The Red Mansions

Chapter 288
In the inner hall
Brightly lit and warm as spring.

Qin Keqing, Xichun, Youshi, Second Sister, Third Sister, and Ping'er were seated one by one, with the mother-in-law and servant girl serving behind her.

Ping'er originally said that his status was low and it was not easy to sit down, but Qin Keqing smiled and said that Ping'er was a guest, and invited Ping'er to sit down.

Merry and delicate, gentle and peaceful, when meeting someone with a speculative temperament, treating each other with special courtesy will only make him appear approachable and noble, rather than dignified.

Seeing Jia Heng, he cast his eyes all over the place. Ping'er, who was a little embarrassed, got up first, and said with a light smile, "Master Heng, this way please."

As he said that, he planned to lead Jia Heng to sit on his chair.

Jia Heng nodded, looked at Ping'er gently, smiled and said: "Miss Ping'er, let's sit down and have a meal together. It was a family banquet, and there are no elders here, so you might as well be casual."

At this moment, Ping'er was wearing a blue cotton skirt, with picturesque eyebrows, almond eyes and peach cheeks. Under Jia Heng's gaze, she seemed a little embarrassed.

You Shi also joked with a smile: "Your master is not here, so you don't need to stand by the rules. Sit down."

Ping'er: "..."

Third Sister You stared at the beautiful Ping'er, listening to Jia Heng's words, it turned out to be a family banquet, and her sister said about the rules of standing, her eyes flickered, and the corners of her mouth curled up.

Ping'er thanked him and sat down again.

Jia Heng sat down with Tanchun, Daiyu, and Xiangyun, and was served by the servant girls before they stopped.

Jia Heng asked: "Is everything settled properly?"

Qin Keqing said with a smile: "The furnishings, clothes and bedding are all ready, and I replaced it with the best animal charcoal. I will definitely not wrong sister Xichun."

Jia Heng raised her eyes to look at Xichun who was not far away, and said softly: "Sister, do you think that courtyard is okay? If it's not suitable, you can change it to your own home, where you can live comfortably."

Xichun's beautiful little face, I don't know if it's the reflection of the lights, or the mood, but the cold look disappeared, and said: "Thank you Brother Heng, there is no need to change, the courtyard is quiet and peaceful, and it is also very warm."

Jia Heng smiled and said, "It's good for my sister to feel comfortable."

After that, Jia Heng didn't say much, everyone just picked up chopsticks and spoons and started eating.

After dinner, Jia Heng sat down with Daiyu, Tanchun, and Xiangyun for a while. Daiyu said that she wanted to write the couplet so that she could take it home. Jia Heng agreed and wrote the couplet for her. .

Kunning Palace, in the palace, the lights are like daytime, and the fragrance is warm and pleasant.

Behind the curtain, groups of court ladies in bright clothes stood with their hands down. The leading female official was dressed in exquisitely patterned and elegant female official costumes.

Crane-shaped copper lamps, shining brightly, reflected on the clothes woven with gold thread and silk on the body, adding a bit of gorgeousness and wealth to the shining golden light.

And Yuan Chun's plump face, illuminated by the lights, is bright and charming, Fang Tao is like a plum, especially a fair, pink cheek skin, a little baby fat, it doesn't look like a woman over the age of twenty-nine at all .

Yuan Chun listened to the conversation of several nobles not far away, and when Jia Heng was mentioned, her bright beautiful eyes flickered.

This is already the past two months, and she has heard Jia Heng mentioned by the empress and the imperial concubine several times in the palace.

Empress Song, Concubine Duan Rong, Princess Xianning Chen Zhi had dinner not long ago, and they were sitting around a small table, drinking tea and talking.

Empress Song wore a long dress with plum blossom embroidered palace clothes and a gold hairpin on her head. With her bright and charming face, after listening to Xianning Princess Chen Zhixu's story about what happened in the Jinyang Princess's Mansion, she was a little surprised Confidentially, he said: "He promised to give Brother Ni the post of meritorious service in the Wucheng Bingma Division?"

