The head of the Red Mansion

In the palace, the emperor listened intently to the commotion on Ningrong Street. When he heard that his nephew Cheng Luo had been entrusted by Jia Zhu to go to the Imperial Academy and gather a large number of people, his eyes lit up, wishing he could be there in person.

He is not someone who doesn't enjoy lively gatherings.

As a child, he was not loved and dared not join in the fun, for fear that the excitement would turn into a merciless hammer and smash him to death.

After they got married, the poor young couple were still invisible. Rather than being looked down upon by others and having his wife and children suffer humiliation with him, they preferred to stay at home and live their lives behind closed doors.

Becoming emperor was even worse; he had to be subservient to everyone.

It's a little better now.

"emperor!"

Knowing that the emperor was pleased, Liu An added, "You don't know, but at that time, quite a few sons of military families went to show their support. Suo Jin's guards ended up going to the silver exchange four times. The clerk there said that they exchanged a total of 50,000 taels of silver."

"Hahaha~"

The emperor laughed loudly, "Excellent, excellent, this battle was fought brilliantly."

Trying to disgust people?

Now look what happened, they tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead.

No, this rice... it's not just a handful. He did the math: one shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice is two qian (a unit of currency) of silver, which is 50,000 taels of silver notes... Wow, that's 250,000 shi.

We made a fortune! A huge fortune!
The emperor slapped his thigh in disbelief.

"Did the Imperial Clan Court accept the betrothal gifts?"

"Yes!"

"By imperial decree, Princess Rong is hereby granted..."

The emperor originally wanted to reward Jia Wen with an estate in the suburbs of Beijing, but then thought that it would be bad if Jia Wen were used by others. So he said, "Reward her with an estate in Shenyang. I remember there are two imperial estates there. Take one and convert it into the residence of Princess Rongguo." More troops will be stationed there. If Jia Wen wants to live there permanently, she can stay there and not go back to the Jurchens.

Even if her child betrays her, the garrison and those around her can still use it against her.

"In addition, I will bestow upon her the Prince of Jin's villa in the western city."

"Yes!"

"Let them investigate again to find out who came up with the initial idea."

These are all pillars of the nation.

The emperor liked this kind of unconventional approach.

In short, the Great Zhao Dynasty must not suffer any losses when it comes to the Jurchens.

He was already letting down the founding emperor and the people who died in the past by not being able to slaughter them all. How could he be willing to be used by them?
The court is full of useless people who can't think things through like Madam Shen did. They didn't think about the Jin people's intentions when they only sent out one Wohe at the beginning.

Each of them was incredibly skilled at quoting classical texts and drawing on a wide range of sources, but when it came to dealing with the Jurchens, who were inherently ignorant of reason and only recognized strength, they had no way to begin.

"No matter who it is, whether they take the civil service exam or the military exam, write them down for me. I will use them for a great reason."

"Yes!"

Liu An carefully withdrew and sent someone to investigate. Meanwhile, Shen Ning of Ningguo Mansion looked at the two twenty-tael silver notes her daughter had earned and didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Grandmother, your grandson also received double the amount."

Jia Rong, taking advantage of his shamelessness, said, "I'll give you half of the forty taels of silver I got back."

"so good?"

Shen Ning accepted it with delight.

She could only see the grand spectacle outside from afar at Tianxiang Tower; it wasn't convenient for her to witness it in person. It was wonderful to receive a red envelope as a rare treat. After all, it was her idea, and everyone was making money; she couldn't be more envious.

"Because you're so kind, Grandmother will forgive you for taking Xiaoyue out."

what?
Jia Rong was dumbfounded.

My aunt was so happy to see so many people outside!

"Fine, since you're my grandmother, there's nothing I can do if you try to cheat me."

He picked up his aunt again and said in a serious tone, "Aunt, if there's anything fun to do in the future, don't blame your nephew for not taking you. It's just that Grandma is too amazing."

"I think you're asking for a beating."

"Hehe, you're in such a good mood today. If you were to hit your grandson, wouldn't that give those Jurchens something to laugh at?"

Jia Rong grinned and said, "Grandmother, you have no idea how ugly those people looked when they forced a smile at the end. I suspect they'll be too angry to sleep tonight."

At this time, the entire capital, especially the Ningrong Street area, was filled with joy and celebration.

Twenty taels of silver may not seem like much, but it's enough to feed an average family of five people for a year.

Moreover, this silver was not only free, but it was also taken from bad people.

It was so satisfying to catch them!

That night, just as Suo Jin and Tie Bao were furious about the loss of tens of thousands of taels of silver, so many others, after calculating their losses, laughed themselves to sleep.

The Jia family played this move brilliantly.

