Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 632
Xicheng, Cao Mansion, front hall.

Cao Yin was wearing an official uniform, kneeling on the ground, kneeling to listen to the imperial decree.It was Yin De, the first-class bodyguard in front of the imperial court, who came to deliver the decree.

Not only Cao Yin, who received the order, was a little confused, but Yin De, who delivered the order, was also confused.Sheng Jia is still on the imperial boat, and it will be a few days before he can return to Changchun Garden, but he is repeatedly sent to deliver the decree.

Along with the imperial decree, a scarlet woolen rain coat and a grape green woolen rain coat were also given.

Cao Yin took the order and bowed his head again.

After delivering the decree, Yin De helped Cao Yin up and said, "Master Cao, get up quickly, the emperor has already given an order, so Master Cao doesn't need to kneel down to receive it."

Cao Yin bowed and said: "Your Majesty is flattering you, but Cao doesn't dare to break the rules. Your Excellency has worked hard all the way, please sit down and have tea."

While talking, the two sat down as guests and hosts, and the servant served tea.

Yin De took the teacup, sniffed it under his nose, and said with a smile: "It is said that there is good tea in your lord's house, but now it seems that it is not a rumor. It really is the fragrance of tea, refreshing the heart and lungs."

Cao Yindao: "It turns out that my lord is also a tea lover, but he borrowed flowers to present Buddha. Please don't despise meagerness, my lord." Then he sent people down to prepare tea bags for Yin De.

Yin De just praised casually. Seeing Cao Yin being so polite, he felt a little embarrassed, and quickly put down his teacup and said, "Your Excellency, you don't have to do that. Good tea and I are wasted too. To have a taste today is to have grown up in the world."

Cao Yin waved his hand and said: "Your Excellency, don't refuse, it's not something valuable. It's just that the world has praised it in the past few years, and its value has doubled. To be honest, Cao is still used to drinking Tuancha, and thinks it suits his taste the most."

Yin De couldn't help smiling when he heard this, and said with a smile: "To tell you the truth, Mr. Cao, I also think that Tuancha has a good taste and can relieve greasy. Although this green tea is fragrant, it is a bit bland."

After saying a few gossips, the atmosphere is much more harmonious than before.

Yin De remembered something and said: "By the way, the emperor asked the subordinate officials to tell your lord that Elder Sixteen has gone to Rehe as an errand."

Cao Yin couldn't help being startled when he heard the words: "Master Sixteen went to Rehe?"

"Well, the boat that got off in a circle three days ago, counting the days, will almost reach Rehe." Yin De replied.

Cao Yin looked at the two rain coats, but his body couldn't help shaking.

Kangxi's edict was a pretense, but what he actually wanted to tell him was this sentence, Brother Sixteen has already gone to Rehe...

*
Wang Xiying, the emperor is here.

This morning, Kangxi disembarked from Yuanjiakou on a royal boat and traveled overland to stop at Wang Xiying.

In the evening, it started to rain.

In Kangxi's imperial tent, lamps had already been lit, and two charcoal basins were lit in the corner, but they could not dispel the chill brought by the spring rain.

Kangxi sat on the soft couch, listening to the sound of raindrops outside, suddenly felt lonely.He raised his head and said to Wei Zhu who was standing beside him, "What about Little Sixteen, why haven't I seen him for half a day? Tell him to come over!"

Wei Zhu was surprised in his heart, but forced a smile on his face, and bowed back, "Master, Master Sixteen has gone to Rehe."

After Kangxi heard this, he remembered that he had sent Sixteenth Brother to Rehe, waved his hand, and said, "Tell Twelfth Brother to come here."

"Hey!" Wei Zhu agreed, and withdrew to summon Twelve Elder Brothers.

This time, the holy driver was on his tour of Jidian, only the twelfth elder brother and the sixteenth elder brother accompanied him.Because the twelfth elder brother is a bit dull, he is no more favored than the sixteenth elder brother, so he also has self-knowledge, and he didn't summon him, so he didn't easily hang around in front of Kangxi.

Seeing Wei Zhu coming to summon him, even though he didn't know what was going on, Twelve Elder Brothers still followed tremblingly.

On Kangxi's side, he glanced at his son, pointed to the stool in front of him, and said, "Come closer, grind the ink."

"My son complies with the decree." Elder Brother Twelve responded, walked to the front of the imperial court, and sat down on the side with his head bowed, his hand holding the ink stick trembling slightly.

Kangxi glanced at his son, saw the dots in his braids hanging behind his head (what are the dots? Raindrops?), he couldn't help frowning.

Brother Twelve was already trembling, but when he sensed that the emperor was sizing him up, he became more nervous. With a flick of his wrist, ink splashed out, staining the papers spread out on the case.

