A Thousand Hills

Chapter 144

The first prince went to trust his Zigu, and the fifth prince was told by his wife that he would not mention Zigu anymore.

On the contrary, the fourth prince and his wife had just arrived in the other courtyard for a few days, and the fourth prince's concubine gave birth to their second son.The fourth prince went to announce the good news in person, and Emperor Mu Yuan was only happy when he heard it. Although he worked hard enough, the number of children was not small, but it was not enough for the old Mu family to have a prosperous descendant.Furthermore, as long as you are a parent, you all hope that your children will also be full of children and grandchildren.

Seeing the smiling face of the fourth prince, Emperor Mu Yuan smiled and praised, "Not bad." The son is good, and the daughter-in-law is even better.With a swipe of his pen, Emperor Mu Yuan rewarded many tonics, all of which were for the fourth prince and concubine.

The fourth prince smiled, "My son will go to announce the good news to the imperial grandmother."

Emperor Mu Yuan let the fourth son go, and Empress Dowager Hu was also happy to hear that. When the fourth prince resigned from Empress Dowager Hu and announced the good news to the brothers' homes, Empress Dowager Hu turned to ask the concubine, "It's been a long time since the second son's good news came. Ah." He almost choked the princess to death.

The Crown Princess was born in a first-class mansion, and the education she received since she was a child is naturally not comparable to that of her own city. The Crown Princess smiled and said, "Children also depend on God's will. Don't worry, Grandmother, our Highness will see that the children and grandchildren are good." Fu Xiang, don't worry about the emperor's grandmother, you have such a good word, if you say it like this, they may have a happy news tomorrow."

Empress Dowager Hu had other thoughts in her heart, and she glanced at the princess concubine meaningfully, but didn't say much for the time being.

The Crown Princess did not miss the look of Empress Dowager Hu, and her heart sank. The Crown Princess was not stupid. She went back to the palace and mentioned this to the Crown Prince, and said, "The fourth sibling is born today. His Highness the Fourth Highness went to announce the good news in person. The imperial grandmother heard about it. The queen was very happy, and asked about our palace. I thought, it is not good for His Highness to be wronged, and His Highness would like to ask Father to choose another concubine for our palace." According to the princess's heart, she naturally didn't want to give it to him. The prince added a concubine.However, the queen mother's vision is really not flattering, even if she wants to add a concubine, she must ask Emperor Mu Yuan to choose someone himself.

The prince had a clear mind and smiled, "Where did you think you went? The imperial grandmother just mentioned it. Her old man has always had no intentions. It hasn't been long since Mrs. Bai has come in, so why add more people, no need to make noise." Adding two concubines a year, Qingliu ministers should Think too much.

Seeing what her husband said, the Crown Princess stopped mentioning it.Even when the Queen Mother Hu mentioned it again, the Crown Princess also had the Prince's words as a reply, so she felt relieved.

Not to mention the concubine, the second emperor's grandson in the fourth prince's mansion had just passed the full moon ceremony, and the concubine in the fifth prince's mansion gave birth.The fifth prince and the fifth prince concubine entered the palace together to announce the good news. The fifth prince said to his father, "Both the son and the daughter-in-law are looking forward to their granddaughter, but they turned out to be a kid again."

Emperor Mu Yuan heard Xixun again, and smiled, "Look at what you said, all children are the same." He rewarded Xie Moru with a bunch of things.

The fifth prince clasped his hands together and worshiped his father, "Father, please protect me, I hope I will be a daughter next time."

Emperor Mu Yuan laughed and scolded, "You are also a father, and you are still so unsteady. Go, live a good life with your wife." From the beginning to the end, there was no mention of adding a concubine to the royal family.

The fifth prince said, "The son and daughter-in-law also came to the palace to announce the good news to the imperial grandmother and mother concubine. My son went over to have a look and talk to the emperor grandmother and mother concubine."

Emperor Mu Yuan was very satisfied with his fifth son's filial piety and consideration.

