Jia Zheng through the Red Mansions

Jia Zheng came out from the corner gate of the mansion. Liu Bao had sent a sedan chair to wait at the door. Because it was not for official business, he did not use the government office's sedan chair, but hired a small sedan chair. Jia Zheng didn't want to make publicity at all. Seeing this sedan chair, he knew in his heart that Liu Bao was indeed a careful person, and he was even more satisfied with him.

Getting on the sedan chair and walking towards Zhen's Mansion, Jia Zheng slightly opened the screen window and looked out. It was already the beginning of the lights, and Suzhou at night was not inferior to the bustling daytime at all. From a distance, it looks like a precursor of modern neon lights. It winds along the street, like a beautiful stream.

After walking for another quarter of an hour, the sedan chair turned into a street. This street was extraordinarily quiet, as if it were two worlds away from the outside. The road was paved with bluestone square bricks, spacious and flat, and it took less than 2 minutes to walk. At the back, there are four big red lanterns hanging in the air. Under the reflection of the lanterns, you can see the solemn and solemn vermilion gate. There are two huge stone lions squatting in front of the gate.

The sedan chair stopped at the door, and Liu Bao went forward to hand over the name card. Jia Zheng looked carefully at this moment, and saw a large plaque on the main entrance, on which was written the Chinese characters "Suzhou Weaving House". The lion is a circle bigger than the one at the gate of Rongguo Mansion. The Zhen family is really confident. This kind of specification has already violated the system at 01:30.

The concierge read the name post, and asked the boy to open the west corner door. Liu Bao's eyes flickered, and he walked over to look at Jia Zheng: "Master, this..."

This Suzhou weaving theory ranks as the fifth rank, and my Suzhou prefect is from the fourth rank, which is one rank higher than the other party. Although this weaving has a close relationship with the royal family, it is either a relative of the emperor or the emperor's confidant, so even if it is one party's The governor or the governor-general must give some face to the weaving officer, let alone the magistrate, but even so, the grades are there, and the Jia family and the Zhen family are family friends. Now the Zhen family has only opened a corner door. No wonder Liu Bao hesitated.

Seeing this, Jia Zheng nodded, Liu Bao didn't say any more, and the bearer lifted the sedan chair again and walked in through the corner gate.

Jia Zheng pondered in his heart, now that the Rongguo Mansion has divided the family, and the patriarch of the Jia clan is Jia She, this family friend of the Zhen family and the Jia family, at this time, does not know whether it will be biased towards his own house with Jia's mother. , or be closer to Jia She's side.As for the Jinling Mountain case, the Zhen family must have known about it, and the matter at the gate was most likely the result of the Zhen family's blow.

Jia Zheng thought to himself, the sedan chair stopped again, and this time when he reached the main hall, Jia Zheng got off the sedan chair, and saw four young men standing at the door of the main hall, all wearing gray-blue clothes, although they were not fancy, they could still be seen. It turned out that the fabrics were not of inferior quality, and the exact same clothes were worn on people who were tall, short, fat, and thin, and they were really neat. All four of them saluted Jia Zheng, and then welcomed Jia Zheng into the main hall.

In the main hall, a middle-aged man in brocade attire also came out to greet Jia Zheng. He clasped his hands together and said, "Brother Jia Shi, I have admired you for a long time. It is really an honor for Zhen to honor you today."

Jia Zheng also returned the courtesy and said: "Brother Zhen Shi is polite. In the past, the family also exchanged letters. Since they are both officials in Suzhou, why not come to see each other?"

After Jia Zheng said that, both of them laughed. The second master Zhen let Jia Zheng in. The banquet was already set up in the main hall, and four young men stood aside. The first one has a slightly long face, with sallow skin, a sickly appearance, and looks very haggard. The man next to him is young and has a big belly. Xi Qi, the two men next to him looked somewhat similar, and their clothes were not as gorgeous as those of the first two, and their expressions were respectful and somewhat nervous.

Master Zhen Er introduced them to Jia Zheng one by one, and Jia Zheng knew that the sick-faced one was none other than Zhen Yan, the eldest son of Zhen Er Master, and the one with a dandyism was Jinlingshan who was accused today. One is an offshoot of the Zhen family, one named Zhen Lin and the other named Zhen Qiong.

