Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 539 The Naive Rongguo Mansion, the Clever Lin Daiyu

"Yu'er."

Grandmother Jia, who was playing a leaf game, looked at Da Bao's sullen face as he walked in with a puzzled expression. "What's wrong?"

Grandmother Jia liked him, and Lady Wang regarded Jia Baoyu as her lifeblood.

The two women who truly held power in the Rongguo Mansion both valued Jia Baoyu, and his status within the mansion was naturally extremely high.

All the young ladies and maids stepped forward to offer their concern and care.

"I'm sick!"

Despite being a scoundrel, Jia Baoyu, who is very patient with pretty girls, waved his hand impatiently and said, "Ignore me."

This direct demonstration finally made Grandmother Jia put down the cards in her hand.

With Yuanyang's help, she got up and sat down next to Jia Baoyu.

"What exactly happened?"

"Who has offended my Yu'er?"

"Tell me who it is, and Grandma will go and teach him a lesson!"

"It's water-soluble!" With a stern face, Jia Baoyu suddenly turned his back to Grandmother Jia. "Today was the day we had all agreed to drink wine and compose poems."

"But when I got there, they said that Shui Rong was not feeling well and the gathering was canceled."

"This is not a big deal."

"I also want to visit the Prince of Beijing's residence."

But who would have thought~

At this point, Jia Baoyu burst into tears, choking back sobs, "They were having a party in the mansion, but they kicked me out!"

Upon hearing this, many people turned pale.

Prince Bei Jing, Shui Rong, is one of the representatives of the noble group of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

They had an extremely good relationship with Jia Baoyu before, and were undoubtedly good friends.

But now they've suddenly turned their backs on you, clearly showing no respect. This is no simple matter.

Grandmother Jia frowned, puzzled. "What's going on?"

To this day, she still doesn't understand how utterly worthless the things the Jia family had done were to the nobles.
Madam Wang maintained a Buddha-like expression, but inwardly she was gritting her teeth.

How dare they humiliate their precious son, the future brother-in-law of the emperor, like this!

Once her daughter becomes Empress, the Empress Dowager will surely punish Prince Bei Jing and avenge Yu'er.

Among the group of girls, only Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai did not step forward to comfort Jia Baoyu.

Lin Daiyu took the initiative to sever ties, fearing that her senior brother would misunderstand.

As for Xue Baochai, she understood that haste makes waste.

The two women were intelligent and immediately realized that this was the reaction of the nobles to the Jia family's allegiance to the emperor.

This seems to be a move to expel the Jia family from the circle.

"Ancestor~"

The curtain was lifted, and a maidservant came in to report, "The Dowager Princess of Nan'an has sent someone!"

"That's strange."

Grandmother Jia chuckled, "It's neither a festival nor anyone's birthday, so why send someone over at this time?"

"Bring it in."

The person who came was a nanny, who was also part of the dowry of the Dowager Princess of Nan'an, and her status was roughly equivalent to that of Granny Lai, who served by Grandmother Jia's side.

"Is there some happy occasion today?"

After the visitor greeted them, Grandmother Jia asked with a smile, "Why did you come at this hour?"

The old woman was well-mannered, but her words lacked their usual respect.

"Reporting to the old lady~"

"My Dowager Consort has ordered me to return the festival gifts to your esteemed residence."

He took out a stack of exquisitely crafted gift lists and presented them with both hands.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall paled!

In noble families, social interactions are based on etiquette.

There are corresponding rules and gifts for festivals, weddings, funerals, and other celebrations.

You give me a ride, I give him a ride, and he gives you a ride.

The cycle repeats itself, with gift-giving forming a closed loop.

This gift represents identity and recognition.

Now that the gifts have been returned, it means they no longer recognize you.

Although Grandmother Jia was muddle-headed about major matters, she was very knowledgeable about this kind of thing.

She felt a sudden darkness before her eyes and almost fainted.

Yuanyang rushed forward to help him up, and someone brought him ginseng soup, which helped him recover.

"Granny He~"

Grandmother Jia said solemnly, "We've known each other for decades."

"I have a favor to ask of you today."

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

From a scholar's perspective, this would be considered a complete severing of ties.

Grandmother Jia must find out the reason, otherwise...
"Ancestor~"

The curtain was lifted again, and a maidservant came in to report, "Prince Bei Jing's residence~ Duke Zhenguo's residence~ Duke Liguo's residence~"

He rattled off a long list of residences, saying, "...people from all of them have come to request an audience!"

Grandmother Jia's hands were trembling.

"But...but they all came in limousines?"

"Yes~"

If the Nan'an Prince's Mansion sent someone to return the festival gifts, it's possible that there was a conflict or friction with one of the families.

But now almost all the nobles are coming to withdraw, so there can only be one reason.

The Jia family did something that the nobles could not tolerate!

Meeting Grandmother Jia's almost pleading gaze, Granny He sighed and spoke.

"I have heard that your family is currently busy constructing a villa for visiting relatives."

"In order to build a villa for visiting relatives, even the estates outside the Great Wall were redeemed and given to the imperial court."

"Since we are short of money, then our respective households should return the festival gifts."

"This servant takes her leave."

Granny He put down the gift list and turned to leave.

Now Grandmother Jia understood that the problem stemmed from the imperial court's purchase of the estates outside the Great Wall!
"quick!"

In her anxiety and anger, Grandmother Jia ignored Jia Baoyu standing to the side and pounded on the table repeatedly, "Quickly go and invite the eldest master and the second master to discuss matters!"

When the Jia family members gathered, Grandmother Jia, who already had a headband tied around her forehead, sighed repeatedly as she recounted the events.

Jia She blinked. "What does it have to do with them that we're selling our own estate?"

