Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 117: Blending in the Calligraphy and Painting Shop
Could it be that the man surnamed Chen was brought by Jia She to embezzle the Lin family’s property?

Sister Feng glanced at him and said, "What can't you do? You're only talking halfway through your sentence. Is there something wrong with that?"

How could Jia Lian dare to mention the lost marriage certificate? He just said, "You don't understand."

The more he thought about it, the more likely it became!

Jia She occasionally exchanged letters with Lin Ruhai, and since there were copies of Lin Ruhai's letters and seals, it wouldn't be difficult to find someone to forge them. Furthermore, the letter explicitly mentioned the matter of the concurrent succession, something Jia She had learned about when he was in Yangzhou by sending a servant to deliver the letter.

Lin Ruhai agreed to take over the throne before his death, and entrusted his son to Jia Yucun, without finalizing the marriage. When Jia She learned of this, he might have thought of forging a marriage certificate and deceiving Daiyu into marrying him!
The more I think about it, the more it makes sense! Jia Lian gritted his teeth for a moment. Then he changed his mind and thought, Master Jia She is his biological father! Even if he knew about this, what would happen? Could he still file a complaint?
Afterwards, he ruined his own father's good deeds. At most, the old lady would curse him. After all, it was Jia She who inherited the title. What could the old lady do even if she was powerful? Who knows, Jia She would torture himself in every way afterward.

You have to remember that in the previous episode, during the Rongxi Hall confrontation, Jia She scolded Jia Lian harshly. The next episode might not just be a scolding; he might even resort to family discipline.

Thinking about this, Jia Lian suddenly became depressed and sighed, "Ah... From now on, we should stay away from that brother Yuan."

Feng Jieer thought that the old lady disliked Chen Siyuan and Jia Lian was afraid of implicating her, so she said, "What does that have to do with me? Don't worry about it. I know the old lady's thoughts very well."

Jia Lian shook his head repeatedly and said nothing else, only thinking to himself that since this Chen guy had his own father to protect him, he would probably be difficult to mess with in the future.

Mrs. Xing's principal wife.

Mrs. Xing found an excuse to send Wang Shanbao away, and soon after, she also sent Miao'er and Tiao'er away, so only Chen Siyuan and Mrs. Xing were left.

Seeing no one around, Chen Siyuan immediately moved closer, reached out and grabbed her hand, trying to make out with her. Madam Xing slapped her with a scolding look, saying, "Don't be so clumsy. She's still young, so don't be careless."

Chen Siyuan withdrew his hand awkwardly, looked at her lower abdomen and said, "You can't even touch it?"

"No." Seeing his dejected look, Madam Xing covered her mouth with her hands and smiled, saying, "We finally have a child. Even though we don't know whether it's a boy or a girl, we should treasure it. Besides, it's still so young, how can we tell?"

Chen Siyuan whispered, "He...didn't he suspect anything?"

Mrs. Xing looked strange, and lowered her voice, saying, "He slept on the floor for half the night, and when he woke up this morning his back was sore. He really thought he'd been tossing and turning for half the night."

Chen Siyuan couldn't help laughing. He had no opinion about Jia She, let alone a favorable impression. It was because of the marriage certificate that Jia She wanted to use him. Otherwise, why would he care about such a distant relative like him?
Just by reading the original text, you can know what kind of person Jia She is. Chen Siyuan has no burden at all for cuckolding him.

At this time, Madam Xing said, "You should also leave some money. I'm afraid those blood swallows must have been wasted a lot. Can I still go short of a bite of food?"

Chen Siyuan said, "This is my sincere token of my appreciation. Otherwise, I would feel even more uneasy if I did nothing." As he spoke, he pulled out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve and forced it into Mrs. Xing's pocket.

Mrs. Xing was puzzled, and frowned and refused: "What are you doing?"

Chen Siyuan said, "Save it for the child to eat. The vegetables in the cave are expensive. Eat more. It will be good for the child."

