21 021 Alliance
◎Smooth! We are on the same boat from now on.◎
The Fourth Prince took the initiative to talk to Lin Ruhai, of course for business.
But before talking about business, he still talked about some personal matters first - mainly because Mo Yu's display of "magic power" was so dazzling that it was difficult for him to ignore it.
Fortunately, Lin Ruhai is also a smart person, and he can understand many things without being told too much. It can be said that he understands it at once and can even draw inferences from one thing to another, which makes the Fourth Prince feel very relaxed and wants to talk to him more.
After all, the Fourth Prince came to Jiangnan on behalf of Master Kang. Since he has opened the door to talk and negotiate with Lin Ruhai, Lin Ruhai will definitely cooperate no matter what.
Therefore, the two of them only exchanged a few polite words before leaving Mo Yu's room together, and then went directly to Lin Ruhai's study room in tacit understanding.
This study room is between the inner and outer courtyards of the Lin Mansion, surrounded by lush forests and bamboos, and surrounded by exotic flowers and rocks. From the outside, the environment is extremely quiet and elegant, not as casual as that of ordinary people. After entering the door, there are all kinds of antiques, calligraphy and paintings, and the layout is very beautiful. It doesn't look like a study room, but more like an incense room.
In short, there is no place that is inappropriate, and everywhere is elegant.
Coincidentally, the Fourth Prince was originally an elegant person.
The "Buddhist idler" persona he had set for himself before was not entirely for the purpose of keeping a low profile. In fact, he himself is also a scholar who likes these elegant and exquisite things.
However, he advocates frugality, hates waste, and doesn't like those overly fancy things, so there aren't too many toys or decorations in his home.
But this doesn't mean he doesn't know the goods.
Because he is the son of Master Kang.
First of all, this starting point is a bit high. He can be called one of the heroes among the heroes, and he is the one who won later. Of course, both his qualifications, talents and hard work are astonishing.
In fact, this fourth prince has always loved reading, and has a wide range of knowledge. He has a deep study of calligraphy, antiques, bronze and stone, and calligraphy and painting. He has a very high taste and a good vision. He can be called a hardcore enthusiast...
Therefore, the fourth prince, who originally planned to talk about business as soon as he arrived, was instantly attracted by Lin Ruhai's superb study. As a result, he couldn't help but follow Lin Ruhai to appreciate these high-end treasures in his private collection. The
Lin family is a fifth-generation marquis, with a deep family foundation and has been operating in Suzhou City. Naturally, there are many good things in the family. Lin Ruhai is a direct descendant, with a deep family background, and is also an expert in this area.
Therefore, he and the fourth prince hit it off at first sight. As the saying goes, "a true friend is hard to find." It's rare for two people to get along so well. There's no rush to talk about business, so let's just have a friendly exchange between literati and chat over tea.
After finishing a bowl of tea and finishing the idle chat, the Fourth Prince finally spoke about business: "Lord Lin, do you know why I came to talk to you alone this time?"
Lin Ruhai smiled bitterly and said, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Beile. I dare to guess that you are here for my son's matter?"
The Fourth Prince smiled and nodded, "Lord Lin is indeed as clear as a mirror."
Lin Ruhai became more helpless and lowered his head and said, "I am ashamed. I am really ashamed. Lord Beile, please forgive me for making a fool of myself. But you have seen my son's strange symptoms with your own eyes. My whole family is powerless and don't know where to start. I wonder what Lord Beile thinks about this?"
This was kicking the ball to the Fourth Prince again.
The Fourth Prince was startled, and then he smiled even more brilliantly.
He looked at Lin Ruhai, as if he was evaluating, and as if he was thinking, but he didn't remain silent for too long, and suddenly said: "What if I say that when Lord Lin returns to Beijing to take up his post in the future, I would like to invite Lord Lin to my Prince's Mansion to have tea and chat with me?"
This is a very artistic way of speaking.
But those who understand will naturally understand.
