The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 116: Baochai Golden Lock and Yinger Pendant

After caressing Baochai to sleep, Shen Yuan gently kissed his wife's smooth face and soft red lips, then got up and went to the next room.

Ying'er had finished her bath, her delicate and fragrant body hiding under the quilt, her slender hands holding the edge of the quilt, revealing only her beautiful almond eyes and her pink nose, and she was breathing hot air nervously.

Although she had been broken by her brother-in-law, the beautiful woman's delicate body could not help but tremble whenever she thought of the embarrassing scene that day, and she would soon experience those feelings again.

"Ying'er, have you gone to bed?"

"No, no, son-in-law." Ying'er heard the knock on the door and buried her head in the quilt in nervousness.

Shen Yuan pushed the door open, then closed it, walked around the screen, sat down beside the bed, and patted the quilt gently with a smile.

"Wasn't Ying'er quite brave last night? Why is she so timid now?"

"Ying'er is not timid, it's just..." The little girl weakly made up an excuse: "It's just that it's cold at night."

"Come out." Shen Yuan shook his head and smiled, and said softly, "My uncle has something for you."

"Oh." Ying'er, with curiosity, slowly revealed her almond-shaped eyes and beautiful nose from behind the quilt.

Seeing such a cute and lovely little appearance, Shen Yuan couldn't help but reach out and rub the bangs on the girl's forehead.

Ying'er felt the doting actions of her brother-in-law, her heart was filled with shyness and joy, her fair and delicate face smiled with sweet dimples, her bright almond eyes blinked, and she weakly looked at the boy in front of her.

Seeing the young man in a light white shirt, she said softly and concernedly, "Sir, be careful not to catch a cold."

"Even if the nights in the north are cold, it's already early summer. How can you feel cold?" Shen Yuan smiled and said, "Ying'er has found a good excuse. Is she trying to invite you to sleep with me?"

"No!"

Without waiting for Ying'er to respond, Shen Yuan had already climbed onto the bed, half sitting and half lying, and took the beautiful body in his arms.

Ying'er was suddenly hugged by her brother-in-law, her back leaning against the boy's strong chest, her delicate head resting against his chin.

When he was young and full of vigor, Shen Yuan reacted immediately when he smelled the fragrance of the girl's black hair and her faint and delicate body odor.

"Son-in-law~" Ying'er felt the strange sensation coming from her round and soft breasts behind her. She trembled delicately, and her fair face and neck were flushed with red.

Just now the son-in-law was talking about giving her a gift, but now he must be thinking about how to bully her——

Shen Yuan felt the smoothness, but the expression on his face did not change, he was still as gentle as jade and his face was as bright as spring breeze.

He took the wooden box that had just been placed beside the bed, brought it in front of the young lady, and slowly opened it.

"See if you like it?"

Ying'er stared at the contents of the box, her beautiful eyes suddenly widened and her heart began to beat fast.

There were clearly four objects quietly placed in the box.

A rimmed glass mirror, a sandalwood comb with a jade back, a white jade pendant with gold thread, and a thick candied haws.

Ying'er looked at what was happening in front of her, her heart was filled with warmth and her almond-shaped eyes sparkled again.

The son-in-law not only specially prepared a cake today, but also carefully prepared this gift for her.

Even though she said that today was not her birthday, let alone her coming of age, her brother-in-law still thought of her like this.

"Ying'er is just a maid." The tears in the girl's beautiful eyes fell like pearls, and her ethereal and graceful voice was a little hoarse: "Why does the son-in-law treat Ying'er so well?"

Although Ying'er is ignorant, she is not stupid.

She knew that a maidservant was just a tool, and no male master would care about the thoughts of a tool. It was just to satisfy the desires of men and women.

But her son-in-law is different. Not only does he treat her so gently, he also cares about her thoughts.

Shen Yuan hugged the girl tightly, raised his hand to wipe her tears, and said softly: "Ying'er is also my woman, how can I treat her badly?"

"Okay, stop crying. Regardless of whether today is the day of your coming of age, you should be happy about your coming of age today."

