Detective in the Red Chamber

"But seeing that he has been careful for decades, not wanting to let his neighbors know his origin, I am afraid that he has also done some part-time jobs."

"As for the reason why he suddenly practiced juggling..."

"Two days ago, the Ministry of Rites made a decree to let the talented old man rehearse the show by himself, so that he can perform in front of His Majesty at that time. It is probably because of this that the deceased decided to return to his old profession."

"It's a pity that something happened during the rehearsal—according to my inference, he probably coughed violently while swallowing the iron sword, causing his throat to be injured by the blunt sword."

"This was originally not a fatal injury, but the deceased was panicked, but sucked the blood flowing upstream into the respiratory tract, resulting in acute suffocation and death."

Seeing that the three of them were a little confused, Sun Shaozong explained again, "That is to say, he was choked to death by his own blood."

As he said that, he shrugged his shoulders, "Now the Ministry of Rites is flattering the horse's legs."

Sure enough, after the case was reported, Emperor Guangde immediately issued a decree, punishing the Ministry of Rites for three months' salary, and the crime was that the Ministry of Rites did not know how to respect the elderly.

As for the rehearsal of the program to entertain the Sacred Heart, of course, it was all over.

But these have little to do with Sun Shaozong, he went home in the evening to eat light southern dishes with Yu Qian and the others, and was dragged away by Xiangling in the evening, and rehearsed some heavy flavors that he would not cooperate with normally...

Chapter 166

However, since Sun Shaozong took the concubine's room, Brother Cheap gave him a brand new set of "bed utensils", such as Burmese bells, silver trays, sulfur rings, and private lamps and candles, all of which are carefully crafted, if you don't know Useful, it is also very good to enjoy.

After getting these things, Sun Shaozong was not uninspired, but Ruan Rong and Xiang Ling refused to cooperate obediently, and he was not like the cheap brother who just wanted to be happy regardless of his care.

Therefore, the utensil is like a bright pearl cast in the dark, completely useless.

Until this day, Xiangling was so grateful that she gave up that delicate body and let it be used at will, which made Sun Shaozong get his wish.

All the new and exciting features are really not humane!

And at the same time...

In Rongxi Hall, the main hall of Rongguo Mansion, there is also a secret talk that is not humane.

"How, what did Sun Jia Erlang discover?"

The person who asked the question was Jia Zheng, and I saw that he had thick bags under his eyes, his brows were tightly furrowed, and although the white hair on his temples had been trimmed, it was still visible under the light. He is more than seven or eight years old.

"Nothing seems to be found."

Jia Baoyu bowed his head and said, "But my son didn't dare to test it openly, so it's hard to be sure."

Speaking of this, he raised his head and said nervously, "How is the master? Did you get any news?"

Jia Zheng shook his head and said, "Although Lai Da is a wolf-hearted dog, he is also very thorough in his work, and there is no trace left in the shop."

He said with a wry smile, "To be honest, if it wasn't for that Lai Da happened to find out, I really didn't know that our shop had helped the He family smuggle gunpowder into Beijing!"

"It's also fortunate that the Patriarch of the He family didn't expose this matter until his death, otherwise..."

Hearing this, Jia Baoyu raised his head and wanted to say something, but his eyes fell on Jia Zheng's mottled hair, but he swallowed back the words that came to his lips.

He was silent for a while, and then changed the topic directly, "Second Brother Sun suggested that I go to my grandmother's place, so that I can intercede for Sister Feng, so that I can avoid any trouble with my uncle's family, and secondly, I can take the opportunity to appease the family members." servants."

"As it should be."

Jia Zheng nodded and said, "Although your elder sister has become a Xiande concubine, she has no son to accompany her. Right now, our family needs the help of the Wang family."

"But where is mother..."

"Ignore her."

Jia Zheng waved his hand in disbelief, "What time is this, and I only know what is there and what is not - besides, this Rongguo Mansion should be inherited by your uncle. It's just a word of 'ritual'."

As he said that, he got up and said, "Okay, it's getting late, you go back and rest first, wait a few days to find a suitable opportunity, and I will intercede for Lian's daughter-in-law with you."

Jia Baoyu obediently agreed, bowed and exited the door.

silent night...

Beginning in the middle of the night, freezing rain began to fall in the capital, and when it was daylight, a layer of frost hung on the treetops and eaves, and there was a rustling sound when the north wind blew.

Sun Shaozong had been tossing around for most of the night, but he was even more reluctant to get up seeing the freezing weather.

Lying lazily on the bed with eyes closed, I wondered in my heart whether I should take another half day off so as to make up for the time spent yesterday in investigating the case and reporting.

But suddenly felt a cold on the left shoulder.

Opening her eyelids and scanning, it turned out that Xiangling quietly sat up straight, and was tying the rope of her apron there.

Sun Shaozong didn't even think about it, he raised his hand and poked it in from the gap under her armpit, grabbing half of his conscience, and muttered, "I tormented you enough yesterday, why did you wake up so early?"