When the fifth prince arrived at his mother's courtyard, he was listening to his wife say, "Big eyes, high nose, big hands and feet, he is handsome at first glance."

The fifth prince couldn't stand what he heard, and said, "There are several wrinkles on his forehead, wrinkled, like a little old man."

Concubine Su smiled, "A newborn baby will be full in a few days."

"Yeah, you forgot that Dalang and the others were the same when they were first born, and the full moon is beautiful. You have to look at the facial features, Shiro looks so much like His Highness." Xie Moru said.

The fifth prince's lips twitched, "Like me? Is Shiro like me?"

"That's right. The eyebrows are very similar to His Highness." Xie Moru said, "You men are careless, and you can't tell that you are ugly."

The fifth prince was very relaxed with his mother. Seeing a sliced ​​honeydew melon, he took a bite and said, "If he looks like me, he must be handsome."

Concubine Su smiled lightly.

Fifth Prince Xie Moru and his wife had lunch here at Concubine Su's place. When they returned to the other courtyard in the afternoon, Emperor Mu Yuan's reward had already been sent to the other courtyard. Most of the rewards from Emperor Yuan were silk and satin toys. Xie Moru told Wisteria, "Send it to Yu Shi. Although His Majesty rewarded me, I don't forget her achievements. I told her that it's good for confinement." Son. Her mother will come after her third baptism tomorrow, let her mother go to see her at Jieshi."

Wisteria went to deliver things, Xie Moru said to the Fifth Prince, "It's better to come to the other courtyard together, so we can rest assured. The air in the other courtyard is warm, and confinement in winter is also comfortable."

The fifth prince just said, "You can arrange them."

On New Year's Eve, the side concubine Su Shi of the Fifth Prince's Mansion gave birth to a son, and she had already returned to the city.This child was born by coincidence, the birthday of New Year's Eve, just in time for the New Year's Eve, it was the time of the festival, making it even more festive.After the New Year, on February [-]th, Xu gave birth to the eldest daughter of the Fifth Prince's Mansion.The fifth prince, Xie Moru, was happier than having a son, Xie Moru smiled, "I must take the girl's name."

"You can take what you want." The fifth prince did not argue with his wife.

It's just that Xie Moru has been waiting for the Fifth Prince to repair the Yulinyuan Palace. The name has not been chosen yet. The main reason is that the name is too much thought. After the completion of the low-rent housing built by the Fourth Prince, Xie Moru will choose the name for the concubine's eldest daughter. Alright, Xie Moru said, "Let's call it Xin Zhe. Xin means when the sun rises, and Zhe means cleverness and wisdom."

"Xinzhe, Xinzhe." The fifth prince babbled a few words, nodded and praised, "It's much better than the name chosen by the emperor." His three sons, Mu Mu, Mu, Lin and Mu Sen...the fourth son and the fifth son have not yet been named. , the fifth prince was worried that his father would get a Mucai Muban or something.In comparison, look at the name his daughter-in-law gave to his daughter, how classy and connotative it is.

The fifth prince sent Mother Zhou to various places in the mansion to say that the girl has a name, so don't call it wrong in the future, and said, "Since you like Miss Xin, it's the same to bring her here to raise her." She has been sublimated from "big girl" to "Sister Xin".

Xie Moru said, "There's no rush, sister Xin is still young, let's wait for her to be older. Not for anyone else, I thought, girls are no better than boys, they have to plan for their daughters earlier, and raise them with me. Aggravating her status, it will be easier for Sister Xin to be named princess in the future."

The two were talking about their daughter, when the fourth prince came over, the fifth prince went out to receive the fourth prince.

