Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 612 Fire
After checking the token and finding no problem, the other party bowed to Kang Youfu, then took out the secret letter from his arms and handed it to him.

After receiving the secret letter, Kang Youfu did not open it immediately, but carefully checked the sealing wax on it. Only after confirming that the sealing wax was correct did he nod.

"Thank you for your hard work on the journey." Kang Youfu said, and was about to ask someone to accommodate the other party, but the other party refused.

"The letter has been delivered. I have my own place to go. Manager Kang, take your leave." The other party bowed and then turned and left.

Kang Youfu did not stop him and watched the other person leave. After the other person's figure disappeared into the distance, Kang Youfu closed the door and bolted it. Then he hurried to the table, sat down, took out a knife, removed the sealing wax, and then opened the letter.

The letter was written in secret, and this method of secret writing was a rule set by Zhu Shenzhui.

Kang Youfu first glanced at the first line of words in the letter, then found a book from the bookshelf next to him, opened the book and translated the contents written in secret in the letter.

After half an hour, the contents of the letter were all translated. Kang Youfu read it carefully and was shocked. His face changed drastically.

He never expected that the letter would contain such content, let alone such a thing. Kang Youfu could not help but panic for a moment, and stood up to go out, but he stopped after taking a step, frowning and thinking.

Logically speaking, this situation must be reported to Zhu Shencui immediately, but Zhu Shencui is currently in Mongolia. Even if he rushes from Pingyang to Guihua, it will take at least half a month, and by that time the opportunity will be lost.

After thinking for a while, Kang Youfu finally made up his mind. He quickly packed up the things on the table, especially the secret letter including the translated contents, which he hid close to his body. Then he opened the door and called people to come in and make arrangements one by one.

Mongolia, naturalized city.

Zhu Shenzhui and Tana were talking to Qiao'er in Wang Hai's house.

This residence was once the residence of a general under Bu Shitu. After taking over Guihua City, the residences of these Bu Shitu nobles naturally became the property of Zhu Shenzui, and he gave them to his own people. Because this place was closest to the Khan's palace, it became Wang Hai's residence.

Wang Hai didn't want it at first, but Zhu Shenzhui forced it on him. Fortunately, he accepted the residence, otherwise he and Qiao'er would have no place to settle down after they got married. As early as when Wang Hai and Qiao'er were in Daming, Zhu Shenzhui, who returned to Guihua first, had the house renovated as their new home after marriage. The decorations and appliances inside were basically in accordance with Daming customs, which was also because Qiao'er would inevitably feel homesick after arriving in Guihua City.

Qiao'er has been in Guihua City for a year. She got familiar with the place quickly and had no problems with acclimatization. After all, Shanxi belongs to the north. Although it is some distance away from the grassland, the climate is somewhat similar. In addition, Guihua City is the only big city in the grassland. As long as you stay in the city and live in it, it is basically not much different from being in Shanxi.

Qiao'er and Wang Hai have a good relationship and their married life is sweet. Although Wang Hai, as an important general of the Tengger tribe, often leaves for naturalization, Qiao'er never complains about it, but stays at home to do her duty and wait for her husband's return.

Tana took good care of Qiao'er because of Zhu Shenzui, although Qiao'er was a little uncomfortable with having an aunt. And not only an aunt, but also two cousins. One of the cousins ​​was even the master of the Tenger tribe, the Shunyi King and Jurhan of this grassland.

From being unfamiliar to gradually familiar, and now like a family, Qiaoer has also gotten used to the life here. In order to take care of her, Tana would come here from time to time to visit Qiaoer, either alone, or with Tenger and Agudamu. Perhaps because blood is thicker than water, Qiaoer felt close to these two cousins ​​the first time they met, and so did Tenger and the others, especially Tenger, who was like a little adult, as the eldest son in the family, never had brothers and sisters of the same generation, and Qiaoer's appearance made up for his regret.

Qiao'er is now pregnant, just two months old. This news makes Zhu Shenzhu extremely happy. Because Wang Hai is not in Guihua City at the moment, Zhu Shenzhu and his wife, as his uncle and aunt, naturally have to take better care of him. Not only did they send a doctor to diagnose Qiao'er and take care of her pregnancy, they also visited her often.

"This is Korean ginseng from the east. It is said to have different effects from ginseng. It can replenish vital energy, promote salivation and calm the nerves. Giving birth is like going through the gates of hell for us women. You should keep this thing. You will need it in the future." Tana handed a brocade box to Qiao'er, but Qiao'er did not take it immediately. Instead, she looked at Zhu Shenzhui. Only after she saw Zhu Shenzhui smiling and nodding at her did Qiao'er accept Tana's gift.

"Thank you, Auntie..."

"Silly child, we are all family, so why should we thank each other?" Tana said with a smile, holding Qiao'er's hand and smilingly asking her how she felt these days, whether she felt any discomfort, and if she felt bad, she must remember to tell her directly, and don't bear it by herself. This was her first child, and a woman's first child was the most important. She also talked about her feelings and experiences when she was pregnant with Tengger.

