The next time, Cao Hao and Chu Yu were going to enter the palace, and the couple got up early in the morning.

Yesterday, I didn't feel anything, but when I woke up, I only felt that my bones were sour, Cao Hao rubbed his waist, and asked Chu Yu to find a box of tiger bone paste, roasted two pieces of plaster, and pasted them on his waist and eyes, so that he felt better.

Cao Hao looked at this box of tiger bone paste and thought of his father-in-law, the seventh elder brother.

The seventh elder brother originally stayed in Changchun Garden, but he also returned to the palace yesterday afternoon to guard his filial piety. His legs and feet are inconvenient, and he is afraid that he is more tired than ordinary people.

And the thirteenth elder brother over there...... The tiger bone paste in Cao Hao's house is Tongrentang [***], and it can use good tiger bones.

Speaking of tiger bone paste, it is not a rare thing, it is a common plaster, and it can be sold in a slightly larger pharmacy in the capital. But this tiger bone is hard to find, and most of the fish on the market are mixed with pearls, using leopard bones, yellow roe bones, and even ox leg bones to pass off.

Even if there is a real tiger bone paste occasionally, it is mostly made with the bones of old and deceased tigers, or from the bones of sick tigers, and it is impossible to verify the efficacy of the medicine.

Anyway, whether it's true or not, the tiger bone paste on the market is mostly mixed with musk and borneol, which are valuable medicinal materials, and it is enough to bluff people when they look at it.

It is rare that Tong Ren Tang acquired a fine tiger bone in autumn, which is the complete skeleton of an adult male tiger hunted by hunters in the mountains.

At present, Lejia's Tongrentang is not yet famous in later generations, but Cao Hao is convinced. When he was on an errand in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he once mentioned Roca, which made Lejia a supplier of crude drugs to the pharmacy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The head of the Lejia family thanked Cao Hao for his kindness, and over the years, he had to bring his children and nephews to Cao's mansion to greet Cao Hao during the New Year's holidays.

Cao Hao reciprocated by introducing Le's father and son to the sixteenth elder brother, which can be regarded as finding a big backer for the Le family in the Internal Affairs Office.

When making tiger bone paste, Lejia left the tibia and skull, and made a few boxes separately to send to the Cao family. Considering that Mrs. Cao Hao was young, this musk was not good for the heirs, so he gave up and added a few mild medicinal materials to neutralize the medicinal surname of the tiger bone and cover the fishy smell of the tiger bone.

After it was made, it was served in a palm-sized jade box, and it only got four boxes.

It was only sent a few days ago, Cao Hao originally planned to send two boxes to the thirteenth elder brother, and then rushed to Tongzhou to check the official warehouse, and then went to Nanyuan.

Now that I think about it, the thirteenth elder brother can't send it there.

How did the thirteenth elder brother rise to the throne, and it was the most taboo time.

The fourth elder brother is willing to value the thirteenth elder brother, but he may not be willing to see the thirteenth elder brother to marry the minister.

"Find two boxes and give one to my father-in-law...... For the rest, I'll find an opportunity to give the sixteenth master ......," Cao Hao said.

Chu Yu was a little surprised when he heard this: "Don't you think it's good to use?" Let's not keep a box? ”

Earlier, Cao Haoti mentioned to her, saying that he would give half to the thirteenth elder brother.

Cao Hao said: "The Thirteenth Master, don't send it first...... There are two boxes left, and we will keep ...... for ourselves."

Chu Yu already knew that the thirteenth elder brother was the prince and was appointed to become one of the ministers of prime minister's affairs, and after listening to her husband's words, she thought of the key to it, so she didn't ask too much.

One time later, the couple had breakfast and went to the Orchid Courtyard to say goodbye.

Li had already gotten up, sitting in front of the Buddhist shrine and reciting the "Diamond Sutra", until his son and daughter-in-law came in, and then put down the Buddhist beads in his hand.

She is a wife, and she also has to mourn for the emperor of Daxing, go to makeup and cut her hair, and she is full of vegetarians.

I don't know if she really wants to open it, but she looks better than yesterday.

