The Rich and the Idlers of the Red Chamber

Jia She never went to court, so he didn't see such a grand occasion, and although Jia Chen didn't go to court, but in the palace school, the news was better after all, after returning, he was a little surprised, and told Jia She about this Things in the hall of the sun.

Other things in the court can be ignored now, mainly the Zhen family's affairs.To be honest, Zhen Yingjia's jumping up and down these days has already made those people in the temple feel dissatisfied.What's more, the Zhen family has always had a high self-esteem, even though they were killed, they were brought to the government.Although the Zhen family also sent someone to report to Zhen Yingjia.

It's just that the servants of the Zhen family have more money than the master, and they do things that the master doesn't do, but they do it very readily.Therefore, I don’t think it’s a big deal. Although the superior ordered the horse to rush to the capital to deliver the letter, all of these servants are pampered and have never experienced any hardships. It's also time to be on the top and stay in a hotel. Therefore, when Zhen Yingjia was standing in the court hall and a lot of people impeached him, he was still at a loss, not knowing what happened.

Everyone also has a tacit understanding, they will not say anything about salt tax, and they will not say anything else. In short, they just withheld the money owed by the Zhen family and refused to pay back, beat the creditor to death, and the government issued an order to ignore it, and even threatened it. , saying that their own family is the king's law, and then some people derived from this how domineering the Zhen family was in Jinling, and their disobedience was beyond words.Zhen Yingjia couldn't even teach her family well, she didn't control her strictly, and she still had the face to be a cabinet minister in the court, she was really shameless.

In short, the Zhen family in the court hall was like a dog in the water, everyone shouted and beat them.

However, the saint's attitude is very subtle and difficult to figure out. On the one hand, the saint withheld the papers of impeachment of Zhen's family and kept them unpublished. On the other hand, he said that the prince committed the same crime as the people. It was because of a resignation, although the Zhen family can be counted as the emperor's relatives, but it should be investigated, so they directly ordered the local admiral to have a good trial of this lawsuit.

Zhen Yingjia blushed upwards and had a thick neck. He was originally five or sixty years old and had been well maintained. Seeing the Zhen family screaming for beatings and killings, they seemed a little impatient, and they didn't have the stamina to be a minister at all. There, they could not wait to shout at those censors who were bloody, that the Zhen family was innocent, and wanted the Holy Majesty to uphold justice for their family.

Just kidding, if the Zhen family is innocent, there will be no innocent people in the world!The almost ambiguous attitude of the sage made Zhen Yingjia feel worried and hopeful at the same time. After going down to court, she was fidgeting in the political affairs hall all the time. Later, she took the opportunity of being respectful and met a little eunuch who was in charge of cleaning. He nodded and gave him a few messages, asking him to contact Concubine Zhen Gui.

Many older maids were released from the palace before, but they were only maids, not eunuchs.After all, eunuchs are survivors of punishment. They are different from court ladies and female officials. Although the system of eunuchs is cruel, it effectively guarantees the royal rule and the safety of the court in a certain sense.Because eunuchs are infertile and will not have children.However, court ladies are different from female officials in that they may have children. Therefore, they often receive the so-called grace, and when they reach a certain age, they will be released from the palace. Their source is nothing more than the daughters of minor officials, or For some good families, if they want to stay in the palace, they can only be their own mothers, and they have to get permission from their masters.

But eunuchs are different. There are several sources of eunuchs. For example, those captives who resisted the imperial court but were defeated. Surrender, then, after the court wins, the captured prisoners of war will become slaves, women will generally become official slaves, some of them will be servants of rough envoys in the palace, some will be rewarded to meritorious officials, more, mostly It was sold directly, and in the end most of them will be reduced to the land of fireworks, and they will not be able to escape for generations.

On the other hand, men will be directly sentenced to castration, and will be submerged in the palace as slaves.However, the imperial court has not fought wars for many years, so there are almost no eunuchs with such a background.There are more of the other two types. One is the families who have committed serious crimes of the Ruyi people. If their families are too young to be beheaded, they will be used as eunuchs.In addition, it is purchased by the people, and there are many eunuchs needed in the palace. Therefore, people who are in charge of this matter from the House of Internal Affairs often go to the people to buy them. One or two children were sold directly into the palace.

Even, some of their own family members did it. Although the imperial court has long issued a strict order not to allow private castration, such things happen endlessly. Some people want to stand out. In this year, it may be difficult for everyone to be admitted. Even if you get a Jinshi, the future will depend on your luck.However, if one becomes a eunuch and is elected to the palace, even though he is also a servant, this can barely be regarded as a civil servant establishment. If he can make a career out of it, he can also support his family.For those who are so poor that they can’t even afford to eat, at least they won’t have to eat when they enter the palace. As for the shame of their ancestors, they can’t live anymore. .