Concubine Duan Rong also cast a curious gaze. This beauty is wearing a sky blue palace gown. Because she has practiced dancing all the year round, she does not have a plump figure that is pampered. However, she has a Miao Xiu that is no less than that of a twenty-year-old woman, but her eyebrows and eyes are overflowing. The mature charm hints that this is a woman who has given birth to a pair of children.

Chen Zhidao: "He said it at his aunt's place in front of Brother Wang and his cousin."

Concubine Duanrong's phoenix eyes flickered, she asked Empress Song, "Sister, do you have any explanation for this post of meritorious service?"

Empress Song smiled, and said: "Rewarding meritorious deeds and punishing others, this is the core matter of Wucheng Bingma Division. It is convenient for Ran'er to contact personnel in Wucheng Bingma Division. He is obviously interested in it."

She would like to think that it would be great if she would be given the post of chief bookkeeper, or would she give it to a deputy commander of the city, who would have to be alone, but dignified and noble, who would really go to and fro in the streets and alleys, doing things like degrading officials?
Concubine Duanrong Yurong smiled lightly, and said softly: "Later, my sister can be called into the palace, and I will ask you a few words."

Because after King Wei opened the mansion, the whereabouts of the soldiers and horses in Wucheng was basically determined by Emperor Chongping, and Empress Song could summon Jia Heng into the palace to give a few words.

Of course, he is a foreign minister after all, and although he can see him, he still needs to be accompanied by various female officials.

Empress Song thought for a while and said with a smile: "Then let's say that, and I will pass on the oral order tomorrow..."

Suddenly seeing Jia Yuanchun standing beside him, his heart skipped a beat and he called out, "Come here, Yuanchun."

"Niang Niang." Yuan Chun heard Song Empress calling, and hurriedly stepped forward with light steps, and gave a blessing.

At this moment, Princess Chen Zhi of Xianning stared at Yuan Chun, sizing up the female official, with a thoughtful face.

Song Empress Xu is Aiwu Jiwu, her voice is a little softer, and she said with a smile: "Tomorrow, you will pass the oral order of the palace to the Ningguo Mansion, saying that the palace will prepare a small banquet, and invite General Yunhui Jia Heng for Wei Wang to open the mansion next year. As soon as you enter the palace, you go out of the palace to pass the oral order, and reunite with your family by the way, before the palace gate is locked, just remember to come back."

As the lord of the six palaces, Empress Song naturally has the right to dispose of Yuan Chun and other "elder court ladies" who have not shown her kindness, even if she is sent back to Jia's house, it is a matter of one word.

Yuan Chun felt mixed feelings of joy and sorrow when he heard the words, and said softly: "Thank you for your kindness, Madam."

I haven't been home for several years, and I don't know how the family has changed. My father still has Baoyu. How have these few years been?
Empress Song looked at Yuan Chun opposite with a smile, thinking.

It's not like Xia Shouzhong didn't say that Yuan Chun should serve the Holy Majesty in order to win over the Jia family, but it was obvious that the Holy Majesty valued Jia Ziyu a lot, and she couldn't be too obvious about her win over.

"What's more, Jia's family has gained the wealth of their relatives, and they are in harmony with each other, so what should they do if they are equal to me?"

But in Ningguo Mansion, the next day, after Jia Heng finished his breakfast, he sent someone to invite Qu Lang from Jinyi Mansion to come over and narrate.

In the morning, in the outer study, Jia Heng heard the servant's report, so she put down the pen in her hand and called Qu Lang to come in to discuss the matter.

After a while, a tall and straight young man dressed in warrior outfit walked in, stood in front of the desk, cupped his hands and said, "I've seen my lord before."

Jia Heng smiled and said, "Qu Qianhu, sit down."

As he spoke, he bypassed the desk and sat down on a chair beside him.

Some servants offered tea, which was steaming hot.

Qu Lang sat upright, with doubts in his piercing tiger eyes, he asked, "I don't know why your lord calls me a lowly post?"

Jia Heng didn't care about the circle, and cut straight to the point: "Qu Qianhu, how many years has King Zhongshun supervised the construction of the imperial tomb?"