This generation of the Zhen family also followed Yu, but it was the same as the Jia family. All four of them met Jia Zheng and called them Shibo. The old lady in Jinling will take care of it, but she refuses to let me bring it, but I won’t be able to see it this time.”

Jia Zheng also laughed when he heard the words: "What a coincidence, my youngest son is also named Baoyu, and the old lady also prefers it. Because of him, even the Rongguo Mansion is not stable. It can be seen that the old lady is partial to the younger son." of."

Master Zhen Er was stunned for a moment and then recovered his usual expression. He couldn't help muttering in his heart. He knew that the Jia family first fell to the Ningguo Mansion in the capital, and then the Rongguo Mansion also split up. His old ancestor moved out with the second room. A few days ago, he received a letter from Jia Amnesty, which contained a lot of resentment. His old lady and the old lady of Jia's family were old sisters, so the mother's intentions were natural. It is the old lady who is partial to the Jia family, but Jia She is the patriarch after all, he thought it would be difficult to leave him, but he went to make friends with the second wife who had already been separated. Regarding the right and wrong of the room, it is only inferred that the old lady loves the young grandson, but Jia Amnesty cannot match this kind of tolerance. Thinking of Master Zhen Er, the balance in his heart tilted a little bit, and he was secretly a little annoyed. Instruct the concierge to only open the corner door.

At that moment, Master Zhen Er took the seat at the banquet and asked Jia Zheng to sit on the first chair on the left. Jia Zheng was a guest and the only elder present besides Master Zhen Er. After Jia Zheng and Jia Zheng were seated, the four younger ones also sat down in turn.

The maids came up with the dishes flowing like water, and the waiters for the bowls, chopsticks and drinks were also put on the table. Jia Zheng looked at the table full of wine and dishes. The food is already too much, but looking at Zhen's mansion, Jia's mansion is not as good.

Jia Zheng thought in his heart, from the moment he entered the door to eating, this Zhen's mansion is really similar to Jia's mansion in every way but superior in every way.

Naturally, the feast is unavoidable. Although Jia Zheng is not strong enough to drink, he has to drink for such an entertainment. Fortunately, the wine in the south of the Yangtze River is much milder than that in the north. Jia Zheng also drank a lot before he became slightly drunk. , the juniors flattered them with respectful words, Master Zhen Er also extended these words to the family friendship between the Zhen and Jia families from their ancestors, and for a while, the atmosphere was really good as a family.

Jia Zheng didn't mention Suzhou taxation and Jinling Mountain, Master Zhen Er happily pretended to be confused, and the banquet lasted for two hours, Jia Zheng left Zhen's mansion, Master Zhen Er and four juniors sent Jia Zheng to After going out, watching the sedan chair leave the street all the way, Jin Lingshan smiled and said to his uncle: "You see my case?"

Master Zhen Er smiled: "Since he didn't have an attack just now, it's fine. You don't have to worry about it, it's getting late, you should go back, so your mother won't worry."

Jinling Mountain bowed and bowed, and then left Zhen's Mansion with his servant in a sedan chair.

Zhen Yan, who was next to him, was already sick and drank some wine. At this time, he was a little dizzy from the wind and coughed twice. The second master Zhen frowned and looked at his frail eldest son: "Seeing Huang Tang Don't die, but you won't say a word or two to evade!"

Zhen Yan was already dizzy and uncomfortable, but when he heard his father's reprimand, his face turned pale again, and he cowardly agreed, and the two servants who had been serving the young master stepped forward to help him back. room, after he left, Master Zhen Er's brows did not relax, and he sighed with a worried expression.

Zhen Lin next to him turned his eyes when he saw it, and leaned forward: "Second uncle, my nephew asked someone to inquire about a girl with a clean family background. Her mother gave birth to five sons, and she is a girl now. Jiji, many people have seen her and praised her for being a good child. You see, if you ask someone to talk to a matchmaker to make your elder brother a concubine, you are very happy at first. Maybe this girl is a lucky one, and your elder brother's health will also get better. Secondly, it can spread branches and leaves faster, wouldn't it be fine?"

