Little Cardamom

Departing from Pangshan Mountain, we traveled without any haste for ten days, and finally arrived at Lingzhou.

Ming Tan has never left Beijing before. He only knows that Lingzhou has a developed sea trade, a prosperous economy, and many beauties. It is heard that in the past dynasties, the number of women sent to the capital from Lingzhou was much more than that from other dynasties.

It wasn't until she entered the territory of Lingzhou that she accidentally learned from Jiang Xu that the Queen Mother Su was not only from Lingzhou, but that the Su family behind her had even controlled more than half of Lingzhou.

From the previous dynasty to the present, the shipping department of Lingzhou City has always been the voice of the Su family. Several city ship envoys are all from the Su family's faction. The largest private merchant fleet in Lingzhou is also funded by the Su family. Or private maritime trade, they are all completely in the hands of Su's family.

The local governors in Lingzhou also often have connections with their families, and those who have no connections and do not want to have connections will always die for various reasons.

Ming Tan was dumbfounded: "Then, aren't we in danger?"

Ming Tan has always been taught that women are not allowed to engage in politics, so she never asked about Jiang Xu's business affairs. When she went south to Lingzhou, she didn't ask what kind of job Jiang Xu was doing. She subconsciously thought that she could take both She must be in no danger.

"Scared?" Jiang Xu raised his eyes to glance at her.

Ming Tan was immersed in the shock of knowing this, and nodded honestly. After clicking, she came to her senses, shook her head immediately, and said forcefully, "With my husband here, A Tan is not afraid, there is nothing to be afraid of."

She said so, but her body was very honest, her back tensed instantly, and she cautiously lifted a corner of the veil to look out.

Jiang Xu raised the corner of his lower lip imperceptibly, looked down and flipped through the book, but didn't tell her not to worry.

Lingzhou is already the last bargaining chip of the Su family, they don't want the current prince and the son of the right minister to have an accident in this area. Taking a ten thousand step back, if there are really people who have mischief and want to do something, it depends on whether they have the ability.

At noon, the carriages and horses stopped in a small town in the southwest of Lingzhou, and the group found a restaurant in the town to rest and have a meal.

A few people were sitting in the private room on the second floor, Ming Tan frowned, and just about to say that the Dragon Well was not good, it was mixed with old tea, when there was a commotion downstairs, it seemed that someone had eaten free food and refused to pay the bill.

Ming Tan looked downstairs, and saw that the shopkeeper was very stubborn, and was stopped by others, and he was not allowed to go out without paying the bill.

However, it was tough to eat free food, rolled up his sleeves and stepped on the stool, spit vulgarly on the ground, and said loudly: "I am! I tell you, my sister has been transferred to take care of the ninth girl in the third room of the host family. ! When my sister gets the monthly silver, are you afraid that I won’t be able to pay you a few pennies? My sister is very pampered by Miss Jiu, and it will be a matter of minutes to give me an errand in Sufu in a few days, you Damn it, I don't have eyes!"

...?

Is it so arrogant to eat free food these days?

Ming Tan looked carefully, and saw that the shopkeeper really hesitated when he heard these words.

Seeing this, the free eater triumphantly scooped up half a shiny roast chicken on the table, swaggered out of the restaurant, and the shopkeeper didn't let anyone stop him.

Wait, my sister is the favored little girl in front of the third and ninth girls of the Su family, so can he be so arrogant? It seems that this house is in Lingzhou, and it is really the emperor of the earth.

Ming Tan became more and more anxious.

Two days later, they finally arrived at the destination of the trip, Lingzhou Quancheng.

When he arrived in Quancheng, Jiang Xu didn't intend to continue to keep a low profile, so he revealed his identity at the inspection office of the city gate.

After hearing the news, the magistrate rushed to the city gate to meet him personally.

"I don't know that the lord is here, but I'm not far away from welcoming you. Please forgive me." The magistrate was terrified. He knew why Jiang Xu came, but he had to pretend he didn't know it. He had to ask carefully, "My lord." Your Majesty is here this time, but you have an errand?"

"Does the king need to inform the magistrate first of his actions?" Jiang Xu said indifferently, with his hands behind his back.

"The lower officials dare not!"

The magistrate's legs are almost weak. He knew that Lord Yan was coming, but he didn't expect that he would reveal his identity directly. Didn't Lord Yan stay in inns quietly in so many places in front of him? Why did he find him as soon as he arrived in Quancheng? lost him? He is not a host family!

He kept complaining in his heart, and bowed down to explain: "Your Majesty, what I mean by this officer is that if there is anything that the lord can do, I will do my best to cooperate with you!"

Jiang Xu glanced at him lightly: "Then it's hard work for Mr. Zhifu."

The magistrate nodded, wiped his sweat, and led them back to his own mansion courteously, entertained them with delicious food and drinks, and dared not neglect them at all.

It's just that Ming Tan is vigilant, he dares not touch anything, the entrance must be tested for poison, the edges of the utensils are not spared, and the mattress furnishings must be inspected carefully.

In the evening, the magistrate took great pains to make some arrangements, inviting Jiang Xu and Shu Jingran to Xianquanfang to clean up the dust for them.

This Xianquanfang is the largest one among the 180 boats in Lingzhou, with a total of 68 boats connected to each other.

Knowing that Jiang Xu was going to have a dinner party here in the evening, Ming Tan was worried, and he hesitated to speak several times during the meal.

