It rained heavily all night, and it didn't let up a little until the next morning, but it was still raining heavily.
Lu Shoushan woke up very early, and he had a very uneasy sleep that night. It had been six years since he and the Xu family were escorted to Beijing in the 43rd year of Qianlong's reign. He never thought that one day he would be able to return to his hometown.
Yesterday, he asked Shen Jingdan privately how far it was from Shanghai to Dongtai. Without thinking at the time, Shen Jingdan told him that it was four to five hundred miles, and he would go north along the Wusong River by water, and then pass through Nantong and Rugao, which is Dongtai. If the wind is favorable, the boat will arrive in four or five days.
Today's Lu Shoushan is no longer the cautious servant of the Xu family in Dongtai. Ever since he met Zhao Xin on Bear Island, after more than half a year of experience, his vision has changed from the past.
Rolling around on the bed all night, Lu Shoushan felt like a ball of fire was burning his internal organs, making him unable to sit or lie still.
What should he do? Ask for leave from Zhao Xin and go back to Dongtai to kill Cai Jiashu and his son to avenge the Xu family?! But he also knows that as soon as he sets foot on Dongtai, his personal safety will be in doubt.
Suffering like this, the night passed. When it was dawn, Lu Shoushan heard the sound of rain outside the door becoming quieter, so he got up and got dressed. Xu Dayong was still sleeping soundly on the other bed. Lu Shoushan shook his head and went out to fetch water from the well in the front yard to wash himself. While he was washing, he heard soft footsteps coming from the corridor. When he looked up, it was Pan Xiucheng.
"Why, you haven't slept all night?" Lu Shoushan, with red eyes, looked at Pan Xiucheng, who also had dark circles under his eyes.
Pan Xiucheng did not speak, but nodded slightly. He looked up at the rainwater falling on the eaves, and after a while he said softly: "Shoushan, what do you think we ask Mr. Zhao for a few days off?"
Lu Shoushan said blankly: "What do you want to do? Go back to Dongtai?"
"Yes! My father, my mother, my wife and children have been here for six years. I don't know how they are doing now."
"I'll tell you when we finish the work in Yangzhou."
"Actually, I" Pan Xiucheng hesitated for a long time, then suddenly said viciously: "I want to kill the Cai family most!"
Lu Shoushan remained silent, just staring at the other person.
Today's Pan Xiucheng is different from the past. Since he followed Zhao Xin, more than a dozen Qing soldiers have died under his hands; not to mention following Wang Yuanfang and the others in the past few months, he has been struggling every day. He is no longer the honest and honest person he used to be. The coachman was there, and he had a tough look on his face when he spoke.
"Forget it!" Pan Xiu said suddenly discouraged: "I just thought about it. We can't go back to Dongtai."
The two of them were sighing when they suddenly heard someone banging on the courtyard door. Lu Shoushan put down his towel, quietly walked to the courtyard door and looked out through the gap, and saw two young people wearing raincoats.
"What happened so early in the morning?" Lu Shoushan asked with a cough.
"We are the associates of 'Huang Shengtai'. Mr. Huang asked us to deliver breakfast to the house."
This Mr. Huang is really good at flattering! Lu Shoushan thought as he opened the small door on one side.
Outside the door, two guys in raincoats were carrying a heavy three-layer food box in each hand. When the courtyard door opened and a middle-aged man walked out, he said, "We are guys from the Huang family. Mr. Huang asked us to give it to Dong Zhao's family." Send breakfast."
Lu Shoushan smiled and nodded, reached out to take the two food boxes, and greeted the two waiters to come in. The three of them walked all the way to the front hall, put down the food boxes, and the two waiters from the Huang family said goodbye and left.
"What are you doing?" Wang Yuanfang walked out of a side room.
"Oh, Mr. Huang sent someone to deliver breakfast."
Wang Yuanfang was a little curious, as breakfast was specially delivered. What was that fat man doing? He walked to the front hall, opened the food box and took a look, and couldn't help but be surprised.
The first thing that caught his eye was a pot of wine! Wang Yuanfang reached out and touched the wine pot, and it was still warm. He opened the lid and smelled it, and it was rice wine. He took off the layer containing rice wine, and underneath was a large pot of steaming water.
Egg fried rice.
The first layer of another food box is a large bowl of dry rice and a few salted vegetables; the second layer is amazing. When you take it away, it turns out to be a large can of chicken soup! Wang Yuanfang smells the fragrant chicken soup and is surprised.
He swallowed hard. He noticed that the mouth of the jar was wrapped with wet tissue paper to prevent leakage.
He didn't care to look at the other food boxes, and hurried back to the house to greet Liu Sheng and others to get up and have breakfast, while he went to fetch water and wash up first.
