Chapter 852

Count's Mansion, Seeing Yingchun's Courtyard.

The sky was gloomy, the air was cold, and every breath was filled with chilling coolness.

Following Sheyue, Miss Cai entered the gate of the inner courtyard and walked along the winding corridor, where flowers and trees were scattered everywhere, shading the pavilions and towers.

From time to time, there were courtyards and water pavilions connected by curved corridors and stone bridges, and in the secluded places, one could often see new and strange worlds.

Although she grew up in an official's family and was a great clan in Laizhou, she had lived a wealthy life when she was young and had seen many things.

Her usual social circle of young ladies were all daughters of officials like Huang Huang Hongcang, and she mostly saw the elegant residences of civil officials.

Civil officials have always been estranged from nobles, and it is rare to see them interacting with each other in officialdom.

Someone like Jia Cong, who is a descendant of a noble family but has deep connections with the civil officials of the Six Ministries, is an anomaly in officialdom.

The reason is that Jia Cong is too brilliant and dazzling in the imperial examinations and literary affairs, and is famous among the scholars, so the civil official group ignores his noble background.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, it is impossible for a daughter of a scholar like Miss Cai to interact with noble female relatives.

This was her first time entering the mansion of a noble duke or marquis, and she felt that every step was magnificent and beautiful, with generations of accumulation, elegant and rich, interesting and extraordinary.

It was very different from the civil official residences she saw every day, and it was quite interesting to watch the scenery along the way.

When she walked to a place with clear flowing water and water pavilions, there was a courtyard with white walls and green tiles by the water.

The elegant eaves and double-row brown-red courtyard gates, and a three-story embroidered building in the courtyard, carved with beams and painted buildings, exquisite and gorgeous, were very eye-catching.

A young lady stood in front of the gate, with a maid standing beside her.

Miss Cai saw that she was older than herself, wearing a light blue chrysanthemum-patterned satin round-collared jacket, a white cross-collared padded jacket, and a silver-white flower-scattered satin horse-face skirt.

She was beautiful and dignified, her cheeks like fresh lychees, her nose like goose fat, her figure slender, and she was truly an outstanding person.

She guessed that this was Jia Cong's second sister, the eldest daughter of the Count of Lord Weiyuan's mansion, Seeing Yingchun, who was often mentioned in the boudoirs of the Divine Capital in recent years.

Miss Cai remembered that Jia Cong was so outstanding, and his eldest sister was blood-related to him, so it was reasonable for her to be extraordinary.

……

Just now, Seeing Yingchun received a message from the maid, saying that the third young lady of Scholar Cai's family was visiting and wanted to be invited into the inner courtyard for tea.

Seeing Yingchun was surprised when she heard this. She had heard of the reputation of the Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat, Cai Xiang, long ago.

It was just that she did not know the young ladies of the Cai family at all, and did not know why she was visiting.

Seeing Yingchun asked the maid a few more questions, only to find out that it was a New Year visit by her brother's classmate, who brought his sister to visit. Although she felt the etiquette was a bit abrupt.

But she knew the fame of Grand Secretary Cai Xiang, and that the youngest son of the Cai family was her brother's close friend, and that the young lady of his family had an extraordinary status, so she naturally had to entertain her well.

It was only right and proper for her, as a sister, to entertain the female relatives of officials and to help her brother build connections in officialdom.

When she saw the young man in men's clothing behind Sheyue, Seeing Yingchun could not help but be startled.

But thinking that her brother and Sheyue were both first-class meticulous people, there would definitely be no mistakes.

Looking closely at this graceful young man, regardless of his appearance or figure, he was a daughter who had changed her clothes, and she could not help but smile.

When Sheyue brought the person to her, Seeing Yingchun smiled and said: "This must be the young lady of Scholar Cai's family. It's our first meeting, Seeing Yingchun greets you."

Miss Cai heard the words "young lady," which seemed to have a deep meaning, and her expression was a bit shy and timid, and she bowed slightly to Seeing Yingchun.

She said: "I visited rashly with my younger brother today, and my clothes and shoes are not proper, which is a breach of etiquette. I have made you laugh, and I hope Seeing Yingchun sister will forgive me."

