The True Winner of the Red Chamber

When Zhen Yingjia came back from the palace, she was immediately invited to Zhen's mother's house.

Zhen's mother is getting older, and sometimes she even gets very confused, and her memory is not very good, so she doesn't go out more and more.Seeing Zhen Yingjia, he said: "You are busy in the palace all day long, so you have to find time to take care of the children."

Zhen Yingjia slept on the dragon bed refreshed and refreshed, and her energy was very good. When she heard Zhen's mother's orders, she agreed to them one by one.

Mother Zhen was still a little dissatisfied, and said: "You run to the palace all day long, although you want to repay the kindness of the late emperor and His Majesty, but you should not be too tired, and be careful not to get sick."

Knowing that Mother Zhen cared about her, Zhen Yingjia also nodded and said, "Don't worry, mother, I know, if there is anything wrong, I will also ask Your Majesty to resign."

Mother Zhen hummed, "There is also the matter of Zhiyin, you also take care of it, although last year it was because we were still in the late emperor's filial piety period, and our family has a title, it is true that we cannot discuss marriage, but we just watched her pass the time. Seventeen—"

While listening to Mother Zhen's words, Zhen Yingjia also heard someone coming from outside.

It must be Zhiyin who greeted her so early. He hurriedly interrupted Mother Zhen and said, "What's wrong with Seventeen? Your Majesty gave birth to me as a Marquis again. Now she is the eldest daughter of the Marquis. Your Majesty said again, allow her to be a Marquis." Choose by yourself, all civil and military officials in the court, young talents in the world, whoever she likes is who."

Zhen's mother was so angry that she patted him twice, "It's because you said that every day and raised her heart that she couldn't get married for a long time!"

"What are you afraid of?" Zhen Yingjia asked back: "She has to be pleasing to the eye."

Zhiyin came in with a smile, and greeted her grandmother and father. In front of her, Mother Zhen didn't say anything more, and said, "What about Zhilan? She has become more and more stubborn in the past two years." or—”

"no!"

The father and daughter said in unison.

Zhiyin felt that Xue's family was not a good family, and it had become more and more declining in the past two years, but Zhen Yingjia thought it deeper.

As early as two years ago, the emperor appointed Kang He as the eldest grandson of the emperor. Seeing that the situation was not good, Wang Ziteng immediately resigned and took his family back to Jinling to retire.And in order not to startle the snake, it seems that he didn't tell the Jia family and the Xue family anything.

In the first year, because Kang He just came to power, all his energy was used to stabilize the court. He didn't pay much attention to officials like Wang Ziteng who can be rectified without too much effort. He just mentioned it when chatting with Zhen Yingjia. One sentence, "let him worry about it for two years."

Now that the government is stable, Kang and the emperor are becoming more and more smoothly, and Wang Ziteng is afraid that he will come to an end soon.

As for the Xue family, it's the same reason. I didn't take care of them in the past two years, but it's not impossible to punish them. It's okay if the Xue family avoids them now. up.

Therefore, in Zhen Yingjia's eyes, Xue's family did not have many good days, and he would marry his daughter only if he was stupid.Even if the daughter didn't agree with him, there was absolutely no reason to send her to the fire pit.

Several people were talking, Zhiqi and Baoyu also came to pay their respects.

Baoyu has lost her childish appearance, and has grown into a good-looking young man. As for Zhiqi, she can also be a girl. She used to be a bit too lively in the mouth of Zhen's mother-at least on the surface, it is gone.

When the two came in and saw Zhen Yingjia, their eyes lit up.

Zhiqi even walked three minutes faster than before, Baoyu refused to give in, and the two almost squeezed together in front of Zhen Yingjia to salute and say hello.

Since his son was also happy at Mother Zhen, he didn't say much.

Zhi Qi said: "The snacks my father brought back from the palace last time were quite delicious."

Zhen's mother smiled and complained: "Is that something easy to get? It's not bad if the emperor rewards your father once!" Then she said to Zhen Yingjia: "Just the two pieces of snacks you brought back last time, you will kill your daughter's mouth. It’s a shame, the cooks in the mansion are also good at cooking, this recipe was praised by the late emperor after eating it, your daughter despises him every day.”

