In the fifteenth year of Jiajing, the ninth day of September, the Double Ninth Festival.

In the early morning, light clouds, fresh breeze, slightly cool, the sun has just sprinkled all over the earth, Cao Gang Changzhou rudder Hualong Hall master water Qilin Yu Ruoshui and deputy hall master Heishui ghost Yu Hualong have led Changzhou rudder A group of old people in Changzhou Xiangyuan Wharf to wait for the arrival of a distinguished guest.

The morning glow stained the river red, and a white sail shadow sailed in the faint morning mist.

Yu Hualong shouted loudly: "Brother, here, here." ”

Yu Ruoshui: "I saw it." ”

Yu Hualong: "Brother, I heard that today's eldest prince and the eldest protector Li Jinshan, the rich man of Jia, came to Changzhou to find the eldest lady?"

Yu Ruoshui: "Don't talk nonsense. Haven't you read the letter sent by the eldest son's chief helmsman yesterday? Later, the four elders will also come to swim the canal with the old people in our Changzhou Hall to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival, and by the way, they will enjoy the autumn peonies that bloom here. Xiao Liuzi said, the helper said, I heard that our peonies are in full bloom in autumn and are very curious, so I specially ask the eldest son to appreciate them on my behalf. ”

Xiangyuan is in the east of Changzhou City, in the middle of the canal, surrounded by water on three sides, and built near the river. Since the beginning of autumn, unconsciously although the cold wind has chilled many peony gardens that enjoy the garden, there is still a "fire", showing an amazing scene, many peonies that should bloom in spring, such as fragrant jade, crane top red, Hu Hong, sea yellow, oolong and so on in this cold and windy autumn opened, a peony bloomed bright flowers on the branches, and it looked particularly bright and dazzling against the background of the dark brown soil.

Yu Hualong: "Brother, many peonies that should have bloomed in spring have bloomed bright flowers, which is a bit abnormal, and the coming year must not be simple, we have to be careful." ”

Yu Ruoshui: "Where did you come from so many nonsense, say less, don't deceive people." ”

Yu Hualong whispered: "Brother, it's not that I'm talking too much, celebrating the Double Ninth Festival is an old rule and tradition of the Cao Gang in recent decades. Like this year, it is the first time that the four elders led by the eldest prince to visit Changzhou together. ”

Yu Ruoshui did not answer.

Yu Hualong continued to whisper: "The four elders have all lived in seclusion, and they rarely care about the things in the gang, and only the four elders in the gang will gather the chief rudder. It's definitely not easy to come to Changzhou this time?"

Yu Ruoshui still didn't answer.

Yu Hualong continued to whisper: "Brother, the second son Wan Jingshuo and the third son Wan Jingtian have treated us well, the gang leader is very old, and he has been unwell recently, let the eldest son Wan Jingcheng preside over the affairs of the gang, and the four elders will be fine when they gather in Changzhou, right?"

Yu Ruoshui kicked Yu Hualong and said, "I just told you, don't talk nonsense, add one now, don't guess." The gathering of the four elders is not a simple matter, according to the rules of the gang, in addition to showing the Fengyun order, it is also necessary to help the master's warrant. ”

Yu Hualong: "You also received it." ”

Yu Ruoshui: "Yes, I received the Fengyun Order and the Helper's Warrant from the Chief Rudder yesterday. The helper instructed all affairs to be ordered by the eldest prince. ”

Yu Hualong: "It shows that something big has happened." I'll make an inquiry for you, looking for the eldest lady. Although the eldest lady was adopted by the helper, she is not only beautiful, but also has a good heart and a keen wit, which is deeply liked by the helper. The helper has been unwell recently, and the word has been passed down that whoever of the three sons finds the eldest lady will take over the Fengyun Order. ”

Yu Ruoshui did not speak.

