The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

Three days later, Jia Baoyu quietly left Shenjing in the entourage of Prince Zhongyong.

On the city wall, Xue Pan raised his arms and shook them, and Lin Mozhi, who was standing next to him with his hands behind his back, sighed softly and said, "Don't shake it, he won't be able to see it if you shake it again."

Xue Pan stared at the front without looking back, and said softly: "I know, but I did this to see him off."

Because Baoyu left quietly, in order not to arouse the suspicion and vigilance of the Rongguo Mansion, the few of them didn't even see him off in person.Just standing on the city wall blowing the breeze, watching the team shrink like ants, and leave bit by bit.

Zhen Baoyu on the other side also sighed softly, and said with a lot of emotion: "It's fine to leave. Although the capital is prosperous, to Baoyu, it is just like a huge golden birdcage. Going to the southwest, the sky is high and the sea is wide. I hope he can have a different life."

A look of reluctance flashed across Xue Pan's face.In fact, in his bones, he is also a temperament that likes to get together and not to leave. Now that Baoyu is going to the southwest, he doesn't know when he will see him again.

Xue Pan lowered his head, took out a simple and poorly carved hairpin from his bosom, and stroked it silently.

Lin Mozhi stretched out his arm and patted Xue Pan's shoulder, and said, "It's getting late, let's reverse it too!"

Xue Pan nodded, and the three of them filed down the city wall.

Recently, the imperial court has made a big move, and Lin Mozhi, who is the commander of the sticky pole, and Zhen Baoyu, who is the writer of the Imperial Academy, are naturally more busy, so the three left each other, and Xue Pan followed the official road to the palace.

Jin Bao followed silently behind him.Hearing Xue Pan in the front ponder for a long time, he suddenly asked: "Zhaocai is going to Ping'an Prefecture in three days, and I don't know if I can meet Liu Xianglian."

Jinbao blinked his eyes, and said comfortingly: "Master, don't worry! Ping'an Prefecture is not far from the capital, and my Xue family's power is naturally not small. Before recruiting money, I ordered all shops in Ping'an Prefecture to pay close attention to Mr. Liu's business. As for whereabouts, as long as Mr. Liu is still in Pingan Prefecture, he will definitely not miss it."

After a pause, he asked with some hesitation: "I just don't know why the uncle is so anxious to see Young Master Liu, and even said that he wants to make a marriage for him. He also asked Zhaocai to never agree to the second master Lian's request." Talk about kissing? Could it be that the uncle has a clever calculation, and even deduced things that didn't happen?"

Xue Pan couldn't help laughing, and casually blamed Jia Baoyu for the reason. "How is it possible? It was just that Baoyu came to see me the day before yesterday, and we talked about it during the chat - that Jia Lian wanted to tell Liu Xianglian about the third sister You, the step-sister of Youshi in Ningguo Mansion. You also know some pickles in Ningguo Mansion. I don't need to go into details about this. Do you think Third Sister You is worthy of Liu Erlang?"

Taking advantage of the situation, Jinbao thought of Jia Jing's funeral, the way the two sisters of the You family looked at Meixing.Immediately curled his lips and said: "No matter how poor the young master of the Liu family is, he is from a noble family, and his martial arts talents are excellent. It's just that he is born with a wild personality and likes to be a guest in the romantic life. Look at three points. However, Mr. Liu is bold by nature, he is righteous, and he is a good boy who stands up to the sky. To put it bluntly, as long as such a person comes to his senses, he can either join the army, or use the young master's avenue to enter the palace as a guard, It only takes three to five years of hard work, and you will definitely be famous, famous, and rich and honor will be within your reach. At that time, it will be the best to marry Mei Jiao'e who comes from a noble family."

"As for the third sister You! Don't talk about whether her identity and family status match, but her style of flirtatiousness is something that serious people will not be able to compare with. What's more, she has been in Ningguo Mansion for so long. Eldest Master and Second Master Lian are unclear. She is not a young girl now, and she has no morals and morals. If Second Master Lian wants to give it away after getting tired of playing by herself, I will not comment, but If Second Master Lian used this to insult Young Master Liu, that would be too much."

