In the first year of Yongzheng, on the twentieth day of the first month, Li Xu wanted to dig ginseng for Wang Xiude and others, and abolished his official and reformed his weaving position.

Yongzheng issued an order that the governor of the place should strictly investigate the money and grain he owed, arrest Li Xu's son and all the family members in charge of the housework industry, as well as Li Xu's cronies and cronies, and find out his family property, shop, money-lending money, etc., which will be summarized by the governor and the magistrate.

When the news came out, the eyes of everyone in the household department looked at Cao Hao, and it became weird.

Although the Sun family is the in-law of the Cao family, the relationship with Cao Hao is not close. Sun Wencheng's dismissal is still unthinkable of Cao Hao. When he came to the Li family, the impression of people in the capital of him was that he was the in-laws of the Cao family and Cao Hao's uncle.

Regardless of Mrs. Li's true identity, the nominal maiden family is the Li family.

The flag people attach importance to their relatives, uncles, parents-in-law and brothers-in-law.

Although Cao Hao is now on duty in the household department, it is an indisputable fact that the Cao family has been in charge of Jiangning weaving for 50 years. Now, the in-laws of the Sun and Li families, both dismissed officials, and those who ask for guilt, will the Cao family be turned over old accounts?

Cao Hao showed a little worry on his face, and he echoed everyone's expectations, but he was not in a hurry.

The fall of the Li family is a foregone conclusion. It was said that the case would be closed, and Cao Hao also waited to see the situation, did what he could, and gave the Li family a helping hand, which made the Li family sad.

Even if the Li family's raid is not spared, Cao Hao can be confident that he will not be implicated in the Cao family. He and Cao Yin, father and son, began to work hard to eliminate the disaster of today 20 years ago, if there is no effect, then he has been busy for 20 years.

He is determined, but others cannot be as comfortable as him.

Li Xu's younger brother Li Wei was waiting for a vacancy in Beijing, and when he heard the news, he was terrified. He is the old man of Li Shizhen, about the same age as Li Nai, in his forties.

Li Xu's six brothers, born of his father Li Shizhen's wife and concubines, separated as early as after Li Shizhen's death. In this way, even if Li Xu asks for the guilt, his brother will not be implicated. However, he is the head of this branch of the Li family, if he is really disgusted by the new emperor, then where can his brothers and nephews talk about the future.

Now, from a nominal point of view, Li Xu's mention of "digging ginseng" is not a big crime, but I don't know why the consequences are so serious.

Li Wei was worried about what was going on, so he went to Cao's Mansion to inquire.

Because the Gao family was in the Cao Mansion, Li Wei had to ask the old lady to see him, and he also told his cousin Li a few words of family life.

Although he didn't say anything, the anxiety on his brow was unconcealable.

Gao thought that he was worried about filling the gap, and wanted to ask a few more questions, thinking that his identity was not suitable, but in the end he didn't say anything; The Li family suddenly thought of the Li family in Suzhou.

In the past few years, Cao Hao has shown his tone in front of her, talking about the defeat of the Li family.

Therefore, since she learned that Sun Wencheng was dismissed, she couldn't sleep well, and every night she thought about the Li family's questioning.

She has been in office with her husband in Jiangnan for more than 20 years, and the officialdom in Jiangnan is a place of ups and downs in the sea of Huan, and it is not uncommon for this official to be arrested and questioned.

was just afraid that Gao would be worried, and in front of her, Li didn't dare to ask more, so he could only suppress the worries in his heart.

After Cao Hao fell into office, he did not go home directly, but went to the Thirteenth Elder Brother's Mansion.

Regardless of whether he is close to the Li family or not, he still has to ask what he should ask, otherwise he will fall into the eyes of others and become a cold person.

This is an era when human affection is greater than the law, and Cao Hao lives here, so he has to adapt to the rules of survival here. Although the thirteenth elder brother is now in charge of the household department, he is busy because he has other errands on him, so he does not sit in the household department.

The inner hall of the Thirteenth Elder Brother's Mansion is gloomy and bleak.

The Prince of Prime Minister's Affairs, who is powerful in the eyes of the world, only felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart at this moment, patted his wife's hand, and said: "If you want to open more, you have always been good friends with the fourth sister-in-law, and if you want to think about it in the future, you can enter the palace a few more times." ”

Zhao Jiashi grabbed the arm of the thirteenth elder brother with his backhand, and his tears couldn't be stopped: "What can you do if you enter the palace again, Sigege is only ten years old, where is it good to stay in the palace......"

As soon as she said this, she choked up and couldn't continue, her face full of misery.

