The Promotion of Yuanchun in the Red Chamber

In the eyes of the noble concubine, the eldest prince is so dishonest and unscrupulous, but he can hold the bottom line and at the same time be able to bend and stretch. This temperament is not worrying about not being able to make a big career, but he wants more than that in the palace. It is resourceful, and it is even more important to handle affairs and employ people with an upright attitude.

Only mentioning the latter item, the crown prince has indeed done better than the eldest prince.

However, the crown prince and the first prince will inevitably seek real vacancies for their respective disciples. In recent years, the first prince with better popularity has gained the upper hand.

It wasn't until the incident happened in the south that the crown prince used this matter to contain the eldest prince: Yushi even wrote a letter, even though the sage refused to post it, but he also forced the eldest prince to stand in front of the sage, the princes, and important clansmen. , defended himself politely.

The one in the south is also from the clan, so it is not too much to treat it as a family matter.

In any case, the prince's move was a public conspiracy, and it didn't involve any brothers.But in order to repay the crown prince, the eldest prince directly attracted the seventh brother...and the fourteenth prince.

It has to be said that the imperial concubine did not hesitate to appreciate her two younger brothers as the knife to "kill people with a borrowed knife".

However, if the mother of the fourteenth prince knew that her son had offended the seventh prince, it would be tantamount to asking the concubine to write a note to their mother and son, not to mention that her son even bribed the mother of the concubine's subordinates.The concubine Ling also made a decisive decision, restraining her feet did not delay her dismissing her confidants, and went back and forth with the imperial concubine to tell the truth.

According to the Fourteenth Prince, he got the information about Seventh Brother's inner house from his sister-in-law. Even the mother was mentioned by the sister-in-law intentionally or unintentionally. This man loves money...

Let the imperial concubine hear this kind of thing: whoever takes advantage of it can't be tested, it's true that a dog bites a dog.The eldest prince is not an upright gentleman. You, little fourteen, are commendable for making things difficult for your brother's concubine?

As a half-outsider, the noble concubine sees it most clearly: just like the crown prince and the eldest prince have become more "unyielding" these years, isn't the root cause coming from the holy majesty?It was the Holy One who gave one son the confidence to "move forward", and at the same time made the other uneasy.

But the father is not kind enough to treat his sons too favorably.

The noble concubine looked up, and saw that the majesty was also looking thoughtful, and she said softly, "The prince and the old lady are old, you should also pay attention to picking two good grandsons-in-law. The big event in the south has been decided, next year It’s Dabi again, there are quite a few talented people.”

The Holy Majesty has always loved and trusted noble concubines - the entire harem combined may not be comparable to a single noble concubine.And today's words really helped a lot, the Holy Majesty laughed and said, "You are still careful."

Although he loves the eldest son very much, the eldest son can't shake the crown prince's position in his heart no matter what, and the Holy One has naturally noticed that the eldest son has become more serious recently.He should really suppress it: just as Aifei said, it happened to remind the two sons and even the courtiers through the marriage of the granddaughters.

Five days later, the confidants sent by the Holy Majesty to the pass brought back several "imperial criminals": the chief managers of the princess's natal family who were in charge of the business in the north, and the most important ones were the sons and daughters of the one in the south.

In other words, since the eldest son was arrested in the south, he knew that something was wrong, so he divided up the family property that even the Holy One was jealous of, and let the children find their own way out-one who runs away counts as one, otherwise the whole family will be circled. , but completely hopeless.

As soon as the Holy Majesty waved his hand, he handed over all the criminals to King Qing, the commander of the inner guard. As the youngest brother of the Holy Majesty, King Qing had the best relationship with the Holy Majesty among the sons of the former emperor, and was recognized for his talent.

It only took one day and one night for King Qing to get the confession: After a group of criminals corroborated each other, it was quite scrutinized.

