Grandmother Jia looked at Lady Wang's expression and knew what she was thinking. She snorted and pointed at her,"Don't talk about whether you've done your best or not. You said it well before. I'll only ask you for silver to return. If you're missing a word, I'll only settle it with you!”
"Since you've said so, Old Lady, I don't have any other intentions." Madam Wang's eyes were red. It's just that the public school has only just passed the new year, and they've sent more than ten favors. The public school's money is tight, and they can't move it out in a day or two. Besides, tomorrow is the morning sun. It's already night, even if I…"
"Do you think I'm blind?" Grandmother Jia scolded. Usually, no matter what you do, I will turn a blind eye and treat it as if it is clean in front of me. Even if I don't consider your master's silver, don't you want to look at Yuan Chun? After all, she is a piece of flesh that crawled out of your intestines. She has given you so much face since you were young. Now, she is even conferred the title of Imperial Consort and has earned you a great title. You heartless person, you can't bear to part with 100,000 taels of silver. Where do you want to put her?”
Madam Wang stopped crying and said," The silver must be returned. However, in terms of time, Yuan 'er has been made an Imperial Consort. Should we send a letter to her and ask her to find a way to make it easy for two days so that we can do our best to prepare?"”
"You, you, you!" Grandmother Jia almost fell down in anger. Yuanyang did not dare to hide anymore and quickly came out to calm her down. Only when she finally recovered did Grandmother Jia feel disappointed and finally said,"Forget it, I thought you guys would just do what I said. After all, you've been a family for so many years and have your own ideas. You don't take my words seriously.”
When Lady Wang heard this, she did not dare to stand up again. Without waiting for the servant girl to serve the futon cushion, she knelt down in front of Grandmother Jia with a thud and repeatedly said,"I dare not."
Grandmother Jia said," I don't care if I dare to or not. At my age, I've eaten, played, and seen everything in my life. I'm already satisfied. I don't have many years left to live. I still have to take care of this family. I didn't accompany the old master. I'm just looking after Baoyu and protecting this family business to pass it on to Baoyu." Yuan Chun was raised by me. Now that she's successful, I can't let you people block her path.”
Grandmother Jia waved her hand, and Yuanyang agreed and led the servant girls away.
"Originally, families like us don't want to be rich anymore. We only want to protect this family business. "However, you, my lord, can't compare to his grandfather and his father's generation. This family business has been passed down from generation to generation, and it's getting tighter and tighter over the years. For this reason, I married Min 'er to Lin Ruhai, a scholar in Suzhou. Although his family has the title of Marquis of an aristocratic family, it's not as transparent as our family's officialdom. I only hope that when he comes to officialdom, he can rely on your lord."”
When the Lady Dowager mentioned Jia Min, she didn't have a good look at Lady Wang. It turned out that Jia Min was not only outstanding in appearance, but she was also the most talented and quick-witted. She was also the youngest daughter and had always been the apple of the old lady's eye. When Madam Wang first married, Jia Min was still young. She thought that every girl was as talented as her. She was even more curious about this new sister-in-law. Whether it was poetry, songs, or the " eighteen kinds of martial arts " of her children, she insisted on comparing them with her new sister-in-law. Madam Wang's reputation as a new daughter-in-law was shattered. Naturally, Madam Wang could not afford to love her, so she was a little disagreeable. Regardless of kinship or character, Grandmother Jia naturally favored Jia Min, so she naturally disliked Mu Leng's stingy daughter-in-law.
"Your Eldest Master, Old Master, you are too lacking. Later on, it just so happened that there was a general election in the Palace. I hardened my heart and asked Yuan Chun to be elected. She suffered all these years because of this family business. Now that she's been through so much, she's become an imperial concubine. It's her own blessing, and it's also our blessing. This hundred thousand taels of silver, even if it wasn't borrowed from the imperial court by the ancestors when they opened their residence, it was only right to treat it as her dowry! Fine, you can't figure it out. I'm not afraid to tell you that I'm amazing. Why did the little eunuch come? Who sent them? Why did he come in disguise? Why did Yuan Chun coincidentally become Consort Xiande? You probably haven't thought about the meaning of the word virtuous.”
Lady Wang knelt until her legs were sore. When she heard this, she did not dare to get up and could only wipe her tears with a handkerchief.
"Tomorrow is the morning sun. There are still a few hours before dawn. I don't care if there is one in the public school.”
