Old things in the Red Chamber

Hefei's illness is definitely a major event for the Jia family.

At least for Jia Amnesty's family, it was a major event among major events. Wang Xifeng herself couldn't care less about arguing with Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Xue whether the Jia family wanted to marry another Wang daughter. She packed up her things and took the initiative to accompany Shi Taijun to enter palace.

"It's also a poor child. First he had a fever, and then he fell into a coma. The Tai Hospital also said it tactfully. You all have to be aware of it."

The queen mother met Shi Taijun only because of Jia Daishan's face, and sent Shi Taijun away without saying a few words at all.

After returning home in the evening, Mrs. Wang went to Shi Taijun's yard, and in the name of paying her respects, she discussed with Shi Taijun how to let the imperial concubine raise the two children of the imperial concubine.

"Although there are rules in the palace, the emperor will not refuse to ask the emperor for his concubine's affairs when he is dying."

These words encouraged Shi Taijun to persuade Concubine He. Shi Taijun knew what she meant, and she thought over and over again. In order to maximize the benefits, the grandson of the Jia family can only be taken care of by the daughter of the Jia family.What's more, the noble concubine's status is noble, and she is close to the concubine's blood, no one is more suitable except her.

In the Zhongwuhou Mansion, Jia Gu also asked Mrs. Tong, "Is it true that the lady is useless as rumored?"

Mrs. Tong nodded with difficulty, "In just a few days, her face was pale and her skin was slack. She was in a coma for most of the day, and she was talking nonsense when she was awake. Why did she turn into a stone? The wind blows through the gaps in the stone Hurrah passed through. He also said that someone was going to kill the two princes, so hurry up and bring the child back. I feel uncomfortable watching it."

"Whoever sees it will feel uncomfortable." Jia Gu sighed, "This disease is too strange."

"Licorice also said the same thing. She felt that Concubine Jia Gui could not get away with it. She said that in the few days before the accident with Concubine He, she came to talk to Concubine He every day, and even ate a few times. If it was normal, there would definitely not be any For this kind of thing, Licorice said that the imperial concubine always felt that she was a descendant of the imperial concubine, and now she is also the respected imperial concubine, and she looks down on the concubine and concubine a little. A few days ago, she used the excuse of your brother's second birthday to go to the Pixiang Palace for a few days God, it's confusing."

Jia Gu thought for a while and said to Mrs. Tong, "Go to bed first, and you have to get up early to go to the palace tomorrow. I have to think about it here."

In the middle of the night, the emperor's driving car stopped outside the Pixiang Hall. Licorice and the palace servants knelt down on the ground. The emperor opened the curtain with an old man, and put a silk scarf embroidered with dragons on Hefei's wrist. Go up and say "Please" to the old man who followed in.

The old man was wearing old clothes, with pudding on his elbows, he stepped forward slowly, and put his hand on the concubine's wrist.The candles in the Pixiang Temple exploded, and the emperor thought that this should be a good omen.

After a while, the old man put down his hands and followed the emperor out.At dawn the next day, the chief eunuch next to the emperor brought a bowl of medicine. After the licorice was poured into the concubine and before lunch, he was a little more awake.

Madam Tong thought this was a good thing, so she chatted with Jia She for a long time when she returned home, "The imperial physician in the palace is very good, seeing that people are almost useless, and finally rescued them."

Jia Gu was worried that this meant returning to the light, and said to Mrs. Tong, "Don't be happy now, let me tell you, when your mother really gets better, you won't be too late to be happy."

After thinking about it, Mrs. Tong felt that what he said was right, and went to the palace the next day, with no sadness or joy on her face. After hearing the replies from various eyeliners, the concubines thought that this is really a place to live.

A few days later, the noble concubine in the palace sent word that the female family members of Jia's mansion went to the Taoist temple to hold a safe offering, praying for the safety of the palace and the concubine.

Even if the noble mansion didn't spread the news, Shi Taijun still wanted to ask the gods and Buddhas for protection. After hearing this, she immediately set a date and told the juniors that she wanted to go in person.

When she went, Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang were bound to serve her, and Wang Xifeng would also go. She and Shi Taijun had the same heart, and they both hoped for a smooth and smooth marriage with the concubine.Since it was the noble concubine in the palace who passed the message, and she was praying for another empress, the others had no objection, and the time was set in three days.

Even if it is very hasty, for the Jia family, this is a big event for the whole family.A lot of people from the family came, the old ladies and grandparents of the same family were all sitting in small sedan chairs and carriages. They didn't care who they were praying for, and planned to follow them to Gaole for a few days.

