Survive in the world of Red Mansions

Not long after Lin Hai arrived at the Yanzheng Yushi Yamen, Li Tuo came in with an invitation, "My lord, the invitation is from the housekeeper of the prefect Cui's family." Lin Hai took the invitation and asked: "Cui's family There seems to be no happy event during this time, right? 'Hundred Days Banquet'? This is not the eldest son and grandson, the Hundred Days Banquet? Does Brother Yi understand who are invited this time?"

Li Tuo replied with a smile: "Master Cui has invited a lot of guests this time, and his subordinates already know that Mr. Xu from the Secretary of General Affairs, Mr. Liu from the Inspectorate, Mr. Han from the garrison, Mr. Zhizhou Fang, etc., I think Almost all the officials in Yangzhou have been invited. Your Excellency, you said that Yangzhou City includes the entire Jiangnan situation, and it is impossible for Master Cui not to know. Now that there are so many banquets, are you not afraid of people talking?"

Lin Hai sneered and said, "Hmph, how could I not understand, but Master Cui also understands how he took over the position of Yangzhou magistrate, he really has confidence in the third prince and Jinling Zhen's family! I don't know what will happen at this banquet question?"

Li Tuo recalled the problems of Lin Hai’s banquet before, and it’s actually not hard to guess. These officials must not have the guts to blatantly attack Lin Hai, the salt government. If Lin Hai really died because of this, these officials themselves, including their family members, would not be able to escape. past.

But if you find a way to send a beauty, you will definitely be able to do it. As for the identity of this beauty, let's not talk about it.Although Lin Hai and his wife have a deep relationship, no matter how beautiful Jia Min is, she will never be young. No matter how good the relationship is, after a long time, the eyes should be tired. How can these fresh and tender beauties attract men? Not impossible!

Li Tuo asked a little worriedly: "A few princes have just been crowned princes. The Cui family's behavior is so public that they are not afraid of being envied by others, and they are not afraid of being organized into cliques for personal gain. Are you going?"

"Go, isn't it the 'Hundred Days Banquet'? The third prince is still trying to win me over. Even if he becomes angry and wants to deal with me, can I hide and not go out? Why don't we just see what moves he has that can make me angry?" Come out!" Lin Hai replied directly.

Then he ordered Lin An to inform Jia Min that Jia Min would prepare a gift for him to send over as usual.

When Lin Hai arrived at Master Cui's residence this afternoon, many guests had already arrived.The butler waited in person at the concierge, and when he saw Lin Hai coming in, he quickly came over to say hello. "Master Lin, welcome, thank you, Mr. Lin, for your kindness. My lord is waiting for Mr. Lin in the study, and I will show you the way."

When Lin Hai heard that the butler was going to take him to the study room, he thought about not going directly to the banquet hall, but after thinking about it, he decided to go there and have a look before making plans.

When they came to the study, they saw another middle-aged man besides Cui Huan, the magistrate of Yangzhou. When Cui Huan saw Lin Hai coming in, he stood up and said hello, "Brother Ruhai, welcome." Lin Hai also cupped his hands and said, "Brother Yiran, congratulations!" !" Lin Hai saw that this middle-aged man resembled Zhen Yingjia, the president of Jinling Institute of Physical Education, and knew that this banquet was not going to be a good one.

After the two sat down modestly, Cui Huan introduced the identity of the middle-aged man next to Lin Hai, "Brother Ruhai, this is Zhen Yingcheng, the younger brother of the president of Jinling Tirenyuan. Brother Yingcheng, you should have heard of this man." Yes, Lin Hai, the censor of salt inspection in Yangzhou, Mr. Lin."

"Long admiration, long admiration."

"Long admiration, long admiration."

Lin Hai and Zhen Yingcheng bowed their hands to each other. Lin Hai doesn't know what position Zhen Yingcheng holds for the time being, but it should not be high if he has an official position, but the response between Zhen Yingcheng and Lin Hai is completely an equal treatment. Lin Hai even feels that there is a It's a feeling that you don't take you too seriously, which is to give you face.

This is the first time that Lin Hai came here and dealt with the Zhen family head-on. He knew before that the Zhen family was very powerful, and a person in the Zhen family did not know what kind of official position he held. He could do the same to Lin Hai, a master of Yanzheng who could reach heaven directly. It's no wonder that the slaves of the Zhen family dare not show face to the prefect of Jinling.

