Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 36 Xiangling's Whereabouts

Upon returning to the old house, Jia Lian immediately ordered the person to be brought to see him.

Sure enough, a short while later, Wang Sheng and his men brought over a thin man. He looked panicked and begged for mercy before even seeing the person in charge.

"My lords, please spare my life! I'm just a lowly lackey in the yamen. Please tell me your orders, and I will never refuse..."

Sun Zai Ren felt extremely regretful.

He was a constable under the Yingtian Prefecture government, but not the kind who arrested people; he was just responsible for standing guard inside the government office.

A few days ago, he discovered that a group of people were looking for some "little monk from Suzhou". At that time, he guessed that they might not be looking for him.

But what kind of person could possibly be worth inquiring about, a lowly person who used to be a novice monk in a small temple, later wandered around the Jiangnan region, finally settled down in Nanjing, and even managed to get a job as a clerk in Yingtian Prefecture?

Thinking back to the few times he had done petty theft to survive in the past, he was afraid and dared not let anyone know that he was from Suzhou and had actually been a monk.

However, that group of people seemed to have quite a background, and even the government had to give them some face. They came looking for him several times, so he dared not show his face.

He only found out later from the other guys that those people were ordered to come to him by someone called "Lord Amemura," and he immediately became restless.

He certainly knew Jia Yucun; back when Jia Yucun was still a down-on-his-luck scholar, he had stayed at their temple.

Although he became a monk, he was quite intelligent and insightful. He knew that the downfall of a scholar like Jia Yucun was only temporary, so he respected him greatly and willingly served as a servant, taking care of Jia Yucun.

Later, their temple was burned down, and the monks had nowhere to stay, so they had to find their own way.

I had also heard that Jia Yucun had indeed passed the imperial examination and was willing to serve him. However, I did not know his whereabouts and I was of lowly status, so I was afraid that he would not accept me. Therefore, I gave up the idea.

Now, after so many years, hearing that a distinguished person is looking for him, he naturally finds it hard to suppress his longing. Could it be that Lord Jia has recalled the friendship of yesteryear and wishes to repay it?

Therefore, after observing them repeatedly and concluding that they indeed had no malicious intent, he finally revealed his identity.

To everyone's surprise, upon learning that he was the young monk from Suzhou, the previously friendly burly man suddenly changed color and shouted, "It's you, kid! We've been looking all over for you!"

Then they subdued him, tied him up, and took him away on horseback.

Heaven have mercy! I've only ever seen my men go out to arrest people before. I never imagined that I, as an official, would be kidnapped in broad daylight.

Later, when he saw that the group of people who had tied him up had actually come to the legendary Gonghou Street, he lay on his horse and looked up to see the words "Rongguo Mansion" in big characters. He then saw that they had indeed led him through the side gate, and his heart sank to the bottom.

It's all over, it's all over. He had hoped that someone would see him being kidnapped and that the authorities would come to his rescue, but now there's absolutely no hope...

Locked in that dark room for a long time, he still couldn't figure out what he had done to offend the Duke's mansion and make them go to such lengths to capture him!

"Behave yourself!"

He was roughly pushed into a hall far more luxurious than their own government office's main hall, and knelt on the ground, glancing up at the table. Sure enough, at the head of the table sat a handsome and distinguished nobleman, frowning as he looked at him.

"My lord, please spare me! I truly have no idea where I have offended you. I beg your forgiveness..."

With his hands tied, all he could do was repeatedly bang his head on the ground and beg for mercy.

When Jia Lian saw him like this, he shook his head, knowing that Wang Sheng and the others had misunderstood and frightened him.

"Let him go."

Jia Lian gave the instructions.

He frowned not because he was dissatisfied, but because the person in front of him was not quite what he had imagined.

This is hardly a young novice monk; he's clearly a lean, middle-aged yamen runner, looking nothing like a monk.

To verify that he hadn't asked the wrong person, Jia Lian directly asked, "Do you know the Gourd Temple?"

