The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 151 Wang Xin's Root
The main hall is located in the center of the Grand View Garden, which is the largest building complex. It is surrounded by lakes, like a U-shape. The young ladies' courtyards are all on the sides, and there is a road in the middle but it is not connected.

Normally, the path for people to walk in the garden is the path surrounding the lake.

The big kitchen is on the left side of Tuobi Villa, and Hengwu Garden is on the right side of Tuobi Villa. So when Wang Xifeng goes back from the big kitchen, she has to pass Tuobi Villa and Hengwu Garden, and then pass through several young ladies' gardens before she reaches the gate of Grand View Garden.

Or you can go out from the back door of the Grand View Garden, make a big turn, or go back from the left side of Tuobi Villa.

Today, Wang Xifeng entered the garden alone and did not want to make any extra effort. Besides, there was no one living on the left side of Tuobi Villa, only a nunnery with a few old women and a young Taoist nun.

Wang Xifeng was alone today and didn't dare to go that way, so she took a shortcut, which was also the main road.

Logically speaking, the man should not be seen.

But she saw it again, and saw someone urinating across from her. If it was just a man, Wang Xifeng wouldn't panic, but now she was terrified. She covered her face, turned away, and asked tremblingly, "Who are you?"

Under normal circumstances, he could control himself, but it just happened that his whole body felt limp and he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. Wang Xin was speechless.

"Drip, drip."

Hearing the voice behind her, Wang Xifeng sneered in her heart. How could she not know what the man was thinking? He must be feeling very proud. Although she understood the situation and wanted to turn around, she really didn't dare to.

No matter how capable she is in normal times, she is just a young woman today.

After a while.

Wang Xin looked at the woman's back. He didn't have time to see her face clearly and didn't know who she was.

He swallowed hard, his face filled with embarrassment. He knew he was in big trouble this time, but he wasn't afraid to take responsibility. He just did what he had to do and told the truth, "I'm sorry, I'm Wang Xin, a guest of the Jia family living in Tuobi Villa."

"Master Xin!?"

When Wang Xifeng heard the man's voice behind her, she turned around subconsciously in disbelief.

Wang Xin was tying his belt, which he usually did skillfully, but now he was drunk and anxious, so he became even more flustered. Just as the saying goes, the slower you are, the more confused you become. Unexpectedly, the charming woman turned around again.

Wang Xin looked helpless, it was not his fault.

Wang Xifeng's face turned red and she stood there in a daze, not knowing what to do.

A thousand thoughts ran through her mind. She remembered that she had just scolded Ping'er, and now it was her turn, but she was even more useless than Ping'er. If it was someone else, it would be fine, but it had to be Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng has a strong personality. Not only is she strict with her subordinates, she is also demanding of herself.

No matter who they are or what their status is, once they come in front of her, she will not let others find fault with them, so she feels ashamed. Although Ping'er is not around, she still has to do things that will leave Ping'er speechless.

If she asks Ping'er to do something, Ping'er must do it. When it is her turn, she must do better than Ping'er. This is the confidence of Wang Xifeng. She has always been strict in managing people because she does a good job herself.

Wang Xin had not expected that the charming woman would not turn away from him. He also heard her tone, as if she knew him, so he looked closely and saw that it was her, "Feng girl!"

The two had only met once, and she had never expected their second meeting to be like this. When Wang Xifeng heard that Wang Xin recognized her, she felt a little happy, but she couldn't help but feel shy and said in a trembling voice, "Master Xin."

"Feng girl, why are you here?"

Wang Xin breathed a sigh of relief again. It was better than others, but he also felt embarrassed. His heart was complicated and his thoughts were changing.

Wang Xifeng was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to explain.

Wang Xin didn't know what to say, it was really awkward. The atmosphere became quiet, with only the peach blossom branches swaying in the breeze. As the wind died down, the peach blossom branches stopped moving.

"Cough cough."

Wang Xin coughed twice and racked his brains but still couldn't figure out how to start.

Wang Xifeng gritted her teeth and remained motionless.

The two of them just watched.

Finally, Wang Xin found it funny and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.

Wang Xifeng also calmed down.

Qingwen returned to the farm first. Mr. Xin was going to the military camp the next day, so she started packing her luggage. After a long time, she found that Mr. Xin had not come back. She began to worry. After waiting for a while, she still didn't see him come back, so she went to the yard to wait and see.