Zhen Yingjia blushed a little when she heard this. Last time... the last time, she had a mess with Kang He before going to the court. Neither of them had time to eat. Randomly took a plate of snacks in the study and left.

He didn't like to eat these things, and he didn't take them to heart, but everything was recorded in the palace, as long as he knew when it was made, he could make it exactly the same again.

Thinking of this, Zhen Yingjia smiled at Zhiqi and said, "I'll ask later."

Zhi Qi was relieved, but Zhen's mother began to worry again, "How can you ask His Majesty about such things? This is too unruly..."

Zhen's mother was still there and kept saying that there were no rules, but Zhen Yingjia thought that the two of them had done even more unruly things, and even sent the emperor's special spies to inquire about the family background and character of the young talents in the capital. In order to find a like-minded person for Zhiyin.

But Kang He didn't take it seriously, and said: "Young girls like good-looking people, even if their character is not as good as mine, I can't make her suffer."

Zhen Yingjia was so angry that he kicked him off the dragon bed.

Zhen Yingjia's face blushed again, thinking of such things in front of mother and children really made people blush.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Baoyu hurriedly approached Zhen Yingjia and said, "Sir, I'm already ready for a trial, and I have to pass the trial if I'm a child!"

Mother Zhen laughed immediately when she heard this, "You are only a little older, so you can take the exam in two years?"

Zhen Yingjia didn't think so. Most of the children's exams were memorized, and the younger ones had an advantage. Besides, with experience, they would not be so nervous when they took the exam for the first prize. Take you to sign up!"

Zhen's mother looked at him reproachfully, and Zhen Yingjia whispered: "Let him try." Zhen Yingjia meant that if he tried it, he might pass it, but Zhen's mother thought it was for him to try, but she knew how to study hard. up.

Although my understanding was wrong, I finally said nothing more.

Zhen Yingjia was on duty in the palace last night. After saying a few words, Zhen's mother urged him to go to rest. Zhen Yingjia couldn't say that he had slept on the dragon bed all night, so he got up according to Zhen's mother's words, and was about to go out when a second-born came in. The lady at the door.

He entered the room and saluted, "Second girl, a post from Jia's mansion, please go and play."

Zhen Yingjia's pace slowed down a little.

"What Jia Mansion?" Zhi Qi put the post aside without looking at it, and said, "No."

Since going back to Jia's mansion and Xue's family to plot against Zhilan last time, except for Miss Lin who came back and brought eight maid guards, Zhiqi went once in a very ostentatious way, and never went to Jia's house again.

But the woman seemed a little unwilling and said: "The person who sent the letter said that Miss Lin invited you to go."

"Huh?" Zhi Qi opened the post again and looked at it for a long time, and said with a sneer, "This post is clearly not written by Miss Lin!" After speaking, she looked at the woman again, and said, "I said, why do you keep talking about the Jia family? How much money did you collect? Tell me!"

The mother-in-law trembled in fright, and quickly knelt on the ground, saying: "Don't dare, the second girl spared me."

Now the Zhen family hates the Jia family from top to bottom. Although Zhilan's story is only spread among a few people in the inner courtyard, the second girl who has always loved to go to Jia's house has not gone out for two years, and even the third girl Never mentioning the matter of going to Jia's house again, no matter how foolish he is, at least he can guess that the two families have broken up.

However, this woman is not very knowledgeable, but she thought it was a conflict of interest when Jia's family was the Duke's mansion and Zhen's family was nothing.With the succession of the new emperor, the Zhen family is becoming more prominent day by day, and it is not surprising that the gradually declining Jia family has been picked up again.

So I didn't think it was a big deal.

Zhen's mother frowned, and Zhiyin said: "This woman can no longer be used." With just this sentence, the woman was so scared that she could hardly stand up, and kept kowtow on the ground, but Zhiyin The coercion has been very strong these years, and two serious women immediately came up and dragged him out.

Seeing this, Zhen Yingjia turned back and comforted her, "They won't be jogging for a few days."

As soon as the words were finished, another person came in from outside and said: "The Xue family has invited a matchmaker to come to the door, and the whole family has come."