Qu Lang heard the words, thought for a while, and said: "The imperial mausoleum has been under construction since the 21st year of Longzhi, and Prince Zhongshun has been in charge for [-] or [-] years."

Jia Heng pondered and said: "Recently, you asked your confidants to check the construction of the imperial mausoleum, which company purchased the earthworks and stones used? Who are the bricklayers? Keep it secret."

Generally speaking, as long as it is a large-scale project, the corruption of wages is almost everywhere, but if you try to bring down Prince Zhongshun with the crime of embezzlement of wages, it will almost be meaningless after all.

But if you add cutting corners, this is much worse than corruption of wages.

This is disloyalty and unfilial piety, cutting corners on old father's auspicious land, and under the background of etiquette and law of governing the world with the way of benevolence and filial piety, this is enough for a loyal prince to drink a pot, and he will either die or be disabled.

The princes of the court and the court are criticized by thousands of people.

Collect the evidence first, as for who will reveal it, it will definitely not be him, and it can be handed over to the censor.

"Even if there is no cutting corners, just corruption is enough to make King Zhongshun burnt out." Jia Heng's eyes were deep, thinking.

If he followed his thinking, he would naturally try to kill him, but he had to consider what the emperor wanted.

Qu Lang nodded, with a flash of surprise in his heart, and said, "The humble job will arrange it."

Jia Heng made the arrangements, and stopped talking about this matter, and instead asked: "I've been away for more than a month, what are Lu Jingyao and Ji Yingtian up to?"

Qu Lang looked solemn, lowered his voice, and said: "My lord, recently, Lord Lu seems to want to intervene in the imperial court's rectification of the Lianghuai salt affairs, and sent a lot of brocade clothes to the southern province. It is related to the transfer of manpower to the south."

Originally, Lu Jingyao knew that he had seriously lost points with Emperor Chongping in the matter of the Sanhe Gang in Dongcheng, and he heard that the position of the commander of Jinyiwei and Tongzhi seemed to be shaky.

Lu Jingyao was in a hurry to get angry, and after listening to an expert's advice, he kept an eye on Jia Heng's movements.

For Lin Ruhai's safety, Jia Heng once advised Emperor Chongping to send people south to Yangzhou to protect Lin Ruhai. Afterwards, he dispatched a team of Jinyi guards to Yangzhou.

Naturally, this cannot be completely kept secret in the Jinyi Mansion. After Lu Jingyao learned about it, he couldn't help thinking that it might be an opportunity to express himself. It coincided with the fact that in recent months, the cabinet and the six ministries have been discussing the rectification of Lianghuai salt affairs.

Lu Jingyao had a flash of inspiration, and felt that this matter might be an opportunity to make up for his mistakes, so he sent capable men to the Lianghuai Salt Fields south to spy on the news.

Jia Heng frowned, and said: "Lu Jingyao's move, I'm afraid it will startle the snake, let people pay close attention first."

From his point of view, Lu Jingyao probably watched him use the Jinyi Mansion to spy on the matter, and he acted vigorously in the matter of the Sanhe Gang in the East City, and he came here to play like a cat and a tiger.

only……

"In the land of the two Huaihe Rivers, people run like iron barrels, and the power is intertwined. It can't be said that it goes down to the Yanguan, up to the governor, and the feudal officials are all in charge. The power of Jinyi Mansion is strong in Shenjing, but in Huaiyang, The strength is so weak, and self-defeating is a high probability event."

Jia Heng thought and sighed.

Really... I can do it myself.

Qu Lang pondered for a while, and said: "My lord, it's not easy for people under the humble job to stare at Lu Tongzhi. They are easy to be discovered. The humble job recommends a person to the lord, Zhao Qianhu from the Fusi of Nanzhen. If Brother Zhao sends someone, he will Much more secretive."

Staring at the boss without a valid reason, the staff of the Fusi Department in Beizhen, firstly, have doubts, and secondly, their faces are familiar, so they are easy to be noticed.

On the contrary, it is the Fusi of Nanzhen, who is full-time internally to investigate illegal activities, and instead acts cheaply.