"I'm going to die!" Brother Twelve turned over and knelt down, kowtowing.

Kangxi was quite surprised when he saw him. He looked at Elder Brother Twelve for a while, and said, "Am I a tyrant? How can I make my son so afraid of me?"

Twelfth Elder Brother heard this, shook his head quickly, and said, "Emperor Elder Brother Huang is the most merciful, but my servants are unbearably dull."

Kangxi looked at his face and asked: "I ordered to kill your uncle, do you blame me?"

Brother Twelve showed pain on his face, his lips trembled, but he couldn't say a word.

Kangxi sighed, but he was not interested, and said: "Kneel down!"

Brother Twelfth raised his head and said softly: "Huang Ama, it's my uncle who has failed to live up to the holy grace and deserves to die. How dare I complain? My son, I am afraid... I am afraid that I will be rejected by Huang Ama." ..." At the end, he was already choked up.

Hearing his son's suppressed cry, Kangxi's complexion softened a little, and a poem suddenly came to mind:
Under the stage, the ripe seeds are separated.

Picking the melon is good, then picking the melon is thinner,

Three picks are still acceptable, and four picks will return with the vines.

There are ten sons in other people's families, but on my own side, there are ten sons, which seem to be useless.

The best sons, the sons he taught with his own hands, were all rejected by him.The remaining sons also only feared him, and lacked closeness.

Although I have been a loner all my life, I feel more and more lonely as I get older.

"Relax your mind and do your job well. You are my son and my flesh and blood. There is no reason why you have alienated your own flesh and blood because of being a slave." Kangxi rubbed his forehead and said to the twelfth elder brother: "In the future, abide by the principle It should not be mixed, just don't mix it..."

*
Rehe, the garden of Prince Chun's Mansion.

Cao Yong looked at the sixteen elder brothers in front of him, and he was really overjoyed.

Brother Sixteen raised his eyebrows, stretched out his hand and beat Cao Yong hard, and joked: "Why, I haven't seen you in half a month, so I miss you so much?"

Cao Yong asked with a smile: "There is no news, but it is surprising."

Brother Sixteen turned his body sideways, pointed back, and said, "Look, who else is there?"

Cao Yong looked up, but he saw a person coming out from the accompanying guards and knelt down on one knee, which one is it not Cao Song?

Cao Yong hurriedly stepped forward to pull him up, looked at him carefully, but he was covered in dirt: "Are you in a hurry?"

"That's right! From Quantou to Rehe, it took less than three and a half days. Such a journey of changing horses without changing people will almost catch up with going to the northwest." Cao Songhan smiled. , replied.

Cao Yong listened, with puzzled eyes, looked to sixteen elder brother.

The sixteenth elder brother looked down at his body and said, "It's so dirty, Cao Yong, let someone boil the water quickly. You have to change your clothes before you can talk."

When Cao Yong heard the words, he hurriedly sent people to boil water and prepare to eat.

Cao Song stuck out his tongue and said, "Brother, Master Shiliu took a shower on the way, but we haven't changed our clothes for three days. The big guy is also looking forward to hot water."

The guards who came with Brother Sixteen included those around Brother Sixteen and those at the guard's office. Cao Yong exchanged greetings with everyone, and then asked Cao Song to take everyone down to take a bath and change clothes.

Qin Gui, Cao Fang and the others breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the past two days have been uneventful, it is still worrying.

Cao Fang arrived yesterday, accompanied by Suo Qi, the steward of Pingjun Wangfu.It was inconvenient for Cao's servants to go out of Beijing, so Cao Yin told Naersu, king of Ping County, about Cao Yong, and then Suo Qi went out of Beijing.

Suo Qi is an old man from Pingjun Wangfu. He came out of Beijing with the handwriting of Pingjun Wang. Not only can he use the manpower of this garden, but he can also borrow people from other palaces.

Even so, it still makes people worry, for fear that there will be negligence, and there will be things that cannot be taken care of.

There is an extra prince elder brother, but it is different.

Among other things, as long as Elder Sixteen is around, the security guards around here will be tighter.

After a short time, everyone has finished bathing and changing clothes, and all the food and wine are ready.Cao Yong asked Cao Song to accompany the guards to feast and drink, while he was in the quiet room of the upper room, having wine with the sixteenth elder brother.

Brother Sixteen's close servant, Zhao Feng, wanted to wait on him. Seeing that his little face was pale and he couldn't stand upright, Brother Sixteen said, "Okay, okay, I want to have a good drink with your Master Cao, see You have a bitter face, but you are disgusting. Go down and eat!"

Only then did Zhao Feng go down, Cao Yong saw that his walking posture was not right, and asked Xiaoman to send some medicine.

