Chapter 41 beauty deal

Next to a big drum, opera instructor Zang Yijia sat with a dignified expression.He is shaking a clapper in his left hand and holding a small drum stick in his right hand. He is freely directing a group of musicians standing behind him. The Kunqiang melody played by the ensemble is like flowing clouds and flowing water, drifting away in a soothing and melodious manner.Accompanied by the music, a young and pretty Xiaodan is sang a relaxed and lively opera on the red bamboo pole in the center of the lobby, swaying her waist and babbling. This is in Ruan Dacheng's mansion - Yonghuai Hall in Shichao Garden. The obese owner is sitting listlessly behind a food table facing north, with a dull expression and gloomy eyes, even the famous beard It sticks to the belly motionlessly.It seemed that he had to sit here reluctantly just out of politeness.On the contrary, the two guests at the table opposite him—Xu Qingjun, the second son of Wei Guogong's mansion, and Zhu Tong, the grandson of the fleeing king, seemed to be in good spirits.They each occupy a food table, eat and drink, and always pay attention to the performance on the red pole.Especially Zhu Tong, with an ulterior smile on his eccentric face, his eyes fixed on the young and lively Xiaodan, whenever he heard Miaoman's provocative words, he cheered alone in a strange voice Come.

Indeed, it was no wonder that Ruan Dacheng was not interested.Because from the day when Emperor Hongguang, who was the original King Fu, was successfully put on the throne, he had been looking forward to it day and night, that it would be his turn to come back in a grandiose manner.At first, he had even planned with great ambition that, as a meritorious minister who supported the new monarch, he could not be vague and let the court send a black gauze cap casually, but he had to stick to two things: One, demand that the imperial court completely rehabilitate him—not only him alone, but also the group of brothers and sisters who were unreasonably referred to as "eunuchs" should also be rehabilitated; "Case" is actually a huge injustice case created by the Donglin faction, which must be overthrown at its root.Second, when he was beaten as an eunuch, Ruan Dacheng's official position was the prime minister of Guanglu Temple, who was ranked "Cong Liupin".Since he was imprisoned for seventeen years for no reason, and he suffered from being without an official, and he has such a great contribution at present, it is not enough to restore him to his official position, he must be promoted, and he should also be promoted. "Breakthrough" promotion!For example, for the post of Minister of the Ministry of War, he is fully qualified for the post of military proficiency, talent and military skills.Even if it can't be arranged for a while, at least he should leave the position of the left servant of the Ministry of War to him.If it is lower than this position, he, Lao Ruan, will not do it!At that time, in Ruan Dacheng's view, Emperor Hongguang Gan Gang was arbitrarily assertive, Ma Shiying, Liu Kongzhao and other old friends who had become the fathers of the strategy joined forces to support, coupled with the forceful support of the Jiangbei Four Commanders, this was going to be done. Thing, simply effortless.Therefore, for a few days, he still pretended to be unhurried, and hid at home to enjoy the flowers and listen to the opera, waiting for the imperial envoy to come and greet him.Unexpectedly, two days have passed, and three days have passed. Not only has my own courtyard remained deserted, and the official boots of the imperial envoy have never sounded, on the contrary, it has also been reported that the court decided to let Shi Kefa enter the cabinet and let Ma Shiying "lead the hut" , Governor Feng is still the same" news.Ruan Dacheng's surprise and anger were really no small matter.He felt that Emperor Hongguang was simply an ungrateful bastard, and Ma Shiying was also a complete imbecile!Fortunately, just when he was so anxious that he almost jumped into the well, there came the good news that Ma Shiying had driven back to Nanjing in the starry night and insisted on entering the court to be in power. Then I became very excited again, feeling that this time "definitely" can come true!However, fate seems to be playing tricks on him. Shi Kefa has been away from Nanjing for nearly half a month. and others.Only his name, Ruan Dacheng, never appeared in the mansion newspaper!Of course, Ruan Dacheng also knew that when the courtiers were pushing cabinet members, Liu Kongzhao, his life-and-death acquaintance, once elected him in public, but was rejected by Shi Kefa, Zhang Shenyan and others under the pretext that "reverse cases cannot be reversed." .Whenever Liu Kongzhao mentioned this matter, he always hated it.But wasn't Shi Kefa squeezed away?Ma Shiying has now taken the second position in the cabinet after Gao Hongtu, and more importantly, the emperor secretly supports him, so why didn't he hurry up and pull his old friend to repay the favor of recommending him back then?Why is it that whenever Ruan Dacheng asks questions, he always hesitates and hesitates?It must be known that Ruan Dacheng's capital for the rest of his life has been fully bet on Ma Yaocao. Today, the Guizhou guy is still so determined to fail, but how can Ruan Dacheng be at ease? Happy?

The piano, flute and gongs in the lobby were still ringing enthusiastically, but with his well-trained ears, Ruan Dacheng realized that the play was coming to an end.Sure enough, the Xiaodan named Min Siguan stopped his voice, and sang and recited four lines of the final poem in unison with the last character. .Then, the few servants who stood by and waited, started to come and go busy.Ruan Dacheng regained his composure, and then remembered that it was time to change the table after the banquet.Although he was not interested, but because of the presence of guests, he had no choice but to stand up as usual, greet Xu Qingjun and Zhu Tong, and go for a walk and chat in the courtyard outside, so that the servants could clean up.