Mrs. Xing was deeply moved. She no longer cared about why Chen Siyuan hadn't come to see her these past few days. Instead, she said with concern, "You should also think more about yourself. Just do your homework well enough to avoid hurting your body."

Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "Well, as for the provincial examination, I'm 80% likely to pass it."

"Huh? How did you get through?"

Chen Siyuan said ostentatiously, "With my good character and talent, I will naturally be appreciated by noble people."

Mrs. Xing didn't delve into it, but was simply overjoyed for him. She thought, "Oh my goodness, if he can pass the provincial exam, that's good. I heard that if a juren fails the imperial exam three times in a row, he can go to the Ministry of Personnel for an official position... It would be best if he could be chosen as an official in Beijing, so that I can be looked after by him while I'm in the capital."

Chen Siyuan smiled and agreed, but he didn't agree. A Juren becoming an official? Jinshi would look down on him. Since he was determined to pursue the imperial examination, he would surely be called out outside Donghua Gate one day. How could he stop at the provincial examination?

Mrs. Xing chatted for a while, then held her belly and frowned. "Sour boy, spicy girl. It's strange, I like spicy food lately... Could it be a girl?"

Chen Siyuan said nonchalantly, "If there's one, there will be two. Why are you so anxious?"

Madam Xing gnashed her teeth and said, "I'm almost thirty. Can I keep giving birth? Besides, we covered it up this time, but can we keep covering it up a few more times? He's a suspicious person to begin with. If it happens again, I'm sure he'll get suspicious."

Chen Siyuan said, "Think about it carefully, there must be a way."

He said it casually, but Mrs. Xing took it to heart. She frowned and thought for a while, then said, "It's not unusual to leave a posthumous child—"

Chen Siyuan blinked, startled! He immediately looked at Madam Xing differently! Good fellow, she was really trying to give birth to a son. She was planning to kill Jia She!

After plotting to kill Jia She, will he turn around and plot against Jia Lian and Jia Cong?

Chen Siyuan immediately said, "Don't overthink those nonsense. He's here, at least he can protect you. If he's gone, will Jia Lian and Sister Feng treat you well?"

Madam Xing sighed and said with a dull expression, "That's true. A daughter is a daughter, it's better than having nothing at all."

Chen Siyuan didn't dare to stay any longer, fearing that Mrs. Xing, who was pregnant, would have some rebellious thoughts again. He said a few words briefly, then hurriedly got up and said goodbye.

When he came out of the main room, Miao'er and Tiao'er rushed to see him off, but Miao'er was quicker and got there first. Tiao'er could only stamp his feet in anger, pouting and going back to the main room to wait on Madam Xing.

Miao'er was quite pleased with herself. As she left the inner ceremonial gate, she shook her head, and the clove on her ear swayed back and forth. She smiled and said, "Brother, what do you think?" (The clove can be considered an earring.)
Chen Siyuan took a look and said exaggeratedly, "It's amazing! My sister is already fair, and now she looks even whiter. From a distance, I thought she was someone's snow doll."

Miao'er giggled non-stop, and then whispered shyly, "I just changed my rouge, would you like to try it, brother?"

Chen Siyuan glanced around and said, "Here? That's not a good idea."

Miao'er gave a sweet laugh and said nothing more. After passing through the three-tiered ceremonial gate, there was an empty wing behind the outer study. Miao'er looked around and pulled Chen Siyuan inside.

After a moment, she suddenly heard a commotion approaching from outside. Miao'er stole a glance and shrank back in fear: "The girls and Master Bao are here, brother, hide quickly... Um——"

……………………………………………………Two days later, perhaps because of Qin Zhong’s death, Baoyu had been in great sorrow recently. He spent most of his days in Qixianzhai, mourning in a daze, and even rarely went to Rongqingtang.

That day, Chen Siyuan went to see Mei Hanlin to answer his questions, but Jia Yun came to find him in the afternoon.

