[Red House] But for the sake of the king

Although Lin Ruhai agreed to the Tang family, he just didn't know how to talk to Jun Qi. Such a thing was simply unheard of. How could the emperor condescend to come to the courtier's house, and still see the old lady in that capacity.What's more, he was busy with affairs in court, and there was a queen in the harem who was getting more and more serious, which seemed a little bad, so the superior didn't have a chance to mention this matter, so it was delayed.

He also said that after the collapse of the Zhen family, there was a slight change among the several factions in the court. The big families of the old faction were a little panicked, not knowing which family the emperor would turn to next time.The Jia family did not have such worries. Although they had always been in close contact with the Zhen family, they were not involved this time.Moreover, since he is one of the four great families and the second of the Eight Dukes, and the Supreme Emperor is still there, the Emperor will definitely not attack the Jia family easily.But it is hard to say about the other families, the Xue family is the first to bear the brunt.

Back then when Xue Shao was there, he used to connect with the Supreme Emperor through Zhen's residence. In Jinling, he was always in the same spirit as the Zhen family, colluding with officials and businessmen.Later, before Xue Shao's death, he took refuge in Jun Qi, but he blamed his younger brother Xue Jie, and made himself clear. However, the relationship between the Xue family and the Zhen family could not be dealt with cleanly.This time when the Zhen family was punished in Jinling, the Xue family was also involved, but Jun Qi didn't bring out too many things in order to end the Zhen family as soon as possible.However, this does not prevent him from getting rid of the Xue family. Anyway, Xue Jie has controlled most of the commercial power under his instruction these years, so there is no need for the royal merchant Xue family to continue to exist.

Therefore, Xue Pan soon received a notice from the Ministry of Household Affairs that he would no longer need to receive internal money and food from next year, and the name of the imperial merchant would be removed, and the accounts for this year would be settled within the year, and the roster would be handed over.Now Xue Pan is in a hurry, no matter how confused he is, he knows that without the name of the imperial merchant, without the 20 taels of silver spent in vain for a year, such a loss is too great for the current Xue family.It’s just that he has always been an unprejudiced person. Any accidents in the shop are due to those old guys and shopkeepers. Now that such a big incident happened, these old people have no idea, so Xue Pan can only go inside. Come to my mother and sister to discuss.

After hearing this, Aunt Xue asked in disbelief, "You should have found out clearly, don't make a mistake. Our family has been an imperial merchant since your great-grandfather, and your grandfather was the Ziweishe who was bestowed by the emperor." Man, why did the emperor take it back when he said it would be taken back?"

Xue Pan shouted, "Mom looks down on me too much. The news is true. I personally went to the household department to ask Lao Zhao who is in charge of this. The official document will be sent out in a few days. Lao Zhao has some friendship with our family." , Only then did I know in advance. Besides, the roster has to be withdrawn, so what can be said to be false? According to Lao Zhao, I am afraid that the Zhen family's affairs will be in the way, and our family still has contacts with them?"

Aunt Xue said, "Your father had some contacts when he was alive, but he didn't know him very well. To be honest, the Zhen family has always been on good terms with this mansion. I don't know anything else. Did you ask him, If there is any turning point, if we lose this name, our family's business will be greatly affected. Now the business here is getting worse and worse, so what should we do if we let this happen again."

Xue Pan said, "I didn't ask, it's just that Lao Zhao was vague and didn't say anything. Now the Minister of the Household Department is that Mr. Tang, who is the most fair and strict. It has nothing to do with our family. It’s not easy to walk around the door. My son asked a few old men, but he couldn’t find a solution, because he came in and asked his mother, but there was nothing he could do. Or he could go to his aunt to see if he had any connections, at least for advice. , now that you have money and have nowhere to spend it, it's really annoying."

Aunt Xue said, "There is nothing I can do here. If your uncle is here, he can help you a little bit. Unfortunately, it is a pity that he left Beijing to take up his post. Now I have to ask your aunt to see if there is any way. Outside you Watch it first, don't let that screwdriver slave make a fuss, and don't spread this matter to the outside world, I will tell you when I have a letter tomorrow."

