Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 197 Seizing the Property (Seeking a few monthly tickets at the end of the month)

When the car arrived in front of You's house, Xing Dequan, with his hands in his pockets, was pointing and talking at this side with a few young men.

Yindie went forward and knocked on the door. The old woman took a quick look and hurriedly reported inside: "The eldest girl is here!"

A maidservant walked through the hanging flower gate and soon entered the main room. At this time, there was a lot of commotion in the main room. Old Lady You had a glutinous rice ball stuffed in her mouth and her limbs were tied up tightly. Third Sister You stood with her hands on her hips and pointed, "Tie her up a little more to prevent Mom from hurting anyone else!"

Beside the vermilion bed, there were still some faint traces of blood that had not been wiped away.

Chunxi whispered, "Third Aunt, the Grandmother is here."

Third Sister You looked up at Second Sister You, who then went out to greet them, while Third Sister You stayed where she was. In a moment, Second Sister You led Youshi inside.

Glancing at the bed, he saw Youshi staring and shaking her head, whimpering, and twisting her limbs, just like a maggot chrysalis.

After Youshi sent Yindie away, You Erjie also sent Chunxi and Xiazhu away, leaving only three sisters.

Mrs. You took a look and frowned, saying, "This...will not cause any trouble?"

The second and third sisters kept silent. If word got out that Old Lady You had done such a shameful thing, the sisters would be drowned in spit! To be unfilial, if Old Lady You were gone now, the three of them would actually breathe a sigh of relief.

After a while, Third Sister You said, "Ma Dao Po said that once the ritual is over, things will get better in two or three days."

Youshi said, "I never thought that there were such talented people in the market who could make people hysterical just by performing magic from a distance!" She was naturally afraid, fearing that Jia Zhen would dislike her in the future and simply find some talented person to perform magic, so that she would have no place to cry.

Third Sister You had no idea what Youshi was thinking, so she scoffed at the words. What kind of talented person? Within a few days, the entire You family was taken over by him. The next day, Ma Dao Po found the maid and, paying her twenty taels of silver, instructed her to add seasoning to Old Lady You's food.

The woman had received a favor from Third Sister You, so she dared not hide it and told her the whole story. To put it bluntly, Ma Dao Po was just playing tricks. She got the recipe from nowhere, but it could make anyone go crazy after taking a few drops.

Third Sister You didn't explain, but immediately asked, "Have you heard of a suitable widower?"

Yu Shi shook her head and said, "How can it be that fast? It will take some time to carefully scan and listen."

As soon as she finished speaking, Old Lady You started struggling violently again. A foul smell came out, and the three sisters hurriedly fled.

Third Sister You called the maid to wait on her, then pulled Youshi to the side room and asked, "Is Rong boy okay?"

Yu Shi said, "I scratched my face, and when I got back I asked the imperial physician to treat it—" She paused, knowing that Third Sister Yu wouldn't bring it up for no reason, and seeing the sarcasm on her face, she said, "—but was the injury serious?"

Third Sister You smiled without saying anything, so Second Sister You said, "The old woman said it felt like Mom stabbed Rong'er in the lower abdomen with a pair of scissors... At that time, Rong'er rolled on the ground in pain, and Mom also rode on him and scratched his face. Fortunately, Third Sister and I came a step early, otherwise this would have led to a murder lawsuit!"

Yu Shi was stunned when she heard this and asked, "Why haven't I heard Rong'er mention it?"

Suddenly, she remembered that the boy had been evasive in his words, and Yu Shi suddenly understood.

Yes, how could I dare to make such a thing public?

Not to mention the moral violations, just the rumor that Rong'er had injured his penis... I'm afraid she'll never be able to inherit the title. Jia Zhen is a man of his word, and he's determined to take concubines and won't stop until he has another son.

Later, the newly-appointed son inherited the title. As for Jia Rong... I'm afraid he will be compared to the deceased Jia Qiang.

