Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 814 "Family Harmony"

Suzhou, the western suburbs, Lijiazhuangzi.

Li Xu stood by the rice field, watching the tenants in the distance leaning over to harvest the wheat.Behind him, a housekeeper held an umbrella to cover Li Xu.

The paddy field in front of me covers a total of [-] mu. It is not an ordinary paddy field, but an imperial paddy field that was ordered to be planted for trial.The seeds used in this field are new rice varieties cultivated by Kangxi envoys with Tianjin Wei in the Changchun Garden, and handed over to officials in Jiangnan and Jiangbei provinces for trial planting.

The other governor's offices only got two or three mu of rice seeds. Only Li Xu's office in Suzhou, who also had the title of Minister of the Household Department, got the most rice seeds.

Beside the rice fields, there are already rice harvested before.Li Xu grabbed a handful in his hand and put it under his nose, smelling the aroma of rice, he just felt refreshed.

In the past few years, the emperor has paid great attention to the cultivation of new rice seeds.This year's early rice harvest is good, does it mean that the south of the Yangtze River is in good weather and the country is safe and peaceful?
Sharing worries for the king is also the duty of the courtiers.

Li Xu's face was much relieved, and he turned his head and told the manager of the farm: "Send the order, the new rice must be harvested today. Within ten days, new seedlings will be planted on this rice field."

The steward bowed his head and agreed, and Li Xu asked someone to bring a few buckets of new rice, got into the carriage, and went back to the city.

As soon as he entered the weaving mansion, a housekeeper stepped forward and told: "Master, a letter from my aunt and uncle has arrived."

Li Xu listened, his face drooped, and he snorted twice.Li Shi's letter just arrived, but Li Xu already got the news that Li Shi refused to come.

Needless to say, the eldest son's letter was designated as a matter between the Sun family and Li Ding.The steward over there sent letters to Suzhou every three days, reporting to Li Xu what Li Nai had done in the capital.

Li Xu was very disappointed in his eldest son who was about to be young.I knew that he was dull by nature and not a witty person, but thinking that he has been by my side and been influenced by him for decades, I should be a little careless in his actions.

Who would have known that he was so clumsy, let alone Cao Yong's opponent, even a sour Confucian Sun Jue couldn't handle it.No matter how big or small, I have to ask Suzhou for instructions, without the slightest courage.

If Li Ding was alive, how could he be so worried.

Although Li Xu was unhappy, he went to the study first and read the letter from Li Shi and Li Nai.

Seeing the excuses in Li's letter, Li Xu frowned and thought for a while, then called the housekeeper and said, "Tell people to go to the market to collect some good embroidery, regardless of the price, buy more, so that they can be delivered to Beijing before the Mid-Autumn Festival." The aunt is doing the ceremony."

The steward hesitated for a moment, and said, "Master, where does this money come from?"

Although the Li family looks at the scenery, their days are not as good as before, and now they are just tearing down the east wall and repairing the west wall.In the early years, there was some money in the mansion. In the past few years, the Li family was also in a deficit, and returned all the floating wealth to the local treasury.If so, there are still several 10 taels of this deficit that have not been paid off.

In the past few years, Li Xu has also been a censor who patrols the salt, and he has plenty of money.But Li Xu is well-known for his good popularity, and the money for this kind of social interaction is tens of thousands of taels of silver every year.

These days are getting more and more difficult.The original money on the account was also brought to the capital by Li Nai in the spring, and now the account is empty.

"Go find your wife, just tell me what I said, let her prepare 5000 taels of silver wherever she goes." Li Xu said.

The housekeeper responded, and Li Xu opened his son's letter again, but the more he read it, the angrier he became.

Did Sun Jue eat the guts of the ambitious leopard?How dare the lion open his mouth and beg for Fangshan's Zhuangzi?
Li Xu only felt trembling all over, thinking that the always cowardly Sun family dared to challenge him, he was really very angry.What made him even more angry was that the eldest son had no countermeasures against these unreasonable demands, and even asked him for instructions.

"Hmph, something that won't be on the table." He didn't know whether he was scolding Li Nai or Sun Jue, and spat bitterly...

*
Weaving the house in the mansion, Wang's face was a little sad when he heard the words of the housekeeper's wife.

