The Concubine Wushuang of Red Mansion

Chapter 79
The chief assistant, Zhao Song, who was also the Minister of Household Affairs, pretended to be dead at this time and let Zhang Qilin, the left minister of the Household Affairs Bureau, speak.

There were only 20 taels of silver left in the Household Department, and the Supreme Emperor had already asked to transfer 20 taels of silver, saying it was for the Holy Shou Festival.

There was not a penny left, and the day of his salary was about to come. Zhang Qilin was so anxious about the money that his hair turned white, and he only regretted that he did not have the ability to turn stone into gold.

A clever woman cannot make a meal without rice, and the final result of the discussion was to go south to ask for money. Zhang Qilin wrote a letter asking for money in the name of the cabinet to Lin Ruhai, the salt inspector who was far away in Yangzhou, and the matter was temporarily settled.

After coming out of the palace, no one had the intention to go back. When they entered the cabinet courtyard, Yan Weiyong glanced at Zhang Qilin, and Zhang Qilin naturally followed the master into his duty room.

"Like the other side of the sea, I'm afraid it will be extremely difficult!"

After sitting down, Yan Weiyong dismissed the servants, and Zhang Qilin personally served him a cup of tea. The master and apprentice lowered their voices and talked about what happened in the palace.

"It's a pity that a good opportunity has been missed!" Zhang Qilin also expressed regret.

Originally, something like that happened in Dongshan Garden. Gu Mingchen's son designed it. After Zhao Shihua raped Zhao Zibi's son, Zhao Chi, Zhao Zibi, the Lianghuai Salt Administrator, should also be angry for his son.

In this way, a breakthrough was opened on the Lianghuai side.

Who knows, he still underestimated people's hearts.

For this matter, the Huai'enhou Mansion and Zhao Song, the chief minister, both came forward and suppressed the matter.

The Huai'enhou Mansion would rather sacrifice a girl to negotiate a marriage with Zhao Chi, but the Gu family pleaded guilty and had Gu Zifang expelled from his career and banned from taking the exam for life. They were willing to sacrifice the future of a son to appease the Zhao family. This matter was successfully concluded. .

"You, you have to endure it a little longer in this position. Talk less, do less, and see more. The way to be an official is like climbing a mountain. Standing at different positions, you will see different scenery. If you want to see If you go any further, you have to climb higher, but the view for the person standing at the top is limited.”

Yan Weiyong lowered his voice, "Looking around, it seems like you are at a loss. If you only look up and don't look down, you will be in danger!"

He smiled and took a sip of tea.

Yan Weiyong was a Jinshi in the [-]th year of Yongjia. He was later selected as a Shujishi and joined the Ministry of Industry to observe the government. He was upright and upright in character. He was neither party nor attached to the government. He was determined to be an independent minister and never made any mistakes in the affairs he handled. He was awarded He received the award from Emperor Yongjia.

After Zhao Song was elected as the chief minister, there was no room for him in the cabinet. Several ministers were dismissed and his reputation gradually became bad, with unpleasant words coming from inside and outside.

As a last resort, Zhao Song recommended Yan Weiyong to Emperor Wan Qing, and the two had been partners for five years.

Yan Weiyong is old and looks like a man in his seventies. It is said that it is rare for people to live in their seventies since ancient times. He now has a white beard. The situation in the DPRK is like this. Only by being in it can one understand the difficulty.

"The current political situation has reached today. The royal family is arrogant, the officials are idle, the officials are in compliance with the rules, the border equipment has not been repaired, and the finances are in great losses. There will be wars at the borders. If we cannot eliminate them in one fell swoop, scabies will definitely become a serious problem in the future. …”

Yan Weiyong raised his hand to stop Zhang Qilin, "On the Salt Policy matter, you said it was a pity that the opportunity was missed. What matters now is not that the opportunity was missed, but that there is no better solution. 'Governing a big country is like cooking small fresh food', but you can do things People should always look at the big picture.”

Zhang Qilin's eyes widened, and a light gradually appeared in his eyes. He thought that the master was going to do something drastic, but Yan Weiyong said, "If we don't talk about this today, it's far from the time."

Zhang Qilin was puzzled, raised his hands and asked, "Please tell me, teacher, I don't know when is a good time."

