Hangzhou, prefect's yamen.

Shi Guozhu was glad for a while, fortunately he didn't think much about it, and left those few splashy surnames, otherwise he would offend the Cao family. Although Cao Yin's position is lower than his, he is a real son of heaven. The Cao family is deeply rooted in the south of the Yangtze River, where can a flowing official like them afford to offend. Thinking of the children who were abducted, there was the son of the Cao family, Shi Guozhu was afraid for a while, if there was really a little mistake, his career would come to an end. Although he was thinking nonsense in his heart, his face was solemn, and he first hugged his fist at Cao Yin: "Lord Cao, please!" ”

It turned out that the Hangzhou government was about to try the case of Xing Er's child abduction and trafficking, and Cao Yin sat on Shi Guozhu's left hand side to listen.

Cao Yin has been in Hangzhou for a few days, and originally thought that he could take his son back to Jiangning, but the imperial doctor who treated Cao Yin said that he should not be transferred at will within ten months, for fear that the broken bones would not heal well. Cao Yin had no choice but to send someone back to Jiangning to deliver a letter, of course, he had another statement for the old lady, mentioning that the two little masters of the capital went to Jiangnan, and he took his son with him, and then returned to Jiangning after a while. Facing Li, he asked her to come to Hangzhou to take care of his son.

Rehe Palace, study.

Emperor Kangxi held a purple brush in his hand, circled the word "衸" on a piece of rice paper spread out on the bookcase, and then still put down the brush, and there was no joy or anger on his face.

The chief eunuch Liang Jiugong was waiting on the side, muttering in his heart, I don't know what happened to the Long Live Lord, and he began to worry about the movement of the secret nobleman's stomach for half a month earlier.

Although the secret nobleman Wang is a Han man, his mother's family has little power, only a cousin serves as a weaver in Suzhou, but he has been very favored in recent years, and has given birth to fifteen and sixteen brothers in succession in the past few years, and gave birth to eighteen brothers a few nights ago.

The excerpt sent in the morning seems to be from the two elder brothers who went to inspect the river affairs in Jiangnan, could it be that there is something wrong with Jiangnan.

Liang Jiugong only dared to think about it, but he didn't dare to ask questions casually, the iron sign of "eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in politics" hung by the former emperor Shunzhi in the inner palace was not for play. After serving the emperor for more than 40 years, he certainly knew what he should do.

Perhaps sensing that the room was too silent, Emperor Kangxi rubbed his forehead: "Originally, I was relieved to add an elder brother, but when I thought of the Cao family, I couldn't be happy!" ”

Listening to Kangxi's gossip and homely tone, Liang Jiugong pondered and said: "The matter of the Cao family, isn't it that the 'Fengsheng Lady' is not in good health, long live the lord is really worried about it, can you send two imperial doctors down?" ”

Kangxi nodded: "Grandma Sun is about to reach the age of ancient times, this is a good idea, Ming'er ordered the Internal Affairs Office to choose two old ones to send over, as well as the medicines mentioned in this excerpt, all of them were packed up and sent to Jiangning quickly." Speaking of this, he sighed: "This Cao Yin is too stereotypical!" ”

Having said that, Kangxi was still relatively relieved in his heart, Cao Yin did not use power for personal gain, was loyal to himself, and deserved to be a courtier he relied on.

It's just that there is a family grievance, how to deal with official business? Thinking about Cao Yin, who is in his forties, only has this bit of blood and bones, in case there is a real mistake, even he, the master, can't bear it, let alone the Sun family, who is almost seventy. Fortunately, within a few days of the handwritten instructions sent to Zhuang Chang agreeing to use the channels of the Jiangnan Tong Political Division to find Cao Yan, he received excerpts from the fourth elder brother and the thirteenth elder brother, and Cao Yan had been rescued.

Kangxi has an impression of Cao Yin's only son, he met once during his southern tour two years ago, a little boy who looks like a jade carving, older than the sixteenth elder brother.

This little old child was abducted by the bad guys for half a month, and he broke his bones and lost his voice, how can it not make people angry? What does Hangzhou Mansion do, Lang Lang Qiankun actually allows such wicked people to run rampant? There is also the governor of Zhejiang, who also said in an excerpt a few days ago that "the people live and work in peace and contentment, the prosperity is peaceful, and the people are gradually rich." If such a case happened in a poor and remote area, it would still be able to exonerate them, but if it happened in Hangzhou, the provincial capital, the two of them would not be able to escape from the charge of negligence.

Hangzhou, Caojia Courtyard.

This is not far from Lingyin Temple, it is Cao Yin's newly purchased house, after all, Cao Yin needs to recuperate for a long time, and it is not convenient to live in a post station or inn.

Although Cao Yan was still unable to speak, he did not delay listening to the news, knowing that Xing Er's few splashes had already been sentenced to beheading, and they were going to be executed when they waited for the approval of the Criminal Department. After all, he has been in this world for almost a month, during which time he has lived and died fluently, and he has traveled everywhere. It is said that "heaven on earth, Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth", but for Cao Yan, life in these two places is a hellish ordeal.

