The Red Mansions

Chapter 820 Zhen Qing: Well, the prince is still there...

Jinling, Zhen's family

The king of Chu picked up the teacup, thinking about his next step.

In fact, the death of Mrs. Zhen did have a considerable impact on the Zhen family or the King of Chu.

Zhen Yingjia winked at her third younger brother Zhen Xuan, and not long after, the maids and servants who were serving around her left the house one after another.

Zhen Shao, the second master of the Zhen family, suddenly said: "In the past few days, Jia Ziyu went to Chongmingsha to manage the Jiangnan Naval Academy."

The King of Chu pondered for a moment, put down the teacup, and asked, "Did you say when you'll be back?"

"Should be just these two days." Zhen Shao's face was serious, without any expression of joy or anger, and said: "This Naval Academy is the one set up by Yongningbo for his future preparations for conquering the Jurchens from the north of the waterway."

King Chu's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Did Second Uncle go to that school?"

Zhen Shao paused, and said: "Currently the school recruits only middle and low-level generals. We are not suitable, but according to the future situation, it should be of great use."

The Naval Academy should be Yongningbo's direct descendant, and it will definitely be cultivated with all its strength in the future, but these have little to do with their Zhen family.

Looking back, I have to find a way to send Jue'er to the Naval Academy.

And the previous memorials to the battle with the Jiangnan camp, and the emperor's Jiayu instructions have also been transmitted, but there is no mention of whether the official will be restored to his original post after Duoqing recovered.

The King of Chu nodded, looked at Zhen Yingjia and Princess Chu with burning eyes, and said with emotion: "Uncle Yongning's reputation has been greatly shaken by this victory, not only in Beijing, but all the people in the world are talking about Jia Ziyu's success all the way south. He has a great reputation, and it is not the same as Yongningbo during the Henan War. Moreover, whether it is sweet potatoes or the Lianghuai Salt, he has made great contributions to the country and the people, and even ordinary people praise him. "

That young man is indeed talented, not only limited to military affairs, but also made a lot of achievements in salt administration and farming.

Zhen Yingjia nodded, twirled his beard and said, "After Jia Ziyu went through this battle, Bo Yongning took full control of the war against the captives, and there were almost no objections from inside or outside the government."

It can be said that this battle almost fully established Jia Heng's special status in the matter of dealing with captives, and established the court situation for the next five or even ten years.

At this moment, Princess Chu Zhen Qing looked at King Chu with a twinkle in her eyes, but she was a little strange.

The King of Chu said: "After this battle, the navy will definitely shine. The second and fourth uncles joined Jia Ziyu in the previous battle. After hearing about it, the father also issued an imperial edict to reward them. It's just that the three major weaving bureaus of Tirenyuan were short-lived. Regarding this matter, I heard from some people in the palace that Father was quite furious about it."

The eunuchs and maidservants in the palace naturally have the eyeliner of the King of Chu.

Princess Chu Zhen Qing took over the conversation and said softly: "My lord, the most urgent thing now is to make up for the shortfall."

The King of Chu nodded, turned his eyes to his own princess, and said, "I heard that Guangdong Sea has opened up the sea for trade, and the Lianghuai Salt Field also collects salt by ticket, which can be sold to all provinces."

Zhen Qing said softly: "My lord, I have ordered the people from the Chamber of Commerce to take care of this matter, but there is a big gap here, and it will be difficult to fill it in a short time."

Zhen Yingjia said: "The shortage of Tirenyuan is not in the past ten years. It was as early as the Longzhi period. The deficit is really huge now."

"It's a little bit of repayment first. I recently counted it. If it takes five years, it will be about the same." Zhen Qing said.

The king of Chu looked at Zhen Qing gently. Although the princess has a strong temperament, she is quite capable. To some extent, she is no worse than Aunt Jinyang.

Thinking of this, I can't help but think of my graceful aunt, who is now in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and her position is really becoming more and more important.

After he takes the throne...

The King of Chu suppressed the deepest thoughts in his heart, paused, and said: "What the princess said is very true, you can't just do nothing."

After pondering for a moment, he asked: "I heard that Aunt Jinyang is also in Jinling, and the princess will follow me to visit tomorrow."

Zhen Qing's beautiful eyes, which were as moist as water, smiled slightly, and said: "Tomorrow, I will prepare a gift for myself, and I will go see you once."

"Master Yuezhang, in my estimation, Emperor Father will not pursue that old account in a short time." Seeing Zhen Yingjia and the others frowning, the King of Chu thought for a while and said in relief.

"How to say?" Zhen Yingjia asked hurriedly.

The King of Chu looked dimly, and said in a low voice, "Thanks to Jia Ziyu's blessings these years, the national treasury and internal funds are not too empty."

