Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 812 "Negotiations"

The last time Li Nai saw Sun Jue was during the Dragon Boat Festival.

About the twins, Li Nai mentioned it to Sun Jue at the end of April.It's on the wine table, after three rounds of wine.Although there was no one else around, Sun Jue's reaction was still very intense.

Whoever it is, raising a son for nothing for a few years will not be easy.

After Li Nai had said all his good words, Sun Jue was still honest.Looking at that menacing appearance, if Li Nai hadn't been his own brother-in-law, he would have punched like that.

Concerned about his daughter's marriage, he was afraid that there would be trouble and gossip from the Fan family, so Li Nai could only bear with it, thinking about "moving with emotion and understanding with reason" after marrying his daughter.

Unexpectedly, Sun Jue would come to the door on his own initiative.

"It's Yushu!" Li Nai greeted him personally, his face full of warmth.

Sun Jue was wearing a [-]% new official uniform, and his figure was slightly fatter. He snorted inaudibly at his brother-in-law's enthusiasm, and followed Li Nai to the living room.

The three families of Cao, Li, and Sun, the Sun family only relied on the help of the Cao family to make it what it is today, but the Li family can stand shoulder to shoulder with the Cao family.

Seriously speaking, the Li family is still superior.Li Nai's grandfather served as the governor of Guangdong in his early years and served as an official in Xinjiang; Cao Yong's grandfather died in Jiangning weaving and was always a slave of the emperor.

Different from the Cao family's introverted and low-key, on the Li family's side, Li Xu has always paid the most attention to enjoyment.Even in the old house in the capital, no serious master has come over for several years, but the furniture and furnishings are not ordinary.

Let’s just talk about this living room, the screen made of sandalwood inlaid with jade, the antiques and curios in Baibaoge, the calligraphy and paintings of famous artists on the wall, any two of them are worth hundreds of taels of silver.

All that Sun Jue could see was riches and honors, but he felt it was too dazzling.

Look at Li Nai's body again, the sky blue crepe silk robe and royal blue mandarin jacket.The buckle on the mandarin jacket is made of sapphire the size of a little finger.On the top of the hat on the head is a half-inch square sapphire.

The few jobs hanging on the belt are all Sichuan brocade with Suzhou embroidery, and half of the thin gold chain is faintly exposed. I don't know if it is a pocket watch chain or something else.

This is just a homely dress, and it costs several hundred taels of silver.

Sun Jue was flustered, thinking that after he went to Beijing to work as an errand, his father would only give him a thousand taels of silver every year, which was not even enough for the family to eat, let alone human relations.

I wrote to my father, but my father was stubborn, so he just told him to do his job with all his heart, and don't try to imitate others.

Sun Jue only felt bitter in his heart. When he first came to Beijing, he also put on a lofty air, thinking that with a heart of "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism", he would be able to achieve a career; I don't like it, my colleagues don't want to see me, and I have been excluded for several years.

Only when he knew the "rules" of the Beijing officials, that the heaven, the earth, and the earth are the most human, would he know what it's like to be in poverty.

Not to mention anything else, as a magistrate, those who honor their superiors with "three festivals and two longevity" can't do it without the gift of a thousand taels of silver.Not to mention, old in-laws, colleagues and fellow villagers, and all kinds of social entertainment.

For the same weaving, the Li family spent tens of thousands of taels of silver to raise an opera troupe. As the eldest son of the grandson, he brought his family to Beijing, but it was only the house of the third child, with about twenty servants.

The Cao family has a county king, Gege, who is regarded as a relative of the emperor. It can't be compared, can the Li family not compare?

The more Sun Jue thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and when he thought about the pair of sisters whom he had always loved, he felt that he had become a big joke, a disgrace to the Sun family.

But he didn't want to think about it. In fact, his hat was not green. After all, the pair of sisters followed Li Ding first and then him.After arriving at Sun's house, Sun Jue ruled the family strictly, and Cao Ying obeyed her husband's orders, she was extremely virtuous, and the sisters lived in the inner house, and had no chance to see the man next to her.

Sitting across from Sun Jue, Li Nai saw that Sun Jue's expression changed, and his face became darker and darker. He was also uncertain, fearing that his brother-in-law had come to make trouble.

"Yushu came just in time. You are Hanyu's uncle, and I was thinking of asking you to be the master of the family. The Fan family is a prime minister's house, not an ordinary family. I am afraid that I will lose face due to lack of manpower." Li Nai squeezed out a few points laughed and said.

For the Fan family, Sun Jue had long admired the name.Except for Fan Wencheng, the founding assistant minister, Fan Wencheng's sons were all great officials in the frontier and governors.

