But it was said that that night, Songfeng Yuan, who had been working for the change, suddenly made a fuss. Someone here immediately went to report the daughter-in-law of the outer steward on duty and the steward of the inner court, which happened to be Shen Ping's two children. Shen Ping received the news from his family, and the first one ordered all kinds of guards to tighten the door, and then hurried to the gate of Songfeng Garden.

As a result, the hustle and bustle is over at this moment. A personal servant with Jia Lian, named Zhao'er, rushed out from inside to salute the two of them, laughing one after another, saying that it was only because the few small servants brought by the capital were bored at night, and they were gambling and playing with money, and they were not wary of fighting for victory, so they were noisy;

Shen Ping heard what he said, and said with a smile: "Since Uncle Lian has already disposed of it, it's good that there is nothing to do." The old man and the girl were not alarmed, and neither of the two courtyards was known. I don't think Uncle Lian has to go over, so I should be considerate of us being lazy at night and not moving. ”

This Zhao'er is also Jia Lian's confidant, knowing his original intention, he doesn't want Lin Ruhai and the others to know more, at this moment, listening to Shen Ping's words, he said with a smile: "It's not our side, it's disturbing your housekeeper." Please bear with me. In addition, I have to ask your housekeeper to say a word to the brothers on the door, and when things are clear tomorrow, I will invite everyone to have tea. ”

Shen agreed with a smile, and beckoned his own woman and the little maids who followed him to go back. Zhao'er stood at the gate of the courtyard, seeing that they were all far away, and turned back to look for Jia Lian. First into the side room, before entering the door, I have seen a mess inside, on the threshold rolled a blue and white pottery jar used to pour grapes, the mouth of the jar spread out a large water stain; stretched out his head to look into the room, the table overturned the chair overturned, the porcelain cups and plates were broken to the ground, Jia Lian's other little servant Xing'er was instructing two rough servants to clean up.

Zhao'er shouted: "What are you doing? This tank is blocked at the door, and it won't be cleaned up first, do you want to block the door and stop people's feet?" When Xing'er heard the noise, he also ran over to help. The two of them worked together to move the clay pot to the wall and hold it against it. Zhao'er wiped a handful of sweat on her forehead, and said with her tongue: "This thing is not big, but it has a bit of weight! I can't see that the slender foot surnamed Hu and the appearance of a little chicken cub have a lot of strength; ”

Xing'er said with a smile: "You old boy is still pretending? It's just a vat of grapes, with a big round belly and small soles, no more than two silhouettes bigger than a stewed meat urn, even if it is filled with water, how much can it weigh? His surname Hu Haolai is also seventeen or eighteen years old, and he is not a seven or eight-year-old hairy child, and he is not pushing one by one? Besides, he is really scolding each other, who can't see it." Even if you can't see it in this room, you can see it in the room over there. ”

The "surname Hu" in his two mouths is the pair of sisters and brothers that Jia Lian accidentally bought when he berthed overnight two days ago. Just because her sister and brother sold themselves to bury their mother, they were very pitiful, and Jia Lian bought them with kindness for a while. Because the weather was getting hotter, the body stopped in Yizhuang for a few days and was not good, so the Hu sisters and brothers rented a small piece of open space under Yizhuang with the silver they had sold, and simply did a ritual and recited two verses that night, so that the person who left could be buried in the ground for the time being, and then moved to be buried with his father in the future. After being settled overnight, the two of them packed up neatly and came to the ship of Rongguo Mansion. Jia Lian was also interested, and asked the younger brother, knowing that he had studied in a private school for two years, and he was originally going to take the Xiucai exam, so he liked it very much, and ordered them to prepare a spacious cabin. When they arrived at the Yangzhou Salt Government the next day, they lived in Songfeng Garden, and the house where the Hu sisters and brothers lived was not mixed with the servants. On the first day of Yangzhou, Jia Lian wanted to talk to Lin Ruhai in courtesy, plus he worked all the way, and rested early in the morning after dinner, and the servants with him were all like this, and they slept in their respective rooms after serving Jia Lian, so they had a peaceful night. Today is the second day, Jia Lian sat in front of Lin Ruhai once in the morning, went out in the afternoon, and did not come back until it was night, and everything was about to be locked; as soon as he came back, he first went to the house of the Hu sisters and brothers, and sent away all the people who followed, even Xing'er and Zhao'er only served under the porch outside the door. I don't want to spend less than a quarter of an hour, there is a discussion and quarrel in the house, and the louder the noise, and then Jia Lian kicked the door out with a tiger face, and the two sisters and brothers behind him were still scolding each other - saying that scolding each other is not scolding, but that the scholar surnamed Hu is full of mouths, pushing tables and chairs, smashing objects, and the sister only stands on the side crying and crying. Seeing this, everyone in the courtyard was stunned. Jia Lian seemed to be in a rage for a while, rushed over, and didn't think about what to do, just stood at the door. The Hu sisters and brothers also seemed to be awakened by this movement, and the two rushed over together to stick to Jia Lian to speak. Jia Lian only listened to two sentences, his face was annoyed, and his expression was calm, and he actually ordered Zhao'er and Xing'er to clean up this head, and took the two of them straight to his house. This Zhao'er and Xing'er have been following Jia Lian for a few years, although they don't know which one is in the front house, and there is nothing they don't understand when they see this situation. Over there, Zhao'er went to deal with the people who came to the Lin Mansion to ask about the movement, and here Xing'er took someone to clean up the house, and when she cleaned up, she didn't bother with it, just thinking about the benefits that the Hu family sisters and brothers might have this time, and her words brought out a sour taste.

