Emperor Kangxi sent me to marry

Chapter 272
Early the next morning, Haifeng stood under the plaque of "Jingyi Hall" written by Kangxi himself to greet the female guests.

Ji Lan stood next to her and helped look after the children, feeling quite sorry for Zhong Jihai's unexplained absence.

"Don't think wrongly when I say this. She doesn't know where she is, she has a shadow of you when you were a child. I'm obviously by your side, but when you encounter difficulties, you don't want to come to Eni first and always solve it yourself. So although she is rude, I can't dislike her. I thought that when she goes out to meet people today, she will slowly start to look like a little girl."

"Don't worry, Enie. She may not come."

Duobu also wanted to keep his filial piety. This banquet was extremely low-key. The male guests only invited a few ministers with whom Dobu had a good relationship in the south study room. The female guests were their family members, as well as Haifeng’s usual A very good member of the clan.

Anjun Prince Fujin came with the second young lady of the Mingzhu family. When he saw that there was no one around Haifeng, he smiled slightly.

"These children of the prairie have such a bad temper. Thank you for your troubles in arranging for me to come here. You set up a big stage and perform an empty city strategy?"

"Fu Jin, just wait a little longer. I always have a feeling that today is a good day and everything goes well."

"Princess has always been clever and clever. I just obey her orders. The young lady in our house has her own car. She can't tell when she will come."

Haifeng knew that she was talking about Guo Luoluo Gege, the future Bafujin, so he squeezed her hand to express his understanding, and they understood each other tacitly.

Anjun Wang Fujin left an enigmatic smile and walked in to rest.

As the time for the banquet got closer and closer, the guests arrived one after another.When Haifeng thought he had made a rare miscalculation, Zhong Jihai suddenly came.

It's still the same Mongolian outfit as yesterday, just with a different color scheme.

Standing next to Haifeng, calm and composed.

"I'm here to see the orphan girl you mentioned. She hasn't come yet, so I won't come."

Ji Lan asked Zhong Jihai gently:
"You also know that Guo Luoluo Gege has not arrived?"

Haifeng watched the interaction between her mother and Zhong Jihai with great interest, feeling that her mother's care for her these days was by no means in vain.

When Zhong Jihai talked to his mother, his demeanor was obviously much more relaxed than that of others.

"I don't know, but since she is like me, she must be the last one to arrive."

This answer brought back many real childhood memories of Haifeng.

Without the company and protection of his parents, an orphan is extremely conspicuous in this situation.

Haifeng used to be the same. If she could not participate in such activities, she would not participate. If it was mandatory to participate in activities in the orphanage, then she would be stuck at the start time and be the last one to arrive.

Because I arrived too early, I had to greet other guests.

What should she say?

She doesn't like to be miserable, nor does she like to be pitied inexplicably.

She just wants to be treated as a normal person, nothing more.

It's not her fault that she has no father or mother.

Zhong Jihai's side face showed a bit of childishness despite his determination.

Haifeng understood what his mother just said.

"Then, let me ask you a few more questions. The man Guo Luoluo Gege wants to marry is the man she likes. Although my eighth brother is not the most outstanding among the princes, he has always been very popular with women. Guo Luoluo Gege Now he has been decreed by Khan Amma and designated as his blessing. Logically speaking, he should feel that he is so glorious that he came here earlier to accept everyone's congratulations and show off."

Zhong Jihai tilted his head and thought for a while, then suddenly reached out and pulled Haifeng to the corner to talk.

"Look carefully at the jewelry on her body."

Haifeng already knew the answer to the mystery, but it was not easy for Zhong Jihai to guess it at his age.

Is a malleable talent.

"The girl is really amazing."

Zhong Jihai showed a slightly proud look on his face and stood back to his original position.

Just as they were whispering, Guo Luoluo Gege, dressed in a newly made scarlet embroidered flag uniform, accompanied by four personal maids and two respectable women, entered the gate in great splendor.

