The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

That night, Xue Pan, who was downcast, was left in the palace by Tu Zhen to appease him.And Xue Pan, who fell into self-pity and self-pity, didn't find out until eating——

"Why is the ink missing?" Xue Pan poked the fish in the bowl and asked with a blank expression.

"Going to work, do you think anyone can live in the palace?" Tu Zhen raised his eyebrows and said indifferently.

"He hasn't been back to Rongguo Mansion for the past two days. I thought he was living in the palace." Xue Pan got up and wanted to eat the eight-treasure wild duck with chopsticks. He gave Xue Pan cloth dishes.

Xue Pan sat down and thanked him with a smile.Dai Quanlian said he didn't dare, and retreated respectfully.

The first student Zhen saw him, but he smiled and said nothing.

After dinner three times, Xue Pan stared at Tu Zhen's face, hesitant to speak.

Tu Zhen asked with a smile: "What's the matter again, I know how to do this. After a while, I will get off the table impatiently, and see who you chat with."

Xue Pan quickly put on a smiling face and said, "It was my sister who went to greet the emperor and the empress dowager last time... I said we have a fairy-like sister in our family, and the empress dowager said that she wanted to see it some other day..."

Tu Zhen tasted the bergamot golden scroll, and asked casually, "You mean the one from Lin Mo's House?"

"It's her." Xue Pan said with a chuckle: "Now I live in the Rongguo Mansion, but there are a lot of uninteresting things in it. So I want to ask the Empress Dowager to support my sister."

Tu Zhen snorted and said, "What do you think of our royal family?"

Xue Pan laughed and said, "Long live the Son of Heaven on the left and right, people who follow the Dragon Qi. These people are solemn and dignified. They retreat at night and stay away, punishing evil and avoiding them."

"After a while, I became a door god again." Tu Zhen shook his head and smiled, "Forget it, the emperor has been in good spirits and in a good mood for the past two days. He was chatting about his youth and said he wanted to meet Mr. Zhen who was going to Beijing for the exam. .And your father came to Beijing to discuss his duties, and the emperor must meet him... I will just be a favor, you go back and wait for the news. On that day, you will meet together."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Xue Pan thanked with a smile.Turning around and snatching the chopsticks from Dai Quan's hand, he took a mouthful of food for Tu Zhen, and said, "The Holy One takes care of everything every day, eat more to nourish your body."

Tu Zhen looked down at the extremely green spinach in the bowl, then at Xue Pan who smiled from ear to ear and picked up a crystal elbow for himself, and shook his head helplessly.

After dinner, Tu Zhen continued to review the memorial at his desk without waiting for tea.Xue Pan frowned and looked at it for a while, then let out a breath of boredom.Tu Zhen, who was exaggerated by the atmosphere, was a little tired.He couldn't help but glared at Xue Pan viciously, and reprimanded: "Be quiet."

Xue Pan curled his lips aggrievedly, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, and shrank back on the grand teacher's chair, his head was bit by bit, and he was so sleepy.

Tu Zhen sighed softly, and said softly to Dai Quan, "Wait for him to go to Nuan Pavilion to sleep for a while!"

Dai Quan responded in a low voice, walked up to Xue Pan quietly, looked carefully, then turned around and said, "Your Majesty, the young master of the Xue family has already fallen asleep."

"..." Tu Zhen glanced at Xue Pan speechlessly, and cursed in a low voice, "Pig!"

When Xue Pan woke up again, he felt that his eyes were full of gold. He turned his head and saw Tu Zhen lying beside him with his eyes squinted.Putting his hands neatly on his chest, he breathed lightly.

Xue Pan smashed his mouth, got up cautiously, and slipped off the bed from under Tu Zhen's feet.A pair of bare feet stepped on the floor tiles, and the coolness rushed up along the soles of the feet. Xue Pan gave a soft "hiss", shrank his feet, turned his head and took a peek at Tu Zhen, whose eyes were still closed, and stepped on the snow-white toes On his dragon boots, he gave a thief-like laugh, turned around and met a little palace lady who had heard the noise and walked in.At this time, the palace lady was dumbfounded, and her eyes showed a frightened light.

