Old things in the Red Chamber

After returning from offering sacrifices in the Taoist temple, Jia Lian took Jia Cong to the Zhongwuhou Mansion. On the surface, he wanted to thank the Zhongwuhou Mansion for the medicinal materials. His father was ill a few days ago, but in fact he still wanted to find out. Things about the palace and the concubine.

Jia Gu held his cup of tea and thought for a while, "Although the lady in the palace is not necessarily bad, she hasn't completely recovered, so she is raising her well. Speaking of which, she can't be forced, and now she can be saved. One life is good, according to the imperial physician, it is harmful to longevity, but it is better to have a life than no life, at the imperial hospital, we don’t understand that every time the pulse is checked, the book bag is dropped.”

Shi Taijun in Rongguo Mansion also said the same.

There is no other news from the palace for the time being, so it can only be regarded as good news.

Ever since the king of Xiangyang ran into Youshi's sister in a restaurant that day, he has taken a fancy to that pungent third sister.It wasn't because of her beauty or the girl's character that he was attracted to him, but because he wished to believe that there was something ulterior in this matter, why did he so firmly believe that there was something ulterior? , that's because he is very sensitive to certain things.

He is fond of big mouths, and being a censor is the best choice, but his own father, the King of Chu, feels that if he is allowed to be a censor, he will be sacked sooner or later.If he is restrained and let him spread some rich and powerful secrets, at most he will give up his face and serve tea to make amends. After all, both father and son are princes, and the King of Xiangyang is not a dude. Everything is neat and smooth, and he has made several meritorious deeds, big or small.

When the matter between Prince Zhongshun and King Beijing came up, the old man, King Chu, first wondered if his son had publicized the matter. When he went back, he found that his son was honestly studying at home---as for reading The king of Chu doesn't care what kind of book, anyway, his son doesn't need to take the champion exam, as long as he can read.

Some of his thinking is the same as that of Shi Taijun, who thinks that reading is the job of poor children, and they don't need to study.

Because the King of Xiangyang is keen on talking big, there are very few people who play with him, and the ones who have no worries are the four concubines. Father and brother will not point at him to preach.

The two hit it off immediately, and wandered out of the restaurant that afternoon, hooked their shoulders and went to the vicinity of Ningrong Street. Many of the maids who live here are more important maids. Much stronger.

In just one afternoon, the King of Xiangyang listened to many versions of what the sisters of the You family had to say about the two or three things that the sisters of the You family had to say with the second master Lian.

"Listen, listen, if those old men hear it, they will all find it indecent. Why do you think Jia Zhen is such a joke?" King Xiangyang rubbed his chin, "The men of the Jia family are nothing. I also told my father and king that there is no overnight hatred between parents and children in the world, and I thought why Jia Gu would not recognize his ancestors, and if it were me, I would not recognize him either."

"My lord, what are we going to do next? Let's go home." The fourth son-in-law felt that today was complete and he was in a better mood. He was keen to listen to gossip, and he was happy after listening.

"Let me tell you, don't you think everyone says something different?"

"Hey, they probably heard it from hearsay. Besides, if Jia Zhen really did harm to those two sisters, these people wouldn't have seen it with their own eyes."

"Yes, I plan to see it with my own eyes to see if Jia Zhen has been wronged."

The fourth son-in-law sat up straight in fright, "What are you talking about?" When he got nervous, he couldn't speak official Chinese fluently.

"Let's prepare some outfits for the next few days and be a gentleman on the Liang. What do you think?"

Not so good, the fourth son-in-law felt that today's three views were really refreshed, "The princess won't let me go out at night."

"Look at your future, this king will tell the fourth princess personally, and promise that she will not blame you"

After a few days, the two of them got ready to pack, found a brothel at night, and planned to come out in the middle of the night, but the sky failed, Jia Zhen was also in this brothel today, the King of Xiangyang felt unlucky, the protagonist was not here, why are there still crowds watching? On the spot.

Time moved forward so unhurriedly, there was a wave of disturbance in the palace because of the two princes, among other things, the empress didn't care about everything, according to the empress dowager's meaning, that is to say, the emperor can make the decisions.

