Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 890 Miaoyu's First Arrival in the Capital
West City Pier,

It is still busy here.

Although the shore was relatively orderly, it was crowded with busy people and porters. A group of people were shouting at the top of their lungs, just like the docks in Jiangnan. Coincidentally, there were many vague gazes looking at her. Miaoyu frowned slightly, disliking the people in front of her. After all, she was used to the quietness in Jiangnan, and she couldn't adapt for a while.

Going up to the deck, Miaoyu and her group got off the ship and boarded the carriage on the shore, thus isolating themselves from the complicated gazes outside.
Beside the carriage, the Chamber of Commerce manager was already waiting there, respectfully.
"Madam, wait a moment. The caravan carriage is going back to the capital. Just follow them. The capital is quite large and the Marquis's residence is in the East City. It will take quite some time."

Hearing the people outside calling her Madam one after another, Miaoyu was shy but knew what was going on. Thinking of the Madam in the Marquis' Mansion, she felt a little uneasy and asked;

"Is the Marquis at home?"

"Uh, Madam, he should not be here. The Marquis has been very busy with official business these days and can only return to the mansion to rest after sunset."

The steward is also an old man in the mansion. The Marquis has not returned to the mansion during the day these days. He should still think about many things for the Marquis. The people who came down from this boat said they were from a nunnery. Not only did they not look like Buddhist disciples, but they had long hair and wore fine brocade. Obviously, they were not Buddhists.
"Then let's not go to the Marquis' Mansion for now. Is there a place for the Chamber of Commerce to stay?"

When Miaoyu heard that the Marquis was not in the mansion, she immediately lifted the curtain and spoke to the outside of the carriage. The steward nodded and agreed.

"Madam, the Chamber of Commerce has rooms for rest, but Madam, the Marquis has instructed that whenever you come to Beijing, you must go to the Marquis' Mansion. So, I dare to ask Madam, when will you go to the Marquis' Mansion?"

The steward explained carefully that the old men in the Chamber of Commerce were all aware of the Marquis' temper.

"Just wait till night, and then go over there,"

"Yes, ma'am, let's go."

With the shout from the steward outside the car, the motorcade slowly moved, and entered the capital together with the Chamber of Commerce people who had been waiting for a long time.
inside the carriage,
Xing Yanyan held the package, blinked her eyes, and followed the young lady silently. Looking at the strange place, the little girl shrank her head in fear. Only the young lady dared to give orders to the people outside. She hesitated and asked in a low voice;

"Miss, why do you have to wait until the evening to go to the Marquis' Mansion? Why don't you go now?"

"You, don't you think about it? We are from a noble family. We have just entered the capital, and we are outsiders. If we go there during the day, who knows what kind of gossips outsiders will have when they see us. It will be easier to go in at night."

Miaoyu was born into a family of officials, so how could she not know many things? Moreover, she went to Beijing to look for the Marquis. When she entered the mansion, the Marquis was not there. How would she explain it if she ran into the Marquis's wife?

that's it,
The Chamber of Commerce's convoy and soldiers entered the city, but after entering the city, they encountered the carriage of the Prince of Zhongshun's mansion, one in front and one behind, not far away.
"My Lord, this is indeed the carriage of Marquis Luo Yun's Mansion. The team escorted by this team is the Yunhai Chamber of Commerce under the name of Marquis Luo Yun's Mansion. I have seen it before."

Next to the prince's carriage, the second steward was sitting in the front. He looked back and saw the caravan of Luo Yunhou's mansion, with nearly twenty vehicles of all sizes. The business of the Yunhai Chamber of Commerce is getting bigger and bigger now. It is said that there is a Yunhai Money House in West City. The caravans traveling to and from the outside of the Great Wall all exchange silver there with the banknotes. It can be seen that its financial strength should not be underestimated outside the Great Wall.

Zhou Yunzhen sat in the car, still thinking about what his father had told him to do, preparing for the emperor's birthday banquet. The gift had to be rare, but all the rare things in the world were in the royal treasury. No matter how rare it was, he had to present it from the heart of Shuzhong in the name of auspiciousness.

Hearing the steward mention the Yunhai Chamber of Commerce, Zhou Yunzhen knew it was the Chamber of Commerce under the name of Luo Yunhou Mansion. Now it is widely rumored in the capital that the Yunhai Chamber of Commerce has monopolized the business of all the banks outside the northern border. This is a huge business, but unfortunately, no one dares to move. Even the Sihai Bank has stopped and everything is peaceful.
"Keep going. Don't worry about them. After all, there is always a bond between the Wang Mansion and Luo Yunhou Mansion."

