Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 99

Until the beginning of the next day (three o'clock in the morning), Cao Yong got up, and the snow outside had not stopped.

Seeing that Cao Yong had finished washing, Zijing took a navy blue tapestry squirrel cloak and helped him change.Seeing this stranger, Cao Yong asked, "Is this custom-made in the middle of last month? Why haven't I seen it before?"

Zijing replied: "This is from Prince Ping's mansion. When the manor was making winter clothes earlier, Fujin sent someone over to ask for the size of the uncle. There are twelve small and big coats like this."

"Sister really thinks I'm a child!" Cao Yong smiled and shook his head, but his heart was moved.No matter what it is, what is rare is this kindness.

"Ping'er and the second brother, it's okay!" Cao Yong faced the mirror and straightened the collar of his clothes.

"Well, but because of the winter clothes made at the end of September at the palace, the third girl and the second master haven't come yet, so they are no more than the uncle's. There are four small ones and two big ones for the third girl; Two small ones, two big ones, and the rest are sent materials.

Cao Yong nodded, and said to Zijing: "Ping'er is fine, she rarely goes out; the second brother goes to school every day, pick a few sets for him, the capital is so cold, it's no worse than the south."

Seeing Cao Yong's appearance as a father and brother, Zijing couldn't help laughing and said: "Master, you have to worry too much, how can you get the second master? In October, I invite someone to come over to make winter clothes. The second master and the third lady each They are all twelve sets, sir, have you forgotten?"

Cao Yong patted his forehead: "That's right, there is such a thing! These days, I still think they are the first time!"

Chai'er and Huan'er carried the small table and put the breakfast on the kang in the east room, so as not to cool the food in the hall.

Seeing that Cao Yong had eaten it, Zijing hesitated for a moment, but she still returned the matter of Cao Song and Fang Cha.

Hearing that Cao Song was fighting in the school, Cao Yong didn't take it seriously. Seeing Zijing's worried face, he comforted her: "Don't worry about this, the second brother has such a temper, he will never suffer the slightest loss. If outside We have to weigh them up, but they are the powerful children of relatives, three or five are not the opponents of the second brother! Back then in Jiangning School, the second brother often fought with his classmates. They are all boys, it is the fight At such a young age, there is no need to detain him!"

Zijing didn't show her face, she took a look at Cao Yong: "Apart from the second master's matter, there is also Fangcha, who suffered [-] boards yesterday, and the situation is not very good now!"

"Fang Cha?" Cao Yong was a little surprised: "Thirty boards, what's going on?"

Zijing missed Fangcha and smashed the stove, quarreled with Xiangcao at the gate, accused Wei Hei, was punished by Cao Song, etc., and gave a concise and impartial account.

Cao Yong frowned slightly, although he didn't feel sorry for things, but he was still a little unhappy knowing that Fang Cha contradicted Wei Hei.However, even if he made a mistake, it would be too much to beat him like this.Therefore, I specially asked Zijing to ask for a good doctor and so on.

Seeing that Cao Yong didn't mention going to visit, Zijing hesitated again and again and asked: "Master, don't you remember what happened when you were young?"

"What happened when I was a child?" Cao Yong thought for a while: "I seem to remember it at first, but I don't know why the shadows are blurred!" I also wondered in my heart, when I just woke up from this body, I had memories of Cao Yong's childhood. But within a few days it was all blurred.That's why when he was kidnapped, it was so difficult for him to write a distress letter, and he couldn't remember some words he had learned before.

Although Cao Yong was kidnapped back then, Cao Yin strictly forbade the people in the mansion to chew their tongues in order to hide the truth from the old matriarch, Zijing also knew something vaguely.Thinking of how the old man behaved very differently from the past after going through that incident, and was so sensible that it made people feel distressed, she sighed in her heart and didn't say any more.

*
Going out of the mansion, there is a vast expanse of whiteness.Thinking of Fang Cha being beaten, Cao Yong was afraid that Wei Bai would be unhappy, so he looked at him a few more times, thinking whether he should accompany Cao Song to him.

Wei Bai just stepped on the snow that didn't cover the top of his boots, feeling strange.Although their ancestral home is Hebei, they were born and grew up in the south, and this is the first time they have seen such heavy snow, and they can't help adding a little childlike innocence.

