Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 925

What is the usual scene when we meet each other?
If Mrs. Li was ten years old, she might ask timidly, "Are you really my father?"; at the age of 20, with anger and grief, she would ask why she was ignored back then.

Now, she is over half a hundred years old and has a lot of children and grandchildren.Even though there was shock and grievance at first, after more than a month of work, my mood gradually calmed down.

It was, relatively silent.

Except for Wang Concubine and Li Shi kneeling to welcome them at first, and Kangxi ordering them to get up, he didn't say a word.

He couldn't tell, he wanted to ask Mrs. Li what she wanted and what she wished for, but when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

This meeting is boring. It would be absurd for an elderly emperor or half-century-old woman to hold her head and cry bitterly.

Wang Pin sat down on the stool with a low eyebrow, feeling like she was sitting on pins and needles.

She thought that she would withdraw after Sheng Jia arrived, but she witnessed this "father-daughter reunion".

"Raise your head." After a while, Kangxi said quietly: "Tell me to see you."

Although he didn't call the name, Li also knew that he was talking about himself.

Her heart trembled slightly, but she slowly raised her head and looked at the old man sitting a few steps away.

The old age that could not be concealed made her heart tremble, and she felt a little sour for no reason.

Kangxi also looked at her, as if trying to find the shadow of his lover on her face.

The closer he was to death, the clearer the events of his youth became.

Looking back on his life, he realized that he was immersed in the glory of the emperor and had forgotten a lot.It wasn't until the emperor's supreme power could not stop the gradual death that he realized that he lacked a lot.

He wanted to explain, and told Mrs. Li that she was a noble princess.I also want to say that the reason why he was raised among the people was not that he, Huang Ama, was ruthless, but that he followed her mother's wish.

In the end, Kangxi didn't say anything, and Li Shi didn't say anything. For half an hour, the room was completely silent.

Looking at the emperor sitting in the distance in the chariot, Li Shi only felt that his eyes were sore and unstoppable.

Concubine Wang was at the side, sighed faintly, stretched out her hand to hold Mrs. Li's hand, and said: "Think about it, you are a blessed person, and think about it."

Mrs. Li turned her head, looked at Concubine Wang, and nodded slowly...

Li Shi did not stay in the palace for long, and after Kangxi left, she was about to leave.

Concubine Wang was worried after all, so she asked the little elder brother to find the sixteenth elder brother, and wanted to ask the sixteenth elder brother to send Li Shi out of the palace.It just so happened that Elder Sixteen was also coming this way, and had an upright fight with the little eunuch.

Therefore, the sixteenth elder brother sent Mrs. Li to Shenwumen.Cao's carriage is waiting outside the Shenwu Gate.

Passing through Chuxiu Palace on the way, I saw a group of beautiful women who were about to enter Chuxiu Palace.The team leader's servant recognized Elder Sixteen and stepped aside to give way to Elder Sixteen.

Those girls who are waiting for the draft all have a bit immature face, but they are low-browed and pleasing to the eye, but I can't tell which one is particularly outstanding.

Elder Sixteen glanced at it, but found it troublesome, and strode away to lead Mrs. Li away.

Mrs. Li was curious, and took another look at the show girls.Because they all lowered their heads and wore the same clothes, they couldn't tell much.

Back then, Yan'er also entered the palace like this, right?Three years later, the two nieces of Dongfu will also enter the palace for selection in this way.

Thinking of this, the desolation of the father and daughter's speechless meeting just now subsided unknowingly.

Next year my grandchildren will be sent to government schools. I heard that my wife is going to be a replacement. I don't know what kind of temperament Mr. Xin is.Changsheng's ear suffered from frostbite last year, so don't suffer from it again this winter...

There is an old folk saying, "the old son, the eldest grandson, the lifeblood of the old couple", just as Wang Bin said, she is a blessed person.Keeping the two lifelines aside, there is no one who is not filial to the older children...

There was a bit of a smile on his face, but the moment he lowered his head, tears were streaming down his chest...

Outside the gate of Shenwu, Cao Yong, who was wearing mended clothes, was standing in front of his carriage, whispering to Cao Yuan.

Today when Mrs. Li entered the palace, she was escorted by the chief executive, Cao Yuan.Chu Yu originally wanted to come with her mother-in-law, but was left behind by Mrs. Li.

Seeing Mrs. Li coming out, Cao Yong and Cao Yuan went forward to meet him.

Elder brother Sixteen sees Cao Yong often, but he doesn't have much to say. When he sees Li getting into the carriage, he bids farewell to Cao Yong.

Cao Yong's guard badge was handed back to the guard as early as when he left his post to observe his filial piety.Therefore, if he wanted to go back to the Yamen of the Ministry of Household Affairs, he had to go far.

However, he was worried about his mother, so he didn't have the heart to go to the yamen. He had already made arrangements with the yamen and went back directly to the manor.