Lying in bed, Cao Yan was thinking more about his future life, never wanting to have such an experience again, and never wanting to let others control his life and death. He told himself in his heart that he must be strong, he must be able to protect himself, he doesn't want to die in his twenties, and he doesn't want to be exterminated. He squinted his eyes, it really can't work, he will start saving money in two years, and it is a big deal that Yongzheng will go to Europe or America after he ascends the throne. In the forty years of Kangxi, how many years is the Gregorian calendar, did the American colonies start, or recruit mercenaries to open up the colonies by themselves, it is really imaginative.

"Brother, brother, there are poria cakes to eat!" Happy sound of little kids.

Cao Yan turned her head to look, and a little girl was holding a porcelain plate with various colors of Poria cakes on it, and ran to the bed to offer treasures. followed by a daughter-in-law in her thirties, nagging: "Oh, Miss Ping, it's still a slave, look at it!" ”

Miss Ping, speaking of it, is none other than Aping, a beggar who has helped Cao Yan. A few days ago, when they were at the post station, everyone felt strange that although Ah Ping wiped his dirty little face, why did he refuse to ask someone to help him take a bath, and he still hid in the house and washed his changed clothes indiscriminately. Because everyone was worried about Cao Yan's body, they didn't pay too much attention to it. When he arrived at the new house here, Cao Yin was afraid that the newly bought servants would not be careful, so he sent a message to the shopkeeper of the Cao family's shop here, asking him to find a few people who knew the roots. Among them, Zhang Gen's family was assigned by Cao Yin to take care of Ah Ping, who was the thirty-year-old daughter-in-law in front of Cao Yin.

Ah Ping is only seven years old, two years younger than the third son of Zhang Gen's family, Zhang Gen's family naturally did not shy away from it, and took two little girls to pick up Ah Ping from the inside out, only then did he know that this monkey-like boy was actually a young lady.

Cao Yin heard from the fourth elder brother that Ah Ping and his son were kind, and he didn't take it too seriously at first, but when he saw the children who fell with Cao Yan and asked about the details of his son's life, he knew that Ah Ping was really his son's life-saving benefactor. Therefore, he was a little more grateful to Ah Ping, and felt even more pity when he knew that she was a little girl, thinking that she had been abducted, so he sent someone to follow the clues she gave to find her parents and relatives, but the result was shocking.

This little girl is a native of Chun'an County, under the jurisdiction of Hangzhou Prefecture, her father's surname is Liu, she is a carpenter, and her mother Ji died two years ago. This Ji was originally a maid of a large family in Linxian County, but because the main mother did not allow it, she sent someone to sell her teeth, and she was already pregnant at that time.

This Liu carpenter didn't spend a few taels of silver, and he got a handsome daughter-in-law, originally thought that the ancestor opened his eyes, but when he knew that he was buying one and getting it free, Ji's belly was already so big that he couldn't hide it. Carpenter Liu began to lose his good face, but fortunately there were no in-laws at home, and the Ji family was careful with him, and he was finally able to deal with it. A few months later, Ji gave birth to a baby girl, named Ping. Carpenter Liu raised a cheap daughter, so naturally the boss was not happy, and every time he drank alcohol, he began to beat and scold Ji's. Ji died of illness a few years later, and Carpenter Liu wanted to marry and fill the house, but he lacked a dowry, so he sold Liu Ping's eight taels of silver to Renyazi, and then somehow fell into the hands of Xing Er and his group.

The biological mother died, the adoptive father was ruthless and unjust, the fate of this little Liu Ping was bumpy, except for the Cao family, there was really no place to settle. What's more, her biological father is none other than Cao Yin's younger brother Cao Quan.

When Cao Yin found out about this, he was a little annoyed, and a little happy, annoyed that his brother-in-law Zhao Jia's heart was poisonous, and he actually sold the pregnant girl in private, glad that the child was blessed by misfortune and was able to meet his relatives. originally wanted to write a letter to tell Cao Quan the truth, but he knew that this younger brother's surname was cowardly, and he was afraid that he would not be able to get ahead. Even if the little girl returns to the mansion over there, under the silver power of her mother-in-law Zhaojia, I am afraid that there will be nothing to say. Thinking of this, he had to think of another thoughtful way, anyway, it was his niece, what was the difference between his own daughter, and it was good to borrow the banner of repaying his kindness and raise it in his own name.

Liu Ping is still young, where does he understand Cao Yin's thoughts, but when he sees Cao Yin's kindness, he is also close to him in his heart.

