The Red Mansions

Chapter 396

Chapter 396 Born of several generations of slaves...

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Jia Heng led the men, women, and children of the Jia clan to worship their ancestors in the Jia clan's ancestral hall. Afterwards, Jia Heng and Jia Zheng hosted a banquet for all the Jia clan's men in the front yard. There was nothing important to say.

But time slipped away quietly, and it was the fourth day in the blink of an eye. Jia Heng went to the Jieshuai camp in the Beijing camp in the morning, and went to Jinyi Mansion in the afternoon to ask questions as a matter of routine.

Jinyi Mansion, Siwu Office, Houya

Jia Heng sat down on a chair with a backrest behind the case, flipping through a stack of files intently.

"My lord, brothers Wu Jinxiao and Wu Jinjing have been sent to the Jingzhao Yamen based on fraud and theft of the master's property, and Fu Tong will test the verdict." Qu Lang, who was dressed in a flying fish suit, said. .

Jia Heng put down the dossier in his hand, remembering Fu Shi, this person also gave him a son's gift when he was promoted to first-class man, and said: "Have you already begun to recover the money stolen from the Wu family?"

Wu Jinxiao and his two brothers occupied a lot of farmland in Rongning and Ningfu. Although they have brought them to justice, they have to recover the proceeds from the embezzlement.

Qu Lang said: "The day before yesterday, I sent a tester to a hundred households to bring the papers to the local government and the Jinyi Guard."

Jia Heng thought for a while and said, "That's all."

Qu Lang didn't continue talking, instead he took out another neat stack of paper from the cowhide bag he was carrying, and said in a low voice: "My lord told me the day before yesterday to investigate the relevant officials who investigated the construction of Gongling, as well as the Zhongshun Palace. Trends, there are some clues, do you want to read them?"

On the day of the young year, Jia Heng learned from the old man's population that the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry were involved in the construction of the embezzlement imperial mausoleum, so he secretly instructed Qu Lang to investigate.

After all, it is not inappropriate for Ji Rang, who is involved with the Supreme Emperor, to use Jin Yiwei to investigate.

Jia Heng paused slightly, and said, "Bring it to me to have a look."

Qu Lang approached, and handed the paper in his hand to the young man, with a dignified expression.

Jia Heng opened the paper, and as time passed, his complexion became gloomy and his cold eyes flickered.

Gein, he has already seen a corner of the shocking case. Just from the narration of a mausoleum deputy envoy on paper, the matter involved minister-level officials of the household and industry departments, and many other officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were also involved.

corrupt way...

A word came to mind.

Qu Lang lowered his voice and said, "If the clues mentioned above are true, I'm afraid this case will be the biggest corruption case in Chongping years."

Jia Heng put down the book, looked at Qu Lang, and said: "This matter is of great importance, you send someone to investigate this matter secretly, try not to startle the enemy, when the time is right, I will play the role of the Ming sage."

At the very least, it can be confirmed that Liang Yuan, the servant of the household department, Pan Bingyi, and Lu Chengan, the two servants of the Ministry of Industry, were involved in the case to varying degrees. Of course, this is just a deputy envoy who supervised the imperial tomb. there are some problems.

And once the case is verified, even King Zhongshun will not be able to walk around.

Qu Lang clapped his hands and said yes.

In the evening, when Jia Heng returned from Jinyi Mansion to Ningguo Mansion, as soon as he entered the flower hall, he saw a girl with emerald green bijia and a plain blue skirt, approaching.

"My lord, Miss San has been waiting in the study for a while."

Jia Heng nodded to Qingwen, turned her head and entered the inner study, and saw Tanchun sitting behind the desk reading with downcast eyes.

The girl is wearing a long jacket embroidered with folded branches of red magnolia flowers and a white pleated skirt. The delicate sunset light falls on her shoulders, like chasing stars and moons.

With one year older, Tanchun has already described in the original work, the essence of literary talent, and the charm of forgetting the vulgar.