Lin Ruhai certainly understood, not only understood, but also knew everything. He was shocked when he heard this, and although his face remained expressionless, a hint of shock could not help showing in his eyes.
How could this be an invitation to him to have tea and talk, it was clearly an attempt to pull him to stand in line.
But... it's not impossible.
Seeing the Fourth Prince looking at him eagerly, Lin Ruhai pondered for a moment and smiled appropriately: "Thank you for your invitation, Lord Beile. I am honored."
This time it was the Fourth Prince's turn to be stunned.
Ah?
Just agreed?
Just that simple?
For a moment, he was a little unsure whether Lin Ruhai was serious or joking.
After all, no matter his usual reputation or the feeling he had just met, Lord Lin should not be the kind of person who makes promises impulsively. The
Fourth Prince was still evaluating whether Lin Ruhai's words were true or false, but Lin Ruhai completely regained his composure and even personally poured a cup of new tea for the Fourth Prince. Of course,
he knew that this kind of thing was not something that could be done with just a few words, but he was not completely unprepared for it.
Ever since Mo Yu used telepathy to tell him a lot of "secrets", Lin Ruhai has actually thought about his future path.
Since it is not safe not to take a side, it is better to take the most correct side.
The sooner you take a side, the more at ease you will be.
Besides, if it is really wrong, it is not impossible to change it... Just kidding, of course, I have decided to let it go and will not regret it.
So, Lin Ruhai put on a serious expression and took the initiative to confess to the Fourth Prince. The two of them bumped their heads and started a more secretive narrative - after all, it involves the issue of taking sides, so it is better to keep a low profile.
In fact, even if the Fourth Master did not look for Lin Ruhai today, Lin Ruhai originally wanted to take the initiative to look for him.
This time, the Fourth Prince was so kind that he did not hesitate to follow him back to Gusu from Yangzhou, just to let the accompanying imperial physician treat his Moyu.
Apart from other things, as a prince, he could show such care to a child of an ordinary official, which was a great friendship.
Lin Ruhai was not the kind of person who did not know how to be grateful, and he should have expressed his gratitude.
Of course, he was not the kind of person who would ignore everything in order to repay a favor. He accepted the invitation of the Fourth Prince this time, and he really had his considerations.
First of all, of course, it was because he had been immersed in officialdom for so many years. Although he did not mix in the capital, he was still well-informed about all kinds of news.
After all, their Lin family was a family of five generations of marquis. Even if the Lin Ruhai generation was small and seemed to be declining, the connections and resources accumulated in the past were still there.
It was a pity that there were only resources but no people, which was really tragic. But the more so, the more reassured the emperor was - especially since they served a powerful figure like Master Kang, the weaker they were, the easier it was to be reused.
Most people have the mentality of pitying the poor and the weak, and the stronger they are, the more they will have this mentality. This is how Master Kang felt about the Lin family.
Looking back to the past, before the Qing Dynasty entered the country, the Lin family in Gusu was already a very prominent family.
And it was a standard family of scholars. The children in the family were not only talented and well-behaved, but also many of them served as officials and specialized in academic studies.
After all, Jiangnan is a land of outstanding people and talents, and many literary masters have emerged in every dynasty.
Originally, the Lin family had lived in Gusu for a long time and had nothing to do with the royal family. However, the Lin family was different from ordinary families. They were also a kind of upper-class family that could see clearly and think clearly.
When the Qing army first entered the country, their behavior was indeed very bloody, but the monarch who succeeded to the throne gradually began to sinicize and showed the desire for national integration.
Especially after Master Kang ascended the throne, he tried his best to get close to the Han people. Apart from other things, he made several consecutive southern tours, which really showed great sincerity.
Under such circumstances, the Lin family gradually let go of their resistance and began to let the children of the family re-enter the officialdom, and they also achieved considerable results.
Well, as the official career prospered, the family's population gradually dwindled. I don't know if their family's fortune of adding children to the family and their official careers grew and fell. Anyway, as the emperor's trust in them grew day by day, the official positions of the children of the Lin family became higher and higher, and their family became fewer and fewer.