Newly obtained the key evidence and witnesses, the Holy One quickly dealt with the "own relatives". After that, the princess's natal father and brother honestly filed a self-defense paper. Because of the protection of the crown prince, Zhan Shizuo, the young man of Zhan Shifu, was also moved from Zhan Shizuo to the head of the Ministry of Criminal Affairs—the Holy One transferred the brother of the princess concubine away from the crown prince, and the Ministry of Criminal Affairs was not much rich, and its powers were limited. The original intention was to let this person reflect on himself one time.

This is not over yet, the Holy Majesty specially summoned the crown prince, and according to what the imperial concubine said, he planned to have a heart-to-heart talk.

After the crown prince finished his ceremony, the majesty let his son sit by his side, and said in a very gentle tone, "Did you not sleep well these days?" The crown prince's eye circles were a little blue, it's strange that he slept well.

The prince said honestly: "Yes... I am a little worried." After a pause, it was probably due to lack of energy, and he was directly weak in the face of the father, "The people below read the good scriptures in a wrong way. The son is really... ashamed of his father. The emperor taught, neglected to discipline them."

Seeing his son like this, the Holy Majesty immediately softened his heart.The attitude is right, so let's talk about how to discipline.The Holy Majesty also gave advice to his son, "You only rely on that family to do everything for you, how can you not become domineering in the long run? In a few days, maybe you will have to say 'Without me, the prince will not be able to find someone useful. 'thought."

The prince lowered his head slightly, "Yes."

His Majesty patted his son on the shoulder, "Next year's big competition, Father will find some talents for you, and you should pay more attention to yourself."

The prince was taken aback when he heard the words, and then he was overjoyed, "Royal father?" This is tacit approval for him to make friends with scholars!

The Holy Majesty said again: "It's time for your eldest daughter to talk about her marriage. Do you have any ideas for the Crown Princess to talk to the noble concubine?"

This kind of paternal comfort and teaching made the prince feel much more at ease.Coming out of Qianqing Palace, the prince went back to the East Palace to deal with official duties with a peaceful expression.

But the Holy Majesty was so polite to the Crown Princess's family, he sent his confidant eunuch to the Crown Princess's family to reprimand him: dare to discredit the Crown Prince?If there is a next time, I will definitely not take it lightly!

The Crown Princess's natal family was indeed much quieter.As for the elder brother of the princess, apart from being annoyed by Zuo Qian, he was even more fortunate: Is this matter over?Doesn't the big hole in the south need to be repaired?

As for the crown princess, the noble concubine also sent her confidant mother to teach: or the same sentence, keep your duty.

The Crown Princess hadn't seen the Crown Prince for several days, and she asked the Concubine to train her again, so she was tossed around all night, and went to see the Concubine the next day with anxiety in her heart.

The noble concubine was not so tactful to this somewhat unclear crown princess, "My natal family should persuade them, and stop them. Blindly protecting them will actually harm them. Look at that one's natal family, it is a lesson from the past." .”

The noble concubine is talking about Yipin and Yipin's natal family who have entered the cold palace.

Because Yipin's father had received bribes from the man in the south, he kept sending out news from time to time, but this time he sadly resigned from office, and all his children and grandchildren were demoted or simply shelved. , and the official voice is excellent so that he has not been implicated.

It's just that there is never a shortage of "walls falling down and everyone pushing" in the officialdom. The princess also heard that Yipin's natal family, which was so glorious in the past, is not only in a state of distress, but also in a state of desperation: not to mention the land and shops, it is the capital of old houses in Beijing. It is difficult to preserve, and the whole family is packing their luggage, planning to return to their hometown to "avoid disaster".

The noble concubine was looking at her with a smile at this time, the crown princess turned her heart away, stood up and said respectfully, "I know my mistake."

At the same time, she was also very bitter in her heart: her brother only thought of telling her when he got into trouble, how could he take care of her... These years, he has urged her from time to time to pick a younger sister from her natal family to enter the East Palace, and said What is "sisters in one heart".

