Prequel to the Red Chamber: I Am the Second Wife

The next morning, when Zili was trying to cover up his dark circles, there was a commotion outside, and it turned out that Jia Zheng had returned. "Grandma, the second master is back safely. The king of Wei has been killed, and the city is safe now." Xiao Ai hurriedly grabbed Zili's clothes and ran out after her: "Grandma, don't worry, the second master is seeing the emperor." " Xiao Ai was anxious to see Jia Zheng's Zili, but many attendants did not bring them, so Xiao Ai dressed Zili herself.

Zili let out a deep breath, and the big stone in her heart fell to the ground: "It's good to come back, since the king of Wei has been executed, we should pack up and go back. Go ask the people who follow the second master. How's the situation?"

"I have already asked, those rebels were ambushed as soon as they arrived in front of the Yamen, and the gate of the city was opened by the people inside for some reason, and the army rushed in. King Wei, those people are the opponents of the official army, and it only takes a while. The kung fu was wiped out. There were countless casualties, and many escaped. The second master led people to search the city carefully all night, and he was worried that there would be fish that slipped through the net. Now the city is still not allowed to enter and leave casually. It seems that we I have to stay here for a few more days. By the way, I heard from the people who followed the second master that General Li Shen seems to have been seriously injured, and it seems that there may be a lot of bad luck." Xiao Ai's expression was gloomy, and he talked about the news he had heard.

Li Shouyi is also a man of loyalty, and Zili couldn't help but sigh when he heard this: "I remember that his youngest daughter is just three years old, and she is a few months younger than Yuanchun in our family. His son is also young, if he has something There are three ups and downs, but what should we do? You go and ask someone to investigate carefully. After all, you are working with the second master. He is a loyal and good man. If he hadn’t taken the risk of sending us out of the city, we still don’t know what’s going on.”

Xiao Ai also felt emotional: "We have a lot of things in our house. I heard that Li Shen will ask someone to seal the inside after we leave. No one will be called in. Our girl, mother-in-law and beast have not been wronged."

Just as he was talking, Jia Zheng came in with a dusty face. Although he was embarrassed, he was very excited. His eyes glowed like fires burning in the middle of the night, carrying something terrifying.Seeing Zili sitting there safe and sound, Jia Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. The husband and wife were reborn again after the catastrophe. Jia Zheng stepped forward and pulled Zili into his arms, holding her tightly.Familiar and unfamiliar smells mixed together and rushed into Zili's nose. Jia Zheng's familiar body odor mixed with the unfamiliar smell of gunpowder smoke, blood and dust. Jia Zheng in front of him made Zili feel strange for no reason. .

In Zili's understanding, Jia Zheng was always the one who was clean and tidy, and kept a respectful distance from anyone who was beaten or killed.Jia Zheng held Zili in his arms. He was stimulated too much day and night. If he hadn't hugged Zili's soft body tightly, Jia Zheng would have been driven crazy by those terrifying scenes. The sound, the pair of eyes that refused to close when the head fell to the ground, the feeling of blood splashing on the face, the sound of crying and burning houses, the crazy laughter of King Wei, and the almost crazy eyes of the princess.

Jia Zheng hugged Zili tightly, felt the familiar fragrance, and returned to the world by himself. He was still alive: "The king of Wei committed suicide, and the catastrophe has subsided. I never thought that people's hearts could be so terrible. Zhen Weiren usually watched He looks good, but at this time he was able to kill King Wei's son first. In fact, King Wei had already surrendered at that time, and according to the emperor's will, he would spare his family. But—" Jia Zheng thought about the situation at that time I couldn't help shivering: "At the beginning, I praised Zhen Weiren that he was very knowledgeable and wanted to spend more time with him, but I didn't really believe you when you said that his character was not good. Now I have opened my eyes. He is a scholar. , can also do such a shameless thing, thinking that he is full of praise for the sons of King Wei, and looks like a teacher." In Jia Zheng's heart, the relationship between master and student is almost as important as the relationship between father and son.Not to mention that Zhen Weiren pleaded for his students, but he couldn't do anything to children of a few years old.Seeing Zhen Weiren's bloody expression holding a child's head in front of him impatiently and Princess Wei's desperate and angry eyes, Jia Zheng couldn't help shivering.

