Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 815

In the capital city in late June, it is the unbearable dog days.

The sultry heat made the leaves on both sides of the road wilt, and the dust in the air was even stronger, making people gray.

No matter how hot it is, in the yamen, the official uniform must be worn meticulously, otherwise it will be inappropriate and short of official prestige.

Sun Jue was in the Yamen of the Armory Department of the Ministry of War, holding a handkerchief in his hand, and kept wiping the sweat from his head.It was already past the end of the day (from one to three in the afternoon), and the heat was still pressing. He only felt that his body was profusely sweating, and his clothes were soaked through the back.

Although the Ministry of War does not hold military power, it is also the government office with real power among the six ministries, but Sun Jue, a fifth-rank doctor, is not as decent as he is in front of Li Nai.

In the capital city where the rich and powerful gather, the six officials are like a cow's hair, they really don't matter.

Among these people, there are two types, one is poor family scholars who have passed the imperial examination, and the other is high school students, who have passed the imperial examination and received donations.

Invisibly, among the colleagues in the yamen, the Chu River Han boundary was also drawn.

Sun Jue's identity is just from Baoyi's background, so he can't be considered a dude.In his heart, he also despised those dudes.He is a decent Juren, but compared to his colleagues who were born as Jinshi, he has no weight.

As a result, Sun Jue's situation is a bit awkward, and he can't stick to both sides.

They are usually nodding acquaintances, just passing on on the surface, and there are very few colleagues who make serious contacts.

There are only four divisions in the Ministry of War, but there are several doctors in each division, such as Man Langzhong, Han Langzhong, there is a yamen, and there are vacancies for Meng Langzhong.

Although Sun Jue, the arsenal doctor, is not a decoration, he is not much better than a decoration.

Although Cao Yong was in Ding You, this birthday gift was indispensable. Sun Jue was bored, thinking of this, he felt more and more upset.He was also born in Baoyi, why his father only had the title of weaving, while the dead Cao Yin was able to get the title of uncle.

Although the highest rank of the people is the Duke, followed by the Marquis, and the Bo is only the third rank, but except for the auxiliary ministers with outstanding military exploits at the founding of the country, most of the families who can be granted the title of Duke are descendants.

Cao Yin is just a servant of the emperor, and he won the title of Super Earl without even a single point of military merit. How can he not make people jealous.

But he didn't want to think about it, if not for Cao Yin's support in the early years, his father was just a writer of the Six Departments of the capital, with a salary of the seventh rank, how could he have the dignity of being in charge of a family alone today.

Last year, for Cao Yong's birthday gift, Sun Jue spent 300 taels of silver and gave it a black jade paperweight engraved with orchid and bamboo.This year, Cao Yong has already accepted the title, not only his uncle, brother-in-law and cousin, but also the head of the Cao family.The gift of 300 taels of silver also seemed light.

For a moment, Sun Jue was a little stunned, where to buy money?If at the end of the year, there are more military officers who come to Beijing to meet, the Ministry of War can also get a lot of "carbon respect". Now that Shengjia is not in Beijing, the military officer will go directly to Rehe for an audience. It is not easy to get "ice respect" .

Just as Sun Jue was thinking, he heard someone say, "Master Sun?"

Sun Jue turned around, but it was an acquaintance in the yamen, the principal, Shen Qing.

Shen Qing was a Jinshi in the 51st year of Kangxi. He was selected as a good scholar and entered the Imperial Academy. A few years ago, he was assigned to the Ministry of War as the master.

He was originally from Jinhua, Jiangsu, and moved to Hangzhou in his early years, and he and Sun Jue were considered half fellows.For this reason, Shen Qing is one of Sun Jue's few "friends".

Usually, the two people are alike, but because of their different ranks in the yamen, they are sometimes called politely.

Seeing Shen Qing's cheerful expression, Sun Jue also felt a lot less bored, and said: "Looking at Master Shen's appearance, is there a good thing?"

Shen Qing looked around and saw that there was no one else, so she lowered her voice and said, "Yushu guessed rightly, there are new weapons in storage today."

Sun Jue's eyes lit up when he heard this.

The Secretary of the Arsenal, the full name of the Secretary of the Qing Officials of the Arsenal, is the cold yamen in the Ministry of War.In addition to being in charge of national military registration and military equipment, he is also in charge of the triennial martial arts exam.

Only when new equipment is put into storage, the imperial merchants or small officials in charge of military industry below will obediently offer their filial piety.

