In the afternoon, An Ying followed the Shen family's shopkeeper Liu and Mrs. Wang to the prison of the government office. Shopkeeper Liu smiled and greeted the guards at the side door of the Penal Department Prison, and stuffed some money into the hands of the Yamen servant inside. Two little guards came over with smiles and led An Ying and his party inside.
An Ying saw that his father was in good spirits and his body was much thinner, but he had no injuries and was still feeling refreshed. She brought Mrs. Liu to her father with some clothes and food. An Tinggui looked at An Ying, sighed, and reached out his hand to touch An Ying's head. Then he thought that he hadn't washed himself for so long, so he put his hand down again. He looked at the baggage An Ying brought and said, "Sister Ru, it's not easy to come here. You should keep some money at home. If something happens to me in the future, you and your brothers and sisters will still have to spend it." , I can still hold on here."
An Ying opened the bag, took out some food, and said, "Dad, I found Mrs. Shen from Hongshengji Tea Shop. She happened to come over to give something to his master. The things here were also prepared by Mrs. Shen. These are You can't help but put things away, so come and eat some. There are also some clean clothes, so you can change out of the dirty clothes."
An Ying opened the food box, which contained some cooked vegetables, and gave it to the two servants just now to drink with it. When her father had almost eaten and drank, she asked while packing up: "Dad, I have been walking around these days. There are only three tea shops in Huzhou that have been arrested, two are Hongshengji, and the other is Quan Xiangji, Zheng Yishun’s tea shop is fine, the cakes they pressed are still in the shop, they just say they can’t sell them to the official.”
An's father was very surprised and said: "Why are we arrested? Manager Zheng's family produces the most tea. I thought everyone who made this new style was arrested. What's going on? thing?"
An Ying saw that there was no one in the cells around him. It seemed that the tea shop owners were being held separately, so he lowered his voice and said, "Dad, the news I asked about is that you all did that little Tuanfeng." Pancakes. I've been to Manager Zheng's house, and many of the pressed pancakes are made with copper coins, or plum blossoms. I told Mrs. Shen of Hongshengji about this. News from Mrs. Shen's house , I heard that the queen in the palace was poisoned after using the phoenix cake tea."
An Tinggui was so shocked that he clutched the cell door and whispered: "Is your news reliable?"
"Reliable." An Ying nodded, "I read the Di newspaper and carefully read all the previous ones. Not long after the news came out that Mrs. Lin was ill, the superiors began to investigate the tea cake. I also checked all the Zhejiang quilts. Most of the imprisoned tea shops have made new molds. If the molds are wrong and the quality is short, at least a large piece must be arrested. However, the three imprisoned tea shops mainly make phoenix cakes. Others do not make them. There are very few, and before it has time to be sent to the transfer envoy, the three tea cakes are the most made and have already been handed over to the transfer envoy."
"Yes, the Xiaofeng cake I made weighed ten kilograms in total. It was the first tea shop in Huzhou to deliver tea cakes. I was quite happy at the time. Zheng Yishun didn't make many of this type of cake. He wanted to rush back and make some more. It’s too late. Mr. Fu Yin also said that this phoenix cake is much more elegant than the copper coin and has a better meaning, so the higher-ups will definitely be happy.”
"Dad, do our three tea shops all make the same phoenix cake? I have never understood something, and I dare not ask others casually. If the tea cake is poisonous, can't we find someone who made it? I remember The tea cakes at home are all wrapped in paper with the name of the shop printed on them.”
An Tinggui lowered his head and thought for a while and said: "When the palace purchase order came down, I remember that the governor of Huzhou summoned our tea shops and said that Huzhou would collect a total of 800 kilograms this year. The amount turned in last year was shared. Our shop is small but the quality is good, so we were allocated ten kilograms. Mr. Fu Yin said to make it more delicate, so I specially chose the Xiaofeng mold. The tea cakes purchased by the palace are not allowed to use seals. The paper with the name of the store was all made into small bags with plain silk. I sent the ten kilograms of small phoenix dumplings to the tea farm in Huzhou and watched with my own eyes as the people from the government office and the people from the Jiangnan transfer envoy counted them. I also signed the quantity before delivering it. Each cake was inspected by three people before being packed one by one and placed in rattan boxes. Ordinary boxes are smelly, but the box made of old rattan is tasteless. It is also strong. The outside of the rattan box is sealed with oil paper to prevent moisture from getting in. If it is like what you said, to tell whose tea cakes are made, people in the family will have to see and drink them to know. If outsiders really can't tell the difference, .”
An Ying thoughtfully nodded and said: "Dad, there is one more thing I have to ask you. What is the relationship between Mrs. Shen and my mother? She has taken great care of me, and the outside world has different opinions on her. There are all kinds. I’m a little unsure about what to eat.”
An Tinggui said in a low voice: "Your mother was also Mrs. Shen who I only met after she married in Huzhou. I remember that your mother's pearl shop was doing very well at that time. Many wealthy families in Huzhou ordered jewelry from your mother. , we met when we were delivering jewelry to Mrs. Fuyin of Huzhou. I should remember correctly, Mrs. Fuyin’s list is not something that ordinary people can get. I happened to send new tea to Mrs. Fuyin at that time. Your mother is very clever. , made the old tea into incense, and sent it to Fu Yin together with the new tea. Mrs. Fu Yin liked it very much, so she called your mother there, and later she often made jewelry in your mother's shop. Once When you came back with the jewelry, your mother said that she met the eldest lady of the Shen family in Huzhou. The Shen family is the richest family in Huzhou. I remember it very clearly. We have become familiar with each other over time, and I often send tea cakes to the Shen family on weekdays. Because It was all between female relatives. After your mother left, it was inconvenient for me to contact the Shen family, so we gradually lost contact. Mrs. Shen sent people over several times to ask about the situation of your siblings, especially when you were sick. , she also helped find the best doctor in Huzhou to come to the house. If Mrs. Shen takes good care of you, it should be for your mother's sake. I don't know what kind of person Mrs. Shen is, but she has always treated you siblings over the years. There is still care, and I think you can trust it. At this time, there are probably not many people who can lend a hand to help."
Hearing the growing worry in his father's voice, An Ying held his father's hand and said, "Dad, don't worry. Many people helped along the way. Just relax here and don't damage your body." , Eat even if the food doesn’t taste good, eat as much as you can, and sleep well.”
"Xiao Ying'er, how are you doing? Some things are too difficult to handle, so don't force yourself. Listening to what you said, I have figured out a lot. Before, I always thought about whether I should help the governor and the transfer envoy. But they didn't accept anything, and I always felt uneasy. If this was the case, it was not something we ordinary people could interfere with. I heard that the chief judge this time was Mr. Su, who was very wise and would never end up with a stupid case. "
An Ying nodded and said: "There was neither interrogation nor torture, just detention. Mr. Su is probably still investigating. In a few days, Mrs. Shen will take me to a banquet at the house of Mrs. Shen's eldest brother-in-law, Hubu Yuanwailang. , I want to inquire about some more things. We have speculated on many things for a long time, and they may just be the words of the superiors. "
