[Red Mansions] The Road to Empress Dowager

Shi Zhang was shocked: "You guys can't even keep your name cards?"

Jia Lian said: "Our master is also used to ignoring the affairs of the officialdom. The entertainment in the mansion is always done by the second uncle. The second uncle represents the Rongfu. Of course, he can't use his own name card in many cases."

Shi Zhang took a few breaths and said, "Let your uncle come back tonight."

In the evening, when all the masters of the Shi family came back, they were shocked when they heard about Jia Lian.Shi Bai said angrily: "You are stupid! You are ridiculous. I knew he was not good enough for my little sister, but I never thought it would be like this. My poor little sister, what kind of life did you live back then... "

Jia Lian was clever, so he also cried for his mother, but Shi Bai couldn't ignore him, saying, "What's the use of crying now? It doesn't matter whether they have done it or not, this matter can't just go by. What if they do?" However, if you want to get rid of yourself, you can't bear the reputation of being ruthless. You can't be human, you can't be martial, and the ancestors in the family are oppressing you with your status. It's useless for you to compete with them. Don't talk about family ugliness Don't make it public, the reputation of your Rong Mansion is not very good. Now there is only this..."

In the largest restaurant in Kyoto, news of the rich and noble family of the court marquis began to spread in the market in recent days.

I saw a man with a three-strand green beard standing on a high place and said: "Guys, today Xiao Ke will not talk about the old tunes of "Three Kingdoms" and "Water Margin". I would like to chat with you about our court marquis in Kyoto, Some real stories about the Zanying family. It is said that the Rongguo Mansion in Kyoto has been passed down from the old Duke Jia Yuan to this generation. Since the current Lord Jia She is really unable to do anything, only the old lady decides to let the virtuous Mr. Jia Zheng lived in the Rongxi Hall where the head of the family lived. Because of this, outsiders misunderstood the Rongguo Mansion, thinking that the master who lived in the Rongxi Hall was a first-class general. But he is not the real head of the family, he just had to support his elder brother. Shi Shi, the first wife of the first-class general, was the young daughter of Grand Tutor Shi at that time. After her death, the old lady hired Mrs. Xing for Mr. Jia. Since this Mrs. Xing's natal family is not prominent, how can she serve the public when she enters Rongguo Mansion? The sympathetic wife of the second household, Mrs. Wang, is in charge. In this world, from the princes and generals down to the people of the Li people, there have been endless debates on whether to be a leader or a virtuous person since ancient times. Rong Guogong was afraid that he also had a headache. So , he made the eldest son the heir of the head of the family during his lifetime, and the old lady let the virtuous and upright second son's family be the actual head of the family for the sake of family planning. But this is a wrong to Master Jia and Mrs. Jia. They are all responsible for the affairs of the head of the house. After all, the government doesn't belong to them, so it would be better if Master Jia Er was established in the first place, wouldn't it be justified?"

Suddenly someone asked, "Excuse me, since this virtuous Mr. Jia Er is so virtuous, how high is his current official residence?"

The diners in the restaurant seldom listened to such detailed family affairs of the marquis of the court. Compared with the heroic story, they were not interesting, so they asked again, what kind of official the virtuous Master Jia Er is now, and what achievements he has made for the court.

The Mr. Pianxiang shook his folding fan and said: "Master Jia Er, before Rong Guogong passed away, played to the emperor, and the emperor enshrined him as the head of the sixth-rank Ministry of Industry. After more than 20 years, he has now been promoted to a member of the fifth-rank Ministry of Industry." Uiro."

Suddenly, an audience member said: "He is only a fifth-rank official family, so how can he communicate with those noble families? They all say that officials are very particular about rank. If the official position is too low, it will not attract people's eyes." of."

Mr. Mi Pian said: "What's so difficult about this? It's really an important meeting. Whether it's Jia Er's old mansion or Jia Wang's family, they all use the name card of Rongguo Mansion. There is still a duke and wife living in Rongguo Mansion. The grand lord's title is no matter what. First-class general. As long as he uses the name cards from the mansion and not his own, others will not dare to underestimate them."

Suddenly someone frowned and said: "I don't think this Master Jia Er is very virtuous. He is really virtuous. How can he live in his brother's house and use his name card to socialize everywhere, and his wife still manages his family? Just imagine." I thought, is it an ordinary family, is there a younger brother who lives in the older brother's house, and a younger sister-in-law who manages the elder brother's family's money? If Mr. Jia Er is really so virtuous, then it is time for him to relieve his worries and be loyal to the Holy One, and be promoted to an official position. In the future, the elder brother of Xijue will not be able to do anything, and he will be able to use his influence in the officialdom to assist his elder brother."

