swear not to be concubine

Chapter 91

The expression on Xu Zhengxing's face was cloudy and uncertain.

Three months ago, he received a transfer order from here in the capital, and he was also suspicious in his heart.I don't understand why he was relegated from the capital a few years ago and went to a subordinate county in Shandong to serve as a general judge, but now he suddenly received such a document, not only to transfer him back to the capital as an official, but also to do so in one fell swoop. Then he became a household doctor of the fifth rank.And after arriving at the household department, Zhou Yuanzheng actually met him personally, and he was very polite to him.As for the officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs, which one is not a human being?Seeing that Zhou Yuanzheng was being more polite to him, he naturally flattered him even more. He didn't need to do anything serious, but just sat there drinking tea all day and waiting for the value to be paid.So Xu Zhengxing's household doctor did it, and it was really very leisurely.

But this kind of idleness that has been emptied out, people who don't have to do any serious business will be idle every day, trembling with fear.

And this will hear Xu Zhongxuan say this, how can he not care too much?

All of a sudden, his face sank even more, and he said in a cold voice: "You mean, Mr. Zhou actually moved me back to the capital from other places to be an official because of your face?"

In fact, he was quite critical of Xu Zhongxuan in his heart.After all, he is Xu Zhongxuan's second uncle, but Xu Zhongxuan has been proud of his officialdom all these years, but he never thought of pulling him over and letting him work as a small secretary in the Imperial College.Later, he was relegated from Beijing, and he was not seen to speak for him in private.At this moment, Zhou Yuanzheng gave him a fifth-rank Hubu Langzhong, why did Xu Zhongxuan jump out to speak?

Xu Zhongxuan was not angry at his sudden sarcasm, but he was still talking slowly: "Now that the crown prince has not been established, the two kings are fighting, and the situation in the cabinet is turbulent and strange. Lord, I don't need to say much about the pros and cons. After all, we share the same surname, so my second uncle, I advise you, it's better to retire bravely and ask yourself to leave Beijing to work in another place."

Xu Zhengxing's face was completely relaxed at this moment.

Anyone who is very excited and is a fifth-rank Beijing official will be unhappy if someone tells him to leave Beijing to take a job in another place.

So Xu Zhengxing said coldly: "In all these years in the officialdom, I haven't seen you, a nephew, say a word for my uncle, but now you come up to persuade me to abandon the fifth-rank Beijing official and run away. Why don't you ask yourself to leave Beijing to be an official in other places? Could it be that you think that I don't have the ability to be an official in Beijing, and I'm only worthy of going to a poor place Is it okay to manage a group of unscrupulous people?"

After finishing speaking, he turned around and walked away angrily.

Xu Zhongxuan could only shake his head and sigh.

His second uncle's temperament is really not suitable for an official.It's fine if they are foreign officials, after all, the environment is relatively simple, and they can stay away from these right and wrong disputes in the capital.However, the complex environment of the capital city is also at the troubled time when the two kings are fighting each other.What's more, Zhou Yuanzheng still wanted to win over Xu Zhengxing to restrain him.Now that the uncle and nephew are in two camps, I am afraid that there will always be a moment when they will face each other in the future.

But his words had come to this point, Xu Zhengxing couldn't listen to it, and he didn't force it.

Qi Sang pushed open the door, propped up the oil-paper umbrella in his hand to shield him from the drizzle of rain above his head, and said respectfully: "My lord, it's getting late, you can go back and rest."

Xu Zhongxuan hummed lightly, and then said in a low voice: "Make me a cup of tea."

But there was no leisure and indifference in the words just now, instead it was weak and powerless.

Qi Sang was startled, and quickly looked up, only to see Xu Zhongxuan's face was pale, his long eyebrows were furrowed, and his right hand was pressing on his stomach.

His thoughts changed sharply, knowing that Xu Zhongxuan must have suffered from the old problem of stomach cold again.

No, I didn't eat anything in the Xiuya building just now, and I drank the wine like water. Can this old problem of cold stomach be avoided?It's just that the young master usually refuses when others persuade him to drink, but why didn't he refuse at all today, instead he never refused?

Qi Sang was complaining in his heart, but he still reached out his hand to help Xu Zhongxuan, and asked with concern: "My lord, the pain is severe? Do you want my subordinate to invite a doctor to show you?"

Xu Zhongxuan waved his hand at him, indicating that he didn't need to ask for a doctor, but just said: "Just make me a cup of tea and bring it here."

Qi Sang went down to boil water to make tea as he said, and at the same time ordered Qi Hui to help Xu Zhongxuan to the bedroom.

When he finished brewing a cup of silver needle tea and brought it over on the tea tray, he saw Xu Zhongxuan sitting in the armchair, but his upper body was lying on the desk in front of him, only his thin back and the top of his head could be seen.