Thinking of this, Youshi suddenly had an idea. Isn't this a great opportunity?
If she had a boy and spread Jia Rong's secrets, wouldn't her own child be able to inherit the title of Ningguo in the future?
Youshi couldn't help but feel her heart beating fast, but her lower abdomen had been feeling heavy for the past two days, and she thought that her menstruation was about to come, so she was afraid that all her efforts before were in vain!

She wasn't as reckless as Old Lady You. She'd only made up her mind the last time she did, so how could she dare look for someone else? And that Brother Yuan was… magnificent! Pan Lu and Deng Xiaoxian had it all, so how could You not harbor a little bit of desire?

She looked up at the two sisters and thought to herself, since the third sister still refuses to call herself the eldest sister, if she does it again, there will definitely be a big fuss. But the second sister is easy to agree with, and if she gives her some jewelry and money, maybe she can make this happen?
Yu Shi had made up her mind that she would definitely befriend her third sister, and she would also have to pay attention to her second sister. It would take several months for the brothers to come back, so maybe they could finalize the matter before they returned.

After calming down a bit, Youshi sighed and said, "You brought this upon yourself, and you will never be able to live."

Two days later, Youshi came to You's house again to see Old Lady You.

When I entered, I saw Third Sister watching coldly. Old Lady You was still tied up, only having taken out the sesame balls from her mouth. She kept begging, "Good Third Sister, please loosen up a little. My arms and legs are bleeding and it's really uncomfortable."

Third Sister You sneered, "I dare not! What if Mom gets angry again and hurts someone?"

"No, no, I'm fine now. I won't hurt anyone."

The third sister said chuckled, "Mom, why don't you save this for Rong?"

Old Lady You's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment. That day, after the banquet, she was fooling around with Jia Rong, when suddenly, her vision blurred and Jia Rong's face suddenly transformed into Old Master You's! Old Lady You thought her late husband was seeking revenge, and that was why she had hurt Jia Rong.

Seeing that Third Sister You was not listening, and seeing Youshi's arrival, Old Lady You turned around and pleaded, "Big Sister, Second Sister, please at least give me some relief. I really can't hold it in any longer!"

Since there was no one else inside, Youshi said coldly, "Let go of you and let you fool around in Ningguo Mansion?"

Old Lady You pleaded in a low voice, "Why are you blaming me alone? I just drank a few more cups that day, and who knew my son-in-law would have such evil intentions?"

Yu-shi said, "One day is all right, but what about the next few days?"

In the following days, even Jia Rong got involved, and the father and son even chased to the You family!

Old Lady You knew she was in the wrong and was speechless.

Third Sister You sneered, "You can tell me the truth, Mom. Your hysteria was caused by someone we sisters hired. What's the purpose? Mom, you can figure it out yourself."

What could it be for? It was just to prevent Old Lady You from ruining her reputation and dragging down the three sisters.

Old Lady You said in panic, "You, you guys... I was wrong, please let me go. I won't dare to do that again!"

The voice became louder and louder as he shouted, hoping that the servants at home would spread the news.

You Erjie said, "Mother, you should save some energy. Third sister has replaced all the servants in the house and only hired two deaf women to look after the backyard. Even if you shout to the sky, no one will respond."

Old Lady You blinked, knowing that she could no longer escape the clutches of her three daughters. She couldn't help but cry, "What sin have I committed? I sacrificed my dignity to raise you three, and now you treat me like this!"

Third Sister You was too lazy to listen to her chatter, so she picked up the glutinous rice balls on the table and stuffed them in with a stern look on Old Lady You's face.

Then he said, "When Mom can talk to us properly, we can discuss it carefully."

After taking a look at Youshi and the second sister, the three sisters left the main room and asked two deaf women to look after it. They went to the side rooms to discuss the matter.

Third Sister You was impatient and pressed for information on whether she had found a suitable widower. Mrs. You replied, "I have found one, but his rank is too low, and I'm afraid he won't suit her."

Third Sister You said, "She has done this herself. How can she be so nitpicky? Just tell me what you want to say. I'll make the decision."