The audience thought about it at this moment, judged others by themselves, nodded, and said: "That's right. Even if the old lady is confused, any virtuous person who knows a little bit of etiquette should not be like this. You must sincerely help your elder brother and deserve to be an official. It is only right for the side assistant to persuade the elder brother, instead of allowing the elder brother to degenerate, occupying the elder brother's house and managing the elder brother's family business by himself."

Someone else said: "It's hard to tell whether it's good or bad. Some are true and some are false. The Duke of Zhou was afraid of the day of rumors, and Wang Mang was humble before usurping him. Will the Second Master Jia be the Duke of Zhou or Wang Mang in the future?"

Hearing this sentence from people up and down in the restaurant, they couldn't help feeling a little bit in their hearts.In a place like a restaurant, under the ancient productivity level, ordinary poor people can’t afford it. The people who come in and out are more or less family property or merchants from other places. Naturally, these people have read some books, and they naturally know about Duke Zhou and Wang Mang.

The guests in Tianzi No. [-] box leaned against the window to look at the man with the strip of bamboo strips. After eating, he took a sip of tea, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Sitting in front of the guest was a much smaller young man, dressed in a snow-blue brocade robe, with snow-like skin, eyebrows like willow leaves, misty eyes, and a light and graceful body.

With slender fingers, he took a piece of chestnut cake, put it into his cherry-colored lips, and savored it carefully. He turned his eyes and looked downstairs. There were still some people downstairs discussing the difference between virtuous and unvirtuous, true and false.The young man smiled softly, looked at the handsome young man with long eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and said: "This ancient restaurant is really a place where news and gossip gather. I heard that there were many storytellers in the market in the Ming Dynasty. a colleague."

There is no grand meeting today, so Tu Yuanyi can also find time to bring Xing Xiuyan out for a "date".Her dream is to meet once a month. He doesn't know if he can satisfy her, so he can only try his best.

Tu Yuanyi said indifferently: "That day... I also heard about you from Mr. Pian Pian from Gusu Restaurant. When I heard that it was related to Rong Mansion, I wondered if it was you, so I checked."

Xing Xiuyan smiled and said: "Fortunately, brother, I checked, otherwise, once you return to the capital, I will be far away in the south of the Yangtze River, and it will be difficult for us to meet. It seems that I am really destined to be in the business of bamboo strips."

Tu Yuanyi also couldn't help smiling slightly, looked at the people downstairs and pondered for a while, but said: "I'm afraid someone pointed out this piece of bamboo, how dare ordinary pieces of bamboo talk about the prince's house without even a false name?"

Xing Xiuyan said: "Oh, if you don't make excuses, wouldn't you be inferior? Don't you all pay attention to how many corners you say before you understand it? It's like diplomatic rhetoric."

Tu Yuanyi said, "Have you heard the subject of what Mr. Zhang Pian said?"

Xing Xiuyan pondered for a while, and said: "In the Rongguo Mansion, the old lady is in charge, and the power of social affairs is in the second room, and the eldest room is incompetent."

Tu Yuanyi rolled his eyes and laughed lightly, Xing Xiuyan asked, "What are you laughing at, brother?"

Tu Yuanyi pinched her little nose and said, "Be honest, have you done anything?"

Xing Xiuyan snatched back her nose and said, "I'm so wronged. I'll always be by your side. I'll never hide anything I've done. It really has nothing to do with me."

However, Tu Yuanyi was wondering whether the capital should be moved again. For example, useless plaster beams like the Rongning Second Mansion, how could they live in those two imperial mansions?After taking it back, it will be much better to reward his servants for meritorious service in the future.

But after thinking about it again, there is no rush now, the chaos of the Three Kings, many princes and ministers were killed and demoted, and there are still many vacant mansions in the capital.

After lunch, Tu Yuanyi and Xing Xiuyan were escorted out of the restaurant by guards in brocade clothes, and there were many hidden guards near the restaurant.

It's early winter, people are buying and selling goods, and they are preparing for the winter or even the New Year, so the streets in the inner city are very lively.Small vendors on the streets sell all kinds of goods, including rouge powder, fruits and vegetables, cakes and nuts, small embroidery, and calligraphy, painting and folding fans.

Xing Xiuyan just bought a small windmill at a small stall to play with, and dragged Tu Yuanyi to a small stall of clay figurines.

"Boss, pinch two clay figurines for me."

The old master smiled and said, "Girl, what kind of clay figurine do you want?"

Xing Xiuyan looked at her body, and found that the ancients were not blind. I really don't know what happened to those people who were dressed in men's clothes, but others couldn't recognize them.

Xing Xiuyan pointed to Tu Yuanyi and said, "Just make it like my brother and I."

The old master couldn't help but look at the tall young man, he felt that he was handsome and noble, with long eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and extraordinary bearing, and when the phoenix eyes cast a leer on him, he felt a lot of pressure.

