Ji Qingwen and Li Yan had lunch, and then set off to inquire about Qian Qianyi's whereabouts.

Qian Qianyi is really famous in Jiangnan, Ji Qingwen only asked Song Yingxing alone, and learned that Qian Qianyi was persecuted by the eunuch party before resigned and returned to his hometown, and he has not yet received the will of Emperor Chongzhen to recover, so he still lives in his hometown - Changshu County, Suzhou Prefecture.

Changshu is about 150 miles away from Suzhou, and it is possible to get there by riding a fast horse for an afternoon, but after going, you may not be able to come back.

Therefore, Ji Qingwen did not leave today, but asked Duo Jiugong to prepare gifts and horses, and then set off tomorrow.

The next day, Ji Qingwen got up early in the morning, and beckoned Li Yan, Duo Jiugong, Huang Degong and others, took two horses and one car, and left Suzhou from Changmen, all the way north to Changshu.

Jiangnan is indeed the land of fish and rice, although the terrain is flat, it is full of rivers and lakes. However, after all, there is a lot of prosperity here, and stone bridges have been built on each river channel of large and small, wide and narrow, so all the way away, it is like walking on the ground, and walking very happily - on the other hand, in Shaanxi, where Ji Qingwen is located, although there are not many rivers, there are fewer bridges, and every time you cross a river, you have to wait for a long time for a ferry boat, and it is often miserable.

In this way, Ji Qingwen and his entourage were not so much looking for Qian Qianyi, but rather on an outing, all the way to the "autumn" wind proudly horseshoe disease, walked for more than two hours, and arrived at the city of Changshu before noon.

Qian Qianyi's fame in Changshu is more famous than in Suzhou, and after a little inquiry, everyone knows that Qian Mansion is located on the shore of Shanghu Lake in the southwest of Changshu County.

So everyone went to the west of Changshu County, and after walking for a short time, they saw a beautiful lake with sparkling waves - it was Shanghu Lake.

Li Yan is a literati, took a deep breath, and said with emotion: "Here the smoke and waves are vast, the water lotus is dripping green, the gulls are flying, the kite is flying and the fish swimming, overlooking the Yu Mountain, the heart is relaxed and happy, and it is also the place where Jiang Taigong fished in the past, it is really a place where humanity and scenery gather." Qian Qianyi knows how to build a villa to live here, and he is also worthy of being an elegant person. ”

Ji Qingwen said: "I don't have literary talent, and I can't tell Brother Li so many ways." But I also think that this place is very good, but unfortunately the land in the south of the Yangtze River is expensive, otherwise I would save money to buy a piece of land here and build a house, so that I can live with peace of mind. ”

Li Yan pulled out the folding fan, shook it gently, and said, "A good place naturally has a good price." Shanghu is a treasure of feng shui, even if you have a lot of money, it is worth it. ”

While he was talking, he saw a woodcutter carrying a bundle of dry firewood walking quickly past everyone, so Ji Qingwen stopped the woodcutter and asked, "This fellow, where is Mr. Qian Qianyi's mansion?" I was about to visit him. ”

The woodcutter stretched out his hand and wiped the shout on his head, raised his eyes and looked at Ji Qingwen a few times, and said, "This gentleman is from out of town, right?" No wonder I don't know where Mr. Qian lives. To tell you the truth, this large area of lakes belongs to Mr. Qian, and it can be said that it is his mansion. ”

Ji Qingwen was stunned when he heard this: "No...... I didn't expect Qian Qianyi to be so rich, how much is this large lake worth! ”

Li Yan also said: "I thought that Mr. Qian Shouzhi was the leader of Donglin and the leader of the Qingliu Alliance, and he must be a poor and elegant person, but I didn't expect to be so rich ......."

But the woodcutter disagreed: "Which scholar has no money?" How can I study without money? What's more, Mr. Qian is a son of a family, and he has been a magistrate and a Beijing official, so what is the great deal about a few dollars? ”

The woodcutter was also enthusiastic, and changed his words: "Looking at the clothes of a few people, it seems that they are all scholars, and they are here to visit Mr. Qian, right?" Then come with me, but I can only stop at the gate of the outer courtyard, whether I can enter the inner courtyard or not, it depends on the ability of a few people. ”

So saying, the woodcutter shook his shoulders and walked forward with a bundle full of dry wood.

Seeing this, Ji Qingwen hurriedly beckoned his companions to follow.

In the conversation with this woodcutter, Ji Qingwen knew that this Qian Qianyi was not only a master in the literary world, but also the richest man in Changshu City, not to mention this Shang Lake, that is, the thousands of hectares of fertile land on the edge of Shang Lake, most of which belonged to the Qian family, and even this woodcutter was a long-term worker who specialized in collecting firewood, cutting wood, and lighting fires.

