Chapter 268: Bright robbery

Qiu Chen never expected that the third prince Yang Jingyu would come to Anyang from Zhengding Mansion so soon, nor did he expect that Yang Jingyu would act so quickly after entering Anyang, and it involved the Lin family and her. Receiving the news that Lin Xu and Qin Zheng sent together overnight, Qiu Chen was really surprised and worried, just afraid that Lin Xu would encounter something when he went to the banquet this time.

After receiving the news in the middle of the night, Qiu Chen didn't dare to make a big move, almost waited until dawn with his eyes open, had breakfast with peace of mind, and told the two old men that there was something to deal with in Fucheng, and took Yufeng and Chunxiang to deliberately set off by car.

Yang Shumeng sent her out, Qiu Chen simply made friends with Yang Shumeng, and comforted Yang Shumeng: "Second brother, don't worry, that person will not really treat us no matter what, at most he will give some money...... Well, I went to see the situation and sent someone to send you a letter back, you appease the second elder, I'm leaving! ”

Sending Qiu Chen to board the car and set off, watching Qiu Chen's car and the guards behind the car, Qin Li, Shen Hu, and the guards and entourage gradually drift away and disappear at the entrance of the village, Yang Shumeng sighed softly and turned back to his home. People are born to face all kinds of troubles, when they are poor, they will worry about firewood and rice, but now they are rich, but there are all kinds of things that they can't think of when they are poor......

He and his eldest brother can't help with these things, what they can do is to take care of the family, take care of the elderly and children, and let his sister have no worries.

The heavy snow of the past few days melted a little, and the people who did not melt were compacted by the pedestrians and horses, and the frozen soil became one, hard, but not too slippery, which made the trip much easier. Qiu Chen went out of Liujiaao, so he changed into a riding costume, but did not wear a cloak, but wore a pearl skin leather coat, a pearl skin Lei Feng hat on his head, wrapped his head and face in a cashmere scarf, and wore a pair of rabbit skin leather gloves, so that Daxing drove the car with Yufeng and Chunxiang to walk slowly, and she rode rouge, followed Qin Li Shen Hu, three people and three horses, and galloped towards Anyang Mansion.

The speed of riding a horse was more than twice as fast as that of a car, and the three of them were galloping on horseback, but at the beginning of the afternoon, the three of them saw the gray and thick and solid city wall of Anyang from afar.

Qiu Chen took the reins of the horse, slowed down the horse's speed, and let the horse gradually turn from galloping to trotting, gathering more and more dense cars and horses and pedestrians, and went straight into Anyang City.

The city of Anyang has returned to its former prosperity, and with the entry of the two groups of Qincha, it seems that the prosperity is better than before the disaster. The bustling traffic and pedestrians, and the hustle and bustle of the city, all declare that the city has been reborn and revitalized.

Qiu Chen and his entourage didn't care about lingering, and drove their horses through the market as soon as possible, all the way back to Guanmao'er Hutong.

Jumping off the horse in front of the door, Qiu Chen's legs were weak and he stumbled. Qin Li's eyes were quick and he hurriedly stepped forward to help, Qiu Chen waved his hand back, he supported the rouge and stood firmly, moved his sore, numb and sore legs slightly, handed the horse to Shunzi who greeted him with a stunned face, and did not forget to explain: "Let people take it down and serve it well, I sweated a lot on such a cold day, don't get sick!" ”

Junko agreed repeatedly, and led the horses to the backyard with the two servants to wash and drink.

Qiu Chen went all the way into the backyard, Chen had already heard the news and followed, beckoned someone to carry hot water, followed Qiu Chen into the ear room, and while helping her wash her hair, he whispered: "Mrs., don't worry too much, the second master is going with the fourth son of Guo Mansion today...... They are young, and they don't have to come out for anything...... It's not going to be a big deal. ”

Qiu Chen leaned on the bath bucket, his legs trembled slightly under the stimulation of the hot water, and his inner thighs were red and swollen.

Hearing Chen's slow words, her heart, which had been held high, relaxed slightly. With his eyes closed, he allowed Chen to wash his hair and dry it, then he got up from the bathtub, put on a thin silk jacket and pants from home, and returned to the inner room to go to the kang.

Chen ordered someone to clean up the bath bucket, and hurriedly went back to the kitchen to bring a cup of clear chicken soup: "Madam, you are in a hurry, it is not appropriate to eat immediately at this time, you drink some chicken soup first, I put a little ginseng in it, you drink slowly, I will arrange for someone to set the meal." ”

After eating lunch, Qiu Chen also completely eased up. Look at the table clock on the kang cabinet is already the beginning of the hour, this hour, the banquet in the Nanhu Xingyuan has been going on for an hour, and it is almost time to end.