In short, most of the eunuchs have no roots, so the masters of the palace, big and small, actually prefer to use eunuchs, because they certainly like yellow and white things and have some ambitions, but their All ambitions are based on the future of their master. Compared with court ladies who still have some hope, eunuchs are more loyal and reliable.

Most of the eunuchs, after entering the palace, have almost no chance to leave the palace. It is considered a good death if they can die in the palace. Serving the old saint, the old saint may have promised that he can adopt a nephew from the family, and in the future he will hold the spirit for himself. After the old saint is a hundred years old, Dai Quan can go to the imperial tomb to guard his mausoleum. This is already a great deal. Due to the grace of the emperor, more eunuchs of this type would often be buried directly after the emperor died.

Therefore, although some maids have been released from the palace, there are still many useful people under Dowager Zhengui, and the Zhen family and Dowager Zhengui can still communicate with each other through these eunuchs. Although this kind of thing is against the rules, but, The old sage had always honored and favored Concubine Zhen Gui, but now Zhen Yingjia was messed up again. It should have been a private contact, but he did it secretly outside the Political Affairs Hall.

However, after all, the saint has been in charge of the palace for a while. Although the empress is not too high-born, she was able to preside over the palace affairs of the palace. On the other hand, the queen also had experienced hands to help her, so instead of being in a hurry, she sorted out the personnel affairs in the palace quickly.

The sage also has its own manpower, especially places like the Zhengshitang, which are the most important thing. Anyone can come here, so here, Zhen Yingjia told the little eunuchs After a few words, someone reported to the saint over there. The saint was not angry at all. He held the tureen with a smile, scraped the foam in the tea with the lid, and then took a sip. That is, I thought Zhen Yingjia was some kind of person, but he turned out to be such a person! Well, this matter was secretly revealed to the Chui Gong Palace later, do you understand?"

The people below agreed respectfully, and retreated quietly.

The old sage has long been benevolent to the Zhen family, and he has long felt impatient. The old sage turned a blind eye to the Zhen family's affairs, not because he still has a deep affection for the Zhen family, it is entirely the old sage I despise the Zhen family.He has already given too much grace to the Zhen family, but the Zhen family has a lack of human heart, thinking about things that don't belong to him all day long, which has long made the old sage dissatisfied.

However, the old sage always cared about how Mrs. Fengsheng took care of him back then.Mrs. Fengsheng was all about herself back then, but she ignored her sons. Sometimes, the old saint would feel that his brothers were inferior to each other, but it was because of the lack of Mrs. Fengsheng's upbringing. After all, these days, most of the children, before going to school, have been kept in the inner house and brought up by the women in the inner house.Coupled with the fact that there was Concubine Zhen Gui in the middle, the old saint naturally had some scruples and couldn't do it himself, so he simply handed over the matter to the present saint.

After the old sage knew that Zhen Yingjia had actually come down from court, he sent a message to Concubine Zhen Gui through the palace servants, sneered, pondered for a while, and then asked someone to find the sage. He didn't say anything else, just said: "Don't disturb Mrs. Fengsheng!"

The saint immediately understood that Mrs. Fengsheng is now 80 or [-] years old, and she seems to have a long life, but her health has not been good in the past two years. That is to say, when Mrs. Fengsheng passes away, the Zhen family will also die It's all over.

The old sage did not mention Concubine Zhengui. Concubine Zhengui has her own love, position, and son. Hao went out of the palace to take care of the elderly and has the status of a noble concubine. No one can wrong her.Women, before they get married, they rely on their natal family, after they get married, they rely on their husband, and when they have a son, they rely on their son. The loss of a natal family like the Zhen family will only slow down, but it will allow Concubine Zhen Gui and Tu Minghao, mother and son, to recognize the facts earlier and let them Don't think about those unrealistic things anymore, when the time comes, Tu Mingyun won't do anything to them.

After the old sage gave the order, the sage kept pressing the memorial in his hand. No matter how impeached by the court, he didn't say much anyway, and didn't say how to deal with the Zhen family. He just asked Zhen Yingjia to defend himself, and then called Yousi Check those things out.

The old sage intervened, but Zhen Yingjia didn't get a reply from Concubine Zhen Gui. On the one hand, she felt uneasy. Seeing the sage like this, she felt that the old sage wanted to protect her family, so she took some chances.Therefore, even though his aides said that the sage is just ignoring and not sending out, and when the outbreak is complete, the Zhen family will face annihilation. If the saint can be killed and the Twelve Princes can be supported to ascend the throne, then the Zhen family will not only be fine, but can go a step further.

