Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 83 Let Him Toss
Wu Chengjian opened the basket, and Liu Quan picked up the bottle of Fenjiu. Wu Chengjian took out two jade cups and filled them for each other.
Liu Quan sniffed it and said with a smile, "Good wine, good wine! This cup of Xinghua Village is not inferior to the Nv'erhong just now."
Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "It is a great honor to receive a compliment from Lord Quan. "
Liu Quan said: "How can there be three lives in one glass of wine?"
Wu Chengjian said: "In the last life, it was in the Fen River. In this life, it is in the wine glass. In the next life, it will be in our stomachs."
The two looked at each other and laughed, and drank together.
Wu Chengjian filled each other's glasses again, and Liu Quan said with a smile: "Officer Hao, you have been suffering these past few days."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "It's not bad. I live in a free cell in Guangzhou Prefecture, I eat the food sent by my sister-in-law, and I drink Nv'erhong Xinghuacun. It's not bitter, not bitter at all."
Liu Quan praised: "I like this about Hao Guan. He doesn't look embarrassed at all even when he is in trouble. If it were someone else, it would be difficult for them to smile in such a life-and-death test."
Wu Chengjian said with a smile: "Once Lord Quan comes, I'm afraid I won't be able to die."
Liu Quan smiled slightly : "So you have been waiting for me for a long time?"
"I know that Lord Quan will definitely take care of me," Wu Chengjian said, and suddenly stood up and bowed to Liu Quan, "but I am still a little surprised that Lord Quan would come in person."
"Sit down, sit down." Liu Quan gestured for Wu Chengjian to sit down, and then said: "He Zhongtang is in Beijing, but he has always been concerned about the situation in Guangzhou. So when he knew something had happened , he asked me to come here overnight. Unexpectedly, Haoguan still suffered a lot of grievances."
Wu Chengjian said: "Not really, not really."
Liu Quan said: "I just arrived in Guangzhou today, but I already know that Hao Guan has really done his best for the red goods."
Wu Chengjian said: "I have to accuse Quan Gong of this matter: I saw some clues before, so I became alert and concealed it from the Guangdong Customs and transferred the red goods to the warehouse of my father-in-law's house."
Liu Quan smiled and said, "As long as your intentions are good, this little detail is not a big deal."
Wu Chengjian said, "It's a pity. I thought of transferring the red goods just in case, but I didn't expect Governor Zhu to be so determined that he actually closed down the entire Thirteen Hongs. The red goods eventually fell into Governor Zhu's hands. Wu Chengjian failed to live up to the trust of the public, and he deserves the death penalty."
"You can't be blamed for this. In the final analysis, it was someone in Banner City who took advantage of the situation." Liu Quan said, "If Fuchang hadn't been such a coward, Master Zhu wouldn't have dared to act so rampantly in the Thirteenth Floor that day."
Wu Chengjian was in Guangzhou, so he naturally knew that the Fuchang mentioned by Liu Quan was the current general of Guangzhou. If the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi Zhu Gui was the obvious number one military and political figure in Guangdong and Guangxi, then General Fuchang of Guangzhou was the real helmsman of the Qing Dynasty in Guangdong.
Then Liu Quan said , "But with Guangxing as a guest in Qicheng, it's inevitable that Fuchang would hesitate. Alas, they are all fence-sitters, and there is no one with integrity."
Wu Chengjian humbly asked: "Excuse me, Lord Quan, who is Guangxing?"
Liu Quan said, "He is the youngest son of the former Grand Secretary Gao Jin. Originally, his Gao family was a bannerman of the Han Army Banner, but Emperor Yongzheng raised the banner and changed their surnames. Now they are the Gaojia clan of the Bordered Yellow Banner. Guangxing is the youngest son of the Gao family. He is notorious for being unlearned. He never read the books of sages since he was a child, but liked to study some unconventional knowledge. He has a ruffian flavor. Now he is a minor official in the Ministry of Rites. In the city, he was not a big shot. But who can make the current emperor like him? Now he sneaked to Guangzhou and let Fuchang treat him as a guest of honor."
Wu Chengjian was a local boss in Guangzhou. As for his understanding of the Beijing dignitaries, it was already quite good that he knew Liu Quan. Naturally, he could not know all the big and small people in the city. But after Liu Quan's words, he could guess who Guangxing was. He thought, "Someone from Emperor Jiaqing's side has come. So the one who said 'killing the chicken to scare the monkey' to my Wu family must be related to this Guangxing."
He didn't say much, but when Liu Quan saw his reaction, he knew that Wu Chengjian had guessed everything he should have guessed, and smiled again: "But no matter how much they plot, what will the result be? As long as Hao Guan doesn't speak, let alone Guangxing, even if they come to the emperor, their plot will be in vain. Am I right, Hao Guan?"
Wu Chengjian smiled bitterly and said, "I don't know what happened, how can I say anything? If they accuse me of stealing imperial treasures, I have evidence and cannot deny it. I can only plead guilty. Even if I have to be taken to Caishikou and cut into pieces someday, I can only admit it."
After hearing what Wu Chengjian said, Liu Quan laughed out loud, gave Wu Chengjian a thumbs up and said, "Hao Guan is not only a wise man, but also a good man! Lord Zhongtang and I were not wrong about him."
Wu Chengjian added: "The red goods were lost here by Wu Chengjian. Wu Chengjian has no choice but to take the blame. Even if I am sentenced to death by slow slicing, I will not complain. But even if I am guilty, my family is not guilty. If possible, please take care of my family, so that they will not suffer the misfortune with me. "
Liu Quan nodded and said, "Haoguan is not only loyal, but also filial and brotherly. Don't worry, Hezhongtang will definitely protect someone like you."
