[Red Mansion] Mrs. Lin, the Buddhist family

"The capital..."

Jia Shu smiled and shook his head: "The news from Jiangnan hasn't reached the capital yet, and there are still not many people buying the books in the book shop."

Lin Ruhai hesitated: "Do you want to send the inventory of other bookstores to Jiangnan?"

Jia Shu said: "I will send movable type and pattern engraving to Jiangnan and other places, but if it is in stock... I don't plan to transfer it to Jiangnan."

Jiangnan's literary style is prosperous, and there are many scholars. The previous textbooks and test question sets, etc., the books sold in the capital, a place where many scholars are gathered, are less than one-tenth of the sales in Jiangnan.

Now that the enlightenment books have attracted the attention of Jiangnan literati, even if all the books from other places are transferred to Jiangnan, it is impossible to persist for too long.

What's more, since Jiangnan has already discovered the benefits of enlightenment books, it will not be much different from other places—such as the capital—to know about it.If books from other places are really transferred to Jiangnan, what will the literati in these places do when they want to buy books?Out of stock if not sold?

If Jiangnan will definitely be out of stock, why don’t you pull other places together?

Lin Ruhai just didn't know anything about business. After knowing that Jia Shu had already started to solve the problem, he didn't care about it anymore. He asked another question: "Ruosang, are there really gods in this world?"

Jia Shu froze his hand while reading the letter, frowned and looked at Lin Ruhai: "Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

Lin Ruhai smiled bitterly: "Some time ago, Your Majesty suddenly started to go to the more famous temples and Taoist temples in the suburbs of the capital. After many times, for some reason, he has now become a pilgrim of Qingyang Temple. The temple master has been summoned to the palace."

"Qingyang Temple?" Jia Shu raised his eyebrows.

Qingyang Temple is one of the famous Taoist temples in Daxia, but this Taoist temple does not belong to the royal family.

Lin Ruhai sighed: "The Holy Majesty had a very happy conversation with the Taoists of the Ming and Qing Dynasties at Qingyang Taoist Temple, but after meeting him two or three times, he believed in him deeply, thinking that the Taoists of the Ming and Qing Dynasties were truly masters of Taoism, with immortal skills unimaginable by ordinary people .”

What to say?

When Jia Shu heard this, his first reaction was naturally to think that this Ming and Qing Taoist was a liar.But when she thought about the background setting of Dream of Red Mansions, she was a little hesitant. In case, this Taoist priest in Ming and Qing Dynasties was really like the Daoist Ma in Dream of Red Mansions, and she really had some very human means, what would happen to the future direction of this summer? Will it become a fairy tale?

And no matter whether this Taoist of Ming and Qing Dynasties has real ability or not, Emperor Qisheng, who now believes in him, will inevitably regard this Taoist of Ming and Qing Dynasties as his honored guest.

It is not impossible to even give him a title like "National Teacher".

If so, it's no wonder Lin Ruhai is so worried.

Jia Shu thought for a while, but didn't say anything dead: "I haven't met the so-called masters of the Tao, so naturally I can't tell whether they have real skills. But there are so many existences in the world that ordinary people can't understand. It won't be one of them, who knows."

Lin Ruhai opened his mouth, looking a little surprised.

He thought that with Jia Shu's personality, she would definitely say that those were all tricks to deceive people, but he didn't expect that she would give him a completely different answer.

Jia Shu was helpless: "Ruhai, the emperor is now obsessed with seeking immortality and asking for medicine, which is beyond our control. You are worrying all day long, making yourself miserable, and the emperor doesn't care at all. Why bother? Why not concentrate on studying books?" , maybe after you finished the book, Emperor Qisheng suddenly realized his identity?"

Even if he knew that Jia Shu was just fooling himself, Lin Ruhai could only listen to her and give up.

-

Emperor Qisheng's health deteriorated day by day. Although he could still handle official duties, Lin Ruhai gradually discovered that Emperor Qisheng's energy on official duties began to decrease. Of course, he had already devoted part of his energy to seeking immortality and medicine. On, but more, because he is getting old day by day.

In the past two years, the court has not been peaceful. The battle between the several princes is in full swing. The early court has become a place where people from all sides are fighting each other and entrapping each other.

