The True Winner of the Red Chamber

The purse from Kang He changed Zhen Yingjia's plan.

He cultivated at home for a few more days, recovering all the energy that was lost in the successive imperial examinations, until he returned to the personable and handsome Zhen Yingjia, then he packed up and took the things from Jinling's family. went to the palace.

The euphemistic name is: send souvenirs.

Zhen Yingjia brought a small piece of beautifully packaged Jinhua ham and a small jar of sweet-scented osmanthus honey, and was received by the emperor in Kunning Palace.

Of course, because the queen's place was used, the accompanying personnel also had the queen.

Zhen Yingjia smiled and said, "After seeing you, I suddenly remembered that you liked this ham the most, and you specially ordered someone to buy it carefully."

This sentence not only expressed his heart, but also showed that this thing was found with great effort. The emperor was very happy when he heard it, and said: "Go and send someone to the imperial dining room, and cook two bowls of soup at night." Then he said to the Queen: "Try this, if you think it's good, let them buy more next year."

The queen smiled and thanked her in a low voice.

Zhen Yingjia obviously found that the queen was not as lively as the last time they met, but the emperor... he was much more relaxed.

Could it be because of the deposed prince?

The queen's attitude is easy to understand, the prince is her son, or her only son.

But the emperor... His attitude can only show that he wanted to abolish the prince a long time ago, and something happened during Zhen Yingjia's imperial examination, which relieved him and finally abolished the prince.

Thinking of this, Zhen Yingjia pointed to the sweet-scented osmanthus honey and said, "This small pot of honey is specially presented to the empress. This thing can detoxify and moisten dryness, and it can also beautify the skin. Regular consumption can make people young."

Even though the queen is over fifty and even her grandson is married, Zhen Yingjia still smiled when she heard the word beauty, "You child, there is nothing in the palace, but I let you bring it from outside."

These words sounded a bit reproachful, but the queen said with a smile, and asked the nuns in her palace to take them carefully in a blink of an eye, so her love for this gift was obvious.

After receiving the gift, Zhen Yingjia seemed to have fallen into the eyes of the empress again. The empress sized him up and said to the emperor with a smile: "Although he has only just come to the capital, you can also ask his opinion."

Zhen Yingjia didn't know what the queen said, but the emperor obviously knew it, but after hearing this, the emperor's originally gentle face was immediately clouded, and after looking at Zhen Yingjia for a long time, he pursed his lips and hummed, which was regarded as his agreement.

Seeing the reaction of the emperor and empress, Zhen Yingjia braced herself to listen to what the empress said next.

"I think you've heard it too," the queen said, the emperor coughed, and took over the words a little unhappy, "The crown prince has been deposed, so he can no longer live in the palace. I want to choose a house and house him. Move out."

Zhen Yingjia showed moderate surprise.

The queen glanced at the emperor, and said: "The Ministry of Rites has selected five houses. I have looked around, but I don't know which one is better. Why don't you come and have a look?"

As she spoke, she beckoned Zhen Yingjia to come forward.

Zhen Yingjia took two steps forward, only then did he see a few scrolls on the small table in front of the two of them, he looked up at the empress again, the empress seemed to be a lot more relaxed because she dragged him in, but the emperor was still a little unhappy, Sitting on the side coldly without words.

Zhen Yingjia's mind was running fast, choosing a house and other things... Judging from the reactions of these two, she knew that there must be a dispute, and they couldn't resolve it for a long time, so the queen wanted to pull a few more backs.

Only when he knew the reason for this long-standing reluctance, could Zhen Yingjia open his mouth, but he couldn't see it yet, he had to wait for these two to speak again and say something more.

But... just take advantage of this incident to see if Kang He has done something.

Zhen Yingjia took the scrolls and read them one by one. The more he looked at them, the more confused he became. The houses chosen by the Ministry of Rites were all big houses with gardens and ponds, which he hadn't bought after thinking for a long time.

And the Ministry of Rites must have taken into account the large number of people in the abandoned prince's family. These courtyards are composed of dozens of small courtyards on the left, middle and right, which are much stronger than Rongguo Mansion.

That's weird, Zhen Yingjia cast a vague glance at the queen, so what else is she dissatisfied with?

Seeing that Zhen Yingjia hadn't spoken for a long time, the queen glanced at the emperor and said, "Look, he's also undecided." The queen pointed to the scroll in Zhen Yingjia's hand and said, "This place is too far away from the imperial city, this place is too far away from the imperial city. The location is not good, the water in this place is drawn from other people’s houses, and this one is too small to live in..."

