Chapter 232 Covert Investigation

Xishi Hall is located at the foot of Lai Luo Mountain in the west of Shanyin County. On the banks of the Huansha River. From the inn where Xiaoxiao and others lived, there were lively shops and restaurants all the way, until they went out of the west gate of the county seat, and they were a little clear.

Xi Shi can be said to be a well-known figure for women and children. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Wu and Yue were at war, and the more defeated by Wu, Goujian, the king of Yue, was forced to bend his knees and sue for peace, and brought his wife to Wu as a hostage for three years. After Gou Jian returned to China, he swore to wash away this shame, so he adopted the "beauty plan" proposed by the literary genre.

After several searches, I finally "got the salaried girl Xi Shi in Lamy Mountain". Xi Shi, surnamed Shi, name Yiguang, "father's salary, mother Huansha", Xi Shi young inheritance of Huansha's business, so the world is called "Huansha girl". After Gou Jian was selected to Xi Shi, he was dedicated to the King of Wu, and the King of Wu was happy: "Yue Gong Xi Shi is the proof that Gou Jian is loyal to Wu." Since then, I have been addicted to wine and unable to extricate myself. However, the Yue State worked as one, worked hard, and finally defeated the Wu State after ten years of life and ten years of lessons. In order to commemorate this peerless beauty who endured humiliation and promised the country with her body, the descendants built the Xishi Hall at the foot of Ramie Mountain.

For such a strange woman, Xiaoxiao did have a very reverent attitude and wanted to come to pay respects. However, now it has to be turned into a pretext to explore the house where the illicit salt is stored. Xiaoxiao had no choice but to say sorry to Xi Shi's predecessors in her heart......

Because he planned to fish in troubled waters, he made a big fanfare about this trip. Forty royal guards incarnated as the guards of the Jiang Mansion opened the way before and after showing off their might. even played the honor guard of the countess's ">, which attracted many onlookers along the way. The Countess "> was also very close to the people, lifting the curtains of the carriage along the way, and waving to the onlookers on both sides. Her kind smile made many people have a very good first impression of this countess's ">".

On the other side of the carriage was the little son of Lord Earl, ">, inviting Lord Langjiang Haoyu. This little adult was born to be crazy, and when he saw that there were so many people on both sides of the carriage who were pointing at him, he laughed from time to time, and kept shouting "brother, sister, uncle, uncle" at the people on the side of the road. The crisp laughter and sweet shouts made the people along the way laugh and laugh happily, and they all thought in their hearts that the > of this countess "> and the countess" was a pair of interesting people......

After leaving the county seat, I went about two miles ahead. Then I arrived at the destination of the small trip - the Xi Shi Temple. When I got off the carriage, the first thing I saw was the gatehouse of the Xi Shi Temple. Its appearance is like a memorial arch, in the middle of the bluestone column of a group of four, there are three vermilion paint arched gates, giving people the first feeling of simplicity and solemnity.

The Xishi Hall was originally built by the people spontaneously raising funds, and the specific age is no longer elegant. On weekdays, it is maintained by the local government, and there are only two old gatekeepers at the entrance of the palace. Seeing that it was a countess >who was going to visit today, the two old men opened the middle door early and respectfully invited the little group to enter.

Passing through the middle gate, you will see a large area of lush forest. Among them, the main building of the Xi Shi Hall looms, the base of the main hall is artificially raised, and the front of the hall is mainly based on the arch bridge, equipped with a pool and the east and west side wings. The statue of Xi Shi in the hall, about two meters high, has an elegant demeanor, sitting on the cocoon stone, looking at the same level, as if staring at the place where he grows here......

Coming out of the main hall of Xi Shi, the building on the right side facing the gatehouse is the ancient Yue platform, and the platform is divided into two floors. The upper floor enshrines Goujian, the king of Yue, and his two advisors, Wen and Fan Li; The lower level is a description of Xi Shi's life deeds, as well as some literati's praise for Xi Shi. A pavilion that is far away from the Xi Shi Palace, called "Zheng Dan Pavilion", this pavilion is built to commemorate the beautiful Zheng Dan who entered Wu with Xi Shi. And this "Zheng Danting" is the goal of Xiaoxiao. For at the back of this pavilion is a dense and lush grove of trees, and through this grove is the backyard wall of the large mansion that the guards have spoken......

