241-250

Chapter 241

Some time ago, Lin Zhen and Gu Lin traveled to Lizhou by land, which took half a month. However, they arrived in Kyoto on the fifth afternoon after boarding the ship from the river mouth of Dongyang County.

Lin Zhen could clearly feel the transition period between the climate of Kyoto and Lizhou. When he boarded the ship, he was still wearing autumn clothes. On the third day of the ship's voyage, he couldn't stand the sun above his head. He returned to the cabin and changed into a green Luoshan, and never let go of the fan in his hand.

When he entered Kyoto, the temperature was even higher.

Lin Zhen stood on the deck, holding a fan in his hand to cover his forehead. His masked face was hidden behind it, with only his eyes visible in two frames. He looked at the merchant ships in front and behind: "Brother Yan, our ship will not move after it docks. It will stay here for three to five days, and I will turn back after I sell all the goods."

Yan Canghai looked at his eyes that were slightly squinted because of the sunlight, and said, "How can you sell this stuff if you don't go to Kyoto?"

"Wait for customers to come and buy it," Lin Zhen smiled and instructed Zhou Zhengchu and others behind him, "Just follow the method I said. First, tell the servants of the ladies and ladies one by one according to the names and addresses on the list that new Jade Face Powder Flower Dew and lipstick have arrived. If you want to buy them, go to the merchant ship with the Yan flag at the mouth of the canal."

"Then spend a little money to hire the children of the Yitang on the street, and let them shout loudly in the streets and alleys, saying that those who want to buy Yurong Powder Flower Dew lipstick can buy it here. There is not much stock, and

it will be sold out while stocks last." Yan Canghai, who was standing next to him, understood what he meant. What Lin Zhen said before about making rouge and powder in Kyoto was not false, and he even had some reputation. He was sure that those girls and boys who loved beauty would come to buy it after hearing the news.

Yan Canghai looked back at the cabin loaded with eight horse-drawn carts of goods, and really wanted to see how long it would take Lin Zhen to sell them all.

Zhou Zhengchu and his friends had never been to Kyoto, but Lin Zhen's request was not difficult. After they saluted Lin Zhen with their fists, they got off the boat, casually called a coolie who was moving things, and pointed to the place above to let him lead the way.

The coolie was from Kyoto. When he heard the names of the mansions and residences mentioned by Zhou Zhengchu and his friends, sweat broke out on his forehead: "Gentlemen, these are people that I cannot afford to offend. If I offend you, I will lose my life." Zhou

Zhengchu was also surprised when he took the booklet handed to him by Lin Zhen. At the top of the booklet was written:

Shi Mansion, Mrs. Shi, living in xxx, Dongcheng, and it was also noted that her husband was the Minister of Industry.

The second line was the detailed address of the mansion of the Marquis of Yong'an.

The third line was the detailed address of the mansion of the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.

...

At a glance, these people were all wives or juniors of high-ranking officials and nobles in Kyoto. Each of them was a big name.

But they were all a string of words in Lin Zhen's booklet, waiting for Zhou Zhengchu and his friends to notify the arrival of new goods made by Lin's Water-Powder Shop.

Zhou Zhengchu said: "You are only responsible for leading the way, and we will take care of the rest. Even if there is a disaster, we will be the first to suffer. What are you afraid of?"

Coolie: "..."

This seems to be true.

Zhou Zhengchu walked towards Kyoto City: "Come on, run this trip with us, and you will be paid for four jobs."

When he heard about the money for four jobs, the worry on the coolie's face disappeared a lot. He followed the steps of Zhou Zhengchu and others, and took them to Shi Mansion first according to what Zhou Zhengchu said.

Shi Mansion is one of the courtyards closest to the palace. In such hot weather, the servants guarding the gate are still meticulous, and their clothes are neatly dressed without even a wrinkle.

Seeing Zhou Zhengchu and others coming here, the gatekeeper of Shi Mansion looked at them.

Zhou Zhengchu asked a few people to wait more than ten meters away from the gate of Shi Mansion, and walked over by himself.

"Stop, this is the Shi Mansion, you cannot approach casually." Zhou Zhengchu had just taken a step when the gatekeeper who noticed his intention stood in front of the majestic and solemn gate and said.

Zhou Zhengchu clasped his fists and said, "Big brother, I'm a foreign merchant. My master was asked by Mr. Lin from Lizhou to bring a few words to Madam Shi."

"That Mr. Lin's surname is Lin Zhen. He used to do business in Kyoto selling Jade Face Powder Flower Dew and lipstick. Now he has opened a new gouache shop in Lizhou. As Mr. Lin was busy and couldn't come to Kyoto in person to handle this batch of goods, he sold the goods to my master. The goods have now been shipped to Kyoto and will be sold on the Yan family merchant ship on the canal from today."

"When my master bought this batch of goods, Mr. Lin said that the high-end Jade Face Powder Flower Dew and lipstick shipped to Kyoto would only be bought by old customers like Madam Shi first, and then sold to other new customers."

The servant who was guarding the door had a deep impression of Lin Zhen. He had worked in the Shi Mansion for so many years and had seen countless noble ladies, but no one could compare to Lin Zhen. The gatekeeper even secretly gave him the title of the most beautiful woman in Kyoto in his heart.

Moreover, the master had been coming in and out these days, and he had heard the name Lin Zhen several times, saying when he would return to Kyoto to sell Yurong powder and other things.

The gatekeeper said, "Did Boss Lin bring any other words? I will report them to Madam in full."

Zhou Zhengchu said, "No."

"Okay, then you wait here, I will report to Madam and see if there is anything to say back to you." The gatekeeper said to another person and walked to the backyard of Shi's mansion.

Madam Shi was talking to the daughter of the Minister of Works and the third daughter of the Yong'an Marquis to relieve her boredom, when she heard the maid say that the gatekeeper in front had something to report.

The people in the Shi's mansion were all selected by Madam Shi herself. Knowing that ordinary small matters could not be handed to her, she leaned back on the chair and said, "Send someone in."

The daughter of the Minister of Works and the third daughter of the Yong'an Marquis, who were talking to her, were tactful and sat quietly aside.

Soon, the gatekeeper came in, saluted first to Madam Shi, then to the two noble ladies, bowed slightly and said with lowered eyes, "Madam, there is a man outside the courtyard who claims to be a servant of a foreign merchant. He said that the merchant bought a batch of Jade Face Powder Flower Dew and lipstick made by Boss Lin in Lizhou, and started selling them on the Yan merchant ship on the canal today."

"And Boss Lin also specifically told the merchant to let old customers such as Madam buy first, and then sell the rest to new customers." When

Madam Shi and the two noble ladies heard the words "Jade Face Powder Flower Dew and Lipstick", their eyes all fell on him. The two noble ladies showed surprise on their faces, and Madam Shi said, "Didn't Lin Zhen come to Kyoto?"

"Madam, the merchant's servant said that Boss Lin is very busy in Lizhou and can't spare time."

Madam Shi didn't ask Lin Zhen any more. Looking at the two noble ladies who couldn't help themselves, she told the maid beside her, "Go buy two batches of Jade Face Powder Flower Dew and lipstick now."

"Yes."

The daughter of the Minister of Works and the third daughter of the Marquis of Yong'an also hurriedly told the people around them: "Cuihuan, you also go with the people around the lady and buy two sets."

"Yanyan, you go too."

The tone was so impatient.

Of course, Lin Zhen has been away from Beijing for more than half a month, plus the time he spent on the road, it has been a month.

The flower dew he sold to them when he was in Beijing was used up more than half a month ago. There was some jade powder and lipstick left, which could be used together with the previous rouge and powder.

But they have become addicted to applying a little flower dew after cleansing their faces in the morning and evening to make their skin smooth and tender before putting on makeup. Without the flower dew, no matter how they put on makeup, it would be wrong.

When Mrs. Guangshi went out to attend banquets of all sizes, she heard many people who had used the flower dew asking why Lin Zhen hadn't brought new goods to Kyoto. They were so impatient that they wanted to send people to Lizhou to check.

Zhou Zhengchu, who was waiting outside, saw the gatekeeper coming out of the gate and took two steps forward.

The gatekeeper was more enthusiastic than before and said, "Our madam has already known. The person who is going to buy the Jade Beauty Powder Flower Dew will come out immediately."

Zhou Zhengchu was shocked. He didn't expect that the master here would buy it just after he handed it over.

After saying goodbye to the gatekeeper of Shi's mansion, he led people to continue to visit the addresses in the book. Only then did he know that Madam Shi's mansion was still reserved. What's more, the servants went directly to the mouth of the canal after reporting...

Zhou Zhengchu and others were also excited by the atmosphere of competition. After running through all the addresses in the book, they spent some money to hire the children raised by Yitang on the streets to shout in the streets as Lin Zhen said.

The children of Yitang were abandoned by their parents for various reasons, and were lucky enough to be picked up and raised by Yitang.

Yitang could only ensure that they would not starve to death, but could not guarantee that they would have enough food and good clothes. When they heard that Zhou Zhengchu was using copper coins to invite them to shout, they all rushed over.

After a while, with Zhou Zhengchu and his friends as the center, the voices of the children rang out from all directions.

"Lin's Water-Powder Shop's Jade Face Powder, Flower Dew, and Lipstick are now on sale at the Yan's merchant ship at the mouth of the canal..."

After completing what Lin Zhen had ordered, Zhou Zhengchu and his friends gave the silver to the coolie and walked towards the mouth of the canal.

Along the way, they felt that it was more lively than when they entered the city, especially the young girls and boys, who appeared more and more frequently.

When they arrived at the mouth of the canal, the place that was originally filled with traveling merchants, casual merchants, coolies and other men, was filled with so many brightly colored dresses that the men were almost used as embellishments.

"It is indeed the Jade Face Powder, Flower Dew, and Lipstick made by Boss Lin, not the fake ones that appeared in Kyoto before?" In front of Zhou Zhengchu, a slightly fat but cute young girl anxiously grabbed the sleeve of the person next to her and asked.

The girl whose sleeve she grabbed was also anxious. She stood on tiptoe and looked at the crowded canal in front of her: "It's true. You know my cousin is an official. I went to play with my cousin today and happened to hear someone report that the merchant who bought the Jade Face Pink Flower Dew lipstick got the message from Boss Lin and went to the mansion to tell him to buy it here." The

lovely girl said: "But... our two families are just wealthy merchants. The people who sold the Jade Face Pink Flower Dew lipstick before were all the wives of officials. Can they buy it?"

When they talked about this, they were discouraged. They had silver in their hands but had no place to spend it. They felt uncomfortable

. But the Jade Face Pink Flower Dew lipstick was too tempting, and they couldn't help but come and take a look.

Chapter 242

Those who came at this time were all maids and old women sent by the official's wives who had come to deliver the message personally by Zhou Zhengchu and others. Suddenly, three young maids squeezed out from the front, each holding two beautifully wrapped, square gift boxes in their hands.

The others who hadn't squeezed in yet asked, "Is it the Jade Face Powder made by Boss Lin Zhenlin?!"

The maid from the Shi mansion, who was the first to get the gift boxes, raised her chin slightly and said with a smile, "It is indeed the Jade Face Powder, flower dew, and lipstick made by Boss Lin Zhenlin. I put on makeup for my wife all day long, so I'm familiar with these things. I can tell whether they are real or fake just by smelling them."

The maid said, "The seller on the boat has also opened a box there. This time the high-end flower dew smells different and very good."

At the end, the maid added, "There are also mid-range and low-end ones. Except that you can't buy the two new colors of lipstick and the flower dew doesn't smell like the high-end ones, the effect is the same when applied on your hands."

The maid was also greedy for such good things, but before, Lin Zhen's small workshop had a small output and only sold to the ladies in the mansion, so naturally, slaves like them couldn't get them.

But just now when she went to buy it for Mrs. Shi, she found out that this time, not only the high-end ones were specially for noble ladies, but also the mid-range and low-end ones that could be bought with silver. The quantity was a little smaller, and the fragrance was different from the high-end ones. They couldn't buy the two new colors of lipstick, but at least it was something they could buy.

The three of them bought one each.

When the people who hadn't bought anything heard her say this, their eyes were fixed on the front, and their hearts were burning with excitement.

