Chapter 1245 Snowy Day Chat, Hunting in Nanyuan

The northwest wind that had been howling for three days brought the first winter snow of this year.

Han Rong, the Minister of Rites of the Han Dynasty, finally couldn't hold on and passed away.

When Kangxi heard the news, he suspended court for three days and ordered the Imperial Household Department to help the Han family prepare for the funeral.

After Su Mingzhe took Yinxiang to pay his respects, he stopped by Yinxiang's house to sit for a while.

Upon hearing the news, Luwu, who had just married Yinxiang as his concubine, hurried over to toast and join him.

The three of them drank for a while. Yinxiang noticed that Su Mingzhe looked depressed. After thinking for a while, he suddenly said with vigilance:
"Fourth brother, is this Han Rong your man?"

Su Mingzhe sighed lightly but did not deny it:

"Yes, Han Rong is mine!"

When Yinxiang heard Su Mingzhe's admission, he immediately thought of Luwu's 'brother', the Minister of Works Wenda, and also of the Minister of Personnel Dunbai, who was already under his fourth brother's control. In addition to the Minister of War Maerhan, who was under his control, and the many generals in the Beijing camp, he was afraid that his fourth brother's power had surpassed that of his father and far exceeded that of the prince's party.

At this point, even if Su Mingzhe did not admit it, Yinxiang still guessed that his fourth brother was definitely not as loyal to the prince as he appeared to be.

"Now that Han Rong, the Minister of the Han Dynasty, is gone, what plans does Fourth Brother have for the Ministry of Rites?"

"I guess the Emperor will make Li Zhenyu the new Minister of Rites!"

Su Mingzhe did not hesitate and repeated what he had told Ling Zhu before.

However, Yinxiang is not Lingzhu.

Ling Zhu was only a fifth-rank doctor and did not understand how serious the open and secret struggles in the court were.

Yinxiang knew that everyone had their own job in the court. When he heard Su Mingzhe say that Li Zhenyu would be transferred to the Ministry of Rites, he asked in surprise:

"If Li Zhenyu is transferred to the Ministry of Rites, who will be the Han Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue?"

“That’s what I’m worried about!”

After Su Mingzhe finished speaking, he fell into deep thought again.

In the past few months, he has taken advantage of his control over the Ministry of Personnel to investigate all civil and military officials in the capital, and has indeed seen many capable officials.

However, among these capable ministers, some were already high-ranking officials like Li Guangdi, or they had too little experience to be directly employed.

Yinxiang saw that his fourth brother was worried and he couldn't figure it out, so he simply asked Luwu to pour some wine:

"Come on, Fourth Brother, this matter cannot be explained in a short time. It's just right to take advantage of the beautiful snow scenery and have a few drinks with us brothers!"

"Come!"

Su Mingzhe raised his glass and took a sip. The temperature was just right and it felt warm in his stomach.

After having a good meal and a good drink, Su Mingzhe took a carriage back to Prince Zhen’s mansion.

Several women were warming themselves by the fire and playing mahjong in the first wife's flower hall, looking very comfortable.

"Master is back!"

Facing Rouze who was sitting at the door, she pushed the mahjong in front of her and stood up happily to greet the man.

Nian Shilan, Yixiu and Lan Xin were all filled with anger as they looked at the cards that they were about to win.

Although Yixiu was only a concubine, she relied on the fact that she was Rouze's sister and started to grumble without giving any face:

"Sister, why are you cheating again? I'm playing Thirteen!"

"Tsk, I'm still a fool!"

Rouze could usually manage the affairs of the backyard in an orderly manner, but she had no talent in playing mahjong and often lost. Every time she played cards with the sisters in the backyard, she lost the most.

For example, today, after playing for two hours, she lost more than ten taels of silver.

Don't underestimate these dozen taels of silver. As the legitimate wife, her monthly allowance is only fifty taels.

In just half a day, one third of the output was lost.

"Stop arguing, it's all mine!"

