Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 1004 Min Cao Song

Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the lights were brightly lit.

Kneeling among his colleagues, Cao Song felt that his calves were trembling and he couldn't support himself.I didn't feel it until I got off the horse, but when I got off the horse, I realized that my body seemed to be falling apart, there was no soreness in any place, and no pain in any place.

In addition to fatigue, the rest is panic.

Cao Song was a guard in his early years, so he knew the rules of Mianjun.

Now, after traveling for thousands of miles, everyone is in a terrible state of distress.

Yongzheng looked at the crowd kneeling on the ground, his face could not distinguish between joy and anger.

It is now Chouzheng (two o'clock in the morning), and it is already the first year of Yongzheng.

Thinking about his reign name, Yongzheng felt a little proud in his bones.

No matter who the emperor father once established, no matter who the emperor father once favored, the one who is now the lord of the world and sits on the dragon chair is not someone else, but Emperor Yongzheng.

"When will you leave Ganzhou and when will you arrive in Beijing?" Yongzheng said slowly, asking the two vice-dutongs.

Of these two people, one is called Arna and the other is called Alinbao. Among them, Arna is under the command of the Fourteenth Prince, and Alinbao is under the command of King Naersu of Ping County.

Hearing Yongzheng's question, I saw Alna stand up and report: "If you go back to the emperor, the servants and others will set off from Ganzhou on the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month with the fourteenth son. The number of times to change horses has been reduced, and there has been a delay, and Zizheng will arrive in Beijing today."

Cao Song was shocked when he heard the words "Fourteen Beizi".

He has already been warned by his cousin, and has always avoided the fourteenth elder brother.In the past few years, under the protection of Neersu, in the Northwest Army, he had limited dealings with Brother Fourteen.

If so, Cao Song has also heard about the situation of the fourteenth elder brother.

The vice-captain, Arna, is one of the confidantes most trusted by Brother Fourteen.

Although the fourteenth elder brother has not been officially canonized, he has already received the prince's salary and is honored by the prince.Whether it's in the Northwest Army or the courtiers, they all shout "Prince".

Cao Song remembered clearly that just before the crowd entered the city with Longkoduo, Arna followed the fourteenth elder brother with a "prince" one by one.

In less than an hour, "Prince" was replaced with "Fourteen Beauties".

Yongzheng thought about the day Alna said in his mind, secretly rejoicing.

Fortunately, Nian Gengyao was informed in advance that the news of his going to the Northwest Army was delayed for [-] days.In this way, Emperor Daxing's posthumous name and temple name have been determined, and Emperor Daxing's harem will also be granted posthumously and additionally, and everything is settled.

Otherwise, with the temperament of the fourteenth elder brother, plus a queen mother, I don't know what to do.

In fact, even if Brother Fourteen came back [-] days earlier, it wouldn't affect the overall situation, it would just embarrass everyone and make it impossible to live a peaceful year.

Coming back [-] days late, there is no room for him to play.

Thinking of these, the fourth elder brother only felt that the stagnation in his heart had almost dissipated, and his restless heart gradually calmed down.

He looked at the guards kneeling behind Alna, and saw that they had removed their caps and put plain clothes on them, and said, "You are all the trusted subjects of the Emperor Daxing. The northwest is bitterly cold. You have suffered a lot these years." Yes, everyone will be promoted to a higher level. From now on, we will have a one-month holiday. After the holiday is over, regardless of internal shift or external shift, they will be transferred to the Imperial Palace as errands!"

For a while, several people kowtowed to thank Grace, but two people froze there and did not follow others to thank Grace.

Seeing this, Yongzheng's face drooped, and he felt a breath of foul breath in his chest.

He knew that the fourteenth elder brother had been running the Northwest for several years, so it was not that he had never thought of making friends with everyone, but the few in front of him were palace guards, and they should only have one master, and that was the master of the palace.Before it was Emperor Daxing, now it should be him, the new Emperor Yongzheng.

Is it to show "loyalty" by not following his orders?
The corner of Yongzheng's mouth showed a bit of sarcasm, and said: "You two want to resist the order?" In his words, he did not hide his anger.

Those who froze there without thanking them were Cao Song and a third-class guard named Guixi.

After hearing Yongzheng's words, the two hurriedly kowtowed and said in unison: "The servant dare not, the servant will show his love!"

Both of them wore badges, a second-class guard and a third-class guard.

"Report!" Yongzheng's eyes fell on Cao Song.

Although Cao Song didn't look up, his scalp was still numb from Yongzheng's gaze.

He swallowed and spit, calmed down and said: "Returning to the emperor's words, I am so grateful for the unparalleled grace..." At this point, he raised the palm of the severed finger and said: "It's just that the slave has a disability. Staining the emperor's eyes in front of the imperial court is a death penalty for a slave..." As he spoke, he kowtowed a few more times.

In just a few words, Cao Song's back was soaked.

If he angered the new emperor, ruined his own future, and affected the entire Cao family, he would be a family sinner.

On his head, he kowtowed loudly, never without the intention of being suspicious and showing his loyalty.