Lady Wang's thoughts raced as she left Grandmother Jia's place. She was mostly thinking about the matter of the hundred thousand taels of silver. She knew that she couldn't escape and that the public couldn't gather enough money no matter what. She had a plan in her heart. She would send the silver over tomorrow morning before the old master went to visit Grandmother Jia. If there was a shortage of ten or twenty thousand, Grandmother Jia would make up for it.
But even so, he still had to raise 80,000.
Even if he didn't keep the servants 'monthly money, he would only have 50,000 yuan. What would he do if he was short of tens of thousands? Could it be that this time, he would have to swallow his teeth and blood, and he would have to use his own silver to paste this hole?
Fine! I gave birth to Yuanchun, so just treat it as a dowry for her. After all, it was not a dowry, so Madam Wang felt uneasy.
Yuan Chun was raised by Grandmother Jia's side since he was young. Grandmother Jia had already said that Yuan Chun's dowry had her own plans. Now that she had gone to the palace, she did not need the dowry and was conferred the title of Imperial Consort. It was to add glory to the family's reputation. Which in the entire residence did not benefit from it? But you only took out tens of thousands from my body to paste!？
The servant girl, Jin Chuer, carried a lantern and carefully reminded him,"Madam, be careful of the steps."
Madam Wang saw that they were already in her own courtyard." Oh, okay. Go and see if anyone is in your Second Grandmother's room. If she's not asleep, call her over."”Then he told her,"Hurry up and don't delay."”Jin Chuer answered. She picked up the lantern and turned back, running into the dark night.
Caiyun heard the footsteps and quickly came out to welcome her. She pulled the curtain to welcome Madam Wang in. Madam Wang saw Jia Huan sleeping on the table and almost drooled on the Buddhist scriptures. Cai Xia secretly elbowed Jia Huan and whispered,"Brother Huan,""Third Master,""Wake up," but Jia Huan was small and sleepy. Even after eating a few crutches, he only groaned twice and turned his head to sleep.
Madam Wang tugged at her cloak and pinched her prayer beads. She said impatiently,"I'm used to being lazy. I can't even count on copying Buddhist scriptures. Quickly wake her up and send her back. Concubine Zhao is getting more and more unruly. She's a master in her courtyard.”As he spoke, he went to sow discord and change his clothes.
Cai Xia woke Jia Huan up in a huff and complained to him,""Why are you still sleeping? It doesn't hurt to lie down like this. If you catch a cold, you can't blame anyone. I told you to go back just now, but you refused to leave. Let's see who will send you off with a lantern now!”
Jia Huan was childish and sleepy again. He yawned for days and said that he would not leave. He only dared to leave after returning to his wife.
Cai Xia secretly poked his forehead." Madam is calling you to leave."”
Jia Huan still narrowed his eyes and replied with an "oh" before turning around to leave. He didn't even know which lantern it was. Cai Xia was so angry that her lungs almost exploded. She was afraid that he would not open his eyes and step into the pond in a while. She stomped her feet and chased after him. She took a lantern from the door to send him off.
Jin Chuer ran to Xifeng's yard. Seeing that the lights were still on, she heaved a sigh of relief.
Ping 'er came out and smiled." Usually, he would have gone to bed long ago. It's a coincidence that Second Master has just returned today. He's having supper with Second Grandmother. Wait a moment. Grandmother will come after changing her clothes."”He handed a cup of hot tea to Jin Chuer and asked with a smile,"What orders does Madam have? Why is it so urgent? It's so late. What can't we leave it for tomorrow? Seeing that you've made this trip, it's such a cold night. You're sweating all over. Drink a cup of hot tea to drive away the cold air on your body.”
Jin Chuer was thirsty from running. She took the tea and drank half of it before she could talk. However, she was not from Grandmother Jia's courtyard and did not know the truth. She only said,"I heard that it's about money. It's either monthly money or some other kind of money. It doesn't seem to be a small amount. Old Lady personally asked and asked Madam to check it carefully. Sigh, who knew who was going to be the unlucky one this time.”
It was the old lady and the madam. Ping 'er guessed that it was about the one hundred thousand taels of silver. She handed Jin Chong' er a plate and said with a smile,"Yo, from what you said, it must be something important. Wait a moment. I'll go and talk to Second Grandmother. Don't delay the time and make Madam wait for a long time.”
Jin Chuer was worried that Madam Wang would find her slow, so when she heard that Ping 'er had gone to help her, she immediately thanked Ping' er.
Ping 'er tried to sow discord and whispered a few words into Xi Feng's ear. Xi Feng smiled and said,"Well, I said it would only be a few days, but I didn't expect you to rush me overnight.”
