The identity of the direct son - Xu I's prosperous world

In June, Liu Kai, the steward sent by Mr. Ji to pick up Mr. Xu and Brother Heng, arrived in Yangzhou. However, it was hot in June, and Brother Heng was not very strong. Not a good idea.

So I asked someone to bring a letter to Beijing, explaining the situation, and saying that the weather will cool down in August, and I will go to Beijing again.

Mrs. Xu is very active in the preparations for going to Beijing. It can be seen that she really wants to go to Beijing as soon as possible. However, delaying her departure until August is not only for the sake of Brother Heng's health, but also to let Lord Ji know that she Xu Ming Xiao is not the kind of person Ji Daogong would immediately execute after saying a word.

Taohuazhuang is much cooler than Yangzhou City, and the summer is not too difficult. In early August, the weather is already a little cooler, and the two sides of the canal are just at the end of the autumn harvest. It's not particularly busy, and it happens to be in Beijing.

When Mrs. Xu returned to Yangzhou, she didn't bring many things with her. Now when she goes to Beijing, she has a lot of things. Uncle Xu's family has a large merchant ship, and she has already carried a lot of things to Beijing for Mrs. Xu. It is used for big boats, and there is a lot of space in the boat. There are beds, tables and chairs in the cabins, and there is nothing to be picky about.

Because the rooms are limited, Brother Heng did not refuse to live in a room with Qilang, and the two shared the same bed.

Brother Heng has already established a majesty in front of Qilang, and Qilang will definitely not go frivolously to amuse Brother Heng, such as suddenly taking off Brother Heng's pants.

Although Mrs. Xu disapproved of Brother Heng sleeping with Qilang, but seeing that Brother Heng had his own ideas, she wouldn't take care of them in the future, so that's all.

It took more than ten or twenty days for the boat to arrive at Tongzhou Wharf. Although Brother Heng didn't get seasick, he didn't like to move on the boat. He read books during the day, played with Qilang, and went to bed early at night.

The steward Liu Kai didn't please Mrs. Xu, and Mrs. Xu didn't like him very much, so Mrs. Xu let the stewards around her do the things on the ship.

Mrs. Xu is the daughter of a merchant family. She has excellent business acumen. All the way from Yangzhou to Tongzhou, she would ask her to buy low-priced goods at all the wharfs she passed through. When she got it in the capital, she could either give it away or give it away. It's okay to send it to your own shop to sell.

So along the way, there are only a lot of things on board.

It happened to be noon when we arrived at the Tongzhou Wharf, and there were already people waiting on the wharf in Jingli. , Mrs. Xu is also wearing a veiled hat, holding Brother Heng in his hand, and Brother Heng is followed by Xu Qilang who is looking left and right.

Si Yiniang led Mrs. Xu into the sedan chair, first went to a quiet and tidy restaurant, and asked for an independent guest courtyard at the back, and the family had lunch.

Seeing Yuxue's cute and calm brother Heng, Si Yiniang was surprised and speechless at first.

Brother Heng saluted her, and she was stunned for a long time before returning the salute, her eyes could not restrain her amazement, for his wife Xu gave birth to a son, but the old man had a conflict with Xu, and They still don't know the reason why Mrs. Xu returned to Yangzhou. Now that Brother Heng has grown up so well, how can they not be amazed.

The fourth aunt is several years younger than the Xu family, but maybe it is because the weather in the north is dry and difficult to maintain, and she has to work hard to housekeeper, so she looks much older than the Xu family, and the Xu family still has a blooming charm. She is already a shriveled dried flower piled up by makeup and powder.

Even though Mrs. Xu returned to Yangzhou for seven or eight years and didn't come and go in front of the master, she was the mistress of the house after all, and the expenses in the capital were all the money she sent to Beijing. Well, thinking about it, he didn't make much money, and his annual salary might not be enough for the family to eat.

So Mrs. Xu looked very arrogant in front of Fourth Aunt, Brother Heng didn't say much, just sat quietly beside his mother, Xu Qilang was smiling, he looked heartless, but in fact he It is also very transparent.

