Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 846: Beijing King Gives Rosary
Ningguo Mansion,
In the early morning, with guests seeing off and officials welcoming, it was extremely lively, needless to say.

At dawn, the auspicious time had arrived. Because Jia Jing was a Taoist, he invited 164 people in blue clothes to summon the spirit. On the memorial tablet in front of him was written:
"The coffin of Jia Jingzhi, a first-class scholar of the Hanlin Academy, at the tomb of Ningguo Duke in the Yuanfeng Year of Fengtian."

All the furnishings were newly made, all bright and dazzling, and there were also many Taoist items, which were not bought but were moved from the things Jia Zhen used for his Taoist practice in Tianxiang Tower. Although they looked insignificant, they cost a lot of money, and there were account books to record them.

There was banging outside.

That is, along with the sound, the reminder, the time for awakening the spirit is approaching. At this time, several stewards from the Duke's Mansion came, holding the invitation from the Duke's Mansion and coming with their personal guards. There were also old noble relatives, all of whom were dressed in bright armor and official robes and formal clothes, as if they were going to court.

The rest, nobles with idle official positions, wore the robes of idle officials. I don't know if it was arranged in advance.
At this time,
Zhang Jinyu also came in a carriage with his personal soldiers, but he was not wearing an official uniform. He was wearing a set of tight clothes with a golden silk soft armor inside, and he came eastward.

I walked slowly, passed a few street corners, turned a corner, and arrived at Ningrong Street. I could hear the bustling noise from far away.

When I entered the street, I realized that it was not only busy, but also too crowded, blocking the road and making it difficult to enter.

"My Lord, there are too many sedan chairs and carriages ahead, and we can't squeeze in."

Ning Bian stood on his horse and looked ahead. Not only the carriages, but even the sedan chairs could not move. Obviously, many people came.

Zhang Jinyu heard this, lifted the curtain and peeked outside. Sure enough, the number of guests coming and going was really eye-opening. Most of them were unfamiliar faces, but of course there were some familiar ones, such as the carriage frame of the Xiangyang Marquis Mansion in front. After taking a look, he had a plan in mind.

"Get off the carriage, leave a few people to watch the horses and carriages, and we will go to the front and pull the Marquis of Xiangyang over."

"Uh, it's the Marquis."

Ning Bian waved his hand, and a large number of personal soldiers behind him dismounted. A captain and a few others were left to watch the carriages and horses, while the rest of the people followed the figure of the Marquis and walked over.
Not far away, Zhang Jinyu walked to the side of Xiangyang Hou's carriage and knocked on the window.
"Brother Bai, you are sitting comfortably. There are so many cars and horses, why don't you hurry up and get there?"

Seeing Marquis Luo Yun's voice coming from outside, Marquis Xiangyang Bai Guangju in the carriage reached out and lifted the curtain, saying with a smile;
"It's not time yet, why are you in such a hurry, my Lord? Come up and have a chat."

"Of course."

Since it was not time yet, Zhang Jinyu did not hesitate to lift the curtain and got on the carriage. He did not hesitate to sit down as soon as he entered and asked;
"The two princesses in the capital are moving. Have they given you an invitation?"

Bai Guangju wanted to talk about Ningguo Mansion, but Luo Yunhou asked about the two princesses right after he came up. It seemed that he had also accepted the invitation. It was interesting. Those two masters were not easy to serve.

"My Lord actually knows about this. I have received the invitation, but today, the Ningguo Mansion's matter is more important, so of course we will focus on this. After we are done, we can ask the people in the mansion to send some gifts to the two princesses' mansions."

Marquis Xiangyang shook his head. The capital city is not what it used to be. If the two princesses return to the capital and don't know how to restrain themselves, they may not be able to come back next time.

"Haha, Brother Bai said it well. I don't know what the two princesses were thinking. They decided to hold the housewarming party today. Not only does it conflict with this place, but the time is set at 15:30. If you don't know, you would think they are going to see the King of Hell."