"Greetings to the Fourth Princess."

Haifeng didn't care about Guo Luoluoge's extremely perfunctory actions, and returned the gift without saltiness, then introduced Zhong Jihai.

"This is the eldest daughter of Galdan of the Junggar tribe. Khan Ama asked her to stay in my palace temporarily."

Zhong Jihai greeted Guo Luoluoge according to Mongolian etiquette. Haifeng was surprised to find that Guo Luoluoge's response also followed Mongolian rules.

Now that all the guests had arrived, Haifeng asked his men to close the door and invite the women to sit down.

When Haifeng introduced Zhong Jihai to everyone, the little girl held her head high and her face still had that indifference that made people thousands of miles away.

But when Haifeng introduced the lady sitting on her right, Zhong Jihai almost collapsed.

"This is Prince Fujin of Anjun. She is the daughter of Tong Guogang, uncle of the state."

My uncle died heroically in the war against Junggar.Under Kangxi's deliberate publicity, almost everyone in the capital knew about this matter.

Although all the guests on today's occasion were carefully selected by Haifeng and had a close relationship with her, there were still quite a few who were waiting to see how Anjun Prince Fujin would react.

After all, this is the daughter of the enemy who killed her father!

Although Anjun Prince Fujin had never seriously studied Mongolian, he could probably guess what the fourth princess said just now by looking at Zhong Jihai's face. He smiled and nodded to Zhong Jihai.Then he took off a pair of heavy gold bracelets with roses from his wrists and put them on Zhong Jihai's wrists.

"Girl comes from the grassland, do you like these jewelry? I still have a few hairpins that I used frequently when I was young, but now that I am getting older, I don't dare to wear them. When will the girl put her hair in a bun and send it to you to wear?"

Even Haifeng, who had asked Prince Fujin of Anjun beforehand, was shocked by her kindness.

Is this step too big a step?
The first person at the table to react and speak out to calm the atmosphere was Guo Luoluoge.

Among these female guests, she is the one closest in age to Zhong Jihai.

"My aunt's hairpin is probably still the same one that was popular when I first entered the customs. Why don't we wear them interchangeably."

After saying that, he took off a pair of watermelon tourmaline drop-shaped earrings and put them on Zhong Jihai's ears.

Haifeng looked at the earrings. They were bright and distinct in red and green, with natural transitions between them. They were top-grade tourmalines and should be worth a lot of money.It seemed that Guo Luoluo came well prepared.

In this way, Zhong Jihai was accepted by this small social circle and became one of them.

After finishing the meal in harmony, Ji Lan offered to take Bing out to see the newly cultivated two-color peonies in the flower room.Guo Luoluoge knew clearly that the fourth princess was looking for her, so she excused herself from feeling dizzy and sat still.

The other person left behind was the pale-faced Zhong Jihai.

Guo Luoluo frowned, very dissatisfied with her presence.

"Why does the fourth princess leave outsiders here?"

"She doesn't quite understand Manchu. She hasn't started learning it seriously yet. She only understands a few daily sentences."

Then wouldn’t my generous gift be in vain?

Guo Luoluo gritted his teeth and discussed the betrothal gift and dowry with Haifeng.

"No matter what the Ministry of Internal Affairs sends, it will have to be carried back to the Forbidden City on the day of the wedding. I know this. Grandma is teaching me the etiquette to be performed on that day. But the personal clothes I brought with me, can they not be included in the book?"

Haifeng looked at Axiang who was standing next to him, and told her to keep an eye on her surroundings and not to let anyone else hear her. "Gege, there are only a few months left for the divorce. Your marriage was arranged by me from beginning to end. You should also know that I also organized the marriage of your fifth brother and seventh brother. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been organizing it for more than ten years. Management. I have poisonous eyes. Don’t think wrongly. The royal family doesn’t care about your little gold and silver. You know who has emptied the princess’s dowry. "

"I don't know what the fourth princess is talking about."

