Chapter 372 lures the snake out of the hole, and the layout is far-reaching

There were many high-ranking officials in Yangzhou Mansion in one day, but these people came and went, and overnight, this rich city returned to its due tranquility. Jiang Duwei's training continued, as did the naval forces on the southern side of the river. Although some people took advantage of the absence of the chief officer to try their best to inquire inside, the result was a big disappointment - because the group of people who had been arrested before seemed to be steamed in the world, and they all disappeared one by one. Only those storefronts with seals, or the houses that have been seized, Fang Zhao's previous thunderous arrest on the streets of Yangzhou is not a dream, but a fact.

The Jiang family and Chen Lan's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law moved out of the puppet garden, and only the original servants and Mr. Xiao Langbi were left in the huge place, and as for the little guy Bi Jun, he was entrusted by Mr. Bi and brought by the Jiang family to Wanquan Villa. It's just that although there are no people in the way, there are very few people who can visit. Even Fan Cheng, the prefect of Yangzhou who couldn't wait to come to the door every day, seemed to have changed his sex, and only concentrated on official affairs in the yamen, and didn't even show his face.

In contrast, Chen Lan, who is in Wanquan Villa, will often welcome guests to the door. On the first day, it was Mrs. Liang and Mrs. Liang of King Jing's future mother's house, the second day was Mrs. Pingjiang with her daughter, and on the third day, it was Mrs. Ai who came to the door again. Unlike the guests of the previous two days, this time Mrs. Ai came alone, and her conversation was much more refreshing than when the four of them came together. She never asked about the official affairs, nor did she mention the official road and business routes in Jiangnan, etc., and only talked about the customs and customs of Jiangnan with Chen Lan.

Due to the previous bad experiences, Chen Lan was a little careful in dealing with these official wives in Jiangnan, but although Mrs. Ai was nearly forty years old, she spoke very funny, her words and deeds were not pretentious at all, and her dress was similar to her taste, so after a whole afternoon, her perception of her changed greatly, and when Mrs. Ai left, she even personally sent it to Ermen.

"As soon as I saw it today, I might just come uninvited next time." As she spoke, Mrs. Ai glanced at the soup pools on both sides, and sighed, "I don't know what the owner of this Wanquan Villa thinks, but he actually opened such a soup pool on the side of the road, could it be that he wants to make everyone who comes envious?" If I come again next time, I want to taste the hot springs here, and the county lord should not think of me as abrupt. ”

"I'm just borrowing, Madame wants to come, let's just take the master's acquiescence."

"Okay, that's what you said."

Seeing that Mrs. Ai got into the carriage after saying goodbye, Chen Lan turned around and walked inside, and stopped and said to Aunt Yun next to him without two steps: "Aunt Liu and Changdi haven't come back yet?" ”

"Haven't come back yet." Aunt Yun caught a glimpse of the solemnity on Chen Lan's face, and couldn't help asking, "If Madam thinks there is something wrong with the previous book, why don't you know that Jinyiwei will pay attention to it?" Isn't the master already in charge of the dark whistle here? It's better to let the people left by the eldest princess assist in this matter, why should we ask in person? ”

"Mother's token should be left at the critical moment, as for the Jinyi Guard's secret whistle, after all, no one can guarantee the ingredients in it, in case the matter is poked out but there is no result, isn't it a waste?" Chen Lan continued to walk forward slowly, until Aunt Yun caught up behind her, and she said in a low voice, "No matter what reason others send things to me, if you don't react, others may continue to send them to the door, or maybe just stop here, I don't want to miss this opportunity." ”

"Then even if you inform Mr. Bi......"

