The head of the Red Mansion

Chapter 267 Rushing to the Celebration
The spectacle of four million taels of silver being hauled from the East Gate to the Huitong Hall was quite an eye-opener for the people of the capital.

A dozen or so officials from the Ministry of Revenue, along with the Imperial Guards, were already waiting at the gate.

They immediately seized 1.5 million taels of silver, a special fund belonging to the Martyrs' Park.

Suo Jin watched them leave with a smile, then ordered someone to take out the 600,000 taels of silver betrothal gifts for Jia Wen separately. Only then did he watch as the remaining 1.9 million taels of silver were sealed into the temporarily thickened so-called treasury.

Haha~
The two batches of silver totaled eight million taels, but in less than ten days, only this little bit remained.

Before this, they had already wasted a stronghold and given away 1.8 million taels of silver.

Let's put it this way...

Suo Jin's teeth clicked.

He knew very well that the silver that was out in the open could not be taken back.

"Don't just stand there, take 300,000 taels of silver to prepare all kinds of betrothal gifts, we have to bring the princess back."

Even if this so-called princess wanted to kill her husband, they would have no choice but to accept it now.

"Should the remaining 300,000 be used as a dowry?"

Tie Bao also had a lot of resentment.

That woman, Jia Wen, wasn't even worthy of standing in front of him.

"Well, this amount of silver isn't a lot, but it's not a small amount either."

Suo Jin narrowed his eyes. "It's done. We'll deliver it to the Jia family."

"……Yes!"

Tie Bao understood somewhat.

Princess Rongguo lived in the palace, and they sent silver to the Jia family.

While it might not be able to do anything to the Jia family, it could still be a disgusting experience.

If someone is eyeing that silver, it would be even better if they could pocket some of it.

Tie Bao then went on a grand spree, having people carry silver to silver shops, silk stores, antique shops, and other establishments to buy everything in sight.

Although I find these golden men quite annoying, I certainly can't just give away the silver that's been delivered to my doorstep for nothing.

All the merchants in the capital greeted him with smiles.

By the time the news reached Ningguo Mansion, the day's excitement had subsided. Shen Ning was holding her newborn daughter, who had just had a bath and was playing on the bed, smelling wonderful.

"Mother~"

The message has been delivered, but why is there no reaction at all?
Jia Zhen was very puzzled.

Of course, while puzzled, she also glanced enviously at her little sister, who couldn't even call her mother "Mom" yet, but whose giggles could make her mother laugh uncontrollably. "What if they really do send the betrothal gifts home tomorrow..."

"What's the point of having a brain?"

Shen Ning was speechless.

If it weren't for her daughter being so adorable, she would have rolled her eyes at her eldest son.

Ask her everything, she never uses her brain at all, what a waste of her years.

"If you can't figure it out, go find a few more heads to think about it together."

"Mother~"

Jia Zhen leaned forward with a grin, "Uncle She and the others asked me to ask you. I'm sure you have a better idea than we do."

He originally wanted to brainstorm with his two brothers, Jia Zhu and Jia Lian, but unfortunately, Wang Shi, the second aunt of the Wang family in Sanshipu, was ill, and they were both very busy.

"...Too lazy to think about it."

Shen Ning rolled her eyes at him. "The imperial physician told me not to overexert myself."

This?
Jia Zhen scratched his head in shame and bent his back a little more. "Well... Mother, we have a small solution. Could you please give us your opinion?"

"tell me the story!"

"As long as they dare to send the betrothal gifts this way, we'll go to the Imperial Clan Court immediately. Now that Second Aunt is considered a member of the royal family, it should be fine to let the Imperial Clan Court take over, right?"

This was something Rong-ge'er came up with on the spot when he arrived.

The boy didn't want him to bother his grandmother.

"...Isn't this great?"

Shen Ning thought this was a great idea!

Anyway, if you ask her, this is the only way she can do it.

"but……"

Thinking about those people coming to disgust their family, Shen Ning felt that they shouldn't get away with it too easily. "Your second aunt is also a member of the Jia family. According to the customs of our hometown in Jinling, the groom's family has to give a small red envelope for all the betrothal gifts."

Ok?
Jia Zhen blinked.

Does their family have this custom?
But my mother said...

"My son understands."

He suddenly had a realization: "When our son earns money, I'll buy you donkey meat sandwiches."

With that, Jia Zhen turned and strode away.

The next day, early in the morning, Suo Jin and Tie Baohua spent a lot of money to hire a band of musicians and singers. They made a lot of noise and carried 63 loads of betrothal gifts and 300,000 taels of silver in three silver carts, heading towards Ningrong Street.

"Your Majesty~"

When the guard intercepted Suo Jin, he was sweating slightly. "I just heard that in Jinling, all betrothal gifts must be given in red envelopes."