Originally, the cute girl who was just trying her luck and unwilling to give up heard what she said, and she jumped up and pulled her sister's hand and said, "It's true, let's go to the front!"

Zhou Zhengchu looked at the two girls' energy to get into the crowd, and deeply felt how prosperous Boss Lin's business was.

Yan Canghai, who was watching the excitement on the boat, was even more surprised. He had never expected the scene in front of him. The servants who came out of the big house, who had obviously received years of training and behaved politely, seemed to be afraid of being slow. One after another, they handed the silver to the people left by Lin Zhen. A small box of something called white jade powder cost three taels of silver, jasper powder and purple jade powder cost three taels and five cents of silver, and oriole jade powder was more expensive, three taels and eight cents of silver.

There was also something called flower dew in a porcelain bottle, five taels of silver per bottle.

Lipstick cost two taels of silver per tube.

Although Lin Zhen explained to him that mid-range and low-end flower dew were cheaper, Yan Canghai calculated in his mind that the prices of jade powder and lipstick were still the same.

After getting a number that was enough to make him excited, Yan Canghai said to the crew on his ship: "Help you move the goods out of the cabin, be careful to protect some people, don't let anything happen."

"Yes." The crew on the Yan's merchant ship was also shocked by the extremely prosperous business. These rough men couldn't figure out what was so good about that thing. The

surrounding merchants also looked at the Yan's merchant ship that was almost sunk by someone, and asked their men to inquire about what was being sold.

The two girls who had received the news in advance and came earlier than other rich ladies finally squeezed in. They didn't expect the high-end Yurong Pink Flower Dew that was only sold to the wives of officials, and went straight to the mid-range ones: "I want three of all the Yurong Pink Flower Dew and lipstick, no, four, no, no, ten!" The

lovely girl wanted to move the box containing Yurong Pink Flower Dew and lipstick away right now. There were so many sisters and sisters-in-law in her family, and there was not enough to share.

The person who had received Lin Zhen's order long ago said, "I'm sorry, miss. Since we brought less goods this time, our boss has specifically ordered that each person can only buy one portion so that more people can use the Jade Face Powder."

"Ah..." The cute girl pouted. How could one portion be enough? She had inquired for a long time and knew that the ladies and girls would only use a bottle of floral dew for seven or eight days. The mid-range ones were even smaller than the high-end ones, so they were not enough.

The person who packed the jade powder, flower dew and lipstick and handed them to them said, "Don't worry, miss. Boss Lin opened a powder shop in Lizhou and is making it continuously. New goods will arrive in a few days."

The lovely girl opened her eyes slightly and said in surprise, "Really?"

"Really, so the girl can just buy one. The flower dew can't be kept for too long. It won't be usable if it changes its taste."

"Okay, then give me one."

"Okay." After repeating the words countless times, the person who took the things took the jade powder, flower dew and lipstick handed by the person next to him, put them in the box and handed them to the lovely girl.

The girl's best friend bought it, and the two held the things tightly in front and squeezed down along the way they came.

When they reached a place with fewer people, the lovely girl couldn't help but open the exquisitely crafted wooden box, picked up a flat porcelain box with a sky-blue color after rain, and unscrewed the lid.

The porcelain box with the word "Ori Jade Face Powder" on the lid contained a little powder just below the box mouth. It was slightly different from white and incredibly delicate.

This was the Jade Face Powder they had been dreaming about for months!

The two girls looked at each other, smiling like flowers and couldn't wait to go home to try these things.

There were a total of 5,800 boxes of Jade Face Powder in four different colors, 3,500 bottles of flower dew in three different grades, of which the high-end ones were the least, the mid-range ones were the most, and the low-end ones were in the middle. There were 500 lipsticks of each color in six different colors, a total of 3,000.

Lin Zhen expected that it would take until the afternoon of the next day to sell out, but he didn't expect that it was sold out before curfew that night. Many girls and boys who had just received the news came running breathlessly and asked if there was any more Jade Face Powder. Lin Zhen could only tell people to answer that there was no more and asked them to wait for the next batch of goods.

The boxes that were originally used to store Jade Face Powder Dew and lipstick were now used to store silver. The white silver excited people's nerves under the torches.

Lin Zhen glanced at the faces of the people on the boat, and called Zhou Zhengchu, who used to work in the army and became a slave for some reason, as well as Shao Ying and Ge Yang, and said, "Carry the silver into the cabin and have someone guard it."

Yan Canghai, who witnessed how he made the silver, sighed and shook his head, "Boss Lin is really bold. With so much silver in front of me, aren't you afraid that I will have evil intentions?"

Lin Zhen said, "Because I think compared to that silver, I can bring greater benefits to Brother Yan."

"Brother Yan, do you want to do this business and buy goods from me, and then sell them to other places in Dayu on your ship."

"And to be honest with you, Brother Yan, these things are only part of the goods in my workshop. There will be others soon. I guarantee that Brother Yan will be interested."

How could Yan Canghai not be interested? Why did he go out to do business? It was to make money, but the scarce goods were all subject to the law. He was nervous every time he made ten trips. If he was unlucky, not only would the goods be lost, but people would also be in trouble.

That's why he came to the prefect of Lizhou and proposed to raise grain seeds with Lizhou bonds. After thinking about it for a night, he agreed. Although he couldn't make much money, it was a government business after all, so there was no risk.

Just when Yan Canghai was about to speak, seven or eight men with different accents stepped on the wooden planks and walked onto the Yan family's merchant ship. As soon as they arrived, they bowed to Yan Canghai and said, "Where did you find the way to make a fortune, brother Yan? Why didn't you bring me with you? That's not very kind."

This was someone they knew Yan Canghai.

Yan Canghai said, "Brother, you really think highly of your brother Yan this time. The one who does this business is the boss next to me." Because he had heard Lin Zhen's men change their names to Boss Yu, Yan Canghai also changed his name and said, "I also want to share a piece of the pie with Boss Yu."

Seven or eight bosses of other merchant ships looked at Lin Zhen, and seeing that he was wearing an old and mysterious look, they said, "This is Boss Yu, nice to meet you, I wonder if the mask on his face..."

Lin Zhen said, "The weather is too hot, and I have grown some things that make people uncomfortable. It's better to use a mask to cover it up."

"Oh, I see, that's the case. The weather in Kyoto is really hot. Most of us merchants are from the south, and most of us can't stand it."

"I have some ice on my boat, why not bring it over to help Boss Yu cool down." After saying that, the man directly ordered the people following him to go to the boat and bring a piece of ice.

Lin Zhen, whose inner clothes were soaked with sweat, accepted his kindness and said without beating around the bush: "I understand why you came here. In fact, I also got this batch of goods by accident and made this money by chance." "

Boss Yu, please tell us how you got here by accident, so that we can go there by accident."

One of Lin Zhen's purposes for coming here is to attract these merchants to the prefecture. These people need to have a place to eat, drink, defecate and urinate, apart from other things. Isn't it also a sum of money?

The river mouth of Dongyang County can also be more lively.

So Lin Zhen turned into a big liar, saying that he originally went to Lizhou to collect furs, but he didn't expect to get a few furs. Instead, he met Lin Zhen, the owner of Lin's Water Powder Shop, in the prefecture of Lizhou. Because Boss Lin had too many things on his hands and couldn't come to Kyoto in person, he bought the spot goods in his hands and hired Yan Canghai's ship to go to Kyoto.

Lin Zhen said with details: "To be honest, although Boss Lin gave me the list of wives of those high-ranking officials in Kyoto, I was still nervous, afraid that so many goods would be stuck in my hands. Who would have thought--"

"Who would have thought it would be so popular? A whole ship of goods has been sold out now," said the merchant who ordered someone to bring ice to Lin Zhen, rubbing his hands and asking Lin Zhen, "Boss Yu, can you tell me, the profit of this business..." He motioned for Lin Zhen to give a number.

Lin Zhen leaned against the railing slowly, "Two taels and two cents of silver goods, net profit of eight cents shipped to Kyoto, not a small amount."

The people staring at him shook their heads: "Not a small amount!"

It sounds like only eight cents of silver, but that is pure profit, and rouge and powder take up so much space, how can the profit of a ship of goods be small.

Lin Zhen looked at the deep interest in their eyes, and the corners of his lips curled up a little behind the mask.

Chapter 243

After getting the answer they wanted from Lin Zhen, the dozen or so merchants who came one after another left satisfied.

After speaking to Yan Canghai, who was also interested in this business, Lin Zhen asked Zhou Zhengchu and the others to pack up their things and go back to the cabin to sleep.

After coming here for many years, he had already developed the habit of going to bed early. He didn't sleep well on the boat because of overheating the past two days. Now that there was a piece of ice sent by the merchant in the room, he felt a little more comfortable and sleepy.

"..."

Suddenly, when Lin Zhen was half asleep, he heard a voice coming from outside the cabin and immediately opened his eyes: "Who?"

"It's the villain, boss, we caught someone."

Zhou Zhengchu's voice came from outside the door. Lin Zhen rubbed the root of his nose, got up and put on his coat, and opened the door, "Where is the person you caught? Bring him in for me to see."

"Yes." Zhou Zhengchu nodded, turned around and told Shao Ying and another young man to push the person they had caught and tied up in, and drag him to the room where Lin Zhen lived by holding his shoulders.

Lin Zhen looked at the ordinary-looking man in front of him. Although he was flustered after being caught, he was a little self-reliant and asked Zhou Zhengchu: "Where did you catch him?"

Zhou Zhengchu said: "At the door of the third room after going down to the cabin, Shao Ying's sharp eyes found that his walking posture was different from the crew on the ship, and he was not one of us. After questioning him for a few questions, he was exposed and was captured by Shao Ying, Ge Yang and Xiong De, but we haven't asked anything from him yet." The

most eye-catching thing on this ship is the tens of thousands of taels of silver that have just been obtained, but this man rushed to the side where people lived after getting off the cabin, instead of the other side where the silver was piled, indicating that his target was not the silver.

Thinking of where he was, Lin Zhen knew that this man's target was himself.

Earning tens of thousands of taels a day is indeed an enviable business, which reminds Lin Zhen of the power behind the monopoly of Kyoto Rouge and Powder.

The biggest loss of profit from selling Jade Face Powder, Flower Dew and Lipstick is this person. If this person was sent by them, it makes sense.

However, these are just my own inferences and cannot be taken seriously.

However, Lin Zhen was very glad that he had hidden his identity a little outside. If those people knew that Lin Zhen, who could make Jade Face Powder, Flower Dew and Lipstick, was here, they would not have sent a small scout to investigate first. It is also possible to capture him and lock him up to force him to hand over the method. Lin

Zhen said to Zhou Zhengchu: "Keep a close watch on this person and don't let him run away."

"I'll go to discuss things with Boss Yan."

Lin Zhen asked himself that he didn't have the same fighting power as Gu Lin. With so much money in his pocket, when would he go if he didn't run away now?

When he found Yan Canghai, Yan Canghai was still awake. He took off his outer clothes and wore an inner layer of clothes.

Lin Zhen said: "Sorry to bother you, Brother Yan. I have something to discuss with Brother Yan."

Everyone on the ship had seen his face. In the cabin, Lin Zhen naturally didn't wear a mask. His white face was beautiful and almost weird under the candlelight.

Yan Canghai, who already had some thoughts about him, looked at his inner clothes, then looked at Lin Zhen's eyes without any abnormal emotions, and sighed in his heart, thinking that he should pinch this seedling, maybe in Lin Zhen's eyes, he is not even a man.

He said: "Boss Lin came to me now, it must be urgent, but you can talk."

Lin Zhen said: "My men caught a man in the cabin, it should be a spy of some people in the city. With so few people on our ship, it would be very troublesome if they were targeted. Why don't we return to Lizhou now."

"Of course, in order to compensate Brother Yan for running all the way because of me, I will add 10% to the original labor compensation."

Hearing him say that he caught a person, Yan Canghai also realized that today's scene has attracted the attention of some people. Since ancient times, there have been many places with intricate roots in a place, and behind a small and inconspicuous business stands a person that no one would have thought of.

Lin Zhen's Yurong Powder Flower Dew lipstick sells so well that it is no exaggeration to say that half of the rouge and powder shops in Kyoto will have to go bankrupt.

