Bahrain Right Banner, Imperial Palace.

The rumors of Cao Hao's affiliation were spread from place to place, and they actually reached Kangxi. I don't know if this old man is just having time recently, and he actually summoned Cao Hao to the palace for questioning for this matter.

When he knew that it was just the sixteenth elder brother who borrowed the topic of Cao Hao's family letter, Kangxi just nodded and smiled, and finally said to Cao Hao with almost comfort: "Now that you are far away from your parents and on an errand in front of me, I will take your marriage to heart, and I will always point out the matching family affairs to you!" ”

When Cao Hao heard this, he couldn't cry or laugh, and thanked him with a little embarrassment. When the sixteenth elder brother and others saw it, they all thought that Cao Hao was shy when he heard about his relatives. In fact, he complained in his heart that Kangxi was too fond of his heart, and it was not good to do anything when he was idle, but he was a "matchmaker".

After more than three months of following, Cao Hao did not go to the holy car many times, but he could feel Kangxi's love every time. For an emperor, kindness seems to be a joke, but Cao Hao feels this way, Kangxi treats him not like a courtier or a minion, but like an elder. It is no wonder that later generations of red scholars have come to the conclusion that Kangxi regards the Cao family as a family member and confidant, so throughout the entire Kangxi Dynasty, the Cao family has always been favored by the emperor. Originally, Cao Hao thought that this was just the emperor's mastery, but from another angle, he could understand what Kangxi did.

In Kangxi's eyes, the Cao family is a clothed family slave, a person who can be relied on and trusted. And because of the nurturing grace of the old lady of the Sun family, the relationship between him and the Cao family has gone beyond a simple master-slave relationship. Compared with those royal relatives who need to be guarded against at any time, an unconditionally loyal clothed family like the Cao family can make Kangxi feel more at ease.

*

Maybe it's because of the death of the thirteenth princess, or maybe it's because of her age, Kangxi's physical condition has not been very good since late July.

In order to show the emperor's favor and strengthen the ties between the Mongolian ministries and the imperial court, a few days after the Mid-Autumn Festival in Bahrain, the holy car was transferred, from east to west, choosing the best place for water and soil, and parading to recuperate. When Kangxi was in a good mood, he occasionally rode a horse, although he was still a little thin, but his spirit was getting better.

*

In September, the holy car turned back from west to east, and on the ninth day of the ninth month of September, the holy car turned back to the Mulan enclosure north of the hot river, and held a large-scale "line siege" here, which is the famous "Mulan Autumn Circle". In addition to the Eight Banners of Manchuria, there were also the followers of the princes of various Mongolian tribes.

The leaders of various tribes in Outer Mongolia rushed to meet His Majesty the Emperor during the months of Kangxi's northern tour, such as: Korqin, Uzhumuqin, Khalkha, Erut, Ordos, Aba, Alu Korqin, Zalait, Sunit, Golros, Sizi Tribe, Aba Haina, Zalut, Tumut, Ao Han, Zheman and other tribes.

After the siege was over, Kangxi rewarded the Mongolian princes, county kings, Beile, Beizi, Eyu, Gong, Taiji, etc., and the Mongolian officers and soldiers who accompanied the siege also had silver taels. At this point, a drama full of goodwill between Mongolia and Mongolia came to a complete end.

On the tenth day of the ninth month, the holy driver left the Mulan enclosure and returned to the Rehe Palace. The Mongol kings, who had felt the emperor's grace, then dispersed, waiting to pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor again next spring or next autumn.

On September 11, the holy driver arrived at the Rehe Palace. After resting here for a few days, the holy car will end its trip to Beijing and set off for Beijing.

Cao Hao's little life is quite leisurely, and he is still hanging on the errand of the imperial guard, doing the so-called "companion reading" of the sixteenth elder brother. said that it was a companion, more like a companion, in Cao Hao's eyes, he regarded the sixteenth elder brother as a younger brother like Cao Song. Sometimes, he also feels a little funny, and this identity change is really faster.

Sometimes when he thinks of the matter of the prince of Wuliji, Cao Hao will also wonder who is behind the scenes, but as the sixteenth elder brother said, those adult princes seem to be suspicious. I don't know if this is considered a good way for the old man Kangxi, all the princes have their own strengths, and half of them don't learn and don't have skills. There were even times when Cao Hao maliciously wondered if it would be the fifteenth elder brother who seemed to be the most honest. Because her mother is a Han girl and her harem status is low, the fifteenth elder brother and the sixteenth elder brother have always been regarded as marginal princes. Although he has a sacred heart, he does not have the qualifications and bargaining chips to win the heir. The fifteenth elder brother acts as a person, not as hearty and frank as the sixteenth elder brother, if he secretly takes refuge in any brother, it is reasonable. However, after all, it is just a thought, and there is no clue.

Recently, Xiaoman has been a little depressed and has nagged Cao Hao many times. Because, the new little maid Wun is always pestering him and wants to learn Chinese from him. When he was thirteen years old, it was the time for the leather monkey, where would he be willing to be quiet and be a gentleman. But that little girl always looks pitiful, and people really can't refuse.