After Qin Li and Shen Hu arrived, they took a sip of water and hurried to Nanhu Xingyuan to inquire about the news, but they still haven't sent any news, and they don't know what happened to Lu Dao. Qiu Chen really wanted to rush over to see the situation by herself, but reason told her that even if she rushed over in person, she would not hear more than Qin Li and the others, so she could only wait at home with worry and anxiety.

The waiting time seemed to pass very slowly, and after Qiu Chen raised his eyes to look at the clock countless times, only half an hour had passed, and there was no news yet......

Qiu Chen couldn't sit still, what kind of banquet did the three princes set up to entertain guests, what did they have to say, and it wasn't a thousand cups of wine for a confidant, why did it take so long?

After putting on his shoes and casually pulling a cloak on the hanger, Qiu Chen walked straight out of the door. can't go to Xingyuan, at least go to the front yard and wait, if there is any news back, she can also know the first time...... The key is that she must be active, otherwise she will be more anxious and restless if she can't do anything while sitting on the kang and waiting.

It was also a coincidence that before Qiu Chen walked out of the second door, he saw Shunzi running in from the front, and saw that Qiu Chen was a little unstoppable, so he rushed forward before stopping, panting and handed a small bamboo pipe in his hand to Qiu Chen: "Madam, the ...... that was just sent back"

Qiu Chen didn't wait for him to finish, he snatched it away, and kept walking towards the outer courtyard under his feet, while he had already opened the bamboo pipe and took out a small note from the bamboo pipe. There was a simple line of words written on the note: Pledge to the ICBC, don't worry!

Qiu Chen let out a long breath of turbidity, and his heart was relieved when he received the news and kept mentioning it. Don't be afraid of simply asking for silver, the prince must have a limit to let the squire rich donate silver, and he will not force people to die. What is the silver, donate it, and slowly earn it back later.

All the way to the inverted seat next to the door, Qiu Chen threw the note in his hand into the charcoal basin, watched a cluster of flames rise in the charcoal basin, and the small note turned into ashes in a blink of an eye, then raised his eyes and sat on the edge of the kang.

Chen had already heard the news and rushed over, and quickly brewed a cup of hot tea and handed it over: "Mrs. don't worry too much, there will be nothing wrong." You wait with peace of mind on the kang, and the second master will be back soon. ”

Qiu Chen nodded, raised his eyes to look at Chen, and suddenly said, "You go and get some peanuts with shells, let's roast them on this charcoal pot and eat them!" ”

Chen looked at Qiu Chen and agreed to go down. Mrs. is not really hungry for peanuts, but she is just looking for something to do for herself, so as not to be too anxious.

After a while, Chen returned with a small basket containing not only shelled peanuts, chestnuts, and a long steamed bun.

"My wife said roasted peanuts, and I saw the chestnuts and brought some. From these, I think of a kind of food in our hometown, that is, use steamed bread slices to bake on the smoked cage, bake until the outside is crispy and crispy, it becomes a steamed bun, in the past, it was taken by the students who went out to the businessman's house or went to Beijing to catch the exam, and it was eaten on the road, and it was placed in a sealed small jar, which could not be bad for a year, and as long as it was not damp, it was always crispy and burnt. ”

Qiu Chen nodded with a smile in his eyes, and watched Chen move the brazier under the kang, cover the smoker cage, and put an iron grate around the smoker cage. Because it is not a supporting equipment, the smoke cage and the iron grate are not very compatible, but fortunately, the role of the iron grate is to prevent the peanuts, chestnuts, and buns on the smoke cage from slipping, although it is a little shaky, but it can also be used.

Chen moved a stool and sat opposite Qiu Chen, and while the two of them placed chestnuts, peanuts and dried buns on the smoked cage, Chen said to Qiu Chen: "...... Steward Liao picked four cooks to come back, two stir-fry dishes are okay, one is good at white cases, and one has some talent for making soup and stew cups, I will take it for a few more days, and I can let her do it......"

After all, the Chen family came out of the Yue Guo Mansion, and he knew the Tao very comprehensively in terms of experience and etiquette, Qiu Chen asked her and Daxing to buy a few more cooks to come back, and then replaced the Chen family, so that she could follow her and give her a reminder at any time, so as not to lose etiquette and make jokes when dealing with the rich eunuchs in the future.