Because there were female family members traveling, the servants in this mansion surrounded Ningrong Street early, and no one was allowed to walk on this street. Outside the gate, except for some carriages and sedan chairs of other members of the family, Ningguo Mansion and Rongguo Mansion All the carriages and horses in the palace were moved to the street, Shi Taijun was the first to get into the sedan chair, and she got into the sedan chair, followed by the second-class girls, and the big girls had their own cars.Then came Mrs. Wang, Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Xue, who were rich and honorable. Mrs. Xue was wearing a huge jewel ring, shaking a round fan inlaid with jewels, and wearing a lotus-colored silk gown.On Mrs. Wang's wrists are suet jade rosary beads, four or five high-quality jade bracelets, a gemstone collar button on the neckline, and exquisite jewelry on her head. She is also spirited. Sitting in the sedan chair, only She was alone, shaking the round fan, and she seemed very satisfied.Mrs. Xing is young, and her dress is old-fashioned. Compared with Mrs. Wang's kind of emerald jewelry, she has a gold hairpin on her head, gold earrings on her ears, and gold bracelets and rings on her hands, which annoys Mrs. Wang and Shi Taijun The big maids looked at her and pursed their lips and smiled for a long time.

A master can bring four or five servants, and an important master can bring more than a dozen villains, not to mention others, just Jia Baoyu, his four big maids, six second-class maids, eight junior servants. Si, and two wives.Jia Lian himself brought seven or eight servants along with him, and from morning to sunrise, the masters in front were already sitting and drinking tea in the Taoist temple, while the servants in the back were still holding handkerchiefs, mirrors, incense burners, and round fans that the masters used. Haven't pedaled yet.

Hey, majestic, many people looked down from the window of the restaurant and teahouse, pointed at the team, and said something, "There are two empresses in their family, it's amazing."

Someone said, "The Liu family has six empresses."

Someone laughed and scolded, "The six nobles can't be called empresses. Their empresses have been formally conferred, and they are raising two princes."

"No wonder, only such people have such a posture."

Jia Xun put down the wine glass, sitting in front of him was the son-in-law of the fourth princess, surnamed Li.On the left is Gu Yun, and on the right is a cousin of the emperor, who is now the King of Xiangyang County.

A few people were wearing casual clothes, met on the street outside, and went to a restaurant to drink.

The royal family of this dynasty is all kept in captivity in the capital, and they are not allowed to go out of the capital unless it is ordered by imperial decree. Although the king of Xiangyang County next to him is a prince, he has no fiefdom, only a yearly salary, and has errands, so he can live a more comfortable life.

Concubine Li's father is a great official in the frontier, and he has an older brother who arrived in Kyoto after the year to get married. He is not familiar with the noble circles. He originally went out with the King of Xiangyang for a visit. Things don't matter.But this person loves to gossip, watching the people around stretch their necks to count the carriages, horses and sedan chairs below, he opened the folding fan, motioned for his attendants to lift up the screen, and asked the king of Xiangyang, "My lord, you are in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Whether Liu Guiren wants to be promoted or not, we have already prepared the congratulatory gift for the fourth princess."

Liu Gui gave birth to ten princes, and the ten princes were raised in Liu Guiren's palace. Although it was inconsistent with the custom, the emperor would not open his mouth to confer titles, and no one dared to wrong the ten princes, but Liu Guiren would not take care of him.

Her expenses are still those of a nobleman, and Liu Guiren is not at ease. Since she was confinement, once the princesses enter the palace, Liu Guiren will definitely appear in the Queen Mother's Palace with the Tenth Prince in her arms, and give the Tenth Prince to the Queen Mother and princesses Please make an appearance in front of relatives in the name of Ann.

The princesses can be indifferent to the nobles, but they can't be indifferent to the prince, they hug and tease each time.Give him little presents.Therefore, the fourth princess still has a good impression of the tenth prince, his cousin.The point is, the fourth and fifth princesses, except for the eleventh prince who still eats milk every day and cannot see each other, treat the seventh, ninth and tenth princes very courteously.Especially the Ninth Prince, who can run and dance, roams around the harem since he was a child, and has a good relationship with his cousins ​​and relatives.

The fourth son-in-law loves gossip, and King Xiangyang has a big mouth.

Gu Yun pulled down Rajaxuan's hand from the table, and bid farewell to King Xiangyang, who was sitting on the throne, "I still have something to do in my office. Today, the accounts of the two of you are here with me. Chen and Jingzhi will leave first." .”

