The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 22 Questioning
Ningguo Mansion, Shen Ning Courtyard.

As she lay basking in the sun, she heard hurried footsteps and knew that her eldest son had returned.

However, the fact that she came back so quickly means she probably knew about the great thing she had done at home.

Shen Ning sat up and quietly watched her eldest son getting closer and closer.

"Mother~"

Jia Zhen wanted to argue with his mother and throw a tantrum, but when he saw those calm eyes, his heart trembled. After taking a few steps closer, his knees buckled and he knelt on the ground. "Your son knows he was wrong," he said pitifully. "If you're still angry, then beat your son!"

He wanted to say, "Stop messing around."

If this continues, the Ning and Rong mansions, which are as close as family, will fall apart.

Why did I hit you?

A smile flashed in Shen Ning's eyes, "Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. We raised you all these years, not to beat you."

Jia Zhen: "..."

His eyes were a little red; his mother still couldn't bear to hit him.

"The ground is cold, please sit down!"

Shen Ning gestured for Madam You to help Jia Zhen to a footstool, then waved to the maids to leave. "I know you're worried about the treasury money." She watched Qingzhu and the others leave the courtyard and sighed. "Before your grandfather passed away, he was still concerned about this money. He was worried that it would bring trouble to his descendants. I've had the same worry these past few days."

what?
Jia Zhen's eyes immediately turned red.

He suspected that his mother had swallowed the curse.

If that's the case, how can we ensure safe production?

"...I've thought about it. None of you can easily repay it, but I can."

Shen Ning touched the little baby moving inside her belly again, "Taking advantage of those rumors, no matter who asks you, you can tell them that I'm getting old and want to accumulate some blessings for the child in my belly. Thinking about last year's snow disaster and the debts at home, I specially donated some money after paying off the treasury. Please ask the higher-ups to help distribute it for disaster relief."

What?
Besides returning silver to the treasury, did they also donate silver?
Jia Zhen wanted to cover his chest.

He felt sorry for his mother, but also for the money.

“I donated the gold that I confiscated from the Lai family, and then added some silver to make it a round number of ten thousand taels. I had Rong-ge’er deliver it to them for me.”

Shen Ning looked at her eldest son, "Your expression... are you worried about the money?"

"without!"

Jia Zhen quickly shook his head, "My son is just worried about you."

Oh well, money gone, but peace of mind remains.

As long as his mother doesn't dwell on the curse, and as long as it can truly bring her some good fortune, then let's donate!
"This is something that our son should have done in the first place."

If we let Rong-ge'er, a little kid, do it, countless people outside will laugh at him. "I am ashamed to have troubled you, Mother!"

"..."

Shen Ning now understands a little why Qin Keqing eventually developed feelings for him in the Dream of the Red Chamber.

This guy is really good at talking.

"You're the one who's wrong."

Shen Ning lay back on the couch. "Rong-ge'er is still young and doesn't understand. If his grandmother gives him an order or makes a request, he will do it immediately without thinking about anything else. Even if the Emperor Emeritus finds out tomorrow, he won't do anything about it."

This?
Jia Zhen suddenly felt great admiration for his mother.

Yu Shi, standing to the side, glanced at her mother-in-law and then at her husband, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

"But what about your Uncle She? Does he want to return the money?"

"Uncle She wants to repay it."

Shen Ning sneered: "The old lady won't agree, and neither will your Uncle Zheng?"

"Yes!"

"So what do you do for a living?"

What?
Jia Zhen was stunned.

"I thought you were a bit cunning when you raided Lai Da's house."

Shen Ning looked at the ever-changing clouds in the sky and said, "Why are you being silly again? The Ning and Rong families are inextricably linked. If the Rong family is in trouble, the Ning family will not be able to escape. If we don't repay this money today, do you believe that the Rong family will never be able to repay it?"

Jia Zhen: "..."

He believed it, but the old lady over there...

Jia Zhen cast a pleading look at You Shi.

Madam You hurriedly said, "If we force it, the old lady over there might not agree."

"..."

Shen Ning was speechless. "Zhen'er, you and your Uncle She have really earned the reputation of being scoundrels for nothing."

Jia Zhen: "..."

After a moment of surprise, Madam You secretly wanted to laugh.

"Alright, today I'll teach you a lesson."

Rather than letting the silver be squandered by Grandmother Jia and Lady Wang, bringing disaster upon the Jia family, it would be better to take this opportunity to return it all at once.

Shen Ning sat up. "Go, bring a sedan chair, and all the guards. They have to pay back the money today, whether they want to or not."

what?
Jia Zhen looked at his mother's big belly and was really worried. "Mother, it's getting late today. Even if we get the money, we won't be able to pay it back. How about we do it tomorrow?" Judging from the old lady's appearance, if he dared to pay back the money, she would probably beat him up herself.

"Don't worry!" Shen Ning smiled. "Rong-ge'er has brought the money. The Emperor will wait, and the officials in the Ministry of Revenue... will definitely wait too."

……

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Emperor Xiaomu was reviewing memorials with a serious expression. It was yet another memorial pleading poverty.

The Zhen family is getting bolder and bolder.

With a snap, he slammed the folded document aside.

"emperor."

The eunuch Liu, who was outside the door, rushed in with a joyful tone, bowing and congratulating the Emperor, "Great news for His Majesty!"

"Why are you so happy?"

Emperor Xiaomu was in a very bad mood. He didn't think there could be any happy news. He knew the state of the concubines in the palace very well.

“The servants come to report that Jia Rong, a descendant of the Duke of Ningguo, has come to return the silver from the treasury.”

what?
Emperor Xiaomu was both shocked and overjoyed, "As expected?"