After Ji Qingwen traveled to the Ming Dynasty and became a rich second generation in Shaanxi, he thought that he had realized his long-cherished wish to become a "rich man", but compared with this Qian Qianyi, he was actually a small thing, and he had just started from the starting line!

Several people talked and talked, and in a short time they arrived at the gate of a courtyard.

The gate of this courtyard is not wide, it can only accommodate three or four people to enter and exit side by side, and it is also very simple to build, not to mention the palace gate of the Forbidden City, which is compared to the palace gate of the Forbidden City, and it is also quite shabby and simple compared to the Qin Wangfu of Xi'an City, and the Li Jingbai Mansion of Mokou Town.

But I saw the woodcutter stretch out his hand and point: "Oh, this is the outer courtyard of Mr. Qian's house, a few gentlemen are less to accompany me, I am going down to do things." ”

So Ji Qingwen took out an ingot and two taels of silver from his pocket, handed it to the woodcutter as a reward, and asked Duo Jiugong to knock on the door.

"Tuk tuk tuk" three knocks sounded on the door, and the wooden door gently pushed open a crack, revealing a pair of young woman's eyes.

Unexpectedly, this woman looked at Ji Qingwen and the others, and only said, "Who is it?" I don't know. Then he closed the door.

Ji Qingwen was stunned for a moment, and said to Li Yan with a wry smile: "Brother Li, it seems that this Qian Qianyi's mansion is much more difficult to enter than the door of your Mokou Town. Last year, I went to the gate to call the door, and I finally talked to the janitor, but I didn't expect that I didn't say a word about the Qianfu. ”

Li Yan said: "Literati, naturally be a little arrogant. There are also a lot of people who are foxes and fake tigers. I don't know if Brother Ji brought the fan that Liu Ru gave you? When you hand over the fan, you will say that Liu Ru introduced it, and maybe you will be able to open the courtyard door. ”

Ji Qingwen really carried Liu Ruyi's folding fan with him, so he stepped forward in person, knocked on the door, stuffed the fan through the crack in the door, and said: "Liu Ru is girl introduced here, bothering this ...... This girl, go in and say hello to Mr. Qian. ”

The woman took the folding fan, unfolded it and looked left and right, and said, "Since I am a friend of Mr. Liu Hedong, then I can make a sound." You stand here, don't move around. With that, she turned and left.

After a long time, the woman came back, handed the folding fan back to Ji Qingwen from the small crack in the courtyard door, and said, "My master said that the fan is real. But I would like to ask, what are your identities? What is the relationship with Mr. Liu Hedong? ”

Ji Qingwen hurriedly replied: "In the next day, I don't have a close relationship with Liu Rus, it's just a meeting in Pingshui." However, the next is the Weaving Admiral of Suzhou, and there is a major matter related to the safety of the family and the country, and he is discussing with Mr. Qian. Oh, by the way, I'm still a protégé of Old Inspector Sun Chengzong......"

Before Ji Qingwen finished speaking, the woman became impatient and said, "Okay, I know, you wait." ”

With that, he drifted away again.

After a long time, the woman came back again, but this time she pushed the courtyard door open and squatted respectfully: "It turned out to be Lord Ji, my master is invited." ”

Only then did Ji Qingwen see the woman's appearance and dress clearly-I saw that she was only fourteen or fifteen years old, she looked delicate and cute, and she was wearing a light yellow light gauze short gown and long skirt, which looked even more light and bright - Ji Qingwen's personal maid Xing'er was also a little beauty, but she looked like a rural village girl compared to this woman.

And it was such a beautiful girl, but she was just a subordinate in Qian Qianyi's mansion, which made Ji Qingwen envious and jealous.

Qian Qianyi's mansion was built by the lake, and after entering the door, a small road was by the lake, and everyone walked a cup of tea, and then stopped in front of a courtyard gate.

The woman in yellow stopped, pointed at Duo Jiugong and Huang Degong and said, "There is the inner courtyard in front, you stay here first, and invite these two sons in." ”

Ji Qingwen hurriedly said: "Girl, these two are carrying me to prepare a gift for Mr. Qian." This gift is not light, Brother Li and I are both powerless readers, but we can't lift so many things. ”

The woman in yellow raised her eyes and asked, "Gift?" What is the gift? ”

Ji Qingwen replied truthfully: "It is the silk produced in the weaving yamen, which was originally intended to be a tribute to the emperor, and this is all fine silk." ”