Zili felt chills all over when she heard Jia Zheng's words. She literally translated Zhen Weiren as a bit powerful.Who knew he could do such a thing for his own future and official position.Although King Wei's sons will end up miserable, it is the royal family's own internal strife, and the eldest son of King Wei has already gone to the capital as a hostage.This is the second son of King Wei. Although he was not born to the princess, he was also brought up by the princess. In her heart, he is probably similar to her own son.I've seen that little prince Zili before. At such a young age, even though his biological mother died early, he was still a lively, cheerful and sensible child with the love and care of his aunt.He admired his Mr. Zhen very much, and mentioned Mr. Zhen's so-and-so in his words.That child trusted his husband wholeheartedly, but died at the hands of the person he trusted the most.

Quietly wiping the teardrops from the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief, Zili sighed: "This is all fate in the previous life, did you tell the emperor?"

"I naturally reported the truth to the emperor. I think Zhen Weiren was fooling himself and misunderstood himself. The emperor was silent for a long time after hearing this, and then said that King Wei is the son of the late emperor. Even if he is guilty, he should not offend his family. The emperor asked me to draw it up. The list of meritorious personnel is good to be rewarded. I was still excited when I heard the news of Wei Wang’s rebellion yesterday, thinking that I also have the opportunity to serve the country, but now thinking about it, I find it boring.” Jia Zheng was crushed by the dark side of human nature. , began to doubt life.

The shocking plan that King Wei had planned for many years and spent countless efforts fell apart overnight. The emperor finally got rid of his confidant's serious troubles, and the situation in the court became completely new.All meritorious officials were rewarded. Li Shouyi was seriously injured and did not live to see the edict of the reward. The emperor posthumously awarded Li Shouyi the title of loyal uncle, third-rank general of Wuwei, and rewarded Li Shouyi's wife with a large sum of money as a pension. Take the child to support the spirit and return to his hometown to raise a pair of children with peace of mind.Some officials in Qingzhou were rewarded and promoted because they stood on the right team at the critical moment. Some officials were found to have had close ties with King Wei, and some were even imprisoned on suspicion of treason.

"Our second master just got the emperor's praise, but he didn't get promoted?" Zili raised his eyebrows in surprise after returning from Li Shouyi's condolences at Zhou Rui's family.Jia Daishan wrote a letter a few days ago, mentioning that many officials in Qingzhou who judged meritorious service have been promoted this time. He reckons Jia Zheng can be promoted again, but he doesn't know whether it is because he is getting old or he has lost hope in his official career. Yes, Jia Daishan became very concerned about his youngest son, but Jia Zheng didn't care much about his promotion. From Zili's point of view, it might be because the real rebellion left a shadow on Jia Zheng's heart. up.Zhen Weiren was not the only one who showed the darkness of human nature. Those officials were complaining and exposing each other. Vulnerable and fragile.Even Jia Zheng was impeached. At the beginning, he had a close relationship with the King of Wei. The envoy even bit out that Zili had accepted Li Yangde's shares. In fact, Li Yangde was the treasury steward of the King of Wei.

It's a pity that the Envoy Dian seems to have forgotten that Li Yangde was introduced to Jia Zheng and Zili graciously, and that the Envoy Dian's share in Li Yangde's business is definitely not as small as Jia Zheng's.The emperor just smiled indifferently when he saw the report letter written by the envoy, while Wei Chaozhong said seriously: "Jia Zheng is able to watch Wei Wang in Qingzhou for many years, and he has credit for it. Who can guarantee the local affairs? No contamination at all. If Jia Zheng came to Qingzhou and pretended not to be close to the King of Wei, he would not be still in Qingzhou now. He should follow the power in a hurry, and when necessary, he also needs to be with Guang Tongchen."

"I went to Qingzhou and saw with my own eyes that Jia Zheng is very clean. His family's expenses are just like those of a well-to-do family. It's a pity that his daughter-in-law has to cook by herself. Li Yangde's shops have been searched to find out how many Silver?" There was an imperceptible smile on the corner of the emperor's mouth, Wei Chaozhong was really a clever ghost.

"The real estate, shops, fields and houses seized from Li Yangde's business name totaled 1000 million taels of silver and other goods in those warehouses. This was all seized by Jia Zheng and others. From this, it can be seen that Jia Zheng did not Hidden secrets, the emperor still remembers copying Hu Qizhong's house, Hangzhou weaving such a fat job, Hu Qizhong was impeached for corruption, but the copy was only 100 million silver things. It is well known that the king of Wei used silver to win people, But Jia Zheng was able to copy so much money, which shows that he is a loyal person who dare not embezzle a cent. The emperor should reward such a person." Wei Chaozhong is an old man, he knows what the emperor is thinking, so Very tacitly set up a ladder for the emperor.