Today, listening to Chen's introduction to the newly selected cook, I can't help but be concerned, the kitchen is heavy, it is related to the diet of the whole family, the taste is good or bad, people must be reliable, otherwise who knows if Lu Dao will lose his life after being poisoned.

Seeing that Qiu Chen could listen to it, Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and continued: "...... Today's lunch, Mrs. is still in her mouth, right? The sliced pork and fragrant fish are the handiwork of the newly arrived chef Mei's. The Ulva tofu soup is made by Yuan, who is good at soup......"

At lunch just now, Qiu Chen was tired and worried, although he forced himself to eat some, to be honest, he didn't taste the taste carefully, and now listening to Chen's words, he couldn't help but start thinking about the taste of the dishes...... Well, the slices of meat are smooth and refreshing, the fragrant fish lees are fragrant, the fish meat is soft and tender, and the fish bones are clean...... The lettuce soup is light, but she didn't taste any special taste...... "Well, that's just a light taste, and it's really troublesome to taste something else."

As he spoke, Qiu Chen couldn't hold back his laughter, lowered his eyes and turned the chestnuts, peanuts and steamed buns on the smoked cage, and said with a smile: "I didn't taste it carefully, it should be about the same, at least it didn't let me taste too obvious." ”

Chen smiled and said: "That's good, that's good, my wife doesn't have anything wrong, I'll just take care of it, and after ten days and half a month, the kitchen will be able to let go." ”

Qiu Chen nodded with a smile, pinched a peanut, pinched the husk, poured out the peanut kernel inside, poured it in the palm of his hand a few times, cooled it a little, rubbed off the peanut coat and handed it to Chen, and put one in his mouth. The peanuts are not too ripe, and the nuts are soft and a little strong, but they have a different sweet taste.

"Hmm, I still owe a little fire...... Qiu Chen commented, flipping the things on the cage neatly.

At this moment, the sound of horses' hooves outside the gate stopped abruptly, and Qin Li walked in briskly from outside with a small servant.

Qiu Chen's heart froze, and when he looked at the past, he saw that the little guy who was a little pale was not someone else, it was Lin Xu's scholar Yuliang.

Getting up and getting off the kang, Qiu Chen walked up to greet Yuliang and Qin Li, and asked urgently, "Yuliang, is there something wrong with your second master?" ”

"Mrs., madam, don't panic, the second master is fine." Yu Liang was taken by Qin Li all the way back on horseback, he was upside down, his mouth was wide open and panting, and it was not easy to say a word, Qiu Chen hurriedly turned around, and didn't care about anything else, reached out and took a cup of tea and handed it to Yu Liang.

"Don't worry, take a sip of tea, slowly say what's wrong."

Yu Liang took the tea, drank it, almost choked because he was in a hurry, coughed twice, finally relieved himself, put the teacup and said respectfully: "Mrs. Hui, the second master has nothing to do." The second master and those who were invited to enter the industry today were all detained, and then asked the money pledged to donate this winter and next spring, and it was not possible to report the amount himself, but the prince felt that it was okay, so he was allowed to sign the pledge book...... If they sign their names and do not let them come back, they will send people back, and the family will take cash or silver tickets to ransom people......"

Hearing Yu Liang say this, Qiu Chen was completely relieved, and it was easy to say that he wanted silver. If you want money, give him money, as long as they get the man back!

Yu Liang looked at Qiu Chen's relieved appearance, and couldn't help but smile bitterly secretly, his wife didn't know how ruthless the three princes were: "...... The second master went up to pledge, and he was with the third master of the Liao family and the fourth master of the Guo family......"

After three rounds of drinking, polite, the three princes who are full of spring breeze are still polite and full of spring breeze, but when the topic changes, it is no longer praise and praise, but instead says: "...... As the hometown of fish and rice in Jiangbei, Anyang has been rich in things since ancient times, and the people surnamed Li live and work in peace and contentment. But a flood and the plague caused by the flood caused the death of the family surnamed Limin, the separation of his wife, and the elderly parents lost their children to support them, and lived a miserable life; Many children have lost their parents and live on the streets...... The reason for this is the disrepair and decay of the embankment, which leads to flooding...... The saint is diligent in government and loves the people, and when he heard this, he was naturally worried, and urgently ordered the household department to allocate money and food for relief several times...... However, the saint is benevolent and loves the people, and he has to reduce taxes every year, and the annual tax income of the imperial court is limited...... You are all rich squires and respected people in Anyang Mansion, so naturally you will not look at the saint and ignore it, not to mention, whether this river worker is resting or not is also related to your net worth, property, relatives and friends...... Continue, pen and ink are waiting! ”

As soon as the third prince's voice fell, the big chamberlain behind him stepped forward, holding a tray in his hand, placing pen, ink, paper, and inkstones, and stood still in front of the third prince, standing steadily with his feet, his eyes swept over the rich squires present, and said proudly: "Please sign the pledge deed!" ”

The crowd next to the seat was naturally silent, no one dared to speak, but there were people whispering in the back and corner.

