Chapter 5 The Courtesan Resigns
The ancestral hall is solemn and solemn. In front of the mourning hall, there are ten levels of memorial tablets for the ancestors of the Lin family, staggered at different heights, representing the ten generations of ancestors of the Lin family over the past two hundred years. Lin Su looked from top to bottom...
Lin Xiliang, general of Da Cang Kingdom's northern town...
Lin Lijun, the great cavalry general of Da Cang Kingdom...
Lin Wanfang, the great cavalry general of Da Cang Kingdom Xiao Yong Bo...
The Lin family has been serving as generals for two hundred years, and has been serving as generals for generations. There is only one exception, which is the tablet at the bottom and in the middle. There are only seven words on it: The Spirit of Lord Lin Dingnan.
This was his father, who was originally the Marquis of Dingnan and the commander-in-chief of Xueyuguan. However, he was stripped of his rank and title. There was only one name on the spiritual tablet without any title.
The second brother inserted a stick of incense into the incense burner in front of his father, and knelt down with a bang: "Dad, when you were on your way, the third brother couldn't make it back. Today I'm here to offer you incense. Don't worry, dad, no matter what happens, no matter what happens, Things will change forever, as long as the child is alive, he will definitely protect his mother and brothers!"
After kowtowing nine times, he slowly stood up: "Third brother, come here!"
Lin Su respectfully put the incense in his hand on the incense burner, kowtowed nine times, and slowly stood up.
"Second brother, why did daddy die?"
The second brother's eyes shone with anger and he said a lot...
The situation of the Lin family is actually a common problem in feudal society...
The duty of a military general is to kill the enemy and protect the border, and his foreign attitude is to fight.
Civil servants firmly believed in the influence of Confucian classics, and their external attitude was weak and ambiguous.
This created a political environment in which civil and military forces were in opposition.
Civil servants controlled the right to speak, and military generals were increasingly marginalized. Later, a strange situation was formed in which military generals did not go to court. Among the people, military generals even became synonymous with lowliness. The entire society valued civility over military affairs.
In such an environment, no one dares to be rash, and Lin Dingnan is not a rash person. He is well aware that officialdom is dangerous, and he has always acted cautiously and with his tail between his legs, so he was granted the title of Marquis. However, something unexpected happened. Storm.
Last year, one of his subordinates colluded with the demons and became a shameful traitor to the human race. How could Lin Dingnan let him go? He was dealt with according to the military law. Unexpectedly, this person was deeply connected with the court. Zhang Wenyuan, the Minister of War, fabricated the facts and falsely accused Lin Dingnan of treason. His Majesty sent a team to Xueyuguan to investigate the matter. This team was also controlled by the court officials, and was finally sentenced to death. He found out about Lin Dingnan's rebellion and killed Lin Dingnan. Originally, the entire Lin family was planned to be executed. Considering that the Lin family had been a general for two hundred years and had a great reputation in the military, they were worried about triggering a mutiny and did not dare to go too far. The old lady and three sons of the Lin family were lucky enough to escape. …
Lin Su's heart was filled with rage. What kind of court is this?
The soldiers defended their homes and the country, but a bunch of people behind them tried every means to kill them. There were no charges or fabricated charges. The culprit was actually the Minister of War who was in charge of military affairs!
Put these things aside for now!
Lin Su changed the subject: "Mom's illness... doesn't matter, right?"
The second brother said: "My mother also fell ill because of depression. If she takes medicine and stones, and supplements it with the "Qi Guiding Wen", she will recover quickly. However, the doctors in the city dare not come to visit her. With the "Qi Guiding Wen" alone, my mother will be cured. There may still be several days of pain and suffering.”
Lin Su was slightly startled: "What's the point of the city officials not daring to come to the door?"