The queen refuted one by one, and finally complained: "The people in the Ministry of Rites are always pushing back and forth when choosing a house. This time, let them choose carefully."

In an instant, Zhen Yingjia understood what the queen meant, she wanted the deposed prince to still live in the palace!

As for the purpose of living in the palace, of course it was waiting for the emperor to change his mind and make him the crown prince again.

"The decree to make him Prince Yizhong has been handed over to the Supervisor of Rites and the Cabinet for drafting."

The emperor's words once again confirmed Zhen Yingjia's guess.

"And what's wrong with this house?" The emperor looked at Zhen Yingjia and said, "Tell me."

Zhen Yingjia immediately made a decision. He smiled apologetically and said, "It's not that the house is bad." After he finished speaking, he stopped and looked at the emperor and queen, as if he had suddenly made up his mind, but he was a little embarrassed and said: "Now the place to live is too small when my mother comes with the child. The housekeeper of Zhen's house has been looking for three months in Beijing with money, but he couldn't find a suitable house."

Having said this, Zhen Yingjia looked at the face of the emperor and empress again, and then said: "So after looking at the five houses that suit my heart, I am a little at a loss."

"You—" the emperor laughed twice, "These are all my things, and you can't buy them even if you have money!"

"However..." Zhen Yingjia paused, and continued: "These houses are indeed inappropriate."

The queen smiled, and the emperor showed doubts on his face, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhen Yingjia said: "Although there are many courtyards in this house, except for the main courtyards in the middle that have two entrances and three entrances, the rest are small courtyards with one entrance. It's too—" almost slipping the tongue, Zhen Yingjia He hastily changed his words, "The eldest son of the emperor has a big business, and he already has a son who is already married. Besides, when the eldest son of the emperor finishes his filial piety, it is time to get married. If this house rewards the eldest son of the emperor, I am afraid that it will have to be changed." The east road has to be converted into a big courtyard for the grandson of the emperor, and the west road has to have another one.”

Zhen Yingjia said while looking at the queen's face, and he really saw something.

When the emperor's eldest grandson was mentioned, the queen's face changed obviously, and Zhen Yingjia's words were supposed to echo the queen's wishes, but the queen didn't show her approval at all. Zhen Yingjia went to see the emperor again, but she couldn't see anything.

The emperor took the scroll and looked at it again. The expression on the queen's face changed for a while, but she calmed down in the end.

The emperor put down his things and said with a smile, "According to what you said, it really needs to be changed."

After hearing this, the Queen's face was full of embarrassment and unwillingness, which was extremely contradictory.

"Why don't I reward you with one?"

Although the emperor said this in a slightly joking tone, Zhen Yingjia was willing to go all out and thanked her directly, saying: "The youngest one will do. My family is not big enough to live on."

The emperor directly pulled out the scroll and shouted: "Xia Bingzhong, take this to the Supervisor of Rituals. The small one will be rewarded to Zhen Yingjia, and the big one will let them build a courtyard with three entrances on the East Road."

Zhen Yingjia thanked the emperor again, and said, "Shall I go and have a look together?"

The emperor said with disgust: "Go, go! You are indispensable."

Zhen Yingjia heaved a sigh of relief, followed Xia Bingzhong out, and when the autumn wind blew, he realized that his back was already wet.

In Kunning Palace, the queen's maid had already prepared two bowls of sweet-scented osmanthus honey and brought it out. The queen was holding the honey juice in her hand, and slowly poured it into her mouth with a small spoon. She took a couple of sips, then raised her eyes to see Zhen Yingjia's back. There was still some disbelief in his eyes.

Why did he exchange such a little thing for a big house and go back.

The queen's eyes turned cold, and she pretended not to care and sighed, "His wife has been gone for more than a year."

The emperor thought for a while, and said: "It happened last spring, it should have been a year and a half."

"Well, I have seen the eldest daughter of his family. She is very young and has a good way of doing things. It's just that she is approaching her age, so she needs to find someone to teach her well."

The emperor tasted the sweet-scented osmanthus honey and subconsciously hummed.

When the autumn wind blows away the sweat on Zhen Yingjia's body, he feels refreshed and elated again. No matter what, he is always happy to have a big house that cannot be bought with money, and he also knows that Kang He has indeed done something.

What's more, the emperor didn't have much grudge against Kang He.

For things like a house, the owner lives in the middle road, so naturally the abandoned prince lives there. There are two roads down the east and west, and the east is the respect. The emperor only intends to build a new courtyard for Kang He, and Kang Quan is no longer considered by him. bingo.

Zhen Yingjia had only been out of the palace for two days, and when the formalities were completed in the palace, she took Ji Chu to see Zhen's new house.

