Queen of the Lin family in the Red Chamber

This year has been smooth sailing for the Lin family from the beginning.

In February, Lin Ruhai officially took office, and the position of cabinet bachelor, who had been vacant for nearly a year, was finally filled.Following that, Jia Min's imperial order was also promoted to the first rank.The second time I went to the palace to thank him was much smoother than the first time.After all, there is a daughter in the family who is already familiar with the empress, and she also knows a lot of nuns and aunts in the empress palace.

This time it was really comfortable.

The Lin family has firmly established itself.

His wife and daughter received awards in the harem, and Master Lin also received a lot of congratulations in the previous court.For example, the other five cabinet bachelors like him are basically congratulations.God knows how busy the government affairs are, the work of six people has been done by five people, and they have persuaded the emperor several times, "Master Lin is proficient in government affairs, and he is dedicated to the country, and he is loyal to His Majesty, so there is no need to investigate for another year." .”

However, when the emperor got older, he was always afraid of other people's gossip, "I know how he is good, but the family law of the ancestors cannot be abolished." Even so, he was very happy.

After a few words of persuasion, the emperor would be stern, but he finally waited until today.With Mr. Lin, the rest of the Grand Scholars can go home earlier.

Yu Shitai was also very happy, Master Lin was cultivated by them, so after he came down to court, he also came over to pour out a basket of festive words.

However, seeing that the prince was also coming in this direction, the surrounding people saluted and dispersed.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lin." Although the smile on the Prince's face was not warm, it was sincere.Master Lin is a loyal minister, but he has a good relationship with him, but...

Lin Ruhai's loyalty to him is based on the fact that he is the crown prince personally chosen by the emperor. Looking at the other princes, Lin Ruhai treats them neither cold nor cold.

Although Lin Ruhai still has the vain position of the prince and tutor, the prince is actually a little uneasy about this relationship. Do grown-ups teach others as they teach themselves?

The prince has no confidence at all.

He is not like those younger brothers who have already left the palace to build a mansion. He has begun to develop his own power. The prince lives in the palace. This is an honor and a restriction. What are the prince's alliances?

The queen's natal family, the crown princess's natal family, these two are the only two.

Being able to become a queen and a princess, the families of these two families are naturally good, but the prince still feels that it is not enough. He is like an ant under the feet of the emperor, and he will die if he is lightly crushed.

Brothers can form cliques with ministers, what can he do?A few words after retiring from the court, or discussing government affairs in the South Study Room, he couldn't get over it alone.

The prince is getting older day by day, and his younger brothers are all in their prime, the prince's sense of insecurity is getting stronger and stronger.

Lin Ruhai was the first person he was determined to win.

Lin Ruhai has a noble title and was born in an orthodox imperial examination. He has served in the Imperial Academy and Yushitai, and he is also related to the six departments. It is not a big deal, there are at least two adults in the cabinet who are like him His origin is even stronger than him.

But Lin Ruhai also has an advantage that others cannot match, he has ten Wanmin umbrellas.

When the umbrella was brought into the palace, the emperor took the prince to see it together. Unlike the emperor who couldn't close his mouth with a smile, the prince had checked carefully when no one was around.

The Wanmin Umbrella, in order to avoid fraud, there are many other things on it besides the name, birthplace, place of origin, official position and so on.Similar to Wanyu's conclusion at the beginning, the prince also thinks that in the next decade or so, scholars, candidates, and even champions will be related to Lin Ruhai.

For example, the imperial examination will start next year. Will the students from the south of the Yangtze River come to Lin Ruhai's house to express their thanks by posting a greeting card when they go to Beijing for the exam?Will even students from Songshan Academy come to ask Lin Ruhai for pointers on articles?

Of course they will come, Lin Ruhai is also a person worthy of refuge, if he has outstanding literary talents, he can value him as a disciple, and the golden road will be opened.

The crown prince gave Lin Ruhai a hand, and said: "Master Lin, you are welcome, you are the crown prince's tutor, you should teach me."

