The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"How would I know? I have no idea what the old lady is planning!"

Jia Huan spread his hands, saying helplessly, "Even if you want to completely sever ties with the deposed crown prince's faction, you don't have to go to such extremes, do you?"

"Heh heh, do you really think the royal family won't get involved? Think again!"

Jia Lian's face turned pale, and he suddenly lost all interest in the haul he had gained from raiding the Lai family's property.

Previously, he was somewhat dissatisfied with Jia Huan's arrogant remarks and the idea of ​​"making the old lady feel embarrassed," but now he couldn't wait for the old lady to be provoked as much as possible.

This is ridiculous! The worst part is that he's in a dangerous situation without even realizing it!

It's terrifying to even think about. If the old lady hadn't learned her lesson, she might have just flown away and disappeared without anyone knowing how the Rong family had ended up.

The Lai family mansion was brightly lit that night, but there were not many cries heard.

It wasn't that the Lai family's servants were completely at ease, but rather that Jia Huan had already explained to them that the matter had nothing to do with them, and that they might still be needed in the future.

In any case, they are all capable personnel trained by the Lai family over many years, and it would be a waste to simply waste them.

Jia Huan wasn't sure what the household's rules were regarding the Lai family's residence. If they weren't planning to sell it, he would have liked to take it over.

As for whether this matter is in accordance with the rules, isn't it up to Master Zheng to decide?

As for Jia Lian, he was completely lost and dejected all night. He wouldn't listen to any advice to go to sleep and get some rest. He was sometimes furious and sometimes dejected. Anyone who didn't know him would think he had gone mad.

It wasn't until the early hours of the morning that he finally couldn't stay awake any longer and fell asleep fully clothed on the recliner.

They confidently entrusted the subsequent confiscation of the property to Jia Huan.

Jia Huan hasn't really done anything shady yet; this is just a rough search of the house. He'll openly reap the benefits when they start appraising the antiques and curios.

He was busy until dawn. The first thing he did was wake Jia Lian, who was not on leave today and still needed to go to the yamen to report for work on time.

"So, have you gotten the specifics of what you found during last night's raid?"

As he washed and coughed with the help of his maid, he asked questions out of curiosity.

"How could it be so fast?"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "However, a rough estimate of what we've gained is out. Here's the list; take a look for yourself!"

Pointing to a small stack of account books on the table, he said leisurely, "The total value is roughly estimated at around 800,000 taels!"

Jia Lian couldn't help but gasp, suppressing the urge to curse.

He forced a smile and said irritably, "Even though I was mentally prepared, hearing this number still makes me want to kill someone!"

"No, don't get your hands dirty. The Lai family will never have a good end!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "You go to the yamen first. I'll take the account books and some of the confiscated property and head straight to the Rong Mansion. I'm afraid there won't be any peace today!"

Jia Lian showed a hint of sympathy, ate something quickly, and went to the yamen.

As for Jia Huan's possible predicament, he could only feel sorry for him in his heart. The old lady was not so easy to deal with, and one wrong move could lead to embarrassment and awkwardness.

Who can blame them when the old lady is of a higher generation, and both Master She and Master Zheng are filial sons?

Little did he know, Jia Huan had no intention of directly confronting the old lady. He personally oversaw the confiscation of the Lai family's property, and after giving Yu She and Wang Xifeng sufficient benefits, he naturally left it to them to deal with the old lady.

As for whether he can handle the situation and even turn the tables on the old lady to make her behave, that's none of Jia Huan's business; he's of a lower generation and has limited abilities.

As long as Master She, Master Zheng, and Jia Lian don't bring it up themselves, who outsiders would know what role Jia Huan played in this matter?

At most, the old lady could only find out that it was he who went to the Ning residence to provide timely assistance, so she couldn't blame him, could she?

What happened next seemed more like that Master She took advantage of the situation to launch an attack and eliminate the Lai family.

Sure enough, when Jia Huan brought enough men to deliver 200,000 taels of silver from the Lai family's treasury to the Grand Master's General's Mansion, the Grand Master even personally went out to greet him.

When they saw the list of items to be confiscated from their home handed over by Jia Huan, their eyes lit up conspicuously.

"Uncle, as you know, the Lai family's storeroom can't hold much cash. It will take some time before we can sell more antiques and curios for silver!"

Jia Huan patiently explained, "There are still at least 200,000 taels of silver to go, and it will probably take about a month and a half to deliver it all to the General's Mansion!"

"It's alright, it's alright, I can wait!"

Master She smiled so much his eyes narrowed, and his gaze toward Jia Huan grew increasingly fond of him.

In this person's eyes, Jia Huan is an absolute money-bringer, how could he not like him?

Jia Huan immediately stood up and said goodbye, "Uncle, I still need to give some silver to Sister-in-law Lian, so I'll take my leave now. If the old lady asks, just say I'm not in the mansion!"

The last sentence was to tell the overjoyed Master She not to be too happy yet, as there was still the old lady to get past!

Chapter 185 Self-righteousness (Please subscribe)

When Wang Xifeng received the 50,000 taels of silver from the confiscation of her property, she was overjoyed.

"To tell you the truth, when Second Master sent someone to deliver the message yesterday, I didn't quite believe it!"