This Zhen Yan is already twenty now, and the family has already married a wife and two aunts, but he hasn't even laid an egg. The second master Zhen is worried, and he doesn't frown when he hears this, and looks at Zhen Lin There was a smile in his eyes.

"It's a good thing you have such a heart." After saying that, Master Zhen Er looked at Zhen Qiong with dissatisfaction.

Seeing this look, Zhen Qiong's heart felt cold, knowing that the second uncle was dissatisfied with her, so she didn't say anything at the moment, but a trace of disdain flashed in her lowered eyelids, Zhen Yan was praised, and she was very happy, and the two of them went together Walking back, Zhen Qiong said to Zhen Yan with some dissatisfaction: "Big brother is in such a bad health, why bother to send an innocent girl into the fire pit? Isn't it a waste of people to be widowed?"

Zhen Yan snorted coldly: "You dumb-headed, no wonder you've been worthless until now!"

Zhen Qiong stared: "Even if I'm worthless, I'm not like you!"

The two brothers didn't deal with each other at all, and they didn't talk to each other at this time, and they stopped talking. They went back to their respective homes. Zhen Qiong's father died early, and he and his mother depended on each other since they were young. After hearing her mother's laughter and another person's voice, Zhen Qiong also had a smile on her face.

Lifting the curtain and walking in, Zhen Qiong smiled at the man sitting opposite her mother: "Brother Qiang is so free today, and told mother it's time."

Is this man Jia Qiang or who?Seeing Jia Qiang standing up, she feigned anger at Zhen Qiong and said, "It's Brother Qiong's fault, since Brother Qiong knows it's this hour and still hasn't returned home, don't worry?"

Zhen Qiong became anxious when she heard this, and said to her mother quickly: "Mother, are you entangled with scoundrels again?"

When Zhen Shi heard this, she hurriedly said: "That's not true, now I finally have peace."

Zhen Qiong's mother has been a widow for many years, and although she is over [-] years old, she is still a dignified woman. The rascal in Zhen Qiong's mouth is named Zheng She, a well-known local merchant in Suzhou, and this person is now over [-] years old. Yes, there are already a group of wives and concubines in the family. This merchant has also cooperated with the Zhen family for many years, and the relationship is unusual. In the middle of the year, the Zhen family hosted a banquet, and Zhen Qiong and her mother also went. Originally, the mother was only in the back house and the Zhen family. The wives were talking, but they never thought that they would be seen by Zheng She when they left Zhen's house to go home.

This Zheng She has been entangled in every possible way since that day, and this Zhen Shi was so angry that she almost died, and returned all the things Zheng She sent back, but this Zheng She was determined to want this Zhen Shi. Such disobedience and anger in his heart made people come to Zhen Qiong's house every day to say some irrelevant and wild words, which made all the neighbors point and point at Zhen Shi. Zhen Qiong couldn't help it, so she went to find Zhen Er The master helped, but who knew that the other party not only shouldn't, but also turned a corner and asked him to persuade his mother, which made Zhen Qiong very angry, but she had to bow her head under the eaves, and Zhen Qiong was still counting on others to give her an errand. If you want to support your family well, you have to swallow your anger.

At this time, Zhen Qiong met Jia Qiang who came to Suzhou to buy a property, and the two hit it off, so Zhen Qiong told Jia Qiang the whole story, and Jia Qiang raised her eyebrows when she heard that, and said with a sneer : "I am bullied so much, you still don't say anything, you are still a son, aren't you?"

Zhen Qiong's expression turned ugly when she heard this. Although what Jia Qiang said was reasonable, he also had some helplessness. He said immediately: "If I really say something, I'm afraid my mother and I will starve to death!"

Jia Qiang couldn't hear people say this the most, and became even angrier when she heard it: "A man, what can't you do but count on his Zhen family to fail? If you say this again, you won't be afraid of being laughed at!"

Zhen Qiong's heart moved a little when he heard it, and now he and Jia Qiang made up their minds, Jia Qiang was a flexible mind, and when he talked to Zhen Qiong in every way, Zhen Qiong's eyes lit up, and then he heard Jia Qiang said that he had to deal with it again. If the land is going to be bought and owned, if he can be recruited into the business without paying the principal, only a part of the mortgage will be deducted from the profit. Zhen Qiong couldn't ask for such a good thing that fell from the sky, so he immediately thanked Jia Qiang a thousand times.

