Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 635

In this way, Elder Sixteen, Cao Yong, and Qi Min accompanied the guards and checked from the house outside the palace.

There is no need for Yiduli to say anything here, because he did not let anyone go there again after he went back.Zhang Yushu's mansion was empty, so people went over to see it; Li's mansion had a stable old butler, seeing that it was sixteenth elder brother who came in person, there was no nonsense.

Brother Sixteen hesitated for the next few government residences, and decided to go in order.

As soon as they knocked on the door of the first house, two people flashed behind the screen wall and knelt down facing each other: "My nephew pays respects to Uncle Sixteen!"

Two people came out, with yellow belts hanging around their waists, one was taller and taller, 26 or 23, with a short beard; the other looked fairer, [-] or [-].

Brother Sixteen saw that the two looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had met him, and he was still looking at them.

Cao Yong, behind Elder Sixteen, has already recognized that the two in front of him are Tushou's two sons Yuan Wei and Yuan Zhi.

He gave Elder Sixteen a pull, and whispered the identities of the two brothers.

Brother Sixteen just nodded and said: "It's you two brothers, why don't you just stay in the capital and come here?"

When the two brothers heard the words, their faces flushed, and they couldn't explain clearly.

Brother Sixteen felt weird, waved his hand, and said: "Get up, the security in the city is not good these days, I think you have heard about it. Two days ago, there were gangsters who lived in Ye Tanye's residence and chased them to this area where no one was seen. .My master came here today to show people this house, and see if there is a place where people can hide.” While speaking, he looked at the expressions of the two brothers.

Both Yuan Wei and Yuan Zhi changed their expressions, showing a bit of panic.

Brother Sixteen saw this, and became more and more suspicious.

Yuan Wei and Yuan Zhi are the grandsons of Gali, and Gali's "mother killing case" was inextricably linked with Cao Yong. It is reasonable to say that they hold a grudge against Cao Yong because of this.

Cao Yong looked at the plain clothes of the two brothers, but said nothing.

Yuan Wei and Yuan Zhi got up and called Brother Sixteen to go inside.Among them, Yuan Wei didn't speak, Yuan Zhi said with a smile: "Uncle Sixteen, there are relatives living in the garden. There are many female relatives in the house, it's a bit inconvenient."

Elder Sixteen gave him a sideways look, and said angrily, "What's the inconvenience, can you still rob people's daughters by force?" Speaking of this, I feel a little embarrassed when I think of being courteous to Xiaoying in the past few days.

"Uncle Sixteen, that's not what he meant!" Yuan Zhi hurriedly defended, but it seemed like there was something unspeakable, and he couldn't explain clearly.

The more he is like this, the more eye-catching he is.

Even with Qi Min, he was a little more vigilant, and he brought a lot of guards with knives and followed him into the yard, not to mention, he even whispered to people to watch the front and back doors.

Elder Sixteen was getting a little impatient, he frowned and said to Qi Min beside him, "Take someone over there to see what's going on!"

Qi Min responded and led people down.

Brothers Yuan Wei and Yuan Zhi turned pale, with a look of hesitation on their faces.

Brother Sixteen didn't bother to look at them, so he said to Cao Yong, "I remember that Fu Ruo had some friendship with E Fei in the early years. How is his heir related to you now?"

Cao Yong replied: "When I was in Taipu Temple earlier, I had some official business contacts. In the past two years, the number of meetings has been limited."

"So that's the case, it seems that you can't be counted on there." Elder Sixteen said casually.

Yuan Wei couldn't help it anymore, stomped his feet, bowed his head and said, "Uncle Sixteen, this backyard house... the backyard house is rented out by my nephews."

"Rent?" Although the sixteenth elder brother saw that their brothers had hidden feelings, he didn't expect it to be this. He couldn't help being curious, and said, "Who did you rent it to? Is it because of a shortage of money, or what, the good garden is still rented out." ?”

Yuan Wei's face was flushed with suffocation, and he could not speak.

It was Yuan Zhi who was explaining, and Brother Sixteen and Cao Yong heard the whole story.

The mother of the two brothers, Mrs. Dong E, Fu Guogong's wife, died of depression not long after her natal family suffered a catastrophe. A year later, Tu Shouji married his wife.