This Jia Ziyu, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was really a giant sword.

Zhen Yingjia, Zhen Shao, Zhen Xuan: "..."

Among the four brothers of the Zhen family, Zhen Xuan was the most proficient in the breeding of merchants and merchants. Hearing this, he was surprised: "Why is this related to Yongning Bo?"

Meeting several gazes, the King of Chu explained: "Third Uncle doesn't know something, don't think that Jia Ziyu is only good at fighting, and he is also a good hand at collecting money. He has stolen many people's wealth by helping the father. From Brother Qijun, to the corruption cases of the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry, plus the rectification of the Lianghuai Salt Law, which wiped out the wealth of many salt merchants, and went to Guangdong Hai to set up customs. Why do you rely so much on him, and even want to promise the imperial daughter of the clan to him."

Because of these things, the Zhen family hadn't really thought about them before, but now that the King of Chu sorted them out, it was like clearing the clouds and seeing the fog, and they saw the clues.

Zhen Yingjia nodded and said: "Ziyu is indeed an unborn genius. Speaking of which, when King Yong was hiding in his residence, he might not have had a good impression of the Jia family now, but it is only because of Jia Ziyu that the two mansions of Ningrong and Rong are now on fire." Cooking with oil, flowers look brocade."

Zhen Shao said: "If it's just a military matter, it may not be irreplaceable, but..."

Only Zhen Qing's beautiful eyes twinkled, listening to her husband and the elders in the family praising that person, her jade face was slightly red, her heart was complicated, and she didn't know what it was like.

She has long since discovered that Jia Ziyu is a rare talent, otherwise, even he is worthy of Zhen Qing serving her in a humble way?

Well, the prince is still there... Why is she always thinking about that bastard and her past?
The beauty's heart was beating wildly, the embroidered shoes under the plain skirt were unconsciously brought together, and the long and narrow phoenix eyes painted with light red eyeshadow gradually became dewy.

The king of Chu nodded and said, "Gu also wants to see if Jia Ziyu can help in the end. The former salt transport envoy Guo Shaonian was not short at the beginning, and he didn't see what happened. It can be seen that even if it is a shortfall, it involves the affairs of the Tian family. The emperor may not be able to open the door."

Discussed with the staff about the shortfall of the weaving bureau before, and the emperor's intention to dislike the Zhen family is obvious, but it is not a dead game. On the one hand, he will try his best to make up for the shortfall, and on the other hand, he can also ask Yongningbo to intercede with the emperor.

Zhen Yingjia agreed and said: "Previously, the concubine and I thought the same way. The Holy Majesty obeyed Jia Ziyu's words. If he got a word from him, even if the thunder fell, he would be able to punish him lightly."

Zhen Qing took over the conversation and said: "Earlier, the second sister's daughter recognized Jia Ziyu as her godfather, the prince also knew about it, and then before the old matriarch died, she asked Jia Ziyu to promise sister Xi'er to Ziyu. , and now the relationship between the two families can be regarded as getting closer."

The King of Chu nodded, and immediately sighed: "In comparison, Jia Ziyu is closer to the other side, but it is also better."

That one refers to King Wei, which means that the relationship between Jia Heng and Princess Xianning is much closer.

Then the King of Chu talked to Zhen Yingjia for a while. After the Zhen family took the wind and washed away the dust, with a slight smell of alcohol, he followed Zhen Qing to a courtyard that had been cleaned up on the east side of the manor. For the king of Chu and his concubine Chu to live.

The husband and wife sat down in the flower hall at the moment, the candlesticks on the tables, the lamp shadows were orange, reflecting the two figures on the wall, separated by a central hall painting with bamboo and stone pictures.

King Chu picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, looked around, and asked, "Princess, why don't you see Chun'er? I haven't seen him for a long time."

Chen Chun is the son and only son of King Chu, so one can imagine how much he cherishes him.

"It's at the mother's side. I'll let the nanny lead me to meet the lord later." Under Zhen Qing's curved eyebrows, those beautiful eyes that glistened with charm and flowed silently looked at the king of Chu with a smile.

For some reason, she always felt as if she was looking at a most familiar stranger.

It seems that some don't want him to go south to Jinling...

Alas, blame that bastard.

The King of Chu didn't know what he thought of at this time, and sighed: "Before, I was cramped everywhere in Beijing and could not go south. Today I arrived in Jinling, and I felt that the dragon entered the sea and the tiger returned to the mountains. I am no longer bound by it."

The king of Chu has also read Jia Heng's Three Kingdoms, but he has not read the essence of Cao Mengde.

