The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

It will take more than two months for Jia Jing's funeral to be completely settled.During this period, the transfer of the army's food, grass, logistics and officials at all levels was also very close.Counting the days, Xue Pan hadn't seen Tu Zhen for about a month.

The birthday on the third day of May has passed long ago, and because both of them are busy, naturally they didn't have time to go to Zhuangzi.Xue Pan felt a little regretful about this.Just looking at Xue Zhizhang, who was so tired every day when he went out early and late at night, and then thinking about the young emperor who had more and more responsibilities in the deep palace, the regret in Xue Pan's heart disappeared——

No matter what, as long as the two of you are fine.When any agreement is fulfilled, why bother to fight for this moment?

Thinking of this, Xue Pan's heart became much more relaxed.So in his free time, Xue Pan decided to take a walk around the palace.

It's a pity that just after putting on the clothes for going out, the servant at the door came to report that the Second Lord Bao from Rongguo Mansion had arrived.

Xue Pan shrugged regretfully, and ordered Baoyu to be welcomed in.He said with a smile: "What kind of wind is blowing today, how did it bring you to our house?"

Baoyu's face was uncharacteristically heavy, and he sat down in front of Xue Pan with a slight sigh, and said in a deep voice, "I'm not sure about one thing, but it's related to the prosperity of the family, and I don't dare to ask anyone else to talk about it. I have to come to you Discuss one or two."

Xue Pan was taken aback, for so many years of fighting with Baoyu, it was rare to see him so worried and serious.Putting aside the jokes and jokes in my heart at the moment, I straightened my mind and asked, "What kind of big event is it? Why bother you like this?"

Jia Baoyu sighed and shook his head, reached out to pick up the tea that Hongxiu had just served on the table and drank it down in one gulp.Xue Pan noticed with sharp eyes that there were some small scars on Baoyu's hands, so he couldn't help raising his eyebrows suspiciously.But Baoyu looked around with his eyes, looking hesitant to speak.

Xue Pan shook his head, and casually kicked out all the maids in the house.Jia Baoyu said in a low voice: "I vaguely heard that Wang'er next to Lian's second elder brother mentioned that my uncle sent Lian's second elder brother to Ping'an Prefecture to handle a confidential matter... I thought about it, but I always felt uneasy. Anwen, I want to come to you and ask, can you find out what secret and important matter my uncle sent the second brother Lian?"

When Xue Pan heard this, his heart sank slightly.He still remembered that when he visited the Red Mansion, the Jia family was convicted and ransacked their home, and one of the charges was adultery with foreign officials.According to Dayong's regulations, this is a crime of expulsion from public office and confiscation of family property.At that time, Xue Pan was a little surprised when he saw this place. After all, the Jia family had lived in the capital for generations, and the outsiders in the mansion had no deep connection with the court officials. How could they be charged with such a crime?

Now that I think about it, maybe it should be on this matter.

Xue Pan frowned, he vaguely remembered this part of the Dream of the Red Chamber, Jia Lian did go to Pingan Prefecture twice, and then Jia Amnesty gave him a maid to be his concubine in the name of his proper handling of affairs.And when returning to Kyoto in Ping'an Prefecture, Jia Lian also decided on the marriage between Third Sister You and Liu Xianglian——

Thinking of this, Xue Pan's heart suddenly jumped.Quickly got up and ordered: "Go outside and call Zhaocai and Jinbao to come in."

Hongxiu who was guarding the porch immediately responded when he heard the words.He ordered a rough girl who ran errands to go outside.

Xue Pan then turned around and smiled at Jia Baoyu: "You don't have to worry too much. I will order Zhaocai to inquire about this matter quietly. Once there is news, someone will tell you."

Jia Baoyu nodded apprehensively again, looked at Xue Pan apprehensively, and murmured, "Leave this matter to Big Brother, so I don't have any worries. It's just..."

"Why?" Seeing Jia Baoyu's appearance, Xue Pan asked in astonishment, "Could it be that you have other things?"

Jia Baoyu nodded with a blushing face, hesitated for a while, and then said in a low voice: "Tu Zhan is going back to the southwest. He said he wanted me to go back with him...I have already agreed."

"Tu Zhan?" Xue Pan blinked his eyes and looked at Jia Baoyu blankly, but he didn't realize who the Tu Zhan was?

Seeing this, Jia Baoyu's face became redder and brighter.He whispered, "It's Prince Zhongyong."

Xue Pan suddenly realized.