But Zhen Yingjia is not a decisive person. He feels that this matter is a little unreliable. After all, Zhen Yingjia has not been in Beijing for a long time, and there are not many people who are really willing to work for him. Most of them are just waiting and watching. , It's nothing more than a slap in the face, if you talk to him perfunctorily, if you really want to talk about the reality, there is nothing at all.

Therefore, Zhen Yingjia hesitated over there, and only said that the old sage would protect the Zhen family, and then honestly found a document to write a long letter of defense for herself.

The aide could not wait to shout: "Shuzi is not enough to plan!" Such a thing as seeking to usurp the throne cannot be a foolproof thing. Back then, Tang Taizong was cornered, and in the end he took all the civil and military officials, including the Tiance Mansion, with him. Among them, there are less than 100 subordinates who dare to attack the Xuanwu Gate. Although there is a lot of luck, but they met at that time, it was like being kicked in the head by a donkey. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, who came out to fight against Li Shimin by themselves, were killed by Li Shimin and a group of people, and the overall situation was settled.

Even if Li Yuan was so angry that he wanted to die, he had to accept his fate.There is no way, he has no other choice, Li Yuan has quite a lot of sons, but most of them are still young, and they are all concubines, and they don't have any qualifications. Besides, since Li Shimin killed the two brothers, if he doesn't let go, he doesn't care Kill another daddy.

In the current situation, at least the Zhen family has more people who can use it than Li Shimin did back then. The palace has Concubine Zhen Gui as the internal support, and there are also many people who can use the Twelve Princes' House. The Zhen family has many officials in their hands. , When the time comes, there will be a sudden attack. Who would have thought that at such a time, the Zhen family would directly mutiny. According to the calculations of the staff, there is at least a [-]% success rate. For the usurper of the dynasty, this probability is not low. After all, the return of this thing is also high, and the risk is natural.

In the end, Zhen Yingjia's actions made the staff completely disappointed, he was indecisive, and he was not a person to do big things at all. When this opportunity was missed and the sage's wings were full, it would be the day when the Zhen family died.

The reaction of the Zhen family has always been within the expectations of the sage. The Zhen family grew up in a gentle and wealthy village. Where did they come from? They want to wait until the perfect time for everything. How can there be such a good thing in the world? Rebellion For this kind of thing, if you pay attention to the right time, place and people, there will not be so many things about changing dynasties under the sun.

After Jia Amnesty heard about Le Zhen's family, he sneered at Zhen Yingjia, but also had a bad feeling.

Speaking of which, the ancestors of the Zhen family and the Jia family have a pretty good relationship. When Jia She was still in the Rongguo Mansion as his uncle She, someone from the Zhen family once visited the Rongguo Mansion. The teenagers talked together.When Jia Daishan was around, he seemed to have a pretty good relationship with the Zhen family. The Zhang family was in charge of the house. At that time, the New Year gifts exchanged with the Zhen family every year were very generous.

Jia Amnesty left Rongfu, and Ningguo Mansion was lukewarm towards Rongfu. At the beginning, the Shi family had gone through the path of the Zhen family, and wanted Yuan Chun to enter the palace to be Tu Minghao's side concubine, although the Zhen family did not complete it. This promise, but the problem is that the Shi family has always been quite a powerful person, and the Zhen family has always been powerful before. The Shi family will never let go of the relationship with the Zhen family because of this, and I am afraid that there will be some connections with the Zhen family. .It is impossible for Shi Shi and Jia Zheng to follow the Zhen family to rebel. The mother and son will not have such courage, but the possibility of betting on both ends of the snake and mouse is very high.

Thinking about it this way, Jia Amnesty couldn't help but feel depressed. He was afraid that something would happen to the Rong Mansion when he turned around, and he and Jia Jing would have to follow behind to tidy up. After thinking about it, that's fine, if the Shi family and Jia Zheng and the others This time it got involved in this kind of thing, so Jia Jing, no matter how much compassion he had, would not continue to be soft-hearted. I am afraid that he would like to use a big stick to drive the Rongfu family out without saying anything. The clan is divided, and the family will be expelled directly!From now on, it's really all over, and there won't be any other troubles.

Thinking of this, Jia Amnesty didn't come to the door directly, but wrote a letter and asked someone to give it to Jia Jing, reminding him that the Zhen family has been in close contact with the Rong Mansion over the years, and that Yuan Chun's entry into the palace was done by Zhen The way of the family, the Zhen family is afraid that it will not be long now, let him keep an eye on the Dianrong Mansion, and don't get involved in anything.

