King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 418 Entering the Palace
"Second Master, Jinling Uncle Xue is here!"

"Second Master..."

Xiren called twice, and Baoyu, who was sitting in a daze next to the bookshelf, raised his head and asked with a dull expression: "That Uncle Xue!"

"That's Princess Xiang's brother, Uncle Xue of the Xue family in Jinling!" Qingwen on the side couldn't help but speak.

Xiren glared at her at this time, angry that Qijing said something that he shouldn't have said. He knew that Baoyu had a grudge against Princess Xue but still brought it up, so he was not afraid of making him angry again.

"Brother Xue is here, invite him in quickly...forget it, I'll go greet him!"

His reaction surprised Xiren. He didn't understand why Baoyu didn't hate Wujiwu and treated the Xue family uncle with such courtesy.

All this is because in Baoyu's eyes, Xue Pan is an enthusiastic big brother, just a little "stupid".

However, before he could go out, Xue Pan had already barged in, and the girls couldn't stop him even if they wanted to.

As soon as he entered the house, Xue Pan saw him and said, "Brother Bao, why are you hiding here? Come and ride with me for a ride!"

After not seeing each other for more than half a year, Xue Pan could clearly feel that Brother Bao was much haggard and depressed, completely different from his impression.

"Ouch...my good brother, why are you like this? These slaves must have failed to serve you well!"

Having said this, Xue Pan came to Baoyu's side and hugged his thin shoulders very naturally.

After half a year of separation, now that my sister has become the princess, this guy has obviously become more courageous and has done such an intimate thing again.

Although he thought Brother Xue was a very nice person, Baoyu always felt that he was a little too enthusiastic, but he couldn't say anything about people's kindness.

"Uncle Xue, you have wronged us. Baoyu has nothing to do with us!"

The only one who dared to speak out at this time was the hot-tempered Qingwen.

"Stop saying a few words!" Xiren scolded.

Looking at the two beauties in front of him, Xue Pan had a wrong thought for a moment, and said to Baoyu with ill intentions: "Brother Bao... your place is really a treasure, with so many good girls accompanying you, I wouldn't want to go out!" "

"Brother Xue, don't be ridiculous, they..."

Seeing that Baoyu was about to explain, Xue Pan hugged him tighter and laughed: "Good brother... I'm joking with you!"

"Brother Xue?"

Jia Lian's voice came from outside. This guy had gone off duty this morning. He just went to some places first and came back after eating and drinking.

As soon as he returned home and learned that Xue Pan was there, Jia Lian immediately came over to rekindle old friendship with Brother Xue.

By establishing a good relationship with Xue Pan and establishing a relationship with Zhu Jinghong, it will be much easier for him, Jia Lian, to get along in the Dragon Guard.

Xungui is now deeply involved in internal affairs. It is extremely difficult for marginalized people like them to get along in it. Finding Zhu Jinghong is undoubtedly a shortcut.

There is no way, it's all because the prince doesn't have enough face, otherwise he wouldn't be so far away from the near.

After entering the house and seeing Xue Pan and Baoyu getting together, Jia Lian suddenly felt uncomfortable.

I have invited so many guests, but I have never seen Xue Pan be so close to me.

"Brother Xue, let's go out for a few drinks?"

"Good brothers, let's go together. Brother Lian is treating us today!" Xue Pan looked at Baoyu.

Now Baoyu and Jia Lian are also disgusted with each other. They both felt uncomfortable after hearing Xue Pan's words, but they didn't show it when looking at Xue Pan's face.

"Brother Xue, Baoyu is unwell and is resting at home now, so it would be better not to go!" Jia Lian reminded.

He was saving face for Baoyu and did not point out that the latter was currently grounded.

While the three of them were chatting, several housekeepers and wives in the backyard of Rongguo Mansion were also gathering around and chatting.

"Yesterday, the empress sent a message, telling the family to prepare carefully and congratulate Princess Xiang in two days. You should pay more attention to this matter!" Jia Mu reminded solemnly.

