The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

When Xue Pan woke up again, it was already the eclipse of the moon.

The glazed palace lantern illuminated the West Nuan Pavilion brightly. Xue Pan got up, casually put on a coat and walked to the front hall. He saw Tu Zhen bent over the desk and immersed himself in drafting the imperial decree.Xue Pan stepped forward, looked at it silently, and asked, "At this time, there is only more than a month before the New Year, and you actually asked the king of Nan'an County to send troops to Xihai Yanzi to fight against Fanbang?"

"That's not what you said." Tu Zhen picked up his pen and said with a smile: "It is the king of Nan'an County who asked for a crime and meritorious deed, and I just agreed to him."

"It's not good to let him go there years ago. I also heard a few words from my father before, saying that this time the king of Nan'an County is going to fight to the death, and he has issued a military order to defeat all the Fanbang pirates. It also saves everyone The prefect officer impeached him for fighting fake wars in order to get paid for the soldiers, and the rumors that he was waiting for an opportunity to create chaos and plot to usurp the court plan!"

Xue Pan casually sat on the armrest of the dragon chair, propped his chin and said, "You are pushing him so hard now, if you are not prepared enough and lose the battle, what would you do?"

"I have prepared all the troops, food and grass for him, what else does he want to prepare?" Tu Zhen sneered, turned around and put his arms around Xue Pan's flexible waist and said, "If he prepares again, I'm afraid it won't be the Xihai Yanzi battle." battle, but something else."

Xue Pan was silent for a long time before he asked, "Then when are you going to let the King of Nan'an leave?"

"November [-]th is a good day. I asked him to go to Xihaiyanzi when he got sick that day." Tu Zhen closed the open neckline for Xue Pan, and softly advised: "Put on more, if it's cold today, Be careful of the cold."

"There is an earth dragon in this room, it's warm!" Xue Pan pulled his sleeves disapprovingly, and said, "I'm still hot!"

Tu Zhen didn't bother to talk to him, but just ordered Dai Quan to pass on the meal, and after dinner with Xue Pan, they wandered around the plum garden at the back of the hall twice before returning to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Xue Pan slept all afternoon, but now he is very energetic.Tu Zhen accumulated a day's worth of official duties, so the two sat down in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Tu Zhen critiqued papers at the desk, while Xue Pan was bored reading miscellaneous books, until the drums were played outside four times. Just now he put down what he was doing, ordered the maid to wash up, and then settled down to rest.

Early the next morning, Tu Zhen got up early to go to the previous court to discuss the government affairs. After Xue Pan tidied himself up, he ate a casual breakfast and walked out of the palace.

Early in the morning, Xue Pan was a little bored and wandered around the city riding horses. After strolling for a while, he turned back and asked Lian Ying, "What do you think is fun?"

Lian Ying was taken aback, and immediately responded: "I don't know, but wherever the uncle wants to go, that's the best place."

Xue Pan shook his head boringly, swayed for a while, and then rode home.

As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he heard whimpering and whimpering in the Ruirong hall, Xue Pan's heart skipped a beat, he climbed up the steps in three steps at a time, opened the door curtain and rushed into the room, unable to stay in the air Asked: "What's the matter, why are you crying?"

Before he finished a sentence, he saw Wang Xifeng sitting in the main hall, and Mrs. Xue and Xue Baochai who kept comforting him, he was taken aback again, but his heart was relieved and let out a breath.He raised his hands and patted his chest and said, "Scare me, who did you think provoked you?"

After saying that, he walked to the opposite chair and sat down slowly, ordered the little girl to serve milk tea, and then asked Wang Xifeng, "What's wrong with you, you're crying like a tearful person, and you're even worse than you used to be?" My younger sister Lin is still fierce."

When Lin Daiyu first entered Jia's mansion, her mother passed away, she was unhappy, and there were unruly maids and women in Rongguo mansion who were secretive, and life became more and more difficult, so it was inevitable that she would wash her face with tears and feel sorry for herself. .Xue Pan made fun of Wang Xifeng with what happened at that time, Wang Xifeng blushed when she heard it, and her sad thoughts gradually dissipated.

Seeing that Wang Xifeng's mood became calmer, Xue Pan turned to ask Ping'er who was standing behind Wang Xifeng. "What's wrong with your second grandma, but what kind of grievance did the people of Jia's house give her?"

Ping'er looked at Wang Xifeng in embarrassment, and sighed softly: "Isn't the eldest wife..."

As he spoke, he hesitated to speak and shook his head.

"Madam Xing?" Xue Pan raised his eyebrows in surprise, sat up straight and asked, "She has the guts?"

After all, Wang Xifeng now has herself and the Wang family backing her up, and it's not the scene in the original book where all people are lost and all backers are down.Mrs. Xing still bullied Wang Xifeng, which made people think about it.

Xue Pan blinked his eyes, rested his chin on one hand, pondered for a moment, and asked, "Who does the elder of the Rongguo Mansion associate with now?"

