Xu Lingyi stated the three conditions.
Jinger frowned and thought: "I can't reveal my identity, so can I bring a helper? A single tree cannot make a forest!"
"Okay. When you go to Jiayuguan, you can bring Master Pang and the others with you." Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "However, after two years, you can only bring one person with you. You have to think carefully about who to bring with you in the next two years."
Jinger nodded, his face a little heavy, and continued: "If we change a guard post every three years, how many guard posts do we need to change?"
"Change to three." Xu Lingyi said, "We must see the yellow sand all over the sky, and also know the Hundred Thousand Mountains. The last stop is in Huguang."
There are Miao people in Huguang.
Jinger counted on his fingers: "Wouldn't that take eleven years?"
"Why? You think the time is too long?" Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "I think the time is too short. I plan to have you work as a clerk in the Five Military Commandery for a while after you have changed three guard posts! Only when you stand high can you see far. Knowing what is going on below, and looking at it from the perspective of the overall situation, you will not lose your way when you are there in person."
Jinger drooped his shoulders: "Well, how long will it take me to become a general?"
"It depends on your luck," Xu Lingyi said, "at least fifteen or sixteen years, at most twenty-five or twenty-six years." Then he said earnestly, "Jin'er, wanting to be a general is a good ambition, but you also have to know if you can do it. It's like you only have fifty kilograms of strength, but you insist on holding a hundred-kilogram stone pillar. At the beginning, you can still hold on, but after a long time, you will have no choice but to let go. If you are smart, the stone pillar will fall to the side and make a big hole in the ground, but if you are not careful, the stone pillar may fall on your feet. You have to think about it carefully."
Jinger laughed and said, "Dad, don't worry. I won't do anything that would make me suffer for the sake of my reputation!"
Xu Lingyi couldn't help laughing.
The son was not complaining about the length of time, he was clearly bargaining with him. But he fell for it, it was true that caring too much made him confused!
He thought about it randomly and asked Jing'er, "Do you have any other questions?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Jinger said with a smile, "If I want to get a job, would guarding the gate or the warehouse count?"
"Not really!" Xu Lingyi said with a smile, "At least you have to be a flag bearer or something like that." He added, "How could you have thought of guarding the gate and the warehouse? These places are for taking care of the old and weak old soldiers."
Jinger touched his head and smiled, saying loudly: "Dad, it's a deal. If I do the three things you asked me to do, you can't stop me from going to Jiayuguan."
At this point, Xu Lingyi still kept his son in suspense: "You can be a general, but as for whether it's Jiayuguan, that's hard to say. This kind of thing depends on opportunity, right? Just because you want to be the general of Jiayuguan, do you want to take the ready-made general home to live out your retirement? You want to pacify the world, don't other people have the same ambition?"
Jinger thought of the passionate expression of the general of Jiayu Pass when he stood on the city wall and pointed out the situation inside and outside the pass when he went to the northwest. He nodded seriously and said, "Dad, I understand. If there is no shortage, I will never do anything wrong."
In other words, if there is a vacancy, he will try to get it.
Xu Lingyi smiled: "Then it's settled. We'll set off after the third day of March. You should make good preparations at home these few days. I want to say hello to Jiayuguan, and also to your grandmother..." At this point, he couldn't help but frowned.
The Madam's mental state was getting worse and worse, and she became more and more dependent on the family. She used to never care where he went, but now she would ask him where he went every few hours. Except for the morning and evening visits, he had lunch at the Madam's. If the Madam knew that Jing'er wanted to go to Jiayuguan, she would not agree no matter how much she tried to persuade him.
After seeing his son off, Xu Lingyi paced around in the study.
After finally convincing Shiyi Niang, now it's the turn of the Taifu... It's not okay to let Shiyi Niang go and talk to the Taifu. It's not that she doesn't have the eloquence, but she's probably sad in her heart, and asking her to persuade the Taifu would only make things worse.
Thinking of this, a person popped up in his mind.
Xu Lingyi immediately went to the lady's place.
The second wife was reciting Buddhist scriptures to the first wife.
Her voice was soft and soothing, and soon the lady closed her eyes.
The second lady raised the corner of her mouth, and without slowing down, she read another page, then gently placed the scripture next to her pillow.
After tiptoeing in, Jie Xiang, who had been standing next to her with bated breath, gestured to the second wife, telling her that someone was looking for her outside.
The second wife nodded slightly, slowly tucked the corner of the quilt for the old lady, and then walked out.
"My Lord?"
Seeing Xu Lingyi standing in the hall with his hands behind his back, she couldn't help but be a little surprised.
Xu Lingyi smiled bitterly: "Second sister-in-law, there is something I want to ask you for help!"
The Second Madam remained silent. She thought for a moment and then asked softly, "Is it about Brother Jin?"
Xu Lingyi was a little surprised.
The second wife smiled and said, "I calculated the time, it's almost time." Then she changed her active position to passive and went to the banquet room in the east, "Let's talk here!"
Xu Lingyi nodded and went to the east room with the second wife.
* * * * * *
On March 3rd of the 18th year of Yonghe, the Yongping Marquis's Mansion was no different in the eyes of ordinary servants. The Fourth Young Lady, the wife of the Crown Prince, hosted the Spring Banquet. The Fourth Young Lady did not make people shine like the first time she hosted the Spring Banquet, but continued the style of the year before and last year, holding a banquet in the flower hall, enjoying the scenery in the back garden, and inviting famous actors to sing at home. However, this year, the garden scenery was handed over to the Fifth Young Lady. The Fifth Young Lady built a flower shed and built a flower mountain with Ji Ting's wife. The scenery was more attractive than in previous years.
