Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 528 No money? If you don't have money, don't build a villa for your family visit!
'puff! '

The dagger, its blade flashing with a cold light, was stuck into the table.

A sharp dagger, three inches from the eye.

"Say~"

Lin Dao's deep voice rang out, "What did you do? Who ordered you to do this?"

A dimly lit environment, a gleaming knife.

Xiao Hong, who was just a girl, was so shocked that her eyes reddened and she opened her mouth to scream.

But with its mouth covered, it could only make whimpering sounds like a small animal.

Lin Dao frowned, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

For Lin Dao, who frequently goes to the battlefield, anything that threatens his safety must be eliminated!

If it were any other maid, she might have been terrified by now.

She could only sob and cry, without any other response.

But Xiao Hong was quick-witted; she keenly noticed Lin Dao's change and subconsciously nodded vigorously to express her meaning.

Lin Dao's gaze softened. "Don't shout."

After saying that, he let go of her hand.

Sure enough, Xiao Hong didn't shout.

"explain."

"What are you doing here? Who ordered you to come?"

Xiao Hong wanted to argue, but when she met Lin Dao's gaze, she immediately lost interest.

It's so scary.

Since it concerns life and death, I dared not hide it.

He honestly recounted the whole story.

She also emphasized that she was forced into it by Wang Xifeng.

After listening to her story, Lin Dao was convinced that the little girl was telling the truth.

"Wang Xifeng~"

"Good sister-in-law~"

"You really have nothing better to do!"

Lin Dao gritted his teeth.

Before he could even do anything, Wang Xifeng struck first.

Lin Dao is a man who always holds grudges and seeks revenge.

Whether you're a man or a woman, if you provoke him, you'll get your revenge.

"You go."

"You need to know what to do in the future."

The root of the problem was Wang Xifeng.

As for the young girl who was doing the work, she wouldn't actually be killed.

Severely frightened, Xiao Hong turned pale and staggered out of the house.

She didn't even realize that her staggering back into the house was seen clearly by an old woman who got up in the middle of the night.

The next day, Xiaohong spent the entire day recovering from her psychological trauma.

On the third day, her mother, from Lin Xiaozhi's family, came looking for her with a stern face.

"What did Young Master Lin say?"

When asked, Xiaohong was completely bewildered. "What? How do I say it?"

"I took your body, and you won't even say a word?" Lin Xiaozhi roared in anger. "This is too much!"

These words left Xiaohong completely baffled.

"What do you mean you took my body? That's not true!"

“I am your mother!” Lin Xiao’s family sighed. “Although I am not as good as Master Bao, since I am a good friend of Master Lian, I am not bad either. But at least I should be given the status of a concubine.”

Xiao Hong was both amused and exasperated; how did she become an aunt?

"It's all over the manor!"

“You came out of Young Master Lin’s room in the middle of the night.”

"His clothes were disheveled, and he was in so much pain that he couldn't walk."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hong felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

"Has the news spread throughout the manor?"

"So that means Master Bao also knows?"

"Forget about it." Lin Xiaozhi sighed repeatedly. "Once someone else has taken her body, there's no way she'll ever serve Master Bao again."

"No no!"

Tears welled up in Xiao Hong's eyes, and she couldn't care less about anything else. She cried as she recounted what had happened.

After hearing the story, Lin Xiaozhi's family was also dumbfounded.

His own daughter was actually sent to be a spy, and she was caught red-handed.

"Does Young Master Lin have some kind of ailment?"

Lin Xiaozhi's family does not believe.

It's only natural that someone would take advantage of such a beautiful girl and force her onto their bed.

"Come here, let your mother examine you."

Despite Lin Xiaozhi’s vehement denials, he even got into several fights with the gossipy old woman.

But it was of no use, and was even seen as an act of embarrassment and anger.

Because the destructive power of rumors is terrifying, especially when it involves such sexually explicit matters.

In Lin Xiaozhi's words, "My daughter's reputation is ruined!"

If this happened in the modern world, the girl would be overjoyed. Getting involved with a rich second-generation's friend would bring her many benefits.

In the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, a woman's reputation is her second life.

Regardless of what happens in private, it is extremely important on the surface.

When Xiao Hong goes out, everyone points and whispers about her, and some people even laugh at her to her face.

'When will you follow Young Master Lin?'

Undoubtedly, Xiao Hong, who had nothing, was filled with shame and indignation.

I wish I could go to Lindao and cause a huge scene.

But the thought of that cold dagger and that murderous gaze robbed her of her courage, and she could only lie on the bed and wipe away her tears.

"Brother Zihou."

Jia Lian, who had been busy helping to arrange Jia Zhen's funeral, finally had the opportunity to come and find Lin Dao.

As soon as he came over, he handed Lin Dao a document.

"What is this?" Lin Dao asked curiously as he opened the contract. "A contract of indenture? Lin Hongyu?"

"Xiao Hong was born out of wedlock."

"If I follow you from now on, I'll naturally take the indenture with me." "We're brothers, there's no need for such formality."

"If you take a fancy to any maid in the future, just say so!"

Lin Dao raised his hand and placed it on Jia Lian's shoulder.

He applied force with his hand, causing him to twitch in pain, and his incessant chatter stopped.

"Calm down first."

Lin Dao frowned. "What exactly happened?"

Through Jia Lian's account, Lin Dao finally understood the whole story.

After all, such rumors would only circulate among the maids and servants and would not reach the ears of Lin Dao, the guest.

After catching his breath, Lin Dao wanted to curse.

Rumors really do kill people.

