The Concubine Wushuang of Red Mansion

Chapter 186 Baochai: Everyone is the daughter of a prince, but she...

In the Rongguo Mansion, in the three small rooms to the east of the main room, there is a scarlet quilt spread on the big kang near the window. Mrs. Wang is sitting on the kang, looking at Jia Huan, who is across the kang table, copying a book. Several words are written in a messy way. Yes, when Mrs. Wang saw it, she felt happy in her heart, but her eyes also showed boredom, and she moved her gaze.

"Second Master Bao is here!" Jin Chuan'er's joyful voice came from outside the door. Immediately afterwards, Jin Chuan'er opened the curtain, and Baoyu walked in with a tall and elegant body, with a big round face, but See the gloomy look.

"My son, what's going on?" Mrs. Wang thought to herself, Jia Cong is not at home, and no one should be angry with her Baoyu. What's going on?
After saying that, Mrs. Wang took Baoyu's hand and asked him to sit down next to her. She touched Baoyu's neck and said, "Have you finished Qian'er's pills?"

Baoyu replied: "There is one more pill."

Mrs. Wang said: "Bring me ten more pills tomorrow. When you go to bed every day, ask your attacker to wait for you to eat them before going to bed."

Baoyu nodded wilfully and said, "Since my wife gave me the order, Xiren has been thinking about it every night and sent me to eat."

Jia Huan was beside him, lying on the Kang table, biting the end of his pen, looking at Mrs. Wang and Baoyu, with a vicious light in his eyes. Mrs. Wang noticed it and looked over. Jia Huan lowered his head and started copying again. Mrs. Wang looked upset and asked Jin Chuan'er to send Jia Huan out.

Just when he walked to the window, he heard Mrs. Wang asking Baoyu why he came here. Baoyu said aggrievedly, "Just now, the people from Dongfu said that it was a reward from the palace. The old lady passed by, and so did Sister Bao and Sister Yun. We went together..."

Jia Huan still wanted to stand and listen, but Caixia pushed him and nuzzled into the room. Jia Huan made a face at Caixia and ran away to the east courtyard.

Aunt Zhao was tracing her shoes in the room, and when she saw Jia Huan looking like a ghost was chasing him, she couldn't help but cursed, "You maggot-hearted villain, what are you running for? Where is the yaksha trying to catch you?"

Jia Huan glanced at Aunt Zhao, sat down on the kang, called the maid to come over and pour him tea, and ignored Aunt Zhao.

Aunt Zhao asked again, "Aren't you helping your wife to copy scriptures? How come you're back just now?"

"I was copying it. Just now Baoyu went to my wife's place, and she asked me to come back." Jia Huan thought about what Baoyu said. There were rewards from the palace in the East Mansion. Could it be said that Brother Cong had made another wish? Got the credit?
"What did Mr. Bao say when he went to his wife's place?" Aunt Zhao asked, moving her buttocks and sitting next to her son.

Jia Huan told about the reward from Dongfu and said, "Baoyu was unhappy. I told my wife this, and she sent me back."

Aunt Zhao was thinking about the rewards from the palace. After all, she had never seen such a grand event, and she didn't know what good things it was. Her eyes were already glowing with gold.

Speaking of which, Jia Cong's identity is the same as that of Jia Huan. One is the daughter of the eldest master's aunt, and the other is the daughter of the second master's aunt. She also had several contacts with the Zhong family back then, and she was such a useless person. The woman, unable to win over the eldest man, actually gave birth to a son as good as Brother Cong. She was so lucky to be given a posthumous imperial edict after her death.

And he is still alive!

When Aunt Zhao thought of this, she became so angry that she grabbed Jia Huan's ears. Jia Huan screamed in pain and did not dare to move. All she heard was Aunt Zhao cursed, "You're worthless." Obscene seeds are usually raised by aunts. Look at how big an official Brother Cong has become, and he will be rewarded as long as the palace says so. What about you?"

Jia Huan screamed, "Third Sister is over there now. Whatever you want, let Third Sister get it for you!"

After hearing this, Aunt Zhao let go of her hand, but when she thought about it, it felt wrong. Tanchun was being raised there now, and she couldn't even see her, so how could she ask for it?
However, as long as her daughter is there, there is always some hope. Aunt Zhao couldn't help but look at Jia Huan and made up her mind, "When brother Cong comes back, you go to your third sister and ask her to make peace in the middle." Let's make peace, if Brother Cong has a little bit of good in him, just let him slip through the cracks of his fingers, and it will be enough for your maggot-hearted evil!"