"You are right. People like Jia Zheng are not the best, but they are loyal. I don't think they will be promoted in official positions. The money from King Wei should be rewarded to Jia Zheng. By the way, Jia Zheng He is a person who is not very proficient in wealth and wealth. You--" The emperor listened for a while and thought about how to express it more appropriately.

"Your Majesty is wise and knows people well. In fact, Jia Zheng's official position does not need to be promoted, but Jia Zheng's wife should also have an imperial order. When she was in Qingzhou, she was righteous. Although she is a woman, she understands righteousness and should be rewarded." Wei Chaozhong very smoothly proposed to give Zili an imperial order.

Just being scratched to the itch, the emperor couldn't help feeling better: "Very well, I like their son very much. He is about the same age as the prince, smart and sensible, and the prince has a good deal with him in Qingzhou. You pass the decree down and give Jia Zhu Wupinlong Jinwei, went to the palace to accompany the prince to study. Reward the third-rank wife of the Jiamen Wang family. The government envoy’s office has been damaged a lot, and the garden of Wei Wang’s mansion should be rewarded as the back office.” The emperor swiped his pen generously Jia Zheng and his wife reaped a lot of benefits.

Waiting for the news to come to Qingzhou, Zili and Jia Zheng accepted the imperial decree and thanked them, but they didn't feel any excitement in their hearts.Thinking of sending his son to the palace, Zili almost cried, Jia Zhu is only seven or eight years old and going to boarding school?And the palace is so comfortable. Although my son is clever, there are eyes and ears everywhere, so many people are waiting to pinch your faults.Not to mention asking his own son to serve others, he was worried that Jia Zhu would be wronged. If anyone wanted to take over the heir apparent to the emperor's sons, he might start with the people around the prince first.At that time, wouldn't Jia Zhu become a ready target for others?

The husband and wife accepted the family's congratulations with mournful faces, and the people who were waiting for the congratulations all left. The husband and wife closed the door and only sighed.

Seeing Zili not talking but wiping the corners of his eyes with a handkerchief, Jia Zheng opened his mouth but couldn't find any comforting words.In fact, deep down in his heart, he still had a tinge of joy for the emperor's arrangement. Studying is a hard job, and dawdling in the officialdom is even more difficult than studying.It is even more difficult not to have a good wife and a strong background. A father always hopes that his son will have a good future. Being a companion to the prince is definitely a high school that ordinary people can't even dream of.The prince's teachers are naturally capable cabinet ministers and well-educated leaders in the literary world, and the strength of teachers is not comparable to that of ordinary people.In the palace, you can also learn some sophistication and the rules of the officialdom. Children will be able to enter the role faster than they did before.It's just that his wife was worried that Zhu'er was too young to take good care of herself. Of course, Jia Zheng also felt sorry for his son. He was very conflicted. Facing his wife's sadness and silence, he couldn't find words to comfort him, so he could only sit there and think about it. It's on my mind.

After a long while, it was Zili who broke the dullness first: "I also want to understand that it is a good thing for Zhu'er, but we are here, and he wants to be alone in the deep palace for a child. If there is anything, no one can help him." Yes." Zili couldn't help sobbing while saying that.

"I also feel sorry for my son. It makes sense for you to think so. We worry about Zhu'er every day because he has a good future in the future. A child will have a fifth-rank official position. In the future, Zhu'er will be better than me in official career." It can be much stronger. As for him having no one to take care of you, it’s too much to worry about. Your grandfather and grandfather’s family are both in the capital, but your eldest brother is still with the emperor. Please just ask him to take care of you. I’ll write to my uncle !” As he spoke, Jia Zheng stretched out his hand to hold Zili's hand, comforting his worried mother.

"That's the only way to go. I'm worried that Zhu'er is spoiled and spoiled at home. If she goes to someone else's house suddenly, it will inevitably be disliked by others." Zili frowned worriedly, and began to calculate what Jia Zhu would bring with her. something.

"Your eldest brother is a very good person. He should take yours into account if he doesn't care about me. Both father-in-law and mother-in-law love the younger generation very much. How could he wrong Zhu'er?" Jia Zheng thought that Zili was worried about the prince. Teng neglected Jia Zhu. In Jia Zheng's opinion, the Wang family was really an excellent Yue family.

... Zili sneered in her heart, she was not at all worried that Wang Ziteng and her natal family would neglect Jia Zhu, on the contrary, Zili was very fortunate that her natal family was in the capital, and Wang Ziteng walked around the emperor attentively.If it wasn't for Wang Ziteng's frequent walks in the palace, she would have absolutely refused to ask Jia Zhu to be the prince's companion in the palace.What she was worried about was Jia Zhu's grandfather's family. Both Jia Daishan and Jia's mother shouted that they loved the child, but in fact they were destroying the child.Either Jia Mu doted on Jia Zhu and indulged him too much, or she felt that Jia Zhu didn't get along with her and didn't care much about him.Parents are not around, and the servants in Jia's mansion are all snobbish, how does Jia Zhu deal with such a complicated environment as a child.

