Gu Xiyan nodded weakly.

Duanniang helped Gu Xiyan to the bed with a panicked face, and then put a big pillow behind her, Mo Ju was also called in by Duanniang's voice, and stood at the head of the bed nervously to look.

Gu Xiyan leaned on the pillow, smiled reluctantly at Mo Ju, and instructed her: "You go out and pour me a cup of hot tea!" ”

Mo Ju looked at the tea set on the round table in the center of the room. There's hot tea in there. But seeing Gu Xiyan's pale face, she still decided to obey Gu Xiyan's instructions, not only to go out and pour a cup of hot tea, but also to stay in the kitchen for a while longer.

Gu Xiyan looked at the jade hook hanging on the curtain in a daze.

Could it be that I am too sensitive and mistaken!

How should Gu Chaorong explain Gu Panxi's maintenance? How to explain the kindness to yourself? Also, when he proposed not to enter the palace, Gu Chaorong still said teasing words and joked without a trace of blame and displeasure, how can this be explained?

"Girl, girl," Duan Niang's shout interrupted her train of thought, "something has happened, and I shouldn't talk to you!" ”

Gu Xiyan came back to her senses at this time, she smiled apologetically, and didn't explain the reason why she was in a daze, and asked lightly: "What did you ask me just now, I didn't understand?" ”

Duan Niang hesitated for a moment and said, "I want to go out to find Jinxin in the past few days, she was also a girl waiting by Mrs. Niang's side, and she was the son of a family brought by Mrs. from Lian's family to marry." The lord married her to the old marquis Jiang of the Weiyuan Marquis Mansion as a twelve-room concubine, although she had no heirs. But he is kind and polite, and has a soft temperament, and has a good relationship in the Jiang family. The Jiang family was originally a meritorious family with Emperor Taizong, with a century-old foundation and many children. People with a little bit of family background are related to his family, so I will ask her to ask her to pay attention to you and find a good family. ”

Gu Xiyan was still hesitating.

What if you really made a mistake?

"Girl!" Anxiety flashed in Duanniang's eyes. "You'll be fourteen years old in the fall, and you can't afford to delay it!"

Gu Xiyan looked at Duanniang's somewhat anxious face, and suddenly smiled.

yes, what's the hurry. It's like Duan Niang and the Tuo Niang she has never seen, if you want to swallow the property that Mrs. Lian left to Gu Xiyan privately, you can not take it out at all.

Gu Chaorong is the same, only time can tell what she thinks.

She was relieved, and her mood slowly calmed down, and said, "Duanniang." It's not in a hurry, and it's not like buying vegetables, just put it there waiting to be picked. Besides, I've just gotten into trouble again, and my father hasn't gotten angry yet, and if any more rumors reach my father's ears, there will be another turmoil in the family... I think we'd better continue our interrupted studies first, and we should also mention the matter of inviting Mama Zhao to teach needlework, and we should mention it to Mrs.

Gu Xiyan and Duan Niang were talking about their plans for the future. Mrs. Gu also said her seventh cousin Liu Zuocheng about her future plans: "Seventh brother, I want to go back to Jiangnan to see my father, can you help arrange it." ”

Liu Zuocheng was stunned for a moment, and asked cautiously: "But what does my brother-in-law worry about?" Tell me directly, and I'll do everything! ”

Mrs. Gu forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, I just haven't seen my father for several years, and I miss it very much." And when I went to the palace to see the imperial concubine, she also asked me to send Panxi to Jiangnan Songqi Academy, Seventh Brother. You can help me arrange it. ”

Liu Zuocheng said: "You are gone, who will manage the affairs of this house?" ”

Mrs. Gu said: "I was unwell in the autumn, and the affairs of the family were basically handed over to the second girl. She's not too young, and I'm thinking that I'll have to worry about finding my in-laws' house tomorrow in the spring. I want to take advantage of her still at home to go back to Jiangnan. ”

Liu Zuocheng pondered.