Zhang Jinyu really couldn't figure out what was going on here. Was it related to the Jia Mansion? After all, the time of Jia Jing's burial in Ningguo Mansion had also been changed.
"My Lord, the more you talk, the clearer it becomes. No one knows what the two princesses are thinking. The change in time by Ningguo Mansion is probably a coincidence. The longer it is delayed, the more worried the Jia Mansion will be. That should be the case."

Bai Guangju's guess was actually pretty close to the truth. The old lady of Rongguo Mansion, Lady Jia, just wanted to suppress the matter and save time to contact her noble relatives and hold a grand wedding for everyone in the capital to see. But as the saying goes, things will change over time, so the shorter the time, the better. In this way, it is not difficult to understand why the time was changed from seven days to four days.

It might be a coincidence that the two princesses' housewarming celebrations happened to coincide with each other, but it was too coincidental. Just as Marquis Luo Yun said, the banquets were held before noon, so how could they be held at 3:30 pm? Could it be that the nobles knew about this in advance and allowed them to interfere with the Ningguo Mansion? Perhaps, it is not impossible.
After all, the two princesses were not easy to deal with. At that time, the capital was full of complicated forces. The two princesses wandered between the aristocratic families and the nobles. They got enough benefits. Each of them had a gold nugget in their hands. Over the years, they should have saved a lot.
Zhang Jinyu touched his chin and stared at Bai Guangju's face. Seeing that he was still thinking, he was a little unconvinced. How did he say it? Too many coincidences, isn't it just a reasonable arrangement? Thinking of this, Zhang Jinyu became curious.
The people who came today had some particularities.
"Cheng, Brother Bai, if you say it's a coincidence, then it's a coincidence. Many of the people who came today are strangers. How come I haven't seen them before? Look over there."

Zhang Jinyu lifted the curtain and pointed to the entrance of Ning Mansion. A group of people, tall, short, fat and thin, walked in one after another. Bai Guangju looked around and found that they were all acquaintances. He was afraid that only the Marquis didn't know them, so he introduced them to them.
"It's reasonable that the Marquis doesn't know. They are all idle officials. The taller one is Qiu Liang, grandson of Qiu Zheng, Marquis of Jingtian. He is currently the deputy general of the Sizhou Prefecture Army and is stationed in Sizhou. The other one is Jiang Zining, grandson of Jiang Yun, Marquis of Pingyuan. He is the deputy general of Hongnong City and is stationed in Hongnong City. As for the short one, he is Xie Cheng, grandson of Xie Liang, Marquis of Dingcheng. He is the guerrilla general of the Beijing Camp Navy."

Bai Guangju knew all the noble families in the capital very well. He knew who it was at a glance. Zhang Jinyu couldn't help but look at him a few more times. He was indeed a good man among the nobles. Not many people could do this. Besides, there were so many marquises in the capital, but only a few came to the banquet in the Honglu Temple last night. These people who were hiding didn't show their true colors or hide their incompetence.
There is also the name Qiu Zheng, Xie Liang, put together, doesn't it mean to seek to rectify one's conscience? But the name Qiu Liang seems familiar, but I couldn't remember it for a moment.

At this time,
Suddenly, a cannon shot was heard in Ningguo Mansion, followed by the sound of music and crying. Marquis Xiangyang's ears moved and he said,
"My Lord, the spirit has been awakened. Let's get off the car."

"it is good,"

After saying that, the two of them got off the car one after another and walked towards the gate of Ning Mansion. Once the spirit is awakened, someone needs to follow, which is also the local rule in the capital.

The person in front of him was Jia Rong, who was carrying a coffin and looked extremely sad. He was dressed in mourning clothes and holding a soul-calling banner as he walked in front. Behind him were a group of Jia family members and their descendants. Behind them were the wives, both young and old, crying and wailing. Finally, it was Jia Zheng and Jia She who began to greet their relatives and friends and followed behind.