The King of Chu discussed with Zhen Qing and said: "The weaving bureau's deficit, let's find a way to solve part of it, and let the fourth sister blow the pillow wind in front of Jia Ziyu, but I heard that sister Xi'er has a weaker temperament. If Lan Er followed Jia Ziyu, it would be about the same..."

Zhen Qing chuckled and said: "Lan'er has already made a promise, I'm afraid it won't work."

Lan'er's temperament is the most like her, in fact, it's like talking about pillow wind, she blows pillow wind in front of that bastard?
Well, why is she thinking about this in front of the prince again?
In fact, it was Jia Heng who impressed Zhen Qing between the bed and curtain too deeply before, and those dreamlike experiences, when the King of Chu came, couldn't help but emerge from the bottom of my heart.

After a while, the nanny brought Chen Chun, the son of the King of Chu, over, bowed to the King of Chu, and said, "I have seen my father and my mother."

The King of Chu looked at his son warmly and affectionately. He couldn't help but feel a little bit more pleased. He nodded and said, "Chun'er, get up and let the king have a look."

Chen Chun got up and came to the king of Chu.

Seeing that his son was in good spirits, King Chu smiled and said, "It's much taller than in Beijing."

After teasing his son, it didn't take long before he ordered the nanny to lead Chen Chun out of the wing.

As the King of Chu said, he turned his eyes to look at the beauty that was becoming more and more graceful and almost glamorous under the light of the lights, which made the King of Chu look slightly dazed, and stretched out his hand to hold Zhen Qing's hand , whispered: "Princess, it's getting late."

Zhen Qing was watching her son go away, she frowned, for some reason, a strange feeling suddenly appeared in her heart, she calmly withdrew her hand, bit her pink lips with her white teeth, and said with a chuckle: "Your Majesty, who is busy in the world, Come on, let's go take a shower and change clothes."

The King of Chu smiled and said, "Princess Wang, I'll go take a bath first."

When King Chu left, Zhen Qing's charming poppy face, the smile on the brows and the corners of her mouth gradually faded, and under the light, it was as cold as frost, her beautiful eyes flickered, revealing a hint of thought.

After a while, the king of Chu finished his bath and took a bath.

Before the King of Chu could speak, Zhen Qing paused, and said softly: "My lord, I have not been feeling well these two days. My lord has come all the way from here, so I'm probably tired. You might as well take a rest first. Let me take a look at Chun'er." .”

The King of Chu was stunned when he heard the words, although he felt a little disappointed, but after thinking about it, it was really inappropriate for him to be in Zhen's house, so he nodded and said, "Go and see Chun'er."

Watching off the beautiful woman who is gradually moving away, after a while, I also feel a little tired, so I go to the inner room to rest, but I don't doubt it.

In other words, although the King of Chu is a vassal king, he has always been dominated by Zhen Qing in his daily life, and after Zhen Qing had a child, the two have long respected each other like ice.

……

……

Ningguo Mansion, in the study
Jia Heng is writing a letter with a brush.

The day before yesterday, Li Zan, a scholar of the Martial Arts Hall who was in the Department of Economics and Appeasement in Beiping, wrote a letter to Jia Heng after receiving the news of Jiangnan's great victory.

Jia Heng put the letterhead into an envelope, sealed it with wax paint, and said: "There's nothing else going on here, I'll go and see Duoduo at night, and we'll go back to Beijing in a few days."

As the construction of the Naval Academy in Chongmingsha is speeding up, most of the soldiers and horses of Henan Dusi have also withdrawn from the Jiangnan Camp a few days ago.

Chen Xiao said "um", looked at the young man, pursed her lips, and stopped talking.

Jia Heng seemed to be aware of it, looked at Chen Ling, approached, gently pulled those slender catkins, and asked, "What's the matter? Are you so hesitant?"

Chen Xiao gently pushed Jia Heng, her jade face was like profound water, she shook her head, turned her head aside, and said softly, "I don't know how to tell you."

She received the news from the church that Chen Yuan had gone south, but she didn't know exactly what to do when he went south to Jinling.

Jia Heng smiled and said, "Then tell me slowly, I won't hurt you."

Chen Xiao raised her eyes to meet the pair of eyes that seemed to see through what she was thinking, and said in a clear voice, "You...uh~"

But seeing that warm and warm breath hitting her face, the girl's clear eyes flickered, her nostrils snorted softly, and immediately let Jia Heng do what she wanted.

After a while, Jia Heng asked, "What about the White Lotus Sect?"

Chen Xiao frowned, a look of bewilderment appeared on her rosy face, neither admitting nor denying it.

Jia Heng whispered: "If you don't want to say it, then don't say it, and I won't use you to deal with the White Lotus Sect."