"Isn't this meddling in other people's business?"

Logically speaking, the person who should have opposed the Rongguo Mansion's purchase of the estates outside the Great Wall was Jia She.

After all, he was the heir to the title, so theoretically what was being sold was his property.

However, the Rongguo Mansion was different from other noble families. Although Jia She inherited the title, the Rongguo Mansion's property fell into the hands of the second branch of the family.

Although he argued and got angry, in the end he was helpless and could only give up.

Now that the estate is being sold, it's the second wife's property that's being sold, so of course he doesn't feel bad about it.

Moreover, he also benefited.

Not only did he become a military governor, but the construction of his villa for visiting relatives was also accelerated, and he had already made a fortune by constantly reaching out for money.

Needless to say, he would never spit out the benefits he ate.

Lady Wang sat there with her eyes closed, turning her prayer beads, like a statue.

As for her husband, Jia Zheng, he was wholeheartedly loyal to the emperor and devoted to the country.

"His Majesty commended him, and the court officials praised him."

"My Jia family enjoys a high reputation and is hailed as a capable official of the imperial court."

"This matter~"

He shook his head. "My Jia family has done nothing wrong."

Grandmother Jia was stunned. She had enjoyed high-class entertainment for decades and had never encountered anything like this before.

In the past, when her father-in-law and husband were alive, the Jia family prospered, and she had no say in outside affairs.

After everyone left, she hid in the mansion and enjoyed herself.

Living in an information cocoon leads to a decline in experience, knowledge, and even coping skills.

All that is known now is that the nobles are furious because their families sold their estates to the imperial court.

A thought vaguely lingered in my mind, but I couldn't quite put it into words.

After listening to her two sons' words, she began to waver.

Just then, a clear, crisp sound came from behind the screen.

"Ancestor, they are forcing the Jia family to make a choice."

In the past, even if Lin Daiyu knew exactly what was going on, she wouldn't have said it at this time.

But it's different now.

Since I started traveling around with my senior brother, my horizons have broadened and my courage has increased.

Most importantly, she has powerful backers!
The immortal techniques I practiced, my father who is still alive and well, and~
My senior brother is as powerful as a mountain!

They broadened their horizons and gained a powerful backer.

Lin Daiyu, of course, dared to speak up.

"Yu'er~"

Grandmother Jia hurriedly called out, "Quickly, come here!"

"You are as intelligent as your mother, so you must understand."

"Tell me properly what exactly happened."

Lin Daiyu walked out, one hand holding a round fan to half-cover her face, the other lifting the hem of her skirt.

Madam Wang, who resembled a Buddha statue, subconsciously gripped the prayer beads in her hand.

He squinted, his gaze towards Lin Daiyu filled with ferocity.

The person she hated most in her life was Jia Min!
When she married into the Rongguo Mansion, she fought for power with Jia Min but was humiliated, which was the greatest disgrace of her life.

'Little bitch! '

Since Jia Min died young, Madam Wang transferred all her hatred to Jia Min's daughter.

'Want to marry my son?'

'dream!'

Thinking of this, she subconsciously looked at her beloved son.

But upon seeing this, he almost had a heart attack from anger.

Jia Baoyu, who had been crying and throwing a tantrum, now looked like a lecherous man, staring blankly at Lin Daiyu.

Da Bao Lian is undoubtedly a scumbag; his personality is such that he gets restless whenever he can't have something.
Lin Daiyu ignored him, to the point that she didn't even speak to him or see him.

But Da Bao's face became even more precious, and all he could think about was Lin Daiyu.

He finally saw Lin Daiyu and his eyes practically popped into her body.

This disgraceful display made Madam Wang so angry that she ground her teeth together.

Lin Daiyu didn't even look at Da Bao's face.

She sat down on the other side of Grandmother Jia and said earnestly, "Grandmother."

"The imperial court has always wanted to redeem the estates outside the Great Wall."

"On the surface, it was to provide provisions for the troops in Liaozhen nearby."

"In reality, the emperor wanted to weaken the nobles."

"Ultimately, it points to the Beijing Garrison."

"Some time ago, an imperial censor submitted a memorial requesting that the court redeem the estates outside the Great Wall."

"Then...then they redeemed the Rongguo Mansion's estate..."

Lin Daiyu hesitated, as saying this would sound like she was blaming her relatives.

She took a breath and used the calmest words she could to say, "The nobles naturally wouldn't want that."

"On the surface, it's a stable income year after year."

"Secretly, it involves a power struggle between the emperor and the retired emperor."

"Rongguo Mansion~"

"By leading the way in selling their estates, the Rongguo Mansion has betrayed all the nobles and sided with the Emperor."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room gasped.

It turned out to be the case.

Now I understand why Da Bao Lian was turned away when he went to a party.

Now, why are people coming to return the gifts?

The root of the problem lies here.

The Rongguo Mansion's actions have harmed the interests of the nobility.

No wonder the emperor was so generous in giving rewards and money; this set a good example.

If other nobles are unwilling to redeem the money, the emperor's mouthpieces will speak on their behalf.

"The Rongguo Mansion has already been redeemed, why shouldn't you?"

'Aren't you still a noble family of the Great Zhou Dynasty? You keep spouting nonsense about loyalty and patriotism!'

Having finally come to her senses, Grandmother Jia embraced Lin Daiyu tightly.

"My darling~ my darling~"

"Thanks to your intelligence, otherwise we wouldn't know how we offended someone."

"correct."

Grandmother Jia held her shoulder and asked in confusion, "How do you know all this?"

"My senior brother told me this when we were sitting on the rooftop admiring the moon."

Of course, this cannot be said.

What she said was~
"My father wrote to me!"

(End of this chapter)