Jia Huan let out a runny nose and turned away, with tears still hanging from the corners of his eyes, clearly coming from the pain.

Jia Huan ignored her. Aunt Zhao was about to take action again. He said hurriedly, "We have to wait until brother Cong comes back. He is working as a general outside now!"

On the Dongfu side, Jia Mu felt a little depressed after having lunch. Daiyu sent her to Yimen. Jia Mu, served by Xifeng, left Dongfu by car.

Baochai and Xiangyun stayed and went to play in Yingchun and Tanchun's yard.

This courtyard is located on the East Road, next to Xichun's Maoerju. There are three entrances in total. In front is Baoxia. The five upper rooms face north and south. It is ventilated and breathable. Yingchun and Tanchun each occupy two and a half rooms. The front room is The east and west wing rooms are reserved for the maids. There are rockeries and plantains in the yard, and both sides of the warm stone path are filled with exotic flowers and grasses. It is the early summer, and the flowers are blooming and blooming.

"Oh, second sister, third sister, your courtyard is really spacious. As soon as I come here, I don't want to leave!" Xiangyun walked around on the verandah. It's not like there is no such majestic and bright courtyard in the Baolinghou Mansion. But it's usually not the girls' turn to stay.

Even in the Rongguo Mansion three springs ago, they were crowded into the three small buildings behind Mrs. Wang's room. It was so crowded, how could anyone be dignified here?
Xichun, who lived alone in a smaller courtyard, followed behind and said, "I also want to come over and live with the second and third sisters. I live in a courtyard by myself."

Xiangyun poked her forehead with his finger, "Don't say such things. Who doesn't know that the person that Brother Cong loves the most is you? You are the real daughter of the Hou family!"

Xichun smiled coquettishly, and a smile appeared on Yingchun's usually dull face. Tanchun pointed a finger at Xiangyun, "I don't know who is the daughter of the Duke's family. Sister Yun is saying As for myself!"

In the book, these words were originally said by Daiyu. In order to listen to a play, Jia's mother took a fancy to the actor and clown, and ordered someone to reward him. Xifeng saw that the child looked like a person, so she originally said he looked like a person. Daiyu, everyone saw it and didn't dare to say anything. Only Xiangyun had a cheerful temperament and spoke quickly.

Daiyu was fine at first, but Baoyu was afraid that Xiangyun would offend Daiyu, so he winked hard, and Daiyu became angry. The two of them had an argument, and Baoyu coaxed her from both sides again, thinking that it was for their own good. Who knows, the more With persuasion, the two of them became even more angry.

Here Xiangyun said, "He is the lady and the master, and I am the slave girl. I can't do it if I offend him!"

Over there, Daiyu said, "He was originally the daughter of a prince, and I was originally a poor girl. He and I were stubborn. If I said something back, wouldn't he make himself look down upon? Isn't that the idea?"

Now, Daiyu had no chance to say these words. Instead, Xiangyun started joking with Xichun and others again.

Baochai walked at the end. Listening to what they said about the daughter of the Duke's family, she still had a solemn smile on her face, but she felt a little bitter in her heart. They are really all from the Duke's family. daughter, but she herself... is not.

While he was meditating alone, Xiangyun ran back again, holding Baochai's arm, "Sister Bao, sister Bao, we first went to see the cats of the second sister, the third sister and the fourth sister, and then we went to see the cats raised by the eldest grandma. Dog, are you okay?"

"I really can't do anything about you. How old you are, but you are still so playful!" Baochai scolded with a smile, but his eyes were also full of doting. Xiangyun bathed in it, and felt more and more that Sister Bao was really good. I also hate that I can’t have such a good sister.

After petting the cat for a while, Xiangyun asked, "Fourth sister's yard is called Mao'erju. Second sister and third sister, why don't you have a name for your yard?"

This statement reminded Erchun, and several people began to get together and rack their brains to think of names. They each thought of several names, but they all felt inappropriate.

"In my opinion, there are a lot of bananas here, so it's better to call it Jiaoyuan. This banana also means 'Jiao', wouldn't it be good?"

Baochai said that he was indeed as talented as Daiyu in the Grand View Garden in the original work. As soon as he said this, the girls felt that it was appropriate, so Tanchun wrote the word "Jiaoyuan" and ordered it to be sent to Jia Ping made a plaque and sent it to him early so that he could hang it up.

The girls were having fun here, and Daiyu ordered her people to register all the rewards. She took out two pieces of palace satin with more elegant colors and ordered people to send them to the eldest grandmother. She also picked two pieces each and ordered them respectively. Send it to Brother Lang and Brother Huan in Xifu.Zicuckoo was puzzled and said, "Madam, I didn't get anything from that before. Why bother to do such a favor now?"