Xiangling slightly turned his body to make it easier for him to move inside, but he said, "Mother just arrived yesterday, I'm a daughter, so why should I stay in bed?"

It seems to be such a rationale.

Sun Shaozong sighed helplessly, and then stood up - three juniors just came to the family, as an uncle, he can't set a bad example the next day, right?

The two little maids in the outer room heard the movement inside, hurriedly brought the change of clothes to the front, and blushed to take away the corresponding utensils.

Seeing that the two little maids were wrapped up like cotton balls, Sun Shaozong asked curiously, "Why, it's so cold outside?"

The two servant girls nodded vigorously, and one of them said, "Butler Zhao just asked my mother-in-law to come over and ask if we want to light the kang in our courtyard."

When Sun Shaozong heard this, he hurriedly ordered, "Go and ask the aunt first, she must take good care of her there, and it's not a joke to provoke the cold."

The maids responded crisply, and Sun Shaozong ordered again, "Let Steward Zhao go to the warehouse to see if there is any good wool that can be used to make big clothes. If not, let him go out and buy it!"

"When the time comes, find a tailor and make three sets of winter clothes for the three brothers and Aunt Zhen's mother. They have just come from the south, so I'm afraid they haven't experienced the winter in the north."

The maids answered in a hurry.

Xiangling had just put on her gown at this time, upon hearing this, she stepped forward and put her arms around his bear waist, rubbing against his waist like a cat, choked up and said, "Xiangling is really the greatest blessing in this life to follow the master .”

Sun Shaozong slapped her buttocks with his backhand, and said, "You will have a lot of blessings in the future, but you'd better put on your clothes first. If you catch the wind and cold, I'm afraid I can only drive you to the guest room for a while." It's day."

Xiangling panicked when she heard this, and hurriedly pulled off her clothes and put them on her body.

Seeing her cute and lovely appearance, Sun Shaozong hesitated for a moment, and asked the maids to inquire about where the elder brother was.

After confirming that the eldest brother had rushed back from the barracks in the middle of the night yesterday, he sent another message to ask Sun Shaozu to accompany Yu Qian and the others for breakfast, while he followed Xiangling to meet Zhen Feng's Xiang Mother Ling.

At the dinner table, he did some filial piety for Xiangling, and promised to ask someone to help him find Xiangling's father, Zhen Shiyin, who was a wandering Taoist priest. Then Sun Shaozong ordered Zhang Cheng to set up a carriage and rush to the government office to be on duty.

The wind, frost, snow and rain along the way froze Zhang Cheng enough, so when Sun Shaozong got out of the car, he specially threw him a golden bean and asked him to go shopping nearby for some shochu to warm himself up.

But after entering the gate of the government office, Sun Shaozong regretted it again.

It's not that he is reluctant to part with some golden beans, but it's because several large pots have been set up in the front yard of the government office, boiling a lot of hot soup to drive away the cold - sending Zhang Cheng away is really far away.

Looking inside, I found that not only was there hot soup prepared to dispel the cold, but in the lobby of the government office, there were more than twenty bald gourds sitting cross-legged, burning incense and chanting sutras!

But how could this Shuntian Mansion suddenly become a temple for monks?

Chapter 167

Seeing the light smoke and the faint sound of Zen singing in the hall, Sun Shaozong grabbed a scribe and pulled him aside to ask what happened.

But it turned out that Han Anbang was on duty last night, and in the middle of the night, he heard that it was freezing rain outside, and he was very disturbed—after all, the elderly are most afraid of sudden cold and sudden heat.

Those old men from rich and noble families are okay, but the old men from poor families may not be able to take care of them well...

Thinking of these things, Han Anbang tossed and turned under the foot warmer for a long time, but it was difficult to fall asleep peacefully.

Therefore, without waiting for dawn, he sent the yamen servants on duty to investigate around, and sure enough, he found that a dozen or so old men who were scheduled to enter the palace to celebrate their birthdays had already fallen ill.

To say that the proportion of the number of people is not too much, but I am afraid that there will be an old man who can't afford to be sick, and will have a blissful rebirth tomorrow-one death in front can be said to be an accident, and several more will die, but it is Slapped in the face!

How many heads does Han Anbang have, dare to hit Emperor Guangde in the face?

So in a hurry, I invited a famous doctor in the city to come to serve me, and I also asked for a prescription for nourishing yin, tonifying the kidney, and preventing wind and cold. I set up a big pot in the front yamen and stewed it. Other old men fell ill one after another.

At this point, Han Anbang still felt that it was not safe enough, so he simply invited a group of bald men from a nearby temple, and opened an altar in the lobby of Shuntian Mansion to try his best, obviously praying for the elderly, but secretly begging the Bodhisattva to protect him official position.

Listening to the clerk's account of the cause and effect, Sun Shaozong couldn't help feeling a little sympathetic in his speechlessness.

No wonder people say that Shuntian Mansion's home is hard to take care of. Just such a freezing rain can trigger the crisis of being dismissed from office!

But sympathy is sympathy, Sun Shaozong will not take the initiative to go to this muddy water.