Zhao'er didn't answer, nor did he follow the conversation to look outside, but only instructed the two rough servants to straighten the table and chairs and put them in position, and swept the ground with a broom; when he saw that there were splashes of broken porcelain falling in those corners that were not easy to clean, he wrapped his hands with the corners of his clothes, picked them up and threw them into the bamboo basket at the door. Xing'er saw his actions and couldn't help laughing: "Yo yo, don't let my two eyes be spent, right? What are you kid doing? Such a serious and careful! It's just that Uncle Hu is not in front of him at this time, who can you show so stammering?"

Zhao'er glanced at him and said, "Are you fainting? What are you talking nonsense about? Who is your uncle? What is the light, and you are still laughing! My grandfather is having fun this time, but when I go back in a few days, what will I do? When I get home, what does my grandmother say in front of me? Death is coming, and I don't think about it, but I still laugh -- laughing fart!"

This Xing'er is a person who likes to joke about things, Fang Cai was a joke, and he never wanted to be scolded by a series of words, like a basin of cold water poured directly into his heart on a cold day; Unlike you, you are such a loyal slave, and you blame your grandmother for loving you. It's just that I said that you also have a little eyesight, this is Yangzhou, separated from the capital by 108,000 miles, so you make such a worried look, who do you want to see? I advise you to wake up, they are all the people of the master, and the master is happy, so we can find our whereabouts. After saying that, he turned around and walked out.

This Zhao'er is a few years older than Xing'er, he is older, he thinks a lot about things when he encounters them, and he has something in his heart, so he can't listen to Xing'er's jokes, and because he has been by Jia Lian's side longer, he has no good voice when he speaks. Unexpectedly, when I came out with these two sentences, I was choked without a word, and I almost fell on the spot. It was easy to come back to his senses, and in a blink of an eye, he saw that the two servants had stopped their hands, and were looking sideways to stretch their ears to listen to the two of them, and suddenly became angry, and urged: "What are you still doing there? The ground has been cleaned up? Zhao'er was a little relieved at this time, and thought that Jia Lian didn't know if he had succeeded, and the scholar surnamed Hu always had to find another house to settle in, so he walked outside the house while thinking about it.

But I didn't want to just go out of this door, and I heard another commotion on the upper side of the room, and then Jia Lian shouted loudly. Zhao'er hurriedly went up and saw that Xing'er was already in the house, dragging the scholar surnamed Hu up from the ground, and the little lady surnamed Hu turned her back to her brother, bowed her head to hide her face, and whimpered in her mouth. At the top of the room, Jia Lian sat cross-legged, his face was half gloomy, and said, "Now that it's clear, that's how it is." I'm going to rest, so I don't talk to you too much. He raised his chin to Zhao'er again and asked, "Is the house over there cleaned up?" In the middle of the night, people can't sleep. ”

Zhao'er felt strange in her heart, thinking about what kind of trouble this was, but she didn't dare to ask, so she only followed Jia Lian's words and said, "It's been cleaned up." There was still some water on the ground, but it was hot, and it was all dry in a few moments. ”

Jia Lian nodded and waved his hand to let them go out immediately. Zhao'er hurriedly took a look at Xing'er with his eyes, and saw that his hand was hanging down, and he made a few gestures, and knew that the two sisters and brothers were really annoyed by Jia Lian, so they hurriedly pulled the two out with Xing'er, and sent them to the previous house. Here, Zhao'er frightened the servants who came to the courtyard a few more words, and then returned to the upper room and quietly asked Xing'er why she suddenly made trouble again.

