Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 506
North Street, the Duke's residence.

Today is the day of the funeral of the late old man Demao. Seshitu and Cao Yi and his wife have been busy since dawn, preparing for the funeral; after dawn, they greeted the clan guests; they left the city at the same time for the funeral, and the funeral procession did not return until dusk in the city.

After surviving this busy work, both Seishtu and Cao Yi were exhausted.

But fortunately, the big event is over, so there is no need to continue to suffer.

Cao Yi helped Saishitu change his clothes, and then asked someone to prepare a meal, and the husband and wife ate dinner together.

These days I see the sky's accompanying guests, and eat chicken, duck and fish all day long, and the people who eat it are panicked.Seshitu didn't have much appetite, so he just thought about filling a bowl with a mouthful.

Unexpectedly, when the dinner table was set up, it turned out to be a package meal.

To put it bluntly, it is to wrap rice with cabbage heart and eat it.When eating, use small pigeon or pheasant cub meat to dice, and fry the sauce with mushrooms. When eating, mix it with rice, sprinkle some minced garlic, and some sesame oil. The taste is the most delicious.

Seeing that it was the cabbage heart that had been patted, Saishitu's appetite really whetted, and he crossed his legs on the kang, immediately took a piece in his hand, wrapped it in a rice bag, ate it in two bites, and then reached out for another piece .

He said with a smile while packing the rice: "Why do you think of eating this? It's a good thing. This is the pheasant mushroom sauce, right? It's a good thing for dinner. Erniang used to like it the most."

Seeing that he was eating deliciously, Cao Yi also showed a smile on his face, and personally served a bowl of mutton porridge, saying: "Master, wait a little bit, eat it carefully and it won't melt quickly." Having said this, he sighed, Said: "Because it was the old man's funeral, Da Gege cried for several days. I heard from my mother that I didn't move my chopsticks after several meals. I said that I also like to eat rice, so I asked the kitchen to prepare this. Thinking about my father's two There is also little food in the sky, and this is also prepared here.

Seshitu took the porridge with his empty hands, took two sips, let out a long breath, and said, "Shu Tan, it feels warm to my heart now. This year is also evil, it's past the Lantern Festival, and it's still cold You have to be afraid of people."

Cao Yi glanced out the window, but it was pitch black, where could he see anything?
"Yeah, look at it like this, this snow is going to fall tomorrow." Cao Yi turned his head and said while filling himself with porridge.

The husband and wife ate a package of rice, just a few side dishes, and drank mutton porridge, and they ate a meal with relish.

After the couple had finished eating, Chun Ya took a few maidservants and evacuated the table, and Xia Fu came in and said, "Master, grandma, Eunuch Zhang please see me."

Hearing this, Seshitu waved his hand and said, "Please come in."

This father-in-law is an old man who was ordered by the late old man, and he is the chief steward of the Duke's mansion.Saishitu and Cao Yi were not to be neglected, and they showed some respect to the old man.

Eunuch Zhang entered, first greeted the two of you, then offered the account book with both hands, bowed his head and said: "Master, grandma, this is a personal relationship for this funeral, the booklet before the May [-]th has already been presented, It's been nearly half a month."

"Eunuch Zhang, sit down and talk. There are a lot of things to do today, and you might be tired too." Seshtu raised his chin, motioned Chunya to take the account book and handed it to his wife, then pointed to the chair and said.

It has been a month and a half since the two new masters came to arrange the funeral. Although Eunuch Zhang knew that their husband and wife were friendly, he didn't dare to do anything casually, and he sat next to the chair after two or three times.

His expression was a little dazed, preoccupied.

Cao Yi took the account book, but he didn't read it right away, but kept it at hand.

She raised her head, glanced at Eunuch Zhang, and said with a smile: "Eunuch, don't worry, you have served the old man all your life, and you are a meritorious official in the family. Even if the father is demoted to the noble, it is not easy to keep the eunuch in the mansion. This is a matter of retirement." The son will be settled first."

It turned out that the title of the old grandfather De Mao was awarded eight points to the Duke of Fu Enfu.

In addition to the eight rituals of red wheel, purple rein, gemstone crown, double-eyed feather, ox horn lamp, tea stand, horse sitting on a mattress, and door nails, the difference between a man who is eight cents and a man who is not. There is whether you can use eunuchs.