Zhou Yunzhen had a complicated expression. The reason why the situation outside the Great Wall had reached such a state was because of his father's negligence. Marquis Luo Yun could be in the situation he is today because of his father's influence. If anything happened in the future, he might be able to ask Marquis Luo Yun for help.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The second steward was sitting in the front, responded, waved his whip, and led the team northward.

The Yunhai Caravan behind them, when they were in West City, followed the road in the south of the city and made a circle before arriving at the Shuiqiao Chamber of Commerce.

Arrived at the Chamber of Commerce loft,

There were already prepared rooms, so Miaoyu and the others got off the carriage and went into the inner courtyard to rest. Many young masters in the temple looked around with curiosity.

Only Master Shuiyue came over to help Miaoyu into the side room. Seeing Miaoyu's worried face, she tried to persuade her.

"Miaoyu, now that you are here, make the best of it. All living beings enter the cycle of reincarnation. Buddhists sometimes have to go through trials in the secular world. You are trapped by the affections of your family and the entanglements of worldly love. How can you escape to Buddhism and practice?"

The light veil fluttered, and the white veil under Miaoyu's bamboo hat trembled slightly. She felt aggrieved and sighed.

"Uncle Master, I understand."

Thinking of her father, she didn't know when he would be escorted to the capital, and what the officials of the Ministry of Justice would say about him. Time was running out, so she couldn't hesitate. Seeing her sisters following her, she asked in return;

"Uncle Master, then you guys..."

"Don't ask me too much about our affairs. Since the Marquis allowed you to come, how could there be no arrangements?"

As the saying goes, a bystander sees more clearly than an involved party. Since the Marquis has invited me, I still have to listen to the Marquis's decision on how to arrange it.

"makes sense,"

Miaoyu's face darkened, her moon-white silk gown fluttering in the wind. After a pause, she entered the side room. The little maid Xing Yuyan didn't know why, so she quickly chased after her.

"Miss, Miss, please slow down."

Zhongshun Wangfu,

In front of the government gate,
Many servants were busy carrying boxes and carefully entered the treasury. After getting off the carriage, the Crown Prince Zhou Yunzhen hurried to the backyard. After entering the study, he shouted urgently;

"Father, Father, I got the things back."

He rushed in hurriedly, dusty and exhausted.

In the study,

King Zhongshun Zhou Jianan sat behind his desk, holding a few visiting cards, looking worried. Although the letters were not long, they were also words of begging, but precisely because of this, he had to agree.

Just when I was feeling bored, I heard some noise in the outer room and realized that Yunzhen had returned.
"How can you be so flustered? Can you get the stuff back?"

Zhou Yunzhen's face was full of joy. After entering the study, he stood still, bowed, and said;
"Father, I personally watched over the shipment of the items from the ship to the carriage and sent them back to the palace. There was nothing wrong with it. I just don't know if the auspicious signs sent by the Governor of Shu will be successful."

The so-called auspiciousness,

Zhou Yunzhen also knew a lot about it. It was nothing more than some rare things, and with the help of the pens of the civil officials, they insisted on saying it was a good omen. If it was true, it would be fine. If it was false, his father would be in trouble.
Who knows,

Prince Zhongshun smiled mysteriously, put down the visiting card in his hand, pointed to the chair in front of the desk and asked him to sit down. "You are still shallow in knowledge. The world is so big that there are all kinds of wonders. But if you insist on saying that there are auspicious signs, how many of them are real? They are nothing more than far-fetched embellishments. The recovery of Shu is what the emperor is most proud of. As long as it is an auspicious sign in Shu, the emperor will definitely be happy. You must know that the Qingcheng Taoist Sect is in Shu. The emperor is practicing Taoism now, and he just lacks these. Therefore, your father can only come up with this best plan. You must know that the four kings and eight dukes do not count, all the princes in Guannei are here."

The faint words made the study quiet. The somewhat anxious Crown Prince Zhou Yunzhen no longer looked anxious. It was said that the four noble princes were the most difficult to deal with. Who would have thought that now, not only those outside the Great Wall, but also the words of the princes inside the Great Wall were becoming more and more serious. On the contrary, the Zhongshun Palace that stayed in the capital had not made any progress for many years. Did his father make the wrong choice back then?

"Father is wise. Now the Honglu Temple is heavily guarded. We don't know what gifts each family brought for the birthday banquet. Father, I have something to say. I don't know if I should say it or not."

Zhou Yunzhen had been hiding these words in his heart for many years. When he saw the Yunhai caravan today, he had a vague feeling about it. Now, the elite soldiers brought by the princes of the vassal states in the Honglu Temple had stimulated him even more. He had to say,
"Well, tell me."