Seeing Yingchun laughed: "Your younger brother and my Cong brother are classmates and close friends. Since you and I are sisters of the same generation, there is no need to be bound by etiquette."

She looked at Miss Cai carefully and saw that although she was wearing men's clothing, her appearance and demeanor were very outstanding, worthy of being the daughter of a high official, and she felt happy in her heart.

She stepped forward to pull her into the inner courtyard for tea, and asked Xiuju to invite Lin Daiyu and Seeing Tan Chun to come over for tea and chat.

……

The Great Zhou Palace, Ganyang Palace.

It was the beginning of the year, and the bitter cold of the Divine Capital had reached its peak. Outside the room, the wind and snow were like knives, bone-chilling.

In the warm pavilion of the rear hall, the fire walls on both sides were burning warmly, and the three-star longevity incense burner was burning top-quality red charcoal.

In the filigree blue incense burner, clear smoke was curling, and the dragon saliva incense bait contributed by the West Sea coast was lit, the fragrance refreshing.

After the morning court session ended in the morning, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao entered the warm pavilion to handle government affairs, and before noon, he bestowed a banquet on the father and daughter of Zhang Zhang Tianshi.

After the banquet, he returned to the warm pavilion of the Ganyang Palace to continue reviewing the piled-up memorials.

It was not until Guo Lin sent the five-day routine secret note of the Central Vehicle Office that Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao stopped his busy work and picked up the secret note to read it carefully.

Although the secret note of the Central Vehicle Office was recorded in detail, most of the items were used for secret investigation and memoranda, or routine filing, and had no practical use in a short time.

Therefore, Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao browsed very quickly, mostly at a glance, and only when he encountered matters of concern would he ask Guo Lin a question or two.

For example, there was a record on the secret note: Jia Baoyu, the legitimate son of the second branch of the Jia family, had lived in the Lady Rongguo main mansion for a long time, and there were rumors of discord between the two branches.

On the third day of the first month, there were unclean words in the inner house, and the matter involved Jia Baoyu of the second branch, but the specific details were unknown.

On the fifth day of the first month, Jia Baoyu moved out of the Lady Rongguo main mansion and moved into the independent East Side Courtyard, and the main and side branches of Lady Rongguo had been separated……

This kind of thing was a routine record, and if it did not involve the Count of Lord Weiyuan, Jia Cong, it would not appear on the secret note before the Emperor.

The Emperor also browsed casually, and did not take these noble family inner house entanglements to heart.

……

When he saw the next item, his gaze immediately froze.

The secret note wrote: "After the third day of the first month, Prince Zhao widely distributed birthday invitations, inviting nobles and high officials in the capital to visit his mansion for a banquet on the eighth day.

The Empress bestowed a four-foot bright red coral tree, and by the fifth day of the first month, the invited guests had successively presented birthday gifts.

After the main text, there was an appendix of the guest list, detailing whether gifts were sent and what the specific gifts were, etc.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao looked closely at the guest list, involving imperial relatives, old-brand nobles, civil officials of the Six Ministries, military generals, etc.

Prince Zhao, as an adult imperial prince, was already famous in the military and had made outstanding military achievements, and he had extensive social interactions in the court and the public, so it was not strange.

This guest list was comprehensive and difficult to distinguish between light and heavy, and there were no taboo faults, but Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao felt somewhat uncomfortable when he saw it.

That four-foot bright red coral tree of the Empress could not be found in the imperial treasury, and it was a rare treasure.

It was originally a famous treasure of the Fengzao Palace, and many female relatives of nobles who entered the palace to pay homage during the New Year had seen it and sighed in admiration.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao also often saw this coral treasure tree and knew it was the Empress's most beloved object. He did not expect that she would bestow it on Prince Zhao as a birthday gift.

This coral treasure tree alone raised the status of Prince Zhao's birthday banquet on the eighth day by a level.

Those nobles and high officials who heard the news, even if they did not flock to it, would still have to look at the Empress's face.

