Volume 1: Mission in Danger Chapter 36: Road Blockage
Wu Chengjian left Shenxianzhou and ignored the looks of others along the way.
He took a small boat to the shore, where a carriage had been arranged to take him.
This area is not within the city of Guangzhou, so the curfew is not so strict. However, because it is densely populated and home to many wealthy and powerful people, there are still regular patrols. On the way, we encountered two groups of detectives on night patrol.
In the past, when the Wu family’s lanterns were displayed, people who were familiar with them might come forward to make a joke and ask for a reward, but those who were not familiar with them would never dare to rashly step forward to offend them. However, today, the second group of night patrol detectives were so "blind" that they stepped forward and wanted to inspect the carriage.
Wu Qi said angrily: "Inspecting the carriages and horses? Don't you have eyes? Don't you see this lantern?"
The constable smiled and said, "I came here just because I saw the lanterns."
Wu Qi was so angry outside the car that he jumped up and down. Even if the Wu family was really going to fall, would it be the turn of these shrimp soldiers and crab generals to bully them? He was about to explode, but Wu Chengjian said in the car: "Ah Qi, stop it! The officer is also acting according to the rules."
The constable chuckled and said, "He who knows the current situation is a hero, and the Third Young Master knows how to act. Then please get out of the car, and we will see if there is anything prohibited in the car."
Wu Qi was so angry that his lungs were about to explode, but Wu Chengjian said, "Okay , I'll get off."
Before the curtain of the carriage was lifted, a group of people quickly approached, holding up lanterns and shining them. The constable's face changed, and the arrogant attitude on his face was restrained. He shouted, "Captain Zhou."
It was the Nanhai County Constable Lao Zhou who came over quickly. He was an experienced official and only needed to take a glance to know what was going on. He slapped the constable hard in the face and cursed, "You have no eyesight. You didn't even see whose carriage this is!"
The constable was slapped in the face and half of his face was swollen, but he didn't dare to say a word.
Wu Chengjian said: "Forget it, Lao Zhou, it's not that he has no vision, it's that he has too good vision."
Lao Zhou drove away the men who tried to stop him and went to get the horse himself. Wu Chengjian rushed out half of his body, held his hand and said, "Lao Zhou, you can't do that!"
Old Zhou smiled and said, "If you still have the same attitude as half a month ago, even if you break my hands and feet, I, Old Zhou, will never lead your horse or drive your carriage. But today I will lead your horse. I want to let everyone in Xiguan know that there are still a few people in Guangdong who don't take advantage of others!"
Wu Chengjian's eyes suddenly turned red, and he let go of his hand. Lao Zhou pushed Wu Chengjian back to the carriage, and really led the horse and drove the carriage, escorting Wu Chengjian all the way to the gate of the Wu family mansion. Wu Chengjian wanted to invite him in for a drink, but Lao Zhou said, "Tonight is not the time to drink. Wait until your Wu family has overcome the difficulties, and then I will come to ask for a drink."
"Okay!" Wu Chengjian said, "I will prepare a feast for you. We will have wine and meat, and you will not leave until you are drunk."
Old Zhou shook his head: "You are used to being a second-generation rich man, and now you are still talking about money. In fact, as long as you are safe and sound, I will be happy for you even if you only treat me to a glass of wine."
Wu Chengjian was stunned. He had always been domineering towards people and things, and never showed weakness even when facing danger. But at this moment, he felt hot on his face and ashamed in his heart after hearing Lao Zhou's two plain words - the other party treated him with affection, but he had to repay him with wine and meat. What he said was wrong. When he looked up again, Lao Zhou had already taken his people away.
"Old Zhou is such a hero!" Wu Qi said, "The heroes in "Water Margin" are just like this at best. How does the saying go? Most of the chivalrous ones are butchers, right, Third Master?"
Wu Chengjian shook his hand: "Some words and some people, just remember them in your heart. Let's go in."
The atmosphere in the Wu family mansion was very depressing. It seemed that even the cats couldn't muster up the energy. Cai Qiaozhu was in charge of the inner house, and she didn't allow any panic. However, she could suppress the servants' panic, but she couldn't help their panic.
Chunrui was guarding the gatehouse, her makeup was messed up under her eyes, probably because she had been crying. It was autumn, sometimes hot during the day, but cold at night. The wind was strong here, Wu Chengjian took out her hand and held it, it was so cold that it seemed like there was no temperature at all.
Wu Chengjian rubbed her twice. Chunrui said with a choked voice, "Don't worry about me. What's the big deal? Go to the backyard quickly. The master is waiting."
Wu Chengjian wanted to go to the right courtyard first. Chunrui saw the direction of his footsteps from behind and said, "The eldest young lady is also in the backyard."
A small stove was lit in the room in the backyard in advance because it seemed particularly cold that night, as if the cold air came suddenly.
Yang Yi Niang and several older maids followed to stay in the room, accompanying the master and the eldest young mistress. Even in an emergency, Cai Qiaozhu couldn't stay alone in the father-in-law's room, and let so many people accompany her to avoid suspicion. But Yang Yi Niang was already yawning.
Seeing Wu Chengjian coming, everyone who should leave left one by one. Aunt Yang also went to sleep with bleary eyes.
Wu Chengjian saw Aunt Yang also retreated and asked, "Where is the second brother? He's not here."
Wu Guoying said: "He waited until the second watch, and I saw that he was yawning, so I sent him to bed."
