A stew of the Red Chamber

When she heard Wang Xifeng urging her to go drink with Wang Qing, Madam You felt a bitter taste in her mouth.

Last time, I was ordered by Jia Zhen to investigate Wang Qing's true strength, but by sheer coincidence, I ran into Madam Xing and Aunt Xue.

Lady You, who was already worried about being implicated, quickly used this as an excuse to return and report back, thus temporarily easing the situation.

Although Jia Zhen did not blame her, he told her to go again on another day.

Now that the imperial decree has been issued, I'm afraid I'll be scolded again when I get back.

What's worse, if Jia Zhen outside heard Wang Xifeng's shout, he would be punished even more severely.

Almost the instant Wang Xifeng spoke, Lady You jumped up from her seat.

Swaying her gourd-shaped figure, she forced a smile as she approached Wang Qing.

The contrast between Lady You's behavior before and after only solidified Wang Xifeng's suspicions.

But in Wang Qing's eyes, it was a display of his long-term avoidance of suspicion, finally seizing the opportunity.

He quickly greeted her with a smile, saying, "I had business at the yamen last time and came back too late, making you come all this way for nothing. I'm so sorry!"

Madam You replied somewhat guiltily, "Something came up at home unexpectedly."

Wang Qing's words were tantamount to an endorsement for her, but as the saying goes, "pressing down one gourd only creates another," and Madam You couldn't help but start worrying again, asking herself why she had come to his door.

Without giving Wang Qing a chance to speak, he raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Wang Qing hadn't taken You Shi's words seriously at first, but then he suddenly paused, glanced around, and realized something was wrong.

Qin Keqing was not seen at Jia Zheng's birthday banquet.

Could it be that Qin Keqing is ill, which is why Madam You is in such a hurry to go back?

Because he was preoccupied with his own thoughts, he only politely returned the wine to Li Wan and Wang Xifeng, who were following closely behind, and thus did not notice the strange look in Li Wan's eyes.

Since the Shi family still needed to be settled, after the meal, Grandmother Jia instructed that guest rooms be arranged.

Before everyone could take their leave, Jia Zheng walked in and said with a smile, "It's still early, Qing-ge'er, why don't you come with me to the study for a couple more drinks!"

Wang Qing, who was also looking for Jia Zheng, immediately smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle!"

This time, Grandmother Jia did not object, but Lady Wang said, "The servants at Mengpo Studio are all clumsy and rough. Why don't you come to my place? I can have someone serve you and warm up some wine for you and Qing'er!"

Jia Zheng's face darkened, and he rebuked, "Qing-ge'er and I are discussing matters of great importance to the nation; how dare a servant overhear us?"

After saying this, he called to Wang Qing, bid farewell, and left.

Some were happy while others were sad, watching Wang Qing and Jia Zheng drift away.

Madam Wang and the Xue family mother and daughter could not hide their disappointment, but Siqi, who was following behind Yingchun, had a bright look in her eyes.

Qin Fu and the others have been arrested for seven or eight days. She had wanted to go to Wang Qing to plead for them for a long time, but she hadn't had the chance.

Fearing that going to Wang Qing's house would damage Yingchun's reputation, she planned to plead with him privately.

However, although Wang Qing needed to go to the front yard to fetch and release his horse both when he went to and from the yamen, there was a traceable routine, which also happened to coincide with his morning and evening greetings.

In addition, it is during the busy morning and evening hours, so there are bound to be many people around.

Now, Jia Zheng's invitation to Wang Qing to have a drink at Mengpo Studio has given her a perfect opportunity to wait for the opportunity to strike.

Upon returning to the three small main rooms in the east corridor, Siqi hurriedly pleaded, "Father and Grandfather have been imprisoned for so long, I would like to ask for leave from you, Miss, to go home for a visit, and also to have Mother and Grandmother go and inquire with Master Qing."

Siqi had been absent-minded lately, and Yingchun noticed this. After a moment's thought, she nodded in agreement: "Then you should go back home. You don't need to come back to serve me tonight; just rest at home!"

……

Mengpo Studio.

On a square table about one meter in size, there were three or five pickled vegetables and two pots of warm wine. Wang Qing and Jia Zheng sat next to each other.

After a couple of cups of wine, Jia Zheng stroked his beard and said, "You're new to officialdom and inexperienced. You need to be careful in your dealings with others."

