The bear child of the Red Chamber, Jia Cong

Chapter 575

Someone spent 50 taels of silver to ask three Taoist priests to go to the Jingzhou magistrate's house in the middle of the night to break the villain's spell, and let them be caught by thieves.Dong Sheng, a traveling scholar who passed by, cupped his hands to Su Tao and said, "The late student must ask the three priests something."

The three Taoist priests said repeatedly: "Excuse me, sir!" Su Tao agreed.

Dong Sheng asked the person who hired them about his appearance, clothes, shoes, accent, etc., and asked for pen and ink to draw a picture of the person.At the end he said: "This is from Wu, and he is in charge of a big merchant in Jingzhou. His family often goes to Wu to do cloth business."

Su Tao was stunned: "How can I see that? According to what the three priests said, that person spoke some Jingzhou dialect."

Dong Sheng said: "This place is Jingzhou. It is very common for business people to learn some other local dialects. That person also speaks a lot of Wu local dialects. And," he pointed to the portrait, "the appearance is the appearance of Wu people." Pointing to the clothes of the man in the portrait, "According to what the priests said, this should be brocade."

Su Tao was startled: "Yunjin?"

Dong Sheng nodded: "The outside is covered with cloth clothes, and the inside is covered with brocade. The brocade in the south of the Yangtze River is not affordable for ordinary people. However, this person's behavior is vulgar, and there are mud spots on his shoes. It can be seen that he is not a son of a rich family pretending to be a poor guy. If the boss If I pretend to be a buddy, I will definitely pay attention not to wear brocade. I think this person is not pretending, it is his usual appearance."

Su Tao couldn't help but follow him and asked, "How do you know that the cloth merchant is in charge?"

Dong Sheng said: "If it wasn't his boss who was in the cloth business, how could he afford to wear brocade? The man certainly couldn't afford it. Only the steward, taking the opportunity to hide his ideas is quite cheap. He wants to show off to others, but he is afraid that his boss will be unhappy. I took advantage of the opportunity to go to Taihuiguan to do business and secretly wore it inside. Besides, Wu Guobu. Only big merchants would hire Wu Guo to manage affairs, and ordinary small shopkeepers don’t need to spend that money.”

Su Tao stroked his beard and nodded: "It makes sense."

Dong Sheng said: "Since he is a sorcerer specially employed by Mr. Su's house - 50 taels of silver is not a small amount, it is enough for two or three poor families to live for a year - please think about it, sir, but I know that I often go to Wu to make cloth There are no big businessmen who don’t pay attention to 50 taels.”

"Hiss—" Su Tao immediately thought of his aunt's brother, and he was the big cloth merchant he had the most connection with.

He was thinking about it, when someone below shouted loudly: "Could it be the rich man! The elder sister of the rich man is Master Su's concubine, and she has a son and a daughter!"

Another said: "Then the rich man is Mr. Su's brother-in-law? My brother-in-law hired Taoist priests for my brother-in-law's family?"

The one in the front said: "Then why did he hide it from his brother-in-law?" Everyone started discussing immediately.

Dong Sheng smiled: "From this point of view, it is probably an adult's housework, and the rest of the late students dare not speak nonsense." Nai bowed to the ground and retreated.

Immediately someone asked him in the hall: "Mr. Dong, what do you think is the reason?"

Dong Sheng smiled and frowned: "I don't know."

The man tugged at him and said, "Sir, with his appearance, he clearly guessed it. Sir, let's hear it."

Dong Sheng blinked innocently and said, "Why did you guess that? The backyard of a big family is more lively than the court. Master Su's wife has sons and daughters, and the little wife also has sons and daughters, and her natal family has money. If you can play chess, you will meet your opponent. "

A young man emerged from the crowd, looked up at Dong Sheng and said innocently: "Mr. Dong, guess what, I really want to know!"