Of course, if the news is obtained through other channels, then it is another matter.

Chen Xiao shook her head and said, "I can't say it yet, I'll tell you the reason when the time comes."

If Chen Yuan is against him, she will protect him even if she dies.

Jia Heng nodded, and didn't continue to ask, saying: "It's noon, let's go eat first."

"You go first, I want to be alone for a while." Chen Xiao said softly.

"En." Hearing this, Jia Heng took a deep look at Chen Xiao, nodded, and left the study.

In the flower hall in the backyard——

On the embroidered pier beside the curtain, Zhen Xi gently took Zhen Lan's hand, and asked in a low voice: "Sister San, you have to go."

"I've been here for a few days, and it's time to go back. Daddy sent someone to accuse me last time, saying that the Fang family seems to have a lot of opinions." Zhen Lanyan said coldly with a grim look on her face.

It turned out that a few days ago, Jia Heng led Yingying and Yanyan from Jia's mansion to visit the 48 and [-] scenic spots in Jinling City, and Zhen Lan stayed in Ningguo Mansion for a few days, and Fang Kuang gradually learned about this.

Fang Kuang just felt hesitant to respond, so he wrote a letter to Zhen Lan, and after Zhen Lan ignored it, he sent someone to ask Zhen Lan's father, Zhen Xuan.

Zhen Xi's aura-like pupils revealed eagerness, and said in a low voice, "I am here, and it is only natural for Third Sister to stay here for a while."

Zhen Lan sighed, and said, "That's what I said, but some people don't think so."

She also didn't expect Fang Kuang to be so small. The Zhenjia family were family friends, and the fourth sister was also the concubine of Yongningbo. Theoretically, Yongningbo was her brother-in-law.

At this moment, on the side of the screen, Chai Dai was instructing the maid to arrange the meals. Nuona was talking to Tanchun not far away, answering Tanchun's curiosity about Western countries, and Baoqin was there to translate, interjecting from time to time.

Li Wen and Li Qi watched from the side with a smile, and listened secretly, gaining insight.

On the other side, Chai Dai, who was arranging food, ordered Zicuckoo, Yinger, Xiren, Yuanyang, etc. to put the bowls, chopsticks, cups and saucers, and at first glance she looked like a hostess.

Today Baochai is wearing an "ancestral" honey-colored jacket and a half-new pink pleated skirt. The girl's face is white and greasy, her skin is like creamy fat, and her face is peaceful.

Daiyu's clothes should be elegant and bright, and she wears a double-breasted dress with red roses printed on a white background, with a beautiful appearance.

Since the two signed the "Chai Dai Mutual Nonaggression Treaty" and reached a preliminary appeasement, there has been no disturbance.

In fact, there is another problem. Jia Heng spent more than half of the time in the past few days at the Princess Jinyang's mansion.

It's all night, what else is there to fight?

But Yuan Chun was not there, so he went to the Princess Eldest Mansion the day before yesterday, at least he could play as a substitute during the intermission in Jinyang, but in Ningguo Mansion because of the crowds, it was out of the question.

"Master is here." Tanchun's servant girl said with a smile as she entered the room with a handkerchief in her hand.

Everyone hastily stopped their work, only to see Jia Heng enter the hall, his eyes were bright and clear, looking at the handsome young man.

Tan Chun asked with a smile: "Brother Heng, you are done."

Jia Heng nodded and said: "I'm done with work, what's delicious today?"

Baoqin smiled brightly on her white, greasy and slightly chubby face, and said: "Brother Heng, you are lucky this time, Second Sister has cooked a few dishes this time."

Hearing this, Jia Heng paused, looked at Baochai, and saw the snow-skinned plump girl smiling at herself and nodded.

Jia Heng smiled and said, "Then I will have a good taste."

As she spoke, she couldn't hold back after all, and took a peek at Daiyu, and sure enough, she saw a pair of shining starry eyes coming towards her, her pink lips were slightly pursed, and the clear light in her eyes was filled with dark waves, bringing With a dash of inexplicable color.

There is no doubt that Baochai must have learned how to cook, otherwise, where does the good wind send me to Qingyun by force?

Piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, female red cooking, this is a compulsory course for a lady, you don't have to cook, but you can't.

As for Daiyu, Jia Heng can be sure that apart from bringing her own sweet soup, she has indeed never learned how to cook.

It's just that the arms race started by Baochai's side will cause Daiyu's blind comparison?
Jia Heng suppressed the weirdness in his heart, but deliberately kept his face calm, and said, "Well, let's have dinner together."

Everyone sat down, according to the order of seating, Jia Heng sat between Xiangyun and Baoqin, not between Chai and Dai, he didn't want to be Poland.

(End of this chapter)