Mrs. Gu sighed: "Although I am confused, I am not stupid. Gu Jiadi's lords. I can't afford to mess with any of them. It's better to take this opportunity to return to Jiangnan with Panxi. It's also a good way to avoid it. ”

Liu Zuocheng glanced at Mrs. Gu in surprise when he heard this, and wanted to say: You are the serious master of this family. They should be hiding from you, why did you hide from them. But when I thought of my sister's temperament, I swallowed the words again.

He pondered for a long time, and finally said helplessly: "In this case, when my affairs in Shengjing are almost done, let's go back to Jiangnan together!" ”

Waiting for Liu Zuocheng to match the accounts of several shops in Shengjing, the time sequence has entered the middle of May, and there has been no movement on the Gu Mansion, he thought that he would be able to leave for Jiangnan in the next few days, so he was going to go to the Gu Mansion for a trip, and finally determined whether Liu Caixia really wanted to go back to Jiangnan with him or a moment of emotion.

As soon as he walked out of the second door with his little servant Liu San, there was an eager shout behind him: "Seventh master, seventh master, stay quickly!" ”

Liu Zuocheng turned around and saw a tall white fat man running towards him with a sweaty head.

This fat man's name is Wang Shun, he is the big shopkeeper of the Liu family's business management in Shengjing, and when he was a teenager, he followed Liu Sanduo, the current head of the Liu family, to go south and north, and won the trust of Liu Sanduo, and has always been known for his steady behavior among the many big shopkeepers of the Liu family.

As soon as Liu Zuocheng saw Wang Shun's appearance, he knew that something big had happened.

He stepped forward to meet Wang Shun and asked in a low voice, "Big shopkeeper, what's wrong?" ”

Wang Shunchao looked left and right.

Liu Zuocheng understood and instructed Liu San: "I will talk to the big shopkeeper in the study, you are guarding outside the door, and no one is allowed to enter." ”

The group entered the study, Liu San withdrew after serving tea and guarded the door, Wang Shun seemed to think that the study was not secluded enough, so he pulled Liu Zuocheng to a corner of the study, and said in a low voice: "Bad thing, our batch of goods in Gaochang was collected by Yan Jun." ”

Liu Zuocheng was stunned when he heard this, but said in a calm voice: "Don't worry, big shopkeeper, speak slowly." ”

Wang Shun took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and wiped his sweat. After agreeing to the situation, he told Liu Zuocheng about the matter one by one.

It turned out that since more than 20 years ago, the Wu family in Huzhou took the line of the Queen Mother Fang to become the supplier of Jiangnan weaving, and the weaving business of Liujiadi was not as good as a year, but fortunately, the Liu family had a strong foundation. Adhering to the principle that the people do not fight with the officials, he has successively engaged in the silver building business, the grain and rice business, and the wine-making business, although he did not get any big money, and he also kept the land expenses in those years. Nine years ago. Liu Sanduo lived in Shengjing for Liu Caixia's marriage, and occasionally met a Gaochang man surnamed Yao, who said that he was the largest local herb merchant in Gaochang, specializing in ginseng fruit.

Ginseng fruit, also known as "resurrection grass" in the Xia Kingdom, refers to this kind of vermilion fruit that is only the size of a thumb has the effect of "resurrecting the dead", and is one of the most precious herbs in the world. Because it grows in the extremely cold land of the north, there is only a small amount of ginseng fruit near the Yandi Yinghe River in the Xia Kingdom, but it is close to the Gaochang Country in the Yandi Land, which is a place rich in ginseng fruits. From Gaochangguo to Xizhao, you have to pass through Yandi and Jindi. And Yandi and Jin land belong to their own jurisdiction, it is difficult to see the shadow of ginseng fruit in the market of Xizhao, it can be said that the price is more than gold, and it has always been a tribute to the pilgrimage of Yan and Jin.

