The Royal Merchant of the Red Chamber

The grand wedding of the emperor and empress has finally come to an end, and the Forbidden City has restored its former peace and tranquility.However, in the following months, everyone in the capital kept talking about that magnificent and extravagant wedding as an after-dinner conversation. Even the most famous Fuxi newspaper in Beijing and various miscellaneous newspapers were also implicated. It's been a topic for a while.This kind of excitement continued until the defeated King of Nan'an was redeemed from the capital. In a rage, the Holy Majesty sarcastically satirized in the Golden Luan Hall, bluntly saying that he would act in accordance with the military order, and investigate the king of Nan'an and his subordinates who were greedy for military rations and fought more. charges.

Thinking of the old prince's love for fighting the world with his ancestors in the past, although Tu Zhen was extremely angry, he was not too cruel.It was just that he was deprived of the title of King of Nan'an County with a different surname, and was reduced to Marquis of Nan'an County.The Holy One ordered the king of Nan'an County to contemplate his mistakes behind closed doors at the Nan'an Hou Mansion in the middle of Beijing. Although he did not expressly say so, it can be regarded as semi-house arrest.

The news was about to spread, and the ruling and opposition parties all commented that the Holy Majesty was generous, benevolent, and very tolerant.There are a lot of excerpts on the above table that sing praises and praises.

The matter of Nan'an County King has not yet subsided, and another major case of Prince Zhongshun's conspiracy and rebellion broke out one after another.Inspector Yushi Wang Minghui personally played the impeachment, revealing the rebellious acts of Prince Zhongshun during the prince's period, buying murderers, framing ministers, making friends with foreign officials, and even conspiring against the emperor after he succeeded to the throne, murdering the emperor and other outrageous acts. Tuzhen dispatched imperial envoys After checking one by one, Long Yan was furious, and immediately demoted Prince Zhongshun to a commoner, caring about the brotherhood, but did not cut off his head, but removed his family name and imprisoned him in Prince Zhongshun's mansion in the capital.

And his mother, Concubine De, was also demoted to Concubine De because she was in the harem and had no clear relationship with the previous dynasty.As for the party members who belonged to Prince Zhongshun, since they lost their own bloodlines as life-saving talismans, they naturally ransacked their families and exterminated their clans according to the law, and all the families were asked to beheaded.Occasionally there are deposed exiles, countless.

Later, it was discovered that the Marquis of Nan'an County, who was thinking behind closed doors in Beijing, was also involved with Prince Zhongshun.All of a sudden, Long Yan was angry again, but before Tu Zhen could make a decision this time, the ministers of the court had already petitioned the Holy One to punish him severely, and absolutely must not tolerate raising traitors and raising tigers.

Upon hearing the memorial, the Holy Majesty immediately complied with public opinion and promulgated an imperial decree to search and punish.The title of Marquis of Nan'an County was taken away again, and he was imprisoned in heaven, and asked to be executed after autumn.Within three generations of Nan'an County's Wangman family, the imperial examination was not allowed to be an official. The rest, regardless of whether they were male or female, were exiled to Yazhou, and they were not allowed to return without decree.

So within a month, Caishikou in the west of Beijing became the busiest place in Beijing, and from time to time there would be prison carts pulling criminals to the execution ground to behead them.For a while, the people in Beijing also had a lot of fun to watch.Countless blood-stained heads also brought a lot of income to the executioners.After Tu Zhen heard about it, he really couldn't laugh or cry.

There are also those who have been attached to such a far-reaching crime that they have not died. They were demoted or exiled. The males were used as military slaves, and the female relatives were used as official prostitutes.

But more than a month.The middle seat is less than half vacant.The Holy One immediately selected a person with virtue and ability to fill the vacancy.These days, most of them are following Tu Zhen’s buddies who followed earlier, or those from poor families who really have real materials. This time, they have the opportunity to make great achievements. In three to five years, he can go straight to the sky, honor his ancestors, and gain both fame and fortune.