"Brother Heng." Tanchun put down the scroll in his hand when he heard the voice, stared at the boy in the python suit, and smiled brightly. Under Xiuli's crescent eyebrows, his eyes shone like crystal light, and his lips were painted with something crystal clear.

Dan's lips are bright on the outside, and his teeth are fresh on the inside.

Jia Heng nodded and said with a light smile, "My sister is here."

Tanchun walked over and asked: "Brother Heng, I saw green plums cooking wine and talking about heroes. When will the next episode be finished?"

Jia Heng walked to a small table next to the desk and sat down, poured out a cup of tea, and said, "I should be able to finish writing before the Lantern Festival, so there is no rush."

As he spoke, he handed the teacup to Tanchun.

Tanchun smiled and stretched out his hand to take it, and said in a pretty voice, "I told Sister Lin last time that other people in Beijing are also urging the manuscript, and it's been a while since the first volume was published."

Jia Heng took a sip of tea and said, "There are quite a few reminders."

The two drank tea and chatted.

Tanchun took a sip of the tea, stared at the young man beside him, struggled for a while, and said in a low voice: "Brother Heng, I will see my aunt later, she hasn't read any books, if the words are offensive , I hope Brother Heng will take more care of you."

Hearing this, Jia Heng was quiet for a moment, then turned to look at Tan Chun, and said softly: "In what capacity is the third sister speaking?"

Tanchun was stunned for a moment, and looked at the young man opposite with his bright eyes, and said, "Blood is thicker than water, what does Brother Heng think?"

Just now Jia Heng got up the teacup, got up, reached out and rubbed Tan Chun's bangs, with gentle eyes, smiled and said: "Don't worry, I'm not that strict with others."

Tanchun felt the doting on his forehead and palm, his bright eyes drooped, and sweetness surged in his heart.

Jia Heng said: "Okay, let's go, go to your mother's courtyard."

"Yeah." Tanchun nodded.

As Jia Zheng's most favored concubine, Aunt Zhao gave birth to a pair of children for her. The decoration is much better than ordinary aunts. There are three rooms in a row, left and right sides, and the courtyard is a cross-shaped bluestone road. Potted plants and flowers are placed on the stone steps above.

At this moment, the room was brightly lit, and Aunt Zhao was teaching Jia Huan a lesson.

"The maggot heart is evil, the seeds of no good fortune, the New Year's money that the school gave you, and the silver coins that you received in the past few days, where did you hide it?" Aunt Zhao sat sideways in a red silk skirt On the soft bed, nibbling melon seeds, scolding: "You can hide your private money at such a young age."

Jia Huan was dressed in the martial arts uniform of the martial arts hall. At this time, he was lying in front of a small table not far away, writing the "Wu Jing Zong Yao" with a pen tube.

This is the annual vacation homework assigned by the school teacher. After listening to the scolding, he muttered: "I usually buy some books and paper, and I also need money. You keep it. I asked you for it, but you didn't give it."

Aunt Zhao spat out a mouthful of melon seeds, and scolded: "Okay, you are promising, and you dare to talk back! Do you think that you went to school and jumped out of my palm? No matter how promising you are, it is your mother who is in my intestines!" Climb out!"

Jia Huan snorted softly, but ignored him.

Seeing that Jia Huan dared to ignore her, Aunt Zhao became angrier and was about to get up and grab Jia Huan's ears.

Suddenly, the little maid Que'er opened the curtain and entered the room, and said happily: "Grandma, Master Heng and the girl are coming this way."

Aunt Zhao was overjoyed when she heard this, she threw the melon seeds aside, clapped her hands, her little feet embroidered with lotus shoes landed on the ground, "I'll go to meet you."

"Que'er, hurry up and tell the kitchen to see if the dishes are ready, so don't delay things."

Magpie responded and went to the back kitchen.

Then, looking at Jia Huan who was reading at the side, he became angry and said, "You are deaf! Get up and meet your brother Heng."

Jia Huan's face turned black when he was scolded, he put down his pen, got up from behind the desk, and walked towards the outside.