"Prince, you are being polite." Lin Ruhai said with a smile: "Prince is excellent in learning, I can't afford to teach."

The two of them exchanged polite words, and the crown prince suddenly said: "I don't know..." After these two words came out, there was no further text.

The crown prince is the king, and Lin Ruhai is the minister. Lin Ruhai naturally lowered his head during the speech. Hearing the crown prince's half-sentence, which was obviously an inquiry, Lin Ruhai waited for a moment, and couldn't help but asked aloud: "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

"It's just another matter." The prince mumbled, but he still didn't ask.It's still too early to scare the snake away, and he's not fully sure, if he alarms his father and becomes jealous for no reason, his crown prince will almost come to an end.

There is a knife on the head of the word forbearance, and this knife is now firmly inserted in the chest of the prince.

On average, Wanyu estimates that she can go to the palace about ten times a year.There are two sacrifices in the palace every month, and she only needs to go once. She can't go to the sacrifices of the four major festivals, and she doesn't have to go for three months before and after the Chinese New Year. Plus, occasionally the master of the palace celebrates his birthday. Ten times a year.

Spring in the capital city comes later than Jiangnan, and the flowers don’t bloom until the end of February. But for the imperial garden, the flowers and plants in it are basically grown in the greenhouse, and the trees planted are generally pines and cypresses. It can be regarded as evergreen.

After the sacrifice was over, the queen said: "You have been in the capital for more than a year, but are you still used to it?"

Wanyu nodded, "It's a little dry. In the two months since I first came back, I got angry twice. The imperial doctor said that it will be fine after a year."

The queen nodded and said: "You just came here a few days ago, and I didn't dare to take you around. It depends on your rules this year. Today, I will go to the Imperial Garden and take a look at the Jiangnan Garden and here. Is there any difference."

Wanyu is naturally grateful. Although she has a restless heart, she also knows that there is no way to mess around in the palace. There are people everywhere in the palace. Every palace gate is guarded by eunuchs. She can't go anywhere with this face.

In the queen's palace, she had to abide by the rules, and she couldn't even raise her head straight. To be honest, she almost forgot what the prince looked like.

Most of the time when Wanyu enters the palace is for offering sacrifices. Afterwards, she drinks a cup of tea in the Queen's Palace and talks a few words. Analyze whether the dream you had last night is good or bad.

In the past six months, she has seen no one else in the Queen's Palace except the Prince's family.This is these people, and she can't talk to them casually.

As for the imperial palace, she has been to only three places: the main hall for offering sacrifices, the side hall in the queen's palace, and the small sedan chair where she always sits back and forth.

So the queen allowed her to go to the imperial garden, she was so grateful.

The queen will not accompany her, and there is a little eunuch in the queen's palace who leads the way, waiting outside the imperial garden, and two little maids, who talk to her and help her keep the rules. .

The queen's Kunning Palace is the center of the entire harem, go out from the back door, and then pass through a wall to the Imperial Garden.

As far as the scenery is concerned, compared with those in Jiangnan, they have their own characteristics, but the area seems to be inferior, not as big as the garden in their home.

Thinking of the garden of her own home, Wanyu began to lose her mind. Two days ago, the housekeeper who took care of the old house wrote a letter, saying that Aunt Gu died and Aunt Qian went crazy...

"You are... Wanyu from Master Lin's family?"

Wanyu was awakened suddenly, and subconsciously knelt down to salute.

It's quite sad, the officials who can call her name in the palace are all older than her, even if you don't know who it is, it's always right to salute.

"Princess auspicious." Those who saluted were the two little maids who belonged to the queen's palace behind Wanyu.

There was a chuckle in front of him, it was a young girl, "Get up quickly." Immediately, two maids came up to help her up.

"I'm Jingqi, I met you earlier in the imperial grandmother's palace."

Jingqi, the name Wanyu has been heard before, and this person is quite familiar, she is the prince's first daughter, a 12-year-old princess, the princess is sitting in the small gazebo, followed by eight court ladies, holding things in their hands.