Repairing the relationship with Baochai is a task assigned to the Jia family by the Crown Princess, and they must try their best to complete it.

Others can't understand it clearly, but Jia Mu understands the importance of this matter very well, so this is the second time she has mentioned it.

"Don't worry, old lady. This matter has been prepared. In addition to the precious things in the house, we also sent people out to buy them. Everything is done with care!" Mrs. Xing responded immediately, maintaining it with great difficulty. Received stewardship.

But she didn't know that Jia Mu's words were meant for Mrs. Wang, who was the crux of the matter.

It is said that people's hearts are separated from each other. Although the matter has been told to Baochai, no one can guarantee that she will really let go, so she must continue to repair it.

"Second daughter-in-law... you have to pay more attention to this matter!" Jia Mu reminded her directly.

The Crown Princess spoke to her ancestors, and Mrs. Wang had to obey her orders even if she felt aggrieved. She responded with great obedience: "Yes... my daughter-in-law will prepare carefully!"

After nodding slightly, Mother Jia reminded again: "You guys... just sit back and take a long-term view. Don't be petty!"

Knowing that this was for her own good, Mrs. Wang still nodded modestly, and finally she said: "Old lady... Baoyu has become much more at ease these days. Can you please let him out?"

Although she also loved Baoyu, Jia Mu still felt uneasy about letting him go, for fear that he would say something crazy again.

"Let him continue to be raised and tempered... Then we can all feel at ease!"

Expecting that the old lady would say this, Mrs. Wang continued: "A few days ago, I asked the empress for grace and asked the empress to let Baoyu go to the Imperial College to study. The empress has already approved this matter!"

The students of Guozijian include Gongjian, Jujian, Yujian, etc. Normally, they all start as scholars, but there are also purely related households such as Enjian and Yinjian.

He didn't have much face in the Long Imperial Guard, but in the Imperial Academy and other civil service offices, the prince's face was not ordinary, but he would not use it easily.

But arranging a student for the Imperial College is a trivial matter. Any bachelor in the East Palace can handle it.

Baoyu has not yet taken the Tongsheng Examination, but entering the Imperial College means skipping this step. After completing his studies, he can directly take the Provincial Examination.

Normally this is a good thing, but at this moment Jia Mu's expression changed and she said angrily: "Why don't you discuss this with me!"

Yuanchun, who has lived in the palace for a long time, has no idea what Baoyu's temperament is, otherwise he would not give this grace. Mrs. Wang is cheating her daughter again.

"Old lady, this is a trivial matter..."

"Besides, this is also a good thing for Baoyu. The master has always said that he does not seek to improve. Now my daughter-in-law is helping Baoyu to take a step forward. Is it still wrong?"

At this moment, Mrs. Wang really didn't feel that she was at fault. Instead, she felt that Mother Jia was making things difficult for her.

"you……"

She wanted to scold Mrs. Wang, but Mother Jia held back in the end. It would be difficult to talk in the future if there was a quarrel, which would cause even greater trouble.

"You are hurting him..." Mrs. Jia couldn't help but sigh.

"The old lady... asked him to go to school and become an official in the court in the future. How could my daughter-in-law be harming him!" Mrs. Wang couldn't help but reply.

Jia Mu asked directly: "There are so many people in the Imperial College. If Baoyu makes wild remarks again, will it be a blessing or a curse for him?"

Mrs. Wang replied: "My daughter-in-law will give him more warnings so that he can only focus on studying and ignore everything else!"

With a cold face, Jia Mu continued to ask: "It's easy to hide from open guns and hard to guard against hidden arrows. What if someone seduces and designs on him?"

Who could possibly frame Baoyu? The answer is actually self-evident.

Mrs. Wang still said forcefully: "As long as Baoyu stays safe, no one else can harm him!"

…………

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the 11th year of Orthodoxy is known as the Laba Festival among the people.

All civil and military officials were given a banquet in the Wuying Hall and walked with the emperor in the cold wind during the ceremony.