This is because Lin Zhen doesn't have much goods, and he has to sell them. Just now, when he said that he had sold them, there were still many girls and boys under the boat who were reluctant to leave, hoping that Lin Zhen would conjure up more goods like a magic trick.

Yan Canghai joked: "Don't pay for the labor damage this time. Boss Lin will leave me more goods and let me make some money."

This is easy to do. Lin Zhen nodded: "No problem, I will load them for Brother Yan first."

Things are urgent, and the two of them said a few words casually and went to do their own things. The crew who had just fallen asleep were called up and asked to turn around and sail out of the canal mouth and return to Dongyang County, Lizhou.

The crew who were called up in a daze murmured, not knowing what Boss Yan was doing, but they had followed Yan Canghai for many years, and Yan Canghai had always been good to them. They splashed some water on their faces to wake up and started to work.

At this time, most of the merchants had fallen asleep, and only a small number of those who were looking for fun noticed that Yan Canghai's boat had withdrawn from the canal mouth and cut through the water to sail out.

I couldn't help but mutter in my heart, no matter how busy I am, I can't be too busy now, why did

he leave so quickly. The girls and boys who were still unwilling to give up and wanted to continue to persuade Lin Zhen to sell them Jade Face Powder Flower Dew and lipstick came early the next morning. When they heard that the boat selling Jade Face Powder had left, they almost thought they had heard it wrong.

Didn't the boat just come yesterday? Why did it leave!

In Kyoto, those who were keeping an eye on Lin Zhen had different thoughts when they heard the news of his departure. When

Mrs. Shi heard the report from her subordinates that the boat selling Jade Face Powder Flower Dew had left the Kyoto Canal yesterday, she paused with her hand holding the teacup, smiled and whispered, "Smart man."

Don't be fooled by the high-ranking officials and nobles in Kyoto, who are all good-looking. Most of them are two-faced. They look good, but they have long been robbing Peter to pay Paul, and their accounts are all bad debts.

No matter who was doing the business of Yurong Powder Flower Dew yesterday, many eyes fell on him. That was tens of thousands of taels of silver, not hundreds or thousands of taels. It was enough to make those who had to maintain their dignity and could not continue to work hard.

There must be many officials at the mouth of the canal staring blankly. If he didn't run away last night, how could a businessman fly away from them?

The ice sent by the merchant lasted for most of the night and melted away. The temperature in the cabin rose again, and it was so stuffy that Lin Zhen couldn't even wipe his body twice a day.

He fanned himself with a fan, opened his collar a little to let the cool wind blow in, and told himself in his heart to hold on for two more days. After two days, he would enter the territory of Lizhou and it would be cool then.

It has been almost ten days since he came out. Lin Zhen would be absent-minded from time to time these two days, thinking about Lizhou's gouache shop, Lizhou Prefecture, and Gu Lin.

Except for the time when Gu Lin went to wipe out the refugee army, the two of them had never been separated. He was used to having Gu Lin behind him. He could see him when he turned around and touch him when he stretched out his hand.

"Huahua--" Lin Zhen fanned himself more frequently with the fan in his hand. Lying on the bed, he felt his head was hot and confused.

He thought that this time when he went back, he would not need to bring the goods with him. If a few of those traveling merchants went, they would be able to buy all the goods in his hands.

After the Jade Face Powder Flower Dew was on the right track, he could free up his hands to do other things besides coloring and distilling the flower dew.

The rouge and powder business alone was a bit thin. He could also start the glass business for which he had already written a plan, and the soap business with great profits.

This year, the new farming method has not been popularized. Next year, we will teach composting manure, curved plows and other methods to more distant places, and implement the same policy of buying grain seeds on credit and paying them back in two seasons. Only when the people have money and can eat enough can we talk about building infrastructure and improving the quality of life of the people

. In his opinion, some of the specialties of Lizhou are still worth exploring. If the roads are paved, the goods can circulate faster, and some merchants and scattered merchants are attracted, the life of the people in Lizhou will be better than it is now.

Lin Zhen, who has been completely relaxed these days, sleeps well, eats well, and has scenery to see along the way, and his wallet has also gained a circle.

When the ship entered the territory of Lizhou, the temperature gradually dropped. He was a little wilted by the heat and was even more reluctant to stay in the cramped cabin. He moved a stool to sit on the deck, blowing the wind, and occasionally lowered his head to write something on the booklet with a charcoal pencil.

The further we went to Dongyang County, the lower the temperature became. On the third day after entering Lizhou, Yan Canghai's ship docked at the mouth of the Dongyang County River, just like the last time he transported food and grass. The coolies who were unloading things immediately surrounded it.

However, there was no cargo on it this time. It was all silver in boxes of Yurong Powder Flower Dew, a total of 50,000 taels of silver.

Lin Zhen looked at the team of coolies who moved Yurong Powder for him last time and said, "There is no cargo this time. Everyone, find another job."

When the leader of the coolies saw Lin Zhen, he remembered the scene where Lin Zhen asked them to rest for a while, and smiled and said, "It turned out to be you, the boss. It's a pity that I can't do your business."

Lin Zhen smiled and said, "There will be many opportunities in the future."

Suddenly, Lin Zhen saw the boat docked next to Yan Canghai. It seemed that he had brought Zhou Zhengchu and others here to board the ship to Kyoto, and they had not left yet.

Lin Zhen remembered that there was a burn mark on the right side of the deck of the ship. At that time, he thought in his heart, could it be that they encountered pirates and burned the boat during the fight?

After taking a few more glances, Lin Zhen, who could not interfere with how long other people's boats stayed here, retracted his gaze and asked Zhou Zhengchu and others to pull the carriage deposited at the inn over first and carry the silver in the box down.

Fortunately, they were stronger than ordinary people and it was not very difficult to carry it. Otherwise, carrying such a box would make people grimace, and it would be hard not to think too much.

At the corner of the dilapidated wall not far from the river mouth, a man looked at Lin Zhen who got off the boat, his eyes wide open for a while.

It was worth his waiting for so many days, the person finally came.

Chapter 244

The man was like an ordinary citizen, walking towards a house in Dongyang County. When he entered the door of the yard, he looked around and knocked on the door several times in a regular manner to make sure there was nothing unusual.

After a while, a man with a thin and long scar on his face opened the door.

"Where is Mr. Ba, is he?" The man entered the yard and closed the door.

The man with the scar on his face said in a somewhat angry tone: "Inside, what's the matter, is there any movement with the goods I asked you to keep an eye on?"

Their group of people is very famous in the underworld. They do business in various places in Dayu, but nothing serious has ever happened. Each of them has killed at least eight people.

This time coming to Lizhou is also a routine. This is a poor and remote place, and the women and men are not strictly controlled, so it is easy to succeed.

Six days ago, all the goods they had were shipped to Dongyang County, and they were just waiting to sail south to make a fortune.

Who would have thought that Mr. Ba had taken some rat poison this time and was actually waiting here to get a guy. They have so many goods piled up. If they accidentally reveal something and attract government officials, they will be in trouble.

The man who came back from outside looked at the expression on Scarface's face and said, "It's worth waiting so long. You'll know once you get the man."

He patted Scarface's chest, walked straight into the house, and said to the tall man who was drinking, "Master Ba, the guy you asked me to keep an eye on is back and just got off the boat."

"Here he comes!" The tall man smashed the wine bowl in his hand to the ground, and his decent face seemed to be pulled by someone to grin wildly, "Damn it, I've been waiting for so many days and I thought the cooked duck flew away from my mouth!"

"Call a few brothers with good skills to keep an eye on the man for me. When you find a chance, get the man immediately, transport him on the boat and leave."

The tall man still remembered that Lin Zhen was the uncle of the prefect of Lizhou. Once he disappeared, the people in the county government would definitely search everywhere.

Although these people under his command were all good hands, they could only keep the skin of a traveling merchant for as long as they could, and they would come to Lizhou to collect goods in the future.

When he thought that the guy he met on the street was about to fall into his hands, he was so excited that even his palms were itchy.

The boat docked, and Lin Zhen, whose stomach had been churning for days, breathed a sigh of relief the moment he stepped on the muddy ground.

When he went to Kyoto, he still held a little bit of luck, thinking that maybe the dizziness was only the time when he went to Kyoto with Gu Lin and others to take the exam, and this time would definitely be better.

Good man, he couldn't hold it anymore after the boat sailed for several hours, and not only ate candy, but also ate salty and spicy dishes prepared just in case.

This time he didn't have any other thoughts, and he honestly ate candy, salty and spicy dishes alternately, and finally felt better.

The boxes filled with silver were mixed with those empty boxes and loaded back onto the eight carriages.

Lin Zhen turned around and looked at Yan Canghai: "Brother Yan, we will rest in Dongyang County for one night and then set off for the prefecture. According to the agreement, all the goods in the Flour Shop are yours."

Yan Canghai is also a man with sharp eyes and quick decisions. Seeing that Lin Zhen's Jade Face Powder and Lipstick are profitable, he immediately converted the labor damage fee for delivering goods to Lin Zhen this time into the silver for buying these three goods, and made a good deal with Lin Zhen.

Lin Zhen also reciprocated and decided to give him all the goods in the Flour Shop after returning to the prefecture.

Yan Canghai nodded: "After more than ten days of hard work, my men also need to take a rest. It's just right to go to the prefecture tomorrow."

"Boss Lin," Yan Canghai looked at the boxes piled on the carriage and said, "You have to be careful when pulling so many goods."

Tens of thousands of taels of silver, and in Dongyang County where good and bad people are mixed, if the news leaked out, I don't know how many pairs of eyes would be attracted.

When getting off the ship, Yan Canghai repeatedly told his crew members to keep this matter to themselves and not to talk about it.

Lin Zhen did the same thing, saying the same thing to Zhou Zhengchu and others.

Lin Zhen replied to Yan Canghai: "I don't want to work in vain, so I plan to stay in the county government office tonight."

Yan Canghai smiled and gave Lin Zhen a thumbs up: "I am confused and worried about Boss Lin."

Lin Zhen is not only a businessman, but also the uncle of the prefect of Lizhou. The seventh-rank county magistrate looked at him and flattered him politely, hoping to say a few good things about himself in front of the prefect and have a smooth career. Lin Zhen

smiled and said, "For convenience."

Yan Canghai said, "Since Boss Lin has already made a plan, we will leave first and see you tomorrow."

"Okay."

Lin Zhen looked at the backs of Yan Canghai and the crew members, turned around and said to Zhou Zhengchu and others, "Let's go to the county government office."

As the weather got better and better, more and more people appeared on the streets of Dongyang County. The not-so-wide streets were crowded with people and were very lively.

Lin Zhen and his carriage just passed through the street, and the ears were filled with the sounds of hawking and bargaining.

The moment the traffickers who were far behind the carriage team saw Lin Zhen, they knew why Ba Ye was obsessed with this guy and could wait for so many days.

There was no ugly part of her body, and she was born to be liked by men.

Several people stared at the carriage in the front, and they saw Lin Zhen sitting in it with their own eyes.

The carriage team kept moving forward, passing one inn, two inns, and three inns.

Although Dongyang County was more prosperous than other places, it was just a deformed product that relied on salt, sugar and other things. There were only four or five inns in the county. Those who were staring at the carriage team didn't care when Lin Zhen passed the first and second inns, but when they saw the last inn slowly move behind the carriage team, they were a little dumbfounded.

"What's going on?" One of them said.

The man who had been watching the river mouth for a few days and now followed them out looked at the carriage team that had already pulled away from them and said, "You wait here, I'll follow and see what's going on."

After that, the man bought a basket from the stall next to him, bought two bunches of dried vegetables and put them in it, and hurriedly followed.

The carriage team crossed the street. When the man saw Lin Zhen's carriage stopped at the gate of the county government office, the yamen runner wearing a black-bottomed red-edged official robe walked up to him, said something to him and took him in, and even the carriage team drove in from the side door next to the county government office.

The man frowned fiercely, walked through the gate of the county government office with the basket, and glanced at the half-entered carriage team from the corner of his eye, and hurriedly took the news back.

Lin Zhen, who didn't know that the decision he made indirectly saved his safety temporarily, was treated attentively by the county magistrate's wife. Looking at his hand tightly held by the county magistrate's wife, he secretly said that he and the county magistrate were indeed a couple, and the way they spoke and moved was just like a mold.