"Aunt Yun doesn't believe me?" Chen Lan stopped and turned her head, and saw that Aunt Yun was a little stunned at first under her direct gaze, and then lowered her head and didn't dare to say anything, she smiled slightly, "Don't miss the opportunity and don't come again, since we have arrived in Jiangnan, and we know that someone has other plans, how can we keep standing still?" ”

Seeing that Chen Lan was stubborn, Aunt Yun wanted to persuade again, but after all, she held back, but she inevitably regretted that she shouldn't have recklessly sent things to Chen Lan before. In any case, there are many contacts between Jiangnan and the East and the West, and there are many people who are familiar with foreign languages, so she might as well wait for the results to be calculated

After having dinner with Jiang's Jun'er, Chen Lan was going back to the room to study the book again, but unexpectedly Jiang said that he had eaten too much for dinner and wanted to take a walk in the garden to eliminate food. In the past few days, the moon has gradually become bigger, and the weather has also sunny, and at this time the sky is just a scene of bright moon and sunset. Jun'er jumped up and down and chattered, and Jiang said some interesting things about the old years, and she simply wanted to be a good listener.

However, when Jiang mentioned Jun'er's zither, Chen Lan couldn't help but think of the gold medal letter hidden in the guzheng - after meeting Mr. Bi that time, because the impact of those things was too great, and after coming back, there were all kinds of situations, she actually forgot to return the gold medal to others, and people didn't mention it at all as if they had forgotten about it. And that thing...... Wait, that thing wasn't with her either, if she remembered correctly, she handed it over to Yang Jinzhou for safekeeping at that time

"Ah Lan, Ah Lan?"

Chen Lan suddenly came to her senses, and when she saw Jiang Shi looking at her in amazement, she hurriedly smiled to cover up, and said that she was distracted for a while, which was barely covered up. With such a matter accumulated in her heart, she naturally had a lot of absent-mindedness in the future, and when she returned to Yushengzhai to serve the Jiang family to bed, she was driven back to the house by her mother-in-law and ordered to go to bed early and not stay up late.

However, when Chen Lan returned to the East House, he saw Aunt Liu and Changdi who were already waiting inside. Changdi came up with a big burden as if he was invited, and untied it in front of Chen Lan with a smile, revealing the four books underneath.

"Madam, look," Changdi put the fur on the chair beside him, and said with a smile, "In the past three days, Aunt Liu and I have almost visited all the bookstores in Yangzhou City, and as a result, today in a store that sells used books, it is easy to find these four books. Although we didn't recognize the strange word, looking at the title on the cover of the book, it seemed to be exactly the same, so we bought it back. The shopkeeper didn't recognize this thing, and at first he wanted to blackmail, but I was scared twice, and then only received ten taels of silver. ”

Ten taels of silver may be the cost of most of the year for ordinary people, but it is really not expensive for the official eunuchs, and Chen Lan knows that if it is really what he wants, it will be difficult to buy it. At this moment, she motioned for Aunt Yun to pick up the book at the beginning, deliberately carefully checked the title, and then turned to the inner page. After flipping through a few photos, she sneered in her heart, but she still closed the book as if nothing had happened.

"It's been a great job for both of you. Tomorrow I will copy a copy and send it to Beijing by horse. Go back and take a look at the booksellers you have been to before, and then send someone to ask Governor Fan again to see if he can find a proper interpreter. I kept the book, and I flipped through it before I went to bed. ”

No one can find fault with these measures, and at the moment, everyone naturally responds to it, and they go to do things in various places. After Chen Lan got on the bed and sat down, he only revisited a few copies of "Tokyo Menghualu", and his eyes fell on the four books stacked on the side. For ordinary people who don't know foreign characters, the same title and similar handwriting, naturally can't see too much fame. However, she could already see at a glance that the four books that Changdi and Aunt Liu found were completely different from the previous ones.

One is pinyin, and the other is just a meaningless string and no one would be bored enough to do something like this, there is only one reason that can be explained, someone thought in advance that she would do such a thing, so she had already prepared something and put it there. Otherwise, even if Aunt Liu and Changdi's whereabouts in the past few days leaked the news, they would not have printed the book like this.

"I think this is just the beginning, and the next step is not a book, and people should also appear."