For a time, officials, ministers, officials and common people came forward to praise the Holy One for his benevolence, generosity, compassion and pure kindness.The folks don't know how many longevity memorial archways and eternal lights have been erected.

Time flies, two months have passed in a blink of an eye, and it is the day when the weather turns cold in July.

It was the day when Tu Zhen sent a message to order the men and women of Nan'an County King Manmen to be exiled to Yazhou.On the same day, members of the Jia family from the original Ningrong Second Mansion also left the capital.

Outside the capital city, several idle kings bid farewell to each other with their families.Xue Pan, who was already a queen, was wearing a new set of civilian clothes, and took Jia Baoyu's hand to give him earnest instructions.

"I really don't know when we will meet next time. Your Majesty has already approved Prince Zhongyong's invitation to seal the memorial. After you return to Yunnan, you can get married. But I think your Jia family is now at the cusp of crisis." , if it’s possible, it’s better to wait for a year and a half. The weather is calm and no one is paying attention, so it’s not too late for you to hold a wedding ceremony.”

After all, although Tu Zhen didn't explicitly say that the Jia family was attached to Prince Zhongshun.We are all in the same line of Hachiko, you and I got together when the incident happened.Now that they have committed crimes, most of the other families who committed crimes ended up beheaded and copied. Only Jia's family, regardless of male or female relatives, were not beheaded, at most they were exiled.In front of everyone's eyes, it's too eye-catching.

Therefore, to avoid extravagance, even if there is a relationship between Xue Pan and Prince Zhongyong, it is still necessary to keep a low profile.

Jia Baoyu nodded clearly, and said in a low voice, "I understand big brother's kindness, and I will definitely consider this matter."

Seeing this, Xue Pan sighed again, and said comfortingly: "There is one more thing, from now on, you are not alone anymore. If you do anything in the future, you must remember to think twice before acting, and don't overdo it." If you want to be sexually wanton, you have to consider Prince Zhongyong’s thoughts. More communication is the only way to get along with each other for a long time. You must not learn from some people who are stubborn and hide everything, and keep everything in your heart without saying it. Instead, a rift arose.”

Jia Baoyu nodded indiscriminately, firmly holding Xue Pan's hand, crying unbearably sad because of the parting.

Xue Pan blinked sadly, stepped forward to protect Jia Baoyu and patted him on the back.I just feel dejected, and when I think of the difficulty of seeing each other far away in the future, I am full of reluctance and longing.

Today is not the era when planes are flying all over the sky in later generations, and it takes two hours to travel from Kyoto to Yunnan.What's more, he is now a queen, and his eyes are staring at every move, so it's not good for him to add too much confusion to Tu Zhen.

Xue Pan thought about it, curled his lips in dissatisfaction, rolled his eyes wildly, and began to calculate how to get Tu Zhen to come to the south for a few times.If you don't stay in the Forbidden City all day long, he's only 21 now, so it's scary to think about it.

Seeing this, Lin Mozhi at the side couldn't help laughing and said, "Your eyes are rolling around, what are you thinking about?" Xue Pan smiled, didn't speak, but looked up at the Jia family standing aside.Although he was reprimanded and exiled to the Southwest, he was a relative of the queen after all, and the escorts did not behave too badly.Therefore, all members of the Jia family, male and female, were only wearing coarse clothes, but they were not wearing prison clothes and shackles.After these months of imprisonment, the men of Jia's family all looked sluggish and slack.On the contrary, the female relatives were all red-faced, and they were well taken care of - except for Mrs. Wang who had been in prison for several months and was beaten a hundred times.

As for the servant girls who followed the Jia family, because of the disaster of the Jia family, there were not as many as before.Most of them were sold the last time they were convicted and sold. Only mandarin ducks and amber were left beside Jia Mu. Although the mandarin ducks are still serving in front of Jia Mu, they have already combed women's hair buns and are not wearing them. More refined and generous than before.Speaking of which, there is still a bit of a story in it.

