King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 712 Zhu Muzhen Attacks

On November 25, the 15th year of the Zhengtong reign, the governor's office in Yingtian Prefecture, Nanjing, received an urgent letter from the capital.

The express message of eight hundred miles must be due to an emergency, so the letter box was quickly handed to Jia Yucun.

But when he opened it with trepidation, the contents of the envelope shocked him.

"Private letter from Prince Xiang's Mansion, forward it to the family of the former Minister of Revenue Lin Ruhai!"

Although it was inappropriate to send a private letter at an expedited rate of eight hundred miles, as a member of the Xiangwang Mansion, Jia Yucun would not question it.

Jia Yucun was able to be reinstated thanks to Lin Ruhai’s great kindness.

Although he didn't read the content of the letter, he knew it was related to the girl from the Lin family, and that it was mostly good news.

Thinking of this, Jia Yucun was also happy for his old friend. At least his daughter had a good home.

"Someone is coming..."

Soon a servant came over. It was none other than his old subordinate Wang Cheng, the young monk in Hulu Temple.

"Master, please give your orders!" Wang Cheng bowed respectfully.

"You must take someone to Suzhou immediately and deliver this letter to the Lin family in Suzhou!"

"Yes!" Wang Cheng replied.

Wang Cheng took the order and left. When Jia Yucun was about to deal with official documents, he learned that someone came to visit him. It was a young official he had recently won over.

In fact, it is not appropriate to say that he is trying to win over someone. Now that Jia Yucun is the governor of a province, there are too many people who want to curry favor with him. He only interacts with those he likes.

While Jia Yucun was meeting his subordinates, Wang Cheng had already taken a few runners and rode fast horses directly to Suzhou.

They set out at noon that day, and Wang Cheng and his party arrived in the afternoon of the next day. At that time, Lin Yao was reading a book.

The Lin family's transformation has been completely completed. It has become a legitimate scholarly family. As Lin Yao inherited Lin Ruhai's heir, it is natural for him to take charge of the family business.

Even if you cannot fully develop it, you should at least learn some of it, so that you won't bring shame to your family when you interact with others.

Of course, Lin Yao also had a glimmer of hope that he could make some achievements in the imperial examinations, even if he didn't pass the imperial examinations and become a Jinshi.

In fact, for most people, passing the imperial examination is as difficult as ascending to heaven, and even passing the imperial examination is extremely difficult.

Lin Yao set his goal as passing the imperial examination, which was a more pragmatic approach.

"Master, someone is coming from the governor's office. Please go over there!"

Although Lin Yao is young, he is also the master of the Lin family and the servants respect him very much.

Of course, the most important thing is that Lin Yao, who has seen darkness and suffered hardships, has very effective means of disciplining his subordinates, so that they dare not neglect him.

"The governor's office?"

Although surprised, Lin Yao still went out immediately and met Wang Cheng in the living room.

After receiving the letter box, Lin Yao thanked Wang Cheng and others, then went back to the study to open it and read it.

As Wang Cheng said, the letter contained great news: his sister became the prince's concubine.

What the letter said was that he, Lin Yao, was asked to bring several elders from the clan to the capital to see his sister off to get married.

To Lin Yao, Daiyu is not only his biological sister, but also the greatest benefactor in his life. He is naturally extremely grateful to Daiyu.

Now that his eldest sister is getting married, it is such a great thing that he is overjoyed to know about it.

After thinking about it, he immediately decided on the candidates to go to Beijing, who were several elders in the clan who respected him as the young head of the family.

So he immediately sent someone to notify them and at the same time started to have people prepare their luggage.

The next morning, Lin Yao and his party left home and headed westward towards the capital.

Two days later, they arrived at Yingtian Prefecture City. It was already dark, so they settled down in the city.

The Lin and Xue families had a very good relationship, so Lin Yao and his party stayed at the Xue family's house and brought generous gifts to thank them. After all, the Xue family had helped them a lot before.

When the two families got together, they naturally had to hold a banquet to entertain each other. Xue Pan himself took the opportunity to drink a lot of wine.

Xue Pan's life has become even more depressed in the past year. Even his drinking at home is controlled by Xia Yuegui. His image as the head of the family has been completely destroyed.

But the whole family, including his mother, praised Xia Yuegui highly, so if he had any dissatisfaction he could only grumble in private.

When Xue Pan returned to the room drunk, he saw the light was still on and knew that his wife was waiting for him.

So he asked the maid to bring him some cold water, and after he washed his face and woke up, he went into the inner room.

"Madam, it's so cold, you should go and have a rest. Why are you sitting and waiting for me?" Xue Pan asked with concern after entering the house.

He is a man who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment. It is true that he is dissatisfied with Xia Yuegui, but his concern for his wife is also genuine.

Ultimately, Xue Pan himself knew that his wife was thinking about him and the family.

So he felt both painful and happy about being controlled by Xia Yuegui.

"The Lin family has a happy event, we should also congratulate them!"