Daiyu said, "When did you learn to be so stingy? Girls have it, but men have nothing. They are not worth anything, so why bother talking about it?"

"This is a reward from the palace, who cares to talk about it?"

"I originally said you were smart, but now I see you are also stupid!" Daiyu didn't tell her how to tell her apart. She just ordered the things to be sent over, but she had a plan in mind. The palace rewarded them. If you want to be careful, Etiquette, to silence people, she should give the reward to the old lady first, and then to Jia She and his wife. But obviously, she doesn't want to do this, so she might as well give some to her sisters and men at home, so as to avoid the trouble of talking about right and wrong. Something went wrong.

Grandma Zhu is an unemployed widow, leading Brother Lang to live her life. On weekdays, she doesn't see her wife taking care of her much. Brother Huan lives with his aunt, which is better than Brother Cong and her mother-in-law. So much.

They were so helpful that no one could tell what was wrong.

There are some things that can be said but cannot be said, and there are some things that can be said but cannot be done. This is the truth.

In the East Mansion, everything is peaceful, Daiyu is taking a nap in Ningxi Hall, and Youshi is in her yard, looking at the newly delivered palace satin, and thinking about making two sets of clothes.

She is a widow, and it is always not good for her to dress up on weekdays. Fortunately, she is very comfortable here. As long as she does not go to the Xifu, there is no one to restrain her. Therefore, usually, Youshi will dress herself carefully. Ichiban, but also to find a good mood for myself.

In the Linjing Hall, it was midday time, and all the ministers were waiting. When Emperor Taiqi walked up to the throne, he coughed twice, causing the ministers to kneel down and say hello. Emperor Taiqi sat down and said, "Be safe, I'm fine! Today I'll talk about the rebellion of Ningxia Wei, the Marquis of Ning Guo..."

Having said this, Emperor Tai Qi felt his throat was a little itchy and started coughing.

"Your Majesty, it has been more than two months since Jia Cong, the Marquis of Ning State, led the army to Ningxia to suppress the rebellion. However, there has been no progress in the war and no good news has been reported. I believe that the Marquis of Ning State has more than enough fame but insufficient actual combat, which has delayed the opportunity to fight and is distracted by state affairs. He is really not worthy of being the commander-in-chief of counter-rebellion. Please ask the emperor to choose a good general to replace him, so as not to cause serious trouble after a long delay." Xu Guangqi, the censor of Henan Province, spoke first and began to impeach Jia Cong.

Emperor Taiqi was stunned for a moment. He sat on his throne and looked around at the ministers. Seeing their expressions, he already knew something in his mind. After looking at the ministers' prejudice against Jia Cong, he found that some things Jia Cong did were indeed not very authentic. In the past two months of suppressing the rebellion, except for a one-day report to Emperor Taiqi, detailing everything, there was never a formal and public report on the progress to the court, so that the cabinet now has limited knowledge of the Ningxia Guard's war situation.

This makes it easy for people to misunderstand. What is going on with Jia Cong in Ningxia? Is the war stalemate, or is it a series of defeats?Besides, the money burned in the war was money. Although the Ministry of Revenue did not come up with much silver this time, concubines are also money. The money in Emperor Taiqi's internal treasury had long been watched by the Ministry of Revenue. Jia Cong spent an extra day. Two, the household department is one tael less.

Prince Shui Rong of Beijing County lowered his eyes slightly and stood motionless, as if he had not heard Xu Guangqi's impeachment, but he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Yesterday, when they were discussing, Geng Xi, the king of Nan'an County, wanted to find someone to impeach Jia Cong, but he stopped him. He expected that the civil servants would be unable to sit still. Instead of going to the end in person, it would be better to watch Jia Cong. Cong and the civil servants waited for the dogs to bite the dogs, and they picked up the ready-made dates.

If Jia Cong is dismissed, they should think about who to push forward. By then, Jia Cong may not only have to spit out the Three Thousand Battalion, but even the Flying Bear Guards will fall into their hands.

Geng Xi's intention is to give Liu Fang the best. After all, Liu Fang was almost not angered to death by Jia Cong last time.

"Your Majesty, it is said that when Jia Cong fought against the Japanese in the south of the Yangtze River, the soldiers he led were all trained by Xia Jin, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, and the strategies he used were all determined by his division Xia Jin. Jia Cong was just a puppet in Xia Jin's hands. Even though It is beyond his ability to achieve military exploits. Jia Cong is actually a deceitful and arrogant person. This time, Ningxia suppressed the rebellion. In the past two months, he has not achieved an inch of military exploits. On the contrary, it has delayed the war opportunity and harmed the country and the people. Ningxia is in urgent need. Qiu Zhaolin petitions the emperor to severely punish Jia Cong, deprive him of his title, put him in prison, enforce the laws of the country, and replace him with someone who is good at fighting and put down the rebellion quickly to calm the people!"

