The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"Grandma!"

"Daiyu's here! What has your father been busy with lately? I haven't seen him come over."

The old lady asked, half-jokingly, "Do you think this old woman is too old to talk about outside affairs anymore?"

"Grandmother has misunderstood!"

Lin Daiyu felt slightly uneasy, but explained with a light laugh, "Father lives in the south all year round and is not used to the northern winter. He even caught a cold a few days ago!"

"Fortunately, it was just a minor issue, and everything is fine now!"

"But the winters in the north are too cold. Apart from going to work at the government office, my father basically stays at home and doesn't go anywhere. It's a good time for him to recuperate!"

"Oh, is that so? We should indeed be more careful!"

The old lady was somewhat disappointed, but not dissatisfied.

It's understandable that Lin Ruhai, who is used to living in the south, would have some difficulty adapting to the harsh winter in the north.

It's a pity. She originally wanted to get closer to him and let Lin Ruhai have a good talk with the second son so that he wouldn't go too far astray.

"Then go play there, Tan Chun and the others are all in the back room!"

The old lady inquired about Lin Daiyu's food, drink, lodging, and transportation, expressing her deep care for her before telling Lin Daiyu to go and play with her sisters.

Lin Daiyu was very clever; she naturally noticed that the old lady was not in a good mood.

Knowing it must be something that happened in the Rong family, she, as an outsider, shouldn't ask, so she just pretended not to know.

Upon arriving at the back room, she found her sister-in-law, Li Wan, there as well. She quickly joined in, her face beaming with joy.

Of all the people in the Rong family, the ones she missed the most were the old lady and her many sisters.

As for her relationship with Jia Baoyu, it hasn't reached that point yet!

The old lady does have that thought, but unfortunately, both of them are still young, and it would be annoying to talk about it too early.

After playing with her sisters for a while, during a break, Lin Daiyu pulled Tan Chun aside to talk.

Tan Chun was also a clever person. Lin Daiyu only mentioned that the old lady might not be in a good mood and she didn't know why. She immediately understood what was going on.

She said somewhat awkwardly, "Perhaps the master's communication with the old lady didn't go very smoothly!"

Rongqing Hall is also a big sieve. Unless it is something particularly important or core that needs to be kept strictly confidential, once something happens, it simply cannot be kept from people.

Previously, the communication between the Second Master and the Old Madam had not gone smoothly, and naturally, this had spread.

"It's about my second uncle!"

Lin Daiyu nodded repeatedly, but did not delve further into the topic.

At home, her father, Lin Ruhai, had already reminded her that her second uncle was in a bad mood recently because of the matter of repaying the national treasury's debts. If he came to the Rong Mansion, she should not interfere or even mention it.

Tan Chun wanted to say something, but Lin Daiyu wouldn't cooperate. She opened her mouth but didn't say anything in the end, leaving her feeling a little depressed.

Soon after, Jia Baoyu, knowing that Lin Daiyu had arrived, rushed over to join the sisters' games and chats, and the back room was filled with laughter and joy.

The old lady could occasionally hear some noises in the main hall of Rongqing Hall, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Chapter 151 Money Moves the Heart (Please Subscribe)

The Rong family mansion was filled with an atmosphere of peace and enjoyment, and the stewards of the estates below were much the same.

In modern terms, they have become utterly corrupt and decadent, indulging in unrestrained pleasure.

Faced with the sudden raiding party, the managers of the eight manors had almost no power to resist.

The tenant farmers below, and the able-bodied men who depended on the head of the village, didn't dare to utter a single word!

The raiding team immediately revealed their identities as "imperial envoys" sent by the Rong family. Unless their interests were completely aligned with those of the estate manager, none of them would act recklessly.

Next comes the much-anticipated details of the raid.

By the time Jia Huan received the detailed information, two days had already passed!

There was no other way; confiscating property was a meticulous task. Some of the assets had already been converted into physical objects, making it difficult to determine their value in a short time. As for transporting them back to Beijing, that would be an even bigger hassle.

Even so, the amount of silver seized alone was a staggering 150,000 taels!

What is this concept?

Anyway, when the silver was delivered to the front courtyard of the Rong Mansion, Master Zheng's eyes were practically spitting fire.

The entire Rong Mansion was in an uproar!

Any servant who had a spare moment would run to the front yard to take a look at the pile of 150,000 taels of silver. Just how much was that?

The remaining assets, whose prices were difficult to quantify, excluding properties like houses, amounted to approximately 150,000 taels. Adding the houses and shops purchased both outside and in the city, the total certainly exceeded 400,000 taels.