First, many family members died young, and then, many people couldn't have children...
Even if they gave birth to children reluctantly, they were not very healthy. This was particularly evident in Lin Ruhai.
In fact, the situation is even more serious in the original novel. After all, in the original novel, all the Lin family members died in the end.
So, the old lady of the Jia family is really amazing. Just to appease her precious grandson who was reincarnated from that broken thing in her family, she cursed all kinds of vicious curses - she actually said "The Lin family is dead, there is no one left".
Sure enough, all the Lin family members really died.
It's really scary to think about it.
But now it's not time to die, so the advantage of intelligence still completely occupies the high ground.
After all, they are top academic masters. The same strange event will have two completely different results if it happens in the Lin family and the Jia family.
Jia Baoyu was born with a jade in his womb, and the Jia family thought it was a "good omen". The whole family publicized it everywhere, making it known to everyone, which made the royal family jealous and dissatisfied, and secretly on guard. It can be said that this is a typical case of self-defeating
. While Mo Yu was expressing his inner thoughts, the Lin family was very cautious and low-key, fearing that someone would harm him. This is the correct way for smart people to deal with it.
In addition, the top student Lin Ruhai also gained something else - since listening to his son's continuous confession of his inner thoughts, Lin Ruhai has been thinking seriously and studying hard. Now, he has roughly figured out the meaning of some of his son's strange words.
It turns out that all of them are actually living in a book, and this book has a so-called plot.
It is probably a kind of power similar to destiny, which makes people unable to escape and can only follow the path it dictates.
For example, the Lin family is destined to die early, but is it really so?
After feeling uncomfortable for a few days, Lin Ruhai felt that he could not be so pessimistic. Anyway, no matter how destiny arranges it, he will definitely try his best to struggle, and he will definitely help the relatives at home to try to change their fate.
On this point, Lin Ruhai and Jia Min are somewhat in agreement - since God did not take their Mo Ge'er away, and gave him this magical power, it must be a revelation.
Maybe this is the opportunity for their family to change their fate.
In short, it is impossible to sit and wait for death, you have to try your best.
What if it succeeds?
No, it will definitely succeed.
Lin Ruhai made up his mind and decided to take the initiative to stand on the side, from the pure minister who was cautious and self-protective to the Fourth Master's party.
Anyway, although he said "preserving himself cautiously", he could not really save his family's lives in the end, so he might as well give it a try - didn't their Moyu "say" that this Fourth Master would ascend the throne in the future.
So at least don't choose the wrong person, isn't that good?
Lin Ruhai made this decision decisively, and the Lin family has been tied to the Fourth Master's ship since then. Even the Fourth Master admired this decisiveness.
However, as Lin Ruhai continued to have a heart-to-heart talk with him, the Fourth Master also understood why Lin Ruhai was like this.
Speaking of the root of this misfortune of the Lin family, it still lies with the Crown Prince and his Royal Father.
Because the Lin family members were extremely smart and talented, but also extremely sickly, the emperor did not dare to use them too much.
But if they were not used, it would be a waste, after all, they were really talented.
For example, this Lin Ruhai, the third place in the imperial examination, was really a rare and loyal minister.
Although he was not too old, he was very decent in handling cases, checking accounts, and dealing with people, which made the emperor, who had high vision like the emperor, very appreciative.
The main thing was that no matter what task the emperor gave to Lin Ruhai, he would definitely do it properly, and many times even exceeded the emperor's original expectations.
How could he bear not to use such a useful talent?
Therefore, when the emperor heard that someone dared to take action against Lin Ruhai, he was furious.
Yes, he sent me here this time, ostensibly to investigate the official banknotes embezzled by Jiangning Textile Factory, but in fact he came to find out the mastermind behind the murder of Lin Ruhai's family.
It doesn't matter whether the official banknotes embezzled by Jiangning Textile Factory are investigated or not, anyway, his father knows the reason behind it.
As for Zhen Yingjia's mess, it can be said that no one knows it better than his father.
