The Warm Jade of the Red Chamber

When Daiyu's people found Xue's mother and daughter, they were working as female celebrities in the guest room where they lived, seemingly calm as usual.

Only they themselves know how restless their hearts are, and how to calm down can stop their eyes from looking out.

Xue Baochai's hand holding the needle and thread trembled a little. The plan arranged by his father was to give gifts to the brothers and girls of the Jia family. Dear Prince Chengke's Mansion will get news sooner or later.But after entering Jia's house, Xue Baochai found out that the Jia's and Prince Chengke's mansion were not closely related, and the brothers and girls of the Jia's family rarely went out.Fortunately, Shi Xiangyun's ingenious writing made the news spread to Chengke County Prince's Mansion earlier, and also made their plan go smoothly.Now their goal will be achieved very soon. By then, they will be able to go back to Jinling quickly, right?She still remembered her father's appearance when she left Jinling. If she guessed right, her father's health might be in serious condition, and he was very anxious, as if he was worried about something. Before they left, his father's warning, Thinking about it now seemed like a farewell, which made her feel more and more uneasy.

I don't know how much turnaround that Master Feng can bring to their Xue family, but I just hope that the matter will end quickly so that she and her mother can return to their father's side early.

Xue Baochai's thoughts had already flown away, and the needles and threads in her hands danced chaotically on the embroidered cloth. Fortunately, her body had its own instincts. Although the embroidery was bad, at least it didn't get stuck on her hands.

When there was a rumor outside the door that the concubine Shi Zi had invited them to meet, Xue Baochai was in a daze, and the needle tip finally pricked a glaring red blood spot on her fingertip.

Aunt Xue took her hand distressedly, but Xue Baochai just withdrew it, put her finger in her mouth and sucked it, straightened her clothes, and said to Aunt Xue: "Mother, let's go, don't ask the princess to wait."

Xue Baochai has seen the difference between Xue's father, how could Aunt Xue, as a wife, not know?She knew a little more than Xue Baochai, so she felt more and more confused in her heart, but she was stronger as a mother. After hearing what Xue's father said, she also knew that until now, she had to think more about her children.Aunt Xue carefully picked up the box that Father Xue gave her before leaving. The box was sealed, and she didn't know what was inside. It wasn't that she didn't want to secretly open it to take a look, but she just remembered Father Xue's extremely solemn attitude. , and clearly stated that the contents of this box were related to the future of the Xue family, and whether Xue Pan and Xue Baochai could have a stable future in the future, Aunt Xue forced herself to give up her thoughts.

The one who followed the Jia family servants to invite Xue's mother and daughter was Huaji. With a blink of an eye, he saw Aunt Xue holding the simple-looking box in her hand, and knew that half of today's goal had been achieved, and felt that the Xue family's mother and daughter It was a bit of wink, much better than some people in the Jia family who didn't know the so-called.Therefore, Huaji's attitude towards Xue's mother and daughter is much gentler.

When the Xue family's mother and daughter came to Daiyu with the painting halberd, Sanchun and Daiyu had become acquainted with each other a lot.

When Xue's mother and daughter entered the door, they saw a little doll with pink make-up sitting on the first seat. She looked slender and weak, but she had a special charm on her body. Looking at them, the eyes were a little curious, but more peaceful. The condescension and contempt they imagined from the royal family.

Aunt Xue still breathed a sigh of relief, and then felt uneasy. The things in her hands are related to the future of their Xue family. Is it really reassuring to hand it over to such a child?

But everything has already been brought, if I don’t give it away, I don’t know when I will have a chance next time.

Gritting her teeth, Aunt Xue led Xue Baochai to salute Daiyu first, and said with a smile: "My master had a relationship with Prince Chengke once, and when he heard that the son was very happy, he wanted to go to Beijing to congratulate him, but suddenly It was a mistake to get sick, and my master has always regretted it. But I don’t want to, but our mother and son are lucky, and it’s really a great honor to see the concubine today."

As Aunt Xue said, she offered the box in her hand, and said: "Here are some small playthings, I will give them to the concubine to play with, and I hope the concubine will not dislike them."