The fourth prince came here for nothing else, just complaining with his younger brother. The fifth prince completed the construction of the Yulinyuan palace, and he was praised and rewarded by Emperor Mu Yuan.The completion of the fourth prince's low-rent housing, not to mention the rewards, has brought a lot of bad luck.It is not easy for the fourth prince. The purpose of building such a batch of low-rent houses is to improve the situation of the poor and small officials in the imperial capital. As a result, many people say that the place is out of the way, and the houses are narrow. Don't mention those small talk, the fourth prince resentfully said, "I can't bear the anger in the Ministry of Industry!"

The fifth prince said, "Why should fourth brother get angry with these ignorant people, but flatter them instead."

The fourth prince said, "When I was discussing with my father, you were also with me, fifth brother. It would be a lie to say that there is no place in the inner city. No matter how forced the demolition and relocation can free up the land boundary, but that would not only cost money It’s very big, and the inner city is densely populated, so there might be people’s dissatisfaction. I’ve been working on this for half a year, but in the end I couldn’t say a word, and I was full of complaints. What am I trying to do!”

"Father knows the hard work of the fourth brother, so don't pay attention to the ignorance of the screwdriver."

The fourth prince sighed and said, "I'm afraid that the hard work will be in vain, and those poor officials will not live in it. The built houses are empty, what's the matter?"

The fifth prince was angry, "This screwdriver doesn't know how to flatter!"

The fifth prince pondered for a while, and then said, "At the beginning, it was Xu Zhangyuan who asked to say that there are some impoverished Hanlin, and it is difficult to live. What does Xu Zhangyuan say about this?"

The fourth prince is not stupid, naturally he had discussed it with Xu Zongyuan long ago. When the fifth prince mentioned it, the fourth prince's face became even more unlucky, and said, "That starter in Hanlin, who is known as the prime minister, may become prosperous at some point. , Xu Zhangyuan can't force them to move."

This is the truth. Although the status of the prince is noble, these courtiers are not easy to entangle. Keep an eye on it from time to time, otherwise don't look at it as a humble minister, dig a hole to watch your jokes, and be taken for a fool or something, you are so courageous.This is just the House of Internal Affairs, the Imperial Academy is a hundred times more noble than the House of Internal Affairs, and the seven members of the cabinet complement each other, all of whom have stayed in the Imperial Academy.If the fourth prince is a hardliner, the court will definitely have something to say, if there is another villain to obstruct him, don't say that a small matter will turn into a big one, fearing that a good thing will turn into a bad thing, but the fourth prince will not.The fifth prince thought about it for a while, but he didn't have any good ideas.The fourth prince also has a chief of staff, Shi, in his own mansion. Seeing that the fifth prince was troubled by his affairs, he sighed, "I'm just holding back, so I just came to talk to the fifth brother. These things are not good for your fourth sister-in-law." The woman Taoist family said that it would cause her troubles in vain. Fortunately, it was the errand given by the emperor. Anyway, the house has been built, so let them go if they can’t live. Woolen cloth."

The fourth prince said a few harsh words, but in fact no one would support the building of the large house, even if Emperor Mu Yuan didn't pursue it, so many people in the court would watch it, this matter is not good for the fourth prince.

The fifth prince stayed with the fourth prince for dinner, but the fourth prince was not in the mood, so he left.

The fifth prince planned to discuss with his wife, but as soon as the fourth prince was here, the fifth prince had no choice but to say it directly, send the fourth prince away, and the fifth prince went to find his wife.Xie Moru asked, "Where did the Fourth Highness repair the house? Such a cheap house, or a new house, why is no one living in it?" The imperial court gave special preferential treatment to officials to have such discounts. Although rent is still required, but It's just a symbolic charge.

The fifth prince ordered someone to fetch the blueprint of the imperial capital, and showed it to his wife, Xie Moru said, "Although this place is a bit out of the way, it is basically a house for nothing, so you can't be so picky."

The fifth prince didn't think much about it, and said, "I'm afraid it's inconvenient to go to court?"

