The destiny of all heavens begins in the Red Chamber

"Otherwise, I, as the head of the family, will have to take the blame for the trouble they cause!"

"Furthermore, their actions could affect the empresses in the palace, and this absolutely cannot be tolerated!"

After all, Master Zheng had been a seasoned official for many years, so he was able to tell whether Jia Huan's words were alarmist or not.

Furthermore, by drawing inferences from one instance to others, they implicated Yuan Chun, who was also in the harem.

To be honest, if the Emperor were to hear the nonsense spouted by the servants in the manor, Yuan Chun, who had already given birth to a prince and was promoted to the rank of concubine, would definitely be affected.

Of course, Master Zheng probably wanted to use Yuan Chun as an excuse, otherwise the old lady and Madam Wang would not have paid any attention to it, nor would they have easily made a big fuss about the servants in the mansion.

This time, he was truly angry!

Jia Huan wasn't surprised at all; it would be strange if Master Zheng hadn't been angry.

Although Master Zheng was pedantic and rigid, that was his way of dealing with people and his habits as an official.

In essence, he is a quintessential son of the powerful and wealthy!

How could one possibly tolerate a servant making a mistake and then expecting the master to take the blame?

Jia Huan guessed correctly. After the Second Master Zheng told the Old Madam and Madam Wang about the matter, they took it very seriously. As a result, at least a hundred servants in the manor were sent to the estate outside the city for "further study".

Among them were many ordinary, respectable servants, and even some trusted men of the old lady and Madam Wang, but this time they were all unlucky.

Who told them to be so loose-lipped, daring to spout nonsense about the emperor's affairs?

Compared to the empresses in the palace, what are a few trusted servants?

If it weren't for the old lady's advanced age and Madam Wang's considerable age, and their lack of willingness to kill, it's hard to say whether these servants would have survived.

Jia Huan simply stood outside, coldly observing everything, without uttering any unnecessary words.

The servants of the Rong family should have been properly disciplined long ago; there are quite a few dishonest ones among them.

Of course, he had no intention of getting involved; Aunt Zhao was still living in the mansion.

As for Yuan Chun, she gave birth to a prince in late spring. He was the nineteenth among all the princes, which shows how many princes she had.

Therefore, Yuan Chun did not encounter any assassination attempts during her pregnancy and childbirth.

After all, there are so many princes under her command, and several of them have already reached adulthood. Yuan Chun's own rank is just so-so, so the birth of the nineteenth prince naturally wouldn't attract too much attention.

Even when the nineteenth prince was born, there was no grand banquet in the palace; only a few small tables were set up, and the emperor and his concubines simply had a drink together.

It was simply a matter of following custom; Yuan Chun's rank was elevated, making her a formal imperial concubine.

On the contrary, the old lady and Madam Wang were overjoyed and wanted to announce it to the world with great fanfare. They even took the initiative to hold a seven-day banquet, which was quite extravagant.

There are plenty of clever people in the capital; how could they not see through the old lady and Madam Wang's thoughts?

It's just wishful thinking; they don't even consider how old the nineteenth prince is now.

Of course, the nineteenth prince also had his own advantages. His maternal family was quite powerful and had considerable influence in the army.

If he could settle down and be a prince in the future, his life would definitely be quite comfortable and carefree.

Leaving aside other matters, only after eliminating the destabilizing factors in the mansion could Master Zheng ask Jia Huan with peace of mind what he thought of the prevailing winds.

"Master, does our household care about the land tax that needs to be paid on the land every year?"

Jia Huan said with a smile, "Anyway, I don't care!"

The Second Master Zheng was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously said, "Indeed, there's no need to worry too much about it!"

"Then what else is there to say!"

Jia Huan chuckled and said, "Then let's pay taxes and grain according to the rules!"

Seeing that the Second Master Zheng looked conflicted, as if he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to say it, he chuckled and said, "Master, we have nothing to say. Let's just go with the flow!"

"I feel like something's not right, but I can't quite put my finger on it!"

Master Zheng said with a wry smile, "Since you've put it that way, let's just let nature take its course!"

Seeing his gloomy expression, Jia Huan found it quite amusing.

How could he not understand what was troubling Master Zheng?

It's just that he felt it was hard to accept that the Rong family was a prominent and wealthy family, and he himself was a high-ranking official of the third rank, yet he had to pay taxes and grain like ordinary people.

As for paying taxes and grain to the imperial court, he wasn't opposed to it, nor did he have any particular intention of protecting his own interests. Just as Jia Huan had asked, how much produce could the land yield, and how much tax could be paid?