However, this Xing'er was only one step ahead of him, and he didn't know anything about it here. The two of them looked at Jia Lian, who was sitting sullenly in the room, and while speculating in their hearts, they both thought that they would have to be completely careful in the past two days.

The little guys didn't talk much about it, but they said that Jia Lian was thinking at the moment. It turned out that Jia Lian went out on this day, but it was really for the Hu family's sisters and brothers. He was born in a big family in the capital, and in the past few years, he has helped his father and uncle take care of the family industry. However, in the end, it was grown up in the splendid paste, and I have heard the saying of "selling oneself to bury one's mother" in terms of drama and writing, and this is the first time I have encountered it. On that day, I saw that the Hu family and her younger brother were standing in the miserable market, with a clean coarse cloth skirt, revealing the momentum of standing out from the crowd; when you look closely, you can see that she was born delicate and graceful, and the authentic Jiangnan water town woman described that although she is not a first-class beauty, she is very pitiful. Jia Lian received a letter from Lin Ruhai saying that his illness had improved, and his heart gradually stabilized.

When he knew that Hu's original family background was acceptable, and his younger brother Hu Yun had studied for two years, Jia Lian became more and more moved: although he was uninhibited, he did not blindly like colors, let alone look down on the vulgar and unbearable of that class; Hu's gentle and beautiful, and a little literacy and etiquette, he was not comparable to ordinary slave maids. Thinking that a few days before leaving Beijing, his group of buddies and playmates had just had a drink with Hou Xiaokang, the grandson of Xiu Guogong, and congratulated him on accepting a new outer room, and he was asked at the banquet how he had a good reputation, but he had no selfish affection and secret acquaintance; He originally bought the Hu family sister and brother temporarily, although he agreed on the master and servant, the deed has not been written, and the case file and household registration have not been changed. It happened that the property left by Jia Min was handed over to the Rong Mansion by Lin Ruhai to take care of, and there were some fragments that needed to be dealt with by Yousi, so Jia Lian simply brought the account office and Mr. Clerk who came with him, and mentioned the Hu sisters and brothers by the way. And after these local clerks saw that Jia Lian was the Duke of Rongguo, he was also the nephew of Yan Zhenglin Ruhai, how dare they not be dissatisfied, and they told them one by one at that time. Jia Lian remembered clearly, invited everyone to a good wine and dinner, rushed back happily, and waited to tell the Hu family to fulfill his wish.

didn't want Jia Lian to tell her sister and brother about the matter, the young Hu Yun turned his face at that time, and only said that he had sold himself as a slave, but for three years and five years, he naturally had to redeem himself after crossing the difficulties, and when Jia Lian bought his sister and brother two days ago, he also said a living deed. Hu is older, knowing that the world is impermanent, people's wishes are difficult to fulfill, the first people refused to buy their own sister and brother originally had to sign the deed of life, at this moment it is rare for Jia Lian's identity and appearance to be a slave, but he is willing to give him a lifetime as a slave, but only want to release his younger brother and leave a root for his family. Hu Yun refused, saying that it would not be difficult to find a career if he studied and went to school, but if his biological sister entered the slave registration and ruined his reputation, he would even worry about his future. Hu persuaded a little, but Hu Yun peeked into her mind, only to see the wealth and glory of the past two days, full of admiration and lingering, and even the body of the grandmother was willing to give up together. Although the Hu family is older than Hu Yun, in the end it is only a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl's family, how can it withstand such ridicule, and tears immediately rained down. However, her mind is also quite strong, she only said that her younger brother is too weak to be a slave, blindly studying and not doing general affairs; since she was born two years early, she always has to take care of her younger brother on behalf of her parents, even if she sells herself as a slave, she must provide for him to work hard, even if Hu Yun does not recognize her eldest sister in the future, she can face her grandmother underground - so the two sisters and brothers quarreled more and more, and the quarrel was boiling, but Jia Lian was dumbfounded: he thought very simply, and he should do everything when he opened his mouth, where did he expect such a turn. But listening to Hu's words, I felt that I was respectable, and Hu Yun's words were also quite youthful and temperamental; in this way, he was acting frivolously and executing hastily. Jia Lian was very bored because of this, and listened to Hu Yun's noisy scolding, and every sentence was deducted to himself, and it was difficult to argue, and he couldn't go back, and gradually became angry, and suddenly kicked the door out, which scared the two sisters and brothers who didn't dare to quarrel anymore, and came over together to fight for their crimes.