"It's still the Zhang family that suppresses them! Zhang Wenyuan's hometown is also in Haining, and the Lin family is suppressed everywhere. The Lin family wants to sell some wooden goods and furniture to make a living, but no one dares to come to the door. Because of my mother's illness, the doctors don't even dare to come, because they are afraid If you leave the Zhang family, you may suffer a disaster... But please rest assured, third brother, I will go to the city gate tomorrow to sell letters and write letters for my brother, so that I can finally ensure that the Lin family has a hot soup..."
The second brother considered that Lin Su had just returned from a thousand-mile journey and had been running all the way, so he asked him to go and rest quickly. However, he entered the study room with staggering steps. He still needed to study and prepare for the exam. Lin Su watched him try to straighten up. The back view felt a little sour for some reason.
He could not imagine how much pressure this scholar in feudal society had experienced in the past few months. His father died, his mother was ill, and the burden of the entire Hou family suddenly fell on his shoulders.
He is a person who reads books from sages. He is not essentially a person who has to bear the ups and downs of his family. Can he afford all this?
He is back and he is also a member of this family!
Regardless of whether it was the case before, now...he is!
Lin Su returned to the West Courtyard, his former small courtyard.
The courtyard is also very dilapidated. Under the dim light, there is a girl, Xiaoyao!
"Brother!" Xiaoyao ran over, grabbed his hand, and rubbed his waist with her little head.
Lin Su gently touched her head: "Xiao Yao, my brother promised you that he would search the city for you to find jelly beans, but he can't do that today."
"Brother, why are you like this? You made it sound like Xiaoyao is delicious. Xiaoyao doesn't like eating jelly beans. Really." Xiaoyao denied it, but the sparkle at the corner of her mouth clearly betrayed her.
Lin Su smiled softly: "Go to sleep. I know you didn't sleep well last night."
"Um!"
Xiaoyao fell asleep in the wing room outside Lin Su's bedroom. She soon began to breathe evenly and slept soundly.
Lin Su, on the other hand, lay on his back on his big bed, tossing and turning for most of the night. He didn't fall asleep until the white line of fish belly appeared in the east.
The next day, at three o'clock in the morning, Lin Su finally woke up. When he woke up, he walked out of the yard and came to his mother's main hall. He wanted to see how his mother's illness was. Just as he was about to enter, a exclamation suddenly came from inside: "Two Young Master, what’s wrong with you…”
Lin Su pushed open the main hall door and saw her second brother lying on the ground. There was no color on his face. Xiao Tao and her mother hurriedly helped him up.
Lin Su quickly stepped forward and helped his second brother up: "Second brother, what's wrong with you?"
His mother broke down in tears: "It's all because of my mother who harmed him. Ordinary scholars would waste all their energy to write a "Guiding Essay". Your second brother has been here for several days, two essays a day. How can he not be exhausted? Xiao Tao, hurry up and give it to the second young master. Prepare some soup...Erlang, lie down..."
Lin Su and her mother worked together to help the second brother to the bed. The second brother finally recovered and slowly opened his eyes...
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside: "Excuse me, is the Second Young Master Lin Jialiang and Lin here?"
It's a clear female voice.
Lin Su looked through the window. In front of Xiao Tao, who had just gone out, stood a petite man in Tsing Yi, dressed in men's clothes, but she was obviously a girl.
Xiao Tao said: "The girl is..."
The woman said: "This slave is Cui'er who serves the girl from Yuxianglou... I've come here to see Mr. Jialiang..."
Xiao Tao said: "Second Young Master is not feeling well, I'm afraid he won't be able to see guests."
Cui'er was anxious: "What should we do?...Sister, please let me meet the young master no matter what. The matter is urgent and cannot be delayed."
Then...come in!
Cui'er and Xiao Tao entered the main hall. Lin Jialiang, who was lying on the bed, was shocked when he saw the woman: "Cui'er, why is it you? But what happened to Yulou...?"
"Second Young Master!" Cui'er said, "Sister Yulou is resigning from the building today, do you know?"