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao sighed in his heart. Because of the Jinling Guard Army case, he had been putting pressure on and snubbing this son for the past half year, making him alert and restrained.

It made him panic a bit; after a period of silence, he was ultimately not willing to be lonely.

A trace of haze rose in Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's heart. The Empress also spared no effort to support this biological son, and her expectations were deep……

……

The Emperor continued to browse the guest list, and his expression sank slightly when he saw Jia Cong's name.

Although he knew clearly that after Jia Cong inherited the Lady Rongguo title, he had become an indispensable member of the younger generation of the four kings and eight dukes.

It was not abrupt or strange for Prince Zhao to invite Jia Cong to a banquet.

But Prince Zhao's attempt to get close to Jia Cong still made Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao think. Jia Cong was not an ordinary noble child; the things he mastered were too important……

The Emperor looked down and saw the gift list for Jia Cong recorded on the secret note: "Two twenty-year-old Liaodong wild ginseng, four top-quality fox furs."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao's tense expression relaxed, and he showed a playful smile, saying: "Although the Jia family's two prefectures have limited title property, their daily expenses are not small.

But his Xinchun Firm has made a lot of silver, and he should not be short of money. The birthday gift he gave to the imperial prince is really a bit stingy."

Guo Lin peeked at the Emperor's expression. Although he was mocking Jia Cong for being stingy, there was no displeasure in his heart, and it was a joke.

He had been by the Emperor's side for many years and naturally understood the Emperor's heart best, laughing: "The servant often hears that the Count of Lord Weiyuan does not like social interaction.

After leaving the office every day, he mostly stays in the mansion and does not go out, and gatherings and entertainment with colleagues and old friends are also very rare. Perhaps he does not know the etiquette, which is not too strange."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao smiled slightly: "A dignified second place in the imperial examination, with strange ideas, great talent, and broad knowledge, I don't believe he doesn't know the etiquette.

He is just too shrewd, sweeping the snow in front of his own door in everything, living his life behind closed doors, and being very cautious in every word and deed.

Last year, someone manipulated the screening of the screen, wanting to push the female historian of the Fengzao Palace to invite favor, and Jia Cong and Jia Jia Yuanchun had special correspondence, which is a glimpse.

Now he is still young, and I hope he will not be worldly in the future, and will be able to maintain his original heart, focusing only on pragmatism and not on power."

……

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao finished reading the secret note, and the doubts caused by Prince Zhao's birthday banquet faded a lot because of Jia Cong's birthday gift, and he was about to review the memorials again.

Suddenly, the sixth-rank eunuch on duty at the Ganyang Palace, Yuan Jing, holding a report scroll, hurried into the warm pavilion.

Kneeling and reporting: "Reporting to the Holy One, an eight-hundred-mile urgent report from Liaodong Town has arrived, sealed by the Ceremonial Supervision and filed, and sent urgently to the imperial front. Please look at it, Holy One."

Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao heard that it was an eight-hundred-mile urgent report from the military town, not entering the Ministry of War or the Five Military Governor's Office, but sent directly to the imperial front. The matter must be very urgent, and his expression could not help but change.

Guo Lin took the scroll from Yuan Jing and hurriedly sent it to the Emperor's throne. Emperor Emperor Jia Zhao unfolded the military report and browsed it.

Instantly, his face turned pale, and then turned red, his anger attacking his heart, and he issued a violent cough.

Angry: "On New Year's Eve, the Mongols actually seized the military grain warehouse in Donggang Town, and a large number of Mongol troops stole into the pass overnight.

The supply of grain warehouses in the nine border towns has fallen into a predicament. Barbarians, so arrogant!

Pass my oral decree, summon the Minister of War Gu Guo Yankui, the Left Military Governor of the Five Military Governor's Office Chen Yi, and the Right Military Governor Yao Yao Ruchang.

Marquis Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding, Grand Secretary Wang Liu Shilun, enter the hall immediately to discuss matters, and do not delay!"

Guo Lin heard the military report, his heart was full of fear, the news was too sudden, and Khan Anda Khan's army of more than 100,000 was confronting the Qiu Xuan-Da line.