Jia Baoyu twitched uncomfortably: "He said that Dali, Yunnan is like spring all the year round, and the flowers bloom very beautifully. I have always liked making rouge cream, and I will definitely like it when I go there."

Xue Pan looked at Jia Baoyu furtively, and teased meaningfully: "If you are happy, he must like it too."

Jia Baoyu's fair neck turned red in an instant, and he lowered his head embarrassingly, speechless.After working for about half a day, he justified in a subtle way: "I just thought that the spices and flowers in Yunnan are very different from those in Shenjing, if the rouge paste is really made, it must be of high quality and unique. If there is such a day, I will take my ancestors, wives and sisters at home to the southwest. I believe that there is like spring all the year round, and the flowers are invincible, and they must be happy. As for other things... I have never thought about it through so much."

Seeing Jia Baoyu's appearance, Xue Pan couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.Quite a kind of sigh that my family has a child who has just grown up? !

The year he and Baoyu met, Baoyu was just an eleven or twelve-year-old child, playing and teasing with his sisters all day long, what he hated most was the secular economy, and the arrogant and dandy would not even do anything.Now five or six years have passed, and the once innocent child has grown into a handsome and handsome young man.Not only did he know the word love, but he even began to worry about the rise and fall of his family.

Although his current methods are still immature and gentle, Xue Pan believes that Jia Baoyu has long since realized that the building is about to collapse, and is trying to create a comfortable nest with his own efforts so that all relatives he cares about can live in. Live happily.

Regardless of whether such an idea is unrealistic or not, Xue Pan's only comfort is that Jia Baoyu finally made a different change under his overt and secret influence.

Although he is still a dandy, still soft, still unable to bear too much wind and rain and heavy burdens.But Xue Pan believes that as long as he is willing to work hard, his future life will be happy and beautiful.After all, he has the help of himself and a group of relatives and friends, as well as the aura of the protagonist that is not obvious but still exists.

"Brother, what do you think of my thoughts?"

Xue Pan came back to his senses, looked at Jia Baoyu who looked at him with bright eyes and expectant face, chuckled lightly, and said, "I think your idea is very good. My Xue family shop also has a semi-colon in the southwest. , I can take care of you if there is anything. Second, Prince Zhongyong has been operating in the southwest for many years, and his influence should not be underestimated. With him looking after you, there will never be any big mistakes. As for the capital, Although you and my family are not as close as they were in previous years, they are still relatives, and I will try my best to take care of them."

Jia Baoyu nodded, looked at Xue Pan trustingly, and said with a smile, "I believe you."

As he spoke, he took out a stack of papers from his pocket and handed it to Xue Pan. "This is the rouge formula that I have been tinkering with for the past six months. I will leave it all to my elder brother. I have already decided to return to the southwest with Tu Zhan in three days. I don't know how long it will be before I leave Beijing this time." Transfer. If I develop any rouge formula in the future, I will directly hand it over to the steward of rouge gouache in the southwest, and tell him to transfer back to Beijing. After I arrive in the southwest, I will also send back my whereabouts to Beijing as soon as possible. .Big brother, if you have anything to do, please contact me at that time."

Looking at Jia Baoyu's uncompromising decisiveness.Xue Pan couldn't help being taken aback.Although he guessed what Baoyu was thinking, he didn't expect that Baoyu would cut through the mess so quickly, and he didn't hesitate at all.

Could it be that Prince Zhongyong had such a great influence on him?Thinking of this, Xue Pan sighed more and more worriedly, and asked, "You just decided to leave with Prince Zhongyong so easily. Have you ever thought...if his heart is not firm, how will you deal with yourself at that time?" ?”

Jia Baoyu hooked the corners of his mouth in some disappointment, and said with a blank smile: "Big brother has always been straightforward in doing things, and Baoyu admires him the most. But in my life, I have hesitated too much. It is rare to have such an opportunity. I don't want to hesitate any longer."

As he spoke, he sighed softly, and said, "Besides, although I'm a dandy, you and I don't care about world affairs, I can't get any news. Brother Feng and Brother Wei always invite me to drink and have fun. There are some things that even if you all Needless to say, I also know it. Since the Holy Master took power, the situation in Beijing has been changing, and there are officials who leave and transfer almost every month. And most of these people are from the same line of four kings and eight males. If you want to think that the Holy Master is full-fledged, They will attack us soon. My actions are just a desperate move."

