Chapter 703: Losing power (Part 2)

When I returned to the palace, the inner palace gate had already fallen.

Dong Dianbang was anxious and had no choice. Concubine De and Yaer Jiang A were not talking, so it was not his turn to decide. Cao Yong sighed in his heart, and said goodbye to Dong Dianbang and went home.

I was wondering if Dong Dianbang was the spokesperson of the Ninth Prince in the Interior Affairs Office, but now it seems that it doesn’t look like it.

Although he was anxious about the Eighth Prince's illness, he seemed to be thinking about these things.

When Cao Yong returned to the mansion, lanterns had already been hung outside the gate.

After going to Lanyuan for a walk, Cao Yong returned to Wutongyuan, and was already hungry at this moment.

Chu Yu had already received news and asked someone to go to the kitchen to prepare.

After Cao Yong finished washing, Xicai had already brought people to set up the table.

Looking at the hot mutton radish pot, Cao Yong couldn't stop his index finger from moving. Chu Yu sat aside and helped her husband with a bowl of hot soup and delivered it to Cao Yong.

Tianhui sat in the kang, holding a peeled roasted sweet potato in her hand, looked over according to the sound, and said, "Dad is late."

Cao Yong took two sips of hot soup before he felt more comfortable in his stomach.

When he went out in the morning, Cao Yong promised his daughter to come back earlier this day and bring her the roasted sweet potatoes outside. However, it was delayed due to the eighth prince's affairs.

Cao Yong did not forget to promise his daughter that he would buy roasted sweet potatoes, so he made a detour near the front door and bought a few kilograms back. Chu Yu sent someone to deliver them to several children and left two pieces for Tianhui.

After hearing his daughter's words, he put down the bowl and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, Tianhui, I'm busy with errands in the yamen today. Tianhui should not be stubborn in the house, and ask someone to take you to play in the yard more often."

Tianhui kept silent and delivered the sweet potato to her mouth and ate it bit by bit.

After Cao Yong had eaten almost the same food, Chu Yu said, "Mr., the old housekeeper fell down after a while. He had invited the imperial physician to see him. He was old and said he would take care of him for a few months."

The old housekeeper she mentioned is Cao Zhong, the current housekeeper of the Cao Mansion.

He was over 60 years old and was in filial piety, so he had never been in charge of business in the past two years. Since Cao Yin and his wife came to Beijing, he has been talking about abdicating and giving up the wise and handing over the position of the steward to Cao Yuan.

Because he and his father Cao Wu were both old people from the Cao family, Cao Yin thought of his loyalty and even asked him to serve as the chief supervisor.

The Cao family lived in Jiangnan for a long time, and the old houses in the capital were left with several servants. In the past fifty years, many families have borne children. The relationships and marriages have formed their own system.

In the Jiangnan Prefecture, Cao Fu and his son were housekeepers for decades.

Since Cao Yong grew older, he went north to Beijing, and everyone around him had a family to give birth to children, and some foreigners had gradually become a lineage.

In this way, the servants of the Cao Mansion were unknowingly divided into three factions: the old school school in the capital, the Jiangning school, and the young master school.

Among them, because of the relationship between Wu Mao, Wu Sheng, Zhang Yi and Zhao Tong around Cao Yong, the old school sect is closer to the young master sect; the Jiangning sect has a vague meaning of fighting for power.

However, Cao Yin is the head of the family, and Cao Yong uses few people, so in the past two years, the Jiangning faction has been the main focus of the Jiangning faction.

Where there are people, there are inevitably intrigues, and Cao Yong can understand it.

But he doesn't like to cause trouble. He understands the matter of gangs among his subordinates, but cannot support them. Otherwise, everyone will be busy with intrigues, and who is willing to do his best to do his best?

Cao Yong did not despise his servants in his heart, but he did not think about indulging them. He was a servant to eat or a servant to eat. Since he received the money from the Cao family, he could not eat for nothing.

Once, two managers had a dispute, which happened to make Cao Yong catch up. The reason was that it was caused by factional disputes, which made Cao Yong laugh and cry.

There was nothing to say, each of them beat forty boards and removed his errands.

Since then, even if the managers have any disagreements with each other, they will not dare to have any trouble again.

"I understand. The old butler is over 60 years old. It's good to raise him well. Ask someone to prepare some tonics. I'll go over and see him later." Cao Yong nodded when he heard this.

Seeing Chu Yu's desire to speak but stop, Cao Yong said, "What else is there?"