The atmosphere of the courtyard surrounded by night is different from that of the lobby illuminated by candles.Because the piano, flute and gongs stopped playing, the surroundings seemed extremely quiet at the moment, the shadows of the dark trees, the walls behind the trees and the high roof ridges stood motionless under the faint shadow of stars.Since there has been no rain for a whole month since the rainy days in early May, the clear sky now looks particularly bright, and the huge Milky Way across the sky looks extraordinarily clear, beautiful and mysterious.The crickets hidden under the stone steps and in the grass were singing happily one after another, but suddenly they were frightened by the sound of people's footsteps, and they all stopped singing. In the distance, it sounded again.

However, none of the three of them seemed interested in appreciating the night scene.Although Ruan Dacheng was full of depression, Zhu Tong seemed to have something on his mind and remained silent.As for Xu Qingjun, he probably managed to find a chance to speak, so he kept on chattering: "Aha, Mr. Yuan, I almost forgot to tell you that the morning court was extremely lively and almost killed people. Do you think it's unusual?" "..." "Hey, listen to my brother!" Seeing that Ruan and Zhu didn't respond, Xu Qingjun yelled hastily again, "This is what my brother told me, saying that Liu Chengyi was upset that Zhang Jinming controlled the official department and only dealt with us. Opposed, so when the court was about to disperse this morning, two people, Uncle Qi Lingbi, Laotang, and Uncle Xincheng, Lao Zhao, were publicly scolded in the court by Zhang Jinming for forming a party for private interests, rejecting military officials, and made a plan to support him. In fact, he is a treacherous official who is a disaster for the country, so he must be punished. The scolded Zhang was stunned and did not dare to argue. Later, Mr. Gao Ge came forward to mediate, and today, he also ordered the civil and military officials to help each other and not to compete. Everyone thought it was a matter of fact. It has calmed down. Unexpectedly, Liu Chengyi was so angry that he suddenly pulled out the handle of a small knife from his sleeve, and rushed forward, yelling to kill the treacherous officials. The man surnamed Zhang was so panicked that he hid in Tibet, and the court was in chaos for a while. It was really beautiful ..."

"So, what happened later?" Ruan Dacheng couldn't help asking because the news was indeed too sudden and unheard of. Xu Qingjun shook his head, and said regretfully: "Later, because the eunuch Han came forward to stop him, that Donglin hypocrite saved his life, but it was enough to make him die!" The Zhang Jinming who was hunted down by Liu Kongzhao just mentioned is Zhang Shenyan, Minister of the Ministry of Officials.As soon as this person was mentioned, Ruan Dacheng immediately remembered that a few days ago, he and Shi Kefa rejected Liu Kongzhao's proposal to recommend him, so he felt a kind of revenge in his heart, so he asked with great interest:

"Then what about Ma Yaocao? Did he say anything at that time?" "This... I haven't heard my brother talk about it. Now that he is a cabinet minister, it must be inconvenient for him to openly speak for Liu Chengxin, lest people say that he is partial." Although Xu Qingjun was just talking about the facts, this kind of statement can undoubtedly be used to explain Ruan Dacheng's current situation, so after being stunned for a while, Ruan Dacheng couldn't help becoming irritable again, lowered his head, and snorted heavily. At this moment, Zhu Tong spoke up.As if he had guessed what Ruan Dacheng was thinking, he said angrily: "Old Ma is afraid that people will say that he is partial? It also depends on when and who it is for! Yes, for old friends like Liu Chengyi and Ruan Yuan, He didn't dare to take sides. Don't you see that Yuan Laokong has made a great contribution to the establishment of the present, and he is still sitting on the bench at home until now! But to the hypocrites in Donglin, Lao Ma seems to be afraid of others saying He doesn't seem to be partial enough—my brother also heard a big news today, saying that even Qian Muzhai, who is not dead, was revived by the imperial court, and he was promoted to be a minister of the Ministry of Rites Are you surprised or not, are you angry?"

"What, Qian Muzhai—he recovered too?" Ruan Dacheng, who was taken aback, hurriedly asked, "He, how did he recover?" "I heard it was Li Zhan's doorway. Of course, the money was definitely spent without asking. In addition, I also heard that Qian Muzhai's famous concubine, who was a bitch with Old Li Changbao Handkerchief sisters. If you work hard on this pillow, Lao Li will not obediently agree to it!" After a pause, seeing that Ruan Dacheng was silent, Zhu Tong beat him again and said, "Mr. Yuan, you have to keep your own affairs in check. You must know that honest people will suffer a lot! Don't let people sell you in cloth bags." I don’t even know! It’s obvious that Qian Muzhai was very vicious at the beginning, resisting his succession to the throne, and he was able to use and add officials; but he made a contribution as old as you, but he gave it to him just because of a messy account back then. Press down, don't turn over. Even if you can bear this breath, little brother will fight against injustice!"