There were only sixteen elder brothers and Cao Yong left in the room. Sixteen elder brothers tilted their necks, looked at Cao Yong twice, reached out and touched his forehead, and said, "Come on, let me see this worth tens of thousands of gold." What is the preciousness of his head! Tsk tsk, but I was tempted to hear it. One tael of gold, ten taels of silver, that's a full 10 taels. Even a Prince Heshuo would have to endure ten years before he could Get these silver coins."

Cao Yong's scalp was numb from Elder Sixteen's touch, he hurriedly pushed his arm away, and said with a smile: "You are such a good boy, Master Sixteen is willing to cut off his head, isn't that killing a chicken to get its eggs?"

Brother Sixteen glanced at him, and said: "Look at you, it's because you, a boy of good fortune, that your life is so precious that you have come here to be a Dharma protector?"

Cao Yong was quite surprised when he heard the words.

Elder Sixteen was not in a hurry to say, picked up the chopsticks, picked up a chopsticks of roe deer meat, put it in his mouth, and said: "They are all the same mountain delicacies, but when you eat them here, you always feel that they are more authentic than those in Beijing." .”

Cao Yong touched the jug, saw that it was almost warm, poured a glass for Elder Sixteen, and said: "Master Sixteen came galloping, and he was also tired. Drink two cups of wine to relieve fatigue."

Brother Sixteen picked up the wine cup, took a sip, looked at Cao Yong curiously, and said, "Is the sun coming out from the west? In the past, you always tried to persuade me not to drink too much."

Cao Yong also filled it up for himself, then shook the jug in front of Brother Sixteen, and said: "A total of four taels of wine, the right is to relax the tendons and activate the blood."

Brother Sixteen stretched his body vigorously, leaned back in the chair, and said, "What's going on, do you have any clues? Huang Ama spoke vaguely, only saying that there is a villain who wants to murder you and cause a lot of money. I'm still confused about the reward farce."

Cao Yong smiled wryly, how much more did he know than Brother Sixteen?

He told Elder Sixteen what he knew and what he guessed.

Elder Sixteen listened carefully, but also sullen.

After Cao Yong finished speaking, he said to Elder Sixteen: "I just sent out the booklet yesterday, and it happened that you came, but it happened just in time. It's easy to say anything else, just treat it as a lively scene, Chuyu and Tianhui, I'm really worried. What if I scare them, how can I be good? The sixteenth master is coming this time to live in the palace, can you find a reason to let the two of them live in too?"

Brother Sixteen couldn't help giving Cao Yong a blank look after hearing this, and said: "Look at your mother-in-law strength, you can't be more relaxed, but Huang Ama guessed it. Huang Ama said, when you meet this This kind of thing, the most worrying thing is the safety of your wife and daughter. But you are too ignorant of flexibility, even if you know how to send them to the palace, you can keep them safe, and you will not send them until you get the holy order. Give it away, and then write an apology to Huang Ama, isn't it the same?"

What does it mean to be arrogant?To cut first and play later is to be proud of being favored.

Those favored ministers who used to be so powerful, whoever didn't kill them first, and then acted later, all became reminders of guilt afterwards.

"Anyway, the sixteenth master is here, so I can sleep peacefully." Cao Yong drank the wine in the glass and said with a smile: "Now, I can lean against the big tree to enjoy the shade."

"Hmph, can you still laugh? You are not afraid that you will be troubled by the Lord and be unlucky with you?" Sixteenth elder brother couldn't see Cao Yong's complacency, so he pretended to be angry.

Cao Yong held the jug, filled him with wine, and said with a smile: "The Sixteenth Master is my lucky star. When the lucky star arrives, the sun will shine brightly. Wouldn't it be unreasonable to worry about the sky?"

The sixteenth elder brother also laughed, glanced at Cao Yong, stretched out his hand, made a gesture of grabbing, and said: "Let's see the way the master disciplines those criminals. Whether they come back or not. Don't be complacent, if you want to To order people, money is indispensable, otherwise, those soldiers will not do their best. The master is only responsible for ordering people, but you need to prepare some silver for rewards. The right is to waste money and eliminate disasters. If you know which villain it is I miss you, but it's worth the money. Otherwise, I'll be shot in the back when I can't get it right."

Cao Yong listened, nodded, and said: "I know, I know. From this point of view, they are showing off their own feet when they make this 'reward'. If you trace the source, you can always find something. It's as quiet as before, but people have nowhere to start. .”

Elder Sixteen showed more fighting spirit on his face, and said: "Yes, this time we also have the right to arrest the murderer, not self-defense. It seems that before Shengjia arrives in Rehe, we have to make a contribution first. .”

While eating and talking, the two heard dogs barking and noises from afar.

The two put down their wine cups and listened attentively. The barking of dogs had stopped, but the noise continued, accompanied by the sound of footsteps, from far to near.