Jiang Xu thought that his little concubine was jealous again. After deliberation, he rarely took the initiative to say: "There is something tonight, you...don't worry. If the female relatives of the magistrate's family invite you, you can also go to have fun with them." She is used to I like to be lively, and I am afraid that I am too nervous these days because of the exhaustion of boats and cars.

"Mr. Ke, go to the Immortal Spring Square—"

"The concubine should have some confidence in herself." As he spoke, he picked up a piece of meat for Ming Tan.

"...?"

She is very confident in herself, okay? She has come to Lingzhou with everyone, are you afraid that he will not be able to bring a woman who is a painter back?

Well, she was indeed a little bit afraid, if she traveled together and he could pick up a woman back home, then she wouldn't have to be a human when she returned to Shangjing.

But what she is more afraid of now is that Su's family will be unfavorable to him. As the saying goes, a strong dragon will not overwhelm a local snake. Now on his territory, if the errands he wants to do involve their interests, no matter how capable he is, it will be dangerous.

Before Jiang Xu went out, Ming Tan couldn't help but babbled and said: "My husband can drink a lot, but when we arrive in Lingzhou, we should drink less and be more careful in everything."

As he said that, he also gave him the detoxification pills that he secretly asked for from Imperial Physician Feng before leaving Beijing, and said in a low voice, "If you feel uncomfortable, please take a pill. This is what I asked for from Imperial Physician Feng. An ordinary drugged poison."

"..."

Jiang Xu wanted to say something, but felt it was unnecessary, so he just nodded and told Yun Yi, "Take good care of the princess."

"yes."

Yun Yi surrendered and took the lead.

Jiang Xu's sudden appearance not only caught the Zhifu by surprise, but also made the female family members in the prefect's mansion a little flustered.

They learned that His Royal Highness Prince Dingbei brought the princess to live with him in his mansion, and his lord invited the prince and the right-hand man to Xianquanfang to pick up the wind and wash away the dust. The princess, they can't just hang out in the mansion like this. .

So at night, the magistrate's wife also arranged a play in the river, and invited Ming Tan to watch it.

This river opera is a major feature of Lingzhou. It originated from the 180 boats in Lingzhou. Later, some opera troupes improved it and created a river opera that was only sung at night in Lingzhou.

As the name suggests, the opera in the river is to be sung in the river. The stage is set in the river. At night, the stage is surrounded by lights, and clusters of river lanterns are also lit on the river. The audience sits in the painting boat to enjoy the cool, smell the fragrance of lotus, and enjoy the night opera. Don't have a good time.

When Ming Tan received the invitation, she subconsciously wanted to reject it. How could she join the river in a place she was not familiar with? Was she too famous or lived too long?

But her refusal made Madam Zhifu very flustered, thinking that she was not thoughtful, so she came to invite her in person, with warm and sincere words.

Ming Tan wanted to push back his physical discomfort, but suddenly remembered what his husband said earlier, why did he specially remind him that he can have fun with the female relatives in the magistrate's mansion? Could it be that he is hinting at her to let her get in touch with the female relatives in the magistrate's mansion?

Seeing that Ming Tan was hesitant, Yun Yi whispered: "Princess, don't worry, the Lord still left two top experts of Jin Yunwei as guards."

Ming Tan looked around.

Have it? Why didn't she feel it at all.

But even so, she didn't continue to refuse, and estimated that she would stay in Lingzhou for a few days to get in touch with the female relatives here, maybe it would be helpful for her husband's business.

The magistrate's office is very close to the Lingyu River where the theater is being watched. Along the way, the magistrate's wife also explained the origin of the Lingyu River to her in detail. Tan listened to each other, not very interested.

However, the words of the second lady of the prefect's family are more interesting: "Princess Wangfei, have you heard of our Lingzhou's 180 boats? Look, the bright spot is our Lingzhou's 180 boats. , the Xianquanfang where the prince and daddy went is the one on the right."

Madam Zhifu gave her a hasty look to signal her to shut up.

What is it worth showing off to lead your husband to the boat room for fun? It's a big face for the princess not to blame, she has the face to be with others!

But Ming Tan really looked along the Huatou, and the river in the distance was brightly lit, shining brightly, and above the sparkling waves, reflected a somewhat dreamlike scene of lights. She thought, if she was closer, she might still be able to hear the woman's coquettish laughter.

The magistrate’s wife arranged a very spacious painting boat, and the Eight Immortals Table on the top had already set up delicate fruit plates and snacks. The night breeze was blowing on the river, and the boat stopped when it was a little distance from the river. Not far away, on the stage, actors also appeared on stage. .

After Ming Tan learned that the glorious place in the distance was the 180 boats of Lingzhou, he was always a little absent-minded when watching the play, and he had to look over there from time to time.

When "Spring River Flowers and Moonlight Night" on the stage came to an end, Ming Tan suddenly caught a glimpse of clusters of green smoke rising from the distant lights.

What kind of new program at their place is this?

She couldn't help staring, but the more she stared, the more something went wrong. Why did she stare, as if there were large groups of figures moving? She sat up straighter, and suddenly, she asked in surprise: "Is there water running over there?"

As soon as this remark came out, everyone watching the theater on the painting boat couldn't help but look there.

They were so far away that they couldn't see clearly. The magistrate's wife ordered a young man to row a boat to look over there. The boat hurriedly turned back halfway, and the young man shouted to the top of the painting: "Ma'am, it's out of the water! That, that Your head is in the water!"

Needless to say, everyone can see clearly at this moment, the fire is rushing up rapidly, clusters of green smoke are burning, look at the position, it is the rightmost side of the big light, Xianquanfang!