The next morning, the father and son of the Xu family said goodbye to Xu Chen and then took a boat north to Hangzhou.
Xu Huaiyuan only brought a few close followers, and Xu Yan only brought his little servant Shuangxi.
Jiangnan, especially Zhejiang, is a region with a vast network of waterways, making water transport much more convenient than land transport. Xu Huaiyuan, who frequently travels between Hangzhou and Ningbo for business, has a keen understanding of this.
The river was bustling with boats and ships. However, the Xu family father and son were preoccupied with their own affairs and naturally had little mood to enjoy the scenery along the river. They only hoped to reach Hangzhou as soon as possible.
They sailed up the river to the north and it took them a whole day to reach the outskirts of Hangzhou.
The southeast is a beautiful place, and Qiantang, the capital of the Three Wus, has been prosperous since ancient times.
After entering Hangzhou City from the Water Gate, Xu Yan was truly shocked by this prosperous and wealthy city.
On both sides of the river, there are many houses and people gather here, and there are many people working in silver, needlework, clay, and even making rush shoes, making paper, and copying calligraphy and paintings.
As for printing books, making wine, weaving mats, and lacquer work, there is no need to mention it.
Unfortunately, Xu Yan could only catch a glimpse of such a prosperous scene.
However, the Xu family father and son paid the silver and got off the boat, then took a carriage with a few servants and headed straight for Chen's house.
The Chen Mansion is located in the north of Hangzhou. Not only are government offices gathered here, but there are also private residences of countless powerful people. It is undoubtedly a wealthy area.
Xu Huaiyuan had been here many times. After taking Xu Yan around in many ways, they finally arrived at Chen's house before dark.
The Qiantang Chen family was a famous wealthy family in the local area, so their mansion was naturally extremely luxurious.
Xu Yan originally thought that his house could be considered a mansion, but compared with the Chen family's mansion, it was really dwarfed.
As soon as the Xu family father and son entered the mansion with their servants, Chen Zongzhi, the eldest son of the Chen family, received the news and came out to greet them with his servants.
Xu Yan looked from afar and saw that Chen Zongzhi was wearing a pine-colored Taoist robe with a loose gauze pattern, a black square scarf on his head, and a pair of cloud-shaped shoes on his feet.
Xu Yan subconsciously compared the person in front of him with the wealthy uncle in his memory, and couldn't help feeling distressed.
Chen Zongzhi is now thin and haggard, as if he could be blown down by the wind at any time. He must have suffered so many blows these days.
"Brother-in-law, Brother Qiu, I'm sorry to have troubled you so much that you even came all the way here."
Chen Zongzhi smiled miserably, and in Xu Yan's opinion, this smile was uglier than crying.
Xu Huaiyuan sighed and said, "Brother-in-law, don't worry too much. We are here to rescue Old Taishan. Everything depends on human effort. There will definitely be a way."
Xu Yan also said, "Yes, uncle, as the saying goes, a man of integrity fears no slander. It's only a matter of time before Grandpa is released from prison."
Chen Zongzhi's Adam's apple moved slightly, and he smiled bitterly and said, "I hope so. Well, let's go to the flower hall and talk."
Several people came to the flower hall and sat down. Chen Zongzhi was the first to speak: "Brother-in-law, this matter is a bit tricky. As you know, Zhejiang has been plagued by Japanese pirates this year. The silk farmers are living in unrest. The constant fear has affected their silkworm breeding. The silk cannot be collected, and the silk weaving progress is naturally slow. But the eunuch Sun Qing, who is in charge of weaving, is adamant about the delivery date. Father just said a few more words, and he became jealous of him. He falsely accused father of embezzling the majority of the silver allocated by the Ministry of Works, which led to the weavers' strike. Now the blame is placed on father's head. I asked people to make arrangements, but they can't rescue father. What should we do now?"
As he spoke, Chen Zongzhi began to sob. Men don't shed tears easily, only when they are heartbroken.
Seeing his uncle looking so sad, Xu Yan really couldn't bear it.
This eunuch Sun was truly ruthless. In order to clear himself, he shifted all the blame onto the Chen family. Not only did he shirk responsibility, but he also fabricated a charge of corruption. He was truly ruthless.
"Excuse me, uncle, which connections have you made through others?"
Chen Zongzhi glanced at Xu Yan, shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Qiantang County Government, Hangzhou Prefecture Government, Fantai Government, Neitai Government... I asked everyone to ask everywhere, but no one dared to offend that old eunuch. My father made so much money, but in the end..."
What his uncle said was truly despairing, but Xu Yan felt something was not right when he heard it.
Hey, there doesn’t seem to be a governor’s office among them!
"Uncle, haven't you asked someone to find a connection with the governor yet?"
Xu Yan's question left Chen Zongzhi bewildered. He rolled his eyes at his nephew and said, "The Governor has only been in office for less than a month. How could he have had enough time to build connections? Even if I wanted to, I couldn't even get through the Governor's Office."
Xu Yan thought his uncle's words made sense. Zhu Wan had only just taken office, so his uncle certainly didn't have any connections to the Futai government.
But he does!
"Uncle, I happened to meet the governor when I was in Dinghai County. How about I go there and give it a try tomorrow morning?"
Chen Zongzhi was shocked when he heard this.
"What did you say, Brother Qiu, have you met Governor Zhu?"
Xu Yan nodded. "The Governor visited Ningbo Prefecture, and I attended the welcoming banquet as a representative of the Dinghai County gentry. During the banquet, I even wrote a poem, which was praised by the Governor."
He thought to himself that the relationship between the governor and I is more than that. The governor has regarded me as a close friend regardless of age difference. In order not to scare you, I will just say this for now.
Chen Zongzhi rushed forward and grabbed Xu Yan's hands as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, and said excitedly: "Brother Qiu, it all depends on you. How much silver do you want? Ten thousand taels, twenty thousand taels?"
The Chen family has plenty of money, and Chen Zongzhi is willing to pay any amount of money as long as it can rescue his father.
Xu Yan shook his head.
"Uncle, please be patient. This isn't a matter of money. Let me go check it out tomorrow."
If there was anyone in Hangzhou who dared to take care of this matter, it could only be Zhu Wan.
Xu Yan knew Zhu Wan very well. He was upright and unafraid of the powerful.
As long as my grandfather is wronged, Zhu Wan will definitely speak up for him and clear his name.
Using money to bribe is actually an insult to Zhu Wan.
Seeing this, Xu Huaiyuan comforted Chen Zongzhi and said, "Brother-in-law, just wait patiently. If we need you, we will come back to you."
Chen Zongzhi nodded repeatedly: "Brother-in-law is absolutely right. Ah, it's getting late today, you should go to bed quickly."
After saying this, Chen Zongzhi called the housekeeper over and gave him some instructions.
"Someone, come and clean up the rooms in the east wing..."
"Uncle, you should rest early too."
Before leaving, Xu Yan said very considerately.
Chen Zongzhi's eyes were red and he nodded.
After leaving the flower hall, the Xu family father and son followed the Chen family's housekeeper through the halls and courtyards. After a long time, they finally arrived at the tidied east wing. As for the attendants they brought with them, they had their own large bunk beds for servants to sleep in, so they didn't need to worry about it.
After the long journey, Xu Yan was indeed tired. He simply washed up and turned off the lights and went to bed.
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