Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 846

When did my cousin offend someone?

This was the first thought that came to Cao Fu's mind when he saw Li Nai's strange look.Then, he shook his head slightly, not for this reason.

My cousin has stayed at home for more than a year, rarely going out, and has not had much socialization with the Li family.

He thought of the situation when the servants came to deliver the decree to give things just now, and it could not be said that the resentment of the Li family came from this.

Cao Xiang sat on Cao Fu's left head, saw that something was wrong with his younger brother, and asked in a low voice, "Fifth Brother is drunk?"

It was not loud, but everyone at the table could hear it.

Except for Cao Yong, all the other people placed in front of them were the internally made lotus white, which looked clear, with a soft fragrance and strong stamina.

Cao Yong raised his head, just when he heard Cao Xiang's words, he looked at Cao Fu and said, "Take two cups less, or you will feel uncomfortable."

Just when the servant brought longevity noodles, Cao Fu listened to everyone's advice, put down the wine cup with a smile, and took a bowl of longevity noodles to eat.

Wherever his eyes passed, Li Nai's expression had returned to normal, and he exchanged cups with Seshitu, looking like an honest man.

Cao Fu snorted coldly, already more prepared in his heart.

Not to mention that the adults in the front yard have their own stomachs, and the outer hall of the orchid courtyard is also on the table, and the boys sit down.

Speaking of being the oldest, it was Sun Li, and speaking of the most distinguished status, it was Fuxiu, the fourth elder brother of Pingjun Prince's Mansion, so these two took the top seat; then Li Cheng was a relative, and Tianyou took the second seat with him; Zuo Zhu, Zuo Cheng The next place, Hang Seng is the smallest, accompanied by the next prime minister.

Like Cao Yi's son Shouge, everyone's little uncle and Changsheng, all of them sat with the female relatives because they were under seven years old.

Li Cheng usually prided himself on being smart, but he was a bit aloof in his bones, and he looked down on the cousins ​​of the Cao family's generation.However, after seeing Sun Litong Fuxiu, he couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed.

Fuxiu's grandeur and natural elegance make people admire him after seeing him; Sun Li is calm and restrained, and doesn't speak much, but he should not be underestimated.

Tianyou just laughed, watching everyone chatting and laughing, and sometimes ordering the servant girl to serve soup and tea, he looked quite masculine.

Seeing Tianyou's appearance, Li Cheng didn't take it seriously, but felt extremely awkward.Cao Yong only has this biological son, and he is still a direct descendant. Tianyou doesn't need to make progress at all. As long as he grows up safely, all the wealth and honor in the future will fall on Tianyou's head.

Li Cheng wanted to get close to Fuxiu, so he flattered Fuxiu, but Fuxiu didn't pay attention to him, and occasionally added a word, which was also distant and polite.

The table was full of Fuxiu's cousins, his own flesh and blood; only Li Cheng, who was a distant relative, of course he didn't bother to deal with it.

A few small ones haven't noticed anything wrong with the atmosphere yet.

It's just that God bless, after hearing Li Cheng's non-stop talking and looking at the food in front of him, he lost his appetite and kept chanting the words "eating without talking".I thought to myself, what's wrong with this cousin of the Li family, he looks like a polite person, why is he so gaffe?
Sun Li was the oldest, and he seemed to have seen Li Cheng's intentions, but he watched his nose and nose, and his heart was not too much trouble.

Li Cheng was bored, and felt that he was not interested.If he had known this earlier, he should have sent his father to Prince Yong's mansion for his birthday.Nearly 5000 taels of silver was spent to prepare the birthday gift, even if the fourth elder brother is a prince, he should be worthy of his eyes.

However, with the vacancy of his father as an alternate magistrate, even if he went to the palace to pay his respects, he would not be on the stage.

For a while, Li Cheng complained to his grandfather, coveting small profits in the south of the Yangtze River, and staying away from Gyeonggi for many years.Could it be that grandparents and grandchildren are all in the south of the Yangtze River?
Once the emperor and the courtiers, if the grandfather pressed the wrong treasure, the consequences would be disastrous.

*
Inside the Anding Gate, Prince Yong's Mansion.

Today is the fourth elder brother's 42nd birthday. Since it is not a full birthday, there is nothing to do, but there are many people from the clan and in-laws who come to celebrate the birthday.

The fourth elder brother changed into a sapphire blue robe, with an imperial belt tied around his waist, and he was talking with a few princes Baylor who came to drink, his expression was much softer, and he was not as cold as usual.

It seems that he is in a good mood.

Although the fifth elder brother and seventh elder brother have a normal relationship with the fourth elder brother, they never had any enmity, and they talked and laughed very harmoniously.

Even in the past, the third elder brother, who had to grasp his identity and strive for the top in everything, came back from Rehe this year, and he seemed to have changed his temper, posing as a good brother.

