Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 229 Xiangyun’s birthday

In the pavilion in the side garden, lanterns swayed in the wind, and the charcoal fire in the brazier made the surroundings glow red.

Snapped--

The wine cup fell heavily to the ground. Lai Shangwen's eyes turned red. He tugged at his robe and said, "Is your dice filled with lead?"

Opposite me, Wu Haining's smile faded and he said angrily: "Brother Lai, what are you talking about? When you won money a few days ago, you didn't say that the dice were filled with lead."

With a shake of his hand, the dice was replaced by an identical one in the blink of an eye, and was thrown directly in front of Lai Shangwen. Lai Shangwen picked it up suspiciously, shook it but didn't notice anything strange.

The two people on the left and right said: "It's night and I'm very sleepy. Why don't we forget about it today?"

Another person also said: "It's time to go, let's play again tomorrow!"

Lai Shangwen just lost more than ten coins, how could he give up? He immediately pulled the two of them and said: "It's still early, let's have another fun. At least let me get some things back."

Wu Haining said: "That's all. Brother Lai has been memorizing words these days. I think we should wait for another day."

"Just one handful! It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, just one handful determines the outcome."

Lai Shangwen grinned: "I'll just write the IOU. My father is the manager of the Ningguo Mansion. How much money can I give you?"

Lai Shangwen returned home depressed, rolled up his quilt and tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

The factory paid a full compensation of 400 taels of silver, and the craftsman's family was just able to be calmed down without causing trouble in Shuntian Mansion. Even so, some censors came forward to impeach him, and Cao Yunsheng privately spent thousands of taels to suppress the matter.

Shan Dahong said unhurriedly: "If I really wanted to deceive you, I would have increased the stakes just now. I told you that I am going to recite the words, but I don't believe it."

After saying that, he strode towards the pawnshop. Lai Shangwen was puzzled, but he saw Wu Haining taking out an enamel snuff bottle from his sleeve before entering the door. After a moment, when he came out again, he saw Wu Haining weighing it in his hand. With a few broken pieces of silver.

Li Weijian couldn't help scratching his head, thinking that there was always a shortage of talents. If someone designed a weaving factory and a steam engine drove hundreds of looms, how could the Jiangnan gentry only buy small-horsepower camel machines?

Lai Shangwen said cheerfully: "You know the situation, take a good look at it!"

Just as he was about to rub his hands to collect the money, he saw Shan Dahong casually dropping two Pai Gow cards, one red and one black, twelve o'clock, the top card!

Lai Shangwen was stunned for a moment, and said angrily for a long time: "You, you deceived me!"

Then Cao Yunsheng said: "Looking at it, it's better to move the factory to Leting. If something happens there, how much money can we send to the county magistrate?"

Lai Shangwen smiled and said: "Old Dan, what do you say?"

Pai Gow hits the wooden board. "Land card!"

Lai Shangwen smiled and said, "To be honest, where did that enamel snuff bottle come from?"

That day, they were catching up with the Huguo Temple Fair. The two of them were strolling around for a while. Wu Haining suddenly caught a glimpse of a pawn shop and said in amusement, "Brother Lai, please wait for a while."

Li Weijian was happy: "To compensate the craftsmen is four hundred taels, but to send the censor will cost several thousand taels." Li Weijian didn't know how to agree, but the national conditions in Dashun were like this, and the factory was in the capital, so wouldn't he have to be blackmailed by those Qingliu gang?

Wu Haining blinked: "Where did you get the snuff bottle? Brother Lai, please don't accuse people unjustly."

There was another incident. Although several stewards kept reminding them, some craftsmen were still negligent. In June, the stirring reverberatory furnace spewed molten iron, burning three craftsmen to death.

Lai Shangwen has trouble to say. He secretly had a private meeting with Jia Rong's maid, and Jia Rong blackmailed him out of more than a hundred taels of silver. He finally got to Li's house, but he lost almost fifty taels in just over half a month. His monthly income is only one tael, what should he pay in return? I have to go home and tell lies and coax my mother to pay off the debt.

Seeing this, Wu Haining and the other family refused to follow, leaving Shan Dahong to follow with a grimace. The chips got higher and higher, and soon they were raised to twenty.