He was clearly the victim of the theft, so how did he suddenly become... well, you know?
More importantly, if you really did press it, that would be one thing.

But that never happened at all!

What's the difference between this and someone who has never eaten shark fin or even seen a real shark fin being educated by people who eat shark fin every day about protecting wild animals and eating less shark fin?
Those wild animals have been eaten to extinction by you!
He didn't get to eat pork, but he got himself into a lot of trouble.

Lin Dao took a breath and didn't explain anything.

He knows this all too well.

The more you explain, the bigger the misunderstanding becomes.

Let's just change the subject directly: "How's the funeral going?"

"It's basically all done. A trip to the Iron Threshold Temple will settle things." Jia Lian glanced at Lin Dao discreetly. "The only problem is that we can't catch the murderer. It'll probably remain an unsolved case."

"His Majesty, showing compassion for the Jia family, appointed the eldest sister as the Minister of the Phoenix Palace, bestowed upon her the title of Virtuous Consort, and granted her the honor of visiting her family."

At this point, Jia Lian glanced at Lin Dao again, albeit furtively.

"Although it is a joyous occasion, a villa is needed for the family visit."

"It would probably take at least a million taels of silver to get it down."

Lin Dao didn't respond to that at all.

You think you can just eat shit?
Do you want me to pay for building a garden for your family?

I'm not your son-in-law!

In the original novel, the Jia family used Lin Ruhai's inheritance and Lin Daiyu's dowry to build the Grand View Garden.

Why did Lin Daiyu die of anger?

Besides failing to marry Jia Baoyu, the fact that her parents' inheritance had all been spent was also a significant reason.

I was used.
Of course, the snobbish members of the Jia family thought that Lin Daiyu, being an orphan, could be bullied at will.

In fact, the Lin family had been marquises for four generations, and had no shortage of disciples and old friends!

More importantly, Lin Ruhai died in office while trying to make money for the emperor.

The emperor was Lin Daiyu's greatest backer.

If we don't stand up for Lin Daiyu and avenge her, who will dare to serve the emperor in the future?
Originally, everyone thought that Lin Daiyu's marriage to the Jia family was a good ending.

Unexpectedly, she couldn't even marry down; instead, she was forced to her death, and her family property was seized.

This led to the situation where, after Lin Daiyu's death, her former students and associates, together with the emperor, completely overthrew the Jia family.

They owe an explanation!

"It's just building a garden."

Lin Dao laughed and said, "Where would I need a million taels of silver?"

"It's not a project of the Imperial Household Department."

As is widely known, an egg from the Imperial Household Department costs one tael of silver.

With prices like these, building a garden would cost a million taels of silver, and that's an understatement.

Lin Dao has also built palaces and gardens throughout the myriad realms.

Lin Dao was perfectly aware of all the intricacies involved.

Jia Lian gave an awkward smile.

As soon as the news about the villa for visiting relatives came out, countless people were jumping up and down, waiting to grab a piece of it.

The cost of one million taels was only a preliminary estimate by these people.

In the end, even two million taels wouldn't be enough.

The problem now is, who will pay this huge sum of one or two million taels of silver?
At this time, the Jia family, in Wang Xifeng's words, was...

'The inner lining has come up too~'

Let alone one or two million, we can't even come up with one or two hundred thousand.

As for Lin Daiyu's money, Lin Ruhai is still alive!
There's also the wealthy Xue Baochai, whose family can certainly afford to spend money.

But the question is, on what basis?
Moreover, Aunt Xue is no fool. She's dreaming if she thinks she can get one or two million taels of silver from the Xue family!
After much thought, Jia Lian concluded that Lin Dao, who knew alchemy, was the only one who could help.

Anyway, he can conjure up silver with magic, so it would be too easy if he were willing to help.

This is why Jia Lian presented Xiao Hong with her indenture as soon as he arrived.

Unfortunately, Lin Dao wasn't buying it at all.

He knew very well that if the Jia family didn't have the money to repair the garden, they would definitely try to take Lin Daiyu's dowry.

"You wait a moment."

Lin Dao wrote a letter, sealed it, and handed it to Jia Lian, saying, "Take it by post and send it to Imperial Censor Lin in Yangzhou as soon as possible."

Jia Lian was slightly surprised. Lin Dao wrote a letter to his uncle?

I was very curious about the contents of the letter, but I dared not open it to read it.

All he could do was confidently assure them that he would definitely have the post station send it to Yangzhou via an express route.

The relay system only allowed urgent documents, primarily military matters, to be delivered via express courier services over distances of hundreds of miles.

Official documents under normal circumstances, and even private letters using post stations, were delivered by post.

The so-called "laying out" refers to the act of delivering goods on foot.

Walking is very slow; even from Beijing to Shandong, it would take at least ten days.

Of course, if you have enough face and money, it can be done quickly.

Jia Lian held the official rank of Assistant Magistrate of the Fifth Rank, which he had obtained through donation, and was therefore entitled to use the post station.

In addition, they paid enough money to buy a 300-li express courier service.

Of course, they don't carry flags or cloths; instead, they deliver silver along the way at breakneck speed.

Lin Ruhai, who was busy taking revenge on the salt merchants, frowned immediately after receiving and reading the letter.

He wrote several letters in succession.

In addition to his reply to Lin Dao, he also wrote letters to Lin's students and old friends.

He then took out several of his own calling cards, wrote something on them, and put them into his reply to Lin Dao.

It was also sent via the same express route, covering 300 li (approximately 150 kilometers) in a day to the capital.

The Lin family disciples and former associates who did not appear in the original work are about to show their strength.

(End of this chapter)