[Quick Crossing + Red Mansions] I have a strong desire to survive

After more than 20 days, Zhuangzi was already in a bleak autumn wind, and Master Luo came again.Xue Pei still welcomed him to the study in person, and after giving in, he expressed his great gratitude to Master Luo for visiting him from time to time.

Master Luo didn't talk nonsense, and directly took out the couplet written by the emperor, unfolded it high, and let Xue Pei watch it.Xue Pei was very familiar with the emperor's handwriting. When he saw the emperor's handwriting again, tears filled his eyes, he knelt down on the ground with a plop, and kowtowed to the couplet:

"Grassmen kowtow to God, and saints have their hearts in the sky. How can the grassroots let the saints care so much. It's a pity that the grassroots are weak and can't serve the saints." Compared with life, what is kneeling?Xue Pei, who came from the end of the world, didn't feel that he should show any arrogance at all—it's better for people to live, and it's better to live in peace.

As Xue Pei spoke, he began to cry depressively, crying sadly, like a child who has been wronged by the world, and someone finally knows his grievance, or like a wounded lone wolf, finally found himself Long lost companions.

Master Luo felt the same way. He carefully put the couplets on the desk before helping Xue Pei up. As a spy, how could he not be wronged at all?To be able to cry, and to be heard when you cry, is already a great fortune.

After a while, Xue Pei suppressed his tears, and asked Mr. Luo anxiously, "Can I hang up this couplet?"

Such a cautious expression made Master Luo sigh even more, nodded to Xue Pei, and pointed him to see the inscription and small seal of the "Tiren Layman" in the second couplet: "The sage said, if you have the heart to teach your children to study, you will live well." Go ahead and study. It’s me, and I won’t bother you if I have nothing to do in the future.”

I am completely safe.

Xue Pei's heart fell completely, so he embarrassedly raised his troubles to Master Luo: "My brother won't come, I will ask my brother for help in a few days."

Listening to what he said was closer than before, Master Luo knew that Xue Pei was the kindness of the saint to write him a couplet, and he remembered that he had said good words for him.He didn't feel that he deserved it. After all, not every successor would present Xue Pei's two letters from Wang Ziteng to the saint.

Master Luo is still very useful for being close to Xue Pei - unlike Xue Pei, he only started working as a spy in his own generation, and all his family and relatives have disappeared.As a secret agent, he didn't have any close friends. It was only after he came to Jinling and got in touch with Xue Pei more that Master Luo became willing to chat. Therefore, Master Luo found it strange that Xue Pei talked to him like this.

Because of the novelty, Master Luo also paid attention to what Xue Pei asked of him: "I don't know what can make you feel embarrassed."

Xue Pei's eyes were a little helpless, angry and unwilling: "The county test will be held in February. Mr. Zhen said that my concubine Xue Xiang can have a try. It's just that someone needs to be a guarantor. I have also Write a letter to the city, ask someone you know for a favor, I don’t want to, alas, it’s always my wishful thinking. So I have to ask my brother to do me this favor.”

Facing such a cold and warm world situation, even if I know it, I can't help but feel cold.Master Luo believed that the person Xue Pei wrote the letter to must be someone who he thought could help him during his relationship, but he didn't want to be rejected without exception. It was tragic to think about it, so after agreeing, he asked Which people did Xue Pei write letters to? The reason was that he couldn't compete with Xue Pei.

Xue Pei told Mr. Luo the names one by one, and seeing him nodding his head, he was obviously familiar with those people, and he felt a lot more relieved-these people were at odds with the original owner, and he was always thinking about it. Take the original owner and replace it.

A while ago, Zhen Yingjia had an accident, and these people were calm, but Zhen Yingjia had an accident for more than two or three, who knows if these people will feel that they can take revenge on themselves.

Now Xue Pei's own strength is still too weak, so he has to borrow the external strength of Master Luo.Preventing troubles before they happen, and ensuring that your country home will not be disturbed by others is what Xue Pei wants to do in this life. Xue Pei is familiar with borrowing some external force to solve his own troubles.

