Daiyu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 25 First Class General's Mansion ([-])

The turmoil in Jia She's yard gradually calmed down. Mrs. Xing was worried that she might not know what kind of thing Jia She would bring in this time, but Jia She kept silent for several days.Either drinking tea in the house and playing with his antiques, or shutting himself in the study, no one knows what he is doing, let alone what he is thinking.

Just after the beginning of the day, Jia She replaced his first-class general in a rare way, and went out through the self-opened black door.Seeing him like this, Mrs. Xing's heart skipped a beat.She wanted to ask but didn't dare to ask. Since Jia She went out, she quickly called Wang Baoshan's family: "What do you think is wrong with the master? This is not right! Today I went out in court clothes, which has never happened before." Yes!" Mrs. Xing naturally didn't know that Jia Amnesty had been waiting for many days in a row, and he was not qualified to go to the court for the small court meeting, and he didn't dare to hand over the papers to others, so he had to wait for the big court meeting once every ten days.Taking advantage of the great court meeting, he was qualified to go to the court to personally present the holy scriptures.

Well, apart from the time when Jia She was the first emperor, Jia She had never met the saint, and she was very nervous. Mrs. Xing didn't see Jia She who was sitting in the car with a pale face, faint traces of sweat on his forehead, and a smudge on his sleeves. The booklet was taken out and put back by him, and he repeated it countless times.But the road was so far away, and without giving Jia Amnesty a chance to repent, the car had already stopped.Jia Amnesty lifted the curtain of the car, and there were already many carriages parked outside the Meridian Gate.

The Maozhengwu gate opened, regardless of whether Jia She's fists were clenched and then loosened and pinched again, anyway, the carriages were going inside, and Jia She could not stop here, he came not too late and many carriages were blocked. He's stuck behind.As soon as you enter the Meridian Gate, you have to get off the car and get off the horse. Although there are exceptions, Jia Amnesty obviously does not have this qualification.Jia She honestly went down to the entrance guard of the driveway to register. There was no way for Jia She to go to the court for the first time. The last time he was called to the throne, he was only summoned temporarily, not to go to the court.When Jia She finished all the registration procedures, most of the ministers were already waiting in the court room. Jia She didn't know where he should go when he came here for the first time. Seeing him, Wang Ziteng sneered in his heart, not understanding how Jia Amnesty, who only knows how to drink and have fun, came to court.Jia Amnesty was nervous and he saw everyone's expressions in his eyes, and he didn't want to talk, so he waited by himself under the verandah.

At three o'clock in the morning, Jia Shefang entered the Supreme Harmony Gate with the ministers, and the grand court meeting was held in the square in front of the Supreme Harmony Hall.Jia She didn't know where he should stand, and in the end it was Wang Ziteng who couldn't see it and pointed him out. Although Jia She said, "Thank you, Brother Zi Teng," he didn't think so.When the court formally started after all the officials shouted long live three times, Jia Amnesty hesitated whether to hand over the papers directly, but seeing that someone had already come out, he wanted to wait for the end of the court meeting to present the invitation.At the beginning, Jia She was still very nervous, but as time passed, Jia She's nervousness almost disappeared. The things played by those courtiers sounded like a hypnotic song to Jia She, and soon Jia She lowered his head and began to fight. drowsy.

This was originally a court meeting, and the emperor would not notice it if he stood too far away, but who made Jia She attack the first-class general?Since he has no position, he can only stand according to the rank of title. Isn't this standing in front of the emperor's eyelids?
Just seeing Emperor Jia She was stunned for a moment, but Eunuch Liang who was next to him whispered beside the emperor with a wink: "It is rare for General Jia to come to court early after Duke Rong has gone." The emperor knew what he said. Who is Jia Amnesty? Seeing him lowering his head, he frowned immediately, his expression very unhappy.

The emperor sat high enough to see clearly, but the people below couldn't see so clearly. At first, only three or five people beside and behind Jia She noticed, but now the emperor stared at Jia She with an unhappy expression. Look, how can other people bear it?Can't help but look at Jia She quietly, everyone is happy to see this, Jia She is already asleep!

