Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

Wang Changchun couldn't help laughing bitterly: "I still don't know, it's just that people can't help themselves in the court. King Wei behaved like this, can His Majesty know what King Wei's behavior is? It's just that His Majesty is probing, now I can only Thank you very much for your help. Don’t say thank you for your kindness, in the future—” Wang Changchun has become an elite figure in the court, he has a clear understanding of the current court situation, but in Vanity Fair, he can’t detach himself.

"Why don't you thank me, because of the friendship between our two families, I must come. I'm a person who doesn't care about fame. It's just the current situation. Now that His Majesty knows about Wei Wang's willful behavior, why don't you ask me? The war in Liaodong is no joke, in case of defeat, not only will the soldiers of Liaodong die in vain, but the country will also be uneasy." Xue Gong was very dissatisfied with His Majesty's partiality to the King of Wei, and it was fine to feel sorry for his youngest son, after all, the so-called emperor Making that son the crown prince is his family business, anyway, it won't be the turn of other irrelevant people.But making jokes about major national affairs feels a bit like playing with the princes.Xue Gong complained indignantly for his old friend, but Wang Changchun didn't take it seriously, he said with a smile: "Your Majesty's holy candle shines, this move has a lot of meaning. The ancients said that one hears thunder in a silent place. So many turmoil started at the end of Qingping. It's just that people in the world just stare at the things in front of them and can't understand them in advance."

Xue Gong became more and more confused. He still couldn't understand it after thinking about it carefully, so he said half-believingly: "According to what you mean, your majesty may not be ignorant of King Wei's deeds. He just wants to see the character of King Wei. That's all. It is said that His Majesty is investigating the character of the King of Wei. Isn’t it true that the Eastern Palace will change hands? Since you have already seen what His Majesty meant, why are you still contacting the ministers to go to Shubao Taisun? A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall , why is the prince so ignorant of current affairs?"

"It's true that His Majesty is examining the character and ability of the King of Wei, but he is not the only prince and grandson being inspected by His Majesty. Who said that all the future princes are being inspected? How can you be sure of the candidate for the prince in His Majesty's eyes?" Only the King of Wei is alone. I see how many dramas have been staged by the people around His Majesty since the death of the crown prince. The princes tried their best to win His Majesty's favor and leave an impression of loyalty and filial piety in His Majesty's heart. , Wei Wang relied on his biological mother as His Majesty's favored concubine. He has always gained face in front of His Majesty, and his momentum is huge. How many people from all over the court rushed to burn the stove. The other princes were not idle, and each of them showed their magical powers. Although I am far away from Liaodong, I still heard that today the King of Qin offered Jiahe, and the King of Chu reported auspiciousness. The princes all went to the feudal clan when they grew up, and the princes could not enter Beijing unless they were called, but they did not miss any of the homework they should do. It's just that everyone just focused their eyes on King Wei and didn't pay attention. I think His Majesty may not be ignorant of the plans of King Wei and Concubine Dong Gui. Whether the grandson can sit still is another matter. Moreover, the grandson is young and has little experience in governing the country. For the sake of the stability of the world, His Majesty must have moved to replace the crown prince. But changing the prince to be the crown prince, His Majesty has no idea. Now the dragons have no leader, Everyone shows their talents, and the personal shortcomings and shortcomings that were well hidden before will be exposed. At that time, His Majesty will either choose a prince with a character and heart that can be used as a prince to be the prince, or you can still call the grandson to succeed him. Possibly. Just watch, the day when King Wei will be reprimanded by His Majesty is not far away. If the Emperor is kept in the dark about everything, is he still the Emperor?" Wang Changchun drank his wine and turned to his old friend, keeping his mouth shut. Not very strict.

Xue Gong listened to Wang Changchun's words, and he didn't speak for a long time. He lowered his head and thought about it carefully, and sighed: "I don't think I'm a fool. These eyes are still vicious. I didn't even think of this! Your Majesty protects the grandson The Shangshu stayed in Zhongshan, but he didn't warn any of the ministers of Shangshu. This is clearly a signal, and those people in the poor capital still can't see through it. Now the power of King Wei is far greater than that of the prince. Sun Shangshu told His Majesty that he missed his father. The Crown Prince has been in the East Palace for many years, and every place was used by the Crown Prince. It is too sad for him to live in it. The Grand-grandson is going to guard His Royal Highness for three years. Please allow him The prince’s spirit is no longer in the capital. Everyone said that the grandson knew that he was going to be deposed, so he moved out of the East Palace in a dignified manner, so as to save it from being ugly at the time. The members of King Wei’s party celebrated with each other, and kept making Your Majesty wants the Prince of Wei to go to the public opinion. But it is not that easy, the grandson is His Majesty's own grandson, the empress is still there, and the King of Wei is just a prince from a concubine, so he can't replace the grandson by surpassing his concubine Inherit the throne."

