The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

In the fifth year of Shaoxi in the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yellow River broke its banks in Wuyang and changed its course, invading the Bian River and Si River, flowing through Xuzhou and into the Huai River. After Jia Lu managed the river in the Yuan Dynasty, the Yellow River flowed through Xuzhou alone, and the Xuzhou section of the Grand Canal was completely "transported by the Yellow River", and Xuzhou became an important place for water transport.

Since Xuzhou is located in the middle section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the Yellow River meets the Grand Canal here, both civilian and official ships have to stop here. Therefore, Xuzhou Wharf is not only a shipping hub, but also a commercial hub and a military hub, with numerous ships and vehicles and prosperous trade.

In the blink of an eye, it was the fifth month of the lunar calendar. The pier, which used to be bustling with cars and people, was now empty, and many ships heading north were forced to dock on the shore far away from the pier.

The dock was full of official ships. On the large flag hung on the middle mast of the ship were embroidered three large characters "Rui Shiying". Teams of soldiers in military uniforms were queuing up to board the ship.

The huge official ship in the middle was very conspicuous. On the big flag on the mast at the bow was embroidered "Duke of Lu", on the big flag on the mast at the stern was embroidered "Rui Shiying", and on the big flag on the mast in the middle was only a huge character "Li" embroidered!

There was a small boat moored under a willow tree on the shore. Inside sat a middle-aged couple and a young girl, wearing old home clothes, and it was obvious that they were not well off.

The middle-aged couple had ordinary looks. Although the girl was wearing a straw hat and a cloth skirt, she had a pretty face and a refined temperament. She was a simple and elegant woman.

The three of them sat in the boat in silence, only hearing shouts, the sound of oars and complaints coming from far and near outside.

It was the girl who broke the silence again: "There will be more and more ships and people stuck here, and the price of food will get higher and higher. When we get to the capital, we will have to hire a carriage."

The woman spoke up: "It's not a problem for farmers to walk a little."

The girl smiled bitterly: "The inner city is nearly 14 miles wide from east to west, and there is the imperial city in the middle, so we have to go around. Our ship cannot dock at Chaoyangmen Wharf, we have to get off at Dongbianmen Wharf. I heard from Miaoyu that we have to pay taxes at Chongwenmen."

The woman was anxious: "I still have to pay taxes!"

Girl: "If you don't pay the tax, you have to go through the outer city. The outer city is wider from east to west. From the East Gate Wharf to my aunt's house, it's at least 40 or 50 miles."

The woman said: "This can't be done in a day!"

The girl said: "Mother is right. It's okay for farmers to walk a little. But, my aunt's family is a noble family. It would be rude for us to visit them rashly. If we walk, it will be embarrassing for my aunt."

The middle-aged man finally spoke: "Except for the money for hiring a carriage, how long can we last?"

The girl was silent for a moment, then answered, "After deducting the expenses calculated earlier and the food for the boatman and his son, it will take at most three to five days."

At this time, the boatman's voice came from outside the cabin: "Sir, I have found out everything. The imperial army that suppressed the rebellion is returning to the capital."

The girl looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man understood and asked, "How many days will it take?"

Boatman: "The official from the river channel office said that we will be allowed to sail before dusk. However, the court's official boats are occupying the river in the middle of the canal. The river is crowded and cannot travel quickly. I don't know when we can enter Beijing."

The little light that had just appeared in the eyes of the three people was dimmed by his last words.

After a long while, the middle-aged man spoke up: "This is the dock. I'll go find a job to get some money for the trip."

The girl lifted a corner of the curtain, peeked outside, put it down, took a bundle from the couch behind her, untied it, and revealed a piece of cotton cloth.

The girl said: "Father took the cloth to the city to sell it, and the fifteen copper coins were no problem. We would have enough money for the journey."

The middle-aged man hesitated and said, "This piece of cloth is woven by you for Master Miaoyu."

The girl smiled and said, "A gift of goose feathers from a thousand miles away is worth more than the sentiment behind it. If she knew that we used the gift we prepared for her to help her out of her urgent need, she would definitely be happy."

The woman spoke: "This is called accumulating blessings."

The middle-aged man nodded, took the cotton cloth, stood up and walked out.

The avenue at the dock was under martial law, with soldiers carrying swords and guns stationed every three steps.

A carriage drove slowly up and stopped at the dock.

As the curtain was lifted, Li Hu, who was in casual clothes, walked out of the sedan chair, jumped off the carriage, then took the stool next to the sedan chair and placed it next to the handlebars, then lifted the curtain of the sedan chair.

Lin Ruhai emerged from the sedan chair, and Li Hu helped him get off the carriage on a low stool.

Li Hu: "If I hadn't had something else to do in Beijing, I would have stayed with you for a few more days."

Lin Ruhai smiled lovingly: "It's enough if you have this intention."

Li Hu smiled and said, "When we return to the capital, I will go to the West Mountain and hunt a tiger for you."

Lin Ruhai waved his hand: "Don't mess around. Treat Yu'er well, that's better than anything else."