"Only officials of the fifth rank and above are eligible to participate in the Grand Court Meeting. Most of the officials above the fifth rank do not need to live in this house." Xie Moru said, "I just look at the map so I don't know what the house the Fourth Highness built is like. Your Highness is not busy now, why don't we invite Fourth Highness and Fourth Sister-in-law to go and have a look together. One person counts on the disadvantages, and the two count on the long, so there is a way out."

The fifth prince thought about it, and it was fine.

The two families agreed on a time, and went to the outer city in a light car. Once they left the inner city and left the official road, the road was obviously unstable, and the carriage did not dare to go fast. After walking for more than an hour, they arrived at the low-rent housing. Xie Moru took a look , the house is really newly built, and the outside is tidied up. There are no bricks, mud and tiles left after construction. In fact, this is Xie Moru's layman. These days, no bricks, mud and tiles will be left. How many small families are willing to pick it up for their own use.

There are rows of quadrangle courtyards made of blue bricks and gray tiles. The courtyards are not big, and the front and back seats are complete. Each family has thirteen rooms, at least enough for a family.The doors and windows in the courtyard were all installed, Xie Moru didn't recognize the wood, but the Fourth Prince and Concubine did, and said, "Is this made of elm?"

Among the first five brothers, the fourth prince's mother died early, and her status was low when she passed away, not as noble as the biological mothers of the first three brothers, and slightly inferior to the concubine Su who was not very favored in the past.After working on errands, the fourth prince was a little more cautious than others. The fourth prince also devoted himself to building a low-rent house. Hearing this, he nodded and said, "Although it is not a precious wood, this elm is not bad."

The fifth prince is a person who has done engineering. Although he is building a palace, the materials used are generally extremely high-end. When it comes to elm, the fifth prince also knows it. Of these three kinds of wood, those who are a little more particular use pine and cypress, and those who are very wealthy use the best wood."

The yards are all the same. Once you see one house, you will know what the next house is. There is also a Taoist temple in the low-rent housing complex, called Baiyun Temple.The fifth prince said, "Is this Taoist temple not demolished?"

The fourth prince said, "Brother came to tell me in person, this old Taoist made an appointment to beg in front of Big Brother, so I have to give Big Brother some face."

This was originally a small village, but now low-rent housing has been built, and there is not much scenery to appreciate around it.However, summer is approaching, and the rice fields in the distance are always somewhat green and eye-catching.The fifth prince said, "This house is not bad."

Xie Moru didn't say anything, everyone walked around the area, but there was really nothing to see, so they went back.When they got home, the Fifth Prince Fang said, "I think Fourth Brother's house is difficult."

Xie Moru said, "Although the imperial court only collects some symbolic rent, the houses in this kind of place are not cheap. I really would rather rent a house by myself."

The fifth prince just felt sorry for his fourth brother, and said, "It's really not easy for fourth brother to be on errand these years. Others say that the Ministry of Industry is fat and vacant, but the six ministries of the imperial court each have their own connections, and which one is not fat. Fourth brother has any errands. I have to go and watch it in person every now and then, don't look at the location is a little bit off, the house is solid, so I did it with care, so I can't fall behind at all, and in the end I get scolded, fourth brother is really unlucky."

Wisteria brought tea, Xie Moru took one and handed it to the fifth prince, took another one himself, sipped and said, "I have a few words, I don't know if I should say it or not."

The fifth prince hurriedly said, "Just say what you want, we husband and wife, there is nothing else we can't say."

Xie Moru said, "If you want me to say that although the Fourth Prince's house is well built, people don't want to go there because they think the place is remote. Once we go out, I will tell Wisteria to count the time, and use one to Baiyun Temple since I came out of the mansion. Half an hour is not too far, but it is not close. But the road away from the official road is not very stable. If this road is repaired, an hour should be enough. And go all the way, There are only these houses around, and there are no shops to buy things, which is really inconvenient."

The fifth prince stared blankly, "Could it be that the fourth brother still arranges a shop for them to buy things?"