Magistrate Wang's wife said with a smile: "Mr. Lin, just live here peacefully for a year or so, so that I can enjoy the aura of the fairy around Mr. Lin!"

"..." Sorry, I'm a human being, I'm afraid I'll disappoint you.

Magistrate Wang's wife enthusiastically led Lin Zhen to the house that had been redecorated and tidied at the fastest speed. In the middle of the outer room of the house was a square table with an incense burner on it. Next to the incense burner were two jade-like porcelain plates with fresh fruits on them. Just

looking at this, you can tell that the magistrate's wife has made a big investment. Fruits in this era, or in this season, are frighteningly expensive.

On both sides of the table were two flower vases that were slightly taller than the table. One side of the flower vases had a peacock feather and the other side had fresh flowers.

In front of the desk was an eight-immortal table and matching chairs. The outer and inner rooms were separated by four screens, and the four seasons paintings on the screens were very nice.

The county magistrate's wife, who had already learned from the county magistrate that Lin Zhen was the prefect's uncle, looked at Lin Zhen's face and said, "I can only put it together like this in a hurry. I hope Mr. Lin will forgive me."

Lin Zhen said, "It's already very good. Madam is too polite."

"Then I won't disturb Mr. Lin's rest. If there is anything, you can send someone to do it." The county magistrate's wife said.

Lin Zhen nodded.

This county magistrate's wife was not very beautiful, but her actions and words were not annoying, at least better than her husband.

Thinking of the way that County Magistrate Wang was so servile after he entered the county government, Lin Zhen still had goose bumps.

He couldn't help but wonder if Gu Lin had experienced the same thing when he came here before. No, what he had just experienced was probably just a small thing compared to a big thing.

He was just Gu Lin's uncle, and Gu Lin himself was here.

After so many days on the boat, although Lin Zhen was not seasick, he was a little tired. He asked the maid to fetch some water for him to wash and brush his teeth, and then lie down to rest.

Suddenly, just when Lin Zhen was about to fall asleep, a bell sounded in his ears.

He opened his eyes and saw a small ball the size of an adult's palm rolling to the screen. There were several copper bells hanging on the ball, and the sound came from there.

Lin Zhen looked at the shadow reflected by the sun, stood up and picked up the ball. Ding ding ding, the copper bells on the ball rang crisply.

The figure outside the house found that someone was picking up his ball and hid behind, but he was reluctant to leave his ball and did not leave directly.

Lin Zhen held the ball without moving. After a while, the figure may have thought that there was no one around, so he pushed his head in through the door and immediately made eye contact with Lin Zhen who was still standing behind the screen.

It was a child of four or five years old, wearing a red shirt and a gold necklace around his neck. He looked a bit like Magistrate Wang, but his face was chubby and white, very cute.

Lin Zhen shook the ball in his hand: "Yours?"

The child who strolled here relying on his small body did not expect that it was someone he had never seen before. He looked at Lin Zhen with round eyes and nodded, "It's mine, give me the ball."

Lin Zhen, who was very good at playing basketball back then, immediately spun the ball on his fingertips, and the copper bells and colored silk threads on it also spun along with it. The light bell sounded, the colorful threads fluttered, and the chubby child watched with his mouth open.

Chapter 245

After many turns, the ball slid into the palm of Lin Zhen's hand. He looked at the child who hadn't closed his mouth yet and raised his eyebrows: "Call me uncle and I'll give you the ball."

Based on the child's appearance, one could tell what his relationship with Magistrate Wang was. This spoiled young master tilted his head back and couldn't even say the word uncle.

But he was still well behaved and didn't yell or come up to grab the ball.

So Lin Zhen was happy to tease him, and he played the ball in many different ways in his hands. The child's face became redder and redder, and his eyes became brighter and brighter. The foot standing outside the threshold stepped in and pulled Lin Zhen's robe at his thigh: "Uncle, the ball."

Lin Zhen handed the ball to him and said, "I'll give the ball back to you, take it and play with it."

The child held the ball, raised his head and looked at him, then held the ball in front of him: "Spin, I can't spin it."

Lin Zhen smiled and tapped the back of his dimpled hand with his fingers: "Your chubby hands can't do it."

Suddenly, he took the child's hand and walked to the yard outside, tossed the ball and said, "I'll show you something nice."

The child had been conquered by his ball-spinning technique. Not only did he give him the ball, he also stood by and clapped his hands happily: "Uncle is so awesome, better than mom."

Lin Zhen tossed the ball up a little, and then used his calves, toes, knees, and thighs to lift up the ball with a copper bell and colored thread hanging on it.

The child's mouth opened wider and wider, and he cried out "Wow!" His palms clapped red.

Suddenly, a woman's voice interrupted: "Xiao An!"

The child who saw Lin Zhen playing with the ball was picked up by a maid, and there was a woman wearing an orange jacket and a white pleated skirt next to him.

The woman wore a full set of white jade hairpins on her head, and she was obviously the concubine of County Magistrate Wang.

Lin Zhen took the ball in his hand and nodded to the woman.

The woman motioned to the person behind her to take the ball, looked at Lin Zhen's face and said: "This man is unfamiliar, I have never seen him before, I wonder if I have the honor to know his name."

This woman was much more beautiful than the wife who had just brought Lin Zhen here, with thin and long eyebrows, a small mouth, and a pair of fox eyes that seemed to be able to seduce people.

Lin Zhen looked at the child who was looking at him eagerly and said, "My last name is Lin Zhen. I am a merchant. Because my family has some friendship with the county magistrate, I came here to disturb you."

"So you are an old acquaintance of the master. I am rude," the woman squatted and bowed, saying, "The child is naughty and disturbed you. I hope you can forgive me."

Lin Zhen: "The child is cute. How can I bear to blame you."

The woman smiled lovingly, touched the back of her child's head, and said, "My husband is kind. The child and I will not disturb you to rest. If there is a chance, I will invite you to sit with me and have tea."

The child was really well-behaved. He was having fun playing with Lin Zhen and was taken away by his mother. He did not cry or make a fuss. He even lay in the maid's arms and waved to Lin Zhen. As soon

as the master and servant walked out of the courtyard gate, the expression on the woman's face sank. She held her son's hand and waved to Lin Zhen.

Suddenly, she said, "Go and find out where this person came from. Is he an old acquaintance of the master? The master and I have been childhood sweethearts, how come I never knew about this old acquaintance?"

The maid holding the young master nodded and said yes. In addition to being a little spoiled, the biggest problem of this lady in their house is jealousy. As long as any maid who is a little good-looking gets close to the master, she will try every means to drive her out of the house. If she doesn't succeed, she will cry, make a fuss, or even hang herself.

The master loves her and agrees to her wishes ten times out of ten, which makes her temper worse and worse.

The maid sighed in her heart, it was also her husband's bad luck.

That night, Lin Zhen was preparing to have a simple meal. Just as he was about to ask the maid to get him something to eat, the county magistrate's wife came in and said, "Mr. Lin, I specially prepared some wine and food tonight. I want to invite Mr. Lin to have some."

Lin Zhen had done a lot of socializing in the modern times. Thinking that he had moved into the county government office as Uncle Gu Lin, and the county magistrate and his wife were worshipping him like a Buddha, he refused because it was embarrassing. After a little thought, he agreed, "Then I'd rather obey than be respectful. My lord and my wife are too polite."

"How can this be polite? It's our fate with Mr. Lin. It's destined for us to meet like this. It's God's arrangement." The county magistrate's wife put her hands together, as if she was sincerely thanking God for sending this fate.

Lin Zhen: "..."

The couple is indeed a family. They are so eloquent.

Following the county magistrate's wife to the hall where the food was served, the county magistrate in the room came up to greet him with a smile...

The wine at this time was similar to fermented rice, sweet, with only a slight smell of alcohol. After drinking two cups, Lin Zhen was not drunk at all.

When he walked from the scattered dinner table to his residence, Zhou Zhengchu, who lived with him in the county government but was not in the inner house, looked up at the sky and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Lin Zhen looked at the stars in the sky.

Zhou Zhengchu said, "The direction of the clouds is a bit against the flow. I wonder if it will rain."

"?" Lin Zhen looked at the clouds, but couldn't see anything. He asked Zhou Zhengchu, "Can you tell?"

Zhou Zhengchu said, "That's the saying in my hometown. If the clouds are moving in the right direction, it will be sunny. If the clouds are moving against the flow, it will rain."

Lin Zhen said, "It's okay if it rains a little. It won't hinder our return to the provincial capital. How about the box? Is there anything unusual?"

Zhou Zhengchu shook his head, "Nothing unusual. Our people keep their mouths shut. No one knows what's in it."

"That's good. Money has always been a motivator. We should do as little trouble as possible."

"I'll give some silver to the kitchen in the county government office later and ask them to send some midnight snacks and tea to you. Don't treat yourselves badly."

"Thank you, boss."

Lin Zhen waved his hand and asked him to go back first. He took the maid assigned to him by the county magistrate's wife to the kitchen in the county government office to find the person in charge of the kitchen and ask him to send some hot food to Zhou Zhengchu and others who lived in the back room.

When the people in the kitchen saw the silver he took out, they smiled and promised: "Don't worry, my husband, I will definitely do this properly!"

Lin Zhen had already told Magistrate Wang and Mrs. Wang at the dinner table just now that they would leave for the prefecture tomorrow. The couple tried to keep them as guests several times, but Lin Zhen rejected them all. Then he asked Lin Zhen to say a few more good words in front of Gu Lin and tried to give Lin Zhen a big gift.

Lin Zhen would not accept it, and did not agree to say a few good words to Magistrate Wang. He only said that Magistrate Wang managed Dongyang County very well, and the prefect saw it in his eyes. The future depends on the individual.

Magistrate Wang was not angry after being rejected, and he still patted his horse with a smile.

To be honest, Magistrate Wang is really an expert among the masters of flattery. Lin Zhen was a little stunned.

Coming out of the kitchen, Lin Zhen took the maid to her place.

The next day, before dawn, Lin Zhen was awakened by a thunder.

He got up with the quilt in his arms, frowning as he looked at the window that was illuminated by the lightning outside, and the furnishings in the house. Then, there was a rumbling thunder as if someone was holding dynamite and exploding next to his ears.

Before he could react, the dense rain that filled the whole world hit the tiles and the ground with a loud sound.

Lin Zhen picked up the coat next to him and put it on, then opened the door.

At this time, the houses would have eaves to guide the rain, one meter away from the door.

But the rain and wind were both strong at this time. The bean-sized raindrops were carried in by the wind and hit Lin Zhen's feet and calves.

Because he had just climbed out of bed, Lin Zhen was wearing thin silk pants for sleeping, and the raindrops hitting his skin actually hurt a little.

It was really something that he didn't want, but it happened.

Lin Zhen looked at the lanterns under the eaves that were about to be blown down by the wind and closed the door.

Perhaps someone in other houses in the yard didn't close the windows, and now there was a faint anxious voice. Lin Zhen lay back on the bed and covered himself with a quilt.

The sky was gloomy, and it was still gray when it was time for dawn.

The rain outside was still as heavy as before, and there were thumb-sized hailstones in the rain. Lin Zhen, who couldn't leave at all, was bored and simply put aside the matter of returning to the state capital in the past two days and thought about what he would do after returning to the state capital.

He had been away for more than ten days, and Lin's Watercolor Shop must have made a lot of primary products of Yurong Powder, just waiting for him to go back so that he could adjust the color.

Flower dew won't work. Flower dew needs fresh herbs, and he is the only one who knows the distillation process. No one else can do it.

Then there is the matter of Gu Lin leading the state government office to farm. The grain seeds have been planted in the fields, and I wonder if the rain has affected them.

In a courtyard in the backyard of the county government office, County Magistrate Wang hugged his cousin and concubine, coaxing her in a gentle voice: "Why are you jealous again? Didn't the master tell you that Mr. Lin is the uncle of the prefect, and he just came to stay in the county government office for one night. Why are you still stuck in a dead end?"

The woman twisted her shoulders and said, "Who knows whether what you said is true or false? Didn't you say those people were this or that before? If I hadn't stopped you, this county government office would have been full!"

As she spoke, the woman bit the county magistrate's arm spoiledly.