Upon hearing Jia Lian's question, Sun Zairen, who had just had his hands untied and was thanking him profusely, immediately lost all thought of how to react.

The other party even knows about the Gourd Temple, which shows they've investigated him thoroughly!

"Reporting to you, sir, I know of the Gourd Temple. It was originally located on Shili Street in Suzhou. I dare not deceive you, sir. I used to work at the Gourd Temple. Later, the Gourd Temple was burned down by a great fire, and I had no choice but to grow my hair back and do this..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian was immediately relieved; he had finally found the person.

He still had to escort Daiyu back to the capital, so he couldn't stay in Nanjing for too long because of Xiangling's matter. If Wang Sheng and the others still couldn't find the person, he wouldn't be able to resist going to the prefect of Yingtian in person to ask him to retrieve the files and find the person...

However, this might give others grounds for criticism, since he comes from a noble family and it's not advisable for him to have too much contact with local government offices.

"Get up now."

"Thank you, sir..."

From Jia Lian's attitude, Sun Zairen realized that the situation might not be so bad. He stood up timidly, not daring to look Jia Lian in the eye, and said, "I wonder what business you have summoned me here for, sir? Please give your orders, sir, and I will go through fire and water without hesitation..."

Jia Lian waved his hand to interrupt him and asked, "Do you know Zhen Yinglian?"

When Jia Lian asked this question, his eyes turned stern as he stared directly at the person in front of him.

Sun Zairen was so frightened that he took a step back and stammered, "This humble servant...this humble servant knows that Miss Yinglian is the daughter of Master Zhen next to the Gourd Temple. I heard that she was kidnapped by abductors..."

Seeing that he seemed to have more to say, Jia Lian was even more pleased and seized the opportunity, saying, "Then do you know where she is now? I was asked by a friend to find her whereabouts. If you know any information about her, please tell me in detail, and I will reward you handsomely!"

He held the title of Assistant Prefect, which allowed him to refer to himself as "this official," and he knew that this was the most intimidating identity for these low-ranking servants.

Sun Zai Ren immediately knelt on the ground with a thud: "Reporting to Your Excellency, it seems that I do indeed know Miss Ying Lian's whereabouts..."

"Since you know, why don't you just say it? What's with all the rambling?" Wang Sheng couldn't help but interject. "Just answer the Second Master's question obediently, why are you stammering?"

Sun Zairen dared not hesitate any longer and stammered, "Last month, someone came to my house wanting to rent it. I didn't want to rent it to him at first, but I did anyway... The reason is that I saw his daughter had a rouge mark on her forehead..."

Adults may not know, but when I was at the Gourd Temple, I saw Miss Yinglian. Miss Yinglian had a rouge mark the size of a grain of rice on her forehead. It was said that she was born with it, and it was rare for other people to have such a mark!

So I began to suspect that perhaps by some twist of fate, that person was someone Miss Yinglian had never met…”

As Sun Zai Ren spoke, he himself felt that things were too coincidental, so coincidental that it was somewhat bizarre!

Wherever someone is looking for Miss Zhen, they come to him? And wherever he happens to have information about Miss Zhen?

If that daughter really is Miss Yinglian, then the man with her must be a kidnapper. How could he have just happened to come looking for a place to rent from me? And how could he have known that I happened to know Miss Yinglian?

He had a string of questions in his mind but dared not ask them casually; he had already experienced many illogical things today.

For example, his being arrested here is highly illogical. After resolving to return to secular life, he rarely mentioned his past to anyone, and even gave himself the name "Zai Ren," meaning to be reborn as a human!

Even so, this young master of the Rongguo Mansion was able to find him. No one knows why he wanted to find him, or how he was able to find him by such coincidence.

Jia Lian breathed a long sigh of relief. If Xiangling really did run into this little novice monk, things would be much easier.

He had previously worried that even if he found the little monk, he would be helpless if the monk hadn't met Xiangling yet.

At this moment, there was no need to ask any more questions; Jia Lian simply stood up.

"Let's go, take me to see him!"