Shen Qing only said one sentence, but there was no more to say. Sun Jue couldn't bear it any longer, coughed, and was already thinking about how much money he could drop.

Bu Xiao said that if the hall officials want to lose their heads, at least half of them must be shared, and the rest will be shared by everyone in the department.

For a while, Sun Jue felt a little resentful, why he filled the vacancies of the Han Lang when he was in Qiji, and he couldn't fill the vacancies like Cao Yong did, the oil and water would be great.The doctor in the palm of the arsenal is Man Langzhong.

"I quietly asked Mr. He who is next to Mr. Guanguan, the one under Yushu's name is 500 taels, and the one under my name is 130 taels." Shen Qing glanced at Sun Jue, like a roundworm in his stomach, and added this sentence.

Sun Jue was overjoyed when he heard the words, it seems that the Cao family's birthday gift has been settled, and this month finally they don't have to think about pawning to live.

But he didn't see the sarcasm flashing in Shen Qing's eyes.

"By the way, Yushu, a cousin of mine came from the south two days ago and said he would treat me to a drink today. Yushu knows me, and he doesn't have the capacity for alcohol, so please brother Yushu save me." Shen Qing showed a few smiles. Divided into whether.

"Cousin, are you from Jinhua?" Sun Jue asked casually in a good mood.

Shen Qing shook his head and said: "No, he came from Yangzhou. But he is a rich man from the Cheng family in Yangzhou. Although he is only a collateral descendant and not the head of the family, he is also a person of the Cheng family who can speak well when working in the family."

The Cheng family in Yangzhou, the number one salt merchant in this dynasty, and Sun Jue grew up in the south of the Yangtze River, so they are naturally famous.

He couldn't help being surprised, and said: "Yuan Wang, the Cheng family in Yangzhou is actually a noble relative?"

Shen Qing said with a smile: "Speaking of it, it's three thousand miles away. I have an aunt who married into Cheng's family in the early years, and this cousin who came to Beijing this time is the old son of this aunt."

Sun Jue hesitated a bit when he heard this, and said, "Since your relatives invited Yuanwang to have a drink together, wouldn't it be annoying for me to be an uninvited guest?"

"Oh, Yushu still has nothing to do with me, or do you think I'm a small official and lose your face? I dragged forward and asked Yushu to help me support the scene. If my cousin knew that I could actually weave in Hangzhou Sunzhi The eldest son is my best friend, and it is also my honor." Shen Qing said earnestly.

After hearing this, Sun Jue felt that it was not good enough in his heart, as comfortable as eating iced watermelon, and said with a smile: "Since Yuan Wang is so sincere, I have the audacity to obey..."

Because Shen Qing still has other errands, the two made an appointment to see each other when they left the Yamen.

Sun Jue was already pondering whether he should go home first and change his clothes before going to dinner.Since he was a member of the Cheng family, he couldn't let them underestimate him. The new robe he made a few days ago didn't have an upper body yet.The clothes, regardless of the material, are worth 80 taels of silver, and you can pass by wearing them to see outsiders.

At this time, there was a pen post, a person next to the doctor in palm printing, who was ordered to deliver a bank note to Sun Jue.

Sun Jue was overjoyed in his heart, calmed down a lot, and accepted it from that man.

The man smiled and said: "It's rare to get rich, Mr. Sun going to have a drink at night?"

Sun Jue's heart trembled, and thinking of the rules, he took out two two taels of silver locks from his purse, stuffed them into the man's hands, and said, "I'm so troubled by trivial matters, I don't want you to join in the fun, please greet Mr. Guan for me."

The man responded with a smile, turned and walked to the side.

Sun Jue squeezed the banknote in his hand, thinking that if he ran an errand with this post, he might have dozens of taels of silver, and felt very uncomfortable.

It's just a dog's power, what a thing!
When I got to Luoya, when I heard that Sun Jue wanted to go back to change clothes, Shen Qing hurriedly shook her head and said, "Yushu, let's go there like this. I asked the butler of Cheng Cheng's house, and I heard that the table was booked at Shichahai. I don't know how rich he is, but he still wants to use our skin to raise his value!"

Sun Jue also thought of this when he heard the words.

Although in the eyes of the people in the capital, it is nothing to grab a fifth-rank and sixth-rank official, but in the eyes of outsiders, they are several ranks higher than the county lord, and they dare not neglect.