Si Yiniang talked about the situation of the family in the capital in front of Mrs. Xu. Since Mrs. Xu came to Beijing, Mrs. Si would no longer be able to take care of the house, and all rights would be transferred to Mrs. Xu.

After lunch in the guest courtyard, the servants escorted Li to Beijing.

Mrs. Xu took Brother Heng and Xu Qilang in the clean oil carriage, and Si Yiniang, and other maids who followed, also took the carriage and went to Beijing.

In the evening when the sun was about to set, he finally entered the city gate, and when he arrived at the house in Ji's Little Magpie Alley, the sun had already completely set.

Mrs. Xu brought her son in, and Mr. Ji came back from the yamen.

Although the Ji family has a large population, no one dared to live in the main house these years, and it was still reserved for the Xu family, so the luggage that the Xu family had brought into Beijing earlier had been put away in the side room of the main house. The furniture in the main house should be arranged and the household items are also packed.

Mrs. Xu took a bath first and tidied herself up. Brother Heng and Xu Qilang also took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and then drank some soothing soup. Let dinner be served in the kitchen, and let Master Ji be invited.

Mr. Ji is a typical big man who hates family affairs very much, so although he wanted to see his son very much, but thinking that Mrs. Xu had just entered Beijing, everything in the main courtyard must be very busy, so he didn't take a step in the study in the front yard. .

Now that someone came to ask questions, he took a step towards the main room at the back.

When he arrived, the main courtyard was indeed busy, but the people trained by the Xu family, even if they were busy, were busy in an orderly manner, busy but not chaotic.

Several large candles have been lit in the main room, brightly lit.

Mrs. Xu was wearing a lotus-colored satin jacket skirt, and she was sitting on a chair. Brother Heng and Xu Qilang were sitting next to her. Master Ji saw Mrs. Xu as soon as he entered the second room.

Seven or eight years have passed, and the south of the Yangtze River has raised people. The Xu family has not changed much from before, but Mr. Ji has forehead lines and decree lines on his face. When they met suddenly, they didn't speak.

It is certainly not true to say that the two have no relationship between husband and wife, but there is really not much relationship between husband and wife.

With such a confrontation, the two didn't know what to say for a while, so Xu Shi spoke first, and she called Brother Heng beside her, "Brother Heng, this is your father, hurry up and kowtow to your father."

Brother Heng also saw Mr. Ji. Mr. Ji was a young man who achieved great ambitions. He was a Jinshi at the age of 24 and made great progress all the way. Now he is a servant at [-]. There are indeed marks on his face carved by the years. Deep and serious, but when he saw Brother Heng, he still couldn't help but see waves in his eyes.

Brother Heng is really a beautiful boy, but also too steady, people will look at him no matter because of his beauty or because of his steady and calm.

When we met for the first time, Mr. Ji already had a good impression of this son.

Master Ji sat on another chair at the top, and a maid took the futon and put it away. Brother Heng knelt down and bowed three times and kowtowed to Master Ji. There was a kind smile on Master Ji's face. , He took a look at Mrs. Xu, and Mrs. Xu's eyes also showed love for Brother Heng, Master Ji said to Brother Heng, "Ji Heng, come here."

Brother Heng got up and walked up to Mr. Ji. Mr. Ji put his hand on his shoulder, sized him up, and said, "It's grown so big." His eyes were very gentle.

Afterwards, Xu Qilang also visited Mr. Ji, who was also very kind to him, asked about his father, and praised him a few words, and he did not hesitate to praise other people's children.

Dinner will be served in the main room. Although Mr. Ji really wants to test Brother Heng's knowledge, but seeing that Brother Heng and Xu Qilang are both tired, it seems that the journey is hard, so this test is not in a hurry. At this moment, Master Ji asked the two children to go down to rest after the meal.

Brother Heng and Xu Qilang were arranged to live in the west wing of the main house. There were only three rooms in the west wing. According to Brother Heng's living habits, one was used as a cleaning room, one was used as a bedroom, and the other was his room. Xu Qilang also slept with Brother Heng two nights ago.