Helping his wife to stand up, Xue Pan replied: "Of course I have to congratulate them. I have ordered people to prepare generous gifts, which will be sent to the capital with them tomorrow!"

Sitting on the bed, Xia Yuegui said, "What I mean is... you can send her to the capital in person!"

"Send it personally? Why bother with so much trouble? You know, the New Year is just a month away!" Xue Pan hesitated.

"There are many years to come. What's the big deal if I'm no longer in Nanjing?"

"No matter what, our family is completely dependent on Prince Xiang's Mansion. Now that the Prince Xiang's Mansion has a big happy event, it is only right that we go to congratulate them in person!"

"This... our family has a princess, so we still need to worry about these things?"

"The princess is first the princess, and then the daughter of the Xue family. Don't you understand this?" Xia Yuegui explained carefully.

Although Baochai is the daughter of the Xue family, if the Xue family is not motivated enough, it will become her "negative asset", which Xia Yuegui is very clear about.

If the princess dislikes them, there will be no way for the Xue family to develop.

"Go ahead, I'll go with you!" Xia Yuegui advised.

"But……"

Xue Pan was about to speak, but he suddenly realized a problem: he seemed to have no real decision-making power.

Even if he insisted not to go, if Xia Yuegui finally insisted on going, he would still have to go with her.

"Alright... let's go, it's time to go meet the princess!"

"That's right!" Xia Yuegui said with a smile.

After the matter was settled, the couple went to sleep.

As for packing, Xia Yuegui had already made arrangements in advance, so there was no need to say more at this time.

The next morning, the Xue family and the Lin family set out together and headed towards the capital.

Time flies, and more than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

On the thirteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Xue and Lin families arrived in the capital, and then separated and went to their respective residences. They both had residences in the capital.

At the same time, the two families also agreed to go to Prince Xiang's mansion to pay a visit together after settling down, and the time was set in the afternoon.

However, they arrived at an inopportune time. When they arrived at the palace, Zhu Jinghong was not there. He had gone to the Ministry of Works and the Armory to inspect the military equipment.

Xue Pan felt relieved before he met Zhu Jinghong. He was most afraid of meeting his prince brother-in-law.

Xue Pan and Lin Yao were currently staying in the side hall on the east side of the Cunxin Hall. Only Xia Yuegui was invited into the inner quarters of the palace.

Although there were only two eunuchs standing in the side hall, the solemn and dignified furnishings inside still made Xue Pan and the other man feel very uncomfortable.

In a place like this, it would be too tacky to talk about how exquisite the decorative ornaments are. The majesty alone is enough to shock people.

When the two of them were feeling anxious, they suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside, and there were signs that they were getting closer. For a moment, Xue Pan was so nervous that sweat broke out on his forehead, which showed that he was already in a state of stress.

The next moment, a young eunuch entered the hall, bowed and said, "Master Xue, Master Lin, the princess has sent a message, please go to Yin'an Gate and wait for the call."

Hearing this, Xue Pan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, took out an ingot of silver and handed it to the eunuch who delivered the message.

"Please lead the way, sir!"

"This...Mr. Xue is really polite!"

The eunuch's tone became much softer, which shows how versatile this silver is.

Afterwards, led by the eunuch, Xue Pan and the other man left the side hall and headed north towards the inner quarters of the royal palace.

"Excuse me, sir, when will the prince return home?"

"It's hard to say, but according to yesterday's example, I'm afraid today... I won't be able to return home until sunset!"

This is the benefit of giving money. Otherwise, the eunuch would not know a word and Xue Pan would have no way to do anything to him.

I will return to the palace after sunset. If I find an excuse to slip away before that, everything will be fine... Xue Pan thought so.

Then he took out another ingot of silver, thrust it into the eunuch's hand, and said, "Thank you for your advice, eunuch!"

The eunuch's smile became brighter and brighter. After happily taking the silver, he leaned over his waist and said, "Sir, please go slowly and be careful on the steps!"

Just as they passed through a courtyard gate, they saw several eunuchs walking towards them from the other end of the alley. As soon as they saw their waitership, they knew they were not ordinary eunuchs.

This was indeed the case. The leader was the eunuch in charge of the palace, and following him were several leading eunuchs, the latter of whom were being scolded by the former.

Upon seeing the arrival of the guests, the eunuch who was leading the way hurried forward and saluted to the eunuchs.

Although he was kneeling, the people coming towards him ignored him and instead paid attention to Xue Pan and the other person standing behind him.

"Hey... Mr. Xue, it's been a long time since I last saw you!" The leading eunuch stepped forward to greet him.

Interpersonal relationships are so complicated. The lower-level eunuchs were cold to Xue Pan when they first met him, but the higher-level eunuchs were very enthusiastic.

Xue Pan only knew the three stewards of the palace, and was not familiar with the eunuch in front of him, but that did not affect his greeting and reply.

"I came here because I was summoned by the princess!" Xue Pan replied.

The eunuch in charge quickly replied: "Since the princess has summoned you, you must not delay. Please come in!"

So these people made way and let Xue Pan and the other two pass.