Of course, in the harem, there are also those who want to fish in troubled waters. The six nobles sent to the palace by Liu Ge's hometown have long thought of smashing Liu Guiren's concubine into reality.Therefore, during this period of time, many concubines began to show their special abilities. The low-ranking concubines who met upstairs by chance were the high-ranking concubines who boldly gave soup and water.

The emperor is so angry that he is going to die, am I a faint king?Haven't I added a woman before?Am I that hungry?

The eunuchs were rewarded with all kinds of soup, and those who met singing, dancing, and enjoying flowers on the road were all handed over to the chief concubine, "Take care of the people in your palace. If you don't manage well, then Get another person."

The palace also promulgated a new palace rule, if you encounter Yu Jia, you must avoid it, and anyone who disturbs Yu Jia will be handed over to the Department of Punishment.

The Emperor Taishang also heard about the phenomenon in the palace, and called the emperor, "I know you are busy, and your daughter-in-law doesn't look good, and Xiao Jiu's mother is still lying down. You put your son with me, and I will give it to you personally." education."

The emperor was worried about this. Originally, there were few sons. If he raised two sons who were as virtuous as his own father, he would have nowhere to cry.

"Father, Brother Jiu'er has been entrusted to the Queen Mother to take care of them."

"Bullshit, father can still treat your two sons badly, you are both raised by me, ah, your mother can take care of me, but I can't take care of you," with a gloomy face, "I'm still afraid that I will raise your son to death obsolete"

The emperor hurriedly knelt down, "They are so naughty, it is their blessing to be raised by the emperor, but the mother is so rare about the little eleven, how about my son send Zhao'er to you?"

The Supreme Emperor nodded, but his face didn't look better, "Understood, hurry up, I plan to teach him to write big characters."

The emperor hurriedly retreated and found the Ninth Prince in the Imperial Garden. He and the Seventh Prince were squatting on the ground watching the ants.

After all, the seventh prince is old, and he knows that he is an older brother, and he even asks the eunuch of the ninth prince to feed his brother water, "The sun is hot and the weather is hot, drink more water, otherwise people will dry out."

The emperor was quite pleased to hear that, thinking that Xiao Qi is an honest boy, and Xiao Jiu is also a good boy.

Prince Zhongshun sat in front of the emperor, "You mean you are afraid that bitch Zhen will treat your son badly?"

"I killed her eldest grandson, do you think she can swallow this breath?"

Prince Zhongshun looked at the emperor's face, "Brother Zhongzhong is really struggling now, he is not pretending to be sick."

"I know that my son is still in his mother's hands. What I'm telling you is this matter, not whether loyalty will die of illness."

"What do you say?"

"From tomorrow onwards, you will enter the palace every day. If it is necessary, don't go back to the palace at night. Stay in the palace, and you will take care of my child for a while."

"No, father didn't like me when he saw me. If I stayed in the palace, he would definitely beat me three times a day. No, no, you can find someone else."

The emperor had a fierce look in his eyes, "Have you gotten close to an actor named Qi Guan'er recently? Believe it or not, I immediately asked someone to kill him."

"I listen to you, brother, I listen to you. Even if my father beats me to death, I will not leave the palace."

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief.Prince Zhongshun watched and asked carefully, "How long do I want to see my nephew?"

"It's as short as half a year, and it's as long as three years. As soon as loyalty dies, I will send his mother to accompany him. I originally wanted to let them go, but she shouldn't, she shouldn't have shot at my son."

"Zhao'er is fine now, father will not really sit idly by, how can a concubine compare with a prince."

"Father is old and confused, and he is no longer as wise as he was when he was young. You see, as long as the old woman pours him some ecstasy soup, he will immediately forget who his son and grandson are. I have found out now, Zhaoer His starling, if it wasn't for that old woman, he wouldn't have died in vain. The son I raised for a few years seemed to be getting stronger again, and he was gone in a blink of an eye."

"What you said is true, Qing'er didn't die of illness?"

"Zhao'er's mother, Hefei, is exactly the same as Qing'er, except that Qing'er is too young to hold it all night. Fever is generally considered to be a cold. If they hadn't attacked Hefei, I would I really believe that my son died because of the wind and cold."