Wang Xifeng took a look at Xue Pan, sniffed, and said, "Everyone knows that the elder in the mansion is close to the Prince of Nan'an and Prince Zhongshun. Before, Prince Nan'an committed a crime and was placed under house arrest in the palace. The old man and his wife were also quieter in the mansion. Now that they heard that the king of Nan'an County has risen again, and he is going to lead troops to fight in Xihai Yanzi, the old man and his wife will naturally become rampant. They don't take the old lady seriously any more. .”

In Jia's house, Wang Xifeng is the most favored by Jia's mother. Now the old man and his wife even contradict Jia's mother, let alone Wang Xifeng.In the past few days, Mrs. Xing has always used her status as a serious mother-in-law to give Wang Xifeng a good impression, and the other day she taught her a lesson in front of the maids and mother-in-law.Now that Wang Xifeng is in poor health and emotionally frustrated, she is less able to think about this matter than before, so she went to Zhongxinhou's mansion, hoping to chat with her aunt.

Xue Pan nodded thoughtfully, pondered for a moment, and then smiled softly: "Don't be afraid of her. To tell you the truth, don't say that the king of Nan'an went to Xihai Yanzi this time to commit crimes and meritorious deeds. It was he who really came back triumphantly, and I am not afraid of her anymore. If Mrs. Xing makes things difficult for you again in the future, you can directly tell him not to be too rampant, otherwise, if there is anything wrong in the future, you will not be afraid of her. Don't blame me for not reminding her before."

After receiving Xue Pan's words, Wang Xifeng seemed to have a backbone, and a relaxed arc was drawn on the corners of her lips involuntarily.

Xue Pan ignored Wang Xifeng's affairs, but sighed softly at Xue Baochai: "In a blink of an eye, it's almost New Year's Eve again, and the time you can stay at home is only half a year."

Xue Baochai didn't realize that the topic suddenly turned to her, and couldn't help but blushed, spat, and said, "Okay, what are you doing with me?"

As she said that, she got into Mrs. Xue's arms in embarrassment and annoyance, and shouted angrily: "Mom, look at him, he is really bad."

Mrs. Xue couldn't help but patted Xue Baochai on the back, and said with a smile: "Your brother is telling the truth. I can't bear it."

Xue Baochai's face became more and more red.

Wang Xifeng watched from the side, with envy flashing in his eyes.She was also a child who had no love from her parents since she was a child. Although she looked impressive and majestic for so many years, she was very majestic.But he is also a dumb man who eats Coptis chinensis and suffers from an indescribable situation.If it hadn't been for Xue Pan to intervene later and firmly hold on to the dowry that she had lost a lot, I am afraid that when she has no dowry, her life will be even more difficult.

Thinking of this, Wang Xifeng became more determined to leave Rongguo Mansion.

Now there is no love between her and Jia Lian.During the past year, she watched with cold eyes, and also saw Jia Lian's nature.It would be nonsense to say that he has no affection for him.But if he said that his affection for him could make him change anything, that would be delusion.Jia Lian was born a master who only cares about his own happiness and ignores others.

Wang Xifeng sighed softly, feeling exhausted and exhausted.

After chatting for a while, Wang Xifeng left on the pretext of something happening at home.Now that she is someone else's daughter-in-law, if she hangs out all day, it is inevitable that people will gossip. Even if it is for sister Qiao, she has to endure it for the time being.It's just that when he left, he couldn't help but told Xue Pan to help her out quickly.Xue Pan fully agreed, and sent the man to the carriage.

When he came back, he casually caught a glimpse of Lian Ying who was about to go out, and Xue Pan told Lian Ying about dealing with Jia Lian.The way of thinking is also very old-fashioned, just order Lianying to find someone who can win people's hearts to hook up with Jia Lian, and then make another incident about the second sister You.Then someone lured Jia Lian to welcome the concubine into the mansion, and randomly produced "evidence" that he favored the concubine and killed his wife, so he also had an excuse to bring Wang Xifeng out.

Lian Ying silently listened to Xue Pan's instructions, and had some worries in his heart.Although he is working under Xue Pan now, but he himself is a member of the sticky pole.Therefore, he knows better than anyone that the Holy One dislikes the four princes and eight princes.Now that I heard Xue Pan's words, I mistakenly thought that Xue Pan was a foolish person who hated Jia's mansion, and his methods of handling things afterwards were extremely ruthless. clean and dry.This is a later story, so I won't mention it for the time being.

After talking for more than half a month, it was the marriage of the second lady of Rongguo Mansion.Still married to Sun Shaozu, the Zhongshan wolf, as in the original book.Xue Pan felt uncomfortable, so he shrugged off his physical discomfort and didn't go to join him.A group of guests who attended saw that no one was present in the Zhongxinhou's residence, and they became more and more sure that Xue's residence and Jia's residence had a bad relationship. If there was a disagreement between faces and hearts before, they might not even care about face now.

Of course, this is what everyone thinks.