She asked two sentences, knowing that Cao Hao was only crying in the morning, afternoon, and evening, and went back to the household yamen to work at other times, so she didn't say anything, turned her head and asked Chu Yu, and said, "God bless his father if he can still go out of the palace, you have to stay in the palace for a whole day, right?" ”

Chu Yu nodded and said, "It should be, they are all female dependents, and there are many places to avoid going in and out, so it is not good to toss three times a day." ”

Li Shi nodded, took out two purses, handed them to Chu Yu and said: "This has a bag of starch candy, as well as a bag of furnace fruit, take it with you, fill it when you are hungry, save it from hurting your stomach." ”

Chu Yu didn't expect her mother-in-law to be so considerate, so she bent her knees and took it with a little gratitude.

Li looked at his son and daughter-in-law warmly and said, "Leave the affairs of the family to me, you can go with confidence." Just remember to take care of yourself. If you are sick today, you will suffer. ”

Cao Hao and Chu Yu responded, and accompanied Li to say a few words of gossip before leaving the house and entering the palace together.

The morning sacrifice is at six o'clock, and the process is much simpler than yesterday's funeral, and Cao Hao finished his errand in only two quarters of an hour.

If it is ordinary, this foreign minister will have to search his body when he enters the palace, and it is forbidden to bring prohibited things.

These two are called national funerals, and there are many Beijing officials entering the palace, so this search is ambiguous. With Cao Hao's identity on the left and right, even if the guards search, it is just a formality, and no one who does not open his eyes will turn over him.

Therefore, he directly carried a small box of tiger bone manuscripts in his arms, and after the sacrifice was finished, he went directly to the outside of the elder brother's office and waited for the sixteenth elder brother.

The moment he saw the sixteenth elder brother come back, Cao Hao was startled.

The sixteenth elder brother's face was pale, his eyes were bloodshot, his chin was covered with stubble, his eyes were already rickety, and his eyes were black.

Cao Hao knows that the customs of the world are that white things are more important than red happy events, especially the royal family.

"The sixteenth master should also take it easy, this big mourning is still long, and he has to stay up." Cao Hao couldn't help but comfort.

The sixteenth elder brother squeezed out a wry smile, sighed, and said, "Fu Ruo, since you are here, you still come into the house to talk." ”

Cao Hao saw that his demeanor was different, and he wondered in his heart, and followed him into the elder brother's office.

Zhao Feng waited with a few little eunuchs, and when he saw the sixteenth elder brother coming back, he brought three small bowls. One bowl is filled with a thick black medicinal juice, and the other bowl is a steaming ginger soup.

Zhao Feng has been waiting for the sixteenth elder brother for many years, and he is familiar with Cao Hao, so he said to the sixteenth elder brother: "Since Cao Ye came, the slave maid made his own decision and sent someone an extra bowl of ginger soup." ”

The sixteenth elder brother drank the medicine, then drank ginger soup, and scolded Zhao Feng with a smile: "Just you are clever, and you still say a word, Ye is a stingy person, can't you give up a bowl of ginger soup?" ”

Zhao Feng just smiled, took the remaining bowl of ginger soup with his own hands, and sent it to Cao Hao.

Cao Hao took it and said, "I'm tired of you thinking about me, next time I leave the palace, I will invite you to eat swallow wing seats." ”

Eunuchs are different from ordinary people, and they have many hobbies to vent their grievances.

Wei Zhu loves money, but Zhao Feng is a foodie. If he got grace and left the palace, he would wear regular clothes and mingle in the rice village of Sijiu City.

After listening to Cao Hao's words, he blushed and said: "If Cao Ye really loves the slave and maid, the swallow wing seat will be exempted, and the 'Wufu Wine' in the house will reward the slave and maid with two cups, so that the slave and maid can relieve their hunger." ”

"What's so hard about this, when you have to take it, you will have it taken. Don't talk about two cups, even two jars have yours. Cao Hao said.

Zhao Feng listened and hurriedly thanked him.

Cao Hao didn't say anything, but the sixteenth elder brother waved his hand and said to Zhao Feng: "Go out and take care of it, and tell the master to be quiet for a while." ”

Seeing this, Zhao Feng knew that the sixteenth elder brother wanted to talk to Cao Hao, so he answered and took the little eunuch down.

