Jia Lian took out the pattern drawn by Ping'er from his sleeve:
"These two red gold hairpins were stolen by an unscrupulous concubine in our house, and they will be sold outside soon.
This hairpin was originally worth only a few cents, but this unlearned youngster couldn't afford to waste it. If he didn't catch it and teach him a lesson, the ancestors of my Jia family wouldn't agree to it.
I know that you pawnbrokers are all on good terms with each other. Ask people to draw a few more pictures and go to each house to inform them and ask them to keep a lookout for me. If you find the thief, I will reward you.
As soon as this pair of hairpins appears, you will detain the people who come to pawn them, and at the same time, immediately send someone to deliver a message to my house."
He waved Xing'er over and pointed at the shopkeeper:
"If I'm not here, I'll look for him.
You just need to tell the doorman, ‘If there is an emergency at the jewelry store, please contact Xing’er, who works for Mr. Lian,’ and they will send the letter immediately. Do you remember that?”
At this time, Xing'er became smart again and immediately said:
"Second Master, please rest assured. This matter is related to the face of our Rongguo Mansion. I must act with caution.
We only asked two or three strong men to come over and handle the matter properly, and quietly took the person back to our house to deal with it, without causing any trouble to the pawnshop owners."
How dare the shopkeeper refuse to agree? Taking the pattern of the hairpin with both hands, Nuonuo kept saying:
"Please don't worry, Second Master. I will do as I am told immediately. I will not miss Second Master's business."
.
After leaving the pawnshop, Jia Lian told Xing'er to go back to his house and wait for arrest, while he went to Qin's house.
Qin's house is on Fuxi Street. After walking a few dozen steps into an inconspicuous east-west alley, he saw a single courtyard with a small door and a small door. In a slightly spacious place in front of the door, there were two large locust trees.
It was the place where Jia Lian tied the carriage that night.
After knocking on the door, I waited for a while before heavy footsteps came from inside.
The person who opened the door was Lao Qin Ye, who was in his sixties. When he saw it was Jia Lian, he was a little flustered, opened his mouth, and froze on the spot.
Jia Lian knew that he was an honest man, so he lowered his voice and reminded:
"The outside is no place to talk."
Qin Ye nodded hurriedly and quickly invited Jia Lian into the courtyard.
.
This is indeed the home of a poor Beijing official.
The layout of the house is not bad, it is a neat courtyard, and the corridor in the courtyard is also made of square bricks. However, the gatehouse and the main house are just old plain clear water roofs, which should not have been renovated for many years. Let alone the courtyard.
The walls are made of broken bricks, and even the bricks on the house walls are broken.
Especially outside the north wall, there is probably a courtyard used by an incense and candle shop to dry Buddhist incense, which makes the whole yard of the Qin family always smell of incense and candles.
Entering the house, I saw that the white walls had not been painted for many years, and there were a few signs of water leakage in conspicuous places. There was no ceiling on the roof. You could see that there was no paint on the beams, purlins, rafters and other wood in the house. Many of them were painted.
The place is in ruins.
As for the furniture and furnishings, you can save as much as you can, and they will become old even if they are not worn out.
I remembered that I had heard that because Qin Zhong was attending a private school in Jia Mansion, Qin Ye personally took Qin Zhong to visit the Confucian family of Jia Dynasty and respectfully presented him with the gift of Zhi. And these twenty-odd taels of silver were borrowed by old Qin Ye from here and there.
It took a lot of hard work to get it together.
Jia Lian secretly shook his head and sighed:
Uncle Qin is a courteous and courteous person, and he is a clean-minded official. He attaches great importance to the education of his children. He should sow good causes and bear good fruits. The children he educates should have the character, bearing and ability of Ke Qing.
It's a pity that when you have a child when you are old, it is often because the father is old and has poor discipline, so he is unable to exert the best effect of the copper-head belt. The final result is that the tragedy of the famous singer Zhang Erhe will be repeated again and again.
