Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 408 What does the Wu family want?
Luoyunhou Mansion,

outside the main entrance,
Zhang Jinyu groped his chin, still thinking about the Wu family. Wu Shiqi, the Xicheng military commander, turned out to be a member of the Wu family.

Concubine Wu's natal family in the palace didn't seem to be a noble, and she didn't hear any decent generals, but rather a civil servant. She looked at Wei Yong, who was still waiting for orders.

Zhang Jinyu waved her hand,
Let Wei Yong return home first and said,
"Wei Yong, you go back to the mansion first and keep an eye on the Marquis Mansion. You don't need to ask any more about this matter."

"Yes, Lord Marquis, I will go back first."

After Wei Yong clasped his fists and resigned, he left.

Zhang Jinyu looked at the guards behind him and ordered,

"Ningbian, take three hundred brothers with you, take the token of the Marquis Mansion, and go directly to the Xicheng Bingma Division Dalao to arrest the people. Whoever is captured will be released. Of course, they will be treated first and then the soldiers. As for any other purpose, they will be brought back. We’ll talk about it later, maybe it’s not for us, but the Xue family’s matter is at the top of my head, so I have to ask, do you understand?”

"Back to the Marquis, I will finally understand that it's just the Marquis. If Lord Wu disagrees, I'm afraid it will be troublesome to sue the Marquis about this matter."

"Well, that's right, so I let you go there, and whoever catches it will release it."

"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, the general will know what to do."

Ningbian no longer hesitated, and rescued people like putting out fire. He led the people to rein in their horses, turned around and went straight to the Xicheng Bingma Si Yamen.

Just as Zhang Jinyu was about to enter the mansion, Jia Lian's shout came from behind him,
"Master Hou, Master Hou, wait."

Hearing the shouts, Zhang Jinyu turned around and looked behind her, only to see Jia Lian chasing after him on horseback in a panic. She didn't know she thought she was being chased, so she stopped and waited for Jia Lian, and also wanted to ask when he entered the city. What happened.

Jia Lian arrived at the gate of the Hou Mansion, reined in his horse, jumped down, and said hurriedly;

"Master Marquis, don't be in a hurry to go back. I dare to ask Master Hou when we can let cousin Lin Daiyu go to Rongguo Mansion. Jia Lian doesn't dare to forget the old lady's instructions. No, Brother Yu doesn't even dare to go back to the mansion."

Looking at Jia Lian's pitiful look, although it is a bit ridiculous, what he said must be true. Now that Lin Daiyu is a member of the Hou Mansion, how can she still care about the affairs of the Rongguo Mansion?

"Yu'er still needs to make a decision on this matter. Second brother Lian, if you report the matter to the old lady truthfully, I won't blame you. Also, you and the Xue family came back at the same time, but what happened? ?”

"Well, what do you mean, Mr. Hou? I waited until I got to the pier and got off the boat. Because the road was different, I took a step ahead. As for Aunt Xue and her family, they left last because they had too many luggage and carriages, but they left What happened?"

Jia Lian still didn't know why. Aunt Xue and her family were walking fine. How could something happen at such a close distance? She still didn't know the way.

Only then did Zhang Jinyu understand that it turned out that no one was following him, and there was no way to guide him. No wonder he was troubled by the soldiers and horses at the gate of the capital. He was just for money, and when he met a guy like Xue Pan, he deserved it. Unlucky family,

"It's okay. I just want to ask. Brother Lian, don't be polite. In this case, I'll go in and ask. If Yu'er wants to go, she can go there today. Do you think it's feasible?"

Jia Lian was overjoyed and quickly agreed and stood outside the door waiting.

Zhang Jinyu found a step for Jia Lian to climb down, entered the Hou Mansion, and headed to Dongyun Tower.

Beijing,

Wu's old house,

Wu Shiyuan, the eldest son of the Wu family, met an old man in the hall and stood back. The two sat opposite each other, which seemed a bit mysterious. They talked in a low voice.
"Master Wu, you are really serious about your work. You still insist on checking official documents in such a cold weather. You are a model for a courtier."

The old man in gray clothes held a tea bowl and said with a half-smile.