With a stepmother, there is a stepfather.The two brothers were still in their filial piety, so they were sent to Rehe.

He also said that the two brothers had grown up, and there was no reason for their parents to support them, so they cut off their silver rice.The two brothers were well-clothed and well-fed since they were young, so where did they worry about making a living?
Unfortunately, before they came, the garden here had already been ransacked by the stepwife, except for some stupid furniture and other valuables.

The two brothers really had no choice but to rent out the inner house when they saw someone posting a notice asking for rent on the street.The two brothers, their family members and a few loyal servants live across the courtyard in the front yard.

Brother Sixteen couldn't help being annoyed when he heard this, and said: "The son of the dignified Duke's mansion ended up living in a pawnshop. What do you call this? Seeing that both of you brothers are over twenty, why don't you give me a call?" Please seal it?"

Yuan Zhi said with red eyes: "Ama is timid, afraid that if someone asks you to seal it, someone will make a fuss about our grandpa and implicate him."

It's hard for an upright official to decide on housework, so Brother Sixteen didn't feel angry, but he couldn't say much, so he frowned and shook his head.

Cao Yong recalled that when Gali was the governor of Liangjiang, Tushou used the banner of his father-in-law to drill camp in the capital, and he also felt that the situation had changed.

Brother Sixteen also saw the clothes on the two of them at this time, thought for a while, and asked, "How long will it take to be filial piety?"

"By the end of May..." Yuan Zhi replied.

Brother Sixteen didn't speak any more, and glanced at the furnishings in the living room. There were only a few fake calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall, and the Duobaoge was just an ordinary wooden inkstone, and nothing of value could be seen.

From this point of view, what the two brothers said is eight or nine are inseparable.

After a while, Qi Min had already brought someone back, his expression was a little stiff.Those escorted by the soldiers were several women in red and green costumes.

"Officer, do you have something to say..."

"My lord, what is going on with this Xunnu family..."

Qi Min was annoyed by the noise, bit his lip, and said angrily in a low voice, "Shut up!"

Seeing the two young masters and two young men, one of them was still wearing an official uniform, the women were not afraid, and talked more and more coquettishly.

This one said: "Young master, you have to be the master of the servant's family."

The one said: "My arm hurts so much, my young master, how can this be so good..."

Although Cao Yong and Qi Min were both wearing third-grade supplementary clothing, they didn't take it seriously because they boasted that they leaned against a big tree to enjoy the shade.

Brother Sixteen saw the bustle, he put a smile on his face, and asked Yuan Zhi, "This is the female family member you mentioned? Although it is charming, is it older?"

Those few women saw that everyone was standing, only Elder Sixteen was sitting, so they knew that they were of good status.

Seeing his kindness, those women also became bolder.This one said: "My lord said so, my family will be sad, my family is only double ten this year."

That one said: "Love Master doesn't know, only the older ones know how to love others."

Some said: "My father likes young ones. I have several daughters in my family who are all in the age of cardamom. They stand on the same level as my father. They all say that the mother-in-law likes her son-in-law the more she looks at her. This is absolutely true."

During the conversation, I don't know how many winks have been thrown over.If Qi Min hadn't sent someone to stop her, I'm afraid they would rush over.

"Ha, ha, ha, interesting!" Elder Sixteen couldn't help laughing when he saw that his mother-in-law had come out at this moment.

Cao Yong glanced at the one who said he was "Double Ten" and wondered if he had poor eyesight. Why did he look like "Double Twenty"?

Qi Min stepped forward and reported the results of the investigation in the backyard.In addition to a few nursing homes, there are just a few babes and dozens of little girls in the inner house.

Hearing that these women are babes, Elder Sixteen stopped the smile on his face, and his eyes became sharper.

Seeing this, Yuan Zhi hurried forward and said: "Uncle Sixteen, they all have official notes, and those girls were also bought by the government or from the market, and there is no suspicion of kidnapping."

"Really?" Brother Sixteen glanced at them, still half-believing.

"Nephews don't dare to lie. Most of the girls they raise are sold to rich families as maids. The procedures in the yamen are complete." Yuan Zhi was afraid that Elder Sixteen would misunderstand, so he couldn't help but say a few more words.