Xue Pan got his mother's order, and went away. He went to drink and have fun with some friends of the Jia family without mentioning it.Anyway, with his mother around and his younger sister helping him, he didn't have to worry about it.

Xue Baochai listened quietly, but didn't say a word, and only asked after her brother had gone out, "Mom, do you think there is something strange about this?"

Aunt Xue sighed, "Hey, what else can I do, I'm afraid it's just being tired by the Zhen family."

Xue Baochai shook her head, "Didn't Mom forget, why did we go to Beijing? There was such a rumor that our family's imperial business name was going to be canceled. The strange thing is that many people went to Beijing and found no one." Xin, my brother made such a shameless incident in the Lin family again. But later he said that there was no such incident, but it was a misrepresentation. It’s just that such a incident happened again for no reason. They didn't allow us to have a chance to communicate. According to my daughter, it is possible that my brother offended the Lin family last time, so... After all, the last time was also a rumor, and even my uncle didn't write to tell me. It may be a false alarm. It was my elder brother's business, and Mrs. Lin is a lofty and aloof scholar, thinking about it, I was very upset. It wasn't my daughter who was talking behind my back, so I just told my mother about it, it just depends on Miss Lin's petty temper. The words are harsh and mean, but they don't look like this mansion, I think they followed her father."

Aunt Xue thought about it for a while, and thought it made sense, because she said, "Sure enough, Mr. Lin is the most popular person in front of the emperor, and Mr. Tang is Mr. Lin's aunt. If you really want to do something, it's easy. I hate your brother." In this way, there is nothing wrong with you all day long. If there is no such thing, maybe there will be nothing like this. But if you really offend the Lin family, then what to do. After what happened last time, your uncle would have disdain for your brother, and even Your aunt is ashamed, and even complained a few times, this time I'm afraid it will be difficult for your aunt to reconcile it."

Xue Baochai said, "That's not always the case. At any rate, my mother asked my brother to restrain himself a little bit, and then go to my aunt to beg for mercy. First, I will try to find out what's going on. If it's really bad, I'll think of other ways. After all, it's my nephew. How can my aunt say that I don't care about it?" .Besides, the big sister spent so much on it, isn't my mother helping each other in private every year, I think my aunt will remember it."

Aunt Xue said, "I forgot about this. I'm sorry that your eldest sister can't make it through. At this age, I'm afraid she should be released in two years. Now it seems that this is the only way to go. Pity my son." , at this age, the age when you should be joking with your little sisters, you have to worry about these things for your brother. Thanks to your smartness, otherwise your brother's wickedness would really piss me off. No wonder your father was so partial when he was there. I love you, and I don’t know which family is so lucky in the future. I can get you to go, but I am reluctant. If you can also enter that wealthy place like your big sister, you will be able to stand out. It’s a pity that people like us, Hey, I've delayed you anyway."

Xue Baochai blushed, "It's very good, it's so boring for Mom to mention this again." After speaking, she went to the inner room to do her needlework.

Aunt Xue was about to get up when she heard a girl outside talking, "Second Master Bao is here." As soon as she said that, Jia Baoyu came in from the door.

Seeing that Aunt Xue was there, Baoyu hurried forward to say hello. Aunt Xue pulled him into her arms and said with a smile, "My son, it's hard for you to think about coming. Come and sit on the kang quickly." Someone pours tea.

Baoyu asked, "Is your brother not at home?"

Aunt Xue said, "Unfortunately, he just went out and has something to attend to."

Baoyu said, "Is my sister safe?"

Aunt Xue said with a smile, "But, your son was thinking of sending someone to visit her. She is in the back room. Go and visit her. I will go in and talk to you after I clean up."

Baoyu heard that she hurriedly got off the kang and came to the door of the inner room. As soon as she lifted the curtain and stepped in, she first saw Xue Baochai sitting on the kang doing needlework, with a black and shiny bun on her head, and wearing homely clothes that were old and not old. It doesn't look luxurious.Lips are red without spots, eyebrows are green without painting, face is like a silver basin, and eyes are like water apricots.Baoyu's heart moved, and she secretly thought that this elder sister Bao was really not comparable to all the sisters in her family, so she approached and asked, "Is elder sister getting better?"