"This!" Zhen's mother was so angry that she immediately stood up, but she became dizzy after standing too suddenly, and several people rushed forward to support her in fright.

"What Xue family!" Zhiyin was so angry that her eye circles were red, "Look at the sign on our head, we are now the Marquis's mansion, and anyone who is dirty and ugly dares to come to our house to propose marriage! Don't call in, Not one of them is allowed in!"

Zhen Yingjia glanced at her, saw Zhen's mother slow down again, gritted her teeth and said, "I'll go."

Zhiyin was so angry that she almost said no to Zhen Yingjia, "Father sees him doing something, it's a waste of value."

"I saw him?" Zhen Yingjia sneered and said, "I didn't see him, I just went to beat him up!"

After hearing this, Zhen's mother hurriedly said: "Stop your father quickly, if this fight really goes on, I'm afraid even the official will be lost."

Zhen Yingjia had already walked a few steps out, and did not stop when she heard Mother Zhen's words, and said, "Does he have fame or fortune? But he is white, and I beat him for nothing!"

Zhiyin was very relieved when she heard that, she chased after her with makeup on, and whispered: "Father, don't really do anything, just ask the servant to go, and it's fine for father to watch."

Zhen Yingjia laughed twice and said, "You can go back later."

Zhiyin nodded.

Only then did Zhen Yingjia gather a few strong servants, and went to the front yard with sticks in their hands.

Several people at the Zhen family's gate had already been repeatedly emphasized by Zhen Yingjia, who could be let in and who could not, so even though it was the Xue family who came to propose marriage, they didn't even let in the gift and the matchmaker, let alone the gate, not even the concierge.

Matchmaker Qian has already retreated in her heart at this moment. She was also hesitant when she took over this kind of errand earlier. Rank four, still a first-class marquis, with the vacant position of a prince and grand teacher, with the enthronement of the emperor's grandson, he was also promoted to a grand teacher.

As for the other family, after the so-called Zhongshu Sheren, the former Emperor Shang, these two have nothing to do with the present.Now... At best, he can be considered a rich family.

But in the capital, there is nothing else, not too many rich people.

Matchmaker Qian originally wanted to push this matter away, but after thinking about it, if she could take this opportunity to enter the Zhen's residence... She was so excited that she would not be able to let the Xue family decide what matchmaking she would say.

One must know that the position of the main wife of the master of the Zhen family is vacant, so besides the emperor, every girl in the capital wants to go.

But when they arrived at the gate of Zhen's Mansion, no one was allowed to open the door, and Matchmaker Qian also felt that something was not quite right at this moment.

She pulled Aunt Xue aside and said in a low voice: "Did someone send someone here to pass the time?" Logically speaking, the matchmaker's visit was a bit of a pre-determined idea. After the trial, if you are satisfied, you will invite a matchmaker to come to your door, especially for people with high family status.

Aunt Xue nodded and said with a polite smile: "Mother Qian, don't worry, it was agreed two years ago. You see, I even brought my daughter with me today. It's the whole family who are here as guests."

Matchmaker Qian thought for a while about Xue Baochai who was still sitting in the car, and she was determined, if she didn't speak, who would make her daughter come out and lose face?Then he laughed and said, "Maybe there is something else going on inside, let's wait." Then he took Aunt Xue's hand and said, "Your daughter was born beautiful, and she treats people dignifiedly and beautifully, but once promised People?"

Aunt Xue thought of her sister, Mrs. Wang, but... the smile on her face faded, and she said, "I'm always dissatisfied after reading a few."

Matchmaker Qian said with a smile, "I'll help you find out later."

Aunt Xue thanked her quickly, and the two of them spoke a few more words, and seeing Xue Pan and a few servants waiting at the door were taken aback for a moment, and then ran to this side.

Aunt Xue and Nanny Qian were both standing beside the carriage, guarding Xue Baochai, while Xue Pan came forward with two servants knocking on the door and handing over the post.

It's just that the first time the door was knocked, the door was not opened. After the second time the money was used, the people inside said they were going to report. This third time... before they knocked the door, someone came out.