That day, Xiangling had just broken the melon, and Li Weijian had been gentle for half a day. Maybe he was used to running around, but he always felt awkward in his spare time, because he went to the steam engine factory in the outer city at noon.

This statement was exactly what the saint wanted. Because the iron factory stock has not been listed for a long time, Cao Yunsheng and other wealthy people have been waiting in vain for several months.

............................................................

Because the factory built six for the ironworks and kept two, it then started building small-horsepower steam engines.

When it was first built, the shareholders were very excited and started selling it. However, the Laoting Iron Works ordered several units. Although the Jiangnan gentry were stunned, none of them made up their minds. As soon as I asked, I found out that Jiangnan Weaving Field had not designed a complete set of power application plans at this moment, and such a large steam engine was really useless.

Snapped--

Someone asked: "Then how did you calculate it?"

At this time, the factory had expanded a bit, and Cao Yunsheng happened to be here today, so an old man and a young man immediately went around to inspect. When Li Weijian saw that the place was piled with pig iron materials, he felt a little puzzled. The manager said hurriedly: "I don't know, uncle, this is the iron materials that have been stored until February. Now it is almost the twelfth lunar month, and the canal will be completely closed to ships." , if you want the iron material again, you have to use a set of trucks to transport it, and then the price will increase by at least 30%."

Wu Haining said with a smile: "I've made a fortune today, and Brother Lai can spend it as much as possible, and we're all brothers!"

This is another thorny issue. Rubber trees cannot grow overnight. Li Weijian just turned around and discussed with the inner government to allocate some shares to the factory. Fortunately, the inner government of the steam engine factory also invested in it, otherwise it would be really difficult to deal with the two associate ministers now that King Zhongyong has not returned.

Suddenly, because he had the best friendship with Wu Haining, Lai Shangwen simply asked the housekeeper Wu Haiping to schedule Xiu Mu on this day. Early in the morning, he and Wu Haining left the mansion and headed towards the Huguo Temple in the outer city.

The road to industrialization is long and difficult, so take your time!

After wandering around for a while, he was about to return home when another manager came to look for him. He said with a sad face: "Normally, I can only ask my uncle for this matter... There is no shortage of iron materials now, but what about the latex whiskers?" It has to be purchased from the inner government. However, the inner government repeatedly shied away, saying that the production of latex is very limited, and it must be tightly supplied by the inner government. This... if there is no latex, our steam engine can still run, but the air leakage is too big However, my strength is at least half lost."

The two red points in your hand are land cards. This nine-character tile is divided into heaven, earth, human, harmony, plum blossom, long three, and bench. The land tile is extremely rare. Lai Shangwen lost all night. Now he only knows that time will turn. No matter how hard he endures, he can't help but win. The corner of his mouth curled up.

Seeing that Lai Shangwen wanted to add more money, Wu Haining advised: "It's just a brother playing naughty, twenty pieces is not a small amount, I think it's about time to open the cards."

Yes, Laoting Iron Works originally sold out some of its shares, but the Suzhou Xishan Island Cement Business was too profitable. Now that the imperial court has won the Battle of Qinghai, after excluding pensions and rewards, there is still a balance of more than 10 million taels of silver. It seems that the iron factory is another one that lays golden eggs, because the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs have written to the sage at the same time, saying that we simply don't sell the iron factory's shares, and keep them all in our hands, and all future profits will belong to the imperial court.

Lai Shangwen immediately became speechless. He had long been used to this kind of situation in Ningguo Mansion, so how could he not know the inner secret? As the saying goes, if you rely on the mountain to eat the mountain, if you rely on the water to eat the water, if you rely on the master, don't you have to eat from the master? The Rongguo Mansion has a big garden, and the uncle’s house has a small garden. If the master eats meat, the people below him must have some soup, right?

Lai Shangwen consciously found out the way to the Li family's residence, and because he felt relaxed, he immediately followed Wu Haining to eat and stuff himself, so he didn't mention it.

Yes, the canal from Tianjin to the capital will freeze in winter, and if you can't get on the boat, won't you have to pay more for shipping?

Then he went to check out the steam engines that had been laid out. Although the steam engines had been built, only two were built. Although it is only enlarged, the craftsmanship is extraordinary.

Shan Dahong frowned and said, "No more following, let's open the cards."