Zhong Zhong thought for a while, "Stop talking, I'll go to Father Emperor now."

The emperor nodded, "Go ahead, Zhao'er is getting older every day, watch him and don't let him play crazy, teach him how to read."

The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and Shi Taijun's heart is also burning hot. There is a letter from the palace that the Ninth Prince is raised under the Supreme Emperor's lap. After Shi Taijun heard about it, he kept reciting Buddha at home.

Privately said to Yuanyang, "If the young men in our family are all born from concubines, if the old man is still alive, who does he support, wouldn't he want to pass on the family business to whom? This is still the case for our family, let's put it in the Tian family. , Do you think this is also the case?"

The mandarin ducks dare not speak.Shi Taijun didn't expect her to talk either, "Tell the second door master that I will go out to offer incense tomorrow."

"Go to the family temple?"

"No, go to Huguo Temple."

The people who went to Huguo Temple were all dignitaries. Shi Taijun wanted to see the attitude of other people. He didn't bring his whole family out like on the day of the funeral, but Jia Xichun and Jia Tanchun.

Sitting in a sedan chair, she took her servants and maids with her, and went out early.

When we arrived at the Huguo Temple, Jia Tanchun first begged for some things that had been enshrined in front of the Buddha to take back to Mrs. Wang, and said to Xichun, "My wife is feeling hot today, and she is not feeling well, and the corners of her mouth are bubbling when I look at it. This rhino horn cup is cold, take it home and give it to your wife."

The rhino horn cup is not cheap, because Jia Tanchun has no money, and it was Shi Taijun who finally bought the rhino horn cup in disguise with the incense money.She also met many old monks by chance. The favorite thing for elderly women is to burn incense and pray to gods and Buddhas.

"I said a few days ago that Sister Shi doesn't like to go out. Otherwise, I invited you to visit the lotus at the White Pagoda Temple a few days ago."

"It's hot, and I have to move. If it's going to be cold in a few days, I won't come out yet."

Talking and laughing, a lot of old ladies gathered in a spacious yard, a little boy stretched his head outside the door, looked at the rattan ball rolled into the yard, straightened his clothes, stepped over the threshold like a little adult, and faced A room full of old women bowed to pay their respects. "Greetings to my wives and grandmas, I'm here to pick up my sepak takraw ball."

"Whose boy? If you say it, you can choose it. If you can't say it, I will keep you and won't let you go home." A cheerful old woman really liked him and couldn't help teasing him.

This little boy is neatly dressed, with a chubby and round face, a pair of gold bracelets on his arms, and the gauze he wears is also a good material for self-motivation. According to Shi Taijun's vision, his family does not have such a good material, although It was he who spoke by himself, but there were also a few servants behind him. Presumably, he was also a child of a powerful family.

"Returning to you, my grandfather is Zhongwuhou, and my father is the chief official of Taipu Temple. My name is Jia Xuan, and I came with my mother."

All the elders looked at Shi Taijun, and some even said, "Oh, I'm not an outsider, old matriarch, your child is really a pain in the ass."

Shi Taijun never loses when he loses, "Come on, girl Xuan, come to the old lady."

Jia Xuan didn't really go with a wave, "I'm here to pick up takraw balls."

Someone nearby smoothed things over, "Oh, it's a girl, I thought it was a young master."

Shi Taijun laughed and said, "I like to dress up girls as boys."

Jia Xuan picked up the ball, put it under her feet, clasped fists with the old servants, turned around and ran away.After a while, Qi Jing'an took her back and greeted the people in the yard.

Many people asked her, "Is Lord Weng coming to burn incense today?"

The eldest daughter of the princess was named Wengzhu at birth, and the eldest son was named Captain of Qi, which was just a vain job with a little salary every year.

"I came with a few cousins." He pointed to Shi Taijun and said to Jia Xuan, "Come and thank this old lady. The jade hydrangea balls for you and your younger brothers and sisters were given by this old lady."