"Ying'er is just happy." The girl suddenly raised her head and looked up at the boy, pretending to be charming despite her immaturity, and said softly: "Everything about Ying'er belongs to you, all of it~"

Looking at Ying'er who suddenly played a contrast, Shen Yuan's heart beat faster and he laughed softly, "It seems that my Ying'er is really not stupid. She can seduce my son-in-law."

The girl rubbed her lips and said stubbornly: "Ying'er is not stupid. Hmm~"

Before she could finish her words, the young man held her lips and blocked her from speaking.

Soon, the lips parted.

Shen Yuan looked at the lovely girl in his arms. A hint of charm appeared on her rosy face, but it didn't look like she was deliberately expressing it.

Could it be that beneath this youthful face, there is a natural charm hidden?
What a surprise—

Shen Yuan suddenly became more interested and asked with a smile, "Ying'er, do you want to eat candied haws now?"

As he spoke, he took the candied haws from the box, put it to his mouth and took a bite. After chewing it slightly, he leaned over and passed it to her.

Before Ying'er could react, her lips were held again, followed by a sour and sweet taste.

The girl's heart trembled, her eyes were seductive, and her mind was blank.

After eating two pills, Shen Yuan stopped feeding.

"Eating too much at night is not good for your health. Eat the rest tomorrow."

"Hmm~"

Ying'er's thoughts were in a mess at the moment, and she couldn't really taste the flavor of the candied haws. She just felt that it was sweeter than honey, without a trace of sourness.

"Ying'er, let me put this jade pendant on you." Shen Yuan took the white jade pendant with gold thread from the box and shook it in front of the girl.

Ying'er asked curiously, "Sir, is this something you wear around your neck?"

Shen Yuan nodded and said gently, "Although this pendant is not as magnificent as Sister Xue's golden locket, it also matches Ying'er's style."

Ying'er: “——”

Will this white jade pendant be like the girl's gold locket and be played with frequently by her brother-in-law in the future?
This girl looks naive, but she is actually very smart. With just a little thought, she can see through some of her brother-in-law's little thoughts.

While Shen Yuan was speaking, he had already carefully put the jade pendant on Ying'er.

When she looked again, the white jade pendant had clearly fallen into the mountain/valley at some point. She gently pulled the red string around her neck and the jade pendant returned to her sight.

Ying'er looked at the jade pendant appearing and disappearing, and could not help but turn her head to glance at her son-in-law with shame and anger, biting her red lips lightly, but did not stop it.

Today's birthday gifts were all delivered. Shen Yuan moved forward and whispered in her ear, "Ying'er, the night is getting late. We should go to bed."

"Hmm." Ying'er suddenly felt something slowly squeezed on her round part. Her delicate body trembled, and she bit her lip and responded softly.

Afterwards, the red curtain was dropped, and the sound of orioles chirping continued for a long time.

----

The next morning.

Shen Yuan woke up early.

Although I was busy until midnight last night, I still felt energetic this morning.

Looking at the girl in the quilt, her beautiful eyes were closed, the charm between her eyebrows had disappeared, the blush was still on her rosy cheeks, her black hair was scattered on the pillow, and there were still traces of tears in the corners of her eyes.

Shen Yuan kissed the corner of the girl's eye tenderly, and then kissed her eyelashes, nose, lips, earlobes, and neck one by one——

After a simple breakfast, he left the Shen Mansion.

As usual, he went to the New Army Guard camp to inspect the training situation. Near noon, a eunuch from the palace came to summon him.

"Sir Shen, His Majesty has summoned you to the palace for a discussion."

Shen Yuan received the order and followed the eunuch out of the military camp and went to the imperial palace in the city.

The sudden summons from the emperor made him confused, and he could not guess what was being discussed. Shen Yuan would take the initiative to report to the palace every three to five days on matters related to the military parade.

What we are discussing today must have nothing to do with the military parade.

Three quarters of an hour later, Shen Yuan came to the Qianqing Palace with doubts.

When he entered the imperial study, he saw a strange face in the room. The man looked to be about 40 or 50 years old. Although he was dressed like a general, he looked plump.