He went back to Beijing with Shengjia, and within half a month, gossip came out, saying that the third elder brother wanted to imitate Prince Yuxian.

Prince Yuxian Fuquan, the second son of Shizu, the half-brother of Kangxi.During his lifetime, Shizu Shunzhi tested his son's aspirations, and Fuquan answered "willing to be a virtuous king".

Regardless of whether it is true or false, because of these four words, even if Kangxi ascended the throne according to the decree, he would have to accept his elder brother's "feeling of abdication". Suspicion framed things.

The gesture of the third elder brother made many people confused.

Some speculate that he is hypocritical and posturing; some speculate that he knows practical things and knows that the fourteenth elder brother is irresistible, so they settle for the next best thing.

Only the fourth elder brother sneered at this matter.

Attitude is one thing, heart is another.As a prince, he grew up in the deep palace and only learned to "say one thing and do another" when he was in his 40s. This brother is really stupid.

Thinking like this in my heart, on the surface the fourth elder brother is a brother and friend, even if I am not close to my brothers, it is fun to watch.

Such a scene hurt the eyes of Brother Jiu.

Ever since he got the news and knew that the Li family had sent a heavy gift to this place, brother Jiu felt uncomfortable.

Thinking about the past few years, because the third elder brother lost his vigor, the fourth elder brother's weight in the court has become more and more important, and he is also a little more wary.

However, the fourth elder brother only concentrates on his errands, does not accept people, and rarely makes friends with ministers. Even if the ninth elder brother wants to catch his pigtails, it will be difficult.

The Li family, since the eighth elder brother was alive, has been the ninth elder brother's money bag in Jiangnan.

Don't say it's the prince's elder brother, it's just a puppy from ordinary people's homes, and it can also urinate and take up land, and won't give up an inch of land.

Whether it is the fourth elder brother who is so popular that he attracts the favor of the Li family; or because the fourth elder brother is in charge of the household department, Li Xu, who is also named as the servant of the household department, secretly communicates with him, these are not something that the ninth elder brother can tolerate.

"The emperor brothers are here, the fourth brother is so respectable. In the eyes of Huang Ama, all of us sons combined are not as capable as the fourth brother alone. It seems that everyone knows this reason and has come here together, for fear of offending Fourth brother." Brother Jiu had a smile on his face, but everyone was stunned by these words.

As honest as the twelfth elder brother, I really muttered in my heart, could it be that the emperor's father prefers the fourth brother who has always been capable?
If it is said that a son is more expensive than a mother, the fourth elder brother's adoptive mother and biological mother can both rank high in the imperial father's harem.

Those who are open-minded like the fifth elder brother and the seventh elder brother all frowned secretly, wondering where the ninth elder brother was convulsed, and wanted to embarrass the fourth elder brother.The seventh elder brother has nothing to do with himself, he just watches the fun; the fifth elder brother has already stared at the ninth elder brother, and is about to reprimand him.

The fourth elder brother looked indifferently, glanced at the ninth elder brother, and said: "Who doesn't know that there is nothing nearby in my mansion, but Su Zhai is the number one in the capital. They are all brothers of my own family, so I don't offend them. It's just an excuse. Yuzi, when the big guys get together, they must eat and drink well to be happy."

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little stiff, the older elder brothers echoed the fourth elder brother.

This one said: "Yes, yes, the vegetarian restaurant in Fourth Brother's Mansion is the best." The other said: "That's right, other things can be less, but the money Luo Han belly can't be less, but I have been thinking about it for some days."

Brother Jiu didn't appreciate it, snorted coldly, stood up, looked around, and said, "Oh? Look at the brothers who have changed their tempers, it's time to eat carrots and cabbage. My brother is a master who loves meat and dislikes , I won’t eat this birthday banquet today..."

Only halfway through the conversation, someone laughed and said: "Brothers are all here? Oh, we are late, brothers, don't blame me."

Everyone looked towards the door, and saw the fifteenth elder brother and the sixteenth elder brother leading a group of younger elder brothers from the palace.Even the four-year-old brother 24 was no exception. He was hugged by the seventeenth brother and looked at everyone with a smile.

Among the brothers, there was another lively chatter for a long while.

After the meeting with the servants was over, everyone sat down again, and Si Fujin also got the news that someone took the 23rd and 24th princes into the inner house.The two princes, one is seven years old and the other is four years old, they are still young.

Brother Jiu didn't let out that bit of evil fire before.

It's rare that so many little brothers are out of the palace to feel relieved. As a big brother, he doesn't want to pretend to be a villain and make things uncomfortable for the big guys.

The fourth elder brother's expression became more and more gentle, with a rare smile on his face, but he sighed in his heart when he heard the brothers talking.

The eyes are full of prosperity, but there is still one person missing.

There is only one person missing, that is Brother Thirteen.

