Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 343 Daiyu's Design
Emperor Zhenghe was very pleased!
After taking a quick look at Li Weijian, he recalled what Concubine Wu said a few days ago, and couldn't help but feel regretful. Li Fusheng is not even eighteen years old yet, and in terms of foresight and insight, few people in the court can match him. If he had been recruited as a Yibin a few years earlier... I'm afraid it wouldn't be appropriate, as it would be difficult for him to enter the court if he became a Yibin.

Li Fusheng is so capable, and after twenty years of hard work, it is the right time for him to enter the court as the Prime Minister in his forties. We can't just favor Yongshou and let such a great talent wander around in the inner court for the rest of his life, right?

Thinking about the report from the Ministry of Punishment a few days ago, Li Fusheng reported on time every day and had to go home at noon. Emperor Zhenghe was immediately unhappy again.

As the emperor, he had to stay up late every day to review memorials, but this capable minister was so relaxed... This was not acceptable. After thinking about it, he decided to add more burden to Li Weijian.

Li Weijian felt uneasy when Emperor Zhenghe looked at him, thinking that something bad must be going on... He couldn't let the company affairs be left to him alone, right?
Fortunately, I heard Emperor Zhenghe pondering, "Does Fusheng know about the chaos in the inner court?"

"Your Majesty, I have heard a little bit about this."

"It's shocking." With a sigh, Emperor Zhenghe said, "I'll tell you a joke. This shaomai vendor on Shanxi Street in the outer city picked up a badge in the twelfth month of last year. Before the New Year, he took the badge and strolled around the palace. With the badge of the chief eunuch, he was able to travel freely without anyone daring to stop him."

"what?"

Emperor Zhenghe said, "I haven't finished talking yet. That fellow wandered around twice and became more and more daring. He made steamed buns and ran straight to the palace to sell them. The price has doubled and the demand is still insufficient. Not to mention the palace maids and eunuchs, even the concubines have sent their maids to find him to buy."

Li Weijian blinked, trying hard not to laugh. Is this the imperial palace? Fortunately, the entrances to every place were strictly checked, otherwise if the thieves brought weapons or poisons in, there would be a lot of trouble.

After a long while, Li Weijian finally said solemnly: "This... I think it is really outrageous."

Emperor Zhenghe frowned and said, "What's even more infuriating is that he thought selling steamed buns wasn't profitable, so he rented out the waist badges for two taels of silver a day. In the past six months, I don't know how many people have entered my palace."

Li Weijian blinked his eyes and thought that the imperial city was almost becoming a sieve. Otherwise, Saint, you should buy tickets outside. At least you can make some money.

I'd just think about this, because it would be disrespectful to say it out loud.

At that time, gates and palaces were controlled by waist badges, and the crime of losing the waist badge could be serious or minor. If it was lost, as long as it was not known to outsiders, most eunuchs and guards would ask for silver and seek a replacement from the Internal Workshop, just considering it a loss to avoid disaster.

Li Weijian was reluctant to criticize the palace ban system, so he just asked in a low voice: "How does the saint plan to deal with the peddler?"

Emperor Zhenghe glanced at him and said nothing.

Li Weijian understood that this man had probably been dealt with early in the morning. If it was a formal punishment, it would probably turn into a joke in the end.

Then he heard Emperor Zhenghe say, "Emperor Taizong felt sorry for the old, weak and disabled people in the Old Camp and the Left Fifth Camp, so he established the Neifu Yamen. However, the population has grown over the years, and the people in the Neifu Yamen feel superior because they can do imperial errands. They are closely related to each other, and many of them have intermarried. Today, I do not intend to continue to let it go."

Does this matter have anything to do with me? Li Weijian thought, I am just an assistant, so the decision should be made by the King of Loyalty and Bravery, right?
Emperor Zhenghe paused, looked at Li Weijian and said, "Fusheng is good at practical learning and creation, especially economics, but he still needs to be familiar with the duties of the Zhengyin Hall official, otherwise how can he enter the court in the future?"

Li Weijian didn't want to enter the court at this moment, so he quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am young and inexperienced. I am afraid that I cannot serve as an official in the court without ten years of experience."

"My dear minister, you have always known this, but this shortcoming must be made up. In this way, from now on, you will also be in charge of the Kuaiji Division."