Liu Sanduo is a very successful businessman and immediately smelled the business opportunities here. After the Gu and Liu families were connected, Liu Sanduo opened up the crossing joint of Jin through Gu Baozhang in the same year, that is, the mansion of the Duke of Jin, and through a protégé of Old Lady Gu who was doing a record in the Mansion of Yanguo, he befriended the Left Cavalry Army of the Northwest Battalion of Yandi to join the army. In the past five or six years, Liu Yao and his family have cooperated happily. The business is to follow the wind and water, and it is full of money. Liu Sanduo is not only satisfied with running the ginseng fruit business, but also cooperates with the Yao family to run the fur and Dongzhu business, and the annual capital is one million taels of gold.

Liu Zuocheng felt as if his neck was strangled by something, he unbuttoned a button and asked, "How much money do you have?" ”

Wang Shun trembled and pointed out two fingers: "Two, two million taels of gold!" ”

Liu Zuocheng sighed in his heart, and said in a lost voice: "Why are there so many this time?" ”

Wang Shun said: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs has ordered 100,000 taels of gold for ginseng fruit alone. ”

Liu Zuocheng's face darkened: "Which joint has a problem?" ”

Wang Shun's face sweated again: "In July last year, the northwest battalion of Yandi suddenly sent troops to Gaochangguo. In December, Gaochang was occupied. The relationship between the Yao family is over, they have emptied their family funds and gathered the goods for us... We've just gotten the news here, and there doesn't seem to be any movement from the court. However, I know that it was only these two days..."

The business with Gao Changguo has always been the responsibility of his brother-in-law Liu Youcheng, and he does not know the details. The Liu family is not a family with Xi Ni, and such a big thing happened. Someone has to come out and be responsible. If you don't know the position of the head of the family, Liu Sanduo, is dangerous. His forehead also sweated, and he asked repeatedly, "Is Youcheng still in Gaochang?" Why didn't you stop trading at the right time? Who is going back and forth? Where are the people? ”

Wang Shun smiled bitterly: "It's Liu Wen next to the Twelfth Master." I placed him in Ranin. ”

Liu Zuocheng lifted the corner of his robe and walked out of the study and ran towards the Orchid Courtyard.

Orchid courtyard is a typical quadrangle, there are several orchids painted on the wall of the front, so it is called Orchid Courtyard, it is the courtyard where some people with relatively low positions in the Liu family enter and exit Beijing to live in tolerance, the layout is very simple, and there is a loofah shed in the corner of the courtyard, which has a bit of pastoral atmosphere.

Liu Wen was a tall young man in his early twenties, with a yellow complexion, a chapped mouth, and a handful of bones left all over his body. Seeing Liu Zuocheng, such a big man threw himself at Liu Zuocheng's feet and cried like a child: "Seventh Master, save the Twelfth Master, he is still locked up in Yanzhou Prison." The legs are also broken, the body is rotten, and no matter how late it is, the Twelfth Master will only have a dead end... Seventh Master, I'll kowtow to you...", he said that he was going to kowtow to Liu Zuocheng.

Wang Shun dragged Liu Wen up: "What nonsense are you talking about?" What is the relationship between the seventh master and the twelfth master, I want you to chew the root of your tongue here. ”

Liu Wen stood there wiping only tears.

Liu Youcheng is also a talent, bold and careful, Liu Zuocheng is in charge of the weaving business in the south of the Liu family, Liu Youcheng is in charge of the Liu family's shady "smuggling" business, Liu Zuocheng has always felt that this matter is too risky, once persuaded his younger brother, but Liu Youcheng said: "My brother will participate in the selection of the head of the family in a few years, the better I do, the more confident my brother will speak." I remember my mother's words before she died: Go into battle and brother..."

Liu Zuocheng only felt a knife-like pain in the corner of his heart. Holding back tears, he asked, "Why didn't you stop trading at that time?" ”

Liu Wen sobbed and said: "I have already paid a deposit of fifty taels of gold, and the Yao family has also handed over all the goods, that damn soldier patted his chest and said that there must be no problem, and the twelfth master also said that Fugui is in danger..."