Lift up your eyes,
Prince Zhongshun looked at his eldest son, who had now grown up.
"Father, a few years ago, several uncles did not make any moves after they were enfeoffed. But today, they dared to unite and bring elite troops into the capital. I have also met those people from the Honglu Temple. Although they are not as elite as the elite soldiers under Marquis Luo Yun and the elite soldiers of the Imperial Guard, they are better than the soldiers in the Beijing camp. They are much better now. Father, did we make the wrong choice back then?"

This is a wrong choice. When Your Majesty ascended the throne, all the princes had to leave the capital to settle down. Only Prince Zhongshun remained in the capital until now.
For a time,

There was total silence in the study room. Zhou Jianan had a complicated expression on his face. He remained silent for a long time. After an unknown amount of time, a hoarse voice sounded,
"What you said is both right and wrong. Why is it right? It's because my father didn't expect that their strength would grow so fast after they became vassals. They have become another major concern for the court. In other words, the emperor has already started to worry about them."

He touched the visiting cards on the table again, and thought of the battle outside the Great Wall, and sighed.
"In the battle outside the Great Wall, my father has no talent for leading troops, and those border troops have their own ulterior motives. If it weren't for the boy Luo Yunhou who turned the tide, the central area outside the Great Wall would have been lost long ago. Now I think it's a blessing in disguise. We are in the capital, without military power or financial power, so we can stay here with peace of mind. If we really encounter the same thing, we won't worry about who sits on that position."

"this?"

Zhou Yunzhen's eyes widened, thinking that his father would regret it, but he didn't expect that his father actually thought so. Thinking back, although his father had done many things, even if he was discovered by the palace, he was only reprimanded, and there was no excessive scolding, especially when the mausoleum collapsed. After his father came back from the palace, he was silent. It was obvious that the emperor helped cover it up.

I was the one who thought superficially. I stood up and bowed.
"Father, you have a keen eye. I am shallow-minded. If that is the case, Father, why don't we buy some water-smooth jade from Jiangnan and bring it back as a birthday gift along with the auspicious signs? In this way, the Emperor will definitely use his spiritual practice in our favor."

"Ahahaha, good boy, you got it. You are right. It is not easy to transport these things from Shu. It is not convenient to send things from the surrounding areas together. So, in addition to the jade from Jiangnan, there are some inscriptions on gold and stone from the previous dynasties in the north. The Li family in Zhongshan has them. Write a letter and ask them to send them immediately."

King Zhongshun laughed loudly, and suddenly thought that the Li family in Zhongshan County still had a large number of inscriptions on gold and stone from the previous dynasties. How could these good things used by Taoists be left to ordinary people like them?

"Yes, father, I know. I heard that the eldest son of the Li family ranked third in the Imperial Examination this time and is working in the Hanlin Academy. If you want to, just tell me about it."

"Well, that's good, go ahead and do it, and be quick."

The father and son discussed for a few minutes and decided on the gifts for the Emperor's birthday banquet next month. It should only take a few days.

Zhou Yunzhen felt that time was running out, so he did not stay any longer. He stood up, bowed, and left in a hurry.
Rongguo Mansion,
Seeing that Marquis Luo Yun was determined to leave, Lady Jia in Rongqing Hall did not try to persuade him to stay and asked Yuanyang to see him off.
Zhang Jinyu said goodbye and left.
When I got outside the palace, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the mandarin ducks leading the way, I felt more and more charmed.
"My Lord, I can't send more. There is a banquet in the central courtyard, so I will send it here."

Yuanyang felt something strange behind her, her face turned red, she turned around and lowered her head to talk. Zhang Jinyu didn't care about these red tape, staring at Yuanyang's blushing face, and was reluctant to tease her.

"What's the difference between a servant and not a servant? Since you have entered the Marquis's Mansion, you belong to the Marquis's Mansion. How are you doing here?"

Hearing what the Marquis said, Yuanyang felt warm in her heart, thinking about the past when the eldest master looked at her with a strange look in his eyes, and now when he sees her again, he avoids her, how can she not live well?

"Don't worry, my lord. I am living very well here. I can still talk to Madam Yu from time to time."

"Well, in that case, you should take care of the Jia family and pay more attention to Yu'er. Now go back."

Zhang Jinyu wanted to stay and talk to Daiyu, but these few days were not the right time. There were too many people in Rongguo Mansion and it was inconvenient. After saying goodbye, he went to the middle courtyard.