Listening to Tana's story, Qiao'er took it seriously in her heart. It took her some time to get familiar with this aunt from being a stranger in the beginning. Although she recognized Xu Jingqiu more in her heart, she was no longer repulsed by Tana's straightforward and generous personality after spending some time with her. Instead, she felt a little closer to her.

Seeing that the two of them were chatting happily, Zhu Shenzhui's face also smiled a little more. This scene was something he was happy to see. In Zhu Shenzhui's heart, Qiao'er was like his own daughter, and it was Zhu Shenzhui's wish that she could be happy. Although Qiao'er had to leave her hometown and come to Guihua because of Wang Hai, which was a bit unfair to her sister-in-law Zhang, there was nothing she could do about it. Besides, Qiao'er was here, and besides Wang Hai, he, Tana, and the children were her closest people. How could he not care?

Time flies! In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed. Qiaoer has not only grown up and married Wang Hai, but now she even has a child. In another eight months, Qiaoer and Wang Hai's child will be born. When this child is born, won't he be a grandfather?

Thinking of this, the smile on Zhu Shenzhui's lips widened a little. The seniority of the royal family did not count, but as far as their family was concerned, he had become a grandfather when he was only in his early thirties. It was a bit surprising.

Lunch was eaten with Qiao'er. Because Qiao'er was pregnant, Zhu Shenzhu specially sent the Ming Dynasty chef from the City Lord's Mansion here so that Qiao'er could spend the pregnancy better. The health of a pregnant woman is the most important thing. If she doesn't eat well, the baby in her belly will not have nutrition, and the adult will not have the strength to give birth. This is a big deal.

After lunch, seeing that Qiao'er looked a little tired, Tana, as an experienced person, naturally knew that pregnant women are sleepy, so she let Qiao'er go to rest first and left with Zhu Shenzhui.

The City Lord's Mansion is not far to the north from the house. After the two men returned to the City Lord's Mansion and sat down, before they could chat for a few words, someone came hurriedly to report that someone had sent an urgent letter from the Ming Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shenzhui hurriedly asked someone to bring the letter, and soon the letter was in Zhu Shenzhui's hands.

After opening the thick envelope, he found not one but three letters inside. When Zhu Shenzhu saw one of the letters, he immediately focused his attention because he recognized the handwriting and the opened wax seal on it at a glance. It was clearly a letter from Zhang Xijun.

As for the other two letters, they were from Kang Youfu. One of them was a translation of Zhang Xijun's secret letter, and the other was specially written by Kang Youfu to Zhu Shenzhui.

He read the translation first, and after reading it, Zhu Shenzhui frowned and looked serious. Then he continued to read Kang Youfu's letter, and after reading this letter, his expression relaxed a little, but still looked unhappy.

"What's wrong?" Tana, who was standing by, saw that Zhu Shenzhui looked a little strange after receiving the letter, and couldn't help but ask.

"Something happened in Daming..."

"Something happened? Was it the Ming Dynasty court?" Tana asked in surprise.

Zhu Shenzhui shook his head and pointed to his chest: "It's not the court, it's the business, it's Kang Youfu, and it's even me!"

Hearing this, Tana's eyes widened immediately. She didn't understand what Zhu Shenzhui meant for a moment. Zhu Shenzhui didn't explain much, but just handed the letter to Tana and let her read it herself. He stood up and walked back and forth in the room with a little anxiety.

The content of the letter sent from the Ming Dynasty surprised Zhu Shenzhui greatly and caught him off guard.

First of all, there was Zhang Xijun's secret letter. Zhang Xijun's secret letter was addressed to Kang Youfu. In fact, this secret letter was also addressed to Zhu Shencui, because Zhu Shencui had specifically instructed that the transmission of Zhang Xijun's message in the capital would not be directly related to Zhu Shencui, and must be transferred through Kang Youfu. So this secret letter first reached Kang Youfu. Because Zhu Shencui was not in the Ming Dynasty at that time and was naturalizing, Kang Youfu dealt with it first according to the rules left by Zhu Shencui.

Fortunately, these arrangements were made in advance, otherwise there would be a lot of trouble. Because Zhang Xijun's secret letter mentioned an important event, that is, for some unknown reason, news suddenly came out in the capital, and someone was spreading rumors that the Hengtong Commercial Bank in Shanxi not only colluded with the Mongols on the grassland, but also secretly trained private soldiers and stockpiled arms with ill intentions.

These rumors were full of details, and although there was no solid evidence, they were vivid. Some of them even mentioned the past when Hengtong Commercial Bank was in charge of grassland trade during the Tianqi period, and linked Hengtong Commercial Bank with the bandits who were now causing chaos in the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, there are rumors that Hengtong is not just a business, but also has the shadow of the border army and the Shanxi royal family. Just last year, a war broke out on the grassland. The Tenger tribe won a great victory because of the support of Hengtong, the Ming border army and the Shanxi royal family.

On the battlefield, the strength displayed by Tenger was simply not something that an ordinary Mongolian tribe could possess. In particular, the Tenger tribe actually had a lot of firearms on the battlefield. In addition, there was an infantry unit with very strong combat effectiveness. These were simply impossible for the Mongolian tribes to do, and were only possible because of such support behind them.

(End of this chapter)