The Bandit Gentleman of the Red Chamber

"I heard that the dealer has a lot of funeral affairs recently?" Ji Wen casually closed the memorial in his hand, and asked seemingly unintentionally.

Lin Chen put the vermilion pen in his hand aside, and said with a smile, "I don't know either. I just heard that several nephews from his family died. My teacher didn't even go to the funeral, so I don't think it's an important person."

Seeing Ji Wen staring at him with a smile that was not a smile, Lin Chen didn't realize it, and picked up the ink pen to review the memorials. In the past two days, the prince has started to govern, and many papers have been sent to the East Palace. He picked some pamphlets full of praise and nonsense, and imitated Ji Wen's handwriting for review, which relieved him some pressure.

Seeing his unmoving appearance, Ji Wen felt awkward for a moment, and decided to put it aside generously, but still said: "This time, for the sake of your mentor, please forgive me for now. Next time If you try to be a good person again in such a hurry, you will be dealt with according to the laws of the country."

Lin Chen said a few words, obviously not taking this threat to heart.

However, he quickly realized that the end of his perfunctory behavior might be half a month's cold bed, and immediately corrected his attitude: "It's not an exaggeration for the dealer to say that he is powerful, but I thought that if there was trouble, we would It is inevitable to kill one thousand enemies and lose eight hundred, but it is for nothing that some villains took advantage of it, so I went to remind the teacher. Next time, if His Royal Highness wants to deal with disobedient people, feel free to send humble ministers to be pawns. "

It's just that such foolhardy guarantees seem even more unreliable than the previous perfunctory ones. Ji Wen stood up angrily, and carried a large pile of folders on the table to Lin Chen's desk: "Since Lin Aiqing is so loyal and patriotic, let's first Show these excerpts to Gu. No lunch until you finish reading them!"

Time passed slowly amidst the fights and noises between the lovers, and it can be considered that the world is stable and the years are quiet and good.Until Ji Luo couldn't hold back any longer, and rebelled against him...

When the news came, Ji Wen was having dinner with Fang Shi in Prince Zhongdun's mansion.Because he became the prince too hastily, and the female family members of the prince's mansion have not yet moved into the east palace. He took the initiative to stay.

Today, Ji Wen managed to go back to the palace to take care of affairs outside the palace. When he was about to go back, he was stopped by Fang's people. The reason for stopping him was very good: "The Crown Princess has something important to discuss with Your Highness."

Ji Wen really thought that Fang's business was up to something, and didn't want to go to her yard, but saw a table of carefully prepared dishes and a well-dressed Fang's.Unexpectedly, Fang Shi would invite favor at such a juncture, Ji Wen immediately raised his foot and wanted to leave, but then thought that Fang Shi had indeed managed the palace well for him these days, and this face should be given, so he came here The boss sat down.

It's just that the complexion is still not good-looking, and he asked lightly: "The crown princess said to discuss important matters with Gu You, now that Gu Du is here, can the crown princess talk about it?"

Fang's heart was swayed, so she just found an excuse and invited him over. What's the important thing now?It’s just that the crown prince’s words had to be answered, she rolled her eyes, and said with a smile: “The concubine does have something to ask His Highness, His Highness has now appointed the crown prince, and the concubine also takes the position of Crown Princess, but the sisters in the backyard have nothing to say. There is a clear decree to award the rewards, but I don’t know how His Highness plans to arrange for the sisters? The concubine can also adjust the expenses of the sisters.”

He said again, "This is not an important matter. The concubine was thinking about discussing this with you when His Highness is free, but she didn't want the subordinates to spread the word inappropriately, so she invited you over in a panic. .”

Ji Wen frowned slightly. The crown prince's concubine needs to be granted a decree today, but since he has been in a sick bed, he naturally cannot grant the seal to the backyard at this time.Just now he was thinking that the Fang family had managed the palace very well these days, but he didn't think that he was also a person who could only see three inches of land in front of him.

After thinking about it for a while, he still said: "I have to wait until the father's body is safe to give them a few seals. First, you can increase the monthly rate of the Chen family by one liter according to the example of the crown prince Liangdi. Jiang's and Jia's compare Take Liangyuan as an example."

He has three side concubines in total, Mrs. Chen is the first palace man who followed him, and she gave birth to a son and a daughter for him, so they should be treated kindly; Born in a side branch of the Jiang family, and one born in a declining government, they are inferior to the Chen family.

Seeing that he really valued Mrs. Chen, Mrs. Fang sighed in her heart, and forced a smile, "Except for a few side concubines, there are other sisters. I don't know how His Highness will arrange them?" The main ones are the few palace servants bestowed by the empress. What case to treat it?

