zhong lowered his head and said, "1 taels of silver."

Lin Hai couldn't help snorting: "Is your master's life worth such an idea?"

Hu Zhongshun said: "Master's life is naturally more valuable, but that's all I can get."

Lin Hai thought for a while: "A few days ago when you came to Beijing, you said that your daughter-in-law would take the children back to live with her natal family for a few days, presumably it was to accommodate them."

Hu Zhong nodded and said: "Because I got the bank note first, it's true that I found someone to check it in secret, and I settled the family well, so I took this job."

Lin Haidao: "Aren't you afraid that if you die, will your family be silenced?"

Hu Zhong said with a smile: "I'm a little clever, I arranged them properly. Anyway, if something happens, I will die regardless of success or failure. Or silence. I'm not bragging. I'm afraid I won't be able to find the master and them. I was born to be a slave. Even if I live a hundred years in this life, I will only be a slave to others. What's the fun? It's not the master. It’s not good for me, and it’s not that I’m ungrateful. Such an opportunity is rare in a thousand years, even if I die, the children will already be free and have money to settle down, and I can’t care about anything else.”

Lin Hai was silent for a long time when he heard that what he said was so true.He also didn't ask how Hu Zhong's mother-in-law and children got their freedom - now that the princes have their own authority, it is very easy to get a good citizen status with ten thousand taels of silver.The same rice feeds all kinds of people, and there are hundreds of people in the Lin family, of course there are loyal ones, and I am afraid that there are not a few who can be driven by interests; besides, Hu Zhong is a very shrewd person, so it is inevitable that he does not want to be a slave for life.It's just that since this person knows everything, he doesn't know where to start asking him.

Hu Zhong looked up at Lin Hai's thoughtful expression, and said with a smile, "You don't have to worry about it, I will tell you what I know." Lin Hai raised his eyebrows to look at him, and he said, "I've thought about it a long time ago. No matter the success or failure of this matter, no matter who comes to ask me, what to say. It is not for the grace of the master, and it is not for fear of suffering. It is just that there is really no need to hide it. It was a mere transaction. .”

Lin Hai was silent again, and looked at him for a long time, seeing that he was always calm and composed, obviously disregarding life and death, and suddenly asked: "You still have parents, brothers and relatives in the mansion, you never thought that you would drag them down?"

He said without fear: "Parents, relatives, etiquette and conscience, all of them can't be cared about in front of children."

Lin Haidao: "If you want to get rid of your slavery, it's not that there is no serious way, why don't you come and ask me?"

Hu Zhong asked back: "How much money can the master give me to take out of the house? At that time, my son was going to be a tenant farmer, and if the harvest was not good, he still had to sell himself as a slave."

Lin Hai sneered and said, "It turns out that you don't even have the confidence to go out to become self-reliant and work hard to manage the family business until you become a little rich. Thanks to you, you have the face to be self-sufficient and smart. How capable is your wife as a woman? She has so much money , you know that you will not find another good man to marry? The man you marry must be a good man, and he will treat your son well? Besides, there are so many dudes in the world today, and no one is watching over them. Do you know that your son will be able to walk the right path? I’m afraid it’s better to be a tenant and be a down-to-earth person. If you accidentally expose your wealth and meet a strong man, you won’t be able to save your life.”

Hu Zhong was stunned before, but after hearing it, he smiled and said: "I know it well, and everything is settled properly." Then he said, "Master, instead of worrying about my child, why don't you ask what happened?"

Lin Hai saw that he was confident, and he was afraid that it would not be easy to open the gap from his child, so he followed his words and asked, "How did things go?"

Hu Zhong then started from the beginning, judging by his appearance, he was not lying, but he really didn't know much.

It turned out that this matter started last year.Hu Zhong went out to work for Lin Hai that day and returned home late. He found a roadside stall and drove back. Passing a certain secluded alley, someone suddenly reached out from the dark and pinched his neck. He immediately Can't speak anymore.The other put a bag over his head, stuffed his mouth with a handkerchief, and dragged him away.

He was full of panic, thinking that he would have to explain it here today, but those two people pushed him to sit in one place, and took off the bag on his head.Looking at it by the moonlight, I was sitting on a big rock, surrounded by familiar places, but I was so scared that I couldn't recognize them; the two people in front of me were of ordinary stature, with black scarves on their faces.

One of them said in a hoarse voice: "Mister is frightened, don't be afraid, I just have a business plan with you."

Hu Zhong boldly said: "The villain is just a servant, and he has no capital to do business with the adults."

The man said: "Ten thousand taels of silver, in exchange for you stabbing Lin Hai, regardless of life or death, I will give you the money first, and we will prepare the knife for you. Lin Hai hired a guard with some skills. It is very difficult to stab him normally. We will Put some cover for you, and you wait for the opportunity to strike."