Xiaoman was wearing a thick cotton padded coat, and wanted to have fun even more, holding a handful of snow and showing it to brothers Wu Mao and Wu Sheng.Wu Mao was older, he didn't care about him, and backed away with a smile; Wu Sheng was about the same age as Xiao Man, and he was also childish.

In the end, it was Wei Hei who looked at the sky and scolded them with a smile: "Stop making trouble, come back after sending the uncle off, let you make trouble for a few hours, if you don't leave now, it will delay the uncle's schooling!"

Everyone laughed, shook off the snow from their clothes, got on their horses, and walked towards the Forbidden City.

*
In the upper study room, or because of the snow, everyone was wearing thick winter clothes.Even so, the little elder brothers were shivering from the cold.The heating in the Forbidden City uses geothermal heat. There is a transparent compartment under the house. Every year after the beginning of winter, half-pressed wood chips are stuffed into it. After being ignited, it burns slowly and can be used for several months.Therefore, although the room is not cold, the temperature is not high.The twelfth lunar month is about to enter, and there is heavy snowfall again, so the heat in the house will be even less.

After the sixteenth elder brother came in wrapped in a red-colored Ning fine-faced green fox leather robe, he began to count his annual leave with Cao Yong.After entering the twelfth lunar month, it is Laba; after Laba, it will be 23 years in a blink of an eye; when it reaches 26, the emperor seals the pen, which is the annual leave.

Cao Yong listened and began to envy the children of later generations. At least there were more than 40 days of winter vacation. They were much happier than the princes hundreds of years ago.

Counting and counting, Elder Sixteen remembered one thing, smiled and said to Cao Yong: "In a few days, the fourth brother's house will accept a side Fujin, and then we will have a drink together, and we can go out After leaving the palace, it's time to visit Longfu Temple!"

Cao Yong has also heard about this. The side Fujin that the fourth elder brother wants to accept this time is Nian Gengyao's sister Nian Shi, whom the palace pointed out during the draft in October.You Nian thought of her cousin Chen, who was drafted at the same time as her, and wondered what happened to the chrysanthemum in the palace.

Half a day passed in a hurry, and when Cao Yong returned to the house, the snow had stopped.

*
Cao Yong came to Cao Song's side first when he entered the courtyard, saw his little face, and couldn't help laughing: "Did you suffer?"

Cao Song said triumphantly: "How can I lose my brother's face, of course I didn't suffer! Don't look at my face, seven or eight of them told me to beat me to the ground! They still want to bully me, hum, court death!"

Cao Yong always knew that it would be good if he didn't go out to bully others, basically no one could bully him: "Is there anyone else who dares to bully you? Tell me, what's the matter?"

Cao Song began to talk happily.

It turned out that there were a few children in the school who had always been rampant, and they were quite unambiguous. They usually lived in peace with Cao Song if they didn't interfere with the river.Who knows what happened yesterday, several people said they wanted to see Cao Song's sword.Cao Song unloaded it for them to see, but they were about to withhold it and not return it.Cao Songduo, have we been angry?Immediately turned his face, the hatchback said it was stiff, so they made an appointment to compete in the back alley of the school after class.Cao Songna had experienced many battles, and those few people were no match, so they were naturally beaten to the ground.

The two brothers were talking, and they came outside to report that Zhaojia's mansion sent someone to invite Cao Song to come over.

Cao Song didn't know what was going on, but felt strange, so he hurriedly asked the messenger to come in and ask carefully.

The man only said that the old man had invited him, but he didn't know anything else.

Xiao Man, who was standing by the side, knew what he meant, and took out a piece of broken silver and quietly stuffed it into the man's hand.

The man took it, pressed it with his fingers, and then said with a smile: "Return to Master Biao, the servant really doesn't know what's going on, just listened in a daze, and also called De Wuye, Che Liuye and Beiyuan Lian. on."

As soon as Cao Song heard it, he knew that the fight happened yesterday.The fifth master and sixth master mentioned by this person are Fengde and Fengche, the two sons of Cao Song's third cousin's family. The uncle Lian of the North Courtyard is the only son of Cao Songtang's aunt, Suo Chuoluo and Lian. Like Cao Song, he belongs to Zhaojiazong. Those attached to the school, the three of them brought a few children into a fight with Cao Song yesterday.

