Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 511 The Golden Hairpin

postscript
Twelve golden hairpins

Yongshou Palace, main hall study room.

Although the bright moon in the sky is not yet full, it looks quite bright because it is only one day away. The watery moonlight quietly shines in the courtyard, adding to the scenery of the green plants that have just begun to glow with spring. A lot of moonlight shines on the window lattice, reflecting the bright candlelight in the study, but it has another meaning.

"Your Highness, it's late at night. Let's have a cup of ginseng tea to refresh yourself." Dongfang Bing walked to the bookcase with a tray and gently placed it in front of Princess Guo Rong of Yongchang. "We have sorted out the news during the day. What else is needed? Are you so tired? It’s not like you don’t know about the war in Nanyang. Although the red-haired people have good fighting strength, they are short of troops. What kind of accident could happen?"

"It's just a little war, what do I need to worry about?" Guo Rong stretched out his hand to test the temperature of the ginseng tea, nodded and took a sip, "What you need to worry about is the personnel. It's easy to say about the army, but the red-haired people are There were only a few people, and there was a war going on. It was not uncommon to take advantage of the opportunity to take some credit, but no one had the guts to go too far.

But look, how long has it been?Those unimproved people dare to start such a big battle. It's just like what he said, "The front is tight, the rear is tight." Meng (Kun) first led the people steadily, and went to Shenglong Mansion. After wiping out all the things in the area that dared to hold weapons, we handed them over to them for management. How long has it been now? It's less than three years, right?There was civil unrest there! "

"These bandanas are really..." Dongfang Bing shook his head speechlessly, "Everyone shouts like a human being, but when they get to the local area, they do everything except personnel affairs. Officials who were sent to several newly established prefectures and counties in Nanyang At any rate, they were born in imperial examinations and were carefully selected. More than [-]% of them rotted in less than three years.

Princess, is it true that as Your Majesty said, most of these people are useless and rotten, and have no use except a mouth?His Majesty had people compile various affairs manuals, and after two months of training before leaving, they did something as "the sky is one foot higher". Aren't they known as "benevolence and righteousness"? "

"Didn't you just say that? They only have one mouth left." Princess Yongchang snorted coldly and threw the materials in her hand on the table in annoyance, "I won't read anymore. You and Sister Yun will sort it out tomorrow. It's done. Just send it to the Government Affairs Council and let them handle it on their own, and also tell them that my people and the Jinyi Army will arrange manpower to keep an eye on it, and if it can’t be handled, I will handle it together!”

"Don't worry, princess!" Dongfang Bing nodded, stood up and started to pack away a pair of official documents on the table, "Speaking of Sister Yun, I really didn't expect that she, a girl from the inner courtyard, could be so capable. She is worthy of being a double prince. She comes from a family of historians, and she can quickly get started with just a little bit of our work, and she can handle it no worse than me."

"The Shi family has spent nearly 20 years in vain. It is indeed a bit aggrieved." Princess Yongchang nodded and continued, "Fortunately, they were not completely ruined like the Jia family and the Wang family. Bowling Marquis Shi Nai did not let down his high regard. The governor of Guangxi Province did a good job during his tenure. The Privy Council repeatedly praised him for his contribution in providing food and fodder support for the Nanyang War.

The two sons are not bad, but now they are both commanders, and they are considered leaders in the younger generation of the army. Even if they are appointed as regimental commanders, they can pass it by. It's just because the two brothers are on the front line in Nanyang, and they can only be promoted if they want to be promoted. When they came back, they didn't want to give up the opportunity to make meritorious deeds, so they delayed it.