Ji Wen was a little impatient: "You can arrange those concubines who have no rank. You can still make up your own mind about some trivial matters in the future. It is very unnecessary to ask Gu here for everything."

After speaking, he went out.

Fang hurriedly stepped forward to stop the person, and said with a smile: "At this time, the palace gate is probably locked. Since you have already returned, why don't your highness rest at the mansion tonight?"

As she spoke, she gently pulled down Ji Wen's sleeve, with a little pleading in her eyes.

Since the two got married, Fang has always been steady and self-reliant, and she seldom acts like this to lower her face and invite pets. The reason she did this today is because Ji Wen has become the crown prince, and she urgently wants to ease the relationship between husband and wife. The relationship is as respectful as "ice", and secondly, it was stimulated by Ji Wen's unabashed emphasis on Concubine Chen who had a son by her side just now.

Ji Wen looked at the shy Fang Shi with deep eyes.

When the two had just got married, he really wanted to get along well with Fang. He had never felt the warmth of a family in the court. He thought that after getting married, he could get it from his concubine and his wife.But the reluctance and resentment in Fang's eyes on the day of the marriage was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the flame in his heart.Later, Fang fulfilled her obligations as a princess very well. She was dignified, courteous, virtuous and generous, and the clan was full of praise for her.

But Ji Wen knew that the Fang family actually looked down on him.

Although the Fang family is only a second-class family in Beijing, it is also a powerful official family holding military power. At that time, Ji Wen was just a humble prince from his mother's family. I married myself low.Moreover, I heard that the crown prince Ji Luo intended to accept Fang as Liang Di before the decree was made for the marriage of the two. For the Fang family at that time, I am afraid that he wanted to be the crown prince Liang rather than his own wife. .

So after the two got married, Fang always treated Ji Wen a little lukewarm. Ji Wen thought she didn't like him, and tried to make up for it.But ever since she found out that Fang Shi wanted to be the Prince Liangdi, her heart became completely cold, and she only respected Fang Shi as a princess, and had no other thoughts.

Regarding Ji Wen's cold treatment, Fang Shi was also at ease from the beginning.She thought that Ji Wen was just a prince with no power, and would become a county king in the future, so what if she won his favor.Therefore, the two have been husband and wife for many years, but the relationship has always been just a matter of face, and they can't even respect each other like a guest from an ordinary noble family.

But now Fang regretted it. She never thought that Ji Wen would have such good luck. She would transform from the most inconspicuous prince to the person most likely to aspire to the throne!Ever since Ji Wen was named prince, Fang has been eager to restore the relationship between husband and wife, but the more anxious she is, the more alienated Ji Wen is.

In Fang's eyes, what happened today was already a way to save face, but it made Ji Wen even more aware of the importance of power to her nominal wife.The so-called arrogance before the end is respectful, nothing more than the case.

There are many people like Fang Shi around him, they will do everything to please him for the sake of power, and they will also betray him mercilessly.

No matter whether he was in power or in trouble, Lin Chen was the only one who stayed by his side from beginning to end.Thinking of Lin Chen, Ji Wen's eyes became colder as she looked at the flattering Fang Shi in front of her.

He closed his eyes, at least he held back not getting angry at Fang, but said indifferently: "There are so many affairs in the palace that you can't be alone for a moment. I won't stay overnight today. The princess should settle down earlier."

"My lord!" Fang Shi still wanted to persuade him to stay, but a servant from outside rushed in regardless of the obstruction of the servants in the main courtyard.

Fang was about to reprimand, but Ji Wen recognized that this person was by Lin Chen's side, and hurriedly asked, "What happened?"

The young fellow ran out of breath, reluctantly bowed to the two of them, and said out of breath, "My lord asked me to come over and pass the letter to the lord, saying that the four-legged snake has now arrived in the suburbs of Beijing. Tell you to hurry up and get ready."

This is the signal of the two people's agreement, the four-legged snake refers to the deposed prince Ji Luo-isn't the deposed prince a four-legged snake?It wasn't long before Ji Wen found out that Ji Lu was about to conspire/rebel, but he didn't expect him to act so quickly that he would do it today.

Ji Wen hurriedly asked: "Where is your master now? Has the news been conveyed?"

The young man replied: "The news has spread everywhere, and the inner city has been sealed off, but you still need to make up your mind on the specific matters. As for the uncle... the uncle feels that something is wrong, and has already left Beijing for Fengtai camp with Prince Zhongheng." gone."