The two old men who carefully accompanied them along the way felt very strange in their hearts. This countess "> said that she was coming to visit the Xishi Palace, but all the way was to watch the flowers and pass by in a hurry. Far from being like other people, you have to wander around everywhere for a long time, and you still ask this and that. In contrast, the countess "> was a little absent-minded. But such nobles, they didn't dare to talk much, so they had to bury their doubts in their hearts and lead the way without saying a word......

When he arrived at Zheng Danting, he sighed a little and said that he was a little thirsty. It just so happened that the tiger head also babbled at this time: "Mother, the child is tired, let's rest for a while, okay?" ”

Xiao Xiaoyan smiled, and couldn't wait to pick up her baby son and kiss it. When this sentence is said, it is even more justified for his group to rest here. nodded at the moment, but pretended to scold:

"After only walking a few steps, I shouted that I was tired and should exercise more on weekdays......" he said and turned around. smiled at the two old men:

"Two old people, we walked all the way in a hurry, and we never carried tea with us. Can you ask the two old people for tea? As he spoke, he glanced at Feng Caiyi, who understood, took out a few silver beans from his arms and sent them up.

The two old men often encounter such things on weekdays. didn't think about it at the moment, thanked him repeatedly, took the silver beans from Caiyi's hand, and turned around to prepare tea.

When the two of them walked away, Xiaoxiao bowed slightly to Qin Shuang. Qin Shuang immediately understood, nodded understandingly, and then pointed to the two guards with his finger. He called them to his front and whispered two commands. The two guards looked at each other and nodded firmly. Then he jumped down from the pavilion quickly, ran to the fence and built a human wall, and in the blink of an eye he fell into the dense forest behind the pavilion. Fortunately, there is no such ubiquitous electronic eye at this time...... Xiaoxiao thought so......

The old man quickly came back with tea, for the sake of the silver beans. Not only small and tiger heads, but also colorful clothes. Qin Shuang and other royal guards also had a share, but from beginning to end, the two old men never found that there were two people missing from this group. It's no wonder that there are more than 40 people in Xiaoxiao's line, if you don't pay special attention. Who will find out if there are two people missing?

After drinking tea, the goal was achieved, because there were other things in mind, and Xiaoxiao had no interest in continuing the tour. Immediately stood up, led people out of the Xi Shi Temple, and prepared to go to the next stop. As for the situation here, it will naturally come up when it gets dark at the latest......

When he went back, he didn't have to make such a big show, Qin Shuang arranged for most of the people to go to Wuyi Lane in advance to prepare. Only brought a few people with Xiaoxiao, and a few people had lunch in the county seat first, after a real rest. Only then did he set off towards Wuyi Lane in the east of the city.

This Wuyi Lane is not the Wuyi Lane of "wild grass and flowers by the Vermilion Bird Bridge, the sunset slope at the mouth of Wuyi Lane" in Nanjing in later generations, but just a more famous alley in Shanyin County. Because in this alley, there are some children of the Cao Gang who have dirty clothes. Therefore, the people of Sanyin like to call it "Dirty Clothes Lane", and after a long time, word of mouth has been passed on, and it has become Wuyi Lane. This alley is also the location of the gang entrance of the Shanyin Cao Gang......

When Xiaoxiao and the others arrived, they happened to see two groups of people facing each other at the door of the alley. When he got closer, Xiaoxiao hadn't noticed anything, but Qin Shuang was suddenly furious. It turned out that the two groups of people who were confronting each other here, one of them, turned out to be the more than thirty royal guards he had sent in the morning. At this time, none of these people were left behind, and all of them were blocked at the mouth of the alley and could not enter. And Qin Shuang's order was for them to disperse into Wuyi Lane in advance to ensure the safety of the little female messenger......

The dignified royal guards, the most glorious armed force in the world, are used to showing off their might on weekdays. Today, he was blocked by a group of Jianghu gangs dressed like Huazi, how could Qin Shuang not be angry? was about to scold, but heard the little one on the side speak first:

"Boss Song?"