Wen Gongzi lowered his head and pouted: "This is simply a robbery!" ”

Lin Xu and Guo Mingsui wanted to laugh but couldn't laugh, and they didn't dare to laugh. The methods of the third prince are really resolute and ruthless, so it is fast to pledge donations in person and collect money, but countless grievances have accumulated in everyone's hearts...... One or two merchants can't compete with him, and the people of one family and two families can't deal with him, but if they do too much of this, the popularity of the third prince will be completely ruined.

"No one has pledged?" After a moment of coldness, the big chamberlain named Xu Sheng urged with a calm face.

Hu Gongzi, who was sitting at the same table as Lin Xu and Liao Wenqing, stood up abruptly and said coldly: "I'm going to pledge a donation, I pledge a donation, so I can go home early!" ”

As he spoke, he didn't wait for the others to react, and strode forward.

"Whoever is coming, please report your name and origin! How do you make a living" The big chamberlain, who had been standing beside the third prince, asked coldly.

"A native of Anyang, surnamed Hu, Hu Dawang!" Hu Gongzi's expression was unruly, and he stood up proudly, "There are two silk shops and two grocery stores...... Although the income is not much, it is enough for parents, wives and children to chew. ”

As he spoke, he took a few steps forward with a pen in his hand, and respectfully wrote a few words on the paper on the tray: Pledge one hundred taels of silver! Hu Dawang.

"I donate five hundred taels, which is the income of several shops in my family for a year... Although there are few, my family is doing their best. As he spoke, he bowed his hand to the three princes and was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, when Hu Dawang walked to the door of the living room, he was stopped by the guards at the door: "Childe, please go back to your seat and wait, Childe's pledge has been sent home, and when Childe's family sends the silver according to the pledge, Childe will be free to leave." ”

These words were clear and clear, and everyone looked at each other and hung their heads. They were obviously detained, and if they wanted to be free, the only way was to ask their families to send silver and silver tickets as soon as possible, and if they met the requirements of the third prince, they would naturally be able to be released home.

Although Hu Gongzi has an impulsive personality, he is not the kind of stupid person who does not breathe, and when he heard the words of this servant, he naturally knew that they were taken hostage, and if you give the silver back your freedom, what will be the consequences if you don't give the silver......

Only the Third Prince and his entourage knew the truth, but no one had the courage to ask at this time.

Xu Sheng had already handed over the tray to a small chamberlain at this time, and he came to the side of the third prince Yang Jingyu by himself, and saw Hu Gongzi sitting back in the corner, so he leaned over and whispered in Yang Jingyu's ear for a moment, Yang Jingyu squinted his eyes and pondered for a moment, and nodded.

After Hu Gongzi's high-profile actions, their seat in the corner also fell into the eyes of everyone. Wen Gongzi glanced at Hu Gongzi very angrily, closed the folding fan in his hand, and got up to pledge the donation.

Wen Gongzi acted in a low-key manner, naturally not as loud as the surnamed Hu, silently walked to the front, first bowed to the third prince Yang Jingyu, and then took advantage of the tray of the little chamberlain to sign a pledge deed.

He wants to keep a low profile, but people are not as good as he wants. As soon as his pen was put down, he heard the little chamberlain holding the tray already read out loudly: "Wen Renyuan signed a pledge deed for the Anyang Wen family, and pledged two thousand taels of silver!" ”

Wen Gongzi was slightly stunned in surprise. Just when he was stunned, Xu Sheng leaned over again and whispered a few words in Yang Jingyu's ear, Yang Jingyu's eyes narrowed, revealing a touch of coldness.

"The Anyang Wen family started with the tea and horse business, and owns more than a dozen manors in Nanzhili, thousands of hectares of fertile land, and pastures outside the mouth and in the north......"

------Off topic------

It's late...... I had a toothache on fire, and I took laxative gunpowder, but my teeth still hurt persistently, but I almost lived in the bathroom......