Red Mansion and Crimson Pearl

Chapter 217 The Supreme One Goes Incognito

September fourteenth.

After the court session, Emperor Zhaoming went to Ganlu Palace to pay his respects to the Supreme Emperor as usual.

The door to the main hall was still wide open.

But Tai Shang is not here!

The eunuch guarding the palace was trembling all over. He knelt on the ground and handed a page of letter to Emperor Zhaoming with both hands:

"My son, I am going to travel with my wife for my father! Don't look for me. I will be back before the end of the year! Father, your name."

Tao Xingjian saw this and his eyes almost popped out of his head. His voice changed: "Bring your wife!?!?!"

Emperor Zhaoming also frowned, turned around and strode towards the Yanjia Palace. Tao Xingjian followed behind him at a trot.

After entering the Yanjia Palace, Cheng Qian came forward with a sigh and saluted: "Your Majesty, don't be anxious!"

"What's going on?!" Emperor Zhaoming said with a gloomy face.

Cheng Qian smiled bitterly: "We were just chatting, talking about Princess Zhaoqing going back to her hometown in Jiangnan to visit the graves. The Grand Master and the Queen Mother got excited and said they wanted to go for a visit too.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The Supreme Lord has brought Dai Quan and selected thirty of the most powerful guards. General Feng Tang and his son are also with them.

"The Grand Lord said that now that Prince Beijing is in Jiangnan, there will be someone to take care of them when they go there. And with Zhaoqing, the sweet-talking girl, accompanying them, they will definitely have a great time.

"Now that the floods in Lianghuai and Jiangnan have almost subsided, I believe that Prince Beijing will have to return to Beijing once every one or two months to celebrate the New Year.

"They will come back with us when the time comes, and they will ensure safety. Let this servant tell His Majesty not to worry."

After hearing this, Emperor Zhaoming looked even more troubled. After a while, he simply sat down in the Yanjia Palace and complained, "What about the capital?

"It's clear that the Master will not be back for a month or two. There are so many things going on, and so many people want to see him.

"What do I say to this?!"

"Well! What should I say? Keep it a secret for now. If you can't keep it a secret anymore, just tell the truth. The Second Saint loves to play, so he took advantage of the cool autumn weather to go out incognito to travel around the mountains and rivers."

Cheng Qian also complained, "If anyone else says that, just say you don't know either and that you were also deceived. Let them wait for the Supreme to come back and impeach the accuser themselves."

Emperor Zhaoming nodded heavily.

Tao Xingjian, who was standing beside him, almost couldn't help but curl his lips, but quickly turned them down, holding his whisk and worrying, "And there's also the Concubine Dowager.

"Everything else is easy to deal with. But Concubine Xiao was the first to make a scene and insisted on going with us. What should we do?

"And Concubine Lai, didn't she say that she's no longer capable? What if, in just these few days, the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are not here, what should we do?!"

Cheng Qian snorted, "It's none of your business! The Grand Master and the Queen Mother have left a message that those who make trouble will be sent back to their parents' home, and those who die will be kept secret.

"Your Majesty, just focus on the affairs of the court. I will take care of the affairs of the Taiji Palace."

The last worry was resolved. Emperor Zhaoming stood up, feeling lost and said, "Then I will go back to read the memorial first."

Cheng Qian hurriedly escorted him out: "Your Majesty, please also take care of yourself and take good care of yourself." She also reminded Tao Xingjian, "Don't forget to drink plenty of water. It's getting cold at night, so remember to add more clothes for Your Majesty."

Tao Xingjian agreed repeatedly.

The emperor and his minister left the Yanjia Palace and returned to the imperial study. After sitting down, Emperor Zhaoming ordered him to write a secret decree to those people in Jiangnan.

Tao Xingjian agreed crisply!

There was no conversation along the way until September 26th, when the boat passed Yangzhou.

Daiyu stood at the bow, wearing a veiled hat, pointing to a pavilion on the river bank, and whispered to Zijuan, "Do you remember?"