But Zhongjing Hou Shiding and his two useless sons don't know how to meet the ancestors of the historians in a hundred years. The family has nothing left except titles and titles, even father and son 'shared' The story spread all over the capital. When Sister Yun heard about it, she was so angry that she couldn't eat for several days. "

"Fortunately, she grew up in the Baoling Hou Mansion." Dongfang Bing shook his head helplessly, "Speaking of which, she was also aggrieved at the beginning. The good-looking eldest girl from the Hou Mansion was sent to His Majesty to 'pay off the debt', but it is fortunate that this is the case. , Otherwise, how could we have such a good day today? She is also a person who knows how to advance and retreat. She still lives in Sister Lin’s Xukun Palace. Even if she is working with the princess, she never stays here at night. "

"Let's not talk about his abilities. His taste in women is truly unparalleled in the world." Princess Yongchang rolled her eyes, leaned on the back of the chair and let the commander of her bodyguards help massage her temples. "There are so many people in the family, and there is no one in the world." The ones who can't get out are just a few girls, and they are no less than our wives and young mistresses if they are pulled out alone."

"Princess!" Dongfang Bing slapped His Highness lightly in annoyance, "At least show some respect to His Majesty. I haven't heard you say a word of honorific title all day today. Even though His Majesty doesn't care about this, he often says that a family should be We are so close, but after all, he is the supreme being in the world, how can he be like you?"

"Hmph, who told him these days -" Princess Yongchang got stuck in the middle of her sentence. She blushed and did not continue. She stood up and pushed away the commander of her guards, "Okay, let's go back to sleep. You just said Didn’t you say it’s already late at night?”

"You!" Dongfang Bing shook his head helplessly, and followed him back to the bedroom half a step behind, "Who told you to always like to bully your sisters? It was our turn on the 22nd last month, and His Majesty also came, but you just pressed the button in broad daylight. Sister Zhuoyun. In fact, Your Majesty doesn’t care about this matter, but what did you say at that time?”

"I'll use it first, what's wrong with asking him to wait?" A certain princess continued to speak harshly.

"Yes, we have already agreed to have another young prince, but now that I have been given two opportunities, you can only kneel down and serve me before rinsing your mouth." Dongfang Bing rolled his eyes and was completely speechless towards his highness. "Hai hour has passed, go to bed early. When I asked someone to boil the hot water, I sprinkled some medicinal powder given by the hospital. Taking a dip will make all the fatigue disappear."

"Whose slave are you?" A certain princess continued to be stubborn.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Dongfang Bing helped his Highness take off her clothes angrily, and helped her slowly dip into the bath. "Fortunately, Your Majesty is easy to talk to. If it had been the Supreme Emperor or the late Emperor, you would have ended up in the cold palace eight times. "

"Father—" Princess Yongchang paused, "Bing'er, has it been four years?"

"Back to Your Highness, the Supreme Emperor and the Imperial Concubine have indeed been away for almost four years." Dongfang Bing's voice was also a little astringent. "Back then, I was still a slave arranging things in the Longshou Palace, but I didn't want to make an oversight. The Imperial Concubine will be gone." I went with him. Fortunately, the Queen was merciful and did not punish her subordinates because of her long-lasting friendship. Otherwise."

"That's all." Princess Yongchang sighed softly, "Speaking of which, how long has it been since I went to Xuan'er's place?"

"Early last month." Dongfang Bing said softly.

"The day after tomorrow, we sisters have to talk anyway." Princess Yongchang was still stubborn.

"My lord, if you think about it, just say it directly. The subordinates have not forgotten that it is your Majesty's turn to go to Fengzao Palace the day after tomorrow." Dongfang Bing said angrily, "Don't worry, I will ask Sister Yun to bring Sister Lin a By the way, His Majesty’s temperament usually means that when it’s the turn of Fengzao Palace, he likes to bring Sister Lin or Sister Qin with him.”

"Whether you want to talk or not, no matter where I want to go, who else dares to stop me?" Princess Yongchang curled her lips arrogantly, but she was "rebelled" by her own bodyguard commander——

Xukun Palace, main hall and bedroom.

"Girl Yun, you've been busy all day. It doesn't matter if you stay with Sister Bing. I remember that she has already packed your place for you." Lin Daiyu stepped onto the bed with carved phoenix patterns, and Lin Daiyu leaned gently in Shi Xiangyun's arms, "Your Majesty is really Yes, you always like to arrange things for your family, and now even you are busy with His Highness Yongchang."