"Come and sit." Jingqi beckoned.

After Wanyu performed a blessing, she sat down beside the princess.

The princess poured her a cup of tea with her own hands, and said, "Try the tea in the palace, which one is better than Jiangnan?"

Wanyu was a little flattered. Although she felt that she was not bad, she was not good enough to ask the princess to be a corporal. Besides, the princess was a few years younger than her. If one was 28 and the other was 32, it would be possible to talk about it. , under the age of 15, two years away is a generation gap, and one year away may have a different world view. If you want to say that the princess likes her, don't be kidding, the prince's first daughter, it is enough for others to like her.

Wanyu picked up the teacup and took a sip, said: "It's also fragrant and delicious."

Jingqi smiled, turned her head to give the maid some orders, and after a while, she saw a row of eunuchs coming with two little boys.

"These are my two younger brothers, Kant and Kang Yang. They are tired from studying. The master said to give them a day off. I will take them to the Royal Garden." Jingqi's explanation is reasonable, but Wanyu still feels There is a trace of uneasiness.

The princess's attitude is too good, and the explanation is too detailed, even the name is said.

Wanyu felt vigilant, let's see what she wants to do for now.

Apart from saying hello to her, Kant and Kang Yang just picked up the tea on the table and drank it, and then sat on the side to rest, but there was no unnecessary movement, not even their eyes wandering.After a while, Jingqi said: "It's almost time, let's go first." She pointed to a rockery not far away, and said: "There is a small waterfall over there, the scenery is not bad."

Is this over?

This is really the end.Jingqi's purpose today, or the prince's order, is just to say hello and let Wanyu know that there is such a person.

The prince went back and thought about it very carefully. If he wanted to pull Lin Ruhai over completely, he didn't have the confidence, and what should he do after he pulled over?Either the royal father became suspicious of him and he was done playing, or the royal father became suspicious of Lin Ruhai and Lin Ruhai was finished.

What should I do, I can only show my love through my children.

In fact, Lin Wanyu is a good marriage partner, but unfortunately she is too young.The crown prince has only one son, who is already in his twenties this year, and he has already married a long time ago, and even gave birth to a son, and this son is not as good as Wanyu.

The prince looked gloomy and dropped a teacup.

If Lin Wanyu was a few years older, he would be at the draft age, and he would be able to ask his father for a marriage. What a pity, what a pity... It's a bit early to start now, and there is no other use for it except to generate suspicion.

But when Lin Wanyu grows up to be drafted, who knows whether Lin Ruhai will ask her father to spare her from the draft? The son went to touch the touch.

Anyway, the little girl nowadays can't see many men except her own father, so if she sees a few more times, she might be able to achieve something.Seeing Lin Ruhai's smiling face praising her daughter, maybe in the future, she will also ask her own opinion when choosing a son-in-law.It is a bit exaggerated to say that the ancestors of the eight generations, but the relatives of the Lin family have been exhausted for a long time. The only boy of the same age is Jia Baoyu of the Jia family. Could it be that the prince's son can't compete with the youngest son of a fifth-rank official? ?

The prince made a preliminary plan, and went to the princess's room with a gloomy face. Although she was a bit old, if she had a second son, she might be able to invite Lin Ruhai's son to come over as a companion.The prince cursed secretly in his heart, he didn't like the princess in the early years, but now he wants to use the son-in-law, but there are not enough people.

It's a pity that one of Kant and Kang Yang's biological mother is a court lady, and the other is not strong enough. If these two children were used to test Lin Ruhai, Lin Ruhai would probably think it was an insult, so he had to get acquainted first.

Sitting in the carriage going home, Wanyu thought about the three new people who appeared today, and felt that they should have come to specifically block her, otherwise, she had met several times in the Queen's Palace, and none of them came to say hello, so today would be fine. Such a coincidence?