Now that her natal family has caused trouble, she has to help carry the blame... The more she thinks about it, the more she feels wronged, and standing in front of the imperial concubine, she suddenly burst into tears.

The noble concubine took a closer look, why did the crown princess "rain with pear blossoms"?Once someone cries, it is inappropriate to say the following words.

She hurriedly took the handkerchief from the hand of the maid, and wiped the princess's eyes with her own hands, "Okay, okay...you can feel better after crying."

The princess was sobbing, "Mother, I really can't take it anymore..."

How can the concubine not see through the thoughts of the crown princess?The noble concubine also slandered while expressing emotion: The Holy Majesty really cut your natal family cruelly, you still can't stand it.So take care of it, only if you suppress them first, they will not dare to underestimate you.

Of course, the imperial concubine would not mention this kind of self-deprecating words...she only told her daughters...

After the crown princess left, the three princesses came to visit their mother together. The imperial concubine held one with one hand, and directly wrapped the two with the other, "Oh, it's true that every family has a hard-to-recite scripture."

The Sixth Princess has the most lively temper. Seeing the two elder sisters smiling and not speaking, she said, "I heard that the second sister-in-law just left." After a pause, she added, "It's not easy for her."

The imperial concubine smiled and said: "A woman must first think highly of herself, and be unambiguous in what she should say and do, so that others can respect her." Her daughter will not be cowardly, let alone ignorant of right and wrong, but the words that should be reminded are also important. Can't be frugal, "You've all grown up too."

The eldest second princess is already eighteen, and the future son-in-law will be the eldest grandson of the Holy Majesty's aunt.However, according to the selfishness of the Holy Majesty and the imperial concubine, they still hope that their daughter will marry in their twenties—anyway, the princesses of this dynasty usually leave the cabinet in their twenties.

The fourth princess and the sixth princess are only slightly younger than the eldest daughter of the prince, and it is time to learn from her how to be a housekeeper and manage people carefully.

Speaking of marriage, Zhao Han was delayed for more than two years because of the death of his stepmother, but he himself didn't care.Although it's a bit unkind, but with Liu Zhi's death, no matter what big secrets the Liu family has with the one in the south, even if the Holy One settles accounts for this fall, the palace will no longer be involved.

Determined, Zhao Han studied during the day, and went to his sister Zhao Xuan's room to take a look after dinner.Now Zhao Xuan's side is full of jealous mothers, and these people have repeatedly persuaded the eldest girl, "You must respect the prince and the uncle. If you offend these two, the girl's life will be difficult."

Yuan Chun, who learned about this, even told Zhao Xuan some stories about women who did not get along with her natal family and even turned her face during the history lectures every afternoon. How can a reckless person end well?

Whether Zhao Xuan is convinced or not is the second priority. At least on the surface, her words and deeds are much more pleasing to the ear than before: her mother has gone, and her grandparents have returned to her hometown. She really has to be honest.

When Yuan Chun wrote a letter home to Zhao Zhizhen, he specially praised the eldest girl.

Seeing this, Zhao Zhizhen laughed softly, "You have to keep an eye on it, lest you go back to your old ways." After finishing speaking, he wrote this sentence in his reply letter.

Afterwards, Yuan Chun also talked about the uncle Zhao Han, but... she praised Zhao Han much more than she praised Zhao Xuan for her sincerity!

Seeing this, Zhao Zhizhen's smile deepened.Yuan Chun wrote in the letter: Grandpa is still a child at this age, but he is very caring. He takes the initiative to help her take care of Jianer in his spare time... Speaking of which, Yuan Chun changed the subject and began to complain about the complicated affairs of the house. She really has a way of managing it... ...ashamed of the trust of the prince.

In fact, when Yuan Chun first heard the chief steward report the account in the Wang Mansion, her heart skipped a beat, and then she was "speechless and tearful": she knew that the Wang Mansion had a rich family, but it was so thick that the account books were all piled up in a study... And all these properties belong to her!

