Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 823 Mistakes
Changping, Caojiazhuangzi.

After dinner, it was already evening, and it was too late to return to the city, so Sun Jue could only stay at Zhuangzi's side.

Looking at the simple layout of the guest room, and the waiters were only two boys with long hair, Sun Jue thought of Xia Chan, and thought about what would happen to his father when he received the letter from home, tossed and turned, and fell asleep in a daze late at night.

At dawn the next day, Sun Jue was the first to leave the village.Mrs. Cao Yi and Mrs. Cao Fu stayed with Mrs. Li for half a day before returning to the city with Mrs. Han Jiang.

Mrs. Li was reluctant to part with Cao Yi, but thinking of their old lady's age, she didn't keep her to stay.

As for Cao Fu's side, he has already decided to move to Zhuangzi's side for a while. This time he is going back to the city to ask for leave from the government school and pack his luggage.

The arrival of Sun Jue yesterday interrupted Cao Yong's conversation with Seishtu.When they left today, Cao Yong remembered the matter, and Zheng Hu happened to be there, so he told him to let him pay attention to the rumors of the defeat in the Northwest.

If this is true, then the situation in the Northwest is more urgent than imagined.I heard that several clans who went on an expedition have been stationed in different places, and Naersu is far away from the central army, so I don't know if it is safe or not; Nian Gengyao, governor of Sichuan, was pushed to the forefront.

There are only a few princes and grandchildren who are capable of doing this.

Cao Yong decided to stay on the sidelines for the time being, but he also wanted to know what he knew, so as not to become deaf and blind and lose the power to protect himself.

That Cheng Mengxian, Cao Yong has already told Han Jiangshi, asking him to come over in three days as a guest.

Cheng Mengxing and Cheng Mengkun are both well-informed people, I don't know how Cheng Mengxian is.

Sun Jue was Li Nai's younger brother-in-law, and a concubine in the Sun family married Li Nai's cousin, and the two families were related by marriage.

In order to get back the two children, the Li family was able to calculate Sun Jue in this way. It can be seen that the Li family did not attach as much importance to the in-laws as the Sun family showed, but I don’t know whether it was Li Xu who was far away in Suzhou or Li Xu in the capital who made the decision. The butler of the house.

As for Li Cheng, Cao Yong's impression was just a clever kid who could read his face.

Because of this cognition, Cao Yong would be surprised when he saw Cheng Mengxian three days later and knew that Li Cheng was the one who decided Sun Jue's entry into the game.

There are not many words on the piece of paper in his hand, but the bright "9000 taels of silver" is still nakedly pointing out the root cause of Sun Jue's raising money these few days.

Cao Yong remained calm, looking up at Cheng Mengxian.

There was no anger or blame, but Cheng Mengxian felt that the eyes seemed to pierce his own bones, which made people feel chills.

"Master Cao, the villain has no intention of offending your relatives, but Li Zhizao is now in charge of the salt affairs in the Huaihe River and Huaihe River, so it is not easy to offend..." Cheng Mengxian pretended to be calm, and said earnestly: "The villain will not know this until the matter is over. The person who entered the game was Uncle Sun Jue, the uncle of the Cao family. Speaking of which, Wen Qi has been able to live safely in the capital all these years, thanks to the care of the Cao family. Even if the villain is humble, he knows that the kindness of a drop of water should be repaid by a spring I will never do such an ungrateful act. In the past few days, the boy was even uneasy, and today he came to apologize to Master Cao."

While speaking, Cheng Mengxian got up from his seat and knelt down on his knees.

Cao Yong saw that his posture was so low, he smiled in his heart, and did not stand up to help each other.

He doesn't have the habit of taking the initiative to get close to others, and he is quite wary of taking the initiative to get close to others.

After living two lifetimes, you must know some truths. For example, those who can really hurt you are mostly people around you, because they stand close and can understand your shortcomings; the distance is close, and it is easy for people to lose their guard, and it is easier to One hit kills.