The Kuaiji Division was responsible for checking the accounts of the various departments in the inner court, which was an offensive job. Li Weijian quickly refused, saying, "This... Your Majesty, I am also in charge of the Wubeiyuan and the Construction Division."

The sage waved his hand and said, "You have been in charge of the Wubeiyuan for several years. You are familiar with the job. Just take time out every day to deal with it. The rest will be handled by the doctors. The two doctors and assistants in the Construction Department will all be dismissed and detained. I will select appropriate Shujishi from the Hanlin Academy to fill the positions in the future. You don't have to worry too much."

The sage said so, what else could Li Weijian say? He just said, "Then I will take charge of it first. When the sage finds someone he likes, I will hand over the job to him."

The saint nodded with satisfaction.

Li Weijian carefully sipped his tea, thinking about the Northern Tour, and said, "I heard from outside that the Saint will be touring the North... probably in July?"

The saint smiled and said, "Since we are going to pursue the remnants of the bandits, the north must be stable. This northern tour will probably take three months..." Suddenly, he remembered what the envoy from Jingling Earl's Mansion had reported, that Lin Ruhai's orphan was in poor health. The saint thought that Li Weijian mentioned this in order to exempt Daiyu from accompanying him on the northern tour, so he said, "Li Lin is in poor health, so you can decide whether to accompany her or not."

"Yes, thank you for your mercy, Saint."

Just at this moment, Dai Quan came over and whispered, "Saint, the prince requests to see you."

Emperor Zhenghe responded and looked at Li Weijian, with a look of reluctance on his face. Li Weijian, however, was tactful and quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "In that case, I will take my leave first."

Emperor Zhenghe nodded and ordered, "Daban, send Li Aiqing off."

Dai Quan led Li Weijian out, and just as they left the West Warm Pavilion, they ran into the prince at the gate of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Li Weijian bowed and quickly stepped aside.

The prince came over excitedly, and when he saw Li Weijian, his eyes lit up immediately. He approached with his hands behind his back and said with a smile, "Lord Jingling, I just got a few manuscripts of Western books, so it's a good opportunity to offer them to the Buddha. How about I have someone send them to Lord Jingling's house someday?"

Li Weijian couldn't refuse directly, so he could only bow and say with a wooden face: "Then I would like to thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The prince laughed, "Lord Jingling, there is no need to be polite. I have received such a great benefit, so I must give something back. I will go see my father first, and we can talk again when we have time."

"Your Highness, I respectfully bid you farewell."

Watching the prince leading the palace servants hurriedly into the palace, Li Weijian stood up and looked at Dai Quan, and immediately looked quite helpless. Dai Quan came over and whispered: "Master Li, don't worry. It's a normal exchange. The saint can't find any fault."

Li Weijian nodded, followed Dai Quan out, and didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he got out of the palace and got on his own carriage. He began to think about whether he should make a few small mistakes recently... Look at what the saint said, the more capable you are, the more burden you have to bear. I was exhausted enough in my last life, how could I repeat the same mistakes in this life?

The carriage rumbled along, and it took two quarters of an hour to arrive at the Bo's residence. Li Weijian got off the carriage in front of the Yimen Gate, and did not allow anyone to report inside. He walked with his hands behind his back, and in a moment he arrived at the main room of the east courtyard. It was just after the 3:00 p.m., and all the concubines had gone to their own places. Only Daiyu and Xiangling were talking in the main room.

Seeing Li Weijian coming in, the two girls hurried to greet him. Daiyu said angrily, "Why didn't Fourth Brother send someone to pass on the message? It's only a few steps, can you make me tired?"

Li Weijian pulled Daiyu's hand and said with a smile: "Those rules are for outsiders to see. There are no outsiders here now, so why should I bother you?"

Daiyu felt relieved, knowing that the matter was difficult to sort out, so she quickly ordered Zijuan to fetch some water and help Li Weijian wash his hands and change his clothes. It was already summer, and the weather was getting hotter.

After Li Weijian changed into his home clothes, Daiyu asked, "What did Fourth Brother have for lunch at the government office?"

"Don't mention it. I was about to eat when the Saint called me to the palace." Seeing Daiyu frowning in worry, Li Weijian shook his head and said, "I was just asking for advice, but the Saint kept me for dinner."

Xiangling was immediately beaming with joy and said, "The Fourth Master was invited to have lunch by the Saint? This shows that the Fourth Master has won the favor of the Saint. People from outside cannot be invited to stay even if they want to."