After dismissing the person who came to deliver the letter, Cao Song was a little bit confused, and called Cao Yong guilty: "Brother..." But he swallowed back the words.If it's a fight, it's okay to ask my brother to help me with punches, but now I'm afraid I will be punished, so how can I ask my brother to accompany me?
Cao Yong patted him on the shoulder: "Go and change clothes, brother will accompany you for a walk."

As soon as Cao Song's eyes lit up, he immediately had the backbone, nodded heavily, and hurried back to change his clothes.

*
The two rode out of the mansion on horseback. Cao Yong told him a few words along the way, telling him to pay attention to his words. Leave room for a sincere attitude.

Cao Song wrote it down one by one, and saw the gate of Zhaojia Mansion from afar, he hurriedly said to Cao Yong: "Brother, my uncle will punish me later, you have to intercede for me. I am not afraid of hitting me Yes, but...it's too embarrassing..."

Cao Yong said with a smile: "Aren't you afraid of being beaten, but afraid of being humiliated?"

Cao Song straightened his back: "A man is a real man, a scholar can be killed but not humiliated."

Cao Yong glanced at him: "Don't say these two sentences later, it's really irrelevant. In the future, your uncle will be angry with you for not reading well, and will beat you if you fail to complete."

Cao Song shrank his neck and said nothing.

*
Fangjia Hutong, Zhaojia Mansion.

In the living room, Marhan, who is over seventy years old, has white beard and hair, and is sitting at the main seat in a lynx mandarin gown with a ebony face, holding a tureen and slowly sipping tea. three people.

Marhan didn't ask any questions, and the three of them didn't dare to speak out, and they didn't dare to speak out, feeling uneasy.

Brothers Cao Yong and Cao Song were led to the hall, and they were seeing such a scene.The two looked at each other, and saluted Malhan in unison.

When Maerhan saw that Cao Yong was coming, he put down the gaiwan, shouted with a smile, and said hello to Cao Yong, and asked him to sit down and drink tea.

Cao Yong saw three kneeling upright on the ground here, and his younger brother was standing neatly there, how could he sit down?So he said a few words of politeness, and just stood aside with his hands down.

Ma Erhan looked at him, knew what he was thinking, and didn't force himself, he coughed and asked Cao Song, "Song'er, what happened in the back alley of the school yesterday?"

Cao Song didn't expect his grand-uncle to tell him the story when he came up, and was startled.He already hated the act of complaining, but he thought about what his elder brother told him to leave room for on the way when he came here, so he bowed and replied, "Going back to my grandparents, my grandson and cousins ​​have nothing to do in the back alley after school yesterday." Lianbuku is here."

After hearing this childish lie, Marhan asked again without raising his eyelids, "But Funde and the others bullied you?"

Cao Song replied honestly, "My grandson dare not lie to my uncle. Cousin Fengde has always treated my grandson well and never bullied my grandson."

The three kneeling listened, and their tense nerves relaxed.

Marhan has always been majestic, and all the children and grandchildren in the family fear him.Therefore, when the three of them heard that the old man called them in for questioning, they were all very frightened. They asked around for what was going on, and they were afraid that the fight happened yesterday.After all, the three of them were wronged, and they used the big to bully the small, and the master to bully the guest, so it was untenable.

After inquiring around, they still couldn't figure it out, so the three of them had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to the front hall. On the way, they made up a set of words in an emergency, and got the words right, and waited for the old man to ask, and put all the mistakes on Cao Song. .

Unexpectedly, after kowtowing to greet Ann, Marhan didn't cry out.The three of them just knelt down and didn't dare to move, they only hoped that the old man would ask something so that they could confess their love and get rid of themselves.As a result, Marhan didn't even ask them, and just drank his tea slowly. He couldn't use the words prepared by the three of them, and he didn't know what the old man was thinking, so he couldn't help feeling panic.

When Cao Song came, the old man asked Cao Song first again, and the three of them were overwhelmed, thinking that Cao Song would definitely kill them, and they couldn't run away and beat them up today.Unexpectedly, instead of complaining, Cao Song spoke for them.Surprised, they were visibly relieved.

