Chapter 101: The Second Idiot
Further ahead is Cangzhou.
Along the way, Jia Lian and his group traveled non-stop, fearing that any accidents might occur.
"Aunt, Cangzhou is just ahead."
Jia Lian held his little cousin in his arms and rode to the carriage. He said to Jia Min, who had lifted the curtain, "When we get to the post station, let's rest for two days!"
He feels sorry for his aunt.
Unlike him and his younger cousins, who could get out of the car and ride a horse to relax their bodies and minds, his aunt couldn't show up in public and stayed in the car.
"become!"
As they were about to get home, Jia Min felt much more relaxed.
"Second cousin!"
Lin Daiyu stuck her head out and said, "It's my turn to ride a horse."
"Wait a moment."
Lin Changan hasn’t had enough fun yet.
"Wait a little longer and we'll be in Cangzhou."
Jia Lian smiled, "You are a man, you have to give in to your sister."
Lin Changan: “…”
He wanted to say that he was still young and was far from being a man.
But his sister and mother were looking at him.
"Well, let's change!"
"Hehe~, when we get to Cangzhou, I'll give you all the delicious food."
Lin Daiyu smiled and assured her brother.
"What do you mean by arriving in Cangzhou?"
Lin Changan retorted in dissatisfaction, while letting his second cousin carry him to the car, "When we get to the capital, there will be delicious food, and sister will let me have it too."
"nature!"
In order to ride a horse, Lin Daiyu agreed generously.
Jia Min smiled at her son who came in and pointed at his little head, "You really know how to choose the right time."
"Mother~"
Lin Changan leaned into his mother's arms and acted coquettishly.
Lin Daiyu, who was carried to the horse by Jia Lian, had only joy in her eyes.
From Yangzhou to the capital, she ate a lot of things she had never eaten before and saw a lot of different scenery. Although she had to travel every day and sometimes couldn't get to the post station or inn at night and had to rest in her own carriage, no matter what kind of experience it was, it was new to her.
When she was in Yangzhou, she sometimes had trouble sleeping at night, but now she goes horseback riding with her second brother Lian every day. Not only has she learned how to ride a horse, but she also sleeps very well at night.
"Huh? That caravan is still following us."
Lin Daiyu saw the old shopkeeper who had spoken to her cousin last time coming out of the carriage. After seeing them, he smiled and bowed to them.
"They were originally a caravan heading to the capital."
Jia Lian smiled and returned the greeting, while saying to his little cousin, "We have more people, it will be safer if you follow us."
When traveling, it is always better to be kind to others than to be mean to them.
Although they were escorted by ten bodyguards from the Fuwei Escort Agency, these caravans traveling from south to north also had their own ways of survival.
"What do they sell?"
“What’s the best thing about Yangzhou?”
Jia Lian asked back with a smile.
"Porcelain, silk, cotton, fans, tortoise shells, etc."
"right!"
"Can……"
Lin Daiyu frowned slightly, "But it rained a few days ago, and I didn't see them moving anything."
Except for porcelain, tortoise shells and the like which are not afraid of rain, other materials such as silk and cotton are terrible.
"Haha, that's because when you saw it, they had almost moved."
It rained heavily that day and the other party had no choice but to come to him for help. In the end, he asked the people from the escort agency to go over and help, and made some extra money at the same time.
“I see!”
Xiao Daiyu smiled and said, "Cousin, I saw you holding a pair of tortoise shell bracelets the other day. Are they from their family?"
“…Shh!”
Jia Lian looked at his aunt's carriage and made sure that they were far enough away that she couldn't hear it. Then he said, "I bought it to give to your second sister-in-law when I get home."
"Want to give it as a surprise?"
Xiao Daiyu's eyes couldn't help but light up.
"Of course, so you must not let it slip."
That is a special gift from others as a token of gratitude and respect.
Jia Lian knew that the other party followed them not only to seek protection along the way, but also to curry favor with their family in the capital.
So, he gave this opportunity.
Otherwise, what can one do with only twenty taels of silver per month? Jia Lian cherishes every opportunity to make extra money.
"Definitely."
Little Daiyu likes this second cousin who can teach her how to ride a horse. "Mother said you were going to send salt to the old lady and the others, so I was thinking about how to remind you and buy some other things."
Jia Lian: "..."
He was convinced.