"This is natural." Xie Moru took it for granted, "These officials are all famous. They are all talented people in any prefecture, county, or village. It is a bit arrogant to be an official in the imperial capital. It is a place for literati to live. , it’s okay to be a bit biased, but you can’t tell them to eat wind and drink dew.”

Fifth Prince Le, "It's not difficult to build some shops, but there is no popularity there, who wants to do business."

Xie Moru said, "Popularity is also slowly accumulating. Only by planting sycamore trees can the golden phoenix be attracted. I don't know much about building houses, but each family lives their lives. It goes without saying that a big family like us Well, there is a manager in the mansion for shopping, and there is someone to buy things every day, so I am not happy to live in that bustling and noisy place. But the small family is different. If the small family can't call slaves, they are naturally willing to go out and abduct You can buy daily necessities just around the corner. Life is cheap, so people will go there."

"Moreover, it also depends on who lives there. Since they are literati, literati have the temperament of literati, and those who like to be gentle, recite poems and compose poems on weekdays, the scenery should not be too bad. If you look around the house, it is dry. There are a few elms and locust trees in the distance, and there are rice fields in the distance, and you can see a bare mountain in the distance, how desolate. If you can dig a lake nearby and plant some peach and apricot trees, you can enjoy the scenery in spring and summer. "

"It's getting more and more far-fetched. No one lives in this house now. Digging a lake and planting trees is easy to say, and it's a lot of money." Starting from reality, the fifth prince felt that his wife's idea was not very reliable.

"If you don't spend the money, how can you earn it back!" Xie Moru obviously had an idea, and said, "First, we have to fix the surrounding scenery, and then build more houses in the surrounding area for business. Digging lakes and planting trees Naturally, the money you earn will come back.”

The fifth prince's eyes widened, "The houses that the fourth brother built are still unoccupied, and you are going to build houses again!"

Xie Moru said, "No one lives here now. After the scenery is finished, organize the Hanlin Academy to go there to enjoy the scenery. People will always be tempted to see the beautiful mountains and rivers."

The fifth prince thought for a while, and said to his daughter-in-law very pertinently, "Although your idea is good, it is a big project. Nowadays, no one is willing to rent those houses. Don't talk about building houses, I'm afraid it will be planting trees, digging lakes and repairing them." Things are not going well on the road."

Xie Moru said, "If you think it's a solution, you can discuss it with the fourth prince. If the imperial court is unwilling, I have money and want to buy the nearby land. I am willing to pay for digging lakes and planting trees before building houses. ,how?"

The fifth prince quietly asked his wife, "Is the money enough?"

"I don't want to bring my fourth sister-in-law with me?"

It turned out that the daughter-in-law had already found a good partner. Out of the usual trust in Xie Moru, the fifth prince said, "Success, let's discuss it first, and then I will talk to the fourth brother."

Although the fifth prince trusted his daughter-in-law very much, the fifth prince's judgment on the imperial court was also very accurate. The fourth prince discussed with Emperor Mu Yuan about the construction of the surrounding area, but Emperor Mu Yuan finally refused.

On the other hand, Xie Moru has already discussed the partnership with the fourth prince and concubine, and the fourth prince is very worried that his wife will lose everything.The Fourth Prince and Concubine are always gentle and docile, and said softly, "Your Highness is worried about this. Our two houses have always been very good. Just because His Highness and younger siblings are so devoted to His Highness, I am willing to partner with the fifth younger siblings." In fact, the fourth concubine did not understand construction at all, out of trust in Xie Moru's character, the fourth concubine and Xie Moru partnered.

The fourth prince said, "That's true!"