On this day, the front courtyard of the Rong Mansion was quite busy, as many of the accountants belonging to the Rong Mansion were urgently transferred to the estate to do the accounting.

The Second Master Zheng's face remained dark from beginning to end!

When Jia Huan encouraged me before, I thought it was unlikely. Even if the head of the village was good at making money, he couldn't possibly have that much wealth!

Who knew that reality would slap him hard in the face!

Fortunately, Jia Huan was sensible and didn't linger around, otherwise Master Zheng would have been very embarrassed.

It's shameful to say that someone who knows less about illegitimate children than an eight-year-old illegitimate son.

Wang Xifeng was also shocked. Disregarding the difference between men and women, she personally ran to the front yard to check the situation.

Seeing those boxes of gleaming silver, he gritted his teeth in hatred!

Recalling the scenes of the village head complaining to me, I felt my face burning with embarrassment.

She had thought managing the estate would be difficult, but little did she know it would be so 'difficult'.

At the same time, she felt a little smug. These village heads were in trouble, and the old lady and the second wife, Madam Wang, had also suffered a setback. She felt a strange sense of joy.

The Second Master Zheng made it very clear to her that the eight major estates would be managed by the outer courtyard from now on.

The bulk of the income was sent to the public treasury to cover various expenses in the government.

If these words were spoken by the second wife, Madam Wang, Wang Xifeng would only believe them to some extent.

But these words came from Master Zheng Er, and Wang Xifeng believed them to a large extent. That's the trustworthiness of an honest person.

With the output of the eight major estates as a guarantee, the public's financial situation will improve immediately, and her burden will be greatly reduced, which is naturally a good thing.

The only pity is that she could not personally manage the eight major estates. For Wang Xifeng, who loved power and liked to seize control, this was indeed a bit of a regret.

She didn't even consider that if the eight major estates outside the city were under her management, could they withstand the constant poaching by the old lady and the second wife, Madam Wang?

Wang Xifeng probably knew what was going on, but she just didn't want to think about it.

That day, Rongqing Hall was very quiet, and the old lady did not react at all.

However, the maids who were close to the old lady could clearly sense that she was not in a good mood.

As for the three springs, they went straight to Xichun's courtyard in the Ning Mansion to play and won't be back for a while.

It's fair to say that the old lady was thoroughly humiliated this time.

At Jia Huan's urging, Master Zheng Er directly gave the old lady a detailed list of the confiscated property.

Looking at the list of confiscated items on the table, the old lady's emotions were quite complicated, and her expression was naturally not very good.

It wasn't that I felt Master Zheng had embarrassed me, but rather that I never imagined the audacity of those estate managers would reach such a level; it was truly unbelievable.

Originally, according to her idea, these estate managers would at most make a few thousand taels of silver.

The old lady could accept such a small amount of money, considering the hard work of the village leaders.

However, the total amount shown on the list exceeded 400,000 taels of silver, which even the old lady could not tolerate.

Without a doubt, the majority of it was obtained by undermining the Rong family. As for the remaining small portion, it was also illegally acquired through bullying and abusing power. Didn't they all have to use the Rong family's name anyway?

The most upset person must be Madam Wang, whose stable source of income was cut off by Master Zheng.

As for the unusual nature of the estate owner's assets, what does that have to do with her?

She really wanted Master Zheng to return the 100,000 taels of silver she had previously given out, but she was just a little hesitant to ask, so she went to the old lady.

He stammered out his thoughts, which made the old lady both angry and amused.

I don't know how the Wang family raised their daughter. Even the old lady was amazed by Madam Wang's money-grubbing nature.

It's a shame that Madam Wang still has the nerve to mention the 100,000 taels of silver she provided as support before!

Do you really think the second wife's family is supported by Madam Wang's dowry?

When Master Zheng Er got married, he had at least several hundred thousand in assets.

Of these assets, a small portion was controlled by the Second Master Zheng himself, while the majority fell into the control of Madam Wang. Did she really think the old lady was deaf, blind, and unaware of this?

It's simply a matter of renting out shops and land; over the years, 100,000 taels of silver have been more than enough.

The old lady didn't say anything harsh, but told Madam Wang to go find Master Zheng, saying she wouldn't get involved in this matter. Did she have no shame?

Madam Wang left in disappointment; she must have been out of her mind to go to Master Zheng's place.

Zhou Rui's wife, the head servant by Wang's side, gave her a terrible idea.

Didn't Master Zheng say that he wanted to bring all eight major estates outside the city under the control of the outer court?