Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 1294 "Gifts"

The sixteenth elder brother knew that Cao Yong had always been more careful than himself, so he didn't ask Cao Yong how he found that the thirteenth elder brother had a relapse of a serious illness.

The original dissatisfaction in his heart had long since dissipated, leaving only deep worries.

"Since it is hidden from the outside world, the illness must be serious, but if you continue to work like this, how can you look like recuperating?" Elder Sixteen couldn't help complaining in a low voice: "The emperor made people, but also made them too ruthless."

Cao Yong cast a glance at Elder Sixteen, and said, "If you don't need Master Thirteen, who else can the Emperor use?"

The sixteenth elder brother couldn't help being dumbfounded when he heard the words.

The sixteenth elder brother has a temperament and always seeks good fortune and avoids evil; as early as the Kangxi Dynasty, he never got involved in the practice of the Six Departments, but whenever he received errands, he would go around the yamen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Lifan Yuan.

In the Yongzheng Dynasty, although he was the prince, he still did not change his original intention. Even if he occasionally held six errands, he was in the yamen with few ties, such as the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry, and he pushed it off early when he could.

Except for Cao Yong, his childhood companion, he rarely had contact with other court officials.

However, Cao Yong just casually said that even if the sixteenth brother wanted to share the emperor's worries, the emperor might not be able to trust the sixteenth brother as much as he trusted the thirteenth brother.Otherwise, the seventeenth brother would not be allowed to "recover from his illness" when the government affairs were heavy.

"No amount of grace can compare to allowing Thirteenth Brother to rest for two years. Since becoming the emperor, Thirteenth Brother has not taken a serious rest. Last year and this year, he lost his daughter and son one after another. I can't bear it, and he is a person with the most affection..." Elder Sixteen said helplessly.

But he also knew that these were empty words.

Now that the New Deal is being implemented at the local level, and troops are being used in the Northwest, so many things are piled up.

The two were relatively silent, and they both knew that as long as the emperor did not let the thirteenth elder brother rest, or the thirteenth elder brother himself did not want to rest, it would be useless for them to worry.

When I was next to him, it was not easy to visit Prince Yi's mansion casually. Now that there is a happy event in Prince Yi's mansion, and there are many congratulatory guests, Cao Yong will not look conspicuous in the past.

The thirteenth elder brother heard that Cao Yong was coming, so he asked someone to take him to the study directly.

Into the study, Cao Yong felt the heat blowing.

The thirteenth elder brother was wearing ordinary clothes, sitting on the kang, with fur cushions on his knees, looked at Cao Yong with a smile, and said: "I was just looking for you, so you came, isn't this the so-called wish come true? Now you are so easy to refuse to come to the door, if I want to see you, I have to wait until the court meeting or the Ministry of Households to be cheaper."

Cao Yong also laughed and said: "The thirteenth master is busy, how can I disturb each other at will..."

The thirteenth elder brother smiled and shook his head, did not continue this topic, asked Cao Yong to sit on the kang, and served tea.

At this time, Cao Yong did not open his eyes to bring tonics to his door.

Even if the Cao family had some Tibetan medicines, they were not as good as imperial medicines in the palace.

He just asked people to ask for a few prescriptions from Tongrentang, all of which were newly collected folk remedies for treating rheumatism.

"The Thirteenth Lord is full of happy events, and the ministers can't congratulate them. A small gift is not a respect." Cao Yong took off the fur cloak outside, sat on the kang, and then took out the prescriptions from his sleeve and handed them to Shisan elder brother.

Brother Thirteen thought it was a gift list, frowned and waved his hands, and said, "Put it away quickly, isn't this making me a joke?"

Apparently, there were too many presents in the past few days, which caused the thirteen elder brothers to be overwhelmed.

Cao Yong raised his eyebrows and said: "The Thirteenth Lord always has to see what the gift is, before deciding whether to accept it or not? Who doesn't know that the Thirteenth Lord is a rich man now, and the minister will not use gold and jade to shake the Thirteenth Lord eyes."

The thirteenth elder brother finished the prescriptions half-believingly, and when he opened them, his expression froze.

He only felt that his eyes were sore and uncomfortable, but he was embarrassed to look up and see Cao Yong.

He turned his head and quickly wiped his face with his hands.

Cao Yong noticed the abnormality of the thirteenth elder brother, afraid of his embarrassment, he picked up the teacup and bowed his head to drink tea.

After a while, I heard Elder Brother Thirteen say in a hoarse voice: "Little Cao Yong, I won't say thank you, I will keep this love in my heart."

Cao Yong raised his head and said solemnly: "I don't want the prince to remember his love, but I only hope that the prince will live a long life."

Elder Brother Thirteen laughed twice, and said: "Okay, okay, I know, except for us, Fujin, you have been thinking about my body these years... But you are my nephew, so you should be filial to me It's..." At this point, he paused and said, "Why don't you call me uncle from now on?"

Cao Yong heard the words, could not help but rolled his eyes.

I don't want to be beaten to death, otherwise, there will be countless uncles from relatives, uncles, halls, and clans all at once.

Although the foundation of the Cao family is weak now, the advantage is that he is the patriarch and he is free and easy, so he is not interested in finding a bunch of relatives and elders.

Many things, just understand in your heart.

Although Yongzheng bestowed the former residence of the princess to the Li family, after all, there was no official title, so Cao Yong didn't need to recognize his relatives by showing his face.

The thirteenth elder brother just teased Cao Yong on purpose, touched his chin, and said with a smile: "Forget it, if you don't bark, don't bark. It's just that you will be bullied outside in the future, but remember to come to the master, and the master will make decisions for you." .”