There were only two people left in the room, Cao Hao and the sixteenth elder brother, the sixteenth elder brother got up, walked to Cao Hao in two steps, didn't care about going up and down, and sat down.

Cao Hao saw that his face was heavy, and his mood became nervous.

"Fu Ruo, I am in turmoil right now, and I want to consult you about kindness." The sixteenth elder brother lowered his voice and said sideways in Cao Hao's ear.

Cao Hao couldn't help but be stunned, only to feel that his back was stiff, and he turned his head sideways and said softly: "Sixteenth master...... Isn't there something wrong with ......?"

His heart was tightened, and the words came to his mouth, not daring to ask. If it involves royal secrets, the more you know, the faster you will die.

Now that Emperor Daxing is newly mourned, what is the most worrying thing? It's just whether Emperor Daxing is "dying", and whether the new emperor is "justifiable" when he ascends the throne.

Things have developed to the present, although the fourth elder brother has not yet ascended the throne, but now he has been holding a national funeral as the heir, and he will promulgate the edict of Emperor Daxing to the world, and he will ascend the throne as the emperor in a few days.

Even if the sixteenth elder brother finds something wrong now, the safest way is to rot in his stomach, so he doesn't have to say it and make waves.

Seeing that Cao Hao was thinking crookedly, the sixteenth elder brother shook his head and said, "It's not a national matter, it's related to the fifteenth brother." ”

Cao Hao heard it for the first time, and said thoughtfully: "Is the sixteenth master worried that the fifteenth master will be implicated by the third master and the fourteenth master?" Although the fifteenth master has something to do with those two, but after all, he is subordinate, even if the fourth master wants to be angry, it should not be too harsh. ”

When the sixteenth elder brother heard this, his face became more and more pale, and his eyes showed a little anxiety and said, "I'm afraid it's not just implicated!" Huang Amabin said a day ago, and the fifteenth brother was sick, and then the fifteenth brother disappeared...... At the same time, there was also Wei Zhu, the eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace. Now, Wei Zhu is keeping filial piety in the Qianqing Palace, and the fifteenth brother is 'sick' and 'recuperating' in Changchun Garden...... I checked it, and he wasn't in Changchun Garden at all. ”

Cao Hao was shocked when he heard this.

The fifteenth elder brother is usually inconspicuous, and Cao Hao really can't imagine what role he will play at the critical moment before Kangxi's death.

However, with the temper of the fourth elder brother, even the third elder brother, who is usually-for-tat, was crowned as the prime minister at this time, if the fifteenth elder brother has nothing to do, he will not bear the reputation of "mistreating his siblings" and take the fifteenth elder brother under the knife.

"Sixteenth Master, please don't be impatient." Cao Hao stabilized his mind and said: "Now, what is going on, I am still speculating, and I made a rash move, which caused the fourth master to be annoyed. ”

"I can wait, the fifteenth sister-in-law can't wait, she has already cried to her mother. If it weren't for the strict guards of Yonghe Palace, she would have to beg the Queen Mother. The sixteenth elder brother frowned and said: "Now the queen mother and the fourth brother are stiff, and they know about the fifteenth brother, I am afraid that they will take the opportunity to attack again, and it will be the fifteenth brother who is unlucky at that time." ”

Cao Hao listened carefully and said, "What did the concubine say?" ”

The sixteenth elder brother sighed and said, "Eniang's meaning, the same as Fu Ruo, warns me not to act rashly, let me wait and see...... Not to mention my closest relatives, I have no reason to be a bystander...... Even in the eyes of others, my brother and I are both prosperous and loss......"

Speaking of this, his face showed a gloomy color, and said, "I'm a man, but I'm not afraid of anything." It's just that Eniang and Fujin are afraid that they will suffer because of this in the future...... If you were knighted in the early years, it's okay, there is an industry to guard, there is a place for cats, the new emperor is not waiting to see you, and it is far away from the court...... I don't even have a title with the fifteenth brother, and it's time to open the mansion again......"

It seems that his restlessness, in addition to the fifteenth elder brother's "whereabouts unknown", is also pessimistic about the future.

Hearing that the fifteenth elder brother was "missing", Cao Hao's first feeling was, didn't he go to the northwest with a secret purpose? Immediately felt that it was wrong, this also involved a Wei Zhu.

