Page 51

Page 51

Sister Feng smiled and replied, "Your Highness is here to relax. There is a lot of noise in the front hall, so Madam asked me to come and invite Your Highness."

Shui Rong was speechless when he heard this. It turned out that he was here to urge someone.

Thinking of this, Shui Rong raised his eyes to look at the young lady in front of him and said jokingly, "Sister Feng is here to cause trouble."

He was just taking a break here, but Sister Feng came to urge him to come. Isn't that annoying?

Sister Feng pursed her pink lips and waved her embroidered handkerchief, saying aggrievedly: "The front hall urged me to do this, and now it's my fault. I'm not popular at all."

As she spoke, Sister Feng rolled up her sleeves, revealing her snow-white arms, and said with her hands on her hips, "If Your Majesty doesn't want to go, I'll go back to them right away. Let's see who dares to be so presumptuous. I'll spit in their faces."

Shui Rong couldn't help but laugh when he saw this. This Feng Jieer was indeed brought up as a fake boy since she was young. She had a really aggressive temper.

However, Shui Rong also understood that Sister Feng was just talking about the occasion, and that all the guests who came were not here to congratulate her, so they must not be treated lightly, and no matter what, she would not let a female like Sister Feng compete with men in the ring.

Therefore, Shui Rong did not take it seriously, and stood up and said, "Well, it's almost time to rest."

Logically speaking, Shui Rong shouldn't have come to the inner courtyard to see Yuanchun at this time, but he needed to comfort his daughter, so he slipped in during the gap.

This time of water dissolution was fruitful. Not only did it relieve Yuanchun's worries, but he also got a cute girl with big eyes. By the way, he took a look at the golden hairpin and satisfied his curiosity. He really killed three birds with one stone.

Seeing Shui Rong stand up, Jia Mu and others felt uncomfortable sitting still and stood up to greet him.

Yuanchun's starry eyes twinkled, and she said softly, "Your Highness, drink less alcohol and don't hurt your body."

Upon hearing this, Shui Rong turned around and looked at Yuanchun. The beautiful woman lowered her eyebrows and eyes, her cheeks were rosy, and she clenched the embroidered handkerchief tightly in her hand, which showed how shy she was.

Seeing this, Shui Rong understood. After all, he and Yuanchun had only met a few times, and most of them were just a one-time encounter. It was just this time that they exchanged a few more words.

Facing the beauty's concern, Shui Rong said with a smile: "It's just a drink, even if it's a thousand cups, it won't matter, Yuanchun doesn't have to worry."

Not to mention that the alcohol content of the wine here is low, those people are mostly just there to stir up trouble and they all know what's going on.

After saying that, Shui Rong looked at Tanchun who was standing by, and after a pause, he said in a clear voice: "Third sister, stay with your elder sister."

Tanchun, the maid who came with the dowry, was there to accompany them. Wasn't she also in the room before?

Tanchun's eyes lit up when she heard this. She had never thought that the prince would still miss her. Her heart trembled for a moment, and she bowed and said, "Yes."

Shui Rong nodded slightly. Yuanchun and Tanchun were both his people, so naturally he needed to take more care of them. Then he said nothing more and walked out.

Tanchun looked at Shuirong's back with her lively eyes. She wanted to say something caring, but due to her status, she couldn't say much.

Chapter 83 Wang Ziteng: Not Enough

In Yuanchun's courtyard, as Shui Rong left, Grandmother Jia gave Yuanchun a few instructions and did not stay long. However, the group of sisters all stayed, and Baoyu was naturally among them.

Tanchun's eyes turned, and after a moment's consideration, she stepped forward and said, "Big sister, my aunt drank too much and got confused today. When she wakes up, I'll ask her to apologize."

Aunt Zhao's previous behavior obviously broke the rules. Although the prince had made his attitude clear, she still wanted to make amends, otherwise Aunt Zhao would be in trouble!

Upon hearing this, Yuanchun looked at Tanchun. Although she had just left the palace not long ago, she knew a lot about the affairs in the mansion, especially about Tanchun.

As for Tanchun, she admired her talent and intelligence, but she had such an rude mother, which made her feel even more embarrassed. If Aunt Zhao had been more responsible, Tanchun's life would not have been so difficult. If she were in Tanchun's shoes, she might not do better than Tanchun.

Not only that, Yuanchun understood that the two sisters would have to support each other in the palace in the future, so they naturally treated each other in a friendly manner.