How else?I can only continue to be a thing, and I have already done it once before the Dragon Boat Festival, so I am familiar with it.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Wang just felt uncomfortable. In the early years when Mrs. Han was alive, she was the wife of the house, well-clothed and well-fed, enjoying the blessings; Not as good as one day.

She had only one son, who lost his life at a young age, and left behind a granddaughter who was a concubine, and she was not able to inherit the incense.

What's the point of her working so hard?She had been looking forward to this false title of "wife" for most of her life, but now that she was getting old, she felt that it was boring.

But she is over half a hundred years old and has no son by her side, so she can only follow Li Xu and make herself a place in the Li family.

She rubbed her forehead, and said: "Take people to Dongku, find some unnecessary gold and silver objects, and quietly carry them out to pawn."

The housekeeper's daughter-in-law hesitated for a moment, and said: "Madam, Dongku's side, not to mention gold and silver wares, even bronze wares, have already been pawned."

When Wang heard this, she couldn't help being stunned, she let out a long breath, and said, "Then Xiku?"

"Ma'am... Xiku's key is in the hands of the old lady..." The housekeeper's daughter-in-law looked at Wang Shi and said cautiously.

On Wang's side, there was silence for a long while, and he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to Wen Taijun's yard.

Wen Taijun is more than 80 years old, with silver hair all over his head, sitting on the edge of the kang, leaning on the pillow, listening to Gao Taijun talking about family affairs.I don't know if the old man heard it, but his head flicked, causing the earrings to tremble accordingly.

Mrs. Wang stood at the door, lowered her head and listened to the servant girl go in to report.

The big maid who went in to report was full of embarrassment, she complained to Wang several times in her heart, what is she doing here?The old lady was impatient to see her, and she had already been exempted from her rules.She is usually considered interesting, only on the first and fifteenth days of the junior high school, she came over to show her face with the cheek.

"Old lady... the lady came to pay her respects to the old lady..." The maid struggled in her heart, and she still chose the title "Madam" between "Madam" and "Auntie".After all, the head of the family in this mansion is the master, and since the master calls them "wife", then their slaves can only respectfully call them "wife".

Wen Taijun originally squinted his eyes, but when he heard the word "wife", he opened his eyes at once, looked at the maid and said, "Now a cat or a dog can be called wife? The old lady is not dead yet!" , did not say no, and closed his eyes again.

The maid was startled, and looked at Gao Taijun eagerly, with a look of pleading on her face.

Gao Taijun knew that Mrs. Wang would not come here, and today is not the [-]th day of the Lunar New Year. She knew that her mother-in-law would come here without waiting, so she must have something to do, so she said to Wen Taijun, "Maybe it's something about Guiniang, let her come in and talk about it."

Wen Taijun snorted coldly, but didn't say anything.Gao Taijun waved his hand at the maid, signaling her to go out to invite someone.

Mrs. Wang had already heard the movement in the house at the door, and felt depressed, but in order to change the money, she really had no choice but to hold her temper and follow the maid into the house.

"Greetings to the old lady and the seventh old lady." Mrs. Wang entered the room, took a few steps forward, and blessed the two sitting on the kang.

Wen Taijun still closed his eyes and refused to talk to Wang.

It's still Gao Taijun, for Li Xu's sake, I don't want to embarrass Mrs. Wang too much, pointing to the stool on the ground, and said: "Gui Niang sit down and talk, is there something to do with the old lady?"

Mrs. Wang blushed and couldn't sit still, so she squeezed out a little smile and said, "I want to ask the old lady to give me the key to the West Library, and the master asked me to get some things from it."

Gao Taijun listened and looked at Wen Taijun.

On Wen Taijun's side, at some point, he opened his eyes, glared at Wang and said, "You poor servant, you have fooled your master, and now you are starting to calculate your wife's dowry again? Get out!"

Mrs. Wang is over fifty years old, and because she is a cousin of the Li family, even Mrs. Han was somewhat respectable when she was alive.She didn't expect Wen Taijun to be so honest, she just felt her mind went blank and she was speechless.

"Get out of here, are you going to be bombarded?" Seeing that she was silent, Wen Taijun became more and more annoyed, and shouted angrily.

Wang Shi couldn't sit still, her face flushed, and she staggered out of the room.

