It’s just past noon, it’s early autumn, and the sun is no longer so strong.
As the two walked, they discussed how to investigate the matter. After much deliberation, they both felt that it would be best to start with Zhang Miaojing.
Zhang Miaojing's Jingmiaozhai is located on Minghu Street, only a hundred feet away from Nie Hongniang's Red House.
Jingmiaozhai, like Red Mansion, is a high-end club, but Zhang Miaojing's literary talent is superior to Nie Hongniang's, so Jingmiaozhai is more popular among literati.
Qin Lingjun's men's attire was too handsome to avoid being recognized. This time he added a mustache, while Zhang Yangquan still dressed like a bearded man.
The two of them each bought a folding fan, dressed up as literati and poets, and entered Jingmiao Zhai.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the door, he found that a group of people were surrounded outside the door of Jingmiao Zhai.
The two of them approached and squeezed into the crowd, only to hear a hoarse voice.
"If it doesn't work, it won't work. How can there be so many reasons? I'll give you another half a day. You must move out before the second watch!"
"You clearly promised to rent for one year, but it's less than half a year. How can you regret it just because you said you regretted it?" A middle-aged woman put her hands on her hips and screamed.
The owner of the hoarse voice was an old man, so he sneered.
"Humph, the person who rented the house to you is my nephew. I lent him this house to live in. He was not the rent owner in the first place, so the lease you signed is invalid!"
The middle-aged woman said angrily: "Where is your nephew? Call him over!"
The old man said coldly: "That little bastard defrauded me of my money, and I don't know where he went. I'm looking for him too!"
The middle-aged woman said angrily: "Is this justified? We spent 800 taels of silver to rent your house for a year, and now it's less than half a year. Why do you drive people away?"
The old man curled his lips and said: "Then we can only blame you for being unlucky!"
The middle-aged woman glanced at the crowd and suddenly saw a familiar face.
"Mr. Li, since you are here, you can help me to be fair!"
A young man in a blue shirt in the crowd hesitated for a moment, then closed his folding fan and walked out.
“Mr.
Mr. Xue San glanced at him sideways and sneered: "I only know that their lease is invalid. This is my house. Why should I let them live in it for free?"
The middle-aged woman said anxiously: "We paid!"
Mr. Xue San said coldly: "I didn't get the money!"
The middle-aged woman wanted to say more when a soft and pleasant voice suddenly came from behind her.
"Aunt Zheng, forget it, just give Master Xue another four hundred taels of silver."
Zhang Yangquan looked for the sound and saw a beautiful Taoist nun with a white veil on the back of her head appearing behind the middle-aged woman. It was Zhang Miaojing.
The status of Taoist priests in the Yuan Dynasty was extremely high. Although Zhang Miaojing was a Taoist nun, it did not hinder her status as a famous concubine in the south of the Yangtze River.
Mr. Xue San crossed his arms and hummed: "Miaojing, Mr. San is not greedy for that little money! Now that a noble man wants this house, it's useless no matter how much money you give?"
Zhang Miaojing was stunned for a moment and said: "Can you allow me to change my residence for a few days?"
"No, no, I'm going to have the house inspected tomorrow!" Mr. Xue San said with a stern attitude.
Aunt Zheng said angrily: "How can we move in such a short time? Xue, are you deliberately chasing us out on the street?"
The crowd of onlookers also whispered, accusing the Xue family of going too far.
Mr. Xue San was still unmoved and said coldly: "You can find an inn to stay in. If you can't find it, huh, I can help you find one!"
Zhang Miaojing was silent for a long time, then suddenly raised her head and stared directly into Mr. Xue San's eyes.
"I wonder who the little girl has offended to make Mr. Xue so hard to deal with?"
Mr. Xue San looked a little unnatural, turned his head, and hummed: "Don't say that our Xue family is bullying others, you can only blame yourself for your misfortune."
Qin Lingjun touched Zhang Yangquan's arm and whispered: "Husband, there is something fishy about this."
Zhang Yangquan nodded: "I'm afraid it has something to do with Mr. Liu's matter."
Qin Lingjun asked: "Do you want to take care of it?"
Zhang Yangquan hesitated for a moment, and suddenly saw a carriage approaching on the street.
"We don't have to worry about it." He smiled.
Zhang Miaojing and Aunt Zheng also noticed the carriage approaching on the street, and their faces showed joy.
I saw a handsome young man following the carriage, it was Bian Yuantong, the second young master of Bian Mansion.
The carriage stopped outside Jingmiaozhai, and two women got off the carriage. One was Zhang Miaojing's good friend Cao Miaoqing, and the other was the third lady of Bian Mansion, Bian Wenjun.
Cao Miaoqing came to Zhang Miaojing, first introduced the Bian brothers and sisters to their friends, and then asked: "Sister Zhang, are we not late? What is the situation now?"
"Just in time!" Zhang Miaojing explained the situation in a low voice.