"My minister agrees!"

"My minister agrees!"

……

Seeing that the impeachment is getting out of hand, it is obvious that this is a conspiracy that has been hatched for a long time. However, these people do not seem to understand one thing.

After Emperor Taiqi looked around, he landed on the face of his chief assistant, Zhao Song. Feeling the emperor looking at him, Zhao Song trembled all over and bent his waist more and more, showing the greatest respect.

"Zhao Aiqing, tell me, what do you think of Ningxia's counterinsurgency?"

At this time, the ministers had not heard the meaning of Emperor Tai Qi's words. However, Zhang Qilin's eyes rolled up and he secretly glanced at the emperor sitting on the throne. The emperor seemed to be in a good mood, so Ningxia's Progress on the side should go very smoothly.

At this time, Zhang Qilin noticed the emperor's rhetoric and asked not about "replacement of generals", but about "quelling the rebellion in Ningxia".

"Returning to the emperor, since Ningxia suppressed the rebellion, I only received the news a month and a half ago that Fort 47 occupied by the rebels has been recovered. The army led by Ning Guohou has surrounded Ningxia Town, but to this day, I have not received any news. The success of the army's victory, I think, such a stalemate is an insult to our Da Shun state. Marquis Ning Guo is good at naval battles, but he may not understand the battle of siege. We should send generals who are good at conquering them!"

The Prince of Nan'an County hurriedly took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, as I see it, Ningxia Town is in a low-lying area, and there is water from the Yellow River around it that can be diverted. If the attack fails, we can order the digging of river channels to divert water for irrigation... "

At this point, there was a burst of exclamation in the court. Apparently, all the officials felt that Prince Nan'an's method was feasible, and the emperor nodded slightly, seeming to also appreciate Prince Nan'an's method of defeating the enemy.

Only Song Hong, the first chamberlain around Emperor Taiqi, was so embarrassed by these courtiers that his toes were about to dig through the ground. He lowered his head and couldn't help but think of Ning Guohou's battle report. Originally, diverting water from the Yellow River to flood the city was also a method. He only thought that there were still Dashun people in the city, so he did not plan to use this method to relieve the siege unless it was a last resort.

Of course, Song Hong could also imagine that Ning Guohou's kindness was limited. If Ning Guohou had not laid an ambush in Ningxia Town, in the end, if he really wanted to make a sacrifice, he might still sacrifice the people in the city instead of Use Dashun soldiers as cannon fodder.

Emperor Taiqi's nod of approval gave Prince Nan'an and others the wrong impression, so that Prince Beijing couldn't help but stepped forward to join in the fun, "Your Majesty, I think Prince Annan's method of attacking the city is feasible, but The specific implementation must be carried out by experienced generals. Although Ning Guohou made military exploits in the anti-Japanese war, his age and experience are limited. Countering the rebellion in Ningxia is not a trivial matter. Once it is not suppressed, it will easily lead to serious trouble. Please make your decision as soon as possible! "

"Do you think I have any other generals available? Can we put down this rebellion on the spot within two months?"

To be honest, Emperor Taiqi originally thought that Jia Cong would need at least six months to quell the rebellion, and he was mentally prepared for this. Just like when Jia Cong fought against the Japanese in Jiangnan, he originally thought that Jia Cong would need at least three years. Time, in the end, it only took Jia Cong one year to give him such a big surprise.

"I recommend Liu Fang, First Viscount of the Governor's Office of the Rear Army!" Shui Rong decided to do good things to the end and give Liu Fang a chance to clear her name, so that Jia Cong's slander of Liu Fang would not be put in the coffin by Liu Fang in the future. .

The Prince of Nan'an County also seconded the proposal.

Emperor Taiqi saw this, nodded, and said to Song Hong, "Read the battle report of Ning Guohou once, so that all your ministers will know clearly. The rebellion in Ningxia has been put down. Instead of having time to slander Ning Guohou in front of me, you might as well I wish I could think about how to avoid such a military disaster that should not happen!"

This is also what Jia Cong said to Emperor Taiqi in his secret report. In the final analysis, the Ningxia mutiny was caused by a problem with the civil and military checks and balances, and the governor Wang Ji was mainly responsible.

(End of this chapter)