The mother and son went out of the wing room and stood under the eaves, seeing a man and a woman from a distance carrying lanterns from the moon gate at the flower wall.

Aunt Zhao greeted warmly, and said from a distance: "Brother Heng, Tan girl, you are here."

Welcome the two into the hall, and sit down separately.

Aunt Zhao said angrily, "Little Jixiang, where is the madness, why don't you come over and pour tea."

Seeing this scene, Tanchun frowned secretly, and peeked at Jia Heng aside, seeing that there was no abnormal expression on his face, he did not know why in his heart, but he breathed a sigh of relief.

Aunt Zhao said with a smile: "Brother Heng, Brother Huan, who has a wicked heart, has followed you since he followed you, so it can be regarded as a big promise."

Jia Heng said: "Aunt, you don't need to be polite. Jia Huan is a child of the clan. If he can become a talent, I will be happy to see him. Brother Huan's nature is not bad."

Said, looked at Jia Huan at the side, and asked: "Brother Huan, you should practice martial arts well in the school. After two years, there will always be an errand for the Beijing Camp or the Wucheng Military Division."

Hearing this, Jia Huan was a little scared, and said "Yes".

Aunt Zhao tugged at Jia Huan's sleeve and said, "Thank you, Brother Heng."

Jia Huan could only say, "Thank you Brother Heng."

At this time, the servant girl arranged the dishes, with a combination of meat and vegetables, and the taste was delicious.

Aunt Zhao said with a smile: "Brother Heng, the hospitality is not good."

Tan Chun was listening to "Brother Heng", somewhat uncomfortable, and wanted to say something, when he suddenly felt the back of his little hand under the table being patted, his heart skipped a beat, and his pretty face "teng" "The ground was red, picked up the teacup with his right hand, and took a quick sip of the wine.

Here is her mother and her younger brother, why...

Taking a peek at the young man, seeing the cold eyes winking at him, he was overjoyed, but then lost.

At this time, Jia Heng heard Aunt Zhao babbling, like Mrs. Xianglin, talking about pulling Jia Huan to grow up and being coldly looked at in the back house, how difficult it is.

Listening quietly, holding the wine cup in his hand, taking a sip from time to time without interrupting.

Aunt Zhao has never seen such a man who is willing to listen to her, who is still such a high-ranking man outside, looking at her with gentle eyes, and at the end, her eyes are slightly red, and there is a look of sadness on her face, and said: " Brother Heng, you don't know what kind of life Huan'er and I are living..."

Jia Heng thought for a while, and said: "Now it's the end of all the hardships. When the children grow up, they should worry less and enjoy the blessings. Brother Huan is now practicing martial arts in the school. After two years, he will have an errand. You will be able to stand up for him, and when you come back, don't scold him too much."

Aunt Zhao was so heartbroken by these words, her affection for the young man increased for a moment, she smiled and said: "Brother Heng, you are right, I don't usually scold him very much."

Jia Huan was picking up a piece of crystal elbow, eating with his head bowed. Hearing this, he didn't curl his lips, and squinted at Aunt Zhao, obviously disapproving of this nonsense.

Tanchun listened quietly to the conversation between the two, turned his eyes to look at the stern but soft-spoken young man, his bright eyes sparkled, his heart was warm, and he was a little crazy for a while.

Three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Aunt Zhao drank a cup of wine, her face was rosy, and she smiled softly: "Brother Heng, you are a busy person, so I shouldn't bother you, but the third girl and her uncle accompanied Huan'er to school, and now Huan'er lives in the school. , his uncle comes and goes, and doesn't have much work to do, can you find him an errand in Wucheng Bingmasi?"

Jia Heng pondered for a while, and began to think about Zhao Guoji.

Compared with Aunt Zhao's acting as a demon from time to time, Zhao Guoji is still honest and responsible, and his presence in the original work is not too strong. If he has a bad personality, it is impossible not to describe it in the original work.