Wu Shiyuan waved his hand, stared at the old man, and smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Mr. Fan is making fun of the old man. Now that he is doing his job well, there is no time left to think about other things. These are all old accounts, and it is useless to look at them. Mr. Fan, a man of knowledge does not speak secretly. Prince Zheng It’s fine over there.”

King Zheng's confidant Fan Wenhai laughed, looked at Wu Shiyuan's insincere expression, shook his head, and sighed,
"Hey, they all say that Mr. Wu is an old fox who hides his secrets. It is true when we see him today. Prince Zheng is doing well in his fiefdom now and is strong. He still wants to share the worries of the Supreme Emperor and the court, but he has been trapped in The ancestors cannot return to the capital, so Master Wu still needs to contact the courtiers for these matters, which takes a lot of trouble."

Looking at the eloquent Manager Fan, Wu Shiyuan was not in a hurry. He took the teapot and poured tea for Manager Fan himself. He poured the tea slowly along the teapot until the tea bowl was filled with water. The tea naturally overflowed. Watching this scene , Fan Wenhai narrowed his eyes and asked,

"When the water is full, it will overflow. What do you mean, sir? If you have something to say, you can just say it. You know, as long as you help, Prince Zheng will not be stingy."

After finishing speaking, he took out a 10 tael of silver notes and placed it on the corner of another table.
continued;

"As long as Mr. Wu helps, these are just greeting gifts. I will definitely thank you deeply when the matter is completed."

Wu Shiyuan then put down the tea bowl, looked at the stack of banknotes, smiled, reached over, took it in his hand and rubbed it carefully.

"Your Majesty still values ​​friendship and never forgets the court. But have you heard what Butler Fan said before?"

"Oh, Sir Wu, please speak, Fan is all ears."

Wu Shiyuan came over and whispered,

"Everything needs to be planned slowly, too much is too much. The old man has long said that first let the prince go to the capital for activities, and then try to contact the Supreme Emperor. When the situation stabilizes, all the kings will submit a memorial and request to reconcile the relationship between father and son, and then they will go to the capital together. Now that the crown prince is still here, he wants to go to Beijing. Isn't it too conspicuous?"

Fan Wenhai smiled bitterly.

"Master Wu is right. It is true that the prince is anxious and some things are not done carefully enough. However, the eldest son Zhou Zhengbai is on his way to the capital now. Sir Wu needs to be careful when he arrives in the capital. The prince will wait patiently."

"It's easy to say. Don't make any announcements when you come. Let's see how others react. It must be more than just Prince Zheng who wants to share the worries of the court."

Wu Shiyuan's smile was meaningful. Fan Wenhai did not answer, but stood up and bowed.
"Then thank you, sir, for your advice. Fan will not interrupt me anymore and I will say goodbye."

"Steward Fan, please excuse me." Wu Shiyuan did not get up to see him off, and allowed Fan Wenhai to leave.
a little

A woman came out of the back room behind her and asked,

"Master, can these people do it?"

"Well, don't ask, I have my own thoughts in my heart. My daughter entered the palace and wanted to spend her whole life, but now she has nothing to do for so long. It seems that the emperor had an idea when he succeeded to the throne. Now the harem is actually No one is pregnant anymore, the old Wu family feels sorry for their daughter."

Wu Shiyuan had a gloomy look on his face and murmured, the woman was also in tears and cried;;
"Now that the deal is done, what should we do?"

"Yes, I can't get out now even if I think about it. Earlier, I went to Xuanzhen Temple outside the city to find Jia Jing and see my old friend, but I never thought in my dreams that I would see the shadow of His Highness there. , they are exactly the same, the Wu family owes His Highness too much, so we can only do our best."

Madam didn’t dare to ask anymore, she knew who Her Highness was that her husband was talking about, but, hey
While the couple was silent,

In the courtyard,
Wu Shiqi rode anxiously to the Wu family's old house, got off the horse and went straight to the study. Unexpectedly, his eldest brother was not in the study, and then he ran back to the main room.
Without knocking on the door, he pushed the door open and walked in, shouting,

"Brother, brother, I have something to say."

Wu Shiyuan gave his wife a wink, and she nodded, got up and walked into the house. She waited until she could no longer be seen before saying,

"Come in, why are you so flustered? What's going on? Aren't you at the Yamen?"