Seeing Jin Bao's indignation, Xue Pan shook his head and chuckled, "I really don't see that you are still jealous. But I think so too—although I don't know if Young Master Liu minds Third Sister You's past. , but the two of us met once, out of friendship, I will not let him be easily deceived by Jia Lian, and do things that he will regret. After he returns to Beijing, I will take Third Sister You's Discuss things with him one by one, if he is interested, then he will go to Lianhua Lane to propose marriage. If not... an embarrassing incident can be avoided."

Hearing this, Jin Bao immediately chuckled and complimented, "Master is thoughtful and thoughtful, I can't compare to it."

"Just your sweet mouth!"

The two talked and laughed, and then they reached the gate of the palace.

Xue Pan got off his horse and walked into the palace gate.The guards guarding both sides had already recognized the face of Mr. Xue's family, so they naturally knew that Xue Pan was wearing the prince's jade badge, so he could enter the palace at will.Of course, they will not come up to stop them just to make fun of themselves.Instead, they came forward to gossip with Xue Pan for a long time, and everyone agreed that they would have time to eat, drink, have fun and so on. After about a stick of incense, Xue Pan entered the palace way calmly .

After passing through the long palace road, Xue Pan went to Qianqing Palace by himself.Sure enough, seeing Dai Quan standing outside the door with his whisk in his hands, Xue Pan stepped forward and said with a light smile, "Is there someone inside?"

Dai Quan looked at Xue Pan with a look of surprise, and said with a low laugh: "My lord hasn't entered the palace for a while. Although the Holy Majesty didn't say anything, the old slave must be thinking about it when he looks at it. Seeing you here, I don't know how happy I will be!"

When Xue Pan heard this, he felt a burning sensation on his face, and hurriedly stopped him in a low voice: "It's so bright, why are you making such a joke? Go in and pass it on for me!"

Dai Quan chuckled, shook his whisk and entered the hall.But after a while, he laughed like a thief and said: "There is a decree from the Holy Spirit, to choose the young master to have an audience."

Xue Pan glared at Dai Quan uncomfortably before stepping into the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

When the weather is officially hot in July and August, ice basins are placed around the main hall to keep the heat away.The court ladies and eunuchs standing around waved the palace fans, bringing a little bit of coolness.

Tu Zhen was in the middle of the hall wearing a normal uniform. When he saw Xue Pan coming in, he walked towards him in two or three steps, held Xue Pan's hands, and asked in a low voice, "Why haven't you entered the palace for so long? Could it be the flowers outside?" The world is so wonderful that Pan'er forgets me?"

Xue Pan's ears turned red, and he glanced around at the little court ladies and eunuchs who looked at their noses, noses and mouths, and their mouths and hearts were like wooden stakes, and said softly, "What nonsense. I'm thinking about your recent I am busy with official duties, I am afraid that entering the palace will disturb your purity."

"You haven't come to see me in the palace for such a long time. I'm so worried about you. You don't even have the mind to deal with official business. This is unclean!" The face said casually.

Xue Pan was so ashamed that his neck was flushed red, he spat on Tu Zhen, rolled his eyes and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days, and my speech is getting better and better. I don't know which girl I practiced flirting with."

"I was teasing you in my dream." Tu Zhen said casually, and took Xue Pan's hand into the warm pavilion next to him, where Xue Pan's favorite melons and fruit and fruit milk tea were already placed on it.A court lady came in with clear water, waited for Xue Pan to wash, and then quietly retreated.

Xue Pan casually took a piece of pastry and put it in his mouth, and asked indistinctly, "Just tell me, what are you up to lately? My father hasn't eaten with us for more than half a month."

When Tu Zhen heard this, his face darkened.

Xue Pan looked up at Tu Zhen's unattractive expression, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why, is it still a big deal?"

After a pause, he secretly suspected: "Look at you, you kept recruiting my father into the palace to discuss the logistics of military preparations. Could it be that something happened to the expedition to Japan?"

Tu Zhen shook his head slightly, and said, "Everything is normal in Dongying. On the contrary, something went wrong in Ping'an Prefecture."

"Ping'an Prefecture?" Xue Pan's heart sank, thinking of what Baoyu had said to him a few days ago, he asked slightly nervously: "Ping'an Prefecture is not far from the capital, what could be the reason?"

Tu Zhen sneered, and said, "You know, it's because it's not far from the capital that someone came up with an accident."

Xue Pan pondered for a moment, but still couldn't think of a clue.Can't help but ask aloud: "What is the accident, if it's convenient for you, can you tell me?"