Liu Siting in the main room on the west side was woken up by Wang Yuanfang's voice. She didn't sleep well that night, mainly because she couldn't sleep well in a new place. She got up in a hurry, made up the bedding, and got dressed.
I found my toothbrush and facial cleanser and left the house.
After a while, everyone got up except Zhao Xin. The porch in the front yard was full of people, brushing teeth and washing faces in a mess.
"Don't grab it, I'll wash it first."
"Hate!"
After everyone finished their work and sat at the Eight Immortals table in the front hall, Zhao Xingang yawned and walked out of the main room on the east side. He said that he didn't have to run to exercise today, so happy!
Several people opened the other two food boxes without waiting for him, and were as amazed as Wang Yuanfang.
The upper and lower layers of the third food box contained a basket of soup dumplings, with a small jar next to it containing the mixed soy sauce and vinegar. When the basket was opened, a scent of crab roe hit the nose. Everyone looked at the fourth food box.
, also a pot of wine and a large bowl of egg fried rice.
Liu Zheng said strangely: "Forget it, this fried rice, why are you bringing two bottles of rice wine so early in the morning?"
Xu Dayong, who was standing at the door, quickly explained: "Sir, here in Shanghai we pay attention to eating hard rice in the morning, sometimes with rice wine."
"What about this chicken soup?"
"This is for making rice. Just add salt and vegetables and it will be a good breakfast."
"I see!"
Lu Shoushan and the others did not dare to sit at the same table as Liu Sheng and the others, so they excused themselves and served a bowl of fried rice, some salted vegetables, and a pot of wine. They went back to the concierge to eat and drink rice wine.
After Zhao Xin finished washing up slowly, there was only a plate of salted vegetables, half a can of chicken soup, two crab roe buns and half a bowl of dry rice left on the table. Seeing that there was no egg fried rice, Zhao Xin had to use the remaining chicken soup to soak it.
I had rice and ate it with salt and vegetables. I took one bite of crab roe buns and went into my stomach before I even tasted them.
When Zhao Xin heard that Wang Yuanfang said that Lao Huang had sent someone to deliver the breakfast, he smiled and said that Fatty Huang was really trying his best to curry favor.
After everyone had breakfast, they saw that it was still raining. When they arrived here last night, even though there were lanterns shining on them, they still couldn't see many places clearly, so they took advantage of the day and wandered around, using umbrellas to see the front and back of the house.
All over.
After lazily hanging out like this until noon, Lu Shoushan, who was sitting in the concierge, heard someone knocking on the door again. When he opened the door, he saw that it was still the two guys who came in the morning, each carrying two food boxes. This was to deliver lunch.
coming!
The two waiters delivered the lunch boxes to the front hall and put away the breakfast dishes and pots, and were about to leave. Zhao Xin stopped them.
"You go back and tell Mr. Huang that we want to go into the city and visit the Chenghuang Temple in the afternoon."
The two waiters quickly bowed in agreement, picked up the food boxes, and left.
The idea of Zhao Xin and others is that since it is raining today, there will definitely be fewer people on the streets. It is better to go into the city and then prepare to go north to Yangzhou tomorrow.
Everyone had a hasty lunch, and at almost two o'clock in the afternoon, Lao Huang and Shen Jingdan arrived with several hired carriages, and also brought "raincoats" to everyone.
The best raincoats in the Qing Dynasty were made of silk and brushed with tung oil, so they were called "oil coats." The oil coats had excellent water-proof properties and were very close to modern raincoats. In addition to raincoats worn by men, there were also
Women wear "oil coats" and "oil skirts" when going out; oil skirts are wrapped outside the skirt.
Zhao Xin and others put on their green oil coats, oil caps, and black oil boots; then they waited for Liu Siting from the West Room to also dress up, and then they all went out and got on the carriage.
(The "Qing Hui Dian" stipulates that the royal family, the first-rank officials wear red raincoats, and the second-rank and lower civil and military officers to the military and civilians all wear blue. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, oil boots were divided into two types: jacket and cotton, both of which were black. Cotton can be waterproof
, and can also keep out the cold, they are oil boots for winter; if they are clipped, they can be worn in different seasons. The soles of oil shoes are twice as thick as ordinary shoes, and the uppers are lined with multiple layers of cloth with dense seams. After they are done, use
Tung oil is applied repeatedly to make it hard, so that it is waterproof and the shoes are not easily deformed. There are two ways to wear oil shoes, one is to "slip on", and then put the oil shoes on after wearing the shoes; the other is "to wear",
Wear oil shoes directly after wearing socks.)