Chu Yu replied: "After the old housekeeper fell down today, Sister Amethyst also went to visit him. After coming back, she sat here for a while."

In this mansion, Cao Zhong was nominally the butler. In fact, since Cao Yin came to Beijing, Cao Yuan has been responsible for external affairs. In addition, Cao Yong has given many responsibilities to Cao Fang, and the one who is surrounded by Cao Fang's son Xiaoman.

Cao Fu and his team are in the limelight in the mansion.

Before, Amethyst had mentioned it to Cao Yong. Cao Yong didn't say much, after all, his father was the decision. Besides, Cao Fang and his son have followed him for many years, and he was used to it, so naturally there was no reason not to use it for the sake of other things.

"If you can use it, use it, and if you can't use it, replace it. If the people in the mansion are still on guard, what's the point of living that life? It's the same old saying, honest and dedicated are useful, and if you are cheating, you will be gangsters and make trouble, you won't need it." Cao Yong said.

Chu Yu agreed, and Xicai had already brought in a pack of ginseng.

Chu Yu asked someone to light a glass lamp and wanted to visit her with her husband.

Cao Zhong’s family is in the house on the back street of Cao Mansion. They go out through the back door and pass by diagonally.

This is a house where I have been in Sanjin. I heard that Cao Yong and Chu Yu were coming, and the gatekeeper was busy reporting to him and asked Cao Yong to stop him. With Cao Zhong's character, if he heard that the masters were coming, he would have been too troublesome.

Cao Zhong had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son had a rash when he was a child and his head burned, so he never took part in the job. The second son was Xiaoxie's father, who died of shock at the age of 20. There was a daughter who hired a son-in-law who also gave birth to a son in the Cao family. She was named Zhao Zhiyong, who was Zhao Tong's uncle.

Zhao Zhiyong was in the front yard, so he had already received the news that Cao Yong and his wife came over, so he hurriedly ran out to greet him.

In the inner hall, Cao Zhong was lying on the kang, and his granddaughter Xiao Xie was serving medicine in front of the kang.

Cao Zhong felt that the medicine was bitter and refused to drink it. He muttered: "It's just that he bleed his waist. Just put a few plasters on it. What's the point of drinking it? The imperial physician is really, if you are sick or not, you can prescribe a few prescriptions to torture people."

Xiao Xie has already entered the mansion to work as a servant, and is the big girl next to Hengsheng. Today, because his grandfather is sick, he asked Li and Chu Yu to go home to serve the disease.

"Grandfather and granddaughter have held it for a long time, and their arms are sore. Didn't this take candied fruit? After eating this, I won't feel bitter in my mouth." Xiao Xie persuaded.

When Cao Zhong's family saw that Cao Zhong was not drinking, he angrily said, "Don't ask the child to worry, it will be cold if he doesn't drink it. No matter how much the children are, they will be worried. The girl is busy in the kitchen and said she will make noodle soup for you with her own hands."

Cao Zhong was most afraid of his wife's remarks, so he took the soup bowl from his granddaughter and frowned and drank it.

Seeing that he had finished drinking, Xiao Xie hurriedly took a piece of candied fruit and delivered it to his grandfather's mouth.

Cao Zhong opened his mouth and said to Xiao Xie: "Stop running home. Since you are a job, you have to be careful. You still need someone to take care of me. You can clean up quickly."

"Grandfather, my wife and grandma told me to stay at home overnight." Xiao Xie said with a smile while collecting the medicine bowl.

When Cao Zhong heard this, he was already stern and said to his wife: "Masters, please be polite. We know that we are at least. Your granddaughter is ignorant, and you are also confused. How can a girl who works in the inner house spend the night outside casually? In this way, you will go home today and she will go home tomorrow, so what kind of morality will it become?"

Seeing that her grandmother was scolded, Xiao Xie was already a little uneasy and whispered: "Grandfather, no matter what grandmother's business, it was the granddaughter who came back by himself."

Cao Zhong lowered his face and pointed to his granddaughter, "Why don't you clean it up and be more sensible in the future. Beating you to the ground, food, clothing and expenses are all the grace of the masters. If you receive such kindness from others, your descendants will naturally be the cows and horses. I did not accumulate virtue in my previous life and did not have the blessings of my children and grandchildren. Your father is not blessed, and your uncle is like that. Don't think you are a girl, take more responsibility, and be loyal to your father and uncle." At the end of his speech, he was already choked up.