Sun Jue agreed with a smile, and rode with Shen Qing to Shichahai.

Shen Qing glanced at the two entourages behind Sun Jue, and asked, "Won't Yushu send someone back to the house to inform Mrs. Sister-in-law when I go out to drink tonight? If Mrs. Sister-in-law blames me, I dare not take it."

Sun Jue's expression showed a bit of arrogance, he raised his chin and said: "But a woman, why should I report my whereabouts to her!"

Shen Qing just smiled, not talking too much, and walked side by side with Sun Jue.

After a while, when I arrived at Haizi, looking around, weeping willows on the bank and lotus flowers reflecting the sun by the river dispelled a lot of heat and made people feel more comfortable.

Shen Qing followed the post and came to a house, but there was no plaque on the door.

Sun Jue was a little surprised. He thought that since Cheng's family would treat guests, they would have to go to some well-known halls near Haizi, but unexpectedly, they were in unknown places.

There were two servants in Tsing Yi waiting at the door, they dismounted Shen Qing and the others, then stepped forward and bowed, "Is it Young Master Biao if you dare to ask?"

Shen Qing laughed when she heard the words, turned around and said to Sun Jue: "Look, you are still in your thirties, and you can still be called 'Young Master'. I really feel that I am much younger."

Sun Jue couldn't say anything, so he got off the horse, but looked at the two servants out of the corner of his eyes.

Seeing that these two people have upright appearances, and they are very polite in dealing with others. They are really servants of a wealthy family and have their own rules.

At this moment, maybe there was news inside, and there was a sound of footsteps.

"Is my cousin here?" Following the voice, a person came out of the gate.

The man was only 23 or [-] years old, tall and slender, with delicate features, he looked like a Confucian scholar, not a philistine of a businessman at all.

It is quite different from the appearance of the Cheng family's children in Sun Jue's mind.

Shen Qing did not greet him first, but smiled and said to Sun Jue: "Yushu, this is my cousin Cheng Mengxian." After speaking, she said to the man: "Cousin, this is my best friend in the capital. The eldest son of Hangzhou Sun Zhizao."

When Cheng Mengxian heard the words, he had already clasped his fists in salute, and said very respectfully: "So it's Grandpa, and Mengxian met Grandpa later."

Seeing him being so respectful, Sun Jue felt a little embarrassed, stretched out his hand to give him a hand, and said, "Since Brother Yuanwang's cousin, you don't have to be so polite."

Shen Qing continued to say: "Yes, what's the matter, my cousin can be called Yushu's first brother."

Cheng Mengxian's remonstrance flowed quickly, and he already called him "Brother Sun".

Seeing him being so warm and friendly, Sun Jue thought of the brothers in Hangzhou, and the earlier feeling of unfamiliarity was immediately reduced.The host and the guest entered the yard together.

This house was "rented" by the Cheng family. It was said to be "rented", but it was actually the property of the Cheng family.

It's just that because of regulations, only Banner people can buy property in the inner city, so this house apparently fell into the property of a cousin of Cheng's family in the capital.The contract in the hands of the Cheng family was "lease" for decades.

Cheng Mengxian did order a table from the hall, but it was takeaway.

Here, Cheng Mengxian asked Sun Jue and Shen Qing to sit in the living room, and casually sent the steward to inform the restaurant to deliver the noodles.

Cheng Mengxian was quite eloquent, and during his conversation, he never left Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but it aroused Sun Jue's longing for the south.

The tea served here is the first-class Yuqian Longjing tea, the price is not available in the market, Sun Jue drank several cups in a row, and the guests and hosts had a good time chatting.

For a while, the steward came in to report, and the table was delivered to the gazebo in the garden.

Sun Jue had to drink a few cups of tea and wanted to have a rest, Cheng Mengxian ordered a ten-year-old boy to lead him there, and he took Shen Qing to the garden by himself.

"I heard that my cousin has brought a lot of Yangzhou skinny horses this time, since he wants to set up a 'beauty bureau', isn't it going to take advantage of the grandson?" Shen Qing laughed.

Cheng Mengxian snorted and said, "These are specially trained by my cousin's envoys to pay tribute to the various palaces in the capital. Sun Jue is also worthy?"

Shen Qing was a little surprised. After hesitating for a while, he asked: "Although the grandson is stupid, he doesn't seem courageous. Where did he offend his cousin? Can you make peace with him? Although his grade is not high, the capital also has Relatives of a few high-ranking families, it would be best if they don't tear their faces."