"This is strange." Qingwen leaned against the archway and looked towards Hengwu Garden. Seeing no one, she murmured, "Where did they go?"

After hesitating for a long time, a long time passed. Qingwen no longer hesitated and planned to go out to look for him, but Wang Xin came back.

"Master Xin, why are your pants wet?" Qingwen asked speechlessly with sharp eyes.

Wang Xin walked quickly into the room and did not explain what Qingwen said.

How could this be explained? They had agreed not to tell anyone, and it had become a secret between them. All they could say was that it was a rapeseed falling into the eye of a needle—a perfect coincidence.

"What's going on?" Qingwen chased in and asked.

Wang Xin made up an excuse, "The wind blew it back." He then said, "Hurry up and find me a pair of pants so I can change."

Qingwen was half-believing and half-doubting. After hearing Wang Xin's words, she said, "Why don't you wash up now? If you don't wash up tonight, you won't know how long it will take to get a clean wash tomorrow when you go to the military camp."

Wang Xin retorted, "There's hot water in the barracks, and now that the weather is getting warmer, I can wash with cold water. Who says we can't wash in the barracks?"

However, Wang Xin did not refute Qingwen's proposal.

But her pants were wet, and she was embarrassed to let the maids come in and see them, so she simply took off her pants and went to bed, covering herself with the quilt. Qingwen asked the maids to bring her some water, and the maids were happy when they heard about it.

He also asked Qingwen, "Is the young lady also washing now?"

Qingwen knew that the maids wanted to be lazy and finish their work early so that they could go play cards. In the past, Qingwen would have ignored them, but now she was more tolerant and did not reject the maids' suggestion.

So the maids happily went to fetch water and soon prepared it in the outer room. Qingwen also prepared soap and other utensils, as well as clothes for changing.

Normally, Wang Xin would do it himself, but since his pants were wet today, Qingwen was still suspicious and sneered, "With so many people around, he still wet his pants."

Wang Xin said nothing and let Qingwen go. As long as she didn't talk nonsense outside, it didn't matter to him. Although Qingwen was unhappy and kept muttering, she worked quickly. At the end, she urged Wang Xin, "Come and wash quickly."

"You go out first." Wang Xin took off his pants. It was difficult for him to get out of bed with Qingwen around. Qingwen rolled her eyes and left obediently.

royal palace.

Wenhua Hall.

Huiji Gate is an invisible lock.

Prince Zhongshun and Liu Ru finally found an opportunity to meet with the emperor and his two companions.

The emperor was in his early thirties, in the prime of his life, and should have been full of vigor and vitality, but his temples were graying and his face was serious. The entire hall became quiet and filled with a solemn atmosphere.

"Lin Ruhai not only lost his position as the Salt Inspector, but also failed to be transferred back to the capital." Prince Zhongshun has been powerful for many years. He left the capital to avoid the attention of the retired emperor. He has an outstanding status in the border areas and is aggressive.

Liu Ru did not refute Prince Zhongshun's accusations. The emperor blamed himself for his failure, and Prince Zhongshun also felt that he was incompetent.

Liu Ru could understand the emperor's resentment.

The emperor grew up under Liu Ru's care, and Liu Ru knew the emperor's character very well. But was Prince Zhongshun's attitude just his nature, or did he have other intentions?

But no matter what we think, we are all in the same boat now.

He was the emperor's teacher, and he was the emperor's uncle, a natural ally, so Liu Ru chose to be tolerant.

Although the emperor was dissatisfied with Liu Ru and questioned his ability, he did not want Prince Zhongshun to criticize Liu Ru too much due to their long-standing teacher-student relationship. Therefore, he asked, "Uncle, do you have any plan?"

Prince Zhongshun nodded. He chose to return to Beijing, and of course he had his reasons.

Liu Ru couldn't help but remind him, "Prince Zhongshun has returned to the capital, and everyone is paying attention. Although the Emperor has not expressed his opinion, I'm afraid he has been keeping an eye on the prince for a long time. Don't act rashly."

Seeing this attitude again, the emperor frowned.

The emperor has the retired emperor's knife on his neck. Does he really have to wait until he is powerless to fight back before letting the retired emperor slaughter him? The emperor doesn't believe a single word of the retired emperor's promise.