The two groups of people who were facing each other stopped for a moment when they heard this, and the royal guards saw that Xiao Xiao was coming. Immediately, they put away the weapons they were carrying, and respectfully retreated. The hundreds of men of the Cao Gang over there, when they saw the woman who suddenly appeared called out the name of their boss, also stopped to look at their own leader.

This Boss Song is naturally the Boss Song who led the team that I saw in the early morning. He was also inexplicable at this time, how could this woman who seemed to have a noble temperament know herself? At the moment, with a puzzled expression on his face, he said:

"This lady" >, please forgive the villain's clumsiness, it seems that the villain does not know the lady ">......"

Xiao Xiaoyan smiled and said lightly: "It's okay, Boss Song will find out later." Mrs. Ben "> came to find Boss Song today, these people are Mrs. Ben's > guards, if they have any reckless rampage, please ask Boss Song to ...... a lot."

"Uh...... Madame, "> is serious, the villain doesn't dare to ......" This Song boss is a sincere person. Hearing the apology, he hurriedly said politely, and then came to his senses again: "Madam" > Fang said...... Is it just for the villain? ”

Xiaoxiao nodded: "This is not the place to talk, can you change places, Mrs. Ben" > have important things to discuss with Boss Song." As he spoke, Xiaoxiao took out the letter from the treasure bag and handed it over......

Boss Song took the letter, but did not open it, but shouted to a gang member beside him: "Go quickly, invite Husband Chen to me......" After speaking, he stood there quietly, without speaking, and did not ask his subordinates to give way.

Xiaoxiao handed over the letter, and waited for him to read the letter and express his position. I didn't expect him to be motionless like this, not even letting out a fart. This kind of situation has been encountered for the first time in two lifetimes.

After waiting for a long time, Xiaoxiao saw an old Xiucai in a long shirt, led by a Cao gang gang who had just left, running over tremblingly. That Song boss was so uncomfortable that he was stared at by Xiaoxiao, and at this time he saw that the old show ran over. With a sigh of relief, he hurriedly ran up in three or two steps, handed over the letter in his hand, and said respectfully:

"Husband, this lady" > just sent a letter, please help me to see what is written in the letter? ”

Xiaoxiao and Feng Caiyi glanced at each other and almost fainted. After doing it for a long time, it turns out that this Song boss is illiterate? I really don't know how he got into the position of boss......

After reading the letter, the old Xiucai surnamed Chen leaned into Boss Song's ear and whispered something. Xiaoxiao only saw that Song Boss's face was startled at first, and then his eyes changed when he looked at Xiaoxiao. After Lao Xiucai finished speaking, Boss Song immediately waved his hand to let his subordinates get out of the way, and then walked to Xiaoxiao and bowed deeply, and was about to open his mouth to meet the countess ">, but was stopped by Xiaoxiao with a gentle wave of his hand:

"Boss Song, if you have something to say, can you?"

Boss Song hurriedly nodded heavily: "Madam" > what you command, the villain will do it, please ......" said and half-bent down to lead the way, and should go first.

The eyes of the hundreds and dozens of Cao Gang members widened, and they all guessed in their hearts, what is the origin of this lady's ">?" Unexpectedly, Boss Song, who is not afraid of heaven and earth, is afraid of this virtue? At that moment, they surrounded the Chen husband one after another, and they wanted to hear some news. Unexpectedly, Chen's husband's tone was very tight, and he shook his head and tail with five words: "The Buddha said: Don't say it...... Don't say ...... "I was so anxious that the Cao Gang helped everyone scratch their ears and cheeks, jumping up and down, but there was no way, this husband Chen, but the person they Song Boss relied on the most, they didn't dare to embarrass him!"

They also don't want to think about how it is possible that Husband Chen doesn't have a little bit of professional ethics if he can be relied on by Boss Song as the most important person......

The entrance of the Shanyin Cao Gang is not much different from that of the Hangzhou Cao Gang. They are all large bungalows, and the large yards are full of all kinds of tools, ropes, wheelbarrows, sacks, etc. As mentioned earlier, the Cao Gang is actually a gang formed by the combination of coolies who make a living from Cao Yun. Really speaking, they are actually similar to the beggars in the TV series in later generations, and their living conditions are extremely difficult. The difference is that the beggars live by begging, while they survive by their hands, by selling their labor and blood and sweat. Therefore, they are more respectable than the beggars! Except, of course, the group of scum in Hangzhou City's Women's Square......

