The Bandit Gentleman of the Red Chamber

On the third day after Emperor Qingde ascended the throne, for the first time, he summoned Lin Chen, the servant of the household department, alone in the imperial study.

Well, Lin Chen has been promoted to Minister of the Household Department because of his meritorious service in suppressing the chaos.It only took Lin Chen two years to go from the editor of the small Hanlin Academy to the minister of the third-rank household department. This speed of promotion is unique in this dynasty.

The newly appointed emperor and the newly appointed minister of household department looked at each other for a cup of tea in the imperial study, both of which were a little uncomfortable with each other's new identities.

But it's okay for them to be in a daze, the problem is that there are still many palace people watching in the imperial study.It was Lin Chen who reacted quickly, first bowed to Ji Wen in a decent way, and then said: "I don't know why Your Majesty summoned the humble minister?"

Ji Wen also came to his senses, waved his hands to get the palace people to retreat, and then said: "I've been busy for a long time, I finally found time to see you, is it possible that we still have to discuss state affairs?"

After speaking, Lin Chen was asked to sit down again, but there was only one chair in the imperial study room, so the two of them had to squeeze and sit down.Although the dragon chair is wide, the two of them insisted on being squeezed together, which was a bit of a rare fun.

Lin Chen gently hugged the other party's waist, and said with a smile, "I haven't seen you for a few days, but your majesty has lost a lot."

It's okay if he didn't say anything, but when he talked about Ji Wen, he remembered that he took the risk of going out of Beijing to transfer troops, and immediately squeezed the back of his hand, gritted his teeth and said, "You still have the nerve to call me! The party is outside, who gave you the courage to go out of the city! Could it be that the capital is full of dead people, so you have to go out to show the limelight?"

Lin Chen knew that he was worried about himself, so he hurriedly smiled and begged for mercy: "I didn't think that this matter should be done sooner rather than later. It's really hard to find someone else. Besides, no one dared to suppress Prince Zhongheng except me. Going out of Beijing. I have come and gone here and there, so I have no choice but to..."

Ji Wen was still resentful, and only said: "I'll spare you this time, but there will never be a next time."

"Your Majesty, you have just ascended the throne, so you should curse yourself for someone to plot against you..."

"Lin Zijia! You!"

……

The two laughed and quarreled for a while before Lin Chen said sternly: "You asked me to investigate the conspiracy case of the common man Ji Luo. There are indeed many doubts. Not to mention that it is impossible for Ji Luo to support so many troops. When he rebelled, the forces that cooperated with him inside and outside the capital were not something that a deposed prince could have."

"However, the people around Ji Luo are very strict. One of his aides couldn't stand the punishment and confessed that Prince Zhongshun and Prince Lian were also involved. But I don't know how you plan to deal with them?"

Prince Lian is Ji Wen's seventh brother, and Prince Zhongshun is Ji Wen's third uncle, both of whom are difficult characters in the clan.The shadows of the two of them are everywhere behind this conspiracy, but there is no definite evidence left behind, which means that it is difficult for Ji Wen to convict the two of them on the stage.

So it was a bit of a headache how to deal with the two of them, Ji Wen.

Let's deal with it more severely. Even Ji Luo, the chief culprit in the treason case, was only relegated to common people and not executed. The two accomplices must not be punished more severely, otherwise he would not be able to escape the hat of being mean and ungrateful.But if it is dealt with lightly, Ji Wen is not willing to just let these two guys who often stab in the back go.

He thought for a while, and then said: "Prince Zhongshun is not in good health now, so he simply gave the title to his son in advance, bypassing the eldest son, and selected one of his concubine sons to be demoted to the title. As for Ji Qing, this People are vicious and slippery, I have to think about it..."

But Lin Chen said: "If Prince Lianjun said, I have an idea here."

Ji Wen expressed willingness to hear the details.

"I've handled the case of the common man Ji Lu until now, and I was able to get Prince Zhongshun out by following the vines, but Prince Lian is as secretive as you said, and it's really hard to get the conclusive evidence that he participated in the conspiracy. Evidence. In addition, this person has a very good reputation among scholars, if you really deal with him, I'm afraid you will be called a cruel brother and disregard human relations."

"So I thought, right now, he has no position and no power in his hands, but he has some influence because of his extensive connections in the court. Now as long as the court is slowly replaced with new people, the king of Lian County will not be enough. However, just in case, in addition to replacing the servants of the palace, it is necessary to place a proper person beside him who cannot be dealt with at will to watch him."

Ji Wen knew that he must have a candidate in his heart when he said that, so he didn't ask any more questions, and just said: "Since you have an idea, just do as you want."

Although Ji Wen has become the emperor, the atmosphere between the two is still the same as before.

Lin Chen smiled and kissed his cheek, and whispered in his ear: "The minister went out of the palace to serve His Majesty. It's just that the mansion of the minister was completely destroyed by the rebels, and there is no place to live now. But I don't know if His Majesty will be merciful, and give half of the dragon bed to this humble minister tonight?"