Sending Master Luo away, Xue Pei still has one more thing to do, that is, the prince has vacated something, and Aunt Xue, the younger sister, must know about it.

Speaking of it, Xue Pei really couldn't understand Aunt Xue's brain circuit: According to the rules of this era when you marry and follow your husband, even if Aunt Xue is indeed a low-married person, her husband's family should be the main one after passing through the door.In the past, the original owner was willing to tolerate her, and it was fine if she regarded Wang's family more than her husband's family. After Xue Pei came here, he told her clearly several times that he was unwilling to tolerate her anymore. This person has no repentance yet.

It's not that Aunt Xue is still quietly sending things to Beijing—now that they live in Zhuangzi, it's not so convenient to send things to the city. He didn't care about his own children anymore.

Obviously, in the original book, Aunt Xue still loves her two children very much. Even if she is a little confused, at least Xue Baochai has learned what she should learn, and Xue Pan is still filial.

Who knows from which day in this life, Aunt Xue will not go out. Even if Baochai was sick for two days, the village was about to turn upside down, Aunt Xue was still lying on the bed to take care of her "sickness". He sent Tonggui to inquire about Baochai's situation every day.

When Baochai recovered from her illness, the two children went to greet her every day, and she didn't have anything to say to the children, but she stopped complaining in front of the children, but Xue Pei had seen mother and child get along a few times, anyway, he was awkward I don't want to watch it a second time.

Ordinary women, whose natal family is unreliable and have lost the heart of their husbands, shouldn't they work hard to grasp the hearts of their children so that they can be reliable for at least the rest of their lives?Where is Aunt Xue going to sing?

Xue Pei, who felt that Aunt Xue's behavior was abnormal, appeared in Aunt Xue's room for the first time today, which made her feel as if she had passed away. She glanced at Xue Pei several times, but she didn't know how she should greet Xue Pei.But it was really not the way to talk without talking, so I had to look at Xue Pei one by one, hoping that Xue Pei could find a topic by himself.

Xue Pei didn't mean to take care of Aunt Xue's emotions, but he liked to get straight to the point. After sitting down, he told Aunt Xue directly that Wang Ziteng had been locked up and taken into Dali Temple more than a month ago, and the Wang family in Beijing had also been confiscated. .As for the female relatives, Master Luo didn't say anything, and Xue Pei also forgot to ask, so just like Master Luo, he didn't mention a word.

"Impossible, the saint trusts his brother so much, how could he listen to the villain's words? The saint must have misunderstood." Even though Aunt Xue was disappointed with Wang Ziteng, she still had a brother-sister relationship, and she refused to believe Xue Pei anyway. If he said that, he kept staring into Xue Pei's eyes, hoping to see that he was a little flustered, so as to prove that Xue Pei was lying.

Xue Pei just let her stare at him, and nodded to her, proving that what he said was the truth: "I heard that not only the letters between Wang Ziteng and the fourth prince were found in the study of the Wang family, but also the letters Zhen Yingjia received from the prince. There are several receipts for Teng’s shipment of equipment to Jinling.” So I really didn’t wrong your ambitious brother.

Aunt Xue's tears finally flowed down, and she kept talking about how it happened, whether the saint had misunderstood her brother, and asked Xue Pei if she had received a letter from the Rongguo Mansion. Did you, and how did you run for your brother?

Xue Pei scoffed at this question, and went on the cusp for Wang Ziteng. Jia Zheng's hypocritical Taoism might be the first among Beijing officials to draw a clear line with Wang Ziteng.But seeing Aunt Xue nearly collapsed, Xue Pei kindly didn't say anything out—seeing that the Chinese New Year was about to come, Aunt Xue was really lying down as the mistress, and asking for medical medicine was so unlucky for the Chinese New Year.

However, Xue Pei still kindly reminded Aunt Xue: "Jin Yiwei copied two 10,000+ silver ingots with the seal of Xue's family from the Wang family. They all suspect that Wang Ziteng and Zhen Yingjia conspired with our family's silver. If someone asks about it someday, you should know How should I put it, otherwise Pan'er and Baochai will be implicated, hehe, you, daughter of the Wang family, really want to be with your brother."