Although Cao Yan was a little surprised that his younger brother became his younger sister, he didn't pay much attention to it. Whether it's a boy or a girl, they're all their little benefactors, and they will repay it well in the future. Although he still had to stay in bed for a while, he didn't want to waste any more time, and gestured to get a lot of books. Traditional Chinese characters are hard to write, but most of them know most of them, and they have no effect on reading because of the context, even with guesses. Martial arts are to be learned, but you can't become a dull martial artist, in most cases, it's easier to solve problems with your brain than with your hands, this principle is the same in ancient and modern times.

As time passed, the sunburn on Cao Yan's face healed, the dead skin faded, and he gradually returned to the appearance of his foundation carving. Cao Yin found that his son had changed, and he used to be eccentric in the whole life, and he was as obedient as a mouse and a cat when he saw him; Now he exudes an age-inappropriate calmness, and he begins to like to read, but his expression is not as submissive as in the past, but a little alienated.

Although Cao Yin couldn't pull his face to speak softly to his son, he was very nervous about this son in private. Children like to eat, children like to play, and they bought it in the house one after another, looking forward to being able to make Cao Yan happy.

Cao Yan is addicted to reading, where is he in the mood to learn from children to pretend to be clever. This kidnapping experience, he can be regarded as a blessing in disguise, at least he will not have to play the little Cao Yan in his memory in the future. After such twists and turns, it is reasonable to say that the child's heart has changed greatly. Now he has a terrible memory, and he can remember almost the same after turning a page twice. I don't know if it's because this little body is talented, or if it's the compensation given by Lord Yama for causing him to cross.

Cao Yan felt a little strange and proud in his heart, it seems that he really can't go to the top exam when he grows up, and then mix up with the Hanlin Academy to compile something, it is said that he is idle and worry-free, which is also good. While thinking about it, I was annoyed by my age, looking at those YY books, most of the other protagonists wore them Chengren, even if they were infants, they were extraordinary since they were children, and they were able to call the wind and rain and accumulate some power when they were five or six years old. But I was unlucky, and I didn't enjoy any blessings after I came, so I ate all kinds of hardships first.

Cao Yan disdained those toys and food, so he cheapened Liu Ping. It's just that the little girl is kind-hearted and doesn't eat alone, so she has to leave a copy for Cao Yan every time she eats something delicious. It's all sweet and greasy, where is it to Cao Yan's taste, it's just for the sake of the little girl's face, and she tastes two mouthfuls to make her happy.

Cao Yin checked the books his son had read, and saw that the rare words on them were all marked, knowing that his son was indeed reading seriously, and his heart was half happy and half worried, happy that he was not as stubborn as in the past, and worried that there was still the appearance of a half-cent-seven-year-old boy, like a little adult, he was addicted to books all day, sometimes his brows were tightened, and sometimes the corners of his mouth were smiling. No matter what he thought in his heart, Cao Yin still hired a knowledgeable old master to go to the other courtyard to give Cao Yan a lecture.

The old master's surname is Song, although he has not taken the road of official career, but he is a real talent. His father, Song Binchen, was a great calligrapher in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, unwilling to be an official, a family of poems and books, living a reclusive life, and gradually fading out of the eyes of the world. Cao Yin has information from all over the south of the Yangtze River, so he naturally knows the details of the Song family. Originally, he wanted to take the opportunity to invite Song Binchen out of the mountain, but he was already eighty years old and had been bedridden for several years, so he had to work hard to invite his eldest son.

After a few days of conditioning, Cao Yan's voice has improved a lot, and he can say one or two words such as "this", "that", and "how to understand". Song Fuzi has taught several students, but it is the first time that he has encountered a studious and intelligent person like Cao Yan, so he naturally tried his best. Cao Yan didn't feel struggling at all, he only felt that there was no end to learning, as if he had opened up another world, which was different from what he had learned in his previous life.

In addition to explaining the Four Books and Five Classics to Cao Yin, Song Fuzi also began to instruct Cao Yin in calligraphy. As a modern person, Cao Yan's calligraphy is considered a weakness, but he writes hundreds of large characters every time, and his attentive appearance makes Song Fuzi secretly admire.

During the lecture period in the Cao Family Courtyard, Master Song also brought a boy to come twice. The boy was one year older than Cao Yan, and his father Zheng Zhi was originally the first disciple of Song Fuzi, but he was Cao Yan's nephew in name.

Cao Yan didn't pay attention to the kid with a sparse brain and sparse hair at first, but after hearing his name, it was very strange. This child's name is Zheng Xie, and it is none other than Zheng Banqiao, one of the famous "Eight Monsters of Yangzhou" in the Qianlong Dynasty. Thinking about it, Zheng Banqiao is known as "poetry, calligraphy, painting" three uniques, "poetry, painting" for the time being, since you can get the guidance of calligraphy, it is reasonable to be able to achieve something in "calligraphy".

Perhaps because he was still young, Xiao Zheng Xie did not show any unusual appearance, and treated his little uncle respectfully. Cao Yan stared at him for a while, feeling that it was really boring, and sent Liu Ping to take him out to play.