Wu Haining yawned and said: "That's all, Brother Lai and Brother Shan also have good intentions. It's just twenty coins, what's it worth? Where can you get such a small amount of money? Let's break up. I won't have a bath tomorrow. , brother, take me to have some fun."

"That's right!" Cao Yunsheng smiled and suddenly said: "Uncle, what's going on with the iron factory's shares? We all have money ready, so why doesn't the court want to sell it?"

Li Weijian thought for a while and said: "After the New Year, try to split it up and remove the reverberatory furnace to Leting."

Li Weijian then smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, we can't keep that stock in the hands of the imperial court forever. If we don't sell it now, how can we know if it won't be sold in the future?"

Pai Gow was stacked again. Wu Haining picked up the dice and shook his hands to play. Lai Shangwen took a look at it and was overjoyed!

Dashun is not short of money? When Li Weijian built the train, the imperial court would not be able to survive just by building one horizontally and vertically, and the stock would have to be sold by then.

Saying goodbye to Cao Yunsheng and others, Cao Yunsheng organized another banquet. Li Weijian declined with a smile, and then set off for a visit to the inner palace manufacturing office.

Xiangyun is about to give birth to a baby, so she must give him a suitable gift. This gift should be neither shabby nor too expensive. When the clerk from the manufacturing office saw Li Weijian coming, he greeted him with a smile and walked around for a while. Li Weijian just chose a bracelet wrapped with white agate.

............................................................

Two days passed and it was already the nineteenth of the winter lunar month. For the first two days, Xiangling's heart was full of tenderness and affection. However, as time went by, Fourth Master Jian's strength increased greatly, and Xiangling couldn't bear it in this bed.

Last night, I struggled for a long time, and I didn't get up until three sticks of fragrant water chestnuts came up in the sun. First, he had breakfast with Aunt Zhen. Aunt Zhen's inquisitive words made Xiangling's cheeks turn red. When they returned to the inner house, they heard that Fourth Master Jian had gone to the factory early in the morning. Xiangling took a short rest. In the afternoon, he hurriedly asked Wu Haiping to prepare a carriage and hurried to Rongguo Mansion.

She was wandering outside the door just now as she read the poem. It was the time when she got interested. It was because she had been delayed for the past few days that she might have come to visit her master Daiyu early.

Just after noon, the carriage and horses arrived at Derongguo Mansion. The disciples recognized the Li family's carriage and hurriedly stepped forward to greet her. However, they were immediately disappointed when they saw only Xiang Ling.

It snowed yesterday. Now Baoyu, Sanchun and Baochai all went to the garden to enjoy the snow. Daiyu excused herself because she was weak and could not bear the cold, so she stayed in the back building to read and play the piano.

The maid Xue Yan led Xiang Ling inside, took two hurried steps ahead and said with a smile: "Girl, look who's here?"

"Xiang Ling?" Daiyu pressed the strings and said with a smile, "I thought it would be a few days before you come."

Xiang Ling smiled and said: "You have just become a master, so you must be more diligent, otherwise the master will not teach you real skills."

Daiyu laughed and said, "I'm just a master of writing, so where can I get my real ability? I write some poems, but most of them are just for the occasion."

The female officer guard Jian Yu knew that this was an eyesore, so she stood up and said, "Girl, please rest first. I'm feeling a little depressed right now, so I just want to go out and take a walk."

Daiyu quickly ordered Zijuan to wait on her, bid farewell to Wei Jianyu, and then took Xiangling and sat down. The two exchanged some gossip, and Xiangling asked some questions. When Daiyu returned, she suddenly understood.

Suddenly he smiled and said: "It's really enlightening to have Miss Lin solve my doubts. In addition to the words and phrases drawn by Miss Lin these days, I accidentally saw another song. There are many puzzles in it, so I happened to invite Lin. Girl, give me some advice.”

Daiyu has a clear mind, how can she not know the meaning of Xiangling? Thinking that the poems were probably written by Fourth Brother Jian, I suddenly became a little shy and whispered: "Tell me about it."

Xiangling cleared her throat and chanted: "

The lingering snow is shining on the cold painted screen, and the fallen plum blossoms have been hanging for three times.

There is no place where the moon is bright.

I am a melancholy guest in the human world. I know what happened to you and I burst into tears.

Reminiscing about life in the sound of heartbreak.