Jia Heng frowned and said, "Zhao Yi?"

His friendship with Zhao Yi is not bad, and he also contributed to his promotion to Nanzhen Fusi Qianhu, but it doesn't mean that he can be entrusted with his heart.

"Zhao Qianhu wants to visit your lord, but has never had the opportunity." Qu Lang said in a low voice.

When Jia Heng heard the words, his heart moved slightly, knowing that this was the intention of friendship.

After he became a first-class Yunhui general, together with the first army of the governor Guoyongying, the holy family was rising, and the political banner raised also gained some appeal.

For example, old friends like Zhao Yi were still a little reserved before, and only helped with things that did not violate the principles, but now they are obviously a little bit impatient.

Jia Heng pondered and said: "He is also an old acquaintance. If he wants to, he will secretly send someone to pay attention to Lu Jingyao to see what he is going to do."

Although he knows that Lu Jingyao has a high probability of drawing a tiger and not being an anti-dog, but he has no reason to stop Lu Jingyao's active performance now, because as a fellow acquaintance in Jinyi, Lu Jingyao has been spouting and monitoring the two capitals and 13 provinces to share the worries of the emperor. The salt affairs collect information, which is a performance of due diligence.

Jia Heng turned around and asked, "Where's Ji Yingtian?"

Qu Lang said: "Master Ji has nothing to do recently, but Captain Qiu has been sending people to the north to spy on the enemy in the east."

Jia Heng's expression became strange, and he said: "After he was reprimanded by the Holy One for Lan Qianhu, he became a little more clever."

There are no fools who can hang out in Jinyi Mansion. Lu Jingyao and Qiu Liang are clearly "following" him. Seeing that he has won the holy family because of this, and the sky is rising, they start looking for the "sacred family code".

Then, Lu Jingyao went south, and Qiu Liang went north.

"Don't worry about it, let Qiu Liang be busy first, but Lan Qianhu's side, you have to connect well. Since Qiu Liang is so enthusiastic about the Eastern captives, if he has good talents, he will be transferred to Peiping next spring."

Because the Department of Economics and Appeasement is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Military Intelligence, after it is established, a large number of manpower must be transferred. Since Qiu Liang is so eager to capture the enemy's affairs in the East, he is also seeking benevolence when he is transferred to Northern Xinjiang.

Li Zan went to the Department of Economics, Strategy and Appeasement. As the initiator of the Department of Military Intelligence, he recommended one or two people, all of which were casually mentioned.

Hearing this, Qu Lang paused, his heart beating wildly.

As soon as Captain Qiu left, the governor of Beizhen Fusi...

Jia Heng nodded and said: "Let's do this first. In the evening, I have prepared a banquet in the mansion, and you bring Zhao Qianhu over to have a gathering at night."

Since his return, he hadn't hosted a banquet for the generals under Guoyong's battalion, and it happened to be a banquet at night to discuss the matter of reorganizing the army.

"Yes, my lord." Qu Lang responded, got up and left.

Jia Heng sat for a while, got up, and was about to return to the inner hall.

But suddenly at this time, I heard the servant outside reporting, saying: "Master, the master of the Wang family has come to send invitations."

"Wang Yi?"

Jia Heng frowned, and said: "Just say I'm not here, accept the invitation and send him back."

The servant said: "Uncle Wang went to the West Mansion first, invited Mr. Zheng, and said that he wanted to see him in the flower hall, as well as Uncle Xue from Lixiangyuan."

Jia Heng paused, and thought to himself, Wang Yi did it on purpose, because he was worried that he would disappear, so he first invited Jia Mu to the West Mansion, and then invited Jia Zheng to come with him, and brought along Xue Da, who was probably watching the fun. head.

He is the patriarch of the Jia clan, so it is impossible for him to hang out with Jia Zheng of the same clan.

After thinking about it, he said, "This is the end."

in flower hall
Wang Yi was sitting on a pear-wooden chair, sipping tea, Jia Zheng was sitting beside him, and Xue Pan was sitting next to him, who was laughing.