"I'm not in a hurry to move in." Zhen Yingjia said, "First ask someone to describe the appearance and send it back to Jinling for them to have a look to see if there is anything that needs to be changed. Ask someone to tidy up all the furniture and so on. If there is any rot The trees and flowers in the garden have to be changed, as well as the pond, and the water should be blocked first, and the inside should be cleaned thoroughly."

Ji Chu was also very happy, and said while remembering: "There is no rush, first clear the pond, it will get cold every two days, then it will be difficult to enter the water."

Zhen Yingjia nodded, and Ji Chu calculated, "It will be the beginning of next year anyway." He suddenly laughed out loud, and Zhen Yingjia turned to look at him.

Ji Chudao: "If you want me to say that it will take a while, the master will take part in the palace examination next year, and if he wins the Jinshi, the plaque at our door will have to change the standard."

"However, it's the word Zhen Fu." Zhen Yingjia thought for a while, could he ask the emperor to give him a plaque?

Zhen Yingjia made a lot of money in the new house, and returned to the mansion contentedly, but when he returned to the mansion, the concierge handed over the post, and he was not very happy.

The Rongguo Mansion issued an official post asking him to visit the mansion, and the reason was very legitimate, to appreciate the chrysanthemum.

The Chrysanthemum Appreciation event is the main social event in Beijing during the period from Mid-Autumn Festival to Chongyang Festival, and it is difficult to refuse such a serious post, even using a seal.

Zhen Yingjia looked at the post and frowned, and the concierge who received the post said: "...The Second Master Lian of Rongguo Mansion came to deliver it in person. I'm afraid people didn't know it. He walked half of the capital and fought with many people on the way. call……"

Zhen Yingjia's brows were furrowed even more, it was forcing him.He stared at the post, and told Zhiyin and Baoyu to be taken away, Zhiyin needn't think about it, even though it was a fake illness, let's rest at home.

As for Baoyu, when she thought of meeting that "fake" person, Zhen Yingjia resisted a little, but...it just happened to be an opportunity, Jia's house still kept their belongings, and they just took advantage of this opportunity to repair the house to come back.

Thinking of this, he said: "Go and send someone to tell me, I will definitely be there in the day after tomorrow."

Two days passed in a blink of an eye, and this morning, Zhen Yingjia finished her grooming, got into her own carriage, and went to Rongguo Mansion.

Speaking of which, this was the first time he went to Rongguo Mansion after he had been in the capital for several months.

The Rong Mansion opened the side door early, and Jia Lian, who had delivered the post last time, greeted him at the door. Zhen Yingjia met Jia Lian face to face, and sure enough, he was very handsome. Seeing him coming, he hurried forward and said, "Uncle Zhen Shi."

Speaking of which, Jia Lian was only four or five years younger than him, but although this name was a bit suspicious of calling someone old, Zhen Yingjia did not refuse, nodded and got off the carriage, and asked, "Are you the eldest son of the eldest son?"

Jia Lian nodded and said with a smile, "It's my nephew." As he spoke, he went forward and said, "The old lady and my father's second uncle are already waiting in Rongxi hall. Uncle Shi will come with me."

Zhen Yingjia followed Jia Lian, and the two walked through the arch, and within two steps they arrived at the legendary main hall of Rongguo Mansion: Rongxi Hall.

The three big characters of Rongxi Hall were also bestowed by the emperor, but it was not the current one, but his father.

Zhen Yingjia entered the main hall, and the three people in the room stood waiting for him. When Jia Mu saw him, she was very happy and said, "It can be regarded as looking forward to you. In the early years, I was with your mother in Jinling, and we were close friends in the boudoir." Then he turned his head to look at Jia Zheng, "When I was pregnant with your sister, I almost made a baby marriage, but it's a pity that he didn't come out until the dowry from the Lin family came."

Jia Mu looked at Zhen Yingjia again, and said with a smile, "You are a bit late."

Although she didn't reach out to hit the smiling face, her excuse was a bit too twisted and bizarre.

Although Zhen's mother gave birth late, and she is older now, she is at least ten years younger than Jia's mother, that is, when one is sensible, the other is already married. What kind of friendship can there be?

It's just that the ancestors of the Jia family and the Zhen family have relatives, and the two families have always been close.

It's just that Jia's mother is old after all, and the smiling Zhen Yingjia couldn't say anything, so she bowed back and said, "What a pity."

Jia Mu said, "Sit down quickly." Pointing to Jia Amnesty and Jia Zheng, she said, "These are my two unworthy sons. You must have seen them."