Qi Sang brought the teacup over lightly, and Yin called again in a low voice: "Master?"

Xu Zhongxuan responded, slowly sat up straight, and raised his head.

Qi Sang saw that his face was pale and his long eyebrows were furrowed.Even though it was such a cold winter night, there was still fine cold sweat on his forehead.

He reached for the teacup on the desk.The outstretched hand was slender and fair, but the veins on the back of the hand were swollen high, thinking about it, it was really uncomfortable in the stomach.

"Young master," Qi Sang suddenly felt unbearable, and said in a low voice, "Why do you make things difficult for yourself?"

After thinking about it, he suddenly said in a whimsical way: "Otherwise, this subordinate will pick up Miss Jane to see you? With your current status, Mrs. Jane must not dare to stop you."

Before the words fell, Xu Zhongxuan gave a loud shout: "Go out."

Qi Sang was taken aback by his stern expression and tone.

But Xu Zhongxuan said angrily: "Who do you think she is? In such a late night, you can pick her up if you want to? How would others think of her?"

Qi Sang hung his head in awe, not daring to speak.It's just that I still feel a little disapproving.

These days, many of the officials who came to congratulate the young master on moving to the position of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Officials came for the purpose of getting married.Such officials and eunuchs would not hesitate to give their own daughters to the son as a concubine in order to curry favor with the son, but Miss Jian is just the daughter of a merchant who has no backing and died of Lao Tzu.Since the son likes her, and he has hinted to Mrs. Jane like that, isn't Miss Jane already a son of the son?Now the young master is not feeling well, so what can I do if I take her over to see the young master?

When Xu Zhongxuan saw Qi Sang's appearance, he knew that although he seemed obedient on the surface, he still didn't change his mind.

His heart sank, and Xu Zhongxuan suddenly felt that he understood what Jian Yan said to him at that time.

Even though others had to show respect and fear for her because of him, but inside they looked down on her so much.A stubborn and proud person like her might not be able to bear this feeling.

What she wanted was a marriage that was evenly matched and equal, not clinging to him like a wisteria.

"Qi Sang," Xu Zhongxuan put the teacup on the table, his tone sounded calm but full of majesty, "From now on, you must respect Miss Jane from your heart. Don't let me hear you say such words again, Or know that you have such thoughts in your heart. Otherwise, you will never have to follow me in the future."

Hearing this, Qi Sang's heart trembled, and he quickly knelt down on one knee, promising: "This subordinate will never dare again."

Only then did Xu Zhongxuan nod his head, waved his hand to signal him to go out, and ordered: "The day after tomorrow is the old lady's birthday. Tomorrow you take your money and go to the street to buy a suitable gift as a birthday present."

Qi Sang said yes, bowed and retreated.

But Xu Zhongxuan lowered his head, looked at the five-color longevity thread on his left wrist, and did not speak for a long time.

The winter rain continued all night, and the bamboo leaves in the courtyard were green and shiny.

The next day Qi Sang followed Xu Zhongxuan's instructions and went out to buy a birthday present for Mrs. Wu.

Of course he wouldn't buy something that was too expensive, the young master didn't treat the Wu family that well, and he couldn't buy the one that was too bad, after all, it would embarrass the young master if he took it out.So in the end, after thinking about it, he went to Shijing Pavilion to buy a lucky cat with a pine and crane pattern on it.

Recently, it has been popular in the capital to give away lucky cats and lucky cats.And this lucky cat has a pattern of a pine and a crane, which symbolizes longevity.Moreover, although the price of this Lucky Cat is not cheap, it is still acceptable. It would be the best thing to give it to Mrs. Wu as a birthday present.

And there are quite a few people like him who have the same idea, so Wu received several such lucky cats and lucky cats the next day.

At that time, Jian Yan was going with Mrs. Jian to celebrate Wu's birthday.It's just that as soon as she arrived at the Songhe Hall where Mrs. Wu lived, she saw several lucky cats and lucky cats on the kang, and she felt that she was in a very delicate mood at that time.

Mrs. Jane has never been stingy when it comes to spending money.What she gave to Mrs. Wu was an agarwood walking stick and a box of cliff incense.What Jian Yan sent was a volume of Buddhist scriptures that she copied by herself.

Wu Shi was naturally very happy.

Today she wore a ginger yellow satin cape with the pattern of flowing clouds and bats, and a ginger horse skirt with red gold sprinkled satin.On the head is a red gold peony hairpin inlaid with rubies, emerald phoenix hairpin, a few emerald pearl flowers, and a big red velvet flower the size of a copper coin on the sideburns.On the forehead is the golden shiny cloud forging that Jian Yan gave her before, and the red agate in the middle is very even and bright.