Xiao Xie had red eyes and nodded, "My granddaughter knew she was wrong, so I won't dare to do it again."

Cao Zhong’s family, after hearing this, couldn’t help but wipe away tears and said, “Okay, why do you say this? It makes the child uncomfortable, so the girl and the grandma are more attentive to hear it…”

Before he finished speaking, he heard footsteps outside the house, followed by Zhao Zhiyong's voice: "Dad, mother, uncle and grandma are here."

When Cao Zhong heard this, he did not recover for a moment.

Zhao Zhiyong had already picked up the curtain and gave Cao Yong and Chu Yu into the house.

Cao Zhong's family and Xiao Xie hurriedly leaned over to greet Cao Yong and Chu Yu. Cao Zhong was struggling and wanted to get off the kang.

Seeing this, Cao Yong stepped forward a few steps, helped him, and said, "The old butler is still lying down and talking, otherwise I will turn around and leave."

Chu Yu also helped Cao Zhong's family, asked him to get up, turned around and took the silk bag from Xicai, and sent it to Cao Zhong's family, and said, "The old man is busy with errands in the yamen today, and he just arrived home from darkness. He heard that the old butler was unwell, so he came over. This bag of ginseng was prepared by the old man to replenish his body."

Cao Zhong's family quickly knelt down and picked him up.

Xiaoxie was beside him, and he also kowtowed.

Cao Zhong sat on the kang, choked up and said, "The old man is so busy, he can still care about the old slave, but the old slave can't help the old master. I'm so ashamed."

"What is this? I don't say that the old houses in the capital have been worried about the old houses over the years. I just said that I have been in Beijing for the past few years. If the old housekeeper had not been worried about it, the mansion would not be so peaceful." Cao Yong said, "Speaking of it, I would have been thanked by the old housekeeper."

Cao Zhong, after hearing this, he couldn't help but burst into tears and said, "It's all my dear, so how dare I be the old man? I have many incompetent things, but the old man has never even said a harsh word in recent years. The old man said before his death that having a little master like the old man is a blessing for me."

Seeing Cao Zhong's disobedience, Cao Yong couldn't say anything. He always felt that everything he said was false, so he asked about his illness.

Cao Zhong responded respectfully, Cao Zhong's family also moved chairs and laid brand new satin cushions, asking Cao Yong and Chu Yu to sit down.

Seeing Cao Zhong sitting straight and orderly, Cao Zhong’s family, Zhao Zhiyong and Xiao Xie were also uncomfortable, Cao Yong said a few words and stood up.

While asking the old housekeeper to rest for a long time, he ordered Zhao Zhiyong to take good care of him. If there was any uncomfortable place, he would report to the mansion and invite the imperial physician to appoint him.

Cao Zhong couldn't move his waist, so he asked his granddaughter to kowtow to Cao Yong and Chu Yu on his behalf.

When they came out of the inner hall with Chu Yu, Cao Yong saw Wu Sheng running over panting.

After Wu Sheng bowed to Chu Yu and reported to Cao Yong, he said, "Uncle, the Ninth Prince is here, waiting in the living room."

Not only Cao Yong was surprised, but also Chu Yu felt strange when he heard this.

"The night owl comes into the house and comes without any trouble."

When Cao Yong thought of the eighth prince, he had already figured out the matter. He didn't have time to say more to Chu Yu and said, "You go slowly and carefully under your feet. I'll go over and take a look first."

Chu Yu nodded, turned around and ordered Xicai to hand over the glass lamp in his hand to Wu Sheng, and then said to Cao Yong: "It's cloudy today, there's no moon. I'm in a hurry to go, so it's better to use this lamp..."

Cao Mansion, living room.

Prince Ninth had a gloomy face and sat on the chair, suppressing his anger in his heart.

What is the world of coolness? This is the world of coolness.

If Tao Min hadn't hired an imperial physician in the Imperial Hospital, there would be no way. If he asked to the Ninth Prince's Mansion, the Ninth Prince wouldn't know about this.

These days, the news in Beijing is not right, and the Ninth Prince knows it. For the sake of venison, he made a special trip to Haidian. However, there is no way to persuade him.

Because the eighth prince's biological mother position is low, he is very strong when he is young and has a high spirit. After more than 30 years of hard work, he ends up with this fate and is inevitably depressed.

If someone else is addicted to beauty or forgetting about wine, they can be dispersed.
To be continued...