Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 115
Nine fast horses galloped on the official road, kicking up dust all the way.

It's mid-to-late February, and the more you go south, the stronger the spring will be, and the willows will be green and the flowers will be red.But Cao Yong who was on the horse didn't have the time to look at the scenery, so he rushed to Jiangning in a hurry.

On the fifteenth day when he received Kangxi's oral order, he knew that Cao Yin was ill, and Cao Yong was in chaos.What was he afraid of? He originally thought that giving the princess a marriage represented a change in history. Who knew that the change was a change, but it was not in a good direction.In history, Cao Yin died of illness in 51 years, and now he is sick to the end...

How could Cao Yong have the mind to do other things, and immediately asked Amethyst to pack up, and then set off for home.

When receiving the oracle, Cao Song had just returned home from school, and when he heard that his uncle was ill, he became anxious and clamored to go back.Cao Yong was going to gallop back on a fast horse. He was not willing to take him with him. He even persuaded him to drink, so he suppressed him and let him study at ease. He led twelve fast horses and set off from Jingli.

Because of galloping all the way, often overnight, two horses were tired and lay down as soon as they entered the border of Shandong.Cao Yong was impatient, so he found a big state capital, changed six or seven horses that were weak and exhausted, made up another twelve horses, and continued on his way.

However, the horses he bought in a hurry were far inferior to the old horses of the Cao family. Not long after entering Jiangsu, three more horses fell down due to exhaustion.Because the road to Jiangsu is a small town, there are not many horses for sale, and there are no good horses with fast feet. Cao Yong thought that he was almost at the door of his house, so he didn't make any changes. .

While galloping, suddenly the horse under Wei Hei's crotch whined, his limbs lost strength, and he fell to the ground.Wei Hei reacted nimbly, and when he heard the neighing of the horse, he immediately let go of the rein and jumped out sideways, so he didn't fall with the horse.He stood firm and was about to pull the horse, as if it was an infection, the horse under Xiaoman's crotch also neighed, its front legs folded, and it fell forward.

Xiaoman's skills were much worse, seeing that he was about to fall down when he couldn't dodge, but Wei Bai who was at the side jumped off the horse and picked up his lapel and rolled aside.Xiaoman was still in shock, kept patting his chest, and thanked Wei Bai without words.

Wei Bai patted him on the shoulder to comfort him, then walked over to look at the two fallen horses with his brother.But seeing that the two horses are exhausted, one has died of anger, the other is not dead, but it can't be pulled up.

Cao Yong and the Wu family brothers also got off their horses and surrounded them. Seeing this situation, they shook their heads.There are still seven horses, although they are not enough to replace them, but it is not a two-day journey to Jiangning.

"Let's get on the horse!" Cao Yong said helplessly, "When we meet the town ahead, we'll make up some more horses. Let's go this way first. Be alert, everyone, and don't hurt yourself."

Everyone nodded and got on their horses again. Just as they were about to set off, Wei Hei suddenly called Cao Yong: "Master, wait!"

Cao Yong looked back at him, and Wei Hei pointed to the side of the fork in front of him: "Young Master, look over there." Everyone looked in the direction of his finger, and they saw a group of people guarding four or five carriages indistinctly.

Wei Hei said: "These horses are useless right now. If it's a caravan, we might as well spend some money to buy a few horses with them first."

Cao Yong also knew that the rest of the horses had basically reached their physical limits, and if they ran for a while, they would kill a few more horses, which would delay things even more, so it is better to change horses now.Immediately ordered the Wu family brothers to go over and ask, and buy them a few good horses with a lot of money.

After a while, Wu Mao and Wu Sheng came back with a middle-aged man who seemed to be in charge, and said to Cao Yong: "Master, the owner of this family agreed to sell us some horses."

Cao Yong bowed his hands and thanked him. He thought that he bought it at a high price, so he didn't care about the price. He just wanted to change the horse quickly and go on the road, but he heard from the Wu family brothers that he only paid the normal price.Because they wanted to change their horses, and they didn't want to take these tired horses with them on the road, the Wu family brothers said, the replaced horses, except for the owner's mounts, were all used as extra heads for the other party to keep.However, the other party refused to take advantage of this, and sent a steward to estimate the price of the horse, and then figured out how much money they would need to make up.