.
.
Qin Ye lowered his head and let Jia Lian take a seat in the room. He closed the door and said:
"The family is really shabby, there are not even any servants, which makes Second Master Lian laugh."
As he spoke, he had to go and pour tea for Jia Lian himself.
Jia Lian quickly stood up and stopped:
"No need to bother, I came here just to tell Qin Weng that my wife has settled down.
She couldn't show up during this period. She was worried that Qin Weng would have no one to take care of her, and she was also worried about her son's academic progress, so she asked me to help him more.
As long as Mr. Qin has needs, don't be polite, and don't make your wife worried."
Qin Ye suddenly bowed his head to Jia Lian:
"Thank you, Mr. Er, for your kindness in saving my little girl!
I was in such a hurry last night that I didn't have time to thank you. Don't blame me, don't blame me."
Jia Lian hurriedly supported him, and followed Uncle Qin's standard of bowing to the ground and returning the courtesy:
"Weng Qin is the elder, so he killed the younger generation like this."
Unexpectedly, Qin Ye then bowed to the ground:
"Last night, my little girl said that if she wanted to save the dog's life, she would have to ask the second master!"
Jia Lian had no choice but to bow to the ground again and return the gift:
"Wherever I can help you, I should do my best."
Seeing that old Qin Ye was about to bow to the ground for the third time, Jia Lian was so frightened that he quickly grabbed the overly polite Uncle Qin and pushed him directly onto the paint-peeled Taishi chair: "Please Qin Weng sit down and talk."
Good guy, your uncle is your uncle. This Japanese standard polite way of communicating with your uncle is too time-consuming.
.
Uncle Qin sat on the Grand Master's chair, feeling sad:
"I'm not afraid of Erye's jokes, Quanzi... Quanzi stayed away all night last night.
There is no servant at home, and the little old man is too embarrassed to go to the school to look for him, but...but..."
Jia Lian thought of the Qin Zhong he saw for the first time at Jia Mu's place. He had beautiful features, pink face and red lips, handsome figure, and elegant manners, which instantly compared him to Baoyu with his round face.
But this shy little boy did not study hard when he entered school. Instead, he first learned how to hook up with young boys like Baoyu and Xue Pan.
Baoyu didn't study hard because the Jia family was rich and could afford a mascot born with jade. But if Qin Zhong didn't study hard, how would he make a living in the future?
I really don’t have the princess’s life, but I have the princess’s disease!
His sister Qin Keqing has already "died" in the Jia family, so how much of the in-law relationship between Qin Zhong and Jia family will be left in the future?
His old father hoped that his son would become a successful man and revitalize the family business, but this prodigal son only learned to eat, drink, have fun and have sex with men and women.
After all, Baoyu has his family in charge and doesn't dare to go too far, but Qin Zhong has been out all night and must have gone out to fool around.
Jia Lian had no choice but to comfort Qin Ye:
"It's not too late for your son's matter. I will find a solution myself. Weng Qin doesn't have to worry.
There is going to be a funeral soon in the Jia Mansion, please Qin Weng to make plans early.
Jia Zhen is shameless and made the accusation of gathering together, which is really hateful. But it is a matter of honor and integrity for my concubine, and I hope Mr. Qin will never reveal his fault."
Qin Ye let out a long sigh, lowered his head and said with tears:
"Ke Qing talked to me for a long time last night, and I understood in my heart that when I saw that beast Jia Zhen, I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't be angry. It would be better not to see her.
What's even more pitiful is Ruizhu, who died trying to save Keqing, but she didn't even have a tombstone.
But I, as a father, am an incompetent waste, not even half as good as Ruizhu, and unable to stand up for my daughter at all, so I feel guilty."
The more I talked, the sadder I became, and I kept wiping my tears with my sleeves.
Jia Lian was about to continue to comfort him when suddenly, someone banged on the door hard, startling the two of them.