However, for Emperor Zhu Xianming, what he was looking forward to more was the Chonghua Hall family banquet in the evening, when the family reunited.

Let's talk about Zhu Jinghong and his wife at this moment. After receiving the Queen's decree, they rushed to the palace by car after lunch.

Staggering, Zhu Jinghong fell asleep leaning on Baochai's legs, and the latter shook his head helplessly.Soon the carriage arrived at the west side of the Meridian Gate, where they had to get off and walk.

"Your Majesty... wake up!"

"Woke up!"

After shaking Zhu Jinghong several times, the guy woke up and stretched out comfortably.

At this moment, the curtain of the carriage has been lifted, and the maid has placed stools outside so that the two of them can get off safely.

Zhu Jinghong got up and got out of the car, and helped Baochai down together.

Accompanied by a group of eunuchs and maids, they walked to the east side of the Meridian Gate.

"See Lord Thirteen!"

Looking at the generals paying homage in front of him, Zhu Jinghong replied casually: "Well... no courtesy!"

"Thirteenth Master, long time no see...you are becoming more and more energetic and energetic!" Qian Zhicheng stepped forward and complimented.

Qian Zhicheng was not born in a noble family. His father was just a fellow commander of a certain guard in Sichuan Dusi. Because of his hard work, he was finally selected as the Dragon Guard. Five years ago, he was released from the position of [-] households in the Dragon Guard. Now he has become the Yiwei Division. From five grades to one thousand households.

His resume is not too surprising, but combined with his "ordinary family" background, this is already a very powerful level.

As a member of the Thousand Households on duty at Meridian Gate, Qian Zhicheng usually rested in the duty room. He only showed up when he learned of Zhu Jinghong's arrival.

After picking his ears, Zhu Jinghong asked calmly: "Old Qian... your words sound weird to me. Don't you be kidding me!"

"Master Thirteen, you are an indomitable hero, there is nothing to joke about!"

"Who dares to say that? I will be the first to refuse!"

"I read you right. We can't talk too much today because we have something to do. Let's talk later... Speaking of which, we haven't wrestled for a long time!"

Hearing this, the smile on Qian Zhicheng's face froze, and the next moment he said with a sneer: "Master Thirteen, there is no need to wrestle, I... I have a bad waist recently!"

"Is your waist bad?"

Zhu Jinghong looked at the person in front of him up and down, and said with a strange look on his face: "Then you have to take care of yourself!"

Although he was misunderstood, thinking that he could avoid wrestling, Qian Zhicheng immediately responded: "Yes...Thank you for your concern, Master Thirteen!"

"gone!"

"Master Thirteen, go slowly!"

Entering the Meridian Gate together, the interior falls under the jurisdiction of the Dragon Guards. Suddenly, Zhu Jinghong has more acquaintances.

Everyone greeted him along the way, and everyone welcomed him back, and some even joked that he was treating him.

And this scene was also seen by Baochai. Although she knew that Zhu Jinghong was very popular, only now that she saw it with her own eyes did she realize that he was too popular.

So whether you have strength or not has little to do with your reputation or whether you can study or not... Baochai thought this way.

After entering the palace, there were finally no guards to greet him, but Zhu Jinghong complained again.

"Send someone to collect the clothes for me. What do you mean by my father?"

Early this morning, eunuchs came according to the order and took away all his common clothes. Zhu Jinghong wanted to keep two pieces but failed.

"Your Majesty, this is the palace!" Baochai reminded.

She knew that Zhu Jinghong was playing with personality again, so her advice and reminder at the moment was also based on the personality that a princess should have.

To put it simply, both couples understand what the other party is doing and what they should do.

I saw Zhu Jinghong scratching his neck and saying: "What's wrong with the palace? I'm not allowed to speak in the palace?"

Baochai still explained in a gentle manner: "Father always has his own reasons, how can we, the younger generation, have any arbitrariness!"