After all, this is his father's "father's brother", and for the sake of his father's wet nurse, the old lady of the Zhen family, as long as Zhen Yingjia doesn't go too far, his father will probably think that he can actually forgive these messes.
Therefore, even though Zhen Yingjia was impeached by so many people, the emperor didn’t take it too seriously.
Old Zhen is his brother, and the money was spent to entertain him, the emperor, when he came to Jiangnan, so what does it matter if it’s a little more or a little less.
The emperor’s obvious partiality has already made the court officials angry enough - the key is that in addition to some upright ministers who really think corruption is bad, there are also some who are angry because of the prince.
The young master of the Lin family also "said" before that this period just happened to catch up with the most intense fight between the eldest prince and the prince.
Because the prince is very unhappy with the fact that he has been the prince for almost 30 years, he has really been a little too impatient recently.
Especially after he had such a serious illness in September, his desire for the throne seemed to have reached a new level.
What if he died but their royal father was still alive?
Wouldn't that be too much of a loss?
He would be just a prince all his life.
Although he was already a prince at the age of two, what was the use? In the end, he did not become the emperor, which was simply too uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, he was brought up by his royal father himself since he was a child, and they were more like father and son than monarch and minister. Since they were father and son, he certainly could not have the same awe of the royal father as other princes did, as a minister had of the monarch.
This situation is very good when things are going well.
After all, for an emperor like his royal father, who lacks family affection and longs for it, it would be very comfortable if he could feel the love of an ordinary father and son.
In fact, the father and son also spent a wonderful time together.
That was when the prince was still young, and the late queen had just died of dystocia. The emperor treated this blood left by his beloved daughter at the risk of her life as his own baby, and brought him to his side to educate him personally.
As a result, the relationship between the two of them was very good.
It can even be said that it was closer than the father-son relationship of ordinary families. Because this was not just a father-son relationship, it was even mixed with a little invisible mother-son relationship... Although the late queen passed away, she has always lived in the hearts of the prince and the emperor.
Originally, this kind of life could have continued, but, children always grow up.
Especially since the prince himself is talented, after all, he was personally educated by the emperor, so his talent must be good. In this case, his mentality must be even more broken.
Why? It's because he did too well, which made the emperor uncomfortable.
Although they are father and son,
they are monarch and minister in the final analysis. Because the emperor is the monarch, a rare wise monarch throughout history.
What the hell, I am still in my prime, and you are more capable than me? Who can tolerate this?
It is said that the prince, who is in his twenties, has already gone to the former dynasty to supervise the country and assist in government affairs, and he has done a good job, and has been praised by the ministers. This made the emperor unhappy.
Really, if you don't do well, you are unhappy, but if you do too well, you are even more unhappy.
Yes, the prince is very powerful and good at everything, but the emperor is not dead yet.
He doesn't even want to admit that he is old.
In this way, the prince is too capable, so what good is there.
The emperor must be finding fault with him and scolding him for no reason.
After a while, the prince came to his senses. The old man feels a crisis and deliberately suppresses him... He must be very aggrieved and then very angry. What, old is old, and he still refuses to accept it?
How can he refuse to accept it ?
Is he going to be the prince for his whole life?
This is definitely not enough.
The Crown Prince was taught by the Emperor, so he certainly has a similar temper to the Emperor - for example, he is unwilling to be inferior to others, and under the stimulation of the eldest prince, he has become more and more anxious, and has been a bit aggressive in recent years.
The encounter between the Crown Prince and the Emperor is a natural loss for both.
Although both of them still remember the good times when the father was kind and the son was filial, they can't go back.
The time that followed was a long torture for both of them. Mutual resentment finally turned into mutual suspicion and defense, and even one side had the intention of rebellion and the other side had the intention of dethroning.
What's even more terrifying is that besides a son as capable as the crown prince and a troublemaker like the eldest prince, the emperor has more than ten...
This is probably how the so-called "nine sons competing for the throne" that the young master of the Lin family "said" came about.
This analysis makes sense.
