The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 21 Opposition (A reward of 10,000 coins from reader Fufu i who eats cherries)
Unable to believe his son had returned the money, Jia Zhen suddenly thought of his mother and jumped up in alarm, about to rush out. But Jia She also reacted and grabbed him. "How long has Rong'er been gone?" he asked his foolish son. "Why didn't you stop him? Can you catch him now?"

"My son didn't know at first, but when he did, the carriage was going too fast and there were officials from the Imperial Censorate on the street."

Jia Lian was truly at his wit's end. "My son had no choice but to run back. Now... almost a quarter of an hour has passed, there's no way he can catch up with him now."

"Are there people from the Censorate?"

Jia She was good at grasping the key points. He slowly let go of Jia Zhen, saying, "Once things have happened, there's no use being anxious."

Jia Zhen: "..."

He wants to cry!
One hundred and twenty thousand taels of silver!
Their house was used for receiving guests back then.

The retired emperor never intended to accept it!
His mother...

"Your sister-in-law didn't let you get involved because she was afraid you would stop her."

Jia She couldn't help but suspect that Lai Sheng's family was too wealthy, and his sister-in-law was still arguing with Zhen'er. "You should think about my family for now!"

"..."

"..."

What do you think?
Jia Zheng's neck hurt, and his mind was completely blank.

He was so shocked by all these events that he had no idea what to do next.

Jia Zhen was heartbroken over the loss of his family's 120,000 taels of silver. He was helpless with his elderly mother and also worried about how to deal with the inquiries from all sides.

hiss~
Jia Zhen hissed as if his mouth hurt, "Uncle She, since it's a debt with an IOU, it has to be repaid eventually."

If one family can't handle it, two families should be able to.

Jia Zhen could only help his mother and son with their affairs, saying, "My grandfather was still thinking about this when he was dying." His grandfather dared not repay him.

If he does it, then the emperor will have many more opportunities to do good deeds.

Therefore, the retired emperor was also unwilling for everyone to return the money.

It just so happens that everyone is reluctant to part with it.

Jia Zhen's mind raced. "My mother... she's been through a lot of stress these past few days, she..."

"Zhen'er, go home and see your mother!"

Grandmother Jia walked in shakily, saying, "It's my family's business. I'm not dead yet."

Jia Zhen: "..."

“That’s right, brother, this matter needs to be considered carefully.”

With his elderly mother around, Jia Zheng's mind worked a little faster. "Zhen'er, why don't you go back and check on your sister-in-law first?"

Such a big matter, and she, a woman, took advantage of the fact that they were all too busy and unaware to let a child handle it.

That's really... incredibly bold.

If he could curse, Jia Zheng would have started cursing long ago. "Lian'er, see the guest out!"

Jia Lian: "..."

He glanced at his father, then at the old lady and his second uncle standing together, and could only make a gesture of invitation, "Brother Zhen, let me see you off."

"..."

Jia Zhen flicked his sleeves and said, "In that case, Zhen... come again tomorrow to hear news from Uncle She."

He beckoned to the guards, and two men rushed in, took Lai Sheng away, and called for the Ning family's men. They were about to leave in a flurry.

“Brother Zhen,” Jia Lian, who was seeing people off, hurriedly followed, “Rong’er has already searched Lai Sheng’s house. I heard that except for the kitchen and the servants’ belongings, everything else was taken to Aunt’s courtyard.”

He felt a little sorry for this man.

However, when he first learned of this, Jia Lian remained an observer.

I'm also very happy that my aunt was able to deal with this older brother.

but now……

Jia Lian suddenly realized that his aunt was dealing with all of them.

She was angry that they let the rumors go unchecked.

"She's not in good health, so even if you're angry, you should hold it in."

Jia Zhen: "..."

Even more angry.

His mother is ripping him off, his son is ripping him off, and this brother... clearly knew about Lai Sheng's family all along, but didn't even bother to inform them or give them a heads-up. He's obviously a swindler too.