At that time, officials and guests who came to see off the funeral included the Duke of Zhenguo, the Duke of Liguo, the Duke of Qiguo, the Duke of Zhiguo, the Duke of Xiuguo, the Duke of Shanguo, and the chief stewards of each mansion all gathered, but because his eldest grandson was stationed at the border, he was unable to come.

These six families and the Ning and Rong families were called the "Eight Lords" at that time.

Others include Langlin, grandson of Prince of Nan'an, Gong Huaiyu, Prince of Xining, Shi Ding, Marquis of Zhongjing, Hu Jianglin, Marquis of Huaiyuan, Duan Kaihua, Marquis of Dongchuan, Liao Daping, Marquis of Jinxiang, Yin Changsong, Marquis of Yining and others, all of whom are here.

The rest were mostly Yu Lishan, the Earl of Shoushan, Li Chunsheng, the Earl of Anping, Yue Qingwen, the Earl of Yongchang, etc., as well as the sons of General Shenwu, Feng Ziying, Chen Yejun, Wei Ruolan and other princes, too numerous to count.

There were dozens of large sedan chairs and thirty or forty small sedan chairs for the guests in the hall. Together with the family's cars of all sizes, there were no less than a hundred vehicles.

Including the various deacons, displays, and performances in front, it was a grand procession, stretching over a distance of three or four miles.

These things, not to mention the people of the capital, even the Marquis of Xiangyang was secretly amazed when he saw them, not to mention Zhang Jinyu, who kept muttering in his heart, the Jia family actually has such power, are they really powerful, or are these nobles trying to express something to the palace, looking at the number of people, those who can come and those who can't come, all came, it's too big a move,
Just like that, we traveled eastwards.
After leaving Ningrong Street,

After walking for a while, we saw colorful tents erected on the roadside, banquets set up, and music played, all of which were roadside sacrifices by various families:

The first one is the sacrificial shed of Prince Dongping's Mansion, the second one is the sacrificial shed of Prince Nan'an, the third one is the sacrificial shed of Prince Xining, and the fourth one is the sacrificial shed of Prince Beijing. Seeing these, it must have been prepared by the four princes long ago, especially the Northern Palace, which has made great contributions. After the Eastern Palace left the capital for a period of time, the nobles in the city mostly listened to the leadership of the Northern Palace. Therefore, among the four princes, although the Northern Palace is not strong, its reputation is comparable to the sum of the other three. For a while, only the Ning Palace's funeral was seen with a grand ceremony, coming from the north like a mountain of silver pressing down the ground.

Another intersection passed.
I saw several sacrificial sheds being built and arranged in order. They were the sacrificial sheds of the Zheng Wang Mansion, the Han Wang Mansion, the Song Wang Mansion, the Chen Wang Mansion, and the Wu Wang Mansion. Several princes had already led people to wait here.
I don't know when I met him. Prince Beijing Shui Rong also came early and stood with several princes, chatting with them. However, the princes of the royal palaces were secretly looking at Prince Beijing. They all said that Prince Beijing Shui Rong had great skills. But after seeing him today, I found that this person was handsome and modest, and didn't seem like a treacherous and evil person. Could they have made a mistake?

It seemed like they had the same idea. They could only communicate with their eye contact. After waiting for a long time, Qi Ling's team arrived, but Dong Wang Mu Shi was not there. Why?

On both sides of the team, there were trusted servants from Rongguo Mansion who were in charge and kept watch at all times. When they saw Prince Beijing coming, someone went to inform Jia Zheng and Jia She.
Jia She hurriedly ordered his men to stay in front, and together with Jia Zheng, they hurriedly welcomed Shui Rong and greeted him with state etiquette. Shui Rong bowed and smiled in return in the sedan chair, still treating him as an old friend and not acting arrogantly. With so many people watching, they still had to do the right thing.