Prince Yizhong trusted the retired emperor too much back then. As a result, when the retired emperor took action against him, Prince Yizhong, who had a strong army and a powerful momentum, was killed like a chick.

I didn’t understand it when I was young, but now when I think back, when I first entered the palace, everyone was in panic. Eunuchs and palace maids were dragged out and hacked to death everywhere. That scene is deeply engraved in my heart.

Prince Yizhong is a member of the royal family.

It is a joke that the retired emperor executed Prince Yi Zhong's entire family for no reason and fabricated a accusation that Prince Yi Zhong was plotting a rebellion. It was the retired emperor who publicly promised to make Prince Yi Zhong the crown prince, and it was also the retired emperor who used Prince Yi Zhong to stabilize the government.

In the end, it was the retired emperor who turned against the emperor, which caused great dissatisfaction and backlash among the royal family.

Liu Ru still believes in the emperor emeritus and thinks that the emperor emeritus cares about the country and people of the Zhou Dynasty. What a joke. The emperor emeritus only cares about his power. How could he care about the flood?

Prince Zhongshun remained noncommittal: "The capital's army is rotten, and the Jinyiwei are also stopping us. This is no longer the Great Zhou of twenty years ago."

What he meant was that Prince Zhongshun had established connections within the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Liu Ru became more and more worried. Prince Zhongshun's actions undoubtedly violated the taboo of the emperor. If the emperor knew about it, the situation would be even more out of control.

Prince Zhongshun did not trust others and often only told half of the story. Liu Ru knew that Prince Zhongshun was wary of him.

Although the emperor trusted Liu Ru, he could not force Prince Zhongshun, and finally talked about one more thing.

"Lin Ruhai is a smart man. I also believe that the people he brought up are smart people. Lin Ruhai understands the principle of keeping a moderate position. Wang Xin is now in charge of the first battalion of the Beijing Camp. Elder Liu should ask Lin Ruhai to explain whether he is reliable."

Prince Zhongshun took the lead and gave orders.

Although Liu Ru was dissatisfied, he could not refuse. He just asked curiously: "I heard that this boy had a conflict with Cheng Hong. I wonder how Prince Zhongshun will deal with it?"

Prince Zhongshun sneered, "That Cheng Hong is just a decoy. Everyone knows he's my man, so how could I still use him? If he were truly my man, how could everyone know about it?"

The emperor was shocked when he heard this and said in admiration, "Uncle has been training this man for years, just to make his crime more serious?"

"Not really. It's just killing two birds with one stone. This person can still make money, but now he has lost his ability. Let's see Lin Ruhai's reply." Prince Zhongshun explained clearly.

He added, "Wang Ziteng is useless. I heard that Wang Xin is very talented and a good leader. He has connections with Lin Ruhai and the Wang family. He is someone we can win over."

The emperor was delighted to hear this. He had also heard of this man's name and was worried that the emperor had another fierce tiger under his control. He hurriedly asked, "Uncle, have you made any arrangements?"

"Don't worry," Prince Zhongshun said calmly, "Let's wait until he gets past Fatty Feng."

Only those who pass the test are considered talents.

And it won't be exposed too early. If we try to win over that person now, not only will he help him deal with Fatty Feng, but he will also be exposed early.

Now no one knows whether the civil and military officials in the court are human or ghosts.

Prince Zhongshun himself did not dare to say that Lin Ruhai was reliable, so he did not believe that the emperor could tell who among his subordinates was loyal. Liu Ru was still too pedantic. Things that should have been done in secret had to be put out in the open.

Winning over Luo Ming should have been done quietly without telling anyone, but instead, they made a big fuss about it, as if they were afraid that the emperor didn't know about it.

Prince Zhongshun shook his head.

The emperor is young and grasps the righteousness. This is the general trend. As long as he grasps this general trend, many people will support the emperor in their hearts even if they do not express their opinions openly, unless the general environment becomes so that there is no room for maneuver.

It is the relentless pressure from the retired emperor that has left people with no room for maneuver, which shows how much of a failure Liu Ru has been.

Liu Ru saw Prince Zhongshun's tough stance and sighed inwardly.

Following the order from the Ministry of War, several troops headed to the border.

The Hexi Camp set out on an expedition.

Wang Xin rode his horse and looked at the long dragon-like team. Although the team was still small, they were united and worked together. No one had to be on guard against anyone else, and everyone dared to trust their backs to their comrades.

(End of this chapter)