Lord Ji stayed in Xu's bedroom that night. The two had been separated as husband and wife for seven or eight years, and they both felt unfamiliar with each other, but they had a lot to say, and they talked for most of the night. Just rested.

The next day, it was the regular court meeting every three days. Although the ten-year-old little emperor was just sitting there for decoration, most of the time he was still dozing off, but the court meeting was still held according to the usual practice. Your Excellency has always acted in a very standardized manner and abided by the rules, just like when he was in the Ministry of Criminal Justice, everything was handled according to the criminal law.

So this early in the morning, he got up and went to the morning court.

Mrs. Xu didn't sleep much either, Master Ji got up, and she got up with him, helped him get dressed, had breakfast with him, and then sent him to the second gate, watching him get into the carriage and leave.

Xu's spirit was not good, but he was busy with affairs just after returning to the capital, so he didn't sleep much. He just drank ginseng tea to refresh himself, and then started to deal with housework.

She wanted Brother Heng and Xu Qilang to sleep for a while before asking the servant girl to wake them up. Unexpectedly, Brother Heng had already formed a habit and woke up early. After washing and tidying up, I came over to greet Mrs. Xu.

At this time, the sun had just risen, and the two greeted Mrs. Xu, and one after another, the aunts and daughters also came.

The first aunt and the second aunt were originally promoted by Xu's dowry maids. The first aunt passed away early, and the second aunt died of illness a few years ago. The third aunt gave birth to a daughter, the eldest daughter, who is already 15 years old. I'm old, and I've said that when Mrs. Xu enters Beijing, she will be arranged to get married; the fourth concubine is a good concubine, and she is more talkative in front of the master, but Mrs. Xu has always managed the family strictly, and has the support of her mother's family. However, the fourth aunt never dared to do anything in front of Mrs. Xu. She gave birth to two daughters, the third sister and the fourth sister, both of whom were about ten years old; The fourth aunt was taken as a concubine, and Uncle Xu was afraid that his sister would fall out of favor, so he sent the beautiful fifth aunt here. The fifth aunt gave birth to the second sister, but the child died when she was two years old; Uncle Xu sent two, because Mrs. Xu returned to Yangzhou at that time. Uncle Xu was afraid that Mrs. Xu would offend Mr. Ji, so he sent two beautiful girls, one to calm Mrs. Ji, The second is to let the newcomers pay attention to the housekeeper's aunt. Master Ji kept one of the two and transferred the other. The one who stayed was pregnant with a child soon. Speaking of my aunt, she gave birth to the fifth sister.

Speaking of which, although Master Ji has many concubines, they are not as romantic as Uncle Xu.

Mrs. Xu sat in the top position, and also asked all the aunts of Qing An to sit, and took each daughter to look carefully. The eldest sister is only good-looking, but at the age of 15, she is also graceful and demure. Because she is a concubine, she said His family is not much better. Master Ji personally took a fancy to him. He is the second son of a Qingke. This Qingke is not an ordinary Qingke. He is a classmate of Master Ji. If he doesn't become a Jinshi, he will rely on Mr. Ji to be his first think tank. His second son is a descendant, and already has a reputation as a scholar. He will go to a higher level in the future. .

Mrs. Xu praised the elder sister a few words, and the elder sister thanked her with a smile, and looked at Brother Heng who was standing next to Mrs. Xu, and Brother Heng smiled at her, and she also pursed her lips. Laugh again.

The third sister looks like her mother, with an oval face, a pair of bright eyes, looking forward to expressing affection, although she is only 11 years old, she can already see her future style, she is a beauty embryo.

Xu patted her hand affectionately, and said, "The longer you grow, the more beautiful you are."

The third sister smiled, and looked at Brother Heng, and Brother Heng saluted her, "Third sister."

The third sister returned a salute with a smile.

The fourth sister looks more like Mr. Ji, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, pretty and straight nose, beautiful and heroic features on her facial features, she was a little silent, and saluted Mrs. Hello.

