Chapter 138

Jia Cong took Xiang Ling back to the old mansion in Xinglong Ward.

He sat alone in the study, thinking about the people and things he had encountered these days.

Dong Lao Er, Boss Zhou, the Iwate mountain crystal square vase, and that forehead ornament of Xiang Ling's.

These seemingly ordinary people and objects actually hid a huge inside story behind them.

They were all closely related to the missing two hundred thousand guan of Japanese foreign goods, and behind all this, it was linked to those Japanese ronin who attacked and killed garrison officers and soldiers and slaughtered innocent people.

Originally, he thought the water in the Love Shenjing was too deep, and thought about coming to Jin Ling to copy scriptures and enjoy some leisurely time with peace of mind.

When Jia Yucun said that those Japanese ronin had robbed the two hundred thousand guan of foreign goods, he felt it was somewhat unusual.

Now it seems that the water in Jin Ling is not much shallower than in the Love Shenjing, and this water might even be black.

At this time, Xiang Ling saw him in a daze and poured him a cup of tea: "Young Master, what are you thinking about? Today you took officers and soldiers to make an arrest. Is that Boss Zhou a bad person?"

This made Qin Ye dare not be the slightest bit negligent, so he could not be like Jia Cong, who could return to the old mansion to spend a leisurely day with the maids every three days.

Although Jia Cong was somewhat unaccustomed to some of Qin Ye's ways of climbing up to the powerful, he still admired this person for his diligence and duty.

Thinking that behind Dong Lao Er, there was actually such a big connection, and Xiang Ling had stayed by the side of such a person before, and that Dong Lao Er was thinking about selling her for money all day long.

Jia Cong saw her curved eyebrows, snow-white skin like jade, and clear, watery eyes looking at him with a hint of confusion, and a feeling of pity could not help but well up in his heart.

Every day, he was either rushing to the construction site to supervise the progress or discussing technical details with the craftsmen; he was a proper ancient workaholic.

Since moving into the official residence at Ding'an Temple, he had not gone back to see his wife and daughter.

In the original Dream of the Red Chamber, Xiang Ling was originally the daughter of a wealthy gentry family, but because she was abducted by a trafficker, she eventually became a concubine of a dissolute villain like Xue Pan.

In his spare time every day, Jia Cong would also pace to the third floor of the official residence to look at the construction scene of the site.

"Hmm, he is in collusion with those Japanese ronin who are causing trouble. However, you have already left that Dong Lao Er. From now on, with me protecting you, you don't have to worry about anything."

Last time Xiang Ling followed Jia Cong to Mount Qixia, which made Qing Wen very envious. This time, after returning, she begged Jia Cong to take her out to see the sights as well.

Jia Cong has a day off every three days, but Qin Ye is not as leisurely as him. As the Ministry of Works construction official, he is fully responsible for the construction progress of Da Ci'en Temple.

Since he has such an encounter and fate with her, he must do his best to give her peace and joy in this life.

Early the next morning, Jia Cong returned to Mount Qixia. This time, the one following him was not Xiang Ling, but Qing Wen.

Finally, a layer of three-in-one soil, a layer of yellow soil, and a layer of cinnabar were laid on the entire foundation to make the foundation of the main hall solid, ward off evil spirits, prevent moisture, and eliminate the disaster of insects and ants.

The excavation of the foundation for the main hall of Da Ci'en Temple had been completed, and logs were buried in the foundation, adobe bricks were rammed in, gravel and lime were laid, and it was repeatedly rammed solid with huge stone hammers.

In such an environment, the danger implied was actually even more terrifying than he had imagined. Fortunately, Xiang Ling had now been pulled out of the fire pit by him.

Not to mention the Emperor, Prince Yongning and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, Li Dekang, were all eagerly watching the construction project of the grand temple.

In the end, she was humiliated and abused to death by Xue Pan and Xia Jingui; she is the woman with the most miserable life in the Dream of the Red Chamber.

Scaffolding began to be set up for other halls in the entire temple complex, and craftsmen were busy working hard everywhere, climbing high and squatting low.

