Outside the Duke of Wei's Mansion in Yanzhou City, a caravan with packhorses, donkeys, and oxcarts was unloading merchandise on the ground and feeding fodder to the cattle and horses. The scene was chaotic and lively. They brought goods purchased from Tokyo to the Fu family, as well as experiences and novel stories along the way. While the people in charge were counting the goods, the caravan's escorts chatted with many servants in the house and sold various items they bought.
The feudal town needed caravans to carry out trade with Tokyo and pay tribute to local products. In addition, the caravans also played a role in exploring geography and transmitting information. Although various vassal towns have residences in Beijing for reporting, such official channels are only suitable for official exchanges of information. Many private and obscure information still have to be transmitted privately through their own caravans and other methods. In this way, the letters that Guo Trust Enren brought from Tokyo were transferred to Fu Jinlu's hands.
Fu Jinlu knelt down in front of the case in a dignified manner, holding in his hand the letter that the maid Bi Tao had just brought. She didn't need to ask who wrote it. As long as she heard the letter came from Enren, she knew it must be from Guo Erlang. Apart from him, no one else in Tokyo knew about the relationship between Enren and the Fu family.
Fu Jinlu gently opened the pasted seal with his fingertips and took out the letter. Unexpectedly, he discovered that the letter was actually made of valuable calendered paper.
Bi Tao, with sharp eyes, also said curiously: "Then Wu Fu is still very interested."
Fu Jinlu smiled faintly and took a rough look at the words on the letter. When he saw that there was no content that should not be known, he felt relieved and put it aside.
Fu Jinlu saw Bi Tao's curious look beside him and said, "No need to guess, that Wu Fu didn't write anything."
But after she finished speaking, she picked up the letter and read it again carefully from beginning to end. What’s noticeable on the letterhead is that every word is in very neat block letters, and each column of words is deliberately written very neatly. However, the letter should be well-organized and wide enough. The letter in the hand is not like a letter, but more like an official document from the yamen. Guo The handwriting of the letter can only be said to be written with care, not ugly.
This is also in line with Fu Jinlu's impression of Guo Xin. Guo Xin seems to have different ideas from ordinary people on many small things.
As for the content of the letter, it really didn’t say anything serious. It only wrote about some of Guo Xin’s experiences after the battle in Guanzhong, and how Li Shouzhen’s house in Hezhong Prefecture ended up in a fire. The rest was only what seemed to be between friends. Only the last sentence of the greeting mentioned that the past was completely over and told her not to worry anymore.
Fu Jinlu put down the letter and stared at the faintly visible calendered pattern on the paper, slightly lost in thought.
She suddenly thought that maybe she shouldn't have met Guo Xin at Yuanren in the first place. After all, Li Chongxun was already dead at that time. There was no need to risk meeting Guo Xin again. It was better not to do anything that might arouse people's suspicion. the best choice.
Fu Jinlu considered herself to be serious, but she could only explain that she was really panicked at the time. The main reason was that her original idea was to use the Guo family to prevent the marriage, rather than directly killing Li Chongxun. As a result, Li Chongxun's death was so sudden that she and Guo Xin immediately became accomplices in plotting bad things, and this bad thing still killed her. Not yet married man!
She and Guo Xin have completely become co-conspirators and accomplices. The feeling brought about by this relationship makes Fu Jinlu still feel very exciting when she thinks about it now. Even though Li Shouzhen has died and her family has been wiped out, she still cannot and dare not imagine that after this matter is exposed. , how the secular and ethical religions will view themselves.
Of course, Fu Jinlu could learn about Guo Xin's developments from the conversations between his father and his brothers. After the Guanzhong War, Guo Xin was promoted to the commander of the Forbidden Army. Killing the son of a traitor was no longer a sin, and might even be considered a sin. Some people say that Guo Xin had already anticipated the Li family's rebellion, so he killed Li Chongxun in advance to eliminate thieves for the country.
But Fu Jinlu's situation is not much different from that of the time, because the world's requirements for women are completely different! No one would think that if her husband's family was about to launch a rebellion, a woman could plot to kill him. Even she could not defend herself from this matter, not to mention that she really did not want to let Li Chongxun die.
That's why Fu Jinlu couldn't help but want to meet Guo Xin again, and wanted to hear reassuring words from him like nothing would happen. At that time, Guo Xin became more like his brother Fu Zhaoxu to her. Also someone you can trust. But even now, Guo Xin's letter still makes her feel safe. What she thought was such a big deal at the time seems to have really passed away.
At this time, the sound of the second sister Fu Jinchuan talking to the servant came from the yard outside the room, and the sound was getting closer and closer. Fu Jinlu hurriedly put the letter back into the seal and looked around for the place where the letter was hidden.
Bitao saw this and said, "I'll stop the second sister." After that, she went out.
At this time, Fu Jinlu saw the dowry items on another table, so he stood up and folded the letter paper, took out the empty dowry items from the bottom column and put the letter in it.
Almost at the same time, he heard that the second sister had come in. Fu Jinlu turned around. The second sister immediately ran over, hugged Fu Jinlu's waist, and said softly: "Sister smells so good!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Fu Jinlu felt a little itchy being held by her, and smiled and patted the second sister's hand away.
"That's it. If you don't believe me, ask Bitao."
Bitao came in from the door at this time and said embarrassedly: "The girl ran too fast and didn't stop her."
"Why are you stopping me? What's your secret?"
"What can there be?"
Fu Jinchuan's eyes began to look around the room. Fu Jinxu quickly pushed the second sister gently and blocked the dowry and table behind him. Although the relationship between the sisters was very good, the second sister spoke without any obstruction, allowing her to find herself It’s so embarrassing to correspond with men.