The fifth sister is only five years old, but she knows how to behave. The sixth aunt is a beautiful person, and the fifth sister is only five years old. It can be seen that she will have a bright future. She is a very beautiful girl.

But among the many children, Brother Shuheng was the best-looking. He behaved calmly and calmly. He had just returned to the capital, and he was not unaccustomed at all, and he did not have the discomfort and timidity of just moving to a new place.

Xu Qilang also said hello to his sisters, and Xu asked Brother Heng to sit next to him.

Only then did Mrs. Xu start talking about family matters. The fourth aunt said that she had prepared a reception banquet for the wife, and she would see what to do after asking the wife. It's nice to get together for a meal.

After not talking for too long, she asked everyone to go back. The girls' families had female teachers to teach. Brother Heng and Qilang had breakfast with Mrs. Xu, and they all went back to the study. Brother Heng wanted to read. Qilang wanted to drag him around to look around.

Brother Heng didn't turn him around, and was pulled out of the door by him.

Going to the side from the narrow road next to the main house, there are aunts and girls living in the remote areas on both sides, and servants, stables and storage rooms in the back yard, etc. Xu Qilang and Brother Heng walked for a while There is no fun in the circle, there is not even a garden in it, the flowers and trees are all in the yard, let alone the exquisite garden, Xu Qilang sighed, "Why is the place so small, it is not as big as your Taohuazhuang in Yangzhou."

Brother Heng had foreseen this situation and said, "Peach Blossom Village is in the countryside of Yangzhou, and the land there is only six or seven taels of silver per mu. The land in Beijing is worth every inch of land. Like in the countryside of Yangzhou, it is used to plant a mountain of peach trees, build two canals with flowing water, a large garden, and several pavilions with scenic views?"

Xu Qilang sighed again, "But it's not that I don't have money, so let's make the yard bigger."

Brother Heng said, "Don't talk about it. I read Song Daru's brochures before. The husband's house is not far from here. It is a house that was awarded by the former emperor. According to what he wrote, his house is also a house with two entrances. , the size is probably only as big as the front yard. A big Confucian can live in such a big house, what's the matter, our family can't live in you?"

Xu Qilang sighed a few times and stopped talking.

At this time, I heard laughter from the side.

The two of them were on the porch walking from the backyard to the main courtyard, with the remote west on one side, and the laughter came from the third sister who was standing under the magnolia tree.

She covered her mouth lightly with a veil and smiled brightly.

Brother Heng went over to greet her, "Third Sister."

Xu Qilang also saw the ceremony, "Third Sister."

The third sister returned the salute with them, and said, "Seventh cousin, there is a poem that says that the ten-mile-long street is connected with the market, and the moon bridge is full of gods. Life is only for Yangzhou to die, and Zen Zhishan is good for the tomb. This is all If you say that Yangzhou is good, you have to die there. Naturally, the capital is not invincible. However, this capital also has good places."

Xu Qilang said, "What a good place."

The third sister said, "This is at the feet of the emperor. Naturally, there are many chances to meet princes and nobles when going out. This Dayong, how can it have the aura of the capital? Besides, speaking of it, there are also good houses in this capital." , pavilions, rockery and pool water..."

Xu Qilang said, "The imperial palace must be a first-class beautiful place."

Brother Heng has been silent all this time, and now he has no choice but to scold Xu Qilang, "You are so outspoken, you can say anything."

Xu Qilang didn't take it seriously, and said with a smile, "If you can be admitted to the imperial examination in the future, won't the emperor entertain us in the palace? We will have a chance to go in and have a look."

Brother Heng also laughed. Although Xu Qilang was unreliable in various ways, he was very ambitious, "Then let's fight for this opportunity together."

Xu Qilang was not afraid of anything, and the third sister was unexpectedly knowledgeable. She looked up at the sky slightly, and that direction was the direction of the palace.

She pondered for a few seconds, then turned to stare at Brother Heng, and said, "Brother, are you used to living here when you come back?"

Brother Heng said, "It's all used to it."

The third sister nodded, "That's good, you are the only seedling in our family, study hard."