When Aunt Xue heard this, she suddenly looked terrified, she shook her head and cried to Xue Pei, "No, I'm not a disaster star, I'm not a disaster star, sir, trust me, I've tried my best to talk to Pan'er and Baochai as little as possible. We are together, and I will never see the two children again, the two children will not have any accidents, and the master will not have any accidents again. Master, I am really not a disaster star. "

Disaster, what disaster?Xue Pei was baffled when he heard this.Tonggui couldn't stand it anymore, and came to Xue Pei and knelt down: "Master, my wife is suffering."

She suffers?A sneer appeared on Xue Pei's face. After marrying, he bossed around her husband's family, took money from her husband's family to support her family, and told her husband's secrets to her family. The child didn't pay attention to it, and just cared about being sad and "recovering from illness", but now it's hard to talk about it.

Tong Gui secretly observed Xue Pei's face, saw his sneer in his eyes, and sighed in his heart, feeling that today he had to explain to the master no matter what, otherwise the wife would not like the master. Those who serve are also looked down upon in Zhuangzi.

"Master doesn't know something. On Uncle's birthday, his wife quietly gave him a birthday present at Uncle's house." After Tong Gui said this sentence with difficulty, the following words became smoother:

"Who knew that my uncle and master would have people throw out the festival ceremony, and let the person who went to bring a message to his wife, saying that the wife is a disaster, and whoever gets it will be unlucky. The master was poisoned because he and his wife are husband and wife. It was also because of my wife that someone stole the money twice, and the Zhen family's wife has a good relationship with his wife, so the Zhen family's troubles."

"Later, because of an accident in the Zhen family, even my uncle was implicated. My wife thought that what my uncle said had come true, and she was afraid that she would hurt the young master and girl, so she hid in the house every day and dared not see anyone."

Speaking of this, Tonggui is also sad: "The slaves have also persuaded the wife, how can the uncle and the master speak accurately? But the wife has admitted the truth, even if the young master and the girl come to say hello, they dare not Say one more word. When the young master and the girl left, the wife even shed tears."

Xue Pei couldn't say the word "serve it right" no matter what.All the weirdness of Aunt Xue some time ago can now be explained.

Xue Pei knew very well in his heart that except for the fact that his poisoning had something to do with Aunt Xue, the rest of the matter was calculated by himself. Who would have thought that Wang Zisheng would put his brains on Aunt Xue's head and even put her on It's really hard for him to think of the hat of a catastrophe.

"Cough, cough," Xue Peiqing coughed twice, and then looked at Aunt Xue who had shrunk to the point where she was almost invisible: "Do you believe the words of a bastard like Wang Zisheng? What kind of disaster is not a disaster? Our family has This catastrophe is due to Zhen Yingjia and the Fourth Prince worrying about our money, so it has nothing to do with you."

The master didn't believe the elder brother's words. Does the master mean that he thinks he is not a disaster star?Aunt Xue stretched her body a little bit for a while, looked at Xue Pei in disbelief, then lowered her head again.

Xue Pei knew that Wang Zisheng's words had dealt a great blow to Aunt Xue, and that Wang Zitang's accident made Aunt Xue suspicious. She sympathized with Aunt Xue for a rare second, and said to her in a good voice: "I know that your mother's family is unreliable, so there is no need to contact her in the future." That's right. You are a mother, if you are really a disaster, how can the two of Pan'er grow up so safely."

There was only one elder sister left in her natal family who wanted to harm her, so Aunt Xue would not associate with her, but when she heard Xue Pei talking to her so nicely, she couldn't help saying: "Master, I mean, Pan'er and I Is it all right for Baochai to be close?"

"Naturally there is no hindrance," Xue Pei straightened his thoughts and said, "It's just that you don't always put on the airs of the elder sister-in-law. Xue Xiang's daughter-in-law has been working hard with Baochai these days, but Baochai is good at learning, and you usually learn from her." Xue Xiang's daughter-in-law is learning."