What's more, Tanchun had helped Baoyu solve his problem before, which was quite reasonable.

Thinking of this, Yuanchun smiled and said, "My dear sister, you also said that you were confused because of drinking. We are a family, so what is there to apologize for?"

Tanchun felt relieved when she heard this. Yuanchun's words meant that she would not pursue the matter. In that case, the lady would not blame her too much.

Xiangyun's lively eyes turned slightly, and she suddenly said in a clear voice: "Third sister's meeting gift is unique. Brother-in-law is too partial to one."

Everyone smiled when they heard this. They all understood why Shui Rong's gift was different. Xiangyun was just teasing Tanchun.

Tanchun wanted to apologize again, but when she heard this, her cheeks turned red, and she glared at Xiangyun with raised eyebrows, and spat loudly: "You are so good, Yun girl, you are trying to make fun of me. I will not let you off if I am not careful."

Daiyu's eyes sparkled with stars. She looked at the giggling Xiangyun and smiled with her hands covering her mouth, saying, "Girl Yun, didn't your brother-in-law say that the third girl is different from us and cannot be treated the same? Moreover, it is explained in the Annotation of Ancient Poems: "To adorn the tassel with jade is to signify the bond of gratitude." Isn't it that your brother-in-law gave the third girl a jade pendant to signify his love?"

A gentleman will never take off his jade without a reason, so the jade pendant symbolizes its wearer. As the saying goes, seeing jade is like seeing the person, so giving a jade pendant to a girl also has the meaning of token of love.

Tanchun's face flushed when she heard this. Even though she was a straightforward person, she still acted like a little girl when talking about matters between men and women. She wanted to make an explanation, but when the words came to her lips, she didn't know what to say. After all, the prince treated her differently from others, and she couldn't explain it.

Moreover, in Tanchun's heart, she believed that this was a token of love.

Baochai watched this scene quietly, feeling a little disappointed. Shui Rong's words and deeds were very humble and polite, and he was also gentle, amiable, and tolerant. Apart from anything else, if Shui Rong had not agreed to this matter involving Aunt Zhao, I'm afraid Tanchun would have found it difficult to back down.

Such an outstanding and noble young man is exactly the person that Baochai fantasizes about. She can't help but feel expectation and yearning for him. Especially since Shui Rong once hinted at him to her, this made Baochai's heart gradually waver.

It is normal for a girl to feel attracted to someone she likes, and it has nothing to do with anything else.

However, the prince was only seeking temporary novelty and soon forgot about it, which made his face look gloomy.

Xiangyun was unaware of him and smiled at Tanchun, "Third sister, where is the jade pendant? Take it out and show it to us. We didn't see it before."

Tanchun raised her eyes and glanced at Xiangyun, who was making a joke and ignored the matter of Aunt Zhao. She pursed her lips and said nothing, then took out the jade pendant that was carefully wrapped in an embroidered handkerchief.

This jade pendant is only half the size of a palm. It is warm all over, with a round jade dragon carved on it and a little red lacquer. It feels moist and cool when you touch it gently.

Tanchun had not looked at it carefully before, but now she saw the dragon pattern on the jade pendant and was surprised. You know, the dragon and phoenix are not something that anyone can wear casually. Only the royal family can wear them. Shui Rong is a royal noble, so there is naturally no problem with it. It is also fine to give it to others. But it is inappropriate for her to wear this jade pendant.

Thinking of this, although Tanchun was reluctant to give it up, she still held the jade pendant in front of Yuanchun and said in a clear voice: "Big sister, this thing is too valuable, please keep it for me!"

Yuanchun understood what was said. Considering Tanchun's status, if it was an ordinary jade pendant, she could give it to her. However, this accessory which symbolized her status should not be accepted lightly. If one was not careful, it might make others jealous.

However, Yuanchun knew the behavior of royal family members and could not just watch them casually. At the moment, this jade pendant was probably just an ordinary accessory on the prince's body, and he would give it to others when he liked it. From Shui Rong's words and actions, it can be seen that it was just a gift and did not mean anything.

Yuanchun smiled and said, "Since the prince has given it to you, you should keep it well and others won't complain."

Just as Yuanchun said, this was a gift from Shui Rong, so why should she take it back? It would not only make her look stingy, but also make people dislike her, which would be totally not worth it.