When Cheng Luo returned home, he forced a smile at Yuan Chun and Tie Bao's twitching cheeks as he handed out red envelopes to the endless crowd, his hands trembling.

"Looking at it this way, we should keep this banknote as a family heirloom."

Yuan Chun held the twenty-tael silver note given to her by her husband, liking it more and more as she looked at it. "Later, you can write another article, put it in a book, and show it to the children. They will definitely like it very much."

"Mmmmm~"

Cheng Luo glanced at her belly and was overjoyed.

He has a wife, children, and a family.

There are many people in my family.

They were all very, very good to him.

"go!"

Cheng Luo grabbed Yuan Chun's hand, "Let's go to the study together, you can add a few strokes too."

From then on, apart from the princess, the couple were the ancestors of their branch of the family.

"Okay!"

Yuan Chun smiled gently at him.

As the couple left together, they were unaware that Granny Cheng in the backyard had smashed another cup.

"Grandma, this is the last cup from the official kiln."

The old woman serving them sighed as she took away the broken cup.

Who would have thought that the old lady who once overshadowed even the princess would end up in this state?
Once the imperial title is gone, everything is gone.

Her last pension money was gambled away by her most beloved grandson.

If she had known this would happen, why would she have begged and pleaded with everyone to come here?
Now, not one of the maids and servants in this courtyard doesn't regret it.

Since the Marquis married his wife, he has kept the inner quarters under strict control, like an iron barrel.

They couldn't leave the second gate. Logically, since the Marquis and his wife hated the Third Master so much, they shouldn't have let him come over again and again to take money from the old lady.

But they let him in.

They even let him move his things out.

Those with a quick mind couldn't help but suspect that the Marquis and his wife wanted the old lady and the third master to end up with nothing.

Moreover, they couldn't even file a complaint with the clan. Every time Third Master moved things out, there was a list that required the old lady and Third Master's signatures and fingerprints.

hiss~
Can’t think about it, can’t think about it.

"the last one……"

Grandma Cheng stared blankly at the pine tree outlined on the broken porcelain, lost in thought.

This was a gift from the princess.

It symbolizes the evergreen pine tree.

once……

Grandma Cheng slowly sat down and looked around her room in the dim candlelight.

The gilded clock is gone. When the princess first sent it, she thought it was too noisy, but she couldn't help showing it off to her people. Now that it's gone, she often tosses and turns at night, unable to sleep, just wanting to hear that sound.

But once it's gone, it's gone.

Her two favorite large red peony vases, the antique ornaments on the display shelf...

When Grandma Cheng clutched her chest, her body went limp, and she uncontrollably slipped and fell to the ground.

……

At the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Min was in a very good mood, embracing her son, Lin Chang'an.

Third sister is mentally challenged.

What's wrong with letting beggars go to celebrate?

Today, probably all the beggars in the city went to celebrate the occasion. My second sister's life will definitely undergo earth-shattering changes from now on.

"Tell your mother what reward you want. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you whatever you want."

Lin Chang'an: "..." He glanced at the maids and servants in the room, but dared not speak.

Can this story be kept from my sister?
By the end...

"Mother, I don't need anything right now, can you keep this promise for now?"

"Look how clever you are!"

Jia Min laughed, "Alright, I'll save it for three years, then it'll expire and become worthless!"

When children are young, a few snacks might suffice.

If that doesn't work, buy more toys.

But it's too big...

What if he wants to skip school and go out to play?

What if you get into a fight?
What if he talks back to Mr. [Name]?
What if Ru Hai goes to the capital to take the teaching exam and finds that he hasn't met the expectations, and then he wants to beat him up?
Jia Min didn't want to wait until he was older to fulfill her promise.

Three years is her limit.

"Only three years?"

Lin Chang'an wanted to stomp his feet. If he agreed, wouldn't his sister say he was stupid?
"Mom, are you still my real mother? I was so scared when my third aunt dragged me to find my eldest aunt today."

"Scared?"

Jia Min pointed a finger at his forehead, "Do you think I didn't know that your aunt also gave you a little jade horse?"

Lin Changan: “…”

I can't live anymore.

I can only play with the little jade horse for three more days at most. I have to give it to my sister, otherwise...

The older sisters will definitely step forward and say that the idea came from them.

"Alright, then let me think about it carefully."

Sister, you should really think about it!
He won't bother thinking about it.

At this moment, Daiyu and the other young girls, including Qin Keqing, were in Minmei's room, counting the small pile of silver notes they had earned after dressing up as men.

They were so busy today, not only did they put on makeup several times, but they also borrowed a lot of clothes from Min Jianbai, Rong Ge'er, and Bao Yu.

Of course, the gains were enormous.

"Yes, eighty taels per person, six of us, that's four hundred and eighty taels in total, almost five hundred taels."