It's not that Elder Thirteen stays behind closed doors, but that this year's winter was cold and early, and there were several snowfalls in October, which caused Elder Thirteen to suffer from a serious illness, and now he is bedridden to recuperate.

The fourth elder brother just went to see it yesterday, and the thirteenth elder brother only said that he was fine, but his eyes were sunken and his complexion was gloomy.After asking Thirteen Fujin privately, I learned that Elder Thirteen had been suffering from rheumatism, and had not been able to sleep well for the past half month...

*
Cao's house is a family banquet, so it is naturally not as good as Si elder brother's. After dinner, everyone went back separately.

Cao Fu did not go back to the East Mansion with his mother and elder brother, but stayed in the West Mansion, talking to his cousin about Li Nai's strangeness.

"Resentment? Because of the reward from the king's wife?" Cao Yong was a little surprised when he heard this.

Cao Fu thought he didn't believe it, and hurriedly said: "Brother, you must not have the heart of harming others, and you must not have the heart of guarding against others. Just say that Sun Jue, if he hadn't been plotted by others, he would not be ruined and let the elder sister be free. Maybe In the eyes of the Li family, our Cao family is the same as them. They are all the emperor's servants. They were equal in the past. It's only been a decade or so. Our family has established itself in Beijing, and they are still foreign ministers. It's normal to be upset."

Listening to his brother's words, Cao Yong smiled wryly and said: "Xiao Wu is right, but Li Nai is not a scheming person, and his temper can be regarded as honest. This last sentence is the reason for his resentment."

"Fill the vacancy?" Cao Fu raised his eyebrows and said, "This Li Nai is so unreasonable. Eldest brother is not an official of the Ministry of Officials, so he has the final say, so why blame the elder brother? I heard that in the past six months, in order to fill the vacancy If he really thought about big brother, why didn't he come to the door to say it. Could it be possible that Ding You's big brother at home should take the initiative to make money for him?"

"This is the human heart. I'm afraid he will feel in his heart that I should take the initiative to intervene for the sake of relatives. For example, in the matter of Sun Jue before, he blamed Sun Jue's disorderly behavior three parts, and seven parts blamed me for standing by." Cao Cao Yong said.

Cao Fu couldn't help shaking his head when he heard this, and said: "This is the Li family's principle? Who owes whom? They have lived for them with others. It's really creepy to think about having such relatives."

In the end, it is related to the Li family. Cao Yong didn't want to say too much. He patted Cao Fu's shoulder and said, "They are leaving Beijing. Even if they don't wait to see each other, they won't see each other twice. Xiao Wu's reminder , my brother has it in mind."

Cao Fu saw that Cao Yong was concerned, sighed, and said: "I know, my eldest brother is afraid of my uncle's embarrassment. After all, it is the eldest brother's mother-in-law's family. This relationship is not to be broken. Otherwise, it will fall into the eyes of outsiders. , our reason has become unreasonable."

Now the housework in Dongfu, the inner house is in the hands of Jing Hui, while the outside is taken care of by Cao Fu.

Although Cao Xiang was old, but he was a concubine, and he wanted to avoid making concessions, so he entrusted the housework to his younger brother under the pretext of being an errand.

Cao Yong thought of the auction in a few days. Cao Yong's three relatives' posts had already been given away, and the posts in his family were intended for his cousin, so he said to Cao Fu: "In a few days' auction, there are no antique calligraphy and paintings. Use, if you get it in your hands, it’s just a favor. There are many people who rob big houses and big villages. At that time, the price can’t come down, and the robbing will be for nothing. There are still some days, so go out and ask people to inquire about the second and third entrants. If you see a good place for a three-entry house, or a small village with ten or twenty hectares, just place a bid. If you can get it, take it for a bargain. If you can’t, compare it. The price, I will buy another one in the future.”

According to the common folk rules, like Dongfu, if there are several brothers, the family will be separated after marriage, or wait until the father dies.

Now both of the East Mansions are occupied, but because of Cao Song's expedition, the eldest brother is not there, and no one mentions this matter.

Cao Fu and Cao Xiang are the closest in age, so it's good to have a brotherly relationship when they are young, and there is no distinction between this brother and other elder brothers.

In the early days, it was Aunt Baodie who had a hard time; now, it is the grandmother of the fourth room, Chunhua, who endures the day without her mother-in-law's eyes.

Although no one complained, Cao Fu couldn't see it, and mentioned the separation of the family with Cao Yong.

Even if he knows that his cousin and his wife have been wronged, Cao Yong can't make the decision to separate the family for Dongfu right now.Even if we really want to divide, we have to wait for Cao Song to come back.

Cao Yong meant that Cao Fu could use the surplus money of Dongfu to buy some real estate and real estate first.Otherwise, with Mrs. Zhaojia's temperament, if the money is in her hands, the family members will not have the share of bastards.