"Sister Lin, it's actually not a problem." Shi Xiangyun said with a smile, "His Royal Highness will not really arrange any major military affairs for me. He just reads the official documents, sorts them out and reports them to her. I will be tired wherever I go. As for the place of residence, I belong to Xukun Palace after all. What does it mean to live outside all day long?" "Sister Yun, even you believe in the 'Internal Affairs Office', 'Feng Zao Palace', 'Military and Political Secretary' or Is it a 'message port' or something like that?" Lin Daiyu couldn't tell whether to laugh or cry, "If it's really like those people who don't know how to die secretly arranged it, who are the four sisters of the Jia family? Sister Xichun has only been playing around so far, and her knees are still empty."

"Sister Lin, after all, people's words are terrible." Shi Xiangyun said with a bitter smile, "Not everyone can be like Master Lin. All the children of the royal family are called 'grandfather', and my second uncle is now released. Governor of Guangxi Province, it is better to avoid some things. Your Majesty does feel sorry for us. After all, there is still a hierarchy of superiority and inferiority.

Besides, the sisters in the family each have their own backgrounds, but they also have different levels. Needless to say, Mr. Lin has the final say. It doesn't matter if the two princesses and sister Keqing are of noble birth. Which of the other sisters doesn't have to worry about the situation at home?But Sichun sisters have nothing to worry about, anyway, the Ningrong Second Mansion is like that now. "

"This year's Lantern Festival, the four sisters went back to visit their relatives. When they came, the third sister was so angry that she cried. I never imagined that this is how people are." Lin Daiyu blushed and shook her head helplessly, "Second brother Lian is also a dignified prince after all. Why don’t you, the inheritor of the house, have no scruples at all? Aunt Zhao is pregnant again, this is the third time, right?"

"Who can tell?" Shi Xiangyun was also helpless, "Those two Wang family members have lost nothing after all these years. What a good person Sister Yuanyang is? She only has two girls under her knees, but Aunt Zhao is like this. Three times in ten years, the first two are brothers, the next generation heirs of the Rongguo Mansion, I'm afraid this is the only way it can be, it's just that the third sister doesn't look good."

"Speaking of Sister Tanchun, how is his brother doing now? I heard he is doing well in the military?" Lin Daiyu changed the subject in time.

"In Tongzhou Daying, we just transferred thousands of households at the beginning of the year, and we will go to Nanyang for rotation during the autumn harvest. After a year or two, we will come back with a military foundation, and it will not be troublesome to get the title of commander within ten years." Shi Xiangyun said with a smile, "I don't know if it counts as 'the lost mulberry elm harvested'. After ten years, the Jia family may rely on Brother Huan to support their business."

"It's a pity that the second uncle can't see it." Lin Daiyu said helplessly.

"Seven years." Shi Xiangyun smiled bitterly and shook his head. "There are still rumors that the reason why my second uncle went there was because he had been in a coma for three years. After finally waking up, he heard about Aunt Zhao. At that time, she I just had my first son; it’s just that no serious news can really come out about this kind of thing, isn’t there so much falsehood?”

"That's all." Lin Daiyu frowned helplessly, "Where is Brother Bao?"

"It's still the same." Shi Xiangyun said nonchalantly, "At the end of last month, His Majesty gave a banquet to all the martial arts families in Beijing to celebrate the successful completion of the spring hunt. Sister-in-law Bao also went to the palace to express her gratitude. She is the only one of the young grandmothers in Rongguo Mansion to return the favor. Although she can go out, Sister Yuanyang is from a lower background, and it is really not convenient for her to show up in formal occasions.

In the past two years, His Majesty rewarded Brother Bao with the title of "Enqi Lieutenant" because of the kindness of the Sichun sisters. Even the lowest rank of the sixth grade could not be passed down. Sister-in-law Bao finally had a " With An Ren's imperial edict, and the fact that she was born into a family of officials and gentry, she was not even qualified to enter the palace.