Jia Lian asked,"What are you two whispering about? What is it that I can't hear?"”
"What else could it be?" Xi Feng laughed.”
Jia Lian paused his chopsticks and said," When I heard the news of the Empress becoming a concubine today, I knew that I had to rush her. I didn't dare to stay any longer even if my father-in-law asked me to stay. I came back on a horse." How was it? How much did you gather? What were the remaining regulations?”
Xi Feng was picking up a rabbit fur vest and putting it on in front of the glass mirror. When she heard this, she turned her head to look at Jia Lian. Her phoenix eyes raised flirtatiously and she said,"This is all we have here. I'll hand over a whole box tomorrow, and we won't have any more. Believe it or not, there will always be someone who will come out and make up for the missing number!”
"You mean Aunt Xue?"
"Haha, Aunt Xue? Aunt Xue went to bed early! Alright, don't keep Madam waiting. I'll go first.”
When Xifeng arrived at Lady Wang's courtyard, she naturally pretended not to know. When Lady Wang said that she would need 100,000 silver tomorrow morning, Xifeng told her that the public school could not take out that much. She counted on her fingers and at most, she took out 60,000 silver. Next month, the master and the maids would not have any left.
Madam Wang pinched her prayer beads." The masters naturally don't need this little bit of silver. It's not a big deal if we don't let go of the maids 'money. The most important thing now is to make it go. You've been a family for a few years. I don't have to worry about anything. Even the old lady praised you for your resourcefulness. This matter is also considered a big matter in the family. Since you're in the family, I'll leave it to you to handle.”
When Xifeng heard this, she started to cry. In short, she only counted the ten or so favors she had spent in the public office since the beginning of the year. In long term, it was a detailed account of several years. Madam Wang listened a few times and was already dizzy. She also said," Forget it, I know your difficulties, but this matter," Madam Wang patted Xi Feng's hand." It concerns our family's reputation, so we have to put in our best efforts to take care of it."”
Xifeng wiped away her tears." I'll save myself from Madam's words. It's just that the public school really can't take out that much and we have to rush to get it before dawn tomorrow. Even if we borrow from our relatives, it'll be too late. We can only gather some. If it really doesn't work, we can split it twice. The Imperial Court has to understand us.”
" I'm afraid it's not appropriate to divide it twice," Madam Wang said." Do you have any ideas if you want to gather the money?"”
Xi Feng shook her head." The fire is burning. Even Zhuge Liang can't produce silver." I can't go and borrow some. It's too rushed. There's no other place to borrow them. I can only go to my aunt's house…"
Madam Wang thought for a moment and finally said," That's the only way. Alright, you go back first and transfer the silver from the public treasury. Tomorrow, you will rush to send it to Master before the court. I will think of another way."”
Xifeng naturally agreed. She had already calculated it and was almost ready. She didn't panic after replying to Madam Wang. Jia Lian was bound to be busy with the matter of Yuanchun consort tomorrow, so he went to bed early. Xifeng and Ping 'er wanted to put on an act, so they couldn't turn off the lights and sleep. They ordered people to lay out a beauty's couch, and the two of them lit the lamp in the main room and leaned on the couch.
The next day, Xi Feng took a sixty-thousand-yuan box to Lady Wang early in the morning to pay her respects, saying that this was all she had, and that there was another five thousand, which she and Jia Lian considered to be a private congratulation to the Empress for her consort title. Madam Wang took it happily and had her own explanation.
Madam Wang held 65,000 taels of silver in her hand. She thought that the old lady would have 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver, but as a mother, if she were to pay more than Jia Lian's family, she would definitely be in trouble with the old lady. Therefore, after some consideration, he decided to take out 10,000 yuan. Firstly, he could suppress Xifeng, and secondly, he could not surpass the old lady.
Sure enough, after Madam Wang paid the money, Grandmother Jia also readily paid the rest to Jia Zheng and asked him to return it today.
Jia Zheng was the first to return the debt owed by the Imperial Court. When the Emperor heard this, he naturally praised him by name. He also said that his family style was frugal and respectful, worshiping the virtuous and virtuous, and that he was not bad among the aristocratic families. He actually summoned Jia Zheng to meet the Emperor in the palace. When Jia Zheng first received this honor and favor, he almost shed tears of gratitude. He did not dare to look at the Holy Emperor directly. He only said,"I will be vigilant day and night. I will be loyal to my duty. I hope that my king will live for thousands of years and that all the people in the world will be blessed."”Words like that.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。