Heir of the Red Chamber

"It's said that the Sui Dynasty died on this river, and it has been relying on Tongbo for thousands of miles. If there is no dragon boat event in the water palace, Gong Yu's merits will not be much."

In winter, the trees are withered, the water level of the canal drops, and when business travel is rare during the New Year, there is only one group of official ships on the huge river going northward against the wind. Among them, on the building ship with the deepest draft, the beautiful and melodious voice of the young girl makes people bow their heads outside the cabin. The maidservants standing there all looked at each other and smiled, secretly rejoicing that the master and the eldest girl are also father and daughter today who are friendly and harmonious.

A half-grown boy wearing soap-soled powder-faced boots, wearing a crimson robe with five bats and tumbled flowers, and a brocade fur with a bamboo pattern on the outside, listened to the homework for a while in the corner of the room, but raised his hand He stopped the boy who wanted to speak out, and left silently.

It was Daiyu who was studying poetry under the guidance of her father in the cabin.

She has always been weak, and even though she is still in the cabin where a few charcoal basins have been lit, she is still wearing a brocade jacket trimmed with white fox fur. Fortunately, Lin Ruhai has a holy order this time, and no one dares to neglect her. The supply of silver silk charcoal was very sufficient, and Daiyu was not too cold.

At this moment, Daiyu's melon-seeded face was hot and flushed, and the red-colored brocade jacket on her body was embroidered with birds spreading their wings and animals playing, and even her bun was wrapped with a fluffy red fox fur hair band, which made her look even more complete. The person Yuxue is cute, delicate and charming.

Lin Ruhai only had a daughter of Daiyu when he was nearly 40 years old. He has always loved her like the palm of his hand and never said a word to Daiyu aloud. , being able to get along with his beloved daughter every day, naturally he will not put on airs of a strict father.

In the past few days, Daiyu said that she wanted to learn poetry, so Lin Ruhai took out the few books she had pondered most often, and patiently taught them word by word.It just so happens that they are on the canal now, so they picked out this Bianhe nostalgia, which is also considered appropriate.

Because it was the father and daughter who accompanied and chatted, Daiyu's adoring heart and the three-pointed daughter's coquettishness left her previous seat, and she simply sat on the footrest in front of Lin Ruhai, tilting her head slightly, softly Fading was leaning against Lin Ruhai's knee.

After reading a line of poetry, Daiyu couldn't help raising her eyes to look at her father who was smiling all the time. She accidentally punctuated the sentence incorrectly, her face flushed slightly, and she immediately put the book on her father's lap, while she herself He quietly hugged his father's leg with his hands, and refused to look up again.

This collection of poems was copied and transcribed by Lin Ruhai himself when he was a boy before he became a Jinshi. He felt a little bit of feeling that time is easy to throw people away, but compared with his daughter, a mere book of poems is nothing.

Putting the collection of poems on the desk, Lin Ruhai gently touched the top of her daughter's soft hair: "Yu'er, Daddy's eldest sister, is it uncomfortable to sit on the pedals for so long?"

Without mentioning a single word about the study just now, Lin Ruhai gently but forcefully picked Daiyu up from the ground, and placed her safely beside her, looked at her lovingly for a while, but was still worried, and reached out again He tried the temperature on the back of Daiyu's hand, and found that he was satisfied only if there was no coolness.

Lin Ruhai felt a bit of self-blame in his heart, just now he was only happy for Daiyu's closeness and filial piety, and it was shameful to let his daughter sit on the pedal for so long.

Of course Daiyu was happy to be able to sit side by side with her father. Seeing her father love her so much, she even forgot what was on her mind before, pouted and acted coquettishly: "Mothers spread six layers of Oro wool blankets on the feet, which are soft and soft. It's warm, so I don't feel uncomfortable."

Having said that, he immediately fell into Lin Ruhai's arms happily, and had no intention of going back.

No matter how many schemes and schemes outsiders have and how deep their scheming is, Lin Ruhai only has a fatherly heart when facing Daiyu, and when he is contradicted by his daughter, he will only smile slightly: "Yu'er is old enough to understand common affairs. But we I'm still learning poetry, learning should not be abandoned halfway, how about Yu'er talk to Daddy about the feeling of this poem first?"