But in the eyes of those prominent managers, there were subtle changes.
First, it was the Second Young Lady. The Fourth Lady asked her to take her daughter to Le'an to take care of the Second Young Master. Then it was the Fifth Young Lady, who took care of the flowers and trees at home with Ji Ting's wife. If it was someone else's family, it would be fine to take care of the flowers and trees, but their family had one of the few greenhouses, as well as a capable person like Ji Ting, and someone like the Fourth Lady who liked to take care of things. Only if someone liked someone would she be responsible for the flowers and trees. The family's expenses on flowers and trees were sometimes more than those on the sewing room. Finally, it was the Sixth Young Master. It was said that reading thousands of books was not as good as traveling thousands of miles. Now that he had finished studying "Youxue" and "The Analects of Confucius", he was going to travel. The first stop was Xuantong Mansion. Others didn't know, but these stewards in the Xu Mansion knew the "respect" of the generals of various provinces to the Xu family. When the Xu family had any disputes somewhere, they didn't go to the governor, but to the general or the commander.
Seeing this, many people could no longer sit still. Not only did they move closer to Manager Bai, but they also moved closer to Wan Daxian.
Chief Steward Bai was always calm and nonchalant: "Does the Marquis need to inform me of any arrangements? It is important to do well in the things at hand. The higher you want to climb, the harder you will fall."
Wan Daxian remained honest and silent: "I only heard that we should bring more winter clothes to Chang'an and Changshun because spring comes late there."
No one was puzzled, and there was a strange atmosphere in the house.
In the past two years, Eleventh Lady has basically handed over all the household affairs to Jiang, and Jiang was the first one to feel it.
Ever since she was "instructed" by Eleventh Lady, she never told the Jiang family about the Xu Mansion again. Even when her aunt asked her privately a few times, she insisted that nothing had happened. Especially when she saw her aunt's occasional disappointment, she became even more alert and would not say anything.
Father-in-law is in good health, and mother-in-law is still in her prime. It is too early to talk about the future. Now that something like this has happened in the family, it is reasonable for her to make an example of those who jump out and suppress them. But she only has the title of head of the family, but not the power of the head of the family - no matter whether it is the well-known housekeepers or the big maids in various places in the inner court, they are all mother-in-law's people. With the support of mother-in-law, none of them dare to disobey her orders. But when it comes to Sixth Uncle... She has no idea what mother-in-law thinks, and she can't test anything. Once she shows her power, mother-in-law will cut off the source of the trouble. Losing face is a small matter, but I am afraid that those housekeepers will never take her seriously again. But if this situation continues, the house will be in chaos.
She wanted to talk it over with someone.
Husband... When she thought of Xu Sizhun's careless look, she felt like an eggplant hit by frost, and she was a little weaker. She was afraid that as soon as she opened her mouth, he would say, "You are too suspicious. Mother will take care of these things. Just listen to her when the time comes."
Yuan Baozhu's family... She was a concubine. Even if she had all kinds of means, she could not take a single step without the support of her master's family.
Sister-in-law... She couldn't help but feel moved. The two of them talked, and Fang's mouth was tight...
Thinking of this, she called Baozhu in loudly: "Prepare the carriage for me, I want to go to Sanjing Hutong to see the eldest young lady."
Baozhu left immediately.
They met Yingniang and Ji Ting's wife with a group of servants who came to deliver flowers and trees to Jiang.
"What a coincidence!" Yingniang laughed, "I was just about to ask Fourth Sister-in-law how to arrange the flowers and trees."
Jiang smiled and said, "Fifth brother's wife is an expert in this area, you just need to help me make the decision!"
Yingniang smiled and said, "Then I will help Fourth Sister-in-law to make a decision!" She laughed very heartily, and actually added two flower tables to her banquet room, one with asparagus fern and the other with a fish tank, which added a bit of liveliness to the room.
Xu Sijie blamed her: "Everyone has their own hobbies, don't touch other people's things."
Yingniang didn't take it seriously: "It's just a decoration. If you like it, keep it for a few more days. If you don't like it, just change it."
Xu Sijie smiled, looking at Yingniang's brilliant smile, thinking of Yingniang making a spring shirt behind his back, and only bringing it out for him to wear on March 3rd... his heart softened. He said softly, "Fourth sister-in-law is the wife of the prince, and will be in charge of the household affairs in the future. If she doesn't have any airs, how can she control those mothers who are in charge?"
"I know!" Yingniang placed a small bowl of sunflowers on her windowsill and turned to Xu Sijie and said, "Fourth sister-in-law is a very nice person. When I first got married, she was afraid that I would feel suffocated by the bumpy sedan chair, so she secretly gave me a bottle of jasmine dew." At this point, she laughed, "She also said that when she got married, it was my mother who gave her the dew."
"Really!" As a husband, he hoped that his sisters-in-law would get along well with each other. Upon hearing this, he immediately acted interested. "Why didn't you tell me about this? Did your mother give you some flower dew?"
"You knew it at that time...why didn't you care about me..." Ying Niang blushed and couldn't continue.
Xu Sijie's face suddenly turned red. He looked around and made small talk: "By the way, my sixth brother is going out. What do you think we should give him?"
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PS: Make up for the extra update on October 2nd!