Sure enough, when Yongzheng saw Cao Song like this, his expression eased a little.

He looked at Cao Song's broken palm and saw that the little finger was broken at the root, and said, "Is this injured in the northwest?"

At this time, Cao Song, in addition to fear, was left with shame, bowed his head and said: "I dare not lie, this... is caused by the absurdity of my young man... I am a useless person, borrowing the light of my father and ancestors, and embracing the grace of the emperor, I will be able to use it." I was able to work as an off-duty errand at the guard's office..."

Such honest words made Yongzheng look at him a few more times, only feeling kind.

Yongzheng frowned, and said: "Whose family are you a child, have I seen you before?"

"Slave Cao Song, my grandfather and uncle worked as weavers in Jiangning before his death. I was lucky to see the holy face in the Shisan Lord's house. At that time, the slave was still young, and the emperor asked him about his homework." Cao Song replied.

Yongzheng had some impressions in a trance, remembering that the second wife of Cao's family was related to Brother Thirteen's house by marriage, this cousin of Cao Yong seemed to be Brother Thirteen's in-law, so he was close to him in his heart.

If you don't agree with him, you won't be so annoyed.

"I'm not that delicate, but it's just a broken finger, and it won't scare me. You'd better accept the order with peace of mind." Yongzheng's voice has softened.

"The servant accepts the order, and the servant thanks the Lord for his kindness!" Cao Song was a little "excited", and thanked the grace again.

Yongzheng nodded in satisfaction, turned his gaze to Guixi, another guard, and said flatly, "You also have an inside story?"

Guixi kowtowed and said: "If you go back to the emperor, the servant will be physically disabled and dare not accept the order. In the past two years, the servant could not tolerate the severe cold in the northwest, and suffered from frostbite, which damaged two toes on his right foot."

The wound on the hand is obvious at a glance; the wound on the foot is hidden in the boots, so there is no chance to expose it to the outside world.

Yongzheng stared at Guixi for a while, and ordered Chen Fu, the servant standing beside him, to lead Guixi down to check.

When Guixi withdrew, Yongzheng looked at his right leg, and there was nothing wrong with it as he walked.

After a while, Chen Fu brought Guixi back to his mission to prove that what Guixi said was true.

Yong didn't say anything on the front, but in his heart he felt that this Guixi was good.For other people, since the injury is not concealed, maybe they will happily accept the decree.

The grudge just now had disappeared, and he ordered people to give money, and then asked everyone to thank him.

The two lieutenants were 30 taels of gold each, and the seven guards were 20 taels of gold each. Although the amount was not much, it was bestowed by the emperor after all, and they were all wrapped in yellow silk belts.

Although they were exhausted, everyone was also excited about the appointment and the gift of gold, and they went out of the palace gate and dispersed separately.

When Cao Song returned home, it was already the second quarter of Yinchu (03:30 in the morning).

At this time, after the hustle and bustle of New Year's Eve, it is the time of silence.

The sound of Cao Song's knock on the door was very clear and distant.

Even Mrs. Zhaojia heard some movement in the inner house, muttered something, turned over and went back to sleep.

Jinghui also heard it.

Because of the news that her husband will return to Beijing soon, she has many worries in her heart.I am afraid that the road will be difficult, the weather will be cold, and my husband will suffer hardships on the road; I am also afraid that he will be angered by the new emperor when he comes back with the fourteenth elder brother.

She faintly heard the commotion in the front yard, so she sat up and listened.

The movement in the front yard stopped again, she sighed, she just pretended that she had misheard and said "Second Master" before lying down again.

At this time, Cao Song has already made great strides into the second gate.

When passing Zhaojia's main courtyard, his footsteps slowed down.However, seeing the darkness in the courtyard, he went straight back to the Dongkua courtyard where his home was located.

Jinghui was tossing and turning, when she heard the footsteps of "dengdeng" in the yard, she murmured, "Is it an illusion again?"

It wasn't until she heard the sound of pushing the door that Jinghui woke up suddenly, and hurriedly got up and got off the kang to hold the lamp.

The maid who was on duty at night in the outer room also heard the movement and got up with her clothes on.

Jinghui had already pulled out her shoes at this moment, walked to the door with a light in her hand, and asked through the door, "Second Lord?"

"Open the door quickly, I'm very tired!" Cao Song said.

Under Jinghui's excitement, she only felt her hands tremble, and the candlestick almost fell off.

She hurriedly opened the door latch, eyes red with red circles, looking at her husband who was busy with the world.

Cao Song didn't care about who was there, so he put his arm on Jinghui's shoulder and said, "I'm so sleepy!"

Jinghui half-armed and half-supported him into the inner room, and ordered the maidservants who followed him to prepare hot water.

Cao Song couldn't open his eyes, waved his hands, and said, "I can't take it anymore, I'll wash it tomorrow." After that, he lay down on the kang, and after a while, he started snoring.

It's not because he was tired, he walked without saying anything for half a month, knelt in front of the imperial court for more than an hour, and answered the imperial court exhaustedly, which made him exhausted physically and mentally, and he couldn't stand it any longer.