"Wait," the King of Xiangyang was full of gossip and wanted to talk to someone, let alone let them go, "Sit down, sit down, the yamen you sit in is nothing serious, every day the owner throws chickens and the west steals dogs, After seeing each other for a while, we must have a good kiss."

Pulling Jia Xun, "Master Jia, don't worry. In summer, your Taipu Temple is just a leisurely yamen. The lonely king heard that you drink tea every day and chat with kiln sisters..."

"My lord, you can't say that. If you say that, the minister will have to go to the Golden Palace to plead guilty." Jia Xuan thought to himself why you don't have a good mouth, you can say anything, let you go on, here I am The chief officer can hardly absolve himself of the blame.

"If you drank this meal with the lonely king, the lonely king wouldn't say anything."

"I didn't do anything...Come on, let me toast you."

The King of Xiangyang finished it all, and said to Jia Xun, "You, you are too far-fetched, why do you have to call me uncle." You and your daughter-in-law are cousins, so you can count as brother-in-law."

The fourth son-in-law held the wine glass and called brother-in-law.

Jia Huan also drank, thinking that it would be really hard to get away today.I can't escape from being stuck here, and I can't let Gu Yun get trapped, so I said to Gu Yun, "Aren't you going to ask for a doctor? Don't forget about this. Let me tell you, my lord, let him go now. His wife still expects him to invite a good doctor to give birth."

Gu Yun stood up, "Indeed, I have to go here, my lord, next time I will accompany you to finish the meal." Gu Yun reacted quickly, thinking that he would find a Jiahou later to drink too much, twisting his arms Or he was angry to trick Jingzhi out of the restaurant.The premise is that he can go out before someone can save Jingzhi.

"No, Yun Ming, did you do it on purpose? Last time your brother-in-law scolded me in front of you in the study, you just..."

"My lord, that's not the case. In fact, it was Jingzhi who spoke up, so I dare not delay any longer."

The fourth son-in-law looked at Jia Xun and then at Gu Yun, Jia Xun pushed Gu Yun, "Don't be naughty, I'm not going to get drunk with the prince's son-in-law today, let my daughter-in-law go to your house to see my sister tomorrow." .”

Gu Yun stood up and left. The fourth son-in-law looked ambiguous, watched Gu Yun go downstairs, and asked Jia Xuan, "Are you his brother-in-law? Have you overshadowed him?"

Jia Huan nodded and admitted that he is Gu Yun's brother-in-law, "If he is sorry for my sister, I will give him a brick, but I haven't found anything bad about my sister yet, so I will remember it for him first. When he commits a crime, hehe..."

Pour a glass of wine for him and King Xiangyang.Although the King of Xiangyang felt that it was a pity to leave Gu Yun, at least two people listened to him talking about the secrets of the palace today, and lowered their voices, "Let's not mention whether Gu Yun has other lovers, he is a trivial matter, let me tell you Xiao Jia, If you know me well, I'll send someone to watch over your brother-in-law." The topic suddenly changed, "Let me tell you, the emperor will not make that Liu Guiren his concubine."

The fourth son-in-law asked, "Why?"

The king of Xiangyang said, "The food of the Liu family is too ugly..."

Before he could finish his sentence, an arrogant voice shouted from outside the screen, "Get out, this place is taken over by our Ningguo Mansion today."

Xiao Er cautiously came up to persuade him, "My lord, there are vacant seats in the private room downstairs, and the guests above just sat down..."

Afterwards, Xiaoer was pushed down the stairs by the slave.

"You will be rewarded with two taels of silver."

Chang Sui, who was outside the screen, came in, and it was Xia Zhi who followed Jia Xuan, "Master, he is a second-class steward of the Ning Mansion. He retreated a little girl down the stairs. He is fine, except that his face was scratched. The Ningguo Mansion threw two taels of silver down."

The King of Xiangyang felt unhappy when he was interrupted, and he wanted to gossip with the four sons-in-law here, "Do you know the relationship between your cousin-in-law and Ning Rong's Second Mansion?"

The fourth son-in-law took a look at Jia Xuan, "I know, I heard about it not long after I came to Beijing, hehehe, brother-in-law, it's because your wife is the maid in front of the princess, and our wife made a special inquiry. "

Jia Xuan sighed, waved with the fourth consort, and said to Xia Zhi, "Leave them alone, it has nothing to do with us."