Gao Taijun was afraid that Wen Taijun would not be able to bear it, so he hurriedly said: "Why bother to be so upset, impatient to see her, just send her out."

Wen Taijun stroked his chest and said: "Unless I close my eyes, I will let that lowly maidservant be in charge..."

Mrs. Wang walked down the corridor, just when she heard this sentence, she trembled with anger, and her shame turned into anger.

Back in her room, she sat on a chair with a frighteningly gloomy face.

It stands to reason that since the Han family has passed away, her dowry should be inherited by her children, but now Li Nai does not inherit her dowry because it is related to the secrets of the Li family.

Li Nai's name is the son of the concubine, but in fact he is the son of Li Xu's concubine Yuan, because the Han family has had no children for many years, so he pretends to be the son of the son.At that time, the Wang family was fighting against the Han family's east wind and the west wind, so he naturally imitated Li Ding from Tongfang Zhan's family as his own.

These things can be hidden from others, but not from Li Xu.Li Xu also turned a blind eye to the tricks of his wives and concubines.After all, my son's background is better, and I feel respectable to him as an old man.

There is another person who cannot be concealed, and that is Taijun Wen.

For these things that confuse the concubine, Wen Taijun was unwilling to respond, and couldn't bear Han's begging.However, she can tolerate Han's behavior like this, but she can't understand Wang's behavior like this.

If it weren't for the fact that Wang's cousin entered the palace and became a nobleman, which made Wen Taijun scruples, Wen Taijun would have dealt with Wang's family law.

For this reason, Li Xu always treats his two sons equally, and there is no distinction between his son and his son.On Wen Taijun's side, he likes the generosity of his eldest grandson, and he can't see Li Ding playing tricks.

"I'm really old, can't I be a home without the key?" The more Wang thought about it, the more angry she slapped the table, got up and called for someone to order: "Pass my words and call some strong envoys." Mother-in-law is going to Xiku."

After a while, Mrs. Wang had calmed down, and brought her maid to Xiku's side.

There were already several maids waiting for orders with knives, axes, etc. Mrs. Wang looked at the two half-foot-long locks on the door and said coldly: "Smash it for me..."

This is the west entrance of the mansion, the courtyard where Mrs. Han lived before his death, and it has been empty since Mrs. Han passed away.At the gate of the yard, there happened to be Sun Shi, the wife of Li Nai who was looking for Wang Shi.

Hearing the movement from the yard, she stopped at the gate of the yard, watched the scene of the broken lock inside, and covered her mouth.

She has been married to Li's family for more than twenty years, so she knows that her mother-in-law's dowry is in the west wing.

She only felt her heart beating wildly, but she didn't dare to enter the yard to stop her, so she hurriedly turned and walked back to her own yard.

The mother-in-law's dowry should have been passed on to the husband and wife, but what is Mrs. Wang doing now... Mrs. Sun felt terrified, and was already hesitating whether to ask the old lady to decide.

But the old lady is not in good health and can't stand it, the master is partial to Wang, and her husband is not at home, so everything she does is wrong...

The resentment in my heart has taken root, and I no longer have the usual respect for the Wang family.

What will happen if the family is harmonious and everything is prosperous, but if the family is not harmonious?unknown.

*
In the capital, inside Xizhimen, Li's house.

The matter of Li Nai's marriage to a daughter is over, and he has started running relationships to make up for what's lacking.I thought that as long as the silver was used, the shortage would be easily captured. Who would have thought that thousands of taels of silver would be spent, and all of them would be in vain.

At the beginning of last year, the imperial court began to collect donations, and the fame and fame of this sale are countless.It turned out that there was a shortage, and it had already been snatched up.On the official side, I don't know how many people are waiting for shifts.

The Shuji scholars released by the Imperial Academy were from the official Jinshi class, and some of them had been named in the official department for three years.

If it is a small sesame official such as the seventh and eighth ranks, it is not a problem, and the sixth rank is not too difficult.

But with Li Nai's background and his age, how could he put down his social status and compete with those brats for those little officials?But it is not easy to make up for the middle-level deficiency of the fourth and fifth grades.

Li Nai ran away for half a month, and got nothing except spending thousands of taels of silver, giving many gifts, and getting drunk a few times.