Other than that, Qi Jing'an didn't show closeness to Shi Taijun, but said a few words to some old ladies whose sons were military officers, and they came to Zhongwuhou's mansion for a banquet. He brought his mother and wife with him, Qi Jing'an had seen them before.

The elders praised Jia Xuan a few more words, seeing that the sun was getting low, and the people here also dispersed.

When Shi Taijun returned home, she felt uncomfortable again. Once she felt uncomfortable, the family members had to ask her.Jia Amnesty's illness has also recovered, and he also came to say hello on crutches. The brothers were in the upper room, and the female relatives hid behind the screen.

Jia Amnesty asked, "What's wrong with the old lady? Why didn't you invite the imperial physician?"

"My wife is fine. It's just that I saw the big girl from Xun'er's family yesterday, and she fell in love with her like something. If Xun'er is willing, I want to raise this good child." After speaking, she wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

Jia Amnesty stopped talking, and Jia Zheng actively suggested, "It will be the Grand Master's birthday in a while, or..."

Jia She interrupted him, "Xuan'er will also perform filial piety in front of her old brother on her birthday. If the old lady likes, she can raise the eldest sister of Lian'er's family by your side."

Wang Xifeng thought about it, this idea is also good, and the old lady has a private house, and when the time comes, there will be more three melons and two dates leaking from her fingers than she can get by herself now. "The old man said so."

Shi Taijun shook his hand, "Eldest sister is a good child, but I'm old too. When I see that child, I think of her father, and they say that my daughter, Father Xiao, was a lovely and loving child when I thought about it. Jia Gu, that heartless ..." Crying again before finishing speaking, Jia She shrank his head, not daring to answer.

Coming out of Shi Taijun's courtyard, Jia Lian supported Jia She, "Where is that Cong'er?"

"Let Cong'er take the exam, even the old lady can't see a young scholar." Jia She said, then remembered, "What do Baoyu and Lan'er say? They have studied for a few years, and it's time to end." Exam."

Seeing no one around, Jia Lian lowered her head, "My good master, please don't say anything. I thought about it, and I think it's fine for the two of us to know about Cong'er. If the whole family knows, we must assign someone When Baoyu goes to take the test for fame, it will be a wild ride."

Jia Amnesty thought about it, and nodded, "I originally wanted to use money to donate a scholar, but who knows that your uncle would not let it go, so that's right, relying on Cong'er's ability to pass the exam, when the time comes, your uncle will not be able to support others." Speak."

When Jia Lian returned to his and Wang Xifeng's yard, Ping'er waved to him quietly. He knew that Wang Xifeng was unhappy, so he gently lifted the curtain and walked to the side of the kang, "What's the matter? Oh, my eldest sister put it on Wouldn't it be better to be with us, I'm still not willing to send her to the old lady."

"Fuck your mother!" Wang Xifeng sat up, "Who doesn't know that the people raised by the old lady are noble, and the eldest sister can only be good when she is in front of the old lady, and there is no grievance to suffer. Follow us, is it you who teach me every day? Do I teach her every day?"

"You know that too," Jia Lian sat down, "I said earlier that we should not worry about such nonsense, it would be serious if we had a son earlier."

When he said this, he stabbed Wang Xifeng's weakness again, "Bah, I want to have a baby too, but I have to have one."

When Jia Lian heard this, you blame me for this, don't you?Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Ping'er outside shouted, "Miss Musk Moon is here, but she is a rare visitor, please sit down quickly."

Letting Sheyue to the elder sister's room to talk, the couple here couldn't continue to quarrel. After a while, Ping'er sent Muskyue out of the yard and brought two cups of tea. The husband and wife put a glass in front of each other.

"Why is she here? Baoyu's maids have eyes on top of their heads, why are you here today?" Wang Xifeng asked Ping'er with sideways eyes as she slapped her handkerchief a few times without drinking tea.

"She said she was sent by Baoyu to beg for ginseng. She also pointed out that she wanted the ginseng from Zhongwuhou's mansion. I said that we couldn't get them that ginseng. It was reserved for the old lady. Take one. The 80-year-old ginseng is used by them, who knows that they don’t appreciate it.”

