Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 1038 Uncle and Nephew Club
Before coming to see Gao Taijun, Li Shi was uneasy, but she did not expect Gao Taijun to make such an arrangement.

She knew Gao Taijun's feelings for the Li family. She was a widow when she was young and lived in the Li family for most of her life. She regarded herself as the Li family.

Although sometimes seeing Gao Taijun favoring the Li family's children and grandchildren sometimes made Li feel uncomfortable, but thinking that she is a married daughter, the old lady lives in the Li family, and has been filial to the Li family's children and grandchildren for many years, so she can think about it.

She also thought that Gao Taijun would let her think of a way to get rid of her cousin; or let Cao Yong go through the door and save Xiangyu from being a servant.Both of these are contrary to the emperor's will, which Li can't agree to.

She thought of several excuses, but they all declined the matter; unexpectedly, Madam Gao didn't say anything.

Seeing that Mrs. Li was still in a daze, Mrs. Gao had already pushed several boxes of things in front of her, and said, "I didn't sleep well yesterday, so I'm going to squint and take the things away quickly. As long as you put your heart into it, the old lady will accept your favor." , the Li family finally didn't raise you for nothing..."

Seeing her calm expression, as if treating her like a stranger, Li felt heartbroken.

Gao Shi was impatient to talk more, and called the servant girl to fetch the pillow and thin blanket, lay down on her side, closed her eyes and stopped looking at Li Shi.

Seeing this, Mrs. Li had no choice but to get up, but she didn't ask anyone to take anything.

Before reaching the door, Gao Shi said: "Take these boxes to your wife's room..."

Back at Lanyuan, Li Shi was still in a daze, looking at the boxes in front of him with tears in his eyes.

The two gold boxes each contained ten ingots of gold, 20 taels per ingot, and the total of the two boxes was 400 taels of gold.

The jewelry box was full of jewelry.

They are all brand-new, and some of them look familiar to Mrs. Li, and they are filial to her as a daughter;

When Li saw it, she couldn't help but burst into tears.

Gao's dowry jewelry was used for makeup before Li's leaving the pavilion.The old lady has always been very strong, afraid that her daughter's dowry will be thin, and she will be treated poorly at her husband's house...

In the afternoon, Chu Yu came to the room to ask her mother-in-law about the banquet at Chunwangfu on the [-]th. Chunwang Taifei went out of the palace on the [-]th, and Chunwangfu invited relatives on the [-]th, which was regarded as warming the house for the dowager.

Walking down the corridor, before anyone could tell, the embroidered crane lifted the curtain lightly and came out on tiptoe.

Seeing her behave like this, Chu Yu said softly, "Is this old lady taking another nap?"

Xiuhe hesitated for a moment, and said: "I went to Shaoyuan in the morning, and when I came back, I cried for a long time before I wiped my face and lay down."
Although Chu Yu was a little worried, the matter between the elders was related to the Li family, and she, a daughter-in-law, could not get in the way, so she whispered a few words to Xiuhe and turned back.

As soon as he left the Orchid Courtyard, he saw Qingmei, the maid beside Gao Taijun, rushing towards him with an anxious face.

Seeing Chu Yu, she quickly bent her knees and said, "Madam, the old matriarch is not looking well..."

When Chu Yu heard this, her heart skipped a beat. While sending someone to invite the imperial physician, she also sent someone to the Orchid Courtyard, and followed Qingmei to the Shao Courtyard in a hurry.

Going to the room in Shaoyuan, Xiangyu lay on the edge of the kang, holding Gao Taijun's hand and crying.Gao Taijun's face was flushed, his eyes were closed tightly, and he looked very frightening.

Chu Yu reached out and wiped Gao Taijun's forehead, it was hot.

"How did it burn like this? Hurry up and throw in a wet towel." Chu Yu lightly reprimanded.

Qingmei took the two maids who were in the room, and went out to bring water to wet the towel.

At this moment, Mrs. Li also arrived, walking in a hurry, her steps were a little unsteady.

She walked to the edge of the kang, leaned down, and whispered a few words, Gao Taijun opened his eyes quietly, and said in a hoarse voice: "It's not a problem..."

Li Shi can't rest assured, he has to wait for the imperial doctor to come...

*
When Cao Yong came back from Luoya, he heard that Gao Taijun was ill.Guessing the reason in his mind, he first went to Lanyuan to see his mother, not wanting to meet Mrs. Li leaning on the kang, Chuyu took a medicine bowl and served medicine by the kang.

He was taken aback, took two quick steps forward, and said, "Mother is sick?"

Mrs. Li shook her head and said: "No, it's your daughter-in-law who is careful. Today, I invited the imperial doctor to come over to see the old lady, and then showed me. The imperial doctor said that the weather is sympathetic, and some spleen and stomach are not in tune, so he prescribed a medicine Fang Zi nursed back."

Cao Yong was worried, so he asked for the prescription from Chu Yu, and after careful reading, it was indeed only a warming prescription, so he was relieved.

He took the medicine bowl from Chuyu, sat on the edge of the kang, brought it to Li Shi himself, and served her to drink it.