Ji Wen took a deep breath: "What is he doing out of Beijing at this time! Everyone is dead? Even if you want to transfer a soldier, you have to go in person!"

When he got angry, not to mention that boy, even Mrs. Fang was too frightened to speak for a while.

But this is really not the time to lose your temper.Ji Wen forced herself to calm down, not thinking about the danger that Lin Chen might encounter, turned her head and told Fang Shi: "You gather all the people in the palace, and you must restrain the servants. Unless it is Gu or Lord Xiao Lin who comes here in person , No one is allowed to enter the palace these few days. In addition, I will dispatch a team of Habayashi troops to protect the safety of the palace, so you don't have to worry too much."

It's all explained to this point, no matter how stupid Fang is, he knows what happened, and immediately trembled with fear, "What about Your Highness? Your Highness is not with us?"

Ji Wen didn't bother to talk to her anymore, she just said: "Of course I want to go back to the palace to preside over the overall situation, just take care of the palace."

He didn't trust Fang's ability very much, so he asked the housekeeper and Chang Shi of the palace to take good care of the safety of the palace during this period of time.He also took the two children under his knees to the palace, so as not to cause chaos and be harmed by those who care about him.

After Lin Chen received the news of Ji Luo's rebellion, he immediately sent someone to write a letter to Ji Wen and several important people, and immediately rushed home.As a cabinet minister, Lin Hai was still discussing matters in the palace. It was obviously too late to inform him at this time, and he had to go home and make some arrangements.

When he came home, Gu Yanran was talking to her sister-in-law in Lin Daiyu's Zhuxi Pavilion. Since the Gu family gradually lost power, she lost her former arrogance. In order to live a better life in the future, she naturally wanted to build a good relationship with the Lin family.

Seeing Lin Chen walking in a hurry, both sister-in-law and sister-in-law were startled.

Lin Chen didn't have time to explain to them, he just said: "The abolished prince rebelled, and the rebels have already reached the outskirts of Beijing. When I come back, I'll let you know that there will inevitably be fighting in the inner city, and my father won't be able to come back in the palace. , you two just shut the door at home and wait for the matter to pass, don't panic."

Gu Yanran was so frightened that she couldn't even stand still when she heard the word "rebellion". It was Lin Daiyu who asked, "Brother is going out later? It's enough to eat firewood and charcoal at home, and I'm not afraid of closing the city." But if the rebels harass, even if there are servants to protect them, it will be difficult."

Lin Chen saw that although her face was a little pale, she still looked calm, and he appreciated it in his heart.He softened his voice and said: "It's no problem, our mansion is close to Princess Shuyi's mansion, I have already recruited the eldest princess for my brother, and sent three hundred guards from the Princess' mansion to protect you two. Yu's. It's just one thing, except for me coming back, no one in our house can enter in the past few days, lest the rebels take advantage of it to make trouble."

Lin Daiyu answered with a serious expression.

Speaking of which, both of their aunts and sisters-in-law are only in their teens, and the older Gu Yanran is only eighteen. It is really cruel to leave these two little girls to face the palace rebellion alone at this time.

But Lin Chen always felt that the information he had obtained in advance was incorrect. The number of troops of the abolished prince might not be less than 2, and not all the Imperial Guards in Beijing had surrendered to Ji Wen. few.Fortunately, Ji Wen had already given the soldier talisman of the Fengtai Camp to Ji Wen, so Lin Chen wanted to press Prince Zhongheng to go there, and first detain Ji Feng so that he would not take the opportunity to do something. The guard of Fengtai in Zhenyi Town.

So no matter how cruel it was, Lin Chen had no choice but to leave the two of them at home alone.If Ji Luo really succeeds, all of their family will be killed.

However, Lin Chen comforted the aunt and sister-in-law carefully, and said: "This time the prince is sure, so you don't need to worry, just stay at home and wait for the news."

As soon as he left, Gu Yanran and Lin Daiyu were left to look at each other, but it was Lin Daiyu who said first: "Mingyuan Pavilion is closer to the front, so you should feel sorry for my sister-in-law to live with me these few days. Let's seal the two gates and leave Some servants are on guard in the front yard, others are on duty behind the second gate, and the mother-in-law and maidservants may also take turns on duty at night."

It happened suddenly, but she had arranged it properly.Besides, facing such a big event, Gu Yanran also lost her wits, so she listened to what Lin Daiyu said at this time.

After Ji Wen arrived at the palace, he immediately sealed the gate of the palace, and even the few officials who stayed in the palace were not allowed to go out. He summoned the deposed prince and the wives and children of the other princes to the palace, and arranged for the capital with his confidantes. In addition, the Habayashi Army was mobilized to protect several important clans and nobles...