Dong Sheng said: "Where can you guess casually? There is no evidence." He cupped his hands, looked back at Su Tao who was frowning, shook his head again, sighed softly, turned and left.The people around were curious, and several of them followed him out, and the boy was among them.

After leaving the yamen, several people immediately surrounded Dong Sheng, begging him to guess.Dong Sheng just said nothing, saying that he would wake up late and not have breakfast yet.The young man smiled and said, "I invite you to have breakfast." Another person shouted: "Why are you joining in the fun, kid? I invite me to invite!" Another one also shouted: "You are not allowed to grab, I invite you!"

Dong Sheng smiled and made a group bow: "Don't bother you to spend money, Wan Sheng can just eat some snacks as he pleases."

The crowd refused to disperse and surrounded him.Dong Sheng led seven or eight idlers to find a small stall on the side of the street and asked for a bowl of rice noodles, and the idlers also ordered some food and sat down around him.Dong Sheng had no choice but to say, "I guessed."

Everyone nodded vigorously: "I know! I just want to hear Mr. Guess."

Dong Sheng said: "Even I, a foreigner who has just arrived in Jingzhou, heard that the prefect of Su is going to marry a local rich family named Deng, so there is a son of the Deng family who is a high-ranking official in Beijing, right?"

"That's right! The Deng family is a big family here."

"And this marriage is obviously the Deng family who took the best advantage. The old man of the Su family is a great scholar in the world, and the Deng family is only better than the squire. The daughter of the prefect of Su who is engaged to the Deng family, in terms of status, if the world is not divided, the prince A concubine should also be a concubine. When Su Zhifu agreed to the marriage, he was either in a daze, or he liked the son of the Deng family very much, or he was away from Beijing all the year round, and he didn't know what his status was, and he only regarded himself as an ordinary From the prefect of the fourth rank." Now the rice noodles came, Dong Sheng lowered his head and started to eat.

Someone asked: "Isn't Mr. Su a fourth-rank prefect?"

Dong Sheng said slowly: "In the early years when the Supreme Emperor was still in power, all the princes knew that the three households of the Rongguo Mansion won the world. Having them is like having all of Kong Ming, Zhou Yu and Xun Yu in their pockets. The three most respected people are their two sons. Mr. Wei, Shangshu Lin Hai of the First Household Department, and Su Zheng, a scholar of the Imperial Academy. In other words, whichever prince marries Lin Hai's daughter and Su Zheng's granddaughter will properly wear the crown prince's golden crown on his head. If not' The disaster of the four generals messing up the capital, Su Tao had to be transferred to the capital immediately after the death of the first emperor. Even if he is now in the cabinet, even if he is not in the cabinet, there must be a minister. Think about it, the status of the uncle of the Deng family can marry Is Shangshu Qianjin? Even if Lord Shangshu agrees, will the princes and the big families in Beijing agree?" He bowed his head and ate rice noodles.

"Wow..." All the idlers usually gossip and gossip about widows and prostitutes in the streets, so why have they ever chewed the prince's Shangshu's tongue?Then he became excited with joy.The young man remained silent for a long time, and said: "It's just that the world has been divided, Su Tao has not been promoted for many years."

Dong Sheng smiled and said: "If he wants to be promoted——if Boss Su wants him to be promoted, he will be able to enter Beijing right now."

The young man pouted: "Forget it, the situation in the world is still unclear. Mr. Dong, do you think this marriage will work?"

Dong Sheng said: "Success can be achieved, people have to be changed. If the Deng family doesn't quit the engagement quickly, they will be targeted by the powerful in the blink of an eye."

A man with white face and short beard clapped the table and said: "Can the Deng family be afraid of them?"

Dong Sheng said leisurely: "If you are afraid, you may not be afraid, but you die quickly. A three-year-old child is passing through the market with gold, and he doesn't know how he died. Now that the king of Chu is in decline, he can't protect them at all; if the king of Chu didn't In decline, Miss Su will not be in the Deng family's turn."