Fortunately, the second sister didn't think about it seriously. She held Fu Jinlu's arm and said in Fu Jinlu's ear: "In addition to the caravan, there are also people from Tokyo City today. I heard from the eldest brother that they are here for my sister's marriage." Come on!"
Fu Jinlu didn't react immediately, but Bi Tao hurriedly asked: "Which family are they from?"
Fu Jinchuan said confidentially: "It's a member of the Guo family who is the secret envoy of the Imperial Guard. They are asking my father about the marriage between the second son of the family and his sister. At this time, my father has accepted Guo Shizhong's letter and arranged for the visitor to rest..." Brother said he knew that Guo Erlang, sister, did I meet him when I was in Tokyo the year before last? What does he look like?"
After hearing this, Fu Jinlu had no intention of gossiping with his second sister. He slightly closed his eyes towards Bi Tao, and then said immediately: "I want to see my father and brother."
When Fu Jinlu met his eldest brother Fu Zhaoxu in the courtyard, Fu Zhaoxu was talking with his two other brothers, Fu Zhaoxin and Fu Zhaoyuan, about coming to Beijing with his father Fu Yanqing for a while.
Seeing Fu Jinlu coming over, Fu Zhaoxu immediately laughed heartily: "It seems that my eldest sister already knows about it. I wonder if my eldest sister has any feelings for the Guo family?"
The second brother Fu Zhaoxin also said: "Guo Gong is familiar with military affairs and good at judging people. Now he knows exactly what happened. In the case of the Li family, some people actually said that the eldest sister had the fate of being a traitor. However, the eldest sister in the family had seen the prime minister. I have tested my handwriting, calculated my fortune, and approved my horoscopes. My eldest sister has always been destined to be a noble person, but I can only say that the life of the Li family is too soft!"
Fu Jinlu ignored the jokes of his brothers and said sternly: "I still have to listen to my father's wishes."
Fu Zhaoxu also nodded: "Since the eldest sister is here, I will go with the eldest sister to see my father."
Fu Jinlu was still thinking about it on the way. Considering the distance between Tokyo and Yanzhou, Guo Xin's letter with the caravan and the Guo family's dispatch were obviously not at the same time. So when Guo Xin wrote the letter, he already knew that Guo Shizhong intended to marry his father, or that Or is it simply Guo Xin who proposed to marry him, so he wrote to her first to let her know? Maybe there are other hints hidden in those greetings?
Fu Jinlui was in a mess at the moment, and many unfounded conjectures kept popping up. She even began to suspect that it was because she took the initiative to meet Erlang of the Guo family in private that the Erlang of the Guo family fell in love with her beauty, so he did not hesitate to kill her. He killed Li Chongxun and put the blame on the Fu family. The motive was not for anything else but himself.
Thinking of this, Fu Jinlu felt a slight heat on his face, and he quickly lowered his face and stopped thinking, fearing that his father and brother would find out the clues later.
Fu Zhaoxu next to him saw Fu Jinlu bowing her head and saying nothing, thinking that she was not in a good mood, so he expressed his opinion.
"Brother, it seems that Erlang of the Guo family is a good person. I have a good rapport with me. He is also good at fighting in the army and has the reputation of "shooting tigers"! Although his family background is not good, Guo Shizhong, as an assistant to the privy council, holds the imperial army. ...The key is that Guo Erlang is young and has never married a wife. He only has one concubine in his house. It would be difficult to choose a more outstanding man than Guo Erlang in Tokyo and other towns."
Seeing that his elder brother seemed to have misunderstood him, Fu Jinlu didn't want to explain at this time, lest he reveal that he already knew Guo Xin and even had a past relationship with him.
When the brother and sister came to the side room where Fu Yanqing was resting, Fu Yanqing was reclining on the wooden couch reading a book. There was also a newly married young concubine in the room who was studying ink for him in front of the table.
Fu Zhaoxu first briefly talked about Guo Wei's recent setbacks in sending troops to the Central Government, and then brought up Guo Xin, especially his old friendship with Guo Xin through polo in Tokyo City.
Fu Yanqing put down his book and listened for a while, then sat up and said, "I have no close acquaintance with Guo Shizhong, but I have heard about him for a long time. Guo Shizhong is an experienced man who manages the country. None of the princes in Tokyo in this dynasty can match him." By comparison, that Guo Erlang is indeed worthy of being considered a talented person of the next generation."
Fu Yanqing turned around and asked, "What does Jin Lu mean?"
Seeing that Fu Yanqing's attitude was obvious, Fu Jinlu naturally had nothing to say. Being sent away to marry a man who grew up in another family is a rule that has been continued for thousands of years. Women in the world cannot escape this fate unless they become monks. Of course, she is no exception. .
So she just said: "These matters are all decided by the father and brother. The child just feels lonely when he thinks that he can no longer be with his parents and sees fewer and fewer days with his brothers and sisters."
Fu Yanqing also showed an moved expression and sighed slightly: "How can a daughter grow old in front of her parents? Jin Lu has already reached the age of return. Everything has been delayed for too long this year, so it is better to make a deal on the marriage. "
Fu Zhaoxu also said: "It just so happens that we will go to Beijing in March to celebrate the official's birthday. At that time, my father will wait for the second son of the Guo family to visit, and then we can set a wedding date and follow the six etiquette."
Fu Yanqing nodded in agreement and turned to look at Fu Jinlu with questioning eyes.
Fu Jinlu was not very happy, but at least he didn't feel disgusted in his heart, so he bowed to his father:
"Just follow the arrangements of father and brother in everything."