Jia Jing is quite optimistic about this. What does the Rong Mansion have now, except for a meager title and no real power? It is no wonder that the Zhen family likes them. It's useless, how can they be so unwise?

The Rongfu family is naturally not so stupid, but it's not much better either.Jia Zheng didn't want to continue to flatter the Zhen family's stinky feet. At the beginning, he risked being scolded as a prostitute for glory and insisted on sending Yuan Chun to the palace. Concubine Zhen Gui bestowed on Tu Minghao the side concubine, but directly became a rough envoy. After returning, the market plummeted. It was not easy to find a more powerful family for Yuan Chun.

On the other hand, Jia Zhu, who passed the provincial examination before and was immediately popular, but most of the people who like Jia Zhu are from families with no foundation. She was married to Jia Zhu, but she was a concubine, which made Jia Zheng feel that he was insulted. Therefore, Xiao Wang had taken a look at several families, but when he told Jia Zheng, Jia Zheng rejected them all. , and said that because Xiao Wang was a stepmother, she refused to do anything for Jia Zhu, which made Xiao Wang very angry.

Anyway, Jia Zheng felt that the Zhen family was really dishonest, and when he heard that the Zhen family had been impeached, he gloated a lot.

But the Shi family is different, and the Shi family has a different idea. The Zhen family has been accused of so many crimes, but the saint has fallen lightly. It can be seen that as long as the old saint is still there, the Zhen family will always stand firm.As for the old sage, his health should not be too good in the past two years. According to the news that the Zhen family got from the concubine Gui, the old sage will probably be fine if he lives for another ten or twenty years.

Therefore, Shi Shi felt that the Zhen family could still rely heavily on it. At least, he should use the strength of the Zhen family first to let the Jia family get up first. Very enthusiastic.

The Zhen family came to Beijing, in fact, for a wedding. Concubine Zhen Gui persuaded the old sage last year to give one of the daughters of the Zhen family to Tu Minghao as a side concubine.Naturally, the old sage had no intention of objecting. It was just a side concubine, and there was nothing wrong with it. Tu Minghao is now a prince, and he has four places for side concubines. It's no big deal to give one to his cousin of the Zhen family. .

Although she is a side concubine, she is also on the jade certificate, only a head lower than the main concubine. Tu Minghao's main concubine's background is not high, and Tu Minghao's old father-in-law has no real power, just listen It's nice to hear, after the daughter of the Zhen family gets married, if she is favored by Tu Minghao, she can even fight against the concubine.

Therefore, the Zhen family attaches great importance to this. Moreover, they have to show that they are still relatives of the emperor. Even if the entire court is impeaching the Zhen family, the saints have not treated the Zhen family. Therefore, they want to show that The Zhen family's ability.Therefore, along the way, there were several boats loaded with dowry, and they entered Beijing mightily. Knowing how many people's attention has been attracted, they are full of praise for the wealth of the Zhen family.

When the Zhen family came to Beijing, they naturally had to visit relatives and friends, and naturally they also went to the Rong Mansion. The Zhen family was also very polite to the Rong Mansion. The emaciated camel was bigger than a horse. This is useless, now the third generation has risen, Jia Zhu has been admitted to Juren, and after two years, he will be able to become an official and become an official. I heard that Jia Jing thinks highly of this nephew, so I will support him a little bit at that time After all, Jia Zhu's promotion should go smoothly, and she will be supported by the Zhen family at that time. Therefore, she didn't seem to be contemptuous because of Rongfu's neglected family in recent years, and she was quite affectionate when she saw the situation worse than before.

If the Zhen family wants to win over the Jia family, it is definitely impossible to become an official for Jia Zheng. Jia Zheng is a person who is registered above. A few things were stains that couldn't be washed away. No matter whose face the officials were looking at, they wouldn't give Jia Zheng any good looks.Therefore, it was natural to focus on the third generation of the Jia family.

Yuan Chun was tricked by the Zhen family, and the Zhen family didn't mention that fault. It would have been fine if it had been before, but now that the daughter of the Zhen family has entered Tu Minghao's mansion as a side concubine, and if Yuan Chun is allowed to go in again, it is not with her own girl. Competing for favor? As for introducing a good marriage to Yuan Chun, it is just a word of mouth. The age of the Zhen family is not suitable, and the age is suitable, but the status is not suitable. Therefore, after hearing that Jia Zhu is not engaged yet , directly eyeing Jia Zhu.