"

After reciting the song Huanxisha, Xiangling saw that Daiyu was slightly absent-minded and could only keep muttering the words "I am a melancholy guest in the world". She felt certain that the fourth master's poems were also very good. Otherwise, how could Miss Lin do this? Trance?

But she didn't know that Daiyu suddenly remembered that she was playing the piano in the small building on weekdays. Fourth brother Jian often walked in the small garden next to the east courtyard. I guess it was then that she heard the sadness in the sound of her piano, right?

This Que Huanxisha is clearly written for me.

Daiyu thought about it in her heart, her face turned red with embarrassment, and she didn't come back to her senses for a long time.

Xiangling pursed her lips and smiled, until the blush on Daiyu's face faded, and then she said: "Miss Lin? This word——"

Daiyu said seriously: "Fourth brother Jian is indeed very talented. I'm afraid I can't write such a poem, let alone describe it well. If it spreads, I don't think it will attract people to sing it."

Although Xiangling thought that Fourth Master's poetry was the best, she never expected that it would be so good. Although she was not as literary and artistic as Daiyu, she admired talented people who could write famous lines that would be sung through the ages. Because my heart is getting more and more upset, I feel that the pain of the past ten years has indeed been in vain. Now, isn't it time to turn around?

Suddenly there was a call at the door, Xueyan hurriedly opened the door, and then led Tanchun up the stairs quickly.

"Eh? Xiangling is here too?"

Xiangling hurriedly stood up to greet her, Tanchun nodded with a smile, and then came over and said, "Sister Lin, Xiangyun Ming'er is a baby. What kind of gifts are you planning to give to me?"

Daiyu said: "It's just for the occasion, maybe a fan or a book. The third sister hasn't decided what to give yet?"

Tan Chun said distressedly: "I heard Xiangyun say that being a female celebrity was hard work, so I thought about giving him an agate thimble, but the thimble was nowhere to be found."

Where is it missing? Tanchun got a good thing, but she could only keep it for a few days before she was coaxed away by Aunt Zhao.

"I haven't had a good baby for two years in a row, so I have to be more serious this time. I plan to give you a fan, just because I'm afraid I'll bump into Sister Lin."

Daiyu chuckled and said, "If Third Sister wants to give you fans, I'll give them books instead." Xiangling wondered, "Miss Shi, do you like reading?"

Daiyu's smile became even brighter: "She... I'm afraid she'll fall asleep in a moment just by holding the book in her hands. Haha... But I'm giving this book, I'm sure she likes it."

With that said, Daiyu stood up and took out a book from the bookshelf. Xiang Ling glanced briefly and saw the words "Guo Qingluo heard lawsuits in six provinces and recorded Xinmin public cases" written clearly on the cover.

Xiang Ling is ignorant of goods, but Tan Chun is knowledgeable. He hurriedly came over to observe it, and exclaimed: "Sister Lin is so generous. This book was probably reprinted during the Tianqi period. Even if it is not a unique copy, it is still a rare copy."

Daiyu smiled and said: "Where is the generosity? It's just a room full of ugly books."

Last year at this time, in a hurry at Tongzhou Post House, fourth brother Jian handed a box of silver notes to Zijuan. After counting, there were a total of five thousand taels in it! Although Daiyu didn't care about this, she knew that her heart was rare. Now a year has passed, but I have spent a few hundred taels, and there is still more than 4,000 taels left.

Mo underestimated these hundreds of taels. Because Zijuan and Xueyan were throwing money around, it saved them a lot of talk and frustration. And because the two maids were so generous, the reputation of Daiyu in Rongguo Mansion instantly improved. , Du Daolin girl is considerate of her servants.

Thinking of this, she naturally thought of Li Weijian, but Tanchun was here, so Daiyu only glanced at Xiangling and endured what she was saying.

I don't know if it was a coincidence, but Tanchun happened to ask at this moment: "Xiang Ling, will Fourth Brother Jian also go to Baolinghou Mansion tomorrow?"

Daiyu couldn't help but listen attentively, and then heard Xiangling smile and say: "I received the invitation early in the morning, and the fourth master will be there tomorrow."

Tanchun clasped his hands and smiled: "I haven't seen Fourth Brother Jian for a while, but I can see you tomorrow!"

Tanchun didn't know that he had stolen Daiyu's words. Why didn't Miss Lin think this way? After thinking about it, Daiyu smiled and said: "Tomorrow I am going to meet the 'melancholy guest in the world'."

