The Marginal People of Jia's Family in the Red Chamber

Early summer, Mingguang Palace.

Jia Qiong was reclining on the soft couch, watching the scenery of the Bibo Pool outside the hall through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, eating honey plums with the hands of the maids, what a romantic scene.

A shout of "Your Majesty is here!" was heard at the door, and Jia Qiong didn't get up, but waited for the emperor to come in, and waved leisurely: "Your Majesty is coming, why are you free today?"

"Mr. Cheng'en, why don't you stand up and greet Shengjia when you see Shengjia." The emperor said with a dark face.

Jia Qiong waved away the maid who was waiting on the side, frowned and said: "What's the matter, who messed with you, why are you angry with me!"

"Presumptuous, disrespectful in front of the emperor, disrespectful to the superior!" Pointing to the soft couch Jia Qiong was lying on and the decorations at hand, he said: "Exceeding the limit, Cheng Engong, you are so courageous."

Jia Qiong thought that the emperor was going to play something again, but he didn't have time to explain to him in advance, so he took advantage of the situation and said: "It's not once or twice that I lost my manners in front of the imperial court. Decades have passed, and now His Majesty is here to settle the old score. Isn't it too late?"

"It's because I pampered you too much in the past that I let you act so boldly!" the emperor said angrily.

"Since Your Majesty doesn't like me, I just don't want to be an eyesore." Jia Qiong threw off the handkerchief, shook his sleeves and left.

I was still thinking on the way, what's going on?In the court and the harem, is there anyone who needs to play such a contradictory scene to lure them into the bait?Jia Qiong didn't have a clue after much deliberation, so she simply gave up, anyway, the emperor will definitely send someone secretly to explain later.

The palace servant who witnessed the whole process passed the news to his master behind the scenes. Those people were not celebrating with joy that Jia Qiong was finally going to be pulled down, but they stroked their foreheads and sighed: "Here it is again!"

It's really here again, don't the emperor and Jia Qiong bother you?They played against each other three or four times. The first time everyone cheered, the second time everyone laughed happily, the third time everyone was cautious, and the fourth time, most people watched a few idiots jump into the pit with cold eyes.So, don’t blame Jia Qiong for being angry. The first thing he did was think about why he wanted to act. The first reaction of those who got the news was also, why did it happen again?

Jia Qiong waited at home for a few days but did not get an explanation from the emperor. She already had a bad feeling in her heart, and after thinking about the front and rear palaces, she really couldn't think of any reason.He stayed in the mansion all the time and didn't go out, and Jia Ming and Lin Huang were not allowed to enter the palace.To the outside world, he pretended that he and the emperor had really fallen out.

The ministers and clans said, are we blind and foolish?Your Majesty, you can no longer deceive us with such a small trick!Everyone is still on the sidelines.

Jia Qiong hadn't entered the palace for two months, and the ministers all stroked their beards and said, um, Your Majesty's performance was really good, but he really didn't go to see Jia Qiong for two months, even if he declared that he was summoned to scold him. , um, the spirit is really commendable, which idiot hit him again this time?

In two more months, His Majesty stopped hearing that the Empress Empress summoned Jia Ming and Lin Huang, and His Highness the Crown Prince forbade him to come to see his uncle.All the ministers were half-believing, could it be true this time?Don't blame the ministers for being cautious, they have been tricked too many times by this pair of monarchs and ministers, brother-in-law and brother-in-law.

At this time, a cannon fodder who is not afraid of death came forward, and all the officials put their little hearts in place, um, let this pathfinder explore first.

The leading pathfinder is Zhou Hui, the son of the idle clan, the first-class general Feng En, who looks good, lives up to his name, and is beautiful and brilliant.The first-class General Feng En is already the lowest rank of the clan title, and the lower one is a bald head. Apart from the banner of being connected with the royal blood, he is no different from ordinary people.

Somehow, Zhou Hui's family found a way to send Zhou Hui to his majesty's former imperial guard at this stall.Zhou Hui is eloquent, humorous, and generous. Anyone with a discerning eye can see the traces of Zhou Hui's imitation of Jia Qiong.