Shen Yuan collected his thoughts and stepped forward to bow to the emperor: "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Huaizhong, please stand up." Emperor Yuanzhen smiled warmly and said, "Please give me a seat."

Afterwards, a eunuch brought a nanmu chair and placed it next to the seat that the middle-aged general was sitting on.

Shen Yuan sat down and stopped looking at the person next to him, but he could sense that person was looking at him.

After Shen Yuan sat down, Emperor Yuan Zhen looked at the middle-aged general and said with a smile: "My dear Wang, please introduce yourself."

The middle-aged general agreed, then turned to look at Shen Yuan, with a smile on his face, and said: "Although Huaizhong has never seen me, I believe he has heard that I am Bao girl's uncle."

Baochai's uncle? Wang Ziteng?
Shen Yuan was slightly stunned when he heard this. He never thought that this middle-aged wealthy general was actually Wang Ziteng, who returned to Beijing early.

Gathering his thoughts, he stood up, bowed to Wang Ziteng, and said, "Greetings, uncle."

Whether it was just to show off in front of the emperor or out of basic courtesy, Shen Yuan should indeed greet Wang Ziteng, even though he didn't have a good impression of this man.

Wang Ziteng gave him a false support and said with a smile, "Huaizhong, sit down and talk."

With the emperor in front of them, the two of them naturally could not say too much. They simply exchanged a few words of greeting and then both turned their gazes to Emperor Yuanzhen.

Emperor Yuanzhen got to the point and looked at Shen Yuan and said, "Huaizhong, I summoned you here today because I want to let you know something.

Lord Wang has returned to Beijing at this time and has his mission. From today on, I will let him resume his post as the Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp.

I think Huaizhong can guess my intention."

Shen Yuan thought for a moment and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, are you planning to reorganize the Beijing camp?"

The emperor's attitude was very clear when he let Wang Ziteng take charge of the Beijing Camp again. He simply wanted to use Wang Ziteng's prestige to accelerate military reforms since he had served as the governor of the Beijing Camp for several years.

But does Wang Ziteng really have prestige?

As far as Shen Yuan knew, during the years when Wang Ziteng was in charge of the Beijing Camp, his greatest contribution was to sever the ties between the Jia family and the Beijing Camp, but he never really convinced the governors of the Beijing Camp.

After Wang Ziteng left office, the emperor stopped appointing military governors in order to prevent others from taking advantage of the opportunity to become more powerful.

Since then, the twelve battalions of the Beijing Camp have been under the direct jurisdiction of the Ministry of War in name, but in reality they have been operating independently for more than five years.

Five years ago, Wang Ziteng did not have complete control over the Beijing Camp, and it is even more impossible now.

The emperor was indeed a little impatient this time. A more prudent approach would be to wait until Shen Yuan's prestige and rank were improved, and then have him reorganize the army, but the emperor obviously did not want to wait.

Emperor Yuanzhen nodded and said, "Huaizhong, you are well aware of the problems of the Beijing Army. If we don't start to rectify them now, I'm afraid they will all rot."

Shen Yuan could also understand the emperor's feelings.

Previously, the governor of Yangwei Camp colluded with bandits in the capital and robbed merchants and civilians traveling to and from the capital. This was indeed extremely abominable.

I think other camps and groups are not much better, and they all have some chronic problems.

But the more this is the case, the more we should think carefully and act cautiously, otherwise it may backfire or even cause unrest.

Shen Yuan raised his eyes slightly and looked at Emperor Yuanzhen. Although he knew that the emperor had made up his mind, for the sake of the overall situation, he still planned to fulfill his duty as a subject and give some advice.

Before he could speak, Wang Ziteng beside him swore: "Please do not worry, Your Majesty. I have been in charge of the Beijing Camp for many years and I know the commanders of each camp well. This time I was ordered to reorganize the army, and I swear to make the soldiers of the Beijing Camp a new look."

Shen Yuan: “——”

The reason why Wang Ziteng was able to ascend to the throne was that he constantly catered to the emperor. Today, it seems that this is indeed true.