The prince seems to be mixed in, but also seems to be separated from all the princes.

But the other princes did not intend to let the prince go, and the prince let the other princes go, naturally it is impossible to avoid the other brothers' methods every time, and it is inevitable that he will be tricked once or twice.

Lin Ruhai could find that the relationship between the crown prince and Emperor Qisheng had become more and more rigid.

Surprisingly, the crown prince didn't seem to care too much, and he still filially filial to Qisheng Emperor without any grievances. He couldn't help but mutter in his heart when he saw the Chinese military officials. It seemed that the prince really regarded Qisheng Emperor as his father. rather than the emperor.

Even civil and military officials think so, could Emperor Qisheng not notice it?

But Emperor Qisheng became more and more suspicious. Even if he "believed" the prince, he would occasionally show the same concern as the prince when he was still young, but more often, he was more like a moody superior who would put everything People are like chess pieces, and when they move up and down, there is a confrontation in the court.

Even for the crown prince, Emperor Qisheng was stingy with showing his father's soft feelings.

All sides are balanced, no flukes.

But compared to the tense relationship between the princes, the existence of the eldest prince who has taken aim at the prince as a daily routine, and occasionally paws deep into the other princes, is even more obtrusive.

After decades of fighting together, the prince seemed suddenly discouraged and lost interest in targeting the eldest prince.

But the First Prince would not be happy, on the contrary, his actions against the Prince would be more frequent. Almost every once in a while, the power in the Prince's hands would be reduced by one or two because of the First Prince.

However, once the prince falls behind the eldest prince by a large margin, Emperor Qisheng can cut off the first prince's arm without the prince's action. cannot.

After a few times, the eldest prince suddenly came to his senses, only to find that his power seemed to be inferior to that of the sixth prince.

And at this time, the Eighth Prince, who had always supported him, suddenly stood up on his own, and at the same time did not forget to step on him——

The eldest prince disregarded the brotherhood, disregarded the difference between the monarch and his ministers, and designed to frame the prince.

unambiguous evidence.

How could there be no means of framing in the battle for the heir apparent?Not to mention that the eldest prince framed the prince, which other princes have not framed the prince?

However, this is not important, because even if the eldest prince knows, he has no evidence in his hands.

Everyone knew that Emperor Qisheng loved the prince very much, so how could they keep the evidence that they framed the prince?

However, the eighth prince was originally from the lineage of the eldest prince, if he had collected it carefully from the beginning, how could it be possible that there was no evidence left?

Emperor Qisheng was furious, and directly sent the eldest prince to the clan mansion.

As for how long it will be closed, Emperor Qisheng did not say.

The Eighth Prince took advantage of this opportunity to quickly incorporate the power belonging to the First Prince under his command. In addition to the power that was originally developing behind the scenes, as well as his wife's family, the power behind him is also quite considerable.

At least put it in front of other princes, so that they won't be looked down upon.

But after all, the Eighth Prince is different from the First Prince's noble status, and also occupies the "elder" of the eldest prince. After incorporating the First Prince's power, it is very difficult for him to go further.

The prince didn't take it seriously, except for those that affected him, he still watched their fight with cold eyes.

-

Since the Enlightenment Books that no one cared about at first began to attract attention, major printing houses worked overtime to produce them. Except for the Jiangnan area, other places barely maintained the number of books, and there was no crisis of out-of-stock.

And just when everyone had started to get used to the existence of books, the Lin family bookstore made a big deal——

After the research of the craftsmen in the printing workshop, when the latest batch of books was sent to the Lin Mansion, they were also colored.

Looking at the colorful books, Jia Shu was once again overwhelmed by the wisdom of the ancients.

Don't tell her that ancient people are inferior to modern people, look at this technology, you let a modern person research it from scratch, can it be developed in just two years?

And after these books were placed on the bookshelves of the Lin Family Bookstore, they were priced five times more expensive than those books with pictures but no coloring.

When most literati heard the price of the books, they thought that the Lin family bookstore was crazy and wanted to steal money, and they didn't want to look at the contents of the books to see if they were different from before.

But among a group of poor people, there are always one or two rich people. They don't say they are rich, but things priced at less than a hundred taels are not enough to make them blink.