The white-faced man said: "The marriage is already engaged, Mr. Su made it himself, what else can others do?"

Dong Sheng said casually: "Master Su is interested in Uncle Deng, not the Deng family. What if Uncle Deng was walking on the road and suddenly died of fright?"

"Boom..." There was another burst of discussion among the crowd.

Dong Sheng took a bite of the rice noodles before saying, "It's very easy to kill a person in the hands of the prince and the big family in Beijing. The Deng family has lived in Jingzhou for a long time and it is rare to find an opponent. No one has dealt with them or others like this before." Any one of them can take Uncle Deng’s life right away.” Nai shook his head and said, “How dare you do porcelain work without diamonds? Don’t you think it’s too long?”

The boy squinted his eyes and looked at Dong Sheng: "Are you really here to study?"

Dong Sheng smiled and said, "Do you think I look like me?"

The boy also smiled and said, "It's not like that. Which prince sent you?"

Dong Sheng said: "The master has not been chosen yet." The boy's eyes moved, and Dong Sheng said, "It's because I haven't chosen a master yet." The boy tilted his head and looked at him.Dong Sheng then stretched out his arm to look at the watch on his hand, and said to himself, "It's already this time, I don't need to have lunch today." The eyes of this group of idlers including the teenagers were all wide open.Western watches, imported from Lingnan in the past six months.Naturally, there is nothing expensive to say, and the source of goods is almost all in the hands of the Wang family in Lingnan——Wang Ziteng, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.

The young man took a deep breath and said slowly, "Does Master Wang also want to join in the fun?"

Dong Sheng shook his head and said, "Master Wang's family is engaged. He just heard about the western chocolate recipe, so he came to win over the Su family." Instead, he looked around at the idlers, "Everyone knows the western chocolate. Table. As far as I know, this thing is only sold in Guangzhou, Beijing, and Ping'an Prefecture, and has not been sold in Jingzhou City. It turns out that everyone is the same and has an owner." Everyone immediately looked at each other with suspicion in their eyes.Dong Sheng stood up and made a group bow, "Thank you for treating Wansheng as a talent. You are still thinking about helping the lord recruit talents when you are on business outside. You are all good ministers."

The boy couldn't help laughing: "Mr. Dong is indeed a talent."

Dong Sheng smiled and said: "The late one has a master. Also, Mr. Wang's eldest granddaughter is ten years old." Everyone couldn't help taking a deep breath.This Dong Sheng has obviously admitted that his superior is Wang Ziteng, and this is also the idea of ​​marriage, but it is not for Miss Su, and he wants to be Miss Su's brother.This is to warn other people that the old man of the Su family has been targeted by the Wang family, so don't come and grab him if you have nothing to do.Dong Sheng said again, "Everyone came to Jingzhou from all over the world to join in the fun. I know that all the lords have heard about Miss Su's prescription and have come to try to trick her. There are so many wolves, tigers and leopards. If the Deng family doesn't hurry up and annul the engagement That's too late."

The boy asked: "Then what should Miss Su do?"

Dong Sheng spread his hands and said: "There is nothing wrong with the Wang family, whoever has the ability will take it." The young man smiled and shook his head.

An idler asked: "Why did the Wang family think of attacking the Su family until now? If you do it early, you can be the first."

Dong Sheng said: "Didn't the news about the chocolate recipe come out in the past few months? The Wang family's surname is not Situ, so why snatch Su Zheng's granddaughter?"

The white-faced man said: "In this way, Miss Su must be the concubine of the world?"

Dong Sheng said: "It's fine to be an idler. A wife is fine. You can't get married anyway, or you will be a widow." The white-faced man's face turned green.

Everyone fell silent suddenly, and Dong Sheng took the opportunity to eat rice noodles.After he had finished eating, everyone wanted to talk. Dong Sheng rubbed his stomach and said, "I'm not full." He ordered another bowl of three fresh noodles.