Li's eyes were sore, he patted his son's arm lightly, and said, "I'm fine, don't worry. Your grandmother...there's fine too..."

Cao Yong nodded and said: "Understood, mother should not be too anxious...Grandmother will eventually figure it out..."

Seeing that he was still wearing an official uniform, Mrs. Li sent the couple back to Wutong Garden.Cao Yongzheng asked his wife something, so he and Chuyu came out of the orchid courtyard.

"But the old lady made it difficult for her mother?" Cao Yong asked.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Li had already told Chu Yu what Gao Taijun said, and now Chu Yu relayed those flowers to Cao Yong.

After hearing this, Cao Yong smiled wryly and said, "It's really surprising..."

Thinking of his wariness and alienation of Gao Taijun, Cao Yong was also a little embarrassed.

In any case, she raised Mrs. Li after all.She has no biological flesh and blood, so she treats Mrs. Li as if she were her own.

"Master, the old lady handed over the gold and the jewelry box to me. I thought that even if I really beg the concubine, I can't honor the gold directly, or I can give it to Uncle Sixteen, and Uncle Sixteen will decide...then It's better not to pawn the casket jewelry, and turn it into silver and give it to the old lady, so that the old man's heart will be safe." Chu Yu said after deliberating.

"Don't move for the time being... If you need any expenses, pay the money from the account first..." Cao Yong said.

Chu Yu was startled for a moment, and then understood.Although these gold jewelry belonged to Gao Taijun's private house, they were also the property of the Li family. I don't know if they will be responsible for it.

After returning to Wutongyuan to change his official uniform, Cao Yong went to Shaoyuan to visit his patients.

Xu Shi had a severe headache, before entering the room, he heard Gao Taijun moaning in a low voice.When he entered the room, Taijun Gao silenced his voice.

She didn't ask Cao Yong to entrust Li's family, but she just sat up and asked about the details of Li's case.

I heard that in addition to the deficit of Zhizao Mansion and the Salt Administration, there are also Northeast diggers involved in private marriage with the prince. come out.

Back to Wutong Garden, Cao Yongqian sat for a while.

The Li family has reached this point, if he stands still, it will be unjustifiable in the world.

Although it is not easy to exonerate Li Xu, but he should be taken care of, otherwise he will be regarded as cold-blooded and heartless in the eyes of others.

The next day, he ordered Cao Yuan to go to the yamen of the Ministry of Criminal Justice to inquire about the progress of the Li family's case and when Li Xu and his family will be escorted to Beijing.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, the Ministry of Punishment had the biggest change in the officials of the six departments.The previous six hall officials were demoted and transferred, and now the two ministers and four ministers who have been replaced have only taken office in the past two months.

Among them, Man Shangshu Foge was promoted from a cabinet bachelor. He is a clan and has the title of General of the Fuguo.In the early years, his reputation was not obvious. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he was appointed a cabinet bachelor and concurrently served as the minister of the Ministry of Rites.

It's just that with the favor of Longkodo and Brother Thirteen in front, Fogg's side is not so conspicuous.

However, Cao Yong's heart is like a mirror, this new minister must be the "Four Ye Party", otherwise he would not be in charge of the Ministry of Punishment and become the emperor's predecessor.

Cao Yong didn't know that Yongzheng had already made people stare at the Cao family, just to see how Cao Yong would deal with Li Xu's questioning.

The Cao family invited the imperial physician the day before, and sent someone to the Ministry of Punishment to inquire the next day, which is also reasonable.When Yongzheng saw the news, he said "foolish filial piety" and put it aside, thinking whether Cao Yong would make a plea for the Li family.

After waiting for three days, on the fifteenth day, Li Xu and his son were escorted to Beijing, but Cao Yong's intercession had not yet been received.Yongzheng was a little uncertain about whether Cao Yong was affectionate or ruthless.

"Thirteenth brother, this Cao Yong hasn't moved yet, but he can bear it!" He was a little unhappy and complained to Brother Thirteen.

The thirteenth elder brother heard Yongzheng say this, and he hesitated in his heart. He only thought that Yongzheng wanted to take advantage of the Li family to set fire to Cao's house, and said cautiously: "Your Majesty, you watched him grow up, and it's not that you don't know that he is careful. Temperament, never dare to go beyond the slightest. Even Cao's family slaves, there are also literate people who read the "Law of the Qing Dynasty" with them. A courtier, you can't disregard public and private interests and be arrogant. If you do that, you won't live up to the emperor's respect for him."

After hearing this, Yongzheng calmed down a little, and said: "I still want to give him some kindness, but he is really obedient."

Only two days after complaining, the news of Cao Yong's visit to the Ministry of Criminal Justice was delivered to the imperial court.

Seeing this, Yongzheng couldn't laugh or cry, and said to Brother Thirteen: "Look, is this clever or stupid? He doesn't know how to avoid suspicion, so he is not afraid that I will take my anger out on him."

Elder Brother Thirteen listened to him scolding, but still had a smile on his face, so he knew that he was not really annoyed, and followed his words: "It's better to be taught by the emperor, Cao Yong dare not talk about state affairs because of personal interests. ...But he still does not lose his heart, he is not a villain who seeks profit and avoids evil..."