Li Hu: "I swear to God, I have never bullied Sister Lin. Besides, I could never beat her. She was so strong. She twisted the tender flesh on her waist, turning it purple!"

Lin Ruhai laughed, paused, and said: "You haven't gotten married yet, so you still need to pay attention to what you should pay attention to."

Li Hu coughed and said, "Well, we'll go through the formalities after the Mid-Autumn Festival and try to hold the wedding before winter. You can submit a memorial to the emperor now."

Lin Ruhai was silent for a moment: "Although the war is over, Henan is still a mess. The emperor will not approve my resignation. Well, let's not talk about it. When you go back this time, you must guard against arrogance and impetuosity, don't be ostentatious, don't be proud of your achievements, and try to avoid conflicts with those clean people." Li Hu nodded: "Don't worry."

Lin Ruhai sighed: "I'm really worried!"

Li Hu smiled awkwardly.

Lin Ruhai looked at him and said, "You must be careful in the military examination. You cannot engage in nepotism like the civil officials. The emperor opened the military examination and martial arts to break the barriers of the nobles and generals, inject new vitality into the military power of Dashun, and consolidate the rule of the royal family. These martial arts candidates can only be disciples of the emperor. Do you understand?"

"Hey!" A bodyguard suddenly shouted.

Li Hu turned his head to look, and Lin Ruhai also looked in the direction of the voice.

It turned out to be a middle-aged man holding cloth and walking towards this side on the muddy ground under the post road.

The middle-aged man was frightened by the shout and knelt down on the ground in a hurry, kowtowed and shouted: "Sir, please spare my life! Sir, please spare my life!"

With a "swish" sound, Wang Daniu walked over with a knife in hand.

Li Hu didn't say anything. When he killed someone, he always cut the root of the problem, but it's better to be careful.

The middle-aged man: "I didn't mean to offend the master, really. I just went to the city to sell cloth for money. The errand boy didn't tell me not to leave." Looking at Wang Daniu who was coming with a knife, he was anxious, "My sister is the first wife of Rongguo Mansion in the capital, and a lady of the imperial court."

The first wife of Rongguo Mansion, Madam Xing?

Li Hu's eyes flashed, Xing Xiuyan's father? !

Wang Daniu snatched the cloth from the middle-aged man's arms, checked it carefully, and searched him himself to make sure there was no problem. Then he sheathed the knife. Then he grabbed him by the back of the collar and said, "Relatives of Rongguo Mansion?"

Middle-aged man: "Yes, yes, my sister is the head wife of the Rongguo Mansion."

“There is a road to heaven but you don’t take it, and there is no door to hell but you break in.”

Wang Daniu grinned and said, "I just happen to have a grudge against Jia She, that old drunkard. I will use you as a sacrifice today and chop off that old guy's head tomorrow."

The middle-aged man was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly: "I, I"

Wang Daniu: "Don't mention 'me'. If you want to blame someone, blame your bad luck. Why did you have to pretend to be a relative of Rongguo Mansion? " Then he drew his sword again.

"Dad~"

The girl wearing a veiled hat ran over crying, "Don't hurt my father!" She cried and rushed over to hug the middle-aged man.

Then, the woman also ran over and fell to her knees, "Sir, please spare my life! Sir, please spare my life!"

Wang Daniu was embarrassed. He just wanted to scare the man to see if he was lying.

Not far away, the boatman and his son looked at each other, turned around and ran away.

Wang Daniu coughed and spoke: "Well, are you really relatives of the Jia family?"

Girl: "The eldest wife of Rongguo Mansion is my aunt"

Wang Daniu scratched his head, this was a difficult situation.

At this time, Li Hu and Lin Ruhai came over.

Li Hu's eyes swept over the three people, and then fell on the girl. Is she Xing Xiuyan? Even if he couldn't see her face clearly, he knew she was a beauty. Uh, he was thinking wrongly.

Li Hu: "You are Xing Xiu. Ahem, why did you come to Beijing? Did something happen at Panxiang Temple?"

"The court issued a new policy, and temples also had to pay taxes. The master of Panxiang Temple sold the land to the gentry in Gusu City. The new owner was difficult to deal with. Not only did he increase the rent and deposit, he also assigned the farm work on his land to the tenants. He had no choice but to pack up his belongings and go to Beijing to live with his aunt." Xing Xiuyan looked at him with some curiosity.

Li Hu opened his mouth, and the stick fell on him.

Lin Ruhai looked at him quietly.

Li Hu: "What's wrong?"

Lin Ruhai didn't answer, but just looked at him.

Li Hu was startled at first, then he reacted and explained: "Well, I heard from Ying, the second young lady of the Jia family."

Lin Ruhai looked at him deeply, and then spoke: "Since we are relatives and it is convenient for us to go to Beijing, let's go together, and I will take care of you."

"Yes." Li Hu answered, but in his heart he wanted to slap himself twice, saying that he was a bad mouth and looking for trouble. (End of this chapter)