Lin Ruhai is cautious and meticulous by nature. When he writes his poems, he pays great attention to the subtleties such as gorgeous rhetoric and neatness. However, when he teaches Daiyu these days, he mostly adopts majestic and grand artistic conceptions. Thinking, a fatherly heart.

But Daiyu is smarter than Lin Ruhai estimated, it's good that Lin Ruhai didn't mention poetry, after saying this, Daiyu's brows were slightly frowned, she didn't even look at Lin Ruhai, but fell on her father's knee superior.

"Daddy's body, isn't it all right?"

Her thin body trembled slightly, which made Lin Ruhai, who was about to laugh and say that Daiyu was thinking wildly, couldn't help but pause, and couldn't utter the words to fool her daughter for a while.

"If daddy gets better, why does he always teach his daughter some poems that imply not to be happy with things but not to be sad about oneself, or that the world is impermanent and unpredictable? Does father want his daughter to be indifferent to everything? Yu'er It's just a petty temper, how can Daddy be willing to part with Yu'er?"

Daiyu is too sensitive and too intelligent.Although Lin Ruhai's behavior can also be explained by the fact that he has experienced the warmth and coldness of the world and hopes that his daughter can handle things wisely, but the same father and daughter are connected, how can Daiyu not feel that something is wrong with Lin Ruhai?I hope she has a broad and open mind, of course, but more, it points to a side of Daiyu that she has never dared to think about.

Daiyu has always been vaguely aware that her father's health is not as good as outsiders think.Because of this, after her mother's one-year filial piety period passed, Daiyu didn't wear plain clothes for another two years as she originally thought, but quickly changed into festive clothes, hoping that these colors would really bring good luck , let father get better.

Also because of this concern, when she was in Yangzhou, despite Lin Ruhai's every kind of gentle advice, she insisted on setting off on the same boat, and stayed with Lin Ruhai every day on the boat, serving tea and medicine herself every day, and often acted coquettishly and foolishly, hoping to make Lin Ruhai happy .

But Lin Ruhai was still planning for the worst, and Daiyu was really terrified and afraid.

This is the child he has been looking forward to for half his life, so smart, but too smart.

Lin Ruhai didn't answer Daiyu's words right away, but gently caressed Daiyu's back, and sighed for a long time: "Everyone raises their sons to hope to be smart, and I have been fooled by being smart all my life. I only hope that the child will be stupid and reckless, and come to the court without disaster or difficulty. You are so smart, how can you rest assured as a father? It is a blessing to be confused in one's life."

If you are confused, you will not see through the hypocritical kindness of others, or the kind deception of your relatives.If you are not so smart, you will not have so many troubles.

Sensing that Daiyu seemed a little uneasy, Lin Ruhai chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Yuer, your old father will still watch you put on your wedding dress and get on the sedan chair, and if your brothers can't carry you well, they will even take you with a stick." Give them a good beating."

When a father said such things to his daughter, it was really disrespectful. Daiyu would not follow her on the spot, and was afraid that Lin Ruhai would lose her spirit. In addition, her father's embrace was really reassuring. Gradually lost touch with his father's knees.

Lin Ruhai gently smoothed Daiyu's long hair for a while, seeing that Daiyu seemed to be in a deep sleep, she untied the black fox fur lined dark green rolled cloak that could not reach her head and covered Daiyu's body, Wrapping her small body tightly, she moved her knees carefully, put the soft pillow at hand over it, stood up quietly, took another cloak of dendrobium beads and put it on, and walked outside the door He Qi, the housekeeper, was called.

The soft pillow has long been warmed by Lin Ruhai, Daiyu has been carrying her heart for too long, and there are some soothing medicines in the cold soup that she eats every day. At this moment, she has not noticed her father's departure, and her cheeks are attached to each other. Rubbing the pillow, she shrank back into the cloak full of ink fragrance, sleeping soundly.