Those women have already seen that something is wrong, what kind of identity is it that can make the two young fathers-in-law call them uncles?The trembling ones all kept silent.

Brother Sixteen said to Qi Min: "Tell two people to go over and ask if there are any good families who have been kidnapped? If there is a den of thieves at the gate of the palace, then you, the general manager, should have come to an end."

The voice is not loud, but the weight is not light.

Qi Min didn't dare to make a big deal, he bowed and agreed, and brought someone to interrogate him himself.

Brother Sixteen picked up the teacup, looked at the floating tea stalks inside, and lost the interest in drinking tea.

He put down the teacup, and said to Yuan Zhi and Yuan Wei brothers: "The garden belongs to your own family, whether you rent it or sell it, it's none of your business. But after all, it's the land, in front of the Xinggong. It's extraordinary, you are not young anymore, don't need to talk too much, you should know the seriousness, "

Yuan Wei was still a little ignorant, he didn't know what Elder Sixteen meant; Yuan Zhi had already understood it, knelt down and said, "What Uncle Sixteen taught is that nephews dare not disregard the law and act recklessly. So and so, just to support the family. My nephew is okay. My nephew’s elder brother married his sister-in-law, and there are two younger children who have to eat. I really have no choice but to think about collecting rent. But if there is a little Way, nephews will not be like this..."

Before Yuan Zhi finished speaking, he heard a "plop", and Yuan Wei also knelt down.

Although he didn't know what brother sixteen meant by those words, but this idiot could tell that he seemed to be punishing their brothers.

"Uncle Sixteen, don't do your brother's business. My nephew saw someone renting a house and brought him here." Yuan Wei said loudly.

Seeing his brother like this, Yuan Zhi couldn't help being anxious, pulled his brother's arm, and said in a low voice: "Brother, what's the trouble?"

Yuan Wei walked two steps forward, knelt in front of Yuan Zhi, raised his head and said to Elder Sixteen, "Uncle Sixteen, I did all the work, and I also took the rent. They said that there is a relative who is easy to talk about." , Sent a girl here, and I also accepted it. It is my decision not to do anything about my younger brother. If I break any law, I will be the one to take the blame. My younger brother is not married yet, so Uncle Sixteen must not be wronged. he."

"Brother..." Yuan Zhi couldn't laugh or cry when he saw that his usually dull brother said these words in one breath, and said in a low voice, "Stop talking... Isn't this a joke for Uncle Sixteen and Prince Cao?" He raised his head and looked at the expressions of Brother Sixteen and Cao Yong.

Brother Sixteen and Cao Yong didn't laugh.

The room fell silent all of a sudden, and even Yuan Zhi didn't dare to speak out to defend himself.

After a while, Qi Min came back.

After questioning, those women were either sold by officials, or they were not bought in the market. These people in front of them are not suspected of abduction.

Elder Sixteen's complexion looked better now, he glanced at the women and said, "How much is the rent?"

Those women were intimidated by this posture, and for a while, no one dared to speak.

"Huh?" Brother Sixteen couldn't help frowning again when he saw it.

The one who was going to be the sixteenth elder brother's mother-in-law just now had the courage to extend a slap and said, "Five...50 taels..."

"50 taels a month..." Brother Sixteen raised his eyebrows when he heard this, and said, "It's still cheap, it's still cheap..."

The woman's face froze, and she whispered: "It's 50 taels for three years..."

"What? 50 taels in three years?" Elder Sixteen was a bit surprised, pointing to Brother Yuan Wei who was kneeling on the ground: "This big garden only costs 50 taels in three years, you, you..."

Elder Sixteen stood up and said to the women: "Even if it is an ordinary house, it is not so cheap to rent. Well, you are fooling my nephew by spending a few more years in the market." Boys, isn't it?" At this point, Qi Min said: "I took it all for the master, and I will make dozens of boards first, so that these tricky women can open their eyes. The men of this clan, are they able to fool them?"

Qi Min responded and was about to arrest someone.

The women were already bluffing enough, begging for mercy: "My family made a mistake, I didn't mean to fool you, it's because the rent in Rehe is low and the price is not high."