On the contrary, strangers, because of alienation, have a higher safety factor.

For the Cheng family, Cao Yin may have had some friendship in the early years, but when he came to Cao Yong's side, it was just a friend of a gentleman.

Cao Yong told himself that it was just to avoid suspicion, so as not to leave the impression that Cao Jiawei was a big deal.After all, during the decades in charge of the Jiangning Weaving Mansion, the Cao family's popularity in the south of the Yangtze River was too strong.

Cao Yin obeyed the emperor's order to win over the powerful families in the south of the Yangtze River. Outsiders don't know it, but they only think that the Cao family is powerful.

The real reason is that Cao Yong is very defensive. Except for blood relatives, other people are less willing to communicate.

Even if Han Jiang's family was protected, it was only because Han Jiang's family was Han Jiang's family, and because of his love for Wenxiu who died, he didn't think of the Cheng family.

This scene of Cheng Mengxian driving Han Jiangshi to test, and now he is here to plead guilty, makes Cao Yong quite amused.

The relationship between the Cao, Li, and Sun families is not a secret, and others may not pay attention to it. If Cheng Mengxian, who came from Yangzhou, did not know about it, that would be a real lie.

"Cheng Qiye, although they are related by in-laws, this is a family matter between Li and Sun. It has nothing to do with Cao. Why would Cheng Qiye talk about this with Cao?" Cao Yong said slowly.

Cao Yong's status is not comparable to that of Sun Jue, even if Cheng Mengkun, the head of the Cheng family, is here, he can't afford the word "Master".

After Cheng Mengxian heard this, he said with a bit of panic on his face, "Don't dare to address him like Master Cao. Master Cao should call the villain Cheng Qi, or Lida."

Calling Biaozi, it seems that they have not yet reached such a close relationship.Called Cheng Qi, Cao Yong has always been used to being humble, and it is really rare for him to be arrogant and rude.

Cao Yong glanced at him and said: "It's better for your honor to get up, let's not talk about those who apologize or not, Cao is still waiting for your honor to clarify."

It was only one round, and Cheng Mengxian knew that the information he got was wrong, and the head of the Cao family in front of him was not as good-tempered as the legend said.

He stood up, pointed to the piece of written evidence at Cao Yong's hand, and said: "Although this matter is not bright, but because the Li family ordered it, the villain is not easy to disobey, so he just obeys. At the beginning, the villain thought that the third son of the Li family was just For money, after he ordered to make a copy of this copy, give the copied copy to Grandpa, leave it to him, and the villain will know it's wrong. In this way, this matter is not over, and I don't know when I will have to toss it out again. Little People are timid and fearful, so just in case, they made two copies and kept the original in their hands. After these two days, they found out the identity of grandpa, and they became more and more frightened. This grandpa is the uncle of the third son of the Li family. It’s still Mr. Cao’s dear relative. Although the villain is not clear about the grievances between the noble relatives, he also knows that it is not for the villain to intervene. The matter has come to this point, so I can only tell Mr. Cao, please forgive the villain for his reckless crime .”

Cheng Mengxian's words solved his doubts for the past two days, but Cao Yong still felt uncomfortable.

It turned out to be Li Cheng, not Li Nai.

12-year-old Li Cheng, even when Cao Yong was 12 years old, he only thought about ways to make money, and he never thought about calculating people.

Cao Yong's sinister side was compelled by the situation after entering Beijing, and he realized it step by step.

12-year-old Li Cheng, still under the protection of his grandfather and father, has such vicious thoughts because he doesn't know the wind and rain outside.

In front of Cao Yong's eyes, Li Ding's shadow emerged. Because of the word "jealousy", Li Ding, who was about to plot against him and bad his reputation.

The descendants of the Li family are all like this, is it because the feng shui of the ancestral grave is not good?

In addition to the Li family, there is also the Sun family.

Because of the popularity of Hongxue in later generations, he also visited the Hongxue forum. He knew the reason why the Cao family ransacked the house twice, and knew the tragic ending of the Li family, but no one mentioned the fate of the Sun family.