For the Rong family, it was nothing at all; it was just a matter of personal feelings.

"My lord, it seems the current emperor is determined to achieve great things!"

Jia Huan changed the subject, reminding him, "Otherwise, they wouldn't have kept spreading rumors. It's all to increase revenue for the national treasury. You should understand that, sir!"

The Second Master nodded in approval; the purpose of the current emperor's continuous leaks was easy to guess.

If this had happened ten years ago, or even before he took charge of collecting the national treasury's debts, he would have certainly scoffed at the current situation, feeling that the government was placing too much emphasis on money.

But now, Master Zheng has a clear understanding of the importance of money.

Under these circumstances, it was easy for Jia Huan to persuade him: "Master, no matter what they want to do this time, we should not jump out and express our opinions too easily!"

"Anyway, whether it's smuggled salt or officials and gentry paying taxes together, it doesn't really concern us!"

"I'm worried that someone might incite the master to put pressure on the emperor. This is no joke; the emperor might hold a grudge for life and seek revenge later!"

Upon hearing this, Master Zheng's face turned pale, and he nodded repeatedly to indicate that he understood.

Chapter 396 The Lively Imperial Court (Please Subscribe)

Jia Huan's warning to Master Zheng was not unfounded; he genuinely worried that such a thing might happen and that Master Zheng could easily fall into the trap.

He considered himself a scholar and often regretted not being able to enter officialdom through the imperial examinations!

He greatly admired those accomplished scholars, or so-called great Confucian scholars.

Coincidentally, both the cabinet leaders and the Hanlin scholars were the top scholars he admired.

If one deliberately approaches such a person, it is easy to gain the trust and favor of the Second Master Zheng.

If they were to guide the Second Master Zheng to charge into battle as the vanguard, it wouldn't be impossible to achieve their goal!

In any case, which of the top scholars who have been through the baptism of officialdom is not a quick-witted and eloquent person?

It's not difficult to fool the rigid and inflexible Second Master Zheng.

Jia Huan certainly didn't want that to happen!

Even if Master Zheng was fooled and became a pawn in the battle, the Rong Mansion's current strength and Jia Huan's abilities would ensure that Master Zheng could ultimately escape unscathed.

But such things are quite troublesome, so why bother getting involved?

In any case, the purpose of coming up with this idea has basically been achieved.

As expected, the royal family members started making trouble on their own initiative.

They used various channels to openly express their support for certain policies of the current emperor.

"Isn't it just paying taxes and grain like ordinary people? What's the big deal?"

"As soon as the decree is issued, all the royal estates under my command will immediately respond to the call!"

"With the current government policies, if the royal family and relatives don't give their full support, who will? Are we supposed to rely on those landlords and gentry? Don't even think about it!"

"Hmph, those landlords and gentry have taken so much benefit from the imperial court by virtue of their tax exemption status. They should be properly disciplined so that they don't think such good things are a given!"

"Regardless of the circumstances, if the current emperor wishes to issue certain decrees, I will certainly support him!"

"..."

When members of the royal family get sarcastic, they can be incredibly rude and say the most offensive things imaginable.

The key point is that they are not just sarcastic and sarcastic, but also actually dare to take action.

During a grand court assembly one day, an official suddenly submitted a memorial, hoping that the current emperor would promulgate the benevolent policies of "returning the fire tax to the public treasury" and "officials and gentry paying taxes together" to increase national treasury revenue and boost national strength.

Then, he handed over two thick volumes of memorials directly.

Inside were two rather comprehensive policy documents, all concocted by the royal relatives with vested interests, their trusted advisors, and Jia Huan.

They all had other options, so naturally they didn't have much resistance to policies that harmed their own interests; instead, they enthusiastically worked to improve them.

In Jia Huan's view, these guys were somewhat gloating!

It seems they're eager to see certain individuals and forces suffer, adopting a very schadenfreude attitude!

In fact, with a considerable area of ​​offshore territory, the royal family and relatives no longer cared too much about the interests of the Great Qian Dynasty.

However, they also did not want the forces of the Great Qian side to hinder them from collecting enough resources and people when they were developing and building their overseas territories; otherwise, they would fight to the death without hesitation.

Clearly, certain forces have now interfered with their interests, so there's nothing more to say.

It's just causing trouble, as if only certain guys can do it. They can do it too!

The entire grand assembly quickly turned into a noisy vegetable market!

All the court officials who were unaware of the situation were stunned, never expecting that a colleague would be so fierce!

This is going to offend all the local gentry! Does he even want to stay in the imperial court?

His expression was neither sad nor happy; he merely glanced indifferently at the two thick volumes of memorials in his hands.