Ji Wen quickly kicked him away.

Lin Chen left the palace in a good mood and turned to Rongguo Mansion.

The previous article mentioned that the concubine Ji Lu killed many court humeri in a frenzy, but the Rongguo Duke's mansion had long since fallen and there was no one in the court, so the whole family was safe in the chaos.

When Lin Chen came over, the members of the Jia family had already heard the news, and everyone was waiting at Mother Jia's place.

Lin Chen saluted Jia's mother first, then bowed his hands to Jia Lian, and said with a smile, "Here, congratulations to Lian's second brother first! The imperial decree for rewards in the palace has been drawn up, and Lian's second brother is waiting to receive the order. I'm afraid it will be just this or two days!

Speaking of Jia Lian, it was a mistake. Before the inner city was blocked, he, a few masters in the caravan and a bunch of rare treasures just brought from the Western Regions were trapped in the outer city.

Later, when the rebellion was over, the rebellious party fled everywhere, so he wanted to leave the goods behind and take the people back to the house to report safety, but on the way he met Ji Yuan's eldest son, Ji Yuan, who was fleeing for his life.He worked for Ji Wen in the past two years, and got to know several dignitaries in the capital. Although Ji Yuan changed his appearance and mixed in the crowd, he still recognized it at a glance, and hurriedly swarmed up with a few good hands to tie Ji Yuan up. stand up.

This time, Jia Lian could be considered to have made great contributions to calming the chaos. Ji Wennian, because of his diligence in his daily life, raised his credit a few more levels, and verbally rewarded him with the title of General of the Town, but he never made it clear.

Jia Lian got Lin Chen's letter of approval, and was so happy that he couldn't see his eyebrows. He made tea for Lin Chen and said, "I also want to thank Brother Lin for being by His Majesty's side and giving me so many good words, otherwise I would With this kind of character, being appointed as a general of the auxiliary country will be as good as the sky, how can there be today's glory."

His father, Jia She, is the general of the Fuguo. Jia Lian originally thought that he would not be degraded to the rank of a noble, which is already a mighty grace of the emperor. How could he think that he could earn a title and come back!

No matter what the people in Jia's mansion thought in their hearts, they all congratulated Jia Lian with smiles on their faces.

Seeing that everyone went to congratulate Jia Lian, Mrs. Wang was so angry that her teeth were itching with hatred. The house of the second bedroom was burned down by the rebels. Before the repairs were completed, their family had to squeeze into the Rongguo Mansion, which means that the house was a one-off house. If she didn't fix it, she would have to watch the big house happy for another day, and even the clay figurines were very angry.

Lin Chen exchanged greetings with everyone in Jia's family for a while and then got up to say goodbye. Mrs. Wang still had something to worry about, so she hurriedly stopped them at the second gate, and smiled at Lin Chen: "Brother Chen, you always You are well-informed, my aunt is here to inquire about something with you, and I heard that His Majesty has not welcomed a few empresses into the palace, what kind of regulations is this?"

Seeing that she really followed, Lin Chen didn't confuse her, he just said: "Auntie's question is wrong. How can I, a foreigner, know about the affairs in your Majesty's harem? But I heard a few colleagues from the Ministry of Rites mention it by chance. It is said that today I intend to welcome the empress into the palace before the funeral of Emperor Daxing, I think the empresses will enter the palace together when the time comes."

Mrs. Wang hurriedly asked: "Then do you know if your eldest cousin's title has ever been decided?"

Lin Chen said helplessly: "It's really not intentional to deceive my aunt, it's just that this is really a family affair of the emperor, and Chen, a foreign minister, is really powerless."

Seeing that his expression did not seem to be fake, Mrs. Wang gave up.

Lin Chen said, "I heard that the sisters from my aunt's natal family came to the house to avoid disaster because the mansion was destroyed, but I don't know where the whole family is now?"

He asked about Aunt Xue's family for no reason, and Mrs. Wang was inevitably curious about his purpose, but now she and Aunt Xue had already had a quarrel because of Baoyu's marriage, and she didn't want to meddle in the Xue family's affairs at this time. Just pointing in the direction of Lixiangyuan: "They are still living in the same place now, Brother Chen, if you want to find them, you can go there."

Lin Chen thanked her quickly, and went to Lixiangyuan to look for Xue's mother and daughter.

Not to mention how frightened Xue's family was when a relative of his who turned a corner suddenly ran into Lixiangyuan.

Lin Chen had a private conversation with Xue's mother and daughter, and told Aunt Xue about his plan, and said: "Although King Lianjun has lost his power now, he can treat Xue's family well."

It can be regarded as a good relationship.Furthermore, this marriage is a matchmaker guaranteed by His Majesty, if he becomes His Majesty, he will definitely not allow others to bully Ms. Xue, and Ms. Xue just wants to be a legitimate princess of the county, the most honorable thing. "

What he said moved Aunt Xue very much, but she still had some concerns: "It's not that I underestimate myself. Although we have the name of an imperial merchant, our family is just a merchant. I'm not afraid of your nephew making fun of you. The marriage of the second wife in the mansion has ruined the old bull nose. Now you say that my daughter can be a princess, although I am happy in my heart, I also feel strange after all."