It would be difficult for others to do this, but the fourth and fifth princes, one in the Ministry of Industry and the other in charge of repairing the palace, have a relationship between the two, Xie Moru thinks it is cheap to use some people for private use.Xie Moru first asked the fifth prince to find a gentleman who understands drawing and construction, and told this gentleman about his own requirements. The small bald mountain should be greened first. Flowers, trees, etc., Xie Moru asked the flowers to be bright and beautiful Living, the words of the tree are also mainly economical.This gentleman is also everyone, and the plan is a small mountain. Xie Moru also asked for a temple to be built on the mountain. After understanding Xie Moru's requirements of being both affordable and beautiful, the master produced the blueprint very quickly.The next step is to provide supporting facilities for the low-rent housing near the fourth prince. The market is built separately, and there must be a certain distance from the low-rent housing, but not too far.Diverted water near the low-rent housing, dug lakes, planted trees and flowers, built pavilions and pavilions, and even built the road from the inner city gate to the low-rent housing. The road is not too wide, and it is as wide as four carriages parallel. The key is that the road is built smoothly and is a serious green brick road.Then, Xie Moru specially tidied up a house, furnished it with furniture, and showed it to others.Everything is packed, and it's just the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Xie Moru first organized an autumn outing back to the two families. Now outside the low-rent housing complex is a forest of thousands of peach, apricot and plum trees. The trees are not big, but they can already glimpse the future scenery.After passing the forest of peach and plum trees, there is a sparkling lake, and the small bald mountain in the distance is also full of greenery. The pavilions and pavilions by the lake are covered with thatch and surrounded by fences, and green vines are climbing on the fences. There is no trace of prosperity, only tranquility.

The fourth prince smiled, "There are some fishes and shrimps in the lake to raise, and the lotus root will be planted next spring, the scenery will be even better."

The Fourth Prince said, "If it's spring, I would like to live in a place like this." He went to the market and shop to have a look, and there were indeed sellers of vegetables and meat, and two or three small restaurants opened, The Fourth Prince said, "No rent was charged for the first year, and the busy work of building houses and paving roads here, some nearby villagers came to sell some home-grown vegetables. Those with more clever minds and some craftsmanship opened restaurants."

The fourth prince turned to Xie Moru and said, "I won't say thank you to my fifth sibling."

Xie Moru smiled, "Then it's an outsider."

The fourth prince and the fifth prince said, "Let's discuss with Xu Zhangyuan, invite them from the Imperial Academy to enjoy the scenery, and I will cover the expenses."

The Fifth Prince nodded, "En."

At this time, although the surrounding supporting facilities are almost complete, it is autumn after all, and the scenery is far less beautiful than spring and summer. I visited the Hanlin Academy for a while, and I was quite excited.It's just that men are clingy, and they are often not as cool as women. People don't choose the scenic route now, they just say that they are not popular enough, and they are lonely or something.

All beginnings are hard.

Xu Zhangyuan finally went to talk to the fourth prince, "There are two families, Shen Hanlin and Sun Hanlin, who want to move there."

The fourth prince said, "There are still two discerning people."

Xu Zhangyuan was not at ease in this matter, mainly because he told Emperor Mu Yuan earlier that there was a lot of hardship in the Hanlin, and the low-rent houses in the city were really not enough, so the imperial court spent a lot of money to build it. After leaving the house, these small Hanlin officials were not happy to live in it. This one was the face of the fourth prince, and the second one was that Emperor Mu Yuan's face was not very good-looking.Xu Zhangyuan complained to the imperial court at the beginning, but now there are two sensible people. Xu Hanlin spoke well for Shen Hanlin and Sun Hanlin, saying, "Actually, quite a few people are moved, but they all have some difficulties. Shen Su Sun Haoxin and Sun Haoxin were originally assigned to houses in the inner city. Seeing that the houses on His Highness's side have been built, they offered to give up the house they used to live in, and gave it to those who had difficulties. They voluntarily went to the outer city, saying that they like the quietness of the outer city."

The fourth prince thought to himself, these two are not bad.

Now that someone from Hanlin has moved there, someone is the leader, and Shen and Sun don't know how to publicize it, some embarrassing officials have started to apply for low-rent housing in the outer city one after another.The fourth prince finally breathed a sigh of relief.

(End of this chapter)