Xiangling smiled and nodded, but Tanchun was confused and asked quickly: "What kind of allusion is this? How come I don't know it?"

Where can I tell Tanchun about the poem? Daiyu teased and said, "Third sister, you want to know?" When she nodded, Daiyu covered her face with her sleeves and said with a smile, "I won't tell you!"

Tanchun immediately feigned anger: "Okay, Sister Lin will also learn to bully others, see if I don't tickle you!"

For a time, the small building was filled with laughter and laughter.

It happened that Baoyu and others had enjoyed the snow, and when they came out of the garden, they happened to pass by the back building. When they heard the laughter and laughter, Baoyu was eager to try it. Just as he was about to take a step, he saw Zijuan and Wei Jianyu turning back from a distance.

Baoyu's face froze, knowing that he couldn't be provoked, so he had no choice but to leave sadly.

............................................................

The next day, after breakfast, Daiyu and other girls hurriedly dressed up, took the maid, mother-in-law, and Wang Xifeng, who took the lead, to the front yard, took a carriage, and rushed to the Baolinghou Mansion. .

Although Jia's mother was the aunt of Baolinghou and Zhongjinghou, due to the events of that year, the historians and Jia family had little contact. The previous episode was triggered by Ningguo Mansion. This time Xiangyun celebrated her birthday. Although Jia Mu didn't know the inside story, she was happy to see relatives moving around like this. Because not only did he not stop him, he also ordered Sister Feng to take care of all the brothers and sisters.

This time, Grandma Li Wan was still unable to make the trip due to an errand for the prince's teacher, but she also sent Jia Lan with a congratulatory gift. Wang Xifeng looked around and finally persuaded her brothers and sisters to get in the carriage, and then she got into the carriage.

Holding the stove, he immediately complained: "Hey, if I had known this, I should have let my sister-in-law take over this job. I always have some leisure time when I go out and have some mischief. Who would have expected that I would be even more tired than at home."

Ping'er laughed and said, "It's just that I have to ask grandma to take care of me. When I get to Baolinghou Mansion, the girls and the boys go to play naughty by themselves. Grandma can be lazy."

Wang Xifeng frowned and said, "That's it for girls. Even if they are naughty, they have a certain temper. But those two brothers are not easy to worry about."

Ping'er knew that Wang Xifeng was talking about Baoyu and Jia Lan. Thinking of an incident that had happened at Fourth Master Jian's Xiangshan Villa, Ping'er couldn't help but worry: "What else can I do? I can only send the people below to take a closer look. .”

While they were talking, the carriage and horses were heading westward, and they arrived at the Baolinghou Mansion in about half an hour.

Entering the mansion through the corner gate, everyone waited until they arrived at the Deyi gate to see Mrs. Baolinghou waiting there. Normally Wang Xifeng and others are considered juniors and should not work like this, but after all, the two families don't move around much, so Mrs. Baolinghou is much more solemn.

Na Xiangyun was beside Mrs. Baolinghou. When he saw all the brothers and sisters arriving, he was overjoyed. Cuofei was worried that his aunt was still there, so he was afraid that he would run madly to meet her.

When Wang Xifeng saw Mrs. Baolinghou, she was startled and hurriedly stepped forward to greet her. Everyone chatted and laughed and went to the inner house.

Entering the hall, Mrs. Baolinghou looked at each of them one by one, praised Baoyu a little, and talked to Daiyu and others.

From Jia Mu's point of view, except for Daiyu who wanted to be called cousin, the rest of the people had to call Mrs. Baolinghou cousin. Wang Xifeng said: "Cousin takes it too seriously. We are just juniors, how can we Will my labor cousin welcome me in person?"

Mrs. Baolinghou said: "It's rare for the house to be lively. The master has something to do, and Brother Jin and Brother Rang are not attentive, so why don't I come to welcome you? The house has not been lively for a long time. Come here, in the past two years, the child Xiangyun has been ill for a while, and then caught up with the master's return. This child has never been born.

I thought that Xiangyun was getting older, so there would be a lot of fun. "

How can Wang Xifeng believe this? But for a while, I didn't know what the Baolinghou couple meant, so they could only agree.