He was already wondering if the capital was against him, or why he failed to achieve anything after entering the capital.Li Nai sat in the living room, a little discouraged.

When Li Cheng heard that his father had come back, he went to the flower hall to meet him. Seeing his appearance, he frowned and asked the steward, "Did you drink again today? Hurry up and ask someone to prepare hangover soup."

The housekeeper went down to prepare, but Li Cheng hesitated for a moment, and entered the flower hall.

"Father..." Li Cheng walked in, and he could smell Li Nai's smell of alcohol: "Father was still talking about stomach pains two days ago, so you should take good care of your body."

Seeing his son's concern, Li Nai added kindness to his face, and said, "How is Cheng'er's homework today?"

Although he was busy everywhere, he didn't want to delay his son's homework. When he first came to Beijing, he invited a person to come to Li's residence.

"I read the Four Books and Five Classics when I was in Suzhou, but now I just follow the master to learn stereotypes." Li Cheng said.

Li Nai was very relieved to see that he seemed like a young adult, nodded and said: "It's so good. I can't do it as a father, I just hope that my son will be admitted to the imperial examination and be a face to Li's parents. Your uncle Cao's brother is young Tanhua, and his knowledge is very good. One. It’s just that our cousin is not in Beijing now, so we shouldn’t visit him rashly. Otherwise, Tan Hualang’s guidance will benefit my son’s knowledge.”

Li Cheng rolled his eyes and said, "Father, did my uncle and aunt leave Beijing for several months to avoid us?"

Hearing his son's question, Li Nai was a little overwhelmed and said in a daze, "Avoid us? What is this called? Our two families are close relatives, and we are not debt collectors. Why do you avoid us?"

"Father has been in Beijing for several months. If my cousin really cares about the kinship, how can he always look on the sidelines of our family's affairs? Whether it is the matter of the same uncle's family or the matter of the second uncle, my father is asking for an official. It's a good thing. If Uncle Cao's family is really willing to help, he won't let his father work carelessly." Li Cheng plausibly said: "In the past few months, my son has only met Uncle Cao's family twice. She's also kind, but she's mostly evasive words to her father, and she doesn't really mean to be close to her at all."

Li Nai originally only thought that Cao Yong's semi-reclusive life was due to his father's funeral. He listened to his son's words, although he was touched, he was half-believing.

He frowned slightly, and said with some doubts: "How could you think of such things when you are a child? Could it be that some ignorant servant is chewing tongues in front of you and alienating relatives?"

Li Cheng said: "Father, no one talks about this as a son. The son is not young anymore. Does the son not know how the Cao family cousin treats our father and son? Not to mention anything else, this is the matter of donating an official, the guard of the eldest son of the second house of the Cao family The lack is caused by the uncle of the Cao family who made people run away in the early years. I heard that last year when the donations began, the Cao family also made up for the lack of county magistrates for the slaves. The cousin of the Cao family inherited the earl, and he is also the son-in-law of Heshuo, and has several royal residences In-laws, make good friends with the princes and elder brothers. If he is willing to help father, it will only be a matter of one word."

Li Nai was already depressed about running for an official. Hearing what his son said, there were reasons and evidences. , I can’t find fault with him. Although we are cousins, but because of the distance, we haven’t seen each other very often in our life, so it’s normal for him not to kiss me.”

Seeing what his father said, Li Cheng couldn't say anything about the Cao family, so he asked in a low voice, "Uncle, how does father plan to deal with it?"

Although he is only twelve, but because of his precocity, he looks like a young adult, so Li Nai is quite dependent on this son-in-law.What happened after entering Beijing was not hidden from him.

Li Nai sighed, and said, "What else can I do? Wait for the master's letter and see what the master orders."

Seeing this, Li Cheng couldn't help feeling a little worried, and said, "Father, although my grandfather has a generous personality, he hates other people's advances. My grandfather is willing to agree to the thirty hectares of land in front, and my uncle wants a big village. Zhuangzi will not agree to give it!"

Li Nai just thought of this, wondering: "Then what should I do? I can't tear myself apart with your uncle."

Li Cheng rolled his eyes and said, "Father, otherwise, we should think of other ways. Uncle is the best name. If we search for a long time and say that we have to spend our family's money, we can bring back our two cousins."

