Aristocratic family's career in the Red Chamber

Time flies by in a hurry, ten years is enough to change the fleeting years, and everything is different.

Jia Hu is no longer the delicate and smart child he was back then. His beautiful facial features are open, his eyebrows are lighter, but his eyelashes are long. His eyes are slightly larger than ordinary people, and the corners of his eyes are slightly raised. She has an unmistakable charm, her nose is straight, her lips are red because of martial arts, her complexion is as fair as a woman's, but she still has a gentle and refined taste. The man secretly cursed "little boy" when he saw jealousy, but he couldn't admit it , Jia Hu's title of "elegant gentleman" is really well-founded.As for the female relatives, such a handsome person is a joy to look at, not to mention the polite attitude, outstanding family background, and the best son-in-law in the hearts of the wives.

Jia Hu drove back to Rongguo Mansion from Xu's house on horseback. He was still thinking about the suggestion of the first master on the way. He Si, the servant at the door, saw him and greeted him early: "Oh, my young master, why did you go so long?" ? Madam has been looking for you several times, but I haven't seen you yet."

Jia Hu handed over the reins to the servants, walked all the way in, and said all the way: "Did you tell mother that I went to the master's place?"

He Si made a bitter face: "Of course the little one said it, but the little one is your personal servant. When you went out, the little one didn't follow you? Madam didn't say anything, but the little one was really flustered." .Master, you can't do this anymore, I want to go out with you too."

Jia Hu glanced at him: "I want to take you out, but don't you know how to ride a horse?"

When He Si talked about this, his five sense organs were all crowded together, and his mouth was bitter: "You said you, young master, how can such a gentle and learned son like martial arts so much? I see that other sons always go out in a carriage. Yes, it’s just you, you like to ride a horse. You can’t ride a horse, you can’t keep up with you. You said that you can slow down in the downtown area, but in the remote place, I can’t keep up with you all the way. You. It’s not just me, isn’t Li Mao also unable to keep up with you? Those young masters in Beijing, when they play polo, there are very few who can match you, let alone us servants. Young master, Why don't you go out in a carriage, the little ones are easy to serve you, who is like you when you go out without anyone around you? The little ones know that you are good at martial arts, but most people don't? If you want to be as good as last year? Surround yourself with open eyes, the young master will teach them that it will take a lot of effort..."

He Si babbled on and on, but Jia Hu wasn't annoyed, and walked ahead unhurriedly, thinking about Zhang's looking for him, that's all. In the next spring, if he wins, he will be a candidate. After that, we will look at the results in the palace examination. I am afraid that Mrs. Zhang is not only worried about his grades, but also thinking about his marriage.

Speaking of which, he is actually seventeen years old this year, and he is already eighteen in false age. It is indeed too late if he does not get married. After the imperial examination is over, there will be a draft. He wants Mrs. Zhang to help see if there is any suitable candidate for his wife. .By the way, I also help Tu Youhao pick and choose. I don’t know what I think about the last draft. I haven’t mentioned him. There has been no movement in the next three years. The third prince seems to be with the inspector Zuo Du Yushi’s family. The daughter-in-law is settled, but it's just a finale of the poor draft. Here, Tu Youhao hasn't even decided on a personal choice.

I don’t want to be the same as the third prince. The future wife’s family will be the second-rank censor’s daughter, with Qingliu as her back. I just want to be of outstanding character, virtuous and capable, and help the fourth prince to manage the backyard. Don’t let the inner courtyard catch fire. That's good.The fourth prince will be seventeen this year, and if he gets married, he will be an adult, and he will be able to receive errands...

He Si called back his scattered thoughts, and Jia Hu paused to see that he had already reached the second gate. He Si reported to him: "This morning, the wife came to see you, and the second master also came. You came to ask something, and left when you were away. The little one asked, and then went to the Martial Arts Field to play with Brother Rong from Dongfu. Brother Rong was young, and the second master didn't use a sword. Practice archery there, and teach Brother Rong along the way. At the second master’s place, the second wife came to pay her respects to the old lady again, the carriage frame is still in the stable, and the servants have fed the fodder, but they haven’t left yet.”

Jia Hu nodded to show that he understood, and told him to go back first: "The list will be released in two days, and now I'm free, you don't have to stay here, go back and rest, I won't go out today."

After dismissing He Si, Jia Hu stepped into the inner courtyard.This place is obviously different from the front yard. Compared with the magnificent and magnificent scenery on the road before, there are obviously more enchanting colors of flowers and plants here. The layout of the house was changed according to my own wishes. The two flowers and plants went to the ones that were difficult to take care of, leaving only the chrysanthemum, begonia and lilac that were easy to feed. Large-scale, using the usual scene-segmenting method in Suzhou gardens, one scene at a time, from here through the small window, the purple lilacs are bright and fresh, and when you walk through the corridor, you can see chrysanthemums blooming under the plantain forest.Most of the flowers and plants have no fragrance or only light fragrance. When they are put together, the fragrance will not be pungent.

