Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 137 Parents' Heart

On the morning of the Mid-Autumn Festival on August [-]th, Cao Yin took his brothers, nephews and nephews to open a shrine to celebrate the new moon, and gave melon and fruit mooncakes to the old servants and housekeepers of Cao's mansion.It's night, a banquet is held inside and outside, and the whole house enjoys the moon.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, there is also the ceremony of worshiping the moon, setting up a platform in the courtyard, burning incense and displaying flowers and fruits for the moon.At that time, the rule was that "men do not worship the moon, and women do not worship the stove", so after nightfall, Gao Taijun brought Mrs. Li and the whole family of women to offer incense and worship, and then the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet officially began.

Cao Yin, Cao Quan and Cao Yong first came to offer a toast to Mrs. Gao, and then retreated to the outer courtyard to have a drink. Only the female relatives were left in the inner courtyard.

Mrs. Gao sits in the main seat, Mrs. Li sits on the right, and Cao Yin's two concubines are below.Because Zhaojia from Xifu had just given birth and was still in confinement, and Lu Mei was "nursing her baby", neither the principal nor the second wife came over, only Baodie and Feicui were present.Although Mrs. Gao politely gave way, neither of them dared to sit forward, so they pushed Cao Yi to sit on Mrs. Gao's left, and they sat down one by one.

Gao Taijun usually didn't speak much, but when he mentioned Zhao Jia's newborn daughter whom he had just visited during the dinner, the old man's joy was beyond words, and he talked more.

Because Zhao Jia gave birth to a daughter, she was not very happy.However, when Mrs. Gao followed Mrs. Li to visit her, seeing that the baby girl was very quiet without crying or fussing, she asked Mrs. Gao to laugh again. Mrs. Gao seemed to be in love with something, praised the child without a mouth, and gave her a favor again. A heavy addition to the basin.After hearing the old man's praise and seeing that the old man liked it, Mrs. Zhao Jia was happier.

"Good girl, don't make trouble, don't worry about it." Gao Taijun smiled sincerely, pointed at Li Shi and said, "I didn't realize it when I took her, but later on, there were more nephews and nephews, and they were all very naughty. It's lively, but it's so heart-stopping, it's better to be a baby girl."

Mrs. Gao talked about how naughty the nephews and grandchildren of Li's family were. Although she was complaining, there was a happy smile on the corners of her eyes and brows, and she could tell that she loved those children very much. .As she was talking, she couldn't help mentioning a few interesting things about Li Shi's childhood, and finally said with a sigh: "You are good, you have never made me worry about it, this is my luck!"

Tears were already in Li's eyes, he smiled and drank a glass of wine with his mother, and said warmly: "For so many years, my daughter has seldom performed filial piety in front of her mother, and now my mother will stay longer to let her do her filial piety."

Mrs. Gao patted her daughter's leg, feeling a little sad.Cao Yi met at the side, quickly changed the topic, said some Buddhist scriptures, and mentioned the happy things of the old man, and then stirred up the atmosphere again.

When the moon was in the middle of the sky, everyone dispersed happily.

Because Cao Yi will follow Cao Yong to Beijing to be married the next day, Li can't leave here, and can't send her to Beijing in person, so she rests at her daughter's place on the fifteenth night.

Mother and daughter share the same bed, and Li Shi has to make some more instructions to respect mother-in-law and aunt, respect husband, and be diligent and thrifty in managing the house.After finishing speaking, Mrs. Li tied a lock of Cao Yi's hair behind her ears, stroked her forehead, and said with a smile: "Actually, I don't need to say these words, you know everything, and you won't make me worry about it. I just couldn't help but want to talk about it. My mother said that I was relieved, which was her blessing. Now, you are also very good, and this is also my blessing. "

Cao Yi's eyes were red, and he said in a low voice: "For so many years, my daughter has been adopted and taught carefully by my mother. My daughter has been a blessing for several generations. She just married far away, and she will not be able to share her worries with her in the future..."

The corners of Li's eyes were also wet, and he reached out to wipe away Cao Yi's tears: "Silly girl, generations of my daughter's family have come here like this. When you marry into your husband's family, you can just serve your mother-in-law and husband-in-law. There is no need to worry about your mother's family. Fortunately, your older sister and older brother are both in the capital, so you won't be too lonely." At this point, she picked up a brocade box three or four inches square from her pillow, opened it, and inside was an inlaid Gold bracelets with assorted stones.

Cao Yi saw that the bracelet looked familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, so he heard Mrs. Li pick up the bracelet and said with a smile: "Don't think it's fancy, it was passed down to me by your grandmother when I was out of the cabinet. I heard it was in Mount Wutai. The eight-treasure bracelet that has been consecrated will be blessed by the Buddha. It was originally a pair. I gave one to your elder sister when she left the cabinet that year, and the other one is for you." Said As he said that, he took Cao Yi's hand and wanted to put it on his wrist with his own hands.