Elder Sixteen stared, and said: "How dare you talk back? I fooled you if you said it. You can't rent such a big house for 50 taels a year, let alone 50 taels for three years. The board needs to be doubled." As he spoke, he urged Qi Min to take someone.

There was a clever man who had already heard the implication of the sixteenth elder brother, and hurriedly said: "It's the servants, isn't it? They lowered the housing price. The master is right. A house like this is worth 50 taels a year. It's not right, it's not right, you need a house." Year six... 70 taels is appropriate..." At the end, there was already a scream, and it turned out that two soldiers had already strangled their arms.

Brother Sixteen heard this, and now he had a smile on his face, nodded, and signaled Qi Min to let him go.

He looked outside and said to Cao Yong: "Let's go, after so long a delay, the rest of the houses have to hurry up." Then he brought everyone out.

Yuan Wei knelt on the ground, still confused; Yuan Zhi looked at the back of Elder Sixteen and murmured: "Uncle Sixteen..."

Coming out of Tushou's house, Elder Sixteen took a look at Cao Yong and said, "Fu Ruo, how long will you be doing your job here?"

"The project will be completed in mid-April, but depending on the day, Shengjia will arrive soon. If there is nothing wrong, I will stay here." Cao Yong thought about the Yuanwei brothers just now, and said: "The sixteenth master wants to help the two brothers. Looking for an errand?"

Brother Sixteen nodded and said: "Although their brothers were some bastards a few years ago, they didn't do anything serious. The way they look now is really miserable."

"The errands here are mostly the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The two brothers came in rashly, and they may not have any good fruit to eat. Although they are young princes, there is still a saying that slaves bully the master." Cao Yong thought for a while He returned, and said: "Treating the symptoms but not the root cause, it's better to say hello from the clan's mansion, so that the two brothers don't care about anything, and they can be granted a title, and their livelihood will be depended on."

"Clan Mansion?" Elder Sixteen tapped his forehead and said, "Let's see if Yaerjiang will follow you this year! If he comes, talk to him."

While talking, I arrived at the garden of E Fei's house,

Hearing that Elder Sixteen had arrived in person, the housekeeper here greeted him.Cao Yong saw that he was an acquaintance, and he was the big housekeeper of the Duke's mansion in Beijing earlier.

He also recognized Cao Yong, and after paying his respects to Brother Sixteen, he greeted Cao Yong again.

Cao Yong quickly stretched out his hand to support him, and asked, "How did the chief housekeeper arrive in Rehe?"

The big housekeeper showed a bit of embarrassment on his face, and said in a low voice: "Since the Duke's funeral, the younger one has been here." Speaking of this, he changed the conversation: "I heard that Master Cao has arrived in Rehe, and the younger one is here." I wanted to pay my respects in the past, but I was afraid that Mr. Cao is busy with business. I don’t know if Mr. Cao and Mr. Sixteen are..."

One emperor and one courtier, in one mansion, also has this meaning.

Seeing that he didn't want to mention the old things, Cao Yong kept silent and explained his intention.

The butler didn't hesitate, and directly ordered the two of them to take the soldiers to search the courtyards.

Brother Sixteen saw that he was an acquaintance of Cao Yong, so he spoke more politely.

There is nothing abnormal here, Brother Sixteen explained a few words, it is nothing more than checking the garden every day, so as not to get involved in Xiaoxiao or something, if there is any abnormality, report to the Yamen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Yamen of the Chief of the Palace.

When they arrived at the other courtyard of A Ling's family, it was not as smooth as the first two.

Although the Duke's mansion here is a lord, not a clan title, but in terms of dignity, it is no less than those two.

This is not only the tenth brother's uncle's family, but also the mother's family of Empress Xiaozhao.

The direct branch of the five founding ministers, the descendants of the dynasty, the stewards are also much tougher than the previous two.

"Master Sixteen, aren't you embarrassing me? Our master is working in front of the imperial court now, and we don't know the rules? Even if there are bandits haunting nearby, can they still enter our yard?" The steward was doing Tai Chi , it doesn't mean to let people search at all.

The sixteenth elder brother took care of the tenth elder brother's face, so he was still a bit polite. Seeing the manager's appearance, he couldn't help but get a little angry, and sneered, "What's the useless talk, is it farting to talk about feelings?"