Yu-shi said, "There is a doctor in the Taichang Temple, who is fifty-three years old and is looking for a wealthy woman to marry."

The Doctor of the Imperial Court was an official of the eighth rank, and the Imperial Court was a low-paying government office, so the Doctor's life was naturally difficult. Unable to resist the persuasion of his colleagues, he began to think about marrying into a wealthy family.

Hearing this, the third sister clapped her hands and praised, "Eighth rank is already pretty good, how can she be so picky?"

You Erjie frowned and said, "Since you want to find a man with a family, I'm afraid the dowry won't be too meager."

Third Sister You curled her lips and said, "At least this house can still be sold for some silver. If it's not enough, we can all pool our money together and make up the full five thousand taels. I don't believe that the doctor won't be tempted."

Yu Shi hurriedly said, "It won't take five thousand taels, three thousand taels will do."

The three sisters thought about it carefully. It was almost the end of the year, and they wanted to marry Old Lady You off immediately!
............................................................

Rongguo Mansion, five small kitchens in the garden.

It was noon, and Sister Liu was frying some dishes when a kitchen helper came running in, saying, "Lai Da's wife is here!"

Mrs. Liu panicked and quickly handed the shovel to the kitchen helper. She walked out in two or three steps and stopped Lai Da's wife in front of the kitchen door.

"Hey, why is Sister Lai here? The kitchen is busy right now, and it's a mess, so it's hard to get in."

Although Sister Liu smiled, her defensiveness was evident. Lai Dajie, who was wearing mourning, said, "Miss Yun wants roasted pigeon. I'll see if I can make it."

"Yes, I can do it. I'll send someone to deliver it later."

Lai Da's wife nodded silently, said nothing more, turned around and walked away slowly. After walking a few steps, she looked back and saw that Sister Liu was still standing in front of the door, just smiling at her awkwardly.

Lai Dajia felt sad. As the saying goes, when a wall falls, everyone pushes it. Now that Nanny Lai was gone, the couple became rats crossing the street. Everyone was on guard against them, and they were almost being chased by everyone.

The Lai family hated Chen Siyuan to death, but Lai Da still had some common sense and repeatedly told his wife not to retaliate, otherwise the Lai family would be destroyed.

These days, Lai Da was banished to the front to handle all matters related to food and shopping. The other clerks at the front didn't bother looking for Lai Da, but instead, when they couldn't make up their minds, they sent word back to the second grandmother to handle the matter.

The Lai family was naturally unwilling to accept this, but they also knew that what Lai Da said was reasonable. If it weren't for the old lady's words, the Lai family would have been unable to stay there long ago.

On the other hand, since the real target was not around, who would she take revenge on? Miss Lin? Or Hongyu and Liu Wuer in the backyard?

Every wrong has its perpetrator, and if she wants revenge, she will seek revenge on Chen Siyuan!

Without mentioning his heavy thoughts, Mrs. Liu saw him walk away and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She turned around and hurried back to the kitchen, snatched up the spatula, stir-fried it twice, and quickly took it out of the pot. She said to the kitchen helper, "Go to the front and tell the second wife that she is in the kitchen again!"

The kitchen helper did not dare to neglect the matter and hurried out of the garden to look for Sister Feng in her courtyard. As luck would have it, Sister Feng was not there, so the kitchen helper told Ping'er about it and was then sent back.

Ping'er turned around and waited for Fengjie to come back, then told her about this matter.

Sister Feng frowned and thought, "Keep a close eye on her to prevent any unexpected incidents."

Ping Erh then said, "Madam, Lai Dachu—"

"Him?" Feng Jieer said, "Don't worry about it. Those servants in front who are used to flattering the powerful and looking down on the weak will keep an eye on him. They are waiting for Lai Da to do something wrong."