"When will you realize when is a good time? The time will come!" Yan Weiyong didn't want to talk about this at all. He said, "I heard that the emperor went over the cabinet to issue an order again for the sake of one person. An eight-year-old?"

This topic actually made Zhang Qilin feel more relaxed. He smiled and said, "Teacher has been running around these days for the Emperor's mausoleum, so he doesn't know the truth. The child's name is Jia Cong, the grandson of Rong Guogong. He was first granted the title of Ninth Grade The students were also amazed by his reading accompaniment and his good calligraphy. How could the emperor not love it after reading it? It happened to be the Holy Birthday of the Emperor next spring. The emperor wanted to present an embroidered screen with the "Tao Te Ching" as a birthday gift. There must be words on it. I happened to catch the child’s handwriting at first sight.”

"Is it really that good?"

"That kid has an extraordinary talent for writing. The students have also read his poems when he was in Dongshanyuan, but they are not outstanding. He must have hidden his clumsiness at the time. But this time, the students saw him write with their own eyes. One-hand writing..."

The handwriting appeared in front of Zhang Qilin's eyes again, and he was infinitely fascinated, "The students have never seen that handwriting before, but it is very beautiful, plump and regular. I later found out that the child was extremely unflattering in the Rongguo Palace. My biological mother is the daughter of Zhong Yunzhi, the founder of Jiangning Mansion, who caused a big incident that year."

Yan Weiyong, who was a cabinet minister at that time, naturally knew all about this major event, "Speaking of which, Zhong Yunzhi and I are from the same hometown, and our two families were also married. I could never have imagined that such a major event would happen back then. So, that child is now studying in the South Study Room, and you will teach him?"

"Yes, he is a very smart and spiritual child."

"It is really rare to be good at poetry and writing at such an age, but the most important thing is character."

Zhang Qilin's eyes widened and he looked at Yan Weiyong in disbelief. He saw that he was indeed old. He had never noticed it in the past. At this time, under the light, his face showed age spots and his skin was loose and wrinkled, but his eyes were still focused. Light.

Early in the morning, the middle door of Duke Rong's palace opened, and a group of eunuchs in red came out of the palace again. Jia She and Jia Zheng once again led Jia Cong and other disciples, kneeling on the ground to receive the order.

"The purpose is to reward Jia Cong, the classics of the Hanlin Academy, 100 taels of gold, 1000 taels of silver, ten pieces of brocade, and ten pieces of tribute satin. I admire this!"

The decrees were announced one after another, all for Jia Cong, and Jia She felt as uncomfortable as eating a piece of shit.

The person who announced the decree was Sun Qiang, who was an old acquaintance of Jia Cong and had a very good attitude. He smiled and said, "The two gentlemen and the young gentlemen have finished the ceremony. This is the emperor's reward. The emperor said that these days, you have worked hard." It’s Mr. Xiao Jia!”

Jia Cong hurriedly stood up, smiled and cupped his hands and said, "Father-in-law, we have agreed not to call me Mr. Jia anymore."

"Oh, look at our family's memory, have you forgotten it again?" Sun Qiang exaggeratedly patted his forehead and looked familiar with Jia Cong, which made Jia She and others look at him. He could have such a good relationship with the palace. How come relationships are not enviable?
Jia She winked at Jia Lian, and Jia Lian hurriedly stepped forward, handed a red seal to Sun Qiang, and approached him, "My father-in-law has worked hard, and I have prepared a table in my humble house. My father-in-law, please stay here and use some?"

Sun Qiang waved his hand, distant yet polite, "We shouldn't turn down hospitality. There are still many things in the palace that cannot be separated from, so we must return to the palace as soon as possible."

Jia She and Jia Zheng hurriedly expressed their regrets. Jia Zheng said, "Now that I have time, my father-in-law invited me to my humble residence. I have a glass of wine. I must accept it!"

"sure!"

Anyone can hear the perfunctory tone in these words. Just as Jia Cong was about to send Sun Qiang out, Sun Qiang said, "Third Young Master, don't you have to go to the palace to study today? Our family has to go back too, or together?"

Jia Cong was very embarrassed, "I shouldn't have refused. I just have to go to greet my grandmother. I want to show these rewards from the palace to my ancestors to make them happy."

"Don't panic. We shouldn't be on duty in the palace today. We can wait a moment. Third Young Master, go quickly!"