Whether it is the Cao family who copied the family, or the Li family broke the family, the Sun family has disappeared without a trace. There are no connections and relatives in the legend.

As early as after the old lady passed away, the Sun family had no contact with the Cao family.I don't know if it was because Sun Wenqi was afraid that the big tree would attract the wind and hurt him, so he retreated, but I don't know why he married the Li family?
Questions that had never been thought of in the past came to Cao Yong's mind.

Seeing that Cao Yong hadn't spoken for a long time, Cheng Mengxian became more and more uncertain.

Speaking of which, Cheng Mengxian is no stranger to the twists and turns of these big families.

Although he is a side branch of the Cheng family, he is also considered a big family in the local area. He was bullied by his concubines when he was young, and he has tasted the warmth and coldness of human relationships. He knows that the so-called relationship between relatives is just a piece of paper.The paste is very bright, but it will be broken when poked.

The Cao family is not close to the Li family, and they are not close to the Sun family. Isn't it superfluous to talk about things with the Li and Sun families?

On Cao Yong's side, he had already calmed down, looked up at Cheng Mengxian and said, "The Sun family and the Li family are both cousins ​​of Mr. Cao, one is the cousin's family, and the other is the cousin's family. If things get public, Cao will also It’s not good to be partial. Cao Mouquan has never heard of today’s incident, and I hope that your lord can understand Cao’s helplessness.” While speaking, he picked up the piece of paper and handed it to Cheng Mengxian.

Hearing a few words, Cheng Mengxian was stunned, looking at the words in his hand, he said he was speechless.

Before coming to see Cao Yong, he thought about Cao Yong's various reactions, but he never thought that Cao Yong would push the matter back to the Cheng family with a push of both hands.

On Cao Yong's side, after saying this, his expression became solemn, and he continued: "Although you and the Han Jiang family are uncles and nephews, you are not the only one in the Cheng family in the capital. On her, you need to think twice before you act."

Before this, although Cao Yong was not close to Cheng Mengxian, he was polite and polite, but now these two sentences are a bit sharp.

Cheng Mengxian's face was flushed by the words, and he said embarrassingly: "I would like to follow Master Cao's warning, the villain knows."

Cao Yong glanced at him indifferently, and said: "If it is wind, frost, rain and snow, it is from outsiders, it is not heartbreaking. If it is relatives and elders, who bully them by blood status, how can it be embarrassing? My mother's pity makes my niece lonely. It's not easy to live in the world, so I came forward to take care of her, and I hope that your lord will be sympathetic to my mother's heart of preservation."

Cheng Mengxian asked Han Jiangshi to give gifts to Cao's house on his behalf, and he really wanted to take advantage of it, but when Cao Yong said it, he was extremely ashamed, and bowed his head and said: "The villain doesn't think carefully, so don't be an example."

Although Cao Yong didn't like his tact and sophistication, seeing that he was ashamed and sincere towards Han Jiangshi, he nodded slightly with a calm expression.

When the matter came to this point, the two of them had nothing else to say.

Cheng Mengxian looked at the paper in his hand, took his leave in a low voice and left.

After leaving Caojiazhuangzi, Cheng Mengxian's mind was only a little clear.He looked back at the simple and unpretentious Zhuangzi, and he knew the saying "There are people beyond people, and there is a sky beyond the sky".

He already regretted it, if he had less calculations and came here sincerely to thank the Cao family, would the situation be better...

Cao Yong sat in the living room, silent for a long time.

Even if he was ruthless, he was a 12-year-old boy after all. Sun Jue was fooled by a deception that could not stand scrutiny, which also proved Sun Jue's stupidity.

Harmfulness is not allowed, and defensiveness is indispensable.

Even if I understand better, I won't fall for these scams, but what about God Bless, Hang Seng and the others?

They are doted on by their parents, and their enlightenment teacher is Qian Chenqun, who is quite an ancient gentleman. How can they resist these ghostly tricks?
In this world, there is not only one Cao family, nor is there only one Li Cheng.

