Chapter 808: Late at Night

In the summer, it gets dark late, and the sky is not completely dark until the sun sets. The nine gates of the capital have all been closed, and it will be the night fasting time in more than half an hour, so the pedestrians on the road have stepped up. As a result, the group of people who hurried to Donghua Gate did not attract much attention, although the entourage before and after them were all dressed in brocade clothes - after all, the people who were eating together in the capital could not see anything else, but the rampaging brocade guards were a street scene.

When the emperor left the English Park, Zhang Yue and Zhang Qi also bid farewell to Zhang Fu and Madame Wang. Before leaving, the brothers were full of praise for the godsend who greatly showed their skills in front of the emperor this time. Even Zhang Fu, who has always reprimanded his son with a straight face, after listening to Zhang Yue talk about the scene in the garden at that time, he also praised his only son, but he refused to show it on his face, and asked Mrs. Wang to lead him and Zhang Jing and Zhang Tian into it after mentioning a few words.

"If Brother Yue is free tomorrow, come here at night to rest for a night, I have something to discuss with you."

Before, it was to avoid suspicion, but now Zhang Yue also knew that it was not the time to scruple about so much, so he immediately agreed. Together with Zhang Qi, they got on the horse and walked out of the Iron Lion Alley, and saw that there were only a few pedestrians on the dim street, so the two naturally accelerated their horses. After Andingmen Street and Beicheng Terracotta Division, cross the Haizi Bridge, go around the Huangqiang North Street in the north of Shichahai, and then pass the Taiping, which is the intersection of Xuanwumen Street and Wu'anhou Hutong. When the two turned into the alley, they found that the three houses in the depths of the alley seemed to have a few more lanterns than usual.

The Zhang family has three mansions, from east to west, which are Yangwubo's Mansion, Zhang's Command Mansion and Xiaozhang's Mansion. The porter waiting at the gate of the west corner of Yangwu Bo's Mansion was relieved when he saw Zhang Qi and Zhang Yue coming back together, and was about to welcome Zhang Qi inside, but Zhang Qi waved his hand and said: "I sent someone back to Mrs. first, and said that I have something to discuss with my third brother, and dinner will be used there, and I will come back in a while, just keep the west corner gate." ”

Since he said this, the steward had to whisper: "Today is a mess in the capital, and my wife and second young grandmother are very worried......

Zhang Yue smiled and said: "The second brother will go to see the second aunt first, and it will not be too late to come over after eating." ”

Hearing Zhang Yue say this, Zhang Qi had no choice but to go first. And Zhang Yue walked further, only to find that someone had also greeted him in front of his uncle Zhang Xin's house. The concierge first took Zhang Yue's reins, and then said: "As soon as the fourth young master came back, he ordered, saying that he would let the little ones wait at the door, and as soon as you came back, you would report in, and the fourth young master would come out in a while." ”

Knowing that Zhang Zhen saw Yang Shiqi today, maybe he had some instructions, Zhang Yue thought that it would not be too bad for a while, so he simply led the horse and waited. After a cup of tea, Zhang Zhen hurriedly came out of it, and when he saw that Zhang Yue was still at the door, he complained angrily to the porter: "I only let you report it, and I will go to the third brother's house when I go back, how can there be any reason to let the third brother wait outside the door?" ”

"It's just a small thing, why do you need to worry about it? Fourth brother, have you eaten? ”

"Not yet, I'm going to go to the third brother for a meal today." Zhang Zhen, who was carrying the lantern by himself, smiled as he spoke, as if he was afraid that Zhang Yue would not agree, and added, "Third brother, if you are not prepared, let people put down a bowl of noodles." ”

"If people hear this, they think that I have treated my brother lightly, and even if the family is not prepared, it will not be possible to even make up two or three snacks...... Hey, the second brother is here too! ”

Zhang Qi went in and out quickly this time, and he had already changed out of Zhang Fu's old clothes that didn't fit well, but wore a royal blue home-style straight jacket, and rushed out in this way, and the little guy with the lantern behind him couldn't catch up at all. Seeing Zhang Yue and Zhang Zhen standing side by side here, he smiled and said, "The fourth brother is also here, let's go, let's go to the third brother to drink together!" ”

The three of them laughed and went to the last house, Gao Quan, who had already heard the movement, personally guarded in front of the door, and said with a smile when he saw them coming: "I heard the three young masters chatting happily, and the little ones will save a few steps, and they are too lazy to go over to annoy people." The kitchen has already been ordered, the wine and meat are complete, and the Wu'an Hou family also sent a piece of venison in the morning, if the three young masters are willing, they can also open it under the grape trellis in front of the study and roast it. ”