Chen Siyuan invited him inside and served him tea. Then Jia Yun said, "Uncle Yuan, I've heard everything. Supervisor Tao visits a calligraphy and painting shop near the Twin Pagoda Temple every ten days. I went there myself yesterday, and the shop looked strange. The paintings and calligraphy hanging on the walls were neither from the past nor from famous artists, yet the prices were exorbitant... I'm afraid there's something fishy going on."

Chen Siyuan suddenly understood. These days, officials were using all sorts of tricks to secretly enrich themselves. Some pawnshops would pawn fine artifacts worth hundreds or even thousands of taels of silver for only a hundred, and then never redeem them when the due date came. This was effectively giving away hundreds of taels of silver to their unscrupulous owners!

There is also the calligraphy and painting shop. It is always difficult to tell the price of these calligraphy and paintings. A piece of calligraphy and painting can be worth one thousand taels, or it can be worthless. However, there are few customers every day, but it has been operating for decades.

As for bribes in the form of formal bribes, covert bribes, and the sending of adopted daughters as concubines, they are too numerous to count.

Since Supervisor Tao often visited the calligraphy and painting shop, it was possible that he had some connection with them. Chen Siyuan thanked Jia Yun and invited him to have a cup of tea before sending him away.

Looking back, he pondered over it with amusement. The first time he had seen Jia Yun, he had been poor and destitute, but now he looked completely different. His cloak was made of white rat skin, and underneath was a fine cloth robe. Although it looked unremarkable, the cloth was extremely fine, perhaps even more delicate than ordinary brocade.

Will Jia Yun become an ungrateful person when he becomes successful? What does that have to do with Chen Siyuan? This person is just a useless person under Chen Siyuan's command. It would be worth it if he could be of some use in the future.

After hearing this news, Chen Siyuan went out to look for her. It was already the end of the twelfth lunar month, so he borrowed a carriage and headed for Shuangta Temple.

On the way, he suddenly heard someone selling a court newspaper, so he spent some money to buy one.

Most of them were imperial decrees, such as General Yue Zhongqi's victory in another battle, a detachment of his troops raided the rear of the enemy, causing chaos and beheading more than 2,000 people; for example, the British delegation was stranded in Quanzhou Prefecture and planned to head north to the capital in March of the following year.

The English Mission? Could it be someone from the Sindhu colony pretending to be one?
Looking further down, most of them are about promotions and demotions. The second one is about Jia Hua, the provincial governor of Zhejiang Province, who was transferred to the post of provincial governor of Zhejiang Province.

Chen Siyuan felt sorry for Jia Yucun. He was too clever to be deceived. Otherwise, if he approached him now, wouldn't he become his rightful heir?
Reading further down, there were numerous records, and only at the end of the page did one record catch Chen Siyuan's attention: Dai Xinting, the censor of Henan Province, was transferred to be the Langzhong of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Works.

A single glance at Chen Siyuan and a frown formed on his face. He had no idea who Dai Xinting was, but since he'd been promoted from Censor to the Ministry of Works, he was definitely not the man the Jia family wanted. Tsk, if this man took over, the Jia family would be in trouble.

Chen Siyuan, after reading through historical records, had a clear understanding of the shady practices of the Construction Department. Even during the reign of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty, officials from the Construction Department had engaged in excessive extortion, replacing construction wages with corvée labor or withholding rations from artisans. Even the brutal executions of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang failed to curb this practice.

Later, Yan Song even placed his own son, the Junior Cabinet Secretary Yan Shifan, in the Ministry of Works to be in charge of the affairs of the Construction Department in order to embezzle the money from the royal projects.