Besides, when the time comes to separate the family, Cao Fu and his wife will also come out of Dongfu.Not to mention anything else, just this house, you need to buy two places.

Although Chunhua and Suxin's dowry had real estate, there was no reason to live in a dowry house since ancient times.

Cao Fu also knew that it was a big deal for the brothers to separate the family, and he couldn't get past his elder brother Cao Song, so he listened to his cousin and took the matter of property purchase to heart.

However, after listening to Cao Yong's instructions, he hesitated a bit and said, "Brother, this time it's a hidden bid. Even if there is really a good house, the price can't be low. The money in my brother's hand..."

Hearing what he said, Cao Yong took out a box from the desk drawer, handed it to Cao Fu, and said, "Don't worry about the silver, this is 2 taels of silver note, use this to buy property."

Cao Fu heard this, and hurriedly handed the box back to Cao Yong, shaking his head like a rattle, and said: "Brother's heart, brother's heart, I can't accept this money. Big brother's end, the old one, the small one, the money. There are not many, and the cost of various favors is huge, and I have to rely on my sister-in-law to subsidize myself. How can my younger brother take money from my elder brother? The elder brother should take it back. Even if I don’t care about others, I have to think about my sister-in-law. It’s not easy to make my sister-in-law laugh The men of our Cao family all eat soft food, so how can the younger brothers have the face to see the sister-in-law in the future?"

Cao Yong didn't answer it, and said: "If you give it, you will take it. This is indeed the income of Daoxiang Village. Before the business opened, I discussed with your sister-in-law. I want to keep some money from the income for you to buy property in the future. You are all my younger brothers. Although you are separated from each other, you are the same as Changsheng in my eyes. I can’t give you riches and riches, and I won’t let you worry about food, clothing, chewing and chewing. The only thing my brother can do is this .And put it away, don't grind."

Cao Fu rubbed the box, looked at his cousin, his expression changed, and said embarrassingly: "The elder brother has always worried about us, but we can't be the elder brother's help. The elder brother has supported the family all these years and suffered all kinds of hardships. We enjoy the blessings in vain. What is this called? thing?"

"It's all a family, what are you talking about? Besides, you are still young, let's see later. I also want to take advantage of my younger brothers and become a rich man who eats and waits to die." Cao Yong said with a smile.

Cao Fu was born in the 41st year of Kangxi. When Cao Yong left Jiangning and went north to Beijing, he was already eight years old.

At that time, he was ignorant, and Cao Fu was jealous of this cousin.Because he is the eldest grandson of Cao's parents held in the hands of everyone, the old lady's favorite son, and the uncle's and aunt's beloved son.

Back then, the honorable young man who was calm and calm, and now his elder brother with ups and downs in his official career and constant injuries, Cao Fu only felt that his eyes were hot, and his heart was unstoppable.

What is the difference between the old self and today's Li Nai?That ugly jealousy turns people into ghosts.

The person in front of him is his most respected elder brother...

*
Inside Dongzhimen, Li's house.

Li Nai was a little surprised when he heard that the Jiubeizi mansion had envoys.He looked out the window at the sky, it was already dark.

Is there something urgent?
The prime minister is a seventh-rank official, not to mention the steward of Beizi's mansion.Even if there is no grade, this shelf is full, and I can't wait to talk with my nostrils in the sky.

Li Nai asked someone to wrap a silver seal of 50 taels, and the steward looked better. He glanced at Li Nai and said: "Our master came back from the fourth master's house, and he was a little upset, and I didn't like it either." Master Xiao told Master Li what happened. Master Li weighed it in his heart, please be more careful with him." After finishing speaking, he didn't stay any longer, got up and cupped his hands, and left.

Brother Jiu summoned him, but Li Nai didn't dare to delay, so he changed his clothes nervously.

Li Cheng had already got the news, and came out to inquire in detail, just happened to meet Li Nai who was about to go out.

Seeing his son, Li Nai remembered something, frowned and said: "Cheng'er, it's not that Jiu Ye was annoyed by giving us a birthday gift to the fourth elder brother's mansion, right? I said it was inappropriate long ago, but you child is wayward."

Li Cheng had no idea in his heart, but his face was stiff, and he said: "The fourth elder brother is also considered grandfather's boss, and our Li family can't find anything out of it. If the ninth elder brother wants to blame, my father will blame it on the fourteenth elder brother. ..."

Hearing this, Li Nai didn't feel hesitant, and said, "Although the fourteenth elder brother and the fourth elder brother are brothers, they are not close. Is this acceptable?"

Li Cheng thought for a while and said, "It's all the prince's elder brother, we are not the ones to offend. No matter how angry the ninth elder brother is, as long as father bites the Li family as a last resort, it will be fine..."

*
Falling to seventh, Xiao Jiu begged for support from the monthly ticket.

(End of this chapter)