"Yes, big brother, wait a minute, little brother, take a drink of water first."

Wu Shiqi was not polite. He picked up the teapot and drank directly from it. After quenching his thirst, he said,
"Brother, at the West City Gate today, my men captured the eldest son of the Xue family, Xue Pan, who had just entered Beijing. However, the boy was so arrogant that he relied on his uncle to be arrogant and insisted that his sister was married to Luo Yun. Hou, do you think it’s funny or not?”

Wu Shiyuan, who was still thinking about King Zheng, suddenly turned around when he heard his second brother talking about Marquis Luo Yun and asked,

"Who did you just talk about? Marquis Luo Yun?"

"Yes, yes, brother, that guy said that his sister entered the Hou Mansion and was extremely arrogant. I was thinking about the Xue family entering the capital. Can I start from the Xue family to deal with the people on Xungui's side?"

"Confused."

Looking at his second brother who had some whimsical ideas, Wu Shi was very energetic. Now that all the princes and princes are coming to the capital one after another, and Marquis Luo Yun suddenly comes back, it must be that the emperor has noticed something is wrong. It is unwise for you to provoke him again, so he scolded him. ;

"You, go back quickly, release the person, and finish this matter cleanly. You must not attract the attention of Xungui."

"Brother, didn't you say that Minister Shen and Minister Xiao still want to take advantage of the nobles and prepare to make some fuss about it? Why don't we do it now that we have them?"

Wu Shiqi was a little confused as to why he gave up such a good opportunity.

"Hmph, don't even think about it. How many of your heads are at odds with Marquis Luo Yun? There is no smoke without fire. What if what this person says is true? How will you deal with the aftermath? The Wu family will not be involved in the affairs of civil servants and nobles, and you will not be involved. Stop contacting there and go quickly."

"Yes, brother, go back now."

Wu Shiqi lost his excitement and had to turn around and leave. Looking at his second brother, Wu Shiyuan shook his head helplessly and sighed.

Wu Shiqi was walking halfway. He thought for a moment that he might encounter someone when he went back, which would be troublesome. He rolled his eyes and said to the long follower behind him,
"You, take my general's token, go back to the Yamen first, and tell the deputy general to release the Xue family master. I will not go if I have anything else to do, and you guys will follow."

"Yes, sir."

The men under my command took the token and returned to the Yamen. Behind them, there were personal guards who came forward to inquire.

"Master, where are we going now?"

"Where to go, of course I'm going back to my hometown. Of course I can't go to the Yamen. I'm not afraid of ten thousand just in case. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to meet someone I know? Naturally, I won't be so unwise."

Wu Tongzhi turned the horse's head and prepared to go directly back to the mansion.

The guards behind him were naturally impressed and said in unison,
"Master is wise."

"Haha, let's go back."

Luoyunhou Mansion,

Dongyun Tower, inside the east room.

Seeing someone going to rescue her son Xue Pan, Aunt Xue stopped crying. Wang Xifeng took the opportunity to speak and was about to stand up and leave, wanting to go back to Rongguo Mansion. Unexpectedly, just as she was about to speak, she was stopped by Lin Daiyu;
"Second sister-in-law, Yu'er wants to ask you something. Is my mother's former boudoir still there?"

Wang Xifeng was suddenly asked about this matter, and was stunned for a moment. After a little daze, he smiled and replied,

"Of course, my aunt's yard has always been kept by the old lady. After cleaning it in the early years, she lowered the doors and windows and sealed the yard. I thought that one day my aunt would come back and open it again so that I could have a place to stay."

What a coincidence. When Lin Daiyu heard this, she shed tears again when she thought of her mother's face. Wang Xifeng hurriedly comforted her.

"Oh, look, it's all the fault of the second sister-in-law. She doesn't open the pot and pick up the pot. But my aunt's courtyard is always there. If my sister wants to go and see it, she can always go there."

When Wang Xifeng saw Lin Daiyu crying sadly, she could only comfort her, but Lin Daiyu suddenly wiped her tears and said,

"Mother, I want to visit Rongguo Mansion and stay there for a while."

(End of this chapter)