Wu Chengjian was moved when he heard this. He knew that Liu Quan's arrival would bring a turn for the better, so his words were actually a deliberate display of loyalty, but he was only trying to retreat. Unexpectedly, Liu Quan would speak so easily. He was slightly surprised and continued, "Mr. Quan, at this point, it will be difficult for me to exonerate myself. I don't have much appetite, and I just want to save my family. If I am really taken to Beijing, please arrange for me to die quickly. As for the rest, Wu Chengjian doesn't want to make things too difficult for the Lord Zhongtang."
Liu Quan said, "What are you talking about? What are you talking about! In terms of merit, you are working for the Lord Zhongtang. How can the Lord Zhongtang not protect someone who works hard? In terms of personal matters, I, Liu Quan, gave you a task to do, and you got into trouble because of it. It is rare for us to have a friendship regardless of age difference. How can I, Liu Quan, not save you?"
Wu Chengjian felt that his words did not sound like a perfunctory answer, and he could not help but be moved, so he asked, "Then, does the Lord Zhongtang have other arrangements?"
Liu Quan said: "Of course. If this matter is handed over to others, Master Zhongtang and I would not be at ease. But if Haoguan is in charge, it will be a sure thing."
Wu Chengjian said, "Please speak, Lord Quan."
Liu Quan said: "In fact, in the matter of the red goods, not only you, Haoguan, suffered on behalf of Lord Zhongtang, but Lord Zhongtang also suffered on behalf of others."
Wu Chengjian asked, "What do you mean?"
Liu Quan said, "Selling the extra items in the palace has been done by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for who knows how many years. It has become a tacit convention. After the Lord Zhongtang took office, he cannot break the convention for no reason. So, people who don't know about this matter think it's a big deal, but people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs who know about it will understand that you just took an errand for someone else. You are innocent, innocent."
Wu Chengjian asked, "What does Lord Quan mean?"
Liu Quan smiled and said, "Whether it's Cai Qinghua or Guangxing, you should do whatever they ask you to do and say whatever they ask you to say. In this case, just follow their wishes."
Wu Chengjian had a bad feeling in his heart, but he remained calm: "Mr. Quan, this... I don't quite understand."
Liu Quan glanced at Wu Chengjian and said, "Don't understand?"
Wu Chengjian shook his head: "I don't understand."
"Forget it, I'll explain it to you clearly..." Liu Quan paused, then slowly said: "What He Zhongtang meant is that you should do whatever Master Zhu thinks. They can do whatever they want. Don't they want you to get involved with Master Zhongtang? Then go ahead and get involved, and get involved to the death."
"This..." Wu Chengjian said, "Mr. Quan, I don't dare."
"Why not?" Liu Quan said, "Didn't Hubuta ask you to hand over the red goods? Didn't I order Hubuta to do the job? Didn't I, Liu Quan, come to Guangzhou to do the job under the order of He Zhongtang? Do you still doubt that my words don't represent He Zhongtang?"
"This..." Even though Wu Chengjian usually prided himself on being very smart, he couldn't tell at this moment whether Liu Quan was telling the truth or speaking sarcastically!
Wu Xiaojiu came to the Wu family's mansion in the west gate and went directly to the left courtyard. He met Ye Youyu and handed him a letter.
Ye Youyu opened the letter and took a look, feeling somewhat puzzled. This letter was written by Zhou Yijin, and it mentioned that she should visit Wu Chengjian in the near future.
Ye Youyu thought to himself, "Haven't Hao Guan and Master Zhou always been close friends? The meaning of this letter is clearly different from what Hao Guan told him before he left. Could it be... there is something else going on here?"
Ye Youyu couldn't get anything out of Wu Xiaojiu, so he asked Cai Qiaozhu to go to the backyard to meet Wu Guoying and read Zhou Yijin's letter to them.
After listening to this, Wu Guoying said, "Hao Guan has already told us not to see him again, but Master Zhou suddenly asked Xi Jiasao to go see Hao Guan, and even hinted that Xi Jiasao should persuade Hao Guan to turn from evil to good. Da Jiasao, what do you think about this?"
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Master, I know very well that although I don't know much about what's going on outside, when I went back to Daxing Street this time, I listened to my father's analysis and felt that Heshen's path should not be continued. Since Mr. Zhou has said so, Master, why don't we let Third Aunt go and persuade Haoguan."
Wu Guoying asked, "Sister-in-law Xi, what do you think?"
Although Ye Youyu thought so in his heart, he didn't say it at this time. He just followed Cai Qiaozhu's words and said, "I can't figure this out either. But I heard from Xiaojiu that Master Zhou was just sent by Master Cai to visit Hao Guan, so he just met with Hao Guan. No matter what the inside story is, it's better for me to meet Hao Guan and find out what he means, rather than us making blind guesses here."
Wu Guoying nodded slightly, but still glanced at Ye Youyu's slightly bulging belly out of the corner of her eye.
Cai Qiaozhu had served her father-in-law for many years, so she understood immediately and said, "The cell where Third Uncle lives now is fairly clean, and there is nothing sinister about it. Third Aunt won't be frightened if she goes there. And I heard that Wu Qi found a Western carriage from the warehouse, and it has saddled horses. I've ridden in that carriage before, and it's very stable as long as the road is good. It will be fine if we ride it into the city."
Wu Guoying then said, "If that's the case, then fine, Sister Xi will pack up and go see Officer Hao tomorrow."
