The Wang family of the Red Chamber has a wife

On the long field, a horse team is slowly marching.It was the scorching heat of July, and the sun was scorchingly hot, and the green tops of the rows of old poplar trees planted beside the official road were also withered, and the jasper-like leaves were baked and curled up, looking pitiful.The noisy cicadas in the past also stopped at this time, and a short cicada chirp suddenly flashed past from time to time, making this summer day even more boring.

"How long will it take to get to the capital?" The leader spoke fluently, the shadow cast by the brim of the straw hat completely covered his brows and eyes; seeing that there was no one around, he raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, with a little anxiety, He turned to ask the burly man who was a horse head behind him.

The big man was also very hot, the straw hat on his head was drenched with sweat, he took off with one hand and fanned the wind, revealing Fang Zheng's face, grabbed the water bag hanging from the horse's neck, pulled out the cork and grunted Gollum took a breath.Hearing this, he put the straw hat back on, and opened the front of his clothes a little: "I guess it will take another two days! This damn weather is really hot! Huh——"

Caressing the horse that had stopped and trampled anxiously on the ground, the leader thought for a while, raised his whip, and pointed to a dense forest not far away: "Go there to have a rest, and then go find some water plants for the horses—then go Go on, I'm afraid they won't be able to hold on! Let's go!" After finishing speaking, he patted the horse lightly and walked slowly towards the destination. .

A group of people followed behind, the wheels of the wheels, the horseshoes clattering, and the dust was flying up.

After entering the poplar grove, it became cool in an instant.The burly man who led the way tore off his half-opened skirt all at once, revealing a bronze-colored muscular chest, with something like a whistle strung together by a silver chain, which was very rough.

"Bali! Put away the eagle whistle, so that outsiders will be suspicious!" The leading man raised his head, his deep outline and those dark eyes looked very mysterious, his appearance was fair and clean, and he looked at Like an elegant scholar, people are very fond of: "The weather is so hot, but the trees here are still so dense and lush, there must be a water source nearby! Now that you have rested, go find it first!"

The rough man named Bo Li smiled, nodded, whistled, and saw the horse he was riding walking up to him: "Long Gang, I'm going! You wait !"

Seeing Boli slowly leading the horse disappear, a thin and short man approached: "Officer Longgang, this time I went to the capital and found the daughter of the Holy Maiden of Helan. Bring her back?"

Hearing this, the rest of the people were either unloading the truck or drinking water, they all stopped and turned to Long Gang.

Longgang's eyes darkened, he shook his head, took a sip of water with the water bag in his hand, and felt that the dryness in his mouth hadn't been alleviated at all: "The Holy Maiden of Helan is dead, her daughter is missing, maybe she has already encountered misfortune—— Let's take the remains of the Holy Maiden of Helan back to the Tianshan Mountains and bury them next to the snow lotus!" He paused: "This time our power in Da'an was weakened by the emperor, fortunately we have this opportunity to do business. You must remember to act carefully, and don't act rashly to let others notice! The daughter of the Holy Maiden of Helan, I will go find it myself!"

"Yes!" Hearing his seriousness, everyone's eyes froze.

The group rested for a few hours, took out the dry food they had prepared in advance, and ate some. After the sun was no longer so strong, the horses drank enough water, and they started on the road again.

"In the previous wars, the status of Chengqiang merchants in Da'an has plummeted, so you must not conflict with others! After entering the trading company, separate each other and communicate with each other according to the new method. After the matter is completed, you will go back first— —" Traveling around for another two days, looking at the majestic and tall city gate in front of him, and the majestic and magnificent bearing of the capital of a country rushing towards his face, Longgang ordered again.

In the battle between Daan and Chengqiang, after a complete victory, there is no need to endure and give in to Chengqiang. However, Chengqiang has a lot of supplies that depend on trade with Daan; Silk and exquisite porcelain, such as tea and salt, which are inseparable from the daily life of the Chengqiang people but not produced, such as the high-yield seeds in the Central Plains... These are the reasons why Chengqiang attacked Da'an at the beginning, but Da'an won However, it became a sharp weapon used by Da'an to restrain Cheng Qiang.Even though the Chengqiang people were jealous and unconvinced, they could only sign a series of terms and agree to various requirements of Da'an, just for the smooth progress of the trade between the two countries.

"Come here to compare documents!" A soldier guarding the city looked at a group of people here, yawned lazily, and shouted loudly: "Chengqiang merchants over there, come here!"

Seeing that the soldier's attitude was not friendly, Long Gang got close to see that his appearance was ferocious, and his brows were slightly frowned, but thinking about the current situation, he nodded, turned around and signaled for himself and the others to take out the certificate of customs clearance .