"Second cousin, my brother and I brought a lot of small toys from Jiangnan. Do you want me to give some to you and give them to your cousins?"
"...Are you willing to do that?"
“I’m willing to give it up!”
Xiao Daiyu nodded, "Chang'an and I have discussed this before. We will give you three each."
They are not considered older cousins.
"Oh, I really want to thank you."
Jia Lian pinched her nose and was about to say something else when he heard the sound of horse hooves from behind. A team of about ten people, all on horseback, came rushing over from behind.
The escort agency's bodyguards rode their horses and quietly moved to Jia Lian's periphery to prepare for protection.
"Oh~, Second Master?"
Zhou Bo, the palace guard of Ningguo Mansion, had even out-ridden them. When he turned around, his eyes met Jia Lian's and he hurriedly stopped, "Oh, my good Second Master, I finally found you."
They set out from Beijing and traveled all the way to Jining, where they got news of Jia Lian from the post station.
Knowing that they had hired an escort from the Fuwei Escort Agency, he followed the escort and took a shortcut instead of going through Liaocheng as usual, so he rode as fast as he could and hurried back.
Unfortunately, when we arrived in Linqing, it rained heavily for several days and we were delayed for several more days. Fortunately, we finally found it before entering Cangzhou.
"Are you Zhou Bo, the palace guard of the East Palace?"
Jia Lian was also very surprised.
"Second Master, he is Zhou Bo."
Huo Qi, who was arranged by Jia Zhen to be by Jia Lian's side and accompanied him all the way, was also very happy, "Why are you here?"
"Madam is worried about you."
It is a natural joy for brothers to see each other.
Seeing Jia Min lift the curtain of the carriage, Zhou Bo and others hurriedly jumped off their horses and greeted her first, "Aunt, our wife is worried that there will be accidents on the way, so she specially arranged for the brothers to come and greet you."
"Thank you for your hard work."
Jia Min nodded and said, "When we return to Beijing, I will ask my elder and second brothers to thank you."
She would go to thank her sister-in-law in person.
"Lian'er, once we enter Cangzhou City, ask the post station to prepare two more tables of food."
"yes!"
Jia Lian was very happy to see so many people coming at once. "Let's go to Cangzhou before dark, and have some wine and meat."
Along the way, he didn't dare let anyone drink.
But now, he felt ready for a drink.
Not far away, Li Haifeng, who was following them, was still worried. With so many people coming, it would be even harder for him to take action. But he didn't expect Jia Lian to drink and eat meat. Hehe~ "Little chess piece, come in and massage my legs."
The shopkeeper dismounted and got into the carriage, and Li Haifeng quickly followed.
"Seventh Master, do you want to do it at night?"
"…Is it not possible?"
Li Haifeng sat down and Chang Lei, who was dressed as the shopkeeper, helped him massage his legs.
"Okay, but..."
Chang Lei hesitated for a moment. "No matter how much the Jia family members drink, the escorts will never drink when they are out on the road. Besides, there is a branch of the Fuwei Escort Agency in Cangzhou. If something happens, the Fuwei Escort Agency will be able to come right back."
He would rather confront the government than the escort agency.
"Then... just bear with it for a while."
Although Li Haifeng wanted to take action immediately to avenge his blood feud, he also knew that haste makes waste.
The people of Cangzhou are martial people, and if one of them is not careful, none of them may escape.
"To Tianjin."
Li Haifeng gritted her teeth and said, "We gave them the wine today."
"yes!"
It is necessary to send food and drink frequently, otherwise, how can we kill so many people? Chang Lei agreed with satisfaction.
…
At this time, Wang, who had just left Jia's mother's courtyard, didn't care about anything else and hurriedly grabbed the little maid beside her, "Go to the outer courtyard to find Li Saner and tell him to find the master back as soon as possible."
Although the old lady also sent people to look for him, Li Saner was her companion, and he knew the teahouses and restaurants that the master usually liked.
The idea that Jia Lian might be impeached was something she came up with to coax Jia Zheng.
Secretly, Wang hoped that Jia Lian would make more mistakes.
After so many years, seeing him affectionately calling her "Second Aunt", she softened her behavior again and again.
Wang subconsciously did not want to admit that she was afraid that Jia She would go crazy and did not dare to touch Jia Lian.
But now that there was such a good opportunity, she felt that there would be absolutely no problem in digging a hole.