"If you ask me to farm, I will farm. If you ask me to wear cloth clothes, I will wear them. If you ask me to wear a dress, I will wear a dress... Isn't the old man kidding me?"

Pulling Zhu Jinghong's sleeve, Baochai looked around, and then said: "Your Majesty, please keep your voice down...if it reaches my father's ears, you will be punished again!"

"I've been wronged? Can't I say a few words to express my feelings? Which side are you on?"

"Oh... please stop saying a few words!"

Baochai finally showed anger and made Zhu Jinghong shut his mouth in time. At this moment, they had arrived near Qianqing Palace, and entering the palace gate in front was the harem.

Just at this moment, a voice came from the east side of the road: "Thirteenth brother...my sister is right, you should say less!"

Zhu Jinghong and the two looked over, but the prince and his wife were walking over. The person speaking was the prince's concubine Jia Yuanchun, followed by several royal grandchildren.

"Greetings to fourth brother and fourth sister-in-law!" Zhu Jinghong and his wife turned around and saluted.

With a smile on his face, Zhu Jingyuan stepped forward to help Zhu Jinghong up and said, "Thirteenth brother, you are finally back. You and I will have a few more drinks at the family dinner tonight!"

Although the prince was in good spirits, Zhu Jinghong felt that he had lost weight and his body seemed to be getting worse.

Zhu Jinghong immediately said: "Fourth brother, thank you and Sixth Brother for interceding, otherwise, depending on the old man's temper, I'm afraid I will have to be detained for half a year!"

Zhu Jingyuan tried to persuade him: "Thirteenth brother, you have wrongly blamed your father. He arranged this for your own good!"

"Okay, okay... whatever you say will happen!"

The two brothers here were walking in front chatting, and Yuanchun and two behind them were also talking.

After all, they were cousins. Although there were some accidents in the middle, the two of them chatted very well.

Yuanchun first expressed his congratulations to Baochai, and then asked about the latter's life in Shanglinyuan. The whole conversation only reflected care and concern.

"Baochai, my thirteenth brother has a bad temper. You need to persuade him more... to prevent him from causing trouble again!"

"Sister, I can't help him when he loses his temper. I can only say that I will try my best!" Baochai smiled helplessly.

"That's true... Even my father can't restrain him, so how can I demand a weak woman like you!" Yuan Chun understood very well and tried his best to make Baochai feel understanding.

"I have suffered so much in Shanglin Garden these days, and now that I have returned to the palace... I have to let my thirteenth brother make it up to you!"

Baochai solemnly replied at this time: "He suffered more than me, and my sister also knows...he suffered this because of me!"

After being stunned for a moment, Yuanchun nodded: "You share the joys and sorrows so much that I, as a sister, feel relieved!"

While the few people were talking, they soon arrived outside Kunning Palace, where a large number of people had already gathered.

All the concubines in the harem, Zhu Xianming's other sons and daughters-in-law, and the emperor's grandchildren were all there. The front hall or side hall of Kunning Palace was full of people.

Of course, the wise king Zhu Jingyuan was the focus of the crowd, surrounded by several concubine brothers chatting.

With the arrival of the prince, everyone came to see the prince, except for the concubines in the harem who remained where they were.

"Meet Your Royal Highness!"

"No courtesy!" Zhu Jingyuan said calmly.

After getting up, Zhu Jingyuan walked straight towards Zhu Jinghong, patted his shoulder after getting close, and said, "Thirteenth brother, you are finally back!"

"Let's go...I'll take you to meet your mother. She's always thinking about you!"

After saying that, regardless of whether Zhu Jinghong wanted to or not, Zhu Jingyuan pulled him and walked inside, leaving the prince aside.

The princes, princes and grandsons present were not surprised by such a snub to the prince, but they were surprised that Prince Rui became more and more disrespectful.

"Let's go... let's go in and meet the Queen Mother!" Zhu Jingyuan seemed as if nothing had happened.

As soon as he took a step, everyone on the left and right bowed down to salute, and Yuanchun and others followed suit.

(End of this chapter)