Holding the Piano in the Red Chamber

Let’s talk about the eunuch Xia in the Yuanchun Palace first, and there are two eunuchs named Xia in the palace who are related to this matter, one is Xia Zhong and the other is Xia Shouzhong.Xia Shouzhong is a relatively high-ranking eunuch in Liugongdu, a bit like a second-rank female official holding a piano, but the eunuch is only a fourth-rank official, presumably because the scope of activities of eunuchs is larger than that of court ladies, in order to prevent them from using their power for personal gain. Before it happens.

Xia Shouzhong can be regarded as the emperor's confidant, just like Zhongyong, the eunuch who is in charge of the Qianqing Palace, one is in charge of the outside and the other is in charge of the inside, they are two people that the emperor can't live without.What about Xia Zhong, who followed the lead of the great eunuch Xia Shouzhong, recognized him as his godfather, and changed his name, so Xia Shouzhong took good care of him, and recommended him to this fat vacancy in Yuanchun Palace.

Xia Shouzhong also said clearly, "In the final analysis, this errand is the grace of His Majesty. It must be done in a down-to-earth manner, and your brain must be flexible. If you can handle it well, both of us will be fine. If something happens... you It's better to say it as soon as possible, so as not to hurt everyone later."

So Xia Zhong has been diligent and conscientious since he took office, no matter what Yuan Chun asked him to do, he would report to Xia Shouzhong.So this time when he received the news from the concubine's palace, he went to find his godfather again.

Xia Shouzhong was an eunuch, he couldn't pluck his beard and pretend to be deep, so he could only touch his chin and meditate for a while, and said: "The days are not too close, you can find a chance to tell Jia Bin in these two days, and say that you haven't been to the mansion for a while." Come on, the new year is approaching, why don't you give me something to return to the mansion, firstly, let you go to the mansion to have a look, and secondly, it will also show the majesty of the emperor's grace."

Xia Zhong half-bent, nodded hastily, "You're right, I'll just go back." Before he could walk out of the room, Xia Shouzhong stopped him again, and said, "It's the message from my concubine, You have to keep it in your heart, and you have to give something back when you get a chance." Others may not know it, but Xia Shouzhong can see it clearly, and his steps are very solid with the concubine. Inadvertently said in a vague way, there are people who go to the Qing Palace more frequently than the empress.

Xia Zhong nodded again, and Xia Shouzhong said again: "By the way, when I went to Jia's mansion, I mentioned that the roof tiles of the house outside your palace were pecked by birds. It seems that winter is coming, I wonder if I can Until spring."

"I understand." Xia Zhong smiled flatteringly, "I'll bring the things back to you."

Xia Shouzhong raised his foot and kicked him, "Bring the things back to His Majesty! You have to study hard, what kind of money can you get!"

So when Xia Zhong came back from Jia's mansion, he brought back the news of the two dead people to Yuanchun, handed over 3000 taels of silver to Ruicheng through Xia Shouzhong, and said to the little eunuch in Baoqin Palace: "This Jia's mansion is also dead. It's strange, the one who died was the grandson-in-law of the head of the house, and the one who died was the respectable grandma in the house, how can one be more diligent and thrifty in handling funerals."

thrifty?Baoqin understood what was going on after thinking about it for a while.Qin Keqing, Prince Yizhong has already guarded the imperial tomb, and it is obvious that he will guard it until his death, and he will not be able to return to the capital after death.And once I heard Ruicheng say that he planned to bury him in the mausoleum of the first emperor, so that the two of them could be good companions. When Ruicheng was talking, there was a bit of malice in his eyes, and Baoqin caught him.

The adult prince, probably in his forties this year, doesn't even have his own grave, so he buried it with his own father, alas~ so it is here that he can't offend the emperor, his eyes sparkled, and he said this excitedly. "The first emperor loves elder brother the most, I will put them together" who can refuse?Who can stand up for Prince Yizhong, right?

There will be no one at all. The people buried in the tomb of the first emperor are all people, except for women, sons and daughters who died before reaching maturity.

Qin Keqing's backing fell a bit early, presumably the father and son of Dongfu will not be so interested in her.In particular, Jia's family still has a concubine who is the young mistress in the palace, so they have to leave that shipwreck at this time.

It's just a little slow.