Cao Yong was slightly surprised that merchants are seeking profit, and there is no one who does such a loss-making business.Cao Yong spoke politely to the manager, and looked at the Wei family brothers, and the Wei family brothers also had doubts on their faces.

While speaking, the group of people had already come to the front, --- a few guards came over first, and led a dozen horses to pick Cao Yong and the others.The Wei family brothers selected eleven horses and nodded at Cao Yong.Cao Yong understood and asked the Wu brothers to pay the bill.

Although the owner of the house didn't show up in the car, he was finally considered to be a favored person, and he should thank him both emotionally and rationally.Cao Yong got off his horse and walked to the most gorgeous car in the convoy together with the steward.

The steward said a few words through the curtain, before Cao Yong clasped his fists and said loudly: "Thank you, Master, for your righteousness, you have solved our urgent need!"

I heard a slightly hoarse female voice coming from the car: "Little lady, please forgive me for getting out of the car to return the gift. But this young man is being polite. In business terms, we can change hands of your horses for some money." I earned it, so it can’t be regarded as purely helping others, and I can’t be thanked by you.”

Cao Yong heard that it was a female family member and a businessman's tone, so there was no need to say more. After a polite sentence, he turned around and mounted his horse, leading the people to continue on their way.

Brothers Wei Hei and Wei Bai are veterans, and they have been paying attention to the condition of these horses, fearing that they might look inappropriate.However, the imagined situation did not appear. Although these horses were not considered good horses, they were much more durable than the ones they had bought in Shandong.Everyone said that fortunately, it was not a profiteer.

*
After several days of rushing on the road, on February 22, Cao Yong finally returned to Jiangning.

Because it was afternoon and there were many pedestrians on the road, it was inappropriate to gallop on horses, so Cao Yong had no choice but to suppress his eagerness and drive his horses to Zhizaofu.As he got closer and closer to Zhizao Mansion, his heart was in great suspense, for fear of seeing a piece of white.Can the Cao family be considered the Cao family without the support of Cao Yin?Mother Li is not yet 40 years old, if there is no husband...

Fortunately, the front of Zhizao Mansion does not seem to be any different from the past, there are no white lanterns hung, and there is no white cloth on the plaque.

At the side door, there happened to be a carriage parked. The old housekeeper Cao Fu and two servants stood at the door, saying goodbye to an old man.

Seeing Cao Yong and others riding their horses over, Cao Fu was in a daze. He thought he had misread it. He rubbed his eyes vigorously with his sleeve, only to realize that he was not dazzled: "Oh, it's the old man! The old man is back!"

Cao Fu is over 60 years old, he can't tell whether he is happy or sad, his face is streaming with snot and tears, tremblingly wanting to pay his respects to Cao Yong.

Cao Yong got off his horse, stepped forward to support him, and couldn't wait to ask: "Uncle Fu, is the master still in good health?"

Cao Fu wiped his nose and tears with his sleeve, and replied: "Master, you don't know, the past half a month, Master has been really dangerous, but now he is fine!"

Hearing that there is no serious problem in front of him, Cao Yong is slightly relieved, because he is anxious to see his parents, he has no time to ask carefully, so he quickly walked into the mansion.In the back, Xiaoman naturally greeted the grandfather, and the Wei family brothers greeted the old man.

*
Weaving Mansion, Kaiyang Courtyard.

Cao Yin leaned softly on the head of the bed, and Li Shi sat in front of the bed, holding a bowl of medicine in his hand, feeding him spoonful by spoonful.

Looking at his wife's white hair on the sideburns, Cao Yin felt very guilty. He wanted to comfort him, but he didn't know where to start. After a while, he said, "I'm sorry for you! I'm fine!"