"There are also six Gege's two brothers' family and the sixteenth brother's big Gege, Da Gege and Si Gege are the same age, and the two of them are companions, and they will not be too lonely. I have also seen Liugege, who is sixteen years old this year, and is a well-behaved and sensible person, and will also know how to take care of his two younger sisters. You just relax and ......" The thirteenth elder brother persuaded: "Even before, didn't the fourth sister-in-law often take the two and four grids in the past?" It's just that you have changed the yard to live in, and you treat your daughter as a relative, and it's not that you can't see each other...... Zhao Jia's tears rained down, crying and saying, "Master, such a grace...... How can such grace not be heart-wrenching? The princess of the royal family, how can she be so easy to do? The emperor has no princess under his knees, so he ordered a few nieces to enter the palace, what is the intention? Four grids backwards, four grids backwards will definitely be to care for Mongolia...... Master, how is this good? ”

The thirteenth elder brother sighed and said, "The daughter of the Aixin Jueluo family is like this. Even if Sigege does not enter the palace to raise him, as the daughter of the prince, marriage is not allowed to be self-explanatory. ”

Zhao Jiashi knew that her husband was telling the truth, but when she thought of her daughter, she was still uncomfortable.

The thirteenth elder brother took out the handkerchief from her hand, gently wiped his wife's tears, and said, "Don't cry anymore, Ming'er, you have to go over to thank you, it's not good." With four sisters-in-law here, Sigege will never be allowed to suffer. ”

Zhao Jiashi snorted and said, "It's mine, it's not me, but I'm worried...... can send my daughter to the middle palace to raise, I don't know how many people outside want to be red-eyed......"

The thirteenth elder brother looked at his wife and did not speak.

No matter how envious outsiders are, this grace is not what their husband and wife want, but they have no room to refuse.

Thunder, rain and dew are all Jun's grace.

From an outsider's point of view, the thirteenth elder brother is infinitely beautiful, and only he knows that he is responding to the ancient poem, "Infinite scenery is at the dangerous peak".

It looks like a brocade of flowers, and behind him is a cliff, and the honor and disgrace are between Yongzheng's joy and anger.

Since the death of the first emperor, brothers are no longer brothers, but just monarchs and ministers.

Holding the token and holding the Qinghe camp hostage, although it is a meritorious achievement, it also the emperor in the heart. The thirteenth elder brother knew that in the second half of his life, he would never be involved in military power again.

Seeing that her husband stopped talking, looking at his thin chin and dark eyes, Zhao Jiashi felt a little distressed: "Let's rest early today, I've been staying up for these days." I only sleep for two hours every day, and even the iron man can't stand it. ”

The thirteenth elder brother showed a little tiredness, rubbed his eyebrows and said: "The new emperor has ascended the throne, and there are all kinds of waste to be revived, and I am in charge of the household department, it is the time to be busy." I'll be fine in a few days......"

While the husband and wife were talking, an attendant came to report, and Cao Hao, the head of the house, came to the door to ask to see the thirteenth elder brother.

The thirteenth elder brother thought about it and guessed the approximate reason; Zhao Jiashi listened, but his heart moved, he took the arm of the thirteenth elder brother, and said with a little eagerness: "Master, Cao Hao's adopted son is the little prince of Mongolia?" ”

The thirteenth elder brother looked at her, his eyes were dark, and said, "Don't think about it too much, Fujin. The sixteenth brother has already booked it, and Hengsheng's son who enters the palace to accompany him will be taken to the elder brother every three or five days...... It is already a great blessing that we have two Gege to stay in the capital, and we should not be too greedy......"

Hearing this, Zhao Jia's body trembled, let out a long breath, nodded with difficulty, didn't say more, and watched her husband go out.

In the living room of the front yard, Cao Hao sat on a chair, looking at the familiar furnishings in the room, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

The thirteenth elder brother has been crowned the prince, and he has already rewarded the new house, but it still needs to be repaired and tidyed, and he is still living in the old house for the time being.

When the thirteenth elder brother came in, he saw Cao Hao sitting upright like this, and said with a smile: "It's rare, you can still think of the master......"

It stands to reason that now that both of them are in the household department, it is cheaper to communicate with each other; But in reality, it is not as close as it used to be.

Cao Hao got up and saw it, and said with a little worry: "I shouldn't have come to disturb the Thirteenth Master, it's just the Li family's lawsuit, which makes people panic." But they are far away, and the scene in Suzhou is not clear, so I have to come to find the Thirteenth Master to explore one or two. ”

He said it frankly, and the thirteenth elder brother looked at him with a little deep meaning for a long time, and said: "Since you have come to look for the master, the master has to tell you a word." The Li family is on the tuyere, don't make do with it. ”

Cao Hao was surprised, hesitated, and said: "Thirteenth master, no matter what, my mother's surname is a 'Li'......"

The thirteenth elder brother glanced at him and said: "Marrying and following the husband, the husband and the son are dead, Lingtang has nothing to do with the Li family, you and I know it, and now I mention this, what's the point?" ”

Cao Hao listened with a teachable appearance, and saw that the thirteenth elder brother did not mention the details of the Li family's crime, so he accepted the words, found a reason, and left.