"Except for the pair of earrings that I just gave to Zhong Jihai, there are not many real things on Gege. I suddenly want to treat a guest, why? I can't make enough money, so I can only buy fakes to make up for it? Dyeing with rainbow grass and Naosha, this red jade The Duobao Chuan is a good imitation.”

Guo Luoluoge was angry and annoyed. He regretted that he should not come here today, so he took off the fake jade and smashed it to the ground.

"Princess is treating me to a treat, so you plan to entertain me?"

"No, I want to save you."

Haifeng put several genuine items that had flowed into her pawn shop into a box beforehand, and now asked Shutai to return them to Guo Luoluogege.

"Your aunt doesn't know yet. Even if she knew, she wouldn't dare to take care of Gege's property. At this point in the marriage, it's absolutely impossible to take it back. But at least Gege has a plan. With the dowry you got, what will happen to the eighth brother in the future? If you're down and out, you both can live comfortably. But don't pay it all. You still have to rely on you to do needlework and support him in making friends outside and giving gifts."

"Huh. Thank you to the fourth princess for your kind words. I am not feeling well, so I will take my leave first."

Guo Luoluo didn't even look at the jewelry box in Shu Tai's hand and walked away proudly.

Leave it in a mess.

Zhong Jihai sat far away, watching the two of them quarrel, and their expressions gradually returned to normal.

"I only understand a little bit. She, I think, is in too deep and can't be saved."

"I know. Come on, let's talk somewhere else. It seems a little too stuffy here."

Fangfei in the world is April day.

March is the time when all things accumulate energy and are ready to go.

There are not too many colors, just a fresh green courtyard, which may not be worth seeing.

Haifeng took Zhong Jihai to walk in the spring light, broke a wicker stick and gave it to her.

"In Chinese, Liu and Liu have the same pronunciation. So breaking willows and giving them to each other means hoping that you can stay. Are you willing to stay in the princess's mansion, girl?"

"It's really interesting. Didn't you forcefully hold Danzila captive and force me to do this?"

"I have to bring you here first to show that I have no ill intentions."

"There is no malice. What does Tong Guogang's daughter and Fujin mean?"

"As long as she is willing not to care about your origin, no one in the capital will deliberately cause trouble for you. Only then can you go out to socialize and make friends."

Zhong Jihai took off the pair of tourmaline earrings and stopped wearing the bracelet.

"It would have been too rude to that Fujin if I refused in person just now. Please return it to them. I can't take these valuable jewelry. Abu has used up all the treasures in the family, and I have nothing, so I have no gift to give in return. . Actually, even if I give a hundred or a thousand pieces of jewelry to that Fujin as compensation, I still feel sorry for her."

From the moment Haifeng saw that Zhong Jihai wanted to marry Duobu, he knew that this little girl was fairly clear about right and wrong.

Even though Dobu did not kill Galdan with his own hands, the battle that determined the final outcome of the war was basically planned by Dobu.

If Zhong Jihai prefers her father, then she should hate Duobu very much.

"Yesterday, we were halfway through our conversation. Can you tell me why you want to marry my husband."

"The princess is far away in the capital. She has good food and good housing. She doesn't know what sheep tax is, right?"

"know."

"you know?"

Seeing that Zhong Jihai didn't believe it, Haifeng spoke eloquently.

"The salary offered in the yamen is meager, but from officials to yamen servants, they can live a prosperous life. This is because there are bad rules in the yamen. Selling salt can get you a salary, and selling errands to the yamen can get you a lack of money and paying consulting fees. These can be used in The income extorted from the wealthy areas in the south was no longer useful in Mongolia, so they tried their best to innovate and impose tea taxes and sheep taxes."

"Since you, a princess, know everything, why don't you explain it clearly to your emperor Abu and ask him to get rid of all these things? Don't you know that these are ordinary herdsmen's hard-earned money after hard work?"

Zhong Jihai's angry look made Haifeng sigh: The decadence of feudal society has reached its end, and even a little girl like her can see it.