Seeing Jia Heng's silence, Xu Shi seemed to be "unexpected". Tan Chun, who was on the side, was very anxious, with an angry look on his face, and said crisply: "Auntie, the yamen is not opened by our family. The Beijing camp was not long ago. Just checked the vacancy, and put relatives in it, and others will gossip about Brother Heng."

She thought it was just a thank you banquet before, but she didn't expect to ask for something?

The smile on Aunt Zhao's face froze, she curled her lips, and cast a sideways glance at Tanchun: "Third girl, what are you talking about? Relatives, what's wrong with taking care of each other, besides, brother Heng hasn't said anything yet, but you As if you were in a hurry to give something, didn’t you still help Brother Heng?”

Tan Chun was stunned for a moment, feeling ashamed and annoyed after hearing Aunt Zhao's words.

Jia Hengqing coughed and said, "Third sister, it's done."

As if pressing the pause button, Aunt Zhao also changed her smile and said, "Brother Heng, what do you mean?"

Jia Heng pondered and said: "In Wucheng Bingma Division, we hunt down bandits every day, so we can't say we're in danger. Auntie can actually talk to Sister-in-law Feng and ask her to arrange a good job in the backyard."

Aunt Zhao opened her mouth and snorted coldly: "Second Grandma Lian doesn't think much of us slaves who were born a few generations ago."

As soon as these words came out, Tan Chun's complexion turned pale, his bright eyes drooped, and a soreness surged in his heart.

She was born of slave generations, and she was also born of slave generations...

Seeing this, Jia Heng paused, stretched out his hand under the table and pulled Tan Chun's little hand to show relief, looked up at Aunt Zhao, and said: "If you don't want to work in the mansion, I'll see you later. If you are more effective, you will be sent to Dongcheng shop to take care of the business."

Aunt Zhao said happily: "Brother Heng, I knew it, I knew that you are definitely not like others said, you are cold outside and hot inside."

Jia Heng didn't say much.

For Aunt Zhao, he only looked at Tanchun's face more, and there was no need to be serious with a woman.

At this moment, Tanchun felt the kindness in his palm, and besides being ashamed and happy, he suddenly calmed down.

While Jia Heng was having a banquet with Tan Chun and Aunt Zhao, in Mrs. Wang's courtyard, candles were flickering in the wing room, and there were shadows of people.

Mrs. Wang put down the wooden fish in her hand, frowned, looked at Jin Chuan, and asked, "Master Heng from Dongfu went to Aunt Zhao's courtyard?"

Jin Chuan said in a low voice: "Yes, ma'am, I'm watching to go with the third girl."

Mrs. Wang's complexion was gloomy when she heard this, and she couldn't help feeling agitated.

These two days have passed, and she has also seen Brother Huan. In Feng girl's words, he used to be like a frozen cat, but he went to Laoshizi's martial arts lecture hall, and after returning, he behaved differently. Stance.

"Look at this, don't let Brother Huan overshadow Baoyu..." Mrs. Wang thought of a certain scene, and couldn't help being so uncomfortable that she couldn't breathe.

"We need to let Baoyu go to school." Mrs. Wang felt a sense of urgency, and suddenly she turned her eyes, and saw Caixia who was wiping a vase with a rag, frowning, and she felt a little bit excited .

This little hoof was quite close to Brother Huan in the past, if he can damage Brother Huan's body, or even develop a lustful temper, Brother Xu Huan will not be able to practice martial arts to become a general again, right?

Together with this thought, it climbed up like a weed in an instant, entangled in the heart.

At this time, while Mrs. Wang was thinking, Yuchuan came in and said, "Madam, the eldest girl is here."

While talking, Yuan Chun and the master and servant holding the piano opened the cotton curtain and entered the hall.

"Big girl." Madam Wang looked at her eldest daughter with a smile on her face.

At this moment, Yuan Chun was wearing a light yellow dress, with a plump figure, black eyebrows like clouds, and cloud temples like spring smog, cheeks flushed with pears and cheeks, accompanied by the fragrant wind, she smiled sweetly: "Mother, you call me ?”