The thirteenth elder brother asked the housekeeper to send Cao Hao out, looking at his back, his face was also a little dignified.

The emperor wants to replace the three major weaving in the south of the Yangtze River, and use the fat shortage to reward the heroes of the dragon, and the thirteen elder brothers have long known.

It's just that I didn't expect that the emperor's attitude towards the Sun and Li families was completely different. For the Sun family, it is high to pick up and low to put down; For the Li family, it looks like a big fight.

The Li family is not in the heart of the thirteenth elder brother, but he feels that he owes Cao Hao a favor.

No matter how many people are icing on the cake now, the ones who can really make the thirteenth elder brother take it to heart are still those who sent charcoal in the snow when he was down.

Only by experiencing the cold and cold of the world and the warmth of human feelings can we clearly see what is true and what is false. What everyone is flattering now is not his thirteenth elder brother, but the power behind him, although he copes with it, he is clear in his heart.

There are few powerful people in the capital who will take the Li family seriously, but Li Xu's matter is making a big fuss, and Cao Hao will be laughed at by everyone.

For this reason, long before the emperor planned to deal with Li Xu, the thirteenth elder brother had already said good things for the Li family in front of the emperor. Naturally, Cao Hao will not be involved in the words, but the first emperor will be mentioned, after all, Li Xu is the former emperor's tolerant minister, if he can open the net, it is better to open the net.

However, Yongzheng took out two booklets and showed them to the thirteenth elder brother.

A booklet lists the Li family's private accounts for nearly 20 years, and the first one is no longer something that Li Xulu can bear.

Not to mention far, just say that in the sixty-first year of Kangxi, the expenses of the Li Mansion were more than 58,000 taels, which was already a hundred times that of Li Xulu.

"Isn't it ridiculous that the silverfish of the country are called Buddhas by the people?" In Yongzheng's words, he did not hide his anger, and it seemed that his resentment against Li Xu was by no means a matter of one or two.

The thirteenth elder brother is frightened by this account book, the Li family is thousands of miles away in Suzhou, but the emperor can get the account book for nearly 20 years, what does this mean?

Is it that the emperor installed his eyes and ears in Jiangnan twenty years ago?

He was amazed in his heart, and picked up another book, this account book has nothing to do with the Li family, it records the information of some civil and military officials, some in the capital, and some in the foreign office, without exception, all of them are greedy for ink, and the money involved is not a small number.

Only then did the thirteenth elder brother know that Yongzheng was going to use thunderous means to rectify corrupt officials, not Li Xu alone.

It's just that these words are not good to say to Cao Hao.

Although he is in his house now, it is not a place where he can speak safely. is like the little eunuch standing at the door, who looks inconspicuous, but he loves to have fun with the kitchen servant. Every three days, the servant who delivered the vegetables would go to Longfu Temple to talk to the boss and buy several kinds of fruits in a fruit shop.

And just after he left, the boss would send a paper fold to the calligraphy and painting shop next door. The calligraphy and painting shop is the property of Prince Yong's mansion...... Cao Hao walked out of the Thirteenth Elder Brother's Mansion, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, as he expected, Yongzheng had no intention of implicating the Cao family.

Li Ding, the "high-minded" Li Ding of the Li family, has long passed away, Li Nai's surname is honest, and he is not a person who makes trouble, even if he is burdened by his father, the crime is limited.

The reason why the Li family was so miserable in later generations was not only because of the wrong team, but also because the Cao family was also unstable at that time, and there was no hope for the revival of the three major weavings, and there were too many people who fell into the ground.

Today, the Cao family is standstill. Even if others want to fall into the well, they must take one or two into account.

It seems that except for Li Xu, most of the rest of the Li family are in danger.

Cao Hao figured this out and felt a lot more relaxed. Li is already in his fifties, and because he has given birth to children due to old age, he has lost his energy, and his health has not been as good as before in the past two years.

Cao Hao will not take the Li family to heart, but he is reluctant to let his mother be too sad and worried.

He knew it in his heart, but when he returned to the mansion and faced Li Wei, he couldn't guarantee anything. After all, everything is his guess, and it is difficult to say whether other changes will happen.

He just mentioned that he made a special trip to find the thirteenth elder brother for this matter, but he hit a soft nail.

Li Wei came, in addition to inquiring about the news, just to ask Cao Hao to find a way to help the Li family.

It is not a secret that Cao Hao is friendly with the Thirteenth Elder Brother.

However, Cao Hao's words made Li Wei swallow the words of begging again, and he had to ask Cao Hao to pay more attention to them, so he left with a little frustration.

It was not early, Cao Hao was already hungry, sent off the guests, and returned to the inner courtyard.

As soon as I entered the inner courtyard, I saw the little maid in Li's house waiting there, and passed on Li's words and asked Cao Hao to go to Lanyuan......*

(To be continued)