Xueyan asked with a smile: "Master, I wonder what the imperial meal looks like? I think it must be a hundred times better than what's served outside."

Li Weijian smiled and said, "The ingredients are excellent, but the taste...it's a matter of personal preference."

Xueyan was surprised and asked, "It tastes bad? Maybe it's because the master is used to eating home-cooked meals?"

Before Li Weijian could speak, Daiyu said, "The meals in the palace are very particular about matching and nourishing. Most of them are warm-cooked dishes. The menu cannot be easily changed for several years or even more than ten years. In terms of taste, the food outside is actually fresher."

Li Weijian nodded and said, "Sister, what you said is...Did Taishan tell you that?"

Daiyu smiled and nodded, "When I was a child, I came to the capital with my parents to report on my work. My father received cakes from the emperor. My mother and I tasted them and both thought they tasted just average."

Xiangling was very perceptive and knew that the hour or so between returning home and dinner was the time when Li Weijian and Daiyu were spending time together. She didn't want to stay and disturb them, so she stood up and said with a smile, "Madam, now that you've said that, we've learned something new. Fourth Master, Madam, I'm going to go back first and will come back later."

Xiangling took her leave, and Li Weijian and Daiyu sat together on the soft couch in the east room. Li Weijian casually asked Daiyu about her itinerary for the day.

Daiyu said, "Grandmother is tired this time. It seems that she hasn't rested yet."

Li Weijian said, "After all, I am old. I will find some supplements from the storehouse and send them to him. It will be considered as my best effort."

Daiyu nodded and said, "You don't need to tell me, Fourth Brother. I have already sent quite a lot today." After a pause, she smiled and said, "I even complained to my grandmother in front of her."

Li Weijian reached out and stroked Daiyu's cheek, and said with a smile: "Sister, are you getting angry?"

Daiyu curled her lips and snorted, "Bringing a woman who can sleep with anyone here will not only humiliate Fourth Brother, but also humiliate me. I can't pretend to be a good person when someone bullies me, can I?"

"I think Brother Lian is in trouble this time."

Daiyu thought of Jia Lian's embarrassing situation and laughed, "My second brother was very angry and said there would be no next time. I saw that my grandmother was also angry and punished my second brother to copy the Filial Piety Classic ten times."

Li Weijian said, "It's just this one time. If it happens again, I will definitely give him a slap in the face."

Daiyu looked embarrassed. "Although I vented my anger, I kept it to myself. Now that I think about it, I feel so sorry for Sister Feng."

Li Weijian thought about it and said to comfort her: "Second sister-in-law is pregnant, it's not good to make her angry now." Daiyu sighed and said: "It was because of this that I only mentioned it to my grandmother."

"We should keep it a secret for a while. We have to wait until Second Sister-in-law is fully mature before we speak."

"Yeah." Daiyu leaned against Li Weijian's arms, nodded her chin, and then frowned and talked about another matter. "I don't know what Second Brother Bao was thinking. He drank too much with his classmates and leaked the sisters' game work. It happened to end up in the bookstore of Prince Zhongshun. Fourth Brother also knew that Rong Mansion and Prince Zhongshun Mansion had a grudge. In the afternoon, Second Brother Lian handed in the invitation, but it was blocked by the steward of the Prince's Mansion, who said that it had to be printed into a book."

"Hmm?" Li Weijian frowned and said angrily, "Prince Zhongshun is here to provoke me again? Is his life going too smoothly?"

Li Weijian was thinking about whether to take advantage of the situation to make a scene, when suddenly Qianxue came in hurriedly, bowed and said, "Master, Madam, the owner of Wenmo Bookstore came up and said that he accidentally got Madam's poems and came to return them."

Daiyu blinked and said in a dumbfounded manner, "Did Prince Zhongshun return all of them, or only mine?"

Qianxue shook her head and said, "I don't know."

Daiyu thought about it and realized that it must be returned to her alone, so that she could get rid of the relationship with the Bo's Mansion. She saw Li Weijian was embarrassed and said, "Grandmother asked me to let my fourth brother come out later this afternoon. It's not good for the sisters' play to be spread out."

Li Weijian scratched his head and thought about it. He was just thinking about making a mistake. He sent a pillow just when he felt sleepy... But the pillow was only half sent, and Prince Zhongshun turned around and wanted to retreat. How could this work?
Li Weijian then ordered, "Just tell him that I'm going to the next door now and ask the shopkeeper to wait for a moment." Qianxue agreed and turned around to give the order.