But the footsteps on the upper floor are chaotic. You don't need to look to know that people who eat on the second floor have gone down one after another. These days, people don't fight with officials, so if you can avoid trouble, you won't ask for trouble.

Those who eat upstairs are ordinary people, and when they go downstairs, they all listen quickly. The people in Ningguo Mansion also have a little discernment. When they see a few people guarding the screen, they can tell at a glance that the characters behind the screen are different. It's because the temperament and clothes of the servants of each family are different.The people in the Ningguo Mansion also saw Jia Xun's regular follower, so they went up to make connections, "Brother Zhao, is Uncle Xun here? I think the little one has no eyes, so I should greet Uncle Xun."

Xia Zhi turned around, took a look at the manager, found that he didn't know him, and talked to him coldly, "Our uncle is here to invite someone to dinner, I don't know who the uncle Zhen of your mansion wants to invite?"

The steward laughed, "It's not outsiders, it's our grandma's stepmother and sister, who followed our old lady of the West Mansion to go to Guanli to pray, and came here to rest..."

"I'm sorry." Xia Zhi didn't retreat, "Please go back and tell Uncle Zhen that we've just arrived, and it's not convenient to accept female guests here."

Just as he was talking, there was a sound of going up the stairs, and a female voice asked delicately, "Are you ready? Let them serve good wine and good food."

Behind the screen, the King of Xiangyang suddenly became interested. His biggest hobby is to say things that others dare not say. For something that is about to happen, he prefers to watch a gossip at the first scene.

The twenty-year-old county king winked at his two nieces and sons-in-law as if sitting on a pegboard, "That girl sounds like a little pepper, don't you think?"

The fourth son-in-law thought to himself, I don't care if she is Little Pepper or not, if I spy with you, if the princess finds out, I will sleep on the porch at night.

Jia Xun thought about Jia Zhen's wife's background in her heart, and after the teasing was over, she thought that Jia Zhen was not a good thing either.

Outside the screen, the steward coaxed the girl in a low voice, the voice was too low to hear clearly from here. Suddenly, the girl raised her voice, "Really? Since she is the man of my family, there is no reason for not seeing her."

Jia Huan's face turned dark immediately.The regular followers outside have stopped the woman.

Jia Huan really didn't want to care about this matter, thinking that she would let that woman make trouble, anyway, it wasn't her own person who lost it.He still picked up a chopstick dish quite leisurely.The woman outside said, "I heard that the elder of the Xifu looks just like your Lord Hou, and I also heard that your elder looks like Lian's son, so my aunt just took a look to see if she really looked like her. What are you afraid of? I'm not afraid, are you afraid?"

Jia Huan really couldn't take it seriously anymore, especially when the King of Xiangyang stared at him with scorching eyes. He said to Xia Zhi from behind the screen, "I invite Master Zhen to come and take this one away."

The steward behind the girl quickly ran over and ordered the maid to pull her down.

Fortunately, after a while, Gu Yun sent someone to look for Jia Xun in a hurry. Jia Xun knew what Gu Yun meant, and was afraid that King Xiangyang would say something rebellious and cause trouble, so he hurriedly resigned.The King of Xiangyang was very generous this time, and let Jia Xun go away with a wave of his hand.

When Jia Xuan went downstairs, the Jia family's team hadn't finished yet. Seeing this grandiose show, it was my pomp, and I thought of the staff at home who said "a centipede is dead but not stiff".Thinking of Concubine He who was struggling for her life in the palace, she thought that Concubine He was the last hope of the Jia family.

He hadn't gone far on horseback when he bumped into Jia Lian. When Jia Lian saw it was him, he yelled from a distance, and came jolting over on his horse, "Where did you come from?"

"In the yamen. What is this for?"

"The imperial concubine is going to have a funeral, and pray for the concubine." He lowered his voice, "Brother, tell my brother the truth, how is the concubine doing now? Our family has no intention to enter the palace, but the aunt goes to the palace every day, and the aunt comes back. How to say."

"It's the same as before, lying down all the time. It's not good or bad." This was Jia Gu's special order. In fact, Concubine He can sit up now.

Jia Lian sighed heavily, "Our house is in a mess now, the old man has been sick for the past few days, by the way, the medicinal materials that your family sent to the old man have been received, I was just thinking about waiting for the funeral, I will come to thank you What about uncle?"

Jia Huan was polite to him on the side.

