Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 294 4.90

Volume Four

4.90 Since then, the king will not go to court early

There has always been a saying in China, "The year is not counted until the first month." This saying is actually very controversial, and no one paid attention to it in modern times. However, in the Zhou Dynasty, which was still in the feudal era, most people, whether it was the common people or the government, They all do this, and even the imperial court in the capital has a saying of "sealing", or "holiday", from December [-]th to the [-]th of the first lunar month of the following year.

The root cause of this phenomenon is actually that the weather is still very cold in the first month of the year. In this year when people generally do not have enough to eat, going out in such a harsh climate is not worth the gain. If you are not careful, you may be buried forever in the snow. The court The so-called "seal" is essentially an adaptation to social laws.

This is also the case for the Xue family, but Zhou Yang does not have this habit, because according to the activity patterns of most modern people, celebrating the fifteenth day is equivalent to the end of the New Year, and then spend some time to help deal with the chores to start the New Year. On the eighteenth day, he started packing his things and officially prepared to return to Daye.

Although the weather is indeed cold, and there is even a lot of residual snow piled up in every corner, this is not a problem for any large family, and a "garden greenhouse" is a must-have. Whether it is a stove or a charcoal pot, it is guaranteed to It’s not difficult to keep the room above 20 degrees Celsius; what’s more, there are many activities that can increase the “temperature”.

"Are you so anxious? You have already come to Jinling, it doesn't matter if you stay a few more days." Wang Shuying reluctantly nestled in Zhou Yang's arms, with a rosy look on her pretty face, "When you were fifteen, you took a few girls with you for a day They don't stop, and they are spoiled, so why don't you help them calm down?"

"The days are long." Zhou Yang was actually very reluctant to part with him. Not to mention the delicacies in his arms that he never got tired of eating. He and Xue Baochai had just completely opened their hearts. It was time to take a step forward, but many things are not as human as they should be. In order to divert his will, "There is news from Daye that there is a sense of unrest on the ground. If something happens and I am not here, there will be trouble."

Everything in this court is like this. Lazy and lazy administration is no longer news, but this is based on the absence of trouble. If the people, officials and people are all happy during the New Year, it doesn't matter if I stay until February; but since there is If it's troublesome, then you can only go back quickly, solve the problem if there is a problem, and prevent it if there is no problem. "

"This" Wang Shuying was stunned for a moment. With her IQ and ability, it is indeed difficult to talk about politics. "Is there any difficulty?"

"That's not the case." Zhou Yang smiled and shook his head, "It's okay, you don't have to worry, I will take care of it; as long as you get the Xue Zihao thing done, it will be the greatest help to me. Everything in this world is different. There are differences, but fundamentally there is one point that cannot be separated. Having money is definitely not omnipotent, but without money, nothing is possible."

"Don't worry about this. You can use every penny in the Xue brand at any time." Wang Shuying is very open-minded in this regard. "As a woman, I definitely don't understand the affairs of the government and the court, but I also know that they are indispensable. Money opens the way, as long as you can make progress, the Xue family will definitely not suffer. Just keep moving forward, and I will take care of your home."

Wang Shuying, or "Aunt Xue" is very open-minded in terms of money. This may be related to the fact that as the wife of the Xue family, she has always been rich and luxurious. In the original book, after she moved her children into Jia's house, she immediately decided to "one day". The rule of "exempting all supply fees" directly avoids the problem of "depending on others".

Afterwards, there has been controversy over whether Xue Baochai had any thoughts about Jia Baoyu, but there was no dispute about Aunt Xue's thoughts. After all, the whereabouts of the money is a very interesting topic.

There is no direct evidence for this in the original work, but various analyzes generally believe that on the one hand, the Jia family, or to be precise, Mrs. Wang, definitely took away a lot of money from Aunt Xue, and on the other hand, Wang Ziteng's huge expenditure was indispensable for the Xue family's subsidies. , and finally there is another point. Among the millions spent on the Grand View Garden, there is definitely a "loan" from the Xue family.

In other words, Wang Shuying and "Aunt Xue" understand very well that money is used to exchange resources, and they will never be stingy when it is time to spend money. Unfortunately, in the original work, she not only found the wrong person to spend money on, but also underestimated the amount consumed. The final result is that both people and money will be lost, Xue Pan will most likely die, and the best ending for Xue Baochai is to be alone for the rest of his life.

"Are you so relieved, aren't you worried that I'll sell you out?" Seeing her almost "everything is up to you" look, Zhou Yang would be lying if he said he wasn't moved, "Not to mention how much property the Xue family has, Just the income from the Gyeonggi area of ​​Xuezihao can easily drop a million a year, aren’t you afraid that I will be greedy?”

"If you are so cruel, then it's up to you!" Wang Shuying glanced at him with a resentful look, her tone was very sad, "I've lost all face because of you, little girl Bao. I'm afraid I've also been poisoned by you, Pan. My son is in your hands, so what if I have other ideas? Anyway, it’s just based on your conscience!"

"How can it be as terrible as you said?" Zhou Yang almost broke out in a cold sweat, "I have not treated you badly at all. Brother Wenlong is now an official of the sixth rank. In the future, as long as he has a little merit, he will be promoted. It's very easy to become a sixth-grade official. Besides, if you're worried, it's not difficult to come with me and have a look. Anyway, there are plenty of them on the ship."