Cheng Mengxian said with a smile: "The left and right cousins ​​have already done the work and let them go outside. If you don't stay in the capital, why do you care about him? He didn't offend me, but offended others. I'm just returning favors. Don't worry, cousin. I will do it in a comprehensive manner, and I will definitely not drag my cousin down."

Hearing that he didn't intend to turn it back, Shen Qing stopped talking and could only bless Sun Jue to suffer less.

At this moment, Sun Jue had already returned and was given the upper seat.

Cheng Mengxian clapped his hands, and a few elegant girls carried pipas, zithers and other things, walked to the vicinity of the pavilion, blessed everyone, and then hid away from a distance, playing the qin.

The melodious sound of the music does not affect the conversation of the people, but also looks elegant, which is really a special taste.

In addition to the few musicians, three more beautiful maidservants of the cardamom age came up, stood in front of the wine table, and served the three of them.

Sun Jue's family also had several wives and concubines, and some of them were pretty, but compared to the beautiful maids in front of them, they were nothing more than pancake rolls.

Smelling the faint fragrance coming from around him, Sun Jue felt his whole body go numb, but his face was still an upright gentleman, and his face was tensed.

Shen Qing seemed to have been fascinated by the beauty, and her hands were a little dishonest. She touched the face of the beautiful maidservant next to her, and said to Cheng Mengxian with a smile: "My cousin really enjoys it. Like water spirit."

Cheng Mengxian said: "Cousin, don't underestimate them, they are all selected by my cousin to enter the palace to enjoy the blessings. Today is the arrival of distinguished guests, so they are allowed to show their faces and come to serve wine."

Sun Jue was listening, feeling disappointed.

I thought that Cheng Mengxian asked them to come and wait on him because he had the heart of giving beauty, but he didn't expect that he had a master, so he could only enjoy the eyes.

Just heard Shen Qing say: "Since you want to enter the palace, maybe you will become a nobleman in the future, isn't this killing me and Yushu? Cousin didn't add a few stools, and let a few girls sit too."

Cheng Mengxian heard the words, called two servants, and sent some stools up.

On Sun Jue's side, looking at the wine cup, he felt that the knee of the beautiful maidservant on his right was lightly touching his leg, making one's mind swayed.

He sneaked a glance to the right, just in time to see the maidservant looking at him eagerly with her beautiful eyes, her insides were watery and full of frailty, making one feel pitiful.

On Shen Qing's side, he had already asked: "Which palace is this to honor?"

"Prince Heshuozhuang's mansion. My cousin was favored by the mansion in the early years. Hearing that the lord intends to enter the Ji people, he deliberately found a few good ones." Cheng Mengxian replied casually.

"Ah, Prince Zhuang's Mansion? Lord Zhuang will be seventy this year! This is really a branch of pear blossom pressing down on a crabapple!" Shen Qing said regretfully.

Sun Jue took a few glances at the two beautiful maidservants sitting across the table, and still felt that the one sitting next to him was the most beautiful, but she was too beautiful and wanted to accompany the gray-haired old man.

In this way, Sun Jue couldn't help feeling more compassionate.

On Cheng Mengxian's side, he chatted with his cousin a few words, and then held a wine cup to respect the two of them for a drink.

Sun Jue only felt that the wine had a mellow aroma, and it was fragrant in the mouth, and knew that it was a first-class wine.He just came out as a guest, so he couldn't enjoy drinking to his heart's content. He deliberately shirked two cups, but seeing the beautiful servant girl next to him bring the wine cup to his mouth with both hands, he couldn't say anything if he didn't drink it.

Cheng Mengxian and Shen Qing looked at each other, with a little disdain in their eyes, but they were chatting enthusiastically.

This wine is soft to drink, but it has a lot of stamina.

Sun Jue drank a few cups in a row, and he was more courageous than before. With a little drunk, he whispered: "Tell me, what's your name?"

The beautiful servant girl blushed, lowered her head, and softly replied: "My slave's name is Xia Chan..."

Sun Jue said: "But Chanjuan's 'Chan'?"

The beautiful maid raised her head, glanced at Sun Jue faintly, with her small mouth tilted slightly, she replied in a low voice: "If you come back to Master, no, it's the cicada singing the cicada."

Cheng Mengxian sat on Cao Yong's right, drinking with his head down, looking at Sun Jue out of the corner of his eyes, feeling very bored.