When they heard the price of Lin Family Bookstore, their first reaction was curiosity.

However, after opening the book, their expressions turned into amazement.

"How is the color of this book printed?"

If you want to color those pictures, of course it is easy, they can paint by themselves, and after spending some time, they can naturally fill in the pictures in the book.

But it's a waste of time, and a waste of money—

There is no chemical paint these days, and the cost of painting is too high, even if it is priced at a hundred taels, they may not necessarily sell it.

What's more, the Lin Family Bookstore sells these colored books. Just looking at the number of books, it is impossible to know that these books cannot be painted by hand.

The shopkeeper of the book shop smiled: "This guest, it is inconvenient to inform you about this matter."

Just kidding, this is a commercial secret, how could he use it as a talking point and advertise it?What's more, in order to keep it secret, only the craftsmen in the printing workshop know how to print it.

And those craftsmen signed a contract with the Lin family.

Only then did the person who asked the question realize his abruptness, and to express his apology, he boldly bought ten color books in one go. When someone asked him, he laughed loudly: "This kind of book, which is the only one in Daxia, even if you take it It’s not ashamed to go out and give gifts, if the relatives have children who happen to be enlightened, that’s even better, this gift will definitely win their hearts.”

After the man bought the book and left, there were three or two customers with kittens who came to inquire, but they were very cautious, but each of them bought one or two books and left the Lin Family Bookstore.

Afterwards, these books were placed in a less conspicuous place and carefully preserved. Obviously, the Lin Family Bookshop did not intend to promote these books——

There is no way to publicize these books, these books are too expensive, and those who can really afford them will not wander the streets every day, so they can only spread them by word of mouth through the customers who bought them home.

Jia Shu didn't take it seriously. With the price of color books, the customers they aimed at after printing the books were not ordinary people.

Moreover, even if only one of those books is sold, the profit is comparable to that of a book without coloring that sells a hundred copies. Although there are fewer customers, the profit is actually more.

Time flies, and soon it will be the end of the year.

On the day of Laba, Lin Ruhai and Jia Shu brought their two children into the palace by order.

A few years ago, the child was too young, even if someone was curious about his two twins, he would have avoided it, and had no intention of bringing the two children to the palace to suffer—

Lin Ruhai and Lin's mother felt that it was a great honor to enter the palace to attend the banquet, but Jia Shu didn't care about it at all. Even because the two children were young, they would probably kneel when they saw people after entering the palace, and they didn't want to let the two children enter the palace.

After all, this is not a big deal, and although entering the palace is an honor for the Lin family, it is indeed dangerous after entering the palace. If they make a mistake, they may be greeted by a man-made disaster.

But now it is impossible to go.

Emperor Qisheng had asked the two children several times, and this time he specially reminded Lin Ruhai that he must bring the two children into the palace.

From the outside, the Forbidden City looks majestic and majestic, but inside it, it feels cramped and cramped.

On the long and dark road, palace servants who looked like clones walked by, and there were guards guarding the safety of the imperial city beside them...

Jia Shu feels bad.

Pippi was held in Lin Ruhai's arms, and Jia Shu held Zhuzhu, but the two children entered the palace for the first time, and seemed to be frightened by the solemn and gloomy atmosphere of the palace, and their expressions were a little listless.

Jia Shu felt distressed and kissed Zhuzhu in his arms: "Zhuzhu is good, just hold on, and it will be fine when you go home."

Zhuzhu buried her face in Jia Shu's arms, rubbed against each other, and gave an obedient "hmm".

Jia Shu looked at Pippi again: "Pippi must be good today, you must not cry when you enter the palace."

Pippi looked at Jia Shu and curled her lips: "Why? Can't I cry even if someone bullies me?"

Jia Shu was stunned for a moment, frowned and thought for a moment, and said, "Adults don't bully Pippi, and if children bully you, don't cry, just bully him back quietly. If he cries, cry again, and cry louder The better."

Pippi's eyes lit up, she pursed her lips, and nodded reservedly.

Lin Ruhai: "... Ruosang, how can you teach children like this?"