Afraid of waking Daiyu up, Lin Ruhai did not speak directly at the door of the cabin, but took He Qi into another cabin, which was five or six feet away from Daiyu.

It wasn't until this moment that Lin Ruhai cleared his throat in relief, coughed a few times suppressedly, and He Qi hurriedly served a cup of hot tea.

"My good lord, this old slave knows that you feel sorry for the eldest girl, and I am afraid that the eldest girl will catch cold, but the genius doctor told you that you should not smell the smell of charcoal fire. No matter how good the silver thread charcoal is, it won't work for you any day and night. Cough? Even if there is one less charcoal basin?"

He Qi has been serving Lin Ruhai for many years, and Lin Ruhai has treated him with great kindness. Seeing that Lin Ruhai even coughed in order to sympathize with his daughter, He Qi endured it for a long time, but he still couldn't help but say a word of persuasion, and shrunk his neck after speaking Wait to scold.

Lin Ruhai gave He Qi a slap in the face, and also smiled, but his expression became serious: "There is no need to say such things, a man is indomitable, and it is a dereliction of duty for a father not to let his daughter have no worries and fears. For me? How many storms and waves have passed, why be afraid of mere charcoal fire?"

After speaking, he stared at He Qi with good eyes, and when he reluctantly but respectfully agreed, Lin Ruhai asked the next question: "During these days, are those posts still endless?"

When this matter was mentioned, He Qi couldn't help showing a look of sympathy, and nodded with an ugly face.

The post they were talking about was nothing but a group of people vying to persuade Lin Ruhai to continue, even recommending their own girls.These kinds of posts have gradually appeared on Lin Ruhai's desk since Jia Min was seriously ill. A few days ago, when Lin Ruhai became one of the famous six ministers and a first-rank official, it became a flood.

Other things, even if it is a newly received mansion newspaper, Lin Ruhai can take it and review it with his daughter Daiyu, which is also a pleasure, but this is the only thing that Lin Ruhai does not want Daiyu to hear the slightest rumor.

Being without him and having no children was the pain in his life and his beloved wife Jia Min. Although Lin Ruhai himself did not blame Jia Min, let alone blame Daiyu, Jia Min could not let it go until his deathbed, and blamed himself very much. When Yu Yu was young, he also suffered from not being able to be born as a boy, and now these posts advising him to continue his marriage are not written in every word, so how can he let Dai Yu know and add to his worries.

Anyway, he didn't have such thoughts at all.

Not to mention that after so many years, Lin Ruhai has long since given up the idea of ​​having a parent-child. He said that he has adopted two heirs now, even if he got a son by chance, then what?I have passed my thirties, so I must not be able to watch this child become an adult. It is impossible to estimate what will happen between the parents and heirs. Maybe the family will be ruined, and none of them will be saved. If so, what's the use of continuing?

What's more, those who persuaded him to renew his strings, and the so-called "good-bred" women who sent portraits for him to choose, I don't know which family's eyeliner they are, they are all troublemakers.

"As much as you have, just take it to the stove and burn it." Waving his hand in boredom, Lin Ruhai tightened his cloak, opened the window and took a deep breath of the river wind: "The other blueprint patterns are all found. Are you a craftsman?"

This question is about the clothing, jewelry and furniture that Lin Ruhai secretly painted for Daiyu.

Daiyu liked the hairpin Lin Ya carved for Daiyu very much before she left. When she boarded the boat, she still wore the hairpin inlaid with white jade and hibiscus. Lin Ruhai saw it with a smile, but secretly liked it very much. Many, and because he thought about Daiyu getting married in the future, he simply flipped through the classics and even painted the furniture patterns by himself, and secretly ordered He Qi to find someone to do it.

He Qi is old enough to do this kind of thing, when Lin Ruhai asked, he hurriedly told the progress with a smile, Lin Ruhai nodded in satisfaction, and stopped talking, just leaned against the window and stood still for a few breaths, only to feel the pain in his chest The stuffy hot air subsided a little.

Lin Ruhai himself could lightly and skillfully burn all the postings handed over by his relatives, but Lin Ya, the heir, didn't have the guts, nor did he have the stand.