As for Wang Xifeng, if she said that she could die of illness, Baoqin would not believe it, so she was trampled to death.Because of being involved in Liang Feng's death, Jia's family felt guilty, especially Baoqin was getting better every year in the past two years, the mother had an imperial order, and the brother had an errand, they became more and more afraid.

In this way, it can be explained why the funeral of the two of them is so simple and inappropriate.

Baoqin sighed, and when her father's filial piety expired in the fourth year of Guanghe, she would be able to announce her mother to the palace to chat.

But not long after, Baoqin got another new news from the emperor. Lin Ruhai died in office, and sister Lin followed Jia Lian back to Rongfu, carrying several big boxes with her.

When Ruicheng said this, his face was gloomy, he held the piano cautiously and bit his teeth and said: "He can be said to have devoted himself to death, and he died." The tone was a bit sarcastic, and the emperor must have heard it.

But when Liang Xiaobao came back, Ruicheng's face had already changed from gloomy to calm, and it was even more terrifying.

Xiao Bao lowered his head, handed over the booklet, and stood in the Qianqing Palace talking one by one.

"... After walking for a month and a half on the road, it was already past the Mid-Autumn Festival when we arrived in the south of the Yangtze River. Lin Ruhai was already dead at that time. Not only did he have no sons and daughters, but even his relatives within five clothes died. Jia Lian and Lin Ruhai were responsible for the funeral. The old housekeeper of the mansion did it together."

Xiaobao talked about Lin Ruhai's funeral for a while, and about the guests who came to express their condolences. After hesitating for a moment, he said: "It didn't take long, around May or Seventh, the aunt in Lin's mansion was dismissed. A family has inquired about it at the house of an aunt who has relatives nearby, but it may not be the exact number, it can only be used as a reference, and the money given by the Lin family did not exceed 1000 taels."

Ruicheng gritted his teeth, and remembered the 3000 taels of silver that Xia Zhong took out from Jia's mansion last time.

"Later, the servants were dismissed. The Lin family passed down the family for several generations, and there were only more than 200 servants. Except for less than 100 who were left to look after the old house, the rest were given away from [-] to [-] taels of silver."

"These two add up, and it cost around 6000 taels."

While reading the booklet, Ruicheng listened to Xiaobao's explanation, and underlined a few numbers emphatically.

"Later, the property of the Lin family was sold. I pretended to be interested in a few antiques, and sent someone to ask. The bid was [-]% of the market price, and the price can be negotiated... I didn't dare to ask any more. Finally, Jia Lian recognized him."

"However... I heard from people in pawnshops and antique shops that the Lin family has been selling their properties for half a year. Apart from the old house, they even sold the sacrificial land..."

With a bang, the teacup shattered.

"Continue!" Ruicheng's voice seemed to come out from between his teeth, "And what about the Zhen family?"

"The Zhen family." Xiaobao took a deep breath and replied, "When I arrived in Jiangnan, the Zhen family hadn't copied it yet, but Jia Lian had already arrived. I guarded the door of the Zhen family for several days, and one day I saw Jia Lian bringing five One big wooden box went in, and five big wooden boxes came out. Look at the wheels of the carriage, they are full..." Xiaobao tilted his head, thinking: "It looks like something has been changed."

"Later, within two days the news spread that the house was ransacked. The back door of Zhen's house was often opened, and there were many people coming in and out. Some went to Lin's house. I don't know if they were visiting the Lin's or Jia's house, but after two days, there were people in Lin's house. Going out to the capital."

"As well as the magistrate's family, there are many other people who dressed up for a long distance, and finally went to the capital."

Xiaobao's errands were done very well. Although the emperor was quite satisfied with him, he was dissatisfied with the content of the report 1 times. In the end, he couldn't listen anymore. He waved him down and said, "You go back first. The mansion rests for a few days, and I will call you after I finish reading the excerpts."

Immediately, there was only the emperor left in the Qianqing Palace, and there was a pool of broken teacups on the ground. The Zhen family had been confiscated, and there were nearly 200 million taels of silver in the treasury. I don't plan to let it go!

Two days after Xiaobao returned to Beijing, it was New Year's Eve again, and the four members of the emperor's family still gathered together to watch the night.Baoqin rejected Liu Chang's request to spend the New Year's Eve alone.

With the ringing of the New Year's bell, the third year of Guanghe officially began.