Li Weijian stood up and said, "Don't worry, sister. I will go and destroy the bookstore right now."

"Ah?" Daiyu was so frightened that her face turned pale. She could not help but pull Li Weijian's sleeve and said, "Fourth brother, why are you doing this? At worst, we can sue the Zhongshun Palace. We will always be in the right. If Fourth brother really smashes the bookstore, then we will be in the wrong even if we are in the right."

Li Weijian whispered, "I couldn't help but give the Saint a bad idea today. Who knows how many people will be jealous of me in the future. Instead of waiting for those villains to attack me, I might as well make a small mistake in advance to avoid the limelight."

As he spoke, he stood up and walked away, saying, "Sister, wait a moment. I will be back after I smash the bookstore."

Daiyu didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she knew that Li Weijian had his own ideas and would not allow her to make any comments. After thinking about it, Daiyu hurriedly called Zijuan over and said, "Prepare the pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

Zijuan and Xueyan hurriedly found a brush, ink, paper and inkstone. Daiyu waited for the ink to dissolve, then picked up the brush and began to write quickly. As time was tight, she no longer paid attention to the font. On the paper, the tiny characters were written line by line, but she was writing down all the poems she had written at the poetry club gatherings several times before and after from memory.

After a while, Baoqin suddenly heard someone outside saying, "Madam is writing a poem? Sister, you came at an untimely time... Hey? Did Fourth Brother go to the next door again?"

Daiyu looked up and saw Baoqin, who was smelling tea. She waved her hand unhappily and said with a smile, "You came just in time. Please help me recall the poems. I can't remember these poems."

Baoqin came forward in surprise, looked at it for a few seconds and then said with a smile: "Madam, are you thinking of publishing a book of poems?"

Daiyu rolled her eyes at her and said, "What nonsense! This is a serious matter." She then told her about the situation in which Baoyu revealed the poems.

Baoqin was immediately embarrassed and annoyed after hearing this: "Why is Second Brother Bao like this? How can you casually reveal the work of our sisters as a game?"

Daiyu said, "Fourth brother is going to smash the bookstore now. I think we should be right. Sister, please think about the poems you are missing."

Baoqin also had a good memory. She briefly reviewed it and corrected two places. Then she said in distress, "I can't remember much either."

Daiyu counted carefully and thought that there were no more than two missing poems, so she asked Zijuan to blow the ink dry and called Qianxue to ask, "Has the bookshop owner left yet?"

Qianxue replied, "Madam, he is still waiting in the side hall."

Daiyu ordered, "Take him to the front hall and tell him I want to see him."

Qianxue agreed and turned to lead the way.

Baoqin was also smart. She immediately knew what Daiyu was thinking and said with a smile, "Madam, you have a good plan. It's such an interesting thing. Why don't you let me see it too? If the shopkeeper argues, I can help you spit on him."

Seeing Baoqin's adorable face, Daiyu reached out and touched her forehead, saying with a smile, "This is a serious matter, you shouldn't mess around."

Baoqin came over immediately and pulled Daiyu's arm and said coquettishly: "I will never act foolishly, dear madam, just take me to see it."

Daiyu was pestered to no avail and had to agree in a bad mood. She changed her clothes, led Baoqin, the maid and the old woman, and went to the front hall in a mighty manner.

This front hall was behind the ceremonial gate, with warm rooms on the left and right, and a bright hall with three rooms for receiving guests in the middle. Baoqin helped Daiyu enter through the back door, and the shopkeeper had been waiting there since early morning.

Wu Haiping quickly introduced her, "This is my wife."

The shopkeeper quickly stood up and greeted: "My humble servant greets the Madam."

Daiyu kept a sullen face and said nothing. She sat upright with the help of Baoqin. She glanced at the shopkeeper and said softly, "The master was held up by other things and wrote back to ask me to come and receive you. Shopkeeper, did you hear that my humble work fell into the hands of your bookstore?"

The shopkeeper smiled on his face but cursed in his heart. Wenmo Bookstore was the prince's business. I don't know where the prince got the poems of the girls from Rongguo Mansion. Yesterday he ordered them to be printed. Even if he couldn't destroy the reputation of Rongguo Mansion, he would at least disgust it.