What?
Suo Jin narrowed his eyes. "Who said that?"

"It was an elder of the Jia family who instructed a waiter at the restaurant to say it."

"..."

Suo Jin twirled the ring on his finger and said, "Take a thousand taels of silver notes and exchange them for a hundred ten-tael silver notes."

Want to disgust them?
dream!

Suo Jin suddenly had a bold idea. Just as the guard was about to do it, he stopped him and said, "Wait! Take four thousand taels of silver notes and exchange them for two hundred twenty-tael small silver notes. If they want excitement, let them have some fun."

With such high standards, who in the Jia family will be able to marry a daughter of such high status?

"Yes!"

The guards immediately went to do it.

At the same time, Jia Zhen had already ordered his servants to inform all the Jia family members in the back street, including those at the school, to come over and offer their congratulations when they had time. They were told that the money from the Jin people was too good to pass up, and that they should use it to buy a pen and ink and write an article criticizing them.

These words left the gentlemen speechless, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

After all, this article is like homework!

The saying goes, "It's better to share happiness than to enjoy it alone." When Xue Pan heard this, he was so surprised that he had to write an article about it.

He can curse people, and that's one of his strengths, but writing articles to curse people... well, that doesn't seem to work for him!

But his deskmate got excited, what should he do?

We have no choice but to follow along!
After all, it wasn't easy for him to get his classmates to take him out to play.

If he doesn't actively participate in activities that everyone is interested in, will they still take him along tomorrow?
What no one expected was that as soon as the procession with its music and fanfare left the street near the meeting hall, several beggars came in twos and threes to join in the celebration.

It's a time for them to celebrate happy occasions.

These auspicious words just keep flowing out of the bottle.

Suo Jin and Tie Bao listened with smiles on their faces.

This happens frequently in their area as well.

To this end, they even prepared a box of copper coins. With a shout of "Reward!", the coins were scattered out, and the crowd immediately cheered.

Suo Jin was so pleased that he praised him several more times.

They spent nearly ten million taels of silver and didn't hear a single word of praise.

These days, it's just a few copper coins.

Seeing how happy he was, Tie Bao joined in the fun for a few minutes.

However, once this excitement started, it almost never stopped.

More and more people are coming to celebrate.

After walking down the street, good heavens, most of the copper coins in the box were gone.

"what happened?"

Suo Jin quickly realized something was wrong and coldly questioned the head of the Huitong Hall who served them; he was now in charge of the group.

"Your Highness, perhaps we made too much noise yesterday. Not only have all the beggars in the capital come, but people from several orphanages have also arrived." The curator had already sent someone to inquire ahead and confirmed that there were people on the way to Ningrong Street who wanted to attend the wedding.

"Ho~"

Tie Bao said to him with a half-smile, "This Great Zhao is quite poor! Hurry up and go exchange it. I want to see how many copper coins you can throw away today."

"……Yes!"

The curator took it upon himself to do it.

Before long, two carriages loaded with copper coins followed behind the procession.

As soon as they finished scattering one box, another box was immediately brought over.

So, with music and the clinking of coins, the children who heard the news also came running, calling their friends.

The officers of the Five Cities Garrison and the Shuntian Prefecture were afraid of something going wrong, so the patrolmen waited on their usual routes to prevent anyone from picking up beggars.

"嘁~"

Seeing the commotion along the way, Qiu Feng, the son of Commandant Qiu, curled his lip and said, "Which bastard came up with this idea? Is he trying to disgust the Jurchens, or is he telling them that the people of our Great Zhao are poor?"

"Hehe, let's not talk about being poor or not."

A few of his regular friends laughed and said, "Just look how lively it is! If I were younger, I definitely would have wanted to go and play too."

For children, the joy of finding money with their friends is a memory that can last a lifetime.

"Oh oh oh~~~~"

In the distance, the cheers of a group of children echoed once more, and passing merchants couldn't help but crane their necks to look.

……

At Ningguo Mansion, Jia Wen held Lin Chang'an with one hand and Bao Yu with the other, while kicking his slow-moving son Min Jianbai with the other, saying, "Hurry up!"

She didn't kick him. Min Jianbai's daily martial arts training with Jiao Da had been somewhat effective. Sensing something was wrong behind him, he twisted his hips forward and narrowly avoided the kick.

"Mother, you're being unfair. This wasn't just my idea."

Min Jianbai gritted his teeth at his two seemingly honest cousins, "Chang'an, you wait, I'll tell Fourth Aunt later."

Lin Changan: “…”

Was this his idea?

no!
They are clearly my older sister and cousins.

But what to do?
He and Baoyu exchanged a glance, both pursing their lips tightly.

The truth cannot be spoken.