In this era, Shanghai County was crisscrossed by waterways. Two main waterways passed through the city from east to west, one was Zhaojiabang in the south and the other was Fangbang in the north. The City God's Temple was on the north side of Fangbang, and on the east was next to Yue
Wang Temple and Mengjiang Temple, and to the northwest is Yu Garden.
At this time, it rained heavily again. Several carriages entered the city from the "Crossing Dragon Gate" in the south of the county. There were very few pedestrians on the street. After entering the city, they crossed the Yuxing Bridge to the north, passed the Academy, and then
Turn left at Changsheng Bridge and arrive at the Chenghuang Temple on Miaoqian Street.
During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Shouyue, the magistrate of Shanghai at the time, converted the Jinshan Temple in Shanghai, which was dedicated to the Lord of Jinshan God Bo Luhou Huo Guang, into the Shanghai City God Temple to worship the Shanghai City God Qin Yubo (Qin Yubo was the eighth grandson of Qin Guan. If you are interested, check it out for yourself.
.)
People like Zhao Xin have all been to Shanghai in another time and space, and have also been to the City God's Temple. However, the City God's Temple during the Qianlong period was still very different from that of later generations. In addition to several fires, the most important reason was the Xiaodaohui uprising in the third year of Xianfeng's reign.
At that time, the West Garden of the Chenghuang Temple was used as a command post, but it was destroyed during the Qing army's attack. Later, the Taiping Army attacked Shanghai, and the Qing court asked foreigners to help suppress it. The foreign troops stationed in the West Garden completely destroyed the landscape of the garden.
It was not restored until the Tongzhi period.
Liu Sheng just saw that the Yuewang Temple was next door, and he was really not interested in the City God's Temple, so he told Zhao Xin that he wanted to go there. Wang Yuanfang also wanted to go, so Liu Sheng, Wang Yuanfang, Ding Guofeng, and Wu
Siyu and Pan Xiucheng, led by Lao Huang, went next door.
Zhao Xin and his entourage entered the temple through the side door. When Lu Shoushan heard Zhao Xin talking to Liu Siting about the Cihang Hall behind the main hall, which would be dedicated to the real person Cihang, Guanyin, he said that he wanted to offer incense to Guanyin.
Pray for the Xu family and keep the two young masters safe. Zhao Xin agreed.
Unexpectedly, Lu Shoushan and Xu Dayong had just walked to the main hall and were about to go around to the back when a slightly older voice came from the rain curtain.
Lu Shoushan was shocked. He turned around and saw an old man in his fifties wearing oilcloth clothes standing at the door of the main hall, bowing to a Taoist priest. When the old man straightened up and turned around to put on his hat,
Lu Shoushan had already seen that face clearly.
A wave of hot blood suddenly surged from his chest and went straight to the sky! Lu Shoushan's ears were buzzing loudly at this time, his eyes were darkened, and he was a little unsteady.
"Brother Lu, what's wrong with you?" Xu Dayong, who was following him, saw Lu Shoushan shaking and quickly helped him.
"He, him!" Lu Shoushan's voice trembled, and his eyes seemed to burst out of fire. He raised his forearm and pointed at the old man who was about to leave with his trembling right hand.
Xu Dayong looked at Lu Shoushan, then followed his finger to look at the old man. He quickly asked: "Brother Lu, what's wrong?"
"Follow him, don't let him find out." Lu Shoushan leaned under the gable of the main hall and said in a trembling voice.
"Ah? Hey!" Xu Dayong was stunned and followed the old man? But he turned around and saw Lu Shoushan looking like he was about to eat someone. He felt cold in his heart. He quickly agreed and followed quietly.
On the way to Shanghai, Liu Sheng and others briefly explained some tracking techniques to Lu Shoushan and others in order to facilitate the completion of the task. Xu Dayong listened very seriously at the time, but he did not expect to use them soon.
After the old man left the Chenghuang Temple, he got on a small sedan, and then he went west across Chen Shi'an Bridge. When he was approaching Guangfu Temple, he turned right and entered Jiujiachang Street.
Due to the rain at this time, except for a few vegetable and meat sellers on both sides of the street, there were very few pedestrians. Xu Dayong did not dare to approach, so he followed the old man at a distance of seventy or eighty meters.
The sedan turned left at Chuanxin Street and headed out of the city from the Old North Gate.
In the City God's Temple, Lu Shoushan, who was squatting under the gable of the main hall, calmed down for a while and then felt a little better. He stood up slowly and searched for the sound until he found Zhao Xin and others who were preparing to go to the West Garden.
"Master." Lu Shoushan walked up behind Zhao Xin and called in a low voice.
"Oh, Shoushan." Zhao Xin responded casually. As soon as he turned his head, he saw a big gray face. "Hey? Why do you look so bad?!"