Besides, she had also received the prince's formal apology and a red coral ring with a ruyi pattern as an apology. This showed that the prince was lenient to others and did not favor only one person. So why should she be troubled?

Tanchun felt a little relieved when she heard this. The prince's kindness was good, but she was afraid that Yuanchun, the elder sister, would feel uncomfortable. Yuanchun's attitude now showed that she would not care, so it was not worth mentioning.

At this moment, Baoyu's eyes lit up. Ever since the prince came, the sisters' topics of conversation were all about him and they ignored him. It was not that they said anything bad about the prince. In Baoyu's opinion, the prince was extraordinary and beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Having said that, Baoyu has always been the object of pursuit by the sisters. Now he is being ignored, which makes him feel very uncomfortable. Now that the matter of jade has been brought up, isn't it the time for him to show up?

So Baoyu came forward and said, "It's just a piece of jade. I have one too!"

The sisters all knew about the magical jade; the prince had seen it before.

Daiyu glanced at Baoyu and laughed at him, "What a fool! Your jade is different from the third girl's. If you are willing to give it up, find someone with gold to match it, and the one with gold will naturally go with you..."

Water-soluble jade pendants are used to express love, while precious jade pendants are used to ward off disasters and calamities. The two represent different meanings and cannot be compared.

Baochai's heart paused when she heard this, and her plump hands reached out for the golden locket on her neck. This girl Lin was referring to, and she must be the one.

Faced with Daiyu's "pointing fingers at the mulberry tree and cursing the locust tree", Baochai had nothing to say, after all, this was something her own mother had caused.

Baoyu had just taken out the spiritual jade from his clothes when he heard Lin Daiyu's mocking words. He was immediately choked with words. He didn't know why, but a nameless anger surged in his heart. He threw it casually and cursed, "Since my sister doesn't like it, I smashed this useless thing."

"."

Rong Xi Tang, a concubine's room.

Shui Rong sat in the main seat and took a few sips of the fragrant tea. He had drunk a lot of wine before, so he needed to take it slow.

After a moment, Shui Rong looked at the burly man sitting in the hall.

"Envoy Wang, is there anything I can do for you?"

This burly man is none other than Wang Ziteng, the current governor of the Beijing Camp. After the banquet, Wang Ziteng came here with the help of his enthusiastic mother-in-law.

Shui Rong already had some guesses about Wang Ziteng's initiative to meet him, but he still had to ask.

Wang Ziteng's eyes moved slightly, and he cupped his hands and said, "I have something I want to ask your Highness."

The Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp was a second-rank official. Because of his special position in charge of the Beijing Camp, his official power was comparable to that of the governor. Now Wang Ziteng used the word "ask for instructions", which was really a humble word.

Thinking of this, Shui Rong said calmly: "Jiedushi Wang, the duty of the Beijing Camp is to defend the capital. As the Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp, you only need to ask His Majesty for instructions."

Although Shui Rong had a noble status, he did not hold an official position. Even if he did, he would not ask for instructions. He understood that this was Wang Ziteng making his attitude clear to him.

It's just expressing an attitude, Wang Ziteng has obviously gone too far. If it gets out, I'm afraid some people will think too much about it.

Upon hearing this, Wang Ziteng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He naturally understood that this was inappropriate, but he said it on purpose. On the one hand, he wanted to show his attitude, and on the other hand, he wanted to see if the young Prince Beijing in front of him was an understanding person.

Seeing Shui Rong's attitude, Wang Ziteng understood what was going on. He didn't care about his indifference and said, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, His Majesty talked to me about the military affairs of the Nine Borders. He mentioned that the military discipline of the Nine Borders was lax, and it seemed that he wanted me to investigate the situation of the Nine Borders."

Shui Rong looked calm upon hearing this, but he was secretly complaining in his heart. What did "seems" mean? Emperor Yongkang just wanted Wang Ziteng to investigate the border, but he needed Wang Ziteng to recommend himself and make his attitude clear.

Shui Rong was in no hurry to answer, but instead asked, "Wang Jiedushi wants to go?"

Wang Ziteng was slightly paused when he heard this. To be honest, he naturally wanted to recommend himself. You must know that Emperor Yongkang stated that this time he was ordered to promote the border general to the commander-in-chief of nine provinces, commanding nearly 600,000 troops in the nine borders, and his official position was the second rank.