Wei Zhu's ability to stay in the Qianqing Palace to guard filial piety shows that even if he is not the fourth elder brother's person, he has not done anything harmful to the interests of the fourth elder brother.

The two disappeared at the same time, one "disappeared", and the other appeared, no wonder the sixteenth elder brother was worried, and nine out of ten the fifteenth elder brother fell into the hands of the fourth elder brother.

If it weren't for some personal matter, the fourth elder brother would not have pretended to be "sick" and would not let the fifteenth elder brother go to the Zigong Palace to pay tribute.

Before Kangxi's death, the ** involved is estimated to be something that he can't say to anyone in his life.

Even if the fourth elder brother doesn't kill the fifteenth elder brother, I'm afraid he won't let him appear in front of people easily.

The sixteenth elder brother is not a dull person, what Cao Hao can think of, he should also be able to think of, so he is so anxious.

Cao Hao thought for a long time and asked, "Sixteenth Master, what do you want to do?" ”

The sixteenth elder brother was very decadent and said, "If there is a way, I won't worry." Thinking about it, there is no half feasible path. I really can't do it, so I can only ask the thirteenth brother and ask him to intercede with the fourth brother. ”

Cao Hao listened, shook his head and said, "Absolutely not!" The thirteenth master has risen to the top at first glance, and it looks like a beautiful scenery, but it is just walking on thin ice. If it's not, I'm afraid I'll have to bear the charge of 'being spoiled and spoiled'......"

The sixteenth elder brother's eyes were already red, and he said: "Although I complain about the fifteenth brother for many things, I can't stand by and watch at this time......

Cao Hao frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Xu is the sixteenth master who wants to be left." If you say that you have offended the fourth master, the third, ninth, and fourteenth masters, all of them can be called the sworn enemies of the fourth master. Even if the fourth master wants to have a seizure, he will not use the fifteenth master as a raft. Even if the fifteenth master is now in the hands of the fourth master, it doesn't mean anything...... If he was really ruthless and didn't care about his reputation, then he wouldn't have arranged for the fifteenth elder brother to call him sick...... Now that the fifteenth elder brother is still alive, it is not a great sin...... Concubine Niangniang is right, the sixteenth master is better to wait and see. Even if the fourth master wants to vent his grievances in his early years, there are still big ones in the front row, and it is not the turn of the fifteenth master......"

Hearing Cao Hao's words, the sixteenth elder brother felt a little hopeful, looked at him bably, and said, "Really? ”

Cao Hao thought about the history he knew, according to the past history, the fourth elder brother vented his grievances, and only vented it on the eighth elder brother and the ninth elder brother, and the other princes and elder brothers didn't seem to have anything to do with it; Now that the eighth elder brother is early, there is no chance to be hindered after the fourth elder brother comes to power, and the fate of the ninth elder brother has become unpredictable, and the weight of the fifteenth elder brother is no match for the ninth elder brother.

"Don't worry, the sixteenth master, think about it, the safety of the fifteenth elder brother is not a problem now......" Speaking of this, Cao Hao said: "It's just that the sixteenth master must remember that you are not only a brother of the fifteenth master, but also the sons of the Daxing Emperor, all of whom are the siblings of the sixteenth master." In the future, if there is a glory and a loss, please be cautious! ”

The sixteenth elder brother was stunned, and after a while, he understood Cao Hao's intentions, and said with a little helplessness: "In the future, we compatriots and brothers can't follow their surnames?" ”

"If the sixteenth master is still worried about the concubine and Fujin, I'm afraid you have to remember this." Cao Hao said bluntly.

With such a turmoil, even if the fifteenth elder brother does not die, he will lose his sacred heart. The sixteenth elder brother getting too close to him will only disgust the fourth elder brother. Although they are from compatriots, there are examples of the fourth elder brother and the fourteenth elder brother, even if they are more estranged, it will not make the fourth elder brother feel that the sixteenth elder brother is unkind; On the contrary, if it is close, he should suspect the sixteenth elder brother.

The sixteenth elder brother showed a little loneliness on his face, and nodded slowly......*

(To be continued)