"Young Master, Lord Sixteen, someone is going to step on the west wall, and the medicine overwhelmed two dogs." Wei Hei's voice came from outside the door.

Cao Yong stood up, called Wei Hei in, and asked, "How many people are here? Have you chased them?"

Wei Hei replied: "Two came, and they seemed to be familiar with the terrain in front of them. In addition, it was cloudy and dark, and they were still lost after chasing for two streets."

Today is the sixth day of March, and it has been less than half a month since the release of the so-called "reward order".

Cao Yong did not dare to be as casual as before, who knows how many gangsters are hidden in this city.

He turned around and said to Elder Sixteen: "Master Sixteen, it's late, Master Sixteen should return to the palace earlier to settle down."

Brother Sixteen couldn't help frowning when he heard this, and said: "What's this called? You are still in the palace garden, and the guards are all eggless guys? Three or five thieves can turn everyone into a soldier. Lord tonight I want to go to sleep with you and have a good farewell talk." At this point, he took off his waist card, threw it into Wei Hei's arms, and said, "Go to the general manager's yamen, and say that the master is on a business by order, and he will temporarily stay in the garden of the Wangfu from today onwards. Let him weigh the security in front of him."

Wei Hei took the waist card, but his face was filled with joy, but thinking that the identity of the sixteenth elder brother was really too precious.Although it is good to take advantage of the situation, but if there is a mistake, it is Cao Yong who has to bear the responsibility.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help hesitating, looked at Cao Yong, and didn't go out immediately.

Cao Yong turned around and said to the thirteenth elder brother: "The son of a thousand gold, he can't sit down. The sixteenth master has a high status and is not suitable for child's play. Let's go back to the palace to settle."

The sixteenth elder brother ignored Cao Yong, waved his hand to Wei Hei, and said, "Old Wei, go quickly, don't listen to your son's nagging. I don't believe it. A reward order has been issued, and this Rehe has become a dragon's pond and a tiger's lair. Is it done?"

Wei Hei responded with a cry and went out. Seeing Brother Sixteen playing tricks, Cao Yong had nothing to do with him.

The sixteenth elder brother had already drank the wine in the jug, but he was not enjoying himself. He held up the jug and said: "Although Huang Ama asked me to come to Rehe, she didn't say how many days to come. My master has been hurrying day and night. , it's not that you are thinking about you, but you are stingy, and you can't drink enough wine. No, just another pot..."

Although it was lonely in the middle of the night, Cao Yong suddenly felt that it was much more lively when he saw the sixteenth elder brother in front of him playing his temper. He was no longer as deserted and lonely as before.

Yi Duli is also, so is the sixteenth elder brother. Although he did not say it, Cao Yong can still feel their concern.

In my heart, there seemed to be something too much, which made my chest feel hot.

The previous worries and anxieties are gone, as if the burden on the shoulders has been lightened a lot.

Seeing that Cao Yong didn't answer, the sixteenth elder brother raised his arms sorely, and complained: "Okay, did you see that the master wants to distribute money for you, and you are deliberately against the master..."

Cao Yong said with a smile: "but I want to get drunk and rest. Will Master Sixteen dare to fight?"

Elder Sixteen's eyes lit up when he heard it, he stood up, stepped on the stool, laughed twice, and said, "What's the matter? Isn't it admiration after seeing you for three days? Or if you haven't learned a lesson in a few days, you have to go to the room to reveal it." Wah? I know how much you can drink, but I didn't expect to have the courage to challenge you, and carefully lose your share in front of the little one..."

Cao Yong smiled and ordered Xiaoman to serve the wine.

Brother Sixteen couldn't help but gear up, already eager to try.

"Bang, stick, tiger... stick, stick... drink..."

"Bangzi Bangzi...Bangzi Bangzi...drink..."

Chu Yu went to the porch and listened to the voices in the room, but it was rare to see her husband in such a relaxed and unrestrained manner, she couldn't help but stop and listen.

Xiao Man just came out and saw Chu Yu, and was about to say hello, but Chu Yu stopped him with gestures.

Xiaoman quickly covered his mouth, and said in a low voice: "Grandma, do you want me to go in and report?"

Chu Yu shook her head with a smile, and said, "Uncle Sixteen is here, my son-in-law is happy, let them have a good drink."

Xiao Man hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Grandma, Master Sixteen has said that he will not be allowed to go back to the inner courtyard tonight, and that he will sleep with him..."

"Uncle Sixteen is really..." Chu Yu couldn't help but smile when she heard this, and after thinking about it, she said to Xiao Man, "I'll send someone to bring the old man's bedding to the front in a while, it seems that both of us drank too much, you want more?" Take good care of..."

(End of this chapter)