Jia Shu didn't feel that there was anything wrong with his teaching: "There are so many children in the royal family, which one is not higher than Pipi's status? When I enter the palace, I will take two children to the side of the female family alone. Maybe there will be someone Let Pippi and Zhuzhu be their playmates. It’s not a big deal for children, maybe there are still people who deliberately bully children, and if they don’t bully them back, will they suffer in vain?”

Lin Ruhai was speechless.

Lin Ruhai looked down at Pippi, who was not as lively as usual at home, or when he took him out of the house to play in his arms. After all, he cared more about the child and did not object to Jia Shu.At the same time, he was even more fortunate that when the two children were young, he listened to Jia Shu's words and did not rashly bring the two children into the palace.

Now the two children are seven years old (five years old), and they are so frightened. If they entered the palace when they were younger two years ago, they would not be able to cry as soon as they entered the palace gate.

He didn't forget that Pippi was the one who cried the most.

Emperor Qisheng seemed to be really interested in the two children. After the family of four entered the palace, Jia Shu was about to take the two children to the harem when He Wenyi who was beside Emperor Qisheng walked in front of them: "Lord Lin , His Majesty heard that you brought two children into the palace, and specially asked Miscellaneous Family to come and take you there."

Jia Shu frowned and almost refused.

It was Lin Ruhai who pulled her hand, and Jia Shu swallowed the words that slipped to his lips.

Lin Ruhai took out a purse from his sleeve and handed it to He Wenyi, then held a child in one hand, and nodded to He Wenyi: "Please, father-in-law, please lead the way."

He Wenyi smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Jia Shu: "Mrs. Lin, don't worry, Your Majesty is kind and always loves children the most."

Jia Shu smiled and said, "The two children are very lively, so I ask the father-in-law to keep an eye on them."

He Wenyi was startled, looked at Jia Shu with a rather strange expression, and nodded, "The miscellaneous family must be keeping a good eye on Young Master Ling and Qian Qianjin. Bi Huan, why don't you take Mrs. Lin to the imperial concubine's palace?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a court lady who had been standing quietly by the side without making a sound came out silently: "Madam, please."

After finishing speaking, he left in the direction of the imperial concubine's palace.

Jia Shu quickly followed.

She has been married to the Lin family for several years, and Jia has entered the palace to attend banquets at least a dozen times, but every time she enters the palace, apart from the solemn and gloomy atmosphere in the palace and the cumbersome and frightening etiquette, what impresses her most is that This is the noble concubine who is deeply loved by Emperor Qisheng.

The imperial concubine and Emperor Qisheng are cousins, and they are very affectionate, but she personally has a smile on her face, and when she smiles, it is easy to make people feel amazed, with a kind of panic.

It was a woman whose appearance was not extremely beautiful, but who made people want to get close to her just by looking at her.

Even if Jia Shu knew that it was probably just the mask of the noble concubine, it would be difficult for her to raise her guard against her to a very high level in the face of the noble concubine.

For the noble concubine, her only regret may be that she has been in the palace for more than [-] years, but failed to give birth to a son and a half.

She likes children very much.

"Mrs. Lin, I heard from people in this palace that you brought two children into the palace today. Why can't you see them around?" A flash of disappointment flashed quickly.

Jia Shu smiled apologetically: "Go back to the imperial concubine, the children followed their father to see the emperor."

The noble concubine was stunned, and it took a long time before she came back to her senses, and said with a smile: "So that's it. I heard they are a pair of dragon and phoenix twins? Do they look the same?" Before Jia Shu could answer, she said, "When the child comes over later, we can get Let me take a good look at it."

Jia Shu smiled, "It's their honor."

But in my heart, it is inevitable to be a little worried.

Let's talk about Lin Ruhai.

The upper study room was not far from the palace gate. Lin Ruhai followed He Wenyi with his two children, and arrived not long after.

Pippi seemed to have adapted to the environment in the palace, and looked around frequently on the way to the study.

But he still remembered Jia Shu's instructions, even if he was curious about the surroundings, he always followed Lin Ruhai closely, never falling behind.

But when he entered the upper study room and saw Emperor Qisheng who was sitting on a chair reviewing the memorial, he tensed up again.

This old man with a white beard seems a bit scary...

"Your Majesty, Lord Lin is here." After He Wenyi informed, he simply stood behind Qisheng Emperor.