There are so many yellow belts and red belts in the capital, and those who are qualified to use eunuchs are only allowed in the mansions above Feng En Fu Guogong, otherwise they will be punished by the clan mansion.
In the sixth year of Shunzhi, the kings were re-entrusted, and the clan was determined to be divided into relatives, from the county king to the twelfth rank of General Fengen.Except for the eight princes of Rui, Li, Zheng, Yu, Su, Zhuang, Keqin, and Shuncheng, who were not replaced by hereditary successors because of their extraordinary deeds, other princes and county kings were descended from generation to generation, and some went to the Duke of Zhen. , and some went to assist the Duke of the State to prolong the world.

If the side branch enfeoffs, it will be reduced to General Feng En, and the succession is over and will no longer be inherited.

According to the rules, the Duke's Mansion here is the direct branch of the Xuanxian County King, and after the fourth generation, it should have passed on the title of the Duke of Enfu.

However, the rules are the rules, whether to be demoted to become a noble or to inherit the title of duke of Fuguo depends on Kangxi's arrangement.It is also common for some palaces to be demoted by one or two levels.

If he was downgraded and sealed, he would not be admitted to the Bafen mansion, and that eunuch Zhang would not be able to stay in the mansion as an errand, so he was a little worried.

Cao Yi thought of this, so he said these words to comfort him.

Hearing this, Eunuch Zhang burst into tears of gratitude, and got up to kowtow to Sai Shitu and Cao Yi.

Seeing him trembling, Seshitu hurriedly asked Chunya to help him up, and said angrily, "What is this? In any case, father-in-law, don’t make trouble for old age.”

Eunuch Zhang couldn't stop thanking him, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and said: "The old slave entered the palace at the age of eight, and was assigned to this mansion when he was ten. He has stayed in this mansion for forty years and thought about going outside. My heart is also filled with apprehension. Now I only hope that Lord Long Live will be merciful, and awarding this title to Lord will also satisfy the selfishness of this old slave."

Seshitu nodded, and said: "Borrowing my father-in-law's auspicious words, the people in the front and back yards will not be able to leave the father-in-law for a while, and the father-in-law needs to worry more."

Eunuch Zhang put down his sleeves and said: "Don't worry, Lord, but if the old slave is still working in the mansion for a day, he will naturally have enough energy and dare not neglect."

He said a few more gossips, and since it was getting late, Eunuch Zhang withdrew without much delay.

When he left the house, Seshitu turned around and said to Cao Yi: "He looks silent, but he has an idea. These days, thanks to his help, this mansion is stable and he is a decent person."

Cao Yidao: "Yes, this loyalty is commendable. If you can stay in the mansion, it will save people a lot of worry."

While speaking, Cao Yi had already taken the account book, which recorded all the money of the subordinates of the various prefectures.They are all from the "so-and-so mansion" and "so-and-so jue" and so on.

When the penultimate page was turned, Cao Yi's expression was a little stiff.

Seeing something wrong, Seshitu was a little puzzled, and asked, "What's the matter, but what's wrong with the accounts?"

Cao Yi shook his head, with a half-smile, and said: "The accounts are all right... I can't blame the second wife who speaks so confidently today, chatting with several Mrs. Beizi and Mrs. Guo, so she followed the big guys..." As he spoke , Send the account books to her husband.

Saishitu looked down, and besides the gift money of 20 taels, there was also a gift of 500 taels, which was indeed a lot.

However, this gift was not appropriate.

Cao’s parents live in Beijing, and the gift money they gave was 20 taels, and 300 taels were sent away.Cao Yi is nominally the girl of the eldest room and the niece of the second room. The gift money of the second room should not exceed that of the first room.

Otherwise, comparing the two, it will appear that the long house treats the girl and the son-in-law unkindly.

This is related to his wife's sadness, and Seishtu didn't say much, closed the account book, and said: "Don't worry too much, the second wife just separated, maybe it's because the human relationship is not good at this side, and it was negligent." .”

Others don't know Zhao Jia's temperament, but Cao Yi knows it well.

