Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 387 Baoyu wants to take the imperial examination

Inside Yunliang Pavilion,

Jia Lian looked at the table of delicious food in front of him and suddenly lost his appetite. Although he heard that Wang Xifeng was running a caravan at home and was planning to run some trade routes to earn some money, he seemed to have noticed that the people in the caravan had been doing this. When it comes to shopping, I still do the same business as before, going around to buy some selected things for the master of the house.

The people recruited by Wang Xifeng seemed to be calm. As for the fact that there was no movement in the house, the people inside must not know what they are doing, but recruiting so many people must not be a trivial matter.

It requires so many people to work, and the amount of purchases is really large, but where does the money come from?
Jia Lian has not really thought that Wang Xifeng dared to cling to the Luoyun Marquis Mansion and do business together. It is also to blame that Wang Xifeng was cautious. He did not say it clearly in order to make some private money. He kept it secret for so many days. Everyone thought that the second grandmother was busy setting up a caravan at the house. Those members of the Jia family who were employed did not discuss the matter. Instead, they talked about how long they worked and how much money they could get.

Jia Lian drank a bowl of porridge and asked unwillingly;
"Lai Wang, tell me the truth, what did those people do? I didn't hear anyone in the house talk about this matter. Why?"

Seeing the second master's face turn cold, Lai Wang smiled bitterly, wiped his face, and replied;
"Second Master, then you are embarrassing the younger one. The younger one is just a slave running errands. He sends messages to the Second Grandma and arranges the frame of the bicycle. How dare you ask about other things? Besides, those who work are discussing whether they can get it this month. How much money is given per month, I just listen to it for fun."

How could Lai Wang dare to say anything about his second mistress with his head lowered? If he was found out, he would have no chance of survival. Jia Lian did not ask again and was sulking there. Zhao'er beside him rolled his eyes and came over to ask;
"Second Master, Second Grandma has always been the housekeeper in the house, and she has always been strict. Second Master does not need to worry. I heard that Second Master has asked for two 'skinny horses' to show off his talents. He is indeed the Second Master. The kids are all very envious. .”

"That's right, that's right, as soon as the second master comes, let the little girls like Jiangnan know how powerful the second master is."

Lai Wang saw that Jia Lian's expression softened a little and echoed.

Jia Lian was touched by the two men's comments, and it was inevitable that he would feel complacent. He could easily deal with those little ladies.

"Okay, don't talk nonsense about what happened just now. When you get back, you have to hold the door shut."

"Yes, Second Master, I know."

"Don't worry, Second Master."

The two of them nodded in agreement.

Jia Lian is in a better mood. The reason is that Wang Xifeng is so strong. It's not just a day or two. He still relies on her for future money expenses. Don't ask, don't tell, just be happy.

While eating wine, I took a look outside and saw many figures galloping outside Yunliang Pavilion at the gate tower. The sound of horse hooves rumbled. It was already dark. What happened?

While I was wondering, someone outside the door shouted,
"Quick, come out and take a look. A large number of officers and soldiers are leaving the city. I don't know what's going on?"

"real or fake?"

"Did something happen outside?"

In Yunliang Pavilion, many patrons and students rushed out to watch. When Jia Lian saw it, his heart suddenly tightened and they all went out. Could it be that something happened in the camp.

With worries in my heart, I couldn't eat well, so I ordered;
"Stop eating, hurry up, pack up, go back and see what happened?"

The soldiers and the servants were stunned for a moment. When they heard the second master's urging, they put down their bowls and chopsticks and went out to prepare the carriage and horses. Jia Lian was worried and got on the carriage directly. A group of people hurriedly chased after them.

second floor,

Gong Huaiyu opened the window upstairs and couldn't understand the situation outside. The snow was falling so heavily and he was so anxious that he immediately closed the window after seeing it.

"Your Majesty, Jia Lian just left in a hurry. Many cavalrymen in the city also left the city to gather in the direction of the camp. It seems that the forbidden army has also returned to the old palace."