"I'll need your guidance, Uncle!"

"There's no need for explicit advice; I'm just sharing some experience and insights to help you avoid some pitfalls!"

Jia Zheng adopted a mentoring attitude towards a younger generation, embellishing his own profound insights accumulated over the years.

Finally, he said, "Did His Majesty give any instructions during your audience today? Why don't you tell me, and I'll consider them for you?"

Wang Qing frowned and said, "Everything else is fine, but when I accompanied His Majesty to the Imperial Garden to admire the plum blossoms, I heard His Majesty lamenting the empty treasury and the large expenditures of the Ministry of Works, and he seemed quite distressed."

"Oh?" Jia Zheng's spirits lifted. "His Majesty even took you to the Imperial Garden to admire the plum blossoms?"

"Indeed!" Seeing that Jia Zheng's attention had wandered off course, Wang Qing could only continue to coax him, "It's a pity His Majesty isn't in high spirits. I'm just a military man, full of ambition but unable to share His Majesty's burdens!"

"It's good that you have the intention!"

Seeing that Jia Zheng had not grasped the meaning of his words, Wang Qing could only say, "That's right! Uncle is currently in the Ministry of Works. If he could share His Majesty's burdens, wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

Jia Zheng said with a sullen expression, "Although replenishing the national treasury is nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, this is a long-standing problem from past dynasties. How can it be... Nephew, you are still young. Don't be too ambitious. It's better to be down-to-earth!"

"Uncle is right!" Wang Qing nodded, but then changed the subject, "However, I do have a way to solve His Majesty's urgent problem."

"You?" Jia Zheng asked, still somewhat doubtful.

"A few years ago, while observing mourning at home, I had nothing to do, so I mixed yellow clay with coal. Unexpectedly, I made a great discovery. It not only greatly reduced the black smoke produced by burning coal, but also solved the problem of coal briquettes not burning completely. If paired with a specially made red clay stove, it can greatly reduce the consumption of firewood and charcoal..."

"What...wonderful idea!" Jia Zheng's lips twitched, and before he could even utter the word "wonderful technique," he quickly changed his mind.

Because the problem of incomplete combustion could not be solved, coal could not be widely used and could only be used for smelting.

Jia Zheng, who worked in the Ministry of Works, was no stranger to this.

However, he still had reservations about Wang Qing's statement and asked doubtfully, "If that's the case, why didn't you report it to His Majesty?"

Wang Qing hurriedly said, "I just did this to pass the time and did nothing to benefit the people. After listening to what you said, Uncle, I feel enlightened. His Majesty just summoned me and I don't know when he will summon me again. Why don't you write a letter from the Ministry of Works to save His Majesty from delaying his important business?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng's breathing became heavy, and his voice trembled as he asked, "You...you're serious?"

Wang Qing feigned embarrassment and said, "Although I am just a military man, I understand the principle of fulfilling my duties in my position. I have also received guidance from my uncle, so I should reciprocate!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Zheng became hesitant and asked, "Won't...we're not going to disappoint His Majesty?"

Wang Qing found this petty, self-serving attitude when it came to important matters quite distasteful, but he said, "Uncle, please rest assured, I will have someone take care of it tomorrow. Once it's ready and you've reviewed it, then we can report it, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jia Zheng responded repeatedly.

Wang Qing quickly pressed on, saying, "If His Majesty can adopt this, I'm afraid we'll be quite busy. Uncle, you only need to take the lead; you don't need to worry about the trivial matters. I was the one who came up with this, so just leave it to me."

"Okay, okay!"

People are in high spirits when they have a happy occasion. Jia Zheng pulled Wang Qing to drink and chat, while sighing that he could finally realize his ambitions.

However, he couldn't hold his liquor, and having already had a few drinks with the Shi brothers, the conversation turned into a roast session.

In his speech, he exuded a sense of pride and a sense of not to belittle the poor middle-aged.

Wang Qing was too lazy to listen to his complaints, so he resorted to the same old trick.

Only after Jia Zheng had lost consciousness did he emerge from the study, calling out to the servants waiting in the courtyard, "Second Master is drunk, go and see him quickly!"

Upon hearing this, the servants, no longer caring about him, hurriedly rushed into the study.

Wang Qing then took the opportunity to slip away.

……