After all, Jia Lian did borrow the power of his family, otherwise, why would anyone care about him? As a descendant of the Duke's Mansion, he was just bullying others by taking advantage of his power.
Obviously, Jia Zheng agreed with what she said, so how come...
"Tell him that the eldest sister-in-law from the East Mansion is here, and the family asked him to come back immediately."
"yes!"
The little maid ran out in a hurry.
Yuanchun didn't quite understand what was going on. "Mother, where has the master gone?"
"The master is going to find the officials at the Imperial Envoy's Office to plead for Lian'er!"
In front of her daughter who was about to become the Marquis' wife, Wang still wanted to save some dignity for herself and her husband. "He was in Jiangnan, beating up the salt merchant who framed our family. Your father and I heard that someone wanted to impeach him, so your father rushed out to inquire."
Yuanchun: “…”
Although I don't know the whole story, it's normal for my mother to say 70% truth and 30% lies.
Many people in the palace are like this.
But this is home, not the palace.
"A small salt merchant dared to frame our family. If Second Brother Lian doesn't know, that's fine. But if he knows and pretends not to know, then we should be anxious."
Wang: “…”
Yuanchun continued, "Mother, legal principles are nothing more than human feelings. As long as Brother Lian didn't kill anyone in the Li family, the officials in the Imperial Envoy Office will turn a blind eye."
Scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.
A small salt merchant, relying on his family's wealth, dared to frame the Duke's Mansion. No matter which official it was, even if he was an enemy of their family, he would not easily stand on the side of the salt merchant.
What's wrong with hitting him? Not hitting him is really stupid.
"It's right for Second Brother Lian to fight in Jiangnan. If he doesn't fight..., there will be countless villains who want to attack our family in the future."
The officials in the Imperial Censorate are also officials, and they would also worry that their families might encounter such bad things one day.
"You and your father don't have to worry at all."
My parents didn't worry about the things they should worry about, but this kind of thing they shouldn't worry about...
Yuanchun didn't know what to say to her parents, "Just find my father back."
Wang: “…”
She broke free from her daughter's support and asked, "Do you think we are meddling in other people's business?"
Yuanchun: “…”
She suddenly realized what the conflict between her mother and her aunt was this time.
"Mother!"
Yuanchun tried hard to suppress her frustration and worry, "How could you miss your daughter so much? I just..."
"Okay, that's enough of this."
Wang was also having a headache because she had made a big mistake.
I just hope that the master hasn't found anyone yet and told them that Lian'er did something wrong.
otherwise……
Wang really suspected that not only the master would be unlucky, but she... would also be unlucky.
She doesn't want to live in the ancestral hall anymore.
Not only did Wang not want to live in the ancestral hall, she was also afraid that Jia Zheng would come back and blame her.
He already resented her because of Baoyu's jade.
I have been resting at Aunt Zhao's place for such a long time.
He really doesn't give her any face at all.
Wang was worried and angry. "I don't want to hear it anymore, and I don't want to talk about it anymore. Let's wait until your father comes back and talk about it!"
Her daughter is about to get married and become a marquis' wife, and as a mother...
Wang is very conflicted.
If a daughter is in the palace and works for the emperor, both her father's official position and her imperial edict will be promoted.
But now, her daughter's imperial title is much higher than hers.
On the one hand, she relied on her daughter, hoping that the old lady and the eldest sister-in-law of the East Mansion would give them and her husband a little more face for the sake of her daughter, but on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel a little...
"You stay with me and wait for your father!"
She grabbed her daughter's hand again and said, "Go to Curry and have a look. If there's anything you like, I'll add it to your dowry."
The husband cannot blame her, because he wanted to go.
Even if you want to blame her, you can restrain yourself with Yuanchun around.
In a flash, Wang decided not to let Yuanchun go.
"…Mother, your daughter has done enough."
Yuanchun was tired, "Didn't you just give me a set of red coral headwear last time?"
The second branch of the family split up, and here comes my eldest brother and Baoyu.
Yuanchun also hoped that the rest of her parents' lives would not be any different from before. "As for the rest, you should keep them well and give them to your grandchildren in the future."
Wang: “…”
She patted her daughter's hand and said, "Mom has a lot of things in her hands. She has everything."
To say that my daughter is caring is true. To say that my daughter is not caring is really because she does the opposite of me and my master in everything.