The jobs in the government office were all assigned to specific roles, and Lai Da was the general manager. Whether it was Zhou Rui or someone else, how could they not want to replace him? Most of the people below were fence-sitters, and I'm afraid there wasn't even one person who had truly supported Lai Da in the past!
Not to mention that Lai Da is harming others, I'm afraid that those who are used to waiting and watching the situation have already prepared means of framing Lai Da, just waiting for him to fall into the trap!
Thinking about this, Sister Feng frowned secretly. The old lady had missed the mark after all. If something happened to the Lai family, she shouldn't have tried so hard to protect them. So it would be better to push an old servant to be the head steward to prevent power from falling into someone else's hands.

Now that Mr. and Mrs. Lai have retained the position, it seems that the position of general manager has been preserved, but in fact there is no one to use his position. What use is a general manager who is just an empty shell?
Family affairs, like state affairs, are always dominated by the east wind, or vice versa. Now that Aunt Wang is in power, and Aunt Xue is helping to build momentum, I'm afraid that after Yuanchun's visit, the old lady will have to live out her days in luxury!
While she was pondering this, Feng'er suddenly ran in and replied, "Grandma, the master received a letter from Hangzhou and has taken people to the storeroom. He said he has permission to take care of Miss Lin's belongings."

Wang Xifeng was dumbfounded, not knowing what to say for a moment. This master was truly unworthy! He had embezzled the Lin family's property twice before, and all that remained in the storeroom were useless items that were difficult to liquidate. Even these few items had the master coveted them?

Sister Feng stood up and paced for a moment, then said to Ping'er, "It's not appropriate for us young people to come out, so let's go find the mistress!"

The master and servant immediately hurried to Lady Wang's courtyard to look for her.

Aunt Xue had been a contented mother-in-law in the old house for a few days. Now that the time for her return visit had come, even her foolish son, Xue Pan, was particularly pleased, and she could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. On this day, when she had some free time, she returned to the Rongguo Mansion and chatted with Lady Wang.

"My wife is so thoughtful. She got the keys the day after she got married and she kept the house in perfect order. She's truly amazing!"

Aunt Xue was grinning from ear to ear. Her daughter-in-law was virtuous and capable. Although she wasn't very kind, she was flawless in every way. The Cao family was also worried about their daughter being disliked, as two of the maids in the dowry were beautiful. Xue Pan was completely captivated by just one glance. On their wedding night, they had chosen a maid to serve Xue Pan, but she was so beautiful that he was completely captivated and even became more polite to the Cao family's daughter.

Mrs. Wang laughed inwardly. Her sister had found such an inhumane wife for her son, and now she was praising him everywhere. It must be that she was forcing herself to smile.

As the saying goes, a fancy sedan is carried by people. At Mrs. Wang's age, she would not spoil the fun on the spot, so she followed Aunt Xue's lead in asking a few questions and praised the new bride highly.

As they were talking, the maidservant Jin Chuan'er entered and whispered something in her ear. Mrs. Wang was now in power, and it was natural for ambitious maids to come and tip her off. Hearing that the master was going to open the storehouse and take Daiyu's property, Mrs. Wang was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Soon Sister Feng came looking for her again, and Mrs. Wang said, "I think the master must have received the approval of the Jia Fantai. The property originally belonged to the Lin family. What difference does it make whether it is kept in the palace or in the east wing?"

Anyway, it has nothing to do with Mrs. Wang, so she doesn't bother to care!

Sister Feng agreed, but she couldn't help but murmur in her heart... Poor Sister Lin, without her parents and relatives to look after her, even her wealth would only be used to make wedding clothes for others. Sister Feng thought about it and left, taking Ping'er with her and returning to her own courtyard in a moment.

Who knew that just after she had sat for a while, the head maid Yuanyang came to find her.

Sister Feng stood up and took two steps to greet them. Seeing Ping'er leading Yuanyang in, she smiled and said, "What brings you here?"

Yuanyang smiled and said, "Second Madam, has this month's allowance been released?"

Sister Feng led Yuanyang to a seat and said with a smile, "It's going to be released in the next two days... Is the old lady asking about it? I always release it by the old lady's side first. Could it be that the gossip of the maids below has reached the old lady's ears?"