"It's good to come out, so you don't have to look at the faces of those people. In fact, it's also good to be outside the customs. It's far away from those people. Even if you have to face the enemy's sneak attack and lack of food, the troublesome things of tired soldiers don't feel particularly difficult. By the way, how is the Jia family doing in Jinling?" Wang Changchun felt that he preferred the rough life outside the customs, even if there were many things and dangers, it was easier than fighting with others in the Jinluan Hall, where there were many people. There are many local affairs, especially when facing the interests of the world, people are not human anymore.

"Jia's family is still in Jinling. I heard that the second son of the Rongguo Mansion will pass the exam this year. I didn't expect people like them to have such perseverance. It's really unexpected." Xue Gong talked about the situation in Jiangnan.

"Is that so? That kid doesn't have a clear mind. Although he knows how to work hard, he was too pampered by his family. He doesn't know the sufferings of the world. He will be a joke when he comes out to be an official. If you want me to say that making a fuss is something difficult, the real difficulty is being a human being. The most difficult thing in the world is to behave in the world." Wang Changchun didn't have a good impression of Jia Zheng, but he was a little relieved to hear that Jia Zheng was going to take the exam in person.

"It's exactly what the prince said, but they are still young, who can say what will happen in the future, if they have that kind of spiritual tempering for a period of time, they can become talents, if they don't have the qualifications, people like them don't have to worry about no place to eat. Yes Yes, the emperor appointed Hu Qizhong to do Hangzhou weaving." When Wang Changchun left Hangzhou, the seat of Hangzhou weaving was vacant, so someone had to fill the hole.

Wang Changchun raised his eyebrows when he heard Xue Gong's words, and his eyes were sharp: "Hu Qizhong?! He actually climbed a big tree. I'm afraid he gave Wei Wang a lot of ideas, and he got this fat job by coaxing Wei Wang to be happy. .”

"This man is very cunning. When I left the capital, I heard that he hadn't left the capital to take up his post. It seems that King Wei is not willing to let him go." Thinking about the rumors in the capital, Xue Gong couldn't help but slightly frowned.This Hu Qizhong is a man with all-hands and eyes, and his ancestors were also heroes who followed the first emperor to conquer the world.It was only later that his grandparents committed crimes, and their titles and fame were all cut off. Hu Qizhong suddenly became an unlucky kid who was ridiculed by everyone from a son of aristocratic family.

But what people didn't expect was that this Hu Qizhong didn't sink down like other young masters who had a downtrodden family. He actually passed the Juren exam by studying hard.Somehow, Hu Qizhong actually climbed up to King Wei, and even became the long history of King Wei's residence.Don't look at the long history of the palace as just a seventh-rank official, but this seventh-rank official is sometimes more respectable than those third- and fourth-rank officials. "He is a man with a strong heart. You see, since he has been the chief official of Wei Wang's mansion these years, the emperor has become more and more fond of Wei Wang. Hu Qizhong's contribution is indispensable. At this time, Hu Qizhong is going to be on a foreign job, and there are many articles in it Deep meaning." Wang Changchun was very interested in Hu Qizhong beside King Wei.

"What else could be the reason? It's just that he's taken a fancy to that fat job. Jiangnan is rich, Lianghuai Salt Administration and Jinling Manufacturing Hangzhou Manufacturing are the most fat jobs. Although Hu Qizhong is also a descendant of a family, but his family is in decline. Facing Yinzi But he is very hot-eyed. If I were in his position, I would definitely not abandon King Wei to go to the south of the Yangtze River for my own self-interest. After all, King Wei is also his benefactor. It is really heartbreaking to abandon the benefactor at this juncture. "Xue Gong frowned when he said that Hu Qizhong was a bit disgusted with his behavior and work, and shook his head helplessly.

"Let's ignore those boring things. It is said that everyone in the world is doing things for profit, and people in the world are always doing things for profit. We are all muddling around in the world of mortals, laughing at what other people do." Wang Changchun held his wine glass and said to him. Follow Xue Gong to give way.His eyes turned to Xue Yun who was sitting on Xue Yun's hands: "My son will definitely be as good as a young phoenix in the future."

Xue Gong was very proud and wiped his beard with a handkerchief and poured wine on it: "Please teach him more."

"That's natural. Since you want to marry a girl from my family, you should ask me to see your skills. Your father is an excellent man. Although he is in business, he is a rare person who is not fascinated by money. You To study hard is not to tell you to study hard. Pay attention to everything and learn. What you have to learn from your father is not only how to do business but also the principles of life. What books have you read..." Wang Changchun was very concerned They asked Xue Yun what he did every day and what books he had read.

Xue Yun stood up and answered them one by one. His words were sincere, his reasoning was clear, and his posture was humble. Wang Changchun liked it very much.He thought to himself that the family's luck is really good, all three granddaughters have good families, he used to worry about the marriage of the youngest granddaughter, but now he seems to be at ease.