Seeing this, Jing Hui showed a bit of distress on her face, and waved her hand to send the maids away.She leaned over and gently helped Cao Song take off her boots, and covered her husband with her quilt.

Then, she turned sideways, looked at her husband's sleeping face, and felt much more at ease in her heart, as if something overflowed all of a sudden...

*
Cao Yong was on the morning of the first day of the new year, and when he was planning to take Tianyou and Hang Seng out to celebrate the New Year, he learned that Cao Song had returned.

Thinking about the reunion of his brothers after a long absence, he couldn't care less about anything else, so he hurried to the East Mansion, and was meeting Cao Fu.

"Where's your second brother?" Cao Yong looked behind Cao, but he didn't see the person he wanted to see, so he asked, "Why don't you see him?"

Cao Fu said: "Just now we went over with our old lady and fell asleep. Maybe she was very tired and snored loudly. I heard from the second sister-in-law that the second brother only returned to the mansion at Yinshi, and he probably slept until noon. go."

Cao Yong nodded, and asked Cao Fu a few more words, knowing that there was nothing unusual about Cao Song except black spots, so he felt at ease.

The two brothers were going out to pay New Year's greetings, and the schedule was tight, so there was no delay, and they went out of the house to pay New Year's greetings without mentioning it.

Because of thinking about Cao Song, Cao Yong left several houses in the morning, and asked Cao Yuan to take Tianyou and Hang Seng to other houses, while he went back to Dongfu directly.

Cao Fu wanted to think about his brother, and he had already turned around from the outside.

People went to Dongkua courtyard to ask twice, but Cao Song was still asleep.Jinghui was already hesitating whether to call her husband up, but Zhao Jia felt sorry for her son and forbade Jinghui to call him.

Cao Yong had no choice but to break into the brother's and daughter-in-law's house directly, so he went back to Xifu to wait for news.

Because it was the first day of the new year, there was an endless stream of guests who came to Cao Mansion to pay New Year's greetings.

Cao Yong received several New Year's guests and drank tea all afternoon.Brothers Tianyou and Hang Seng have already returned, bringing back a lot of purses, gold and silver lockets.

At this time, Mrs. Li also heard the news of Cao Song's return, and asked people to come out and ask him several times.

When it was time for dinner, Mrs. Li discussed with her son whether she wanted to visit Cao Song in Dongfu.Under Cao Yong's persuasion, he only said that Cao Song was resting and was not in the way.

She didn't see Cao Song showing up this day, and Li Shi felt a little uneasy.

Even Cao Yong began to count whether Cao Song slept for too long.After thinking about it, it is not uncommon to sleep for a day and a night because of the exhaustion of the journey and the fact that "a little farewell is better than a newlywed".

When the night was getting dark, Mrs. Li couldn't bear it anymore and was about to be resettled, so Cao Song came quickly.

"Auntie, my nephew wishes you peace and New Year's greetings..." Cao Song entered the room and bowed in front of Mrs. Li.

He followed Cao Fu behind him, and saw that Cao Yong and his wife were in Lanyuan, and they greeted their brother and sister-in-law.

Seeing Cao Song knelt down, Mrs. Li got up and helped him up with her own hands, looked at his black and red face, and said with red eyes: "Good to come back, good to come back..." As he spoke, he carefully moved him up and down. After looking at him twice, seeing that he was intact, he let out a long breath: "Ancestor bless..."

Cao Song opened his mouth and smiled, revealing two rows of white teeth.

He turned around and bowed to Cao Yong and Chu Yu again: "Brother, sister-in-law, Xiao Er is back..."

Chu Yu then returned the salute, Cao Yong felt his eyes sore, he patted Cao Song's shoulder vigorously, and nodded.

Li's face was full of love, his eyes turned from his son to Cao Song brothers, and said to the three of them: "No matter how good it is to go out, it is better to be at home. From now on, you brothers will support each other. You don't want to be rich or expensive, as long as you are safe and sound." .”

The three brothers listened with their hands down, and responded in unison.

Mrs. Li called Cao Song to her eyes and babbled a few more words before telling their brothers to go down.

"Ask the kitchen to bring some food over. My second and fifth brothers and I want to have a good drink." Cao Yong said to Chu Yu.

Chu Yu responded with a smile, and Cao Yong took the two brothers to the study in the front yard to talk.

Speaking of farewell, Cao Song was very concerned about Tianyou's study, and asked a few more questions about Tianyou's adoption under Cao Fu's name.

"The imperial examination is the right way of the family. There are successors in our Cao family, and the uncle can feel at ease in heaven." Cao Song said.

Cao Yong was thinking about Cao Song's first-class guards, and said: "Historically, the military officers outside have to be by the emperor's side. You have been promoted to a first-class military officer, and the military officer who is sent out is at least a second-rank lieutenant general. To come down, all you need is your qualifications. It’s just that accompanying a king is like accompanying a tiger, and you must be more respectful in your actions in the future.”

Cao Song responded, thinking of the horrifying scene when he met His Majesty, he was terrified...

(End of this chapter)