Jia She wiped the sweat from his forehead and said:
"How can I bear the loss of Ning Mansion, and how can I be honored by your presence?"

Shui Rong saw that the two were so reserved, but he didn't take it seriously. He looked at the crowd again and saw many nobles coming uninvited, including Marquis Xiangyang and Marquis Luo Yun. It was true that the nobles in the world were one family. He smiled and said:
"How can you say such a thing when we are friends of the past generations?"

He then turned around and ordered the officials in the mansion to preside over the sacrifice. After Jia She and others returned the greetings, he turned around and came to express his gratitude again.

Shui Rong was very modest. He looked around and didn't see Mu Shi from the East Palace. It seemed that if he didn't come now, he would not come again. Thinking about the special examination, the one from the Rongguo Palace failed. Could it be that Luo Yunhou did it on purpose, or the Ning and Rong Palaces were hiding their talents? So he asked Jia Zheng, "Which one is the one who was born with a treasure? I have wanted to see him several times, but was always blocked by the crowd. I thought he would come today. Why not invite him in for a while?"

When Jia Zheng heard this, he was at a loss for a moment. How could the Prince of Beijing care about Baoyu when he had been raised in the mansion? Now he wanted to see him, wasn't it inappropriate? Seeing that Jia Zheng was indifferent, Jia She hurriedly said,

"Your Majesty, please wait a moment. I will find him here."

He hurried back and ordered Baoyu to take off his mourning clothes and bring him forward.

At this time, Jia Baoyu had just changed his clothes and was pulled over without knowing what was going on. He looked confused and had not yet recovered. Zhang Jinyu, who was left behind, looked a little confused and asked;

"Brother Bai, what's going on? Why is Prince Beijing doing all this nonsense? Just go to the funeral, and we can talk about everything after we get back. Why are you putting on such a big show? Who else would you like to invite over to take a look?"

"Ahem, Lord, be careful with your words. Prince Beijing is here for the sake of the overall situation."

Bai Guangju, Marquis of Xiangyang, quickly pulled Marquis Luo Yun by the hand. How could he say such words when so many people were watching?
I just looked over and didn't know what they were talking about, but I saw Jia Baoyu from the Rongguo Mansion, wearing new clothes and walking over. I was also confused.

Zhang Jinyu stared with wide eyes, wondering how Jia Baoyu could have gone there. Could it be that Prince Beijing took a liking to him and wanted to offer him a position?
In front of the team,

Jia Baoyu followed Jia She reluctantly and went over there, saying that he wanted to see Beijing Prince Shui Rong.

Although Baoyu had often heard his father, brothers, relatives and friends gossiping that Shui Rong was a wise king, and that he was born with both talent and beauty, and was elegant and unrestrained, he was not bound by official customs and national system.

So he had a good impression of him and always wanted to meet him, but his father was very strict and there was no way for him to meet him. Now he saw him coming to call him, but he was not happy about it. He didn't know if it was because of the fatigue from the past few days. As he walked, he caught a glimpse of Shui Rong sitting in the sedan chair, looking very majestic.

Shui Rong was wearing a white python robe with a five-clawed dragon pattern, a red sash with jade, and a white hat with silver wings on his head. His face was like a beautiful jade and his eyes were like stars. He was very proud.
Baoyu was not ignorant of the importance of others, and he knew a little about the ways of the world, so he rushed forward to pay his respects.

"Student Jia Baoyu greets His Majesty,"

Shui Rong quickly stretched out his hand to hold him. He saw Baoyu wearing a silver hair crown, a headband with a pattern of two dragons sailing out to sea, white python sleeves, and a silver belt with pearls. His face was as beautiful as a spring flower and his eyes were as bright as lacquer.

He is really the unicorn of Rongguo Mansion. My guess in my mind suddenly became clear. He is really good at hiding his incompetence.
"We are old relatives, so there is no need to be polite. Baoyu is worthy of his reputation. He is indeed like a 'treasure' and a 'jade'."