After talking briefly for a while, Mrs. Baolinghou got up and went to arrange household affairs, and asked Shi Jin and Shi Rang to accompany her. The two brothers were about the same age as Baoyu, but they were full of bookishness. Shi Rang also wore heavy glasses for myopia. He speaks in a precise manner, but sometimes he is careless.

Baoyu briefly exchanged a few words with him, and suddenly felt very upset.

I peeked at the sisters and saw Xiangyun, the birthday girl, clustered among them as if she was being held in the moonlight by stars. At this moment, Sanchun and Daiyu were sending congratulatory gifts one after another.

Yingchun gave me a stove, Tanchun gave me a fan, Xichun gave me a painting, and Daiyu gave me a storybook. Xiangyun usually feels depressed in the Marquis Mansion. There are rare times when it is so lively, so he is so excited that his face turns red and he keeps chattering.

After receiving Daiyu's gift, Xiangyun immediately pouted and said, "Sister Lin sent me another book, are you afraid that I won't sleep well at night?"

"Gee, look at it carefully before you speak."

Xiangyun lowered his head to observe it for a few times, then hurriedly flipped through two pages, and was suddenly pleasantly surprised: "It turns out... well, for such a book, Sister Lin really understands me."

Daiyu smiled and said angrily: "If I don't like you, I am Sister Lin, and if you like me, I am Sister Lin. Am I the elder sister or the younger sister?"

Xiangyun stood up and took Daiyu's arm, and said coquettishly: "It doesn't matter if she is an older sister or a younger sister, I just want to remember your kindness. When you have a baby, I will give you something you like."

Daiyu said: "Then I will wait."

While talking, Baoyu also came over and handed Tanchun a fan, but he bumped into Tanchun. Tanchun felt a little unhappy, and couldn't help but said: "Brother Bao, why are you giving fans as well? Didn't you agree yesterday that I would give fans as well?"

Baoyu smiled and said, "I gave you a fan pendant, but I didn't find anything interesting. And I happened to see this fan, so I gave it to Xiangyun."

Xiang Yunhun didn't care. He picked up two fans and fanned them back and forth. He smiled and said, "I want them all. In summer, I will use this one today and that one tomorrow. This is called sharing the rain and dew."

The hall suddenly burst into laughter. Xiangyun was waiting to go to the back garden to take a stroll and enjoy the snow and plum blossoms. Suddenly, a mother-in-law came in and announced: "Brothers, Uncle Jingling is here!"

Daiyu suddenly froze. Before Baoyu, Xichun, and Xiangyun could react, Tanchun shouted: "Fourth brother Jian is here!"

Only then did the rest suddenly realize that it was Li Weijian who dared to show his affection. But seeing Shi Jin and Shi Rang hurriedly getting up to greet them, the young ones didn't feel any difference, but Wang Xifeng was filled with emotion.

They all appear to be of average age, no different than two years apart. Nowadays, Baoyu is still regarded as a child, but Brother Jian is among the ministers and has a good reputation. Thinking again of the quarrel with Jia Lian just in the past two days, Wang Xifeng couldn't help but feel depressed.

If you have the ability, that's all. Earn a wife's title for her, and follow Jia Lian to get a little wife. If you don’t have any skills, you just want to hide in the pile of makeup and powder. You are simply hopeless!

Xiangyun originally wanted to wait for Li Weijian for a while, but he didn't see him when he was waiting on the left, and he didn't come when he was waiting on the right. After a long time, two cousins, Shi Jin and Shi Rang, returned. Xiangyun asked, and Shi Rangcai said, "Father is talking to fourth brother Jian. I'm afraid he won't be available for a while."

Xiangyun's heart was in confusion. The second uncle and the second aunt have often mentioned Li Weijian in the past two years. How much money he has earned today, he will be promoted to an official tomorrow, and now he has been granted the title of uncle. In addition to praising him, his cousin Shi Rang has also been praised. To use a familiar saying, Li Weijian has now become someone else's child.

Xiangyun has grown two years older. Although he is still ignorant, he also knows some things about people. Naturally, she knew that her second uncle and her third uncle wanted to bring her and fourth brother Jian together.

The matter of marriage was originally the order of the parents and the words of the matchmaker. Perhaps because she was still young, Xiangyun had no other thoughts. But depending on the arrangement of my second uncle and third uncle, I can just act as ordered when the time comes.