Li Nai was full of confusion, seeing his son say this, he hurriedly said: "Could it be a good idea, tell me?"

Thinking of his father's generous temperament, Li Cheng swallowed the words on his lips, and said: "The son just said it, but he didn't think of a good solution for a while. You and my father want to stay in the capital and don't rush back to the south. We can talk about it later."

Li Nai nodded, that's all he can do for the time being...

*
Changping, Caojiazhuangzi.

Today, Mrs. Cao Jia sent two servants over. One was to greet Mrs. Li and bring some melons and fruits from the House of Internal Affairs to the Palace, and the other was to pick Tianhui to live in the Prince's Palace in Pingjun.

When Cao Jia was in the capital earlier, it was inconvenient for Cao Jia to go out due to her limited status, but every month she picked a day to take Li to have a small gathering.Ever since Mrs. Li came to Changping, the mother and daughter have not seen each other for several months.

Therefore, Mrs. Li left the two servants of the palace and asked a few words about Fujin and his younger brothers.

The two maids answered one by one, except that the elder brother is in the palace and can only go back to the palace once a month, the other younger brothers are all good.It's just that Fujin has a bit of a bitter summer, and he has no energy every day, and he misses Xiao Gege here very much.

After hearing this, Mrs. Li couldn't decide directly, so she could only raise her head to see what her daughter-in-law wanted.

Although Chuyu was reluctant, but Cao Jia sent someone to pick her up, she couldn't refuse, she could only say: "Tianhui is still young, and I have to trouble Fujin again."

The two servants got up quickly, and one of them said with a round face: "Aunt and grandma, don't say that. Although little Gege is our Fujin's niece, our Fujin is very careful. Before the slaves came, the master of Fujin Said, I’m going to be sorry for my uncle and grandma again. But if you can hold back, no one will come to pick you up.”

The other servant girl was younger, she was Cao Jia's dowry maid in the early years, and said: "Grandmother, the prince and elder brother are not in the palace, and we Fujin seem to have lost their backbone. She knows that little Gege is the master, and the eldest grandma is in charge." , and I don’t want to always come to pick him up, or the fourth elder brother feels sorry for Fujin, saying that he misses his sister because of his height, so he insisted on molesting Fujin to send the slaves over.”

Hearing these words, both Li Shi and Chu Yu felt uncomfortable.

No matter how strong Cao Jia is, she is still a woman. Without her husband and eldest son by her side, no one will feel at ease.

Chu Yu had already said: "They are all close relatives. We have Fujin who loves us Tianhui. It's too late for us to be happy. It's heretic to say anything else. It just so happens that the peaches in the back mountain are ripe, and there are seasonal vegetables grown in Zhuangzi. They are not rare things. , it’s just fresher than the ones bought outside, and I’m thinking of sending someone to Beijing to deliver some to the palace in the next few days. Since the two stewards are here, it’s cheaper to take them back directly.”

The round-faced maid smiled flatteringly and said: "That's a good relationship. Last time my uncle mentioned the vegetable garden in the past, Master Fujin took care of it. If you see this, please be happy."

There was a lot of fun in the room, which added a bit of excitement.

Mrs. Li had to take a nap every day, and after a few words, she became a little tired.Seeing this, Chu Yu ordered people to take two servants down to have a rest.

Cao Yong has already got the news that his sister sent someone to pick up Tianhui.

Tianhui recited the "Thousand-Character Essay" today, and recited "Quhe's calendar, the garden is stripped, the loquats are green at night, and the sycamore is withered". When he returned to the house, he asked his father "Quhe" and " What is "Garden Mang".As for the loquat and phoenix tree, she has some knowledge and no doubts.

These four sentences describe spring, summer, autumn and winter, the scenery of the four seasons.

"'Quhe' is the lotus in the pond, and 'Yuanmang' is the vegetation in the garden. These four sentences describe the scenery of summer, spring, winter and autumn." Cao Yong looked at his daughter's serious appearance and explained with a smile: "Auntie's house Isn't there a lotus pond? That's 'Quhe', isn't Tianhui the favorite to eat fresh lotus seeds? Now is the season when lotus seeds grow."

"Auntie's house..." Tianhui looked quite moved after hearing this, raised her head and said, "Father, why don't we grow lotus in our vegetable garden?"

