The crackdown on bandits began on 15 February and ended on the first day of March, lasting for half a month, during which four bandit villages were suppressed, more than 200 bandits were beheaded, more than 400 bandits were recruited, and more than 300 women, children, the elderly, and the weak were appeased.

This is the first time in decades that Yimeng Mountain has won a great victory against bandits, and Li Xiong will take his soldiers north to Jinan Mansion to celebrate his achievements. Cao Hao didn't go with him, because he got the news, Cao Yin and his wife went to Beijing to celebrate their birthday and had already arrived in Yizhou.

In Mengyin County, according to Qiu Laohan's identification, the Tian family was the old man's daughter-in-law. When he knew that his son was killed for his daughter-in-law, the old man almost didn't get angry, and he also had a bad chill at this Tian family. However, in the end, it was a simple villager, and when he knew that his daughter-in-law had helped the government to "suppress bandits" to avenge his son's blood revenge, most of his anger disappeared, and he received some rewards from the government for suppressing bandits, and went home together.

The case was over, and Cao Hao was one less thing to worry about, so he worked hard all the way and returned to Yizhou in the afternoon.

Father and son parted for half a year in August last year. Seeing Cao Yin standing in the hall with gray hair, waiting for him with a smile, Cao Hao almost burst into tears, took two steps forward quickly, and said, "Father! ”

Cao Yin picked up Cao Hao with his own hands, looked at it carefully, and finally looked at his lap and asked, "But it's all so neat?" Since it is the place of your old disease, and do not ignore it, save the disease! ”

Cao Hao nodded: "Well, it's okay, my father doesn't need to worry about it, it's just a small injury!" ”

Mr. Zhuang was talking with Cao Yin here, and when he saw the father and son meeting, he was thinking about whether to avoid it for the time being, when he saw the father and son looking at him in unison, with inquiries in their eyes.

He stroked his beard, he was embarrassed, if he told the truth, Cao Yin would be worried; If it's nonsense, it's almost done.

Cao Hao looked at Mr. Zhuang's expression, where is there anything he doesn't understand? immediately changed the topic and said to Mr. Zhuang: "Sir, the case of the old man in the yamen is closed, and his daughter-in-law was robbed by mountain bandits. ”

Mr. Zhuang smiled and nodded, these news had been mentioned in the letters exchanged a few days ago, and now it was just to divert Cao Yin's attention.

Sure enough, I heard Cao Yin ask, "What case?" Why did you skip the level and sue this yamen? ”

Skipping the level of the paper is also a taboo in officialdom.

Although Cao Haosu said that he was acting safely, Cao Yin was still relieved in his heart, after all, his son was very young and had never been a magistrate. Although the local area is not as serious as the personnel in the capital, there are also some "rules" to be observed, otherwise it is easy to offend people without knowing it.

It's like the pot burning thing last spring, although it looks peaceful on the surface, but I don't know how many enemies there are under the tree. Otherwise, there would not have been this shocking change.

Thinking of this, Cao Yin looked at his son with a little concern. He is already in his prime, and he only has this son under his knees, and the relationship between father and son is more important than in the first few years.

Cao Hao invited his father to sit with Mr. Zhuang, and then told Qiu Laohan's case from beginning to end.

Cao Yin listened carefully, and saw that his son handled it properly, so he gave two more words of advice before he could be relieved.

Mr. Zhuang saw that the father and son still had something to discuss, so he got up and retired first and went to his yard.

Only the father and son were left in the hall, and Cao Hao asked, "Is my mother in the inner house?" Did my father see God's blessing? ”

Cao Yin nodded and said with a smile: "Your mother is talking to your daughter-in-law, God bless is good, she is a good child." ”

Cao Hao remembered something and asked, "Father, is there a great name blessed by God?" ”

Cao Yin was stunned when he heard this, then waved his hand and said, "This is not in a hurry, it is decided before entering school." ”

When Cao Hao heard this, he couldn't help but be suspicious, remembering that when he was a child, he was also a big name when he was five or six years old. It's not that I'm not in a hurry, but I can't think of the right one? Is it to follow the genealogy and share the word "Yan" with Cao Yanxiao and Cao Yanwei's brothers, or is it like Cao Xueqin in history, only one single word?

However, even if his father named Tianyou "Zhan", Cao Hao would not be as apprehensive as he was in the past. The pillars of the Cao family are still there, and the Cao family is avoiding the original historical track little by little.