"I want you to tell me."

He slammed a nail into Jia Lian's forehead, yelling, "You better be smart!"

Uncle She clearly wanted to repay the money. The old lady and Uncle Zheng didn't want to repay it—was it for the Rong family's sake? Clearly, it was for their own.

This silly kid is even helping them...

Jia Zhen really hoped that Uncle She could pick up a big stick and beat him up.

Anyway, he's suffering, so this guy shouldn't expect to be carefree.

Jia Lian rubbed his head, watching the group of people leave in a flurry, feeling a headache coming on.

"Did Aunt really send Rong-ge to pay off the debt?"

Wang Xifeng leaned closer to him and whispered, "You saw it, why didn't you stop them?"

"It's not that I didn't want to stop it, it's just that by the time I realized it, it was already too late," Jia Lian sobbed.

"Then..." Wang Xifeng looked around, "Does our family have any debts?"

"Have!"

Jia Lian whispered, "Our family, like the East Mansion, also has 120,000 taels of silver."

"..."

Wang Xifeng's brows furrowed immediately. "Curry only has 110,000."

"Shh~"

Jia Lian, looking sneaky, said, "At the end of the year, my second aunt sent eight thousand taels to the palace to help Yuan Chun. The remaining two thousand taels were spent on social obligations."

"Father doesn't know?" Wang Xifeng glanced inside.

"do not know."

"...Then you should quickly take a look at Master Lai's silver."

Although his aunt and cousin Yuan Chun were very close, the money, whether or not it was returned, still belonged to their main branch of the family.

Wang Xifeng said, "No matter what, we have to make up for this money!"

"definitely."

Jia Lian dared not face the confrontation between his father, grandmother, and second uncle, so he quickly turned to his second aunt, who was looking at the jade Guanyin statue, and said, "Second Aunt, the money that was lent out last year can be made up with the money from the Lai family!"

Wang: "..."

"problem occurs."

He whispered about Jia Rong returning the treasury silver, saying, "My father will definitely check when he gets home tonight."

"..."

Wang's face turned pale.

She just treated Lai Dajia's money as her own, and now she wants it back...

"We have to listen to the old lady on this matter."

Returning silver to the treasury is a huge deal!
If they all have to pay back, not only the Jia family, but also the Wang family will have to pay back.

But Wang knew that the Wang family didn't have much money left.

Although her second brother, Wang Ziteng, had connections within the Jia family, he still needed to cultivate relationships with everyone above and below if he wanted to secure his position.

The money has already been spent.

"The retired emperor is still alive."

Paying back the money now would surely offend his old man.

Madam Wang said, "Lian'er, your father is confused, but you must not be confused."

Her hand rested on the jade Guanyin statue. "This matter needs to be considered carefully."

As long as her Yuan Chun gains a foothold in the palace, what does this messy situation matter?
In the side room, Lai Da was also dragged out, leaving only Grandmother Jia and her two sons who looked like fighting cocks.

“Mother, the Ning and Rong mansions have always advanced and retreated together, sharing both honor and disgrace.”

Jia She tried to negotiate, saying, "Now that the Ning Mansion has returned it, if we don't, wouldn't that be..."

"Shut up! I'm not dead yet."

Grandmother Jia took a couple of breaths, gritting her teeth as she said, "When Shen Ning did all this, who did she tell?" Trying to force her to comply was a pipe dream. "Now, returning the money? Who do you think you are?"

That son died because he was so stupid!

Grandmother Jia pounded her chest twice, and Jia Zheng, with a stiff neck, hurriedly stepped forward and patted her on the back, saying, "This is a misfortune for our family. We must quickly resolve the Lai family's matter."

Thinking of the pile of boxes in the yard, she added, "If this isn't handled properly, outsiders will definitely think that our family was already poor, and that we only have money to pay now because we confiscated the Lai family's property." At that point, we'll have lost both our reputation and our dignity.

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(End of this chapter)