Survive in the world of Red Mansions

Things are the same every year during the Chinese New Year. Gifts and gifts are given and received before the New Year. After the New Year’s Eve, the journey of eating and drinking begins. Giving and receiving gifts, food to be prepared for the New Year, tailoring of new clothes, monthly rewards large and small at home, and so on.When it comes to the first month, I have to be busy with the big and small affairs of my family's banquets, and I have to take the family members of the mansion to various houses to have banquets.

On the contrary, the men who are the masters of the house are much more relaxed. Most of the men just care about the income of the farm and shop in their own house. It is not bad whether the flowers in the house are enough. He never cared about the economic situation. If he wanted to spend money, he just got a lot of sincerity from the account. It is true that there are not one or two men in charge of the family like Jia Zheng who ignore everything. Of course, maybe other people are not as extreme as Jia Zheng.

The first month of the Lin family this year is not much different from the previous few years, because Lin Hai was lucky enough to enter the ranks of second-rank officials. Banquets between relatives and friends, others are basically declined.Lin Hai himself does not want to make many friends with other ministers, so as not to attract taboos from above. There is another reason that everyone knows very well. The Lin family does not have a headed mistress, and many things are not very convenient.

The Lin family's life this year is similar to previous years, but this year's palace banquet is quite different from previous years.

Every year on the first day of the first month of the new year, the emperor will entertain the princes and ministers in the palace, and the queen will also entertain the wives and orders at the same time.Since the abdication of the Supreme Emperor and the new emperor's ascension to the throne, the Supreme Emperor and the Emperor will definitely attend the banquet on the first day of the first lunar month every year, sitting side by side as the chief seat.However, at the banquet on the first day of this year, none of the ministers found the emperor. The emperor just said that the emperor was suffering from the cold and was not feeling well, so he could not attend the banquet. He did not give any further explanations, and then announced the opening of the banquet. .

Seeing this situation, the following ministers may have their own ideas, but as a group of people gathered behind the third prince, including Zhen Yingjia, the king of Xining County, the king of Nan'an County, etc., the followers of the third prince, or some nobles The aristocratic family, more or less felt a little uneasy.Why do these honorable and veteran ministers still maintain a more or less carefree attitude towards the current emperor during the few years since the emperor has ascended the throne? It is because of the existence of the emperor. If one day the emperor suddenly comes to heaven, Where should they go?

At the dinner party on the first day of the new year, other people's moods are unknown. Although today's performance is the same as usual, and although no one can see any changes in a serious and cold face, Lin Hai can still feel the exact feelings of the emperor. Min's good mood.

Lin Hai does not say that he can see the current emperor every day, but as a second-rank official who is still trusted by the emperor, there are many opportunities to get in touch with the emperor at close range on weekdays. I don’t know if other ministers have felt it. Lin Hai really knows it. I can feel the prestige on Li Min's body growing stronger day by day.

A puppet emperor without real power, no matter how good he is at acting, no matter how much he wants to show his bearing as a superior, he will eventually feel a little guilty when he is exposed in front of others.From the current emperor, anyone who has a little understanding of the current government can know and feel it more or less. Although the emperor has always been restrained by the emperor, through the emperor's hard work in the past few years, His control over the court has become stronger and stronger. Without his intentional expression, the courtiers below can feel the self-confidence and the sense of deterrence from him. Only the emperor who controls the government can reveal it.

The Supreme Emperor is over 60 years old now, a small wind and cold can make him unable to get up, and he needs to recuperate for a long time, just like this time. At the same time, he can't help but think of the former household minister Cao Jian who passed away at the end of last year. At the beginning, he was in poor health, and then he suffered a little bit of anger. Before he finally passed away, he just got sick after a cold, so would it be the same for the emperor?Although the palace has the best imperial doctor in the world, and the most precious, complete and best medicinal materials in the world, will these definitely be able to stop the call of Lord Yama?

Few people attended the banquet in the palace because of the delicacies on the banquet. Not to mention the tedious etiquette at the banquet in the palace, which completely lost the taste of people. It was almost too cold, and many of them could even see white oil floating on them. Every minister who was able to participate in the banquet in the palace was of high grade. How could he be able to eat such "delicacy"?Most of them are the same as Lin Hai, just pick a few vegetarian dishes and eat a few mouthfuls to make a show.

None of the princes and ministers who come to the palace banquet every year can really relax. They are afraid that their disobedience will cause disasters to themselves and the whole family, so they act as carefully as possible.The most relaxed person in today's banquet is probably the emperor Li Min. This is the first time he has presided over the first "state banquet" of the new year alone since he took the throne. He is really full of ambition.

Lin Hai waited until he returned to the mansion, drank some hot soup again, and ate some hot food, and finally felt that his stomach was not so empty.

Lin Rui waited until Lin Hai was used up before he smiled and said, "Not to mention that the banquet in the palace is full of delicacies from mountains and seas, they are also carefully prepared by the imperial chef. Looking at you, Dad, it seems that there is no use in the banquet at all."

"Not to mention that I didn't eat at all, it's almost the same." Lin Hai sat lazily leaning on the kang table, "At today's banquet, the emperor did not show up. He said he was recovering from the cold."

