Heir of the Red Chamber

Chapter 1 With Sons

In the 30 years of Changtai, the auspicious places in the south of the Yangtze River have repeatedly appeared. Zhen Yingjia, the president of the Tiren Institute, successively presented Jiahe, Bailu, Bailingzhi and other things. For a while, the tide rose and all boats rose, and the reputation was magnificent.

Unexpectedly, in the winter of this year, various places in the south of the Yangtze River were unexpectedly hit by snowstorms.Jinling, Suyang Prefecture, Hangzhou Prefecture and other places have never seen a sunny day for more than a month, and there is snow every day.

Although there are folk sayings such as auspicious snow heralds a good year, but has there ever been such a heavy snow in the south of the Yangtze River?Not to mention the common people, even officials and officials, the family members are also annoyed by clothes for shelter from the cold, charcoal for heating and other things, so that they have no peace day and night.

By the end of the year, seeing that next year's harvest would be wiped out by this once-in-a-century famine, the governors no longer dared to hide it, and hurriedly reported it to Beijing, and passed on to Yulan.

The officials who can grab the rich and vacancies in the south of the Yangtze River are naturally not wine bags and rice bags, and there are always some talents who can change their minds.The booklets were presented over there, and the gentry were invited to set up tents and porridge here, so that the scene would be more beautiful.

It's a pity that even if a hundred porridge sheds were built overnight, many victims in single clothes poured in from all over the country whose houses were crushed by the snow and collapsed.

In the gloomy days, even in Yangzhou City, the richest place where salt merchants live, you can see refugees in poor clothes on the roadside from time to time. The big and powerful families have closed their doors and strictly prohibited their children from going out for fun, which makes the city even more lonely. The situation is dire.

Outside the city gate of Yangzhou on this day, the soldiers guarding the city were feebly pushing and begging refugees. With a stick in his hand, he drove out the refugees gathered at the city gate in a short while, and made way for a green-covered eight-treasure chariot that was getting closer and closer.

Looking closely, the well-covered carriage is inconspicuous in the city of Yangzhou, where wealthy businessmen gather. It may not even compare to the outfits of some wealthy families. There are only two horses pulling the carriage. Only then can people with a heart guess the wealth of the person sitting in the car.

After all, how could the thousand-gold horse that came from afar from the Western Regions be driven by ordinary people?

"Brother Ya, look at these cruel officials..."

Inside the car, which was as warm as spring, the round-faced boy who was sitting at the door angrily put down the curtain that had been raised before, turned his head and complained in a low voice to the handsome young man beside him who was surrounded by a three-star beaded and silver-handed furnace. .

He spoke righteously, he didn't want to finish his sentence, and got kicked by his master, and he was honest immediately.

I don't know how this young man called Yageer did it. After rewarding the boy with a kick in the not-so-spacious carriage, he not only helped the boy stabilize his body, but also didn't hurt his own body at all. With a fairy-like Qingjun temperament, the brows and eyes are still soft, the corners of the lips are smiling, handsome and unrestrained, Yue Zhiyuan stops.

It's just that whether he fell into the world of mortals and riches, the majesty of the superior in his gestures is still tainted with a little mortal smoke and fire.

"Which family am I now? How do the lord, wife, eldest girl, and all the old servants address me? Could it be that the wind blows out of the city, and you are confused?"

The expression on the young man's face remained unchanged, his tone was so indifferent that he couldn't tell whether he was happy or angry, but the boy who said it lowered his head even more, and after a while he murmured: "It's a small slip of the tongue, the uncle punished him very much."

It turned out that the master and servant were none other than Lin Ya, the heir of Lin Gong Ruhai, who was adopted by Xunyan Yushi and Lantai Temple doctor Lin Gongruhai in the middle of the year, and his personal servant Fusheng.

Lin Ya was originally the eldest son of a small family from the Lin family in Gusu. He and Lin Ruhai's family had five clothes two generations ago. For many years, they were nothing more than farming and studying, and they were not even considered wealthy.

It's also Lin Ya's life is poor, and the eldest son of his first wife is a small family with a thin family, and he will live a stable life without worrying about food and clothing. Who would have thought that his biological mother, Wang, would become popular after giving birth to her second son, Lin Chong? Then went, leaving two sons and a widower.