The soldier checked the seal on it quite casually, put it together and threw it back: "Go from here, go directly to the business store to check the seal, and don't wander around until you get the ID card! Otherwise, ask the Imperial Guard to do it carefully." It's not a joke to catch it! Let's go—" He explained the matter briefly and clearly according to the usual practice, and then he continued to sit behind the table, squinting his eyes and humming a little song in boredom.

His hands tightened tightly. Before Longgang came, he never expected that Daan's treatment of Chengqiang people would be so guarded against him. He forced a smile, and quietly covered a bright red grain with his wide sleeves. The gem stuffed it over: "Why is it so strict now? Wang Bingye told us that this is the first time for our team to come to Da'an, and we still want to visit the rich terroir of Da'an!"

After all, the soldier was also a small gatekeeper. He came and went without knowing how many merchants he had received, so he naturally had a bit of unique vision. When he saw clearly what the merchant was stuffing in his hand, his pupils shrank, and a glint appeared in his eyes. Gleeful and greedy, he put the ruby ​​into his arms calmly, and his smile was quite sincere: "You guys still know some etiquette, so I'll tell you about it—a while ago at Caishikou Just now, three ministries were cut off, and they were cut off for walking around to spy on the news. If you want to go shopping, then go to the Ancheng City Office set up in Dongshi City. Deal!"

beheaded!The word fell into Longgang's ears, and his hands trembled unconsciously. Those who could be sent to Da'an were masters trained and trained by Cheng Qiang with great effort, but they were folded here, the details of being executed. What good burial can one get?Longgang couldn't help feeling sad.

"Thank you, Master Bing, for your guidance!" Long Gang restrained himself from clasping his fists at the soldier and saluted: "Then I'll go to the trading company to check the seal!"

Looking at the backs of the group of people going far away, and at the rut marks of the carriage on the ground, the soldier blinked suddenly, took out the ruby ​​in his arms, sneered disdainfully, and threw the thing directly to the next one who lowered his head. The little soldier: "Put it away and register it! Tell people to follow, these people are not ordinary businessmen!"

……

Wang Ziteng returned home in a hurry. Seeing the empty and quiet east wing, which was always full of laughter and laughter, he couldn't help but feel puzzled. When he saw the little maid passing by the door, he hurriedly called out: "Madam and brothers and sisters!" Woolen cloth?"

The little maid was taken aback, and when she turned her face to see the person who made the sound, two beaming dimples immediately surfaced at the corners of her mouth.Wang Ziteng recognized her as Mo'e, who waited on pens and inks in his wife's room. She was only eight years old this year, and she spoke dexterously. She was very popular with his wife on weekdays.

"Go back to the lord, the wife is in the girl's yard with the wife of Jia's family! Even the second master Ce is there too! The servant girl was ordered to come over to fetch things for the wife—" She said, holding the tray in her hand Pick it up and show it to Prince Teng.

As soon as he heard that Mrs. Jia was there, Wang Ziteng took a break from looking over there, thought for a while, and told Mo E: "Remember to tell your wife that I am back, and you don't have to go on duty this afternoon." , I have two days to rest and take a bath tomorrow, I plan to take her and the children to the Zhuangzi for a walk to escape the summer heat, since we are in the girl's yard, let's pack up the things along the way!"

Mo'e was overjoyed when she heard the words, responded repeatedly, and ran out quickly.

The courtyard where Wang Lingsheng lived alone was called Yunzhu Xiaozhu, and various flowers and trees were planted, scattered and colorful, very elegant.Mo E had just entered the yard when she heard a burst of laughter coming from the back room, she tilted her head to listen carefully, she couldn't help laughing too, rubbed her stomach and lifted the curtain and went in with a tray.

I saw two little boys in the room with exactly the same attire. They were both wearing sapphire-colored double-breasted brocade robes. The delicate and tender color set off the complexion of the two little dolls as snow-white as if carved from white jade. Their waists were the same color. It is a jade bi with pine-colored ties, the difference is only between the eyebrows, one has a little cinnabar dotted on it, while the forehead of the other is very smooth.

"It's really not bad except for her stature!" Zhang slumped on the imperial concubine chair and giggled, and looked reproachfully at Shi Qingwan, who was also laughing so hard that she couldn't straighten her waist: "It's hard for you to do this Ghost, I want to come out like this! Hey, hey, it’s so cute! Hurry up and tell me to take one home!"

Seeing Mo E at the door, Shi Qingwan beckoned her over, and smiled smugly and proudly: "You just said that it's very pleasing to look at like this? Let me show you something nice—" Chang'e rummaged through the tray she put down, and brought out a small porcelain doll: "Come and identify which one is this?"

Looking at the eyebrows and eyes of the porcelain doll, Mrs. Zhang thought it was very familiar, and when she looked at the two little dolls below, she suddenly understood, clapped her hands and praised: "This must be made according to Brother Ce and Sister Sheng! It's just...they are exactly the same, how can you tell which one it is?"