Emperor Qisheng didn't seem to hear what He Wenyi said, and was still immersed in the memorial.

Pippi dodged to Lin Ruhai's side, tilted his head, exposed half of his body, rolled his eyes, and looked at Qi Shengdi unequivocally.

Lin Ruhai was taken aback, and hurriedly pulled the two children to kneel down: "May the emperor be blessed with peace of mind."

Pippi and Zhuzhu knelt on the ground, and when they heard Lin Ruhai's words, they followed the parrot's tongue: "The emperor is blessed and safe."

The clear and crisp child's voice that seemed to have a milk taste attracted Qi Shengdi's eyes from the memorial. He looked at the father and son on the ground and smiled: "Lin Aiqing is here, why don't you hurry up."

While talking, he put down the memorial and got up, walked to the chair beside him and sat down.

Lin Ruhai picked up the two children from the ground before getting up.

Emperor Qisheng was stunned for a while, but he didn't say anything about it.

"This is your pair of dragon and phoenix twins?" Qisheng Emperor looked around the two children, and soon had a general understanding of the two children's temperament.

The boy standing on Lin Ruhai's right is more lively and courageous, and doesn't seem to be afraid of him; the little girl standing on Lin Ruhai's left is very quiet, looking at him with dark eyes, with a bit of curiosity, but more, It's calm.

The attitudes of the two children were generous, neither timid nor shrinking. It was obvious that Lin Ruhai taught them very well.

"These two children are cute and cute."

Emperor Qisheng thought for a while, then waved to Pippi.

Pippi looked back at Lin Ruhai, got his permission, and trotted towards Emperor Qisheng.

Emperor Qisheng smiled, and stretched out his hand to Pippi, as if he wanted to hug him.

Pippi tilted his head to look at him, smiled after a while, and threw himself into the arms of Emperor Qisheng.

Zhuzhu beside Lin Ruhai looked at Pippi suspiciously, as if she couldn't understand why he suddenly got close to a strange old man.

But she has been very quiet, and did not ask.

"What are the names of the two children?" Qi Shengdi asked while hugging Pippi's milky body.

"The dog's name is Xian, and the little girl is named after the dog's name, one character Wan."

"Xian? Decree?" Emperor Qisheng looked at the little ball in his arms, "It's a good name."

Lin Ruhai didn't answer.

"Xian'er, how old are you this year?"

Pippi looked up in a daze, and met the eyes of Shangqi Shengdi: "Grandpa, are you asking me?"

Emperor Qisheng was curious: "Yes, is there a second person named Lin Xian here?"

Pippi tilted his head to look at him: "But my name is not Lin Xian."

"Isn't your name Lin Xian?"

"Yes, my name is Pippi."

Qi Shengdi's eyes widened, seeing Pippi's serious face, he couldn't help turning his head to look at Lin Ruhai: "Pippi? But a nickname? Which word is it?"

Lin Ruhai quickly lowered her head, her ears blushing with shame: "Naughty."

Emperor Qisheng: "...you got this nickname?"

Lin Ruhai said embarrassingly: "Zhuo Jing took it. Zhuo Jing was pregnant with twins in the first year, and Pippi was born fat and white, but the little girl's body was too thin. If she hadn't been nursed properly later, the little girl would be afraid Yes... Zhuo Jing was frightened, and was very worried about the two children, so she said to give the two children a cheap name so that they can support them."

"Families like ours don't want their children to live up to expectations, as long as they can grow up safely."

"Pippi has been very lively since he was born, and he especially likes to provoke little girls. The body can be firmer."

Emperor Qisheng thought of those children who died before the first prince was born, and opened his mouth, but he didn't have the abnormality he had when he heard the nickname "Pippi" when he was a child. Fist loves his son's heart, but it is a bit more than ordinary people."

As for the women in his harem, although they love their sons and hope that they will be safe and successful, they also hope for success and fame, and even have far greater expectations for the latter than the former.

They regard their children as their reliance for the rest of their lives, as a tool to fight for favor, as a sharp weapon to climb up, but none of them are true, they only regard their children as children who need protection and protection.

Even his own mother and grandmother's love for their own children was not pure.