Both Jia She and Jia Zheng, even their sons have married and established a business, and they were told by their mothers that they were not up to date in front of outsiders, especially Jia She, who was still told in front of his own son, his old face blushed suddenly, and the expression on his face became more and more embarrassing .

Zhen Yingjia greeted these two again, and when everyone sat down one by one, Jia's mother said again: "Why don't you see Zhiyin and Baoyu? Your mother said in a letter that your youngest son has the same nickname as our grandson. It's just a coincidence." gone."

If the relationship between the two families is good, then this is really a good conversation to get closer. Unfortunately, Zhen Yingjia didn't have time to hide, so he coughed and found a random reason: "Zhiyin was ill a few days ago and is still taking care of her. Baoyu and the two There was some food in the sky, so I didn't let him out."

Jia's mother nodded thoughtfully, and said: "I heard that Zhiyin was sent back from the palace because of illness." Before Zhen Yingjia could answer, she immediately said: "You have to take good care of her." , she is still young, but she dare not let any root cause come to her."

"I thank you for your concern on her behalf."

Jia Mu smiled very kindly, and said: "The future will be long, and you will also move to the capital. It is time to have more contacts."

Zhen Yingjia was thinking about what the Rongguo Mansion invited him to do, and after spending so much effort, she asked the eldest son of the Changfang to invite him, and deliberately walked around half of the capital so that he could not refuse, it must be a huge plan.Thinking about it this way, the conversation became a little slower.

When Jia's mother found out, her complexion changed, and she turned her head to wink at Jia Lian. When Jia Lian went out, she smiled and said, "Although you didn't bring Baoyu, let you see Baoyu from my house."

As soon as the words were finished, the curtain of the side room was lifted, and Jia Lian came in with a bunch of children.

Needless to say, Baoyu ranks first.

Zhen Yingjia was a little dazed when he saw him, not to mention, at least a third of them were alike, but upon closer inspection they were not quite the same.

Zhen Yingjia was very relieved, the difference was all due to the changes he brought.

In the year he came here, he took Baoyu to run here and there. Once the child started to move, he would naturally have a seizure. His Baoyu was half a head taller than the one in front of him, and his spirit was better. .

Just as he was thinking, Baoyu had already walked up to him and saluted him, and called him Uncle Shi.

Zhen Yingjia smiled, took out the Four Books and Five Classics, pens, inks, papers and inkstones that she had prepared a long time ago, and said calmly: "People like us, at this age, you should start reading."

Baoyu's expression was a little sullen, and Zhen Yingjia smiled inwardly. Didn't she like reading at this time?

Seeing Baoyu's expression, and seeing Jia Zheng blowing his beard and preparing to get angry, Jia Amnesty was watching the fun, and Jia's mother hurried to save the scene and said, "I'm not going to pick it up soon. Thank you, Uncle Shi. He just won Juren. Listen more." His teachings."

Only then did Baoyu come forward to thank him.

Mother Jia sighed: "Two days ago, because I didn't study hard, I was beaten by his father. I haven't turned over the past two days, and the food is not good. I am very worried."

Zhen Yingjia smiled again, this is the sequelae of Jia Zheng's resignation. Originally, he was out of sight and out of mind for Baoyu, but now Jia Zheng has nothing serious to do, so he happened to take Baoyu to study together.

Or his method was not very right, or Baoyu didn't like reading the Four Books and Five Classics by nature, and now both of them were unhappy.

Zhen Yingjia smiled slightly, the money was not in vain, and the gift was not in vain.

Baoyu took the things and stood aside. Mother Jia said again: "These are some granddaughters in my house. I thought Zhiyin was coming, so I asked them to suspend class and come to accompany them."

Zhen Yingjia smiled, and when several girls called Uncle Shi one by one, they took jade bracelets, hairpins and other things and gave them to each other.

Mother Jia looked at the girls with gratification in her eyes, and said, "Zhiyin doesn't have many playmates in Beijing by herself, so I'll ask her to come to my house more often. There are many girls in my house, so we just do needlework together." , be each other's companions."

Zhen Yingjia smiled and agreed, and said: "She also likes my sister very much." She just agreed with her mouth, but she didn't intend to send her daughter here in her heart. Just mess with it first.

The children were taken down again in a flash. Mother Jia stood up with a smile, and the maid who followed hurriedly supported them. The chrysanthemums in their garden are very lush, and there are prepared crabs, try which one is better than the one in Jinling."

Zhen Yingjia narrowed his eyes, smiled and agreed, but now he was looking forward to it, what kind of medicine did Jia buy in this gourd?