Thinking of his own son talking so fast and telling the whole story, Lin Ruhai didn't want to say anything anymore.
What else could he say? That kid had already said everything. And in this way, even if they wanted to say something, they couldn't say it anymore.
So from this point of view, standing on the side of the fourth prince is indeed a good choice.
Lin Ruhai originally wanted to be a loyal minister and stand on the side of the long live master. But, he didn't have this opportunity at all.
The Emperor really valued him, otherwise he would not have been sent to the Imperial Court right after he graduated from the Imperial Academy, and he would not have even been given the official position of a doctor at the Lantai Temple to travel all over the country.
The main responsibility of this job is to patrol everywhere on behalf of the Emperor, to be his eyes and ears, to help him get news from all over the country, to understand the people's sentiments in all places, and most importantly, to see if anyone is causing trouble.
In the past few years, Lin Ruhai has indeed done a lot of things, and of course he has offended a lot of people because of this.
If not for this, his family might not have died of various illnesses so soon.
Especially in the area of Jiangnan, which was originally the sphere of influence of the prince, he was really pulling out a beard from a tiger's mouth by patrolling here. As expected, he was met with a crazy counterattack, and the blows and retaliations came one after another, and finally ended up with the family broken up.
This ending, their Moyu had already "told" him.
Now he also "told" the ending to the Fourth Prince, which was really sincere, so that he, as a father, had no secrets at all.
Moyu said that this Fourth Prince would ascend to the supreme position in the future. Many of the things he said before have come true. Doesn't it mean that this thing is also true?
No matter whether others believe it or not, Lin Ruhai believes it.
As for the Fourth Prince, he neither said he believed nor he said he did not believe, but his attitude itself explained the problem.
So the problem now is what to do next.
His Majesty will definitely come to the south for a tour, so if the Lin family is allowed to take over at that time, will they also "hear" Mo Yu's thoughts?
Other things are limited, but the ownership of the throne is the real "secret of heaven". Once you make irresponsible comments, you will be killed.
This is an unsolvable dead end no matter how you think about it.
Lin Ruhai pondered for a moment, and simply told the Fourth Prince about his concerns openly.
"Since you have seen it with your own eyes, I will speak frankly. My son's unusual behavior has only occurred since he fell seriously ill in August."
"I don't know where the so-called 'transmission' comes from. Although the language is quite strange, the general meaning is clear. There are many shocking words in it, and I don't know how to interpret them, and I don't know whether they are true or false... Please forgive me for the many offenses. I deserve death, but if my son's words are true, I am afraid that without you, my son, taking action, my family would have died."
The Fourth Prince agreed with Lin Ruhai's words. It must be said that the sickly young master of the Lin family is really not simple. No wonder everyone says he is a little god. He really has some magical powers.
If you say that this child is talking nonsense, he said a lot of things exactly. He even knows a lot of secrets that are unknown to outsiders, which is amazing.
Therefore, the Fourth Prince himself is still inclined to believe that what this child said is true.
In addition, he still can't believe that the so-called "prophecy" that the person who will inherit the throne in the end will be his.
But in fact, it doesn't matter whether he believes it or not.
Since there is no way to remind him, and there is no way to stop him, then he can only make the best of it.
But what if the emperor knows about this?
The Fourth Prince thought about it and came to the same conclusion as Lin Ruhai, that there is no solution.
Based on his understanding of his own emperor, he would most likely take the opportunity of the southern tour to meet the little prodigy of the Lin family.
The seed of curiosity has been planted, and it is very difficult to avoid it. When the time comes, we can only act according to circumstances.
I hope everything will go smoothly and turn danger into safety.
Although he was unable to come up with a solution in the end, for some reason, the Fourth Prince has great confidence in the young master of the Lin family - he always feels that if it is him, there will be no problem.
The Emperor likes smart children the most. Even if he can reveal the secret, he won't be beheaded directly, right?
The Fourth Prince looked at Lin Ruhai, who was full of worry. Although he subconsciously comforted him a few words, he still felt a little uneasy in his heart.