Commander Nan was outside the door, talking about the situation outside. Gong Huaiyu sat in the study and read the book. After hearing the words, he thought for a while, but still couldn't guess the intention of Marquis Luo Yun.

"Always keep an eye on us and report anything immediately."

"Yes, son."

The sound of leaving footsteps sounded outside the door.

And the camp of the Guards,

Zhang Jinyu stood on the building boat, staring at the school grounds. When he saw his soldiers arriving one after another, he ordered;

"Call the order, according to the way they came, the commanders of each battalion will start to take roll call, and everyone will board the ship immediately when they arrive."

"Yes, Lord Hou."

The guards around him were waving flags. After a while, various teams appeared on the school field to gather and organize, and then groups of soldiers began to board the ship.

After a while,
Under the building boat,

Eunuch Zhao, who was surrounded by people from the Imperial City Department and his face was steaming, ran into the water village. Seeing the exhausted expression on Eunuch Zhao's face, Zhang Jinyu didn't know that Mr. Zhao ran back in a hurry.
"Brother Zhao, you were negligent. Time was urgent and you didn't tell Eunuch Zhao in advance. I hope you will forgive me."

Zhao Si took a deep breath, got on the boat, and replied with a sigh;
"My Lord Marquis, this move will kill the Zajia family. It was still snowing heavily at night, and the Zajia family had to get off the hot kang. The journey was really hard."

After hearing Eunuch Zhao's complaints and getting off the hot bed, Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but take a few more glances. This old eunuch really knew how to enjoy himself, and he was going to bed so early.
"Brother Zhao, please wait a little longer and leave immediately after everyone gets on the boat without waiting for the snow to stop."

"What, so urgent? Lord Marquis, please give the Za family a message. Is there a secret order from the capital for Lord Marquis?"

Zhao Si immediately changed his expression, thinking it was a secret order from the emperor, and asked in a low voice.

Zhang Jinyu shook his head and denied;
"That's not true. It was my order to leave Jiangnan on time tonight!" Eunuch Zhao continued to ask with a look of disbelief on his face;
"Why is that? Lord Marquis, it's still snowing. It's such a cold day!"

"It is said that Eunuch Zhao has an exquisite heart with seven orifices. Why can't he understand it? Do you still remember what happened at White Deer Academy today?"

Zhang Jinyu didn't explain it either. He just pointed it out with words. Some things couldn't be said clearly.

Eunuch Zhao squinted his eyes and thought about today's events. White Deer Academy was about to close down the academy. But wasn't this matter resolved? What else could happen? No!Academy, student, Enke.

Suddenly he thought that with Enke approaching, Jinling would be filled with scholars from all over the Yangtze River. Thinking of those people, Zhao Si couldn't help but feel a little disgusted. If the people in the academy were not dissatisfied, there would be disaster. He sighed,
"The Marquis is very considerate. It would be better for us to leave early. Thank you very much, Mr. Zajia, for reminding us."

Zhao Si took a step back and gave the Marquis a salute. Zhang Jinyu quickly stretched out his hand to hold him back, still complaining;
"Brother Zhao, you're welcome. I think for my own sake and don't want to get involved in any more disputes within the civil service, so I'd better take the best option."

"The Marquis is indeed benevolent and righteous. The Za family has accepted this love. The Marquis is busy first while the Za family goes back to tidy things up."

"Brother Zhao, please."

After speaking, Eunuch Zhao and his men hurriedly got off the building boat and returned to the camp. He directed the people under his command to take the poles and ropes and began to carry large and small boxes to the building boat. It's worth a lot of money.

Ning Bian came over and whispered;
"Master Marquis, it seems that Eunuch Zhao's trip was not in vain. Take a look at those boxes. There are a lot of good things!"

Zhang Jinyu raised her eyes and looked at the tent on the east side of the camp. Mr. Zhao ordered people to carry many boxes from inside, which looked quite heavy. There were also many people holding antique calligraphy and paintings in their arms.

really,

When it comes to confiscating homes, these old eunuchs from the Imperial City Department are very powerful. There is no way to hide anything from them.
"Ningbian, can you estimate how much money those things are worth?"