The carriage rushed directly to the second gate, and Cao Yong personally helped Li to get off the carriage.

Seeing the Hanging Flower Gate that he was familiar with, Li let out a mouthful of turbid air, and finally relaxed from his tense spirit.

"Mother..." Seeing that she was indifferent, Cao Yong was afraid that she would feel sad, so he called out in a low voice.

Mrs. Li raised her head, patted her son's arm, and said, "It's nothing."

At this moment, Chuyu also got the news, and quickly walked to the second gate with two maids.

Mrs. Li had already met the second door, and seeing his daughter-in-law was in a hurry, she hurriedly said: "Go slowly, don't startle the child in your belly."

Chu Yu slowed down obediently, and said, "I've been waiting for news from Ermen, but I fell asleep."

Mrs. Li had already approached, helped his daughter-in-law's arm, and said: "I'm already pregnant, it's time for sleepiness, what are you doing here?" While speaking, his eyes fell on her stomach, his face was full of kindness.

Chu Yu and Cao Yong looked at each other, surprised by Li Shi's calm reaction.

Back at Lan Yuan, Chu Yu hid and left the room for their mother and son to talk.

"Mother, in the palace..." Cao Yong asked.

Mrs. Li raised her head and said: "I saw the emperor...the emperor looks older than the previous years..." When he said this, he paused and said: "I thought he would ask me what kind of grace I begged for. I've thought about it. If he wants to ask, let's hand back those things from Horqin and the Ruyi bestowed by the Queen Mother back then, so as not to keep them in our hands and cause trouble... He didn't say anything when he was old... I didn't say much... "

After saying this, she didn't feel very sad. Instead, she became worried about her son and said, "Is this gold going to be safe at home? Will there be disputes?"

"Back then, Brother Sixteen said that the gold was 5000 taels, and the rest was silver. It's just that the weight of gold and silver is different. If someone wants to investigate, I'm afraid they won't be able to hide it. But it's nothing, this is justified by the Queen Mother. The ones that come down, mother can take them with peace of mind. It’s just that we should prepare some gifts for the two prince’s mansions of the empress dowager’s family. They also have a palace in the capital, but they don’t need to be sent outside the pass.” Cao Yong thought for a while and said: “ Then there is the Empress Dowager's side. In a month or so, it will be the Empress Dowager's Day. Mother will take out a few hundred taels of gold and donate them to the temple to pray for the Empress Dowager. It is better not to move the other property for the time being. It will be up to us There is no shortage of this at home.”

Listening to her son's arrangement, Mrs. Li nodded and said hello.

When she came back from the outside, Cao Yong didn't sit for a long time and went back to Wutong Garden before changing clothes and washing up.

Chu Yu was still worried, but after hearing what Cao Yong said, she felt at ease.

Cao Yong wanted to go to the front yard to look for Zheng Xie, so he changed into a make-up suit and came to the study in the front yard wearing half-worn home clothes.

In the study, Zheng Xie is teaching the children painting skills.

When Qian Chenqun was in the Cao Mansion earlier, his favorite student was Niu Niu; now that Zheng Xie is in the Cao Mansion, his favorite student is his twin brother Zuo Cheng.

There is no other reason, but because Zuo Cheng is quite talented in painting, which caught Zheng Xie's eyes.

It can also be seen from this that these two indeed have their own Confucian character.He will not curry favor with Tianyou and Hang Seng disciples surnamed Cao and despise others just because he sits in the Cao Mansion.

Cao Yong stood at the door, looking at the little luotou who was leaning over to paint in the room.

After going to school for a period of time since Changsheng, the Tianhu of Dongfu also began to enlighten.

According to Cao Yong's original intention, he didn't want to divide his children into different categories, and wanted them to grow up safely.

However, things backfired.

Take the Eight Banners official school as an example, only the children of the Eight Banners with titles or hereditary titles can enroll, and only the children of the fifth rank of civil servants and the third rank of military officials can enroll.

The limit for accepting students over there is ten years old.Every year, each banner only accepts 60 to [-] people. Among them, there are fixed numbers of Manqi, Mongolian and Baoyi, and the competition is fierce.

Cao Fu reluctantly entered the school back then, but because the Cao family was well-off, and he was the only one in that generation to enter the Eight Banners Official School.

When Sun Li entered school, he took advantage of Bao Yiqi.Just like his younger brother Sun Chu, he was not qualified to enter the Eight Banners official school, so he was studying in a private school near the Eight Banners official school.

Cao Yong originally wanted to send God Bless them all to government schools next year, so that they can also get in touch with friends of the same age, so as not to be weak in the house.However, this admission has become a hurdle.

Tianyou has a title and is the eldest son of the Earl's Mansion, his status is enough.Hang Seng does not have a title, but as Cao Yong, it is not difficult to move around and send more sons to government schools.It is difficult to live in the left and form two in the left.