Xue Pan swished his feet back on the bed, grinning at the maid and softly threatened, "You didn't see anything, did you?"

The maid covered her mouth and nodded repeatedly.

Only then did Xue Pan smile with satisfaction: "That's good... I'm thirsty, so get me some water to drink."

The little maid immediately turned and went out, but after a while, she came in with a cup of tea.Xue Pan curled his lips in disgust, but now he was so thirsty that he had to wrinkle his nose and drink.At the end, he muttered, "It's really bitter."

After finishing speaking, he gave two poohs, and returned the empty teacup to the little maid.Unexpectedly, the little maid was only concerned about Xue Pan's boldness, but she didn't catch it.There was only a sound of "pong--", and the sound of the broken cup startled everyone.

Tu Zhen got up impatiently and hit Xue Pan hard, and said in his mouth: "It's late at night, what's the trouble?"

Knowing that he was wrong, Xue Pan held his hot head and sniffed, and gave the little maid a wink, meaning to tell the little maid to run away.How did you know that the maid immediately knelt on the ground and begged for mercy: "This servant deserves death."

At this time, Dai Quan and others who were guarding outside also heard the sound and came in.Seeing this, he knelt on the ground silently.In the end, Xue Pan smiled awkwardly: "I'm thirsty, let her pour me a glass of water..."

Tu Zhen glared at him fiercely, turned over and fell on the bed.He waved his hands casually and said, "Let's all step back!"

For a while, everyone tiptoed to clean up the fragments of the teacup and the ground stained with tea, and then retreated with lowered eyebrows and eyes.

Xue Pan huddled at the foot of the bed and looked at Tu Zhen pitifully.

Tu Zhen closed his eyes helplessly and said, "Aren't you going to sleep?"

Xue Pan curled his lips, crawled back into the bed and lay obediently.It's just that he slept for a long time, and now he was very energetic, and he didn't dare to disturb Tu Zhen with any big movements, so he could only stare at the roof of the tent, counting the floating dragon paintings on it.After a while, he tilted his head to look at Tu Zhen, blinked his eyes, curled his mouth, and kept making small movements.

Tu Zhen just ignored him and fiddled with him for a while, Xue Pan fell asleep again by himself.

When he woke up again, the sky was already bright.Xue Pan got up and found that Tu Zhen beside him had disappeared.Xue Pan knew that he got up and went to court, so he didn't care.After washing and eating breakfast, he left the palace calmly.

For a long time, there were fortune-seekers and treasure hunters who waited outside the imperial city overnight.Seeing Xue Pan's figure, he couldn't help leaning forward to pay his respects. "The uncle has come out. Have the uncle eaten?"

"I've eaten, I've eaten." Xue Pan waved his hand, took out a bank note of one hundred taels from his arms, and handed it to the head of the guards who sent him out all the way, and greeted him: "Brother is bothering you again, Be careful, everyone have a drink!"

"Master Xue is so polite every time, I'm really embarrassed." The head of the guard said, but he stuffed the bank note into his arms smoothly, then cupped his hands and said, "When is Master Xue free? I am the host, please treat the uncle to a meal."

"I'm free anytime, but I just don't know when my brother will be free." Xue Pan answered with a smile.

The head of the guard immediately cut his mouth and said: "Since that's the case, how about we have a drink in Jufulou at noon tomorrow?"

"If I ask, I will go." Xue Pan replied.

"It's been said that I'm the host..." the head guard said shyly.

"So you don't want to drink with me?" Xue Pan raised his eyebrows.

The head guard replied helplessly: "In this case, it is better to obey orders than to be respectful."