"That's all, it's up to you!" Wang Shuying rolled her eyes at him angrily, "Originally, I really wanted to take a look, but I was worried that seeing Pan'er working so hard would make me feel uncomfortable, so I might as well just stay out of sight and be out of mind. It's up to you. Just make the arrangements; I just hope you won't let down my hard work, and Bao Yatou, please be a little more considerate."

"Don't talk nonsense. Sister Bao is so young, how can I bear to move?" Zhou Yang quickly hugged her and explained the situation, "We went out a few days ago and we were just strolling around. How could we..." "What if you moved?" ?" Wang Shuying had no intention of letting her go, "Although I am stupid, I am not blind. When Bao Yatou came back that night, her whole body seemed to have grown wider, and the breath all over her body was like that feeling afterward. , do you dare to say that you haven’t touched it?”

"Really not!" Zhou Yang was really aggrieved at this point. After thinking about it, he bit the girl's ear and said, "Just a little."

"You..." After a long while, Wang Shuying raised her fist angrily and hit her with a hammer, "How can you be so cruel to others? That's all, just think that Bao Ya's life is suffering. When you go back, be careful and take good care of her. Just let Pan'er go!"

"In that case." Zhou Yang showed a strange smile, "Madam, you don't want your son to be bullied in the military camp, right?"

When Zhou Yang finally came out of the greenhouse, "three poles in the sun" could no longer describe the current time period. Fortunately, "breakfast turned into lunch", but this was not the main problem, because he immediately discovered that not far from the greenhouse In the open space, Zhao Qiying was dressed in a powerful outfit and practicing his swordsmanship with fierce moves.

"The spring night is short and the sun rises high. From now on, the king will not go to court early." Zhao Nuxia is worthy of practicing martial arts since she was a child. She recited two ancient poems in a cadence, and she was still able to make moves with the sword in her hand, but the last move was a straight thrust. Why? I came over on Xiasan Road, and judging from the height, it happened to belong to someone, um——

"Be careful, if I'm not careful, I won't be the only one who suffers!" Zhou Yang stepped aside, turned around, and hugged the heroine in his arms, "You are cruel enough, so you won't be afraid of being useless for the rest of your life." ?”

"Anyway, less than [-]% can get to me. If it's gone, it's gone!" Zhao Qiying was originally a decent heroine, but she was spoiled by someone's connotative sentence. She didn't forget to throw out the long sword in her hand while speaking. , just put it in the scabbard hanging on the tree, "You should be more careful, are you really not afraid of losing face if the news spreads?"

There is another point that Zhao Nuxia chose to skip, that is, when she woke up in the morning and found no one around her, she thought that someone had stayed in Wang Shuying's courtyard. After inquiring the servants, they learned that Xue Baochai's "morning and evening routine", which she had to visit every day, turned out to be missing from time to time. Comparing with someone's "work and rest schedule", she had completely confirmed certain things.

"It's okay. I sent him away a long time ago. What are my family worried about?" Zhou Yang smiled and hugged the girl tightly and kissed her softly. "Besides, it's not you, so you won't agree to anything in the past two days."

"Don't say it!" Zhao Qiying angrily hit someone. She had been "having the rain and dew all to herself" for too long, and she really couldn't handle someone. Even Qingwen was so scared that she ran to Xue Baochai's room to share the room. Then he chose to "close the door and thank guests", and finally found another door in the house, "I came here mainly to tell you, where is the escort agency?"

"Are you finally willing to come over?" Zhou Yang couldn't help but smile. Only after the masters from the Zhongyuan Escort Bureau settled in Jinling did he really feel reassured about the Xue family's security. "When can we arrive?"

"The message was sent that he would leave Beijing the day after tomorrow (the [-]th of the first lunar month). Although a considerable number of people were unwilling to follow, including their family members, the number was over [-]. Fortunately, with the help of Xue Zihao, everyone was able to come by boat and through the canal." Zhao Qiying said gratefully, "Even so, I'm afraid it won't be until the beginning of next month."

"That's good." Zhou Yang nodded with satisfaction, "Xue Zihao happens to have a house in the city. When the time comes, just let Mr. Zhao move in directly. Both the location and size are suitable; I know they are planning to come over. Not to mention the time and effort required to arrange it, a courtyard that can accommodate hundreds of people will require a lot of money."

"That's it." Zhao Qiying nodded after thinking for a moment, "I will leave two people to clean up the yard first, and then they will take my father to live in it when he comes over. Brother Zhou should be talking about the place near the east gate of the inner city of Jinling. Is it a large courtyard? I remember that I brought my things across the courtyard three times. For such an expensive house, it was only Yan Ling who persuaded my father to move in; but no matter what, I have to thank my wife."

"It's easy to thank her." Zhou Yang hugged the girl and bit her ear, "Why don't you..."

"You—" Zhao Qiying's cheeks were reddened by what she said, and her two fingers couldn't help but work on someone's soft flesh, "How can there be such a delinquent person like you? Madam, after all, she is."

After all, she finally closed her eyes helplessly and let someone carry her back to the greenhouse. She was followed by a soft exclamation, but she soon "calmed down".

(End of this chapter)