"This servant guarantees it with my own head," Eunuch Liu said with a bow and a smile. "Lord Zhang is overjoyed; he's just leading his men into the warehouse right now."

"Good good!"

It was indeed a joyous occasion, and Emperor Xiaomu wished he could be there in person. Of course, he would have preferred to summon Jia Rong to see it, but...

He paused again as he searched through his memory of those from the Ningguo Mansion who had inherited the title, "I remember the one from the Ningguo Mansion who inherited the title of Third-Class General of Mighty Valor was named Jia Zhen, right?"

"Yes!"

Eunuch Liu hurriedly said, "Jia Rong is Jia Zhen's son, but he's a bit young, only twelve years old this year."

twelve?

Why would Jia Zhen send a twelve-year-old child to handle such a significant matter as repaying a debt?

"What's going on? Where is Jia Zhen?"

"Your Majesty!" said Eunuch Liu, "This servant has already sent people to investigate. As soon as Lord Zhang saw Jia Rong's appearance, he also sent people to investigate. I expect to receive news soon."

Emperor Xiaomu raised an eyebrow, "...What happened to Jia Rong?"

"He moved very clumsily, and it looked like he had been caned."

Caning?

Emperor Xiaomu narrowed his eyes slightly, but relaxed his body. "Tell the people below to investigate quickly."

"Your Majesty!" Eunuch Liu said with a beaming smile, "Jia Rong not only brought 120,000 taels of silver to the treasury, but also another 1,320 taels of gold and 10,000 taels of silver, saying he would donate them to the national treasury."

"Oh?"

Emperor Xiaomu couldn't help but laugh when he saw the old man's relaxed demeanor. "Just say what you have to say quickly. Don't give me half-hearted answers or make me think you're performing a play in two parts."

Such a large amount of gold and silver could not be decided by a twelve-year-old child.

"Hehe, according to that child, the gold and silver were donated by his grandmother. His grandmother is old and pregnant with her youngest child. She heard that there was a once-in-a-century snow disaster in the Kaifeng area last year. Thinking that the imperial court was providing disaster relief, and the adults knew where there was an urgent need, she donated more than 1,300 taels of gold."

"and many more!"

Even the emperor was confused. "His grandmother is pregnant with her late-life child?"

"That's right. It's said that Lord Zhang was confused at the time," Eunuch Liu laughed. "Later, when he heard that his grandfather was Jia Jing, he understood."

"Jia Jing?"

The emperor suddenly realized something, "So it was him?"

He resigned from his official post and passed the title to his son.

He suddenly remembered, "Didn't they say he became a Taoist priest?"

He used to feel a bit sorry for this person.

However, those who are destined not to be of use to him will simply leave.

"I never imagined that at my age, my wife would give birth to a child."

Does he not want his wife to live?
The emperor suppressed his suspicions and said, "Go on."

"The same goes for this silver. The old lady wants to accumulate good fortune for the child in her womb. She requests that the officials above distribute this ten thousand taels of silver to the orphanages around the capital."

That's it!
The emperor twirled the teacup in his hand. "That's quite thoughtful of you."

In addition to repaying the national treasury, he also donated more than 20,000 taels of silver at once, knowing that the imperial court had no money for disaster relief!

The orphanages around the capital used to be funded by the imperial court, but in recent years they have become increasingly difficult to manage. The Empress has been saving every penny to help maintain appearances.

The emperor sighed inwardly, "Give Jia Rong more medicine."

"Yes!"

Eunuch Liu said, "I just found out and have already sent someone to deliver the white jade ointment."

Someone rushed in from outside the hall; it was Xiao Sanzi, whom he had sent to gather information.

"Your Majesty, news has arrived."

"Call!"

At Eunuch Liu's signal, Xiao Sanzi rushed into the hall.

At the same time, Jia She, who was being suppressed by his mother and younger brother, was looking at the list quickly written by his servants and thinking about which good things to bring to his room when he heard the steady and powerful footsteps of the guards again.

Sure enough, when he turned around, the guards of the East Mansion and a group of maids and old women were escorting his sister-in-law in.

oops~
Jia She's eyes lit up immediately.

He dropped the order and rushed to greet her, "Sister-in-law!"

Grandmother Jia, who had stayed put to guard against her eldest son and wanted to get more for her second son, couldn't help but feel a vein throb on her forehead when she saw Shen Ning's unfriendly expression.

She waited with a cold face for Shen Ning to come and pay her respects.

“We are family, please have my brother sit down.”

Shen Ning alighted from the sedan chair and first curtsied to Grandmother Jia. "Aunt, you already know about Rong-ge'er repaying the treasury silver, right?"

Jia Mu: "..."

She didn't expect that her niece-in-law would not even exchange a few pleasantries and would go straight to the point.

"Do you know you're wrong?" Grandmother Jia's face turned cold.

"I don't know what my niece-in-law did wrong."

Shen Ning sat down on the chair that her eldest son had brought over, surrounded by eight burly old women. "But my aunt and my two sisters-in-law let the servants in the mansion gossip about me and curse my Jia family. I don't know how I should apologize."

what?
The two ladies, Xing and Wang, who were about to offer their greetings, suddenly felt their hearts pound.

"Sister-in-law, don't make false accusations."

Wang was furious, "In our household..."

"Second sister-in-law, are you saying that everyone in the West Mansion is clean and honest?" Shen Ning interrupted with a sneer. "If they are clean and honest, then where did all these gold, silver, and antique items in this courtyard come from?"