Just when the banquet was being given, you and Sister Bao followed His Majesty in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to entertain the family members of the upper echelon of Wu Xun. The ladies of the middle and lower classes went to Fengzao Palace to express their gratitude. The third sister invited her to come to the Changchun Palace to talk. I was also Called to go, even Sister Wan and Sister Feng also went, even if it was a family affair, at least I got a lot of news. "

"What news?" Lin Daiyu asked curiously.

"Although Brother Bao is fine now, he is sober and confused in his mind. No one can tell when he will cause trouble." Shi Xiangyun sighed softly and said, "Even when our ancestors left two years ago, he was the original one. The most beloved grandson was so confused that he couldn't even go to the wake.

Fortunately, sister-in-law Bao Er worked hard and gave birth to a pair of children for him over the years. When the ancestors left, they didn't have to close their eyes. It was also that time I heard that brother Bao Er's precious jade pendant was lost, and there was no one there. I can tell when I lost it, but I only know that it was around the end of last year, and since then, he hasn’t woken up, and I don’t know if it’s true.”

"That's it." Lin Daiyu thought about it for a while, but still shook her head helplessly, "For the sake of the family, I can take care of it - that's all, with the Sichun sisters here, I'm afraid it won't be our turn to take care of anything, let them do whatever they want. Right; Sister Yun, it’s late at night, go to bed early.”

"Yeah!" Shi Xiangyun hugged Sister Lin with a smile, blew out the candles and covered her with the brocade quilt.

Changchun Palace, small garden.

"Third girl, don't be too sad." In the pavilion, Zhou Yang held Tanchun in his arms with some distress and took off the cloak behind him to wrap her up. "I know that things in Rongguo Mansion are indeed a bit ugly. After all, it is better than Ningguo." Is it better over there? You and her two sisters have had babies over the years, and I’m afraid they can’t even tell who it was.”

"They can't tell. Who in the Rongguo Mansion dares to say -" Tan Chun's voice was filled with tears, "Who in the capital doesn't know what kind of person Second Brother Lian is? Second Brother Bao is like that again. , who knows if it will be again."

"Don't worry, Fu Qiufang doesn't dare." Zhou Yang interrupted her lightly, but he couldn't explain clearly. Just because he didn't use it didn't mean he allowed it to be casual. Jia Baoyu was a serious husband after all. What should he do? He didn't bother to ask, what if Jia Lian Even if he dares to hook up, Rongguo Mansion may have to let Jia Huan, who has not gone back for a long time, inherit. "You don't have to think too much."

"I don't even dare to discuss this kind of thing with my second and fourth sisters. I only dare to talk to my eldest sister." Tan Chun cried in a low voice, "We are second-in-laws after all. Although the second sister and the second brother Lian have the same father, My half-mother is a blood relative after all. Now that the house is like this, what should we do in the future?"

"This -" Zhou Yang didn't want to care about such bullshit and didn't bother to care about it. For example, because of the reputation of Rongguo Mansion, Jia Huan has been mixed up to the fifth rank of thousands of households. So far, no one has come to propose marriage, even he has already I haven't returned to Rongguo Mansion for more than five years. With Aunt Zhao as my "biological mother" and Jia Lian as my "cousin and stepfather" here, who would dare to marry the daughter of a good family?

take care of?Forget it, at least the Jia family won't be left with "the vast white land is so clean". At least the two titles of the Jia family are still being passed down. As long as they don't seek death, no one will deal with them in the future. This is enough. No matter how much you think about it, what else do you want to do, to restore "one family with two national masters and the first family with martial arts"?

"Your Majesty, it's late at night, let's go back." Probably because he had released his stress and resentment after talking, Tanchun looked much better.

"That's fine." Zhou Yang smiled and hugged the girl, "Have a good sleep, tomorrow is a new day."

"Brother Zhou—" Tan Chun suddenly raised his head, with an intoxicating blush on his face, "Eldest sister and the other three are asleep, and it would be inappropriate to disturb them. We might as well go to the side hall, my bedroom is over there. "

"Huh?" Zhou Yang had a strange expression on his face, "Three girls, I remember that just now we have—"

Tanchun didn't say a word, blushed and gave someone a gentle hammer before burying his head on Ai Lang's chest.

(End of this chapter)