When Cao Yong heard this, he couldn't help laughing and said, "That's a vegetable garden, not a garden. If Tianhui likes it, we can also ask someone to dig a lotus pond, so that next year we can have fresh lotus roots to eat."

After hearing this, Tianhui quickly ordered melon seeds, and said, "The eldest brother loves sweet-scented osmanthus root, the second brother loves stewed pork ribs with lotus root, and grandma and mother love lotus root powder..."

Cao Yong is very pleased to see that his daughter is able to care about family preferences at such a young age, and looks forward to the lotus pond even more.

When Chuyu walked to the door, she heard her daughter talk about the series of food, she couldn't help laughing and said, "It's because I didn't eat enough for lunch, why are we all eating?"

Tianhui just laughed, Cao Yong had already raised his head and said: "My daughter is also looking forward to having a lotus pond in her home. I have already agreed. Tomorrow, I will ask a few people to find a place in the village to dig a pond. Besides lotus, there will be more ponds. The golden carp is also a scene."

Chu Yu was taken aback when she heard this, and said, "If it's for eating lotus root, why bother, isn't there a lotus pond in Haidian Garden?"

Cao Yong heard this, patted his forehead and said: "The garden has been repaired for several years, but I haven't lived in it for a few days, but I forgot that there is a lotus pond over there."

"At this time of year, lotus seeds and new lotus root are available. If my concubine wants to eat, can I send someone to pick some?" Chu Yu said.

Cao Yong glanced at her, and said: "Fu Jin and his mother are both in Haidian Wangyuan, do you want to spend a day, and I will take you there for a stroll?"

Chu Yu thought for a while, then shook her head and said, "Forget it, if the wife lives in the past, it's fine, the two homes are next to each other. Now it's dozens of miles away, and there's nothing to do. I'll just go back to my mother's house to visit. It's really unreasonable." .Besides, without Sister Zijing's help, I can't let go at home."

When it comes to Amethyst, the husband and wife are a little silent.

Tianhui took Chuyu's hand and said, "Mom, is auntie not coming back to our house anymore? Two days ago, my brothers mentioned auntie, saying that it was almost her birthday... Big brother is still in trouble, I don't know what to do How can I pass it to my aunt..."

Amethyst's birthday is three days earlier than Cao Yong's birthday.

A few years ago, Chu Yu had made the kitchen to set up banquets for Amethyst's birthday in the Kwai Yard when they came to that day, so Tianyou and Hang Seng still remember it.

"There are still ten days!" Cao Yong counted the days in his heart and sighed, feeling a little uncomfortable in his heart.

"How about finding a monastery and lighting a few lanterns for Sister Zijing?" Chu Yu looked at Cao Yong and asked.

Cao Yong shook his head and said: "Although Zijing believed in Buddhism, she didn't care about these imaginary things. I remember that a few years ago, when there was a severe drought in Gyeonggi, Zijing asked people to give porridge in Changping. During the porridge time, let the two of you go to the Puji Hall and the Yuying Hall in Changping County to give some money, which can be regarded as accumulating virtue for Zijing."

"It's the meaning of the son-in-law. The last time I gave money to these two places was in Yizhou. Sister Zijing was very supportive at that time, but it is more practical than giving money to the temple." Chu Yu said.

Listening to her parents talking, Tianhui asked in a low voice, "Mom, where are these two places? What does it have to do with aunt?"

Zijing touched her daughter's head, and said softly: "Pujitang takes in orphans and poor people from a foreign land, and Yuyingtang takes in babies without parents. Your aunt is kind-hearted, and she is afraid that the people in these two places will not have enough to eat, so she gave up I gave them money and bought rice and vegetables for them.”

Tianhui heard this, bit her lips, and said to Cao Yong: "Father, I don't want lotus ponds anymore, I should grow potatoes. Didn't my father say that the potatoes will make everyone full..."

Seeing that her daughter was so young, Cao Yong bent down, lifted her daughter up, and said with a smile, "I listen to our Tianhui, so I plant potatoes..."

Children who are also precocious, born in different families, have different cares after being exposed to them.For Manman's life, I don't know if it is the source of blessing or the root of disaster...

*
It's only the 28th of this month, and it's the last two days. Xiao Jiu asked for a monthly pass. .

(End of this chapter)