Jia Lian asked, "What's the reason for this? If Baoyu really wants ginseng, he can tell the old lady directly. Whenever he asks, the old lady will not refuse."

"It depends on who it is for. If Baoyu eats it, the old lady agrees. If the vice ladies in his yard eat it, let alone the old lady, even the wife will not agree." Wang Xifeng took a sip of tea. , "The co-authors feel that we are soft persimmons and treat us as pawns."

Jia Lian looked at Ping'er, "What's going on? Baoyu is not that kind of person either. He is the most honest person."

Ping'er sighed helplessly, "It rained heavily a few days ago, Baoyu was drenched all over, but the girls in Yihongyuan closed the door to play with those mallard ducks, Baoyu called for a long time, and the attacker came to open it, Baoyu I was so angry that I thought she was a little girl, kicked her, and vomited blood. I don’t know who told me that it was a young man who vomited blood, and his life would not last long. I was trying to find ginseng supplements for the attacker.”

Jia Lian snorted, "If you dare to eat 300-year-old ginseng, you won't be afraid that your deficiency will not be replenished."

Ping'er also said, "What the second master said is true. Everyone thinks ginseng is a good thing, but they don't look at it. Not everyone can eat ginseng."

Jia Lian was upset, thinking that her cousin's girl could come to tell her what to do, so she slapped the table angrily, and then thought, "Why don't we move to live with the old man?"

Wang Xifeng disagreed, "Second Master, think twice, if we move away like this, it won't be easy to move back."

Neither to leave, nor to stay, Jia Lian was even more angry, a little girl outside called Ping'er outside, after a while, came in and said, "Uncle Zhen is waiting for the second master, she said she has something to discuss."

Wang Xifeng raised her eyebrows, "What can Uncle Zhen do? About drinking and playing with fans?"

Jia Lian stood up, "Men's business, you ladies and gentlemen don't care about it." He went out, Wang Xifeng was wronged, pointed to the curtain and said to Ping'er, "Who am I doing this for? I'm not for him, you bastard."

Ping'er hurriedly sat next to Wang Xifeng, "Second Mistress, don't be angry, no matter what, Second Master didn't do anything to offend you and Eldest Sister. It's better than that phoenix egg in our house."

Wang Xifeng wiped away tears, "You're lying, who doesn't know that Baoyu is a good boy, and the one who loves and cherishes jade the most."

"If it's really pity and pity, why did you kick him? You said you didn't see the person clearly, and thought it was a little girl who opened the door. Isn't the little girl worthy of his pity and pity? The gossip that has been circulating in the mansion these days is that your master doesn't know about it. Some nuns who have been there for many years said that some of the girls in Yihong Courtyard have broken their bodies."

"Is there such a thing?" Wang Xifeng asked.

Ping'er nodded, "Let me tell you, we might as well follow Second Master's wishes and move to the East Courtyard, where it's quieter than here. Besides, Eldest Master also has furniture, and now it's Third Master Cong. In front of you, don't wait until the end, you can't touch the one here, and you can't grab the one over there, neither side pleases."

"I'll think about it." Wang Xifeng leaned on the kang, and Ping'er took a fan from one side to fan her. After a while, Wang Xifeng asked, "Is there any gossip in the house?"

"Yes, it was rumored from Yihong Court that Miss Bao was doing needlework for Xi Ren one day, grandma guess what she did?"

"Don't talk about it with me, how could I guess."

"Baoyu's bellyband."

Wang Xifeng sat up, "Really?"

"Really, there are people who have a nose and an eye, and it is said that Qingwen used this to run on Miss Bao and Xiren."

"It seems that Miss Bao is the second grandma Bao."

"grandmother?"

"I am a niece, Miss Bao is a niece, if you are a wife, who are you close to?"

Ping'er thought for a while, "If I were a wife, I would be close to Miss Bao without anyone else. One would be the nephew's daughter-in-law, and the other would be the daughter-in-law. It's not obvious."

Wang Xifeng sighed, "I'll go see my aunt tomorrow, listen to what my aunt says, and then decide what we should do next?" The aunt she was talking about was Wang Ziteng's wife. Under the name, the relationship is naturally much closer.