When everyone thought of the emperor's dark and pot-bottomed face, they all held their breath and stood still, and the huge square could be heard quietly.Then Jia She's snoring came out, and the ministers who were standing still couldn't hold back their laughter. The emperor's face couldn't be described as ugly, if it wasn't for Jia Daishan who had saved his life Well, today he wants to kill Jia Amnesty.Thinking of Jia Daishan, he couldn't help but grieve for him, because no one behind him could do his best.

The emperor gave Eunuch Liang a wink. How could this Eunuch Liang not understand the emperor's intention after being with the emperor for decades?Then he gave a wink to the little eunuch next to him. At this court meeting, there was a person who started the government affairs, and the others did not dare to talk and move. The little eunuch quickly came to Jia She's side and whispered: "General Jia, wake up, wake up," as he spoke, he gently pushed Jia She, because Jia She was nervous and stayed up all night last night, and he was not in the mood just now. He was nervous, and heard the courtiers say something that he was not interested in, so he fell asleep unknowingly. At this moment, he was touched by the little eunuch, and he woke up with a jerk, looking around and breaking out in a cold sweat. Even the court clothes on his body were soaked through.

Fortunately, even though Jia She is an asshole, he is also a clever one, so he hurried out to kneel down, prostrated himself on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, forgive me! My Majesty, please forgive me! My heart was agitated all night thinking that I could meet with My Majesty today, just for a while... ..." He knew he couldn't explain it, oh, you were excited last night, but now you are not excited when you see the emperor?Still feel that this is not the case, so I fell asleep?Still snoring at the meeting? !So Jia Amnesty didn't explain further and just kowtowed.Seeing him like this, the emperor felt impatient and thought of Jia Daishan's kindness at the beginning, so he didn't want to pursue it, and asked, "Do you have something to announce in court today?" If there is nothing wrong with him, it's fine if Qi Zuo pulls him out to play twenty boards.Of course, the emperor planned to beat him up, but who would have thought that Jia She heard this sentence like the sound of heaven, didn't he come here today because he had something to say?Otherwise, whoever has nothing to do here will feel uncomfortable.So he quickly replied: "The minister has a book to play!"

The emperor didn't know what was going on in his mind, otherwise, even if something happened, he probably wouldn't be able to get away with it. At this moment, he was really surprised to see that he really took out a memorial from his sleeve. Not to mention the emperor, he was a minister of the Manchu Dynasty. Who is not surprised?Then Jia She is notoriously greedy, lustful, and only eats wine and has fun!At this time, only Wang Ziteng had a bad feeling in his heart. The little eunuch took the paper from Jia She and handed it to the chief manager. Eunuch Liang handed it to the emperor. The emperor glanced at Jia She who was kneeling on the ground before taking the paper. .

It has to be said that although Jia She doesn't like reading, although Jia Daishan was busy with military affairs all the year round when he was alive, he still had to take care of Jia She.So Jia She's handwriting was still legible, the emperor opened the booklet and glanced at the words, nodded and looked at Jia She again before looking down.Seeing that the emperor was satisfied in his heart, well, he was still a sensible man, and it seemed that the rumors were not all true, and the current situation was probably due to neglect of discipline.

After reading the brochure, it will be a great joy to Longyan. Jia Amnesty not only explained in the brochure that the Jia family was in various old military departments, but also asked to change the house number of Rongguo Mansion. Can Xieduo know how to behave?Anyway, I can't manage the public key myself, and it's still in Jia Zheng's hands, so why not buy a good one at this time?The emperor is happy, so it's not easy to do things?
Soon, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry to replace the gate plaques of the Rongguo Mansion according to the regulations, and remove the redundant things that were not regulated by the General Mansion.He also said to the four princes: "Take back the public land of Rongguo, and the Ministry of household affairs will send people to re-measure the land for the first-class general Jia She." After hearing this, the minister knew what Jia She was playing. All the members of the public line frowned, especially Wang Ziteng, who was itching his teeth with hatred. It was because he didn't know that Jia She had handed over the old generals to the emperor, and he was still thinking about how to get those old troops.The fourth prince received the emperor's errand, looked at Jia Amnesty with softened eyes, nodded in his heart and said: He is still a governor.