When Baochai looked up, he saw Baoyu's face close at hand. He blushed, got up quickly and said with a smile, "It's healed, thank you for remembering." Saying this, he asked Baoyu to sit on the kang, and Mingying Let's pour tea.On the one hand, he asked the old lady and auntie how to the other sisters, and on the other hand, he looked carefully at Baoyu's dress, especially the jade hanging on his chest, so eye-catching.Yin said with a smile, "the Chengri family said that your jade has never been carefully appreciated. I want to see it today." Then he moved closer.

Baoyu only felt a faint fragrance, and suddenly his body and mind were clear. He didn't know where the fragrance came from, so he asked, "What kind of fragrance is my sister smoking? I have never smelled it before." He took off the precious jade and handed it to Baochai.

Baochai looked at it carefully, and replied, "I'm most afraid of incense, good clothes, what are you doing with the smoky fire? I think it's the aroma of the pills I took when I got up early."

Baoyu wondered, "What kind of pill smells so good?"

At this time, Yinger came in pouring tea, so Baochai let her serve the tea without mentioning the pills.Looking carefully at the top of the jade again, there are eight words on the surface, which I read out unconsciously, "Don't lose, don't forget, the longevity of immortality is constant."

Yinger laughed from the side, and said, "I heard the two sentences, it seems to be a pair with the two sentences on the girl's collar."

Before Baochai could speak, Baoyu hurriedly said, "It turns out that there are words on my sister's collar, and I will also appreciate it."

Baochai refused, but Baoyu begged for a while before she agreed. "It's just a few auspicious words, and there's nothing interesting about it, but you just fell in love with it." As he spoke, he took off the golden lock on his chest and handed it to Baoyu.

Baoyu took a closer look, and sure enough there were four seal characters on one side and eight on both sides, "Never leave and never abandon, and you will live forever." Baoyu read it twice, and said with a smile, "Sister, these eight characters are really related to me. A pair." Then I remembered that Daiyu also had a piece of jade, because I said, "I don't know if my sister has seen Sister Lin's jade, but I have seen it carefully before, so I may say that there are words. I said that she is like this." If you don't have jade, this psychic jade doesn't know the goods, and you talk about whether it's psychic or not. I didn't expect that Sister Lin really had jade, it was still such a piece of black jade, the whole body was black, and it was good at first glance. Compared with hers, mine is like a stone."

When Baochai heard him mention Daiyu suddenly, and listened to what Baoyu said inside and outside the meaning, Miss Lin was like a fairy, and she should have such a spiritual creature, but she didn't know where to put her, so she felt a little uncomfortable. Without revealing his face, he said in his mouth, "You don't even know how close you two are. I haven't met her a few times, so I'll know. Anyway, she's coming back next time, so you can take a look, don't you?" Yes. It’s true, why haven’t I seen Sister Lin for more than two months, but the family won’t let her come?”

Baoyu sighed, "I don't know what's going on, I urged my ancestors to send people to pick them up several times, but it was always unsuccessful. Fortunately, the old lady sent two more women to pick them up yesterday, and I finally got them."

Baochai thought about it, maybe that Miss Lin was acting arrogant again, but when she came, she even brought her usual teacup. The relatives couldn't hold back their faces.And the few people who brought it were shouting one by one, looking different.Now the grandfather's family sent someone to pick him up, and they were only willing to come if they were urged repeatedly.Is this the way to behave in the world?I also thought that the third day of August was the old lady's birthday, and I was afraid that she would come because of this.Instead, he remembered what his elder brother said just now, and said that there is no way out, so there is a perfect opportunity in front of him.I just don't know how capable Lin Daiyu is, and whether she can make sense of it, but according to the last time, she is not easy to get along with.But for the sake of the Xue family, I can only try my best and see how the time goes.

Aunt Xue came in for a while and talked for a while, leaving Baoyu to eat here.Baoyu was happy to stay for dinner, and he could still drink. There was no nanny to take care of him, so he stayed for dinner.