Looking at her husband's ashen face and hearing her husband's hoarse voice, how does it seem that nothing is wrong?It's just that in this situation, for the sake of her husband's peace of mind, Mrs. Li didn't show any sadness, and forced a smile: "Well, the master is lucky, so naturally nothing will happen!"

Cao Yin really didn't have the strength, because he just sat up after seeing the doctor, and after a few words with his wife, his energy was almost exhausted.

Seeing her husband's weakness, Mrs. Li felt very sad, so she hurriedly called two maids to help him lie down.At this moment, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the yard.Li frowned slightly, because her husband needed to rest, she had already told the people in the yard to mute.However, the next moment, she was a little stunned because she heard her son's voice.

"Mother, how is father?" With the voice of speaking, the travel-worn Cao Yong strode into the room.

Li turned his head and looked straight at Cao Yong.It wasn't until Cao Yong walked up to her that she realized what was going on, grabbed her son's arm, and murmured in disbelief: "Yonger? Yonger?"

The two maidservants who were waiting in the room were short and greeted Cao Yong.

Cao Yong waved his hand to tell them to stand up, then he held his mother's hand and nodded vigorously: "Well, mother, my son is back!" While speaking, he looked towards the bed, just in time to meet Cao Yin.

Cao Yin's originally lifeless eyes seemed to be a little more joyful, and he struggled to sit up.

But it's only been three months since we saw each other, and Cao Yin looks more and more old.The hair on the top of the head is so thin that the scalp is exposed, the eyes are deeply sunken, and it is shockingly thin.

Despite repeated restraint, Cao Yong's eye circles were still red, he put down his mother's hand, and took two quick steps towards the bed: "Father, my son is back!"

The parents of the previous generation were in good health, and Cao Yong never felt the feeling of "the son wants to support but the relative does not wait".And in this life, because he vaguely knew some historical trends, he has been worrying about Cao Yin's body.Originally, the relationship between their father and son was not deep. He was worried about Cao Yin's health, mostly because he wanted to prevent the family from going into decline. But now, after witnessing Cao Yin's illness with his own eyes, Cao Yong felt it from the inside out. to sadness.

Cao Yin sat up with the support of his wife, the joy in his eyes had not faded, but he put on the face of a strict father: "Nonsense, who told you to come back? Why are you so reckless when you are not good at working in Beijing?" Because he spoke in a hurry , Finally couldn't help arching up and coughing.

Looking at this stubborn old man, Cao Yong just leaned over and patted his back lightly, trying to make him breathe more comfortably.

"Did Zhuang Chang send someone to send the news to Beijing?" Cao Yin's expression softened, and he asked.

Cao Yong took the pillow, put it behind his father, and then replied: "It's Long Live's oral order, saying that the father is ill, and he ordered his son to return to Jiangning to serve his relatives."

Cao Yin was a little surprised: "Master Long Live?" Afterwards, he had an epiphany and shook his head in disapproval: "This guy Tianxing, these small things will alarm Lord Long Live!" At the end, his voice was vague.

Seeing that Cao Yin was exhausted, Cao Yong seemed to have no energy to speak, and looked back at his mother with a little worry.Li Shi suppressed tears and nodded slightly.

Cao Yong felt uncomfortable in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He said to Cao Yin with a smile: "My son has rushed back all the way, and he is a little tired. Father will take a rest first, and then come to talk with father after son goes down to take a bath and change his clothes."

Cao Yin held on for a long time, but he was exhausted. He just held on because he didn't want to show his old age in front of his son.Seeing what he said, he nodded his head: "Well, Yonger, you go down first and have a good rest. I'm afraid you are tired after rushing back from such a long distance!"

Cao Yong agreed, turned around and went out first, and stood at the door waiting for his mother to come out.

In the room, there was another cough, followed by the sound of gasping heavily.After the husband was settled, Mrs. Li ordered the two maidservants to watch over her carefully before coming out.

Because she was not in front of her husband, Li couldn't restrain herself any longer, and held her son's arm, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Cao Yong took his mother's study to the east, and there was a small hall in the middle between this and the bedroom on the west, so the two of them would not disturb Cao Yin's rest when they talked.