Looking at the surrounding pillars, in the early years when Jia's mother was in charge of the house, she liked gold, powder and silver ornaments, which were magnificent, but Mrs. Zhang didn't like this kind of show-off of wealth. She repaired the house several times in ten years, and took the opportunity to go to those dazzling people's eyes. The decoration is only to ask people to carve auspicious bat patterns, and carve auspicious beasts of good luck to embellish it.

Walking into the Rongxi Hall again, the appearance has changed a lot from when Jia Mu lived there. The plaques in the main hall are still good, but the left and right side halls are side rooms. Mrs. Zhang asked people to collect most of the gold and jade utensils, and replaced them with Jia She himself. I like the antique bronze wares. I am afraid that they will be too masculine, so I put Ru Kiln beauty vases, and put fresh flowers with light fragrance.Because the smoker cage was gone, only seasonal fruits and vegetables were placed on the table, and they were not eaten, only used to smoke the house.The cushions and blankets used on the table on the kang are all knitted and spun dark embroidered cloud brocade. It looks simple, but if you touch it carefully, not to mention the texture and texture, just the thoughtfulness alone is enough to make people marvel.Mrs. Zhang used this house to entertain Mrs. Qingliu several times, and everyone was full of praise.

Jia Hu is getting old now, even if it is his own mother and child, it is not easy to run into Zhang's house and ask around what Zhang is doing. Knowing that Zhang is having lunch, he can't help frowning, it is getting late, how did he get it? Eat now?I also thought about Mrs. Wang's visit today. I'm afraid that Mrs. Jia would ask Ms. Zhang to come over again. Of course, she would not make things difficult for Ms. Zhang, but she is very polite, and Ms. Zhang and Ms. Wang will serve on her side for meals, and she alone will count. Yes, there is Yuan Chun, who is in the second room, raised by Jiamu. Mrs. Zhang has suffered a lot. When eating at Jiamu's place, she only picks up a few mouthfuls. When she returns to her room, she will ask the small kitchen to make another one. I don't want to come today. Same.

Jia Hu didn't ask anyone to tell Mrs. Zhang that he was coming, but waited until she finished eating, so that Mrs. Zhang would not use up her meal just to see him.At the same time, someone called Danyun, who was serving by Mrs. Zhang, and asked her: "I'm at the old lady's place today, is the lady okay?"

Danyun was serving Mrs. Zhang five years ago. Hearing this, he said with a smile: "My wife is fine, but I feel a little uncomfortable. The wife of the second room came here today and said that she was diagnosed with pregnancy. The old lady is happy. I dragged her to talk a lot in front of me, and the wife sat at the bottom. I saw that the old lady didn't say a few words to our wife all morning, and only cared about the second wife. But the wife didn't care. Talking and laughing. During the meal, because the second wife was pregnant, the old lady didn’t let her serve dishes, and our wife didn’t have any dishes, so we sat together. The wife seemed to have no appetite and barely moved her chopsticks. Come back Just say I'm hungry."

There are some things that are hard for servants to say, but Danyun is smart, and only said that Mrs. Zhang has no appetite, and never mentioned anything else. Jia Hu also nodded in satisfaction and said: "Grandmother likes those big oily ones, mother always likes to be light, strange way will I don’t have an appetite. How about eating after you come back?”

When Danyun talked about this, he laughed even more: "My wife has a good appetite today. I used up a whole bowl of red imperial rice, and I also ate a small dish of shredded chicken skin and bamboo shoots. I have written down the small one. I will let the kitchen eat it tomorrow." Do."

Jia Hu was also happy: "After all these years of recuperation, my mother's body has finally recovered slowly. Thinking back to the early years, how could my mother have such an appetite?"

Suddenly there was a voice from outside the door: "Who is this talking about me behind my back?" The two turned their heads to look, and it was Mrs. Zhang who entered the door?

Jia Hu went up to meet her with a smile: "Mother, have you eaten? It is said that you want to like the red imperial rice, so my son will go ask the fourth prince for some. I am afraid that there are not many in our village, but there are all in the palace." Yes, if you like it, you can use more, and there is nothing less."

His son was so filial that Mrs. Zhang was so happy that she could not close her mouth from ear to ear. She patted his hand and said, "No need, our village is in good weather this year, and the output is excellent. Except for the handed in, there is enough left over for us to eat. Your father is the worst Don't you know that you like this rice? You and your brother don't eat it, how much can I use alone? I know that you and the fourth prince are good, but don't bother him about these trivial things."

Jia Hu didn't care: "Mother, don't worry, don't think he's a prince, he's easy to talk to. We've been friends for more than ten years, and he's not that stingy. A while ago, he asked me to thank you for the fan cover you made for him. The eagle embroidery is very good."