After muttering to himself, Chen Lan opened his mouth and called someone to come, and after turning off the lights, he lay down quietly. Unlike the nightmares of the first night, she was now asleep. And the girls on duty at night also fell asleep in the next room, and there was silence everywhere. The books were unevenly placed on the table, and I don't know when, as if someone was passing by outside the window, and then they stood there, looking through the crack in the window for a long time.

Early the next morning, Aunt Liu and Changdi hurried out again after breakfast. Chen Lan and his mother-in-law Jiang practiced swords in the garden as usual, and then went to the hot springs together. But before they came out of the hot springs, Aunt Yun hurriedly ran over, and said with a shocked face that there was news from the Yangzhou Mansion that there were local widows who had burned a village. Hearing such news, Chen Lan immediately raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"I see."

"Wolver? I've never heard of the Japanese in those years in Jiangnan, this time it's really strange" The Jiang family was also quite calm, and when they saw Aunt Yun retreating, they couldn't help frowning, "The Japanese and North Korea both pay tribute every year and salute every year, I heard that the country is peaceful for a long time, and it is very peaceful, how can you be so bold to harass our Chu Dynasty?" ”

"That's what my mother said."

Chen Lan saw that the Jiang clan was not worried about Yang Jinzhou at all, but felt that this Japanese Bandit was weird, and couldn't help but think of the Wolf Rebellion in another time and space that once caused trouble along the entire coast...... That's right, when the imperial court has never forbidden the sea, and the remnants of the subordinates of the Duke of Chu are very likely to have crossed the sea to the island countries of Japan and Korea, how can there still be Japanese invaders? King Jing's indecent face suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, and she immediately picked up a handful of water and poured it on her body.

She can't take care of the war, she just needs to deal with the current stubble. At least something, she had to try to get it back, that was the only thing she could do, and what she should do.

A few days of hot spring recuperation, every day is a specially prepared medicinal diet according to the prescription, plus the mother-in-law supervises the body, although he has to receive guests from time to time, but Chen Lan still feels that his cheeks are gradually plumped up every time he looks in the mirror. I just hated that there were no scales accurate to the decimal point in later generations, and she couldn't know how much weight she had gained, but the ease of her body and the ease of breathing were obvious.

After soaking in the hot springs that day, but there were no more guests in the morning, she calmly studied the books in the study, and wrote and drew on the white paper with great interest. Several girls all knew her habits, walking lightly, not to mention, serving tea, pouring water and handing snacks were almost imperceptible, only the sound of Jun'er playing the guzheng was faintly heard on the opposite side. It's not that skilled, but it's at least refreshing to listen to. Therefore, the pieces of paper were thrown into the paper basket after she drew a mess, and in a short time they were half full.

Just when Chen Lan spent the whole morning comfortably and was about to have lunch, someone from outside suddenly came to report that Mrs. Jiang was coming. Hearing that it was the Jiang family patriarch who had only left her with the impression of being ruined, she was a little surprised, but she put down her pen and tilted her head for a moment of silence, and then asked, "What did the old lady say?" ”

The old lady said that since she had chosen to come before lunch, she was mentally prepared to be turned away. She should have come forward, but she couldn't lift the spirit at the moment, and it was all up to her wife. Speaking of this, Aunt Yun bent down slightly again and said in a low voice, "Mrs. Haojiao learned that Mrs. Jiang didn't seem to be in the carriage that came before, and the carriage was stamped with the imprint of the Jiang family's local shop in Yangzhou. ”

"So, she has been living with Jiang Shilang for the past few days......" Chen Lan thoughtfully flicked the handrail with his fingers, and then nodded and said, "Go and please, set up a meal in the water pavilion on the east side of the hot spring path in Ermen, and directly invite her in to sit first." ”

Waiting for Aunt Yun to take the order and leave, Chen Lan changed into clothes to meet guests, and went to the Westinghouse to see the Jiang family first, but no one was there. When she learned that her mother-in-law had led Jun'er to a small river leading to the Slender West Lake to go boating, she was immediately dumbfounded, and after thinking for a while, she decided to meet the guests. All the way to the water pavilion, when she saw that except for a few girls who obviously belonged to Wanquan Villa, Mrs. Jiang was standing there alone, she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

"Why do you treat guests like this?"