Mrs. Jian complimented: "The old lady looks really luxurious today."

Wu Shi laughed.

She is really happy today.

In previous years, her birthday was rarely so lively.But this year, a few days ago, Xu Zhengxing moved to the doctor of the household department, and because Xu Zhongxuan transferred the left servant of the official department these few days, a group of people who followed the wind found out about Wu's birthday today, so they came early. The old lady came to celebrate her birthday with gifts, and there was a crowd of people all of a sudden.

So Mrs. Wu, who didn't intend to make a big deal at first, took out a lot of money specially, and was busy asking people to invite the troupe to come over to set up a stage for singing, and was busy with all kinds of dishes and pastries needed for the banquet.

In the front hall, Xu Zhengxing, Xu Zhongze, Xu Zhongjing and others were naturally receiving male guests, while Feng Shi and others were busy entertaining the female relatives in the front hall.

At this moment, Mrs. Wu nodded to Mrs. Jian and Jian Yan and said with a smile: "Today's theater troupe is quite famous, and my sister-in-law will order two plays later."

Mrs. Jian agreed with a smile, and then took Jian Yan out.

In fact, she was a little envious of Wu Shi.

So many people who come and go compliment her, don't they still look at Xu Zhongxuan and Xu Zhengxing's face?It's nothing more than entrusting the blessings of her children and grandchildren, otherwise, with an old lady like her, who would want to talk to her?But Mrs. Jian thought again and again, now Xu Zhongxuan has entrusted Mrs. Ji to reveal to her what he meant by Jian Yan, and he thought she would accept her as a concubine after Jian Yan finished keeping her father's filial piety. Bar?Although Jian Qing did not pass the exam this year's Qiu Wei, but now Xu Zhongxuan is holding the official position of Zuo Shilang in the Ministry of Officials, where can he find an official position for Jian Qing at will?Wait until Jian Qing's official position is gradually improved, and when she reaches Wu's age, she may be even more beautiful than Wu's.

Thinking of this, the smile on Mrs. Jian's face became more and more sincere, and she took Jian Yan to the yard to watch a play contentedly.

The stage was set up in an unused courtyard in the garden, painted gold and red very festively.

The play had already started, and a group of female relatives were sitting there either chatting or watching the play.Mrs. Feng led the servant girl with a happy face, busy back and forth.

The Qin family somewhat looked down on Feng's appearance.So I just sat in the chair and watched a play and ate melon seeds, and I didn't have any intention of going to help greet the guests.

However, Mrs. Zhou was still standing next to him, and said in a low voice: "The old lady's birthday today is so lively, and there are so many people who come to celebrate her birthday. In the final analysis, it is because Brother Xuan moved to the left servant of the official department. The reason? - The Ministry of Officials is in charge of the assessment of all officials, and has the right to appoint and dismiss officials below the fourth rank. Who would not be in a hurry to curry favor? Could it be because the second master became a doctor in the household department? The Minister of the Ministry is certainly not a small official, but compared with Brother Xuan's Left Minister of the Ministry of Rites, what is it? But no matter how you look at the old lady and the second wife, it seems that all Guangyao are Theirs? In fact, this should be yours."

In fact, Qin Shi also thought so in her heart.It's just that I feel very regretful at the same time.

How great would it be if Xu Zhongxuan was her own?Even if she had a better speech and attitude towards him when he was a child, it would have been good, that wouldn't have caused him to be in the same situation now.

At this time, Mrs. Zhou asked her again: "Why didn't you see the eldest son today, why didn't he come back for the old lady's birthday? This is very unfilial."

"Who dares to say that he is filial or not?" Qin snorted softly and said, "If it is true, who would dare to show him face in this big family now? It would be good if he didn't show us face gone."

When Xu Zhongxuan was born as a concubine, Xu Zhongxuan was ridiculed and ridiculed by others because of his birth.So she sighed: "Who knew he could have such a great fortune now? If you knew this earlier, you should have treated him better when he was young."

Qin shi snorted coldly, but didn't answer.

How could she treat him well then?She is a regular wife, and she has not been able to give birth to a son and a half daughter since she got married, but a son was born to a housekeeper.Because of this, she didn't listen to other people's gossip at that time?
Mrs. Zhou was still talking about Xu Zhongxuan's childhood.It even talked about the specific sufferings he suffered when he was a child, what kind of ridicule he was ridiculed and so on.

Jian Yan originally just sat behind them and listened to the play quietly, but after hearing the three words Brother Xuan inadvertently, she leaned over uncontrollably, held her breath, and listened intently. Listen to everything Qin and Zhou said.

She knew that Xu Zhongxuan was transferred to the position of Minister Zuo of the Ministry of Officials.Who hasn't been talking about this in the house for the past two days?It's just that when he was a child...