Because Jia Mupu was imprisoned, Xue Pan begged the Holy Grace to live in Zhongxin Hou's mansion, and she did not die like the original book. Naturally, her maid, Yuanyang, did not hang herself, and still grew up in front of Jia Mu. maid.Later, Prince Zhongyong took Jia Baoyu back to Beijing to attend the emperor's grand ceremony. Jia's mother thought of her grandson and sent mandarin ducks to Baoyu from time to time.After a long time, for some reason, he had the same eye with a commander of the personal guard under the tent of Prince Zhongyong.The commander of the guard personally begged Prince Zhongyong. When Prince Zhongyong came back, he told Jia Mu that Jia Mu was worried about Yuanyang's funeral, so she was happy to hear about it.

Therefore, Yuanyang had been married to the commander of the guards as the official wife by Jia Mu last month, and now it can be regarded as the order of the seventh rank.Compared with the status of the female family members of the Jia family who have been demoted to common people, their status is more than a star and a half higher.It can be seen that due to fate, the world is impermanent.

This mandarin duck is indeed a loyal guardian.After receiving such a great grace, she didn't become frivolous like some girls with shallow eyelids.Because the journey was far to the southwest, Yuanyang was worried that Jiamu was old and would not be able to support her.So he volunteered to serve in front of Jia Mu.Jia's mother couldn't do without the mandarin ducks, and thinking that there was no need to be too taboo about going to the southwest this time, she agreed.

Yuanyang saw Xue Pan looking at her silently, and immediately came forward to bow her knees and said: "Yuanyang is going to the southwest this time, and I'm afraid I won't be able to come back in this life. There are only a few sisters in Jia’s mansion and the second grandmother, Ping’er. Now that Jia’s mansion is in trouble, I’m afraid these people are scattered all over the world, and they may not see each other again in the future. Only Ping’er... I hope the Queen’s master will convey it for me, and ask her to write frequently. Send me a letter, and we'll be in touch from time to time."

Seeing this, Xue Pan nodded more and more sadly.

Over there, when Jia Lian heard Yuanyang and Xue Pan talking about Wang Xifeng, Yesi Siaiai came over and sighed: "Brother Xue, please say sorry to Feng girl for me when you return to the Hou's mansion. I let her down. In this life we ​​have no destiny, and in the next life I will repay her. And Sister Qiao... It stands to reason that I have no face to say this now. It's just that she is my own daughter, and I may never see her again in the future. ,I--"

"Daddy." Before Jia Lian could finish speaking, she suddenly heard a child's voice calling her.Jia Lian looked around in astonishment, and saw a green oil truck coming from the official road.When he came to the front, the carriage stopped, and Sister Feng opened the curtain and jumped down.Ping'er followed behind, still holding sister Qiao by the hand.After getting down to the ground and standing still, Qiaojie immediately threw Ping'er's hand away and threw herself on Jia Lian, calling out, "Daddy, why haven't you come to see me for so many days?"

Jia Lian was stunned and couldn't help looking up at Wang Xifeng.I saw that she tidied up very neatly, but she didn't have a hairpin ring on her head as usual, only an ordinary hairpin.The clothes on his body are also very clean.Holding a brocade box in his arms, he handed it to Jia Lian and said, "Return your body."

Jia Lian's complexion changed drastically. He looked at the brocade box in Wang Xifeng's hand and remained silent.

The brocade box contained about 8 to [-] taels of land deeds and some high-quality jade articles.He secretly hid it for so many years when he was in charge of affairs outside.Even Second Sister You didn't know.This time, Jia's house was ransacked, and all the dating girls around him who were looking for death and life all ran away, and there was not a single one left.He also thought that he would die for sure, but when he thought about the past, he couldn't help thinking of all the benefits of Sister Feng.At the beginning when they were facing each other, they wished she would die immediately, but now that they have calmed down and thought about it carefully, Sister Feng has been the only one who has treated him sincerely and kindly to him all these years.He also gave birth to a beautiful sister.