Daiyu was sizing up Xue Baochai. A child of her age is far more interested in peers than older people. Therefore, after hearing Aunt Xue's words, her first reaction was to refuse, and then she remembered Qiu Qing before she left. Yu told her that if the Xue family's mother and daughter gave her something, she would accept it.Thinking that the mother and concubine specifically mentioned Xue's mother and daughter, there must be some reason for it, so Daiyu took back the polite refusal and said with a smile: "Then thank Mrs. Xue, I heard from the sisters that Xue The gift from the girl is very delicate and ingenious, and I was curious in my heart, but Qiaoer Mrs. Xue gave me help in a timely manner."

Aunt Xue didn't even dare to say anything, seeing the box in her hand was taken over by the painted halberd and held in her hand, she didn't know whether she was relieved or became more and more uneasy.

Seeing that the painting halberd had been brought into the box, Daiyu thought about something, so she put it aside and didn't care about it anymore.

Xue Baochai saw that her family's fate was put into the hands of an innocent and immature doll, and she felt an indescribable feeling in her heart, and worried that Daiyu didn't know the value of the box. As far as their family is concerned, they don't know if it is a catastrophe.But no matter how worried she was, she couldn't say anything, she could only silently look at the maidservants behind Daiyu, and seeing the big maid holding the box steadily, without any neglect, she couldn't help laughing at herself Too worried, since Prince Chengke's mansion can come to the door, it is naturally Mr. Feng's things that have attracted their attention, so how can they ignore the things that Daiyu received from their mother and daughter?

Going to worry, Xue Baochai looked at Daiyu without any trace. Even though she had always regarded herself very highly, she had to admit that Daiyu's appearance and temperament were not only the same as her own, but even better.Originally, when I met Sanchun of the Jia family, I still felt that apart from being a merchant, I was better than them.But seeing Daiyu now, I have to admit that there are indeed people in this world.What's more, no matter Daiyu's status as the daughter of an official family, or her status as a prince and concubine after marriage, she is hard to come by. He has everything, but he has to be constrained by his background, and trying hard to make people look up to him seems extremely difficult.After all, the little girl in front of her is a little younger than her. Sitting on the kang, she can't even touch the ground, but she has already been able to affect the fate of their family. What a sigh.

When Xue Baochai was looking at Daiyu quietly, Daiyu was also looking at Xue Baochai openly. She felt that she was round and beautiful, with a somewhat graceful and luxurious demeanor, rather like Jia Yuanchun, whom she had seen in the palace. Then he laughed and said: "Miss Xue looks so good-natured, she is somewhat similar to Concubine Jia."

Xichun is still childish, compared to Yingchun's silence and Xichun's cautiousness, she is not so restrained in front of Daiyu. Now that she heard Daiyu's words, she immediately clapped her hands and laughed, saying: "That's it, that's it." Lian's second sister-in-law also said that Sister Bao and Sister Bao are indeed cousins, and they really couldn't be more alike."

At such a young age, Xue Baochai already showed that kind of calm and dignified demeanor. Hearing Daiyu and Xichun's words at this moment, he still took it indifferently, and said with a slight smile: "The concubine Shizi praised me, how dare I compare myself with my concubine?" ?” Having said that, there was no expression of sincerity and fear on his face, neither humble nor overbearing.

When Huaji and Huagong followed Qiu Qingyu earlier, when Qiu Qingyu entertained the wives of various clans and daughters of the family, they also met many people with them. Generally, people with Xue Baochai's bearing, in big families In the back house, it is often the final winner.From this point of view, if this Xue Baochai was not limited by his status, he might not be a thing in the pool in the future. Just this calm state of mind is not something ordinary people can match.Fortunately, their family's concubine and this girl from the Xue family will not have many opportunities to meet in the future, otherwise they may not be able to play with her heart.

Daiyu smiled, and after saying this, she only asked about Xue Baochai's experience from Jinling to the capital. She was seriously ill on the boat, and she hadn't even seen much of the scenery on the shore during the journey.

When Xue Baochai and Aunt Xue came to Beijing, they also took a boat, and they didn't know much about it, but Xue Baochai was quite eloquent, and she even talked about the poor scenery on the shore with some interest.

Huaji and Huagong looked at it, and smiled from the bottom of their hearts, it seems that their concubines are not completely careless.If he followed the prince's way of acting, he might have to say directly: "What is incomparable, isn't it two eyes, a nose and a mouth? Could it be that she has such a face, and others are not allowed to grow it? What a joke. "

Aunt Xue left first, leaving Xue Baochai and Sanchun sisters to chat and laugh with Daiyu, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves, completely unaware of the embarrassing atmosphere in the hall.