Wang Ziteng's current position as the Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp is of the second rank, in charge of 120,000 soldiers in the 12 battalions of the Beijing Camp. In comparison, both the number of soldiers and the official rank of the Jiedushi of the Beijing Camp have been improved, which can be said to be a promotion.

However, the Beijing Camp is different and has its own special features. The Beijing Camp is responsible for guarding the important area of ​​the capital. It gathers soldiers from all over the world to train in the capital and select the elite to retain them. There are a total of 120,000 soldiers, divided into four military camps (Fen, Yao, Lian, Xian), four brave camps (Gan, Guo, Xiao, Gu), and four powerful camps (Li, Shen, Yang, Zhen), a total of twelve camps, each camp is commanded by a meritorious official.

Precisely because of the special nature of the Beijing Camp, it cannot be compared based on the level of official positions. In the capital area, if the control of the Beijing Camp is lost, its voice in the court will be weakened.

In comparison, the importance of the Beijing Camp Jiedushi is obviously higher than that of the Nine Provinces Commander.

However, having said that, most of the people in the Beijing Camp were meritorious officials, most of whom had titles and were unruly. Even for him, the governor of the Beijing Camp, it was difficult for him to control them. If it had not been for the help of the Jia family, it would not have been so easy for him to take over the Beijing Camp.

But now the Jia family is in decline, and the generals of the Beijing Camp who were originally subordinates of the Jia family have different thoughts, so that Wang Ziteng finds it increasingly difficult to control the Beijing Camp. Therefore, he feels that it is to his advantage to investigate the border in accordance with the emperor's order.

Originally, there was no need to discuss it with the Jia family, and a few perfunctory words would have been enough. However, the Jia family is now related by marriage to the Beijing Palace. If Wang Ziteng does not ask for permission, wouldn't he be offending the Beijing Palace?

Having said that, Wang Ziteng naturally would not speak directly to Shui Rong's question, so he cupped his hands and said, "I will obey your Majesty."

Shui Rong looked straight at Wang Ziteng, and he started to think about it. In the original novel, Wang Ziteng was promoted to the commander of nine provinces and was ordered to inspect the border. For the sake of his economic career, he gave up the Beijing camp, which to some extent was a betrayal of the alliance with the Jia family. This was also one of the reasons that led to the downfall of the Jia family.

However, Shui Rong did not comment on this. If he put himself in their shoes, it would be inevitable to feel strange knowing that the Jia family was declining. This is what is called stepping down on the weak and praising the strong. You can't know that the Jia family is a bomb and still hug them to die together!

Now that the Beijing Prince's Mansion is marrying the Jia family, its prestige is rising greatly. Those in the Jia family are probably like Wang Ziteng, who tacitly regard the Beijing Prince's Mansion as their boss.

And this was also what Emperor Yongkang had expected.

Perhaps in the original novel, Yuanchun was made a princess in order to appease the subordinates of the Jia family so that they would not become guerrillas.

After a pause, Shui Rong asked, "The Beijing camp has not been in battle for a long time. How strong is its combat capability?"

Wang Ziteng was stunned when he heard this. He was asking about the border affairs, but Shui Rong talked about the Beijing camp instead. For a moment, he was a little unsure about Shui Rong's attitude.

While Wang Ziteng was thinking, Shui Rong said with a smile: "Wang Jiedushi is Yuanchun's uncle, and in theory he is also my uncle. I asked about the Beijing camp because I want to know the situation of the Beijing camp. Uncle, there is no need to hide anything, just tell me frankly."

Regarding the matter of Jingying, Shui Rong knew that this was his token of allegiance to Emperor Yongkang. As long as he agreed to this, Wang Ziteng would feel at ease to get a promotion and a raise in salary. However, Shui Rong had his own ideas, so he needed to understand the current situation of Jingying and mentioned his uncle in order to bring them closer.

Wang Ziteng obviously understood Shui Rong's meaning and was very pleased to call him uncle. This also showed that the relationship between the Wang family and Prince Beijing's Mansion was different from that of others.

After thinking for a moment, Wang Ziteng said carefully: "I will tell you the truth, Your Majesty. The military discipline in the Beijing Camp is lax, corruption is serious, and empty quotas happen from time to time. Although the Beijing Camp is said to have 120,000 elite soldiers, it currently has less than 80,000, and there are many old and weak soldiers among them, which greatly reduces their combat effectiveness. As the governor of the Beijing Camp, I am willing to rectify it, but I am unable to do so."