The young man said before the others: "I have been gossiping for a long time, but Mr. Dong still hasn't said how you guessed this case today."

Dong Sheng said with a smile: "What I said just now is not an original opinion. Many people know it—probably only the Deng family doesn't know it. After all, life is too smooth, there is no sense of crisis, and money has gone to the head. Birds of wealth die for food." He sighed again, "Miss Su is really a good person. You must have heard the gossip on the street today, it is what Miss Su herself said." Everyone was silent, Apparently they've all heard of it.

The young man pondered: "Mr. Dong thought it was Miss Su who released it herself?"

Dong Sheng nodded and said: "She also specially wore a fancy dress to go out to the banquet, all to warn the Deng family that they can't afford to marry her. Seeing that all the lords and the rich businessmen of the country have sent people to Jingzhou, as long as the Deng family is not confused, it won't be long. It is time to discuss the divorce with the Su family. Su Tao is a gentleman, so he will inevitably be embarrassed. The Deng family can take this opportunity to discuss another marriage with the Su family. The Deng family cannot afford to marry Miss Su, and the other two concubine girls should marry worth it."

The boy blinked and said, "So, what rich man?"

Dong Sheng said: "Since rich man He can become a rich man, he must have some vision or recognize some people with vision. The backyard fight is no less than that of the previous court. Kick out the opponent, and the position is his own. The rich man's niece and daughter and Mr. Su's younger daughter is not much different in age, and both girls have the opportunity to marry into the Deng family." He paused, "Since ancient times, witchcraft has been a serious crime in the backyard of the harem."

The white-faced man immediately said: "You suspect that rich man He is another concubine who is a troublemaker and framed Mr. Su for his niece?"

At this moment, the Sanxian noodles were also served. Dong Sheng took a mouthful of noodles and said, "Think about it, if the three priests are not caught as thieves, what will happen next. Remember, who are they?" The family paid 50 taels of silver to ask for it. 50 taels of silver is a lot of money~~" He took two more bites, "Oh, this rich man is a rich man, Mr. Su's other concubine doesn't have a rich uncle, right?"

The white-faced man sneered and said, "This is nothing more than an upstart who has made a fortune in recent years."

Dong Sheng said: "Then I dare say that the inner courtyard of the Su family is not sure how many servants the rich man's sisters have bought. It is easy to bury a witch doll in the courtyard."

A man in black clothes who had been silent all this time laughed and said, "Mr. Dong thinks highly of that nouveau riche."

"Huh?" Dong Sheng looked at him sideways, "What's your opinion, brother?"

The man said: "I think that the surname He and his sister are not the masters of the high-rise building. What Mr. Dong said just now is to judge the belly of a fool with the heart of a genius. Witch Gu is a witch Gu, but it is not aimed at Mr. Su." The concubine went to Miss Su."

"Ah?" Dong Sheng put down his chopsticks, "Brother, are you kidding me? Then Miss Su is the half lady of Rongguo Mansion!"

The man in black clothes said: "I heard that Miss Su is as extravagant as she was in Beijing after coming to Jingzhou, but she is not willing to give some clothes and jewelry to Mrs Su's concubine and give birth to a sister." He paused.

Dong Sheng was busy eating noodles, so the white-bearded man couldn't help asking: "So what?"

The man in Xuanyi said slowly: "Envy, jealousy, hatred, and greed. Just like the Deng family thought that as long as Miss Su was married back, they would be able to get Chocolate Fangzi and help from the Rongguo Mansion; then the rich man's sister also felt that , as long as Miss Su is moved down, her clothes, jewelry, and even her marriage can become her own and her daughter's. They never thought about whether their family would have such a big blessing." He spread his hands and said, " Don't be surprised, that's what fools think."

Dong Sheng bit his face a few times and thought, "It seems to make sense." After a while, he laughed again, "The comparison between Deng's family and Mr. He's sister is vivid and close. Generally, I don't know my own weight. "The white-bearded man's face turned as red as a pig's liver.