The county magistrate cried out in pain from the bites, but he thought that this was because she loved him so much, and he didn't take it to heart at all, "Your strength is just like a mosquito scratching an itch on me, come, I'll teach you..."

Soon, there was a sound in the house.

But the woman holding the county magistrate still didn't believe it. That's right, she didn't believe the county magistrate's words at all. The bitch had a bitch look that seduced men, and she was afraid that she could seduce the master with just a hook.

What uncle of the prefect, it was all a lie.

And the group of human traffickers who saw Lin Zhen enter the county government office with their own eyes also cursed the sky and the earth, they never thought that Lin Zhen would live in the county government office.

Getting people in the county government office and getting people outside are two different concepts. After all, there are yamen runners watching them all the time, and one can easily put oneself in danger if one is not careful.

The tall man kicked the table over with a bang and said gloomily: "Find two people to sneak in and find out the news."

Chapter 246

"Master Ba, that's the county government office..." said the thin bamboo pole.

The tall man looked at him gloomily, "Since I wanted to get that man, you have repeatedly stopped me. What, are you being sympathetic to women?"

The thin bamboo pole took a step back and said, "Master Ba, why should I be sympathetic to women? It's just that we have been delayed here for a long time. According to the past, we would have reached the south long ago, sold the goods happily and went to the next place with a large sum of money."

"But we have been delayed in Dongyang County for too long this time, and I am afraid that something unexpected will happen."

The tall man stared at him for a while, and after making sure that he had not seen anything, he said: "These people from Lizhou are all fools, what can they perceive?" The

tall man said to a woman under his command: "There is no place in this world that is iron plate, Hong Pozi, you go, you can make a dead person alive with your mouth, you will definitely be able to sneak in."

They specialize in kidnapping and trafficking girls and boys, and there are naturally many female and boy traffickers. Compared with them, women and boys are more likely to win the favor of those goods. Generally, women and boys trick people to secluded places, and then they quickly tie them up and take them away.

The woman called Hong Pozi, who was born with a kind face and was in her fifties, heard from people below a few days ago that Mr. Ba had taken a fancy to an excellent commodity, but he had never been able to get it.

Now when she heard him order her to sneak into the county government office, she thought that the boy that Mr. Ba couldn't let go of was the county magistrate's concubine.

They have also abducted and sold many people of this type. They are all playthings of officials. After abducting and selling them, they just need to hide them well and sell them for a good price in other places.

After all, those who can get close to officials are almost all beautiful.

They once got the concubine daughter of a county magistrate. She was so beautiful. At that time, they were not so brave. The girl got separated from someone and fell into their hands.

After they got the person with fear, they found that the county magistrate's family was as if nothing had happened.

At that time, they knew that the more these officials were, the more they valued their reputation. Once a person was in their hands, even if they had not sold her, the officials would not want her anymore.

Mrs. Hong received the order and disguised herself. She pretended to be old and had lost her way. She spoke pitifully to the guard at the gate of the county government office. Then she took off her coat in the alley, changed her hairstyle, put on two silver hairpins, and stared at the door of the county government office. When someone wearing servants' robes came out, she followed him.

She pretended to bump into someone or drop something in front of them, and talked to several people in the county government office.

If she found someone easy to talk to, she would talk to him deeply. If she found someone difficult to talk to, she would leave him after getting the information she wanted.

Mrs. Hong had been doing this job for a long time, and her mouth had been honed. It was really like what the tall man said, she could make the dead come back to life.

She pieced together the things said by the servants who came out of the county government office, and soon she had a complete picture of the people and the events.

Yesterday, a young man came into the mansion. His status was not low...

The maidservant beside the county magistrate's concubine walked out with a sad face. Her master was hysterical again. She insisted that the man who came to live in the mansion was the master's kept man outside, and he was brought back just to share her things. She asked her to find out the origin of the young man.

To be honest, it was unfair for the young man to be with the master. Looking at the people he brought with him when he entered the county government office, and the attitude of living in the yard after arriving at the county government office and not coming out, it didn't seem like he had anything to do with the master.

But the maidservant who had followed the concubine since she was a child knew her master's temper, and she would not give up until she found out something.

After walking out of the side door, the maidservant glanced outside, struggling with what to do about this matter.

Suddenly, she bumped into an old lady with a kind face. The old lady didn't seem to be in good health and fell to the ground.

There was also a maid of the grandmother in the house who helped the person up: "Are you okay, old lady? It's my fault that I didn't look at the road when I walked and bumped into you. How about I take you to the clinic?"

The kind-looking old lady Hong Po covered her feet

and said, "It's okay, little girl. I'm not in good health. It's not your fault." "Alas," said Hong Po with a worried look on her face, "It's also my own health that's not good enough. If I hadn't caught a cold on the road, I wouldn't have been separated from the master. Now I can't find anyone I want to find."

The maid got a headache when she heard the word "find someone". After helping Hong Po up, she said, "Since you're okay, old lady, I'll leave first. I still have things to do."

Hong Po didn't stop her from leaving, but just muttered something.

The maid who was still supporting her and preparing to leave heard some of the words she was mumbling, and seemed to have grasped something vaguely in her heart. She looked at Mrs. Hong and said, "Old lady, you said you were looking for someone too?"

"Yes, my master is not from Dongyang County. He just came here by boat a few days ago. Unfortunately, I got sick on the way and couldn't delay the journey, so the master asked me to get cured there and then catch up."

"Who would have thought that God would play a trick on me. My illness was cured as soon as the master left. Calculating the date, it's only one or two days away from the master's arrival in Dongyang County."

"By the way, our master is a very nice person." Mrs. Hong had a peaceful smile on her face when she spoke, as if the master was very nice to her and asked her to talk about him all the time.

When the maid heard the words "one or two days" and "very nice", she spontaneously applied them to Lin Zhen who entered the mansion yesterday.

She asked Mrs. Hong: "Is your master a man with fair skin, thin waist and a pretty face?"

"Yes, yes, yes, he has fair skin and a waist that is not much bigger than my palm. He is a famous beauty in our place." Mrs. Hong looked straight at the maid while she was talking.

The maid was sure of something and asked Mrs. Hong: "What is your master's surname?"

Hearing her ask this, Mrs. Hong raised a secret smile and said with certainty: "Lin."

The maid was sure of it. Unexpectedly, she was lucky enough to run into someone next to Mr. Lin when she came out.

The maid breathed a sigh of relief at the thought that she would no longer be troubled by her master who was always used to trouble people, and said, "Your master is in the county government office now. I can take you in, but you have to answer two questions for me first."

When Mrs. Hong heard that she could meet her master, she nodded happily, her face full of joy: "God bless me, God bless me, I actually met the right person here, otherwise I don't know where to find my master."

"Little girl, just ask whatever you want. I will not hide anything from you as long as I know and can tell you."

The maid pulled her to the corner of the wall: "How could a husband of your master come to Dongyang County alone? Is he here to look for relatives?"

"Yes, I serve my master closely. My master told me about this and said that he was here to find a very important person."

"A very important person?"

"Yes."

The maid remembered clearly that when Lin Zhen entered the county government office yesterday, he looked like he had just come from a long journey. He came in such a hurry just to find the county magistrate?

Could it be that the master was right, that Mr. Lin was someone the master had kept somewhere else, and that he would not leave after coming back?

As for what the master said to the master about Lin Zhen being the prefect's uncle, the maid and the concubine did not take it to heart. The

master and the servant had heard such perfunctory reasons many times, that the girl was either sent by this petty official or that rich family, and they were all called goddaughters or concubines, but in fact, they were all people who wanted to be sent to the master's bed.

Fortunately, the master's feelings for her master were mostly genuine. After tasting the new thing, he sent the man out of the house, and did not make her master upset for too long.

It was just that this time the official position was a bit higher, and a man was made the uncle of the prefect.

After hearing this news, the maid was anxious to go back and report. She said to Mrs. Hong: "Okay, I have nothing to ask. Mr. Lin is in the county government office. If you want to find him, you can follow me in." Mrs.

Hong looked up and down at her clothes and hair, and said: "Thank you, little girl. Look at how dirty I am now. If I go to the county government office, I will lose face for the master..."

"What are you afraid of? Just go to the county government office to wash up. You and your servant don't need water."

"Oh, thank you, thank you." Mrs. Hong bowed and nodded repeatedly, and followed the maid into the county government office.

She kept whispering, "I don't know how my master's family is doing now. Without a man around, she is like a rootless duckweed. Even we servants are worried."

"Little girl, to be honest, I also want to have a master in the county government like you, and live a stable life. It's not better than running around here and there."

The maid just thought that Mr. Lin would not like the master, but now she was slapped by Mrs. Hong. It turned out that he was coming for the master. I thought he was a real man.

Then I couldn't help thinking that with Mr. Lin's appearance, even if my master had a relationship with the master for many years, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to withstand the pillow talk.

Now this old woman is picking on me, I'm afraid I will pick on her in the future.

So the look in Mrs. Hong's eyes became strange.

Mrs. Hong followed her obediently as if she didn't notice.

When they arrived at the backyard, the maid pointed to the corridor on the west side and said, "From there is Mr. Lin's residence. I am in a hurry, so I won't take you there."

She was about to leave.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Hong grabbed her sleeve and said, "This is my first time to come to the county government office. I see that it is so majestic and imposing. My legs are so weak that I dare not move a step. Little girl, please be a good person and do your best. I will follow you to finish the business first, and then you can take me to my master's house."

She was born with a kind face, and it was hard to refuse when she said this.

The maid looked at the hand she was holding, looked at the master's yard which was closer to Mr. Lin's house, and agreed, "Okay."

Chapter 247

The maid walked in front, and Hong Pozi followed behind, and soon they arrived at the place where the concubine lived.

The concubine was favored by the county magistrate, and she didn't even pay much attention to the wife of the main wife in the mansion on weekdays, and only maintained superficial respect.

So the place where she lived was also extremely luxurious. Hong Pozi glanced at the room with the door opened. When she heard the maid let her wait here, she nodded gratefully: "Yes, young lady, go and do your work first, I'm not in a hurry."

The maid turned and walked into the house. The beautiful concubine who was having her nails painted saw her come in and frowned fiercely: "Didn't I ask you to check the origins of that bitch? Why, your master hasn't fallen out of favor yet, but you are disobeying my words and turning a deaf ear to me?"

The maid hurriedly said: "Auntie, you blamed me wrongly. The matter you ordered has been completed."

"Oh?" The beautiful concubine stood up.

The maid said, "I ran into someone outside the county government office. What a coincidence that person was actually Mr. Lin's close servant. He fell ill on the way to Dongyang County, and arrived two days later than Mr. Lin and his friends."

"Is that bitch really the prefect's uncle?"

"This..." The maid then remembered that she had forgotten to ask such an important question, and she stammered, unable to explain clearly.

The beautiful concubine glared at her, her face full of impatience which made her frightened, and she hurriedly said, "The person we are looking for didn't know the way, so she followed me. She wanted to take her to find Mr. Lin after I finished my work. She is waiting outside the yard. I will bring her to you now so that you can ask her in person."

"Then bring her here quickly!"

"Yes," the maidservant was afraid of her blame, so she walked out of the house quickly and called Hong Pozi who was waiting outside the yard obediently, "Come with me, our aunt has something to ask you."

The expression on Hong Pozi's face seemed a little puzzled, and she nodded: "Miss, why did your aunt think of asking me to come in? Is everything okay?"

The maidservant thought she was still annoyed, and said, "Just answer whatever your aunt asks."

"Yes, yes, I will definitely answer you the same as I did just now, and I will never hide anything."

"Aunt, the person is here." The maidservant squatted and revealed Hong Pozi behind her.

The concubine looked at Hong Pozi and asked her about her relationship with Lin Zhen with disgust. Hong Pozi, who had already found out a lot of things, followed her words and answered that she was indeed a close servant of Lin Zhen. She said that Lin Zhen came to Dongyang County to find someone, and also revealed that Lin Zhen had never been married and was still single.

She weighed every word carefully, and her drooping eyes paid close attention to the concubine of the county magistrate in front of her. She smacked her heart and realized that the concubine was full of hostility towards the target she wanted to abduct. She called her a bitch and wanted to grind her to ashes.

This is just right.