In Fan Shichong's generation, there are many brothers, nephews and nephews who are officials in the court, not to mention that he is working in the Ministry of War now. Fan Shichong has just been transferred to the post of Minister, who happens to be his immediate boss.

"Send me off, master?" Sun Jue was quite surprised, no matter what he thought, he looked down at his own clothes, and said politely: "I'm a petty official, and I can't give my niece a face, let's forget it."

"Yushu, what are you talking about? You are Yu'er's biological uncle. If you don't do the master's job, who will be the master? Speaking of which, Yushu is also considered to be proud of his spring breeze. He has only been in Beijing for a few years, and he has even been promoted to two levels. Now he is in Beijing again. The Ministry of War is about to rise to the top, and it is just around the corner, just for me, and I hope that Yushu will be able to pull it off in the future." Li Nai said very sincerely.

Sun Jue thought that he was now serving as a doctor in the Ministry of War. I don't know how many people are jealous, and he felt a little proud, and said: "Brother Miao Zan, it's nothing, it's just a hardworking job."

"Nowadays when troops are deployed in the Northwest, the Ministry of War has a lot of errands, so Yushu needs to take care of himself. Although it's a bit tough, when the war is over, Yushu won't be rewarded for his meritorious service," Li Nai said.

Sun Jue couldn't hide his color, raised his eyebrows and said: "It's hard work, it's very trivial, where can I be free when there is a Ministry of Rites? But as a minister, it is also a blessing to be able to share the emperor's worries. Not coming."

The two of them said such unpleasant words, and it seemed that they had a lively chat.

Because Sun Jue was in the Ministry of War, he was far more informed about the news about the Northwest than others, so he had to list them one by one to show off to Li Nai.

Li Nai didn't understand military affairs, and he sounded confused, but he just paid attention when he mentioned the name of Pingjun Wang Naersu, and he was also quite concerned about the current situation of the fourteenth elder brother.

By the time Sun Jue felt thirsty, the host and guest had already chatted for a quarter of an hour.

Sun Jue had lost the initial anger in his heart. Remembering his original intention of coming here, he glanced at Li Nai, not knowing how to speak.

It's not that he has shallow eyelids and cares about a few coins, this is a major matter related to the face of the Sun family.Although the twins are concubines, they have already entered the grandchildren's family tree, and if they are good, they will become the descendants of other people's family. If the news spreads in the future, the Sun family will become the laughing stock of others.

Besides, as in-laws, what face does the Li family have to let Sun Jiabai support the grandson of the Li family?
On Li Nai's side, listening to Sun Jue's chatter for a while, he was already tired of it, but when he stopped talking, he felt cold again.

Looking at Sun Jue's hesitation to speak, Li Nai was more than ten years older than him, and more understanding of the world.I understand in my heart that the previous "to lure him with profit" is almost the same.

After all, my brother-in-law is already living as a daughter-in-law's dowry to save face, which shows that life is difficult.

Thinking of this, Li Nai's previous anxiety was gone, and he was relieved.

I'm not afraid that Sun Jue wants money, but I'm afraid he won't.If you ask for money, the matter can still be covered up, and if you think of a way, you can save the face of the two families.

Sun Jue picked up the teacup, brought it to his mouth, took a sip of the tea, lowered his head without looking at Li Nai, and said, "Brother-in-law said a few days ago about Zhuangzi's matter? Huh?"

No matter how thick-skinned he is, he can only directly declare the amount of silver he wants.

Seeing his hesitating, Li Nai knew that he always cared about face and was thin-skinned, and continued, "I didn't say anything, it's a gift for He Yushu's promotion. Thirty hectares of land are all first-class fertile land. It's near the Tongzhou Wharf. Mine field, Zhuangzi who guarantees harvest in drought and flood.”

But Sun Jue said "Oh" and looked interested, and said, "Zhuangzi of Tongzhou? Dongfang? In the early years, my father asked someone to divination for me, saying that my fate was against Dongfang."

Li Nai was a little confused when he saw his attitude.

This Zhuangzi was mentioned by him on his own initiative, but he immediately denied it. What was his intention?Could it be that he intends to make real money, that would be too shameful.Besides, he came to Beijing this time to donate an official to marry a daughter, and he spent almost all the money on hand.

Sun Jue had already put down the teacup in his hand, cleared his throat and said, "Aren't there two villas in Fangshan, brother-in-law's house?"

"Is that the sacrificial field?" Li Nai frowned upon hearing this.His mother Han died of illness a few years ago and was buried in the Li family cemetery in Fangshan.

Speaking of which, the grave of Li Nai's grandfather is in Tongzhou.Because the Zhuangzi nearby were all rich and powerful families, the Li family could not set up a large number of sacrifice fields there, so Li Xu bought a few Zhuangzi in places with good Fengshui in Fangshan.