"It's clear. It's because I know it that I used my connections and favors to ask Anjun Prince Fujin to treat you kindly in front of everyone."

"I don't know."

"It doesn't matter, I'll explain it to you slowly. The officials in the yamen are all imperial officials. The salary they get is not enough. Whether they want it or not, they have to blackmail the people in order to survive. I want to give them The salary will be increased, and then the sheep tax and tea tax on the grassland will be exempted. For this reason, I must get the support of Khan Amma, which can be said to be the best in Mobei."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I not only want to be exempted from these exorbitant taxes. I also want to build a cavalry that is more powerful than your army under Abu. I don't want to rely on the muskets of the Rakshasa Kingdom and be controlled by others all the time. I want to make my own guns and gunpowder." workshop. There are more than twenty or thirty things I want to do. If you want to say it, I can talk about it until tomorrow. How can one person accomplish these many things? Since you are determined, why don't you join forces with me? "

Prince Fujin of Anjun heard from the little girl who followed him that his niece was acting mischievously in the princess' mansion again. He felt helpless. While everyone was chatting in the flower room, he secretly walked out and apologized to the fourth princess.

She walked back to the Jingyi Hall where she had just had dinner. There was no one in the room, and all the broken jade scraps had been cleared away long ago.

"Don't Fujin like peonies?"

"Hey, why is the fourth princess here? I was shocked."

Haifeng walked over from behind Anjun Wang Fujin, without Zhong Jihai accompanying him.

"Thank you Fujin for your thoughtfulness today. Actually, you don't have to do this."

"How can I care about a child when I am such a big man? She is an orphan now, and she has nothing to lose. Every wrong has its owner, and every debt has its owner. If I were a man and could go into battle to kill the enemy, I would have fought with Galdan's real sword. Real gun, go for it with all your might. It’s a pity that I’m not the one. Comparing one’s feelings with one’s own, what could she have done when Galdan killed people?”

Prince Fujin of Anjun did not wait for the four princesses to express their gratitude and continued speaking very quickly:

"But, I am also a living person. Although I understand the truth, I never feel happy when I see her. From now on, the princess should not ask me to meet her again. The emperor has an order to treat Zhong Jihai kindly, and I dare not not obey it. Here's the thing How difficult it is, I hope the fourth princess will forgive me. Yu'er was rude just now, so please forgive me, the fourth princess."

Haifeng quickly expressed that he didn't mind and personally sent Duke An's Prince Fujin out of the princess' mansion.

When he was about to board the carriage, Prince Fujin of Anjun was still worried. He lifted up the curtain of the carriage and gave some advice:

"Mr. Dongguo saved the wolf, but was repaid with revenge. The fourth princess naturally means well, but I think that girl is gloomy and terrifying. You should be more careful!"

Haifeng was very moved and smiled and thanked him.

"Of course. The dagger of the old man Zang Qi has been prepared."

　The allusion between Mr. Dongguo and Zhongshan Wolf comes from the "Collected Works of Dongtian" in the Ming Dynasty. The general content is as follows:
　　The Mohist scholar Dong Guo saved a wolf that was about to be hunted by the powerful and hid it in his book bag.

　　When the crisis was over, the wolf tried to attack Dong Guo and eat him, arguing that this was the right thing to do.

　　After a fight, the two sides agreed to ask the three old men what to do.There was no old man in my hurry, so I asked an old apricot tree and an old cow first.

　　Both the tree and the cow thought that Dongguo should be eaten from the perspective that they were exploited by humans but not treated well.

　　Finally, an old man on crutches appeared, tricked the wolf into reentering the book bag, and then killed the wolf with a dagger, saving Dong Guo.

　　This story is generally used to warn against ignorance of right from wrong and abuse of compassion.

　　But when I saw the accusations made by Xingshu and Lao Niu, I felt that the author had a profound meaning. He also satirized the exploitation of feudal society (personal opinion).

　　
　
(End of this chapter)