Min Mei's eyes sparkled. "Recently, everyone's been paying off their debts to the national treasury. There are quite a few small estates and courtyards near the brokerage. What I'm suggesting is, if you trust us, we can buy a small estate. Even if we just hold onto it and do nothing, we'll definitely make some money back in two years. If..."

"Buy the estate."

Xiangyun raised her hand crisply.

She doesn't want money.

If she takes the money home and someone finds out, then it's no longer hers.

My second uncle and aunt have had many arguments over money.

"Cousin Mei, I'll do whatever you say."

"Cousin Mei, me too."

They earned this money themselves using their brains.

Daiyu decided to give her parents a big surprise. "It's just that it might be difficult to get things done with Cousin Bai and Brother Rong. Every time we go out, we always ask them to take us to receive the red envelopes."

"I've got my brother sorted out, Rong-ge'er..."

When Min Mei looked at Qin Keqing, all the girls also looked at Qin Keqing.

"Ahem~" Qin Keqing blushed, "You are all elders, any one of you can shut him up."

"It's not as convenient for us to say it as you do. What if he thinks we're bullying him?"

Minmei patted her on the shoulder, "I'm leaving him to you."

"Yeah!"

Yingchun and Tanchun raised their hands in agreement with smiles.

Inside the room, they thought their discussion was confidential, but little did they know that Jia Wen, who had been listening for a while, had quietly slipped away.

So you're into Zhuangzi, huh?
Let's do it!

Jia Wen, who had left, decided to keep this secret for them.

The excitement today was something she hadn't anticipated.

Her son and daughter are bold and decisive, and she, as their mother...

Jia Wen sniffed; she felt it was good enough.

She used the money she brought with her when she divorced to buy property. The three of them not only ate, drank, and lived at her parents' house, but also received monthly allowances. In addition, her fourth sister and her sister-in-law from the East Mansion would often give her subsidies. Now she has saved more than two hundred taels of silver.

Jia Wen decided to leave it to her son to handle.

These two children are a gift from God; with them, her life has been worthwhile.

"Auntie!"

The maid called from outside the door, "Master Zhu has sent someone over with some things."

Pearl?

Jia Wen was startled.

Lately, for some reason, Zhu'er has been sending things to her all the time.

"What did you give me?"

"His classmates' calligraphy and paintings."

Jia Wen took it and found that the signature was Lü Yongrui, and it was a peony painting.

What is this bead doing?
At this moment, she had no idea that Lü Yongrui was a Hanlin scholar who had been selected long ago and had been frequently seconded to the palace to serve the emperor last year.

Little did they know that he was also someone who had read Jia Daishan's secret memorials.

His paintings will be priceless in the future.

"Keep it safe!"

Peonies symbolize wealth and prosperity, so they can be given to either a son or a daughter.

Jia Wen didn't care about the painting, but Jia Zhu couldn't help but care.

"Sir, that painting..."

Li Wan knew about Lü Yongrui.

His father said that even if he doesn't make it into the top class, he'll definitely be among the top few in the second class.

"Oh, it was Yongrui who specifically requested it for Third Aunt."

Jia Zhu sighed deeply in her heart, "I heard that he also had an aunt, but her family did not agree to her divorce at the time, and she eventually died in her husband's house. The child she gave birth to also died of an illness later."

Li Wan turned pale and covered her mouth, saying, "Third Aunt and my cousins ​​are all very nice."

"Ok!"

Jia Zhu nodded, "When I'm not home, if they need anything, please help them out if you can."

"Do not worry!"

In reality, it wouldn't be her turn at all.

If anything happened to my third aunt, my fourth aunt and eldest uncle would be the first to know, as they would have already taken care of it for her.

Li Wan is very happy with her current home.

There was no scheming, no mutual distrust...

Whether they were uncles or aunts, they all loved each other very much.

"However, it's not really my place to do anything."

She laughed, "Didn't you see how Cousin Mei is doing? Her eldest uncle and fourth aunt, one martial and one scholar, are both looking for someone for her. Cousin Mei said she wants to live in the East Mansion permanently."

"Isn't she afraid that her aunt from the East Mansion will also help her find someone?"

"Because she was afraid, she obediently came home every day!"

Li Wan couldn't suppress her laughter.

"Look at you, what kind of sister-in-law are you? How can you be so gloating?"

Jia Zhu couldn't hold back any longer and laughed too.

"Pfft, you don't know, Uncle and Fourth Aunt just finished checking everyone here, and then Brother Bai went to check everyone himself. According to their criteria for choosing a son-in-law, you don't even qualify, sir."

him?

Thinking of his parents, Jia Zhu felt that he was truly unfit. (End of Chapter)