So the time and place were agreed upon in detail, and Xue Pan rode his horse back home Shi Shiran.On the way, Zhaocai asked suspiciously, "Why are you being so polite to that guard?"

Xue Pan turned his head to look at Zhaocai, but smiled and said nothing.

Although the Xue family is rooted in Jinling, the ancestors were Ziwei Sheren who lived next to the emperor, and Xue Zhizhang also read with the emperor when he was young, so the Xue family also has several properties in the capital, large and small.It's just that it has been vacant for more than ten years and no one lives there, so it needs to be cleaned up.On that day, due to the urgent edict of the emperor, and because the wife of the Rongguo Mansion wanted to invite and take care of Daiyu, Xue's family lived in Rongguo Mansion for two or three months after entering Beijing.This house is almost repaired, and the master is going to Beijing, so he should move back to his own house.

So on this day, Xue Pan returned to Xue's mansion under the guidance of Zhaocai.

This is Xue Pan's first time returning to his family's compound in Beijing.

In Xue Pan's mind, the reason why the Xue family in "A Dream of Red Mansions" moved into the Rongguo Mansion at the beginning of their visit to Beijing was probably because their house was relatively small and crude, apart from the golden and jade marriage between Mrs. Wang and Aunt Xue. for the sake.But when he followed Zhaocai all the way to his home, he discovered that Xue's house in Beijing was also very luxurious—although it was not as grand and magnificent as the mansion in Jinling.But after all, it is also the facade of a family.And because of the renovation, it looks even more luxurious.

The two white jade lions have ferocious faces, with round copper eyes.The rich gates are bright, and the copper rings are shining.There is a plaque on the main entrance, with the words "Zhongxin Hou's Mansion" written on it.A dozen well-dressed boys stood on the steps.A man with a beard and hair who looked like a manager came down, bowed and said with a smile: "But the uncle is back, why don't you come into the mansion?"

Xue Pan raised his eyebrows suspiciously, and asked, "Are you..."

"The younger one is Yao Bin, the steward who the master stayed to take care of the house." The steward nodded and smiled, "The villain is more than the master."

As he said that, he was about to kneel down to Xue Pan.

"Don't kneel, I'll call you Uncle Yao from now on!" Xue Pan grabbed Yao Bin's arm to prevent him from kneeling down. "You ordered the servants to lead the horse in... have my mother and the others come back?"

"The wife and the girl are here." Yao Bin replied respectfully.

Xue Pan didn't speak, and stepped into the gate.Pass through the Yimen, the hall, and the inner three gates... until you reach the main hall of the inner house.Along the way, I only felt that the scenery in this mansion was somewhat familiar.So the first thing I said when I met Mrs. Xue and Baochai was: "Why do I feel that this courtyard is quite similar to our "Heaven and Earth" in Jinling?"

Mrs. Xue listened and covered her mouth with a smile.Xue Baochai said with a smile, "My brother still has sharp eyes."

Xue Pan couldn't help but asked: "How did you say that?"

Mrs. Xue explained with a smile: "We haven't gone to Beijing yet, but the master ordered the stewards in Beijing to clean up the house, but after all, we haven't lived here for many years, and we lived in Rongguo Mansion for a while after we came to Beijing. What's more, the master was granted the title by the Holy Grace... The steward simply repaired the whole house. It should be fate, the Mr. Drawing he invited happened to be the old Mr. Shan Ziye who helped build the "Heaven and Earth" in Jinling ..."

Xue Pan couldn't help being overjoyed: "It turned out to be him. Could it be that he also entered Beijing?"

"Why is brother so happy? Is there some reason I don't know?" Xue Baochai asked with a smile as he rolled his eyes.

"Well, there is a business I want to talk to Mr. Shan Ziye." Xue Pan said casually.It wasn't anything else, but he suddenly remembered that Shan Ziye had been invited by dignitaries everywhere to work as a "designer" after the Holy Father ordered him to visit his relatives.So I wondered if I could make a fortune out of it.It's just that it's not easy to say that.