Cao Hao listened to it and told Xiao Mannai that he would learn some Mongolian language when he taught Wuenhan. If you learn it, you will still bring it out with you when you have the opportunity to do so in the future. When Xiao Man heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up a lot, and he willingly went to Wuen.

That's right, it is the little slave girl of the Bahrain County Palace, Wuen, who is now being asked out of the County Palace. Maybe it was because he was touched by the little girl's heart-rending cry, or maybe it was because he saw the old wounds on her hands and neck, which made Cao Hao see the shadow of Wen Xiu's suffering in her, so that he, a lazy man, took the initiative to ask for this little slave girl from the county king's mansion.

Cao Hao was not a man who liked to make his own decisions, and before asking for someone from the palace, he found a colleague who could speak Mongolian and had a brief exchange with the little girl, asking her if she would like to return to the capital with him.

Perhaps because she has a stepmother and a stepfather, the little girl does not have any nostalgia for her relatives in the palace, but asks where her sister's bones are buried. The sister in her mouth naturally refers to Wenxiu, and the little girl has been following Wenxiu since she was three or four years old. For her, Wenxiu is both a mother and a sister.

Cao Hao asked his colleagues to tell Wu En in Mongolian that her sister wanted to return home, and that he would fulfill the deceased's wish and take his bones away from the grassland.

After hearing this, Unn cried and knelt in front of Cao Hao, begging him to take her away with her, she wanted to see her sister buried, and she was willing to guard her sister's mausoleum.

In this way, when Cao Hao left the Right Banner of Bahrain with Hu, there was a little maid who couldn't speak Chinese. Because Cao Hao lived on the side of the guard camp and was not suitable for placing female dependents, Wu En was arranged at the sixteenth elder brother.

Wu En is not yet ten years old, and Cao Hao is just guilty of Wenxiu, and he has special pity for this child brought up by Wenxiu, and he has no intention of using child labor. However, although Wu En is young, he is a diligent and accustomed person, and he goes to Cao Hao's side early to work on errands. If Cao Hao sent her back, she would look like she was going to cry, muttering in her mouth, what "cloth seems to be non-five". She learned Chinese, but some of them were not good. She was afraid that Cao Hao would dislike her for not working and throw her on the grassland again, so she always turned around in front of Cao Hao, wanting to do something. Cao Hao was dizzy by her, so he sent a message and asked her to find Xiaoman to learn Chinese.

*

If there is any joy in this trip, it is that I met Sukhbaru, a friend. Although Sukhbaru is not good-looking, he is a typical Mongolian man, honest, honest and righteous enough.

After Mulan's autumn victory, Sukhbaru did not return to Horqin with his father and brother, but stayed in front of the emperor and was named a second-class guard. Wearing a brand-new guard uniform, he is majestic and high-spirited, and he has a very errand posture. Because it was stated that the guards were not satisfied, there were only eight people, among whom Cao Hao only had a name and had not been on duty for a long time, so Sukhbaru was assigned to this guard.

Shu Ming was worried that Sukhbaru would put on the prince's shelf and disobey the control, but later he realized that he was too worried. In addition, Sukhbaru is good friends with Cao Hao, and he is familiar with these guards, and they get along very well.

Sukhbaru stayed, and in addition to Cao Hao, there were naturally sixteen elder brothers.

For the "Harbara" tamed by Sukhbaru on the grassland, the sixteenth elder brother has always been a little unwilling. "Harbara", which means "black tiger" in Chinese, is the name given by Sukhbaru to the black horse.

When Sukhbaru tamed "Albala", it happened that the sixteenth elder brother and Cao Hao were present. After the three of them met, on the one hand, the sixteenth elder brother really liked this dark horse, and on the other hand, he also had the intention of testing his new friend to behave in a way, so he asked for it.

Sukhbaru is a straightforward Mongolian man, although this dark horse is also a favorite object, he still did not hesitate to give it to the sixteenth elder brother. It's just that this dark horse is a big temper, whether it is a leather whip or a high-quality forage, but he doesn't eat soft and hard, and only recognizes Sukhbaru alone.

The sixteenth elder brother hated it so much, but he was reluctant to kill "Albara" to vent his anger, so he had to let it be at ease. However, after all, he was unwilling, and every other time, he always had to tease it in front of it. And "Albara" is more like a nobleman among horses, always turning his head arrogantly, nasalizing, and completely ignoring the various provocations of the sixteenth elder brother.

When Sukhbaru saw this, he always scratched his head in embarrassment, thinking that he had not trained "Albala" well. Cao Hao prefers to watch Xiao Sixteen eat deflated, because only at this time does Xiao Sixteen really look like a fourteen-year-old boy.

*

On September 17 of the 48th year of Kangxi, after resting for six days, he returned to Luan from Rehe.

On September 23, the 48th year of Kangxi, the holy driver returned to Changchun Garden. At this point, Cao Hao ended his first career as a retainer.