*
The prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice has always been a place where people in the capital talk about it, and the corpses of prisoners are dragged out almost every day.Prisoners with some money are alright, they can make ghosts turn the mill; if they don't have money to deal with, it's like being locked in the gate of hell.

Li Xu was an official, and Li Nai was also an official, so the father and son were not imprisoned in the dungeon, but in a board room outside.In addition, the Cao family had already spent money before, so the father and son did not wear torture tools, and they were able to be detained in the same room. The conditions were not bad.

It's just that Li Xu was tortured when he was in the south of the Yangtze River, and then he was escorted thousands of miles away. His injuries were delayed and he has not recovered yet.

Therefore, when Cao Yong came to visit, he saw Li Xu's old and sick appearance.

His hair was completely white, his originally fat body had become skinny, his face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were cloudy, and the corners of his eyes were thickly blurred.

He no longer looks as energetic as before, if he is not wearing clean new clothes, he looks like an old beggar wandering on the street.

"Uncle, big cousin..." Thinking of two sick people at home, and looking at the old man in front of him, Cao Yong couldn't even say what he had planned.

Li Xu sat up, looked at Cao Yong, only trembling his lips, his mouth was "wow", like pulling a bellows, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Seeing this, Cao Yong looked at Li Nai and said, "Big cousin, uncle?"

Li Nai turned sideways, wiped away tears, and said: "Master got angry a few days ago and his throat was swollen. The doctor has seen it this morning, and he said that taking a few soups to relieve the fire will be all right."

Referring to this, he solemnly bowed down to Cao Yong.

When he was in the south of the Yangtze River, he was tortured with his father, and he lived in dire straits; when he arrived in the capital, he had a clean house, new clothes, delicious meals, and doctor's treatment.

If there is no one to help, how could it be so?

At this time, Cao Yong is the only one who will take care of Li's father and son and has the ability to take care of them.

He was [-]% sure, but when he saw Cao Yong in person today, he was sure it was him.

Cao Yong backed away and didn't accept his gift, saying: "I didn't help anything, so I can't thank you."

Before he finished speaking, he felt that his clothes were tight. Looking sideways, it was Li Xu who was pulling his clothes.

Seeing him staring at him, Cao Yong pleaded, leaned down, and said, "Uncle has something to say..."

Li Xu pointed at Li Nai, exhausted all his strength, and said, "Bao...bao...all..."

Seeing this, Li Nai turned over and fell to his knees, weeping: "The master is old, how can he bear the punishment? My son is willing to treat me with his own body, and I ask the master to fulfill my son's filial piety..." After finishing speaking, he begged Cao Yong again: "Beauty Brother, it's all my fault, my father has been recovering from illness for several years, and he entrusted me with the errands in the yamen, it was because of my misbehavior that something went wrong..."

Before coming here, Cao Yong had already heard that when Li Xu was in Suzhou, he refused to plead guilty at first, and then he was sentenced, and the father and son pleaded guilty.From today's perspective, Li Nai wanted to pin all the crimes on himself, while Li Xu was afraid of dragging his son down, and both of them wanted to close the case as soon as possible.

Li Nai was still naive, even though he was his father's deputy, his reputation was not right, so he was not qualified to share Li Xu's guilt.Besides, Li Xu's questioning of guilt is not just a matter of shortfall.

Hearing what Li Nai said, Cao Yong thought of a question.

I heard that the Zhizao Mansion was short of more than 6 taels of silver last year. Where did all this money go?The shortfall in the early years can still be said to be spent on picking up the driver. What about the shortfall in the past ten years?
It's just the Li family's expenses, so they can't be used.

Could it be that it was given to the fourteenth elder brother in the northwest?

Thinking of this, Cao Yong only felt his eyelids twitch, he helped Li Nai up and said, "Big cousin is so filial, and my younger brother also admires it. But please be careful about what you say, too many words will be lost, it will be futile, and it will make uncle sad. It violates filial piety."

It is certain that Li Xu will be convicted; if Li Nai insists on accusing himself, he is afraid that father and son will be guilty of the same crime, which is what Cao Yong does not want to see.

Seeing that Cao Yong spoke seriously, Li Nai thought that his father did not agree with him to take the blame, so he stood there and looked at his old father on the sick bed, feeling at a loss.

Although Li Xu couldn't speak, he could hear clearly and nodded his head vigorously, it seemed that he strongly agreed with what Cao Yong said.

Li Nai felt a pain in his heart, drooped his head, and stepped aside...

It was already dusk when he came out of the prison of the Ministry of Justice. It did not know when it started to rain lightly, and the noise on the street gradually subsided, making it look a little deserted.

Cao Yong frowned, thinking of the family members of the Li family who hadn't arrived in Beijing yet.

Counting the days, they will only arrive in Beijing in these two days.Whether Li Xu was exiled or something, there should be a letter of approval in these two days...

*
The last day of the double monthly pass, Xiaojiu asks for a monthly pass
(End of this chapter)