"The old lady knows that it's not easy for Second Madam to manage the family business, so why would she care about such matters? As long as the monthly allowance is paid out, what difference does it make if it's paid a day early or late?" After a pause, Yuanyang lowered her voice and said, "Second Madam, the old lady sent me here privately, saying that she would set aside three taels of silver from her monthly allowance to give to Miss Lin. This matter should not be made public, Second Madam, just keep it to yourself."

Sister Feng also agreed, and after sending Yuanyang off, she sighed even more deeply. In the past, how could the eldest master dare to act so domineeringly? Now that the old lady was being sidelined, she knew she couldn't stop it, so she simply gave Daiyu some money in private as compensation.

But having an extra three taels of silver every month seems awkward no matter how you look at it, and I wonder what Daiyu is thinking at this moment.

The eldest master mobilized a large number of people to open the warehouse and move the Lin family's property. He did not do it behind anyone's back, so everyone in the house knew about it.

In just a moment, Nanny Wang heard the old women's gossip and hurried to the back building of Rongqing Hall to look for Daiyu.

Nanny Wang came straight into the room and pulled Daiyu aside, saying, "Miss, something terrible has happened. They say the master has received a reply from Magistrate Jia, and is now taking people to move your property to the east wing."

Daiyu was sharp-minded and could be said to be more perceptive than Bi Gan. She had a private conversation with Lin Ruhai before his death, so she knew that most of the family property was given to the Rongguo Mansion as a living allowance.

Knowing it is one thing, but Jia She's blatant embezzlement is another. Daiyu put down her pen and ink and sneered, "Zijuan was complaining in the spring about the lack of swallows carrying mud under the eaves of Rongqing Hall. It turns out they've dug up all the dirt from the south of the Yangtze River to build the stage in the east wing. Tomorrow, I should ask Sister Bao to teach me so I can write a dowry list like 'The Goddess of the Luo River.' Wouldn't that save everyone's face?"

Nanny Wang frowned and said, "My dear girl, please stop making jokes now!"

Daiyu sneered, stood up, and walked to the bookshelf. She reached out and touched the rare and valuable books, wondering how much those valuable things were worth. Many of them were dowry brought from the Rongguo Mansion by her mother, Jia Min, and now they were just being returned to their original owners.

What is truly valuable are these inconspicuous books in front of us.

While he was thinking about it, the maidservant below came to tell him that Miss Bao had arrived.

Nanny Wang reluctantly stopped talking and just stood there with a gloomy face. Xueyan brought Sister Bao over. Sister Bao had heard the news and thought Daiyu must be very upset. But when they met, Daiyu greeted her with a smile and said, "Sister Bao, you're just in time. Let's work it out together and make the dowry list more beautiful so that no one will be embarrassed."

Sister Bao was startled when she heard this. She rolled her eyes at Daiyu, reached out her hand and poked her, scolding her, "You, you're still so rude even now!"

Daiyu said jokingly, "So what if I'm not forgiving? I won't let anyone know what I said. So why not let me have some fun?"

The two of them sat close together on the embroidered bed. Sister Bao lowered her voice and said, "You should be more open-minded about everything. You have to endure these few years before you can have a good life."

At this time, another maid came and said that the second mistress had released the monthly allowance. Daiyu didn't care and just sent Zijuan to collect it on her behalf.

Baochai tried to comfort Daiyu, but Daiyu was only annoyed for a moment and then acted as if nothing had happened, which made Baochai very surprised.

After a while, Zijuan returned, her brows furrowed, evidently troubled. She waited until Bao-jie had taken Ying-erh away, then she said to Dai-yu, "Miss, Second Mistress says that the old lady has said that from now on she will give you three taels of silver from her monthly allowance."

Xueyan frowned when she heard this and said, "You took away hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property and only gave us a few taels of silver every month. Do you think we don't know how to count?" As she spoke, Xueyan stood up angrily and soon found a sandalwood box from the cabinet.

He dropped it on the table with a bang, and when it was opened, a stack of banknotes was revealed.

Not only Nanny Wang and Zijuan, but even Daiyu was astonished and asked, "Xueyan, where did you get this?"