The master who loves money the most, can even deduct half of the monthly money of concubines and concubines, wishing to break a penny into two halves.Such a Zhaojia family will generously send 500 taels of silver. If there is no purpose, who will believe it?

Cao Yi felt disgusted in his heart, but when he thought of Cao Song, he sighed and didn't want to care about him any more.

However, this gift was inappropriate, and it was disrespectful to the eldest room.

If people who don't know the inside story know that the designated party thinks that there is something wrong with the two rooms, then they will compare and send the funeral ceremony like this.

It seems that tomorrow I will send someone to call Cao Song over and talk about it.The second wife is a little out of control, as the eldest son, he always has to stir up the door of the second room, so as not to make the Cao family a joke.

Cao Yi looked at the account book and thought to himself.

Although she really couldn't feel close to Zhao Jia's aunt, but in the end it depends on the affection of her younger siblings, so it's not good to ignore her.

Besides, even though the natal family and the second family are separated, they can't write two "Cao" characters in one stroke. If something goes wrong, the Cao family will lose face and the reputation of Cao Yin and his son...

*
Xicheng, Cao Mansion, Study Room.

Although it was only a day before Zhiran was detained in Shuntian Mansion, Mr. Zhuang has received a lot of news.

The sufferer, Huang Dakui, was indeed from Changping, but he didn't have a legitimate job. He said he was doing odd jobs, but under interrogation, he couldn't tell why.He mentioned a few places casually, and when he inquired, it was just a three- to five-day business.

According to interviews, this is not the first time Huang Dakui's old lady has been "hit" by a car, but this time it was a person.

An ignorant, idle bachelor, and an old lady who loves to "bump" people, the mother and son don't look like good people in any way, and they should make a living by "touching porcelain" in the market.

Now, the case is stuck in one place, that is how the old woman died.

If he really wanted to collide with Zhiran and fell to the ground and hit a rock and died, then Zhiran's crime of "manslaughter" would still be unavoidable.It's just that according to the police from Shuntian Prefecture who checked the place where the crime happened, it was Qingshiban Road.

Although there is snow, it is very flat, and there are no other stones and other objects.This deadly stone seemed a bit abrupt.

Was it because the old woman was unlucky that she fell to the ground and hit the only rock nearby; or was it because someone was fishing in troubled waters and moved his hands and feet when everyone was not paying attention?
Even at the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion, they felt something was wrong. Yin Wangyi of Shuntian Mansion was asking the passers-by one by one to see if there was anything unusual, but he didn't seem to have any clues yet.

Cao Yin rubbed his forehead, and asked with some puzzlement: "Xia Qing, what do you think? Now that the eighth elder brother is frustrated, and the other princes have all died down, there is no gunpowder. Why do the people behind the scenes use the Cao family as a raft?" ?”

Mr. Zhuang said: "I am also puzzled, what is the reason for these incidents against the eldest son twice. Speaking of which, the number of people that the eldest son has offended in Beijing these years can be counted. Like this Pressing and pressing, but the one who is well-planned can't think of which one."

Cao Yin's complexion was a little heavy, and he was thinking about his son's itinerary in his heart.

I heard Mr. Zhuang continue to say: "By the way, there is news that the thirteenth elder brother went out last night and went to the fourth elder brother's house, and promised the news of Zhiran's accident."

Cao Yin nodded and said: "Well, that's true. Today, the fourth elder brother went to the Ministry of Rites and asked me about the general reason. I was still thinking about why he paid attention to these things. I guess the thirteenth elder brother entrusted him. "

Hearing this, Mr. Zhuang frowned, and said, "No wonder the Fourth Prince's Mansion sent a lot of people here today, and they are also haunting this area of ​​Beicheng. However, this is the matter of the Cao family. If he comes out, there will be some If you are suspected, it is difficult to defend yourself in front of the Long Live Lord."

Cao Yin was not too worried about this.

It is not so easy for the monarch and his ministers to have a relationship for 50 years.

He thought in his heart, is it because the fourth elder brother really loves his younger brother and has been asked by the thirteenth elder brother to do his best; or is it just a matter of pushing the boat and sending a big favor to the Cao family...

The son has always been different to this fourth elder brother. In the dream he mentioned, the new emperor...

(End of this chapter)