Mother Jia wanted to resign Zhuang Yu and go to the backyard to spend a while with Daiyu, to show her grandmother's kindness, but Zhuang Yu stopped her because Zhuang Yu hinted at what happened on the boat when Daiyu entered Beijing. However, Mother Jia didn't dare go against Zhuang Yu's wishes too much, so she had to sit with her in embarrassment.

Zhuang Yu didn't care about the embarrassment of everyone present, he should eat and drink, secretly enjoying himself.

After Zhuang Yu and Daiyu returned to the palace, the Sanchun sisters and Xue Baochai had already left a deep impression on Daiyu's heart. Girls in this world are so outstanding, compared to the female companions she usually studies with Well, it's not too bad.

Sanchun also admired Daiyu a lot, but sighed that she didn't have the chance to get along more.But Jia Baoyu was depressed, and was reprimanded by Jia Zheng. He was overwhelmed and was very spiritless. Seeing that Sanchun kept his mouth shut and never left Sister Dai, he regretted not being able to spend more time with his fairy-like sister, so he had to go to Xue Baochai. Seek comfort.

It's a pity that after the Xue family handed over the box, they were in a state of anxiety, and even discussed going back to Jinling in a few days, and they didn't have much time to talk to Jia Baoyu.Jia Baoyu, who heard that Sister Bao was about to leave, became even more bitter, and ran to find Mother Jia to make the decision, thinking that if she could not keep the cousin of the Lin family, at least Sister Bao would stay with him.

But Jia Baoyu had a rare encounter with Jia Mu. Jia Mu was talking to Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng brothers. When Jia Baoyu came, she asked her maid to stop her.

No matter how stupid Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng are, they also sensed the abnormality from Zhuang Yu's attitude. It seems that Prince Chengke's mansion is not close to Jia's family, and there may be other inside stories, and this inside story is also related to Jia's mother, even... It has something to do with the serious illness that Daiyu suffered on the ship when she came to Beijing—could it be that in the letter Jia Min wrote back then, the things questioned were all true?If so, so... What kind of attitude will Prince Chengke's Mansion have towards their Jia family?

Jia Amnesty was the first to lose his composure and asked, "Madam, is there anything you haven't told us?"

Jia Zheng also looked at Jia's mother eagerly and anxiously.

Mother Jia opened her mouth, hesitated, but she also thought that it was impossible to keep this matter from the two brothers forever, so she had to tell Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng brothers about her contact with Concubine Dongping at the beginning. , explaining that all her painstaking efforts were for the sake of the two brothers, and for the continued glory of the Jia family.

But Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng felt chills in their hearts the more they listened.

After Jia's mother finished speaking, she finally warned the two of them that this matter must never be revealed, even with Mrs. Xing and Mrs. Wang. Otherwise, the Jia family will face disaster, and even the palace Jia Yuanchun.

As long as Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng didn't lose their minds, and they could only deny it to death, how could they foolishly say that they would go out?Just as soon as I think of Zhuang Yu's attitude, I know that I won't admit it, and there is no way to dispel the suspicion of Prince Chengke's mansion about Jia's mansion, and I can't rush to explain it. I really see that there is a prominent relative, but I don't know. Dare to go up for friendship.

Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng left Jia Mu's place in a low mood, but Jia Zheng asked Jia Mu to send someone back on the way.Just now, because of Jia Amnesty's presence, Jia's mother didn't say that she was planning to ask Jia Baoyu for a title, but now she told Jia Zheng, which made Jia Zheng's eyes blush, and said: "How can that rebellious son be worthy of my mother's sacrifice for him?" Take such a big risk?"

Mother Jia has recovered her composure, and said: "Wealth and wealth are in danger, I just lost the bet, and compared to others, I didn't pay a big price. But now, the relationship between the palace is not easy. It's hard to rely on, if you want to force it, I'm afraid it won't work, let's let it go for a while, after a few years, wait for Daiyu to grow up, and then see if there is any improvement. In this way, it depends on Yuan Chun's good luck. Tell your daughter-in-law, don't be stingy. Yuan Chun, try to find a way to pass some money in, ask her to establish a good relationship, and cage some eldest princes. It’s much easier to come and go.”

Jia Zheng naturally responded with tears of gratitude.