Not only the two of them, but when Tianhu grows up, he will not be eligible to enter the official school.

Thinking of this, Cao Yong couldn't help frowning.However, for the sake of "fairness", Tianyou and Hang Seng cannot be confined to the mansion.

Where is the real fairness in this world?

At this moment, Zheng Xie has seen Cao Yong.Give the children to draw first, and he comes out to talk to Cao Yong.

Hearing that the real deficiency has been made up, he was very excited and looked at Cao Yong. He didn't know how to say this thank you.

He has lived in the capital for several years, and he also knows that it is not easy to replace an official.It is easy to receive donations, but it takes money to make up for the shortage.

Not to mention these miscellaneous brands of donating officials, even if you are a Jinshi with a proper background, if you don't have money to manage, it is not unusual to wait for three to five years.

The county magistrate of the seventh grade is also an official of Zhengyin, and according to the rules, only Jinshi is awarded.It is even more difficult to make up for those who come from a miscellaneous brand.

Even if the Cao family came forward, all kinds of money for the replacement of the official would be indispensable.

Thinking of this, he was already solemn, made a long bow to Cao Yong, and said: "My lord is kind and righteous, and the students are very grateful. It is the student's blessing to be able to get the lord to deal with it. Please tell me how much money it costs. One day, the students will be returned in full."

The salary of the seventh-rank magistrate was only a few dozen taels of silver, and Cao Yong spent more than 2000 taels to fill in the vacancies for Zheng Xie.Just because this year is not a donation year and there are new Jinshi, the cost of filling the vacancy has also increased.

However, Cao Yong did not intend to elaborate with Zheng Xie.

He thought about it and said: "Ke Rou, I also served as a foreign official in the early years. It is not easy to be a foreign official. The "three festivals and two longevity" Shangguan is filial, and all transactions have to be spent. The imperial salary is low, and corruption is common in official circles. The capital is a bit poor and settled, and the family is really short of money, so I borrow some money, donate an official, and save a rich family property after three years. With Kerou's character, how could he act like this? It costs some money, but for me, it is nothing more than a little effort. If Ke Rou wants to return it, he can pick a few sets of calligraphy and paintings and give them to me. Cheap."

By the end, he had a smile on his face.

Don't wait for the slightest contempt, there is determination in the eyes.The way he looked at Zheng Xie was not like looking at a poor scholar, but like looking at a scholar.

Of course, Zheng Xie didn't know that he had left a mark in history, and thought that Cao Yong was "wisdom eye and pearl", not only believed in his character, but also affirmed his paintings.

He only felt his chest was warm, his nose was sore, and he made a deep bow.

Many years later, he became famous all over the world, and he always respected Cao Yong like a father and brother, never changed...

*
In the Changchun Palace, the sixteenth elder brother couldn't say anything after listening to Wang Concubine's description of the "father and daughter" meeting, but thought of his own troubles, and said: "Emiang, there are enough people around my son, please. Mother often goes to Chuxiu Palace for a walk, so that no one will think of her son and point out two things to him."

Concubine Wang hesitated for a moment, and said: "Yesterday, Master De mentioned it once. Didn't she have two grandnieces as candidates? Hearing the rumors in the palace, Hongming's side might be out of luck. Look at the meaning, if you don't point it out to me Hongming, I will give it to you and your elder brother. Those two girls were brought to Rehe by Master De a few days ago, and I also met them. Although they are not very good-looking, they are gentle-tempered, and they are not bad children."

Brother Sixteen sneered and said, "She really likes to worry."

Since Li Shi died of illness, Elder Sixteen has not had a side Fujin besides the concubines and concubines beside him.Therefore, rumors came out in this draft.

Concubine De and Concubine Yi have been fighting openly and secretly for half their lives, brother Sixteen doesn't want to harm himself, how could he be willing to be associated with Concubine De's natal family.

"She can't do anything about it. Two good girls have been sent to the palace for treatment for a year. If they both put down their cards, what's the face of this virtuous master?" Concubine Wang said.

"Emiang can stop her if she can, but if she can't, she will ask Concubine Yi to act first, pointing at two ordinary people, so as not to be restless and causing headaches to her son." Elder Sixteen took the second place. .

Wang Pin knew that on the face of her son, she felt annoyed, but in fact she felt sorry for her daughter-in-law.

She was not annoyed, but she was somewhat regretful when she remembered that the two grandsons were both concubines: "I heard that there is a prescription for a child in Brother Seven's house, so you should also inquire about it and give it to your daughter-in-law."

Elder Sixteen listened and nodded in agreement, but smiled wryly in his heart.

Sixteen Fujin had a blood collapse after giving birth last time, not to mention losing half her life, and she will never be able to give birth again...

*
Outside the Xizhi Gate, the dusty Fourteenth Elder Brother was riding on a horse, looking at the city wall in front of him, and said in a low voice, "Finally back..."

(End of this chapter)