"Mother..." Cao Yi lightly stopped Li Shi's hand, and said hesitantly, "This bracelet is so precious, and it is a family heirloom from mother, so let's leave it to my future sister-in-law!"

Mrs. Li glared at Cao Yi reproachfully: "Stupid child, aren't you my daughter?" While speaking, she helped her wear it on her wrist: "Although you were not born by me, in my heart, I treat you as your daughter." Your older sister and older brother are the same. Speaking of which, you are the one who worries the most. Your older sister has a strong temper, so there is no need to mention it; your older brother, although he talks less, is unwilling to suffer. Only you, the quarrelsome energy of childhood is gone. , holding everything in my heart."

"Mother..." Cao Yi's heart was warm, but he was choked with sobs and could not speak. He just leaned against Li's side.

Mrs. Li stroked Cao Yi's hair: "Let's let the past go! In the world, is there any father who doesn't want his children to be good? It's just that he hasn't been in charge of the family for many years, and it's a last resort. Don't blame him too much." The "he" here , but refers to Cao Yi's biological father Cao Quan.Mrs. Li knew that this was Cao Yi's knot in her heart, and she wanted to persuade her all the time, but she was afraid of hurting her heart.Now, Cao Yi is going to marry far away, and she can't be allowed to marry with resentment towards her biological father, so she still opened her mouth.

Cao Yi raised his face, looked at Mrs. Li, and shook his head: "Daughter has nothing to complain about! I have parents, brothers and sisters, and my blessings are already too much. How can I be greedy? Now, my daughter has only one wish, and that is My father, mother and grandmother are all in good health and live a long life, and my sister and brother live a smooth and beautiful life."

"Silly boy, the biggest wish of parents is for their children to live well. As long as we know that you are all living well, we elders will naturally feel happy, and we will be cured even if we are sick! But you have to remember that in this world , the one who can accompany you to grow old together is still your future husband-in-law. This man, whether he is old or young, is like a child, and he is moody. You can't be too restrictive, otherwise If he tries hard, he will intentionally sing against you; you should not let him loose too much, otherwise he will develop his uncle's temper, and he will suffer in the future. If the husband and wife have any quarrel in private, don't bring it to the house When you come outside, you must not shame him in front of others. No matter what kind of temperament a man is, he has a very good face. You must not make him suffer from this, or else he will not come down, I am afraid that he will hold grudges in his heart!" Li said with a smile.

This is the "art of controlling the husband", Cao Yi blushed after hearing this, and wrote down each item, but couldn't help thinking in his heart, seeing how the blessings of mother and father are so harmonious, could it be that father is also like a child, asking mother to give Convincing post.

The mother and daughter talked a lot of intimate words, and they didn't go to sleep until the middle of the night.

*
On Cao Yong's side, after the banquet, he followed his father to the study in the front yard.Cao Yin's body has recovered, and his eyes have gradually returned to their former sharpness.Cao Yong's heart is very relieved, the time has passed for so long, whether it is on the body or the wounds on the heart have gradually healed.

In the past two months, Cao Yin began to come back slowly, and Cao Yong also followed his father to learn some officialdom tricks.

As the conflict between Governor Gali and Governor Zhang Boxing intensified, officials from the two factions below also had conflicts.On June 24th, Liu Hangao, the commander-in-chief of Jiangnan Langshan who belonged to the governor's faction, was dismissed due to "old age".On June [-], Chen Pengnian, the governor of Suzhou, who belonged to the governor faction, was sentenced to "fear of favoritism" because he was implicated in the case of embezzlement of state funds by former Jiangsu governor Yu Huai and Jiangsu governor Yi Sigong, who were impeached by Gali last year. "The crime of "Jiuqing" was handed over to Jiuqing for strict investigation.

On the eighth day of the seventh month, Li Rusong, the general of Jiangning, who was attached to Gali, was demoted to three ranks and retained because he "couldn't restrain the soldiers and set up a shop in his office".On July [-], the guerrilla Tang Zhikui was demoted to three ranks for "invading soldiers' pay".

In mid-July, Zhang Boxing, the governor of Jiangsu, sent the "Jiangnan Fan treasury Compensation for Deficit Draft" to the governor of Jiangnan and Jiangxi for a ceremony.According to the rules, this can only be concluded after the governor and the governor discuss it.Zhang Boxing did not wait to discuss with Ga Li, but wrote the conclusion later, and only handed it to Ga Li for joint signature.How could Kari make his wish come true, and the original manuscript was sent back without affixing his seal.Zhang Boxing wrote a detailed memorial to plead guilty.Kangxi issued an imperial edict, ordering Governor Gali and Governor Zhang Boxing to "as ministers, they should put state affairs first and handle them with one mind", and not to cause "official conflicts between the two parties" due to "disharmony".This dispute between governors and governors finally came to the front of the imperial court.