After the three of them sat down and served tea again, they withdrew.

Lin Hai, Zhen Yingcheng, and Master Cui, the magistrate, sat in the study, chatting and laughing, and the atmosphere was very harmonious even from a distance.Zhen Yingcheng talked about the old relatives of Zhenjia's family for several lifetimes, the old lady of Jia's mansion, and the historians, Wang's family, Xue's family, etc. who are closely related to Jia's mansion. Master Cui added a few words, Lin Hai pretended not to understand Do Tai Chi.

Zhen Yingcheng mentioned the third prince seemingly unintentionally, "Today is the 'Hundred Days Banquet' of Lord Cui's grandson. Our family also gave it to the third prince a few days ago. No, it should be called Prince Xiaoyi now. It is for the little one of Prince Xiaoyi's family." The eldest son sent a birthday present. The birth mother of the youngest son is Princess Jing'an of the Xining County Prince's Mansion. Although the Xining County King is stationed in the northwest, I heard that this time he also sent the prince's son himself to send a congratulatory gift. The emperor and the imperial concubine both gave generous gifts one's gift."

Lin Hai replied: "The little prince is very lucky."

Zhen Yingcheng also said with a smile: "The young son is indeed very lucky. His father is now doing business for the emperor, and he is often praised by the emperor. They all think that Prince Xiaoyi will become a great weapon in the future. I don't know what Master Lin thinks?"

Lin Hai replied directly: "I was sent by the emperor to Yangzhou to serve as the censor of salt inspection. It is right to manage the salt administration of the two Huaihe Rivers for the emperor. The princes and nobles are not the ones who should be judged by me as courtiers. Master Cui, are you right?" Is the banquet about to start?"

Seeing what Lin Hai said, Cui Huan knew that Zhen Yingcheng would not be able to fulfill his wish today, Lin Hai would not agree to support the third prince, but he still replied: "Brother Ru Hai, wait a moment, I will send someone to come and take you to the hall.

As soon as Lin Hai came out of the study, Zhen Yingcheng's face darkened immediately, and he slapped the table hard with his right hand, saying, "I don't know what's good!"

Lin Hai followed the servants of Mr. Cui's family to the main hall, thinking that he had offended the Zhen family today, and he didn't know what backhand he had.It wasn't that Lin Hai wanted to offend the Zhen family and the third prince right now, and it wasn't that Lin Hai didn't want to procrastinate any longer. Zhen Yingjia must have sent her own younger brother here to get a clear reply, and they didn't allow him to procrastinate any longer.Besides, Lin Hai also considers that the time for the old emperor to abdicate is getting closer and closer, and he doesn't want the new emperor to see himself swaying in front of these princes. It would be better if he can catch up with the fourth prince. Grass is no good.

Following the servants to the main hall to sit down, several people at the same table have already arrived. This table is basically the main officials of Yangzhou. Lin Hai greeted each other and sat down with the others.

Han Bin, the Yangzhou defender sitting on Lin Hai's left, stretched his head over, "Did you see Zhen Yingcheng in Master Cui's study just now? Master Cui's 'Hundred Days Banquet' is very lively!" Han Bin whispered bitterly, Lin Hai Looking at Han Bin, he nodded helplessly.

Lin Hai was talking softly with the people next to him, while sweeping the entire hall, seeing that the scene was lively, but he always felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, probably due to the current situation in the officialdom.

On Lin Hai's right is Zheng Xu Zhen, Secretary of the Jiangnan General Administration Department. He may have worked in the General Administration Department for a long time. He looks very serious and feels very uncomfortable to get close to.Lin Hai originally wanted to ask the Secretary of General Administration to investigate the sale of illegal salt last time, but he thought it was inconvenient to speak here, so he asked Xu Zhendao, "Does Master Xu have time tomorrow? I wonder if it would be convenient for Mr. Lin to discuss something? "

Xu Zhen looked at Lin Hai and said, "Tomorrow morning?" He spoke concisely and directly.

Lin Hai nodded and replied, "That's fine, Lin will go to Tongzheng Yamen to visit Mr. Xu tomorrow morning."