After dealing with the matter of replacing the door plaque, the emperor thought of the absurdity of Jia Amnesty again, not counting the outside rumors, especially the incident of sleeping in the upper court just now, and seeing that the outside rumors have spread to the emperor's ears, it can be seen Not a star.After all, the emperor thought of Jia Daishan in his heart, and this Jia Amnesty had just made meritorious service. It would be good if every family and government had such self-awareness, or could learn from others. So he thought about the current lack of official positions and said: "First class General Jia Amnesty, despite his stubborn nature, has a clear heart of loyalty and patriotism to the emperor. He ordered you to be appointed as the head of the Ministry of Rites, Ritual System, and Cleaning Officials. I lost my father's name!"

The emperor's words can be said to have taught Jia She as a nephew. Jia She did not expect such a surprise, and he had not received a real vacancy for many years. He arranged a post and encouraged him so much, Jia She was very excited, even though he was a sixth-rank official, it was a real shortage, he was at the same rank as Jia Zheng back then, and he still had a title.Then he kowtowed again with red eyes and said: "Mr. Jia She thanked the Lord for his grace! I should be diligent and dare not lose the grace!" The emperor nodded in satisfaction, thinking that Jia Amnesty was worthy of good fortune.

Jia Amnesty kowtowed to thank the emperor here, and the ministers also had different thoughts when they saw the emperor's attitude, but no one noticed the cold light and calculation in the eyes of the lowered prince Teng.Jia Amnesty didn't even know that Wang Ziteng had already set his mind on his son Jia Lian at this time, and was thinking about his sister Mrs. Wang's going home and talking about marrying her daughter Wang Xifeng to Jia Lian. Before, Wang Ziteng sneered at it, but now It still seems to be considered.Although Mrs. Wang is in charge of the Rongguo Mansion, after all, Jia She is the one who will inherit the title, not Jia Zheng. If Wang Xifeng marries Jia Lian, Jia Lian will be the future successor and the future leader of the Rongguo Mansion, and there is no one in the Jia family army. , when Jia Lian became his son-in-law, wouldn't he be able to take his old department for his own use?Even if he didn't say anything, Jia She or Jia Lian would take the initiative to win him over if he wanted to.But Wang Ziteng didn't know that the old Jia family he had calculated had been handed over to the emperor at this time.This is something to say for the time being.

Jia She didn't go home after the court, and went directly to the Ministry of Rites, but what Jia She played this morning has been reported back to the Rongguo Mansion. When Jia Mu heard about it, her face turned livid, her eyes were cold, and she ordered people to send him to the Rongguo Mansion. Mrs. Xing called over.

Mrs. Xing came over and looked at the gloomy faces of Mrs. Jia and Mrs. Wang, and she knew something serious had happened. She felt uneasy, remembering what Jia She said before: "something will happen in the mansion in a few days, you have to be steady. The old lady may call You go over, just say that you don't know everything..." Then, you know that you can't reveal anything at this time, just don't know.

So she smiled and said to Jia's mother, "I don't know if there is something wrong with the old lady calling her daughter-in-law?" Jia's mother stared at Mrs. Xing with eyes like knives and said, "You don't know what good things your master has done?" Mrs. Xing's face turned pale. : "I don't know what the old lady said? How dare the daughter-in-law ask about the master's affairs," she even lowered her head after speaking.

Mrs. Wang looked at Mrs. Xing with a cold and disdainful face and said, "My lord has done such a big thing, and he didn't discuss it with his family, so why don't we discuss it with you?" Mother Jia also nodded after hearing this. However, Mrs. Xing raised her head to look at Mrs. Wang with a full face of grievance, and said, "What are you talking about, brother and sister? Who knows the master's temperament? Who dares to ask him? He told me about that?" Jia Mother thought about it after hearing this, sighed and said to Mrs. Xing with a dark face: "You go back and wait, your master comes back and ask him to come and see me immediately!" Mrs. Xing backed out although she was puzzled, but she didn't dare to ask any more questions. .

No matter what Mother Jia thought, and no matter how unwilling Mrs. Wang was, Mrs. Xing retreated from Mother Jia's room with a low eyebrow and beard.After returning to the east courtyard, Mrs. Xing immediately went to Wang Baoshan's house and said, "Quickly, go and find out what the master did today, it seems that the old lady was very angry, and even the Rongci Hall has a very expression on her face." Ugly!" He said with a smile on his face.One must know that she has been dissatisfied with Rongxi Hall for a long time, but her mother's family is rich and powerful, and Jia's mother prefers their second wife.Madam Xing is very satisfied now that she can be angry with her.After hearing this, Wang Baoshan's family quickly agreed to go out to inquire without mentioning it.