"If it weren't for the curfew in the city, I would have sent someone out to look for Second Master. He can't just become a minor official of the fifth rank and then get so carried away that he's running wild outside!"

"I can't believe it's actually true!"

Listen to how, in just a few words, her domineering mentality is revealed.

What does it mean to "send people to search even if it's not curfew"? And what does it mean to be a "minor official of the fifth rank"?

Do you have some misunderstanding about the position of the fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, the Director of the Yunnan Provincial Bureau of Personnel?

Believe it or not, even Prince Teng, who served as the Inspector General of Nine Provinces, wouldn't dare to be so arrogant in front of Jia Lian!

Of course, Jia Huan had no interest in arguing with Wang Xifeng over such trivial matters; it was pointless.

"By the way, I heard the Lai family is quite wealthy. When you're raiding their property, don't try to secretly share the spoils. I won't allow that!"

Wang Xifeng changed the subject and started talking about the Lai family's property. She became very excited and animated, as if it all belonged to her. Her confidence was unmatched.

"How could that be? Everything was arranged in advance!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "The master will take half of the profits, and the money from the other half, as well as any unimportant items, will be sent to the public treasury after being converted into cash!"

"At most, the master will keep some hard-to-sell or particularly precious antiques and artifacts; he has no intention of taking a share of the profits!"

"What? You've already divided the profits?"

Wang Xifeng's phoenix eyebrows shot up, and she said with dissatisfaction, "Why should the master take half?"

"And what about the deeds for the land and shops?"

They're insatiable!

He didn't ask any questions or inquire why the Lai family's property was being confiscated; as soon as he heard about dividing the silver, he started to covet it.

Don't they realize what kind of people the Lai family is? If they hadn't been forced to, how could they have so easily attacked the Lai family, let alone gone so far as to try to destroy them?

"Second sister-in-law, the Lai family's affairs require the two masters to step in to withstand the old lady's wrath!"

With just a casual remark, Wang Xifeng, who was already quite aggressive, fell silent, and her expression turned somewhat awkward.

Jia Huan smiled slightly, his expression subtle. Some things didn't need to be said; everyone understood.

Seeing that Wang Xifeng seemed to be deep in thought and her expression gradually returned to calm, he continued, "Second Madam, you shouldn't covet the Lai family's farmland and shops. They must all be cleared out and converted into silver!"

Wang Xifeng opened her mouth as if to say something, but Jia Huan stopped her with a hand and chuckled, "There are some things that it's better for Second Sister-in-law not to know. Getting involved rashly is not a good thing!"

Fearing that Wang Xifeng would outwardly comply but inwardly defy him, he could only lower his voice and reveal a little information: "It's Uncle Wang who's been infected. He won't be able to get away easily without suffering heavy losses!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng was startled and carefully examined Jia Huan's expression, which did not seem to be feigned.

She couldn't help but gasp, her expression contorted for a moment, but finally she chuckled and said, "Since Brother Huan has said so, I won't interfere!"

"Second sister-in-law, you don't need to worry about anything. At that time, the public funds will have at least 300,000 taels of silver more!"

Jia Huan changed the subject and said leisurely, "As long as we keep a close eye on things in the future, we won't be in that embarrassing situation again where we were short of funds and the public treasury had less than 10,000 taels of silver in reserve!"

"Great! If that's true, then I'll have to thank you properly!"

Wang Xifeng was overjoyed upon hearing this, her face beaming with delight. She chuckled and complained, "There are some things you don't know, Huan-ge'er. It's really hard to live without money. None of the servants in the manor are easy to deal with!"

"I've delivered the message. I hope you understand, Second Sister-in-law!"

Jia Huan had no interest in listening to the gossip in the manor. Aunt Zhao had already heard enough, so she stood up to take her leave, saying, "Second sister-in-law, if possible, please don't go to Rongqing Hall today!"

"Brother Huan, you mean..."

"I didn't say anything. Whether you listen to me or not is up to you. I still have to go and keep an eye on things at the Lai family's place!"

After saying that, he patted his behind and left without lingering at all.

After watching Jia Huan leave, Wang Xifeng said to Ping'er beside her, "That boy has grown too big for his britches. He even talks to me in a sarcastic tone!"

"Second Madam, please stop making trouble and just settle those fifty thousand taels of silver properly!"

Ping'er smiled wryly, "We've cut off all news from the Ning family since yesterday evening. We don't know what happened, so it's best to be careful!"

She certainly knew why Wang Xifeng was unhappy. What Jia Huan had just said about something that even Wang Ziteng wouldn't dare to easily get involved with made Wang Xifeng displeased. After all, Wang Ziteng was Wang Xifeng's biggest trump card.

But Ping'er keenly sensed that Jia Huan wasn't joking when he said that!

Ping'er saw some things more clearly than Wang Xifeng. Wang Ziteng was merely someone recommended by the Rong family; no one could guarantee that the Rong family had the ability to destroy him.

Before Lian Er Ye became an official, when he had little resources and money, the couple would often bicker and argue. Wang Xifeng would often just let a little bit of money slip through the cracks in the Wang family's fingers, which was enough for the Rong family to use.

These words are incredibly hurtful and humiliating.