Seeing that Yixiu was about to make a scene, Su Mingzhe clapped his hands and signaled Yu Shu to pay.

Seeing this, Nian Shilan and Lan Xin were about to get up and say goodbye.

Su Mingzhe stopped them upon seeing this, and then asked Su Peisheng:
"Pei Sheng, some time ago, the manor outside the Great Wall sent us a lot of mink skins, bear skins, and tiger skins. Have you processed them?" "Yes, we have processed them."

Su Mingzhe then ordered:

"It's winter now. Send someone to measure everyone's size and send the leather to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to make two sets of cloaks and waistcoats for everyone! Don't forget Mr. Wu and his friends!"

"Slave, let's do it now!"

Su Peisheng was steady and prudent in his work. He quickly obtained the height and size data of each master, and then came to find Wu Sidao and other masters.

When Wu Sidao and other advisors learned that there was a reward, they immediately showed expressions of gratitude.

After Su Peisheng got all the data, he sent someone to deliver the leather to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When he returned to the backyard, he happened to meet Crown Prince Honghui and Princess Jiashan, who came to pay their respects.

Su Mingzhe compared the two people's homework for a while and was extremely satisfied.

The eldest son Honghui inherited all the excellent genes of Yinzhen and Rouze. He not only had a good appearance, but also was extremely knowledgeable. He was also rigorous and cautious in character and rarely got into trouble.

The eldest daughter, Jiashan, is ten years old, at the age when she is lively and lovely. Now, she not only has to be disciplined by the maids in the palace and learn the royal etiquette and rules, but also has to learn various Manchu and Chinese knowledge. She is well-behaved and sensible, which makes Rouze and Li, the two women, feel distressed.

When Rouze saw that the man had finished checking the child's homework, she told Yu Shu to serve the dishes.

Jiashan suddenly grabbed Honghui and gave him a look.

When Honghui saw this, he ran to his father and shouted:

"Father, you said before that you would take us horseback riding in winter. Do you mean what you said?"

"It counts, of course it counts!"

Although Su Mingzhe is diligent in government affairs, he has never been lax in educating his children.

He immediately asked Su Peisheng to send someone to Nanyuan to inform Guanying to prepare horses, as he would take his two children to go hunting the next day.

Su Peisheng went down to handle this matter without mentioning it.

On the second day.

Su Mingzhe, who had a rare late sleep, heard the chattering of two children before he had time to get up.

If Huanbi and Liuzhu hadn't stopped her, Lan Xin would have exposed herself.

After helping the man get up from bed, Lan Xin reluctantly grabbed the man's big hand, pressed it against her chest, and asked reluctantly:

"Master, you are taking the prince and the princess to Nanyuan today. Will you be back in the evening?"

Su Mingzhe thought about it and said:

"It should be tomorrow."

Nanyuan is twenty miles south of Yongdingmen.

Because the Yongding River runs through it, rivers, lakes and swamps converge here, and deer, roe deer, pheasants and rabbits gather here, making the area quite prosperous.

Starting from the Jin Dynasty, the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties all built hunting grounds here.

It would take at least an hour to get there by carriage from Prince Zhen's mansion.

It is winter now and it gets dark early.

If the three of them wanted to have fun, they would have to spend the night in Nanyuan and would not be able to come back until tomorrow.

"Then prepare some warm clothes."

When Lan Xin heard that the man would not be coming back tonight, she felt a little disappointed.

It was a coincidence that these days, Rouze, Yixiu and Nian Shilan were all unwell, and the man had stayed at her place for two nights in a row.

After all, Lan Xin had just gotten married, and at this time she hated men the most.

It was so hard to have a man all to herself for a few days, but now one day was missing for no apparent reason. It was naturally hard for Lan Xin to accept this.

Su Mingzhe also noticed the woman's reluctance, but he had many women and couldn't always be with her.

After comforting her for a few words, Su Mingzhe took the clothes brought by Huanbi and Liuzhu and left.

(End of this chapter)