His Majesty began to favor Zhou Hui now. From the third-class bodyguard who patrolled when we met, he was promoted to a first-class personal bodyguard in less than two months. Without going through the cabinet, he directly appointed Zhongshu Sheren to serve by his side.The title of Zhou Hui's father has also been raised by one level, and Zhou Hui himself has been continuously rewarded and favored. In just one year, he has become a prominent figure, and the palace servants compete to curry favor with each other.

Zhou Hui once slammed into Queen Fengjia, but His Majesty fined Zhou Hui to copy "Book of Rites" once, which made the Queen fall ill.This kind of behavior made those active people think, could it be that this time it's not acting, His Majesty the Emperor really fell out with Jia Qiong?

There have never been many people who take advantage of the fire to rob and make trouble, but those who are on the wall and have enemies with Jia Qiong are fanning the flames. At first glance, they seem to be very powerful.

During the New Year, civil and military officials, clan and royal relatives entered the palace to receive a banquet. This was the first time Jia Qiong entered the palace after the quarrel with His Majesty in early summer.

In previous years, in the arrangement of palace banquets, His Majesty took the first place in the center, the Empress Dowager Feng was on the left, and Jia Qiong was on the right. Ceremony", and now the two had a conflict, which made the chief eunuch in that row of seats sweat profusely.

In the end, the seat was still put out as usual, but His Majesty the Emperor said to Zhou Hui in the seat that Jia Qiong had made: "Go and sit there, closer to me."

There was an instant silence in the hall.

"Father, in the past, when my uncle sat here, it was a family ritual, but now that Zhou Hui is an imperial bodyguard, how can He De sit above his ministers?" His Royal Highness asked angrily.

The emperor frowned, glanced at Jia Qiong who was still standing in the hall, and said: "There is some reason, come and move the crown prince's seat under the queen, Zhou Hui, let's sit there."

The palace servants silently began to prepare to move the chairs, but His Highness the Crown Prince directly swept down the delicacies on the tables in front of him, snorted, and walked away without looking back.

"The emperor is not feeling well today, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me." Empress Jia Yushu said with a smile on her face, her fingernails tightly gripping her flesh.

"The prince is unwell, so he will leave the table early, and the banquet will continue." The emperor announced loudly.The court musicians began to play and sing again, the sound of music and the noise of people talking came, and the palace was once again a happy and prosperous scene.

Jia Qiong's title is the duke, so naturally he ranks first. He sits at the front of the honorable section. Everyone sees him with a natural expression. Those who care and gossip all come up to toast. Jia Qiong does not refuse anyone who comes, laughing and drinking , but also enjoy themselves.

All the people in the palace paid attention to His Majesty, Jia Qiong, Zhou Hui and the Queen as they drank, and they all spoke with one eye, for fear of missing any important information.How could the empress agree to the emperor's embarrassment to the country's uncle?Regardless of whether the emperor and Jia Qiong are acting or not, this storm is destined to be serious.

Unexpectedly, this banquet really went so smoothly.In the past, I heard that Zhou Hui was domineering because of the emperor's favor, but he was quite well-behaved at the banquet, and even a few jokes with His Majesty were within the frame.In previous years, at the state banquet, Jia Qiong would directly pull His Majesty to sing loudly, and pull the guards to make fists and kicks. Compared with Jia Qiong, Zhou Hui was really well-behaved.

When the banquet was over, everyone turned away.Or silence, or whispering in groups of three or four, discussing today's affairs.

Jia Qiong didn't go back with the crowd, but went to the Bibo Pool, the pavilion where he, His Majesty and Lu Tong escaped from the Qionglin Banquet, where the libretto and drums flew wantonly.

His Majesty the Emperor did not go to the empress's place as usual, nor did he talk to the prince who was disrespectful today, nor did he have a joke with Zhou Hui as rumored by outsiders. He came alone, with only the chief steward carrying a lantern to light the way. Arrived at the pavilion.

When he was about to reach the pavilion, the emperor took out the lantern, waved back the chief executive, and walked in by himself.

The moonlight is like practice, and there is only a pool of stagnant water left in the Bibo Pool in winter, which is pitch black and glows coldly under the moonlight.