Markan saw everyone's expressions in his eyes, and he was already thinking about it.Before calling everyone to come, he had already asked people to visit. Although he didn't know all the details of yesterday's incident, he had a general idea. Calling them to come was not only meant to confirm, but also punished by both parties to show justice.

Right now, Cao Song, who was originally the sufferer, insisted that there was nothing wrong yesterday, and praised Fengde and the other three honestly and sincerely.Marhan knew that this grandnephew was not a treacherous person who didn't mean what he said, and liked his kindness, so he didn't plan to severely punish the three grandsons.

Malhan glanced at the faces of the three grandchildren, and said sharply: "Don't think that I really don't know what you have done! Song'er said that today, and I will forgive you once. Next time, two crimes And punish! Go down!"

The three hurriedly kowtowed to Malhan, and retreated respectfully.

Ma Erhan asked Cao Yong and Cao Song to sit down again, and they sat down after pleading guilty, and after a few words with the old man, they got up and left.

*
After leaving the yard and turning into the hallway, I saw Fengde, Fengche and Helian waiting for Brother Cao Yong at the corner.

Because of his elder brother, Cao Song was not afraid of anything, so he sneered, waved his fist, and said to the three of them, "What's the matter? Didn't you have a good time yesterday? Come on, come on, come on today, I'll stay with you to the end!"

Fengche was the most helpless man in the city, because Cao Song helped them avoid the ban, and immediately regarded Cao Song as his own. After hearing his words, he didn't think he was disobedient, but smiled and said: "The ribs are still green, so I dare not beat them again. Besides If you fight again, the old man will definitely kill us."

The elder Feng De glanced at his younger brother, and then said to Cao Song: "You didn't file a complaint today, we accept your favor, and we will not fight you in the future."

Cao Song curled his lips: "Huh, what kind of hero is the one who complained? You don't need to accept my favor, if you don't accept it, you can fight again!"

Feng De stalked his neck, and was about to say, but was pulled aside by He Lian: "What did you say just now? Didn't you agree to recognize him as a brother. You still provoke him, why do you still want to fight him? His strength, It's not like you don't know!"

Feng De thought of Cao Song's fierce fist yesterday, so he was silent.He Lian came over and said to Cao Song seriously: "Look at you, you are refreshing, we will make you our friend, and you will be our younger brother from now on!"

In the south, Cao Song once swept up the gangsters on the ground in Jiangning, regardless of their age, they all took them in as younger brothers, and he called himself the king.How could he be willing to let him be the younger brother of the three defeated opponents at this time?So I crossed my arms and squinted at them: "Be my brother? You can't even beat me, and you still want to be my brother? This is my brother!" He said, pulling Cao Yong, and then said: "My brother is much better than you Yes! I have only learned [-]% of my brother's kung fu, no, [-]%! Come and be my brother when you are better than my brother's kung fu!"

Cao Yong was still a bit of a parent at first, and he smiled and watched the group of children bickering. Who knew that he was dragged into the battle group by his younger brother, so he patted Cao Song on the shoulder: "They are all older than you. In terms of seniority, you have to pay attention." call brother."

Cao Song waved his head: "No, they have to call me brother. Otherwise, they will fight again. Whoever is better is the brother!"

Fengde and the others looked at Cao Yong as a school of scholars, unlike Lian Jiazi, they couldn't help but said: "Is your brother really as powerful as you say?"

Cao Song raised his chin proudly: "My brother is the imperial bodyguard! Do you think he is powerful?!"

When the three of Fengde heard the words "imperial guard", they immediately looked at each other with admiration.In their eyes, other than the generals, the masters are the imperial guards, so they look at Cao Yong with admiration, and regardless of their age, they call Cao Yong "Brother Cao" without a mouth.

Cao Yong was dumbfounded by a group of children, but Cao Song was very proud, patted his chest and said: "From now on, you will call me Brother Cao!"

Everyone listened to this nonsense, just rolled their eyes, no one paid any attention to him, and they all surrounded Cao Yong to inquire about the affairs of the palace.
-
(End of this chapter)