And those prisoners were divided into two groups, under the supervision of more than a dozen yamen runners, taking turns doing the labor of moving earth and stone....

This day, after Jia Cong finished copying scriptures at Ci'an Hall and returned, he saw that food had already been set on the table in the room, but Qing Wen did not know where she had gone.

He and Qin Ye were temporarily staying at Ding'an Temple, often eating the vegetarian meals in the temple. Fortunately, the master chef of Ding'an Temple had good skills, and it was quite delicious.

Although his taste had been spoiled by Liu Wuer at home, he was not too obsessed with eating. After eating vegetarian food for three days, Liu Wuer would naturally find ways to comfort him when he returned.

Just as he was about to sit down to eat, he saw Qing Wen bring in an exquisite food box, from which she took out a dish of salted duck, a dish of spring rolls, and a dish of honey-glazed meat. There were not many things, but they were all colorful and fragrant.

"Qing Wen, this is a temple for worshipping Buddha. Where did you get this meat?"

"Cong Sanye, please keep your voice down. The Qin family young lady said that we cannot let the big monks in the temple see it, otherwise it will be disrespectful."

Jia Cong asked curiously: "The Qin family young lady, how could she send these things?"

"Master Qin is busy with official business and often doesn't go back. Madam Qin and the young lady brought things to see him. I just went to find Rui Zhu to play, and the young lady let me bring some for the Cong Sanye."

Jia Cong picked up a piece of spring roll and put it in his mouth, but in his heart, he remembered the stunning and elegant appearance by the side of the Liuyang River that day, which seemed to be carved into his heart.

Jin Ling Embroidered Uniform Guard Battalion.

Yang Hongbin brought two attendants to the gate of the battalion and said to the Embroidered Uniform Guard Captain at the gate:

"Please report to the Battalion Commander. I am Yang Hongbin, a judge of the Court of Judicial Review, ordered by Prince Ning to question the suspect Wang En about the case."

Hearing that it was under Prince Ning's order, the captain did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly went in to pass the message.

Before long, an Embroidered Uniform Guard trial company commander came out and led Yang Hongbin and the other two into the prison of the battalion.

Ever since the eunuch in charge of the Shipping Office, Wang En, accepted bribes, it triggered a fight with Japanese ronin, leading to the death of dozens of garrison officers and soldiers on the scene, causing a great disaster.

The Japanese ronin broke through the encirclement of the garrison officers and soldiers, abused people in the city, and slaughtered more than a dozen households of civilians, causing public anger and shaking the world.

The Shipping Office also became the target of public criticism. Thirty-seven people, from the eunuch in charge Wang En downwards, were implicated and locked up in prison by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, almost being wiped out in one go.

Since the incident, four officials from the Shipping Office have died under torture, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard has not obtained anything of value.

Currently, the only thing that can be charged is that the eunuch in charge, Wang En, accepted five thousand taels of silver from the Japanese Danei clan's merchant ship and privately detained the Chuan clan's merchant ship, thereby triggering the incident.

Five thousand taels of silver destroyed the entire Jin Ling Shipping Office. Those Shipping Office officials who were innocently implicated and imprisoned hated Wang En to the bone and wished they could peel his skin and dismantle his bones.

For Wang En's safety, the Embroidered Uniform Guard locked him in a single cell at the very back, far away from other cells, to prevent any accidents.

Yang Hongbin followed the Embroidered Uniform Guard trial company commander to the innermost cell in the prison and saw a man in prison clothes lying on his side on the bed, motionless, as if he were asleep.

"Wang En, get up quickly. Someone from the Court of Judicial Review is here to interrogate you."

"Wang En, don't play dead for me, get up quickly!"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard trial company commander shouted a few times, but the man lying on his side on the bed still did not move.

Yang Hongbin's face changed, and he shouted: "Open the cell door quickly."

The trial company commander also realized something was wrong and hurriedly let the jailer open the lock. When several people rushed in to look, they found that Wang En had already stopped breathing.

(End of chapter)