Although Jia Amnesty was very proud when he arrived at the Ministry of Rites, he didn't show it on the surface, not as good as Jia Zheng was in the Ministry of Industry. Jia Amnesty was very good at getting along with his colleagues. Zheng is different after all, he has a title on him, and today he has been hand-picked by the Holy Spirit, so everyone is still very willing to 'get along' with him.

At noon that day, Jia She invited all his colleagues to Tianxianglou for dinner. Not to mention the principal, even Yuan Wai Lang also went. Of course, Jia She would not invite his superiors and colleagues. It took Jia Zhengsi more than ten years to get promoted to Yuanwailang all at once, and he still had to rely on the help of his subordinates' various pens, bosses and so on.So the entire Ministry of Etiquette, Ritual System and Cleaning up Officials came, except for Huang Jiyun's elder brother Huang Mengxue and those who were working outside.

Fortunately, Jia She's private house is rich, and Jia She ate 200 taels of silver for this meal, which is much more than the one-year silver he received as the chief executive. How many of these petty officials of the fifth, sixth, or even seventh or eighth rank can afford it of?Although Jia Amnesty was rumored to be greedy and lustful, what he saw today is still very polite. Besides, the story of cleaning up the maids and aunts in the mansion has already spread. The so-called prodigal son is not exchanged for money, everyone still treats him very well. Forgiving, just this one meal, Jia Amnesty made most people change their attitude towards him.They've heard that Jia Zheng either doesn't go to the yamen every day or asks Tianxiang Loudan to deliver meals to him, but they haven't seen anyone invited by him.

When he returned to Yali in the afternoon, many people took the initiative to introduce to him the various affairs of the Ministry of Rites, Ritual System, and Cleaning Department, and they focused on the things he was responsible for, helping him to get acquainted.The one pen post style and two master books assigned to him are also experienced veterans.

It can be said that Jia She was very proud of being in the Ministry of Rites, and in the evening, he invited He Xingrong, who followed his own style of writing, and Bo Taoren and Gu Ping went to Fenglai Pavilion for dinner. These three people will be his right-hand men in the future. Will be treated badly.After the four of them had used up, Jia Amnesty went back slightly drunk, instead of entering through the main entrance, he walked directly through the newly opened black-painted gate.

At this moment, Mrs. Xing already knew what Jia She had done, and she felt apprehensive, but she was more complacent. Didn't your second wife think that you could be the home of this Rongguo Mansion?see?Only our master is qualified to go to court. In a word, Rongguo Mansion will not be called Rongguo Mansion in the future, it must be called General Mansion!Seeing Jia Amnesty's return, he was smiling so blindly, he served tea and water without delay, and twisted the handkerchief for Jia Amnesty to wipe his face and hands.

After a busy meal, he said to Jia She: "Master, have you decided how to explain to the old lady about today's affairs? The old lady has sent a message, and the master will go there immediately when he comes back." Mrs. Xing said to Jia She right now. With a bit of sincerity, he was also worried that Jia Amnesty would be criticized by Jia's mother and would not be able to explain it, so he asked without delay.It was also rare for Jia She to see Mrs. Xing like this, so he glanced at her and thought for a while before saying, "I'll go and have a look first, anyway, as long as you don't know anything about these things, it's fine. From now on, you can just ask Mr. An to go outside and wait in the courtyard. Stay here, sir, and I will work in the Yamen tomorrow." After speaking, he got up and went to Jiamu's room.

At this time, Jia Mu's room had already been boiled, not to mention Jia Zheng and his wife, but many elders in the clan were there, even Jia Zhen, who didn't care much, brought her son Jia Rong over.It is not a trivial matter for the government to remove the plaque!The imperial plaques hung by the Rongning Second Mansion are the face of the Jia family, and they are even more reliable.Now that Jia Amnesty picks it up for "selfishness", how can these people sit still?
From their point of view, Jia Amnesty picked up the plaque of the principality because of the absence of the head of the Ministry of Rites.Regardless of the facts, they always come to ask for an explanation if they harm their own interests.But it's useless to go to Jia Zheng for this matter, and Jia Amnesty won't come back in the yamen.They didn't have the guts yet, so they all flocked to Jia Mu.Mother Jia was also furious, but now she had to keep a black face and play Tai Chi with these clan elders.