* Cao Hao and Chu Yu are now living in the main house of the inner house, and now that Cao Yin and his wife are here, there is no reason to let their parents live in the side courtyard of the side house. Fortunately, the east house was empty, and Cao Hao and his family only lived in the Xinuan Pavilion, and they didn't need to vacate the house.

Because I had already received the news that the second elder was coming, the luggage covers and utensils in the east room were replaced with new ones.

Li sat on the kang in the east house, hugged his eldest grandson, and smiled from ear to ear. The little guy is half a year old, and he has become a little active, always dangling his little arms and grasping everything.

Chu Yu led Wu'er, sat on the edge of the kang, and talked with him. Li Shi looked at the smiling Wu'er and praised: "At this age, you can see that she is a beautiful child, and she looks more handsome than her sisters!" ”

Although Wu'er is only two and a half years old, he is four years old, and when he heard good words, he knew that he was praising himself, so he smiled and leaned into Chu Yu's arms.

Chu Yu touched Wu'er's head with a smile and said, "Look at what my mother said, looking at my sister and third sister, I think that when I was a child, I was not inferior to Wu'er." ”

Li shook his head and said, "There are five sisters in their generation, and although the four in front of them are quite good-looking, they are a little like your grandfather between their eyebrows, a little resolute. The man's family is nothing, the daughter's family is like this, the surname is too strong, and he may have to suffer this loss in the future. Looking at Wu'er, she is different from her four sisters, her eyebrows are more like her mother, and she looks softer. ”

Chu Yu heard this, thinking about his several aunts and sisters-in-law, except for the fourth son, who was still young, saw him few times, and couldn't see anything, the other three surnames were different, but they were all a little stubborn, as the mother-in-law said.

The Tian family in the east courtyard, the two grandmothers of Han Lu in the west courtyard, and the two sisters Lianqiu heard that the Li family was coming, and they all came to greet her.

Tian's twins were born half a month ago, and the one who landed early is now not as big as Tianyou, but they are also fat and look very strong; The one who landed late was thinner and smaller than his brother, but he has been well recuperated in the past few months, and he looks like an ordinary child.

Li came to live last year, and he was familiar with everyone, so he gave everyone a seat with a smile and said a few common words. He also asked Xiulu to make up for the children's 100 rites and catch Zhou rites for Tian and Lianqiu.

While talking, Amethyst came over to ask for instructions, the kitchen table has been prepared, where to set up a table for the old lady to catch the wind and wash the dust.

Chu Yu is not good at self-concentration, so he asked his mother-in-law to call the shots, Li smiled and said: "There are no outsiders, you just look at the arrangement!" ”

Chu Yu asked Tian and the others to accompany her mother-in-law to talk, and she went out with Amethyst to set up the banquet. It is still like Chinese New Year's Eve, placed on the side of the main house. There was a table in the hall and a table in the house, but the number of people was not as large as on Chinese New Year's Eve, and then people went to the front yard to invite Cao Hao's father and son and others.

Cao Yanxiao and Cao Yanwei, the two brothers, had a low seniority, and there was no reason to sit at the same table with their ancestors, so they arranged to hold the pot in the outer hall. Although Cao Yin's father and son are filial piety and taboo alcohol, it also means that. Mr. Zhuang was accompanied by Master Han and Master Lu, and Wei Hei was not included. Although he is more comfortable in front of Cao Hao, he has always regarded himself as a servant, so he naturally refuses to be polite.

At the table inside, several grandmothers, wives, and aunts who came to invite An were all left behind to accompany the Li family to eat the banquet, and Chu Yu took Amethyst to set up a bowl of cloth dishes.

Although Li asked Chu Yu to sit together, after all, there are rules, how can Chu Yu be ignorant? Naturally, he insisted on waiting for his mother-in-law to eat.

This time in Beijing, the Cao and Li families went together, took several big ships, and traveled by water. entered the territory of Yizhou, because Cao Yin and his wife were going to pick up their son and daughter-in-law, they were separated.

Although there is still more than half a month before the Longevity Festival, the waterway journey is slower, and at most you have to stay for a day or two, and then you have to go to the canal, and the Cao family's boat is still staying there.

Not to mention the reunion of Cao Yin's family, they were happy, Li Xu and Li Ding's father and son were standing on the bow of the boat all the way north and gossiping.

Although the father and son also went to the capital together, they were not as decent as the Cao family after all. In the earlier imperial court newspaper, in the list of foreign ministers who came to Beijing to celebrate his birthday, Cao Hao was not seen, and Li Xu was only ordinary.