The shopkeeper followed orders and was looking for a craftsman to carve the plates, when the prince came over again and ordered him to pick out all the poems written by "Xiaoxiang Concubine" and sent him to the mansion to complain. After careful questioning, it turned out that this Xiaoxiang Concubine was the wife of Jingling Bo!

Jingling Bo, Li Caishen, this man is not easy to mess with. Moreover, his wife just got married, and the poems written in the boudoir fell into the hands of the bookstore... The shopkeeper cursed his mother, knowing that this time it would be difficult, and only hoped that Li Caishen would be more generous.

At this time, he repeatedly bowed and said angrily: "It is all my fault. I received the boudoir poems copied by the poor lady, and I thought they were imitations of women's works, but I didn't know that they actually contained the master's works of the lady. As soon as I realized something was wrong, I hurried to your house to express my anger. I hope the lady will forgive me."

Before Daiyu could say anything, Baoqin sneered, "How can my mistress's work be allowed to be leaked to the public? Since the shopkeeper said that it was copied by a poor man, please tell me his name and where he is now. Although my master and mistress are generous, I am petty and must teach that fellow a lesson."

The shopkeeper bowed again and said angrily: "That man left his poems in exchange for money and left. I don't know where he is now. Madam, please see..."

Daiyu sighed and said, "Forget it. I won't make it difficult for you. Just return all the poems I wrote."

The shopkeeper quickly pulled out the manuscript of the poem from his bosom and said, "I have brought all the manuscripts of the poem here. Madam, please erase the masterpiece."

Baoqin said, "I remember everything my wife wrote. There is no need to let my wife look at it, so as not to pollute her eyes. I will recite one poem and the shopkeeper will erase one. Is that okay?"

The shopkeeper responded immediately.

Baoqin cleared her throat and began to recite aloud. The shopkeeper did not dare to sit down because he had no other instructions. He bent over the coffee table and found a pencil to carefully write it out.

One poem after another, the shopkeeper was calm at first, but his expression suddenly changed after more than a dozen poems. The prince had instructed that, apart from the poems of Lady Jingling, the rest should be kept to disgust the Jia family. There were already more than a dozen poems, why weren't they finished yet?
While Baoqin was taking a break, the shopkeeper couldn't help but ask, "Could this... have all been done by Madam?"

Daiyu whispered, "My sister's recitation doesn't count, so why do you want me to recite it myself?"

The shopkeeper shook his head quickly: "No, no, I am talking too much."

Baoqin drank a sip of tea to moisten her throat and continued to recite. After a long while, the shopkeeper saw that Baoqin was still reciting and said with a smile, "Miss, please don't recite anymore. This poem has been completely erased. There is really nothing else to say."

Daiyu and Baoqin glanced at each other, and Baoqin smiled and said, "The matter is now settled. But there is one thing. If my wife's poems are circulated in the future, the blame will be on you!"

The shopkeeper blinked and agreed with a wry smile. He thought that it would be better to let the prince make the decision on this matter. It would not be good for a small shrimp like him to interfere.

Daiyu then said quietly, "Manager Wu, please send this shopkeeper out."

Wu Haiping stood in front of the shopkeeper with a fierce look on his face, raised his hand and said, "Shopkeeper Liu, please come in!"

The shopkeeper hurriedly bowed to Daiyu, then left dejectedly with Wu Haiping.

As soon as the person left, Daiyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Then Baoqin came over and whispered, "Madam, could it be that Fourth Brother didn't want to accompany you, so he made a mistake on purpose?"

Daiyu immediately had an idea. The fourth brother didn't want to accompany the emperor, maybe it was for his own sake. She frowned and said, "I didn't think of it for the moment, and he didn't even discuss it with me. What if I really anger the saint?"

Zijuan also said anxiously: "I think the Madam handled the situation quite well. Why don't we send someone to bring the master back?"

Daiyu thought about it and said, "No need to chase him. Just send someone to tell Fourth Brother about this. Fourth Brother can make his own decision."

Zijuan agreed and hurried to the front to find Wu Haiping to pass on the message.

Daiyu and Baoqin got up and walked towards the back house. Just as they passed the inner hall, a maid came hurriedly. When she saw Daiyu, she didn't even bother to greet her and shouted, "Madam, something bad has happened! Master Bao next door has gone crazy for some reason and has climbed over the wall to look for you. The maids and maids tried to stop them, but Master Bao beat up several of them!"

(End of this chapter)