As soon as I entered the yard,
Most of them were fine banquets, and some of the people who came were acquainted, some were not. Many of them were from noble families, but of course, most of them were idle people with nothing to do, like the Marquis of Xiangyang. He might not be the one to stay for a banquet.
I walked along the corridor, trying to get out of the mansion. Unexpectedly, I ran into Jia Zheng at the gate. He was wearing a fine blue-gray brocade robe, his face was ruddy, and his beard was neatly groomed. He was outside the door, thanking the guests who came and went.
Since he had seen her, Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but say hello, so he walked over and clasped his fists.

"Congratulations to Doctor Jia,"

Jia Zheng saw the person who was speaking behind him, so he turned around quickly and saw that it was Luo Yunhou who came. He was so happy that he quickly reached out to return the greeting.

"My Lord, you are so polite. What is this?"

Jia Zheng looked back and saw that the marquis left in a hurry and no one was there to greet him. There was no smell of alcohol or cigarettes on Marquis Luo Yun's body, so it was obvious that he had not eaten. How could Jia Zheng let the marquis leave? This is why he asked this question.

"I just came to your house and met the old lady. She said she wanted to borrow the master craftsman from the Ministry of Works to repair the garden. Now that the deal has been reached, it's time to go back."

Zhang Jinyu answered truthfully that building a separate residence for the imperial family was the top priority of the Jia family and could not be neglected. He said,

Speaking of the old lady's invitation, or the matter of repairing the garden, Jia Zheng couldn't let the marquis leave. He knew that all the big craftsmen in the Ministry of Works were called by Prince Zhongshun to repair the mausoleum, and the remaining one was still serving the marquis' father-in-law, Lord Qin. Thinking of this, he also knew that his daughter's matter was important, so he asked Lai Da to welcome the guests.
"Thank you for your care, sir. This matter is of utmost urgency. Sorry to bother you. Come on, sit in the inner room. I'll treat you to a drink."

Jia Zheng showed a grateful look on his face. He came to Zhang Jinyu and refused to let her leave no matter what. Zhang Jinyu had no choice but to grin and secretly thought that it would be better to stay at the old lady's house for dinner. Drinking with Jia Zheng was not fun.

But today, Rongguo Mansion is very happy, even if it is to give face to the empress in the palace, I can't leave, I clasp my fists and say;

"Sorry to bother you, Master. Please,"

"Please, my lord, this way."

Jia Zheng was very excited. He led Zhang Jinyu to the side room. There was no one in the room, only a table. Before Zhang Jinyu could ask any questions, the door opened and a group of servants came in, serving a table of food and wine.

As soon as the servant left, Jia Zheng filled two cups of wine, raised one cup and said respectfully:

"Thank you for your help, my Lord. If you hadn't agreed to this, I wouldn't know where to borrow the master carpenter. I'm afraid I've neglected the grace of the palace."

"Second Master, why do you have to be like this? It's just a trivial matter. How can I thank you for the relationship between our two families? Come on, do it."

There was no way to leave, so he decided to stay and eat. Although Jia Zheng was pedantic, he was a decent man, which was rare among civil servants. After drinking,
Zhang Jinyu was still a little curious. If Jia Zhu hadn't died, Jia Yuanchun would have at least passed the imperial examination. Among the nobles, there were not many who could achieve this. It was just that Jia Baoyu was not up to the task.

"My Lord, I wonder if the garden being built this time has been finalized, from the old lady's side."

After some hesitation, Jia Zheng spoke slowly. Everyone said that the emperor was very kind and he was going back to visit his parents, but he really didn't know how to build the garden. He sent someone to ask, but the old lady sent someone back to say that he and his elder brother Jia She didn't need to ask, and just take care of receiving guests. However, he was still a little worried in his heart.

"Master Zheng, rest assured. The old lady has already decided on this matter. Ningguo Mansion and Rongguo Mansion will each provide a piece of land. Together with the land between the two mansions, it will be enough to build a garden. As for wood and stone materials, if the mansion does not have enough, you can go to the Ministry of Works to get them."

Zhang Jinyu comforted him, saying that he still had several million taels of silver from the Ministry of Works. In order to save trouble, he bought all the things needed for the Ministry of Works to renovate the mansions in the capital first. The wood and stones filled several large courtyards, saving the trouble of buying more in the future. Now it seems that he can make more money. He doesn't know what plans other mansions have now. He remembers that there are not many concubines in the palace, but there are also several of them. He doesn't know which family they are from.

"Thank you, my Lord. I'll toast you again. Cheers!"

After that, he drank another glass of wine.
(End of this chapter)