The northwest wind howled for three days and brought the first winter snow of the year.
Han Shu, the Minister of Rites, finally could not hold on any longer and passed away.
When Kangxi heard the news, he stayed away from court for three days and ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to help the Han government prepare for the funeral.
After Su Mingzhe took Yinxiang to express his condolences, he stopped by Yinxiang's house to sit for a while.
Luwu, who had just married Yinxiang and became his wife, heard the news and rushed over to toast her.
The three of them drank for a while. Yinxiang saw that Su Mingzhe looked melancholy. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said in alarm:
"Fourth brother, is this Han Su yours?"
Su Mingzhe sighed lightly and did not deny:
"Yes, Han Shu is mine!"
When Yinxiang heard Su Mingzhe's admission, he immediately thought of Luwu's "sworn brother" Wen Da, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and also thought of Dunbai, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, whom his fourth brother already controlled, plus Marhan, the Minister of the Ministry of War, who he controlled, as well as the Minister of the Ministry of Finance. Many generals in the camp, perhaps not because of the influence of my fourth brother, are already better than the others, far superior to the generals.
At this time, 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 seemed.
"Now that Han Shu, the Minister of the Han Dynasty, is gone, what arrangements does Fourth Brother have for the Ministry of Rites?"
"I speculate that Huang Ama will let Li Zhenyu be the new Minister of Etiquette!"
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-grade doctor and didn't understand how serious the overt and covert fighting in the court was.
Yinxiang knew that the court was a carrot and a pit. When he heard Su Mingzhe say that Li Zhenyu would be transferred to the Ministry of Rites, he couldn't help but asked in surprise:
"If Li Zhenyu is transferred to the Ministry of Rites, who should be the Minister of the Han Dynasty in the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
"That's what I'm worried about!"
After Su Mingzhe said that, he fell into deep thought again.
In the past few months, he had taken advantage of the opportunity of controlling the official department to check all the civil and military officials in the capital, and indeed he saw many capable ministers.
However, among these capable ministers, like Li Guangdi, who was already the head of the Han Dynasty Book of Civil Affairs, they were too junior to be directly employed.
Seeing that his fourth brother was worried, Yinxiang couldn't figure it out himself, so he simply ordered Luwu to pour wine:
"Come on, come on, fourth brother, I can't explain this matter for a while. It just so happens that while the snow scene is nice, we brothers can have a few drinks!"
"Come!"
Su Mingzhe raised his glass and took a sip. The temperature was just right and it felt warm in his stomach.
After having enough wine and food, Su Mingzhe hurried back to Zhenbeile Mansion in a carriage.
A few women were warming themselves by the fire and playing mahjong in the flower hall of Difujin, feeling very uncomfortable.
"I'm back!"
Rouze, who was sitting facing the door, pushed the mahjong in front of her and stood up happily to greet the man.
The three girls Nian Shilan, Yi Xiu and Lan Xin looked at the cards that they were about to win, and their faces were full of anger.
Although Yi Xiu was just a concubine, he took advantage of the fact that he was Rouze's younger sister and muttered without giving any face:
"Sister, why are you cheating? I am thirteen!"
"Hey, I'm still Tianhu!"
Rouze can usually take care of the affairs of the back house in an orderly manner, but she has no talent in playing mahjong. She often plays cards and loses the most every time she plays cards with the sisters in the backyard.
For example, today, after playing for two hours, she lost more than ten taels of silver.
Don't underestimate these more than ten taels of silver. As the direct descendant of Fujin, her monthly salary is only fifty taels.
In just half a day, one-third of the output was lost.
"Stop arguing, it's all mine!"
Seeing that Yi Xiu was still making noise, Su Mingzhe clapped his hands quickly, signaling Yu Shu to pay.
When Nian Shilan and Lan Xin saw this, they stood up and said goodbye.
Seeing this, Su Mingzhe called out to them, and then asked Su Peisheng:
"Pei Sheng, some time ago, Zhuangzi from outside the Pass sent a lot of mink, bear and tiger skins. Have they been processed?"
"It's been taken care of."
Su Mingzhe immediately ordered:
"It's winter now. I'll send someone to measure everyone's sizes later. I'll send the leathers to the Ministry of Internal Affairs later to make two sets of cloaks and waistcoats for each person! Don't forget Mr. Wu and his friends!"
"Slave, let's do it now!"
Su Peisheng worked steadily and quickly obtained the height and size data of each master, and then came to see Wu Sidao and other masters.
When Wu Sidao and other masters learned about the reward, they immediately expressed their gratitude.
After Su Peisheng got all the data, he sent someone to take the leather to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When he returned to the backyard, he happened to run into Crown Prince Honghui and Princess Jiashan, who came to pay their respects.
Su Mingzhe compared their homework for a while and was extremely satisfied.
The eldest son Honghui inherited all the excellent genes of Yinzhen and Rouze. Not only did he have a good appearance, but he was also extremely knowledgeable. His character was rigorous, cautious, and rarely caused trouble.
The eldest daughter Jiashan, who is ten years old, is a lively and lovely age. Now she not only has to accept the discipline of the nuns in the palace and learn royal etiquette and rules, but also learn various Manchu and Chinese knowledge, and let Rouze and Li be obedient and sensible. The two women felt distressed.
When Rou Ze saw that the man had finished checking the children's homework, he ordered Yu Shu to pass on the dishes.
Jiashan suddenly grabbed Honghui and gave him a look.
When Honghui saw it, he quickly ran to his father and shouted:
"Amma, you said before that you would take us horseback riding in the winter. Do you really mean what you said?"
"It counts, of course it counts!"
Although Su Mingzhe is diligent in political affairs, he never stretches his hips when it comes to educating children.
Immediately, Su Peisheng was asked to send people to Nanyuan to inform the camp manager to prepare horses. He would go hunting with his two children tomorrow.
Su Peisheng went down to handle this matter and didn't mention it.
On the second day.
Su Mingzhe, who had a rare night's sleep, heard the chirping sounds of two children before he could get up.
If Huanbi and Liuzhu hadn't stopped her, Lan Xin would have been exposed.
Waiting for the man to get up, Lan Xin reluctantly grabbed the man's big hand, pressed it on her chest, and asked lovingly:
"Sir, you will take the crown prince and the princess to Nanyuan today. Will you come back in the evening?"
Su Mingzhe thought for a while and then said:
"It should be tomorrow."
Nanyuan is located 20 places south of Yongding Gate.
Because the Yongding River passes through it, rivers, lakes, and swamps gather here, and deer, deer, pheasants, and rabbits gather here, making it quite prosperous.
Starting from the Jin Kingdom, hunting grounds were built here during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
It takes at least an hour to drive there by carriage from Zhenbeile Mansion.
It's winter now and it gets dark early.
If the three of them went away to play, they would have to spend the night in Nanyuan and wait until tomorrow to come back.
"Then prepare some more warm clothes."
Lan Xin felt a little disappointed when she heard that the man would not be back tonight.
It was a coincidence that these days, Rouze, Yixiu, and Nian Shilan were feeling unwell at the same time, and the man had stayed at her place for two nights in a row.
After all, Lan Xin had just passed by the house not long ago, and at this time she was most indifferent to men.
After finally being able to monopolize a man for a few days, now one day is inexplicably missing, which is naturally more difficult for Lan Xin to accept.
Su Mingzhe also saw the woman's reluctance, but since he had more women, he couldn't stay with her all the time.
After a few words of comfort, Su Mingzhe took the clothes brought by Huanbi and Liuzhu, got up and left.
This chapter has been completed!