When it finally came to an end, it was already midnight.Before going to the Hall of Mental Cultivation where Jinshang was, Ji Wen thought about it, and went to Kunning Palace first.

Although it was already midnight, Kunning Palace was still brightly lit.With such a big commotion in the East Palace today, the news is as good as Queen Zhuang's, so she naturally knows what happened.

When Ji Wen arrived, Empress Zhuang was still in splendid attire, and the third princess under her knees was also sitting beside her at this time. Seeing Ji Wen, she hurriedly stood up and saluted.Ji Wen first bowed to Empress Zhuang, then bowed to the third princess, and called her Miss Huang.

Then he said: "I think the queen mother already knew about the abolition of the crown prince's treason. The son came here at this time because he wanted the queen mother and sister Huang to move to the Hall of Mental Cultivation and stay with the emperor father, so as to ensure the safety of the queen mother."

At this time, apart from the Hall of Mental Cultivation where the Lord is now, even the Kunning Palace where the Queen of One Kingdom lives may not be safe, so Empress Zhuang agreed after a little thought.

When the three of them arrived at the Hall of Mental Cultivation, they naturally went to see Jinshang first. In fact, Jinshang is just hanging on his breath, just lingering on his last breath.Seeing her husband whose life was hanging by a thread, Empress Zhuang not only did not have any sadness in her eyes, but even showed a little impatience.

It's just that she hid her emotions very well, stepped forward and held Imamaka's hand, turned her head to Ji Wen and said, "Your Majesty is here to take care of me, the prince can go to busy business."

Ji Wen agreed, and then ordered people to bring all the imprisoned clans to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to be taken care of by the queen.Although Empress Zhuang had made frequent changes in the past few months, the two held the same position on this matter, and Ji Wen was very relieved to hand over the clan to Empress Zhuang to watch over.

The imperial palace is full of murderous atmosphere now, the Habayashi army and the palace guards are all dispatched, three steps, one post, five steps, one post, using their actual actions to demonstrate what it means that a mosquito cannot fly in.

And the inner city where the officials lived was also sealed off early, not to mention the servants in charge of purchasing, even the servant who poured Yexiang was not allowed to leave the city.However, well-informed people also found out what was going on one after another, and locked their doors one after another to avoid mentioning it.

Rongguo Mansion has long been far away from the center of power in the capital, and it is not visible on weekdays. At this time, the embarrassment of having no one in the court is revealed.The Jia family gathered in the Rongqing Hall where Jia Mu lived, one after another with sad faces.

Mother Jia is a person who has seen the world. When she heard about the closure of the city, she guessed that it was going to be ransacking or rebellion. No matter what it was, it was a big deal, so she ordered: "We don't know about the things outside, but we are in the house." You can’t get into a mess first. For Lian’er’s family, please tell me to go down. In the past few days when the city is closed, all the doors of our house will be locked, and no entry or exit is allowed. If anyone in the house commits a crime, they will be dealt with severely. "

Sister Feng hurriedly got up and smiled back: "Don't worry, old ancestor, I will explain all these things."

He added: "Speaking of it, thanks to Brother Lin's reminder, we bought a lot of firewood and other things in our house a few days ago, even if it lasted a month, it would be enough. Otherwise, just the firewood will be in trouble at this time. Woolen cloth."

The rice and noodles of the rich families are provided by Zhuangzi once a year or half a year, and there will be no shortage of food.But their firewood is bought by people who sell firewood in the inner city. Firewood takes up a lot of space, and it usually takes a few days at most to buy it.Now that the inner city is suddenly closed, how many people may have no firewood in two days.Sister Feng gloated a little.

It's just that Mrs. Wang could hear a different meaning from her words: "No wonder Brother Feng, who is not young or not, you insisted on asking our whole family to come here. So you got the letter a long time ago?"

Today, Sister Feng didn't know what was going on, and at dusk, she even sent someone to the second room to "invite" the whole family's both hard and soft ways. Madam Wang thought that Sister Feng had caught evidence of her greed for ink in previous years and wanted to tear it up. What a shame.Who knew that when they arrived at Rongguo Mansion, they received the news that the inner city was sealed off.

Sister Feng was not annoyed when she heard Mrs. Wang's words, she just smiled and said, "The incident happened so suddenly, how can I get any news? It's just that Brother Lin reminded the second master a few days ago, and the second master took it to heart." Yes, and I have really made some preparations. Today, I knew it was not good when I saw that there were guards outside, so I hurriedly invited my second uncle and aunt over."