Emperor Qisheng had a mediocre view of Lin Ruhai's wife, whom he had never met before and had heard of many times, but now he had a rare favorable impression.

He couldn't help being a little more curious about Lin Ruhai's daughter's nickname: "Then what nickname did Mrs. Lin give Ling Qianjin?"

Emperor Qisheng is over sixty years old, so it's okay to tell him Zhuzhu's nickname.

Lin Ruhai didn't hesitate, and said, "My little girl's breast name is Zhuzhu, which means like a pearl like a treasure." He looked down at Zhuzhu and smiled softly, "Zhuzhu is the treasure in our family's palm."

Emperor Qisheng was stunned: "Pearl beads? Slanted jade beads?"

Lin Ruhai was at a loss: "Return to Your Majesty, it is indeed Xie Yuzhu. But what's wrong with this nickname?"

Although there are many people who use words such as "zhu", "jade" and "treasure" as their nicknames, this further shows that these words do have good meanings and there is no taboo.

But why, Emperor Qisheng looked strange?

Of course Emperor Qisheng found it strange, as far as Lin Ruhai said, it sounds like he really loves this little girl named Zhuzhu, but he doesn't think that the nickname Zhuzhu and Pippi are completely different in painting style? ?

Lin Ruhai doesn't feel that it violates harmony?

One is like a jewel like a jewel, and the other is solid?

It was the first time Emperor Qisheng heard these two nicknames, but he felt strange, why didn't Lin Ruhai seem to notice it at all?

Is it because girls' nicknames are more cautious?

Emperor Qisheng couldn't help but began to recall the few times that Lin Ruhai had mentioned in front of him about Mrs. Lin's topic, his expression paused slightly, and he always felt that Mrs. Lin didn't seem like someone who would be scruples about this.

Lin Ruhai's puzzled face made Qishengdi see a bit of the clarity he had when he was an official in the court.

He thought for a while and reminded vaguely: "Lin Aiqing, I think it is very necessary for you to ask Mrs. Ling what is your daughter's nickname."

Although he didn't know the specifics, Emperor Qisheng always felt that it could not be a "bead" as precious as a pearl.

He even felt that, based on the logic of Mrs. Ling's naming, she hoped that her daughter could eat and sleep like a pig, have a big heart and a fat body, and have no troubles in her life, which is more likely.

Lin Ruhai was stunned, completely unaware of why Emperor Qisheng said that, so he just listened to the quiet Zhuzhu dialect: "But daddy, mom said, my name is Zhuzhu, little Zhuzhu."

Lin Ruhai lowered his head, blankly: "It's Zhuzhu."

Zhuzhu broke free from Lin Ruhai's hand, pushed up the tip of her nose with her fleshy index finger, and then exposed two nostrils, and pulled her ear with the other hand, "humming" while making movements.

After Lin Ruhai showed an expression as if struck by lightning, she put down her hands and said solemnly: "Mom said, it's Xiaoxiangzhu's pig. Mom hopes that I will be like Xiaoxiangzhu, fragrant, meaty, and able to run I can dance, my body is great, and I will be happy for the rest of my life without any worries."

This was already the longest sentence that Zhuzhu had ever said since she was born, but Lin Ruhai wished that she never spoke.

Pig?Hehe, he wants to be quiet.

But at this time, Pippi stabbed him without hesitation: "Daddy, you are so bad, you don't care about sister at all."

Lin Ruhai: "...???"

"My sister will be seven years old after the new year, but my father didn't know my sister's name until now. Be careful that my sister and mother are angry."

Lin Ruhai: "...???"

Zhuzhu blinked, and ran away from Lin Ruhai after realizing it, hesitated for a while, and ran to Qishengdi's side, holding her face and looking up at him: "Grandpa, I want to be your daughter, you Do you want it?"

Emperor Qisheng felt like a cat scratching at Shang Zhuzhu's serious expression for some reason, and suddenly wanted to ignore Lin Ruhai's thoughts and directly hug her back to his palace.

He met Shang Zhuzhu's eyes, and subconsciously softened his voice: "Okay, I will serve you a royal jade plate tomorrow."

Lin Ruhai was almost dumbfounded: "Your Majesty!"