Seeing Xue Pan's mysterious appearance, Xue Baochai knew that he was not going to say anything, so she didn't ask any more questions.Smiling, he changed the subject and said, "I told my brother yesterday about the younger sister of the Lin family... do you still remember?"

"I've already told the Holy One about this. The Holy Majesty said it's nothing serious. I just wait for my father to go to Beijing to make some arrangements... At that time, not only our family, but also the Zhen family and the Lin family will go together. It's dazzling."

Baochai nodded when she heard that, and said with a gratified expression, "I'm much more at ease now, thank you brother."

"Thank you, isn't Sister Lin also my sister?" Xue Pan waved his hand indifferently, then turned his head and asked Mrs. Xue, "Can I find out when father will arrive?"

"Although there is no certainty, it will only be three to five days." Mrs. Xue also had a look of miss. "It's the first time our family has been separated for so long!"

"Look, sister, mom misses daddy too." Seeing this, Xue Pan joked while pointing at Mrs. Xue.Madam Xue spit out from shame.

"There are no rules and decency, even your old lady dares to joke."

Saying that, he picked up a plum blossom imitation silk piled in a Ru kiln vase on the shelf and threw it towards Xue Pan.

Xue Pan drove away with a whoosh, and started running on the porch, saying, "I'm going to take a look at my house."

Mrs. Xue shook her head in the back, dumbfounded, and said with a sigh: "This troublemaker..."

Let’s say that Xue Pan slipped out with oil on his feet, walked down the garden path along the chaoshou verandah, wore flower willows, walked around the mountain and crossed the pond to admire it for a long time, only then remembered that he didn’t know where he lived at all.I had no choice but to go to the front yard and grab a passing girl, "Do you know where the master lives?"

The little girl just shook her head blankly, and looked a little shy.Xue Pan looked upset for a while, and couldn't help letting go of her and asked two or three times, only to hear someone behind him laughing and saying: "What are you doing, sir?"

Xue Pan turned around and saw that it was Yao Bin whom he had just met.He couldn't help laughing and said, "So it's Uncle Yao. I forgot where I live, so I'll ask someone."

"My uncle just moved in, and I'm not familiar with the servants at home, so how can I know what's going on in the inner courtyard!" Yao Bin replied with a flattering smile, "If you don't mind, I'd like you to lead me over. "

Xue Pan nodded indifferently, and followed Yao Bin back to his yard.Looking up and seeing that the name on it had been changed to "Qiu Yezhai", he couldn't help curling his lips in disgust, and ordered to Yao Bin: "Tomorrow, change the plaque for me...it's better to call it 'Gentle Township'."

Yao Bin bowed to answer, Xue Pan gave some more instructions, and then waved Yao Bin to leave.

Inside, Hongxiu, Tianxiang and other maidservants rushed out to welcome Xue Pan, surrounded him and went into the room to undress and wash without mentioning it.

After Xue Pan, who had changed into comfortable cotton clothes, sat on the bed with a relaxed face, he heard a very thin sound as if paper was being squeezed, and he couldn't help turning over in surprise.Turning around and opening the pillow, she saw a piece of bright red paper on top of the satin quilt, with faint golden streaks on it.Xue Pan picked up the colored note with joy and looked at it, and saw that it was written in small letters with beautiful hairpin flowers, "It's done, don't worry".

Xue Pan raised his eyebrows suspiciously, not knowing what Mr. Shi said was done.However, after two or three months, Xue Pan was still very happy when he received news from his master for the first time.Immediately got up and took the colored paper and went down to the back of the case table, picked up a pen and dipped ink in the lower left corner of the small script and wrote——

Master, where are you, I miss you.

The handwriting is soft and limp, without any style.It makes the lowercase plum blossoms on the top more elegant and beautiful.Xue Pan didn't take it seriously, and after the ink dries, he put the colored note under his pillow again, and then he put on his coat casually and went out again.