Resigning from a brothel is a step that all girls in a brothel take. When they are young, they work in a brothel for fun. When they get older and are no longer suitable for this kind of livelihood, resigning from the brothel and marrying a concubine from a wealthy family is the best ending. Although Yulou is the leading courtesan of Yuxianglou, she cannot escape the rules of the brothel.
Lin Jialiang was in a daze: "She once said she would resign from the building, but I didn't know that today...she asked you to come over..."
"My servant went out today without telling my sister. She secretly hid the invitation written by Yuxianglou to the young master last night, just because she didn't want him to attend the farewell party, just because she knew that Zhang Xiu, the Minister of the Ministry of War, would join forces Many talented people in the Quzhou literary circle have always wanted to end the young master's literary career. It is very dangerous for the young master to participate in any literary meeting... The slave girl also knows that what her sister said is right, but the slave girl is still worried. Zhang Xiu has already said that, I am about to hug my sister back from the farewell party. How can my sister resist? What if I just jump into the fire pit... How can I go back and talk to the young master again on the Mid-Autumn Festival?"
Lin Jiali's conscience was in turmoil, and his whole body was trembling...
Mother Lin sighed softly: "Erlang, Yulou's concerns are indeed reasonable. You'd better rest in peace and wait and see what happens."
"But...but the Zhang family..." Lin Jialiang's chest rose and fell sharply, but his face was pale with a hint of red...
Mother Lin said: "The Zhang family conspired to kill your father, and the worst thing is to see the Lin family rise again. As the only literary member of the Lin family, you are a thorn in their side. Everyone knows that the Zhang family wants to cut off your literary career. This is Without the protection of the Hou Mansion, even if you are in good health, it will be extremely dangerous to go back, not to mention your current body and bones, it is meaningless to go there, and it will also harm Miss Yulou..."
Lin Jialiang stared blankly at the top of the building when he suddenly coughed violently. When he took his hand away from his mouth, there was a shocking pool of bright red on his palm...
Mother Lin was shocked. She wiped her son's blood with her sleeve and helped him to sleep...
Cui'er was also shocked and stared blankly, her face also turned pale...
Lin Su gently pulled her, and Cui'er followed him out of the room in confusion.
As soon as she left the room, Cui'er knelt down in front of Lin Su with a bang: "Master, I really didn't expect this to happen. It caused the second master to vomit blood and fall ill. It was my fault..."
"Tui'er, I know you also have good intentions, thank you!" Lin Su helped her up: "You have also seen the condition of my second brother... Can the resignation party be postponed?"
"No, the invitations have been sent out." Cui'er replied.
Lin Su pondered for a while: "Then... let me go!"
Cui Er was suddenly startled, are you participating? That's a literary society. Are you a literary person?
"You go back first, I will go there later!"
Cui'er hesitated for a moment, took out an invitation from her arms and said: "Third Young Master, this invitation was drawn up by the host. Sister Yulou hid it after seeing it, and the slave took it over secretly. I really don't know whether it is right or wrong. , you should discuss it with the Second Young Master, this slave has left..."
Turn around and leave.
Lin Su opened the red invitation, which read a neat line of small letters: "In honor of Master Lin Jialiang, one of the ten most talented people in Quzhou, we hereby arrange to hold a farewell banquet for the Girl from the Jade Tower at Haining Tower at noon on April 21st. You are cordially invited to attend.”
The following signature is: Yuxiang Tower.
Cilou banquet, gathering of literati, ten beauties of Quzhou...
What Xiaocui said to her mother just now flowed through Lin Su's mind...
Taking advantage of the literary meeting to cut off the literary path of the second brother? He knew that the literary path was the path forward for literati, but could a banquet cut off a person's literary path? How to judge? Why did my mother say it was extremely dangerous?
The literary meeting was at noon, and there were still two or three hours left. He needed to fully understand the literary world of this world.
Lin Su walked towards his second brother's study...