Hong Pozi deliberately made a few sentences confusing, as if she was guilty and talked about something else. The concubine immediately seized her loophole and squinted her eyes and said, "I see that you are not so loyal to your master, and I am a little afraid to appear in front of him."

"What you said to the people around you before, that you stayed somewhere else for illness and fell behind for a day or two before catching up, is it a lie?"

"Your servant... Your servant..." Hong Pozi seemed to have been exposed in a lie, and her legs softened and she knelt on the ground.

The beautiful concubine looked down at her: "The indenture is in the hands of that bitch, so I had to chase after him. Now you're just hanging around outside the county government office. I don't have the courage to see him. Tell me, if I send you to him and tell him that you want to recognize me as your master, will he easily forgive you, a traitor?"

Old Woman Hong knelt down at the feet of the beautiful concubine and kowtowed to her, asking her to give her a way to live.

The concubine kicked her away and said, "It's okay if you want to continue living your good life, but let me ask you, how did you offend that bitch."

Hong Pozi knelt at her feet and said carefully, "I... was bewitched by a ghost... I stole some money from my master to gamble, thinking that I could make up for the loss after winning the money. But I didn't expect to meet a group of damn human traffickers. They saw that I had money on me, dragged me to a dark place, robbed all the money, and threatened to sell me to the most disgusting brothel if I shouted about it to the authorities."

"I was afraid that my master would find out that it was me who stole the money, so I claimed to be sick and stayed there, thinking that I could delay for a few days to see if I could get the money back. But I didn't expect that the human traffickers were so friendly with the gatekeepers, and I didn't even have the chance to enter the county government."

"So I had to follow, and I wanted to take a chance that the master hadn't discovered that the silver was missing. I would continue to stay by his side and serve him, and find a chance to buy fake silver-plated silver outside and put it in. I would hide it for as long as I could."

The concubine sneered and listened to her. When she mentioned that a group of human traffickers had robbed her silver and threatened to sell her to a brothel, the concubine suddenly had an idea in her mind.

In recent years, many girls and boys have been lost in Dongyang County, and the county magistrate has sent his subordinates to investigate several times, but all to no avail.

She heard the county magistrate mention that this group of human traffickers were habitual criminals and rarely left clues. None of the abducted girls and boys were found.

If that bitch was abducted by human traffickers...

it doesn't matter whether it's really a human trafficker, just let others think that he was abducted by human traffickers.

After talking about her faults, Hong Pozi looked at Meiqi with fear and expectation. She first praised Meiqi and said that she didn't dare to go back to Lin Zhen now, so she might as well work like a cow and a horse for Meiqi and let Meiqi take her in.

With Meiqi as her backer, she would not be nervous even if she met Lin Zhen, her old master, in the future.

Meiqi agreed to her servant who came to her door after a while, and asked someone to take her away and not let anyone see her in the next few days.

Meiqi's personal maid looked at Hong Pozi who was taken away by the servants, a little puzzled: "Auntie, you left this person..."

Meiqi looked at her nails that were neatly trimmed and clean, waiting to be dyed: "It's useful to keep them."

That night, in a house in Dongyang County.

"As soon as you took action, it really worked. When the goods are sold this time, I will give you an extra 200 taels from me." The tall man looked at Hong Pozi in front of him and said with great satisfaction.

Another man said, "Mrs. Hong, the county government office is run by your family, so how can you come and go as you please?"

Mrs. Hong smiled and said, "Money makes the world go round, especially for those servants who serve them. If you give them three or five taels, you'll be their ancestor."

"Master Ba, the county magistrate's concubine hates the new Mr. Lin who has just moved in. As long as I'm there to fan the flames, she'll be tempted. Then we can take advantage of the situation..." She opened her palms and clenched them one by one, "It's easy to catch her."

"Hahahaha, okay!"

The tall man handed two porcelain bottles to Mrs. Hong, "I've been waiting for good news from you. Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly this time." Mrs. Hong

took the porcelain bottles and put them in her arms, "Yes, I understand."

"In order to avoid being noticed, I'll go back to the county government office first." Mrs. Hong, who had bribed the servants in the same courtyard as her to sneak out, got up and swaggered back to the county government office.

Because she came in with Meiqi's maid today, the gatekeeper thought she was Meiqi's person and did not stop her.

It seemed like there was a hole in the sky. The rain kept falling. The muddy surface without stone bricks was washed into muddy puddles, so soft that you could poke your fingers into it.

In such a day, even if the rain stopped, you couldn't leave immediately. The road from Dongyang County to the state capital was all dirt. The wheels of the carriage might sink from Dongyang County to the state capital, and it would take four or five days to get there. It

was depressing.

Lin Zhen sat on the chair, looking at the heavy rain outside the window, patted his forehead and leaned back on the chair. Today is the fifteenth day since he left the state capital. Before leaving, he told Gu Lin that he could go back in about twelve or thirteen days. Now it has been two days longer, and he still has to wait. I don't know what that kid will think

. Suddenly, just when Lin Zhen was thinking about Gu Lin in the state capital, Zhou Zhengchu, who came to the yard to protect him, walked into the room and said, "Boss, the county magistrate's concubine is here to visit. Do you want to meet her?"

Lin Zhen raised his head, a little confused. The county magistrate's concubine is visiting him?

Suddenly, a woman's voice came from outside: "An An, don't make trouble. Auntie has brought you here. You have to be good and don't pout anymore. Do you understand?"

"An An knows. An An listens to Auntie." Along with the child's voice, there was also the sound of copper bells. Lin Zhen knew who it was. It was the child who rolled the ball into his room that day and played with it for a while.

He said to Zhou Zhengchu, "Let someone in. Oh, and tell the maid outside to go to the kitchen and get some food that the child likes."

"Yes," Zhou Zhengchu took the order and went out, and told the woman holding the child that Lin Zhen asked them to come in.

The concubine, who always had unimpeded access to the mansion, smiled, looked at her son, and walked in holding the child.

"Uncle." When the child saw Lin Zhen, he remembered the spinning ball and the way he showed off his skills by tossing the ball into the air, and his eyes sparkled.

The concubine said, "I'm really sorry. This child has been crying and asking me to turn the ball to him, but I don't know how to do this. After thinking about it, I can only disturb my husband. I hope my husband won't blame me."

Lin Zhen put his hand on the child's head and rubbed his soft hair: "Children of this age are just playing, there is nothing wrong with it. It's not good to control him too much."

"Your name is An An, right?"

"Yes."

Lin Zhen took the ball from the child's hand and turned it on his finger like that day. The colorful threads flew and the small bells rang. It was beautiful and nice to look at.

The child named An An looked at it and raised his little finger.

Lin Zhen wanted to laugh and put the ball on his finger. The short and fat finger was pressed down by the ball at once. This was the result of him holding the ball.

Looking at the child's bent fingers and eyes full of doubts, Lin Zhen couldn't help but smile.

Chapter 248

The concubine looked at Lin Zhen, who was making her son very happy. Her eyes circled around Lin Zhen's face and looked at the faint and small pregnancy mole on her left earlobe. She wished she could grab her son in her arms right now.

This bitch will never have her own children in her life. She might take her son away after entering the county government!

What she did was right. She took the man out and sold him far away, to a brothel. She was still hooking the master at this age. I don't know how many men had touched her before. It can be regarded as letting him return to the "right way".

Ever since she heard the word "human trafficker" from Hong Pozi, the concubine has never let it go. Last night, she specially called Hong Pozi over to ask some questions and threatened her to find someone outside to deal with Lin Zhen's trouble for her.

In the eyes of the concubine, Hong Pozi, who had no way to survive in front of Lin Zhen, the original owner, had no other way to survive except to do things for herself, so she planned to use Hong Pozi's hand to get Lin Zhen out of the mansion, and then poison Hong Pozi to cover up the matter thoroughly.

She couldn't bear it any longer, so she asked Mrs. Hong to find someone overnight and take action today.

She had a smile on her face and her fingers on her legs were slightly fingered. Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she said to Lin Zhen, "Look at my memory, I forgot to bring something!"

Lin Zhen raised his eyes to look at him and asked casually, "What is it?"

"An An's pills. He has been a little breathless since he came to this season. The doctor gave him medicine to calm his asthma."

"It's my carelessness that I forgot such an important thing."

Lin Zhen looked at the chubby child and said, "Ask the servant to get it. The child's health can't be delayed."

The beautiful concubine bent down and said to the child with an embarrassed look on her face, "The servant who serves me just said that she was not feeling well, so I asked her to go back and rest. I thought she was just coming to play with my husband, and it would be okay for me to bring the child with her. Who would have thought it would be such a coincidence."

"An An, let's go back first and come to play with Uncle Lin later, okay? You haven't taken your medicine yet."

The child looked at the ball in Lin Zhen's hand, looking reluctant to let it go, and only looked at his mother with his round eyes.

The beautiful concubine reached out and hugged him: "Auntie knows you want to play with Uncle Lin, but your medicine is still in the room. You have to take it."

"Auntie..." The child was held by her and made a muffled sound.

Lin Zhen didn't know why such a small thing made her create an atmosphere of life and death. The maid sent by the county magistrate's wife was called to the kitchen to get the food that the child liked. Only Zhou Zhengchu and Shao Ying were by his side.

He said to the outside of the door: "Shao Ying."

Shao Ying walked in.

Lin Zhen said: "Go to this aunt's yard to get the medicine." Then he asked the beautiful concubine to tell Shao Ying how to get to her yard.

The concubine held the child and thanked him repeatedly. After Shao Ying left, she said, "Thank you for your consideration, An An, go and thank your uncle."

"Thank you, uncle." The child who was released by the aunt said to Lin Zhen in a soft voice, then untied the pouch on his waist and took out a white thumb-sized candy from the pouch, "Candy, give it to uncle."

The concubine smiled and said, "Since he came back from the husband's place that day, he has been talking about coming to play with the husband. When he came out just now, he grabbed two candies and wanted to give them to the husband."

The child who was looking at the ball in Lin Zhen's hand nodded when he heard her words.

Lin Zhen looked at the candy in the child's hand and took it from his palm. The child seemed to like sharing things with him and put another piece of candy into his mouth: "The candy given by the aunt is very sweet. Uncle will be disobedient if he doesn't eat it." Although

the child was spoiled, he was inexplicably well-behaved. Lin Zhen was grabbed by his sleeve and paused for a moment before putting the candy into his mouth.

I don't know how this candy is made. It melts very quickly in the mouth and goes down the throat with a cool feeling.

And the taste is really too sweet, so sweet that it's a bit choking.

Suddenly, the child who also ate the candy spit out white bubbles from his mouth and fell to the ground with convulsions. Meiqi seemed to be frightened. She ran out of the yard in a hurry to grab the remaining Zhou Zhengchu: "The child is suddenly not well. Send the child to my yard quickly. The medicine is still there!"

Zhou Zhengchu followed in. When he saw the child on the ground who was obviously not well, he hurriedly looked at Lin Zhen: "Boss, this child?!"

Lin Zhen, who saw that the child was not well with his own eyes, looked at the anxious look on Zhou Zhengchu's face, and turned his eyes back to Meiqi's face, who was also anxious, but something was not right.

He raised Gu Lin, and put himself in his shoes and thought, if Gu Lin got into trouble in front of him, would he show the same expression as Meiqi?

Lin Zhen wanted to take two steps back, but his legs and feet, which had been normal just now, felt like they were made of cotton and suddenly collapsed to the ground: "There's something wrong with her."

Zhou Zhengchu reacted quickly and ran towards him immediately, but the next moment, four men in inconspicuous robes swaggered into the room where Lin Zhen lived, followed by the kind-looking Red Po who was familiar to his concubine.

Seeing that they were outnumbered, Meiqiong, who didn't expect that Lin Zhen would expose her plan halfway, calmed down and ran to Hong Pozi holding the child who was still foaming at the mouth, "Quickly catch this bitch and get her out!"

"You told me that the medicine you gave An An was fine, why is the reaction so strong?"

The child's small body was still twitching, and Hong Pozi smiled and said, "The medicine is like this, it will be fine after a while."

"Okay." This was a great idea that Meiqiong and Hong Pozi discussed last night. Try to get rid of some of the people around Lin Zhen, and then let the child and Lin Zhen eat the candy with medicine. When the servants around Lin Zhen took the child to her yard, they took the opportunity to take Lin Zhen away.