However, when Jia Lian's head was blown by the wind, his mind was clear: he only thought of being like Hou Xiaokang and others, setting up an outer room and providing for a few years, so that it would be good if it was good, and put it aside if it was not good; he had a quarrel between his sister and brother, and only pestered the word "slave and maid" to make a fuss, and only forced the concubine room inside and outside of his words--However, he had a beautiful wife and concubine in his own family, and although the Hu family was beautiful, it was not more than Erer in the Rong Mansion, so how could he be willing to bother with this little thing? As soon as his mind was light, people would understand. So he summoned the two of them to the upper room and interrogated him carefully. Jia Lian is old, although the Hu brothers and sisters are smart, they are only in their teens, and they are small commoners, where can he afford to have the heart to investigate? It didn't take a few words to reveal the truth. It turned out that he really thought that Jia Lian would be soft-hearted and get out after three or five years of casual messing, but after seeing Jia Lian's living expenses, and then seeing the Lin family's illustrious wealth in the Yan government, the Hu family had the idea that he must stay in Jiafu. I'm afraid that from a humble background, Jia Lian is fresh for a while, and it is difficult to get out, so the two sisters and brothers agree to make a feint, as long as Jia Lian has pity and looks at the Hu family differently, he will follow him to the capital, and his heels will be more stable.

When Jia Lian heard this, he was both amused and annoyed: it was funny that he was in his twenties and was regarded as a fool and calculated, and he was angry that he had been kind to his sister and brother, but he ended up in vain. A few words sent the two away, sitting in the room, the more I thought about it, the more depressed I became, I only hated myself for not seeing people clearly, and I didn't think much about doing things. I thought about falling asleep all night, and I got up late the next day, and I felt that my body was slightly heavy, and my nose was also a little uncomfortable. Zhao'er, Xing'er and the others didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly told the manager of the Lin Mansion to apply for evidence, and Lin Ruhai also asked Guan Mengke to help diagnose after he found out.

Guan Mengke saw that Jia Lian was just tired and had a heavy mind for a while, plus there was a little wind blowing at night, so it was not a major illness after all, so he casually hooked a few commonly used medicines to clear the fire and calm the nerves, and let people fry it for him to take, and persuaded Jia Lian to take a walk outside when he felt better, and he should also relax. This Jia Lianyuan is not a rigid character, he was a little bit of Guan Mengke, and he knew the reason; after drinking the medicine, he slept hard, and in the second half of the day, he regained his spirits. One day, Jia Lian felt that he was light and healthy, and he was already well, so he recruited the Hu sisters and brothers, and he didn't say much to him, and sent the two back to their hometown with twenty taels of silver.

Then Jia Lian went to Boyue Hall and told Lin Ruhai: "Auntie's property, the old lady said that she should make up for her cousin. But my cousin is still young, and she didn't spend much money on food and clothing, but she saved a lot of money in the past few years. This time, the old lady thought about returning it to the Lin family, but she also expected that her uncle would not accept it, so it was better to use these silver coins to expand the original industry. Now that my nephew has calculated that he can buy a hundred acres of fertile land, or two shops in a good market in the city, he wants to ask his uncle to get an idea and see how to cook. ”

Lin Ruhai said with a smile: "These are the old lady who pities her granddaughter, what can I say as a junior? Since the old lady called you to preside over these things, that is your opinion." No matter what, you won't be disadvantaged by your sister. You don't have to ask me, just do what you want. ”

The next morning, he took the account room, the paperwork and a few small servants out of the house, and turned around a few shops that had already been favored by the pioneers, and then went to find the Chinese and the landlord, and then went to the county government to ask the Song Shuban, who was in charge of the case, to do the deeds. As a result, when I arrived at the county office, I saw Zhang Hui and his cousin Hong Da in front of him, and the two of them actually bought the house shop, and what was even more coincidental was that the shop of the two families was still on the same street and the façade was still facing each other. Hong Da called out fate, so he invited Jia Lian and Song Shuban to have a drink together. Jia Lian wanted to make friends with Zhang Hui for a long time, but he was disturbed by his miscellaneous affairs two days ago, and Zhang Hui was not in the house, so it was not common; Hong Dayin said that he had been walking around the city for a few days, and it was not surprising that there was a restaurant, but there were two exquisite scenery to play. Jia Lian had nothing to do, and several people left together.