She is not stupid, and she also guessed that the princess Liu Wei was not qualified to manage so many properties, but she still felt "losing money" when the prince suddenly "trusted" her.Especially since she has just taken over, she is still a little unfamiliar with housework...

So she sighed in the letter: I'm so busy, I don't have much time to play with Jianer, the little guy is about to be abducted by his brother!

Seeing this, Zhao Zhizhen simply burst out laughing: What he let Yuan Chun take care of is his little half-private house... Why does he like Yuan Chun more and more like this appearance of being cheap and good-looking?

He wrote a reply letter in a happy mood, and handed it to his confidant to take back... Looking at the back of his confidant leaving, he was already guessing what Yuan Chun would say in his next letter.

Since the father sent someone to bring back the hot-handed relatives to the capital, Zhao Zhizhen's side has become a lot easier.He suppressed Li Jing, his favorite general, and ordered the other generals to take turns to fight. The sudden violent attack caught the people of Beidi by surprise, leaving a total of hundreds of corpses, and they retreated for more than ten li.

Zhao Zhizhen really wanted to fight a big battle, and killed Beidi people for many years without breaking the barrier - but it needs reconciliation, at least half of his father's hands and feet must be spared.

But there is no need to rush this kind of thing. The point is that it is useless to be anxious. The situation in the south is gone, but we have to prevent him from jumping over the wall in a hurry... The fief is not far from the southwest.

The four kings with different surnames at the founding of the country are no longer as powerful as they were before, but King Pingnan, who is in the southwest, has been living a prosperous life with the danger of mountains and rivers.

The Emperor Shangao has been far away for too long, and people are afraid that he wants to change. The Holy Majesty has always been on guard against King Pingnan joining hands with his cousin, but after waiting and waiting, King Pingnan is unmoved...

The Holy Majesty simply withdrew some of the elite and sent them directly to northern Xinjiang, but most of the elite soldiers and generals were still besieging the emperor's brother, the southern tax-heavy land. It would be better if the people could be hurt less or not.

However, in the northern army, seeing the elite returning from the south, the generals are becoming more and more energetic, and they are eager to try again, and make great contributions to confer their wives and sons.After all, a general who can see the world's major events with his own eyes can take command as long as his luck is better in this life... Zhao Zhizhen knows that it is not a good time for a big war, but every time before a battle, all the generals ask for orders one after another. Repeatedly remind you not to fall into the opponent's plan to lure the enemy into depth.

In the afternoon of this day, Zhao Zhizhen rarely had some free time, so he took his soldiers to the pass city for a visit.Because the two armies would fight outside the customs from time to time, most of the merchants traveling from south to north took shelter in the city temporarily, and only waited for the news from the Dudu Mansion before they could leave the customs to do business.

Sitting in the restaurant, Zhao Zhizhen closed his eyes and listened to the conversation of several men in the private room next door. "The governor of the king is cruel and evil" just came to his ears... Who knows that when Cao Cao arrived, Zhao Zhizhen didn't have all the dishes here, the prince Teng unexpectedly showed up on crutches.

He has a fractured bone, as the saying goes, a hundred days of injury, if it wasn't for the unavoidable, he probably wouldn't go out.

Fortunately, Wang Ziteng didn't find any excuse for "meeting by chance". After saluting, he sat down. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he went straight to the topic, "I want to ask you something."

Zhao Zhizhen said: "But it's okay to talk about it."

Wang Ziteng said sincerely: "I beg you, my lord, to explain clearly. When I was dismissed from office...is there any hindrance?"

The Holy One sent someone over to "scrape" away several big shopkeepers in one fell swoop... The prince couldn't help being alarmed.By the way, when that official arrives, won't he sort out the local forces?In short, it is also necessary to pull a batch and fight a batch.