Now that I'm about to die, it's useless to keep the body on my body. It's better to give it to Sister Feng to live.In the future, no matter whether she is married or living on her own, if she has more money in her hands, she won't be at a disadvantage depending on people's faces.

So when Xue Pan saw him for the second time, Jia Lian inevitably told Xue Pan about his own affairs.For so many years, he has guarded against Wang Xifeng like a thief, so naturally he dare not take out these things easily.It was also placed in a small village outside the city that he bought under someone else's name.In order to hide it better, Jia Lian opened up the house from the inside. Only people can get in through the stove and feel in the kang along the tunnel to find it.

Jia Lian knew that Xue Pan was never greedy for money, so he only asked him to give things to Sister Feng, which was his wish fulfilled.Now Sister Feng returned the things to him...

Jia Lian's complexion changed again and again. After all, he felt guilty and didn't even dare to ask.

I saw Wang Xifeng reached out and grabbed Qiaojie, and said: "During these days, I asked my aunt to make an appointment for Qiaojie. Qiaojie is also thirteen this year. She will be out of the court soon. I want to keep her in the capital and let her go." My aunt brought me up, and I will be better than me when I get out of the cabinet. I was originally a confused leftist, and I have been with you for so many years. I have not done good things and done all bad things. I am afraid that sister Qiao will not learn anything good from following me. Aunt is a man Pure kindness and generosity, I feel relieved that Qiaojie stays by her side. Besides, I won't come back forever, I have to come back to visit in a year or so."

Jia Lian stared blankly at Wang Xifeng, unable to understand what she was talking about.

Then I heard Wang Xifeng continue to say: "I heard that those aunts and grandmothers around you who knew you were dying, they all ran away."

Jia Lian's face turned red, and she dared not speak in embarrassment.

Wang Xifeng sighed softly, and said, "It's my fault that I haven't left any heirs for your Jia family for so many years. I just want to ask you a question, do you hate me?"

Jia Lian immediately shook his head, and said decisively: "I am sorry for you. In the next life, I will repay you as a cow and a horse—"

"Don't go to the next life, just this life!"

Jia Lian was stunned.I heard Wang Xifeng continue to say: "I, Heping and I, have been fooling around with you all my life. Now that I am old, I may not be able to find a good one even if I look for it again. Zuo is just looking at my family wealth or The power of our family doesn't dare to do anything to me. I thought carefully, if I want to live like this, I might as well just make do with you. In case there is another person in the future and I can't restrain myself, wouldn't I be even more troublesome?"

There was a vague thought in Jia Lian's mind, and a burst of ecstasy slowly surged up.

I heard Wang Xifeng continue to say: "Now that you have no family background, and the house title deed is in my hands, you don't have the ability to play tricks if you want to—"

"I won't. As long as we live a good life in the future, if I think about it again, you will let me be struck to death by thunder from God. Sister Feng," Jia Lian said excitedly, holding Wang Xifeng's hand, " Don't worry, Sister Feng, I will never let you down again."

Wang Xifeng burst into a smile, glared at Jia Lian, and said, "I am leaving Beijing this time, and the dowry will be left in Zhongxinhou's mansion for my aunt to keep. I plan to hand it over to Qiaojie in the future. From then on, I will only rely on your current ladder." Alive. If you don't care anymore, I'm afraid--"

"No. Baoyu has already told me to let me be the manager of his shop after I go there. I won't take any money I earn in the future, and I will keep it all for you." Jia Lian swore with a curse.

Sister Feng frowned slightly, put down Jia Lian's hand uncomfortably, turned to Jia Mu's direction and smiled, "Old Ancestor, I'm here to disturb you again, do you have a headache?"

Everyone was stunned, and for a long time, he said with some emotion: "It is said that the Second Grandma Lian of Rongguo Mansion is a sweet-hearted, double-faced and shabby householder. Now it seems that she is also a sincere and beneficial person."

Everyone nodded and remained silent.

Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu took Yingchun, Tanchun, and Xichun by the hand and said, "I never thought that Sister Feng and Second Brother Lian fought like that. Now that Second Brother Lian is dead, there is only Sister Feng and Heping by my side." I am willing to accompany you."