Tu Zhen looked at Xue Pan's cautious appearance, and smiled lightly: "What's inconvenient or inconvenient to talk to you? In fact, you also understand... Nan'an County King is ordered to patrol the border this year, who knows whether God knows ghosts or not?" I feel that I went to Ping'an Prefecture."

Xue Pan was horrified when he heard the words, a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he blurted out an incredible guess. "Could it be that he wants to rebel?"

"It's not necessarily a rebellion, but it's possible to force the palace!" Tu Zhen shook his head nonchalantly, and said with a light smile, "It's a pity that he doesn't think much of me."

Seeing Tu Zhen's confident appearance, Xue Pan gradually felt at ease.

Tu Zhen raised his eyes to look at Xue Pan, and chuckled with a strange expression: "This time, I discovered the clues of Nan'an County's disobedience, but it's not because of the sticky pole and the blood drop. It has a lot to do with you."

Xue Pan expressed his understanding of Tu Zhen's previous sentence.After all, although the sticky pole and the blood droplet are Tu Zhen's intelligence centers, they are also in charge of these two places.When people doze off, they may not be able to know everything in the world as they like.Generally, the Holy One ordered someone to be closely monitored, and they made great efforts to inquire about it.As for the others, we have to muddle along.Therefore, Xue Pan was not surprised that the two places did not get the news of Nan'an County's disobedience in the first place.

What is strange to him is the second point. "Why did you have a relationship with me again?"

Tu Zhen smiled lightly: "Do you still remember that you were invited by the King of Nan'an County a few years ago to go to Tianjin Wei to train the navy?"

Xue Pan nodded nonchalantly, "The King of Nan'an just tricked me into spending money for his army. I don't care about this small thought. Anyway, my Xue family has a big business, and some of it is money."

Tu Zhen smiled lightly: "You don't care, since someone cares."

Xue Pan looked at Tu Zhen suspiciously.

Tu Zhen cleared his throat and continued, "Do you still remember the artillery battalion you trained?"

Xue Pan nodded blankly.In any case, it was the first and possibly only military career in his life, and it was still very memorable.

"Back then, out of various considerations, you ordered Xue's shop to send some New Year's goods and money to the families of the [-] soldiers in the Artillery Battalion at the end of the new year. Every year after that, the local Xue's shop in Tianjin Wei kept this matter in mind, so At the end of the new year, I dispatched shop assistants to deliver New Year’s goods to the homes of the generals. Those soldiers took advantage of you and naturally expressed your affection. There have been wars along the West Sea for so many years, and these generals may have Those who died on the battlefield, or were scattered and assigned to other teams as gunners, and some were promoted and made a fortune with outstanding achievements. Slowly, they were also implicated in a huge network of relationships. It almost spread across the entire West Coast. Barracks."

"After many years, the King of Nan'an is not as vigilant against these shrimp soldiers and crab generals as when you just left. Some people who are good at drilling camps have become the confidantes of the King of Nan'an. It was Song Yishan, the lieutenant of the Tiger Shark Battalion under the king of Nan'an County who informed him. He was thoughtful and deep in the city, and he saw through the clues that the king of Nan'an was disobedient, and then secretly passed the news to Lin Mozhi, and then Lin Mozhi The news of Mo Zhi has reached my ears. After some twists and turns, he managed to remain calm, which is really good news."

As Tu Zhen mentioned Song Yishan's name, the handsome, dark-skinned, but cunning soldier appeared before Xue Pan's eyes.He was also one of the most unconvinced idiots in the Artillery Battalion back then, but when he left Tianjin Wei, he burst into tears by drinking.Frankly speaking, one day, I will definitely repay this kindness...

Looking back on the past, Xue Pan sighed in a trance, and couldn't help thinking of Jia Baoyu who went to the southwest.He hesitated for a while, then said in a low voice: "My lord, if I'm not mistaken, the king of Nan'an's disobedience may involve a lot of people. Can I ask Your Majesty for a favor?"

Tu Zhen Gujing glanced at Xue Pan without a wave, and asked with some clarity: "What do you want to say?"

"If His Majesty decides to attack the four princes and eight princes, can the lives of everyone in Rongning and the Second Mansion be spared? Even if the family property is confiscated and everyone is demoted to common people, can they spare their lives?"