When Mrs. Zhang heard Jia Hu say that Tu Youhao was easy to talk, she curled her lips inwardly. No one in Beijing knew that the Fourth Prince was a domineering person. He dared to fight openly with the Grand Tutor in the palace before he came out of the palace. Yes, he won't suffer the slightest grievance even if he breaks the sky, he's straight to the point, even if he doesn't have a plan and won't cause people to whisper in his heart, and if he doesn't have anything to make people get off the stage, he really has too much temper.

But having said that, if Tu Youhao hadn't made it clear that he had no interest in the throne, the emperor would have been tolerant of him as a grown-up prince these years, and he would never allow Jia Hu to mix with him, even with the Jinxiang Houfu. Together with Han Yan, the three of them can wear a pair of pants.It was also for Jia Hu's sake that I brought things to the fourth prince from time to time, not out of favor with him, but just to help Jia Hu establish a relationship.

"It's good that the fourth prince likes it." Taking this topic lightly, Mrs. Zhang complained to Jia Hu, "You know how to run around. After the imperial examination, whoever's family didn't rest at home, but just like you, they lost it as soon as they went out. Like? It’s only been a few days since the list was released, and when you go out like this, people will see you and think you’re sure, people’s words are scary, and you don’t care.”

Jia Hu smiled, but she knew everything in her mind: "In life, how can I judge other people's eyes? I'm sure of everything, and I'm afraid of what they will do. Besides, they are resting at home, because they are tired in the palace. Big man, However, after a few days in the tribute courtyard, the body could no longer hold on, and some were carried out lying down, their bones were too weak! How could I be like them?"

"You're the only one with a lot of nonsense, I can't tell you!" Glaring at him, Mrs. Zhang couldn't help but smile again when she mentioned this: "You just came back, I'm afraid you don't know, your second uncle, Brother Zhu is sick gone."

Jia Hu raised her eyebrows: "Sick? Why didn't you hear about it yesterday?"

Mrs. Zhang pursed her lips and said disdainfully: "Isn't it because they were afraid of losing face and hiding it? When you wanted to practice martial arts, there were so many sarcastic remarks there. I really thought that if you practiced martial arts, there would be no hope of studying. Fortunately, you were kind enough to persuade brother Zhu Let's practice martial arts together to strengthen our body, but the other side flatly rejected it. Now it's alright, you brothers stand together on weekdays, you look better than him. Those who can beat the horses all over the capital can go. I heard that when I was in the Gongyuan, I couldn’t hold it anymore. I got a cold and kept raising it at home. It seems that I drank wine or something last night. I couldn’t get up in the morning. It’s really impossible to hide it, so that’s why there’s a wind coming out there. Otherwise, they can tell the truth and tell us to watch the fun? It’s normal if you didn’t hear it.”

Jia Hu couldn't help shaking his head.These years, because of the increasingly intensified conflicts between the two families, Jia Zhu and him became even more distant. He was studying at the Xu family again, and Jia Zhu went to study ethnology. In the past few days, even though they were cousins, they might not be as good as strangers now.For this imperial examination, Jia Zhu was even more determined to compete with him. It is said that he spent all night reading without sleep.

"If things go on like this, even if he wins the Juren and has to pass the imperial examination, his body may not be able to withstand it."

Mrs. Zhang didn't like Jia Zheng and Mrs. Wang, but she knew that Jia Zhu was a good child, so she said, "Who can blame him? His body, himself, and his parents don't care. We relatives, It’s just a few words, can he listen to it? It’s not that I haven’t mentioned it, and they still think that I want to delay his future? Those who don’t know good and bad, what consequences they have, are also created by themselves.”

As he spoke, he remembered something again, pulled his face and said to Jia Hu: "Earlier, you said you wanted to get married after the imperial examination, but now it's almost time, and you are sure, so it's time to talk about your marriage. , there will be no good girls any later."

Jia Hu only said that she was alarmist: "The draft is approaching, some girls are not ready to be selected, some of them are selected by you. Mother can figure it out, wait for my ranking to come down, you can choose a virtuous one for my son, and my son will believe in you vision."

Mrs. Zhang knew that he would say that, and said distressedly: "You child, why are you so old? The one I picked is the same as the one you like, can it be the same? How many flower fairs have I held, but you just refuse to go to see them?" After seeing it, many wives have asked me, and I can't even tell."

Jia Hu then asked her: "Second Aunt came here today, did she say something else? Could it be that Brother Zhu's marriage has been settled?"

Mrs. Zhang felt bad when she said it: "Isn't it settled? The daughter of Master Li's family in the Imperial College Jijiu, she is a very good child, and Brother Zhu is the one who likes it. You, your brother still knows how to treat yourself Pick a wife, you know how to run around every day."

Jia Hu couldn't stand it any longer, and said that she would go to pay respects to Jia Mu and Jia Amnesty, and ran away, saying: "Mother can still harm me, she will definitely find me a perfect and good girl, son, don't worry." When it falls, people disappear.

Mrs. Zhang was so angry and funny, she couldn't figure it out, how could such a talented and beautiful son of himself, who never made anyone worry about anything, how could he be so incomprehensible in this matter of men and women? !