Mother Jia sighed, "It's thanks to Chen'er. Otherwise, your second uncle's family lives outside, unlike our rich family. It would be bad if there was an accident."

In such an emergency, she still didn't forget to complain about the separation of the family.

Jia She snorted coldly, but was very nice to Sister Feng: "Since the Lin family sent you a letter, what's going on outside? Also, Lian'er is nowhere to be seen now, where did he go?" ?”

Sister Feng didn't know where Jia Lian had gone, and she didn't know what was going on outside, she only vaguely knew that it was a big deal.It's just that she told the Jia family the truth, they just didn't believe it, and they just thought that Sister Feng lied to them.

The whole family sat restless in the middle of the night, and sure enough, they heard the roar of killing outside, and even faintly heard the sound of cannons.Even Jia Mu was a little scared, so she just held Sister Feng's hand tightly and didn't speak.

Sister Feng was also beating drums in her heart, but she still comforted her mouth: "The voice doesn't sound like it's nearby, but it sounds like it's in the outer city. The imperial city is guarded by imperial guards, so we don't have to worry if we live in the inner city."

Jia Baoyu answered from below: "I'm afraid this battle is a war. Could it be that someone rebelled?"

He has also seen the current prince, the so-called dragon and phoenix among people are nothing more than that.It's just that he is still young, and he is actually the youngest among the princes, so it is inevitable that he will not be able to suppress his elder brothers.

Sister Feng is a woman from a Taoist family, so she doesn't know about the affairs of the court.But her husband has been working with the current prince, and her sister-in-law Jia Yuanchun has become the prince's side concubine. She is still clear that she is a proper princeling. At this time, her face was pale and she stopped talking. I pray that the prince will win as soon as possible and kill those rebels.

Not only her, but everyone in the Jia family is also eagerly looking forward to the crown prince's early victory.

But they waited from night to daylight, and the shouting and killing outside still didn't stop. Jia Mu was getting old, and she couldn't hold on after sitting all night.

Sister Feng made arrangements for the whole family to have breakfast, and then arranged for everyone to take a nap first.After everything was settled, he took Ping'er back to his small courtyard, and lay down on the bed with his clothes on.She had something on her mind, but she couldn't fall asleep, so she just asked Ping'er: "Where did the second master go now? He usually runs errands for the prince and does business. The prince doesn't need him to fight the enemy no matter what! "

How did Ping'er know this, but she could only comfort her: "There are so many generals around the prince, and the uncle has never even killed a chicken. He will definitely not let him kill the enemy. Don't worry, grandma."

He said rest assured, but in this era, men are women's reliance.Jia Lian is the pillar of Sister Feng and Ping'er, and they are naturally very worried about Jia Lian's safety.

Not to mention where Jia Lian went, but Lin Chen "invited" Prince Zhongheng out of the Prince's Mansion with half coercion and half threat, and put him on the carriage to Fengtai.Even if there were millions of people who were unwilling in Zhongheng's heart, they couldn't handle the burly imperial guards around Lin Chen, so he could only mutter and get on the carriage.

On the way, he still disliked the slowness of the carriage, so he only shouted: "The carriage is too old, my king wants to ride a horse!"

Lin Chen then gave him his horse, and rode the cart horse by himself, and said: "I have wronged the prince today, and when this matter is over, I will apologize to the prince."

When this matter comes to an end, you will be a great hero, how can I be worthy of your apology!

Ji Feng cursed secretly in his heart, but his words were righteous: "Everything has its own priority. This king didn't know about it before, but now that he knows the truth, he is naturally eager to dispatch troops to defend the imperial city as soon as possible."

This is really not a good time to pretend to be a snake, Lin Chen didn't say anything anymore, he only picked up the speed silently, in order to be safe, they had to go even faster.

The flames of war in the capital lasted for five days, and the two sides in the war, who originally thought they could win easily, became stalemate.

When the rebels attacked the city before, the forbidden army had a good location and was able to completely suppress the rebels.But within a few hours of fighting, wars also ignited in the capital.It was only then that Ji Wen realized that he had been caught in a trick to divert the tiger away from the mountain. When the forbidden army concentrated their firepower on attacking the rebel army, the internal agents in the capital also quietly opened the city gate and let in the main force of the rebel army.

You must know that the key to the success of this kind of rebellion is generally to attack it by surprise. If it is a hard attack, it is simply an impossible task to capture the impregnable imperial city with only tens of thousands of people.This time, because Ji Wen had been wary of a few restless brothers, when he received the news, he replaced the important places with his own people, otherwise the rebels would have invaded the inner city now!