Wang Changchun felt relieved, but the heart of Wei Wang who was far away in the capital began to fluctuate.In Wei Wang's mansion, Hu Qizhong was waiting in the study for Wei Wang to come back from the palace.Seeing the shadows of the flowers and plants in the yard getting shorter little by little, Hu Qizhong seemed to be a little hungry.The king of Wei has been ignoring him for the past few days. It seems that the king of Wei is really angry. Ever since the emperor received his grandson who was about to move out of the East Palace, Hu Qizhong has not expressed his position. Hu Qizhong knew that the god of luck had left. The king of Wei is now.The emperor still felt pity for the grandson, and the grandson left.It's a pity that King Wei hasn't woken up yet and is still immersed in a dream of feeling good. One day the emperor will hate King Wei.It was obvious that the king of Wei would not be able to accomplish anything, and the king of Wei must be the first one to be liquidated when the grandson succeeds to the throne. He didn't want to be on a ship that was about to sink.

The prince is back. Hu Qizhong hurriedly stood up following the call of his compatriots. Before he reached the door, he saw Wei Wang coming in with a sullen face. This small temple can't accommodate a great god like you." Hu Qizhong knew that King Wei still hated his plan for weaving in Hangzhou, he didn't explain his dissatisfaction and censure to King Wei, but just lowered his head and let King Wei ridicule and scold him.

Hu Qizhong was familiar with King Wei's character. King Wei would always be bitter and mean, and he was brave and foolish, so he could easily be coaxed away with a few words.As long as you lower your posture in front of him, you will be fine if you follow Wei Wang's temper. Wei Wang vented to Hu Qizhong, and he felt a little better. "Forget it, get up, I'm feeling lonely, and I've lost my love for a while. I don't know that Hangzhou weaving is a good job. People who have never seen my father can't do it. It's your good fortune that my father values ​​you. It's just that the capital is so A bunch of things, you left suddenly and I am at a loss. Serve tea, how about you try the white tea that your father rewarded you today?" Wei Wang eased his face, and looked at the man who knelt at his feet motionless and received a lot of scolding. Hu Qizhong told him to get up and talk.Recently, there seem to be two villains living in King Wei's heart. One shouted: "Your Majesty thinks highly of King Wei, and the position of crown prince must be yours!" There's no hope." He was torn between extreme excitement and extreme loss.

Hu Qizhong stood up and bowed his hands to the king of Wei: "It is the virtue of the Hu family for several generations to be able to serve the master thanks to the master. In fact, it is not that the slave wants to disregard the master for his own career. It is really the current situation. Master We need to work hard outside the capital. The slave looks at these officials who stand by us coldly. They just want to find a way for themselves to make a fortune. Promising them that they will be promoted in the future is just a castle in the sky, and the most effective thing is money. As long as the rewards of real money continue, who of them will have two hearts?"

King Wei was right when he thought about it. He has been soliciting people all these years. He has been very generous to the officials in the capital.Whoever's wedding and weddings and weddings, Wei Wang is very generous, relying on his own good reputation and vain money, he insisted on creating Wei Wang's good reputation as a Lixian corporal and higher prestige than the prince.But the money is spent in the sea, how much money can I have as a prince, except for the rent on the fief, which is the private house money given by my mother.If it weren't for Hu Qizhong and the others to help him plan and run the business, he would have been destitute. "You're right, it's just that it's time for me to employ people, and Jiangnan's errands can be done by another person. Today, the father summoned the grandson, and he neither agreed nor objected to the grandson going to guard the elder brother's spirit. .Just ask Taisun Haosheng to go back to study. Father also asked a few people from the cabinet to give lectures to Taisun, and I watched from the sidelines. There is no reason to talk. Do you think Father has softened his heart?" King Wei Recalling the situation in the palace, I feel very bored.

With a flash in Hu Qizhong's eyes, he secretly screamed in his heart that something was wrong, but he still calmly comforted King Wei: "Master, don't worry, after all, His Majesty is old enough to be fond of his grandchildren. But His Majesty will not delay for the sake of family affection." It is an important matter for the country. The throne should be won by those who are able. I have thought about it these few days. Your Majesty’s softness towards the grandson is also due to the merits of those superiors who persuaded your majesty not to make false statements. Ever since Wang Changchun contacted many people, the world Even if His Majesty is inclined towards the prince, he still has to be wary of the public opinion of the scholars in the world. Don’t think that the grandson is not as powerful as the prince in the court, but the power of those scholars cannot be underestimated.”

"You're right, but what are those scholars going to do? They're all hateful old man Wang, why didn't he die in Liaodong! I think Wang Changchun also has selfish intentions. The queen took a fancy to his girl and wanted to be grandson Liangdi, Wang Changchun How can I let go of this opportunity to become a relative of the emperor. He is the first person to have selfish intentions, but fortunately those people still have the face to say that they have no distractions in protecting the grandson, and they are all for the community! What do you think should be done!" Wei Wang mentioned Wang Changchun's teeth itching with hatred.

"According to my servant, it's better for the prince to take advantage of the situation and buy one in front of His Majesty. If the royal family wants to climb up to the royal family, they will fulfill their wishes." Wei Wang heard Hu Qizhong's words, his face suddenly darkened, and he was about to get angry when he realized it. Seeing Hu Qizhong's meaning, he clapped his hands and laughed after a little thought: "What the father hates the most is that the princes and ministers are too close, so I will help the eldest nephew to please his old man."