"Your Majesty is here." Jia Qiong leaned on the railing, even though the emperor had reprimanded him for his disrespect, he still had no intention of getting up and saluting.

The emperor put the lantern in a corner of the pavilion, walked to the stone table and sat down, silent.

"Can your Majesty explain to me what happened this year?"

"What's going on, everything is normal." The emperor said nonsense with his eyes open.

"Everything is normal?" Jia Qiong made him laugh angrily, "Then His Majesty just didn't like me, so you let Zhou Hui hit me in the face?"

"Zhou Aiqing is knowledgeable and intelligent. Do you have any opinion on him?"

"Forget it, you don't want to tell the truth, and I don't bother to tell you. I'll go back. By the way, Jia Ming has recently made a fuss about joining the army. I don't agree, so don't let him go." Jia Qiong said casually. In a word, he waved his hand and left.

"You are always like this." The emperor said behind Jia Qiong's back.

"What do you mean?" Jia Qiong turned around.

"You're always like this, and you boss me around too much. Do you take me seriously? I'm the emperor!"

"I said a long time ago that I never regarded you as an emperor. If you were an emperor, why should I help you with all my wealth? I reward you for your merits, and you are rewarded for your ability. Can Cheng Engong be rewarded?"

"Are you accusing me of unfair rewards and punishments?"

"I'm explaining, I regard you as a bosom friend!" Jia Qiong frowned, he was confident that the emperor was not such a person who crossed rivers and demolished bridges, what happened now.

"A bosom friend? I can't be your confidant. If you are a confidant, why do you hide it from me? You have already prepared the way to deal with the salt merchants' riot, but you see me distressed because of the salt merchants. Waiting for me to ask you You just act. How can you treat me as a confidant and friend like this!"

"What was prepared for? Didn't you say that I started to move?"

"You still want to lie to me!" The emperor slapped the table and stood up: "Why did you find the salt lake in Xinjiang so quickly? You already have an industry there! There are also lands in Qinghai and Shanxi, aren't they all prepared by you a long time ago?" ?"

"I have properties all over the country. It's not surprising that you just found out today. I received your news, so I took out things from my property for free to sell salt at a low price to help you restore the state. Am I still wrong?"

"Help me! Good one help me, Jia Qiong! Don't forget, is it the king's land in the whole world, is it the king's subject on the shore of the land, the world belongs to me, how can you say in front of me so confidently that you are in the whole country?" All have industries!"

"Unreasonable!" Jia Qiong waved his hands, as if to leave.The emperor stepped forward to hold him back and said, "Don't leave! Make it clear!"

Jia Qiong retreated and said: "What else can I say? You are suspicious of being an emperor, and your suspicion has come to me. What else do you want me to say? It's taken for granted that I have property in the whole country, and everyone knows about it. , After so many years, you don’t know who has provoked you now, and you are running crazy, what am I going to explain to you!”

"Without my trust, where did you get so much wealth!" the emperor said angrily.

"What do you mean?" Jia Qiong stopped the emperor's hand and said, "I started doing business when I was seven years old. Jinshi, why did you come to win me over? Isn’t it just for the money in my hand? Back then, I could earn money by myself, but now you have the nerve to put gold on your face?”

"Yeah, how dare I forget your money, the queen's dowry is more than the national treasury back then, no one in the world knows now, I didn't marry the queen back then, but silver!" The emperor said without hesitation.

"Fart! Why did Yushu treat you badly all these years? You want to insult her like this! Back then, I lost everything and supported you, but I was blind!"

"Slap!" The emperor was emotional, and greeted him with a slap, "The world belongs to me, I am the emperor, I am the emperor!"

Jia Qiong was stunned by the slap, and looked at the emperor fixedly.

The emperor came to his senses, shook hands and said in a low voice, "I didn't mean to, I...I..."

"Hahahaha... the emperor, the emperor!" Jia Qiong burst into tears, but laughed again and again: "I have known you for decades, and I just found out that you are the emperor, the emperor today!"

Jia Qiong let out a fit of laughter, covered her stomach and made a sound that seemed to be crying or laughing, and finally raised her head, saying with a blank expression: "Then be your lonely emperor!"