Tanchun and Xichun were silent for a while.After a long while, Fang Cai told Yingchun: "We won't take care of you after we leave. Don't be the same as before, let your husband's family bully you, and even those concubines will climb on top of you. "

Baochai and Daiyu immediately nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, we're still here!"

Wang Xifeng helped Jia's mother to talk, and couldn't help asking about the famous maids in Jia's house.Qingwen also redeemed Lai Er when the Lai's family took over Lai Er.Yu Chuan'er next to Mrs. Wang refused to forgive Mrs. Wang because of Jin Chuan'er's death that year.When everyone was imprisoned, Yu Chuan'er would rather be betrayed by outsiders than follow Mrs. Wang, so only an unknown little girl was left beside Mrs. Wang.Xichun has always been cold-hearted and cold-hearted, and when she encountered this difficulty, she also felt that she would have to rely on others in the future, so she naturally refused to accept another girl as a burden.What's more, the servants around her had already been sent out when they were inspecting the Grand View Garden, and there was no one else to talk to.So I don't want a girl at all.The maids around Tanchun were good to her, but Tanchun didn't know what was going on when she went to the southwest, and the maid next to her was picked up by a rich family to be his aunt. They didn't redeem it anymore, and let them go.

For the rest, Mrs. Xing, You Shi, etc. also left only one big girl who waited on grooming.For a while, all the fragrances were gone, and they became more and more chatty.

Hearing this, Xue Pan couldn't help sighing again, took Jia Baoyu's hand and whispered: "You let me redeem the attacker for you, but now you want to go back to the southwest, and you don't bring him back. What do you think?"

Jia Baoyu choked and said, "What can I think? Big brother also knows me, and Xiren has made up with me anyway. No matter what he is now, I can't forget how she treated me back then. If I Let her be trampled and humiliated, what kind of person have I become?" Xue Pan sighed helplessly, and said with a headache: "Then you are a good person, do it to the end, and send the Buddha to the west. If you take her away, it will be the same. It's over, what are you going to do with me? It's not like you don't know, among the girls in your house, the one I'm most impatient with is this Xiren, who is honest on the outside but hides a traitor on the inside, I feel uncomfortable just looking at her."

Jia Baoyu wiped away tears and said, "Who told you to keep her? She is not without a mother. I have already returned her body deed to her. I also secretly gave her 500 taels of silver. It's enough for her to be around in this life. In the future, whether she gets married or what, it has nothing to do with me."

As he said that, he said with a depressed face: "I thought she was a good person. But that day when the Grand View Garden was plagiarized, everyone was caught at the disadvantage. Only Xiren Muskyue had nothing to do. I was My heart felt cold. I can no longer see her now. Please help me, big brother."

Xue Pan nodded his head with a growing headache, as he answered Jia Baoyu's request.

On the other side, Prince Zhongdun pulled Lin Mozhi and Prince Zhongyong also bid farewell.In fact, his temperament is a bit similar to that of Prince Zhongyong, both of them are a bit wise and foolish, rough and heroic without regard to trivial matters.The two are standing together, making an appointment to drink and eat meat when they meet.

"Second brother is waiting for me. After I get married with Ziyu, I will take Ziyu for a walk in the southwest. Then we brothers will eat wine and meat together and fight the enemy."

"If you have such a heart, I will naturally welcome you back. But the key is still in front of the Holy One. Since ancient times, the emperor has been suspicious, so you must not act according to your will, which arouses the hatred of the Holy Majesty. In all fairness, as a brother The emperor is already generous and benevolent when he is in such a state as the sage. Don't do anything reckless, you will harm others and yourself!"

"Second brother, please don't worry!" Prince Zhongdun hooked the corners of his lips, looked at the second brother who was sincerely planning for him, and persuaded: "I know exactly what kind of temperament the Holy Majesty is. I don't know when he will I can't stand the loneliness anymore, let's go to the southwest with us to see you!"