When Hu Po came in and said: "The Elder Master is here", everyone in the room fell silent, and Mother Jia also said very imposingly: "You still haven't called that rebellious son in? Wait for me to invite you?!" Jia She When he entered the room, before he even had time to invite An, he was scolded by Jia's mother: "Don't kneel down for me!" Looking up at Jia's mother's full face, and looking at Jia Zheng from the corner of his eyes, his face was full of displeasure. Mrs. Wang's eyes were full of gloomyness, Jia Zhen's face was full of disapproval, and the elders of the clan had already talked about it, only Jia Rong stood aside ignorantly, not knowing what to say.Jia Amnesty couldn't help sneering in his heart, but on the face he said with sincerity and fear: "Son, I don't know why the old lady is angry?"

It's fine if he doesn't speak, but when he said it, Jia's mother was even more angry.He said angrily: "The plaque made by imperial edict is the glory that father and grandparents earned back with their lives. You don't know how to add brilliance to it, and you threw it out with both hands today. Are you worthy of your ancestors? You are worthy of your father After Jia's mother finished speaking here, someone over there said: "The plaque is not yours alone, but the glory of the entire Jia family, how can it be so ruined for your own selfishness!?"

As soon as Jia Amnesty listened to it, it would be a waste to these people to dare to keep the law and give it to these people.But he said in his mouth: "There is no Duke of the state in our house now! Hanging that plaque is a violation of the system. Everyone knows what crime is a violation of the system. I can't afford this crime." Get up, stand up by yourself, find a place to sit down and continue: "Anyone who thinks that his head is relatively hard, whoever asks the Holy One to hang him at home."

Jia She's words made everyone in the room choke, and even Jia's mother turned pale with anger and could only say: "I'm not dead yet! When will you be the master of this house?" But this time Is it still useful to say this?So Jia Amnesty knelt down again and said: "The son of this general's mansion, the first-class general, has never been a master. Now he only asks his mother to give his son a way to survive, and the son does not want to die! Let me explain to you a person from the Ministry of Rites and Industry Here we come, the second younger brother works in the Ministry of Industry, he should be clear, following the imperial decree, this matter will never be changed, unless anyone dares to resist the decree, anyway, my son dare not!"

Alright, let’s talk about it, the angry Jia Mu passed away, and everyone was busy again. Finally, Jia Mu got over her anger and knew that the holy will would be difficult, so she had to say: "Get out! Get out! I don’t want to See you." After speaking, he began to cry again, why he had no face to see the Duke, why he had no face to see his ancestors, why Jia Amnesty was unfilial, and so on, anyway, Jia Amnesty was determined not to hear, and knelt there like a statue.Jia Zheng saw that Jia's mother was like this, so he had no choice but to persuade him: "The matter has come to this point, mother should take care of herself. The children and grandchildren are still young, and they still need to be taught and protected by the old lady." "..." and so on.

Jia Amnesty sneered in his heart, thinking that he would be a good person. Before he had finished thinking about it, Jia Zheng said to Jia Amnesty: "Brother is too confused. I don't know how to discuss such a big matter with my family. I just tell my mother." I also have my own ideas." Jia Amnesty is so angry in his heart, tell you?Can you still let me be on the fold?I'm the one waiting to beheaded!But Jia Amnesty did not dare to say these words, so he kept silent.

Seeing the chaos at this time, the clan elders knew that there was no result to discuss, and the imperial edict had been issued, what else could they do?Then he left in a hurry, but Jia Zhen hesitated before leaving and said: "Uncle Pardon is confused, this imperial plaque was given by the late emperor, and even the emperor took it without saying anything. Besides, this plaque Hanging for nearly a hundred years, Uncle She didn’t mention it, how could the emperor think of it?” After speaking, he shook his head and left, Jia She sneered in his heart, just seeing His Majesty’s performance today, he knew that His Majesty was happy about it, not because he didn’t dare, the Emperor I haven't freed up my mind yet, and when I think about it, I don't even know how to die.