Xue Pan has always known about Mr. Shi letting someone by his side, but he didn't care at all.Even when he went to Beijing, he deliberately brought that person up.On this point, Xue Pan has always been quite nervous, which may be related to his habit in his previous life that his father and elder brother secretly sent people to take care of him.He didn't think it was surveillance, but thought it was a good thing for others to worry about him...

Of course, this situation is also divided.Xue Pan has always accepted kindness that cannot be refused, but for some malicious temptations, Xue Pan does not mind making an example of others.Everyone in the world thinks that Uncle Xue doesn't know how to advance or retreat, and can't bear the slightest humiliation.Even a little thing will make a lot of noise, boasting of merits and self-defeating, and being proud of being favored.But they don't know that Xue Pan also has an account in his heart, that is, no matter how arrogant and domineering he is, he will never touch the bottom line of some people.

People in the world say that dudes are arrogant and domineering, they don't understand the world, and they will only cause trouble everywhere and cause harm to the people.But they don't know that the truly qualified, promiscuous playboys all have a scale in their hearts, and no one knows what is measured better than them...

That kind of sense of propriety that if you have more points, you will cause trouble to your upper body, and if you have less points, you will be suspected by others...

After half a day, when Xue Pan turned around and returned to his room again, he found that the bright red colored paper embroidered with peonies and gold silk paintings had disappeared.

Xue Pan took off his outer clothes with a chuckle, and stretched on the bed with a relaxed expression.Some nostalgic thought: "I don't know where the master is now, and I don't know if the master misses me..."

At this time, Mr. Shi, whom Xue Pan was thinking about, was half lying on a Zhang Zhang sandalwood grand master's chair with a face of satisfaction, with slender phoenix eyes. .You are not convinced?"

——I am the dividing line of the unlucky Nanan County King——

Since ancient times, heroes have suffered a lot, and cunning rabbits have died to be cooked by running dogs.

The king of Nan'an knew that his family was not liked by the emperor before he took the seat.When he was still young, he went to the palace every year to have a banquet to pay his respects. Looking at the emperor's seemingly friendly but wary gaze, he felt trembling in his calves.Everyone in the world knows that the emperor is benevolent, caring for the people, generous and benevolent. Only these kings with different surnames know how decisive, indifferent and tenacious this always smiling emperor is.After more than forty years in power, his hands have been stained with the blood of so many princes with different surnames.

From the Dingnan King and Pingnan King of the nine clans who were accused of treason in the early years, to the King Jingnan who was deprived of the throne and demoted to the common people because his son oppressed the people... A person's life is just like that, it's gone.Even the king of Nan'an County once thought that their family would soon come... Who let the title of his family have the word "Nan" on it!

But he has been waiting in fear for more than 20 years. From being adopted by a side concubine to a concubine's son, and then to becoming a prince and finally dying the old prince to succeed the new king, he still grew up peacefully.It's just that the form in memory has changed a lot.

Originally, princes of different surnames who had many fiefdoms in Heheweiyang were all imprisoned in the capital under the careful exploitation of several generations of the Tu family, and became toothless tigers.The military power in his hands has also been cut again and again, from having private soldiers to only leading soldiers but not in power, and later from only leading soldiers but not in power to patrolling all over the place. The leeks popped up one after another.All the braggarts with the will of the Holy Majesty stood in front of their eyes, and they couldn't be driven away like a dog's skin plaster-of course, no one had the guts to drive them away.

But no matter how wary and annoying they were, the disciples still gave them the respect and face they deserved.nowadays……

The king of Nan'an lowered his eyes, his eyes were firmly locked on a letter on the Nanmu case, and he felt a toothache.

On the ground, there was a middle-aged man in charge, crying and complaining with tears.