Zhen Qiong has been in Suzhou for many years, and Jia Qiang, who has just arrived, knows where the land is cheap and the location has good development prospects. Jia Qiang treats Zhen Qiong as her younger brother, Jia Qiang's parents died since childhood, and she also treats Zhen Qiong's mother as her own mother.

This Zhen Qiong straightened her waist after earning the first sum of money, refuted the members of the Zheng family, and then went to the gate of Zheng's mansion in person, saying that she would sue the government, the Zheng family did not expect Zhen Qiong to do such a thing Firstly, the local magistrate is a tough one. If Zhen Qiong really wanted to sue him, the magistrate might really embarrass him. Although it didn't get in the way, he really didn't dare to offend too much, so he had no choice but to give up for now.

Since then, Zhen Qiong has resigned from the job in the Zhen family, and only went to the Zhen family for important events such as worshiping the ancestors. Seeing him like this, the Zhen family treated him a little better than before, and the wife of the Zhen family also sent people from time to time. Come to pick up his mother and go to the mansion to chat, Zhen Qiong admires Jia Qiang so far.

At this time, Mrs. Zhen saw that Zhen Qiong had returned, so she went to sleep with peace of mind. Jia Qiang and Zhen Qiong were talking in a low voice outside. Zhen Qiong went to Zhen's mansion this time. It was also to inquire about things for Jia Qiang, and at this time, he said all the things he had inquired from Jinling Mountain.

"In this way, the qualifications of Jinling Mountain are really bought." Jia Qiang snorted coldly after hearing this, "With his kind of virtue, if he can also win, all scholars in this world should throw themselves into the river!"

Although Jin Lingshan is not a child of the Zhen family, he is from Second Grandma Zhen's natal family. Now he is more favored by the second master Zhen than the children of the Zhen family. He is very domineering. Jia Qiang also sighed after saying this: "It's also a pity for Xu Sheng's talent. This is wearing Tsing Yi, and the trustworthy Xuezheng doesn't like it at the first sight. middle?"

Jia Qiang looked at Zhen Qiong: "I don't understand the matter of the imperial examination, but I understand what you mean very well. I see that you usually like to write and write. Why don't you try this career?"

Zhen Qiong shook her head and sighed: "No one is a scholar. From the test of Tongsheng all the way, how many people can enter the imperial palace in the end? Besides, even if they are lucky enough to pass in the end, how can I rest assured that I leave my mother alone? Now I figured it out, and what you said is still reasonable, any of these businesses can earn money, so why bother to go to an alley."

Jia Qiang nodded and said with a smile: "If you have this ambition, you will be lucky in the future. Maybe, the Zhen family mentioned in Suzhou is not the only Zhen family in the weaving mansion."

Zhen Qiong was also happy: "Don't tell me, the mansion looks very rich and prosperous now, but in fact it is no longer what it used to be. As far as I know, I don't know how much it is short of. , and thanks to those in the imperial court, if the two are added together, I'm afraid there will only be an empty shelf now."

After hearing this, Jia Qiang's heart was moved, and she couldn't help asking a few more questions, and then she left. , Hastily asked someone to call him in.

Jia Qiang was about to give a big gift to Jia Zheng, but was helped up by Jia Zheng. Jia Zheng looked at Jia Qiang carefully, and sighed: "You seem to have lost a lot."

Jia Qiang smiled and said, "Second Grandpa is getting serious, but I think it's a lot easier now." After saying that, Jia Qiang showed Jia Zheng the accounts, and then spoke in detail about the various land industries in Suzhou today. , at the end, Jia Qiang mentioned the Zhen family.

Jia Zheng's heart trembled when he heard the word "deficiency", and the black mist that had been misty before his eyes finally began to gradually dissipate. At this moment, the outside door came in and announced: "Master, the sedan chair of Mr. Xuezheng outside has entered. Cheng did not go to the mansion, but stopped outside the door, saying that he wanted to see you, Master."