Hu Zhong was tongue-tied and was about to refute, but the man said, "Do you think your son is still a slave?"

These words just hit Hu Zhong's heart.He used to think that his talents were not inferior to others, but he was born as a slave, full of talents and nowhere to display them, the most he could do in this life was to be a housekeeper with Lin Hai, and he was always depressed.So he didn't speak for a while.The man nodded and winked at his accomplice, Hu Zhong let the sack cover his head again.

It was still the same man who said in a hoarse voice just now: "Sir, move carefully."

Hu Zhong was not afraid this time, and An Sheng walked away with the support of the two of them.After they removed the bag again, they disappeared immediately, and Hu Zhong had already returned to the alley just now.He hurried back to the house.

After dawn the next day, he found the alley, walked a little according to his memory, and found that the place where the two men had a conversation with him was in a secluded street that they usually walked on.Then the two disappeared.

Four months later, Hu Zhong returned late again for some reason, and was hunted down by those two again.This time it was the two of them who whistled twice and waved to him in the dark.At that time, he had already thought clearly, Zuo was just risking his life as a servant, so he followed them.The three of them walked to a secluded place one after another, and the two old things were brought up again.In order for his son to have a good future, Hu Zhong vaguely felt that if this matter could be accomplished, no one else would care about it, so he immediately agreed.

The two actually trusted him, and immediately took out a large stack of ten thousand taels of banknotes for him, saying: "Mr. Hu is a smart man, you can settle it yourself." After speaking, they left.

Hu Zhongli stood blankly on the spot for a long time, and finally returned to the mansion with the money in his pocket.

Later, he tried to ask someone to verify the bank notes, and arranged for the family to retreat in advance, but the two never met.It wasn't until the third day after Lin Hai got the order to return to Beijing to report on his work that Hu Zhong went shopping in the street and let a drunken man stagger over and over again. Then he opened his mouth to scold, and suddenly there was a dagger in his sleeve.He understood that what was supposed to come had finally come.

After Lin Hai heard this, he knew that there must be more detailed work in his mansion.The people behind the scenes are very familiar with Hu Zhong's temperament, they are not afraid that he will get money and run away, nor are they afraid that he will come back and report to him; if it wasn't for getting along with him for a long time, why did he handle him so well?Then he waved his hand and ordered someone to take him down and write a letter back to Yangzhou, asking his confidantes who stayed there to screen the whole house carefully, especially those who had had close contacts with Hu Zhong; back.

There were also people from Wucheng Bingmasi who came back to talk, that group of thugs were temporarily hired by someone just now and half way, because that person has an ordinary appearance and an ordinary capital accent, I'm afraid it can't be found out from that line What's coming.Lin Hai smiled and said: "It's obvious that they have someone in Beijing, which is also a gain." Thanks to them, they sent them back.

On the other end, Jia Huan and Jia Cong went to the small study inside to meet Daiyu and told him about going shopping today.Lin Daiyu just laid out a booklet full of cases for the New Year's rewards. The ones brought by Lin Hai, the ones brought by the Rongguo Mansion, and the original ones in the Xianwang's house are all different. In the cold weather, I just sweat. I heard that they He didn't even look up when he came in, he just joked, "How much money did you eat from my father?"

Jia Cong didn't answer her words, and shouted: "Sister Lin! It's a thrilling day!"

Jia Huan quickly winked at him again and again, "Shhh".

Lin Daiyu turned around and raised her eyebrows.

Jia Cong pretended to ask in a low voice, "Why didn't you say it?"

Jia Huan stomped anxiously, leaned forward and whispered to him, "Do you want Sister Lin to die of anxiety!"

Jia Cong curled his lips: "This kind of thing doesn't happen once in a thousand years. After you know it, you have to take precautions, right? I always thought that there was no need to hide everything from my own people, and I learned a lot of wisdom."

How could Daiyu be deceived like this?She raised her eyebrows and said, "There's no need for scorpion stings, tell me quickly, it's much better."

Jia Cong then pulled Jia Huan over together, and talked about how to buy food today, how Lin Hai was almost assassinated, Yao'er was caught in a trick to divert the tiger away from the mountain, and luckily the assassin only ruined a pack of the homemade walnut cakes that he had worked so hard to buy in line. I said it once.Daiyu was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she immediately went to see her father.

Jia Cong hurriedly stopped her: "Sister, what's the hurry? Anyway, uncle doesn't even have a thread torn on his clothes. He's currently interrogating the assassin."

Two strings of tears flowed down Daiyu's eyes: "Today, it just so happened that Huan'er was holding something in the way, and that assassin didn't have much strength. If there is no such coincidence next time, what should we do!"