In addition, she has a cheerful temperament, and she will forget anything unhappy or troublesome in a blink of an eye. So at the moment she was only thinking about what Brother Jian would give her this time, and then she said happily: "The troupe will be here in a while, why don't we take this opportunity to stroll around the back garden and have a snow walk?" Looking for plum blossoms.”

Baoyu immediately echoed, he really couldn't bear to talk to Shi Jin and Shi Rang. So everyone gathered around the outer cloak, surrounded by maids and wives, and headed towards the back garden to look for him.

............................................................

In the study.

The fragrant tea continues again, and the mist rises. There was a scent of sandalwood in the corner, and Li Weijian smiled and praised: "Uncle Shi's study is actually a bit Zen-like."

Shi Nai waved his hand and said with a smile: "I'm just a toddler in Handan. I know a little bit about Zen, so I can have some fun while chatting with others."

The words of gratitude have been mentioned just now, so it’s not easy to mention them again at this time.

Because Shi Nai muttered: "When the New Year starts, I'm afraid I will be released."

Li Weijian smiled and cupped his hands: "Congratulations, Uncle Shi, on getting what he wanted."

Shi Nai's face was full of bitterness: "I failed in my errand, and the governor becomes the inspector. How can I be happy?"

"It is very important to give the punishment name to the inspector. It shows that the saint is still willing to give Uncle Shi another chance."

Shi Nai nodded and sighed: "To be fair to my nephew, although my family of historians started out with military exploits, they turned to literature since the previous generation, and have never been tainted with the way of battle. That sunset, I almost choked to death. I... ...I'm really scared, who would have thought that the Yangzhou salt merchants would be so rampant?"

That's right, the eight major salt merchants were blamed for intercepting and killing the imperial envoy. As for whether the government and the public believe it or not, well, that’s what the court decided anyway, believe it or not.

Li Weijian said: "Don't say it's uncle Shi, isn't it the same for my nephew? That day when we went into battle for the first time, the two groups were fighting. They were afraid that would-be thieves would come in, so they just smashed Dongfeng over. The chief of Cuofei Department sent someone to stop, I'm afraid that all the four thousand Dongfeng coins accompanying me were released by my nephew."

Shi Nai smiled and shook his head. He knew these were words to comfort him, so he didn't take them seriously. After talking about court affairs for a while, Shi Nai suddenly said: "My nephew is sixteen now, isn't he?"

Li Weijian said hurriedly: "A baby born in June will be sixteen next year."

Shi Nai couldn't help but smile meaningfully: "Sixteen is not too young, it's time to start a family."

"There is no rush. My nephew thinks that he should take advantage of these few years to work hard. As for getting married, he might as well take his time to look for it."

Shi Nai was immediately overjoyed. Xiangyun is only in his early ten years now, and he will be eleven next year. He is really too young. If you delay for two or three years, you will get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

He didn't know that Li Weijian only thought about Daiyu. It would take two or three years for Daiyu to decline, so wouldn't he be anxious? Baolinghou only said that Li Weijian understood his intention in his heart, and the two already had a tacit understanding, so they treated Li Weijian more and more eagerly.

After talking for a while, I thought that I should let the two little ones have more contact, so I said casually: "Today is the birth of Xiangyun. I don't want to overstep my bounds. My nephew, please go back. I can't say that Xiangyun is early." Just looking forward to it.”

"Yes." Li Weijian stood up with a smile, and was immediately led to the back house by the steward.

Not to mention the fact that the outsider is only a boy, Li Weijian saved Shi Nai's life. This bond is as good as the whole family.

Just after passing the second courtyard gate, brothers Shi Jin and Shi Rang came to greet them. But he said that everyone had gone to the back garden to enjoy the scenery, and then he led Li Weijian to the back garden.

The Baolinghou Mansion was built at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China and was more than twice the size of the Zhongjing Hou Mansion. Because there was a lot of open space at that time, it was not easy to move around when we arrived at Zhongjing Marquis.

It's like Li Weijian, who is now a second-class uncle. He wants to expand his mansion but can't. He has backgrounds both before and after, so it's not good to drive anyone away.

While walking along the corridor, I heard laughter like silver bells coming from a distance, and then a red figure beckoned from afar: "Brother Jian, come quickly!"

(End of this chapter)