"This time, Lord Marquis, there is no fixed number for those things. Any number will do, but if the eunuch cares about them, they must be worth the money."

"That's right, these dead eunuchs, from ancient times to the present, have been the ones who want money rather than their lives."

Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but murmured in a low voice. Ning Bian lowered his head and said nothing, unable to hear the words.

"Okay, who else is not here?"

Seeing that there were only a few people on the campus, it must have been almost gone, so Zhang Jinyu asked, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

Ningbian arranged for the flag soldiers around him to start asking questions and wave flags. After a while, each ship called back flags one after another. After receiving the signal,

Ning Bian came back and said,
"Master Marquis, all the boats are here. Commander Lu has already taken the pilot boat out of the water village and is waiting on the canal. It's just the boat No. [-] behind us that reports. Jia Lian and his party are going out this afternoon. Didn’t you come back?”

"What, where did they go?"

"Back to the Marquis, I didn't say anything."

"While waiting for a stick of incense, if they don't come let them go by themselves, with the Xue family!"

"Yes, Lord Hou!"

Rongguo Mansion in the west courtyard of the Jia family,

Everyone had eaten smoked barbecue during the day to satisfy their cravings. Jia Mu was so happy that she left Mrs. You behind and had dinner together in the hall.

Wang Xifeng did not leave, she always stayed at the old lady's place to serve the whole family.

Jia Baoyu didn't talk much in recent days. Instead, he stayed quietly all afternoon, which made Sanchun pay some attention and joked,
"Baoyu, why are you so quiet today? Is it because the smoked barbecue doesn't taste good, so I'm embarrassed and can't speak."

"Yes, it's because Baoyu had an idea. I heard that Baoyu has been studying very hard these days,"

Only the second girl pursed her lips and smiled, looking at Baoyu's expression from time to time.

Wang Xifeng, with her eyes and ears in all directions, had already noticed Uncle Bao, and asked teasingly while the others were at the table.

"Baoyu, what happened today? Aren't you happy to tell your sister-in-law what happened?"

Jia Baoyu seemed to have come to his senses, looked over, smiled, and replied,
"Second sister-in-law, it's okay. I'm a little tired from studying my homework these days. I can't bear the noise, so I don't want to talk. I don't have anything else to do. As for the bacon that second sister-in-law brought today, Baoyu thinks it's okay."

When Jia Mu heard this, she looked over with distress, looked at Baoyu's haggard face, and asked the second wife;
"From the second child's house, I said that Baoyu has been listless these days, but he is good at reading. No matter what, we have to let him rest more and read the book slowly!"

The second wife felt distressed, but when she thought of Jia Zheng, she looked helpless.

"What mother said is true, but for some reason, the Enke exam is about to start this year, and the master wants to let Baoyu take the child exam, so in recent days, he has been supervising Baoyu to study every day, so it is inevitable that he will be a little tired."

"Oh, this year it's Enke's turn to take the exam. Time flies so fast. My old lady doesn't even know how old she is. The exam is a good thing, Yuanyang. Remember to give Baoyu half of the ginseng sent by the Hou Mansion. Send it over and make up for it, this year's Enke is also very important, it doesn't hurt to give Baoyu a try."

Jia's mother was originally trying to comfort her, but she never thought it was Enke's fault. She actually changed her story and asked the mandarin duck to send ginseng. Naturally, Baoyu had a sad face. When Wang Xifeng's eyes turned, he knew that it was the old lady who wanted to do something for her. Uncle Bao didn't interrupt, but he talked about Jia Lian.
"The ancestors are still thoughtful. Uncle Bao works so hard. Maybe this time at least the child will be fine, which is much better than Jia Lian."

Hearing Wang Xifeng's praise, the face of the second wife, Mrs. Wang, showed a touch of kindness.
"Thank you for your concern, mother. Girl Feng's mouth feels like honey."

(End of this chapter)