The sky was covered with rain, and the busy people on the dock were desperately tying up the passenger ship.
Shortly after Jia She and his fleet docked, three luxury passenger ships slowly sailed into Huai'an Pier.
"Madam, the rain is getting heavier and heavier. I'm afraid we won't be able to sail tonight. We can only force my wife, brother and girl to rest in the inn first, and we can start our journey again when the weather clears tomorrow."
Xue Cheng, the chief housekeeper of the Xue family, was the right-hand man left by Xue's father to their three mothers. Mrs. Xue looked at the pouring rain outside the cabin and nodded.
"The rain is coming quickly, so let's go ashore to take shelter first. I remember that there is a pretty good inn on the pier, so I quickly sent someone to ask if there are enough rooms."
After arranging these things, Mrs. Xue had to return to the cabin to take care of her children.
"Mom, why do we have to go out when it's raining so heavily outside? Why don't we just take shelter from the rain in the cabin. It makes everyone wet and uncomfortable!"
The Xue brothers and sisters have very different personalities. Xue Pan has a luxurious temperament and arrogant speech. Although he had gone to school, he only knew a few words, and all he did was fight cocks, ride horses, and travel around the mountains and rivers all day long.
Baochai, on the other hand, has an upright character, beautiful appearance, and is naturally intelligent and knowledgeable. This time, the three of them were able to handle the business in Xuzhou well, thanks to Xue Baochai finding evidence from the account books that the shopkeeper was acting evil.
It's a pity that Baochai is not a man, otherwise the Xue family would not have become more and more difficult.
Xue Cheng came back happily not long after he went to the inn. He wiped the rain off his face and said, "Madam, our luck is really good. Who do you think I met in the inn?"
Without waiting for Mrs. Xue to answer, Xue Cheng asked and explained to the mother and son: "After the old slave went to the largest inn on the pier, he didn't expect that this inn had been booked by a nobleman from the capital. Originally, the old slave I planned to visit a few other places, but I met Mr. Lian from Rongguo Mansion in the inn!"
"Jia Lian? Feng Yatou's husband?"
Mrs. Xue covered her mouth and asked in surprise: "This man is so old and dishonest, why did he come to Jiangnan?"
"Going back to Madam, Second Master Lian said that he was accompanying the eldest master of Rongguo Mansion to Yangzhou to visit Mr. Lin, and by the way, he returned to Jinling to deal with family affairs. Madam, let's go to the inn first. Second Master Lian specially reserved a few rooms for us. Go up to the room, the old slave has already sent someone to clean it up in advance."
…
Xue Cheng asked someone to bring a carriage and braved the wind and rain to drive the three mistresses to an inn not far away.
On a boat entering the dock behind the Xue family's passenger ship, a boatman wearing a bamboo hat looked at the Xue family's mother and son leaving far away, threw the oar away, and got into the cabin.
In the seemingly inconspicuous ordinary passenger ship, there were several middle-aged men with gloomy expressions sitting there.
The man dressed as a boatman took off the bamboo hat on his head, bowed and reported to the person in charge: "Master, the Xue family just went ashore to the inn, which is the one booked by Jia She and his party."
"This is a bit troublesome. If it's just the guards of the Xue family, we can do it perfectly with this heavy rain. But if we offend the Jia family, we may not be able to completely withdraw."
The middle-aged man at the main seat rubbed the jade ring on his right thumb and kept silent with his eyes closed, letting the other people argue noisily.
It wasn't until there was a knock on the door outside the cabin that he suddenly opened his eyes.
I saw a man in black wearing a raincoat walking in, clasping his fists and saying, "Fourth Master Zhen, everything has been arranged. No matter what happens on the dock tonight, Huai'an Fucheng will not send a single soldier over. "
"Well done, Mr. Wang!"
It turns out that this Third Master Wang is none other than Wang Ziteng’s younger brother, Wang Zisheng. This time when he went south, he moved to Beijing without telling the prince, just to establish a relationship with the Zhen family. He couldn't just be the second housekeeper at home for the rest of his life!
The Fourth Master Zhen of the Zhen family is Zhen Yingjun, the cousin of the eldest master of the Zhen family, Zhen Yingjia. Having been hiding in the dark for these years, few people know that the fourth master of the Zhen family is actually the largest water bandit leader on the canal.
The capital has been pressing for money in a hurry recently. Zhen Yingzhen would never take the huge risk to confront the Xue family of Jinling before letting go. After all, the Zhen and Xue families had been closely connected in the early years, and the contact gradually faded away after Xue's father passed away.
As for facing Jia She and others, Zhen Yingjun thought of the letter she received from the capital two days ago and smiled: "Since they are all together, we should also fulfill our friendship as landlords. Mr. Wang, you Just wait here, don't worry, Mrs. Xue, mother and son will be fine, when the time comes to see the true love in times of crisis, Third Master Wang might as well think carefully about how to persuade your sister to bring her children to Beijing."
…
Due to a sudden heavy rain, the bustling place next to the pier was now crowded with businessmen traveling from north to south.
The torches couldn't be lit at all, and only a few lights could be seen faintly under the eaves on both sides, pointing the direction for the Xue family's carriage.
Jia Lian yawned and stood guard in front of the inn door. After all, Mrs. Xue was also his wife's aunt. As a junior, he didn't want people to think that Mr. Lian of Rongguo Mansion had lost his etiquette.
"Master, here we come!"
The young boy Xing'er saw the old servant holding the carriage from a distance. It was the chief steward of the Xue family who had just spoken to his father.
The awning in front of the door pattered with raindrops. After the carriage stopped with a groan, Jia Lian stepped forward to greet it.
"My nephew Jia Lian pays homage to my aunt."
Second Master Lian is a handsome young man. There are few people in the capital who are better looking than him.
Mrs. Xue has been married to Jiangnan for nearly twenty years. The last time she visited Rongguo Mansion was in the Zhaowu Dynasty, and she could only vaguely recognize Jia She from Jia Lian's face.
She got out of the car and picked up a pair of children. Mrs. Xue responded with a Wanfu salute to Jia Lian, and Baochai followed her mother Yingying in bowing down. On the other hand, Xue Pan stared at Jia Lian's peach blossom eyes.
Mrs. Xue coughed slightly, interrupting her son's rudeness. After giving a brief introduction to Jia Lian, Jia Lian led several people upstairs.
"Brother Lian, has the eldest master ever rested? I asked Pan'er to kowtow to the eldest master and say hello."
"Father has already rested. Auntie, there is no need to rush. We are all relatives, why do we need to make things so complicated?"
Jia Lian took him to the three upper rooms on the west side, opened the door and said with a smile: "Aunt, you and your brothers and sisters go and wash up briefly. My nephew has asked the people at the inn to bring some food. If you need anything else, , Auntie just sends someone to find her nephew."
Looking at the well-rounded Jia Lian, and then thinking about her son Xue Pan, who gave her a headache, Mrs. Xue felt filled with regret.
If I had known earlier, I should have listened to my brother and sent Brother Pan to the capital to be disciplined by his uncle. It would have been better now to raise a dandy alive!
To make room for the Xue family, Jia Lian only had to share a bed with Jia Cong.
"Dong dong dong!"
Jia Lian was about to turn off the lights and go to sleep when he heard a slight knock on the door. He carefully opened the door and saw Jia Shiyi standing at the door.
"Second Master, the general has an order, please come to the room to discuss matters!"