"Madame's anger, I withdrew from the crowd." Mrs. Jiang stepped forward to salute as she spoke, and after straightening her waist, she said in a difficult voice, "I said those words in a daze before, but today Madame still does not hesitate to see her, I am grateful in my heart, and I dare not let these idle people pollute Madame's ears and eyes again." ”

This is very different from the previous time. Chen Lan motioned to Aunt Yun to step forward and help the person up, and looked at it carefully for a while, now Mrs. Jiang seemed to be a lot haggard again, she couldn't help but speculate in her heart, and said in her mouth: "Mrs. is serious, there were too many people that day, I just mentioned it casually." It's lunchtime, so whatever you say, but please have a meal. ”

When Mrs. Jiang was seated, Chen Lan cleaned her hands first, and Aunt Yun on the side led a few girls to remove the lid bowls and bowls covered on the porcelain bowls and plates one by one, and then handed over the bowls. In the past, Chen Lan accompanied the Jiang family to eat, often without so many rules, laughter and laughter, and sometimes even choked on the spot in a gaffe. But now the meal was eaten, but there was no sound, and the room was so quiet that it seemed that even a needle could be heard on the ground.

Chen Lan was already hungry before, so she was afraid that Mrs. Jiang Da would disagree and play some unbearable drama, so she simply filled her stomach this time and got down to business. At this time, she was about eight minutes full, so she put down her chopsticks, took the snow-white handkerchief and wiped her mouth, washed her hands again, and then raised her head to look at Mrs. Jiangda.

"Let them keep it here and clean it up, and the eldest lady will walk with me, even if it is to eat."

Mrs. Jiang was naturally full of responses, and when she left the house, she deliberately looked back, and saw that several people over there were busy working, but no one came out, and she secretly felt relieved. In any case, the less people see the scene in the meeting, the less people will see it, if it doesn't come to this, why would she be like this?

This Wanquan Villa originally did not have too many servants, but now there are female dependents living in the backyard, and the idlers and other people are naturally invisible. Leaving the water pavilion a stone's throw away, she had just passed a narrow forest path, and seeing that there were almost no people around, and there was an open space in front of her, Mrs. Jiang stopped at once.

"Lord of the county, the little woman has come this time for a matter of great importance."

Chen Lan noticed that Mrs. Jiang's footsteps were different, so she had already stopped, and after turning around at this time, she saw that Mrs. Jiang had suddenly changed her name, so she asked, "But it's okay to say." ”

"The county lord of Haining first came to Jiangnan, and he also knew the situation of the Jiang family. Although the fields in Jiangnan are fertile, the amount of land is limited after all, so in addition to having at least thousands of acres of fields, the head family often occupies a business. My father-in-law died early, and my lord stayed a little more in terms of economic favors, so the third old lady took the place of the patriarch, and this generation is decades...... The family was originally mainly engaged in cotton and weaving, but because the third old lady felt that silk weaving was profitable, he married another family, and then invested in the business of sea trade. In fact, it is said that it is sea trade, but we collect porcelain, tea and other goods in one place in the south of the Yangtze River, and sell them to a fleet at a price of 20%, and then they put spices, glass mirrors, Japanese knives, and looms...... There are other things that are given to us at 20% below the market price. ”

Speaking of this, Mrs. Jiang Da involuntarily wrung the handkerchief in her hand twice, and her face was a little pale: "It sounds like this ordinary livelihood, but we make far more money than them, after all, things like glass mirrors sell a lot, so they are worthless, and we don't even have to prepare a boat to go to sea, so there is no risk at all." However, they also have conditions, that is, to let the Jiang family come forward and apply for household registration for their people in the government, and over the years, there have always been hundreds of people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang to Fujian. Not only our Jiang family, it is said that many families in all parts of Jiangnan are doing this for a living. ”