Xueyan said angrily, "Uncle Yuan secretly gave it to me before he left, saying it was for you in an emergency. Miss, we don't need money, so you don't have to take the old lady's three taels!"

Daiyu scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? Grandmother loves me, so she gives me an extra three taels of silver every month. Why shouldn't I accept it? Not only must I accept it, but I'll also go to thank you later."

"girl--"

"Xueyan!" Nanny Wang scolded, pulling the angry Xueyan aside and whispering, "Young lady, you still have to stay in the mansion for a few more years. What's the point of getting angry now?"

Xueyan finally understood, but she was still furious. She couldn't help but pout and said, "I, I'm just upset for the girl!"

Daiyu rolled her eyes at him and said with a smile, "I'm not even angry myself, so why should you be angry?" After a pause, she ordered, "Don't show off your wealth. Why don't you take it away quickly?"

"Oh." Xueyan responded in a muffled voice, then stood up awkwardly and put the sandalwood box away.

Daiyu secretly calculated that Xueyan had been with her since she was a child, so her loyalty was self-evident, but she lacked calmness; Zijuan was a kind-hearted person, but she had her own ulterior motives.

But Chen Siyuan… whatever his thoughts, he still thought of her before leaving, which made Daiyu feel particularly relieved. Daiyu pondered what Nanny Wang had said earlier and privately felt it made sense. She had already made up her mind to keep in touch with Chen Siyuan when he returned, and now she felt even more reassured.

After thinking about it for a while, Daiyu asked Zijuan to accompany her to Rongqing Hall to express her gratitude to Lady Jia.

After a while, they entered Rongqing Hall and saw Xiangyun coming out of the green gauze cabinet in a huff. Jia's mother was leaning on the soft couch, smiling and waving at Daiyu, "Yu'er, come quickly!"

Daiyu bowed and then stepped forward. Yuanyang, the head maid beside her, said, "Miss Lin is finally here. The old lady has been talking about her several times these past two days. It's because it's so cold that she was worried that Miss Lin might catch a cold. I was afraid she would send someone to invite her."

Xiangyun, seeing Daiyu sitting next to Jia's mother, puffed out her cheeks and said, "Grandma, you haven't said how to punish Brother Bao yet!"

"Punish, punish, let his father spank him. Will Yun girl be satisfied?"

Xiangyun blinked and said, "That's not necessary... But don't let him come over for the next two days. Every time he comes, he just makes me angry!"

As they were talking, Xiangyun came over, and Grandmother Jia reached out and hugged her to the side. Xiangyun snuggled up to Grandmother Jia and couldn't help but glance at Daiyu with pride.

Daiyu smiled inwardly, but ignored Xiangyun and chatted with Lady Jia for a while. Since Xiangyun was right beside them, she took Zijuan and left.

After walking around Rongqing Hall, Zijuan couldn't help but say, "Miss... the old lady seems to have something on her mind—"

Before he could finish, Daiyu shook her head and said, "Grandmother can't even take care of my uncle now, so why bother talking about the future?"

As for Yun, I'm afraid neither Lady Wang nor Marquis Zhongjing would approve of her marrying Baoyu. There's still a lot of trouble to come!
............................................................

In the cabin, two old women were packing their luggage.

Qingwen's face was sallow, her eye sockets sunken, and her cheekbones prominent. She forced herself to stand tall and said, "Master, a day or two won't be a big deal. Why not take a boat to Hangzhou? There's no need to get off in Songjiang."

Qingwen was also a girl from the south of the Yangtze River. She had been used to riding boats since she was a child. However, sailing on the sea was completely different from sailing on rivers and lakes. So as soon as she left Tianjin, Qingwen felt dizzy and couldn't get up. She couldn't eat either. In about ten days, she had lost a lot of weight.

Compared to Qingwen, Xiangling was much better off. Without waiting for Chen Siyuan to say anything, Xiangling jokingly said, "You're just a tough guy. Look at you, it looks like you've lost half your life. I'm afraid in a day or two, you might give up the other half too."