After all, Cao Hao is young, and he has just been released for a year, and he has not heard of any achievements in the local area. Although it is said to be guarding the road all the way, but now that the country is safe and the people are safe, the world is peaceful, where is the merit good?

However, when he went to Jiangning to join the Cao family, he knew that Cao Hao was also among the foreign ministers who were ordered to enter Beijing to celebrate his birthday, and Li Xu felt a little uncomfortable in his heart.

Standing at the bow of the boat, looking at the canal shrouded in the setting sun, there is an indescribable and inexplicable sense of gloom in the rippling water. Li Xu sighed and said, "It's really not the right time for the old lady to be sick!" ”

Although there was only a sentence without a beginning or an end, Li Ding knew what his father meant after thinking about it for a while.

Although in the past two years, because of his relationship with the former Liangjiang Governor Kali, Li Xu was reprimanded by Kangxi, but Kangxi missed the old love the most, and the reward for Li Xu's mother, the old lady of the Wen family, was still rich during the New Year's Festival.

Although Mrs. Wen has not been in the palace for as long as Mrs. Sun, after all, she has been a nanny for Kangxi, and she is the only living one among the old people at the beginning, who is over eighty years old, and she is still a little decent in front of Kangxi.

Could it be that the Cao family can rely on their son, but their own family can only rely on their grandmother? Li Ding was not convinced, and asked: "Father, since the Cao family has already raised the flag, Jiangning Weaving should be taken over by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, why is the uncle of the Cao family still in office?" ”

Li Xu shook his head and replied, "It's not that simple. At that time, the old man of the Cao family went south and led people to build a weaving yamen. Jiangning weaving is not only Jiangning weaving, Jiangning weaving house is also Caofu, is the place where three generations of Cao family ancestors live. Long live the Lord is the most face-saving, and he is already kind to the old minister; Not to mention the Cao family's drama of 'repaying debts with the whole family' a few years ago, which made Long Live Ye feel ironed in his heart, and naturally became more and more generous. Now that I think about it, my father is confused, and the heart of fame and fortune is prosperous, and I have forgotten the temper of Long Live Lord earlier! ”

Li Ding's entry into Beijing this time, like Cao Hao a few years ago, was also going to enter the guard office, and when he heard his father talk about the temper of the Long Live Lord, he was very curious and asked: "Father, didn't you say that the gentleman's heart is unpredictable?" Could it be that there are any other preferences and taboos that my father knows? ”

After asking, Li Ding knew the reason. Long live the Lord, except for the Son of Heaven, is just an old man, no more eyes or ears than ordinary people. He also saw it in his early years, but because the atmosphere was solemn at that time, he was not as bold as he is now, he bowed his head and kowtowed to say goodbye, and his impression of the emperor was just a trance.

My father worked as an errand boy by the side of Banzai Ye, and it is not uncommon to know some of his temperament.

Li Xu said: "My father has not been in Beijing these years, and the number of times I have seen Long Live Lord is only a handful, I only feel that Long Live Lord is becoming more and more majestic, getting along with the monarch and ministers, although the conversation is easy-going, but I no longer see the closeness of the early years, it just makes people panic."

For his father, he also had a panicked heart, and for the future of the family, he took precautions. But he forgot the temper of the Long Live Lord, and he was most impatient with others being greedy.

The more you want to ask for something, even if he wants to give it to you, he will take it back; And vice versa.

Your uncle of the Cao family has been light and breezy in the past two years, and he rarely responds to peace in the officialdom, and has the heart of fading out of the political situation in Jiangnan. I'm afraid that he can't wait to get rid of this weaving position, go back to Beijing to retire or go to Cao Hao's post to tease his grandson.

He is like this, and so is Cao Hao, when he was in the capital, he was inconspicuous, except for a few close relatives and the thirteenth elder brother and sixteenth elder brother who had no power, the other powerful people were not touched at all.

I don't know if their father and son did this intentionally, or because of their surname, but they may not be able to do so.

Since loyalty has been expressed, the rest is naturally the honor of the Long Live Lord, how can they allow their father and son to be so cold? In order to protect the Cao family's property, prevent them from being injured by moving, and make your aunt and uncle have a place to retire, I am afraid that the Lord of the Interior will not let the Internal Affairs Office arrange people to Jiangning. ”

"I can't ask for it!" Li Ding groaned: "I just don't know, is the uncle of the Cao family like his father, forgetting the temper of the Long Live Lord, or is he doing the opposite?" ”

(To be continued)