"Why, Dad, you suspect..." Lin Rui asked in a low voice, a little surprised.

Lin Hai's voice was also very soft, looking at Lin Rui who was sitting on the other side of the kang table, he said, "No, it must be because of the cold, the emperor does not need to bear such a stigma now, the age of the emperor is right there, No one can escape old age, sickness and death. But in this way, the third prince should be anxious, what he needs most now is time, and the Supreme Emperor is like this, I am afraid that the third prince will not be in a hurry."

"Even if the third prince wants to rebel, he needs someone, and he has to find the right time, otherwise it's just an excuse for an emperor to clean him up."

"These are also related to our business, and we can only talk about it. It is only more than a month away from the twelfth of February, and I don't know what will happen when the time comes. Originally, I was going to make a big deal about Daiyu's funeral ceremony. I can't come."

"It's still more than a month, let's talk about it then! When the girl here holds the Chisel Ceremony, she must be ready to pick the characters, Dad, do you want to pick any characters for Daiyu?"

"Kang Ning, I've thought about it a long time ago, so I gave Sister Lin the word 'Kang Ning'. I hope that Sister Lin will be healthy, safe and happy for the rest of her life, and that she and Xu Jingzhi can spend their lives smoothly and steadily in the future. Ruier, you What do you think of this word?"

"It's a good implication, but isn't it a bit too masculine?"

Lin Rui felt that the word "Ning" was easy to say, and the word "Kang" was mostly used in men's names.

"Is there, but I think the implication is quite good. When choosing the characters for Daiyu, 'Kang' was the first to be decided. It goes without saying that I hope she is in good health. Later, the word 'Ning' was determined. Ning has It means stability and peace, so finally came the word Kangning.”

"There are a lot of people to be invited for the Chichi ceremony, so it's time to start preparing after the Lantern Festival? Does Daiyu understand this?"

Lin Hai smiled and glanced at his son, "Fool, do you think that the husband and mother who are hired for Daiyu are on leave? You also know that an ordinary family only spends so much money a year, and the autumn that was hired for Daiyu Mr. Shuxiu for one year is 240 taels. Because this mother Li was sent by the emperor with the deed, that’s how it is, and now she still gets 5 taels of monthly money every month, not to mention the other rewards , If you go outside to invite a nanny, it will cost hundreds of taels a year.

I have already told Mr. Qiu and Nanny Li that they will help with Daiyu’s funeral and chisel ceremony, and your sister-in-law Yuntang will receive the female relatives. Anyway, all the people who come here are relatives and friends, and others know that our house In this situation, it is not intentional to find a person who has no orders to receive these guests. "

Lin Rui couldn't help but nodded when he heard this, and suddenly thought of something, "Father, after Daiyu gets married next year, we won't have a housekeeper anymore, what should we do?"

"You really worry far enough!" Slowly knocking on the kang table with his hands, although Lin Hai said this to Lin Rui, he actually found it very troublesome, "If it is really difficult to do, we can only let a few Auntie, take care of it. Now that you are getting older, they also know my bottom line, and won't give birth to some thoughts that shouldn't be there. Besides, let the four of them take care of it, and they will only take care of some internal affairs and human relations. In the future, the second housekeeper will be responsible for dealing with these matters, and we will look at them more, and there are no other suitable candidates besides them."

"How is Mrs. Yun Tang?"

Lin Hai shook his head directly, "Not good! Leaving aside the fact that Lin Yun is too far away from our branch, it's not good to find an outsider butler. It's better to let the servants in the mansion take care of it. If you think it's not enough Well, we can change it right away. If you let Lu Shi take care of it, don’t worry about other things first. If she manages our house for a few years and benefits from it, it will be a troublesome thing if she doesn’t want to let go after you get married. , maybe I am a villain, but who can guarantee that a person will not change. Also, you have forgotten that Lin Yun will take part in the examination this year. If he is lucky enough to win a Jinshi, he definitely hopes to become an official. At that time, their family will not live in our house."

"This year, there are two more people in the family taking the exam. I don't know what the result will be?"

"Lin Yun's hope is not great. Zhao Zixuan is slightly better than Lin Yun, but the goodness is limited. At that time, I heard Zhao Ze talk about his son's situation. I was wondering if I would marry Yingchun to him. Fortunately, Zhao Zixuan didn't come. I didn't mention this matter at the time, otherwise it would be very difficult for the two to live together even if they finally got married."

After listening to Lin Hai's words, Lin Rui took it for granted, not that there was anything wrong with Zhao Zixuan, just as Zhao Ze said, his eldest son is a somewhat bookish man, but after meeting people, he realized that he was at the same time He is a man who deeply understands the rules of etiquette.For women, he is the kind of person who thinks that men other than her husband should never even know her boudoir name. He has not been here for many days, and he learned something about Rongning and Ningfu from some fellow villagers. The girl's boudoir name has been spread all over the street so that people know that absolutely no one is willing to marry such a disgraced wife.After Lin Rui understood what he meant during the conversation with him, he completely stopped thinking about helping Yingchun.