Smiling happily, Shi Qingwan gently turned the porcelain doll over with her hands: "One side is a brother, the other is a sister, and a mother is a compatriot. Isn't it interesting?" Wang Congce is wearing a robe with a small wooden sword, and Wang Lingsheng is wearing a pink Confucian skirt on the other side, and Wang Lingsheng is embracing flowers and branches. He can't see the back from the front, which is a skillful hand.

Wang Lingsheng saw his mother chatting happily with Aunt Jia's family, she pouted, staggered to Shi Qingwan's side with some discomfort, and lay on her lap: "Mother, how long will I have to wear this? It's so uncomfortable!" According to Shi Qingwan's preference, most of Wang Lingsheng's clothes are wide robes with large sleeves, which are quite Wei-Jin style. According to Wang Ziteng, who loves his daughter, "he looks like a fairy", and he suddenly wears this kind of men's clothes with narrow sleeves. But it was difficult for her.

"My dear Sheng, when your father comes back, show him how handsome our Sheng is before you take it off, okay?" Thinking of Wang Ziteng's reaction, Shi Qingwan burst out laughing.

Hearing this, Mo E hurriedly remembered what Wang Ziteng ordered earlier: "Return to Madam, the master has already returned, and he said that he will not be on duty this afternoon, and he will take you and the uncle and the girls to the Zhuangzi to escape the summer heat." Woolen cloth!"

"In that case, I won't bother you! I'm sorry you and your husband have taken care of Jia Zheng's affairs before, or else..." At this point, Mrs. Zhang shook her head, stopped talking, and sighed.

Shi Qingwan held her hand, with a smile on her lips, she said slowly, "Why do you say these outrageous things? When my family went to Beijing, you also took good care of him... The relationship over the years is gone. , is it possible that we can still watch you being implicated for nothing? Speaking of which, this matter has something to do with us, there is no reason not to intervene!"

"I won't talk about it anymore. Besides, it's about birth—" Mrs. Zhang nodded, looked up at Wang Lingsheng's big eyes that were looking up at her, bent down and gently pinched her little cheeks, smiling. Said: "Speaking of which, in the past I was always reluctant to touch Sister Sheng, but now she is dressed like this, she looks so much like Brother Ce, I don't have any scruples to worry about..."

Facing the clear eyes of the two children, they laughed again.

Seeing off Mrs. Zhang, Shi Qingwan simply hugged Wang Lingsheng and went to the main courtyard. Wang Ziteng, who was drinking tea, was stunned when he saw the way the brothers and sisters were dressed, and immediately burst out laughing: "Sheng'er is dressed like that." But she is more handsome than Ce'er!" He took Wang Lingsheng and hugged her in his arms, seeing her round face trying to put on his brother's serious expression, he couldn't help laughing again.

Shi Qingwan watched the father and "son" play happily, smiled, and took Wang Congce's hand and sat aside: "Speaking of which, Brother Ce can go and see the plants you plant this time. That little sapling!"

"Well——" Wang Congce has long been accustomed to his father's preference for his younger sister, and he loves his younger sister very much, so he is very indifferent, tilting his head and nodding: "The chestnut tree I planted must be better than my brother's peach tree. morning!"

Shi Qingwan resisted the urge to laugh out loud, and patted the top of his head solemnly: "Well, our peach trees in Ce Geer will definitely bear fruit immediately!" Chuang Tzu, let him find out for himself.

Together with Jia Hu, Wang Congzhen was sent to study under Zhang Shengan, the former cabinet scholar who was retired and honored, that is, Zhang's father. Sheng'an's favorite.Now he studies at Zhang's house every day and only returns in the evening, making Shi Qingwan both distressed and relieved.

The whole family lacked five and one, and went to Zhuangzi when Wang Congzhen came home.

"Why are you going to escape the summer all of a sudden?" Shi Qingwan arranged for the two young ones to go back to the yard to see what they had to bring. Shi Qingwan was a little puzzled as she packed up her clothes.

Wang Ziteng knew that his sudden decision could not be concealed from his careful wife, so he simply said: "This morning, the emperor was furious for some reason and wanted to imprison the second prince. Concubine Chen took off her hairpin in front of Chongxiao Palace. Pleading guilty, the emperor appeased his anger, and punished the second prince to kneel in the Fengxian Hall; Boqie told me in private that the third prince's side—the Zhen family is also a little abnormal, and I'm afraid that the emperor will make a big move in this case, and the capital will not be safe. Chuang Tzu's side is better! You stay there for a few more days, and while you're at it, you won't attract attention..."

Listening to this series of changes, Shi Qingwan sighed endlessly.

She looked at the red sun in the sky and the sunset, the tired birds returning to the forest, the twilight like smoke and fog, and the colorful clouds rolling and flying like waves in the sea.I don't know when this turmoil will calm down, maybe...by then, the sky will have changed!