Li Xu's cemetery was repaired a few years ago.After his wife Han died of illness, he was buried in Fangshan first.

"Isn't the Zhuangzi in Shanghan Village a few miles away from the sacrificial field? It's not connected, so it can't be regarded as one." Sun Jue's eyes fell on the calligraphy and painting on the wall, and he said seemingly unintentionally.

Hearing this, Li Nai couldn't tell whether he was angry or annoyed, he stared at Sun Jue speechlessly.

The Li family has four Zhuangzi in the capital, two in Tongzhou, and two in Fangshan.There are two places in Tongzhou, one is the cemetery of his grandfather, with [-] hectares of land; the other is next to the canal wharf, with [-] hectares of land.There are two places in Fangshan, one is also a sacrificial field, with [-] hectares of land; the other is a few miles away from the sacrificial field, which is the largest Zhuangzi among the four places, with a land of [-] hectares.

The [-] hectares of Zhuangzi is the most profitable of the several properties of the Li family in the capital.The Li family's business trips in the capital every year also depend on this Zhuangzi for their success.

In the past few years, the land in the capital city has been very expensive. Even if the Zhuangzi includes dozens of hectares of mountain land, even the hundred hectares of fertile land can be sold for 7 to 8 taels.In addition to the mountainous land, if Zhuangzi sells out now, [-] to [-] taels will not be a problem.

Li Nai was doing a good job of "breaking money" to deal with the matter of these two nephews, but he never thought that Sun Jue would open his mouth like this.

On Sun Jue's side, he was still feeling sullen, thinking that the Sun family was also a big family in the early years, but their father and grandfather were not good at managing it, and gradually declined. This capital originally had several ancestral properties, but when they separated in the early years, they had already divided into other houses. .What was left under his father's name was only a small village of twenty hectares of land.

Not counting the property in the south, the Li family managed Zhuangzi everywhere in the capital, with almost [-] hectares of land, more than ten times more than the Sun family.

Seeing Li Nai's embarrassment, Sun Jue felt much more at ease.

The Li family shamelessly let the Sun family raise a bastard for a few years, is it really easy to handle the Sun family?
It's just the concubine sons of two concubines, the Sun family has sons and grandsons, and there is no shortage of these two children; if Li Ding, a short-lived ghost, does not have these two little bastards as heirs, his incense will be cut off.

Although Li Nai is the eldest son of the Li family, but with Li Xu on top, he is not someone who can make up his mind.Tongzhou Zhuangzi's "gift" to Sun Jue had already been mentioned in his family letter to Suzhou, and Li Xu also agreed with him to do so.

The Zhuangzi in Fangshan is the largest property of the Li family in the capital. Even Li Nai dared not make the decision to dispose of the Zhuangzi without his father's consent.

Both of them were silent, and the silence in the room was terrifying.

But there was a housekeeper who didn't know that the two people in the room were at a stalemate, so he went to the door and reported that there was a guest.

Today, the wedding shed was set up, and several clansmen and in-laws of the Li family in the capital sent the juniors to come to help.

Li Nai's smile was no longer on his face, he waved his hand to send the butler away, and said to Sun Jue, "Yushu, my father bought the two villages in Fangshan in the early years for the purpose of offering sacrifices. The village in the middle is the property of Mr. My father has also been thinking about buying it. Because Liu Zongbing has been working abroad for these years and is not in Beijing, so the matter was delayed."

Although he didn't say it clearly, the meaning of polite refusal in these words was definite. Sun Jue felt that he couldn't hold back his face, so he raised his head and looked at Li Nai with a cold face.

Li Nai knew that he was lonely, and was afraid that his face would be sour. After thinking about it for a while, he said: "If Yushu thinks that Tongzhou's Zhuangzi is small, then he can do it this way. Do you think it will work? On the other side of Gulou Street, there are two houses with front doors. The property of the Li family. After a year, the rent income can be a thousand taels, which can be regarded as an extra for Yushu."

Sun Jue couldn't sit still anymore, so he got up from the chair with a "shua", and said with a sneer, "Brother-in-law, don't you despise me like a merchant, or how can you learn how to bargain like a merchant? My brother-in-law can let go of my social status, but I don't." Dare to promise. Even if I don't come today, brother-in-law's 'kindness', forget it."

After speaking, before Li Nai could react, he had already left his seat and strode out.

Seeing that he was determined, Li Nai could only follow him, saying: "Yushu, they are all from my own family, so we should discuss it carefully."

Sun Jue didn't even look at him, he got his entourage and rode away.

Looking at Sun Jue's back, Li Nai stomped his feet vigorously, not knowing whether he hated his brother for leaving such trouble, or complained about Sun Jue's greed.

Sun Jue was really annoyed.