Prince Zhongyong laughed loudly when he heard the words, patted Prince Zhongdun's arm and said, "I hope so!"

While talking, he said to Prince Zhongchun and his wife, who were smiling but silent, "Among us brothers, Your Majesty has the best relationship with you. I heard that His Majesty intends to attack Qianxiang Kingdom. The coach must be the Eleventh Brother." Absolutely. I have a word of advice for you here. Qianxiang Kingdom is thousands of miles away from Dayong, and the climate and folk customs are probably different. If you really want to fight, remember to do more research, and don’t put The lives of hundreds of soldiers are considered a trifling matter."

Prince Zhongchun solemnly promised, paused, and said with some meaning: "In fact, second brother, please rest assured. Although the younger brother does not have rich experience in the battlefield, there is one of you and my brother who is as proficient in the art of war." Brother Yu. Your Majesty intends to introduce this person to my younger brother as an aide. My younger brother believes that with this person's help, the attack on Qianxiang Kingdom will be successful in no time."

Prince Zhongyong's heart sank when he heard Prince Zhongchun's words, and he subconsciously asked, "Who is it?"

Prince Zhongchun just smiled and said nothing.

Prince Zhongyong suddenly heard a burst of laughter from behind him, and then a very familiar voice said with a smile: "Among the brothers, you and I are the only ones who have actually fought on the battlefield. The second brother is thoughtful and insightful. Can't think of this?"

Prince Zhongyong was terrified, looked back at Prince Zhongyi and Mr. Shi beside him in disbelief, and exclaimed: "I really didn't expect that His Majesty would be so magnanimous."

Prince Zhongyi also said with some emotion when he heard the words: "Yes! He really is a magnanimous person. If I were to stand in his seat today, I would definitely not be able to do this."

"Employees don't doubt people, and the Holy One has such a heart, which makes Xiao Wang quite respectful." Prince Zhongyong said, looking in the direction of the Forbidden City with blood on his face, and said brazenly: "You treat others with the dignity of the country, and people naturally repay you with loyalty." Xiao Wang swears that as long as Xiao Wang is alive, he will definitely guard the border and never let Dali soldiers step into our Dayong border."

After hearing this, Tu Huang and Tu Juan who came over could not help but smile at each other.

Yes, in comparison, Tu Zhen is indeed much more magnanimous than them.If Tuzhen hadn't succeeded to the throne, I'm afraid I would still be excluded from the government today. Where would the reputation of the five sage kings and the six rich kings spread all over the world?

But some gratitude is a great kindness without words.Therefore, although Tu Zhe and Tu Huang haven't talked much in the past few years, they have done everything in a proper manner, and they don't add any confusion to Tu Zhen.And Tu Zhen has become more and more trusting of Tu Teng. Anyway, there are three inspections at the sticky pole, Jinyiwei, and Xuedizi. He is not afraid that Tu Huang Tu Teng will do something tricky behind his back, so he boldly divides the affairs at hand. Hand it over to two people.After coming and going, it has become a virtuous circle, benefiting each other.

Gossip less, let's say that when everyone was affectionately saying goodbye, another group of people came from the official road, prisoners in shackles, and the yamen servants beside them, came slowly.

When they arrived in front of them, everyone couldn't help being stunned.But it turned out that they were the relatives of the Nan'an County Prince's family who had been degraded as a criminal.Except for the King of Nan'an who was imprisoned waiting to be executed in the autumn, Princess Nan'an and Princess Nan'an, who were wearing prison uniforms and shouldering the shackles, staggered forward with their heads on their heads.

Looking up and seeing this group of people seeing off, he couldn't help being stunned.

Especially Princess Nan'an, when she saw Prince Jing of Beijing accompanying Lin Daiyu to send off the people in Jia's mansion, her expression was so distorted that it was almost terrifying.

Seeing this, Xue Baochai came forward with a smile, and said, "Which family of criminals is not polite? Seeing so many nobles here, they don't kneel down and salute. They are really vulgar and vulgar."