Chapter 107 The weather in the new house is getting colder. After two snowfalls, the capital city...
The weather was getting colder, and after two snowfalls, news came from the capital.
Kangxi wrote a handwritten inscription "Su Xian Li Fan" for the main hall, and ordered people to make a plaque and send it to the fourth princess. At the same time, there were also silver rewards and jade ruyi and other gifts as gifts to celebrate the new house. In addition to the emperor's rewards, there were also several large carts of toys, which were specially prepared by Concubine Yi, the fourth Beile, the fifth Beile, the third princess and others as gifts for the New Year.
When the things were delivered, Madam Wu and Madam Zhao led the others to pack them up immediately, and registered them one by one so that the master could review them and return the gifts later.
Mu Xue put her hands in the palace embroidery warm tube and stood in the yard watching the eunuchs hang up the plaque written by the emperor.
This was the great favor of Emperor Kangxi, and also her impression and expectation. She should be dignified and quiet, and in accordance with the etiquette norms.
She tilted her head, not commenting.
Seeing that the eunuchs had hung the plaque neatly, she returned to Jingyi Hall and sat down on the throne.
As the year was drawing to a close, businesses in the capital, such as pawnshops, money houses, copper brokers, Mongolian princes and nobles, and hot pot restaurants, all took this opportunity to come and pay their respects. Fan Yuqi and Cui Gu and her husband were all here. It was a good opportunity to discuss and hold a meeting. Mu Xue then called the eunuchs who managed the imperial farm and Qiu Hua, who managed the dowry households, to hold a meeting together.
Seeing the princess take her seat, the chief eunuch Yanxi hurriedly asked the young eunuch to call someone in.
The young eunuch ran to the front and entered the courtyard, and went to the reception room next to the sedan chair room and asked all the stewards to get ready and come in.
In the living room, everyone had been waiting for quite a while.
Fan Yuqi was originally busy chatting with the eunuch Guanhuangzhuang and the head of Jiangzhuangzhuang, when he suddenly saw a few people walking in from outside. One of the women looked familiar, so he took a closer look at her and asked in surprise, "Qiniang?"
Another year has passed, but Zhou Qinnan's outfit and temperament are a little different.
Zhou Qiniang also saw him and came over to bow and asked: "How was your business this year?"
"Not bad," Fan Yuqi looked her over and said, "You? You've lost some weight."
The couple hadn't seen each other for a long time, and as soon as they met, the eunuch came to summon them, saying that the princess wanted someone to come in.
Fan Yuqi had no choice but to say hurriedly: "Wait for me first. I will come back to find you after the meeting is over."
He raised his foot and followed the eunuch out, trying to get to the princess's sight first. However, he caught a glimpse of Zhou Qinnan walking out of the reception room, and he couldn't help but frown.
This woman, how can this be the time to talk about love affairs? She really has no sense of propriety.
He said to Zhou Qiniang, "Just sit in the hall and wait."
Zhou Qiniang paused, not knowing what to say, and looked a little embarrassed. Qiuhua, who was standing next to her, came over and joked, "She can't just sit and wait. The princess asked Zhou Qiniang to go to the meeting this time."
Fan Yuqi was stunned: "What...what is she doing?"
Qiu Hua looked at Zhou Qiniang kindly: "You? Talk to him."
Zhou Qiniang clenched her handkerchief and said, "Thanks to the princess for her kindness in letting me take charge of the school, and also allowing me to bring my child to study in the school together."
Qiuhua smiled and patted her shoulder, then turned to Fan Yuqi and said, "From now on, Manager Fan must call her 'Shanzhang Zhou' in front of others. Come, Shanzhang Zhou, let's go in together."
As they spoke, the two of them walked forward gracefully and entered the side door of the second courtyard before Fan Yuqi.
Entering the main hall, the eunuchs led the team and waited until the line was neat, then led them to slowly step onto the white marble steps. Everyone lowered their heads, passed under the plaque "Su Xian Li Fan", and stood on the bricks and stones of Jing Yi Hall. Led by Yun Qi, they all kowtowed and greeted. "I wish the fourth princess good health and longevity."
"Everyone, get up."
Mu Xue sat on the throne, looking at her team in front of her.
After being married for several years, she has actually gathered so many retainers.
She couldn't help but show the joy of a good harvest on her face. She smiled slightly and listened to everyone's reports.
Everyone said that under the wise leadership of the princess, all businesses have made great progress. The pawnshop has opened its third branch, and the bank has also opened one in Beijing and Guihua. Although the turnover of copper handling has declined due to the involvement of more businesses, the other copper handling services have now made money. Dashengkui has thrived on the grassland, and more teams will be organized to sell goods to various banners next year. As for the service monopolized by the princess, assisting Mongolian princes and taijis to serve in Beijing, there has been great progress. Many taijis in the three banners of Mobei have already known about this service and strived for it. The future is promising.
As Mu Xue listened, she felt like laughing. Perhaps because it was the first time for them to speak in the main hall, everyone's speech seemed particularly polite and reasonable, a bit like the interview after passing the imperial examination, of course, a mini version.
After reporting one thing after another, Yunqi respectfully handed over a red-lacquered booklet: "This is all the income as of this month."
Mu Xue unfolded the red lacquer booklet and looked at it carefully, first looking at the total income. Oh, it actually broke through the 50,000 taels of silver mark!
This really will be a prosperous year.
Mu Xue encouraged everyone and announced on the spot that she would take out 1,000 taels of silver as a bonus for everyone. For a moment, everyone was filled with joy.
After the general meeting, there will be a small meeting.
Fan Yuqi and Cui Gu and his wife came from the capital, and seldom spoke to the princess in person, so Muxue met them alone in the East Warm Pavilion.