Jia She and others were stunned, and then they talked about a lot of things in the palace. Now, in order to wait for Jia Cong, they also said that they were not on duty today. This was too shameless.

Jia She thought that all this happened because of Jia Cong. This traitor never made life easy for others!

Jia She was so angry that he huffed and puffed, but Jia Zheng was very self-restrained and hurriedly took Sun Qiang into the Rongxi Hall, had someone make good tea, and ordered Jia Lian to move these rewards to the Rongqing Hall as soon as possible.A family like the Jia family has never seen any good things, and the rewards from the palace are not lacking during the new year and festivals. Mother Jia naturally doesn't take such things seriously, but she doesn't dare to be disrespectful and glances at them. , and ordered people to put it away.

"You are still young, and you have food and clothing at home. Even if you have already married and established a career, the rewards from the palace and the income from outside have to be handed in. You are a scholar, you should know the books and observe the etiquette, and understand that your parents are here, and you dare not have sex with them. , the principle of not daring to keep one's wealth privately."

Jia Cong knelt on the ground and lowered his head, thinking that the old lady was farting.

Although he had never thought about living in harmony with the Jia family, he had no consciousness that as a son of the Jia family, he would bear the honor and disgrace of the Jia family on his shoulders.

However, Jia She and Jia Zhen conspired to treat him according to the clan rules. After something happened, the old lady said nothing and wanted to hand him over to Jia Zhen. The word "Jia" on his head was the same as the word "Jia" on his head. Although the word "Jia" is the same word, it is different.

When he grew up, he never had a single meal provided by the Jia family. After he got back the monthly silver he deserved from Mrs. A family without any illusions.

He still had the 3000 taels of silver notes hidden in his arms, and he sneered in his heart, "That's what the old lady said!"

"Before, you went out to sell poems by yourself. I won't tell you what you did. You caused a big disaster, and the family even spent three thousand silver to clean it up for you, and they didn't ask you to pay a penny. After all, you are the grandson of Rong Guogong. You can't write two characters of "Jia" in one stroke, and I won't tell you. When you grow up and make a career in the future, you just don't want to be an official and do things to revitalize the family. If trouble occurs outside, I will be Amitabha!"

Jia Cong didn't defend himself. He knew that she meant something when she pointed out "three thousand silver coins" and said calmly, "Old lady, the three thousand silver coins were handed over to the grandson's master by the second brother Lian himself. The grandson had never touched them. .

If the old lady thinks that the three thousand pieces of silver have fallen into her grandson's hands, she might as well ask her grandson's master to inquire.If it turns out that the grandson has taken it, it doesn't matter how the old lady punishes him. If not, please ask the old lady to clear her grandson's name. "

Jia Cong raised his head, his eyes were clear and there was a bit of innocence in them, which did not move the old lady's heart. She just felt that this face, which resembled Mr. Zhong's, was so annoying.

The old lady knew how much Zhong looked down on her son, but she also didn't understand that the eldest son of the Duke of Rongguo, a girl from a poor family, could enter the gate of the Duke of Rongguo, and her ancestral graves were stained with green. He smoked and looked down on her. Not only was she unhappy, but he also caused a big trouble and almost lost his title.

This is the heart knot of the old lady.

"You don't have to stop me with these words. Now that the three thousand pieces of silver have been handed over, we only have to look at the result. Even if your master gives it all to you, it's just because your master treats you well, and we have nothing to do with it. .

You just have to remember that you are a member of the Duke of Rongguo after all. Don’t join in with outsiders to bully your family. This is rebellious and forgetful of your ancestors. If you do such a thing, even God will not forgive you. "

Jia Lian couldn't wait any longer, fearing that Sun Qiang would get annoyed by the wait, so he said, "Old lady, Brother Cong is definitely not such a child. There is no shortage of food and clothing for him at home. Why does he bother to do all this?"

Just as Jia Lian finished speaking, Mrs. The money I sent was immoveable, and I even bought bone-in abalone snails to eat many times, so where did the money come from?"

Even a little bit of bone-in abalone is worth mentioning, it is really a petty thing.

In the Bisha cupboard, the girls of the Jia family who heard what was said here looked at each other, especially Daiyu, who also ate the boned abalone sent by Jia Cong, and sneered after hearing this.