"Listen, this is the life of the third brother, there is no need to say anything, since someone has thought about it, which is like the housekeeper in our family, who will only flatter and flatter, and do things is to move a little bit, just like an abacus bead! Or the third brother, you have vision, you have the help of executives, and everything is cheaper! ”

When Zhang Qi said this, Zhang Zhen couldn't help but look at Gao Quan. Although it was only the glimmer of the lantern, he could also see that Gao Quan's waist was straight, and he seemed to be much more energetic than before, and he couldn't help but feel a little stunned in his heart. This was the old family used by his grandmother, but it was the third room that finally accommodated him, and until now Gao Quan is still in charge of ushering in the housekeeper who is sent to the housekeeping, unlike the few old people left behind by his family, most of them have been transferred to the outside grange for the elderly.

"You're getting better and better, let's bake and eat, and you'll be able to relax, won't you?" Zhang Yue kept walking inside, and when he passed the screen door, he turned back to Gao Quan and said, because he said with a smile, "It's roast venison, don't you want to be lazy, you go and call Lian Sheng Lianhu, let the two of them not hide, come and serve." ”

As soon as Zhang Yue entered the door, he immediately ordered someone to go to the east of the back to find someone, and he personally went to the kitchen to give another order, and finally followed the little guy who carried the food box to the study. When he entered the courtyard gate, he saw that a small square table and rattan chairs had been placed under the grape trellis, and the bluestone ground watered with well water was cool, which was a good place to drink in the shade.

He took the food box from the hand of the daughter-in-law who delivered the food, told her to go back first, and then glanced at the two sons he had called, and told them to stay outside, and then he took the food box and stepped forward, and put the wine and food and so on. After a while, the Lian Sheng and Lianhu brothers, who had been passed the word, also rushed over, and the two hurriedly helped Gao Quan to serve together.

Seeing the charcoal stove that had been burned a long time ago, Zhang Qi and Zhang Zhen knew that all this had been prepared a long time ago, and they couldn't help but glance at each other. Sure enough, Zhang Yue toasted to the two of them, and then smiled: "This is when I set off two years ago, the tribute wine rewarded by the palace has always been buried under the begonia, and today our brothers drank together, and I let people dig it out." ”

Only then did Zhang Qi know that the sip he drank turned out to be tribute wine. To say that his own family is also noble, and there are sometimes wine, meat, treasure and silverware rewards during the New Year's holidays, but he is a veteran of drinking, but the quality of this wine can be tasted, and he knows that it is not comparable to ordinary tribute wine, and he can't help but put down the wine glass: "Third brother, we are not outsiders, this wine is not good for the third uncle and three aunts to drink when they come back?" ”

"Wine and meat are such things as drinking them when they rise, so why do you have to keep them for a while?" Zhang Yue stared at him suspiciously, and he said unhurriedly, "Today's matter, you two both know what's going on." The second brother also saw the emperor before, although the emperor laughed and said that you don't want to be your son, but after the second uncle comes back, he will definitely be happy. ”

Gao Quan and Lian Sheng Lianhu, who were waiting on the side, knew that this was not the time to be a mouthful, and they were all holding their breath. Sure enough, the next moment, Zhang Qi sighed: "Except for the late Xin Shizi, the Qianguo Gong family who guards Yunnan, I haven't heard of any other noble family having a feudal prince, so the emperor just mentioned it casually, how can I take it seriously?" Besides, this title should have been the eldest brother...... Not to mention this, being able to be transferred to the Beijing camp is what I want. ”

Zhang Zhen realized that after Zhang Qi saw the emperor today, he was transferred to the Beijing camp in one fell swoop, and he couldn't help but be overjoyed: "That's really to congratulate the second brother, I just happened to get the letter today, and I will be the editor of the Hanlin Academy at that time." ”

"Therefore, today is a good day for others not to mention for the time being, but for our family. Since you have opened a jar of good wine today, let's drink a few cups. Zhang Yue smiled and poured another cup for Zhang Qi and Zhang Zhen, persuaded him to drink, and drank it himself, and then said calmly, "Since my grandmother moved the family from Kaifeng to Beijing, the second uncle Feng Bo, now you and I all have their own futures, which can be said to be prominent enough, but the more so, the more we have to plan for the future." Don't say that we haven't split up now, but we have split up, can we still write two words? ”

Speaking of this, seeing Gao Quan and Lian Sheng Lianhu cutting the roasted venison and sending it up, Zhang Yue asked the two of them word by word: "I got the news today, there are several noble house slaves in the capital who are mining coal in Xishan, is there such a thing?" ”

As soon as they heard this, Gao Quan and Lian Sheng Lian Hu immediately looked at each other, and Lian Hu hurriedly explained: "It was a steward of the Hou family in Ningyang who picked the head and invited several families, which was more than a year ago. Because the young master said that as long as you run the clan study and the grange well, you are not allowed to interfere in other things without authorization, and no one in our family has ever interfered. ”

Zhang Qi and Zhang Zhen couldn't help but be taken aback. There is a way that the male protagonist is outside the female protagonist, and both of them are concerned about foreign affairs and family affairs, and relatives and friends interact with each other, not to mention the deeds of the domestic slaves below. Although they don't know the pros and cons of coal mining, they know the weight of the word Xishan. You know, there are two imperial tombs nearby!