A year later, Lin's father remarried his wife and gave birth to Lin'er. The two brothers Lin Ya and Lin Chong really became little cabbage in the field. It was wrong to even take a breath. Ya asked his stepmother to find out what was wrong, and instigated Lin's father to beat him half to death, even wounded and sick. Even the good doctor the family used to ask said the child was useless, but miraculously healed up again.

People say that if you survive a catastrophe, you will have a blessing in the future. Since then, Lin Ya has really become a thousand and one hundred clever, relying on stealing lessons by lying on the wall of the family study every day, and coupled with the pity of the old man of the family, he actually made him die when he was 11 years old. He passed the Tongsheng exam and became famous in the exam. His mother and younger brother Lin Chong also taught him to be sensible, well-behaved and sensible, which was very popular with the elders of the clan. Let them concentrate on reading.

The reputation of the two brothers was passed down twice, and it reached the ears of Lin Ruhai, the most prominent branch of the Lin family, a descendant of the Hou family and a second-rank senior official.

Lin Ruhai is over forty years old, and has only one daughter and one son. The youngest son has suffered from a cold, and the eldest daughter is also sick and troubled. In the past year, even the first wife, Jia, has been reborn. Seeing that there is no hope for children, Lin Ruhai will inevitably die. The idea of ​​adopting a step-child was raised, but he was worried that the step-heir would either be virtuous or stupid, so he didn't speak up for a long time.

Now that I heard about such a pair of brothers, Lin Ruhai naturally had to investigate secretly, and had personally checked the school before asking the family to come forward and open the ancestral hall to record Lin Ya and Lin Chongyi under the name of Yuanpei Jia, and gave the eldest daughter a blessing. Two older brothers.

——Although I have never heard of adopting two sons at once, how can Lin Ruhai be willing to leave a handle for his chosen heir in the hands of others?It's just a combination of soft and hard, and power over others, so it doesn't need to be said.

Lin Ya has his own background and is a bit older, so he has a little awareness of the secret disputes between Lin Ruhai and his biological father and stepmother in this life. Of course, he knows that his biological father's family is called Lin Ruhai. Chong is talkative in front of him.

When they arrived at the Lin Mansion in Yangzhou, Lin Ruhai and Mrs. Jia had long been called Master and Madam by the servants of the family because of the small number of people in Lin Ruhai's branch. Lord, he and his younger sister, the eldest daughter of the Lin family, whose nickname is Daiyu, get along harmoniously.

It's a pity that not long after Brother Lin Ya recorded Mrs. Jia's name, Mrs. Jia, who was sick and disintegrated, could no longer hold on and let go.

As the eldest son, Lin Ya can't be sloppy in throwing pots and banners, crying and keeping filial piety, and taking care of his younger siblings. And because he came halfway, he has to be more diligent and sad than his own son at all times, so as not to live up to the truth.

After three months of tossing and tossing, it was time for her body to grow long, but Lin Ya's whole body looked thinner and thinner.

Lin Ruhai took the risk of adopting two and a half children, so that they could establish a family as soon as possible, so that he would not have a child and a daughter who could only be slaughtered by others in case of accident. Look at Lin Ya now. He was so tired that he was afraid that he would spend too much effort to get rid of the root cause of the disease, and secondly that he felt that time was running out, so he sent him to inspect the property outside the city.

Although the journey is tiring, it is a hundred times more worry-free than staying in the mansion. It can not only relax your mind, but also take over the family business as soon as possible, the best of both worlds.

Today is the day when Lin Ya returns home.

Lin Ya had excellent eyesight, there was a commotion outside the city gate, and Fu Sheng didn't need to repeat it, he also knew how these petty officials coquettishly bullied and trampled the common people, and knew the suffering of the common people in this peaceful and prosperous age of rivers, rivers and seas.

But what's the use?

Impassioned lip service, who wouldn't?If you give up a bowl of rough tea money, you can spend a day in a teahouse dedicated to making hot-blooded scholars angry, and if you involve more high-ranking officials and dignitaries, you may still be able to eat a few days of free prison meals.