Wang Yi was about [-] years old, dressed in a beautifully woven su brocade robe and a fur cloak. He was tall and straight, with fair skin, a beard under his nose, and a pair of gloomy eyes looking at the hanging paintings in the central hall of the Ning Mansion.

The pine and white crane are painted on it, implying that the pine and crane prolong the life.

Wang Yi said to Jia Zheng who was on the side with a smile: "Uncle, I remember that when Brother Zhen was here, this painting was still a pine for welcoming guests. I don't want to see things differently just because we haven't seen each other for a few months."

Jia Zheng's complexion was strange, it was obvious that Jia Zhen was mentioned and it was hard to answer.

Xue Pan's copper-bell-sized eyes widened, and he said, "Cousin, it's not that Brother Zhen did something bad."

Jia Zheng obviously didn't want to bring up this matter, because Jia Zhen's matter was kept secret in both the East and the West, so he had to change the subject, coughed, and asked, "Which guests will you invite for your father's birthday tomorrow? "

Wang Yi didn't want to listen to Xue Pan's nonsense either. He never took his eyes off Jia Zheng, and said with a smile, "Our old relatives have all been invited. Prince Beijing, Prince Nan'an, Duke Zhen, Duke Li, ten or so of them, I Invitations were sent just now."

Jia Zheng nodded, twisted his beard under his chin, smiled and said, "These are old relatives, they should be invited."

The political acumen of Dad Zheng is not enough to judge the turmoil in it.

Wang Ziteng invited the nobles from Beijing, Nan'an, and the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies just to seek negotiations by giving birth to a baby tomorrow.

Wang Yi laughed again and said, "That's not all. The guerrilla generals of the [-]th Regiment Battalion and above all sent out invitations, as well as Liang Shilang from the household department, Yang Ge's hometown from the cabinet...these civil servants also sent invitations."

In the past few days, Wang Ziteng is not without help. Under Fang Ji's suggestion, Wang Ziteng and the servant of the household department, Liang Yuan, had two meals together by taking advantage of the opportunity to go to the Ministry of Household Affairs to coordinate the payment of soldiers in the Beijing camp.

Because Wang Ziteng's title of Minister of the Ministry of War may not be appreciated by some Qingliu who think highly of themselves.

However, Liang Yuan served as an official in the household department because of general affairs, so he didn't care much about his background.

The two were eating together, and when the wine was hot, Liang Yuan mentioned Jia Heng's arrogance and domineering. He thought Wang Ziteng would defend him, but he didn't expect him to agree with him. So, they came and went, and the two became friends.

Liang Yuan set up a bridge and delivered a message to the mansion of Yang Guochang, the chief assistant of the cabinet, but Yang Guochang asked Wang Ziteng to keep his official position and do things well for the Holy One, but he did not see Wang Ziteng.

Although we haven't met each other, after several exchanges of words, we also showed our supportive attitude, and Wang Ziteng's heart became more confident.

It can be said that Wang Ziteng has everything ready, and he thinks that he has enough bargaining chips to negotiate with the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies.

This optimistic mood naturally infected his son Wang Yi.

When Jia Zheng heard this, he was really surprised and said, "Mr. Yang Ge? Will he go to the house for a banquet tomorrow?"

Could it be that Jia Zheng was not surprised that the chief assistant of the cabinet, regulating yin and yang, and being extremely courteous, made room for the prince to celebrate his birthday?
Well, what are you thinking?
Seeing Jia Zheng's reaction like this, Wang Yi's eyes flashed an imperceptible smugness, he smiled and said: "The invitation has been sent to the Yang Mansion, and it has already been accepted over there, I think it will come tomorrow."

But he won't say why the chief minister of the cabinet will attend the banquet?
It's not bad to let his son go there on his behalf.

Jia Zheng said with emotion: "Your father has always been talented, and he saw the rising trend of Qingyun back then."

When Jia Zheng, Jia She, and Wang Ziteng were young, they also made friends together. Now that Wang Ziteng is getting bigger and bigger, Jia Zheng is not without some envy.

Hearing this, Wang Yi felt even more joyful.

　Don't wait for the second, although I am still writing.

　
(End of this chapter)