Just finished writing an article, after listening to Mr. Chen Xiao's cynicism, Lin Ya just sat in the living room and ate half a cup of tea, when the stewards came in to answer, and the boys behind him were holding normal glasses in their hands. Greeting post, the other is holding letters and other miscellaneous things to persuade Lin Shangshu to welcome his wife again.

Feeling that the tea in his mouth was a bit bitter, Lin Ya had no choice but to continue to put on that gentle and jade-like appearance, and asked someone to send it directly to the study prepared for the master Lin Ruhai, and piled it all up on the desk.It's not that Lin Ya really thinks that Lin Ruhai will continue, but that this kind of thing is not suitable for him as an heir, it's really annoying.

The stewards were relieved to see that the most difficult matter had been solved quickly and neatly, as if it was just a gust of wind blowing past just now, they reported other matters as if nothing had happened.

The most important thing is to send congratulatory gifts to the homes of several His Highnesses.

Beijing and China can be described as turbulent these days.

The sage seemed to have made up his mind to choose one of the two princes from Concubine Zhen Gui to inherit the throne, but he was vacillating between the fourth and sixth princes, causing many people to feel uncomfortable eating and sleeping.

Let’s not talk about giving the Sixth Highness Chu Rongbi a double salary from the county king to the prince. After that, the Fourth Highness Chu Rongqi didn’t know what to say to her mother and concubine Zhen Guifei. Crying with a headache, Concubine Zhen Gui once again spoke to the sage when she was in bed, the sage turned his head and made Liu Shi, the concubine of the birth mother of the third son of His Royal Highness, as his side concubine.

Don't underestimate this side concubine. As a rule, a prince can have one main concubine and two side concubines. It is not uncommon for a prince to have more than two side concubines. The crown prince can have four side concubines.Now, with one title of the Liu family, there are three side concubines in the residence of the Fourth Highness, who are chasing after the crown prince. The implication is that people can't ignore it.

The Fourth Highness is just one move, and the status of "No.1 among the princes" that the Sixth Highness just got is gone again.

What about brothers?There are folk brothers who have been separated for a lifetime without speaking, but these two are fighting for the most honorable seat in the world.Breaking people on Qingyun Road is more important than killing parents, His Highness Sixth Prince's eyes turned red after he had just tasted the sweetness.

The Fourth Highness cried by himself, but the Sixth Highness did not follow suit, but sent out his own concubine and the eldest son who was always the most loved by Concubine Zhen. The strategy of mourning made the concubine Zhen a dilemma. After all, the palms and backs of the hands were full of flesh. She herself couldn't figure out which one to turn towards.

After much tossing and tossing, the eldest son of His Royal Highness the Sixth Highness also got the title of Jin and became the king of Huairui County, only one level lower than his father, and the wind direction in Beijing has changed again. No matter whether you are a scholar or a Qingliu scholar, there are especially many people visiting relatives and friends these days.

Today, it seems that it is not lively enough, and there are two orders. First, he tidied up the backyard of the eldest grandson Yizhong County Wang Chuxi, and helped the side concubine Zhen, and then finally remembered his third son, Feng Chu Ronghua Zhongyi County Wang, but because the mansion has not been repaired, the newly released Prince Zhongyi had to continue to live in the palace with his family and never moved out.

No matter what happened to the Tian family because of the turmoil in the Jin Dynasty, it is a great joy to be concubine, concubine Fuzheng, and king. Lin Ya should send a congratulatory gift on behalf of his father. This gift is too involved. Even if the spring is coming, Lin Ya has to intervene in person, and has to make an extra apology for not being able to receive the banquet.

Unexpectedly, no matter which one it was, there was no banquet in the end.

Not long after Prince Zhongyi's imperial decree was issued, General Pingxi, who has become the unworldly god of war, accidentally caught wind and cold on the road.However, no one took it seriously for a minor illness, and as a result, such a tough man was given a few bowls of medicine by a quack doctor, and he died of the illness.The news spread to Beijing, causing an uproar.