A few vicious, tall and thick Chang Sui beat them with a thick wooden stick one person tall in his hand.

Fortunately, Xue Pan held on to his identity and let the boy knock on the door, otherwise the stick would hit him in the face.

Xue Pan was so frightened that he ran and shouted: "If you hurt me, be careful that your second lady will do you!"

These Chang Sui came out with Zhen Yingjia, how could they be frightened by Xue Pan, swung the stick in his hand quickly, chased them out, and scolded: "Where did they come from the shabby household, you can't marry them by force!"

Xue Pan ran towards his family's carriage and said, "I'm your second son-in-law!"

When I said this, it was like a hornet's nest. The Chang Sui seemed to have been slapped with chicken blood suddenly. They hurried over and rushed Xue Pan over. Several people surrounded Xue's carriage and surrounded the group of outsiders. Strictly.

When had Matchmaker Qian seen such a scene, she was so frightened that she held Aunt Xue's hand tightly and said in a panic, "What should I do! I'm going to hit someone, I'm going to hit someone!"

After all, Xue Pan was a man. Seeing these people surrounded him, he calmed down a little and looked forward. The man standing at the gate of Zhen Mansion was clearly Zhen Yingjia.

Xue Pan yelled: "Father-in-law, you are my son-in-law!"

Pooh!

Zhen Yingjia's reply to him was only one word, "Hit!"

The regular follower of the Zhen family doesn't care if the person sitting in the carriage is a young lady from the Xue family or not. Fortunately, because Aunt Xue is getting older, there is a person who is obviously dressed as a matchmaker next to her, and she is not too aggressive. When the carriage arrived at the intersection, Chang Sui, who was at the head of the carriage, said, "If you dare to come to the door if they are dirty or ugly, you are worthy too!"

The street in front of Zhen's house is considered a private street, except for those who visit Zhen's house, there are not many people there.Just out of this street, this area is full of official residences, and there are a few scattered people walking around on the street. Seeing this scene, they all slow down, wanting to watch the excitement, and some words and phrases spread to Xue In flat ears.

"This kind of person dares to come to the Zhen family to propose marriage?"

Xue Pan's face was flushed with anger, and he had long forgotten Xu Xutu's plan to deceive someone first, and said directly: "Why didn't you recognize it? The purse that the second girl gave me is still pinned to my waist? "

Hearing this, Chang Sui felt a little panicked, Zhen Yingjia walked slowly and said: "He said yes?"

Chang Sui's eyes turned cold, and he came to Xue Pan's back.

"Who knows where you found it, it must have been given by my family." Zhen Yingjia shouted: "To deal with scoundrels like you—huh! Shoot it out!"

A dozen or so members of the Zhen family swung sticks and drove this group of people away for a long time before returning.I also met several pairs of patrolling guards on the road, but unfortunately, in Xue Pan's eyes, the guards were in cahoots with the Zhen family, and even stepped forward to ask if they needed help to drive them together. The Xue family had no choice but to leave this area first. , to be discussed later.

Aunt Xue wanted to say a few words to Matchmaker Qian to save face when they left the official's residence, but Matchmaker Qian was born and bred in the capital after all, so how could she dare to hang out with Xue's servants after seeing such a scene? In one place, he only said that he twisted his foot, quickly called a carriage and went home.

The three members of the Xue family got into the carriage, all frowning.

Aunt Xue said: "What should I do?"

Xue Pan said angrily: "Hold on! Let me see who dares to come to his house to propose marriage!"

Aunt Xue worried: "Don't dare to say that, how old are you, there is no woman in the family, and there are no children, of course he is not in a hurry."

Both of them lost their minds, sighed in unison and looked at Xue Baochai again.Aunt Xue said: "My son, you have always had the most ideas, what should we do now?"

Xue Baochai pondered for a moment, and said: "This matter...is easy or not. Let's come out first—" She paused, obviously being thrown out with a stick was an extremely embarrassing thing for her, "No Few people have seen it, so we might as well add fuel to the flames and let some rumors out."