Sitting down in the hall at the entrance of the Cao Bang Hall, Boss Song actually learned from the big family and asked people to serve tea. As a result, after waiting for a long time, there was a rough man. Carrying a blackened teapot and two thick sea bowls under his armpits, he ran in. Lay the bowl heavily on the table, lift the teapot and start pouring water. Xiao Xiao took a look and saw that the tea poured out was jet black, and I didn't know what it was. She really didn't have the courage to taste this kind of tea......

Boss Song didn't notice it, and pointed to the thick sea bowl with a smile and shouted: "Female Bodhisattva, please drink tea......" Xiaoxiao couldn't help but be surprised when she heard what she called herself, her nickname was only spread in some places in Huayin and Jingzhao. When did it start, it actually spread to this Jiangnan one? At the moment, he asked rather strangely:

"Boss Song, you just called Mrs. Ben" >...... Where did you hear that? ”

The Song boss grinned: "Hehe, the villain doesn't dare to deceive the female Bodhisattva, the villain's mother-in-law is the ...... of Zhaojia Village, Huayin County, Jingzhao Prefecture."

"Oh......" Xiaoxiao suddenly realized, but he was quite happy in his heart. With this relationship, this Song boss will not embarrass himself in the future, but will actively cooperate with himself. smiled lightly at the moment, waved his hand and said:

"It's been so many years, Boss Song shouldn't bring it up again, I'm ashamed and panicked......"

Unexpectedly, this Song boss had a straight face: "The female Bodhisattva doesn't like to listen to the villain, the female Bodhisattva saved my aunt's family of seven, but in the end she refused to accept even a few eggs." This kindness, don't say a few years, it is decades and hundreds of years, and my old Song and my mother-in-law will always remember it......"

With a kind smile on her face, Xiao Xiao waved her hand again and again and just wanted to speak, but she heard Boss Song continue to speak:

Chen's husband said that the female Bodhisattva has something very important to inquire about with the villain, and Mrs. "Please tell >, as long as the villain knows, the villain knows everything." Even if the villain doesn't know, as long as it's in this Sanyin County, the villain can also ask the brothers to inquire. The children of the Eight Hundred Cao Gang in Shanyin County, within one day, no matter what kind of news, the villain dares to pack a ticket, and he can inquire about the female Bodhisattva ......"

The little one was overjoyed, and with this sentence, the next thing was much easier. After sorting out his thoughts at the moment, he opened his mouth and asked the first question:

"In that case, then you're welcome. I would like to ask, where did the batch of salt bricks transported by Boss Song and your brothers come from this morning? ”

When Boss Song heard this, he was immediately stunned: "Madam", how did > know about it...... I shipped salt bricks early in the morning? ”

Xiaoxiao was also stunned by his rhetorical question, and then smiled: "I will tell Boss Song about this later, and ask Boss Song to answer my question first, okay?" ”

A noble lady in the family, or the life-saving benefactor of her daughter-in-law and son-in-law's family, everyone spoke in such a tone, where could Boss Song still insist, immediately hesitated, and finally gritted his teeth and said:

"Female Bodhisattva, I couldn't tell you at this time, but my old Song is a person who wants to repay if he has kindness, so I'll tell you the truth. Those salt bricks were all transported from the San'in salt factory......"

In fact, Xiaoxiao has known the answer to this question for a long time, so why do you need to ask it again? That's psychology. In the eyes of people like Lao Song, it is already a secret where the salt bricks are transported from. Since a secret has been revealed, in his subconscious, he will slowly relax his guard, and then Xiaoxiao will ask other questions, and he will not resist so much anymore......

Sure enough, when Xiaoxiao then asked the second question: "So, how many times can Boss Song pick up the business of Shanyin Salt Farm every month?" At that time, Boss Song only hesitated for a moment, and then replied honestly:

"Twice a month, one trip is to send salt bricks from the salt field to Xishi Hutong as early this morning. One trip is sent from the salt field to the Yamen of Shanyin County, and then transferred to the Yamen of the City Affairs ......"

Chapter 232 Secret Visit, to the website