The Cao family is very peaceful.Cao Quan arrested Lu Mei for "raising a fetus" in the inner courtyard, and secretly monitored whether there was anyone in contact with him; Cao Yinze sent someone to follow the line of Lu Daotai to check his relatives and relatives.

This Lu Daotai was originally from Wuhu, Anhui. Although he can be regarded as a scholarly family, his family resources are meager. His parents died young and his relatives withered. He grew up beside his grandparents.Born in a poor family, he was promoted as a teenager, and then he started as a local magistrate.When Gali was the governor of Shanxi, he happened to be the prefect of Shanxi, so the two had a relationship.The so-called daughters of the Lu family are simply nonsense, the six women including Lu Mei were recruited by his concubine Liu.This Liu family was in her twenties, and she was hired when she was a spare time in the capital, and she was naturally declared to be a daughter of a good family, but her real identity could not be tested.

It was time to enter the capital, and the father and son made a simple summation, and they reached a unified position, that is, they would never let the Cao family get involved in the struggle for the heir apparent.Originally, Cao Yin still sympathized with the prince, but after listening to his son's persuasion, he thought about the current situation of the prince, he was like a puppet, and he was afraid that he would no longer be the heir that Sacred Heart wanted.

Regarding Cao Yin's body, Cao Yong was still not at ease, and persuaded and persuaded, since there are not many errands here in the south of the Yangtze River, he still needs to take good care of him.

*
On August [-]th, Cao Yong set off for Beijing with his younger sister.

Cao Yin's strict father was used to the image, and he didn't want to show his parting sentimentality in front of his children, so he and Mrs. Li only sent their children out of the house. It was Cao Yuan who escorted them to the wharf with a group of housekeepers.

The dowry luggage was packed early in the morning, and Cao Yi boarded the big boat with the help of the maid, and entered the inner cabin.Cao Yong and Cao Yuan said goodbye. Just as they were about to board the boat, they heard someone calling him, but it was Cao Quan who arrived with his servant.

Because Zhaojia was in confinement and didn't care about everything at home, Cao Quan took advantage of it and rushed over to see off his daughter and nephew.He reined in his horse, turned over and got down, seeing that Cao Yi had already entered the inner cabin, he sighed secretly.He pulled Cao Yong over and said a few words "be careful on the road".

Seeing that he was willing to see him off, Cao Yong changed his mind somewhat, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, my nephew. I'm about to board the boat. It's windy by the river. Second uncle, please go back!"

Cao Quan nodded, took out a soft seal from his sleeve, and stuffed it quietly into Cao Yong's hand.

Cao Yong was taken aback for a moment: "This is the second uncle?"

Cao Quan was a little embarrassed, coughed lightly, and said in a low voice, "This...is a little dowry for Yi'er. You should give it to her later. Well, don't say I gave it to you."

It was more than a thousand of his own money that he had privately saved without telling Zhao Jia's family on weekdays, and today he brought all of it to his daughter as a dowry.Seeing Cao Yong pinching the bank note in a daze, he paused and sighed: "Actually... well, it's useless to say these things now. Yi'er is in Beijing, so I depend on you to take care of him. I ...um...thank you."

Cao Yong clutched the bank note, a little speechless, and finally put away the money: "My nephew will take good care of my third sister; Jueluo's family is a good family, my brother-in-law and wife in-laws are all kind, and I will definitely not wrong my third sister. Uncle, please rest assured."

Cao Quan nodded: "That's good, get on the boat quickly, don't miss the hour." Saying that, he sent Cao Yong to the boat.

Walking to the river, he suddenly saw Cao Yi being helped out of the cabin.

Cao Quan didn't know that his daughter knew about her background, but Cao Yi always refused to see Cao Quan and Zhaojia's couple today. Cao Quan didn't realize it for a while. I also forgot the words of blessing that I said in the tone of my second uncle.

Cao Yi took a deep breath, calmed down, knelt down on the deck with his clothes up, kowtowed respectfully to Cao Quan three times, then lowered his head, biting his lower lip tightly, without saying a word. He helped the servant girl's hand to go back to the inner cabin.

Cao Quan stayed on the spot, his heart turned several times, shock, distress, regret, guilt, mixed feelings.These three heads are clearly a ceremony for a married daughter to bid farewell to her father. Obviously the daughter knows her own life experience?But I don't know when she knew it. For so many years, he really owed this daughter too much, but this daughter is...

Cao Quan's eyes were red, he was stunned for a while, he opened his mouth, but finally said nothing.

He sighed, watching the boat carrying his daughter, whom he might not be able to recognize in this life, drifting away.
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(End of this chapter)