After helping his mother to sit down, Cao Yong asked: "The letter I received at the end of the first month didn't mention it. Why did my father get sick when he said he was sick? But he was tired when he went to Beijing at the beginning of the year?"

Mrs. Li wiped her tears, frowned and hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed: "I shouldn't keep this from you!"

Since Cao Yin came to the capital to travel around in the early years, his body has been a little weak, and he has not been very good.But at the beginning of February, a major event happened in the mansion.

It turned out that Aunt Zhang was not in good spirits after Cao Shun died, and she didn't like to see people very much, and she didn't want to talk.Before entering Beijing, Cao Yin stayed in her room for a few nights, and after that, she was a little distracted, touching her belly all day long, saying that she had it.

When Mrs. Li heard about it, she sent a doctor to check her pulse, but there was no sign of happy pulse.Li Shi didn't blame her for the pain of losing her son before her, but only ordered the maid beside her to take care of her.

When Cao Yin came back from the capital, due to his weakness, he seldom went to the rooms of other concubines, and stayed at Mrs. Li's side to recuperate.

On this day, Aunt Zhang personally boiled two cups of bird's nest and brought them over, saying that it was a tonic for Cao Yin and his wife.Because Mrs. Li had just had some snacks that day and was still not hungry, Cao Yin asked Cao Yin to drink both of the bird's nests.Unexpectedly, after a while, Cao Yin vomited and had diarrhea, and even coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood.After the doctor had seen it, he checked the empty bowls containing the bird's nest, and he was sure that the bowl for Li Shi had been doused with arsenic.Fortunately, a very small amount was injected. Although Cao Yin was poisoned, he was not killed immediately.

Of course Aunt Zhang refused to admit it, but after interrogation, it was found that when she went out to burn incense in the first lunar month, she had gone to a pharmacy in the city and indeed bought arsenic.For a while, Mrs. Li didn't have the mood to attack her, so she just asked someone to lock her up first.Aunt Zhang yelled and said that she was pregnant.

After all, it was related to her husband and heirs, and Li Shi didn't dare to be casual, so she asked someone to take her pulse again, and it was confirmed that she was indeed not pregnant.Aunt Zhang still refused to settle down and cursed Mrs. Li over and over again, saying that she ordered her adoptive daughter to kill her eldest son, and now she wanted to kill her younger son in her womb, almost insane.In the end, it was gagged by a few women, pulled down and closed.Unexpectedly, she hit the wall and died that night.

Cao Yong was stunned when he heard that, and couldn't help being a little scared. If the arsenic was enough, the consequences would be unimaginable!Unexpectedly, Liuli, a little girl raised in the gate of the house, would have such a vicious heart.Back in the old lady's courtyard, she seemed to be a nice person, but now she is completely different.Thinking of her mother's idleness because of her, and her father's illness because of her, Cao Yong really couldn't feel any pity for her.

Li's brows were furrowed, tears streaming down, and she felt guilty and blamed herself: "It's all my fault, if I could find out that Aunt Zhang was in a daze early and asked someone to watch her, such a thing would not have happened. Seeing your father's appearance, my heart is about to break. Why did I give your father two bowls of bird's nest to drink like a fascination? I also thank Bodhisattva!"

Hearing what Li said, Cao Yong hurriedly persuaded: "Mother said this, where do we children? Even if we can't bear to lose our father, can't we bear to lose our mother? Don't say that, it's all It was an accident. My father was able to escape safely, which is already a great blessing among misfortunes."

Cao Yong drove for six or seven days, and only rested for three or two hours a day. After all this running, he was already showing signs of fatigue.

Li felt sorry for her son and didn't want him to worry about her. Hearing his persuasion, she nodded and stopped her tears.While beckoning someone to serve Cao Yong to go down to freshen up, he said to him: "When you have a rest, you have to go and persuade your sister. When the incident of Auntie Zhang happened, she felt uncomfortable, and she was afraid that she would make mistakes again. Take it on yourself."

Cao Yong agreed, and followed the maid back to her yard to freshen up.
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(End of this chapter)