At this time, Zhuang Yu, who had returned to Prince Chengke's mansion, didn't know what he said, but he had brought his wife a few years of peace. Now he is taking the box from the painting halberd and handing it to Zhuang Ye to go to the palace to see Emperor Chunyou.

With excitement and a little anxiety, Emperor Chunyou asked the little eunuch to open it, and after the chief steward led people to confirm that there was nothing harmful in it, the box was presented to Emperor Chunyou.

The contents in the box are actually very light, except for the paper, there is only one seal, but the weight of these papers is very light, but the meaning they represent is very heavy.

The ones on the top are just a few blueprints. Even if Emperor Chunyou couldn't understand the blueprints of the mechanism, he knew from the appearance that these must be the blueprints for the construction of a large waterwheel, and he was overjoyed at the moment.Attached with the drawings were two letters, one was written personally by Zhuang Ye, and the person who wrote the letter might not know it, but his letter could be presented to Emperor Chunyou immediately.The letter was written by Feng Muzhi, and his intention was to reunite with Feng Hua, and he was willing to serve the court.For Zhuang Ye and Emperor Chunyou, this was naturally something they could not have wished for, so why not agree?If Feng Muzhi and Feng Hua can study together, one person counts the short and the other counts the long, there may be even more surprising new developments.And with Feng Muzhi's waterwheel, Emperor Chunyou's achievements in governing the country can be further improved.

The other letter was written to Feng Hua. The two brothers looked at each other and asked the eunuch to open the letter without any guilt.The letter Feng Muzhi wrote to Feng Hua was naturally more tender than the letter he wrote to Zhuang Ye.Back then, he had a disagreement with Feng Hua, so he disappeared and left, but went to Jiangnan from the northwest.With nothing to worry about and no clear destination, the road was full of stops and stops for two years. During this period, I witnessed a small-scale drought, which greatly reduced food production and the lives of the local people. He was very poor, and the food relief from the court was deducted layer by layer, and there was not much left.The local people had no choice but to flee to other places if they had connections, begging or working, just hoping to survive this time.There are also some people who really can't afford to support the many children in the family, so they sell the children to Ren Yazi.It's really unbearable to look at.This is just a small-scale drought. If there is a severe drought in successive years, I am afraid that people will starve to death everywhere.

It is also because of this that Feng Muzhi's heart has loosened a lot. If a large waterwheel can be built to benefit the people, isn't it more worthy of expectation and pride than his so-called freedom?

But Feng Muzhi couldn't make up his mind at the moment, and he couldn't believe that the court would really allow their husband and wife to entrust them with such an important matter, so he still went to Jiangnan with a little confusion.

Jiangnan is a land of prosperity, a land of fish and rice. During his years in Jiangnan, he did not see any droughts, so his heart was shaken.Until the warship designed and built by Feng Hua was put into use by the navy, although Feng Muzhi had never seen it with his own eyes, he knew that the construction of the warship must have had the credit of Feng Hua. If forced, this military ship will never be born, and he finally believes that the imperial court is not trying to deceive their husband and wife to silence them, so as to avoid future troubles.

Finally, when Feng Muzhi made up his mind to go north to the capital to find Feng Hua, he suddenly fell ill and was so seriously ill that he almost died. Later, he was rescued by Xue Jun, the head of the Xue family in Jinling, and stayed in the Xue family to recuperate. Yun also had some friendship.

This time he wanted to bid farewell to Xue Jun and went north, but it happened that Xue Yun seemed to have encountered a problem. When he learned that he was going north to contribute to the court to build a water truck to prevent drought, he immediately offered to hand over the blueprint for him.

Feng Muzhi understands that Xue Jun also wants to use him, but he thinks that after all he owes him the favor of saving his life, and that's fine, after all, he hastily asked to see Prince Cheng Ke, and he doesn't know if he will be able to see Zhuang Ye.

In Feng Muzhi's letter to Feng Hua, he wrote in detail about his experience in the past few years, and in addition, he wrote quite deeply about his yearning for Feng Hua.

Emperor Chunyou saw that there was nothing wrong with Feng Muzhi's letter, so he asked the eunuch to seal it again.

Zhuang Ye rubbed his chin and thought, unexpectedly, that Feng Muzhi, who seemed very dull a few years ago, had a way of talking about love, maybe he should also learn a little bit?