Daiyu put the things back that day, and divided them into portions and sent them to various housekeepers. She only said that Lin Ruhai brought them back when she went out, and didn't mention that she was accompanying her.Then he followed Tang as usual to learn how to be a housekeeper every day, do some needlework in his spare time, or play a game of chess with two maids, and occasionally write a few lines of poems, so uncomfortable.Hongxiu and Luqi have also learned to read together with Daiyu, and they can also echo a few words.It wasn't long before I heard that Jia's family was coming. Because it was my grandmother's birthday, and I didn't go for a long time, I couldn't refuse, so I had to pack up the dowry and go to Jia's house.

Lin Ruhai thought carefully this time, Jia Zheng had already tested his intentions, but he pushed him back as if he was doing Tai Chi.Although he looked down on people like the Xue family, he didn't intend to frame them up, so he didn't have to lower his value.And Jun Qi's dislike for Xue's family is far more than him.Afraid that the girl from Xue's family would disturb Yu'er, Lin Ruhai took advantage of Daiyu's visit to Jia's mansion to mention it.

Daiyu listened to what Lin Ruhai meant, but she just didn't want to pay too much attention to that girl Xue, because she replied, "Daddy is worrying too much, I never like that kind of person, so maybe I'm going to rush to find her? It's all here Relatives' house, it's just about personal face, if you say a word or two when you meet, who else will you look for in private. Besides, Shi Xiangyun will definitely go this time, the two of them have always been on good terms, and they can't even say a few words. "

Lin Ruhai said, "That's good, if she asks you to talk about other things, don't worry about her. Also, let the people who follow you be more vigilant, that Baoyu in their family lives in the inner courtyard at such an age, saying It's not proper to go out. If it's still like this in two years, you shouldn't go to Jia's house, they don't care, we can't afford to lose this person, and it's not good for your reputation."

Daiyu blushed, her words were too straightforward.Tang shi listened to him and quickly stopped him, "Okay, okay, I will tell Yu'er about these things, and I will explain it every time I go back. How can you say it so carelessly? It can be seen that You're a man, you're not careful enough. Yu'er, you should go back first, so you can see if you have left anything behind, you are used to using your own things, if you forget to bring something, you will feel uncomfortable again."

Daiyu knew that her grandmother had something to say to her father, so she resigned and went to her room.

Lin Ruhai was sitting on pins and needles in Tang's eyes, he didn't know what his mother was going to say, but he hadn't mentioned that to Jun Qi yet.

Tang pretended to tuck the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief, and said, "You are also a father, and you are about to be in your forties. It can be seen that my wife can't help you anymore. A simple message, it takes about ten days. Come on, why haven't you come yet?"

Lin Ruhai hurriedly replied, "there are a lot of things in court these days, and my son hasn't had time to mention them. My son is not in a hurry to think about it. At this moment, now that there are internal and external troubles, you see, I can't stay at home all day because I think about it for a while. Also makes."

Tang didn't know about the so-called important affairs of the court, but she naturally understood that Lin Ruhai couldn't open his mouth so easily, so he could only use strong medicine, because she said, "Forget it, I can't take care of you here, let you go. I already handed over the sign yesterday, I beg to see the Empress Dowager, I have already obtained the imperial decree today, and I will see you tomorrow, so I won't bother you, a busy person."

Lin Ruhai panicked immediately, and immediately knelt down and said, "Mother, it's the son's fault. If the son doesn't dare anymore, please be merciful to the mother."

Tang frowned and said angrily, "What do you mean, the Empress Dowager granted me an audience, so she still regretted it halfway? Don't worry, your old lady has calculations in her heart, and she knows what to say and what to say. I'm not for you, but it's like It’s like trying to kill you. I just don’t think about you, and there are Yu’er and Heng’er, I only count on them.”

Lin Ruhai came to her senses, and knew that the most important thing in her mother's heart was the Lin family, and she would never do such a thing that would harm others or herself, so she made an apology again, "My son is confused, please forgive me."

Tang shook his head and sighed, "You still have the same temperament. Looking at it now, if it weren't for him, it is still a question of whether you would be able to become the first-rank university scholar you are today. I don't know whether it is good or bad. Forget it, I'm tired, you go down first Bar."

Lin Ruhai asked Ann to go out again, but her heart became more and more heavy.