Xue Pan was about to vent his anger, and eager to get out of the car to arrange people, but Xue Baochai stopped him and said, "Brother, wait!" Then he looked at Aunt Xue and said, "We want to let the wind out, But we can’t say anything. We took the purse made by the second girl of the Zhen family, so that the Zhen family can definitely guess that we said it.”

Aunt Xue nodded with a smile, and said: "It is only because the people who saw it that day were upset that they spread it."

Xue Pan was still a little unconvinced, Aunt Xue said: "When he becomes your father-in-law, in his name, why don't you have it? He can still make his daughter a widow? Hold this tone now, and wait until someone comes in." "

Xue Baochai said again: "This matter has to be figured out slowly. In the future, when the news spreads, the second girl of the Zhen family will not be able to go anywhere except our Xue family. Uncle Zhen's family will have to suffer from this loss."

Several people looked at each other and smiled, and Aunt Xue told Xue Pan again: "Don't be in a hurry. If you are in a hurry, he will be in trouble. Boiling the frog in warm water is the best policy."

Xue Pan nodded hastily.

There are three mothers and sons in the Xue family, Aunt Xue is extremely doting on the two children, especially Xue Pan, who really wants to find a way to pick off the moon in the sky, but they never thought about it, in fact, Zhen Yingjia strictly Saying that he is not the real father of any of the children in the Zhen family will not let them do it their way.

It's okay if we get along well, but what if we don't get along well?

Zhen Yingjia went all the way to the small courtyard where Zhilan lived, halfway there she had a plan in mind.

He pushed open the door. This was the first time Zhilan visited in two years after she moved.Originally, there were four maids around Zhilan, and four maids in the house, but after two years, the maids were reduced to two, and there was only one maid in the yard.

Seeing him coming, the remaining three women and maids saluted respectfully, and went inside to call Zhilan.

Although he is a real father, there is no reason to enter an adult daughter's boudoir.

Zhilan saluted lightly, and the two sat opposite each other on the stone bench in the yard.

"The Xue family came to propose marriage today." Zhen Yingjia said.

Zhilan hummed, and although she lowered her head halfway, Zhen Yingjia saw a drop or two of dark marks falling on the stone table in front of her, and quickly disappeared, Zhen Yingjia knew that she was crying.

"They moved out from Jia's house." Zhen Yingjia spoke at a normal speed, and her tone was very flat, as if she was talking about strangers, and they were indeed strangers. There is only a small shop left, and the annual income is probably only a few hundred taels of silver."

Zhilan said yes again, but didn't say anything else.

Zhen Yingjia continued: "There is also the Jia family you went to that day..." The Jia family has no concubine. Although there is no need to build a family-intensive and costly project such as the provincial villa, there is no way to make money in the name of the concubine, let alone Jia Zheng. After his frivolous resignation, he failed to pass the imperial examination twice in a row, and he was afraid that it would stop there.

It's just that the Lin family's money still fell into the hands of the Jia family, which made Zhen Yingjia quite dissatisfied.

"The Jia family is also in ruins now, and there is no pillar in the family. When the old lady of the Jia family dies, the family may fall apart." Zhen Yingjia thought as she spoke, maybe she can kill herself before the old lady of the Jia family dies. After all, they have reached this stage, and none of the servants in their family has been reduced, and they are all living a life of luxury.

The property of the Lin family was spent on the masters of the Jia family, probably not many servants.

Zhilan still did not speak.

Zhen Yingjia didn't feel embarrassed either, anyway, after he finished his words, it was over.

"I'll give you two ways to go. First, if you insist on marrying into the Xue family, I will impeach the Xue family. When you enter the door, Xue Pan must have only one tablet left. Second, if you become a monk, I will leave it to the Xue family." a way out."

Although it sounded like a bully when he said this, he was indeed full of arrogance, and even Zhen Yingjia herself was a little impulsive.

Zhilan thought for a long time, then raised her head and her expression was already very normal, and there was no trace of crying on her face, she said quietly: "Now that I have a bad reputation, where else can I go besides the Xue family? I Monk."

Zhen Yingjia doesn't care whether she is sincere or false, or it is a plan to slow down the army, or it may be that she has lived alone for two years, and finally figured it out, and she has no time to pay attention to whether she has really repented, just like she said, she It is true that her reputation is not very good. In Zhen Yingjia's heart, she has no other way but to become a monk.