Qingwen pouted and said, "How could I be so delicate?"

Chen Siyuan smiled and said, "It's not that you're delicate or not, but you're more nimble and prone to seasickness than the average person. A day or two won't make a difference, and I'm tired of sailing. Why don't we just get off the boat and take a car?"

Qingwen then fell silent, stood up, and slowly packed her belongings into a small bag. Then she was supported by the maid and walked to the deck.

As soon as she left the cabin, Qingwen was struck by a foul odor. It was probably because the lower cabin was stuffy, and even though it was winter, after ten days or so, she had become stained with a fishy stench.

Everyone covered their mouths and noses and waited until there were fewer people around before they came down from the pier.

Songjiang had been open for only a year, but it was already showing signs of prosperity. The wharf was vast, with over twenty berths, capable of accommodating ships weighing 30,000 tons. Beyond, warehouses stretched in a row, cars and people crisscrossed, and new shops stretched out in a row.

On one side, strong men carried large bags of cloth onto the ship, while on the other side, tripods and pulleys unloaded large barrels of spices and palm oil from the ship.

It was dazzling for a moment and attracted everyone's attention.

After finally leaving the dock, the servant Qing Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and complained, "My God, Songjiang has just been opened as a port, how come it looks even more prosperous than Tianjin?"

Chen Siyuan smiled without saying anything. This was Songjiang's natural endowment. The Yangtze River radiated westward to Sichuan and connected Quanzhou and Tianjin in the north and south. Its proximity to craft centers like Suzhou and Hangzhou made it a natural logistics center. In peacetime, Songjiang was a world-class, prosperous place!
"Hey!"

Qingwen called out from behind, and Chen Siyuan turned around to see that Qingwen was almost falling to the side.

"What's going on here?"

Qingwen said with a bitter face, "I don't know what's wrong. I felt dizzy on the boat, and even more dizzy off it! Master, am I sick?"

Huh? Is this landsickness?

Chen Siyuan was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He quickly sent his servant Qing Yu to find a carriage and took everyone to an inn in the city to stay overnight.

Although it was still early, they couldn't leave. After Chen Siyuan settled Qingwen, whose face was sallow, he scolded Qingyu and ordered, "Go and look for carriages going to Hangzhou, and then go buy a copy of the imperial gazette. Yes, I just saw a restaurant across the street. Bring me a menu later. We'll dine at the inn tonight."

The servant Qingyu agreed without hesitation and ran to do it.

Chen Siyuan leisurely sat down on the bed. A moment later, Xiangling came back and said to him with a smile, "Master, I asked the waiter to order some hot water. Let's take a bath tonight."

"Well, it's time to take a shower, otherwise you'll smell like fish."

Xiangling agreed with a smile, and then spread out her bag and began to pack, humming a song as she did so. Songjiang was very close to Suzhou, and thinking that she would be reunited with her mother soon, Xiangling was naturally in a very good mood.

After a while, the servant Qing Yu returned with the restaurant menu and said that he had contacted two carriage companies, both of which said that they would have vacancies going to Hangzhou the day after tomorrow. He then bought a newspaper and gave it to Chen Siyuan before going downstairs to take care of it.

The waiter brought a bathtub and hot water. Chen Siyuan undressed and coaxed Xiangling into the bathtub. After the two of them played around for a while, Chen Siyuan picked up the court newspaper and read it.

You won’t know until you see it. Once you see it, you will be surprised and happy.

The second page clearly stated: Jia Hua, the governor of Zhejiang, was transferred to be the governor of Jiangsu!

A provincial governor, a high-ranking official of the second rank! It's true that having connections in the court makes things easier. Just a few years? Jia Yucun is soaring like a rocket!
Xiangling was stirring the hot water when she saw Chen Siyuan frowning in thought. She couldn't help but ask, "Master?"

"Hmm? Hmm..." Chen Siyuan put down the official report and said with a smile, "We don't need to go to Hangzhou this time. We can go straight to Suzhou."

(End of this chapter)