"But, Ma Yaocao, he just pushes back and resists, and just refuses to stand up for me, so what can I do!" Provoked by the series of news in front of him and couldn't bear it anymore, Ruan Dacheng raised his head suddenly, and replied with resentment. "Ma Yaocao?" Zhu Tongyi folded one hand on his chest, scratched his cheek with the other hand, and said thoughtfully, "That's right, he's really been a little rude to his friends these days. But my little brother has a way." Make him sober!" "Oh?" Ruan Dacheng couldn't help but widen his eyes, "Brother, is there a way? What way?"

Zhu Tong shook his head, the expression on his face could not be seen clearly in the darkness, "The secret must not be leaked!" He said slyly, "However, if Mr. Yuan is willing to entrust this matter to my younger brother, then I dare say that it will be as short as a day, as long as it is long." In three days, I guarantee that Ma Yaocao will submit obediently, and I strongly recommend you to the imperial court!" "Oh, there's no reason to refuse this!" Ruan Dacheng, who was overjoyed, hurriedly approached, "My brother is willing to help, and my younger brother is exactly what I can ask for! This will entrust the important matter to each other. Thank you in advance for the work!" As he spoke, he bowed deeply.

"Then, I don't know what kind of expenses are needed to make this happen. My brother just says clearly, and I will try my best to raise it!" After he straightened up, he asked eagerly again. Zhu Tong said "Oh", as if he was rolling his eyes, and then he laughed "hehe", "Younger brother and Mr. Yuan are always indistinguishable from each other. Even if there is a little expense, I will pay for it." Let's go!" As he spoke, he probably saw Ruan Dacheng's refusal, so he waved his hand again and said, "However, Mr. Yuan also knows very well that my younger brother has always had the 'widow's disease'. For those who heal illnesses, my younger brother will be able to be energetic, run around and seek things, and there will be no benefits. Therefore, I have a heartless request here. I want to see the gift of the old general Min Siguan. I don’t know if I can give up my love?" Ruan Dacheng was looking at the other party full of hope and gratitude, but when he heard such a request, his smile froze.Min Siguan is the girl who sang Xiao Dan in the lobby just now.In the past, Ruan Dacheng didn't know that this prodigal grandson fell in love with her.It wasn't until half a month ago that Zhu Tong entrusted Xu Qingjun to convey his intention of asking for it, and then he clarified the matter.The girls in the theatrical troupe were all bought by Ruan Dacheng with a lot of money, and he could decide whether to give them away or keep them with just one word from him.But then again, this theater troupe is Ruan Dacheng's darling, all these years, relying on it, has enabled Ruan Dacheng to survive the lonely time of being crazy, and has won a great reputation in the south of the Yangtze River.What's more, that Min Siguan is a pillar in the class, not to mention handsome, but what's rare is that he has a good voice, and his acting is very good.So Ruan Dacheng didn't wait for Xu Qingjun to finish speaking, but refused immediately, thinking that Zhu Tong's idea of ​​the Ruan family class was a bit too much for Zhu Tong's appetite.Since then, Zhu Tong seemed to have retreated in spite of the difficulties, and never mentioned this matter again.Unexpectedly, he didn't give up, and instead of giving up, he got into this corner and waited for Ruan Dacheng! "Hmph, no wonder he's so enthusiastic today. In the final analysis, it's for this reason!" Annoyed by the other party's hidden tricks, Ruan Dacheng was impulsive instinctively, intending to refuse flatly.However, when the words came to his lips, he suddenly thought that Zhu Tong had just claimed that there was a way to persuade Ma Shiying to recommend himself to the court within a day or two.This is a matter of life and death.Wouldn't it be worth it if you missed the opportunity because of a momentary anger? "Well, in order to come back as soon as possible, don't say it's a Min Siguan, or pay the entire troupe, I'm afraid I have to do it!" He thought bitterly, so he raised his head, stared at Zhu Tong and asked: "Brother is really careful, can you tell the old horse to do it immediately?" "When did my younger brother lie to you? If you don't believe me, I can swear here. If there is no recommendation within three days, I will be willing to be killed by thunder!" Zhu Tong agreed very simply. "Okay, the old man agrees, brother!" Ruan Dacheng waved his hand resolutely, and asked again: "Then, after the play is over, I will tell the four officials to ask her to pack up and send it to brother tomorrow. How about it?" ?” "Thank you, thank you!" Apparently Ruan Dacheng did not expect to agree so readily, Zhu Tong couldn't help being overjoyed.While saluting, he said excitedly: "However, Mr. Yuan's errand must not be delayed. While it's still early, I'll go to Ma Yaocao's place when I'm waiting. So don't let this play happen again." Look. Siguan, there is no need to wait for tomorrow, the little brother will take her away right away!" "It's just that, anyway, she is also raised by my family's class. If she is lucky enough to return to her brother's stage today, I will always have to do some dowry!" "Oh, no need!" Zhu Tong shook his hands vigorously, looking impatient, "Mr. Yuan sent her to me, it is a great favor! What about dowry? Oh, no, no, no!"