The maids served hot tea and brought seven-piece storage boxes filled with cream, cheese and various dried fruits for the stewards to use, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed.
Muxue sat cross-legged on a large white fox fur cushion, drinking scented tea with honey while listening to them talk about things in the capital.
Generally speaking, it is a peaceful period, and there is no news of any special disputes. The focus of Emperor Kangxi in the past two years has been on governance. At the beginning of the year, he personally visited the Yongding River project, and it is said that the water control is very good. Next year, Emperor Kangxi plans to tour the south again. Generally speaking, the court is relatively stable.
"That's good," Mu Xue said, "They are stable in the capital, and I can be comfortable in Guihua. After the New Year, I can take care of various things in Guihua City. Recently, merchants in Guihua have also been preparing to close their businesses for the New Year. I heard that they want to worship Guan Gong and also worship Fei Gong. They are thinking of the old times."
When Fan Yuqi heard the words "Mr. Fei", he asked, "Is it Mr. Fei Yanggu, the former governor of Guihua Dong'e?"
"Yes," Mu Xue said, "He has returned to his hometown and lives in the capital now. I think he is living a comfortable life."
Fan Yuqi hesitated for a moment and reported softly, "Not long before we left the city, we heard that Fei Gongxian had passed away."
Mu Xue was stunned for a moment, and murmured: "Really? This is the case, this..."
Although she didn't have much contact with Fei Yanggu, the general had once taken care of her. Mu Xue couldn't help feeling depressed when she heard the news of his death.
She stirred the crabapple spoon, and after a while she said, "Rong'er, when you send New Year's gifts to Beijing, remember to prepare a funeral gift for Mr. Fei and send it to Dong E's mansion."
After thinking for a while, Mu Xue ordered again: "Let Yan Xi go to the military camp in person. There are some old subordinates of Fei Gong, such as the deputy general. Maybe he is willing to pay tribute to Fei Gong and bring some silver to pay for the memorial service."
Yan Xi obeyed the order and did not dare to delay. He immediately went to the treasury to sign a note to receive the silver. Then he took his apprentice to the military camp to report the news.
After hearing this, the deputy general was in low spirits: "I did hear about the death of Lord Fei two days ago, but I have the responsibility to defend the land, so I cannot go to the capital to burn incense for Lord Fei."
This is also the voice of many soldiers. When Fei Yanggu was there, he took good care of his soldiers. Many people were grateful for his kindness, and they had a friendship of fighting side by side and going through life and death together. This relationship can be said to be very close.
However, due to various reasons, they were unable to see Mr. Fei off for the last time. They only discussed privately whether they should pool some money together to pay tribute to Mr. Fei.
However, the soldiers in their barracks received rice on a seasonal basis, and many of them needed to support their families. A lot of their money and food had been sent out, so it was a bit difficult to get it together at this time. Originally, the deputy general and others planned to hold a simple memorial service to show their whole heart.
After hearing this, Yan Xi sighed: "Our master passed by Guihua City that day and was very impressed by Mr. Fei. He said that he was both kind and brave. No wonder he won many military exploits and was deeply loved."
When the deputy general heard this, he nodded repeatedly. Before leaving, Mr. Fei took him to see the princess, which really showed that he took good care of the princess.
Yan Xi continued, "The fourth princess is kind-hearted and has already sent people to prepare to go to the capital to burn incense. Thinking of your friendship with Lord Fei, she asked me to ask you if you want to take your lover with you. If you have anything to say, write it down on a piece of paper and burn it in front of Lord Fei's spirit. This way, the old man will know and the friendship will be fulfilled."
"Are you serious?" The deputy general's eyes lit up. "Then I will inform my brothers and ask the princess to send their condolences."
Yan Xi took out a bag of silver from his bosom and said, "Burning incense before the spirit is one thing, and I think you will also have to hold memorial ceremonies in the army. Since it is a memorial ceremony, you must prepare well and there will be some expenses. I don't know if the money you have is enough. Here is one hundred taels of silver. If you don't mind, take it and use it first. It won't be too late to pay it back after the New Year."
"This, what a good idea." The deputy general felt a little sorry, but his eyes were always on the bag of silver.
Yan Xi didn't give him any explanation and pushed him into her arms with a tough attitude: "Our master is a princess, not a prince or a noble, and has nothing to do with government affairs, so there is no need to be shy about this. On the one hand, I am thinking of Mr. Fei's kindness, and on the other hand, we need to get along with each other more often in the future. If there is a thief or something like that in the princess's mansion, you will need to respond quickly."
This was indeed the truth. The deputy general put down his guard and asked for a reasonable request. He accepted the silver reluctantly and said cheerfully, "Whoever dares to offend the princess will be made aware of the consequences. We will personally visit the princess to thank her in the future."
He did what he said. The next day he packed up everything and went to the princess's mansion to pay his respects.
When the fourth princess saw him, they reminisced about Mr. Fei for a while.
"Without Mr. Fei, how could Guihua City be so peaceful today?" Mu Xue said, "When this news came, not only I, you, but also the merchants and citizens of Guihua City were in mourning."
She sighed, "Who would have thought that this hasty farewell would be the last time we see each other. Alas. Many merchants also want to send their regards to Mr. Fei from afar. Some merchants have voluntarily built a shrine for Mr. Fei before, but I sent someone to see that place, and it's really a bit shabby. I thought, why don't I pay for it and renovate it and build a beautiful shrine for Mr. Fei, so that he can offer incense after returning home."
After hearing this, the deputy general couldn't help but wipe away his tears and choked up, saying: "If this is true, it can be regarded as the fulfillment of Mr. Fei's kindness in protecting the naturalized people."
According to his understanding, the original merchants of Guihua City would definitely be happy about the new Feigong Temple. The common people and ordinary merchants can always see clearly who is doing good for them.
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