Lin Chen was not in a hurry to answer her, but turned his eyes to Xue Baochai who had kept his head down, and said meaningfully: "It seems that my aunt has not understood what I mean, but Miss Xue should understand. I don't know that Miss Xue What's your plan?"

Seeing him talking to himself, Xue Baochai raised his head, his eyes were full of eagerness and excitement: "Leaving aside the other things for the time being, my little girl just wants to ask your lord, you said that this marriage is a matchmaker for the insurance company. After getting married, Is the little girl the concubine of Prince Lian, or the concubine of Dayong?"

Seeing that she really grasped the true meaning of his words, Lin Chen nodded in satisfaction and said, "If Miss Xue is really happy with this marriage, then of course it will be my noble concubine of Dayong County."

As expected, Xue Baochai didn't care about her worried mother, she nodded in agreement and said: "The emperor's order must not be violated, my daughter is a girl, so I will naturally follow the arrangements of today."

Lin Chen's purpose for this trip has been achieved, so he stopped talking to Xue's family, and only said to Baochai: "After leaving the country, His Majesty will give the girl a marriage, and the girl can rest at home and prepare for marriage."

As soon as Lin Chen left, Aunt Xue couldn't help but blame Baochai: "I still don't know what's going on, but you agreed to him with empty words, what kind of wit are you two playing."

Baochai hugged her mother with a smile, "Mom doesn't know, I'm afraid King Lian has committed a crime according to Mr. Lin, so I want to find someone to help keep an eye on him. Maybe Mr. Lin thinks I'm suitable for finding me." , and recommended it to the present.”

"King Lianjun committed a crime?! Then Lin Chen asked you to marry him?"

Baochai hurriedly comforted her irritable mother, and explained to her carefully: "It is true that the king of Lian County committed a crime, but his title of county king is real, and he died as a concubine. Once I marry, I will be a real county king." Princess, there are many benefits."

He said again: "Mom always thought that Brother Bao and I would be able to make it together. I can't say anything about this kind of thing as a girl, but my aunt knows that my mother doesn't like us. Otherwise, I wouldn't be engaged to Brother Bao so quickly. We If you are a merchant, how can your children's marriage be so high? Now that there is such a great opportunity, my daughter is not willing to miss it."

Aunt Xue still felt that this marriage was not a good match, but was stopped by Xue Baochai's few words.

Unlike ordinary women, Xue Baochai has always had great ambitions. She is unwilling to be limited by her status as a businesswoman, and hopes to make a difference. verse.

Previously, she pinned her hopes on the small election, but this time the small election is catching up with Guo Xiao, and she sees that she has no hope.But the news that Lin Chen sent today was like rain from the sky, which made Xue Baochai's whole heart come alive.

Although Lin Chen meant that the reason for her to marry Lianjun Wang was to make eyeliner for Jinshang, so what if it was eyeliner?She has not yet decided on her marriage. When she was young, she might be able to marry into an official family, but as she gets older, if she goes out of the country to talk about marriage, she may only marry the Xue family. Went to the same merchant.

Compared with marrying into a merchant, even if the princess of the county only has a name left, she is still happy.

As for Aunt Xue who opposed it, Xue Baochai only listed a few benefits for her after becoming a princess, so she stopped and focused on helping her daughter prepare the dowry.

After Emperor Daxing was buried in peace, Ji Wen issued an order to welcome his wife, Fang Shi, as the empress.Because in the filial piety period, the concubines except the queen just knelt down to accept the imperial edict, but there was no canonization ceremony.

Lin Chen was there when he was drafting the imperial decree, and seeing that he picked up the pen and proclaimed Chen the imperial concubine, he couldn't help raising his eyebrows slightly.

Seeing this, Ji Wen said: "Although Mrs. Chen came from a humble background, she gave birth to two children for me. Now that she has died unfortunately, I naturally want to give her enough honor. By the way... also give the eldest prince a lift."

Getting mixed up with Lin Chen, he can't expect to have other children in his life.It's a pity that the eldest prince has never been well-educated because of his mother's humble background. Now he is a little timid and needs to be taught well.Now that he is raising his mother's status first, it will be more legitimate when he becomes the crown prince.

Lin Chen naturally also thought of this, and his gaze became softer.

Stepping forward to embrace the other party, the atmosphere became quiet and sweet, even Lin Chen, who is as eloquent as Lin Chen, would not want to disturb the tranquility by talking at such a time.

Along the way, they have used each other from the beginning to the present acquaintance, from the most humble prince and little-known son to the king of a country and a rookie in the court.They tried to prove their hearts to each other, worked together to overcome the ups and downs, encouraged each other to get out of desperation, carefully planned every step of the future, and supported each other step by step to reach the peak of the country.

The ups and downs in it can only be experienced by themselves.

Fortunately, regardless of poverty or wealth, I happen to have you by my side.

——End——