The emperor looked at the back of Jia Qiong going away, huddled in a ball in the pavilion, and said to himself: "That's not what I mean, I just want to pretend that I don't like you so much, so as not to let you affect the government, you don't know how dazzling you are , you have made me, the emperor, dim. I'm just despicable and jealous, just jealous."

"Your Majesty!" The chief executive came out from behind the flowers and trees, and helped the emperor to sit on the stone bench.

"I didn't do it on purpose. I just want to suppress it a little bit, and then let the prince come to show his kindness, so that the prince's position can be stabilized. You are too strong. I'm afraid you won't be willing to give up power. How can the prince's position be stabilized? At that time, you When I die, let you be buried? I can't bear it, I can't bear it~"

"Your Majesty..." the head steward has served the emperor for almost 50 years. He watched the emperor grow up, and couldn't bear to see his helpless and dazed appearance, so he called softly.

"My wife, I didn't mean it, I was just scared, I was just scared."

"Your Majesty, don't be afraid, this old slave knows everything." The head steward gently patted the emperor's arm, comforting him.

"You know, yes, you know, everyone knows, the queen knows too. The queen knows that I'm in love with her brother, and the queen hates me so much that she won't let me into her bedroom. Soon the prince will also You will know, Jia Ming will know, Lin Huang will know, and everyone in the world will know!"

"Everyone in the world will lament that I am a foolish king who has defiled the immortals of the world. The queen is my wife, but she only has Jia Qiong in her eyes. Obviously... Shouldn't the minister be blamed for this kind of thing? Why should she blame me? It's not my fault alone, why did she blame me? Everyone in the world will blame me, I have discredited my ancestors! It's all my fault..."

The emperor muttered to himself, the chief executive didn't want to hit him again, Jia Qiong didn't mean it at all, everything was the emperor's own sentimentality, so how could Jia Qiong be blamed?

The empress has controlled the harem for decades, and she has accumulated a lot of power. The emperor did not bring anyone with him, and the chief steward watched over what happened in the Bibochi Pavilion. After a quarrel, Cheng Engong walked away in a huff, it was right.

When the queen received the news, she first blocked the access to the harem and restrained the concubines from wandering around.In recent years, the emperor was notoriously pure-hearted and ascetic. Except for the concubines who had princes and princesses in his residence in the past years, he did not bring in newcomers after he ascended the throne.Everyone praises the emperor for his affection, or the empress for her superb means, and Jia Qiong is also used to it. The women he teaches must be different from the women in the world, isn't it?

Now the queen only wears ordinary clothes and a big cloak, and hurried to Bibochi.Swinging away the palace servants who followed him, seeing the emperor slumped on the stone bench, he didn't feel sorry for him, but asked, "Did you tell him? Did you tell him, huh?"

The emperor still leaned on the chief executive and remained silent.

"Young lady..." The chief executive wanted to say something, but the queen interrupted directly.

"How dare you! How dare you! My brother thinks that he is a virtuous minister and treats you as a confidant. How dare you tell him your dirty thoughts. You ruined the friendship that my brother has treasured for decades. You make me sick!" The queen roared angrily, grabbing the emperor's dragon robe with her hands.

The emperor struggled to get up, grabbed the queen's hand tightly, and said angrily: "I'm disgusting, do you think you're not disgusting? Don't pretend that you are as noble as a fairy. Back then, I only loved the eldest son of the emperor a little bit, so you can Panicked, I repeatedly asked your brother to get closer to me and speak nice words for you! You knew what I was thinking at that time, but between Huaijin and the prince, you chose the prince, you chose your own glory and wealth! Don't bother me!"

"You're talking nonsense, you're talking nonsense! I didn't know at the time, I didn't know! It's a matter of course for a son to succeed to the throne, but my elder brother definitely didn't know..."

"Of course he doesn't know, do you dare to let him know? He only thought that you were still a good sister who married at the age of 15, and that you were in a difficult situation in the palace. He only thought that it would be great if he could help you a little .He always treats you like a daughter, do you dare to let him know that the younger sister he holds in his hands once wanted to use him to replace the crown prince?"

"Fart! Shut up! Don't say it! I didn't!" The queen beat the emperor with tears streaming down her face.