Mrs. Wang smiled and took her daughter's hand, sat down on the curtained bed beside her, and said, "Let's talk to each other."

Yuan Chun let out a "hmm" and sat down beside him.

Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "Are you going to the Princess Jinyang's residence after the next year?"

Yuan Chun said softly: "Brother Heng said yesterday that it's okay to go after the Lantern Festival."

Mrs. Wang nodded and said: "That's fine, just stay at home for a few more days."

Yuan Chunqing knew that Mrs. Wang had more to say, so she didn't rush, she took a cup of butter tea from Jin Chuan, and her pink lips were printed on the wall of the teacup.

Madam Wang looked at her beautiful daughter and sighed secretly again. .

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he resented a trace of resentment, smiled and said: "Big girl, I heard that the eldest princess of Jinyang still has an orphan girl under her knee?"

Yuan Chun said: "Yes, the title is Princess Qinghe."

Mrs. Wang asked with a smile: "How old are you? Have you ever promised someone?"

"After this year, let's be fourteen. I'm waiting in my boudoir." Yuan Chun said softly, his heart moved, and Yuyan had a faint realization, and said, "What does mom mean?"

I also tasted it.

Mrs. Wang sighed and said, "That's what I think. You've seen your brother Baoyu too. After this year, he's not too young. For a family like us, it's better to get married early, to save money." When it comes to strike a famine."

Yuan Chun's eyebrows turned slightly, and he said in a clear voice: "But Baoyu is only eleven or twelve. If you want to get married, it will take at least two or three years."

Mrs. Wang said: "It's not too young. It will be too late when things come to an end. The ancients often said that only when you have a family can you establish a great career. You can look at Brother Heng in Dongfu."

Hearing these words, Yuan Chun subconsciously nodded his head. For some reason, he felt weird and unspeakable in his heart.

Mrs. Wang also suddenly felt a slip of the tongue, and her cheeks felt a little hot.

Well, it's the feeling of accidentally saying what's on my mind.

Yes, it's a bit shameful to say that Mrs. Wang is both jealous and envious of that Uncle Heng, and every time she dreams back at midnight, she hopes that Baoyu can replace her with her body.

Yuan Chun didn't get entangled in this either, and said: "Mom, the little princess has a good temperament, but his eyes are higher than the top, whether he will fall in love with Baoyu is still in doubt."

After all, she is her own elder sister, and she still wants to find a good marriage for her younger brother, so she doesn't think her younger brother is unworthy.

"Well, it's just that there seems to be something wrong? If Baoyu and the princess become a family, wouldn't it be called Brother Heng as a father-in-law, then I..." Yuan Chun suddenly woke up, his beautiful eyes drooping like water,

It is clearly recalling the "adultery" between Jia Heng and Princess Jinyang.

Mrs. Wang said: "Baoyu is also a son of a duke. If the old duke is here, even the princess can't say that our family is high."

As he said that, looking at his daughter, he felt a little relieved.

Although the eldest girl of her family was closer to Uncle Heng, she knew it well and would not turn her elbows away.

Looking at the faces of his mother and daughter, Yuan Chun hesitated for a while, and said: "Mom, in fact, Brother Heng..."

The smile on Mrs. Wang's face froze, and she faintly realized what her daughter was going to say.

Yuan Chun thought about his words, and said: "If Baoyu wants to marry the young princess, I'm afraid I can't leave Brother Heng."

Mrs. Wang paused, and said, "Is that what you said?"

Yuan Chun frowned, and said: "Mom, even if the emperor daughter is married to our family, it's for brother Heng's sake, otherwise I won't have anything to say when I go."

Mrs. Wang said: "You and Brother Heng are getting closer, can you ask him to help you talk about it?"

Yuan Chun: "..."

After a moment of silence, he said softly: "Mom, then I'll take the time to talk to Brother Heng."

He sighed faintly from the bottom of his heart.

(End of this chapter)