The eldest sister-in-law in the East Mansion has been competing with her for this daughter.
She must have taught her bad things.
"Hasn't my whole life been for you? As long as you are well, I will be well too."
It was Baoyu's business that was ruined by her.
Wang was particularly worried. She didn't know how to face her youngest son. "What did the midwife say? Why did she insist that Baoyu held the jade in his mouth?"
She was anxious and worried. "Everyone is saying that I wanted to win Baoyu's favor. This is really unfair to me. With you and your brother in our family, I would never make such a bad move for my youngest son. Someone must be trying to frame our second house."
She didn't need to compete for favor at all, the old lady just liked their second wife.
Although she was not very satisfied with her as a daughter-in-law, she loved the master and her three children very much.
Mrs. Wang wanted to blame everything on the midwife.
I hope to get my daughter's support here.
“…It’s not impossible.”
Anyway, the midwife was dead.
The dead cannot speak, so it's okay to push towards her.
After all, the eldest brother and Baoyu still have to take exams and become officials.
Yuanchun said: "The other party may not only want to frame our second branch, but also the entire Jia family."
This? Wang's eyes gradually brightened.
…
At Jia Mu's Courtyard, Shen Ning finally ate the chicken marrow bamboo shoots that she had longed for.
There are twelve Wenshan Jade Finger bamboo shoots on the plate with the cores removed. The filling is certainly not entirely chicken marrow. A closer taste shows that the chicken is minced and mixed with chicken marrow to remove the fishy smell, then simmered in clear soup before being stuffed in.
It looks elegant and clear.
It is even more nutritious.
A bite of it is refreshing, crispy, glutinous and fragrant...
It has a very special fragrance, showing the taste of chicken marrow.
"This tastes good, Auntie, please eat more."
“You!”
Grandmother Jia smiled and said, "Or you can do the same as I do here, write a sign and let people take turns to do it."
The old lady was very happy that there was another first-rank imperial decree in the family.
"Let's just forget it!"
Looking at Baoyu and the sisters Yingchun and Tanchun who came over, Shen Ning felt a little regretful, "My place is not as lively as yours."
Four dishes and one soup is already very good.
Haodaer is a person who likes extravagance. If she is not restrained, who knows what she will be like in the future.
"I'll come and get whatever you want to eat next time."
“Hahaha, just come.”
As long as you're not here to quarrel.
I hope that next time I come to eat, her family will be safe and sound.
Jia's mother's wishes are very small now. "If you want to eat something, tell them in advance and let them make it for you."
"Baoyu, are you welcome?"
"welcome!"
Baoyu nodded like a little adult.
His aunt was undoubtedly kind to him.
He liked his aunt, "Aunt, this duck is delicious too, please try it."
"Oh, it's really delicious."
"Aunt, the egg yolk baked shrimp is also delicious."
"Aunt, the mushroom soup is delicious too."
"Aunt..."
Baoyu started the conversation, and Yingchun and Tanchun quickly followed suit, recommending to her what they liked.
The old lady smiled as she watched Shen Ning praise this and nod at that. She unknowingly forgot about her second son and even ate half a bowl of rice more.
Faced with the enthusiasm of the three children, Shen Ning was very restrained and did not allow herself to eat too much.
But compared to what she ate at home, she definitely ate more. When she said goodbye and went home for a nap, she didn't dare to take the sedan chair again and walked all the way back.
"grandmother!"
Rong Ge'er, who had been forgotten, looked a little angry when he saw her coming back, "I saw Grandpa Zheng Er in Wangyue Tower."
“…”
Shen Ning's expression changed. "He is treating people to a meal and asking them not to impeach your Second Uncle Lian?"
Jia Rong was unhappy. "I don't know whether he was asking people not to impeach Uncle Lian, but they are treating him like a fool."
"What's going on?"
"He said he would treat us, but when I went over, he had already left through the back door. The officials heard that they just ordered and put it on his account. Not only did they order the best food and wine, they also each took a food box home. I was next door and heard them eat Grandpa Zheng's meal and call him an idiot."
Shen Ning: “…”
Looking at her angry grandson, she sighed, "Are you so angry? Then find a few people, bribe the waiter, and find a way to tell him that people call him an idiot, and then..."
Jia Rong waited for his grandmother to finish speaking.
Shen Ning smiled slightly, "Then you can bring more brothers from the clan and pretend to bump into them by accident."
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