Wang Ziteng was obviously worried that he would win over... the wrong person - in the north, he was the only man of the "employee" eldest prince.After all, he and Zhao Zhizhen are also relatives who circle around, no, as soon as they heard that the prince was going to the city, they hurried over to ask for advice.

Zhao Zhizhen thought for a while before saying, "No."

The person who plotted against Wang Ziteng was the relative who was already in jail.Wang Ziteng cheated on his brother, and he wanted Wang Ziteng's life to take revenge.However, Zhao Zhizhen didn't want to talk about these in detail.

Zhao Zhizhen's answer was too straightforward, Wang Ziteng murmured to himself instead, but after careful consideration, he did not pursue the question, and only mentioned the local forces that Zhao Zhizhen should be interested in. Of course, the focus was on the princess's natal family.

Having said that, the Crown Princess's natal family is almost becoming a tyrant in the Northland, otherwise how could they have bought several generals?Fortunately, this family has a princess, at least remember to prepare a fig leaf for everything... Now that he has been reprimanded by the emperor, the father of the princess has written a letter to tell the family to restrain themselves, otherwise, the prince will have to suffer.

Zhao Zhizhen didn't dislike this kind of action of making a public introduction but actually suing: the crown prince is a good person, but it is not wrong at all to dismiss the crown princess's natal father and brother to investigate and deal with it... It's just that the crown prince needs such a vanguard to deal with the eldest prince, besides The prince is indeed nostalgic.

Wang Ziteng saw that Zhao Zhizhen remained silent, so he added a sharp addition, "Do you know that the local official salt and private salt are all bought and sold by their family?"

Zhao Zhizhen's heart moved, but there was no change on his face, "Is there any evidence?"

He always had doubts: Why did the elder brother of the princess concubine go out of her way to make money, offend him for a large sum of money, and act as a matchmaker for him.

Wang Ziteng was eager for the Seventh Prince to clean up the domineering and unruly concubine's natal family, so he quickly responded, "How dare an inferior official speak falsely?"

Zhao Zhizhen said: "Okay, I am waiting for your news."

The two chatted for a few more words, and Wang Ziteng took the initiative to leave - how can it be justified to have a drink with the prince, not to post a serious post, and then prepare the place?If it weren't for today's important matter, Wang Ziteng would not have come forward so abruptly.

But he said that Zhao Zhizhen ate and drank well, he was out of the restaurant, and was about to get on his horse, when his confidant suddenly came forward and reported, "Master Jia Lian, the second son of the Rongguo Mansion, is waiting at the street, do you see?"

Zhao Zhizhen waved his hand, "Let's find another teahouse and sit down, and I will hear what's unusual about the storytellers in Guankou City."

Just as Zhao Zhizhen stepped into the box above the teahouse, Jia Lian had already got up to meet him.Jia Lian's complexion is not good at the moment, obviously he has something on his mind.Zhao Zhizhen was not in a hurry, let alone questioned, and after he sat down, his eyes drifted to the stage in the middle of the teahouse.

The prince went to the city generously, and the local officials who were a little better informed were known by the big merchants, but few people dared to go up and block people like Wang Ziteng.

Jia Lian also relied on his cousin Yuan Chun's unusual position in the prince's heart, so he waited at the street corner to try his luck: but Wang Ziteng went directly to make friends with Jia Lian, which was actually somewhat unpleasant for Jia Lian.

Zhao Zhizhen looked indifferent, and suddenly said, "Don't be too gullible, don't stretch out your hands indiscriminately, and don't take money that shouldn't be taken."

Jia Lian was taken aback for a moment, then his spirit was shaken, and he replied in a low voice, "Yes."

Jia Zhen, the cousin of the Ning Mansion, just wrote a letter, saying that he has a big deal to discuss with him, and it would be even better if he could get the prince's approval... But when the prince said this, Jia Lian suddenly felt something was wrong.

The author has something to say: I still have the most time on weekends...