When everyone in the room left and only Jia Zheng and his wife and Jia She were left, Mother Jia stopped crying and stared at Jia She with a knife-like gaze: "Well, who gave you the idea of ​​this matter?" Don’t think I don’t know, you can’t think of these things yourself!” Well, it’s Mo Ruomu, the confidant, Jia She really couldn’t think of these things himself, but can he confess Jia Lian?Of course not, the son finally made a career, so he could only talk nonsense: "The son accidentally heard about the violation in the restaurant. He was afraid, and no one discussed it. He didn't dare to disturb his mother, so he had to lock himself in the study." Li thought for a long time before he came up with this method, the son is the one who attacked the noble in this mansion, if the Holy One punishes him, the son will be the first to bear the crime. The son is afraid of death!"

After hearing Jia Amnesty's words, Jia's mother didn't believe it.Mrs. Wang is also full of inquiries, obviously not too convinced.Only Jia Zheng looked down on Jia She's cowardice with eyes full of contempt, but he was an upright gentleman and couldn't say anything.Seeing Jia Amnesty's reluctance to tell the truth, Jia's mother was annoyed, but when she saw Mrs. Wang's sullen face, she thought: It's good to let her suffer a bit and restrain herself, otherwise it will be difficult to control.So he waved to Jia She weakly and said: "This is the case, we have nothing to do, you go back. You must not make decisions on your own in the future!" After speaking, she gave Jia She a hard look, in fact, she did There is no way, the imperial decree has been issued, and she dare not resist it.

After Jia Amnesty withdrew, Mrs. Wang wanted to say something, but Jia's mother closed her eyes and waved to her tiredly, "You guys should go back earlier, I'm tired." Jia Zheng is a dutiful son, Seeing that Mother Jia said she was tired, she hurriedly took Mrs. Wang to leave.After everyone left, Mother Jia suddenly opened her eyes and said to Yuanyang, "Go and find me your Nanny Lai!" Turn around and go out to find Nanny Lai.

After a while, Nanny Lai hurried over to see Mother Jia's ugly face and knew why, but she didn't want to persuade her too much.When Jia Mu saw her coming, she called her to her side and said, "Go and find out who the old man has been getting close to these days, and see who gave the old man advice. This is a wolf-hearted thing. When the things are found out, we must not let them go lightly!" Seeing Mother Jia's eyes full of cruelty, this expression has never been seen on Mother Jia's face since the old lady left, and Mother Lai also responded in a sudden in her heart. .

The next day, Nanny Lai came to Jia Mu's room again, and when she saw Mrs. Wang, she stood aside and did not speak. When Jia Mu saw that things had progressed, she sent Mrs. Wang out.Even after Mrs. Wang left, Mother Jia sent Yuanyang away to pour tea for Nanny Lai.Mammy Lai came closer and said to Mother Jia: "I didn't find out who it was. Previously, the old man was just playing around with the maids and aunts in the mansion all day long. At the beginning of the month, he accepted the second master Feng Lian from Yangzhou. Afterwards, the Elder locked himself in the study for several days, came out to sleep for two days before waking up, and dismissed the maids and aunts in the yard after waking up, and there was nothing special about the other things." Lai Mammy said here Jia's mother then remembered that the boss shut herself in the study and came out to sleep for two days. She thought she was messing around with the auntie in the study, but now it doesn't seem to be the case. It could be said that she was already planning this matter at that time, which can be seen in Jia Lian. That letter matters.The more I think about it, the more I feel this way, and I can't help but hate Jia Lian too.

Although Mrs. Wang had eyeliner in Jiamu's room, she had already hinted at it when she left. Unfortunately, Nanny Lai whispered in Jiamu's ear, and even Yuanyang didn't hear what Lai Nanny said to Jiamu. It's just that Jia Mu's complexion is very ugly, and her eyes are also very cold.Mrs. Wang naturally couldn't know what Nanny Lai and Mother Jia said, but she had the idea of ​​letting her niece from her natal family marry into Rongguo Mansion to help her.At this moment, she still didn't know what Wang Ziteng was thinking, and she was still thinking about how to persuade her brother and sister-in-law to agree to the marriage.

(End of this chapter)