Otherwise, you can forget about ever getting their handkerchiefs, sachets, or tassels in this lifetime.

They might even get a beating behind their backs.

"How big is Chang'an? How old are you?"

Jia Wen exploded, "When you led your brothers to do bad things, why didn't you use your brain?"

It was her son who notified the so-called Beggars' Gang here.

If Jia Wen hadn't overheard his son's servant announcing the good news, he wouldn't have known they had done something so significant.

How many beggars are there in the capital?
Along the way, how poor did those Jurchens think the Great Zhao was?
What if the emperor feels ashamed and orders an investigation?
She had no choice but to drag them over to find her sister-in-law.

Please help me think of a solution, sister-in-law.

but……

When Shen Ning heard her sister-in-law's accusations and looked at the three children pretending to be honest, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Haha~ Hahaha~~~, Well done, Auntie will reward you."

"Auntie!"

Lin Chang'an's eyes lit up immediately. "You also think we did a good job?"

"Sister-in-law, there are so many beggars..."

"Do you believe that today, quite a few people who aren't beggars will pretend to be beggars?"

Shen Ning waved to Lin Chang'an, then to Bao Yu, who also wanted to come over, and asked, "How much is face worth?"

For ordinary people, every penny saved is a penny earned.

If you find a couple of coins, you can buy a meat bun for the elderly or a child!
"Don't worry, His Majesty would never cause trouble for the three little ones just to save face."

If the emperor were truly so concerned with his reputation, he could not have maintained harmony with the retired emperor for so many years amidst a pack of wolves (kings).

"Whether it's silver or copper coins, the Emperor would definitely prefer it to be taken by the people of our Great Zhao."

Especially since it was taken from the Jurchens.

When the emperor heard the report from his secret guards after court, he regretted that he couldn't go and join in the fun.

Money!

Today, the Jurchens allowed the beggars and many children in the capital to celebrate the New Year!
What's wrong?
The emperor deeply resented vanity projects.

How much silver did the retired emperor spend on his several trips to the south?

How many giant rats did they raise?

The national treasury has been emptied.

Otherwise, when the Hetao region was lost, the Crown Prince wouldn't have been so heartbroken.

If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.

Because of a lack of funds, the Hetao region, such a fertile land for raising horses, was ultimately lost.

This is why Jia Jing later conducted a thorough investigation of the traveling caravans.

He wanted to get money for the Crown Prince.

In fact, he actually managed to get his hands on it.

However, the money was not used for the practical purposes that he and the Crown Prince intended to use.

"Have someone keep an eye on them. Anyone who dares to lay a hand on those children at this time should be tied up and taken directly to the execution ground to be beheaded."

"Yes!"

The bodyguards left.

Seeing that the emperor was in a good mood, Liu An said, "Your Majesty, the Jia family has asked the Imperial Clan Court to intervene. They said they would let the procession delivering the betrothal gifts come to their house to make a fuss first, and then transfer everything to the palace."

"Hmm, the Jia family has thought things through very well."

Jia Wen is now not only a daughter of the Jia family, but also a princess of Rongguo.

Their open and frank discussion completely thwarted the Jurchens' ulterior motives.

The emperor took a sip of tea and said, "Tell the empress to send some gifts over, to give the Jia family a good face."

"Yes!"

Liu An gave his apprentice, Xiao Sanzi, a wink, and soon the Empress received the message.

Since it's about giving face to the entire Jia family, the Ningguo Mansion naturally has a place to do it too.

Having learned that the procession over there was moving very slowly, the Queen also instructed those on this side to slow down as well.

As for the royal family, they'll definitely be the last to go on stage.

Suo Jin and Tie Bao patiently followed the slow-moving procession to Ningrong Street, arriving close to noon.

The musicians only perked up after the price was raised again.

At this moment, Jia She, along with the clan elders, followed by Jia Zhen, Jia Zhu, and others, greeted them with smiles, as if they weren't the ones who rushed over to fight last time, and now they were truly in-laws.

"Your Highness, those are people from the Imperial Clan Court."

When the guards saw that the people from the Imperial Clan Court had also arrived, they knew that their prince's wishful thinking had backfired.

But having come this far, there's no turning back.

As the two sides exchanged pleasantries, a group of children suddenly surged from the alley between the Ning and Rong mansions. They immediately called out "Grandpa," "Uncle," "Third Uncle," and "Second Uncle," and were then directed by their parents to shout "Your Highness, please give me a red envelope!"

hiss~
Suo Jin sensed something was wrong.

But he had no other choice.

Fortunately, the guard was quick-witted and hurriedly went to exchange the large denomination silver notes for the small denomination red-sealed silver notes.

It was this one gift...

Good heavens, Suo Jin and Tie Bao's faces turned green.