Thinking of this, Cao Yong couldn't sit still.

It seems that from today onwards, children should be given a "course" taught by themselves, that is, how to distinguish people's hearts, how to defend...and how to fight back...

For a while, Cao Yong understood the purpose of his father's "Biography of Chengchen" in Qingliang Temple.It's not to learn to be a courtier, but to be familiar with the villain's tricks, to be clear-headed, and to protect yourself a little more.

As for the Li family, Cao Yong is not interested in intervening now.

He still has to wait and see how Li Nai will react to his son's "powerfulness"?See if Li Xu in Suzhou really follows his grandson and regards the Sun family as meat on the board...

*
Fang's Hutong, the Duke's Mansion, and the inner house.

Looking at the two ruyis and several boxes of familiar head and face jewelry in front of her, Cao Ying blushed, her lips trembled, and she was speechless.

Cao Yidao: "Big sister, don't blame me for being troublesome. After all, it is the dowry of the big sister, so I always keep some things in mind. Those big woolen clothes and so on, my sister didn't let anyone redeem them. The jewelry was pawned in the early years, and I can't find it. Originally Those who could redeem more were a step too late, and were redeemed by that person two days ago."

Cao Ying's face turned red and white, and she said embarrassingly: "Don't dare to bother my sister, since my sister redeemed it with money, let's keep it for others to use."

Hearing this, Cao Yi couldn't help frowning, but seeing her lack of energy, he couldn't bear to be harsh, and said, "Don't worry, big sister, even though I redeemed her, I don't intend to let big sister take it back. In that case, it's just cheap for that person to be the next one." Once."

Seeing that Cao Yi's "brother-in-law" didn't call out, Cao Ying raised her head and said, "Sister, life is difficult. It's because I'm not good at housekeeping. I can't blame it all on your brother-in-law. Beijing officials are difficult, expenses are high, and life is tight. Yes, it’s impossible.”

When Cao Yi saw that she was still protecting Sun Jue at this point, he felt pitiful and irritating, and said, "As a man of seven feet, he can't support his family and live as a wife's dowry. Is it reasonable? Life is so tight. , can you buy a new sister and decorate a foreign house? Before the eldest sister got married, she was also the palm of the second master and second wife who cared for her in every possible way. After being bullied like this, did she lose her temper?"

"Outside house?" Cao Ying raised her head and asked, showing that it was the first time she heard about this.

Cao Yi snorted coldly, and replied: "I heard that the man hasn't come home for three days since he went to Changping to pay respects to elder brother's birthday, so elder sister didn't ask?"

"He said that the war is busy, and there are many errands in the yamen..." Cao Ying bit her lip, and said with a little confusion: "The family has been struggling for the past two months and has no money left. What's going on with this outhouse... ..."

Cao Yi sighed and said, "I don't have any money left, so I don't know how to borrow it? I don't know what excuse he used, but he lent 9000 taels of silver from the elder brother. The elder brother's house was short of money, and he even alarmed his sister-in-law's family, so he came together superior."

This is not Chu Yu's gossip in front of her sister-in-law, but Cao Yong mentioned it to Cao Yi in private, asking her to wake up Cao Ying.

It was Cao Ying who lived with Sun Jue. Even if the Cao family were to support her, she had to wake up first.

Cao Ying had been listening quietly, but when she heard that her husband was borrowing money from her natal family, she suddenly raised her head and said, "What? Is this true?"

Cao Yi nodded, and said: "Sister, can you still lie? Big sister, big brother and sister-in-law, it is for the sake of big sister that they can lend this money to that person all at once. They are outside the city and don't know the news in the city. However, I was idle here, and I couldn't help being more troublesome, only to realize that the man used money to decorate the outer house. Since the official in Beijing is difficult and the salary is low, when will these debts be repaid? On the nephew..."

*
Rolling around begging for a monthly ticket, the list is in danger, and I burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)