So at dinner in the evening, Wanyu said nonchalantly that she saw Princess Jingqi and the prince's two sons in the imperial garden, and added a special sentence, "The princess speaks very softly, and the two princes and grandchildren sit far away. , didn't see much."

Lin Ruhai immediately became alert, and then thought of the prince's hesitation last time... But can he not let his daughter enter the palace?The queen personally sent someone to pick her up, can he not agree?

Lin Ruhai thought for a long time, but he could also ask the emperor to avoid Wanyu's draft right now, but it was also a move that made people suspicious, and in this way, even the emperor and the crown prince were offended.If Wanyu had reached the age of the draft, he could pretend to be a good father who is a bit of a rascal, and go to tell the emperor that there is no suitable man in this class, so he might as well put down the sign and marry himself, but it is a pity that Wanyu is too young now.

So Wanyu noticed that Lin Ruhai looked at her with a slightly melancholy look, "Father?"

Lin Ruhai sighed, "You grow too slowly..."

"If the father had given birth to his daughter two years earlier, the daughter might be older." Wanyu laughed.

...Blame me...

Two days after she came out of the palace, Wanyu sat in the carriage again, accompanied by maids and mothers sent by Jia Min, and outside the carriage was a group of soldiers sent by Lin Ruhai, who went to the Guanyin Nunnery outside Beijing, also known as Lianyin. The nunnery where the master lives.

Wanyu has a feeling of cutting corners. The temples of monks have their own names. The nunnery only has the name of Guanyin Temple. At most, a place name is added in front of it to distinguish it.

For example, Yangzhou Guanyin Nunnery, Beijing Waiyin Nunnery and so on.

Wanyu has a lot of social activities in this era. She mainly goes to three places, the palace, Guanyin Nunnery, and relatives' homes, as well as occasional one or two gatherings.

There is no such thing as a house girl here, and there are many people who only go out once in a lifetime.

Wanyu went to Guanyin Nunnery. On the surface, she was burning incense and worshiping Buddha. She was a layman, but she needed a place to rely on. Her family moved from Jiangnan to the capital, and this organizational relationship also moved to Jingwaiyinnu. up.

As for the most essential reason, Wanyu has come to pretend to be a person with a root of wisdom.

The incense in the Jingwaiyin Temple is very prosperous, and they also have some means to increase the incense, which is a bit like the so-called claiming in later generations. Many incense candles and ingots are made by the guests who come to offer incense.Of course, Guanyin Nunnery does not accept money. The master explained it this way, "Everyone, choose a number that you like, and throw some copper coins."

The favorite number, it is a refined world, the Chinese people only like two numbers, six and eight, plus five and nine at most, as for how much to give, this involves psychological problems.Single digits are a bit hard to come by, at least two digits, and a little more is [-] or [-] or something. In short, the incense in the temple is very prosperous.

There is another kind of activity that Wanyu is participating in now. There are trees and rice fields behind the temple, and the donors who offer incense can claim it. Of course, no matter how diligently offering incense, they can’t come every day. Let them grow, let alone food, even the weeds will wither.

So these benefactors don't come here to pretend to move their hoes, or pour a glass of water or something, and the nuns in the nunnery usually take care of them.Wanyu came here to do her old job, to increase food production.

Originally, she thought that the land here was the same as Master Lianhua's, that the nuns planted it themselves. Now that she has this opportunity, she doesn't spare any effort. About three to five percent of the land is from the season when she first came last year. They planted corn, and they harvested more than one stone, twice as much as others.

This season, we planted wheat, which has not yet been confiscated, but seeing the enthusiasm of the nun who accompanied her, I am really satisfied.

Going back to Master Lianyin's room, the master smiled and said: "The layman's land has a good harvest."

Wanyu remained expressionless, "It's all Guanyin's mercy."

The master continued to smile, "I kept some of last year's corn in the nunnery, and distributed the rest to the lay people in the nunnery. Many people are eagerly waiting for this year's wheat."