Soon the two of them arrived outside Yin'an Gate, which was the entrance to the inner quarters of the palace. Four eunuchs were standing outside the gate guarding it.

After entering Yin'an Gate, you can see Yin'an Hall, which is Zhu Jinghong's bedroom. Tongxin Hall is behind Yin'an Hall.

The eunuch's task as a guide was to take them to the outside of Yin'an Gate, where eunuchs would take over as guides.

To be honest, although he knew Zhu Jinghong was not there, he was still trembling with fear when he arrived outside the Yin'an Hall, and his legs were very weak when he walked.

As for Lin Yao, although he was also extremely nervous, he was not as nervous as Xue Pan.

The two of them were also led to the side hall, and then continued to wait.

After only a few minutes, a eunuch came to summon Xue Pan.

After Xue Pan left, Lin Yao sat here alone. The teenage boy felt more and more uneasy.

But before long, several maids came into the hall, and after they opened the door curtain, they saw a beautiful lady standing there gracefully.

"Sister!" Lin Yao stood up suddenly.

Then he took a few steps forward, knelt down in front of Daiyu, and kowtowed, saying, "Little brother greets elder sister!"

As the saying goes, an elder sister is like a mother, so there is nothing wrong with Lin Yao showing such a great courtesy.

Although they are not related by blood, Daiyu was deeply moved to see Lin Yao being so sensible. With tears in her eyes, she stepped forward and helped her brother up.

"No need to be so polite, you've worked hard all the way here!"

"Sister, how dare I neglect your happiness? When I received the news... I was so overjoyed that I wished I could grow a pair of wings and fly directly to the capital to help my sister!"

Although Lin Yao was young, his words were very thoughtful and touched Daiyu a lot.

"Let's sit down and talk!"

The brother and sister were talking here, while in the Tongxin Hall on the other side, Xue Pan was kneeling outside the curtain and performing a great ceremony.

"Your Highness, Princess!"

Even though he was her own brother, Baochai tried to avoid suspicion, so she spoke to him behind the curtain.

At this time, Xia Yuegui was sitting next to Baochai, while Xue Pan was kneeling outside talking, and the closeness between them was clearly shown.

"I heard that when brother was in Jinling, he still violated the rules?"

Baochai's tone was so cold that Xue Pan broke out in a sweat. He raised his head slightly and looked at Xia Yuegui behind the curtain, obviously blaming his wife for telling on him.

Baochai held the teacup and said slowly, "You don't have to look at her. I can hear all the affairs of Jinling, big or small!"

"Yes... your subject... your subject..."

Xue Pan didn't know how to respond, and at this moment a little boy in luxurious clothes appeared beside him, holding a Ruyi.

This was naturally Zhu Muzhen. Looking at the "slave" kneeling in front of him, Zhu Muzhen just found it very amusing.

Especially that raised butt, which made him want to reach out and hit it.

Children are like this, they don’t know what they should do and what they shouldn’t do, and they don’t even understand what they are doing.

When Xue Pan stammered in reply, Zhu Muzhen stood behind him, staring at him with Ruyi in his hand, and kept making subtle probing moves.

Finally, Zhu Muzhen couldn't bear it any longer. He grabbed one end of the Ruyi handle and stabbed it straight into Xue Pan's chrysanthemum.

Being attacked without any preparation, Xue Pan immediately let out a scream, while Zhu Muzhen had already run away laughing, the cheerfulness of his voice forming a sharp contrast with Xue Pan's scream.

This scene happened so suddenly that even Baochai was shocked when she saw it, and she stood up from her throne out of concern.

"what happened?"

After asking this question, Baochai then asked, "Is my brother okay?"

Xue Pan was of course in great pain, so he was very angry at the moment, but when he saw the clothes of the child who ran away, he instantly guessed the other person's identity.

He felt extremely aggrieved at being punished by his nephew, but he also knew that the matter could not be pursued.

"Reporting to the princess...I...I am fine!" Xue Pan replied.

Baochai wanted to scold him, but now she couldn't bear to say anything more, so she said to Xia Yuegui who was also anxious beside her, "Go and have a look!"

"Yes!"

Xia Yuegui hurried to the door curtain and helped Xue Pan up from the ground.

Although the injury was not serious, Xue Pan kept groaning in order to appear pitiful in front of Baochai.

Baochai sighed and said, "Help him back. Let's talk again after he has rested for two days!"

Xia Yuegui actually wanted to stay longer and talk to Baochai more, but in this situation, she could only take care of her own man first.

After Xue Pan and his wife left, Baochai's face turned cold and she ordered, "Bring Zhen'er back!"

Then she ordered coldly: "Bring the ruler!"

Seeing that she was really angry, Ying'er quickly advised: "Your Majesty, please calm down. I am still young...that's why I acted so foolishly!"

Baochai turned around and said in a bad tone, "It is because of your indulgence that he is so ignorant of the rules. If he dares to say anything more... punish him severely!"

After these words were spoken, no one in the hall dared to say anything more!

(End of this chapter)