The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 113 Big Oolong

As the old saying goes, the people below have to work hard to keep themselves busy.

The officials of the Ministry of Works had to suffer the most in the past few days. They had finally arranged the scene for the grand ceremony yesterday, but there was a strong wind and heavy rain at night. The broken lanterns and broken colorful flags were nothing, but the two reed sheds built for the banquet for the old man who was the same age as the emperor were actually overturned by the strong wind.

This scared all the officials in the Ministry of Works, both big and small. If the emperor investigated the matter, everyone from the Minister of Works to the clerks would be in trouble!
The Wanshou Ceremony was held in the Daming Palace, and officials from the Ministry of Works all attended.

The big red lanterns with the word "longevity" on them were hung up again, and colorful flags embroidered with various auspicious animals were put up.

Countless craftsmen are working on the roofs of two newly built reed sheds that can accommodate a thousand people for banquets.

The Minister of Works wiped the sweat from his face, then looked up at the sky. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the sky was clear and sunny.

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works spoke up: "Don't worry, Minister. It won't rain as the sun is shining brightly in the sky."

The Minister of Industry glanced at him and asked, "Can you guarantee it?"

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works was stunned. Even the Imperial Observatory didn’t dare to guarantee it, so how could he dare to do so!
"The day after tomorrow is the birthday celebration, please don't let anything else happen!"

The Minister of Works sighed inwardly, wishing he would not have competed with those people from the Imperial Household Department for this job, as it was a thankless task.

He suddenly thought of Xu Fangqing, a doctor in the Manufacturing Department, who was in charge of manufacturing the emperor's carriage frames, book boxes, treasure chests, ceremonial guards, sacrificial vessels, etc. As the saying goes, "He who is close to the water gets the moon first," Xu Fangqing's relationship with the palace was closer than that of the Minister of Works, so naturally all the good jobs fell on him.

Everyone thought Xu Fangqing was lucky this time, but unexpectedly he was unlucky. He was chased back and beaten with thirty military sticks.

Disturbing the central military tent is a serious crime, and if it is taken seriously, it can be punishable by beheading.

He also believed what Xu Fangqing said, that it was Li Hu who framed him, but this kind of thing could not be resolved by reasoning. He could only blame himself for his bad luck and thank others for showing mercy.

This Li Hu is really domineering. He dares to do this even though he knows that Xu Fangqing has connections in the palace. He even admires Li Hu's courage and means.

Thinking of this, he glanced at Jia Zheng first, then said, "Okay, let's go back to the yamen." After that, he turned and walked out.

A group of people followed him out.

The Minister of Works walked in front, followed by the left and right vice ministers and Jia Zheng, and the group walked out of the Zuoye Gate.

Suddenly, the Minister of Works stopped and was stunned.

On the square outside the Meridian Gate, there were dozens of soldiers in mourning clothes kneeling!
At this time, a hurried sound of footsteps came from the Zuoye Gate, and the eunuch on duty at the Wumen Gate hurried out.

The Minister of Industry hurried over and asked in surprise, "What happened?"

The eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate said as he walked, "A great victory at Hetao." He stopped briefly when passing by Jia Zheng and said, "Li Hu won another great victory. The Jia family is lucky to have this relative." Thinking of this, he walked again, walked quickly to the front of the soldiers, said something, and then led the soldiers towards the Youye Gate.

Jia Zheng was stunned. What did he mean? Why did he look so strange?

The Minister of Works looked at the figure gradually disappearing through the Youye Gate, suddenly remembered something, and then subconsciously glanced at Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng was startled again: "Minister."

The Minister of Works opened his mouth but no sound came out.

Many officials reacted and looked at Jia Zheng with different expressions.

There are sympathetic eyes.

There are indifferent looks.

There were also looks of gloating.

Jia Zheng noticed something was wrong: "What's wrong?" He glanced at everyone.

There was silence.

Jia Zheng looked towards the Minister of Works.

The Minister of Works, however, looked at Qin Ye, the Langzhong of the Construction Department.

Qin Ye was silent for a moment, then said, "The only one who can make the soldiers of the three armies wear mourning clothes is the commander-in-chief of the army!"