The land claimed by the laymen is almost all in one place, and the money to claim the land is more expensive than going out to buy high-quality ground grain, but many people just like this, there is no way.It is also because the land is all in one place, the corn stalks in the Wanyu field that are about to be crushed by the corn stalks are particularly attractive, the production in the Guanyin Nunnery has increased greatly, or any other abnormalities, do not have to be blamed. Go to the top of the Avalokitesvara Apparition?

Inquire again, good guy, he has become popular all the way from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital.

Master Lianyin was overjoyed. Although he was still a master, he had already become the most famous master in the nunnery, and he had successfully squeezed out the first two people, making him at least one of the top five on the candidate list for the next host.

Master Lianyin smiled and said: "The scriptures sent by the layman last time have already been opened in front of the Buddha. Take them with you when you leave."

Wanyu also smiled, "Great Master."

This scripture is not for Wanyu to use, it is intended to be brought into the palace by Yuanchun, and used to gain favorability in front of the queen and concubines in the harem.

Yuanchun was going to draft a talent show, so there was no reason for Wanyu not to help, especially since the people in Jia's mansion had already inquired about the hobbies of the ladies in the palace, so they specifically asked her to come to her.

Besides this, of course there are others.

When the scriptures were in hand, Wanyu went to Jia's mansion again. This time, Daiyu was the only one who went with her. Lin Ping went to study. As for her mother, as a married daughter, the number of times she went back to her mother's home in a year was actually limited. , but there is no restriction for the granddaughter to visit her grandmother, so Wanyu brought a gift, and another granddaughter went to Rongfu to pay her respects to her grandmother.

Wanyu has never been selected for a show, but she knows the general procedure.The first is the primary election, this one is selected by the maids and eunuchs, and then the master can only be seen after passing this test, and the last round is to live in the palace for three months to test his character.

The scriptures were prepared for the last three months, but she also had something to send at home in the first round and the second round.We are all relatives. Although the Jia family may ruin their own family in the end, if they avoid it before something happens, it will be ungrateful and indifferent.

And the grandmother was very kind to their family, and kept all the delicious and fun things. Every time the mother came back, the second aunt was very angry, and the grandmother pretended not to see it.

Wanyu smiled, and the two of them jumped into Jia Mu's arms and rolled around before sitting up and talking.

"Jewelry is a gift from the palace. The styles of the past two years, if you bring this in, the eunuchs don't dare to go too far." Wanyu said.

Mother Jia smiled, "I, Min'er, are thoughtful."

"There is also this cloth, a new material that Jiangning Weaving House just produced this year. It was only delivered two days ago, and it was delayed so late because of the wait for this cloth. My mother said to make clothes for my sister and wear them in the second round."

Mrs. Wang's face darkened. Although she was at odds with her sister-in-law, it was all a fight in the nest, and it was a conflict among the people. When it came to the interests of the family, my sister-in-law was quite strong.Mrs. Wang was a little bit unwilling, but she still secretly warned herself, next time when my sister-in-law comes, I'd better give in.

"This is a scripture, it was opened in Guanyin Nunnery." Wanyu said, and the nun below took out a small wooden box and put it on the table.

This scripture was requested by Jia's mother. Needless to say, the empress, there are sons in the palace, and the mothers and concubines of the princes who can enter Yuanchun almost all like this. Even if they are not so pious, it is always right to give this.

The nanny took out all the things, Wanyu smiled and said, "Okay, I have brought all the things. Daiyu, think again, is there anything you missed?"

Daiyu shook her head and said, "Grandma, do you still have the Naipi'er snacks you ate last time?"

After several laughs, Mrs. Wang was the first to stand up and said, "I'll go to the small kitchen to see, is there anything Wanyu wants to eat?"

"I like that one too." There's no way, the people in Jia's mansion are older, not only the vegetables are salty, but also the milk and sugar in the snacks, they add a lot, it's delicious.The small kitchen at home doesn't cook this, so I can only come to Rongfu to eat it.