It's a pity that Zili couldn't tell Jia Zheng because of his worries: "Don't my own father and brother know? You just go to work with peace of mind. Zhu'er people have a lot of things to pack when they go to the capital." Zili wiped his face. After removing the last tear stains, she went to the dressing table and took off the mirror, put on powder to cover up the traces of crying just now, and then asked the girl to call Jia Zhu.She has a lot to say to Jia Zhu.

The rest of Jia Zhu's life in Qingzhou was not easy at all. He studied for half a day every day, and his mother pulled him by his side for the rest of the time, telling him all kinds of things to pay attention to, not to mention that Jia Zheng and his wife were busy. To get some things for Jia Zhu to set off.The Jia family in the capital is also very happy.Because Jia Amnesty was about to continue, and he caught up with Jia Zhu to be the prince's companion, Jia Daishan clapped his hands happily when he heard the good news: "Okay, my children and grandchildren are all up to date." They came up to congratulate him, and they all said that Uncle Zhu will definitely become a great success in the future, and he will be among the top three.

Mother Jia was also very happy when she heard the news inside. She hurriedly asked Biyu to call the person in charge to order a place for Jiazhu to live in. Everything should be the best.Biyu looked at Jia's mother happily and hurriedly said: "My wife loves her grandson. It's just that it will take some time for Zhu'er to come up. The house is being tidied up slowly. I don't know where the playthings and antique furnishings are. In the warehouse, I will only find out after checking the account books. Why don't you call someone to Qingzhou to pick up Zhu'er right now. I think that Zhu'er is coming, and the second master and second grandmother must be reluctant. My wife will send someone over at this time. Seeing that his wife loves Zhu'er so much, Second Mistress felt relieved."

"Hey, the hearts of parents in the world, even if a mother puts her heart out, she still hates it. Forget it, what do I care about with the child, you ask Lin Zhixiao's family to come and bring someone to pick up Zhu'er." Jia Mother originally wanted to order everyone Lai to pick up Jia Zhu, but suddenly it occurred to Zili that she had scolded everyone Lai because she wanted to keep Jia Zhu last time.She doesn't want to make too much trouble with Zili now.

Hearing this, Biyu hastily sent word of Lin Zhixiao's family, and told her to get ready to go to Qingzhou to pick up Jia Zhu.

After a while, someone came to report again, and Wang Ziteng's daughter-in-law came.Mother Jia knew it was because of Jia Zhu's affairs, so the Wang family called their daughter-in-law over to discuss how to settle Jia Zhu, and the one who could walk in the palace was Prince Teng.Although Jia's mother didn't like the Wang family's meddling in too many things, that's all she could do now.

"Invite her to come in quickly." Speaking of Wang Ziteng's daughter-in-law, who has brought a few women and girls in, Mrs. Zhang has been more and more experienced in the past few years, and she greeted Jia Mu with a smile on her face: "My wife, how many days?" My complexion is still so good, I got the news that the old man got married, our old man and his wife are very happy, my old man is not convenient to come out, so he specially asked me to come here to congratulate and give gifts." While talking, a woman has already handed over the gift list Gave it to Jasper.

Mother Jia asked Mrs. Zhang to sit down with a smile and asked Mrs. Wang Dingqian and Mrs. Tang. She smiled and said, "Thank you in-laws for thinking about it. Our uncle is still a hard-working man. It is not easy for him to take care of the child all these years. Your sister Following Zheng'er outside, even though I had two sons, I didn't have a daughter-in-law in front of me. Now that I'm fine, I can take the burden off my shoulders. Zhu'er is good at such a young age, she was taught by his mother Good." Jia Mu smiled and praised the excellent children taught by Zili.

Mrs. Zhang knew that Mrs. Jia was a well-rounded and eloquent person. Mrs. Zhang followed Mrs. Jia's words: "It's my wife who praised my second aunt. She said that Zhu Er is something to be made, and she will definitely be able to stand out in the future." Zhang and Jia's mother praised each other, and then Zhang explained the purpose of coming, saying that Wang Ziteng would take care of Jia Zhu, a nephew.Waiting for Zhu'er to come, Mrs. Tang wanted to pick him up to stay at the house for a few days so that she could get close to her little grandson.