"The second brother and the fourth brother don't need to be nervous, the descendants of your two families have this plan, and it is said that they have returned to the eldest aunt and the second aunt, but later because people are unwilling to share the profits, this matter is light. Fortunately, the emperor mentioned this matter when he was walking in the English park today, and praised me a few words, but the hall uncle was not so lucky. The house slaves of the second uncle and the third uncle were all involved in the business, and they also dragged one of the stewards of the hall uncle into the water, because of this, the emperor rewarded the heavens, and turned around and warned the hall uncle twice. I didn't want to lose face before, and I also got a job for my two nephews! ”

After picking up the wine cup and drinking it all again, Zhang Yue instructed Gao Quan and Lian Sheng Lianhu: "There are many people who have joined the British government in the past few years, and I think there should be such people in our family, and there will be other families who will recommend them." I didn't care about it before, but now that I'm back, I can't tolerate it. The three of you, together with the two left by your father, will begin to clean up tomorrow, and all those who are recommended by others to be lazy and can drill camps will be sent to the grange to farm. If he is diligent and honest, let Lian Sheng take him to the orchard to learn the craft. All the people left in the house must be screened again, and the relationships outside must also be screened again, and those goods that affect the Lord's family must not be produced! ”

Zhang Yue said harshly, Gao Quan and Lian Sheng Lianhu couldn't sit still on the small pestle, so they hurriedly got up and kowtowed. Knowing that his own affairs should not be too much, Zhang Yue did not admonish too much, shook his hand and ordered the three of them to go down and do it themselves. When only Zhang Qi and Zhang Zhen were left, he told him all the scenes after meeting the emperor in the English Park, and focused on what he said to Zhu Zhanji, and only at the end did he look at the sky that had completely darkened.

"On the surface, it's just that Gu Zuo offended too many people, and Yan Hao, who fled back from Liaodong, wanted to seek reinstatement and bring him down at the same time. But judging from the repeated setbacks of the Metropolitan Procuratorate this time, and the imprisonment of Dai Lun Lin Changmao, I am afraid that things are much more complicated. The reason why I asked the second brother to bring Yan Hao over as soon as he caught him was to avoid trouble. If this person really investigates deeply, I don't know how many people will be implicated. Jin Yiwei commanded Wang Jie to do it without telling him this time, and he was too bold. ”

"He is bold, but the hearts of those civil officials are black enough!" Zhang Qi scolded angrily, only then did he remember that the two younger brothers next to him were also civil officials, and he was a little embarrassed, but he still muttered unwillingly, "There are often people who impeach this noble and that noble for encroaching on the people's land, they are good, and the number of contributions is not less than ours!" ”

Zhang Zhen thought farther than Zhang Qi, and suddenly asked: "The third brother just said that Yan Hao doesn't know how many people to implicate, do you already know something?" ”

"Yan Hao handed over the incriminating evidence of Gu Zuo that he had woven to that Zhao Da, and that Zhao Da was the soap of the former military governor's mansion, what do you think the emperor will think? It is the Baoding Marquis Mansion, and some people have lobbied, and finally the Marquis of Baoding listened to my persuasion, and told me the bottom of the people exposed to him, and also persuaded other nobles, the matter should not be the biggest! Moreover, as far as I know, the nobles are not making waves, at most they are taking advantage of the fire to rob and apply for two sentences. ”

Zhang Qi, who gasped, suddenly thought of Yan Hao, who was caught by himself today, and suddenly turned pale. The former military governor's mansion was in charge of Chen Mao, Marquis of Ningyang, didn't he suddenly stand on the opposite side of those nobles?

"Second brother, it's not that I can't find anyone else to do this at that time, since I found you, it is because this matter is only good, the emperor should have made a decision, you can rest assured. As for the decision, we have to wait until tomorrow morning. If I'm not mistaken, I'm afraid it's a knock on the mountain and a tiger here, and as for the one who kills the chickens and monkeys, it should be another group of people. ”

Just as he said this, he suddenly only heard a burst of talking from outside the courtyard, and soon, Gao Quan's second son, Gao Heng, poked his head in: "Three young masters, there is suddenly a sound of running horses on the street outside, as if it is a large number of brocade guards!" ”