Baoyu said from the side, "Sister Lin, this bone-in abalone is a snack from the south. If you like it, I'll ask the kitchen to make it."

"I don't want to eat, and I don't dare to eat."

"What's there that I don't dare to eat? I just said I want to eat it, who dares to say anything?"

"You said you wanted to eat, but no one else would believe it. They thought it was me who wanted to eat. If you want to eat, go ahead and eat yours. Those are too greasy, so I can't eat them."

Here, Jia Cong looked at Mrs.

The reason why I didn’t dare to use the money my wife gave me was because I was afraid that my wife would find a reason to go back that day, so I asked my aunt to use the money I got from selling my poems. "

Mrs. Xing's face turned red and white, and she pointed at Jia Cong and said to the old lady, "Old lady, listen, this is also his filial piety towards me, his aunt."

The old lady had already suffered a loss because of Jia Cong's filial piety last night. Today, Mrs. In his yard, three meals a day are served in the kitchen. Where can you find snacks all year round?

If it were other children and grandchildren, the old lady would give him a lesson or two, and it would be too late to apologize. Jia Cong's unruly nature was seeped into his bones.

It was all taught by his aunt!
At the door, a maid came in, saying that she was urged by someone from the front, "The father-in-law in the palace said that he was anxiously waiting for the third master. He asked the third master to go early, for fear of missing the palace's lessons."

"Since we're still waiting, why didn't you tell me earlier?" The old lady was very angry. She couldn't do anything about Jia Cong's stubbornness, so she scolded Jia Lian. ”

Jia Lian was wronged, but he didn't have the backbone of Jia Cong. He left the Rongqing Hall and sighed for a while. Fortunately, he envied Jia Cong and said, "You are not afraid of the old lady!"

"Why should I be afraid? What else can I have? Unlike my second brother and my second sister-in-law, I can get some benefits from the family. It's just a matter of having no desires!" Jia Cong said with a smile.

"But I don't have your ability to earn an official status as a poet or book writer. You know, my colleagues from the sixth grade were donated. It's not as good as your Hanlin Academy classics from the eighth grade. What can you do with this salary?"

Jia Cong knew that Jia Lian was reminding him that he had to fulfill his previous plan to open a bookshop together, so he smiled and said, "Second brother, you also heard today, 'My parents are here, they dare not have their own lives, and they dare not keep their wealth', etc." When we are gone, let’s work together again.”

Jia Lian was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's all a matter of time. If you don't make money early, it will be a waste of money."

"I don't dare. I can't keep any of my monthly money. If I open that bookstore and earn money, who will get it in the future?"

Jia Lian still wanted to persuade him. He was about to enter the Hall of Rongxi. Jia Cong said, "Second brother, there is no need to say that things are different now. I also know what you are thinking. The Holy Birthday Festival has passed and I don't know where I am. If I help you open that bookstore, it will be yours alone from now on, do you think I am a fool?"

Jia Lian saw that his eyes were as cold as ice, and he couldn't say a single word.

Jia Cong turned his head, put on a smiling face, and greeted Sun Qiang. He was a gentleman, courteous, and gave way to Sun Qiang. Before leaving, he did not forget to say goodbye to Jia She and Jia Zheng, and even said goodbye to him. Jia Lian saluted, completely different from Jia Cong who had said those cold words before.

Watching the carriage go away, Jia Lian stood at the door. He felt that he had caught something, but what had he lost?
But, what can he say about the decision made by the old lady and the old man?What can be changed?If he said one more word, the elder's determination to execute Jia Cong would be nothing more than a beating and scolding, which would not change anything at all.

Jia Cong and Sun Qiang entered the palace together, and first followed Sun Qiang to Linjing Hall. Sun Qiang wanted to pay the order, and Jia Cong went to express his gratitude.

"Let him in!" Emperor Tai Qi's voice came from inside.

Sun Qiang was also very surprised. In the past, unless he was a very trusted minister, the emperor would only kowtow three times at the door to express his gratitude.What's more, now, when there is an uprising in Liaodong, Jiangnan is unstable, taxes from various places cannot be paid, and the warehouses of the Ministry of Revenue cannot keep mice, the emperor actually wants to see it in person.

　Today's update!

　　Two big chapters!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)