The Red Mansion: From a Small Pawn to a Leader

Chapter 94: A foolish dream

It was already daybreak, with the dawn light streaming in through the windows.

Bai Hongzhi was lying on the bed with a hot towel on his forehead, his right eye closed, his cheeks flushed, and three quilts covering his body.

The maid who served him stood by the bed, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

Suddenly a beam of light shone in and the door curtain was lifted.

The maid turned and looked.

It was the elderly steward, who looked tired and had a gloomy face.

The elderly steward came in with medicine.

The maid hurried over to greet her.

The old steward: "You go down."

Maid: "Yes." and walked out.

"Master Sun, take your medicine."

The elderly steward held a bowl and softly called to the sleeping Bai Hongzhi.

no respond!

The old steward's eyes became moist, and he was absent-minded for a while before quickly feeding Bai Hongzhi medicine.

It could be said that it was poured in. The elderly steward took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the corners of Bai Hongzhi's mouth. He turned around and wrung out a towel from the basin to replace the towel on Bai Hongzhi's forehead.

The elderly steward sat down beside the bed and looked at Bai Hongzhi, who was still unconscious, with a worried look on his face.

An unknown amount of time had passed, but Bai Hongzhi still hadn't woken up, but beads of sweat had already appeared on his forehead.

The old steward felt relieved, and hurried to the washbasin beside him, wrung out a towel from it, walked lightly to the bedside, gently wiped the sweat off Bai Hongzhi's forehead, and called softly, "Master Sun."

Still no response!

The old steward sighed, and then he heard faint but clear footsteps coming from the living room.

The person who went to get information has returned.

The elderly steward tucked in the quilt for Bai Hongzhi and walked out quietly.

In the living room, a young man with sweat all over his forehead came forward and was about to speak when he was stopped by the elderly steward.

The two of them walked out lightly.

The old steward spoke: "What's going on?"

The young man wiped the sweat off his face and replied softly, "You are right. The nobles have submitted a petition, asking the court to issue a decree to revoke your honor."

"Who's leading?"

"Beijing Wang Shui Rong."

"What about the clean officials in the Censorate, the Imperial Academy, and the Imperial College?"

".I heard he was also writing a memorial."

With a humph, the old steward asked: "Where is the Third Prince?"

The young man: "The door is closed."

The old steward nodded and said, "Pay attention to anyone with suspicious behavior around you."

"Yes." The young man nodded and walked towards the front yard.

As soon as the young man left, a servant came hurriedly, panting: "Someone from the Third Prince's Mansion is coming."

The elderly steward didn't respond at all.

The servant said: "The person who came here has a bad attitude and has bad intentions."

The old steward sighed: "Where are the people?"

The servant said: "I don't want to go into the backyard. I'm in the lobby of the restaurant."

The elderly steward took out the badge from his pocket and strode towards the front yard.

The door of the restaurant was wide open, and the place was deserted. There was only a sturdy man in a guard's uniform standing at a table near the door, with a bundle on the table.

This position can be seen by people in the teahouse opposite.

The elderly steward came in from the back door.

The guard looked at him and asked, "How is Mr. Bai?"

The old steward was stunned for a moment, then replied, "He hasn't woken up yet."

The guard was silent for a moment and said, "I have been ordered to return the things that Mr. Bai left in the guest room." As he spoke, he untied the bag, revealing several books and some clothes.

Then, the guard picked up the items one by one and shook them. The old butler was startled at first, then his face turned grim again, and he looked at him coldly without saying a word.

The guard made an apologetic expression to him, and then said loudly: "Please hand over your badge!"

The elderly steward directly handed him the badge.

When the guard took the badge, he took out a letter from his bosom and stuffed it into the hands of the elderly steward while his back was facing the door.

The old steward was startled, then he grabbed the letter and hid it in his sleeve.

"Goodbye!" The guard turned and walked out.

The elderly steward looked at the teahouse opposite, then walked forward to pack the bag, and then carried the bag into the backyard.

The blush on Bai Hongzhi's face had faded a lot as he lay on the bed.

The elderly steward came in, stood beside the bed, bent down, touched Bai Hongzhi's forehead, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, Bai Hongzhi's hand slipped out from under the quilt, and then his fingers moved a few times.

The old steward was overjoyed: "Master Sun!"

"Where am I?"

Bai Hongzhi's eyelids moved, and then his right eye slowly opened, and he gradually saw the elderly steward standing beside him: "I'm not dead?"

The old steward's eyes sparkled with tears, and he quickly held his hand: "Young Master Sun is blessed with great fortune, and he will recover soon."

Bai Hongzhi: "What's the situation now?"

Elderly manager: "Your health is important."

Bai Hongzhi: "It's okay, go ahead."

The old steward hesitated for a moment, then told him everything he knew. Then he pulled out the letter from his sleeve. On the envelope was written: "Confidential letter to my dear friend Brother Bai!"

Bai Hongzhi: "Open it and show it to me."

The elderly steward opened the seal and unfolded the letter.

Bai Hongzhi looked at the letter with difficulty using his right eye.

After reading the letter, he sneered and said sarcastically, "What a last resort!"

The old steward sighed softly: "Master Sun, please don't get angry and hurt yourself."

Bai Hongzhi closed his eyes and said, "Let's do as he wishes."

"Yes." The old steward took the letter and started reading. As he read, his expression turned a little grim. He didn't expect that the third prince would be such a shameless person who let a scholar do business and help him make money.

The old steward looked at Bai Hongzhi: "Master Sun"

Bai Hongzhi sighed: "Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans, you have to do something."

The old steward: “But.”

Bai Hongzhi: "Okay. He is right, money can make anything possible. With money, we can still call the shots. As an official, all we want is to bring honor to our ancestors, bring benefits to our descendants, have a constant stream of people around, and have a good life. All these require money.

As long as we have the silver, we can not only bribe the officials, but also build up our power through the Chamber of Commerce and recruit brothers in the church."

The old steward thought for a moment and replied, "Yes."

Bai Hongzhi suddenly remembered: "In the clinic, I vaguely heard what King Zhongshun said to you."

The old steward suddenly remembered: "King Zhongshun said that if you want to seek revenge on Li Hu, he can help."

After a pause, he said, "He doesn't care about fame or not."

With a humph, Bai Hongzhi said, "Don't pay attention to him for now."

The old steward said, "Yes." Seeing that Bai Hongzhi looked unhappy, he hurriedly advised, "The doctor said that you should talk less and rest more after you wake up."

Bai Hongzhi nodded: "Go ahead."

"Yes." The old steward stepped out.

Bai Hongzhi looked at the ceiling of the bed, suddenly sighed, and said, "It's just a foolish dream." As he spoke, his right eye flashed coldly, and he spoke word by word, "Just wait." After that, he closed his eyes.

The elderly steward stood outside the door, listening to those three words full of hatred, sighed in his heart, and after a long while, he walked out lightly.

At this time, the young man came in from the moon gate of the courtyard again.

The old steward came over and asked, "What's the matter?"

The young and strong man said sadly: "The young master has been stripped of his honors."

The elderly steward felt a tightness in his chest and wanted to say something, but he just sighed and said, "No one is allowed to mention the imperial examination from now on." After that, he walked out.

(End of this chapter)