Yu Hualong: "Big brother, you have to think about which side we are on." I heard that the eldest lady was lost in Maoshan on the third day of the seventh month, I have already sent someone to investigate, and I already have a little clue, and when I find it, I still have to decide who you want to give it to. ”

Yu Hualong wanted to say something, but Yu Ruoshui put his shoulder on him and said, "Okay, don't say more." That eldest lady is eccentric, she is a little fat girl, she is not necessarily beautiful, or you like a fat beauty like Yang Guifei. I heard that she was so tricky at home that no one liked her, so she ran away from home. The Cao Gang has been searching for more than a month but has not found it, can you find it? The eldest prince is accompanied by Li Protector, the head of the four protectors, and it will definitely not be as simple as looking for the eldest lady. Li Protector is called the rich man Jia, who is good at calculation, and we only care about obeying orders. ”

I saw a sailboat coming against the current in the faint morning mist, the river gently patted the bow of the boat, the hull of the ship slid forward like a swallow skimming the water, and while speaking, a white sail was already in front of me, and the ship had docked.

The eldest son, Wan Jingcheng, is nearly seven feet tall, fifty miles away, tall and elegant figure, wearing a purple robe embroidered with green lines, covered with an ink-colored cardigan jacket embroidered with elegant bamboo leaf patterns with snow-white piping, and a jade belt at the waist, and his jet-black hair is combed in a neat bun on the top of his head.

Wan Jingcheng stood beside Li Jinshan, the rich man of Jia, he was tall and burly, with a Chinese face, thick eyebrows and black eyebrows, a wide forehead, dense stubble, and bronzed skin, he didn't look like a rich man at first glance, and his resolute expression showed a strong will.

Yu Ruoshui and Yu Hualong hurriedly shouted: "The eldest prince is good!", "Li Protector is good!", "The eldest prince is hard!" "Li Protector is hard!" "Welcome to Changzhou to inspect." "Welcome Li Hufa to visit Changzhou. ”......

After some politeness, Yu Ruoshui and Yu Hualong immediately boarded the boat to meet them.

Yu Ruoshui: "Please eldest prince and Li Protector, please move to the grass hall to rest for a while, and when the elders arrive, we will visit together." ”

Wan Jingcheng: "The two hall masters are not polite, they are all brothers, I will stand here and wait for the elders." ”

Yu Ruoshui: "We received a warrant from the helper yesterday afternoon, prepared overnight, and specially rented a flower boat in Wanliu Lane according to your wishes, so as to facilitate your visit." ”

Wan Jingcheng said thoughtfully: "What do I mean? The flower boat in Wanliu Lane is very good and interesting." ”

Li Jinshan, the rich man of Jia, was silent, smiled slightly, and his resolute expression was intimidating.

After a while, I saw from a distance the four elders of the iron-faced Arhat Wang Yunbo, Yunzhong Yan Su Yunqing, Yujiaolong Deng Yunhe, and the cold-faced tiger Gao Chengqi were hurrying over.

Wan Jingcheng walked ashore from his sailboat to greet the four elders, followed by Li Protector.

Wan Jingcheng greeted the four elders and walked up quickly with a smile: "You have worked hard for the elders, what are the gains?"

Wang Yunbo: "Get a word." At dawn, Hutu, who had a long beard, quietly came to my room and stood in front of my bed and told me. ”

The eldest prince: "A word?"

Wang Yunbo: "Yes, in a word. ”

Wang Yunbo wanted to speak and stopped, handed the eldest prince a note, and looked at the eldest prince silently, looking at the two Yu Ruoshui brothers.

Wan Jingcheng smiled and changed the subject: "How do you feel?

Wang Yunbo: "We received the Fengyun Order and the Helper's warrant from the helm, and then received a handwritten letter from your little servant Huang Si, Yunqing, Yunhe and I arrived last night, and lived in the Liuhua Inn according to your arrangement, everything is as expected by the eldest prince, Wanliu Lane is not simple." Fortunately, Elder Su has deep internal strength, and last night he inadvertently shattered the white jade carved wine glass with internal force on the wine table, and found that the white jade carved wine glass was secretly carved empty medicine, otherwise, I don't know if a few of our old bones can have the life to come here. ”

Yu Ruoshui glanced at Yu Hualong with his afterglow, and thought, "The three elders arrived yesterday, we don't know at all, it seems that what we have to solve today is not a trivial matter." Get a word. What kind of sentence should be so mysterious, and the three elders should go in person?"