After seeing it once or twice, the old master didn't dare to look more, and concentrated on pinching the clay figurine.After decades of old craftsmanship, the body, arms, and legs will take shape in a short time. The craftsmanship on the head should be more careful. The old craftsman also grasped the key points and carefully carved out the features of the man's dragon eyebrows and phoenix eyes with tools.

The woman is sculpted in a pretty direction, but her big eyes and black hair make people can't help but like it.

Xing Xiuyan took the two clay figurines and smiled, and said to Tu Yuanyi, "Pay."

Tu Yuanyi looked at Zhao Gui who was following behind him, Zhao Gui came out to pay the bill very sensibly, and took out an ingot of five taels of silver and handed it to the old craftsman.

Zhao Gui said, "There's no need to look for it."

The old craftsman said: "The little old man has been making clay figurines for 40 years, and he has always paid ten yuan a piece. The official can just give me twenty yuan."

Zhao Gui said, "Our Lord has rewarded you."

The old craftsman said: "I live by my craft, not by money."

Xing Xiuyan shook his head secretly, took out a silver coin weighing five renminbi, handed it to him and said, "This is five renminbi silver, please trouble me, starting from today, I will make clay figurines for 50 poor children. The five renminbi silver is mine. Your money in advance."

The old craftsman hesitated: "This..."

Xing Xiuyan said: "The old man should look good for the children."

The old craftsman agreed with a smile.

Xing Xiuyan held up the two clay figurines and looked at them with a smile. Tu Yuanyi turned his head away, thinking to himself that this "going on a date" is really too childish.And his clay figurines, no matter how you look at them, they are so eye-catching.

Xing Xiuyan smiled and said: "The eyebrows and eyes are so similar, and the proud mouth is also printed from the same mold..."

Tu Yuanyi glanced at it and said, "Childish, what does it look like?"

Xing Xiuyan squinted at him, and murmured softly, "It's just that you look alike, you don't know it yourself. This expression is the same as when I first saw you."

What she said was that when he was Uncle A Piao, he tied her hand with magic power. She begged him to let her go, and looked at her proudly and said, "I like to hold you."

Tu Yuanyi said, "But the clay figurine made in your image doesn't look like you at all."

Xing Xiuyan suddenly thought of the lotus root body that Tu Yuanyi made for her, took his hand and said, "Of course he, a folk artist, can't compare with elder brother, and the craftsmanship of elder brother is incomparable to others. However, there is no such kind of jade root here. "

Tu Yuanyi took the clay figurine, looked at it for a long time, and shook his head: "It's poorly made, if I... I made it for you in the past, you would definitely hug your legs and cry."

Xing Xiuyan couldn't help laughing, the two of them held hands, looked at each other with affection, and were passing by the door of a teahouse, when they saw a middle-aged man and a handsome young man coming out of the teahouse, bumping into each other.

The bigger the disturbance in Jia's family, the better for Jia Lian. As his uncle, Shi Bai couldn't bear the only son of his younger sister.

Although he couldn't write two characters of Jia in one stroke, if something happened to Jia's mansion, Jia Lian didn't need to take care of everything. Shi Bai thought about the matter of Cheng'en Gong's mansion, and three people cut off [-] acres of land.

Now that this situation is well known, everyone can also say a word of conscience and understand his incompetence and helplessness, so as not to commit a mortal crime.

Jia Lian has his father's prodigal and dandy temperament, but also has the younger sister's conscience and talent, so he can only be promoted for the latter.

Shi Bai had an aide, and he knew people from all walks of life in Kyoto, including Mr. Pian Pian from many restaurants and teahouses.Before that, his Muliao activities were doubled. The well-known teahouses and hotels in Kyoto have talked about the conflict between the Jia family's "establishing the virtuous and establishing the elders", and it finally turned into a discussion between true virtuous and hypocritical virtuous.This let the city of Jingzhong in the capital know that Rongguo Mansion is not actually the head of the house as quickly as possible, and the head of the family who is socializing with the New Year's etiquette can't see it at all, and the famous posts for socializing are all handled by people.

It's not bad to have this result in just a few days. Shi Bai accepted the result, and he only hoped that if they did something wrong, they wouldn't hurt Jia Lian too deeply.In the future, everyone will see whether he will be the Duke of Zhou or Wang Mang.

He asked for leave at the Yamen today, and followed Jia Lian to walk in the market in a low-key manner.

As a member of the Ministry of War, Shi Bai had to attend the Great Court Meeting, and Tu Yuanyi was always concerned about the affairs of the Ministry of War, so he and his colleagues were also summoned to confront the imperial prelude.What's more, there is also the beautiful woman in men's clothing beside him, Shi Rui and Shi Hui also said that the saint will take the imperial concubine and empress in low clothes to go on tour.

Shi Bai's knees were about to soften, Tu Yuanyi frowned and waved his hands lightly, Shi Bai stood still, but Jia Lian looked at the young and beautiful young man and said, "This little brother looks so familiar."