The thirteenth elder brother is so "loving", making Cao Yong even more helpless.

If he was still fifteen or six years old, brother Thirteen would have said that, but now he is also the one who will marry his daughter-in-law, and will be a grandfather in two years.

Cao Yong said: "It's better to wait for Tianyou's son to be bullied, and then ask the Thirteenth Master to come forward and support him."

The thirteenth elder brother laughed "haha" when he heard the words, pointed at Cao Yong and said, "You miss your grandson even before your daughter-in-law comes in?"

Speaking of this, the thirteenth elder brother remembered the matter of Tianyou's engagement, and said: "By the way, the date of Tianyou's small engagement has been set? Yaerjiang sent someone to announce the good news, and please go to Jian Wang's mansion for dinner on the [-]th day."

Although releasing the small Ding is not as grand as the enlarged Ding, marriage is better for two surnames, and the small Ding is the formal conclusion of the marriage contract between the children of both parties. According to the customs of the capital, the two parties will host a banquet for relatives and friends in the clan on this day.

"Well, it's set to be released on the [-]th day." Cao Yong said.

"Who did the big media invite?" Brother Thirteen asked.

"I invited Tianyou's two uncles, Prince Yu Guanglu and Zhen Guo Gong Sai Shitu." Cao Yong replied.

Brother Thirteen couldn't help frowning when he heard the words, and said: "The mourning period for the little sixteen is not suitable, why don't you come to invite me? Tianyou is the eldest son of you and Da Gege, and it is appointed to be the heir of Prince Jian's family. How? You are too careful, but I don't know, why did it annoy you?"

Cao Yong sighed, and said: "Why did the Thirteenth Master say that? I just don't want to cause you trouble. If you live a leisurely life, it goes without saying that you would have the cheek to beg the Thirteenth Master; it's just that you are busy with official duties. , I really don’t want to trouble you with these things.”

The thirteenth elder brother looked at Cao Yong for a while, and said in a low voice: "Nowadays how many people want to take advantage of the power of the master, and how many people are waiting for the master to make mistakes. It is hard for you to be so considerate. If the master says anything, it will be the master." I don't know what's good or bad."

Cao Yong diverted the conversation and said, "Master Thirteen just said that he wanted to find a minister. Could it be that he has any orders?"

Mentioning this, Elder Thirteen put his melancholy aside, and said, "I want to ask you, but do you have any news about Fu Nai? My master Xun Changling came to ask twice, and he said that his father is still good in Heilongjiang."

"How can it be considered good? After all, it is dispatched, and Heilongjiang is a place of bitter cold. Mr. Fu is not young anymore, and his life is not easy when he is free. Maybe he is afraid. I heard that he rarely socializes with people now. His relatives rarely communicate with each other, and he always loves to be lively, so it's hard for him." Cao Yong thought for a while and replied.

He knew this, not because he was better informed than Elder Thirteen, but because Prince Yinping and his wife now live in Shengjing, so they know more details about the news outside the pass.

Although the old aunt of the Cao family passed away early, Fu Nai had resumed contact with the Cao family, so Prince Ping and his wife paid more attention.

Brother Thirteen nodded and said: "You are right. He has always been quick-tempered, and he is not able to endure loneliness. Speaking of it, he is an authentic old man in the hidden mansion. Since the emperor divided the mansion back then, he has been in the emperor's office. Served as a bodyguard by his side, with decades of friendship. If not for this, the emperor would not have annoyed him. In the eyes of the emperor, he is his own, but he does not follow the emperor's wishes, but insists on saying good things for Long Ke. Elbow turned outward. Two years have passed since the incident, and the punishment has been paid, and the emperor's anger should have almost dissipated. Just because of the war in Tibet, the minister needs to be sent to the northwest to supervise the transportation of grain and grass. What's your suggestion?"

Back then, under the burden of Longkodo, Fu Nai was first transferred from the Minister of War to the Minister of the Household Department of Shengjing, and then he was implicated in the impeachment case in the early years.

He was escorted back to Beijing, and the Ministry of Criminal Justice finally sentenced him to death.

With the grace of the emperor, he was saved from death and sent to Heilongjiang.

If you want to add a crime, there is no reason to worry about it. Think about it, Fu Nai was just a bodyguard back then, how could he lobby for local officials to be exonerated in Beijing?

It's just human communication, just passing a few words from generation to generation.

It's just that when it comes to the outbreak, the human relationship becomes "corruption of ink" and "extortion of bribes".

Hearing Brother Shisan say this, Cao Yong was sincerely happy for Fu Nai: "Master Shisan's arrangement is very good. Although Master Fu was a little stubborn in the past two years, it was just because of his temperament, not without loyalty and patriotism. He He has served as the deputy capital commander, and served as the minister of the Ministry of War, so he is very familiar with military affairs."

Elder Brother Thirteen smiled and said: "If you think it's good, then I will intercede for him in front of the emperor."

Cao Yong realized that something was wrong, he wondered: "If Mr. Fu can return to the capital, it is the thirteenth master who will take care of him. What does the emperor's grace have to do with the minister?"

Brother Thirteen gave him a sideways look, and said: "Don't pretend to be confused with me! Xiao Shiliu and you have always been close, and I don't believe that he didn't mention it to you."

Cao Yong really didn't expect it at first, but after hearing Brother Thirteen's words, he remembered, and asked tentatively: "Master Thirteen said, but there is a change in the military officials?"

Brother Thirteen nodded and said: "That's exactly it. You were originally appointed, but Tian Cong Dian, the official, retired. I don't know if there will be any changes. If there is no change, you will be the head of the Ministry of War. Whether or not to use Fu Nai as a servant, I naturally have to ask your opinion..."

(End of this chapter)