This medicine was "bought" by Hong Pozi after Meiqiong thought of this method. One part can cause people to have convulsions and foam at the mouth, and the other part is soft muscle powder.

Meiqiong also taught the child several times, asking him to give the soft muscle powder to Lin Zhen and take the other one himself.

She looked at Lin Zhen, who was lying on the ground, leaning against the table leg, and the four men who looked like they knew martial arts, who walked away with their children in their arms.

They failed to take the last person away from Lin Zhen, but he couldn't escape either.

There was a lot of noise in the yard, and the servants around heard the noise and ran over. They were all the wife's servants, and the wife had told them that the guests living inside were honored guests, and they must not neglect them, fearing that something might happen inside.

The beautiful concubine who came out looked at them and frowned: "What are you doing? You are standing here doing nothing? I will report to the master later and drive you all out of the house."

She was the apple of the county magistrate's eye. Even the wife of the principal wife would not confront her directly. Several people looked at her, looked behind her and said: "The madam ordered..."

"I don't care whether she ordered or not. I just came out from Mr. Lin's place and know what's going on inside. Mr. Lin's two guards are gesticulating. They are in high spirits now, so it is inevitable that they are a little heavy."

"If the young master was not feeling unwell, I would stay there to watch the fun."

Several servants looked at each other and finally left.

What could go wrong in the county government? I'm afraid it's just like what the aunt said, gesticulating to amuse the master.

The beautiful concubine looked at the servants who left, holding the child and walking towards her own yard. On the way, she met Shao Ying who was going to get medicine.

This was also what the concubine had informed the maidservant around her yesterday. She prepared a few ordinary pills in advance and asked her to delay Shao Ying for a while longer.

Seeing Shao Ying now, she was afraid that he would delay the good things brought by the people brought by Mrs. Hong, and make things that were not going well even worse. She put the child in her arms, who was still twitching and foaming at the mouth, to Shao Ying and said, "The child suddenly got sick, and I can't control it. Please help take him to the yard." Shao Ying

looked at the child who was indeed sick, glanced at the yard where Lin Zhen was, and agreed.

Lin Zhen, who was limp but clear-headed, leaned on the table leg and looked at Zhou Zhengchu, who was besieged by four men who suddenly appeared, but was not obviously at a disadvantage. He was relieved. But

the situation was not very good. Zhou Zhengchu did not lose the upper hand, but was also entangled and couldn't get away. He narrowly blocked the hands of those people who were about to fall on Lin Zhen several times.

The tall man who personally went out knew in advance that the guards around Lin Zhen were good at martial arts, but he didn't expect that they could actually block the siege of several of them. The longer the time, the more disadvantageous it would be for them. He looked fiercely at Lin Zhen who was leaning on the table and within reach, and said to the three men: "You three hold him back, Hong Pozi, you come with me to get him away!"

This was the first time Hong Pozi saw Lin Zhen, and she instantly understood why Ba Ye would take the risk to come here. Such a look was not comparable to those women and men she had dealt with!

She nodded, "Okay."

The three human traffickers were originally good at fighting. After receiving the order from the tall man, they immediately used all their strength. Zhou Zhengchu's two fists were no match for four hands. Seeing the tall man going to Lin Zhen, Zhou Zhengchu fought with two blows on his arms and back, and quickly jumped to Lin Zhen's side.

Suddenly, a long sword was thrown in from outside the door, and even the length of the sword was not clearly seen. "Bang" nailed the tall man closest to Lin Zhen to the pillar.

"..." The tall man's eyes were open, and his body was supported by the sword that pierced his neck. He was pressed against the pillar, and blood was flowing down the pillar to the ground.

He didn't know how he died until he died.

Zhou Zhengchu turned around and saw a weak young man wearing a green robe and a silk belt around his waist. He drew out the long sword worn by his entourage, took a few quick steps, and kicked the man who had just cut his back in the stomach. The man screamed instantly, knelt on the ground holding his stomach, and spit out dark red blood from his mouth.

This sudden change scared the remaining two men and Hong Pozi. The three of them didn't care about the dead tall man and their brothers, and ran to the door where only two people were standing.

Gu Lin looked at the three people running out with dark eyes, and swung the long sword in his hand backhand. The necks of the two men were cut in half, and their bodies fell to the ground.

The only living person, Mrs. Hong, screamed and fell to the ground. She crawled to Gu Lin's feet and kowtowed to him: "Master, please spare me, spare my worthless life. I did not mean to offend your husband. I was instigated by others--"

"Bang--" Mrs. Hong's head rolled off her shoulders and rolled to the ground. Her kind-looking face was covered in blood.

Chapter 249

Zhou Zhengchu, who had just barely fended off the siege of four people and protected Lin Zhen, looked at the scene in front of him, and felt a chill on his back.

At a glance, he knew that the scholar in front of him, who looked weak and frail, was far better in martial arts than himself, and his hands were definitely stained with a lot of blood. Ordinary soldiers could not keep their faces calm and their hearts beat like him when killing people.

It was as if he was not killing people, not even chickens and dogs.

Gu Lin did not look at him, but walked straight to Lin Zhen, put one hand under Lin Zhen's shoulders, and the other hand through his knees, picked him up and put him on the bed: "Go and ask for the doctor."

"Yes." The two yamen runners who came with him were also stunned.

The prefect had never shown any signs of martial arts. Most of the time in the yamen, he wore a scarlet official robe and a long robe and official hat. Except for being a little colder and more handsome, he looked like a civil official.

But the scene just now replayed in their minds over and over again. Was he a civil official? Military officers were not as good at killing as he was.

The two yamen runners' skin suddenly tensed up,

and they went outside to find a doctor. The county magistrate, who was slow and didn't know why the prefect had suddenly visited, couldn't keep up with Gu Lin's pace, and arrived here more than ten steps late.

He looked at the yamen runners who hurried out and looked at his prefecture with inexplicable eyes, and didn't understand what was going on.

But when he thought about how he and his wife had treated Lin Zhen well these days, and how the prefect liked this uncle so much, he went straight to Lin Zhen's residence and rubbed his hands impatiently.

Promotion only depends on today!

The county magistrate walked up the steps with a smile on his face. As soon as he reached the door of Lin Zhen's house, he felt like falling into an ice cellar.

The house was in a mess. A tall man was nailed to a pillar with a long sword. Judging from the length of the sword left outside, a long part of it was sunken into the pillar, which showed how strong the murderer was.

There were four corpses on the ground. The closest to him was the head of an old woman, with her eyes wide open facing his direction.

"Ahhhhhh, come quickly, protect the prefect!" The county magistrate was so frightened that his legs went limp and his voice broke.

Zhou Zhengchu looked at Gu Lin who put Lin Zhen on the bed and realized that this was their boss's nephew, the prefect of Lizhou.

He stopped the Dongyang County Magistrate from screaming and said, "The prefect is in the room."

The county yamen runners who came with the county magistrate and were also frightened by the scene before them quickly called the county magistrate back to his senses. The county

magistrate, whose scalp was numb with fear, covered his mouth and pointed tremblingly at the room: "The prefect... the prefect is in there..."

At this moment, he regained some reason from his panic. Thinking that his panic-stricken appearance just now was seen by the prefect, he was afraid that it would leave a bad impression. County Magistrate Wang quickly straightened his robe and walked in respectfully.

The blood on the ground gave off a disgusting strong smell of blood. The county magistrate looked at Gu Lin, whom he had met once before, and knelt on the ground with his official robe lifted up: "I am the county magistrate of Dongyang County, and I pay my respects to the prefect."

Gu Lin sat on the edge of the bed, his hand on Lin Zhen's face.

Lin Zhen was conscious, but he had no strength in his body. It was difficult for him to move his eyelids, let alone speak.

He looked at Gu Lin, turned his eyes, and indicated that he was not feeling unwell.

But Gu Lin still maintained this posture, but said in a somewhat gloomy voice: "Dongyang County Magistrate, Wang Ze." County

Magistrate Wang's heart skipped a beat for some reason, and he knelt on the ground: "Yes."

"When did the five bandits enter the county government?"

"Your subordinate..."

"How did they get in?"

"Your subordinate..."

"I don't know," Gu Lin stood up, looking down at him with dark eyes, "Even beside your bed, you don't know anything, so what do you know about Dongyang County?"

"Sir, your subordinate deserves death. Your subordinate will go and investigate this matter thoroughly now, and I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

As the governor of Lizhou, Gu Lin has the power to dismiss county magistrates everywhere. He only needs to write a memorial to the Ministry of Personnel in the capital to explain why.

Just now, he was still dreaming of getting a good face in front of Gu Lin. At this moment, County Magistrate Wang, who was only a step away from taking off his official hat, still felt that he was dreaming.

A nightmare.

Gu Lin looked at him and said, "Pry open this man's mouth and block the river mouth. These people are a gang and must have accomplices."

"Yes, I will do it right away." Hearing that Gu Lin asked him to do something, County Magistrate Wang crawled out like he was being evacuated from the fire, and his official hat almost fell to the ground.

Suddenly, Zhou Zhengchu, who was stabbed twice, said, "Sir, the disaster that Boss Lin suffered this time has a lot to do with the concubine surnamed Chen in the county magistrate's backyard." Zhou

Zhengchu explained in a few words that the concubine brought the child here to talk to Lin Zhen, first sent Shao Ying away on the pretext of getting medicine for the child, and then Lin Zhen had an accident after eating the candy given by the child, and the appearance of these five bandits.

The only doubt here is that the child's illness does not look fake. Could it be that the concubine even killed her own child in order to harm Lin Zhen?

County Magistrate Wang, who was standing aside, heard him talking about his concubine and subconsciously wanted to say that it was impossible, especially because their child was involved.

But County Magistrate Wang knew very well that Zhou Zhengchu didn't need to make up these lies. He remembered his concubine's face when she asked him about Lin Zhen's identity and when he said that she was the prefect's uncle.

She didn't believe it. She

even looked like she wanted to get rid of the girl and boy sent by the people below.

County Magistrate Wang felt that his body was falling down continuously, his mind was blank and confused, and he couldn't think of anything.

The official hat on County Magistrate Wang's head finally couldn't hold up and fell to the ground.

He looked at the official hat on his head that he had worn for many years, and then looked at Gu Lin with a heavy look in his eyes. He picked up the official hat with shaking hands and put it on his head. He didn't even notice that it was tilted to the sky. He asked the yamen runners to take the bandit who was still breathing and had dark red blood flowing from his mouth, and ran to Aunt Chen's yard.

After sending the child back to the aunt's courtyard, Shao Ying, who was entangled and suspicious, rushed over here and looked at Magistrate Wang who seemed to be chased by a ghost. He ran into the courtyard where Lin Zhen lived. As soon as he entered, he saw the four people in the room and the injured Zhou Zhengchu. He hurriedly said: "Brother Zhou, where is the boss? What happened?"

Before Zhou Zhengchu could answer him, the yamen runners who went outside to find the doctor took one side of each and almost brought the doctor in and put him in front of the bed: "Sir, the doctor is here."

"Oh, my old bones, two officials, where did you take me?" The doctor had a gray beard, was short and fat, and his eyes seemed a little dim. He blinked hard and looked around.

After seeing the surrounding furnishings and the two yamen runners in official robes calling Gu Lin "Sir", he stood up a little straighter.

Gu Lin made way, revealing Lin Zhen lying on the bed behind him: "Doctor, take a closer look, my uncle has been poisoned by a drug that makes him weak all over, which may endanger his life."

When the two yamen runners went out to find the doctor, they asked a few people on purpose. They heard that this man's medical skills were very famous in Dongyang County, so they took him out of the clinic.

And this old doctor, who was well-known in Dongyang County and had a bad temper, was not always stiff-necked. Looking at Lin Zhen lying on the bed and Gu Lin, who was still a teenager but had a good aura, he walked to the bedside and looked Lin Zhen up and down first.

"Can you hear me, husband?" he said.

Lin Zhen rolled his eyes to show that he could hear.

The old doctor nodded, twisted his beard and checked Lin Zhen's eyes, limbs, and observed his breathing. He turned around and said to Gu Lin, "Husband is fine. He should have taken the muscle softening powder that can be bought on the market for a little money. The effect of this medicine comes quickly. The user will lose all strength in a short period of time, but as long as he drinks a few more bowls of water, he will recover quickly."