It was an order from the governor that the refugees were not allowed to enter the city. Whether the soldiers guarding the city were soft-spoken or shoved and scolded, these innocent people could only stay outside the city and suffer from hunger.

Even if relying on the power of the Lin family to punish the small city gate order, what they fear is the power of the inspector and censor, how can they have the slightest love for the common people?A newcomer is no more than a raccoon dog.

A man was born in this so-called prosperous age where the long-standing evils are hard to come back from. He should live in a high place in the temple.

Fu Sheng said those words with joy, but unfortunately it was just nonsense, and he couldn't control his own mouth. If he didn't restrain himself more, he would definitely cause trouble in the future.

Seeing that Fusheng was sleepy and silent, Lin Ya ignored him, moved the exquisitely crafted hand stove in his arms, and lowered his eyes to meditate, as if he hadn't heard the flattery from the city gate official outside the car.

When he went out this time, it was obvious that he was ordered by his father to inspect the property in the mansion and appease the tenants in charge, but in secret, he was drawn to the thread a few years ago, and he seriously voted under the command of that person.

This is his way of betting for himself and for this family, but he can never tell his stepfather Lin Ruhai that he made the bet based on what he knew in his previous life and was sure that this Highness would be crowned the Great Treasure.

However, he was surrounded by loyal servants of the Lin family. I am afraid that the news would have spread back before he returned home.

Thinking of the heir father in the mansion who was ups and downs in the officialdom, Lin Ya couldn't help but smile wryly, now that he's back in the mansion, I'm afraid there are still some opportunities to fight, but I haven't seen Lin Chong for many days, so I should take this opportunity to tell him a few words Only one sentence can calm down the younger brother's dissatisfaction.

Lin Ya was thinking about how to go around Lin Ruhai and talk to Lin Chong, the speed of the carriage gradually slowed down, and the distance was calculated, but it was not enough for them to walk from the city gate to the Lin Mansion in Yangzhou.

Lin Ya's heart moved, and he lifted the curtain of the car, and he saw He Qi, the steward of Lin's outer court, riding a horse and following outside the car, and he was about to bow his hands in salute.

The He family is the servant of the Lin family, and He Qi is Lin Ruhai's first-class confidant, it's not like he can't bear the courtesy of the little master who came halfway.

However, He Qineng won Lin Ruhai's blue eyes, and he was not the one with hollow eyes. Even if it was inconvenient immediately, he hurriedly turned his horse's head, not daring to accept Lin Ya's gift.

"The old man is back." He kicked his horse away two steps quickly and then quickly turned back. He Qi smiled very respectfully: "The second master and the eldest girl are looking forward to the day and the night. It is the master who speaks harshly. I also think about the old man every day, lest the people who follow me will be careless and make the old man slighted. I figured that the old man should arrive, so I hurriedly sent the younger one to pick me up."

"Uncle Lao Qi. How is the master these days? How is the elder sister's prescription? Is Chong'er still obedient?" Lin Ya smiled, but he was not overly enthusiastic.As an heir, he should pay more attention to the boundary between superiority and inferiority.

What's more, being able to work and He Qi running errands should be due to some changes in the family these days.

Sure enough, He Qi's next sentence explained his intention.

"Everything is fine at home, but I'm afraid I don't know about it when I'm away. My wife's nephew, Second Master Lian, the eldest son of the Rongguo Mansion, arrived a few days ago and is a guest at the mansion."

Jia Lian has arrived, and this is Lin Ya's first Jia family master since he came to Yangzhou.

Lin Ya couldn't help showing a hint of sarcasm in his eyes.

The most beloved daughter of the ancestors of the Rongguo Mansion lost her son, was bedridden, was critically ill, and finally passed away forever. The Jia family ignored it at first, and then only sent Zhou Rui, the second house manager, to attend the funeral for the aunt who was born on the first line.

Today, Mrs. Jia has long been buried, but the Jia family has sent a young master. I am afraid that after hearing the report from Zhou Rui and his party, they know that the Lin family has adopted an heir, so they are anxious, right?

Could it be that, as later generations guessed, the entire Jia family has regarded the Lin family's Wanguan family wealth as something in their pockets? ?