Following the Ming system, Emperor Taizong Li Guo probably did not understand the ins and outs of the Construction Office, so the malpractices of the Construction Office were even worse than those of the previous Ming Dynasty!
It's just like repairing the imperial mausoleum. Conscripting labor and withholding food rations are common operations. The real big deal is ordering governors from all over the country to make tributes!
For example, if there were giant trees outside the Great Wall or in Guangxi, the Ministry of Construction would issue a mobilization order, and both regions would be required to cut down the eligible trees and transport them thousands of miles to the imperial mausoleum. However, when the Ministry of Construction returned, it would reveal that the trees had been purchased by the Ministry of Construction. While the accounts would show no flaws, it was still a good bet that the Ministry of Construction could actually spend even a fraction of the money allocated for the construction of the imperial mausoleum!
In addition, the government offices and the houses of stationed soldiers in various places are reported to the Maintenance Department for repair every year, but in reality, sometimes they don't even do the superficial work, and can embezzle hundreds of thousands of silver coins.

Since the imperial court was able to send a censor to transfer the position of Director of Works, it must have known the trick. The Jia family is in trouble this time.

After putting down the official report, Chen Siyuan thought for a while, and in a blink of an eye he arrived at Shuangta Temple.

After deep thought, he got off the car and walked slowly, and sure enough, he found a calligraphy and painting shop in a remote corner.

There was a plaque with the words "Moxiangzhai" written on it. A waiter inside was dozing with his cheek in his hand. People came and went, but no one visited.

Chen Siyuan took a quick look and walked into the shop. The clerk suddenly woke up, looked up at Chen Siyuan, and said lazily, "Sir, please take a look for yourself."

Chen Siyuan casually pointed to a piece of calligraphy and asked, "This calligraphy looks good."

The waiter, still hunched over the table, mumbled, "Sir, feel free to look around. These paintings and calligraphy are all three hundred coins each."

Outside? Does that mean there's also an inside?
Unfortunately, Chen Siyuan had come here so rashly that he didn't know the reason. He pretended to look around and shook his head, saying, "What a shame! I'm looking for calligraphy and paintings as gifts, and I'm afraid there's nothing suitable here."

The waiter perked up a bit, took a closer look, and asked, "I wonder if you are sending an elder here, or—"

Chen Siyuan said, "I will be attending the Imperial College next year, and I thought I'd pay a visit to the chancellor first."

"Oh."

The waiter stood up, rubbed his face, and called out, "Boss, a distinguished guest has arrived!"

A moment later, the curtain at the back door was raised, and a wealthy shopkeeper entered. He stepped forward, took a look, and said with a smile, "Sir, please come in. This valuable calligraphy and painting cannot be shown to others easily."

Chen Siyuan followed the shopkeeper to the back. In the backyard wing, there were a variety of calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall.

The shopkeeper introduced: "This calligraphy and painting was hard to come by. It took more than a month to complete. The price is forty taels."

Chen Siyuan nodded.

The shopkeeper moved and pointed to another one, saying, "This one is even harder to come by. It took me three months of hard work, and I'm asking for a hundred taels."

Chen Siyuan smiled but said nothing.

The shopkeeper moved forward and pointed to a painting. "I heard this one took three years to create, so I'm asking two hundred taels. The one next to it only took two years, but it's profound, so I'll give it three hundred taels."

Chen Siyuan thought for a while, then pointed at two paintings and said, "How many paintings can I buy at most, those sold in the last month or three months?"

The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment and said, "Sir, are you joking? Aren't these two years enough?"

Chen Siyuan nodded and said, "I'm quite anxious. It would be better if there was a year."

The shopkeeper almost cursed, "You want to drop out of school in just one year? What good things are you dreaming of!"
Chen Siyuan calmly pulled out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve, slowly placed them in the shopkeeper's hand, and said solemnly, "I just want a good calligraphy and painting that takes a year to complete! Eight months is best!"

The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized that this person was going to take the imperial examination in August. Tsk, how much better it would be to donate money to become a student at the Imperial College? It only costs 88 taels of silver. Why bother going to the Imperial College and suffering so much?
Glancing down at the banknotes in his hand, he estimated the value to be at least five hundred taels. The shopkeeper had an idea. It was rare to meet such a fool, so who would he sell to? So he said, "This... we don't have any in stock right now. Why don't you come back in a couple of days?"

(End of this chapter)