At this moment, Chen Lan was finally shocked. Whether it is a prosperous era or a troubled era, I have only heard of the hermit who has tried every possible way to remove his name from the household register, so as to escape the Ding Kou tax and forced labor, but there are few who have quietly left their household registration in this way. And if it is Mrs. Zhaojiang's words, not just three or two, but hundreds or thousands, then the problem is big. This is still a few decades now, but before, there has never been such a thing before?

"And ......" Mrs. Jiang seemed to be speechless, and lowered her voice and said, "The third old lady has always been stubborn, although I and the old man are in a long house, he doesn't let us handle many things at all. I also heard after he got drunk once, this Korea, the Wa Kingdom, and the Ryukyus...... Even Luzon in Nanyang, etc., many of them have changed dynasties in the past hundred years. When Grandmaster Tai was alive, he originally wanted to build a ship to go to the East, the West and the South Sea, but then the disaster caused Xiao Wall, so it was put on hold. Later, these small countries were always paying tribute and being obedient every day, so the court did not pursue it. I heard that those Tu Kingdom kings who have changed are all Han Chinese, but now some of them use their surnames over there, and some of them haven't changed. ”

Chen Lan had already had a rough guess before. However, when it was really confirmed that this was the truth, she was speechless for a while.

Lin Changhui and Mu Huan, the two predecessors of the two predecessors after all, killed each other, and no one ended well, she thought that this era was compared to the Ming Dynasty in history, just the border defense to consolidate the smooth flow of maritime trade, and there was no big lead, but she did not expect that a group of ancestors had already completed the colonization that many people in later generations remembered after leaving their hometowns. Now, these people have taken root in a deep climate, and they have sneaked back to the Central Plains in batches, and what they are planning should be another kind of encircling the city with the countryside...... Fortunately, the key firearms have not been lost, and fortunately, the army of the Chu Dynasty is still quite strong, but do you really want your own people to fight your own people?

"County lord, county lord?"

Despite the thousands of thoughts in his mind, Chen Lan was still shocked the first time he heard this voice. In front of Mrs. Jiang, she couldn't show too many different colors, but expressed her surprise in just the right way, and at the same time cautiously said that she couldn't believe these things, and she had to send someone to confirm it. Seeing that Mrs. Jiang didn't care about this at all, the more convinced she was that these words should be credible, and her mood was heavy.

Mrs. Jiang said so much, it was nothing more than to clear up the long house. At this time, seeing that Chen Lan roughly believed it, she struck while the iron was hot and proposed, now that the patriarch and the third old lady are so sick that they can't take care of things, and the whole clan is very dissatisfied...... If he had heard this before, Chen Lan might have laughed it off, but now it is very different.

"As long as the honorable husband can smoothly and completely control the affairs of the clan, and he also has the sincerity to apologize for his crimes, it is not that I can't say that my mother-in-law has forgiven the old things." Seeing Mrs. Jiang's happy face, Chen Lan added another sentence lightly, "I only have one, Jiang Shilang is quite capable, I hope to reuse one or two as appropriate, at least this Yangzhou affairs, don't change people." ”

This request was as simple as a snap for Mrs. Jiang, but when Jiang Shilang sent her out in the morning, she reminded her what she should say today and how she should present her feelings, and these two sides confirmed it, but she felt a little panicked in her heart, and after a long time to appease the panic of dissatisfaction, she nodded again and again in agreement.

A side brother can't be the patriarch, what are you afraid of him doing?

PS: Yes, most of the cover is uncovered...... Anyway, it's the beginning of the month, don't let me lose too much, it's too ugly, at least stay in the top fifteen, right? It only takes five votes of pink to go up, thank you. -