Wu Chengjian couldn't help but sigh. His second brother didn't have the wisdom and perseverance to do great things, but he had the ambition to do it on his own. It was really annoying.
Wu Guoying suffers from rheumatism. Every year when the spring tide comes and the north wind blows, he suffers from knee pain. Wu Chengjian thinks about the cold wind outside and moves the stove closer to the old man so that the hot air can be directed to his knees.
Wu Guoying waved her hand and said, "Don't bother with these unimportant things. As long as our Wu family still has a chance of survival, it doesn't matter if these legs are broken due to pain."
Wu Chengjian didn't respond, not even a word of comfort.
Cai Qiaozhu, who was standing next to her, couldn't help herself any longer and used her silk handkerchief to cover her mouth and nose. The night was so quiet that even her sobs could be heard.
Wu Guoying slapped the chair leg: "Why are you crying! Why are you crying!"
Cai Qiaozhu held her breath to stop the strange noise.
Wu Guoying asked, "Is it true that Master Cai caused trouble in Shenxianzhou?"
Wu Chengjian nodded.
Wu Guoying said: "The matter of Lu Guanhuan entering the Governor's Office and Ye Dalin entering the Supervisory Office..."
Wu Chengjian said: "I also heard this from others, but I think it must be true."
Lu Guanhuan had been in close contact with the Guangdong and Guangxi Governor's Office since Changlin was in office, and many related matters were handled very smoothly. Although Changlin was gone, there were still many middle and lower-level personnel related to the Governor's Office. Zhu Gui needed people to do things, and Lu Guanhuan was able to do things. In addition, he had an old foundation in the middle and lower levels of the Governor's Office, so it was natural for him to be accepted by the new governor again.
Therefore, Wu Chengjian did not mention Lu Guanhuan's matter, but only said: "Once the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi arrived, the power of the Governor of Guangdong was greatly reduced. The Guangzhou General and the Guangzhou Prefect were all unable to suppress Jishan. Moreover, Jishan had Heshen's support behind him. My future father-in-law has nothing to do with the Governor-General's Office. If the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi cannot be asked, then asking other dignitaries is not as reliable as asking Jishan."
Wu Guoying patted the armrests, "But we are going to be in-laws! We are going to be in-laws! He just abandoned us and went to find Jishan by himself... How could Ye Dalin have the nerve to do this? How could he be so cruel! "
"Humph, I knew the Ye family was no good! Besides..." Wu Chengjian said, "I didn't hear the Yang family crying with my own ears, but I heard that everyone in Xiguan heard it. Looking at this living example, who would dare to take risks? The life and death of the entire family is just a matter of marriage, which can be lost at any time."
Wu Guoying was silent for a long while before saying, "Officer Hao, tell me the truth... Is there nothing you can do?"
Wu Chengjian said: "Yes."
"Oh?" Wu Guoying urged: "Tell me quickly, tell me quickly!"
Wu Chengjian said: "First, retrieve the tea leaves. Second, let Jishan find another family in the 'Top Six' to kill. If that's the case, not only can we escape the disaster, but we can even take advantage of the chaos to get a piece of the pie - that number is not enough to kill the Yang family, but we can kill another 'Top Six' family. And the higher the ranking of the 'Top Six', the more we will get."
Cai Qiaozhu's eyes lit up: "Uncle San, have you found any clues about tea?" She was so happy that she even asked in front of her father-in-law in a somewhat rude manner, but Wu Guoying did not blame her.
"No." Wu Chengjian said: "The other party did it very cleanly. The three teams from the South China Sea have been dispatched secretly, but they didn't find any clues."
Cai Qiaozhu said: " Then as for Master Jishan... do you have any hidden clues?"
"No." Wu Chengjian said, "Before, we mainly contacted through General Merchant Cai, and we usually offered tributes through Hutabu. Before my eldest brother fell ill, he always disliked these things, so we did not intervene in the disputes in the backyard of Jishan's family. My brother didn't like it. Besides, if we suddenly bypassed the Cai family to do such a thing, we were afraid that it would backfire. Anyway, Hutabu has a good relationship with our family, and Jishan has a good impression of Yihe Bank through him, so I didn't move before Hutabu got into trouble. But when Hutabu suddenly fell ill, I felt that Galau was a little strange to us, and it was too late to take any action."
"If this is the case..." Wu Guoying looked at the roof and sighed, "The disaster is coming..." He said to Wu Chengjian, "You go to the door and guard it. You don't have to close it."
Wu Chengjian responded without asking any questions and walked to the door. Only Wu Erliang was guarding the door, and he didn't close it. Then he heard the old man say, "Sister-in-law, our Wu family is sorry for you."
When Cai Qiaozhu heard this, she couldn't help crying anymore. Wu Chengjian didn't look back, but he guessed that Cai Qiaozhu must be kneeling in front of Wu Guoying at this moment.
Wu Guoying said again: "From all the signs today, it seems that the news from your in-laws is indeed true. It is natural for them to keep you. If the Wu family really collapses, no one will be able to survive. Since you came into the family, you have been supporting your husband and children, and being filial to your parents-in-law. You are truly a good daughter-in-law of our Wu family. But our Wu family has not allowed you to live a good life. Instead, you have been busy managing accounts day and night. Now that the big ship is about to capsize, it is better for you to find an excuse to go back to Daxin Street..."