Although Xue Pan didn't go to Yingchun's wedding banquet, he still cared about everyone's acquaintance, and couldn't bear Yingchun's misfortune like the original one.Because I am a male and it is difficult to talk, I asked Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu to send someone as their sisters to quietly mention a few words to Sun Shaozu.It is only said that Miss Yingchun is their close friend in the boudoir, and the relationship is very close.If Sun Shaozu dared to do something disgraceful, don't blame everyone for making him disgraceful.

The bluffing Sun Shaozu was stunned for a while, and immediately lost most of his thoughts of contempt and negligence.Afterwards, although the aunt and concubine continued to take care of her, she gave Yingchun three points of face in the end, so she wouldn't beat and insult people casually.

And although Yingchun has a dull temper, she is timid and afraid of getting into trouble.But in the end, the color is neat, and Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu are backed by two sisters with strong family backgrounds, and in Sun Shaozu's eyes, it gradually has two advantages.So this dull-tempered character became a virtuous wife, timid and fearful became the key to her husband, and she was lenient towards concubines in the mansion, and there was never such a situation where people died in other people's backyards.

After a long time, Sun Shaozu became more sincere, and when Yingchun became pregnant and gave birth to two male heirs, he won the love of his parents-in-law even more.Although the grandson Shaozu is good-natured, he is still very filial to his parents.Seeing this situation, I ignored Yingchun even more.Therefore, Yingchun's life in such a muddle-headed way allowed her to survive until her son's future, and she died in bed.

This is a later story, let's say that this month passed by in a blink of an eye, and it was the New Year's Eve again in a blink of an eye.

By the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, the door gods, couplets, peach charms, and listings had been changed in the mansion, and the plaques on the doors were repainted.The fiery red lanterns are also hung all over the corners of the eaves, treetops and even everywhere in the backyard.The huge Zhongxinhou Mansion was illuminated day and night, brightly lit.

This year is the last year for everyone to reunite in the Zhongxinhou Mansion.In November, His Majesty sent Prince Zhongdun Tu Fan and Tai Fu Lin Mozhi as imperial envoys to go to the south of the Yangtze River to investigate corruption and bribery in the Jiangnan officialdom.The Holy Majesty was furious, and the court officials declared that they would investigate to the end, and even sent all the concubines into the harem on the grounds that the offender's daughter was not allowed to enter the palace.

Although the four kings and eight males were very angry, but at the critical moment, they still had to save their lives, but they had no time to take care of him.Tu Zhen took advantage of the situation and released the will to disband the harem after the next year.

This incident has been rumored for several months, and the lineage of the Four Kings and Eight Dukes has long been mentally prepared, but they didn't expect that Tu Zhen's laying would be so big, and he really made up his mind to do so.This time with all his strength to suppress, Tu Zhen used all the forces including Xuedizi, sticky pole, Jinyiwei and so on.The four kings and eight males who suppressed were unable to fight back.He could only watch helplessly as Tu Zhen disintegrated the harem, but he didn't dare to speak out against it.

As for the lineage of the royal clan, it was Xue Zhizhang who took the initiative to solve it.On the grounds that he would distribute [-]% of the profits from the overseas caravan, the seduced royal family no longer objected to Tu Zhen marrying Xue Pan as the last thing, and even pulled all the royal family members into his chariot.That's why Tuzhen announced his determination at the court, and the clan, relatives, and Qingliu all responded one after another.

As for how Qingliu's lineage responded one after another, this is not the credit of Xue Zhizhang, but the method of Zhuang Shaoyou, the master of flat peaches who has not appeared for a long time.

This famous Confucian handed down from generation to generation approached the officials of Qingliu Hanlin one by one. I don't know how to persuade them. Anyway, these officials in the court responded one after another.

Therefore, this year is really the last year for everyone to reunite in the Zhongxinhou Mansion.After May of next year, Xue Baochai and Xue Pan will "marry" one after another, and by then only Xue Zhizhang, Mrs. Xue, and Xue Yu, who is crawling all over the ground, will be left in the mansion.At that time, I don't know how desolate and deserted, Xue Zhizhang just thought about it, and he sighed and felt uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Xue Pan swallowed guiltily.His current situation can be regarded as "preparing for marriage" at home. It is inevitable that someone with a heart will take advantage of Xue Pan to make troubles. Tu Zhen and Xue Zhizhang coincidentally scare Xue Pan into a foot ban.That is to say, during this New Year's Eve, except for visiting around with Xue Zhizhang, Xue Pan must not go out alone.Although Xue Pan was not happy, but he had no choice but to be pressured by the two great mountains of Tu Zhen and his father. He had no strength to resist, so he had to agree aggrievedly.

It's just...if you haven't entered the palace, you will lose your personal freedom. When you enter the palace in the future, you will have to see the light of day like you are in prison?

Xue Zhizhang looked at Xue Pan's eyeballs on the opposite side, with a look of shrinking his head, couldn't help chuckling, stretched out his hand to stroke Xue Pan's head, and said with emotion: "My Pan'er has also grown up."