After dismissing the scribe, he quietly went to the small courtyard of Xingmingsi, brewed a pot of tribute tea from the Rongguo Mansion, and sipped it lightly in the Northern Song Dynasty official kiln glazed with blue glaze after the rain. Pecking, really very pleasant.

"Dong Weng."

Cheng Rixing came in from outside with a smile, and said, "When you came, did you see that Zhao Liben?"

"Zhao Tongjue? What happened to him?"

"Yesterday, the Imperial City Secretary passed the news."

Cheng Rixing gloated and said, "It is said that on the day of the Wanshou Festival, there will be auspicious births at the front gate, let us maintain the Shuntian Mansion well, and we must not cause any trouble——Zhao Tongjuan heard the news, and yesterday I haven't slept well all night, and today I just suffered from a toothache, half of my face is swollen like a steamed bun!"

This is really a house leak coincident with continuous night rain, the vicinity of the imperial city that Zhao Liben is in charge of is a high-risk area where accidents frequently occur, and now such a moth is happening, I am afraid that he will be worried to death.

Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong said sympathetically, "Don't be in a hurry, when his face is swollen, I'll go over and watch the excitement."

After finishing speaking, both master and servant couldn't help laughing.

Sun Shaozong pointed at the tea leaves on the table again, and said, "Take a few taels of tribute tea from Rongguo Mansion and try it."

As he said that, he evened out some of the tea leaves for Cheng Rixing, and said, "By the way, some relatives from the south of my house came here to take the exam. If you are free someday, you might as well pass on some of them to participate in the Spring Festival." experience."

"He's from Jinling?"

Cheng Rixing's eyes lit up, and he said happily, "Anyone who can make a bloody way in the Jinling Examination Center must have something special. Students must come to ask for advice!"

"By the way, call my disciples as well—are they already familiar with you?"

The two were talking about the imperial examination, but they heard a respectful voice outside, "The humble Zhou Da is asking to see you."

Both the master and the servant in the room were startled, because Zhou Da also came and went frequently, and he had never seen him so solemnly 'seek'.

Cheng Rixing immediately smiled and said, "I'm afraid this old Zhou is asking for something, the students should go out and avoid it."

With that said, he went out of the room.

Not long after, Zhou Da walked in with a smile on his face, holding a beautifully carved wooden box in his hand.

He put the box on the table lightly, and said with a coquettish smile, "My lord, you have been exhausted recently, and I don't know how to share your worries, so I just got a hundred-year-old wild ginseng. , specially honoring you old man!"

Hearing this, Sun Shaozong stretched out his hand to lift the lid of the box, and saw that there were indeed old wild ginseng with whole branches and tails in it, which vaguely looked like a human being.

"You 'coincidentally' are not cheap, are you?"

Sun Shaozong closed the box again, and said calmly, "If you want to be promoted, just say you want to be promoted, what the hell are you talking about with me?"

"Sure enough, I can't hide it from my lord's eyes."

Zhou Da sneered and said, "The humble job is just a scholar, and I didn't expect to be able to make progress, but since I followed the adults, thanks to your old Hongfu, I have accumulated some credit, and my thoughts have been active again without knowing it, hehe hey-hey……"

Seeing the pimples and trembling on this guy's smiling face, Sun Shaozong also felt that it was time to give this guy some benefits.

After following me for more than half a year, aside from other things, this face is a proper work-related injury, and it should be compensated no matter what.

Thinking like this, he pushed the old mountain ginseng back in front of Zhou Da, and ordered, "You send this thing to the front office, and invite those famous doctors who are in the clinic to use it on the old men as appropriate."

"My lord! This..."

Zhou Da suddenly became a little anxious.

Sun Shaozong stopped his words with his eyes, and said angrily, "You have been with me for a long time, why haven't you made any progress? If I want to recommend you for promotion, I have to find a suitable opportunity and reason-you put this thing now. Once you send it to the front, everything will be ready."

Only then did Zhou Da come to a sudden realization, and hurriedly praised the old wild ginseng with great gratitude, and then smiled apologetically, "I will try to find another one tomorrow, and send it to my lord's house!"

"That's not necessary."

Sun Shaozong waved his hands and said, "If you have this kind of intention, you can do it. It's not easy for you to support the whole family and take out four concubines."

These words actually implied admonishment and warning.

Ever since Zhou Da ruined his appearance, perhaps because of his inferiority complex, he bought two more concubines at one go without hesitation!

Although this matter was nothing in the officialdom, it still attracted some discussions. It was said that after Zhou Da followed Sun Shaozong, he reaped a lot of benefits - that's why Sun Shaozong made such insinuations.

It's a pity that Zhou Da didn't hear the real meaning of these words, but thought that Sun Shaozong was caring about him, and was moved to tears for a moment.

Immediately, he fell to his knees with a thud, and choked up, "My lord... Your lord is really like a lowly reborn parent!"

got~

See what this means, if Sun Shaozong is interested, he can recognize a godfather on the spot!

With the city government's eyesight, it seems that this guy is at most an eighth or ninth grade material, and if he tries to push it higher, he will bring disaster on himself.