"The Holy Majesty doesn't care about the entanglement and protection of the four kings and eight princes. He wishes to deal with them all quickly so that he can push his confidant up. But if the four kings and eight princes don't do anything, they will be caught secretly. I can't change these things. But fighting in vain Tell me, as long as I go with him this time, I will surely save the lives of my Jia family. After all, Prince Zhongyong has a special status. He is still the elder brother of the Holy One. For the sake of these things, the Holy Majesty will always give him three points of face. As long as the Jia family does not make any big mistakes in plotting to usurp the throne, the Holy Majesty will not make things difficult for our Jia family. Besides, there are big brothers Xue and Lin in Beijing. The big brother and others mediate, and if the building is to be ruined, my Jia family will at most be confiscated and dismissed, but it will not be enough to exterminate the family."

"Even if we really want to be distributed, if we are distributed to the southwest, it will be regarded as our family reunion." Jia Baoyu sighed a little in a daze when he said this. "As for what the big brother said... I believe that Tu Zhan is not that kind of person. Besides, the big brother once said that two people can't put all the pressure on one person when they get along. I will also work hard to support myself and devote myself All I have is good to him. Try not to rely on his influence, or try to help him. But then again, the world’s emotions are unpredictable, and no one can be sure of getting an eternal friendship. If there is One day he doesn't like it... That's the end of the fate between the two of us. In the final analysis, it's my own choice, no one else. "

Hearing Jia Baoyu's words, Xue Pan felt sad and at a loss.Although he has known Jia Baoyu for many years, he has never had such an obsession with Jia Baoyu.Everyone said that Jia Baoyu was a born romantic, but in Xue Pan's eyes, he always felt that Jia Baoyu was just a child who had never understood.He always thinks of everything in the world too beautifully, but he is born with extraordinary talents and is too smart.Therefore, he can easily see through the hearts of lovers in the world, but he does not have the commitment and responsibility that come with it, so he draws a seemingly beautiful mirror to enclose himself.He refused to raise his head to face the reality outside, and he refused to grow up, but now, all his assumptions were broken and torn by the constant impact of his years of facts, and he was finally willing to step out and face the reality.It's just that the truth of the facts is usually not beautiful, and it will always make people feel at a loss, and they may even stumble and be scarred in the process of facing it.But one cannot always live in illusion forever...

When it's time to grow up, it's time to grow up.

Jia Baoyu looked at Xue Pan's soft and melancholy face, curled his mouth if he felt something, took out a few hairpins from his pocket and put them on the table, and said softly: "Brother, don't worry, we will fight in vain after all." The people I meet are all different, and there is nothing in me worthy of his concern... I don’t know how sooner or later we will see each other after this parting. One is my own. Although these hairpins are not worth anything, they are all made by me, so please keep them in your mind!"

Then, he picked up the hairpins on the table and said one by one: "This snowflake hairpin is for big brother, this peony hairpin is for sister Bao, this plum blossom hairpin is for big brother Lin, and this bamboo hairpin is for big brother. It's for Sister Lin, this hairpin engraved with guqin patterns is for Sister Qin..."

Jia Baoyu's fingers were fair and slender, and his complexion was radiant and lustrous.It's a pity that those perfectly slender hands at this time are full of traces, from the fingers to the back of the hands are covered with small scars, green and red against the snow-like skin, which is a bit shocking.

In a low voice, he told Xue Pan the ownership of all the hairpins, then took a breath, and said relaxedly: "I originally thought about asking everyone out to get together. But thinking about it carefully, there are frequent major events in the court nowadays. Whether it's the big brother or the big brother of the Lin family, the big brothers of the Zhen family are very busy. I'm a man and it's not easy to ask a female family member out, so let's just leave it like this. It's also save... If we really meet, I can't help but cry. "

A crystal teardrop fell silently on the table. Jia Baoyu subconsciously raised his hand to wipe his eyes, and said with a choked voice, "Big brother, please pass the hairpin to everyone for me! I'm leaving."

"...I'll leave the future to Big Brother..."

"...I don't ask for anything else, I just ask that my elder brother can save the lives of everyone in my Jia family at the last moment. Even if the family goes bankrupt, it doesn't matter..."

"...I know that my elder brother has been saving me [-]% of the dividends in the rouge gouache for so many years. If it really comes to the last moment, I hope that my elder brother will use the money to help the Jia family to clear up. This is my heart , even if it is all I have, I hope that big brother will stop helping me advance the money before the money is spent..."

"...I'm going to the Southwest, because I'm afraid that my ancestors and my wife will object, so I haven't said anything about it. After I leave, I have to trouble my big brother to come forward and help me out..."

"... After all, I still don't want to face...some things..."

"...Big brother...I'm leaving...you take care too...all of you take care..."