Who doesn't know that the Li family is so rich, what is a Zhuangzi?Picking the youngest Zhuangzi to fool him, is it true that he is easy to bully?
Thinking of the two little bastards who shamed the Sun family, Sun Jue only felt a bad breath in his heart.

When he got home, he went directly to the inner house and ordered someone to bring the two concubines.

Cao Ying saw that his face was unkind, and she waited for him to change into her official uniform. She felt her heart kicked and she didn't dare to breathe.

At this moment, the mother-in-law has brought the twin sons over.

These two children were born in the summer of Kangxi's 53rd year. They are six years old this year and have already started enlightenment with their master.

Sun Jue's son's qualifications are mediocre, far less intelligent than these two concubine sons, and Sun Jue usually prefers these two concubine sons, thinking about teaching them well, so that they can take the road of imperial examinations to shine in the family.

Nowadays, it has become a joke. How much I liked it in the past, I hate it now.

Before the two children finished paying their respects, Sun Jue walked to the floor table, picked up the feather duster in the bottle, and swiped at the two children.

Those two were still in a daze, and the feather duster had already fallen on one of them.Because the child was still young, the slash happened to hit the face, and when it went down, it was a hideous slash of blood.

The two women at the door were already bluffing, and they kept saying: "Master..."

"Get out!" Sun Jue only felt scratchy, and stared back.

The two women were also old people of the Sun family, knowing that the master's temper was not as good as he looked, they retreated tremblingly.

The two brothers couldn't bear the pain, and they were already sobbing and crying.

Only Sun Jue, his wife and their two children were left in the room.Although they were not born by themselves, these two concubines usually called themselves "Mother", and now they were being beaten in her room, and they couldn't explain clearly.

Even though Cao Ying was afraid of her husband, she could only bite the bullet and go forward, persuading her: "Master, the sons are still young, if you see something wrong with them, just scold them a little more..."

Before the words were finished, Sun Jue's feather duster had already been swung down.

Cao Ying felt that her back was burning, and she let out a low cry, she was too painful to speak.

Next, the mother-in-law outside the door heard the child's miserable cry from inside the room...

*
Changping, Caojiazhuangzi.

Looking at the letter in Li's hand, Cao Yong only felt that it was an eyesore.This is the "family letter" handed to Mrs. Li when the Mrs. Li's housekeeper and daughter-in-law came to pay her respects a few days ago.

I don't know if Li Xu did it on purpose or not, but this letter to Li's family bypasses Cao Yong.

On Cao Yong's side, of course, there was also a letter written by Li Xu, which mentioned that Li Nai inquired about Li Ding's murder.In Li Xu's letter, he only said that Li Nai was dull, and asked Cao Yong, his nephew, to help Li Nai because of his "brotherhood".It's not affectionate, it's not polite, just like an uncle entrusting his nephew.

The two housekeeper's daughters-in-law came from Suzhou, and it was said that they were ordered by Li Xu to pay their respects to Mrs. Li.

For his cheap "uncle", Cao Yong not only can't get close, but also has [-] points of caution.

He made all kinds of plans for the Cao family, but he didn't want to waste his time, only to be dragged into trouble by these so-called relatives.

With a bit of hesitation on Mrs. Li's face, she said to Cao Yong: "Yong'er, I haven't been able to sleep well for the past few days, and I don't know how to reply to your uncle. Your grandmother is over 80, and her bones are not good. , your grandma hasn't been in good health since the beginning of the year."

It turned out that in Li Xu's letter, he mentioned the recent situation of Wen Taijun and Gao Taijun, mentioned how the two elders missed Li Shi, and hoped that Li Shi would go to Suzhou after "burning the week" for Cao Yin in September.

The last time Mrs. Li returned to Suzhou was ten years ago, and seeing this matter mentioned in her cousin's letter, she was quite moved.

There is nothing to be courteous, and it is either a traitor or a thief.

In Cao Yong's heart, he didn't think that what Li Xu read was just "flesh and blood".If he really had the intention of taking Li's family back to Ning, Li Nai would have mentioned it when he came to Beijing, and he would not have made a special trip to send people to come.

"Mother, Suzhou is thousands of miles away from the capital, and the road is not cheap. Mother's body is not as good as before. Besides, Changsheng is still young, and she can't bear the hard work on the road. Otherwise, wait another two years, and when the father's filial piety is over, the son will send his mother back to Ning. ?” Cao Yong said after deliberation.

Through the mother's intimacy with Li Nai's father and daughter, Cao Yong also knew that she still valued the "maiden's family" of the Li family in her heart.As Cao Yong is a son, it is hard to say anything else, so he can only use the word "drag".

After hearing this, Mrs. Li hesitated and said: "Yong'er, your grandmother is more than 80, and she is about [-], this..."

(End of this chapter)