Aunt Xue was unwilling to let herself learn from Xiao Feng.But compared to staying in the house alone every day, she is more willing to go out for activities, so Aunt Xue deserves it very happily.Xue Pei didn't ask if she didn't mean what she said, anyway, if Aunt Xue dared to behave herself, he had plenty of ways to make her honest.

Seeing that Xue Pei was about to leave the house, Aunt Xue asked timidly, "Master, is there anything else you need to do?"

Xue Pei knew what she was thinking, and said in a flat tone: "It's almost Chinese New Year, so we have to take care of it to have a New Year's flavor."

One sentence successfully made Aunt Xue realize that she was negligent as the mistress, and Xue Pei was able to escape.

In the next few days, Aunt Xue finally walked out of the room and began to talk about her family's first year in Zhuangzi.But the more she got involved, the more Aunt Xue felt discouraged: In previous busy years, the most important thing was to communicate with each other. Good points, don't lose courtesy.

Only at such a time can Aunt Xue's role as the mistress of the family be revealed. No one would praise her for being considerate in handling things, and people can't fault her for giving gifts in return.But this year, there are no relatives and family contacts, and there is only one prefect of Jinling left, a big merchant?There is no one left.

Although Aunt Xue felt that it was too deserted, because of Xue Pei's words, she did not dare to complain, so she tried her best to get people to buy more things for her own household, and then carefully cleaned the manor house again and again, and even put up lights everywhere early in the morning.

The courtyard of Xue Xiang and Zhen Shiyin was also ordered by Aunt Xue to tidy up. Although the two families didn't know why Aunt Xue's attitude changed suddenly, no one asked. No matter what Aunt Xue gave, it was always right.

Fortunately, Xue Cheng came back a few years ago and reported to Xue Pei that he had opened a shop for southern goods and a silk shop in central Beijing, and Xue Pei drove him back to rest.Unexpectedly, as soon as he left the study room, someone told him that his wife wanted him to ask questions.

The mistress was ordered, Xue Cheng hurried to the second gate, but Tonggui told him that his wife said that when he arrived at Zhuangzi, he would not be so particular about being in the city, and his wife asked him to go in and answer directly.

Aunt Xue was getting a little impatient with waiting, and the first thing she asked when she saw Xue Cheng was: "Can I find out how the uncle's mansion is doing now?"

This made Xue Cheng's eyebrows twitch, but he still replied respectfully: "I went to my uncle's house when I first came to Beijing, but I didn't see my uncle. , my uncle asked the servant to go to the inn to wait for the letter. Until I heard that there was something wrong at the uncle's house, but I didn't get a reply. As a last resort, the servant had to come back."

Aunt Xue's face turned red, and she couldn't ask a word: My brother really doesn't think of me as a girl anymore.It is said that the two houses are relatives, and Xue Cheng is still the big housekeeper of the Xue family. When he went to Beijing to raise money, he always lived in the guest room of the Wang family. I don't care.

It's up to the owner to beat the dog!

But Xue Cheng was secretly admiring his master's ingenuity. He even expected that his wife might ask him about the Wang family, and even told him how to reply to his wife.

It's my wife, why can't she recognize the fact that the Wang family is ruthless?

Aunt Xue's heart was completely discouraged at this time, and she waved her hand to Xue Cheng and said, "You go back and say rest, and go to the city to buy things later." Xue Cheng bowed and slowly withdrew, and asked his son to be called Come and ask him about what happened in Zhuangzi after he left.

Hearing that the master asked someone to open some mulberry fish soup, Xue Cheng's heart was moved again. After lighting the lamp, he quietly went to the outer study room and asked Xue Pei: "Master, I heard that the master opened some mulberry fish soup. This is?"

Seeing him coming, Xue Pei also nodded secretly, and smiled and motioned Xue Cheng to see the framed couplets hanging behind him: "This is a handwritten letter from a sage. From then on, the Xue family can be stable for a while. I will have to replace Pan next year." It takes a reason to buy some property."