Gu Lin looked at Lin Zhen and then at him.

The doctor said, "I have been a doctor for many years and will not make a wrong judgment. There are many people from all walks of life in Dongyang County, and many of them buy muscle softening powder. I have seen such symptoms many times."

Gu Lin then withdrew his gaze from him and said to the yamen runner, "Send the doctor back."

"Tell someone to clean up the room."

Except for the bandit who was kicked by him and still had a breath left, the bodies of the other four were still lying on the ground, maintaining the appearance of death.

The yamen runner and Shao Ying took action and took the bodies out quietly.

...

Lin Zhen, who was lying on the bed and unable to move, looked at Gu Lin and blinked with great effort.

Gu Lin stood up and went to the table to bring the still warm tea over. With his other hand, he took the kettle, poured a full cup, and sat on the edge of the bed. With one hand, he lifted Lin Zhen up and leaned him against his chest, and with the other hand, he

put the cup to his mouth. Lin Zhen also heard what the doctor said. If he wanted to relieve his current symptoms, he just needed to drink more water, so he tried hard to suck the water into his mouth.

But the muscle softening powder was too strong. He didn't even have the strength to hold the cup of water. After a few tries, he didn't drink any of it except for wetting his chin.

Gu Lin saw his embarrassing situation, and the hand that he leaned on reached to his chin. He held his jaw with his thumb, index finger and middle finger and lifted it slightly, and poured the water in the cup into him little by little.

Lin Zhen, who had no strength to swallow, took a while to finish the pot of tea. He drank so much that he could feel that there was no space left in his stomach due to the water.

He blinked and let Gu Lin put him back on the bed.

Gu Lin's fingers wiped the water from his lips. He was worried that Lin Zhen had been poisoned and worried that something might happen to Lin Zhen, so he handed the investigation to Magistrate Wang.

Now that Lin Zhen's life was no longer in danger, he said to Lin Zhen: "Uncle Lin, take a rest first. I will be back after I handle this matter."

Those who tried to reach out to Lin Zhen, he must personally cut off their hands.

Lin Zhen naturally had no reason to stop him. He rolled his eyes to indicate that he understood and told him to go without worry.

Gu Lin withdrew his hand from Lin Zhen's lips, asked Shao Ying, who was not injured, and the two yamen runners to look after Lin Zhen, and walked out of the yard alone.

Chapter 250

In the courtyard, Aunt Chen was looking at the child who was still twitching and foaming at the mouth after being put on the bed. She gradually felt uneasy. Didn't Mrs. Hong say that the effect of the medicine would wear off quickly? Why was it still like this?

She slapped the maid who was trying to wipe the foam off the child's chin with a handkerchief and said in a bad mood: "Go to the courtyard where that bitch lives and call Mrs. Hong over. What medicine did she buy!"

The maid's hands were shaking. She felt that something was wrong since Mrs. Hong entered the county government. Obviously, at the beginning, Mrs. Hong was serving Mr. Lin closely. She was Mr. Lin's escaped slave. In the blink of an eye, she became familiar with the master, and even the maid herself was not favored. Until she was called by the master to explain that she used fake medicine to hold back the people serving Mr. Lin, the maid felt that something was sliding in a direction that she didn't want to see.

She stood up tremblingly and walked out in a hurry. As soon as she walked into the yard, she saw the county magistrate, who was wearing his official hat upside down, walking in. She saluted quickly: "Old..."

"Arrest everyone in the yard!" The county magistrate's face was pale, and there was a hint of blue. He silently said in his heart that this matter had nothing to do with his concubine, and it was all those stubborn servants who acted on their own.

Otherwise...

The maid who was saluting him was frightened by this sudden change, until she was suppressed and pressed to the ground with her hands tied behind her back, and then she came to her senses: "Master, why is this happening to you? I have done nothing wrong."

Aunt Chen was favored, and the maids and servants in her yard were bolder and not afraid of the county magistrate. The county magistrate was as obedient as a dog in front of their aunt, and was often turned away by Aunt Chen, but it was always coaxed back by the county magistrate.

The county magistrate looked at her and said, "You better not have done anything wrong."

All the other maids and servants in the yard were caught and forced to kneel on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs like the maids.

Aunt Chen, who heard the noise outside, came out and saw the captured maids and servants. She looked at the county magistrate coquettishly and said, "What is the master doing here, shouting and killing me!"

The county magistrate stared at her intently.

Aunt Chen was looked at like this by him, and her heart moved. She wondered if it was that Mrs. Hong succeeded, and the master found out that she was gone and came to her to question her? Aunt

Chen was secretly happy in her heart. Great, it was great. Anyway, she was gone. She could deal with Mrs. Hong when she came back. Even if she was suspected, the master would only be angry with her for one day.

There were many such things in the past, and she was no longer surprised.

She pretended to be unhappy about being humiliated and walked up to the county magistrate. The county magistrate suddenly stretched out his hand and pinched her chin: "How much did you do in the attack on Mr. Lin?"

"Ahem..." Aunt Chen was pinched so hard by him that she tried to pry his hand open, but then she realized that the county magistrate, who was always smiling and frivolous in front of her, was so strong that she couldn't pry it open no matter how hard she tried.

She looked at the county magistrate: "I...I don't know what the master is talking about. What does it have to do with me that Mr. Lin was kidnapped? What do I, a woman in a deep house, know?!"

As she spoke, she used the same trick as before, pretending to be nice and letting the county magistrate coax her.

The county magistrate's hope was shattered. He pinched Aunt Chen's hand and almost wanted to sink it: "I didn't tell you that Mr. Lin was kidnapped. How did you know?"

Aunt Chen paused: "..."

The county magistrate almost roared: "Do you know that Mr. Lin is the uncle of the prefect? ​​The prefect is now in the county government!"

"Stupid woman!"

"Stupid!"

"How could this official like a brainless thing like you!"

As much as he loved this cousin in the past, the county magistrate hated Aunt Chen at this moment. With a wave of his hand, he threw Aunt Chen to the ground.

Aunt Chen looked at him so furious that he wanted to strangle herself to death. She covered her chin that was pinched and hurt: "He is the uncle of the prefect. It's clearly an excuse for you to deceive me. I--"

Suddenly, Aunt Chen saw a tall young man wearing a green robe and a silk belt around his waist walking in. The young man had an indifferent look. Although he was handsome, people dared not approach him.

The county magistrate and the yamen runners spotted Gu Lin and turned around and knelt down to salute: "Your Excellency."

Gu Lin nodded to let them stand up, walked to Aunt Chen who was still lying on the ground, and looked straight at him.

Being stared at by his eyes which were darker than most people's, Aunt Chen felt a chill all over her body. She heard that her God, her support was called this young sir, and she suddenly realized that she had thought the wrong thing.

Mr. Lin who lived in that yard was really the uncle of the prefect, not the concubine that the master had brought in as she thought. She suddenly knelt down and crawled to the county magistrate's feet and hugged the county magistrate's legs: "Master, this matter has nothing to do with me. It was a woman named Hong who said that she was a close servant of Mr. Lin. She sneaked in and did nothing about what she did."

Gu Lin's eyes moved away from him and went to the bandit who was brought here but was not dead yet, "Can you ask something?"

The county magistrate, whose legs were hugged by Aunt Chen, said: "Not yet... not yet, your humble servant Bringing people straight here, there is no time to ask. "

Gu Lin glanced at him, and the county magistrate's voice became lower and lower. He walked towards the bandit who was dragged by the yamen runners on both sides of his arms, pulled out the large knife worn by the yamen runner's waist, and pressed it against the bandit's brow: "This official asks, you answer, don't try to commit suicide, your movements are not as fast as my knife."

The bandit who was kicked in the stomach by him and vomited a lot of blood looked at him and said weakly: "Anyway, I can't live... Why should I tell you what I know..." They were all going to die, and the bandit wanted to disgust Gu Lin unwillingly.

The knife in Gu Lin's hand sank into his brow, and the sharp tip of the knife separated the skin and flesh...

"Drag him out for processing." Gu Lin shook off the pickled things on the knife and put the knife back into the scabbard on the waist of the yamen runner.

The county magistrate, the yamen runners, and the servants and maids in the yard who were pinned to the ground by the yamen runners who had witnessed what he had just done, all dared not make a sound. They were afraid that they would end up like the bandit, so they told everything before they breathed their last.

The two yamen runners who dragged the bandit quickly took the body out, while Aunt Chen was in a trance, looking at Gu Lin in fear, not believing what she had heard at all. That old woman Hong was actually a human trafficker, and she had become a springboard for them to kidnap Mr. Lin. She thought she had controlled Old Woman Hong, and would wait for her to do something for her before she could root it out, but she didn't expect that she was the one being used.

Suddenly, Aunt Chen thought of the child who was still twitching and foaming at the mouth, and she was stunned. Since Old Woman Hong was a human trafficker, then the medicine she gave her... Aunt

Chen looked up at the county magistrate, and she didn't dare to tell him about this at all, because it was her only life-saving straw.

Suddenly, there was a sound of something falling to the ground in the room, and Aunt Chen trembled.

The county magistrate, who had completely lost his heart to her, asked her, "Is there anyone else in there?"

"...No, no one."

The maid who had served her for many years raised her head and said, "Master, it's the young master."

"Aunt believed the human trafficker and asked the young master to take the drugged candy to harm Mr. Lin, and the young master ate it."

The county magistrate, who was having a headache due to this series of events, then remembered that the guard in Mr. Lin's yard had said that in order to make Mr. Lin take the drug, the stupid woman instigated her son to give the candy to Mr. Lin, and the child also ate one himself.

He lost the last bit of pity for Aunt Chen in his heart. He kicked Aunt Chen away who was holding his feet and ran into the house. He saw his usually well-behaved son Wang An falling to the ground. His small body was twitching, foaming at the mouth, and his rosy face was ominously gray.

County Magistrate Wang quickly picked up the child and shouted to the yamen runners around him: "Go find a doctor!"

But the yamen runners didn't dare to move. This child was Aunt Chen's child, and Aunt Chen was the murderer who attacked Mr. Lin this time. They were afraid that Gu Lin would remember it. The scene just now was still firmly imprinted in their minds, reminding them that this prefect was not a good person.

Gu Lin turned his head to the yamen runner and said, "Go get the doctor."

The yamen runner said quickly, "Yes."

Magistrate Wang held the child, looked at Aunt Chen, knelt on the ground and said to Gu Lin, "I am incompetent. I indulged this vicious woman on weekdays, so that she was stupid enough to have such thoughts about Mr. Lin. Now she will be dealt with by you, sir."

Gu Lin said, "Wang Ze, you intend to murder others, what should be done?"

Magistrate Wang lowered his eyes and said, "My lord, it depends on the situation. The lighter one will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane, and the heavier one will be sentenced to death."

"I remember the law well. This matter is handed over to you. The rest of the yamen runners will follow me to arrest this group of human traffickers who are roaming around and committing crimes." Gu Lin glanced at the woman who had been looking at Magistrate Wang and regarded him as her last straw.

When Aunt Chen heard that Gu Lin actually handed her over to Magistrate Wang for handling, she couldn't help but relax. As long as she didn't fall into the hands of that cruel prefect, she thought that if she hugged Magistrate Wang and cried, she would definitely be able to soften his heart and let him find a way to save her life.

Magistrate Wang looked at her coldly, thinking that she was extremely stupid. She still hadn't understood the intention of the prefect to kill her and cut off her life. The prefect wanted him to send this stupid woman to death with his own hands, so that she would die with regret. Magistrate

Wang said to the yamen runners who stayed behind: "Ms. Chen intended to murder others. She was taken to the county jail. The evidence is irrefutable. She will be executed on a chosen day."

Aunt Chen, who thought she was saved, didn't expect that the man who had loved her and indulged her for many years would personally take her to the jail and say the words "choose a day to be executed" that made her shudder.

She looked at Magistrate Wang in disbelief and rushed over like crazy: "You said you would take care of me for the rest of my life!"

"Even the prefect didn't pursue this matter, why did you do this to me!"

She frantically reached out to Magistrate Wang, but was firmly grabbed by two yamen runners and dragged to the jail. Her hairpins, rings, shoes and bracelets fell all over the floor along the way.