However, he has stayed in the Lin Mansion for too long today, and it is time to leave.
This trip to Jiangnan was very smooth for the Fourth Prince. After all, the accounts to be checked had been checked and the evidence to be found had been found. All that was left was to return to the capital to report and let his wise and powerful father decide what to do...
With so many glaring evidences about the prince in front of the emperor, it was unknown how the emperor would deal with his beloved son. Thinking about it, it was really a bit exciting.
After all, before this, even the Fourth Prince himself had not expected that the prince's party had stretched their hands so far.
What about the Yangzhou skinny horse business? That was clearly a business done by a group of people on the prince's side for the sake of wealth and beauty.
Even Zhen Yingjia from the Jinling Zhen family was involved.
I didn't expect that the president of Tirenyuan and Jiangning Textile Factory would even engage in the flesh trade, and even provide a stable supply of goods for the prince and his faction - the perverted prince even likes young girls of eleven or twelve years old.
There are also several conspirators who not only like young girls, but also take in all good-looking children.
Over the years, this black industry chain has harmed countless children. Many of them are children from good families like Zhen Yinglian, which is really sad.
Poor child, not much older than his own Honghui, but he has been abducted for four or five years. When he and Lin Ruhai found the kidnapper's lair to rescue her, they found that she had been beaten so hard that she couldn't even speak, and she just cried when asked.
Thinking of this, the Fourth Prince couldn't help but ask again: "Has the little girl named Yinglian been sent home?"
Lin Ruhai sighed and said: "She hasn't been sent back yet. She was scared because of the beating and couldn't tell where her home was. I am going to bring her back and let my wife take care of her for a while. After she is more stable, I will slowly find her and send her back home." In fact,
Lin Ruhai already knew about Zhen Yinglian's life experience. After all, when he met Jia Yucun and when he went home to ask his son, he had already figured out
the little girl's life experience through his son's inner voice. But if he said it directly, it would involve his son's supernatural power.
Although the Fourth Prince already knew it, it was better not to mention it casually.
Lin Ruhai knows better than anyone the power of the emperor's mind - no matter who has this kind of magical power, it is still quite frightening to be honest.
Lin Ruhai knows the benefits of keeping a low profile, and the Fourth Prince is not the type who likes to make things difficult for others. Therefore, the two of them hit it off immediately and even formed a united front without any sense of discord.
Although Mo Yu's matter cannot be said explicitly, it is not really a dead end. It depends on what he will "say" and how the Emperor will react...
Anyway, the worst result is that the whole family will be executed... How can he still run away?
Because he was worried that Mo Yu would accidentally get into trouble, Lin Ruhai looked a little gloomy. The Fourth Prince kindly reminded Lin Ruhai a few words and left in a hurry.
It was already November when he came out this time. He had been traveling back and forth, and the New Year was approaching. His schedule was really tight and he could not afford to delay.
Lin Ruhai respectfully saw him out the door, thanked him again and again for his kindness, and then turned back to his room, ready to tell Jia Min about the result of his secret talk with the Fourth Prince.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he walked into the door of the main room, he heard a burst of joyful laughter from inside. There were children's voices interspersed in the laughter, which made people feel happy.
He softened his expression, strode into the room, and said with a smile: "Hey, why is it so lively today? Did Brother Mo tell a joke again? Let me hear it too?"
[Author's words]
Thank you very much for your enthusiastic support. Today is another super long update! Although it's a little late, it's really long (hey).
I'll try to finish it earlier tonight. Woohoo, try not to make it so long in the future. It's easy to exceed the time limit if you are not careful.
In short, speed up the plot, and continue to eat melons from the next chapter O(∩_∩)O haha~ Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2023-11-27 01:45:29~2023-11-29 01:15:27~
Thank you to the little angels who cast mines: Only watch Red Mansions in Jinjiang 1;
Thank you to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Yixue, Joan., Hu Shiguo 10 bottles; Lazy, Bamboo, a happy little pig head 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!