After another period of time, Master Cui, the magistrate, came over, the guests were almost all present, and the banquet officially began.

At the beginning of the banquet, someone came up to toast, Lin Hai wondered if he wanted to get himself drunk before doing anything, Lin Hai gradually began to shirk after drinking a few cups.In modern times, Lin Hai attended too many banquets, so he tested his physique early on without getting drunk. He didn't expect to come here, and he also inherited the good drinking capacity of the past, especially in ancient times. The alcohol content is very low. Don't get drunk.

There were a lot of people attending the banquet in the hall, and the atmosphere was finally lifted after drinking.Lin Hai felt a little hot after drinking, so he greeted the others and thought about going to the garden for a walk.Lin Hai walked a few steps and saw a pavilion, but there was no one inside, so he went in and sat down.Just a few minutes after sitting down, a little maid came in with a teacup. Lin Hai looked at the little maid who put down the teacup and waited, and waved his hand to signal that he didn't need to serve her.

Lin Hai sat at the stone table, thinking about taking a rest before leaving, but the longer he sat, the hot feeling on his body did not dissipate, but it became more and more serious than before, and he began to feel a little confused.Lin Hai pinched his thigh hard, thinking about when he was recruited, it was because he was afraid that such a thing would happen, and he paid special attention to it during the banquet, but he didn't expect to be prevented, it was really hard to guard against. !

Fortunately, I realized that now that I was lying motionless on the stone table, someone should come over soon.Sure enough, after persisting for another three or four minutes, someone came to him, "Master Lin, Master Lin." A male voice called softly a few times, seeing that Lin Hai didn't respond, he said to a servant next to him: "I Help this side, you help the other side, and send Master Lin to the room."

The two supported Lin Hai and walked for a while. Lin Hai felt that it was becoming more and more difficult to control himself. The road that happened to be walking was relatively dark, and both sides were full of flowers and trees, so it should not be easy to be spotted.Lin Hai pretended not to stand still, staggered and fell backwards, withdrew his hand that was on his shoulder, and slammed his elbow into the back of the head of the boy on his left. Shutting the mouth of the boy on the right, and then slapping him with a knife on the back of the neck also made him faint. Seeing the two people on the ground, Lin Hai hit the two of them harder before standing up.Lin Hai thought that his body was still not good enough. After more than two months of training, he was still far behind his previous self.

Seeing that there is a courtyard gate not far ahead, and after careful identification, you can still see the word "Lanyuan". This Cui Huan is really ruthless and wicked enough. If you really want to enter there, you will not be able to wash it clean .

Lin Hai quickly walked back along the original road, and he had to say hello to several other people before he could leave.Seeing Lin Hai walking into the hall, Cui Huan was taken aback for a moment but recovered immediately.Lin Hai walked to the table where he was sitting, and said to Han Bin and Xu Zhen, "You guys take it easy, I'm not feeling well, so I'm leaving first."

Xu Zhen stood up and said, "Then I'll send Master Lin out!" Lin Hai thought that he would have to walk some distance to see his servant, Xu Zhen is the emperor's man, and he must be safer with Xu Zhen following him, so he just nodded The head said: "Thank you, Mr. Xu."

Han Bin next to him probably saw that something was wrong with Lin Hai, so he also stood up, Xu Zhen waved his hand, Lin Hai also said no, and Han Bin sat down again.

Lin Hai said goodbye to Cui Huan again before walking out of the hall. Xu Zhen waited until he got out of the hall and asked Lin Hai: "Master Lin is covered in sweat, do you want to see a doctor?"

Lin Hai walked forward quickly, and replied, "Thank you, Mr. Xu, it's not a big problem, I'll just go back and rest for a night."

Walking out of the courtyard gate, he saw the servants and servants from various families waiting beside him. As soon as Lin An saw Lin Hai coming out, he immediately greeted him, "Master, are you leaving now?" Lin Hai nodded, then turned to Xu Zhen Said: "Master Xu, come here, thank you!"

Lin Hai ordered the bearer to go back to the house quickly, and he leaned on the sedan chair as soon as he got on the sedan chair, thinking that his thighs must be bruised, no matter how long it took just now, he was not sure whether he would be able to walk out of the courtyard soberly.

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