The pillars of the country are not so caught off guard, there is no banquet in the palace, and now the grief is unbearable, and he still supports the sick body to write three poems for General Pingxi himself, to comfort the spirit of Zhongliang in heaven, and it is a beautiful story passed down from the court to the public.

Only ten days later, the Niu family in Shanxi was accused of selling ironware to the barbarian tribe without permission, which was regarded as treason, and the whole family was imprisoned.What's more, some people linked the death of General Pingxi with the Niu's family, and the Niu's family was the guest of His Highness the Sixth Prince. The Sixth Prince had to kneel down to plead guilty at the court meeting. Now, he will be given a lighter sentence and sent to him. double salary.

Who is in the mood to celebrate after these two incidents?The Yizhong Palace and the groundless Zhongyi Palace were even more silent.

After you sing, I will appear on the stage. When a big play is played, everyone is dazzled. Because the new household minister Lin Ruhai is still on the way, the two household servants who are their masters fight Taiping fist together, but they can't dial it for a long time. The Northwest army spent food and grass, and attracted the anxious Minister of the Ministry of War to openly attack the court. He was so angry that he was seriously ill again today, and the hearts of the people in Beijing were even more fluctuating.

Everyone under his command has careful thoughts, and they seem to be a little distracted now, one after another, they were sent to the boat where Lin Ruhai was, and urged repeatedly, Lin Ruhai accepted the order in fear, but he didn't really rush on the way, just reminded him a little. In order to speed up, and reduce the time of teaching children, he focused on the news in Beijing.

No matter where he was before, since he became the Minister of the Household Department on the crater, if there is a problem with the grain and grass in the Northwest, he will bear the blame. Today's temperament does not tolerate mistakes by his subordinates.

While quietly gathering news about the household department and the raising of grain and grass in the Northwest, Lin Ruhai specially sent someone to send a letter to Lin Ya, telling him to study with peace of mind, and not to be distracted, it would be useless.

I don't know if Lin Ruhai's exhortations had an effect. Lin Ya, who was slightly swollen on the back by Chen Xiao's beating with a ruler, was not sure whether he could pass in this subject. If there is no accident, Erjia will hold it in hand.

When the news came, Lin Ruhai was taking Daiyu and Lin Chong to abandon the boat for a ride. Hearing this, he didn't even move his eyelids. He just snorted as he knew it. The boy who came to report the letter shook his hand and accidentally tore off the ancestral black jade ring pendant next to him. He Qi, who was waiting by the side, was so frightened that he lay down on the ground and used the jade pendant as a meat pad.

In this way, Lin Ruhai didn't have to pretend that he didn't notice the cold and arrogant look anymore. The servants lowered their heads and didn't dare to speak. Lin Ruhai laughed to himself, and directly rewarded everyone with half a year's monthly money, and let the healthy servant hug him. Lin Chong, who was already flushed with joy, rode a horse, went to the capital to meet Lin Ya first, and was very happy, while he took Daiyu and walked slowly in a sedan chair, and did not leave until he reached the foot of the city gate. Lin Ruhai entered the palace by himself. Daiyu followed Lin Ya and Lin Chong who had been waiting at the city gate early in the morning to go back and resettle.

Lin Ruhai's entry into Beijing really touched the minds of many people, not to mention the two princes Zhongan and Zhongsu, who are eager to win another important minister, even the Rongguo Mansion, which has not received the annual gift from the Lin family during the Chinese New Year, also has many people who are interested in Lin Ruhai. The matter of going to Beijing is worrying.

Jia Mu, the ancestor of the Jia family, even talked about the aunt Jia Min who went away in front of everyone for several days, talking about how close the Jialin family was when the aunt was still there.She is also well-informed, knowing that Daiyu and Lin Chong have also followed this time, so while crying for her daughter, she read her poor granddaughter countless times, causing Jia Baoyu to talk about Jia's mother without seeing her before she met her. Yiyi's aunt and cousin aroused [-] points of pity.

So as soon as he heard that Uncle Lin had gone to the palace, Jia Baoyu begged Mother Jia to visit his uncle's house.