After hearing this, Bian Wenjun's face turned red with anger, he glared at Mr. Xue San and said, "This is too bullying!"
Mr. Xue San raised his hand and looked at the sky, pretending not to hear.
Bian Yuantong was more sensible and knew something was wrong as soon as he heard it. He said to Cao Miaoqing: "Sister-in-law, don't come forward. Let my younger brother handle this matter."
After finishing speaking, he came to Mr. Xue San, smiled and raised his hand to Mr. Xue.
"Master Xue San, long time no see. How have you been lately?"
Before the Jiangdu Army took control of Jiangdu, the Xue family in the east of the city had always been the largest family in the city after the Cai family.
It's a pity that the Xue family was in the wrong team at the beginning, and the Xue family did not have a decisive figure like Cai Heng, which led to the family's gradual decline, and now it is far behind the Bian family.
Because of this, Mr. Xue San was filled with resentment after seeing Bian Yuantong.
"Master Bian, I advise you not to meddle in this matter!" A cold light flashed in his eyes.
Bian Yuantong laughed and said: "Miaojing and everyone are close friends of my sister-in-law. If you leave me alone, will you settle the score with me when my eldest brother comes back with the army in the future?"
When Mr. Xue San saw him moving Bian Yuanheng out, his expression suddenly turned ugly.
Bian Yuanheng has been promoted to the third rank of Huaihua General by virtue of his military merits. The current Xue family is definitely not able to fight against him.
He took a deep breath and finally softened his tone.
"Master Bian, I am also entrusted with this matter, please don't embarrass me!"
Bian Yuantong smiled and said: "Okay, tell me the name of the person behind you, and I will never embarrass Mr. Xue San."
Mr. Xue San was moved in his heart and shook his head deliberately, saying: "I'm sorry, I can't say it!"
Bian Yuantong was really impatient and said coldly: "If you don't say anything, I will treat it as your idea. Don't blame me for ignoring the friendship between our two families for more than ten years!"
Mr. Xue San snorted and said: "Young Master Bian, in Jiangdu Mansion, your Bian family can't suppress everything. Don't be too crazy!"
Bian Yuantong was very angry and said: "Our Bian family is indeed nothing, but we are more than enough to deal with those bastards who bully women!"
Mr. Xue San smiled sinisterly. He deliberately provoked Bian Yuantong, just to get the Bian family to fight with the person behind him.
No matter who defeats the other, there will be no harm to the Xue family.
"Then listen carefully." He took a few steps closer and whispered: "The person who wants this house is..." The words that followed were inaudible.
Bian Yuantong frowned and said, "Is it him?"
Zhang Yangquan didn't hear it, so he turned to Qin Lingjun and asked, "Did you hear it?"
Qin Lingjun looked a little confused and said, "I heard it, but the name is a bit unfamiliar."
"Who is it?"
Qin Lingjun said: "Li Weigong."
Zhang Yangquan was slightly startled, vaguely feeling that he had seen this name somewhere before, but he couldn't remember it.
Bian Yuantong didn't know what he said to Mr. Xue San again. Mr. Xue San handed over and left. Then Bian Yuantong, Cao Miaoqing and Zhang Miaojing returned to Jingmiaozhai.
The onlookers thought that Bian Yuantong had solved the problem and dispersed one after another.
Zhang Yangquan knew that things were not that simple, so he was about to enter Jingmiaozhai.
"I won't be accepting guests today. Please come back, two guests." Two waiters blocked the way.
The two of them couldn't force their way in, so they continued walking along the street.
Zhang Yangquan suddenly caught a glimpse of the red building, and his heart moved, and he said: "Let's go inside and ask, maybe we can get some news about Li Weigong."
Qin Lingjun had no objection, and they entered the red building together. They heard the wind of silk and bamboo in the building, the decoration was elegant, and although there were not many guests, they were all people of elegant taste.
At this moment, I saw two men at a table in the west corner who seemed to be drunk. They spoke loudly, which seemed extremely disharmonious in the red building and attracted the attention of others.
Zhang Yangquan looked at the two people and was suddenly stunned for a moment, vaguely feeling that one of them was familiar.
Qin Lingjun had a better memory than him and whispered: "Husband, isn't that person sitting in the north the same person whose fan pendant was stolen by Kang Maocai?"
Zhang Yangquan suddenly thought of it.
At that time, Kang Maocai was penniless. In order to enter the zoo, he stole a fan pendant from a young man. Wasn't he the same person?
The young man was still dressed in luxurious clothes, and a folding fan was placed on the table, with a new green fan pendant on it.
Sitting opposite him was a middle-aged man with a dark complexion, many wrinkles on his face, and a depressed expression.
Zhang Yangquan glanced at it and was about to look away. At this moment, the words of the young man with a falling fan caught his attention.
"Lao Kang, you are the number one master gardener in Zaozhuang. Li Weigong is more than ten years younger than you. Do you still not understand the drawings he prepared?"