Seeing that Elder Sixteen was getting annoyed, the person in charge didn't dare to be too tough, and leaned over and said, "It's not that the slaves don't know what's going on, it's just that there are more than 60 nursing homes here, and they patrol every day, so there must be no mistakes. Please rest assured, Master Sixteen." As he spoke, he asked someone to bring over a tray covered with a red cloth, bowed and said, "I know that Master Sixteen works hard on his job, and this is the filial piety of the servants. Master Sixteen certainly does not lack These few, keep it for rewarding people.”

As he spoke, he had already lifted a corner of the red cloth, revealing the yellow golden pancake inside.While lifting it, he looked at Elder Sixteen with a bit of complacency in his eyes.

Cao Yong looked aside and knew that this guy was out of luck.

Over the years, outsiders have regarded the sixteenth elder brother as an elder brother with no status, but they forgot that no more status, the prince is still a prince.

There is arrogance in his bones, and not everyone can be offended.

Sure enough, Elder Sixteen laughed back in anger, stretched out his hand to lift the red cloth, grabbed two gold pancakes, and said, "How much gold is this? It dazzles my eyes!"

The person in charge didn't realize that something was wrong, so he said with a smile: "300 taels is not a respect, please accept it with a smile."

Brother Sixteen has already taken his seat, looked at the golden pancake in his hand, slowly put away the smile on his face, and said to Qi Min beside him, "What are you still doing? Are you going to dawdle until dark?"

Qi Min groaned secretly in his heart, but he also saw that Elder Sixteen had a bad tone and didn't dare to be troublesome, so he responded and led the people inside.

The steward looked blankly, and when he woke up, Qi Min and the others had already brought people in.

"Master Sixteen, what are you..." The manager's face was red and pale in a hurry, and the movement was a bit loud.

"Presumptuous! You don't want to open your eyes. Where can you talk in front of the master? Are you going to die?" The one who scolded him was Zhao Feng, who was by Brother Sixteen's side.

Zhao Feng's face was tense, glaring at the steward.

The steward was taken aback, and then remembered that even if the other party was an elder brother with little real power, wanting his life was just a matter of words.

Elder Sixteen's expression calmed down, and he said to Zhao Feng: "What are you shouting about, what are you shouting about? Since it's the kindness of the housekeeper, let's keep it, and pack it up soon. It's rare for me to see so much gold and get Huang Ama It’s better to show off in front of you.”

When the steward heard this, his face turned pale, and he was a little unsteady.

There are laws and regulations that courtiers are not allowed to form a private relationship with the prince.If the sixteenth elder brother really went to the imperial court to file a complaint, let alone him, even Ah Ling would not be able to walk around.

Brother Sixteen didn't bother to argue with him, he just scanned the decorations in the hall boredly.

It is very magnificent, compared with Yuanwei and Yuanzhi brothers, it is really a world of difference.

Cao Yong is a little worried, after all, A Ling'a is now the minister of the guards and the emperor's close minister, so it is not easy to offend too much.

Just as he was thinking, he heard noises coming from the inner courtyard, accompanied by the sound of soldiers fighting.

Everyone in the room changed their faces, Wei Hei had already stepped forward, restrained the steward, and asked, "Who lives in the garden?"

The steward looked at the shining steel knife, his teeth chattered, and tremblingly said: "No...no one else...the nursing home...it's the nursing home..."

Cao Yong was worried about the safety of the sixteenth elder brother, so he asked Zhao Feng to go out and call in the people outside the courtyard.

After a while, all the soldiers who were waiting outside the mansion also entered the yard.

Elder Sixteen sent two people in to have a look, and looked at the manager's eyes with a bit of chill.

After a while, the sound of fighting subsided, and Qi Min came back with his men, his face was a little more excited, and said: "Master Cao, a few murderers have been arrested. I don't know if it was a few days ago." Those who disturbed Master Sixteen..."

The soldiers behind him dragged two people in.

The two men were dressed in hospital uniforms, were covered in blood, had been stabbed several times, and passed out...

*
Ps: Corresponding to Chuyu who said that she didn't put down the tent and didn't turn off the lights, so she put down the tent and covered her face. Everyone wants CJ. . .

(End of this chapter)