"Are you clear in your own mind!" The emperor grabbed and leaned on him and hammered his queen, "Look, it's this graceful and luxurious face, even this woman who is the mother of the world, she also has such vicious thoughts, you Isn’t it funny to say that! How dare you accuse me!”

The emperor was almost insane, venting his anxiety and anger incoherently, for a while she, and for a while, you don't know what the emperor is talking about.

"I just want to know if you said it, tell me quickly, you didn't say it, didn't you?" The queen was slightly calm, and asked him hopefully, "You didn't say it, right? You will destroy him, You will destroy him."

The emperor let go of the queen dejectedly, and said to himself, "Of course I dare not say it. I am not afraid of the scolding of the world, but I am afraid of his contemptuous eyes..."

At this moment, a servant ran over, knelt down on the ground, and said tremblingly, "Mr. Cheng En was assassinated, and his life and death are uncertain."

The emperor stood up suddenly, and angrily said: "Bold slave, dare to curse Cheng Engong, I want you from the nine clans!"

The little servant came here to report such terrible news, and from the corner of his eye, he glanced at the emperor and the empress, who were dressed in messy clothes and seemed to be arguing. Outside the door...the imperial army..."

The little servant was too frightened to speak, and the chief executive made a decisive decision and shouted, "Someone is here, please go and invite the commander of the imperial army..."

No need to invite, today is the new year, the commander of the forbidden army has also gone home to rest, and the deputy commander of the forbidden army is on duty.Another servant came to report, and the deputy commander of the forbidden army asked to see him.

The location of Bibo Pond is not counted as the inner palace, and the deputy commander of the forbidden army has no taboos.He came almost at a trot, and when he came, he fell to his knees and grabbed the ground with his head.You must know that he is wearing armor now, and the face saint only needs to do a military salute.

"Tell me! That servant must have lied, right?"

"Your Majesty! Duke Cheng'en was assassinated!"

When the emperor heard this sentence, all his illusions were shattered, his whole body seemed to be exhausted, he couldn't even stand still, and fell on the chief executive.

"Emperor doctor, imperial doctor, why are you still standing still, call me all the people from the imperial hospital to Cheng'en Gong's mansion!" The queen stomped her feet and shouted. "By the way, let the people from Qin Tianjian go too, and let Qin Tianjian go right away."

After the queen gave the order, without waiting for the emperor, she combed her hair, removed all the hairpins that had been loosened just now, tied up her hair, ordered people to bring the horse over, and hurried to the gate of the palace by herself.For the remaining maids, someone naturally picked up the tiaras thrown away by the queen and kept them properly.

The emperor also seemed to have come to his senses, loudly ordered the horses to be prepared, and then ordered the deputy commander of the imperial army: "Find it out, I don't care who is behind it, if you dare to attack, I will kill him. If you can't find out, you will be punished as an assassin accomplice." !"

……

When Jia Qiong came out of the palace, it was already dead of night, all the officials attending the banquet had left, and he was the only one on the road.He didn't bring enough guards, and at the New Year's Eve banquet, most of them were guards of honor, and the combat power was not strong. He really didn't expect that someone would come to assassinate.

The visitors had been prepared for a long time and were not afraid of death. Jia Qiong's guards were gradually lost, and even the hidden guards who were secretly protecting them showed up and fought together.Jia Qiong was a martial artist in his early years, and now he is getting older, so he can't compare with such professionals, so he has to dodge in embarrassment.The guard was negligent, and Jia Qiong was stabbed in the abdomen by a flying dagger.

Seeing that Jia Qiong had been stabbed, and hearing the orderly hooves of the imperial army, the assassins killed themselves one after another.The surviving guards gathered around to protect Jia Qiong, and after careful inspection, they found that he had been poisoned.Under the escort of the forbidden army, Jia Qiong was quickly transferred to Cheng'en Gongfu.His mansion was bestowed by the emperor back then, just beside the palace.

In the first month of the lunar year, the vice-commander of the imperial army, who was already at leisure, was drinking tea in the room on duty. He was almost choked to death by the news of Jia Qiong's assassination. He sent a team to investigate the scene and hurried to report to His Majesty.