Almost instantly, Zijuan's tears fell, and she choked and whispered, "Our family has another business. The late Marquis..."

It was there four years ago that I woke up and found that my life was restarted, but I was too late to save my loving father.

Daiyu ordered people to bring wine, fruits and food, and set up an incense burner, lit some agarwood, then knelt on the deck to pay tribute from afar.

Jia Yun and others followed behind and knelt solemnly.

The boatman just watched quietly. When Daiyu had finished shedding tears and lowered her head back to the cabin, he quietly asked the bodyguard who followed her:

"Girls, who are you offering this to? Why don't you just go ashore and stay overnight before leaving?"

Just as the bodyguard was about to speak, Jia Yun stepped forward with a smile and said, "No one. Our girl loves poetry and prose. There were many talented people in Yangzhou in the past dynasty, so she was touched and shed a few tears."

The bodyguard looked at him in surprise.

Jia Yun pulled him away and whispered, "Don't you know? Prince Beijing is in Jiangnan. Don't expose your whereabouts casually."

The bodyguard was shocked and hit his head in annoyance: "When we rented the boat, we didn't expect that we could use our real surname."

"It doesn't matter if there are more people with the surname Lin." Jia Yun whispered, "Tell the other brothers as well.

"When you get to Gusu, go ashore and find a porter or something like that, and tell them your surname is Jia and give me my name. Don't mention the girl anymore."

The bodyguard nodded repeatedly.

Here, Jia Yun also quietly instructed Xiaohong to tell Lin Daiyu and Aunt Meng.

Aunt Meng couldn't help but praise: "The county lady asked him to follow, and he was right!"

Chu Qian was a little unconvinced, but when he thought about it, he realized that it was indeed his negligence, and he felt remorseful, so he sulked in the cabin.

Because they were in a hurry, the ship sailed day and night and arrived in Gusu at 3:00 pm on September 27th.

After they got ashore and exchanged banknotes, the boatman saw that the reward was a large sum and smiled as he thanked Jia Yun: "Thank you, Master Lin!"

"What Master Lin? My last name is Jia." Jia Yun smiled and bowed, "I didn't catch the boat first, and the women in my family were timid, so they gave me a fake last name.

"Actually, our last name is Jia. You are great. The boat has been very stable all this way. The food is also fresh. Have a good time sailing. We will return to Beijing next spring, and maybe we can hire you again!"

The boatman was surprised and said, "Great! I will come to Gusu again in the spring. How can I ask about Master Jia?"

Jia Yun smiled and pointed towards the city: "There is a Luo Jiuniang family in Shili Shantang. Do you know about it?"

The boatman was confused: "Uh, this..."

"Although it's not very famous, it has been open for three or four years. Go ask her next time you come. If I go back to Beijing, she will definitely know about it."

Jia Yun smiled and patted the boatman on the shoulder. "Keep your mouth shut and don't make a fuss. If someone else steals your business, you can't blame me."

The boatman immediately pointed to the sky and swore that he would never reveal it.

Jia Yun smiled and left.

Two days later, the boatman took another business to Luoyang. Before he set sail, he was stopped and asked, "Have you ever sent a family named Lin to Gusu?"

The boatman immediately denied it: "No. I came here half a month ago, and the man I sent was named Zhen!"

The other person raised an eyebrow and went to ask someone else.

Seeing the official boots on the other party's feet accidentally revealed, the boatman's head suddenly buzzed!

He hurriedly asked his employer quietly: "Are you familiar with Shantang?"

"How to say?"

"Ask around a bit, is there a Luo Jiu Niang? Has the shop been open for three or four years?"

"Yes! Although she is young, she speaks Mandarin very well! So people from the north often visit her. We people from the south don't support her much, so she is not very famous.

"Why? Do you recognize him?"

"No, no, no! I've heard of it! How can a poor kid like me afford to go to a place like that?"

The boatman breathed a sigh of relief, put on a smile, and quickly sailed away from this dangerous place.