It was like a thunderclap overhead. Jia Zheng was startled and stood there in a daze.

Then, his body couldn't help shaking. The commander-in-chief of the three armies in the great victory at Hetao was none other than Li Hu!

Jia Zheng remembered the look the eunuch on duty at the Meridian Gate had given him just now. Suddenly, his eyes went dark. The sky and the earth began to spin. He hurriedly grabbed Qin Ye beside him, but his hands went limp and he fell to the ground.

Qin Ye was so old, he couldn't stand it and was knocked down by him in an instant.

Minister of Industry: "Quick, pinch the Ren Zhong point!"

A deputy official under Jia Zheng hugged him and pinched his philtrum with one finger. Several other officials grabbed the hem of their official robes and began to whip him up and down.

After feeling cooler, the official pinched his philtrum, and Jia Zheng finally recovered and slowly opened his eyes.

Minister of Works: "Should I go to the Imperial Hospital?" Jia Zheng's eyes were filled with tears: "Send me home."

The Minister of Industry sighed and said, "Let's go."

Several officials helped Jia Zheng out.

The officials from the Ministry of Industry followed him out.

It has been said since ancient times that "Good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles." In less than half an hour, everyone from the six ministries and nine officials to teahouses and taverns knew that Li Hu had died in Hetao.

The earth-shaking sound of firecrackers rang out on Qianmen Street.

Bai Hongzhi took the lead, personally holding a string of firecrackers held up by bamboo poles and setting them off in front of the door.

A group of servants were carrying firecrackers and setting them off lively.

A huge poster was hung on the door, with the words "Congratulations on your birthday, may the whole world celebrate."

There were a lot of people watching the fun in front of the door.

The old steward called out to the onlookers: "Congratulations on your birthday. From now until the end of the longevity ceremony, you can eat as much food as you want, drink as much wine as you want, and come in as you want."

With a "whoosh" sound, everyone started to make a loud noise.

"real or fake?"

"It's not a trick."

At this time, footsteps were heard in the hall.

The waiters came in one after another and served the wine and food in an instant.

The old steward smiled and said, "It's too late to catch up."

The silence lasted only a moment, and then there was a loud bang, and the onlookers swarmed in.

Bai Hongzhi threw away the long pole and laughed loudly, his laughter was so wanton and arrogant!

After laughing, Bai Hongzhi said: "Prepare the sacrifice. The court has issued a clear decree, and I will be the first to pay homage to this great hero who sacrificed his life for the country." At this point, he laughed again.

The old steward suppressed his laughter and said, "Master Sun, this way of showing respect to heroes will surely become a good story and be praised by everyone!"

Bai Hongzhi: "I guess so."

Bai Hongzhi and the elderly steward laughed at each other.

The old steward said: "There are wine and food prepared in the backyard. Would you like to have a drink with Master Sun?"

Bai Hongzhi: "Let's go!" He turned around and strode in.

There is a restaurant over there, and this is the study of Prince Zhongshun’s palace.

The writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone were laid out on the desk.

Prince Zhongshun stood in front of the desk, holding a pen in his hand, his brows furrowed, and he said nothing, but the smile at the corner of his mouth could not be concealed.

After a while, Prince Zhongshun picked up his pen and started writing.

As the pen moved, the word "出" appeared on the white paper.

The butler looked at the words that appeared one after another on the paper.

Qi Guan, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but secretly look at the words that appeared on the paper one after another.

After finishing the last word, Prince Zhongshun put down his pen and looked up at the butler: "After all, I am his old boss. This couplet is my token of my appreciation."

The elegiac couplet reads: Death before the mission is accomplished, makes the hero cry for a long time.

Butler: "Yes." He blew air towards the ink.

Prince Zhongshun picked up the tea bowl, took a few sips, and then put it down. He then said, "Send it to the Li family now."

The housekeeper was startled: "Are we waiting for the imperial edict?"

King Chungshun: "It's the birthday of the emperor and a great victory. If the commander hadn't died in battle, they wouldn't dare to enter the palace in mourning clothes. Go."

The butler hesitated for a moment and picked up the elegiac couplet.

King Zhongshun: "Tell the kitchen to prepare wine and food. I want to drink."

(End of this chapter)