"Master, please take a moment to speak."
"What's wrong?" Zhao Xin followed Lu Shoushan to the corner between the front and back yards, and saw Lu Shoushan looking around, very strange.
"Master, I saw a person."
Zhao Xin stared at Lu Shoushan and saw that his eyes were wide open, as if he wanted to choose someone to devour. So he asked tentatively: "Who did you see?"
"Tong! Zhi! Lin!"
Zhao Xin was stunned, wondering why this name sounded so familiar? Suddenly, his heart moved, and he quickly asked: "Are you talking about Dong?"
Lu Shoushan nodded heavily before Zhao Xin finished speaking.
"Where are the others?"
"Already gone. I asked Xu Dayong to follow."
"Are you sure you saw it's him?"
"I can recognize him even if he turns to ashes!"
Zhao Xin thought for a moment and said, "Wait until Xu Dayong comes back."
After Xu Dayong left the city, he finally followed him to the entrance of a small courtyard near Sanmao Pavilion Street, where he saw the sedan stopped. The old man got off the sedan and paid, and after the sedan bearer left, he began to knock on the door.
Door.
Xu Dayong saw a grocery store opposite the yard, and his heart moved. He quickly walked to the door of the store and pretended to go in to buy something. He rubbed the mud on his feet on the bluestone steps outside the store door and paid attention.
The movement behind you.
Just hearing the creak of the courtyard door, the person who opened the door said to the old man: "Butler, have you come?"
"I've got it! I've got it! The talismans there are very effective. I'm saved now!"
Soon, as the courtyard door closed, the sound disappeared. Xu Dayong glanced back and saw that the courtyard door was closed. Then he walked around the shop and chatted with the shop clerk, and then he realized that
The old man turned out to be the housekeeper of the house opposite. After leaving the shop, Xu Da looked around for a while, making sure that the location of this place had been remembered in his mind, and then walked quickly into the city.
Half an hour later, when Xu Dayong returned to the City God's Temple and saw Zhao Xin, he leaned close to him and muttered for a long time.
At this time, Liu Sheng and the others had returned to the City God's Temple from the Yuewang Temple. After Zhao Xin thought about it, he waved to Wu Siyu and said, "Old Wu, come on down."
Everyone looked at Zhao Xin and Xu Dayong, and Lu Shoushan looked mysterious, and they all felt very strange. What is Zhao Xin doing?
Wu Siyu came over with a puzzled look on his face, and Zhao Xin leaned into his ear and talked for a while. Wu Siyu asked in surprise: "Are you sure?"
"Make sure, you and Xu Dayong go over there and keep an eye on it. If anything happens, come back and tell us personally."
"Are you going home?"
"No." Zhao Xin saw Liu Sheng, Shen Jingdan and the others looking at him, and quickly walked over to Shen Jingdan and asked: "Boss Shen, we want to find a place nearby to discuss things immediately. Where do you think is suitable?"
"Go to my house. From here, follow the main street to the east and you'll be right out of the city."
"Okay." After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he turned to Wu Siyu and Xu Dayong and said, "Do you all remember the location of Boss Shen's house?"
Wu Siyu and Xu Dayong nodded.
"If you need anything, come find us there." After saying that, Zhao Xin waved to Liu Sheng and others, turned around and left with a stern expression.
Half an hour later, we entered the flower hall on the second floor of Shen House on Taiping Street.
"Who is Tong Zhilin?" Liu Sheng asked in surprise. He did not notice that when Shen Jingdan heard the name, the blood vessels in his forehead jumped; while Pan Xiucheng's eyes flashed fiercely.
Zhao Xin glanced at everyone present: "Let Shoushan explain it to you."
After Liu Sheng and the others listened to Lu Shoushan's story, they couldn't help but look at each other in astonishment. How could it be such a coincidence?!
(Tong Zhilin is from Rugao, originally from Taizhou. In his early years, he wanted to enter a state school in Taizhou. At that time, Xu Shukui, who passed the national examination at home, said that Tong Zhilin’s ancestors came from a military household. This sentence made Tong Zhilin resentful for many years. Dongtai Literary Inquisition
The cause of the commotion that shocked the world was closely related to Tong Zhilin. It was he who took Cai Jiashu's son Cai Hu to sue Liu Yong.)
With a "pop!", Liu Sheng slammed the table and shouted angrily: "Kill him!"
"I asked Angkor and Xu Dayong to keep an eye on that family. Xu Dayong heard that family call Tong Zhilin or housekeeper."
Shen Jingdan, Lu Shoushan and Pan Xiucheng were stunned: "Could it be?"
Zhao Xin nodded and said calmly: "It's probably the Cai family."