Although the emperor did not show up at the banquet in the palace on the first day of the lunar new year, after raising him for a period of time, he gradually recovered, and slowly began to appear in front of people again.The third prince probably also knew that the emperor's time was running out, so he tightened his wooing of the courtiers, and the members of the Zhen family also helped to contact the great families frequently.

In the past, if there were township examinations and general examinations, there would be countless flower viewing feasts and poetry competitions in the social circle of the capital in their spare time, but after the beginning of the new year this year, the entire capital has fallen into an inexplicable Seeds of tense atmosphere, even these banquets have become few and far between.

Daiyu's Chisel ceremony came at this time, and because of the current atmosphere in the capital, Lin Hai didn't make any big arrangements. He just invited some relatives and friends of the Lin family to come, and at the same time officially ordered the word Kangning for Daiyu.

One day at the end of February, the emperor suddenly announced that he would go to Iron Net Mountain for hunting in early March. Since the emperor's health has improved now, the emperor will go with him for this hunt.

As soon as Lin Hai returned to the mansion, he asked someone to inform the housekeeper Lin Zhong to go to the study. After Lin Zhong came in and saw the ceremony, Lin Hai directly ordered, "Lin Zhong, in 10 days, the emperor will go to Iron Net Mountain to hunt. I will also go there together, about ten days or so. I am afraid that the capital will not be peaceful during this period, you and Fang Lei rearrange the guards in the mansion, especially the night watch patrols at night, so there must be no omissions. In addition to shopping, no one else is allowed to come in and out of the mansion at will. Those who pick things up are disobedient, and the girl will be notified to sell them. Don’t worry about it when the uncle is in the Imperial College. The guards on the second floor must be arranged according to order."

"Yes, master, but if the young nephew and young master Zhao want to go out, do we have to stop them?"

Lin Hai thought for a while and said, "I will talk to Nephew Yun, and you don't need to worry about Young Master Zhao. During this period of time, he seldom goes out of the house to prepare for the exam. Even if he goes out, there will be no major problems. Do as I tell you."

Ever since the emperor announced that he was going to Iron Net Mountain for hunting, Lin Hai guessed that this trip to Iron Net Mountain would not be peaceful, so this trip, in addition to bringing Lin An to attend to daily life, all the guards who accompanied him on weekdays were all the same. All were replaced with trained guards just in case.

Iron Net Mountain has always been a special ranch for royal hunting, and it is only a day away from the capital. When the emperor was in power, he would come here to hunt almost every spring.After the new emperor ascended the throne, he followed the festival, so he has not been to Iron Net Mountain in the past few years. This hunting is the first large-scale hunting since he ascended the throne.

Ever since he arrived at Iron Net Mountain, Lin Hai has been tense, but the whole hunting process was very peaceful. Lin Hai not only sighed, this is unscientific, don't the rebels like to take advantage of the opportunity to engage in assassinations and assassinations? Why is it a little too quiet these days.

Tomorrow, he was going back to the capital. Before going to bed at night, Lin Hai only took off his outer robe and lay on the bed with all his clothes on. All the guards were laying on the floor in the room, quietly waiting for what happened tonight.Lin Hai believed that the emperor would never engage in such a hunting activity for no reason. Today is the last day, and something must happen tonight.

Sure enough, at about the middle of the night when everyone should be asleep, Lin Hai heard the sound of weapons clashing and a commotion outside.Lin Hai quickly put on his robe in the dark, and prepared to go out with the guards who were already dressed.As soon as I left the house, I ran into other ministers who were traveling with me. At this time, no matter whether I have weapons or not, or whether I know martial arts, I have to rush to the emperor's side to rescue him, just as a gesture.

As soon as Lin Hai and the others left the courtyard, they found that the torches were burning all around in the distance, surrounding the entire palace.The sound of weapons clashing in the distance and the sound of shouting for killing are getting closer and closer.When Lin Hai and the others came to the palace where the emperor lived, many civil servants had already come to the palace, and at the same time they saw the place near the innermost part. The emperor and the emperor sat together with their faces sinking like water, surrounded by a circle of guards, Lin Hai and A group of civil servants stayed aside and did not make a sound, waiting for news with the others.

Thinking about it afterwards, Lin Hai felt that the iron net mountain mutiny at night was more like a good show directed by the emperor. The third prince performed with all his heart, but it was a pity that it was a cannon fodder after all. Since it is cannon fodder, the end is naturally impossible Whatever happened, the third prince personally led a group of people to kill him in front of the palace, probably thinking that victory was just a matter of hope, but unfortunately it could only end here.Even if the third prince could be brought to the palace, Lin Hai thought it might be because the emperor arranged for him to release water on purpose.But also because of this, after the emperor confirmed that the person who led him was the third prince, his whole body became unwell, and he lay down that night, and never got up again.

After returning to the capital, although the third prince died on the spot, the children of the third prince still failed to escape the punishment of the emperor. All of them were demoted to common people and kicked out of the capital. Concubine Zhen became Zhen Guiren, and Xining County Prince's Mansion also became a piece of history after this incident.

When the tense atmosphere in the capital caused by the rebellion of the third prince slowly dissipated, an emergency battle report from the southwest came from Babaili.