"That brat of the Xue family is relying on the emperor's favor, and now he is going to die and run on our palace... He also united with dozens of merchants in Beijing to target us. Now my Nan'an palace has become the entire four The laughing stock of Ninetowns... the concubine fell out of bed angrily, and didn't drink a drop of water for three days..."

"No drop of water in three days?" Nan'an County King raised his eyebrows in surprise.

The steward immediately nodded and replied: "Isn't it! I was angry with that brat of the Xue family..."

The king of Nan'an sneered. "Why is the information in my hand different from what you said?"

As he spoke, he reached out and took out a note from a stack of letters and read: "Sugar steamed cheese, osmanthus sugar steamed chestnut powder cake, Ruyi cake, acacia soup, auspicious fruit, pearl and emerald glutinous rice balls, lotus leaf soup, plum blossom cake, fragrant fennel Drink, rose cake..."

At the end, she sighed softly, and said, "If she only eats these things and doesn't drink water, will she feel very... choked?"

The steward was left speechless.After a long while, she said with a flushed face, "But it's true that the concubine was furious this time. That brat really doesn't care about our palace. That doesn't mean he doesn't care about the prince either! The prince fought bloody battles." , to meet the enemy on the battlefield, my Nan'an Palace also made great achievements in battle, but my family members were bullied by an untouchable businessman—"

The King of Nan'an frowned, and asked, "You also said that in front of outsiders?"

The steward was taken aback by the question, and shut up embarrassingly.

The King of Nan'an County sighed softly, and said earnestly and earnestly: "The Xue family is also a hero of Conglong. Although his family's marquis position is lowly and small, it is also sealed by the emperor's pen. You openly slandered the son of the Marquis in public. …… At a young age, it’s a crime, and at an older age, it’s deceiving the emperor. What’s more, what happened to Xue’s family has a reason, no matter how you say it, it’s the concubine and Youyu who first humiliated the family’s family members—” “But…” The manager was unwilling Reluctantly said something, seeing Nan'an County King's suddenly gloomy face, he kept silent.

The king of Nan'an County glanced at the steward coldly, and said indifferently: "However... my Nan'an Palace is also a king with a different surname on the side of the illustrious side. Although it has lost its previous power and influence. But a skinny camel is worse than a horse. Big. His Xue family has made an inch of progress, forcing my Nan'an Palace to have nowhere to turn. But it is also...too arrogant."

The steward immediately said excitedly: "My lord is wise, that's exactly the reason. We must not let that kid from the Xue family be too arrogant, otherwise cats and dogs will dare to bully us in the Nan'an palace. There will be no one in the Nan'an palace. I also ask the lord to take action personally and punish that boy." What the concubine said, it would be best for that kid to go to the palace to plead guilty and serve tea to admit his mistakes. Only in this way can I return my name to the palace—”

Before he could finish a sentence, he suddenly heard a sinister voice outside the tent saying softly: "It's a beautiful idea."

Everyone was shocked when they heard the words, and raised their voices and asked, "Who is it?"

Before he finished speaking, he saw the red candle in the tent trembling as if being played by the wind.Before Nan'an County King could take any action in the future, he felt a sudden chill in his neck. Someone grabbed his throat and forced Nan'an County King to open his mouth subconsciously. Then a pill rolled into his throat, melted in the mouth, and disappeared in an instant.

It's too late, but it's fast.It was just a blink of an eye, and when everyone came back to their senses again, they saw a flirtatious young man dressed in bright red peonies sitting obliquely on the chair behind the big case.With long black hair like ink satin casually draped around his waist, beautiful eyebrows and phoenix eyes, fair skin with a kind of monster, ten fingers as long as green onions, he is looking at them with a relaxed face, playing with a squirrel in one hand. Embroidery needle with silk thread.The other hand holds a white jade porcelain vase.Seeing the suspicious gaze of Nan'an County King, the man took the time to shake the porcelain bottle and said softly, "Your blood...is stored here!"

Hearing this, everyone's faces turned completely blue.