Xue Cheng was also very happy when he heard this, and he cupped his hands to congratulate Xue Pei: "Master turned evil into good luck, our family should have a good year this year."

"Your second master is going to take the children's exam in February, so don't distract him with too much excitement."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Jian, who was guarding the door, reported outside: "Master, the second master is here."

Xue Xiang had already come in, Xue Pei saw that his face was not good, and he was a little puzzled: "You are not good at studying, what are you doing here so late?"

Xue Xiang said, "I just received a letter saying that the magistrate has been transferred."

"What?" Xue Pei was also taken aback, unable to figure out why the prefect of Jinling was transferred.

Xue Xiang smiled bitterly and said: "I heard that it is because he is not good at arresting thieves, and there are people who raise private soldiers in the territory without knowing it. But there is no evidence of his collusion with Zhen Yingjia, so he is just transferred, otherwise he will have to be locked up and sent to Beijing Woolen cloth."

When something like this happened, Xue Pei had to go to the city.Because the succeeding magistrate has arrived, the original magistrate has not put on his official robes, and has also withdrawn from the magistrate's yamen, staying only in his private house.

I was also surprised to hear that Xue Pei came to worship.After inviting him in, Xue Pei still saluted him: "It's inconvenient to get news from the countryside. If I got the news, the grassroots should have come to visit the magistrate."

"I didn't expect my virtuous brother to come to see the old man off." The magistrate was not without emotion: "When I heard the news of the old man's transfer, how many people avoided the old man, let the old man also experience the coldness and warmth of the world."

Xue Pei shook his head and sighed, but didn't say much about it-not to mention businessmen chasing profit, even people in the officialdom, who doesn't think about self-protection first?

The magistrate said again: "Speaking of which, the old man is sorry for my virtuous brother, and I have not arrested the thief until today, otherwise my virtuous brother would not have been living in seclusion in the village."

Xue Pei smiled: "It's always my fate that I should have this calamity. That thief is cunning, so I can't blame the magistrate."

For such a reasonable person, the magistrate did not hide it: "You and I know who that person is, but there is no evidence, and no money was copied from his house. I can still figure out other things, that is, those private Bing, he is hiding in the depths of Xuanwu Lake, I have only a few dozen yamen servants, most of them have taken their home, so how can they report to me if there is news."

"Your Excellency, be careful." Seeing the angry look on the magistrate's face, Xue Pei reminded him, and then said, "It's a long way to go, Your Excellency, have all the properties in the city been properly disposed of?"

The prefect was ashamed when he heard this, and took out a stack of papers from the desk, and handed it to Xue Pei: "It was originally agreed to pay 30 taels of silver to buy [-]% of Xue's shares in your hand. Because the money was not available for a while, We just got the money together today."

Xue Pei waved his hands again and again: "Does your lord think that I am here to collect debts from your lord? Xue Pei has no such intentions, please take it back. My lord's new position is just the time to use money."

The magistrate must let Xue Pei take it. He told Xue Pei that after he and Zhen Yingjia bought shares from Xue Pei that day, both Zhen Yingjia and the Qifang of Xue's family wanted to buy the shares from him so as to increase their own hands. chips.

However, in order to prevent Zhen Yingjia from being an official, the Qifang of the Xue family would directly control the Xue family's business if they bought the shares in his hand again, making the business that was already difficult to do even worse. Lost the shares in the hands of the prefect.

I don’t think it’s better than God’s calculation. Less than half a month after buying the shares, something happened to Zhen Yingjia. After the shares in his hand were taken away, the Ministry of Internal Affairs directly sold Zhen Yingjia’s [-]% of the shares to Master Luo, who took over as the imperial merchant. .Now the entire Xue family's business has to be dispatched by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

After hearing this, Xue Pei accepted the bank notes, and took out five pieces of 1 taels out of them. He must ask the magistrate to accept it, saying that it was Sichuan money sent to the magistrate. If the magistrate did not accept it, then he would not be regarded as friends.This move moved the prefect greatly, and offered to bring Xue Pei to visit the new prefect.