She knew that he was born as a concubine, and that it was not good for him to have lived a life since he was a child, but she never thought that it would be such a bad thing.

Being deducted for food and clothing, he was even subjected to strange eyes, discrimination, and even verbal ridicule from others.

How did he get here in those years?
Suddenly, Jian Yan felt a soreness in her heart, and her hands that were clasped on her knees became tighter and tighter.

"Miss Jane? Miss Jane?"

Suddenly, she heard someone calling her softly.

Jian Yan came back to her senses, and hurriedly turned her head to look over, and saw that it was Qin Suxin who was calling her.

Qin Suxin is wearing a crimson jacquard satin cape and a powder blue pleated skirt today, looking really gentle and soft.

"Miss Qin, you call me?"

Qin Suxin lowered her head, smiled shyly, twisted the handkerchief in her hand in embarrassment, and said in a voice like a mosquito: "I, I want to change clothes, but I am not very familiar with this garden, can I trouble Miss Jian to accompany me How about going together?"

Qin Suxin came to Xu's house these days, and lived in Qin's yard with her mother Zhou, but rarely came to this garden, so she was not familiar with it.And because she felt that Jian Yan was also living in Xu's house, and Jian Yan seemed to have a gentle and talkative personality, so Qin Suxin couldn't help feeling a little close to her.

The so-called changing clothes are actually going to the toilet.Jian Yan would not refuse such a request from Qin Suxin.

She thought about it, this stage is not too far from Meiyuan.And she remembered that there was a small room similar to changing clothes nearby.

So she smiled at Qin Suxin: "It happens that I also want to change clothes, so let's go together."

Qin Suxin secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then followed Jian Yan to the vicinity of the plum garden.

When Qin Suxin went to change clothes, Jian Yan let Si Yue stand there and wait, and called her as soon as Qin Suxin got better.She herself went to the plum garden for a while.

The plum blossoms haven't opened yet, but there are tiny buds adorning the branches.As it gets closer, the tip of the nose can smell the faint fragrance.

Jian Yan walked slowly along the gravel path in the garden, but what she was thinking in her heart was, where did Xu Zhongxuan see her in the plum garden that day?He could even see clearly the scene where she was teasing the little hairball, and heard what she said clearly.

Although there are nearly a hundred plum trees in this plum garden, these plum trees are not thick, and their branches are sparse. The possibility of hiding behind these plum trees and not being seen by her is relatively small.

After much deliberation, Jian Yan still felt that there was only one possibility.

That is, Xu Zhongxuan was hiding behind that wall that day.

At that time, she just stood at the moon cave gate and took a rough look behind the wall, but she saw several plane trees covering the sky and the sun, so she didn't go in to take a closer look, and she only thought that there was something like that in there. It's so remote and secluded that no one will be there.But what if Xu Zhongxuan happened to be behind that wall at that time?There are leaky windows on the wall, so you can see everything in the plum garden clearly, and you can also hear what the people inside are saying clearly.

The more Jian Yan thought about it, the more she felt that her conjecture was correct.So she quickened her pace and walked towards the Moon Cave Gate, wanting to find out and see if there was anything behind that wall.

But before he reached the Moon Cave Gate, he saw a person sitting in the gazebo.

The lake silk with calamus pattern on the moon-white background is clipped straight, cold and lonely, just like the plum blossoms that are about to bloom in the cold.

It was the Qin Yan who taught her to mistake her for her senior in her previous life.

Although two people lived in Xu's house together, one lived in the front yard and the other lived in the garden, so even though it was almost a month since Qin Yan came to Xu's house, since the two of them met that day, these days Jian Yan has never seen him.

Just think of the scene where she and Xu Zhongxuan quarreled and abused Xu Zhongxuan after they met that day, and Xu Zhongxuan turned and left, so even if Qin Yan had the same face as her senior, Jian Yan would see He couldn't get excited either.

"Young Master Qin." She just bowed her knees to salute him, and called out flatly, which was regarded as a greeting. Then she turned around and wanted to continue to the Moon Cave Gate on the other side.

But suddenly a cold voice came from behind: "I recognize you. You are Jian Yan from Class [-], Grade [-]. At your senior year graduation party, you sang Priscilla Chan's "Song of Thousand Thousands of Ques"."

Jian Yan froze in place as if she had been shocked by an electric shock.After a while, she slowly turned her head and asked in shock, "You, are you...?"

Qin Yan nodded to her, and said slowly: "I am Zhang Yan."

Zhang Yan is exactly the name of her senior who entered the computer department of University A even though she was the first in the city in the college entrance examination, but the photo was still posted in the window of their high school, and her teacher often used it to spur them.

(End of this chapter)