If he was really capable, why didn't he reorganize the army during his tenure?
Could it be that the Beijing camp collapsed during the five years since he left office?

Emperor Yuanzhen actually had some idea of ​​Wang Ziteng's abilities, but he didn't have many choices, and Wang Ziteng was very eager to be the sword in the emperor's hand.

Emperor Yuanzhen nodded and said, "Here is a list that was obtained by the Jinyifu Supervisory Committee. Your Excellency, please follow this list and get rid of these troubles first."

After a pause, he reminded: "Remember, we must deal with them separately and cannot let them collude to do bad things. I will let Zhao Quan cooperate with you."

"I will keep it in mind." Wang Ziteng said humbly.

"After we clear these people, we will lay off the old and young and train a strong army." Emperor Yuanzhen continued: "As for how to train, Mr. Wang can discuss it with Huaizhong and refer to the new army drill manual."

Upon hearing this, Wang Ziteng was stunned for a moment, and then quickly responded respectfully.

Shen Yuan listened quietly and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Obviously, the emperor had this idea long ago and even thought out the overall strategy, first reorganizing the officers, then laying off the old and young, and finally training and strengthening the army.

Generally speaking, these steps are correct, but the details must be carefully considered and adequately planned.

With Wang Ziteng's ability, can he really accomplish anything?

At this time, Emperor Yuanzhen cast his eyes towards Shen Yuan and asked, "Does Huaizhong have a different opinion?"

"I will do my best to cooperate."

How could Shen Yuan not see that today the emperor just informed him of the decision.

Although he was full of doubts and felt that Wang Ziteng was most likely not competent, he could not influence the emperor's decision based on his doubts alone, nor could he deny the top military general of the dynasty based on his intuition alone.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Yuanzhen was in a good mood and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you should send more people to observe the training of the new army guards, and you should also study the new army drills more. With the cooperation of you two uncles and sons-in-law, I believe that the time for the Great Zhou to become a strong army is not far away."

Wang Ziteng glanced at the young man beside him with an inexplicable expression, and then said solemnly to Emperor Yuan Zhen: "I will definitely live up to your majesty's trust."

Emperor Yuanzhen nodded, and was quite satisfied with the confidence and respectful attitude shown by Wang Ziteng.

Then he looked at Shen Yuan and said, "Huaizhong, how are the preparations for the military parade going?"

"Everything is ready, just waiting for the fifth day of June to come, and to congratulate His Majesty on his birthday with bravery."

The king and his ministers chatted for a while, and then Shen Yuan and Wang Ziteng left the palace together.

"Huai Zhong is very young, but he is trusted by His Majesty. He holds the rank of Third-Rank Commander and leads an army. After only a few months of training, he wiped out all the mountain bandits in the capital. He is truly a heroic young man."

Although Wang Ziteng praised, his words and tone were full of arrogance.

What he meant was that Shen Yuan only had the status he had today because of the trust of the emperor. As for the matter of suppressing bandits, it was not worth mentioning at all. He, Wang Ziteng, could easily suppress them by simply pulling out a group of official troops from the capital.

Shen Yuan didn't want to say more, and only replied calmly: "I'm just doing my best to share your majesty's worries."

Wang Ziteng said, "If you have time recently, bring Baoyatou to my house for a visit. The last time I saw her, she was just a little kid who was not even as tall as the table."

"I will definitely visit you when I have time."

After leaving the palace, the two went their separate ways.

Shen Yuan knew that Wang Ziteng might not have any ill will towards him. The reason for his cold attitude was probably because Emperor Yuanzhen placed them on an equal footing, which made the veteran unhappy with him.

And he didn't want to get too close to Wang Ziteng.

With Wang Ziteng's return this time, I'm afraid that the entire Wang family will be extremely proud, especially Lady Wang, Wang Xifeng and others, who will surely act even more recklessly.

Shen Yuan didn't want to care about other people, but he still needed to remind Aunt Xue and Xue Pan not to let that stupid brother-in-law take advantage of the situation to commit violence.

The next updates will be combined into one chapter. No matter how many thousands of words it is, they will be combined into one chapter and updated as a big chapter.

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(End of this chapter)