Jia Cong said with relief: "If the second-rank officials of the imperial court were so easy to be assassinated, the world would have been in chaos. It shows that the people behind the scenes dare not mess around. They must have carefully planned for a long time. Although they wanted to kill my uncle, they were afraid of being exposed. They themselves. If one hit fails, there will be a next time."

But Daiyu said: "I'm afraid that if one plan fails, there will be another plan. We don't know anything now, and my father doesn't know how to fight. It's impossible to guard against."

Jia Cong said: "Is it easy for my sister to be an uncle? The assassin's game is to catch people by surprise. This kind of strategy is like an empty city strategy. It can only be used once, and it will not work again next time."

Daiyu's heart has long been restless, and with the handkerchief twisted in her hand, tears dripping down her face, she still mutters: "How about I prepare a breast-protection mirror with Dad? I need one in the future, let alone two..."

Seeing that she was still in a hurry, Jia Cong hurriedly said: "The symptoms are not the root cause. Instead of worrying, let's all think about it. Is there a way to help find the person behind the scenes? This is the root cause. Uncle is a very good person, and he will certainly not offend anyone for nothing."

Daiyu immediately let him take his thoughts away, she stopped crying, thought for a long time, and said: "Since it is time to assassinate my father, it is a serious crime to assassinate a court official. Who would dare to do it for no reason? I'm afraid father If you hold something against him in your hand, if you expose it, it will probably kill him, and even bring harm to the whole family."

Jia Cong said: "Uncle has been in Beijing for so long before he started to do anything, and he has discussed with the saint for countless times. Therefore, he must have not reported the secret of the person behind the scenes to the saint, otherwise it would be useless to kill him." .But why didn’t you say it? Uncle is definitely not someone who hides something, and if there is someone who hides something, then there is no need to risk stabbing him.”

Daiyu frowned and thought about it for a long time, but couldn't think of a reason, she stood up and walked up and down the room with her hands behind her back, and she looked coldly, and she had a bit of Lin Hai's demeanor.

Jia Huan quietly said: "Could it be that uncle doesn't know yet? That man's secret."

Jia Cong curled his lips and said, "Is there nothing to do when someone is free, is it in vain to stab a second-rank official who doesn't know anything?"

Jia Huan said: "You said that he had discussed many things with the sage. If he knew, wouldn't he have said it earlier?"

Jia Cong glared at him: "Are you being arrogant?"

Daiyu suddenly clapped her hands: "I'm afraid my father doesn't know yet!"

Jia Cong was taken aback: "Huh?"

Daiyu's face was tense, and she said solemnly: "This time my father has been picking quarrels and provoking troubles on the way from Beijing this time. Although there is a boat from the Taiping Escort to protect him, it is just a coincidence and a cover. Even if there is no , my father has guards by his side, so it's okay to think about it."

Jia Cong nodded again and again: "That's right, just like those low-spirited thugs today, they are not very useful, they are used to fool people."

Daiyu quickened her pace: "That's right, those little thieves on the road and today's thugs are just a cover. My father and the guards thought they were just capable, so they weren't very vigilant. Today's servant is the real assassin. And it's been in ambush for a long time. But he actually started at this moment." Daiyu stopped, thought for a while, and said decisively, "My father doesn't know yet. But after returning to Yangzhou, I'm afraid he will be able to knew."

Jia Cong suddenly thought of something, and clapped his hands together: "And only he knows! If there is an accident with my uncle, and the imperial court changes the successor Yanke Yushi, some clues or cause and effect will inevitably be unclear, I'm afraid I won't be able to detect it." Jia Cong had seen a lot of things like this kind of thing where the east wall fights the west wall, and the information is poor, in the company in his previous life.

Daiyu nodded after hearing this: "That's the reason. The person behind the scenes doesn't want her father to go back to the south, so she can only attack on the road or in the capital." She couldn't help being afraid, "Fortunately, it's today." Then she remembered that Jia Huan had just saved her father After a life, he hurriedly thanked, "Thanks to Huan'er!"

Jia Huan has always respected her for being an educated person, neither hiding his secrets nor looking down on him being raised by his aunt, he waved his hands repeatedly: "It's just a coincidence, how can I be thanked by my sister."

Jia Cong said jealously from the side: "Sir! Thanks to your student, I am astute, and I saw early on that the group of people fighting was wrong, otherwise it would have been even more chaotic."

Jia Huan pouted and said, "Yes, thanks to Cong'er, otherwise Brother Yao'er would not have fallen for it."

Jia Cong glared at him: "Where is there a brother like you who is dedicated to poking his brother's life?"

Jia Huan interjected, "Do you yourself keep talking about brothers for sale?"

Daiyu asked them to tease each other, but she relaxed her brows.