Zhen Yingjia nodded and said, "In that case, you should rest for two more days." After speaking, Zhen Yingjia left the gate.

Early the next morning, when Xue's family was preparing people to spread rumors, and then went to Qian Matchmaker's house to give gifts to shock, Zhen Yingjia walked through the emperor's back door. In fact, the emperor walked through the back door. It was emphasized by the emperor to be circulated by the ministers in the early court, and finally to be reviewed by the three divisions. It is bound to find out the truth.

Although this notebook started from a small point, starting from the time Xue's family beat Feng Yuan to death, there are too many things involved in it.

For example, who acquitted Xue Pan in the first place?

This leads to the investigation of Jia Yucun. Although Jia Yucun is dead, he cannot be let go. This also involves how he was reinstated as an official in the first place. After further investigation, it will involve the honor of writing a letter of guarantee for him. state government.

The snowball got bigger and bigger, and in the end, the entire power of the four kings and eight males was involved.

At this time, who can still remember Xue Pan in prison, no one's attention is on Xue Pan, everyone thinks: The emperor finally took action against these cancerous tumors.

Although these people are descendants of four kings and eight princes, some relatives of the emperor were also involved, but after all, they are already out-of-date forces, and within three or two months, the third division has finished the case.

Zhen Yingjia only paid attention to a few people who had something to do with him.

For example, in the Xue family, Xue Pan was sentenced to beheaded, and his life is definitely gone.

The title of the Jia family was confiscated, the mansion was gone, and the rest of the family depended on Jia's mother's own money to live.

Now that the Jia family has become like this, Miss Lin can't live in his house anymore.

The third division fairly settled Lin Ruhai's family property. After taking [-]% of it and going to the treasury, they left [-]% for Miss Lin as a dowry, and arranged for Miss Lin to live in the Jishantang run by the imperial court. Many sons and daughters of generals who died in battle can be regarded as a companion.

It's just that Lin Ruhai has been dead for two years, and his family property has long been spent by Jia's family. In this way, most of Jia's mother's dowry was filled in, and this filled the vacancy.

However, in this way, the huge family property left by Lin Ruhai could not be concealed at last.

200% was handed over to the national treasury, and 5% was over 50 million. How much money is left in Miss Lin's hand?You must know that when a general family marries a daughter, it is considered a wealthy family if they can have a dowry of three to fifty thousand taels of silver. Even if it is a princess married, the dowry is only three to five million taels.

The money in Miss Lin's hand... Many people are eyeing Miss Lin who still lives in Jishantang, but this is the place of the imperial court after all, and after living here after making meritorious deeds, the defense is very tight, and no news has been leaked Come.

In the blink of an eye, another four or five months passed, and after the bloody case caused by Xue Pan had basically faded out of people's sight, Zhilan was sent to the emperor's nunnery in a small sedan chair, and she was ordained to become a monk, completely ending her relationship with the world.

Zhen Yingjia accompanied Kang and the two quietly to Jishantang to take a look at Miss Lin.

All the people living here are the children of generals. Miss Lin lived here for less than half a year, and she seemed to have completely changed. Zhen Yingjia sighed softly, "After all, she is no longer the concubine of Xiaoxiang."

His voice was too low, so Kang He couldn't hear him clearly. He glanced at him and said harshly, "More than 300 million taels, the family property is more than that of Prince Yizhong! I have to raise a daughter for him."

Zhen Yingjia smiled and pulled him away.

The two of them went out of the gate and saw a maid outside talking to the woman who guarded the gate, "This is something that our second master gave Miss Lin, mother, please let me go in and have a look at Miss Lin."

"Let's go!" The old woman said with disgust: "How can you come in this place? And deliver things for others? Seeing that you are a girl, be careful and I will call the guards to beat you away."

Whether this maid is Xiren, Zijuan or Xueyan, and the Jia family who is holding Miss Lin like a savior now, it has nothing to do with Zhen Yingjia.

He smiled at Kang He and said, "It's time to find a uncle for my eldest girl."