Jia Lian looked around, pulled Jia Huan's rein on the horse, and pulled it aside, "Our house is in chaos. I heard from your sister-in-law that the second wife wants to invite the old lady into the palace to talk about it. Let the two princes be raised first. In the imperial concubine's palace."

Jia Xuan understood what he meant at this time. "I see, I'll go back now."

Jia Lian and Jia Xun bid farewell, and Jia Lian rode to the Taoist temple, where Taoist Zhang and Shi Taijun were talking.

Daoist Zhang has a relationship with the Rongguo Mansion, and he is casual when talking to Shi Taijun, and somewhat intimate when talking to the males of Jia's family.

He held up a tray and said that friends wanted to see Jia Baoyu's piece of jade. After a while, he came back with the tray and started talking to Jia's family.

"A few days ago, the little grandson of Jia Hou's family was ill, and the elder came to our temple to make a wish. Later, thanks to the blessings of the ancestors, the little grandson of Jia Hou's family was safe. That day, Jia Hou and the elder came here with the child in their arms. I saw it, and it looks a bit like Second Master Bao when he was a child, quite aura."

Shi Taijun smiled, "What I seek now is the safety of future generations."

In a word, Taoist Zhang naturally knew what she was going to ask the gods, so after talking for a while, he went down to make arrangements.

Shi Taijun had a lot of things on his mind, worried and restless, sat for a while, and said to Wang Xifeng, "Help me, let's go to the gods for divination."

I took two cashew-like things from a little Taoist priest, prayed silently in my heart, and threw them on the ground. The little Taoist looked at it and said, "Good luck."

Shi Taijun let out a sigh of relief in his heart, Wang Xifeng helped her stand up, and the two of them left the main hall door, Wang Xifeng asked in a low voice, "Is the old lady asking for it for the concubine?"

Shi Taijun nodded, "I asked the gods, if the second girl can overcome the current difficulties, it is auspicious. It seems that this serious illness is not dangerous after all."

Wang Xifeng rolled her eyes, thinking to persuade the old lady to completely give up the idea of ​​finding a son for the imperial concubine, but she also knew that this was not the time to say such words.Helping Shi Taijun back to the top of the theater.

Taoist Zhang is also there, and it seems that it is Jia Baoyu who is next to Shi Taijun, "I know a girl from a family who is quite educated, how about telling Bao Geer about a marriage?"

Mrs. Wang immediately concentrated, and Shi Taijun just smiled, "We Baoyu, we shouldn't have married early."

Mrs. Xue's fanning hand paused for a moment, then shook the fan, as if nothing happened.

Sitting under the Empress Dowager, Concubine Jia watched as the Empress Dowager took the Eleventh Prince from the wet nurse, hugged him upright, and patted him on the back a few times. The Eleventh Prince opened his mouth and yawned lazily .

"Oh, I want to sleep now, grandma's good grandson, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep with peace of mind." She hugged the eleventh prince and swayed a few times.

The eleventh prince's eyes were closed, and the wet nurse picked him up from one side, and put him down in his arms.

"Our Eleventh Highness is raised by the Empress Dowager just like a steamed bun. The concubine saw his back just now, and to put it bluntly, it looks like a small case. It's smooth." De Fei finished. , don't care if the joke is funny or not, anyway, everyone present covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and bent their eyes.

Concubine De looked at the Empress Dowager carefully, "I really like our Eleventh Highness, I beg you for a favor, so that he will eat milk and sleep in the future, so I can take care of him again, what do you think? "

Many concubines said in their hearts, "You have a good plan. If you take care of him, you will be your son."

Jia Yuanchun hated this kind of person who picked peaches halfway the most, thought for a while, "Concubine De still has to share the palace affairs, Empress Dowager, why not let the concubine take care of their brothers first, these few days, the concubine... the concubine... Always thinking of doing something for her, not in vain for my sister."

Many concubines were watching, and thoughtfully and flexibly that it was impossible for the noble concubine to take over the two princes. The high-ranking concubines were still thinking about taking over one, while the lowly ones were thinking that they didn't know how the empress in their own palace would be able to take over. There is no chance of winning, even if the princes live with the empress, but we can't stop us from being courteous.With a bit of love, when I get old, I will be taken care of by some people. Even if I am sent to become a monk outside the palace, the monthly expenses will be more than others, and the people who serve me will be more careful.

The queen mother looked at the concubines on both sides, flicked her nails and said, "Don't look for this palace, the emperor is your husband and the queen, and the queen is your mistress. In this matter, either the emperor has the final say or the queen It’s up to you. What I said, it doesn’t count.”