After hearing this, Baoyu raised his head and stood there respectfully.
Shui Rong then asked,

"Where is the treasure in your mouth? Can I see it?"

When Baoyu heard the question, he quickly took it out from his clothes and handed it to Shuirong. However, because it was not suitable for a scholar to wear it around his neck, the second wife tidied it up and hung it around his waist. Shuirong took it and looked at it carefully. He read the words on it and was surprised, so he asked:

"Is it effective?"

Jia Zheng shook his head and said hurriedly:

“That said, I’ve never tried it.”

Shui Rong was full of wonders while he arranged the ribbon and personally put it on Bao Yu. This jade was a rare treasure and there must be something important hidden inside it. He kept praising it.
"Cun Zhou, your son is truly a dragon colt and a phoenix cub. It is not that you are rude to the old man. In the future, his voice will be clearer than the old one. Who knows."

This praise made Jia Zheng a little flustered, and even Jia She smiled along. Jia Zheng said:
"How dare my son accept the gold medal? He was naughty when he was young, but now he has just finished his studies and understands a few things. It is a blessing for my generation to be so kind as Yu Zhen of Fan County said."

Shui Rong thought about it and thought, yes, this boy has not just come out today, he has seen many people, and then he said:

"There is only one thing. With your son's talent, I think the old lady and the ladies will naturally love him very much. But we young people should not indulge in him. If we indulge in him, we will inevitably neglect our studies. I once did the same thing, and I think your son may be the same. If your son can't study hard at home, you may come to my humble house often. Although I am not talented, I have been favored by many famous scholars from the sea who come to the capital. Therefore, my humble house is full of great people. If your son goes there often to talk, his knowledge will improve day by day."

I don't know why Prince Beijing said this today, but I think it's not a bad thing. Jia Zheng bowed and agreed.

"In that case, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Just finished thanking,
Shui Rong took off a string of prayer beads from his wrist, clenched them in his hand, and handed them to Baoyu, saying:
"Today is our first meeting, and we are so hasty that we don't have anything to offer as a gift. This item is a string of wagtail incense beads that the emperor personally gave me in the past. I am overstepping my authority and offering this gift as a gift of congratulations."

"this,"

Jia Baoyu was a little at a loss, not knowing whether to take it or not. Unfortunately, Shui Rong handed it to him. Baoyu had no choice but to take it quickly and turned around to present it to Jia Zheng.

When Jia Zheng saw the item in his hand, he knew he couldn't refuse, so he and Baoyu thanked him together.

Then Jia She, Jia Zheng and others came forward to ask for the carriage to be returned. Shui Rong waved his hand and said:

"The deceased has ascended to the immortal world, and is no longer one of us in this mortal world. Although I have received the grace of heaven and have been invited to inherit the county, how can I advance beyond the immortal carriage?"

Seeing that Shui Rong was determined not to obey, Jia She and others had to take their leave and thank the emperor for his kindness. They ordered their men to stop the music and finish the funeral. Only then did they let Shui Rong return to the carriage.

Others don't know how.

Zhang Jinyu was a little confused. He was thanking her and giving her something. He didn't know what she was giving him. He didn't see it clearly.

"Brother Bai, tell me, what does Beijing Prince Shui Rong mean by doing all this? Giving things and praising him. I don't understand."

Bai Guangju, Marquis of Xiangyang, tilted his head slightly and smiled;

"My Lord, we are all old friends, so it is not wrong to say a few words and give some advice to the younger generation. The object you just gave, if I am not mistaken, is a string of prayer beads, produced in the Jing'an Temple in Beishan, and is used by the royal family in the palace."

"The royal possession, that is."

Zhang Jinyu understood. Among Buddhist items, the most revered one is in Jing'an Temple on Beishan Mountain. Imperial items are either used by the retired emperor or the emperor. He thought that it must have been the emperor who gave it to Shui Rong. What was the purpose of all these twists and turns?

(End of this chapter)