He is not very old, and he has also heard the scenery of the three major weaving in the south of the Yangtze River in his early years.

"If you are in touch, you have relatives, if you are prosperous, you will be prosperous, and if you are hurt, you will be damaged"?What a joke.

Although he has never met Cao Yong, the current Patriarch of the Cao family, he knows that he is a decent person.In the second generation of the Li family, there is only a mediocre Li Nai left, but there is "Li Fo" on the top, and the young masters below are all grown up; I didn't expect that the eldest son of the Sun family was not only without talent, but also without virtue. Winking idiot.

Cheng Mengxian held up the wine cup to toast again.

Both Shen Qing and Sun Jue are not good drinkers, perhaps because of "a thousand cups of wine are rare when you meet a bosom friend", everyone drank from afternoon to dusk, and from dusk to lighting the lamps, the atmosphere was very harmonious.

Sun Jue's tongue grew bigger after drinking, and he just felt a little unable to sit still.

Shen Qing was even more drunk, her face flushed, lying on the table, muttering over and over again: "I'm not...not drunk...I'm not drunk..."

Cheng Mengxian muttered: "Cousin is still so drunk, he is so drunk, yet he is so stubborn."

Sun Jue also felt that he couldn't drink any more, but he really couldn't bear Xia Chan and didn't want to sit down at the wine table.Otherwise, it's time to say goodbye and leave.

Cheng Mengxian didn't seem to drink to his heart's content either, so he filled the jug himself and filled it up for Sun Jue.

Seeing that Xia Chan hadn't moved yet, he couldn't help but lower his face, and scolded: "What are you doing in a daze, and why don't you wait for grandpa to drink!"

When Xia Chan heard this, her body trembled, she hurriedly took her hand from Sun Jue's hand, and brought the wine cup to Sun Jue's mouth.

Panicked, he lost his grip, tilted the wine cup, and poured all the wine onto Sun Jue's lapel.

"Ah?" Xia Chan was surprised, got up from the stool, and reached into Sun Jue's arms with a pair of small hands, trying to wipe him, but the wine had already seeped into his clothes.

Seeing this, Cheng Mengxian hurriedly said, "Oh, what a stupid servant girl for being so rude!"

There was water in Xia Chan's eyes, and her face was full of panic.Sun Jue couldn't bear to see this, and thought about how to intercede, so he heard Cheng Mengxian say: "What are you still doing? Help Grandpa to change!" As he spoke, he said to Sun Jue with a bit of guilt: "Brother Sun, this maidservant You are young and ignorant, please don't blame my brother Sun."

Sun Jue's heart moved, and he said, "It's not in the way, it's not in the way."

While talking, he pushed the boat with the current, stood up, leaned on Xia Chan through the drunkenness, and let her lead him to the guest room.

Behind him, in the gazebo, under the lantern, Shen Qing slowly got up from the table, and glanced at Cheng Mengxian with bright eyes.

Cheng Mengxian chuckled, called a servant, and said, "Go and pack up my new clothes, and send it to Grandpa. Then ask Grandpa if he wants to take a bath, and if you want hot water, tell him Get ready in the kitchen."

The young man responded, and Cheng Mengxian waved his hand to dismiss the other two remaining maidservants on the table.

There were only two brothers left in the pavilion, Shen Qing rubbed his forehead, and asked with some doubts: "Aren't you reluctant? Why did you ask Xia Chan to accompany you?"

Cheng Mengxian twitched the corners of his mouth, and said, "Cousin has been in Beijing for a few years, why has his eyes dropped? Even if I return favors from others, I don't dare to use the skinny horse sent to the palace as a trick! The one next to Sun Jue is someone else It was sent here. The other two are servant girls by my younger brother's side, they just came here to play."

Shen Qing felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this.If the Yangzhou skinny horse is just a pet, touching it twice is nothing, if it is the maidservant next to the cousin, maybe he will be the housemate of the cousin in the future, his behavior just now is a bit rude.

He cleared his throat, not knowing what to say.

Cheng Mengxian had already opened his mouth and said, "The waiter next to my cousin is called Liu Er. He is fourteen this year. Although he is not a child of the family, he has been in the Cheng family for ten years. He is a dutiful child. When my cousin goes to Huguang, this Liu Er will Send my cousin to wait on the pillow mat..."

*
In the guest room, it was foggy.

*
(End of this chapter)